Search results for " Integration"
showing 10 items of 1034 documents
Export market integration in the European Union
2004
This paper examines the degree and recent evolution (1988-2001) of export-price dispersion among European Union countries. It also explores the effect of exchange rates on exportprice dispersion by reviewing the experience of some European countries that participated in the exchange rate stability zone. The results indicate that export-price dispersion across European Union countries was usually lower than across OECD countries. Moreover, although there is little evidence of convergence, this is stronger across European Union countries. Finally, even though price dispersion was often lower across European Union countries where exchange rates have been relatively stable than across countries…
EU Referenda in the Baltics: Understanding the Results at the Regional Level
2005
This paper analyses regional differences in EU referenda results in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In each of the three countries, other things being equal, high income regions were significantly more pro-European than low-income ones, while regions with a high share of ethnic minorities were significantly more opposed to the enlargement than other regions. The ethnic effect was strongest in Latvia and weakest in Estonia. These findings clearly indicate necessity of stronger efforts both in integration of the Baltic societies and in the promotion of reliable EU information, especially in less developed regions. On the other hand, we confirm the findings from earlier referenda that support …
The Multi-Fibre Arrangement—A hydra of protectionism?
1981
Talks are at present in progress in Geneva among 51 industrialised and developing countries on a renewal of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) which expires at the end of 1981. The preliminaries of the negotiations have already revealed the existence of massive conflicts of interest not only between the industrialised countries on the one hand and the developing countries on the other but also within the two groups. The talks are moreover overshadowed by threats from individual industrialised countries to resort to unilateral protectionist measures unless a result satisfactory to them is achieved. This situation is the more explosive as the outcome of the negotiations is regarded worldwide a…
Free trade and protection of the environment: Is the GATT in need of reform?
1992
The GATT negotiations under the Uruguay Round have almost run their course. However, consultations are certain to continue, as critics regard the GATT rules on environmental protection as inadequate. What aspects need to be reformed, and how might the initial reform measures look?
Public Opinion, National Integration and National Identity in Spain: The Case of the Barcelona Olympic Games
1997
. This article analyses the impact of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games on national integration and national identity in Spain with respect to the conflict of interests that developed around the Games between the centre and Catalonia. We argue that polarisation along nationalist lines was limited in large part because national identity in Spain today is not predominantly a unitary and exclusive entity. Dual identity, loyalty to both Spain, on the one hand, and to one's region, or nation as in the case of Catalonia, on the other, and inclusive nationalism that does not aim at complete national independence, increasingly have tended to predominate in the last decade and a half. The Olympics, t…
Combined Endo- and Exoscopic Semi-robotic Manipulator System for Image Guided Operations
2006
This paper describes the development of a robotic assistance system for image guided operations. To minimize operation time, a multimodal user interface enables freehand robotic manipulation of an extracorporeal stereoscopic digital camera (exoscope) and an endoscope. The surgeon thereby wears a head-mounted unit with a binocular display, a head tracker, a microphone and earphones. Different view positioning and adjustment modes can be selected by voice and controlled by head rotation while pressing a miniature confirmation button with a finger. Initial studies focused on the evaluation and optimization of the intuitiveness, comfort and precision of different modes of operation, including a…
Domestication of a laptop on a wireless university campus: a case study
2010
<span>This study reports how university students domesticate their personal laptops at the beginning of studies on a wireless campus. The aim was to examine how students integrate the laptop into their personal education experience, what sort of processes were experienced to render the laptop useful and meaningful, and how gender and IT proficiency influenced this process. Qualitative interview data with twenty students (identified and selected by quantitative survey) was analysed using the grounded theory approach during which a multi-aspect domestication process was identified. Results highlight the importance of a structured way of organising laptop initiatives in universities. It …
Sport and Quality of Life
2022
Negli ultimi trent’anni lo sport ha assunto un significato molto rilevante nella vita delle persone e, seppure con notevoli differenze, sia nei paesi a sviluppo economico avanzato, sia in quelli in via di sviluppo. A livello individuale, esso ha costituito un’area di investimento identitario quando ha assunto la forma di sport spettacolo del quale fruire, alimentando la pratica del tifo e il fandom o costituendo il modello di uno stile di vita vincente; ma anche quando ha assunto la forma di pratica del tempo libero attraverso la quale tenersi in forma, facendo crescere, in questo caso, la diffusione di una cultura della salute e del benessere. Si tratta di due modalità di approcciare al co…
Geophysics and cultural heritage. A living field of research for Italian geophysicists
2015
If one reads the World Heritage List 2002/2003, (http:// whc.unesco.org/archive/WHList02-ENG.pdf), a datum comes out with evidence: 12 countries have 253 World Heritage Sites (WHS) and all the 125 member countries have 586 WHS. Within these 12 countries Italy has 35 WHS corresponding to about 6% of the whole, followed by Spain, 5.8%, France, 4.6%, and the tenth has less than 2% of WHS. Cultural heritage is one of the greatest riches of Italy. Europe, with China, is the land which has the most stratified history in the world, and Italy is likely to still have undiscovered settlements dating from the prehistoric age to the 18th century. Some areas are totally unexplored, others have been only…
Cooperation Formats of China and Europe: Synergies and Divergences
2017
Abstract This contribution articulates the synergies and divergences of the various formats of cooperation between China and the European countries. The EU and China have a strong interest in each other’s flagship initiatives, namely the Investment Plan for Europe, and the One Belt, One Road Initiative (Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road). The authors argue that there are certain synergies between these initiatives. Furthermore, the new initiative EU-China Connectivity Platform is aimed to explore these synergies. The authors explore the recent developments in the EU-China investments, trade cooperation and the challenges of the ever-growing CEEC-China partnership i…