Featuring cases from India, China, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Mongolia and Malaysia, the authors demonstrate and compare the differing uses of public deliberation in Asia. Many countries in Asia have long traditions of public deliberation, in both democratic and undemocratic settings, some of which continue today. Yet in the face of pressures from complex governance, popular protests and democratization, certain deliberative practices - notably deliberative polling - have been 'parachuted' into the region without regard to historical or traditional practices of deliberation. And, the motivations differ. Some states have made use of public deliberation in order to contain dissent, while others have more emancipatory goals in mind. The contributors to this book take a comparative perspective on the emergence and evolution of deliberative practices in Asia, and their relationships with democracy. They analyse the main motivations for introducing public deliberation in different political regimes and the effectiveness of public deliberation in Asian countries for solving problems and improving governance. In doing so they evaluate whether deliberative democratic tools, can apply to all societies regardless of their political and cultural differences. Essential reading for students and scholars of Asian Politics, this book will also be of great use to all political scientists with an interest in deliberative democracy.

Featuring cases from India, China, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Mongolia and Malaysia, the authors demonstrate and compare the differing uses of public deliberation in Asia. Many countries in Asia have long traditions of public deliberation, in both democratic and undemocratic settings, some of which continue today. Yet in the face of pressures from complex governance, popular protests and democratization, certain deliberative practices - notably deliberative polling - have been 'parachuted' into the region without regard to historical or traditional practices of deliberation. And, the motivations differ. Some states have made use of public deliberation in order to contain dissent, while others have more emancipatory goals in mind. The contributors to this book take a comparative perspective on the emergence and evolution of deliberative practices in Asia, and their relationships with democracy. They analyse the main motivations for introducing public deliberation in different political regimes and the effectiveness of public deliberation in Asian countries for solving problems and improving governance. In doing so they evaluate whether deliberative democratic tools, can apply to all societies regardless of their political and cultural differences. Essential reading for students and scholars of Asian Politics, this book will also be of great use to all political scientists with an interest in deliberative democracy.

Nations built on exclusion and assimilation, decades of civil war, widespread poverty, authoritarianism and the decline of democracy. Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka are travelling a road to federalism. Institutions and ethnic identity have interacted to privilege some and marginalise others. But when the right conditions prevail, political equality can be restored. This book charts the origins and evolution of federalism and other approaches to the accommodation of minority ethnic groups in Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. It applies a historical institutionalism methodology to understand why federalism has been resisted, what causes it to be established and what design options are most likely to balance otherwise competing centripetal and centrifugal forces. Breen shows how Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka are finding a middle ground whereby deliberative and moderating institutions are combined with accommodating ones to support a political equality among groups and individuals.

Nations built on exclusion and assimilation, decades of civil war, widespread poverty, authoritarianism and the decline of democracy. Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka are travelling a road to federalism. Institutions and ethnic identity have interacted to privilege some and marginalise others. But when the right conditions prevail, political equality can be restored. This book charts the origins and evolution of federalism and other approaches to the accommodation of minority ethnic groups in Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. It applies a historical institutionalism methodology to understand why federalism has been resisted, what causes it to be established and what design options are most likely to balance otherwise competing centripetal and centrifugal forces. Breen shows how Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka are finding a middle ground whereby deliberative and moderating institutions are combined with accommodating ones to support a political equality among groups and individuals.

This book presents a uniquely comprehensive account of learners' personal attributes, their thinking, their feelings, and their actions that have been shown to have an impact upon language learning. It is a landmark volume setting the agenda for language learning research in the 21st century and it provides invaluable information for all those engaged in language teaching.

Since it was first established in the 1970s the Applied Linguistics and Language Study series has become a major force in the study of practical problems in human communication and language education. Drawing extensively on empirical research and theoretical work in linguistics, sociology, psychology and education, the series explores key issues in language acquisition and language use. What the learner contributes is central to the language learning process. Learner Contributions to Language Learning provides a uniquely comprehensive account of learners' personal attributes, their thinking, their feelings, and their actions that have been shown to have an impact upon language learning. Containing specific chapters from leading names in the field, this book provides both a review of what has been discovered from previous research and identifies important future directions for research on learner contributions. It is a landmark volume setting the agenda for language learning research in the 21st century and it provides invaluable information for all those engaged in language teaching. The contributors to the volume are- Michael P. Breen Bonny Norton Anna Chamot Rebecca Oxford Rod Ellis Anna Pavlenko James P. Lantolf Anita Wenden Diane Larsen-Freeman

This book examines how election news reporting has changed over the last half century in Ireland by means of a unique dataset involving 25m words from newspapers as well as radio and television coverage. The authors examine reporting in terms of framing, tone and the distribution of coverage.They also focus on how the economy has affected election coverage as well as media reporting of leaders and personalities, gender and the effect of the commercial basis of media outlets. The findings - drawn from a machine learning computer system involving a huge content analysis study - will interest academics as well as politicians and policymakers internationally. -- .

Kevin Allen directs this erotic comedy adaptation of Dylan Thomas's 1954 radio play. Set in the fictional Welsh fishing village of Llareggub, the story follows the lives and shenanigans of the residents who share their thoughts and dreams through the medium of poetry, including two-time widow Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard (Buddug Verona James), the music-obsessed Organ Morgan (Aneirin Hughes), good-time girl Polly Garter (Charlotte Church) and the old, blind seaman Captain Cat (Rhys Ifans).

'As good a guide to a fascinating country in transformation as you will get.' Management Today In the course of a couple of generations, South Koreans took themselves out of the paddy fields and into Silicon Valley, establishing themselves as a democracy alongside the advanced countries of the world. Yet for all their ambition and achievement, the new Koreans are a curiously self-deprecating people. Theirs is a land with a rich and complex past, certain aspects of which they would prefer to forget as they focus on the future. Having lived and worked in South Korea for many years, Michael Breen considers what drives the nation today, and where it is heading. Through insightful anecdotes and observations, he provides a compelling portrait of Asia's most contradictory and polarized country. South Koreans are motivated by defiance, Breen argues: defiance of their antagonistic neighbour, North Korea, of their own history and of international opinion. Here is an overlooked nation with, great drive, determined to succeed on its own terms.

The second in Krista Michelle Breen's adventures of Dakotaroo. When Laura Petty suddenly closes her farm and moves away, things start to get weird around Beaverbrook Hall. Phillip is haunted by his memories of Bert Massey and drawn into a bizarre plot to steal his treasure. T.J. and Adrienne are given a young horse to train for Dennison Skyhouse, and soon everyone is galloping through Dead Dog Valley after dark. There is something important T.J. needs to know to unlock the secret of Mickey and Dakotaroo. Could the goat hold the key?

The third in Krista Michelle Breen's adventures of Dakotaroo. Adrienne Brooks travels far from home to train with the famous Tico Walsh. It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but things don't go the way she planned. The horses are crazy, there is nothing good to eat and somebody is out for revenge.

The first in Krista Michelle Breen's adventures of Dakotaroo. T.J. Thompson's world is thrown upside down when her beloved Appaloosa pony mysteriously disappears into the fog. T.J. and her fearless friend Adrienne Brooks embark on a puzzling cross country journey in search of Dakotaroo. Aided in their adventure by Adrienne's annoying younger brother Phillip, the girls soon begin to understand the strange destiny of T.J.'s Appaloosa.

This book is timely because of the increasing popularity of minimally invasive and cost effective methods to ablate solid tumors. Medical image guided ablation using thermal energy sources such as radio-frequency, microwave, laser, high-intensity focused ultrasound, and cyrogenics have received much recent attention as minimally invasive strategies for the ablation of tumors. This text describes novel and practical image registration methods and mathematical models to predict the cellular response from magnetic resonance (MR) images, which guide and monitor therapy. Many clinical and animal model studies seeking to characterize the biological response to thermal ablations, localized drug release, and other MRI-guided therapies would benefit from this book. This text should be especially useful for medical, engineering, applied mathematics, physics, and computer science students, researchers, and clinicians.

The rise of South Korea is one of the most unexpected and inspirational developments of the latter part of our century. A few decades ago, the Koreans were an impoverished, agricultural people. In one generation they came out of the fields and into Silicon Valley. In 1997, this powerhouse of a nation reeled and almost collapsed as a result of a weak financial system and heavily indebted conglomerates. The world is now watching to see whether the Koreans will be able to reform and continue their stunning growth.
Although Korea has only recently found itself a part of the global stage, it is a country with a rich and complex past. Early history shows that Koreans had a huge influence on ancient Japan, and their historic achievements include being the first culture to use metal movable type for printing books. However, much of their history is less positive; it is marred with political violence, poverty, and war-aspects that would sooner be forgotten by the Koreans, who are trying to focus on their promising future.
The fact that Korean history has eluded much of the world is unfortunate, but as Korea becomes more of a global player, understanding and appreciation for this unique nation has become indispensable.
In "The Koreans, "Michael Breen provides an in-depth portrait of the country and its people. an early overview of the nature and values of the Korean people provides the background for a more detailed examination of the complex history of the country, in particular its division into the Communist north and pro-Western south.
In this absorbing and enlightening account of the Koreans, Michael Breen provides compelling insight into the history and character of thisfascinating nation.