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This document contains Table of Contents and Preface. ; Throughout his illustrious career as an international statesman, Prof. de Marco will always be remembered for his extraordinary devotion and conviction when it came to Championing Issues pertaining to the Mediterranean. As, President of the 45th General Assembly of the United Nations, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta, a Signator of the Barcelona Declaration in November 1995 and President of Malta, Prof de Marco relentlessly highlighted the importance of prioritizing the link between European politics and Mediterranean relations, a Euro-Mediterranean relationship that should be built on three essential commonalities, common interest, common concerns, and common heritage. ; N/A

AbstractC. Wright Mills's critical work on international relations is well known, but is often dismissed as being unscholarly, reductionist, and overly polemical. However, seeing the work in the context of his earlier career can allow for a new perspective, with Mills's activist views on war and militarism shaped very clearly by his earlier theoretical and political commitments. Mills developed a distinctive political sociological understanding of international politics, theorising the state as a historically-situated structural determinant of international power: a network of elite power that was contextualised by the influence of the socially constructed realities of the international created by elites. Mills's crucial critical contribution was to see the role of the intellectual as criticising these realities through the imaginative reconceptualisation of the world, which he called the 'politics of truth'. The article argues the international politics of truth was not only Mills's distinctive theory of the international, but that it was clearly supported by his early theorisation of the international. A revised view of the importance of Mills's international relations work can help to situate Mills as part of a broader tradition of IR scholarship, a lost lineage of the critical historical and political sociology of the international.

The relationship between democracy & economic growth has concerned social scientists since the 17th century, but recent democracy movements make this question especially important today. Do poor countries face a cruel trade off between democracy & growth? Do democracy & growth go together as a "win-win" proposition? Or is democracy irrelevant to growth? Using pooled annual time-series data from 1951-1980 for 106 countries, including 88 non-core countries, we explore long-term & short-term direct & indirect effects of democracy on growth. Little or no direct effect emerges, but positive indirect effects appear via two mechanisms: a marginally significant effect via investment & a robust effect via government expenditure. Democracy also has a robust nonlinear effect on economic growth via social unrest, inhibiting growth under nondemocratic regimes & furthering it in highly democratic ones. Combining these findings, we conclude that democracy does not significantly hamper economic growth & under many circumstances slightly boosts it. 4 Tables, 1 Figure, 110 References. Adapted from the source document.

Die politische Diskussion um einen Lastenausgleich begann unmittelbar nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs und führte über mehrere Entwürfe zur Fassung von 1952, die zunächst unter kritischen Stimmen im Bundestag verabschiedet wurde. Die Haltung der im Entscheidungsprozess relevanten Parteien spaltete sich zwischen der quotalen Lösung mit individueller Schadensberechnung und der "sozialen" Variante. Nachdem bis zur zweiten Hälfte des Jahrzehnts Förderungsleistungen in Form von Darlehen im Vordergrund standen, erreichten die Entschädigungszahlungen die Betroffenen erst in den 1960er Jahren.

3D modelling of precincts and cities has significantly advanced in the last decades, as we move towards the concept of the Digital Twin. Many 3D city models have been created but a large portion of them neglect representing terrain and buildings accurately. Very often the surface is either considered planar or is not represented. On the other hand, many Digital Terrain Models (DTM) have been created as 2.5D triangular irregular networks (TIN) or grids for different applications such as water management, sign of view or shadow computation, tourism, land planning, telecommunication, military operations and communications. 3D city models need to represent both the 3D objects and terrain in one consistent model, but still many challenges remain. A critical issue when integrating 3D objects and terrain is the identification of the valid intersection between 2.5D terrain and 3D objects. Commonly, 3D objects may partially float over or sink into the terrain; the depth of the underground parts might not be known; or the accuracy of data sets might be different. This paper discusses some of these issues and presents an approach for a consistent 3D reconstruction of LOD1 models on the basis of 3D point clouds, DTM, and 2D footprints of buildings. Such models are largely used for urban planning, city analytics or environmental analysis. The proposed method can be easily extended for higher LODs or BIM models.

3D modelling of precincts and cities has significantly advanced in the last decades, as we move towards the concept of the Digital Twin. Many 3D city models have been created but a large portion of them neglect representing terrain and buildings accurately. Very often the surface is either considered planar or is not represented. On the other hand, many Digital Terrain Models (DTM) have been created as 2.5D triangular irregular networks (TIN) or grids for different applications such as water management, sign of view or shadow computation, tourism, land planning, telecommunication, military operations and communications. 3D city models need to represent both the 3D objects and terrain in one consistent model, but still many challenges remain. A critical issue when integrating 3D objects and terrain is the identification of the valid intersection between 2.5D terrain and 3D objects. Commonly, 3D objects may partially float over or sink into the terrain; the depth of the underground parts might not be known; or the accuracy of data sets might be different. This paper discusses some of these issues and presents an approach for a consistent 3D reconstruction of LOD1 models on the basis of 3D point clouds, DTM, and 2D footprints of buildings. Such models are largely used for urban planning, city analytics or environmental analysis. The proposed method can be easily extended for higher LODs or BIM models.

This report reviews how the Nordic countries can develop a strategy for renewable energy that delivers efficiently on the two underlying policy objectives of climate change and energy security challenges. The overarching elements in the evaluation of existing polices and the policy recommendations that follows from the analysis falls into three main parts: • Expanding renewable energy is not an end in itself, but a tool to deliver on the two real policy targets: climate change and energy security. • Too much policy focus at the Nordic and EU level is dedicated to boost renewable energy share of energy production in the near term, and insufficient resources are allocated to develop future low carbon technologies, which are required when CO2 abatement targets become more ambitious. • The long term nature of the challenges and huge investments in low carbon technologies required to deliver on long term targets puts a very high premium on policies that reduces policy risks as perceived by investors. The report was commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers and written by Copenhagen Economics.

Drawing on studies and expertise from around the world, this book describes the transition from research to policy and covers the pre-requisites to successful new firm formation policies. At a time when a new firm formation is promoted by central and local government, business development agencies and the private sector, this book questions the economic dependence on small firms and explores the relevance of networking, information and advice