A Comparative Study on Internationalization and the Role of International Offices at Selected Middle Eastern and German Universities

Internationalization of higher education has become one of the most important policies for institutions of higher education worldwide. Though universities are international by nature, the need for intensified quality activities of international nature has promoted internationalization to be under spotlight of researchers, administrators and policy makers and to be an area for research. Each institution follows its certain way to govern its international affairs. Most Universities, especially in the 'Developed World' started to plan it strategically. This study explores the meanings and importance of internationalization especially that it means different things to different people. It also studies the rationales behind internationalizing higher education. It focuses on the four main prevailing rationales; political, cultural/social, economic/financial, and academic on both national and institutional levels. With the increasing need to strategically plan, the study explores internationalization strategies in terms of how to develop them, what are their approaches and types, and their components and dimensions. Damascus University has witnessed an overwhelming development of its international relations and activities. Therefore, it started to face a problem of how to deal with this increasing load especially that its International Office is the only unit that deals with the international issues. In order to study the internationalization phenomenon at Damascus University, the 2WH approach, which asks the what, why, and how questions, is used and in order to define the International Office's role in the internationalization process of the University, it studies it and the international offices of Kassel University, and Humboldt University in Germany, The University of Jordan, and Al Baath University in Syria using the 'SOCIAL' approach that studies and analyses the situation, organization, challenges, involvement, ambitions, and limitations of these offices. The internationalization process at the above-mentioned Universities is studied and compared in terms of its meaning, rationales for both the institution and its academic staff, challenges and strategic planning. Then a comparison is made among the international offices of the Universities to identify their approaches, what led to their success and what led to their failure in their practices. The aim is to provide Damascus University and its International Office with some good practices and, depending on the experiences of the professionals of the case-studies, a suggested guidance to the work of this Office and the University in general is given. The study uses the interviews with the different officials and stakeholders of the case-studies as the main method of collecting the information in addition to site visits, studying their official documents and their websites. The study belongs to qualitative research that has an action dimension in it since the recommendations will be applied in the International Office. The study concludes with few learned lessons for Damascus University and its International Office depending on the comparison that was done according to a set of dimensions. Finally a reflection on the relationship between internationalization of higher education and politics, the impact of politics on Middle Eastern Universities, and institutional internationalization strategies are presented.

Diagnóstico de las relaciones bilaterales entre Colombia y República Dominicana en torno al tema del narcotráfico desde 1998 hasta el 2010

El tema del narcotráfico ha sido ampliamente tratado, así como el caso de las drogas en Colombia, pero la afectación de dicho problema no ha sido analizada desde la República Dominicana y mucho menos desde la relación bilateral entre esta y Colombia. Aunque el tema es de gran relevancia en la agenda internacional, así como en la agenda interna de cada uno de estos Estados, no es el tema principal en la relación bilateral, donde los asuntos comerciales tienen mayor importancia, aún cuando hay ciertos mecanismos que buscan eliminar el tráfico ilegal de estupefacientes. En esta investigación, se busca dar un diagnóstico de las relaciones bilaterales y de aquellos instrumentos existentes, específicamente aquellos implementados desde la acogida internacional del término responsabilidad compartida en el año 1998 hasta el año 2010, para determinar la efectividad de los mismos y de aquellos factores que no son precisamente resultantes de las relaciones bilaterales pero que sí afectan de una u otra manera el tráfico de drogas ilegales entre estos dos países. Así, se buscará encontrar las debilidades, en los instrumentos bilaterales entre Colombia y República Dominicana y hacer recomendaciones para hacerlos más efectivos.

El papel de las organizaciones Internacionales en la imagen de los Estados en el escenario internacional: La crisis Financiera de Argentina y la actuación del Fondo Monetario Internacional 2000- 2010

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo identificar el papel que tuvo el Fondo Monetario Internacional [FMI] en el cambio de la imagen del Estado argentino después de la crisis financiera que estalló en el 2001. Como consecuencia de la declaración de default por parte del gobierno argentino se da un cambio en la imagen financiera del país, influenciada por el FMI, que convierte a Argentina en un paria internacional en temas financieros y comerciales alejándolo de los mercados internacionales. Este estudio de caso tendrá un acercamiento cualitativo dado que se analizarán las características, actuaciones y las bases crean el lazo entre las variables de la crisis financiera y el rol del FMI en Argentina y así poder entender su relación.

La alianza de estados insulares pequeños y la securitización del cambio climático en la convención marco de Naciones Unidas sobre cambio climático (1992-2012)

La presente monografía busca explicar el proceso de securitización realizado por la AOSIS del cambio climático en las COP de la CMNUCC. Esta investigación defiende que la AOSIS sí ha hecho dicho proceso a través de estrategias como el liderazgo moral y los nexos con actores no-estatales; pero dicho proceso no ha sido exitoso, dado el predominio del discurso del desarrollo sostenible en las negociaciones, el debilitamiento de la AOSIS como actor securitizador y el poco apoyo formal de las potencias emergentes y el bloque UMBRELLA. Para sustentar lo anterior, se realizará una revisión de informes científicos que demuestran que el cambio climático es una amenaza a la seguridad, y un estudio desde de la teoría de securitización de Thierry Balzacq, de los discursos dados por los estados AOSIS, de las COP y de las posiciones de algunos bloques de negociación sobre el cambio climático.

El fenómeno de los refugiados ambientales en Haití y su repercusión en la seguridad regional (2010-2015)

Esta monografía busca analizar cómo el fenómeno de los refugiados ambientales que se generó a partir del terremoto en Haití de 2010, ha influido sobre el complejo de seguridad en la región de el Caribe, desde el 2010 hasta el 2015, teniendo en cuenta la crisis social provocada por el desastre ambiental, ya que en razón de la carencia de estatus legal y de amenazas interdependientes y multidimensionales obligó a los Estados del área a modificar sus políticas de seguridad, mediante la interacción de los países, puesto que se presentaron diferentes cambios en las relaciones del complejo de seguridad, lo cual determino nuevas transformaciones en la securitización de la región. Esta monografía recurrirá a la teoría de Complejos de Seguridad Regional de autores como: Barry Buzan, Ole Waever, Derrick Frazier y Robert Stewart.

Game-theoretic aspects of international mergers: Theory and case studies

This paper studies the exclusion of potential competition as a motivating factor for international mergers. We propose a simple game-theoretic framework in order to discuss the conditions under which mergers that prevent reciprocal domestic competition will occur. Our analysis highlights the shortcomings of antitrust policies based on pre-merger/post-merger concentration comparisons. A review of several recent European cases suggests that actual merger policy often fails to consider potential competition.

Caribbean Irish connections

There has been an Irish presence within the Caribbean since at least the 1620s and yet the historical and cultural dimensions of this encounter remain relatively under-researched and are often conceived of in reductive terms by crude markers such as redlegs or poor whites. While there are some striking reminders of this hitory throughout the region, this collection explores how the complications and contradictions of Irish Caribbean relations are much richer and deeper than previously recognized. Caribbean Irish Connections makes an important contribution to Irish studies by challenging the dominance of a US diasporic history and a disciplinary focus on cultural continuity and ancestry. Likewise, within Caribbean studies, the Irish presence troubles the orthodox historical models for understanding race and the plantation, race and class structures, as well as questions of ethnic and religious minorities. The contributors emphasize the importance of understanding the transatlantic nexus between Ireland and the Caribbean in terms of the shared historical experiences of dislocation, diaspora and colonization, as well as of direct encounter. This collection pays tribute to the extraordinarily rich tradition of cultural expression that informs both cultures and their imagination of each other.

Los asilados de las embajadas de Europa Occidental en Chile tras el golpe militar y sus consecuencias diplomáticas : El caso de Suecia

Given the expectations that western governments had in the reforms being implemented by the Unidad Popular, the September 1973 coup d’état in Chile caused a great international outcry. The violence and repression that accompanied the military coup produced a worldwide repudiation of the military junta. Sweden stood out most consistently among the countries that declared their opposition to Chile during the period of the dictatorship by continuously denouncing the violations to human rights. In this context, Sweden’s Ambassador to Chile, Harald Edelstam, played a very important role in saving the lives of hundreds of Chilean citizens and foreign nationals who sought refuge from the regime’s bloody repression. Making use of the privileges he enjoyed as a diplomat, Edelstam confronted the military authorities to release people wrongfully sentenced to the death penalty. As a result, he was declared persona non grata and forced to leave Chile. This was the beginning of a long and controversial diplomatic relationship that lasted until the return of democracy in Chile in 1990. This article is a first attempt at understanding how human rights violations affected bilateral relations between Chile and Sweden with respect to the diplomatic efforts of Ambassador Harald Edelstam.

International Recommendations for Training Future Toxicologic Pathologists Participating in Regulatory-Type, Nonclinical Toxicity Studies

The International Federation of Societies of Toxicologic Pathologists (IFSTP) proposes a common global framework for training future toxicologic pathologists who will support regulatory-type nonclinical toxicology studies. Trainees optimally should undertake a scientific curriculum of at least 5 years at an accredited institution leading to a clinical degree (veterinary medicine or medicine). Trainees should then obtain 4 or more years of intensive pathology practice during a residency and/or on-the-job "apprenticeship," at least 2 years of which must be focused on regulatory-type toxicologic pathology topics. Possession of a recognized pathology qualification (i.e., certification) is highly recommended. A non-clinical pathway (e.g., a graduate degree in medical biology or pathology) may be possible if medically trained pathologists are scarce, but this option is not optimal. Regular, lifelong continuing education (peer review of nonclinical studies, professional meetings, reading, short courses) will be necessary to maintain and enhance one's understanding of current toxicologic pathology knowledge, skills, and tools. This framework should provide a rigorous yet flexible way to reliably train future toxicologic pathologists to generate, interpret, integrate, and communicate data in regulatory-type, nonclinical toxicology studies. (J Toxicol Pathol 2010; 23: 171-181)

Review of selected areas of research on the Caribbean subregion in the 2000s: identifying the main gaps

Includes bibliography

The United Nations in global governance, a Latin American and Caribbean perspective Santiago, 8 and 9 August 2011: regional seminar

Foreword by Alicia Bárcena

International trade and maritime transport in the Caribbean

For the countries of the Caribbean, the international trade and transport of goods are more important than for many others in the region (see FAL Bulletin No. 136 Maritime transport in the Caribbean), and the subregion is strongly affected by structural changes in maritime transport (see FAL Bulletin No. 142 The impact of structural changes in liner shipping on Caribbean ports).For these reasons ECLAC's Transport Unit and the Commissions' sub-headquarters in the Caribbean, jointly organized a Meeting of Experts which took place in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from 14 to 15 September 2000. Twenty-six participants took part, representing different academic, intergovernmental, financial and industrial institutions and organizations.This edition of the FAL Bulletin presents some of the results of this meeting.