Suchergebnisse

The de facto politically independent Taiwan is coming under increas­ing pressure from the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its claim to reunification. In addition to militarily threatening gestures, Beijing is employing economic and political means as well as cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. This threatens the stability and status quo in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan is of immense importance to East Asia's geopolitical dynamics: geo-strategically as part of the first island chain that restricts the PRC's access to the Pacific, and economically-technologically as a leading manufacturer of semiconductors. In the global systemic conflict between liberal-democratic and authoritarian political systems, Taiwan holds a prominent position as a consolidated, pluralistic democracy and political counter-model to the authoritarian system of the PRC. It is in the interest of Germany and Europe that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are preserved, to make better use of Taiwan's economic and technological potential and to extend value-based support for its free and democratic society. Germany is committed to a one-China policy, which rules out any diplo­matic recognition of Taiwan. Nevertheless, there is scope to expand and intensify relations below this threshold and thus counter China's policy of intimidating and isolating Taiwan. The Taiwan policies of the United States, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, India as well as European partner countries show that there is room for pursuing closer relations with Taiwan while at the same time adhering to a one-China policy. Thus, options for action exist in foreign and security policy, trade and economic policy, as well as cultural policy.

Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of figures -- List of contributors -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction: Religion and the city in India -- Note on Transliteration -- References -- Chapter 1: The making of a city: Religion and society in the Caṇḍī-maṅgala of early modern Bengal -- Introduction -- The Caṇḍī-maṅgala -- The making of a city -- From forest to city -- Urban orders in Kālaketu's city -- The city and history -- Conclusion: Religion and urbanism -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 2: Temple, urban landscape, and production of space: Śrirangam in the early modern Tamil region -- I: Śrirangam: The town and its description -- II: Religious conflicts and urban conformations: The town of Śrirangam from the thirteenth to seventeenth century CE -- Hindu-Muslim conflict and urban syncretism? -- Śrivaiṣṇava community and urban configurations -- Śrivaiṣṇava sectarian conflicts: Śrirangam and urban homogeneity -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 3: Hazrat-i-Dehli: Chishti Sufism and the making of the cosmopolitan character of the city of Delhi -- Acknowledgements -- References -- Chapter 4: The East India Company, English Protestants, and the wider Christian community in seventeenth-century Surat, Bombay, and Madras -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 5: Reconfiguring a lost trace: The Buddhist 'revival' movement in late-nineteenth-century Calcutta and the Bengal Buddhist Association -- I. The Calcutta chapter: The new passion for things Buddhist among Bengali intellectuals -- II. Spilling over onto the visual register: New meanings and old structures -- III. Practising Buddhists and the colonial city: Interrogating the role of the Bengal Buddhist Association and Kripasaran Barua -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 6: From Faridpur to Calcutta: The journey of the Matua faith.

Front Matter -- Copyright Page -- List of Illustrations -- List of Contributors -- Introduction /Borja Franco Llopis and Antonio Urquízar -Herrera -- Images and Conversion -- At the Foot of the Cross: Picturing Divine Justice and Conversion in Valencian Retables, circa 1400 /Amadeo Serra Desfilis -- Jews Imagined and Real: Representing and Prosecuting Host Profanation in Late Medieval Aragon /Yonatan Glazer-Eytan -- Converting Jews through Preaching and Painting in the Kingdom of Aragon, circa 1400 /Maria Portmann -- On Converso Artists in the Spanish Golden Age /Fernando Marías -- The Visual Negotiation of Hybridity -- Hispania, Al-Andalus, and the Crown of Castile: Architecture and Constructions of Identity /Juan Carlos Ruiz Souza -- Reassessing the Artistic Choices of the Castilian Nobility at the End of the 14th Century /Elena Paulino Montero -- Converso Patronage, Self-Fashioning, and Late-Gothic Art and Architecture in 15th-Century Castile /Nicola Jennings -- Islamic Objects in the Material Culture of the Castilian Nobility: Trophies and the Negotiation of Hybridity /Antonio Urquízar-Herrera -- Islamic Rugs in the Painting of the Eastern Adriatic: Use and Iconography in the Early Modern Period /Ivana Čapeta Rakić -- A Different Otherness in the Mediterranean -- Confronting Islam: Images of Warfare and Courtly Displays in Late Medieval and Early Modern Spain /Borja Franco Llopis and Francisco de Asís García García -- Scary Neighbours and Imperial Strategy: Contriving the Image of the Subdued Infidel in Sardinian Altarpieces /Maria Vittoria Spissu -- Turks in Genoese Art, 16th–18th Centuries: Roles and Images /Laura Stagno -- The Play of Mistaken Identities at the Porta Nuova of Palermo /Cristelle Baskins -- Defeating the Enemy: the Image of the Turkish Slave in the Adriatic Periphery of the Papal States in the 18th Century /Giuseppe Capriotti -- Back Matter -- Select Bibliography -- Index.

Cover -- Author Biography -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- List of Contributors -- List of Abbreviations -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction. The Concentric Circles of South Africa's Foreign Policy -- Part I. Key Themes in South Africa's Foreign Policy -- 1. The Domestic Imperatives of South Africa's Foreign Policy -- 2. South Africa's Peacemaking Efforts in Africa: Ideas, Interests and Influence -- 3. South Africa's Defence and Security Role: Unravelling the Defence Predicament -- 4. Human Rights in South Africa's Foreign Policy: A Light or a Liability? -- 5. South Africa's Corporate Expansion: Towards an "SA Inc." Approach in Africa -- Part II. South Africa's Key Bilateral Relations in Africa -- 6. South Africa in Southern Africa: Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe -- 7. South Africa in the Great Lakes: The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda -- 8. South Africa in West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana and Coˆte d'Ivoire -- 9. South Africa in Eastern Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan/South Sudan -- 10. South Africa in North Africa: Egypt, Algeria, Libya and Tunisia -- Part III. South Africa's Key Multilateral Relations in Africa -- 11. South Africa and the Southern African Development Community -- 12. South Africa in the Southern African Customs Union -- 13. South Africa and the African Union -- Part IV. South Africa's Key External Bilateral Relations -- 14. South Africa and the United States: A Pragmatic Friendship -- 15. South Africa and Britain: "An Emerging Power and an Old Friend" -- 16. South Africa and France: A Rising Versus a Declining Power? -- 17. South Africa and China: Solidarity and Beyond -- Part V. South Africa's Key External Multilateral Relations -- 18. South Africa and the United Nations -- 19. South Africa and the World Trade Organisation -- 20. South Africa.

Part I framing the discussion on the competitiveness challenge -- 1. Boosting European competitiveness / Marek Belka, Ewald Nowotny, Doris Ritzberger-Grünwald and Pawel Samecki -- 2. Harnessing foreign direct investment to boost economic growth / Beata S. Jarvorcik -- 3. Correcting external imbalances in the European economy / Doris Hanzl-Weiss and Michael Landesmann -- Part II the various dimensions of competitiveness -- 4. New indicators of competitiveness - the Austrian perspective / Doris Ritzberger-Grünwald, Maria Silgoner and Klaus Vondra -- 5. Globalisation and growth: the case of China / Linda Yueh -- 6. Non-price components of market share gains - evidence for EU countries / Konstantins Benkovskis and Julia Wörz -- Part III EU structural policies -- 7. EU economic governance: euro area periphery lessons for Central and Eastern European countries / Zsolt Darvas -- 8. EU structural policies today: missing piece of the growth puzzle, or wishful thinking? / Brian Pinto -- 9. EU structural policies and euro adoption in CEE countries / Anna Kosior and Michał Rubaszek -- Part IV labour market and productivity developments -- 10. Labour market integration and associated issues: Kipling is wrong / Peter Sinclair -- 11. Do jobs created in CEE countries result in higher productivity? / Michał Gradzewicz -- 12. Productivity and competitiveness in CESEE countries: a look at the key structural drivers / Dan Andrews and Alain De Serres -- Part V CESEE's contribution to growth in the euro area and Europe -- 13. Convergence of 'new' EU member states: past, present and future / Bas B. Bakker and Krzysztof Krogulski -- 14. EU and CEE: productivity and convergence / Boris Vujčić -- 15. Peering into the crystal ball: can the CESEE countries be an engine of growth for the EU? / Iain Begg.

North Carolina has had more than its share of accomplished, influential women-women who have expanded their sphere of influence or broken through barriers that had long defined and circumscribed their lives, women such as Elizabeth Maxwell Steele, the widow and tavern owner who supported the American Revolution; Harriet Jacobs, runaway slave, abolitionist, and author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl ; and Edith Vanderbilt and Katharine Smith Reynolds, elite women who promoted women's equality. This collection of essays examines the lives and times of pathbreaking North Carolina women from the late eighteenth century into the early twentieth century, offering important new insights into the variety of North Carolina women's experiences across time, place, race, and class, and conveys how women were able to expand their considerable influence during periods of political challenge and economic hardship, particularly over the course of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These essays highlight North Carolina's progressive streak and its positive impact on women's education-for white and black alike- beginning in the antebellum period on through new opportunities that opened up in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They explore the ways industrialization drew large numbers of women into the paid labor force for the first time and what the implications of this tremendous transition were; they also examine the women who challenged traditional gender roles, as political leaders and labor organizers, as runaways, and as widows. The volume is especially attuned to differences in region within North Carolina, delineating women's experiences in the eastern third of the state, the piedmont, and the western mountains.

Mend the gap -- CONTENTS -- Part 1 - Making the Gap: Youth Culture and Consumption -- Part 2 - Mind the Gap: Generational Tensions and the Church -- Part 3 - Mend the Gap: Being God's Kingdom Community -- INTRODUCTION -- Stark change creates static -- Notes -- Part 1 Making the Gap: Youth Culture and Consumption -- 1. In the Beginning: Empire Ideals and Adolescence -- Fake expectations? -- Empire ideals -- Education, adolescence and more expectations -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 2. The Cost of Cool: The Impact of Consumerism -- The branding of youth -- In the beginning -- The global young person -- Consumer pressure today -- Promoting brand youth -- Wrapping up -- Notes -- 3. Swapping Loyalties: The Rise of Peer Influence and Youth Management -- Subcultures of youth -- From child to adult? -- Connected cocooning -- Empowering peers -- Us and them: the management of youth and the selling of teen rebellion -- Moral panics -- TV and stereotyping -- Moral vacuum? -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Part 2 Mind The Gap: Generational Tensions and the Church -- 4. Technology and the Transfer of Power -- Adults as redundant 'filters' -- Good advice? -- TV and choice -- The generation lap -- Pop culture -- The children of Nintendo -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 5. 'Mummy, What's an Adult?' -- The erosion of adulthood -- Teenage experience in the East -- Rite of way -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 6. Family Life and Discipling Young People -- What's our role? -- 'Cradle' period -- Separate worlds -- The way ahead for discipling young people -- Inherited faith -- Young people and discipleship through the ages -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 7. Church and the Generation Gap: A Growing Conflict and Challenges to Discipleship -- Holistic worldview -- Whole-life discipleship -- The sacred/secular divide -- Inviting people to 'accept' Jesus or 'follow' him? -- Sin and Superman

Human security and 'new multilateralisms -- Introduction : a decade of human security : what prospects for global governance and new multilateralisms? / Timothy M. Shaw, Sandra J. MacLean, David R. Black -- Whose security? : innovation and responsibility, perception and reality / Ian Smillie -- Global legalism and human security / Antonio Franceschet -- EU foreign policy motivation : a mix of human security and realist elements / Rory Keane -- Canada : a contradictory human security agenda -- Mapping the interplay of human security practice and debates : the Canadian experience / David R. Black -- Human security in the national interest? : Canada, POGG and the "new" multilateralism / George A. MacLean -- Diminishing human security : the Canadian case / Heather A. Smith -- The "freedom from fear" agenda : operational issues -- Human security and corporate governance : a critical assessment of Canada's human security agenda / Elizabeth Blackwood -- Two Africas? : two Ugandas? : an African "democratic developmental state"? : or another "failed state"? Timothy M. Shaw -- A true measure of success? : the discourse and practice of human security in Haiti / Robert Muggah and Keith Krause -- Bringing in "freedom from want" -- Toward a more inclusive global governance and enhanced human security / Catherine Schittecatte -- A silent killer : HIV/AIDS metaphors and human (in)security in southern Africa / Rebecca Tiessen -- The "securitization" of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa : a critical feminist lens / Colleen O'Manique -- Research advances and objectives -- Peacebuilding research and North-South research relationships : perspectives, opportunities and challenges / Pam Scholey -- The organization for social science research in eastern and southern Africa's contributions to human security research in Africa / Alfred G. Nhema -- Postscriptum : prospects for the next decade / Timothy M. Shaw, David R. Black, Sandra J. MacLean

2007 Choice Outstanding Academic Title A comparative analysis of the U.S.'s contemporary immigrants to those who arrived a century ago According to the 2000 census, more than 10% of U.S. residents were foreign born; together with their American-born children, this group constitutes one fifth of the nation's population. What does this mass immigration mean for America? Leading immigration studies scholar, Nancy Foner, answers this question in her study of comparative immigration. Drawing on the rich history of American immigrants and current statistical and ethnographic data, In a New Land compares today's new immigrants with the past influxes of Europeans to the United States and across cities and regions within the United States. Foner looks at immigration across nation-states, and over different periods of time, offering a comprehensive assessment and analysis. This original approach to the study of recent U.S. immigration focuses on race and ethnicity, gender, and transnational connections. Centering her analysis on the groups that have come through and significantly shaped New York City, Foner compares today's Latin American, Asian, and Caribbean newcomers with eastern and southern European immigrants a century ago and with immigrants in other major U.S. cities. Looking beyond the United States, Foner compares West Indian immigrants in New York with those in London. And, more generally, the book views the process of immigrants' integration in New York against other recent immigrant destinations in Europe. Drawing on a wealth of historical and contemporary research, and written in a clear and lively style, In a New Land provides fresh insights into the dynamics of immigration today and the implications for where we are headed in the future.

The original publication of The Tourist-Historic City in 1990 reflected the growing importance of heritage to cities, and cities to the creation and marketing of heritage products, not least within tourism. In response to the continuing rapid growth of interest in this field, the concepts and models it introduced have subsequently been applied by urban planners and tourism managers in many different contexts throughout the world. This extensively rewritten and restructured account of the tourist-historic city takes into consideration the importance of these applications in reformulating and modifying theoretical concepts, developing practical methods of analysis and policy formulation, as well as extending the geographical scope worldwide. Changes in the last decade include not only the growing importance of heritage and associated heritage industries serving many social, political and economic users, but also the expanding role of cultural products within tourism. In addition, the opening up of central and eastern Europe and the export of heritage ideas from western cities to a wider world have emphasised the tension between a globalisation and a localisation of heritage and its expression in the tourist-historic city. In addition to detailed reworking of conceptual and case material, this book reviews theoretical developments triggered by or otherwise related to the original, extends the arguments into the post-Communist world, and more generally develops them with respect to countries most affected by the 1990s political transformations. The result is a review of the state of urban heritage tourism at the turn of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in the light of the extraordinary developments during the preceding decade, and of its prospects for the years to come

This introductory chapter sets out the overall logic and argument for this book, based on a critical investigation of the concept of the Anthropocene from a postcolonial vantage point. It posits that the argument for urgency and the calls to unify under the scientific narrative of the Anthropocene risks jeopardising political pathways of justice. The chapter reframes the Anthropocene narrative to argue for decolonising our knowledge and resolving the dilemma of urgency vs justice. It searches for a more political Anthropocene; one that tackles the urgency of collective action, while keeping a politics of justice at its centre. Reviewing literature on energy transitions in the global South, the chapter outlines four (inter alia) areas of concern for justice in a time of urgency: carbon colonialism, democracy and distributional justice, reframing of public good as private commodity and its marketisation, and gender and racial justice. To address these concerns we need to progress anti- and de-colonial thought within current discourses of urgent energy transitions. By bringing diverse perspectives in the chapters together this book identifies pathways developed in the global South that can bring urgency and justice together.

Public Policy and Ageing in Northern Ireland: Identifying Levers for Change Judith Cross, Policy Officer with the Centre for Ageing Research Development in Ireland (CARDI)��������Introduction Identifying a broad range of key public policy initiatives as they relate to age can facilitate discussion and create new knowledge within and across government to maximise the opportunities afforded by an ageing population. This article looks at how examining the current public policy frameworks in Northern Ireland can present opportunities for those working in this field for the benefit of older people. Good policy formulation needs to be evidence-based, flexible, innovative and look beyond institutional boundaries. Bringing together architects and occupational therapists, for example, has the potential to create better and more effective ways relevant to health, housing, social services and government departments. Traditional assumptions of social policy towards older people have tended to be medically focused with an emphasis on care and dependency. This in turn has consequences for the design and delivery of services for older people. It is important that these assumptions are challenged as changes in thinking and attitudes can lead to a redefinition of ageing, resulting in policies and practices that benefit older people now and in the future. Older people, their voices and experiences, need to be central to these developments. The Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland The Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI) (1) is a not for profit organisation developed by leaders from the ageing field across Ireland (North and South) including age sector focused researchers and academics, statutory and voluntary, and is co-chaired by Professor Robert Stout and Professor Davis Coakley. CARDI has been established to provide a mechanism for greater collaboration among age researchers, for wider dissemination of ageing research information and to advance a research agenda relevant to the needs of older people in Ireland, North and South. Operating at a strategic level and in an advisory capacity, CARDI�۪s work focuses on promoting research co-operation across sectors and disciplines and concentrates on influencing the strategic direction of research into older people and ageing in Ireland. It has been strategically positioned around the following four areas: Identifying and establishing ageing research priorities relevant to policy and practice in Ireland, North and South;Promoting greater collaboration and co-operation on ageing research in order to build an ageing research community in Ireland, North and South;Stimulating research in priority areas that can inform policy and practice relating to ageing and older people in Ireland, North and South;Communicating strategic research issues on ageing to raise the profile of ageing research in Ireland, North and South, and its role in informing policy and practice. Context of Ageing in Ireland Ireland �۪s population is ageing. One million people aged 60 and over now live on the island of Ireland. By 2031, it is expected that Northern Ireland�۪s percentage of older people will increase to 28% and the Republic of Ireland�۪s to 23%. The largest increase will be in the older old; the number aged 80+ is expected to triple by the same date. However while life expectancy has increased, it is not clear that life without disability and ill health has increased to the same extent. A growing number of older people may face the combined effects of a decline in physical and mental function, isolation and poverty. Policymakers, service providers and older people alike recognise the need to create a high quality of life for our ageing population. This challenge can be meet by addressing the problems relating to healthy ageing, reducing inequalities in later life and creating services that are shaped by, and appropriate for, older people. Devolution and Structures of Government in Northern Ireland The Agreement (2) reached in the Multi-Party Negotiations in Belfast 1998 established the Northern Ireland Assembly which has full legislative authority for all transferred matters. The majority of social and economic public policy such as; agriculture, arts, education, health, environment and planning is determined by the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont. There are 11 Government Departments covering the main areas of responsibility with 108 elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA�۪s). The powers of the Northern Ireland Assembly do not cover ��� reserved�۪ matters or ��� excepted�۪ matters . These are the responsibility of Westminster and include issues such as, tax, social security, policing, justice, defence, immigration and foreign affairs. Northern Ireland has 18 elected Members of Parliament (MP�۪s) to the House of Commons. Public Policy Context in Northern Ireland The economic, social and political consequence of an ageing population is a challenge for policy makers across government. Considering the complex and diverse causal factors that contribute to ageing in Northern Ireland, there are a number of areas of government policy at regional, national and international levels that are likely to impact in this area. International The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (3) and the Research Agenda on Ageing for the 21st Century (4) provide important mechanisms for furthering research into ageing. The United Kingdom has signed up to these. The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing commits member states to a systematic review of the Plan of Action through Regional Implementation Strategies. The United Kingdom�۪s Regional Implementation Strategy covers Northern Ireland. National At National level, pension and social security are high on the agenda. The Pensions Act (5) became law in 2007 and links pensions increases with earnings as opposed to prices from 2012. Additional credits for people raising children and caring for older people to boost their pensions were introduced. Some protections are included for those who lost occupational pensions as a result of underfunded schemes being wound up before April 2005. In relation to State Pensions and benefits, this Act will bring changes to state pensions in future. The Act now places the Pension Credit element which is up-rated in line with or above earnings, on a permanent, statutory footing. Regional At regional level there are a number of age related public policy initiatives that have the potential to impact positively on the lives of older people in Northern Ireland. Some are specific to ageing such as the Ageing in an Inclusive Society (6) and others by their nature are cross-cutting such as Lifetime Opportunities: Governments Anti-Poverty Strategy for Northern Ireland (7). The main public policy framework in Northern Ireland is the Programme for Government: Building a Better Future, 2008-2011(PfG) (8) . The PfG, is the overarching high level policy framework for Northern Ireland and provides useful principles for ageing research and public policy in Northern Ireland. The PfG vision is to build a peaceful, fair and prosperous society in Northern Ireland, with respect for the rule of law. A number of Public Service Agreements (PSA) aligned to the PfG confirm key actions that will be taken to support the priorities that the Government aim to achieve over the next three years. For example objective 2 of PSA 7: Making Peoples�۪ Lives Better: Drive a programme across Government to reduce poverty and address inequality and disadvantage, refers to taking forward strategic action to promote social inclusion for older people; and to deliver a strong independent voice for older people. The Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) have recently appointed an Interim Older People�۪s Advocate, Dame Joan Harbison to provide a focus for older peoples issues across Government. Ageing in an Inclusive Society is the cross-departmental strategy for older people in Northern Ireland and was launched in March 2005. It sets out the approach to be taken across Government to promote and support the inclusion of older people. The vision coupled with six strategic objectives form the basis of the action plans accompanying the strategy. The vision is: ���To ensure that age related policies and practices create an enabling environment, which offers everyone the opportunity to make informed choices so that they may pursue healthy, active and positive ageing.�۝ (Ageing in an Inclusive Society, Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, 2005) Action planning and maintaining momentum across government in relation to this strategy has proved to be slower than anticipated. It is proposed to refresh this Strategy in line with Opportunity Age ��� meeting the challenges of ageing in the 21st Century (9). There are a number of policy levers elsewhere which can also be used to promote the positive aspects of an ageing society. The Investing for Health (10) and A Healthier Future:A 20 Year Vision for Health and Well-being in Northern Ireland (11), seek to ensure that the overall vision for health and wellbeing is achievable and provides a useful framework for ageing policy and research in the health area. These health initiatives have the potential to positively impact on the quality of life of older people and provide a useful framework for improving current policy and practice. In addition to public policy initiatives, the anti-discrimination frameworks in terms of employment in Northern Ireland cover age as well as a range of other grounds. Goods facilitates and services are currently excluded from the Employment Equality (age) Regulations (NI) 2006 (12). Supplementing the anti-discrimination measures, Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (13), unique to Northern Ireland, places a statutory obligation on public authorities in fulfilling their functions to promote equality of opportunity across nine grounds, one of which is age(14). This positive duty has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of older people in Northern Ireland. Those affected by policy decisions must be consulted and their interests taken into account. This provides an opportunity for older people and their representatives to participate in public policy-making, right from the start of the process. Policy and Research Interface ���Ageing research is vital as decisions in relation to policy and practice and resource allocation will be made on the best available information�۝. (CARDI�۪s Strategic Plan 2008-2011) As outlined earlier, CARDI has been established to bridge the gap to ensure that research reaches those involved in making policy decisions. CARDI is stimulating the ageing research agenda in Ireland through a specific research fund that has a policy and practice focus. My work is presently focusing on helping to build a greater awareness of the key policy levers and providing opportunities for those within research and policy to develop closer links. The development of this shared understanding by establishing these links between researchers and policy makers is seen as the best predictor for research utilization. It is important to acknowledge and recognise that researchers and policy makers operate in different institutional, political and cultural contexts. Research however needs to ���resonate�۪ with the contextual factors in which policy makers operate. Conclusions Those working within the public policy field recognise all too often that the development of government policies and initiatives in respect of age does not guarantee that they will result in changes in actual provision of services, despite Government recommendations and commitments. The identification of public policy initiatives as they relate to age has the potential to highlight persistent and entrenched difficulties that social policy has previously failed to address. Furthermore, the identification of these difficulties can maximise the opportunities for progressing these across government. A focus on developing effective and meaningful targets to ensure measurable outcomes in public policy for older people can assist in this. Access to sound, credible and up-to-date evidence will be vital in this respect. As well as a commitment to working across departmental boundaries to effect change. Further details: If you would like to discuss this paper or for further information about CARDI please contact: Judith Cross, Policy Officer, Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland CARDI). t: +44 (0) 28 9069 0066; m: +353 (0) 867 904 171; e: judith@cardi.ie ; or visit our website at: www.cardi.ie References 1) Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (2008) Strategic Plan 2008-2011. Belfast. CARDI 2) The Agreement: Agreement Reached in the Multi-Party Negotiations. Belfast 1998 3) Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. http://www.un.org/ageing/ 4) UN Programme on Ageing (2007) Research Agenda on Ageing for the 21st Century: 2007 Update. New York. New York. UN Programme on Ageing and the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 5) The Pensions Act 2007 Chapter 22 6) Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister (2005). Ageing in an Inclusive Society. Belfast. OFMDFM Central Anti-Poverty Unit. 7) Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister (2005). Lifetime Opportunities: Government�۪s Anti-Poverty and Social Inclusion Strategy for Northern Ireland. Belfast. OFMDFM Central Anti-Poverty Unit. 8) Northern Ireland Executive (2008) Building a Better Future: Programme for Government 2008-2011. Belfast. OFMDFM Economic Policy Unit. 9) Department for Work and Pensions, (2005) Opportunity Age: Meeting the Challenges of Ageing in the 21 st Century. London. DWP. 10) Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSS&PS) (2002) Investing for Health. Belfast. DHSS&PS. 11) Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSS&PS) (2005) A Healthier Future:A 20 Year Vision for Health and Well-being in Northern Ireland Belfast. DHSS&PS. �� 12) The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 SR2006 No.261 13) The Northern Ireland Act 1998, Part VII, S75 14) The nine grounds covered under S75 of the Northern Ireland Act are: gender, religion, race, sexual orientation, those with dependents, disability, political opinion, marital status and age.

There is a broad consensus that the left-right dimension has been the dominant line of conflict in the European Parliament since 1979. A pro-/anti-EU dimension is found to be of secondary importance, which is attributed to the fact that decision-making over the competences of the European Union is the realm of intergovernmental negotiations. In this article, we show that the seventh EP witnessed a transformational moment in the history of the EU. The Eurozone crisis amplified the importance of the pro-/anti-EU dimension and increasingly shapes the voting behaviour of Members of the EP. This change is particularly pronounced for voting on economic issues. To demonstrate this transformation, we employ a novel deductive method that allows us to predict the relative importance of two dimensions structuring MEP voting behaviour. Our results contradict established wisdom about the strength of the left-right divide in EP politics.

Abstract
This study explores the correlation between weather and the perception of urban cleanliness across the 47 largest cities in Spain. Utilizing survey data conducted by the national Consumers and Users Organization (OCU) in 2015, 2019, and 2023 to assess cleanliness perceptions, we analyze potential associations with precipitation and temperature recorded by weather stations of the Spanish Meteorological Agency. Additionally, we consider computed values of the De Martonne aridity index. The OCU data reveal regional disparities in perceived cleanliness quality. Higher cleanliness scores are obtained in cities located in the northern and north-central regions of Spain, characterized by humid and superhumid climates according to the De Martonne index. Conversely, lower cleanliness ratings are given to cities in the southern and eastern regions of Spain, where a Mediterranean climate and lower aridity index values prevail. In conducting a statistical analysis on the perception of cleanliness and variables related to precipitation and temperature, the results of the chi-square and linear correlation tests found no strong statistical correlation, although a tendency is observed. Cities with higher annual precipitation and lower values of average annual temperature tend to receive better cleanliness ratings, while drier and warmer cities exhibit the worst values of perceived urban cleanliness. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the Gompertz model effectively captures a strong statistical correlation in the relationship between cleanliness perception and the De Martonne index: As aridity increases, cleanliness perception decreases. These results are relevant for the development of future cleaning methods and systems, particularly in light of the climate change scenarios that are anticipated in the Mediterranean region due to warmer and drier conditions and, consequently, an increase in aridity.

AbstractBetween 2006 and 2021, the Hungarian Twin Registry (HTR) operated a volunteer twin registry of all age groups (50% monozygotic [MZ], 50% dizygotic [DZ], 70% female, average age 34 ± 22 years), including 1044 twin pairs, 24 triplets and one quadruplet set. In 2021, the HTR transformed from a volunteer registry into a population-based one, and it was established in the Medical Imaging Centre of Semmelweis University in Budapest. Semmelweis University's innovation fund supported the development of information technology, a phone bank and voicemail infrastructure, administrative materials, and a new website was established where twins and their relatives (parent, foster parent or caregiver) can register. The HTR's biobank was also established: 157,751 individuals with a likely twin-sibling living in Hungary (77,042 twins, 1194 triplets, 20 quadruplets, and one quintuplet) were contacted between February and March of 2021 via sealed letters. Until November 20, 2022, 12,001 twin individuals and their parents or guardians (6724 adult twins, 3009 parents/guardians and 5277 minor twins) registered, mostly online. Based on simple self-reports, 37.6% of the registered adults were MZ twins and 56.8% were DZ; 1.12% were triplets and 4.5% were unidentified. Of the registered children, 22.3% were MZ, 72.7% were DZ, 1.93% were triplets, and 3.05% were unidentified. Of the registered twins, 59.9% were female (including both the adult and minor twins). The registration questionnaire consists of eight parts, including socio-demographic and anthropometric data, smoking habits and medical questions (diseases, operations, therapies). Hungary's twin registry has become the sole and largest population-based twin registry in Central Eastern Europe. This new resource will facilitate performing world-class modern genetic research.