Documents found
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221.More information
AbstractThis paper propounds a revue of literature about the limits of the current European institutional framework. First, it appears that the status of the European Central Bank, and particularly its quasi exclusive aim to maintain the stability of prices, don't ease the possibilities of harmonization of the budgetary policies between the member countries. Then, the institutional coordination of the budgetary policies seems nowadays insufficiently developed in Europe. Moreover, the constraints imposed by the Stability and Growth Pact are too much static: they undervalue the importance of the level of the public debt, and they impose the same norm of public deficits to countries which situations and budgetary expenditures are very heterogeneous. Finally, the budgetary constraints should better be related only to the structural part of the public deficits, and they should be made more symmetric in the different phases of the economic cycle. But the reform of the Pact which took place in March 2005 does only bring imperfect answers to some of these limits.
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222.More information
This article undertakes an in-depth analysis of the intricate mechanisms pertaining to the transfer and reception of the participatory budget in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It highlights critical factors that account for the inefficacy of Public Action Instruments (PAIs) advocated in Africa by international development organizations such as the World Bank. Building on policy transfer and PAI theories, this study dissects the nuanced relationships that prevail between the World Bank, the Congolese government, and the decentralized territorial entities (DTEs) in the context of the participatory budget. The research methodology includes a series of interviews conducted with a variety of stakeholders engaged in the transfer and reception process. The findings reflect the pivotal role of World Bank consultants, who steered the participatory budget in alignment with the Bank's institutional priorities and interests, as opposed to those of the Congolese authorities. Despite the formal endorsement of the participatory budget by Congolese authorities, they did not extend substantial political and financial support for its successful implementation. Moreover, participatory budget is implemented within decentralized territorial entities where national authorities maintain financial control, and local authorities are not willing to share power with citizens, thus hindering accountability.
Keywords: budget participatif, transfert d'Instrument d'action publique, Banque mondiale, décentralisation, autorités nationales, République démocratique du Congo, participatory budget, transfer of public action instrument, World Bank, decentralization, national authorities, Democratic Republic of Congo
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223.More information
The emancipation movement for people with disabilities is part of a long historical process, marked by at least two revolutions that have permitted them to progressively acquire recognition of their rights. The first revolution, so-called deinstitutionalisation, in the course of the 1970’s, involves the recognition of their civil rights. The second revolution, starting in the 1980’s, was dominated by the recognition of their social, economic and cultural rights. A third, and ongoing, revolution is necessary so as that their political rights be recognised and also so they may be active citizens, equally and completely. In order for people to exercise their political rights, they must possess the required civic skills, which implies the availability of place for civic involvement that would permit them to acquire and exercise theses skills. This is called the process of political socialisation. As part of an "international and educational program for democratic citizenship, by, for and with people with disabilities", an action research project is underway to better understand the process of political socialisation, the acquisition and development of civic skills for people involved in user committees or associations that promote or advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities.
Keywords: citoyenneté, gouvernance démocratique, compétences civiques, droits, efficacité politique, handicap, citizenship, democratic governance, civil skills, rights, political effectiveness, disability
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224.More information
This article retraces the history of the social economy’s institutionalisation and the social solidarity policies in Portugal from the time of the revolution in April 1974, known as the Carnation Revolution, to the 1990s. Using the concept of the social economy as defined by Portuguese law as a reference, the author looks at the institutional and ideological relationships established between the public social policies developed by the new democratic government and the activities of organisations in the social and solidarity economy. The analysis is based on an institutionalist perspective but also looks at power games and interest dynamics. The Portuguese case illustrates the benefits that institutionalisation and the welfare state can bring to the voluntary practices of solidarity and cooperation.
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225.More information
Research on the social determinants of health does not often spotlight social policies' effects on health inequalities. Yet, the support that such policies provide to a large part of the population is intended, among other things, to reduce the inequalities inherent to capitalist society. This article documents the ways that social policy in general and family policy in particular have consequences for individuals and for social inequalities of health.
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227.More information
The data on the benefits of renovated Quebec libraries are rarely available to the public and other libraries. Thus, the impact of architectural and ergonomic choices remains unrecognized. How can we measure the added value for patrons, independently to the architectural value of the building ?This article presents a literature review on best practices for interior planning and design of libraries, followed by an analysis of twelve remodeling library projects in Quebec that occurred between 2007 and 2017, following a qualitative methodology based on an interpretative approach of the documentary resources and statistics.The results of the analysis demonstrate that is it possible to add the architectural value of the public library back to the patrons. The added value for the population is mainly manifested by an increased number of visits, in-library loans, registered users, activities, and participants to these same activities.Among the recommendations, we mention the collection, comparison and dissemination of the statistics before, during and after the renovations as an integral part of the architectural conception and of the functional and technical program ; the segmentation of the statistics and the coherence among the compiled elements by branch during the annual Inquiry on Quebec public libraries.
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