A Nádor utcától a Budaörsi útig: A fél évszázados Közgazdaságtudományi Intézet

Manapság, amikor a legfontosabb történések a Föld virtuális idegrendszerét jelentő számítógép-hálózatokon, azaz sehol és mindenhol zajlanak, mond-e valamit a címben jelzett két, nagyon is megfogható hely: az elegáns palota a Belváros szívében és az óriásreklámmal éktelenkedő betonszörny a balatoni autópálya torkolatában? A közgazdászok számára (kiváltképpen, ha idősebbek, mint a jubileumát ünneplő Közgazdaságtudományi Intézet) mindenképpen. Az INTÉZET – így csupa nagybetűvel – megalakulásától kezdve fogalom volt, a falai között zajló vitáknak hírértéket tulajdonítottak a szakmában. Néhány évtizede még a viccek is úgy kezdődtek, két közgazdász sétál a Nádor (akkor még Münnich Ferenc) utcában …

Hosszabb kar vagy nagyobb fül? A kiterjesztett én fogyasztói dimenziói

2000-ben azt a kérdést tettük fel, hogy mit jelent az, hogy "mobiltelefon nélkül az ember ..." - hogyan érezheti magát. Már akkor azt a választ kaptuk, hogy "elveszett ember a haverok nélkül az éjszakában", "kéz és fül nélküli" valaki. Kutatásainkat 2000 óta számos alkalommal (2006, 2007, 2008) megismételtük, arra kérdésre keresve a választ, hogy a felgyorsult technológiai változások, melyek főként a telekommunikációban nyilvánulnak meg, mit jelentenek az egyén számára, mennyire képes alkalmazkodni, mennyire tudja az eszközöket és a tartalmakat a saját igényei szerint elsajátítani és kihasználni. Kutatómunkánk során olyan kvalitatív kutatási technikákat alkalmaztunk, mint a narratívák, blogok, befejezetlen mondatok elemzése, vagy a photo elicitation technika. Eredményeink azt mutatják, hogy a ma kommunikációs eszközei, mint például a mobiltelefon vagy a hordozható számítógép az egyén képességeinek kiterjesztői: okosabb, gyorsabb és akár attraktívabbá válik tőle az egyén, vagyis e személyre szabható technikai eszközei a ma emberének, énjének kiterjesztői, mely konstrukció a nemzetközi irodalomban extended self (Belk, 1988) fogalomként szerepel. Cikkünkben bemutatjuk a kiterjesztett én fő pszichológiai hátterét és rámutatunk igen erős jelenlétére a telekommunikációs fogyasztói termékek kapcsán.

Planning a Medical School to Serve an Educationally and Medically Underserved Area: Florida International University in Miami, FL

This paper provides the historic background of the Florida International University College of Medicine planning process.

The winds of change? Exploring political effects of Hurricane Andrew

Before dawn on August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed into south Florida, particularly southern Dade County, and soon become the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Andrew's impacts quickly overwhelmed local and state emergency response capabilities and eventually required major federal assistance, including regular military units. While the social and economic impacts of Hurricane Andrew are relatively well researched, much less attention has been given to its possible political effects. ^ Focusing on incumbent officeholders at three levels (municipal, state legislative, and statewide) who stood for reelection after Hurricane Andrew, this study seeks to determine whether they experienced any political effects from Andrew. That is, this study explores the possible interaction between the famous “incumbency advantage” and an “extreme event,” in this case a natural disaster. The specific foci were (1) campaigns and campaigning (a research process that included 43 personal interviews), and (2) election results before and after the event. ^ Given well-documented response problems, the working hypothesis was that incumbents experienced largely negative political fallout from the disaster. The null hypothesis was that incumbents saw no net political effects, but the reverse hypothesis was also considered: incumbents benefited politically from the event. ^ In the end, this study found that although the election process was physically disrupted, especially in south Dade County, the disaster largely reinforced the incumbency advantage. More specifically, the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew allowed most incumbent officeholders to (1) enhance constituency service, (2) associate themselves with the flow of external assistance, (3) achieve major personal visibility and media coverage, and yet (4) appear non-political or at least above normal politics. Overall, this combination allowed incumbents to very effectively “campaign without campaigning,” a point borne out by post-Andrew election results. ^

Negotiating identities, striving for state recognition: Blacks in Córdoba, Argentina 1776���1853

Race in Argentina played a significant role as a highly durable construct by identifying and advancing subjects (1776���1810) and citizens (1811–1853). My dissertation explores the intricacies of power relations by focusing on the ways in which race informed the legal process during the transition from a colonial to national State. It argues that the State’s development in both the colonial and national periods depended upon defining and classifying African descendants. In response, people of African descendent used the State’s assigned definitions and classifications to advance their legal identities. It employs race and culture as operative concepts, and law as a representation of the sometimes, tense relationship between social practices and the State’s concern for social peace. This dissertation examines the dynamic nature of the court. It utilizes the theoretical concepts multicentric legal orders that are analyzed through weak and strong legal pluralisms, and jurisdictional politics, from the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries. This dissertation juxtaposes various levels of jurisdiction (canon/state law and colonial/national law) to illuminate how people of color used the legal system to ameliorate their social condition. In each chapter the primary source materials are state generated documents which include criminal, ecclesiastical, civil, and marriage dissent court cases along with notarial and census records. Though it would appear that these documents would provide a superficial understanding of people of color, my analysis provides both a top-down and bottom-up approach that reflects a continuous negotiation for African descendants’ goal for State recognition. These approaches allow for implicit or explicit negotiation of a legal identity that transformed slaves and free African descendants into active agents of their own destinies.

Effects of shading on calcareous benthic periphyton in a short-hydroperiod oligotrophic wetland (Everglades, FL, USA)

The effects of shade on benthic calcareous periphyton were tested in a short-hydroperiod oligotrophic subtropical wetland (freshwater Everglades). The experiment was a split-plot design set in three sites with similar environmental characteristics. At each site, eight randomly selected 1-m2 areas were isolated individually in a shade house, which did not spectrally change the incident irradiance but reduced it quantitatively by 0, 30, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 98%. Periphyton mat was sampled monthly under each shade house for a 5 month period while the wetland was flooded. Periphyton was analyzed for thickness, DW, AFDW, chlorophyll a (chl a) and incubated in light and dark BOD bottles at five different irradiances to assess its photosynthesis–irradiance (PI) curve and respiration. The PI curves parameters P max, I k and eventually the photoinhibition slope (β) were determined following non-linear regression analyses. Taxonomic composition and total algal biovolume were determined at the end of the experiment. The periphyton composition did not change with shade but the PI curves were significantly affected by it. I k increased linearly with increasing percent irradiance transmittance (%IT = 1−%shade). P max could be fitted with a PI curve equation as it increased with %IT and leveled off after 10%IT. For each shade level, the PI curve was used to integrate daily photosynthesis for a day of average irradiance. The daily photosynthesis followed a PI curve equation with the same characteristics as P max vs. %IT. Thus, periphyton exhibited a high irradiance plasticity under 0–80% shade but could not keep up the same photosynthetic level at higher shade, causing a decrease in daily GPP at 98% shade levels. The plasticity was linked to an increase in the chl a content per cell in the 60–80% shade, while this increase was not observed at lower shade likely because it was too demanding energetically. Thus, chl a is not a good metric for periphyton biomass assessment across variously shaded habitats. It is also hypothesized that irradiance plasticity is linked to photosynthetic coupling between differently comprised algal layers arranged vertically within periphyton mats that have different PI curves.

The Influence of Hydrologic Restoration on Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions in a Karst Wetland, the Everglades (FL, USA)

Efforts to rehydrate and restore surface water flow in karst wetlands can have unintended consequences, as these highly conductive and heterogeneous aquifers create a close connection between groundwater and surface water. Recently, hydrologic restoration efforts in the karstic Taylor Slough portion of the Everglades has changed from point source delivery of canal water (direct restoration), to the use of a series of surface water recharge retention basins (diffuse restoration). To determine the influence of restoration on groundwater-surface water interactions in the Taylor Slough headwaters, a water budget was constructed for 1997–2011 using 70 hydro-meteorological stations. With diffuse restoration, groundwater seepage from the Everglades toward the urban boundary increased, while the downstream delivery of surface water to the main portion of the slough declined. The combined influence of diffuse restoration and climate led to increased intra-annual variability in the volume of groundwater and surface water in storage but supported a more seasonally hydrated wetland compared to the earlier direct tactics. The data further indicated that hydrologic engineering in karst wetland landscapes enhances groundwater-surface water interactions, even those designed for restoration purposes.

Maps of Sea Level Rise - Nautilus Island, Miami Beach, FL

A series of 7 maps illustrating the impact of sea level rise on Nautilus Island in Miami Beach.

Natural disaster and household recovery in the aftermath of hurricane Andrew : a case study of four Hispanic households in South Miami Heights

This thesis explores the aid received by four Hispanic households towards recovery after Hurricane Andrew. The four households resided in South Miami Heights, a suburb of Miami. Through the use of questionnaires, information was gathered on various storm related topics. Because the Cuban community in Miami is influential, the role of the Cuban enclave is studied in relation to the recovery of these households. The influence of an urban environment on the extended family ties of these households is also addressed since the literature argues that these ties are powerful among Hispanics. Results show, that aid primarily came from two sources. Furthermore, the Cuban enclave appears to have had no discernible role in the recovery of these households. Finally, an urban setting did not appear to diminish extended family ties.