MDC's mission is to help young people be successful in school and in finding careers. MDC uses the following strategies to support its mission:

• increasing institutional capacity to better serve disadvantaged students and their communities
• reforming public policies and systems to increase the quality and availability of higher education
• promoting the critical link between postsecondary education and economic well-being for people and communities

Michael and Susan Dell established the foundation in 1999 with an endowment that has grown to more than $1 billion. The gift was inspired by their passion for supporting children’s causes as a way to make an even greater difference in a measurable way, particularly for those children living in urban poverty. Based in Austin, TX, the foundation initially focused on improving education and children’s health in Central Texas; but our mission soon expanded to reach children globally. To date, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has committed almost $450 million to assist nonprofit organizations working in major urban communities in the United States and India. Our vision is to focus on opportunities with the greatest potential to directly and measurably transform the lives of children living in urban poverty.

The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, made up of thirty democracies, focuses on issues facing the economy, the society, and the environment due to globalization. Their executive summary aims to identify the economic impact of counterfeiting and piracy. In 2005, they found that pirated and counterfeited products amount to $200 billion, ecxluding trade conducted through the Internet. To put this number into context, the report states that the amount is larger than the GDPs of 150 economies. They found that piracy operations are in large led by organized crime such as gangs and terrorist groups. Only groups with financial stability and vast distribution networks would be capable of controlling such a market. Even though certain target groups have been identified, it is still difficult to catch and combat these pirates.While piracy exists in all economics, it is most pronounced in developing countries. The report calls upon governments to strengthen law enforcement and regulation to diminish these networks.

While some counterfeit goods could potentially be harmful to ones health, such as counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs, other pirated goods such as movies serve to decrease economic growth and discourage creativity. Due to the Internet, new distributions outlets are available for pirated material. As the report emphasizes, the Internet provides an infinite market for products that can be sold through full anonymity. Not only does piracy effect copyright industries, it is also shown to effect areas of trade, the evironment, and employment as well.

The report finishes by suggesting methods to improve information on counterfeiting and piracy to better target such groups. By developing more information on the national and global level that is systematically collected, comparable, and comprehensive, there can be a uniform system for combating these illegal activties.

In my paper, I intend on identifying the challenges the movie industry faces. The data collected by the OECD provides significant insight into the nature of the groups disseminating pirated goods. In addition, their numerical figures will help me quantify the impact of their activities, economically and socially.

Common access point to industrial, economic and developmental data from a variety of sources (UN, IMF, WHO, World Bank, etc.). Created by the United Nations Statistics Division.

This is a study of the concerns associated with the economic development in certain service sectors in India. The objective of the article is to bring to light the necessity of improved transport and communication in India, especially due to its rapid rate of growth. The author addresses the lack of mobility options within India, a necessity in these booming times. An example he provides explains that a third of the half a million villages in India, which are a minimum of 5 miles apart have no dependable road connections, thereby making the only mode of commute by foot. This problem is being exacerbated by the fact that the government is not paying due attention to this economic sphere. For example, when India's gross income rose by 58% in the late 1950's, road and rail fright rose by 170%; yet the government did not take any adequate measure to compensate for this growth, leaving the transport industry in dire need of reformation.

Neither Apu nor Durga had ever seen a train while they lived in their village. One might argue that the highlight of the movie is when they run through the fields waiting in anticipation for the train to arrive, as they share a moment of awe in silence. Although the movie was made in the 1950's, right after India's independence, it is shocking to note that half its population had not even seen what a train looked like. Apu's father in the film traveled by foot, and then by bullock cart when he needed to make his way to Benaras or another nearby town. But, with the coming of the train was ingrained a ray of hope for Durga who also wished to explore and move out of her village. Unfortunately, this dream was never fulfilled as she died due to a fever she caught while playing out in the fields in the rain. This exemplifies the level of underdevelopment and need for change within India, especially for the villagers who form a majority of India's population.

This page gives an introduction to the Range objects. Using these, you can select any part of an HTML document and do something with this information. The most common Range is a user selection.

The Transportationist: a weblog by David Levinson at the Nexus of Networks, Economics, and Urban Systems

The Spontaneous City
Essay on planning policies favoring more/less planning and the relationship with land use and transportation. Focuses on "Spontaneous develoment" and "Spontaneous action."

On the Block
By JENNIFER BLEYER
Published: October 22, 2006

on atlantic yards development

ReliefWeb is the global hub for time-critical humanitarian information on Complex Emergencies and Natural Disasters. Includes links to reports for all countries, as well as info on which humanitarian aid organizations are working in a given country. Detailed and up-to-date information on the humanitarian issues in countries around the world.

This site presents the official data, definitions, methodologies and sources for the 48 indicators to measure progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.

The African Development Bank is the premier financial development institution of Africa, dedicated to combating poverty and improving the lives of people of the continent and engaged in the task of mobilizing resources towards the economic and social progress of its Regional Member Countries.

The Human Development Report is an independent report. It is commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and is the product of a selected team of leading scholars, development practitioners and members of the Human Development Report Office of UNDP. Various measures of development along a series of themes.

Publications, maps, and reports track UN food aid around the world. Very useful reports about food needs in various countries, and food issues and policies.

Topics often include databases for data on health topics by country.

Thesis: The Chinese economy is best served by a gradual increase in intellectual property right (IPR) protection that corresponds to the growth of its economy. This gradual increase will allow China to become technologically and culturally self-sufficient because contrary to what large American corporations would argue, foreign investment and involvement in the Chinese intellectual property (IP) economy would still be sufficient and China's domestic development would not be unduly restricted.

This book is a collection of essays.  It is very interesting and important for my topic of strengthening IPRs in China because it presents a point of view that is contrary to many of the other books written on IPRs for developing economies.  This book contests that developing economies should not adopt IPR regulations similar to well-developed countries.  More succinctly, “the chapters in Part II suggest that global intellectual property rules may well be an obstacle to development.”
    The essays are generally written in an easy style and all present compelling arguments.  Most essays are written by scholars although some are written by administrators and businessmen with experience in international intellectual property.  The book is broken down into four segments with each segment representing a different aspect of the overall argument.
    The first segment, entitled, “Innovation and Diffusion of Technology” suggests that international IPRs make it difficult for poor countries to receive advanced technology and education, which is in a contradiction to many economists view of IPRs.  The next section, “Development and Access to Technology: Genetics, Health, Agriculture, Education and Information Technology” discusses the current situation in many developing nations and how they use the economic principle of free-riding to their advantage.  It also discusses the fact that developing nations have the capacity to understand and enact versions of IPR laws that are beneficial to them and don’t need assistance in determining their own laws.  The third segment, entitled, “Knowledge and Access: Who Makes the Rules?” argues that international IPR agreements are really just bully tactics enacted by developed nations to coerce weaker countries into adopting the formers’ standards of IPR.  The final part, “Ownership of Knowledge: Changing the Rules” discusses how developing countries have effected TRIPs, the WTO, international IPRs, and their relation to larger countries.
    This book is very valuable for filling out a complete view of IPRs in developing economies.  It presents an alternative view to most economic arguments and, therefore, shows how my thesis would be beneficial at the initial stages of Chinese economic development.  Because the book only discusses developing nations, its thesis falls apart when expanded to nations that have outgrown the “developing nation” status.  This lack of discussion implies that a country that is neither developing nor developed needs an intermediate level of IPR protection, and therefore a gradual increase of IPR protection is necessary.

Now that Ajax has pretty much become a mainstream phenomenon, I've decided to start putting together some pages on specific libraries. And this one is on prototype...

Documentation for the prototype javascript library

Code download and documentation site for Steller Images

Confluence site for the Sakai Images lecture

see

http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/attachments/MENA2.pdf

http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/attachments/MENA2.pdf

for tables

An analysis of the development of China's economy, its capacity for development and reform, and its susceptibility to Financial crises like the Southeast Asian Financial Crisis of 1997.

Different ways of integration in post-Soviet Europe will produce vastly different economies and different relationships between countries.

Why are Eastern Europe's economies growing slower than the economies of the "East Asian Miracle"?  This paper examines the question and provides possible answers, as well as ways to help Eastern European economies succeed.

Nice layout to look at for LoST

I love lists!  Here's a nice list of how to program.

1. Do not expect a detailed specification.
2. Do not spend your time polishing a detailed design.
3. Keep your eyes on the real problem.
4. Have a team of smart guys.
5. Keep the complexity of your decisions down.
6. Do not optimize your code without solid reliable data.
7. Do not code "till it's done".
8. Start debugging while designing.
9. Do not flatter yourself that your system is bug-free.
10. Do not expect to create a perfect documentation.

 

Helix Server is the only multi-format, cross platform streaming server for delivering the highest quality experience to wired and wireless devices.

Oriented towards a public library, but nice system for room scheduling.  Steve turned me on to it (they use it).

Gender statistics portray the status of women compared to men and serve as tools for measuring progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of women.

WomenWatch is a central gateway to information and resources on the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women throughout the United Nations system. Information is broken down by topic, and region with links to local groups and statistics.

The TCDI program is intended to assist in reversing the trends of disinvestment and decline in many of the region's core cities and first generation suburbs by:

1. Supporting local planning projects that will lead to more residential, employment or retail opportunities;
2. Improving the overall character and quality of life within these communities to retain and attract business and residents, which will help to reduce the pressure for further sprawl and expansion into the growing suburbs;
3. Enhancing and utilizing the existing transportation infrastructure capacity in these areas to reduce the demands on the region's transportation network; and
4. Reducing congestion and improving the transportation system's efficiency.

The TCDI program is intended to assist in reversing the trends of disinvestment and decline in many of the region's core cities and first generation suburbs by:

1. Supporting local planning projects that will lead to more residential, employment or retail opportunities;
2. Improving the overall character and quality of life within these communities to retain and attract business and residents, which will help to reduce the pressure for further sprawl and expansion into the growing suburbs;
3. Enhancing and utilizing the existing transportation infrastructure capacity in these areas to reduce the demands on the region's transportation network; and
4. Reducing congestion and improving the transportation system's efficiency.

This site came into existence as a collection of webmaster tools developed to help myself and a few other webmasters with our daily webmaster chores. After creating a fair number of online tools, it was decided that we should make the site public, so that other webmasters around the world would have access to them for free. The suite of free tools and resources offered continues to grow to this day, and we aim to offer something useful for the beginner to the advanced webmaster alike.

Apparently, Allegheny College is encouraging student development of webtools.  They have a web developerment Wiki that lists projects.

This article describes how Black men try to make the prestigious NBA.  It also incorporates the Nike company and its involvement in branding athletes.  The article looks specifically into the life of a man called Peewee.