Suchergebnisse

The route of life of insigne is reviewed writer, politician, free thinker, democrat and humanist, analyze elements than sufficient more they catalogue that it like Peruvian a universal one, a human being full of generosity. One becomes remember of the unforgettable moments from the announcement of the concession of the prize, in the Cervantes Institute of New York; soon the moment at which king Carlos XVI Gustavo of Sweden gave, the Nobel prize of Literature 2010 to Mario Vargas Llosa (MVLl) in the Concert hall of Stockholm. MVLl in its speech of gratefulness in New York, showed before the international press that the prize was an award to the Spanish language and displayed the best thing of its erudition in a full speech of emotions and expressed its peruanity to everybody with a statement that will be unforgettable: "PERU I AM". Expressions from greatness and gratefulness to their country, in which the flaming Nobel prize of 74 years synthesized its deep peruanity, and with which it filled of pride approximately to 30 million of Peruvian, thirsty of transcendental triumphs. Its origin arequipeño, its familiar surroundings, its childhood, childhood and adolescence in Cochabamba, Piura and Lima are analyzed; the conflicting relation with its father, its adolescence in the Military School Leoncio Prado, where its literary vocation began; these experiences evoked in its autobiographical book "the Fish in the Water"; soon its telluric roots, its passage by the Greater National University of San Marcos, where it began to publish his first stories. Also, his consecrated life in favour of the fight by the civil freedom, rights and the human rights and their incursion in the peruvian politic is approached. Finally, a finishing touch describing to the human MVLl, its deep sensitivity, expression of love to the freedom, its inexhaustible creative capacity, its ideological thought, and its certainly, to give account us that we are in front of an ecumenical humanist. ; Se revisa la ruta de vida del insigne escritor, político, libre pensador, demócrata y humanista, se analizan elementos más que suficientes que lo catalogan como un peruano universal, un ser humano pletórico de generosidad. Se hace una remembranza de los momentos inolvidables desde el anuncio de la concesión del premio, en el Instituto Cervantes de Nueva York; luego el momento en que el rey Carlos XVI Gustavo de Suecia entregó, el Premio Nóbel de Literatura 2010 a Mario Vargas Llosa (MVLL) en la Sala de Conciertos de Estocolmo. MVLL en su discurso de agradecimiento en Nueva York, manifestó ante la prensa internacional que el premio era un galardón al idioma español e hizo gala de lo mejor de su erudición en un discurso lleno de emociones y expresó su peruanidad a todo el mundo con un enunciado que quedará perennizado: "EL PERÚ SOY YO". Expresiones de grandeza y agradecimiento a su país, en las que el flamante Premio Nóbel de 74 años sintetizó su profunda peruanidad, y con las cuales llenó de orgullo a los aproximadamente 30 millones de peruanos, sedientos de trascendentales triunfos. Se analiza su origen arequipeño, su entorno familiar, su infancia, niñez y adolescencia en Cochabamba, Piura y Lima; la relación conflictiva con su padre, su adolescencia en el Colegio Militar Leoncio Prado, donde se inició su vocación literaria; dichas experiencias evocadas en su libro autobiográfico "El Pez en el Agua"; luego sus raíces telúricas, su paso por la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, donde comenzó a publicar sus primeros relatos. Asimismo, se aborda su consagrada vida a favor de la lucha por la libertad, los derechos civiles y los derechos humanos y su incursión en la política peruana. Finalmente, un colofón describiendo al MVLl humano, su profunda sensibilidad, expresión de amor a la libertad, su capacidad creativa inagotable, su pensamiento ideológico, y su perseverancia, para darnos cuenta que estamos frente a un humanista ecuménico.

Hasta hace pocos años la participación social en el desarrollo económico y social era un tema altamente polémico, objeto de fuertes controversias, así como fácilmente susceptible de rápidos etiquetamientos ideológicos. El agua es un recurso considerado como un bien de la nación (un bien público), por lo cual el Estado al ser el garante del mismo, requiere de la participación de gobiernos y la sociedad civil organizada; este último no a manera de consulta, sino de apertura para la descentralización de la toma de decisiones. El objetivo de la presente tesis es describir y analizar las relaciones sociales, en términos de toma de decisiones para la gestión y manejo de los recursos naturales en la microcuenca Guadalupe de Támbula. Gestión ambiental y gobernanza son conceptos que favorecen la gestión integrada de cuencas, contribuyendo a la interpretación de las dinámicas sociales y sus efectos en un espacio determinado, contribuyendo al análisis de procesos ocultos que inciden en la toma de decisiones y por consiguiente, en los resultados del uso y aprovechamiento de los recursos que integran las microcuencas. El enfoque metodológico empleado es la investigación-acción participativa, el cual incide en la construcción de la democracia, facilitando la articulación social. Se trata de asumir que la fragmentación y dialéctica social pueden posibilitar el cambio si se abordan desde de un planteamiento complejo y dinámico de las relaciones sociales y la construcción colectiva de propuestas innovadoras. Para el enfoque de manejo integral de cuencas resulta primordial incorporar el elemento social como punto importante para la conservación y rehabilitación de la estructura de las cuencas, generando la incorporación de la participación social, buscando con ello ir generando acciones que contribuyan a la preservación a largo plazo de los recursos naturales, considerando también la necesidad de generar un desarrollo social y económico. Los integrantes del Consejo de Microcuenca dejan de ser pasivos y objeto de estudio para transformarse en sujetos activos, eliminando el enfoque jerárquico que considera la capacidad transformadora como propia de entes e instancias externas, con un proceso que viene ¿de arriba hacia abajo¿ ; Until recent years, social participation in economic and social development was a highly controversial topic and was easily susceptible to ideological labels. Water is considered an asset of the nation (public good), so the State being the guarantor of it requires the participation of governments and organization of the civil society; the latter not by way of consultation, but opening the opportunity to decentralize decision making. The Objective of this thesis is to describe and analyze social relations in terms of decision making and natural resource management in the microwatershed Guadalupe de Tambula. Environmental management and governance are concepts that promote integrated watershed management, contributing to the interpretation of social dynamics and their effect in the given area, contributing to the analysis of hidden processes that influence decision making and therefore, the result of the use and exploitation of the natural resources that make up the watersheds. The methodological approach applied is participatory action research, which contributes to the construction of democracy, facilitating social coordination. It is assumed that the social dialectic and fragmentation may allow change if dealt from a complex and dynamic approach of social relations and collective construction through innovative proposals. It is essential to incorporate the social element as an important point for the conservation and rehabilitation of the structure of the basins, creating the incorporation of social participation within the approach of integrated watershed management, thus aiming to start generating actions which contribute to long-term prevention of natural resources, considering also the need to generate social and economic development. The Microwatershed Council members are no longer a passive element and object of study, they have become active subjects, eliminating the hierarchical approach that considers that the capacity to transform comes from external agencies that derives from "top down."

The financial market crisis of 2008 continues to plague the United States and countries around the world. The underlying causes of the 2008 collapse are numerous, intricate and complex. Academic scholars, investigative reporters and leading economists are now deconstructing the multiplicity of failures that enabled the breathtaking meltdown that nearly collapsed the global economy. As this thoughtful deconstruction emerges, a disturbing trend has forcefully surfaced, wherein dozens of writers, scholars and thinkers, motivated by politics, limelight and self indulgence, attempt to fix a singular or foundational cause as "the" reason for the market crisis of 2008. In a current political environment that favors simplicity and scapegoating a certain toxic danger exists when singular blame is fixed to deeply complex failures in order to pander to those in an electorate that live for sound bites and embrace minimalist explanations. Attempting to find singular or primary causation by assigning simple blame for the enormous institutional and personal failures that precipitated the financial market crisis is reckless and ultimately counterproductive. The magnitude of the collapse and its devastating consequences, many of which continue unrequited, requires a careful and systematic review of causes, impacts, failures and economic breakdowns. The foundational causes of the meltdown are numerous. Despite evidence that literally dozens of failures precipitated what some have now dubbed the "Great Recession," many on the right and on the left continue to strive to point to individual and singular causes for the economic crisis that serve to forward a political purpose or win for them political points in their current positioning. Still, thoughtful and honest analysis of the meltdown defies easy blame categorization or simple causation bottoming. A sincere commentator, academic or politician will acknowledge the depth of the failures, the breadth of the negligence and ignorance, and the audacity of the greed and avarice that nearly collapsed the global marketplace. This article aims to be among the first to reject generally the reckless trend toward simple blame causation which has emerged in an attempt to quantify the financial market crisis as an avoidable event but for a particular reason, decision, or legislative enactment. This piece will further challenge specifically one of the most nefarious "the market collapsed because of 'this'" explanations that emerged with surprising force just moments into the frenzied days of September 2008. In generally rejecting the simplicity approach to causes of the financial market crisis, this article will carefully examine a laundry list of quantifiable failures that enabled the economy to slip to the very edge of the financial abyss just nineteen months ago. In specifically challenging the most nefarious of the primary causation explanations for the meltdown, this piece will explore post-racialism in the United States and will confront the dirty little myth that emerged immediately upon notice that the economy faced certain collapse. In the early rush by commentators to evaluate the financial market crisis, several startling explanations emerged, primarily from those seeking to assign simple extrapolations. Perhaps the most startling "cause" of the near global meltdown is the "minority borrower" myth that emerged in the very first moments of the September 2008 frenzy that accompanied the Troubled Asset Relief Program ("TARP") debates. During the tensest moments surrounding the mortgage crisis in September and October 2008, as TARP was furiously debated on Capital Hill, and as doomsday messages were being delivered daily, many pundits on the right named "minorities" and lending to "poor minorities" through the Community Reinvestment Act as a foundation cause for the market collapse. This "dirty little myth" played on loop at Fox News and on the Rush Limbaugh radio program for weeks and months resonating with those Americans that receive their politics and views from such sources. The dynamism and continuing intensity of American racism is clearly evident in the financial market crisis of 2008. The market collapse was caused by intense and complex economic forces and failures, not by minority borrowers.

'Politicians' Concept Evolution and Prospects of the Formation of the State Image in Lithuania since 1991. Their Impact on Lithuanian Foreign Policy' analyses the topic of the image formation in the country. The object of the work is the image of the country as a soft power tool in order to realize the strategic nation's goals. Basically nowadays the hard power resigns the place to the methods of the soft power. It goes without saying that both powers always functioned and, in my opinion, will function, but this time there is a clear overbalance in the side of the soft power. In most countries lots of selling companies work in the sort of the same market and offer the same products (democratic, freedom, citizen's relief and all that). The ability to sell their goods (certain interests in the case of the countries') depends on the facility to create their own appropriate image. Therein lays the main connection between the international and country's political image. With reference to Wendt's A. social constructivism theory, the order in the world is determined not only by the distribution of the material capability, but also by inter-subjective ideas which embody the countries' identity and treatment. It is worth to modify that the main essence of the social constructivism theory is to conceive what the country itself is and only then it can be pointed where to go and how to do this. The identity can service for this. The aim of the research is to analyze the politics of the image formatting through the main formatting elements and present the links of the politics and foreign policy characterizing specific problems and setting the recommendations. The hypothesis of the research is to prove that the image of the country can influence the direction of the nation's foreign policy and help to pursue strategic purposes. Has the impact on the country's position in the international relations. It can be recognized that many mistakes are being made in creating the image of Lithuania. An artificially and thoughtlessly formatted conception is interesting only for the founders and it does not reach its goal. On the other hand, I disagree with the thoughts that there is no need to create the image, that the prospect (reality) will create the image itself. The trouble is that the image made by the prospect could not be acceptable for us and as it can be seen from the developing situation, it can not even be formatted, and Lithuania as the country can stay prosy, unknown and unremarkable. The research has shown that Lithuania used its image properly even though obliviously until 2004 while joining the transatlantic organizations when the priorities of the foreign policy were very obvious. After the admission to the transatlantic organizations, Lithuania can not find its own place in the world. The image formation does not have a vivid support because of the vague foreign policy. Another burning problem is that Lithuania confronts with is a continuity of the image formation politics. Finally according to the audit's results which have been accomplished in 2009, it can be emphasized that there is no a united opinion about what a positive image of the country is. The funds are exploited inefficiently therefore they are not followed by 'The umbrella' principle. The present situation has two scripts: Lithuania is still staying as an unknown country for the first case which will have an obvious impact on the economic difficulty because of the 'Made in.' effect and will reform the existing institution of the image formation, dispose all possible actions and create a new strategy which would encompass a slogan and goods' logo. For the strategy not to be accomplished only on the paper, it is essential to reform the main six areas of the image formation adjusting infrastructural problems and finally defining the precise priorities of the foreign policy.

Background: As one of the most prevalent diseases globally and as an important cause of disability, depressive disorders are responsible for as many as one in every five visits to primary care. However, the true figures are unknown, as many do not seek help or know how to access help. Women suffer more than men according to surveys in Iran and other countries. Cultural variations in clinical presentation sometimes make it difficult to recognize the disorder, resulting in patients not being diagnosed and not receiving appropriate treatment and follow up. Purpose: This thesis explores how women s depression is conceptualized among Iranian people in three cities located in north-west (Tabriz), west (Ilam) and central (Tehran, capital city) Iran, representative of three major ethnic groups (Fars, Kurds, and Turks) and how this conceptualization may contribute to the help-seeking behaviour of depressed women. Methods: The thesis consists of four exploratory papers employing qualitative methods including individual interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs). Paper 1 reports a pilot study using a case vignette and explanatory interview guides on Iranian people (including depressed women, clinicians and lay people). Forty three adults participated in three focus group discussions (25 participants) and 18 individual interviews in the three ethnic groups. Paper II presents an explanatory model of the community (lay people) in the three ethnic groups in Iran concerning women's depression. Thirty eight men and thirty eight women from the general population, classified by level of education participated in twelve FGDs in the aforementioned cities by using a case vignette describing a woman with major depression without psychotic features. Paper III reports interview results (25 depressed women and 14 relatives) regarding how these women and their families conceptualize the patients conditions and how their conceptualization shaped the patients help-seeking process. Paper IV reports individual interview results from 24 clinicians (six general practitioners [using case vignette], 14 psychiatrists and four psychologists [interview guide, both]) exploring the explanatory model of depressed women. Results : There were more similarities than differences in the models proposed by Iranian people in the three ethnic groups. Among most of the study participants depressive symptoms were perceived as a transient reaction to external stressors. Most participants named the depressive symptoms as distress of nerve/ soul narahati asabi/narahati rohi , problem of nerve/soul moshkel asabi/rohi , sadness and depression afsordegi . Other names were darikhma (deep sadness with anxiety, Turkish participants only), and tarjoman (sadness and nerve problems due to external events, Kurdish participants only). All connected the illness with an external stressor caused by loss (death of relatives, job loss, etc.), environmental causes (including family conflict), gender-linked stressors and internal factors caused by emotional factors, cognition distortion and hormonal factors. Coping mechanisms involved two strategies: (1) solving problems by seeking help from family and friends, especially ones husband and neighbours, religious practice, and engaging in pleasurable activities, and (2) seeking professional support mostly from general practitioners, psychologists, family counsellors, and traditional support from herbalists and amulets (written prayer notes). The choice of medical treatment depended on the type of somatic or psychological complaints. The important barriers to seeking help from professional (psychiatrists or psychologists) were stigma and fear of dependency on medication. Conclusion and implications: Rather than having a biological model, in this study participants tended to have a psychosocial explanatory model linked with preferred seeking help from informal healers (family and friends, religious practices and traditional healers) as the first treatment step. The inter-ethnic similarities could stem from common cultural and social elements, such as a common official language, legal, structural, educational and political structures, mass media, and religion in the three major ethnic groups in Iran. This finding could be useful for integrating a gender approach to health service delivery and linking gender and culture sensitivity to training of health workers, and also for education society to reduction of the stigma related to depression.

O trabalho objetiva analisar o cenário do associativismo civil na América Latina, destacando seus movimentos sociais e as interpretações teóricas que têm sido realizadas sobre eles, tomando como ponto de vista algumas categorias utilizadas e as teorias que lhes dão suporte. O texto parte de uma breve caracterização do cenário latino-americano, segundo seus principais movimentos sociais, destacando-se algumas das alterações que vêm ocorrendo a partir do desenvolvimento de políticas públicas voltadas para o social, em parceria com a sociedade civil organizada. Apresentam-se teorias e teóricos que têm pesquisando sobre os movimentos sociais na América Latina e analisam-se duas categorias teóricas bastante utilizadas na atualidade: rede e mobilização social. O texto conclui com a seguinte observação: há um novo cenário no associativismo civil, e o leque de teorias e interpretações é diverso. Entretanto, políticas de identidade têm sido construídas para "incluir" grupos e associações, mobilizadas por governos via políticas públicas. Categorias operacionais de intervenção social na realidade vêm sendo ressignificadas nos marcos de uma política de inclusão conservadora, gerando novas leituras e interpretações teóricas sobre a realidade social. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: movimentos sociais, teorias, associativismo, redes e mobilização social.THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN LATIN AMERICA Maria da Glória Gohn This paper aims to analyze the scene of civil associativism in Latin America, pointing out its social movements and the theoretical interpretations that have been made about them, taking as its point of view some categories and the theories that give them support. The text begins with a brief characterization of the Latin-American scene, according to its main social movements, pointing out some of the alterations that are happening starting from the development of public policy aimed at the social development, in partnership with the organized civil society. Theories and theoreticians that have researched the social movements in Latin America are presented and two theoretical categories quite used at the present time are analyzed: networks and social mobilization. The text ends with the following observation: there is a new scene in the civil associativism and the scope of its theories and interpretations is diverse. However, identity policies have been built to "include" groups and associations, mobilized by governments through public policies. Operational categories of social intervention are actually being ressignified as the cornerstones of a conservative policy of inclusion, generating new readings and theoretical interpretations about social reality. KEYWORDS: social movements, theories, associativism, networks and social mobilization.LES APPROCHES THÉORIQUES DANS L'ÉTUDE DES MOUVEMENTS SOCIAUX EM AMÉRIQUE LATINE Maria da Glória Gohn L'objectif de ce travail est d'analyser le scénario de l'associativisme en Amérique Latine. On y met en évidence les mouvements sociaux et les interprétations théoriques qui ont été faites à son propos, à partir de catégories spécifiques utilisées et des théories qui leur servent de support. L'analyse commence par une brève caractérisation du scénario latino-américain, en fonction de ses principaux mouvements sociaux, où l'on montre plus clairement certains changements dus au développement de politiques publiques dans le domaine social, en partenariat avec la société civile organisée. On y présente des théories et des théoriciens ayant fait des recherches sur les mouvements sociaux en Amérique Latine et on y analyse deux catégories théoriques très utilisées actuellement: réseau et mobilisation sociale. Ce travail en arrive à la conclusion suivante: il existe un nouveau scénario au sein de l'associativisme civil et l'éventail des théories et des interprétations est varié. Toutefois des politiques d'identité ont été élaborées par les gouvernements au travers de politiques publiques pour "inclure" les groupes et les associations. Des catégories opérationnelles d'intervention sociale sur la réalité ont été re-signifiées selon les critères d'une politique d'inclusion conservatrice, permettant de nouvelles lectures et interprétations théoriques de la réalité sociale. MOTS-CLÉS: mouvements sociaux, théories, associativisme, réseaux et mobilisation sociale. Publicação Online do Caderno CRH: http://www.cadernocrh.ufba.br

VTT Tiedotteita - Research Notes 2470 ; The future electricity demand and demand trends in Finland and in the Nordic countries (excluding Iceland) are the main focus of this report. The electricity demand per capita is high on a European and even on a global scale in Finland, Sweden and Norway. One reason is the high share of electric heating combined with a cold climate; another reason is the relatively low price level of electricity which has led to extensive electricity intensive industry. The estimated Nordic business as usual (BAU) demand for year 2020 is 435 TWh and for year 2030 454 TWh. EU's recent policy decisions regarding increased use of renewables, greenhouse gas emission reductions and improved energy efficiency will have an impact on the electricity system. The basic demand is expected to decrease compared to the BAU scenario. The future trends do not only affect annual consumption, but also the load curves and system peak load behaviours. Using consumer type load models and sectorwise annual energy estimates, we model the Nordic load curves for each country for the years 2020 and 2030. EU 20-20-20 policies will change how electricity is used. The authors of this report see industrial electricity demand, electric heating and heat pumps, and electric vehicles as the most important individual factors that may affect electricity demand in the future, and even increase it considerably. The impacts of large scale penetration of the latter two are further analysed with special regard to effect on system peak load. The analysis was done using what-if cases. The future of oil heating is under the spotlight especially in Finland according to the long-term climate and energy strategy of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy. If 200 000 of the oil heated detached houses are converted to heat pumps, then the electricity consumption would rise with more than 2 TWh. At the same time the peak load will rise with 1100 MW. On the other hand, if a similar chunk of direct electric heated houses get heat pumps, it will more than compensate for the rise in consumption. But not for the rise in peak load as there will still remain a net increase of 700 MW. The deployment of electric vehicles (EV) and their effect on the electricity power system was studied. The results indicate that a small amount of EVs (5% to 10% market share) will increase electricity demand by a negligible amount, less than 0.5-1 % in Finland. If half of all personal vehicles were EVs, a realistic possibility by 2030, the electricity consumption would rise in Finland by 3 TWh and in the Nordic countries by 15 TWh. However, it will not require any extraordinary changes to the system peak load management if smart distribution network charging is selected as the preferred charging method. Our results show an increase in the system peak load of 1000 MW on the Nordic level. Large scale penetration of both heat pumps and electric vehicles on a Nordic level are studied with two case studies, case A being a worst case scenario with regard to load impact and case B a more realistic alternative. In case B also electric heated houses get heat pumps, not only oil heated houses as in case A. Both cases show a substantial (3.000-4.000 MW) peak load increase at -25°C, whereas peak load increase is quite small for case B at -10°C. A simultaneous cold spell in the Nordic countries is in our opinion better described by -10°C than by -25°C, thus EVs and heat pumps might not affect the peak capacity requirements in the Nordic countries as adversely as beforehand was anticipated. Considering all demand issues presented in this report, it is clear that electricity is a high value source of energy offering possibilities to overall energy savings and an increased share of renewables. This will further boost the electrification of the society.

Väitöskirjassa tutkitaan yritysten vapaaehtoista kestävän kehityksen raportointia. Tutkielma tarkastelee kriittisesti yritysten käyttämää retoriikkaa ja osoittaa, että yritysmaailma hyödyntää kestävään kehitykseen liittyviä puhetapoja edistääkseen omia tarkoitusperiään ja parantaakseen toimintansa yhteiskunnallista hyväksyttävyyttä. Väitöskirjassa kyseenalaistetaan kestävän kehityksen raportoinnin merkitys ja arvioidaan nykymuotoisen raportoinnin lähinnä vahvistavan vallitsevaa yhteiskunnallista järjestystä ja liike-elämän vaikutusvaltaa. Yritystoiminnalla on nykyisessä yhteiskuntajärjestelmässä keskeinen rooli, mutta samaan aikaan sen nähdään aiheuttavan yhteiskunnallisia ongelmia ja heikentävän luonnonympäristön tilaa. Useat yritykset korostavat toimivansa vastuullisesti ja pyrkivänsä edistämään kestävää kehitystä. Pääosa suurista yrityksistä sekä Suomessa että kansainvälisesti julkaisee vuosittain yhteiskuntavastuun tai kestävän kehityksen raportin, jossa kuvataan yrityksen toimintaa ympäristö- ja sosiaalisista näkökulmista. Tällaisen raportoinnin on ajateltu lisäävän yritystoiminnan läpinäkyvyyttä ja siten edistävän demokratiaa. Väitöskirjan johtopäätöksenä kuitenkin arvioidaan, että yritysten vapaaehtoisessa kestävän kehityksen raportoinnissa on sittenkin enemmän kyse reagoinnista ulkoisiin paineisiin kuin merkittävästä muutoksesta yritysten tilivelvollisuudessa tai läpinäkyvyydessä. Väitöskirja koostuu johdantoluvusta sekä kolmesta kansainvälisissä referoiduissa aikakauskirjoissa julkaistusta artikkelista. Tutkimukset on tehty laadullisilla menetelmillä ja niissä tarkastellaan sitä, miten yritykset kuvaavat itseään ja toimintaansa julkaisemissaan raporteissa. Väitöskirja luo historiallisen katsauksen eräiden suomalaisten yritysten raportointiin ja siihen, miten ne ovat hyödyntäneet retoriikkaa kuvatessaan oman toimintansa ympäristövaikutuksia. Raportointi vaikuttaa myös laajemmin yhteiskunnassa. Se vahvistaa vaikutelmaa, jonka mukaan taloudellisesta kasvusta aiheutuneet ympäristö- ja sosiaaliset ongelmat voidaan ratkaista jatkuvan taloudellisen kasvun avulla liike-elämän johdolla ilman merkittäviä talous- tai yhteiskuntajärjestykseen liittyviä muutoksia. ; In today s globalized world large companies are vast organizations wielding major power in societies. Simultaneously, corporations operations and their operating policies have been linked to social problems and environmental degradation. Corporate social and environmental disclosures have been considered a medium which could help to alleviate such maladies by enhancing democracy through the provision of increased accountability and further transparency in corporate operations. Accordingly, this dissertation seeks to present a (critical) way of seeing corporate sustainability reporting and thereby to discuss the transformative and emancipatory potential of this contemporary practice. This research contributes by providing interpretations of how the companies represent themselves in sustainability reporting. It furthermore discusses how these disclosures then impact on society more broadly by, for instance, constructing certain meanings for certain concepts in certain ways. The dissertation employs qualitative methods and discusses how a particular rhetoric of sustainability and of other environmental issues may be exploited to enhance corporate legitimacy. The dissertation consists of an introductory chapter and three studies previously published in refereed international scholarly accounting journals. The introductory part contextualizes the studies and discusses the implications of the work. The first article presents a longitudinal interpretation of how the environmental disclosures of a leading Finnish chemicals company developed over a 34-year period 1972-2005. The second article provides a cross-sectional view of how Finnish listed companies used sustainability-related concepts in their reporting during the period 2001-2002. Finally, the third article discusses how the corporate talk of sustainability employed by three major Finnish companies developed during the period 1987-2005. Taken together, the articles provide a historical perspective on how major Finnish corporations have used language to represent themselves with regard to environmental issues. Moreover, the studies deconstruct the business talk of sustainability and show how business has managed to appropriate the language of sustainability to suit its own purposes. In sum, this dissertation suggests that corporate sustainability reporting appears to be more a matter of responding to external pressures than an ambition towards discharging accountability. The representations are used to legitimize the individual organizations in their micro-contexts, namely the societies they operate in. Simultaneously, these representations also work in the macro-context by legitimizing the social structures in general by (re)framing the current social order more broadly as one being on the environmentally right track. Indeed, the practices are seen to perpetuate present structural arrangements and socio-economic order. It is here therefore argued here that the transformative potential of social and environmental reporting is severely limited.

From the case of the automotive industry, more precisely three assembly plants in France, Argentine and Brazil, this research enlightens the modalities of the implementation of training policies and practices and its effects. The stakes of the training of workers emphasize its economic function. They aim at the development of staff skills and performances and its adaptation to technological and organizational transformations. However, training in the company is marked by the workers' history, the latter having to face a reorganization of work, the time when these transformations occur and the concrete situation of the company. Therefore, training cannot be thought without taking all these contextual elements into account. In an automotive company which is established in several countries, this context is transnational as well as national. This raises the following thesis: Training does not play a role which is a priori defined by the objective it is supposed to respond to, it fulfils other functions. Companies implement training without always being able to determine the economic advantages they get from it. The same goes for technological changes. Working situations which underlie these changes are also training situations and thus are not linked to established trainings. The functions of training vary with the contexts: the national laws which rule a professional training system for employed adults are the base which assures them of benefiting from internships in order to improve their situation. ; A partir du cas de l'industrie de l'automobile, plus précisément, de trois usines de montage en France, en Argentine et au Brésil, cette recherche éclaire les modalités de la mise en œuvre des politiques et des pratiques de formation et ses effets. Les enjeux de la formation des ouvriers soulignent sa fonction économique. Ils visent le développement de compétences et de performances du personnel et leur adaptation aux transformations technologiques et organisationnelles. Cependant, la formation dans l'entreprise est marquée par l'histoire du collectif ouvrier, qui doit faire face à une réorganisation du travail, par le moment où ces transformations interviennent et par la situation concrète de l'établissement. Dès lors, la formation ne peut pas être pensée sans tenir compte de tous ces éléments qui forment le contexte dans lequel elle s'implante et les interactions qu'elle engendre. Dans une entreprise de l'automobile implantée dans plusieurs pays, ce contexte est autant transnational que national. Ce qui amène à formuler cette thèse : La formation ne joue pas un rôle défini a priori par l'objectif auquel elle est sensée répondre, elle remplit plusieurs fonctions. Les entreprises instituent la formation sans toujours pouvoir faire le calcul des avantages économiques qu'elles en tirent. Y compris en ce qui concerne les changements technologiques. Les situations de travail qui sous-tendent ces changements sont autant des situations d'apprentissage et ne s'associent donc pas à des formations instituées. Les fonctions de la formation varient avec les contextes : la législation nationale réglementant un système de formation professionnelle d'adultes salariés est le support qui assure qu'ils puissent bénéficier des stages pour améliorer leur situation. La méthode mobilisée est destinée à repérer au plus près des pratiques les particularités de la formation dans trois sites. Notre démarche a consisté à lire l'activité de travail à travers le prisme de la formation et réciproquement. L'observation participante dans les stages et dans les ateliers a permis de repérer où et comment la main-d'œuvre se prépare véritablement pour le travail ainsi que les fonctions de la formation. Les effets de la formation d'une part, sur les carrières et d'autre part, sur la maîtrise des technologies, ont été explorés par l'analyse des trajectoires professionnelles et par l'étude de l'évolution de chaque site. L'analyse de l'évolution des filiales et les entretiens auprès des responsables hiérarchiques permettent de repérer les enjeux au moment où la formation a été introduite dans les sites, les transformations de la formation et le contexte historique dont chaque usine est l'héritière.

In 1983, the first year The New York Times wrote more than one story on AIDS — acquired immune deficiency syndrome — the newspaper printed 77 articles that included the word "AIDS" and the word "homosexual." This total reached its peak in 1987, when 314 articles that included the two words were written. In 1990, this total was down to 109, and at the turn of the century in 2000, only 29 articles that mentioned these two words were published. Conversely, in 1983, only nine Times articles included "AIDS" and "Africa." In 1987, when articles about the connection between AIDS and homosexuality were at a climax, 175 articles in The New York Times mentioned AIDS and Africa. As the link between AIDS and homosexuals tapered off in 2000, the article total for "AIDS" and "Africa" was at an all-time high of 270. The objective of this thesis was to answer the question of why this shift in focus occurred. This objective was achieved by analyzing specific New York Times articles that were printed from 1980 until 2000 and by studying the overall history of the AIDS epidemic. As comparison, articles from The San Francisco Chronicle were also examined to see if a similar shift of focus occurred in this paper's coverage of the AIDS epidemic. It was determined that the shift in coverage mirrored the disease's epidemiological shift. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, AIDS's prevalence transitioned from the United States to Africa, which was greatly influenced by the development of a drug that stalled HIV's mutation into AIDS. This drug was widely used in the United States, but proved too expensive for common use in Africa. While the geographical shift of the disease explains — on the surface — the newspapers' shift of coverage of AIDS, it was discovered that The New York Times' initial coverage of AIDS's occurrence in homosexuals set a template of "othering" that the paper followed in its later coverage of the disease's presence in Africa. In comparison, The San Francisco Chronicle did not follow this template. Instead of bluntly stating the facts of the epidemic's progression and relying heavily on the official statements of government organizations in its articles, which helped demonize the disease and its patients, The Chronicle took a more anecdotal method of reporting the AIDS epidemic. While the Chronicle's people-based covered helped stall the development of stereotypes and stigmas surrounding AIDS more so than articles published by The New York Times, both papers failed to put the AIDS epidemic and assumptions that developed about its victims in their historical and cultural context. A historical and cultural examination of the homophobic and xenophobic tendencies of the American public and its media was completed in Chapter Four of this thesis. These examinations identified the Christian undertones and moral code that have saturated the nation and its governmental decisions since the United States' inception. Such moral standards were at an all-time high when the AIDS epidemic emerged in the early 1980s at the start of the Culture Wars. These standards appeared in the United States government's reaction to the epidemic and the news media's coverage of it. In conclusion, The New York Times and The San Francisco Chronicle followed the geographical transition of the disease and reflected the country's moral beliefs at the time AIDS first appeared. While the mystery surrounding AIDS, the puzzling nature of the disease and the overall Christian code of the United States excused most of the newspapers' shortcomings in reporting, both papers — by being in existence — have assumed the role of the Fourth Estate. Their duty is to question and criticize both governmental and societal trends and beliefs. In the case of AIDS and the people whose lives it took, The New York Times and The San Francisco Chronicle failed in this gate-keeping role, and instead helped perpetuate the stereotypes surrounding the epidemic that still plague the nation today.

«Fiction of frontier». Phenomenology of an open form/voice. Francesco Giustini's PhD dissertation fits into a genre of research usually neglected by the literary criticism which nevertheless is arousing much interest in recent years: the relationship between Literature and Space. In this context, the specific issue of his work consists in the category of the Frontier including its several implications for the XX century fiction. The preliminary step, at the beginning of the first section of the dissertation, is a semantic analysis: with precision, Giustini describes the meaning of the word "frontier" here declined in a multiplicity of cultural, political and geographical contexts, starting from the American frontier of the pioneers who headed for the West, to the exotic frontiers of the world, with whose the imperialistic colonization has come into contact; from the semi-uninhabited areas like deserts, highlands and virgin forests, to the ethnic frontiers between Indian and white people in South America, since the internal frontiers of the Countries like those ones between the District and the Capital City, the Centre and the Outskirts. In the next step, Giustini wants to focus on a real " myth of the frontier", able to nourish cultural and literary imagination. Indeed, the literature has told and chosen the frontier as the scenery for many stories; especially in the 20th Century it made the frontier a problematic space in the light of events and changes that have transformed the perception of space and our relationship with it. Therefore, the dissertation proposes a critical category, it traces the hallmarks of a specific literary phenomenon defined " Fiction of the frontier" ,present in many literary traditions during the 20th Century. The term "Fiction" (not "Literature" or "Poetics") does not define a genre but rather a "procedure", focusing on a constant issue pointed out from the texts examined in this work : the strong call to the act of narration and to its oral traditions. The "Fiction of the Frontier" is perceived as an approach to the world, a way of watching and feeling the objects, an emotion that is lived and told through the story- a story where the narrator ,through his body and his voice, takes the rule of the witness. The following parts, that have an analytic style, are constructed on the basis of this theoretical and methodological reflection. The second section gives a wide range of examples into we can find the figure and the myth of the frontier through the textual analysis which range over several literary traditions. Starting from monographic chapters (Garcia Marquez, Callado, McCarthy), to the comparative reading of couples of texts (Calvino and Verga Llosa, Buzzati and Coetzee, Arguedas and Rulfo). The selection of texts is introduced so as to underline a particular aspect or a form of the frontier at every reading. This section is articulated into thematic voices which recall some actions that can be taken into the ambiguous and liminal space of the frontier (to communicate, to wait, to "trans-culturate", to imagine, to live in, to not-live in). In this phenomenology, the frontier comes to the light as a physical and concrete element or as a cultural, imaginary, linguistic, ethnic and existential category. In the end, the third section is centered on a more defined and elaborated analysis of two authors, considered as fundamental for the comprehension of the "Fiction of the frontier": Joseph Conrad and João Guimarães Rosa. Even if they are very different, being part of unlike literary traditions, these two authors show many connections which are pointed by the comparative analysis. Maybe Conrad is the first author that understand the feeling of the frontier , freeing himself from the adventure romance and from the exotic nineteenthcentury tradition. João Guimarães Rosa, in his turn, is the great narrator of Brazilian and South American frontier, he is the man of sertão and of endless spaces of the Centre of Brazil. His production is strongly linked to that one belonged to the author of Heart of Darkness.

El presente informe de investigación, es el resultado de ejecutar el proyecto de investigación que tuvo como premisa el hecho de que a pesar de tener aprobado los niveles máximos permisibles para efluentes líquidos producto de las actividades mineras y contar con mecanismos para controlar y penalizar en caso de contaminación de los recursos hídricos; estos mecanismos no disuaden a las empresas para que disminuyan su nivel de contaminación a los limites máximos establecidos. Para efectos de controlar y disminuir el nivel de carga contaminante presente en los vertimientos mineros, se diseñó un modelo matemático de tasa retributiva que busca disuadir a las empresas mineras de seguir vertiendo sus efluentes mineros con elementos contaminantes que superen los limites máximos establecidos para cada elemento o parámetro contaminante. La propuesta que se desarrolla, se basa objetivamente en diseñar un instrumento de control económico y ambiental eficiente sobre los vertimientos mineros de la gran, mediana y pequeña minería sobre los recursos hídricos superficiales, a fin de que se cumplan, no solo los límites máximos permisibles, sino también los compromisos ambientales asumidos por las empresas mineras al inicio de sus operaciones y los cumplimientos de sus Programas de Adecuación y Manejo Ambiental (PAMA). El modelo matemático propuesto en el presente trabajo de investigación, luego de ser implementado como instrumento económico por el único ente capaz de viabilizar la aplicación de este modelo de "tasa retributiva" es decir el Estado Peruano, lograra motivar a las empresas mineras a adoptar políticas que disminuyan el nivel de contaminación de sus vertimientos sobre los recursos hídricos superficiales. Teniendo en cuenta que en los últimos años se ha dado gran importancia a la conservación del medio ambiente y que cada vez con mayor fuerza se exige que toda actividad productiva tenga en cuenta el impacto de esta sobre su medio y que el "Desarrollo Sostenible" se viene consolidando como un paradigma del desarrollo de las naciones; se presenta el presente informe de investigación, que desde ya queda a su disposición. ; -- This research report is the result of running the research project which took as its premise the fact that despite having approved the maximum permissible levels for liquid waste product of mining activities and have mechanisms to control and punish if pollution of water resources; these mechanisms do not dissuade businesses to lower their pollution level to maximum limits allowed. For purposes of control and decrease the level of contaminant loaded in mining dumps, we designed a mathematical model of a restorative rate that seeks deter mining companies to continue dumping its mining effluent with contaminants that exceed the maximum limits allowed set for each element or parameter pollutant. The developed proposal is based objectively on designing an efficient tool for economic and environmental control on mining dumps of the large, medium and small-scale mining on surface water resources, in order to meet not only the maximum permissible but also the environmental commitments made by the mining companies at the beginning of its operations and accomplishments of their PAMA. The mathematical model proposed in this research work, after being deployed as an economic tool for the only body capable of making possible the implementation of this model of "salary rate", which is the Peruvian government, succeeded in motivating the mining companies to adopt policies to decrease the pollution level of its discharges on surface water resources. Given that in recent years has given great importance to environmental conservation and with increasing force requires that all productive activity takes into account the impact of this on their environment and that the "Sustainable Development" is consolidated as a paradigm of development of nations is presented in this research report, since it is already available. ; Tesis

Producción Científica ; ■ Al tiempo que se produce la actualización de las disposiciones reguladoras del personal al servicio de la sanidad pública de los últimos años —en particular con la aparición de la Ley 55/2003, de 16 de diciembre del Estatuto Marco—, se descubre una progresiva insuficiencia de los recursos humanos sanitarios y ciertas mutaciones en las necesidades de atención sanitaria. Desde un detallado análisis de las actuacio- nes seguidas por los Servicios autonómicos de Salud se detecta una falta de previsión legal en relación a estos cambios, que están afectando y transformando la organiza- ción del modelo sanitario público. El presente artículo analiza algunos de los problemas que derivan de la inadecuación de las plantillas a la demanda sanitaria, a los que se enfrenta la sanidad pública española. La necesidad de personal sanitario se produce por la combinación de una serie de factores: pérdida de sus recursos humanos, déficit de especialistas en ciertas especialidades, un progresivo aumento del número de jubilaciones sin el indispen- sable relevo de efectivos y, también, como consecuencia de la globalización y las mi- graciones de los profesionales. Un efecto reflejo de aquella situación se concentra en la distribución de la jornada laboral. Sin duda, la escasez de personal repercute de manera directa en la ordenación del tiempo de trabajo. La regulación legal que pre- tende armonizar los intereses de nuestro Sistema Nacional de Salud y los de quienes prestan sus servicios para la sanidad pública (los trabajadores sanitarios) tropieza con obstáculos para su establecimiento; en particular, la manera de combinar tiempos de trabajo y de descanso. ; ■ Parallel to the updating of the legislation regarding health care workers over recent years —particularly with the appearance of the Framework Statute Act 55/2003, of 16 December—, a progressive insufficiency of the health care resources and certain mutations in health care needs has emerged. A detailed analysis of the measures implemented by the Regional Health Services reveals a lack of legal foresight as regards these changes, which are affecting and transforming the organisation of the public sanitary model. This article analyses some of the problems arising from the inadequacy of the staff to the health care demand, which the Spanish public health care system is facing. The need for health care workers is due to a combination of a series of factors: loss of human resources, lack of specialists in certain fields, a steady increase in the number of retirements without new replacements being taken on and, also, as the result of the globalisation and migrations of the professionals. That situation is reflected in the distribution of the working week. Undoubtedly, lack of personnel directly effects the organisation of the work time. The legal regulations that seek to harmonise the interests of our National Health System and those who work for the health service (the health care workers) come up against too many obstacles to be implemented; in particular, the way to combine work and rest time. ; ■ Azken urteetan —eta batez ere 55/2003 Legea, abenduaren 16koa, Estatutu Markoari buruzkoa agertu zenetik— osasun publikoarentzat lan egiten duten pertsonen xedapen arautzaileak eguneratzearekin batera, giza eta osasun baliabi- de nahikoa ez daudela ikusi da eta osasun zerbitzuen beharrek nolabaiteko al- daketa jasan dutela. Osasun zerbitzu autonomikoek egindako analisi zehatz batek aldaketa horiekin zerikusia duten lege-aurreikuspenen hutsunea detektatu du eta aldaketa horiek osasun publikoaren antolaketa eredua eraldatzen dute. Artikulu honek osasun eskariarekiko langileen egokitasun eza dela eta sortzen di- ren hainbat arazo aztertzen ditu; Espainiako osasun publikoak aurrean dauzkan arazoak, hain zuzen. Osasun langileen beharra hainbat faktorek sortzen dute: giza baliabideen galerak, zenbait espezialitatetan espezialista nahikoa ez izateak eta ezinbestekoa den ordezko langilerik izan gabe erretiroa hartzen duten langi- leen etengabeko igoerak, hala nola globalizazioaren ondorioz eta profesionalen migrazioak direla eta. Egoera horren ondorioa lanaldiaren banaketan islatzen da. Dudarik gabe, langileen urritasunak ondorio zuzena du lan denbora antolatzerako garaian. Osasun Sistema Nazionalaren interesak eta osasun publikoan lan egiten dutenen interesak (osasun langileenak) bateratu nahi dituen lege araudia ezartze- rako garaian oztopoak daude, batez ere lanaldiak eta atsedenaldiak nola egokituko diren pentsatzerakoan.

Mortality rate from chronic non-infectious diseases (coronary heart diseases, diabetes mellitus, and chronic liver disease) in Lithuania is far higher as compared to the European Union average. In 2007, Lithuania ranked third among EU member states according to mortality rate indicator for cardiovascular diseases of males aged 20–64. The most frequent manifestation of cardiovascular diseases is the coronary heart disease (CHD). Epidemiological studies revealed the most important risk factors of chronic non-infectious diseases. Moreover, new elements in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis have been identified, i.e. oxidized low-density lipoproteins, antioxidant vitamins and fatty acids. Fatty acids (FA) are oxidation markers, since they participate in lipid peroxidation as substrates. The most sensitive to peroxidation are the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). On the contrary, essential PUFA are important for synthesis of eicosanoids. When too little or too much of fatty acids are consumed with food, certain health disorders arise. A common cause of FA imbalance is too abundant consumption of animal fats and insufficient consumption of vegetable fats. This may cause chronic non-infectious diseases. The FA of human body influences the metabolism of other substances, therefore, the study of such metabolic correlations comes of relevance in exploring the pathogenesis pathways of diabetes mellitus, liver and kidney diseases. The purpose of the present review is to evaluate fatty acids as biomarkers as well as their implications for the etiopatogenesis of chronic non- infectious diseases. Our research has shown that a higher quantity of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the group of Lithuanian males aged 50 and lower blood levels of antioxidants reflect insufficient protection of lipids from oxidation and, obviously, this may be one of the risk factors predetermining accelerated atherosclerosis and a higher morbidity of cardiovascular diseases. The main factors that influence LDL susceptibility to oxidation are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, α-tocopherol and the plasma concentration of triacylglycerols. Lower γ-tocopherol concentration in the group of Lithuanian males may imply that the Lithuanians take less of the vitamin with food, while oxidation processes proceed more rapidly. It is likely that higher plasma concentration of 7ß-hydroxycholesterol in the Lithuanian men is determined by the more intense lipid peroxidation in vivo. Our research has shown that patients with CHD have considerably lower blood levels of PUFA. This may impact on the synthesis of antiatherogenic eicosanoids and thus may be an atherogenic factor. The general quantity of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the adipose tissue in individuals with glucose tolerance disorders, also patients with diabetes mellitus is lower, its level possibly being related to the degree of metabolic disorder, more rapid mobilisation of fatty acids from the adipose tissue or to smaller quantities of essential PUFA (linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid) consumed with food. The data allow us to assume that PUFA enriched food may cause an increase of the blood levels of adiponectin, an important antiatherogenic and anti-inflammatory factor. The positive relationship between n3 PUFA and leptin concentrations suggests that abundant consumption of PUFA may determine an increase of leptin levels in blood. PUFA do not influence the resistin metabolism in human body, however, some saturated and monounsaturated FA may relate to resistin concentrations in blood. Individuals with chronic liver disease take sufficient quantities of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids and their resorption is not upset. Also, the chronic liver disease patients show no signs of increased deterioration of reserve lipid tissue. Fish oil (source of n3 PUFA) appeared to influence the changes of fatty acid composition of blood in the bodies of children with nephrotic syndrome. Supplementing the diet with omega-3 fatty acids tended to reduce the quantity of triacylglycerols (p<0,06). The increase in the eicosapentaenoic/arachidonic acid ratio showed that fish oil is useful as a supplement reducing the aggregation of platelets. Treatment with fish oil, when patients received 6 ml/d, was safe and had no serious adverse effect.

The job description for a University lecturer on the Australian Government's Immigration web site (Department of Immigration, 2009) states that a lecturer "Lectures students and conducts tutorials in one or more subjects within a prescribed course of study at a university and conducts research in a particular field of knowledge." Although one might argue about the lack of detail in such a description, in essence academic staff at universities have traditionally had to balance research, teaching, and service to their institution and the community in order to ensure a satisfactory career progression. Academics are commonly judged by their publication record, successful grant applications and results of student experience surveys. Promotion is unlikely to occur without all of these areas being addressed, but prominence is often given to the research. Many universities make decisions about the promotion of academics predominantly along research performance, which does not always sit well with staff (Houston, Meyer & Paewai, 2006). The public on the other hand will judge universities by their image as projected by marketing specialists and university rankings. Research quality is one important factor but by no means the most important. In the Times Good University Guide 2009 (Times Newspapers Ltd, 2008), the top UK universities were ranked. Oxford received top ranking despite Cambridge having higher entry standards, a better research record and a superior graduate destinations rating (Frean, 2008). A two year study of Law students showed marketing tools such as university web sites, prospectuses, open days and attending special lectures were key influences in a student's decision-making (Catley, 2007). Interestingly one study showed a negative relationship between an institution's perceived research strength and its attractiveness to students (Drewes & Michael, 2006), perhaps because of a perception that research and teaching are not linked activities. This may be an impression shared by some academics as indicated in a study by Robertson and Bond (2001) where some academic staff felt there was a schism between these two areas. Other academics in this study felt that they were enthused by carrying out research which then flowed into their teaching. This leads to the question. Why don't academics do more educational research? Many academics devote much of their time to research. Studying, experimenting and theorising are everyday activities for most of us, and the end result of this work is often a grant application or a journal article or book chapter, which hopefully adds to the body of knowledge in our field. We also spend a lot of time preparing and delivering learning material for students, be it lectures, tutorials, practicals or other types of teaching activity. But do we devote sufficient time reflecting on what we have done or communicating techniques we may have used to try and engage our students in their learning? We have highly trained critical thinking skills which should be regularly applied to our teaching. If you are teaching, why not take advantage of the situation and try and organise educational research around your teaching strategies. Many lecturers try new strategies every term or semester, to engage their students and improve their learning, but rarely communicate their methods or findings to their peers. An active researcher should be able to adapt their research skills to the educational environment and try and achieve extra benefit from it. If you are working with large classes or tutorials, and you have devised a strategy to improve the learning process, then why not investigate the literature, carry out some evaluations and submit your findings to a journal? The contributors to this issue of ergo have applied this principle, and they will use the results of their work to enhance both their teaching and research portfolios, as well as helping their students. It's difficult to imagine a more positive outcome.