Globalisation, Liberalisation, and Equitable Growth: Lessons from Contemporary Asian Experience

Since the beginning of the 1980s the less developed countries (LDCs) have been getting integrated with the global economy at a rapidly accelerating rate. The impetus for the process came from the need to make adjustment in the unsustainable imbalance in the external account that most of these countries experienced in the aftermath of the oil shocks of the 1970s and the declining demand for their exports due to the recession in the OECD countries during the 1980s. Many of these countries had to subject themselves to structural adjustment programmes at the behest of the multilateral donor agencies, led by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, who emphasised the urgency of reforming the protectionist trade regimes of these countries. Simultaneously, these countries came to realise the inefficiency of resource use fostered by their past strategy of import-substituting industrialisation (ISI) characterised by a trade and investment regime that enshrined overvalued exchange rates, quantitative import controls, high and non-uniform rates of effective protection, discrimination against export and strong impediments to foreign direct investment. The reform programme that these countries gradually implemented during the 1980s and the early 1990s dismantled many of the components of the ISI strategy. The extent of dependence on quantitative import controls was sharply curtailed. The exchange rate came to be increasingly determined by market forces. The rates of tariff were brought down. The discrimination against exports, relative to import substitutes, was reduced. There was also a sharp reduction in restrictions to which foreign direct investment had been subjected in the past.

Prediction distribution for linear regression model with multivariate Student-t errors under the Bayesian approach

[Abstract]: Prediction distribution is a basis for predictive inferences applied in many real world situations. It is a distribution of the unobserved future response(s) conditional on a set of realized responses from an informative experiment. Various statistical approaches can be used to obtain prediction distributions for different models. This study derives the prediction distribution(s) for multiple linear regression model using the Bayesian method when the error components of both the performed and future models have a multivariate Student-t distribution. The study observes that the prediction distribution(s) of future response(s) has a multivariate Student-t distribution whose degrees of freedom depends on the size of the realized sample and the dimension of the regression parameters’ vector but does not depend on the degrees of freedom of the errors distribution

Spin waves at itinerant electron magnets

Imperial Users onl

The Forms and Ecologies of Islamist militancy and terrorism in Bangladesh

Islamist militancy and terrorism, a major sociopolitical issue of Bangladesh today, has largely remained under-researched. This paper mainly explores the forms and ecologies of Islamist militancy and terrorism based on the content analysis of media reports and interviews with some experts in Bangladesh. Ecologies, in this paper, refer to the multiple interrelated and interdependent environments: social, political, and religious, that foster, germinate and nurture the growth of militancy and terrorism.  Despite Bangladesh being globally identified as a moderate Muslim country located in South Asia, Islamist radicalization, extremism and militancy have become a major concern since the incidence of nationwide serial bomb blasts in 2005. Although an estimation of the group operatives may not be possible because these groups change names or members change groups from time to time, the presence of seventy Islamist militant outfits with thousands of militant members was identified during 1999-2010. Islamist militants carried out over 203 attacks killing 164 innocent people and injuring more than 2,658 people in this period. Using bomb explosions, these attacks targeted political parties, cultural groups, intellectuals, diplomats, movie theatres, NGO offices, and minority religious institutions. In response to these attacks, the government has adopted mostly a law-enforcement centric approach, but this study suggests a comprehensive strategy balancing enforcement, intervention and prevention urgently needed for de-radicalization and counterterrorism in Bangladesh --- the 8th most populous country and the 3rd largest Muslim country of the world. Although foreign journalistic and intelligence-based reports have argued that Islamist militants have links with madrassas (Islamic seminary institutions), this system has actually been in vogue for many years in the country. Research suggests that unemployment problems, poverty, illiteracy, and ignorance about religious matters among the youths are the common drivers for Islamist militancy in Bangladesh. An unfocused national educational policy on madrassas, the narrow and dated madrassa curriculum, and frustrations felt by madrassa graduates who cannot find jobs are likely to instigate the madrassa students to get involved in militancy. Political, educational, and religious interventions are must for countering radicalization effectively. Improving education policy and creating employment opportunities for the unemployed youth can begin to address the problem of Islamist militancy and terrorism in Bangladesh

A critique of contemporary Islamist political philosophy with specific regard to the concept of Islamic state

Bibliography: leaves 82-86.The Islamist/fundamentalist movements of the twentieth century, such as the Jama' ate Islami of Pakistan, the Ikhwan al Muslimin of Egypt, and the FIS of Algeria, have committed themselves to the ideal of attaining an 'Islamic state'. In their quest for the realization of this objective, they envisage a total mobilization of Muslim societies in accordance with "the Islamic shari'a law" under a universal state. The main architects of this ideal of Islamic state in recent times have been Sayyid Abu al-A'la Mawdudi and Sayyid Qutb. This thesis is an attempt to appraise these Islamist theories of statehood and governance in the light of traditional juristic theories of governance as well as modern and postmodern forms of democratic political formations. In this thesis I assert that the contemporary Islamist political blueprint, like traditional Muslim political philosophy is geared towards the establishment of Gemeinschaft (community) in the traditional sense, and not Gesellschaft (society/state) in the modern sense. State in the modern sense is to be understood as a complex form of social organization and public power that has authority independent from any particular office holder such as a king. The modern state is an association between the members of a society which assumes supreme authority to make and enforce laws that regulate social arrangements and social relationships. It encompasses various diverse groups, a multiplicity of religious communities, and largely disparate interests, under certain broad common goals. It is also a contention of this thesis that while Islamist political ideology condemns and challenges modernity and its modem forms of political and social organization, it has itself acquired very 'modern' traits of power, control, and statehood. It is further asserted that the juristic model of state, upon which the Islamist worldview is selectively based, is incapable of functioning as a power polity in the world of territorial states

Teaching language through literature: George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant’ in the EFL classroom

This article intends to show how an English language teaching material can be developed using a literary text. It is a qualitative study, and I have used the content analysis method. Here the first and the second paragraphs of the essay, “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, are explored for bringing out potential linguistic features to be taught to undergraduate level students who learn English as a foreign language (hereafter, EFL). All the four basic skills of English language are emphasized in this teaching material. Different items like comprehension questions, guessing the meaning from the context, identification of phrases and identification of ironic expressions are set to develop and test students’ comprehension level. Items, like breaking up long sentences into smaller ones, changing sentences, rewriting sentences and writing paragraphs, are designed to develop the writing skill of the students. Similarly, items for developing listening and speaking skills of the learners are also retained in this material. It is shown that an essay can also be a potential source for developing language teaching material only if the selection is properly made. Further studies may test the effectiveness of the material for teaching both basic language skills and language areas

Globalisation, Liberalisation, and Equitable Growth: Lessons from Contemporary Asian Experience

Since the beginning of the 1980s the less developed countries (LDCs) have been getting integrated with the global economy at a rapidly accelerating rate. The impetus for the process came from the need to make adjustment in the unsustainable imbalance in the external account that most of these countries experienced in the aftermath of the oil shocks of the 1970s and the declining demand for their exports due to the recession in the OECD countries during the 1980s. Many of these countries had to subject themselves to structural adjustment programmes at the behest of the multilateral donor agencies, led by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, who emphasised the urgency of reforming the protectionist trade regimes of these countries. Simultaneously, these countries came to realise the inefficiency of resource use fostered by their past strategy of import-substituting industrialisation (ISI) characterised by a trade and investment regime that enshrined overvalued exchange rates, quantitative import controls, high and non-uniform rates of effective protection, discrimination against export and strong impediments to foreign direct investment

Plastic Antibodies for the detection of Bacterial Proteins and Microorganisms

El diagnosi de moltes malalties és de vital importància per proporcionar el tractament adequat i per tant per controlar les necessitats de salut públiques. Els mètodes estàndard que es fan servir per confirmar la presència de microorganismes consisteixen típicament en l’ús de mètodes de cultiu específics per multiplicar, separar, identificar i comptar les bactèries. La durada d’aquests processos depèn del microorganisme en concret, però en molts casos un resultat confirmatori pot tardar entre uns pocs dies o inclús vàries setmanes. Un dels principals objectius en aquesta àrea és la detecció ràpida de microorganismes, d’una forma acurada i barata. Els polímers d’impremta molecular (PIMs) ofereixen una alternativa robusta i econòmica als anticossos naturals, però encara es requereix el seu desenvolupament pel reconeixement de molècules de gran mida. En aquesta tesi presentem diferents polímers d’impremta molecular amb l’objectiu de desenvolupar una nova aproximació per detectar proteïnes de la superfície de bactèries i microorganismes, aproximació basada en anticossos artificials utilitzats en la construcció de dispositius portàtils i econòmics. Aquests objectius generals s’assoleixen implementant una sèrie d’objectius específics: i. desenvolupament d’un camí simple per la construcció d’anticossos artificials utilitzant processos d’impremta molecular, ii. aplicació d’impedimetria, voltametria d’ona quadrada i potenciometria com a tècniques de detecció conjuntament amb una capa sensora formada per polímers d’impremta molecular, iii. ús d’elèctrodes comercials i de fabricació casolana per la detecció electroquímica en la cerca de dispositius portables i d’un sol ús, iv. impressió molecular i detecció de proteïnes de superfície de bactèries i/o microorganismes.La diagnosis de muchas enfermedades es de vital importancia para proporcionar el tratamiento adecuado y por lo tanto para el control de las necesidades de salud públicas. Los métodos estándar utilizados en la confirmación de la presencia de microorganismos consisten típicamente en el uso de métodos de cultivo específicos para multiplicar, separar, identificar y contar las bacterias. La durada de estos procesos depende del microorganismo en concreto, pero en muchos casos se necesitan entre pocos días o incluso varias semanas para tener una confirmación del resultado. Uno de los principales objetivos en esta área es la detección rápida de microorganismos, de una forma fiable y barata. Los polímeros de impronta molecular (PIMs) ofrecen una alternativa robusta y económica a los anticuerpos naturales, pero aún se requiere su desarrollo para el reconocimiento de moléculas de elevado tamaño. En esta tesis presentamos diferentes polímeros de impronta molecular con el objetivo de desarrollar una nueva aplicación para detectar proteínas de la superficie de bacterias y microorganismos, aproximación basada en anticuerpos artificiales utilizados en la construcción de dispositivos portátiles y económicos. Estos objetivos generales se consiguen implementando una serie de objetivos específicos: i. desarrollo de un camino simple para la construcción de anticuerpos artificiales utilizando procesos de impronta molecular, ii. aplicación de impedimetría, voltamperometría de onda cuadrada y potenciometría como técnicas de detección conjuntamente con una capa sensora formada por polímeros de impronta molecular, iii. uso de electrodos comerciales y de fabricación casera para la detección electroquímica en la búsqueda de dispositivos portátiles y de un solo uso, iv. impresión molecular y detección de proteínas de superficie de bacterias y/o microorganismos.The diagnosis of most illnesses is of vital importance for providing the appropriate cure and hence controlling public health concerns. The standard methods that are used to confirm the presence of microorganisms typically consist of specific enrichment media to multiply, separate, identify and count bacterial cells. The duration of the process depends on the microorganism, but in most cases a confirmatory result can take from a few days to even weeks. One of the major objectives in this area is to detect microorganisms quickly, accurately and cheaply. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) offer in principle a robust, cost-efficient alternative to natural antibodies, but it is still a challenge to develop such materials for large molecule recognition. In this thesis we present a variety of molecular imprinting approaches with an aim to develop a new approach for detecting bacterial surface proteins and microorganisms based on artificial antibodies for the construction of label-free and cost-effective portable devices. These general objectives are achieved by implementing a series of specific objectives: i. development of an easy pathway to make artificial antibodies by molecular imprinting process, ii. application of impedimetry, square wave voltammetry and potentiometry as detection techniques using molecularly imprinting polymers as the sensing layer, iii. use of homemade and commercially available screen-printed electrodes for the electrochemical detection of targets in the search for disposable and portable devices iv. electrochemical imprinting and detection of bacterial surface proteins and/or microorganisms

Carbocationic cyclisations and rearrangements in the damascone series

A regio- and stereoselective synthesis of the tertiary chloride 7 is described, involving the Lewis acid catalysed addition of the allyl chloride 6 to isobutene as a key step. Acid catalysed cyclisation of 7 yields the damasconoid compounds 12–15