Suchergebnisse

The objective of this study was to evaluate the perceived quality, satisfaction and the perceived value among customers of public and private professional sports services in Spain, and to establish prediction models for satisfaction and perceived value. The sample was comprised of 2,027 users of Spanish sports services, of whom 66.1% were men and 33.9% were women. All users completed a self-administered questionnaire. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire ensured a valid measurement of perceived quality, satisfaction and value. The results obtained revealed that the quality of the sports service received was good, and that the technical factors and service staff received the highest evaluations, however, information provided to users was the weakest point. Customer satisfaction and perceived value were also assessed positively. Significant differences were found in these three constructs depending on the activity group that the users were in. Combat activities scored highest for quality, and lowest for satisfaction, whereas customers of individual land-based sports were the most satisfied and perceived the most value, unlike racquet sports, which obtained the lowest scores in the three constructs. Both satisfaction with the service and the perceived value of the service depended chiefly on an intangible factor such as activities. ; The study was supported financially by the SEJ 046 Research Group, Sport and IT Department, Sport Faculty, Pablo de Olavide University, Seville. It also received support from the University Teaching Staff programme, implemented by the Spanish Government, the Ministry of Education.

The financial crisis, the deep recession, and the Democrats' huge losses in the 2010 midterm election, have focused attention on President Barack Obama's economic policy leadership and the framing of the economy as a campaign issue. In this article, I evaluate three alternative explanations for the Democrats' showing on the economy: the severity of the financial meltdown and the resulting recession; the president's key economic initiatives, the stimulus and the banking reform; and the actions of the Republican opposition in Congress and the highly mobilized conservative populism at the grass roots. In a presidential system, the attention of the public and media naturally focuses on the chief executive, and the temptation is strong to blame the president if the voters reject his party in a referendum election. The detailed case histories of Obama's economic policies, however, reveal only a few missed opportunities, and overall the administration's program delivered consistently positive economic results in the face of the exceptionally severe challenges of financial crisis and potential Depression. That the policies did not make a clear impression on the public and command a correspondingly positive electoral response is attributable less to the mistakes of the administration than to the strategic success of its opponents at limiting the president's legislative accomplishments and framing the public's interpretation of his program.

Scattered works by political scientists since the 1970s have reported that Democratic presidents have compiled stronger economic records than their Republican counterparts: economic growth has been higher, unemployment lower, and inequality has fallen during Democratic administrations while the opposite outcomes have occurred under Republican presidents. Recently, however, Campbell has vigorously challenged these findings. This article reexamines the data for 1949‐2009 using new methods and measures, and confirms the earlier findings for unemployment and real gross domestic product (GDP).

AbstractThis article studies the growth and decline of Argentine exports of manufactured goods during the 1940s and 1950s. In a context that was favourable due to the global scarcity of manufactured goods, Argentine industry managed to sell its products in several foreign markets, especially in Latin America, during the Second World War. In the post-war period, however, exports declined and returned to the levels of the 1930s. After 1950 the Peronist administration again tried to stimulate exports through the use of various incentives, but they did not revive. The article examines the reasons for this decline, the role played by the economic, commercial and industrial policies of the Peronist era, and the problems that Argentine industry faced in remaining competitive. Based on this analysis, the paper questions the interpretation that argues that exporting manufactured goods was a viable path for development for import substitution industrialisation countries in the post-war world. In this respect the paper contributes to the discussion of different paths towards economic development in Latin America.

This paper analyses the United States-Russia relationship in a changing context of growing challenges that have marked the mandates of Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev. The text starts by tracing the context where Obama and Medvedev come to power, and the dwindling of tensions that were very much present in this relationship, particularly in 2007 and 2008, leading to the Georgia war and the reset policy. The reset policy allowed the revision of procedures and the consolidation of trust, though the paper argues that effective coordination of policies and practices between Russia and the United States is still far from an objective reality. Adapted from the source document.

The just war tradition provides an ensemble of principles for when and how to wage war, but these principles are subject to hierarchy and interpretation. In the United States, the division between Republicans and Democrats delineates different approaches to interpreting the just war tradition that influence the way its principles are applied. To explore the ways in which the just war tradition has been appropriated, I examine the presidential debates of 2000 (Bush-Gore), 2004 (Bush-Kerry) and 2008 (McCain-Obama). These debates provide a lens through which to interpret the salient questions regarding war in the first decade of the third millennium from the perspective of the United States. They demonstrate important differences in the interpretation and application of the principles of last resort, just cause, and legitimate authority. They also suggest that the just war tradition changes not only in relation to external factors (such as terrorism), but also, at least in the US context, according to the perceived failure of the previous administration. Adapted from the source document.

Ambassador Clare Boothe Luce (Italy, 1953-56) exemplified American arrogance and intrusiveness in allies' domestic affairs. Connected to the inner circle of 'psychological warriors' in the Eisenhower administration, she was also a catalyst for action from Washington. This archival-based article shows how Luce's frontal attack on communist power, while often counterproductive, was also balanced by her discerning use of diplomacy, which deeply influenced the interplay between Italy's domestic and foreign policies. Luce also critically reassessed the effects of US mass culture in Italy. In political as well as intellectual circles, she did not exclusively favour Italy's unconditional supporters of the United States. Reflecting Washington's renewed flexibility, she also dealt with political and cultural leaders who nurtured autonomy and mild criticism of the United States. This flexibility, often going beyond Luce's will or expectations, helped counteract the most virulently anti-American representatives of Italian Marxism. Adapted from the source document.