Some Aspects of Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases in Pacific Island Countries

This study provides an overview of the incidence of the communicable and non-communicable diseases in Pacific Island countries. Available health statistics confirms that children continue to die annually due to neonatal causes, diarrhoeal diseases, pneumonia and measles. The adult population in several countries reveals presence and emergence of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Among the communicable diseases is the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among the 15–49 years old age group, it is considered to be less than 0.1% in several countries but in Papua New Guinea (PNG), it is about 0.3%. Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, PNG and Solomon Islands reveal high prevalence of tuberculosis while PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are the three Malaria prone countries. In terms of non-communicable diseases, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in several countries with Nauru recording highest incidence followed by Tuvalu, Marshall Islands and Fiji. People in several countries are in the pre-hypertension category with a high risk of developing hypertension. Several countries have serious obesity problems and in the Cook Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa and Tonga; more than 60% of population is obese, and in all countries females are more obese than males. Diabetes is prevalent in all countries and Nauru has the highest percentage of prevalence of diabetes while in Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Micronesia, approximately 8% of people aged 20 and above suffers from diabetes. Fiji, Nauru, PNG, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu reveal high incidences of cigarette smokers while the consumption of alcohol is high in Niue and in the Cook Islands.     

Autonomist and secessionist parties in post-communist democracies. Structural and institutional factors in the study of a dynamic phenomenon

This article analyzes the structural and institutional conditions related to the presence of autonomist and secessionist political parties. Since not every multinational or plurinational democracy presents demands of secession or redefinition of the political community in terms of the demos, the main hypothesis here is that there exists a combination of structural factors that explains the phenomenon. Adopting a non-probabilistic approach (csQCA), this article finds that regional concentration together with legacies of self-government plays a necessary role to explain the emergence of parties that articulate minorities’ territorial demands in post-communist countries.     

A cost of living longer: Projections of the effects of prospective mortality improvement on economic support ratios for 14 advanced economies

The economic implications of increasing life expectancy are important concerns for governments in developed countries. The aims of this study were as follows: (i) to forecast mortality for 14 developed countries from 2010 to 2050, using the Poisson Common Factor Model; (ii) to project the effects of the forecast mortality patterns on support ratios; and (iii) to calculate labour force participation increases which could offset these effects. The forecast gains in life expectancy correlate negatively with current fertility. Pre-2050 support ratios are projected to fall most in Japan and east-central and southern Europe, and least in Sweden and Australia. A post-2050 recovery is projected for most east-central and southern European countries. The increases in labour force participation needed to counterbalance the effects of mortality improvement are greatest for Japan, Poland, and the Czech Republic, and least for the USA, Canada, Netherlands, and Sweden. The policy implications are discussed.     

“一带一路”倡议下中国与中亚五国高等教育合作举措与展望

哈萨克斯坦、乌兹别克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、塔吉克斯坦和土库曼斯坦等中亚五国因其地处“丝绸之路经济带”核心区域,在“一带一路”教育共同体建设中有着重要地位。中国与中亚五国开展高等教育合作,既顺应高等教育全球化发展趋势,也适应推动双方经济发展的现实需求,且拥有彼此间睦邻友好等坚实基础。“一带一路”倡议实施以来,中国与中亚五国在双边签订的协议框架下,采取了鼓励学生国际流动、加强人才培养、成立大学联盟、共建“上合大学”等举措,提升了中国与该地区的高等教育合作水平。展望未来,中国应坚持“适应性”“引进来”“走出去”“信息化”等战略,做好双边合作政策规划,优化来华留学生结构,鼓励对外合作办学,依托互联网优势创新合作形式。     

WTO《农业协议》下的粮食安全——基于发达与发展中国家博弈的思考

国家粮食安全的本质要素决定了发达与发展中国家的博弈,但两者实力的悬殊导致WTO《农业协议》对粮食安全作出了不平衡的规定,这严重限制了发展中国家粮食安全的政策空间。多哈农业谈判也不能根本改变这一现状。因此,对于发展中国家而言,保障粮食安全不能仅依赖于贸易,而应从两方面着手:一是从公平贸易出发,争取农业发展的有利外部环境;二是从开放与保护相结合出发,加强国内政策对粮食生产的支持。     

中外海岛立法之比较

海岛在一国经济、政治中占据着不可小觑的地位,而作为海岛大国的中国,长期以来缺乏对海岛开发保护的法律规制.《海岛保护法》实施后,结束了我国长期海岛开发利用的“无序、无度、无偿”问题,这是中国第一部海岛专门立法,它是基于中国特殊国情颁布实施的,与外国海岛立法在立法模式等方面存在着诸多的差异.     

明清时期澳门在中西贸易中的地位

澳门兴起从葡人贿赂海道副使汪柏始,由于澳门港地理环境变化、葡国国力兴衰、明清政府海禁政策的调整,使澳门在中西贸易中地位从一个国际大商埠沦为一个以赌博为主的"梳打埠".澳门兴起开辟了中西交通史的新纪年,对世界贸易经济交流与发展起了重要作用.而澳门贸易地位的大起大落更发人深省.     

国外思想政治教育发展的启示

思想政治教育作为阶级统治的工具 ,越来越受到各国的关注和重视。为此从思想政治教育地位合理化、内容政治化、手段法制化、途径内化化、方法艺术化等方面介绍了国外思想政治教育的发展及对我国的借鉴意义 ,并在此基础上探讨了提高和完善我国思想政治教育工作的对策。     

基于"环境优先"贸易保护论的国际营销对策

随着进口关税的下降,国际贸易透明度的提高,传统的贸易保护进一步受到有效限制,贸易保护主义正在积极寻求新的贸易保护手段,以实施其贸易保护战略。新兴的贸易保护手段多种多样,利用环保例外权的合法性进行贸易保护则是近年来发达国家常用的方法。这一保护方式以保护环境为出发点制定了一系列保护措施,以抵消发展中国家在资源与廉价劳动力方面的比较优势,从而阻碍了发展中国家的产品出口,作为发展中国家的中国企业要在充分认识“环境优先”贸易保护理论及其做法的基础上,采取有效的国际营销对策削弱这一贸易壁垒对企业的影响。     

欧美反倾销税制比较

随着国际贸易往来的不断扩大,反倾销措施已经成为世界各国的贸易保护工具.欧美国家通过本国的反倾销立法一定程度上保护了本国经济,但同时也使发展中国家、特别是中国频频遭受反倾销打击.对欧美反倾销制度进行比较分析,特别是对欧美发达国家的反倾销税含义和建立基础进行界定,并对欧美国家在征收反倾销税实际操作上存在的异同进行研究,对于我国反倾销立法的完善、反倾销税的合理征收有着重要的理论和实践意义.