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The paper deals with the issue of regulation of the right of natural and legal persons to environmental information, in relevant international legal documents. There is a survey of certain international conventions which envisage this right in their field of regulation. The right to access the information is in details regulated in the Aarhus Convention, which comprises significant part of this paper. This kind of regulation of the right to environmental information has performed a significant influence on states and international organizations, which created their domestic and international rules, using the solutions from this Convention. The European Union has enacted a significant number of directives on the right of a public to receive environmental information. The special emphasis will be on the work of the Aarhus Convention's Compliance Committee which has a significant role in supervising and deciding about the compliance with the application of the Convention in its member states.

International police and other cooperation is a necessity of the modern world and imperative for the survival of human civilization. The goal of cooperation is that states and the international community unite in opposing crime as the greatest peacetime evil in the world. This is particularly in relation to organized crime, terrorism, and corruption and other most serious forms of crime in contemporary society. Cooperation takes place at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. Bilateral cooperation mainly has a trans-border character of neighboring countries, while the regional cooperation between states within certain areas such as the SEE region (Western Balkan) or Europe (e.g. Europol). Multilateral cooperation is mainly on a broader level, e.g. in the field of combating terrorism or through universal organizations (e.g. Interpol). International police cooperation in Europe has a long tradition. One part takes place today in this area through the OSCE, with the caveat that this is a global organization that deals with security issues. The Council of Europe is the next organization through which co-operation began in the past and is partly carried out to this day, given that it brings all European countries together (except Belarus). Cooperation is more intensive still throughout the European Union, its forerunners, the current forms of the organization and present mechanisms (EAW- European surrender and arrest warrant).53 The cooperation in the EU, that takes place through Europol as a specialized agency of the Union is especially current, but with minimal operational competencies. In the SEE region, a significant cooperation between countries of the former Yugoslavia and countries in its neighborhood has been achieved. This cooperation is not only based on bilateral and multilateral acts, but primarily regional documents of which the most important are the International Convention on Police Cooperation in SEE and SELEC Convention. According to these and other acts, all the countries in the region have taken part in regional cooperation, since the fight against crime is the common interest of all. This applies in particular to organized crime, terrorism, corruption and other most serious forms of crime. Extremely important shapes, forms and mechanisms of international police cooperation are: exchange of information, joint investigation teams, joint operational actions, liaison officers, contact points, regional centers for police and customs cooperation, joint police stations and others. To recap, international police cooperation in the world today is an expression of anti-criminal solidarity between states and its prospects are clear, because the danger of crime is global and requires a harmonized response at the international level.

United States participation in international politics during the period between the two world wars, come not only from the general and often declarative interest in peace, but was also a consequence of extremely rapid expansion of their foreign trade and overseas capital investments. It was a period of intense financial diplomacy, when efforts to maintain the gold standard, to determine the amount of reparations and the manner of payment of war debts, brought confusion not only in relations between victors and vanquished, but also in relations between the United States and its former European allies. Abandonment of the gold standard and the creation of the tripartite agreement between the United States, Britain and France, in the 1936, was a milestone in the development of international monetary cooperation and the role of United States in international economic relations. .

胡錦濤在二○一一年訪問美國是極其重要的中美外交事件,作為世界上兩個最大的經濟體,尤其在國際社會的共同命運和國家和國際經濟動盪的時刻,中美關係發揮顯著作用。 ; 本論文特別側重說明美國政府和新聞媒介如何建構胡錦濤訪問美國,並塑造為一個慶祝國際政治媒介事件,說明政府在建構新聞語霸權,且取得美國新聞媒體的合作。它最終引發了媒體社會學的問題,媒體民主問題和人文與經濟價值之間的鬥爭。 ; 這兩個國家之間日益增長的戰略和務實的關係,是突顯社會的政治背景,導致胡錦濤訪問美國作為一個媒介事件,形成一個變贏的和平競賽,以及慶祝和友好熱惰的表現。 ; 胡錦濤訪問美國以及美國電視新聞作為本研究的主要焦點,說明媒體往往採取在媒介事件中互相尊重,雙羸 ,和平和樂觀的態度。美國的電視新聞媒體會在臨鍵的時刻偏向政府。 ; Hu Jin Tao's U.S. visit in 2011 is an extremely important diplomatic event in U.S.-China relations in the past thirty years or so, which calls for bilateral and international attention, as the relations between the world's two biggest economies play a significant role in the common fate of the global community, at a time of national and international economic turmoil. ; This thesis specifically focusing on explicating the journalistic construction of Hu's U.S. visit as a historical and celebrative international political media event, a news discourse constructed out of hegemonic governmental influences and the cooperation of U.S. news media. It eventually raised media sociological questions upon the professionalism of U.S. news media in relations to U.S. foreign policy, media democracy and humanistic question over the struggle between economic pragmatism and individual freedom, especially in international integration. ; The growing strategic and pragmatic relationship between the two nations is the foregrounding social-political context that leads to the journalistic framing of the visit as a media event, a win-win peaceful contest, and an celebrative and friendly welcoming performance. And that the American TV news media tend to pay more reverence towards the government during critical historic political moment, in this case the U.S. visit by Hu. The U.S news media, with TV news as the main focus in this study, tend to adopt the ritualistic media event script in framing the visit in an respectful, peaceful and optimistic manner. There is a discursive news storyline of Hu's state visit as a win-win media event starts from the tension between the two states and then a ...

Cui, Yan. ; Thesis Ph.D. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2015. ; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 236-251). ; Abstracts also in Chinese. ; Title from PDF title page (viewed on 15, September, 2016).

The financial sector is characterised by numerous changes that affect the changes in the institutional structure of functioning of the financial system, as well as the choice of funding of business entities. This has resulted in the fact that in contemporary business conditions, financing of economic development become a complex area of research. Local development planning on the basis of public revenues is a weak base for the rapid development of local governments. Therefore, it is necessary to supplement the budget financing by attracting private capital for the construction of public goods and improving the quality of public services. In this regard, the objective of this paper is to point to alternative ways of borrowing, both from domestic and international sources of funding, as well as to the possibilities for their use by the local governments. Bearing in mind the defined objective, the paper discusses the possible external sources of funding of local governments, such as loans from commercial banks and other financial institutions, and municipal bonds. In order to evaluate the possibilities for successful development of local governments, the paper points to the possible solutions to financing projects of public importance in the practice of Serbia.

Post-cold war concept of security is based on realistic postulates and emphasises a concept of state, forces,power and national interests. Military and political concept of security was dominant while the relations between the superpowers was based on the so called bipolar balance of power. Identity of states was realised by membership in military, political and economic organisations. The strategy of returning to the era of nuclear weapons reaches its full flowering. The crucial point of security after the end of Cold war consists of searching for giving answers to the threats coming from the outside and abilities of states to maintain their independent integrity against changed relations among the powers, which potentially may become enemies. Under such circumstances powers should not be ignored in any interpretation of any aspect of security, for realistic theories of international relations are still of great influence in the field of security. They will be modified in different conditions and will act in the sense of enlarged concept of security - instead of dominant concepts of political and military security typical for the Cold War era, economic, social and environmental factors will appear. Basic weakness of the realistic theories of security is in the lack of recognising the importance of cooperation between main factors in international community. This failure will be replaced neo realistic and liberal and institutional theories of security which emphasises the concept of cooperation in the first place. Concepts of power, forces and integral processes will be observed within the context of changes in the international relations.

After World War II, an international military court sentenced 20 Nazi doctors and 3 collaborators with crimes against the humanity at the Nuremberg Trials. For the past 70 years after Nuremberg Trials, the restoration to pre-Nazi's ethical standard has been progressed. The eugenicist theories and the policies of racial hygiene were the fundamental axes of the Nazi euthanasia programs without paying attention to the basic ethics of the medicine. German psychiatry that it enjoyed an extraordinary international reputation, played a capital rôle in these programs and the mental patients supposed the main group of risk for these practices during the Nazi era. In this overview, we deal with, the historical perspective of the euthanasia programs of the mental patients, and the procedures for its execution, and the use of the mental patients as investigation tools. Direct consequence of the mentioned penal process gave birth to the Nuremberg Code, which has been considered as the fi rst international code of ethics for the medical experiments with human subjects. During the last 70 years, it has advanced substantially in the restoration of ethical codes and norms to protect patients in particular in the fi eld of psychiatry and psychopharmacology, and its culmination of advancement has been in the 1996 Declaration of Madrid.

The transition of the global financial governance system is a history of the rise and fall of the Western advanced countries in the post-war international political and economic system. Since the end of the Second World War, the International Monetary Foundation and the World Bank have always taken the dominant role in the field of global financial governance. However, after the beginning of the global financial crisis in 2008, many drawbacks have become apparent concerning these two significant institutions, such as the lack of representatives, the slow and ineffective response to the crisis, etc. Following a strong appeal from the developing countries (with the emerging powers as their representatives), the global financial governance system has experienced several rounds of reforms which have yet to yield acceptable results. Therefore, it is highly necessary to create a new institution which can play a complementary role in the existing financial governance system rather than overthrow it. Complying with the tide of history, the official establishment of the BRICS Bank can be of great significance to the reform of current global financial governance systems such as diversifying the global financial governance bodies, representing the interests of developing countries in a better way, enhancing the status and improving the importance of emerging economies in the international political and economic order. Admittedly, the BRICS Bank also faces great challenges and limits such as the lack of a core leadership and the absence of a unified currency, etc.

The first section of this paper discusses a public diplomacy concept within the international relations paradigm shift that takes place in a radically changed global environment. Public diplomacy is analyzed primarily through cultural aspects in relation to other concepts such as propaganda and 'nation branding'. The second part is dedicated to identification of the key problems that the Republic of Serbia is facing regarding conceptualization and implementation of public and cultural diplomacy. It analyzes the institutional framework and effects of international Serbian policies up to now. It points to the need for long-term synchronous involvement of different actors in the field of public and cultural diplomacy of the Republic of Serbia, in order to promote not only its political positioning and reputation in the world, but for the sake of strengthening its economic and other development resources. Recognition of public and cultural diplomacy as an effective long-term means of building the reputation and position of the Republic of Serbia in international relations is extremely important. It means to articulate the need to design a new cultural concept, which would be built into a system of values that traces the path of Serbian development. The basic question, therefore, in terms of conceptualization of public and cultural diplomacy, remains the question of the narrative. This is the new and the old question of all questions: 'Who are we, where are we going and where do we want to go?'.

The war in Kosovo and Metohia was the result of a decade long tensions between ethnic Serbs and Albanians. It was led from the air in order to avoid more potential victims in case of land invasion. The end of war was the result of mutual concessions: from NATO side and the Serbian one. The sovereignty of FRY was not put into question, but a great autonomy of Kosovo was predicted including the possibility of independence acquisition (secession). The Resolution 1244 was not abolished, but it was being derogated in order to prepare the fundament of Kosovo independence. Serbian military-security forces were withdrawn from the territory of Kosovo and Metohia. NATO intervention was not legal from the point of view of international law, but it subordinated sovereignty to human rights. Intervention was justified in cases of humanitarian need. Event though humanitarian need (catastrophe) is taken as the basis for the intervention, the example of such kind could not be found in the past. So, Kosovo cases were qualified as sui generis one. Thus, the war in Kosovo became an example to be followed in the future, and an unresolved situation may become the threat to the peace and security in the surrounding countries. Democratic countries give themselves the right to interfere and intervene into internal affairs of others differently from the autocratic ones, which was supposed to be neither correct nor consistent. Kosovo conflict and war rattled global power structure, especially with China and Russia as new challengers of the USA power. Both countries are trying hard to reach USA, but they are still in transition with unstable financial systems, migrations and unresolved system of social protection. Regarding Kosovo conflict and war, they engaged themselves rather indirectly than directly. As Security Council permanent members they were voting against the independence of Kosovo, but did not involve themselves into the war directly. Kosovo war showed how China is backward regarding war technique, and Russia regarding financial engagement. In addition, China expected membership in WTO, and Russia a great financial assistance. Russia engaged in negotiations via the Contact Group. With the arrival of Putin, Russia could not engage in Balkan more militarily but only commercially due to the fact most Balkan countries entered NATO or Partnership for Peace Programme. Internal cohesion of Russia with centralistic governance was reinforced, and ethnic tensions were calmed down. The perspective of Russia is United Nations and commerce through pipeline.

Nowadays, there are divided opinions in Bosnia and Herzegovina when it comes to further mandate of the OHR and the institution of the High Representative. However, the e nd of the mandate of the High Representative is realistically expected in the near future. The need to abolish the office of the OHR and the institution of the High Representative has been mentioned increasingly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in the Republic of Srpska. The reasons for the abolition of the function of the High Representative are different between the entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as among its constitutive peoples. The authority of the High Representative has been increasingly questioned.It is on that basis that questions arise more frequently whether his (High Representative) legal acts will be valid, in particular individual decisions, such as deprivation of certain rights to citizens, the right to work, political action and passive right to vote. Representatives of the international community are worried that the interested domestic political circles could set a thesis (and be successful at it) that all acts of the High Representative will cease to apply at the moment when Annex X of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina is ended.A number of imposed laws not yet adopted by the local legislator himself, in the event of cancellation, would actually return BiH to the original competences under the Constitution BiH, as the legal consequence. The institution of the High Representative was set up by Annex X (Agreement on Civilian Implementation of the Peaceful Solution) of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Simultaneously, bearing in mind these facts, legally speaking, Bosnia and Herzegovina can not be classified into any known form of international dependence, however, the objective situation is such that Bosnia and Herzegovina with the powers vested in the High Representative and the actions that he is taking, can be considered a state with a specific form of international dependence and a special form of guardianship.

這項研究的目的旨在探討香港15歲學生在科學素養上的性別差異及這些差異如何影響男女生在選擇以科學作為升學及職業的動機。 ; 本研究的數據取自2006年在本港舉行的香港學生能力國際評估計劃(Programme for International Student Assessment)。該計劃的4645學生樣本取自146所學校,包括:官立、資助及私立學校,以兩階段分層隨機抽樣的方法選取。 ; 學生能力國際評估計劃如其他大型國際評估一樣,其評估框架採用多維試題架構。本研究採用配合該試題架構及樣本結構的多維試題功能(MDIF)及多層中介變項(MLM)兩個研究方法,去了解15歲男女學生在科學素養(認知和情感)上的性別差異及這些差異如何影響男女生在選擇以科學作為升學及職業的動機。比較常用的均差t-檢定,MDIF具備提高各次級量尺的精確度特質,因而可以更有效和準確地計算出男女學生在科學素養上的性別差異。MLM則以Eccles (1983) 的成功期望價值理論為學理基礎去分析和了解這些性別差異如何影響男女生在選取與科學相關的升學途徑和擇業的動機。 ; 要完成MLM的研究,我們必須先使用單組驗證性因子分析(Single-Group CFA)驗證經濟合作與發展組織(OECD)所建構的六項情意因素,包括:「科學上的自我概念」、「科學的個人價值」、「科學的興趣」、「對科學的喜好」、「學習科學的工具性動機」和「將來工作而學習科學的動機」,以便了解使用這些源自西方社會的情意因素在本土研究的可行性及效度。接着使用本土數據去調整這六項情意因素結構。最後利用多組驗證性因子分析(Multiple-Group CFA)去確定這些因素結構對男女生是否都適用(即測量等同檢驗Measurement Invariance Test)。 ; 由單組驗證性因子分析結果得知,六項情意因素,除了要對「科學的興趣」因素作較大幅度的修改外,其他五項因素都具有良好的心理測量特性。而多組驗證性因子分析的結果亦顯示,六項情意因素都能通過測量等同檢驗,亦即這六項因素結構對男女生都適用。 ; 研究結果顯示除了「鑑定形成科學議題」能力外,本港15歲的男生在「解釋科學現象」及「科學證」等科學認知層面上優於女生。在科學情意發展上,男生比女生亦有更好的發展,其效應值(effect size)更高於認知層面。 ; MLM的研究結果與Eccles的成功期望價值理論預測結果吻合,也就是說,男女生在面向未來升學選科和擇業動機上呈現明顯的性別差異,而這些差異主要是透過情意因素(中介變項)間接影響男女生的選擇意向。就這些因素而言,女生在選取科學作為未來升學途徑和職業動機明顯地較男生為弱。 ; 整體而言,驗證性因子分析結果和MLM的研究結果支持源自西方社會的Eccles成功期望價值理論具備跨文化效度,在香港華人社會的研究結果與西方結果基本吻合。 ; 最後,本文作者將根據本研究的結果,向科學教育的工作者、教師、父母、課程發展人員、政策的制定者和考核機構提供一些可行的建議,希望藉此改善香港男女生在科學生涯規劃上的性別差異。 ; The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of gender differences of 15-year-old students on scientific literacy and their impacts on students' motivation to pursue science education and careers (Future-oriented Science Motivation) in Hong Kong. ; The data for this study was collected from the Program for International Student Assessment in Hong Kong (HKPISA). It was carried out in 2006. A total of 4,645 students were randomly selected from 146 secondary schools including government, aided and private schools by two-stage stratified sampling method for the assessment. ; HKPISA 2006, like most of other large-scale international assessments, presents its assessment frameworks in multidimensional subscales. To fulfill the requirements of this ...

In his main oeuvre from the field of political philosophy ('Basic Traits of the Philosophy of Right'), Hegel wished to reconcile civil society with state. Civil society is for Hegel the way of abstract notion of property concretization. Subjective form of property is evolutioning into objective relationships among title holders. It is in the state where the will is set free from its particular interests and is becoming free in the widest sense of the word. Since civil society is established as per marketing principles, it is subject to inequalities. Since inequalities bear destructive effect on the life in community, civic particularism may be overcome only in institutional way. That institution is the state as the 'seriousness of the spirit', and the essence of civil society. Civil society is a liberal one, and the state is based on liberal principles. For Hegel, contrary to Hobbes and Locke, liberal society is not a social contract among individuals who possessed some natural rights (property), but reciproque and equal agreement among citizens and states which wish to recognize themselves mutually. It is not an own interest, but searching for rational recognition. The same as citizens, states also wish to reconcile themselves mutually, what in the situation in Kosovo and Metohia alike gets the original form.

The term politics, from its origin until nowadays, has been closely related to coercion and effects of coercion. The first rulers were finding support in a belief in the divine nature of power, but since, in time, this belief faded, the solution was found in physical superiority of rulers. The development of politics as an activity by which a community can be governed instrumentally, conditioned its closer linkage to force. Politics was sometimes identified with force, and sometimes politics was using force as an instrument for taming the bullying by others. Undoubtedly, the man is a rational and instinctive being. Monopolization of bullying within political activity made it possible to place the force, depending on the circumstances, into the service of one or the other attribute of human nature. Integration processes in political, economic, military and other areas, significantly contributed to changing the role of a national state in its formerly inviolable spheres, even in those elements that are considered classic attributes of the state as an institution (sovereignty, independence, monetary policy, defense, state power legitimacy, etc). Does this power, which is 'taken away' from the national state, go away, through integrative processes with other international subjects, to some distant power and alienated centers, or does it, on the contrary, enter the corpus of political activity that strengthens its overall position? Without immersing into more profound analysis about what is closer to the truth, it is a fact that through integrative processes a number of 'state' activities is transferred to joint institutions. In the spirit of this paper, the most important institutions are those which decide about organization, preparing, functioning, and using of the state (interstate) power. Strategic solutions concerning these matters, are a part of domestic and intergovernmental policy. They are products of a great number of internal and external factors, starting from economic and institutional, to social and cultural-traditional, and to international.