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This study of Chinese politics, economics, society and culture is intended to contribute to better understanding of the contemporary reforms in China. This task was not easy due to the facts that China has not been open to direct observation, and its policies were influenced by unpredicted changes. This thesis is concerned with the reforms and changes that occurred during the years starting 1978 up to the present time. In 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Communist Party of the Chinese Central Committee in Beijing, marked the beginning of the reforms in China. The Chinese leaders made efforts to get the country out of the chaos left by the Cultural Revolution, trying to reach new equilibrium between economic and political development. There are three elements for the new equilibrium: incentives needed for the population to produce goods and services needed by the society, certain new channels through which citizens could express discontent to the government, and social order sufficient to enable the pursuit of production-oriented activities. But accomplishment of such an equilibrium is not easy to achieve. For the purpose of Chinese economic development, the Chinese Communist Party decided to limit its control over political and economic affairs, granting more power to lower levels of administration. Through the experiment of enterprise autonomy, factory directors were given certain power to decide on their own affairs concerning production; but the experiment is not successful. Chinese traditional ideology and political culture become the major factors preventing the reform success. The political attitude of dependency orientation toward interpersonal relations is deeply rooted among Chinese people. This has been the source of Chinese government. The Lun Yu cites a saying of Confucius which reflects the Chinese philosophy of government. "Govern the people by regulations, keep order among them by chastisement, and they will flee from you, and lose all self-respect. Govern them by moral force, keep order among them by ritual, and they will keep their self-respect and come to you of their own accord." (Rubin, 1976, p.65) Political structure and traditional ideology have defined the political behavior in China within a certain pattern. Superior-subordinate relationships have always remained strictly hierarchical. Social problems in China are seen as capable of being resolved within this pattern, which is described as being central to Chinese conceptions of social order. The extent of reforms thus has been limited by the Confucian and Marxist ideologies; both stress the importance of authority by the elites, and respect for authority. Under such circumstances decentralization will be very difficult. The present reforms will continue on the track set by the central government. It is early to evaluate the success or failure of these reforms. The results of economic and political reforms take a long time to materialize. This study is organized as follows: Chapter One deals with the purpose and scope of the reform. Chapter Two is devoted to the political and economic reforms in China while Chapter Three concentrates on discussing the Chinese political-administrative system and the problem of reforms. Chapter Four discusses dependency versus autonomy and Chapter Five presents conclusions.

Book reviewed in this articleREVIEW OF PERIODICAL LITERATURE, 1984A selective survey of periodical literature on British economic and social history published in other journals.GREAT BRITAINT. F. T. Baker (Ed.)‐ The Victoria History of the Counties of England: A History of the County of Middlesex, Vol. VIII.K. J. Stringer. Earl David of Huntingdon, 1152‐1219: A Study in Anglo‐Scottish History.Jo Ann Hoeppner Moran. The Growth of English Schooling, 1340‐1548: Learning, Literacy, and Laicization in P re‐re formation York Diocese.Mary Prior (Ed.). Women in English Society, 1500‐1800.Philip Riden (Ed.). George Sitwell's Letterbook, 1662‐66.Philip Riden. History of Chesterfield, Volume II, Part I, Tudor and Stuart Chesterfield.Margaret Spufford. The Great Reclothing of Rural England: Petty Chapmen and their Wares in the Seventeenth Century.Patrick McGrath. (Ed.). A Bristol Miscellany.Roger Burt. The British Lead Mining Industry.John Cannon. Aristocratic Century: The Peerage of Eighteenth‐century England.L. E. Cochran. Scottish Trade with Ireland in the Eighteenth Century.Jeffrey G. Williamson. Did British Capitalism Breed Inequality?Richard Dennis. English Industrial Cities of the Nineteenth Century: A Social Geography.Royden Harrison and Jonathan ZeitlinRoger Penn. Skilled Workers in the Class Structure.David J. V. Jones. The Last Rising: The Newport Insurrection of 1839.M.J. Daunton. House and Home in the Victorian City: Working‐Class Housing, 1850‐1914.Martha Vicinus. Independent Women: Work and Community for Single Women, 1850‐1920.Alun Howkins. Poor Labouring Men: Rural Radicalism in Norfolk, 1870‐1923.Michael Sanderson. From Irving to Olivier: A Social History of the Acting Profession in England, 1880‐1983.R. P. T. Davenport‐Hines, Dudley Docker: The Life and Times of a Trade Warrior.Jim Tomlinson. British Macroeconomic Policy since 1940Alec Cairncross. Wars of Recovery: British Economic Policy, 1945‐51.B. A. Holderness. British Agriculture since 194S‐L. S. Pressnfxl and John Orbell. A Guide to the Historical Records of British Banking.GENERALL. A. Clarkson and E. M. Crawford. Ways to Wealth: The Cust Family of Eighteenth‐century Armagh.William H. Sewell. Structure and Mobility: The Men and Women of Marseilles, 1820‐70.Arndt Fleischer. Patentgesetzgebung und Chemisch‐Pharmazeutische Industrie im Deutschen Kaiserreich, 1871‐1918.Hknry Ashby Turner Jr. German Big Business and the Rise of Hitler.Manuel Martin Rodriguez. Pensamiento ecónomico espaol sobre la Poblacidn.Kathleen Burk. Britain, America and the Sinews of War, 1914‐1918.Hal S. Barron. Those Who Stayed Behind: Rural Society in Nineteenth‐century New England.Charles W. Cheape. Family Firm to Modern Multinational: Norton Company, a New England Enterprise.Norman B. Wilkinson. Lammot du Pont and the American Explosives Industry, 1850 84.Steven Hahn. The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of the Georgia Upcountry, 1850‐90.James C. Cobb. Industrialization and Southern Society, 1877‐1984.Gilbert C. Fite. Cotton Fields No More: Southern Agriculture, 1865‐1980.Richard B. Sheridan. Doctors and Slaves: A Medical and Demographic History of Slavery in the British West Indies, 1680‐1834.Jean Stubbs. Tobacco on the Periphery: A Case Study in Cuban Labour History, 1860‐1958.Srinivasa Ambirajan. Political Economy and Monetary Management: India, 1766‐1914.Peter Greenhalgh. West African Diamonds, 1919‐83: An Economic History.J. C. Russell. Late Ancient and Medieval Population Control.R. J. Holton. The Transition, from Feudalism to Capitalism.Robert I. Rotberc and Theodore K. Rabb

In a nation of immigrants Los Angeles is increasingly a city of new immigrants. As of 1980,which is the most recent date for which good data are available, 20 percent of the population of the Los Angeles metropolitan area had been born abroad, mostly in Latin America and various Asian countries. Whereas New York historically has been the major port of entry for those immigrating to the U.S. from Europe, Los Angeles has been, and increasingly is, the major point of entry or those immigrating from Latin America and Asia. The result is a multi-ethnic, polyglot metropolis, with 142 languages spoken at home out of the 200 languages tabulated by the 1980 Census. As a consequence of this new immigration, Los Angeles has a more diverse ethnic mix than virtually any other city in the nation, and perhaps the world. The pace of immigration, to Los Angeles as to the remainder of the country, has increased dramatically in recent years, starting in 1965, when past restrictive immigration policies were moderated (Muller and Espenshade, 1985). This new immigration wave shows few signs of abating as the 1980s draw to an end. Why do these immigrants come? The motives for immigration are by now a familiar story. In the absence of political turmoil, individuals immigrate to improve economic opportunities for themselves and their children (Jackson 1969). California's strong economic growth as well as its proximity to the Pacific Rim have made it a natural entry point for immigrants from Asia and Latin America (McCarthy, 1983). Yet, once started, immigration has a self- sustaining quality. Growing ethnic enclaves can provide an important magnet for the continued flow of immigrants. At the micro level this occurs via chain migration, the movement of individuals within known social networks, usually the family. Information about economic opportunities can be quickly transmitted to distant relatives by previous immigrants. Patterns of chain migration can also reduce the costs of geographic mobility directly. Individuals who move within social networks often have jobs and housing waiting for them in the host country. At the macro level, the development of ethnic subeconomies can dampen the impact of fluctuations in the business cycle. In the 1970s, even though the Los Angeles economy declined relative to that of the rest of the state, immigrants were still coming, attracted by the opportunities afforded them in the various ethnic subeconomies (Light and Bonacich, 1985). How do they fare? It is obvious that some groups have been much more successful than others. Selected socioeconomic characteristics for the 28 largest ethnic groups in the Los Angeles metropolitan area are shown in Table 1. Those of Asian, European, and Middle Eastern origin do substantially better than those of Latin American, African, or American Indian origin. Most striking, the first three groups have much higher proportions of adult males employed in administrative and professional occupations. Why is this so? The concern of this paper is to account for why some ethnic groups on average get better jobs than others. Subsequent papers will deal with other socioeconomic differences among ethnic groups in the Los Angeles area, and with the aggre- gate socioeconomic and political consequences of these group differences.

Problem. There are very few objective instruments available for use in the psychological diagnosis of emotional impairment at the elementary-school level. The determination of emotional impairment has often been based on clinical judgment and subjectivity. In addition, psychological instruments have been attacked from the standpoint of reliability and validity. Major concerns relate to the seriousness of misclassification and the limited success-rate of rehabilitation efforts. The sentence-completion method is popularly used by clinicians. However, the available incomplete-sentence blanks used at the elementary-school level rely almost entirely on face validity. Public Legislation 94-142 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 specifically require that psychological instruments be validated for the purposes for which they are used. Therefore the purpose of this investigation was to develop and validate an objective sentence-completion method. The ability of theinstrument to discriminate among special education groups, the sensitivity of theinstrument to long-term treatment effects, and the consistency of scores produced by school psychologists using the objective scoring device were the important factors analyzed. Method. Based on a review of the previous research done on this method of personality study, an initial list of sentence-completion stems was developed. A more refined list ofstems was developed through two field tests using the Chi-square method of analysis to determine which stems exhibited a tendency to discriminate between the emotionally impaired and regular-education youngsters. Feedback from test administrators pertaining to language comprehension difficulty, as well as analysis for disproportionate numbers ofresponses were also useful guides to final stem selection. The final form consisted oftwenty stems. A personality adjustment scale of Negative, Denial, Neutral, Acceptance, and Positive was devised and the quantitative values 1,2,3,4, and 5, respectively, were assigned. The final administration to determine the ability of the instrument to segregate groups was conducted on emotionally impaired, educable mentally impaired, learning impaired, and regular-education youngsters and analyzed by a nonparametric sign test of differences between medians. Tests of inter-scorer reliability using school psychologists trained on thescoring system were conducted. In addition, the changes in performance on the instrument were compared to personality-adjustment changes over a one-year period as evaluated by an experienced teacher of the emotionally impaired. Results. Inner-city special-education groups were placed on the Personality Adjustment Continuum in the order: emotionally impaired--2.3, educable mentally impaired--2.6, learning impaired--2.7, regular education--3.2. A statistically significant difference in performance on the instrument was seen between all special-education groups and regular-education youngsters (p < .05). Six correlation coefficients of inter-scorer reliability, ranging from .96 to 1.00, were obtained by school psychologists using the scoring device, suggesting that theinstrument can be scored with relatively high consistency. The instrument was able to measure significant (t = 5.08, dt = 7, p < .05), long-term, personality-adjustment changes which correctly corresponded to teacher evaluation. Conclusion. The instrument produced responds to personality-adjustment changes and can be consistently scored. The instrument was able to distinguish special-education from regular-education pupils. However, special-education youngsters in this population appear to be similar in emotional status even though they are statistically significantly different from regular-education youngsters. The Bacchus Sentence-Completion Method, produced from this investigation, represents a major tool that can be used in the non-biased assessment of emotional impairment at the elementary-school level.

A major index of modernization of any society is the position of its women vis-a-vis men. The more balance the opportunity structure for men and women, the larger the role women have in society and consequently the higher their status. In a developing society such as that of India, it is essential that both men and women play equal and important role in the development effort. A critical factor in the improvement of the status of women is education which is indispensable for playing many of the modern roles. Accordingly education has formed a key element in the Government of India's programmes for the improvement of the status of women. Government have initiated large scale educational programmes in the country, with special focus on the weaker sections of the people. In spite of these Muslim women continues to be one of the most backward sections of the people in India as far as education is concerned. This seems to be largely due to the presence of certain social structural and institutional factors in Islam which contribute to depress women's education and keep them in an inferior position. The objective of the paper is to identify some factors which are responsible for hindering educational progress of Muslim women viz. (1) insistence on religious education, (2) early marriage. (3) seclusion and (4) absence of socially defined occupational role for women in Muslim community. The study was conducted in the four northern districts of Kerala which account for more than half of the Muslim population of the State. From these four districts a sample of 450 Muslim women were di-awn on the basis of stratified random sampling and interviewed. It was found on the basis of this study that there are some social structural and institutional factors in Muslim community which hinder the educational progress of their women. One among them is insistence on religious education. Religious educatio~ which is indispensable for a Muslim lead to late entry to School after completion of a course of religious instruction. After entering school at a later age she wi II be forced to discontinue her studies when she attains puberty as she is not allowed to go out freely after that. Practice of early marriage which is widely prevalent among the Muslim community is found to be another major factor preventing the women from continuing her education after marriage. As a Muslim woman is not permitted to go out without escort it will be very difficult for them to continue their education, so she will have to terminate her studies after marriage. Seclusi- on of woman which is still observed in Muslim community prevent freedom of movement outside home and hinders her educational progress as she is not allowed to attend schools after attaining puberty. Muslim community where women are not expected to go out to work and earn does not consider the occupational role for a woman much important. Education is indispensable for taking up modern occupational roles and since occupational role is not considered important, education is devalued. Thus lack of socially defined occupational role detracts from the importance of education as a tool for achieving occupational skills.

Die vorliegende Dissertation sucht - anhand von Heiratsverflechtungen - die historischen und sozialen Wurzeln räumlichen Verhaltens sowie dessen Veränderlichkeit und Konsistenz seit dem Beginn der "modernen" Industrialisierung aufzuzeigen, welche im "Siegerland11 um die Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts einsetzte. In drei ausgewählten Zeiträumen (1855/59, 1895/96 und 1970) sollen die Wechselbeziehungen sozialstruktureller und sozialkommunikativer Faktoren analysiert werden. Durch die Gegenüberstellung struktureller und dynamischer Merkmale soll der Versuch einer möglichst umfassenden Darstellung sozialräumlichen Geschehens unternommen werden, mit dem Ziel, nicht lediglich "soziale Topographie" (d.h. Verortung sozialer Merkmale) zu betreiben, sondern die Kräfte des sozialen räumlichen Zusammenhalts offenzulegen. Aufgabe ist also nicht die Darlegung einzelner Schichten in ihrer chronologischen Abfolge, sondern die Aufspürung bewußter oder unbewußter überlieferter und verinnerlichter räumlicher Verhaltensmuster und deren sozialökonomischer Eingebundenheit und Wandelbarkeit in ihrer Gültigkeit bis in die Gegenwart. Als einziges verfügbares, gleichermaßen bewertbares Untersuchungsmerkmal konnten daher nur Heiratsbeziehungen gelten, die anhand von Kirchenbüchern und Standesamtsunterlagen (seit 1874 bestehend) erhoben wurden. Die durch die Industrialisierung eingetretenen Wandlungen der Erwerbsstruktur, der Konfessionalität, der Familienkohärenz, der Bildung und Ausbildung, sowie der Kommunikationsbedingungen und -notwendigkeiten wurden als wesentliche Impulse zur Veränderung der räumlich-distanziellen Gegebenheiten der Heiratsbeziehungen erkannt. Mit Hilfe einer Faktorenanalyse konnte schließlich das "Siegerland" zu den ausgewählten Zeiträumen nach Heiratsverflechtungsbereichen gleicher Herkunfts- und Zielstruktur auf der Grundlage der Herkunftsorte von Braut und Bräutigam untergliedert werden. Die Konstanz bzw. Veränderlichkeit dieser kleinräumlichen Gliederungseinheiten zeigte eine ausgeprägte Anlehnung an lokale Sozialstrukturen und geschichtliche Bedingtheiten. Dieses Urteil bestätigt sich ebenso für die Analyse der Heiratsbeziehungen der "Siegerländer" mit den umliegenden Gebieten, deren Begrenzung gleichfalls in hohem·Maße geschichtliche und soziale Sonderbedingungen erfüllt. ; This study deals with the theoretical and empirical description and analysis of social space in Human Geography - exemplified by the Westphalian "Siegerland". The theoretical part is occupied to lay bare the perceptional implications of the discipline and the empirical study,in order to emphasize its verification; theory therefore constitutes the "regulative principle" for research. It is tried to analyse the historical-and behavioural roots of social coherence during the age of "modern" industrialization, in the "Siegerland" since the 1860s, when this region was connected with the "Ruhrgebiet" by railway. The interdependence of social and spatial factors will be shown by marital selection and marriage circles as the central attributes of research. Besides, the exploring of marriage patterns in spatial context is the only mean to reconstruct the evaluation of social coherence in social space for a lasting term. The spatial patterns of marital relationship - which creates stable family relations - manifest a great deal of consistence because the "Siegerland" in particular demonstrates extraordinary permanence in the composition of its population with respect to the demographical, occupational, confessional and denominational structure. And it is segregated remarkably from its surrounding regions by these attributes. The "Siegerland" therefore is a suitable region to analyse these topics because of its traditional "industrialization" (since the "La-Tene" -period), the existence of a consistent portion of workers, trained in the "rules" of production, ist "autochthony" of religious and political opinions and tendencies. Regarding these properties the "Siegerland" has been indicated at the same time as "Grenzland" (border-land) and "Kernland" (core-land), as a region of peculiarity and an economic centre to its neighbourhood. The absence of disturbing and desultory modifications in social life since the very beginnings of industrialization until today has facilitated the intentions of the author. The inner differentiation of the "Siegerland" into districts of similar marital relations could be shown by factor analysis, where the pre-marital locations of bride and bridegroom (i.e.: their destinations resp. origins) were the primary data for correlation analysis in a symmetric data matrix. Further aims of research were the interregional marital connections and their bias, related to the changes in communications caused by the comprehensive alterations of industrialization. Moreover it could be worked out that regional and interregional social relations were influenced by local conditions referring to social structures.

. Early medical care was provided in the North by missionaries, Hudson's Bay traders, and surgeons on whalers or exploration ships. . Today most Eskimos are within reach of a nursing station, whence a patient may be evacuated to one of six modern hospitals in the Canadian North. If specialist care is necessary, the patient is flown south to a university hospital. . The question arose in the late 1960s whether a central eye hospital was needed in the north, and a decision was taken to survey ophthalmological needs. In 1970 and 1971, with Canadian Government sponsorship, three Canadian universities took part in a widespread survey, sending teams to examine whole populations of selected settlements. A total of 4,450 people were examined, McGill being responsible for the East Baffin Zone. . No eye hospital was deemed necessary . In September 1970 the first "service" trip was made to the Baffin Zone. Teams of ophthalmologists from the McGill Hospitals now visit regularly the twelve settlements in this Zone. . On these tours a variety of eye problems is found. Snow-blindness . jumps to the layman's mind when there is mention of eye problems in the North. . while this condition is of extreme discomfort to the patient, it is transitory. . More serious eye problems found in the North are, in order of increasing importance: trauma .; scarred cornea due to old tuberculosis, which is now on the wane; glaucoma, the blinding disease; and myopia. The Eskimo is found to be congenitally susceptible to angle closure glaucoma . The disease is found more commonly is Eskimo women than men, and is forty times more prevalent in Eskimo women than in women of other races. The majority of all eye patients flown to Montreal for medical or surgical treatment are sent because of this type of glaucoma. . An important aspect of northern medical service must be education of the people. If, for instance, they learn to recognize early symptoms of glaucoma (usually pain and temporarily diminished vision) and seek immediate help, the settlement nurse may control an attack with drugs for a few weeks, in most cases, until the patient can be flown out for surgery. . the ophthalmologist's principal activity in the North is the prescribing of glasses. The most astonishing evidence to come out of the Ophthalmological Survey was the "epidemic" of myopia in the young. Thirty to thirty-five per cent of all young people between the ages of 15 and 25 were found to be short-sighted and to need glasses, as opposed to nine per cent in those over 25. Perplexing questions present themselves: Why the young? What is different in their life style compared to that of their parents? Has a protective factor been lost to the younger generation, or a virulent factor introduced? What is the influence of schooling, of the change to a white man's diet? . In 1967 an international symposium on circumpolar health-related problems was held at the University of Alaska under the joint auspices of the University and the Arctic Institute of North America. . The second Symposium was held in June 1971 in the new, modern Medical School of the University of Oulu, Finland . In July 1974 the third International Symposium on Circumpolar Health will be held at Yellowknife, N.W.T., and ophthalmologists will be among others to continue discussions on health problems peculiar to the far North.

The development and allocation of the water resourcse within a state require water planners to prepare plans far in advance of the actual time new facilities are required. It is not easy to identify and evaluate all the possible alternatives for providing water which incorporate broad objectives such as economic efficiency, social welfare, regional development, recreation benefits, and conservation of environment. Water resources development entails the modification of a natural hydrologic system to better meet man's needs. The interrelationships among elements of the hydrologic system to better meet man's needs. The interrelationships among elements of the hydrologic system are relatively simple in comparison to the social, legal, economic, and institutional interdependencies involved. The relationships are so complex as to require that planning of water resource development be accomplished on a systems basis. It has become apparent that water resource planning must consider mass transfer of water encompassing areas which have potential for economic growth competing with other areas already highly developed economically. The wisest political decisions and the greatest benefit to the public will result if a method is used to explore the probable consequences of alternative water resources development and management policies and plans. The objective of this study is to extend the capability of systems analysis and operations research to the problem of interregional planning of water resources allocation for the State of Utah. The hydrologic characteristics and cost of water in each of the ten hydrologic study units of the state were determined. Hydrolgoci data from hydrologic inventories and estimates from the Utah Division of Water Resources were used to determine availability, reservoir storage-draft relationships, evaporation loss from reservoirs, agricultural use return flow, and municipal and industrial use return flow. Cost data were developed for storage facilities, diversion and canal works, artificial recharge facilties, treatment of waste water, and treatment of municipal supply. Supply functions for water in each of the ten hydrologic study units of the state were determined. Two sets of functions were developed--one for agricultural use and one for municipal and industrical use. Parametric linear programming was employed to develop a function map of the shadow price (marginal cost) of water for each of the two uses. The shadow price of imported water (value) to each of the study units was also determined to show the possible economic consequences of inter-basin transfers. In general, imported water was of little or no value if water presently being evaporated from Great Salt Lake is available for diversion upstream. A statewide model was developed to determine a least-cost allocation of water resources to meet projected requirements. This linear programming allocation model was developed subject to constraints such as hydrologic characteristics, limits on inter-basin transfers, limits on artificial groundwater recharge, and existing water requirements. Parametric programming was utilized to determine the impact of changing availability which reflects policies regarding inflow requirements of the Great Salt Lake and interstate agreemetns, increased agricultural use and municiapl and industrical use which reflects population increases projected for the future and changing groundwater availability which reflects legal constraints. The primary facotr affecting inter-basin transfer of Colorado River water is the degree to which evaporation from Great Salt Lake is reduced.

Among the many factors that determine the development of a political democracy, political culture should be stressed. Research by Almond and Verba, and later similar research in Yugoslavia, show that there exists a rather strong connection between political culture and the stability of a democratic political system. As large and ever larger groups of people have access to television, this mass medium plays more and more prominent role in shaping political culture. When the population attains (as in many societies now) a certain basic level of education, the majority of programmes can be understood by everybody. With this, there is lessening of the discrimination as to the political information, at least in principle. Television is an especially potent medium for introducing people into subject areas for which they have shown little or no interest previously. In spite of selective processes, a good measure of such material reaches the viewer and causes changes in his mind. People, in short, become conscious of political processes, which means enhancing of political culture. After the advent of TV, the political process has been transformed into real life, that can be seen, heard and almost touched. With this, the politician and politics itself loses their mystique and moves into the area of the secular things. The politician's image on the TV screen in not only physically diminished, but also psychologically deflated: now everybody can measure and criticize him by use of common yardsticks. In that way ordinary citizens gain certain strength, of the psychological nature, that becomes a part of their new political culture. Furthermore, television acts as an integrator and affirmer of small, isolated opposition groups. This is especially important for political systems in which political life has been integrated around two or three great political parties, and everything outside, remains unnoticed and ineffective. When such a small political group gets a portion of TV time (as it must, because it il »news« by definition), it immediately draws the support of all similar element in society and by that the chance to influence the broader political process. Naturally, television does not have only positive effects on political culture and political process. We not forget that television, with rare exceptions, is under direct and strong monopolistic control of varied political and other elites. The television viewer is to a large extent a victim of manipulation. Furthermore, there are some authors that consider television detrimental for political action, because it purportedly passivizes the public. But our conclusion is still on the positive side. The suppression of news and information in general, cannot go too far except in countries that are cut off the rest of the world in a seal-tight fashion. If people get information and that during long periods, (throughout years and decades), they cannot but form their attitudes, and become readier for political action, »spectoritis« or not. The whole problem of television influence on viewer should be always discussed in a broad time perspective, and not, as in some of the current research, in an artificially isolated moment. And so, to conclude, television does build the basic psycho-cultural prerequisites for better political participation, and by that, for a more democratic world.

[ENG]The reuse of treated water for agricultural irrigation is considered a promising option in regions facing water scarcity problems and there is an increasing number of reuse projects going on in southern European countries. The aim of this paper is to estimate the non-market benefits that society attaches to the use of reclaimed wastewater for agricultural purposes, as part of the economic assessment needed to evaluate the viability of this water management option. For this purpose, a contingent valuation study has been developed in the Segura River Basin in south-eastern Spain, interviewing 352 individuals from a representative sample of the basin's population. Results show that the use of reclaimed wastewater for irrigation has significant non-market environmental benefits (mean willingness to pay of €5.13 per month per household, which adds up to a total annual value of €23.3 million). In terms of volume, these benefits represent €0.31 m–3. Therefore, it can be concluded that the non-market benefits of using reclaimed wastewater for agriculture justify its implementation, as they overcome the average treatment costs of €0.16-0.26 m–3. Additionally, the analysis of preference heterogeneity suggests that the use of reclaimed wastewater in agriculture is more acceptable to people if they are made aware of their current payment for water sanitation. The inclusion of these non-market benefits in the overall assessment of water policy options will lead to better informed and more efficient water management decisions.[ESP] El uso de aguas depuradas en la agricultura es considerado una opción prometedora para aquellas zonas que presentan problemas de escasez y de ahí el creciente número de proyectos de reutilización del agua llevados a cabo en los países del sur de Europa. El objetivo de este trabajo es estimar los beneficios no de mercado que la sociedad otorga al uso de aguas depuradas para uso agrícola, como parte de la valoración económica necesaria para conocer la viabilidad de estas opciones de gestión del agua. Para lograr este objetivo se ha realizado un estudio de valoración contingente en la Cuenca del Río Segura, sureste de España, utilizando una muestra representativa de la población de 352 individuos. Los resultados muestran que el uso de agua depurada para regadío genera beneficios ambientales más allá de los beneficios de mercado (disposición a pagar media de 5,13 € por mes y hogar que supondrán 23,3 millones € anuales). En términos de volumen, los beneficios de no mercado relacionados con el uso de las aguas regeneradas en agricultura (0,31 € m–3) justifican su implementación al sobrepasar los costes promedio de tratamiento del agua (0,16- 0,26 € m–3). Además, el análisis de la heterogeneidad de la demanda sugiere que el empleo de estas aguas regeneradas sería socialmente más aceptado si los consumidores son informados sobre el pago actual de los servicios de saneamiento del agua. La inclusión de estos beneficios no comerciales en la valoración de la política hídrica global contribuirá a una gestión hídrica mejor informada y más eficiente. ; This study is part of the research project ref. RTA 2006-00094, which was financed by the INIA, the EU FEDER Funds, the European project on Sustainable Use of Irrigation Water in the Mediterranean Region (SIRRIMED) (FP7-KBBE-2009-3) No. 245159 and the RIDECO Project (Consolider-Ingenio 2010- CSD2006-0067).

Background: Disinfection by-products (DBPs) constitute a complex mixture of prevalent chemicals in drinking water and there is evidence of neurotoxicity for some of them. Objectives: We evaluated the association between estimates of DBP exposure during pregnancy and child neuropsychological outcomes at 1 and 4–5 years of age. Methods: We conducted a population-based mother-child cohort study in Spain with recruitment at first trimester of gestation (INMA Project, 2003–2008). Neuropsychological development was measured at 1 year of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and at 4–5 years with the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. Modeled tap water concentrations of trihalomethanes (THM) were combined with personal ingestion, showering and bathing habits to estimate exposure as ingestion uptake, all route (showering, bathing, ingestion) uptake (μg/day) and crude levels (μg/l) in the residence. Chloroform, brominated THMs (bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, bromoform) and total THMs (chloroform and brominated THMs) were analysed separately. Nine haloacetic acids levels were available in one of the areas. Linear regression was used to estimate associations in 1855 subjects adjusting for covariables. Results: The median concentration of total THMs, chloroform, brominated THMs, total haloacetic acids, dichloroacetic acid, and trichloroacetic acid were, respectively 30.3 μg/L, 9.4 μg/L, 11.6 μg/L, 10.5 μg/L, 2.7 μg/L, and 3.1 μg/L. The associations between THM exposure and neuropsychological outcomes were null, except for total and brominated THM uptake though all routes and the general cognitive score at 4–5 years, with a decrease in − 0.54 points (95%CI − 1.03, − 0.05) and − 0.64 (95%CI − 1.16, − 0.12), respectively, for doubling total and brominated THM uptake. A positive association found between dichloroacetic acid and the mental score at 1 year did not persist at 4–5 years. Conclusions: Minor associations observed between DBP exposure during gestation and child neuropsychological development at 1 year disappeared at 4–5 years. Although a suggestive association is identified for exposure to brominated THMs and the cognitive score at 4–5 years, chance cannot be ruled out. ; This study was funded by Grants from UE (FP7-ENV-2011 cod 282957 and HEALTH.2010.2.4.5-1), and from Spain: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176, CB06/02/0041, FIS-FEDER 03/1615, 04/1509, 04/1112, 04/1931, PI041436, FIS-PI042018, 05/1079, 05/1052, 06/1213, FIS-PI06/0867, 07/0314, 081151, 09/02647, 09/02311, 09/00090, 11/0178, 11/02591, 11/02038, 13/1944, 13/2032, 13/02429, 13/02187, 14/0891, 14/1687, CP14/00108, CP16/00261 and Miguel Servet-FEDER MS15/0025, MS13/00054, CP0610034, MS14/00108), CIBERESP (Ref. AA08_012), the Conselleria de Sanitat de la Generalitat Valenciana, Generalitat de Catalunya (CIRIT 1999SGR 00241), Fundació La Marató de TV3 (090430), Obra Social Cajastur/Fundación Liberbank, Universidad de Oviedo, Department of Health of the Basque Government (2005111093, 2009111069, 2013111089 and 2015111065), and the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (DFG06/002, DFG08/001 and DFG15/221). Annual agreements with the city council of the study area in Gipuzkoa (Zumarraga, Urretxu, Legazpi, Azkoitia y Azpeitia y Beasain). ISGlobal is a member of the CERCA Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya.

When promoting physical activity (PA) participation, it is important to consider the plausible environmental determinants that may affect this practice. The impact of objectively-measured public open spaces (POS) and walk-friendly routes on objectively-measured and self-reported PA was explored alongside the influence of rainy conditions on this association, in a Mediterranean sample of overweight or obese senior adults with metabolic syndrome. Cross-sectional analyses were undertaken on 218 PREDIMED-Plus trial participants aged 55⁻75 years, from the city of Palma, in Mallorca (Spain). Indicators of access to POS and walk-friendly routes were assessed in a 1.0 and 0.5 km sausage network walkable buffers around each participant's residence using geographic information systems. Mean daily minutes of self-reported leisure-time brisk walking, and accelerometer objectively-measured moderate-to-vigorous PA in bouts of at least 10 min (OM-MVPA) were measured. To investigate the association between access to POS and walk-friendly routes with PA, generalized additive models with a Gaussian link function were used. Interaction of rainy conditions with the association between access to POS and walk-friendly routes with OM-MVPA was also examined. Better access to POS was not statistically significantly associated with self-reported leisure-time brisk walking or OM-MVPA. A positive significant association was observed only between distance of walk-friendly routes contained or intersected by buffer and OM-MVPA, and was solely evident on non-rainy days. In this elderly Mediterranean population, only access to walk-friendly routes had an influence on accelerometer-measured PA. Rainy conditions during the accelerometer wear period did appear to modify this association. ; Funding: Instituto de Investigación en Salud Carlos III (PI14/00853, PI16/00662 and PI17/00525), and Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PS0358-2016). Co-funded by FEDER. AstraZeneca Foundation (Young Investigator Award on obesity and type 2 diabetes to D.R. 2017). The authors wish to thank the participants in the city of Palma de Mallorca, Spain who took part in the PREDIMED-Plus study for their collaboration, and the PREDIMED-Plus personnel and investigators who collected, catalogued, and provided the data that made this study possible, as well as all affiliated primary care centers, for their excellent work. Thanks to the CIBEROBN, CIBERESP, CIBERDEM initiatives of Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain. Thanks also to the European Research Council (grant 340918). We are grateful to the Municipal Sports Institute of the City of Palma, the Department of Infrastructure and Accessibility of Palma City Council, and Agencia Estatal de Meteorología for the transparency of the data necessary for this study; and to. Gonzalo Serrano for his expert assessment in open access database management from public services. M.C. is the recipient of a pre-doctoral FPI Fellowship from the Conselleria d'Innovació, Recerca i Turisme of the regional Government of the Balearic Islands co-financed by the European Social Fund as part of the FSE 2014–2020 operational program. We appreciate the English revision by Meryl Jones and the service of linguistic support of the Research Committee of the University Hospital Son Espases (HUSE). Finally, we thank three anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier draft.

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most frequent tumor in males and the second in females worldwide. In Spain, it is an important and growing health problem, and epidemiologic research focused on potential risk factors, such as environmental exposures, is necessary. Objectives: To analyze the association between colorectal cancer risk and residential proximity to industries, according to pollution discharge route, industrial groups, categories of carcinogens and other toxic substances, and specific pollutants released, in the context of a population-based multicase-control study of incident cancer carried out in Spain (MCC-Spain). Methods: MCC-Spain included 557 colorectal cancer cases and 2948 controls in 11 provinces, frequency matched by sex, age, and region of residence. Distances were computed from subjects' residences to each of the 134 industries located in the study area. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for categories of distance (from 1 km to 3 km) to industrial facilities, adjusting for matching variables and other confounders. Results: Excess risk (OR; 95%CI) of colorectal cancer was detected near industries overall for all distances analyzed, from 1 km (2.03; 1.44-2.87) to 3 km (1.26; 1.00-1.59). In general, industries releasing pollutants to air showed higher excess risks than facilities releasing pollution to water. By industrial sector, excess risk (OR; 95%CI) was found near (≤3 km) production of metals (2.66; 1.77-4.00), surface treatment of metals (1.48; 1.08-2.02), glass and mineral fibers (2.06; 1.39-3.07), organic chemical industry (4.80; 3.20-7.20), inorganic chemical industry (6.74; 4.38-10.36), food/beverage sector (3.34; 2.38-4.68), and surface treatment using organic solvents (6.16; 4.06-9.36). By pollutants, the main excess risks (OR; 95%CI) were found near (≤3 km) industries releasing nonylphenol (9.19; 5.91-14.28), antimony (5.30; 3.45-8.15), naphthalene (3.11; 2.16-4.49), organotin compounds (2.64; 1.76-3.98), manganese (2.53; 1.63-3.93), dichloromethane (2.52; 1.74-3.66), and vanadium (2.49; 1.59-3.91). Conclusions: Our results support the hypothesis that residing in the proximity of industries may be a risk factor for colorectal cancer. ; This study was funded by: Scientific Foundation of the Spanish Association Against Cancer (Fundación Científica de la Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC) – EVP-1178/14); Spain's Health Research Fund (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria - FIS 12/01416); Carlos III Institute of Health (ISCIII) grants, cofunded by ERDF funds–a way to build Europe– (grants PI08/0533, PI08/1359, PI08/1770, PS09/00773-Cantabria, PS09/01286-Leon, PS09/01662-Granada, PS09/01903-Valencia, PS09/02078-Huelva, PI11/00226, PI11/01403, PI11/01810, PI11/01889-FEDER, PI11/02213, PI12/00150, PI12/00265, PI12/00488, PI12/00715, PI12/01270, PI14/00613, PI14/01219, PI15/00069, PI15/00914, PI15/01032, PI17-00092); the Fundación Marqués de Valdecilla (API 10/09); the Junta de Castilla y León (LE22A10-2); the Conselleria de Sanitat of the Generalitat Valenciana (AP_061/10); the Consejería de Salud of the Junta de Andalucía (PI-0571-2009, PI-0306-2011, salud201200057018tra); the Catalan Government DURSI grant 2014SGR647; the European Commission grants FOOD-CT-2006-036224-HIWATE; the Recercaixa (2010ACUP 00310); Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) of the Catalan Government grant 2017SGR723

Introduction: Neonatal mortality associated with preterm birth can be reduced with antenatal corticosteroids (ACS), yet 36.0 weeks GA. In phase 1, UH measurements were collected prospectively in the Democratic Republic of Congo, India and Pakistan, using distinct tapes to address variation across regions and ethnicities. In phase 2, we tested accuracy in 250 pregnant women with known GA from early ultrasound enrolled at prenatal clinics in Argentina, India, Pakistan and Zambia. Providers masked to the ultrasound GA measured UH. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was conducted. Results: 1,029 pregnant women were enrolled. In all countries the tapes were most effective identifying pregnancies between 20.0-35.6 weeks, compared to the other GAs. The ROC areas under the curves and 95% confidence intervals were: Argentina 0.69 (0.63, 0.74); Zambia 0.72 (0.66, 0.78), India 0.84 (0.80, 0.89), and Pakistan 0.83 (0.78, 0.87). The sensitivity and specificity (and 95% confidence intervals) for identifying pregnancies between 20.0-35.6 weeks, respectively, were: Argentina 87% (82%-92%) and 51% (42%-61%); Zambia 91% (86%-95%) and 50% (40%-60%); India 78% (71%-85%) and 89% (83%-94%); Pakistan 63% (55%-70%) and 94% (89% -99%). Conclusions: We observed moderate-good accuracy identifying pregnancies ≤35.6 weeks gestation, with potential usefulness at the community level in low-middle income countries to facilitate the preterm identification and interventions to reduce preterm neonatal mortality. Further research is needed to validate these findings on a population basis. ; Fil: Althabe, Fernando. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina ; Fil: Berrueta, Amanda Mabel. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina ; Fil: Hemingway Foday, Jennifer. Rti International; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Mazzoni, Agustina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina ; Fil: Bonorino, Carolina Astoul. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina ; Fil: Gowdak, Andrea. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina ; Fil: Gibbons, Luz. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina ; Fil: Bellad, M. B. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Belgaum; India ; Fil: Metgud, M. C. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Belgaum; India ; Fil: Goudar, Shivaprasad. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Belgaum; India ; Fil: Kodkany, Bhalchandra S. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Belgaum; India ; Fil: Derman, Richard J. Christiana Care Health System; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Saleem, Sarah. The Aga Khan University; Pakistán ; Fil: Iqbal, Samina. Sobhraj Maternity Hospital; Pakistán ; Fil: Ala, Syed Hasan. Sindh Government Qatar Hospital; Pakistán ; Fil: Goldenberg, Robert L. Columbia University; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Chomba, Elwyn. University Teaching Hospital Lusaka; Zambia ; Fil: Manasyan, Albert. University of North Carolina; Estados Unidos. Centre For Infectious Disease Research In Zambia; Zambia ; Fil: Chiwila, Melody. University Teaching Hospital Lusaka; Zambia ; Fil: Imenda, Edna. University Teaching Hospital Lusaka; Zambia ; Fil: Mbewe, Florence. University Teaching Hospital Lusaka; Zambia ; Fil: Tshefu, Antoinette. Kinshasa School Of Public Health; República Democrática del Congo ; Fil: Lokomba, Victor. Kinshasa School Of Public Health; República Democrática del Congo ; Fil: Bose, Carl L. University of North Carolina; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Moore, Janet. Rti International; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Meleth, Sreelatha. Rti International; Estados Unidos ; Fil: McClure, Elizabeth M. Rti International; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Koso Thomas, Marion. Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Buekens, Pierre. University of Tulane; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Belizan, Jose. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

El trabajo describe y analiza la organización y funcionamiento del Consejo de Planificación Regional de Educación Superior (CPRES) desde su incorporación en la vigente Ley 24.521/95 hasta 2011. La indagación empírica se basa en un análisis de su diseño institucional y en el desempeño de sus actores relevantes. Del universo, compuesto a nivel nacional por siete regiones CPRES, se seleccionó el caso de la región bonaerense. Ésta representa uno de los territorios con mayor población y actividad económica de la Argentina. Además, concentra más de un tercio de las instituciones de educación superior que integran la oferta total del país. Por tanto conforma un territorio en el que se intensifica y visualiza con mayor claridad la política educativa. Se analizaron fuentes documentales y entrevistas semi estructuradas a informantes clave del ámbito gubernamental y del campo universitario, partícipes del funcionamiento del CPRES desde su puesta en marcha en 1996 hasta la actualidad. Los resultados evidencian que el CPRES se constituye como una estructura de autoridad de nivel intermedio con capacidad jurídico-institucional para planificar, coordinar, y regular los procesos de elaboración e implementación de políticas públicas en el marco de un contexto sistémico complejo y de alta diferenciación institucional. Sin embargo, aún no logran constituirse en efectivas autoridades de implementación. En particular, el estudio sobre la región bonaerense permite entrever la presencia de distintos poderes territoriales que imprimen una dinámica restrictiva a la acción del CPRES en términos de gobierno e institucionalidad. ; The paper describes and analyzes the organization and operation of the Regional Planning Council for Higher Education (CPRES, its acronym in Spanish) since joining in the current Law 24.521/95 until 2011. The empirical research is based on an analysis of its institutional design context and performance of its stakeholders. From the universe, consisting of seven national regions CPRES, the case of the Buenos Aires region was selected. This one represents one of the areas with the highest population and economic activity in Argentina. In addition, it concentrates over one third of the colleges that make up the country's total supply. Therefore, it forms a territory where educational policy intensifies and displays more clearly. Documentary sources and interviews with key informants from the governmental scope and the university campus, participants in the operation of CPRES since its inception in 1996 until today, were analyzed. The results show that the CPRES is constituted as an intermediate level authority structure with legal and institutional capacity to plan, coordinate, and regulate the development and implementation processes of public policies within the framework of a complex systemic and of high institutional differentiation context. However, they still fail to become effective implementation authorities. In particular, the study on the Buenos Aires region allows glimpsing the presence of different territorial powers that print a CPRES limiting dynamic action in terms of government and institutionalism. ; Fil: González, Giselle. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación. Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales; Argentina