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Major Economic (major + economic)
Selected AbstractsThe Current Status and Prospects of the ,Strategic Partnership' between the EU and China: Towards the Conclusion of a Partnership and Cooperation AgreementEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 6 2007Antoine Sautenet In the absence of a category of ,emerging countries' in international economic law, the Union must adapt its foreign policy with regard to this major economic and commercial power. Relations between the European Community and China are currently governed by a second-generation agreement from 1985. However, a new dynamic has been set in motion since 2003, by the drawing up of preparatory documents by both parties and joint declarations at annual summits bearing on the ,strategic partnership'. Seen in a long-term perspective, this partnership helps provide a measure of predictability in relations between the two partners, through combining elements of ,soft law' and ,hard law'. If the insertion of political dialogue into the strategic partnership seems to alter the coherence of the Union, notably with regard to the difficulties of implementing the dialogue on human rights, the added value of the partnership lies essentially in its economic and commercial aspects, through not only the putting into place of non-binding ,economic dialogues' which cover a large spectrum of the relationship, but also by the multiplication of sector-based accords in numerous areas (maritime transport, customs cooperation, etc.). This constant development has thus allowed parties, at the last annual summit, to envisage the conclusion of a new framework agreement: this is the origin of the mandate given to the Commission in December 2005 to conclude a partnership and cooperation agreement. This article will sketch out a forecast of the legal framework, measured against the yardsticks of Asiatic regional reconfigurations and the law of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The commercial risks of the relationship could imply the integration of the domains known as ,WTO plus' into the future agreement, notably in the field of investments and intellectual property rights, which would introduce a greater variety into the agreement. That being the case, the negotiations risk being equally fragile at the political level, in particular concerning the insertion of a clause of democratic conditionality in the future agreement. Also, any clash between the values and the interests of the EU would be uncomfortably highlighted during negotiations. [source] Maternity waiting homes in Southern Lao PDR: The unique ,silk home'JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY RESEARCH (ELECTRONIC), Issue 5 2008Elizabeth Eckermann Abstract The concept of maternity waiting homes (MWH) has a long history spanning over 100 years. The research reported here was conducted in the Thateng District of Sekong Province in southern Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) to establish whether the MWH concept would be affordable, accessible, and most importantly acceptable, as a strategy to improve maternal outcomes in the remote communities of Thateng with a high proportion of the population from ethnic minority groups. The research suggested that there were major barriers to minority ethnic groups using existing maternal health services (reflected in very low usage of trained birth attendants and hospitals and clinics) in Thateng. Unless MWH are adapted to overcome these potential barriers, such initiatives will suffer the same fate as existing maternal facilities. Consequently, the Lao iteration of the concept, as operationalized in the Silk Homes project in southern Lao PDR is unique in combining maternal and infant health services with opportunities for micro credit and income generating activities and allowing non-harmful traditional practices to co-exist alongside modern medical protocols. These innovative approaches to the MWH concept address the major economic, social and cultural barriers to usage of safe birthing options in remote communities of southern Lao PDR. [source] The Future of Purchasing and Supply: A Ten-Year Forecast,JOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2000Phillip L Carter SUMMARY The purpose of this research was the development of the 10-year forecasts for purchasing and supply based upon a close examination of key change drivers. The authors aimed at highlighting the most important areas of concern for purchasing executives. The research included trends of importance for organizations of all sizes, in all major industries , profit and nonprofit, private and public. To this end, the research team: ,,Identified the major economic, demographic, societal, competitive, and technological trends most likely to have major implications for the purchasing and supply management profession, its professionals, and organizationalprocesses ,,Projected the identified trends for 10 years (2008) ,,Determined the impact of these trends on purchasing and supply executives ,,Forecasted the environment for purchasing and supply in 10 years (2008) ,,Projected the changes to the purchasing and supply profession, its professionals, and organizational processes implied as a result of the research [source] Experience of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Singapore: Importation of Cases, and Defense Strategies at the AirportJOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 5 2003Annelies Wilder-Smith Background The importation of SARS was responsible for the outbreaks in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Canada at a time when this new disease had not been identified. We report the incidence and impact of cases of SARS imported to Singapore between 25 February and 31 May 2003, and describe national measures to prevent further importation. Methods Information on imported cases of SARS and measures taken at entry points to Singapore was retrieved from the Ministry of Health and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. Results Of the 6 imported cases, which all occurred before screening measures were implemented at the airport, only the first resulted in extensive secondary transmission. Of 442,973 air passengers screened after measures were implemented, 136 were sent to a designated hospital for further SARS screening; none was diagnosed as having SARS. Conclusions The SARS outbreak in Singapore can be traced to the first imported case. The absence of transmission from the other imported cases was probably a result of relatively prompt identification and isolation of cases, together with a low potential for transmission. New imported SARS cases therefore need not lead to major outbreaks if systems are in place to identify and isolate them early. Screening at entry points is costly, has a low yield and is not sufficient in itself, but may be justified in light of the major economic, social and international impact which even a single imported SARS case may have. [source] Rangeland development of the Mu Us Sandy Land in semiarid China: an analysis using Landsat and NOAA remote sensing dataLAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2003M. C. Runnström Abstract Degradation of the dry semiarid ecosystems in the Mu Us Sandy Land of north central China was explored using high-resolution satellite images from 1978, 1987 and 1996. This study monitored both changes in grassland biomass production and reclamation activities to detect the nature and scale of land degradation since major economic reforms were introduced in 1978. The position of the high-resolution images within the vegetation cycles was inspected from National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) NDVI images at 10-day repetition and seasonal precipitation patterns. A model was developed to categorize changes in the vegetation signal activity from 30,×,30,m pixels into vegetation cover development and land-use changes between 1987 and 1996. A general increase of biomass production was evident despite the rapid increase in numbers of grazing animals. This increase in biomass was confirmed by the NOAA time series, which also revealed annual variability related to the amount and pattern of the seasonal rains. Rangeland conversion to farmland was detected, and this process has increased the area of cultivation almost fivefold. The classified area of cultivation corresponds with reported statistical records, also showing that irrigation features in virtually 100 per cent of the sown area. Signs of declining biological production, indicating land degradation processes, are few. Biomass production has increased, with a gain in the economic output from both crop and animal production. The early start of active measures to halt desertification has increased vegetation cover and lowered wind erosion potential and grasslands seems to be managing the high levels of grazing pressure. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Rising burden of immature sheep ticks (Ixodes ricinus) on red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) chicks in the Scottish uplandsMEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2004A. D. Kirby Abstract., The sheep tick Ixodes ricinus (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae) is an ectoparasite of major economic and pathogenic importance in Scotland. Its distribution in the Scottish uplands is assumed to be governed by the abundance and distribution of its definitive hosts (deer and sheep) and climatic variables such as temperature and rainfall. As the numbers of its major host in Scotland, red deer, have increased dramatically and climatic conditions have become more favourable, the level of parasitism could have been expected to rise. We use data gathered from tick counts on over 4000 red grouse chicks Lagopus lagopus scoticus Latham (Galliformes: Tetraonidae) in various experiments over the past 19 years to ascertain whether the intensity and prevalence of parasitism has been increasing. From 1985 to 2003 the average tick burden of a parasitized red grouse chick has grown from 2.60 ± 1.12 ticks per chick to 12.71 ± 1.44. Over this period the percentage of chicks of a given brood parasitized has also increased from 4 ± 2% to 92 ± 3%. The possible implications of this increase in parasitism for red grouse production are discussed. [source] HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL: A WASTE-FUEL BLENDING APPROACHPRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2003A. DALE FLOWERS The disposal of hazardous wastes creates major economic and environmental problems. One productive use of hazardous wastes is to blend them into fuel, which mitigates damage to the environment by recycling waste into fuel and reducing fossil-fuel consumption. Operations personnel face a daunting task of efficiently blending hazardous waste into fuel, while simultaneously maintaining environmental regulatory requirements. This research develops a goal-programming approach to the waste-fuel-blending process that considers the diverse objectives of fuel managers. A realworld case study at a cement kiln illustrates the effectiveness of this approach, where the implementation followed principles of team building and quality management. [source] IMPORT LIBERALIZATION AND PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN INDIAN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN THE 1990sTHE DEVELOPING ECONOMIES, Issue 4 2003Bishwanath GOLDAR Total factor productivity growth in Indian manufacturing decelerated in the 1990s, a decade of major economic reforms in India. Econometric analysis presented in the paper indicates that the lowering of effective protection to industries favorably affected productivity growth. The results suggest that gestation lags in investment projects and slower agricultural growth in the 1990s had an adverse effect on productivity growth. The analysis reveals that underutilization of industrial capacity was an important cause of the productivity slowdown. With corrections for capacity utilization, the estimated productivity growth in the 1990s is found to be about the same as in the 1980s. [source] Demographic Change and Economic Growth in AsiaASIAN ECONOMIC POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2009David E. BLOOM J11; O11 Abstract Trade openness, high savings rates, human capital accumulation, and macroeconomic policy only accounted for part of the 1965,1990 growth performance in East Asia. Subsequently, demographic change was shown to be a missing factor in explaining the East Asian growth premium. Since 1990, East Asia has undertaken major economic reforms in response to financial crises and other factors. We reexamine the role of the demographic transition in contributing to cross-country differences in economic growth through to 2005, with a particular focus on East Asia. We highlight the need for policy to offset potential negative effects of aging populations in the future. [source] | |||||||||||||