Selection and passage of county land preservation voter referendum: The role of government

County jurisdictions in America are increasingly exercising self-government in the provision of public community services through the context of second order federalism. In states exercising this form of contemporary governance, county governments with "reformed" policy-making structures and professional management practices, have begun to rival or surpass municipalities in the delivery of local services with regional implications such as environmental protection (Benton 2002, 2003; Marando and Reeves, 1993). ^ The voter referendum, a form of direct democracy, is an important component of county land preservation and environmental protection governmental policies. The recent growth and success of land preservation voter referendums nationwide reflects an increase in citizen participation in government and their desire to protect vacant land and its natural environment from threats of over-development, urbanization and sprawl, loss of open space and farmland, deterioration of ecosystems, and inadequate park and recreational amenities. ^ The study's design employs a sequential, mixed method. First, a quantitative approach employs the Heckman two-step model. It is fitted with variables for the non-random sample of 227 voter referendum counties and all non-voter referendum counties in the U.S. from 1988 to 2009. Second, the qualitative data collected from the in-depth investigation of three South Florida county case studies with twelve public administrator interviews is transformed for integration with the quantitative findings. The purpose of the qualitative method is to complement, explain and enrich the statistical analysis of county demographic, socio-economic, terrain, regional, governance and government, political preference, environmentalism, and referendum-specific factors. ^ The research finds that government factors are significant in terms of the success of land preservation voter referendums; more specifically, the presence of self-government authority (home rule charter), a reformed structure (county administrator/manager or elected executive), and environmental interest groups. In addition, this study concludes that successful counties are often located coastal, exhibit population and housing growth, and have older and more educated citizens who vote democratic in presidential elections. The analysis of case study documents and public administrator interviews finds that pragmatic considerations of timing, local politics and networking of regional stakeholders are also important features of success. Further research is suggested utilizing additional public participation, local government and public administration factors.^

Ex Ante Cost Benefit Analyses of Community-Based DRR Interventions in the Caribbean

This report presents a study on the cost benefit analyses (CBA) and cost effectiveness analysis (CEA) of community-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) interventions in the Caribbean. The DRR interventions, implemented by the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), Port of Spain, in three Caribbean countries, Jamaica, Antigua & Barbuda, and Suriname, comprised the pilot phase of the Red Cross (RC) Project, Improving Climate Change Resilience of Caribbean Communities. This study is part of the endeavor by the DRR Program of Florida International University (FIU) and the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of the U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) to develop and foster DRR measures in the Latin American and Caribbean region since 2008.

Russia's Islam: Discourse on Identity, Politics, and Security

Despite the long history of Muslims in Russia, most scholarly and political literatures on Russia’s Islam still narrowly interpret Muslim-Slavs relations in an ethnic-religious oppositional framework. In my work, I examine Russia’s discourse on Islam to argue that, in fact, the role of Islam in post-Soviet Russia is complex. Drawing from direct sources from academic, state, journalistic, and underground circles, often neglected by Western commentators, I identify ideational patterns in conceptualizations of Islam and reconstruct relational networks among authors. To explain complex intertextual relations within specific contexts, I utilize an analytically eclectic method that appropriately combines theories from different paradigms and/or disciplines. Thanks to my multi-dimensional approach, I show that, contrary to traditional views, Russia’s Muslims participate in processes of post-Soviet Russia’s identity formation. Starting from textual contents, avoiding pre-formed analytical frames, I argue that many Muslims in Russia perceive themselves as part of Russian civilization – even when they challenge the status-quo. Building on my initial findings, I state that a key element in Russia’s conceptualization of Islam is the definition, elaborated in the 1990s, of traditional Islam as part of Russian civilizational history, as opposed to extremist Islam as extraneous, hostile phenomenon. The differentiation creates an unprecedently safe, if confined, space for Islamic propositions, of which Muslims are taking advantage. Embedded in debates on Russian civilization, conceptualizations of Islam, then, influence Russia’s (geo)political self-perceptions and, consequently, its domestic and international policies. In particular, Russian so-far neglected Islamic doctrine supports views of Islamic terrorism as a political and not religious phenomenon. Hence, Russia interprets both terrorism and counterterrorism within its own historical tradition, causing its strategy to be at odds with Western views. Less apparently, these divergences affect Russian-U.S. broader relations. Finally, in revealing the civilizational value of Russia’s Islam, I expose intellectual relations among influential subjects who share the aim to devise a new civilizational model that should combine Slavic and non-Slavic, Orthodox and Islamic, Western, and Asian components. In this old Russian dilemma, the novelty is Muslims’ participation.

Las potencias subregionales en el sistema internacional de posguerra fría: ¿nuevos actores en la política internacional?

En trabajos anteriores, hemos avanzado en la identificación y diferenciación de tres categorías de potencias: potencias mundiales, potencias medias y potencias regionales. Pero, más allá de las potencias mundiales y las potencias medias que se encuentran en el centro del sistema-mundial, y las potencias regionales que se ubican en la semiperiferia, ¿es posible hablar de potencias que se encuentren en la periferia? Como se trata de Estados periféricos, ¿pueden ser calificados como “potencias”? ¿En qué radicaría su relevancia y envergadura? Dichas “potencias” ¿pueden ser agrupadas en una nueva categoría? De ser así ¿qué características compartirían? El objetivo de este documento es proponer una nueva  categoría de potencias en el sistema internacional: las potencias subregionales.

Aportación científica de los congresos de la AE-IC (2008-2014): reseña histórica y estado actual de la investigación en Comunicación

Esta investigación analiza la producción científica presentada en los congresos de la Asociación Española de Investigación de la Comunicación con el fin de comprender su desarrollo y su estado actual. Para ello, se han analizado 715 comunicaciones con veintidós variables, entre las que se encuentran: el autor, el género, la vinculación institucional, la nacionalidad, el tipo de comunicación, la metodología empleada, la réplica de contenidos, la tipología descriptiva y la finalidad de las comunicaciones. Entre otros hallazgos, los resultados muestran una mayoría femenina en la contribución académica, pero no entre los cargos académicos de mayor rango; la preferencia de los objetos de estudio empresariales, pero no profesionales o laborales; una tendencia hacia la mayor participación de doctorandos; y una elevada concentración de la producción científica en cuanto a la temática y la distribución territorial.

Welke Constructen Zijn van Invloed op Attitude van Leerkrachten om Samenwerkend Leren in te Zetten als Instructiestrategie?

Lugtenberg, S. (2016)Welke Constructen Zijn van Invloed op Attitude van Leerkrachten om Samenwerkend Leren in te Zetten als Instructiestrategie? Mei, 17, 2016, Heerlen, Nederland: Open Universiteit

El fortalecimiento de organizacones terroristas en África a partir de la descentralización de Al Qaeda (2006-2013) a la luz de la teoría de guerra en red

El objetivo de esta monografía es analizar el proceso de descentralización de Al Qaeda a causa del debilitamiento de su centro en Afganistán por la intervención militar de la coalición occidental. Se estudia como Al Qaeda deja de ser una organización jerárquica, comenzando a organizarse en red. Estas trasformaciones se pueden explicar a la luz de los principales postulados de la teoría de Guerra en Red, que incluyen la falta de un liderazgo central, y la distribución en enjambre para atacar. Siguiendo la línea argumentativa, finalmente se demuestra que mediante la expansión de la red, Al Qaeda aún bajo su situación de debilidad ha mantenido vigente la yihad trasnacional a través de las organizaciones filiales en África.

Società a partecipazione pubblica nel mercato dell'energia elettrica tra concorrenza e obblighi di servizio pubblico

La disciplina pubblicistica dell’energia elettrica presenta specificità rilevanti rispetto ad altri settori della regolazione economica. Il settore energetico si caratterizza infatti per una complessa regolazione, dovuta sia alle specificità dell’oggetto della disciplina, cioè l’energia elettrica come bene immateriale, sia alla molteplicità degli interessi pubblici coinvolti, che si innestano su fallimenti di mercato (i.e. il sistema a rete non duplicabile), sia agli obiettivi di politica internazionale e di sicurezza nazionale, che intercettano delicate interrelazioni con l’ambiente e il clima, come tutelati nel Green Deal, nelle normative europee e nazionali e negli accordi internazionali sulla decarbonizzazione e sullo sviluppo sostenibile. Inoltre, la filiera elettrica è “verticalmente integrata”, cioè suddivisa in attività diverse, cioè la produzione, il dispacciamento, la trasmissione, la distribuzione, la vendita all’ingrosso e al dettaglio di energia. Queste sono esercitate in regimi di mercato differenti: monopolio naturale (dovuto al carattere sub-additivo dei costi) per il dispacciamento, la trasmissione e la distribuzione di energia; libera concorrenza per la produzione e la vendita. L’esigenza di assicurare la concorrenza nel mercato energetico si contempera con la necessità di rispettare gli obblighi di servizio pubblico, in un delicato bilanciamento tra esigenze contrapposte. La Direttiva U.E. del 13 luglio 2009 n. 2009/72/Cee, all’art. 3, qualifica infatti la fornitura di energia elettrica come un servizio universale, attribuendo agli utenti il diritto di ricevere la fornitura e di mantenere prezzi ragionevoli, facilmente e chiaramente comparabili, trasparenti e non discriminatori.

Caratterizzazione delle formazioni cicloniche associate a precipitazioni estreme sulla Sardegna

Gli eventi degli ultimi due decenni hanno mostrato come la Sardegna, in particolare il suo settore est, sia soggetta a frequenti eventi di precipitazione intensa che comportano perdita di vite umane e ingenti danni. Le alluvioni avvenute a Olbia nel 2013 o la più recente avvenuta a Bitti nel 2020 sono la dimostrazione dell’impatto che questi eventi possono avere sul territorio. Dal punto di vista della pratica previsionale di questi fenomeni intensi, è in uso presso ARPAS una classificazione dei cicloni avvenuti nel periodo compreso tra il 1957 e il 1999, che presentano configurazioni bariche simili e raggruppati in gruppi o “cluster”. Lo scopo di questo lavoro di tesi è estendere questa classificazione per il periodo 1951-1957 e 2000-2009, sulla base della configurazione sinottica in quota e al suolo in cui si sviluppano i cicloni appartenenti ai vari cluster. Tramite questa nuova classificazione, e utilizzando la temperatura superficiale media del mare, verrà analizzata la loro stagionalità e la loro durata temporale. Infine, sarà ricostruita la precipitazione legata ai diversi cluster suddividendo la precipitazione per i settori est e ovest dell’isola, per valutarne distribuzione e variabilità spaziale. I risultati mostrano come vi siano differenze tra i cicloni associati a ciascun cluster in base alle diverse configurazioni sinottiche. Un fattore importante è dato anche dalla stagione in cui i cicloni si verificano: emerge una frequenza maggiore nei mesi autunnali in cui le temperature medie mensili e l’anomalia di temperatura media risulta più alta. La distribuzione spaziale delle precipitazioni associate ai cluster conferma che le precipitazioni più intense e omogene interessano il settore est dell’isola. Poiché lo studio è basato interamente su una classificazione di tipo operativo in uso ad ARPAS, i suoi sviluppi riguardano soprattutto un maggior supporto e conoscenza previsionale degli eventi estremi sulla Sardegna.

Uso del gas como recurso estratégico en la política exterior rusa. Análisis de caso Ucrania periodo 2000-2010

Estudio de caso que busca evaluar el uso del gas natural dentro de la política exterior rusa como recurso estratégico en las relaciones con Ucrania. Se describe y analiza cómo la importancia geoestratégica de Ucrania genera una percepción de seguridad y relevancia económica en Rusia, por esta razón la Federación utiliza el gas natural como mecanismo de presión frente al Estado ucraniano para satisfacer sus intereses nacionales en función de los elementos mencionados anteriormente.Todo lo anterior a través de la Teoría del Heartland desarrollada por Halford Mackinder y El Concepto de Área Pivote de Zbigniew Brzezinski para determinar cómo se genera la importancia del Estado ucraniano frente a Rusia

La incidencia del sistema de patentes estadounidense en la política de salud pública sudafricana 2000- 2012

El interés de este estudio de caso es explicar la incidencia del sistema de patentes estadounidense en la política de salud pública sudafricana del 2000 al 2012. Teniendo en cuenta los altos costos que este sistema impone en los precios de los medicamentos especialmente para tratar el VIH/SIDA y la malaria dos de los males que más aquejan a la población sudafricana. Se pretende explicar y establecer los cambios que ha implementado el gobierno sudafricano en su política de salud pública a través de la creación de una incipiente industria farmacéutica genérica que alivia en parte esta situación, pero que resulta insuficiente debido a su primordial interés de mantener relaciones cordiales con Estados Unidos antes que experimentar cualquier represalia como sucedió en India y Brasil.

La política exterior energética China y sus implicaciones geopolíticas en Asia Central (2000 - 2010)

El interés de la presente monografía es evaluar las implicaciones geopolíticas que ha tenido la política exterior energética China dentro la región de Asia Central. De esta manera, se analiza el papel de los recursos energéticos en las dinámicas geopolíticas que se están dando en la región centroasiática, al igual que la influencia de grandes potencias en esta zona. Así, teniendo en cuenta la teoría geopolítica de Saúl Bernard Cohen se sostiene que el acercamiento de China, a través de su política exterior energética, ha ayudado a transformar a Asia Central en un shatterbelt debido a su intención de ejercer influencia y control sobre los recursos de la región.

U.S.-Japanese agricultural trade relations [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Foreign Agricultural Policy of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, United States Senate, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, February 12, 1982--Sacramento, Calif.

CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 82 S161-11

The European Union Foreign Policy in the Caucasus and Central Asia: The Limitations of the Opening towards the East

This article intends to study the evolution of the European Union foreign policy in the Southern Caucasus and Central Area throughout the Post-Cold War era. The aim is to analyze Brussels’ fundamental interests and limitations in the area, the strategies it has implemented in the last few years, and the extent to which the EU has been able to undermine the regional hegemons’ traditional supremacy. As will be highlighted, the Community’s chronic weaknesses, the local determination to preserve sovereignty and an increasing international geopolitical competition undermine any European aspiration to become a pre-eminent actor at the heart of the Eurasian continent in the near future.

Social Science; black movement; racial relations; identityThe Brazilian black movement in the social sciences (1950-2000)

When and how did the Brazilian Black movement appear in the social sciences? What are the theoretical approaches and explanations for the 20th century emergence and development? This article will address these principal issues by analyzing studies that have taken on the topic of collective black mobilization from various disciplinary vantage points, particularly, Sociology, History and Anthropology.