...1. Introduction Laos has undertaken substantial trade reforms and liberalization in recent decades under the overall direction of the New Economic Mechanism (NEM). The process was initiated in mid-1980s when the country made efforts to transform the national economy from a centrally planned to a market-oriented one. Laos is making significant progress in moving forward its trade policy reforms and in pursuing a development strategy that recognizes openness to trade as the key engine for growth and poverty alleviation. To a large extent, Laos’ trade policy is now shaped by trade agreements, either at bilateral regional or multilateral fora. To date, Laos has also signed trade agreements with 18 countries, including: Vietnam; China; Cambodia; Burma; Thailand; North Korea; Philippines; Mongolia; Indonesia; Malaysia; Bulgaria; Russia; India; Belarus; Argentina; the United States; Kuwait and Turkey, the most recent and significant one is the bilateral agreement with the US by which Laos accords Normal Trade Relations (NTRs). At the regional level, Laos is participating in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and undertaking commitments under the Common Effective Preferential Tariffs (CEPT) scheme. It is also engaging in free trade area (FTA) negotiations with ASEAN-dialogues partners: China, Republic of Korea, Japan, India, and Australia and New Zealand together as Closer Economic Relation (CER). Apart from that, Laos benefits from the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) which was formerly...
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...Privatization of Telecoms in Asia John Ure and Araya Vivorakij* Privatization viewed as a panacea for the most pressing problems besetting the modernization and development of telecommunications has become, in recent years, a widely accepted part of orthodox thinking. Wellenius, Stern, Nulty and Stern (1989) illustrate the point. ‘How should privatization be defined?’ asks the International Finance Corporation (IFC, 1995). ‘A generous stance would admit any transfer of ownership or control from public to private sector. A more exacting definition would require that the transfer be enough to give the private operators substantive independent power.’ 1 Hence, by privatization is usually meant the transfer of state-owned assets to private sector ownership, management and control typified by the sale of part or all of the shares of a state owned (and operated) telecommunications enterprise (SOTE). We shall argue that the ‘more exacting definition’ is exactly appropriate for the experience of Western economies from which it originates - see below - while it is too narrow, too precise, insufficiently ‘generous’ to capture the less clearly defined lines of demarcation between public and private capital in the context of Asian telecommunications. We shall argue that this is because the delineation between state (political society) and civil society is less well developed in Asia, certainly less well articulated in law, and unevenly developed even within single large Asian countries...
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...Soon after the Japanese defeat in World War II, most of the colonies won their independence from their European masters. This essay will be arguing that despite the vast geographical distance and cultural, racial differences, as well as the different time periods involved, Japanese and European intentions were very similar, and that these similarities contributed to the weakening of Imperialism as a doctrine. To do so, this essay will be examining the reasons for the Japanese conducting policies of imperialism, when they expanded, what methods they use to expand and the systems of government. Japanese Imperialism will be compared to those of a well known European power active in the region, Britain. J.A Hobson’s seminal work Imperialism: A Study puts forward the idea of the ‘Economic Taproot of Imperialism’. A taproot is the largest root in some plants and is the plant’s primary source of nourishment. Military aggression is simply capitalist expansion. He described it as “As one nation after another enters the machine economy and adopts advanced industrial methods, it becomes more difficult for its manufacturers, merchants and finaciers to dispose profitably of their economic resources and they are tempted more and more to use their Governments in order to secure for their particular use some distant undeveloped country by annexation and protection…It is admitted by all businessmen that the growth of the powers of production in their county exceeds the growth in consumption, that...
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... BERNATH LECTURE The New International History of the Cold War: Three (Possible) Paradigms* The Cold War is not what it once was. Not only has the conflict itself been written about in the past tense for more than a decade, but historians’ certainties about the character of the conflict have also begun to blur. The concerns brought on by trends of the past decade – such trifles as globalization, weapons proliferation, and ethnic warfare – have made even old strategy buffs question the degree to which the Cold War ought to be put at the center of the history of the late twentieth century. In this article I will try to show how some people within our field are attempting to meet such queries by reconceptualizing the Cold War as part of contemporary international history. My emphasis will be on issues connecting the Cold War – defined as a political conflict between two power blocs – and some areas of investigation that in my opinion hold much promise for reformulating our views of that conflict, blithely summed up as ideology, technology, and the Third World. I have called this lecture “Three (Possible) Paradigms” not just to avoid making too presumptuous an impression on the audience but also to indicate that my use of the term “paradigm” is slightly different from the one most people have taken over from Thomas Kuhn’s work on scientific revolutions. In the history of science, a paradigm has come to mean a comprehensive explanation, a kind of scientific “level”...
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... Registered office: Hills Road 1 Cambridge CB1 2EU. OCR is an exempt charity. Contents Introducing… AS Level History A (from September 2015) Teaching and learning resources iv Why choose an OCR AS Level in History A? 1 1a. Why choose an OCR qualification? 1 1b. Why choose an OCR AS Level in History A? 2 1c. What are the key features of this specification? 3 1d. 2 iii Professional Development 1 ii How do I find out more information? 3 4 2a. Overview of AS Level in History A (H105) 4 2b. Content of AS Level in History A (H105) 5 2c. Content of unit group 1: British period study and enquiry (Units Y131 to Y143) 8 2c. Content of unit group 2: Non-British period study (Units Y231 to Y254) 33 2d. 3 The specification overview Prior learning and progression 60 61 3a. Forms of assessment 61 3b. Assessment objectives (AOs) 61 3c. Assessment availability 62 3d. Retaking the qualification 62 3e. Assessment of extended response 62 3f....
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...I-Introduction: The term "realism" was first used to formulate the philosophical doctrine that "universals exist outside of the mind" (Freyberg-Inan, 1). Yet, in political theory, "realism" represents a school of thought that analyzes the political process as it is or as it is disclosed by historical forces " ... that the able political practitioner takes into account ... and incorporates ... into his political conceptions and his political acts "(Ibid, 1-2). In the field of international relations, realism became the dominant analytical paradigm mostly after the start of the Second World War, when it displaced idealist doctrines, promising "to provide more accurate information, more powerful, and more relevant answers" to the roots or causes of peace and war (Brecher& Harvey, 54). At the same time, many features of the current realist paradigm can be traced back to the time of Thucydides, Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes. Among contemporary thinkers recognized as major writers and contributors to the realist tradition are Hans Morgenthau, Edward Carr and Kenneth Waltz (Freyberg-Inan, 8). What are then the basic tenets or common features of a realist thinker? Machiavelli would acknowledge that to be a realist one has to look at history as "a sequence of cause and effect whose course can be analysed and understood by intellectual effort, but not directed by imagination" (Carr, 64). Hobbes would persist in the same train of thought and insist that to be a realist thinker...
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...Medical Tourism Medical Tourism Introduction Medical tourism is the act of traveling to other countries to obtain medical, dental or cosmetic care. Medical tourism is a new term but thousands of years old act. People have been traveling across the continents in search of cures for any imaginable illnesses and making therapeutic trips for health wellness. In ancient Greece, pilgrims and patients came from all over the Mediterranean to the sanctuary of the healing god, Asklepios at Epidaurus, and from the 18th century wealthy Europeans have been traveling to spas from Germany to the Nile. In recent years, medical tourism is becoming more popular with patients seeking treatment for health and well-being purposes abroad. Medical Tourism is also known as Medical Travel, Health Tourism, Surgical Tourism, Health Travel, Treatment Abroad, Surgeries Abroad, and Medical Outsourcing. Medical Tourism Concerns Though many are eager to be the right pieces in the puzzle, many are still struggling to get the right fit. There are a number of concerns and risk factors for patients getting treatment much less seeking them abroad. Some concerns for patients include a consistent quality of care, lack of extensive dialog between the patient and the doctor, lack of post-op follow up, cultural differences and difficulty in obtaining sufficient insurance coverage. In order to mitigate the risk, it’s essential that the patient works with well reputed facilitators. Medical Tourism Accreditation ...
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...1 CHAPTER OUTLINE Ranking Groups Types of Groups Listen to Our Voices Problem of the Color Line Does Race Matter? Biracial and Multiracial Identity: Who Am I? Research Focus Multiracial Identity Sociology and the Study of Race and Ethnicity The Creation of Subordinate-Group Status The Consequences of Subordinate-Group Status Resistance and Change WHAT WILL YOU LEARN? How Does Society Rank Different Groups? What Are the Four Types of Groups? Does Race Still Matter? How is Biracial and Multiracial Identity Defined? How Is Sociology Applied to the Study of Race and Ethnicity? What Leads to the Creation of Subordinate-Group Status? What Are the Consequences of Subordinate-Group Status? How Does Change Occur in Race Relations? ISBN 1-256-48952-2 2 Racial and Ethnic Groups, Thirteenth edition, by Richard T. Schaefer. Published by Merrill Prentice Hall. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. Exploring Race and Ethnicity Minority groups are subordinated in terms of power and privilege to the majority, or dominant group. A minority is defined not by being outnumbered but by five characteristics: unequal treatment, distinguishing physical or cultural traits, involuntary membership, awareness of subordination, and ingroup marriage. Subordinate groups are classified in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, and gender. The social importance of race is derived from a process of racial formation; any biological significance is relatively unimportant to society...
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...Read Annie Dillard’s essay “The Wreck of Time.” Study her rhetorical style (diction, sentence structure,rhythm, voice, tone), the ideas she explores, and the way she puts bits of information together for a larger, philosophical purpose. In this digital age, we're confronted with numbers and statistics and information (and lies) on a daily basis. It can seem overwhelming, sometimes deadening. Select some facts/numbers/details about topics or events that reflect the wreck of the time you have inhabited this earth, and with your own purpose, craft a shorter imitation of Dillard's piece in which your attention to particulars brings some larger theme into focus. Due Nov. 8 The Wreck of Time My wrecks in time are all the wars I’ve experience over the years starting with 1961Bay of Pigs and Cuba over nuke missiles being sent to be installed in Cuba. With the cold war scare of a war with Russia and Cuba. Vietnam 1960-1975,Then to not so known Cambodian Laos wars with Pol Pot ( Khmer Rouge) Pol Pot 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998)[1][2] was a Cambodian revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge[3] from 1963 until 1997. Here is a look from 2004 about the pros and cons of war against Iraq from information available at that time. It is included here for historical purposes. The possibility of war with Iraq is a very divisive issue around the world. Turn on any news show and you will see a daily debate on the pros and cons of going to war. The following is a list of the reasons being discussed...
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...Executive Summary:_________________________________ Jute is a versatile, natural fiber that has been used for thousands of years to make things such as rope, twine, hessian bags, rugs, and much more. While it is still being used extensively around the world, it is not as popular as it could have been. Given the increasing focus on environmental issues these days, jute good products can be put into the lime light, as they are environment friendly. Taking in view the prospects, this is the high time to promote the export of the jutediversified products using limited resources. Although Bangladesh is famous for jute and allied fibers, garments industries swept in and have developed due to relative advantage and cheap labor cost. As there is the Multi fiber concept of merger jute with other natural and synthetic fibers, jute has bright future for using them in the various textile areas. It needs wide support for production and marketing of such diversified products. As a result, the Govt. of Bangladesh initiated policy programmed for the production of diversified jute goods through private sector. The government’s new jute policy is expected to focus on enhancement of the country’s production capacity, diversification of the product base and growth of export earnings. It would be good if it were complemented with good corporate governance practices within the remaining BJMC (Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation) mills to ensure that both public and private mills can compete on equal...
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...Doing Business in Vietnam: 2011 Country Commercial Guide for U.S. Companies INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, U.S. & FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 2011. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. • • • • • • • • • • Chapter 1: Doing Business in Vietnam Chapter 2: Political and Economic Environment Chapter 3: Selling U.S. Products and Services Chapter 4: Leading Sectors for U.S. Export and Investment Chapter 5: Trade Regulations, Customs and Standards Chapter 6: Investment Climate Chapter 7: Trade and Project Financing Chapter 8: Business Travel Chapter 9: Contacts, Market Research and Trade Events Chapter 10: Guide to Our Services Return to table of contents Chapter 1: Doing Business in Vietnam • • • • Market Overview Market Challenges Market Opportunities Market Entry Strategy Return to top Market Overview • Vietnam is a true emerging market, offering ground floor and growing opportunities for U.S. exporters and investors. Vietnam’s economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world in recent years, expanding at an average about 7.2 percent per year during the period 2001-2010, while industrial production grew at an average of about 12 percent per year during the same period. Vietnam registered GDP growth rate of 6.7 percent in 2010 and was one of only a handful of countries around the world to experience such levels of economic growth. Moving forward, inflation remains a main risk to Vietnam’s economy, which the Government...
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...The Forensics Files - 2 – The LD File Civil Disobedience Index Topic Overview 3-7 Definitions 8-10 Affirmative Cases 11-19 Negative Cases 20-25 Affirmative Extensions 26-34 Civil disobedience worked to free India. 26 Civil disobedience overthrew the communists in Poland. 26 The tradition of civil disobedience in America goes all the way back to the founders. 26 Civil disobedience can serve to prevent situations from escalating into violence. 27 Civil Disobedience has been used to promote peace. 27 Civil disobedience was used to promote racial equality. 27 Civil disobedience is used to try to prevent the destruction of the environment. 27 Civil disobedience is effective at changing the law. 28 Legal channels can take too long. 28 Consent to obey just laws does not imply consent to obey unjust ones. 28 Distinguishing between just and unjust laws to disobey can be universalized. 28 Civil disobedience can be stabilizing to a community by spreading a shared sense of justice. 29 Sometimes it is only the unjustified response to civil disobedience that has harmful consequence. 29 Civil disobedience is traditionally non-violent. 29 Civil disobedience is a form of exercising free speech- which is essential in a democracy. 30 Civil disobedience has been used to fight slave laws 30 Civil disobedience played a role in ending the Vietnam war. 30 Civil disobedience...
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...Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank to accompany A First Look at Communication Theory Sixth Edition Em Griffin Wheaton College prepared by Glen McClish San Diego State University and Emily J. Langan Wheaton College Published by McGrawHill, an imprint of The McGrawHill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright Ó 2006, 2003, 2000, 1997, 1994, 1991 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may be reproduced in print form solely for classroom use with A First Look At Communication Theory provided such reproductions bear copyright notice, but may not be reproduced in any other form or for any other purpose without the prior written consent of The McGrawHill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. PREFACE Rationale We agreed to produce the instructor’s manual for the sixth edition of A First Look at Communication Theory because it’s a first-rate book and because we enjoy talking and writing about pedagogy. Yet when we recall the discussions we’ve had with colleagues about instructor’s manuals over the years, two unnerving comments stick with us: “I don’t find them much help”; and (even worse) “I never look at them.” And, if the truth be told, we were often the people making such points! With these statements in mind, we have done some serious soul-searching about the texts that so many teachers—ourselves...
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...DEVELOPING THE INTERNET: ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND PUBLIC POLICY IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE* Sandra L. Suárez Department of Political Science Temple University Gladfelter Hall Philadelphia, PA 19122 (215) 204-1468 ssuarez@nimbus.temple.edu and Mauro F. Guillén The Wharton School and Department of Sociology University of Pennsylvania 2016 Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall Philadelphia, PA 19104-6370 215-573-6267 guillen@wharton.upenn.edu November 2000 Version * This research has been funded by Temple University (Suárez) and the Wharton eBusiness Initiative, WeBI (Guillén). 2 DEVELOPING THE INTERNET: ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND PUBLIC POLICY IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Abstract The internet has not diffused uniformly throughout the world. Data on 142 countries indicate that, aside from the levels of economic and infrastructural development, cross-national differences have to do with whether the legal system fosters entrepreneurship, and with whether institutional and political conditions are stable, and democracy is the form of government. Competition and privatization policies in the area of telecommunications do not have consistent effects. After examining international patterns of diffusion for the world as a whole, differences between two matched pairs of countries are systematically compared: Ireland and Singapore, and Argentina and Spain. Patterns of entrepreneurship and public policy in each country are shown to have differed systematically, with distinctive consequences...
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...Doing Business in Vietnam: 2009 Country Commercial Guide for U.S. Companies INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, U.S. & FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 2008. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. • • • • • • • • • • Chapter 1: Doing Business In Vietnam Chapter 2: Political and Economic Environment Chapter 3: Selling U.S. Products and Services Chapter 4: Leading Sectors for U.S. Export and Investment Chapter 5: Trade Regulations and Standards Chapter 6: Investment Climate Chapter 7: Trade and Project Financing Chapter 8: Business Travel Chapter 9: Contacts, Market Research and Trade Events Chapter 10: Guide to Our Services 3/3/2009 Return to table of contents Chapter 1: Doing Business in Vietnam • • • • Market Overview Market Challenges Market Opportunities Market Entry Strategy Market Overview Return to top • Vietnam is a true emerging market, offering ground floor and growing opportunities for U.S. exporters and investors. Vietnam’s economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world in recent years, expanding annually at 7-8.5 percent, while industrial production has been growing at around 14-15 percent per year. Vietnam’s macroeconomic challenges and the global financial crisis dampened this growth in 2008 and will continue to do so in 2009. • In response to significant macroeconomic challenges, including high inflation and a large and growing current account deficit, the...
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