Suchergebnisse

The CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence of the European Union are a European Commission initiative created to reinforce national and, therefore, regional, capacities regarding nuclear, chemical and biological security outside the European Union. They are made of a network of political and technical experts that mobilize resources in order to achieve a coherent CBRN policy through technical cooperation projects that have been tailored depending on the needs of each partner State. This paper focuses on the origin, legal basis and structure of the CoE taking the Centre of Excellence located in Rabat, Morocco, as a very illustrative example of the CoE functioning and potential. The case of Morocco is especially interesting as it hosts the Secretariat for the African Atlantic Façade, one of the eight regions where CoE can be found. ; Les Centres d'Excellence (CoE) pour l'atténuation des risques CBRN de l'Union Européenne sont une initiative de la Commission Européenne créé pour renforcer des capacités nationaux et, par conséquent, régionaux, en matière de la sécurité nucléaire, chimique et biologique en dehors de l'Union Européenne. Ils sont constitués d'un réseau d'experts politiques et techniques qui mobilisent des ressources afn de parvenir à une politique CBRN cohérente à travers des projets de coopération technique qui ont été adaptés en fonction des besoins de chaque Etat partenaire. Ce document met l'accent sur l'origine, la base juridique et la structure des Centres d'Excellence en prenant le Centre d'Excellence situé à Rabat, au Maroc, comme un exemple très illustratif du fonctionnement et le potentiel des CoE. Le cas du Maroc est particulièrement intéressant car elle héberge le Secrétariat pour la Façade Atlantique de l'Afrique, l'une des huit régions où les CoE peuvent être trouvés. ; los Centros de Excelencia (CoE) de mitigación de riesgos QBRN de la Unión Europea son una iniciativa de la Comisión Europea creada para fortalecer las capacidades nacionales y, por ende, regionales, en materia de seguridad nuclear, química y biológica fuera de la Unión Europea. Están formados por una red de expertos políticos y técnicos que movilizan recursos para lograr una política QBRN coherente a través de proyectos de cooperación técnica que han sido adaptados a las necesidades de cada país socio. Este documento se centra en el origen, fundamento jurídico y la estructura de los Centros de Excelencia tomando como caso de estudio el Centro ubicado en Rabat, Marruecos, como un ejemplo muy ilustrativo del funcionamiento y el potencial de los CoE. El caso de Marruecos es particularmente interesante ya que alberga la Secretaría de la Fachada Africana Atlántica, de las ocho regiones en las que se pueden encontrar Centros de Excelencia.

An abundance of natural resources might seem like something any nation would want to be blessed with. But in some countries, a bounty of energy, minerals and other resources can become as much a curse as a blessing. The difference between whether resources benefit a country's people, or lead to adversity and even suffering, has everything to do with how a country manages its resources. It is the difference between a resource-rich, free and democratically accountable country, such as Canada, and a resourcerich, corrupt, violent and impoverished country, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. In many resource-rich countries, the effect of ample natural wealth has been to sever the accountability link between citizens and government, slowing or even reversing democratic and social progress, while mostly enriching a few politically favoured constituencies. Canada's plentiful resources are an indisputable blessing, and those critics of federal industrial policy who compare this country to illiberal and corrupt "petro-states" are being either ignorant or deceitful. There are numerous critical factors at work here that ensure that the Canadian public benefits, rather than suffers, from our natural endowments. We have a diversity of resources, as opposed to being reliant on a single commodity, and our natural-resource sector makes up only a small portion of our larger economy. We have well-established and diligently enforced standards for financial transparency and accountability, in both the private and public sectors. But, just as importantly, there is a national consensus in Canada that public wealth amassed from resource rents should be invested in strengthening human capital, through education, training and social services, as well as in improved infrastructure and better governance, eventually parlaying natural-resource wealth into a yet larger, further-diversified economy. But Canada — and especially resource-rich provinces, such as Alberta — cannot take these factors for granted. A combination of complacency and natural wealth has the potential to turn a blessing into a curse. Even once reasonably democratic and accountable countries, such as Venezuela, have been caught unprepared on the dangerous double edge of a resource boom and have seen their governance systems substantially eroded. Developing the fiscal capacity to withstand commodity-market shocks, creating effective and durable checks and balances on systems of legislative power, enforcing transparency in budgeting and public-investment management, and maximizing tax efficiencies and tax administration, are all areas where Canadians can and should focus their efforts. These are the fundamental safeguards that will ensure our ample natural resources continue to be seen by our citizens as a blessing and not — as is the unfortunate case in so many other countries — a curse.

La ricerca e l'innovazione sono fattori chiave per il benessere e la crescita economica in ogni economia avanzata, nonché una priorità nelle strategie dell'Unione Europea. Capire i meccanismi profondi dei processi di innovazione, dove e come avviene e perché il fenomeno innovativo appare essere geograficamente concentrato è una questione di fondamentale importanza per sviluppare efficaci politiche nazionali e regionali di innovazione. Con questo intento, il presente lavoro si pone l'obiettivo di investigare empiricamente quali siano i fattori regionali (a livello NUTS2) più rilevanti dell'innovazione e ricerca nel settore Healthcare in Europa. Il settore Healthcare è di particolare interesse in quanto, oltre ad essere una tematica prioritaria nelle politiche europee, è caratterizzato da un'alta concentrazione di innovazioni sia terapeutiche sia tecnologiche e si trova a dover affrontare importanti sfide future, prima tra tutte, l'invecchiamento della popolazione. I dati utilizzati, relativi al periodo 2008-2010 del Framework Programme 7 (FP7) dell'Unione Europea, evidenziano che le attività innovative, misurate sia in termini di brevetti sia in termini di pubblicazioni scientifiche, sono geograficamente fortemente concentrate anche nel settore in esame. Inoltre, in linea con le ipotesi teoriche, le stime econometriche confermano il ruolo decisivo che alcuni fattori di input, quali la presenza di infrastrutture scientifiche, la spesa pubblica e le risorse umane impiegate in attività di ricerca e sviluppo, la partecipazione a progetti di ricerca europei, hanno sulla ricerca e innovazione regionale nel settore Healthcare. ; Research and innovation are key factors for well-being and economic growth in every advanced economy, as well as a priority in the strategies of the European Union. Understanding the profound mechanisms of innovative processes, where and how it happens and why the innovative phenomenon appears to be geographically concentrated is a matter of primary importance for developing effective national and regional innovation policies. With this in mind, this paper aims to investigate empirically the most relevant regional factors (at NUTS2 level) of innovation and research in the Healthcare sector in Europe. The Healthcare sector is of particular interest because, in addition to being a priority theme in European policies, it is characterized by a high concentration of both therapeutic and technological innovations and is faced with major future challenges, first of all aging of the population. The data used, relating to the 2008-2010 period of the Framework Program 7 (FP7) of the European Union, show that innovative activities, measured both in terms of patents and in terms of scientific publications, are geographically strongly concentrated also in the sector under examination. Moreover, in line with the theoretical hypotheses, the econometric estimates confirm the decisive role that some input factors, such as the presence of scientific infrastructures, public spending and human resources employed in research and development, participation in European research projects, have on regional research and innovation in the Healthcare sector.

El siguiente artículo surge de un Trabajo Fin de Máster cuyo propósito principal fue introducir la figura de Óscar López Rivera en el mundo de la Cultura de Paz, de esta forma llevando los reclamos por su excarcelación a todos los rincones del mundo, comenzando con la comunidad española. Luego de un recorrido a través de la historia colonial de la Isla de Puerto Rico y la vida de López Rivera como un defensor de la independencia de la isla caribeña, se presentará un análisis de discurso que servirá para exponer al preso político como símbolo de resistencia y movilización social noviolenta. La reivindicación de Óscar López Rivera se demostrará por medio del análisis de artículos de periódicos, cartas escritas por el activista social, así como un texto autobiográfico titulado Entre la tortura y la resistencia. Veremos como la lucha por la excarcelación de Óscar López ha servido para unir a la comunidad puertorriqueña por una misma causa, al margen de ideologías políticas y religiosas. A principios de este año 2017, antes de terminar su mandato, el Presidente Barack Obama conmutó la condena de este héroe nacional quien volverá a sentarse junto al mar, después de 36 años en cautiverio este 20 de mayo; dicho acto sirvió como validación de la lucha de un pueblo que se ha mantenido en resistencia ante la nación estadounidense. ; The following article serves as a summary of a Master's Degree thesis whose main purpose was to introduce Óscar López Rivera as a prominent figure of the contemporary Peace Culture studies; in turn, this will take the claims for López Rivera's release to every corner of the world, starting with the spanish community. Following a walk through the colonial History of the island of Puerto Rico and the life of López Rivera as a fierce defensor of the cause for the Caribbean territory's independence, an analysis of the discourse will present the political prisoner as a symbol of resistance for the nonviolent movement in the Island. The vindication of Óscar López Rivera will be demonstrated through the analysis of newspaper articles, letters written by the social activists, as well as an autobiographical text titled Between torture and resistance. We will observe how the fight for Óscar López's liberation has helped unite Puerto Rican community under one cause, putting aside political and religious ideologies. At the beginning of this year (2017), before ending his term in office, president Barack Obama commuted the 70 years sentence of this national hero who will be sitting next to the sea once more, after 36 years in prison. Óscar López Rivera's official release on May 20th will validate the struggle of a people that has resisted the North American empire.

The population of Africa will double in the next 33 years to reach 2.5 billion by 2050. Although roughly 60% of the continent's population is engaged in agriculture, the produce from this sector cannot feed its citizens. Hence, in 2013 alone, Africa imported 56.5 million tons of wheat, maize, and soybean at the cost of 18.8 billion USD. Although crops cultivated in Africa play a vital role in their contribution to Food Security, they produce inferior yields compared to those in other parts of the world. For instance, the average cereal yield in Africa is only 1.6 t·ha−1 compared to the global 3.9 t·ha−1. Low productivity in Africa is also related to poor soil fertility and scarce moisture, as well as a variety of insect pests, diseases, and weeds. While moisture scarcity is responsible for up to 60% of yield losses in some African staple cereals, insect pests inflict annually substantial crop losses. In order to devise a strategy towards boosting crop productivity on the continent where food insecurity is most prevalent, these production constraints should be investigated and properly addressed. This review focuses on conventional (also known as genetic) intensification in which crop productivity is raised through breeding for cultivars with high yield-potential and those that thrive well under diverse and extreme environmental conditions. Improved crop varieties alone do not boost crop productivity unless supplemented with optimum soil, water, and plant management practices as well as the promotion of policies pertaining to inputs, credit, extension, and marketing. Studies in Kenya and Uganda have shown that the yield of cassava can be increased by 140% in farmers' fields using improved varieties and management practices. In addition to traditional organic and inorganic fertilizers, biochar and African Dark Earths have been found to improve soil properties and to enhance productivity, although their availability and affordability to African farmers remains to be explored. The concept of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) has been successfully implemented in some African countries in the Great Lake Region. Other innovative technologies favorably accepted by farmers are the "Push-pull System" (an elegant method of controlling a devastating insect pest and a parasitic weed) and NERICA (New Rice for Africa, in which rice varieties with desirable nutritional and agronomic properties were developed by crossing Asian and African rice). This review calls for African governments and institutions not only to provide conducive environments but also to abide by the Maputo 2003 Declaration where they agreed to invest 10% of their national budget to agricultural research and development as the outcome has a positive impact on productivity and ultimately improves the livelihood of farmers.

Protected areas make up only 6.3% from theterritoryofukraineand that is why the issue of natural reserves extension is very urgent. In EU countries the average parameter is 14%. That is why we should think how areas can be designated to become governmentally protected in the future. The lands which now belong to military and defense industry ofUkraineare also considered. The National Action Plan for Environmental Protection was approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (date: 25/05/2011, Nr 577-p). According to point 200, an inventory of lands which now belong to military and defense industry should be performed; the aim is to establish there protected areas/site. Criteria for the assessment and identification what lands can be assigned as protected areas are not developed. There are also no official procedure on identification and assignment of protected sites which now belong to military and defense industry.For the pilot environmental assessment project a criteria for selection of areas/sites which can be natural reserve sites in future was developed. The key criterion for further inclusion of the site into the ecological network is the location within the eco-corridors ofUkraine. Analysis of the obtained results based on the sum of estimated scores (10-13) showed that stock lands of military bases/units can be classified as buffer and conjunct (eco-corridors) territories of nature reserve fund. For sure, it is obligatory to perform assessment of radiological contamination of the lands which are considered as potential for nature reserves. It is also recommended to carry out integrated environmental assessment of sites/areas. Based on developed criteria and for further integrated environmental expertise on sites, belonged to the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, it is necessary to develop the draft of the Military Standard "Instruction on performance of the inventory of lands, which now belong to military and defense industry, with further aim to establish protected areas/sites". ; Проведено исследование территорий, которые принадлежат военно-оборонной отрасли Украины. Разработаны критерии предварительного выбора и определения возможной принадлежности этих территорий к структурным элементам экологической сети для создания новых объектов природно-заповедного фонда на фондовых землях военно-оборонной отрасли. Приведены результаты апробации предложенной методики социологического опроса военнослужащих. Установлено, что полученная информация для предварительной оценки является достаточной и предполагает возможность включения указанных территорий в экологическую сеть. ; Проведено дослідження територій, що належать військово-оборонній галузі України. Розроблено критерії попереднього вибору та визначення можливого віднесення цих територій до структурних елементів екомережі для створення нових об'єктів природно-заповідного фонду України на землях військово-оборонної галузі. Надано результати апробації запропонованої методики соціологічного опитування працівників військової служби. Встановлено, що отримана інформація для попередньої оцінки є достатньою та передбачає можливість віднесення вказаних територій до екологічної мережі.

Створення системи медичного страхування має розглядатися як багатоаспектний процес, в якому необхідно пов'язати правову, економічну, організаційно-управлінську та мотиваційну складові. Необхідно вибрати найбільш оптимальну для українських умов модель охорони здоров'я із урахуванням менталітету та прогресивності такої моделі. Забезпечення доступності для населення ефективної кваліфікованої медичної допомоги здійснюється за рахунок управлінських, організаційних, інформаційних технологій ; Introduction. The necessity of development and incipience of insurance medicine in today's realities of Ukrainian health care system is caused by the need in qualified medical care for different groups of population depending on their material prosperity, especially for socially disadvantaged people, in stable healthcare financing, and maintaining of the proper level of medical care. The main task is the study of the modern tendencies of development and predicting of future changes in economic and social environment, as well as their influence on healthcare system. The modern development of social insurance in Ukraine confidently shows that the use of nothing but administrative measures is not enough for adequate work efficiency and reforms.Statement of research. In fact, there are a number of modern works in the national scientific literature devoted to attempts to consider the theoretical, historical, financial, economic, organizational and administrative aspects of health insurance, but comprehensive analysis of this issue still needs attention of scientists and society in general. This concept allows designing reasonable and substantiated recommendations for health insurance development.Aim: the study of features and prospects of the insurance medicine system in modern Ukrainian realities.Results and discussion. The choice of heath care model should completely meet the modern requirements in the country. The transition to health insurance should be performed considering the population's wealth level, and possibilities of payment of part of medical services while maintaining the appropriate social protection for disadvantaged populations. Implementation of mandatory insurance is usually accompanied by the insured attachment to a particular territory which the insurance institution serves; also it should determine the procedure for transfer submission to the certain areas to equalize the financial capacity of the different regions. The existing legislation should provide a certain level of heath care services profitability, and competition in the medical services market will improve the quality of medical care. In future, it should slowly increase health care costs by financing from many different sources, and medical and diagnostic processes management using standards will make clinical management system closer to self-regulating system.Conclusion. Improvement of medical care for persons involved in one or another type of medical insurance by implementation of medical insurance system as an independent commodity and market relations in health care area is the main goal for the current health system in Ukraine

The article describes and summarizes the essence of the «energy efficiency» concept. The main differences are the concepts of «energy efficiency» and «energy savings». Established and proven that the term «energy efficiency» is the qualitative characteristic of the national economy, and the term «energy savings» – quantitative characteristic. The last term reflect the impact of reduction of energy consumption per unit of added value. Considered the EU experience in improving energy efficiency policy. It was found that the energy of the European Union's strategy is decomposed into two vectors of action – external and internal, thus concluded that the issues of energy security, especially in the field of foreign trade and energy imports, there is no unity of thought states on solving this problem. This situation is primarily due to different levels of security of the EU's own energy resources, structure and real sectors of the economy, as well as the international specialization of countries, which leads to a different level of energy efficiency in those countries. ; В статье рассмотрены и обобщены сущность понятия «энергоэффективность». Определены основные различия понятий «энергоэффективность» и «энергосбережение». Установлено и доказано, что термин «энергоэффективность» служит качественной характеристикой национальной экономики, а «энергосбережение» – количественной, отражающий результативность снижение потребления электроэнергии на единицу добавленной стоимости. Рассмотрен опыт стран ЕС в проведении политики повышения энергоэффективности. Установлено, что энергетическая стратегия Европейского Союза разлагается на два вектора действия – внешний и внутренний, благодаря чему пришли к выводу о том, что в вопросах энергетической безопасности, прежде всего в сфере внешнеэкономической деятельности и импорта энергоресурсов, отсутствует единство мысли стран о решении данной проблемы. Такое положение вещей обусловлено в первую очередь разным уровнем обеспеченности стран ЕС собственными энергетическими ресурсами, структурой и масштабами реальных секторов экономики, а также международной специализацией стран, что и приводит к различному уровню энергоэффективности в этих странах. ; Розглянуто та узагальнено сутність поняття «енергоефективність». Визначено основні відмінності понять «енергоефективність» та «енерго­збереження». Встановлено та доведено, що термін «енергоефективність» слугує якісною характеристикою національної економіки, а «енерго­збереження» — кількісною, що відображає результативність зниження споживання електроенергії на одиницю доданої вартості. Розглянуто досвід країн ЄС у проведенні політики підвищення рівня енергоефективності. Встановлено, що енергетична стратегія Європейського Союзу розкладається на два вектори дії — зовнішній та внутрішній, завдяки чому дійшли висновку про те, що у питаннях енергетичної безпеки, насамперед у сфері зовнішньоекономічної діяльності та імпорту енергоресурсів, нема єдиного спільного бачення вирішення даної проблеми. Такий стан речей обумовлений, у першу чергу, різним рівнем забезпеченості країн ЄС власними енергетичними ресурсами, структурою і масштабами реальних секторів економіки та міжнародною спеціалізацією країн, що відповідно призводить до різного рівня енергоефективності цих країн.

This report is part of a global set of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for All (WASH) diagnostics carried out in countries where WASH services for the poor are deficient and where their might be institutional constraints to improving coverage and services. The Republic of Yemen is an important case because it has an active armed conflict, a plausible increase in poverty over the last decade, and the weakest performance on WASH-related indicators in the region. Analyzing the situation in the Republic of Yemen is significant yet difficult due to the country's political turmoil since 2011, and, since 2014, the violent and destructive armed conflict. Advances in WASH provision made over the last decade been halted, and the wholesale physical destruction, institutional degradation, and movement of internally displaced people (IDPs) have contributed to an alarming deterioration in WASH services (DAS 2016). The goal of this report is to develop a better understanding of: (a) poverty in the Republic of Yemen; (b) the levels of WASH access and service delivery; and (c) the institutional (and to some extent political and economic) constraints to WASH delivery in the Republic of Yemen, recognizing that this is mostly a pre-conflict analysis. The report also provides pointers for how WASH strategies and investments may be recalibrated in the post-conflict period to assist both short-term recovery and medium-term structured development, and how short- and medium-term strategies may fit into a long-term vision of universal access to safe water and sanitation. These suggestions are given with priority to the poor, and noting the country's extreme water scarcity. The diagnostic utilizes the Household Budget Survey (HBS) of 2005/06 and 2014, which are nationally representative household surveys (WHO/UNICEF 2014). The HBS data contain information on the household roster, activities, dwelling conditions, health, education, anthropometrics, income, durable goods, and consumption. In addition, the National Health and Demographic Survey 2013 complements HBS datasets and is also used. With regard to the institutional analyses, the diagnostic relies on a largely desk based analysis to identify core problem areas for further investigation and desk-based mapping of structures and relationships to identify a set of priority problems. It relies onthe availability of relevant data and secondary literature. Therefore, this diagnostic generates hypotheses to be further tested and indicates areas for further analysis. Further, given the conflict in the Republic of Yemen, the diagnostic focuses on short-term sector reconstruction efforts than on longer term institutional reform, although the latter is important given the extreme water security situation in the Republic of Yemen, and therefore remains within the report's line of sight.

BSS Directive 2013/59 entered into force on the 6 February 2014 requiring the Member States to adopt legislation (laws, regulations and administrative provisions) in order to harmonise their national legislation with requirements of this Directive until 6 February 2018. This Directive explicitly defines "non-medical imaging exposure" as deliberate exposure of individuals for other than medical purposes. Those planned exposure situations, if justified need to be subject to the appropriate regulatory framework for optimization of protection, exemption, notification, authorisation, inspection and law enforcement in order to insure safety in operation. The most challenging part is a justification process of "non-medical imaging exposure" taking into account that regulatory radiation protection authorities have limited responsibility in decision making process. BSS Directive recommends regular periodical review of justified practices involving deliberate exposure of humans for non-medical imaging purposes taking into account new technologies available, magnitude of radiological exposure during screening and other screening objectives. Dose constrains for different categories of exposures (public exposure, occupational exposure) depending on particular application, should be established and used in the optimisation of protection. In addition, appropriate regulatory control should be established and enforced as well as the stakeholder dialoge and the provision of information responsive to stakeholders concerns. ; BSS direktiva 2013/59 stupila je na snagu 6. februara 2014. godine. To znači da su države članice u obavezi da usvoje legislativu (zakone, uredbe i upravne odredbe) kako bi uskladile svoje nacionalno zakonodavstvo sa zahtevima ove Direktive do 6. februara 2018. godine. Ova Direktiva jasno definiše "nemediciska izlaganja" kao namerna izlaganja pojedinaca u svrhe koje nisu medicinske. Ukoliko su ove situacije planiranog izlaganja opravdane potrebno je da budu deo regulatornog okvira tj. da se na njih primenjuju zahtevi za: optimizaciju zaštite, izuzimanje, prijavljivanje, odobrenje delatnosti kao i inspekciju i sprovođenje propisa a u cilju obezbeđivanja sigurnosti tokom rada. Najzahtevniji deo je proces opravdavanja nemediciskih izlaganja imajući u vidu da regulatorna tela za zaštitu od zračenja imaju ograničenu odgovornost u procesu donošenja odluke o opravdanosti delatnosti. Preporuka BSS direktive je da se periodično vrši revizija opravdanih delatnosti koje uključuju namerna izlaganja ljudi u nemedicinske svrhe uzimajući u obzir nove dostupne tehnologije, stepen izlaganja zračenju tokom skrininga i druge ciljeve skrininga. U procesu optimizacije zaštite potrebno je uspostaviti i primenjivati ograničenja doza za različite kategorije izlaganja (izlaganje stanovništva, profesionalno izlaganje) u zavisnosti od pojedinačne primene. Takođe, potrebno je uspostaviti i primenjivati odgovarajuću regulatornu kontrolu kao i sprovoditi dijalog i obezbediti odgovarajuće informacije u vezi sa pitanjima svih zainteresovanih strana. ; Зборник радова : XXIX симпозијум ДЗЗСЦГ : Сребрно језеро, 27-29. септембар 2017. године

El artículo parte de la tesis de que el proyecto moderno es un proyecto auto-centrado que no ha sabido reconocer la alteridad. Se coloca como proyecto universal descalificando a las culturas no-occidentales como si fueran obstáculos para el progreso tal como nosotros lo hemos concebido. Paradójicamente, en nombre de la libertad y la tolerancia arrasa la alteridad o la reduce a la categoría anti-ilustrada de " minoría de edad". La Modernidad conlleva una contradicción estructural entre los principios morales en que se sustenta y las realizaciones históricas a las que ha dado lugar. La solución no es el rechazo de la modernidad en bloque, por el contrario, lo que debemos buscar es su radicalización. Es decir, hacerla coherente con sus principios, y para ello, hacerla inclusiva de la diversidad cultural. En clave política, se trata de construir ciudadanías diferenciadas en lugar de las clásicas ciudadanías homogeneas, y para que ello sea posible se hace necesario tomar en serio la necesidad de construir estados multiculturales en lugar de los estados nacionales que hemos heredado de la modernidad. Sólo de esta manera será posible transitar de la tolerancia al reconocimiento de la diversidad en la vida pública, y del monólogo etnocéntrico al diálogo intercultural como principio rector de la convivencia entre culturas. ; This article parts from the thesis that the modernising project is a self-centred one that has not known how to recognize a state of otherness. It not only places itself as a universal project but it disqualifies non-western cultures by placing them as obstacles to progress as we have conceived it. Paradoxically, in the name of freedom and tolerance it destroys otherness or reduces the other to the anti-illustrated category of "minor." Modernity carries with it a structural contradiction between the moral principals in which it is sustained itself and the historical achievements to which it has given rise. The solution is not to reject the modernising project altogether but, on the contrary, to radicalize it; that is, to make it coherent and in order to do that, one must begin by making it more inclusive in terms of diversity. This means, in political code, to construct citizenships with differences instead homogenous citizenships, and in order to make that possible it will be necessary to take seriously the need to construct multicultural states that substitute today's national states that we have inherited from modernity. Only in this way will it be possible to move from tolerance to the recognition of the diversity of public life, from ethnocentric monologues to intercultural dialogue as the guiding principal of coexisting cultures.

La información sobre los alimentos y sus relaciones con la salud y la estética son un reflejo de esta sociedad narcisista y consumista. Al mismo tiempo el concepto de seguridad alimentaría, se va imponiendo en la agenda política y mediática, alcanzando una protagonismo especial en momentos de crisis. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar cuáles son las temáticas que en el ámbito de la alimentación ofrece la prensa vasca, su diferente peso según los medios, y la relevancia que se concede a cada una de ellas. Para ello se han analizado los siete diarios publicados en el País Vasco: El Correo, El Diario Vasco, Deia, Noticias de Gipuzkoa, Noticias de Alava, Gara y Berría; así como las ediciones locales de dos diarios de tirada nacional: El País, y El Mundo. Otros datos cuantificados han sido los géneros periodísticos utilizados y la modalidad de las informaciones atendiendo a los tipos de actualidad que abarcan: actualidad reciente, actualidad prolongada y actualidad permanente. Los resultados de este análisis cuantitativo esclarecen de forma notable la verdadera relevancia de la alimentación en la agenda temática de la prensa vasca, y sus preferencias en cuanto a las temáticas y géneros seleccionados. Esta comunicación recoge algunos de los resultados de una investigación en curso dependiente del Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECOR 14/P12). ; Information about food and its relationship with health, nutrition and aesthetics are a reflection of this narcissistic and consumerist society. At the same time the concept of food security is becoming prevalent in the political and media agenda, reaching a special role in times of crisis. The aim of this work to analyze what are the themes that in the field of food offered by the Basque press, the different weight according to the media, and the importance accorded to each of them are. For this we have analyzed the seven newspapers published in the Basque Country: El Correo, El Diario Vasco, Deia, Noticias de Gipuzkoa, Noticias de Alava, Gara y Berría; as well as local editions of two national newspapers. Other quantified data have been journalistic genres used and the type of information in response to current rates that include: recent events, now prolonged and ongoing today. The results of this quantitative analysis significantly clarify the true significance of food in the thematic agenda of the Basque press, and their preferences for the topics and genres. This paper covers some of the results of an ongoing investigation under the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECOR 14/P12).

The main aim of this article is to evaluate the legitimacy of the EU financial crisis management. The key question of this analysis is this: Was the management of the EU financial crisis illegitimate in respect of the citizens? If yes, to what extent was it illegitimate? This analysis concentrates on one particular measure – financial assistance given to the EU member states. The states that are being analyzed in this thesis are the following: Hungary, Latvia, Romania, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Greece. In order to answer the question, the democratic legitimacy evaluation theoretical model of Fritz W. Scharpf was chosen. Based on this model, two dimensions of political process – input and output – are analyzed. Two hypotheses were raised in the work based on the theoretical model. H(1) Financial assistance to EU member states during the crisis measure was illegitimate because the citizens of the EU did not have influence in the decision making process. H(2) Financial assistance to EU member states during the crisis measure was illegitimate because it did not bring positive results. Based on the analysis, hypotheses are tested and the main findings presented. Based on the analysis of input legitimacy, hypothesis H(1) was confirmed. The financial assistance measure redistributed the balance of powers among national and supranational players in the EU. Institutions that are not elected directly and are not accountable to citizens gained more powers. Also, sovereignties of countries were constrained as these countries had to commit to implement various reforms. Based on the analysis of input legitimacy, hypothesis H(2) was partially denied. Analysis showed that the financial assistance measure helped to overcome financial crisis as well as to stabilize the situation in these countries and positive macroeconomic results were achieved in all countries. However, an analysis of various social welfare indicators showed that some of them deteriorated during the crisis period and that might have great impact on the quality of life of EU citizens. ; Pagrindinis klausimas, į kurį siekiama atsakyti šiame straipsnyje, yra: ar ir kiek ES finansų krizės suvaldymas buvo (ne)legitimus? Analizei pa­sirinkta konkreti finansų krizės suvaldymo priemonė – finansinės paramos teikimas ES valstybėms. Straipsnyje analizuojamos septynios valstybės, kurios gavo finansinę paramą: Vengrija, Latvija, Rumunija, Airija, Ispanija, Portugalija ir Graikija. Tyrime iškeliamos dvi hipotezės: H(1): finansinės pa­ramos teikimo priemonė ES valstybėms narėms buvo nelegitimi todėl, kad ES piliečiai neturėjo įtakos priimant sprendimus; H(2): finansinės paramos teikimo priemonė ES valstybėms narėms buvo nelegitimi todėl, kad nedavė teigiamų rezultatų. Analizei pasirinktas Fritzo W. Scharpfo demokratinio le­gitimumo vertinimo teorinis modelis. Remiantis šiuo modeliu, nagrinėjamos dvi politinio proceso dalys: sprendimų įeigos ir išeigos. Atliktas tyrimas pa­ramos teikimo legitimumo įeigų dalyje leidžia patvirtinti hipotezę H(1) ir iš dalies paneigti hipotezę H(2).

[Background]: Pigs were domesticated independently in Eastern and Western Eurasia early during the agricultural revolution, and have since been transported and traded across the globe. Here, we present a worldwide survey on 60K genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data for 2093 pigs, including 1839 domestic pigs representing 122 local and commercial breeds, 215 wild boars, and 39 out-group suids, from Asia, Europe, America, Oceania and Africa. The aim of this study was to infer global patterns in pig domestication and diversity related to demography, migration, and selection. ; [Results]: A deep phylogeographic division reflects the dichotomy between early domestication centers. In the core Eastern and Western domestication regions, Chinese pigs show differentiation between breeds due to geographic isolation, whereas this is less pronounced in European pigs. The inferred European origin of pigs in the Americas, Africa, and Australia reflects European expansion during the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Human-mediated introgression, which is due, in particular, to importing Chinese pigs into the UK during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, played an important role in the formation of modern pig breeds. Inbreeding levels vary markedly between populations, from almost no runs of homozygosity (ROH) in a number of Asian wild boar populations, to up to 20% of the genome covered by ROH in a number of Southern European breeds. Commercial populations show moderate ROH statistics. For domesticated pigs and wild boars in Asia and Europe, we identified highly differentiated loci that include candidate genes related to muscle and body development, central nervous system, reproduction, and energy balance, which are putatively under artificial selection. ; [Conclusions]: Key events related to domestication, dispersal, and mixing of pigs from different regions are reflected in the 60K SNP data, including the globalization that has recently become full circle since Chinese pig breeders in the past decades started selecting Western breeds to improve local Chinese pigs. Furthermore, signatures of ongoing and past selection, acting at different times and on different genetic backgrounds, enhance our insight in the mechanism of domestication and selection. The global diversity statistics presented here highlight concerns for maintaining agrodiversity, but also provide a necessary framework for directing genetic conservation. ; This study is supported by National Production Technology System for the Pig Industry in China (nycytx-008) and Outstanding Talents and Innovation Team of Agricultural Science (2011-81) to LH, AGL2010-14822 and AGL2013-41834-R (Ministry of Economy and Science, Spain) to MPE. LI received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 656697. HJM received funding from the IMAGE project (Horizon 2020, No. 677353). ; Peer reviewed

The population of Africa will double in the next 33 years to reach 2.5 billion by 2050. Although roughly 60% of the continent's population is engaged in agriculture, the produce from this sector cannot feed its citizens. Hence, in 2013 alone, Africa imported 56.5 million tons of wheat, maize, and soybean at the cost of 18.8 billion USD. Although crops cultivated in Africa play a vital role in their contribution to Food Security, they produce inferior yields compared to those in other parts of the world. For instance, the average cereal yield in Africa is only 1.6 t·ha−1 compared to the global 3.9 t·ha−1. Low productivity in Africa is also related to poor soil fertility and scarce moisture, as well as a variety of insect pests, diseases, and weeds. While moisture scarcity is responsible for up to 60% of yield losses in some African staple cereals, insect pests inflict annually substantial crop losses. In order to devise a strategy towards boosting crop productivity on the continent where food insecurity is most prevalent, these production constraints should be investigated and properly addressed. This review focuses on conventional (also known as genetic) intensification in which crop productivity is raised through breeding for cultivars with high yield-potential and those that thrive well under diverse and extreme environmental conditions. Improved crop varieties alone do not boost crop productivity unless supplemented with optimum soil, water, and plant management practices as well as the promotion of policies pertaining to inputs, credit, extension, and marketing. Studies in Kenya and Uganda have shown that the yield of cassava can be increased by 140% in farmers' fields using improved varieties and management practices. In addition to traditional organic and inorganic fertilizers, biochar and African Dark Earths have been found to improve soil properties and to enhance productivity, although their availability and affordability to African farmers remains to be explored. The concept of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) has been successfully implemented in some African countries in the Great Lake Region. Other innovative technologies favorably accepted by farmers are the "Push-pull System" (an elegant method of controlling a devastating insect pest and a parasitic weed) and NERICA (New Rice for Africa, in which rice varieties with desirable nutritional and agronomic properties were developed by crossing Asian and African rice). This review calls for African governments and institutions not only to provide conducive environments but also to abide by the Maputo 2003 Declaration where they agreed to invest 10% of their national budget to agricultural research and development as the outcome has a positive impact on productivity and ultimately improves the livelihood of farmers.