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Modernisation
Kinds of Modernisation Terms modified by Modernisation Selected AbstractsUsing Farmers' Preferences to Assess Development Policy: A Case Study of UgandaDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 3 2010Philip A. S. James As part of ongoing economic reforms, the Ugandan government implemented the Plan for the Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA) targeted at reducing rural poverty. This article demonstrates the application of a stated preference method using a choice experiment conducted in 9 sub-counties to assess farmers' preferences for adaptation options and identify areas of the PMA requiring reform to improve its effectiveness. This research shows the importance of microfinance, agricultural extension systems and basic education in farmers' adaptation decisions, and highlights a crucial need to improve local engagement in decision-making. A potentially problematic contradiction between farmers' preferences and some interventions proposed under the PMA is identified. [source] Foreword: Modernisation in the Public SectorFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2005G. Jan Van Helden No abstract is available for this article. [source] New Labour and the Modernisation of British Local Government: A CritiqueFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2001Arthur Midwinter The modernisation agenda for local government is based on questionable political assumptions. It has the attributes of a theological concept. This paper examines the concept of modernisation of local government by focusing on three dimensions (1) governance, (2) management and (3) finance. This analysis suggests the modernisation agenda is limited in scope and vision. [source] Benchmarking as a Tool for the Modernisation of Local GovernmentFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2001Mary Bowerman This paper examines benchmarking as a tool of the modernisation process in local government and the contradictory tensions in the Best Value scheme are explored. Benchmarking is shown to encapsulate the dichotomous nature of a modernising philosophy which espouses innovation and local solutions alongside the government's centralising tendencies. One consequence is the advancement of ,compulsory' and ,defensive' modes of benchmarking with local authorities benchmarking for external accountability reasons; issues of tangible improvement are secondary concerns. These tensions are viewed as irreconcilable, the implication is that local government will need to carefully manage and evaluate its benchmarking activities. [source] Modernity without Modernisation: The Evolution of Domestic Service in North-West Spain, 1752,1900GENDER & HISTORY, Issue 2 2006Isidro Dubert First page of article [source] The Story of Istanbul's ModernisationARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Issue 1 2010lhan Tekeli Abstract Since reform started under Ottoman rule in the early 19th century, Istanbul has undergone a substantial period of modernisation that has spanned more than 150 years. ,lhan Tekeli outlines the metropolis' enduring development, characterising Istanbul's transformation into a modern city into four distinct periods. It is a story that bridges the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the reconstruction of the Turkish Republic as a nation-state, with the initial demise of the city in favour of Ankara; and continues with Istanbul regaining its status as a world city; as it evolves from a monstrous industrial city to an urban region and global centre. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Cervical screening policies 2008 and beyondCYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 2007R. Winder There are many developments in cytology and in the NHS that will impact on the NHS Cervical Screening Programme over the next few years. In the short term HPV is a major issue, whether triage, primary screening or vaccination with further evidence coming forward from NHS early implementers and from research trials. Cytology automation is also already being trialled for the UK. So far as NHS developments go, we already have the two Carter reports, one on pathology modernisation and one on commissioning are both likely to impact on our service, as is the forthcoming Cancer Reform Strategy which should be out in a few months time. This will set out a blue print for cancer services in 2012, by which time the cervical screening programme could have a very different shape. [source] Transforming the NHS: what chance for the new government?ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2001Jennifer Dixon This paper reviews Labour's record on the NHS since the 1997 general election. The record shows increased financial investment especially since 2002, coupled with a marked centralisation of strategy and management which is proving counter-productive to further modernisation. [source] Agricultural and Rural Development in China: Achievements and Challenges Entwicklung der Landwirtschaft und des ländlichen Raums in China: Erfolge und Herausforderungen Le développement agricole et rural en Chine : résultats et défisEUROCHOICES, Issue 2 2009Chen Xiaohua Summary Agricultural and Rural Development in China: Achievements and Challenges China has made great advances in its agricultural and rural development since the reforms and opening-up that began in 1978. It has not only fed its population of 1.3 billion, but has also contributed to international agricultural development and food security. Agricultural production registered great development, providing sufficient food and clothes for 21 per cent of the world's population with 9 per cent of the arable land. In the process farmers' living standards improved remarkably and rural public utilities and services were greatly enhanced. China is now in a key transition period of accelerating the transformation and modernisation of traditional agriculture and rural society. It is facing significant challenges. Agriculture is still one of the weakest industries in China and it is proving difficult to sustain increases in grain output and farmers' incomes. The problems of uneven development in rural areas have become increasingly prominent and the gap between urban and rural development is tending to widen. The Chinese government will respond strategically to these challenges and will firmly pursue the construction of a new efficient and sustainable socialist countryside, along the path of modernisation with Chinese characteristics. It will also make greater contributions to world agriculture and rural development. Les progrès de la Chine en termes de développement agricole et rural depuis le début des réformes et l'ouverture en 1978 ont été considérables. Non seulement le pays a nourrit une population de 1.3 millions d'habitants mais il a contribué au développement et à la sécurité alimentaire au niveau international. La production agricole a fortement augmenté et a fournit suffisamment de nourriture et de vêtements à 21 pour cent de la population du monde avec 9 pour cent des terres cultivables. Ce processus s'est accompagné d'une hausse considérable du niveau de vie des agriculteurs et d'une grande amélioration des services publics dans les zones rurales. La Chine est maintenant à un moment clé de sa période de transition, caractérisé par une accélération de la transformation et de la modernisation de l'agriculture et de la société rurale traditionnelles. Des défis importants se présentent à elle. L'agriculture reste une des industries chinoises les plus fragiles et il se révèle difficile de continuer à augmenter la production céréalière et les revenus des agriculteurs. Les problèmes d'inégalité de développement dans les zones rurales deviennent de plus en plus visibles et l'écart de développement entre les zones urbaines et les zones rurale tend à s'accroître. Les pouvoirs publics chinois vont apporter une réponse stratégique à ces défis et vont poursuivre fermement la construction d'une nouvelle campagne socialiste efficace et durable, en suivant une voie de modernisation typiquement chinoise. Ils vont aussi accroître les contributions de la Chine au développement agricole et rural mondial. Seit Beginn der Reformen und der Öffnungspolitik 1978 hat sich Chinas Landwirtschaft und ländlicher Raum enorm weiterentwickelt. China hat seitdem nicht nur seine 1.3 Milliarden Einwohner ernährt, sondern auch zur internationalen Agrarentwicklung und Ernährungssicherung beigetragen. Die Agrarproduktion wurde erheblich ausgeweitet und deckt nun 21 Prozent des weltweiten Bedarfs an Lebensmitteln und Kleidung bei gerade einmal 9 Prozent der Weltackerfläche. Dabei haben sich die Lebensbedingungen für die Landwirte sowie das Angebot an öffentlichen Einrichtungen und Dienstleistungen im ländlichen Raum deutlich verbessert. China durchläuft gerade eine wichtige Übergangsphase, in der sich der Wandel und die Modernisierung der traditionellen Landwirtschaft und der Landbevölkerung noch schneller vollziehen, und steht großen Herausforderungen gegenüber. Die Landwirtschaft ist nach wie vor einer der schwächsten Sektoren in China, und es erweist sich als schwierig, die Steigerungsraten bei der Getreideerzeugung und den Einkommen in der Landwirtschaft aufrecht zu erhalten. Die Probleme der ungleichmäßigen Entwicklung in ländlichen Gebieten werden immer offensichtlicher, und die Kluft zwischen städtischer und ländlicher Entwicklung droht sich auszuweiten. Die chinesische Regierung wird diesen Herausforderungen strategisch begegnen und , ganz im Sinne einer Modernisierung mit chinesischen Merkmalen , daran festhalten, einen neuen sozialistischen ländlichen Raum effizient und nachhaltig zu gestalten. Sie wird ebenfalls einen noch größeren Beitrag zur Weltlandwirtschaft und zur Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums leisten. [source] A Competitive European Agriculture Designed for the Citizens , Romania's Perspective Une agriculture européenne compétitive au service des citoyens : La perspective de la Roumanie Eine an die Bedürfnisse der Bürger angepasste, wettbewerbsfähige Europäische Landwirtschaft , die Perspektive RumäniensEUROCHOICES, Issue 3 2008Dacian Ciolo Summary A Competitive European Agriculture Designed for the Citizens , Romania's Perspective In the coming months and years the European Union has to make fundamental choices for the future of agriculture, food, landscape and quality of life within its whole territory. These choices have now to be made for 27 Member States, which together give a new configuration to the Community. Poland and Romania together now represent nearly half of the total active population involved in EU agriculture. European agriculture has to be multifunctional, competitive not only for the market but also for citizens, as an economic activity that uses and manages renewable resources of public interest. Higher competitiveness inevitably leads to restructuring and modernisation of the agro-food sector in the New Member States. This must be achieved gradually to avoid a negative social impact, through a rural development policy supporting job creation outside agriculture. Romanian agriculture employs about 30 per cent of the country's active population and half of the country's population live in rural areas. Romania, therefore, aims to preserve a substantial CAP budget to promote investment in agriculture and quality of life in rural areas. It is in the interest of the whole EU to ensure not just proper use of the productive potential of Romanian agriculture but also economic development of the Romanian countryside. Au cours des prochains mois et des prochaines années, l'Union européenne doit faire des choix fondamentaux quant à l'avenir de l'agriculture, de l'alimentation et de la qualité de vie sur l'ensemble de son territoire. Ces choix relèvent actuellement de 27 état membres qui, ensemble, donnent à la communauté une nouvelle configuration. Actuellement, la Pologne et la Roumanie représentent à elles deux pratiquement la moitié de la population agricole de l'Union européenne. L'agriculture européenne doit être multifonctionnelle et compétitive, pas seulement pour les marchés mais aussi pour les citoyens, en tant qu'activitééconomique qui utilise et gère des ressources renouvelables d'intérêt public. La hausse de la compétitivité entraînera inévitablement une restructuration et une modernisation du secteur agro-alimentaire dans les nouveaux états membres. Ce processus doit être progressif pour éviter des conséquences sociales négatives, et il doit s'accompagner d'une politique de développement rural pour promouvoir la création d'emplois hors du secteur agricole. L'agriculture roumaine emploie environ 30 pour cent de la population active nationale et la moitié de la population du pays vit dans des zones rurales. La Roumanie compte donc utiliser une grande partie du budget de la PAC pour la promotion des investissements dans le secteur agricole et l'amélioration de la qualité de vie dans les zones rurales. Il est dans l'intérêt de l'ensemble de l'Union européenne de s'assurer non seulement que le potentiel productif agricole de la Roumanie est correctement utilisé mais également que la campagne roumaine se développe économiquement. In den kommenden Monaten und Jahren wird die Europäische Union grundlegende Entscheidungen im Hinblick auf Landwirtschaft, Lebensmittel, Landschaftsbild und Lebensqualität zu treffen haben, die sich auf ihr gesamtes Gebiet auswirken werden. Diese Entscheidungen betreffen nun alle 27 Mitgliedsstaaten, die der Gemeinschaft ein neues Gesicht verleihen. Mittlerweile stellen Polen und Rumänien zusammen etwa die Hälfte der aktiv in der Landwirtschaft der EU beschäftigten Bevölkerung. Die europäische Landwirtschaft muss multifunktional und nicht nur mit Blick auf den Markt wettbewerbsfähig sein, sondern auch mit Blick auf ihre Bürger, als ein Wirtschaftszweig, der erneuerbare Ressourcen verwendet und verwaltet, für die ein öffentliches Interesse besteht. Eine höhere Wettbewerbsfähigkeit führt unweigerlich zur Umstrukturierung und Modernisierung des Agro-Food-Sektors in den neuen Mitgliedsstaaten. Zur Vermeidung negativer Auswirkungen auf die Gesellschaft muss dies schrittweise durch eine Politik zur Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums erfolgen, die Arbeitsplätze außerhalb der Landwirtschaft fördert. In Rumänien sind 30 Prozent der Erwerbstätigen in der Landwirtschaft tätig, und die Hälfte der Bevölkerung lebt im ländlichen Raum. Daher ist Rumänien daran gelegen, weiterhin einen hinreichend großen Haushalt für die GAP zu erhalten, um Investitionen in die Landwirtschaft und die Lebensqualität im ländlichen Raum zu fördern. Es ist im Interesse aller EU-Länder, nicht nur die Ausschöpfung des produktiven Potenzials der rumänischen Landwirtschaft, sondern ebenfalls die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums in Rumänien sicherzustellen. [source] Party politicisation of local councils: Cultural or institutional explanations for trends in Denmark, 1966,2005EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2010ULRIK KJAER Local government party systems are not necessarily copies of the national party system. In many countries, local party systems have come to resemble the national one more and more , a process Rokkan termed ,party politicisation'. The traditional expectation has been that the take-over of local politics by political parties, through a gradual process of societal modernisation, would eventually be complete. More recently, however, it has been suggested that reorganisations of the institutional set-up , that is, amalgamations of municipalities , could entail developments in the degree of local party system nationalisation. This article investigates cultural and institutional explanations for party politicisation by analysing the Danish case from 1966 to 2005 , a period that witnessed both major amalgamation reforms and periods of stability in the local government structure. The data suggest that dramatic party politicisation does not lend itself to cultural explanations, but originates exclusively from changes in the institutional set-up. Party politicisation is not a gradual process, but comes , at least in Denmark , in leaps coinciding with major reorganisations of the local government structure. [source] New Labour and the Modernisation of British Local Government: A CritiqueFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2001Arthur Midwinter The modernisation agenda for local government is based on questionable political assumptions. It has the attributes of a theological concept. This paper examines the concept of modernisation of local government by focusing on three dimensions (1) governance, (2) management and (3) finance. This analysis suggests the modernisation agenda is limited in scope and vision. [source] A past and a future for diversification on farms?GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2003Some evidence from large-scale, commercial farms in South East England Abstract Diversification has been identified as a common response to the agricultural crisis of the 1980s and to the changing ethos of agricultural policy in the closing decade of the twentieth century. In particular, farmers operating large-scale farms have been prominent in adopting this approach, just as they were innovative across a range of farming practices in the expansion and modernisation of their agricultural production in earlier decades. Can we identify serial diversifiers within this sector of the farming community, who are disposed to react in an entrepreneurial fashion to the changing fortunes of agriculture? The paper draws on results from a survey of large-scale commercial farmers in South East England and, by examining the sequence in which various forms of diversification were adopted, identifies a temporal pattern as farmers responded to the fluctuating fortunes of the agricultural industry over the past thirty years. But has the potential for diversification been exhausted? The paper also considers future prospects for diversification within the large-scale, commercially oriented sector of the agricultural industry. [source] Austria's Koralm tunnel: one of the world's largest tunnel projectsGEOMECHANICS AND TUNNELLING, Issue 4 2008Article first published online: 19 AUG 200 The Koralm railway line is currently one of the most prestigious construction projects of ÖBB-Infrastruktur Bau AG. In 2018 the new 130 km long two-track electrified route is supposed to raise the capacities and reduce travel times along this important northsouth railway axis. The 33 km long, ambitious Koralm tunnel forms the core piece of this line. Forcing the track development in Austria, ÖBB-Infrastruktur Bau AG focuses on the development of the main connections to high performance routes such as the Koralm railway line, the four-track development of the Danube line and of the Lower Inn Valley route. Furthermore, ÖBB invests in the modernisation of its largest stations, many suburban service projects, enhanced tunnel safety, noise protection measures as well as park & ride facilities and extensive reinvestments in the existing rail network. [source] Products of the Imagination: Mining, Luxury, and the Romantic Artist in Heinrich von OfterdingenGERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 1 2007Matt Erlin ABSTRACT Scholars have long been interested in the relationship between capitalism and early romantic aesthetics. The following investigation offers a fresh perspective on this topic through a reconsideration of the figure of the miner and the representation of mining in Friedrich von Hardenberg's Heinrich von Ofterdingen. Rather than elucidating this representation on the basis of general concepts like alienation and instrumental rationality, as has often been the case, the essay situates mining within the context of the wide-ranging late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century debates about luxury. When contextualised along these lines, it becomes clear that Hardenberg's representation of mining is best understood as part of an effort to defend the legitimacy of literature, especially the still fragile legitimacy of the novel. Re-framing the representation of mining in the work in this way also necessitates a re-evaluation of other key aspects of the novel, most significantly, its negotiation with processes of economic modernisation and especially its stance toward an incipient consumer culture in which reading and literature play a paradigmatic role. [source] Autonomy and modernisation: the management of change in an English primary care trustHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 3 2004Ruth McDonald BA MSc PhD Abstract Recent New Labour policy for the ,modernisation' of Government places a good deal of emphasis on decentralisation. This emphasis is particularly marked in relation to the organisation of primary care. However, like hospitals and other National Health Service institutions, primary care trusts (PCTs) are subject to a substantial raft of centrally established performance targets and indicators, including those which contribute to the public award of between zero and three performance ,stars'. This raises questions about the extent to which employees can exercise autonomy in the context of rigid top-down directives. This paper presents findings from a study using participant observation and interviews to examine the impact of a training course aimed ostensibly at increasing employee autonomy in an English PCT. The suggestion is that attempts to make employees more autonomous can be seen as a strategy for increasing central control based upon the internalisation by the employees of centrally promulgated values. The attraction of such strategies is that they may be potentially more effective and less costly than alternative strategies of direct control. However, the study suggests that the outcome of attempts by such methods as programmes to increase employee autonomy may be very different from those intended. [source] The labour market for nursing: a review of the labour supply literatureHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 6 2003Emanuela Antonazzo Abstract The need to ensure adequate numbers of motivated health professionals is at the forefront of the modernisation of the UK NHS. The aim of this paper is to assess current understanding of the labour supply behaviour of nurses, and to propose an agenda for further research. In particular, the paper reviews American and British economics literature that focuses on empirical econometric studies based on the classical static labour supply model. American research could be classified into first generation, second generation and recent empirical evidence. Advances in methods mirror those in the general labour economics literature, and include the use of limited dependent variable models and the treatment of sample selection issues. However, there is considerable variation in results, which depends on the methods used, particularly on the effect of wages. Only one study was found that used UK data, although other studies examined the determinants of turnover, quit rates and job satisfaction. The agenda for further empirical research includes the analysis of discontinuities in the labour supply function, the relative importance of pecuniary and non-pecuniary job characteristics, and the application of dynamic and family labour supply models to nursing research. Such research is crucial to the development of evidence-based policies. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Skill Formation and Utilisation in the Post-Soviet Transition: Higher Education Planning in Post-Soviet GeorgiaHIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2010Irakli GvaramadzeArticle first published online: 1 MAR 2010 Changes in the former Soviet system had a dramatic influence on higher education in Georgia. The main objective of the current article is to analyse implications of the post-Soviet transition for the skill formation and skill utilisation system in Georgia. In particular, the study analyses recent trends in Georgian higher education including privatisation and economic liberalisation. The discussion builds upon theories of transition and relevance of skill formation theories to the post-Soviet transition. The article argues that increasing competition among public universities and newly emerged private universities has not improved the quality of higher education provision. On the contrary, it has contributed to an imbalance between the labour market's demand for skills and awarded qualifications, a mismatch and irrelevance of skills and high unemployment rates among university graduates. The article demonstrates that economic approaches in the transition context could not explain the complex logic between the skill formation and skill utilisation mechanisms. It further concludes that the discrepancies between the skill formation and skill utilisation systems had a negative impact upon skill modernisation in Georgia. [source] The Change from Private to Public Governance of British Higher Education: Its Consequences for Higher Education Policy Making 1980,2006HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2008Michael Shattock This article argues that in moving from being self governed to being state governed the policy drivers for higher education are no longer those of the system itself but are derived from a set of policies designed for the reform and modernisation of the public sector of the economy. The formation of higher education policy therefore needs to be reinterpreted as an adjunct of public policy, rather than as something intrinsic to higher education. The impact of ,new public management' approaches and of political interventions are explored in illustrating the consequences of the centralisation of the management of the public services and of higher education becoming an issue in national politics. [source] Employee participation and union voice in the National Health ServiceHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 2 2004Stephen Bach This article examines the role of trade unions in the health service at workplace level under the Labour government's modernisation agenda, and focuses on the shifting balance between forms of direct and indirect participation drawing on case studies of three acute hospital trusts. There has been a strong growth in forms of direct communication within the case study trusts and some increase in direct participation among professional groups. Despite this ,dualism' in employment relations, however, the target culture of the NHS has precluded the development of effective voice mechanisms. The policy implications for trade unions and the implications for the implementation of NHS pay modernisation are considered. [source] Tourist modernisation and social legitimation in SpainINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 5 2010Alejandro Mantecón Abstract Spain's modernisation has been based, to a large extent, on the so-called ,residential tourism'. Its two-fold nature,as a production model and a type of lifestyle migration,has complex repercussions. The aim of this paper is to delve, with a qualitative approach, into the key factors that explain the current social legitimation of this process by the Spanish society. The research suggests that the process is legitimated by its definition as an essentially tourism phenomenon. The label ,tourism' acts as some sort of ,funnel' that would not allow to go through it the problems associated with lifestyle migration or urbanisation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Testing the impact of a promotional video on destination image change: application of China as a tourism destinationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 2 2010Amir Shani Abstract This study empirically examines the potential effects of a promotional video on the image change of China as a travel destination. The analysis is based on an experimental study conducted among young, international short-term employees in the USA. Despite positive changes in almost all the destination attributes as a result of watching the promotional video, the structure of the image constructs remains fairly stable, providing critical insights on the potential role of publicity campaigns in affecting destination images. Results of the study reveal that China's image consists of mixed and often contrasting representations, especially the polarity of modernisation and progress versus nature and history. It was found that the dominant factor affecting the respondents' behavioural intentions was the cultural and nature tourism dimension. Although other image dimensions exhibit influence as well, findings of this study suggest that perceived value should be a strategic focus in promoting China as a desirable travel destination, in addition to culture and nature tourism. This paper ends with conclusions and implications for both research on destination image and destination marketing in China. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Elite hotels: painting a self-portraitINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 2 2001Cailein Gillespie Abstract Commercial hospitality provision arose from a general process of modernisation, the gradual breakdown of the importance of kinship and social obligation relative to a common duty of care for those travelling away from home, and the process of urbanisation. Consequently market demand evolved for the provision of accommodation, food and beverage for those persons temporarily removed from their domestic environment. What is argued in this paper is that the original function of commercial hospitality bears scant resemblance to sophisticated potentialities for socio-economic self-expression, which manifest themselves in the form of the elite hotel sector. The manner in which contemporary consumption of elite hotels revolves around the notion of self, with multiple identities and group affiliations is explored. Conclusions focus on the elite hotel sector as a means of defining self-identities and the management implications therein for the provision of commercial hospitality in elite hotels. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Youth Transitions and Employment in GermanyINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 164 2000Walter R. Heinz In the 1990s, the timing and duration of youth transitions has become variable because of cultural modernisation and the declining stability of careers. In particular, the German ,dual system' of Vocational Education and Training (VET) has come under pressure of globalisation and labour market deregulation. Despite economic turbulence, the main features of the VET have been maintained. The apprenticeship route is still highly accepted-two-thirds of the cohort of school-leavers are passing through it. It continues to provide standardised occupational qualifications and a context for socialisation. It supplies a skilled labour force and keeps youth unemployment low-despite shortcomings in standards of social equality and a slow pace in adapting to changes in technology and work. For the future, the ,left modernisers' strategy of upgrading skills remains possible, by reforming the apprenticeship system and main-taining the 'high-skills, route for transition from education to work. In transition studies structural analysis should be combined with research on institutional regulations, transition pathways, and individual agency. [source] High-yielding capacity building in irrigation system management: targeting managers and operators,,IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, Issue 3 2008Thierry Facon développement des capacités; gestion du système; Asie Abstract Irrigation management is facing complex challenges evolving with the transformation of agriculture, competition over resources, environmental concerns, without forgetting the critical objective of food production. Managers are ill prepared to meet these challenges and the FAO called for and initiated a massive retraining programme of engineers and managers on irrigation system modernization to address these issues, starting in Asia. Results from this first generation of interventions confirmed the lack of success of many investments and institutional reforms, gaps in capacity and training and the potential for achieving significant improvements at minimal cost by focusing on system operation. The FAO prepared new guidelines for improving system operation and management (MASSCOTE) based on service-oriented management concepts, tested them through training workshops in Nepal, India and China and is disseminating them through a second-generation training programme building on first- generation knowledge synthesis. This paper presents the FAO's strategic approach to capacity building on service-oriented management. It builds on the major lessons drawn from past programmes and is based on three interrelated thrusts: at the system, state and regional/global levels. Concepts, methodologies, lessons learned on upscaling to policy and long-term investment planning, limitations and conditions for success and future programme development are discussed. Copyright © 2008 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. La gestion de l'irrigation est confrontée à des défis complexes en évolution avec la transformation de l'agriculture, la concurrence sur les ressources, les préoccupations environnementales, sans oublier l'objectif critique de la production alimentaire. Les gestionnaires sont mal préparés pour répondre à ces défis et la FAO a lancé un vaste programme de nouvelle formation des ingénieurs et cadres sur la modernisation des systèmes d'irrigation pour traiter ces questions, en commençant par l'Asie. Les résultats de cette première génération d'interventions ont confirmé le manque de succès de beaucoup d'investissements et de réformes institutionnelles, les lacunes dans les capacités et la formation et les possibilités de parvenir à des améliorations significatives à peu de frais en se concentrant sur le fonctionnement du système. La FAO a élaboré de nouveaux guides pour améliorer l'exploitation et la gestion des systèmes (MASSCOTE) basés sur les concepts de service, les a testés par des ateliers de formation au Népal, en Inde et en Chine et les a diffusés par une deuxième génération de programmes de formation s'appuyant sur la synthèse des connaissances de première génération. Cet article présente l'approche stratégique de la FAO pour le renforcement des capacités de gestion orientée sur le service. Il s'appuie sur les principaux enseignements tirés des précédents programmes et repose sur trois axes étroitement liés: au niveau du système, de l'état et régional/mondial. Les concepts, les méthodes, les leçons apprises sur les politiques et la planification des investissements à long terme, les limites et les conditions du succès, et le développement des programmes futurs sont discutés. Copyright © 2008 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Irrigation and drainage systems research and development in the 21st century,IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, Issue 4 2002Bart Schultz irrigation; drainage; développement durable; système de réseau Abstract One critical problem confronting mankind today is how to manage the intensifying competition for water between expanding urban centres, traditional agricultural activities and in-stream water uses dictated by environmental concerns. In the agricultural sector, the dwindling number of economically attractive sites for large-scale irrigation and drainage projects limits the prospects of increasing the gross cultivated area. Therefore, the required increase in agricultural production will necessarily rely largely on a more accurate estimation of crop water requirements on the one hand, and on major improvements in the construction, operation, management and performance of existing irrigation and drainage systems, on the other. The failings of present systems and the inability to sustainably exploit surface and groundwater resources can be attributed essentially to poor planning, design, system management and development. This is partly due to the inability of engineers, planners and managers to adequately quantify the effects of irrigation and drainage projects on water resources and to use these effects as guidelines for improving technology, design and management. To take full advantage of investments in agriculture, a major effort is required to modernize irrigation and drainage systems and to further develop appropriate management strategies compatible with the financial and socio-economic trends, and the environment. This calls for a holistic approach to irrigation and drainage management and monitoring so as to increase food production, conserve water, prevent soil salinization and waterlogging, and to protect the environment. All this requires, among others, enhanced research and a variety of tools such as water control and regulation equipment, remote sensing, geographic information systems, decision support systems and models, as well as field survey and evaluation techniques. To tackle this challenge, we need to focus on the following issues: affordability with respect to the application of new technologies; procedures for integrated planning and management of irrigation and drainage systems; analysis to identify causes and effects constraining irrigation and drainage system performance; evapotranspiration and related calculation methods; estimation of crop water requirements; technologies for the design, construction and modernization of irrigation and drainage systems; strategies to improve irrigation and drainage system efficiency; environmental impacts of irrigation and drainage and measures for creating and maintaining sustainability; institutional strengthening, proper financial assessment, capacity building, training and education. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Résumé Aujourd'hui le problème critique pour l'humanité est comment manier la compétition intensifiante pour de l'eau entre les centres urbains en expansion, pour des activités traditionnellement agricoles et pour l'usage de l'eau fluviale prescrit par des conditions écologistes. Dans le secteur agricole les perspectives d'agrandir les champs cultivés bruts sont limitées par le nombre diminuant des terrains économiquement attractifs pour des projets d'irrigation et du drainage de grande envergure. Par conséquent l'augmentation nécessaire de la production agricole comptera surtout sur une évaluation plus précise du besoin des plantes d'un côté, et de l'autre sur de grandes améliorations dans la construction, dans l'opération, dans le management et dans la performance des systèmes d'irrigation et du drainage. On peut attribuer les défauts des systèmes actuels et l'incompétence d'exploiter durablement les ressources hydriques de surface et souterraines au planification, au système de la gestion de l'eau et au système du développement. Cela est partiellement dû à l'incapacité des ingénieurs, des planificateurs et des gérants, de quantifier adéquatement les effets des projets d'irrigation et de drainage sur les ressources hydriques et d'utiliser ces résultats pour améliorer la technologie, la planification et la gestion de l'eau. Pour profiter le mieux possible des investissements dans l'agriculture, on exige un effort considérable pour moderniser les systèmes d'irrigation et de drainage et pour développer des stratégies de gestion de l'eau qui doivent être appropriées et compatibles avec les tendances financières et socio-économiques et avec l'environnement. Ceci a besoin d'une procédure holistique pour la gestion et le monitorage de l'eau, pour augmenter la production d'aliments, pour conserver l'eau, pour prévenir la salination du sol et pour protéger l'environnement. Tout cela demande, entre autres choses, une recherche d'avant-garde et une variété d'instruments comme les contrôles du régime hydrique et les appareils de régulation, la télédétection, les systèmes de l'information géographique, les systèmes et les modèles de support de décision et de même les levés sur le terrain et les techniques d'évaluation. Pour entreprendre ce défi nous devons nous concentrer sur les questions suivantes: capacité de mettre enoeuvre des technologies nouvelles; le développement des procédures pour intégrer la planification et la gestion des systèmes d'irrigation et de drainage; l'analyse pour identifier les causes et les effets de forcer à la performance des systèmes d'irrigation et de drainage; l'évapotranspiration et les méthodes de calcul en question; l'évaluation des exigences hydriques des cultures; les technologies pour le dessein, la construction et la modernisation des projets d'irrigation et de drainage; les stratégies pour améliorer l'efficacité des systèmes d'irrigation et de drainage; les impacts des projets d'irrigation et de drainage et des mesures appropriées pour créer et entretenir la durabilité; l'amélioration du contexte institutionnel, l'évaluation financière, la formation et l'amélioration des compétences techniques. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Counterpoints of care: two moments of struggleJOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 2010B. Gleeson Abstract This paper examines the history of care in modern society and seeks to expose how deep transformations in care arise from wider social relations. From historical survey we may discern a series of transitional points, where the practice and the experience of care was greatly, sometimes suddenly, redefined. Each betrayed deeper political and ethical struggles that went to the core of social relations, and which weren't merely therapeutic in nature. This paper explores two such ,moments'. I first examine the emergence of a new institutional landscape during the middle industrial era, in the wake of a series of legal and political reforms that sought to settle a social order uprooted and distressed by raw modernisation. I provide a composite, yet incomplete view, of how this transformation proceeded in one urban setting, colonial Melbourne. In the second instance, I review the ambitions and process of deinstitutionalisation in the late 20th century. Ostensibly, this reform sought, inter alia, to collapse the great division between ,fit' and ,unfit' established in 1834. Again, empirical reference is made to the reconstitution of care in Melbourne, Australia, this time during its late 20th experience of institutional reform. The focus in this case is the process of downscaling and closure for a major congregate facility, Kew Cottages. The major conclusion is that periods of intense transition in the ideology and mode of care are reflective of wider social transformations not merely of therapeutic or institutional shifts. [source] Anthropological race psychology 1820,1945: a common European system of ethnic identity narrativesNATIONS AND NATIONALISM, Issue 4 2009RICHARD McMAHON ABSTRACT. This article examines ethnic stereotypes in biological race classification of Europeans between the 1830s and 1940s as part of political discourse on national identity. Anthropologists linked physical-psychological types to nations and national character stereotypes through ,national races', achieving an often quite enduring international consensus on each race's mentality. The article argues that race mentality narratives were therefore partly dictated by their place within a dynamic interlocking European system. I focus on two key interacting elements that structured this system: the central role of the Germanic-Nordic blond and the geographically uneven process of modernisation. I consider the spatiality of socio-cultural and political factors ,external' to the stereotype system, such as geopolitics and modernisation, but also emphasise that discursive relationships between national stereotypes helped structure the international stereotype system. My conclusion argues for greater consideration of the influence of both scientific and international systemic factors in research on national identity. [source] Old wine in new bottles: civic nation-building and ethnic nationalism in schooling in Piedmont, ca.NATIONS AND NATIONALISM, Issue 3 2007ABSTRACT. Gellner (1983: 35) equates nationalism with ,the organisation of human groups into large, centrally educated, culturally homogeneous units'. As the theorist of nationalism argues, and as recent and not so recent historical research shows, the modernisation of schooling is a defining moment in this process. The objective of this article is twofold: first, to show that during the Risorgimento schooling in Piedmont became nationalist; and second, to explain why that was the case. In doing so, it is argued that: (a) the modernisation of schooling reflected the rise of laissez faire liberalism, industrialisation and the enfranchisement of the middle class; and (b) the leadership of the Risorgimento revived pre-modern ethnic symbols of patriotism to legitimate inequality and state formation under conditions of individualism. [source] Effects of modernisation on desired fertility in EgyptPOPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 5 2007Angela Baschieri Abstract Using a conceptual framework that borrows notions both from the economic theory of fertility and social interaction theory, this paper assesses the relative importance of social and economic modernisation at the individual and community level in explaining geographical differentials in desired fertility in Egypt. Using the 2000 Egyptian Demographic Health Survey and an up-to-date map of land cover in Egypt, this paper provides an application of an advanced methodology which uses a combination of multilevel modelling and geographical information system (GIS) techniques. The paper shows how GIS techniques facilitate the construction of several variables representing the level of economic modernisation, such as land use, road density and urbanisation. It illustrates how GIS techniques and multilevel modelling can help us to move forward a step in substantiating theories of community influences on fertility. This study also analyses the effect of current family composition on desired fertility in Egypt and reveals the desire of Egyptian society to have at least two children and at least one boy. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||