Vulnerability and multiple deprivation perspectives on economic exclusion in Europe: A latent class analysis

In this paper we address issues relating to vulnerability to economic exclusion and levels of economic exclusion in Europe. We do so by applying latent class models to data from the European Community Household Panel for thirteen countries. This approach allows us to distinguish between vulnerability to economic exclusion and exposure to multiple deprivation at a particular point in time. The results of our analysis confirm that in every country it is possible to distinguish between a vulnerable and a non-vulnerable class. Association between income poverty, life-style deprivation and subjective economic strain is accounted for by allocating individuals to the categories of this latent variable. The size of the vulnerable class varies across countries in line with expectations derived from welfare regime theory. Between class differentiation is weakest in social democratic regimes but otherwise the pattern of differentiation is remarkably similar. The key discriminatory factor is life-style deprivation, followed by income and economic strain. Social class and employment status are powerful predictors of latent class membership in all countries but the strength of these relationships varies across welfare regimes. Individual biography and life events are also related to vulnerability to economic exclusion. However, there is no evidence that they account for any significant part of the socio-economic structuring of vulnerability and no support is found for the hypothesis that social exclusion has come to transcend class boundaries and become a matter of individual biography. However, the extent of socio-economic structuring does vary substantially across welfare regimes. Levels of economic exclusion, in the sense of current exposure to multiple deprivation, also vary systematically by welfare regime and social class. Taking both vulnerability to economic exclusion and levels of exclusion into account suggests that care should be exercised in moving from evidence on the dynamic nature of poverty and economic exclusion to arguments relating to the superiority of selective over universal social policies.

Taxonomic and functional diversity of farmland bird communities across Europe:Effects of biogeography and agricultural intensification

In eight European study sites (in Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Estonia and Sweden), abundance of breeding farmland bird territories was obtained from 500 × 500 m survey plots (30 per area, N = 240) using the mapping method. Two analyses were performed: (I) a Canonical Correspondence Analysis of species abundance in relation to geographical location and variables measuring agricultural intensification at field and farm level to identify significant intensification variables and to estimate the fractions of total variance in bird abundance explained by geography and agricultural intensification; (II) several taxonomic and functional community indices were built and analysed using GLM in relation to the intensification variables found significant in the CCA. The geographical location of study sites alone explains nearly one fifth (19. 5%) of total variation in species abundance. The fraction of variance explained by agricultural intensification alone is much smaller (4. 3%), although significant. The intersection explains nearly two fifths (37. 8%) of variance in species abundance. Community indices are negatively affected by correlates of intensification like farm size and yield, whereas correlates of habitat availability and quality have positive effects on taxonomic and functional diversity of assemblages. Most of the purely geographical variation in farmland bird assemblage composition is associated to Mediterranean steppe species, reflecting the bio-geographical singularity of that assemblage and reinforcing the need to preserve this community. Taxonomic and functional diversity of farmland bird communities are negatively affected by agricultural intensification and positively affected by increasing farmland habitat availability and quality. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Botanical travel, climate and David Moore’s moral geographies of Europe

During his forty-year curatorship of the Royal Dublin Society's botanical gardens in Glasnevin (1838–1879), David Moore undertook a number of excursions to continental Europe. These served to deepen the networks of plant exchange between Dublin and other botanical institutions and allowed him to examine the relationships between climate, plant survivability and societal development. This paper focuses on two trips taken in the 1860s to Scandinavia and Iberia and charts how Moore situated his experience of these places within a climatic hermeneutic. Moore's understanding of northern and southern Europe was organized around a set of judgments about their relative backwardness or advancement with respect to his experience of home and was seen through the lens of a moral climatology. Moreover, his Scots Presbyterian background and his commitment to natural theology informed his interpretation of the landscapes he encountered in his excursions across Europe.

The impact of foreign postings on accompanying military spouses: an ethnographic study

As part of an ethnographic study, the impact of foreign postings on spouses who accompany military personnel was explored. Individual interviews and focus groups with 34 British military spouses based in one location in southern Europe were conducted. Key findings suggested that reaction to a foreign posting was a reflection of personal attitudes, prior experiences, support, ability to adjust to change and strength of relationship with the serving spouse and community. For many the experience was positive due to the increased opportunity for family time, for others this helped to compensate for the difficulties experienced. Some military spouses experienced significant distress on the posting, particularly if the family was not well-supported. The potential implications of military spouses not adapting to foreign postings have significant implications for healthcare practice. Provision of more appropriate support resources before and during the posting would facilitate the transition for the military spouse and their family.

Flawed Premises and Unexpected Consequences: Support of Regional Languages in Europe:Support of Regional Languages in Europe

This article discusses the relationship between three language communities in Europe with variant levels of official recognition, namely Kashub, Sorb, and Silesian, and the institutions of their host states as regards their respective use, promotion, and revital-ization. Most language communities across the world campaign for recognition within a geographic/political region, or on the basis of a historic/group identity to ensure their language's use and status. The examples discussed here illustrate that language recognition and policies resulting therefrom and promoting official monolin-gualism strengthen the symbolic status of the language but contribute little to the functionality of language communities outside the area. As this article illustrates, in increasingly multilingual societies, language policies cut off its speakers from the political, economic, and social opportunities accessible through the medium of languages that lack official recognition locally. © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The Geography of Revolution: The case of Longford, 1917-1921

Why were some areas of the Ireland more active than others during the War of Independence, and why did the areas of most activity change over the course of the war between 1919 and 1921? In the context of the Irish midlands, County Longford stands out as one of the most violent counties surrounded by areas where there was much less activity by the IRA. Even within the county there was a significant difference in the strength of republican activity between north and south Longford. This article will examine the factors that were responsible for the strength of the IRA campaign in this midland enclave, including socio-economic conditions, administrative decisions and failures, and the contemporary political context.
Much of the evidence upon which the paper is based comes from applications made by Longford Volunteers for military service pensions, granted to veterans of the campaign by the Irish government after 1924. Many of these documents are soon to be released by the Irish government. The paper will also include a discussion of these sources and the way in which they can be used by historians to advance our understanding of Ireland’s revolutionary decade.

Britain and the threat to stability in Europe 1918-45

After the horrors of the First World War a dialogue began between European statesmen seeking some form of European integration as a way of achieving lasting peace. During the inter-war period this idea started to attract support in Britain even though Britain's strategic and economic interests remained focused outside Europe. This book explores Britain's relations with the continent between 1918 and 1945, focussing on diplomatic and military responses to the major crises and examining attitudes to the idea of Europe in the broader context of relations with the Empire, Commonwealth and the USA.

Pratiques et usages de l'Europe dans le maintien de la paix : la coopération franco-irlandaise au Tchad

Thèse réalisé en cotutelle avec l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgique)

Symbolic geography in John Ruskin's modern painters, Volumes III, IV, V.

Modern Painters vol. III, IV et V est une œuvre tripartite développée après 1850, en synchronie avec la guerre de Crimée (1854-56), la répression de la révolte indienne (1857-59) et la deuxième guerre d’indépendance d’Italie (1859). Marqué par ces événements politiques, Ruskin met en œuvre une stratégie complexe pour configurer dans un langage symbolique les frontières et les taxonomies impériales de l’espace européen. Il développe des stratégies de présentation qui combinent le texte et les illustrations pour créer des allégories mentales et visuelles, construites à partir des stéréotypes littéraires et culturels véhiculés dans l’espace britannique. L’auteur met ses derniers volumes de Modern Painters sous le signe de « la crise de la civilisation » représentée par les conflagrations de Crimée, d’Inde et d’Italie, en exprimant son soutien pour la nouvelle alliance entre l’Angleterre et la France. Un autre motif est son obsession avec la réforme sociale via un retour aux valeurs chrétiennes traditionnelles.

Análisis cruzado de las respuestas del neoinstitucionalismo liberal y del constructivismo social aplicadas al estudio de la OTAN y sus Estados miembros

Esta monografía ayuda a responder la pregunta del porque los Estados actuan a través de organizaciones internacionales a partir de los postulados del neoliberalismo institucional de Robert Keohane y del constructivismo Social de Alexander Wendt.

The political influence of the kurdish community in Syria and its possible transboundary Effects in the subregion of the Middle East, during the period 2011-2014

El interés de esta monografía es analizar las interacciones no-lineales con resultados emergentes que mantuvo la comunidad kurda en Siria, durante el periodo 2011-2014, y por las cuales se produjeron formas de auto-organización como resultado de la estructura compleja a la que pertenece. De esta forma, se explica cómo a raíz de la crisis política siria y los enfrentamientos con el Estado Islámico, se transformó el rol de los kurdos en Siria y se influenciaron las estructuras políticas del país y las naciones de la región con población kurda. Por lo tanto, esta investigación se propone analizar este fenómeno a través del enfoque de complejidad en Relaciones Internacionales y el concepto de Auto-Organización. A partir de ello, se indaga sobre las interacciones surgidas en estructuras más pequeñas, que habrían afectado un sistema mayor; estableciendo nuevas formas de organización que no pueden ser explicadas, únicamente, a partir de elementos causales.

Evaluation of water and energy budgets in regional climate models applied over Europe

This study presents a model intercomparison of four regional climate models (RCMs) and one variable resolution atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) applied over Europe with special focus on the hydrological cycle and the surface energy budget. The models simulated the 15 years from 1979 to 1993 by using quasi-observed boundary conditions derived from ECMWF re-analyses (ERA). The model intercomparison focuses on two large atchments representing two different climate conditions covering two areas of major research interest within Europe. The first is the Danube catchment which represents a continental climate dominated by advection from the surrounding land areas. It is used to analyse the common model error of a too dry and too warm simulation of the summertime climate of southeastern Europe. This summer warming and drying problem is seen in many RCMs, and to a less extent in GCMs. The second area is the Baltic Sea catchment which represents maritime climate dominated by advection from the ocean and from the Baltic Sea. This catchment is a research area of many studies within Europe and also covered by the BALTEX program. The observed data used are monthly mean surface air temperature, precipitation and river discharge. For all models, these are used to estimate mean monthly biases of all components of the hydrological cycle over land. In addition, the mean monthly deviations of the surface energy fluxes from ERA data are computed. Atmospheric moisture fluxes from ERA are compared with those of one model to provide an independent estimate of the convergence bias derived from the observed data. These help to add weight to some of the inferred estimates and explain some of the discrepancies between them. An evaluation of these biases and deviations suggests possible sources of error in each of the models. For the Danube catchment, systematic errors in the dynamics cause the prominent summer drying problem for three of the RCMs, while for the fourth RCM this is related to deficiencies in the land surface parametrization. The AGCM does not show this drying problem. For the Baltic Sea catchment, all models similarily overestimate the precipitation throughout the year except during the summer. This model deficit is probably caused by the internal model parametrizations, such as the large-scale condensation and the convection schemes.

Evaluation of water and energy budgets in regional climate models applied over Europe

Abstract This study presents a model intercomparison of four regional climate models (RCMs) and one variable resolution atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) applied over Europe with special focus on the hydrological cycle and the surface energy budget. The models simulated the 15 years from 1979 to 1993 by using quasi-observed boundary conditions derived from ECMWF re-analyses (ERA). The model intercomparison focuses on two large atchments representing two different climate conditions covering two areas of major research interest within Europe. The first is the Danube catchment which represents a continental climate dominated by advection from the surrounding land areas. It is used to analyse the common model error of a too dry and too warm simulation of the summertime climate of southeastern Europe. This summer warming and drying problem is seen in many RCMs, and to a less extent in GCMs. The second area is the Baltic Sea catchment which represents maritime climate dominated by advection from the ocean and from the Baltic Sea. This catchment is a research area of many studies within Europe and also covered by the BALTEX program. The observed data used are monthly mean surface air temperature, precipitation and river discharge. For all models, these are used to estimate mean monthly biases of all components of the hydrological cycle over land. In addition, the mean monthly deviations of the surface energy fluxes from ERA data are computed. Atmospheric moisture fluxes from ERA are compared with those of one model to provide an independent estimate of the convergence bias derived from the observed data. These help to add weight to some of the inferred estimates and explain some of the discrepancies between them. An evaluation of these biases and deviations suggests possible sources of error in each of the models. For the Danube catchment, systematic errors in the dynamics cause the prominent summer drying problem for three of the RCMs, while for the fourth RCM this is related to deficiencies in the land surface parametrization. The AGCM does not show this drying problem. For the Baltic Sea catchment, all models similarily overestimate the precipitation throughout the year except during the summer. This model deficit is probably caused by the internal model parametrizations, such as the large-scale condensation and the convection schemes.