Gobernanza Democr��tica Territorial - Una aproximaci��n anal��tica y cuantitativa

La Gobernanza Democr��tica Territorial (GDT) constituye un enfoque conceptual en torno a las formas de ���organizaci��n��� de los agentes locales y regionales, que se expresa en un modelo o modo de gobierno. Este enfoque emerge desde la d��cada de los a��os noventa como una opci��n �� una alternativa frente a otros modelos de gobierno (el modelo burocr��tico y el modelo gerencial). La diferencia entre este concepto y otros afines ��� como la gobernabilidad, la gobernabilidad democr��tica y el buen gobierno ��� no es de grado sino de naturaleza. As�� se deriva del an��lisis comparado entre estos conceptos.

Movimientos sociales su construcci��n narrativa desde los nuevos medios: los Indignados bogotanos en Twitter

Se analiza la relaci��n entre movimientos sociales y nuevos medios en Colombia, preguntando en particular por las posibilidades narrativas que tienen los movimientos sociales en el nuevo espacio comunicativo abierto por internet. Para ello, se lleva a cabo un estudio descriptivo del relato elaborado en la red social Twitter por activistas virtuales del movimiento de indignaci��n surgido en Bogot�� tras la destituci��n del alcalde mayor, Gustavo Petro, a finales de 2013. Se encontr�� que Twitter fue un espacio esencialmente de disputa. El relato del movimiento fue construido en permanente contrapunteo no solo con las informaciones de los medios de comunicaci��n tradicionales y las intervenciones de los l��deres pol��ticos, sino tambi��n con expresiones ciudadanas rivales, que se movilizaron paralelamente en la misma red social en un ejercicio de contestaci��n. Esta investigaci��n emplea como marco anal��tico la ���autocomunicaci��n de masas��� propuesta por Manuel Castells.

Un nacionalismo m��s all�� de las fronteras: la transnacionalizaci��n del movimiento independentista catal��n

La presente investigaci��n tiene como objetivo identificar los procesos que han posibilitado la transnacionalizaci��n del movimiento independentista catal��n entre 2010 y 2014. Por tal motivo, el an��lisis de este estudio de caso permitir�� comprender con mayor profundidad las din��micas de transnacionalizaci��n de una causa nacional, con las que dicho movimiento ha conseguido conectar lo local con lo global. Para ello, la recolecci��n de datos cualitativos se hace imprescindible en la caracterizaci��n de este fen��meno social, a partir del uso de herramientas como la observaci��n participante, entrevistas y el an��lisis documental. Esto, con el prop��sito de facilitar la obtenci��n de informaci��n proveniente de fuentes primarias y secundarias, respetando la perspectiva de los actores involucrados. De tal manera, ser�� posible evidenciar que estos procesos transnacionales se impulsan mutuamente, propiciando la proyecci��n del debate sobre la independencia fuera de las fronteras catalanas.

Derecho administrativo y autorregulaci��n: la autorregulaci��n regulada

El objeto de esta tesis es el an��lisis de la autorregulaci��n regulada, es decir, el an��lisis de las normas y de los controles privados que poseen relevancia para el Derecho p��blico. A pesar de su aparente desvinculaci��n con el Derecho Administrativo, la autorregulaci��n es una tendencia que se percibe cada vez con mayor nitidez; es, claramente, un fen��meno que se asocia principalmente al uso de nuevas tecnolog��as, pero que desborda con mucho este ��mbito. La autorregulaci��n es una noci��n directamente relacionada con la transformaci��n de las formas de gobernanza impulsada desde la Uni��n Europea; es una nueva t��cnica o instrumento que las normas jur��dico-p��blicas, a trav��s de numerosas remisiones a la autorregulaci��n, ponen en manos de la administraci��n para gestionar los fines que ��sta tiene encomendados. Existe, sin embargo una clara disociaci��n entre las esperanzas puestas en la autorregulaci��n y la falta de respuestas que ofrece el derecho positivo. Un an��lisis exhaustivo de la jurisprudencia y de la legislaci��n que utilizan la voz "autorregulaci��n" me ha llegado a concluir que este vocablo es en nuestro ordenamiento, un "t��rmino sin concepto". En esta fuentes se asimila la "autorregulaci��n" con la capacidad de autonormaci��n de un sujeto. Es el derecho comunitario el que la autorregulaci��n como una alternativa o un complemento a la desreglamentaci��n estatal y como una manifestaci��n de un traslado de funciones y responsabilidades p��blicas a la sociedad. Por influencia del Derecho comunitario, el legislador pretende, a trav��s de la autorregulaci��n, alcanzar dos finalidades aparentemente contradictorias: (a) facilitar la funci��n de garante que tiene atribuida el Estado, mediante una intervenci��n m��s extensa i m��s intensa en las actividades privadas; (b) hacer efectivo los objetos propuestos con la desregulaci��n, mediante una contenci��n del ejercicio de la potestad reglamentaria y una disminuci��n de los controles, preventivos o represivos, realizados directamente por la Administraci��n. Para salvar esta contradicci��n, es necesario que el legislador establezca una regulaci��n adecuada de la autorregulaci��n. Dicha regulaci��n es, hoy por hoy, manifiestamente insuficiente. Deber��an fijarse con car��cter general -y no s��lo puntualmente y por sectores- las medidas adecuadas para el fomento de la autorregulaci��n; los efectos p��blicos que ��sta posee en cada caso y, significativamente, las garant��as y controles necesarios para contrarrestar tales efectos. Esto es, los principios que rigen la actividad administrativa deber��an ser aplicados tambi��n a la autorregulaci��n en aquellos casos en los que sus diversas manifestaciones poseen efectos similares a los que son propios de los reglamentos, las inspecciones o las sanciones administrativas. Esta propuesta deja abierta la cuesti��n acerca de la incidencia rec��proca de ambas t��cnicas; esto es , la incidencia de la regulaci��n p��blica en la autorregulaci��n de origen privado y, a la inversa, el impacto del desarrollo de la autorregulaci��n regulada en el ejercicio de las potestades reglamentaria, autorizatoria, y sancionadora de la Administraci��n. Esta cuesti��n s��lo puede ser contestada hoy caso por caso, de modo que la respuesta es distinta si se analiza una norma t��cnica, un c��digo ��tico, un manual de buenas pr��cticas, una certificaci��n privada del cumplimiento de normas t��cnicas, el ejercicio de la potestad disciplinaria privada o el arbritaje. De lo que no cabe duda alguna es que ni la autorregulaci��n es s��lo una actividad de inter��s privado, ni la regulaci��n p��blica conserva hoy sus rasgos tradicionales.

Enhanced convolution approach for CAC in ATM networks, an analytical study and implementation

The characteristics of service independence and flexibility of ATM networks make the control problems of such networks very critical. One of the main challenges in ATM networks is to design traffic control mechanisms that enable both economically efficient use of the network resources and desired quality of service to higher layer applications. Window flow control mechanisms of traditional packet switched networks are not well suited to real time services, at the speeds envisaged for the future networks. In this work, the utilisation of the Probability of Congestion (PC) as a bandwidth decision parameter is presented. The validity of PC utilisation is compared with QOS parameters in buffer-less environments when only the cell loss ratio (CLR) parameter is relevant. The convolution algorithm is a good solution for CAC in ATM networks with small buffers. If the source characteristics are known, the actual CLR can be very well estimated. Furthermore, this estimation is always conservative, allowing the retention of the network performance guarantees. Several experiments have been carried out and investigated to explain the deviation between the proposed method and the simulation. Time parameters for burst length and different buffer sizes have been considered. Experiments to confine the limits of the burst length with respect to the buffer size conclude that a minimum buffer size is necessary to achieve adequate cell contention. Note that propagation delay is a no dismiss limit for long distance and interactive communications, then small buffer must be used in order to minimise delay. Under previous premises, the convolution approach is the most accurate method used in bandwidth allocation. This method gives enough accuracy in both homogeneous and heterogeneous networks. But, the convolution approach has a considerable computation cost and a high number of accumulated calculations. To overcome this drawbacks, a new method of evaluation is analysed: the Enhanced Convolution Approach (ECA). In ECA, traffic is grouped in classes of identical parameters. By using the multinomial distribution function instead of the formula-based convolution, a partial state corresponding to each class of traffic is obtained. Finally, the global state probabilities are evaluated by multi-convolution of the partial results. This method avoids accumulated calculations and saves storage requirements, specially in complex scenarios. Sorting is the dominant factor for the formula-based convolution, whereas cost evaluation is the dominant factor for the enhanced convolution. A set of cut-off mechanisms are introduced to reduce the complexity of the ECA evaluation. The ECA also computes the CLR for each j-class of traffic (CLRj), an expression for the CLRj evaluation is also presented. We can conclude that by combining the ECA method with cut-off mechanisms, utilisation of ECA in real-time CAC environments as a single level scheme is always possible.

A universidade e o seu contributo para o desenvolvimento da Uni��o Europeia

O trabalho presente �� uma investiga����o sobre a Universidade sua g��nese e diversidade, caminhada e desenvolvimento, prosperidade em crescimento, papel cultural e fonte de conhecimento seus momentos de gl��ria, seu de impasse e de crise e tentativas para devolver a gl��ria e prestigio de outrora. Nasceu na Europa Meridional com o t��tulo de ���Studium Generale���. N��o nasceu nem ���ex abrupto��� nem ���ex nihilo���, a sua g��nese remonta ��s escolas religiosas dos conventos e catedrais onde se conservavam os documentos da cultura greco ��� latina que mais tarde imperar�� na Europa sob o antropocentrismo, em oposi����o ao Teocentrismo. O ���Studium General��� nasce sobre o patroc��nio da Igreja que mantinha como disciplinas principais nestes centros a Teologia e Filosofia, cuja lecciona����o �� circunscrita a poucas Escolas e professores escolhidos. Acorriam �� Universidade alunos de todos os cantos da Europa, evidentemente com meios e frades alunos pobres e para os frades criaram-se col��gios que os acolhiam e protegiam. A reuni��o de estudantes devido a disturbios gerou ambiente controverso e obrigou as autoridades governamentais a medidas quer de conten����o quer de protec����o a residentes e forasteiros. O estudante era um estrangeiro que se deslocava no espa��o europeu consoante a fama dos professores. A l��ngua latina foi o veiculo de liga����o e comunica����o. Pouco a pouco os estados foram-se dando conta do valor da universidade e dos seus ensinamentos e disputavam com a Igreja o seu patroc��nio. A Universidade contribui para o desenvolvimento dos Estados a n��vel administrativo, do direito, da cria����o de leis dando aos Estados uma maior e melhor organiza����o no seu desenvolvimento. As Universidades concediam graus acad��micos, sendo o maior o de doutor. Todos esperavam o apoio do saber acad��mico e cient��fico para vencer a luta pela exist��ncia. O sistema escol��tico criticado pelo humanismo deu origem a novos modelos de universidade que surgiram com a supervis��o dos Estados. Os modelos a partir do s��culo XIX, s��o: ing��s, alem��o, americano, franc��s e russo. A universidade passa a ser o lugar do ensino superior, com o rep��dio ao tradicinal e a investiga����o passa a fazer parte do papel da universidade. Em Portugal criou-se estruturas de apoio �� forma����o de professores especialmente o sector de ci��ncia e educa����o. Tardiamente a Uni��o Europeia d�� aten����o �� educa����o criando programas como o S��crates cujas ac����es s��o Comenios, Erasmus, Grundvig, L��ngua e Minerva. A mobilidade estudantil torna-se realidade na Europa e a flexibilidade na educa����o. A fun����o da universidade actual ocupa-se do sector industrial e p��s industrial da sociedade de informa����o, economia e empresa. Universidade como servi��o p��blico e mercado. Foi pena que a Uni��o Europeia, n��o reconhecesse ao Homem a centralidade de que tem direito, e esquecesse que sem o homem n��o h�� desenvolvimento nem criatividade. Estruturou-se a economia e a pol��tica obliterou a educa����o, a cultura, a forma����o, isto �� um castelo constru��do sobre areia. Relembrando Antero cabe dizer: ���Abrem-se as portas de ouro com fragor Mas dentro encontro s�� cheiro de dor Sil��ncio e escurid��o nada mais���. Hoje a nossa Universidade �� um problema. O seu caminho ter�� de ser o da cultura e a da educa����o. Tem de ser vista como poder em ��poca de crise e o permanente primeiro que o transit��rio. Donde a necessidade de uma gest��o de qualidade e de uma educa����o permanente.

Refashioning local government and inner-city regeneration: The Salford experience

This paper explores the role of local government in urban regeneration in England. The first part describes local-central government relations during recent decades. It concludes that 'actually occurring' regeneration fuses top-down and bottom-up priorities and preferences, as well as path dependencies created by past decisions and local relations. The second part illustrates this contention by examining the regeneration of inner-city Salford over a 25-year period. It describes Salford City Council's approach in achieving the redevelopment of the former Salford Docks and how this created the confidence for the council to embark on further regeneration projects. Yet the top-down decision-making model has failed to satisfy local expectations, creating apathy which threatens the Labour government's desire for active citizens in regeneration projects.

Voices from the aid 'chain': The personal dynamics of care

This paper uses a simplified model of the aid 'chain' to explore some causes and consequences of breakdown in communication. Although the rhetoric of Northern-based donors is awash with words such as 'partnership' and 'inclusion' when dealing with their Southern-based partners, the situation in practice is different. Unequal power relationships sometimes result in donor imposition of Perspectives and values. It is our contention, based on a collective experience of fifty-four years in a Nigerian-based non-governmental development organization (NGDO), the Diocesan Development Services (DDS), that much of the driving force behind the successes and problems faced by the institution was founded on relationships that evolved between individuals. In order to understand why things happened the way they did it is necessary to begin with the human element that cannot be condensed into objects or categories. While injudicious donor interference bad damaging repercussions, our experience suggests that care and consideration flow throughout the aid chain and actions are not malevolent. Breakdowns can be attributed to a number of factors, with the over-riding one being pressures operating at the personal level that emanate from within the institution itself and the larger community. The paper analyses three experiences using institutional ethnography theory and methodologies as a basis. Examples taken address the influence key donor personnel had in the function of DDS, and how these changed with time. The mission, policies and even procedures of the donor did not change markedly over thirty-two years, but each changing desk officer had their own philosophy and approach and a different interpretation of their own institutional policies. Hence while the 'macro' has an influence it is mediated via individual interpretation. In our view, the importance of people-people relationships is particularly understated in development literature where emphasis gravitates towards the aggregate and global.

MI(R,)G(R) and British Covert Operations, 1939-42

The Military Intelligence (Research) Department of the British War Office was tasked in 1940 with encouraging and supporting armed resistance in occupied Europe and the Axis-controlled Middle East. The major contention of this paper is that, in doing so, MI(R) performed a key role in British strategy in 1940-42 and in the development of what are now known as covert operations. MI(R) developed an organic, but coherent doctrine for such activity which was influential upon the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and its own sub-branch, G(R), which applied this doctrine in practice in East Africa and the Middle East in 1940-41. It was also here that a number of key figures in the development of covert operations and special forces first cut their teeth, the most notable being Major Generals Colin Gubbins and Orde Wingate.

Decoupling EU farm support: Does the new single payment scheme fit within the green box?

Recent reform of the EU����������s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has led to a further decoupling of farm support. The EU believes that the new Single Payment Scheme, which replaces the former system of area and headage payments to farmers, tied to production, will qualify for green-box status in the WTO. We examine this contention, particularly in light of the recent WTO panel report on upland cotton.

Making sense of supply chain management: acomparative study of aerospace and construction

Current recipes for learning across business sectors too often fail to recognize the embedded and contextual nature of management practice. The existing literature gives little emphasis to the symbiotic relationship between supply chain management and the broader dynamics of context. The aerospace and construction sectors are selected for comparison on the basis that they are so different. The UK aerospace sector has undergone extensive consolidation as a result of the imperatives of global competitive pressures. In contrast, the construction industry has experienced decades of fragmentation and remains highly localized. An increasing proportion of output in the aerospace sector occurs within a small number of large, globally orientated firms. In contrast, construction output is dominated by a plethora of small firms with high levels of subcontracting and a widespread reliance on self-employment. These differences have fundamental implications for the way that supply chain management is understood and implemented in the two sectors. Semi-structured interviews with practitioners from both sectors support the contention that supply chain management is more established in aerospace than construction. The introduction of prime contracting and the increasing use of framework agreements within the construction sector potentially provide a much more supportive climate for supply chain management than has traditionally prevailed. However, progress depends upon an improved continuity of workload under such arrangements.

Perspex machine IX: transreal analysis

We introduce transreal analysis as a generalisation of real analysis. We find that the generalisation of the real exponential and logarithmic functions is well defined for all transreal numbers. Hence, we derive well defined values of all transreal powers of all non-negative transreal numbers. In particular, we find a well defined value for zero to the power of zero. We also note that the computation of products via the transreal logarithm is identical to the transreal product, as expected. We then generalise all of the common, real, trigonometric functions to transreal functions and show that transreal (sin x)/x is well defined everywhere. This raises the possibility that transreal analysis is total, in other words, that every function and every limit is everywhere well defined. If so, transreal analysis should be an adequate mathematical basis for analysing the perspex machine - a theoretical, super-Turing machine that operates on a total geometry. We go on to dispel all of the standard counter "proofs" that purport to show that division by zero is impossible. This is done simply by carrying the proof through in transreal arithmetic or transreal analysis. We find that either the supposed counter proof has no content or else that it supports the contention that division by zero is possible. The supposed counter proofs rely on extending the standard systems in arbitrary and inconsistent ways and then showing, tautologously, that the chosen extensions are not consistent. This shows only that the chosen extensions are inconsistent and does not bear on the question of whether division by zero is logically possible. By contrast, transreal arithmetic is total and consistent so it defeats any possible "straw man" argument. Finally, we show how to arrange that a function has finite or else unmeasurable (nullity) values, but no infinite values. This arithmetical arrangement might prove useful in mathematical physics because it outlaws naked singularities in all equations.

Interior Life

Interior Life was curated by Tim Renshaw, Mary Maclean and Bernice Donszelmann who together form ���Outside Architecture���. The aim of this project was to argue that interior space should not be negatively defined as a retreat from the public realm. Instead, following the thought of the philosopher Peter Slotterdijk, interior space was proposed as a human need. The five artists selected by ���Outside Architecture��� each visualized this need differently. A contention here was that interiors give rise to a multiplicity of experiences that potentially change the way we dwell in contemporary man-made space. This contention was primarily figured in relation to the materiality of contemporary interiors. Each gave attention to the effects of contemporary materials and surfaces and each considered that these forms produce new modes of sensing and immersion in a place. The exhibition included two talks by the members of ���Outside Architecture. The project was supported by an Arts Council of England grant of ��6,323 www.ucreative.ac.uk/galleries

A metaphorical analysis of client organisations and the briefing process

This paper reviews and critiques the current practice of classifying building clients according to their 'type'. An alternative approach to understanding organisations is developed in accordance with the principles of naturalistic inquiry. It is contended that the complex pluralistic clients of the 1990s can only really be understood 'from the inside'. The concept of organisational metaphors is introduced as the basis for a more sophisticated way of thinking about organisations. The various strands of organisational theory are also analyzed in terms of their underlying metaphors. Different theories are seen to bring different insights. The implicit metaphors adopted by practitioners are held to be important in that they tend to dictate the adopted approach to client briefing. This contention is illustrated by analyzing three different characterisations of the briefing process in terms of their underlying metaphors. Finally, the discussion is placed in a contemporary UK context by comparing the dominant paradigm of practice during the 1980s to that of the 1990s.

Structural adjustment and subsistence industry: artisanal gold mining in Ghana

Since the implementation of Ghana's national Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), policies associated with the programme have been criticized for perpetuating poverty within the country's subsistence economy. This article brings new evidence to bear on the contention that the SAP has both fuelled the uncontrolled growth of informal, poverty-driven artisanal gold mining and further marginalized its impoverished participants. Throughout the adjustment period, it has been a central goal of the government to promote the expansion of large-scale gold mining through foreign investment. Confronted with the challenge of resuscitating a deteriorating gold mining industry, the government introduced a number of tax breaks and policies in an effort to create an attractive investment climate for foreign multinational mining companies. The rapid rise in exploration and excavation activities that has since taken place has displaced thousands of previously-undisturbed subsistence artisanal gold miners. This, along with a laissez faire land concession allocation procedure, has exacerbated conflicts between mining parties. Despite legalizing small-scale mining in 1989, the Ghanaian government continues to implement procedurally complex and bureaucratically unwieldy regulations and policies for artisanal operators which have the effect of favouring the interests of established large-scale miners.