Suchergebnisse

Implementation of the GUAM transnational energy transportation and communication project calls for a discussion of a vast range of issues related not merely to the political-legal, economic, and engineering spheres, which are indispensable for the project's adequate functioning, but also to other problems found far beyond the project's confines. I have in mind political stability, civil peace, and interfaith relations. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a strategically important part of the GUAM corridor, which makes civil peace and stable interfaith relations a linchpin for the successful realization of GUAM's political and economic tasks. Ukraine's independence created a qualitatively new social context in which millions of people acquired new ideas about the world, moral and ethical values, spirituality, and religion. At all times religion has played an important role in people's lives; at all times the church has been seen as a force conducive to society's moral revival.

From its inception and throughout the military sovereignty era, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were endowed with a religious status. In Israeli society, bereaved parents of fallen soldiers enjoyed a special relationship with the army, and their bereavement afforded them a unique place in the shaping of public opinion about security policy. However, as this paper shows, after the first Lebanon War (1982) cracks began to appear in this special union. From the early 1990s, bereaved parents supported by new social movements and a symbiosis of the judicial arena and the media challenged the security-defense-military arena and its policies of commemoration of the dead, treatment of soldiers, accident prevention, secrecy, and even appointments. Using the High Court and the media to directly influence defense and security policy, civil society succeeded in changing the IDF's tactics, the treatment of Palestinian detainees, and thus elevated human rights and international law over security considerations.

The 1973 New York State drug law, the toughest in the nation, was passed over heavy opposition at a time when heroin abuse was already declining steadily. During the law's first year of operation, a declining pattern of drug arrests continued, more cases came to trial and went to prison, but robbery and burglary complaints increased. No significant changes were found in the activities of sellers, "unknown" regular users, and student users. Bribes to police did not increase and neither did the number of people seeking treatment. Both the extravagant expectations and fears about the law's effects seem to have been unjustified. Although large scale pushers have not been significantly deterred, the 32 million dollars needed to Implement the law's first year represented a substantial share of the total state drug budget. Continued monitoring of the law's effects will be needed in order to assess its social costs and benefits.

The European Union has different traditions concerning the main concept of social security in general, and of retirement and pension benefits. Different political decisions dictate the range of personal coverage, how benefits are calculated and how the systems are financed. Within this paper, the author will try to distinguish the different types of core systems and will present a rough grouping of twelve national systems. The systems that provide social protection in old age have entered a period of massive socioeconomic change. This includes changes in the structure of employment, and of family life. At the same time, most European countries have become countries of immigration. The author does not intend to make a detailed analysis of these changes themselves, but rather to select elements of them, and examine different types of old age security systems within these changes.

Introduction: examining the social order of assessment: towards a sociocultural understanding of assessment policy and practice -- Setting the boundaries in assessment: intersections of identity and value in personal spaces -- Assessment as public practice: international aspects of assessment and accountability -- Cultural scripts of assessment for practice: predictability, outcomes and life chances -- Junior cycle reform: the negotiated nature of assessment policy in Ireland -- Perspectives on social justice and assessment: testing, social class and opportunity to learn -- The assessment of pupils with special educational needs: giving effect to the principles of inclusivity in practice -- Conclusion: disrupting normative thinking on assessment: new worlds and words for assessment.

Introduction Water and society by the editors; Chapter 1 Sustaining freshwater security and community wealth: Diversity and change in the pre-Columbian Maya Lowlands; Chapter 2 Archaeological identification of human sensitivity to drought; Chapter 3 Water and Risks in Marginal Landscapes of Anatolia; Chapter 4 Water management and irrigation systems in Medieval Mediterranean; Chapter 5 The tale the river tells: Floodplains, climate change, and archaeology in West Africa; Chapter 6 Water and large-scale societies in southern Zambezia, 900-1900 AD; Chapter 7 Traditions of water in the highlands of the northern Horn of Africa; Chapter 8 Managing water and land at the Amazon River estuary: From Precolumbian times to the present; Chapter 9 Ancient water management in Southern Arabia: Creativity, resilience, and sustainability in Yemen and Oman; Chapter 10 Qanāts of Iran: Sustainable water supply system; Chapter 11 Angkor, food production, water management and climate change: The trajectory of urbanism in SE Asia to the mid-2nd millennium AD; Chapter 12 Hydraulic Complexities: Collapse and Resilience in Sri Lanka; Chapter 13 Historic water systems in India: Relevance for sustainable development of significant cultural landscapes; Chapter 14 Historic Water Systems, Urban Growth, and Resilience in American Cities; Concluding essay 1 Resource gain and complexity: Water past and future; Concluding essay 2 Historical water socio-ecological systems -- Sustainability, resilience and transformability

Cover -- Half Title -- Series -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgements and Dedication -- Acronyms -- List of Tables -- List of Figures -- 1 Cellphones + Films (+ Intention) = Cellphilms -- 2 Cellphones and Cellphilms in the World -- 3 Connecting to the Network: Theorising Cellphilm Method -- 4 Dancing on the Balance Beam: Facilitating Cellphilm-Making -- 5 Cellphilms as Pedagogy -- 6 Cellphilm Ethics -- 7 #Data: Framing Analysis in Cellphilm Method -- 8 Going Viral: Cellphilm Dissemination -- 9 Media Influencers: How Youth Are Transforming Cellphilm Method -- 10 Mobilising the Network: Social Change and Future Directions -- Index.

Imtiaz Sooliman, a medical doctor practising in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, visited a Shaikh in Istanbul in 1992. The Sufi teacher gave him a message that would dramatically change the lives of countless people.'To my absolute astonishment he told me I would help people for the rest of my life. He then instructed me to form a humanitarian organisation called the ""Gift of the Givers"", and repeated the phrase ""the best among people are those who benefit mankind"".'Over 20 years later Gift of the Givers, Africa's largest disaster agency, has a reputation for speedy responses to floods, war

What is the Digital State? What is our Digital State of Mind? What does this Digital State mean for brands and for businesses?Big data, new distribution platforms, content collaboration, geo-targeting, crowdsourcing, viral marketing, mobile apps - the technological revolution has transformed the way society communicates and understands itself, and unleashed a whirlwind of new possibilities for marketers, as well as new risks.Mirroring the 'collaborative play space' Tim Berners-Lee first envisaged for the internet, Digital State brings together Simon Pont and 13 thought-leaders drawn from the w

PurposeGreen buildings which provide improved user health conditions and environmentally responsible applications have gained significant attention, due to the increasing environmental problems, particularly caused by the construction industry at the global scale. However, vegetation is still not sufficiently integrated into buildings, even though numerous benefits of plants have been proven by many studies in literature.This research aims to find out the opinions of professionals and academicians in architecture-related fields regarding the critical aspects, as well as the motivators and barriers faced in BIV applications, namely; green roofs, green walls and interior gardens. Hence, it strives to help increase their application rates by underlining the significant issues to be considered. Design/methodology/approachAs to fulfilling these objectives, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 120 participants with varying professions including architects, landscape designers and civil engineers, from four countries.FindingsThe results of this study pointed out that, healthcare buildings were given the first priority among the building types for applying BIV. Moreover, among the motivator factors, receiving a certificate was found as an important incentive, besides the environmental, social and economic benefits of BIV. Furthermore, although the highly rated barriers were found as 'the lack of proper regulations' and 'lack of demand by the user/client', the findings showed that the highest responsibility for the implementation of these applications was placed on the architect.Research Limitations/Implications Based on the five major groups of Köppen climate classification system, the case countries were selected as one from each of the four main types, and by neglecting only Polar, as it lacks settlements. By considering diverse levels of development and economic welfare, countries were selected as; Canada (Snow: Humid-Subarctic), Libya (Dry: Desert-arid), Malaysia (Tropical: Tropical-Rain forest) and Turkey (Mild temperate: Mediterranean).Since the study covered four different countries, the survey was conducted by the use of Google Forms software program. This tool enabled the production and distribution of questionnaires, as well as the collection of data based on the responses of the participants. Furthermore, in order to provide consistency among the questionnaires applied in different countries, the survey was conducted in English language, although it was not the native language for a majority of the participants.Moreover, based on studies claiming that participants are more inclined to select the option with the mid-value in a Likert scale, which implies a neutral position, in the questionnaire, these types of questions were constructed with the forced choice method, by keeping the scales with even number of options.Practical ImplicationsIt is expected that the results of this study would be beneficial to both the academicians and professionals involved in the green building industry, as well as to the governmental and/or green building authorities. It is expected that this study will help serve as a guide for the stakeholders to increase the application rates of BIV in the construction industry.Social ImplicationsThe results of this study were also evaluated based on the findings of four case countries and certain conclusions were derived as to their underlying socio-economic and geographical reasons.Originality/value - Although studies on similar subjects have appeared in the literature, there are none which solely focuses on BIV applications by conducting a survey on the mentioned four case countries and compares its findings with the literature and presents an in-depth analysis on the issue.