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Does New Zealand matter to the rest of the world? For various reasons the question has always seemed important here, a kind of hollow echo bouncing around national politics, economics and culture, and reflecting back most strongly from concrete measures of overseas recognition: a seat on the United Nations Security Council; an Oscar or a Booker Prize; a World Cup; a global milk auction. For scholars working on New Zealand studies, a version of this question is prompted by the rise of institutional incentives such as the Marsden Fund and the PBRF, which frame "research excellence" in large part in terms of global visibility. It's a challenge, perhaps, of speaking to two audiences at the same time: a local readership familiar with a narrow but deep national archive, and an international readership who must be persuaded of its relevance to their more "mainstream" concerns. Yet the question can also be asked another way: Does the study of New Zealand have to be framed solely in national terms? Shaped for so long by the ethos and aesthetics of mid-twentieth century cultural nationalism, humanistic inquiry in New Zealand still tends to use the nation as its unquestioned unit of measurement.

Why do governments form institutions devoted to emigrants and their descendants in the diaspora? Such institutions have become a regular feature of political life in many parts of the world: Over half all United Nations Member States now have one. Diaspora institutions merit research because they connect new developments in the global governance of migration with new patterns of national and transnational sovereignty and citizenship, and new ways of constructing individual identity in relation to new collectivities. But these institutions are generally overlooked. Migration policy is still understood as immigration policy, and research on diaspora institutions has been fragmented, case-study dominated, and largely descriptive. In this article, I review and extend the relevant theoretical literature and highlight empirical research priorities. I argue that existing studies focus too exclusively on national-level interests and ideas to explain how individual states tap diaspora resources and embrace these groups within the nation-state. However, these approaches cannot explain the global spread of diaspora institutions. This, I argue, requires a comparative approach and greater attention to the role of efforts to create a coherent but decentralized system of global governance in the area of international migration.

Background. The gross longitudinal relationship between female literacy and maternal mortality ratios has not been adequately investigated even though the knowledge of the relationship is crucial for designing maternal mortality reduction programs through female literacy campaigns and improvements. The objective of the study was to examine the dynamic relationship between female literacy and mortality ratios. A longitudinal study design spanning three decades, 1970–2000, was used. Country level data on 143 nations belonging to six geographical regions for the duration 1970–2000 were secured from websites hosted by global agencies such as World Bank and the United Nations were utilized. Maternal mortality ratios (1970–2000) ranged from 147 to 271 across the six regions. The longitudinal relationship between female literacy rates and maternal mortality ratios was examined using a latent growth curve approach. The study found that rates of change in female literacy and maternal mortality ratios are negatively related. Steady rates of increase in female literacy were associated with declining maternal mortality ratios as well. We find that female literacy programs are of immense value in reducing maternal mortality ratios given their ability to yield sustained reductions in mortality levels in developing countries.

The reality of the modern world necessitates a Muslim to rethink about how to be a Muslim in the middle of the interdependence of security, politics, social and culture. This makes Abdullah Ahmed al-Na'im, a Sudanese Muslim intellectual, be restless. The provision of international legal guarantees for the implementation of the collective right of every nation to self-determination make Muslims play the majority of mobilizing their identity in the form of an Islamic state and the implementation of shari'ah itself. However, the affirmation of the collective right to self-determination must be placed within the framework of providing justice for all citizens regardless of sex, race and religion. Herein lies the problem of the implementation of Islamic shari'ah. It is because in some cases, the implementation of Islamic shari'ah actually violates Human Rights, especially the rights of women and non-Muslims. Al-Na'im seeks a peaceful path that Human Rights which established by the United Nations gets the legitimacy of Islam, so that the implementation of the collective right to self-determination by Muslims is not contrary to the values of Human Rights that have been declared universally.

The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1548512913477258 ; We present a modeling and simulation approach that clearly increases the efficacy of training and education efforts for peace support operations. Our discussion involves how a computer simulation, the Peace Support Operations Model, is integrated into a training and education venue in Kyrgyzstan for a ''Game for Peace.'' On September 12–23, 2011 members of NATO's Partnership for Peace Training and Education Centers collaborated to instruct a United Nations' Peacekeeping Operations course at the Kyrgyz Separate Rifle Battalion in Bujum, Kyrgyzstan. Phase II of the course was also conducted on October 17–21, 2011 for members of the Peacekeeping Brigade of the Kazakhstan Army (KAZBRIG) in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Although such courses are a mainstay in NATO support in preparing member nations for peace support operations, the application of a computer simulation is unique.We relate the decision to use a computer simulation to support the training event and provide an overview of the methodology for planning and executing the game. Insights from the game about training and educating future peacekeepers and lessons for using computer simulations are instructive for future efforts and mark the way to leverage the advantages of computer simulations. Keyword

In the year 2000, 189 member countries of the United Nations committed themselves to eight goals towards the development and well-being of their nations. These goals are called Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). The fourth goal (MDG4) aims to reduce the mortality rate in children under the age of 5 years (U5MR) by two thirds between 1990 and 2015. Infants less than 1 month old account for about 40% of deaths of children under the age of 5 years globally.1 Achieving MDG4 will therefore need to include reducing deaths during the neonatal period. The goal of reducing U5MR by two thirds for neonatal deaths in South Africa meant reducing the neonatal mortality rate (NMR) from 21/1 000 live births in 1998 to 7/1 000 by 2015. In order to achieve this, all neonatal deaths need to be scrutinsed by focusing on mortality rates and pathological and health system causes of neonatal deaths. Of paramount importance, however, would be looking at interventions that could impact significantly on reducing these deaths. In this article we discuss the mortality rates in South Africa, the rest of the world and Africa, and discuss causes and interventions that can be implemented to reduce these deaths in South Africa.

The luxury-versus-necessity controversy is primarily concerned with the importance of civil and political rights vis-à-vis economic and social rights. The viewpoint of political leaders of many developing and newly industrialized countries, especially China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia is that civil and political rights are luxuries that only rich nations can afford. The United Nations, transnational civil society and the Western advanced countries oppose this viewpoint on normative and empirical grounds. While this controversy is far from over, new challenges of "evidence" and "marketization" are emerging. The first calls for a narrative on the history of civil and political rights in the West in the comparative context of the Industrial Revolution and the East Asian Miracle and China's economic growth. The effects of the recent financial crisis and insulation of China from the Arab Spring further deepen this challenge. The marketization challenge looks at this controversy from the social exclusion angle. It argues that the basic needs covered by the minimum human rights agenda are becoming luxuries in a real sense for those who do not have the power to purchase these needs from the market.

China's trade relations with Africa have displayed a striking dynamism in the past decade. The spatial distribution of these trade flows is highly uneven: Chinese imports are mainly sourced from a few resource-rich nations, while Chinese exports penetrate most African markets. Small-scale business enterprises have been crucial to the recent surge in the export of Chinese manufactured goods to Africa. The scholarship on the micro-level processes through which these commodities enter Africa has so far focused on the role of Chinese entrepreneurs. This article contributes to the existing literature by addressing the ways in which both African and Chinese actors play a part in strengthening Sino-African trade relations. Based on multi-sited fieldwork with semi-structured interviews and participant observation, it explores relationships of competition, complementarity and cooperation between Chinese and African traders. The macro-level trends in Sino-African trade are described using information extracted from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database. Given the economic and social significance of the exports from China to Africa, it is important to build a better understanding of the central role played by small-scale businesses and to recognize the role of Africans in shaping Sino-African links. Adapted from the source document.

The United Nations ("UN") adopted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ("ICCPR") in 1966 and officially implemented it in 1976 to ensure, among other guarantees, that no human is denied his or her right to equal voting, freedom of political association, due process of law, freedom of life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is among 166 nations that have signed and ratified the ICCPR. Since signing the ICCPR in 2008 and ratifying it in 2010, however, Pakistan has perpetuated state-sanctioned and violent persecution of religious minority groups such as Ahmadi Muslims, Christians, and Hindus, through anti-blasphemy legislation and voting disenfranchisement. This article examines the plight of Pakistan's religious minorities, focusing primarily on the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, in the context of the ICCPR. It demonstrates that Pakistan's Ahmadi Muslims are robbed of basic human rights in violation of the ICCPR and the imminent threats such violations pose to the international community. It concludes with an analysis of the practical steps the international community should take to remedy these threats, methods to revive religious freedom in Pakistan, and better ensure national and international security.

The world is in the midst of a food crisis. The UN Chief Mr. Ban has rightly opined that the steeply rising price of food has developed into a real global crisis. Local manifestations in the shape of food riots and political protests should not obscure the global cause of the problem. Soaring food prices have created inflationary risks not seen in years. Food prices have risen 83 per cent in the last three years, bio-fuels accounting for a 30 per cent price hike. One hundred million live are endangered and 30 million have been dragged down into poverty by bio-fuel prices. Agricultural economists say that unless and until aggressive farm reforms are initiated in developing nations, especially emerging countries, the crisis could get much worse. But the future looks food with better prospects. India may lift restrictions on wheat and rice exports. Good output of rice is expected from India, Thailand and Vietnam. Bumper wheat output from India, Australia, the US and Canada. The United Nations must take immediate action in a concerted manner. Hence, there has been an urgent need to evolve a sound and effective strategy to overcome the crisis.

International health law is a soft law which is now reaching full maturity. It has gradually taken root since the middle of the 19th century, and it represents a synthesis of several disciplines (international work law, international social law, international humanitarian law, international medical law, international environment law, ...) International health law must be linked to international economic law and particularly to international development law. Moreover, it is mostly a Third-world law, especially since the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) caters first of all to the needs and demands of the developing nations. Thus it offers both an ideological and technical aspect which is very present in the concepts of New International Health Order and of Primarian Health Cares. W.H.O. must be considered as the main organization in the field of international public health, though, an international sanitary division has been established with both world organizations (mainly the United Nations System organizations), trans-regional, regional or sub-regional organizations, all with sanitary competence, as well as many non-governmental organizations with a sanitary purpose. The standardization process (general standards and ordinary standards) of international health law is nevertheless very advanced, and make international health law a half proclamatory and half executory law.

Die meisten afrikanischen Länder laufen Gefahr, die Millennium Development Goals weit zu verfehlen. Die Vereinten Nationen fordern deshalb, die Entwicklungshilfe massiv aufzustocken, und der Afrika-Aktionsplan der G8 verspricht eine Konzentration der Hilfe auf Afrika. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellt sich zum einen die Frage, in welchem Maß die lokalen Voraussetzungen für eine produktive Verwendung der Entwicklungshilfe in den afrikanischen Empfängerländern gegeben sind. Zum anderen ist die Versicherung der Geber zu hinterfragen, dass die Hilfe für Afrika zielgerichtet an arme Empfängerländer mit guter Regierungsführung verteilt wird. In beiderlei Hinsicht klaffen zwischen Worten und Taten immer noch erhebliche Lücken. Insbesondere zeigt sich, dass die Vergabepraxis bisher kaum durch veränderte wirtschaftspolitische und institutionelle Rahmenbedingungen in den afrikanischen Empfängerländern geprägt worden ist. ; Most of Sub-Sahara Africa is likely to miss the Millennium Development Goals by a wide margin. Therefore, the United Nations have called for significantly increased development aid. The Action Plan for Africa of G8-countries promises to concentrate aid on this region. This raises the question whether the African recipient countries offer promising local conditions for increased aid to be used productively. Furthermore, it is open to question whether the distribution of aid by the donors is well targeted to poor countries with reasonable local conditions. In both respects, we find that words deviate substantially from deeds. In particular, the aid allocation by donors has hardly responded to recent changes in the institutional and economic policy conditions prevailing in African recipient countries.

In the name of progress and growth, the apparatus of development has formed a mode of global governance. This apparatus consists of development discourses and institutions and attempts to govern agriculture, pointing to the current effort underway to liberalize agriculture on a global scale. Farmers of the developing world are now subject to a regime of control that includes international institutions of governance, nation-state governments and multinational corporations. By examining the role of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specifically the FAO and UNESCO in the governance of agricultural practices, I focus on the implementation and management of agricultural biotechnology and genetic engineering in the farming practices of the rural peoples in the developing world. I specifically examine the extent to which the concept of expert knowledge has influenced the incorporation and development of agricultural biotechnologies into these farming practices. Based on my analysis, I illustrate how the FAD and UNESCO, through their reliance upon professional forms of expert knowledge, facilitate the global management of agricultural practices.Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2005 .G74. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, page: 1250. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2005.

▪ Abstract  This review presents a critique of the academic and welfare literature on street children in developing countries, with supporting evidence from studies of homelessness in industrialized nations. The turn of the twenty-first century has seen a sea change of perspective in studies concerning street youth. This review examines five stark criticisms of the category "street child" and of research that focuses on the identifying characteristics of a street lifestyle rather than on the children themselves and the depth or diversity of their actual experiences. Second, it relates the change of approach to a powerful human rights discourse—the legal and conceptual framework provided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child—which emphasizes children's rights as citizens and recognizes their capabilities to enact change in their own lives. Finally, this article examines literature focusing specifically on the risks to health associated with street or homeless lifestyles. Risk assessment that assigns street children to a category "at risk" should not overshadow helpful analytical approaches focusing on children's resiliency and long-term career life prospects. This review thus highlights some of the challenging academic and practical questions that have been raised regarding current understandings of street children.

Malaysia's impact on World Politics Exceeds the usual level of inf luence expected of a small state in an international system. It has exercised a leadership role in the Commonwealth, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Non-aligned Movement and South-South Cooperation, and has tried to modify the agenda of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation through the East Asian Economic Caucus. In addition, Malaysia has championed selfdetermination, articulated an 'Asian' approach to the issues of human rights and democratization, and has contributed to international peace-keeping operations under the aegis of the United Nations, where it has also served as a non-permanent member of its Security Council and chaired its General Assembly. These achievements in themselves are sufficient to draw scholarly attention to Malaysia although, it must be admitted, that the arena of foreign policy itself is part of domestic politics. In this domain too, Malaysia has long been of interest to political scientists. For an ethnically divided society, Malaysia has maintained a remarkable record of political stability. This in turn had contributed to sustained development, and up till the advent in 1997 of the Asian financial crisis, Malaysia was poised to be the next newly-industrialized country in the Asia-Pacific.