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The section presents an introduction to the essays discussed in the book "Changing Media, Changing Europe." Topics discussed include the financial crisis of 2007-2008, the continuing efforts of governments of developed countries to manage its consequences, a similar financial crisis in 1970, analysis of the Greek crisis in Germany's daily paper "Bild-Zietung," and reference made to the 1920 release of the silent film "The Saphead."

This paper offers a broad overview of the papers contained in Part II of "The Blackwell Handbook of Entrepreneurship," in the section titled "Government Impacts on Entrepreneurship." The papers included are "SME Policy in Europe," "Entrepreneurship in Germany," "Regulatory Policies and Their Impact on SMEs in Europe: the Case of Administrative Burdens," "The Climate for Entrepreneurship in European Countries in Transition," and "Six Steps to Heaven: Evaluating the Impact of Public Policies to Support Small Businesses in Developed Economies.".

This paper explores the role that informal venture capital (IVC) plays in the emergence and growth of entrepreneurial companies. The authors describe IVC as noncollateral forms of lending by private individuals using their own money in unquoted companies in which they have no family relations. The authors present an overview of international research on the IVC market with two primary objectives: (1) to offer a comprehensive review of the existing literature and (2) to identify key research themes for future studies on the role played by IVC in the emergence and growth of entrepreneurial businesses. The authors also review the characteristics and operation of the markets in developed economies and distinguish between what they call "first-generation" and "second-generation" studies. Finally, the authors raise methodological issues to be considered in future research in IVC markets and emphasize the need for future studies to be more theoretically informed.

This paper presents a methodology for evaluating the impact of public policies to assist the small business sector. The author reviews the various methodological approaches to evaluating small business support policies in developed economies. An analytical framework with six approaches is provided, beginning with the most simple and ending with the most sophisticated. These six steps include (1) take-up of schemes, (2) recipients' opinions, (3) recipients' views of the difference made by the assistance, (4) comparison of the performance of "assisted" with "typical" firms, (5) comparison with match firms, and (6) taking account of selection bias. Steps 1 to 3 are considered monitoring, with Steps 4 to 6 being evaluation. The difference between the two is that evaluations are attempts, demonstrating analytical rigor, to determine the impact of the policy initiatives. Monitoring either documents activity under the program or reports participants' perception of the value of the scheme.

Chapter 1 of the book "Decent Working Time: New Trends, New Issues," edited by Jean-Yves Boulin, Michel Lallement, Jon C. Messenger, and François Michon is presented. It discusses the changes in stakes and trends of working time among industrialized countries including Japan, U.S., and Great Britain from 1913 to 2003. The scope of decent working time which is influenced by employment, social protection, and rights of employees, is discussed.

Chapter 3 of the book "World Employment Report 2004-05: Employment, Productivity & Poverty Reduction" is presented. It discusses the development of the agricultural sector in the process of economic development for developing and industrialized countries. It presents the contribution of the agriculture sector to poverty reduction and gender equality in the work environment. It cites a report by the World Commission on the social dimension of globalization which the International Labor Organization can use as guidelines for its policies on globalization.

A pathological debate has evolved on the appropriate role of risk analysis at the federal level in the US. On one hand, substantial academic, public and private sector efforts have developed techniques and justifications for incorporating risk analytical information into "risk rationalizing" decisions. At the same time, a normative critique has jelled around the inadequacy of risk analysis methods to fully describe, and thus to compare, risks (the "holistic" complaint) and the exclusive nature of the risk assessment process (the "anti-democratic" complaint). The past decade has also seen another substantial trend in risk analysis research: improved understanding, description and management of uncertainty, Unfortunately, inadequate attention has been given to merging the normative and technical trends. This has led to several undesirable consequences in the US, Europe, and other developed countries, consequences that include the potential for systematically arbitrary decisions, undermined credibility of risk analysis as a decision input, and pathological debate about the appropriate role of risk information in the risk regulatory debate. This suggests some lessons for developing countries as they adopt risk analytical methods, and undertake risk comparison exercises. In particular, careful attention to uncertainties and the technical debate may provide an opportunity to broach the current normative stalemate in countries that rely extensively on risk data, and to avoid that stalemate in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chapter 3 of the book "International Migration in Southeast Asia" is presented. It explores the significance of Chinese migration and adaptation in Southeast Asia in the last half century. It highlights the number of foreign Chinese in Southeast Asia and Chinese migrating to developed countries in 1981-1999 including the U.S., Canada and Australia.

This article focuses on global inequality. Vast inequalities have come to exist between leading industrialized countries and the poorer countries of the world in both income and in quality-of-life factors that income can buy. A first step in understanding the magnitude of the gap between the rich and the poor on a global scale is understanding just what poor means in international context. Poverty measurement is a difficult task even within a society with a single currency and set of prices for commodities. Measuring global poverty necessitates the comparison of living standards and consumption levels across a wide variety of societal contexts. Global income inequality is generally thought of as consisting of within-nation and between-nation components. Many different methods of measuring inequality have been used in the scientific and journalistic literatures. Another, related way to think of inequality is through the analysis of Lorenz curves. Lorenz curves represent in a single snapshot all the information contained in population income distribution.

This chapter provides an overview of the major sociological literature on gender and work in industrial nations. The topical areas of discussion focus on: patterns and rates of labor force participation, worker inputs and worker outcomes. The extensive sociological study of gender and employment results from both the importance of paid work in modern society and the dramatic changes in gendered patterns of work participation. Because women are disproportionately affected by these changes, this chapter will reflect the emphasis on employed women (as opposed to men) found in the sociological literature.

The article focuses on problems of environmental pollution. Environmental problems are a global concern. Long-distance transportation of pollutants crossing country borders emphasizes the need for agreements to cope with large-scale, global environmental pollution. An increasing number of environmental problems require international solutions. The close link between development and protection of the environment, and recognition of the environment as an essential component of development, makes it necessary for many countries to be involved in international conventions as an integral part of their developmental policy.

Business contributes to the creation of wealth, employment, trade and technology, as well as the control of large human and financial resources. From the perspective of business, it is important to fully integrate the value of environmental assets into operations, to guarantee conservation of nature for future generations. Business has experienced and caused many different varieties of environmental pollution in the course of its economic development over the years. Learning from these experiences, many developed countries have moved in the past 15 years to enact and enforce strict environmental regulations, and improve the quality of their environment.