As estações ferroviárias do Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Paranaíba e suas interfaces: história e conservação

The implementation of the railway in Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba helped to develop the area and connexion with other states: São Paulo, Goiás and Mato Grosso. The railway used to transport people and goods throughout many train stations in urban and rural areas and some major railroad complexes. There were many factors that led to the decline and abandonment of these properties: governmental policies which were in favour of road transportation and automotive industry, the replacement of the steam locomotive for electric and electric-diesel locomotives, changing part of the railway plan, removal of railways and loss of function of the buildings, extinction of passenger trains, which led the stations to lose its main purpose: people transport. 53% of the stations built inside the study area were demolished and most of them are in rural areas. There are several situations: stations on a precarious conservation state, most of them in the city s rural area, stations being used in urban and rural areas with new uses, stations working with cargo and goods transportation. The stations in Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba area in Minas Gerais are the object of this dissertation, wherein the main interest lies on the stations that are in operation, 21 buildings, seeking to verify their conservation state, their agents and role in preserving the train memory. Maps, charts and tables were made for this collection s understanding, having visited the stations that are listed by the cultural heritage and the ones that are in operation with new functions. Field records were made allowing the understanding of these properties in operation. It is observed that only the buildings listing, despite ensuring the non-demolition, does not help on the use and preservation of these stations, because there are some buildings that have this protection level, but are abandoned and in disrepair. The use of these stations by a train company, operating with cargo and goods transportation do not also guarantee the buildings preservation, as they are not treated with any preservation interest, their maintenance are precarious. The using by these companies are various, however, only a few stations have internal spaces dedicated to the railroad memory. Most of the stations did not have preservation projects with architects and specialists participation and the major concern, during maintenance process, is on the building s external part. The stations conservation begins on the local government interest, that preserve these properties, most of them are in urban areas, the major challenge is on their using definition and occupancy, especially in the countryside, wherein the buildings uses must be sustainable, as regards the appreciation and management of this heritage.

Local fiscal effects of oil and gas development in eight states

Oil and gas production in the United States has increased dramatically in the past 10 years. This growth has important implications for local governments, which often see new revenues from a variety of sources: property taxes on oil and gas property, sales taxes driven by the oil and gas workforce, allocations of state revenues from severance taxes or state and federal leases, leases on local government land, and contributions from oil and gas companies to support local services. At the same time, local governments tend to experience a range of new costs such as road damage caused by heavy industry truck traffic, increased demand for emergency services and law enforcement, and challenges with workforce retention. This report examines county and municipal fiscal effects in 14 oil- and gas-producing regions of eight states: AK, CA, KS, OH, OK, NM, UT, and WV. We find that for most local governments, oil and gas development—whether new or longstanding—has a positive effect on local public finances. However, effects can vary substantially due to a variety of local factors and policy issues. For some local governments, particularly those in rural regions experiencing large increases in development, revenues have not kept pace with rapidly increased costs and demand for services, particularly on road repair.

Fixed-boundary constituencies and the principle of equal representation in Ireland

The process of constituency boundary revision in Ireland, designed to satisfy what is perceived as a rigid requirement that a uniform deputy-population ratio be maintained across constituencies, has traditionally consumed a great deal of the time of politicians and officials. For almost two decades after a High Court ruling in 1961, the process was a political one, was highly contentious, and was marked by serious allegations of ministerial gerrymandering. The introduction in 1979 of constituency commissions made up of officials neutralised, for the most part, charges that the system had become too politicised, but it continued the process of micro-management of constituency boundaries. This article suggests that the continuing problems caused by this system – notably, the permanently changing nature of constituency boundaries and resulting difficulties of geographical identification – could be resolved by reversion to the procedure that is normal in proportional representation systems: periodic post-census allocation of seats to constituencies whose boundaries are based on those of recognised local government units and which are stable over time. This reform, replacing the principle of redistricting by the principle of reapportionment, would result in more recognisable constituencies, more predictable boundary trajectories over time, and a more efficient, fairer, and speedier process of revision.

A descentralização das políticas de desenvolvimento rural: uma análise da experiência do Rio Grande do Norte

MATOS FILHO, João. A descentralização das Políticas de desenvolvimento rural - uma análise da experiência do Rio Grande do Norte. 2002. 259f. Tese (Doutorado em Ciências Econômicas)– Instituto de Economia da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, 2002.

A política de gestão de pessoas da UFPA: em sintonia com o gerencialismo?

This research examined the personnel policies of the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), aimed at the middle area, implemented by the President's Office of Personnel Management (PROGEP), through the Performance Management and Development from 2006 to 2009 period, in which Institutional Plan was implemented for Technical and administrative (PIDT) with a view to ascertaining whether these actions were developed in line with the ideas of managerialism or New Public Management (NPM). The study opted for qualitative research using interview as a tool to collect data. The informants were managers PROGEP / UFPA who acted in that period. Data interpretation was based on analysis of content from the collation of speeches and documents produced during the period with the managerial categories. Data analysis revealed that the management of people, UFPA has the characteristics of a hybrid management, observing the period studied two models of management: a bureaucratic, rational, focused on processes, contemporary face of public organizations, and other managerialist, adopted by PROGEP in obedience to the mandatory policies of the federal government, being much more present the characteristics of a personnel policy-oriented processes. Concludes that the personnel policy of the UFPA has not been fully tuned to managerialism in the surveyed period

Community perceptions of collaborative processes for managing freshwater resources

Six of New Zealand’s 16 regional councils are trialling collaborative planning as a means of addressing complex challenges in freshwater management. Although some work has been undertaken to evaluate similarities and differences across those processes, the success or failure rests with the public’s acceptance of the processes and their outcomes. This is the first study to evaluate public perceptions of freshwater management in regions with collaborative processes. We surveyed 450 respondents in Hawke’s Bay, Northland, and Waikato, some of whom live in catchments in which collaborative processes are under way and some of whom do not. In addition to assessing awareness of the collaborative planning processes, the survey measured perceptions regarding the regional council’s management of freshwater resources, the extent of agreement regarding freshwater management among various interests, the fairness of freshwater management, and the extent to which respondents believe that their interests and concerns are included in freshwater management. We hypothesized that relative to respondents in parts of the region in which traditional processes are in places, respondents in catchments with collaborative management of freshwater resources would have more positive perceptions of management, agreement, fairness, and interests, even if there is low awareness that a collaborative planning process is under way. Survey results indicate that knowledge of collaborative processes is generally low and that living in catchments with collaborative processes does not impact respondents’ perceptions of management, agreement, fairness, or interests in Northland or Waikato. However, relative to Hawke’s Bay respondents living outside of the collaborative catchment, respondents living inside the collaborative catchment believe that the regional council’s freshwater management is better and fairer. Moreover, Hawke’s Bay residents living inside the collaborative catchment perceive less conflict over freshwater management than Hawke’s Bay respondents living outside the collaborative catchment. Further research is needed to identify the reasons for this regional variation.

Government decentralization and disaster impact, an exploratory study

The purpose of this study is to explore the link between decentralization and the impact of natural disasters through empirical analysis. It addresses the issue of the importance of the role of local government in disaster response through different means of decentralization. By studying data available for 50 countries, it allows to develop the knowledge on the role of national government in setting policy that allows flexibility and decision making at a local level and how this devolution of power influences the outcome of disasters. The study uses Aaron Schneider’s definition and rankings of decentralization, the EM-DAT database to identify the amount of people affected by disasters on average per year as well as World Bank Indicators and the Human Development Index (HDI) to model the role of local decentralization in mitigating disasters. With a multivariate regression it looks at the amount of affected people as explained by fiscal, administrative and political decentralization, government expenses, percentage of urbanization, total population, population density, the HDI and the overall Logistics Performance Indicator (LPI). The main results are that total population, the overall LPI and fiscal decentralization are all significant in relation to the amount of people affected by disasters for the countries and period studied. These findings have implication for government’s policies by indicating that fiscal decentralization by allowing local governments to control a bigger proportion of the countries revenues and expenditures plays a role in reducing the amount of affected people in disasters. This can be explained by the fact that local government understand their own needs better in both disaster prevention and response which helps in taking the proper decisions to mitigate the amount of people affected in a disaster. The reduction in the implication of national government might also play a role in reducing the time of reaction to face a disaster. The main conclusion of this study is that fiscal control by local governments can help reduce the amount of people affected by disasters.

A descentralização das políticas de desenvolvimento rural: uma análise da experiência do Rio Grande do Norte

MATOS FILHO, João. A descentralização das Políticas de desenvolvimento rural - uma análise da experiência do Rio Grande do Norte. 2002. 259f. Tese (Doutorado em Ciências Econômicas)– Instituto de Economia da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, 2002.

Status of the beach management units development in Uganda

Fisheries plays a significant and important part in the economy of the country contributing to foreign exchange, food security and employment creation. Lake Victoria contributes over 50% of the total annual fish catch. The purpose of fisheries management is to ensure conservation, protection, proper use, economic efficiency and equitable distribution of the fisheries resources both for the present and future generations through sustainable utilization. The earliest fisheries were mainly at the subsistence level. Fishing gear consisted of locally made basket traps, hooks and seine nets of papyrus. Fishing effort begun to increase with the introduction of more efficient flax gillnets in 1905. Fisheries management in Uganda started in 1914. Before then, the fishery was under some form of traditional management based on the do and don'ts. History shows that the Baganda had strong spiritual beliefs in respect of "god Mukasa" (god of the Lake) and these indirectly contributed to sustainable management of the lake. If a fisherman neglected to comply witt'l any of the ceremonies related to fishing he was expected to encounter a bad omen (Rev. Roscoe, 1965) However, with the introduction of the nylon gill nets, which could catch more fish, traditional management regime broke down. By 1955 the indigenous fish species like Oreochromis variabilis and Oreochromis esculentus had greatly declined in catches. Decline in catches led to introduction of poor fishing methods because of competition for fish. Government in an attempt to regulate the fishing irldustry enacted the first Fisheries Ordinance in 1951 and recruited Fisheries Officers to enforce them. The government put in place minimum net mesh-sizes and Fisheries Officers arrested fishermen without explaining the reason. This led to continued poor fishing practices. The development of government centred management systems led to increased alienation of resource users and to wilful disregard of specific regulations. The realisation of the problems faced by the central management system led to the recognition that user groups need to be actively involved in fisheries management if the systems are to be consistent with sustainable fisheries and be legitimate. Community participation in fisheries management under the Comanagement approach has been adopted in Lake Victoria including other water bodies.

The growth prerogative: how does an objective of economic growth influence local planning policy?

This research aimed to explore the privileging of growth and its influence on planning in England. The research examined two contrasting case studies: Middlesbrough Borough Council and Cambridge City Council. The analysis of growth privileging is rooted within a constructionist ontology which argues that planning is about the way in which people construct value relative to the function of land. This perspective enables the research to position growth privileging as a social construction; a particular mental frame for understanding and analyzing place based challenges and an approach which has been increasingly absorbed by the UK planning community. Through interviews with a range of planning actors, the first part of the research examined the state of planning in the current political and economic context and the influence that a privileging of growth has on planning. The second part of the research investigated the merits and feasibility of the capabilities approach as an alternative mental frame for planning, an approach developed through the work of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. The research results disaggregate the concept of economic growth, based on the responses of interviewees and conclude that it is characterized by homogeneity. Growth is valued, not only because of its economic role, for example, supporting jobs and income but its potential in creating diversity, enriching culture and precipitating transformative change. Pursuing growth as an objective has a range of influences upon planning. In particular, it supports a utilitarian framework for decision-making which values spatial decisions on their ability to support aggregate economic growth. The research demonstrates the feasibility and merits of the capabilities approach as a means with which to better understand the relationship between planning and human flourishing. Based on this analysis, the research proposes that the capabilities approach can provide an alternative ‘mental frame’ for planning which privileges human flourishing as the primary objective or ‘final end’ instead of economic growth.

Lecciones aprendidas en la implementación del Manejo Integrado Costero: las experiencias demostrativas del ecosistema Sabana-Camagüey, Cuba

En el archipiélago Sabana-Camagüey, Cuba, y sus áreas marino-costeras, se ha logrado un avance importante en la implementación del Manejo Integrado Costero(MIC) a través del establecimiento de Programas Demostrativos de implementación al nivel de municipios. Para ello fue decisiva la ejecución del proyecto PNUD/GEF Ecosistema Sabana-Camagüey durante casi 20 años. Se describen logros destacados, estrategias y acciones aplicadas, lecciones aprendidas y la importancia de estas para la protección y uso sostenible de la biodiversidad y el enfrentamiento de los peligros de la variabilidad del clima y el cambio climático. Fueron claves: (1) una intensa y sistemática educación, concienciación y capacitación de los actores claves, en temas pertinentes al MIC y a la biodiversidad, desde el comienzo del proyecto, a nivel nacional, provincial y municipios involucrados; (2) la inserción de la ejecución del proyecto dentro del tejido institucional del país; y (3) una fuerte participación de los actores claves (gobiernos, sectores productivos, instituciones científicas y docentes, comunidades y organizaciones no gubernamentales). El proceso de gobernanza de MIC se basó en la concepción y metodología de ECOCOSTAS/Coastal Resource Center-University of Rhode Island,incluyendo la aplicación del conocido ciclo de generación de MIC, los cuatro órdenes de resultados, y el apoyo en los resultados de la ciencia y en el mejor conocimiento general disponibles. Se brindan los resultados recientes de la aplicación, por el proyecto PNUD/ GEF Ecosistema Sabana-Camagüey, de un formulario de autoevaluación anual de desempeño operativo de MIC. La misma se realizó de manera participativa en siete Programas demostrativos de Manejo Integrado Costero para el Ecosistema Sabana-Camagüey, cuyas áreas de intervención fueron declaradas y certificadas por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente, como “Zonas bajo régimen de Manejo Integrado Costero”. Cada programa de MIC estuvo conducido por el gobierno local y tuvo su estructura particular de composición e de integración. ABSTRACT: In the Sabana-Camagüey archipelago, Cuba, and its coastal marine areas, advances in the implementation of Integrated Coastal Management have been achieved through the establishment of Demonstrative Programs among other actions. For that, the execution of the “Sabana Camagüey Ecosystem” UNDP/ GEF Project during 20 years was decisive. Outstanding outcomes, applied strategies and actions, lessons learned, and their importance for protecting and sustainably use of biodiversity and for facing threats of both climate change and variability are described herein. Key actions were: (1) an intense and systematic stakeholder education, awareness and capacity building to key stakeholders about issues related to ICM and biodiversity since the beginning of the Project, at the involved national, province and municipality levels; as well as (3) a strong participation of key stakeholders (government, productive sectors, scientific and teaching institutions, communities, and non-governmental organizations). The governance process was based on the ECOCOSTAS/Coastal Resource Center-University of Rhode Island conception and methodology, including the application of the known MIC generation cycle, the four result orders, and the support from science and the best available knowledge. Recent results are provided about the application, by the UNDP/GEF Sabana-Camagüey Ecosystem Project, of an annual ICM operative performance self-assessment form. This was carried out in a participative way in seven ICM demonstrative Programs for the Sabana-Camagüey Ecosystem, which intervention areas were declared and certified as “Zones under Integrated Coastal Management Regime”. Each ICM program was led by the local government and had it particular composition and integration structure.

Factors affecting vaccine handling and storage practices among immunization service providers in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Background: Improper handling has been identified as one of the major reasons for the decline in vaccine potency at the time of administration. Loss of potency becomes evident when immunised individuals contract the diseases the vaccines were meant to prevent. Objective: Assessing the factors associated with vaccine handling and storage practices. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Three-stage sampling was used to recruit 380 vaccine handlers from 273 health facilities from 11 Local Government areas in Ibadan. Data was analysed using SPSS version 16 Results: Seventy-three percent were aware of vaccine handling and storage guidelines with 68.4% having ever read such guidelines. Only 15.3% read a guideline less than 1 month prior to the study. About 65.0% had received training on vaccine management. Incorrect handling practices reported included storing injections with vaccines (13.7%) and maintaining vaccine temperature using ice blocks (7.6%). About 43.0% had good knowledge of vaccine management, while 66.1% had good vaccine management practices. Respondents who had good knowledge of vaccine handling and storage [OR=10.0, 95%CI (5.28 – 18.94), p < 0.001] and had received formal training on vaccine management [OR=5.3, 95%CI (2.50 – 11.14), p< 0.001] were more likely to have good vaccine handling and storage practices. Conclusion: Regular training is recommended to enhance vaccine handling and storage practices.

A política de gestão de pessoas da UFPA: em sintonia com o gerencialismo?

This research examined the personnel policies of the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), aimed at the middle area, implemented by the President's Office of Personnel Management (PROGEP), through the Performance Management and Development from 2006 to 2009 period, in which Institutional Plan was implemented for Technical and administrative (PIDT) with a view to ascertaining whether these actions were developed in line with the ideas of managerialism or New Public Management (NPM). The study opted for qualitative research using interview as a tool to collect data. The informants were managers PROGEP / UFPA who acted in that period. Data interpretation was based on analysis of content from the collation of speeches and documents produced during the period with the managerial categories. Data analysis revealed that the management of people, UFPA has the characteristics of a hybrid management, observing the period studied two models of management: a bureaucratic, rational, focused on processes, contemporary face of public organizations, and other managerialist, adopted by PROGEP in obedience to the mandatory policies of the federal government, being much more present the characteristics of a personnel policy-oriented processes. Concludes that the personnel policy of the UFPA has not been fully tuned to managerialism in the surveyed period

GENERATIVE LEADERSHIP

This article presents the results of a research project that studied leadership from the standpoint of the personal conceptions that influence the behavior of local government leaders, as well as those conceptions desired to generate the social transformation processes required in communities. Qualitative methodology was used. Categories of analysis were created based on Pearson’s (1992) model of psychological archetypes. A relevant finding was the limited advance shown by interviewees regarding self-knowledge and a fragmented vision between the observer and the observee, which hinders their ability to take on the challenges that current reality demands from them.