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.

Crisis Económica en África Occidental: el caso de Dakar, 1929-1939

En este artículo se explora el impacto socio-económico de la crisis internacional de 1929 en Senegal y más concretamente en la ciudad-puerto de Dakar. Se analizan las consecuencias de la dependencia externa y la extroversión económica que caracterizaba a las estructuras productivas coloniales, destacando también la respuesta organizada de los movimientos sociales africanos. Por otra parte, se estudia la evolución de las infraestructuras y actividad portuaria, observando la metropolización regional de Dakar durante este periodo.

Why is it Important to Involve New Fathers in the Care of Their Child

Research into fathers’ unique contributions to the physical, emotional, social and cognitive wellbeing of their offspring has been ongoing for several decades. Health and family care policy has focused increasingly on the imperative to include fathers in services and to see them as a vital resource for mothers and children. The author identified papers from 2000 onwards that illuminate health visitors’ level of engagement with fathers of young families. The review covers policy relating to health and family services for fathers, the nature of fathering in the 21st century, the influence of involved fathers on their partners and babies, what fathers say they want from family services, and future directions for research into fathering.

O uso do móbile marketing como estratégia de fidelização de clientes :um estudo e empresas do setor de comércio e serviços em natal-RN

This study aims to understand the effects of the mobile marketing use as a relationships tool for companies that operate locally, because of the lack of information about this new marketing tool, as well as the scarcity of studies in this area. This is an exploratory and qualitatively study, based on primary sources, raised through books, articles in the marketing area and the telecommunications industry organs as well as secondary sources. With the purpose to look into the issue, a semi-structured interview is made with the companies managers of the sectors of trade and services in Natal-RN. The advances in technology allow an important discussion focused on the marketing in the new communication technologies scenario. It appears that the mobile marketing adoption and use by local companies is already a reality and companies are awake to changes and technological innovations accessible, especially the mobile telephony as well as convergence with other media. There is, however, that the use of technologies offered by mobile marketing is still limited to the sending of text messages (SMS), despite the numerous possibilities of it use. Moreover, the results obtained with mobile marketing use show that companies can identify them, but there is no effective monitoring in quantity and financial terms. Only affect sales growth and support for progress in loyalty with customers. It shows up that the mentality of not measuring the results still in the plan of changes and technological innovations. The data allow saying that the mobile marketing is a reality, however has not yet signed as a tool for carrying out campaigns and marketing tool for loyalty of customers, despite presenting a wide range of possibilities to streamline and make more effective the marketing businesses process

O terciário (re) desenhando a periferia: a região administrativa norte de Natal/RN, na última década do século XX, servicializada na Av. Dr. João Medeiros Filho

The tertiary sector has been (re)defining and (re)qualifying, in an impacting way, the urban spaces in the cities, introducing new elements for the discussion of the relationship center/periphery. In Natal, as an inducing economic activity of its development, it conforms to the new needs of the capital, expanding, being materialized through several processes and spatial forms. We aim at analyzing one of those processes, which has taken its Northern Administrative Area to (re)define the design of its urban space, through the actions developed by the agents involved with the spatialization of the tertiary activities, at the same time as it redimensions its role as a periphery of Natal, contributing to the study of the recent and growing transformations of the Brazilian capitals. The studied district corresponds to 39.4% of the municipal area and, until recently, was composed by precarious reproduction spaces, unprovided of relevant economical activities. After the boom of the development of extensive housing complexes by SFH/BNH, the area, gradually stopped being a dependent area, and it imposed itself as an economically participant region, with the increase of the trade and services sectors, as well as a favorable place for the appearance of new activities. Its reflexes are noticeable in the achieved spatial configuration. As the main road to induct changes, Dr. João Medeiros Filho Avenue presents these new tendencies in the production of the intraurban space, concentrating the largest goods and services equipments of the area, through investments of the private and public sectors, which guarantee the capital allocation for the construction of a new centrality

THE HEALTH OF YOUNG ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE UNITED STATES: THE COLLECTIVE ROLES OF RISK FACTORS IN SOCIAL ECOLOGIC FRAMEWORK

Background: Over the last few decades, the prevalence of young adults with disabilities (YAD) has steadily risen as a result of advances in medicine, clinical treatment, and biomedical technologythat enhanced their survival into adulthood. Despite investments in services, family supports, and insurance, they experience poor health status and barriers to successful transition into adulthood. Objectives: We investigated the collective roles of multi-faceted factors at intrapersonal, interpersonal and community levels within the social ecological framework on health related outcome including self-rated health (SRH) of YAD. The three specific aims are: 1) to examine sociodemographic differences and health insurance coverage in adolescence; 2) to investigate the role of social skills in relationships with family and peers developed in adolescence; and 3) to collectively explore the association of sociodemographic characteristics, social skills, and community participation in adolescence on SRH. Methods: Using longitudinal data (N=5,020) from the National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS2), we conducted multivariate logistic regression analyses to understand the association between insurance status as well as social skills in adolescence and YAD’s health related outcomes. Structural equation modeling (SEM) assessed the confluence of multi-faceted factors from the social ecological model that link to health in early adulthood. Results: Compared with YAD who had private insurance, YAD who had public health insurance in adolescence are at higher odds of experiencing poorer health related outcomes in self-rated health [adjusted odds ratio (aOR=2.89, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16, 7.23), problems with health (aOR=2.60, 95%CI: 1.26, 5.35), and missing social activities due to health problems (aOR=2.86, 95%CI: 1.39, 5.85). At the interpersonal level, overall social skills developed through relationship with family and peers in adolescence do not appear to have association with health related outcomes in early adulthood. Finally, at the community level, community participation in adolescence does not have an association with SRH in early adulthood. Conclusions: Having public health insurance coverage does not equate to good health. YAD need additional supports to achieve positive health outcomes. The findings in social skills and community participation suggest other potential factors may be at play for health related outcomes for YAD and the need for further investigation.

Between path dependency and contingency: new challenges for the geography of port system evolution.

Seaports play a critical role as gateways and facilitators of economic interchange and logistics processes and thus have become crucial nodes in globalised production networks andmobility systems. Both the physical port infrastructure and its operational superstructure have undergone intensive evolution processes in an effort to adapt to changing economic environments, technological advances,maritime industry expectations and institutional reforms. The results, in terms of infrastructure, operator models and the role of an individual port within the port system, vary by region, institutional and economic context. While ports have undoubtedly developed in scale to respond to the changing volumes and structures in geographies of trade (Wilmsmeier, 2015), the development of hinterland access infrastructure, regulatory systems and institutional structures have in many instances lagged behind. The resulting bottlenecks reflect deficits in the interplay between the economic system and the factors defining port development (e.g. transport demand, the structure of trade, transport services, institutional capacities, etc. cf. Cullinane and Wilmsmeier, 2011). There is a wide range of case study approaches and analyses of individual ports, but analyses from a port system perspective are less common, and those that exist are seldom critical of the dominant discourse assuming the efficiency of market competition (cf. Debrie et al., 2013). This special section aims to capture the spectrum of approaches in current geography research on port system evolution. Thus, the papers reach from the traditional spatial approach (Rodrigue and Ashar, this volume) to network analysis (Mohamed-Chérif and Ducruet, this volume) to institutional discussions (Vonck and Notteboom, this volume; Wilmsmeier and Monios, this volume). The selection of papers allows an opening of discussion and reflection on current research, necessary critical analysis of the influences on port systemevolution and,most importantly, future directions. The remainder of this editorial aims to reflect on these challenges and identify the potential for future research.

Using Quantitative Methods to Explore Political Leverage, Trade Policy, and Food Security: A Case Study of the Middle East

This dissertation explores why some states consistently secure food imports at prices higher than the world market price, thereby exacerbating food insecurity domestically. I challenge the idea that free market economics alone can explain these trade behaviors, and instead argue that states take into account political considerations when engaging in food trade that results in inefficient trade. In particular, states that are dependent on imports of staple food products, like cereals, are wary of the potential strategic value of these goods to exporters. I argue that this consideration, combined with the importing state’s ability to mitigate that risk through its own forms of political or economic leverage, will shape the behavior of the importing state and contribute to its potential for food security. In addition to cross-national analyses, I use case studies of the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Jordan to demonstrate how the political tools available to these importers affect their food security. The results of my analyses suggest that when import dependent states have access to forms of political leverage, they are more likely to trade efficiently, thereby increasing their potential for food security.

O uso do móbile marketing como estratégia de fidelização de clientes :um estudo e empresas do setor de comércio e serviços em natal-RN

This study aims to understand the effects of the mobile marketing use as a relationships tool for companies that operate locally, because of the lack of information about this new marketing tool, as well as the scarcity of studies in this area. This is an exploratory and qualitatively study, based on primary sources, raised through books, articles in the marketing area and the telecommunications industry organs as well as secondary sources. With the purpose to look into the issue, a semi-structured interview is made with the companies managers of the sectors of trade and services in Natal-RN. The advances in technology allow an important discussion focused on the marketing in the new communication technologies scenario. It appears that the mobile marketing adoption and use by local companies is already a reality and companies are awake to changes and technological innovations accessible, especially the mobile telephony as well as convergence with other media. There is, however, that the use of technologies offered by mobile marketing is still limited to the sending of text messages (SMS), despite the numerous possibilities of it use. Moreover, the results obtained with mobile marketing use show that companies can identify them, but there is no effective monitoring in quantity and financial terms. Only affect sales growth and support for progress in loyalty with customers. It shows up that the mentality of not measuring the results still in the plan of changes and technological innovations. The data allow saying that the mobile marketing is a reality, however has not yet signed as a tool for carrying out campaigns and marketing tool for loyalty of customers, despite presenting a wide range of possibilities to streamline and make more effective the marketing businesses process

Empirical evidence of S-curves in the Colombian

The Marshall-Lerner condition, the J-curve and S-curve have emerged as theoretical and empirical foundations developed for the study of the interaction between exchange rates and international patterns of bilateral trade -- They have a significant bearing on thedevelopment of public policy, and are of equal interest to the academic and professional communities -- The most recently developed of these theories, the S-Curve, is named after the theorized short-run behavior to be found in the cross-correlation function of the real exchange rate and the trade balance -- Considering this theoretical context, the paper seeks empirical evidence of the existence of the S-Curve in the bilateral trade in commodity and non-commodity goods between Colombia and the United States and Venezuela, its main trading partners, for the yearly quarters between 1994:1 and 2009:4

Trade Liberalization and Organizational Change

We embed a simple incomplete-contracts model of organization design in a standard two-country perfectly-competitive trade model to examine how the liberalization of product and factor markets affects the ownership structure of firms.In our model, managers decide whether or not to integrate their firms, trading off the pecuniary benefits of coordinating production decisions with the private benefits of operating in their preferred ways. The price of output is a crucial determinant of this choice, since it affects the size of the pecuniary benefits. In particular, non-integration is chosen at “low” and “high” prices, while integration occurs at moderate prices. Organizational choices also depend on the terms of trade in supplier markets, which affect the division of surplus between managers. We obtain three main results. First, even when firms do not relocate across countries, the price changes triggered by liberalization of product markets can lead to significant organizational restructuring within countries. Second, the removal of barriers to factor mobility can lead to inefficient reorganization and adversely affect consumers. Third, “deep integration” — the liberalization of both product and factor markets — leads to the convergence of organizational design across countries.

O terciário (re) desenhando a periferia: a região administrativa norte de Natal/RN, na última década do século XX, servicializada na Av. Dr. João Medeiros Filho

The tertiary sector has been (re)defining and (re)qualifying, in an impacting way, the urban spaces in the cities, introducing new elements for the discussion of the relationship center/periphery. In Natal, as an inducing economic activity of its development, it conforms to the new needs of the capital, expanding, being materialized through several processes and spatial forms. We aim at analyzing one of those processes, which has taken its Northern Administrative Area to (re)define the design of its urban space, through the actions developed by the agents involved with the spatialization of the tertiary activities, at the same time as it redimensions its role as a periphery of Natal, contributing to the study of the recent and growing transformations of the Brazilian capitals. The studied district corresponds to 39.4% of the municipal area and, until recently, was composed by precarious reproduction spaces, unprovided of relevant economical activities. After the boom of the development of extensive housing complexes by SFH/BNH, the area, gradually stopped being a dependent area, and it imposed itself as an economically participant region, with the increase of the trade and services sectors, as well as a favorable place for the appearance of new activities. Its reflexes are noticeable in the achieved spatial configuration. As the main road to induct changes, Dr. João Medeiros Filho Avenue presents these new tendencies in the production of the intraurban space, concentrating the largest goods and services equipments of the area, through investments of the private and public sectors, which guarantee the capital allocation for the construction of a new centrality

Conservation of komodo dragons varanus komodoensis in the Wae Wuul nature reserve, Flores, Indonesia: a multidisciplinary approach

Multidisciplinary conservation initiatives are increasingly advocated as best practice for recovering endangered species. The Komodo dragon Varanus komodoensis is the world's largest lizard, of prominent conservation value as an umbrella species for protection of south-east Indonesian ecosystems. Komodo dragons have faced multiple human-related threat processes in the past 30 years and are listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and considered Vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. We report on a protection programme conducted from 2005 to 2012 in the Wae Wuul nature reserve, on the island of Flores, Indonesia. The Wae Wuul ranger post was completely rebuilt, and community awareness and involvement of local people in habitat-protection schemes were regularly and successfully implemented. Local rangers were trained in wildlife-monitoring techniques. Monitoring results indicated that Komodo dragon densities were lower in Wae Wuul than in the adjacent Komodo National Park; however, a relatively high level of genetic diversity was recorded for this population. Ungulate prey showed a relatively stable prey population density. Community-based initiatives and regular wildlife monitoring are crucial to ensure the persistence of Komodo dragons on Flores. The Wae Wuul protection programme is providing several sustainability indicators by which informed management plans can be designed for long-term conservation of Komodo dragons.

Mapping agricultural value chains with international input-output data

In recent years, the analysis of trade in value added has been explored by many researchers. Although they have made important contributions by developing GVC-related indices and proposing techniques for decomposing trade data, they have not yet explored the method of value chain mapping—a core element of conventional value chain analysis. This paper introduces a method of value chain mapping that uses international input-output data and reveals both upstream and downstream transactions of goods and services induced by production activities of a specific commodity or industry. This method is subsequently applied to the agricultural value chain of three Greater Mekong Sub-region countries (i.e., Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia). The results show that the agricultural value chain has been increasingly internationalized, although there is still room for obtaining benefits from GVC participation, especially in a country such as Cambodia.

Essays in Energy Economics

This thesis presents four essays in energy economics. The first essay investigates one of the workhorse models of resource economics, the Hotelling model of an inter-temporally optimizing resource extracting firm. The Hotelling model provides a convincing theory of fundamental concepts like resource scarcity, but very few empirical validations of the model have been conducted. This essay attempts to empirically validate the Hotelling model by first expanding it to include exploration activity and market power and then using a newly constructed data set for the uranium mining industry to test whether a major resource extracting mining firm in the industry is following the theory’s predictions. The results show that the theory is rejected in all considered settings. The second and third essays investigate the difference in market outcomes under spot-market based trade as compared to long-term contract based trade in oligopolistic markets with investments. The second essay investigates analytically the difference in market outcomes in an electricity market setting, showing that investments and consumer welfare may be higher under spot-market based trade than under long-term contracts. The third essay proposes techniques to solve large-scale models of this kind, empirically, by exploring the practicability of this approach in an application to the international metallurgical coal market. The final essay investigates the influence of policy uncertainty on investment decisions. With France debating the role of nuclear technology, this essay analyses how policy uncertainty regarding nuclear power in France may feature in the French and European power sector. Applying a stochastic model for the European power system, the analysis shows that the costs of uncertainty in this particular application are rather low compared to the overall costs of a nuclear phase-out.