From Wealth to Well-being and Finally Nibbana: A Bridge from Traditional to Buddhist Economics

The idea of economic growth measured by GDP has long been the development objective of almost all nations. This idea of growth has resulted in the rapid depletion of natural resources and the deterioration of the environment. An alternative paradigm of Sustainable Development was formally proposed by the United Nations in 1987. Unfortunately, sustainable development within the framework of systems analysis, serves only as the output without a clear process and the subsequent outcome. The concept of GNH proposed by former King of Bhutan in the 1970’s and made known to the world also in 1987, could be used to serve as the outcome of sustainable development. Also, among the four pillars of GNH, “good governance” in the broadest sense served as the process leading to sustainable development and its outcome, GNH. This concept serves as the bridge linking the Western concept of sustainability to the Easternconcept of “happiness” which is similar to that of “good life” or “moral life” of Aristotle during the Greek time. This concept of GNH has become increasingly popular globally within a short period of time. King Bhumibol Adulyadej of  Thailand advanced his concept of “Sufficiency Economy” in 1974. This concept complements that of the GNH as it completes the systems analysis approach to sustainable development. The concept consists of inputs, process output, outcome and impact, also within a Buddhist tradition of sukha that does not imply the word “happiness” in English. However, according to the Buddhist tradition, the ultimate sukha is the state of mind when it is completely liberated or free from all defilements. This is actually the ultimate goal of Buddhist economics, which is not widely known or clearly understood in the West. Therefore, sustainable development, GNH and Sufficiency Economy serve as the bridge for Westerners and those who claim to be Buddhists but do not clearly understand the essence of the teaching of Buddha, to gain deeper understanding of Buddhist economics that will lead the world to eternal peace

The Study of using the banded anilox roller for color matching in flexography

Color matching is an important issue in the flexographic industry today because of many problems related to it. For example, there are few standards of ink and color for spot color printing. Further, there is no standardization in the communication among anilox roller suppliers and their customers concerning the specific cell volume measurement of the anilox roller. This research focused on the study of the use of the banded anilox roller as a tool for color proofing under the assumption that a spot color printed by the flexographic process actually should be produced using a banded anilox roller as a tool for color proofing. The major questions for this study were: 1. How will the anilox cell volume and line screen per inch affect the CIE LAB total color difference (AE) ? 2. Can the same color actually be produced with a AE \u3c 2 (good match) by using the same specification of anilox roller? This research was conducted by printing a spot color with two banded anilox rollers to match the original Pantone color as close as possible and using it for the reference. The data collected from each of the bands was plotted in diagrams to see the effects of cell volume and line screen per inch on the total color difference(AE). In this experiment, two ink color strengths were used. In the second experiment, three anilox rollers were tested. The same specifications were given from the particular band of banded anilox roller derived from the first experiment to give the best color match from the first run. The second experiment was to print the same spot color using the three anilox rollers and banded anilox to deter mine which would give the closest match to the original Pantone color. Samples from each of the anilox rollers were collected and measured for their total color differences (AE) as determined relative to the sample mean of press sheets selected from the second press run of the banded anilox roller. In addition, the same banded anilox from the second press run was used to run again to confirm the result. The press sheets for each of the anilox rollers was evaluated for the degree of color matching to the press sheet printed by the banded anilox from the second press run. The study results show that there is a negative linear relationship between the cell volume (BCM) and the CIE LAB total color difference (AE), and a positive linear relationship between the line screen per inch (LPI) and the CIE LAB total color difference (AE). Ink color strength also has a significant impact on the changing of the AE value. Furthermore, the same color can be produced with AE \u3c 1 ( no difference) by using the same banded anilox roller. However, only one of the three anilox rollers from different suppliers can produce the same color with the CIE LAB total color diffference (AE) \u3c 2

FROM A RULE-BASED MODEL TO A CONSTRAINT-BASED MODEL

In the late 1950ûs, Noam Chomsky and Moris Halle broke new ground by introducingthe Generative School of Phonology. This school beleives that phonological structure echoesthe linguistic competence of the speakers of particular langauges. Speakers are able tocompute a phonetic representation for the infinite number of sentences generated by thegrammar. Generative phonology consists of five crucial components-levels of phonologicalrepresentation (underlying form and surface form), phonological rules, derivations, distinctivefeatures, and linearity. In this paper, two generative phonological models are examined. Eventhough a constraint-based model or Optimality Theory (OT) can solve the duplication problem,a rule-based model still exists for some reasons. This study does not intend to identify whichmodel is the better between the two. Rather, both models account for phonological alternationsin differnt ways.Key words : phonology, Optimality Theory, rules-based model, phonological alternations,English plural suffixe

Sharing wisdom from the East: lessons from the King’s Sufficiency Economy in Thailand

Bronwen Rees interviews Professor Apichai Puntasen about the attempts to introduce the King’s ideas of Sufficiency Economy into Thailand. The core of this philosophy is developing compassion and co-operation rather than competition

Organizing support for foreign workers in contemporary Japan

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (v. 2, leaves 460-481).Japan is a country known for its suspicion of foreigners, but Japanese citizens have established non-government organizations to support illegal foreign migrants. The problems and conditions of illegal foreign workers are rooted in Japanese government policies. The 1990 Immigration Control Law created a category of illegal foreign workers. Later, the Ministry of Health and Welfare excluded illegal foreigners from Japan's insurance system. Illegal foreign workers face challenges in dealing with employers, state officials, medical institutions, and family life. These problems range from unpaid wages and enormous medical cost to marriage/divorce registration and the forced break up of the families due to deportation. To solve these problems, Japanese engage in associative activism and institutional experimentation, which has transformed local politics in Japan. Illegal Asian workers in Japan rarely seek assistance from existing government organizations or ethnic associations. Government organizations provide mainly information and interpretation services and government officials lack the know-how to help illegal foreign workers with serious labor and immigration problems. Ethnic associations in Japan do not support their illegal compatriots. Illegal foreigners turn instead to Japanese NGOs, which have extensive experience in helping the underprivileged in Japanese society. Japanese activists, who found these NGOs, came from other social movement organizations. Christians, community workers unions organizers, women activists, labor lawyers, health workers, and civil rights activists have created separate support groups to help solve problems for illegal foreigners. Japanese activists created these groups in order to: a) acquire and accumulate knowledge on how best to help illegal foreigners; b) strengthen their bargaining power with employers and state officials; and, c) gain financial support for their activities. By working on behalf of illegal foreigners, these Japanese activists build a new community of action. Local governments have invited these activists to share their expertise and are increasingly relying on these support groups to provide public services to illegal foreigners. In some localities, local government officials have joined these groups and experimented with new institutions of governance. As a result, local governments are now breaking with national policies regarding illegal foreign workers. Japan has done quite a bit over the last two decades to open its borders and accommodate immigration. Associative activism by Japanese citizens impresses upon other industrialized societies that Japan's efforts to accommodate immigration are surprisingly humanitarian for a historically xenophobic culture.by Apichai W. Shipper.Ph.D

Screening of active antimicrobial and biological enzymes of microbial isolated from soil in Thailand

Objective: The objectives of this study were to isolate microorganisms and screen for potential antimicrobial activities from the soil. Methods: In this study, a total of 425 isolates were isolated from 100 soil samples. The preliminary screening for antimicrobial activities of these isolates was performed by modified cross-streak, agar diffusion, and modified icrodilution technique against 16 pathogenic bacteria and fungi.Results: In the anti-microbial activity, there were three isolates, namely, 277, 303, and 307 exhibited inhibitory activity against methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhimurium respectively. This study also examined the various enzymes producing from soil microorganisms including chitinase, chitosanase, amylase, cellulose, caseinase, gelatinase, esterase, and lipase production of different selective media for 24 and 48 hrs using the direct spot method. The results revealed that 28 isolates could produce various enzymes with strong activity. Most of them produced gelatinase (5.65%) and caseinase (5.18%). There were four isolates that produce broad-spectrum enzyme. In addition, the investigation of selected microorganism identification showed that they can be divided into three groups: Burkholderia spp., Pseudomonas spp., and Rhodococcus spp.Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the microorganisms from soil are capable of producing potential, antibacterial, and bioactive enzymes.Keywords: Antimicrobial activity, Extracellular enzyme, Soil microbial, Drug-resistant bacteria