The government usually seeks help from private investors to be able to deliver public services. Private capital usually tends to concentrate on big profi table projects. In order to be able to carry out the smaller projects, an alternative to privatizations has to be proposed, in attention to the State’s inefficiency to deliver every service the society demands. In this article, the author proposes the civil society’s active participation as a way to carry out smaller projects efficiently. Nonetheless, civil participation is not possible without an attractive foment policy and the facilitation of particular initiatives given by the State. The article focuses particularly in the case of the Brazilian reality and other parts of LatinAmerica. / El Estado suele recurrir a la privatización para la implementación de servicios públicos. Generalmente, la inversión privada se concentra en grandes proyectos que le sean rentables. Se hace necesaria una alternativa al sistemade las privatizaciones, ya que el Estado tampoco puede asumir un rol activo en la prestación eficiente de todos los servicios que la sociedad demanda. En este artículo, el autor propone la participación activa de la sociedad civil para llevar acabo pequeños proyectos eficientemente. Sin embargo, ésta no es posible sin una correcta política de fomento y facilitación de iniciativas particulares por parte del Estado. Así, se pasa a analizar la situación de América Latina a la luz de la legislación y las experiencias internacionales.

No Brasil, o gradualismo presente no processo de transição democrática implicou em um legado autoritário nas instituições políticas, explícito atualmente na insuficiente delimitação entre segurança interna e externa, além do baixo controle sobre as atividades de segurança de modo geral. Mais especificamente, a tardia criação do Ministério da Defesa demonstra a dificuldade de exercer o controle civil sobre os militares no país. Entretanto, a administração de Nelson Jobim (2007-2011) representa um avanço em relação aos ministros anteriores ao exercer uma direção política civil com autoridade, que efetivamente contribuiu para melhorar o controle civil democrático. A Estratégia Nacional de Defesa (2008), a Lei Complementar nº 136 (2010) e o Livro Branco (2012) são documentos que sinalizam profundas alterações institucionais no Ministério. O objetivo do artigo é compreender o impacto dessas mudanças sobre as relações entre civis e militares, a partir do conceito de controle civil democrático, bem como contextualizar politicamente as razões para que tenham acontecido. No rastro da crise da aviação civil, constata-se que houve uma mudança na balança de poder interna ao Estado, que permitiu consolidar a autoridade civil no Ministério da Defesa, a partir da nomeação do Ministro Jobim, em 2007. A partir de um estudo de caso, conclui-se que uma combinação de fatores (perfil ministerial, conjuntura política nacional e internacional e apoio do Executivo) contribuiu para que essas alterações estruturais fossem levadas a cabo no órgão, as quais efetivamente criaram uma estrutura civil no Ministério. / In Brazil, the gradual democratic transition process has generated political institutions with authoritarian characteristics, such as a blurred distinction between internal and external security, as well as a low control under security activities in general. More specifically, the late creation of a Ministry of Defence shows how difficult is to control the military in this country. However, Nelson Jobim’s administration (2007-2011) is an advance comparing to the previous ones, having exerted an effective political authority that has improved democratic civilian control. The National Strategic Defence (2008), the Complimentary Law nº 136 (2010) and the White Book (2012) have contributed for important changes in the Ministry. The objective is to understand the impact of these changes on civil-military relations, based on the concept of democratic civilian control, as well as to identify the reasons behind them. After the civilian aviation crisis, there was a change in the internal State’s balance of power, which helped to consolidated the civilian authority in the Ministry of Defence after Nelson Jobim’s nomination in 2007. In conclusion, a number of factors (personal characteristics, national and international conjunctures and the Executive support) made possible these strucutural changes to happen, which effectivelly created a civilian strucuture in the Ministry. / En Brasil, el gradualismo del proceso de transición democrática generó características autoritárias en las instituciones políticas, las cuales están presentes hoy en día en la insuficiente diferenciación entre la seguridad interna y la seguridad exterior, así como en el bajo control de las actividades de seguridad en general. Es decir, la tardía creación del Ministerio de la Defensa demuenstra las dificultades de ejercer el control civil de los militares en el país. Sin embargo, la administración de Nelson Jobim (2007-2011) es um avanzo en comparación con los ministerios anteriores, pues él ejerció una dirección política civil con autoridad que contribuyó de manera efectiva para mejorar el control civil democrático. La Estratégia Nacional de Defensa (2008), la Ley Complementar nº 136 (2010) y el Libro Blanco (2012) son documentos que contribuyeron para las alteraciones institucionales en el Ministerio. El objetivo del artículo es entender el impacto de esos cambios en las relaciones civiles militares, basado en el concepto de control civil democrático, así como contextualizar sus razones políticas. Después de la crisis de la aviación civil, un cambio se pasó en la balanza de poder interna del Estado, que permitió la consolidación de la autoridad civil en el Ministerio con la nominación de Nelson Jobim en 2007. A través de un estudo de caso, la conclusión es que una combinación de factores (perfil ministerial, conjuntura política nacional e internacional y apoyo del Ejecutivo) contribuyeron para que essas alteraciones estructurales ocurriera, las cuales efectivamente crearon una estrutura civil en el Ministério.

The scholarly field on rebel use of sexual violence in armed conflict is divided. While some scholars argue that it principally occurs as a conscious strategy, a weapon of war, others argue that it is primarily a consequence of asymmetrical gender power relations. In this paper it is argued that access to and use of natural resources as means of finance enable rebel actors to commit sexual violence against civilians. As they extract resources from external sources, their accountability to civilians decreases and the use of sexual violence is made more economically viable. To test this, a quantitative analysis of around one hundred rebel actor conflict-episodes was conducted. The results suggest a positive correlation between natural resource financing and sexual violence.

Les conflits armés ont toujours été émaillés de nombreuses exactions commises contre les populations civiles, notamment lorsque la guerre présentait une dimension identitaire ou politique relativement affirmée. C'est encore le cas dans de nombreux conflits contemporains. Le droit international n'a pourtant cessé de se renforcer pour garantir à ces populations une meilleure protection contre les effets des hostilités, notamment par la signature de plusieurs conventions internationales à La Haye ou Genève qui constituent aujourd'hui le socle du droit international humanitaire. Il existe donc un contraste flagrant entre l'état du droit et la protection effective des populations sur le terrain. Pourquoi ? Recentré sur l'analyse de la conflictualité contemporaine, ce travail s'efforce d'en rechercher la cause dans l'évolution des cadres de référence des combattants et dans la manière dont ils influent sur leur définition de l'ennemi et sur leur conception de la place des civils dans la guerre. Il démontre comment l'évolution des causes de conflit comme de la pratique des combattants dans les guerres asymétriques ou déstructurées tend à replacer toujours plus les civils au coeur de la guerre. Cela ne signifie pas pour autant que le droit international humanitaire, adopté pour l'essentiel à l'issue des deux Guerres mondiales et au cours des années 1970, soit obsolète. De fait, au contraire, ses principales règles relatives à la protection des populations civiles sont assez souples pour s'adapter aux défis que posent les conflits contemporains, pour peu que les combattants veuillent les appliquer et en faire une interprétation raisonnable et de bonne foi / Armed conflicts have always been interspersed with numerous abuses committed against the civilian populations, notably when the war was of identity or political nature. This is also the case in number of modern conflicts. International law has however continued to strengthen in order to guarantee better protection to civilians against the effect of hostilities, notably by the signing of several conventions at the Hague and Geneva, which today constitute the basis of international humanitarian law. There is, therefore, a sharp contrast between the state of the law and the effective protection of civilians on the field. Why ? Refocusing on the analysis of modern conflicts, this work attempts to look for the cause in the development of soldier's references and in the way they influence their definition of the enemy and their conception of the role of civilians in war. It demonstrates how the evolution of the causes of conflict and the practices of soldiers in asymmetric and deconstructed conflicts tend to place more and more civilians at the heart of the war. This does not mean that international humanitarian law, adopted for the main part after the two World wars and during the seventies, is obsolete. On the contrary, its principal rules relative to the protection of the civilians are flexible enough to adapt to the challenges of modern conflicts, as long as the soldiers are willing to apply them and interpret them reasonably and honestly

Background Recent conflicts have seen an increase in trauma related military amputees who incur complex injuries which result in varied residual limbs. In many cases these amputees have been provided with state of the art (SOTA) components with the expectation that they will transfer into NHS care after military discharge. However, there is a lack of knowledge around how prosthetic prescriptions are made in both the MOD and NHS, including patient involvement. It is important to explore prosthetic prescription decisions to enhance the quality, consistency and equity of care delivery for trauma amputees. This thesis explores decision making in prosthetic care for trauma amputees in the UK during this period of change. Aims To explore aspects of prosthetic care provision in the UK including clinical decision making, patient experience and the transition of prosthetic care from the MOD to the NHS. Design An exploratory qualitative project informed by decision making and patient involvement theory. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with nineteen clinical staff involved in prosthetic provision, six civilian and five veteran trauma amputees. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings Prosthetists used a wide range of factors in making prescription decisions, including physical characteristics, patients’ goals, and predicted activity levels. Prescription decision making varied depending on the prosthetists’ level of experience and the different ‘cues’ identified. In some cases there was a lack of transparency about drivers for the prescription choice. Prescription decisions are influenced by long term relationships between prosthetist and patient, allowing a trial and error approach with increasing patient involvement over time. Patient experiences of their trauma amputation influenced their approach to rehabilitation. Patients reported wanting different levels of involvement in their prosthetic care, however, communication was essential for all. Veteran amputees benefited from peer support opportunities which NHS services were less conducive to. However, NHS amputees were more likely to have been ‘involved’ in care decisions. The expectations that MOD patients had of inferior care in the NHS were not realised in the majority of veteran cases. Recommendations Research is needed to support prosthetists’ decisions to become more consistent and transparent. The NHS should consider introducing a peer support model for trauma patients, and particularly in the early stages of rehabilitation.

Redan idag är närmare var tredje medarbetare i Försvarsmakten civilanställd och den andelen förväntas öka. Trots det har få studier gjorts kring vad som driver dessa människor. Den modell vi tagit fram visar att civilanställda i Försvarsmakten känner en stark samhörighet och ser sig som en del av den gemensamma identiteten. De påverkas dock av en upplevd otydlighet och byråkratisering, precis som sina militära kollegor. Dock med en stor skillnad – att byta arbetsgivare ligger närmare till hands än för en Officer. Vår studie utgår från workshops med civilanställda vid två krigsförband. Urvalet av deltagare har gett oss en inblick i såväl administrativa roller som roller burna av specialister inom kärnverksamheten. Vi har valt att analysera vår empiri utifrån perspektiv som Försvarsmakten kan påverka. Den här studien handlar inte om motivationsteori utan vad arbetsgivaren kan och bör göra för att säkra både rekrytering och bibehållande av individer som är avgörande för organisationens framtid. Det enskilt viktigaste Försvarsmakten kan göra för att behålla kompetensen hos dessa medarbetare är att ge dem trovärdiga karriärvägar, likt de Officerskåren har.

The aim of this study was to describe the dimensions of Turkish Gazis' transition to civilian life, to explore the main factors that make this process easier or more difficult, and their psychological integration, that is, specifically, satisfaction with their life. To that end, this study examined the impact of combat-related traumatic stressor (e.g., functional limitations), personal resources (social support, sense of mastery), perceived mental health on Turkish veterans' adjustment into civilian life and their psychological integration. The data was collected in Turkey in 2015 by the researcher with the help of Türkiye Harp Malulü Gaziler Şehit Dul ve Yetimler Derneği, a non-profit veteran organization. The final sample included 240 Turkish Gazis. The level of perceived transition into civilian life and veterans' life satisfaction were the dependent variables in this study. A series of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was conducted. Hayes' PROCESS macro 3.0 was utilized to measure the direct, indirect and moderation effects of variables on transition and life satisfaction among Gazis. The results demonstrated that perceived available social support, perceived sense of mastery and mental health partially mediated the association between Gazis' functional limitations and transition into civilian life and they fully mediated the association between functional limitations and life satisfaction. Among control variables, only household income predicted transition into civilian life, and place of residence was the only significant predictor of life satisfaction. However, neither social support nor mastery had moderation effect on the relationship between functional limitations and dependent variables. Policy implications and suggestions for further studies are also provided at the end of the dissertation.

Despite advances made during the women's movement, gender inequality is a problem for women seeking leadership opportunities within the U.S. Defense Industry today. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions of civilian females who had experienced gender inequality obstacles in their professional advancement opportunities within the U.S. Defense Industry. The mommy track framework, defined as the family/work imbalance; the gatekeeper framework; and the institutional sexism framework were used to guide this study. The research questions focused on how these women perceived both internal and external barriers to their professional advancement in the U.S. Defense Industry. A criterion sample of 18 civilian females who worked within the defense industry was interviewed. Data analysis included coding, categorizing, and analyzing themes. The resulting 5 themes were worker bee, traditional mentality/transitional workforce, education/training/network, traditional organizational culture, and fighting back. The findings also identified that gender inequality is apparent, women limit their potential growth, Queen Bees sting Wanna-Bees, and traditional organizational cultures maintain the status quo as the norm and enforce gendered stereotypes. The study leads to positive social change by raising awareness to policy-makers, educators, and women that can help set an agenda to overcome gender inequality.

Downsizing, realignment, and closure of military bases have forced many low-skilled, blue-collar federal employees into involuntary job loss and job transition. The impact of involuntary job loss on blue-collar workers has been linked to stress and other adverse psychological effects. There is gap in the literature regarding the lived experiences of federal blue-collar employees following downsizing of military bases. The purpose of this qualitative, interpretive phenomenological study was to examine lived experiences of job loss and job transition for federal blue-collar employees following downsizing of military bases. Schlossberg's transition theory provided a conceptual framework for the study. Ten ex-federal blue-collar employees were recruited through purposeful sampling and interviewed using a semistructured interview strategy. The modified Moustakas and Stevick-Coliazzi-Keen method of analysis was used to analyze the data and report emergent themes. The following 7 themes emerged from the data: transition was associated with negative feelings, employer was unprepared for transition process, support provided by employer, emotional support from family and significant others, engaged in other activities, accepted the transition process, and drew motivation from family. The findings from this study may contribute to positive social change by providing important information that human resource managers, industrial/organizational psychologists, and government agencies can use to advocate for the need for developing programs that support civilian job transition services to individuals who are affected by federal downsizing.

This dissertation examines civilian mobilization amidst the Donbas war in Ukraine and the identity formation processes that it engendered. It focuses on ordinary residents of the frontline regions who voluntarily got together to address the humanitarian and military consequences of war in the absence of state support. It explores the micro-level dynamics of mobilization, particularly the demographic profile of volunteers, their motivations to join and their pathways to engagement. In so doing, it provides an account of how ordinary residents of seemingly passive regions became active in times of crisis. I use the concept of “identity formation” to analyze how war and war engagement have impacted citizen, gender, national and language identities of those active at the rear. The outbreak of war shattered habitual ways of thinking and acting and brought about new modes of belonging and meaning making for war volunteers. My findings suggest that successful volunteer efforts in wartime allowed volunteers to position themselves differently with respect to community, nation, and the state and to articulate new understandings of “good citizenship.” The shifting positioning of volunteers, as the research demonstrates, is inherently linked to the changing citizen regimes in Ukraine and the gendered conceptions of who counts as a legitimate member of the community. By employing ethnographic tools of inquiry, the dissertation provides an ethnographic account of wartime social change “from below” and speaks to larger social and political transformations in wartime using Ukraine as a case study. It does so with attention to the social-political environment within which collective action occurs and in relation to the new types of mobility, socializing and bonding it engenders.