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Inhaltsangabe: Introduction and Course of Work: In 2007, at their meeting in Tanzania, the central bank governors of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) laid out a strategy to strengthen regional integration, containing the development of a common market by 2015, fixed exchange rates by 2016, and, ultimately, a monetary union with a single currency in 2018. In pursuit of this agenda, a free trade area absent of intra-regional tariffs was arranged in August 2008 with a regional customs union to follow this year. The currently fourteen member countries of the SADC committed themselves towards achieving economic convergence and to deepen monetary cooperation. In the 21st century, Africa finds itself increasingly separated from economic developments in the remaining world and fails to prosper from increased globalization. Despite a large abundance in natural resources, many countries have suffered from an extremely poor economic performance, which mainly originated from internal strives and weak and distortionary policies. Inward looking governments, conducting clientele policies, are focused on reaping economic rents rather than on fostering growth. Furthermore, tribal conflicts and civil war have sparked recurring border conflicts with neighboring countries. Although Africa has seen a large number of regional arrangements and trading blocs throughout the continent, the overall success for growth and trade expansion was limited. Against this background, the formation of a monetary union is believed to counteract economic and political weaknesses, to improve regional cooperation and to enhance both the political and economic standing in the world. A monetary union and a common currency entails both gains and losses for its members. On the cost side, countries in a monetary union effectively loose the ability to pursue independent monetary policies and to use the exchange rate as adjustment instrument to stabilize the economy. On the other hand, countries inside a monetary union benefit from reduced transaction costs and the elimination of internal exchange rate volatility. Furthermore, countries which suffer from weak internal stability and high inflation rates benefit by using the fixed exchange rate in a monetary union as external anchor. By transferring the power over monetary policy to a supranational central bank, the risk of homegrown inflation and currency devaluations is banished and economic agents are able to borrow at more favorable interest rates. Both the gains and losses from a monetary union are determined by structural characteristics inside the countries. If, in total, the benefits from a single currency exceed the costs in that the constraints imposed by fixed exchange rates are not harmful to the economy, the countries constitute an optimum currency area. In essence, the theory of optimum currency areas considers the desirability for each country to join a monetary union. The trade off between costs and benefits is affected by three features: First, the degree of intra-country trade influences the gains in efficiency and reduced uncertainty from fixing the exchange rate. Second, the degree of correlation in output fluctuations determines whether a common monetary policy is adequate for all countries. And third, the response to output shocks is eased by several adjustment mechanisms, including price flexibility and factor mobility, which restore the initial equilibrium. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a monetary union in Southern Africa is both desirable and feasible from an economic point of view, to discuss institutional challenges and requirements, and to give direction for which countries are best candidates to form a monetary union. Both the motivation and requirements for a successful monetary union are drawn from the theory of optimum currency areas. Unfortunately, the various aspects of the theory have been gradually developed over time and are often confounded and fragmentary in theoretical work. The aim is therefore to first derive a framework that includes relevant benefits and costs, which are subsequently related to country-specific structural criteria. Since economic integration is an important aspect for Africa, emphasis will be put on the endogenous trade effects of monetary integration. Similarly, special attention is given to fiscal distortions and weak institutions, which are sources of high inflation rates and low monetary credibility. Next, the theoretical foundations are applied to the SADC to examine the suitability of countries to form a monetary union. Although a number of studies have discussed monetary integration in various parts of Africa (Masson and Pattillo 2001, Debrun, Masson and Pattillo 2005, and Houssa 2008, for instance, cover monetary unification in West Africa while Kishor and Ssozi 2009 analyze the East African Community), relatively little has been done concerning the SADC in particular. Relevant exceptions are Agbeyegbe, Bayoumi and Ostry, Buigut and Valev, Karras and Khamfula and Huizinga. However, while the studies mentioned typically focus on one aspect of the theory of optimum currency areas, there are very few attempts so far to include all relevant aspects in one framework. Overall, the findings suggest that a monetary union encompassing the whole SADC is infeasible at this stage, and unlikely in the foreseeable future. However, there is evidence for a monetary union consisting of a smaller group of countries, based on the long standing CMA arrangement. In addition to South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland, countries proposed for a monetary union are Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia. On the other hand, there is little evidence that the remaining countries would benefit from monetary unification in any time soon. Countries in the SADC generally differ much in their economic and political development. While some countries, namely South Africa, feature a relatively advanced economy, other countries like Congo and Zimbabwe experienced economic deterioration and high inflation rates. Especially the findings of low regional trade intensities do not hold much promise of large gains from transaction cost savings. Furthermore, both the comovement of business cycles and the correlation of output disturbances are strikingly low, indicating that a common monetary policy is unsuited for most countries. For a small number of countries with a history of high and volatile inflation rates, a common, stable currency would be however attractive in giving higher price stability and an institutional framework to insulate monetary policy from domestic fiscal pressures. Nevertheless, this path is unrealistic since it will be impossible to merge the interests of undisciplined countries with those of low inflation countries like South Africa. In sum, it is inadvisable to proceed with monetary unification to rashly. A monetary union is far from certain to promote regional integration and should not be seen as substitute for political initiatives to solve regional problems and restraining poor fiscal policies. The analysis is divided into three main sections: Section 2 reviews the theoretical implications from the theory of optimum currency areas. After introducing the benefits and costs from monetary unification, both the traditional and endogenous criteria are described to judge the desirability of a monetary union. Next, two models of monetary policy are presented so as to formalize the concept of monetary cooperation. Section 3 subsequently applies the criteria to the SADC. Special attention is given to the correlation of business cycles and comovement of output shocks. A structural vector autoregression analysis is carried out in order to separate underlying supply and demand shocks from output disturbances. Section 4 evaluates the feasibility of a monetary union in the SADC by drawing lessons from the CMA and EMU. Finally, further challenges in the transition to a monetary union are pointed out. Section 5 summarizes and concludes.Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents: List of Figuresiii List of Tablesiii List of Abbreviationsiii 1.Introduction1 2.Theoretical Foundations of the Optimum Currency Area Theory5 2.1Benefits and Costs of Monetary Integration7 2.1.1Benefits of Monetary Integration8 2.1.2Costs of Monetary Integration11 2.2Criteria of Optimum Currency Areas12 2.3Endogenous Effects in Monetary Integration17 2.4Policy Implications20 2.5Fiscal Distortions and Monetary Credibility22 2.6Theoretical Conclusions27 3.Theory and Empirical Evidence in the Southern African Development Community28 3.1The Economic Situation and Convergence in Southern Africa29 3.2Empirical Approaches of the Optimum Currency Area Theory and Evidence in Southern Africa38 3.3Correlation and Structure of Output Shocks and Business Cycles46 3.4Results52 4.Evaluating the feasibility of the SADC as a Monetary Union and future Prospects54 4.1The Experience of the Common Monetary Area56 4.2Lessons from the European Monetary Union58 4.3The role of Monetary and Fiscal Policies in Southern Africa60 4.4Challenges and the Path to a Monetary Union62 5.Summary and Conclusion68 AAppendix70 A.1Appendix for Section 2.570 A.2Appendix for Section 3.372Textprobe:Text Sample: Chapter 3, Theory and Empirical Evidence in the Southern African Development Community: To recapitulate: The main criteria which have been identified in the optimum currency area theory are (i) the correlation of output shocks, (ii) the extent of regional trade and production diversification, (iii) financial integration, (iv) price flexibility and factor mobility, and (v), inflation differentials and fiscal distortions. It is generally accepted that the formation of a monetary union requires participants to first achieve convergence in a variety of criteria. In this respect, fiscal and institutional convergence and low debt burdens are of special interest since both are a measure of sustainable economic policy. Furthermore, a similar level of per capita income indicates that countries have comparable institutional developments and interests. A monetary union that fails to satisfy these preconditions tends to be instable and may lack credibility from the very beginning. Over the last years however, a number countries in the SADC have experienced an increasing rate of divergence. The transition process in the SADC towards a monetary union is supported by a number of preceding arrangements. The Southern African Customs Union between South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland has promoted a certain degree of regional trade. Economic integration has been however limited since the main objective of the customs union was to ease the collection of customs duties rather than industrial cooperation. Regional integration within the SADC advanced in 2008 with the Free Trade Area, which established zero tariffs for 85% of traded goods. However, for goods that have been declared as import-sensitive, most notably food and clothing, liberalization has been deferred. The overall impact on regional trade is therefore uncertain. Despite various efforts for trade liberalization in the past, political commitment has been low so far. Financial relations in the SADC are mainly limited to foreign direct investments. Nevertheless, some recent efforts have been made to harmonize national payment systems. Moreover, the SADC has agreed to work towards full currency convertibility. Since microeconomic data for Africa is scarce, the empirical evidence on optimum currency areas is mainly based on the correlation of output shocks and inflation or exchange rate differentials. Of the other criteria, factor mobility and price flexibility are especially hard to measure and estimates rely on very few observations. Not all of the criteria can therefore be analyzed in similar depth or for the same set of countries. Data was obtained from the World Bank World Development Indicators, the United Nations statistics division, the International Monetary Fund and the African Economic Outlook Database. 3.1, The Economic Situation and Convergence in Southern Africa: The SADC is unique among all regional arrangements in Africa due to the dominant role of South Africa. With a share of over 65% in real GDP (USD at 2000 prices) and 18% of the total population, South Africa is by far the largest and most industrialized economy in the region. In comparison, the remaining countries differ remarkably in size, income and economic structure. The Seychelles, the smallest country with little more than 85,000 residents, is the richest country with a real per capita income (in PPP) of over 19,000 USD in 2008 while Congo and Zimbabwe are among the poorest countries in the world with a real per capita income of approximately 290 USD and 185 USD respectively (see table 1). Life expectancy is low for most countries with an average of 53 years (ranging from 44 years in Zimbabwe to 73 years in the Seychelles) which is an indicator for the high poverty rate among the population. Income inequality as measured by the GINI Index varies considerably across contries, where South Africa (58), Angola (58) and Namibia (70) display one of the highest inequalities worldwide. Economic growth was robust for almost all countries since 1990 except in Congo and Zimbabwe and accelerated in Angola, Mauritius, Tanzania and Mozambique in recent years. Average annual GDP growth from 1990-2008 was highest for Angola (6.2%) due to increasing oil export revenues, but also the most volatile with a standard deviation of 10.5. In the four countries of the CMA, the growth performance was driven by the end of Apartheid in South Africa in 1994 and averaged to 3.7% from 1990-2008. The reeintegration of the South African economy in the world market attracted new foreign investors and trade, and more than tripled growth rates in the post-Apartheid period (from 1980-1992 the average was 1.1. On the other hand, Zimbabwe and until recently Congo experienced a drastic fall in income levels. While Congo still suffers from the aftermath of the civil war and political instability, Zimbabwe was run down by the Mugabe regime. Since at the same time these countries also have the lowest per capita income levels, it appears that the economies in the SADC diverge. Figure (4) illustrates the relationship between average per capita growth rates and relative income for 14 SADC members in the period 1990-2008. The results show that most countries with an initially high income level also had the highest average growth rates, which led to a widening of the income gap (striking examples are Botswana and Mauritius). The ambiguous relationship is a sign that positive developments in individual countries were determined by external factors rather than by improved regional cooperation. Production structure and trade: Production and export structures vary to a large extent among the SADC. While South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Swaziland have a relatively advanced manufacturing sector, most other countries depend on primary goods production (except for Mauritius which is specialized in financial services). In the rural countries Malawi, Tanzania, Congo, Mozambique and Madagascar, agriculture still accounts for a large, although declining production share. Raw materials (mining and oil) are a main income source for Angola, Botswana, Zambia, Congo and Namibia and contribute to a large part of foreign reserves. Accordingly, those countries usually exhibit surpluses in their trade and current account (see table 1). Similar to production structures, the composition of merchandise trade reported in table (2) differs considerably across countries. A higher income level is generally associated with high export shares in manufacturing and primary products, while low income countries tend to export food products and import manufactures. As a result of different production and trade structures, the ratio of intra-industry trade are ineffectual small for all countries except South Africa, reflecting the low degree of industrialization. Regional trade in the SADC is dominated by South Africa, which exports high value manufactures in return for small amounts of raw material imports. Especially countries inside the SACU maintain important trade connections to South Africa. Commodity imports from South Africa represent on average over 44% of total imports in other SADC countries and account for approximately 80% of total imports in Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia and Botswana (see table 3). On the other hand, export shares from the SADC towards South Africa amounts to only 15% on average with Swaziland (38%), Namibia and Lesotho (both 27%) having the strongest trade linkages. As a result, South Africa typically generates substantial regional trade surpluses. In contrast, trade integration among the remaining SADC countries is at very low levels, also because of a shortage in infrastructure. The only substantial trade flows are between neighboring Namibia and Angola (10% of Namibias exports), Zimbabwe and neighboring Zambia (14% of Zimbabwes exports) and landlocked Swaziland and Mozambique (9% of Swazilands exports). Although informal trade is assumed to account for a large proportion of total trade, most of the regional trade flows are negligible. To promote intra-regional trade, various efforts have been started in recent years. Overall trade has been substantially liberalized in the past and import restrictions reduced so that effective tariff protection rates declined in most countries. Accordingly, the average share of regional merchandise exports in percent to total merchandise exports increased from 8% in 1990 to 19% in 2008, and overall merchandise exports have grown on average by 10% per year since 1990.

A la dècada dels setanta assistirem a la majoria dels països europeus a un creixement del sector públic com a conseqüència del desenvolupament de l'Estat de benestar. En els anys vuitanta es començà a qüestionar la dimensió i l'activitat del sector públic, com a conseqüència de la necessitat d'acomodar-se a les profundes transformacions de la societat. Això va dur a redefinir la prestació del conjunt dels serveis públics, entre ells l'activitat física i l'esport. El sistema esportiu espanyol ha evolucionat enormement en els últims anys. Des dels inicis de la transició democràtica espanyola l'esport va passar a ser atès pels poders públics. Després d'una primera fase basada en un fort desplegament d'equipaments esportius públics, es va arribar a la fi de la dècada dels noranta a una preocupació per l'eficàcia i l'eficiència de les organitzacions gestores. S'iniciava el procés de modernització a l'administració pública espanyola. La transformació de l'esport en un producte de consum, la diversificació de les pràctiques esportives, els canvis en els gustos i la evolució de la demanda d'activitat física han tingut un paper primordial en l'expansió d'una de les modalitats de privatització del sector públic: la gestió indirecta de serveis esportius. En el present treball es compara l'oferta (preus i programes) de les piscines cobertes municipals a Catalunya, segons es gestionin de manera directa o indirecta, així com la regulació de l'accés a la pràctica esportiva quan es subcontrata la gestió. S'han utilitzat instruments de recollida i d'anàlisi de dades quantitatives (anàlisi de la publicitat i qüestionari amb tractament estadístic a una mostra de 75 piscines) i qualitatius (anàlisi de contingut de 26 plecs de condicions). Els resultats obtinguts mostren que les piscines de gestió indirecta ofereixen preus significativament més cars i orienten l'oferta a un tipus de públic concret. Es fomenten aquelles modalitats d'accés que generen majors ingressos, entre les quals destaca la figura de l'abonat, les activitats gimnàstiques i els serveis complementaris orientats a la salut. L'oferta de les piscines cobertes municipals reprodueix les desigualtats en quan a edat i a classe social, i la gestió indirecta accentua aquestes diferències. Encara així, existeix una gran dispersió i variabilitat en el grup de piscines gestionades de manera indirecta. També s'observa que els Ajuntaments defineixen vagament les condicions que els adjudicataris han de seguir pel que fa a l'oferta de serveis. Es prioritza la regulació d'aspectes econòmics i d'eficiència del servei abans que l'exigència d'una oferta que atengui a la diversitat de la població. Les conclusions obtingudes poden ajudar a reflexionar als Ajuntaments sobre el paper a desenvolupar en la promoció l'esport quan és un tercer qui gestiona el servei públic; la responsabilitat municipal va més enllà de la titularitat del servei. ; En la década de los setenta asistimos en la mayoría de los países europeos a un crecimiento del sector público como consecuencia del desarrollo del Estado de bienestar. En los años ochenta se empieza a cuestionar la dimensión y la actividad del sector público, derivado de una necesidad de acomodarse a las profundas transformaciones de la sociedad. Ello llevó a redefinir la prestación del conjunto de los servicios públicos, entre ellos la actividad física y el deporte. El sistema deportivo español ha evolucionado enormemente en los últimos años. Desde los inicios de la transición democrática española el deporte pasó a ser atendido por los poderes públicos. Tras una primera fase basada en un fuerte despliegue de equipamientos deportivos públicos, se llegó a finales de la década de los noventa a una preocupación por la eficacia y la eficiencia de las organizaciones gestoras. Se iniciaba el proceso de modernización en la Administración pública española. La transformación del deporte en un producto de consumo, la diversificación de las prácticas deportivas, los cambios en los gustos y la evolución de la demanda de actividad física han tenido un papel primordial en la expansión de una de las modalidades de privatización del sector público: la gestión indirecta de servicios deportivos. En el presente trabajo se compara la oferta (precios y programas) de las piscinas cubiertas municipales en Cataluña, según se gestionen de manera directa o indirecta, así como la regulación del acceso a la práctica deportiva cuando se subcontrata la gestión. Para ello, se han utilizado instrumentos de recogida y de análisis de datos cuantitativos (análisis de la publicidad y cuestionario con tratamiento estadístico en una muestra de 75 piscinas) y cualitativos (análisis de contenido de 26 pliegos de condiciones). Los resultados obtenidos muestran que las piscinas de gestión indirecta ofrecen precios significativamente más caros y orientan la oferta a un tipo de público concreto. Se fomentan aquellas modalidades de acceso que generan mayores ingresos, entre las que destaca la figura del abonado, las actividades gimnásticas y los servicios complementarios orientados a la salud. La oferta de las piscinas cubiertas municipales reproduce la desigualdad en cuanto a edad y a clase social, y la gestión indirecta acentúa estas diferencias. Aún así, señalamos que existe una gran dispersión y variabilidad en el grupo de piscinas gestionadas de manera indirecta. También se observa que los Ayuntamientos definen vagamente las condiciones que los adjudicatarios deben seguir con respecto a la oferta de servicios. Se prioriza la regulación de aspectos económicos y de eficiencia del servicio antes que la exigencia de una oferta que atienda a la diversidad de la población. Las conclusiones obtenidas pueden ayudar a reflexionar a los Ayuntamientos sobre el papel a desarrollar en la promoción el deporte cuando es un tercero el que gestiona el servicio público; la responsabilidad municipal va más allá de la titularidad del servicio. ; During the 70s, the public sector rose sharply in most European countries as a consequence of the development of the welfare state. During the 80s, due to the significant changes in society, the dimension and activity of the public sector was questioned and the whole public services supplied, such as physical activity and sport, had to be redefined. The Spanish sport system has developed tremendously in recent years. At the beginning of the Spanish democratic transition, public authorities started to take charge of sport. The first stage, based on a large expansion of sport public facilities, led to constant worries about the efficiency and effectiveness of their managing organizations in the late 90s. The Spanish public administration was undergoing a process of modernization. Sport has become a consumer good, sport practices have diversified, taste in relation with it have changed and the demand of the physical activity has evolved. All these factors have played a key role in the spread of the indirect management of sport services, one of the methods of privatization of the public sector. I n this research, we have compared the supply (prices and programmes) of the local indoor swimming pools in Catalonia according to the way they are managed: direct or indirectly, and also the regulation to access the sport practices when management is subcontracted. For these, I have used different instruments of collection and testing of both quantitative data (analysis and surveys of the publicity and questionnaires of 75 swimming pools) and qualitative (analysis of the contents of 26 legal specifications). The results show that the swimming pools managed indirectly are significantly more expensive, and point their supply at a particular target. Moreover, they also boost the modalities of access which generate more revenue: membership, gymnastic activities and complementary health-related services stand out among others. The supply of the municipal indoor swimming pools reproduces the inequality as for age and to social class, and the indirect management accentuates these differences. Even though, we can state there is great dispersion and variability in the group of swimming pools managed indirectly. We have also noticed that local councils hardly define the conditions related to the supply of services for the bidders to be followed. They give priority to the control of economic aspects and the efficiency of the service itself rather than control the fact that supply takes into consideration the diversity of the population. The conclusions reached may help local councils to reflect on the role they should play when promoting sport in the case that a third party manages the public services. The responsibility of the local government is not limited to the holder of the service, but it has to go much further ; Aux années soixante-dix on assiste dans la plupart des pays européens à une croissance du secteur public conséquence du développement de l'Etat du bien-être. Vers les années 80 on commence à questionner la dimension et l'activité du secteur public, dérivées du besoin de s'accommoder aux profondes transformations de la société. Cela comporta à redéfinir la prestation de l'ensemble des services publics, parmi lesquels l'activité physique et le sport. Le système sportif espagnol a évolué énormément aux dernières années. Dès le début de la transition démocratique espagnole le sport a passé à être assuré par les pouvoirs publics. Après une première phase basé en un fort déploiement d'équipements sportifs publics, on arrive à la fin de la décade des années quatre-vingt dix à une préoccupation par l'efficacité et l'efficience des démarcheurs. C'est ainsi que le procès de modernisation dans l'administration publique espagnole a commencé. La transformation du sport dans un produit de consommation, la diversification des pratiques sportives, les changements des goûts et l'évolution de la demande d'activité physique a eu un rôle essentiel dans l'expansion d'une des modalités de privatisation du secteur publique: la gestion indirecte des services sportifs. Dans ce travail on compare l'offre (prix et programmes) des piscines couvertes municipales en Catalogne, selon on traite de façon directe ou indirecte, ainsi comme la régulation de l'accès à la pratique sportive quand on sous-traite la gestion. Pour ceci, on a utilisé des instruments de ramassage et d'analyse de donnés quantitatifs (analyse de la publicité et questionnaire avec traitement statistique parmi une montre de 75 piscines) et qualitatifs (analyse du contenu de 26 plies de conditions). Les résultats obtenus nous montrent que les piscines de gestion indirecte offrent des prix significativement plus chers et elles orientent l'offre à un type de public concret. On fomente les modalités d'accès qui génèrent les plus grands revenus, parmi lesquelles on détache la figure de l'abonné, les activités gymnastiques et les services complémentaires orientés a la santé. L'offre des piscines couvertes municipales reproduit l'inégalité quant à l'âge et à la classe sociale, et la gestion indirecte accentue ces différences. Malgré tout, on signale qu'il existe une grande dispersion et variabilité dans le groupe de piscines démarchées de façon indirecte. On observe aussi que les Mairies définissent vaguement les conditions que les adjudicataires doivent suivre par rapport à l'offre de services. On priorise la régulation des aspects économiques et d'efficience du service avant que l'exigence d'une offre qui s'occupe de la diversité de la population. Les conclusions obtenues peuvent aider à réfléchir aux mairies sur le rôle à développer dans la promotion du sport quand c'est un troisième qui traite le service public; la responsabilité municipale va plus loin de la titularisation du service.

This work focuses on a subject that has been of constant interest and continuing centrality in the political agendas of different national legal systems: the procedural simplification that can be ascribable to the species of interventions that belong to the broader genus of the change of public administration'. Since the '70s, the transformation of public administration, among other different possibilities, chose the ambiguous and winding path of simplification. It has been taken as a guiding principle for the entire legal system and as a prevailing logic for the process of redesigning and restructuring the administrative organization and action. Administrative simplification was a 'fashionable' topic in the '90s, and since then a 'central block' and 'driving force' of both EU and national public policies, thus becoming a technical and cultural process for reforming administration. Its aim is 'to give it a more suitable shape that is tailored to the needs of society' for which its services are indeed intended. The procedural simplification is a topic of overnational interest that in several jurisdictions has been gradually occupying larger and larger spaces in the definition of public policies, according to the shared view that the simplification of the regulatory and administrative system is a fundamental condition for of socio-economic growth. Thanks to the awareness of the notion of 'administrative risk', or rather, the sensitive 'mutual dependence' between political-administrative and economic system, as Borruso noted in the preface to the European Commission Communication Europe 2020. A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the administrative simplification measures and, in particular, administrative procedures, have been dominating for a long time the political, legal, economic and social debates. Moreover, they are intended to occupy significant spaces in the near future, inasmuch as they are directed to keep within a threshold of 'tolerance' the inevitable organizational and functional complexity of an administration built on the principles of institutional pluralism, subsidiarity, competence and specialization, indispensability journalistic intervention, not to say of binding formalism. By establishing itself as a legal and social requirement to guarantee an administrative action that would be 'simpler, more effective, more efficient and more economical' for citizens, and by changing its status from mere collective aspiration to legal claim, the simplification of administrative procedures is an multi-faceted and poly-dimensional objective that the national legislature has pursued through different strategic actions, among which, the computerization process has been taking a central role. Not surprisingly, the development of digital administration has been considered by many as the most effective tool to simplify administrative action and respond to the issue of procedural complication. It has been sees as a process of 'review of the administrative structures and their organizational links, [.] redefinition of tasks and optimization of the capacity for work in the offices, thus achieving a reduction of the steps and the time required for the performance of administrative acting, which is what the simplification of procedures consists of. A theme which, in the first instance, concerns the balance between interests and principles. Inevitable corollary to administrative impartiality, organizational structure and the distribution of skills, the procedural complexity, which is questioned for the number of its steps and intra-procedures activities, for the time taken to achieve them and the red tape that affects citizens, it is a challenge to be answered, in general, through the use of computerization and communication tools. It is a challenge to be carried out with the accurate use of computerization and communication technologies. First of all, as its digitization is able to give an adequate response to the need to combine functional demands and requirements of simplification and rebalance the relationship between the end-protection guarantee of the interest and the duty of non-compression 'effectiveness, efficiency and economy of action that is traditionally made explicit while making the decision. From this remark, the added value that the process of computerization has shown in the policies of simplification can be understood precisely by evaluating in a negative way, how, the simplification of the administrative proceedings 'cannot be prosecuted by dequotando (non so cosa vuol dire) and debunking the rules of procedure whose positivization has represented a civilized procedural achievement. The extra value of the process of computerization among the techniques of procedural simplification – we have already said – is 'integration' between the principles of effectiveness, efficiency and economy, of certainty of timing, transparency of administrative action; the ability to overcome the limits that are connected to this principle and process of public administration reform, summarized in the principle of 'contradictory', participation, impartiality, and the necessary complete investigation; in the introduction of better modes of interaction, enabling faster and more effective relationships with participants and a greater guarantee of legal claims. In short, it consists of the ability to re-balance, at the procedural level, the relationship between the needs of the function and the requirements of guarantee of the action, often 'unbalanced ' in favor of one or the other. The 'revolutionary' aspect that we identify in the electronic administrative procedure is actually the result of a process that first passes through the definition of new information systems. The object of technological revolution is indeed information. The revolutionary aspect of computerization administration is the dynamic management of information and the possible reality of interconnected information systems that are integrated and shared, which does not mean less safe. And the verbal synthesis of a technological simplified action is the digital administrative proceedings . The digital simplification of the administrative procedure is the product of different methods of collection, use, access, transmission and communication of information, all technology-based. And administrative digital procedure is nothing but a decision-making process that takes advantage of the tools that technology puts at governments and citizens disposal. 'Neutral' tools that the legislature adopts for political purposes aiming at simplification and exercise of the rights. Tools that, precisely because they are neutral, will act in terms of reducing procedural complexity according to the quantum assumed while legislative determining, on the one hand, and enforcement by public authorities on the other. From this perspective we must look at the tools that legislators, Italian as well as Spanish, have outlined in order to give the electronically processed work the same effectiveness as the one carried out traditionally and in order to fulfill the obligation of information management procedures: from the discipline of electronic documents and the electronic signature, to the discipline of registering incoming and outgoing communications through an automated system; from the rules of the communications of documents between public administrations through the use of electronic mail to the rules for the direct acquisition of data and documents in the digital archives of public administrations; and again, to the provisions of a computer file, taken in the path as the 'centerpiece of the new mode of conducting administrative proceedings'. From this remark, the same computer file, created by national legislature as 'informative base' needed for a contextual work and shared between different subjects, 'fulfilled' with the expectations of simplification of the action and relationships, of the 'right to be known' of action both on the domestic side as on the external side, suggests, of course, a 'new' management process, but it remains only in the domain of attempt to reform if not accompanied by concrete implementation by individual administrations. It is their duty to start the processes of re-organization in order to manage the 'new' procedure based on shared information and transparent activities; on direct and immediate relationships; on a different value of time and space; on a simpler, more effective, efficient and economical, and at the same time, more able to guarantee rights and interests. The practical and proper application of these tools remains responsibility of each administration, asked to face the real challenge of procedural innovation. The following research is based on this fundamental interpretation and its methodological approach is developed, at first, starting from the acknowledgement of the legal category of the administrative procedure, the reconstruction of the lines of development and legal aspects that make of this administrative point as both action and organization, the place and the best opportunity to study the topic. Secondly, the working hypothesis is outlined. Starting from the construction of the simplification of the administrative procedure as recognition of a 'right' balance between complexity and simplicity of the action, the work continues by electing computerization as a 'form' of simplification that is able to envisage a possible solution for the problem of quality decision-making, resulting from the balance between the quantum and guarantees of effectiveness and efficiency of the action. In a third passage, we deal with the administrative digital proceedings, with particular attention to the developments which, from different management information mechanisms can derived in terms of modes of action that can develop horizontally, network-like or shared among stakeholders of the exercise of power. Finally, on the same lines, the work is enriched by the experience of the Spanish structure, in order to strengthen the thoughts on digital simplification of the procedure from a comparative perspective, which is always essential for the development of the research. From this point of view, the analysis of different time frequency of the stages of computerization in the two systems is an important key. The comparative analysis, despite showing an initial protagonism of the Italian legislator who, with the adoption of Digital Administration Code, anticipated a correct vision of modernization and initiated the 'transformation' of digital government, displays, in a second stage, a slowdown in the process, whereas it has a reverse path in the Spanish system, which, after assimilating the Italian model, proved able to proceed to the state of implementation with a more sustained dynamism and in shorter time. In the Spanish system what played an important role was the 'codification' of the awareness of the need for a transition phase, in which the digital system coexisted side by side with the paper-based system rather than automatically superseding it. This phase based on flexibitly proved to be effective for the change in the administrative system. First as a system of relations of public and private entities. Precisely this relational paradigm, in the analysis that is proposed here, has been the core of the thesis. This paradigm is both a thread of the investigation and the space where all the different approaches and issues related to procedural matters converge. The democratic nature of the administrative action, the implementation of the principles of impartiality and the participation in the Administrative Procedure Law, the introduction and the vindication of private sector criteria of efficiency, effectiveness and economy of the public actions are the background to the conclusion that the procedural simplification is primarily 'simplification of the interaction'. All these elements also frame the structural and functional reorganization that the digitization process requires, and, at the same time, develops, in an eminently relational perspective; of a 'new' way of building and developing inner relationships within the administration, between different administrations and between them and the citizens.

Authors' IntroductionSimilar to race, class, and gender, the body is an important signifier that shapes identity, social processes, and life outcomes. In our article, we examine the individual and institutional rewards conferred upon physically attractive individuals and the social stigma and discrimination experienced by the less physically attractive. This body hierarchy is tied in part to the performance of beauty work, including attempts to transform and/or manipulate one's hair, make‐up, and body shape or size. We explore these beauty work practices, highlight the gendered nature of this body hierarchy, and situate these practices in debates about agency and cultural structure. Are beauty conformists 'cultural dopes' who buy into an oppressive patriarchal beauty culture that creates docile bodies? Or, are these individuals 'savvy cultural negotiators' who participate in beauty work practices to reap material and psychological rewards?Authors recommendsBordo, Susan. 2003. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture & the Body. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.A series of essays that examine Western body culture, including media images, weight loss practices, reproduction, psychology, medicine, and eating disorders. In her analysis, Bordo adopts a postmodern feminist interpretation, problematizing the female body as a cultural construct.Davis, Kathy. 1991. 'Remaking the She‐Devil: A Critical Look at Feminist Approaches to Beauty'. Hypatia, 6, 21–43.Drawing on interviews with Dutch cosmetic surgery patients, Davis examines how women account for their decisions to participate in cosmetic surgery and how they view it in light of surgery outcomes. She argues that women actively pursue cosmetic surgery for instrumental reasons including regaining control of their lives, feeling normal, and/or righting the wrong of an ongoing suffering.Dellinger, Kirsten and Christine L. Williams. 1997. 'Makeup at Work: Negotiating Appearance Rules in the Workplace'. Gender & Society, 11, 151–77.Dellinger and Williams analyze in‐depth interviews to understand the reasons why women do – or do not – wear makeup in the workplace. Women are negatively sanctioned when they do not wear makeup (e.g. they are questioned about their health or heterosexuality) and are positively rewarded when they do wear makeup (e.g. they are seen as more credible, feel more confident, etc.). The authors argue that such practices ultimately reinforce inequality between women and men, but that individual resistance strategies are unlikely to be successful given the institutional and structural constraints faced by women.Gagné, Patricia and Deanna McGaughey. 2002. 'Designing Women: Cultural Hegemony and the Exercise of Power Among Women Who have Undergone Elective Mammoplasty'. Gender & Society, 16, 814–438.The authors address two feminist perspectives on cosmetic surgery using interviews with women who have undergone elective mammoplasty. One perspective suggests that women who elect cosmetic surgery are victims of false consciousness whose bodies are disciplined by a male gaze. A second perspective centralizes women's agency; surgery enables women to achieve greater power and control over their lives. They propose a grounded theoretical synthesis, maintaining that surgery can be empowering at an individual level, but can also reinforce hegemonic ideals that oppress women as a group.Gimlin, Debra L. 2002. Body Work: Beauty and Self‐Image in American Culture. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Gimlin examines four sites of body work – the beauty salon, aerobics classes, a plastic surgery clinic, and a fat acceptance organization. Relying on ethnographic and interview data, she discusses women's body transformation efforts and how they negotiate the relationship between body and self.Lovejoy, Meg. 2001. 'Disturbances in the Social Body: Differences in Body Image and Eating Problems among African American and White Women'. Gender & Society, 15, 239–61.Lovejoy reviews several perspectives on racial/ethnic differences in body image and eating disorders including: (1) a psychometric perspective that focuses on attitudinal and perceptual body image; (2) white feminist perspectives that focus on social control and changing gender roles; and (3) black feminist perspectives that claim obesity is a problem for black women, see eating as a mechanism to cope with oppression, and acknowledge black women's susceptibility to eating disorders. According to Lovejoy, black women's positive body satisfaction can be explained through an alternative beauty aesthetic and the cultural construction of femininity in black communities.Pope, Harrison G., Jr., Katharine A. Phillips and Roberto Olivardia. 2000. The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession. New York: The Free Press.In contrast to the many works that focus on women, these authors discuss appearance stereotypes and appearance work related to men and masculinity. While more journalistic than academic in tone (and quality of research design), the authors draw on surveys, interviews, and archival documents to argue that women's entrance into previously masculine arenas (e.g. male‐dominated occupations) has led to a sort of 'threatened masculinity.' As a result, men use their bodies to demonstrate masculinity (e.g. increased musculature) – often through unhealthy behaviors and practices, including steroid use and eating disorders.Weitz, Rose. 2001. 'Women and Their Hair: Seeking Power through Resistance and Accommodation'. Gender & Society, 15, 667–86.Based on in‐depth interviews with women, Weitz shows how women use their hair (style, length, color, etc.) to conform to, resist, and negotiate hegemonic beauty norms, thereby gaining – or losing – personal and professional power and other advantages. Weitz's article is particularly useful for illuminating how personal advantages can belie group advantages as well as the limitations of the agency versus docile bodies argument.West, Candace and Don H. Zimmerman. 1987. 'Doing Gender'. Gender & Society, 1, 125–51.This article introduces the idea of gender as an accomplishment or a performance. Femininity and masculinity, the authors argue, do not automatically follow from biological sex. Rather, males and females perform gender in their daily routines and interactions with others. We 'do gender,' for example, through our appearance, behaviors, speech patterns, etc.Wolf, Naomi. 1991. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women. New York: Harper Collins.This book explores the relationship between unattainable beauty ideals and women's social advancement. Examining issues including work, culture, religion, sex, and hunger, Wolf argues that despite increased advancement in the public sphere, women's self‐esteem and equality are stymied by the beauty myth and an obsession with body perfection.Online materialsAbout Face! http://www.about‐face.org/ About Face is an organization whose mission is to equip women and girls with tools to understand and resist harmful media messages that affect their self‐esteem and body image. Website contains images of positive and negative advertisements (along with discussion questions and company contact information), further reading suggestions, and links to other organizations dealing with either body image or media literacy.Adios Barbie http://www.adiosbarbie.com/ A website devoted to creating awareness about disempowering cultural messages about bodies, encouraging positive body image, and taking an active role in creating unique versions of beauty and identity.Jean Kilbourne http://www.jeankilbourne.com/lectures.html Jean Kilbourne is an author and lecturer whose works focuses extensively on the depiction of women in advertising. Her website includes recourses for change and postings from organizations with opportunities for individuals to get involved in activities/events that challenge destructive media images. The 'Film & Video' link also includes films on advertising and western beauty culture.Lauren Greenfield http://www.laurengreenfield.com/ Lauren Greenfield is a photographer whose images capture, among other things, the toll of beauty stereotypes and beauty work on women of all ages. Particularly relevant are Greenfield's collections titled Girl Culture and Thin. The website includes photographic images, short films, links to Greenfield's books and films, and further resources, including readings for teens, activists, and educators (including an extensive discussion/exercise guide for Girl Culture).Love Your Body Day Campaign (National Organization of Women) http://loveyourbody.nowfoundation.org/ Website for NOW's annual body‐image campaign that began in 1998. Includes activism resources (primarily for college campuses), including a Powerpoint presentation with images and text about how commercial images (with a focus on advertising) affect both women and men ('Sex, Stereotypes and Beauty: The ABCs and Ds of Commercial Images of Women'). Newsweek, Lifetime Spending on Beauty http://www.newsweek.com/id/187758 Interactive graphic, 'The Beauty Breakdown', shows the average cost that women in various age groups spend on beauty products and services. Graphic also includes links on the right‐side menu to other Newsweek articles and photo essays related to beauty work.Sample SyllabusWe encourage use of this article in various Sociology, Gender and Women's Studies, and Cultural Studies courses including Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of Gender, and the Sociology of Body.Focus Questions

In what ways does your level of physical attractiveness affect how others treat you? How does your race and gender shape your response? Consider various contexts including school, work, gym, church, etc., and how social context might affect social treatment.
What are some individual and institutional rewards conferred upon physically attractive individuals? How are physically unattractive individuals stigmatized and treated differently? Why do you think individuals make assumptions and treat people differently based on physical attractiveness?
What are some common forms of beauty work practices? Do you engage in any of these practices? Why? Why do you think others engage in these practices? How do practices and consequences differ by gender? By race? By sexual orientation?
How is beauty work a gendered double standard? That is, how do beauty work 'obligations' differ for women and men? Also, what are some contradictions women face when they perform beauty work? In other words, what are some of the costs to performing – as well as not performing – beauty work?
What, if any, forms of resistance are an effective means of social change? Do 'alternative' appearances, i.e., body piercings, scarring, or tattoos, or advertising campaigns such as the Dove Real Body campaign constitute resistance to beauty ideals that promote social change? How might different strands of feminist thought envision social change?

Seminar/Project IdeasReading Assignment: Beauty AssumptionsSelect photos of both conventionally attractive and unattractive men and women from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Select these photos in pairs, varying preferably all but the level of physical beauty, e.g. attractive white woman versus unattractive white woman, attractive black man versus unattractive black man. If possible, use 'before and after' makeover photos. Before students read the assigned article, ask them to rate the person depicted in each photo on various personality characteristics. Use semantic differential scales and pairs such as happy‐sad, beautiful‐ugly, intelligent‐unintelligent, healthy‐unhealthy, honest‐dishonest, friendly‐unfriendly, etc. After students have read the article, revisit their responses. Are there any patterns of assumed characteristics based on level of physical attractiveness? How does race and/or gender affect responses? Use this exercise to transition into a discussion of the article.Journal Assignment: Media and Our Beauty CultureAsk students to examine critically and document observations about the beauty culture that surrounds them. In a week, students should pay special attention to what they see on television. In terms of physical attractiveness, who is depicted on television? Moreover, how do depictions vary by physical attractiveness? What roles do physically attractive individuals play? How are they depicted? Conversely, what roles and portrayals are associated with less physically attractive individuals? Would they see similar depictions in other media such as film, magazines, and the internet? In their write‐up, students should also discuss the social meanings and significance of these television depictions. For example, do they think these portrayals affect their views of beauty, their assumptions about others, and how they treat others?

Profundizar en el concepto de aula supone desvelar el papel que este contexto desempeña en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. El aula es el punto de mira de la institución educativa, descrita como el lugar deseable en el que se produce conocimiento. Hemos de decir que de su concepto se extraen diferentes "lentes" para entender los procesos que ocurren en ella, así como las características que mejor la definen. El aula, como espado en el que se ha de reconocer, valorar y respetar a todos los escolares, supone prestar atención a lo que se enseña y al modo de enseñarlo, a la forma de "llegar" al alumnado. Al mismo tiempo, ha de atender a la estructura espacial y material, a la configuración de los tiempos y al tipo de relaciones personales mantenidas. El aula, como espacio de intercambio e interacción entre todos los agentes implicados en la educación (familia, estudiantes, profesorado, asociaciones.), ha de plantear estrategias y acciones donde todos se sientan miembros y partícipes de ese escenario, de ahí, que el aula es algo más que el espacio físico. Por tanto, al definirla en base a criterios de interacción, de relaciones sociales, nos está abriendo el camino hacia la construcción de un aula como espacio de diálogo, democrático y social. Espacio, en definitiva, abierto al mundo, a la realidad social y cultural de un determinado contexto. Por tanto, la finalidad de la tesis doctoral se centra en analizar y comprender las variables que intervienen en ¡a acción educativa en el aula, desde un enfoque interactivo y sistemático, encaminado a la formulación de propuestas que favorezcan la mejora de la cíase, mediante planteamientos innovadores, acordes y adaptados a una sociedad que evoluciona avivadamente, así como a las demandas que la infancia de hoy reclama La estructura del trabajo se presenta siguiendo el esquema clásico para las investigaciones del corpus educativo. La primera parte de la Tesis Doctora!, Marco Teórico, ha desempeñado la función de establecer las bases teórico- conceptuales sobre las que se asienta la Tesis Doctoral, y el Estudio Empírico (Capítulos 1-5). La segunda parte profundiza en el estudio empírico (Capítulos 6-12), en el que se presenta la investigación realizada en torno al análisis que intervienen en la acción educativa, desde una perspectiva integrada. En el primer capítulo, denominado, ¿Qué es eso que llamamos aula? Análisis desde el punto de vista conceptual. Tiene como finalidad abordar el campo semántico-etimológico del concepto "aula". Desde este marco referencial, seleccionamos y señalamos algunas acepciones que nos aportan diversos autores a io largo de las últimas décadas. Remarcamos las características más significativas de cada una de ellas, estableciendo, a su vez, comparaciones que nos guíen hacia una clasificación conceptual sujeta a diversas categorías: desde el aula como espacio físico, como grupo humano, como un lugar donde el estudiante aprende a ser y a vivir, entre otros. En último lugar, y en base a las diferentes aportaciones analizadas, indicaremos qué es para nosotros el "aula". El segundo capítulo, Desafíos y Encrucijadas en el contexto del aula en la sociedad actual, selecciona e identifica algunos de los desafíos y encrucijadas que, a nuestro juicio, contribuyen al debate de los nuevos enfoques a adoptar con el fin de transformar y mejorar la acción educativa en el aula, en la sociedad actual. Entre los retos que registramos destacan la revalorización del trabajo coiaborativo entre profesionales desde la perspectiva del liderazgo compartido o distribuido, las competencias clave y saberes fundamentales en la educación del siglo XXI (icurrículum integrado), el impacto de las TIC en el ámbito escolar, otorgando un carácter significativo al papel del estudiante y del docente, a las características que subyacen en los nuevos entornos comunicativos y las estrategias y herramientas que permiten formar personas cada vez más autónomas para el aprendizaje permanente en colaboración. Por otra parte, nos centramos en un nuevo concepto de infancia, en la participación de la comunidad educativa y, finalmente, la diversidad en el aula desde la filosofía de la inclusión escolar (voz de los estudiantes). El tercer capítulo hace referencia a la perspectiva del cambio educativo y su incidencia en las aulas: dónde el cambio no llega, dónde el cambio se vive y se siente. Analizamos, en este capítulo, la perspectiva del cambio educativo y su incidencia en las aulas. Desde un marco general, profundizamos en el significado de la gramática del cambio educativo, sentando las bases para esclarecer su conceptualización, así como algunas consideraciones relevantes a tener en cuenta. A tenor de las transformaciones emergentes en una sociedad compleja, se necesitan nuevas respuestas en la práctica educativa, así optamos por reflexionar y cuestionar los elementos que favorecen otra educación posible y necesaria, desde las últimas investigaciones acaecidas en el panorama educativo, presentando algunas experiencias de éxito a nivel nacional e internacional. En la otra cara de la moneda, vislumbrarnos la visión más estática del cambio y la mejora educativa, profundizando en las barreras que frenan y obstaculizan la sostenibilidad de ias experiencias innovadoras. Para, finalmente, detenernos en uno de los principales agentes del cambio para la mejora de la clase, los docentes. Estrategias como la Formación en Centros y las Comunidades Profesionales de Aprendizaje constituyen una vía y camino adecuado para el diagnóstico, análisis, reflexión, valoración de las necesidades y reorientación de las prácticas profesionales que inciden de manera directa en la posibilidad del cambio educacional desde el propio centro. En el cuarto capítulo, describiendo los elementos que conforman un paisaje llamado aula: "estructura académica". Nos detenemos en la estructura académica como elemento relevante y significativo para el análisis de la acción educativa. En él abordamos dos cuestiones clave: ¿qué enseñar? y ¿cómo enseñar? de manera interrelacionada. En primer lugar, nos planteamos la revisión/estudio del Currículum desde un enfoque o perspectiva integrada. Desechamos la ¡dea de la enseñanza de unos contenidos inconexos y alejados de las transformaciones emergentes en la sociedad, transmitidos oralmente y presentados en compartimentos estancos, apostando por la integración curricular en torno a una "perspectiva democrática". Se requiere que el currículum se plasme en un texto que contemple la complejidad de los fines de la educación y desarrollar una acción holística capaz de despertar en los escolares procesos que sean propicios para alcanzar esa finalidad. Desde esta idea presentamos algunas experiencias educativas que plantean el abordaje de los contenidos de modo innovador; entre ellos se encuentran: partir de lo que sabe el escolar, globalización curricular, fomentar el trabajo en equipo o aprendizaje cooperativo, la creación de espacios de diálogo, la inclusión de talleres, rincones y grupos interactivos. En segundo lugar, damos respuesta a la segunda cuestión, ¿cómo enseñar?, o lo que es lo mismo, profundizamos en la dinámica de enseñanza. La revisión de la literatura se concentra en estudiar las actividades de enseñanza-aprendizaje y, finalmente, en la evaluación formativa. El último capítulo que da forma al cuerpo teórico, lleva por nombre ¿Cómo nos organizamos? Configuración del espacio, del tiempo escolar y la planificación de los recursos en las aulas. En primer lugar, realizamos un balance normativo-legislativo que versará sobre la importancia adquirida a lo largo de la historia de la educación la configuración de los espacios en los centros escolares, como un elemento y eje fundamental en el aprendizaje del alumnado, posteriormente, indagaremos en su relevancia para la educación, así como el marco semántico- conceptual por el cual movernos, sin olvidarnos de algunas recomendaciones para una organización espacial integrada en los retos y desafíos de la educación del siglo XXI, en la línea de conseguir el cambio educativo. En segundo lugar, abordamos su organización, en base a un breve análisis en torno a los materiales curriculares. Partiremos de su definición, marcaremos sus fundones dentro del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje, posteriormente, justificaremos su importancia, para finalizar con algunos criterios para el empleo de los materiales en el aula. En último lugar, profundizaremos en la problemática del tiempo escolar, una variable muy presente en la vida de las personas y que de algún modo nos incita a plantear otra forma de organizar el mismo. Tras el análisis bibliográfico, fase del trabajo en la que se ha incidido en las variables que intervienen en la dinámica del aula, con una exploración de su campo semántico, así como en cuestiones que atañen al concepto de cambio educativo, con el análisis de experiencias de innovación singulares en el panorama nacional e internacional, cuya mejora de la acción educativa es una realidad, entre otros asuntos, proseguimos al planteamiento de este capítulo: Diseño General de la Investigación: Estudio Integrado. En esta investigación se ha perseguido alcanzar los propósitos mediante la puesta en práctica de un estudio combinado-integrado de las dos metodologías, cuantitativa y cualitativa. La obtención de datos y de información a través de la combinación de ambas metodologías ha permitido fomentar la riqueza de los resultados. Inicialmente, en este capítulo profundizamos en las razones y el origen de la investigación, seguidamente, detallamos los problemas, la finalidad, así como los objetivos del estudio, sintetizados y organizados en una tabla de categorías. A su vez, incidimos en la opción metodológica escogida que otorga sentido al estudio integrado, combinando los paradigmas cuantitativo y cualitativo, en los tres estudios que componen el mismo. El primero de ellos, el extensivo, analiza las concepciones que diversos docentes de la provincia de Huelva tienen sobre las diferentes categorías que forman parte del cuestionario administrado. El segundo, nos centramos y sumergimos en la cotidianeidad del aula de dos centros educativos. A través de dos estudios de caso conocemos cómo funciona el aula desde planteamientos que se pueden considerar como innovadores. Finalmente, el último estudio, denominado biográfico, nos permite observar, mediante la voz de dos docentes, cómo viven y sienten el aula, remitiéndonos a la narración de sus propias historias de vida. Estos estudios se abordan paralelamente en capítulos posteriores, desde aquí tan sólo señalamos algunas cuestiones teóricas clave que nos permiten comprender cada uno de ellos. Finalmente, deparamos en los principios (triangulación, enfoque progresivo, confidencialidad y revisión por los interesados) que acompañan al estudio y en las cuestiones éticas para ei desarrollo de ¡a investigación, desde un enfoque general y particular para cada uno de los estudios. El siguiente capítulo, se centra en la descripción del Diseño General delEstudio Extensivo. Para su diseño, en primer lugar, recogemos el marco conceptual y terminológico del cuestionario. Asimismo, una vez consideradas sus características más representativas, especificamos la población y la muestra del estudio extensivo. En tercer lugar, ahondamos en el proceso de elaboración del cuestionario, ligado a este apartado, aunque en diferentes secciones, nos encontramos los pasos esenciales para su elaboración: formato y estructura del cuestionario, elección de las preguntas del cuestionario y descripción de las preguntas del cuestionario. Ya construido el instrumento, el siguiente paso consiste en la presentación y administración del cuestionario. En este espacio, especificamos el proceso que seguimos desde su elaboración hasta la recogida de los cuestionarios en los centros educativos. Finalmente, concluimos con el análisis y tratamiento de la información; a la par que con unas consideraciones finales. El corazón de nuestra investigación palpita con la necesidad de encontrar estímulos y mecanismos que nos permitan conocerlo y describirlo para seguir su propio biorritmo. La razón de ser del estudio intensivo radica en comprender una determinada realidad social, cultural, educativa, sumergirnos y abrir los entresijos del microcosmos educativo. La acción educativa sólo es posible estudiarla si tenemos acceso a su campo y, por ello, recurrimos al estudio de casos, un método con raíces asentadas dentro del corpus de la investigación educativa. El capítulo del Diseño Genera! del Estudio Intensivo, se inicia con una revisión conceptual del estudio de casos dentro del enfoque de investigación cualitativa, conduciéndonos, de una forma exhaustiva, a la justificación metodológica de nuestro estudio. En segundo lugar, describimos el proceso seguido en el estudio de casos, con el desarrollo de cada una de sus fases. Basándonos en las aportaciones de Martínez Bonafé (1988:46), determinamos que las fases de nuestro estudio fueran: (a) fase inicia! o preactiva, en la que especificamos los criterios de elección de los casos y el papel de la investigadora, (b) fase interactiva, en la que describimos cómo se llevó a cabo el acceso al campo y el proceso de negociación, así como la estructura conceptual del estudio y ios instrumentos de recogida de información, (c) fase fina! o postactiva, en la que señalamos cómo se realizó el análisis de los datos y la redacción y elaboración del informe final. Finalmente, el capítulo concluye con un epílogo en el que se señalan los aspectos más representativos del estudio. Probablemente el interés por develar aspectos no visibles que atañen a la práctica educativa en el aula, nos suscitó la posibilidad de anexar en nuestro estudio las Historias de vida para conocer, investigar y analizar diferentes categorías de las experiencias de vida de las personas, hechos, acontecimientos, así como períodos históricos, que han asumido un importante peso en la trayectoria escolar, formativa y personal, de las docentes participantes en el estudio. En este capítulo, dedicado al Diseño Genera! del Estudio Subjetivo, tratamos de aproximarnos de manera epidérmica, en primer lugar a cuestiones que atañen a lo puramente conceptual, una aproximación a la investigación biográfico-narrativa y, como técnica insignia a la Historia de vida (campo semántico, relevancia en el campo de la educación a través de historias de maestros y de maestras, entre otras). En segundo lugar, exponemos la selección y representación de las mismas en nuestra investigación, otorgando espacio a las consideraciones teórico-metodológicas, marcando el trabajo de campo que se llevó a cabo (desde la recogida de evidencias y datos biográficos, centrándonos en la entrevista biográfica, así como en otras cuestiones de suma importancia). Rnalmente, dibujamos el rostro de la protagonista para marcar el inicio y la antesala de su propia Historia de vida como eje para entender su práctica cotidiana en el aula, incluyendo la construcción de Biogramas y la detección de incidentes críticos que ilustran un antes y un después en la forma de ser docente. Los capítulos siguientes se destinan al análisis de los resultados de los tres estudios que componen la investigación. Así, el capítulo noveno describe los resultados del Estudio Extensivo, de carácter exploratorio y enfocado a indagar en las concepciones de los docentes respecto a las variables que forman parte de la acción educativa. El capítulo décimo, describe el segundo estudio de la investigación, consistente en dos estudios de caso en la etapa de Educación Infantil y Educación Primaria de docentes que promueven una enseñanza alternativa e innovadora. Finalmente, el capítulo onceavo, muestra los resultados del tercer estudio, dedicado a la reconstrucción de la Historia de Vida de la docente del caso 1, como forma de comprender como mayor profundidad la acción educativa desde la exploración de la trayectoria personal y profesional de la docente. Cada capítulo finaliza con una serie de conclusiones parciales respecto al análisis abordado y en torno a las categorías y propósitos de ia investigación. Seguidamente, el capítulo doce, recoge las conclusiones de la investigación, además de detallar los límites y las perspectivas de investigación. ; To deepen the concept of classroom supposed to reveal the role that context plays in the teaching-learning process. The classroom is the focus of the school, described as a desirable place in which knowledge is produced. We must say that from its concept are extracted different "lenses" to understand the processes occurring in it, and the characteristics that best define it.The classroom, as a space wherescholastic must be recognized, valued and respected, presume to pay attention to what is taught and how to teach it. At the same time, it must meet the spatial structure and material, the time distribution and the type of relationships maintained. The classroom as a forum for exchange and interaction between all those involved in education (family, students, faculty, associations .), must propose strategies and actions where all feel members and participants of that scenario, hence, the classroom is more than a physical space. Therefore, when it is defined based on criteria of interaction, social relations, we are paving the way for the construction of a classroom as a space for dialogue, democratic and social. The aim of the thesis is to analyze and understand the variables involved in the educational activities in the classroom, from an interactive and systematic approach, focused in formulating proposals that promote the improvement of the class, through innovative approaches, suitable and adapted to a changing society as well as to the claims that children today claim. The structure of the work is presented following the classic pattern for the educational research corpus. The first part of the doctoral thesis, Theoretical Framework, has played the role of setting up theoretical concepts on which the doctoral thesis is based and also the empirical study (Chapters 1-5). The second part explores the empirical study (Chapters 6-12), where the research about the analysis involved in educational activities, an integrated perspective is presented. In the first chapter, entitled, What is this thing called class? Analysis from the conceptual point of view,it aims to address the semantic and etymological field of the "class" concept. From this frame of reference, we select and point out some meanings that give us many authors over the last few decades. We emphasize the most significant of each characteristics, by providing, in turn, comparisons to guide us toward a conceptual classification linked to several categories: from the classroom as a physical space , as a human group , as a place where students learn to be and to live among others. Finally, and based on the different contributions analyzed, we will indicate what is for us the "classroom". The second chapter, Challenges and Crossroads in the classroom context in today's society, selects and identifies some of the challenges and crossroads, that, in our view, contribute to the discussion of new approaches to adopt in order to transform and improve the action education in the classroom, in today's society. Among the challenges we include,stand out the reevaluation of collaborative work among professionals from the perspective of shared or distributed leadership, the key skills and fundamental knowledge in the XXI century education (curriculum integrated), the impact of ICT in schools, giving a significant character to the role of students and teachers, the characteristics underlying the new communication environments and strategies and tools thatallow to preparepeople able to self-learn in collaboration with others. Moreover, we focus on a new concept of childhood, in the participation of the educational community and, finally, in the diversity in the classroom from the philosophy of the school inclusion (voiced by students). The third chapter refers to the perspective of educational change and its impact in the classroom: where the change does not arrive, where the change is lived and felt. We analyze in this chapter the perspective of educational change and its impact in the classroom. From a general framework, we deepen in the meaning of the grammar of educational change, laying the groundwork to clarify its conceptualization, as well as some important considerations to keep in mind. Under the emerging transformations in a complex society, new answers in educational practice are needed, so we chose to reflect and question the elements favoring another possible and necessary education from the latest research occurred in the educational landscape, presenting some experiences success at national and international level. On the other side of the coin, we catch sight of the static vision of change and educational improvement, deepening the barriers that hinder and hamper the sustainability of innovative experiences. To finally stop at one of the main agents of the change to improve the class, the teachers. Strategies such as Training Centers and Professional Learning Communities are a way and proper way for diagnosis, analysis, reflection, needs assessment and reorientation of professional practices that have a direct impact on the ability of educational change from the own center. In the fourth chapter, describing the elements of a landscapecalled class: "academic structure". We stop at the academic structure as relevant and meaningful for the analysis of educational action item. In it we address two key issues: what to teach? And how to teach? in an interrelated way. First, we consider the revision / study of the curriculum from an integrated perspective. We reject the idea of a disjointed teaching content and away from emerging transformations in society, orally transmitted and presented in silos, betting on the curricular integration around a "democratic perspective". It requires that the curriculum is translated into a text that addresses the complexity of the purposes of education and to develop a holistic action capable of awakening in school processes that are conducive to achieve that purpose. From this idea we present some educational experiences that address the content in innovative ways; among them they are: Starting point should be the knowledge of the scholastic, curriculum globalization, promoting teamwork and cooperative learning, creating spaces for dialogue, including workshops, nooks and interactive groups. Secondly, we respond to the second question, how to teach? or what is the same, we delve into the dynamics of teaching. The review of the literature focuses on studying the teaching-learning activities and, finally, in the formative evaluation. The last chapter that forms the theoretical body, is called How do we organize? Layout of the space and time of the school and the resources planning in the classroom. First, we perform a regulatory-legislative balance that will focus on the importance gained over the history of education settings spaces in schools, and as a cornerstone element in student learning, then we will investigate its relevance for education and semantic- conceptual framework by which to move, not forgetting some recommendations for one special organization integrated in the challenges of education in the XXI century, in the line to get the educational change. Secondly, we address its organization, based on a brief analysis on the curricular materials. We will depart from its definition, we will mark their functions within the teaching-learning process, later we willjustify its importance, ending with some criteria for the use of materials in the classroom. Lastly, we will delve into the issue of school time, a variable present in the lives of people and that somehow encourages us to propose another way of organizing it. After the bibliographical analysis, phase of work which has stressed the variables involved in the dynamics of the classroom, with an exploration of the semantic field as well as on matters pertaining to the concept of educational change, with the analysis of experiences in singular innovation in the national and international scene, which improvement of educational action is a reality, among other issues, we continue to approach this chapter: Genera! Research Design: Integrated Study. In this research it has been pursued to achieve the purposes by the implementation of one study, integrated-combined of the two methodologies, quantitative and qualitative. Obtaining data and information through the combination of the two methodologies has helped to foster the wealth of results. Initially, in this chapter we delve into the reasons and the origin of the research, then, we detail the problems, the purpose and objectives of the study, summarized and organized in a table of categories. At the same time, we stress the methodological option chosen that gives meaning to the integrated study, combining quantitative and qualitative paradigms, in all three studies that comprise it. The first one, the extensive one analyzes the conceptions that various teachers in the province of Huelva have on the different categories that are part of the administered questionnaire. Second, we focus and dive into the everyday classroom of two schools. Through two case studies classroom we know how it works from approaches that can be considered as innovative. Finally, the last study, called biographical, allows us to see, through the voices of two teachers, how they live and feel the classroom, by referring to the narrative of their own life stories. These studies are discussed in parallel in later chapters, we note here only some key theoretical issues that help us to understand each one. Finally, we came across on the principles (triangulation, progressive approach, confidentiality and review by the envolved) accompanying the study and ethical issues for the development of research, from a general and particular for each of the studies focus. The next chapter focuses on the description of Design General of extensive study. For its design, first, we collect the conceptual framework and terminology of the questionnaire. Also, once are considered the most representative features, we specify the population and sample of the extensive study. Third, we delve into the process of developing the questionnaire, linked to this section, although in different sections, we find the essential steps for processing: format and structure of the questionnaire, choice of the questionnaire and describing questions of the questionnaire. Oncethe instrument is built, the following step is the filing and administration of the questionnaire. In this area, we specify the process we follow from development to the collection of the questionnaires in schools. Finally, we conclude with the analysis and processing of information; on par with some final considerations. Chapter General Intensive Design Studio, begins with a conceptual review of case studies within the qualitative research approach, leading, in a comprehensive way, the methodological justification of our study. Second, we describe the process followed in the case study, with the development of each of its phases. Based on input from Bonafé Martinez (1988:46), we determined that the phases of our study were: (a) initial or pre-active phase, which specify the criteria for selection of cases and the role of the researcher, (b) interactive phase in which we describe how you carried out the access to the field and the negotiation process and the conceptual structure of the study and the instruments for collecting information, (c) final stage or postactive, in which we noted how the data analysis and drafting and the final report was made. Finally, the chapter concludes with an epilogue in which the most representative aspects of the study are indicated. Probably the interest in revealing visible aspects regarding educational practice in the classroom, raised the possibility of annexing in our study life stories to know, investigate and analyze different categories of the life experiences of people, facts, events and historical periods, that have assumed an important role in the school, training and personal career of the teachers participating in the study. In this chapter, dedicated to Genera! Subjective Design Studio, we try to approach epidermal way, firstly to matters pertaining to the purely conceptual, an approach to the biographical-narrative research and technical badge as a life history (semantic field, relevant in the field of education through stories of teachers and teachers, among others). Secondly, we present the selection and representation of these in our research, giving space to the theoretical and methodological considerations, marking the fieldwork that took place (from the collection of evidence and biographical data, focusing on the biographical interview as well as other critical issues). Finally, we draw the face of the protagonist to mark the beginning and the prelude to his own life story as a hub to understand their daily practice in the classroom, including the construction of Biograms and detection of critical incidents that illustrate a before and after in the way of being a teacher. The following chapters are devoted to the analysis of the results of the three studies that make up the research. Thus, the ninth chapter describes the results of the extensive study, exploratory and focused to investigate the teachers' conceptions about the variables that are part of the educational action. The tenth chapter describes the second research study consisting of two case studies in pre-primary and primary education teachers that promote alternative and innovative teaching. Finally, the eleventh chapter shows the results of the third study, devoted to the reconstruction of the Life History of the teaching of case 1, as a way to further understand how the educational action through the exploration of personal and professional trajectory of the teacher. Each chapter ends with a series of partial conclusions regarding the analysis and addressed around categories and research purposes. Next, chapter twelve, contains the findings of the investigation, as well as detailing the limits and research perspectives.

The objective of this report is to assess public financial management (PFM) systems existing at the province level with a particular focus on the health and education sectors, and to understand linkages existing between the institutional settings in these two sectors and PFM processes. By doing so, the report shows the direct impact of poor PFM on service delivery in health and education. Since these two sectors have significant effects on the bottom 40 percent of the population, this will help Argentina's subnational governments allocate and use public resources more efficiently, and with greater accountability for their expenditure.

Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest and most densely populated countries, and subject to annual cyclones and flooding. Despite these challenges, it benefits from strong economic growth, good performance on health and education, and poverty reduction, alongside weak governance and pervasive corruption. The reasons include strong macroeconomic policy, pro-poor spending, credible elections, export growth and remittances, improved capacity for managing natural disasters, and a stronger civil society than comparable countries. After over a decade of intense engagement with the Bank on governance, Bangladesh adopted in 2006 a governance-oriented Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) with four main objectives: to improve implementation capacity; to 'tackle corruption' by fully operationalizing the Anti-Corruption Commission; to lay the foundation for comprehensive legal and judicial reform; and to strengthen 'voice, empowerment and participation.' The choice of a wide range of instruments and areas of intervention was appropriate, given the political instability at the time of 2006 CAS preparation. The Bank signaled it was ready to engage in all areas, and could scale up or pull back depending on emerging political and bureaucratic commitment. The 2006 CAS yielded mixed results, and the subsequent Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) has been more selective on GAC issues. At the project level, governance has been a key priority, in line with the South Asia region's heavy emphasis on GAC-in-Projects. Investments in GAC-in-primary education, a local government project, anti-corruption efforts in the power sector, and projects strengthening the investment climate have yielded positive results. Investments in GAC-in-roads projects have had mixed results in terms of effectiveness. GAC activities were mainly adopted prior to the 2007 GAC strategy. Although Bangladesh was a Country Governance and Anticorruption (CGAC) country, the country team chose not to use CGAC funds because the country had already been intensively using GAC approaches well before the GAC strategy was adopted.

Moldova has suffered over the last two decades from rising poverty, territorial secession, armed conflict, and the spillover effects of a regional financial crisis, with declining population size and life expectancy, and an economy approximately one-half of what it was in 1990. The return of the Moldovan Communist Party (PCRM), which won two major elections after 2001, contributed to increasing centralization of governmental authority along with a reform agenda that emphasized greater state control over the economy, fiscal support to state enterprises and collective farms, land consolidation, economic protectionism, and the tolerance of monopolies in industry and energy. At the same time, the government has increased social expenditures, and taken major steps to improve public financial management. Bank engagement was moderately effective at the country and project levels, and substantially effective at the sector level. There was progress in several aspects of public financial management (PFM). Regulatory streamlining has reduced costs to business, although resistance to civil service reform has left much work to be done. The Bank has also helped achieve progress on Governance and Anticorruption (GAC) issues in primary education, roads, and private sector development. Education progress is highly uneven across regions, for example, overweight trucks continue to tear up roads, and private investment is not enough to make a dent in high unemployment. A graduated approach to country systems and road sector technical audits help address GAC issues at the project level. The overall impact of GAC strategy implementation was moderate. The GAC committees set up at the regional and sectoral Bank department levels are particularly useful mechanisms for disseminating practices from the GAC Council. Staff has been proactive in using Country Governance and Anticorruption (CGAC) resources. However, three applications for window one funding were not approved, reducing the ability of this small program to seize opportunities.

This paper reviews the experiences of intergovernmental fiscal systems (IGFS) to look for possible lessons for how Official Development Assistance (ODA) is delivered. Specifically, it compares IGFS and ODA in two specific respects. The first is the proportion of public resources that central governments make available to sub-national governments on a conditional basis, and how that compares with the proportion of non-earmarked ODA given to low income countries. The second is the role of performance outcome in resource allocation to sub-national governments and how that compares with the role of performance in ODA, particularly multilateral ODA allocation. The comparisons show that: (i) the share of earmarked ODA is more than three times higher than that of conditional grants in intergovernmental systems, suggesting that donors in ODA rely more on earmarking to influence the spending decisions of the recipient countries than their federal governments do on conditional grants to induce policy changes in their own sub-national governments; and (ii) none of the OECD countries currently use outcome measures in determining resource allocation to their sub-national governments for a variety of good reasons, and the recent debate as to whether multilateral ODA allocation should be based on development outcomes seems to ignore this experience.

Alice Martin, ca.1980; Alice Martin, December 2013 ; The New Zion Community Advocates worked with community members age 80 years and older to have contributed to the history of Ogden city. The interviews looked at the legacy of the interviewees through armed services, work, social life, church, NAACP and educational systems in an environment where their culture was not predominant. This program has received funding from the Utah Humanities Council and the Utah Division of State history. ; The following is an oral history interview with Alice Martin conducted on January 10, 2014 by Deborah George. ; 24p.; 29cm.; 2 bound transcripts; 4 file folders. 1 sound disc: digital; 4 3/4 in. ; Oral History Program Alice V. Martin Interviewed by Deborah M. George 10 January 2014 Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Alice V. Martin Interviewed by Deborah M. George 10 January 2014 Copyright © 2014 by Weber State University, Stewart Library Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. Archival copies are placed in Special Collections. The Stewart Library also houses the original recording so researchers can gain a sense of the interviewee's voice and intonations. Project Description The New Zion Community Advocates worked with community members age 80 years and older to have contributed to the history of Ogden city. The interviews looked at the legacy of the interviewees through armed services, work, social life, church, NAACP and educational systems in an environment where their culture was not predominant. This program has received funding from the Utah Humanities Council and the Utah Division of State history. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management Special Collections All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the Stewart Library of Weber State University. No part of the manuscript may be published without the written permission of the University Librarian. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed to the Administration Office, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408. The request should include identification of the specific item and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Martin, Alice, an oral history by Deborah M. George, 10 January 2014, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, Special Collections, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Alice Martin ca. 1980 Alice Martin December 2013 Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Alice Martin conducted on January 10, 2014 by Deborah George. DG: My name is Debbie George and I'm here to interview Alice Martin in her home. So tell me your full name. AM: I'm Alice Virginia Flowers Martin and if you want to know my age I can tell you that. DG: Tell us by your birth date. AM: September 24, 1933. I was Born in Meridian, Mississippi and raised in Columbia, Mississippi. DG: How are we related? AM: You're my daughter, number one child. DG: So what are you doing now in your life? AM: Anything that I wish to do because I don't have any particular things that I want to do. I don't like a lot of travel so each day is a new adventure. I wrote Children stories as a hobby but I have not thought about publishing them. DG: So what are some of the most important lessons you have learned in life? AM: How to adjust to change and not cause any stress to anyone else. I find that's important to maintain friendship. DG: Okay. What are you proudest of in your life? 1 AM: My three children. Deborah ,number one, Carla, number two, and Shari. DG: How long have you lived in Ogden? AM: Since 1955. DG: What brought you to Ogden? AM: I married a person from Utah. DG: How has Ogden changed over the years? AM: When I arrived, being a southern person, I found that some prejudice was already here because there were places that didn't particularly care for ethnic minorities. It has changed somewhat. DG: So what are the changes that you've seen over the years? AM: I think job opportunities changed over the years. Housing, wages and that sort of thing. I don't want to belittle anything that has changed, but those are the three things that impacted my life. DG: What was it like when you first moved here? AM: What was it like when I first moved here? When you think of Utah you don't think of it being the same as the south, but when I first arrived here, it was very prejudice. It has changed quite a bit, but there are some undertones still here. DG: Is there anything you miss about the way it used to be? AM: Oh no, oh no I think change is one of the better things that we can encounter. If it's a good change. Now there are those that don't particularly care about that, 2 but I do. I want to always look forward. You can look back and see some of the things but don't constantly look backwards, look forward for a better tomorrow. DG: Are there any people that had meaning to you when you came here? Like for example, somebody that really impacted your life, maybe your work life. AM: I started out at a very small grade when I say small I'm talking cs-3 (government series). If you know what I'm talking about, and from that I found that if you perform well you can do most anything you want to do. You first have to do whatever the assignment is above everyone else. That's what I found to be intriguing because to go from grade three and then it's a whole thing, look they've got five's over there. Pays you a little more money. So you go three, five, six, seven, nine, 10, all of a sudden oh there's a position in labor relations I should try for that. You get an 11, oh that's nice. Oh they have another job, a branch chief, shall I try for that? Yes I should, I did try and it was wonderful because I had three sections and 400 plus employees. I thought that was marvelous. To be able to help some of those people along their goal, that's good. I retired as a cs-13 Assistant Division Chief, the first African-American female at the Ogden IRS office LR: So I hope you don't mind because I'm kind of lost a little bit. Did you work at Hill Field then? AM: No, Internal Revenue Service. LR: Okay because that's government. I know GS is government. AM: Sure is, there it is. 3 LR: So Internal Revenue Services is where you worked? AM: Yes, I started in 1962 before you were born. LR: Yes, about 12 years before I was born. DG: I love it. Okay. LR: Sorry. I already have questions I want to ask, but I don't want to interrupt you. DG: Okay go right ahead. Jump in at any time. LR: I can wait until you're done. DG: Do you remember any stories about Ogden? What were your thoughts when you found yourself coming to Ogden? AM: Oh I married someone from here so I didn't have any thoughts prior to that you see. So I didn't know anything about Utah. I was a southern person by way of California, Illinois, and here. Oh I forgot Louisiana. LR: Where at in Louisiana? AM: New Orleans. DG: Love that place. Okay, did you have a nickname? AM: Nope. DG: Who were your best friends growing up? AM: My best friend, I had one best girlfriend. Her name was Lizzy Ruth McClinden and one best boyfriend, his name was Odree, O-D-R-E-E . Lewis, L-E-W-I-S. We used to laugh because I figured it out his last name. Cleo, hateful. When you find 4 something out about your friend you keep it to yourself. You don't spread it around. You just I know what that C stands for. DG: What were they like? AM: What were those people like? DG: What was Lizzy like? AM: Oh Lizzy and I had classes together. We had church together. Odree went in the military very early, at 16. DG: As a soldier? AM: Yes. So therefore when he would come on furlough we would get to mingle and talk about different things and the places that he'd been. He was in the Korean war. He had a bullet whiz right by his head, lucky, it could have been worse. He still has the scar. LR: It grazed his head. AM: Yeah, creased his forehead. Isn't that amazing? I said God must have been looking out for you. DG: Definitely. So what did you do for fun growing up? AM: Oh I had plenty of friends and I wasn't a sports person to go out and play basketball or softball and that sort of thing. I did like to dance and those were some of the fun times I had. My class voted for me to become their, whatever you want to call that. DG: Prom? 5 AM: Football, no, football queen. DG: Homecoming? AM: Homecoming football queen, yeah. You wouldn't think a person of 80 had that opportunity. That was fun. Yeah you had an opportunity to decide who you wished to date and who you didn't want to. DG: So what are your best memories of grade or elementary school? AM: Grade school? DG: Elementary, junior high, what was your best memory from that? AM: Oh dancing I think. That was my best memories because we loved to do the swing and someone came to the school to teach us how to square dance. That was a little bit different than what I was accustomed too, but it was fun because you had to do-si-do. DG: What about high school? What was your best memory in high school? AM: I went to football games and cheerleading and coming back to dress and walk out on the field as their football queen, I think that was one of the best ones that I had. DG: So how did you meet your husband? AM: Military. DG: Military? AM: Yes. DG: Was there a base there? 6 AM: No, it's unusual but you know it's like a story book. His folks lived next door to my folks. DG: Oh, the boy next door. AM: Liked the girl next door. DG: How has being a parent changed you, if any? AM: I don't know if it changed me, but it probably honed some of my thinking. You have more to deal with, you have to decide this is my Debbie, and there's my Carla. So they're different so you've got to be able to handle that because they're two different entities. You can't just say I told her to do this so you have to do it. No, not really. So it changed my thought pattern. DG: So what did you do for a living? You kind of talked a little about it. AM: What did I do for a living? AM: It all started when I thought, "Well I better get something that's substantial." So I went and I cleaned some homes to get enough money so I could go to Stevens Henager College. I went there and I said well if they offer an associate or something so I did. Then I applied to go to IRS with that background because they were hiring. In those days they called it keypunch operators, but now it's data something or other, maybe conversion. I believe that's what it is. You convert this material. DG: Well what did you want to do when you grew up? AM: When I was growing up I wanted to be a school teacher, I had a full 4-year scholarship to Jackson state university. All I needed was money for books. My 7 parents could not afford it and would not sign the scholarship paper, so I didn't go, but as time went on I'm glad I'm not a school teacher. Simply because they don't make enough money and I don't think I could live with that dollop. It's, they should be paid far more. Oh they're the backbone of our children really, truly. They should be paid twice what the government people get because we don't have to deal with children. DG: Were you involved with the military in any way? as a military wife. AM: No. I wasn't, unfortunately. Or should I say fortunately? LR: Fortunately. AM: Yes, I think so. DG: Alright, what lessons did you learn from your life, experience you had with your work, raising a family here in Ogden? AM: Patience would probably be at the top because you have to have that when you're raising children. You can't think that they're adults because they're not. They're down here thinking of playing and going outside and eating hot dogs or whatever. So I had to learn that to be patient was one of the major things in raising children. Courage, oh and the other one is communication. You've got to be able to communicate on their level, not trying to speak where they don't understand. If they don't, you need to stop and go again. DG: What about your work? What lessons did you learn in your work experiences? AM: Would you believe it's somewhat the same. DG: Is it? 8 AM: Well sure because an example would be if you're a first line manager which I'm not right at this time, but you need to have the patience because the people are learning the job and they're going to make mistakes. You've got to learn that you're not going to go over there and say look what you did blah blah blah. No, no, no let's try it again. DG: What did you do as far as mentoring? How did you choose the people that you wanted to mentor or did they come to you for help? AM: I was a counselor at one time and I did have people come to me when I worked in the Labor Relations area. The one young man that I can remember is now, he's I guess he's into management. I don't know if he's a section chief or not? Is he? He's a deacon at the church. He's a lead someplace. DG: Lead Specialist. AM: The other people they made it into section and some made it into branch. I don't know if we had one that made it to the division level or not because it was time for me to adios and get out. You have to know when it's time. Some stay too long. They do. DG: Alright, is there anything else you want to talk about that we didn't cover? AM: No, unless you want to ask me something else because I can't think of anything. LR: I have a question. DG: Go right ahead. LR: You mentioned where you were from. 9 AM: Yes. LR: You kind of mentioned how you met your husband, but how did you meet you husband? You didn't really go into the story. AM: Next door. LR: I know, but when… AM: Well when he was in the military he would come home on leave. LR: Okay. AM: So if he come over and ask you out to go to the movies. LR: You go? AM: Yeah, you go. Then when he went back. Then if they proposed you said yes if you're not dating someone else. LR: He was from Utah or he just lived here? AM: He lived here with his uncle. LR: But he wasn't from Utah? AM: No, no. LR: So when you first moved here where did you live? AM: Chicago, Los Angeles . LR: I mean here in Ogden, when you first moved to Ogden? AM: When I first moved to Ogden where did I come from? LR: No where did you live? Where did you guys reside? 10 AM: Washington Terrace. LR: Oh so here? AM: Yes, in the lower part of Washington Terrace is where we lived. LR: Fantastic, so were they at that time, were they the government housing still? AM: Yes. You could buy them if you wanted too. Yes. LR: I remember learning that. AM: Someone else talking about it. LR: Let me rephrase. AM: Yes. LR: Something you said in the beginning that struck me and I'm curious as to what you mean by it. AM: What? LR: You said, "When one of those things you learned was to adjust to change." What did you mean by that? AM: There are times when you look at an ethnic minority person that couldn't go in various places to eat so you have to adjust to that and make the most you can. When things get better then you move along. You don't have to look back always. You have to look forwards and hope that you can have some input for change for someone else. That's what I think I had when I worked for the Internal Revenue. LR: So you felt like you were helping others adjust to change or creating change 11 AM: Helping them with their careers and adjusting to change because you had to conscience with them and tell them that it's going to be okay if you do this, this, and this. LR: Did you spend a lot of time in downtown Ogden when you first came here? DG: You know like shopping and visiting any of the stores? AM: Well sure I went to the stores. LR: It's kind of a two part question. How much has that changed over the years? AM: I don't like to shop. I hate it with a passion. LR: I totally understand where you're coming from, I hate shopping. AM: Oh no, if I was wealthy I would have someone else go do it. LR: That's fantastic. AM: My kind of woman, I just don't like it. I didn't see a lot of short comings or animosity or whatever you want to call it when I would go shopping. I knew what I wanted when I went into the store so I didn't go around picking up stuff and looking it over and putting it back. So no one can walk over and say, "You man handled this or woman handled it or whatever you want to call it." If you know you're looking for a sweater why are you over in the dress department? I don't do that. To this day I think that's foolish. Know what you're going for, get it and get out. LR: Amen. 12 DG: So when you lived in Washington Terrace that's where you first moved and then after that did you buy a home after living in Washington Terrace or did you relocate? AM: We rented a duplex in West Ogden for a while. Then we moved into an apartment and then we bought a home on 31st street. LR: When you say West Ogden do you mean west of Washington? AM: Going west to the 24th street viaduct. LR: I didn't grow up in Ogden. So I'm not sure AM: I can understand that, I wouldn't either. LR: Truly West Ogden. AM: Yes it is. If you go over viaduct and then there's West Ogden over there. LR: I was thinking West Ogden being from Washington to the train station, that's West Ogden. You've got to go a little further. AM: Past the tracks. LR: I could ask you a hundred questions, but they aren't coming to me right now. AM: Ask me anything you want. I can understand that. DG: Now when you bought your home, was there only a certain area that you were shown or could you move anywhere you wanted? AM: In those days you could move. You might have some encounters though. You could buy it if you had the money. 13 LR: So the realtors would sell to you no matter what home you wanted? AM: Well I only dealt with two so I don't know about all the other realtors you see. They seemed to convey that you could buy anywhere, but I knew better. There were certain in Ogden that you would have problems with the neighbors. So and I don't know those areas, but they're here. They were here in Ogden. DG: Well that's all the questions I have. Do you have some nuggets of wisdom for future viewers? AM: It's all in what you make of it. See you can be born in Tahiti, you can be born in Brazil. You can be born anyplace in the world, but it's left up to you to carve a place. You can't expect your neighbor or Mom and Dad to do it for you. You have to do it for yourself. You've got to be proud each time you go down this avenue or this street. You've got to leave, leave all those nuggets. Leave something there so they can remember what you said or did. It might help someone later on in life. I don't have any more wonderful things I wish I did. LR: I'm sure you do, you just need the right question. I don't have one. I don't have the right question. AM: All of the people that I knew are gone. They're no longer among us because my very best friend passed away a few years back. My girlfriend's no longer here, they were in the south. He was from Lawton, Oklahoma so he's no longer down there. He did come out and visit us a couple of times which was nice. He couldn't understand Utah being a good southern person. Being in the military you know 14 they are exposed to so much. So that makes a difference. I wish I could come up with something that you haven't heard before. LR: Oh you've imparted a lot of that I haven't heard before. AM: Oh not really. You know if you were born here in this state and knew nothing about anywhere else you're leading a sheltered life. Once you get out of shell shock (what!?) You see all these various people and they're in positions that you didn't think that they could manage. It's different. I think I wish I could do a flip and let many of the folks go and see what it's like in Philadelphia and Detroit. I'm talking about the hardcore areas now. Cincinnati, you need to see some of it. You can go right here to Los Angeles and see some different things. Some of the folks that live here they have never, ever, ever, been out of the state. It's bad for you. LR: I agree. AM: You need to see some of the world and that God has said look it's nice out there. Get over there! LR: See that's a wonderful piece of wisdom right there. AM: Get out there huh? LR: Get out there. AM: Get out there. Plow that row. Make it straight. LR: I needed to hear that 20 years ago. AM: You should get out there. 15 LR: I have now. AM: Now, but when you were younger that's when you need to get out there. Don't want until you're 30, please don't. Get out there! Maybe though your folks wouldn't allow it though. See that makes a difference because you weren't making any money. See that makes a different when mom and dad take care of you. You can't do these things, especially in the high school. What we think about in high school is clothes and clothes and girls and clothes. I could just keep saying it, that's what we thought of. LR: It hasn't changed much. AM: Clothes, and now they think of a car thrown in their someplace. LR: Like they're entitled to it. AM: But we should change just a tad. Look down the hard, lonesome road and you realize you need the education first. You need to mingle with a variety of people, don't just settle and say oh all of us are tan. No you're not. Some are pink, some white, some tan, some brown, some black. See you've got to get out there. See what the world is like. It makes you a better person. LR: I agree, absolutely. AM: Sure will. Well listen I'm just pleased that you guys popped by. LR: I'm thoroughly pleased. 16

With global emissions estimated at 7.1 Gt CO2 eq per annum, livestock represents 14.5% of all human-induced emissions and it is considered to be the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agricultural sector. However, livestock can contribute to convert nutrients from plant biomass into animal-sourced foods, which are rich in essential macro and micronutrients in the form of milk and meat, thereby utilizing resources that cannot otherwise be consumed by humans. Livestock also contributes to global food security and poverty reduction, providing regular income to producers. To achieve a sustainable supply of animal origin food, farmers need, therefore, to identify strategies, in terms of livestock management and feeding, forage systems and feed growing practices, that make the best use of available resources and minimize the potential environmental impact. The studies of the PhD thesis were mainly developed inside the Life project "Forage4Climate", a four years project, aimed at demonstrating that forage systems connected to milk production can promote climate change mitigation. The aim of the PhD thesis was the evaluation of GHG emission, related to dairy cattle milk production. Specific aims were: • to identify and evaluate the most common forage systems adopted in dairy cow farms in the Po plain, selecting the systems that can improve milk production and soil carbon (C) sequestration reducing emissions per kg of milk; • to evaluate commercial diets related to these different forage systems, in order to directly assess their digestibility, milk and methane (CH4) production; • to identify, through a survey analysis, the main ingredients used in the total mixed ration (TMR) of high producing lactating cows, in order to assess the best diet composition that can lead to high feed efficiency (FE) and low global warming potential (GWP) at commercial farms scale; • in a future perspective of circular economy, to study the exploitation of different inedible human by-products as growing substrates for Hermetia Illucens larvae, in order to substitute soybean meal (SBM) in the livestock diets with insect proteins. A total of 46 dairy cattle farms in Lombardy, Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna were visited, in order to map the main forage systems adopted in each area and to characterize them for GHG emission related to milk production (FPCM, fat and protein corrected milk), and soil organic C stock. The evaluation of environmental impact, in terms of GWP, related to the different forage systems was carried out though a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, using the Software SIMAPRO. Six forage systems based on different forages were identified. The main results in terms of GHG per unit milk were: - CONV - Conventional corn silage system: 1.37 kg CO2 eq/kg FPCM (SD 0.26) - HQFS - High quality forage system: 1.18 kg CO2 eq/kg FPCM (SD 0.13) - WICE - Winter cereal silage system: 1.44 kg CO2 eq/kg FPCM (SD 0.43) - MIXED - Mixed less intensive system: 1.36 kg CO2 eq/kg FPCM (SD 0.26) - PR FRESH- Hay and fresh forage system for Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese production: 1.51 kg CO2 eq/kg FPCM (SD 0.23) - PR DRY- Hay system for Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese production: 1.36 kg CO2 eq/kg FPCM (SD 0.19). The HQFS system registered the lowest value for GWP, mainly due to the higher milk production per cow (daily FPCM/head). More intensive systems, such as HQFS, confirmed that milk production per cow is negatively related to the impact per kilogram of product, as highlighted also by a PROC GLM analysis. The HQFS system also resulted to be more sustainable, in terms of feed self-sufficiency, as it provided a high amount of dry matter (DM) per hectare, consisting of high digestible forages. Despite the lowest value for GWP, the forage system identified as HQFS showed the lowest organic C soil density: 5.6 kg/m2 (SD 1.1). On the contrary, PR FRESH showed the highest value in terms of organic C density in the soil: 9.7 kg/m2 (SD 2.2), compared with an average of 6.7 kg/m2 (SD 0.88) for the other systems. Further investigations are needed to consider environmental sustainability over a wider spectrum. Enteric CH4 was the main contributor to GWP for all forage systems: on average 45.6% (SD 3.89). For this reason, an in vivo evaluation of CH4 and milk production of lactating dairy cows fed four different diets, obtained from the forage systems identified, was performed. Also digestibility of the diets, energy and nitrogen (N) balance were assessed. Four pairs of Italian Friesian lactating cows were used in a repeated Latin Square design, using individual open circuit respiration chambers to determine dry matter intake (DMI), milk production and CH4 emission and to allow total faeces and urine collection for the determination of N and energy balances. Four diets, based on the following main forages, were tested: corn silage (49.3% DM; CS), alfalfa silage (26.8% DM; AS), wheat silage (20.0% DM; WS), hay-based diet (25.3% DM of both alfalfa and Italian ryegrass hays; PR) typical of the area of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production. Feeding cows with PR diet significantly increased DMI (23.4 kg/d; P=0.006), compared with the others (on average, 20.7 kg/d), while this diet resulted to be the least digestible (e.g. DM digestibility=64.9 vs 71.7% of the other diets, on average). This is probably the reason why, despite higher DMI of cows fed PR diet, the animals did not show higher production, both in terms of milk (kg/d) and energy corrected milk (ECM; kg/d), compared with the other treatments. The urea N concentration was higher in milk of cows fed WS diet (13.8) and lower for cows fed AS diet (9.24). This was also correlated to the highest urinary N excretion (g/d) for cows fed WS diet (189.5 vs 147.0 on average for the other diets). The protein digestibility was higher for cows fed CS and WS diets (on average 68.5%) than for cows fed AS and PR (on average 57.0%); the dietary soybean inclusion was higher for CS and WS than AS and PR. The higher values for aNDFom digestibility were obtained for CS (50.7%) and AS (47.4%) diets. The rumen fermentation pattern was affected by diet; in particular PR diet, characterized by a lower content of NFC and a higher content of aNDFom as compared to CS diet, determined a higher rumen pH and decreased propionate production as compared to CS. Feeding cows with PR diet increased the acetate:propionate ratio in comparison with CS (3.30 vs 2.44 for PR and CS, respectively). Ruminal environment characteristics (i.e higher pH and higher acetate: propionate ratio), together with increased DMI, led cows fed PR DRY diet to have greater (P=0.046) daily production of CH4 (413.4 g/d), compared to those fed CONV diet (378.2 g/d). However, no differences were observed when CH4 was expressed as g/kg DMI or g/kg milk. Hay based diet (PR) was characterized by the lowest digestible and metabolizable energy contents which overall determined a lower NEL content for PR than CS diet (1.36 vs 1.70 Mcal/kg DM respectively for PR and CS diets). In order to meet the high demand of nutrients needed to assure high milk production, in addition to fodder a lot of concentrates are also used in dairy cows' TMR. A survey analysis conducted in commercial farms was performed to evaluate the GWP of different lactating cow TMR and to identify the best dietary strategies to increase the FE and to reduce the enteric CH4 emission. A total of 171 dairy herds were selected: data about DMI, lactating cows TMR composition, milk production and composition were provided by farmers. Diet GWP (kg CO2 eq) was calculated as sum of GWP of each ingredient considering inputs needed at field level, feed processing and transport. For SBM, land use change was included in the assessment. Enteric CH4 production (g/d) was estimated using the equation of Hristov et al. (2013) in order to calculate CH4 emission for kg of FPCM. The dataset was analysed by GLM and logistic analysis using SAS 9.4. The results of frequency distribution showed that there was a wide variation among farms for the GWP of TMR: approximately 25% of the surveyed farms showed a diet GWP of 15 kg CO2 eq, 20% of 13 kg CO2 eq and 16.7% of 17 kg CO2 eq. The variation among farms is due to the feed used. Among feed, SBM had the highest correlation with the GWP of the TMR with the following equation: TMR GWP (kg CO2 eq) = 2.49*kg SBM + 6.9 (r2=0.547). Moreover, an inclusion of SBM >15% of diet DM did not result in higher milk production with respect to a lower inclusion (≤15%). Average daily milk production of cows was 29.8 (SD 4.83) kg with a fat and protein content (%) of 3.86 (SD 0.22) and 3.40 (SD 0.14), respectively. The average value of DMI (kg/d) of lactating cows was 22.3 (SD 2.23). The logistic analysis demonstrated that a level of corn silage ≤ 30% on diet DM was associated with higher FE. Almost 50% percent of the farms had an average value of 15.0 g CH4/kg FPCM and about 30% a value of 12.5 g CH4/kg FPCM. The results demonstrated that a lower enteric CH4 production was related to inclusion (% on diet DM) of less than 12% of alfalfa hay and more than 30% of corn silage. Diets with more than 34% of NDF determined higher CH4 production (≥14.0 g/kg FPCM) compared with diets with lower NDF content. On the contrary, a lower enteric CH4 production (<14.0 g/kg FPCM) was related to diets characterized by more than 1.61 NEl (Mcal/kg) and more than 4% of ether extract. The variability in the GWP of TMR shows a significant potential to reduce both the GWP of the diet through a correct choice and inclusion level in the ration of the ingredients (mainly SBM) and the possibility to decrease CH4 enteric emission associated to milk production. Looking forward, in order to evaluate the opportunity of alternative protein sources in the cow diet, to reduce SBM, waste production, and competition between animals and human for crops, a study on the effects of different by-products for Hermetia illucens rearing on the chemical composition of larvae and their environmental impact was conducted, even if, according to the European legislation, today the use of insects as feed source is not possible in ruminants. Regarding climate change, okara and brewer's grains were the most promising substrates: 0.197 and 0.228 kg CO2 eq/kg of larvae fresh weight, respectively. Results from these studies show the importance of adopting a holistic approach for the assessment of GHG emission from milk production. Therefore, any strategy aimed at mitigating CH4 emission of dairy cows must also take into account the possible effect on the other GHGs, as well as the effect on C sequestration. Based on the studies, it could also be worth evaluating novel feed as a new and useful solution for mitigation of GHG emission related to milk production. The thesis highlights essential differences among forage systems and among feed ingredients of cow ration, confirming that there is room for improvement in sustainability of milk production. These issues should be taken into consideration by farmers, technicians and policy makers, considering that sustainability of livestock production will be one of the priorities for humankind in next future.

Public transit systems differ from many other government enterprises in that they charge a fee, or fare, in much the way that private businesses charge for their services. Transit fares are typically of two sorts: flat or differentiated. For decades transportation scholars have argued in favor of flexible, differentiated transit fares, which vary by mode, distance, and/or time-of-day to reflect differences in the marginal costs of service provision (Cervero and Wachs 1982; Cervero 1981; Hodge 1995). Such fare policies, researchers contend, could greatly increase the efficiency, efficacy, and equity of transit service. Research on transit costs suggests that short, off-peak trips tend to be relatively inexpensive to provide, while longer, peak-period trips are more expensive (Taylor, Garrett, and Iseki 2000). Accordingly, varying fares to reflect these differences in costs would encourage passengers to consume more inexpensive-to-serve trips, and be more judicious in consuming more expensive-to-serve trips, thereby increasing the cost-effectiveness of transit service. Recent technological advances, particularly smart cards, have greatly reduced the operational and administrative obstacles to charging differentiated time- or distance-based fares. However, despite an established body of research on the potential benefits of flexible fares, relatively few transit agencies employ them, and over the past two decades many have actually moved away from variable fare structures and toward simpler fares by dropping zonebased fares. And while many U.S. transit agencies that have adopted smart card technology, very few of these adopting agencies have moved toward variable fares. The increasingly widespread implementation of smart farecards makes implementing variable pricing far easier and more reliable than in years past. As smart cards become more ubiquitous, will transit systems gradually reverse course and begin implementing differentiated fares? Will political and institutional resistance to variable pricing hold firm, suggesting that implementation was never the principal obstacle? Or have flat fares become so thoroughly inculcated in transit practice that most transit managers are unaware of the now decades old research on the benefits of differentiated fares? This report explores these questions. To better understand motivations for fare changes and the potential for implementing marginal cost pricing, we reviewed the literature on transit fares and pricing, conducted indepth interviews with California transit officials, and administered a nationwide survey of transit agency CEOs, planners and analysts, and board members on the goals that shape fare policies. Collectively, these interviews and survey find that, with respect to fare policies, transit agencies tend to be reactive to budgetary pressures and reluctant to change fare structures when changing fare levels. Despite this observed lack of strategic thinking with respect to fares, we do see in our survey data some, albeit limited, interest in distance- and time-based fares, especially among agencies that have or soon will introduce smart cards. But any opportunities to move toward differentiated fares created by smartcard adoption are constrained by an industry where simple, flat fares are the norm and were transit managers are risk-averse and seek to minimize public scrutiny and criticism. Smart cards, in other words, are a necessary but not sufficient means of fare innovation in public transit. Beyond this general observation, our interview and survey results collectively suggest three specific findings with respect to transit fare setting: 1. With respect to fare policies, transit agencies tend to be reactive to budgetary pressures and reluctant to change fare structures when changing fare levels. Our survey results find that systematic evaluations of fare policies are subject to and often displaced by the immediate needs of an agency's budget. Respondents indicated that the primary consideration for changing fares is budgetary need, implying a focus on near-term responses to fiscal shortfalls in setting fare policies. Changing fare policies to improve farebox recovery ratios, possibly through marginal cost pricing, which research suggests may improve a given agency's fiscal health over the long term received considerably less consideration. Rational (i.e., cost- or criteria-based) fare setting policies are viewed as important, but in practice the setting of transit fares appears to be almost exclusively budget-driven and fare increases are more often than not induced by fiscal crises. Because transit systems depend so heavily on subsidies, large swings in tax revenues – especially during the current, prolonged economic downturn – can make transit budgets volatile. When rising costs and/or cuts in subsidies threaten service, fare increases are often put on the table in conjunction with service cuts – at what some would argue is precisely the wrong time. While economists have long asserted the superiority of cost-based pricing on economic efficiency grounds, agency policy setting driven by near-term budgetary volatility almost certainly limits reflection on and adoption of such strategies. This finding also suggests that the crisis-induced and budget-driven fare setting processes may not themselves be the problem, but rather are a manifestation of unclear or contradictory goals. Clearly defined and congruent agency goals and objectives allow staff to work toward given objectives, and board members to defend their decisions in light of these v objectives. But given the often competing and contradictory goals for public transit (reduce congestion and emissions, serve the needs of the poor and disabled, keep subsidies low, provide quality employment for workers, keep fares low, etc.), goal-driven pricing of transit services has proven elusive. 2. There is some, albeit limited, interest in distance- and time-based fares, especially among agencies that have or soon will introduce smart cards. While scholars and researchers have long argued for transit pricing based on principles of economic efficiency, in practice, most agencies pursue fare policies that appear to favor administrative efficiency (e.g. keeping fare collection simple) and effectiveness (e.g. simple and low transit fares, unlimited use passes that reward frequent riders). Our survey results underscore that even with increasing technological ability to do so, a majority transit agencies are unlikely to implement distance-based or time-of-day pricing anytime in the near future. According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) (2012), 23 percent of transit operators nationwide currently employ some form of distance-based fare pricing and just 6 percent time of day pricing. While only 6 percent of the respondents to our survey who had recently adopted smart cards reported a move to time- or distance-based pricing as a result, nearly a quarter (24%) of those planning to adopt smart cards said that they expect to use them to implement some form of distance-based pricing, and fully 18 percent report the same for time-of-day pricing. This suggests that while resistance to variable pricing remains widespread, at least some of this resistance is likely due to the operational challenges of implementing differentiated pricing in the absence of smart cards. And as those operational vi challenges are reduced by smartcards, the longstanding trend away from differentiated fares may begin to reverse. 3. Transit agencies are risk-averse and seek to minimize public scrutiny of any fare changes. Our survey results emphasize that transit officials seek to ensure their actions avoid public scrutiny and negative publicity, which substantially inhibits implementing variable cost pricing for two reasons. First, implementing variable fare pricing in almost all cases would be a radical departure from the flat fare status quo, and would thus subject a transit agency to financial scrutiny, heightened media attention, and increased lawmaker inquiry – all of which transit officials report they seek to avoid. Secondly, the transit managers we surveyed report that any fare increases will subject their agency to public scrutiny. Concerns over the negative consequences of fare changes appear to be so embedded that transit managers report focusing far more on the riders they might lose from any fare changes than the riders they might gain by implementing, for example, variable fares. They are, in other words, highly loss averse. Finally, the transit agency representatives we interviewed collectively reported that they have generally not conducted market research on non-riders or on customer responses to alternative fare structures, and that they have little understanding of the likely ridership gains and losses that might accompany distance- or time-based pricing. But despite the many potential benefits of marginal cost-based transit pricing touted in the literature, our interviews found significant evidence of risk-aversion, goal obfuscation, and cost confusion among transit managers, as predicted by the literature on public administration. The interviews revealed, with sometimes surprising candor, how little some senior transit managers understand their costs of service provision and how they vary. This lack of cost comprehension may be the inevitable result of government agencies' mandate to maintain service without regard to cost or vice versa (Flam, Persson, and Svensson 1982). We hypothesize that transit agencies' mission ambiguity is a leading explanatory factor of the context in which a poor understanding of costs can persist. As has been argued in the literature, this lack of cost comprehension is manifest in the crude ways in which transit fares are set, despite advances in technology that can facilitate a movement away from costabstracted, flat, and uniform fares and toward the cost-specific fares that vary based that cost of service provided. Our findings also suggest that the crisis-induced and budget-driven fare setting processes may be not the cause, but the effect of unclear or altogether absent goals. Even when a de facto pursuit of transit fare pricing effectiveness is evident, the absence of explicit goals to which agency decision-makers can refer, can mean that necessary, routine incremental fare increases are deferred until a distracting and destructive budgetary crisis forces a much larger and more disruptive fare increase on riders. This research suggests that transit agencies could avoid the contentious, fraught, and high-stakes "crises" that currently is all but a sine qua non for raising fares, while offering "fairer" fares that could increase ridership and revenue. However, the transit agency officials we interviewed reported having little information about whether such practices actually affect transit's mode share. Several interviewees reported that they would expect to lose riders with any form of marginal-cost fare pricing, but had no idea whether or how they might gain additional riders under such a schema. Distance-based pricing, for example, could attract passenger for new, inexpensively priced short-trip riders who might have previously found $1.50 for a four block ride to be too much. The extent to which ridership would change depends on the urban context, economic conditions, traveler demographics, and so on; with information on these factors the ridership effects of fare structure changes could be estimated. Absent such information, any move to distance- or time-based pricing is a decidedly risky policy pursuit. Our interviewees also speculated that the larger the sources of operating and capital subsidies, the less likely it is that an agency's managers will focus on farebox recovery ratios. This argument, echoed in the literature (Vrooman 1978; Flam, Persson, and Svensson 1982; Pickrell 1989), suggests that public subsidies have the perverse effect of reducing costefficiency and promoting subsequent budgetary crises. Transit officials also report that in a world where driving is cheap and preferred, transit officials have little choice but to maintain low fares in order to encourage mode shift. Given this unlevel playing field, then, the non-pursuit of marginal cost pricing may be reasonable to expect. But it also suggests that transit officials should support pricing policies such as congestion tolling and parking pricing, which help to internalize the costs of driving. However, our survey results show that transit officials tend to oppose, or are at best lukewarm toward, efforts to pricing the externalities of automobile travel. Just four in 10 of those surveyed support market-rate pricing on on-street parking, and just 27 percent support high occupancy/ toll (HOT) lanes; this contrasts dramatically with seven in 10 who support increased carpooling.

IntroductionThe Report that the AIB has decided to publish starting from this year aims at presenting, even if synthetically, the main characteristics of an overview of Italian libraries, each time pointing out the questions, tendencies and some of the events that are of most interest to those who are interested in the development of the library service in our country.When it is proposed to describe a national picture of the situation of the libraries of the various types (public, university, state, scholastic, ecclesiastic, private, etc.) one finds oneself before the almost total absence of comparable and trustworthy organic information. Using the various sources available, it is possible to estimate with a certain approximation that the over 15,000 Italian libraries (in which approximately 20,000 people work) possess almost 200 million documents, that they acquire annually almost 7 million books, that their annual users are little less than 10 million and the loans made are around 65 million. It is believed that in the year 2001 the running costs exceeded 1000 billion lire, of which a little more than 10% were destined to the purchase of documents.LegislationThe year 2001 was rich in new details with regard to the sector of legislation for libraries. This was also due to the effect of the constitutional reforms and the new scenarios relative to the responsibilities and federalist arrangement of the State.Regulations of particular importance for libraries and indirectly linked to the overall institutional situation are those contained in the law of 28 December 2001, no. 448 (finance law 2002). This prescribes that the management of services aimed at the improvement of the public use and development of the artistic patrimony (and therefore also of the state libraries) can be entrusted to subjects other than those of the state. It also introduces an art. 113 bis in the sole text of the laws on the organization of local bodies (legislative decree 18 August 2000, no. 267), on the basis of which "local public services without industrial importance are managed through direct entrusting to: a) institutions; b) special businesses, including consortiums; c) joint-stock companies" and only as a residual solution (paragraph 2) "is economic management permitted when, due to the small dimensions or the characteristics of the service, it is not opportune to proceed to entrusting it to subjects as described in paragraph 1". Awaited on many sides as the chance to respond to a number of the age-old problems that have afflicted the sector of state public libraries for decades, the new organization regulations of the Ministry for cultural and artistic heritage, issued with the Presidential Decree of 29 December 2000, no. 441, actually only indicate, without solving, some fundamental questions that regard the sector, postponing their settlement, without any time limits, to subsequent second degree regulations.As regards the more strictly library themes of interest, the necessity to solve the problems of the legal deposit drove the AIB to revive the bill proposal, which had already been discussed and had arrived at the threshold of final approval in Parliament in the 13th legislature.During the year 2001, moreover, the European Parliament and the European Union Council finally approved the Directive 2001/29/CE, that aims at integrating the laws of the member countries regarding reproduction rights, rights of communication of works to the public and distribution rights, in reference to those works, on every kind of medium, including digital medium, subject to authors' rights. Art. 5 provides the faculty of member states to order exceptions and limitations to the above mentioned rights, to guarantee the right balance between authors' rights and other social interests. This article furthermore contains the "exceptions" that are to the advantage of libraries or of didactics and scientific research.Cooperation and consortiumsThe last two years have shown considerable progress in the field of cooperation activities, confirming also in Italy the current tendencies at international level. These developments generally - but with different nuances - regard various types of libraries and involve different sectors of activity, from those already established (such as cataloguing and purchases) to emerging activities, more directly linked with the diffusion of Internet (management and development of digital resources, etc.).Access to information and the development of electronic collections are surely the areas that are most involved in the new cooperation initiatives. The university sector is that which demonstrates most vitality in this area, but a certain recent enterprise of state and public libraries should be noted. The initiatives promoted by two large university computer consortiums should also be mentioned: the Cilea and Caspur.The CiBit project for digitalisation, archiving and networking, with a special research interface for Italian literature texts should be noted.In Italian universities, as in other developed countries, the idea of creating alternative models of academic electronic publishing is being increasingly encouraged: in this field mention must be made of the initiative of the University of Florence with the Firenze University Press project.On-line cataloguesThe catalogues of Italian libraries available through Internet number 420. For the year 2001 growth stabilized around 15% and mainly regarded the local body systems, the libraries of which cover municipal or provincial areas.The Italian university OPACs (On line Public Access Catalog) form approximately 40% of the total.National Library Service (SBN) and national projectsIn the last two years the SBN network has been established as the largest public network of libraries in Italy, both due to the number of libraries participating and to the considerable increase in the information in the catalogue: at the end of the year 2001 the libraries numbered approximately 1400, the size of the national collective catalogue was 5,500,000 titles (corresponding to approximately 12 million localizations, that is mentions of the presence of the works in the participating libraries). Daily hits, also as a result of the availability on Internet of the catalogue, are currently on average 160,000 on weekdays, with high points on some days of over 200,000 hits.Other cooperation projects are underway in the field of antique books and manuscripts.The Anagrafe delle biblioteche italiane (Registry of Italian libraries) data base, it too available for consultation on Internet, provides an instrument of general information on the patrimonies, services to the public and specializations of approximately 12,500 libraries.But it is "SBN on line" that has really marked a further step forward towards the improvement of the services: from a single access point, with identical modalities, users can consult catalogues of different institutions (libraries, archives, museums); they can compile a bibliography according to their own specific requirements by integrating information sources; they can also locate documents and ask for them on loan or in reproduced form.Formation, occupation and professionItaly also considers university formation as the basis for the initial preparation of librarians. In the nineties especially, the degree course in Preservation of Cultural Heritage was a source of considerable attraction among young people and in the year 2000/01 it ended up having over 23,000 students registered in the 17 universities offering the course as well as almost 3,000 registered in various related diploma courses (Operators of Cultural Heritage), for a total of 26,339 students. As a whole this is a small sector with respect to all university education (1.6% of the total of students, 2% of those enrolled, 0.6% of those graduated or having obtained diplomas), but a large group with respect to the degree or diploma "arts" group into which it is statistically inserted (16% of those registered, 23% of those enrolled and 7% of those graduated or having obtained diplomas).In the year 2000/01, the first year of the "3+2" university reform, among the 42 first level degree classes, that in Sciences of Cultural Heritage is at the 12th place as regards number of enrolled (9079) and is generally in the first place among the characteristic courses in the Arts Faculty (in the order Arts, Sciences and technologies of figurative arts, of music, entertainment and fashion, Philosophy, Historical Sciences). Sixty-six percent of the students in the degree courses in the archive-library field are female.As a whole the number of students registered is certainly greatly increased with the new courses (9079 enrolled in 2001/02 as against the 5920 of the previous year, +53%). The current offer is of 71 courses in 41 universities: among these, 9 (in a like number of universities) are specifically dedicated to the formation of librarians and archivists, while 33, 2 of which by distance-learning, have a general nature (18 with a specialization for librarians and archivists), and 29 regard other specific sectors (artistic, archaeological, musical, etc., heritage ). Overall, there are therefore at least 27 courses aimed at the formation of librarians, in 26 universities and with locations in 25 different cities.Those who graduated in Cultural Heritage have up to now obtained rapid and effective insertion into the world of work, initially above all with assistance initiatives or contract jobs but also with permanent employment, demonstrating among other things their capacity to temporarily or permanently exploit employment opportunities even in related fields (publishing, multimedia production, Web services, communications, etc.).Generally speaking, the offer of long-term employment in public administration is about 180 positions per year. The main employers are the local bodies, with 64%, followed by the Universities with 27%. Absent for years now is the Ministry for Cultural Heritage (except for two small competitions in 1998 and 1999); some offers come from the sector of research (institutions of the CNR and other bodies, for 7% in the three-year period under consideration), and exceptionally from other public bodies.From the point of view of geographic distribution, the vast majority of the jobs offered is in the North (72%, as against 11% in the Centre and 17% in the South and in the islands), and the percentage exceeds 80% for places in the local bodies: about half of the jobs offered by Italian local bodies are in the region of Lombardy; this is followed at a great distance by Emilia Romagna and then the Veneto region. In the universities, the distribution is a little less unbalanced, again with Lombardy in the first place but with a good offer also in regions of the Centre (Lazio) or of the South (Campania, Puglia).The offer of contract employment or with assistance positions is very active, both through competitions and screening for contract jobs in public administrations and through the search for assistants by service companies, mainly in the field of cataloguing, and of library structures: we can consider that through these forms of selection approximately 300 persons per year find temporary employment.The Italian Libraries Association and the Professional RegisterAn indicator of the dynamism of the profession is given also by the activity of the Italian Libraries Association (AIB) which, during the year 2000 extended to include all twenty Italian regions and considerably increased its number of members: 4407 members (+2% with respect to the previous year). This shows a much larger and clearer growth than that of employment in the sector, which therefore testifies to a greater group thrust, of "self-recognition" and identification, while a considerable number of occasional registrations remain: these are not renewed with any continuity.Since 1998, the AIB manages the Italian Professional Register of librarians, a private register that was established along the lines indicated by the European directives on the recognition of professional titles and by the bills on the unrecognised professions presented in the last legislatures but not yet approved. On 31 December 2001 the Register had 566 qualified librarians enrolled, 160 of which enrolled during the last year.The following persons co-operated to this work: Giovanni Solimine (Introduction); Luca Bellingeri, Gianni Lazzari (Law); Anna Maria Mandillo (Law, SBN and national projects); Gabriele Mazzitelli, Serafina Spinelli (Academic library systems); Tommaso Giordano (Cooperation and consortia); Antonella De Robbio (Italian OPACs); Vanni Bertini (Automation systems in Italy); Alberto Petrucciani (Training, employment and profession). ; Hanno collaborato alla redazione del Rapporto: Giovanni Solimine (Introduzione); Luca Bellingeri, Gianni Lazzari (Legislazione); Anna Maria Mandillo (Legislazione, SBN e progetti nazionali); Gabriele Mazzitelli, Serafina Spinelli (Sistemi bibliotecari di ateneo); Tommaso Giordano (Cooperazione e consorzi); Antonella De Robbio (OPAC italiani); Vanni Bertini (Sistemi di automazione in Italia); Alberto Petrucciani (Formazione, occupazione e professione).

The papers of the thesis are not available in Munin: 1. Anda EE, Nieboer E, Voitov AV, Kovalenko AA, Lapina YM, Voitova EA, Kovalenko LF, Odland JØ: «Implementation, quality control and selected pregnancy outcomes of the Murmansk County Birth Registry (Russia)», Int J Circumpolar Health. 2008; 67(4):318- 34 (publisher's restrictions). Available at http://www.ijch.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=30 2. Anda EE, Nieboer E, Wilsgaard T, Kovalenko AA, and Odland JØ: «Perinatal mortality in relation to birthweight and gestational age: A registry-based comparison for Northern Norway and Murmansk County, Russia» (manuscript) 3. Anda EE, Nieboer E, Dudarev AA, Sandanger TM and Odland JØ: «Intra- and intercompartmental associations between levels of organochlorines in maternal plasma, cord plasma and breast milk, and lead and cadmium in whole blood, for indigenous peoples of Chukotka, Russia», Journal of Environmental Monitoring 2007; 9: 884–93 (Royal Society of Chemistry - publisher's restrictions). Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/b706717h 4. Sandanger TM, Anda EE, Dudarev AA, Nieboer E, Konoplev AV, Vlasov SV, Weber JP Odland JØ and Chashchin VP: «Case study of combining persistent organic pollutants (POPs) datasets in the context of a circumpolar environment-and-health study» (manuscript). Later published with altered title in Science of The Total Environment, Volume 407, Issue 19, 15 September 2009, Pages 5216-5222, available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.06.020 ; The Murmansk County Birth Registry (MCBR) was initiated on January 1. 2006. Currently (April 2009) the MCBR has registered over 26 000 births. The registry covers a geographical area known as the Kola Peninsula in Northwest Russia, which is almost entirely located above the Arctic Circle. Murmansk County is about half the size of Norway and had 857 000 inhabitants in 2008. All the 15 delivery departments in the county are involved and their locations stretch from Nikel in the Northwest to Kandalaksha in the south. The Registry Office is located in the city of Murmansk with a trusted staff of four. The MCBR annually registers over 99% of all deliveries in the region. Based on several measures such as quality control exercises and regional workshops, the registry seems to exhibit adequate validity. The registration of births in the MCBR is obligatory and embedded in regional legislation. It is a cooperative effort between the University of Tromsø and the Murmansk County Health Department. Together they have defined four major guidelines, or tasks for the registry: • Monitor the health condition of mothers and their newborn; • Monitor the availability of maternal and perinatal health care; • Develop standards and guidelines for maternal and perinatal health care; • Spawn new hypotheses and provide knowledge related to causal relationships for reproductive health risk factors. Comparisons of selected pregnancy outcomes from Murmansk County with the northern regions of other Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden and Finland) revealed several interesting differences. First of all, there was the divergence of the demographic composition of the respective delivering populations. The pregnant women were much younger in Murmansk County (about 3.5 years), and the percentage of teenage mothers was about twice that of Northern Norway and 5 times higher than in Northern Sweden. Further each woman tended to have fewer children in Murmansk County, the babies were lighter on average (about 200 g), and the proportion of children with a birth weight over 4500 g was 4.5 times higher in Northern Norway. A study comparing the birth weights, perinatal mortality and gestational ages between Northern Norway and Murmansk County disclosed valuable information. Based on WHO-guideline-calculations, the perinatal mortality among the women with a known gestational age was 11.0/1000 in Murmansk County (2006-2007) and 5.4/1000 in Northern Norway (2004-2006). The risk of perinatal mortality was higher at all gestational ages and at all birth weight increments in Murmansk County. There were large disparities between the two regions in the optimal perinatal-survival weights and the small-for-gestationalage 10 percent cut-off weight for term deliveries. Two further studies aimed to map out challenges related to the collection of human tissue samples in the Russian Arctic for the analyses of environmental contaminants. After all, a relevant and effective protocol is the core of any viable epidemiological study. It was concluded that relative to cord blood and breast milk, maternal plasma/blood is the most fundamental biomonitoring medium for organochlorines and toxic metals. Also, complicated statistical analyses will require a detection frequency of the individual contaminant levels in each sample to exceed 80%. And finally, the correlations between concentrations of different organochlorines in the body fluids (with a few exceptions) were sufficiently high so that measuring the levels of a few with high detection frequencies would give a suitable picture of the combined body burden of these contaminants. In conclusion, the MCBR constitutes an invaluable tool for reproductive health studies in the future such as the studies of adverse effects of environmental contaminants. ; Murmansk County Birth Registry (MCBR) ble offisielt startet 1. januar 2006. Frem til i dag (april 2009) har MCBR registrert over 26 000 fødsler. Registeret dekker et geografisk område som kalles Kola halvøya lokalisert i nordvest Russland. Nesten hele området ligger nord for polarsirkelen. Murmansk fylke (eller Murmansk regionen) er omtrent halvparten så stort som Norge og hadde 857 000 innbyggere i 2008. Det finnes 15 fødemottak i fylket som alle er involvert og leverer data til registeret. Fødemottakene strekker seg fra Nikel (ved norskegrensen) og ned til Kandalaksha, sør i fylket. Selve registerkontoret ligger i Murmansk by og har i dag fire ansatte. MCBR registrerer hvert år over 99% av alle fødsler i fylket og basert på resultater av flere kvalitetskontroller og plenumsmøter med alle involverte, ser registeret ut til å ha en validitet av tilfredsstillende omfang. Selve registreringen av fødsler er obligatorisk for alle kvinner og vedtatt gjennom regional lovgivning og er et samarbeidsprosjekt mellom Universitetet i Tromsø og helsedepartementet i Murmansk. Sammen har de definert flere retningslinjer og oppgaver som registeret skal oppfylle og utføre: • Overvåke mor og barns helse; • Overvåke tilgangen på helsetilbud; • Utvikle standarder og retningslinjer for mor/barn helse; • Generere nye hypoteser og frembringe kunnskap om kausale sammenhenger mellom risiko faktorer og perinatal helse. Sammenligninger av svangerskapsutfall fra Murmansk fylke med andre nordlige deler av de nordiske landene (Norge, Sverige og Finland) resulterte i mange interessante oppdagelser. For det første var den demografiske sammensetningen av de fødende kvinnene veldig forskjellig i disse ulike populasjonene. De gravide hadde en mye lavere gjennomsnittsalder in Murmansk fylke (omtrent 3.5 år), prosentandelen av tenåringsmødre var dobbel så høy som i Nord-Norge of fem ganger høyere enn i Nord-Sverige. Videre viste det seg at hver kvinne fikk færre barn gjennom livet i Murmansk fylke, de nyfødte hadde en lavere gjennomsnittlig fødselsvekt (omtrent 200 g) og andelen av barn med en fødselsvekt over 4500 g var fire og en halv gang høyere i Nord-Norge. Den ene studien som sammenlignet fødselsvekter, perinatal dødelighet og svangerskapslengder mellom Nord-Norge og Murmansk Fylke ga oss mer nyttig informasjon. Basert på WHO sine retningslinjer for utregninger av perinatal dødelighet bland kvinner med kjent svangerskapslengde ble det funnet at den perinatale dødeligheten var 11.0/1000 i Murmansk fylke (2006-2007) og 5.4/1000 in Nord-Norge (2004-2006). Risikoen for perinatal dødelighet var høyere ved alle svangerskapslengder og i alle fødselsvektkategorier i Murmansk fylke. Det var også store forskjeller i den optimale perinatale overlevelsesvekten og i det som kunne oppfattes som "liten for gestasjonsalder", spesielt for de som ble født på termin. To videre studier prøvde å finne løsninger på problemer relatert til innsamling av vevsprøver og miljøgifter i den arktiske delen av Russland. En skikkelig protokoll er tross alt hjørnesteinen i en hver ordentlig epidemiologisk studie. Det ble konkludert med at maternalt blod/plasma var det mest fundamentale bioovervåkningsmedium for organiske klorider og giftige metaller. Det viste seg også at avanserte statistiske utregninger krevde tilstedeværelse av målbare verdier av kontaminantene i over 80% av tilfellene. Til slutt ble det funnet at korrelasjonene mellom nivåene av de forskjellige organiske kloridene (med noen få unntak) var så høye at det å måle nivået av noen få av dem kunne gi et klart bilde av den kombinerte kroppsbelastningen av de respektive kontaminantene. Konklusjonen er at MCBR kan bli et viktig og uunnværlig instrument for perinatale helsestudier i fremtiden. ; Регистр родов Мурманской области (РРМО) был официально начат 1 января 2006 года. До настоящего времени (до апреля 2009 г.) в РРМО зарегистрировано свыше 26000 родов. Регистр охватывает географическое пространство, известное как Кольский полуостров, расположенный на Северо-западе России. Это пространство почти полностью находится за Полярным кругом. Мурманская область составляет почти половину территории Норвегии. В 2008 г. в ней проживало 857 000 жителей. В области насчитывается 15 родильных отделений. Все они поставляют данные для регистра. Родильные отделения расположены на территории, которая простирается от г. Никеля (находящегося у норвежской границы) на Северо-западе до г. Кандалакши на юге. Офис Регистра находится в г. Мурманске. Его персонал составляет 4 человека. Ежегодно в РРМО регистрируется свыше 99% всех родов области. Результаты различных измерений контроля качества, а также региональные семинары подтверждают надежность данных регистра. Регистрация родов в РРМО является обязательной, и это записано в региональном законодательстве. РРМО является плодом совместных усилий Университета Тромсё и Отдела Здравоохранения Мурманской области. Вместе они разработали четыре основные директивы, или задачи регистра: • контролировать состояние здоровья матерей и их новорожденных детей; • контролировать эффективность материнского и перинатального здравоохранения; • разработать стандарты и директивы для материнского и перинатального здравоохранения; • выдвинуть новые гипотезы и обеспечить знание о взаимосвязи между факторами риска и репродуктивным здоровьем. Сравнение некоторых исходов беременностей Мурманской области с данными северных регионов скандинавских стран (Норвегия, Швеция и Финляндия) показало некоторые интересные различия. Прежде всего, это расхождение в демографическом составе соответствующих групп рожающего населения. Беременные женщины в Мурманской области были гораздо моложе (разница около 3,5 лет). Процент матерей- подростков был почти в два раза выше, чем в Северной Норвегии и в 5 раз выше, чем в Северной Швеции. Каждая женщина Мурманской области склонна иметь меньше детей, младенцы в среднем легче на 200 грамм. Доля детей с весом при рождении свыше 4500 грамм в 4.5 раза выше в Северной Норвегии. Сравнение данных Северной Норвегии и Мурманской области по весу при родах, перинатальной смертельности и гестационному возрасту дало нам ценную информацию. На основе директивных расчетов ВОЗ перинатальная смертность среди женщин с известным гестационным возрастом в Мурманской области была 11.0/1000 (2006-2007 гг.) и 5.4/1000 в Северной Норвегии (2004-2006 гг.). Риск перинатальной смертности в Мурманской области был выше для всех гестационных возрастов и для любого веса при родах. Большое несоответствие в этих двух регионах было и по оптимальному перинатальному весу, при котором младенец выживал, и теми младенцами, которые были рождены в срок, но были рождены маленькими для своего гестационного возраста (10% ниже нормального веса). Целью двух других исследований было найти решение проблем, касающихся отбора проб тканей и загрязняющих веществ окружающей среды в Российской Арктике. Основой любого эпидемиологического изучения является эффективный протокол. Были сделаны выводы, что материнская плазма/кровь является самой основной средой для биомониторинга органохлоридов и токсичных металлов по сравнению с кровью из пуповины и грудным молоком. Также для сложного статистического анализа необходимо, чтобы частота обнаружения концентраций отдельного загрязняющего вещества в каждом образце превышала 80%. И в заключение, корреляции между концентрациями различных органохлоридов в биологических жидкостях (за некоторым исключением) были достаточно высокими. Т.о. определение концентрации только нескольких органохлоридов, тех, у которых высокая частота обнаружения, даст соответствующую картину комбинированной нагрузки на организм этих загрязняющих веществ. В заключение Будем надеяться, что РРМО даст бесценный инструмент для изучения в будущем репродуктивного здоровья, например инструмент для изучения неблагоприятного эффекта от веществ, загрязняющих окружающую среду.

Author's introductionPeople participate in social movements and protest events in part to pressure elites and institutions to alter the reward structure within society. When attempting to pressure their targets, activists are often confronted by the state. Whether the state is a target of protest or not, it oftentimes engages those seeking to promote extra‐institutional change. Within democratic societies, police are charged to maintain social order and protect the rights of those expressing dissent. Because of this dual charge and a variety of political, social, and economic factors, police have adopted strategies or repertoires of social control for policing protests. These repertoires can facilitate, channel, or prevent protest from occurring. A growing scholarly consensus suggests that since the 1990s, authorities in the United States and other democratic states have shifted how they react to protests. Until the 1970s, police often utilized what scholars call the 'escalated force' protest control repertoire. During this era, police saw protest as an illegitimate form of political expression. They placed a low priority on freedom of speech and assembly and often used excessive force and widespread arrests when dealing with protesters. In the 1970s to 1990s, police developed what is called 'negotiated management' to respond less confrontationally to protesters. This repertoire relied on a permitting process to facilitate police and protester efforts to negotiate the time, place, and manner of protest activities in ways satisfactory to both protesters and police. Police placed a premium on protecting freedom of speech and assembly and tolerated community inconveniences related to large rallies, marches, and the occasional staged arrest. They used violence and arrests as a last resort and only for significant violations of the law. However, following the disruptive 1999 Seattle WTO protests and the new cycle of global protests that followed, law enforcement agencies around the United States and in other western democracies began developing and adopting the 'strategic incapacitation' repertoire of protest control. With strategic incapacitation, police selectively protect civil liberties and selectively tolerate community disruption, and they seek to incapacitate protests through the use of less‐lethal weapons and preemptive arrests, extensive control of public space, reliance on 'new surveillance' technologies, and the elaborate control of information. In the United States, the development and adoption of this new style of policing accelerated after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks as authorities embraced a risk management approach to identify and neutralize potentially disruptive events, such as large demonstrations.Author recommended books and edited volumes


Boykoff,
Jules. 2007. Beyond Bullets: The Suppression of Dissent in the United States. : .
Boykoff's book explores how the U.S. government, with assistance from federal, state and local law enforcement regularly disrupted protest movements in the 20th Century. It catalogues various forms of suppression employed by authorities from the use of direct violence, surveillance, and infiltration to the use of less direct means of mass media manipulation and demonization. Chapter 1 includes a good introduction to social movements and dissent/resistance, and the concepts of repression and suppression.


Davenport,
Christian,

Hank
Johnston and

Carol
Mueller (eds.) 2005. Repression and Mobilization. : .
This compilation of essays on repression and resistance provides a broad lens for understanding the various ways that state power is exercised against social movements. Davenport's introductory chapter helpfully evaluates the broader field of repression and recommends ways to advance it.



della Porta,
Donatella and

Herbert
Reiter (eds.) 1998. Policing Protest: The Control of Mass Demonstrations in Western Democracies. : .
This collection of essays consolidates some of the best thinking of the time on protest policing. Together, it provides a comparative historical, institutional and cultural analysis of protest policing across a variety of democratic nations. The contributors explore recent trends in the evolution of protest policing, such as whether protest policing has become 'softer' and the causes and consequences of such changes. The introductory chapter identifies important variables that define the style of protest policing employed and provides a useful model to explain the different styles. The second chapter by McPhail, Schweingruber and McCarthy introduces 'negotiated management' to the scholarly lexicon and has become one of the most influential writings on protest policing. This book should be at the top of your reading list on the topic.



della Porta,
Donatella,

Abby
Peterson and

Herbert
Reiter (eds.) 2006. The Policing of Transnational Protest. : .
This collected works is a follow up to della Porta and Reiter's earlier volume described above. It explores changes in protest policing in western democracies that parallel the rise of transnational protests in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Contributors analyzed policing efforts at protests coinciding with various international summits and other large protest events. Collectively, they investigated the question of whether a new era of policing is emerging to replace the softer styles of protest policing identified in the earlier volume. Individually, authors explored a variety of topics including the transnational character of the protests and of the police effort to control these protests, how adoption of a 'new penology' paradigm within the U.S. criminal justice influenced police adoption of strategic incapacitation, and the negotiation practices used by police and activists and problems that can occur during negotiations. A concluding chapter identifies a typology of coercive, persuasive and information strategies used by police across nations to control transnational protests.


Fernandez,
Luis A. 2008. Policing Dissent: Social Control and the Anti‐Globalization Movement. : .
Fernandez applies a Foucauldian view of social control to explain the police repression of alterglobalization protests in the early 2000s. The book provides an overview of the alterglobal movement and shows how police used legal means to limit protest and physical and psychological strategies to control public space.


Marx,
Gary T. 1988. Undercover: Police Surveillance in America. : .
Marx provides a late 1980s look into the then emerging forms of surveillance used by U.S. law enforcement. The first half of the book discusses the history of police surveillance and provides a classification schematic for how surveillance is used by police. The second half of the book identifies the intended and unintended consequences of police use of undercover surveillance. It is still widely cited and it is recognized by many as providing the blueprint for understanding and exploring 'new surveillance' (see concluding chapter).


Meyer,
David S. 2007. The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America. : .
Meyer provides a concise introduction to social movements drawing extensively from the U.S. peace and antiwar movements to illustrate his points. Included are discussions on the major social theories and chapters on protester tactics.


Stark,
Rodney. 1972. Police Riots: Collective Violence and Law Enforcement. : .
This is one of the first scholarly books to recognize the tension police experience between maintaining order and protecting civil liberties. Previous works had tended to show protest policing uncritically and as a necessary response to unruly crowds. This work examines policing response to protest highlighting the escalated force model.


Starr,
Amory,

Luis A.
Fernandez and

Christian
Scholl. 2011. Shutting Down the Streets: Political Violence and Social Control in the Global Era. : .
This book maps efforts by the state to control social movements in a global age. Written by activist‐scholars, the research draws from participant observations made at 20 major alter‐global protest events held during major global summits over the last decade. The book explores the spatial dynamics, political economy and police violence associated with efforts to repress those opposing aspects of the global political‐economic order. A concluding chapter explores activist resistance to the social control of dissent employed by the authorities.


Tilly,
Charles. 1978. From Mobilization to Revolution. : .
This is a foundational book in social movement studies. In it Tilly introduces the core concepts of repression and contentious repertoires.


Waddington,
David P. 2007. Policing Public Disorder: Theory and Practice. : .
Waddington explores public order policing across a variety of events, from commodity riots and hooliganism to labor and global protests. The first two chapters provide a detailed exploration of theories and debates within the public order policing literature, including various approaches to policing and theories on the causes of public disorder. The remainder of the book adeptly uses the theories covered earlier and other scholarly works to analyze the policing of these differing types of events.Online materialsLaw enforcement related:

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
http://www.dhs.gov/
Department of Justice (DOJ)
http://www.justice.gov/
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
http://www.justice.gov/
International Association of Chiefs of Police
http://www.theiacp.org/
Police Executive Research Forum (PERF)
http://www.policeforum.org/Civil liberties and independent media related:

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
http://www.aclu.org
http://www.aclu.org/maps/spying‐first‐amendment‐activity‐state‐state
Independent Media Center (IMC)
http://www.indymedia.org/en/
National Lawyers Guild (NLG)
http://www.nlg.org/
Partnership for Civil Justice Fund
http://www.justiceonline.org/Academic related:

WTO History Project
http://depts.washington.edu/wtohist/
Dynamics of Collective Action Project
http://www.stanford.edu/group/collectiveaction/cgi‐bin/drupal/SyllabusTopics for lecture and discussionIntroduction, issues, and problems (2 weeks)Definitions, problems, and issues: What is the role of police in a democratic society? What is the tension or paradox between police as protectors of democracy and simultaneously potential threats to democracy? What are civil liberties? What is public order policing? How has US policing become militarized, and what are the consequences of this trend? What is 'broken windows' theory, and how has it shaped law enforcement practices in general?Readings:


Kraska,
Peter and

Victor E.
Kappeler. 1997. '.' Social Problems 44():1‐18.


Marx,
Gary T. 2001. '.' Policing, Security and Democracy: Theory and Practice, Vol. 2 edited by and . : . Available online at http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/dempol.html (last accessed 1 July 2013).


Vitale,
Alex. 2005. '.' Policing and Society 15():99–124.


Waddington,
David P. 2007. Policing Public Disorder: Theory and Practice. : . (Chapter 1 and selections.)


Wilson,
James Q. and

George L.
Kelling. 1982. '' The Atlantic (March). Available online at http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/03/broken‐windows/304465/ (last accessed 1 July 2013).Social movements and protest (2 weeks)What is a social movement? What are contentious repertoires and protest tactics? What are the similarities and differences between direct action tactics and civil disobedience tactics? What are protest events? What methods do researchers use to study these events? What are the basic assertions of collective behavior, resource mobilization, political process/political opportunity, framing, and new social movement theories?Readings:


Benford,
Robert D. and

David A.
Snow. 2000. '.' Annual Review of Sociology 26:611–639.


Buechler,
Steven M. 2005. '.' The Sociological Quarterly 36():441–464.


Diani,
Mario. 1992. '.' The Sociological Review 40():1–25.


Edwards,
Bob and

John D.
McCarthy. 2004. '.' Pp. 116–152 in The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements edited by , and . : .


Koopmans,
Ruud and

Dieter
Rucht. 2002. '.' Pp. 231–259 in Methods of Social Movement Research, edited by and . : .


Meyer,
David S. 2003. '.' Social Movement Studies 2():17–35.


Taylor,
Verta and

Nella
Van Dyke. 2004. '.' Pp. 262–293 in The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements edited by , and . : .Policing of protest–the basics and additional concepts (2 weeks)What is repression, and what constitutes a theory of repression? When does policing of protest become repressive? What is COINTELPRO, and how has the FBI and other law enforcement agencies historically undermined or facilitated US social movements? How do contained and transgressive protesters differ? How does police knowledge influence police response to protest? What aspects of globalization impact police response to protests? What are the 'flash points' that lead to escalated police responses? What other factors shape police responses to protest?Readings:


Boykoff,
Jules. 2007. Beyond Bullets: The Suppression of Dissent in the United States. : . (Chapter 1 and selections.)


Cunningham,
David. 2003. There's Something Happening Here: The New Left, the Klan, and FBI Counterintelligence. : . (Chapter 1 and selections.)



della Porta,
Donatella and

Herbert
Reiter. 1998. '.' Pp. 1–32 in Policing Protest: The Control of Mass Demonstrations in Western Democracies edited by

Donatella
Della Porta and

Herbert
Reiter. : .


Della Porta,
Donatella. 1988. '.' Pp. 228–252 in Policing Protest: The Control of Mass Demonstrations in Western Democracies edited by and . :


Earl,
Jennifer and

Sarah A.
Soule. 2006. '.' Mobilization 11():145–164.


Ericson,
Richard V. and

Aaron
Doyle. 1999. '.' British Journal of Sociology 50():589–601.


Earl,
Jennifer. 2003. '.' Sociological Theory 21():44–68.


Earl,
Jennifer. 2011. '.' Annual Review of Sociology 37:261–284.


King,
Mike and

David
Waddington. 2005. '.' Policing and Society 15():255–82.


Marx,
Gary T. 1979. '.' Pp. 94–125 in Dynamics of Social Movements: Resource Mobilization, Social Control, and Tactics, edited by and . : .


Tilly,
Charles. 2000. '.' Mobilization 5(): 135–159.


Wahlström,
Mattias. 2007. '.' Mobilization 12():389–402.Policing of protest–negotiated management (1 week)What are the general aspects of the 'negotiated management' style of protest policing? How does it differ from 'escalated force'? What are the shortcomings of negotiated management?Readings:


Earl,
Jennifer,

Sarah A.
Soule and

John D.
McCarthy. 2003. '.' American Sociological Review 68():581–606.


Gorringe,
Hugo and

Michael
Rosie. 2008. '.' British Journal of Sociology, 59(): 187–205.


Gillham,
Patrick F. and

John A.
Noakes. 2007. '.' Mobilization 12():341–357.


McCarthy,
John D. and

Clark
McPhail. 1998. '.' Pp. 83–110 in The Movement Society: Contentious Politics for a New Century, edited by and . : .


McPhail,
Clark,

David
Schweingruber and

John D.
McCarthy 1998. '.' Pp. 49–69 in Policing Protest: The Control of mass Demonstrations in Western Democracies, edited by and . : .Policing of protest–command and control, Miami model, and strategic incapacitation (2 weeks)How do the 'command and control' and 'Miami model' styles of policing differ? What are the basic characteristics of 'strategic incapacitation'? How does strategic incapacitation compare to command and control and the Miami model?Readings:


Noakes,
John and

Patrick F.
Gillham. '.' Pp. 97–115 in Policing Political Protest After Seattle, edited by , and . : .


Noakes,
John,

Brian
Klocke and

Patrick F.
Gillham. '., September 29‐30, 2001.' Policing and Society 15(): 235–254.


Vitale,
Alex S. 2005. '.' Policing and Society 15():283–304.


Vitale,
Alex S. 2007. '.' Mobilization 12()403–15.Control of space, surveillance, and info control (1‐2 weeks)What are repertoires of protest control? What are public spaces of dissent, and how do police respond to dissent in these spaces? What are the different zones of spatial control, and how do they differ? What is 'new surveillance', and how is it employed by police to control protest? What are fusion centers, and how do they operate to both consolidate and disseminate information? In what ways do police control information about production and dissemination of information about protesters and about police themselves?Readings:


Gillham,
Patrick F. 2011. '.' Sociology Compass 5():636–652.


Gillham,
Partrick F.,

Bob
Edwards and

John A.
Noakes. 2013. '.' Policing and Society 23():82–103.


Marx,
Gary T. 2004. '.' Knowledge, Technology, and Policy 17():18–37.


Newkirk,
Anthony B. 2010. '.' Surveillance and Society 8():43–60.


Roberts,
John Michael. 2008. '.' Sociology Compass 2(): 654–674.Dynamics of policing and protesting (1 week)How do interactions between police and protesters impact protest policing efforts? What ironies emerge from police and protester interactions?Readings:



della Porta,
Donatella and

Sidney
Tarrow. 2012. '.' Comparative Political Studies 45():119–152.


Gillham,
Patrick F. and

Gary T.
Marx. '.' Social Justice 27():212–236.


McPhail,
Clark and

John D.
McCarthy. 2005. '.' Pp. 3–32 in Repression and Mobilization edited by , , and . : .Intended and unintended consequences of protest policing (1‐2 weeks)What are the intended and unintended consequences of protest policing? How does protest policing impact activists, social movements, and democracy? What characteristics of the new styles of protest policing are spilling over into policing of other social phenomena?Readings:


Boyle,
Phillip and

Kevin
Haggerty. 2009. '.' International Political Sociology 3:257–274.


Cunningham,
David and

John
Noakes. 2008. '.' Pp. 175–197 in Surveillance and Governance: Crime Control and Beyond (Sociology of Crime Law and Deviance, Volume 10), edited by and

Jeffrey T.
Ulmer. : .


Earl,
Jennifer and

Sarah A.
Soule. 2010. '.' Pp. 75–113 in Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change (Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, Volume 30), edited by in . : .


Starr,
Amory,

Luis
Fernandez,

Randall
Amster,

Lesley
Wood and

Manuel J.
Caro. 2008. '.' Qualitative Sociology 31:251–270.


Wood,
Lesley J. 2007. '.' Mobilization 12():377–388.Focus questions

What challenges do researchers interested in studying social movements and the policing of protest face and why?
What methodologies do researchers use to study the policing of protest events? What types of data are generated by these methodologies? What are the strengths and limitations of each methodology and the data collected using each methodology?
What is the police‐democracy paradox? How are police both defenders of democracy and simultaneously a potential threat to democracy?
What is protest policing, and how has it changed over the years? What are the central dimensions on which researchers study the different styles or repertoires of protest policing?
What dynamics and processes drive changes in the development of protest policing repertoires, and what factors influence the choice of repertoires employed by police when controlling dissent?
What are the consequences of protest policing on democracy, activists, social movements, and the institution of law enforcement?
To what extent are changes occurring in the policing of different types of social phenomena like the Olympics, World Cup, and presidential inaugurations? What are the similarities or differences to changes occurring in protest policing?