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The object of the paper: factors influencing the competitiveness of the sport clubs services. The problem of the research: what are the main factors influencing the competitiveness of the sport clubs? The aim of the research is to determine the main factors influencing the competitiveness of the sport clubs. The objectives of the research: 1. To analyze the theoretical point of the factors influencing the competitiveness of the sport clubs. 2. To identify the main factors and the reasons for the influencing the competitiveness of the sport clubs in Kaunas. 3. To make a model influencing the competitiveness of the sport clubs services. The hypothesis of the research –the quality of the services is the main factor influencing the competitiveness of the sport clubs' services. Conclusions: 1. The competitiveness of the sport clubs' services is influenced by internal and external factors. The internal factors: the conditions of the factors, demand conditions, related and service industry (clusters), structure of the company, strategy and competitiveness, manager/ developer of the strategy, company's image and the quality of the services. Also was defined that the competitiveness of the sport clubs' services is influenced by external factors such as: government, opportunity, international business, economic and social factors. 2. The competitiveness of the sport clubs services in Kaunas city is influenced by the internal competitiveness factors rather than external. The image and the services quality of the sport club are most important factors among the internal factors, whereas, the economic and social factors are the most essential among the external factors. Competitiveness of the sport clubs services reasons are clients' personal interests and their social satisfaction. The external factors influencing the competitiveness of the importance of the sports clubs reasons are for the state and society, settled values and norms. 3. The model of the factors influencing the competitiveness of the sport club was made according their arrangement in priority. The internal and external surroundings of the competitiveness of the sport clubs are presented in the practical model of the competitiveness of the sport clubs. SUGGESTIONS: In order to increase the competitiveness of the sport clubs in Kaunas it is recommended: • To pay attention to the internal factors influencing the competitiveness of the sport clubs. The analysis determined that the improvement of the sport club image should be the priority, because this factor was determined as the most essential factor of the competitiveness of the sport clubs in Kaunas city. The improvement of the sport club interior and exterior, the behavior with the customer could be the main points of the sport club strategy increasing its competitiveness. • In order to remain competitive the external factors influencing the competitiveness of the sport club should be also improved. The analysis has determined that the social factors are the most important influencing the competitiveness of the sports club, therefore the activity of the customers should be promoted and the global customers' value, their belief and life style changes should be developed also.

Abstract Disasters cause great damage, destruction and human suffering. They test local capacity to respond to them. Unless a disaster management system has implemented a mitigation program and provided a comprehensive, effective plan, the consequences of a disaster will be amplified. In the wake of a disaster, adjustments to the plan, coherent requests for assistance and a willingness to coordinate with other institutions are critical requirements. Decision-making must be efficient and based on context-specific problem solving. Balanced with this is the need to redeploy resources in new ways and to regain trust from communities, so that they are not working to different purposes. These conditions therefore require strength in particular capabilities. This study highlights capability in institutions, human resources, policy making, finance, technical capacity and leadership as key functional success factors for local government in managing a disaster at the local government level. The study focuses on local government because local government is the institution closest to the community and plays an important role in a disaster management system. The research framework of this study articulates a model for local government in managing a disaster, the requirements needed, obstacles that may be faced by local government, and networking that occurs with all levels of government, NGOs and the community. The research is focuses on the Bantul local government, Indonesia, as a case study in managing the 2006 earthquake. The study is an exploratory and intrinsic case study. In order to increase reliability and validity, mixed method research was used. Information related to literature-identified key natural disaster responses was collected through in-depth and semi-structured interview with 40 key informants. Informants interviewed were varied from the central government, the provincial regional government, local government, community leaders, local NGOs and international NGOs who were involved during and after the earthquake. To support the interview findings, researcher also conducted a community leader survey in three districts where destruction was greatest and most deaths and injuries occurred. Qualitative data was analysed using NVivo; SPSS was used to analyse quantitative data. The study finds that: (1) The lack of a strategic framework for disaster management, lack of disaster mitigation and preparedness programmes and limited knowledge on the part of local government existed in Bantul before the 2006 earthquake and resulted in paralysis of the government's mobilisation and organisation; (2) Although Bantul had never previously had to manage such a disaster, local government capability shows favourable results in terms of institutions, human resources, policy for effective implementation, finance, technical capacity and leadership; (3) Collaborative leadership revealed in the Bantul case indicates decisive action as the critical competency in managing disaster; (4) Building trust between local government and public, private and not-for-profit organisations contributed to the success of disaster response and recovery in Bantul; (5) Organisation, the budget, attitudes, local expertise and volunteers are the most crucial problems at each stage of disaster management; and (6) Social capital, local culture and local wisdom contributed significantly to the effective recovery result in Bantul.

학위논문 (석사)-- 서울대학교 대학원 : 협동과정 기술경영·경제·정책전공, 2012. 2. 김연배. ; With the development of a knowledge based economy and the globalization of the economy, more and more attention has been focused on the area of intellectual property, especially patents. Patent policy has been regarded as not only an instrument to accelerate technological progress but also as a national strategy for the whole society. However, the more attention is imposed on patents and patent policy, the more new issues appear and challenge our traditional ideas relevant to the patent regime. As one of the largest developing countries, China particularly faces such challenges. Since the first patent law became effective, China has speeded up its running on the path and changed direction sometimes through patent reforms. By literature review, this study tries to synthesize the previous studies concerning patent policies and their impact on society. Then on the basis of a literature review, this study tries to evaluate Chinese patent policy longitudinally and latitudinally. Through reviews of history of Chinese patent law reforms and cross-country comparisons based on basic dimensions, we find that China has already established a modern patent system and has adopted a stronger patent policy that is in harmony with international standards advocated by developed countries, however on the other hand there still remain some things to be improved. Therefore, we conclude that China does need further patent reform and the emphasis on patent reform shall focus on the implementation and utilization of patent policy in order to well match the actual socio-economic conditions, overall technical level and national innovation capacity. Finally, for the further patent reform we provide detailed suggestions relevant to legislation issue, implementation issue, economic development status issue, traditional knowledge issue and TRIPS controversy issue. ; 지식기반경제의 발전 및 세계화가 진행되면서 지적재산권, 특히, 특허에 대한 관심이 갈수록 증가하고 있다. 특허 정책은 기술 진보를 가속화시킬 수 있는 유일한 제도일 뿐만 아니라 전체 사회를 위한 국가적 전략으로 여겨지고 있다. 그럼에도 불구하고 특허와 특허 정책에 관심이 집중될수록 새로운 문제가 지속적으로 나타나 특허 제도와 관련된 기존의 생각들은 힘겨운 도전에 맞닥뜨리고 있다. 특히, 가장 큰 개발도상국 중 하나인 중국이 이와 같은 도전과제에 직면해있다. 중국에서 첫 번째 특허법이 발효된 이래, 중국 당국은 특허법 개정을 통해 종종 방향을 전환시키면서 발전속도를 가속화 시켜왔다. 본 연구에서는 문헌연구를 통해 특허 정책 및 사회적 영향과 관련된 기존의 연구들의 통합을 시도한다. 또한, 문헌 분석을 바탕으로 중국의 특허 정책을 심도 있고 폭넓게 평가하고자 한다. 중국의 특허법 개정 역사에 대한 검토와 기초적 차원을 기반으로 한 국가별 비교에 따르면 중국은 이미 근대적 특허 시스템을 확립하였고, 선진국에서 지지하는 국제적 표준과 어우러지는 보다 강력한 특허 정책을 채택하였다는 것을 알 수 있다. 그러나 한편으로는 아직 개선해야 할 부분들이 여전히 남아있다. 이에 따라, 중국의 특허법 개정은 향후에도 필요하며, 전반적인 기술 수준, 국가 혁신 역량 그리고 실질적인 사회 경제적 조건에 적합하도록 특허법 개정의 역점을 실행 및 활용에 두어야 한다는 주장으로 본 연구의 결론을 맺는다. 마지막으로, 추가적인 특허법 개정을 위해 제도적인 문제와 실천적 문제, 경제 발전의 단계적 문제, 전통적인 지식관련 문제 그리고 TRIPS논쟁과 관련하여 세부적인 사항들을 제안한다. ; Master

International audience ; National and European legislation over the past 20 yr, and the modernisation or removal of industrial sources, have significantly reduced European ozone precursor emissions. This study quantifies observed and modelled European ozone annual and seasonal linear trends from 158 harmonised rural background monitoring stations over a constant time period of a decade (1996-2005). Mean ozone concentrations are investigated, in addition to the ozone 5th percentiles as a measure of the baseline or background conditions, and the 95th percentiles that are representative of the peak concentration levels. This study aims to characterise and quantify surface European ozone concentrations and trends and assess the impact of the changing anthropogenic emission tracers on the observed and modelled trends. Significant (p<0.1) positive annual trends in ozone mean, 5th and 95th percentiles are observed at 54%, 52% and 45% of sites respectively (85 sites, 82 sites and 71 sites). Spatially, sites in central and north-western Europe tend to display positive annual ozone trends in mean, 5th and 95th percentiles. Significant negative annual trends in ozone mean 5th and 95th percentiles are observed at 11%, 12% and 12% of sites respectively (18 sites, 19 sites and 19 sites) which tend to be located in the eastern and southwestern extremities of Europe. European-averaged annual trends have been calculated from the 158 sites in this study. Overall there is a net positive annual trend in ob-served ozone mean (0.16 +/- 0.02 ppbv yr(-1) (2 sigma error)), 5th (0.13 +/- 0.02 ppbv yr(-1)) and 95th (0.16 +/- 0.03 ppbv yr(-1)) percentiles, representative of positive trends in mean, baseline and peak ozone. Assessing the sensitivity of the derived overall trends to the constituent years shows that the European heatwave year of 2003 has significant positive influence and 1998 the converse effect; demonstrating the masking effect of inter-annual variability on decadal based ozone trends. The European scale 3-D CTM CHIMERE was used to simulate hourly O-3 concentrations for the period 1996-2005. Comparisons between the 158 observed ozone trends to those equivalent sites extracted from regional simulations by CHIMERE better match the observed increasing annual ozone (predominantly in central and north-western Europe) for 5th percentiles, than for mean or 95th ozone percentiles. The European-averaged annual ozone trend in CHIMERE 5th percentiles (0.13 +/- 0.01 ppbv yr(-1)) matches the corresponding observed trend extremely well, but displays a negative trend for the 95th percentile (-0.03 +/- 0.02 ppbv yr(-1)) where a positive ozone trend is observed. Inspection of the EU-averaged monthly means of ozone shows that the CHIMERE model is overestimating the summer month O-3 levels. In comparison to trends in EMEP emissions inventories, with the exception of Austria-Hungary, we do not find that anthropogenic NOx and VOC reductions have a substantial effect on observed annual mean O-3 trends in the rest of Europe. On a ten year time-scale presented in this study, O-3 trends related to anthropogenic NOx and VOC reductions are being masked as a result of a number of factors including meteorological variability, changes in background ozone and shifts in source patterns.

While investment incentives are increasingly employed by the developing economies, the vast amount of literature has failed to reach a consensus on the role of incentive regimes. A fundamental problem with the previous econometric studies is that they assume a mature market condition, under which the government should remain outside FDI competition. However, in reality, most developing countries lack a mature market and market-oriented regulatory institutions. This thesis adds to the conventional wisdom by examining whether and how Chinese investment incentive regimes have been successful in harnessing FDI during the last three decades. Like many developing economies, China is still in the process of building a market economy. The striking ability of China to attract FDI with numerous incentives presents a meaningful laboratory for examining the role of investment incentives. In contrast to most previous economic studies, this thesis does not attempt to examine the economic mechanisms of investment incentives. The basic presumption of this thesis is that incentive measures are instrument of state intervention with designed policy goals. A policy-oriented approach has thus been adopted, under which the role of investment incentives is examined against precisely defined policy objectives in a particular policy context. In China's case, the efficacy of investment incentives is shown by a strategic and dynamic correlation between the investment incentive regime and its achieved development goals. In the given policy context, their functions cannot be replaced by more desirable instruments due to the political and economic constraints. Besides the economic evaluation, the study adds the legal dimension of evaluation on investment incentives. From a legal perspective, the regulatory space for developing countries is increasingly defined by the international legal regime. Investment incentives should be framed in a way to balance national interests and the level of protection required for foreign investment. The evolution of China's incentive regime presents a good example to integrate global consensus with domestic imperatives. By unifying its income tax system, China adopted an incentive regime generally consistent with its WTO commitments and could be utilized to its advantages. However, serious problems inherent in the incentive system have already emerged in China, which may hamper its economic development in the long run. The thesis shows that the state's capacity to channel FDI towards development goals is declining, as its intrusiveness has given way to arbitrariness. A top-down approach deprives foreign investors of their channels to communicate their opinions to the policymakers. The local arbitrariness and corruption in incentive implementation will compound the problem and hinder the inflows of high quality foreign investment. The thesis then proposes that the investment incentive regime in China needs to be upgraded into a more legalized system with non-discrimination, transparency, coherence and an effective monitoring mechanism as its central features. The legalization process would help to alleviate the negative effects of investment incentives. In the absence of a political infrastructure compatible with a rules-based system, the Chinese government needs to start with redefining the government-business relationship with a legal framework and reinforcing an independent judicial system. ; published_or_final_version ; Law ; Doctoral ; Doctor of Philosophy

ИНФОРМИРАЊЕТО НА СЛЕПИТЕ-МЕЃУ РЕАЛНОТО И МОЖНОТО ЧИТАМ, СЛУШАМИ ПИШУВАМ-ЗНАЧИ ПОСТОЈАМЧедомир Б. ШОПКИЌУредник и водител на емисијата "Панта реи" на Македонско радио, Радио Скопје INFORMINGBLIND PEOPLE – BETWEEN REALITYAND POSSIBILITY I READ, HEAR AND WRITE – I EXHISTChedomir B. SHOPKIKJEditor and host of the program "Panta rei" on Macedonian Radio, Radio Skopje Резиме AbstractЈавното информирање, практично, постои откога е и човекот како општествено битие; но неговите методи и средства постојано се унапредувани согласно развојните текови на општествените односи и техничко-технолошкиот развој.Современите демократски определби на секое цивилизирано општество ја прокламираат и овозможуваат слободата на јавното информирање како суштествена детерминанта на човековото опстојување. Денес правото на информирање е едно од основните човекови права декларирано во бројни меѓународни документи, во уставите на голем број земји во светот меѓу кои и во уставот на Република Македонија.Информирањето на слепите лица со целокупниот комплекс на специфичности не е можно да се развива надвор од системот и тековите на јавното информирање во пошироката заедница. Притоа треба да се има предвид дека информирањето на слепите лица бара идентичен, но и своевиден третман како попради својата екслузивност, така и според соодветни приоритети и техники во социјалниот контекст на севкупната комуникација.Тоа секако не може да биде надвор од соодветно финансирање на информативната дејност на слепите лица, особено на сегашниов степен на развој на информациските системи и унапредувањето на човековите права. Public information, actually, has existed since people became social beings; but its methods and means have always been improved in regard to the developing processes of social relations and technical and technological development.Contemporary democratic commitments of any civilized society proclaim and enable the freedom of public information as an essential determinant of human existing. Today the right to information is one of the basic human rights declared in many international documents, in the constitutions of a great number of countries in the world, as well as in the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia. Informing blind people about the complex of specifics is not possible to develop out of the system and the processes of public information in the wider community. It has to be taken into consideration that information to blind requires identical and appropriate treatment because of its exclusiveness and priorities and techniques in the social context of entire communication. That can not be out of the appropriate financing of information activities of blind, especially at this level of development of information systems and development of human rights.Клучни зборови: јавно информирање, слепи лица, човекови права на информирање, посебни информациски системи Key words: public information, blind people, human rights to information, special information systems. Адреса за кореспонденција: Corresponding Address:Чедомир Б. ШОПКИЌ Chedomir B. SHOPKIKJСојуз на слепите на Република Македонијаул. "29 ноември" 4 6, 1000 СкопјеТел: (02) 3113-662; Факс: (02) 3112- 292E-mail: macuob@freemail.org.mk Association of Blind of the Republic of MacedoniaStreet "29 November", No. 46, 1000 SkopjeTel.: + 389 2 3113-662; Fax: + 389 2 3112-292E-mail: macuob@freemail.org.mk

International audience ; National and European legislation over the past 20 yr, and the modernisation or removal of industrial sources, have significantly reduced European ozone precursor emissions. This study quantifies observed and modelled European ozone annual and seasonal linear trends from 158 harmonised rural background monitoring stations over a constant time period of a decade (1996-2005). Mean ozone concentrations are investigated, in addition to the ozone 5th percentiles as a measure of the baseline or background conditions, and the 95th percentiles that are representative of the peak concentration levels. This study aims to characterise and quantify surface European ozone concentrations and trends and assess the impact of the changing anthropogenic emission tracers on the observed and modelled trends. Significant (p<0.1) positive annual trends in ozone mean, 5th and 95th percentiles are observed at 54%, 52% and 45% of sites respectively (85 sites, 82 sites and 71 sites). Spatially, sites in central and north-western Europe tend to display positive annual ozone trends in mean, 5th and 95th percentiles. Significant negative annual trends in ozone mean 5th and 95th percentiles are observed at 11%, 12% and 12% of sites respectively (18 sites, 19 sites and 19 sites) which tend to be located in the eastern and southwestern extremities of Europe. European-averaged annual trends have been calculated from the 158 sites in this study. Overall there is a net positive annual trend in ob-served ozone mean (0.16 +/- 0.02 ppbv yr(-1) (2 sigma error)), 5th (0.13 +/- 0.02 ppbv yr(-1)) and 95th (0.16 +/- 0.03 ppbv yr(-1)) percentiles, representative of positive trends in mean, baseline and peak ozone. Assessing the sensitivity of the derived overall trends to the constituent years shows that the European heatwave year of 2003 has significant positive influence and 1998 the converse effect; demonstrating the masking effect of inter-annual variability on decadal based ozone trends. The European scale 3-D CTM CHIMERE was used to simulate hourly O-3 concentrations for the period 1996-2005. Comparisons between the 158 observed ozone trends to those equivalent sites extracted from regional simulations by CHIMERE better match the observed increasing annual ozone (predominantly in central and north-western Europe) for 5th percentiles, than for mean or 95th ozone percentiles. The European-averaged annual ozone trend in CHIMERE 5th percentiles (0.13 +/- 0.01 ppbv yr(-1)) matches the corresponding observed trend extremely well, but displays a negative trend for the 95th percentile (-0.03 +/- 0.02 ppbv yr(-1)) where a positive ozone trend is observed. Inspection of the EU-averaged monthly means of ozone shows that the CHIMERE model is overestimating the summer month O-3 levels. In comparison to trends in EMEP emissions inventories, with the exception of Austria-Hungary, we do not find that anthropogenic NOx and VOC reductions have a substantial effect on observed annual mean O-3 trends in the rest of Europe. On a ten year time-scale presented in this study, O-3 trends related to anthropogenic NOx and VOC reductions are being masked as a result of a number of factors including meteorological variability, changes in background ozone and shifts in source patterns.

This study adopts a new approach in assessing the impact of taxes on small business growth and suggests the need to consider new incentives that would be more effective in encouraging small business growth and would also improve the neutrality of the existing tax system. In recent years, federal and provincial governments have provided various corporate tax incentives to small businesses with the aim of helping them grow. While it is commonly believed that small businesses are responsible for most job creation, unfortunately the only study available has shown that while many small businesses are created, few grow. Yet many governments believe that the incentives are important even though little evidence supports the effectiveness of small business corporate concessions. Some provinces have actually eliminated corporate taxes on small businesses or reduced such taxes to a symbolic level (e.g., one to two percent) without there being any empirical support in favour of the effectiveness of such actions.In contradiction to the widely held view that small business tax concessions encourage growth, such small business tax relief could actually be antithetical to growth by creating a "taxation wall." First, it could result in the breakup of companies into smaller, less efficient-sized units in order to take advantage of tax benefits even if there are economic gains to growing in size. Second, it could encourage individuals to create small corporations in order to reduce their personal tax liabilities rather than grow companies. And third, it could lead to a "threshold effect" that holds back small business from growing beyond the official definition of "smallness," regardless of the criteria for measuring size (e.g., the size of revenue or assets, or the number of employees). In this paper, we evaluate the impact of both corporate and personal taxes on the growth of small business and we focus in particular on the likely consequences of the aforementioned threshold effect. We use a new approach in assessing the impact of taxes on small business growth by estimating the amount of tax paid on the rate of return to capital as a small business grows in size. We show that small business growth is hampered by the existing tax system. As a business grows, effective tax rates on capital investments made by entrepreneurs virtually double when the business grows from as a little as $1 million to over $30 million in asset size. The issue is particularly important to the provinces that have been creating greater gaps between large and small business tax rates.The aim of tax incentives should be to try to avoid creating a wall that inhibits growth in small businesses, but instead flattens corporate and personal taxes with respect to incentives structured to induce growth. We provide some specific recommendations for growth-enhancing incentives that are superior to the small business tax deduction and other incentives of a similar type. Incentives associated with size should be avoided as much as possible, a proposal that is consistent with International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendations.

Luis,Duque: Eliseo,Perez-Stable: ; Background Despite efforts to reduce the prevalence of tobacco smoking, cessation is a major challenge for adolescents and teenagers in low-income and middle-income countries. Smoking prevalence and the association between it and selected determinants, including violence, in adolescents and teenagers were investigated in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), Colombia, and Argentina. Methods Three cross-sectional surveys were undertaken in 2006 in Jujuy, Argentina, and in 2008 in West Bank, oPt, and Medellin, Colombia. Children (aged 12–17 years) were selected by use of cluster sampling of schools in all three countries, and neighbourhoods in Colombia. They completed a self-administered questionnaire that included questions about smoking habits, demographic characteristics, and exposure to violence. The main analyses were χ² test and logistic regression, and were restricted to the questions for the comparable age group (14–15 years) in the three settings. Findings 3238 (86%) of 3765 Argentinian children, 3107 (99%) of 3138 Palestinian children, and 1998 (99%) of 2018 Colombian children participated in the study. Prevalence of smoking was 325 (23%) of 1386 Palestinian, 688 (31%) of 2254 Argentinian, and 104 (8%) of 1324 Colombian children. Minor differences were noted in smoking prevalence between Colombian (42 [7%] of 644 girls vs 62 [9%] of 680 boys; 3%, 95% CI –1 to 6) and Argentinian boys and girls (357 [29%] of 1238 vs 331 [33%] of 1015; 4%; –3 to 11), whereas the difference was greater between Palestinian boys (283 [37%] of 770) and girls (42 [7%] of 616; 30%, 20 to 39). Palestinian and Argentinian children tried smoking before the age of 8 years with prevalences of 28 (9%) of 323 and 63 (9%) of 688, respectively, compared with 15 (4%) of 412 Colombian children. 130 (40%) of 323 Palestinian, 180 (44%) of 412 Colombian, and 313 (46%) of 684 Argentinian children smoked cigarettes most often when aged 12–13 years. Palestinian children more often reported exposure to physical (554 [40%] of 1386) and verbal (585 [42%] of 1386) violence by their parents than did Argentinian children (582 [26%] of 2241 and 312 [14%] of 2241, respectively). Palestinian and Argentinian children reported similar amounts of exposure to physical violence from strangers (178 [13%] of 1386 vs 291 [13%] of 2243, respectively) and weapons (136 [10%] of 1386 vs 190 [8%] of 2243, respectively). The prevalence of smoking among Argentinian children who reported exposure to physical violence from strangers (soldiers or gang members) was 158 (54%) of 291 (odds ratio for smoking vs non-smoking children 3·21, 2·50 to 4·13) and 96 (51%) of 190 (2·55, 1·89 to 3·43) in those exposed to weapons compared with 98 (55%) of 178 (3·08, 2·17 to 4·39) and 72 (53%) of 136 Palestinian children (2·79, 1·91 to 4·08), respectively. Interpretation The results indicate international differences, but support the association between exposure to violence and smoking habits. Policy makers and educators need to give attention to the high prevalence of smoking among adolescents and teenagers living under conflict.

Pressures of international organizations and governmental regulations have increased substantially when it comes to the reduction of dependence on fossil fuels and transport pollutants emissions. To meet these challenges, the automotive industry invests large sums in research and development on a broad portfolio of new technologies related to vehicular propulsion. Considering the alternatives under development, electric vehicles, specifically, have received increased attention both in Brazil and abroad. This study aims to contribute with the construction of future scenarios in 2020 concerning the introduction of electric vehicles in São Paulo´s urban traffic, an integral part of the CNPq/FINEP research project which is being undertaken at the University of São Paulo (USP/FEA), coordinated by Prof. James T. C. Wright. The Morphological Analysis method was adopted given the fact that it facilitates the structuring of the managerial and technological complexities of the proposed problem, with views to identifying the variables and their critical relations for the prospection of scenarios. The variables that influence an urban transport system were structured into four logical groups: scope of usage, structural architecture and propulsion system of the vehicle, road and energy supply/recharge infrastructure and finally, business models. These groups, in turn, were analysed at distinct levels, leading to other variables. Subsequently, alternative forms, which the selected variables could take on, were generated. The multidimensional matrix resulting from this set of combinatorial possibilities was then carefully verified in terms of feasibility and consistency in order to identify the basic settings of greatest interest to the scenarios prospecting effort.Key words: Prospective scenarios. Morphological analysis. Electric vehicles. ; Substancialmente tem aumentado as pressões de organismos internacionais e regulamentações governamentais no sentido de redução da dependência de combustíveis fósseis e de emissões poluentes provenientes dos transportes. Para responder a esses desafios, a indústria automobilística investe vultosos recursos em pesquisa e desenvolvimento em um vasto portfólio de novas tecnologias relacionadas à propulsão veicular. Das alternativas em desenvolvimento, os veículos elétricos, especificamente, têm recebido crescentemente atenção, tanto no Brasil quanto no exterior. O presente estudo pretende contribuir para a construção de cenários futuros em 2020 relacionados à introdução de veículos elétricos no tráfego urbano de São Paulo, parte integrante de projeto de pesquisa CNPq/FINEP, em desenvolvimento na Universidade de São Paulo - USP/FEA), coordenado pelo Prof. James T. C. Wright. Por facilitar a estruturação das complexidades tecnológicas e gerenciais do problema proposto, o método de Análise Morfológica foi utilizado, visando identificar as variáveis e relações críticas para a prospecção dos cenários. As variáveis que influenciam um sistema de transporte urbano foram estruturadas em quatro grupos lógicos: escopo do uso, arquitetura estrutural e sistema de propulsão do veículo, infraestrutura viária e de fornecimento/recarga de energia, modelo de negócio; esses grupos, por sua vez, foram decompostos em distintos níveis, originando outras variáveis. Na sequência, foram geradas formas alternativas que as variáveis selecionadas poderiam assumir. A matriz multidimensional resultante desse conjunto de possibilidades combinatórias passou, então, por criteriosa análise de viabilidade e consistência, a fim de se identificar as configurações básicas de maior interesse para o esforço de prospecção dos cenários.Palavras-chave: Cenários prospectivos. Análise morfológica. Veículos elétricos.

Lithuania (as well as other "new" countries) on becoming a EU member found itself economically integrated with the countries whose economic potential was incomparably higher. At the same time Lithuania has already lost traditional, protectionist and defensive instruments of economic sovereignty. Therefore, the accession to EU not only has created new economic possibilities but also has generated complex problems concerning the protection of the economic safety. In the new global world market many traditional branches in Lithuania proved to be uncompetitive. This challenged the very basis of Lithuanian economy. The country met a difficult task to obtain a new position, and to survive in the space dominated by other economies. The country had to find its new place to become competitive. The review of economic theories dealing with the post-Soviet countries entering the EU shows that currently there exists no single theoretical ground for providing a consistent approach to economic problems encountered by Lithuania. The present paper in a certain measure attempts to bridge this gap. On the basis of the analysis of modern theories of the international integration the economic policy of low competitive states, the possibilities of economic integration with incomparably stronger economies, and the opportunities to protect national economy from destructive influence of unequal competitive struggle are discussed. ; Įstojusi į ES, Lietuva (kaip ir kitos naujos nrės) tapo ekonomiškai integruota su valstybėmis, kurių ekonominis pajėgumas yra daug didesnis. Kartu ji neteko tradicinių, protekcionistinių galimybių apginti savo ekonominį suverinitetą, kuris dominavo beveik visą XX a. šimtmetį, kol 2004 m. įstojo į Europos Sąjungą. Pagrindinį vaidmenį stojant į ES suvaidino politiniai kriterijai. Ekonominės naudos tikėtasi iš galimybės be kliūčių naudotis ES šalių rinkomis bei siekta patenkinti prekių poreikį vidaus rinkoje deficitinės ekonomikos sąlygomis. Vadinamajam reversiniam planui, tai yra būsimos aršios konkurencinės kovos dėl Lietuvos vidaus rinkos, taip pat užsienio kapitalo pagrindinių objektų ir gamybos šakų privatizacijos, pelno nutekėjimo į užsienį bei darbo ir užimtumo klausimams, buvo skiriama mažai dėmesio. Todėl įstojus į ES ne tik atsivėrė naujos ekonominės galimybės, bet ir kilo nemažų problemų, siekiant apsaugoti savo ekonomiką. Galimybės naujos integracijos sąlygomis gana plačiai aptariamos ekonomikos literatūroje, o nacionalinio ekonominio saugumo problemos trumpuoju, vidutinės trukmės ir ilguoju laikotarpiu, atsižvelgiant į pasiektą šalies vystymosi lygį skirtingose ūkio šakose, liko tyrėjų nenagrinėjamos. Šiuo straipsniu siekiama šiek tiek užpildyti šią spragą. Pabrėžiamas valstybės vaidmuo vidaus ekonomikoje užtikrinant palankias sąlygas BNP augti, daugiausia per savivaldos organus, ir taip daryti įtaką darbo rinkai, sukurti pridėtinę vertę ir pakelti bendrą šalies pragyvenimo lygį. Išorinė ekonominė valstybės pagalba pirmiausia galėtų pasireikšti sukuriant kokybiškas informacines paslaugas eksportuotojams ir potencialiems eksportuotojams, sujungiant ir koordinuojant nacionalinių institucijų, atsakingų už eksporto augimą, bei vietinių savivaldos organų pastangas. Remiantis šiuolaikinės tarptautinės integracijos teorija nagrinėjama silpno konkurencingumo valstybės ekonominė politika, kuri ne tik padėtų išnaudoti ekonominės integracijos su daug konkurencingesnėmis ekonomikomis galimybes, bet ir apsaugotų nacionalinę ekonomiką nuo destruktyvios nelygios konkurencinės kovos įtakos. Nagrinėjami būdai, kaip sudominti galingos ekonomikos šalis investuoti į silpno konkurencingumo valstybių ekonomikos saugumą. Analizuojami tradiciškai susiklostę silpno konkurencingumo ekonomikų savitumai (tokie, kaip valstybinių įmonių gausa) ir aptariamos šių savitumų išnaudojimo galimybės, siekiant užtikrinti jų stabilumą ir ekonominį saugumą.

International audience ; In Old Men in Love (2007), a book he has himself described as his last novel (but by no means his last book) Alasdair Gray relies heavily on intertextuality and self-reference in order to create a self-pastiche that is also consistent with an update of his political project, a project which dates back to his earliest writings, and which is provided with a theoretical framework in Why Scots Should Rule Scotland (1992). The new novel manages to combine the ontological disturbances and other postmodern tricks that have made his works famous with his unchanged humanist vision and project. The numerous narratives, rewrites and hence mouthpieces it creates, as well as the novel's pact of reading based on rewriting allow Gray to concentrate on how admittedly stable historical categories can be challenged by contemporary events and writing. In a book that insists on the organic nature of all creation with its extended metaphor of writing as landscape / as body, Gray indicates what role and what responsibility literature has in the depiction of, as well as the creation of a particular world picture, reminding the reader with the help of his protagonist John Tunnock that his "field is historical sociology". His re-historicised world, which places literature firmly at the core of his societal and historical reflection, focuses on the cardinal issues of justice and democracy, two issues which Gray has always integrated into his artistic project. ; Résumé en Français:Avec Old Men in Love (2007) que l'auteur a décrit comme son dernier roman (mais non son dernier livre), Alasdair Gray propose un projet ambitieusement intertextuel et sui-référentiel afin de créer un pastiche de son œuvre qui soit également une mise à jour de sa réflexion politique, laquelle remonte à ses premiers écrits et notamment à son pamphlet de 1992 Why Scots Should Rule Scotland. Ce nouveau roman parvient à mêler brouillages ontologiques et autres procédés postmodernes qui ont rendu célèbre leur auteur avec un projet et une vision humanistes qui eux aussi perdurent. Les nombreuses narrations, récritures et par conséquent les nombreux porte-parole que crée ce roman, ainsi que le pacte de lecture fondé sur la réécriture, permettent à Gray de se pencher sur le sujet de la stabilité bien fragile de l'Histoire lorsque cette dernière se voit confrontée aux événements contemporains. Dans ce roman postulant l'organicité de la création à travers la métaphore de l'écriture comme paysage et comme corps à la fois, Gray souligne le rôle et les devoirs de la littérature lorsqu'elle dépeint mais aussi crée le monde contemporain, rappelant au lecteur par le biais de son protagoniste John Tunnock que son « champ d'étude est la sociologie de l'histoire ». L'univers re-historicisé qu'il propose et dans lequel il n'omet pas la littérature comme agent de réflexion, se concentre sur les questions de justice et de démocratie, lesquelles se sont toujours situées au cœur de son projet artistique.

"This chapter was borne out of a need to bring together two contending constituencies and their arguments about why and how to identify impact in peacebuilding initiatives in practice. The two constituencies, which the authoress calls 'frameworkers' and 'circlers', involve sets of people who blend across the lines of development and conflict transformation work and possess very different arguments about how to conceptualize and operationalize issues of impact and change in program design, monitoring and evaluation. The differences matter in a practical sense for workers in international and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) because their views often clash during program design, monitoring and evaluation processes, and leave both sides dissatisfied. The groups also matter for conceptual reasons because they capture unspoken differences that hinder people's ability to talk clearly about impact and change, what matters, how people 'know what they know' about impact and change and, therefore, how they do their peacebuilding work. Unmasking the conceptual debates can improve our ability to speak about and achieve effectiveness and impact. The authoress receives diverse reactions to the arguments contained here. People who self-identify as circlers are often delighted to find an argument that recognizes them. For example, when one raises the topic in a course one co-teaches an peacebuilding monitoring, evaluation and learning there is a palpable sense of relief amongst some in the room who question linear causal logic and objective measures. Others, who are frameworker-orientated and work extensively in the field, tend to be open to the arguments below; they want frameworkers to be depicted positively but appreciate that different worldviews operate in the field and believe people need to be aware of differences and able to translate between them where possible. On infrequent occasions, academics steeped in positivist research have read the chapter and been appalled by the discussion regarding alternative worldviews, perceptions of reality and the questioning of causality; they find the suggestions disturbing and counter to their commitment to discover objective truths. Overall, these reactions reinforce for the authoress the importance of identifying and discussing assumptions at work in peacebuilding monitoring and evaluation; they also suggest that there are further issues to be addressed and that the authoress only begins to scratch the surface of the issues presented here. In this chapter, she begins by outlining the two basic constituencies: frameworkers and circlers. She briefly reviews the current status of peacebuilding monitoring and evaluation, which continues to grow and evolve. This is followed by an analysis of a series of topics that are debated between frameworkers and circlers; some of these topics are debated openly and addressed by other works that examine peacebuilding monitoring and evaluation, and some lie below the surface or are not articulated as debates. The tensions provide insights into the underlying issues that need to be identified in order to be fruitfully addressed. Finally, the authoress presents some concrete examples of ways that peacebuilding or other social change orientated programs have adopted to Bridge the positions in practice and identify practices that can strengthen particular areas that are currently under-developed and can benefit programs." (excerpt)

This licentiate thesis presents the use of participatory approach to developing a data warehouse for data mining in health care. Uganda is one of the countries that faced the largest brunt of the HIV/AIDS epidemic at its inception in the early 1980s with reports of close to a million deaths. Government and nongovernmental interventions over the years saw massive reductions in HIV prevalence rates over the years. This reduction in HIV prevalence rates led to great praises by the international community and a call for other countries to model Uganda's approach to battling the epidemic. In the last decade the reduction in HIV prevalence rates have stagnated and in some cases increased. This has lead to a call for reexamination of the HIV/AIDS fight with an emphasis on collective efforts of all approaches. One of these collective efforts is the introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for those already infected with the virus. Antiretroviral therapy has numerous challenges in Uganda not least of which is the cost of the therapy especially on a developing country with limited resources. It is estimated that of the close to 1 million infected in Uganda only 300,000 are on antiretroviral therapy (UNAIDS, 2009). Additional challenges of the therapy includes following through a treatment regimen that is prescribed. Given the costs of the therapy and the limited number of people able to access the therapy it is imperative that this effort be as effective as possible. This research hinges on using data mining techniques with monitoring HIV patient's therapy, most specifically their adherence to ART medication. This is crucial given that failure to adhere to therapy means treatment failure, virus mutation and huge losses in terms of costs incurred in administering the therapy to the patients. A system was developed to monitor patient adherence to therapy, by using a participatory approach of gathering system specification and testing to ensure acceptance of the system by the stakeholders. Due to the cost implications of over the shelf software the development of the system was implemented using open source software with limited license costs. These can be implemented in resource constrained settings in Uganda and elsewhere to assist in monitoring patients in HIV therapy. A algorithm that is used to analyze the patient data warehouses for information on and quickly assists therapists in identifying potential risks such as non-adherence and treatment failure. Open source dimensional modeling tools power architect and DB designer were used to model the data warehouse using open source MYSQL database. The thesis is organized in three parts with the first part presenting the background information, the problem, justification, objectives of the research and a justification for the use of participatory methodology. The second part presents the papers, on which this research is based and the final part contains the summary discussions, conclusions and areas for future research. The research is sponsored by SIDA under the collaboration between Makerere University and Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) in Sweden.

In this research topics of intercultural development are examined through a phenomenographical case study. The study centres around a Comenius Multilateral School Partnership Project, which aims to improve cooperation and intercultural learning between European schools. As part of the initiative to promote intercultural learning of children in the countries of the European Union, the European Commission launched a Comenius Project in 2009-2011 linking schools in Austria, England, Finland and Germany. The partnership of these countries actualised on multilateral and bilateral level. This study provides an analysis of the practises and learning outcomes from the Finnish perspective through a school partnership between a fifth grade class in Finland and a seventh grade class in Austria. The main focus of the study is the experiences and learning outcomes of the 22 Finnish pupils, that were participants in the Project. Research data is comprised of interviews of pupils, their parents and class teacher, pupil surveys, written narratives and observation of the researcher. Practical aspects of implementing the multi-faceted intercultural learning situations, which culminated to a 7-day study visit as the Austrian pupils visited Finland and were hosted in homes, are addressed. Key themes of the study involve various aspects of intercultural learning, such as development of intercultural sensitivity, role of national identity, situated learning, language acquisition and curricular frameworks. These themes are approached from theoretical as well as practical viewpoints and aim to build a holistic understanding of intercultural learning in practice. The theoretical basis to intercultural matters discusses the current need for intercultural competence, a challenge posed by globalisation and its various representations. In short, the demand for international cooperation and intercultual skills has increased while the notion of global citizenship has gained ground. The postmodern concept of globalisation is covered in this study through argumentation by scholars such as Anthony Giddens and Zygmunt Bauman. An inseparable element of intercultural development, national identity is discussed based on theories of Stuart Hall. At the core of the theoretical framework, Milton Bennett's Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity outlines the fundamental components of intercultural development setting the standard for analysis of research findings. The most significant learning outcomes from pupils' viewpoint are increased competence and courage to speak a foreign language as part of developed intercultural skills, and motivation to become acquainted with foreign cultures and people. Pupils also shifted in their thinking to a more accepting attitude towards cultural difference while learning to appreciate and embrace the uniqueness of their own culture. Eagerness to claim every culture as equal increased as well as understanding of global issues. Other findings suggest that teaching intercultural topics may be integrated into the objectives of the National Curriculum, although readiness to integrate and implement these topics require intercultural awareness and competence from teachers. Overall, participation in the Comenius Project was regarded a positive experience and a privilege by nearly all participants, which indicates a progressive development to the direction where the countries of European Union are encouraged. Key words: intercultural learning, intercultural sensitivity, intercultural development, national identity, global citizenship, curricular integration, situated learning