Academic literature on the topic 'Sobriety committee'

The system of preventing and resolving alcohol-related problems used in Poland gives municipalities (gminas), as territorial units, the fundamental role in it. The municipality council is obliged to establish a number of programmes on the basis of the act on municipality self-government, as well as the regulations of other acts, including the Act of 26th October 1982 on Upbringing in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism (A.U.S.C.A.) of the Municipality Programme for Preventing and Resolving Alcohol-related Problems (LCPP&RAP). The programme takes into account the areas of action listed in Article 41 section 1 of the A.U.S.C.A. and the indications included in the recommendations developed by the National Agency for Resolving Alcohol-related Problems. It should be emphasized that the implementation of tasks in the field of preventing and resolving alcohol-related problems under the programme is part of the strategy for resolving social problems, and takes into account the operational objectives set out in the National Health Programme. The regulations of the A.U.S.C.A. also provide the municipality witha significant role in implementing actions to tackle alcohol addiction. The actions are taken on three levels by: (1) appointing a local community committee for resolving problems (Article 41 section 3), (2) determining within resolutions the maximum number of permits for the sale of alcoholic beverages and the rules of locating places of sale and serving alcoholic beverages (Article 12 sections 1–3), (3) issuing permits for the sale of alcohol (Article 18 section 1) and monitoring the legitimacy of using these permits (Article 18 section 8). In addition, the LCPP&RAP provides solutions regarding forms, methods and projects undertaken by the municipality. It is important to note that the municipality self-government, as a result of decentralization of the state, has received extensive competence to conduct its own policy on alcohol-related problems, which is why its role is crucial.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation headquarters and museum complex (1959–1969) headed a fundamental role in building science in Portugal, as it contributed to the accomplishment of a Modern Movement design committed with a high level of construction quality, showing that there was more beyond Modern Movement formalism. Inaugurated in 1969, it was designed to create a pleasant environment, providing prospects from inside at various angles to the grove of trees and the surrounding land. As a mega-structure designed under a multi-disciplinary design and construction team it achieved a high level of technical excellence and comfort, whilst beautifully linking the building and garden. Located in central Lisbon, within a park with an area of 7.5 ha, occupying an area of 25.000 m2, it was designed by the architects Alberto Pessoa (1919–1985), Pedro Cid (1925–1983) and Ruy Jevis d’Athouguia (1917–2006) with the collaboration of the landscape designers Ribeiro Barreto (1924–2013) and Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles (1922–). The construction gathered an international interdisciplinary team of specialists. The most up-to-date techniques were adopted, including reinforced and pre-stressed concrete in its construction. Some figures illustrate the volume of these buildings: 150,000 m3 of excavation, 45,000 m3 of concrete, 3,200 t of steel, 100 km of power cables, 50,000 m of air conditioning pipes and 3,500 kW of installed electrical capacity. The architectural design expresses the structure. The aim of having a dominant horizontal line that guaranteed the image of a low building hugging the land and the wish to emphasize the long slabs of concrete that constituted the visible image of the built complex called for a very creative structural concept. The impact that the complex has had and the way in which it has manifested the effectiveness of its qualities, such as formal sobriety and restraint, have confirmed the close relationship between the conception process and the construction site. With its garden it has created the very image of the prestige and innovation of the Foundation itself.

This paper discusses Karlstad’s sobriety committee view on the drinking as a societal problem during the period 1941–1950. The purpose of the study is to investigate how the sobriety committee in Karlstad saw drinking as a problem and what measures were put in place to deal with it between the years 1941–1950.The study used a qualitative research method, and the empirical material has consisted of Karlstad’s sobriety committee’s annual reports from the years 1941–1950. The material was read several times and sorted and reduced with the help of focused coding where clear problem areas, reasons behind the drinking and measures and their possible results were what was sought. The results were analyzed with the help of previous research and the theory of the actor and structure model.The results show in what way the drinking was considered problematic where the focus ended up on youth drunkenness and widespread illegal trade with alchohol. These two problems were also the clearest reasons for the city’s negative state of sobriety. Descriptions of the sobriety committee’s work and measures show a resignation. Using the actor and structure model, one sees how structures to curb drinking in the city emerged and were connected. One can find a problem with the social structures that the inhabitants grew up with contributed to increased drinking.