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The case for increased centralization in integration governance: the neglected perspective
Vilde Hernes ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4582-089X1
Local autonomy is a highly promoted feature in European governance, and the integration field is no exception. In the integration literature, values and considerations favoring local autonomy are often emphasized, while values and considerations underpinning central steering has received less analytical attention, thus a more nuanced perspective in studies of central–local governance relations is warranted. This commentary identifies general dilemmas in central–local governance which expose clear justifications for both local autonomy and central steering. Furthermore, it presents empirical examples of policy changes regulating central–local governance in the Scandinavian countries where increased centralization has been introduced with reference to promoting values and considerations favoring central steering, such as a fairer distribution of responsibilities between local authorities, legal safeguards for individuals, and equal service provision across the country. Lastly, it suggests how future studies of central–local governance could benefit from of taking a more nuanced perspective.
"Local autonomy" is a highly valued and promoted feature in European governance, and many European countries continue to strengthen the autonomy of local governments by decentralizing far-reaching competences to the lowest units (Ladner et al., 2016). This promotion of local autonomy and decentralization is also apparent in the integration field, where both politicians and EU institutions enthusiastically praise the importance of a local approach to integration policies (Gebhardt, 2016). In recent years, the local governments' role in immigrant integration, and particularly the role of large cities, has also been extensively studied in the integration literature, where national policies involving increased centralization are often criticized, and where local autonomy is presented as a solution to ensure a holistic integration process responding to concrete problems (Poppelaars & Scholten, 2008; Jørgensen, 2012; Dekker et al., 2015; Gebhardt, 2016).
In this commentary, I argue why the integration literature should take a more nuanced perspective when studying the complexity of central–local governance relations. I start with a brief review of how central–local relations have been studied in the current integration literature, and argue that although it often describes in detail theoretical and empirical justifications for local autonomy, the same analytical attention is seldom given to justifications for central steering. By building on the general central–local governance literature, I therefore first present general dilemmas in central–local governance which expose clear justifications for both local autonomy and central steering. Further, I continue by showing concrete examples from analyses of refugee integration and settlement policies processes in the Scandinavian countries, where increased centralization has been introduced with reference to promoting values and considerations favoring central steering, such as macroeconomic considerations, legal safeguards for individuals, equal service provision across the country, and a fairer distribution of responsibilities between local authorities. In the concluding discussion, I review how insights from the Scandinavian examples presented may challenge an existing assumption in the literature, namely that increased centralization most often is a tool to introduce more restrictive integration policies. Furthermore, I discuss how the dominant analytical approach in the existing integration literature focusing mainly on large cities when studying central-local relations may present a skewed picture, and suggest that future studies should include analyses of local governments of varying sizes and with varying shares of an immigrant population to get a broader understanding of central-local governance relations within the integration field.
It is important to emphasize that this commentary is not meant as a general normative justification for increased centralization in the integration field. By highlighting that legitimate reasons for central steering exist – reasons that have not been sufficiently exposed in the current integration literature – my aim is to provide future empirical analyses with a broader understanding of the complexity that dilemmas of central–local governance in the integration field entail.
Central–local governance in the integration literature
The literature on central–local governance integration has mainly included studies that analyze how local governments – and particularly large cities – develop their own integration policies. Scholars studying the "local turn" show that local governments are not merely implementers of national integration policies, but increasingly formulate their own integration policies that may diverge from the "national models of integration" (Alexander, 2003; Jørgensen, 2014; Ambrosini & Boccagni, 2015; Dekker et al., 2015; De Graauw & Vermeulen, 2016; Emilsson, 2016; Penninx et al., 2017). Furthermore, Zapata-Barrero et al. (2017) find that conflicting policies at the national and local levels may lead to inconsistencies among the policies pursued by different levels of government. Schiller et al. (2020) also show that national and local actors' perceptions of immigration, diversity and their societal consequences have undergone important transformations in the past two decades.
In contrast to the "local turn" thesis, other studies show how national policies infringe on the local leeway to adopt integration policies in line with local policy objectives and local philosophies of integration (Emilsson, 2015; Gebhardt, 2016). Thus, the idea that local governments enjoy a high degree of autonomy from the state has been challenged. Emilsson (2015) shows how the central government can exercise power over local governments in his studies of how national governments use different instruments (coercive, remunerative, and normative) in their national integration policies to regulate the local leeway. By taking this approach, he finds what he calls a "national turn" in Swedish and Danish integration policies. Gebhardt (2016) takes a similar approach and shows how state-led civic integration programs across Europe challenge a local approach to integration.
Generally, integration scholars present thorough arguments portraying the benefits of local autonomy; however, justifications for introducing (increased) central steering have received less analytical attention. Some studies briefly mention geographical fragmentation and variation, unsatisfactory integration results, and standardization as reasons for why national governments have taken centralizing steps (Dekker et al., 2015; Emilsson, 2015; Gebhardt, 2016); however, they do not describe or discuss different reasons for central steering, at least not to the same extent as is done for the justifications for local autonomy. Studies on multi-level governance of the integration field, and particularly studies of central–local governance, have also mainly been descriptive, and few studies explore in-depth the reason why we see these patterns of both centralization and decentralization (Gebhardt, 2016; Zapata-Barrero et al., 2017). Trends of centralization are therefore often assumed to be a result of the central government having discovered integration policies as a potential "tool to regulate and condition immigrant rights, and as a resource for symbolic politics in a context of a marked politization of immigration" (Gebhardt, 2016). Although this assumption might be right for some centralizing developments in certain countries, integration scholars should investigate not only this hypothesis, but also competing hypotheses for why we see increased centralization of integration policies in many countries.
In conducting such investigations, we should acknowledge that in choosing between local autonomy and central steering, multiple and often conflicting values and considerations must be prioritized and balanced, and that explanations for trends of decentralization or centralization are equally complex and multifaceted. To explore and systemize this complexity, a starting point is to clarify the different values and considerations both local autonomy and central steering represent.
Local autonomy versus central steering – a balancing act between different considerations and values
Several scholars have argued that integration scholars could benefit from employing tested frameworks and theories from the public policy and administration literature (Bleich, 2008; Filindra & Goodman, 2019). While integration scholars increasingly have devoted more time on studying central-local governance, there is unexploited potential to build on established insights from the general central-local governance literature in analyses of integration governance. In the following section, I describe the general considerations underpinning both local autonomy and central steering presented in the general central-local governance literature.
Values and considerations favoring local autonomy
The ideological justification for self-governance rests on three sets of values or ideals: 1) democracy and participation, 2) liberty or autonomy, and 3) efficiency (Kjellberg, 1995). First, the democratic justification for local autonomy is that citizens' participation in local democracy is viewed as both a goal in itself and an instrument for strengthening democracy in society at large. The justification emphasizes the importance of proximity between citizens and elected politicians, because it narrows the gap between rulers and the ruled (Kjellberg, 1995).
Second, for the democratic justification to be relevant, local governments must enjoy some degree of authority and self-governance, implying liberty from the central government's direct steering. Liberty for local communities to develop according to their own preferences was a powerful ideological element in the introduction of local governments in European countries (Kjellberg, 1995). Liberty or autonomy is both a question of 'freedom from' and 'freedom to'. 'Freedom from' central steering is related to the local governments' role as implementers of national policies and implies that local governments should have the leeway to adapt national legislation to local conditions without detailed directions from the central government. "Freedom to" relates to the local leeway to initiate and develop new policies and programs that are not explicitly under the authority of higher government levels (Ladner et al., 2019).
The third value and justification for local autonomy is that local governments may offer the most efficient way of handling the discrepancy between needs and demands in the community, as well as efficiently adapting the local production of public services (Kjellberg, 1995). With knowledge of local needs and conditions, and with proximity between citizens and politicians, local governments may be more capable of implementing policies effectively and to develop, prioritize, and adapt public services to their citizens' needs (NOU, 2005:6).
Values and considerations favoring central steering
While the three abovementioned ideals provide a good case for local autonomy as a highly desirable feature for "good" governance (Ladner et al., 2019), in developed welfare states, these ideals compete with other values rooted in national considerations (Kjellberg, 1995). Considerations that may favor central steering are 1) the rule of law and legal safeguards for individuals, 2) equal service provision, 3) efficiency, and 4) macroeconomic steering.
First, a strong central power is viewed as a precondition to ensuring the rule of law and legal safeguards of individuals, where central intervention may be necessary to ensure that civic rights are free from encroachment by local authorities (Kjellberg, 1995). Historically, as evolving democratic communities, local governments have been viewed as defenders of individuals and groups against central government intrusions. However, in modern welfare states, municipalities are also implementers of national welfare policies, and thus, the roles may be reversed where legal safeguards for individuals or groups may be upheld by the central government, not the local government. One example concerns how municipalities work to ensure that persons with disabilities overcome barriers and are included in society. A Norwegian Green paper (NOU, 2001:22) problematized that through a too strong focus on local autonomy, the extent of variation of the public services provided to persons with disabilities in different municipalities infringed citizens' legal safeguards and contradicted the goal of equal service provision. Thus, increased central steering and control could be a way to ensure that individuals get what they are entitled to, irrespective of where they live in the country. Consequently, this first value of legal safeguards is intertwined with the second justification for central steering: equal service provision. Although local adaption may be promoted as a desirable feature favoring local autonomy, it could also result in arbitrary differentiation in service provision across the country. European welfare states are built upon principles of universalism and egalitarianism (Sellers & Lidström, 2007). Hanssen and Helgesen (2011, b) present two prerequisites for universalism: universal accessibility and coverage, and territorial uniformity. Universal accessibility and coverage implies that everyone with equal needs should have equal access to services across all municipalities in the country. Who you are and where you live should not affect services provided to cover your needs. Territorial uniformity implies a specified level of service quality across all municipalities. Since decentralization and local autonomy promote local variation, it may be hard to reconcile with the principle of universalism; thus, ensuring universalism may require a certain level of national regulation and central steering (Hanssen & Helgesen, 2011, b). The argument about equalization and a demand for redistribution in society (Kjellberg, 1995) also entails equality between local governments. In this way, central steering could be a way to (re) distribute resources and responsibilities among local governments when such redistribution does not happen through voluntary local engagement (NOU, 2005:6). In such cases, central steering may delimit local autonomy for some local governments, while others gain increased self-governance through central steering.
Third, central steering may also be justified by its functioning as a measure to ensure efficient implementation of national policies. This argument stands in contrast to the efficiency argument for local autonomy, and the two forms of efficiency may be perceived to be in conflict. While the efficiency argument for local autonomy emphasizes an optimal correlation between specific local needs and the supply of services, it may not always be the cheapest solution. Public money is not to be wasted (Kjellberg, 1995). Because local governments often are financially compensated (or at least should be) for tasks they are mandated to carry out by the national government as implementers of national policies, it is legitimate for the central government to ensure that public service production is as efficient as possible (Kjellberg, 1995).
This latter point brings us to the fourth central consideration, macroeconomic steering. Local governments with wide responsibilities as implementers of several welfare services are responsible for a large part of the national budget. Additionally, their success or failure in the implementation process may have a large impact on the achievement of national policy goals. Thus, if local governments consistently fail to reach the goals set by the national government, that failure could have severe macroeconomic consequences, and therefore alternative solutions, including increased centralized steering and control, might have to be considered.
As presented above, both local autonomy and central steering promote different considerations and values in public governance. The current integration literature has extensively studied how trends of increased centralization in integration policies may infringe important values of local autonomy. However, the literature has not always devoted the same attention to portraying how increased centralization might have been introduced to protect values of central steering. The importance of the conflicting values of local autonomy and central steering has fluctuated over the years; nevertheless, as Kjellberg argues, the values for central steering cannot be "( …) discarded as irrelevant or as being less important than the values imbued in local self-government itself. They all contribute to the legitimacy of the political system" (Kjellberg, 1995). Thus, in the next section, I present concrete examples of policy processes where increased centralization has been introduced in the integration field. I document how these centralizing trends have been justified by relevant actors because of their function as a measure to ensure and protect central values of legal safeguards, equalization, efficiency, and macroeconomic steering.
The examples are drawn from existing policy studies and new analyses of more recent policy processes regulating Scandinavian integration programs and settlement policies for refugees, because these policy issues tackle core dilemmas of central–local governance. I use examples from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden because they all have extensive welfare states and decentralized government structures, and in all three countries, local autonomy has a particularly strong standing in central–local governance relations (Sellers & Lidström, 2007). Thus, in those countries, increased centralization may face stronger opposition, and should be thoroughly and explicitly justified in the policy process. Despite these similarities, the countries have approached immigrant integration quite differently. In all indices of integration policies, Denmark is placed in the restrictive corner, Sweden in the permissive one, and Norway somewhere between (Hernes, 2018; Goodman, 2010). This makes them relevant cases to see how central-local governance relations are addressed in countries that historically have had very different national approaches to integration policies. The empirical examples used here are not meant as a thorough analysis of all possible explanations or main drivers of the respective policy changes, but rather, they are meant to exemplify how values underpinning central steering are explicitly highlighted by relevant actors to justify increased centralization.
Justifications for centralization in integration programs and settlement policies for refugees
Ensuring equal service provision and legal safeguards in integration programs
The Scandinavian central governments' leeway for central steering of municipalities is somewhat restricted by the principle of proportionality. The principle states that policies that restrict local autonomy should be applied only if they are necessary to fulfill important national goals and that the least restrictive instruments should be preferred (Feltenius, 2015). However, in both Norway and Sweden, there has been a consistent employment gap between refugees and the majority population (Bratsberg et al., 2017, Hernes et al., 2020). In the Scandinavian countries, high employment levels are a precondition for the central government to finance and maintain an extensive welfare state. A continuous employment gap between the minority and majority population has negative consequences for state finances, and for other goals of maintaining social and financial equality in the population (NOU, 2017: 2). Thus, from a macroeconomic perspective, if local integration measures do not achieve results that are vital for individual migrants, local communities, and more holistic national goals and state finances, the national government may want to become more involved. Both Norway and Sweden have introduced centralizing instruments or centralized the responsibility for implementing integration programs for refugees in recent years, and increased employment and self-sufficiency for the target group have been the main aims of these efforts. However, the policy processes leading up to these changes also show that equal service provision and legal safeguards for refugees are emphasized as important justifications for these policy and organizational changes.
In Norway, the Introduction Act of 2003 gave municipalities the responsibility to provide integration programs for refugees (financed by the central government). The Act gave municipalities great autonomy in designing and locally adapting the program conditions, with few detailed regulations. Over the years, several evaluations have revealed large differences between both the results municipalities achieve concerning participants' transition rate to employment after the program period, and the quality of the content of integration programs (Djuve et al., 2017, Riksrevisjonen, 2019). For example, while some municipalities had transition rates to employment up to 100%, other municipalities achieved only about 30–40% (Lillegård & Seiersted, 2013). Nilsen (2013) also problematizes the emphasis on local autonomy, because it provides local case workers with great power when deciding the program content for each individual. In her analysis of the legal safeguards for participants in the Norwegian integration programs, Nilsen writes that refugees' legal safeguards are ensured through the legislation, which emphasizes the principle of user participation and the right to appeal the formal decision (e.g., which measures individuals should have in the program, e.g., employment or educational measures). She shows that there are very few cases of appeals, and that central inspection of the programs' contents shows that several municipalities struggle to provide participants with fulltime programs. Consequently, even though participants formally have a legal safeguard in their right to appeal formal decisions, Nilsen (2013) emphasizes that participants are new to Norway, and often lack the knowledge and resources to understand the Norwegian system, making it more challenging for them to execute their right to appeal public decisions. Thus, she argues that national legislation (and inspection) could protect refugees' rights (e.g., by more centralized steering of the program content to ensure minimum standards for the programs' content and quality). From this perspective, stronger central steering could be justified as an argument to ensure refugees' rights, and to provide a more equal service provision to refugees, irrespective of where they are settled in the country. If the program quality in some municipalities is particularly low, it is a severe intervention in participants' lives because they are obliged to participate in the programs and could be refused financial aid if they do not participate (Tronstad & Hernes, 2017).
In October 2020, the Norwegian parliament passed a new Integration Act replacing the former 2003 Introduction Act. As a backdrop to the new legislation, the government's proposition to parliament stresses that: "There is large municipal variation concerning the program content, quality and results in the integration programs ( …)" (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2020: 15). They quote an evaluation report of the 2003 act (Djuve et al., 2017), which concludes that although many municipalities do find suitable local solutions for the integration process, (…) "the local variations in program measures are disturbingly large, and affect the individual participants' chances to become employed." One major change in the new Integration Act is a more detailed steering of the program content, with clear requirements concerning what specific measures municipalities are to include in different participant groups' programs. Additionally, the new Act introduced a quality requirement (forsvarligehtskrav) for municipalities, meaning that the program should meet certain quality standards. In the public hearing, this latter requirement was both supported and opposed, but the main argument from supporters and eventually the government was that it would "reduce differences between municipalities and secure better services for participants" (Prop. 89 L (2019–2020), p. 41). Although the public consultation reveals that several municipal actors were critical of the Act's proposals for increased detailed central steering, many municipal actors also supported these proposals, with the same justification as presented by the central government: that it could lead to a more equal service provision and increase participants' rights. As Grong municipality writes in the public hearing: "the development towards more formalization and systematization may promote equal service provision and clearer steering and guidance for the municipalities in the development of the service provision for refugees" (Prop. 89 L (2019–2020), p. 38).
Similar arguments of equal service provision and legal safeguards were also prominent in the Swedish Establishment Act centralizing the responsibility for integration programs in 2010. Sweden took the first steps toward an integration program for refugees in 1994, whereby municipalities were given a fixed grant for each participating refugee. The legislation provided municipalities with great autonomy because the only requirement to receive this benefit was that the municipality – in cooperation with the participant – should prepare an individual integration plan. Municipalities could also choose the type of financial support they wanted to provide to program participants and if they wanted to include financial sanctions in case of non-participation. Consequently, program quality and benefit levels varied across Sweden, because municipalities were free to pay participants either an introduction benefit or social assistance (based on household income) (Andersson Joona et al., 2016). Most importantly, it was voluntary not only for refugees to participate, but also for the municipalities to offer such programs. National guidelines were few and vague, providing municipalities with great autonomy, but simultaneously resulting in wide variation across municipalities. Furthermore, studies revealed that few municipalities actually implemented these voluntary measures (Borevi, 2010).
The Swedish Establishment Act of 2010 centralized the overall responsibility for integration programs from the municipalities to a national agency, the Swedish Public Employment Service, including responsibility for work-related schemes and coordinating involved actors. The Swedish municipalities kept their responsibility to provide language training and civic studies. One of the main arguments for centralizing the responsibility was not only to facilitate and speed up integration into the labor market and society, but also to reduce the local variation of integration measures available, because the differences in how municipalities organized the programs were too great (Emilsson, 2015, Andersson Joona et al., 2016). In the political process, differences in how the municipalities chose to financially compensate participants and differences in whether participants were financially sanctioned for non-participation or not were highlighted because such differences challenged the principle of equal rights for the target group.
Territorial equalization is an important principle in welfare states (Hanssen & Helgesen, 2011, b), and the examples above show how Swedish and Norwegian actors justify increased centralization of integration programs to promote principles of equal service provision and legal safeguards for program participants. The principles of equal service provision and legal safeguards could be argued to be particularly relevant for refugees, because in many countries (including Norway), refugees do not decide where to live themselves, but are settled by public authorities, and are restricted from moving the initial years after settlement (Hernes, 2017). Additionally, participation in integration programs is obligatory in many countries, implying that refugees are obliged to participate in the program to receive financial assistance, and in some countries, participation in the integration program may be a (indirect) precondition for obtaining permanent residence (Gebhardt, 2016). Thus, the quality and content of the integration programs, and the integration results participants achieve after the program period, have direct and severe consequences for participants. If the quality of the programs is low, it is a severe interference and restriction for the individuals that are obliged to participate (Hagelund & Kavli, 2009).
Increased centralization in refugee settlement policies
The argument concerning equalization as an important principle in welfare states could also entail the goal of equal distribution of responsibilities between municipalities. Normally in discussions of central–local governance, this consideration concerns questions of redistributing resources between wealthy and less wealthy municipalities. However, this argument for equal distribution of responsibilities between municipalities has also been highly relevant for increased centralization of the Danish and Swedish settlement models. In these cases, the question is not about a distribution of resources, but rather about a redistribution of responsibilities for newly arrived refugees among the municipalities. In an in-depth analysis of several policy processes leading to increased centralization in Scandinavian settlement models, Hernes, (2017) shows that the Danish and Swedish steps toward centralized settlement models – whereby a central agency allocates refugees to the municipalities – were argued to be necessary to ensure that all municipalities took their share of the responsibility for newly arrived refugees, and to unburden municipalities that had taken disproportionately large shares in the years leading up to the new legislative changes. Municipalities that had taken a larger share than others actively supported the introduction of central steering to ensure a fairer distribution of responsibilities between municipalities.
In her analysis, Hernes (2017) also shows how Norway did not introduce a centralized settlement model, partly explained by how local autonomy has a particularly strong political standing in Norway. However, the analysis of the policy processes leading up to a decline of increased centralization illustrates how increased centralization may be promoted by different actors with the aim of protecting immigrants against negative consequences of too much emphasis on local autonomy. The Norwegian refugee settlement model has, despite several attempts of increased centralization over the years, kept the main principle of local autonomy, implying that the central government sends a petition each year to municipalities requesting that they settle a number of refugees that have been granted asylum and received a residence permit. Municipalities are free to accept the requested number of refugees, accept a lower number, or refuse to settle any at all (and they could even not answer the petition). Because accepting to settle refugee involves obligations for municipalities to provide refugees with housing and extensive integration programs the initial years, the main argument for this voluntary municipal model is that municipalities are the ones best suited to evaluate how many refugees they have the capacity to receive. However, before the refugee crisis in 2015, Norway experienced a substantial gap between how many refugees had obtained a residence permit and how many the municipalities accepted to settle, implying that many refugees that had their asylum applications approved sat waiting for months in asylum centers even after they obtained a residence permit (Askim & Hernes, 2017). In a public hearing of a proposition that suggested to introduce central allocation in 2011, all ten organizations working for refugees' rights supported central allocation. Although many of them emphasized local autonomy as an important principle, they argued that local autonomy should not be kept as a principle if it delayed the refugees' rights to start their new lives in a municipality. The organization the Norwegian Centre Against Racism (2011) argued in their response in the public hearing that:
(… it is a form of coercion irrespective of which [settlement] model one chooses, irrespective of whether it is the municipalities that are forced to settle more refugees, or if the refugees are forced to live even longer in asylum reception centers. We consider it far more preferable for the system to be forced to deal with the problem, rather than for the consequences of the system's failure to affect individuals who already have a very difficult background.
This response shows how increased centralization could be argued as a measure to protect refugees' rights against negative consequences that may follow from a strong focus on local autonomy.
The examples presented in the previous section illustrate cases of increased centralization within the integration field, where changes have been justified by referring to values and considerations underpinning central steering, including macroeconomic steering, and by referring to the need to ensure the immigrants' legal safeguards against either unsatisfying or unequal local service provision.
It is relevant to highlight that these centralizing steps have in many cases been partly supported by municipalities themselves and by organizations working for immigrants' rights. The existing narrative in the integration literature often leaves the impression that the central state is the restrictive actor that limits or conditions immigrants' rights and that centralizes integration policies without much consultation with municipalities (Gebhardt, 2016). However, the examples in this commentary illustrate how the central government could also have an alternative role as an advocate to ensure equal distribution of responsibilities between municipalities, and equal rights and minimum standards of local service provision for immigrants, and that these centralizing steps have the support of immigrant organizations and even parts of the municipal community.
One limitation with the presented empirical examples in this study is that they only represent policies for refugee integration programs and settlement policies. Whether similar observations are apparent for integration policies aimed at other groups of migrants is an open question and should be further explored. For example, one could assume that refugees' more vulnerable position – often not being able to move back to their home country, other countries or in some cases not even freely settle within the host country – makes policies directed at refugees more subject to central interference where actors justify centralization steps to sustain this vulnerable groups' legal safeguards. Additionally, the empirical examples in this commentary is based on Scandinavian integration policies. These countries' different approaches to national integration policies make it possible to hypothesize that the similar justifications for increased centralizations may also be used in other countries with both restrictive and permissive integration policies, however, this hypothesis should naturally also be tested in future research.
Implications for future research on central local governance
How do these findings correspond to conclusions in existing studies of the central–local governance relations, and what lessons may be learned for future studies?
First, the Scandinavian examples presented could challenge or nuance an existing assumption in the integration literature, namely that patterns of centralization and the introduction of (more) coercive and restrictive policies for immigrants automatically go hand in hand. For example, in Gebhardt's study of the increased centralization of civic integration programs in Sweden, Netherlands, and Germany, he concludes that:
Civic integration programs are part of a wider trend that has seen immigrant integration policy redefined by a growing involvement of the state. Although this has often meant that more resources have been made available for integration, it has also resulted, albeit to a lesser degree in the Swedish case, in making integration policies more coercive, more linked to questions of admission and residence status, more bureaucratic and less concerned with solving practical problems or responding to concrete needs (Gebhardt, 2016).
He further writes that it can be assumed that this centralizing trend has:
to do with integration policies having been discovered by governments as a tool to regulate and condition immigrant rights, and as a resource for symbolic politics in a context of a marked politicization of immigration. The fact that this [national] understanding of integration can clash with a local understanding of integration that is more oriented to solving concrete problems may make central governments inclined to take greater control and to ignore the good governance rhetoric of "bottom-up policy development" and "partnership" (…) (Gebhardt, 2016).
One important takeaway from this commentary is that increased central steering of local governments may be detached from the introduction of more restrictive and obligatory integration policies for immigrants. The policy changes made by the Swedish Establishment Act in 2010, the more centralized Swedish settlement model, and the new Norwegian Integration Act do not impose new obligations for immigrants, but either centralize authority over integration policies or increase the central steering of the local service provision. The examples show that centralization may be introduced not with the intention of imposing further restrictions on or obligations for immigrants, but rather as measures to improve immigrants' rights and ensure equal service provision across local governments. Of course, these examples do not mean that earlier studies are wrong in their conclusions that centralization and the more obligatory and restrictive policies toward immigrants often go hand in hand; however, the examples show that this does not always have to be the case. Changes in the governance of integration policies may "merely" be political questions of balancing or prioritizing between conflicting values and considerations of central-local governance. Thus, future studies that aim to address the central–local governance relations must distinguish analytically between cases where centralization is part of policy changes that also impose new restrictions on immigrants and policy changes that "just" regulate the central–local governance of integration policies. This distinction is particularly relevant in studies that aim to investigate why we see increased centralization. In many cases, it may be as Gebhardt (2016) concludes, that centralization is a measure to introduce the more obligatory and restrictive policies to ensure immigration control. Nevertheless, as shown in this article, it may also be justified by values and considerations in support of central steering – such as legal safeguards and equal service provision – two highly valued features in European welfare states (Ladner et al., 2019). This approach is a supplement to Ambrosini (2013) critique of how most of the literature focusing on local government deals with the inclusive role of local policies. As Ambrosini argues – and other studies have also shown (Mahnig, 2004, Scholten, 2013) – there are cases where the development of local policies have been aimed to exclude migrants from various kinds of benefits and rights. Similarly, just as these studies challenge the general assumption that integration policies necessarily do not have to be inclusive, the Scandinavian cases illustrate that increased central steering may not necessarily imply the introduction of more restrictive integration policies.
A second and methodological implication of my argument to take a more nuanced approach to study of central-local governance relations, is that the dominant approach of studying big cities with large immigrant populations may give a skewed picture of the overall local capacity and competency to independently develop and implement integration policies. Earlier studies of the "local turn" have shown how big cities have been forerunners in developing extensive local integration policies and adapting integration measures to local needs (Poppelaars & Scholten, 2008, Jørgensen, 2012, Dekker et al., 2015). Glick-Schiller and Çağlar (2009) criticize that studies of specific localities (e.g. metropolitan cities) are used to draw general more conclusions about a countries' integration policies, and argue that future studies should include localities that differ not only in size, but in their social, cultural and political dynamic. Current studies of central-local governance often show innovative and knowledgeable big cities that have great experience and capacity in developing and implementing local integration policies. Nevertheless, these studies are almost exclusively based on case studies of big cities. Although immigrants are often overrepresented in urban areas, most European countries have immigrant populations distributed across the country, in municipalities of all sizes. To develop extensive integration programs and policies, local governments need resources, capacity, and knowledge. Such programs and policies could be challenging to develop from scratch, particularly for smaller municipalities with fewer resources and less experience with an immigrant population. De Graauw and Vermeulen (2016) argue that local-level factors such as having a sizeable share of immigrants and their direct descendants as part of the electorate, and an infrastructure of community-based organizations that actively represent immigrants' collective interests in local politics and policy-making are critical for the enactment and implementation of local integration policies. Thus, although earlier studies have shown certain negative side effects of national policies limiting the local autonomy in big cities, future studies should include studies on how such trends of centralization have affected the content and implementation of integration policies in municipalities of different sizes and with varying shares of immigrant populations. For example, for smaller municipalities with limited resources and experience with this type of work, detailed regulations of the integration programs' content may be welcomed so that all municipalities do not need to reinvent the wheel all by themselves (Tronstad & Hernes, 2017). Additionally, smaller and rural municipalities may have different attitudes and incentives towards centrally steered integration (and immigration) policies than big cities have, since nationally financed integration policies implemented by the local level may have positive effects on local budgets, and that settlement of refugees could reverse a continuing trend of population decline (Hansen, 2018, Scarpa & Schierup, 2018).
Lastly, I want to emphasize again that this commentary is not meant as a normative justification for increased centralization in the integration field, but rather as a call for a more nuanced analytical approach when studying trends of both decentralization and centralization in the integration literature. While the current literature has shown many good examples of the importance in local leeway and discretion in the formulation and implementation of integration policies, my goal with this commentary has been to nuance this picture by also elaborating and exemplifying how increased centralization have been justified by referring to values and considerations underpinning central steering. To repeat Kjellberg (1995), the values for central steering cannot be "( …) discarded as irrelevant or as being less important than the values imbued in local self-government itself. They all contribute to the legitimacy of the political system."
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Dekker, R., Emilsson, H., Krieger, B., & Scholten, P. (2015). A local dimension of integration policies? A comparative study of Berlin, Malmö, and Rotterdam. International Migration Review, 49(3), 633–658. https://doi.org/10.1111/imre.12133.
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Hagelund, A., & Kavli, H. (2009). If work is out of sight. Activation and citizenship for new refugees. Journal of European Social Policy, 19(3), 259–270. https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928709104741.
Hansen, P. (2018). Asylum or austerity? The 'refugee crisis' and the Keynesian interlude. European Political Science, 17(1), 128–139. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-017-0122-y.
Hanssen, G. S., & Helgesen, M. K. (2011). Multi-level governance in Norway: Universalism in elderly and mental health care services. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 31(3/4), 160–172. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443331111120609.
Hernes, V. (2017). Central coercion or local autonomy? A comparative analysis of policy instrument choice in refugee settlement policies. Local Government Studies, 43(5), 798–819. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2017.1342627.
Hernes, V. (2018). Cross-national convergence in times of crisis? Integration policies before, during and after the refugee crisis. West European Politics, 41(6), 1305–1329. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2018.1429748.
Hernes, V., Arendt, J., Andersson Joona, P., & Tronstad, K. (2020). Rapid or long-term employment? A Scandinavian comparative study of refugee integration policies and employment outcomes. Journal of European Public Policy, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2020.1824011.
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Poppelaars, C., & Scholten, P. (2008). Two worlds apart: The divergence of national and local immigrant integration policies in the Netherlands. Administration and Society, 40(4), 335–357. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399708317172.
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I wish to thank the four anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. I also want to thank Anne Balke Staver, Kristian Tronstad, and participants at NORKOM 2020 and the Network for Migration and Transnationality at OsloMet for comments on earlier drafts.
The project has not received external funding.
Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway
Vilde Hernes
The authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Vilde Hernes is a senior researcher and political scientist at the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Oslo Metropolitan University. Her research and teaching cover public policy and design, central-local governance, organizational theory and immigrant integration policies and governance.
Correspondence to Vilde Hernes.
The author declares that she has no competing interests.
Hernes, V. The case for increased centralization in integration governance: the neglected perspective. CMS 9, 32 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-021-00247-z
Central–local governance
Integration governance
Local autonomy


Frankfurt is the center of one of the most productive and dynamic regions in Europe. As continental Europe's largest financial center, home of the European Central Bank and to the headquarters of many companies, the international importance of Frankfurt continues to grow.
But it is also a city of intellect, of apple wine, of small-town friendliness, green spaces and 180 nationalities.
Yet despite Frankfurt's diversity it is still easy to keep an overview of the metropolis. The distances one needs to cover to visit colleagues or friends in the city are comparatively short, while its excellent infrastructure enables visitors and residents alike to reach even remote destinations quickly and conveniently.


When it comes to designing landing pages, there are a lot of things to consider. The UX design industry is full of recommendations, but in addition to the usual best practices, there is another major key to creating a high converting landing page.
That major element is general psychology or an understanding of basic human tendencies and behavior.
As you plan out your campaigns, ads and eventually landing page design you need to carefully consider using specific colors, images and copy to ensure that you are creating the best experience for your target audience.
When people are shopping online for a specific product or service they are usually thinking about themselves. They are considering how this will give them pleasure or how this product or service is going to relieve their problem and bring them happiness.
People usually want to avoid conflict or pain when shopping online. With this in mind, its best to include elements in your design that will reinforce their desire for happiness/pleasure.
How? Well, you can start by using happy people in your imagery.
When you choose your photos it's always a good ideas to show people enjoying the product in the real-world. Showing your product in action gives the user the ability to imagine themselves using your product.
If your are in the service industry the same principals to imagery can apply. Using photos of people happy/safe instead of in crisis can be a very effective strategy for most service based business.
As much as we all want to be an individual and stand on our own we find ourselves obsessed with what other people and companies especially those that we love are doing. Not everyone is a trend setter and many look to make sure that other people have benefitted or are benefitting from your service.
In marketing, we call this social proof and often times we use companies logos, testimonials and videos to show potential customers that they are in good company.
People are emotionally invested in the products and services they use on a daily business. As a result, when a new customer lands on your landing page you want them to feel some sort of emotion.
In some cases using direct or even confrontational messaging is the right strategy to get that person to convert. Some industries require you to tug on people's emotion by comforting them with a question or concern about the issue they are having.
For example, a weight loss clinic might target a person with the consequences of being overweight. They might follow this with imagery of a person struggling and not enjoying an everyday activity.
Other industries that seem to succeed when they build off their customers emotions/anxiety are financial companies. People are often worried about their financial situation so it's common to play off these emotions to convert a user.
Targeting these types of emotion can be very tricky to pull off successfully, though, so it is very important that you do use supporting text to show the user that your product is the solution they are looking for.
Different colors can bring out different emotions in people. For example, stop signs are red because red is often times associated with urgency and importance. Knowing how people react to colors is a great tool to help you use colors effectively.
One of the most used colors on the web today is blue. People usually associate blue with trust and secure. This can be seen by 100's of financial companies that use blue as their primary company color.
Companies such as PayPal use blue on the website and logo to help push the fact they are a trusted company. Continuing the financial company blue trend is Capital One, Bank Of America, Citi Bank and so on. Not only have financial companies subscribed to this theory but so has the world's largest social media company: Facebook.
Green is another popular color used in today's websites. The color green is associated with peacefulness, health and growth.
Green is a popular color for health-focused companies that want to promote clean living. Many food service business will also use green on their marketing material because it gives off the the impression of freshness and that's exactly the emotion they want from their customer base.
Black or Monochrome is used by many luxury brands because black and its different shades give off the impression of wealth, class and strength.
There is no bigger example of a brand using monochromatic colors than Apple. Apple is known for their great minimalistic design and are often times referred to as a luxury computing company.
Overall, the color you choose for your landing page can have a huge impact on how people respond to it. With the right color choice(s), you can significantly improve your conversion rates.
There are two basic types of people of the web: spenders and savers. Depending on who you're marketing to, you'll want to focus the design and messaging of your page to appeal to one or the other of these types.
So, what if you need to sell to both types? What can you do to please both the spender who is less concerned with price and the saver who is looking to get that great deal?
One effective method is using different terms to describe your price. For example, using the phrase "as low as $1 a day" might sound better to someone then $30 a month. Or, you can try using $100 off instead of 10% off. Sometimes, just presenting the numbers in a different way makes your price more palatable to some users.
Both spenders and savers love to feel like they are getting a deal and there is no better way to feed off that than to offer them a "limited time only" sale. This feeds people's urge to feel confident about a purchase.
When people are hitting your page looking to buy a service or product, the way that you layout your pricing may be the reason a user converts or bounces.
Understanding landing page psychology is a powerful tool that will help you make design decisions that will improve your landing page's conversion rate. Of course, the exact solutions will vary from business-to-business and page-to-page, but these ideas should hopefully help you get better results from your pages.
By the way, if you'd like me to do a little landing page psychotherapy on your pages, let me know here or in the comments below. I'd love to help!
Have you tried using any of these landing page psychology tricks before? How did it work out?


text:
Q: Expectation of the absolute difference of two i.i.d Normal distributions Let X and Y be iid $\sim Normal(0,1)$
I am interested in finding $E|X-Y|$.
Based on some simulations, I know that it is approximately 1. However, I don't know how to make that appear analytically.

A: If $X$ and $Y$ are independent normal random variables, then $X - Y$ is normal.
$$ X - Y \sim Normal(0, \sqrt{2}) $$
From here, the expectation of the absolute value of a standard normal is:
$$ E \left[ | X | \right] = \sqrt{\frac{2}{\pi}} $$
So for the difference
$$ E \left[ | X - Y | \right] = \sqrt{2} E \left[ | X | \right] = \sqrt{\frac{4}{\pi}} = \frac{2}{\sqrt{\pi}} $$
In R, from a simulation
> X <- rnorm(10000)
> Y <- rnorm(10000)
> Z <- mean(abs(X - Y))
> Z
[1] 1.124015

And numerically
> 2/sqrt(pi)
[1] 1.128379

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Image credit: Municipal District of Bonnyville. Coconut matting installed at Crane Lake.
The M.D. says they are trying to ensure that last year's flooding issues don't happen again this spring.
Reeve Greg Sawchuk said the M.D. budgeted for more equipment to handle flood-type events and have a flooding protocol.
"There was a lot of investigation work was done and some work was done to remediate those problems from happening again. But on top of that, the administration has met a couple of times and come up with basically a flooding protocol," he said.
"Some extra equipment has been purchased. It's already been pre-placed closer to some of the problem spots," said Sawchuk.
Snow piles have been removed from the hamlets and subdivisions and culverts have been dug out, said Matt Janz, interim director of Transportation and Utilities during the M.D. council meeting last Wednesday.
Offsite locations for pumps and other equipment have been set up so staff can respond to emergencies quickly.
"We're preparing as best we can," Janz said.
Inn the 2019 Interim Capital Budget, there was $800,000 set aside for drainage improvements on Moose Lake and Crane Lake.
The flooding around the Country Lane, Countryside in Cold Lake West and in Moose Lake last year are still a continuing concern.
"There are also a few range roads out there that have wetlands growing in size with our increasing precipitation that we've seen the last few years. Those are the problem areas really," said Sawchuk.
"But if you see anything, it's the same with roads, we use this 812-5000 number. When people call into that number, it automatically gets recorded. Now your concern is going to be active in some way or another. This is something we brought in just shy of a year ago now and it allows Council to know exactly where the concerns are, who looked after them, and what action took place. It allowed for good tracking and it holds us accountable," he said.
The temperature is warming in the lakeland with daily highs nearing the teens, but the M.D. was hoping for a slower melt, said Sawchuk.


text:
<?php

namespace PHPExiftool\Driver\Tag\GraphConv;

use JMS\Serializer\Annotation\ExclusionPolicy;
use PHPExiftool\Driver\AbstractTag;

/**
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 */
class Quality extends AbstractTag
{

    protected $Id = 'Q';

    protected $Name = 'Quality';

    protected $FullName = 'JPEG::GraphConv';

    protected $GroupName = 'GraphConv';

    protected $g0 = 'APP15';

    protected $g1 = 'GraphConv';

    protected $g2 = 'Image';

    protected $Type = '?';

    protected $Writable = false;

    protected $Description = 'Quality';
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Average size: 20-26 inches; Record 39.25 inches. Young are 7-9 inches at birth.
Range: Bluestripe Garters are found in West Florida along the Nature Coast region from Wakulla County through Hernando County.
Status: Fairly common throughout their range.


text:
ISLIP 300 PRESENTED BY EAST WEST MARINE SERVICES SET FOR RIVERHEAD RACEWAY SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14TH, WINNER TO EARN $7,000
Lou Modestino
Source: Riverhead NY Oct. 14th.
By Bob Finan
Riverhead Raceway owners Eddie & Connie Partridge and Tom Gatz figure there is only one way to send off the challenging 2020 race season into the sunset and that is in spectacular fashion as they announced plans for the 4th annual Islip 300 Saturday November 14th. The Partridge and Gatz ownership team are also happy and excited to announce that East West Marine Services has signed on to be the title sponsor of the $32,650 Tour Type Modified extravaganza that rewards the winner with a $7,000 payday.
In a normal race season the Islip 300 would take place either in May or June as it has since it's 2016 inaugural running, however not being able to start the 2020 schedule until the first Saturday of August altered those plans. For the first time in it's 70 year history Riverhead Raceway with the approval of the Town of Riverhead was permitted to run through the month of October with it's Saturday night NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series as well plan the Islip 300 presented by East West Marine Services for the second weekend of November. If normalcy returns in 2021 then Riverhead Raceway would return to it's traditional May-September format meaning the November date for the 300 is a one off historic date due to the circumstances and regulations of Covid-19.
Over the first three years a diverse group of racers have won the Islip 300 presented by East West Marine Services. In the inaugural 300 in 2017 then 15-year old Dillon Steuer of Bohemia stood the asphalt Tour Type Modified world on it's collective ear winning the race and performing a world class burnout afterwards. In 2018 now NASCAR Cup Series regular Ryan Preece of Berlin, Ct. went back to his notebook for an old set-up to win the 300, while two time and defending Riverhead Raceway champion Kyle Soper won the 2019 edition of the race. All three past winners will be on hand to see if they can become the first repeat winner in the race that pays tribute to the old All Star Racing League races at Islip Speedway.
The Islip 300 presented by East West Marine Services will be a single day daytime show with practice, qualifying and feature event racing all taking place Saturday November 14th with Sunday November 15th serving as a rain date of needed. Qualifying is set to start at 12 noon. The Eagle Auto Mall Crate Modifieds will battle in a 50-lap event while the INEX Legend Race Cars go to post for a 40-lap main event with both classes qualifying via time trials. A INEX Legend Race Car B-Main would be contested if needed.
Aside from the $7,000 winners share the Islip 300 presented by East West Marine Services offers $2,500 for the runner-up while third through fifth pay $2,250, $2,000 & $1,750. Sixth through tenth are worth $1,500, $1,400, $1,300, $1,200 & $1,100. $1,000 each will go to the 11th & 12 place finishers while $900, $850 & $750 are on the line for thirteenth through fifteenth. Sixteenth will pay $700 and seventeenth $650 with eighteenth though twenty fifth worth $600 per position.
Teams from all Tour Type Modified series are welcome and can run their home series rules for the Islip 300 presented by East West Marine Services. Race of Champion, Modified Racing Series and Tri-Track series rules can be declared by a team but that team must run those rules in their entirety as in their 2020 rules book. The Riverhead Raceway Hoosier track tires will be used for the 300 with teams able to purchase seven tires for qualifying and the race, the car must start the race on it's qualifying tires.
Qualifying will see the top 18 from time transferring into the 25-car Islip 300 field. Qualifying order will be determined by cumulative speeds from a continuous Tour Type Modified practice earlier in the morning. If neccessary a B Main will be contested with 6 moving into the 300 with the 25th position reserved for the highest Riverhead Raceway driver form the 2020 point standings who attempted to qualify either through time or the B Main.
Caution flag laps will count over the first 290 laps of racing but teams will not lose a lap in the pit area during service. Five pit laps will take place starting once the pits open under yellow.
Further details pertaining to the Islip 300 presented by East West Marine Services will be announced in the days and weeks to come on both social media as well the track web site www.riverheadraceway.com. To e-mail us please do so @ riverheadraceway1@gmail.com with our phone number remaining 631-842-RACE.
© 2021 www.patriotledger.com. All rights reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Novak Djokovic withdraws from the US Open. He is unvaccinated against Covid-19 and not allowed to receive a visa and enter the country. He says he'll play without his team, just as he did before his recent series win, to show his "heart".
The only problem is, he still isn't allowed by the government to play in a tournament, not even for his "heart."
It's a strange thing to see a tournament where the players have decided to stay together in one place for this long.
Maybe it's not the best idea, because it could encourage the spread of the virus, but the US Open is being held in Washington DC, a city that is not currently in the top 100 countries with the most cases.
The situation is being described like this:
"They're saying the Grandstand (a large area at the US Open) is going to be sanitised, so it's a different environment and hopefully the tournament can be held in another room," said John McEnroe, the head of the ATP. "As long as it's a sanitised environment, that's all that I care about. As long as no one is infected and we take all the appropriate steps to ensure that's the case, then everything will be fine."
The Grandstand consists of all the courts on the first and second days of the tournament. The first day has 15 courts and the second day has 18 courts.
"These are great courts that are used by hundreds of thousands of people every year to play on," McEnroe added.
The US Open has long been the most expensive, most technologically advanced, and most important tennis tournament in the world.
"We're all for the tournament being held here," McEnroe went on. "I was disappointed that they decided the venue and we're not sure why they did. I'm not sure why we're not going to work with them to make it the best possible experience for everyone."
The US Open is one of the most profitable events in the sporting world. The US Open has made a total of more than $
Categories asia Tags celebrity, clinical trials, nobel prizes, politics
The UCLA students say a community life department instructor sexually assaulted them
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Nice home, centrally located. Fresh exterior paint, gated concrete side parking. Granite in kitchen, casual dining area with french doors out to large covered patio and pool. Master has dual sinks, walk in closet, and access to patio. Split bedrooms, fireplace in living room. Indoor laundry room, and extra room that could be for an office, work out, or bedroom.
Listing courtesy of Realty ONE Group Mountain Desert-LH.


text:
Limagerie directe est une technique d'observation astronomique qui consiste à détecter des objets célestes en acquérant directement leur image sur un support . C'est historiquement la plus vieille méthode de détection d'objets célestes autre que par vision directe à l'œil (éventuellement à travers un instrument). Celle-ci s'est d'abord développée par l'utilisation de plaques photographiques ; aujourd'hui, elle est généralement réalisée via l'utilisation de capteurs CCD et l'enregistrement des images sous forme numérique. Dans le système solaire, cette méthode a permis de détecter nombre d'astéroïdes, comètes et autres objets analogues. Au-delà du système solaire, la sensibilité et la résolution toujours plus grande des instruments permet de détecter par cette méthode de nombreuses galaxies lointaines, des étoiles, naines brunes et maintenant même des exoplanètes si elles sont suffisamment massives et éloignées de leur étoile.

Détection d'exoplanètes par imagerie directe

Le ratio de luminosité de la planète par rapport à son étoile est très petit, typiquement inférieur à  dans les longueurs d'onde visible et proche infra-rouge. Dans le cas de lumière émise par l'étoile et réfléchie par la planète, ce ratio dépend du demi-grand axe, de la projection selon l'angle dont on observe, du rayon de la planète, ainsi que de son albédo à la longueur d'onde observée. Pour la lumière émise en propre par la planète, il dépend principalement de la température de la planète.

Article connexe
 Imagerie différentielle

Sources
 .

Références

Technique de l'observation astronomique
Méthode de détection des exoplanètes

en:Methods of detecting exoplanets#Direct imaging

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


NSW state Liberal minister Rob Stokes has embarrassed his Canberra colleagues by joining the growing chorus of calls to curb tax breaks for landlords, which he agreed are crowding young buyers out of the market.
Mr Stokes, the state's planning minister, took a swing at "Canberra culture" in a politically explosive speech in Sydney on Friday.
"Earlier this year the NSW government was ready, willing and able to have a discussion about tax. Disappointingly, our leadership on this issue fell victim to the Canberra culture that promotes opposition over consensus," he told the event organised by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).
"It's a major concern to me as Planning Minister of the most populous state, but also frankly as a dad of three young children, of increasing reports that without parental support the dream of home ownership is becoming harder and harder to obtain.
The government won't budge. In a landmark speech in October, Treasurer Scott Morrison admitted that buying a house without dual incomes has become "an almost unreachable goal", but refused to touch tax concessions.
His party held the line on Friday. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told Mr Stokes to focus on his state responsibilities, and Finance Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer criticised his proposal as "simplistic".
The Treasurer himself was less antagonistic. He reiterated that there isn't a 'one-size-fits-all' solution, but urged state and federal governments to cooperate.
Mr Stokes was referring to two popular tax laws known as 'negative gearing' and the 'capital gains tax concession', which encourage Australians to borrow heavily to invest in residential real estate, driving up prices and household indebtedness.
'Negative gearing' allows landlords to lower their tax bill by deducting the costs of owning a rental property, such as mortgage interest payments, council rates and insurance, from their taxable income.
The 'CGT concession' allows landlords to pay tax, at their marginal rate, on only 50 per cent of the capital gains they realise when they sell the property.
Together, the laws distort behaviour by making even loss-making or vacant rental properties attractive investments.
While not the only cause, the two tax laws fuel price growth, making it harder for young Australians to save for a deposit, which is the main barrier to buying a first home.
Lured by tax perks, landlords outbid first home buyers, and then rent back to them.
Without this distortive effect, investors might instead choose different investment vehicles, such as shares, bonds, savings accounts or voluntary superannuation contributions, which do not price out owner-occupiers.
A wide array of experts agree that the tax laws favour wealthy investors, and contribute to the difficulty of young Australians entering the property market, at least in the nation's two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne.
Critics who doubt that houses are becoming less affordable point to the Reserve Bank's record-low cash rate. But this rate only cheapens mortgage interest repayments. It does not make it any easier to save for a deposit, nor does it reduce principal repayments.
Reforms imposed by APRA, the nation's financial stability regulator, have also forced the banks to require deposits that are higher percentages of the purchase price.
A barrier to reform is that property wealth is so important to many Australians, especially those nearer retirement. For this reason, changes to the system are politically dangerous, as Mr Stokes hinted at in his speech.
Real estate tax breaks were a big issue during this year's federal election. After years of silence, the Labor Party promised to halve the CGT discount from 50 to 25 per cent, and abolish negative gearing for existing properties.
On Friday, Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen told the government to "swallow its pride", forsake its "scare campaigns" and follow his party's proposal.
The Grattan Institute, an economic think tank, said in a report last year that Labor's proposals would reduce house prices by 2 per cent — perhaps not enough to satisfy the angry younger generations, but also modest enough to not scare retirees.
Defenders of the perks, including the Treasurer, argue they are used by 'mum and dad investors'. This was disproven by a study by the Australian National University, which found that 52.6 per cent of the benefits go to the top 20 per cent of incomes, and only 5.2 per cent to the bottom 20 per cent.
The defenders of negative gearing and the CGT concession are principally those with financial or political interests in continued housing price growth, such as the Property Council of Australia, the Institute of Public Affairs, the Housing Industry Association, and Australia's richest property developer Harry Triguboff.


As a Disney Vacation Club member, I do not rent points from another company. I have the points I need to have a wonderful vacation.
Since I have not used this or any other rental company for Disney Vacation Club points, I can not make a recommendation. You will need to make this decision for yourself. In addition, you are not a Disney Vacation Club member because you are renting points and are not entitled to the same perks as a member. Yes you can book Magical Express and the Disney Dining Plan, however, you will not receive discounts to shows, tours, dining or merchandise.
If you would like the meal plan, you have to book through this the website you are renting with. If you choose not to have the dining plan, you can purchase your tickets anywhere however if you would like them attached to your Key to the World Card, they have to be done through the website you are renting with.


text:
Agencies hope Justice Reinvestment Act, re-entry programs keep former inmates out of Maryland jails
by: Nick Munson
Updated: Jun 29, 2017 / 09:13 AM EDT
Every year, more than 600,000 people return to neighborhoods across America after serving time behind bars, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Far too often, the obstacles they face in civilian life lead them right back to jail. But justice officials, lawmakers and outside groups are teaming up to help former inmates find success outside of prison, which can be hard to come by.
"It's not easy to get everything that you need when you're coming from incarceration," said Brooke Grossman, associate director of workforce development for Horizon Goodwill Industries, an organization that aims to assist inmates returning to civilian life through job coaching and employment opportunities. "You need housing, you need income, you need medical insurance."
To get all of those things, you need a job – which becomes even harder to get when a potential boss finds out you were found guilty of a crime.
"Employers look at that background, and say, 'I don't know if I want to take a chance on that person,'" Grossman added.
These circumstances can easily lead to a former inmate just giving up, and potentially becoming a repeat offender. While corrections officials said Maryland has a much lower rate of recidivism than the nation as a whole, it still leads to higher prison populations in the state.
In 2016, Maryland state lawmakers passed the Justice Reinvestment Act to fight overcrowding. One part of that bill allows drug users to get treatment, instead of jail time.
"It's a choice to commit a crime," said Del. Brett Wilson (R-District 2B, Washington County). "But some of that is driven by addiction, some of it is driven by a lack of education, lack of understanding, lack of the skills that many of us have learned as we grow up."
Outside of Annapolis, and inside state prisons like the Maryland Correctional Training Center (MCTC) in Hagerstown, corrections officials understand that change has to begin there.
"For years, a lot of the prison systems had [policies of] 'lock them up, and throw away the key,'" said Michael Lichtenberg, pre-release manager at MCTC. "We found that just didn't work."
Through various re-entry programs, there is an increased push to get inmates ready to hit the ground running once they are released.
"The re-entry process starts when they come into the system, not when they're near the end of the system," explained Tom Nittinger, case manager at MCTC.
Inside the borders of MCTC, you will find classrooms where inmates work to get their GED's, get state vehicles ready for the road, build furniture to go inside the soon-to-be-expanded Maryland Theatre and harvest crops that are sent to local food banks.
No matter their interest or skill set, it's all about boosting their resumes before they are even released.
"We give you the tools, we give you the wood – but you still have to build the house," Lichtenberg said. "I think that's the responsibility of corrections. We have to at least give that opportunity, we have to at least give them the tools and the resources to try to better themselves."
"But in the end, it's up to them."
After they get out of jail, there are plenty of outside groups that are there to help, as well. One of them is Horizon Goodwill Industries, which features expungement programs and on-boarding classes to allow participants to learn what they need to know on the job.
"[Things like] do I come to work on time, what is my attitude in the workplace, how do I handle conflict, how do I communicate effectively?" Grossman explained.
Participants go to these classes on their own time, to get accepted into Goodwill's job training programs. It's just one example of a path towards self-worth and independence, and away from those familiar prison gates.
"We're able to be the holder of hope for some of those people," Grossman said. "To say that it is going to get better, it is possible."
Most of the provisions in Maryland's Justice Reinvestment Act will go into effect in October.
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text:
Q: Auto Merge Facebook and Internal Users In our system, users can have multiple email addresses, and set one as their primary.  They can login with their primary email address and password.
We are looking at adding in a Facebook login.
My question is:
When a fb user 'signs in' and we see that the email for this fb user matches an email address for a user in our internal user database, is it safe to go ahead and 'merge' these accounts so that the fb user can see the data for the internal user?  Or is it better practice to give the user some hints that he/she can link their accounts and then guide them through a process of authenticating with the internal account before merging?
The question would also be for the opposite case, where a person first signed up with us using facebook, but now is creating an account using their email address, which matches the email for one of our facebook users.  Should we then go ahead and auto merge the users or walk them through an auth process?
I guess I'm a unclear of the oddities that could take place between emails that we manage and ones that facebook manages and I'm concerned about what may be the impacts if one of these oddities hoses some accounts.
Any insights are appreciated.

A: From Facebook login flow documentation:
'After a successful login using Facebook, you will have the person's email address, Facebook ID, and access token. Your app should search for an existing account that has been created with that same email address. If one exists, you should merge the two accounts and add the Facebook info to the existing account - as recommended above.'
To me, this sounds like we should auto merge with matching emails.  Feels like there's room for error here... correct me if I'm wrong.
-- EDIT --
We decided against auto merges.  Just too much room for error.  We decided this a while ago... just now getting around to updating this.


Christmas Day began in El Paso at the beautiful Camino Real in downtown. On the register of the National Trust for Historic Hotels, the Camino Real opened in 1912.
The Dome Bar in the Camino Real Hotel.
We had Christmas Eve dinner in the bar, Chipotle shrimp tacos paired with a lovely Reposado tequila. The setting was stunning.
Christmas day was quiet in El Paso. A quick tour of the downtown showed us some beautiful architecture.
We picked up a photo for the Moss Motoring Challenge just in front of the hotel at the El Paso Museum.
We had a long day ahead of us, so we found an open Starbucks for breakfast and lit out on the I-10.
Shortly after we left El Paso, we came up on a border patrol check point. One look at our car and the officer quickly figured that we weren't stowing anyone anywhere.
The back seat and the boot are full with essentials.
The I-10 looked like this pretty much the entire day.
We stopped at an historic marker — a stage coach stop from 1872 (relocated) which had only been in operation for a year. It was rendered redundant by the locomotive.
We rolled into San Antonio, the only thing on our minds was a steak dinner. We checked into our hotel on Riverwalk. We had a room with a terrace and a fabulous view of the Christmas lights.
San Antonio Riverwalk Christmas lights.
We left our girl in the hands of the valet who posed her in front of the hotel for the pleasure of the passers-by and we went to dinner.
Lost in San Antonio with no where to go.
Stats on the day: 555 miles, no oil needed, gas $1.99/gal.
Total mileage: 2627.4. Next stop: Louisiana.
That thar Texas makes for a long day in the saddle podner. Alamo a go-go, I think Bourbon St. is calling.
Like a Siren to a seafarer. We're on our way.
Seems like it gets better every day. Xmas in Texas looked beautiful. Keep having fun and keep rolling along. Still waiting to go for a ride in this great machine.


6/42 LOTTO RESULT March 26, 2019 – Here is the result of 6/42 Lotto draw released by Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
Above is the official winning number, March 26, 2019 (Tuesday) for 6/42 Lotto draw.
March 26, 2019 Jackpot Prize for 6/42 Lotto as announced by PCSO reach Php 26,757,689.00.


One of the first lessons about social media is, social media is dead. A truth that is only now starting to hit the mainstream.
In early 2014 I noticed that my most forward-thinking peers were not just thinking about social media differently, some were infact abandoning it altogether. They were shifting to reconsider the digital journey people will be making, and the impact digital transformation has on service redesign.
I've recently noticed my timelines are being filled less with independently generated content and increasingly by that which carries commercial value. This is compounded by increasing numbers of platforms seeking reliable revenue streams to support business growth. Profit is eroding the philosophy at the very heart of what being social is all about.
To reinforce that, one of the most efficient ways of understanding target audience behaviour is analysing data. Enter the data scientist, one of the most sought-after in-demand occupations around, to harvest, convert and make sense of the what lies behind a company's digital interactions with their customers.
Social media as the concept and philosophy we know is dead. But it still remains alive and kicking, just maybe not as purists know it. One reason why, as a strategic communications practitioner, I keep alive to the role digital media including social media plays within the business and services.
This trend, in recognising the role of digital, was again highlighted in Autumn 2014 at STV's Digital Spark Awards event, one well worth watching out for in 2015. With vividly creative ideas in abundance, there was one key question judges were asking, is what you're doing scalable – will it fly?
If the answer is yes, if the business model is designed in such a way to thrive and grow – be it emotional, social or economic growth, then fly with it. Social media alone will not reap the return once promised, the goalposts have moved.
Act social, be digital, think scale, then grow.
Posted in: Seven Posts Seven DaysTagged: #nhsscot15, #sevenposts, #stvspark, being social, big data, blether and blogger, business model, data scientist, digital media, digital spark, Dundee, getting social, holistic thinking, hot air balloon, scalable, social marketing, social media is dead, strategy, STV, will it fly?PermalinkComments Off on #3. Will it Fly?


text:
Ireland moves up to 15th place in the global competitiveness rankings
Ireland at number 15 in overall global competitiveness rankings compiled each year by Swiss business school IMD
The country's position has improved from 17th last year and 24th as recently as 2011.
Ireland is third in the world in terms of its image abroad and perception as a place in which to do business. It also ranked first in a number of sectors, including availability of skilled labour, flexibility and adaptability of workforce, attitudes to globalisation and investment incentives.
IMD notes that for most countries there is a strong correlation between the image rank and the competitiveness ranking but that Ireland rates much higher on this criterion than its competitive position would suggest. The business school puts together this closely-watched list each year to rate how well countries manage all their resources to increase their prosperity.
More than half the executives surveyed for the report identified a competitive tax regime, skilled workforce, business friendly environment, and high educational levels as key attractiveness factors in Ireland.
Welcoming the results, Barry O'Leary, CEO of IDA Ireland said:
"Ireland's ranking of 15th in the overall rankings in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook is excellent news for Ireland's foreign direct investment proposition. Ireland in recent years has regained valuable competitiveness, while continuing to offer a strong skills base to prospective companies looking to invest here. This has helped to deliver a very strong FDI performance by Ireland.''
The results of the survey for Ireland are available at www.imd.org/wcy
Global competiveness IMD World
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text:
Q: Авторизация через фейсбук Проблема в том, что мое приложение не может получить поле email от сервера фейсбук. Раньше все было норм. Может кто сталкивался?
UPD
Запрашиваю по адресу

https://graph.facebook.com/

Использую access_token.
Для простоты, из ответа дергаю три поля:

*

*first_name

*last_name

*email

Почта в ответе не приходит.

A: У меня сложилась подобная ситуация, правда я с фэйсбуком работаю через Loginza, так вот Loginza, хоть и имеет поле e-mail, для пользователей с фэйсбука его не возвращает... знаю вывод, конечно, косвенный, но, вероятно, он вообще его не возвращает.


text:
Cisco Puts Social Media, Consumer Tech into Enterprise Collaboration
Jeff Burt
Cisco Systems is drawing on social networking and consumer technologies to help businesses improve their collaboration capabilities.
Cisco on June 11 unveiled a host of new offerings, led by the much-discussed Quad collaboration platform, which are designed to enable employees to more easily connect with people, access and share content, and improve productivity.
In a TelePresence conference with journalists and analysts June 7, Cisco officials said communications offerings until now have been housed in silos such as voice and video. Given the increasing demand for multiple communication channels in enterprises, that has to change, said Murali Sitaram, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Enterprise Collaboration Platform Group.
"These silos have to be broken down and [the communications technologies] put onto one platform," Sitaram said.
Irwin Lazar, an analyst with Nemertes Research and the moderator of the panel discussion on the TelePresence conference, said businesses are showing an increasing interest in transferring the communications capabilities inherent in social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace into the business environment. However, the issues of security and management have to be addressed, Lazar said.
"We're seeing a lot of companies being a lot more serious about putting together collaboration [environments] that go beyond the silos of audio and video," Lazar said.
That includes integrating consumer products-Skype's VOIP (voice over IP) service, Apple's iPad tablet PC and Cisco's Flip personal video camera, to name a few-into the workplace.
"The line between consumer products and [the enterprise] is blurring a bit," Lazar said.
Cisco officials said Quad is a perfect example of that. The enterprise collaboration platform will combine asynchronous communications technologies-e-mail, microblogging, updates-and marry them with more real-time tools like live video conferencing.
Quad will feature a landing page called MyView, which can be customized and lets users view the people and projects they're following, check their calendar, keep tabs on communities and activities they're involved in, and communicate in multiple ways, including instant messaging, e-mail and video conferencing.
Cisco also is bringing enterprise-level management and security into the mix, including integration with Cisco's Enterprise Policy Manager offering. Security features include rules-based policies, encryption for communications and the ability to manage restricted and private communities.
In addition, Quad will support integration with business tools like Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange and EMC's Documentum, and will include Cisco's own collaboration products, including Cisco Unified Communications offerings, WebEx conferencing, and Show and Share social video technology.
In addition, Cisco will offer Mobile Quad applications for the Apple iPad and iPhone to enable remote employees to communicate with their colleagues.
Cisco plans to demonstrate Quad at the Enterprise 2.0 conference held June 14 to 17 in Boston. The platform will be released later in 2010.
In addition to Quad, Cisco will roll out a Prosumer Video solution that includes a business-class version of its Flip video camera-called the Flip MinoPro-and a new online video workspace, dubbed FocalPoint, that will offer cloud-based management, sharing and editing capabilities. FocalPoint will give businesses a private and secure video platform through adoption of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) technologies.
The Prosumer Video solution will be available in August.
"We're leveraging these [consumer] technologies and creating new products … to solve enterprise problems," Paul Fulton, general manager of Cisco's Prosumer Business Unit, said during the TelePresence conference.
The Prosumer Business Unit was built to address the intersection of consumer and enterprise technology, and the Flip video camera is a perfect example, Fulton said.
"We found that consumers bought these cameras and brought them into the workplace," he said.
Procter & Gamble executives use Flip cameras to send out messages, and CNN has used them to send images from disaster areas such as Haiti after the January earthquake.
Cisco also unveiled WebEx Connect 6.5, its enterprise IM product, which now lets users access their contact lists and send messages through a browser-based IM client. It also is localized for French, German, Spanish, Italian and Japanese, and businesses can use server-side capabilities to capture logs of IM traffic for compliance requirements.
In addition, Cisco is drawing on its acquisition of Jabber in 2008 to enable businesses to add presence and chat capabilities to their applications through its AJAX XMPP library, which will help developers more easily create XMPP-enabled Web applications by supplying such tools as source code, code samples and documentation.
Cisco developers used the library to build the chat and presence capabilities in Cisco's Quad platform.
Jeffrey Burt has been with eWEEK since 2000, covering an array of areas that includes servers, networking, PCs, processors, converged infrastructure, unified communications and the Internet of things.


text:
Aprilia Mojito — скутер італійської компанії Aprilia, відомий також як Aprilia Habana. Представлений в 2000. Дизайн дуже схожий на Honda Joker, який представлений значно раніше.

Див. також
 Honda Joker
 Znen C Artemis

Посилання
 aprilia.com

Мотоцикли Aprilia
Скутери