Suchergebnisse

As from August 2010, an amendment to the Education Act and Private Schools Act obligates all school owners (municipal and private) to offer free homework assistance to all pupils in years 1 to 4 in primary school. The research institutes NOVA (Norwegian Social Research) and NIFU (Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education) have been commissioned to evaluate the implementation of the new universal homework assistance scheme. The evaluation project is led by NOVA. The Directorate of Education wanted to know whether the homework assistance scheme works according to intentions. The purpose of the evaluation is to assess: How homework assistance is designed by the schools Whether the scheme has the intended effects The quality of planning and implementation of homework assistance Whether parents are satisfied with the quality of the scheme and its effects on their own involvement in their children's school work Effects on learning outcome The evaluation was begun in February 2011 and will be finalised in May 2013. This is the first of two reports from the evaluation, and it presents two qualitative studies: a document study and a case study. The first of these consists of a document analysis of planning and information about the new scheme in central government and in a sample of 19 municipalities, as well as of documents related to the local implementation of the scheme in these 19 municipalities. The second is a case study of homework assistance as it has been carried out in practice in four sampled schools. The present report highlights the following issues: What is the purpose of the homework assistance scheme, as expressed at the levels of central government, municipalities and schools? How is the scheme implemented, from the level of central government through the municipal level to each individual school? How is the scheme adapted and modified from plan to practice, and which factors are especially important for such adjustments and changes? What does homework assistance imply in practice at school level, and what are the views of teachers, homework helpers and parents with regard to the new scheme at their school? According to the regulations, the new scheme should: Provide support for student learning; Give the students a sense of mastering; Give the students a good framework for independent work; Contribute to the levelling of social inequalities in education. The first three objectives are directed at the individual student and the benefits he or she should have from participation in the scheme. The fourth and final objective is of an entirely different character, and reflects a more visionary "policy of good intentions" (Vike, 2004, our translation). This is a collective, long-term objective, and in this sense it is more general than the first three objectives. At the same time, it is implicitly assumed that fulfilling the first three will result in a fulfilment of the fourth. Our evaluation so far does not support this assumption. Rather, it indicates that there is an inherent tension between the objectives; In practice this is perceived as a conflict between the three individual objectives on the one hand, and the objective of social equality on the other. Municipalities and schools have gone to great lengths to follow the central government guidelines for the new scheme. Almost all municipalities included in the document study prepared the introduction of universal homework assistance in line with the measurable requirements. However, school transport appears to express the limit to what (some of) the local authorities see themselves as able to provide in order to meet the government target of more and better learning for all. The challenge for local authorities is reinforced by the fact that homework on the one hand does not trigger the same rights as primary education, and on the other that the scheme has a target group and aims that differ from after-school programmes. These are issues beyond the responsibility of local authorities. In several of the municipal documents they are perceived as almost insoluble dilemmas. The legal status of homework assistance also met with strong criticism in the responses from non-municipal organisations. This criticism was expressed through objections to the lack of assistance to students with special needs, lack of requirements for educational competence of homework helpers and lack of coverage of transportation costs. There were numerous and at times highly critical responses to the proposed legal changes from both local authorities and other consultative bodies. These comments did not result in any significant changes in the proposed legislative texts. In order to have a scheme ready at the start of the new school year, municipalities had to use the initial consultation proposals as the basis for their planning. Since changes in the proposals proved to be minimal, a potentially critical situation was avoided in which local authorities and schools might have been stranded with an invalid homework assistance scheme. On the other hand, the scheme would probably have benefited from more thorough discussions of both principal and practical implications. This is especially true with regard to discussions at school level about the nature of homework assistance. There has been very little time for such discussions. Furthermore, a closer review of previous evaluations of relevant pilot projects would have provided a better legal and economic framework for the scheme. By virtue of its divergent objectives, there is a tension in the new homework assistance scheme between «embracing all students» and «contributing to social equality». It is assumed that the first will lead to the second, without any guidelines in the central government documents as to how this should be achieved. The tension is well illustrated by two quotations from our material. One of the mothers we interviewed said: "It's sort of nice that everyone is included"; when faced with having to carry this vision into practice, a vice-principal sighed, "It's a bit difficult when everyone is included". On the ideological level, the universalisation of welfare state services is the basis for social equality. In practice, if all students are to participate in and benefit by the homework assistance scheme, children whose school achievements are already well beyond those of their peers will move ever further ahead. The economic and legal limitations of the new scheme imply a scarcity of highly qualified homework helpers. This means that children who need more help than others will not get it, so that they will lag further and further behind. In this scenario, the new homework assistance scheme will lead to growing differences between pupils. The homework assistance scheme is not, however, without positive effects. The scheme helps parents - especially mothers - and children in the time bind of everyday life. In many families, the scheme means that the children's homework is regularly done, and done well. At best, the scheme enables schoolchildren to do more and better work. This can result in increased self-esteem and in a sense of schoolwork mastering, and be a positive contribution to learning and wanting to learn more. ; NOVA og NIFU evaluerer tilbudet om leksehjelp 1.-4. trinn, som ble innført fra høsten 2010 i alle landets grunnskoler. Det overordnede formålet med evalueringen er å finne ut hvordan leksehjelpen utformes på skolene, og om tilbudet fungerer etter hensikten. I denne første av to rapporter fra evalueringen presenterer vi våre funn fra to kvalitative delstudier. Det første av disse er en dokumentanalyse av planlegging av og informasjon om tiltaket i staten og i et utvalg på 19 kommuner, og av lokal implementering av ordningen i de 19 kommunene. Andre delstudie retter søkelyset mot leksehjelpen slik den er implementert og utføres i praksis i et utvalg på fire skoler, med datamateriale fra feltarbeid på leksehjelpen i hver skole, og fra intervjuer utført i tilknytning til hver av de fire skolene.

This issue becomes a new opportunity for the national and international scientific community to judge the outcome of each of these proposals. In 2019, we will be celebrating 43 years of publishing and hope that you will continue to accompany us as readers and collaborators of our scientific journal "Cuadernos de Administración". The content of each of these eight articles is the sole responsibility of their authors.In this issue, the first article is entitled "Critical Success Factors in Implementing IT in MSMEs", presents the results of a quantitative study that sought to determine the critical success factors that influence the level of implementation of information technologies within micro and small businesses in the region of northeastern Mexico. "Knowledge management from the organizational culture in call centers in Manizales", is the title of the second article, which shows the results of a descriptive and correlational qualitative research on knowledge management in BPO companies in the city of Manizales, Colombia. The third article "Cultural hybridization in three Colombian indigenous productive organizations" is a qualitative research in three IPOs of the Nasa ethnic group in Colombia; in the end, it presents the results and conclusions of the research process and also some limits of thereto. "Mud, value and welfare. An economic estimation of the impact in the Anchicayá river basin", is the fourth article in this issue of the journal Cuadernos de Administración; its authors present their economic assessment of the environmental impact in projects implemented in territories of the Colombian Pacific Coast.The fifth article is called "Effect of trading on the profitability and solvency of Colombian banks", which discusses the business models adopted by Colombian banking. With the analysis of data panel, they study the effect of diversification of Colombian commercial banks' revenues on profitability and financial solvency, between 2005 and 2014. "Real Returns of Private Pension Funds in Colombia" is the title of the sixth article, related to the performance of the private pension system in Colombia, Individual Benefit Plans Covered by Pooled Contributions, where the returns generated by daily transactions of pension funds from 1995 to December 2016 are analyzed from a database. The authors use the methodology established by the Financial Superintendence of Colombia (SFC) to calculate returns, determining the net profitability of explicit administration costs that the affiliate must bear and adjustment for inflation. The following article is the result of a literature review related to family businesses and socio-emotional wealth, entitled "Diversification of the family business in emerging countries from the perspective of socio-emotional wealth". The authors identify the relevant aspects studied in relation to the diversification of the family business. The reflection is aimed at establishing the influence that family objectives exert on business decision-making."The instruments of public policy. A transdisciplinary look", is the title of the last article in this issue. The authors present the systematization of public policy instruments, disciplines such as public law, public sector economics and political science, especially public policy.The publication of the number 63 of Cuadernos de Administración by the Faculty of Administration Sciences of the Universidad del Valle, allows us to continue consolidating ourselves as a means of disseminating scientific knowledge in our field. Since the first issue in 1976, we have tried to publish, on a continuous basis, different types of scientific research articles, of review or reflection, by national and international authors who have relied on us to spread their knowledge. To each and every one of them, to our authors, to our arbitrators, to the members of the Editorial and Scientific Committees, but especially to you, our readers, we want to thank you for allowing us to continue generating through digitization a greater impact on the sciences of administration. ; Este número se convierte en una nueva oportunidad para que la comunidad científica nacional e internacional, juzgue el resultado de cada una de estas propuestas. En el año 2019, estaremos cumpliendo 43 años de publicación y esperamos que nos sigan acompañando como lectores y colaboradores de nuestra revista científica "Cuadernos de Administración". El contenido de cada uno de estos ocho artículos es responsabilidad exclusiva de sus autores. En este número, el primer artículo tiene por título "Factores Críticos de Éxito en la implementación de TI en la MIPYME", presenta los resultados de una investigación cuantitativa donde buscaban determinar los factores críticos de éxito que influyen en el nivel de implementación de las tecnologías de la información dentro de la micro y pequeña empresa en la región noreste de México. "Gestión de conocimiento desde la cultura organizacional en centros de llamadas de Manizales", es el título del segundo artículo, muestra los resultados de una investigación cualitativa de tipo descriptiva y correlacional, sobre la gestión de conocimiento en empresas BPO de la ciudad de Manizales, Colombia. El tercer artículo "Hibridación cultural en tres organizaciones productivas colombianas", es una investigación cualitativa en tres OPI de la etnia Nasa en Colombia; al final, presenta los resultados y las conclusiones del proceso de indagación ytambién algunos límites de la investigación. "Lodo, valor y bienestar. Una estimación económica del impacto en la cuenca del río Anchicayá", es el cuarto artículo del presente número de la revista Cuadernos de Administración; sus autores presentan la valoración económica del impacto ambiental, en proyectos implementados en territorios de la costa pacífica colombiana. El quinto artículo se denomina "Efecto del trading en la rentabilidad y la solvencia de los bancos colombianos", donde discuten sobre los modelos bancarios adoptados por la banca colombiana. Con el análisis de datos panel estudian el efecto que tiene la diversificación de los ingresos de los bancos comerciales colombianos sobre la rentabilidad y la solvencia financiera, entre 2005 y 2014. "Retornos reales de los Fondos Privados de Pensiones en Colombia", es el título del sexto artículo, relacionado con el desempeño del sistema privado de pensiones en Colombia, Régimen de Ahorro Individual con Solidaridad (RAIs), donde se evalúan los rendimientos generados desde una base de datos de movimientos diarios de los fondos de pensiones desde 1995 hasta diciembre de 2016. Los autores usan la metodología establecida por la Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC) para el cálculo de rentabilidades, se determina la rentabilidad neta de costos de administración explícitos que debe asumir el afiliado y de ajuste por inflación. El siguiente artículo es fruto de una revisión de literatura relacionada con empresas familiares y la riqueza socioemocional, que lleva por título "La diversificación del negocio familiar en países emergentes, desde la perspectiva de la riqueza socioemocional. Revisión de la literatura". Los autores identifican los aspectos relevantes estudiados en relación con la diversificación de la empresa familiar. La reflexión está orientada en establecer la influencia que ejercen los objetivos familiares en la toma de decisiones empresariales. "Los instrumentos de política pública. Una mirada transdisciplinar", es el título del último artículo de este número. Los autores presentan la sistematización de instrumentos de política pública, disciplinas como el derecho público, la economía del sector público y las ciencias políticas, en especial las políticas públicas. La publicación del número 63 de Cuadernos de Administración de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Administración de la Universidad del Valle, permite continuar consolidándonos como un medio de divulgación del conocimiento científico en el área. Desde el primer número en el año 1976, hemos intentado publicar de manera continua, diferentes tipos de artículos científicos de investigación, revisión o reflexión, de autores nacionales e internacionales que han confiado en nosotros para difundir su conocimiento. A todos y cada uno de ellos, a nuestros autores, a nuestros árbitros, a los miembros de los comités Editorial y Científico, pero en especial a ustedes, nuestros lectores, queremos agradecerles por permitirnos seguir llegando por medio de la digitalización a generar un mayor impacto en las ciencias de la administración.

This issue becomes a new opportunity for the national and international scientific community to judge the outcome of each of these proposals. In 2019, we will be celebrating 43 years of publishing and hope that you will continue to accompany us as readers and collaborators of our scientific journal "Cuadernos de Administración". The content of each of these eight articles is the sole responsibility of their authors.In this issue, the first article is entitled "Critical Success Factors in Implementing IT in MSMEs", presents the results of a quantitative study that sought to determine the critical success factors that influence the level of implementation of information technologies within micro and small businesses in the region of northeastern Mexico. "Knowledge management from the organizational culture in call centers in Manizales", is the title of the second article, which shows the results of a descriptive and correlational qualitative research on knowledge management in BPO companies in the city of Manizales, Colombia. The third article "Cultural hybridization in three Colombian indigenous productive organizations" is a qualitative research in three IPOs of the Nasa ethnic group in Colombia; in the end, it presents the results and conclusions of the research process and also some limits of thereto. "Mud, value and welfare. An economic estimation of the impact in the Anchicayá river basin", is the fourth article in this issue of the journal Cuadernos de Administración; its authors present their economic assessment of the environmental impact in projects implemented in territories of the Colombian Pacific Coast.The fifth article is called "Effect of trading on the profitability and solvency of Colombian banks", which discusses the business models adopted by Colombian banking. With the analysis of data panel, they study the effect of diversification of Colombian commercial banks' revenues on profitability and financial solvency, between 2005 and 2014. "Real Returns of Private Pension Funds in Colombia" is the title of the sixth article, related to the performance of the private pension system in Colombia, Individual Benefit Plans Covered by Pooled Contributions, where the returns generated by daily transactions of pension funds from 1995 to December 2016 are analyzed from a database. The authors use the methodology established by the Financial Superintendence of Colombia (SFC) to calculate returns, determining the net profitability of explicit administration costs that the affiliate must bear and adjustment for inflation. The following article is the result of a literature review related to family businesses and socio-emotional wealth, entitled "Diversification of the family business in emerging countries from the perspective of socio-emotional wealth". The authors identify the relevant aspects studied in relation to the diversification of the family business. The reflection is aimed at establishing the influence that family objectives exert on business decision-making."The instruments of public policy. A transdisciplinary look", is the title of the last article in this issue. The authors present the systematization of public policy instruments, disciplines such as public law, public sector economics and political science, especially public policy.The publication of the number 63 of Cuadernos de Administración by the Faculty of Administration Sciences of the Universidad del Valle, allows us to continue consolidating ourselves as a means of disseminating scientific knowledge in our field. Since the first issue in 1976, we have tried to publish, on a continuous basis, different types of scientific research articles, of review or reflection, by national and international authors who have relied on us to spread their knowledge. To each and every one of them, to our authors, to our arbitrators, to the members of the Editorial and Scientific Committees, but especially to you, our readers, we want to thank you for allowing us to continue generating through digitization a greater impact on the sciences of administration. ; Este número se convierte en una nueva oportunidad para que la comunidad científica nacional e internacional, juzgue el resultado de cada una de estas propuestas. En el año 2019, estaremos cumpliendo 43 años de publicación y esperamos que nos sigan acompañando como lectores y colaboradores de nuestra revista científica "Cuadernos de Administración". El contenido de cada uno de estos ocho artículos es responsabilidad exclusiva de sus autores. En este número, el primer artículo tiene por título "Factores Críticos de Éxito en la implementación de TI en la MIPYME", presenta los resultados de una investigación cuantitativa donde buscaban determinar los factores críticos de éxito que influyen en el nivel de implementación de las tecnologías de la información dentro de la micro y pequeña empresa en la región noreste de México. "Gestión de conocimiento desde la cultura organizacional en centros de llamadas de Manizales", es el título del segundo artículo, muestra los resultados de una investigación cualitativa de tipo descriptiva y correlacional, sobre la gestión de conocimiento en empresas BPO de la ciudad de Manizales, Colombia. El tercer artículo "Hibridación cultural en tres organizaciones productivas colombianas", es una investigación cualitativa en tres OPI de la etnia Nasa en Colombia; al final, presenta los resultados y las conclusiones del proceso de indagación ytambién algunos límites de la investigación. "Lodo, valor y bienestar. Una estimación económica del impacto en la cuenca del río Anchicayá", es el cuarto artículo del presente número de la revista Cuadernos de Administración; sus autores presentan la valoración económica del impacto ambiental, en proyectos implementados en territorios de la costa pacífica colombiana. El quinto artículo se denomina "Efecto del trading en la rentabilidad y la solvencia de los bancos colombianos", donde discuten sobre los modelos bancarios adoptados por la banca colombiana. Con el análisis de datos panel estudian el efecto que tiene la diversificación de los ingresos de los bancos comerciales colombianos sobre la rentabilidad y la solvencia financiera, entre 2005 y 2014. "Retornos reales de los Fondos Privados de Pensiones en Colombia", es el título del sexto artículo, relacionado con el desempeño del sistema privado de pensiones en Colombia, Régimen de Ahorro Individual con Solidaridad (RAIs), donde se evalúan los rendimientos generados desde una base de datos de movimientos diarios de los fondos de pensiones desde 1995 hasta diciembre de 2016. Los autores usan la metodología establecida por la Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC) para el cálculo de rentabilidades, se determina la rentabilidad neta de costos de administración explícitos que debe asumir el afiliado y de ajuste por inflación. El siguiente artículo es fruto de una revisión de literatura relacionada con empresas familiares y la riqueza socioemocional, que lleva por título "La diversificación del negocio familiar en países emergentes, desde la perspectiva de la riqueza socioemocional. Revisión de la literatura". Los autores identifican los aspectos relevantes estudiados en relación con la diversificación de la empresa familiar. La reflexión está orientada en establecer la influencia que ejercen los objetivos familiares en la toma de decisiones empresariales. "Los instrumentos de política pública. Una mirada transdisciplinar", es el título del último artículo de este número. Los autores presentan la sistematización de instrumentos de política pública, disciplinas como el derecho público, la economía del sector público y las ciencias políticas, en especial las políticas públicas. La publicación del número 63 de Cuadernos de Administración de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Administración de la Universidad del Valle, permite continuar consolidándonos como un medio de divulgación del conocimiento científico en el área. Desde el primer número en el año 1976, hemos intentado publicar de manera continua, diferentes tipos de artículos científicos de investigación, revisión o reflexión, de autores nacionales e internacionales que han confiado en nosotros para difundir su conocimiento. A todos y cada uno de ellos, a nuestros autores, a nuestros árbitros, a los miembros de los comités Editorial y Científico, pero en especial a ustedes, nuestros lectores, queremos agradecerles por permitirnos seguir llegando por medio de la digitalización a generar un mayor impacto en las ciencias de la administración.

Five technology forecast reports from the Fraunhofer Institute have been reviewed by staff at the Department of Military-Technology at the Swedish Defence University. The task given by the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) was to assess the military utility of the given technologies in a time frame to 2040 from a Swedish Armed Forces' (SwAF) perspective. We assess the military utility of a certain technology based on its contribution to the operational capabilities of the SwAF, according to identified relevant scenarios. It should be noted that the military utility of the technology in this report is assessed solely in the presented scenario, not for the technology in any other scenarios. Since a new capability catalogue is under development at the SwAF Headquarters, we will only present general assessments of the capability impact from the technologies under study. After the seminars, the technologies were grouped into three classes; technologies with potentially significant, uncertain or negligible military utility. The classification uncertain is given for technologies that are difficult to put into the two other classes, and not because a high technology readiness level (TRL) will not be reached by 2040. The following technologies were assessed to have a potential for significant military utility; 3D Printers Our overall assessment is that 3D printing has significant potential for military utility, possibly disruptive. Logistic concepts for both national and expeditionary missions will be affected in the 2040 time frame. The technology development will be driven by civilian industry, but a SwAF in-depth study is recommended as it could help form potential logistic concepts and determine what methods and systems are suitable for military adoption and what kind of application-specific issues have to be addressed in order to take full advantage of the new technology. Deep Learning The military utility for deep learning is assessed to be significant, primarily regarding SIGINT and IMINT, which is where the greatest utility can be seen. The driving force as regards research in the field is the private sector. We therefore recommend that the SwAF follow the research conducted and focus studies on how and where deep learning can be implemented within the organization. Nanothermites We suggest that a deeper study into the feasibility of nanothermite munitions and their possible military utility is carried out, since they are assessed to have a potential for significant military utility. Some of the remaining challenges include resolving risks and uncertainties pertaining to health, legality and material development. We also suggest that nanothermites should be incorporated as a future area of interest within the SwAF R&D projects. Unmanned Surface Vessels USV could be used for many tasks that are dull, difficult and dangerous. If employed to search for submarines they are expected to lower the cost of personnel, enhance the readiness level and increase the probability of finding hostile submarines. Therefore, we assess that USV have potential for significant military utility. The effectiveness of USV for the SwAF will depend greatly on how the platforms are incorporated into the organization. Research on how to use the USV tactically will likely be imperative if the technology is to reach its full potential. We recommended that the SwAF should follow the development and pursue research on USV before acquiring own platforms. Structural Health Monitoring Structural health monitoring is a key part when utilizing kinodynamic motion planning in automated and autonomous systems; therefore it will affect the capability of all systems that rely on kinodynamic motion planning. This technology has the capacity to enhance the capabilities of automatic and autonomous systems. Therefore, our assessment is that structural health monitoring has significant potential for military utility No technology was assessed to have uncertain or negligible military utility. The result of our technology forecast is different from previous years since all the technologies were assessed to have significant potential for military utility. The reason for this is assumed to be because these technologies have been selected by a board of experts from the SwAF and the Defence Materiel Administration, (FMV), as well as from a number of interesting, potentially disruptive technologies proposed by the Fraunhofer Institute. Furthermore, the Fraunhofer Institute estimates that all technologies in this report will reach high TRL levels, mostly 8 and 9 by 2035. The method used in this technology forecast report was to assign each Fraunhofer report to one reviewer in the working group. First, a summary of each forecast report was made. The Fraunhofer assessment of technical readiness level (TRL) in the time period to 2035 was held to be correct. The technology was then put into one scenario that was assumed to be suitable in order to assess the military utility as well as indicate possibilities and drawbacks of the technology. Based on a SWOT analysis, an assessment of the capability impact was made. An improvement this year is that the footprint table has been adjusted to the one used by NORDEFCO, presenting the assessed contribution to the factors DOTMPLFI (Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Personnel, Leadership, Facilities and Interoperability). Furthermore, the demands that are expected to be put on the SwAF R&D in order to facilitate the introduction of the technology were indicated. Finally, conclusions regarding the potential military utility of each technology were drawn. We believe that this information could be used as decision support for future R&D investments. The chosen definition of military utility clearly affects the result of the study. The definition of the military utility of a certain technology is its contribution to the operational capabilities of the SwAF within identified relevant scenarios and is the same as used in the Technology Forecast of 2013 and 2014. This definition is believed to be good enough for this report but could be further elaborated in the future. An article that in-depth presents our concept of military utility has recently been published.1 Our evaluation of the method used shows that there is a risk that the assessment is biased because of the participating experts' presumptions and experiences from their own field of research. The scenarios that were chosen do not cover all aspects of the technologies and their possible contribution to operational capabilities. It should be stressed that we have assessed potential military utility of the five technologies within the specific presented scenarios, not the technology itself. Any additional results found in the analysis are mentioned. The greatest value of the method used is its simplicity, cost effectiveness and not least the tradeoff that it promotes learning within the working group. The composition of the working group and the methodology used are believed to provide for a broad and balanced coverage of the technologies under study. This report provides executive summaries of the Fraunhofer reports and the intention is to help the SwAF Headquarters evaluate the military utility of emerging technologies within identified relevant scenarios. Overall, the quality of the Fraunhofer reports is considered to be balanced and of a high level of critical analysis regarding technology development. However, the report on Unmanned Surface Vessels was found to have a somewhat lower quality than the other reports, for instance, some parts of the text are copied and pasted from last year's report on UCAV and some parts of the assessments are missing, e.g. in the TRL evaluation. Nonetheless, the reports are in line with our task of evaluating the military utility of the emerging technologies.

This work aims to give the reader a holistic introduction to Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs), an asset category which has recently experienced both popularity and criticism. Collateralized Debt Obligations represent a subset of asset-backed securities. As opposed to classical types of asset-backed-securities like mortgage-backed securities or credit card debt-backed securities, a Collateralized Debt Obligation is a vehicle transforming bank loans or commercial paper into tranches of traded securities. While Collateralized Debt Obligations have been an established part of the U.S. fixed income market, it was only recently that academics showed interest in this asset category. From an asset pricing standpoint, CDOs represent a challenge as credit risk from a heterogeneous pool is passed through to tranches. Hence, asset pricing models have to account for expected defaults and default correlation on the one hand while incorporating the structural support the CDO is offering to the debt tranches on the other. Also, regulatory agencies such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision have increasingly covered CDOs and their use in credit risk management, thus further stimulating interest in this asset category. The report is mainly organized in three parts. The first part presents the basic ideas of Collateralized Debt Obligation as well as their structure and principal economics. Part II is the core of the report focusing on the aforementioned asset pricing problem and presenting various models to cope with it. Finally, the third part presents some of the multifaceted applications of Collateral Debt Obligations and concludes with an outlook for the product category. Here, special focus is laid on the European and German market as this is seen as a major area for growth.Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents: Index of figuresv Index of tablesvi Prefacevii 1.INTRODUCTION1 1.1Definitions1 1.2Mathematical Classification2 1.3Purpose and Relevance of CDOs4 1.4Motivation and Aim of the Study6 2.STRUCTURE AND DESIGN OF CDOS8 2.1Underlying Assets9 2.2Tranches10 2.3Purpose11 2.3.1Risk Transfer11 2.3.2Credit Risk Pricing Arbitrage11 2.4Credit Structure13 2.4.1Market Value Structure13 2.4.2Cash Flow Structure13 2.5Summary and Typical CDO Structures15 3.RATIONALE AND ECONOMIC FEATURES18 3.1Incentives to enter CDO Contracts19 3.1.1Comparative Advantages in Holding Specific Risks19 3.1.2Incentives for Equity Holders19 3.1.3Incentives for Debt Holders20 3.2Results of Imperfections inherent to CDO Contracts22 3.2.1Adverse Selection22 3.2.2Moral Hazard26 4.PRICING OF COLLATERALIZED DEBT OBLIGATIONS28 4.1Multi-obligor Default Models30 4.1.1Importance of Correlation in Pricing Models30 4.1.2Diversity Scores32 4.1.3Infectious Defaults33 4.1.4Default Intensity Models37 4.1.5Modeling Dependent Defaults with Copulas41 4.2Recovery Risk44 4.3Risk-neutral Transformation46 4.4Pricing in default intensity models47 4.5Pricing Example in Default Intensity Models49 4.5.1Collateral Pool49 4.5.2Sinking-fund Tranches50 4.5.3Prioritization Schemes50 4.5.4Simulation and Discussion53 4.6Alternative Pricing Model: Loss Cascades58 4.6.1Loss Distribution in the Collateral Portfolio58 4.6.2Loss Distribution in the CDO Tranches60 4.6.3Simulation and Pricing Results60 4.7Approximate CDO Pricing64 4.7.1Monte-Carlo Simulation64 4.7.2Reduced Form CDO Valuation66 5.RATING OF COLLATERALIZED DEBT OBLIGATIONS68 5.1Assessment of the Collateral Credit Quality70 5.1.1Default Rates and Severity70 5.1.2Pool Diversity71 5.1.3Credit Enhancement levels71 5.2Assessment of the Legal Structures and the Parties Involved73 5.3Assessment of Pool Administration74 5.4Rating Agency-Specific Differences76 5.4.1Moody's Investors Service76 5.4.2Standard and Poor's77 5.4.3Fitch IBCA77 6.APPLICATIONS OF CDOS79 6.1Credit Risk Management80 6.1.1Credit Risk Management Strategies80 6.1.2CDOs in Active Credit Portfolio Management81 6.1.3CDOs as Reinsurance Instruments82 6.1.4Comparative Advantages of CDOs83 6.2Balance Sheet Management and Regulatory Capital Relief84 6.3CDOs as a Funding Source88 6.4High Yield Fixed-Income Investment89 6.5Arbitrage and Equity Tranche Speculation92 7.OUTLOOK FOR CDOS IN EUROPE AND GERMANY94 7.1The European Asset-Backed Security Market95 7.2The German CDO market 2000-200297 7.3Regulatory Issues99 7.4Economic Drivers for the German CDO Market101 8.CONCLUDING REMARKS103 9.REFERENCES106 10.APPENDIX112 10.1Legal and Economic CDO Transaction Structure113 10.2Glossary of Terms114 INDEX116Textprobe:Text Sample: Chapter 5.1.1, Default Rates and Severity: A starting point for assessing the credit quality of the collateral pool is the rating of its assets. However, such ratings may be unavailable for individual bank loans. The difficulty of quantifying the credit quality of the commercial loans to be included in a CDO transaction has proved to be a major impediment to obtaining an acceptable rating for purely CLO transactions. In CBO transactions, which have structures that are virtually identical to those of CLOs, yet the underlying bonds collateralizing the CBO obligations usually have pre-existing credit ratings, which permit the rating agencies to analyze the proposed CBO structure by reference to the known ratings. In contrast, commercial loans are not generally rated by the rating agencies, and the task of assessing the credit quality of a large portfolio on a loan-by-loan basis can be very cumbersome. One approach to this problem is the attempt to concatenate the lender's internal credit rating system and loan underwriting criteria to the rating agency's rating. While the initial installment of such a correlation pattern is time-consuming, the rating process on further transactions a single lender issues should be significantly simpler. Another alternative to a loan-by-loan evaluation is the actuarial analysis on a portfolio. This actuarial approach requires extensive information about payment, delinquency, default and recovery characteristics over time for a fairly homogeneous product type, preferably originated or serviced by a single bank or company. This seems currently feasible with large European CDOs as the recent European trend is towards very large CDO transactions from a single lender as discussed in Herrmann and Tierney. In applying this approach, rating agencies apply their own historical data to the default rate and recovery rate factors in the following well-known equation: Expected Loss = Default Probability Loss Given Default. However, rating agencies still have to solve the problem that data on default probability and recovery rates are clustered according to the credit ratings and relative seniority, which again forces the evaluator to classify unrated debt in consonance with the established categories. Pool Diversity: As discussed in section 4.1.1 correlation is a major factor in evaluating CDOs as its ability to serve senior tranches is especially sensitive towards default correlation in the collateral pool. Concentrations of loans with borrowers in the same or related industries or borrowers in the same geographic area are viewed as increasing the risk of a portfolio, and usually result in rating agencies downgrading the CDO tranches or demanding higher levels of credit enhancement. Generally speaking, the adverse impact of concentrations of loan types is decreased by diversification of the loan portfolio, which may be achieved by increasing the portfolio size or decreasing the average size of a loan. All the rating agencies use cash flow models to stress test the collateral pool and its ability to service outstanding debt under a variety of economic, interest rate, default and loss scenarios. In addition to those tests, Moody's has established its diversity score based on the binominal expansion method which is discussed in section 4.1.2. Despite its lack of deep theoretical foundations it has become a standard metric in evaluating CDOs and is typically being referred to in the prospectus accompanying the initial offering. Credit Enhancement Levels: Credit enhancement levels represent a means of ensuring that mezzanine and senior tranches may be served from the cash flow derived from the collateral portfolio. Based on the aforementioned analysis of credit quality, expected loss and pool diversity, the rating agencies set credit enhancement levels required for senior and mezzanine classes to achieve the desired rating. This is based on the level of losses that a pool can sustain while continuing to service rated debt issues. The lower the credit quality of the collateral and the higher the desired rating, the larger the required credit enhancement. For example, for a diversified pool of B-rated collateral, the base case default rate for Moody's is 31.8%. Assuming a conservative recovery rate of 30% the expected loss is 22.3%. But to obtain a target rating of Aa2, Moody's analysis shows the rated class must be able to survive a 39% loss rate or 55.7% default rate on the collateral without default of the securities.

SummaryThe current debate on expanded economic cooperation in the Nordic countries has been going on for more than two years. The Prime Ministers of the four countries have met on at least ten occasions. The government officials have presented three extensive reports with concrete proposals. The Nordic Council has devoted the bulk of its last three sessions to this question. The Nordic daily press has produced thousands of editorials and a substantially larger number of news articles on the subject. The interest organizations have examined the concrete proposals and have criticized or commended them from their point of view. The political parties have list ell to and participated in the debate, made tactical moves, aggregated conflicting views and on the basis of these have formulated new standpoints. Less is known, however, about public opinion concerning the Nordek plans, but a couple of opinion polls in Denmark and Finland provide some indication.According to a Danish poll published in February 1969, 61 % of the respondents in a representative sample of the Danish population were positive toward an expanded economic cooperation among the Nordic countries, while only 5% were against it. In another poll presented in September the Same year, 43% of the respondents preferred Danish membership in the EEC along with Great Britain to a Nordic economic union. 26 % answered positively to the question of whether Denmark ought to join the EEC even if Great Britain did not. A larger proportion or 33% preferred a Nordic economic union under the condition that Britain did not join the EEC.Over half of the respondents in a Finnish opinion poll conducted at the end of January 1970 believed that Nordek would have predominantly positive effects, while 25% were of the opinion that the advantages and disadvantages were equal. Classifying the respondents according to party sympathies, the results were that 74% of the supporters of the Liberal People's party believed that the advantages were greater than the disadvantages. For the remaining parties, the figures were: 72% for the Swedish People's party, 69% for the coalition party, 55% for the Social Democrats, 49% for the Center party and 32% for the People's Democrats.The Nordic parliaments have debated the Nordek issue to a varying extent. The Danish Folketing and the Norwegian Starting have held several debates devoted especially to the market questions; the debates have opened with accounts given by government representatives concerning the negotiations. In the Finnish parliament and the Swedish Riksdag on the other hand, the Nordek plan has not been discussed to any great extent. So far in Finland, it has been discussed in parliament once (in December 1969), while in Sweden it has been dealt with on intermittent occasions but a special Nordek debate has not been arranged.The manner in which the governments have kept themselves informed of the view of the interest organizations has also varied in the four countries. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden the organizations have been urged to submit official comments. In Finland a formal procedure has been avoided and instead frequent informal contacts between the negotiating officials and representatives of the organizations have been relied upon. A system ‐ similar to that in Finland ‐ has also existed in the other three countries in addition to the official channels.The interest organizations strongly supporting Nordek have been a united Nordic trade union movement and the Federation of Swedish Industries. Criticism or outright rejections have been conveyed by the Danish Council of Industry, the Federation of Norwegian Industries, and the farmers' organizations in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Information about the attitudes of the Finnish organizations is not available.The majority of the political parties in the Nordic countries have backed Nordek. Among the clearly positive parties are the four Social Democratic parties, all the Liberal parties (except the Danish Liberals), the Conservative parties in Finland and Sweden, the Christian People's party in Norway and the Center party in Sweden. The Norwegian Center party and the Danish Conservatives have been more hesitant, although increasingly more positive with the passing of time. The Center party in Finland and rhe Liberals in Denmark have mainly expressed negative points of view. The People's Democrats/Communists and the Social Democratic League in Finland and the Conservative party in Norway have been the most vigorous critics of Nordek.The Swedish government, as far as one can tell, has been united in its support of Nordek. In the remaining three countries, however, clear differences in opinions have been discernible between the Prime Ministers, who have been mainly positive, and individual ministers who have been negative. The Danish Prime Minister Baunsgaard has not always shared the views of the Minister of Market Affairs, Nyboe Andersen, on Nordek; and on several occasions statements by Foreign Minister Karjalainen have differed from the views expressed by the Finnish Prime Minister Koivisto. In Norway differences in opinion between Prime Minister Borten and Minister of Trade Willoch have been markedly noticeable.The Nordek debate has centered around five issues: (1) the Nordic customs union and the relations to the EEC, (2) agriculture, (3) fishery policy, (4) institutional arrangements, (5) the construction and size of the funds and the investment bank. The four countries have attached varying weight to specific problems. The Danes have often emphasized the importance of extensive cooperation in agriculture, have desired strong and nationally independent organs of cooperation, have advocated suspension of tariffs on certain industrial goods for an unlimited period of time, and have demanded as an absolute prerequisite for participating in the Nordek cooperation that it be compatible with future membership in the EEC. The Finns have wanted to retain their extensive trade with Eastern Europe and have demanded that consideration be given to their special agricultural problems, and have underlined their lack of interest in both EEC membership and association. The Norwegians have also demanded tariff suspensions for an unlimited period for certain goods, have put forward special requests concerning fisheries, and have stressed the importance of compatibility between the Nordic cooperation and EEC membership. The customs union has been the major Swedish demand during the negotiations.The Nordek plans were brought up quite unexpectedly by Denmark, but even subsequently the negotiations have not been void of dramatic incidents. Most frequently the unexpected moves have come from Finland. Mr. Koivisto unexpectedly pleased the other Nordic Prime Ministers through his surprisingly positive statement in Oslo in October 1968 on the plan:; for economic cooperation between the Nordic countries. But four months later, President Keklionen during a talk with Prime Minister Erlander in Helsinki expressed the Finnish opinion as being that the tempo of the negotiations had become too fast, The real surprise did not occur, however, until the beginning of December 1969 when Mr. Koivisto announced that the planned Prime Minister meeting in Turku was called off. A month and a half later the Finnish government gave the go ahead sign to continue the substantive negotiations aiming at a settlement at the session of the Nordic Council in Reykjavik. The Finnish conditions for proceeding with the negotiations included clear reservations concerning the EEC. The Nordic Prime Ministers agreed in Reykjavik on a time table for signing the Treaty, which meant that this would occur around 7 March 1970. Subsequently the Nordic parliaments were to ratify the Treaty during the spring session the same year. On 24 March the Finnish government, however, announced that it could not sign the Treaty because of the other three countries' active interest in the EEC. Instead the matter was passed on to the new government to be formed after the election. The following day Foreign Minister Karjalainen expressed doubts as to whether Nordek could at all be carried out before the end of 1970. Once again external forces have played a decisive role in formulating the market policy of the four countries. Danish and Norwegian hopes of starting negotiations soon with the EEC combined with the Finnish reservations made in January and March 1970 make it difficult to judge the prospects of Nordek being implemented. Nordek cannot be said with certainty to be a fact until the ratification documents are safely‐ in the custody of the Foreign Ministries of the four countries. March 25, 1970

Most post-modern societies are being challenged by a widening gap that divides their populations by the classic cleavages of age, class, region and religion. Exacerbated by the forces of globalization and the immediacy of technology, they result in constant clashes that cause an exponential increase in social tensions and insecurity. Even if the Norwegian killer was insane and can not be used as example, he was still a member of the dominant culture failing to accommodate to post-modern circumstances. In the United States this gap is vividly evident in the current debt ceiling debate, which is only a symptom of much serious divisions that threaten the country's social unity and political future.A brief look at recent headlines in the United States can give outsiders and idea of the country's social and political environment.On Sunday July 24th, a new law approving gay marriage came into effect in New York, making it the sixth and largest state in the nation (plus the District of Columbia) to have legalized same-sex marriage. In Manhattan, people celebrated on Fifth Avenue, singing and dancing to the music and well-suited lyrics of New York, New York ("If we can make it here, we'll make it anywhere…"). On July 0th, Republican candidates Michelle Bachman and Rick Santoro a "Marriage Vow" swearing fidelity to their spouses, promising they would "vigorously oppose any redefinition of marriage" and would take steps to amend welfare legislation that did not reinforce conventional marriage. This is only a sample of the extreme polarization the country is facing both economically and socially. It is a critical moment in United States history, one that may require a deep reflection on the basic principles the nation was founded upon and a renewal of the social compact.Prodded by the Tea Party leaders, who presently wield an amount of power disproportionate to their numbers, Republican candidates have been signing pledges on an array of different topics in order to prove their conservative credentials. Both Michelle Bachman and Mitt Romney also signed a no-new-taxes pledge, together with a "cut, cap and balance pledge" to amend the Constitution to require a balanced budget and congressional super majorities to raise taxes. These two pledges, albeit non-enforceable and thus largely symbolic, are now the single most important obstacle to reach a deal in Congress about balancing the budget and avoiding default on the national debt. Tea Party Nation leader Judson Phillips has threatened to recruit candidates to mount primary challenges against any GOP member that votes for a compromise on the debt ceiling that involves any type of revenue increases to balance the budget. The GOP Congressional leadership has been hijacked by intransigent ideologues, represented in the House by 87 freshmen with disproportionate power over the more established professional politicians who understand that democratic governance requires give and take, and that politics in a pluralistic society is the art of the achievable.This country was founded on the premise of compromise, negotiation and cooperation, as it is evident from the history of the Constitution and the layers of governmental power devised mainly to counterbalance one another: states versus federal, legislative versus executive, Senate v. House, and an independent judiciary. It was clear even then, that solutions in what promised to be a huge, diverse society with deep regional and religious cleavages would require compromise. But today, in the "worst Congress ever" as Norman Ornstein calls it in his recent article in Foreign Policy, compromise is a bad word. The House is controlled by a GOP freshmen class that owes its seats to Tea Party ideologues and is refusing to raise the debt ceiling even as President Obama has agreed to cuts in spending that include cuts in entitlements, in exchange for ending subsidies on ethanol and other corporate subsidies (he has even given up on the expiration of the Bush era tax cuts he had included in his first proposal). This package that would represent over 3 trillion dollars in cuts from the federal budget, including reductions in Medicare and other social programs, would have allowed the debt ceiling to be raised so that the US could avoid defaulting on its debt by August 2nd. It was on the table last week and close to being signed on by House Speaker John Boehner but he refused it at the last minute because of pressure from his own caucus. The Tea Party is pushing professional legislators toward the abyss, and with them, the whole country. The Tea Party is a social movement that was born out of frustration and disappointment with government spending over the last twelve years. President George W. Bush inherited a budget surplus from the Clinton-Gingrich years. But that surplus quickly vanished as Bush proposed and got passed serious tax cuts on the wealthy and then embarked on two wars that are still going on today. In response, a large coalition of Independents, Republicans and a few former Democrats formed a protest movement that defines itself for what it is against: big government, big media, big banks, unsustainable deficits and intrusive federal regulation. In spite of some evident intrinsic contradictions in their philosophy (for example some the new regulations they so vehemently oppose such as the Dodd-Frank legislation are meant to constrain the actions of "big banks" they so strongly abhor), the Tea Party has been very successful in focusing the public's attention on the federal budget deficit and on the federal debt that has ballooned in the last two decades. Those are its core concerns, together with a deep-seated contempt for and rejection of, everything the well-educated elites are for the most in favor of: environmental sustainability, a foreign policy based on multilateralism, gay rights and immigration reform legislation that recognizes the realities of the estimated twelve million undocumented workers in the country. After two months of wrangling, neither side has managed to get what it wanted, the US credit rating is about to be downgraded (with the subsequent increase in interest rates and damaging effects on an already slow economy) and the vitriolic Washington environment is alienating people on the Right and on the Left. Pressured by the Tea Partiers and their anti-tax obsession, Republicans have refused to compromise to avoid a default, and in so doing they are sabotaging their own chances for 2012. Most Americans are appalled at the GOP's refusal to endorse Obama's proposal that would cut the deficit by $3.7 trillion through a mix of spending cuts, entitlement reform and ending some corporate subsidies and tax deductions. In so doing, the GOP is alienating independent voters that want to avoid default and are ready for a deal. A new political center of gravity is forming. The number of registered voters that identify themselves as Independent is growing (40% in latest poll), while the numbers of Republicans and Democrats are sinking and there is a new online movement from the grassroots to form a third party.Paradoxically, out of all this Byzantine intrigue in the hallways of Congress, and given the outcome of no deal announced on Monday night, President Obama may come out as the winner. To the dismay of his most progressive base, Obama, intent on finding some common ground with the opposition has shifted to the center-right of the political spectrum on his proposals, daring to sacrifice some cuts on entitlements in exchange for revenue increases, only to see them rejected by the Republicans. He is close to winning a stand-alone debt ceiling increase while having proven to be the only reasonable adult in this struggle. This would gain him the support of many independents and help him avoid a confrontation within his own party. It would also allow him to focus on unemployment, the real immediate crisis that most directly impacts people's lives. However, Democrats in the House and Senate are afraid that concessions on reducing some Medicare benefits, for example, or postponing the eligibility age, would ruin the clarity of their message to seniors during the election. Conversely, Tea Partiers see a compromise involving any sort of revenue increases by the government, even non-tax measures such as ending corporate subsidies, as a betrayal of their principles. The Tea Partiers have brought into focus the spending crisis that has been growing unchecked for a long time, and one the country cannot obviously tax its way out of. Some facts cannot be denied: debt is the result of spending not backed by revenue. Total government spending at all levels has risen to 37% of the GDP today from 27% in 1960. It could reach 50% by 2038. The debt-to-GDP ratio has reached 100% today, from 42% in 1980. The big moral struggle is still ahead. There is no question that the government is spending too much, but the real debate is about priorities and the philosophies that underlie those priorities. The President has recognized that the budget deficit is important to voters, most of which have come to the conclusion that since the stimulus spending did not solve the problem of unemployment, deficit reduction appears to be a better way to improve the economy than investing in education, infrastructure and new energy technologies. Obama must acknowledge this, and make it part of his discourse.But the President must also continue to make a case for the common good ("there are things we can still do together", he said in his last speech), the social safety net and America's future. He can do this by personalizing the budget battles the way Clinton did. Are budget battles about choices or necessities? Why give more tax cuts to the wealthy if their wealth has grown through the recession while the rest saw their wealth diminish? Why subsidize corporate agriculture and ethanol production? Social programs like Medicare serve all Americans, why focus on cutting it while giving a pass to the upper income- and- wealth echelon? General elections are won from the center. Strong strident advocates make for weak candidates. Undoubtedly, the 2012 election will be about money, about fiscal discipline, but it will also be about a more equal distribution, and it will require strong leadership from the two respective philosophical corners to come to a consensus. That is why the Republican establishment is so worried about the lack of gravitas in their field of candidates. That is why some yearn for budget whiz Paul Ryan, or Governor Chris Christie or Rick Perry….or anybody really, that looks and sounds as if he can take on Obama in the intricacies of the budget, the debt ceiling, and social programs reform. That may also be why Jeb Bush was asked on Fox News about his intentions to run for President again two days ago. This time his response was more nuanced: he said that while he doesn't anticipate it, he hasn't ruled it out ("but, he added, "I haven't ruled out being in Dancing with the Stars, either").In the meantime, the Wall Street Journal today announced that, based on the Pew Research Center tabulations of SIPP and Census date, the wealth gap between America's whites and its two largest minorities, Blacks and Hispanics, has widened to unprecedented levels due to the housing crisis and the Great Recession. Alan Greenspan, former President of the Federal Reserve has said repeatedly that the wealth gap that has grown consistently for the last decade is a threat not only to our country but to capitalism itself. Poverty and unemployment are a combustive mix: if fiscal responsibility ends up being based on the back of the poor, social conflict will erupt. It is unconscionable, for example, to think that hedge fund managers pay significantly less taxes than their secretaries.Some Republicans want to abolish every piece of social legislation and re-litigate every progressive judicial decision since the New Deal. As part of pledge game, Michelle Bachman and four other candidates also signed the "Susan B. Anthony pledge "promising to appoint abortion opponents to their cabinets and to deny all funding for Planned Parenthood when they become presidents. The bizarre "Marriage Vow "pledge signed by Bachmann and Santoro not only opposes same-sex marriage and includes a personal promise to be faithful to their spouses, but (most peculiarly yet redundantly) it also rejects Sharia Law (which, by the way, like Bachman, also opposes gay marriage and female adultery, which it punishes by death!)The only candidate that has refused to sign any pledge is Jon Huntsman, who understands the perils of siding too closely with the rebellious Tea Party. Even if some of its main points have successfully brought into focus the deficit issue, the Tea Party is still supported by a minority and resented by most Republicans. Its anti-technocratic, anti-Washington message has resonance, but it may have pushed the GOP too far into a corner. Its message is also becoming blurred when it steps into the social arena: its racist and homophobic overtones do not reflect the spirit of the times and are offensive to the "millenials", the youngest generation of voters born in the 80s and 90s, which Republicans still hope to attract in 2012. Social movements are major vehicles of participation and can re-energize a worn out party. They reflect the spirit of the times, often in an extremist way that is what gives them prominence: their passion for the cause, their original approach, are all important, but their message has to resonate with the public if they are to succeed. They emerge, coalesce, grow and achieve some successes. However, once their main point is made, three things can happen: they can become a party, their main ideas can be incorporated into mainstream politics, or they dissipate and be quickly forgotten. The Tea Party brought into focus the issue of fiscal responsibility, it infused conservatism with new energy and found a natural home in the Republican Party, which had become profligate, and will have to prove from now on that it is sincere about austerity. Its impact is undeniable: it has also attracted Independents and in so doing, has per force moved the Democratic Party to the center-right. Mimicking the "big tent" approach of Republicans, the Tea Party has lately been focusing strategically on fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets and its main groups have avoided divisive social issues when speaking to the general public. But their demands of ideological purity from their candidates, their emphasis on returning to the strict meaning of the Constitution and the values of the Founding Father, their defense of states rights and gun rights, belie their claims of inclusiveness for all Americans; in its coded language, its contempt for immigrants and its not-so- veiled racism, one senses a strongly reactionary sentiment bordering on uncontainable fanaticism which is completely out of step with most Americans and which will make it very difficult to widen its appeal beyond what it has already achieved.To paraphrase deceased Republican leader Barry Goldwater, the Tea Party's aim isnot to streamline government or make it more efficient, but to get rid of every piece of social legislation and economic regulation passed since the New Deal. Their purpose is not to share the burden of the weakest members of society, nor to educate their children so they can have equality of opportunity, but to defend the individual freedoms of those who can stand on their own. In sum, they are extremists for whom tolerance and moderation are vices, not virtues, and therefore they have no place in a democracy.Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Geography Director, ODU Model United Nations Program Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

President Volodymyr Zelensky's dismissal of the Ukrainian army chief, General Valery Zaluzhny, is a colossal political gamble for Zelensky and seems to indicate an increasing mood of desperation in Kyiv. The background to this move lies in the failure of last year's Ukrainian offensive, and the attempts both to shift blame and to draw up a new strategy that could promise Ukraine future victory.The Ukrainian defeat last year led to a rather discreditable blame game in Washington, with the U.S. military, and some Ukrainians, suggesting that if Zaluzhny had taken their (supposed) advice and concentrated his forces to attack on a narrow front (rather than attacking in several places simultaneously), the Ukrainians could have broken through.This is a rather odd argument, because it was just such attacks on narrow fronts that the Russian army tried several times immediately following the invasion, and that led to repeated disasters. It ignores the fact that just as U.S. satellite intelligence allowed the Ukrainians to identify local Russian concentrations and to concentrate in turn, so Russian satellite intelligence does the same when it is the Ukrainians attacking.The truth is that by the summer of 2023 the Ukrainian army simply did not have the superiority in manpower and firepower that would have allowed it to break through heavily fortified lines manned by a numerous and well-armed enemy. To have succeeded against these odds would have been a quite exceptionally unusual event in military history. Nor is there any significant prospect that the Ukrainians will be able to succeed in the future; for even if they receive new Western weaponry over the next year, Russia will be using the year still further to fortify its defensive lines Zelensky's dismissal of Zaluzhny also reflects the fact that the general has long been seen as Zelensky's most dangerous future political rival, given his prestige in the army and popularity among the Ukrainian people. We do not know how Zaluzhny will react to his dismissal. Perhaps he has made some deal with Zelensky.The risks for the president are however obvious. Although Zaluzhny's replacement, General Oleksandr Syrsky, also enjoys considerable prestige as the defender of Kyiv at the start of the war, he has been blamed by many Ukrainian soldiers for bowing to political pressure and throwing away Ukrainian lives in what was seen as an unnecessary and doomed attempt to hold the town of Bakhmut last year. There is also considerable resentment among the soldiers due to their impression that not only Zaluzhny, but the military in general are being scapegoated for last year's failure.Zelensky is not helped by the fact that after the Ukrainian defeat, he publicly rebuked and contradicted Zaluzhny for stating that the war had reached a stalemate and that Ukraine would now have to go onto the defensive — only then to accept Zaluzhny's position when military reality (and advice from Washington) became overwhelming.It is also not clear that General Syrsky's appointment will change, or improve another critical factor that brought the tension between Zelensky and Zaluzhny to a head: conscription. A striking lesson of this war is that victory depends on a combination of the most recent weaponry with large numbers of fighting soldiers. In 2022, Russian defeats were largely due to the fact that they invaded with too few troops. The spectacular Ukrainian success in Kharkiv in September 2022 owed much to the fact that on that front they considerably outnumbered the Russians.Today, however, Ukraine is running out of men. Russia has more than four times Ukraine's population, and is conscripting more of them, as well as radically improving its tactics and weaponry. The Ukrainian army has been drained by huge casualties and growing unwillingness of the population to serve. The average age of Ukrainian soldiers is now 43 — far too old for full military effectiveness.As a result, in recent months General Zaluzhny became more and more insistent on the need greatly to extend and toughen conscription. This was backed by the soldiers, and became entwined with their growing anger at corruption in Kyiv and the evasion of service by the sons of the elites. However, moves to tighten conscription and increase penalties for evasion of service met strong resistance in the population and among politicians.As a result of this resistance, and perhaps of the unwillingness of the deputies to see their own children conscripted, the initial version of a law strengthening conscription was defeated in the Ukrainian parliament in January. Zelensky has reintroduced a softened version, but it is not clear that this will be nearly enough to compensate for Russia's far greater population and resources.Ukraine's military prospects have also been drastically threatened by the refusal to date of Republicans in the U.S. Congress to agree to new aid to Ukraine. Without this, Ukraine will simply not have the weapons it needs to continue the fight. The European Union has agreed to a 50 billion euro aid package which will be critical to supporting the Ukrainian economy; but European officials have candidly admitted that Europe is in no position to replace U.S. military aid. Ukraine is therefore facing a double threat: of weapons without soldiers and soldiers without weapons. Should this continue, it is unlikely that Ukraine will even be able to sustain a defensive war of attrition against Russia.Furthermore, even if the U.S. Congress reaches a compromise on aid to Ukraine, this issue will not go away for long. The struggle in the U.S. Congress — and particularly the role of former President Trump and his supporters in blocking a compromise — of course reflects political maneuvering as part of the U.S. presidential election campaign. However, the Republican stance also reflects a genuine feeling that extends across much of Europe and helps power the rise of the populist Right there: that the real threat to the security and stability of Western societies comes from domestic dysfunction driven in part by illegal migration; and that what happens in Ukraine is irrelevant to these issues.Whatever one may think of the solutions being offered, it would be wrong and dangerous for advocates of support to Ukraine to dismiss these concerns. For if the war continues indefinitely, it will not be enough for Congress and the European Union to reach agreements providing aid to Ukraine for the coming year. They will have to do so next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. No Western government can seriously and honestly guarantee this.Moreover, for Ukraine to stand on the defensive — even if it does so successfully — implies something that Western analysts and many Ukrainians are beginning to recognize, though few have as yet been willing to state this publicly: that if Ukraine remains indefinitely on the defensive, then the areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia will remain in Russian hands — not legally, of course, but de facto.As I found while visiting Ukraine, even before the failure of last year's offensive, a sizeable minority of Ukrainians were prepared in private to say that Ukraine should compromise with Russia and accept the loss of these territories, if the alternative was years of war and hundreds of thousands more deaths with no realistic prospect that these sacrifices would bring success. According to opinion polls, the defeat of the Ukrainian offensive has led to a significant increase in this sentiment.The Ukrainian government and much of the establishment has however nailed itself to the principle that the only acceptable outcome is complete Russian withdrawal. Changing this position will be exceptionally painful and difficult; and one way of understanding the present political turmoil in Kyiv is that all the different figures and groups are trying to position themselves so as to throw the blame for eventual compromise with Russia on someone else.The danger for Ukraine is that given the fraying of U.S. aid, the growing military odds in favor of Russia and the tensions reflected by Zaluzhny's dismissal, if Kyiv waits too long to seek a compromise it may have nothing left to bargain with — not just because of developments on the battlefield, but because of the collapse of political unity within Ukraine.

Il presente studio intende approfondire alcuni degli aspetti storico-economici del comune di Bagni di Lucca, cittadina termale della Media Valle del Serchio, non rinunciando ad offrire una sintesi geografica del territorio. In particolare, il punto di vista che abbiamo privilegiato riguarda le manifatture locali e la loro evoluzione nella seconda metà del Novecento, in ragione del preminente ruolo economico da esse assunto, nel corso del periodo considerato ed almeno fino ai primissimi anni Duemila, rispetto alla tradizionale industria termale, la quale ha ispirato nel tempo, e contrariamente alle vicende produttive del comune, un'apprezzabile letteratura. Bagni di Lucca si presenta attualmente come un territorio "cristallizzato", che indugia malinconicamente in una memoria di cui si è resa protagonista e virtuosa. Essa lascia intravedere, pur nella situazione di stallo demografico e socioeconomico in cui versa, un milieu locale di straordinaria ricchezza, che, se compreso e valorizzato adeguatamente da parte dei soggetti locali, potrebbe trovare nuovi margini di crescita e di espressione. La cittadina, che nella prima metà del XIX secolo conobbe il culmine della fama a livello europeo, costituì una meta turistica irrinunciabile da parte di nobili, diplomatici, intellettuali e ricchi borghesi, e non solo per le rinomate virtù terapeutiche delle sue acque termominerali, ma anche perché essa venne prescelta quale sede di residenza estiva dalla corte principesca di Lucca e, successivamente, da quella granducale. Con l'unificazione politica della Toscana, ed il conseguente forfait da parte degli abituali frequentatori aristocratici, iniziò la lunga e graduale flessione dell'attività turistica locale, che, incapace di rimodernarsi nel tempo, faceva leva, all'indomani del secondo conflitto mondiale, su strutture ricettive deteriorate e palesemente obsolete. La fragilità dell'equilibrio economico del centro, determinata essenzialmente dalla sua vocazione monofunzionale (ed aggravata, per di più, dal progressivo stato di abbandono in cui versava l'agricoltura, un tempo preziosa attività integrativa) indusse la popolazione a cercare, attraverso soluzioni di tipo individuale, nuove fonti di sostentamento alternative al turismo, attingendo ad un humus variegato di risorse che, seppur formatosi all'ombra dell'economia termale, si presentava storicamente ben radicato e diffuso sul territorio. In particolare, le attività di base che permisero all'economia locale di rilanciarsi con successo, grazie all'introduzione di nuove tecnologie e di una nuova organizzazione del lavoro, furono le seguenti: la fabbricazione di statuine e di manufatti in gesso, la produzione di carta e di cartone, infine l'estrazione del tannino dal legname di castagno. Già nei primi anni Sessanta del Novecento, l'analisi della struttura sociale della popolazione di Bagni di Lucca evidenziava una tendenza in atto che, in brevissimo tempo, sembrò manifestare un carattere irreversibile: il 52% circa degli attivi, infatti, era rappresentato da operai e manovali, nel quadro di un contesto economico sempre più spiccatamente orientato sull'industria. Bagni di Lucca, che da esclusiva ed elitaria stazione termale si stava trasformando in una dinamica cittadina operaia, fu dunque in grado, grazie ad una sapiente combinazione di tradizione e modernità, di ristrutturare con successo la propria economia. Il nostro studio non ha la pretesa di essere esaustivo, né di misurarsi in senso stretto con i contenuti specialistici delle discipline storico-economiche ed archeologico-industriali. Il suo intento è piuttosto di sottolineare l'importanza antropogeografica di determinate attività produttive, le quali, radicate nella storia, nella tradizione e nel complesso delle risorse ambientali ed umane del territorio esaminato, hanno intrapreso, in una fase storica di crescita economica, la via dell'adeguamento ai tempi, gettando un ponte tra un sostrato di acquisizioni tecniche e di usi sociali consolidati da un antico retaggio, e nuove possibilità di aggiornamento e di sviluppo. A fianco del termalismo (ma soprattutto, a partire dal secondo dopoguerra, in alternativa ad esso), tali industrie hanno agito, pertanto, come fattori microeconomici di identità territoriale, grazie anche ai quali si deve, in virtù dei sistemi e dei valori del lavoro che hanno generato, la variegata ricchezza del milieu locale. This study aims to examine some of the historical and economic aspects of Bagni di Lucca, a spa town in the Media Valle del Serchio, without renouncing to offer a geographical synthesis of the territory. In particular, the point of view we have privileged concerns the local factories and their evolution in the second half of the 20th century, because of the prominent economic role they assumed, during the period considered and at least until the very early years of the 2000s, with respect to the traditional spa industry, which has inspired over time, and contrary to the productive events of the municipality, an appreciable literature. Bagni di Lucca currently presents itself as a "crystallised" territory, lingering melancholically in a memory of which it has become a protagonist and virtuous. In spite of the demographic and socio-economic stalemate in which it finds itself, it allows us to glimpse a local milieu of extraordinary richness, which, if properly understood and valued by the local players, could find new margins of growth and expression. The town, which in the first half of the 19th century reached the peak of its European fame, was an essential tourist destination for nobles, diplomats, intellectuals and rich bourgeoisie, not only for the renowned therapeutic virtues of its thermal mineral waters, but also because it was chosen as a summer residence by the princely court of Lucca and later by the grand ducal court. With the political unification of Tuscany, and the consequent withdrawal of the usual aristocratic visitors, the long and gradual decline of local tourism began, which, unable to modernise over time, relied on deteriorated and clearly obsolete accommodation facilities in the aftermath of the Second World War. The fragility of the economic balance of the centre, essentially determined by its monofunctional vocation (and aggravated, moreover, by the progressive state of abandonment in which agriculture, once a valuable supplementary activity, was found) induced the population to seek, through individual solutions, new sources of sustenance alternative to tourism, drawing on a varied humus of resources which, although formed in the shadow of the thermal economy, was historically well rooted and widespread in the territory. In particular, the basic activities that allowed the local economy to successfully relaunch itself, thanks to the introduction of new technologies and a new organisation of work, were the following: the manufacture of statuettes and plaster artefacts, the production of paper and cardboard, and finally the extraction of tannin from chestnut wood. Already at the beginning of the 1960s, an analysis of the social structure of the population of Bagni di Lucca highlighted a trend that in a very short time seemed to show an irreversible character: about 52% of the active population was represented by workers and labourers, in the context of an economic context increasingly oriented towards industry. Bagni di Lucca, which was transforming from an exclusive and elitist spa resort into a dynamic working-class town, was therefore able to successfully restructure its economy thanks to a skilful combination of tradition and modernity. Our study does not pretend to be exhaustive, nor does it attempt to measure itself in a strict sense against the specialist contents of the historical-economic and archaeological-industrial disciplines. Rather, its intention is to underline the anthropogeographical importance of certain productive activities which, rooted in the history, tradition and complex of environmental and human resources of the area examined, have undertaken, in a historical phase of economic growth, the path of adaptation to the times, building a bridge between a substratum of technical acquisitions and social customs consolidated by an ancient heritage, and new possibilities for updating and development. Alongside the spa industry (but above all, since the second post-war period, as an alternative to it), these industries have therefore acted as microeconomic factors of territorial identity, thanks also to which, by virtue of the work systems and values they have generated, we owe the varied richness of the local milieu.

A substantial proportion of EU's fish stocks lack a quantitative assessment and are therefore regarded as data-limited. The goal of the present project and report, i.e. to provide and improve quantitative assessments of data-limited stocks, is therefore a prerequisite to the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and to promote sustainable fisheries. Specifically, the project and report addresses Article 2 of the CFP stating that the objective is to achieve exploitation levels that restore and maintain populations above levels which can produce the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). This cannot be achieved without quantitative assessments. Furthermore, as a result of the landing obligation (CFP article 15) data-limited stocks acting as "choke-species" in mixed fisheries have a significant risk of limiting the fishery of high-value stocks. Obtaining quantitative assessments and fleet-specific fishing mortalities as further developed in this project is a necessary step toward mitigating the impact of choke-species and improving management of such fisheries. By improving knowledge about data-limited fish stocks, the project minimises the risk of yield reductions that result from an increased precautionary buffer applied when quantitative stock assessments are lacking. Similarly, the risk of overexploitation is minimised with the aim to prevent a subsequent potential long-term stock rebuilding period with reduction in quotas. The specific objectives of the project is to develop and implement further newly developed statistical methods by DTU Aqua for assessment and management strategy evaluation of data limited stocks in relation to MSY (Maximum Sustainable Yield) - with focus on broad accessibility and implementation – benefitting Danish, European and global fisheries. Furthermore, the aim is to improve the management basis for 4-6 data limited fish stocks with special importance for Danish fishery and which are managed conservatively because of limited available information. The specific stocks are selected in consultancy with stakeholders. The project has involved close collaboration with and feed-back from stakeholders within fisheries and management to ensure that the stocks selected as case studies are the most relevant to management and the fisheries industry. The project provides quantitative knowledge and new assessments regarding more than the 4-6 Danish data-limited fish stocks that the project was originally aiming for by project start. This knowledge is not only new, but has also been necessary to enable implementation of sustainable management for the stocks. Furthermore, the project has created the foundation for analytical assessments of these stocks and not least further development of the statistical assessment and forecast models. The sustainable management of fisheries demands the quantitative assessment of fisheries resources and exploitation patterns. However, underlying ecological and mathematical models are often a simplified representation of natural systems and are particularly challenged if available data is limited in quantity or quality. Therefore, it is important to not only understand underlying model assumptions, but also to quantify and account for associated assessment uncertainty. ManDaLiS has assessed several data-limited stocks with high relevance for the Danish fishery and evaluated existing and developed new data-limited assessment methods and management strategies. The focus has been on length-based assessment methods and biomass dynamic models, which are two important suits of methods for the assessment of data-limited stocks. The performance comparison of different length-based assessment methods under various recruitment and exploitation scenarios revealed strengths and shortcomings of the various methods and provides important guidance on model selection for stock assessors and managers. A novel approach to length-based stock assessment allows the quantification of assessment uncertainty and adds a new method to the stock assessment toolbox. The modification of the stochastic production model in continuous time (SPiCT) allows modelling time-variant productivity changes or regime shifts by a time-variant parameter for the intrinsic population growth rate. ManDaLiS has improved existing management strategies by incorporating stochastic harvest control rules which allow adjusting management advice (e.g. the total allowable catch (TAC)) as a function of assessment uncertainty. This approach is in line with the precautionary principle and reduces the TAC if the stock status is uncertain. The methodological developments achieved within the scope of ManDaLiS shed light on the trade-offs of different data-limited assessment methods and provide new assessment methods and management strategies. Most importantly, these developments allow the quantification and consideration of assessment uncertainty and thus, contribute to a sustainable management of fisheries. The landing obligation has drastically increased the importance of data-limited stocks as a result of the "choke-species" phenomenon. The DTU Aqua model used (SPiCT) has been upgraded to an ICES (International Council for Exploration of the Sea) standard assessment model for data poor stocks not least due to input from the current project. Furthermore, the novelty of the model improvements provided by the project has had a high impact to both the current and future advisory and scientific assessment development work within ICES. The case studies and model implementations have very much covered a large number of fish stocks that are important to Danish fishery. As such the models, their improvements and their implementation provide advice directly to and relevant for the Danish fisheries industry and all stakeholders within the fisheries sector. The results and methodological developments of the project are disseminated through four scientific manuscripts, whereof one is published, one accepted, and two are pending submission for publication, and through scientific conference presentations as well as summarised in several ICES working group reports (e.g. ICES WKLIFE VI-VIII, ICES WGNSSK, ICES WGBFAS, ICES WKMSYCat34, ICES WKPROXY, ICES WGECON). Project participants attended these working groups to make specific recommendations regarding future data calls, methodological directions, and assessment, advice and management strategies in general and for several stocks including stocks where a robust assessment cannot be provided. Furthermore, the implementation of the models have been affiliated further through ManDaLiS contributions to other EU projects covering the EU-Tender DRUMFISH, EU-Tender PROBYFISH, EU Tender EFICA, and EU-H2020-MEESO, and not least conducting a full PhD Study cofinanced between ManDaLiS (2 years) and a DTU Aqua internal PhD project (1 year) with input to stock assessments, methodological reviews and improved assessment methods. As such, the ManDaLiS project has also been further implemented and disseminated through the cooperation in international expert networks working under these international research projects, as well as implementation of the model developments under ManDaLiS in the assessments conducted under those research projects. There has been conducted three project workshops held in cooperation between the EMFF ManDaLiS and MSPTOOLS projects. One of the workshops was international and was held in association with and just after an International Conference Special Session: IIFET Conference, Seattle, USA, July 2018, (IIFET 2018 International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, https://www.xcdsystem.com/iifet/website/). This Special Open Session was directly arranged by the ManDaLiS and MSPTOOLS projects with invitation of stakeholders and including stakeholder perspectives. Besides initiative taking, planning, arranging, organizing, coordinating, announcing, leading and carrying through this special session directly under the MSPTOOLS and ManDaLiS Projects the projects produced the session abstract and a full scientific publication reporting of the outcomes of the session (Nielsen et al., 2018). In accordance with several of the stakeholder perspectives from the above workshops and the IIFET session future perspectives and needs raised by the stakeholders during the ManDaLiS and MSPTOOLS workshops included suggestions for continuation of the implementation of the data poor stock assessments and model developments on additional candidate stocks with importance for Danish fishery.

La compraventa de vivienda en construcción es una figura cuya especialidad radica no sólo en la obligación del vendedor de construir y entregar conforme a las condiciones y características pactadas, sino también en el deber del comprador de pagar un precio cierto a cambio de cosa futura, debiendo, además, iniciar dicho pago antes de que el objeto de la venta le sea materialmente entregado, mediante abonos parciales (que suponen para el promotor-vendedor un sistema de autofinanciación de la ejecución de la obra, mediante dicha entrega de pagos aplazados). Por las especiales circunstancias del objeto, la propiedad de la vivienda no se transmite sino hasta que se ha concluido la construcción, lo que supone el transcurso de un dilatado lapso de tiempo, durante el cual los compradores están expuestos a toda clase de riesgos. Para proteger de los mismos al adquirente, que normalmente tiene la condición de consumidor, se ha desarrollado una extensa normativa que se halla dispersa en distintos textos legales, con el riesgo que ello conlleva para la seguridad jurídica, toda vez que trae consigo problemas, no sólo de interpretación, sino también de determinación de la ley aplicable. Por todo lo anterior, lo que se busca con el presente trabajo es hacer un estudio pormenorizado de todos los derechos que otorga el ordenamiento jurídico a los adquirentes de vivienda en construcción, con la finalidad de proteger la posición de los mismos, mucho más vulnerable que la contraparte, recorriendo todo el íter que va desde la publicidad e información previa a la suscripción del contrato hasta un momento posterior a la entrega, para el caso de que existan vicios o defectos constructivos por los que se puedan reclamar responsabilidades. Se examinará con detalle, además, la naturaleza, contenido y efectos de la obligación del promotor-vendedor de constituir las garantías establecidas en la Ley respecto a las cantidades anticipadas entregadas por el adquirente de vivienda en construcción, dada la especial importancia que dicha obligación ha adquirido en el momento actual de crisis económica, y la interpretación que de la misma ha realizado recientemente el Tribunal Supremo. METODOLOGÍA.- Se ha llevado a cabo el análisis de la legislación vigente reguladora de los derechos del adquirente de vivienda en construcción, exponiéndose las posturas doctrinales existentes sobre los principales temas suscitados, y prestando especial atención a las resoluciones judiciales que han resuelto los problemas prácticos que presenta el objeto del trabajo. RESULTADOS.- El contrato de compraventa de vivienda en construcción no se configura simplemente como contrato de compraventa de cosa futura, sino también como un contrato de carácter mixto o complejo, que combina obligaciones propias del arrendamiento de obra (la de construir la vivienda con arreglo a las descripciones pactadas), con la principal y típica de la compraventa: la obligación de entrega. Dicho carácter mixto es consecuencia de la especialidad de su objeto, y de la insuficiencia del régimen de la compraventa previsto en el Código Civil, que no resuelve las cuestiones derivadas de la previa obligación de hacer, ni las vicisitudes que en su ejecución pudieran aparecer. Directamente relacionada con esta condición se halla la obligación del adquirente de efectuar entregas anticipadas, respecto de las cuales el promotor-vendedor no tiene libre disponibilidad, ya que está obligado a destinarlas a la financiación de la construcción de la vivienda. Una vez expuestos a lo largo del presente trabajo los distintos derechos y posibilidades de actuación del adquirente ante los problemas que se puede encontrar, y que deben solventarse desde la condición del mismo como consumidor, se hace referencia en sus conclusiones a aquellos que presentan mayores dificultades de interpretación y aplicación, destacando el contenido del deber de entrega -obtención de licencia de primera ocupación, defectos de cabida, efectos del retraso, imposibilidad de entrega, etc.-, y especialmente, las garantías reguladas en la DA1ª LOE y la interpretación que de las mismas viene efectuando el Tribunal Supremo. The purchase and sale of properties under construction is a legal concept which requires from the seller, not only the duty of constructing and handing over the object of the contract according to the conditions and characteristics agreed but also in the duty of the purchaser, in the payment of an exact price at a future exchange rate. This payment has to be started before the object of the sale is handed over through several installments, allowing the seller to self-fund the works involved in the construction. Due to the special characteristics of the object, the ownership of the property is not transfered until the construction is finished. This situation may lead to a long lapse of time in which the buyer might face various risks. In order to protect the buyer, who is generally considered as a consumer, a large variety of regulations have been developed. This has caused a spread of legislation which may put legal certainty at risk due to possible problems related to the determination of the applicable law and its interpretation. Given this context this Ph.D. dissertation aims to elaborate a detailed study of the rights guaranteed by the legal system to the purchasers of properties under construction, in order to protect them given their vulnerable situation compared to their counterparts. This study goes through the entire process, from the initial advertising and information given before the contract is drafted to the handover of the property and even afterwards so that liabilities can be claimed in the case of defects in the construction. The nature, core and effects of the obligation of the seller of ensuring the guarantees set by the Law in relation to the installments paid previously by the purchaser of the property under construction, will be analysed in detail given the critical significance of that obligation within the current economic context and the ultimate interpretation made by the Supreme Court. METHODOLOGY.- Analysis of the regulatory legislation about the rights of the purchaser of properties under construction, exposing the existing doctrinal positions on the main issues raised, and paying special attention to judicial decisions which have solved the practical problems presented by the object of this thesis. RESULTS.- The purchase-sale contract of properties under construction is not configured simply as a contract for the sale of a future object, but also as a mixed or complex contract, which combines characteristic of building lease obligations (like building housing pursuant to the agreed descriptions) with main and typical sales obligations: the obligation of handing over. This mixed character stated is a consequence of the special nature of the object of the contract and the inadequate regulation of purchases-sales contained in the Civil Code, that does not resolve issues arising from the prior obligation to do it, nor the vicissitudes that the execution of it could cause. Directly related to this mixed character is the obligation of the purchaser to pay in advance on account of the final price, for which the promoter-seller has no free use of, since he is obliged to allocate the amounts to financing the construction of the property. As stated throughout this present thesis the different rights and possibilities of action on the part of the purchaser in respect of the problems that can be encountered, and that must be solved from his consideration as a consumer, those of which have greater difficulties in interpretation and application are summarized in the conclusions, emphasizing the content of the duty of delivery -obtaining a license of first occupation, space defects, effects of delays, impossibility of handing over, etc.-, and especially, the guarantees regulated by LOE DA1ª and the interpretation of them made by the Supreme Court.

The Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) was first introduced in all commercial forest reserves in Sabah in 1997. This policy gives hope to the state government to manage the forests in a sustainable manner following the forest development phase of revenue oriented timber exploitation, which has contributed to the decline in forest resources; the increase in forest degradation and the decrease in state income earned from the forestry sector. Under the SFM concept, the forest of the state was divided into Forest Management Units (FMUs) managed by FMU holders under different institutional arrangements of state, state enterprise and private sector. This study was conducted to investigate the corporate-stakeholder interrelation under the SFM concept implemented by the FMU holder in Sabah, Malaysia. The research was based on the 'Triple Typology Perspective of Stakeholder Theory', which encapsulates three different perspectives of 'conceptual', 'corporate' and 'stakeholder' centric. The 'conceptual' perspective explores the overall SFM concept and its relation to the FMU holder – stakeholder interaction. The 'corporate' view investigates how the FMU holders as the corporate part of the SFM concept deals with their stakeholders; and the 'stakeholder' perspective analyses the relation between stakeholders, the FMU holders and SFM implementation. Stakeholder analysis was used to gather information with the application of methods incorporating literature reviews, expert interviews, focus groups, meetings and discussion, questionnaire surveys and Q methodology. Four FMUs were selected as study areas, which managed by the state, state enterprise and private sector. The respondents were encompassed personal of Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), FMU managers and FMU workers, various governmental and non-governmental agencies, and local communities of eight villages located within and in the fringe of FMU areas involved in the study. Under the 'conceptual centric', different groups of stakeholders were identified based on SFM documentation, which also provide the normative basis for the SFM concept. The contemporary implementation of SFM was assessed based on stakeholders' perspective, which indicated that the overall SFM contribution entailed mainly on satisfaction of environment objectives, followed by economic and, to a lesser degree, social objectives. Different categories of stakeholders were identified based on their perceptions of various issues under SFM implementation. These include the level of cooperation or conflict; degree of stakeholder participation; views of specific individuals and a thorough comparison of individual subjectivity. There is, however, an agreement to the statements on the influential factors towards effective SFM implementation, which include the administration and leadership of SFD, and good collaboration between SFD and the FMU holders. Other consensuses were related to the roles of participation in promoting learning about synergy and the importance of various forest uses, and that it should be able to influence the decision-making during the consultation process. The implementation of SFM was agreed in influencing towards investment in the forestry sector and the development of the rural area in the state. The 'corporate centric' indicates the different approaches of stakeholder management under the different arrangements of FMU holders. The SFM operations with a high level of stakeholder involvement were identified as community forestry programme followed by forest conservation, forest protection, development and preparation of plans, administration, human resource development, and research and development. The important stakeholders, according to their degree of involvement in SFM operations were the internal stakeholders of FMU workers, followed by external stakeholders of the staff of SFD, contractors, local communities, local authorities, consultants, businessmen/traders and researchers/scientists. Other stakeholders were various state government agencies, manufacturers, shareholders, NGOs (local), international agencies, NGOs (international), donors, federal government agencies and other FMU holders. The 'stakeholder centric' identifies the various stakeholders interests and claims associated with SFM implementation that depend on stakeholder affiliation. The main groups in this study were multi-interest stakeholder groups (n=104) and the local community groups of the selected villages (n=332). The interests and claims of the multi-interest stakeholder group were related to SFM objectives such as good management of the forest, protection and conservation of environment and biodiversity, and protection of water catchment areas. The local community groups, on the other hand, were mainly concerned with the importance of the forest as a source for foods, land for agriculture and other livelihood purposes. There are various approaches for stakeholder relation management (SRM) that are employed by the FMU holders and stakeholders. These may consist of management quality system, CSR program, the community forest development project; inter agency meetings and dialogue; and collaboration and cooperation with other agencies and institutions. SRM can assist in balancing conflicts that arise, promoting cooperation, and advancing the knowledge and understanding on the SFM concept among the stakeholders. The SRM approaches under the SFM implementation can augment participation by the stakeholders, which in turn will promote effective and efficient implementation of SFM. The mutual relation of the SFM concept and SRM is advancing stakeholder participation in promoting effective implementation of SFM at the FMU level. The inter-relation of the 'triple perspective typology of stakeholder theory' was integrated as new contexts to achieve objectives for sustainability under SFM policy, with the business case of corporate sustainability, and the wider scope of the ecosystem approach and the sustainable development. ; Das Konzept Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) wurde erstmals in allen kommerziellen Waldreservaten in Sabah, Malaysia, im Jahr 1997 eingeführt. Mit dieser Politik verbindet die Landesregierung die Hoffnung, dass die Wälder nun in einer nachhaltigen Art und Weise bewirtschaftet werden können, nachdem die fast ausschließlich auf Einnahmen orientierte Holznutzung zum Rückgang der Waldbestände, zur Zunahme der Waldzerstörung und damit letztendlich auch zum Rückgang der Staatseinnahmen aus der Forstwirtschaft beigetragen hat. Zur Umsetzung des SFM-Konzepts wurde der Staatswald in Forest Management Units (FMU) unterteilt, die von FMU Haltern aus verschiedenen Staatsinstitutionen, Staatsunternehmen und der Privatwirtschaft verwaltet werden. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht das Verhältnis zwischen Unternehmen als FMU-Bewirtschaftern und Stakeholdern im Konzept nachhaltiger Waldbewirtschaftung, das von FMUs in Sabah, Malaysia implementiert wurde. Die Arbeit basiert auf der "Triple-Typology Perspective of Stakeholder Theory", welche drei verschiedene Perspektiven beinhaltet, die konzeptionell, unternehmensbezogen oder Stakeholder-zentriert sind. Dabei untersucht die konzeptionelle Perspektive SFM-Konzepte und die daraus resultierenden Beziehungen zwischen FMU-Bewirtschafter und ihren jeweiligen Stakeholdern. Die unternehmenszentrierte Sicht legt den Schwerpunkt darauf, wie FMU-Bewirtschafter als Teil des SFM-Konzeptes mit Stakeholdern interagieren. Die Stakeholder-Perspektive analysiert das Verhältnis zwischen Stakeholdern, FMU-Bewirtschafter und der SFM-Implementierung. Die Daten wurden mit Hilfe der Stakeholder-Theorie unter Anwendung quantitativer und qualitativer Methoden wie Literaturrecherche, Experteninterviews, Fokusgruppen, informellen Treffen und Diskussionsrunden, schriftlichen Befragungen und der Q-Methodologie erhoben. Als Untersuchungseinheiten wurden vier FMUs ausgewählt, die durch den Staat, den staatlichen Forstbetrieb und den privatem Sektor bewirtschaftet werden. Die Befragungsteilnehmer setzten sich aus Personal der Forstverwaltung Sabah (Sabah Forestry Department, SFD), den FMU-Bewirtschaftern und –Mitarbeitern, verschiedenen Regierungs- und Nicht-Regierungsorganisationen und lokalen Gemeinschaften in acht Dörfern innerhalb sowie im Randgebiet der FMUs zusammen. In Bezug auf die konzeptionelle Perspektive wurden, basierend auf der SFM-Dokumentation, verschiedene Stakeholder-Gruppen identifiziert, die die normative Basis für das SFM-Konzept liefern. Dessen Implementation wurde aus Sicht der Stakeholder analysiert. Es zeigte sich, dass der gesamte Beitrag zum SFM vornehmlich umweltbezogene Zielsetzungen erfüllt, gefolgt von ökonomischen und, zu einem noch geringeren Grad, sozialen Zielen. Mehrere Kategorien von Stakeholdern wurden auf Grundlage ihrer Wahrnehmung verschiedener Aspekte im Zuge der SFM-Implementation identifiziert. Diese umfassen die Kooperations- oder Konfliktebene, den Grad der Stakeholder-Beteiligung sowie individuelle Betrachtungen. Es gibt eine Übereinstimmung zu Äußerungen, welche Einflussfaktoren hinsichtlich effektiver SFM-Implementierung entscheidend sind. Dabei wurden vor allem das Management und die Führung der, der SFD sowie gute Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem SFD und den FMU-Bewirtschaftern genannt. Weitere Übereinstimmung besteht darin, die Weiterbildung über die Bedeutung unterschiedlicher Waldnutzungen und deren Ausbalancierung zu stärken, um die Entscheidungsfindung im Konsultationsprozess beeinflussen zu können. Auch herrschte Einigkeit darin, durch Investition in den Forstsektor und Entwicklung ländlicher Regionen die Implementation von SFM zu stärken. Der unternehmensbezogene Fokus konzentriert sich auf die verschiedenen Ansätze des Stakeholder-Managements unter unterschiedlichen Charakteristika der FMU-Bewirtschafter. SFM-Maßnahmen mit einem hohen Grad an Stakeholder-Beteiligung sind Gemeinschaftsforstprogramme (community forestry programmes), gefolgt von Waldnaturschutz, Waldschutz, Entwicklung und Vorbereitung von Plänen, Verwaltung, die Entwicklung von Humanressourcen sowie Forschung und Entwicklung. Die wichtigsten Stakeholder, bezogen auf ihren Beteiligungsgrad in SFM-Maßnahmen, waren intern die Mitarbeiter der FMUs und extern die Mitarbeiter der SFD, Vertragsnehmer, lokale Gemeinschaftsgruppen und Verwaltungen, Berater, Geschäftsleute/Händler und Forscher/Wissenschaftler. Weitere Stakeholder waren verschiedene Regierungsorganisationen, Produzenten, Aktionäre, internationale Behörden, lokale und internationale NGOs, Behörden der föderalen Regierung und andere FMU-Bewirtschafter. Die Stakeholder Perspektive identifiziert verschiedene Interessen und Forderungen der Stakeholder, die sich auf die SFM-Implementation beziehen und von der Stakeholder-Zugehörigkeit abhängen. Die Hauptgruppen in dieser Studie waren sogenannte Mehrinteressen-Stakeholder-Gruppen (n=104) und lokale Gemeinschaftsgruppen (n=332). Die Interessen und Forderungen der Mehrinteressen-Stakeholder-Gruppen waren bezogen auf SFM-Ziele wie gute Waldbewirtschaftung, Schutz und Erhaltung der Umwelt und Biodiversität sowie Schutz von Wassereinzugsgebieten. Andererseits stand der Wald als Quelle für Nahrung, landwirtschaftliche Flächen und andere Aspekte des Lebensunterhaltes im Mittelpunkt des Interesses lokaler Gemeinschaftsgruppen. Es gibt zahlreiche Ansätze für das Management von Stakeholder-Beziehungen (Stakeholder Relation Management, SRM), welches durch FMU-Bewirtschafter und Stakeholder genutzt wird. Der SRM-Ansatz besteht aus dem Bewirtschaftungsqualitätssystem, CSR-Programm, dem Gemeinschaftswaldentwicklungsprojekt, multilateralen Treffen und Dialog zwischen den Behörden, und Zusammenarbeit und Kooperation mit anderen Behörden und Organisationen. SRM kann dazu dienen, mögliche Konflikte auszubalancieren, Kooperation zu begünstigen sowie das Wissen und Verständnis von SFM zu fördern. Die Einbindung von SRM in die Implementation von SFM erweitert die Beteiligung der Stakeholder, was wiederum zu einer effektiveren und effizienteren Implementation von SFM auf FMU-Ebene führen kann. Die Wechselbeziehungen zwischen der "Triple-Perspective Typology of Stakeholder Theory" und dem Ökosystemansatz, der unternehmensbezogenen Nachhaltigkeit und dem Konzept des Sustainable Forest Management bilden die Grundlage, um das Ziel einer umfassenden Nachhaltigkeit zu erreichen.

International audience ; The case of Sorana Gurian (1913‑1956) allows to examine the situation of multiple exclusion in the 20th century European society: she is a Jewish woman, a stranger accused of espionage and collaboration and her body, disabled and affected by cancer, becomes the main culprit of this plural banishment. The author is a tragic figure: not only because of her life, but also due to the oblivion that her oeuvre fell into – yet original and contemporarily recognized – counting six volumes in French and Romanian and dozens of press publications. In the paper, I propose to read chosen literary chronicles commenting on two Gurian's editions published in Romania in 1945‑1946 – Zilele nu se întorc niciodată [Days that never return] and Întâmplări între amurg și noapte [Adventures between twilight and night]. These chronicles show the way in which the Other was perceived, in this case – a woman writer, a disabled woman or a Jewish woman in the 20th century. Such perspective aims to show the non‑ aesthetic conditions (gender, corporality, social class, political convictions, ethnic origin, etc.) which have determined Gurian's appearance and disappearance in the literary scene, and which still influence the way of perceiving her texts in Romania. At the end of this study, I reflect on the possibility of rehabilitating this figure in the history of European literature, that could renew the Romanian literary canon of the 20th century, in which women writers haven't still found their place. ; Le cas de Sorana Gurian (1913-1956) permet d'examiner la situation d'une multiple exclusion au sein de la société européenne du xxe siècle : elle est à la fois femme, juive et étrangère, accusée d'espionnage et de collaboration, et son corps, handicapé et touché par le cancer, devient le principal coupable de ce bannissement pluriel. L'auteure est une figure tragique : non seulement par sa vie, mais aussi par l'oubli dans lequel est tombée son œuvre – pourtant originale et reconnue à l'époque –, comptant six volumes en roumain et en français et des dizaines de publications dans la presse. Dans le présent article, je propose une lecture de quelques chroniques littéraires portant sur deux éditions de Gurian parues en Roumanie en 1945-1946 : Zilele nu se întorc niciodată [Les jours ne reviennent jamais] et Întâmplări între amurg și noapte [Aventures entre crépuscule et nuit], qui témoignent de la manière dont on percevait l'Autre, en l'occurrence une femme écrivain, une femme infirme ou bien une femme d'origine juive au xxe siècle. Cette perspective a pour but de montrer les conditionnements autres qu'esthétiques (genre, corporalité, classe sociale, convictions politiques, origine ethnique, etc.) qui ont déterminé l'apparition et la disparition de Gurian sur la scène littéraire, et qui influencent toujours la manière de percevoir ses textes en Roumanie. À la fin de cette étude, je réfléchis à la possibilité de réhabiliter cette figure dans l'histoire de la littérature européenne, ce qui pourrait permettre de rediscuter le canon littéraire roumain du xxe siècle, où les femmes écrivains ne trouvent toujours pas leur place. ; Przypadek Sorany Gurian (1913‑1956) pozwala zbadać sytuację wielokrotnego wykluczenia w xx‑wiecznym społeczeństwie europejskim: jest ona jednocześnie kobietą, Żydówką, obcą, oskarżoną o szpiegostwo i kolaborację, zaś jej ciało, niepełnosprawne i chore na raka, staje się głównym winowajcą tego mnogiego wygnania. Autorka jest postacią tragiczną nie tylko ze względu na jej życie, lecz również ze względu na zapomnienie, w jakie popadła jej oryginalna i uznana przez współczesnych twórczość, na którą składają się sześć wydań w językach francuskim i rumuńskim oraz dziesiątki publikacji w prasie. W niniejszym artykule odczytuję wybrane kroniki literackie komentujące dwa teksty opublikowane przez Gurian w Rumunii w latach 1945‑1946 – Zilele nu se întorc niciodată [Dni nigdy nie powracają] oraz Întâmplări între amurg și noapte [Zdarzenia między zmierzchem a nocą]. Kroniki te pokazują bowiem, w jaki sposób postrzegano Innego, w tym przypadku – pisarkę, niepełnosprawną kobietę czy Żydówkę w xx wieku. Ta perspektywa ma na celu wskazać uwarunkowania nie‑ estetyczne (płeć, cielesność, klasa społeczna, poglądy polityczne, pochodzenie etniczne itd.), które zdecydowały o pojawieniu i zniknięciu Gurian na scenie literackiej, a które ciągle określają postrzeganie jej tekstów w Rumunii. Na końcu tego studium zastanawiam się nad możliwością rehabilitacji tej postaci w historii literatury europejskiej, co mogłoby z kolei przyczynić się do odnowienia rumuńskiego kanonu literackiego xx wieku, w którym nadal nie ma miejsca dla pisarek. ; Cazul Soranei Gurian (1913‑1956) ilustrează situația unei excluderi din considerențe multiple în societatea europeană din secolul xx‑lea. Fiind femeie, evreică și străină, acuzată de spionaj și de colaborare, trupul său, cu handicap și atins de cancer, devine principalul vinovat al acestei exilări plurale. Autorea este un personaj tragic: nu numai din cauza vieții sale, ci și din cauza uitării în care a căzut opera sa, totuși originală și recunoscută de către contemporanii ei, compusă din șase volume în limba franceză și în română, precum și de zeci de publicații în presă. În acest articol, propun o lectură a unor cronici literare privind cele două ediții ale Soranei Gurian publicate în România în anii 1945‑1946 – Zilele nu se întorc niciodată și Aventuri între amurg și noapte. Aceste cronici reflectă modul în care se percepe Celălalt, în acest caz – o scriitoare, o femeie cu handicap, o evreică în contextul secolului xx. Această perspectivă are să identifice diferite condiționări (gen, corporalitate, clasă socială, convingeri politice, etnie șamd), care au determinat atît apariția, cît și dispariția lui Gurian de pe scenă literară și care încă înfluențează modul de percepere al textelor sale în România. La sfîrșitul acestui studiu, propun o reflecție asupra posibilității de reabilitare a acestei figuri în istoria literaturii europene, ceea ce ar putea conduce la rediscutarea canonului literar românesc al secolului xx, unde scriitoarele încă nu‑și găsesc locul.

SummaryLAND OWNERSHIP IN DENSELY POPULATED AND INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIESThe relationships between man and land are social phenomena. That means that man‐land relationships are related to society as a whole, to its culture, its structure and its function. In certain periods of history certain laws, rules or institutions ‐ like the phenomena of leasehold ‐ come into existence and afterwards they often continue to exist.The main issue discussed is whether in modern, industrialized and densely populated countries (exemplified by the Netherlands) property in land is still in accordance with the real needs and functions of society. To tackle the problem the author investigates the functions of land in the nineteenth century in relation to its functions in present‐day society.Whereas in the nineteenth century private property seemed to be the most appropiate form of land ownership, the present‐day situation shows an 'erosion of private property rights', although private ownership is still accepted everywhere in non‐communist Europe. Re‐allocation has become very important from an economic point of view (mechanisation), and the owner can also be expropiated for planning and on purposes. Furthermore local government authorities interfere with fixed rents for land. It is stated, however, that a really rational system consisting of large, well‐shaped parcels of land, fitted for large‐scale mechanized agriculture now and in the future, would be only possible when the land is in sole ownership. Other reasons for discussing land as property are that it is more profitable to rent land nowadays, and that it has lost much of its former psychological value and status.Individual property rights are at present strongly restricted by physical planning, for instance for housing, industrial use, road construction, agricultural and recreational purposes or for the protection of nature. With few exceptions all land for non‐agricultural purposes in the Netherlands becomes, at least temporarily, government property, which is necessary for a balanced economic policy and planning.It is concluded that private property in land has weakened as a system and that it does not work efficiently in densely populated, industrialized countries. It tends to become a cultural lag, and to an important extent it is already disfunctional.RésuméLes relations entre l'homme et le sol constituent un phénomème social. Cela signifie que ces relations sont intégrées a la société dans son ensemble, à sa culture, sa structure et sa fonction.Des lois, règlements ou pratiques ‐ tel le phénomène de la tenure à bail ‐ sont apparues à certaines périodes de l' histoire et, souvent, ont persistś.l' auteur s'interroge sur le fait de savoir si, dans les pays modernes, industrialisés et à forte densité"démographique ‐ dont les Pays Bas sont un exemple ‐ la propriété" fonçière est encore compatible avec la réalité des besoins et fonctions de la société. Il aborde le problème en faisant un inventaire comparatif des fonctions de la terre au XIX ème siècle et maintenant. Alors que la propriété privée semblait être, au XIXème siècle, le mode le plus approprié, nous constatons actuellement «une érosion des droits de la propriété privée» bien que celle‐çi soit encore acceptée par l' ensemble de l' Europe non‐com‐muniste.Une rédistribution est devenue, du point de vue économique, extrêmement importante (mécanisation). De plus, les propriétaires peuvent être expropriés pour des raisons de zonages ou d'urbanisme. En fixant autoritairement le taux des loyers de la terre, les administrations locales vont encore plus loin dans le même sens.Il a été cependant démontré qu'un système réellement rationnel, fondé sur de vastes parcelles, de formes régulieres, convenant à une agriculture très mécanisée, actuelle ou future, n'est possible que dans la mesure où la terre est entre les mains d' un seul détenteur.D'autres raisons font que la propriété fonçière fait l' objet de discussion et, en particulier, le fait qu'il est, à l' heure actuelle, plus rentable de louer de la terre et que cette derniére a perdu sa valeur psychologique et son statut.La. propriété individuelle est sévérement contrôlée par l' aménagement du territoire: Habitations, industries, construction de routes, zones agricoles et de loisirs, protection de la nature.Il existe peu de cas aux Pays Bas, où les terres destinées à des usages non agricoles ne deviennent pas, au moins temporaitement, propriété de l' Etat; caractéristique qui est, du point de vue de la politique économique et de la planification, extrêmement satisfaisante.l' auteur conclut que la propriété foncière s'est affaiblie en tant que système et que son rôle, au sein des pays industrialisés a forte densité démographique, n'est plus efficace. Elle tend à devenir une rémanence culturelle, dont le rôle peut être, déjà, dans une large mesure, dysfonctionnel.ZusammenfassungBODENEIGENTUM IN I NDUSTRIA LI SIER TEN UND DICHTBESIEDELTEN LÁNDERNDie Beziehungen zwischen Mensch und Boden sind soziale Phänomene. Das bedeutet, daß diese Beziehungen sich auf die Gesellschaft als Ganzes ‐ auf ihre Kultur, ihre Struktur und Funktion ‐ beziehen. In bestimmten Phasen der historischen Entwicklung entstehen bestimm‐te Gesetze, Regeln oder Institutionen ‐ wie z.B. das Pachtrecht ‐, die haufig auch in späteren Phasen fortbestehen.In diesem Beitrag wird die Frage diskuriert, ob in modernen industrialisierten und dichtbesiedelten Ländern (dargcstellt am Beispiel der Niederlande) das Bodeneigentum noch den tatsächlichen Bedürfnissen und Funktionen der Gesellschaft entspricht. Um das Problem lösen zu können, untersucht der Verfasser die Funktionen des Bodens im 19. Jht. und vergleicht sie mit den Funktionen in der heutigen Gesellschaft.Während das Privateigentum im 19. Jht. die sinnvollste Form des Bodeneigentums zu sein schien, zeigt die heutige Situation eine "Erosion der privaten Eigentumsrechte", obwohl das Privateigentum noch überall im nicht‐kommunistischen Europa anerkannt ist. Die Frage der Neuverteilung ist gleichwohl vom ökonomischen Standpunkt aus (Mechanisierung) sehr bedeutsam geworden; darüber hinaus kann der Eigentümer auch aus planerischen Erwägungen oder aus Gründen der Gebietsabgrenzung enteignet werden. Des weiteren beeinflussen die Kommunalverwaltungen mit festgesetzten Pachtpreisen die Entwicklung. Es wird jedoch festgestellt, daß ein tatsächlich rationales System ‐ auf der Grundlage von großen, gut geschnittenen Teilstücken, die für die in hohem Maße mechanisierte gegenwärtdge und zukünftige Landbewirtschaftung geeignet sind ‐nur bei einer Konzentration des Bodens in einer Hand möglich wäre. Weitere Gründe für die heutige Diskussion über das Bodeneigentum sind die Überlegungen, daß die Landpacht heute gewinnträchtiger ist, und daß der Boden viel von seinem früheren psychologischen und sozialen Wert eingebüßt hat.Die individuellen Eigentumsrechte werden heute in starkem Maße durch Entwicklungsplanungen eingeschränkt, z.B. für den Bau von Wohn‐ und Arbeitsstätten, für den Straßenbau, für Landbewirtschaftung und für Freizeitzwecke oder für den Naturschutz. Mit wenigen Ausnahmen wird der gesamte Boden für nicht‐landwirt‐schaftliche Zwecke in den Niederlanden zumindest zeitweilig Staatseigentum, soweit es für eine ausgewogene Wirtschafts‐ und Planungspolitik wünschenswert ist.Aus allem wird der Schluß gezogen, daß das Privateigentum an Boden an Bedeutung verloren hat, und daß es in dichtbesiedelten Industrielandern nicht leistungsfähig genug ist. Auf diese Weise kommt es langsam zu einer kulturellen Phasenverschiebung; bereits heute ist das Privateigentum an Boden zu einem wesentlichen Teil dysfunktional.

The more Palestinians believe that Washington is condoning the unprecedented devastation of Gaza and the killing and injuring of tens of thousands of Palestinians, the higher the probability that Hamas's resistance against Israel could expand into a global jihad and raise the terrorism threat against the United States. Will the absence of a settlement of the conflict through a two-state solution or some other fair and equitable modality usher in a new generation of Arab and Islamic global jihadists? Have U.S. policymakers considered the long-term implications of such a frightening development? Isn't it tragic that, after spending over 20 years fighting al-Qaida and ISIS, the United States may be inadvertently contributing to the making of new cadres of violent jihadists, many of whom were not even born before 9/11?The frequent video broadcasts by Abu Ubayda, Hamas's military spokesman, chronicling Al-Qassam Brigades' purported successes against Israeli forces in Gaza are beginning to resemble announcements by former al-Qaida and ISIS military spokesmen, including in some cases, Qur'anic citations of suras and 'ayas (Chapters and verses), mostly revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in Medina (versus Mecca). In previous Gaza wars (2008-2021), Hamas viewed Israel as its primary adversary, the so-called "near enemy."In the current war, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian militants, much like Wahhabi Salafi radicals in the 1990s and early 2000s, have begun to consider the United States as their other enemy, the so-called "far enemy." Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan articulated this view in the latest press conference on December 26.To many of these radicals, the United States, in partnering with Israel's military campaign against the Palestinians, has become a legitimate target for violent jihad. As this view solidifies within Hamas and the Palestinian resistance at large, not to mention across the Arab and Islamic worlds, terrorist threats against the United States — in the region and in the homeland — are likely to increase. Because of Washington's persistent refusal to support United Nations resolutions calling for a permanent ceasefire, Washington has lost what little credibility it had left as an "honest broker" in the Palestine conflict.According to a recent public opinion poll, majorities of Palestinians in Gaza — and more significantly in the West Bank — view the U.S. less favorably than any other time in recent years. As they become more radicalized and frustrated, Hamas and other Palestinian militants will increasingly adopt the view that America is their enemy, and they are therefore duty-bound to wage violent jihad against American facilities and personnel.Al-Qaida has long viewed the United States as an "infidel" far enemy, and if the Gaza war continues in its present configuration, Hamas will follow suit and will join the global jihad. Thus, Hamas's heretofore religious nationalist struggle in Palestine could evolve into a global Islamic jihadist ideology that could resonate among disenfranchised, angry, and unemployed Muslim youth across the Muslim world, including in some Western countries in which sizable Muslim communities live.Palestinians believe that Israel created the first Palestinian displacement, or Nakba, in 1948. In the current Gaza war, Hamas believes that Israel and its partner, the United States, are creating the second Palestinian Nakba in 2023-2024.Hamas's likely ideological transformation As I wrote recently, Hamas's war against Israel over the years has been primarily expressed in the form of resistance — military and political — against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and control of Gaza. Since the horrific October 7 assault on the Israeli communities in southern Israel and the massive Israeli military response, backed by Washington's military, economic and political support, the United States has emerged in Hamas' rhetoric as the second enemy.
In their mind, violent jihad against this new enemy is now permissible and legitimate. Adopting such a position would signal that some Hamas military leaders could move away from the Muslim Brotherhood's mainstream Islamic ideology focusing on local Muslim communities toward the radical rhetoric of Sayyid Qutb, the most extreme thinker of the Muslim Brotherhood, and from there to Wahhabi Salafi jihadism.
Qutb, who was executed by Egypt in the mid-1960s, preached in his book Signposts (ma'alim fi al-Tariq) that the enemies of Islam are Muslim leaders who exhibit un-Islamic behavior and their supporters among foreign infidel leaders, such as Israel and the United States and their allies. He called the Muslim leaders the "near enemy" and the foreign leaders the "far enemy." He urged Muslims to wage a necessary jihad against both groups of leaders and their countries.
Qutb and subsequent radical Palestinian leaders moved closer ideologically to radical Wahhabi clerics and ulama in Saudi Arabia. They jointly began to articulate a common ideological front of global jihad against all infidels and unbelievers domestically and internationally, which set the stage for 9/11. It's noteworthy to remember that Osama bin Laden frequently invoked Palestine in his speeches and messages railing against the United States.
Under the influence of Qutb's writing, leading Hamas jihadists like Shaikh Ahmed Yassin moved away from the Egyptian Al-Azhar Islam, reflected in the three mainstream schools of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam — the Shafi'i, the Maliki, and the Hanafi schools — toward the Saudi Wahhabi interpretation, which primarily adheres to the Hanbali school of jurisprudence, the fourth and most radical school in Sunni Islam.
Under the Hanbali version of Islam, as articulated by the Saudi religious scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the 18th century, jihad is considered a sixth tenet of Islam — the other five being the traditional "pillars" of the religion: the Shahada (profession of one's faith), Salat (prayers), Zakat (alms giving), Sawm (fasting), and the Hajj (Pilgrimage).
Of the 114 Suras in the entire Qur'an, 26 Suras, which feature a significant focus on jihad and fighting, were revealed to Prophet Muhammad in Medina while he was in the process of establishing his Islamic state and battling the mushrikun (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, and disbelievers). Radical jihadis, including followers of al-Qaeda and ISIS, often cite 'ayas from the Medinan Suras in their defense of waging violent jihad against the perceived enemies of Islam. Examples of these Suras are Surat al-Ma'ida, Surat al-Baqara, Surat al-Nisa', and Surat Muhammad.For Hamas and Palestinians in general, the Biden administration has been an integral partner in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war of retribution in Gaza and its lack of logic, proportionality, and humanity. The White House has argued that Arab regimes for the most part loathe Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood's Islamic ideology and are therefore privately tolerant of Israel's continued destruction of Gaza. This muddled logic, however, primarily focuses on Arab autocratic regimes, not their publics. The devastation of Gaza and the uprooting of nearly two million people will strengthen, not weaken, Arab publics' support for Hamas or a successor group. Hamas is not just a group of militant jihadists comprising 30,000 plus fighters but an idea nurtured by the miserable Palestinian realities on the ground.The way forwardTo break the possibility of more terrorism, it's time for President Biden to realize that the unprecedented and inhumane destruction of Gaza will not destroy Hamas or return the hostages safely. He should end his complicity in Israel's war and work with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to remove Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas from their leadership positions and work with Israelis and Palestinians to elect new leaders.If the Biden administration puts forward a clear path for the two peoples to live together, whether in a two-state paradigm or some other legitimate political arrangement, Hamas' terrorism threat against the United States would fizzle. The Palestinian people, like other peoples in the region, are more interested in living, putting food on the table, and educating their children. Once Israelis and Palestinians agree to move from the destruction of Gaza to a negotiated political and economic reconstruction, only then will the slow process of bringing the bloody history of Hamas' Yahya Sinwar and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu — the region's newest warmongers — come to an end.