Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Many Observers (many + observer)
Selected AbstractsMore power to the European Parliament?ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 35 2002Abdul G. Noury SUMMARY Many observers have expressed scepticism about granting more power to the European Parliament. The sceptics believe that Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not vote in a disciplined way and that they vote more often with their country group than with their European Party. Using a unique database consisting of all roll call votes by each individual MEP between 1989 and 1999 (over 6000 votes by over 1000 different MEPs), we show that the sceptics are wrong. Our data shows clearly that MEPs vote more along party lines than along country lines. Party cohesion is comparable to that of the US Congress and is increasing over time whereas country cohesion is low and declining. In short, politics in the European Parliament generally follows the traditional left,right divide that one finds in all European nations. These findings are valid across issues, even on issues like the structural and cohesion funds where one would expect country rather than party cohesion. In votes where the EP has the most power , those held under the so-called co-decision procedure , MEPs participate more and are more party-cohesive. In our opinion, this unique empirical analysis provides grounds for justifying a generalization of the co-decision procedure. [source] Becoming American/Becoming New Yorkers: Immigrant Incorporation in a Majority Minority City,INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 4 2002Philip Kasinitz Many observers have noted that immigrants to the United States are highly concentrated in the largest metropolitan areas of a relatively few states. Though immigrants diffused into many places that had previously seen relatively few immigrants during the 1990s, as of the 2000 census, 77 percent of the nation's 31.1 million foreign born residents still lived in six states , California, New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and Illinois. According to the 2000 census, the two largest metropolitan areas, Los Angeles and New York, accounted for one third of all immigrants (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/demoprofiles.html). While immigrants moved into many new areas during the 1990s, making the challenge of incorporating their children a national issue, their concentration in our largest cities remained pronounced. [source] The Venturesome Economy: How Innovation Sustains Prosperity in a More Connected World,JOURNAL OF APPLIED CORPORATE FINANCE, Issue 1 2009Amar Bhidé Many observers have warned that the next stage of globalization,the offshoring of research and development to China and India,threatens the foundations of Western prosperity. But in this article, the author explains why the doomsayers are likely to be wrong. Using extensive field studies on venture capital-backed businesses to examine how technology is really used to create value in modern economies, this article explains how and why scientific advances abroad generally contribute to prosperity at home, and why trying to maintain the U.S. lead by subsidizing more research or training more scientists is likely to do more harm than good. When breakthrough ideas have no borders, a nation's capacity to exploit cutting-edge research regardless of where it originates is the key to its economic competitiveness. "Venturesome consumption",that is, the willingness and ability of businesses and consumers to use products and technologies derived from scientific research in the most effective ways,is far more important than having a share of the research. And for this reason, well-developed and "venturesome" economies like the U.S. benefit disproportionately from scientific innovations abroad. To cite just one example discussed at length in this article, the success of Apple's iPod owes much to technologies that were developed largely in Asia and Europe. The proven ability of the United States to remain at the forefront of the global "innovation game" reflects the contributions of many players,not just a few brilliant scientists and engineers, but literally millions of U.S. entrepreneurs, managers, financiers, salespersons, and, to a very large degree, U.S. consumers. As long as their venturesome spirit remains alive and well, advances abroad should not be feared but welcomed. [source] Comparing the Power of Korean and American Presidents: An Institutional PerspectivePACIFIC FOCUS, Issue 1 2004Jaechun Kim Many observers of Korean politics have worried that the Korean president has wielded lopsided leverage over other political actors and institutions. By comparing "constitutional" and "para-constitutional" features of the Korean and American political systems, this paper assesses the reasons that the Korean presidency has enjoyed overwhelming advantage. Assessment of constitutionally prescribed presidential powers,both legislative and non-legislative,indicates that, compared to the American president, the Korean counterpart possesses strong leverage over the legislature. This paper also suggests that such para-constitutional features of the Korean political system such as 'winner-take-all" and the ,plebiscitary' nature of the Korean presidential elections and strong party discipline have worked to the advantage of the Korean president. Although no analysis of the political system will be complete without the examination of "contextual" and "ecological" factors indigenous to that system, "institutional" analysis of this paper suggests that Korean politics may move toward a more advanced stage of democracy through adjusting some of the basic institutional arrangements of the country. [source] From Shallow to Deep: Toward a Thorough Cultural Analysis of School Achievement PatternsANTHROPOLOGY & EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2008Mica Pollock What do anthropologists of education do? Many observers think that we provide quick glosses on what various "cultures",typically racialized, ethnic, and national-origin groups,"do" in schools. Hervé Varenne and I each name an alternative form of analysis that we think should be central to the subfield. Varenne argues that anthropologists of education should expand analysis of teaching and learning beyond (American) schools and classrooms and examine everyday life in various places as containing countless moments of teaching and learning that are worth understanding. Varenne reminds us that teaching and learning occur nonstop in everyday life, not just in classrooms. "Education" is about far more than what we typically call "achievement," which usually translates into grades, graduation, or test scores.1 This long-standing way of thinking anthropologically about "education" is essential to exploding simplistic notions of what, when, how, and from whom people "learn." In my essay, I contend that U.S. anthropologists of education also need to analyze thoroughly how U.S. school achievement patterns take shape in real time. I argue that it is our particular responsibility to counteract "shallow" analyses of "culture" in schools, which purport to explain "achievement gaps" by making quick claims about how parents and children from various racial, ethnic, national-origin, or class groups react to schools. Such shallow analyses dangerously oversimplify the social processes, interactions, and practices that create disparate outcomes for children. Shallow cultural analyses are common in both journalism and popular discourse,and in schools of education as well (see Ladson-Billings 2006 for a related critique). They are explanatory claims that name a group as having a "cultural" set of behaviors and then name that "cultural" behavior as the cause of the group's school achievement outcomes. (E.g., some argue that "group x"[e.g., "Asians"] employs a "group x behavior"[e.g., "push their children"] that causes "high" or "low" achievement.) Such claims allow people to explain achievement outcomes too simply as the production of parents and children without ever actually examining the real-life experiences of specific parents and children in specific opportunity contexts. Going deeper requires pressing for actual, accurate information about the everyday interactions among real-life parents, children, and other actors that add up to school achievement patterns (graduation rates, dropout rates, skill-test scores, suspension lists, and the like). When anthropologists of education say that we study culture, we mean that we are studying the organization of people's everyday interactions in concrete contexts. Shallow analyses of "culture" that purport to describe only how a "group's" parents train its children blame a reduced set of actors, behaviors, and processes for educational outcomes, and they include a reduced set of actors and actions in a reduced set of projects for educational improvement. Anthropologists of education should make clear that we examine children's experiences both in context and in appropriate detail; we study interactional processes that other observers might describe too quickly or with insufficient information.2 I think that if anthropologists of education explicitly, publicly, and colloquially name what counts as deep, thorough cultural analysis of American school achievement patterns, we will make ourselves far better prepared to respond to harmfully shallow claims made by journalists, colleagues, and educators alike. We will also support other stakeholders in children's lives (including teachers and teacher educators) to think more thoroughly about which actions, by whom, and in what situations produce children's achievement. This short essay suggests four key ways that anthropologists of education can, do, and should get "deep" in analyzing American achievement patterns. I invite colleagues to edit and extend this list in future editions of AEQ. [source] The next exclusion debate: Assessing technology, ethics, and intellectual disability after the human genome projectDEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH REVIEW, Issue 2 2007Kelly M. Munger Abstract Recent scientific discoveries have made it much easier to test prenatally for various genetic disabilities, such as Down syndrome. However, while many observers have heralded such "advances" for their effectiveness in detecting certain conditions, others have argued that they perpetuate discrimination by preventing the birth of children with disabilities. This article examines the ethical and social implications of the Human Genome Project for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. It details the critique of prenatal testing articulated by many disability rights activists as well as scholarly and professional responses to that critique. A review of the pertinent research literature includes perspectives of genetic professionals, ethicists, disability studies scholars, parents of children with disabilities, and disabled individuals themselves. Finally, the article explores how future research endeavors, policies, and practices may more effectively integrate and respect the positions of these various stakeholders. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. MRDD Research Reviews 2007;13:121,128. [source] Twin deficits: squaring theory, evidence and common senseECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 48 2006Giancarlo Corsetti SUMMARY Budget deficits and current accounts OPENNESS AND FISCAL PERSISTENCE Simple accounting suggests that shocks to the government budget move the current account in the same direction, and this ,twin deficits' intuition leads many observers to call for fiscal consolidation in the US as a necessary measure to reduce the large external imbalance of this country. The response of other macroeconomic variables to budget developments, however, has important implications for ,twin deficits' and for this policy prescription. Focusing on the international transmission of fiscal policy shocks via terms of trade changes, we show that the likelihood and magnitude of twin deficits increases with the degree of openness of an economy, and decreases with the persistence of fiscal shocks. We take this insight to the data and investigate the transmission of fiscal shocks in a vector autoregression (VAR) model estimated for Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. We find that in less open countries the external impact of shocks to either government spending or budget deficits is limited, while private investment responds in line with our theoretical prediction. These results suggest that a fiscal retrenchment in the US may have a limited impact on its current external deficit. , Giancarlo Corsetti and Gernot J. Müller [source] Reforming Europe's Common Foreign and Security PolicyEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 1 2004Daniel Thym To the great surprise of many observers the much lamented absence of a common European response to the war in Iraq did not prevent the Convention from agreeing upon an ambitious reform package in the foreign-policy field. This article explores the legal implications of the new institutional balance for European foreign policy envisaged by the Convention against the background of the achievements and deficiencies of Europe's existing foreign policy regime. Thereby, we shall see in how far the Convention has met the original goal set by the Laeken European Council to consider reform steps to strengthen the Union's ability to ,shoulder its responsibilities in the governance of globalisation.'1 [source] Perceiving Rogue States: The Use of the "Rogue State" Concept by U.S. Foreign Policy ElitesFOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS, Issue 4 2007K. P. O'Reilly In the aftermath of the Cold War, U.S. foreign policy dialogue has shifted from its half century focus dominated by the superpower struggle with the Soviet Union to the challenges presented by so-called "rogue states." For many observers, however, the term "rogue state" is viewed as problematic failing to providing either a clear picture of who and what constitutes a rogues state, or, perhaps more importantly, the ramification of this term on U.S. policy action. In examining the public statements of key U.S. foreign policy decision makers over the course of 1993 to 2004, this paper offers insights as to the perceptions which manifest the "rogue" stereotype as exhibited by statements on the policies and behaviors associated with rogue states. What is revealed is a relatively fixed and stable image over time as held by key decisions-makers with similar unity expressed as to policy prescriptions. Combining perceptions of power capabilities and cultural judgments unique to this rogue stereotype, the rogue image presents a challenge to U.S. strategy demanding attention to the future threat posed by these states while also constraining policy options. [source] Sustainable Return in Post-conflict ContextsINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 3 2006Richard Black ABSTRACT Post-conflict return is a highly politically charged process in a number of contexts, both for returnees and those who did not migrate or flee, leading many observers to question the notion of an unproblematic return "home". Specifically, doubts remain both about the conditions and voluntariness of return, the ability of individual returnees to reintegrate in their home countries and regions, and the wider sustainability of the return process. This paper seeks to provide an overview of recent policy interest in returns, before setting out a tentative definition of what might be considered a "sustainable" return. It is argued that it is possible to draw a distinction between narrow indicators of the "sustainability" of return, such as whether returnees subsequently reemigrate, and wider definitions, which see "sustainability" as involving both the reintegration of individual returnees in their home societies, and the wider impact of return on macroeconomic and political indicators. Based on either definition, the development of robust indicators of the sustainability of return could assist in monitoring the impact of return programmes, providing valuable insight on return policies. The broader definition suggested also draws attention to the idea that continued mobility after an initial return - including circulation and the development of a "transnational" lifestyle - may be more "sustainable" than a single and definitive return to the refugee's place of origin. Les retours dans une situation d'après-conflit sont un processus politiquement signifiant dans certains contextes, à la fois pour les rapatriés et pour ceux qui n'ont ni émigré ni fui, ce qui conduit de nombreux observateurs à s'interroger sur le concept d'un retour sans problème "dans les foyers". Plus précisément, des doutes subsistent à la fois quant aux conditions et au caractère volontaire du retour, à la capacité des rapatriés à se réinsérer dans leur pays et leur région d'origine, et à la durabilité, au sens plus large, du processus de retour. L'auteur s'efforce de donner un aperçu de l'intérêt politique récent pour les retours avant de tenter une définition de ce qui pourrait être considéré comme retour "durable". Selon lui, il est possible de faire une distinction entre les indicateurs au sens étroit de la "durabilité" du retour, à savoir par exemple si les rapatriés émigrent à nouveau, et des définitions plus larges, considérant la "durabilité" comme intégrant à la fois la réintégration des rapatriés dans leur société d'origine et l'impact plus large des retours sur les indicateurs macroéconomiques et politiques. Selon l'une ou l'autre définition, l'élaboration d'indicateurs solides de la durabilité des retours pourrait faciliter l'observation de l'impact des programmes de retour, en apportant un éclairage précieux sur les politiques de retour. La définition plus large appelle également l'attention sur l'idée selon laquelle la mobilité continue après un retour initial - y compris la circulation et l'adoption d'un style de vie "transnational" - pourrait être plus "durable" qu'un retour unique et définitif vers le lieu d'origine du réfugié. El retorno consecutivo a conflictos es un proceso con una alta connotación política en varios contextos, tanto para los retornantes como para quienes no emigraron ni huyeron, lo que da lugar a que muchos observadores cuestionen la noción de un retorno al "hogar" sin problemas. Concretamente, subsisten dudas sobre las condiciones y el carácter voluntario del retorno; la capacidad de los retornantes a título individual de reintegrarse en sus países y regiones de origen; y la sostenibilidad amplia del proceso de retorno. Este estudio trata de ofrecer un panorama del reciente interés político que suscitan los retornos, antes de establecer tentativamente una definición de lo que puede considerarse como un retorno "sostenible". En este artículo se arguye que es posible establecer una distinción entre estrechos indicadores del "sostenimiento" del retorno, a saber, si las personas que retornan vuelven a emigrar ulteriormente, y definiciones más amplias que consideran el "sostenimiento" como la reintegración de quienes retornan a título individual a sus sociedades de origen conjuntamente con las repercusiones más amplias del retorno en los indicadores macroeconómicos y políticos. Sobre la base de cualquiera de estas definiciones, el desarrollo de sólidos indicadores del sostenimiento del retorno podría servir para supervisar el impacto de los programas de retorno, al ofrecer una visión valiosa sobre las políticas de retorno. La definición más amplia propuesta señala a la atención la idea de que la continua movilidad tras el retorno inicial -incluida la circulación y el desarrollo de un estilo de vida transnacional- podría ser más "sostenible" que un retorno único y definitivo al lugar de origen del refugiado. [source] Dollar Dominance, Euro Aspirations: Recipe for Discord?JCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 4 2009BENJAMIN J. COHEN After nearly a century of dominance of the international monetary system, has the US dollar finally met its match in the euro? When Europe's economic and monetary union (EMU) came into existence in 1999, many observers predicted that the euro would soon join America's greenback at the peak of global finance. Achievements, however, have fallen short of aspiration. After an initial spurt of enthusiasm, international use of the euro actually appears now to be levelling off, even stalling, and so far seems confined largely to a limited range of market sectors and regions. The euro has successfully attained a place second only to the greenback , but it remains, and is likely to remain, a quite distant second without a determined effort by EMU authorities to promote their money's global role. The temptation will surely be great. In practical terms, it is difficult to imagine that EMU authorities will refrain entirely from trying to promote a greater role for the euro. But that, in turn, could turn out to be a recipe for discord with the United States, which has never made any secret of its commitment to preserving the greenback's worldwide dominance. A struggle for monetary leadership could become a source of sustained tensions in US,European relations. Fortunately, however, there seems relatively little risk of a destabilizing escalation into outright geopolitical conflict. [source] Evidence for indigenous selection and distribution of the shea tree, Vitellaria paradoxa, and its potential significance to prevailing parkland savanna tree patterns in sub-Saharan Africa north of the equatorJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 10 2003S. Maranz Abstract Aim, Woody vegetation patterns in African savannas north of the equator are closely connected to human presence, but the distinctions between natural and anthropogenic landscapes have not been clear to many observers. Criteria for identifying savanna landscapes on a continuum of intensity of anthropic impact are explored. Methods, A key savanna tree species, Vitellaria paradoxa (Sapotaceae), was used as model for evaluating anthropic impact. Fruits harvested from tree populations across the species range were analysed for variation in traits valued by indigenous peoples. A simple selection index was used to scale tree populations from a hypothetical wild state to a hypothetical domesticated state. Index values were compared with trait values along climate zone gradients and evaluated in the context of indigenous savanna management practices and historical species distribution reports. Results, Trait values such as fruit size and shape, pulp sweetness, and kernel fat content show a significant influence of temperature and rainfall. At the same time, the mean values of groups of traits vary perpendicular to the general climatic zone gradient. Selection index values between Vitellaria populations vary up to sixfold, with highest values in central Burkina Faso. Comparison of present day Vitellaria distribution with historical range limits show range expansion by human migration. Main conclusions, The prevalence of major economic tree species in the savannas of Africa north of the equator is a strong indicator of human involvement in tree dispersal. This conclusion is supported by paleobotanical evidence and by recent Vitellaria range expansion as a result of human migration. The presence of high mean values of several Vitellaria fruit traits in central Burkina Faso suggests that selection for desired characteristics has occurred. The impact of indigenous savanna peoples on woody species composition and spatial distribution is probably much greater than usually thought and is the result of a deliberate strategy of altering the landscape to provide needed human resources. [source] | |||||||||||||