Automotive crashes are responsible for the highest number of accidental deaths all over the world. Researchers, automotive manufacturers and government authorities around the world are continuously looking for solutions to this problem. Research has shown that half of the accidents can be avoided if a driver is alerted to an impending collision a fraction of a second in advance. A mechanism for warning the driver of an approaching danger is called a Driver Assistance System (DAS). Accident statistics show that a great majority of the vehicle crashes result from front-end collisions. Hence minimizing frontal collisions would significantly decrease road accidents. To predict a front-end collision sufficiently in advance, the obstacle must be detected from a distance. Moreover, for the DAS to be really effective, an imminent collision must be sensed in all circumstances, especially in poor weather where the DAS is needed most. A radar sensor fulfils both the prerequisites of long range obstacle detection and all-weather operation. However, only detecting obstacles can be useful to a certain extent. To establish whether an obstacle is on a collision course with the host vehicle, its trajectory must be foreseen before it comes close to the host vehicle. Determining the trajectory of a moving object requires its dynamic behavior to be monitored over a period of time. In a real traffic scenario more than one obstacle can pose danger to the host vehicle, hence trajectories of multiple objects have to be monitored simultaneously. An apparatus which is capable of performing such functions is called a Multiple Target Tracking (MTT) system. In this thesis we propose a DAS using the principles of Multiple Target Tracking to monitor the dynamics of obstacles hundreds of meters ahead and to avoid a collision of the host vehicle with them. While theoretically such a system offers one of the best answers to the road accident problem, its practical implementation is not a trivial task. It involves complex computations and consequently, needs a long processing time. However, to alert a driver to an approaching danger in real time, the computations must be performed very rapidly. We use multiple processors in our system to share the computation load and thereby reduce the processing time. Multiple processors running in parallel not only speed up the computation but also address the power consumption issues of the embedded systems. We use FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) as the implementation platform for our multiprocessor system. FPGAs offer the flexibility needed for the ever evolving embedded systems and they are very cost effective. A multiprocessor system implemented in an FPGA makes its architecture flexible and reconfigurable while the processors can be reprogrammed when needed. Thus FPGA based multiprocessor systems guarantee flexibility in hardware as well as in software therefore they scale very easily. We optimize the system architecture to minimize its hardware size while still meeting the realtime deadlines of the application. Minimized hardware not only leads to reducing energy consumption of the system but also enables us to fit the system in a smaller FPGA which plays an important role in reducing the cost of the system. ; Les accidents de véhicules automobiles sont responsables du plus grand nombre de décès dans le monde. Les chercheurs, les constructeurs automobiles et les autorités gouvernementales internationales sont continuellement à la recherche de solutions pour résoudre ce problème. La recherche a montré que la moitié des accidents peut être évitée si le conducteur est alerté d'une collision imminente une fraction de seconde à l'avance. Un mécanisme d'alerte d'un danger proche est appelé Driver Assistance Systems (DAS). Les statistiques montrent qu'une grande majorité des accidents de véhicules se passent à la suite d'une collision frontale. Minimiser les collisions frontales devrait donc diminuer considérablement les accidents de la route. Pour prévoir une collision frontale suffisamment à l'avance, l'obstacle doit être détecté à distance. En outre, pour que le système d'aide à la conduite soit réellement efficace, une collision imminente doit être prévue en tenant compte de toutes les circonstances : par exemple plus il fait mauvais, plus ce système est nécessaire. Un capteur radar remplit les conditions préalables de détection d'obstacles à longue portée en tenant compte des conditions météorologiques. Pour déterminer si un obstacle se trouve sur une trajectoire de collision avec le véhicule équipé, sa trajectoire doit être prévue avant qu'il n'arrive près du véhicule concerné. La détermination de la trajectoire d'un objet en mouvement exige que son comportement dynamique soit suivi sur une période de temps. Dans un scénario de trafic réel, plus d'un obstacle peut être considéré comme un danger, c'est pourquoi les trajectoires d'objets multiples doivent être surveillées simultanément. Un appareil capable d'assurer de telles fonctions est appelé un système de suivi d'obstacles multiples (Multiple Target Tracking : MTT). Dans cette thèse nous proposons un système d'aide à la conduite original utilisant les principes du MTT pour suivre la dynamique d'obstacles situés à plus d'une centaine de mètres et pour éviter une collision avec le véhicule équipé. En théorie, un tel système offre une des meilleures réponses au problème des accidents de la route, mais sa mise en œuvre reste difficile à réaliser. Elle implique des calculs complexes et, par conséquent, les besoins de traitement prennent du temps. Cependant, pour aviser le conducteur d'un danger imminent en temps réel, les calculs doivent être effectués très rapidement. Nous avons alors opté pour une solution optimale utilisant des processeurs afin de partager la charge de calcul et de réduire ainsi le temps de traitement. Les processeurs multiples fonctionnant en parallèle permettent non seulement d'accélérer le calcul, mais aussi d'optimiser la consommation d'énergie du système embarqué. Nous utilisons des FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) comme plateforme de mise en œuvre de notre système multiprocesseur. Les FPGA offrent la souplesse nécessaire pour les systèmes embarqués en constante évolution et sont très rentables. Un système multiprocesseur réalisé dans un FPGA rend son architecture flexible et reconfigurable et les processeurs peuvent être reprogrammés si nécessaire. Ainsi les systèmes multiprocesseurs à base de FPGA garantissent une souplesse du matériel ainsi que des logiciels, et par conséquent ces systèmes deviennent facilement évolutifs (scalables). Nous optimisons l'architecture du système afin de minimiser la taille du matériel tout en respectant les délais en temps réel de l'application. La minimisation du matériel ne conduit pas seulement à réduire la consommation d'énergie du système, mais nous permet aussi d'adapter le système dans un FPGA plus réduit, ce qui joue un rôle important dans la réduction du coût du système.
Interference of esotericism and politics became apparent especially in the 19th century when the early socialists expected the coming of the Age of Spirit, and narratives about secret wisdom being kept in mysterious sacred places became all the more popular. Thus, the idea of the Age of Enlightenment underwent transformation: the world will be saved not by ordinary knowledge but by some special secret wisdom. In this context, Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891) developed the doctrine of Theosophy the ideas of which were overtaken by the next-generation theosophists including also the Russian painter Nicholas Roerich (1874–1947) and his spouse Helena Roerich (1879–1955) who developed a new form of Theosophy. The aim of this article is to analyse the interference between Theosophy and politics paying special attention to its historical roots, which, in the context of Roerich groups, are to be sought in the political activities of Nicholas Roerich, the founder of the movement. The following materials have been used in the analysis: first, writings of the founders of Agni Yoga or Teaching of Living Ethics; second, the latest studies in the history of Theosophy made in the available archives after the collapse of the soviet regime; third, materials obtained from the interviews of a field research (2006–2008). The author has made use of an interdisciplinary approach combining anthropological methods with the method of systematic analysis. The historical roots of the political activity of contemporary theosophists stretch into the political aspirations of Nicholas Roerich, the founder of Agni Yoga or Teaching of Living Ethics. Opening of the USSR secret archives and publication of several formerly inaccessible diaries and letters of theosophists offer an opportunity to study the "spiritual geopolitics" of the Roerichs. Setting off to his Central Asian expeditions (1925–1928; 1934–1935), Nicholas Roerich strived to implement the Great Plan, i.e. to found a New State that would stretch from Tibet to South Siberia comprising the territories governed by China, Mongolia, Tibet and the USSR. The new state was conceived as the kingdom of Shambhala on the earth, and in order to form this state, Nicholas Roerich aspired to acquire the support of various political systems. During the Tzarist Empire, the political world outlook of Nicholas Roerich was markedly monarchic. After the Bolshevik coup in Russia, the artist accepted the offer to work under the wing of the new power, but after his emigration to the West Roerich published extremely sharp articles against the Bolsheviks. In 1922, the Roerichs started to support Lenin considering him the messenger of Shambhala. Roerich's efforts to acquire Bolshevik support culminated in 1926 when the Roerichs arrived in Moscow bringing a message by Mahatmas to the soviet government, a small case with earth for the Lenin Mausoleum from Burhan-Bulat and paintings in which Buddha Maitreya bore strong resemblance to Lenin. The plan of founding the Union of Eastern Republics, with Bolshevik support, failed, since about the year 1930 the soviet authorities changed their position concerning the politics of the Far East. Having ascertained that the Bolsheviks would not provide the anticipated support for the Great Plan, the Roerichs started to seek for contacts in the USA which provided funding for his second expedition (1934–1935). The Roerichs succeeded even in making correspondence (1934–1936) with President Roosevelt who paid much larger attention to Eastern states especially China than other presidents did. Their correspondence ceased when the Security Service of the USA grew suspicious about Roerich's pro-Japanese disposition. Nicholas Roerich has sought for support to his political ambitions by all political regimes. In 1934, the Russian artist tried to ascertain whether German national socialists would support his efforts in Asia. It may seem that the plans of founding the Union of Oriental Republics have passed away along with Roerich; yet in 1991 his son Svyatoslav Roerich (1904–1993) pointed out once again that the Altai is a very important centre of the great future and Zvenigorod is still a great reality and a magnificent dream. Interference between esotericism and politics is observed also among Latvian theosophists: the soviet regime successfully made use of Roerich's adherents propagating the communist ideology in the independent Republic of Latvia. In the 1920s and 1930s, the embassy of the USSR in Riga maintained close contacts with Roerich's adherents in Latvia and made a strong pressure on the Latvian government not to ban the Roerich's Museum Friend Society who actively propagated the success of soviet culture and economy. On 17 June 1940, the soviet army occupied the Republic of Latvia, and Haralds Lūkins, the son of the founder of the Roerich's Museum Friend Society, was elected to the first government of the soviet Latvia. Nevertheless, involvement of theosophists in politics was unsuccessful, since after the official annexation of Latvia into the USSR, on 5 August 1940, all societies including the Roerich's Museum Friend Society were closed. Since the members of the movement continued to meet regularly, in 1949, Haralds Lūkins was arrested as leader of an illegal organization. After the Second World War, theosophists were subjected to political repressions. Arrests of Roerich's followers (1948–1951) badly impaired the movement. After rehabilitation in 1954, the repressed persons gradually returned from exile and kept on their illegal meetings in small groups. To regain their rights to act openly, Roerich's followers started to praise Nicholas Roerich as a supporter of the soviet power. With the collapse of the soviet regime, Roerich's followers in Latvia became legal in 1988 when the Latvian Roerich Society was restored which soon split up according to geopolitical orientation; therefore, presently in Latvia, there are the following organisations: Latvian Roerich Society, Latvian Department of the International Centre of the Roerichs, and Aivars Garda group or the Latvian National Front. A. Garda fused nationalistic ideas with Theosophy offering a special social reorganization – repatriation of the soviet-time immigrants and a social structure of Latvia that would be formed by at least 75% ethnic Latvians. Activity of A. Garda group, which is being criticized by other groups of theosophists, is a continuation of the interference between theosophical and political ideas practised by the Roerichs. Generally it is to be admitted that after the crush of the soviet regime, in theosophist groups, unclear political orientation between the rightists and leftists is observed, characterised by fairly radical ideas.
[eng] Research involving human subjects must be performed with standards that promote protection of their rights. Several codes were developed and all are unanimous in the following ethic principles: respect for persons, beneficence and justice. The fulfilment of these principles will assure that the dignity, rights, safety and well-being of the participants in a biomedical research are guaranteed.The need of a special protection to those with diminished autonomy is a common requirement to all codes. Pregnant women are defined as a vulnerable population because of the potential risk of harm of the foetus. Apart from the foetal risk, pregnant women in developing countries have additional potential for vulnerability, as in most of the cases they are economically or/and educationally disadvantaged individuals. Their generally low level of education may put them in a difficult situation to fully understand consent forms and the risk-benefit assessment provided by the researchers.In recent years, the evidence-based medicine has been an important international goal. Mechanisms to support the use of research-based evidence in developing health policy are being promoted. The research must be sensitive to the potential for vulnerability when designing evidence-based trials and they have to assure that the vulnerable population is being protected.With the intention to protect the vulnerable population, some groups such as pregnant women have being traditionally excluded from clinical trials. As a result of this exclusion, pregnant women are being exposed to medicines in situations where no evidence-based information is available on efficacy and safety. They are deprived of the benefits of treatment in order to be protected themselves and their offspring from an unknown risk. Although is very clear that protection of a vulnerable population, particularly the pregnant women, is mandatory in the design of any trial, the challenges of the implementation of this principle should be taken into account in order to not increase the gap between the introduction of a pharmaceutical product in the market and the availability of safety information for its use in pregnancy.In developing countries maternal mortality is an important public health problem. Most maternal deaths occur in the poorest countries particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Mozambique the rate could be between 408-1000 per 100 000 live births according to the source of information. Several studies have addressed different causes of maternal mortality in Africa, eclampsia and malaria being part of the five most reported.There is strong evidence of the effectiveness of magnesium sulphate (MGSO4) in women with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia but the drug is not available in some countries. The example of MgSO4 has being used to describe failure in translating results of research into policy and/or practice.For malaria treatment few drugs were considered effective and safe for use during pregnancy including chloroquine, sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine and quinine. The information on safety comes from a long experience of use. The emergency of resistance of P. falciparum to these drugs is limiting its use in most of endemic areas. The artemisinin derivatives are being strongly recommended to be used in combination with other antimalarial drugs. Preclinical studies have consistently shown that artemisinin and its derivatives are embryolethal and teratogenic in animals. Current available information is not adequate to extrapolate the results in animals to humans.Limited data on the safety profile of antimalarial drugs during pregnancy is a challenge. Nowadays these drugs are used in pregnant women based on retrospective cumulative risk-benefit assessment. Mechanisms of prospectively monitoring the drugs use are required to protect pregnant women from the potential risk.The aim of this thesis is to describe the (un)availability of drugs and their reasons, as well as, the (un)availability of safety information on drugs needed to be used during pregnancy in Southern Africa, and to propose mechanisms to effectively monitor drug safety in pregnancy in developing countries.In order to achieve this objective four studies were performed. In the first study a qualitative case-study based on interviews and bibliographic review was performed in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Factors affecting the (un)availability of MgSO4 were assessed. This study showed that research evidence regarding the effectiveness of MgSO4 for the treatment of eclampsia and pre-eclampsia, was widely known in the study countries. However, the registration, approval, acquisition and distribution of MgSO4, and hence its availability to clinicians, was affected by market and systems failures. With this study we concluded that the low cost of magnesium sulphate, as well as the mechanisms through which it is procured, means that market forces alone cannot be relied upon to ensure its availability. Governments and international organizations must be prepared to intervene to ensure the wide availability of low cost, effective drugs critical to improving public health in Africa.The second and the third studies shown that antimalarial drugs are being used in pregnant women even without information on its safety profile in this particular group. Robust safety monitoring systems are clearly needed in developing countries to accompany the deployment of new drugs, especially those with a potential teratogenic risk.The fourth study showed that spontaneous reporting system may be a tool for drug safety monitoring. This system could be used to increase health care providers' and patients' awareness of possible ADRs, and to develop a culture to report these reactions. Spontaneous reporting and pregnancy registries were presented as examples of mechanisms that could and should be in place.Recommendations on how these systems could be effectively implemented in resource constrained countries were also presented.All these studies suggest that the definition of vulnerability of pregnant women in developing countries should not be restricted to the potential risk of harm of the foetus (harm-based definition) or to the difficulty of fully understanding consent forms (consent-based definitions). Women are also vulnerable because of the high risk of dying from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy. The implementation of these ethic principles need to take into account the urgent need to implement effective and safe drugs targeted to reduce the burden of maternal morbidity and mortality. ; [spa] La investigación relativa a los seres humanos debe realizarse dentro de unos estándares que promuevan la protección de sus derechos. Varios códigos han sido desarrollados y todos ellos coinciden unánimemente en los siguientes principios éticos: el respeto por las personas, la beneficencia y la justicia. La realización de estos principios debe asegurar la dignidad, los derechos, la seguridad y el bienestar de los participantes en una investigación biomédica sean preservados.La necesidad de una protección especial hacia aquellos seres cuya autonomía sea limitada es un requerimiento común para todos los códigos. Las mujeres embarazadas están definidas como un grupo de población vulnerable dado el riesgo potencial de causar daño al feto. Además del riesgo para el feto, las mujeres embarazadas en los países en desarrollo son potencialmente más vulnerables, y suelen contar con desventajas a nivel económico y/o educativo. Su nivel de educación, por lo general bajo, les pone en una situación difícil, dificultando la comprensión de los formularios de consentimiento y la evaluación del riesgo-beneficio que prestan los investigadores.En los últimos años, la medicina basada en la evidencia ha sido una meta muy importante a nivel internacional. Se están promoviendo mecanismos para respaldar el uso de la evidencia científica para la definición de política de desarrollo de la salud. La investigación debe ser sensible a la vulnerabilidad potencial cuando se diseñan ensayos basados en la evidencia. Además, se debe asegurar que la población vulnerable esté siendo protegida.Con la intención de proteger a esa población vulnerable, algunos grupos como los de mujeres embarazadas han sido tradicionalmente excluidos de los ensayos clínicos. Como resultado de esta exención, algunas mujeres embarazadas están siendo expuestas a medicamentos de los que no hay información basada en la evidencia en cuanto a su eficacia y seguridad. Este hecho las priva de los beneficios del tratamiento que debería protegerlas, a ellas y sus hijos, de un riesgo desconocido. Aunque está muy claro que proteger a una población vulnerable, particularmente a las mujeres embarazadas, es obligatorio en el diseño de un ensayo clínico, los retos de la implementación de este principio no deberían aumentar el vacío entre la introducción de un producto farmacéutico en el mercado y la disponibilidad de información sobre su seguridad para uso en el embarazo.En los países en vías de desarrollo la mortalidad materna es un problema importante de salud pública. La mayoría de muertes maternas ocurren en los países más pobres, particularmente en África Subsahariana. En Mozambique el índice puede ser entre 408-1000 por 100000 nacidos vivos, dependiendo de la fuente de información. Diferentes estudios han señalado diversas causas de mortalidad materna en África, encontrándose la eclampsia y la malaria entre las cinco primeras.Existe una gran evidencia de la eficacia del sulfato de magnesio (MGSO4) en mujeres con pre-eclampsia y eclampsia, sin embargo el fármaco no está disponible en algunos países. El ejemplo del sulfato de magnesio se ha utilizado para describir el fracaso en el traslado de los resultados de la investigación a la práctica y/o política.Para el tratamiento de la malaria, se consideró seguro el uso durante el embarazo de algunos fármacos incluyendo cloroquina, sulfadoxinapirimetamina y quinina. La información sobre seguridad responde a una gran experiencia de uso. El aumento de resistencia de P. falciparum a estos fármacos está limitando su uso en la mayoría de las zonas endémicas. Actualmente se está recomendando el uso de los derivados de la artemisinina en combinación con otros fármacos antimaláricos. Los estudios preclínicos han mostrado sistemáticamente que la artemisina y sus derivados son embrioletales y teratogénicos en animales. La información disponible hasta la fecha no es adecuada para extrapolar los resultados de los animales a los humanos.Los datos limitados en el perfil de seguridad de los fármacos antimaláricos durante el embarazo constituyen un desafío. Hoy en día, estos fármacos se usan en mujeres embarazadas basándose en una valoración retrospectiva acumulativa de riesgo-beneficio. Se necesitarían mecanismos de monitorización prospectiva del uso de los fármacos para proteger a las mujeres de su riesgo potencial.El objetivo de esta tesis es el de describir la disponibilidad o no disponibilidad de los fármacos y sus razones; describir la disponibilidad o no disponibilidad de información sobre la seguridad de estos fármacos que son de uso necesario en el sureste de África. Se pretende también proponer mecanismos efectivos para monitorizar la seguridad de los fármacos en el embarazo en los países en desarrollo.Para alcanzar estos objetivos se llevaron a cabo cuatro estudios. El primero consistía en un estudio cualitativo de casos basados en entrevistas y en una revisión bibliográfica en Mozambique y Zimbawe. Se evaluaron los factores que afectaban a la disponibilidad o no disponibilidad del sulfato de magnesio. El estudio mostró que la evidencia científica respecto a la eficacia del sulfato de magnesio para el tratamiento de la eclampsia y la pre-eclampsia fue ampliamente conocida en los países del estudio. Sin embargo, el registro, aprobación, adquisición y distribución del sulfato de magnesio y como consecuencia, su disponibilidad para los médicos se vio afectada por fallos de mercado y de sistema. Este estudio concluye que el bajo coste del sulfato de magnesio, así como el mecanismo a través del cual se obtiene, significa que las fuerzas del mercado por si solas no pueden asegurar su disponibilidad. Los gobiernos y las organizaciones internacionales deben estar preparados para intervenir y para asegurar una amplia disponibilidad de fármacos efectivos de bajo coste, críticos para mejorar la salud pública en África.El segundo y tercer estudio mostraron que los fármacos antimaláricos se están usando en mujeres embarazadas sin contar con información sobre su perfil de seguridad en este grupo particular. Se necesita claramente una monitorización fuerte y segura en los países en vías de desarrollo para acompañar el despliegue de los nuevos fármacos, especialmente aquellos que conllevan un potencial riesgo teratogénico.El cuarto estudio mostró que el sistema de notificación espontánea puede ser una herramienta para la monitorización de la seguridad de los fármacos. Este sistema se podrá usar para incrementar la consciencia en proveedores de salud y en enfermos sobre las posibles reacciones adversas de fármacos. Ello permitirá desarrollar una cultura de notificación de estas reacciones. La notificación espontánea y los registros de embarazo se presentaron como ejemplos de mecanismos que podrían y deberían ser implementados. Las recomendaciones de cómo estos sistemas podrían ser implementados de forma efectiva en países con recursos limitados también fueron presentadas.Todos estos estudios sugieren que la definición de vulnerabilidad de las mujeres embarazas en los países en desarrollo no se puede restringir a causa del riesgo potencial de daño al feto, o debido a la dificultad de entender por completo los formularios de consentimiento. También son vulnerables por el riesgo elevado de morir por alguna causa relacionada o agravada por el embarazo. La implementación de estos principios éticos necesita tener en cuenta la necesidad de implementar fármacos diana efectivos y seguros para reducir la mortalidad y morbilidad materna.
Länsimaiset teknologia-alan yritykset siirtävät ohjelmistojen ja oheispalvelujen tuotantoaan kasvavassa määrin kehitysmaihin. Ulkomaille etäulkoistamisen riskit on syytä tuntea, jotta yritykset voivat hyödyntää liiketoimintamallin mahdollisuuksia. Etäulkoistamisesta ja sen johtamisesta on tehty lukuisia tutkimuksia. Suurin osa käsittelee tietotekniikan etäulkoistamista asiakkaan, ulkoistavan yrityksen näkökulmasta. Tietohallintojohdon tarpeisiin on luotu useita viitekehyksiä IT-järjestelmien etäulkoistamisen toteuttamiseksi käytännössä. Viitekehykset kattavat osa-alueita, mutta yksikään niistä ei ohjeista kokonaisvaltaisesti ohjelmistotuotannon ulkomaille ulkoistamisen johtamista.Anicet Yalahon kehitti tutkimuksessaan ohjelmistotuotannon etäulkoistamiseen soveltuvan ICT-SUPOO-mallin (ICT-supported unified process of off-shore outsourcing), joka yhdistää ulkomaille suuntautuvan etäulkoistamisen prosessit, riskienhallintaprosessit ja suhdetoimintahallinnan prosessit.Tutkimus koostuu kolmesta osasta. Ensimmäinen osa on kirjallisuuskatsaus. Toisessa osassa Yalaho käsittelee vaihdantakustannusteorian soveltamista ulkomaille etäulkoistamisen analysointiin ja kolmas osa on tapaustutkimus neljästä huipputeknologian yrityksestä.Yalahon ICT-SUPOO-malli koostuu seuraavista vaiheista: a) strategisten kompetenssien analyysi, b) kansainvälisten markkinoiden kartoitus, c) palveluntarjoajien valinta, d) sopimusneuvottelut, e) projektin toimeksianto ja toteutus f) ja arviointi sekä sopimuksen lopettaminen. Vaiheet toteutetaan samanaikaisesti riskienhallintaprosessien kanssa. Vaiheiden a-c jälkeen käynnistyy suhdetoiminta sopimusneuvottelulla. Suhdetoiminta jatkuu projektin päättymiseen saakka.Tutkimuksessa käy ilmi, etteivät suhdetoiminta ja riskienhallinta ole prosessin sisäisiä vaiheita kuten aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa on osoitettu. Suhdetoiminta ja riskienhallinta tapahtuvat ICT-SUPOO-mallin muiden vaiheiden yhteydessä.Vaihdantakustannusteorian avulla havaittiin, että palvelun tarjoajat käyttävät erityisiä toimenpiteitä tavoittaakseen potentiaaliset asiakkaansa, esimerkiksi hakupalvelujen kautta, jolloin etsintä- ja markkinointikustannukset vähenevät. Ulkomaiset palveluntarjoajat keskittyvät tiettyihin strategisiin maihin, joihin heillä on kustannusetu. Tutkituilla ulkoistajilla oli aikaisempaa kokemusta etäulkoistamisesta ja ne olivat toimineet useita vuosia palveluntarjoajan kotimaassa. Siten ne tuntevat liiketoimintakäytänteet ja useimmat alan toimijat. Palveluntarjoajat valikoivat tarkasti, mihin palveluihin sitoutuvat. Palveluntarjoajan tietämys ja ulkoistamisesta karttunut kokemus auttavat sopimustilanteessa.Sopimukset vahvistetaan sosiaalisilla suhteilla. Sopimus on työkalu, joka tarjoaa minimiehdot ja -turvan, mutta pitkäaikainen, terve ja kestävä yhteistyösuhde edellyttää sosiaalisin suhtein vahvistettua luottamussuhdetta. Asiakkaat ja palveluntarjoajat valittavat usein opportunismista, vaihdantakustannusten kasvusta sekä kyvyttömyydestä vaikuttaa yhteistyösuhteeseen.Yalaho analysoi riskitekijöitä, jotka voivat vaikuttaa ICT-SUPOO-mallin toimintaan. Riskitekijöitä ovat mm. ymmärryksen puute ulkoistetusta liiketoiminnasta, täsmällisen riskianalyysin puute, valuuttakurssiriski, palveluntarjoajan opportunismi, maineen menetyksen riski, paikallisen lain tulkinta konfliktitilanteessa, erilaiset projektinhallintakäytännöt, riittämättömät projektinhallintataidot, riittämätön tekninen ymmärrys, maksujen viivästyminen, asiakkaan liiallinen puuttuminen yksityiskohtiin ja epäselvä strategia IT-tuen hyödyntämiseksi kommunikaatiossa, koordinoinnissa ja yhteistyössä. Tutkimus tuo esiin strategioita, jotka ovat tarpeellisia riskien vähentämiseksi ja ICT-SUPOO-mallin onnistumiseksi ohjelmistotuotannossa.ICT-SUPOO-mallin tunnistamia riskejä ohjelmistotuotannossa ei voi kokonaan välttää, sillä jotkut tekijät, kuten poliittinen epävakaus, eivät ole asiakkaan ja palveluntarjoajan hallinnassa. Yritysten tulee valmistautua niiden varalta tehokkailla riskienhallintastrategioilla ; Software-intensive high-tech companies in Western countries are increasingly producing software and related services in developing countries. Despite the rapid progress of offshore outsourcing, there are various risks that must be investigated so that companies can avail themselves of the opportunities this business model offers. Various important benefits can be achieved through the successful management of offshore outsourcing. Numerous studies exist on outsourcing in general, yet the vast majority of extant literature on offshore outsourcing has dealt with information technology (IT) outsourcing from the client's perspective. Several frameworks have been developed that focus on guiding information systems managers in the practice of IT outsourcing with very specific areas such as, the decision factors of IT outsourcing, perceptions of risks and benefits of outsourcing, cost analysis, competence analysis, trust in the outsourcing project, relationship management, supplier influence and associated risks, risk management of outsourcing, etc. However, none of these frameworks has attempted to provide holistic guidelines for managing the entire process of offshore outsourcing of software production.In addition, there is a significant lack of empirical research on the a) risk factors of information communication technologies-supported unified process of offshore outsourcing (ICT-SUPOO) for software production and how these factors hinder software production through offshore outsourcing; b) lack of empirical research on measures that are necessary to reduce risks in order to enhance the success of the ICT-SUPOO model of software production; and c) critical success factors in the context of ICT-SUPOO of software production and how do these factors enhance success in the offshore outsourcing process of software production. Thus, the main objective of this study is to develop an ICT-SUPOO model for software production that integrates a) offshore outsourcing processes, b) risk management processes, and c) relationship management processes. The basic research question addressed in this study is: How can information and communication technologies assist companies in software production through offshore outsourcing? To answer the above question, the following sub-questions are formulated:1. a) What are the phases in the ICT-supported unified process of offshore outsourcing for software production? b) Which major activities, performance measures and expected outcomes are executed and managed effectively in each phase of the process? and c) Which ICT tools best support these phases in general and each phase in particular? 2. How are the outsourcing relationships between the client and service provider initiated, exercised and managed in offshore software development?3. What are the key risks of ICT-SUPOO for software production, how are risks created in each phase of the process and which strategies should be taken into account to reduce such risks?4. What are the critical success factors of ICT-SUPOO for software production, and how do these factors enhance success in the offshore outsourcing process?This study has been undertaken to address this need and to make both theoretical and practical contributions. The research has been conducted through: a) an in-depth review of the literature on outsourcing, IT outsourcing, offshore outsourcing, global software development, distributed software development and ICT; b) an analysis and application of transaction cost theory as a background theory; and c) multiple case studies of four high-tech companies, conducted from both the service provider's and client's viewpoints using an interpretive approach.Article I broadly contributes to the understanding of the ICT-SUPOO unified process phenomenon by extensively analyzing the major processes and their activities, performance measures, and deliverables.In Article II, the ICT-SUPOO model of software production is validated rigorously by conducting a multi-site cross-case study from both the service provider's and client's viewpoints, where professionals with extensive experience in managing offshore outsourcing of software production are interviewed. The analysis has revealed that the ICT-SUPOO goes through the following phases: a) strategic competences analysis, b) international market research and promotion, c) selection of provider(s), d) contract negotiation, e) project implementation and commissioning, and f) evaluation and contract termination; these phases constitute the main process of offshore outsourcing. The abovementioned main phases are executed concomitantly with risk management processes. Then the relationship management process starts with contract negotiation and continues until the project is completed. This study clearly shows that relationship management and risk management are not phases within the process, as is suggested in earlier studies (see, e.g., Momme, 2001; Yalaho and Wu, 2002; Momme and Hvolby, 2002; McIvor, 2000). Instead, relationship management and risk management are evolving activities which cannot be taken as a single phase or represented as such; rather, they span the other phases of the ICT-SUPOO model. This is a unique finding from our research. No prior study notes this.Here are the new findings associated with ICT-SUPOO in the context of the transaction cost theory. a) There is a distinctive set of activities (or an idiosyncratic approach) that service providers carried out to reach their potential customers, along with reducing search and marketing cost (see, Phase 2 in article II, service provider perspective). b) Offshore service providers also strategically target specific countries in which they would like to sell their services in order to keep the cost advantage (that is, to be cheaper than the client's country competitors) (see as above, service provider perspective). c) Both clients have previous experience and have worked for several years in the country of their respective selected provider. Therefore, they knew very well the selected-country's business practices in general, as well as most outsourcing players in particular (see as above, client perspective). d) Service providers are selective regarding which contracts they wish to enter into. This indicates that service providers are very experienced and have a high degree of knowledge, which enables them to make the right choice when engaging in a contract (see as above, service provider perspective). e) Contracts are based on "social relations". FinSoftAlfa and its partner IndiaSoftNet in particular considered the contract as a tool that provides minimum safeguards, but for long-term healthy and sustainable business relationships, one needs to build a kind of trust that does not derive from a contract but resides in social relations instead (see, as above, client perspective).Often clients and service providers complain of opportunism, rising transaction costs of all sort, and inability to influence the terms of the relationship. However, many of these problems experienced by firms are preventable, as they may cause by poor management decision making. Moreover, offshore outsourcing involves multiple processes which must be handled simultaneously in order to reduce transaction costs and the risks of failure. Through our empirical data, we reveal how transaction costs are minimized at: (1) strategic competences analysis, (2) international market research and promotion, (3) selection of service providers, (4) contract negotiation, (5) project implementation and commissioning, and (6) evaluation and contract termination. The use of an ICT-SUPOO model as a tool to narrow, if not, reduces the unexpected transaction costs and control problems. In addition, we have demonstrated how contractual trust and strong social relationship create another type of governance as opposed to the governance described in literature.Article III broadly deals with the offshore relationship between client and service provider through multiple case studies. It presents its findings in tune with prior IS literature on offshore outsourcing of systems development.In Article IV, through a cross-case analysis, we have examined and analyzed the key risk factors that may hinder the execution of ICT-SUPOO if they are not investigated carefully in advance and appropriate strategies are not taken to reduce their negative impacts. Findings of this study indicate that our case companies faced various significant risks in using the ICT-SUPOO model of software production. A few of these risks appeared to be more commonly encountered in ICT-SUPOO and are aligned with offshore outsourcing literature. In contrast, the new risk factors that were identified in this study and that may hinder the successful execution of ICT-SUPOO include the following: a) deficiency in offshore business understanding on the client side, b) lack of rigorous risks analysis, c) currency instability, d) opportunistic service provider, e) risk of losing earned good reputation, f) difference in interpretation of project specifications, g) punishment scheme for delaying the project, h) selection of governing law in the case of conflicts, i) difference in project management practices, j) insufficient project management skills on client side, k) insufficient technical knowledge of client, l) delay in payments, m) excessive need of control on client side, and n) unclear strategy for the use of ICT support for communication, coordination and collaboration. In addition, this study provides the strategies that are necessary to alleviate the risks encountered and enhance the success of the ICT-SUPOO for software production.However, the risks associated with the ICT-SUPOO model for software production may not totally be avoided, as some factors (e.g., political instability) are outside the control of service provider and clients, but companies need to be prepared for them and have effective risk management strategies in place so as to enhance the success of the outsourcing project.In Article V, through a cross-case analysis, factors have been identified and analyzed that contribute to the successful implementation of an ICT-SUPOO for a software production project. In this study, many of the common success factors of the ICT-SUPOO model of software production are aligned with the offshore outsourcing literature (see Article V). However, the new success factors identified in this study include the following: a) agreed-upon specifications of IS, b) effective global coordination and control, c) personal references/contacts, d) the company being of a suitable size, e) appropriate ICT tools and their effective usage, and f) joint processes.In conclusion, no prior scholarly inquiry has examined in depth an ICT-SUPOO of software production. This study's broad overview of the development of a new and advanced ICT-SUPOO model of software production, identification of the success factors as well as the factors that may obstruct success and cause failure, and analysis of actions necessary to enhance the model's success make the research results unique.The ICT-supported unified process model of offshore outsourcing that can be applied in a wide range of settings in both research and management. The integrative model provides a holistic management process that can guide organizations in their offshore outsourcing efforts. This study also identifies factors that lead to success in and create risks/barriers to the execution of an ICT-supported unified process of offshore outsourcing. Having knowledge of these factors can help both offshore service clients and providers.It should also be noted that the offshore outsourcing model presented in this research deals with many different type of ICTs and is not limited to the few and more commonly known ICTs such as email, chat, newsgroup, web and database. Hence, in its depth and scope, this study provides a greater richness of understanding in this area and contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the field of outsourcing and offshore outsourcing
The upgrade of Route 3 of the Northern Economic Corridor has not only improved connectivity and mobility but also has introduced potential health challenges. Infrastructure development brings immediate and obvious benefits to communities. What isn't as immediately obvious is that such development can also open the way for negative changes - such as the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. This report examines the impact on the local people of an important infrastructure project in northwest Lao People's Democratic Republic - the upgrade of Route 3, which forms part of the Northern Economic Corridor linking Thailand with the People's Republic of China. The report also outlines the implications for future HIV mitigation programs, and recommends ways to ensure that future programs maximize the good that infrastructure development brings and minimize negative impacts.
This paper deals with the effect of constitutional rules on agricultural policy outcomes in a panel of observations for more than 70 developing and developed countries in the 1955-2005 period. Testable hypotheses are drawn from recent developments in the comparative politics literature that see political institutions as key elements in shaping public policies. Using differences-in-differences regressions we find a positive effect of a transition into democracy on agricultural protection. However, this average effect masks substantial heterogeneities across different forms of democracy. Indeed, what matters are transitions to proportional democracies, as well as to permanent democracies. Moreover, while the author does not detect significant differences across alternative forms of government (presidential versus parliamentary systems), there is some evidence that the effect of proportional election is exacerbated under parliamentary regimes, and diminished under presidential ones.
The upgrade of Route 3 of the Northern Economic Corridor has not only improved connectivity and mobility but also has introduced potential health challenges. Infrastructure development brings immediate and obvious benefits to communities. What isn't as immediately obvious is that such development can also open the way for negative changes - such as the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. This report examines the impact on the local people of an important infrastructure project in northwest Lao People's Democratic Republic - the upgrade of Route 3, which forms part of the Northern Economic Corridor linking Thailand with the People's Republic of China. The report also outlines the implications for future HIV mitigation programs, and recommends ways to ensure that future programs maximize the good that infrastructure development brings and minimize negative impacts.
This paper sketches a macroeconomic scenario for China for 2010-20. Growth accounting exercise finds that, with both the working population and total factor productivity on course to decelerate, potential gross domestic product (GDP) growth is likely to moderate in the coming 10 years, despite still sizeable capital deepening. Actual GDP should grow broadly as fast as potential GDP, continuing the track record since the late 1990s. With some rebalancing expected, the share of consumption in GDP is likely to bottom out and to rise somewhat through 2015 while the share of investment edges down. Robust economic growth in China would support imports. Meanwhile, given the outlook for the world economy, the share of exports in GDP may decline in 2010-2015 despite good competitiveness. As a result, the trade surplus may diminish relative to the size of China's economy. Even so, the external surplus will continue to rise in US dollar terms, especially the current account. In 2020 China's GDP per capita will be broadly comparable to the current level in Latin America, Turkey, and Malaysia. Adjusted for purchasing power, in 2020 China's GDP per capita will be one-fourth of the US level and China's total economy larger than that of the US. The pace of catch up in current prices and market exchange rates will depend on the extent of real exchange rate (RER) appreciation. Past experience internationally suggests that, with a large portion of labor employed in agriculture, RER appreciation may be modest in the coming decade. However, demographic changes may speed up the tightening of the labor market and trend RER appreciation. Reflecting this uncertainty, two scenarios are presented, suggesting China may become the largest economy on this metric sometime between 2020 and 2030.
In: Margheritini , L 2009 , R &D Towards Commercialization of Sea Wave Slot Cone Generator (SSG) Overtopping Wave Energy Converter : selected topics in the field of wave energy . DCE Thesis , no. 24 , Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University , Aalborg .
Et element i kampen mod klimaændringer er udviklingen af alternative ikke-forurenende kilder til produktion af energi. SSG er netop en teknologi, som omdanner havets bølger til elektricitet. SSG konceptet fungerer ved at bølgerne løber op ad en rampe, over en kam og fanges i en række reservoirer. Det vand, som nu befinder sig på et højere niveau end havoverfladen, bringes tilbage til havet gennem nogle lavt-tryks vandturbiner, og der udvindes elektricitet. Nærværende afhandling indeholder en beskrivelse af forfatterens arbejde med tekniske og ikketekniske aspekter i forbindelse med udviklingen af SSG konceptet. Arbejdet er foregået i samarbejde med virksomhederne bag SSG teknologien. Her tænkes specielt på WAVEEnergy AS, hovedudvikleren og ejeren af SSG teknologien. Afhandlingen indeholder et udvalg af publikationer udført af forfatteren, og allerede offentliggjort. Publikationerne omfatter 3 peer reviewed tidsskrift artikler og 7 peer reviewed konferenceartikler. Afhandlingen kan teknisk set opdeles i fire områder: - Laboratorieundersøgelser af hydrauliske ydeevne af et SSG anlæg - bølgebryder applikationer og sammenligninger med en OWC-teknologi - økonomiske overvejelser - og endelig miljøvurderinger. Bølgeenergisektoren er i dag langt efter andre vedvarende energi teknologier som f.eks vindkraft. Bredden af forfatterens arbejde skal derfor ses i, og forstås i lyset af at SSG teknologien i de forløbne år er gået fra at være en simpel ide til at være et af de seriøse bud på en kommende kommercielt vedvarende energiteknologi. ; Global energy needs are likely to continue to grow steadily for the next two and a half decades (International Energy Agency, 2006). If governments continue with current policies the world's energy needs would be more than 50% higher in 2030 than today. Over 60% of that increase would be covered in the form of oil and natural gas. Climate destabilizing carbon-dioxide emissions would continue to rise, calling into question the long-term sustainability of the global energy system. More vigorous government policies in consuming countries are steering the world onto an energy path oriented to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and related greenhouse-gas emissions and to the development of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). Diversification of RES is fundamental in such a path to ensure sustainability. In this contest wave energy can provide great contribution, having its worldwide resource been estimated to be up to 10 TW (Engineering Committee on Oceanic Resources 2003; Cruz et al. 2008); depending on what is to be considered useful, this may cover from 15% to 60% of the World energy demand calculated for 2006. Indeed, together with the overall trend of all renewable energies, wave energy has enjoyed a fruitful decade. Improvement of technologies together with financial support at different levels gave space to new ideas, bringing the research to gamble on different concepts. While innumerable projects went through an initial testing phase that lasts 5-10 years, only few of them reached the sea prototype testing and eventually commercialization. After the phase of R&D developers had spent at least 15 mill Euro in average (Kofoed et al. 2008). Good ideas can fail between the R&D and market stage. This event is described by Tom Delay, Head of the Carbon Trust, as "falling into the valley of death". This is the stage where the wave energy sector is. The limited ability of many ventures to attract private financing is certainly one of the major barriers. However, it is also very often a symptom of other underlying, and more fundamental issues. In reality, ventures fail to obtain funding because there are significant gaps between what the ventures are offering to investors and what the potential investors are seeking (Murphy and Edwards 2003). When risks associated to the investment is high, simply the deals often don't look very attractive. It is indeed necessary to reduce information gaps or asymmetries between ventures and private investors, and to promote an accelerated shift from a technology to a market focus. This Thesis is presented as a collection of works published by the author on her research on the Sea wave Slot cone Generator wave energy converter. These include 1 accepted and 2 submitted journal papers; 7 peer-reviewed conference papers. The results are based on laboratory tests, numerical simulations and feasibility studies. Research presented in this Thesis contributes to reduce the technical and non-technical risks associated to the wave energy sector and promotes accelerated shift from technology to market focus. This has been done by using the R&D steps for a specific wave energy converter as an example of best practice for wave energy development towards commercialization. The Sea wave Slot cone Generator (SSG) is a multilevel wave energy converter. Incoming waves overtop the structure and the water is temporarily stored in reservoirs at a higher level than sea water level. This water is returned through specially designed low head hydro turbines powering electrical generators. The device has been subject to 6 years of R&D at the Department of Civil Engineering of Aalborg University, involving the hydraulic performance such as geometric optimization for power capture and feasibility of the SSG-breakwater application. The issues under research led to close collaboration with Technical University of Munich (DE), for the turbine control and strategy; IKM Elektro for the operating procedures and generators (NO); WAVEenergy AS for the commercialization of the concept (NO); DNV for the insurance of the structure (DK); and Delta marine Consultants for the SSG-breakwater design (NL). At the present stage of development of the SSG device, economical feasibility and reliability are at the first places on the ranking issues. The efficiency optimization is linked with the cost of the produced electricity. In the SSG device most of the optimization is done on the geometry as this has the biggest impact in the captured power and has the larger uncertainties. At the same time, the largest cost for the device is the structure itself and therefore the amount of concrete utilized for its construction. Prediction of wave loading is indeed influencing both the reliability of the device and the final cost of electricity. The most promising application for the SSG device is into breakwaters for harbor protection. Aspects related to the construction have also being reviewed in this work. The research carried out on this application demonstrated the device is economically feasible and competitive to OWC devices with the same application, offering moreover additional improvements to the protection. Finally it must be noticed that due to the relative young stage of development of the entire sector (at least 10 years behind the offshore wind sector) frameworks and regulations for wave energy development are not fully ready. The majority of the Companies involved are small and unable to undertake time consuming consents processes. This may be the case also for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. For this reason a study aimed at the simplification of the EIA of WECs, with particular reference to the scooping process, has been concluded. Based on the results, the potential environmental impact of the SSG device has been preliminary assessed.
International audience ; In an attempt to tackle not just youth crime itself, but also the causes of youth crime, the New Labour administration sought to combat social exclusion. It consequently set up a number of social intervention projects such as Sure Start in the most deprived areas of Britain, promised to abolish child poverty before 2010, invested heavily in education, and attempted to reduce the number of unemployed young people via its New Deal for Young People. For the first time, the Youth Justice Board, a special committee charged with overseeing the youth justice system and coordinating social and criminal justice services, was established. A social work approach was to be combined with punishment. Yet, despite these attempt to promote the social inclusion of British youths, in practice they have been 'demonised'. According to the British press, young people are out-of-control, antisocial and violent. The recent 'moral panic' (Cohen, 2001) concerning knife crime seemed to confirm the idea that young people are a threat to society. Even the former justice minister, Jack Straw, declared that most young people who find themselves in prison are not children but 'large, unpleasant thugs' who frighten the general public. Whilst young people have often been the focus of moral panics (Pearson, 1983), it is only recently that panic has been met with such a punitive response which has led to an 800% increase in the number of young people incarcerated since 1992. Despite attempts to adapt the system of juvenile justice to young people, they are increasingly treated like adults. Indeed, the New Labour government's first White Paper on the subject was entitled No More Excuses and the government pledged to eliminate the 'excuse culture' which supposedly dominated the youth justice system. Consequently, there has been a 'dejeuvenalisation' of youth justice policy (Pitts, 2001), marking a rupture with the policy of diversion of youths from the adult justice system which had dominated the criminal justice system since at least the middle of the 19th Century. Similar trends are identifiable in France where there has recently been an erosion of the ordonnance 1945 principle that young people cannot be help fully responsible for their criminal actions. A 2002 law (la loi d'orientation et de programmation pour la justice du 9 septembre) fixes the age of criminal responsibility at 13, leading some experts to speak of the notions of 'premajority'. As in the UK, the rhetoric of responsibilisation has been adopted by Nicolas Sarkozy who has described young people in the criminal justice system as 'black giants from the inner cities'. This paper seeks to determine if the hardening of attitudes to young offenders in France and England can be explained by the same factors. It is a knee-jerk response to moral panic of can it be explained by other socio-economic factors common to the two cultures? ; Dès son arrivée au pouvoir, l'administration néo-travailliste a reconnu que toute tentative pour s'attaquer à la criminalité des jeunes doit se concentrer sur le problème de l'exclusion sociale. Par conséquent, elle a mis en place de nombreux projets Sure Start dans les quartiers les plus défavorisés du Royaume-Uni, elle s'est engagée à éliminer la pauvreté des enfants avant 2020, elle a investi davantage d'argent dans l'éducation, et elle a cherché à réduire le nombre de jeunes au chômage par le biais du New Deal for Young People. Pour les jeunes considérés comme étant les plus susceptibles de sombrer dans la criminalité, le premier gouvernement Blair a créé des Youth Inclusion Programmes qui offrent aux enfants en difficulté un lieu de sociabilité où ils peuvent en outre bénéficier d'une aide scolaire. Pour la première fois, un comité spécial chargé de la justice juvénile, le Youth Justice Board, a été créé afin de coordonner le travail des services sociaux et des services judiciaires ; il a également pour mission de développer une stratégie commune capable de prévenir la criminalité et d'éviter ainsi aux jeunes d'être exposés au système de justice formelle. L'accent est mis tant sur le travail social que sur le châtiment des jeunes délinquants. Or, en dépit de ces tentatives pour favoriser l'inclusion sociale des jeunes britanniques, ces derniers ont souvent été « diabolisés », pour emprunter le terme du Comité des droits de l'enfant de l'ONU. D'après la presse britannique, les jeunes sont de plus en plus difficiles à contrôler, antisociaux et violents. La récente « panique morale » concernant l'apparente montée du nombre d'agressions à l'arme blanche perpétrées par des jeunes semble confirmer l'idée que ces derniers représentent un danger pour la société. Même le ministre de la Justice, Jack Straw, a déclaré que la plupart des enfants qui sont actuellement incarcérés ne sont pas des enfants mais des « gros voyous antipathiques » qui font peur au grand public. Il semblerait bien que la majorité des Britanniques ont peur de la jeunesse, constat confirmé par un rapport récent publié par l'Institute for Public Policy Research. Alors que la jeunesse a souvent fait l'objet de paniques morales dans le passé (Geoffrey Pearson), ce n'est que récemment qu'une telle panique a entraîné une réponse judiciaire aussi punitive, qui se traduit par une augmentation de 800 % du nombre de jeunes âgés de moins de 15 ans incarcérés depuis 1992. Malgré les tentatives d'adapter le système de justice pénale aux jeunes, leur traitement judiciaire est actuellement de plus en plus semblable à celui qu'on réservait autrefois aux adultes. En effet, dès ses premiers jours au pouvoir, le gouvernement de Tony Blair s'est engagé à éliminer la « culture d'absolution » en faveur d'un système judiciaire qui met l'accent sur la responsabilité individuelle des jeunes et de leurs parents. Par conséquent, on assiste actuellement à une « déjuvénilisation » de la politique pénale, se traduisant par une rupture nette avec l'orthodoxie pénale en vigueur depuis le milieu du XIXe siècle, d'après laquelle les jeunes délinquants doivent être soumis à un régime spécial, si possible en dehors du système pénal. Les mêmes tendances sont identifiables en France, où l'on a récemment constaté un durcissement de la loi à l'égard des mineurs et l'érosion de l'excuse de minorité instaurée par l'ordonnance de 1945. Tout particulièrement, la loi d'orientation et de programmation pour la justice du 9 septembre 2002 affirme la responsabilité pénale des mineurs à partir de l'âge de 13 ans, ce qui incite certains commentateurs à parler de l'invention de la notion de « prémajorité ». La rhétorique de responsabilisation est adoptée par Nicolas Sarkozy, à l'instar de ses homologues britanniques (sur le même ton que Jack Straw, il a déclaré qu'on n'a pas affaire ici à des mineurs mais à des « géants noirs des banlieues »). Cet article s'attache à déterminer si le durcissement à l'égard des jeunes délinquants en France et en Angleterre peut s'expliquer par les mêmes facteurs. Est-ce qu'il s'agit d'une réponse à la panique publique ou peut-il s'expliquer par la présence d'autres facteurs socio-politiques communs aux deux cultures ?
International audience ; In an attempt to tackle not just youth crime itself, but also the causes of youth crime, the New Labour administration sought to combat social exclusion. It consequently set up a number of social intervention projects such as Sure Start in the most deprived areas of Britain, promised to abolish child poverty before 2010, invested heavily in education, and attempted to reduce the number of unemployed young people via its New Deal for Young People. For the first time, the Youth Justice Board, a special committee charged with overseeing the youth justice system and coordinating social and criminal justice services, was established. A social work approach was to be combined with punishment. Yet, despite these attempt to promote the social inclusion of British youths, in practice they have been 'demonised'. According to the British press, young people are out-of-control, antisocial and violent. The recent 'moral panic' (Cohen, 2001) concerning knife crime seemed to confirm the idea that young people are a threat to society. Even the former justice minister, Jack Straw, declared that most young people who find themselves in prison are not children but 'large, unpleasant thugs' who frighten the general public. Whilst young people have often been the focus of moral panics (Pearson, 1983), it is only recently that panic has been met with such a punitive response which has led to an 800% increase in the number of young people incarcerated since 1992. Despite attempts to adapt the system of juvenile justice to young people, they are increasingly treated like adults. Indeed, the New Labour government's first White Paper on the subject was entitled No More Excuses and the government pledged to eliminate the 'excuse culture' which supposedly dominated the youth justice system. Consequently, there has been a 'dejeuvenalisation' of youth justice policy (Pitts, 2001), marking a rupture with the policy of diversion of youths from the adult justice system which had dominated the criminal justice system since at least the middle of the 19th Century. Similar trends are identifiable in France where there has recently been an erosion of the ordonnance 1945 principle that young people cannot be help fully responsible for their criminal actions. A 2002 law (la loi d'orientation et de programmation pour la justice du 9 septembre) fixes the age of criminal responsibility at 13, leading some experts to speak of the notions of 'premajority'. As in the UK, the rhetoric of responsibilisation has been adopted by Nicolas Sarkozy who has described young people in the criminal justice system as 'black giants from the inner cities'. This paper seeks to determine if the hardening of attitudes to young offenders in France and England can be explained by the same factors. It is a knee-jerk response to moral panic of can it be explained by other socio-economic factors common to the two cultures? ; Dès son arrivée au pouvoir, l'administration néo-travailliste a reconnu que toute tentative pour s'attaquer à la criminalité des jeunes doit se concentrer sur le problème de l'exclusion sociale. Par conséquent, elle a mis en place de nombreux projets Sure Start dans les quartiers les plus défavorisés du Royaume-Uni, elle s'est engagée à éliminer la pauvreté des enfants avant 2020, elle a investi davantage d'argent dans l'éducation, et elle a cherché à réduire le nombre de jeunes au chômage par le biais du New Deal for Young People. Pour les jeunes considérés comme étant les plus susceptibles de sombrer dans la criminalité, le premier gouvernement Blair a créé des Youth Inclusion Programmes qui offrent aux enfants en difficulté un lieu de sociabilité où ils peuvent en outre bénéficier d'une aide scolaire. Pour la première fois, un comité spécial chargé de la justice juvénile, le Youth Justice Board, a été créé afin de coordonner le travail des services sociaux et des services judiciaires ; il a également pour mission de développer une stratégie commune capable de prévenir la criminalité et d'éviter ainsi aux jeunes d'être exposés au système de justice formelle. L'accent est mis tant sur le travail social que sur le châtiment des jeunes délinquants. Or, en dépit de ces tentatives pour favoriser l'inclusion sociale des jeunes britanniques, ces derniers ont souvent été « diabolisés », pour emprunter le terme du Comité des droits de l'enfant de l'ONU. D'après la presse britannique, les jeunes sont de plus en plus difficiles à contrôler, antisociaux et violents. La récente « panique morale » concernant l'apparente montée du nombre d'agressions à l'arme blanche perpétrées par des jeunes semble confirmer l'idée que ces derniers représentent un danger pour la société. Même le ministre de la Justice, Jack Straw, a déclaré que la plupart des enfants qui sont actuellement incarcérés ne sont pas des enfants mais des « gros voyous antipathiques » qui font peur au grand public. Il semblerait bien que la majorité des Britanniques ont peur de la jeunesse, constat confirmé par un rapport récent publié par l'Institute for Public Policy Research. Alors que la jeunesse a souvent fait l'objet de paniques morales dans le passé (Geoffrey Pearson), ce n'est que récemment qu'une telle panique a entraîné une réponse judiciaire aussi punitive, qui se traduit par une augmentation de 800 % du nombre de jeunes âgés de moins de 15 ans incarcérés depuis 1992. Malgré les tentatives d'adapter le système de justice pénale aux jeunes, leur traitement judiciaire est actuellement de plus en plus semblable à celui qu'on réservait autrefois aux adultes. En effet, dès ses premiers jours au pouvoir, le gouvernement de Tony Blair s'est engagé à éliminer la « culture d'absolution » en faveur d'un système judiciaire qui met l'accent sur la responsabilité individuelle des jeunes et de leurs parents. Par conséquent, on assiste actuellement à une « déjuvénilisation » de la politique pénale, se traduisant par une rupture nette avec l'orthodoxie pénale en vigueur depuis le milieu du XIXe siècle, d'après laquelle les jeunes délinquants doivent être soumis à un régime spécial, si possible en dehors du système pénal. Les mêmes tendances sont identifiables en France, où l'on a récemment constaté un durcissement de la loi à l'égard des mineurs et l'érosion de l'excuse de minorité instaurée par l'ordonnance de 1945. Tout particulièrement, la loi d'orientation et de programmation pour la justice du 9 septembre 2002 affirme la responsabilité pénale des mineurs à partir de l'âge de 13 ans, ce qui incite certains commentateurs à parler de l'invention de la notion de « prémajorité ». La rhétorique de responsabilisation est adoptée par Nicolas Sarkozy, à l'instar de ses homologues britanniques (sur le même ton que Jack Straw, il a déclaré qu'on n'a pas affaire ici à des mineurs mais à des « géants noirs des banlieues »). Cet article s'attache à déterminer si le durcissement à l'égard des jeunes délinquants en France et en Angleterre peut s'expliquer par les mêmes facteurs. Est-ce qu'il s'agit d'une réponse à la panique publique ou peut-il s'expliquer par la présence d'autres facteurs socio-politiques communs aux deux cultures ?
This study assessed the capacity for designing and implementing agricultural and rural development policies, strategies, and programs in Nigeria. Data for this study were derived from initial consultations at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (FMAWR), Federal Ministry of Women affairs and Social Development (FMWASD), and the Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv) early in 2008. Two consultation workshops were also held, one for relevant staff in the ministries, parastatals, and NGOs; and the other for relevant university professors and researchers. This was followed by a review of relevant literature and a more detailed survey of institutions and individuals. A sample of relevant institutions and individuals were purposively selected from the Federal Capital, Abuja, Oyo, Kaduna, Enugu Ogun, Benue, and Abia States. At each location, trained data collectors compiled a list of state and federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and universities where 32 institutional questionnaires were administered, of which 29 were valid for further analysis. Similarly, 320 individual questionnaires were administered, of which 183 were valid for further analysis. The null hypothesis that job satisfaction and institutional incentive was independent of selected background information (gender, position, years spent on job, nature of institution, and level of formal education) of the experts was tested using the Chi square analysis. The respondents were mostly male (23 of 24) and were either heads of departments (10 of 24) or directors, their deputies and their equivalents (12 of 24). Most of the respondents (22 of 24) exhibited an indifferent perception to the general environment and processes involved in policymaking. Reported capacity- strengthening efforts (for 13 of the 24 institutions surveyed) amounted to an average cost of US$76.98 per person per day for the 1-3 weeks training provided. While the practice of strategic planning was widespread, mission statements were widely used in only two-fifths of selected institutions; near-term strategies were widely used in about one third; and long-term visions were widely used in a little more than one third. Even the practice of participation in planning from a broad range of personnel within the institution was only widely used in one third of the selected intuitions. Similarly, written guidelines were widely available (22 of 24), but fully disseminated in less than half of the selected institutions. However, respondents claimed that the financial guidelines were being followed strictly, but half of the respondents (12 of 24) did not know the frequency of receiving reports from the accounting system. Most of the selected institutions had both a human resource management unit (70.8 percent) and dedicated staff training centers (54.2 percent), but about half of the respondents neither knew the regularity of review of staff training needs nor when last staff training needs were assessed. The implication of this is that the extent to which the training exercises match the skill gaps of staff and capacity requirements of the institutions were unknown. Between 75–80 percent of the selected institutions engaged in some collaborative programs and linkages with other government institutions, relevant NGOs, international development partners, training institutions, and research institutions. These collaborative ventures worked mainly through cost sharing, exchange, joint engagements, and sharing of reports. Over 70 percent of the individual respondents (experts) had at least a Master of Science (MSc) or its equivalent. The majority (79.7 percent) were male who had spent more than 10 years on the job. About half of the experts worked with universities, compared to 13.1 percent in the ministries and 37.7 percent in parastatals. Their expertise cut across a broad range of subjects relevant for designing and implementing agricultural and rural development policies— more than one quarter were experts in agricultural economics, extension, communication, rural development, and rural sociology. The most frequently mentioned (51.4 percent) person responsible for agricultural and rural development programs, policies, and strategies was the officer-in-charge, but the list of stakeholders was long and varied. Over 60 percent of the respondents stated that at least some consultation was done with stakeholders through face-to-face communication at stakeholder fora, meetings, conferences, summits, and talks. According to the respondents, the major concerns of stakeholders about agricultural and rural development policies, programs, or strategies were the extent to which they achieve stated goals. More than half of the respondents claimed that research evidence such as the achievements of previous and on going programs, results of fresh surveys, and extension and On farm Adaptive Research (OFAR) reports were used to support the development of agricultural and rural strategies, policies, and programs. This evidence was obtained mainly from agricultural institutions and universities as well as available reports, journals, and publications. The respondents stated that the major sources of funds for the process of agricultural and rural development policy were the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), The World Bank, state and local governments, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). They also stated that the various agricultural and rural development policies, strategies, and programs largely benefited the poor (52.5 percent). It was noteworthy that respondents preceived that the number of women at the ministerial and research levels of agricultural and rural development was less than 1 percent. Even at the level of rural farming communities, only 15.3 percent of the respondents felt that there were more women. Furthermore, only 27.4 percent of the experts incorporated environmental issues in their work and only 20.4 percent undertook environmental analysis in their work. Finally, 91.3 percent were indifferent to their job, meaning that it would be difficult for them to perform to the best of their abilities without allowing them greater freedom in the performance of their jobs and work out a reasonable and acceptable reward package for the job done. The results of the Chi square tests showed that the experts' perception of job satisfaction and institutional incentives is independent of all the background variables considered. The main capacity gaps for designing and implementing agricultural and rural development policies in Nigeria included 1) the need to entrench democratic principles and transparent leadership and 2) to bridge the gap between universities, research institutions, and policymaking and implementing entities. There was also a limited understanding of the relationships between institutional, human, and material resources versus impact of policy on target end-users at every level in the policy design, planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. Finally, there was a need for the institutionalization of effective measures for tracking changes in the role of evidence in strategic, gender-sensitive planning, through regular monitoring and evaluation, impact assessment, adequate documentation, and commitment to utilize the results of the exercise. Efforts should also be targeted towards improving the quality, gender sensitivity, timeliness, and circulation of policy-relevant evidence. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; GRP37; GRP32; NSSP ; DSGD
This paper analyzes the relations between leadership, the policy making process, policies and institutions, and development results in Chile. It starts with a stylized model for the dynamics of development that derives a Kuznets type relation between growth and distribution of income, determined by the quality of leadership, the policy making process, institutions, and policies. This framework is applied to Chile, identifying the features of the policy making process and leadership that allowed for continuation of growth enhancing reform, with a stronger focus on equity goals, since the transition to democracy. As a result of three decades of reforms, Chile has recorded a quantum leap in economic growth, which is traced down to specific reforms. Yet Chile's equity experience is much more mixed: poverty has declined massively but income remains highly concentrated, a likely result of shortcomings in the quality of education and in labor markets. The paper reviews the major risks to the country's future development pace and points out the main reform challenges faced by policy makers.
This report synthesizes data from surveillance, behavioral surveys and published and unpublished research to better understand emerging patterns and trends in the HIV epidemic in Bangladesh. Taking stock of 20 years of experience with HIV in Bangladesh, this report summarizes what is known about the coverage and impact of HIV prevention services, including knowledge on risk and protective behaviors. The report is divided into nine chapters. Chapter one provides a brief introduction and an overview of the methodology used for this exercise. Chapter two discusses the risks and vulnerabilities of the high risk groups including female sex workers, injecting drug users, male who have sex with male, hijra and overlapping populations, while chapter three discusses the trend of the infection amongst partners of high risk groups. Bangladesh continues to report low condom use, which is analyzed and discussed in chapter four. Structural factors including macro level and intermediate level factors that affect HIV interventions in Bangladesh are addressed in chapter five. The national HIV response is discussed in chapter six. The report concludes with a discussion of the main findings, with recommendations for the future in chapter seven, and chapter eight and nine are annexes and references.
This paper analyzes the economic effects of agricultural price and merchandise trade policies around the world as of 2004 on global markets, net farm incomes, and national and regional economic welfare and poverty, using the global economy wide Linkage model, new estimates of agricultural price distortions for developing countries, and poverty elasticity's approach. It addresses two questions: to what extent are policies as of 2004 still reducing rewards from farming in developing countries and thereby adding to inequality across countries in farm household incomes? Are they depressing value added more in primary agriculture than in the rest of the economy of developing countries, and earnings of unskilled workers more than of owners of other factors of production, thereby potentially contributing to inequality and poverty within developing countries (given that farm incomes are well below non-farm incomes in most developing countries and that agriculture there is intensive in the use of unskilled labor)? Results are presented for the key countries and regions of the world and for the world as a whole. They reveal that, by moving to free markets, income inequality between countries will be reduced at least slightly, all but one-sixth of the gains to developing countries will come from agricultural policy reform, unskilled workers in developing countries the majority of whom work on farms will benefit most from reform, net farm incomes in developing countries will rise by 6 percent compared with 2 percent for non-agricultural value added, and the number of people surviving on less than US$1 a day will drop 3 percent globally.
