The influence of neoconservatism on US foreign policy debates during the Obama administration

Neoconservatism reached its zenith as a school of thought when it became associated with the Iraq War. Although the war was largely considered a failure, it raised the profile of neoconservatism as a school of thought. Many studies were completed which pointed to the influence of prominent members of the George W. Bush administration who were considered to be ideologically neoconservative. When Obama won the presidency in 2008, it was assumed that the influence of neoconservatives, or neoconservatism more broadly, would be over. However, given neoconservatism’s historical foundations and the tenacity of its adherents it seemed important to consider whether this has been the case. Therefore, this thesis set out to answer the question: To what extent have neoconservatives, and neoconservatism more broadly, influenced foreign policy debates during the Obama administration? I argue that neoconservatism has remained not only salient within foreign policy debates, but prominent in these debates, during Obama’s two terms in office. An examination of US foreign policy towards the nuclear crisis in Iran and the Syrian civil war indicates that neoconservatism had a substantive influence on the policy debates and the options considered within them, particularly in Congress. In some instances, neoconservative policy entrepreneurs contributed to legislation. Furthermore, this thesis finds that neoconservatism has been the predominant approach to foreign policy within the Republican Party on the issues of Iran and Syria during the period under review.

Fibrinolysis Versus Primary Pci In Stemi Patients Enrolled In The International Survey Of Acute Coronary Syndromes In Transitional Countries

Primary angioplasty has been shown to be more effective than fibrinolysis in terms of mortality and adverse outcomes. More recent data, however, suggests that timely reperfusion with fibrinolysis is comparable to primary angioplasty. The current study gathered data from the International Survey of Acute Coronary Syndromes in Transitional Countries registry. Among 7406 ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients presenting within 12 hours from symptom onset, 6315 underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention and 1091 were treated with fibrinolysis. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality, while the secondary outcome was a composite of 30-day incidence of death, severe left ventricular dysfunction, stroke or reinfarction. Patients who underwent primary angioplasty tended to have a greater cardiovascular risk profile and were slightly older. On the other hand, patients treated with fibrinolysis received less anti-platelet medications yet were more often prescribed beta blockers in the acute phase. Among those who received fibrinolysis, 43% underwent coronary angiography while 32.3% were treated with a subsequent angioplasty. Total ischemic time was lower in patients undergoing fibrinolysis (185 minutes) than in those treated with primary angioplasty (258 minutes). Rates of primary and secondary combined endpoints were higher in patients receiving fibrinolysis compared to those receiving primary angioplasty (7.8% vs. 4.1%; p<0.0001; OR 1.97, 95% CI, 1.38-2.81; and 14.8% vs. 10.1%, p<0.0001; OR 1.43, 95% CI, 1.12-1.81). When considering only patients receiving reperfusion within 3 hours, regardless of reperfusion strategy, differences in mortality (6.3% vs. 4%, p=0.094, for fibrinolysis or primary angioplasty, respectively; OR 0.87, 95% CI, 0.35-2.16) and in the combined secondary endpoint were no longer observed (12.9% vs 10.8%, p=0.33; OR 0.98, 95% CI, 0.58-1.64), and female sex was no longer a significant predictor of adverse outcomes. When performed 3 hours from symptom onset, fibrinolysis is safe and feasible, in terms of mortality and adverse outcomes, compared to primary angioplasty.

Impact of Commercial Search Engines and International Databases on Engineering Teaching and Research

For the last three decades, the engineering higher education and professional environments have been completely transformed by the "electronic/digital information revolution" that has included the introduction of personal computer, the development of email and world wide web, and broadband Internet connections at home. Herein the writer compares the performances of several digital tools with traditional library resources. While new specialised search engines and open access digital repositories may fill a gap between conventional search engines and traditional references, these should be not be confused with real libraries and international scientific databases that encompass textbooks and peer-reviewed scholarly works. An absence of listing in some Internet search listings, databases and repositories is not an indication of standing. Researchers, engineers and academics should remember these key differences in assessing the quality of bibliographic "research" based solely upon Internet searches.

Relat??rio final do projeto desenvolvimento de capacidade de lideran??a (Brasil-Canad??)

Desde o in??cio de 2000, a Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) e a Escola Nacional de Administra????o P??blica (ENAP) demonstraram interesse na possibilidade de coopera????o para desenvolver capacidades de gest??o de servidores p??blicos brasileiros. Um acordo assinado em 2003, inicialmente foi planejado para ser uma parceria de tr??s anos entre as duas escolas. No entanto, a parceria continua at?? hoje e agora estamos no final do segundo, e ??ltimo projeto de coopera????o t??cnica financiado pela Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) entre Brasil e Canad??, denominado ???Desenvolvimento da Capacidade de Governan??a???. Este relat??rio representa o resultado deste segundo projeto, o qual ampliou o esfor??o de capacita????o da primeira parceria, focando agora em funcion??rios p??blicos mais pr??ximos da "linha de frente" da presta????o de servi??os, aumentando assim a efic??cia do governo nessas ??reas. O projeto mostrou ser bem-sucedido, principalmente, porque seguiu de perto os princ??pios do desenvolvimento eficaz e sustent??vel. Considerando a sua miss??o de desenvolver compet??ncias de servidores p??blicos, a ENAP deu prioridade, dentro deste projeto de coopera????o com o Canad??, a atividades que visam refor??ar a capacidade de governan??a do pa??s, trabalhando em conjunto com escolas em cinco regi??es: Norte, Nordeste, Centro-Oeste, Sudeste e Sul, com especial ??nfase nas ??reas mais pobres do pa??s, localizadas nas regi??es Norte e Nordeste. Foram participantes-chave neste projeto: i) seis escolas brasileiras regionais de administra????o p??blica; ii) uma das principais institui????es acad??micas do Canad?? - Queen's University, e iii) o Minist??rio do Desenvolvimento Social e Combate ?? Fome e tr??s Secretarias de Ra??a, Direitos Humanos e Pol??ticas para as Mulheres. Neste projeto, a CSPS compartilhou suas metodologias em educa????o a dist??ncia, lideran??a e gest??o p??blica. Trabalhando com parceiros brasileiros, ela tamb??m transferiu e adaptou curr??culos e conte??dos de seus cursos. A CIDA forneceu $1.845.000,00 por meio da Programa de Interc??mbio de Conhecimentos para a Promo????o da Eq??idade (PIPE) Brasil-Canad??. A ENAP e as EPBs contribu??ram com $993,752 e a CSPS contribuiu com material de curso, conhecimento e apoio t??cnico no valor de $ 1.000.000

Federal civil servants

Data presented in this folder come from the January 2003 (N. 81) and January 2013 (N. 201) Staff Statistical Bulletin, edited by the Public Management Secretariat of the Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management (Segep/MP). The information contained in this folder only includes federal civil servants paid by the National Treasury and who are registered in the Integrated System of Human Resource Administration (SIAPE) of the Federal Government.