The Making of knowledge cities : lessons learned from Melbourne

Knowledge cities are seen as fundamental to the economic growth and development of the 21st century cities. The purpose of this paper is to explore the knowledge city concept in depth. This paper discusses the principles of a knowledge city, and portrays its distinguishing characteristics and processes. The paper relates and analyses Melbourne’s experience as a knowledge city and scrutinises Melbourne’s initiatives on science, technology and innovation and policies for economic and social development. It also illustrates how the city administration played a key role in developing Melbourne as a globally recognised, entrepreneurial and competitive knowledge city. Then this paper identifies key success factors and provides some insights to policy makers of the MENA region cities in designing knowledge cities.

The interest rates and performance of MFIs in the MENA region: is there a moral issue?

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Comparison between known propagation models using least squares tuning algorithm on 5.8 GHz in Amazon region cities

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a performance comparison between known propagation Models through least squares tuning algorithm for 5.8 GHz frequency band. The studied environment is based on the 12 cities located in Amazon Region. After adjustments and simulations, SUI Model showed the smaller RMS error and standard deviation when compared with COST231-Hata and ECC-33 models.

Feminism, gender equity and sexual/reproductive health in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region

Sexual/reproductive/health and rights are crucial public health concerns that have been specifically integrated into the Millennium Development Goals to be accomplished by 2015. These issues are related to several health outcomes, including HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence (GBV) among women. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region comprises Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), West Bank and Gaza (WBG), and Yemen. This region is primarily Arabic speaking (except for Israel and Iran), and primarily Muslim (except for Israel). Some traditional and cultural views and practices in this region engender gender inequalities, which manifest themselves in the economic, political and social spheres. HIV and gender-based violence in the region may be interlinked with gender inequalities which breed justification for partner violence and honour killings, and increase the chance that HIV will transform into an epidemic in the region if not addressed. A feminist framework, focused on economic, political and social empowerment for women would be useful to consider applying to sexual/reproductive health in the region.^

Climate change adaptation solutions for the green sectors of selected zones in the MENA region

In this paper, we propose climate adaptation solutions for the green sectors in three different zones of MENA: Egypt’s Delta (irrigated), Karak, in the highlands of Jordan (rainfed), and Lebanon’s Orontes basin (mixed: rainfed-irrigated). We analysed land use and crop intensification, and calculated the economic productivity of water – a critical scarce resource in MENA. By integrating the results with evidence from literature on the potential impacts of climate change and socio-economic factors, we could identify vulnerability levels of the three regions and propose adaptation measures relying of the concept of the “food-water-energy nexus.” While the vulnerability levels are found to be high in the Delta (Egypt) and Karak (Jordan), mainly due to water scarcity and poor adaptive capacity, the vulnerability level is moderate in the Orontes zone (Lebanon) due to a diversified agricultural sector and good market development, coupled with moderate water scarcity. Proposed adaptation solutions range from measures to improve technical efficiency, to measures that encourage economically efficient allocation by use of market forces. For both cases, the development of market opportunities is emphasized to make the proposed measures attractive to farmers.

Providing youth with skills, training and employment opportunities through ICT Initiatives

Youth population is increasing explosively particularly in developing countries as a result of rapid urbanization. This increase is bringing large number of social and economic problems. For instance the impacts of job and training availability, and the physical, social and cultural quality of urban environment on young people are enormous, and affect their health, lifestyles, and well-being (Gleeson and Sipe 2006). Besides this, globalization and technological developments are affecting youth in urban areas in all parts of the world, both positively and negatively (Robertson 1995). The rapidly advancing information and communications technologies (ICTs) helps in addressing social and economic problems caused by the rapid growth of urban youth populations in developing countries. ICTs offer opportunities to young people for learning, skill development and employment. But there are downsides: young people in many developing countries lack of having broad access to these new technologies, they are vulnerable to global market changes, and ICTs link them into global cultures which promote consumer goods, potentially eroding local cultures and community values (Manacorda and Petrongolo 1999). However we believe that the positives outweigh such negatives. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the world’s young population number more than they ever have. There are over a billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24, which 85 per cent of them live in developing countries and mainly in urban environments. Many of these young people are in the process of making, or have already made, the transition from school to work. During the last two decades all around the world, these young people, as new workers, have faced a number of challenges associated with globalization and technological advances on labour markets (United Nations 2004). The continuous decrease in the manufacturing employment is made many of the young people facing three options: getting jobs in the informal economy with insecurity and poor wages and working conditions, or getting jobs in the low-tier service industries, or developing their vocational skills to benefit from new opportunities in the professional and advanced technical/knowledge sectors. Moreover in developing countries a large portion of young people are not even lucky enough to choose among any of these options, and consequently facing long-term unemployment, which makes them highly vulnerable. The United Nations’ World Youth Employment report (2004) indicates that in almost all countries, females tend to be far more vulnerable than males in terms of long-term unemployment, and young people who have advanced qualifications are far less likely to experience long-term unemployment than others. In the limited opportunities of the formal labour market, those with limited vocational skills resort to forced entrepreneurship and selfemployment in the informal economy, often working for low pay under hazardous conditions, with only few prospects for the future (United Nations 2005a). The International Labour Organization’s research (2004) revealed that the labour force participation rates for young people decreased by almost four per cent (which is equivalent of 88 million young people) between 1993 and 2003. This is largely as a result of the increased number of young people attending school, high overall unemployment rates, and the fact that some young people gave up any hope of finding work and dropped out of the labour market. At the regional level, youth unemployment was highest in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) (25.6%) and sub-Saharan Africa (21%) and lowest in East Asia (7%) and the industrialized economies(13.4%) (International Labour Organization 2004). The youth in economically disadvantaged regions (e.g. the MENA region) face many challenges in education and training that delivers them the right set of skills and knowledge demanded by the labour market. As a consequence, the transition from school to work is mostly unsuccessful and young population end up either unemployed or underemployed in the informal sectors (United Nations 2005b). Unemployment and lack of economic prospects of the urban youth are pushing many of them into criminal acts, excessive alcohol use, substance addiction, and also in many cases resulting in processes of social or political violence (Fernandez-Maldonado 2004; United Nations 2005a). Long-term unemployment leads young people in a process of marginalisation and social exclusion (United Nations 2004). The sustained high rates of long-term youth unemployment have a number of negative effects on societies. First, it results in countries failing to take advantage of the human resources to increase their productive potential, at a time of transition to a globalized world that inexorably demands such leaps in productive capacity. Second, it reinforces the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Third, owing to the discrepancy between more education and exposure to the mass media and fewer employment opportunities, it may encourage the spread of disruptive behaviours, recourse to illegal alternatives for generating income and the loss of basic societal values, all of which erode public safety and social capital. Fourth, it may trigger violent and intractable political conflicts. And lastly, it may exacerbate intergenerational conflicts when young people perceive a lack of opportunity and meritocracy in a system that favours adults who have less formal education and training but more wealth, power and job stability (Hopenhayn 2002). To assist in addressing youth’s skill training and employment problems this paper scrutinises useful international practices, policies, initiatives and programs targeting youth skill training, particularly in ICTs. The MENA national governments and local authorities could consider implementing similar initiative and strategies to address some of the youth employment issues. The broader aim of this paper is to investigate the successful practice and strategies for the information and communication related income generation opportunities for young people to: promote youth entrepreneurship; promote public-private partnerships; target vulnerable groups of young people; narrow digital divide; and put young people in charge. The rest of this paper is organised in five parts. First, the paper provides an overview of the literature on the knowledge economy, skill, education and training issues. Secondly, it reviews the role of ICTs for vocational skill development and employability. Thirdly, it discusses the issues surrounding the development of the digital divide. Fourthly, the paper underlines types and the importance of developing ICT initiatives targeting young people, and reviews some of the successful policy implementations on ICT-based initiatives from both developed and developing countries that offer opportunities to young people for learning, skill development and employment. Then the paper concludes by providing useful generalised recommendations for the MENA region countries and cities in: advocating possible opportunities for ICT generated employment for young people; and discussing how ICT policies could be modified and adopted to meet young people’s needs.

Corporate governance and compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs):evidence from two MENA stock exchanges

This study examines the influence of corporate governance structures on the levels of compliance with IFRSs disclosure requirements by companies listed on the stock exchanges of two leading MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries, Egypt and Jordan. This study employs a cross-sectional analysis of a sample of non-financial companies listed on the two stock exchanges for the fiscal year 2007. Using an unweighted disclosure index, the study measures the levels of compliance by companies listed on the two stock exchanges investigated.Univariate and multivariate regression analyses are used to estimate the relationships proposed in the hypotheses. In addition, the study uses semi-structured interviews in order to supplement the interpretation of the findings of the quantitative analyses. An innovative theoretical foundation is deployed, in which compliance is interpretable through three lenses - institutional isomorphism theory, secrecy versus transparency (one of Gray’s accounting sub-cultural values), and financial economics theories. The study extends the financial reporting literature, cross-national comparative financial disclosure literature, and the emerging markets disclosure literature by carrying out one of the first comparative studies of the above mentioned stock exchanges. Results provide evidence of a lack of de facto compliance (i.e., actual compliance) with IFRSs disclosure requirements in the scrutinised MENA countries. The impact of corporate governance mechanisms for best practice on enhancing the extent of compliance with mandatory IFRSs is absent in the stock exchanges in question. The limited impact of corporate governance best practice is mainly attributed to the novelty of corporate governance in the region, a finding which lends support to the applicability of the proposed theoretical foundation to the MENA context. Finally, the study provides recommendations for improving de facto compliance with IFRSs disclosure requirements and corporate governance best practice in the MENA region and suggests areas for future research.

Climate change, water resources, and the politics of adaptation in the Middle East and North Africa

Through an examination of global climate change models combined with hydrological data on deteriorating water quality in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), we elucidate the ways in which the MENA countries are vulnerable to climate-induced impacts on water resources. Adaptive governance strategies, however, remain a low priority for political leaderships in the MENA region. To date, most MENA governments have concentrated the bulk of their resources on large-scale supply side projects such as desalination, dam construction, inter-basin water transfers, tapping fossil groundwater aquifers, and importing virtual water. Because managing water demand, improving the efficiency of water use, and promoting conservation will be key ingredients in responding to climate-induced impacts on the water sector, we analyze the political, economic, and institutional drivers that have shaped governance responses. While the scholarly literature emphasizes the importance of social capital to adaptive governance, we find that many political leaders and water experts in the MENA rarely engage societal actors in considering water risks. We conclude that the key capacities for adaptive governance to water scarcity in MENA are underdeveloped. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Presente y futuro de las metrópolis de América Latina

En América Latina se aplicó salvajemente el neoliberalismo, con resultados lamentables: no logró una acumulación capitalista sostenida, y se deterioraron las condiciones de vida de la población. Las ciudades neoliberales son más contradictorias que sus predecesoras capitalistas: mantienen sus vicios y perdieron sus pocas virtudes. En el siglo XXI, concluirá la urbanización mundial. Latinoamérica será una de las regiones más urbanizadas. Sus metrópolis y ciudades-región, con su gigantismo, desorden, dispersión, privatización, fragmentación, informalización, empobrecimiento, exclusión, confl ictividad, violencia y contaminación iniciaron este siglo en crisis estructural y social; su futuro aparece como la disyuntiva entre la profundización de su crisis, o el cambio de organización económica, social y territorial, para revertir sus componentes básicos. 

LA COOPERACIÓN BILATERAL EN MATERIA MILITAR ENTRE EE.UU. Y EGIPTO Y SU INCIDENCIA EN LA SEGURIDAD FRONTERIZA CON ISRAEL (2002-2008).

Este estudio de caso se realiza con el ánimo de analizar la cooperación militar existente entre Estados Unidos y Egipto durante el periodo de 2002 a 2008. De esta manera, se busca conocer la incidencia que dicha cooperación tuvo en la seguridad fronteriza de Egipto e Israel. Para tal fin a lo largo del trabajo se procederá a exponer los principales aspectos del programa de cooperación analizado, se identificaran las principales amenazas a la seguridad fronteriza de Egipto y de Israel y se describirán las principales acciones que en el marco de dicho programa de cooperación militar se han tomado para hacerles frente a estas.

La dimensión transnacional del movimiento feminista marroquí: génesis, desarrollo e impacto social (1980-2008)

Esta monografía busca explicar cómo han incidido el contexto internacional y las relaciones transnacionales en el movimiento feminista de Marruecos. De este modo, este estudio defiende que las Conferencias Mundiales sobre la Mujer de la ONU crearon una estructura de oportunidad política que favoreció el surgimiento y el desarrollo de este movimiento. Asimismo, dicho contexto construyó un espacio para que las activistas feministas marroquíes crearan y se insertaran en Redes de Defensa Transnacional, las cuales contribuyeron a cambiar la condición de la mujer en Marruecos, a través de reformas a los Códigos de Familia y Nacionalidad y el levantamiento de las reservas a la CEDAW. Para esto se hará un estudio interdisciplinario haciendo uso de la teoría de los movimientos sociales y del activismo transnacional. Igualmente, se utilizará una metodología cualitativa, principalmente a través de las herramientas del análisis de contenido y el trabajo de campo de la autora.

Modelo de propagação para redes sem fio fixas na banda de 5,8 GHZ em cidades típicas da região amazônica

O estudo da perda de propagação, nas cidades da região amazônica, envolve ambiente caracterizado pelo clima tropical e, suburbano densamente arborizado. Levando consideração à importância da faixa ISM 5,8 GHz, esta dissertação apresenta um modelo propagação para a faixa de frequência em questão, agregando as características da atenuação experimentada pela onda de rádio quando se propaga em ambientes de cidades típicas região amazônica. Para tanto, medidas de potência recebida foram coletadas em 335 clientes fixos, distribuídos em 12 cidades na região norte do Brasil, sendo estes atendidos pelo programa de inclusão digital do estado do Pará, Navega Pará. Também foram realizadas medidas com mobilidade no campus da Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA). Apresenta ainda o desempenho do modelo proposto sobre outros modelos (Modelo SUI e COST231-Hata) descritos na literatura, para redes sem fio fixas e com mobilidade. As métricas desempenho utilizadas foram o erro RMS e o desvio padrão com relação aos dados medidos. O ajuste dos parâmetros do modelo proposto é realizado através do método de mínimos quadrados lineares, aplicado em duas etapas para diminuir a incerteza sobre os parâmetros ajustados. O modelo proposto alcançou um erro RMS de 3,8 dB e desvio padrão de 2,3 dB, superando os demais modelos que obtiveram erros RMS acima de 10 dB e desvios padrão acima de 5 dB. Os resultados obtidos mostram a sua eficiência sobre outros modelos para predição de perdas na faixa de 5,8 GHz em sistemas fixos e móveis.

Distribution and variability of deformed wing virus of honeybees (Apis mellifera) in the Middle East and North Africa.

Three hundred eleven honeybee samples from twelve countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen, Palestine and Sudan) were analyzed for the presence of deformed wing virus (DWV). The prevalence of DWV throughout the MENA region was pervasive, but variable. The highest prevalence was found in Lebanon and Syria, with prevalence dropping in Palestine, Jordan and Egypt before increasing slightly moving westwards to Algeria and Morocco Phylogenetic analysis of a 194 nucleotide section of the DWV Lp gene did not identify any significant phylogenetic resolution among the samples, although the sequences did show consistent regional clustering, including an interesting geographic gradient from Morocco through North Africa to Jordan and Syria. The sequences revealed several clear variability hotspots in the deduced amino acid sequence, that furthermore showed some patterns of regional identity. Furthermore, the sequence variants from the Middle East and North Africa appear more numerous and diverse than those from Europe. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Report on democracy assistance from the European Union to the Middle East and North Africa. EUSpring Report, 18 May 2016

Since the Arab uprisings of 2011, European Union (EU) assistance has nominally targeted more resources to supporting democracy movements in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The EU has better equipped itself institutionally, financially and conceptually, by strengthening its bottom up grassroots approach to democracy support; resources earmarked for supporting civil society have been increased, the budget for the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) has been beefed up, and the strengthened EU Delegations have be come more empowered to reach out to groups at the local grass roots level behind democracy activities; The European Endowment for Democracy (EED) was created with the mandate to support individuals and organizations in neighbouring countries that work for democracy. Whether this translates into a more effective strategy for democracy support, however, remains to be seen. In this report, Rosa Balfour, Francesca Fabbri and Richard Youngs present a detailed overview of the support given to civil society in the MENA region by the EU, with a special focus on the various financial instruments used.

Organized labor and U.S. foreign policy: The Solidarity Center in historical context

During the Cold War the foreign policy of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), was heavily criticized by scholars and activists for following the lead of the U.S. state in its overseas operations. In a wide range of states, the AFL-CIO worked to destabilize governments selected by the U.S. state for regime change, while in others the Federation helped stabilize client regimes of the U.S. state. In 1997 the four regional organizations that previously carried out AFL-CIO foreign policy were consolidated into the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (Solidarity Center). My dissertation is an attempt to analyze whether the foreign policy of the AFL-CIO in the Solidarity Center era is marked by continuity or change with past practices. At the same time, this study will attempt to add to the debate over the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the post-Cold War era, and its implications for future study. Using the qualitative "process-tracing" detailed by of Alexander George and Andrew Bennett (2005) my study examines a wide array of primary and secondary sources, including documents from the NED and AFL-CIO, in order to analyze the relationship between the Solidarity Center and the U.S. state from 2002-2009. Furthermore, after analyzing broad trends of NED grants to the Solidarity Center, this study examines three dissimilar case studies including Venezuela, Haiti, and Iraq and the Middle East and North African (MENA) region to further explore the connections between U.S. foreign policy goals and the Solidarity Center operations. The study concludes that the evidence indicates continuity with past AFL-CIO foreign policy practices whereby the Solidarity Center follows the lead of the U.S. state. It has been found that the patterns of NED funding indicate that the Solidarity Center closely tailors its operations abroad in areas of importance to the U.S. state, that it is heavily reliant on state funding via the NED for its operations, and that the Solidarity Center works closely with U.S. allies and coalitions in these regions. Finally, this study argues for the relevance of "top-down" NGO creation and direction in the post-Cold War era.