Building Market Institutions in South Eastern Europe: Comparative Prospects for Investment and Private Sector Development (Directions in Development)

Book Description

Building Market Institutions in South Eastern Europe—a study of impediments to investment and private sector development in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, and Serbia and Montenegro—yields fundamentally new insights for improving the region's business environment, economic development, and prospects for growth. It focuses on four core topics:

* Business competition and economic barriers to entry and exit

* Access to regulated utilities and services

* Corporate ownership, transparency of business accounts, and access to finance

* Mechanisms for commercial dispute resolution

Each topic is empirically investigated across all eight South Eastern European countries through the systematic use of data from multiple sources:

* Official data from each country in the region

* Results from two annual rounds of quantitative, firm-level surveys covering 1,600 firms

* Results from 40 originally developed enterprise-level business case studies

The result is an innovative analysis of cross-country comparisons and the development of key policy challenges from a regional perspective.

Building Market Institutions in South Eastern Europe, a collaborative effort between the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, offers important practical insights for all policymakers and observers concerned with the future of South Eastern Europe. It makes concrete recommendations for reforms that would ease the constraints on domestic and foreign investment, an essential step in sustaining growth and reducing poverty in the region.

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Building Market Institutions in South Eastern Europe-a study of impediments to investment and private sector development in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, and Serbia and Montenegro-yields fundamentally new insights for improving the region's business environment, economic development, and prospects for growth. It focuses on four core topics: Business competition and economic barriers to entry and exit Access to regulated utilities and services Corporate ownership, transparency of business accounts, and access to finance Mechanisms for commercial dispute resolution Each topic is empirically investigated across all eight South Eastern European countries through the systematic use of data from multiple sources: Official data from each country in the region Results from two annual rounds of quantitative, firm-level surveys covering 1,600 firms Results from 40 originally developed enterprise-level business case studies The result is an innovative analysis of cross-country comparisons and the development of key policy challenges from a regional perspective. Building Market Institutions in South Eastern Europe, a collaborative effort between the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, offers important practical insights for all policymakers and observers concerned with the future of South Eastern Europe. It makes concrete recommendations for reforms that would ease the constraints on domestic and foreign investment, an essential step in sustaining growth and reducing poverty in the region.

Book Description

The book provides an introductory overview to all of the major policy issues in the United States related to information technology. These issues include federal funding of research that helped to create the Internet; telecommunications issues such as regulations about wireless technologies; computer security and homeland defense; governance and use of the Internet such as spam, viruses, electronic voting, taxation of online commerce, and child pornography; privacy; intellectual property issues such as copyright infringement related to peer-to-peer sharing of music and video files, or trademark infringement through the misuse of domain names (“cybersquatting”); antitrust in the software industry; uneven access to information technology in poor, rural, and minority communities (“Digital Divide”); and visas for foreign workers. Every chapter identifies the main players, the history of legislation and court cases in this area, and describes recent events.

Accessible and interesting to both policy people and technical computing people, as well as to any computer user or IT worker who wanted a general understanding of these issues.

The book will help policy people, most of whom are generalists, to understand the basic issues of IT policy. The book will also help IT professionals to understand the process by which their technology is politically controlled.

Customer Reviews:

Law vs. Law.......2006-01-28

Non-technical users of computer technology are pleased and often surprised at the incredible advances that continue to be achieved in processor speed and memory capacity, and at the ever-shrinking prices of computer systems and components. What isn't well known to the general public is that this progress is made in accordance with Moore's Law, which states that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits must double every 18 months, increasing capacity and speed while reducing manufacturing costs.

Moore's Law is driving the advance of technology at a break-neck pace, and few insiders believe that it will be repealed anytime soon. Since it was enacted in 1965, Moore's Law has been a benefit to consumers but often a headache to computer chip manufacturers, who have been arguing for its repeal. Various consortiums and lobbying groups -- with members from industry lights such as Intel, AMD, and IBM -- contend that the pace of innovation demanded by the law is too intense, requires too much research and development expenditure, and commits corporate resources that could more profitably be invested in the development of consumer electronics such as high-definition televisions, phonographs, and celebrity-themed video games.

Consumer advocates insist that Moore's Law should remain in effect so that advanced information technology will be increasingly accessible to the working class. Voices on the right decry Moore's Law as a violation of free-markets principles, insisting that the pace of innovation should be set "by the innovators themselves" (Milton Friedman).

Aspray's book balances the different sides of the issue, showing on the one hand the great benefits that the use of computer systems has provided for the average consumer -- there is one touching story of a crippled Hispanic boy's first mouse-click -- and on the other hand the great strain that is put upon the corporations and individual engineers who must continue to innovate relentlessly (it's horrific when Aspray visits the psychologist at Intel's Santa Clara counseling center and reads some of the stories -- first published here -- of depression, divorce, and suicide.)

Though Aspray makes a commendable effort to be even-handed, it is clear upon reflection that his sympathies lie with the consumers rather than the producers, noting in the book's epilogue that because of the law, the benefits of the information age will reach "even the remotest Inuit tribes and poorest Hmong families".

Anyone looking for an overview of this crucial policy issue will be well served by this volume.

Concise and Fun.......2004-10-01

I'm one of those people who knows how to use the internet and computer, yet I find myself with minimum knowledge of how information technology came to be.

Its fascinating reading the stories of monopoly of AT&T or Western Union. I'm only 25 so I wasn't born duing the time of the birth of telecommunications and computer convergence. It felt like I was reading a gossip column. Maybe that sounds demeaning. Anyway, I find this book clear cut and very informative.

When the book was shipped to my office, Iflicked through the covers and frowned as I caught glimpses of legislative "acts" which made me doubtful if I'll ever enjoy this book.

I was about to resign to simply reading news article when I decided to read the preface. Then I said "so that's why it's titled "Chasing Moore's Law."

Overall, I find my reading pleasurable. I take down notes to remember sme important details.

This is the latest book published on information technology. I'm learning immensely. cool!

Book Description

The Human Biology of Pastoral Populations draws together the current knowledge of the biology, population structure, and ecology of herding populations. It investigates how pastoral populations adapt to limited and variable food availability, the implications of the herding way of life for reproductive patterns, population structure and genetic diversity, and the impacts of ongoing social and ecological changes on the health and well-being of these populations. This volume will be of broad interest to scholars in anthropology, human biology, genetics, and demography.

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Excellent

Interactive Lecture Demonstrations, Active Learning in Introductory Physics
David R. Sokoloff , and Ronald K. Thornton
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Five Easy Lessons: Strategies for Successful Physics Teaching

ASIN: 0471487740

Book Description

Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) are designed to enhance conceptual learning in physics lectures through active engagement of students in the learning process. Students observe real physics demonstrations, make predictions about the outcomes on a prediction sheet, and collaborate with fellow students by discussing their predictions in small groups. Students then examine the results of the live demonstration (often displayed as real-time graphs using computer data acquisition tools), compare these results with their predictions, and attempt to explain the observed phenomena. ILDs are available for all of the major topics in the introductory physics course and can be used within the traditional structure of an introductory physics course. All of the printed materials needed to implement them are included in this book.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2006-02-11

Physics demonstrations serve as an incredibly useful tool to illustrate difficult concepts to beginning or elementary students. The latter group of students typically comes to the subject with prior conceptions on the motion of objects. Because they are concrete, demonstrations help to convince students that physics applies to the real world, instead of being merely a collection of equations written on a chalkboard. Physical intuition, that elusive concept that is usually thought of as a gift, can be improved by the use of demonstrations, as evidence from the literature on physics education reveals.

This book is about demonstrations but unlike other books on the subject it makes heavy use of the computer in the actual demonstrations. Called an `interactive' approach by the authors, it emphasizes an `active learning' environment. Such an environment they contrast with a `passive' one in the first section of the book. The authors attest to the utility of using interactive lecture demonstrations and give detailed discussion on the evidence that supports their contention of definite learning gains in their use. Throughout the book the reader/instructor will see clearly how the computer can be integrated into many of the standard physics demonstrations. The authors describe an `eight-step' procedure for doing interactive lecture demonstrations which is followed consistently from one demonstration to another. The pages in the book can easily removed for grading by the instructor/lecturer/professor.

This reviewer, who has left physics teaching but not physics, can attest to the power of demonstrations in the teaching of physics. Not only that they are just plain fun to do. And physics demonstrations are like gravity. They pull us down to Earth, away from the lofty clouds of the purely formal, breathing life into our equations, giving them substance and validity. Requiring only brief moments of time they serve our quest for didactic clarity. With a flip of a switch or a sleight of the hand, they induce the gasp of our audience. Then physical laws become real and unintimidating, intrenching themselves in the spectator's memory, reminding them of the power of pure thought transformed into concrete, functioning reality. They can seduce and delight, and they induce an insatiable curiosity to explore, to ask, to inquire, into that subtle but understandable entity we call Nature.

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Gran's, Beyond Eurocentrism

Gran: Subaltern studies and a new world history

Gran: Subaltern studies and a new world history

Beyond Eurocentrism: A New View of Modern World History
Peter Gran
Manufacturer: Syracuse University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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All the Pashas Men: Mehmed Ali His Army and the Making of Modern Egypt

Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World

ASIN: 0815626932

Customer Reviews:

Gran's, Beyond Eurocentrism.......1999-08-03

This book is incredible in the way that it illustrates a world that we've lived in, yet never looked at quite like this. Gran explains various countries roads to the present. This read will challenge the way that you think of the world. Highly reccommended

Gran: Subaltern studies and a new world history.......1998-11-26

Few works have successfully attempted to compare and explain world history by showing how states form and use intellectuals and notions of caste to maintain rule and hegemony. Through an original approach Gran succeeds in proposing the use of four distinctive paradigms of modern state formation, each with unique characteristics, but more importantly sharing features that show up in various states. By breaking with the Eurocentric model, and the elite state centered view of history, Gran proposes that development in Russia, the "Russian Road" of development, shares characteristics of a weak middle class and a tendency to alternating between liberal phases and autocratic rule in its hegemony of rule. The Russian Road of state formation and hegemony shares characteristics with similar modern state formations in Iraq, Turkey and other states.

Italy, on the other hand, provides an example of "Italian Road" formations with its inherent contradictions of regional conflict, a weakly integrated and 'underdeveloped' rural Southern population, which the North can only reach out to by appealing to the traditional Southern intellectuals, clergy and landowning interests. Italy shares characteristics with modern state formation in India and Mexico which experience a similar problem of regional struggle and contradictions. Gran proposes two other major paradigms of modern state formation: the tribal ethnic state, of which he analyzes Zaire and Albania as notable examples, and the bourgeois democratic state, of which his analysis of the United States and Britain are especially insightful for his treatment of the notion of race as caste in these states. Gran expands on the sociology and interpretive framework provided by Antonio Gramsci and draws on comparative analyses of Stuart Hall for Britain, or Partha Chaterjee for India, Eugene Genovese for the problem of the South in U.S. History. Gran's originality is as thought provoking as his methodology which offers challenging essays for each region and paradigm, by analyzing its historiography and the organization of culture as a component of hegemony. This book offers some examples of struggles of subaltern groups and non elites in the making of their own history.

Yet, more work could be done on aspects of counterhegemonic struggle by subaltern groups, and as Gran alludes, the analysis of those states which combine features of several types of his paradigms. As Gran suggests, for example, Egypt offers features of the Italian Road in its internal regional conflicts and the pitted struggles of traditional intellectuals with the modern state, but also displays features of the Russian Road in some state policies.

Spain for example offers contradictions seen in the Italian Road, the clash of traditional intellectuals, and the conservative Catholics, and Catholic Reform, Opus Dei, in contrast with the the needs of the modern organic intellectuals and the problems of regional absorption and struggles. In Spain, the features of regional autonomy offers parallels with the Russian Road problematic of breakaway ethnic struggles, and language and education policy, the Basques and the Catalans, for example. Other combined models may be further analyzed in Japan or Latin American states for example. This is a work that provokes thought. It offers a watershed of ideas that is topical and disturbingly shakes our consciousness of regions that have evaded analysis, as in Albania and Zaire. His essays on the limits of Russian and other states centered historiography is especially insightful.

Technically, this book needed a copy editor, and reads at times as a rushed proof. But these technical flaws do not detract from the merits of this work as an interpretive framework for contemporary history. Beyond Eurocentrism may be used as a manual of how to begin the analysis of our times and the struggles of ordinary people in different regions and states.

Gran: Subaltern studies and a new world history.......1998-11-12

Book Description

A study of the role of rhetoric in the exercise of leadership within a community of faith.

This book examines the rhetorical strategies employed by Alexander Campbell, a key figure in the “Stone-Campbell” or Restoration movement, which eventually comprised one of the largest religious sects in 19th century America and gave rise to three major contemporary church groups: The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Churches of Christ, and the independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. Campbell was the dominant voice in this movement for four decades.

Peter Verkruyse studies Campbell’s sermons, lectures, debates, letters, and journals to discover the extent to which Campbell’s leadership depended upon his discursive practices. Through close readings, Verkruyse finds that a significant reason for the breadth and duration of Campbell’s influence was his keen sense of the demands of rhetorical situations. As his movement evolved over time, Campbell faced radically different rhetorical circumstances, and his ability to adapt his rhetoric to the exigencies and constraints of these situations generated for him an evolving leadership ethos--first as prophet, then as pastor, and finally as patriarch.

Fundamentally a study of religious rhetoric as a tool of leadership, this work also makes an important contribution to the canon of 19th century American religious history.

Peter A. Verkruyse is Associate Professor of Communication at Illinois College and author of The College Press NIV Commentary: Hebrews.

Customer Reviews:

Written for specialists, but makes a good argument.......2006-04-30

This book's use of the technical terminology and classical and contemporary scholarship of the science of rhetoric might intimidate some readers. However, the author presents a well thought-out argument for the consistency of thought of an historic religious leader, one who has by no means always been regarded as consistent even among the various branches of his own followers. A good addition to the literature of the Stone-Campbell Movement.

Prophet, Pastor, and Patriarch: The Rhetorical Leadership of Alexander Campbell.(Book review): An article from: Church History

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Prophet, Pastor, and Patriarch: The Rhetorical Leadership of Alexander Campbell.(Book review): An article from: Church History
Kathleen Flake
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Church History, published by Thomson Gale on December 1, 2006. The length of the article is 910 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Prophet, Pastor, and Patriarch: The Rhetorical Leadership of Alexander Campbell.(Book review)
Author: Kathleen Flake
Publication: Church History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 75 Issue: 4 Page: 934(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

If you found a watch, as William Paley asked nearly two centuries ago, would you think that it came into existence by chance or that there was a watchmaker? Likewise, Neil Broom asks, was the universe created by the blind forces of physics and chemistry, or is there evidence in nature of a designing mind?While prominent scientists in recent years have suggested that the watchmaker is indeed blind, Broom, a biomechanics scientist, sees much more than their naturalistic blinders allow them to perceive. His book How Blind Is the Watchmaker? boldly challenges the scientific establishment's commitment to what he labels as "the flimsily crafted but persuasively packaged myth of scientific materialism."Broom reveals how naturalistic science is guilty of attempting to reduce all explanations to the molecular level, even when higher nonmaterial levels of explanation are clearly required to describe the behavior of many systems. Likewise he shows why there is little chance that science can define life in a way that seamlessly connects it to the inanimate world. Broom also uncovers the rarely discussed or acknowledged assumptions that raise serious questions about the limits of a purely naturalistic approach to the problem of life's genesis. In a clear and readable style, he considers the recent research about the origin of life and the function of RNA, DNA and proteins. Further, he exposes how scientists often attribute "personal" characteristics to inanimate molecules. And he shows why postulating billions of years for various natural processes does not adequately explain inadequacies in evolutionary scenarios.This thought-provoking book (a thoroughly revised and updated edition of the volume originally published by Ashgate) points beyond the poverty of many scientific pronouncements and builds a robust case for viewing the true splendor of our living world.

Customer Reviews:

Very Sad.... :o(.......2004-05-24

This book's arguments are completely dishonest and misleading. Dembski is playing up to the ignorant gullibility of creationists. He bases his writing on a complete lack of understanding of the theory of evolution that is horribly tainted by blatantly unjustifiable faith in mythical creation. Evolution is upheld by EVIDENCE, which is something creationism does not have. As with ALL scientific theories there can be disagreements and discussion and changes as evidence, technology and science themselves evolve. Even if some grand discovery somehow proved evolution to be incorrect it does not mean that creationism would become true by default.
Creationism is not based on any kind of science. It is the distortion of truth to make it fit within the bounds of biblical myth. Life does not evolve with a goal in mind as Demski would have us believe. There is no end product or a aim toward perfection. Evolution does not even guarantee that a later form will be "better" than a previous form. It makes changes for the current environment. Environments like everything in the universe changes, evolves. Even christianity and its views of god, jesus, right and wrong evolve. Why do you suggest that is? Does god change his mind? That would be ridiculous. It is more probable that a god like the one described in the bible with such enormous contradictions does not exist.
It is very unfortunate that christians who claim to uphold the truth are so willing to ignore facts and fabricate their own form of "science" in order to propogate lies. The bible is NOT a science book. It is not even a history book. It is a book of myths. Man made fairy tales. The supporters of creationism wish to return us to the Dark Ages where all facts are derived from the bible and all who disagree are tortured and burned to death by the church. It is very sad that more christians do not see that they are decieved, partly by themselves for allowing it but more by christian leaders. Christian leaders generate fear by suggesting that doubt in the bible translates into a fatal lack of faith that will be paid for by being sent to hell for eternity by their everloving creator. So much for unconditional love.

I didn't read the book yet.......2003-09-05

To Fairfax.
1. I doubt you read the book.
2. Instead of fundamentally denying all merit why not provide simple examples that refute the claims, so idiots like me can understand why evolution seems to be so adept at selecting and expanding on "good" mutations, while intuitively we would expect to see mostly "bad" mutations.

Working in the computer world, which I would guess is far different from the natural world, the Dembski arguments about information theory and information improvement vs. atrophy make sense. Show me mathmatically why he is wrong or at least point me in the direction.

I love your argument about "It's all baseless. If you don't believe us just ask us." Never was such a circular argument so useless. By the same reasoning Hitler was not a threat to world peace in 1939 because you could have asked a majority of people, especially in the US and they would have told you not to confront him.

I may buy the book just on your non-recommendation.

A sad day.......2003-08-04

I feel sad for those people who actually think this book contains factual information. Behe and Dempski, both ID advocates were thoroughly trounced years ago.

If anyone is thinking about reading this book-please don't, you'll only be wasting your time and money on pseudoscientific garbage. I mean, you wouldn't read a book about a flat earth-would you?

If you doubt this post, do yourself a favor and see how many scientifically peer-reviewed journals there are out there that endorse Intelligent Design.

You'll realize there aren't any and you'll have to come to one of two conclusions:

A. That's because ID is firmly in the realm of pseudoscience and belongs there with it's cohorts (Holocaust denial, geocentricism, aliens abducting people, fairies, etc).

B. There's a massive, impossible, conspiracy out there to supress these journals.

If you subscribe to option B., you'll probably also think that mankind never visited the moon, that JFK was killed by sasquatch, and God knows what else.

The quality of the arguments is not consistent.......2002-04-21

"How Blind is the Watchmaker?" is an attempt to show the intricate complexity of design in nature, and expose the weaknesses of the naturalistic Neo-Darwinian paradigm. Unfortunately, the arguments vary in their consistency and ability to convince. I agree with the editorial review that the strongest portion of the book is in the sections overviewing the investigation of the origin of life, and that in other places Broom is prone to caricature the beliefs of Darwinists. There is a lot of interesting information presented in the book, and Broom does a good job of explaining the complexity of life, however, his arguments tend to have some holes in them. I did expect more of a response to Richard Dawkin's book "The Blind Watchmaker," but he did do a good, brief job of deconstructing several of Dawkin's analogies and simulations of evolution. There are better reads available on the same topics of intelligent design and evolution, that are better thought-out and more convincing. To name a few: "Darwin's God: Evolution and the Problem of Evil," "Wedge of Truth," and for a rigorous analysis of origins of life research, "The Mystery of Life's Origin." If you do decide to read "How Blind is the Watchmaker?", you can glean some good information, while stepping around the weaker argumentation.

Proper Perspective.......2002-04-04

The Australian professor, previously unknown to me, has presented what appealed to me as a fresh perspective on the Watchmaker. It is the author's hope to attract readers to another pathway than "the arid desert of naturalism." The book challenged my own thinking.

HOW BLIND IS THE WATCHMAKER NATURE'S DESIGN & THE LIMITS OF NATURALISTIC SCIENCE

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HOW BLIND IS THE WATCHMAKER NATURE'S DESIGN & THE LIMITS OF NATURALISTIC SCIENCE
Neil Broom
Manufacturer: InterVarsity Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000J1PYZ6

How Blind Is the Watchmaker: Theism or Atheism: Should Science Decide (Avebury Series in Philosophy)

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How Blind Is the Watchmaker: Theism or Atheism: Should Science Decide (Avebury Series in Philosophy)
Neil Broom
Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 184014517X

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