THE 1997-98 PACIFIC ASIAN CRISIS HAVE LEFT MOST ESTABLISHED INTERPRETATIONS OF THE REGION'S LONG-TERM GROWTH IN SERIOUS DISARRAY. THIS PAPER BEGINS THE TASK OF REINTERPRETING PACIFIC ASIAN ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH, IN PARTICULAR, AN EXAMINATION OF THE THAI EXPERIENCE. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE THAI SITUATION HAS WIDER APPLICATION IN SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND PACIFIC ASIAN GROWTH IN GENERAL AND THE 1997-98 CRISIS IN PARTICULAR. THIS LEADS TO A QUESTIONING OF THE IMF NEOLIBERAL-BASED INTERPRETATIONS OF PACIFIC ASIAN GROWTH AND THE PRESCRIPTIONS FOR DEALING WITH THE CRISIS.
In the writing of the German Reformation, there has long been a strong association between urban history and the evangelical movement. The sentiment has been around since the days of Leopold von Ranke (1795–1886), but it was the publication of Bernd Moeller's Imperial Cities and the Reformation (1962) that turned the rather casual notion into a research paradigm. Moeller imagined the Reformation in terms of the medieval cityscape. "It is important to recognize," he wrote, "that the Reformation was introduced almost everywhere according to the forms prescribed by the city constitution, and that it had its foundation in the city's communal mentality." Constitutionally, there was a clear filiation of development to account for the later Protestant church. Throughout the medieval period urban communes had been securing rights and privileges extending the claims and functions of local sovereignty, from the regulation of the immediate economy, the control of taxation, and the administration of lesser jurisdiction, to the guardianship of parish religion. In a similar manner, when Moeller spoke of the collective mentality of the German city, he did so in order to draw attention to the norms and values of urban governance and the similar reserve of norms preached in early evangelical theology. In its origins, the Imperial city was characterized as a political association, bound by oath, joined by common will, created in order to preserve the peace. The urban values underwriting this myth of community were those that placed collective welfare above the interests of the individual—concord, unity, justice, love, peace, and the common good (Gemeinnutz). Further legitimation of the communal ideal was provided by the medieval affinity to imagine the city in terms of a sacral corporation (corpus Christianum), with the religious standing of each member of the union bearing upon collective salvation. Little separates this cast of mind from evangelical theology and its stress on brotherly love, peace, and the community of believers. God's Word, to use the phrasing of the town clerk of Nördlingen, heals the divisions of the commune as it heals the divisions of the soul.
There is considerable concern amongst development planners at the large and apparently growing areal disparities in the level of development in many underdeveloped countries. A number of theoretical studies support the view that economic growth inevitably results in widening disparities in the initial stages of economic development which may or may not be reversed with later growth. Empirical studies, although frequently lacking in comparability and deficient in data, confirm the existence of widening disparities in a large number of countries. Some planners have questioned the policy of maximising growth of gross product as the panacea for under-development and attempted to ensure more even patterns of development. Where economic and political unrest, including "insurgent activity", have occurred, and have been equated by government officials with regional concentrations of poverty, further weight is given to policies directed towards reduction of regional disparities. However, where the results of schemes aimed at reducing regional imbalance have been assessed the success rate is slight. This paper examines the experience of Northeast Thailand, the Korat plateau, as an example of a backward region that has had considerable planning effort directed at it over the last twenty years.
While repressive laws and policies in relation to sex work have the potential to undermine HIV prevention efforts, empirical research on their interface has been lacking. In 2008, Cambodia introduced anti-trafficking legislation ostensibly designed to suppress human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Based on empirical research with female sex workers, this article examines the impact of the new law on vulnerability to HIV and other adverse health outcomes. Following the introduction of the law, sex workers reported being displaced to streets and guesthouses, impacting their ability to negotiate safe sex and increasing exposure to violence. Disruption of peer networks and associated mobility also reduced access to outreach, condoms, and health care. Our results are consistent with a growing body of research which associates the violation of sex workers' human rights with adverse public health outcomes. Despite the successes of the last decade, Cambodia's AIDS epidemic remains volatile and the current legal environment has the potential to undermine prevention efforts by promoting stigma and discrimination, impeding prevention uptake and coverage, and increasing infections. Legal and policy responses which seek to protect the rights of the sexually exploited should not infringe the right to health of sex workers. ; NIH grants: U01AI0154241, 1R21 DA025441, and 1R01NR010995 and additional funding from a Faculty Initiative grant from the Pacific Rim Research Program of the University of California. Lisa Maher is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Research Fellowship
The role of clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) in interstitial lung disease (ILD) is evolving in response to clinical guidelines and the growth of clinical research. The role is well established in the UK, although more ILD posts are needed to ensure supply meets clinical demand. This phenomenon is also happening across Europe. An appreciation of the similarities and differences between CNS and advanced nurse practitioners is important given the challenges in defining, developing and supporting this nursing specialisation. Globally, different models exist. In some countries charitable organisations take a leading role in supporting patients. Many European centres look to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines and quality standards as a template to develop and evaluate the role of the ILD CNS. We present a UK perspective in the context of a government subsidised healthcare system to promote professional discussion and debate regarding the future of nursing practice in the ILD specialty.
