*** JOSEPH W. GOODMAN: Telecommunications Policy-Making in the European Union. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd (Glensanda House, Montpellier Parade, Cheltenham, Glos GL50 1UA, UK. Tél.: (44-1242) 226934 - fax: 262111 - Email: info@e-elgar.co.uk - Internet: http://www.e-elgar.com ). 2006, 299 p.. ISBN 1-84376-806-2.
In little over a decade after the publication of the 1987 Green Paper, the Commission was able to help establish an overall legal framework for telecommunications which resulted in introducing competition to virtually all areas of the industry and allowing hundreds of thousands of European telecoms users to access cheaper and better quality telecoms services, explains Joseph Goodman at the beginning of the book. And now, twenty years after the Green Paper, the movement is continuing, partly to respond to the new imperatives imposed by technological progress and the convergence of platforms (TV, the internet, etc).
This book looks back at the harmonisation and liberalisation of the telecoms industry in the European Union, from national monopolies to the current challenges (until 2003) of media convergence, going on to study the way telecoms policy has taken form. It looks in particular at the directives that are the main part of the overall body of legislation designed by the EU in 1998. It should be acknowledged that the EU continues to make huge efforts in this domain, as illustrated by the rehashing of the Television Without Frontiers Directive. The author argues that this has paid off and the Commission has achieved what would have been inconceivable for many people in the 1980s. The 1998 telecoms legislation package has been almost universally acclaimed as a huge success.
The book starts by describing the historical background to the changing telecoms sector in Europe (at the level of the EU and member states alike), and the main stakeholders. At the national level, it looks in detail at Germany, France and the United Kingdom because these three countries have differing legislation and also provide a good illustration of variety in Europe. The second and third parts of the book look at the formulation of policy at EU level without losing sight of the strong interaction between the various stakeholders involved. Noting that the sheer scale of change in European telecoms makes it impossible for the book to cover all the changes, Joseph Goodman has decided to analyse the most significant aspects like the Open Network Provision Directive. Alongside institutional and legislative frameworks, these sections of the book also show how the Commission has taken on a greater role and become more assertive, making use of its formal powers as the background has gradually favoured this and discussing how this directive is the fruit of various procedures and different constraints. The fourth section describes future prospects in the light of the e-telecoms directive.
The conclusion looks at the utility of the 'new institutionalism' approach for studying the European legislative process in the wide sense, the question of methodology being an open question for the researcher throughout the book. Like other authors, Joseph Goodman explains about his methodology at the start of the book that in order to be able to properly assess such a complex process, one has to use a selection of theoretical approaches, like historical institutionalism, rational choice institutionalism and a stakeholder-based approach looking at their networking. The book is the fruit of six years research while the author was studying for a PhD at Oxford University. It is designed for people with an interest in the European telecoms industry and students of European integration. It illustrates the telecom industry reforms undertaken at national level arising from the perceived need to react to external pressure and, at the level of the European Community, to 'catch up' with the United States and Japan.
Frederik Ronse
*** SUSANNE NIKOLTCHEV (Ed.): IRIS Spécial: services de médias audiovisuels sans frontières. La mise en œuvre du cadre réglementaire. Observatoire européen de l'audiovisuel (76 allée de la Robertsau, F-67000 Strasbourg. Tel: (33-3) 88144400 - Fax: 88144419 - E-mail: obs@obs.coe.int - Internet: http://www.obs.coe.int ). 2006, 78 pp, €58-50. ISBN 92-871-6114-7.
Against the backdrop of the Television without Frontiers Directive which, Susanne Nikoltchev explains, "raises many questions about the future of regulating linear and non-linear services", this report by the European Audiovisual Monitoring Centre draws up a balance sheet of the mushrooming challenges in the field of broadcasting regulations and looks at how the regulations impact on the new regulatory framework. After a history of television regulations, the authors analyse the practical application of the Television without Frontiers Directive in its current form, along with the application of its corollary at the Council of Europe, the European Cross-Border Television Convention. The cohabitation of the two regulations after the review of the EU directive is also studied in the light of the fact that the two pieces of legislation will probably be out of step for a certain time. (PBo)
*** SUSANNE NIKOLTCHEV (Ed.): IRIS Spécial: la culture de service public de radiodiffusion. Observatoire européen de l'audiovisuel (see above).2007, 194 pp, €62-50. ISBN 92-871-6187-1.
How does public service radio mesh with culture? This is the central question addressed by this legal publication, providing detailed information about regulatory systems in fourteen countries (Germany, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom and Switzerland). For each country, it describes the rules governing public service radio broadcasting, the economic and financial models applicable to public service radio, and decision-making structures and processes in public service radio. This information is used to make a country-by-country analysis of the influence of national, cultural and society issues on public service radio. It also looks at the extent to which diversity is reflected in the organisation of public service radio, and briefly looks at some issues from the European viewpoint
(PBo)
*** Trends in European television - Les tendances de la télévision européenne - Trends im europäischen Fernsehen. Yearbook - Annuaire - Jahrbuch 2006, Volume/Band 2. Observatoire européen de l'audiovisuel (see above). 2006, 221 pp, €125. ISBN 92-871-6042-3.
Packed with illustrations and graphics, this European Audiovisual Observatory Yearbook is a unique source of information on the world of television, reviewing the global broadcasting market (global communications companies, the size of the European broadcasting market, key players in convergence), radio and television companies in Europe (looking at the growth and financial performance of various families of radio and television companies), their funding (including advertising revenue and income diversification among private broadcasters), moves towards digital television (Internet television services, developing terrestrial digital television, etc), available channels and the arrival of multi-channels, and trends in television audiences, programming and production companies.
(MT)
*** ARLETTE FRANCO: L'organisation et le financement du sport en Europe. Le sport et l'Union européenne: des valeurs communes, un potentiel à exploiter et des défis à relever. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (Boutique de l'Assemblée nationale, 7 rue Aristide Briand, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40630033 - Internet: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Documents d'information" series, No. 3642. 2007, 86 pp, €3-50. ISBN 2-11-121958-4.
Although the Constitution is in limbo, along with the article in the Constitution recognising the special nature of sport, sport is clearly gaining ground on the European agenda whether through the Commission's promised White Paper or the Council meeting recently organised by the German Presidency. Hence the utility of this report comparing and contrasting the role of sport in six EU member states and identifying common challenges where a coordinated approach would be appropriate.
(MT)
*** ROBIN MARK, MIREILLE POUGET, EDWARD THOMAS (Eds.): Adults in Higher Education. Learning from Experience in the New Europe. Peter Lang AG (32 Hochfeldstrasse, Postfach 746, CH-3000 Bern 9. e-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). 2006, 512 pp, €70. ISBN 3-03910-717-8.
Given the European Union's desire to use the Lisbon Process to become the world's leading knowledge-based economy, it is clear that education has a key role to play, both in terms of social inclusion and in terms of economic competitiveness Adult education or adults in higher education is often, however, still the poor relation in the panorama of education in many EU member states, despite the fact that the demographic changes in Europe and the speeding up of the process whereby professional qualifications and skills are becoming obsolete means that greater account should be taken of adult education. The Commission is perfectly aware of this challenge and funded the Alpine Project ("Adults Learning and Participating in Education Project") from 2001 to 2004, including the publication of this book, now in its second edition - the new edition includes the new EU member states. The book provides information for politicians and people working in or managing higher education about good practice although the book would also interest people involved in other areas of adult education. The first part of the book edited by Robin Mark, gives a general description of adult higher education and common challenges at EU level. The main body of the book consists of twenty national reports on the new EU member states and some old member states (Germany, Belgium, France, Italy and the United Kingdom). The section on Belgium, edited by Anne-Marie André and Geneviève Cochez, makes the differences between the Flemish and French-speaking parts of the country clear. Each national report describes adult education in university, identifying the main problems and most vulnerable groups (the unemployed and isolated people, for example), along with good practice that has resulted in positive outcomes in the countries in question. Mireille Pouget and Edward Thomas end the book by summarising the national contributions, particularly the reports on central and Eastern Europe, whose universities have changed the most since the 1990s, highlighting the commonest obstacles (usually connected with the learning process itself like belonging to a minority group, lack of time and lack of money) and possible solutions.
(FRo)
*** LAURENCE JEANNOT: Introduction des TICE en contexte scolaire et autonomie dans l'apprentissage des langues étrangères. Stratégies et compétence d'apprentissage dans des dispositifs mixtes en France et en Allemagne. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - e-mail: info@peterlang.de - Internet: http://www.peterlang.de ). "Kolloquium Fremdsprachenunterricht" series, No. 26. 2006, 242 pp. ISBN 3-631-55022-7.
Based on a thesis for 'Université de Franche-Comté' in France and Bremen University in Germany, this book studies the way information and communication technologies can contribute to language teaching and learning. In fact, Laurence Jeannot focusses on how 'new technology' can help make students autonomous in their language learning endeavours. It is based on investigation and a case study in France and Germany showing that pupils tend to reproduce classroom behaviour, especially when it comes to assessment, where they still have huge expectations of the teacher. (PBo)
*** CLAUDE TRUFFIN: L'Université déchiffrée. Le financement des Universités en Communauté française de Belgique. Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles (26 av. Paul Héger, CP 163, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 6503799 - Fax: 6503794 - e-mail: editions@admin.ulb.ac.be - Internet: http: //www-editions-universite-bruxelles.be). "Education" series. 2006, 139 pp, €15. ISBN 2-8004-1384-0.
Managing director of the 'Centre d'étude de l'énergie nucléaire' and advisor to the President and Rector of the 'Université libre de Bruxelles' on R&D issues, physicist Claude Truffin explains university funding mechanisms in the French-speaking part of Belgium, describing recent changes and assessing the consequences of their increasingly complex nature on the very survival of institutions now determined to commit, aided by the Bologna Process, to a European higher education area where league tables of the quality of education institutions are king, requiring lucid analysis of the resources they are granted to achieve their aims. (MT)