Suchergebnisse

Over the past decade, the use of web-based learning has increased, as has reliance on internet-based communication tools and learning environments. On the basis of a short study at Canterbury Christ Church University, this article will look at student use of Blackboard and the potential use of Facebook in higher education. Adapted from the source document.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) recently ruled on the case brought by the US, Canada and Argentina against the moratorium imposed by the European Union (EU) on imports of genetically-modified (GM) food and crops. Although the WTO's ruling has been greeted by the complainant countries as a victory, it found in their favor on only one narrow technical procedural issue, and it rejected more substantive challenges to the EU moratorium. In this article, we analyze the WTO report and explain the issues at stake, focusing particularly on the question of why the USA chose the WTO as the forum for its challenge to the EU moratorium, and whether it was wise to do so. Has the USA achieved its aims through the trade-specific WTO, or should it have taken its challenge to the more hostile, but environment-specific forum of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety? Alternatively, should the USA have refrained from mounting an official international challenge at all?

The subject of genetically modified (GM) products has raised considerable controversy in recent years, especially in developed countries, where it has led to tension over regulatory differences between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). One aspect of this tension is its impact on developing countries, especially in Africa. The aim of this article is to explore this impact, paying particular attention to GM food aid policy and GM crop growing promotion. We use the theoretical framework of the precautionary principle (PP) to evaluate the issues involved. Our conclusion is that the EU's strong interpretation of the PP in relation to GMOs ('potential difference') currently prevails over the US's weak interpretation of the PP in relation to GMOs ('substantial equivalence') in developing countries, but that this could change as a result of non-GM crop failure and improved performance of GM crops. (The British Journal of Politics and International Relations / FUB)

The subject of genetically modified (GM) products has raised considerable controversy in recent years, especially in developed countries, where it has led to tension over regulatory differences between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). One aspect of this tension is its impact on developing countries, especially in Africa. The aim of this article is to explore this impact, paying particular attention to GM food aid policy and GM crop growing promotion. We use the theoretical framework of the precautionary principle (PP) to evaluate the issues involved. Our conclusion is that the EU's strong interpretation of the PP in relation to GMOs ('potential difference') currently prevails over the US's weak interpretation of the PP in relation to GMOs ('substantial equivalence') in developing countries, but that this could change as a result of non-GM crop failure and improved performance of GM crops.

This book builds a bridge between current research in space policy and contemporary European political studies by addressing developments in European space policy and its significance for European integration. It answers questions central to European studies applying them to the burgeoning field of EU space policy and takes an interdisciplinary approach, examining space policy in the light of a range of policy areas including common foreign security policy, technology policy, transport policy and internal market. Using a theoretical framework based around notions of neo-institutionalism to evaluate the evolving nature of space policy in Europe, the book provides clear insights into the development of the sector and the resulting developments made to the European political landscape. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of Space policy, EU studies/politics, European Studies/Politics, International Relations, Political Science, History Economics and Security Studies.

Little research has been conducted into the role of moratoria in international politics despite their importance in many areas of policy-making. This article investigates that role by a comparative analysis of two of the most prominent moratoria in recent years: the moratorium on genetically modified (GM) products imposed by the European Union (EU) in 1999; and the moratorium on commercial whaling imposed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1982. The main finding of the study is that while the formal role of these moratoria was to postpone making a substantive decision until further scientific research had been carried out, in practice they served very different political purposes: the EU GM moratorium dampened down political heat while the EU was under pressure from member states regarding environmental issues and from the US regarding trade issues; whereas the IWC moratorium was a moral denunciation of killing whales. The wider implication of the analysis is that moratoria are complex phenomena, varied in their functions and effects, and they deserve to be studied more seriously. Adapted from the source document.