Suchergebnisse

Problem setting. The formation and development of Ukraine as a democratic state, its integration into the world and European structures requires a rethinking of the nature, place and role of public administration under the current conditions at the enterprises of the transport and road complex. The legislation of Ukraine defines the purpose and tasks of the public administration in the field of transport on the principles enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine and sufficiently covered in the legal literature.Along with fuel and energy and raw material complexes, metallurgy, the military industry, transport is a sector of the economy, critical in terms of meeting public needs and ensuring the sustainable operation of the economic complex as a whole. This is reflected in the following:– implementation of transport projects directly touches on the issues of development of productive powers and populated areas, use of natural resources, expenditures of budgets of all levels. Transport infrastructure is one of the most fundraising sectors of the national economy;– transport is objectively an area of increased technogenic risk and increased vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Transport is the second most important source of environmental pollution after energy and one of the main consumers of insoluble natural resources;– decision in the field of transport development is one of the priorities of the state;– wrong decisions in the field of transport development can lead to irreversible negative consequences, disturb the stability of socio-economic development and have threats to the national security of Ukraine.Therefore, the coverage of the main priorities of the national public administration in the field of transport are and will remain relevant.Recent research and publications analysis. Scientific works of V. Andresyuk, L. Artyushin, A. Galchinsky, B. Gurne, Zh. Ziter, O. Ignatenko, V. Lisnichi, A. Lozhachevskaya, G. Mishchenko, V. Opryshko, M. Onishchuk, I. Pakhomov, Y. Paschenko, V. Razvadovsky, V. Ryzhikh, A. Savchenko, A. Semenchenko, V. Skuratovsky, D. Timokhi, A. Tkachenko, V. Yurchishin are important for the study of the problem of state control of transport systems.Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem. A necessary prerequisite for the reliable and efficient functioning of the transport industry is the awareness of the importance of transport for the national security of Ukraine, as well as for the interests of society and every citizen, by representatives of the state authorities and the public. In the difficult conditions of world economic processes in Ukraine and European integration, effective public administration of the transport industry is needed, which would take into account geopolitical aspects in the country, the features of the industry and its role in the processes of economic and social transformations, and would enable its development, ensure competitiveness. That is why the issues of public administration in the transport sector need improvement.Paper main body. The state management of transport activity is carried out by conducting and implementing economic (tax, financial, credit, tariff, investment) and social policies, including provision of subsidies for passenger transportation. The basis of public administration of the transport system is a unified transport policy of Ukraine, which must be closely coordinated with the strategy of socio-economic development of the country.Governing bodies exert managerial influence through legal methods that understand the way management functions are performed in accordance with the requirements of applicable law and legal doctrine. The organizational and legal basis of public transport management is the system of state authorities and local self-government, endowed with managerial competence for transport of Ukraine.Management of the transport system of Ukraine is carried out on a branch-territorial basis. Structural reforms in transport aim at developing and improving market relations, reducing the direct involvement of the state in transport and reducing the monopoly sector.The main purpose of public administration is to exercise executive power, in the process of which the tasks, functions and interests of the state are realized. However, direct management of economic, socio-cultural and administrative-political activities is characterized by administrative activities.The state transport management of Ukraine is based on relevant legal framework, which is divided into regulatory and organizational law.Public administration in the field of transport is carried out by: the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, local Councils of People's Deputies and other specially authorized bodies in accordance with their competence.The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the activity of which is directed and coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, is the main body in the system of central bodies of executive power, which ensures the implementation of the state policy in the field of transport, in the sphere of using the Ukrainian airspace and navigation and hydrographic navigation.Let's briefly consider the main priorities of public administration in the main modes of transport.The State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia) is a public administration body for public use and a legal entity and reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure.The State Aviation Transport Department (Ukraviatrans) is a public administration body that reports to and acts within the Ministry of Infrastructure.The State Department of Maritime and River Transport (Ukrmorrichflot) is a public administration body in the field of maritime and inland waterway transport, which reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure and operates within it.The State Department of Road Transport (Ukravtotrans) is a public administration body in the field of road transport and operates within and reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine.Public administration in the field of pipeline transport is carried out by the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine, as well as local state executive authorities and local self-government bodies within their competence.The governing bodies may exercise only those powers which are within their competence. In the process of exercising their competence, management bodies have the right to issue normative acts, which can be attributed to a legal type of management activity.Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. 1. The priorities of public administration in the field of transport are the improvement (reorganization) of organizational-power, executive-administrative activity of public administration bodies.2. The priority functions of public administration in the field of transport are the external manifestation of the properties of the management entity.3. The priority areas of the national public administration system in the field of transport are to improve and align the basic functions of the transport industry with European standards.The prospects for further exploration are the improvement of public administration in all modes of transport, taking into account the entry into the European transport system. Problem setting. The formation and development of Ukraine as a democratic state, its integration into the world and European structures requires a rethinking of the nature, place and role of public administration under the current conditions at the enterprises of the transport and road complex. The legislation of Ukraine defines the purpose and tasks of the public administration in the field of transport on the principles enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine and sufficiently covered in the legal literature.Along with fuel and energy and raw material complexes, metallurgy, the military industry, transport is a sector of the economy, critical in terms of meeting public needs and ensuring the sustainable operation of the economic complex as a whole. This is reflected in the following:– implementation of transport projects directly touches on the issues of development of productive powers and populated areas, use of natural resources, expenditures of budgets of all levels. Transport infrastructure is one of the most fundraising sectors of the national economy;– transport is objectively an area of increased technogenic risk and increased vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Transport is the second most important source of environmental pollution after energy and one of the main consumers of insoluble natural resources;– decision in the field of transport development is one of the priorities of the state;– wrong decisions in the field of transport development can lead to irreversible negative consequences, disturb the stability of socio-economic development and have threats to the national security of Ukraine.Therefore, the coverage of the main priorities of the national public administration in the field of transport are and will remain relevant.Recent research and publications analysis. Scientific works of V. Andresyuk, L. Artyushin, A. Galchinsky, B. Gurne, Zh. Ziter, O. Ignatenko, V. Lisnichi, A. Lozhachevskaya, G. Mishchenko, V. Opryshko, M. Onishchuk, I. Pakhomov, Y. Paschenko, V. Razvadovsky, V. Ryzhikh, A. Savchenko, A. Semenchenko, V. Skuratovsky, D. Timokhi, A. Tkachenko, V. Yurchishin are important for the study of the problem of state control of transport systems.Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem. A necessary prerequisite for the reliable and efficient functioning of the transport industry is the awareness of the importance of transport for the national security of Ukraine, as well as for the interests of society and every citizen, by representatives of the state authorities and the public. In the difficult conditions of world economic processes in Ukraine and European integration, effective public administration of the transport industry is needed, which would take into account geopolitical aspects in the country, the features of the industry and its role in the processes of economic and social transformations, and would enable its development, ensure competitiveness. That is why the issues of public administration in the transport sector need improvement.Paper main body. The state management of transport activity is carried out by conducting and implementing economic (tax, financial, credit, tariff, investment) and social policies, including provision of subsidies for passenger transportation. The basis of public administration of the transport system is a unified transport policy of Ukraine, which must be closely coordinated with the strategy of socio-economic development of the country.Governing bodies exert managerial influence through legal methods that understand the way management functions are performed in accordance with the requirements of applicable law and legal doctrine. The organizational and legal basis of public transport management is the system of state authorities and local self-government, endowed with managerial competence for transport of Ukraine.Management of the transport system of Ukraine is carried out on a branch-territorial basis. Structural reforms in transport aim at developing and improving market relations, reducing the direct involvement of the state in transport and reducing the monopoly sector.The main purpose of public administration is to exercise executive power, in the process of which the tasks, functions and interests of the state are realized. However, direct management of economic, socio-cultural and administrative-political activities is characterized by administrative activities.The state transport management of Ukraine is based on relevant legal framework, which is divided into regulatory and organizational law.Public administration in the field of transport is carried out by: the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, local Councils of People's Deputies and other specially authorized bodies in accordance with their competence.The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the activity of which is directed and coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, is the main body in the system of central bodies of executive power, which ensures the implementation of the state policy in the field of transport, in the sphere of using the Ukrainian airspace and navigation and hydrographic navigation.Let's briefly consider the main priorities of public administration in the main modes of transport.The State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia) is a public administration body for public use and a legal entity and reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure.The State Aviation Transport Department (Ukraviatrans) is a public administration body that reports to and acts within the Ministry of Infrastructure.The State Department of Maritime and River Transport (Ukrmorrichflot) is a public administration body in the field of maritime and inland waterway transport, which reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure and operates within it.The State Department of Road Transport (Ukravtotrans) is a public administration body in the field of road transport and operates within and reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine.Public administration in the field of pipeline transport is carried out by the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine, as well as local state executive authorities and local self-government bodies within their competence.The governing bodies may exercise only those powers which are within their competence. In the process of exercising their competence, management bodies have the right to issue normative acts, which can be attributed to a legal type of management activity.Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. 1. The priorities of public administration in the field of transport are the improvement (reorganization) of organizational-power, executive-administrative activity of public administration bodies.2. The priority functions of public administration in the field of transport are the external manifestation of the properties of the management entity.3. The priority areas of the national public administration system in the field of transport are to improve and align the basic functions of the transport industry with European standards.The prospects for further exploration are the improvement of public administration in all modes of transport, taking into account the entry into the European transport system. ; Розглянуто основні пріоритети та роль вітчизняної системи державного управління в галузі транспорту загалом і за основними видами транспорту зокрема. Доведено провідну роль державного управління в галузі транспорту. Визначено пріоритети державного управління в галузі транспорту, його основні функції та напрями.

Problem setting. The formation and development of Ukraine as a democratic state, its integration into the world and European structures requires a rethinking of the nature, place and role of public administration under the current conditions at the enterprises of the transport and road complex. The legislation of Ukraine defines the purpose and tasks of the public administration in the field of transport on the principles enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine and sufficiently covered in the legal literature.Along with fuel and energy and raw material complexes, metallurgy, the military industry, transport is a sector of the economy, critical in terms of meeting public needs and ensuring the sustainable operation of the economic complex as a whole. This is reflected in the following:– implementation of transport projects directly touches on the issues of development of productive powers and populated areas, use of natural resources, expenditures of budgets of all levels. Transport infrastructure is one of the most fundraising sectors of the national economy;– transport is objectively an area of increased technogenic risk and increased vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Transport is the second most important source of environmental pollution after energy and one of the main consumers of insoluble natural resources;– decision in the field of transport development is one of the priorities of the state;– wrong decisions in the field of transport development can lead to irreversible negative consequences, disturb the stability of socio-economic development and have threats to the national security of Ukraine.Therefore, the coverage of the main priorities of the national public administration in the field of transport are and will remain relevant.Recent research and publications analysis. Scientific works of V. Andresyuk, L. Artyushin, A. Galchinsky, B. Gurne, Zh. Ziter, O. Ignatenko, V. Lisnichi, A. Lozhachevskaya, G. Mishchenko, V. Opryshko, M. Onishchuk, I. Pakhomov, Y. Paschenko, V. Razvadovsky, V. Ryzhikh, A. Savchenko, A. Semenchenko, V. Skuratovsky, D. Timokhi, A. Tkachenko, V. Yurchishin are important for the study of the problem of state control of transport systems.Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem. A necessary prerequisite for the reliable and efficient functioning of the transport industry is the awareness of the importance of transport for the national security of Ukraine, as well as for the interests of society and every citizen, by representatives of the state authorities and the public. In the difficult conditions of world economic processes in Ukraine and European integration, effective public administration of the transport industry is needed, which would take into account geopolitical aspects in the country, the features of the industry and its role in the processes of economic and social transformations, and would enable its development, ensure competitiveness. That is why the issues of public administration in the transport sector need improvement.Paper main body. The state management of transport activity is carried out by conducting and implementing economic (tax, financial, credit, tariff, investment) and social policies, including provision of subsidies for passenger transportation. The basis of public administration of the transport system is a unified transport policy of Ukraine, which must be closely coordinated with the strategy of socio-economic development of the country.Governing bodies exert managerial influence through legal methods that understand the way management functions are performed in accordance with the requirements of applicable law and legal doctrine. The organizational and legal basis of public transport management is the system of state authorities and local self-government, endowed with managerial competence for transport of Ukraine.Management of the transport system of Ukraine is carried out on a branch-territorial basis. Structural reforms in transport aim at developing and improving market relations, reducing the direct involvement of the state in transport and reducing the monopoly sector.The main purpose of public administration is to exercise executive power, in the process of which the tasks, functions and interests of the state are realized. However, direct management of economic, socio-cultural and administrative-political activities is characterized by administrative activities.The state transport management of Ukraine is based on relevant legal framework, which is divided into regulatory and organizational law.Public administration in the field of transport is carried out by: the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, local Councils of People's Deputies and other specially authorized bodies in accordance with their competence.The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the activity of which is directed and coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, is the main body in the system of central bodies of executive power, which ensures the implementation of the state policy in the field of transport, in the sphere of using the Ukrainian airspace and navigation and hydrographic navigation.Let's briefly consider the main priorities of public administration in the main modes of transport.The State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia) is a public administration body for public use and a legal entity and reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure.The State Aviation Transport Department (Ukraviatrans) is a public administration body that reports to and acts within the Ministry of Infrastructure.The State Department of Maritime and River Transport (Ukrmorrichflot) is a public administration body in the field of maritime and inland waterway transport, which reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure and operates within it.The State Department of Road Transport (Ukravtotrans) is a public administration body in the field of road transport and operates within and reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine.Public administration in the field of pipeline transport is carried out by the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine, as well as local state executive authorities and local self-government bodies within their competence.The governing bodies may exercise only those powers which are within their competence. In the process of exercising their competence, management bodies have the right to issue normative acts, which can be attributed to a legal type of management activity.Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. 1. The priorities of public administration in the field of transport are the improvement (reorganization) of organizational-power, executive-administrative activity of public administration bodies.2. The priority functions of public administration in the field of transport are the external manifestation of the properties of the management entity.3. The priority areas of the national public administration system in the field of transport are to improve and align the basic functions of the transport industry with European standards.The prospects for further exploration are the improvement of public administration in all modes of transport, taking into account the entry into the European transport system. Problem setting. The formation and development of Ukraine as a democratic state, its integration into the world and European structures requires a rethinking of the nature, place and role of public administration under the current conditions at the enterprises of the transport and road complex. The legislation of Ukraine defines the purpose and tasks of the public administration in the field of transport on the principles enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine and sufficiently covered in the legal literature.Along with fuel and energy and raw material complexes, metallurgy, the military industry, transport is a sector of the economy, critical in terms of meeting public needs and ensuring the sustainable operation of the economic complex as a whole. This is reflected in the following:– implementation of transport projects directly touches on the issues of development of productive powers and populated areas, use of natural resources, expenditures of budgets of all levels. Transport infrastructure is one of the most fundraising sectors of the national economy;– transport is objectively an area of increased technogenic risk and increased vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Transport is the second most important source of environmental pollution after energy and one of the main consumers of insoluble natural resources;– decision in the field of transport development is one of the priorities of the state;– wrong decisions in the field of transport development can lead to irreversible negative consequences, disturb the stability of socio-economic development and have threats to the national security of Ukraine.Therefore, the coverage of the main priorities of the national public administration in the field of transport are and will remain relevant.Recent research and publications analysis. Scientific works of V. Andresyuk, L. Artyushin, A. Galchinsky, B. Gurne, Zh. Ziter, O. Ignatenko, V. Lisnichi, A. Lozhachevskaya, G. Mishchenko, V. Opryshko, M. Onishchuk, I. Pakhomov, Y. Paschenko, V. Razvadovsky, V. Ryzhikh, A. Savchenko, A. Semenchenko, V. Skuratovsky, D. Timokhi, A. Tkachenko, V. Yurchishin are important for the study of the problem of state control of transport systems.Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem. A necessary prerequisite for the reliable and efficient functioning of the transport industry is the awareness of the importance of transport for the national security of Ukraine, as well as for the interests of society and every citizen, by representatives of the state authorities and the public. In the difficult conditions of world economic processes in Ukraine and European integration, effective public administration of the transport industry is needed, which would take into account geopolitical aspects in the country, the features of the industry and its role in the processes of economic and social transformations, and would enable its development, ensure competitiveness. That is why the issues of public administration in the transport sector need improvement.Paper main body. The state management of transport activity is carried out by conducting and implementing economic (tax, financial, credit, tariff, investment) and social policies, including provision of subsidies for passenger transportation. The basis of public administration of the transport system is a unified transport policy of Ukraine, which must be closely coordinated with the strategy of socio-economic development of the country.Governing bodies exert managerial influence through legal methods that understand the way management functions are performed in accordance with the requirements of applicable law and legal doctrine. The organizational and legal basis of public transport management is the system of state authorities and local self-government, endowed with managerial competence for transport of Ukraine.Management of the transport system of Ukraine is carried out on a branch-territorial basis. Structural reforms in transport aim at developing and improving market relations, reducing the direct involvement of the state in transport and reducing the monopoly sector.The main purpose of public administration is to exercise executive power, in the process of which the tasks, functions and interests of the state are realized. However, direct management of economic, socio-cultural and administrative-political activities is characterized by administrative activities.The state transport management of Ukraine is based on relevant legal framework, which is divided into regulatory and organizational law.Public administration in the field of transport is carried out by: the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, local Councils of People's Deputies and other specially authorized bodies in accordance with their competence.The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the activity of which is directed and coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, is the main body in the system of central bodies of executive power, which ensures the implementation of the state policy in the field of transport, in the sphere of using the Ukrainian airspace and navigation and hydrographic navigation.Let's briefly consider the main priorities of public administration in the main modes of transport.The State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia) is a public administration body for public use and a legal entity and reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure.The State Aviation Transport Department (Ukraviatrans) is a public administration body that reports to and acts within the Ministry of Infrastructure.The State Department of Maritime and River Transport (Ukrmorrichflot) is a public administration body in the field of maritime and inland waterway transport, which reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure and operates within it.The State Department of Road Transport (Ukravtotrans) is a public administration body in the field of road transport and operates within and reports to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine.Public administration in the field of pipeline transport is carried out by the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine, as well as local state executive authorities and local self-government bodies within their competence.The governing bodies may exercise only those powers which are within their competence. In the process of exercising their competence, management bodies have the right to issue normative acts, which can be attributed to a legal type of management activity.Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. 1. The priorities of public administration in the field of transport are the improvement (reorganization) of organizational-power, executive-administrative activity of public administration bodies.2. The priority functions of public administration in the field of transport are the external manifestation of the properties of the management entity.3. The priority areas of the national public administration system in the field of transport are to improve and align the basic functions of the transport industry with European standards.The prospects for further exploration are the improvement of public administration in all modes of transport, taking into account the entry into the European transport system. ; Розглянуто основні пріоритети та роль вітчизняної системи державного управління в галузі транспорту загалом і за основними видами транспорту зокрема. Доведено провідну роль державного управління в галузі транспорту. Визначено пріоритети державного управління в галузі транспорту, його основні функції та напрями.

A Louisiana Senate panel has sent
on its way to needed passage a bill emulating law in several states that
will help to ensure more coherent governance and more faithful translation of
aggregate voter preferences.

SB 101 by
Republican state Sen. Blake
Miguez would prohibit ranked choice voting (RCV) for any election in
Louisiana (save votes cast by military personnel overseas as by federal law in
order to provide an "instant runoff"). There
are many varieties to the concept, but basically it involves an electoral
structure where all candidates by or regardless of party affiliation (if any)
run together in an initial or only election, and then lower-ranking candidates
are eliminated in either vote computation or by ballot redistribution.

Louisiana with its blanket primary actually uses a
very diluted form of this. The initial general election eliminates all but two
candidates by vote computation where the two highest then compete in a runoff election,
unless one candidate receives a majority.

But the form most often associated with is concept
in the U.S. is for single-position contests, whether for office or a partisan
nomination, where only a single election occurs and voters rank order
candidates. At the counting phase, unless someone has obtained an outright
majority, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated and
those voters' second choices then are redistributed to the remaining candidates.
The iterative process continues until a candidate receives a majority of all
votes, whether redistributed.

Theoretically, the system is sold as doing a
better job of echoing voter preferences because it allows for gradations of
support rather than an all-or-nothing choice. Entire reliance on first choices
could mask more general support for other candidates. Yet therein lies the
fatal flaw for it as well.

The system assumes within a voter's mind that
gradations between candidates and intensities of support are monotonic. That
is, let's say there are five candidates for one position, and that in the voter's
mind he grades out, with 0 being entirely unacceptable, 25 as annoying, 50 as
indifferent, 75 as acceptable, and 100 as enthusiastically supporting,
candidates of a scale of 0-100.

In this hypothetical election with the
hypothetical voter, his preferences are congruent with the assumptions behind
RCV if he grades candidate A at 100, B at 75, C at 50, D at 25, and E at 0. But
what if he grades A at 100, but B at 90, C at 50, D at 30, and E at 0? His
ballot would reflect less support for B and D that he truly feels because the ballot
scaling involved (called Likert scaling) imposes an intensity in preference
ordering – same distance between all candidates – that may not match the voter's.
This could wash out in the aggregate – say another voter ranks things as A=0,
B=10, C=50, D=70, E=100 – but there's no guarantee of that and in fact is highly
unlikely in a system where there are vast differentials in resources to inform voters
about specific candidates, as well as vast differences in specific voter
capacities to evaluate candidates.

This can create incongruities, if not
perversities, in outcomes. For example, let's use the above example where A and
E are quality candidates identifying with opposing major parties, B and D are
somewhat lesser candidates identifying with the same opposing major parties,
and C is a no party candidate. Resource-rich A and E campaign heavily, B and D
aren't as fortunate but they do get the word out, and C does little. When the
votes are in, no candidate has a majority, A and E lead the way as they attract
most partisan support, B and D drag the rear with some partisan support, lagging
C who picked up mainly nonpartisan support and attracted the bulk of his votes
precisely because most voters knew little more about him than he wasn't a
Republican or Democrat. In this scenario, either B or D is dropped and his
votes reallocated, leaving the other at the rear and next to be culled.

Prior to dropping the last of B or D, the vote was
A at 40 percent, E at 30 percent, C at 20 and the other at 10 percent. But let's
say A and E were bitterly opposed by B or D supporters and they overwhelmingly
had C as their second choice, chosen simply because he wasn't A or E. So, in
this redistribution, C narrowly jumps ahead of E, and A remains around 40
percent. And say C was the third choice for A and E supporters – B and D
respectively being their second but those now are unavailable as sorting
targets. So, what next happens is E is eliminated but as those voters almost
exclusively had C as the next viable choice, C ends up winning 60-40 – not because
many voters truly preferred him or even knew who he was, but because he was the
least disliked by partisans on both sides as well as the least known and acted
as an empty vessel.

And this scenario furthered can be skewed by removing
the assumption that all voters use, in this example, all five of their votes. Some
may give only their first choice, perhaps out of ineptitude in understanding the
system or that they strongly dislike all other candidates. Others may not fill
out all five choices for similar reasons. If so, a significant amount of roll-off
may occur – the final vote count much less than the total votes cast – which
leads to many voters not even having a say when it comes to the final result
when a candidate achieves a simple majority. In fact, this has
been observed in typical RCV-structured elections in America, with the
least educated and informed voters disproportionately likely to roll off.

To some degree, these shortcomings can be made
less relevant either by having a strong party system that can educate and
encourage voters about candidates and the navigation of the complexity of RCV-based
elections or by filling (for plenary bodies) offices through proportional representation
– or both, as the two often go hand in hand. But we don't have PR in America
nor strong parties, and especially in Louisiana with the country's weakest.

Indeed, introducing RCV would be a disaster for
policy-making in Louisiana, which already suffers from a high degree of
personalism in politics focusing too much on candidate attributes and too
little on ideology. This is precisely what makes the system so vulnerable to
special interests and more resistant to accountability and responsiveness. RCV
only would exacerbate this by degrading party – a glue that holds candidates
together to focus them on following an agenda on which they campaigned in
common rather than as individuals trying to service parochial interests – and increasing
the importance of personalistic campaigning and governing.

Thus, it's best to forestall RCV use. In an
election system like Louisiana has – which would benefit from closed primaries for
all contests for precisely the same reasons RCV would be harmful, given the
state's political culture, as it strengthens party – aggregate voter preferences
become best translated into coherent policy through its first-past-the-post
structure than would RCV. This justifies SB 101 becoming law.

As the United States plunges ever deeper into a fresh Middle East conflagration — this time fighting Iran-backed non-state actors, including Yemen's Houthis and Shiite resistance groups in Syria and Iraq — its closest allies from the EU and NATO stand divided.
These divisions reflect a long-standing failure of the EU member states and institutions to speak with "one voice" on the Middle East.
When the U.S. called for an international coalition to stop the Yemen-based Houthi militias attacks on the international shipping in the Red Sea, only a few European nations signed the joint statement: the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Italy. Of that initial group, only Britain, Denmark, Netherlands, plus Greece joined as the European contingent of "Operation Prosperity Guardian."
Others like France, while condemning the Houthi attacks, expressed preference for an autonomous, European-led operation. Still others, like Spain, were skeptical of any involvement in any anti-Houthi action whatsoever.
So far, Britain has been the only navy to engage in actual strikes against the Houthis (so far, with limited success), as part of the U.S.-led operation. Meanwhile, EU defense ministers agreed to launch the EU-led "Operation Aspides" to help guarantee free navigation and the safety of commercial traffic — initially, under Italian command.
Securing maritime freedom is considered vital, as approximately 40% of EU trade with Asian and Middle Eastern countries passes through the Red Sea. But the precise mandate and rules of engagement for this mission remain unclear. The EU foreign ministers are supposed to decide on those questions at their meeting on February 19. The EU high representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrell, however, seems to have ruled out anything beyond defensive actions to protect ships and intercept the Houthi attacks, including taking part in U.S.-UK-led strikes against the Houthis or conducting their own offensive strikes.
Once the EU operation is set in motion, however, that distinction might become blurred. In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, a top Houthi leader, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, declared that Italy will "become a target" if it participates in attacks on the group. That prompted a swift response from Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who insisted that Rome "will not be intimidated by the Houthi threats." Yet he was also careful to emphasize the planned mission's defensive nature. And it is notable that neither Italy nor the EU as a whole have followed Washington's lead in designating the Houthis as a terrorist organization.Reactions to the U.S. strikes against Iran's allies in Syria and Iraq — in response to the deaths of three U.S. troops caused by a drone attack on Jan. 29 — present a similarly fragmented picture. Borrell assessed those strikes as a "domino effect" resulting from the Israel-Hamas war. He called on "everybody should try to avoid that the situation becomes explosive." Britain, predictably, supported Washington's "right to respond to attacks" while condemning "Iran's destabilizing activity throughout the region."
Meanwhile, Poland's hawkish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski emphasized that "Iran's proxies have played with fire for months and years, and it's now burning them." The European Parliament, meanwhile, in its resolution on the situation in Gaza adopted in mid-January, pointed to Iran's "aggressive actions and use of proxies as a means of deliberately destabilizing the region" as the principal cause of the escalation.
The rhetoric aside, there is no sign so far that the EU is gearing up to join the U.S. conflict with the Iran-backed "forces in Syria and Iraq, either militarily or through diplomatic support. There are good reasons behind such restraint: the open-ended nature of the U.S. commitment increases the risks of a direct U.S.–Iran clash. That, in turn, could incentivize Iran to move aggressively to obtain a nuclear weapon as an ultimate deterrent as it's already a de-facto nuclear threshold state.
Such a step would ruin for good any prospects for a nuclear agreement with Iran, a policy still promoted by the EU. In fact, as recently as mid-January, Enrique Mora, the political director of the European External Action Service, discussed the nuclear file with the Iranian chief negotiator Bagheri-Kani at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Also, increased instability in Iraq and Syria and a decimation of the Shiite militias there could also create conditions for a revival of ISIS, their sworn enemies, who have committed atrocities on European soil as well as across the Middle East and beyond. EU officials have been warning about the growing risks of terrorism in Europe as a spillover from the war in Gaza for some time now.
And that brings us back to the root cause of the European divisions on the Houthis, Syria, Iraq and Iran: diverging perspectives on Israel's campaign in Gaza. While all EU member states strongly condemned Hamas' pogrom, their reactions belie different priorities. Some countries, such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany, are closely aligned with Israel and therefore, privilege Israel's right to self-defense. However, others like Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia, and, to some extent, France, see the war in Gaza and the Israel-Palestine conflict more generally as a principal cause of the expanding mayhem in the Middle East. They find it increasingly problematic to compartmentalize the Gaza carnage, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the growing tensions between the U.S. and Iran-backed Shiite groups in Syria and Iraq.
They think that taking a more forceful action against the "resistance front" would reduce the pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza.
It is unlikely that the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) imposing a number of measures on Israel on its conduct of war in Gaza will bridge the intra-European differences, despite the EU's professed commitment to international law. The EU emphasized that the ICJ rulings are binding and have to be implemented "fully, immediately and effectively."
Predictably, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Slovenia issued statements to the same effect. Germany, despite its generally pro-Israeli position, joined them. France supported the ruling but failed to call for its implementation. The real actions, post-ICJ ruling, however, reflect the remaining deep divisions: a number of countries announced that they will suspend the funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the principal humanitarian actor in Palestine, following the accusations against some of its workers for links with Hamas. Those include Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Romania and the Baltic states.
Others, like France and Germany, said they'll wait for the results of the investigations on those alleged Hamas links, and still others, like Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Slovenia, pledged to continue the funding. Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, stressed that defunding UNRWA "would amount to collective punishment" of Palestinian civilians. To underscore the divisions further, the EU still failed to agree on sanctions against the violent Israeli settlers, due to the opposition from Hungary and Czech Republic, even though the U.S. has already announced that it will take that step.
It is, therefore, fair to expect that the EU and its member states will continue to muddle through, agreeing only on the lowest common denominator, further hobbling their capacity to act as relevant actors in the Middle East.

With Israel's invasion of Gaza inching toward the possibility of a long-term ceasefire, if not a formal resolution, we can begin to draw certain conclusions about the strategic course of the latest Middle Eastern conflagration. Above all, despite inflicting widespread destruction on the impoverished Gaza Strip, Israel's stated maximalist objective of destroying Hamas appears firmly out of reach. While part of this failure to strike a decisive blow follows from the inherent difficulty of counterinsurgency operations, Hamas's major allies — Iran, Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis, and Shia Islamist militias in Iraq — also played a significant role. Crucially, these forces, constituting a loose coalition called the Axis of Resistance, are pressuring Washington to push Israel to the bargaining table by striking American weak points in the Middle East.Central to the Axis of Resistance's apparent logic in the latest conflict, and its struggle against the U.S.-Israel alliance more generally, lies the inescapable fact that its enemies possess overwhelming military, technological, and economic advantages. Yet the very global primacy of the United States that underlies this disproportion can make Washington uniquely vulnerable to smaller, more tactically nimble opponents.The regional ripples of the current war make this vulnerability especially clear. Rather than face the U.S. and Israel head-on, Iran and its allies took advantage of the overstretched American position in the Middle East. The efforts of Yemen's Houthis in the Red Sea provide perhaps the most dramatic illustration of this asymmetrical strategy. Central to the United States' international status is its naval dominance, which has allowed American policymakers to confer on their nation the mantle once worn by Britain in its imperial heyday: global manager and guardian of seaborne commerce.With just a few cheap drones and missiles, the Houthis instituted an effective blockade of the Red Sea, thus challenging this U.S. claim to be the worldwide arbiter of freedom of navigation. While U.S. forces have apparently proven relatively effective in destroying Houthi projectiles once launched, even President Joe Biden has admitted that U.S-UK airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen have largely failed to degrade the group's capacity for action. According to one metric, as of this writing the volume of traffic moving through the Red Sea's Bab al-Mandeb strait, as measured by weight, remains less than half of what it was this time last year.Elsewhere in the Middle East, other members of the Axis of Resistance similarly turned building blocks of American global preeminence into liabilities for Washington. In Iraq, Islamist Shia militias, formally integrated into the country's military as components of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) even as they sustain close links with Iran, have maintained a steady stream of attacks against U.S. military infrastructure. Though the U.S. withdrew from Iraq in 2011, its forces returned in 2014 as part of the battle against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In the minds of American planners, the bases thus established both bolster the U.S. presence in the world's major oil-producing region and its efforts to contain Iran. Now, though, they look more like sitting ducks than strategic assets. In fact, reflecting the entwinement of the Axis's goal of relieving pressure on Hamas with the narrower interests of its constituent parts, the consistent series of militia attacks likely contributed to Washington's recent ascension to formal negotiations with Iraq over a phased withdrawal of American troops — 2,500 of which remain in the country despite a 2020 resolution by the Iraqi parliament calling for their removal.The international struggle against ISIS also presented the U.S. an opportunity to gain a foothold in conflict-torn Syria, where American arms and training for rebel factions helped fuel a brutal civil war. The main U.S. presence in Syria is concentrated in the country's oil-rich northeast, though American forces also control the strategically vital al-Tanf border crossing with Iraq.The roughly 900 American troops in the country assist U.S.-allied Kurdish forces and allow Washington to deprive the Syrian state of critical oil revenue. But, like their counterparts in Iraq, they have lately been at the mercy of drone and rocket strikes, largely from the aforementioned Iraqi PMF. Indeed, analogous to the situation in Iraq, the precarity of U.S. positions in Syria as driven home by these assaults has reportedly spurred debate within the Biden administration about an American departure from that country as well.While such attacks in the Red Sea, Iraq, and Syria demonstrate the upside of the Axis of Resistance's regional campaign, its asymmetrical calculus is not without risks. Perhaps the best illustration of this was a recent drone strike, undertaken by Iraqi militia, against a secretive U.S. base in Jordan, near that country's tri-border region with Iraq and Syria. The attack killed three American troops, the first U.S. combat casualties in the present conflict.This result set off alarm bells in Tehran (and prompted the most wide-ranging series of American strikes yet against targets in Iraq and Syria). Central to the Axis's overall strategy, coordinated, if not — as many Western commentators insist — wholly directed, by Iran's national security apparatus, is the need to avoid full-scale conventional war with the United States. Without even factoring in the massive power disparity with the U.S., Iran's elite, in particular, can ill afford such a confrontation right now. The state is beset by a crisis of legitimacy, enflamed by its propensity for repression, and the nation's economy faces deep-rooted challenges, due in part to punishing American sanctions. As a result, Iran has taken steps to, temporarily at least, mitigate the chance of open conflict with the U.S. — most notably by curtailing strikes by PMF groups against American targets in Iraq.Yet, in taking that step, Iran's leaders likely feel secure in the knowledge that, despite the delicate balance required to tiptoe around the possibility of full-blown escalation, the Axis of Resistance's regional calculus has paid off significantly. In undertaking their broader campaign against the U.S., Hamas's regional allies leveraged Israel's intense dependence on its American patron. Without American support, Israel cannot hope to continue any major military campaign for very long — it is thus critically susceptible to pressure from Washington. While public opinion also plays a major role, the shower of blows rained upon American positions in the Middle East over the past few months has likely factored into U.S. policymakers' efforts to steer Israel away from its most maximalist aims and toward negotiations.Enabling both Israel's brutal assault on Gaza and the Axis of Resistance's ability to exert pressure on Tel Aviv through the U.S. are, of course, Washington's imperial ambitions. Iran and its allies have, unwittingly, presented American policymakers with a precious opportunity to pivot away from the kind of unilateralist overreach that, in large part, structures the present conflict. In doing so, they could begin to craft the kind of constructive foreign policy that puts the needs of U.S. citizens first — precious few Americans, after all, want to stumble into another Middle Eastern "forever war" just because of a few drones launched by Iraqi militias. And, perhaps most crucially, such a shift could perhaps prevent the kind of destruction unleashed on Gaza over the last few months — its scale a horrifying corollary to the depth of hubris that fuels American great power pretensions.

Introduction: The Corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic caused, among others, the need for colleges and universities managers around the world to reinvent new ways of providing education preserving its good quality at the same time. With the new ordinances of the Ministry of Education and Health, all courses can use remote methodologies for the continuity on the current school year. With new challenges and paradigms emerging from this methodological proposal: provide for the user the feeling of immersion, of being in the class room, from the navigation and interaction in this virtual environment, at the same time that the educator, respecting the educational principles and the pedagogical approach that he believes, does not transform this moment into a simple distance education. Objective: to describe the state of the art on nursing education and the challenges of using remote technologies in the time of Corona virus pandemic. Methods: this is a reflective study based on secondary sources of literature relevant to the theme, considering articles from national and international journals and recent productions on education, health training, remote technologies, COVId-19 and public health. Results: it is evident that experiencing the effects of the corona virus pandemic (COVID-19) in the health educational sector, especially in the field of nursing, goes beyond a structural reorganization of courses. It implies change attitude of managers, teachers and students to reformulate educational practices (sometimes with traditional tools), with innovative practices preserving a methodology that provides to the student criticality reflection, dialogue, bonding and interaction; elements that are part of a training aimed at transformation, empowerment and not just the transmission of knowledge. In this context, the COVID-19 pandemic caused paradigm shifts perhaps not yet overcome by health science institutions , because when they perceived themselves within a reality that generated changes in the political, economic, cultural and social aspects at a global level, they had to reinvent and insert new ways of teaching in their work process; they had to discuss different educational approaches and, given the needs to readjust health teaching methods, they inserted remote technologies as essential tools to meet the real need for continuity of classes in non-face-to-face model. For many, it is a challenge, as it currently permeates a reflection on the attention of distance learning in the field of nursing and other courses in the health area. However, as it opened up to discussions about new ways of teaching mediated by innovation, it can be said that this will be one of the greatest impact of the pandemic in benefit the education: the contribution of new information and communication technologies in the teaching-learning process for training in health, as well as the reflection on distance education and its concepts, differentiating it from the concepts of remote methodology and the use of technologies. Conclusion: In nursing education, the discussion related to the use of remote technologies in the classroom has always been a point of debate. However, with the need to include these tools for the continuity of classes in the non-face-to-face model resulting from the social isolation strategy motivated by the pandemic of COVID-19, it can provide an opportunity to have a new look on the subject and perhaps there is an opportunity to expand the debate on the use of remote methodologies in health education, seeking a reflection on their interaction with the other teaching methods already implemented. ; Introdução: A pandemia do Corona vírus (COVID-19) provocou em caráter emergencial a necessidade dos gestores das faculdades e universidades de todo mundo de reinventar novas formas de prover o ensino preservando a qualidade dele. Com as novas portarias do Ministério da Educação e Saúde, houve uma abertura para que todos os cursos utilizassem de metodologias remotas para continuidade do ano letivo, surgindo novos desafios e paradigmas com essa proposta metodológica: prover para o usuário, a sensação de imersão, de estar dentro do ambiente, a partir da navegação e interação nesse meio virtual, ao mesmo tempo que o educador, respeitando os princípios educacionais e a abordagem pedagógica que acredita, não transformar esse momento em uma simples educação à distância. Objetivo: descrever o estado da arte sobre o ensino de enfermagem e os desafios do uso de tecnologias remotas em época de pandemia do Corona vírus. Método: trata-se de estudo reflexivo consubstanciado por fontes secundárias da literatura pertinente à temática, considerando artigos de periódicos nacionais e internacionais e produções recentes sobre educação, formação em saúde, tecnologias remotas, o COVId-19 e saúde pública. Resultados: evidencia-se que vivenciar os efeitos da pandemia de corona vírus (COVID-19) no setor educacional na formação em saúde, em especial no campo da enfermagem, vai além de uma reorganização estrutural dos cursos, pois implica em mudança atitudinal dos gestores, docentes e discentes para que reformulem as práticas de ensino (por vezes com ferramentas tradicionais), em práticas inovadoras preservando um ensino que propicie ao estudante a criticidade, reflexão, diálogo, vínculo e interação; elementos que fazem parte de uma formação que visa a transformação, o empoderamento e não apenas a transmissão do conhecimento. Nesse contexto, a pandemia do COVID-19 provocou mudanças de paradigmas talvez ainda não superados pelas instituições na área da saúde, pois ao se perceberem dentro de uma realidade em que gerou mudanças nos aspectos políticos, econômicos, culturais e sociais em nível mundial, estas tiveram que se reinventar e inserir no seu processo de trabalho as novas formas de ensinar; tiveram que discutir sobre as diferentes abordagens educacionais e diante das necessidades do readequar os métodos de ensino em saúde, inseriram as tecnologias remotas como ferramentas essenciais para atender a real necessidade da continuidade das aulas no formato não presencial. Para muitos um desafio, pois permeia atualmente uma reflexão sobre o cuidado do ensino à distância no campo da enfermagem e demais cursos da área da saúde. Entretanto, à medida que se abriu para discussões sobre novas formas de ensinar mediadas pela inovação, pode-se dizer que esse será o maior impacto da pandemia para o ensino: a contribuição das novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação no processo ensino aprendizagem para formação em saúde, assim como a reflexão sobre a educação à distância e seus conceitos, diferenciando-a dos conceitos de metodologia remota e o uso das tecnologias. Conclusão: No ensino da enfermagem, a discussão relacionada ao uso de tecnologias remotas em sala de aula sempre foi um ponto de debate. Entretanto, com a necessidade da inclusão dessas ferramentas para a continuidade de aulas no formato não presencial decorrente da estratégia do isolamento social motivada pela pandemia do COVID-19, pode oportunizar a se ter um novo olhar sobre o assunto e que talvez com esse momento vivido se haja oportunidade de ampliar o debate sobre uso dessas metodologias remotas no ensino em saúde, buscando uma reflexão sobre a interação destas com os demais métodos de ensino já implementados.

Welcome to the third issue of volume 43 of the IASSIST Quarterly (IQ 43:3, 2019).
Yes, we are open! Open data is good. Just a click away. Downloadable 24/7 for everybody. An open government would make the decisionmakers' data open to the public and the opposition. As an example, communal data on bicycle paths could be open, so more navigation apps would flourish and embed the information in maps, which could suggest more safe bicycle routes. However, as demonstrated by all three articles in this IQ issue, very often research data include information that requires restrictions concerning data access. The second paper states that data should be 'as open as possible and as closed as needed'. This phrase originates from a European Union Horizon 2020 project called the Open Research Data Pilot, in 'Guidelines on FAIR Data Management in Horizon 2020' (July 2016). Some data need to be closed and not freely available. So once more it shows that a simple solution of total openness and one-size-fits-all is not possible. We have to deal with more complicated schemes depending on the content of data. Luckily, experienced people at data institutions are capable of producing adapted solutions.
The first article 'Restricting data's use: A spectrum of concerns in need of flexible approaches' describes how data producers have legitimate needs for restricting data access for users. This understanding is quite important as some users might have an automatic objection towards all restrictions on use of data. The authors Dharma Akmon and Susan Jekielek are at ICPSR at the University of Michigan. ICPSR has been the U.S. research archive since 1962, so they have much practice in long-term storage of digital information. From a short-term perspective you might think that their primary task is to get the data in use and thus would be opposed to any kind of access restrictions. However, both producers and custodians of data are very well aware of their responsibility for determining restrictions and access. The caveat concerns the potential harm through disclosure, often exemplified by personal data of identifiable individuals. The article explains how dissemination options differ in where data are accessed and what is required for access. If you are new to IASSIST, the article also gives an excellent short introduction to ICPSR and how this institution guards itself and its users against the hazards of data sharing.
In the second article 'Managing data in cross-institutional projects', the reader gains insight into how FAIR data usage benefits a cross-institutional project. The starting point for the authors - Zaza Nadja Lee Hansen, Filip Kruse, and Jesper Boserup Thestrup – is the FAIR principles that data should be: findable, accessible, interoperable, and re-useable. The authors state that this implies that the data should be as open as possible. However, as expressed in the ICPSR article above, data should at the same time be as closed as needed. Within the EU, the mention of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) will always catch the attention of the economical responsible at any institution because data breaches can now be very severely fined. The authors share their experience with implementation of the FAIR principles with data from several cross-institutional projects. The key is to ensure that from the beginning there is agreement on following the specific guidelines, standards and formats throughout the project. The issues to agree on are, among other things, storage and sharing of data and metadata, responsibilities for updating data, and deciding which data format to use. The benefits of FAIR data usage are summarized, and the article also describes the cross-institutional projects. The authors work as a senior consultant/project manager at the Danish National Archives, senior advisor at The Royal Danish Library, and communications officer at The Royal Danish Library. The cross-institutional projects mentioned here stretch from Kierkegaard's writings to wind energy.
While this issue started by mentioning that ICPSR was founded in 1962, we end with a more recent addition to the archive world, established at Qatar University's Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) in 2017. The paper 'Data archiving for dissemination within a Gulf nation' addresses the experience of this new institution in an environment of cultural and political sensitivity. With a positive view you can regard the benefits as expanding. The start is that archive staff get experience concerning policies for data selection, restrictions, security and metadata. This generates benefits and expands to the broader group of research staff where awareness and improvements relate to issues like design, collection and documentation of studies. Furthermore, data sharing can be seen as expanding in the Middle East and North Africa region and generating a general improvement in the relevance and credibility of statistics generated in the region. Again, the FAIR principles of findable, accessible, interoperable, and re-useable are gaining momentum and being adopted by government offices and data collection agencies. In the article, the story of SESRI at Qatar University is described ahead of sections concerning data sharing culture and challenges as well as issues of staff recruitment, architecture and workflow. Many of the observations and considerations in the article will be of value to staff at both older and infant archives. The authors of the paper are the senior researcher and lead archivist at the archive of the Qatar University Brian W. Mandikiana, and Lois Timms-Ferrara and Marc Maynard – CEO and director of technology at Data Independence (Connecticut, USA).
Submissions of papers for the IASSIST Quarterly are always very welcome. We welcome input from IASSIST conferences or other conferences and workshops, from local presentations or papers especially written for the IQ. When you are preparing such a presentation, give a thought to turning your one-time presentation into a lasting contribution. Doing that after the event also gives you the opportunity of improving your work after feedback. We encourage you to login or create an author login to https://www.iassistquarterly.com (our Open Journal System application). We permit authors 'deep links' into the IQ as well as deposition of the paper in your local repository. Chairing a conference session with the purpose of aggregating and integrating papers for a special issue IQ is also much appreciated as the information reaches many more people than the limited number of session participants and will be readily available on the IASSIST Quarterly website at https://www.iassistquarterly.com. Authors are very welcome to take a look at the instructions and layout:
https://www.iassistquarterly.com/index.php/iassist/about/submissions
Authors can also contact me directly via e-mail: kbr@sam.sdu.dk. Should you be interested in compiling a special issue for the IQ as guest editor(s) I will also be delighted to hear from you.
Karsten Boye Rasmussen - September 2019

Asymmetric wars require the search for new forms and ways to achieve goals in contemporary military conflicts. One of these forms is to support the capabilities of the security and defense sector (SFA) of NATO partner countries.The official materials of the last three NATO summits, the concept, doctrine and leadership of NATO define the principles of the SFA. This article is devoted to the implementation of SFA.The article is to analysis of SFA implementation measures.In line with the Strategic Concept of the North Atlantic Alliance, NATO is focused on addressing three key challenges, such as collective defense, crisis management, and security-based co-operation, in the interests of defense and security of its members.The NATO Summit in theUKidentified anotherAllianceactivity aimed at strengthening the capabilities of the security and defense sectors of the partner countries, called Security Force Assistance (SFA).According to the NATO guidelines, the SFA refers to the ability to "train and develop national forces in crisis zones" in order to "achieve the ability of the national authorities of partner countries to effectively support security without international assistance". SFA refers to "all NATO actions that develop, improve, or directly support the development of national security and defense forces and their associated institutes." Thus, in the general context, the SFA covers all measures aimed at the development and preparation of the national security and defense sector and is carried out at the tactical, operational, strategic, military-political levels, involves providing advisory assistance from a separate platoon to the ministry. In a wider context, the SFA, though having military orientation, includes such mechanisms for preventing contemporary military conflicts as political, economic, information, legal, and others.In order to implement the SFA, the leadership of theAllianceand individual NATO member states held a series of practical measures. So, at the end of2015, inconnection withRussia's aggression againstUkraine, NATO initiated the creation of a joint multinational group for the training of units for the Armed Forces and the Joint Multinational Training Group (Ukraine).TheUnited Statesbegan the formation of six security assistance brigades (SFABs) whose primary objective was to provide training, counseling, assistance, support and support for operations with coalition forces and partner countries. According to US military experts, the SFABs will achieve the following strategic goals: development of the capabilities of the security forces and defense of the partner countries, the release of regular military brigades from their unrelated functions, provision of, if necessary, the preparation of the infrastructure of the partner countries for the Allied Rapid Reaction Force.The Italian government decided in May 2017 to organize theNATOSecurityForceExcellenceCenterand its location in the capital of the country. It is anticipated that theCenterofExcellencewill be certified and will complete its tasks at the end of 2018.At the tactical level, in line with theAlliance's standards, the following tasks are addressed within the framework of the SFA:organization and conducting of targeted instructor-methodical exercises in accordance with the norms adopted by NATO with the units of the joint and airborne assault brigades, as well as the special forces special forces;familiarization of servicemen of partner countries with new models of weapons, military equipment, means of communication and navigation, and other special equipment;determine the level of readiness of formations for combat operations, taking into account the standards adopted by theAlliance.Along with this, the issue of improving the regulatory and legislative framework, according to which the number of foreign military advisers may, if necessary, be substantially increased to several thousand persons for the entire duration of the SFA operation is relevant.Conclusions. The North Atlantic Alliance is implementing an effective concept of support and development of the capabilities of the security and defense sector and its practical implementation mechanisms that address a wide range of security and defense issues of non-NATO countries. At the same time, implementation of such a concept requires from the partner countries changes in the regulatory framework and appropriate infrastructure preparation.In the following, an analysis of the individual mechanisms for implementing the concept of supporting the security forces at operational and strategic levels will be conducted. ; Асимметричные войны требуют поиска новых форм и путей достижения целей в современных военных конфликтах. Одна из этих форм заключается в поддержке возможностей сектора безопасности и обороны (SFA) стран-партнеров НАТО.Официальные материалы последних трех саммитов НАТО, концепция, доктрина и руководство НАТО определяют принципы SFA. Эта статья посвящена реализации SFA.В соответствии со Стратегической концепцией Североатлантический Альянс сосредоточен на решении трех ключевых задач: коллективная оборона, кризисное управление и сотрудничество на основе безопасности.Саммит НАТО в Великобритании определил еще одну деятельность Североатлантического союза, направленную на укрепление потенциала секторов безопасности и обороны стран-партнеров, называемых Силами безопасности (SFA).Согласно руководящим принципам НАТО, SFA относится к способности "обучать и развивать национальные силы в кризисных зонах", чтобы "обеспечить способность национальных властей стран-партнеров эффективно поддерживать безопасность без международной помощи". К SFA относятся "все действия НАТО, которые разрабатывают, совершенствуют или напрямую поддерживают развитие сил национальной безопасности и обороны и связанных с ними институтов". Таким образом, в общем контексте SFA охватывает все меры, направленные на развитие и подготовку сектора национальной безопасности и обороны и осуществляется на тактическом, оперативном, стратегическом, военно-политическом уровнях, предполагает оказание консультативной помощи от отдельного взвода до министерства. В более широком контексте SFA, хотя и имеет военную ориентацию, включает такие механизмы предотвращения современных военных конфликтов как политические, экономические, информационные, правовые и другие.В целях реализации SFA руководство Альянса и отдельных государств-членов НАТО реализовало ряд мероприятий.Так, в конце 2015 года в связи с агрессией России против Украины было инициировано создание совместной многонациональной группы по подготовке подразделений для Вооруженных Сил Украины и Национальной гвардии Украины.В Соединенных Штатах началось формирование шести бригад по оказанию помощи в обеспечении безопасности, основная задача которых заключалась в обеспечении обучения, консультирования и поддержки операций с коалиционными силами и странами-партнерами. По мнению военных экспертов США, применение этих бригад позволит достигнуть следующих стратегических целей: обеспечить развитие возможностей сил безопасности и обороны стран-партнеров, освободить линейные боевые бригады от не свойственных им функций, обеспечить, при необходимости, подготовку инфраструктуры стран-партнеров для развертывания Сил быстрого реагирования Альянса.Итальянское правительство в мае 2017 года приняло решение организовать Центр передового опыта в сфере SFA. Предполагается, что Центр будет сертифицирован и приступит к выполнению своих задач в конце 2018 года.На тактическом уровне, в соответствии со стандартами Североатлантического союза, в рамках SFA рассматриваются следующие задачи:организация и проведение целенаправленных инструкторско-методических учений в соответствии со стандартами, принятыми НАТО с подразделениями общевойсковых и десантных бригад, а также сил специального назначения;ознакомление военнослужащих стран-партнеров с новым вооружением и военной техникой, средствами связи и навигации, другого специального оборудования;определение уровня готовности соединений к боевым действиям с учетом стандартов, принятых в Альянсе.Вместе с тем остается актуальной проблема совершенствования нормативной и законодательной базы стран-партнеров, возможности в случае необходимости существенного увеличения иностранных военных советников на весь срок проведения операции SFA.Вывод. Североатлантический альянс реализует эффективную концепцию поддержки и развития потенциала сектора безопасности и обороны и его практических механизмов реализации, которые охватывают широкий круг вопросов безопасности и обороны стран, не входящих в НАТО. В то же время реализация такой концепции требует от стран-партнеров изменений в нормативной базе и соответствующей подготовки инфраструктуры. ; Проводено аналіз концепції і заходів Північноатлантичного Альянсу, що стосується підтримки та розвитку спроможностей сил безпеки (Security Force Assistance) і оборони країн-партнерів НАТО.

La consulta íntegra de la tesi, inclosos els articles no comunicats públicament per drets d'autor, es pot realitzar prèvia petició a l'Arxiu de la UPC ; Recreational boating is certainly a sector with a significant importance and highlight potential of growth. This sector, however, is not subject to any standardization or harmonization by the European Union (EU). Thus, the rules for the registration of recreational crafts, licensing, inspections, safety equipment, investigation of maritime accidents related to recreational crafts or taxes are some of the aspects that differ from one country to another, all being members of the EU. The lack of standardization at European level related to recreational boating, such as licenses and inspections, is the main reason that led me to become interested in the subject and, therefore, address the content of this doctoral thesis now being presented. This thesis will focus exclusively on pleasure craft that means pleasure boats in a length between 2.5 and 24 meters carrying up to 12 passengers. The doctoral thesis examines in depth Spain issues pleasure craft about maritime emergencies, nautical licenses, inspections and safety equipment, rescue, fire and mandatory radio to be carried on board. The same study is carried out in 6 EU countries, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom. The study of other EU countries searching comparative target and demonstrate the lack of a European standard in relation to maritime emergencies, nautical licenses, inspections and safety, firefighting and radio communications equipment. After the comparison, it is proposed the creation of a new European directive to harmonize and to homogenize the topics covered. PhD thesis, to achieve the objectives, focuses on the following topics: Analysis of recreational boating in Spain and in countries of the European Union: The sector of recreational boating in Spain is analyzed in economic and social terms. A study of the current situation in the sector at national and European level as well as a comparison with the EU member countries is carried out. Analysis of maritime accidents in pleasure boats in Spain and in countries of the European Union: a study and analysis of maritime accidents of the recreational boating in Spain and in other EU countries is conducted with the aim of knowing the causes and origin of accidents in this sector. Analysis of inspections of recreational crafts in Spain and in countries of the European Union. Analysis of nautical licenses in Spain and in countries of the European Union: the diversity of the different licenses is analyzed in the field of recreational boating in countries of the European Union to conduct a comparative study with regard to Spain. Finally emphasize that recreational boating needs European legislation that is mandatory on all EU countries in order to harmonize specific issues affecting recreational craft. The marine accident investigation, mandatory inspections, navigation areas, compulsory safety equipment, rescue and firefighting, nautical licenses and taxation, are some of the issues on which the EU should l ; El sector de la nàutica d'esbarjo és sens dubte un sector amb una importància rellevant i amb una potencialitat de creixement a destacar. Aquest sector, però, no és objecte de cap tipus d'estandardització o harmonització per part de la Unió Europea (UE). Així, la normativa de registre o matriculació de les embarcacions d'esbarjo, titulacions, inspeccions a que s'han de sotmetre, equipament de seguretat, estudis d'accidents marítims relacionats amb embarcacions d'esbarjo o impostos són alguns dels aspectes que difereixen d'un país a un altre, essent tots membres de la UE. La manca d'homogeneïtzació i estandardització a nivell europeu dels temes relacionats amb la nàutica d'esbarjo, com ara titulacions i inspeccions, és el motiu principal que m'ha portat a interessar-me pel tema i, per tant, abordar el contingut d'aquesta tesi doctoral que ara es presenta. Aquesta tesi se centra exclusivament en les embarcacions d'esbarjo, és a dir, en les embarcacions d'esbarjo d'una eslora compresa entre 2,5 i 24 metres i que transportin un màxim de 12 passatgers. La tesi doctoral analitza en profunditat per a Espanya els temes relacionats amb les embarcacions d'esbarjo pel que fa a les emergències marítimes, les titulacions nàutiques, les inspeccions i l'equip de seguretat, salvament, contra incendis i de radiocomunicacions obligatori que han de dur a bord. Alhora es realitza el mateix estudi per a 6 països de la UE, concretament Alemanya, Bèlgica, França, Irlanda, Itàlia, Portugal i el Regne Unit. L'estudi d'altres països de la UE busca com a objectiu fer una comparativa i demostrar la falta d'un estàndard europeu en relació a les emergències marítimes, les titulacions nàutiques, inspeccions i l'equip de seguretat, salvament, contra incendis i de radiocomunicacions a les embarcacions de esbarjo. Una vegada realitzada la comparativa, es proposa la creació d'una nova Directiva europea que harmonitzi i permeti homogeneïtzar els temes abordats. La tesi doctoral, per assolir els objectius plantejats, es centra en els següents temes: Anàlisi del sector de la nàutica d'esbarjo a Espanya i en països de la Unió Europea: s'analitza en termes econòmics i socials el sector de la nàutica d'esbarjo a Espanya. Es realitza un estudi de la situació actual del sector, a nivell nacional i europeu, així com una comparativa amb països membres de la UE. Anàlisi de l'accidentalitat marítima en embarcacions d'esbarjo a Espanya i en països de la Unió Europea: Estudi i anàlisi de l'accidentalitat marítima del sector de la nàutica d'esbarjo a nivell nacional i en països de la UE, amb l'objectiu de conèixer les causes i origen de l'accidentalitat en aquest sector. Anàlisi de les inspeccions de les embarcacions d'esbarjo a Espanya i en països de la Unió Europea: S'analitzen els reconeixements i inspeccions duts a terme en embarcacions d'esbarjo a nivell nacional i en països de la UE. Anàlisi de les titulacions nàutiques a Espanya i en països de la Unió Europea: S'analitza la diversitat de les diferents titulacions en l'àmbit de la nàutica d'esbarjo a països de la Unió Europea, per realitzar un estudi comparatiu respecte a Espanya. Els requeriments per a l'obtenció del títol i, per tant, la formació del futur patró, és sens dubte un aspecte fonamental per garantir la seguretat d'aquest tipus d'embarcacions. Finalment destacar que la nàutica d'esbarjo necessita una normativa europea que sigui d'obligat compliment en tots els països de la UE que harmonitzi i serveixi d'estàndard en temes concrets que afecten les embarcacions d'esbarjo. La investigació d'accidents marítims, les inspeccions obligatòries, les zones de navegació, l'equip obligatori de seguretat, salvament i contra incendis, les titulacions nàutiques i la fiscalitat, són alguns dels temes en què la UE hauria de legislar per unificar criteris. ; Postprint (published version)

La consulta íntegra de la tesi, inclosos els articles no comunicats públicament per drets d'autor, es pot realitzar prèvia petició a l'Arxiu de la UPC ; Recreational boating is certainly a sector with a significant importance and highlight potential of growth. This sector, however, is not subject to any standardization or harmonization by the European Union (EU). Thus, the rules for the registration of recreational crafts, licensing, inspections, safety equipment, investigation of maritime accidents related to recreational crafts or taxes are some of the aspects that differ from one country to another, all being members of the EU. The lack of standardization at European level related to recreational boating, such as licenses and inspections, is the main reason that led me to become interested in the subject and, therefore, address the content of this doctoral thesis now being presented. This thesis will focus exclusively on pleasure craft that means pleasure boats in a length between 2.5 and 24 meters carrying up to 12 passengers. The doctoral thesis examines in depth Spain issues pleasure craft about maritime emergencies, nautical licenses, inspections and safety equipment, rescue, fire and mandatory radio to be carried on board. The same study is carried out in 6 EU countries, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom. The study of other EU countries searching comparative target and demonstrate the lack of a European standard in relation to maritime emergencies, nautical licenses, inspections and safety, firefighting and radio communications equipment. After the comparison, it is proposed the creation of a new European directive to harmonize and to homogenize the topics covered. PhD thesis, to achieve the objectives, focuses on the following topics: Analysis of recreational boating in Spain and in countries of the European Union: The sector of recreational boating in Spain is analyzed in economic and social terms. A study of the current situation in the sector at national and European level as well as a comparison with the EU member countries is carried out. Analysis of maritime accidents in pleasure boats in Spain and in countries of the European Union: a study and analysis of maritime accidents of the recreational boating in Spain and in other EU countries is conducted with the aim of knowing the causes and origin of accidents in this sector. Analysis of inspections of recreational crafts in Spain and in countries of the European Union. Analysis of nautical licenses in Spain and in countries of the European Union: the diversity of the different licenses is analyzed in the field of recreational boating in countries of the European Union to conduct a comparative study with regard to Spain. Finally emphasize that recreational boating needs European legislation that is mandatory on all EU countries in order to harmonize specific issues affecting recreational craft. The marine accident investigation, mandatory inspections, navigation areas, compulsory safety equipment, rescue and firefighting, nautical licenses and taxation, are some of the issues on which the EU should l ; El sector de la nàutica d'esbarjo és sens dubte un sector amb una importància rellevant i amb una potencialitat de creixement a destacar. Aquest sector, però, no és objecte de cap tipus d'estandardització o harmonització per part de la Unió Europea (UE). Així, la normativa de registre o matriculació de les embarcacions d'esbarjo, titulacions, inspeccions a que s'han de sotmetre, equipament de seguretat, estudis d'accidents marítims relacionats amb embarcacions d'esbarjo o impostos són alguns dels aspectes que difereixen d'un país a un altre, essent tots membres de la UE. La manca d'homogeneïtzació i estandardització a nivell europeu dels temes relacionats amb la nàutica d'esbarjo, com ara titulacions i inspeccions, és el motiu principal que m'ha portat a interessar-me pel tema i, per tant, abordar el contingut d'aquesta tesi doctoral que ara es presenta. Aquesta tesi se centra exclusivament en les embarcacions d'esbarjo, és a dir, en les embarcacions d'esbarjo d'una eslora compresa entre 2,5 i 24 metres i que transportin un màxim de 12 passatgers. La tesi doctoral analitza en profunditat per a Espanya els temes relacionats amb les embarcacions d'esbarjo pel que fa a les emergències marítimes, les titulacions nàutiques, les inspeccions i l'equip de seguretat, salvament, contra incendis i de radiocomunicacions obligatori que han de dur a bord. Alhora es realitza el mateix estudi per a 6 països de la UE, concretament Alemanya, Bèlgica, França, Irlanda, Itàlia, Portugal i el Regne Unit. L'estudi d'altres països de la UE busca com a objectiu fer una comparativa i demostrar la falta d'un estàndard europeu en relació a les emergències marítimes, les titulacions nàutiques, inspeccions i l'equip de seguretat, salvament, contra incendis i de radiocomunicacions a les embarcacions de esbarjo. Una vegada realitzada la comparativa, es proposa la creació d'una nova Directiva europea que harmonitzi i permeti homogeneïtzar els temes abordats. La tesi doctoral, per assolir els objectius plantejats, es centra en els següents temes: Anàlisi del sector de la nàutica d'esbarjo a Espanya i en països de la Unió Europea: s'analitza en termes econòmics i socials el sector de la nàutica d'esbarjo a Espanya. Es realitza un estudi de la situació actual del sector, a nivell nacional i europeu, així com una comparativa amb països membres de la UE. Anàlisi de l'accidentalitat marítima en embarcacions d'esbarjo a Espanya i en països de la Unió Europea: Estudi i anàlisi de l'accidentalitat marítima del sector de la nàutica d'esbarjo a nivell nacional i en països de la UE, amb l'objectiu de conèixer les causes i origen de l'accidentalitat en aquest sector. Anàlisi de les inspeccions de les embarcacions d'esbarjo a Espanya i en països de la Unió Europea: S'analitzen els reconeixements i inspeccions duts a terme en embarcacions d'esbarjo a nivell nacional i en països de la UE. Anàlisi de les titulacions nàutiques a Espanya i en països de la Unió Europea: S'analitza la diversitat de les diferents titulacions en l'àmbit de la nàutica d'esbarjo a països de la Unió Europea, per realitzar un estudi comparatiu respecte a Espanya. Els requeriments per a l'obtenció del títol i, per tant, la formació del futur patró, és sens dubte un aspecte fonamental per garantir la seguretat d'aquest tipus d'embarcacions. Finalment destacar que la nàutica d'esbarjo necessita una normativa europea que sigui d'obligat compliment en tots els països de la UE que harmonitzi i serveixi d'estàndard en temes concrets que afecten les embarcacions d'esbarjo. La investigació d'accidents marítims, les inspeccions obligatòries, les zones de navegació, l'equip obligatori de seguretat, salvament i contra incendis, les titulacions nàutiques i la fiscalitat, són alguns dels temes en què la UE hauria de legislar per unificar criteris. ; Postprint (published version)

Este trabajo presenta los resultados de un proyecto de investigación titulado "La integración de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC) en la Comunidad Universitaria de la Sede del Atlántico de la Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) en convenio con el Instituto Superior Politécnico José Antonio Echeverría (ISPJAE-CUJAE)-Cuba", cuyo objetivo consiste en capacitar en el uso de las TIC a las poblaciones que integran la comunidad universitaria de la Sede del Atlántico, mediante una propuesta acorde con sus intereses y necesidades, que les permita a las personas desarrollarse en este ámbito, en el marco del convenio de cooperación internacional existente entre la UCR y el ISPJAE. La población en estudio en primera opción fue la Comunidad Universitaria de la Sede del Atlántico (personal docente, administrativo y estudiantil) y otras Unidades Académicas de la UCR que desearon participar e integrarse a los procesos de capacitación nacional e internacional. El impacto principal radicó en la adquisición de nuevos conocimientos para las personas participantes, por medio de la implementación de un programa de capacitación continua en el uso e integración de las TIC como apoyo y mediador en procesos pedagógicos y en la práctica diaria, sustituyendo así las metodologías de trabajo que tradicionalmente utilizaron en su gestión, provoca que el quehacer universitario experimente un giro en eficiencia y agilización de los diferentes procesos que se llevan a cabo en la institución. Además incentiva a los y las participantes a utilizar efectivamente las herramientas tecnológicas en sus funciones diarias. La investigación llevada a cabo fue de tipo cualitativa, pues buscaba explicar, comprender y capacitar la población meta en el uso e integración de las TIC en su quehacer universitario. Los datos primarios fueron recolectados a través de la aplicación de entrevistas y cuestionarios con preguntas semi-cerradas y abiertas enfocadas en el tema objeto de estudio y que permitieron conocer el nivel de aprovechamiento y satisfacción por parte de la población participante. La información secundaria se obtuvo a través de la recopilación de textos existentes, navegación en Internet y otras fuentes documentales relacionadas. El programa de capacitación consistió en la actualización de conocimientos en temáticas sumamente importantes con respecto a las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) en los procesos educativos; además, de promover un diálogo y comunicación con las diferentes masas, la cual incluye el intercambio de conocimientos, información, asuntos de interés común, intercambio de puntos de vista sobre diversas temáticas; políticas, religiosos, económicas, socio-ambientales, profesionales, entre otras. En conclusión, las jornadas de capacitación continua desarrolladas en el marco de la cooperación académica e investigación a nivel nacional e internacional entre la UCR y el ISPJAE le permitió a la población participante capacitarse en el área de las TIC y en diferentes temáticas afines a su formación, a saber: utilización de fuente de información, mejorar el canal de comunicación interpersonal y para el trabajo colaborativo, para el intercambio de información e ideas, les permitió desarrollar recursos interactivos para el aprendizaje, desarrollo de materiales didácticos, reforzó su desarrollo psicomotor y cognitivo. Se recomienda a las instituciones de educación superior en general, continuar con el desarrollo de programas de capacitación que le permitan al profesorado desarrollar competencias tecnológicas, debido a que el beneficio obtenido por la comunidad universitaria se traduce primeramente en un valor agregado del conocimiento en el uso e integración de las TIC para su desarrollo personal, profesional, académico y pedagógico, lo cual incide directamente en la posibilidad de articular ese conocimiento adquirido en sus prácticas diarias, para potenciar su quehacer universitario a través de nuevas herramientas tecnológicas. ; This paper presents the results of an investigation project called "Integration of Information and Communication Technology (CIT) at the University Community of the Atlantic branch of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) in agreement with the Superior Polytechnic Institute José Antonio Echeverría (ISPJAE-CUJAE)-Cuba," with the purpose of training cities that are part of the university community of the Atlantic branch in the use of ICT through a proposal based on their interests and needs that will allow people to develop in this environment within the frame of the international cooperation agreement between the UCR and the ISPJAE. The first option for the population of study was the university community of the Atlantic branch (faculty, administration and students) and other Academic Units of the UCR that wanted to participate and to integrate to the national and international training processes. The main impact was the acquisition of new knowledge for the people participating through the implementation of a continuous training program in the use and integration of ICT as support and mediator in pedagogical processes and in the daily practice, substituting the work methodologies which were traditionally used. This changes the university tasks in regards to efficiency and improvement of the different processes developed in the institution. It also motivates participants to use technological tools efficiently in their daily responsibilities. The investigation developed was qualitative because it wanted to explain, understand and train the target population in the used and integration of the ICT in their university performance. Primary data were collected through interviews and questionnaires with semi-closed and open questions focused on the topic of study which allowed to know the level of use and satisfaction on behalf of the participating population. Secondary information was obtained through the collection of existing texts, Internet navigation and other documentary sources related. The training program consisted of updating knowledge in highly important topics with regard to information technology and communication (ICT) in education; it also fosters dialogue and communication with different masses, which includes the exchange of knowledge, information, common issues, exchange views on various topics; political, religious, economic, socio-environmental, professional, among others. In conclusion, continuous training shifts developed within the frame of national and international academic and investigation cooperation between UCR and ISPJAE allowed the participating population to be trained in the ICT and in different topics related to their formation, such as: use of sources of information, improve the interpersonal communication channel and for collaborative work, exchange of information and ideas. This facilitated the development of interactive resources for learning, development of teaching materials, and the reinforcement of the psychomotor and cognitive development. It is recommended That Higher Education Institutions, in general continue with the development of training programs that allow teachers to develop technological skills, because the benefit obtained by the university community is mainly translated in an added value to the knowledge in the use and integration of the ICT staff for their, professional, academic and pedagogical development. This influences directly in the possibility of articulating the knowledge acquired in the daily practice to maximize performance through university their new technological tools. ; Facultad de Informática

[ANGLÈS] At the present time, user activities on Internet are permanently monitored, and the information obtained from this process is pretty useful for big advertising companies and especially for governments. The user information that external agents collect could be: search queries, clicks, text from visited web sites and even the time that users spend on browsing some sites. These data are processed in order to build user profiles that are later used to customize services. Additionally, this large amount of data susceptible of being collected (by personalized information systems) represents a serious risk for the users' privacy on Internet. Perhaps, even more critical is the fact that many users are not aware of this risk, since it is not as evident as it is in the physical world. The risk gets worse when a few companies are capable of collecting much of the user data because their services are so popular to the point where they become vital for users interaction with the Internet, as is the case with search engines. Even when users do not reveal strictly personal information such as addresses, locations or names, current technology allows to infer much of this information from each user interaction with Internet. We present in this work a first effort towards the development of an extension for the Firefox web browser that estimates the privacy risk of the privacy of a user who, due to its navigation habits, is exposed to profiling mechanisms on Internet. The risk level is shown in a comprehensible and accessible fashion in the browser graphical interface and is calculated based on different adversary models. The privacy measuring mechanism that we integrate in the browser uses metrics that were appropriately justified and that rely on information theoretic concepts. For ease of use, this tool, that we called PrivMeter, provides a privacy informative bar that is directly integrated in the browser's main graphical interface, and therefore it is permanently visible while the web browser is used. Furthermore, by means of windows PrivMeter displays more detailed information about the privacy levels of the user, both individually considered and also comparing it with other population privacy data. ; [CASTELLÀ] Actualmente, la monitorización de los usuarios en Internet es permanente, y la información obtenida en este proceso es de enorme interés para grandes compañías de publicidad y especialmente para gobiernos. Entre la información de usuario que agentes externos recopilan está fundamentalmente: las consultas de búsqueda, los clics, la información de páginas visitadas y hasta el tiempo de visita de sitios web. Estos datos son procesados con el fin de obtener perfiles de usuario en base a los cuales ahora una gran cantidad de sistemas web personalizan los servicios que ofrecen. Además, la gran cantidad de datos susceptibles de recopilarse por los sistemas de información personalizados representa un grave riesgo para la privacidad del usuario en Internet. Quizá aún más crítico es que muchos usuarios no son conscientes de este riesgo, ya que éste no es tan manifiesto como en el mundo físico. Este riesgo se agrava cuando pocas empresas pueden concentrar gran parte de los datos de usuario ya que sus servicios son muy populares y llegan a ser imprescindibles para la interacción con Internet, como es el caso de los motores de búsqueda. Aunque los usuarios no revelaran información estrictamente personal, como direcciones, ubicaciones o nombres, la tecnología actual permite inferir gran parte de esa información a partir de cada interacción del usuario con Internet. En este trabajo presentamos una aproximación para el desarrollo de una extensión del navegador Firefox que estima el riesgo de privacidad del perfil de un usuario, quien, por sus hábitos de navegación, está expuesto a mecanismos de profiling en Internet. El nivel de riesgo se muestra, de manera comprensible y accesible en la interfaz gráfica del navegador y se calcula tomando en cuenta diferentes modelos de adversario. El mecanismo de medición de privacidad que integramos en el navegador utiliza métricas adecuadamente justificadas y basadas en conceptos de teoría de la información. Para facilidad de uso, esta herramienta dispone de una barra informativa de privacidad directamente integrada en el navegador, y por lo tanto es permanentemente visible mientras el navegador es utilizado. Adicionalmente mediante ventanas se despliega información más detallada respecto de los niveles de privacidad del usuario, tanto individualmente como en comparación con otros modelos de perfiles de población. ; [CATALÀ] Actualment, la monitorització dels usuaris a Internet és permanent, i la informació obtinguda en aquest procés és d'enorme interès per a grans companyies de publicitat i especialment per governs. Entre la informació d'usuari que agents externs recopilen està fonamentalment: les consultes de cerca, els clics, la informació de pàgines visitades i fins el temps de visita de llocs web. Aquestes dades són processades amb la finalitat d'obtenir perfils d'usuari en base als quals ara una gran quantitat de sistemes web personalitzen els serveis que ofereixen. A més, la gran quantitat de dades susceptibles de recopilar pels sistemes d'informació personalitzats representa un greu risc per a la privacitat de l'usuari a Internet. Potser encara més crític és que molts usuaris no són conscients d'aquest risc, ja que aquest no és tan manifest com en el món físic. Aquest risc s'agreuja quan poques empreses poden concentrar gran part de les dades d'usuari ja que els seus serveis són molt populars i arriben a ser imprescindibles per a la interacció amb Internet, com és el cas dels motors de cerca. Tot i que els usuaris no revelessin informació estrictament personal, com adreces, ubicacions o noms, la tecnologia actual permet inferir gran part d'aquesta informació a partir de cada interacció de l'usuari amb Internet. En aquest treball presentem una aproximació per al desenvolupament d'una extensió del navegador Firefox que estima el risc de privacitat del perfil d'una persona, que, pels seus hàbits de navegació, està exposat a mecanismes de profiling a Internet. El nivell de risc es mostra, de manera entenedora i accessible a la interfície gràfica del navegador i es calcula tenint en compte diferents models d'adversari. El mecanisme de mesurament de privacitat que integrem al navegador utilitza mètriques adequadament justificades i basades en conceptes de teoria de la informació. Per facilitat d'ús, aquesta eina disposa d'una barra informativa de privacitat directament integrada en el navegador, i per tant és permanentment visible mentre el navegador és utilitzat. Addicionalment mitjançant finestres es desplega informació més detallada respecte dels nivells de privacitat de l'usuari, tant individualment com en comparació amb altres models de perfils de població.

[ANGLÈS] At the present time, user activities on Internet are permanently monitored, and the information obtained from this process is pretty useful for big advertising companies and especially for governments. The user information that external agents collect could be: search queries, clicks, text from visited web sites and even the time that users spend on browsing some sites. These data are processed in order to build user profiles that are later used to customize services. Additionally, this large amount of data susceptible of being collected (by personalized information systems) represents a serious risk for the users' privacy on Internet. Perhaps, even more critical is the fact that many users are not aware of this risk, since it is not as evident as it is in the physical world. The risk gets worse when a few companies are capable of collecting much of the user data because their services are so popular to the point where they become vital for users interaction with the Internet, as is the case with search engines. Even when users do not reveal strictly personal information such as addresses, locations or names, current technology allows to infer much of this information from each user interaction with Internet. We present in this work a first effort towards the development of an extension for the Firefox web browser that estimates the privacy risk of the privacy of a user who, due to its navigation habits, is exposed to profiling mechanisms on Internet. The risk level is shown in a comprehensible and accessible fashion in the browser graphical interface and is calculated based on different adversary models. The privacy measuring mechanism that we integrate in the browser uses metrics that were appropriately justified and that rely on information theoretic concepts. For ease of use, this tool, that we called PrivMeter, provides a privacy informative bar that is directly integrated in the browser's main graphical interface, and therefore it is permanently visible while the web browser is used. Furthermore, by means of windows PrivMeter displays more detailed information about the privacy levels of the user, both individually considered and also comparing it with other population privacy data. ; [CASTELLÀ] Actualmente, la monitorización de los usuarios en Internet es permanente, y la información obtenida en este proceso es de enorme interés para grandes compañías de publicidad y especialmente para gobiernos. Entre la información de usuario que agentes externos recopilan está fundamentalmente: las consultas de búsqueda, los clics, la información de páginas visitadas y hasta el tiempo de visita de sitios web. Estos datos son procesados con el fin de obtener perfiles de usuario en base a los cuales ahora una gran cantidad de sistemas web personalizan los servicios que ofrecen. Además, la gran cantidad de datos susceptibles de recopilarse por los sistemas de información personalizados representa un grave riesgo para la privacidad del usuario en Internet. Quizá aún más crítico es que muchos usuarios no son conscientes de este riesgo, ya que éste no es tan manifiesto como en el mundo físico. Este riesgo se agrava cuando pocas empresas pueden concentrar gran parte de los datos de usuario ya que sus servicios son muy populares y llegan a ser imprescindibles para la interacción con Internet, como es el caso de los motores de búsqueda. Aunque los usuarios no revelaran información estrictamente personal, como direcciones, ubicaciones o nombres, la tecnología actual permite inferir gran parte de esa información a partir de cada interacción del usuario con Internet. En este trabajo presentamos una aproximación para el desarrollo de una extensión del navegador Firefox que estima el riesgo de privacidad del perfil de un usuario, quien, por sus hábitos de navegación, está expuesto a mecanismos de profiling en Internet. El nivel de riesgo se muestra, de manera comprensible y accesible en la interfaz gráfica del navegador y se calcula tomando en cuenta diferentes modelos de adversario. El mecanismo de medición de privacidad que integramos en el navegador utiliza métricas adecuadamente justificadas y basadas en conceptos de teoría de la información. Para facilidad de uso, esta herramienta dispone de una barra informativa de privacidad directamente integrada en el navegador, y por lo tanto es permanentemente visible mientras el navegador es utilizado. Adicionalmente mediante ventanas se despliega información más detallada respecto de los niveles de privacidad del usuario, tanto individualmente como en comparación con otros modelos de perfiles de población. ; [CATALÀ] Actualment, la monitorització dels usuaris a Internet és permanent, i la informació obtinguda en aquest procés és d'enorme interès per a grans companyies de publicitat i especialment per governs. Entre la informació d'usuari que agents externs recopilen està fonamentalment: les consultes de cerca, els clics, la informació de pàgines visitades i fins el temps de visita de llocs web. Aquestes dades són processades amb la finalitat d'obtenir perfils d'usuari en base als quals ara una gran quantitat de sistemes web personalitzen els serveis que ofereixen. A més, la gran quantitat de dades susceptibles de recopilar pels sistemes d'informació personalitzats representa un greu risc per a la privacitat de l'usuari a Internet. Potser encara més crític és que molts usuaris no són conscients d'aquest risc, ja que aquest no és tan manifest com en el món físic. Aquest risc s'agreuja quan poques empreses poden concentrar gran part de les dades d'usuari ja que els seus serveis són molt populars i arriben a ser imprescindibles per a la interacció amb Internet, com és el cas dels motors de cerca. Tot i que els usuaris no revelessin informació estrictament personal, com adreces, ubicacions o noms, la tecnologia actual permet inferir gran part d'aquesta informació a partir de cada interacció de l'usuari amb Internet. En aquest treball presentem una aproximació per al desenvolupament d'una extensió del navegador Firefox que estima el risc de privacitat del perfil d'una persona, que, pels seus hàbits de navegació, està exposat a mecanismes de profiling a Internet. El nivell de risc es mostra, de manera entenedora i accessible a la interfície gràfica del navegador i es calcula tenint en compte diferents models d'adversari. El mecanisme de mesurament de privacitat que integrem al navegador utilitza mètriques adequadament justificades i basades en conceptes de teoria de la informació. Per facilitat d'ús, aquesta eina disposa d'una barra informativa de privacitat directament integrada en el navegador, i per tant és permanentment visible mentre el navegador és utilitzat. Addicionalment mitjançant finestres es desplega informació més detallada respecte dels nivells de privacitat de l'usuari, tant individualment com en comparació amb altres models de perfils de població.

Inhaltsangabe:Einleitung: Das dem Internet in den letzten Jahren eine hohe Aufmerksamkeit in wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten zukam und entsprechend viele Publikationen zu diesem Thema erschienen sind, ist nicht unbegründet, auch wenn sich manche Euphorie wieder in Luft aufgelöst hat. Kein anderes 'Medium' hat sich derart rasch verbreitet und unterliegt in seinen Strukturen und Kommunikationsformen so raschen Entwicklungen. Die Auswirkungen auf Unternehmen, Organisationen und auch die Politik waren enorm. Für die Politik ist die Entwicklung des Internets in einer Mediengesellschaft, in welcher öffentlich ist, was in den Medien steht, nicht folgenlos geblieben. Das Internet hat sich mittlerweile als fixer Bestandteil der politischen Öffentlichkeitsarbeit etabliert. Für den Einsatz des Internets in der Öffentlichkeitsarbeit sowie für die Funktionen und die Gestaltung von Websites und Online-Kampagnen haben sich indessen eine Menge qualitätssichernder Regeln etabliert, die in der Planung der Kommunikation in diesem modernen Medium nicht unbeachtet bleiben dürfen. Zum Kommunikationspotential des Internets gehören Interaktivität, Hypertextualität, Multimedialität – die Verknüpfung von Text, Bild und Ton sowie die schnelle Übermittlung großer Informationsmengen über große räumliche Distanzen. Die technischen Möglichkeiten der Kommunikation eröffnen der politischen Kommunikation neue Vorteile und Herausforderungen. Der zentrale Vorteil liegt in der unverzerrten Kommunikation, die nicht der Selektion der klassischen Medien unterliegt. Während die Medienakteure Themen ignorieren oder durch gezielte Berichterstattung bewusst auf die öffentliche Agenda setzen, kann sich das virtuelle Informationsangebot der Transformations- sowie Selektionsmacht traditioneller Gate-Keeper entziehen. Die politische Information erreicht den Empfänger direkt. Die Möglichkeiten, mehr Informationen anzubieten, als dies in der übrigen medialen Berichterstattung möglich ist, sollten genutzt werden. Das Fehlen traditioneller Gate-Keeper stellt neue Herausforderungen an die Leiter von Online-Kampagnen und Gestalter von Webauftritten. Eine genaue Kenntnis der Strukturen des Internets, der Kommunikationsmöglichkeiten sowie eine korrekte und schlüssige Informationspolitik ist unumgänglich. Die Regeln seriöser Online-PR sollten weitgehend beachtet werden. Die Websites der politischen Parteien haben bereits einige Evolutionssprünge hinter sich und die Tendenz geht hin zur Professionalisierung des Internetauftritts. Die Frage nach dem Ob ist zur Frage nach dem Wie geworden. Aus den ersten teilweise übereilten und inhaltlich sowie formal wenig reflektierten Websites, wurden bereits einige Lehren gezogen. So kam es in den letzten Jahren vor allem zu einer Professionalisierung im Bereich der Gestaltung der Websites und es wird zunehmend von Bedeutung, dass die zu vermittelnden Inhalte in einer für das Web geeigneten Form aufbereitet werden. Onlinemaßnahmen als bloßes Kommunikationsanhängsel zu betrachten, ist in Zukunft zu wenig, genauso wie das reine Übertragen von Offline-Inhalten in das Web. Neben den ständig bestehenden Websites der Parteien und der Politiker kommen in Wahlkämpfen meist zusätzliche Websites die speziell für den Wahlkampf geschaffen werden, hinzu, oder die bestehenden Sites werden für die Zeit des Wahlkampfes adaptiert. Diese Arbeit möchte sich der Frage widmen, was man von modernen politischen Online-Kampagnen im Wahlkampf erwarten kann. Das Potential des Internets im Wahlkampf basiert auf den technischen Möglichkeiten zur Kommunikation, auf den daraus entstehenden spezifischen Kommunikationsmodi sowie auf dem tatsächlichen politischen Nutzerpotential (Struktur der Internet-Nutzer sowie Nutzung politischer Angebote), welche zu Beginn der vorliegenden Arbeit in Kapitel 2 des theoretischen Teils skizziert werden. Die Herausforderungen an die PR sowie an die politische Kommunikation, werden in den Kapiteln 'Online PR' und 'politische Kommunikation' beleuchtet. In Kapitel 5 des theoretischen Teils werden die Besonderheiten politischer PR im Internet sowie von Wahlkämpfen im Internet herausgearbeitet. Schließlich gibt die vorliegende Arbeit einen Überblick über den der Untersuchung als Beispiel für politische PR im Internet zu Grunde liegenden Bundespräsidentschaftswahlkampf 2004. Aus den Ergebnissen der empirischen Untersuchung sollen sich Rückschlüsse über den derzeitigen Stand der Professionalisierung im Bereich von politischen Online-Kampagnen ziehen lassen sowie darüber, wo weitere Verbesserungen von Nöten wären. Obwohl die Nutzung des Internets nicht mehr so sprunghaft ansteigt wie in den letzten Jahren, ist dennoch weiterhin mit einer Zunahme der Nutzung und damit mit einem steigenden Interesse an politischen Informationen zu rechnen, wodurch die Bedeutung von wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten in diesem Bereich ebenfalls weiterhin gegeben sein wird. Die punktuellen empirischen Untersuchungen könnten in Zukunft die Darstellung eines Verlaufs in der Entwicklung der politischen Online-PR ermöglichen.Inhaltsverzeichnis:Inhaltsverzeichnis: 1.EINLEITUNG6 2.INTERNET9 2.1GESCHICHTE UND TENDENZEN9 2.2STRUKTUR UND DIENSTE10 2.3SERVER, CLIENT10 2.3.1World Wide Web11 2.3.2E-Mail12 2.3.3Newsgroups12 2.3.4Streaming Media13 2.4ONLINE KOMMUNIKATION14 2.4.1Kommunikationsformen im Internet17 2.5INTERNETNUTZUNG21 3.ONLINE-PR27 3.1MERKMALE VON ONLINE-PR33 3.2KONTROLLE VON ONLINE-PR39 4.POLITISCHE KOMMUNIKATION41 4.1POLITISCHE PR ZWISCHEN MEDIEN UND POLITIK41 4.2PROFESSIONALISIERUNG POLITISCHER PR43 4.3WAHLKÄMPFE IN DER MODERNEN MEDIENGESELLSCHAFT45 4.3.1Moderner Wahlkampf46 4.3.2Themenmanagement49 4.3.3Personalisierung53 5.POLITISCHE PR IM INTERNET55 5.1BEDEUTUNG DES INTERNET FÜR POLITISCHE AKTEURE55 5.2BEDEUTUNG FÜR DIE BEVÖLKERUNG56 5.3WAHLKAMPF IM INTERNET58 5.3.1Geschichte58 5.3.2Möglichkeiten von Online-Kampagnen in Wahlkämpfen60 5.3.3Einschränkungen von Online-Kampagnen in Wahlkämpfen64 5.3.4Durchführung von Online-Kampagnen in Wahlkämpfen66 5.3.4.1Aufbau von Sympathisanten-Netzwerken68 5.3.4.2Rekrutierung und Mobilisierung von Freiwilligen69 5.3.4.3Online Negative Campaigning69 5.3.4.4Online Medienarbeit70 5.3.4.5Politische Sachinformation vs. politisches Infotainment70 5.3.4.6Weblogs71 5.3.5Gestaltung und Inhalte von Online-Auftritten73 6.BUNDESPRÄSIDENTSCHAFTSWAHLKAMPF 200477 6.1DER ÖSTERREICHISCHE BUNDESPRÄSIDENT77 6.2WAHLKAMPFVERLAUF78 6.3THEMEN ERGEBNISSE DER WAHL79 7.EMPIRISCHER TEIL81 7.1FORSCHUNGSFRAGEN81 7.2WEBSITE-ANALYSE82 7.3UNTERSUCHUNGSDESIGN86 7.3.1Funktionale Analyse87 7.3.2Formale Analyse87 7.3.3Inhaltliche Analyse88 7.4UNTERSUCHUNGSGEGENSTAND UND ZEITRAUM88 7.5ERGEBNISSE DER DATENERHEBUNG90 7.5.1Ergebnisse der funktionalen Analyse91 7.5.1.1Information93 7.5.1.2Mobilisation96 7.5.1.3Partizipation98 7.5.1.4Funktionale Elemente im Vergleich100 7.5.2Ergebnisse der formalen Analyse102 7.5.3Ergebnisse der inhaltlichen Analyse107 7.5.3.1Themen109 7.5.3.2Darstellung und Stilform115 7.5.3.3Negative Darstellung des politischen Gegners116 7.5.3.4Vernetzung117 7.6BESPRECHUNG DER FORSCHUNGSFRAGEN117 8.SCHLUSSBETRACHTUNG UND AUSBLICK121 9.LITERATUR124 10.ANHANG129Textprobe:Textprobe: Kapitel 5.3.2, Möglichkeiten von Online-Kampagnen in Wahlkämpfen: Die genannten Vorteile des Internets, dessen Struktur und die Vielfalt der möglichen Kommunikationsmodi sowie die daraus resultierenden Optionen für die Online PR können in Online-Kampagnen angewandt werden und bieten neue Möglichkeiten der politischen Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und der Kommunikation in Wahlkämpfen. Das Internet bietet den entscheidenden Vorteil für politische Akteure, dass sie ihre politischen Botschaften in ungefilterter Form (unvermittelt bzw. ohne Gatekeeper) an die Bürgerinnen und Bürger mitteilen können. Die üblichen Selektionsmechanismen der Medien werden umgangen und es kann eine beliebige Fülle und Tiefe von Information angeboten werden. 'Das Internet bietet einen breiten, vielschichtigen Kommunikationsfluss zwischen aktiven und aufmerksamen Bürgern. Dabei werden Gatekeeper umgangen, es gibt einen freien, nicht über die traditionellen Massemedien vermittelten Fluss von Information. Das virtuelle Informationsangebot wird nicht nur aus seiner raum-zeitlichen Verankerung gerissen, sondern auch der Transformations- sowie Selektionsmacht traditioneller Gatekeeper entzogen'. Folglich können Parteien und politische Akteure im Internet Informationen unverzerrt darstellen und sich in der von ihnen gewünschten Form präsentieren. Die politischen Informationen können in allen erdenklichen Formaten angeboten und dargestellt werden, ob Text oder multimedial, der Einsatz von interaktiven Möglichkeiten bietet die ideale Grundlage um Nutzer anzuziehen und für das Angebot zu interessieren. Gleichzeitig besteht die Möglichkeit, der Personalisierung und Inhaltslosigkeit in anderen Medien entgegenzuwirken. Abgesehen vom personellen Aufwand ist das Bereitstellen der Informationen vergleichsweise günstig. Die Nutzer haben die Möglichkeit, auf ihre Bedürfnisse zugeschnittene Informationen von den Parteien abzurufen und gegebenenfalls selbst Stellungnahmen oder Anfragen an die Parteien zu richten. Auch Brunner nennt ähnliche Möglichkeiten und Vorteile des Wahlkampfs im Internet: 'Die Vorteile von Internet und E-Mail für die Wahlkampfführung liegen auf der Hand. Die Online-Kommunikaton ist preiswert, schnell, ungefiltert und durch ihre Kombination aus Text, Video und Audio sowie durch ihren interaktiven Charakter intensiv und potentiell wirkungsvoll'. Die Möglichkeit zur unbegrenzten Fülle an Information im Internet stellt die Nutzer vor die Herausforderung die für sie wichtigen Themen eigenständig zu selektieren. Um einen 'information overflow' zu vermeiden, müssen diese Informationen so strukturiert sein, dass die Nutzer leicht selbst entscheiden können, wie viel und welche Informationen sie haben wollen. 'Während der freie Internetzugang ohne Filter und Kontrollen neue Räume politischer Kommunikation schafft, scheint der ungefilterte, nicht selektierte und nicht kommentierte informations overflow das zentrale Problem des Internets zu sein. Da die Nutzer aktiv nach Informationen suchen müssen, ist der Einfluss der politischen Kommunikation im Internet in hohem Maße vom Verhalten – von den Motiven und Handlungen – des Nutzers im Rahmen des bestehenden information overflow abhängig'. Neben einer übersichtlichen Navigation, gibt es eine Reihe von interessanten Möglichkeiten, Informationen übersichtlich zu gestalten. Über die Möglichkeit 'Frequently asked questions' abzurufen, können beispielsweise die wichtigsten Informationen zusammengefasst werden. Über Links können Zusatzinformationen zu Themen angeboten werden. Hier sollten die Möglichkeiten der Hypertextualität ausgenutzt werden. Strohmeier merkt an: 'Grundsätzlich bietet das Internet die Möglichkeit, die Quantität und die Qualität der politischen Kommunikation zu verbessern.' Auf die Vor- und Nachteile der Quantität von Informationen wurde oben bereits eingegangen. Die Qualität sollte von eigenen Internet-Redaktionen, die Informationen entsprechend aufbereiten und auf Qualität überprüfen, gewährleistet werden. Dabei ist festzuhalten, dass letztlich jeweils nur der Nutzer individuell über die Qualität und Authentizität entscheiden kann und muss. Die Überprüfung der Sachlichkeit von Informationen und deren Bewertung bleibt dem Nutzer überlassen. Er hat prinzipiell die Möglichkeit, sich alle politischen Angebote zum Vergleich heranzuziehen und sich ein kritisches Urteil zu bilden, dies erfordert aber ein hohes Maß an Eigeninitiative und Medienkompetenz. Sarcinelli fasst die Vorteile von politischer Kommunikation und Wahlkampagnen im Internet, aber auch die Ansprüche an den Nutzer ebenfalls treffend zusammen: 'Insbesondere könne die Darstellungsmacht journalistischer Gatekeeper, deren Transformations-, Selektions-, aber auch Bewertungsleistungen, umgangen werden. Umso mehr kommt es jedoch auf die Medienkompetenz der Nutzer an, mit dem ,information overflow' umzugehen und Internetbotschaften richtig einzuordnen'. Die Möglichkeiten des Internets zu mehr Partizipation der Bürgerinnen und Bürger am politischen Prozess wurde ebenfalls häufig diskutiert. Fehlende Parteimitglieder und mangelnde politische Beteiligung, könnten durch die Digitalisierung der Öffentlichkeit ausgeglichen werden und zu mehr Partizipation führen. Gerade aber in Wahlkämpfen zeigt sich, dass es weniger darum geht, tatsächlich in einen kritischen Diskurs mit den Wählerinnen und Wähler zu treten, als vielmehr um die reine Darstellung der eigenen politischen Standpunkte. Darauf wird im folgenden Kapitel näher eingegangen. Zusammenfassend ist zu sagen, dass das Internet den Parteien als Kommunikationsmedium vor allem im Wahlkampf vorteilhafte praktische Einsatzmöglichkeiten gegenüber den tradierten Formaten wie Plakaten, TV-Spots, Print-Anzeigen und Broschüren bietet. 'Es ist das einzige Medium: - bei dem an die Stelle der distributiven Form die interaktive politische Kommunikation zwischen Partei und Bürger tritt und damit auch ein Feedback für Nichtmitglieder erreicht wird (Online-Foren, Chats); - das alle anderen Medien (Text, Foto, Bewegtbild, Animation und Ton) nutzt und sie audiovisuell umsetzt; - das ummittelbar auf politische Agenda Setting reagieren kann; - das mit geringem finanziellen Aufwand innerhalb von wenigen Minuten die Bereitstellung und Aufnahme politischer Informationen gewährleistet und verteilt; - auf das zeit- und ortsunabhängig zurückgegriffen werden kann'. Einschränkungen von Online-Kampagnen in Wahlkämpfen: Trotz der genannten Möglichkeiten von Online-Kampagnen müssen einige Einschränkungen genannt werden. Die neuen Möglichkeiten politischer Partizipation, die viel gelobte direkte Kommunikation zwischen politischen Akteuren und Bürgerinnen und Bürgern, tritt gerade in Wahlkämpfen in den Hintergrund. Das Angebot von Online-Chats und Online-Diskussionsforen wird von Leitern der Online-Kampagnen kritisch gesehen und ist in Wahlkämpfen auf den Websites der Kandidaten bzw. Parteien kaum mehr präsent. Gerade Funktionen wie Online-Foren oder Chats können vom politischen Gegner gezielt für Angriffe genutzt werden. Die Anonymität in diesen Sphären schützt die Nutzer und erlaubt Äußerungen, die dem politischen Akteur schaden können bzw. die rechtlich bedenklich sind, wenn es zu rassistischen Aussagen und zu Anfeindungen kommt. Die Kontrolle von Informationen ist schwierig, da der daraus resultierende Moderationsaufwand sehr hoch ist. Brunner erklärt das Fehlen von Foren und Chats in modernen US-Wahlkämpfen so: 'Von Foren oder Chats auf der eigenen Homepage wird freilich abgeraten. US-Kampagnen sind generell darum bemüht, ihre Kommunikation und ihre Botschaft zu kontrollieren: ,We are control freaks!' Etwaige abwechselnd oder gar entgegengesetzte Meinungen sollen nicht auf die eigenen Internetseiten gelangen. Chats mit den Kandidaten werden daher lieber auf vielgenutzten Homepages, etwa auf CNN.com, angeboten'. Ein politischer Diskurs in Zeiten des Wahlkampfes findet also eher in medialen Primärquellen politischer Information statt (Online-Angebote von Medien), die unabhängig sind oder in keinem direkten Zusammenhang mit den Websites politischer Akteure stehen. In externen Foren findet eine politische Diskussion nur unter Wählerinnen und Wählern bzw. politischen Akteuren, die sich aber als solche nicht zu erkennen geben, sondern die Meinungsmärkte des Internets zu beeinflussen versuchen, statt. Chats werden zwar mit politischen Akteuren direkt angeboten, aber dann nur in moderierter Form, wo Fragen geprüft und mit der jeweiligen Antwort 'freigeschaltet' werden.

Malaysia is well-known for its large-scale infrastructure projects. However, while highways, bridges, and interchanges have been a staple for decades, thinking among policymakers has evolved in recent years. Following trends across the globe, physical and urban planning has gravitated away from car-based transport towards rail links between and around major urban centres. In addition to being more environmentally-friendly, rail connections can allow faster commutes for residents between large urban agglomerations as well as ambitious transit-oriented developments in new stations along the way. The Klang Valley did not have a rapid transit system until the mid-1990s, when the Ampang Light Rail Transit (LRT) and KTM Komuter service began operation. Since about 2000, the Malaysian government has invested heavily to improve rail transport in the Klang Valley, leading to the launching of the Kajang MRT in 2016. There are now a number of inter-city rail links in the works. Notable examples include: the East Coast Railway Line (ECRL), running from Port Klang in the west across the Peninsula to Kuantan in the east and then up to the border with Thailand; and the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) between the two capitals and seven urban centres in between. However, in past months, the size, complexity, and cost of these initiatives have given the various administrations in power at the federal level reason to pause. In contrast to these large-ticket items, which are expected to cost RM 42 billion and RM 60 billion respectively, progress on the lower profile Gemas-Johor Electrified Double-Tracking Project (EDTP) has been consistent despite changes in the country's leadership.