An internet GIS and spatial model to benchmark local government socio-economic performance

This paper develops an Internet geographical information system (GIS) and spatial model application that provides socio-economic information and exploratory spatial data analysis for local government authorities (LGAs) in Queensland, Australia. The application aims to improve the means by which large quantities of data may be analysed, manipulated and displayed in order to highlight trends and patterns as well as provide performance benchmarking that is readily understandable and easily accessible for decision-makers. Measures of attribute similarity and spatial proximity are combined in a clustering model with a spatial autocorrelation index for exploratory spatial data analysis to support the identification of spatial patterns of change. Analysis of socio-economic changes in Queensland is presented. The results demonstrate the usefulness and potential appeal of the Internet GIS applications as a tool to inform the process of regional analysis, planning and policy.

Regional development rhrough domestic and tourist event policies: Gold Coast and Brisbane 1974-2003

Governments, as key stakeholders in the development of events, produce policies to facilitate the growth and potential of events as a platform for industry and economic development. To date, however, there has been a paucity of research undertaken to determine the appropriateness and the consequences of government policies pertaining to events. This paper studies the event policies of two Australian local government authorities, the Gold Coast City Council and Brisbane City Council, from 1974-2003, as measured by four development paradigms: Modernisation, Dependency, Economic Neoliberalism, and Alternative. The analysis revealed that these policies were predominantly underpinned by the Alternative which has a strong socio-cultural focus. Increased awareness and utilisation of the various development paradigms will assist local governments in producing future event policies to promote growth of the event industry and concomitantly, appropriate development within their region.

TV REGIONAL NO VALE DO PARAÍBA - SP: expansão, aspectos da audiência e modos de inserção local

Investigação sobre a regionalização das redes de comunicação, em especial a televisão, fenômeno que representa uma realidade de segmentação da comunicação massiva. Objetiva-se analisar e classificar as emissoras regionais de televisão com relação aos seus modos de inserção local, observando-se suas especificidades, programação, estratégias de comunicação e ações de conquista de identidade com a comunidade onde estão inseridas, além de tentar compreender como se deu a expansão da televisão nessa região, desde a implantação da primeira emissora, em 1988, na cidade de São José dos Campos SP. Tomando-se como recorte de estudo, as emissoras de televisão regional de sinal aberto no Vale do Paraíba, estado de São Paulo, foram realizadas entrevistas semi-abertas com profissionais das áreas comercial e de programação das mesmas e aplicados questionários junto a uma amostra da população do Vale do Paraíba que representa os telespectadores potenciais da área de cobertura dessas emissoras, a fim de se identificar a percepção que o público receptor tem a respeito da presença e atuação das televisões locais. Conclui-se que os diferentes modos de inserção local das emissoras influem diretamente na relação de identidade das mesmas com os telespectadores da região.(AU)

Good dog SPOT? Single pot funding of local voluntary and community groups

This paper reports on a recent pilot project by the English government aimed at introducing 'single pot' funding for local voluntary and community groups. It finds that implementation difficulties undermined the success of the scheme. Moreover, whilst local voluntary and community groups were initially enthusiastic about the scheme, this was eroded both by the shortfall in funding for the initiative and by conflicting priorities for it from its national and regional flinders and from local groups.

From co-operative to competitive localism? The changing balance between equity and efficiency in local government under the Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition

This paper considers whether there has been a shift in the balance between equity and efficiency in respect of decentralised public policy in England since the election of the Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition in 2010. Drawing on the literature on policy decentralisation and fiscal federalism from both Political Science and Economics, reasons are discussed why a trade-off between equity and efficiency might be expected. The context of English local government then outlined, and consideration is then given to four areas of policy: business rate localisation, the ‘New Homes Bonus’, council tax benefit and social housing, and regional economic development. In each case, some shift in the balance away from concern with equity towards one with efficiency is discerned: whether or not this is desirable will prove a matter of political and moral, as well as scientific judgement.

Innovation, networking and globalisation:the role of regional innovation systems in the global innovation process

In the global economy, innovation is one of the most important competitive assets for companies willing to compete in international markets. As competition moves from standardised products to customised ones, depending on each specific market needs, economies of scale are not anymore the only winning strategy. Innovation requires firms to establish processes to acquire and absorb new knowledge, leading to the recent theory of Open Innovation. Knowledge sharing and acquisition happens when firms are embedded in networks with other firms, university, institutions and many other economic actors. Several typologies of innovation and firm networks have been identified, with various geographical spans. One of the first being modelled was the Industrial Cluster (or in Italian Distretto Industriale) which was for long considered the benchmark for innovation and economic development. Other kind of networks have been modelled since the late 1970s; Regional Innovation Systems represent one of the latest and more diffuse model of innovation networks, specifically introduced to combine local networks and the global economy. This model was qualitatively exploited since its introduction, but, together with National Innovation Systems, is among the most inspiring for policy makers and is often cited by them, not always properly. The aim of this research is to setup an econometric model describing Regional Innovation Systems, becoming one the first attempts to test and enhance this theory with a quantitative approach. A dataset of 104 secondary and primary data from European regions was built in order to run a multiple linear regression, testing if Regional Innovation Systems are really correlated to regional innovation and regional innovation in cooperation with foreign partners. Furthermore, an exploratory multiple linear regression was performed to verify which variables, among those describing a Regional Innovation Systems, are the most significant for innovating, alone or with foreign partners. Furthermore, the effectiveness of present innovation policies has been tested based on the findings of the econometric model. The developed model confirmed the role of Regional Innovation Systems for creating innovation even in cooperation with international partners: this represents one of the firsts quantitative confirmation of a theory previously based on qualitative models only. Furthermore the results of this model confirmed a minor influence of National Innovation Systems: comparing the analysis of existing innovation policies, both at regional and national level, to our findings, emerged the need for potential a pivotal change in the direction currently followed by policy makers. Last, while confirming the role of the presence a learning environment in a region and the catalyst role of regional administration, this research offers a potential new perspective for the whole private sector in creating a Regional Innovation System.

Out of Challenge, Opportunity: Central America's Electric Sector & Key Issues and Recommendations for Enhanced Regional Electric Integration

Taken together, the six nations of Central America count a population of roughly 40 million people and an energy market equal in size to that of Colombia, sufficient to benefit from economies of scale. The region has traditionally been a net importer of hydrocarbons, and hydroelectricity has dominated electric generation. But more recently, thermoelectric generation (diesel and fuel oil) has greatly increased as a percentage of the regional generation market. Progress has been made across the region’s electric sector, beginning with reforms in the 1990s and the 1996 signing of a regional treaty aimed at the development of a regional energy integration project – the Central American Electrical Interconnection System, or SIEPAC. A fundamental SIEPAC goal is to set up a regional electric market and a regulatory system. Indeed, after many years of development, SIEPAC is poised to open a new chapter in Central America’s electric infrastructure and market. But this new era must contend with critical issues such as the need to consolidate the regional electric market, political issues surrounding the venture, and security concerns. Moreover, local conflicts, in different degrees, have become priorities for policymakers, and these are possible barriers to completing the project. The goals of the SIEPAC project and of deepening the broader electric integration process are possible if national and regional decision makers understand that cooperative decision making will produce better results than separate national decision making. Enhanced regional understanding and cooperative decision making, combined with an effort to reorient the terminology and dialogue vis-à-vis energy efficiency in Central America, form the core recommendations of this paper.

"New" Social Movements: Alternative Modernities, (Trans)local Nationalisms, and Solidarity Economies

My dissertation is the first project on the Haitian Platform for Advocacy for an Alternative Development- PAPDA, a nation-building coalition founded by activists from varying sectors to coordinate one comprehensive nationalist movement against what they are calling an Occupation. My work not only provides information on this under-theorized popular movement but also situates it within the broader literature on the postcolonial nation-state as well as Latin American and Caribbean social movements. The dissertation analyzes the contentious relationship between local and global discourses and practices of citizenship. Furthermore, the research draws on transnational feminist theory to underline the scattered hegemonies that intersect to produce varied spaces and practices of sovereignty within the Haitian postcolonial nation-state. The dissertation highlights how race and class, gender and sexuality, education and language, and religion have been imagined and co-constituted by Haitian social movements in constructing ‘new’ collective identities that collapse the private and the public, the rural and the urban, the traditional and the modern. My project complements the scholarship on social movements and the postcolonial nation-state and pushes it forward by emphasizing its spatial dimensions. Moreover, the dissertation de-centers the state to underline the movement of capital, goods, resources, and populations that shape the postcolonial experience. I re-define the postcolonial nation-state as a network of local, regional, international, and transnational arrangements between different political agents, including social movement actors. To conduct this interdisciplinary research project, I employed ethnographic methods, discourse and textual analysis, as well as basic mapping and statistical descriptions in order to present a historically-rooted interpretation of individual and organizational negotiations for community-based autonomy and regional development.

Inter-industry differences in local banks' effect on new firm formation : A regional study of entrepreneurship in Sweden

Formation of new firms is important, since new firms create jobs and economic growth. When entrepreneurs lack the financial resources which are needed to start a firm, they often turn to banks to borrow money. Previous research has shown that relationships between banks and new business borrowers most often are local and that the dependence on banks differs across industries. In light of this, the purpose of this paper is to investigate if local access to banks has a stronger relationship with the rate of new firm formation in some industries than in others. Based on cross-sectional data on all Swedish municipalities in 2009, a series of OLS regressions are estimated to test if variables used to describe the bank market in a municipality are related with the new firm formation rate, both in total and in different industry categories. The results show that the number of bank branches per capita is positively related with the total new firm formation rate. In regards to the inter-industry differences, the findings indicate that local access to banks is more important for new firm formation in some industries than in others. 

New Haitian social movements: Alternative modernities, (trans)local nationalisms, and solidarity economies

My dissertation is the first project on the Haitian Platform for Advocacy for an Alternative Development- PAPDA, a nation-building coalition founded by activists from varying sectors to coordinate one comprehensive nationalist movement against what they are calling an Occupation. My work not only provides information on this under-theorized popular movement but also situates it within the broader literature on the postcolonial nation-state as well as Latin American and Caribbean social movements. The dissertation analyzes the contentious relationship between local and global discourses and practices of citizenship. Furthermore, the research draws on transnational feminist theory to underline the scattered hegemonies that intersect to produce varied spaces and practices of sovereignty within the Haitian postcolonial nation-state. The dissertation highlights how race and class, gender and sexuality, education and language, and religion have been imagined and co-constituted by Haitian social movements in constructing ‘new’ collective identities that collapse the private and the public, the rural and the urban, the traditional and the modern. My project complements the scholarship on social movements and the postcolonial nation-state and pushes it forward by emphasizing its spatial dimensions. Moreover, the dissertation de-centers the state to underline the movement of capital, goods, resources, and populations that shape the postcolonial experience. I re-define the postcolonial nation-state as a network of local, regional, international, and transnational arrangements between different political agents, including social movement actors. To conduct this interdisciplinary research project, I employed ethnographic methods, discourse and textual analysis, as well as basic mapping and statistical descriptions in order to present a historically-rooted interpretation of individual and organizational negotiations for community-based autonomy and regional development. ^

Reforming the Swedish employment-related social security system:activation, administrative modernization and strengthening local autonomy

The Swedish system of social security has often been regarded as comprehensive and comprehensive and inclusive. During major reforms in the 1990s and 2000s, it has maintained its essential character as a popular and well-endowed provider of social security and stability. Employment-related benefits are generous in financial terms, but come with the need for recipients to remain actively engaged in the economic or educational field. However, Sweden’s geographical and demographic diversity made it necessary to increase the role of local authorities in implementing active labour market policies. This article tracks these developments since the mid-1990s, both with regard to changing the benefits system and with regard to changing local government involvement. It argues that backed by broad political support, the Swedish system has achieved the necessary modernisation and adaptation to remain a viable alternative to more neo-liberal welfare retrenchment projects conducted in other European countries.

Training and Updating of Education Boards in Indigenous Schools of Rural Areas: Strengthening Local Education Management

Education management in the schools of indigenous rural areas faces a number of difficulties to implement and comply with the guidelines and requirements of the laws related to budgetary management of resources allocated to Education or Administrative Boards. In addition to being located in scattered rural areas, far from the municipal heads and regional offices of the Ministry of Public Education, one of the main obstacles is that all regulations, laws and guidelines are written in Spanish, and there is people, in this indigenous rural communities, who do not speak, write, read or understand this language. This puts them at an enormous disadvantage, which has a direct impact on the indigenous children’s right to education.

HER2 Testing in Breast Carcinoma Very Low Concordance Rate Between Reference and Local Laboratories in Brazil

Breast cancer accounts for approximately one quarter of all cancers in females. HER2 gene amplification or HER2 protein overexpression, detected in about 20% of breast carcinomas, predicts a more aggressive clinical course and determines eligibility for targeted therapy with trastuzumab. HER2 testing has become an essential part of the clinical evaluation of all breast carcinoma patients, and accurate HER2 results are critical in identifying patients who may be benefited from targeted therapy. This study investigated the concordance in the results of HER2 immunohistochemistry assays performed in 500 invasive breast carcinomas between a reference laboratory and 149 local laboratories from all geographic regions of Brazil. Our results showed an overall poor concordance (171 of 500 cases, 34.2%) regarding HER2 results between local and reference laboratories, which may be related to the low-volume load of HER2 assays, inexperience with HER2 scoring system, and/or technical issues related to immunohistochemistry in local laboratories. Standardization of HER2 testing with rigorous quality control measures by local laboratories is highly recommended to avoid erroneous treatment of breast cancer patients.