Notions of Insecurity and Security Policy within the EU: A Historical Perspective

This paper maps notions of insecurity and security policy within the European Union (EU), with a particular emphasis on terrorism and organised crime. The analysis reveals manifold and sometimes diverse dynamics with regard to threat perceptions and policy preferences of European political agents. Both notional changes and continuities are characteristic for the development of threat perceptions in Europe since the 1990s. Only recently, official statements have become informed by economic thinking. European counter-terrorism and anti-crime policies experienced a 'learning curve', significantly influenced and pushed by the creation of the European Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. Overall, a number of indicators can be extracted from the analysis that hint at underlying logics according to which notions of insecurity are shaped and which, more generally, guide the economics of security.Costs of insecurity, European Union, human-induced insecurity, notions of insecurity, organised crime, public policy, security policy, terrorism

Notions of Insecurity and Security Policy within the EU: A Historical Perspective

This paper maps notions of insecurity and security policy within the European Union (EU), with a particular emphasis on terrorism and organised crime. The analysis reveals manifold and sometimes diverse dynamics with regard to threat perceptions and policy preferences of European political agents. Both notional changes and continuities are characteristic for the development of threat perceptions in Europe since the 1990s. Only recently, official statements have become informed by economic thinking. European counter-terrorism and anti-crime policies experienced a 'learning curve', significantly influenced and pushed by the creation of the European Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. Overall, a number of indicators can be extracted from the analysis that hint at underlying logics according to which notions of insecurity are shaped and which, more generally, guide the economics of security

How can formal concept topics be made accessible to concrete learners?

The ability to balance equations is used as an indication of student understanding of the Law of Conservation of Matter. The Law of Conservation of Matter states that under the conditions of a normal chemical reaction, matter can neither be created nor destroyed. Students demonstrate their understanding of the concept by showing that in a balanced chemical equation there are the san1e number of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation. Learning to balance equations emphasizes the conservation of atoms in a chemical reaction. Balancing an equation is effective for a beginning student in direct proportion to the student\u27s ability to see conservation for herself or himself. (Moore, 1997) As noted on the Oklahoma State University Chemistry Department web page, students who can recite the Law of Conservation of Matter, but too often see no problem with atoms disappearing, or appearing, to balance equations. (Common Student Misconceptions, 2003) At the secondary level, students are taught the skill of balancing equations by visual inspection and through the use of atom inventories. Students unable to learn this skill are left further behind when the balanced equations are used for stoichiometric calculations. As a result of this experience, I became interested in how I can assist concrete level students in understanding the formal operational thinking in balancing chemical equations. My focus in this research is the use of manipulatives in helping students learn to balance equations, and then to develop in the students a better ability to apply the relationship between their equations and the Law of conservation of Matter. Specifically how can the use of manipulatives when learning to balance equations increase student understanding of the Law of Conservation of Matter

Im "Wettstreit der Systeme" - Chancen für eine neue Russlandpolitik nach der Bundestagswahl

Mit der Bundestagswahl und der anstehenden Regierungsbildung besteht eine Chance, die deutsche Russlandpolitik neu aufzustellen. Alle relevanten Parteien haben in ihren Programmen Vorschläge gemacht, wie das schwierige Verhältnis zu Russland künftig gestaltet werden soll. Dabei werden die Beziehungen vor allem im Kontext eines globalen "Systemwettstreits" zwischen Demokratien und Autokratien verortet. Für eine zielgerichtete Politik wäre es wichtig, im Spannungsverhältnis zwischen Kooperation und Abgrenzung intelligente Instrumente zu entwickeln, die zum einen die machtpolitischen Interessen und Kosten-Nutzen-Kalküle des Kremls konsequenter mitdenken und zum anderen stärker auf den Schutz und die Resilienz der offenen Gesellschaften des Westens ausgerichtet sind

Die russische Jugendbewegung "Naschi": Aufstieg und Fall eines polittechnologischen Projekts in der Ära Putin

Die Jugendbewegung "Naschi" (Die Unsrigen) ist die bekannteste und erfolgreichste unter den in den letzten Jahren in Russland entstandenen regierungsfreundlichen Jugendorganisationen. Doch bei den Unsrigen, die vor allem für ihre schrillen Aktionen und ihr rüdes Vorgehen gegen Oppositionelle bekannt geworden sind, handelt es sich weniger um eine »von unten« gewachsene Jugendbewegung, sondern um ein polittechnologisches Projekt der Ära Putin. "Naschi" wurde unter dem Eindruck der bunten Revolutionen im postsowjetischen Raum ins Leben gerufen, um unter Russlands Jugendlichen eine »anti-orange« Stimmung zu erzeugen und eine Massenmobilisierung während der Duma- und Präsidentschaftswahlen 2007/2008 zu verhindern. Als Drahtzieher im Kreml gilt der Putin-Vertraute Wladislaw Surkow. Mit der Absicht, das Mobilisierungspotenzial von "Naschi" zu erhöhen, hat die Regierung beträchtliche administrative und finanzielle Ressourcen bereitgestellt. Die Rechnung ist aufgegangen: Das politische Regime konnte sicher durch die turbulente Wahlperiode gebracht werden. Nun sucht der Kreml Wege, die Geister, die er einst rief, wieder loszuwerden

Chapter 26: the temporal dynamics of emotional responding: implications for well-being and health from the MIDUS

In this chapter findings are reviewed from the MIDUS Neuroscience Project that underscore the value in examining the temporal dynamics of responses to brief emotional provocation for understanding linkages among emotions and factors contributing to health and well-being across the MIDUS study. This rich dataset has allowed the exploration of associations between individual differences in the affective chronometry of negative and positive emotional responses in vulnerable vs. resilient profiles. Findings from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as well as electromyographic recordings (EMG) of the facial muscles to objectively measure emotional responses demonstrate that the temporal dynamics of emotional responses to affective stimuli are associated with aging, personality, psychopathology, stress exposure, biomarkers, and well-being. Overall, these findings suggest that variation in health and well-being are differentially predicted by specific temporal parameters of the emotional response, such as the magnitude of the immediate response to the presence of a stimulus (i.e., reactivity), residual activity and its duration after stimulus offset (i.e., recovery), as well as the change in response – or habituation - across repeated presentations of similarly-valenced stimuli. Besides the seemingly obvious import of recovering quickly from negative or unpleasant provocations, the chronometry of positive emotional responses appears to be particularly vital for determining how emotional processes may take a physiological toll or promote resiliency in the face of stress and disease. By examining such temporal dynamics in response to affective stimuli in MIDUS, a better understanding of the brain-behavior associations underlying emotion, and how emotions “get under the skin” to impact well-being and health across the lifespan is gained

CONSTRUINDO AÇÕES INTERDISCIPLINARES COMO CAMINHO PARA FORTALECIMENTO DA SAÚDE E SEGURANÇA DO(A) TRABALHADOR(A) NO SERVIÇO PÚBLICO ESTADUAL DE SAÚDE

Por meio de uma pesquisa-ação em andamento, destaca-se o percurso onde são construídas ações interdisciplinares para ponderar sobre a atividade não visível, que traz para os(as) trabalhadores(as) desafios cotidianos a serem desbravados na Farmácia Pública de uma Regional de Saúde da região sul do Brasil. Através do Planejamento Estratégico Situacional, do Questionário de Autopercepção e do Mapeamento Produtivo realizados em conjunto com os(as) trabalhadores(as), busca-se evidenciar a dimensão da experiência no trabalho, recorrendo a dispositivos onde o espaço de discussão e análise conjunta da situação laboral propiciem o fortalecimento do viver-junto, tendo a cooperação, solidariedade e confiança como elementos indispensáveis para a saúde mental, na perspectiva da saúde coletiva. Nesse cenário são aliados os conhecimentos da Psicodinâmica do Trabalho e da Ergonomia no horizonte da Saúde do(a) Trabalhador(a) para que a saúde e segurança sejam ressignificadas. Os instrumentais utilizados se mostraram profícuos deflagradores do reconhecimento entre os(as) trabalhadores(as), suas mazelas, organização e processos de trabalho que estão sendo gradualmente repensados. Entretanto, são necessários avanços institucionais concretos do governo de Estado para a garantia de expressão dos(as) trabalhadores(as) e de políticas de saúde e segurança para seus(as) servidores(as)