"Decision Making in Europe: Were Spain and Poland Right to Stop the Constitution in December 2003?"

This paper tries to explain why Spain and Poland stopped the Draft Constitution for the European Union in December 2003 and discusses whether this action was compatible with these countries long term interests. The author finds that the decline in power – measured by a power index – arising for Spain and Poland when going from the Nice Treaty to the Draft Constitution cannot explain their veto. While the two countries lose power when shifting from Nice to the Draft Constitution other countries’ power shrinks even more. Other measures - passage probability, blocking leverage and fairness - cannot explain the two countries’ opposition either. This paper contends that the Spanish and Polish rejection can be explained by the weakness of government in the Polish and the need for a reelection topic in the Spanish case. Furthermore this paper asserts that the Spanish and Polish government’s veto was against the medium and long term interest of their own countries. Poland and Spain must have been able to anticipate that the Nice Treaty would not last due to most EU countries’ dislike of it. An analysis of reasonable alternative voting schemes in the EU finds that Spain and Poland would not have been better off in any of these cases and worse off in most; under the voting rules agreed upon under the Irish presidency in June 2004 the two countries are weaker than under the Draft Constitution

Ultrasonic treatment with nickel electroplating combined with oxidation for developing γ-Al2O3 washcoat on Fe-Cr-Al substrate

Fe-Cr-Al is used as metallic support for catalytic converter due to its high thermal conductivity, lower heat capacity, high temperature and mechanical shock resistance. γ-Al2O3 is the most widely used material as washcoat which embedded on metallic support for the catalytic converter application. The problem is the coating adhesion between the metallic support and the ceramic washcoat becomes a problem in long�term high temperature oxidation. On the other hand, the gamma phase of alumina will be transformed to alpha phase at high temperature. The ultrasonic technique via cavitation bubbles and high velocity can make surface deformation and also accelerate the γ-Al2O3 powders to bombardment occurred on the Fe-Cr-Al surface. This process generates sufficiently heat and γ-Al2O3 layer can be formed on the Fe�Cr-Al surface. Subsequently, electroplating process embeds the nickel and also can strengthen the adhesion when oxidized. Therefore, this work presents the ultrasonic treatment with nickel electroplating for developing γ-Al2O3 washcoat on Fe-Cr-Al substrate and oxidation treatment for catalytic converter application. Washcoat layer on Fe-Cr-Al was prepared by using γ-Al2O3 powders through ultrasonic treatment. Catalyst material was prepared by using nickel electroplating. The oxidation kinetics was conducted at temperatures of 500, 700, 900 and 1100 oC in air for 100 hours. The surface morphology, cross section analysis, chemical composition, elemental maps and phase structure of coated Fe-Cr-Al were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) respectively. The results showed that the surface of Fe-Cr-Al contained γ-Al2O3 powders after ultrasonic treatment. The layer of alumina oxide has been formed on coated Fe-Cr-Al and no spallation occurred after oxidation. It is prove that γ-Al2O3 washcoat and NiO as a catalyst have successfully embedded on Fe-Cr-Al substrate by ultrasonic treatment combined with nickel electroplating at long term high temperature oxidation that enhance the adhesive properly

Deconstructing and reconstructing professionalism: the 'professional' demands of the PCET teacher education programme in the UK

Professionalism has assumed the level of obligation in both the training and practice of teachers in the Lifelong Sector (LLS) in the UK. Responding to the demands of professionalism has been seen both by teachers and trainees as a source of tension and distress. In effect, many practitioners and trainees in the field have become less enthusiastic and less attracted to work in the field because of the culture of performativity that some elements of professional demand attract and in some cases, fail to see themselves as professionals. This paper responds to this situation in two ways. First, it offers a new construct of understanding the multiple demands of ‘professionalism’ which categorises elements of professionalism into three categories of subject knowledge, pedagogical and procedural professionalism. Second, it reports the findings of a small pilot research on the disposition of trainee teachers towards the professionalism module of their training programmes. Though only a pilot study, the research found a paradoxical relationship between trainees and professionalism as trainees felt less like professionals because of the demands and imposition of conditions of procedural professionalism. Also, the pilot study established that among the group investigated, the major source of tension and distress is the demand of procedural professionalism. Finally, the study suggests that trainees are better able to accommodate the demands through appropriate classification that is offered by the new construct

Social Entrepreneurs and Innovation for the Unemployment

This research explored the social entrepreneurship factors to reduce the rate of unemployment in North Sumatra Indonesia. Social entrepreneurship is built through four main elements, namely social value, civil society, innovation, and economic activity. Through the element of innovation, a new form of social entrepreneurship was discovered. Theoretical reviews of social entrepreneurship practices that have been applied in various elements of civil society show innovation elements. An effort to overcome unemployment in Medan Municipality many forms of Social Entrepreneurships were analyzed. Social entrepreneurship that is most appropriately adopted in the city of Medan to reduce unemployment is to empower young women. It concluded that the synergic forms of Social Entrepreneurship with universities, banking institutions and the government, elements of social entrepreneurship including social value, civil society, innovation and economic activity

Entering and leaving employment in deprived neighbourhoods undergoing area regeneration

Concentrations of worklessness have been persistent in the UK for several decades but have not been tackled effectively by policy. An individualised approach to unemployment has existed, alongside employment policies without a strong geographical component. A reliance on area-based regeneration programmes has shifted from a property-led to a holistic approach, with the potential to address a range of factors associated with employment. To gauge the effectiveness and appropriateness of holistic area regeneration, this paper uses longitudinal survey data to examine movements into and out of employment for people living in deprived areas of Glasgow with concentrated worklessness and subject to area regeneration. There were modest net gains to employment over time in the study areas, and such gains were positively associated with traditional elements of regeneration such as housing improvements and community empowerment. However, other components of regeneration assumed to aid employment, such as social networks and participation in training, were found to have no effect. Other factors that were associated both with entering or leaving employment feature less frequently within regeneration programmes and require more integration into future approaches, particularly increasing physical activity among populations, helping people cope with physical and mental health issues, and improving transport and mobility

GoWell in Glasgow’s East End: Baseline Community Survey

GoWell: Studying Change in Glasgow's East End is a five-year, mixed methods research programme, designed to evaluate the impacts of regeneration and other changes associated with the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games upon the health and wellbeing of communities in the East End of Glasgow. The project forms part of the Scottish Government's Commonwealth Games Legacy Evaluation Programme. This baseline report presents findings from the first wave of data collection in 2012. These relate to each of the four Scottish Government Evaluation Themes: Active, Flourishing, Sustainable and Connected. Where possible, the report includes comparisons with national benchmarks for indicators under these four themes

People, Place and Prosperity in the East End of Glasgow

Both Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government have made the east end of Glasgow a particular (though not the only) focus for legacy from the 2014 Commonwealth Games.<p></p> In order to achieve local legacy impacts, preparations for the Games themselves have been integrated with a regeneration strategy for the east end, and developments and other activities in the area have been underway since the award of the Games to Glasgow in 2007.<p></p> This report is part of a study, GoWell in the East End, which started in 2012 and is due to continue until 2017. The report examines the likelihood of the Games, and associated regeneration activities, having economic impacts upon the east end in the short-term and the medium- to long-term.<p></p&gt

Gender: GoWell in the East End: key equalities issues in the baseline survey

In 2012, GoWell East conducted a community survey around the main Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games sites in the East End of the city. This survey was planned as part of a longer-term evaluation of the impacts of the Games for the host community in the East End of Glasgow. This ‘Gender’ report is part of a set of four ‘Equalities’ reports, designed to provide a baseline of differences between various equalities groups prior to the Games, in relation to the Scottish Government’s four legacy themes: Active; Flourishing; Connected; and Sustainable. Three other reports will examine equality issues relating to household type (incorporating the issue of age), longstanding health problems and ethnic background

Longstanding Illness and Disability: GoWell in the East End: Key equalities issues in the Baseline Survey

In 2012, GoWell East conducted a community survey around the main Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games sites in the East End of the city. This survey was planned as part of a longer-term evaluation of the impacts of the Games for the host community in the East End of Glasgow. This ‘Longstanding illness and disability’ report is part of a set of four ‘Equalities’ reports, designed to provide a baseline of differences between various equalities groups prior to the Games, in relation to the Scottish Government’s four legacy themes: Active; Flourishing; Connected; and Sustainable. Three other reports examine equality issues relating to household type (incorporating the issue of age), gender, and ethnic background