Aquesta Tesi doctoral té com a objectiu l’estudi del municipi constitucional que es configura durant el període històric conegut com el trienni liberal (1820-1823). L’estudi abasta no únicament la seva vessant doctrinal i legal, és a dir, el municipi teòric; sinó també la seva vessant real, és a dir, l’aplicació de la normativa jurídica centrant-nos en un cas concret: el municipi de Vic. Hem pretès analitzar la dicotomia municipi ideal-municipi real, en un període determinat, 1820-1823 i en un municipi concret, Vic. Només amb l’estudi de múltiples treballs de microhistòria podrem arribar a conèixer la realitat del que va succeir en el nostre país, més enllà del marc legal. Veure fins a quin punt s’ha produït un divorci existent entre dret oficial i el dret de la pràctica. / The objective of this Doctoral Thesis is to study the constitutional municipality established during the historical period known as the “trienni liberal” (liberal three-year period) (1820-1823). The study focuses not only on the doctrinal and legal aspects, i. e. the theoretical municipality; but also on the real aspect, i. e. the implementation of the legal regulations in the specific case-study of the municipality of Vic. We have tried to analise the dicotomy ideal municipality-real municipality in a particular period of time (1820-1823) and in a specific municipality, Vic. Only through multiple micro-history studies it will be possible to determine exactly what happened in our country, beyond the legal framework. This will allow us to determine to what extent a divorce existed between the official law and the practice law.

An elementary precondition for the EU Member States to act coherently in the field of foreign policy is to reach a common standpoint on particular issues of the CFSP. Due to the intergovernmental character of decision-making in the sphere of the CFSP, the Member States reach a common position primarily through negotiations. In this regard the thesis focuses on an analysis of the EC/U Member States negotiations about two politically highly controversial foreign policy issues – the Yugoslav recognition crisis of 1991 and the Iraqi crisis of 2002/2003. Developing a theoretical model of analysis based on merging Moravcsik’s liberal intergovernmentalism and negotiation analysis the author seeks to examine and explain the outcomes of these negotiations, while emphasising the necessity to view negotiation as a process throughout which a variation in certain factors can occur and hence influence the outcomes of negotiation in a decisive way.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Liberal Studies." Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-36).

The second half of the 20th century saw the emergence of consequential and diverse social movements inspired by Christian moral commitments, from anti-communism and temperance to Civil Rights and fundamentalism. Few studies, however, have systematically analyzed this important sector of activism adequately, though it lies at the intersection of two vital sociological areas: the sociology of religion and political sociology. This dissertation is the first comprehensive study of Christian activist organizations, creating and analyzing an electronic database of approximately 500 unique Christian social movement organizations along nearly 50 variables including overall population changes, denominational variation, geographic diffusion, tactical repertoires, and issues engaged. Findings indicate that changes originating in religious demographics and culture preceded and led to related changes in American politics, overall in a conservative direction. At a macro level, data also consistently point to a homeostatic, cybernetic effect generating medium-term cultural equilibrium between progressive and conservative Christian activists. At the micro-level, findings illustrate the essential role of cultural entrepreneurs motivated by religious values and identities in redefining, publicizing, and defending the moral boundaries which create and sustain social movements. / text

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This study serves the purpose of understanding presidential leadership and the forces that either restrain or influence their decision-making for change and adaptability at six small, private, liberal arts colleges (SPLACs) in Iowa. By utilizing a qualitative framework to gather knowledge utilizing Kurt Lewin’s Force-Field Analysis, this study provides current and future presidents with evidence of leadership challenges that are relevant to managing dynamic organizations. Three research questions directed this study: 1) What have been college presidents’ experiences leading small, private, liberal arts colleges in the 21st century?; 2) How accurate is Earl Cheit’s 1970s liberal arts assessment for Iowa’s small, four year, highly residential (S4/HR) college presidents in 2012, and what, if any influence, does it have on their decision-making and leadership?; and 3) Which driving and restraining forces impact presidential decision-making at these S4/HR colleges with regard to achieving sustainability of the liberal arts mission in the 21st century? Based on the participants’ responses, six themes emerged that identify the experiences and forces that impact these college presidents relative to their institutional environments: a) 21st century technology; b) curriculum expansion; c) consumer shifts and demands; d) demographic changes; e) affordability and financial constraints; and f) alumni, board, and donor support. Based on the data collected and analyzed, the results of this study show that for these S4/HR institutions in Iowa to stay competitive while addressing the influencing and restraining forces pertaining to their decision-making, presidents will have to develop new initiatives to address the following: an alternative financing formula for sustainable long-term budgeting through peer institutional collaboration and auxiliary services, curriculum expansion in high growth sectors, and endowment development; enhancement of partnerships among fellow undergraduate and graduate programs to institute and support a consortium network, including public/private partnerships among non-sector industries; increase of recruitment efforts to regional and national middle school students in growing demographic regions while enhancing program support for the growing nonwhite majority through specific targeting of high-growth zip codes around the country; working more intentionally among the Iowa Association for Independent Colleges and Universities (IAICU) to overcome the presumed misperception that a private liberal arts education is only for the affluent and highly talented; and being the leaders in renewing our country’s commitment to educational outcomes versus the commodification of the degree. Overall, while working to proactively solve these issues, these presidential participants have deep satisfaction in leading Iowa’s SPLACs. Although budgeting was discussed significantly, all six presidential participants were unable to provide a long-term alternative finance mechanism outside of the current practices of short-term tuition-discounting.

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