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IntroductionOver the last decade, we have witnessed a number of changes to our welfare state. With the 1996 bi‐partisan‐supported welfare reform legislation (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act; PRWORA), the federal government devolved much of the responsibility for public assistance to the states, instituted time‐limited assistance, and aimed to curb non‐marital childbirths, encourage marriage, and push welfare recipients to become economically self‐sufficient. After PRWORA, a slew of scholars from multiple academic disciplines sought to understand the implementation and implications of the changes to the welfare system for poor families as well as those agencies, staff, and programs that serve them. In this article, Kissane and Krebs synthesize some major findings from this research on welfare reform and its effects. Courses using such a review might situate the exploration of welfare reform within a larger investigation of America's welfare state, poverty, and/or social policy.Author recommendsBrown, Michael K. 1999. Race, Money and the American Welfare State. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Through a detailed examination of social policy from the New Deal through the Reagan administration, Brown explores,'how both race and social class bear on the political development of the American welfare state' (p. xiv). As the title of the books suggests, Brown pays particular attention to taxes, fiscal capacity and spending in his account.DeParle, Jason. 2004. American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare. New York: Penguin Press.DeParle, a New York Times journalist, moves effortlessly between exploring developments in American welfare policy and chronicling the lives of three poor women. He vividly depicts the complexity of the women's lives in the wake of the changes to the welfare system, while also providing fascinating details on the origins and implementation of welfare reform.Edin, Kathryn and Laura Lein. 1997. Making Ends Meet: How Single Mothers Survive Welfare and Low‐Wage Work. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.This book presents findings from Edin and Lein's comprehensive, multi‐city qualitative study on the monthly budgets of low‐wage workers and welfare‐reliant women, as well as their strategies for making ends meet. They find that both groups rely on their networks for in‐kind and cash assistance, aid from non‐profit organizations, and earnings from informal work to survive. Edin and Lein also investigate the relative costs and benefits (both tangible and intangible) of work versus welfare.Esping‐Andersen, Gøsta. 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.An essential book if one is interested in the development of welfare states across advanced Western societies. Esping‐Andersen delineates three typologies of welfare state regimes (conservative, liberal, and social) and explores the factors that establish the differences in welfare states.Gilens, Martin. 1999. Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.In this well‐researched book, Gilens explores public opinion on anti‐poverty policies and the media's role in shaping how the public thinks about welfare. His chapters on the media's representations of poverty and welfare are particularly enlightening.Gordon, Linda. 1994. Pitied But Not Entitled: Single Mothers and the History of Welfare. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.In this book, Gordon, a social historian, argues that reformers working in the women's movement during the Progressive Era had a significant effect on the development of the welfare state; however, they also helped to cement racial and gender stratification within it and ultimately limit its full development.Hays, Sharon. 2003. Flat Broke with Children: Women in the Age of Welfare Reform. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.In Flat Broke with Children, Hays, a sociologist, does a wonderful job exploring the cultural values behind welfare reform, detailing the contradictory nature of its requirements and procedures, and situating welfare recipients and their behavior within the larger American cultural context. Through her analysis of data collected from years of fieldwork in welfare offices in two states, Hays also investigates how poor women and welfare staff experience and think about welfare reform.Iceland, John. 2006. Poverty in America: A Handbook. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.This book is an excellent overview of poverty in America. Iceland clearly details views on poverty, how we measure poverty, the characteristics of the poverty population, and the causes of poverty.Katz, Michael B. 2001. The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books.In this expansive work, Katz, a social historian, details recent developments across various areas of the American welfare state (although he focuses on anti‐poverty policies), while situating these developments within a larger historical context. In particular, he shows how public social policy in recent decades has shifted around three 'great objectives': (i) to end dependence; (ii) to devolve authority; and (iii) to apply market models to social policy.Piven, Frances F. and Richard A. Cloward. 1993. Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare (updated edition). New York, NY: Vintage Books.In this classic, Piven and Cloward advance their theory that 'expansive relief policies are designed to mute civil disorder, and restrictive ones to reinforce work norms' (p. xv). Their book explores a large span of history – from early poor relief in France and England to developments under the Bush administration.Online materials Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) http://www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/povertyusa/ This website includes some facts about poverty, as well as ideas for educators on ways to generate discussion on poverty. The 'getting involved' section of the website is particularly useful, providing, among other things, a poverty quiz, interactive maps, information on CCHD funded programs, a 'poverty tour' that addresses issues with the federal poverty line, and ways to get involved. Global Rich List http://www.globalrichlist.com/ This website allows you to situate your annual income in the context of the world's population. It is a great little teaching tool to introduce concepts of relative poverty, income inequality, and global poverty to students. Green Book from House Ways and Means Committee
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/wmprints/green/index.html The Green Book is an excellent resource for descriptions and historical data on many U.S. social welfare programs, such as the Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Foster Care, Medicaid, and Food Stamp programs. MDRC http://www.mdrc.org/ Known best, perhaps, for its evaluations of welfare policies and programs that incorporate random assignment, MDRC provides detailed information on programs and policies that affect the poor. Among other things, the website includes publications, working papers, policy briefs, and videos detailing research findings. The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) http://www.nccp.org/ The NCCP at Columbia University provides statistical information and fact sheets on poverty and policy issues, often with a focus on the links between family economic security and child development. Individuals might find particularly useful the 'State Profiles' section of the website, which allows one to view demographic information (often in clear charts and graphs), issue areas, and policies for the state of one's choosing. U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/ The census website provides an extensive array of data on the U.S. population and economy. Besides navigating from the above link, data and reports on poverty can also be found directly at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty.html. The World Bank http://www.worldbank.org/ The World Bank's website provides resources valuable to exploring worldwide poverty and situating the U.S. globally. In particular, the PovertyNet area (http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/0,,menuPK:336998~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:336992,00.html) of the website presents detailed information and data on poverty and related issues that researchers, educators, and practitioners may find useful.Additional online resourcesScores of additional organizations and centers (too many to list) conduct and disseminate research on issues related to the economy, welfare, public policy, and poverty. What follows is a list of some other key organizations and centers, alongside links to their websites:

Brookings Institute (http://www.brookings.edu)
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (http://www.cbpp.org/)
Center for Law and Social Policy (http://www.clasp.org/)
Center for Research on Child Wellbeing (CRCW) (http://crcw.princeton.edu/)
Child Trends (http://www.childtrends.org/)
Heritage Foundation (http://www.heritage.org/)
Institute for Research on Poverty (http://www.irp.wisc.edu/)
Joint Center for Poverty Research (http://www.jcpr.org/)
National Poverty Center (http://www.npc.umich.edu/)
Urban Institute (http://www.urban.org/)

Sample syllabusPoverty, Welfare, and the Safety Net (excerpt from syllabus)Description of courseThe terms 'safety net' and 'welfare state' commonly refer to a range of public and non‐governmental programs and policies that seek to protect individuals and their families from distress and hardship and/or improve the quality of their lives. In this course, we will primarily explore facets of the American welfare state that seek to assuage poverty and its effects. Although we will largely approach this topic from a sociological perspective, this area of inquiry is quite interdisciplinary. Consequently, we will be reading works from other academic disciplines throughout the course.This is an advanced course, designed for students who already have substantial familiarity with the causes and consequences of poverty. In the first third of the course, we will investigate the early development of our nation's welfare state, from poorhouses and outdoor relief to mothers' pensions and the New Deal. We then move to exploring Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and anti‐poverty policies of the 1960s and 1970s. Next, we examine changes in federal welfare policy over the last couple of decades, focusing on the welfare reforms of the 1990s, the consequences of these reforms, and the experiences of poor women since these changes. We end the course by looking in more depth at the private safety net (particularly, secular and faith‐based organizations that serve the poor), public opinion, and future directions for welfare policy.Course outline and reading assignments Week 1. Introduction to poverty and the course Iceland, John. 2006. Chapters 3–5 (pp. 20–97). Poverty in America: A Handbook. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Rank, Mark. 2003. 'As American as Apple Pie: Poverty and Welfare.'Contexts 2(3): 41–46.Optional: Katz, Michael B. 2001. 'Poverty and Inequality in the New American City' (pp. 33–56). The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books. Week 2. What is welfare? Why have welfare states? Katz, Michael B. 2001. 'The Invention of Welfare' (pp. 1–8) and 'The American Welfare State' (only pp. 9–17). The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books.Howard, Christopher. 1993. 'The Hidden Side of the American Welfare State.'Political Science Quarterly. 108(3): 403–436 (note: pages 420–433 are optional).T. H. Marshall. 1977. Selection from 'Citizenship and Social Class' in Class, Citizenship, and Social Development: Essays by T.H. Marshall. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.UN Declaration of Human Rights (http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html) Week 3. Early developments Piven, Frances F. and Richard A. Cloward. 1993. 'Relief, Labor, and Civil Disorder: An Overview' (pp. 3–42). Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare (updated edition). New York, NY: Vintage Books.Katz, Michael B. 1996. 'The Origins and Failure of the Poorhouse' and 'Outdoor Relief' (pp. 3–59). In the Shadow of the Poorhouse: A Social History of Welfare in America: Tenth Anniversary Edition. New York, NY: BasicBooks. Week 4. Mothers pensions, the New Deal, and ADC Piven, Frances F. and Richard A. Cloward. 1993. Chapter 2–3 (pp. 45–119). Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare (updated edition). New York, NY: Vintage Books.Linda Gordon. 1994. Selection from Pitied But Not Entitled: Single Mothers and the History of Welfare. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Brown, Michael K. 1999. Chapter 2 (pp. 63–96). Race, Money and the American Welfare State. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Quadagno, Jill S. 1994. 'Unfinished Democracy' (only pp. 17–25). The Color of Welfare: How Racism Undermined the War on Poverty. New York, NY and Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Optional: DeParle, Jason. 2004. Chapter 2 (pp. 20–37). American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare. New York, NY: Penguin Press. Week 5. AFDC, welfare rights, and anti‐poverty policies in the 1960s and 1970s Piven, Frances F. and Richard A. Cloward. 1993. Chapters 4 and 6 (pp. 123–146; pp. 183–199). Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare (updated edition). New York, NY: Vintage Books.Quadagno, Jill S. 1994. Selection from The Color of Welfare: How Racism Undermined the War on Poverty. New York, NY and Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Tilmon, Johnnie. 1972. 'Welfare is a Women's Issue.'Ms. Spring: 2 pages. http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2002/tillmon.aspDeParle, Jason. 2004. Chapters 3 and 5 (pp. 38–57; 85–100). American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare. New York, NY: Penguin Press. Weeks 6 and 7. Devolution, the 1980s and 90s, and 'ending welfare as we know it' Katz, Michael B. 2001. 'The Family Support Act' (pp. 71–76); 'Governors as Welfare Reformers' (pp. 77–103); and 'Fighting Poverty 1990s Style' (pp. 293–316). The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books.Hays, Sharon. 2003. Chapter 1 (pp. 3–31). Flat Broke with Children. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.DeParle, Jason. 2004. Chapters 4; 6–9 (pp. 58–81; 101–174). American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare. New York, NY: Penguin Press.Optional: Katz, Michael B. 2001. 'Urban Social Welfare in an Age of Austerity' (pp. 104–136). The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books. Week 8. Assessing welfare reform Kissane, Rebecca Joyce and Richard Krebs. 2007. 'Assessing Welfare Reform, Over a Decade Later.'Sociology Compass 1(2): 789–813. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00029.x.Katz, Michael B. 2001. pp. 328–340 of 'The End of Welfare'The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books. Weeks 9–11. A closer look at life after welfare reform Hays, Sharon. 2003. Chapters 2–8 (pp. 33–240) Flat Broke with Children: Women in the Age of Welfare Reform. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.DeParle, Jason. 2004. Chapters 10–18 (pp. 175–322). American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare. New York, NY: Penguin Press. Week 12.  The Private Safety Net: Nonprofit, Community‐Based Service Provision Katz, Michael B. 2001. 'The Independent Sector, the Market and the State' (only pp. 137–155 and 162–170). The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books.Kissane, Rebecca Joyce. 2003. 'What's Need Got to Do with It? Why Poor Women Do Not Use Nonprofit Social Services.'Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. 30(2): 127–148.Kissane, Rebecca Joyce. 2006. 'Responsible but Uninformed? Nonprofit Executive and Program Directors' Knowledge of Welfare Reform.'Social Service Review. 80(2): 322–345.Reread 'Nonprofit organizations and welfare reform' (pp. 802–804) in Kissane, Rebecca Joyce and Richard Krebs. 2007. 'Assessing Welfare Reform, Over a Decade Later.'Sociology Compass 1(2): 789–813. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00029.x.Edin, Kathryn and Laura Lein. 1998. 'The Private Safety Net: The Role of Charitable Organizations in the Lives of the Poor.'Housing Policy Debate. 9(4): 541–573. Week 13. The Private Safety Net, continued: Faith‐based organizations (FBOs) Katz, Michael B. 2001. 'Faith, Charity, and Inner Cities' (pp. 155–162). The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books.Twombly, Eric. 2002. 'Religious Versus Secular Human Service Organizations: Implications for Public Policy.'Social Science Quarterly. 83(4): 847–961.Kissane, Rebecca Joyce. 2007. 'How Do Faith‐Based Organizations Compare to Secular Providers? Nonprofit Directors' and Poor Women's Assessments of FBOs.'Journal of Poverty. 11(4): 91–115.Sherman, A. L. 2003. 'Faith in Communities: A Solid Investment.'Society. 40(2): 19–26.DiIulio Jr., John J. 2007. Selection from Godly Republic: A Centrist Blueprint for America's Faith‐Based Future. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Scott W. Allard. 2007. 'Access and Stability: Comparing Faith‐based and Secular Nonprofit Service Providers.' A paper presented at the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan 2007 conference, 'The Impact of Religion and Faith‐Based Organizations on the Lives of Low Income Families.'Optional: Smith, Steven Rathgeb and Michael R. Sosin. 2001. 'Varieties of Faith‐Related Agencies.'Public Administration Review. 61(6): 651–670. Week 14. Public Opinion, the Media, and Policy Gilens, Martin. 1999. Chapters 2–3 (pp. 31–79); Chapter 5 (only pp. 111–132); Chapter 6 (pp. 133–153) and Chapter 8 (only pp. 184–203). Why Americans Hate Welfare. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Reingold, David A. and Helen Liu. Forthcoming. 'Do Poverty Attitudes of Social Service Agency Directors Influence Organizational Behavior?'Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.Optional: Misra, Joya, Stephanie Moller, and Marina Karides. 2003. 'Envisioning Dependency: Changing Media Depictions of Welfare in the 20th Century.'Social Problems. 50(4): 482–504. Week 15. Future directions and course wrap‐up Katz, Michael B. 2001. 'Work, Democracy, and Citizenship' (pp. 341–359). The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books.DeParle, Jason. 2004. Epilogue (pp. 323–338). American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare. New York, NY: Penguin Press.Gilens, Martin. 1999. 'The Politics of the American Welfare State' (pp. 204–216). Why Americans Hate Welfare. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Rector, Robert. 2005. 'Welfare Reform and the Healthy Marriage Initiative.' Statement before the Sub‐committee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means U.S. House of Representatives. Available at http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/tst021005a.cfmCoontz, Stephanie and Nancy Folbre. 2002. 'Marriage, Poverty, and Public Policy: A Discussion Paper from the Council on Contemporary Families.' The American Prospect. March 19, 2002. Available at http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=marriage_poverty_and_public_policyFilms and videosA Day's Work, A Day's Pay (57 min)This documentary, based in New York City, follows three welfare recipients participating in the city's welfare‐to‐work program. The film not only documents the problems with the city jobs that the welfare recipients have to perform, but it also explores how the welfare recipients become social activists.Eating Welfare (57 min)Told through the youth of the community, this documentary investigates welfare reform's effect on Southeast Asian refugee families living in the Bronx. The film highlights problems particular to this population, as well as general issues facing the welfare recipients under workfare.Ending Welfare As We Know It (90 min)Take it From Me: Life After Welfare (75 min)These two documentaries follow welfare families as they deal with the consequences of welfare reform and the complexities of their lives.Poverty Outlaw (1 h)This documentary follows the development of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU), 'a multiracial organization of, by and for poor and homeless people' located in Philadelphia (http://www.kwru.org/), as well as the hardships experienced by its members and other individuals living in poverty in America. A subsequent film, Outriders (1999; 1 h), follows KWRU on its New Freedom Bus Tour, in which the organization sought to document economic human rights violations across America.Tempting Faith: Is Charitable Choice Working? (57 min)This documentary explores the Charitable Choice provision of the 1996 welfare reform legislation through an examination of faith‐based programs in Indiana, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. The film includes views on both the pros and cons of faith‐based initiatives.Waging a Living (85 min)This documentary focuses on the lives of four low‐wage workers as they struggle to make ends meet.Welfare Reform: Social Impact (29 min)This program, released shortly after the passage of welfare reform, explores the history of welfare and issues surrounding welfare reform. It includes interviews with Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, Wendell Primus, and Rebecca Blank.Seminar/Project ideas1. This activity uncovers students' misunderstandings regarding poverty and welfare.Early in the semester (usually the first day of class), students take a 'poverty and welfare quiz' in which they answer factual and attitudinal questions on poverty and welfare. Instructors can then use the survey answers as springboards for weekly discussions on topics covered in the course. As the semester progresses, the students usually discover that they held many misconceptions regarding poverty and welfare.2. This activity explores the hidden assumptions and meanings behind the words 'dependent' and 'independent.' Other words or phrases could also be explored in this manner, such as 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor.Ask the students to list (in separate columns) images, individuals, and/or circumstances that come to mind when they hear the words 'dependent' and 'independent'. Then, as a class or in small groups, discuss and assess the students' lists. How are these lists culturally specific? Do visions of race, ethnicity, class, gender, age and household structure come into play? How? Why do you think certain images come to mind when you hear these words? How do our understandings of 'dependence' and 'independence' relate to our understandings of welfare and poverty? To anti‐poverty policies?3. Among other topics, this activity can be used to launch discussions of deserving versus undeserving poor, universal versus means‐tested transfers, barriers to self‐sufficiency and employment, and notions of 'governmental assistance.'Break the students into small groups and give each group a sheet of paper with about six profiles that cover a variety of individuals and family types. For example, one profile might depict a 30‐year‐old housewife with two children whose husband works. Another might be an unemployed, divorced woman with six children who is clinically depressed, etc. Create profiles in such a way that students will likely consider in their working groups the employment, marital status, age, gender, child‐bearing, physical and mental health, and race and ethnicity of their profiled individuals. Have each group discuss to whom they would give governmental assistance, in what order they would distribute the aid, and what they would give each profiled family. Reconvene the class and compare the groups' decisions. What did the groups' consider 'governmental assistance'? How did they decide how they would distribute the aid? Who was 'worthy' of help? Did they feel as if they needed additional information to make their decisions? What information did they want to have that the profiles did not provide? Why would that information be important to their deliberations?4. This written assignment allows students to investigate a program or policy not covered comprehensively in the course.Each student will choose a program or policy aimed to assuage poverty and/or its effects that we do not cover extensively in this course [e.g., Head Start, Unemployment Insurance, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), public housing programs, etc]. All topics must be approved prior to beginning work on the project. After choosing a topic, students will write a final paper that includes the following components:

An introduction. What is the program? How is it meant to assuage poverty or its consequences? Why should we care about your topic?
A brief review of the history of the policy or program. When was the program started? Why? By whom? What key changes have occurred to the program over the years?
A review of the social science research literature on the program. What data and research are available on your program? What does the empirical research tell us about the program's effectiveness, clientele, take‐up rates, strengths, weaknesses, etc?
Specific policy recommendation(s). How can your program be improved? (Note: your recommendation(s) should be based on the empirical evidence not value‐laden opinions)

Instructors may want to add a final presentation to the above assignment. Having students present as part of a panel may be particularly effective if students' topics cluster around several areas, for example 'educational policy', 'family policy', 'housing policy', etc.

IntroductionThe Report that the AIB has decided to publish starting from this year aims at presenting, even if synthetically, the main characteristics of an overview of Italian libraries, each time pointing out the questions, tendencies and some of the events that are of most interest to those who are interested in the development of the library service in our country.When it is proposed to describe a national picture of the situation of the libraries of the various types (public, university, state, scholastic, ecclesiastic, private, etc.) one finds oneself before the almost total absence of comparable and trustworthy organic information. Using the various sources available, it is possible to estimate with a certain approximation that the over 15,000 Italian libraries (in which approximately 20,000 people work) possess almost 200 million documents, that they acquire annually almost 7 million books, that their annual users are little less than 10 million and the loans made are around 65 million. It is believed that in the year 2001 the running costs exceeded 1000 billion lire, of which a little more than 10% were destined to the purchase of documents.LegislationThe year 2001 was rich in new details with regard to the sector of legislation for libraries. This was also due to the effect of the constitutional reforms and the new scenarios relative to the responsibilities and federalist arrangement of the State.Regulations of particular importance for libraries and indirectly linked to the overall institutional situation are those contained in the law of 28 December 2001, no. 448 (finance law 2002). This prescribes that the management of services aimed at the improvement of the public use and development of the artistic patrimony (and therefore also of the state libraries) can be entrusted to subjects other than those of the state. It also introduces an art. 113 bis in the sole text of the laws on the organization of local bodies (legislative decree 18 August 2000, no. 267), on the basis of which "local public services without industrial importance are managed through direct entrusting to: a) institutions; b) special businesses, including consortiums; c) joint-stock companies" and only as a residual solution (paragraph 2) "is economic management permitted when, due to the small dimensions or the characteristics of the service, it is not opportune to proceed to entrusting it to subjects as described in paragraph 1". Awaited on many sides as the chance to respond to a number of the age-old problems that have afflicted the sector of state public libraries for decades, the new organization regulations of the Ministry for cultural and artistic heritage, issued with the Presidential Decree of 29 December 2000, no. 441, actually only indicate, without solving, some fundamental questions that regard the sector, postponing their settlement, without any time limits, to subsequent second degree regulations.As regards the more strictly library themes of interest, the necessity to solve the problems of the legal deposit drove the AIB to revive the bill proposal, which had already been discussed and had arrived at the threshold of final approval in Parliament in the 13th legislature.During the year 2001, moreover, the European Parliament and the European Union Council finally approved the Directive 2001/29/CE, that aims at integrating the laws of the member countries regarding reproduction rights, rights of communication of works to the public and distribution rights, in reference to those works, on every kind of medium, including digital medium, subject to authors' rights. Art. 5 provides the faculty of member states to order exceptions and limitations to the above mentioned rights, to guarantee the right balance between authors' rights and other social interests. This article furthermore contains the "exceptions" that are to the advantage of libraries or of didactics and scientific research.Cooperation and consortiumsThe last two years have shown considerable progress in the field of cooperation activities, confirming also in Italy the current tendencies at international level. These developments generally - but with different nuances - regard various types of libraries and involve different sectors of activity, from those already established (such as cataloguing and purchases) to emerging activities, more directly linked with the diffusion of Internet (management and development of digital resources, etc.).Access to information and the development of electronic collections are surely the areas that are most involved in the new cooperation initiatives. The university sector is that which demonstrates most vitality in this area, but a certain recent enterprise of state and public libraries should be noted. The initiatives promoted by two large university computer consortiums should also be mentioned: the Cilea and Caspur.The CiBit project for digitalisation, archiving and networking, with a special research interface for Italian literature texts should be noted.In Italian universities, as in other developed countries, the idea of creating alternative models of academic electronic publishing is being increasingly encouraged: in this field mention must be made of the initiative of the University of Florence with the Firenze University Press project.On-line cataloguesThe catalogues of Italian libraries available through Internet number 420. For the year 2001 growth stabilized around 15% and mainly regarded the local body systems, the libraries of which cover municipal or provincial areas.The Italian university OPACs (On line Public Access Catalog) form approximately 40% of the total.National Library Service (SBN) and national projectsIn the last two years the SBN network has been established as the largest public network of libraries in Italy, both due to the number of libraries participating and to the considerable increase in the information in the catalogue: at the end of the year 2001 the libraries numbered approximately 1400, the size of the national collective catalogue was 5,500,000 titles (corresponding to approximately 12 million localizations, that is mentions of the presence of the works in the participating libraries). Daily hits, also as a result of the availability on Internet of the catalogue, are currently on average 160,000 on weekdays, with high points on some days of over 200,000 hits.Other cooperation projects are underway in the field of antique books and manuscripts.The Anagrafe delle biblioteche italiane (Registry of Italian libraries) data base, it too available for consultation on Internet, provides an instrument of general information on the patrimonies, services to the public and specializations of approximately 12,500 libraries.But it is "SBN on line" that has really marked a further step forward towards the improvement of the services: from a single access point, with identical modalities, users can consult catalogues of different institutions (libraries, archives, museums); they can compile a bibliography according to their own specific requirements by integrating information sources; they can also locate documents and ask for them on loan or in reproduced form.Formation, occupation and professionItaly also considers university formation as the basis for the initial preparation of librarians. In the nineties especially, the degree course in Preservation of Cultural Heritage was a source of considerable attraction among young people and in the year 2000/01 it ended up having over 23,000 students registered in the 17 universities offering the course as well as almost 3,000 registered in various related diploma courses (Operators of Cultural Heritage), for a total of 26,339 students. As a whole this is a small sector with respect to all university education (1.6% of the total of students, 2% of those enrolled, 0.6% of those graduated or having obtained diplomas), but a large group with respect to the degree or diploma "arts" group into which it is statistically inserted (16% of those registered, 23% of those enrolled and 7% of those graduated or having obtained diplomas).In the year 2000/01, the first year of the "3+2" university reform, among the 42 first level degree classes, that in Sciences of Cultural Heritage is at the 12th place as regards number of enrolled (9079) and is generally in the first place among the characteristic courses in the Arts Faculty (in the order Arts, Sciences and technologies of figurative arts, of music, entertainment and fashion, Philosophy, Historical Sciences). Sixty-six percent of the students in the degree courses in the archive-library field are female.As a whole the number of students registered is certainly greatly increased with the new courses (9079 enrolled in 2001/02 as against the 5920 of the previous year, +53%). The current offer is of 71 courses in 41 universities: among these, 9 (in a like number of universities) are specifically dedicated to the formation of librarians and archivists, while 33, 2 of which by distance-learning, have a general nature (18 with a specialization for librarians and archivists), and 29 regard other specific sectors (artistic, archaeological, musical, etc., heritage ). Overall, there are therefore at least 27 courses aimed at the formation of librarians, in 26 universities and with locations in 25 different cities.Those who graduated in Cultural Heritage have up to now obtained rapid and effective insertion into the world of work, initially above all with assistance initiatives or contract jobs but also with permanent employment, demonstrating among other things their capacity to temporarily or permanently exploit employment opportunities even in related fields (publishing, multimedia production, Web services, communications, etc.).Generally speaking, the offer of long-term employment in public administration is about 180 positions per year. The main employers are the local bodies, with 64%, followed by the Universities with 27%. Absent for years now is the Ministry for Cultural Heritage (except for two small competitions in 1998 and 1999); some offers come from the sector of research (institutions of the CNR and other bodies, for 7% in the three-year period under consideration), and exceptionally from other public bodies.From the point of view of geographic distribution, the vast majority of the jobs offered is in the North (72%, as against 11% in the Centre and 17% in the South and in the islands), and the percentage exceeds 80% for places in the local bodies: about half of the jobs offered by Italian local bodies are in the region of Lombardy; this is followed at a great distance by Emilia Romagna and then the Veneto region. In the universities, the distribution is a little less unbalanced, again with Lombardy in the first place but with a good offer also in regions of the Centre (Lazio) or of the South (Campania, Puglia).The offer of contract employment or with assistance positions is very active, both through competitions and screening for contract jobs in public administrations and through the search for assistants by service companies, mainly in the field of cataloguing, and of library structures: we can consider that through these forms of selection approximately 300 persons per year find temporary employment.The Italian Libraries Association and the Professional RegisterAn indicator of the dynamism of the profession is given also by the activity of the Italian Libraries Association (AIB) which, during the year 2000 extended to include all twenty Italian regions and considerably increased its number of members: 4407 members (+2% with respect to the previous year). This shows a much larger and clearer growth than that of employment in the sector, which therefore testifies to a greater group thrust, of "self-recognition" and identification, while a considerable number of occasional registrations remain: these are not renewed with any continuity.Since 1998, the AIB manages the Italian Professional Register of librarians, a private register that was established along the lines indicated by the European directives on the recognition of professional titles and by the bills on the unrecognised professions presented in the last legislatures but not yet approved. On 31 December 2001 the Register had 566 qualified librarians enrolled, 160 of which enrolled during the last year.The following persons co-operated to this work: Giovanni Solimine (Introduction); Luca Bellingeri, Gianni Lazzari (Law); Anna Maria Mandillo (Law, SBN and national projects); Gabriele Mazzitelli, Serafina Spinelli (Academic library systems); Tommaso Giordano (Cooperation and consortia); Antonella De Robbio (Italian OPACs); Vanni Bertini (Automation systems in Italy); Alberto Petrucciani (Training, employment and profession). ; Hanno collaborato alla redazione del Rapporto: Giovanni Solimine (Introduzione); Luca Bellingeri, Gianni Lazzari (Legislazione); Anna Maria Mandillo (Legislazione, SBN e progetti nazionali); Gabriele Mazzitelli, Serafina Spinelli (Sistemi bibliotecari di ateneo); Tommaso Giordano (Cooperazione e consorzi); Antonella De Robbio (OPAC italiani); Vanni Bertini (Sistemi di automazione in Italia); Alberto Petrucciani (Formazione, occupazione e professione).

The Great Depression in Weber County, Utah, is an Oral History Project by Mack S. Taft for completion of his Master's Thesis at Utah State University during the summer of 1969. The interviews address the Great Depression through the eyes of individuals in several different occupations including: Bankers, Laborers, Railroad Workers, Attorneys, Farmers, Educators, Businessmen, Community and Church Leaders, Housewives, Children and Physicians. All of these individuals lived in Weber County from 1929 to 1941. The interviews were based on what they remembered about the depression, how they felt about those events and how it affected their life then and now. ; This is an oral history interview with William Arthur Budge. The interview took place at the Commercial Security Bank in Ogden, Utah. Mr. Budge was an officer of the Commercial Security Bank during the depression years. ; 10p.; 29cm.; 2 bound transcripts; 4 file folders. 1 sound disc: digital; 4 3/4 in. ; Oral History Program William Arthur Budge Interviewed by Mack S. Taft circa 1960s Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah William Arthur Budge Interviewed by Mack S. Taft circa 1960s Copyright © 2016 by Weber State University, Stewart Library iii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. The working files, original recording, and archival copies are housed in the University Archives. Project Description The Great Depression in Weber County, Utah, is an Oral History Project by Mack S. Taft for completion of his Master's Thesis at Utah State University during the summer of 1969. The forty-five interviews address the Great Depression through the eyes of individuals in several different occupations including: Bankers, Laborers, Railroad Workers, Attorneys, Farmers, Educators, Businessmen, Community and Church Leaders, Housewives, Children and Physicians. All of these individuals lived in Weber County from 1929 to 1941. The interviews were based on what they remembered about the depression, how they felt about those events and how it affected their life then and now. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management This work is the property of the Weber State University, Stewart Library Oral History Program. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Budge, William Arthur, an oral history by Mack S. Taft, circa 1960s, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. 1 Abstract: This is an oral history interview with William Arthur Budge. The interview took place at the Commercial Security Bank in Ogden, Utah. Mr. Budge was an officer of the Commercial Security Bank during the depression years. The interviewer is Mack Taft. MT: Mr. Budge, what was your profession at that time? WB: I was working with the Commercial Security Bank. MT: What do you remember concerning that particular period of time concerning banking and the stock market crash, things along this line? WB: Well I don't remember many specific instances but when the stock market crash came, and especially here in Ogden when the Ogden State Bank closed, then of course we had a run on the banks here in Utah. And I can remember here in our own bank I was in the teller's cage at that time, that the people came in and wanted their money and we paid it out just as fast as we possibly could, and we stayed open, we didn't close at the regular banking hours, we stayed open just as long as the people came. And so the first day we went on toward evening before we closed, and then we opened the next day and then the people began to . . . there weren't so many came, and then the people began to bring their money back when they found out that they could get it out. MT: What immediate affect did you feel from the crash of the stock market, if any? Either as a banker or as an individual. WB: Well, I can't say that I did because I was working all the time, and personally, I can't say that it did affect me. MT: Then the stock market crash or the depression itself wasn't of much effect on you at all? WB: No, no, because I was still employed by the bank, so I didn't have to lay off, and it didn't make any particular difference that way as I remember. 2 MT: Before we started the tape you mentioned something about the bank holiday, would you like to mention a little something about that? WB: Well, when it was decided by the government to close the banks, then we had a holiday as I remember, and this was decided by whoever had the authority to make the decision that the banks, when they opened would issue script, and I can remember that for these two weeks, I was signing script for the bank, myself. I was an officer for the bank, and I was signing script for the bank with the idea that when the bank opened, there would be script instead of currency. But as, remember, the President of the United States said that when the banks opened we'll pay currency, which was done, and the script was not used. MT: Do you feel that that was an important move at that time? WB: Yes, very important because it then the people had confidence in the government. Now what I think the people were afraid of, it was feared that the people who had currency would keep it hid up, and this way, by paying currency, it was out in the open again, and people had confidence. Kept it circulating and kept the people's confidence. MT: Were there other banks in this particular locality, other than the Ogden State Bank, that did close? WB: No, not in Weber County, none that I know of. MT: Looking back at that time, do you have any ideas or theory as to why the Ogden State Bank closed, while the others were not closed? WB: Well the only thing that I would think about was that the Ogden State Bank was not meeting the requirements of the State Banking Department, or even the ideas that the Federal Reserve might have concerning them. Course the Ogden State Bank, as I remember then, was not a member of the Federal Reserve. I'm not sure about that, but I 3 don't hardly think they were. So it seems, this is my opinion of course, that the Ogden State Bank was not in compliance with what the State Banking Department was demanding, or thought was right, and therefore it closed. MT: Could you give us a little light on a bank, as to why at that particular time they were vulnerable to runs, as opposed to now. WB: Well, now, any time that a bank closes, people begin to lose confidence, and of course they like to have their money, and therefore, people don't generally study bank situations, they don't study bank statements, even though they're published in the paper I doubt if they study them to see how solvent a bank may be. So if one bank closes it creates a condition that people think well I'd better get my money out from where I've got it. So the bank where I worked, the Commercial Security, the people came for their money. I would say we had quite a run on the bank. I don't know how much we paid out but we took care of everyone that came, and we had sufficient money to do it. MT: How important do you feel it was psychologically to stay open, even after business hours? WB: Well we didn't want to shut the people off; we wanted to show them that they could have their money. So we just stayed open so all the things could be taken care of. And we not only gave them their money, but as I recall, we brought in sandwiches for those that had to wait. MT: Are there any other interesting things that you recall that took place during that time, either humorous or otherwise that people experienced during those years? WB: I can recall that one man who was a big business man here in town, and had a good sizeable bank account, stood up on a platform where the people could see him, that is the 4 people in the lobby, and he said "Now I have a lot of money in this bank and I'm not going to take it out, I'm confident that everything's going to be all right." MT: Those things really helped, didn't they? WB: Well, I think it helped, and then there was no criticism of the people; if they wanted their money, no one said anything of a derogatory nature to them. Of course it took time to pay them because the accounts had to be checked and it took a little time to pay them because they were drawing out large sums of money. Some of these people that had three, four, five, six thousand dollars or more, it took a little time to check the accounts and pay out the checks. MT: It would seem that during that time, it would have been a real set-up for someone to rob and so forth, did you become aware of anything of this nature? WB: Well, I can't remember being aware of anything like that. MT: How old were you in 1929? WB: I was about 45 years old. MT: What were you doing in the church at that time? WB: I was a bishop until 1931. I was bishop of the 7th Ward. MT: Did the people of your ward have a different experience than the ordinary citizen of Ogden? WB: No, I can't recall anything of an interesting nature. MT: Now, there was no church welfare at that time, is that correct? WB: No, we had the church welfare, because I recall we had the church welfare store set up over here on 17th street, so the welfare program was in operation. 5 MT: Nowas I recall, the main church welfare, the church-wide welfare program began along about 1936-is that correct? WB: Yes, that is correct. MT: Now, do you see a measurable difference in things as a result of this? WB: No. I don't recall anything about that. Now, I did say that we had the welfare program while I was bishop, but I should correct that and say that we didn't have any of these welfare programs, or any of the major items until along about 1936, and I was in the Ogden Stake Presidency when that was done.

The Great Depression in Weber County, Utah, is an Oral History Project by Mack S. Taft for completion of his Master's Thesis at Utah State University during the summer of 1969. The interviews address the Great Depression through the eyes of individuals in several different occupations including: Bankers, Laborers, Railroad Workers, Attorneys, Farmers, Educators, Businessmen, Community and Church Leaders, Housewives, Children and Physicians. All of these individuals lived in Weber County from 1929 to 1941. The interviews were based on what they remembered about the depression, how they felt about those events and how it affected their life then and now. ; This is an oral history interview with George Edwin Stratford. Mr. Stratford is a very successful farmer and produce man. He has been very successful here in Weber County in many different ventures. ; 10p.; 29cm.; 2 bound transcripts; 4 file folders. 1 sound disc: digital; 4 3/4 in. ; Oral History Program George Edwin Stratford Interviewed by Mack S. Taft circa 1960s Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah George Edwin Stratford Interviewed by Mack S. Taft circa 1960s Copyright © 2016 by Weber State University, Stewart Library iii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. The working files, original recording, and archival copies are housed in the University Archives. Project Description The Great Depression in Weber County, Utah, is an Oral History Project by Mack S. Taft for completion of his Master's Thesis at Utah State University during the summer of 1969. The forty-five interviews address the Great Depression through the eyes of individuals in several different occupations including: Bankers, Laborers, Railroad Workers, Attorneys, Farmers, Educators, Businessmen, Community and Church Leaders, Housewives, Children and Physicians. All of these individuals lived in Weber County from 1929 to 1941. The interviews were based on what they remembered about the depression, how they felt about those events and how it affected their life then and now. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management This work is the property of the Weber State University, Stewart Library Oral History Program. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Stratford, George Edwin, an oral history by Mack S. Taft, circa 1960s, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. 1 Abstract: This is an oral history interview with George Edwin Stratford. Mr. Stratford is a very successful farmer and produce man. He has been very successful here in Weber County in many different ventures. The interviewer is Mack Taft. MT: How long have you lived in Weber County? GS: Seventy-seven and one-half years. MT: What were you doing during the Depression years from 1929-39? GS: Farming and the produce business. MT: What type of produce did you handle? GS: Potatoes and onions. MT: What was your main clientele for your produce? Where did you sell? GS: We shipped in east, west, and locally. MT: Thinking back on those years, what was the status of the produce business during the Depression? GS: Nobody had any money to buy anything. Prices were cheap. Business was lousy. MT: Do you recall any shipments that you made? Could you just elaborate a little bit on some of the shipments you made and the return on those shipments? GS: Well, a lot of the cars we shipped in those days cost us 20 cents 100 for potatoes. Some of those cars wouldn't pay the freight. We had to give them the potatoes besides paying the freight on them. And the country was in such a condition that people had no money to operate. It was almost impossible for anybody to even make a living in those days. MT: Were you operating the farm and the produce business at that time? 2 GS: Yes, operating both. MT: You had similar conditions on the farm – or what was your condition on the farm? GS: Well, it was the same situation on the farm. You couldn't make it pay because your produce was so cheap. Of course in those days there, too, wages were cheap, too, see. Now, I met a man at a wedding along about a month ago, and he said to me, "George, you're the cause of me quitting smoking." And I said, "I don't know how in the world I caused you to quit smoking." And he said, "I used to pack potatoes for you for 20 cents an hour, and I decided that I wasn't going to work an hour for a package of cigarettes, so I quit. So," he said, "you were the cause of me quitting smoking cigarettes in those days." I told him I didn't quite remember that we got down to 20 cents an hour, but the best men that the country had worked for me for 35 cents an hour, where today a lot of these are highly educated men, bankers and men in business who have made a good success. But they worked for me in those days for 35 cents an hour. MT: When were you married? GS: I was married in 1912, 12th day of January. MT: How many children did you have during the Depression years? GS: Well, my family came right along. I don't know. We had six children, and they came right along from the Depression on. Of course some were born before the Depression. MT: Do you remember any financial problems in your home that were troubling to you? GS: Well, we were in debt. We had no money. We got along and made a living, but it 3 was tough picking. Of course we bought a pair of overalls in those days for 50 cents, so it didn't cost much to buy stuff, not like it is today. MT: Do you think of things that happened to you then that are amazing to you as you look back on them? GS: Well, I oftentimes told my children of the conditions that we went through during those times. It's hard to make them believe it because they didn't remember many things about it. But we lived and got by, and I accumulated a lot of property in those days, bought it for nothing practically. But that was the conditions of the times. Nobody had any money. I saved through my influence with a man that did have money. I saved two of my neighbors' farms for them during the Depression. MT: Now, you mentioned that you were in debt at that time. Were you able to secure credit from the government? Or what were the sources of credit? GS: I've always had good credit all my life, and I have never known of a time, including the Depression, when I couldn't go to the bank and borrow enough to get by on. And never in my whole life have I ever been turned down for a dollar that I've asked the bank. That's when I accumulated all my property. It was through my association with the bankers and the confidence that they had in me that I was able to buy all this property during the Depression days. I bought a farm had a $24,000 mortgage on it for $3,500 cash. I didn't have the money, but I went to the bank and they loaned me $3,500 to buy the farm. MT: You mentioned potatoes around 20 cents a hundred. What would onions have sold for? GS: They didn't raise as many onions in Weber County, and there wasn't as many 4 onions. But onions are a commodity that varies a good deal in price. It depends a good deal upon supply and demand of them. But then they were down, too. I don't just remember just what they paid for onions, but we were heavy in those days in potatoes as we have packed as high as 10 cars a day here. We were heavy in the shipment of potatoes. MT: Did you buy your produce outright from the farmer? GS: We bought it outright and paid cash for it. We never shipped anything on consignment, and we still do business that way. MT: Do you think of anything else that might be of interest during those years? GS: Well, in those days our mode of transportation was the horse and buggy, or the horse and surrey. I have seen the time on the 24th of July when I didn't have 10 cents to buy an ice cream cone. So those were pretty trying times, and I was in no way alone. I had lots of company. MT: You had to discontinue the use of the automobile through those years? GS: We didn't have one. We had the old horse and buggy. I'll never forget the first automobile that I bought. I always wanted a Buick and of course I always wore overalls because I'm dressed up in overalls, and that's my mode of dress – in working clothes. I went into Walter Cheeseman to buy me a Buick, and of course, not being dressed up like a city dude would be, why I couldn't get nobody to sell me one because they didn't think I had any money. Well, I had the money to pay cash for it, but then nobody wanted it. So I went over to R. K. Mitchell and bought me a big six Studebaker. I'll never forget the price – $2,553.75, and I paid him spot cash for the car. But I had saved that money, and 5 I had saved that money to buy me an automobile. MT: What year would that have been? GS: Oh, I can't remember the year. It's been a long time ago. I've never owned a Buick automobile from that year to this. I've owned Chryslers, Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, Ford, Chevys, Pontiacs, DeSotoes. MT: Were you married at that time? GS: Oh yes. And I have been quite successful in life. I have always been able to pay my bills. I think I have about as good a record as any man that's been in business that many years. When I settled in here, this was all sagebrush. I worked off of the farm when I was first farming, and my wages for my team and wagon and horses and all was $2 a day, and I was glad to have a job for $2 a day. We had to work in those days. We hauled seven loads of pelf a day, shoveled it both ways to feed the cattle.

The Great Depression in Weber County, Utah, is an Oral History Project by Mack S. Taft for completion of his Master's Thesis at Utah State University during the summer of 1969. The interviews address the Great Depression through the eyes of individuals in several different occupations including: Bankers, Laborers, Railroad Workers, Attorneys, Farmers, Educators, Businessmen, Community and Church Leaders, Housewives, Children and Physicians. All of these individuals lived in Weber County from 1929 to 1941. The interviews were based on what they remembered about the depression, how they felt about those events and how it affected their life then and now. ; This is an oral history interview with Morris Barrett. Mr. Barrett recalls gaining an education at the Weber Normal School, teaching and serving as principal in Eden during the Depression, teaching at Weber High School, and serving as principal and teacher at Hooper Junior High School. ; 10p.; 29cm.; 2 bound transcripts; 4 file folders. 1 sound disc: digital; 4 3/4 in. ; Oral History Program Morris Barrett Interviewed by Mack S. Taft circa 1960s Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Morris Barrett Interviewed by Mack S. Taft circa 1960s Copyright © 2016 by Weber State University, Stewart Library iii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. The working files, original recording, and archival copies are housed in the University Archives. Project Description The Great Depression in Weber County, Utah, is an Oral History Project by Mack S. Taft for completion of his Master's Thesis at Utah State University during the summer of 1969. The forty-five interviews address the Great Depression through the eyes of individuals in several different occupations including: Bankers, Laborers, Railroad Workers, Attorneys, Farmers, Educators, Businessmen, Community and Church Leaders, Housewives, Children and Physicians. All of these individuals lived in Weber County from 1929 to 1941. The interviews were based on what they remembered about the depression, how they felt about those events and how it affected their life then and now. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management This work is the property of the Weber State University, Stewart Library Oral History Program. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Barrett, Morris, an oral history by Mack S. Taft, circa 1960s, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. 1 Abstract: This is an oral history interview with Morris Barrett. Mr. Barrett recalls gaining an education at the Weber Normal School, teaching and serving as principal in Eden during the Depression, teaching at Weber High School, and serving as principal and teacher at Hooper Junior High School. The interviewer is Mack Taft. MT: What do you remember about the Great Depression? What were you doing then? Where did you live? MB: I happened to have graduated from high school in the spring of 1929, and by the time I was in my first year of college at Weber Normal College, we were becoming aware of the fact that there was a Depression underway. It became more marked and more extreme in its dimension as I continued at Weber College, where I graduated in 1932. MT: When did you start your teaching career? MB: My first full year began in the fall of 1935. MT: And where did you teach at that time? MB: In Eden. I was principal and teacher at Eden. There were eight grades, three teachers. I was principal and had the seventh and eighth grades as my responsibility. MT: What do you remember about teaching at that time? What did you get paid? What were the problems, if there were problems? MB: I may preface that by saying that the first year that I came out of college before the first full year that I spoke of, there were, as I recall, two teaching positions that were open in Weber County as the late summer came. I recall so well being 2 one of many, many, many who were interviewed by Superintendent Wahlquist and some other members of the staff on a particular evening set for interviews. Neither of the positions were in my subject major. As I recall, one position went to a young lady and the other position to a young man who had applied. There were, as I say, many, many who applied. It happened that during the course of that year, although I had not been given a full-time position, I was called in by the board and assigned to relieve one of the members of the high school staff who had run for, and been elected to, the state legislature. So my first year of teaching was at Weber High School - or my first extended experience was at Weber High School - where I taught for about 16 weeks while the legislature was in progress. By the time that year had ended, I had been identified as one to take a full-time job, and that was as principal teacher in Eden. Now, I recall so well my salary that I made during my first full year of teaching. But if I may leave that fact for a moment, as a substitute teacher at Weber - I taught at Weber High School - I taught for a flat salary of $3.50 per day. My first contract for principal and teacher was for $900 for the year. We were paid $50 each two weeks over the nine months period of time. My second year of teaching was $990, a $90 increase. My salary was still below $1,200 at the time I was married during my third year of teaching. I recall so well after having taught at the point of getting my Master's degree, I was teaching in Plain City at the time - this was five years after my Bachelor's - and without any 3 warning I was reassigned. This was the Friday before getting out for the Christmas holidays. I was assigned to go over to the Hooper School, and be the principal of the Hooper Junior High School. I recall so well hearing about this particular assignment directly from a member of the school board. I walked toward the school board office, and as I approached the building, I remember that Fred Barker, who was a member of the school board at that time, came walking down the steps. He said, "Congratulations on being the new principal of the Hooper School." I said, "You must have the wrong person in mind, Brother Barker." He said, "Don't you believe me?" I said, "What you're saying I can hardly believe," because I wasn't even aware that there was a position and I hadn't applied for it. He said, "Well, at the board meeting last night, you were voted to be the new principal of the Hooper School. And," he said, "you probably will be interested. Your salary is going to be $1,440." Now that was an increase, as I recall, of about $250 per year over what I was making over in Plain City - just barely over $1,200. I had been married part of this time, and as a matter of fact, I had taken part of a year off, two quarters off, to finish my Master's degree. Here I was with a Master's degree going to be principal of a 10-grade school. As I recall, there were 13 teachers, and I taught four periods of the day and was administrator. There was no secretary, no assistants, and my salary was $1,440. MT: What do you remember about students at that time, their clothing, and so forth? 4 MB: I don't have any vivid memories of clothing extremes. I do recall that the students were very well-dressed considering the situation. We were not plagued with the kinds of extreme styles that seem to characterize today, and though there were some extreme cases of hardship due to lack of sufficient earning in the family, students were remarkably well cared for, as I recall. I have no remembrance of any unfortunate circumstances related to the inability of families of youngsters to come reasonably well-dressed to school. MT: In some of the other interviews, I have heard that women were somewhat discriminated against during the Depression years. What is your recollection of that? MB: I recall that women were not permitted to teach when they were married. My wife, for instance, was teaching at Weber High School at the time that we were engaged. We married during the summer and because our plans were set for marriage during that summer, she was not offered a contract for the following year. I saw that without it having been an issue. She didn't plan to teach, the board didn't recognize it as a general custom that there should be two teaching salaries in one family, it was not a practice for a husband and wife to be both employed. MT: Do you think of anything else that might be of interest? MB: I recall that there has been a marked change in the quantity and type of equipment available in the schools for educational purposes. Obviously, though we had libraries, they were of a very limited nature. We had very few audiovisual materials or the hardware equipment. I recall my second year, it may have been 5 my first year of teaching in Eden, Dr. William P. Miller, present president of Weber College, was an employee of Weber County School District as a young man in his second or third year of employment, I believe. He was the audiovisual director at that time. I remember one of the roles he played was to bring a film around to the schools periodically. Now, we had no projectors of any kind in our school at Eden. There were no tape recorders, maps and charts in limited number, but no electronic equipment of any kind. Oh, what a great experience it was for the students, as well as the teachers, when Bill Miller came into the school on his schedule to show an educational film. He would spend sometimes half an hour, sometimes 45 minutes. On occasion the film may have been an hour, but most often it was less than that. He may have a feature of 35 minutes and maybe a short one of 10 minutes. I recall that on rare occasions, once in a while just for kicks, he would entertain the students by running a part of that film backwards. But what a contrast in the area of audiovisual equipment and use today as compared to then. I suppose that projector he brought was the only projector that was in the district at that time. It was not sound. That is, some of the films shown were not sound films.

Das Modul wurde als Nachwahl-Befragung durchgeführt. Die daraus resultierenden
Daten werden mit Daten über das Abstimmungsverhalten, demographischen Daten, und Variablen auf Wahlkreis- und Länderebene in einem einzelnen Datensatz bereitgestellt.

CSES Variable List

Eine Liste aller Variablen wird auf der Webseite des CSES bereitgestellt. Sie verdeutlicht, welche Inhalte über das CSES verfügbar sind und erlaubt es die Inhalte über verschiedene Module des CSES zu vergleichen.

Themen:

INDIVIDUALDATEN:

Technische Variablen:
Gewichtungsvariablen; Art der Wahl; Datum der Wahl 1. und 2. Wahlgang; Zeitpunkt der Studie (Nachwahlbefragung, Vorwahlbefragung und Nachwahlbefragung, Zwischen Wahlgängen in Mehrheitswahlsystemen); Erhebungsmodus; Geschlecht des Interviewers; Datum der Datenerhebung; Wahlkreis des Befragten; Anzahl der Tage zwischen Wahltag und Interview.

Demographie:
Alter; Geschlecht; Bildung; Familienstand; Gewerkschaftsmitgliedschaft; Gewerkschaftsmitgliedschaft anderer Haushaltsmitglieder; Mitgliedschaft in einem Unternehmerverband; Mitgliedschaft in Bauernverband; Mitgliedschaft in Berufsverband; Erwerbsstatus; Beruf; sozioökonomischer Status; Beschäftigungsform (öffentlicher oder privater Sektor, industrieller Sektor); Erwerbsstatus des Partners; Beruf des Partners; sozioökonomischer Status des Partners; Beschäftigungsform (öffentlicher oder privater Sektor, industrieller Sektor) des Partners; Haushaltseinkommen; Anzahl Personen im Haushalt; Anzahl Kinder im Haushalt; Anzahl Kinder unter 18 im Haushalt; Kirchgangshäufigkeit; Religiosität; Konfessionsmitgliedschaft; Haushaltssprache; Rasse; ethnische Zugehörigkeit; Wohnort; ländliches oder städtisches Wohnumfeld.

Befragungsvariablen:
Wichtigste Themen der Wahl; Beurteilung der Kandidatenkompetenz im Umgang mit wichtigsten Themen der Wahl; Relevanz von Wahlen für Politikgestaltung; Bedeutung der eigenen Stimme für Politikgestaltung; Beurteilung der Leistung der Regierung; Partei und Spitzenpolitiker, die am besten für die Meinung des Befragten stehen; Sympathie-Skalometer für ausgewählte Parteien und Spitzenpolitiker; Einstufung von Parteien und Spitzenpolitikern auf einem Links-Rechts -Kontinuum; Selbsteinstufung auf Links-Rechts-Skala; wahrgenommene Unterschiede zwischen den zur Wahl stehenden Optionen; Beteiligung an der Wahlkampagne; Demokratiezufriedenheit; Parteiidentifikation; Intensität der Parteiidentifikation; Teilnahme bei der aktuellen und der letzten Wahl; Wahlentscheidung ( Präsidentschafts-, Unterhaus und Oberhauswahlen ) in der aktuellen und der letzten Wahl; Befragter hat Stimme für bevorzugten Kandidaten abgegeben; politische Informiertheit.

WAHLKREISDATEN:

Anzahl der zu vergebenden Sitze im Wahlkreis; Anzahl der Kandidaten im Wahlkreis;
Anzahl der Parteilisten; Prozentanteil der Parteien (Wahlergebnis); Wahlbeteiligung im Wahlkreis.

LÄNDERDATEN:

Wahlergebnisse der Parteien bei der aktuellen Parlamentswahl (Unterhaus / Oberhaus); Anteil der von den Parteien erhaltenen Sitze im Unterhaus; Anteil der von den Parteien erhaltenen Sitze im Oberhaus; Anteil der Stimmen der Präsidentschaftskandidaten der Parteien bei der aktuellen Wahl; Wahlbeteiligung; Parteizugehörigkeit des Präsidenten
und des Ministerpräsidenten vor und nach der Wahl; Anzahl der von jeder Partei gehaltenen Kabinettsposten vor und nach der letzten Wahl; Größe des Kabinetts nach der letzten Wahl; Anzahl der an der Wahl teilnehmenden Parteien; ideologische Parteifamilien; durch Experten zugeordnete Links-Rechts-Position der Parteien und alternative Dimensionen des Parteienwettbewerbs; bedeutendste Faktoren bei der Wahl; Fairness der Wahl; formelle Beschwerden gegen die Ergebnisse auf nationaler Ebene; Unregelmäßigkeiten bei den Wahlen; geplanter und tatsächlicher Wahltermin; Unregelmäßigkeiten des Wahltermins; Umfang von Gewalt während und nach der Wahl; geographische Konzentration von Gewalt; Protest nach der Wahl; Möglichkeit zu Wahlbündnisse im Wahlkampf; existierende Wahlbündnisse; Voraussetzungen für gemeinsame Parteilisten; Möglichkeit von Koalitionen ; Art der Vereinbarungen über Wahlbündnisse; Mehrparteien-Vermerke auf Stimmzetteln; Anzahl abgegebener Stimmen; Abstimmungsverfahren; Anzahl der Wahlgänge; Parteilisten geschlossen, offen oder flexibel; Stimmen übertragbar; Stimmen kumulierbar; Wahlpflicht; Sperrklausel; Einheit der Sperrklausel; Freedom House Rating; Polity-IV Klassifikation (Demokratie-Autokratie); Alter des gegenwärtigen Regimes; Eigenschaften des Regimes: Art der Exekutive, Anzahl der Monate seit den letzten Unterhauswahl und Präsidentschaftswahl; Wahlsystem bei Präsidentschaftswahlen, Wahlsystem für alle Wahlebenen (Mehrheitswahlrecht, Verhältniswahlrecht oder Mischformen); für Unter-und Oberhäuser wurde codiert: Anzahl der Wahlsegmente, verknüpfte Wahlsegmente, Unterformen von Mischwahlsystemen, Größenordnung des Bezirks (Anzahl der aus jedem Bezirk gewählten Mitglieder), Anzahl der sekundären und tertiären Wahlkreise, Stimmabgabe für Parteienbündnisse; Größe des Unterhauses; Wachstum des Bruttoinlandsprodukt (BIP) in Prozent; BIP pro Kopf; Inflationsrate, BIP- Deflator; Human-Development-Index; Gesamtbevölkerung; Arbeitslosigkeit absolut; föderale Verfassungsstruktur; Anzahl der gesetzgebenden Kammern; Verfügbarkeit der Wahlergebnisse; effektive Anzahl der Wahl- und Parlamentsparteien.

The EU chemicals strategy for sustainability (CSS) asserts that both human health and the environment are presently threatened and that further regulation is necessary. In a recent Guest Editorial, members of the German competent authority for risk assessment, the BfR, raised concerns about the scientific justification for this strategy. The complexity and interdependence of the networks of regulation of chemical substances have ensured that public health and wellbeing in the EU have continuously improved. A continuous process of improvement in consumer protection is clearly desirable but any initiative directed towards this objective must be based on scientific knowledge. It must not confound risk with other factors in determining policy. This conclusion is fully supported in the present Commentary including the request to improve both, data collection and the time-consuming and bureaucratic procedures that delay the publication of regulations.

Das International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) ist ein länderübergreifendes, fortlaufendes Umfrageprogramm, das jährlich Erhebungen zu Themen durchführt, die für die Sozialwissenschaften wichtig sind. Das Programm begann 1984 mit vier Gründungsmitgliedern - Australien, Deutschland, Großbritannien und den Vereinigten Staaten - und ist inzwischen auf fast 50 Mitgliedsländer aus aller Welt angewachsen. Da die Umfragen auf Replikationen ausgelegt sind, können die Daten sowohl für länder- als auch für zeitübergreifende Vergleiche genutzt werden. Jedes ISSP-Modul konzentriert sich auf ein bestimmtes Thema, das in regelmäßigen Zeitabständen wiederholt wird. Details zur Durchführung der nationalen ISSP-Umfragen entnehmen Sie bitte der Dokumentation. Die vorliegende Studie konzentriert sich auf Fragen zu sozialer Ungleichheit.

Six years after former President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the disastrous consequences of this decision are still adding up. In addition to Iran being closer than ever to a nuclear weapons capability, now we must consider how the declining security situation in the Middle East has raised the stakes significantly. Trump promised a "better deal" but instead we got an increasingly costly blunder that may be impossible to fix.To fully understand the enormity of Trump's decision to leave the Iran deal, consider this: When the U.S. and Iran were complying with the deal, it was estimated that it would take Iran about one year to produce enough fissile material (in this case, weapons grade uranium) for a nuclear bomb (known as the "breakout" time). The states negotiating with Iran (the United States, Russia, China, Great Britain, France, and Germany) assessed that this would be enough time to respond to possible violations and prevent Iran from producing a bomb. Even if Iran were to acquire sufficient fissile material, it could still take another year for Iran to make a deliverable nuclear weapon. As of May, 2018, the deal was working and considered (by most) to be a great success.Then President Trump unilaterally left the deal, calling it a "horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made." And now we are in a much worse place. Iran says it has no intent to produce nuclear weapons and U.S. intelligence sees no current efforts by Tehran to weaponize, yet Tehran is believed to be not one year but just weeks from being able to produce enough fissile material for a bomb if it chooses to do so. At the same time, the ability of international inspectors to detect violations in a timely manner has eroded. As one U.S. official said of Iran, "they are dancing right up to the edge."Worse still, relations between the United States and Iran have been so damaged by Trump's withdrawal that it does not appear as though the deal can be resurrected. Any efforts to stabilize the U.S.-Iran relationship have been severely complicated by the recent exchange of direct attacks between Israel and Iran. Just as we need a non-military approach more than ever, the prospects for a diplomatic solution appear distant. What's worse is that increasing tensions may be pushing Tehran closer to a political decision to go nuclear. The danger of an Iranian bomb and the related risk that Israel could attack Iran's nuclear sites could lead to wider military conflict in the region. Of course, it did not have to be this way. The deal was working until Trump abandoned it and, if he had not, it could still be working today.How did we get here?To comply with the Iran deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, Tehran agreed to significantly limit its nuclear program. Under the deal:Iran agreed to reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98% to 300kg and limit uranium enrichment to 3.67%, suitable for civilian nuclear power but well below highly enriched (20%) or weapons grade (90%). Those limits would have lasted for 15 years.Tehran limited the number of uranium centrifuges in operation by two-thirds and committed not to build any new enrichment facilities for 15 years. The Fordow enrichment plant (designed as a secret, underground facility) was prohibited from enriching uranium, and limited enrichment could take place only at the Natanz facility.Iran agreed to redesign another nuclear facility to produce much less plutonium and its spent fuel would be shipped out of country. Iran agreed to provisionally implement additional safeguards under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).A year after President Trump's withdrawal, Iran began to retaliate by incrementally breaching the terms of the deal. Tehran lifted the cap on its uranium stockpile, increased enrichment beyond the allowed 3.67% and resumed and expanded activity at prohibited nuclear facilities.Many of Iran's advances were taken in response to provocative actions from the U.S. and Israel. In early 2020, the Trump administration killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and soon after Tehran announced that it would no longer abide by its enrichment commitments under the deal. But, even so, Tehran said it would return to compliance if the other parties did so and met their commitments on sanctions relief.In late 2020, Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated near Tehran, reportedly by Israel. Soon after, Iran's Guardian Council approved a law to speed up the nuclear program by enriching uranium to 20%, increasing the rate of production, installing new centrifuges, suspending implementation of expanded safeguards agreements, and reducing monitoring and verification cooperation with the IAEA. The Agency has been unable to adequately monitor Iran's nuclear activities under the deal since early 2021.Iran began enriching uranium to 20% in early 2021 at Fordow and then to 60% at Natanz a few months later after an act of sabotage damaged Natanz. Since then, Iran has been steadily increasing the rate of enriched uranium production. The latest IAEA report (February 2024) estimates Iran's enriched uranium stockpile to stand at 5,525kg, more than 27 times the level permitted under the deal, with 833kg enriched to 20-60%.How close to a bomb?Iran is steadily advancing its nuclear program, getting ever closer to becoming a "threshold state" with the ability to make a weapon while making no overt move to build one.The U.S. government estimated in March 2022 that Iran would need as little as one week to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for one nuclear weapon, according to a State Department official. During a March 2023 congressional hearing, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley testified that Iran could produce this amount of enriched uranium "in approximately 10-15 days."In its 2024 annual threat assessment, the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence concluded that "Tehran has the infrastructure and experience to quickly produce weapons-grade uranium, if it chooses to do so."And in March 2024, France, Germany, and the UK estimated that Iran had acquired enough highly enriched uranium that, if enriched further to 90%, would theoretically be enough for three nuclear explosive devices.There is greater uncertainty about how long it would take Iran to build a nuclear weapon once it has the required weapons-grade uranium. Such steps, referred to as "weaponization," include producing uranium metal and shaping it into bomb parts, producing high explosives and electronics, and fitting it all into a device that could be used for a demonstration test. It would presumably take longer to produce a bomb that could be delivered by aircraft or a warhead small enough to fit onto a ballistic missile.According to official U.S. assessments, Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in late 2003 and has not resumed it. Reportedly, this program's goal, according to U.S. officials and the IAEA, was to develop an implosion-style nuclear weapon for Iran's Shahab-3 ballistic missile. A State Department official stated in April 2022 that Iran would need approximately one year to complete the necessary weaponization steps.We cannot put Humpty Dumpty back together againMuch of Iran's uranium activities can be reversed; centrifuges can be disassembled, facilities can be closed, and uranium stocks can be blended down or shipped out of the country, as was done under the terms of the original deal. However, after years of operating more sophisticated centrifuges, Iran has acquired technical knowledge that cannot be undone.But more importantly, we have lost the political opportunity to reach a comprehensive deal with Iran. The Iran nuclear deal would not have been possible without the active support of Russia and China. Yet these countries are no longer aligned with the West on these issues and Iran is actively supporting Russia in its war with Ukraine and selling oil to China. Iran does not need sanctions relief from the United States as much as it once did.It was often said that although the Iran deal did not solve all the problems in the U.S.-Iran relationship, it solved an important one by taking an Iranian nuclear bomb out of the equation. That even if the myriad problems in the Middle East continued, at least we would not be facing those challenges and Iran on the nuclear threshold. And now that is exactly where we are.The lessons of this tragic tale are clear: a meaningful nuclear agreement is much harder to create than to destroy; if we are lucky enough to get one it should be protected; and if we lose it, we should try to replace it.The Iran deal was a truly remarkable achievement, and we would be much better off today if the United States had rejected the fantasy of a "better deal" and remained in compliance with the one we had. Trump's decision (aided by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and then-national security adviser John Bolton) to walk away was an historic and utter failure. Now, the prospects of finding a new diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear crisis are daunting. But we must try; the alternatives are worse.

 Summit success is often a matter of expectations, and, of course, depends on where you sit.  For Ukraine, this may not have been as successful as it would want since they didn't get a fast track into NATO.  But that was an unrealistic expectation.  I didn't expect Turkey to stop blocking Sweden's membership, so my expectations were exceeded and thus huge success.  But the summit is more than just one or two decisions, so I am going to review much of the communique and then the Canadian announcements to figure out how many woots does this summit get.  Of course, since my pals and I didn't get a chance to go to the expert forum side party this year, there is a cap on the excitement--no NATO family dance party for us.First, as mentioned above, Ukraine didn't get a superfast track to membership, as having Ukraine join while the war is going on would either mean that NATO invokes Article V--an attack has happened against a member and deserves a collective response--or it does not.  In the former case, NATO is now at war with Russia, something that the alliance has rightly been avoiding.  In the latter case, Article V gets eroded as it is not used when a member is attacked in a very serious way.  This is not just a few loose bombs or artillery shells like when forces in Syria hit Turkey.  The question really is how soon after the war would Ukraine become a member, and the answer this time was: very soon.  But it was not more definitive because the alliance requires consensus, and that is all that they could agree to.  I pushed back on twitter about cowardice or manliness.  NATO being at peace while Ukraine has been at war is not great for Ukraine, but the fact that Russia is not hitting the supplies going into Ukraine before they get there is hugely significant.  Expanding the war is not good for most folks, and the risk of nuclear war, which is small but real, is not great even for Ukrainians.  Second, Sweden is an unalloyed win for the alliance.  It makes defense of the Baltics easier since Sweden sits astride the best ways to reinforce the Baltics in a time of war.  It also means that countries leading the NATO missions in the Baltics, looking for more troops to plus up their battlegroups into brigades (going from 1k to at least 3k) have a robust potential donor to beg (force generation is begging in the words of a NATO military official we cited in our book with the ebook version on sale now!).  It is also a massive defeat for Russia, as Putin has long wanted to break NATO, but finds his aggressions in Ukraine in 2014 and in 2022 have only strengthened and expanded the alliance.  Finland and Sweden would not have asked to join had Russia stayed within its boundaries.  Ok, onto the communique, which represents a lot of homework and bargaining over the past year, with the summit serving as an artificial deadline to get folks to agree, kind of like an academic conference is designed really to get profs to finally finish their papers:the formation of the NATO-Ukraine Council. This supplants the old NATO-Russia Council which died due to Russia's aggression.  This gives Ukraine much visibility and status and allows the Ukrainians to participate meaningfully in many NATO conversations.  It ain't membership, but it is significant.Finland is now a member, woot!China as a threat--this requires work as some countries (France) want to keep sucking up to China.Lots of stuff on Russia, not recognizing Crimea as Russian, etc.  Naming Belarus and Iran as complicit (although not China).  The language on Russia can't be a partner for now is probably the closest we can get to declaring the NATO Russia Founding Act dead.Lots of stuff about supporting Ukraine, that no need to continue with the Membership Action Plan, which means Ukraine is closer to membership and is increasingly integrated.Some more language about ISIS and terrorism.2% gets the usual shoutout--making progress but now we recognize that 2% isn't enough.  More forward defense with regional defense plans, more troops at high readiness, moving from battlegroups to brigades in the east as promised last year.Defence Production Action plan--to improve delivery of weapons/ammunitionIntegrated Air and Missile Defense with emphasis on eastern flank--this represents a response to the roles played by drones and missile attacks in Ukraine.Continued opposition to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons since nukes are part of NATO's deterrent strategy.  Not a surprise.No Japan office for NATO since France opposed it.  Consensus decision-making can suck... like how do we dump Hungary?The standing up of a Maritime Center for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure.  This seems in response to Russia primarily monkeying around with cables.Cyber got the longest paragraph, I think, with a new Virtual Cyber Incident Support Capability to help members respond to cyber attacks.Western Balkans get several items--75-78--as tensions are brewing there.  Supporting Bosnia's integrity is directly aimed against Bosnian Serb separatism, KFOR continues to operate and has increased its troop numbers due to violence in the Serb-inhabited areas.  A reference there to conditions based not calendar driven brings me back to my Joint Staff days concern whether exit/reductions are determined by benchmarks (conditions) or milestones (time).  There was more, but that is the stuff that caught my eye.  So, much progress on some of the most important things, hard time getting consensus on NATO becoming relevant in the Pacific despite clearer language about the threat posed by China.  What about Canada?  I got asked lots of questions about 2%, and I didn't see anyone put Trudeau in a headlock for not making sufficient progress towards 2%.  Nor did I see Canada making a huge stink about Biden's sending of cluster munitions to Ukraine (a post for another day maybe).  Canada did take part in several announcements--a blueprint for Latvia's defense, a NATO plan for defending the Baltics, and the like.  Trudeau announced sending up to 2,200 Canadian troops to Latvia which is up from the original 450 or so and then 800-1000 that it has been at since last year.  He announced $2.6b in spending on the Latvia mission over the next three years including $1.2b.  I don't know if this is enough to cover the additional costs of sending the larger numbers of troops who have to be rotated every six months, the costs of more infrastructure (barracks, dining hall, training facilities, etc) for not just the more Canadians but the more NATO folks, etc.  Remember, Canada is the Framework Nation for Latvia, which means it is Canada's responsibility to lead the multinational battlegroup that is now becoming a multinational brigade.  That means providing some infrastructure for those who Canada cajoles to stick around (Albania, Czech Republic, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and North Macedonia) and maybe join us (Denmark, Finland, Sweden) to get to 3000+ troops.  Given that there are now eight places for NATO to send troops--the three Baltics, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania--so competition will be fierce to get more troops from some of these countries.  So, Canada has to make the place welcoming and a good training area--which means plenty of ammunition and other logistical support so they can exercise often. And no Defence Policy Update.  Which is a disappointment--it is very late.  When will be the next time where announcing it will be handy for the government?  Maybe when parliament is back in session?  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯So, I think Canada did the minimum to keep the criticism down, but perhaps didn't really do enough to set up the Latvia mission for success.  I don't think getting to 2% quickly is a realistic expectation, but the government could have made it a bit clearer that Canada would be moving in that general direction.  That there have been a heap of commitments made, that the personnel crisis itself needs much money thrown at it, so defence spending should be going up, even if it is not going to increase by 50%.Overall, the summit went well, the big things happened, the smaller things mostly worked out.  Putin's efforts to divide the alliance keep failing, the media's efforts to set unrealistic expectations and Zelensky's first outburst did not really upset things much.  I am sure many observers would prefer Trump running around, pushing over the leaders of smaller countries.  It would be more entertaining.  But we got enough progress on enough items.  Is it fast enough?  Not for Ukraine.  But a consensus-based organization is not going to move that quickly.  That NATO will soon have something like 30,000 troops forward deployed is pretty amazing.  And definitely not what Putin wants.  

Rad koristi interdisciplinarni pristup u okviru kulturne politike, kako bi predstavio potrebe za decentralizacijom kulturnog sistema u Srbiji i istovremeno predložio model decentralizacije kulture koji može biti primenjen. Uvodni deo prvo predstavlja značaj decentralizacije u kulturi za Srbiju, ali istovremeno i naglašava prepreke koje su vezane za tranzicioni period u kome se zemlja nalazi. Takođe, u teoretizaciji same decentralizacije u kulturi, rad uvodi nove ključne aspekte – jednakost, ravnopravnost i pravednost, koji se predstavljaju kroz političko – ekonomske teorije poput liberalizma, socijalizma, anarhizma i feminizma, da bi se socijalna pravda uvela kao glavni princip. Iz toga proizilazi i glavna hipoteza - uz primenu principa pravednosti u modelu, može se ostvariti i princip jednakosti/ravnopravnosti u decentralizaciji kulturnog sistema Srbije. Metodološki postupak zasnovan je na interdisciplinarnim teorijsko-empirijskim istraživanjima koja obuhvataju kulturnu politiku, menadžment u kulturi, teoriju upravljanja, političke nauke, ekonomske nauke, pravne nauke i sociologiju. Cilj istraživanja je modelovanje novog kulturnog sistema decentralizacije u Srbiji, zasnovanog na principu pravednosti. Oslanjajući se na evropske primere decentralizacije kulture, kojima se teži kao pripadajućem prostoru države, rad predstavlja i istorijski pregled decentralizacije u širem smislu, političke i fiskalne, kao preduslova pune decentralizacije u kulturi. U opštem teoretisanju decentralizacije, istovremeno se i sama decentralizacija terminološki odvaja od pojmova poput dekocentracije, demetropolizacije, devolucije i delegacije, a predstavljaju se i suplementarni poput regionalizacije i supsidijarnosti, kao i međusobna uslovljenost navedenih oblika decentralizacije (političke, ekonomske i kulturne). Polazne definicije decentralizacije, trodelna definicija uslovljenosti decentralizacije u kulturi Nobuko Kavašime kao "fer distribucija resursa" i Meklijeva "decentralizacija odlučivanja", odnosno dva principa – top down demokratizacije kulture i bootom up kulturne demokratije, u radu se ne isključuju nego zajedno koriste u susretnom smislu. Rad analizira i teorije o decentralizaciji kulture (Malro i Mekli u Francuskoj, Kavašima u Engleskoj, kao i regionalne poput Dragojevića u Hrvatskoj), kao i teoretske pojmove koje smatra neophodnim za primenu decentralizacije u kulturi poput socijalne (shvatanje Džona Rolsa) i tranzicione pravde, društvene sektore sa posebnim naglaskom na civilni sektor u kulturi, populistički diskurs decentralizacije koji koristi politika, participaciju kao neophodan element decentralizacije kulture, commons i spillover efect. Analiza je obuhvatila i praktične, nekadašnje i sadašnje modele decentralizacije u kulturi u Evropi (sa posebnim naglaskom na Francusku i Englesku), nekadašnjoj Jugoslaviji (sa posebnim akcentom na samoupravni sistem), država u regionu (Hrvatska posebno) i samoj Srbiji (Nacrt strategije Komisije za decentralizaciju kulture), kako bi se predstavile strategije koje se mogu iskoristiti za predloženi model. Utvrđujući putem empirijskog istraživanja (stavovi kreatora kulture u unutrašnjosti Srbije), finansijske analize javnih izdvajanja za kulturu, strateških planova i medijske vidljivosti, visok stepen centralizma, rad predlaže i konkretne mere za ostvarivanje decentralizacije u kulturi. Poseban segment istraživanja je utvrdio i potencijalnu ulogu civilnog sektora u kulturi u decentralizaciji kulture, gde se merio njegov potencijal, održivost, povezivanje (poput Asocijacije nezavisne kulturne scene Srbije i njene uloge) i prevashodno primeri dobre prakse u svetu (omladinski centri Estonije) i kod nas nekada (Otvoreni klubovi Savezne republike Jugoslavije) i danas. Glavni rezultat ovog rada je predlog modela za implementaciju decentralizacije u kulturi Srbije, koji je adekvatan specifičnim uslovima sredine i realno primenljiv. Model je nazvan "susretno-pravednim" jer u sebi sadrži više pristupa koji nisu samostalni nego upravo povezani uslovljenim obligacijama odlučivanja koje dvosmerno dolaze vertikalno (nivoi vlasti) i horizontalno (korisnici i sektori) uz primenu načela pravednosti kao glavnog kriterijuma. Model je trostepeni (kulturna decentralizacija bez političke i fiskalne, kulturna i fiskalna decentralizacija i sva tri vida zajedno) sa trogodišnjim trajanjem svake faze. On predlaže mere i strategije poput regionalizacije (politička decentralizacija), "skandinavskog modela finansiranja" lokalnih samouprava (fiskalna decentralizacija) i kao najbitnije za kulturnu decentralizaciju: jačanje regionalnih i lokalnih resursa (razvoj kadrova i publike, departizaciju, deinstitucionalizaciju, izgradnju i revitalizaciju infrastrukture i obavezne lokalne i regionalne strategije kulture), "kapilarnu decentralizaciju" kulture putem jačanja uloge civilnog sektora, obavezni "lokalni spillover" za manifestacione kreativne industrije i primenu faktora socijalne pravde u finansiranju kulture, difuziji institucija i manifestacija od nacionalnog značaja i u nacionalnoj medijskoj promociji. Naučni doprinos rada je dalja teoretizacija pojma decentralizacije u kulturi sa stanovišta principa jednakosti, ravnopravnosti i pravde. U oblasti kulturne politike, vrednost dizajniranog modela je u tome što može imati i potencijalnu praktičnu primenu, kako od strane nacionalnih, tako i lokalnih subjekata u kulturi Srbije. ; The paper uses an interdisciplinary approach within cultural policy to present the needs for decentralization of the cultural system in Serbia and at the same time propose a model for decentralization of culture that can be applied. The introductory part first presents the importance of decentralization in culture for Serbia, but at the same time highlights the obstacles that are associated with the transition period in which the country is located. Also, in the theorizing of decentralization in culture, the paper introduces new key aspects - equality, equal and justice, which are presented through political - economic theories such as liberalism, socialism, anarchism and feminism, to introduce social justice as the main principle. This leads to the main hypothesis - with the application of the principle of equity in the model, the principle of equality in the decentralization of the cultural system of Serbia can be realized. The methodological procedure is based on interdisciplinary theoretical and empirical research covering cultural policy, cultural management, management theory, political science, economic sciences, legal sciences and sociology. The aim of the research is to model a new cultural system of decentralization in Serbia, based on the principle of equity. Drawing on European examples of decentralization of culture, which strives as belonging to the state space, the paper also presents a historical overview of decentralization in the broad sense, political and fiscal, as a precondition for full decentralization in culture. In the general theorizing of decentralization, decentralization itself is terminologically detached from concepts such as decocentiation, demetropolisation, devolution and delegation, and they are also complementary such as regionalization and subsidiarity, as well as the interdependence of these forms of decentralization (political, economic and cultural). The initial definitions of decentralization, the three-part definition of the conditionality of decentralization in the culture of Nobuko Kawashima as a "fair distribution of resources" and Moeckli's "decentralization of decision-making", that is, two principles - top down of culture democratization and bootom up of cultural democracy, are not mutually exclusive but used together. The paper analyzes the theories of decentralization of culture (Malro and Moeckli in France, Kawashima in England, as well as regional ones like Dragojevic in Croatia), as well as theoretical concepts that he considers necessary for the application of decentralization in culture such as social (John Rolls' understanding) and transitional justice, social sectors with particular emphasis on the civil sector in culture, a populist discourse of decentralization used by politics, participation as a necessary element of cultural decentralization, commons and spillover efect. The analysis also included practical, former and current models of decentralization in culture in Europe (with special emphasis on France and England), former Yugoslavia (with particular emphasis on the self-governing system), countries in the region (Croatia in particular) and Serbia itself (Draft Commission Strategy to decentralize culture), to outline strategies that can be used for the proposed model. By establishing through empirical research (views of cultural creators in the interior of Serbia), financial analysis of public appropriations for culture, strategic plans and media visibility, a high degree of centralism, the paper also proposes concrete measures for achieving decentralization in culture. A specific segment of the research identified the potential role of the civil sector in culture in decentralizing culture, measuring its potential, sustainability, networking (such as the Association of the Independent Cultural Scene of Serbia and its role) and, above all, examples of good practice in the world (Estonian youth centers) and in Balkan once (Open clubs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) and today). The main result of this paper is the proposal of a model for the implementation of decentralization in the culture of Serbia, which is adequate to the specific environmental conditions and realistically applicable. The model has been called "counter-righteous" because it contains more approaches that are not standalone but just linked by conditioned decision-making obligations that come two-way vertically (levels of government) and horizontally (users and sectors), by applying the principle of fairness as the main criterion. The model is three-stage (cultural decentralization without political and fiscal, cultural and fiscal decentralization and all three aspects together) with a three-year duration of each phase. It proposes measures and strategies such as regionalization (political decentralization), the "scandinavian financing model" of local governments (fiscal decentralization) and as essential to cultural decentralization: strengthening regional and local resources (development of staff and audience, depoliticization, deinstitutionalization, construction and revitalization of infrastructure and mandatory local and regional cultural strategies), "capillary decentralization" of culture through strengthening the role of the civil sector, mandatory "local spillover" for creative industries and the application of social justice factors in the financing of culture, diffusion of institutions and events of national importance and in national media promotion. The scientific contribution of the paper is further theorization of the concept of decentralization in culture from the standpoint of the principles of equality and justice. In the field of cultural policy, the value of the designed model is that it can have potential practical application, both by national and local subjects in the culture of Serbia.

Rad koristi interdisciplinarni pristup u okviru kulturne politike, kako bi predstavio potrebe za decentralizacijom kulturnog sistema u Srbiji i istovremeno predložio model decentralizacije kulture koji može biti primenjen. Uvodni deo prvo predstavlja značaj decentralizacije u kulturi za Srbiju, ali istovremeno i naglašava prepreke koje su vezane za tranzicioni period u kome se zemlja nalazi. Takođe, u teoretizaciji same decentralizacije u kulturi, rad uvodi nove ključne aspekte – jednakost, ravnopravnost i pravednost, koji se predstavljaju kroz političko – ekonomske teorije poput liberalizma, socijalizma, anarhizma i feminizma, da bi se socijalna pravda uvela kao glavni princip. Iz toga proizilazi i glavna hipoteza - uz primenu principa pravednosti u modelu, može se ostvariti i princip jednakosti/ravnopravnosti u decentralizaciji kulturnog sistema Srbije. Metodološki postupak zasnovan je na interdisciplinarnim teorijsko-empirijskim istraživanjima koja obuhvataju kulturnu politiku, menadžment u kulturi, teoriju upravljanja, političke nauke, ekonomske nauke, pravne nauke i sociologiju. Cilj istraživanja je modelovanje novog kulturnog sistema decentralizacije u Srbiji, zasnovanog na principu pravednosti. Oslanjajući se na evropske primere decentralizacije kulture, kojima se teži kao pripadajućem prostoru države, rad predstavlja i istorijski pregled decentralizacije u širem smislu, političke i fiskalne, kao preduslova pune decentralizacije u kulturi. U opštem teoretisanju decentralizacije, istovremeno se i sama decentralizacija terminološki odvaja od pojmova poput dekocentracije, demetropolizacije, devolucije i delegacije, a predstavljaju se i suplementarni poput regionalizacije i supsidijarnosti, kao i međusobna uslovljenost navedenih oblika decentralizacije (političke, ekonomske i kulturne). Polazne definicije decentralizacije, trodelna definicija uslovljenosti decentralizacije u kulturi Nobuko Kavašime kao "fer distribucija resursa" i Meklijeva "decentralizacija odlučivanja", odnosno dva principa – top down demokratizacije kulture i bootom up kulturne demokratije, u radu se ne isključuju nego zajedno koriste u susretnom smislu. Rad analizira i teorije o decentralizaciji kulture (Malro i Mekli u Francuskoj, Kavašima u Engleskoj, kao i regionalne poput Dragojevića u Hrvatskoj), kao i teoretske pojmove koje smatra neophodnim za primenu decentralizacije u kulturi poput socijalne (shvatanje Džona Rolsa) i tranzicione pravde, društvene sektore sa posebnim naglaskom na civilni sektor u kulturi, populistički diskurs decentralizacije koji koristi politika, participaciju kao neophodan element decentralizacije kulture, commons i spillover efect. Analiza je obuhvatila i praktične, nekadašnje i sadašnje modele decentralizacije u kulturi u Evropi (sa posebnim naglaskom na Francusku i Englesku), nekadašnjoj Jugoslaviji (sa posebnim akcentom na samoupravni sistem), država u regionu (Hrvatska posebno) i samoj Srbiji (Nacrt strategije Komisije za decentralizaciju kulture), kako bi se predstavile strategije koje se mogu iskoristiti za predloženi model. Utvrđujući putem empirijskog istraživanja (stavovi kreatora kulture u unutrašnjosti Srbije), finansijske analize javnih izdvajanja za kulturu, strateških planova i medijske vidljivosti, visok stepen centralizma, rad predlaže i konkretne mere za ostvarivanje decentralizacije u kulturi. Poseban segment istraživanja je utvrdio i potencijalnu ulogu civilnog sektora u kulturi u decentralizaciji kulture, gde se merio njegov potencijal, održivost, povezivanje (poput Asocijacije nezavisne kulturne scene Srbije i njene uloge) i prevashodno primeri dobre prakse u svetu (omladinski centri Estonije) i kod nas nekada (Otvoreni klubovi Savezne republike Jugoslavije) i danas. Glavni rezultat ovog rada je predlog modela za implementaciju decentralizacije u kulturi Srbije, koji je adekvatan specifičnim uslovima sredine i realno primenljiv. Model je nazvan "susretno-pravednim" jer u sebi sadrži više pristupa koji nisu samostalni nego upravo povezani uslovljenim obligacijama odlučivanja koje dvosmerno dolaze vertikalno (nivoi vlasti) i horizontalno (korisnici i sektori) uz primenu načela pravednosti kao glavnog kriterijuma. Model je trostepeni (kulturna decentralizacija bez političke i fiskalne, kulturna i fiskalna decentralizacija i sva tri vida zajedno) sa trogodišnjim trajanjem svake faze. On predlaže mere i strategije poput regionalizacije (politička decentralizacija), "skandinavskog modela finansiranja" lokalnih samouprava (fiskalna decentralizacija) i kao najbitnije za kulturnu decentralizaciju: jačanje regionalnih i lokalnih resursa (razvoj kadrova i publike, departizaciju, deinstitucionalizaciju, izgradnju i revitalizaciju infrastrukture i obavezne lokalne i regionalne strategije kulture), "kapilarnu decentralizaciju" kulture putem jačanja uloge civilnog sektora, obavezni "lokalni spillover" za manifestacione kreativne industrije i primenu faktora socijalne pravde u finansiranju kulture, difuziji institucija i manifestacija od nacionalnog značaja i u nacionalnoj medijskoj promociji. Naučni doprinos rada je dalja teoretizacija pojma decentralizacije u kulturi sa stanovišta principa jednakosti, ravnopravnosti i pravde. U oblasti kulturne politike, vrednost dizajniranog modela je u tome što može imati i potencijalnu praktičnu primenu, kako od strane nacionalnih, tako i lokalnih subjekata u kulturi Srbije. ; The paper uses an interdisciplinary approach within cultural policy to present the needs for decentralization of the cultural system in Serbia and at the same time propose a model for decentralization of culture that can be applied. The introductory part first presents the importance of decentralization in culture for Serbia, but at the same time highlights the obstacles that are associated with the transition period in which the country is located. Also, in the theorizing of decentralization in culture, the paper introduces new key aspects - equality, equal and justice, which are presented through political - economic theories such as liberalism, socialism, anarchism and feminism, to introduce social justice as the main principle. This leads to the main hypothesis - with the application of the principle of equity in the model, the principle of equality in the decentralization of the cultural system of Serbia can be realized. The methodological procedure is based on interdisciplinary theoretical and empirical research covering cultural policy, cultural management, management theory, political science, economic sciences, legal sciences and sociology. The aim of the research is to model a new cultural system of decentralization in Serbia, based on the principle of equity. Drawing on European examples of decentralization of culture, which strives as belonging to the state space, the paper also presents a historical overview of decentralization in the broad sense, political and fiscal, as a precondition for full decentralization in culture. In the general theorizing of decentralization, decentralization itself is terminologically detached from concepts such as decocentiation, demetropolisation, devolution and delegation, and they are also complementary such as regionalization and subsidiarity, as well as the interdependence of these forms of decentralization (political, economic and cultural). The initial definitions of decentralization, the three-part definition of the conditionality of decentralization in the culture of Nobuko Kawashima as a "fair distribution of resources" and Moeckli's "decentralization of decision-making", that is, two principles - top down of culture democratization and bootom up of cultural democracy, are not mutually exclusive but used together. The paper analyzes the theories of decentralization of culture (Malro and Moeckli in France, Kawashima in England, as well as regional ones like Dragojevic in Croatia), as well as theoretical concepts that he considers necessary for the application of decentralization in culture such as social (John Rolls' understanding) and transitional justice, social sectors with particular emphasis on the civil sector in culture, a populist discourse of decentralization used by politics, participation as a necessary element of cultural decentralization, commons and spillover efect. The analysis also included practical, former and current models of decentralization in culture in Europe (with special emphasis on France and England), former Yugoslavia (with particular emphasis on the self-governing system), countries in the region (Croatia in particular) and Serbia itself (Draft Commission Strategy to decentralize culture), to outline strategies that can be used for the proposed model. By establishing through empirical research (views of cultural creators in the interior of Serbia), financial analysis of public appropriations for culture, strategic plans and media visibility, a high degree of centralism, the paper also proposes concrete measures for achieving decentralization in culture. A specific segment of the research identified the potential role of the civil sector in culture in decentralizing culture, measuring its potential, sustainability, networking (such as the Association of the Independent Cultural Scene of Serbia and its role) and, above all, examples of good practice in the world (Estonian youth centers) and in Balkan once (Open clubs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) and today). The main result of this paper is the proposal of a model for the implementation of decentralization in the culture of Serbia, which is adequate to the specific environmental conditions and realistically applicable. The model has been called "counter-righteous" because it contains more approaches that are not standalone but just linked by conditioned decision-making obligations that come two-way vertically (levels of government) and horizontally (users and sectors), by applying the principle of fairness as the main criterion. The model is three-stage (cultural decentralization without political and fiscal, cultural and fiscal decentralization and all three aspects together) with a three-year duration of each phase. It proposes measures and strategies such as regionalization (political decentralization), the "scandinavian financing model" of local governments (fiscal decentralization) and as essential to cultural decentralization: strengthening regional and local resources (development of staff and audience, depoliticization, deinstitutionalization, construction and revitalization of infrastructure and mandatory local and regional cultural strategies), "capillary decentralization" of culture through strengthening the role of the civil sector, mandatory "local spillover" for creative industries and the application of social justice factors in the financing of culture, diffusion of institutions and events of national importance and in national media promotion. The scientific contribution of the paper is further theorization of the concept of decentralization in culture from the standpoint of the principles of equality and justice. In the field of cultural policy, the value of the designed model is that it can have potential practical application, both by national and local subjects in the culture of Serbia.

Oghje hè diventatu cumunu di dì chì u seculu XVI hè un'epica impurtantissima per a cultura francese : u francese, lingua « bassa » in cunfrontu incù u latinu, averebbe tandu avutu accessu à e più alte funzione di a cummunicazione. Ma, l'affirmazione segondu a quale a lingua vernaculare averebbe cambiatu di statutu hè fundata à nantu à dui testi precisi. U primu, hè l'Ordonnance di Villers-Cotterêts, prumulgatu da François 1u in u 1539 è chì face di u francese a lingua di a ghjustizia. Dece anni dopu, a Défense et Illustration de la langue française, manifestu di u gruppu di a Pléiade, scrittu da Joachim du Bellay, accerta chì a lingua francese hà e qualità necessarie per cunquistà tutti i duminii di a cultura, per via di [a creazione da imitazione /a ripruduzzione] di l'Antichi è l'arrichiscimentu di u lessicu. L'insignamentu di a literatura francese, è più particularamente à u livellu di u liceu, porta sti dui presupposti dapoi una stonda, senza piglià in cunsiderazione fatti acquisti da a ricerca.Chì, in i fatti, u cumbattu à prò di a lingua francese hà principiatu dapoi u seculu XVI, ciò chì li hà permessu di cunquistà parechji campi di a cultura. D'altronde, François 1u ùn hè statu u primu monarcu à interessà si à u vernaculare ; si scrive ind'e una cuntinuità chì hà digià legittimatu u francese cum'e lingua ghjudirica è amministrativa. [A cuncepitura /a recezzione] oghjinca di stu prinicipiu di XVI esimu seculu è di a Pléiade, po esse dunque qualificata di « mitu ».E nostre ricerche anu palesatu ch'ellu era à u seculu XVI, chì sta creazione hè nata. Più precisamente, ci hà da vulè trè riletture, da ch'ellu sia stabilitu u mitu di a Pléiade simile à quellu ch'omu insegna in Francia oghje. Ste sfarente riletture sò u fruttu d'una recezzione sfarente di l'opere di i sculari di Coqueret. In un Europa in rinnovu, duve l'affirmazione di l'identità tedesca si vole di più in più agressiva, l'egemunia di a cultura francese hè rimessa in causa. Si pone tandu a dumanda di u valore è di l'essenza stessa di a literatura francese. Ste trè riletture sò altrettante risposte à sta dumanda. Un omu hè l'autore di duie trà di elle, Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, chì à traversu e duie edizione di u so Tableau historique et critique de la poésie française et du théâtre français au XVIe siècle custruisce tutte e cumpunente di u mitu. Per via di l'imitazione di e forme è di e figure stilistiche, i Parnassiens permettenu di fissà l'idee di Sainte-Beuve, è di fà accede i pueti di a Pleiade à u rangu d'autori classichi.Vene tandu l'ultima tappa ind'e l'elaburazione di u mitu: a so perennisazione per via di a scola di a Terza Republica Opportunista. Dopu à a perdita di l'Alsazia-Lurrena è dopu guasi più d'un seculu di rivolte pupulare, l'ora hè à a custruzzione d'un mudelu di guvernanza stabule. L'opportunisti, da stabilì a Terza Republica in u tempu, s'appoghjanu à nantu à a creazione d'un sintimentu naziunale forte, cimentu di a nazione, è guarante di a stabilità pulitica. A cultura, è dunque a literatura diventanu un inghjocu naziunale. In u novu rumanzu naziunale literariu cusì creatu, a rilettura di Sainte-Beuve hè ripigliata à u nome d'un certu numeru di valore difese da l'Upportunisti fendu accede à u Panthéon di i grandi Autori Ronsard è du Bellay. ; Nowadays it has become commonplace to say that the 16th century is a very important period for the French culture : French ,until now considered as « low »language , compared with Latin,would have risen the highest post in communication.Nevertheless the assertion that the vernacular language would have changed status is mainly based on two texts.The first one ,the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterets,is signed into law by Francis I in 1539 , and calls for the use of French in all legal acts.Ten years later , ''A Defense and an Illustrationof the French language,manifesto of La Pleiade by Joachim du Bellay,ensures that the French language owns the necessary qualities to fill all areas of culture ,via the creation by copying ancient authors and by the vocabulary's enrichment.The teaching of the French language ,especially at high school level,has been conveying for a long time these two presuppositions,without taking into account the knowledge of facts acquired from research.Because actually,the fight for the French language has been going on since the fourteenth century, which has already enabled it to take over many fields of culture.In addition , Francis I isn't the first monarch to be interested in the vernacular ; he represents a continuity that has already legitimized French as alegal and administrative language.The current reception of that beginning of the sixteenth century and of la Pleiade ,can therefore be described as a « myth ».Our research showed that this creation had emerged on the nineteenth century .More precisely, three re-reading were necessary in order to set up the myth of la Pleiade just like taught nowadays in France .Those different re-reading are the result of a different reception of the works by Coqueret's students.In a changing Europe ,while the assertion of the German identity is becoming more and more aggressive ,the hegemony of the French culture is being called into question.The question then arises of the value and of the essence of French literature.Those three re-reading are so many answers to this question.There's a man who is the author of two of them.It's Charles Augustin Sainte- Beuve, who ,through both editions of his « Tableau historique et critique de la poésie française et du théâtre français au XVIe siècle » builds all the elements of the myth.Thanks to the imitation of forms and stylistic devices,the Parnassians were enable to consolidate Saint-Beuve's ideas classing the poets of la Pleiade with classical authors.Here comes the final stage in the elaboration of the myth : its sustainability through the school of the Third Opportunist Republic .After the loss of Alsace -Lorraine and after nearly a century of popular uprisings, it's time to build a stable governance model. To establish the Third Republic over the long therm , the Opportunists rely on the creation of a strong national feeling that binds our nation and that is the guardian of political stability.Culture and therefore literature become a national issue.With the creation of this new national literary novel,the re-reading of Sainte -Beuve on behalf of a number of values upheld by the Opportunists gives access to the Pantheon of the great Authors to Ronsard and Du Bellay. ; Il est aujourd'hui devenu banal de dire que le XVIe siècle est une période très importante pour la culture française : le français, jusqu'alors langue « basse » par rapport au latin, aurait accédé aux plus hautes fonctions de la communication. Or, l'affirmation selon laquelle la langue vernaculaire aurait changé de statut est fondée sur deux textes en particulier. Le premier, l'Ordonnance de Villers-Cotterêts, est promulgué par François 1eren 1539 et fait du français la langue de la justice. Dix ans plus tard, la Défense et Illustration de la langue française, manifeste du groupe de la Pléiade, écrit par Joachim du Bellay, assure que la langue française a les qualités nécessaires pour occuper tous les domaines de la culture, via la création par imitation des Anciens et l'enrichissement du lexique. L'enseignement de la littérature française, au niveau du lycée particulièrement, véhicule ces deux présupposés depuis longtemps, sans tenir totalement compte de la connaissance des faits acquise par la recherche.Car, en vérité, le combat pour la langue française a commencé depuis le XIVesiècle, ce qui lui a déjà permis de conquérir bien des champs de la culture. En outre, François 1er n'est pas le premier monarque à s'intéresser au vernaculaire ; il s'inscrit dans une continuité qui a déjà légitimé le français comme langue juridique et administrative. La réception actuelle de ce début du XVIesiècle et de la Pléiade, peut donc être qualifiée de « mythe ».Nos recherches ont montré que c'est au XIXesiècle que cette création a vu le jour. Plus précisément, il aura fallu trois relectures pour que soit établi le mythe de la Pléiade tel qu'on l'enseigne aujourd'hui en France. Ces différentes relectures sont le fruit d'une réception différente des oeuvres des élèves de Coqueret. Dans une Europe en renouvellement, alors que l'affirmation de l'identité allemande se veut de plus en plus agressive, l'hégémonie de la culture française est remise en cause. Se pose alors la question de la valeur et de l'essence de la littérature française. Ces trois relectures sont autant de réponses à cette interrogation. Un homme est l'auteur de deux d'entre elles, Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, qui, à travers les deux éditions de sonTableau historique et critique de la poésie française et du théâtre français au XVIe siècle construit toutes les composantes du mythe. Grâce à l'imitation des formes et des procédés stylistiques, les Parnassiens permettent de fixer les idées de Sainte-Beuve, et de faire accéder les poètes de la Pléiade au rang des auteurs classiques.Vient alors la dernière étape dans l'élaboration du mythe : sa pérennisation via l'école de la Troisième République Opportuniste. Après la perte de l'Alsace-Lorraine et après près d'un siècle de soulèvements populaires, l'heure est à la construction d'un modèle de gouvernance stable. Les Opportunistes, pour établir la Troisième République dans la durée, s'appuie sur la création d'un sentiment national fort, ciment de la nation, et garant de la stabilité politique. La culture, et donc la littérature deviennent un enjeu national. Dans le nouveau roman national littéraire ainsi créé, la relecture de Sainte-Beuve est reprise au nom d'un certain nombre de valeurs défendues par les Opportunistes faisant accéder au Panthéon des grands Auteurs Ronsard et du Bellay.

[English version below] Les usagers de drogues illicites (UDI) font l'expérience d'un vaste ensemble de dommages liés à cette consommation de drogues. Dans le monde entier, les Etats ont, depuis de nombreuses années, développé diverses options politiques en matière de drogues qui visent à réduire de tels dommages, lesdites politiques de Réduction des risques (Csete et al., 2016; Strang et al., 2012). Cette composante désigne les politiques, les programmes et les pratiques visant principalement la réduction des conséquences négatives connexes à l'usage de drogues psychoactives, légales ou illégales, sur les plans sanitaire, social et économique, sans pour autant viser la réduction de la consommation elle-même. La Réduction des Risques est basée sur un modèle de santé publique dont l'objectif premier est d'améliorer l'état de santé et de bien-être des usagers de drogues tout en réduisant les dommages pour la population et la société. Il s'agit donc d'un complément aux approches qui visent la prévention et la réduction de l'usage de drogues en général (EMCDDA, 2010). Des organisations internationales considèrent les interventions de Réduction des risques comme des good practices. Celles-ci incluent les traitements de substitution aux opiacés, les programmes d'échange et d'accès aux seringues et aux aiguilles, ou les traitements par délivrance d'héroïne contrôlée. L'une des interventions spécifiques de Réduction des Risques sont les salles de consommation à moindre risque (SMCR), que l'on définit comme des lieux reconnus légalement, offrant un environnement hygiéniquement sûr, où des individus peuvent consommer les drogues qu'ils ont obtenues préalablement, sans jugement moral, et sous la supervision d'un personnel qualifié. Bien que les SMCR peuvent varient quant à leurs procédures opérationnelles et leurs modèles de fonctionnement, leurs objectifs sont similaires. La finalité générale des SMCR est d'entrer en contact avec les populations d'UDI les plus à risque et de répondre à leurs problèmes, principalement les usagers injecteurs et ceux qui consomment en public. Pour cette population, les SMCR visent à réduire les risques de transmission d'infections, ainsi qu'à diminuer les problèmes de morbidité et de mortalité liés aux overdoses et aux autres dommages associés à l'usage de drogues en milieu non-hygiénique ou peu sûr. En plus de ces objectifs sanitaires, les SMCR visent également à réduire les nuisances liées à l'usage de drogues dans des lieux publics et de diminuer la présence de seringues et d'aiguilles usagées sur la voie publique, ainsi que d'autres problèmes d'ordre public en relation avec les scènes ouvertes de consommation de drogues. Ainsi, les SMCR visent à diminuer les conséquences négatives de l'usage de drogues illicites, tant au plan individuel que social. DRUGROOM │ 4 De tels services de Réduction des Risques sont opérationnels depuis 1986. En 2017, l'Europe compte 90 SMCR officielles dans huit pays: au Danemark, en Norvège, en Espagne, en Suisse, et dans les quatre pays voisins de la Belgique: en France, en Allemagne, au Luxembourg et aux Pays-Bas. Des preuves scientifiques substantielles ont été obtenues au cours des trente dernières années à propos de l'efficacité des SMCR. Malgré des différences opérationnelles, on a montré des effets positifs des SMCR tant pour les UDI que pour la population générale, en particulier lorsqu'elles sont intégrées dans le tissu des autres services d'assistance locale. En outre, la fréquentation et l'utilisation des SMCR ont été associées à une réduction significative des accidents par overdose et des problèmes liés à l'échange de seringues usagées, des blessures par injection, sans pour autant engendrer une augmentation du nombre d'UDI et sans affecter les taux de rechute. Les SMCR constituent aussi un point d'entrée important vers les services de soins et autres services sociaux pour usagers de drogues. Sur le plan social, la mise en place de SMCR a permis d'améliorer l'ordre public en réduisant la présence de déchets liés à l'injection sans pour autant avoir augmenté la criminalité associée à l'usage de drogues. Ainsi, les SMCR ont été évaluées comme ayant atteint leurs objectifs de santé et de sécurité publique, et trouvent donc leur place dans l'ensemble des services destinés aux UDI (Kennedy, Karamouzian, & Kerr, 2017; Potier et al., 2014). Cependant, malgré l'abondance de preuves scientifiques, la mise en place de SMCR reste un sujet très controversé, bien que ce soit à l'agenda politique d'un grand nombre de pays dans le monde (par ex. en Irlande, en Ecosse, ou aux Etats-Unis). Pourtant, à ce jour, il n'existe pas de SMCR en Belgique. La Cellule Générale de Politique Drogues a publié un document de travail en 2016 à ce sujet (CGPD, 2016). Ce document s'interroge sur la faisabilité et les conditions préalables à remplir pour la mise en place de SMCR en Belgique, avec une attention spécifique aux besoins et aux aspects organisationnels, budgétaires et légaux. Une des sept conclusions finales du document était qu'une étude de faisabilité était nécessaire si l'on voulait mettre en place de telles SMCR. C'est donc dans ce contexte que la Politique Scientifique Fédérale (BELSPO) a commandité, pour la première fois, une recherche évaluant cette faisabilité en Belgique. --- People who use illicit drugs (PWUD) experience a wide range of drug-related harms. Worldwide, countries have been converging on a core of drug policy options aimed at reducing these drug-related harms for many years, including harm reduction (Csete et al., 2016; Strang et al., 2012). This latter component, harm reduction, refers to policies, programmes and practices that aim primarily to reduce the adverse health, social and economic consequences of the use of legal and illegal psychoactive drugs, without necessarily reducing drug consumption. Harm reduction is grounded within a public health model, which primarily aims to improve the health and well-being of drug users alongside reducing community and societal level harms, and complements approaches that seek to prevent or reduce the overall level of drug use (EMCDDA, 2010). International bodies identify harm reduction interventions as good practices, including opioid substitution treatment, needle and syringe (exchange) programmes, and heroin-assisted treatment (EMCDDA, 2010). One specific intervention includes drug consumption rooms1 (DCRs), defined as legally sanctioned facilities offering a hygienic environment where individuals can use pre-obtained drugs in a non-judgemental environment and under supervision of trained staff. Although DCRs vary in operational procedures and design, the aims of DCRs are similar across sites. The overall rationale for DCRs is reach out to, and address the problems of, specific high-risk populations of PWUD, especially injectors and those who consume in public. For this group, DCRs aim to reduce the risk of transmission of blood-borne infections, to reduce the likelihood of morbidity and mortality resulting from overdose, and to help people who use drugs avoid other harms associated with drug consumption under unhygienic or unsafe conditions. In addition to these health-oriented goals, DCRs also aim to contribute to a reduction in drug use in public places and the presence of discarded needles and other related public order problems linked with open drug scenes. In sum, DCRs aim to reduce both individual-level and public-level harms associated with illicit drug use. These harm reduction facilities have been operating since 1986; anno 2017, Europe counted 90 official DCRs in eight countries: Denmark, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and Belgium's four neighbouring countries: France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands (EMCDDA, 2017). A substantial body of scientific evidence has accumulated over the past three decades to support the effectiveness of DCRs; although heterogeneous in design and operation, DCRs have demonstrated that they can 1 The term 'drug consumption room' is often used interchangeably with supervised injection facility (SIF), safe injection site (SIS), and medically supervised injection centre (MSIC). DRUGROOM │ 4 produce beneficial effects, both for PWUD and for the community, particularly when they are part of a wider continuum of local interventions. Moreover, (frequent) DCR use has been associated with reductions in overdose-related harms, syringe sharing and injection-related injuries, without increasing either the number of local PWUD or rates of relapse. DCRs also serve as important entry points to external drug treatment and other health and social services for PWUD. At the community level, the establishment of DCRs has contributed to improvements in public order through reductions in public drug use and publicly-discarded injection-related litter, and has not been associated with increases in drug-related crime. Collectively, the available evidence suggests that DCRs are effectively meeting their primary public health and order objectives and therefore supports their role within a continuum of services for PWUD (Kennedy, Karamouzian, & Kerr, 2017; Potier et al., 2014). Despite this abundance of evidence, implementation of DCRs remains highly controversial. Yet, the debate about implementing new DCRs remains high on the political agenda in a number of countries worldwide (e.g., Ireland, Scotland, United States). To date, Belgium does not offer a DCR to its drug using population. The General Drugs Policy Cell published a working paper in 2016 devoted to the topic of DCRs in Belgium (ACD, 2016). They sought to investigate the feasibility and preconditions for the implementation of DCRs in Belgium, with specific attention to needs, and organisational, budgetary and legal aspects. One of the seven final conclusions was that, if one wishes to implement a DCR, a prior feasibility study is essential. Against this background, the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) commissioned a first-ever study to assess the feasibility of DCRs in Belgium.

[English version below] Les usagers de drogues illicites (UDI) font l'expérience d'un vaste ensemble de dommages liés à cette consommation de drogues. Dans le monde entier, les Etats ont, depuis de nombreuses années, développé diverses options politiques en matière de drogues qui visent à réduire de tels dommages, lesdites politiques de Réduction des risques (Csete et al., 2016; Strang et al., 2012). Cette composante désigne les politiques, les programmes et les pratiques visant principalement la réduction des conséquences négatives connexes à l'usage de drogues psychoactives, légales ou illégales, sur les plans sanitaire, social et économique, sans pour autant viser la réduction de la consommation elle-même. La Réduction des Risques est basée sur un modèle de santé publique dont l'objectif premier est d'améliorer l'état de santé et de bien-être des usagers de drogues tout en réduisant les dommages pour la population et la société. Il s'agit donc d'un complément aux approches qui visent la prévention et la réduction de l'usage de drogues en général (EMCDDA, 2010). Des organisations internationales considèrent les interventions de Réduction des risques comme des good practices. Celles-ci incluent les traitements de substitution aux opiacés, les programmes d'échange et d'accès aux seringues et aux aiguilles, ou les traitements par délivrance d'héroïne contrôlée. L'une des interventions spécifiques de Réduction des Risques sont les salles de consommation à moindre risque (SMCR), que l'on définit comme des lieux reconnus légalement, offrant un environnement hygiéniquement sûr, où des individus peuvent consommer les drogues qu'ils ont obtenues préalablement, sans jugement moral, et sous la supervision d'un personnel qualifié. Bien que les SMCR peuvent varient quant à leurs procédures opérationnelles et leurs modèles de fonctionnement, leurs objectifs sont similaires. La finalité générale des SMCR est d'entrer en contact avec les populations d'UDI les plus à risque et de répondre à leurs problèmes, principalement les usagers injecteurs et ceux qui consomment en public. Pour cette population, les SMCR visent à réduire les risques de transmission d'infections, ainsi qu'à diminuer les problèmes de morbidité et de mortalité liés aux overdoses et aux autres dommages associés à l'usage de drogues en milieu non-hygiénique ou peu sûr. En plus de ces objectifs sanitaires, les SMCR visent également à réduire les nuisances liées à l'usage de drogues dans des lieux publics et de diminuer la présence de seringues et d'aiguilles usagées sur la voie publique, ainsi que d'autres problèmes d'ordre public en relation avec les scènes ouvertes de consommation de drogues. Ainsi, les SMCR visent à diminuer les conséquences négatives de l'usage de drogues illicites, tant au plan individuel que social. DRUGROOM │ 4 De tels services de Réduction des Risques sont opérationnels depuis 1986. En 2017, l'Europe compte 90 SMCR officielles dans huit pays: au Danemark, en Norvège, en Espagne, en Suisse, et dans les quatre pays voisins de la Belgique: en France, en Allemagne, au Luxembourg et aux Pays-Bas. Des preuves scientifiques substantielles ont été obtenues au cours des trente dernières années à propos de l'efficacité des SMCR. Malgré des différences opérationnelles, on a montré des effets positifs des SMCR tant pour les UDI que pour la population générale, en particulier lorsqu'elles sont intégrées dans le tissu des autres services d'assistance locale. En outre, la fréquentation et l'utilisation des SMCR ont été associées à une réduction significative des accidents par overdose et des problèmes liés à l'échange de seringues usagées, des blessures par injection, sans pour autant engendrer une augmentation du nombre d'UDI et sans affecter les taux de rechute. Les SMCR constituent aussi un point d'entrée important vers les services de soins et autres services sociaux pour usagers de drogues. Sur le plan social, la mise en place de SMCR a permis d'améliorer l'ordre public en réduisant la présence de déchets liés à l'injection sans pour autant avoir augmenté la criminalité associée à l'usage de drogues. Ainsi, les SMCR ont été évaluées comme ayant atteint leurs objectifs de santé et de sécurité publique, et trouvent donc leur place dans l'ensemble des services destinés aux UDI (Kennedy, Karamouzian, & Kerr, 2017; Potier et al., 2014). Cependant, malgré l'abondance de preuves scientifiques, la mise en place de SMCR reste un sujet très controversé, bien que ce soit à l'agenda politique d'un grand nombre de pays dans le monde (par ex. en Irlande, en Ecosse, ou aux Etats-Unis). Pourtant, à ce jour, il n'existe pas de SMCR en Belgique. La Cellule Générale de Politique Drogues a publié un document de travail en 2016 à ce sujet (CGPD, 2016). Ce document s'interroge sur la faisabilité et les conditions préalables à remplir pour la mise en place de SMCR en Belgique, avec une attention spécifique aux besoins et aux aspects organisationnels, budgétaires et légaux. Une des sept conclusions finales du document était qu'une étude de faisabilité était nécessaire si l'on voulait mettre en place de telles SMCR. C'est donc dans ce contexte que la Politique Scientifique Fédérale (BELSPO) a commandité, pour la première fois, une recherche évaluant cette faisabilité en Belgique. --- People who use illicit drugs (PWUD) experience a wide range of drug-related harms. Worldwide, countries have been converging on a core of drug policy options aimed at reducing these drug-related harms for many years, including harm reduction (Csete et al., 2016; Strang et al., 2012). This latter component, harm reduction, refers to policies, programmes and practices that aim primarily to reduce the adverse health, social and economic consequences of the use of legal and illegal psychoactive drugs, without necessarily reducing drug consumption. Harm reduction is grounded within a public health model, which primarily aims to improve the health and well-being of drug users alongside reducing community and societal level harms, and complements approaches that seek to prevent or reduce the overall level of drug use (EMCDDA, 2010). International bodies identify harm reduction interventions as good practices, including opioid substitution treatment, needle and syringe (exchange) programmes, and heroin-assisted treatment (EMCDDA, 2010). One specific intervention includes drug consumption rooms1 (DCRs), defined as legally sanctioned facilities offering a hygienic environment where individuals can use pre-obtained drugs in a non-judgemental environment and under supervision of trained staff. Although DCRs vary in operational procedures and design, the aims of DCRs are similar across sites. The overall rationale for DCRs is reach out to, and address the problems of, specific high-risk populations of PWUD, especially injectors and those who consume in public. For this group, DCRs aim to reduce the risk of transmission of blood-borne infections, to reduce the likelihood of morbidity and mortality resulting from overdose, and to help people who use drugs avoid other harms associated with drug consumption under unhygienic or unsafe conditions. In addition to these health-oriented goals, DCRs also aim to contribute to a reduction in drug use in public places and the presence of discarded needles and other related public order problems linked with open drug scenes. In sum, DCRs aim to reduce both individual-level and public-level harms associated with illicit drug use. These harm reduction facilities have been operating since 1986; anno 2017, Europe counted 90 official DCRs in eight countries: Denmark, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and Belgium's four neighbouring countries: France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands (EMCDDA, 2017). A substantial body of scientific evidence has accumulated over the past three decades to support the effectiveness of DCRs; although heterogeneous in design and operation, DCRs have demonstrated that they can 1 The term 'drug consumption room' is often used interchangeably with supervised injection facility (SIF), safe injection site (SIS), and medically supervised injection centre (MSIC). DRUGROOM │ 4 produce beneficial effects, both for PWUD and for the community, particularly when they are part of a wider continuum of local interventions. Moreover, (frequent) DCR use has been associated with reductions in overdose-related harms, syringe sharing and injection-related injuries, without increasing either the number of local PWUD or rates of relapse. DCRs also serve as important entry points to external drug treatment and other health and social services for PWUD. At the community level, the establishment of DCRs has contributed to improvements in public order through reductions in public drug use and publicly-discarded injection-related litter, and has not been associated with increases in drug-related crime. Collectively, the available evidence suggests that DCRs are effectively meeting their primary public health and order objectives and therefore supports their role within a continuum of services for PWUD (Kennedy, Karamouzian, & Kerr, 2017; Potier et al., 2014). Despite this abundance of evidence, implementation of DCRs remains highly controversial. Yet, the debate about implementing new DCRs remains high on the political agenda in a number of countries worldwide (e.g., Ireland, Scotland, United States). To date, Belgium does not offer a DCR to its drug using population. The General Drugs Policy Cell published a working paper in 2016 devoted to the topic of DCRs in Belgium (ACD, 2016). They sought to investigate the feasibility and preconditions for the implementation of DCRs in Belgium, with specific attention to needs, and organisational, budgetary and legal aspects. One of the seven final conclusions was that, if one wishes to implement a DCR, a prior feasibility study is essential. Against this background, the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) commissioned a first-ever study to assess the feasibility of DCRs in Belgium.