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The purpose of the research paper is to highlight the regional variation of various herbal medicines in Jammu and Kashmir and also highlight presence of some valuable herbs in Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir is a treasure trove of medicinal plants due to favorable and diverse agro-climatic zones. A number of locally grown herbs like Kuth, Zeera, Patees, Morin, Kreech, Kutki and many more have been used for medicinal purposes since times immemorial. Most of these species were abundantly found in the forests of the area. Major objective of this research paper is to explore the potential in medicinal herbal growth, available resources, to understand the challenges and opportunities within the medicinal plant sector. This review reveals that Jammu and Kashmir harbors a rich diversity of valuable medicinal plants and attempts are being made at different levels for sustainable utilization of this resource in order to develop the medicinal plant sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study describes and analyzes the state of research on cocoa cultivation in administrative and socioeconomic areas in Latin America during the last five years. The research is descriptive, for which we proceeded to identify the location of the research articles considering the following criteria: filter by publication, filter by keyword and filter by topic. The results allow us to observe that after a filtering of 50 articles, the database was made up of 31 papers. It was known that 74.42% of the publications are published in regional impact databases (Latindex, DOAJ, Scielo and Redalyc) and in a lower order with 22.58% in global impact databases (SCOPUS and WEB_OF_SCIENCE); Likewise, it was determined that the most frequent lines of research are that of productive processes of cocoa cultivation in Latin America in 70.97% and in 29.03% socioeconomic aspects; It was possible to show that Ecuador leads the investigations in this area by 54.84% and to a lesser scale countries such as: Colombia, Mexico, Peru by 22.58%; 12.90%; 9.68% on your order. It is concluded, despite the fact that important research contributions have been made in the production processes of cocoa; It is important to analyze the economic and financial part of this crop in order to provide the small and medium producer of this crop with strategies that help improve their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization is often exclusively associated with worldwide economic integration and the emergence of a borderless global market. Globalization also involves sweeping changes in the social, cultural and political terrains. The implications of this change are varied and there are no indications that they are in any way increasing the social, material or spiritual well-being of humanity. It can be said that every culture of world was affected by one way or other in terms of its influence and identity. Only one culture dominates that is western culture. Western culture also dominates due to power approach of western world. Today, every culture of the world is under the umbrella of western culture, it was always interest of west to rule over the world especially to marginalize the developing world. West becomes successful in its mission by implementing a slogan that was globalization. Through this process west projected, its own culture, polity, economy & values across the globe, this is evident from the various studies carried out in the area of sociology of globalization. This study has been carried out in Kashmir context based on a sample of 50 respondents and using an intensive approach through the case study method, interview schedule and participant observation, the study has been carried out in the rural areas of Kupwara district of the Kashmir. The paper attempts to study the impact of globalization on cultural identity of Pahari youth, impact of globalization on family and to trace the factors responsible for migration of Pahari youth. This paper is based on primary and secondary sources of data and other relevant literature wherever necessary and not any other test has been utilized to carry out the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The general objective of this paper is to study the impact of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on international trade. Due to the decline in the world trade and the rise of trade protectionism since 2010 has prompted the Southeast and East Asian countries to develop a larger trade bloc, i.e known as Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) counter the decline in trade and income growth. In the process of RCEP establishment, ASEAN and China had play a vital to bring all the members in the region together and formed a single bloc to push an economic recovery and to further economic cooperation and development. This paper plan to examine the effect of the RCEP on trade flows on the members and the Gravity Model Method (GM) to be used to examine the subject. Also, the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index will be calculated mainly to look the performance of trade growth across members. Based on the GM its seems that China significantly gain from the RCEP, i.e earn a positive effect from trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the Cold War, studies of regionalism in Southeast Asia have flourished in line with the ever widening of regional initiatives of ASEAN, ranging in scope from regional and extra-regional security, trade, politics and human rights mechanisms. With the widening and apparent deepening of ASEAN integration more theoretically focused studies have been increasingly undertaken. While each theory and method has its merits and assists researchers and students to understand better the nature of ASEAN integration, one is often left with unsolved puzzles, unsolvable by macro level theory. The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad review of prior theoretical works pertaining to ASEAN along with their methodologies, outline the major theories which have been applied to studying ASEAN underlining inherent strengths and weaknesses of current approaches to studying AICHR and human rights regime evolution in ASEAN. Secondly, the paper advances a novel form of current study in international relations research of regime complexity and anchors the methodology in existing research of human rights in ASEAN while providing a methodology of variable testing that can empirically account for historical development and future trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Post-Cold War Period has paved the way for more awareness towards nontraditional security concerns, including terrorism, and the Southeast Asian Region is no exemption. This paper examines the factors that made Southeast Asia an attractive breeding ground for terrorist groups since the deadly 2002 Bali Bombings up to the present, how different state and non-state actors in the region have been responding to this issue over the years, and the implications of these terrorist attacks to security management in the region. It is argued that factors such as weak regimes, and ineffective regional counterterrorism measures have all contributed to the attractiveness of the Southeast Asian region to terrorist groups. The paper's implication for future research is that a closer attention should be paid to Southeast Asian region in terms of terrorism studies compared to the rest of the world because most of the terrorist activities have indeed pivoted towards the region since the 2002 Bali Terror Attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cherished cultural values give identity and sense of belonging to individuals in the network of human social relationships. Identity is constructed through culture. Cultural values provide social security and protection. It is worrisome to observe that cherished cultural values are going into extinction. This paper focuses on the South-West Zone which comprises mainly the Yoruba-speaking people of Nigeria. This paper argues that zonal intervention funds, through creation of city of culture, would revive cherished cultural values of the zone. Archival, Library and Internet-resources are used for this study in identifying some cultural values that must be revived and protected such as language, greetings, dressing, naming, tolerance, and pride. Community, individual, and Government intervention are needed to revive fading cultural values. The study found that there is cultural lag in Southwest Nigeria. Modernisation, Westernisation, and social networks have eroded a significant proportion of the Yoruba’s cherished cultural values. This paper therefore, suggests that annual city of culture festival can serve as an intervention model to revive the cherished cultural values in, Nigeria South-West through zonal intervention funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's globalization, corporate crime is an ongoing challenge worldwide and like most other countries, it has taken epidemic form in the corporate sector of Bangladesh that gained wide attention throughout the country since the issue leaves serious threat to the nation's economic reform. Corporate crimes are usually those illegal or socially injurious actions done by corporation or by officials of any financial entity with desire to gain more wealth, make illicit profit, create monopoly business and ameliorate financial performance of the corporations. Bangladesh, being a developing country is enormously vulnerable to corporate crimes and immensely faces terrifying hardship to punish corporate criminals under the national criminal justice system. In this context, this paper highlights the root causes and mannerism of corporate crime repeatedly committed in Bangladesh. This study further seeks to examine the existing statutory laws, criminal proceedings and enforcement mechanism with particular emphasize on the challenges to ensure corporate criminal liability and penalize corporate criminals. Subsequently this paper also tries to overview other relevant statutory provisions adopted by the South Asian countries like India and Malaysia which can be noted to be useful to understand the regulating measures of corporate crime under different legal customs and may also be adopted by the legislature of Bangladesh. At the end, this paper suggests some way forwards to develop and formulate effective criminal legislation to regulate the cases of corporate crime in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maldives is an Island state of South Asia. this Muslim majority state is a popular tourist destination. Maldives economy is mostly dependent on tourism and fishing. Maldives is known as a peaceful state. Earlier it attracted the world's attention for climate vulnerability. But Now Maldives is a geostrategic ally important state. The world power the United States of America (USA), upcoming power China and regional power India has geopolitical interest in Maldives. So, these three states are seeking to increase their hegemony in Maldives. For that now Maldives is the battlefield of three powerful states: the USA, China and India. This paper explains it broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of economic globalisation is the economic development of the developing and least-developed countries as well as to facilitate benefits of the home states. Bangladesh and Malaysia foreign investment laws and bilateral investment treaties (BITs) mainly protects foreign investors; however, neither of them has any specific provision regarding capitalisation requirements during entry of foreign investments. This paper will discuss the negative impact of FDI due to lack of capitalisation requirement provision, and then will highlight the significance of enacting it into the FDI laws or BITs. This paper will address three questions: (a) why the foreign investors should be required to fulfil capitalisation obligation during the entry of FDI? (b) to what extent the existing laws, policies, BITs or TIPs are compatible in relation to the capitalisation requirement? (c) what measures could be taken into consideration to overcome the problems? Using qualitative research method, the authors will critically analyse the existing FDI governing laws, policies, BITs and TIPs of Bangladesh and Malaysia in order to explore whether there is any provision of fulfilling capitalisation requirements by the foreign investors. The authors will also use comparative method to analyse FDI laws and BITs of different jurisdictions in relation to capitalisation requirement to justify of enacting specific regulation by Bangladesh and Malaysia. The findings of this study will show that neither the existing laws nor the BITs (or TIPs) has any specific provision of fulfilling capitalisation requirements. Based on the findings, this study will recommend that the government of both states should consider this important factor; and require foreign investors to fulfil the minimum capitalisation requirement as an entry condition, either through amending the existing laws or through BITs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's past is the history of the fight between upper and inferior castes for the long-long years ago. All kinds of problems among the humanity are the consequences of classified variation of 'Brahmanic social order'. The ancient Indian history is not only informative, but it throws abundant light on the happening of today. At that moment, there was the battle between higher castes (Savarnas) and the inferior castes. It has been going on continuously. It has assumed different names, shapes, and forms. In the Ancient period, Buddha was trying to solve these problems, but after the death of Buddha, Buddhism was decline, and Brahmanism has covered all the Buddhist achievements. In the modern era, Dr. Ambedkar has tried to solve this major issue, which was going in the Indian society. He was a social reformer, political leader and principal planner of the Indian Constitution. He extensively pointed out as much Babasaheb was an Indian economist, historian, jurist, philosopher, and politician. He was the precept architect of the Indian Constitution. Ambedkar is known as the pioneer of the renaissance of Buddhism in modern India. He wished social reformers to create public opinion to fight the uncultured inequalities in society. He has provided a very powerful force in giving energy to this movement. It was Ambedkar's efforts that, the movement for Buddhism gained energy in modern India. In addition, Ambedkar deserves unique credit for the renaissance of Buddhism in modern India. In this way, he has provided the main route to the renaissance of Buddhism in modern India. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to Ambedkar's contribution to the renaissance of Buddhism in modern India. Consequently, this paper has been attempted to look at Ambedkar's contribution to the renaissance of Buddhism through detail analysis of his works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional cooperation for development, based on collaboration between two or more parties for the achievement of shared developmental goals, is not a new paradigm. However, this paper interrogates the idea of regional cooperation for development by using the political economy approach and its upshot, the dependency theory, in order to lay emphasis on the importance of state capacity as well as the autonomy and productive level of the economy, the economy being the main strength behind the successful implementation of any regional cooperation. The EU and the AU are two regional cooperating entities that feature in this paper with a view to explaining the success of the EU because of the capacity of the participating states and the autonomy of their economies, as against the AU, with little or no success, because of their weak states and unproductive economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the lives of Burmese Indians-Indian minorities that had migrated to and later settled in Colonial Burma under the policies of the British Colonial government and later repatriated or fled Burma starting late 1930s till 1960s. The stories of Burmese Indians who once formed a sizable minority in Burma is consciously absent from historical records of both India and Burma today. By excavating this lesser known history this paper illustrates how inadequate representation in historical writing, has relegated these stories to the recesses of folk memories and grandparent's tales of immigration. The paper is primarily based on analysis of secondary data which included researched works, autobiographical books, reports and government records of Indian minorities that were living or repatriated from Burma. Additionally it makes use of newspaper reports to support the data provided from books and documents of that time on the conditions of Indians in Burma and their stories of exile. This paper attempts to create multi-layered historical profiles of the Indian minorities in Burmawho they were, why had they migrated to Burma and the sectors that employed them. The paper draws the trajectory of the circumstances under which the mass migration of Indians began, up until the conditions which pushed them out of Burma. It will particularly engage with the mass exodus of Indians from Burma following the Japanese annexation of the state and how Second World War was but one of the factors alongside other like rising anti-India sentiments that propelled Indians to flee Burma. Finally, this paper argues that the eclipsing of the stories of the Burmese Indians from both Indian and the Burmese memory-scape has created an anomalous situation wherein not only is the event of the Burmese Indians' exodus dis-embedded from Burma's larger historical trajectory but the contemporary ethnic violence that is being played out in Burma today especially against the Rohingya Muslims is also de-linked from any reference to the anti-India rhetoric of the past. This double eclipsing has created a façade wherein the Rohingya Muslims exodus is now perceived as a 'one-off' event rather than woven into and read as part of Burma's larger history of ethnic violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the lives of Burmese Indians- Indian minorities that had migrated to and later settled in Colonial Burma under the policies of the British Colonial government and later repatriated or fled Burma starting late 1930s till 1960s. The stories of Burmese Indians who once formed a sizable minority in Burma is consciously absent from historical records of both India and Burma today. By excavating this lesser known history this paper illustrates how inadequate representation in historical writing, has relegated these stories to the recesses of folk memories and grandparent's tales of immigration. The paper is primarily based on analysis of secondary data which included researched works, autobiographical books, reports and government records of Indian minorities that were living or repatriated from Burma. Additionally it makes use of newspaper reports to support the data provided from books and documents of that time on the conditions of Indians in Burma and their stories of exile. This paper attempts to create multi-layered historical profiles of the Indian minorities in Burmawho they were, why had they migrated to Burma and the sectors that employed them. The paper draws the trajectory of the circumstances under which the mass migration of Indians began, up until the conditions which pushed them out of Burma. It will particularly engage with the mass exodus of Indians from Burma following the Japanese annexation of the state and how Second World War was but one of the factors alongside other like rising anti-India sentiments that propelled Indians to flee Burma. Finally, this paper argues that the eclipsing of the stories of the Burmese Indians from both Indian and the Burmese memory-scape has created an anomalous situation wherein not only is the event of the Burmese Indians' exodus dis-embedded from Burma's larger historical trajectory but the contemporary ethnic violence that is being played out in Burma today especially against the Rohingya Muslims is also de-linked from any reference to the anti-India rhetoric of the past. This double eclipsing has created a faç;ade wherein the Rohingya Muslims exodus is now perceived as a 'one-off' event rather than woven into and read as part of Burma's larger history of ethnic violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current article approaches different ways of explaining the psychic constitution in the infant and it has as an objective to analyze the concept of the subjectivity from the Theory of the Psychoanalysis, as a way to explain the subjective constitution in the child. The paper is based on a literature review, with the help of dictionary, papers and books: "Subjectivity and Language in Clinical Pychopedagogy" and ¿What is a child for a Psychoanalysys? In order to select this material, criteria of inclusion and exclusion were established, such as year of creation, themes, universities as authors. These factors let us select important aspects that influence on subjectivity. The results show the importance of the signifiers that are produced related to the child, and he takes them to assemble these singular forms to position himself before life. Signifiers come from the family environment that surrounds the child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the extent to which Nigeria achieved Goal 3 of the Millennium Development Goals (gender parity in the political process) between 1999 and 2015 and drawing from the Rwandan success story, suggests strategies for the achievement of this parity (as contained in Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals) from 2015 to 2030. It also examined other countries that recorded success in this area under the MDG regime. Relying mainly on qualitative method and documentary evidence, predicated on the social dominance theory, the paper posits that the age-long patriarchal system in Nigeria sustains and reinforces the structural exclusion of women from electoral politics, hence the country's failure to achieve MDG 3. This patriarchal system ensures that there is no parity between the sexes in the political process. This is despite the fact that women constitute more than 50% of the population but yet, comprise less than 10% of Nigeria's legislature. This paper, therefore, submits that for Nigeria to achieve the 2030 Agenda on gender parity in the political process, it should move beyond mere policy rehearsals and advocacy and take concrete steps such as instituting a quota system in its electoral laws, as Rwanda has done. Where necessary, tables were used for more elucidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of African countries have passed the threshold of fifty years of Independence. Yet, the majority of them, save the Republic of South Africa, and a few ones here and there, are still struggling to develop the basic social and physical structures and infrastructures that can put them on the path of development and modernity. Against this backdrop, countless development theories and arguments have been proposed about why Africa is not developed and still is poor despite being the second largest continent and by far one of the richest ones there is. As a result, development has become an elusive quest and challenge for generations of African leaders and their frustrated populations. This paper is set to explore why Africa is not developing and shed light on other arguments that are overlooked when analyzing or debating why African countries are lagging behind in their socio-economic development quest. The paper intends to answer those questions in an interdisciplinary manner and touches upon social, cultural, religious, political, economical, and international relations factors. For, to understand Africa's economic problems, one has got to go beyond the mere economic indicators such as the GDP and GNP and bring to the fore other non-economic factors that are hampering Africa's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is centered on the peace that emanates from conflict transformation workshops, negotiations and mediation exercises which is often times misinterpreted. It argued that the most reasonable path in all conflicts is to reconcile the warring factions as well as address their immediate development needs. The paper which relied overwhelmingly on secondary sources of data, revealed that communication is central to conflict resolution, management and peace-building; that the media has vital roles to play in breaking down stereotypes, misperception and misrepresentations that lead to conflicts and after such conflicts. It however recommended that strategic and responsive monitoring tools be created as well as instituting intervention projects with some post-conflict peacebuilding activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In absence of any global treaty, the bilateral investment treaties are playing an important role of regulating foreign investments in the host countries. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2361 bilateral investment treaties are in force and like other members of the World Trade Organization Bangladesh also signed bilateral investment treaties to facilitate trade. The primary purpose of economic globalization is the economic development of the developing and least-developed countries as well as to facilitate benefits of the home states. Bangladesh foreign investment laws and bilateral investment treaties mainly protects foreign investors, however, neither of them has any specific provision of protecting environment. The Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 2010 only requires foreign investors to obtain a clearance certificate before establishing any industry but significantly lacks any provision to impose liability for environmental damages. This paper addresses two questions: (a) do the bilateral investment treaties of Bangladesh and Netherlands allow the host state to take measures to protect the environment? (b) should the environmental protection be considered during the entry of foreign direct investment in Bangladesh and Netherlands? Using doctrinal research method, the authors critically analyzed 27 bilateral investment treaties to explore whether there is any reference of protecting environment in both countries. The authors find that the existing Bangladesh and Netherlands bilateral investment treaties have provisions to promote and protect foreign investments but have no reference (except Bangladesh-Turkey BIT, Bangladesh-UAE BIT, Netherlands-U.A.E. BIT and Netherlands-India BIT) of protecting environment. Therefore, the authors recommend both governments to consider this important factor while signing any future bilateral investment treaties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research paper is an attempt to give a historical overview of tehsil Karnah, largest tehsil of district Kupwara consists of 60,129 populations as per census 2011 of which 34,472 are males and 25,658 are females. The objective of the present research is to explore and understand the historical background of tehsil Karnah. The area selected for the purpose of study includes the valley of Karnah from ancient to till independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper joins the debate regarding the efficacy of nonviolent civil resistance theory and practice to overcome the structural violence of contemporary neoliberal capitalism. The postrevolutionary outcomes of Sharpian inspired democracy movements have left many the social and economic grievances that helped fuel them in-tact. Chabot and Sharifi (2013) claim that the reason for this is the emphasis placed on overcoming the direct violence of dictatorships and the absence of a guiding ethical framework in the theory and practice of nonviolent civil resistance. In contrast they argue that protest movements need to be guided by the ethical framework provided by Gandhi's constructive program. Using the lens of psychoanalytic theory, the paper examines both the critique and solution offered by Chabot and Sharifi and subsequently rejects the proposal for Gandhian constructive program. Rather, the paper outlines an alternative politics based upon exclusion and refusal as the only effective means for overcoming the contemporary structural violence of neoliberal capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the mechanism involved in women's internal migration and the subsequent coping strategies in the place of destination. Acknowledging the dearth of literature that focuses exclusively on issues related to women's internal migration, this study investigates women's rural-urban migration from a social science and gender and development perspective. This paper aims to focus on questions: what are the causes of migration? Do women make decision of migration on their own? How do they experience gender relations in both the public and private spheres after migration? How do they cope with the new social setting? Based on fieldwork in Sylhet, Bangladesh, the study demonstrates important shifts in women's overall situation. After migration women are more independent, aware about their rights and abilities, better able to exercise own agency and resist coercive practices, and exposed to a range of life choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mega FTA's are majorly driven by a complex nexus of economic and political factors often reflecting protection of sale, a state-centric objective, which pays attention to local societal players. The consecutive pursuit of multilateral trade negotiations and agreements by a small group of economies has positively contributed to boosting the dynamics of international trade. Due to the diminishing economic importance of North America and protectionist sentiment rising in the European Union, economic integration and regional cooperation have been initiated among the East Asia and South East Asia region. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is considered one of the largest economic integration in Asia, functional as a trade bloc. India opted out of the RCEP with raising concerns from certain sectors like agriculture, textile, and allied sectors, among other sectors. However, a question needs attention - Is the decision to retract from RCEP a smart move by India? The current paper aims to answer this question by sermonizing concerns raised by two crucial sectors, i.e., Agriculture and Textile. To achieve this objective, set for the particular study, parameters like Volume of Exports and Imports of India and RCEP, Exports and Imports between India and RCEP nations in fields of Agriculture and Textiles are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines India's trade prospects with Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries during 2000-2019. The study uses the contribution to the trade balance index and the export similarity index. The findings show that India's imports increased faster than exports with all sample countries except Singapore, Myanmar, and Lao De Republic during the sample period. India has a high revealed comparative advantage in textile, consumer goods, chemicals, and food products with RCEP countries. However, untapped potential in its specialised products can be explored, as Indonesia's top export product, i.e., ships and boats floating structures, has a negative CTB & POS value compared to South Korea's product Petrol Oil Bitium Mineral (nt Crud) Etc Nt Biodiesel. Further, the export similarity index reveals low values, implying that India has no such trade competition from member countries in its top 10 exports among any non-member countries. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that many opportunities are waiting. Still, before that, the government has to bring reforms in trade policy with sample countries so that India would benefit from RCEP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unequal partnership among the members of RCEP is one of the many criteria of Mega Regional Agreements, which can also be seen in the case of CPTPP. On one hand, the heterogeneous nature of member countries provides developed nations a deeper integration with emerging countries and thereby stimulates their growth. On the other hand, it leads to an increase in the difference of opinions and interests at the time of negotiations and sometimes to the withdrawal of countries before the finalisation of an agreement, like in the case of the United States (in TPP) and India (in RCEP). It has also been debated that RCEP pales in comparison to CPTPP as a Mega-Regional, which makes the countries, participating in both the agreements, vulnerable in more liberalised sectors. Moreover, different commitment levels among the regional countries may have adverse effects on the less developed nations in the grouping. This paper tries to highlight the dominance of some countries in RCEP and divergence in commitment levels of one, among RCEP members and two, RCEP and CPTPP, making the RCEP model unsustainable in the long run. To diversify their trade basket, RCEP members may seek India's participation in the agreement which would have economic and geo-strategic implications for the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In absence of any global treaty, the bilateral investment treaties are playing an important role of regulating foreign investments in the host countries. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, there are 2361 bilateral investment treaties are in force and like other members of the World Trade Organization Malaysia also signed bilateral investment treaties to facilitate trade. The primary purpose of economic globalization is the economic development of the developing and least-developed countries as well as to facilitate benefits of the home states. Malaysia foreign investment laws and bilateral investment treaties mainly protects foreign investors, however, neither of them has any specific provision regarding screening of foreign investments. This paper addresses two questions: (a) Do the bilateral investment treaties of Malaysia allow the host state for screening of foreign investments at entry stage? (b) Should the screening of foreign investments be required during the entry of foreign direct investment in Malaysia? Using doctrinal research method, we critically analyzed 15 bilateral investment treaties to explore whether there is any reference for screening of foreign investmentsinMalaysia. We find that the existing Malaysia bilateral investment treaties has provisions to promote and protect foreign investments but has no reference in relation to screening of foreign investments, therefore, the government of Malaysia should consider this important factor while signing any future bilateral investment treaties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study focuses on addressing the question, "How do non-state actors address the predicament of the irregular migrants' precarious status?" The study reveals that an unwanted irregular migrant will certainly seek recognition, not necessarily from mainstream society but from peers, networks, and most of the time from compatriots - establishing links, and building contacts - and thus negotiated their status with the host society. This research also generated an alternative hypothesis which states, "As migration control becomes much stricter, more irregular migrants are seeking assistance from non-state actors and the migration industry." This paper finds that the collaborative effort of migrant and non-migrant organizations between Filipino-run and Japaneserun NGOs at the local level (including church and non-church based groups) play an immensely indispensable role in sending a message across national boundaries that transnational migration agency (actors forming as collectivities) inadvertently reshapes a new world order for the global migration process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buddhism developed from the teachings of the Buddha, whose origins are believed to be in North India between the 6th and 4th centuries. Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan, Buddhism has played a central role in the cultural and social life of Asia. Presently, Buddhism has reached every corner of the world through its teachings. The main reason for this is the message of world peace. Peace is the basic foundation of human civilization. Without the ideals of peace, human civilization cannot exist and human civilization will become meaningless without peace. However, peace has been troubled by various forms of war and violence at various stages of human history. Thus, alternatively, Buddhism teaches real feeling and peace as a feeling that must come from inside and not from outside sources. Buddhist precepts always inspire harmony between human beings, though dependent on inner companions. Buddhism believes in helping others as a good deal. Therefore, peace has a very important role in human life and civilization. For that reason, the main objective of this paper is to examine the spread of Buddhism and peace in Southeast Asian countries and its new dimensions in today's era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of the university is essentially a philosophical idea. This is owing to the fact that separating young people from the core of society, with the view to giving them intellectual training under special settings called the university shows some epistemic justification in the possibility of the transformation of individual for the good of society. This firm belief in the possibility of the transformation of the individual cannot be limited to training and acquisition of skills, it has to, basically be centred on the development of the intellect for effective living within society. In the Nigerian experience, there is a heavy acceptance of a corrosive idea of the university in terms of seeing the university as a place for acquisition of skills and skills alone, at least if what we see in the job market is anything to go by. There is a general misunderstanding about the true purpose of the university to the extent that the idea itself become fuzzy in our understanding and also forms a large part of the reasons given for the formation of the private universities in Nigeria. This paper therefore using critical analysis and secondary sources is submitting that if the present crop of private universities in Nigeria is to help effectively in the transformation of society, there should be an unfuzzying process done to our understanding of the idea of the university. There should be an understanding that education as different from schooling, is an idea that is capable of developing the intellectual faculties of a person first before giving the person requisite skills. When this is taken into consideration, we would have recovered the authentic idea of the university in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate on globalization and urban youths around the world often reads like Dickensian "Tale of two cities". It is the best of all ideologies, it is the worst of all ideologies, it is the path to progress, it is the path to disaster. This paper discusses the effect of globalization on the relationship of urban youths and the state in Nigeria, particularly as it affects the demand of the urban youths from the state and how these youths seek for parity with their counterparts in developed nations of the world. The paper then provides critical assessments of the criticisms and distinguishes between those that are based on misapprehensions and incorrect information and understanding about globalization from those with genuine concern and where future negotiations can play important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the pattern of public housing distribution in Nigeria. Using qualitative data from Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states housing programs from 2000 -2013, the study revealed that over 6,000 housing units were constructed and distributed in the selected states under various public housing programs since 2000. The study further revealed that the housing units were distributed to public servants and politicians. However, other social groups such as business and miscreant groups based on political considerations also benefitted from the programs. Similarly, the paper also found that these groups of beneficiaries were selected based on their perceived roles and contributions in voter mobilization, electioneering campaigns as well as in influencing electoral outcome. Thus, the paper concludes that the targeting strategies adopted in public housing distribution have neglected majority of the people who desperately need housing. These targeting strategies have transformed public housing into clientelistic goods designed to reward supporters and financiers of the ruling political party. It thus creates clientelistic networks employed by politicians to influence, control and maintain existing power relations in their favour. Given the number of people in need of housing, the paper recommends the adoption of basic needs approach in targeting beneficiaries of public housing in order to ensure equitable distribution of public goods in the selected states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modernity and globalisation have claimed ownership of civilization for many years and this continues into the 21st Century. This ownership has led to the human security of the non-western 'Other' being supremely challenged and at times impoverished. The postmodern/poststructural school of thought postulates that when the One rules so completely, it severely limits expression by the Other, and consequently, the Other will eventually exact a terrible reprisal. We argue that the terroristic challenge becomes more comprehensible when seen in this light. We ask, if terrorism is immoral and it is, then is not the order based on neoliberal globalisation that provoked it also immoral? This paper explores the interplay of Modernity between Islam and the West today and addresses issues such as why Muslim men and male youth from the West support a terror organisation like the new Islamic Caliphate showing how a global phenomenon is being acted out locally. The paper also discusses counter-movements to radicalization along with how Muslim-Western dialogue can be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of Climate migration in South Asia will lead to geographies of dispossession of land and create 'spaces of exception' and 'spaces of exclusion'. Such dispossession will create new 'global souls'[climate Refugees] and new social-cultural geographies of identity determined and organised on the basic of catastrophic climatic events. The momentous rejoinder to climate change will require sacrifices, strong regional Institutions with accurate governance and cooperation across borders. Hitherto, the land management policies of the State in South Asia have failed in supporting the commons and the livelihoods options of the citizens and non-citizens alike. With emerging discourse of climate change new land management policies are indispensable that will further demand committed leadership and powerful regulation. The goal of this paper is to analyses the relevance of Bhoodan movement as an institution to govern the common property management and the use of natural resources in a sustainable way. It is a process of receiving land as a gift, distribution of land to landless and plans for construction and management of land. This paper will further look into how this concept can be used inter-state or intra-state within South Asia as 'geographies of repossession'towards climate displaced community? Can this be applied to Climate refugees and understand that whether it would be able to provide land and dignity to millions who will be crossing edge in search of protected lands and livelihood?. Can this fullfill hope to those who are dispossessed, disadvantage and homeless in their struggle against Climate geographies? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The instability of liberal democracies both in Europe and in the Americans partly brought about by the COVID-19 Pandemic has shown the limits of this construct in terms of protecting the core values of liberalism itself, such as freedom of speech and the protection of private property. Riots in the United States, vandalism in several European countries, and the attempts by the media and big technology corporations to suppress free speech can be contrasted to the relative stability and calm of Asian countries with corporatist systems and with different varieties of benevolent authoritarianism. The present paper argues that an emerging Asian model combining aspects of corporatism, increasing professional engagement throughout society, and benevolent authoritarianism has shown greater resilience and greater success in protecting the core values that liberal democracies are supposed to be based on, than the open systems favored by the West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our work and everyday life there is not a day that passes where we do not hear about someone being confused about something, but they carry on. This prompted us to explore the subject and we soon realized that that the notion of confusion merited dedicated effort towards clarification and practical usage. We have initiated several qualitative conversations in the workplace to help our clients exploit confusion as an opportunity. In this paper, we review our understanding of the current conversation about confusion and present a set of tools that we have sketched as supporting ideas to help manage this condition. We describe (1) the findings of convenient sampling based short qualitative interviews with 20 Academics and business people in France and Japan on “what is confusion to you”?; (2) An early list of + ten typical confusions we observe in the business world; (3) A management cycle to help address confusion that we name the TAPE Cycle where we tag confusion, act upon it, build on our initiative to address it and expand on our practice to fully digest it so we can face new confusion situations; (4) An exploratory reason for confusion checklist; (5) A confusion – clarity index; and (6) A confusion matrix assessment tool. At this stage, our combined business and academic backgrounds lead us to believe that these actions carry valuable insights, but we seek to inform the reader that solid research needs to be engaged as this process falls into the category of early theory building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the previous decade and half Thailand has undergone two judicial coup d'états and two military coup d'états, the latest of which was successfully undertaken on 22 May 2014. The Thai military has consistently intervened in Thailand's political affairs since the overthrow of the absolute monarchy in 1932. The latest coup has seen the junta stay in power threw flawed elections held on 24 March 2019. This paper attempts to illustrate the Thai military's latest tactics to extend their grip on power through the electoral process. The author argues that the latest attempt to legitimize military authoritarianism is an updated version of previous junta strategies. Namely, legitimizing the military junta by drafting a new Constitution, legitimizing the Constitution through a public referendum and creating a military led party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present exploratory paper tackles the issue of human trafficking in Thailand. Southeast Asia is a region known as both a recipient and as an exporter of trafficked workers. It is important to understand the pull and the push factors making Thailand an important destination and conduit for human trafficking. The fishing and sex industries seem to be at the center of this phenomenon nevertheless the practice can also be found in rubber plantations and in some factories. A critical theory approach is applied and cultural context is provided so as to understand this complex phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl [MHIP] or Mizo Women's Organization as a case study, this paper explores whether women's participation in informal politics leads to women's empowerment. Since the birth of the MHIP in 1972, the organization adopted various strategies, to try to improve the status for women in society. The MHIP has also tried to modify different Mizo Customary laws that disadvantage women in marriage, divorce, and inheritance. Beginning in 1980, they submitted several recommendations to the government. Focusing on the economic, social, and political development of women, the MHIP declared each year as 'Women's year' for the last 12 years (1997-2011). Although the MHIP has addressed the social and economic status of women, worked to improve women's status in the public sphere, and sought changes in Mizo Customary law, they have not challenged basic definitions of women's roles and the gendered division of work attached to these roles. This article adopts qualitative approach to understand the various strategies adopted by MHIP to improve women's status, it attempts to explore the issues MHIP addressed as well as their conception of women's essential nature and proper role in society. Data were collected over a period of six month during January 2019 to June 2019, from the record of MHIP General Assembly minute book from 2009-2015. My observation is that the MHIP's efforts to improve the status of women without challenging the gendered division of labour and access to resources is unlikely to lead to empowerment for women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical and political underpinnings of the Dagbon chieftaincy conflict make it tougher and complicated to understand. Consequently, the purpose of the paper is to furnish a complete component for working out the complexities within the conflict utilising SPITCEROW mannequin of conflict analysis. An analytical part will explain the conflict via Edward Azar's Protracted Social conflict thought. Secondary data including journals, articles, books, radio and newspaper reports, internet publications, and news documents were use in the study. Hence, the paper revealed that the Primogeniture system of inheritance introduced into the 'Ya Na-ship' throne is the main cause of the conflict. In effect, the authors suggest that, for sustainable peace to be see in Dagbon, traditional conflict resolution techniques from within the local people themselves, could be the best way to ensure sustainable peace in Dagbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights set up in 2009 signaled a path breaking achievement for human rights. It was the first of its kind, in the last region of the world to adopt a mechanism for human rights protection. However, with the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration of 2012 hopes of a robust and effective regional mechanism for the promotion and protection of human rights in Southeast Asia were essentially dashed. The perplexing question to which an increasing number of academics and scholars are asking is why establish a mechanism that only promotes and offers little or no human rights protection? This paper seeks to provide a theoretical framework for future research and analytical conceptualization of regional human rights and its attendant mechanisms in ASEAN. Beginning with a critique of mainstream theories realism and constructivism, this paper will move on to offer a blended version of regime analysis for studying AICHR. Hopefully this will provide clarity and a theoretical pathway for future substantive research on the absence of human rights protection in the newly established regional human rights mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is in the early days of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, sometimes referred to as the Cyber-Cognitive Era. This new era will be marked by a deeper integration of technology into everyday activities, along with an increased need for not only initial education, but lifelong learning to keep pace with the change of business and technology. As this era unfolds education is moving in parallel, maturing from a traditional campus-based entity to a globalized virtual marketplace. This paper will explore how this globalization and commoditization of higher education is linked and necessary for the progress of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's society is the most globalized in the entire history of humanity, it lives rapidly, which is due to the lack of time, since the vast majority is made up of polyfunctional, multifaceted, hyperconnected, and super-informed individuals. In this general context, this paper aims to characterize the consumption trends of a very important segment of society, such as millennials and centennials, whose characteristics will serve to determine how the purchasing decisions of these generations, also known as generation Y, work. and Z, millennials (or generation Y) correspond to individuals born between 1981 and 1995, they were born between the heat of the last century, but they also witnessed the development and consolidation of new technologies. Generation Z, also known as centennials, came to the world from 1997 to 2010, with a smartphone or tablet under their arm and with an overexposure to information and the digital age never seen before. A descriptive work will be carried out with primary and secondary sources, which will give a closer and more accurate perspective of how the consumption preferences of these two generations work. The importance of the study landed on these two generations is that: they make up the highest percentage of the economically active population, the highest percentage of consumption worldwide, an important turning point in relation to their predecessor generations, for which the impact of these two generational segments in the world economy is momentous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of alternative credentials which started in the information technology sector and is currently expanding to other fields, has resulted in a wide array of symbols to represent the achievement of skills or the completion of a certain length of training. With the cost of formal post-secondary education increasing and the global economy slowing down due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, a wide array of alternative credentials have been created to fill the gap. Altenative credentials range from electronic badges to extremely short free online courses with completion certificates. The present paper compares and contrasts alternative credentials with traditional ones. It also explores the similarities between e-badges and heraldry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urge to rename streets, topple statues, and discredit historical figures is a dangerous development which must be stopped. Sadly, both the left and the right have succumbed to the urge to destroy heritage at one point or another. The present exploratory paper provides examples from Albania, Ecuador, and Japan to provide an international context to the challenge of dealing with history through a biased contemporary perspective. Best practices should be publicized by the media so as to educate the public about the importance of history and the need for preservation rather than destruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In considering why the Middle and North Africa has experienced uniquely acute political and institutional instability amidst ubiquitous global economic strife, this paper examines the abilities of the MENA nations' food subsidy systems to respond and adapt to crisis. More critically, this adaptability is considered through the specific lens of economic complexity, as defined by Clemens (2013) and Hidalgo, et al. (2012). This paper argues that the states of the Middle East and North Africa exhibit economic complexity that is minimal enough to allow volatile civic and political opposition to generate traction, but inadequate to enable more stable transitions through less disruptive institutional channels. The MENA states lie situated in an intermediate zone of complexity that makes them especially vulnerable to large-scale uprisings. Additionally, this paper argues for a central role of complexity science in future analysis of popular dissent both inside and outside the MENA region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Intergenerational Flow of Wealth Theory of J.C. Cladwell (1976), the decision of having high fertility in the developing countries is very rational from the point of view of the elderly. They are believed to truly act as a long-lasting support system to their parents when they get old in every aspect of life, but the scenario is changing rapidly. With rapid modernization of our society children are no longer the fixeddeposit of support of elderly even in a country like India. Isolation and helplessness have become the part and parcel of life of elderly even in modern India which adversely impacts their wellbeing. This paper is an effort to quantify the level of care and support provided by the children to the elderly of the country and how this quality of care finally affects their wellbeing through their subjective health. This paper has used the data of the recent large scale project of ageing conducted by ISEC, Bangalore and IEG, Delhi in sponsorship of UNFPA, India, named "Building Knowledge Base on Aging in India". The survey is conducted to develop a knowledge base in regard to the demographic, social and economic conditions, health needs and living arrangements and entitlements. Multinomial logit estimation is used to show the impact of socio-economic factors on the different care and support aspect and also on the wellbeing of the elderly. Marginal effect shows that quality of care and support to elderly is fast decreasing. With the expected bulge of elderly population in the coming decades, government must take some steps in advance to combat with this situation. In the light of empirical results, some policy prescription has been suggested for benefit of the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jos, the capital city of Plateau State, Nigeria, have over the past one decade been subjected to internecine violent conflicts. The causes had range from mutual communal, ethnic to religious mistrust. Efforts have been made to halt the senseless violent disturbances to no avail. The conflict situation by any measure can best be described an active conflict, considering the abrupt and rampant nature of how the conflict most times occur. Women, in most conflict situations remain a vulnerable social category. Women engage themselves a lot in petty trading and marketing. They sell vegetables, fruits and also participate in wide range of other commercial activities in most markets that pervade Jos city. Centrally, the paper seeks to examine and analyze the various strategies and initiatives these market women employ to survive and make a living in their respective chosen businesses given the conflict prone nature of the environment within which they conduct their business activities. The paper depended on interviews and Focus Group Discussions carried out in 2012 and 2013 part of PhD research. The paper concludes that the strategies and initiatives employed by small-scale women entrepreneurs in Jos during violence has kept them safe and ensured their livelihoods especially for women who have assumed new roles of household heads. It further made suggestions to government and the general public on how to mitigate the intractable violent encounters in Jos in order to further promote women participation in commercial activities without unnecessarily resorting to stressful and risky survival strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tries to test the theoretical framework of terrorism which is a combination of fundamentalism and radicalism that are intertwined with psychological symptoms and historical disappointments. Based on some interview data and also initial sources, we then conceptualize terrorism as the final effect of the evolution of fundamentalism and radicalism. some transnational thought movements that entered Indonesia in the 1990s confirmed this theoretical truth. The continued development of this theory and concept still persists in the level of a very dynamic debate. Many sources of events from Indonesia can become theoretical abstractions for radicalism, fundamentalism and terrorism. Some characteristics of fundamentalism and radicalism and terrorism will be developed later in the form of theories and concepts that can be useful to formulate new strategies for prevention or resistance against radicalism, fundamentalism and terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MSMEs have a crucial role in Indian manufacturing sector and have become engine of economic growth in India. Today, small and medium industry occupies a position of strategic importance in the Indian economic structure due to its significant contribution in terms of output, exports and employment. The small scale industry accounts for 40% f gross industrial value addition and 50% of total manufacturing exports. The present paper is a modest attempt to understand concept of SMEs, their formation and significance in overall growth in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the influence of in service professional development on classroom instructional delivery of teachers in two African countries - South Africa and Nigeria. Theoretical frameworks were anchored on the assumptions from andragogy and experiential theories to explore needed in service trainings for the teachers. This study adopted mixed methodological approach with 80 teachers, two focus groups of 10 teachers and 6 HoDs from both countries. Findings of this study revealed that in service professional development activities actually promote enhanced classroom performance of teachers, which ensures academic improvement, the study also explains why teachers should access regular and relevant professional development that can promote teaching and learning in different contextual schools. Significant importance was focused on needs for relevant, quality and nature of in service (IPD) that can benefit their relevance and competency in the profession. The study also established the agitations of the teachers to be involved in the design and plan of various IPD activities that are meant for them to ensure application of IPD knowledge and skills in their classroom experience. They also called for Varieties of content and teaching method based IPD, learner-centred teaching skills and regular professional development structures IPD activities have been recommended by this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]