Suchergebnisse

"The authoress focuses on technical and vocational higher education and analyses the rationales behind the emergence of this particular type of higher education institution in Colombia and Mexico. Based on concepts of diversification of institutional types and growing diversity of the student body in the face of massification of higher education, the authoress reports the main strains of controversial international debates since the 1960s pertaining to the emergence of a non-university sector. She sketches the development of short-cycle technical and vocational higher education in Mexico and Colombia working out the differences and similarities in role and function. She emphasizes the rather low social acceptance of this type of higher education provision compared to traditional universities and Looks at how its graduates fare on the labor market. And while in Colombia technical and vocational higher education is following a process of academic drift by upgrading itself, Mexico has made considerable progress in improving the quality of such provisions. In both countries, the sector has served to not only fulfill policy goals of expansion and equity of access but to also meet newly emerging needs of the respective labor markets. But in both countries many social prejudices against this type of higher education continue to exist. The authoress concludes that technical and vocational higher education is as yet a poorly researched issue in both countries and that Colombia in particular needs more targeted policies for the role of technical and vocational education in achieving its social and economic goals." (excerpt)

"The authoress focuses on technical and vocational higher education and analyses the rationales behind the emergence of this particular type of higher education institution in Colombia and Mexico. Based on concepts of diversification of institutional types and growing diversity of the student body in the face of massification of higher education, the authoress reports the main strains of controversial international debates since the 1960s pertaining to the emergence of a non-university sector. She sketches the development of short-cycle technical and vocational higher education in Mexico and Colombia working out the differences and similarities in role and function. She emphasizes the rather low social acceptance of this type of higher education provision compared to traditional universities and Looks at how its graduates fare on the labor market. And while in Colombia technical and vocational higher education is following a process of academic drift by upgrading itself, Mexico has made considerable progress in improving the quality of such provisions. In both countries, the sector has served to not only fulfill policy goals of expansion and equity of access but to also meet newly emerging needs of the respective labor markets. But in both countries many social prejudices against this type of higher education continue to exist. The authoress concludes that technical and vocational higher education is as yet a poorly researched issue in both countries and that Colombia in particular needs more targeted policies for the role of technical and vocational education in achieving its social and economic goals." (excerpt).

The fact that globalization & development are two sides of the same coin-although fraught with ideological baggage-is found to reproduce ideological separatism & to obscure historical interrelations in the dichotomous debates of state centered versus transnational analysis, making the debate less political & more an epistemological issue in which the terms development, globalization, capital, & the state are terms whose meanings & discursive functions change across time and space. The author traces the moments in recent history of the development/globalization relationship to the ambiguity of sovereignty. The author locates the global origins of development in the 19th century improvement of mankind, & the post WWII world order as a construct of power relations using "development" as an enabling & legitimizing discourse. The ideological function of developments was revealed during the 1960's to the 1990's & the institution of globalization as a class political project in the New International Economic Order (NIEO) to the WTO. The legitimacy crisis of development & globalization is traced to incomplete state management of economic integration, the unrealizable ideal, & the imperialism of the "open world" rhetoric. The original formula of the development project of the "development brings democracy" is concluded to be in reverse in a unipolar world that is imposed by force is the condition for development that an evenly distributes spoils of the managed world market. This ideological representation is driven by power relations that are correlated with mounting resistances that are already referred to as "the world's other superpower.". References. J. Harwell

Considers the normative question of the state's role in the economy & polity, raising issues surrounding democratic accountability. A literature review traces the development of state theory since Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, & Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The state is defined here as a "complex apparatus of centralized & institutionalized power that concentrates violence, establishes property rights, & regulates society in a given territory while being formally recognized as a state by international forums." A distinction is drawn between issues examined in the study of the state vs those looked at in analyses of government. Sticking with the domestic side, the state's part in economic & political development is explored. The state enforces contracts & provides public goods & social insurance. However, there are different kinds of states that impact the economy & polity in different ways. The state as Leviathan & predatory is addressed as a form that is a threat to liberty & a source of economic decline. However, states can also facilitate economic growth & democratization by enhancing physical, human, & social capital, building social networks & relationships of trust & authority. Despite this growth, democracy can still come under pressure from the state if accountability is reduced, the state is captured by interests with goals other than general welfare, or governance fails to meet public wants & needs. It is argued that political inquiry must move beyond thick descriptions of specific states at specific times to build models & falsifiable hypotheses generated from realistic & logical presuppositions about the state & its relationship to society. The manner in which to derive testable hypotheses is outlined. J. Zendejas

Discusses Turkey's goals & strategies in the Caspian region, particularly the South Caucasus. Turkey's priorities are considered from a regional perspective & in terms of transregional connections impacting Turkish policy. It is contended that Turkey's aspirations in the Caspian region cannot be comprehended apart from its Western leaning & relationship with the US & EU. Turkey has become one the most important potential oil & gas markets for Caspian & Russian product, & its immediate gas shortage lends economic significance to its regional relations. Three pipeline projects are overviewed in this light. While natural gas has required an economic approach, Turkey's policy toward oil transport is imbued with environmental concerns & political considerations. The dominance of geopolitics regarding oil pipeline routes is cited, & Turkey's support of the economically questionable Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which would cross its territory, is based on its desire to consolidate its role as a critical link between Central Asia, the Caspian region, & Europe. Turkish-Russian cooperation is addressed, stressing that Russia's uncertain future is a major consideration for Turkish policymakers. Turkey's proclivity for multilateralism & Western orientation as seen in its policy toward NATO & EU membership, centers on pursuing regional stability & development, two objectives that a powerful Russia can help meet. The domestic & international constraints confronting Turkish Caspian policy are delineated, eg, limited resources for providing aid & the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It is concluded that Turkey ought to work with the US & Europe to ameliorate the fallout of power politics, while pursuing sustained cooperation with Russia. J. Zendejas

"The author researches different forms of cross-border governance in Central European border twin towns. By concentrating on both eastern and western edges of the region he presents de-bordering tendencies in the pairings located on internal EU borders and re-bordering on external ones." (Abstract)

"This chapter analyzes the risk of occupying an unskilled job for young people in Spain over the last 30 years. In order to study change over time, all quarters of the Spanish Labor Force Survey have been used, from the third quarter of 1976 to the third quarter of 2007. The results show that the likelihood of having an unskilled job has decreased slightly. The logit regressions highlight: 1) the continuing importance of education in helping avoidance of the worst jobs, 2) greater equality of the Sexes, and 3) nationality as a new and significant structuring factor of inequality. We have complemented the in-depth analysis for Spain with a comparative analysis of 24 countries using data from the European Labor Force Survey of 2005. Our findings demonstrate that there are more unskilled jobs in Spain than in the other 23 countries." (author's abstract)

"In this concluding chapter, the authors return to the analytical framework outlined in the Introduction to the volume, and provide a comparative overview of autonomist parties as they have moved from protest to power. In so doing, we draw an the extensive empirical data presented in the preceding case studies to identify general trends in the lifespans of autonomist parties, the implications of crossing different thresholds for party organisations and the pursuit of different goals, and the policy impact of autonomist parties (that is, their success in pushing for the territorial re-organisation of political authority). The aim of this analysis is two-fold: to compare cases within the autonomist party family and assess similarities and differences between them, and compare the autonomist party family with other party families in order to assess the particuliarity of the former." (author's abstract)

"The article surveys and discusses different definitions of regime type in Ukraine and whether they provide a sound understanding of the regime emerging in Ukraine and other CIS states since the late 1990s. Ukraine and the CIS witnessed democratic regression and therefore could not be assumed that they were on a 'transition' path to a consolidated democracy. The majority of CIS states have either already moved to fully authoritarian regimes, such as Russia. Or, like Ukraine, they remained as unstable competitive authoritarian regimes which exhibited a 'hybrid' fusion of the former Soviet system and the emerging reformed economy and polity. Ukraine's oligarchs during Kuchma's second term preferred a fully authoritarian regime but they were also divided among themselves and faced a formidable opposition. These factors blocked the creation of a fully authoritarian regime under Kuchma and led to the victory of the opposition through Ukraine's Orange Revolution." (author's abstract)