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"This chapter deals with the currently developing systems of knowledge conservation with a special emphasis on local knowledge. The relevance of this local knowledge seems to represent a knowledge-gap or actually a blindspot in the industrial world. Paradoxically, certain local knowledge (in developing countries) has been discovered as valuable source for industrial innovation. This does not only lead to its extraction but may even cause its destruction. After a Jong and intensive discourse on biopiracy and the conservation of intellectual property rights attached to biodiversity, many questions remain unsolved, and, apparently, legal instruments alone cannot guarantee the protection and maintenance of local knowledge." (author's abstract)

World-systems theory is analyzed in the context of general systems theory, outlining some basic concepts of the latter that are of particular relevance to the former. Particular attention is devoted to the notion of dissipative structures, borrowed from physical chemistry, which extended Newtonian mechanics to the study of open systems, ie, those that exchanged matter & energy with their environments. The characteristics of the world system as a dissipative structure are discussed, & contributions of the theory of dissipative structures to world-systems analysis are identified. 54 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

This article presents the results of a questionnaire on Europe. 150 students in six different countries in Northern (Norway and Sweden), Western (Belgium and The Netherlands) and Central Europe (Czech Republic and Germany) completed this questionnaire (25 per country). All students are teacher trainees; by completing the questionnaire they revealed their opinion on their teacher training study programme, the possible role of Europe in the classroom and displayed their knowledge about the European Union. - First a subjective description of the positive and negative aspect of the different teacher training programmes within the six countries is presented. Thereupon the interest of teacher training students in participating and organising European projects at school is revealed. Subsequently their possibilities of introducing Europe into the classroom are discussed. Finally their results of the exam on Europe are displayed. (DIPF/Orig.).

The author examines the history of Angola using two contending theories of contemporary conflict, Eckstein's branch point theory & Tilly's three part scheme. Eckstein argues that there are two schools of thought, or "branches," of conflict analysis, contingency theory & inherency theory. Contingency states that the normal state of affairs is peaceful, but that extraordinary events can cause violent outbursts in or between societies. Inherency theory takes the opposite approach, beginning with the assumption that human society is naturally disposed to violence. Tilly approaches conflict analysis based on the assumption that there are three types of people: ideas people who stress beliefs & concepts, behavior people who stress motives, or relational people who emphasize collective processes.

Contends that political engagement has always been a troubled issue for Critical Theorists. Early theorists like Horkheimer & Adorno avoided politics because the situation at the time made any attempt at political action futile. However, it is argued that they should not be dismissed as having no politics since Critical Theory consistently expressed an interest in freeing humanity from injustice. Although much of Herbert Marcuse's work represents engaged withdrawal, it inspired the activism of the New Left & student movements of the 1960s. Attempts by Jurgen Habermas to correct the immobility of the early theorists & claims that he avoids politics are addressed, along with the work of third generation Critical Theorists, especially Axel Honneth's variant of Critical Theory; Nancy Fraser's challenge of Honneth's theory of recognition; & Seyla Benhabib's attempt to untangle problematic issues raised by theories of recognition. It is concluded that current theorists are caught in the same bind as the first & second generation & that Critical Theory will always be frustratingly limited by the democratic will. J. Lindroth

Explores the philosophical preliminaries underpinning a green theory of value as the core moral vision of a green political party. The general idea of a theory of value, ie, theory of The Good, is explicated. Theories of value are classified according to three distinct bases: consumer satisfaction (capitalist or neoclassical welfare economic); labor inputs (Marxist); & natural resource inputs (green). In contending that the value of natural resources is seen to lie in the fact of their having a history of having been created by natural vs artificial (human) processes, the green theory of value is seen to be a manifestation of a process- & a history-based theory of value. Attention turns to examining why there is more value in something generated via a natural process than an artificial one, suggesting that natural products are the yield of "something larger than ourselves." Humanity's position in nature is considered in terms of two objections to the green theory of value: (1) It would reduce down to the neoclassical welfare economic theory of value. (2) Any separation between humanity & nature is artificial. Each is countered with a series of propositions, which are then applied to the Australian case in conclusion. J. Zendejas

In evaluating the state of democratic theory, an integrative approach combining normative & explanatory perspectives is used to focus on what to expect from democracy & how to realize this. Disagreements in this regard are illuminated, with much attention given to Schumpeterian competition as a theory of democratic power relations management. It is contended that a perspective targeting the legitimate control of power relations makes more sense than one turned to the common good, but the former can be compatible with a stripped-down version of the latter. Mechanisms for democracy's progress are scrutinized, dividing Joseph Schumpeter's critics into those who see his competitive democracy as desirable but insufficient & those who find it undesirable. Wholesale rejection of Schumpeter is itself rejected, & an examination of electoral systems is undertaken to demonstrate competitive democracy's utility, with an eye toward enriching the approach rather than dumping it. It is contended that an incremental approach is necessary for the democratization of those societies seemingly antithetical to it; in looking at democracy's durability, it is clear that its installation & survival are not easy. How to supplement Schumpeterian democracy is pondered, highlighting the problematic nature of a purely procedural scheme & considering the democratic theory centered on institutional devices, eg, constitutional courts, geared to limiting democracy's penchant for producing outcomes counter to its constitutive ethos. 1 Figure. J. Zendejas