Sustainability of water use in agriculture. Southern european farmers participation and social impact.

Abstract This paper aims to open a discussion in the scientific point of view and policy making processes on sustainability of water policies. The social and environmental impact on the Agriculture sector in Southern European countries (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) will be investigated to analyse the adoption of measures taken by decision makers on water policies. The community assets of farmers will have an important role on the implementation of different strategies concerning agriculture water management. The paper will focus on the role of farmer’s participation as central actors of implementation in water policy. Furthermore, the social and the environmental aspects will be addressed

Kosovo laborer children: their affective and cognitive traits vs. Academic performance

Socio-economic problems in Kosova inevitably influence the education system. Thestudy investigates child labor (cl) phenomena, which is known as a poverty consequence.It mainly aimed to find how labor factor affects affective-cognitive traits and academic performance of children. Two groups of school children were compared, laborer and nonlaborer children. A range of tools were applied to properly investigate their socio-economic status (both groups live in poverty), emotional disturbances, school performance, social support and the level of some cognitive traits such as self-evaluation, self-esteem etc.The research results show that affective and cognitive traits of laborer children are being negatively affected by their experiences when compared to the children who do notwork but live in poverty. The study didn't show any difference in academic performancebetween the two groups, but there is enough evidence within the study which brings to aconclusion that the laborer children are being positively discriminated within the school system. The study investigates child labor phenomena though a psycho-social perspective and it came with a range of recommendations that were being piloted through a direct intervention project which resulted to be helpful for children and school curricula ingeneral

Comfort Conditions and Energy Consumption in Prefabricated Houses in Tirana

The prefabricated buildings were a momentary solution to the emergent housing problem in Albania during the 1980s. The modular structures were built in minimal costs by using Chinese technology and expertise. A considerable number of buildings were completed all over the country till the beginning of the '90s. These constructions represent today an important part of the housing stock which is seeking retrofit interventions. Due to their design, technology and also due to the lack of maintenance, the prefabricated housing blocks represent today one of the most problematical typologies in terms of thermal comfort and energy efficiency. The objective of the paper is to evaluate the energetic performance of the prefabricated buildings in Tirana, to understand the comfort conditions provided in them and the factors affecting the components of comfort. The research is based on data acquired on a survey conducted in May 2013 and measurements made on case studies. The results deduce preliminary conclusions about the potential of renovation and feasible targets in improving the comfort conditions in these buildings

Istanbul Şişi Etfal Hospital: Evaluating hospital's Outdoor Space and its Effect on the User’s Health

Hospitals are widely accepted as environments full of stress not only for the patients but even for the workers who spent long hours there. In this respect environmental quality plays an important role in understanding the relationship between the people and such kind of buildings. This research will be conducted to find out the Sisli Etfal hospital user’s point of view on the outer space that surround the hospital building which by the time has changed dramatically. These rapid changes have been the driving force to establish the main aim of this research. Weather are these environmental conditions that influence significantly stress and what are the circumstances of the coping process are two issues that got answer by the end of the research. Conducted with the help of the questionnaires directed to the hospital’s users who were randomly selected, the study emphasizes the importance of the outer space to the patient health. The evaluation of the found data from the survey together with researcher’s observations of the spatial physical aspects of the outer space it is stressed the urgent need for intervention in the hospitals’ outdoors in Istanbul

Housing Design Education: in between Urban Planning and Architecture

Housing design exercises at Middle East Technical University (M.E.T.U.) department of architecture constitute a suitable ground to introduce to students issues of site planning and urban design. This study is intended to be a contribution to the research field of architectural education. It partially explores the educational system of the Faculty of Architecture at METU by focusing mostly on its core subject which is design studio. The aim of the research is to make an overview of the way housing design projects are conducted in the third year architectural design studio. The objectives and the learning outcomes expected from these studio exercises, the approaches and tendencies that determine the way the project exercise is given and lastly the teaching methods, strategies and tools will be studied through observation and interviews with the studio critics. The research will focus on the question related with the introduction of students with urban design in this context in particular

Urban Design as a Tool for Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of Public Space in Historic Districts

This paper looks into frameworks which aim at furthering the discussion of the role of regenerative design practices in a city's historic core utilizing the tool of urban design to jumpstart urban revitalization in the context of historic preservation and adaptive reuse in historic city centers. The main prong of investigation will consider the effect of proposed changes in the physical infrastructure and fabric of the city and the management of public space, as well as the catalytic effect of sustainable urban design practices. Through this process, the work hopes to integrate the contained potential within the existing historic city center, which includes both buildings and the space between buildings. It also looks at the notion of a community's right to the public space and the public life of the target areas as well as the potential contribution and participation of its population in the local economy. It also examines ways in which this coupling of factors can bring to the front the positive effects of this combined effort on an otherwise sluggish local redevelopment effort, and uses a local case study to illustrate the potential application of preservation and reuse sstrategies in the historic core of the Nicosia suburb or Strovolos on the island of Cyprus. The data for this study is being collected and organized as part of an ongoing urban design and development workshop manned by diploma students from the University of Cyprus. The presentation is organized around a historical background and theoretical framework for developement, followed concluding thoughts that address sets of actions that may have a positive impact on future projects conceived along similar lines by educators and practitioners in comparable regional initiatives

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORMS AND CORRUPTION IN TURKEY

Although corruption is a very old incident, the first theoretical studies about it began in 1960s and applied ones began after 1990s. Since corruption is an extensive concept, various definitions can be made for it. It is possible to classify the factors triggering corruption as economic, social and administrative. Transparency, accountability and auditing principles are at the forefront more in the fight against corruption. Legal solutions are searched and various actions are taken in struggling with corruption in Turkish public administration. In this study, we shall put emphasis on three legal arrangements: The Ombudsman Law, The Law on Right to Information and The Law on The Foundation of an Ethical Board for Public Servants

Spaces of Activism – Physical and Social Thrombogenesis

Some recent urban transformation projects as a consequence of social activism show that society has the power to specify the problems generate solutions for them and heal its environment for a sustainable future. They also propose different type of public experience in terms of participation, activity and production. These transformation projects come forward as a subject of research for raised consciousness, triggering activism and transformative public sphere they foster. Furthermore, social activism, resulting in transformation projects, changes the city structure and contributes to physical conditions. Many left-over plots and buildings are turned into lively portions of public scene. These potentials are mainly brought forward by the activist initiatives. Spatial needs, responsibility and sensitivity for the city propose spatial transformation and lead to urban developments. Last but not least, this type of public space contributes to productivity, identity and improvement of neglected part of the society. It does not only allow participation and bring different groups together, but also encourages self-exploration and personal transformation. Overall, concept of social activism proposes possible organizational formations and spatial ideas for transformative public spheres

An experience of children with disabilities in mainstream schools, their acceptance and socialisation towards discrimination

Albania ratified the UN CRC in '92 and also signed the UN Convention on theRights of Persons with Disability. During the last three years, the Albanian Government has been undergoing an entire legislative framework revision, as a step towards ratification of this convention, which was actually ratified in November 2012. Both conventions constitute the right of children with disabilities (CWD) to receive education in main stream education settings with their peers without disability. Schools and their communities have carried resistance and very often segregate beliefs and attitudes towards this specific right.Expressions like "these children cannot be educated", "there are special schools for thesechildren so they can go there", "their presence in the class is not safe for other children"etc. not only exhibit the general mentality in education system, but also try to justify that the segregation is not wrong.International research shows that institutionalization of persons with disability (inthe case of children, segregation in special schools) produces serious damages in theirsocial functions; they lose the sense of identity, deteriorate their social skills and diminish most of their social roles. The institutionalization discourages and disables them tomanage their own life. To avoid this phenomenon the presence of persons with disabilityin mainstream social and educational life, the same as the others, becomes a must.This paper brings an experience of inclusion in education of children withdisabilities and effects it has produced in socialisation of CWD with their peers and viceversa. The paper presents the results of a longitudinal study, conducted to understand anddraw conclusions on effects of the socialization between the two groups of children, those without disability and CWD

POPULATION DYNAMICS OF THE COMMUNE ANA E MALIT

The municipality is located in south western part of Shkodra district. The Distance of the center of the commune Oblike with the town is 7 km. The process to populate the territory of the municipality dates back to antiquity. Historical, archival, statistical sources exploited in the context of this study, will enable the analysis of population dynamics in space and time. This dynamic and its indicators have undergone changes depending on political, social and economic factors. The most evidenced changes of the population dynamics and demographic indicators belong to the second half of the last century until today. During the communist regime the number of population was increased by 77.5 % from 1945 (the population was 3140 inhabitants). In 1989 the population reached 5573 people. Political, social and economic changes after 90s of the last century brought about negative changes in population dynamics. In 2001 the population was reduced with 753 inhabitants or 13.5 % in comparison to the 1989. The object of discussion and analysis will be the last census of 2011 in relation to civil status data and surveys carried out in the field