Suchergebnisse

Entgrenztes Wohnen - Die Creative Class im Medienzeitalter Zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts wird der Kultur- und Lebensraum der Menschen mehr und mehr von den Informations- und Kommunikationsmedien geprägt. Mit dem zunehmenden Eindringen dieser Medien in die Lebensräume der Menschen erfährt auch das Wohnen verstärkte Aufmerksamkeit. William Mitchell und der amerikanische Soziologe und Politologe Richard Florida weisen auf eine Verknüpfung von intensiver Nutzung der neuen Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien und neuen Wohnkonzepten hin. In ihren Forschungen stellen sie eine Konzentration derartiger veränderter Nutzungskonzepte des Wohnens vor allem in den neu adaptierten Altbauten stark verdichteter (Innen-) Stadtviertel fest. Mit Blick auf die dort bevorzugt wohnende, dynamisch wachsende Berufs- und Lebensstilgruppe, die Florida als "Creative Class" bezeichnet und aufgrund ihrer technologischen Innovationen und kreativen Alltagsgestaltung als Protagonistengruppe des Informationszeitalters ansieht, hat er als einer der ersten auch empirisch auf die Verschränkung von neuen Lebenspraktiken und veränderten Raumnutzungen aufmerksam gemacht. Ziel der Forschungsarbeit war es, die strukturell veränderten Wohnstrategien und Raumdispositionen einer Pioniergruppe des Informationszeitalters, der Creative Class, herauszustellen und zu verstehen. Es wurden 52 Personen der Creative Class für Interviews ausgewählt. Die Untersuchung ist explorativ ausgerichtet und darf somit nicht als repräsentativ für die Creative Class gesehen werden. Die wachsende Bedeutung dieser Pioniergruppe wird jedoch dadurch ersichtlich, dass in den USA heute bereits bis zu 30 % der Erwerbstätigen im Kreativsektor arbeiten. Dazu zählen Berufsgruppen aus den Bereichen IT, Medien, Kunst, Wissenschaft und Management. Auch im deutschsprachigen Raum wurden bereits Untersuchungen zur Kreativwirtschaft in den Städten Wien, Berlin, Zürich und Köln angestellt. Ausgehend von diesen ersten Kreativwirtschaftsberichten, die ebenfalls die urbane räumliche Konzentration der Personengruppe der Creative Class unterstrichen, wurden die vier Städte Wien, Berlin, Zürich und Köln als Standorte der empirischen Untersuchung ausgewählt. Bei der Suche nach Interviewpartnern war bereits zu erkennen, dass sich die Wohn- und Arbeitsorte der Creative Class in allen vier Städten vorwiegend in den an die Stadtmitte angrenzenden, dicht bebauten Bezirken und Quartieren befinden. Im Zuge der Analyse der Lebensorte und Alltagspraktiken der 52 interviewten Personen konnten überwiegend Mehrraumwohnungen aus der Gründerzeit, aber auch Einraumwohnungen und Ateliers beobachtet werden. Anhand der Begriffs- und Dualismuspaare Mensch / Maschine, Mensch / Raum, Privat / Öffentlich und Wohnen / Arbeiten wird verdeutlicht, dass die Grenzziehungen, die das Wohnen des 20. Jahrhunderts entscheidend prägten, heute, mit dem Eindringen der Medien, im Auflösen begriffen sind. Die aktuelle theoretische Diskussion wird von Entgrenzungstheorien bestimmt. Mit dem Einzug von medialen Funktionen, die den Wohn- und Arbeitsort der interviewten Personen zu einer Insel werden lassen, konnten auch im Rahmen der Untersuchung Entgrenzungen festgestellt werden, welche die funktionale und räumliche Struktur dieser Lebensinseln transformieren. Diese Entgrenzungen sind im Kontext der Miniaturisierung und Mobilisierung der technischen Geräte zu betrachten. Denn durch die flexible Nutzung der technischen Geräte werden mediale Tätigkeiten in traditionelle Wohnfunktionen eingebettet. Hand in Hand mit dieser Überlagerung wurde auch ein verändertes Raumverständnis beobachtet, das nicht mehr auf vorgegebenen Funktionszuordnungen beruht, sondern auf der individuellen Mehrfachcodierung von Räumen und Raumbereichen. So wird zum Beispiel die funktionale und gestalterische Unterscheidung zwischen Wohnraum und Arbeitsraum nivelliert und die ursprüngliche Grenze zwischen Wohnen und Arbeiten in die Technologie verlagert. Die neue Tür ist das An- und Ausschalten der Geräte. Die Mehrfachcodierungen werden von den interviewten Personen jedoch nur dann positiv gewertet, wenn sie keinen Zwang darstellen, sondern der Ort der Nutzung frei gewählt werden kann. Die Grenze zwischen den einzelnen Raumbereichen wird somit durch die individuelle Wahlmöglichkeit bestimmt. Die neuen Parameter des Wohnens der Creative Class sind folglich Mehrfachcodierung und räumliche beziehungsweise örtliche Diversität. Eine weitgehend optimale Grundrissorganisation bezüglich dieser mehrfachcodierten Diversität wurde in den polyzentrisch organisierten Gründerzeitwohnungen Wiens beobachtet. Sie bieten dem Bewohner mittels eines Verteilerraums im Eingangsbereich und einer internen Verbindung zwischen Wohnen und Arbeiten die Wahlmöglichkeit, die Räume sowohl getrennt als auch im Zusammenhang zu nutzen. Die weiterführende Variante dieser "Wand-an-Wand-Lösung" konnte auch ohne interne Verbindung, in Form einer zweiten Lebensinsel im selben Haus oder im Viertel, festgestellt werden. Entscheidend, um die Wahlmöglichkeit zu gewährleisten, ist die räumliche oder örtliche Trennung bei gleichzeitiger Erreichbarkeit. In diesem Kontext haben 56 % der interviewten Personen eine zusätzliche eigene Lebensinsel in Form eines Atelierarbeitsplatzes, eines eigenen Ateliers oder einer zweiten Wohnung beziehungsweise der Wohnung des Partners zur Wahl. Auf diesen zusätzlichen Lebensinseln findet die Überlagerung von Wohnen und Arbeiten sowie Privat und Öffentlich in einem ebenso hohen Ausmaß statt, wie an den ersten Lebensorten. Die Befragten nutzen die ihnen zur Verfügung stehenden Orte individuell, je nach Bedarf. Die Diversität ist nicht nur innerhalb der Lebensinsel beziehungsweise zwischen den Lebensinseln von Bedeutung, sondern auch im Zusammenhang mit dem Lebensumfeld. Denn aufgrund der Inselbildung ist eine zunehmende Bedeutung der infrastrukturellen Versorgung und der sozialen Kontakte im Lebensumfeld der Creative Class zu beobachten. Die entscheidende Aufgabe, die sich mit der Erkenntnis der Erfordernis der mehrfachcodierten Diversität für den Architekten und Stadtplaner demnach stellt, ist: Eine Diversität von Orten und Räumen innerhalb der Lebensinsel und in der nahen Umgebung zu schaffen, an denen und mit Hilfe derer die Bewohner über die individuelle Wahlmöglichkeit verfügen, sowohl überkommene funktionale Grenzen zu überschreiten als auch selber Grenzen zu ziehen. ; Defragmented dwelling - creative class housing in the media age At the beginning of the 21st century the cultural and living space of society is increasingly influenced by the information and communication media. With the advance of the media into people's living spaces, concepts of living and dwelling are re-evaluated. William Mitchell and the American sociologist and political scientist Richard Florida emphasize a link between the intensive use of new information and communication technologies and new living concepts. Their research examines a concentration of changed usage concepts in newly adapted old buildings of high density neighbourhoods. Within a new career and lifestyle group, which he describes as the "creative class", Florida observes an interconnection of new living practices and changed spatial usage. Due to their technological innovation and creative work organization, Florida describes the creative class as protagonists of the information age. The objective of this dissertation was to define and understand the structurally altered living strategies and spatial dispositions of a pioneer group of the information age, the creative class. 52 individuals of the creative class were selected for interviews. The research follows an explorative approach and may therefore not be seen as representative of the creative class. However, the growing importance of this pioneer group becomes evident when considering that in the USA today already up to 30% of the economically active population is working in the creative sector, which includes professions in IT, media, art, science and management. In the German-speaking world the creative economy in the cities of Vienna, Berlin, Zurich and Cologne has already been studied. On the basis of these first creative economy reports, which already suggest a concentration of creative class population, the cities Vienna, Berlin, Zurich and Cologne were selected for the empirical study. Already during the search for potential interviewees it was apparent that the living and working spaces of the creative class are predominantly located in the high density areas adjoining the city centre. In the study of living spaces and day-to-day routines of the 52 persons from the creative class, multi-room apartments in 19th century "Gründerzeit" buildings were predominant, but there were also single room apartments and studios. An examination of the dualistic concepts man / machine, man / space, private / public and living / working illustrates that the boundary definitions that distinctly characterized dwelling in the 20th century, today, with the advance of the new media, are in the process of dissolution. The current theoretical discourse is defined by theories of boundary reduction. Together with the introduction of media functions that turn the living and working space of the interviewees into an island, boundary reductions that transform the functional and spatial structures of these life-islands could be determined also within the framework of this study. Boundary reductions can be observed in the context of miniaturization and mobilization of technological equipment. Through the flexible use of technological devices media functions become embedded within traditional living functions. Hand in hand with these overlayering a changed understanding of space was observed, that no longer is determined by a given set of functional allocations, but rather by an individualized multiple codification of spaces and spatial zones. For example the difference in form and function between living space and working space is negated and the original boundary between working and living is transferred into the technological realm. The new door is the on/off switch of the technological device. The multiple codifications are rated positively by the interviewed individuals of the creative class only when they do not constitute a constraint but when places for usage can be freely chosen. As a consequence the boundary between different spatial zones is defined by means of individual opportunities for choice. The new parameters of the creative class are therefore multiple codification and diversity of space and place. Referring to this multi-code diversity an optimum floor plan organization was to be found in the polycentrically ordered 19th century "Gründerzeit" apartments in Vienna. By means of a distribution room in the entrance and an internal connection between living and working, they offer the occupant the option of using the rooms separately as well as in combination. A further variation of these "wall-to-wall solution" was also observed without an internal connection in the form of a second life-island within the same house or the same neighbourhood. The decisive factor that ensures the possibility of choice is a spatial division with concurrent accessibility. In this context, 56% of the persons questioned have an additional separate life-island in the form of a studio work space, their own studio or a further apartment of their own or their partner's to choose from. In these additional life-islands there is a similarly high measure of interconnection of working and living, private and public as in their primary living spaces. The persons studied use the spaces at their disposal individually as the need arises. Diversity is of significance not only within the life-island itself or between the various life-islands, but also in relation to the living environment. Due to island formation there is an increased importance of the supporting infrastructure and social contacts within the environment of the live-island for the creative class. The vital task facing the architect and urban designer in terms of multi-code diversity therefore is this: to create a diversity of places and spaces within the life-island and its adjoining environment which provide and facilitate individual opportunities for the occupant to overcome traditional boundaries as well as to define boundaries of his own.

In the first edition of the Handbook, published in 1994, we as editors ventured the judgment that, in the previous 15 years, economic sociology had enjoyed a remarkable renaissance, following on a season of relative quiescence. This led us to believe that the time was ripe for a consolidating publication that told about the past, assessed the present, and looked toward the future. The decade following that volume's appearance seemed to validate those assessments, if the amount of critical attention given, sizable and sustained sales, and course adoptions are taken as measures. If anything, the book's fortunes surpassed our expectations. Furthermore, the momentum of economic sociology as an enterprise has accelerated in the meantime. The quality and quantity of research have remained high; new and young talent continues to flow into the field; sociology departments in half a dozen or more leading research universities have established centers of excellence in economic sociology; courses in economic sociology have become standard fare in the curricula of most colleges and universities; and a section on economic sociology has formed and now thrives in the American Sociological Association. All these circumstances have convinced us that a second, fully updated edition of the Handbook is needed, and we are more confident of this judgment than we were the first time around. While the first edition still contains much of value to scholars and students, the knowledge it contains has in some cases been superseded by advances in the meantime. To take these into account—and also to accelerate the development of economic sociology— we had to undertake a wholesale revamping of the first edition. Fully two-thirds of the chapters in this second edition are either new or have authors different from those in the first. Despite this transformation, we found that the general intellectual architecture of the first edition remained a good organizing framework for the second. Thus, part I (chapters 1–6) is a series of general considerations of the field from a variety of different perspectives; part II (chapters 7–21), which we call the economic core, deals with economic systems, economic institutions, and economic behavior behavior. Part III (chapters 22–30) concerns a number of intersections among the economy and various noneconomic sectors of the society. Within this general frame the reader will find the following substantial thematic changes: • Two chapters on international and global concerns (contrasted with the single chapter in the first edition), with international aspects covered in other chapters as well • A chapter on behavioral economics, which continues as a vibrant subfield of economics • A chapter by Pierre Bourdieu on economic anthropology; Bourdieu had agreed to write such a chapter but his untimely death in 2002 prevented this; still wishing to have him represented, we are printing the English translation of "Principes d'une anthropologie économique," which is published on pp. 233–70 in Les structures sociales de l'économie (Paris: Seuil, 2000) • A chapter on new lines of institutional analysis in economics and sociology • A chapter on the transitions from socialist economies (replacing the earlier chapter on socialist economies themselves) • A chapter on labor markets and trade unions • A chapter on the sociology of work and the professions • A chapter on culture and consumption • A chapter on the sociology of money and credit • A chapter on law and the economy • A chapter on technology and the economy • A chapter on emotions and the economy We regard these changes as reflecting recent shifts in emphasis and active lines of research in economic sociology. We now provide a brief supplement to the table of contents, intended as a guide to readers wishing to delve selectively into the volume according to their specific interests. For those interested in learning about the scope of sociology we recommend chapter 1 ("Introducing Economic Sociology"). The remainder of part I contains chapters on comparative and historical treatments of economy and society in chapter 2 ("Comparative and Historical Approaches to Economic Sociology," by Frank Dobbin), recent developments in institutional analysis of the economy in chapter 3 ("The New Institutionalisms in Economics and Sociology" by Victor Nee), Pierre Bourdieu's critical anthropological formulations in chapter 4 ("Principles of an Economic Anthropology"), developments in behavioral economics, which has made its main business the modification of the psychological assumptions of neoclassical economics and tracing the implications of these modifications (chapter 5, "Behavioral Economics," by Roberto Weber and Robyn Dawes), and an assessment of the scattered literature on the role that emotions play in economic life (chapter 6, "Emotions and the Economy," by Mabel Berezin). The first section of part II takes a look at sociological aspects of economies at the macroscopic— including the global—level. We introduce the section with the chapter by Ian Morris and J. G. Manning on the economic sociology of the classical civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and Rome (chapter 7, "The Economic Sociology of the Ancient Mediterranean World"). Next comes a general chapter on the international economy (chapter 8, "The Global Economy: Organization Governance, and Development," by Gary Gereffi), and one on its governance (chapter 9, "The Political and Economic Sociology of International Economic Arrangements," by Neil Fligstein). Finally, Lawrence King and Iván Szelényi develop a distinctive perspective on the varieties of transition from socialist to post-socialist economies (chapter 10, "Post-Communist Economic Systems"). The second section of part II—"The Sociology of Economic Institutions and Economic Behavior"— reaches to the heart of economic activity itself. The section begins with three chapters on markets, the core economic institutions. Richard Swedberg (chapter 11, "Markets in Society") treats the subject from a sociological and historical point of view. Wolfgang Streeck (chapter 12, "The Sociology of Labor Markets and Trade Unions") concentrates on the market for labor services, and Linda Brewster Stearns and Mark Mizruchi (chapter 13, "Banking and Financial Markets") deal with a range of markets that have only recently commanded significant sociological attention. The sociology of the production side of the economic process is the topic of Andrew Abbott's contribution (chapter 14, "Sociology of Work and Occupations"). Viviana Zelizer explores the diversity of ways in which cultural factors infuse consumption (chapter 15, "Culture and Consumption"), and Bruce Carruthers synthesizes past and present literature on the social aspects of money and credit (chapter 16, "The Sociology of Money and Credit"). Two additional chapters deal with the less formal aspects of economic life. The important work on networks in the economy is covered in chapter 17 ("Networks and Economic Life," by Laurel Smith-Doerr and Walter Powell); and the complex and seemingly contradictory nature of the informal economy is analyzed in chapter 18 ("The Informal Economy," by Alejandro Portes and William Haller). The third secion of part II—"The Sociology of Firms, Organizations, and Industry"—draws mainly from organization theory and general economic sociology. Mark Granovetter updates and reassesses the character of business groups in a comparative context (chapter 19, "Business Groups and Social Organization"). Howard Aldrich examines the nature of entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurs in chapter 20 ("Entrepreneurship"), and Gerald Davis examines a number of environments of business firms—especially other business firms—in chapter 21 ("Firms and Environments"). Part III—"Intersections of the Economy"— deals with the mutual penetration of economic activity and many "noneconomic" sectors of society. Three chapters address the most important aspects of the economy and the polity. The first is on the state in general (chapter 22, "The State and the Economy," by Fred Block and Peter Evans). Lauren Edelman and Robin Stryker focus on law as a special aspect of state activity (chapter 23, "A Sociological Approach to Law and the Economy"), while Evelyne Huber and John Stephens assess recent developments in the welfare state and a number of assessments of those developments (chapter 24, "Welfare States and the Economy"). Two additional chapters deal with economic intersections with the institutions of education (chapter 25, "Education and the Economy," by Mary Brinton) and religion (chapter 26, "New Directions in the Study of Religion and Economic Life," by Robert Wuthnow). Chapters 27 ("Gender and Economic Sociology," by Paula England and Nancy Folbre) and 28 ("The Ethnic Economy," by Ivan Light) deal with the embeddedness of the socially constructed dimensions of gender and ethnicity in economic life. The volume is rounded out by a chapter on technology (chapter 29, "Technology and the Economy," by Giovanni Dosi, Luigi Orsenigo, and Mauro Sylos Labini), and one on economic- environmental relations (chapter 30, "The Economy and the Environment," by Allan Schnaiviii berg). Both these final topics have significant international aspects. We conclude with the hope that the stocktaking of economic sociology contained in this Handbook, as well as its attempts to drive the field forward by selecting a few new important areas, will be successful. Economic sociology, we are convinced, currently represents one of the leading edges of sociology, as well as one of its most important interdisciplinary adventures.

[spa] Los lenguajes de especialidad han sido tratados, en los últimos años, desde un punto de vista filológico. No obstante, su análisis se ha planteado principalmente desde disciplinas terminológicas, con el objetivo de delimitar y unificar en el presente el corpus léxico de una rama especifica del saber. En algunas otras ocasiones, su estudio se ha centrado en su posible caracterización teórica, en relación con el lenguaje común o con otros lenguajes. Ambas perspectivas, entendidas como intentos por delimitar cuantitativa y cualitativamente determinadas parcelas del léxico, no han incidido en demasía en dos aspectos fundamentales. En primer lugar, en el trazado de un itinerario histórico-lingüístico de la adopción y desarrollo de un grupo de términos comunes a una ciencia, a una técnica o a una profesión, con los textos en la mano; en segundo lugar, en la necesidad de establecer las relaciones que existen entre lengua, cultura y sociedad en los momentos de aparición y evolución de un lenguaje de especialidad. Por tanto, esta vertiente une el lenguaje con la historia de las ciencias y de las técnicas, sin restringir en ningún momento la explicación de los hechos lingüísticos al ámbito filológico. Este es el objetivo de la presente tesis doctoral: analizar y exponer exhaustivamente el proceso de introducción y desarrollo del léxico del ferrocarril en el español, teniendo en cuenta los documentos originales, la historia de los términos y el transcurrir paralelo de los mismos respecto a la evolución técnico-científica de nuestro país en materia ferroviaria. En cuanto a la estructura del estudio, éste se organiza en tres grandes apartados. El primero, tras una breve presentación, incluye los capitulas dos, tres y cuatro, que suponen una introducción alterna en distintos estadios. El capitulo dos se desdobla en una sucinta exposición de los antecedentes españoles en el tratamiento de los lenguajes de especialidad y en una serie de reflexiones teóricas de carácter metodológico sobre los mismos. En especial, en torno a la dificultad que existe, desde un punto de vista semántico, para establecer criterios que expliquen los procesos significativos y de cambio de sentido, o la organización del léxico por campos. Centrado ya en el léxico ferroviario, el capitulo tres ofrece, por una parte, un repaso de los estudios anteriores dedicados a este campo. En concreto, se dan referencias de las escasas aportaciones producidas en relación con la lengua española, así como de los estudios publicados durante el siglo XX sobre el léxico del ferrocarril en el inglés, el alemán y el francés. Por otra parte, se ubica la terminología ferroviaria española en la historia de los orígenes del nuevo medio de transporte en España. El capítulo cuatro es un extenso análisis de las fuentes consultadas para la documentación de los términos a partir de 1829, techa de los primeros testimonios escritos relativos al ferrocarril. Las obras corresponden a seis ámbitos diferenciados: 1) tratados y manuales técnicos, que en los primeros momentos correspondieron a traducciones de textos franceses; 2) documentación técnico-administrativa, en forma de prospectos, proyectos, memorias, instrucciones y manuales de divulgación; 3) obras legislativas, estatutos y reglamentos (con diferencia el tipo de fuente menos productivo); 4) prensa especializada, tanto específicamente ferroviaria como técnica en general; 5) textos literarios, de gran interés por lo que respecta a las primeras décadas; y 6) obras lexicográficas. El segundo gran apartado de la tesis corresponde a los capitulas cinco y seis, cuerpo fundamental del estudio. En el capitulo cinco, la introducción y el desarrollo del léxico del ferrocarril en la lengua española han sido analizados a través de siete periodos que van desde 1829 hasta 1910. Se ha intentado que los criterios seguidos para la delimitación de cada periodo se vean reflejados en su encabezamiento. De este modo, el itinerario se inicia con el titulo "Los primeros términos (1829-1835)" al que, tras un silencio en consonancia con la propia historia de España, siguen los siguientes cortes: "Testimonios literarios (1840-1842)", "Un nuevo arranque (1844-1846)" -coincidente con los proyectos que dieron lugar a los primeros kilómetros españoles de vía férrea-, "Primeras Incorporaciones lexicográficas (1846-1850)", "La consolidación del léxico ferroviario (1851-1862)", "La lexicografía ferroviaria (1863-1887)" y, finalmente, "El cambio de siglo (1888-1910)." El seguimiento del léxico del ferrocarril en todos los periodos se ha basado en una estructura de árbol de campo, que incluye los siguientes subcampos: Denominación del medio, Material fijo, Material móvil, Dependencias y construcciones, Personal, Circulación y servicios, y Señalización y seguridad. A su vez, el Material fijo, el Material móvil y las Dependencias y construcciones se han subdivido en diversos subcampos, con el fin de acercar la realidad del ferrocarril a un tipo de estructura cognitiva. El diseño ha facilitado el plan de vaciado de las fuentes y el establecimiento de relaciones internas entre los términos. Además, como puede observarse en el índice, esta organización posibilita una lectura distinta de la lineal. Se trata de una lectura transversal que permite el seguimiento de cada subcampo con una solución de continuidad entre los distintos periodos cronológicos. De este modo, por ejemplo, el subcampo correspondiente a "Dependencias y construcciones" puede hallarse en cada periodo bajo el subapartado cuatro. El seguimiento de todos los subapartados que figuran bajo esta numeración en !os sucesivos cortes adquiere una unidad propia en torno al subcampo y no obliga al lector a pasar por el resto de subcampos. En el capitulo seis, dos apéndices completan el estudio: el aludido anteriormente en relación a la "Evolución del léxico ferroviario español (Siglo XX"), donde a la misma estructura nocional ya comentada se unen unas paginas dedicadas a las siglas, y un segundo apéndice dedicado al léxico ferroviario hispanoamericano. Sobre la estructura de la tesis, resta aludir a un tercer apartado que concluye el estudio y que está formado por los capítulos siete, ocho y nueve. A ellos corresponden, respectivamente, las conclusiones, un índice de términos citados y las referencias bibliográficas utilizadas, bien como fuentes, bien como obras de consulta. Estos capítulos ofrecen una información de gran utilidad, añadida a la que, por supuesto, puede derivarse del uso de todo el texto en general. Hay que insistir en el valor que el índice de términos tiene en el conjunto de la tesis, ya que su disposición permite seguir los pasos de cada voz a lo largo de la obra y, por tanto, determinar su evolución en el tiempo de forma documentada. Además, la lematización del índice hace que, en los casos de estructuras complejas, cada uno de los lemas que las forman posea una entrada propia. Con ello se ha pretendido facilitar las remisiones internas y dar un rigor filológico a su contenido. El índice conviene así el trabajo en una especie de diccionario histórico del léxico ferroviario. ; [eng] The languages of specific themes have been treated, in the last years, from a philological point of view. Nevertheless, their analysis has been expounded mainly from terminological disciplines with the objective of defining and unify the corpus lexical of a specific branch of the knowledge presently. In some other occasions, Their study has been centred in their possible theoretical characterization, in connection with the common language or with other languages. Both perspectives there aren't fall into two fundamental looks. In first place, in the tracing of a historical-linguistic itinerary of the adoption of a group of common terms to a science, to a technique or to a profession, with the texts in the hand; in second place, in the necessity of establishing the relationships that exist between language, culture and society in the moments of apparition and evolution of a language of specialty. This is the objective of this doctoral thesis: analyzing the process of introduction and development from the lexicon of the railroad in the Spanish language, keeping in mind the original documents, the history of the terms and their lapse parallel to the technician-scientific Spanish evolution in rail matter. As for the structure of the study, this is organized in three big sections. The first supposes an introduction to the topic with metodological character. In the second section, the apparition of the lexicon of the railroad in the Spanish language has been analyzed through seven periods that go from 1829 up to 1910, with two appendixes corresponding to the XX century and to the Hispanic-American railway lexicon. The pursuit in all the periods has based an opinion on a lexical structure of tree of field. The third section pertains to the conclusions, an index of cited terms and the bibliographical references. The index of terms turns into the work in a kind of a historical dictionary of the railway lexicon.

In many ways, Tomas Venclova's life mirrors the history of Lithuania during the last half century. Translator, poet and essayist, Venclova was born in 1937 in the Lithuanian seaport of Klaipeda. His father, Antanas Venclova, belonged to the radical Lithuanian literary circle, The Third Front, in the early 1930s. During the first Soviet occupation of the country, from 1940 to 1941, Antanas Venclova was appointed Minister of Education of the new Soviet Lithuanian government. After the war he remained a member of the Central Committee of the Lithuanian Communist Party, and a writer, says his son, 'of a strict Soviet persuasion' who 'belonged to the Soviet élite'. Tomas Venclova was also a member of this élite. In the first years after Stalin's death he attended the University of Vilnius, lived in Moscow and Leningrad, and formed much closer ties to Russian culture than most Lithuanians. At the University, he occasionally taught courses on Western literature, published a book on his own poetry, The Sign of Language (1972), two books of essays The Rockets, the Planets, and Us (1962) and Golem, or the Artificial Man (1965), and wrote articles for the literary press. His chief interest, however, was translation. Fluent in four languages — Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, and English — and with a working knowledge of French, Spanish, Italian, Czech, and Ukrainian, Venclova introduced the Lithuanian reading public to many modern and classic works of world literature. He translated poems by W. H. Auden (In Memory of Yeats and September 1, 1939), T. S. Eliot (The Waste Land), short stories by Jorge Luis Borges, plays by Shakespeare, Harold Pinter, Eugene O'Neill, Garcia Lorca, excerpts from the works of James Joyce, Cavafy, and others. In this he harked back to the tradition of the radical Third Front his father had belonged to during Lithuania's years of independence. This group tried to introduce writers and poets such as Walt Whitman, Carl Sandburg, John Dos Passos, Alfred Doeblin, and Vladimir Mayakovsky to their fellow-countrymen. The younger Venclova also found something in common with other goals espoused by the Third Front. They wanted, he said, 'to air out literature, to bring Lithuanian letters out of provincialism, to bring it to maturity and to modernise it…'. Often this was done 'through humour — frequently angry and strident, but nevertheless humour — which in Lithuania is a rather rare thing; it was always much more fashionable with us to strike a suffering and tragic pose'. Yet the literary activity that had propelled Antanas Venclova into becoming part of the new Soviet establishment served to alienate Tomas Venclova from it. His own efforts to 'air out literature' during the post-war Soviet years led to increasing frustrations and obstacles. He recalls: 'Once I translated four of Borges' short stories, and brought them to the editorial offices of a magazine. The first thing the editor asked me was, "Is this Borges an enemy of the Soviet system?" I answered that I didn't think Borges was so much against the Soviet system as he was against the solar system. The editor got a little nervous and said, "I'll check to see if he might be on the blacklist." I asked him, "Maybe you could show me this blacklist, so that I would know once and for all, who can be translated and who cannot." The editor replied, "I don't have it, and myself am not quite sure where it is." And in some vague way he checked to see if Borges was on it. In the end they published two of the four stories.' Tomas Venclova's increasing confrontation with the censor spelled his eventual expulsion from the élite. He was pushed out of it, he says, 'in part through my own efforts, in part through the efforts of others. There is great competition to win a spot among the élite and people set up obstacles for one another'. Of the difficulties this caused with his father, Venclova says, 'We argued with one another, but our relationship stayed intact. It was simply that he belonged to one party and I to another. That often happens and people still find something in common to talk about. We tried to do the same.' Venclova's future in Lithuanian life did not remain intact. In the early 1970s he applied for membership in the Writers' Union as a translator and his application was turned down. He, it seems, did not meet the criteria of the first paragraph of the Union's by-laws, which stipulate that through his work, a writer must contribute to building Communist society. In addition, Venclova turned more and more to dissident and human rights activities, joining the Lithuanian Helsinki Agreements Monitoring Group in 1976. He began applying for permission to emigrate. Several writers in the West — including Arthur Miller, who wrote a letter on his behalf to the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Lithuanian Communist Party — gave him their support. Eventually, Czeslaw Milosz arranged a special lectureship at the University of Columbia, and Venclova was permitted to take the post in early 1977. Soon after he left the USSR, his citizenship was revoked by a unanimous vote of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. In the West, Venclova has continued to publicise both the restrictions on literary expression and violations of human rights in the Soviet Union. He still writes, he says, mainly for readers in Lithuania. It is the thought that his translations, poems, and essays will reach them that underpins his work. While still in Lithuania, one of his principal aims as a translator was to 'broaden people's cultural horizons and bring them closer to world culture'. This purpose has not changed. His fourth book to be published in the West — which will appear later in 1984 — Texts on Texts, is an example. It is a collection of essays on literature and literary figures from various cultures, written by Venclova in several languages, which he himself translated into Lithuanian. (Venclova's books, whether published in the USSR or the West, have appeared only in Lithuanian.) The three other books he has published in the West consist of two collections of poetry — 98 Poems (1977) by himself, and Voices (1979) poems by others that he translated into Lithuanian — and a collection of essays, Lithuania in the World (1981). Covering a broad spectrum of cultural and political topics, this book sold out almost immediately, reflecting the central role Venclova plays in Lithuanian cultural life today. Historian Romas Misiúnas says of Venclova, 'He is one of a handful of Lithuanians who are discussed as much in Lithuania as in the émigré (post-World War Two) community, and who have left their footprints in both surroundings.' Venclova has made an impact outside this boundary as well. As Misiúnas writes on Lithuania in the World, ' (Venclova) concerns himself first with the common problems of humanity. But his analysis of them is from a Lithuanian and Eastern European intellectual standpoint…' The very broad forum where Venclova's work has appeared reflects this. His poems have been translated into English, Polish, and Russian. His essays have appeared in Polish and Russian literary journals, as well as English-language publications such as Encounter and the New York Review of Books. As a member of PEN Writers in Exile, he has travelled extensively in the past seven years. In all, Venclova has visited over thirty countries. He attributes this to a passion for globetrotting: 'When the Bolsheviks took history away from us, well, somehow we lived with that. But when they took away geography — that was too much!' Currently, Tomas Venclova teaches Russian literature at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He has no regrets about having emigrated, but his focus never veers far from Lithuania and the Soviet Union. His experience reflects what many who have emigrated from that part of the world in the past fifteen years have gone through. As he explains: 'For about three years after I arrived in the West, I occasionally dreamt the following dream. I dreamt that I had returned to Vilnius, and sat together with my friends in the Neringa cafe, drinking coffee and cognac (this, in the Neringa cafe, is unavoidable). I talked to them, just as I talk here. Yet no one arrested me, no one hauled me into the secret police. I walked freely through my beloved city of Vilnius. I saw St Ann's Church, the cathedral, and everything was infinitely pleasant. Suddenly, through my dream, I remembered — my dear God, I don't have my American passport anymore, I can't leave! I bolted screaming from my sleep, turned on the light, and with relief, realised that I was in New Haven… This dream… hounded me a long time… We will all return, but the situation is such that most of us will return only through our works….'

In 1928, Utah Construction Company completed its first project outside of the United States with the 110 mile railroad for Southern Pacific of Mexico. Over the next 30 years, UCC continued to work on projects in Mexico including dams, roads, mining, and canals. The collection contains several booklets and correspondence along with approximately 500 photographs. ; 8.5 x 11 in. paper ; Mexico 20 December 1972 E. C. DeMoss cc A. M. Wilson (2) Hugh Douglas Weston Bourret RECENT ECONOMIC TRENDS - MEXICO According to the Financial Times reports and speeches of informed officials, Mexico is presently witnessing a disturbing trend with respect to major mining investments. A few items bearing on this subject: 1. According to U. S. Ambassador Robert McBride, the trend of foreign investment policy is not all rosey and an upsurge in economic nationalism has provoked fears among mining investors. Mr. William Spencer, President of The First National City Bank of New York said last month ""Foreign investors are worried about the growing tendency of the Echeverria policies."" 2. The policy of Mexico, which began to gather force in the 1960s and has now been given new impetus by the Echeverria Administration, has improved the picture for the Mexico City Stock Exchange. The reason of course being that many foreign companies have suddenly found themselves obliged to sell up to 60 percent of equity to Mexican nationals. Invariably, they turn to the Mexican Stock Exchange to do so and naturally the effect is depressing on price of shares and P. E. multiple. 3. The Minister of National Patrimony, Sr. Florez de la Pena, in a recent blast told Congress ""Foreign investors who want to come to Mexico can come as partners, but we cannot allow them to convert Mexico into a land of maids and waiters."" 4. Of the three big mining companies, namely, Asarco Mexicana, Minera Frisco and Industrias Penoles, all suffered a sharp fall in profits in 1971 - partly of course due to lower metal prices. Minera Frisco profits declined by more than 50 percent compared to 1971. 5. In the past two years the government has bought out several important foreign companies. Simultaneously, the government has established new and stricter rules for foreign investors. Presently a bill is in Congress to control the importation of technology; and a second bill is now being drafted to cover the whole field of foreign investment including mining. Apparently, President Echeverria feels comfortable enough in his third year of power to challenge the private sector and his so called ""smothering"" influence of the United States. 6. The Latin American Review for November 10, 1972 carried the attabbed editorial on Mexico entitled ""Mexico: rules of the game."" After reading this editorial it appears that our Ambassador McBride is on the ball in inquiring as to what extent the rules of the game have really been changed. It is my thought that we continue to monitor developments related to Asarco Mexicana's LaCaridad copper mine and smelter. Rumors are that this proposition is not bankable in its present form as presented to the Consortium of Banks. We shall attempt to closely follow this situation as a ""bellweather"" of the government's attitude toward major mining investments. In the meantime, I suggest we talk to our U. S. Ambassador; the President of Asarco Mexicana, one or two bankers and the Minister of Finance, Sr. Pena before making any dollar committment on the acquisition of a mining concession in Mexico. Weston Bourret Attachment tenure. In Ecuador, 45 per cent of agricultural land is owned by 0.4 percent of the rural population, and 81.7 per cent o the farms are less than 5 hectares in area. The government's promise to respect 'productive' private land holdings probably means few or no expropriations of farms owned by rich Ecuadoreans. Mexico: rules of the game The government is beginning to change the rules of foreign investment without actually re-writing them. The first change concerns foreign know-how. By sending a bill to congress last week regulating the import of foreign technology, President Luis Echeverra took the first overt step towards estab-lishing stricter control over the use of foreign capital. The question of foreign know-how is by no means the major issue in Mexican minds over how to deal with investment from abroad, but it has been a painful thorn in their flesh for some time. Their complaint is that many foreign com-panies have charged their Mexican clients, asso-ciates or subsidiaries 'outrageous' sums for royalties, licences, patents, trade marks and tech-nical know-how generally. This technology is often outdated, or not needed, or excessively expensive, or unsuited to Mexican conditions. As regards subsidiaries of foreign companies, many are alleged to have preferred to pay for some indeter-minate know-how to their parent concern and deduct 23 per cent from the payment as federal tax, rather than retain the money in Mexico and pay a larger proportion out as corporation tax, compulsory profit sharing and so on. An added refinement, the indictment goes on, is that some subsidiaries pay for know-how to 'ghost' com-panies in Lichtenstein or Panama, so enabling the parent concerns to evade tax at home. All this is now to be stopped. Under the new bill, which is virtually certain to be approved in roughly its present form, any contract with a foreign firm which involves a Mexican company paying for any form of know-how or technological rights, must be registered with the ministry of trade and industry. If registration were refused, it would invalidate the agreement. This would give the government the same kind of wide discretionary powers to regulate the import of foreign tech-nology, as it already has in respect of goods and capital. Many foreign businessmen have for years complained that the existence of these powers, and the way they are exercized, leave them uncertain about what rules of the game really are. But this 358 is just what suits the Mexicans, who are nothing if not flex in the practice of government. For this reason the rules are unlikely to be re-written, even though they are to be applied more strictly. The signs of this have been legion of late. Even Echeverra himself has inveighed against the ten-dency of some foreign investors to buy up cheaply Mexican firms in difficulties, instead of investing to create new businesses and jobs. The driving force behind the campaign against the kind of investment the government does not want has come from Jos Campillo Sainz, deputy minister for trade and industry, who appears to have got his ideas accepted by the President. Indeed some reports have suggested that Campillo Sainz, who became disillusioned about the 'outrageous' pay-ments for know-how to United States firms when he was legal advisor to the private steel concern Fundidora of Monterrey, may replace the minister, Carlos Torres Manzo, in the foreseeable future. It was in fact Campillo Sainz who last month unleashed a somewhat acid exchange with the United States ambassador, Robert McBride, over the treatment of foreign investors. After the deputy minister had spoken on the subject to the Mexican-United States businessmen's committee, setting out the government's official view, the ambassador asked if the rules of the game had in effect been changed, and was told they had. McBride then complained that United States investors did not know for certain whether they were wanted or not, and found it very difficult to operate when the rules of the game were liable to be changed during play. These remarks caused a veritable deluge of protest from the Mexican press, and even the foreign minister, Emilio Rabasa, commented drily that the United States itself had changed the rules of the game by imposing a 10 per cent import surcharge during the dollar crisis last year, without warning to any of the players 1 Rabasa pointed out that all countries change the rules when they feel their vital interests to be affected. The fact remains that Mexico still wants foreign investment, and foreign know-how. But from now on it will be much more difficult for foreign investors, either new or long-established, to get away with bending the rules to the advantage of their profits. High profits will still be held out as an inducement, but only in areas where the Mexicans really want the investment to go. And in fact many of those 'old hands' who did bend the rules are probably resigned to seeing an end to the excellent run they have had for their money. This time there is unlikely to be any sudden panic withdrawal or withholding of private investment that occurred 12 years ago when the late President Adolfo Lpez Mateos announced that his government was 'extreme left within the constitution'. LATIN AMERICA, 10 November 1972

This paper reviews the Republic of Korea's experience with electronic tax invoices for its value-added tax regime from the perspectives of tax policy makers and administrators. The paper evaluates Korea's implementation of electronic tax invoicing and analyzes its effect on tax compliance through enhanced transparency of business transactions and taxpayer services. First implemented in 2011, mandatory electronic tax invoicing has been credited with lowering tax compliance costs and raising the transparency of business transactions. Effective policy design and implementation have contributed to the country's success with electronic tax invoicing. Measured in transaction value, the electronic tax invoice adoption rate reached 99.8 percent in the first year and rose to 99.9 percent by 2013, compared with 15 percent before electronic tax invoicing became mandatory. According to a survey of taxpayers and tax practitioners in Korea that was conducted as part of this research study, 69.4 percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that mandatory electronic tax invoicing has contributed to curbing value-added tax evasion by raising transaction transparency, and 72.9 percent agreed or strongly agreed that it has improved taxpayer service by facilitating the convenience of tax filing or automating the issuance of invoices. The review of Korea's experiences gives credence to the contention that well-planned and well-executed compulsory electronic tax invoices can materially enhance tax compliance through significant institutional and perceptual changes in tax administration.

This assessment of the current state of the implementation of the Basel core principles (BCP) for effective banking supervision in Bulgaria has been completed as a stand-alone report on the observance of standards and codes undertaken by the international monetary fund (IMF) and the World Bank during March of 2015 at the request of the Bulgarian authorities. It reflects the regulatory and supervisory framework in place as of the date of the completion of the assessment. The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has an internal governance structure which, by vesting the majority of the powers of supervision in the Deputy Governor for banking supervision, exposes the supervisory function to risks. Under the BNB's legal structure, supervision and enforcement is dissociated from the Governing Council, and the Governing Council has no right to compel transparency of decision making or to impose a framework to ensure consistency in the use of the enforcement regime. There are material concerns that the BNB is too resource constrained to deliver effective minimum levels of supervision. Despite a broad range of supervisory powers, there are some gaps in the legal framework that unduly restrict the BNB's locus. The BNB has a good understanding of risk and many strong practices, and also making good use of international standards and guidelines, but there are some important system wide vulnerabilities. The assessment team reviewed the framework of laws, rules, and guidance and held extensive meetings with officials of the BNB, and additional meetings with the Finance Ministry, auditing firms, professional bodies, and banking sector participants. The authorities provided a comprehensive self-assessment of the CPs, as well as detailed responses to additional questionnaires, and facilitated access to supervisory documents and files on a confidential basis as well as staff and systems.

Pakistan is vulnerable to a number of adverse natural events and has experienced a wide range of disasters over the past 40 years, including floods, earthquakes, droughts, cyclones, and tsunamis. The World Bank is supporting the Government of Pakistan (GoP) in building capacity in the area of disaster risk management (DRM) in order to build resilience from both humanitarian and fiscal shocks associated with natural disasters. The World Bank is providing technical assistance to the GoP for the development of a national disaster risk financing strategy. This non-lending technical assistance aims to: (i) assess the fiscal exposure of the GoP to natural disasters; (ii) present options for the development of a national strategy to improve financial response capacity for natural disasters; and (iii) promote property catastrophe risk insurance for both public and private dwellings. Disaster risk financing and insurance (DRFI) is one of the five pillars in the proactive and strategic framework for DRM promoted by the World Bank. The World Bank has been promoting a proactive and strategic framework for DRM based on five pillars: (i) risk identification; (ii) risk reduction; (iii) preparedness; (iv) financial protection; and (v) resilient recovery. Chapter one is introduction. Chapter two presents an overview of the budget processes for the financing of natural disaster losses during each of the three post-disaster phases. Chapter three provides a preliminary financial disaster risk assessment for Pakistan, focusing particularly on the fiscal impact of natural disasters. Chapter four presents an overview of the private catastrophe insurance market; and chapter five reviews the options for future financing of natural disaster recovery and reconstruction expenditures.

This assessment of the current state of the implementation of the Basel core principles (BCP) for effective banking supervision in Bulgaria has been completed as a stand-alone report on the observance of standards and codes undertaken by the international monetary fund (IMF) and the World Bank during March of 2015 at the request of the Bulgarian authorities. It reflects the regulatory and supervisory framework in place as of the date of the completion of the assessment. The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has an internal governance structure which, by vesting the majority of the powers of supervision in the Deputy Governor for banking supervision, exposes the supervisory function to risks. Under the BNB's legal structure, supervision and enforcement is dissociated from the Governing Council, and the Governing Council has no right to compel transparency of decision making or to impose a framework to ensure consistency in the use of the enforcement regime. There are material concerns that the BNB is too resource constrained to deliver effective minimum levels of supervision. Despite a broad range of supervisory powers, there are some gaps in the legal framework that unduly restrict the BNB's locus. The BNB has a good understanding of risk and many strong practices, and also making good use of international standards and guidelines, but there are some important system wide vulnerabilities. The assessment team reviewed the framework of laws, rules, and guidance and held extensive meetings with officials of the BNB, and additional meetings with the Finance Ministry, auditing firms, professional bodies, and banking sector participants. The authorities provided a comprehensive self-assessment of the CPs, as well as detailed responses to additional questionnaires, and facilitated access to supervisory documents and files on a confidential basis as well as staff and systems.

This assessment of Moldova current state of compliance with the Basel core principles for effective banking supervision (BCPs) was undertaken as part of a joint International Monetary Fund (IMF) - World Bank mission in connection with a broader financial sector assessment program exercise. This version of the assessment has a greater focus on risk management policies and practices implemented by supervised institutions and their assessment by the supervisory authority as well as more emphasis on quality implementation of supervisory standards. The assessment has been conducted in accordance with the revised BCP assessment methodology approved by the Basel committee and was based on extensive discussions with officers and staff members of the Banking Supervision Department in National Bank of Moldova (NBM), and a review of internal supervisory documents, such as manuals, operating policies, examination reports, and external audit reports. The mission reviewed the BCP self-assessment undertaken by NBM preceding this assessment, and detailed responses to a questionnaire addressing supervisory issues. The assessment should provide the Moldovan authorities with an internationally consistent measure of quality of their banking supervision relative to the 2012 revision of the core principles, which are internationally recognized as minimum standards.

Increasing energy demands and concerns about global warming call for an increase in energy generation from renewable sources. Small hydropower plants represent a significant contribution to meet this demand. But the optimal use of this resource in a sustainable manner still remains a challenge. A cascade of small dams may have detrimental impacts on the environment and water use without implementation of proper mitigation measures and planning. To obtain more insight in the consequences of hydropower cascades and possibilities to improve the cascade planning process in order to reduce such impacts, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the World Bank jointly initiated the study on cumulative impacts and joint operation of small-scale hydropower cascades Supported by the Renewable Energy Development Program (REDP) in Vietnam. Chapter two provides a brief background on the small-scale hydropower development in Vietnam including its current planning procedures, while Chapter three provides a description of the six studied river basins. Chapter four describes the approach, methods and definitions of the study. During the first phase of the study all six rivers were screened for potential significant cumulative impacts. The results of this screening were presented in a separate report, of which the summary is given in chapter five. This screening showed that for four of the rivers significant cumulative impacts can be expected, which merited further detailed analysis. These four rivers are Ngoi Xan, Nam Tha, Nam Chien and Sap. For each of the four detailed study cases a description of the river basin and hydropower cascade has been made, the hydrological and environmental impacts were assessed and opportunities for joint operations quantified. This report presents summaries of the cumulative impact analyses (chapter six) and draws general conclusions with respect to present and future environmental conditions (chapter seven). It also summarizes the results of the optimization modeling for each cascade (chapter eight) and provides recommendations for future planning and cascade operation (chapter nine).

Investments in education, health and social protection are the key to improving the state of human development in any society. In recent years, Nepal too has invested heavily in these sectors, particularly in education and health. This note provides an overview of the progress and current state of access and equity in these three sectors. It also presents evidence on some aspects of quality in the education and social protection sectors. While the country has made substantial improvements in different indicators of access at the aggregate level, disaggregated data show that disparities in access continue to exist across demographic and geographical dimensions. There is some evidence of improvement in the quality of educational inputs over the years, but the quality of outcomes remains poor.

The Mongolian economy is experiencing rapid growth in 2011 the second quarter saw the economy growing at a whopping 17.3 percent year on year, compared to 9.9 percent in the first quarter. Transportation and construction grew at 39.9 percent and 38.4 percent, respectively, while retail and wholesale trade grew at 24.7 percent, with Mongolians spending more on consumption as a result of higher incomes. The mining and manufacturing sectors recorded respectable growth rates of 8.3 and 12.9 percent yoy in the second quarter, respectively. Reflecting the higher growth, unemployment declined from 13 percent in December 2010 to 8.7 percent in June. Informal labor markets for unskilled workers are also booming, with real wages nearly doubling between December 2010 and June 2011. Mongolia's economic outlook depends heavily on global macroeconomic factors: the current uncertainty and poor growth prospects for the global economy are cause for concern. If there is another global recession, Mongolia's small, open economy will be affected. In that case, China's policy reaction will be crucial for Mongolia.

Over the last decade, Kenya's society and economy have changed fundamentally and these deep trends will continue. Rapid population growth and urbanization will create many new challenges which need to be managed well to support Kenya's economic take-off in the medium-term. This fourth edition of the Kenya economic update argues that Kenya can turn the tide in turbulent times and make the most of the ongoing structural shifts. In 2011, Kenya will need to address short-term domestic and international shocks, including higher inflation, pressures on the exchange rate and, most importantly, a volatile political environment. The government will need to navigate through these shocks successfully and to continue with its economic reform program to achieve higher growth. At the same time, the government will be making major strategic decisions in Kenya's decentralization architecture which will shape the medium-term development prospects of the country. Economic success is possible, as the 5.6 percent growth in 2010 has shown. If growth will accelerate to an average of 6 percent this decade, Kenya will achieve middle income country status by 2019.

For the purposes of this project, the East African countries included in the study were Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The focus for this project was Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as for-profit or nonprofit organizations with less than 50 employees and not exceeding USD 1,000,000 in annual revenues/turnover. The main output of this project was a proposed program of interventions to drive transformational change. To succeed in this ambitious endeavor, the project articulated clear objectives and designed a blueprint for implementation including levels of resourcing, budget and monitoring metrics. Over the course of the project the team conducted brief surveys with over 90 entrepreneurs, over 50 percent of who had 3-10 years of experience in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and primarily worked at companies with 5 employees or less.