Suchergebnisse

Workforce development partnerships between higher education institutions and employers involve distinctive social and technical dynamics that differ from dominant higher education practices in the UK. The New Labour government encouraged such partnerships in England, including through the use of funding that aimed to stimulate reform to institutional processes and build capacity. In the broader policy context, greater workforce development activity had the objective of supporting national skills policy targets and increasing industrial productivity. In this article, the notion of the productive system is used to identify factors influencing the outcomes of this policy, using three models of the production of higher education provision. Attention is paid both to the structure in which these productive processes are situated, and the stages that result in new higher education programmes. To evaluate the sustainability of the productive systems, the development of mutual interests between participants is examined, in addition to the norms that structure culture and relationships and the distribution of power and influence. The role of the institution in respect of the employer and the student is also addressed, with reference to uncertainty regarding the value of workforce development provision in economic and political contexts of perpetual change.

The author analyzes the present day media of the Republic of Bulgaria and studies the changes they underwent during the period of preparation for accession and its membership in the European Union. The author expresses the important role that the media played in the European integration process, reflecting its impact on social and political life of the state. The democratization of the society has contributed to a significant transformation of the media system and methods of its management. Bulgaria was able to synchronize its media legislation with European norms and standards, which led to a positive dynamics in the development of the media market, TV and radio broadcasting in particular. Bulgaria's EU integration led to positive transformation of the media policy and media legislation improvement. The European integration process is currently the main priority of Bulgaria's foreign policy. The EU membership gave Bulgaria the opportunities to develop democratic institutions, including the media system, which in turn allowed Bulgaria to achieve greater internal stability. The Republic of Bulgaria has not yet reached the standards of the European information policy in the field of ethnic issues, but after joining the EU there are tangible positive changes in the improvement of this sphere.

The author analyzes the present day media of the Republic of Bulgaria and studies the changes they underwent during the period of preparation for accession and its membership in the European Union. The author expresses the important role that the media played in the European integration process, reflecting its impact on social and political life of the state. The democratization of the society has contributed to a significant transformation of the media system and methods of its management. Bulgaria was able to synchronize its media legislation with European norms and standards, which led to a positive dynamics in the development of the media market, TV and radio broadcasting in particular. Bulgaria's EU integration led to positive transformation of the media policy and media legislation improvement. The European integration process is currently the main priority of Bulgaria's foreign policy. The EU membership gave Bulgaria the opportunities to develop democratic institutions, including the media system, which in turn allowed Bulgaria to achieve greater internal stability. The Republic of Bulgaria has not yet reached the standards of the European information policy in the field of ethnic issues, but after joining the EU there are tangible positive changes in the improvement of this sphere.

Sustainability of the built environment is an increasingly prominent concern in academic and policy discussions in the UK and EU. Initiatives such as the Code for Sustainable Homes in the UK have been developed to aid integration of sustainability principles into housing developments. Primary focus in this field has been largely on environmental sustainability (particularly energy efficiency) with less attention paid to social and economic factors. This article argues that health and well-being issues need greater consideration within current sustainable housing policy and developments. Three key reasons are presented in support of this argument: (i) Creation of greater market demand; public demand for sustainable buildings could be enhanced through greater promotion of the health and well-being benefits of sustainable housing: (ii) Time-scales; given the longevity of buildings, health considerations should be of paramount importance to avoid any possible future adverse effects: (iii) Indirect societal benefits; enhanced health and well-being can lead to wider societal and economic benefits such as lower healthcare costs. The paper then presents some of the seminal findings from health and housing literature review, outlining how these can be used to enhance sustainable housing policy and developments. The paper concludes by presenting the next stages of research.

AbstractThe current hype about culture‐led local development models is causing an increasing interest in cultural policies in the broader context of urban policy. This is not necessarily a transitory situation bound to fade once the hype is over. Under certain conditions, there is room to believe that culture may indeed become a main development driver of urban systems. For this to happen, however, it is necessary to abandon simple mono‐causal developmental schemes (such as the 'creative class' model) and look for more articulated approaches. This calls in turn for a complex systems‐based conceptual framework that is at the same time rich enough to capture the complexity of the interdependences among policy and state variables, and manageable enough to be of practical use, not only for policy design professionals but also for local stakeholders who want to take part in collective decision‐making processes. Inclusiveness and collective decision making are almost unavoidable in the case of cultural planning strategies, as the social sustainability of culture‐based value creation processes crucially depends on boosting the level of access to cultural opportunities by local residents. In this article we present an approach that may be a tentative first step in this direction.

The tariff setting seems vary with large or small countries. It contributes to additional source of government revenue to finance the useful social project. Flexible import tariff setting matched with rupiah exchange rate must be important to determine the base price of product or the price of product supply. The application of import excise policy instrument has been relevant to stimulate producer to make a product. Import excise needs to be carefully designed and realistic to relieve the consumers from burdens. Base Price Policy should be higher from import parity price to cause recently improvement of Indonesia import. In other spot, import tariff policy persuades importer to consider "moral hazard" by committing the smuggling and documentary manipulation such that data do not correspond with the reality. A key to compete within free competitive market in the liberalization era will be efficiency in which the product can be equipped with comparative and competitive strengths. It must be just appropriate to have Indonesia to drive forward the products with competitive or comparative capabilities throughout the world, and therefore, the domestic production should be pushed into worldwide market.Keywords: import tariff, base price performance, worldwide competition

The European Parliament has been considering changes to the cohesion (or regional) policy of the European Union (EU) that forms a key instrument for the EU to promote social, economic and territorial cohesion. It would like the new policy to be more results oriented and invited experts to advise it in this regard. This article consists of an invited address given to the European Parliament Committee on Regional Development. This presentation briefly touched upon the following considerations: 1. What does it mean to have a results-oriented system? 2. Why is this important, and what does it involve? 3. How can the EU Cohesion Policy move in this direction, distinguishing between the illusion and the reality of a results-oriented strategy and implementation? The key message of the presentation is that a results-oriented approach means orienting all aspects of planning and management on outcomes rather than on process. This represents a new way of thinking and managing that needs to be reflected in all aspects of management. Indicators can represent one form of support for a results-oriented system, but they have significant limitations as well as strengths, and by themselves do not constitute a results orientation.

Most NATO countries reformed their defence systems during the 1990s in response to the end of the Cold War. Although Norway adjusted to new external framework conditions and participated in the new international operations, territorial defence dominated the defence discourse and military practices at home into the next millennium. This article argues that the continuity in the discourse and the pace with which defence reform has been implemented during the period 1990–2005 is a result of social factors and relations at the national level. First, the nation-building role of the Norwegian defence system has shaped central national concepts, values and military practices, rendering it resistant to change. Second, reform has been counteracted by the weight of the military institution – in terms of size, geographical extent and deep-rooted practices related to training and education. Third, Norwegian defence policy is deeply intertwined with other domestic policy areas, so when changes in the defence establishment have negative consequences, especially for district policy, opposition is provoked. In contrast, the Norwegian defence discourse and practices seem to have rapidly co-opted the changes invoked by the emerging multi-polar system. This underscores the claim made here, that the Norwegian defence discourse is largely about national, territorial defence.

Lately, a deliberative conception of democracy has gained influence in policy debates throughout Europe. Individuals are here seen to be fostered into responsible, mature - democratic – citizens by being involved in dialogue. In the 1990s, calls for "democratic education" intensified in Sweden. This article analyze two pedagogical models influenced by programmes developed in the US that have recently had a large impact in Swedish schools and elsewhere, Social and Emotional Training and Aggression Replacement Training, both teaching pupils the "art of democratic deliberation". By analyzing manuals and interviews with school staff, we find that both models are based on the idea that through constant dialogue, pupils develop a "democratic mentality". Referring to Foucault, this kind of dialogue can seen as a technology of confession, where pupils are encouraged to reflect upon themselves and their behaviour, abilities and qualities, as a way to change themselves and become democratic subjects. ; This is an electronic version of an article published in: Magnus Dahlstedt, Andreas Fejes and Elin Schönning, The will to (de)liberate: Shaping governable citizens through cognitive behavioural programmes in school, 2011, Journal of education policy, (26), 3, 399-414. Journal of education policy is available online at informaworldTM: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2010.516841 Copyright: Taylor & Francis http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.asp

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1992, GAO has published long-term fiscal simulations of what might happen to federal deficits and debt levels under varying policy assumptions. We developed our long-term model in response to a bipartisan request from Members of Congress who were concerned about the long-term effects of fiscal policy. GAO runs two simulations: (1) "Baseline Extended" follows the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) August baseline estimates for the first 10 years and then simply holds revenue and spending other than large entitlement programs constant as a share of gross domestic product (GDP). (2) The "Alternative" simulation is based on historical trends and policy preferences. Discretionary spending grows with GDP rather than inflation during the first 10 years, Medicare physician payment rates are not reduced as in CBO's baseline, all tax provisions are extended to 2019, and beginning with this update, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption amount is indexed to inflation through 2019; revenues are then brought back to their historical level. This update incorporates the most recent projections from the Social Security and Medicare Trustees, and from CBO."

The Tower Center for Political Studies at SMU maintains an office in the Centennial Center
allowing us to link research activities of Tower Center faculty, fellows, and associates in
Dallas (the heartland) with scholars, institutes, and think tanks in Washington and around
the world. The Tower Center supports research and teaching in three areas: (1) international
and comparative political economy, including trade, migration, and finance; (2) foreign
policy, national security, and defense; and (3) American political development with an
emphasis on policy, institutions, and process. Seyom Brown, Tower Chair in National Security
and Director of Studies in the Tower Center, runs the national security program. Brown is
conducting research for his two current book projects—an updated edition of The
Faces of Power (Columbia University Press) and a new book entitled The
Higher Realism (Paradigm Publishers), which advocates a shift in foreign policy
after the 2008 election. Dennis Ippolito, McElvaney Professor of Political Science at SMU,
leads the Tower Center program on American politics. His recent publications include
Why Budgets Matter (Penn State) and he is working on a book entitled
Welfare Shift, examining the past growth and projected future of federal
social welfare programs and the federal budget.

Germany is noted within Europe for its weak tobacco control policies and its opposition to European Union tobacco control legislation. In this article, we aim to explain Germany's stance on tobacco control. We review two explanations commonly proposed, namely tobacco industry donations to political parties and the legacy of the Nazis' opposition to smoking, and examine the politics of tobacco control in detail. We suggest that the interplay of numerous factors explains Germany's stance. Aspects of political culture including the Nazi heritage which has resulted in a dearth of public health research and teaching, institutional factors such as the reliance on industry self-regulation facilitated by Germany's system of corporatist policy-making and interest group politics are key. The tobacco industry has also successfully used framing strategies to uphold the social acceptability of smoking and undermine the acceptability of tobacco control in Germany. In addition a phenomenon that we call 'autarkic epistemic isolation' explains why so little policy learning from abroad has occurred. We suggest that our multi-factor model has significant explanatory power for Germany's weak stance that has resulted in a long-standing policy equilibrium. Recent events, however, suggest that this equilibrium may now have been punctuated. (German Politics / FUB)

This paper examines changing housing provision and policies in Northern Ireland during the period 1998-2007. The theoretical framework derives from the political economy of housing and the focus is on the extent to which devolution has impacted upon housing provision and policy since 1998. The distinctive history of housing provision in Northern Ireland since partition is reviewed. The period since the good Friday Agreement has been characterized by periodic suspensions of the Northern Ireland Assembly and most housing policy initiatives, as between 1971 and 1998, have come from direct rule ministers following Westminster developments. Some distinctive features of social housing administration have been retained, with the Northern Ireland Housing executive still playing a major role, despite a high level of sales to tenants. Housing provision in Northern Ireland has come also more to resemble the situation in the Republic of Ireland, where a long economic boom has been associated with rapid growth in house prices despite greatly increased levels of new building. It is concluded that there is no significant evidence that devolution after 1998 has resulted in distinctive housing policy or housing provision developments in Northern Ireland and that, as in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, housing provision has become increasingly market-driven. (Ethnopolitics)

This chapter looks at some of the policy positions that underpinned the Jubilee 2000 campaign. While the arguments of debt campaigners were, at the time, dismissed as the politics of naïve idealists, they soon became part of the new realism in official debt policy. How did this shift come about? And, going forward, what are the key features that can usefully inform official aid and debt policy frameworks? The impulse behind the international Jubilee 2000 campaign was fundamentally one of social justice. In the UK, where the campaign first began, it was driven mostly by the Churches and faith-based aid agencies moved by moral and ethical considerations. It was about bringing to an end the perceived global economic injustice of those in developing countries with the least resources, saddled with unpayable debts, having their development prospects thwarted by the diversion of scarce resources to those in the developed world that already had the most. The imagery drawn on in some of the campaign's earliest publications was of a bonded servitude, enslavement to an unjust economic order.3 While its moral call was grounded in some analysis of the flows of finance from the world's poorest countries to the world's richest creditors, it was essentially very much a campaign driven by moral imperatives.

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates the influence of immigrants on Danish imports and exports. As public and political debates concerning immigration policy are expected to continue, the findings presented here provide valuable information. Prior to 2002, Denmark's immigration policy was among the most liberal in Europe. However, concerns regarding terrorism, social services depletion, and detrimental labour market effects, all purported to stem from immigration, led the Danish government to severely tighten its policy. In examining Denmark, we explore the immigrant‐trade relationship in a small host country that is globally well‐integrated, open to trade, and proximate to both major trading partners and primary immigrant source nations. Further, as the share of the Danish population constituted by immigrants increased from 2.6 to 5.6 per cent between 1980 and 2000, Denmark presents an opportunity to consider immigrant‐trade links for an increasingly diverse population that was initially relatively homogenous.We consider a number of variations regarding home countries and trade values to estimate immigrant‐trade links using a Tobit specification. The findings presented here, when considered in relation to prior research, suggest that the presence and magnitude of immigrant‐trade links vary according to host country population homogeneity.