52,575 research outputs found
Anti-Corruption from Below. Social Movements Against Corruption in Late Neoliberalism
No full textIn the last decades, growing awareness emerged amid progressive social movements about the relevance of corruption as a hidden factor negatively influencing political and economic decision-making processes, in both liberal-democratic and authoritarian regimes. Against the immoral power of the 1 per cent, anti-austerity protests have for instance stigmatised the specific characteristics of corruption in the evolution – i.e. the expansion and crisis – of neoliberalism. Neoliberalism, as the second ‘great transformation’, has brought about a shift towards free market and away from social protection. Endorsed by international financial organisations such as the IMF or the World Bank, policies in various states have been oriented towards privatisation, liberalisation, and deregulation. Notwithstanding the envisaged separation between market and state, as well as the benefits of greater competition, neoliberal policies have ended up increasing the power of corporations, creating market distortions and forms of state collusion. These factors have ostensibly contributed to a crisis of legitimacy, which can also be interpreted in terms of a crisis of responsibility. Social movements have then denounced cases of rampant corruption, developing specific prognostic and diagnostic frames as well as knowledge and practices for social accountability of political and economic powers. In this special issue, we shall reflect on the characteristics of these collective actors, bringing original empirical evidence, as well as considering the theoretical challenges that they present for social movement theory. The guest editors seek to attract original comparative or case study contributions of any methodological persuasion, focusing on anti-corruption activism in different regions of the world
Public Happiness and Civil Society
No full textThis paper introduces a conceptual framework in which public happiness is discussed from the point of view of the interaction between beliefs and social opportunities. In particular, the paper maintains that alternative ways to match beliefs and opportunities may be associated with radically different levels and 'compositions' of public happiness
Propagação in vitro e caracterização molecular de porta-enxertos de Prunus por marcadores microssatelites (SSR)
No full textDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Agrárias. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Recursos Genéticos Vegetais.A cultura do pessegueiro apresenta uma substancial importância na economia agrícola das regiões Sul e Sudeste, produzindo mais de 150 mil toneladas em uma área superior a 20 mil hectares. Para acompanhar o crescimento do mercado de frutas, cada vez mais surge a necessidade de pomares produtivos e frutos de qualidade. Desta maneira, a produção de mudas com controle genético-sanitário é essencial para obtenção de pomares uniformes e livres de patógenos. Neste contexto, as técnicas de cultura in vitro e de marcadores moleculares auxiliam na seleção varietal, propagação clonal, controle e certificação genético-sanitária. Este trabalho objetivou desenvolver metodologias para propagação in vitro de seleções do porta-enxerto de Prunus 'Capdeboscq', principalmente a seleção 'Carelle'e contribuir para caracterização genética de 11 seleções de porta-enxertos de Prunus,. Foram usados como explantes gemas axilares e ápices caulinares, introduzidos em meio de cultura de Lepoivre suplementado com BAP (0,5 mg.L-1), que apresentaram 60,0% e 50,0% de sobrevivência, respectivamente. O porta-enxerto 'Carelle' foi comparado com outras seleções do porta-enxerto 'Capdeboscq' quanto a diferentes concentrações de BAP no potencial de multiplicação in vitro. Ocorreu efeito significativo da interação do genótipo X concentração de BAP no número de brotos por explante e tamanho das brotações. Concentrações de BAP maiores que 2,0 mg.L-1 promoveram hiperhidricidade e redução no tamanho dos brotos. Na fase de enraizamento in vitro a presença de AIB foi determinante e a concentração AIB que apresentou o maior número de raízes por explante e maior percentagem de enraizamento foi de 4,0 mg.L-1, com 1,75 raízes/explante e 75 % de enraizamento, porém resultou na formação de calos na base dos explantes. As seleções de porta-enxertos foram analisados com 12 primers SSR, sendo que o grau de polimorfismo detectado pelos marcadores SSR confirma o potencial da técnica na análise de "fingerprinting" e sua utilidade na estimativa da variabilidade genética entre porta-enxertos de pessegueiro. A análise de agrupamento realizada com o método UPGMA produziu um dendograma que permitiu uma clara separação dos porta-enxertos em três grupos diferentes
Bernardino da Siena in Il contributo italiano alla Storia del Pensiero, a cura di Zamagni Negri V., Porta P. L., Enciclopedia italiana di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, VIII Appendice, Monografia Economia, pp. 96-103, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Fondata da Giovanni Treccani, Roma, 2012
No full textI linguaggi economici premoderni sono caratterizzati dalla sovrapposizione fra lessici teologici ed economici. Bernardino Albizzeschi è tra i primi pensatori economici sistematici attivi nell'Occidente cristiano
Heterobasidion annosum growth (ISG F, P and S) after pathogenicity test on Abies alba and Picea abies, in Italian Alps
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Happiness and Sustainability: a Modern Paradox
No full textUnsustainability may be considered a consequence of social actions, mainly economic choices, and if we have to pass from economic growth to sustainable development, we need a moral evolution. I focus on the normative issue of sustainability, which claims the establishment of value judgements about society’s welfare functions. The nature of value and its nexus with welfare and morality is a source of controversy in ethics, and this disagreement is reflected also in economics. Philosophers distinguish different ethical doctrines, and welfare economics has to a large extent been influenced by them. I discuss which of the different economic welfare theories are consistent with the main values involved in sustainability and the need of building an environmental macroeconomics. The evolution of sustainable growth theory from models based on selfish altruistic preference to utilitarian models based on moral obligation, leaves nevertheless unsolved the problems of considering objective intrinsic value attributed to many natural resources and strong uncertainty situations. I show that, in order to be consistent with strong and very strong sustainability, a general environmental macroeconomics should be based on Keynes' general view of value and should also consider Keynes’ economic rationality
Extreme Right and Populism: A Frame Analysis of Extreme Right Wing Discourses in Italy and Germany. IHS Political Science Series No. 121, July 2010
No full textThis paper addresses the interactions between the extreme right and populism, looking at right wing discourses in Italy and Germany, focusing on different types of extreme right organizations (political parties, violent subcultural/young right wing groups, and political movements), and adopting a social movement perspective. Through a frame analysis conducted on several types of organizational documents (newspapers, websites, online guest books and forums, and other forms of publications), covering a period from 2000-2006, for a total of 4000 frames, it explores empirically the aspect of the conceptualization of the populism by the extreme right, showing the bridging of the appeal to the people with some traditional frames of the extreme right, such as nativism and authoritarianism, and stressing how the central populist frames (the people versus the elite) are linked to the extreme right definition of the 'us' and the 'them', when developing diagnoses, prognoses and motivations to action. A political opportunity and discursive approach will be useful in explaining the different configurations of populist frames depending on country and organizational type
L-Arginine addiction to cardioplegia: Myocardial and systemic protective effects
No full textObjectives: L-Arginine improves myocardial protection stimulating the release of nitric oxide and the endothelium dependent vasodilatation and thus increasing coronary blood flow, decreasing platelets activation and leukocyte adhesion properties. The aim of our study was to compare the use of L-Arginine in addiction to the cardioplegic solution during CABG.
Methods: We prospectively randomized 69 consecutive patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting to receive 7,5g of L-Arginine in 500 mL in addiction to the cardioplegic solution. We used a Swan-Ganz catheter to perform hemodynamic evaluations, measuring the cardiac index, systemic vascular resistances, pulmonary vascular resistances and the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure at 3 times: before sternum opening, at sternum closure, and 1 hour after the arrival in intensive care unit.
We also considered blood samples taken from the retrograde coronary sinus catheter for lactate, IL-2R, IL-6 and TNF-  level measures before aortic cross clamping, at the unclamping and 15 minutes after. Serum samples from systemic blood vessels at 4 different times (preoperatively, 2, 18 and 42 hours after aortic clamping removal) were also analyzed , in order to measure CPK, CK-MB MASS, cardiac Troponin T, platelets, leukocytes. In all patients we performed a transesophageal echocardiographic study, before aortic cannulation and before protamine sulfate administration to assess the myocardial contractility.
Results: The two groups are homogeneous for preoperative characteristics and operatory data. Postoperative data showed a statistical significative difference between groups for IL-6 (p=0,01) and Troponin-T (p=0,01) in advantage for the treated group and decreased levels of CPK (p=0,006), Leukocytes (p=0,023) and Wedge pressure (p=0,007). Moreover ICU stay (p=0,033) was reduced in L- Arginine group.
Conclusions: This study shows several positive effects of L-Arginine to our cardioplegic solution. IL-6 and Troponin-T reduction demonstrates a better myocardial preservation with reduced ischemic injury. The decrease of Wedge pressure we observed in group A may be related to a vasodilation effect. The decrease of the leukocytes count in group A postoperatively, might express a reduced ischemia-reperfusion damage
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