EVALUATION OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES FAILURES WITHIN THE 2007-13 REGIONAL POLICY FRAME

New 2007-13 planning framework of the EU keeps using economic criteria (GDP) to identify those regions requiring priority attention (convergence objective). Although these criteria are useful for the overall Regional Policy, nevertheless it might result some planning failures of the strategies of rural development. This work focuses in evaluating possible failures of the Rural Development Programmes. For this purpose, a wide range of member Estates and Regions has been selected and two analysis have been applied: first, the coherence analysis (in relation to the economic, social and environmental situation of territories); and second, the conflict (among the rural territories development objectives) analysis. As result of this evaluation, a typology of the analysed Rural Development Programmes will be shown, which identifies different cases of failures. This work concludes that the use of methodological criteria in Regional Policy complementing to the Efficiency criteria might improve the territorial cohesion process and reduce some of the analysed failures in rural areas.Rural Development Programmes, Regional Policy, European Union, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Thermodynamics of noncommutative quantum Kerr black holes

Thermodynamic formalism for rotating black holes, characterized by noncommutative and quantum corrections, is constructed. From a fundamental thermodynamic relation, equations of state and thermodynamic response functions are explicitly given and the effect of noncommutativity and quantum correction is discussed. It is shown that the well known divergence exhibited in specific heat is not removed by any of these corrections. However, regions of thermodynamic stability are affected by noncommutativity, increasing the available states for which some thermodynamic stability conditions are satisfied.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure

TOWARDS A MODEL OF TECHNOLOGY USAGE AND DIGITAL MATURITY IN CHILDREN: A GROUNDED-THEORY APPROACH

Increased use of digital technologies by children has raised some concerns about how digital technologies may be influencing multiple aspects of children’ lives. The purpose of this study is to investigate on how children use digital technologies, aiming at identifying factors that indicate how mature children are in the use of digital technologies. We conducted a qualitative study by collecting data from five children focus groups in Spain, with a total of 20 participants. We generated 10 factors that indicate digital maturity, namely digital literacy and technology awareness, perceived benefits and risks, types and patters of technology usage, managing tensions, adult interaction and mediation, regulation of emotional responses, needs satisfaction, and digital civic behaviour. The article also develops a high-level model showing interrelations between socio-technical environment, technology usage and experiences, and reactions to technology usag

Changing the Frame: Civic Engagement Through a Racial Equity Lens

This report challenges past narratives suggesting Chicago's civic life is precarious and offers a broader analysis of civic life using a racial equity lens. According to the analysis, race and class differences in civic engagement disappear or reverse when including a wide range of less formal activities and forms of collective organizing practiced among Black, Latinx, and working-class people in Chicago.Since the 1960s, traditional measures of civic engagement have shown declining rates of civic health. These accounts of civic decline often focus exclusively on voting and donating one's time, talent, and income to traditional nonprofit organizations. This report provides new ways to assess civic life in Chicago, including participation in social movements like the immigrant rights movement, the growth in the number of nonprofits established, and social cohesion as captured through the hosting of block parties.Through interviews and analysis of nonprofits in Chicago, the report captures the perspective of organizers, academics, and funders who provide their unique perspectives on the state of civic engagement in Chicago. By framing civic engagement through a racial equity lens, the report provides a broader view of civic participation that can be used to catalyze and drive action

Understanding workers’ adoption of productivity mobile applications: a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)

Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets become more present in our lives every day. Most of these devices use the Android operating system (O.S.), becoming the most popular O.S. for mobile devices. For these devices, there is a huge offer of application software that provides answers to users’ different needs. This study aims to analyse how combinations of personality factors, sociodemographic variables and Internet use influence the adoption of productivity mobile apps by workers. To achieve this, a combination of these variables is analysed using fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA.) that allows us to analyse complex complementarities among factors. The results show the importance of distinct personality traits – extraversion and agreeableness – to understand the adoption of these services. Our study also provides relevant insight for software developers to target segments interested in the use of productivity software in their mobile devices