Academic literature on the topic 'Pressure groups – Europe'
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Journal articles on the topic "Pressure groups – Europe"
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Miller, William L. "Religion, Risk and Legal Culture: Balancing Human Rights against a ‘War on Terror’." British Journal of Politics and International Relations 13, no. 4 (April 8, 2011): 514–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-856x.2011.00453.x.
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‘Legal cultures’ in European countries have been under the twin pressures of moves towards ‘European and international standards’ on the one hand, and the ‘war on terror’ on the other—the first exerting pressure in a liberal direction, the second exerting pressure in an authoritarian direction. Data from focus groups and interviews with the general public and Muslim minorities provide insight into how the public in general, and Muslims in particular, have responded to the pressure of terrorism and the ‘war on terror’ in a spectrum of five countries ranging across Europe. Muslims have very different attitudes towards paying the price of the so-called ‘war on terror’, but our study suggests that attitudes towards that price are directly influenced more by ‘risk assessment’ than by religion.
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Flere, Sergej, and Miran Lavric. "Muslim, Catholic and Orthodox religiosity in Central Europe in contrast to American Protestant religiosity." Sociologija 47, no. 3 (2005): 213–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/soc0503213f.
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Four religious cultural settings, a Slovenian Catholic one, a Bosnian Muslim one, a Serbian Orthodox one and an American Protestant one, are compared on the basis of a variety of measures of religiosity, resulting from a survey carried out on large student samples in 2005. Certain cultural peculiarities of the groups emerge: e.g., the particular Muslim stress on the concept of God as austere judge. These peculiarities, indicative of a more pronouncedly rigid and authentic religiosity do not add up to a qualitatively different religiosity among the Muslims. Nevertheless, clear differences appeared in the structure of religiosity, which are of particular relevance to the two more intensively religious groups: the American Protestants and the Bosnian Muslims. The former group's religiosity is more dependent on social pressure, and its religious practice is more frequent, whereas the latter group's religiosity seems better linked to their personality set-up and integrated in personality. The American Protestants are slightly more inclined to sacrifice their life both for religious purposes and for their country.
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Tesser, Lynn M. "The Geopolitics of Tolerance: Minority Rights Under EU Expansion in East-Central Europe." East European Politics and Societies: and Cultures 17, no. 3 (August 2003): 483–532. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0888325403255310.
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Post-communist states aiming to join European organizations such as the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the European Union felt pressure early on after 1989 to adopt emerging European norms on minority rights. Though scholars have already noted frequent acceptance of these standards, the question remains of how European norms actually affect the political salience of identity. Pressure to adhere to them undoubtedly reigned in potential conflict over the Hungarian minority in Slovakia as well as over Russians in Latvia and Estonia. Yet such beneficial results can be offset, first, when political elites' strategic acceptance of European standards undermines the legitimacy of liberal values, and second, when such norms create friction by unintentionally encouraging ethnic groups such as Moravians in the Czech Republic and Silesians in Poland to transform themselves into “nationalities.”
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Liesen, Andrea, Andreas G. Hoepner, Dennis M. Patten, and Frank Figge. "Does stakeholder pressure influence corporate GHG emissions reporting? Empirical evidence from Europe." Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 28, no. 7 (September 21, 2015): 1047–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/aaaj-12-2013-1547.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to seek to shed light on the practice of incomplete corporate disclosure of quantitative Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and investigates whether external stakeholder pressure influences the existence, and separately, the completeness of voluntary GHG emissions disclosures by 431 European companies. Design/methodology/approach – A classification of reporting completeness is developed with respect to the scope, type and reporting boundary of GHG emissions based on the guidelines of the GHG Protocol, Global Reporting Initiative and the Carbon Disclosure Project. Logistic regression analysis is applied to examine whether proxies for exposure to climate change concerns from different stakeholder groups influence the existence and/or completeness of quantitative GHG emissions disclosure. Findings – From 2005 to 2009, on average only 15 percent of companies that disclose GHG emissions report them in a manner that the authors consider complete. Results of regression analyses suggest that external stakeholder pressure is a determinant of the existence but not the completeness of emissions disclosure. Findings are consistent with stakeholder theory arguments that companies respond to external stakeholder pressure to report GHG emissions, but also with legitimacy theory claims that firms can use carbon disclosure, in this case the incomplete reporting of emissions, as a symbolic act to address legitimacy exposures. Practical implications – Bringing corporate GHG emissions disclosure in line with recommended guidelines will require either more direct stakeholder pressure or, perhaps, a mandated disclosure regime. In the meantime, users of the data will need to carefully consider the relevance of the reported data and develop the necessary competencies to detect and control for its incompleteness. A more troubling concern is that stakeholders may instead grow to accept less than complete disclosure. Originality/value – The paper represents the first large-scale empirical study into the completeness of companies’ disclosure of quantitative GHG emissions and is the first to analyze these disclosures in the context of stakeholder pressure and its relation to legitimation.
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Carrle, Dorothe, Tobias Dantonello, and Stefan S. Bielack. "Pan-European Sarcoma Trials: Moving Forward in a Climate of Increasing Economic and Regulatory Pressure." Sarcoma 2007 (2007): 1–7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2007/76405.
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Advances in sarcoma treatment are largely based on investigator-initiated, multicentric and interdisciplinary clinical trials. The EU's Good Clinical Practice Directive 2001/20/EC, effective since 2004, was meant to harmonize the conditions for clinical trials across Europe, but, instead, the challenge of initiating and running multinational, noncommercial clinical trials has become greater than ever. Institutions participating in existing noncommercial Pan-European studies are struggling to cope with increased administrative and financial burdens, and few new studies are initiated any more. The aim of a conference entitled “Pan-European Sarcoma Trials: Moving Forward in a Climate of Increasing Economic and Regulatory Pressure,” held in Stuttgart, Germany, 30 November–2 December 2006 as part of the European Science Foundation's ECT-program, was not only to provide an overview of currently active and planned multinational studies on osteo-, Ewing's, and soft tissue sarcoma, but also to draw on areas of synergy between various established sarcoma groups in Europe to define plausible survival strategies for collaborative, interdisciplinary, patient-oriented research.
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Perrin, Thomas, Tiphaine Dachy, Colas Guéret, David Lubell, Yasmina Chaïd-Saoudi, and William Green. "Pressure Knapping and the Timing of Innovation: New Chrono-Cultural Data on Prehistoric Groups of the Early Holocene in the Maghreb, Northwest Africa." Radiocarbon 62, no. 2 (January 23, 2020): e1-e51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/rdc.2019.157.
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ABSTRACTThe early Holocene in North Africa remains a poorly known period, documented unequally by region. Eastern Algeria and Tunisia have the greatest number of deposits, but most were excavated decades ago without the controls and recording required for modern interpretation. The chronological framework is based on radiocarbon (14C) dates that are also old, for the most part. Recent work on Mesolithic lithic industries of Western Europe has enabled us to revive the hypothesis of the existence of contacts between the northern and southern shores of the western Mediterranean at least by the 6th millennium cal BC. A collective research program was conducted in 2016–2017 to test this hypothesis with a particular focus on documenting the technological traditions in the lithic industry and situating them precisely in time. We have 46 new radiocarbon dates that were recently carried out on previously excavated Algerian sites, some of which contain several levels, allowing the construction of Bayesian models. These new measures reinforce the hypothesis of contacts between Europe and Africa by demonstrating the contemporaneity of similar technological processes. Above all, they make it possible to accurately refine the chronology of the main cultural entities of the Maghreb at the beginning of the Holocene.
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Stein, Jürgen. "Die Zweite Soziale Dimension- Chancen und Verpflichtungen der Diakonie im europäischen Einigungsprozeß." Zeitschrift für Evangelische Ethik 34, no. 1 (February 1, 1990): 248–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.14315/zee-1990-0133.
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Abstract In spite of accelerated economical growth disadvantaged groups (p. e. handicapped or unemployed people, refugees) might be »non-winners« of a European Single Market now determinating the structures of any future »European House«. The responsibility of diaconia is to prevent a split between those citizens who are able to of T er mobility and flexibility and rely on effective multinational pressure-groups and those who do not. With help from concerned organs of the E. C. diaconia might benefit from an enhanced exchange of experiences, define the social responsibility of the churches in Europe and participate in the shaping of a common future.
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Holló, Gábor, Doreen Schmidl, and Anton Hommer. "Referral for first glaucoma surgery in Europe, the ReF-GS study." European Journal of Ophthalmology 29, no. 4 (August 13, 2018): 406–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1120672118791937.
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Purpose: To analyze the appropriateness of referrals for incisional glaucoma-surgery in Europe. Methods: Referrals for the first open-angle glaucoma surgery between January and October 2017 were analyzed in 18 countries: 8 “old” European Union, 7 “new” European Union and 3 non-European Union European countries. Results: Most eyes had primary open-angle or exfoliative glaucoma. The average mean deviation was −13.8 dB with split fixation in 44.3%. No structural progression analysis was made before the referrals. The most common medications were the combination of a prostaglandin analog, timolol and a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor (30.0%), and all other combinations comprising ⩾ 3 molecules (33.8%). Laser trabeculoplasty was reported in only 18.4%. Of the 294 referrals, 41.5% were appropriate and timely, 35.0% appropriate but later than optimal, and 17.6% appropriate but too late (minimal vision maintained). The treatment period was significantly longer (median: 7 years) in the “old” European Union countries than in the other groups (3 and 2 years, respectively). No between-group differences were seen in intraocular pressure and mean deviation, but the non-European Union group referred the patients at significantly lower cup/disk ratio and eye drop usage than the other groups. Split fixation was significantly more common in the “old” (60.6%) than the “new” European Union countries (38.7%), and in both EU country-groups than in the non-European Union countries (13.6%). Conclusions: Of 294 European open-angle glaucoma referrals for first glaucoma-surgery, 41.5% were completely satisfactory. The damage was typically advanced, and the care varied considerably among the countries. This suggests that further efforts are necessary to improve glaucoma care in Europe.
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della Porta, Donatella, and Manuela Caiani. "Europeanization From Below? Social Movements and Europe." Mobilization: An International Quarterly 12, no. 1 (February 1, 2007): 1–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.17813/maiq.12.1.j48p252t414qu05x.
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Although the process of European integration is proceeding speedily and social movements are often interacting transnationally, research on the Europeanization of social movement actors is far from developed. Some scholars, focusing especially on public interest groups active at EU level, expect that civil society actors, due among other reasons to the flexibility of their organizational structures, will be able to adapt quickly to integration. Others, especially scholars looking at protest activities, are skeptical on three accounts: (1) will actors endowed with scarce material resources be able to build transnational organizations; (2) will they be able to stage supranational protest events; and (3) will the European Union be accountable to pressure from below. In this article, we focus on the degree and forms of social movement participation in the public discourse and collective action concerning Europe—that is, their capacity to take part in the debate and mobilization referring to European issues, targets, and actors. On the basis of a comparative dataset that includes content analyses of daily press and interview data from seven European countries, we argue that various forms of Europeanization of the public discourse and mobilization by social movements are indeed on the rise, with a growing presence not only of purely European actors but also of European targets and frames, as well as transnational movement networks. Changes across time emerge, with the development of (conflictual) forms of "Europeanization from below."
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Schutte, Aletta E., Ruan Kruger, Lebo F. Gafane-Matemane, Yolandi Breet, Michél Strauss-Kruger, and J. Kennedy Cruickshank. "Ethnicity and Arterial Stiffness." Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 40, no. 5 (May 2020): 1044–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/atvbaha.120.313133.
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Early vascular aging reflects increased arterial stiffness of central blood vessels at young chronological ages and powerfully predicts cardiovascular events and mortality, independent of routine brachial blood pressure and other risk factors. Since ethnic disparities exist in routine blood pressure, in hypertension and cardiovascular outcomes, this review evaluates major studies comparing arterial stiffness through the life course between different ethnic groups or races (which have no biological definition)—in children, adolescents, young, and middle-aged adults and the very elderly. Most report that compared with white European-origin samples, populations of black African descent have increased central arterial stiffness throughout different life stages, as well as a more rapid increase in arterial stiffness at young ages. Exceptions may include African Caribbean origin people in Europe. Differences in vascular structure and function are clearest, where obesity, socioeconomic, and psychosocial factors are most marked. Few studies evaluate a wider spectrum of ethnic groups or factors contributing to these ethnic disparities. Genetic effects are not obvious; maternal risk and intergenerational studies are scarce. Nevertheless, across all ethnic groups, for given levels of blood pressure and age, some people have stiffer central arteries than others. These individuals are most at risk of vascular events and mortality and, therefore, may benefit from early, as yet untested, preventive action and treatment.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Pressure groups – Europe"
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Duvanova, Dinissa S. "Interest groups in post-communist countries a comparative analysis of business and employer associations /." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1183919779.
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Blomgren, Magnus. "Cross-Pressure and Political Representation in Europe : A comparative study of MEPs and the intra-party arena." Doctoral thesis, Umeå : Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, Univ. [distributör], 2003. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-110.
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Gundem, Sebnem. "The Ngos As Policy Actors: The Case Of Tusiad With Regard To Turkey." Master's thesis, METU, 2004. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12604774/index.pdf.
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ABSTRACT
THE NGOs AS POLICY ACTORS:
THE CASE OF TÜSiAD WITH REGARD TO TURKEY&rsquo
S EU MEMBERSHIP GÜ
NDEM, Sebnem Master of Science, Department of European Studies Supervisor: Associate Prof. Dr. ihsan Dagi January 2004, 130 pages This study explores the effectiveness of NGOs within the policy process and governments&rsquo
decisions based on the case of TÜ
SiAD&rsquo
s activities with regard to Turkey&rsquo
s full membership process in the European Union. It firstly explains the process by which NGOs&rsquo
have become &ldquo
actors&rdquo
in world politics. The thesis, then, scrutinizes the role of NGOs in the policy process with regard to pluralist and corporatist paradigms and the concept of power since policy process can not be well understood without this theoretical background. After examining the roles of NGOs, especially the lobbying one, the importance of NGOs and strength of civil society for Turkey&rsquo
s integration to the European
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Berger, Denis. "Coupables d'être vulnérables, les motocyclistes face aux politiques de sécurité routière en France et en Europe." Thesis, Paris 8, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015PA080019.
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Dans le cadre d'une politique publique presque universelle, la sécurité routière, cette thèse se consacre à une catégorie précise de conducteurs, les motocyclistes. Ceux-ci forment à la fois un groupe distinct d'usagers de la route, objet à ce titre de réglementations spécifiques, et, du moins quand ils sont et se considèrent comme motards, un groupe social. Dans les années 1970, au moment de son institutionnalisation, la politique de sécurité routière rencontre avec ces motards un problème inédit. La moto, disparue durant les années 1960, revient en effet massivement dans les rues avec de nouveaux, et jeunes, utilisateurs. Il lui faut alors inventer une façon de gérer le risque inédit qu'ils représentent, ce qu'elle fera en choisissant, parmi plusieurs options, une politique répressive dont on montrera comment elle a évolué jusqu'à nos jours, en la justifiant à l'aide de considérations morales et d'un appareillage statistique dont on montrera ce qu'il a d'inapproprié, de lacunaire et, parfois, de fictif.S'attaquant à un groupe social décidé à se défendre, cette politique va susciter une opposition organisée qui, au gré des alternances politiques, parviendra à en infléchir plus ou moins le cours, et formera toujours un adversaire avec lequel elle devra composer. Pour traiter un sujet de cet ordre il semble donc pertinent de s'appuyer sur la sociologie interactionniste, d'analyser de façon diachronique cette politique à partir de 1972, de l'étudier à divers échelons, de procéder enfin à des comparaisons diverses, entre États, entre capitales, mais aussi avec une politique publique qui traite de façon fort différente les utilisateurs d'un autre deux-roues, la bicycletteThis thesis is devoted to an aspect of road safety policy, an almost universal public policy, and to a particular category of drivers, namely motorcyclists. They represent both a distinct road users' group, subject as such to specific regulations, and, at least when there are and do consider themselves as motorcycle riders, a social group. When the French road safety policy was designed, in the early 70's, motorcyclists turned out to be an unexpected problem. After vanishing during the 60's, the motorcycle was back in large numbers with new and young users. The state therefore invented a way of dealing with the unprecedented risk they represented. Among several options, it chose a repressive policy whose evolution we will trace from the 1970s to today. This policy was grounded on moral justifications and strengthened by an inadequate, incomplete and sometimes fictitious statistical body.This policy endangered a social group ready to defend itself, thus creating an organized opposition able to reorientate it partially. To this day, motorcycles remain an opponent the state has to cope with. To deal with this subject, it seems relevant to use the findings of interactionist sociology and to analyse this policy from a diachronic point of view, starting in 1972. We will study this subject at different scales and proceed to various comparisons between countries or capitals. Furthermore, we'll see how it compares to public policy that deals, in a very different manner, with users of another two-wheel vehicle, the bicycle
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Abbott, Keith. "The European Trade Union Confederation : the political development of a European pressure group." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.261530.
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Rooyen, Edwin Adrianus Leonardus van. "De Europeanisering van belangengroepen en politieke partijen in Nederland 1990-2000 /." Amsterdam : Pallas Publications, 2009. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10346687.
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Gray, Oliver William. "Pressure groups and their influence on agricultural policy and its reform in the European Community." Thesis, University of Bath, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.290224.
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Gray, Emily Jane. "The politics of pressure : group campaigning for and against European integration in Britain, 1997 - 2003." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.428262.
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Urrutia, Olivier. "Análisis comparado del papel de los think tanks en Francia y España desde la perspectiva de la política de integración europea entre 2005 y 2016." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/672349.
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Mediante la elaboración de una metodología operativa apropiada, la labor de investigación que aquí se presenta tiene por objeto cuestionar el papel de los think tanks en las sociedades contemporáneas mediante un marco general que combina principalmente enfoques epistemológico crítico, sociohistórico y empírico. Sin embargo, lo que constituye un fenómeno mundial, permaneció a las puertas del debate público en la mayoría de los países hasta principios de la década de 2000. Desde entonces, los think tanks se han convertido en actores centrales y familiares de la vida política. El innegable foco de atención del que son objeto ha ido acompañado también de una creciente institucionalización de su participación en los procesos de política pública y en el debate público, tanto a nivel nacional como europeo. Sin embargo, la sobreexposición mediática resultante ha contribuido en gran medida a desdibujar la comprensión que se puede tener de su naturaleza, funcionamiento y objetivos. Esto no está exento de problemas para la calidad del debate democrático, especialmente en el actual período de crisis de legitimidad política tanto a nivel nacional como europeo. Así, el análisis comparativo del papel de los think tanks franceses y españoles especializados en Asuntos europeos en el marco de la política de integración parece particularmente fructífero desde una perspectiva heurística. Una reflexión epistemológica sobre los problemas ligados a la definición del término que, en su forma idiomática o traducida, ha entrado en el lenguaje corriente sin que sus usos se cuestionen, cuestiona en consecuencia la posibilidad de llevar a cabo una investigación pertinente sobre estas organizaciones. Por otra parte, el análisis de las condiciones socio-históricas de su aparición y desarrollo a través del prisma del modelo estadounidense pone de relieve un tropismo neoliberal fuertemente ligado al progreso de la globalización y a la propia integración europea. En este sentido, el análisis del papel de los think tanks seleccionados para esta investigación en la política de integración europea, anclado en el periodo altamente estructurante para la construcción europea 2005-2016, facilita el acceso a sus principales repertorios de actuación, a saber: la producción de conocimientos especializados y la mediación desde su posición en el intersticio entre las esferas nacional y europea, y los campos políticos, económicos, mediáticos y académicos con los que interactúan. Lejos de ser neutrales, se deduce que estos colectivos intelectuales pro-mueven productos cognitivos que alineados con sus propios intereses y valores.Mitjançant l'elaboració d'una metodologia operativa apropiada, la tasca d'investigació que aquí es presenta té per objecte qüestionar el paper dels think tanks a les societats contemporànies mitjançant un marc general que combina principalment enfocaments epistemològic crític, sociohistòric i empíric. No obstant això, el que constitueix un fenomen mundial, va romandre a les portes de l'debat públic en la majoria dels països fins a principis de la dècada de 2000. Des de llavors, els think tanks s'han convertit en actors centrals i familiars de la vida política. El innegable focus d'atenció de què són objecte ha anat acompanyat també d'una creixent institucionalització de la seva participació en els processos de política pública i en el debat públic, tant a nivell nacional com europeu. No obstant això, la sobreexposició mediàtica resultant ha contribuït en gran mesura a desdibuixar la comprensió que es pot tenir de la seva naturalesa, funcionament i objectius. Això no està exempt de problemes per a la qualitat de l'debat democràtic, especialment en l'actual període de crisi de legitimitat política tant a nivell nacional com europeu. Així, l'anàlisi comparativa de el paper dels think tanks francesos i espanyols especialitzats en Assumptes europeus en el marc de la política d'integració sembla particularment fructífer des d'una perspectiva heurística. Una reflexió epistemològica sobre els problemes lligats a la definició de el terme que, en la seva forma idiomàtica o traduïda, ha entrat en el llenguatge corrent sense que els seus usos es qüestionin, qüestiona en conseqüència la possibilitat de dur a terme una investigació pertinent sobre aquestes organitzacions. D'altra banda, l'anàlisi de les condicions sociohistòriques de la seva aparició i desenvolupament a través de l'prisma de el model americà posa en relleu un tropisme neoliberal fortament lligat a el progrés de la globalització i de la pròpia integració europea. En aquest sentit, l'anàlisi de el paper dels think tanks seleccionats per a aquesta investigació en la política d'integració europea, ancorat en el període altament estructurant per a la construcció europea 2005-2016, facilita l'accés als seus principals repertoris d'actuació, que són: la producció de coneixements especialitzats i la mediació des de la seva posició en el interstici entre les esferes nacional i europea, i els camps polítics, econòmics, mediàtics i acadèmics amb què interactuen. Lluny de ser neutrals, es dedueix que aquests col·lectius intel·lectuals pro-mouen productes cognitius que alineats amb els seus propis interessos i valors.
By developing an appropriate operational methodology, the research presented here aims to question the role of think tanks in contemporary societies through a general framework that mainly combines epistemological, socio-historical and critical empirical approaches. However, what constitutes a global phenomenon remained at the gates of public debate in most countries until the early 2000s. Since then, think tanks have become central and familiar actors in political life. The undeniable attention given to them has also been accompanied by a growing institutionalization of their participation in public policy processes and public debate, both at the national and European levels. However, the resulting media overexposure has largely contributed to a blurring of the understanding of their nature, functioning and objectives. This is not without problems for the quality of democratic debate, especially in the current period of crisis of political legitimacy at national and European level. Thus, the comparative analysis of the role of French and Spanish think tanks specialized in European affairs in the framework of integration policy seems particularly fruitful from a heuristic perspective. An epistemological reflection on the problems related to the definition of the term which, in its idiomatic or translated form, has entered everyday language without its uses being questioned, consequently questions the possibility of conducting relevant research on these organizations. On the other hand, the analysis of the socio-historical conditions of their emergence and development through the prism of the American model highlights a neoliberal tropism strongly linked to the progress of globalization and European integration itself. In this sense, the analysis of the role of the think tanks selected for this research in European integration policy, anchored in the highly structuring period of European construction 2005-2016, facilitates access to their main repertoires of action, namely: the production of specialized knowledge and mediation from their position in the interstice between the national and European spheres, and the political, economic, media and academic fields with which they interact. Far from being neutral, it follows that these intellectual collectives promote cognitive products that are in line with their own interests and values.
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Long, Carrie Ann. "The relationship of sexual empowerment and sexual pressure to condom use of young adult African American and Caucasian women." Thesis, Birmingham, Ala. : University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2009. https://www.mhsl.uab.edu/dt/2009p/long.pdf.
Full textBooks on the topic "Pressure groups – Europe"
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Philip, Norton, ed. Parliaments and pressure groups in Western Europe. London: Frank Cass, 1999.
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Andreas, Warntjen, Wonka Arndt, and German Association of Political Science Students., eds. Governance in Europe: The role of interest groups. Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2004.
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The green rainbow: Environmental groups in Western Europe. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.
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Shipley, Peter. Patterns of protest in Western Europe. London: Institute for the Study of Conflict, 1986.
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Nathalie, Sévilla, and Université de Nancy II. C.R.U.L.H., eds. Le phénomène ligueur en Europe et aux Amériques. Metz: Centre régional universitaire lorrain d'histoire, 2011.
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Joos, Klemens. Lobbying in the new Europe: Successful representation of interests after the Treaty of Lisbon. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, 2011.
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De Europeanisering van belangengroepen en politieke partijen in Nederland: 1990-2000. Amsterdam: Pallas Publications, 2009.
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Die Transformation betrieblicher Interessenvertretung im Übergang von der DDR zur Bundesrepublik: Eine Untersuchung am Beispiel des Chemnitzer Apparate- und Anlagenbauunternehmens GERMANIA (Oktober 1989 bis März 1991). Frankfurt am Main: P. Lang, 1996.
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Attila, Ágh, Ilonszki Gabriella, and Rawlinson Philip, eds. Parliaments and organized interests: The second steps. Budapest: Hungarian Centre for Democracy Studies, 1996.
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Leonhard, Martin. Umweltverbände: Zur Organisation von Umweltschutzinteressen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1986.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "Pressure groups – Europe"
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Crisafi, Nicolò. "Interrupted and Unfinished." In Openness in Medieval Europe, 85–102. Berlin: ICI Berlin Press, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.37050/ci-23_05.
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This essay interprets Dante’s Commedia as an ‘open work’ (Eco). It grounds its open-endedness in its representations of interruption: from fictional obstacles in the protagonist’s path in the Inferno to the narrator’s anxiety over unfinishedness in the Paradiso. Taking its cue from Boccaccio’s creative rewriting of Dante’s life, the essay resists the pressure of ‘total coherence’ embedded in (and often projected onto) the Commedia, in order to reclaim the material vulnerability of the text and of its author.
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Closa, Carlos, and Paul M. Heywood. "The Internal Sources of EU Policy: Public Opinion, Political Parties and Pressure Groups." In Spain and the European Union, 31–58. London: Macmillan Education UK, 2004. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-05894-2_3.
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Coxall, Bill. "Pressure groups and Europe." In Pressure Groups in British Politics, 41–60. Routledge, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315842165-3.
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Dewey, Jr., Robert F. "Pressure groups." In British national identity and opposition to membership of Europe, 1961–63. Manchester University Press, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.7765/9781847792884.00010.
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Dewey, Robert F. "Pressure groups." In British National Identity and Opposition to Membership of Europe, 1961-63, 115–54. Manchester University Press, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.7228/manchester/9780719078712.003.0005.
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"Parliament and Pressure Groups in Italy." In Parliaments and Pressure Groups in Western Europe, 81–101. Routledge, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203044575-9.
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"4Continental Europe—the politics of immobility." In Pressure Groups and Political Culture (Routledge Revivals), 40–48. Routledge, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203092309-10.
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"Introduction: Putting Pressure on Parliaments." In Parliaments and Pressure Groups in Western Europe, 15–32. Routledge, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203044575-6.
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"The United Kingdom: Parliament Under Pressure." In Parliaments and Pressure Groups in Western Europe, 33–56. Routledge, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203044575-7.
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"Conclusion: Conflicting Pressures." In Parliaments and Pressure Groups in Western Europe, 181–90. Routledge, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203044575-14.
Full textConference papers on the topic "Pressure groups – Europe"
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Pope, Ronald B., Deborah Kopsick, Shih-Yew Chen, Ray Turner, and Martin Magold. "Addressing the Monitoring and Transport of Radioactively Contaminated Scrap Metal: An International Approach." In ASME 2006 Pressure Vessels and Piping/ICPVT-11 Conference. ASMEDC, 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/pvp2006-icpvt-11-93668.
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The international metal processing industries are very concerned about the importation of scrap metal contaminated by radioactivity. Many of the problems are being identified while these materials, either unprocessed scrap, or processed materials, are being transported in the public domain. Because of this concern, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), with the support of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) circulated a survey to various countries and interested groups. Following assessment of the survey, a meeting was convened in April 2004 to discuss and evaluate the issues. Three major issues were identified at the initial meeting. • First, an internationally acceptable scrap metal radiation monitoring and response protocol is needed. • Second, international training programs are needed to address multiple areas, almost all having emphasis on the transport mode; these include addressing such topics as protocol implementation, optimum location of monitors, acceptable detector sensitivities, calibration and maintenance needs, incident reporting, handling radioactive materials after detection. • Third, international information exchange within the scrap metal industry is needed to share data and experiences on contaminated scrap incidents, especially those occurring at international borders during the transport of these materials. The “open border” policy of the European Union makes the collection and dissemination of this information sharing particularly time critical. The paper reviews the results of the initial meeting, and elaborates on the efforts undertaken since that meeting.
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Groll, Manfred, and Rainer Mertz. "Minichannel Heat Transfer: An Overview on Activities in Europe." In ASME 2003 1st International Conference on Microchannels and Minichannels. ASMEDC, 2003. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/icmm2003-1002.
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An overview will be given about investigations on heat and mass transfer in narrow channels and narrow cavities, from work carried out in the last years up to the current status of research of some relevant scientific groups in Europe. The major topics of this report are evaporation heat transfer and the flow boiling pressure drop in narrow channels; microscale heat and mass transfer phenomena in pool boiling from enhanced evaporator tubes with sub-surface channels are also addressed. In the last years a challenging topic has been the enhancement of the efficiency of heat exchangers by employing micro-structured heat transfer surfaces. The need for smaller heat exchangers with higher heat transfer rates and/or smaller thermal approaches is caused by the ongoing miniaturisation of mechanical and electronic components, leading to higher heat fluxes which can damage or even destroy the components. On the other hand, enhanced heat transfer in big equipment, e.g. heat exchangers for the petrochemical and chemical industries, can lead to significant materials and energy savings and thus reduce environmental pollution. Therefore the European Union, European industries and national organisations have supported various projects to develop and to investigate a new generation of heat transfer surfaces, to better understand the related heat transfer phenomena and to model the heat transfer from these micro heat exchanger elements. There is a very extensive research in this scientific field, comprising both flow boiling and pool boiling. The present paper deals with heat transfer in narrow channels and/or cavities and with the flow boiling pressure drop occurring during heat and mass transfer in narrow channels. Investigations of major European institutions, carried out in the past and at the moment will be presented as a contribution to the overview on the current state-of-the-art in Europe, without claim of completeness. Some recent results on microscale pool boiling and flow boiling obtained in our institute will also be presented (Shuai et al., 2002; Kulenovic et al., 2002; Chen et al., 2002a, b).
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De Bell, Leendert, and Linda Drupsteen. "How to scale the societal impact of work integration social enterprises? Evidence from The Netherlands." In CARPE Conference 2019: Horizon Europe and beyond. Valencia: Universitat Politècnica València, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/carpe2019.2019.10191.
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The number of social enterprises is increasing rapidly. Social enterprises are looking for new, innovative and economically sustainable ways to tackle structural societal challenges that generally fall outside the direct focus and objectives of the public and private sector. Social enterprises are primarily mission-driven, where profit is not a goal in itself but a means of creating social impact with regard to a specific social problem. The intended impact areas of social enterprises broadly range from poverty reduction, sustainability, healthcare, or labor participation of vulnerable groups. With respect to the latter impact area, many initiatives have been taken across Europe to prevent and combat marginalization of vulnerable groups as a result of long unemployment spells, which may cause financial and social pressure, as well as decay of physical and psychological health conditions. Nevertheless, the nature and extent of these initiatives vary considerably across countries (CEDEFOP, 2018). Social enterprises, in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders such as ‘conventional’ companies or local governments, can play a key role in addressing these challenges. This proposal builds on research that was completed earlier this year at HU concerning the scaling of social enterprises with a particular focus on work integration of people with a distance to the labor market (so-called WISEs) (e.g. people with low qualifications, young people disengaged from education, people with mental or physical disabilities, refugees, former prisoners, former addicts, or people who have difficulties finding a job due to their age etc.). One of the outcomes of this research showed that it is difficult for WISEs to transcend its societal impact beyond the local level. In practice, the effective realization of both social and economic value is not easy for many WISEs, but the interaction with and between different actors in the external environment or ecosystem also plays a crucial role in its success. More research is needed on what works in successfully addressing the work integration of vulnerable groups in different parts of Europe, and under what conditions. The aim is to come to a joint EU research proposal, in which WISEs play a central role, to contribute to innovative and more structural solutions for labor participation of vulnerable groups.
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Robin, Vincent, Jefri Draup, Sofiane Hendili, Josselin Delmas, Qingrong Xiong, Mike Smith, and Alexandre Paget. "NeT Project Task Group 8 – An International Benchmark on Residual Stress Assessment for Welding Repair." In ASME 2022 Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/pvp2022-85083.
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Abstract The mission of the European Network on Neutron Techniques Standardization for Structural Integrity (NeT) is to develop experimental and numerical techniques and standards for the reliable characterisation of residual stresses in structural welds. NeT was first established in 2002, and involves over 30 organisations from Europe and beyond. It operates on a “contribution in kind” basis from industrial, academic, and research facility partners. Each problem examined by the network is tackled by creating a dedicated Task Group (TG), which undertakes measurement and modelling studies and the interpretation of the results. NeT achieves this by conducting parallel measurement and prediction round robins on closely controlled and well characterized benchmark weldments. NeT TG8 follows on from the successful NeT TG1 and NeT TG4 benchmarks, which both examined welds in AISI 316L material and also NeT TG6 which examines an Alloy 600 plate containing a three pass “slot” weld made with Alloy 82 consumables. A new benchmark, NeT TG8, which examines an 18MnD5 (French nuclear code grade also named 18 MnNiMo 05) plate containing a five pass “slot” weld made with Alloy 52 consumables, has been organized to address welding repair issues. This paper describes the NeT TG8 benchmark as a whole, and presents preliminary materials characterization, residual stress measurement, and residual stress modelling results.
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Barsanti, L., G. Mannucci, H. G. Hillenbrand, G. Demofonti, and D. Harris. "Possible Use of New Materials for High Pressure Linepipe Construction: An Opening on X100 Grade Steel." In 2002 4th International Pipeline Conference. ASMEDC, 2002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/ipc2002-27089.
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The increasing needs of natural gas, foreseen for the next years, makes more and more important the type of transportation chosen, both from strategic and economic point of view. The most important gas markets will be Northern America, Europe, Asia and Russia but the demand shall be fulfilled also by emerging producers as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Eastern Siberia that at the moment are developing their resources in order to be competitive on Gas market. In this way producers and customers will be placed at greater and greater distances implying realization of complex gas transportation pipeline network, when use of LNG tankers is impossible or uneconomic. On the base of these considerations in 1997 began a feasibility study on X100 steel, given that, comparing different design approaches, it has been observed that consistent savings could be obtained by means of using high grade steel and high pressure linepipes. In this multi-sponsored project (Eni group, European Community of steel and Carbon, CSM, Corus and Europipe) CSM and Corus group were involved in the laboratory and full-scale pipes testing, Europipe was the pipes producer and Snam Rete Gas was involved in field weldability and technical coordination. No technical breakthrough, but only improvements in the existing expertise were involved in the X100 production; consequently, the production window is very narrow. However optimized steelmaking practices and processes enabled the material to reach the desired properties: strength, toughness and weldability. This paper is intended to present the general results arising from this project, in terms of steel properties (chemical composition, mechanical properties), ductile and brittle fracture resistance (results of full scale burst tests, West Jefferson tests) and field weldability, but above all the know-how stored till now on high grade steel and its possible use from a Gas company and a Pipe maker point of view.
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Bruchhausen, Matthias, Alec McLennan, Roman Cicero, Caitlin Huotilainen, Kevin Mottershead, Jean-Christophe le Roux, and Marc Vankeerberghen. "Environmentally Assisted Fatigue Data From the INCEFA-PLUS Project." In ASME 2019 Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/pvp2019-93085.
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Abstract The European project INCEFA-PLUS characterises environmentally assisted fatigue in light water reactor conditions. The project aims at developing a new procedure to assess environmentally assisted fatigue damage susceptibility in nuclear power plant components. The basis for the development of a new fatigue assessment procedure is a major test campaign carried out in eleven different laboratories across Europe which will deliver approximately 200 fatigue tests. The test campaign is based on a common test matrix that was optimized by means of the Design of Experiments method. The initial focus of the project is on the effects and interactions between the factors strain range, environment (air and light water reactor environment), surface finish, hold time, and mean strain. Whereas the bulk of the test program is carried out on a single heat of 304L austentic steel, some tests on different heats of 304L or other austenitic steels allow studying the influence of material variability. To guarantee the quality of the data, the tests are performed according to commonly agreed specifications based on ISO 12106 and each test is validated by a group of experts from within the project. The paper presents the test procedures, provides an overview of the data that has been acquired so far, and gives an outlook on the tests that will be carried out during the final stage of the project.
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Gandossi, L., K. Simola, and Adam Toft. "Risk Informed In-Service-Inspection Activities of the ENIQ Task Group on Risk." In ASME 2009 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference. ASMEDC, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/pvp2009-77241.
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The European Network for Inspection Qualification (ENIQ) was established in 1992 in response to increasing recognition of the importance of qualification of non-destructive inspection systems used in in-service inspection programmes for nuclear power plants. Driven by European Nuclear utilities and managed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), ENIQ represents a network in which the available resources and expertise can be pooled at European level. ENIQ has recognized the importance of addressing, at European level, the issue of optimizing inspection strategies on the basis of risk by establishing a Task Group on Risk (TGR). Membership of TGR is drawn from European nuclear utilities and consultants. ENIQ TGR is focused on Risk-Informed In-Service Inspection (RI-ISI) methodologies. Its work is directed towards harmonisation in the field of codes, standards and best practice for RI-ISI methodologies, with the objective of increasing the safety of European nuclear power plants. In March 2005 TGR published a European Framework Document for RI-ISI. This publication provides guidance for both developing new RI-ISI approaches and using or adapting established approaches to a European environment, taking into account utility-specific characteristics and national regulatory requirements. More recently, ENIQ TGR has been working at producing more detailed recommended practices and discussion documents on several RI-ISI related issues, such as the role of ISI within the philosophy of defence-in-depth, the verification and validation of structural reliability models (SRMs) to be used in RI-ISI programmes, the use of expert panels and the applicability of RI-ISI to the reactor pressure vessel. Work is ongoing to develop a discussion document on updating of RI-ISI programmes, and new initiatives were launched to study topics such as what magnitude of risk reduction is reasonable to achieve through ISI, and how to set inspection targets, following the selection of ISI sites. In addition, TGR has been active in initiating international projects linked closely to its work, such as the JRC-OECD/NEA co-ordinated RI-ISI benchmark exercise (RISMET), and the project on the relation between inspection qualification and RI-ISI. This paper describes the key activities and publications of TGR to date.
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Lidbury, David, Elisabeth Keim, Bernard Marini, Lorenzo Malerba, Asmahana Zeghadi, Dominique Moinereau, and Abderrahim Al Mazouzi. "Overview of RPV Sub-Project of Perform 60." In ASME 2011 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference. ASMEDC, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/pvp2011-57551.
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PERFORM 60 (Prediction of the effects of radiation for reactor pressure vessel and in-core materials using multi-scale modelling — 60 years foreseen plant lifetime) is a 48-month project of the 7th Framework of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) being carried out under the auspices of the Directorate General Research, Technology and Development (DG.RTD) of the European Commission. Launched in March 2009, and building on the achievements of PERFECT, a EURATOM 6th Framework project, PERFORM 60 has as its main objective the development of multi-scale modelling tools integrated onto a common software platform, aimed at predicting for PWRs (i) the effects of irradiation on RPV materials (low alloy bainitic steels), (ii) the combined effects of irradiation and corrosion on internals (austenitic stainless steels). Accordingly, PERFORM 60 is based on two main technical sub-projects: SP1 (RPV) and SP2 (Internals). An integration work package within both SP1 and SP2 serves to facilitate software development. A Users’ Group (SP3) supports the main technical sub-projects and allows representatives of constructors, utilities, regulators and research organizations from Europe and further afield to receive the information and training needed to make their own appraisal as to the validity of the developed tools. A significant effort is also being made to train young researchers in the field of physical modelling of materials degradation due to neutron irradiation. Against this background, the paper provides an overview of SP1, highlighting the various models and methods being developed, building on the achievements of PERFECT, to describe the evolution of flow properties of low-alloy steels with irradiation and address their subsequent effects on cleavage fracture behaviour.
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Ahlstrand, R., M. Bie`th, H. Over, P. Pla, V. Ranguelova, C. Rieg, and P. Trampus. "A New European Commission Initiative on Optimisation of Maintenance in Nuclear Power Plants." In ASME 2005 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference. ASMEDC, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/pvp2005-71753.
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The European Commission has recently launched a new initiative dedicated to Nuclear Safety in Central and Eastern Europe called after “Safety of Eastern European Type Nuclear Facilities” (SENUF). SENUF contributes to bring together all stakeholders of the nuclear safety programs for the Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States (TACIS) and the Poland Hungary Aid for Reconstruction of the Economy (PHARE): beneficiaries, end users, Eastern and Western nuclear industries, and thus, to favour fruitful technical exchanges and feedback of experience. At present, the main focus of SENUF is the nuclear power plant maintenance as a substantial element of plant operational safety as well as life management. A dedicated Working Group has been established on plant maintenance. 10 members have joined in the starting period. After a thematic introduction the paper discusses the maintenance optimisation general aspects and current activities in the CIS and CEEC, the paper presents SENUF and reports about the first activities developed within the working group One of its major tasks in 2004 was to prepare a status report on advanced strategies to optimise maintenance. Optimisation projects have an interface with the plant’s overall life management program. Today, almost all plants belonging to SENUF members have an explicit policy to extend their service life. Thus, component ageing management, modernisation and refurbishment actions became much more important. Preliminary results of the extended inquiry are already available which show a rather homogeneous propagation of techniques and methods in general. A web-enabled database has been developed to provide maintenance managers and engineers with adequate information on “Advanced and Special Equipment, Tools, Materials and Processes” in order to help them selecting the most appropriate and cost efficient solution for their maintenance needs. Information about the existence, the main parameters of such equipment and the experience of their usage that can be valuable for others facing similar problems, will be shared through easy access by members. Currently, the activity is starting to develop into the area of Reliability-Centred and Risk-Informed Maintenance, taking benefit from cooperation with the IAEA. Further extension of the memberships is expected in the near future.
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Ohms, C., R. V. Martins, O. Uca, A. G. Youtsos, P. J. Bouchard, M. Smith, M. Keavey, et al. "The European Network on Neutron Techniques Standardization for Structural Integrity (NeT)." In ASME 2008 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference. ASMEDC, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/pvp2008-61913.
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This paper provides an overview over the work of the European Network on Neutron Techniques Standardization for Structural Integrity (NeT). The network involves some 35 organisations from industry and academia and these partners undertake the application of modern experimental and numerical techniques to problems related to the structural integrity of components, mainly relevant to nuclear applications. While being built around neutron scattering techniques, which are predominantly applied for analyses of welding residual stresses, one of the major strengths of the consortium is the diversity in available experimental and numerical techniques. In the residual stress area, for example, many types of materials characterizations testing, several methods for residual stress analysis, including neutron and X-ray diffraction, deep hole drilling, the contour method and others, and many different ways of numerical analysis employing several commercially available FEM codes can be covered by the partners. Currently the network has embarked on five different Task Groups. Four of these are dealing with welding residual stress assessment, and one applies Small Angle Neutron Scattering for studying thermal ageing processes in duplex stainless steels used for reactor core internals. The work already performed in the context of NeT and the envisaged investigations for the ongoing Task Groups are briefly outlined in this paper. The aim is to give the reader a comprehensive overview of the work of NeT and to shed some light on the potential present in this kind of collaborative effort.
Reports on the topic "Pressure groups – Europe"
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van der Sloot, Bart. The Quality of Life: Protecting Non-personal Interests and Non-personal Data in the Age of Big Data. Universitätsbibliothek J. C. Senckenberg, Frankfurt am Main, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.21248/gups.64579.
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Under the current legal paradigm, the rights to privacy and data protection provide natural persons with subjective rights to protect their private interests, such as related to human dignity, individual autonomy and personal freedom. In principle, when data processing is based on non-personal or aggregated data or when such data pro- cesses have an impact on societal, rather than individual interests, citizens cannot rely on these rights. Although this legal paradigm has worked well for decades, it is increasingly put under pressure because Big Data processes are typically based indis- criminate rather than targeted data collection, because the high volumes of data are processed on an aggregated rather than a personal level and because the policies and decisions based on the statistical correlations found through algorithmic analytics are mostly addressed at large groups or society as a whole rather than specific individuals. This means that large parts of the data-driven environment are currently left unregu- lated and that individuals are often unable to rely on their fundamental rights when addressing the more systemic effects of Big Data processes. This article will discuss how this tension might be relieved by turning to the notion ‘quality of life’, which has the potential of becoming the new standard for the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) when dealing with privacy related cases.
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Financial Stability Report - September 2015. Banco de la República, August 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.32468/rept-estab-fin.sem2.eng-2015.
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From this edition, the Financial Stability Report will have fewer pages with some changes in its structure. The purpose of this change is to present the most relevant facts of the financial system and their implications on the financial stability. This allows displaying the analysis more concisely and clearly, as it will focus on describing the evolution of the variables that have the greatest impact on the performance of the financial system, for estimating then the effect of a possible materialization of these risks on the financial health of the institutions. The changing dynamics of the risks faced by the financial system implies that the content of the Report adopts this new structure; therefore, some analyses and series that were regularly included will not necessarily be in each issue. However, the statistical annex that accompanies the publication of the Report will continue to present the series that were traditionally included, regardless of whether or not they are part of the content of the Report. In this way we expect to contribute in a more comprehensive way to the study and analysis of the stability of the Colombian financial system. Executive Summary During the first half of 2015, the main advanced economies showed a slow recovery on their growth, while emerging economies continued with their slowdown trend. Domestic demand in the United States allowed for stabilization on its average growth for the first half of the year, while other developed economies such as the United Kingdom, the euro zone, and Japan showed a more gradual recovery. On the other hand, the Chinese economy exhibited the lowest growth rate in five years, which has resulted in lower global dynamism. This has led to a fall in prices of the main export goods of some Latin American economies, especially oil, whose price has also responded to a larger global supply. The decrease in the terms of trade of the Latin American economies has had an impact on national income, domestic demand, and growth. This scenario has been reflected in increases in sovereign risk spreads, devaluations of stock indices, and depreciation of the exchange rates of most countries in the region. For Colombia, the fall in oil prices has also led to a decline in the terms of trade, resulting in pressure on the dynamics of national income. Additionally, the lower demand for exports helped to widen the current account deficit. This affected the prospects and economic growth of the country during the first half of 2015. This economic context could have an impact on the payment capacity of debtors and on the valuation of investments, affecting the soundness of the financial system. However, the results of the analysis featured in this edition of the Report show that, facing an adverse scenario, the vulnerability of the financial system in terms of solvency and liquidity is low. The analysis of the current situation of credit institutions (CI) shows that growth of the gross loan portfolio remained relatively stable, as well as the loan portfolio quality indicators, except for microcredit, which showed a decrease in these indicators. Regarding liabilities, traditional sources of funding have lost market share versus non-traditional ones (bonds, money market operations and in the interbank market), but still represent more than 70%. Moreover, the solvency indicator remained relatively stable. As for non-banking financial institutions (NBFI), the slowdown observed during the first six months of 2015 in the real annual growth of the assets total, both in the proprietary and third party position, stands out. The analysis of the main debtors of the financial system shows that indebtedness of the private corporate sector has increased in the last year, mostly driven by an increase in the debt balance with domestic and foreign financial institutions. However, the increase in this latter source of funding has been influenced by the depreciation of the Colombian peso vis-à-vis the US dollar since mid-2014. The financial indicators reflected a favorable behavior with respect to the historical average, except for the profitability indicators; although they were below the average, they have shown improvement in the last year. By economic sector, it is noted that the firms focused on farming, mining and transportation activities recorded the highest levels of risk perception by credit institutions, and the largest increases in default levels with respect to those observed in December 2014. Meanwhile, households have shown an increase in the financial burden, mainly due to growth in the consumer loan portfolio, in which the modalities of credit card, payroll deductible loan, revolving and vehicle loan are those that have reported greater increases in risk indicators. On the side of investments that could be affected by the devaluation in the portfolio of credit institutions and non-banking financial institutions (NBFI), the largest share of public debt securities, variable-yield securities and domestic private debt securities is highlighted. The value of these portfolios fell between February and August 2015, driven by the devaluation in the market of these investments throughout the year. Furthermore, the analysis of the liquidity risk indicator (LRI) shows that all intermediaries showed adequate levels and exhibit a stable behavior. Likewise, the fragility analysis of the financial system associated with the increase in the use of non-traditional funding sources does not evidence a greater exposure to liquidity risk. Stress tests assess the impact of the possible joint materialization of credit and market risks, and reveal that neither the aggregate solvency indicator, nor the liquidity risk indicator (LRI) of the system would be below the established legal limits. The entities that result more individually affected have a low share in the total assets of the credit institutions; therefore, a risk to the financial system as a whole is not observed. José Darío Uribe Governor