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The Philippines is highly vulnerable to weather-related and other natural disasters given its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Its disaster organization, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council or NDRRMC, however, has limited capacity, as demonstrated in its handling of natural disasters in the last 20 years. In this paper, we adopt a comparative approach and compare the NDRRMC with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and South Korea's Disaster and Safety Management (DSM) in terms of mandate, organizational structure, resources, and technical capacity to identify possible areas requiring reform. We observe that the NDRRMC's working group structure, policy making, coordination, integration, supervision, monitoring and evaluation mandate, lack of strong leadership structure, and limited resources and capacities hinder it from providing a swift and effective response. This warrants a revisiting of policies and benchmarking on other disaster organizations like the U.S. FEMA and South Korea's DSM. Our findings lead us to recommend that the Philippines consider establishing a separate Department of Disaster Resilience equipped with the mandate, authority, leadership structure, resources, and technical capability to effectively prepare and respond to disasters instead of simply expanding the authority of the NDRRMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THIS PAPER EXAMINES AL-SHABAAB AND BOKO HARAM ACTIVITIES IN KENYA AND NIGERIA. IT EXAMINES THE CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN EXPRESSED RHETORIC; CAUSAL FACTORS OF VIOLENT ACTIVITIES AND THE MODES OF OPERATION OF THE TWO MOST DREADED ARMED GROUPS IN AFRICA. RELYING ON PRIMARY, SECONDARY DATA AND CONTENT ANALYSIS OF RELEVANT LITERATURE, THE OPINIONS AND FINDINGS FROM SECURITY DEPARTMENTS, IDPS, AND INFORMATION ON THE DATELINE OF ATTACKS IN NIGERIA AND KENYA HELPS IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW BOKO HARAM AND AL-SHABAAB CARRY OUT THEIR ACTIVITIES. ALSO, THEIR OBJECTIVES AND TARGET, ARMS AND WEAPONS USED AND OTHER OPERATIONAL MODES PROVIDE THE BASE FOR COMPARISON. THE COMPARATIVE METHOD IS ADOPTED TO SHOW THAT AL-SHABAAB AND BOKO HARAM ARE SIMILAR IN THEIR MODES OF OPERATION IN SOME ASPECTS AND ARE DIFFERENT IN OTHERS. THE TWO GROUPS COMBINE ELEMENTS OF LIBERATION MOVEMENTS, INSURGENT MOVEMENT, SEPARATIST AND ISLAMIST MOVEMENTS. THEY ALSO HAVE ELEMENTS OF MILITIA, ARMED GROUPS AND REBEL MOVEMENT. AND, FUNDAMENTALLY, AL-SHABAAB AND BOKO HARAM ADOPTS TERRORISM STRATEGIES AND TACTICS COUPLED WITH CONVENTIONAL MILITARY TYPE OPERATIONS BUT BOKO HARAM HAVE BEEN MORE LETHAL IN ADOPTING MILITARY STRATEGIES AND TACTICS SUCH AS GROUND BATTLE AND DIRECT ASSAULT AGAINST THE STATE MILITARY THAN AL-SHABAAB IN KENYA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World is the property of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Film Studies is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The presence of persistent regional development disparities in rural China has become one of the most important concerns about the country's further sustainable development. As the key engine driving the rural economy, rural industrial development plays a dominant role in understanding rural regional development disparities. This study utilizes a provincial panel dataset to examine the determinants of industrial development in rural China over the period 1992–2014. The analysis compares rural output growth and export growth as indicators of rural industrial development, and identifies significant regional variations in the determinants of these indicators across the three main regions of the country. The results suggest that domestic capital investment is the most important cause of regional rural output growth disparities, while FDI is the main reason for rising regional disparities in export growth. A strong self-reinforcing effect in output growth is identified for the Eastern region, which has generated faster economic growth compared to the other regions. There exists a regional divergence in export growth, accelerating the regional export disparity between the three regions. Based on the findings of this study, we argue that, to reduce regional development disparities, the formulation of policies to promote national economic goals should take explicit account of the regional context in which those policies operate. • The study examines the determinants of rural regional development disparities. • Variations in the determinants exist between output and export growth across the three main regions. • Domestic capital investment is the most important cause of regional rural output growth disparities. • FDI is the main reason for rising regional disparities in export growth. • The formulation of policies should take explicit account of the regional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Linguística: Revista de Estudos Linguísticos da Universidade do Porto is the property of Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Letras and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

THIS PAPER EXAMINES AL-SHABAAB AND BOKO HARAM ACTIVITIES IN KENYA AND NIGERIA. IT EXAMINES THE CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN EXPRESSED RHETORIC; CAUSAL FACTORS OF VIOLENT ACTIVITIES AND THE MODES OF OPERATION OF THE TWO MOST DREADED ARMED GROUPS IN AFRICA. RELYING ON PRIMARY, SECONDARY DATA AND CONTENT ANALYSIS OF RELEVANT LITERATURE, THE OPINIONS AND FINDINGS FROM SECURITY DEPARTMENTS, IDPS, AND INFORMATION ON THE DATELINE OF ATTACKS IN NIGERIA AND KENYA HELPS IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW BOKO HARAM AND AL-SHABAAB CARRY OUT THEIR ACTIVITIES. ALSO, THEIR OBJECTIVES AND TARGET, ARMS AND WEAPONS USED AND OTHER OPERATIONAL MODES PROVIDE THE BASE FOR COMPARISON. THE COMPARATIVE METHOD IS ADOPTED TO SHOW THAT AL-SHABAAB AND BOKO HARAM ARE SIMILAR IN THEIR MODES OF OPERATION IN SOME ASPECTS AND ARE DIFFERENT IN OTHERS. THE TWO GROUPS COMBINE ELEMENTS OF LIBERATION MOVEMENTS, INSURGENT MOVEMENT, SEPARATIST AND ISLAMIST MOVEMENTS. THEY ALSO HAVE ELEMENTS OF MILITIA, ARMED GROUPS AND REBEL MOVEMENT. AND, FUNDAMENTALLY, AL-SHABAAB AND BOKO HARAM ADOPTS TERRORISM STRATEGIES AND TACTICS COUPLED WITH CONVENTIONAL MILITARY TYPE OPERATIONS BUT BOKO HARAM HAVE BEEN MORE LETHAL IN ADOPTING MILITARY STRATEGIES AND TACTICS SUCH AS GROUND BATTLE AND DIRECT ASSAULT AGAINST THE STATE MILITARY THAN AL-SHABAAB IN KENYA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the Estelahname-ye Maaref-eQoran and Estelehnameye O’lome Qorani. In today’s society where the documents are kept electronically, retrieval and dissemination of information for the development of research, is more important than saving documents. Thesauri are the base of indexing of various sciences and one of the solutions for storing, organizing and classifying information in recent decades. This Article uses a comparative approach and desk review by comparative method. Data were compared according to rates, defects, removing inconsistencies in terminology and referral system. The results suggest that although Estelehname-ye O’lome Qorani has a useful introduction and has more resources than Estelahname-ye Maaref-e Qoran content, but is similar to Estelahname-ye Maaref-e Qoran in function. In addition both books have no developer and supporter system. For those who keep thesaurus updated, access to systems that respond basic needs is nessecery, and they must employ thesaurus management software that some research centers use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to propose an innovative real estate valuation approach called Quantitative Comparative Approach, which can estimate correction coefficients to overcome the shortcomings of subjective decisions of correction coefficients of traditional comparative approach. The principle is to assume that the price per unit area of real estate is the average price per unit area of the particular circle of housing supply and demand multiplied by the product of several dimensionless adjustment coefficients of factors. The single regression models of these adjustment coefficients can be built with the stepwise decomposition regression analysis. Then the adjustment coefficients of comparative cases and target case can be estimated with these single regression models, and finally the correction coefficients can be estimated by dividing the adjustment coefficients of target case by those of comparative case. The empirical samples are collected from four circles of supply and demand, and are divided into four data sets. The empirical results show that the Quantitative Comparative Approach is more accurate than the two classical Hedonic price approaches, multivariate regression analysis and neural networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, Mexico has been prominent among the Upper-middle-income countries (UMC) due to the application of its Funding Program for Housing Solutions (FPHS) in dealing with social housing. This paper shows the results of the evaluations carried out, through the internationally recognized Building Sustainability Rating Systems (BSRS), on different housing units built under this program. It was necessary to carry out a normalization criteria process (NCP) due to the particular characteristics of each BSRS and the complexity they presented in carrying out a comparative analysis. Case studies indicate that housing developed by the FPHS obtained low qualifications according to internationally focused BSRS, with significant deficiencies concerning materials, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and management. However, this study provides indicators of its possible integration in the social housing of countries with characteristics analogous to those of Mexico. Among all indicators, that those referring to the urban environment are capable of being integrated into the social housing. Among the findings, some aspects of the FPHS evaluation process impede the integration of sustainable characteristics in Mexican social housing. On the other hand, the FPHS evaluation model, which gives priority to urban environment aspects above all else, may represent a new paradigm towards the achievement of the sustainable social housing (SSH). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore that, despite severe challenges, welfare economics still exists. This descriptive study is conducted through some specific time line developments in this field. Economists are divided over the veracity and survival of the welfare economics. Welfare economics emphasizes on the optimum resource and goods allocation with the objective of better living standard, materialistic gains, social welfare and ethical decisions. It origins back to the political economics and utilitarianism. Adam Smith, Irving Fisher and Pareto contributed significantly towards it. During 1930 to 1940, American and British approaches were developed. Many economists tried to explore the relationship between level of income and happiness. Amartya Sen gave the comparative approach and Tinbergen pioneered the theory of equity. Contemporarily the futuristic restoration of welfare economics is on trial and hopes are alive. This study may be useful to understand the transitional and survival process of welfare economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real estate industry is of great importance in development of economy of a country. Real estate value determination, including land areas, is one of the problematic fields. Correct valuation of real estate value is relevant in the financial services sector, insurance and lease companies as well as construction sector, agencies that sell properties, institutions that manage the Real Estate Register, it is also important for citizens who purchase and sell their real estate. Current valuation methods solely specifies requirements for application of the comparative approach - to evaluate time, place and other conditions expressing differences between the valued property and analogous or similar properties. This definition does not reflect the totality of criteria to be evaluated when estimating the value of the property. It should be noted that one of the most important factors of value substantiation is selection of totality of criteria applied in object value calculation, evaluation of the criteria (sub criteria) and interpretation of obtained results. In absence of exhaustive, reliable and continuous research identifying the criteria and importance thereof in calculation of the value, appraiser refer to expert valuation that is acceptable and applicable in calculation of real estate value, but has both advantages and disadvantages. The research carried out by the authors discloses that current data collected by the State Enterprise Centre of Registers are not sufficient and suitable for formation of methodology based on a data base. Lack of data about market transactions, quality and exhaustiveness thereof prevents reliable application of methods based on analysis of factual data. For this reason expert valuation remains as priority method for calculation of real estate value using the comparative approach. Therefore application of continuous research identifying criteria influencing the market value of real estate is recommended in the future, as well as preparation of valuation methodology for real estate valuation in consideration of analysis of data located at data bases of the Real Estate Register. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Logos: A Journal, of Religion, Philosophy Comparative Cultural Studies & Art (08687692) is the property of Logos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recently, Nigeria introduced a Bill in the House and Senate that aims at modernizing its maritime zone legislation to enable it to maximize benefits it has received from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982. Although Nigeria has been a party to the Convention for many years, the legislative initiative was triggered only recently by a mixture of events, including a submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and the delimitation of maritime boundaries and adoption of joint development zones with neighboring States, including the implementation of a judgment of the International Court of Justice. This article discusses how a comparative law approach to law reform was used by benchmarking Nigeria’s legislative initiative against its treaty rights and obligations and the maritime legislation of selected States in the region and elsewhere. The regional spread of the comparator jurisdictions is important, as are the impacts of national socio-economic circumstances and constitutional and political structure on the character and philosophy of legislative drafting and the prospects of its effective enforcement. The analysis identifies that the Nigerian reform stands to influence and encourage similar legislative changes among the East and West African regional seas littorals, thereby to likely enhance cooperative governance and regulation of ocean use in both regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Logos: A Journal, of Religion, Philosophy Comparative Cultural Studies & Art (08687692) is the property of Logos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Fisheries provide critical provisioning services, especially given increasing human population. Understanding where marine communities are declining provides an indication of ecosystems of concern and highlights potential conflicts between seafood provisioning from wild fisheries and other ecosystem services. Here we use the nonparametric statistic, Kendall׳s tau, to assess trends in biomass of exploited marine species across a range of ecosystems. The proportion of ‘Non-Declining Exploited Species’ (NDES) is compared among ecosystems and to three community-level indicators that provide a gauge of the ability of a marine ecosystem to function both in provisioning and as a regulating service: survey-based mean trophic level, proportion of predatory fish, and mean life span. In some ecosystems, NDES corresponds to states and temporal trajectories of the community indicators, indicating deteriorating conditions in both the exploited community and in the overall community. However differences illustrate the necessity of using multiple ecological indicators to reflect the state of the ecosystem. For each ecosystem, we discuss patterns in NDES with respect to the community-level indicators and present results in the context of ecosystem-specific drivers. We conclude that using NDES requires context-specific supporting information in order to provide guidance within a management framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Lifespan is a life-history trait being of utmost importance, as it is frequently closely related to individual fitness. However, interspecific comparisons are relatively rare, being hampered by the high effort to collect longevity data across taxa. We here compiled lifespan data for 85 species of bird-eating spiders (Theraphosidae) held in captivity, based on 2183 individual records from the animal record books of both zoological gardens of Berlin, Germany. Using a data-mining approach we sought for broad patterns of correlations between lifespan and an array of other variables as derived from the literature. We found that the subfamily Eumenophoriinae lived on average longest, followed by the Theraphosinae, Ornithoctinae, Grammostolinae, Selenocosmiinae, Ischnocolinae and finally the Avicularinae. Species inhabiting tropical, more humid and/or low-altitude environments lived longer, suggesting that more predictable environments facilitate the evolution of longer lifespans. Furthermore, large range size, low abundance, sub-terrestrial life-style, and aggressive behavior were all associated with longer lifespans. Evidence for resource allocation trade-offs was revealed as larger spiderling and prosoma size was negatively related to longevity. Our rather rough approach revealed several patterns worth of future investigations, and illustrate the value of zoo records for interspecific comparisons. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

While most of the fruits and berries we nowadays consume are exotic in origin, there are a few indigenous ones that, when we harvest them in the wild, put us in touch with the food-gathering activities and experiences of earlier generations. Much can be learnt from the names of such fruits and berries, and from the culinary, medicinal, and domestic uses to which they are put. As for the folklore associated with them, although this often suggests great antiquity, it can seldom be traced back more than a couple of centuries. This dearth of historical evidence can to some extent be compensated for by a comparative approach, which, with all due caution, identifies remarkably similar traditions in widely separated geographical locations. The identification and assessment of further such traditions would open a door to a better understanding of their true significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first of the three traditions referred to, in effect a practical joke in which water is poured over an unsuspecting dupe, turns out to have parallels in different parts of England, but also in Newfoundland. There follow two mermaid traditions. The first, in which a mermaid's submarine garden is ruined by a dropped anchor, has counterparts in North America as well as England and Ireland. Finally, we have a less easily matched story, with echoes in Cornish tradition, about a changeling left as a foster-child by a merwoman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people are often referred to as the future of society while they are also increasingly made responsible for investing too little in education, for not being ready to adapt their job aspirations, for postponing family building or for refusing participation as active citizens. This discourse neglects the biographical dilemmas young people are facing under conditions of de-standardised youth transitions and uncertain futures. It relies upon research conducted in the framework of the European research network EGRIS (European Group for Integrated Social Research) which allow to reflect on how young people's motivation for agency evolves across different social contexts. The article aims at differentiating the understanding of young peo-ple's agency. First, a biographical approach is introduced. Qualitative research has identified four principles of young people's coping strategies which reflect such biographical dilemmas and which characterise young people's agency and decision-making processes: choice, keeping options open, reconciliation, and self-presentation. A second line of differentiation is offered through a comparative approach laying focus on the different cultural and institutional normali-ties of growing up. A comparative model of transition regimes has been developed which outlines different configurations of how societies regulate young people's transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generic strategies have been reported in several industries in the past years. Still, so far there is a lack of clear evidence regarding the way in which generic strategies appear to be used within the hospitality industry. The paper envisions on a comparative approach regarding one of the most well-known and highly cited strategy typologies within the context of two regions pertaining to Romania and US, respectively. Our study uses a survey based on a pre-tested questionnaire to address the generic strategies and the way they are reflected in the daily activities of hotel managers from Cluj- Napoca and San Antonio. Using the factor analysis we were able to draw some conclusion about the existence of the generic strategies in the Romanian and American hotel industry. The paper presents some comparison on hotel industry practices between the countries and suggests managerial implication for development of generic strategies within this industry. This is one of the first studies undertaken to highlight a dual approach in respect to the generic strategies within the hotel industry and the results prove to be of utterly importance for both academics and industry leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which investigated how von Bertalanffy growth parameters were affected by temperature and population density of Atlantic herring Clupea harengus. It is stated that cold water areas resulted in a lower growth coefficient, longer lifespan and higher asymptotic weight among the population. The authors concluded that competition for food among individuals was a result of growth of herring. The weight-at-age data of each year-class to estimate cohort-specific growth parameters was explained.

The article presents the basic rules of comparative historical approach and tries to offer a view on the relation among the historical comparison, transnational approaches and transnational issues as a matter of research. The level of analysis is theoretical, based on recent methodological discussions concerning comparative approaches and author's reflections. The first and the second part are descriptive, delimit the nature and the field of comparative historical approach and deal with the theoretical postulates of historical comparison. The third part points out the difference between transnational issues as a matter of research and so called transnational approaches as methodological concepts and indicates its consequences for the comparative history. The last part is reflective and shows the role and the possibilities of comparative historical approach in defining and analyzing transnational issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The correlates of mammalian sleep have been investigated previously in at least eight comparative studies in an effort to illuminate the functions of sleep. However, all of these univariate analyses treated each species, or taxonomic Family, as a statistically independent unit, which is invalid due to the phylogenetic relationships among species. Here, we reassess these influential correlates of mammalian sleep using the formal phylogenetic framework of independent contrasts. After controlling for phylogeny using this procedure, the interpretation of many of the correlates changed. For instance, and contrary to previous studies, we found interspecific support for a neurophysiological role for rapid-eye-movement sleep, such as memory consolidation. Also in contrast to previous studies, we did not find comparative support for an energy conservation function for slow-wave sleep. Thus, the incorporation of a phylogenetic control into comparative analyses of sleep yields meaningful differences that affect our understanding of why we sleep. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Pratiques Psychologiques is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since the last 2-3 decades comparative education is facing a lot of critics related to its old fashion way to approach new problems, issues and the surprising challenges, being still limited in describing, presenting and comparing data. On the other hand, there are a lot of defenders, rejecting these objectives and advocating for going on in the same traditional way, comparison as method being indispensable anyway. Such controversial positioning is, in fact, legitimate from both parts, comparative education having to emancipate itself, to reconfigure its identity, according to new realities which must be…deeper compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our approach aims at revealing a possible comparison between two European Romantic spirits,the English George Gordon Byron and the Romanian Dimitrie Bolintineanu from the perspective of the translator who observes and analyses a transfer of ideas and spirituality from the former to the latter poet. Some of the main characteristics of the Byronic hero ,a world traveller and a rebel against the social order are embodied by Conrad, the prototype of the Romanian Romantic hero who , like his predecessor and model chooses travelling as a means of acquiring knowledge. Their emotions and reflections about the world around them , their bitter doubts and melancholies are the main constituents of their similar Romantic profiles. These ideas are inferred by the work of many readings and translations with their specific particularities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]