美国与德、日之间差距拉大

90年代以来,美国与德、日不平衡发展的差距在拉大,主要表现在世界竞争力方面。当今世界以各国的综合国力排位次。瑞士洛桑国际管理与发展学院每一年度出版的《世界竞争力年鉴》颇具代表性。该年鉴独树一帜,1996年以“世界竞争力”这一术语代替综合国力。“竞争力”

IMD1999年世界竞争力评比概述

瑞士洛桑国际管理发展学院(International Institute for Management Develop-ment,简称IMD)于1980年创建了世界竞争力评比体系,逐渐成为国际知名的国家(地区)综合竞争力评比机构。19年来,IMD一直在编辑出版现名为《世界竞争力年鉴》的年度报告,公布国际竞争力的年度评比结果,1999年的参评单位已增至47个国家和地区。

我国科技竞争力国际排名上升

瑞士洛桑国际管理开发研究院最新公布的“国际竞争力报告”显示,我国科技竞争力已从1997年的第20位上升到1998年的第13位。成为推动我国国际竞争力提高的重要因素之一。 近年来,纳入“国际竞争力报告”的国家和地区保持在46个。1998年我国国际竞争力排名从1997年的第27位上升到第24位。国际竞争力是一个国家或地区帮助企业保持竞争力的能力,取决于国内经济。

Discussion on Irrigation Development and Its Investment Focus in Tanzania

This paper describes the significance of irrigation on economy development and the status of irrigation development in Tanzania, analyzing the potential and advantages of irrigation development in this country, combined with the major initiatives and experiences which can learn from in the recent 30 years of rural water conservancy in China. Then it discusses the next investment focus on irrigation development for Tanzanian.

English-Only Policy and Bilingual/ESL Teacher Education in the US＂ From Insiders＇ Perspectives

This paper is based on a study that was done to explore the perspectives of teacher candidates and faculty members of teacher education programs of a university of Arizona. The purpose of the study was to look into K-12 language teacher education programs in the backdrop of globalization. The data of the study came from a sample of 200 prospective teachers/candidates and students, and 24 faculty members/program administrators of teacher education programs of a university of Arizona. The results of the study showed that the majority of teacher candidates felt underprepared to teach diverse student populations. Similarly, most participants expressed their concerns over English-only policy of Arizona and they reported it as a major barrier for the education of English language learners.

The Dilemma of the Nile Transboundary Water and the Way Forward

The NB （Nile River Basin） is considered one of the most population lives in its riparian countries. Out of the latter about 50% live important basins in Africa, as over 33% of the African in the NB. In this paper a historical background on the NB cooperation evolvement including the recent NBI （NB Initiative） is briefly reported. The natural and human challenges facing the Nile water management are examined and discussed. The present dilemma among the Nile riparian countries is highlighted and its reasons are explained. The latter includes the NB CFA （Cooperative Framework Agreement）, which has been signed by six countries （Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda） while rejected by Egypt, Sudan and not signed by DR of Congo. Eretria and the newly established country ＂South Sudan＂ stands are not yet clear. Based on scientific methodology and analytical discussion, a number of solutions for better management of the trans-boundary Nile waters are drawn; taking into consideration the experiences of other international rivers shared basins. Finally, the paper concludes with recommendations and guidelines that may help in the way forward.

＂Sweet＂ moral blossom： Comment on the main characters in Hawthorne＇s The scarlet letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a famous writer in the period of American Renaissance. His works The scarlet letter can fully embody his mind for writing and artistic characteristics. This paper discusses the viewpoint ＂one might not be a real sinner if he was a sinner in law; while if one was not a sinner in law, he might be the real sinner.＂

Coastal afforestation effects on soil properties at Hatiya in Bangladesh

An exploratory study was conducted in the coastal plantation (12-and 17-year-old Sonneratia apetala) of Char Alim and Char Piya and on their adjacent barren lands at Char Rehania and Char Nurul Islam in Hatiya of Noakhali district, in Bangladesh to determine afforestation effects on soil properties. At soil depths of 0-10, 10-30 and 30-40 cm across three different land strips viz. inland, middle and sea side in 12-and 17-year-old keora (Sonneratia apetala) plantations, soil moisture, particle density, organic matter and C, total N, pH, available P, K, Na, Ca and Mg were significantly (p≤0.05, p≤0.01, p≤0.001) higher, and soil salinity significantly (p≤0.001) lower than that in their adjacent barren lands. Soil moisture, particle density, organic matter and C, total N, pH, soil salinity, available P, K, Na, Ca and Mg of surface soil in Char Alim plantation at inland were 31.09%, 2.24 g·cm-3, 2.41%, 4.14%, 0.58%, 7.07, 0.09 dS·cm-1, 28.06 mg·L-1, 0.50 mg·L-1 11.5 mg·L-1, 3.30 mg·L-1 and 2.7 mmol·kg-1, respectively. Their corresponding values for the same depth and land position at adjacent Char Rehania barren land were 16.69%, 1.25g·cm-3, 0.43%, 0.74%, 0.25%, 6.57, 0.13 dS·cm-1, 13.07mg·L-1, 0.30 mg·L-1, 1.4 mg·L-1, 0.30 mmol·kg-1 and 0.50 mg·L-1, respectively. Soil moisture, particle density, organic matter and C, total N, pH, available P, K and Ca decreased, and soil salinity, available Na and Mg increased from inland towards sea side in the plantations. Although soil texture did not differ in most soil depths between plantation and adjacent barren land, proportion of sand particle was significantly (p≤0.01) lower and silt particle significantly (p≤0.001) in the plantations higher than that in their adjacent barren lands. In the study, evaluation of all the parameters was also done for the other pair of lands.

Phylogeny and evolutionary history of the silkworm

The silkworm,Bombyx mori,played an important role in the old Silk Road that connected ancient Asia and Europe.However,to date,there have been few studies of the origins and domestication of this species using molecular methods.In this study,DNA sequences of mitochondrial and nuclear loci were used to infer the phylogeny and evolutionary history of the domesticated silkworm and its relatives.All of the phylogenetic analyses indicated a close relationship between the domesticated silkworm and the Chinese wild silkworm.Domestication was estimated to have occurred about 4100 years ago(ya),and the radiation of the different geographic strains of B.mori about 2000 ya.The Chinese wild silkworm and the Japanese wild silkworm split about 23600 ya.These estimates are in good agreement with the fossil evidence and historical records.In addition,we show that the domesticated silkworm experienced a population expansion around 1000 ya.The divergence times and the population dynamics of silkworms presented in this study will be useful for studies of lepidopteran phylogenetics,in the genetic analysis of domestic animals,and for understanding the spread of human civilizations.

Spatial patterns and determinants of Moraceae richness in China

Understanding large-scale patterns of biodiversity and their drivers remains central in ecology.Many hypotheses have been proposed,including hydrothermal dynamic hypothesis,tropical niche conservatism hypothesis,Janzen’s hypothesis and a combination model containing energy,water,seasonality and habitat heterogeneity.Yet,their relative contributions to groups with different lifeforms and range sizes remain controversial,which have limited our ability to understand the general mechanisms underlying species richness patterns.Here we evaluated how lifeforms and species range sizes influenced the relative contributions of these three hypotheses to species richness patterns of a tropical family Moraceae.The distribution data of Moraceae species at a spatial resolution of 50 km×50 km and their lifeforms(i.e.shrubs,small trees and large trees)were compiled.The species richness patterns were estimated for the entire family,different life forms and species with different range sizes separately.The effects of environmental variables on species richness were analyzed,and relative contributions of different hypotheses were evaluated across life forms and species range size groups.The species richness patterns were consistent across different species groups and the species richness was the highest in Sichuan,Guangzhou and Hainan provinces,making these provinces the hotspots of this family.Climate seasonality is the primary factor in determining richness variation of Moraceae.The best combination model gave the largest explanatory power for Moraceae species richness across each group of range size and life forms followed by the hydrothermal dynamic hypothesis,Janzen’s hypothesis and tropical niche conservatism hypothesis.All these models has a large shared effects but a low independent effect(<5%),except rare species.These findings suggest unique patterns and mechanisms underlying rare species richness and provide a theoretical basis for protection of the Moraceae species in China.

From Tazara to Today

As a major partner of China in Africa,Tanzania is home to several symbolic projects underlying the cooperation between China and the continent,including the Tanzania-Zambia（Tazara）Railway.