Pursuing defragmentation at the municipal level: signs of a changing pattern?

Modern Italy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Bolgherini ◽  
Mattia Casula ◽  
Mariano Marotta
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Step Change ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Explanatory Factors ◽  
External Conditions ◽  
Descriptive Approach ◽  
National Policy Maker ◽  
Municipal Level

Municipal fragmentation is a real historical issue in Italy but its relevance has been differently perceived over time. With a focus on the municipal unions and amalgamations as the main tools for defragmentation, we will present an overview of the last quarter century (1990–2017) of territorial policy at the local level. The reforms introduced since 2010 marked a step change in this area: in fact, empirical evidence shows that the most recent defragmentation attempts have had a certain success. This article, by maintaining a descriptive approach, will try to answer why the most recent defragmentation policy achieved some results, in contrast to those of the past. Some explanatory factors will be presented by reviewing the stances of the main actors in this policy field and their interaction with national policy-maker goals and approaches as well as with normative elements and external conditions.

Twenty-five years of waste water management in the Netherlands - an industrial view

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
J. Schut
Keyword(s):  
Waste Water ◽  
Water Pollution ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Metal Pollutants ◽  
The Past ◽  
Heavy Metal Pollutants ◽  
Waste Water Management ◽  
Water Boards

This paper reflects, from an industrialist's perspective, on 25 years' operation of the Water Pollution Act in The Netherlands. The Act empowers Water Boards to implement national policy on water quality. These Boards may be regarded as a model for cooperation between the general public and industry, two partners that are both polluters and sufferers from pollution. Oxygen-consuming and heavy metal pollutants are considered as examples of the significant improvements achieved over the past quarter century.

Municipal reaction to functional rescaling in Italy

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 448-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Bolgherini ◽  
Mattia Casula ◽  
Mariano Marotta
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Joint Management ◽  
Italian Regions ◽  
Intermunicipal Cooperation ◽  
Future Policy ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
National Policy Maker ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the municipal reaction to a recent rescaling policy in Italy that, since 2010, require to small municipalities to jointly manage their basic tasks (compulsory joint management – CJM) through intermunicipal forms of cooperation. The paper will investigate: how many small municipalities did effectively join their basic tasks; which forms of cooperation did they choose to perform these tasks; and which kind of reaction municipalities enacted toward the national provision.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative data rely on an original database collecting information on all Italian municipalities up to 2015. A qualitative research has also been conducted by submitting a semi-structured questionnaire and interviews to the civil servants in charge of the CJM in each of the 20 Italian regions and to other privileged interlocutors.FindingsItalian municipalities poorly complied with the CJM norm and when they did, they choose the easiest way to do it (using the simplest available intermunicipal cooperation form). Among the explanations for this reaction: the lack of consistency and clear political will of the national policy maker in respect to this norm and the lack of a mind set at the local level oriented to cooperation and networking.Originality/valueThis paper highlights the main patterns of conflict in functional rescaling of small-sized municipalities in Italy, thus providing both fresh new data on this phenomena and useful elements for shaping future policy making on this topic.

scholarly journals The Regulatory Framework and Minerals Development in Vietnam: An Assessment of Challenges and Reform

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 4861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nhi Ba Ba Nguyen ◽  
Bryan Boruff ◽  
Matthew Tonts
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Rent Seeking ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
The Past ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks

This paper aims to identify the key components of a modern mining regulatory framework and examines the extent to which the Vietnamese context reflects these characteristics. Through detailed observation of two research locations in Vietnam—Phuoc Son and Bong Mieu—the paper investigates how national policy operates at a local level. Findings show that, over the past decade, the Vietnamese Government has initiated substantial reforms to the regulatory frameworks governing mining, with the central objective to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). However, it has become apparent that these reforms have numerous deficiencies and loopholes that have led to a range of unintended economic, social and environmental consequences. To cope with challenges such as rent-seeking, limited capacities and capabilities of government staff, failure of institutions and neglect of local communities, policy makers will need to think differently and strategically about the mining industry and how regulations are implemented. Only by addressing these weaknesses will the path be paved for the sustainable growth of Vietnam’s mining industry into the future.

YOUTH COUNCILLORS' PERCEPTIONS OF PARTICIPATION AT A MUNICIPAL LEVEL: THE CASE OF A LIMPOPO DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-92
Author(s):  
Edith Dinong Phaswana
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Young People ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Youth Participation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Operational Issues ◽  
Municipal Level

Over the past three decades youth participation as a theoretical, practical and policy approach has been increasing globally. In 1996, South Africa established various youth institutions at national, provincial and local level. This has translated in many adult organisations having to make a shift in their thinking and operations. This included municipalities at local level. In this paper, I focus on one district municipality in the Limpopo province to examine youth participation practices. I use Driskell and Kudva’s framework of spaces of participation for adult-run organisations seeking to promote youth participation to examine the appropriateness of municipality as a space for participation practice. My research shows that adult attitudes towards young people are central in undermining other participatory spaces created. However, bounded operational issues can be countered by the structural opportunities existing there.

Soziale Disziplinierung im flexiblen Kapitalismus

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (136) ◽  
pp. 339-356
Author(s):  
Tobias Wölfle ◽  
Oliver Schöller
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Capitalist Development ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Municipal Level

Under the term “Hilfe zur Arbeit” (aid for work) the federal law of social welfare subsumes all kinds of labour disciplining instruments. First, the paper shows the historical connection of welfare and labour disciplining mechanisms in the context of different periods within capitalist development. In a second step, against the background of historical experiences, we will analyse the trends of “Hilfe zur Arbeit” during the past two decades. It will be shown that by the rise of unemployment, the impact of labour disciplining aspects of “Hilfe zur Arbeit” has increased both on the federal and on the municipal level. For this reason the leverage of the liberal paradigm would take place even in the core of social rights.

A Review of Medical Waste Management in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaniyi FC ◽  
Ogola JS ◽  
Tshitangano TG
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
African Government ◽  
The Past ◽  
Government Documents ◽  
Medical Waste Management

Background:Poor medical waste management has been implicated in an increase in the number of epidemics and waste-related diseases in the past years. South Africa is resource-constrained in the management of medical waste.Objectives:A review of studies regarding medical waste management in South Africa in the past decade was undertaken to explore the practices of medical waste management and the challenges being faced by stakeholders.Method:Published articles, South African government documents, reports of hospital surveys, unpublished theses and dissertations were consulted, analysed and synthesised. The studies employed quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methods and documented comparable results from all provinces.Results:The absence of a national policy to guide the medical waste management practice in the provinces was identified as the principal problem. Poor practices were reported across the country from the point of medical waste generation to disposal, as well as non-enforcement of guidelines in the provinces where they exit. The authorized disposal sites nationally are currently unable to cope with the enormous amount of the medical waste being generated and illegal dumping of the waste in unapproved sites have been reported. The challenges range from lack of adequate facilities for temporary storage of waste to final disposal.Conclusion:These challenges must be addressed and the practices corrected to forestall the adverse effects of poorly managed medical waste on the country. There is a need to develop a medical waste policy to assist in the management of such waste.

The Information Content of Royalty Income

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Gu ◽  
Baruch Lev
Keyword(s):  
Information Content ◽  
Intangible Assets ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Patent Licensing ◽  
Financial Reports ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Steep Increase ◽  
The Past ◽  
Corporate Growth

The rise of intangible assets in size and contribution to corporate growth over the past quarter century was accompanied by a steep increase in the rate and scope of patenting. Consequently, many patent-rich companies, particularly in the science-based and high-tech industries, are extensively engaged in the licensing and sale of patents. We examine various valuation and disclosure aspects of the outcome of patent licensing—royalty income. Our findings indicate the following: (1) royalty income is highly relevant to securities valuation, (2) the intensity of royalty income provides investors with an important signal about the quality and prospects of firms' R&D expenditures, and (3) a substantial number of companies engaged in patent licensing do not disclose royalty income in financial reports.

Arab Historical Writing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youssef M. Choueiri
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Historical Writing ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Writings ◽  
Arabic World

This chapter traces the principal historiographical developments in the Arab world since 1945. It is divided into two major parts. The first part deals with the period extending from 1945 to 1970. During this period the discourse of either socialism or nationalism permeated most historical writings. The second part presents the various attempts made to decolonize, rewrite, or theorize history throughout the Arab world. The chapter then shows how in the various states of the Arabic world—some but not all of which have become fundamentalist Islamic regimes—Western models continued to be followed, though often with a more explicitly socialist approach than would be the case in America or Western Europe. By the 1970s, well before the shake-up of radical Islamicization that has dominated the past quarter-century, the entire Arabic world began to push hard against the dominance of residual Western colonial history.

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