International Cooperation Activities Research Articles

Society Spotlight: Chemical Society of Vietnam

The Chemical Society of Vietnam (CSV) was established in 1989 by Decision 207-CT of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now the Prime Minister). The Society has 3500 members which include organizations and individual scientists, technicians, and managers working in universities, research institutes, and enterprises of chemistry and the chemical industry.1 The working departments of the Chemical Society of Vietnam are the following: International Cooperation Department Science & Technology Department Development & Organization Department Education–Training–Knowledge Popularization Department Consultancy–Opponency and Evaluation Department Scientific Club Magazine Chemistry and Application The CSV consists of 11 specialized Branches: Polymer Chemistry, Technical and Technology Chemistry, Chemistry Education, Electrochemistry, Inorganic & Fertilizer Chemistry, Theoretical & Computational Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Granule and Powder, General Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Kinetics Catalysis & Adsorption. Besides these Branches, the CSV includes provincial branches and scientific and technological service centers. The magazine Chemistry and Life aiming at publishing specialized research projects and popularizing chemical scientific and technical knowledge is the speech organ of the CSV. At present, Vietnam is in the process of industrialization and modernization, so that scientific and technical activities and labor-force training in the chemistry now should develop much more than ever before. In this circumstance, the Chemical Society of Vietnam highly appreciates the cooperation and the assistance from foreign individuals and organizations. The main activities of CSV are as follows: Science & Technology Activities: To support its members carrying out scientific research, research and development, and Technology Transfer Project in the chemical industry; to organize international and national conferences, seminars, workshops, symposia; and to popularize chemical knowledge. Education and Training Activities: To carry out the activities to upgrade chemical teaching and learning quality in high schools and universities; to take part in compiling and evaluating the quality of the chemical teaching program and textbooks; to organize the Annual Chemical Olympics for students to encourage and discover young chemical talents. Consultancy–Opponency–Evaluation Activities: To take consultancy, opponency, evalution for large-scale investment projects, governmental legislative documents related to chemistry; to take part in forming strategies, policies, and plans for the development of chemical industry. International Cooperation Activities: To support members of the CSV and foreign partners in scientific and business cooperation. Further to the international cooperation activities mentioned above (Figure 1), the CSV is member of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies (FACS) and has a professional relationship with many national chemical societies. As part of its membership in FACS, the CSV was the host society for the organization of the 10th Asian Chemical Congress together with the 8th Eurasia Conference on Chemical Sciences that were held successfully in Hanoi, October 2003 (Figure 2). Professor Ho Si Thoang and Professor Huynh Van Trung were President and Secretary General of FACS in the cycle 2003–2005. Signing on cooperation between Acad. Vladimir Agabekov, Director of the Institute of Chemistry of New Materials, Republic of Belarus, and Acad. Le Quoc Khanh, President of CSV. 10th Asian Chemical Congress and 8th Eurasia Conference on Chemical Sciences in Hanoi, October 21–24, 2003. In addition to these activities, the CSV is involved in establishing cooperation with the Korean Society of Industry and Engineering Chemistry on information exchange, training, and technology transfer in the chemical and environmental fields. This cooperation is envisioned to entail the organization of workshops as well as meetings between Vietnamese and Korean scientists, businessmen, and managers in all relevant institutes and industries. The CSV has been a co-owner society of Chemistry–An Asian Journal since 2009, when it joined the Asian Chemical Editorial Society (ACES) as the twelfth member society in this organization. Since then, it has served an important function to support the publishing activities of the journal and is represented by Professor Ho Si Thoang on the International Advisory Board of Chemistry–An Asian Journal. Prof. Huynh Van Trung Standing Member of CC Webpage: http://csv.vusta.vn

Enterprise internationalisation by foreign investments and technical cooperation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the internationalisation of enterprises by specific forms of foreign direct investments (FDI) and international technical cooperation in the defence sector.Design/methodology/approachThe effects of defence FDI and international technical cooperation activities on the Slovenian economy are investigated using the input‐output modelling approach.FindingsThe author finds important direct and indirect effects on the Slovenian economy from the FDI and international technical cooperation inflows into enterprises. These positive effects are directly and indirectly linked to enterprises in different statistically classified industrial activities by predominance of the civil sector, which is important for the development of defence and civilian high‐technological base products in different regional parts of Slovenia.Originality/valueThe presented findings can be used to arrange industrial and regional development strategy and policy measures aimed at accelerating the internationalisation of enterprises and different industrial activities.

Intercultural Competence in the Context of Youth Non-Governmental Organisations’ International Activities

Increasingly growing necessity for international cooperation of Lithuanian youth non-governmental organization is analyzed in the article. The appropriateness of intercultural competence development for enhancing international activities of Youth non-governmental organization is examined. The results of empirical survey, which confirm the hypothesis that the lack of intercultural competence is the main barrier for international cooperation activities of youth non-governmental organizations, are presented. According to the theory and survey results, authors suggest the list of the main intercultural competences, which could become a core of human resource development in order to enhance international activities of non-governmental youth organizations.

Olli Heinonen: Reporting from the front lines of nuclear proliferation

As one who has led inspection teams in North Korea, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and other nations, Olli Heinonen says he cannot discount the possibility that a nuclear weapon will be used in the next 10 years. He asserts that the verification regime of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty may need an overhaul to contend with current developments such as the nuclear ambitions of non-state actors. He offers perspective on North Korea’s acquisition of nuclear weapons, Israel’s bombing of a suspected nuclear facility in Syria, Iran’s ambition to enrich uranium, the challenges of stopping proliferation, and the need for closer international cooperation and firmer action against proliferators.

Growth standards for children's weight of 12 ethnic groups in Myanmar and Thailand

The growth status of children is influenced by many factors, and especially differences in ethnic groups has a large. If possible, it would be ideal to evaluate children's growth and nutrition based on growth standards specific to their particular ethnic group. We present the result of our scientific research in Myanmar and Thailand ; Growth Standards for Children's Weight of 12 Ethnic Groups in Myanmar and Thailand. This research was carried out as part of two large-scale research development projects : Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's “International Cooperation Initiative” and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science's “Asia and Africa Science Platform Program”.With this project, we selected 12 major ethnic groups, Akha, Chin Ho, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lisu, Thai, in Thailand and Burmese, Kayin, Mon, Paoh, and Shan in Myanmar, in the two countries and succeeded in creating standards specific to each group. To purpose of this paper, we used the LMS method.The LMS method and maximum penalized likelihood estimation yielded percentiles in terms of three age-sex-specific curves. For each age group and sex, age was assigned to the x-axis and standardized weight values to the y-axis, giving the growth curves in Figures 2∼19.As always, physical growth research is a response to a practical need such as the one demonstrated here, and is indispensable to both international cooperation, and international and humanitarian aid activities.

4. Arctic

Regional activities relevant to Arctic environmental protection occurred mainly through the Arctic Council. The seventh ministerial meeting of the Council was held in May, and the Council’s six working groups continued to facilitate various co-operative projects and publications. Documentation from the ministerial meeting and working groups may be found at the Council’s website (<http://www.arctic-council.org>). International co-operative activities of note also occurred through other venues. The Northern Forum held its tenth general assembly in June. Co-operation towards achieving environmental protection and sustainable development in the Barents region of the Arctic was fostered on three main fronts: through the thirteenth session of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC); the tenth meeting of BEAC Environment Ministers; and the fifth Parliamentary Barents Conference. Efforts to develop a mandatory Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters continued within the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Ministers from the eight Arctic states, joined by members of the six permanent participant indigenous organizations, met in Nuuk, Greenland, for the seventh ministerial meeting on 12 May, and the Nuuk Declaration resulting from the meeting included numerous statements and decisions. A central announcement was the conclusion of the Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic. Negotiated by a task force under the auspices of the Arctic Council, the agreement delimits search and rescue (SAR) regions for the eight Arctic states and pledges to strengthen co-operation in various ways, including through joint SAR exercises and regular meetings of the parties.

Teorias do Desenvolvimento e a Cooperação Internacional

The purpose of this paper is to approach the thematic of the development, the evolution of this concept and your application in the field of the international cooperation activities, on the basis of the main theoretical tendencies and concepts.

International Cooperative Activities for the Engineering Education between Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Germany, and Niigata University, Japan

International Cooperative Activities for the Engineering Education between Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Germany, and Niigata University, Japan

Future topics of common interest for EU and SEA partners in food quality, safety and traceability

SEA-EU-NET project is based on the program Capacities under the 7th Framework Program (FP7) of the EU Commission with the strategic objective of Integrating and Strengthening the EU-ASEAN Science and Technology Dialogue through coordination and supporting activities. It is a 4 years program started in January 2008, and is currently supported by 22 institutions from Europe and South-East Asia. The objective is to increase the quality, quantity, profile and impact of bi-regional Science and Technology cooperation between the 10 ASEAN countries and the Members and Associated States of the European Union. Every Thematic Priority of FP7 has to implement dedicated international cooperation activities to achieve the program’s goals and to address specific problems of ‘Third Countries/Regions’ (non-EU Members States or non-Associated States). This activity is performed through the organization of annual Thematic Workshops, with the objective to produce a document containing duly justified proposals for Specific International Cooperation Actions. This paper presents the results of the Thematic Workshop on ‘Food Quality, Safety and Traceability’. This expert meeting was done in Thailand in February 2009. Titles for 10

The global chemistry transport model TM5: description and evaluation of the tropospheric chemistry version 3.0

Abstract. We present a comprehensive description and benchmark evaluation of the tropospheric chemistry version of the global chemistry transport model TM5 (Tracer Model 5, version TM5-chem-v3.0). A full description is given concerning the photochemical mechanism, the interaction with aerosol, the treatment of the stratosphere, the wet and dry deposition parameterizations, and the applied emissions. We evaluate the model against a suite of ground-based, satellite, and aircraft measurements of components critical for understanding global photochemistry for the year 2006. The model exhibits a realistic oxidative capacity at a global scale. The methane lifetime is ~8.9 years with an associated lifetime of methyl chloroform of 5.86 years, which is similar to that derived using an optimized hydroxyl radical field. The seasonal cycle in observed carbon monoxide (CO) is well simulated at different regions across the globe. In the Northern Hemisphere CO concentrations are underestimated by about 20 ppbv in spring and 10 ppbv in summer, which is related to missing chemistry and underestimated emissions from higher hydrocarbons, as well as to uncertainties in the seasonal variation of CO emissions. The model also captures the spatial and seasonal variation in formaldehyde tropospheric columns as observed by SCIAMACHY. Positive model biases over the Amazon and eastern United States point to uncertainties in the isoprene emissions as well as its chemical breakdown. Simulated tropospheric nitrogen dioxide columns correspond well to observations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument in terms of its seasonal and spatial variability (with a global spatial correlation coefficient of 0.89), but TM5 fields are lower by 25–40%. This is consistent with earlier studies pointing to a high bias of 0–30% in the OMI retrievals, but uncertainties in the emission inventories have probably also contributed to the discrepancy. TM5 tropospheric nitrogen dioxide profiles are in good agreement (within ~0.1 ppbv) with in situ aircraft observations from the INTEX-B campaign over (the Gulf of) Mexico. The model reproduces the spatial and seasonal variation in background surface ozone concentrations and tropospheric ozone profiles from the World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre to within 10 ppbv, but at several tropical stations the model tends to underestimate ozone in the free troposphere. The presented model results benchmark the TM5 tropospheric chemistry version, which is currently in use in several international cooperation activities, and upon which future model improvements will take place.

A look inside the framework: EU funding priorities and criteria in the health theme of the co‐operation programme

A look inside the framework: EU funding priorities and criteria in the health theme of the co‐operation programme

植物遺伝資源をめぐる国際協力:―特に国際植物遺伝資源理事会 (IBPGR) の活動を中心として―

植物遺伝資源をめぐる国際協力:―特に国際植物遺伝資源理事会 (IBPGR) の活動を中心として―

Challenges for a European Public Health Association

The notion of public health started some 400 years ago with disease control, i.e. to prevent the further spread of diseases. Since then, public health has evolved and now includes health promotion as well as health protection. Public health professionals are now aware of the imbalance between the global magnitude of factors that affect human health and the inadequate structures in place to address them. Global integration is moving at a rapid pace, fuelled by faster communication and greater movement of people and ideas, yet the world continues to use 19th century structures based on individual nation states. These changes require new solutions, with effective international cooperative action, with devolved decision making that ensures implementation. Effective policies will require concerted international action and public health professionals can make a difference to this process, as researchers identifying the health effects of these factors, as advocates for action and as agents for communicating to the public the nature and scale of threats to health. If the ‘new’ public health defines health as an investment factor for a good community life focusing on … Correspondence: Walter Ricciardi, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy. e-mail: wricciardi{at}rm.unicatt.it

The Loss of the Holy Land and Sir Isumbras: Literary Contributions to Fourteenth-Century Crusade Discourse

In the late thirteenth century, western Europe suffered the notable disgrace of losing the last of the Christian strongholds in mainland Syria with the fall of Acre in 1291, and yet throughout the early fourteenth century Western powers were unable to launch a crusade to recover the Holy Land despite repeated and costly attempts. Until not long ago, historians of the crusades had interpreted the inaction of the fourteenth century as a sign that the age of true crusading was over and that both disillusionment with the machinery of the papal indulgence and increasing local strife effectively removed the possibility of international cooperative action that a crusade to the Holy Land required. Recent scholarly work on the late Middle Ages has shown that this interpretation ignores both historical reality and late-medieval attitudes toward crusading. Acre's loss in many respects crystallized issues regarding crusade reform, and, though no new crusade to the Holy Land ever materialized, crusading in its various...

British Humanitarian Assistance: Wartime Planning and Postwar Realities

The organisation of post-war relief is the first step in post-war reconstruction. The needs of the countries ravaged by the war will be immense and can be met only by international cooperative action on a very large scale. After the last war, there was considerable delay in organising relief; the scale on which it could be granted was very inadequate; and the financial conditions on which relief was available hampered the subsequent restoration of world economic relations. It is very desirable that plans should be prepared beforehand to provide relief after this war on an adequate scale and on a basis which will promote international recovery. . . . Voluntary organisations should be coordinated and linked up with these Relief Missions.1

Personal Recollections of the Contributions of Estelle Brodman: An Enduring Legacy for Health Sciences Librarianship

Personal Recollections of the Contributions of Estelle Brodman: An Enduring Legacy for Health Sciences Librarianship

Comment on “What's Not Converging? East Asia's Relative Performance in Income, Health, and Education”

While health conditions and educational attainment have shown clear signs of worldwide convergence over the period 1960–2000, no such evidence has been found for per capita gross domestic product (GDP) during the same period.1 This is the surprising finding discovered by Kenny's (2008) careful examination of various global data. Shocking as it may be, however, the pertinent explanatory factors at work behind the scenes are easy to comprehend. First of all, the state of health and educational attainment reflects the accumulation of socioeconomic circumstances in the past (a stock concept) rather than the level of income in a single-year (a flow concept). Second, and more important, individually targeted medical-care measures have gradually, but consistently, spread to relatively poor, developing nations, pushing up their infant survival rates, while international income gaps have not been reduced noticeably. Health variables (including life expectancy) are directly related to personal/family living conditions, whereas income generation is the result of a large number of interrelated and highly complex factors. Moreover, it would be relatively inexpensive, socially speaking, to introduce preventive measures against sickness for individuals at the infant stage of their life, compared with the progressively expensive healthcare and medical treatments for adults and senior citizens, who comprise increasingly larger portions of the populations in richer, industrialized countries. The marginal effective rate of improvement in life expectancy slows down as a nation's real income level improves and the mean age of its population goes up: a process that takes place irrespective of the convergence or nonconvergence of real GDP per capita among nations. This discovery has at least two significant implications. First, relatively inexpensive healthcare measures, including education relating to preventing sickness, are highly effective in improving the survival rates of infants and children. In this respect, the international cooperative activities of nonprofit organizations must have played a significant role in improving the average life expectancy at birth. It would also be advisable for developing nations not to hastily abolish their indigenous, premodern systems of health care. Second, at least to the extent that income and life expectancy are only loosely associated, if at all, one comes to realization that the concept of GDP per capita has been virtually stripped of its straightforward welfare implications which may have existed half a century ago.

Advantages of international cooperation in space life sciences research

Today, a worldwide community of life scientists interested in space research is attempting to improve the understanding of general biological processes, aid the development of procedures to reduce the biomedically related risks of space flight, and/or directly support the health care of people who fly in space. Unfortunately, limited resources and subject availability and the technical challenges of performing space experiments have all hampered the full growth and development of space life sciences research. For many years, international cooperation in this field has been considered an attractive approach towards overcoming some of these difficulties, since pooling resources and sharing results would enhance the knowledge of all cooperating partners. International cooperative activities, however, require an investment by each partner and, just as in many other endeavors, the research gain can be directly related to the investment made. In this paper, the authors will discuss four possible types of cooperation: formal data exchange agreements; formal data exchange coupled with standardized data collection; joint strategic and tactical planning and full exchange of standardized data; and joint international team research with full data sharing and standardization. The advantages of these types of cooperation will be described.

Why We Are Thinking about Japan&apos;s International Cooperation Activities by the Self-Defense Forces Now?

Why We Are Thinking about Japan&apos;s International Cooperation Activities by the Self-Defense Forces Now?

国際協力を通した国際交流の推進

This article describes that Toyohashi University of Technology (TUT) has been receiving international students from all of the world increasingly every year since 1990 and the increase in the international students can be attributed to vigorous international cooperation activities by TUT. International Cooperation Center for Engineering Education (ICCEED) is playing a central role of international cooperation in TUT and two projects implemented by ICCEED in 2007 are introduced.