Institutionalisation of Genetic Resource Management with Farmers： Cases of Traditional Vegetables in Japan

Nearly all countries have seed organisations and private seed companies, laws and technical regulations to govern their while the role of the farmers＇ seed system has formal seed system, run by formal public been marginalised especially in developed countries. Local traditional varieties that are largely taken care of and nurtured by farmers＇ seed system have also been excluded from the formal seed system. Nowadays, however, it is quite common to see locally-sourced vegetables on supermarket shelves, while an increasing number of consumers visit farmers＇ market and become aware of local traditional vegetables available only through such channels. It is in this context that many local governments, public agricultural experimental stations and even private seed companies are becoming interested in the use and management of local traditional varieties of vegetables in Japan. The objective of this paper is to elucidate some characteristics of and factors behind the condition, potentiality and limitations of farmers＇ seed systems vis-a-vis the expected role of public experimental stations and locally-based seed companies, especially when it comes to the use and management of local traditional vegetables and their genetic resources in Japan. This paper is based on our case studies, in which we conducted in some interviews with relevant local actors in addition to literature and statistical surveys.

Populism and Political Party Institutionalisation in the Three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania make for interesting comparative case studies in the rise of contemporary populism in Europe. All three countries share a similar modem history, democratic political system, level of economic development and are in the same western-oriented regional clubs （NATO, European Union, OSCE, European Council and, in the case of Estonia and Latvia, OECD, etc.）. However, they do differ in the extent to which populism has played a role in their national politics. Populism has played a marginal role in Estonian politics, but has long been central to the Latvian party system and influential in Lithuanian politics. This article tackles two key issues in the study of populism. First, it focuses on political party institutionalisation as the key variable in explaining the differing impact of populist political parties across the Baltic states. It examines and explains the higher turnover of political party creation and destruction in Latvia and, to a lesser extent, Lithuania and argues that institutions--and par- ticularly the laws that frame party organisations and participation in elections-- create political opportunities for populist parties. The second part of the paper considers the different types of populist parties to have emerged in the Baltic states in recent decades. While previous studies of populism in the Baltic states （such as Auers and Kasekamp in J Contemp Eur Stud 17（2）：241-254, 2009; Auers and Kasekamp, in： Wodak et al （eds） Right wing populism across/beyond Europe, Bloomsbury Academic Press, London 2013） have explicitly focused on Radical Right Populist parties, this article additionally identifies a number of parties in the region that are not explicitly radical right, but are certainly populist.

The Growing Conceptualisation, Institutionalisation and Concretisation of Civil Society＇s Role in Global Governance

The past two decades have been marked by five distinct but interlinked and converging trends that are gradually, collectively, cumulatively creating a whole new aspect of governance that, whilst it cannot replace or supplant traditional forms of government, will increasingly complement them. This new aspect is, by its very nature, heterogeneous and organically fluid and does not allow for easy categorisation or comparative empirical study. Nevertheless, civil society- and particularly organised civil society-is increasingly exerting new forms of influence and representation and, as it does so, so its role is being consolidated and institutionalised at all levels.

Islam in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan:Experiencing Public Revival of Islam through Institutionalisation

In the years following independence,Kazakhstan witnessed a reemergence of religious phenomenon,particularly in the form of‘Islamic revival,’generating a kind of post-Soviet‘Islamic extremism’narrative.The discussions,describing Islamic revival as a‘security concern’and‘potential threat’to Kazakhstan’s secular objectives have deluged the academic,political,and policy discourse.Nevertheless,the question essential to contextualise the whole debate is whether the nature of‘Islamic revival’does follow the prescriptive conditions as anticipated by the privatisation of religion theory,reducing the stimulus of religion to an individual’s‘private matter’or whether it has become a social function,affecting people’s inspirations and aspirations both at the individual and collective level.To analyse this question methodologically,the study discusses theoretical formulations that are relevant to understanding the nature and scope of Islamic revival in the postSoviet Kazakh context.Then,the study examines the practical impact of Islamic revival and makes reference to an institutionalization of Islam through religious,economic and political institutions.The study argues,after independence,despite the secular and authoritarian nature of the government,‘Islamic revival’has become an institutionalised phenomenon and its appearance and social function in the public space has increased rather than decreased.

Clinical Evaluation and Orodental Status in a Group of Elderly Institutionalised Patients

10% of elderly patients are functionally dependents and they therefore need permanent assistance. Orodental alterations may evolve into a pathological state in elderly people, which is increasing in the recent decades. The current study analysed institutionalized patients in the district of Bari (Southern Italy), who have been so far monitored. We assessed 125 elderly institutionalized patients. The assessment has been carried out by an assessment questionnaire aiming at evaluating the patient’s psychophysical health status, objective intraoral test and prosthetic rehabilitations. About 90% of enrolled patients reported a good general health status. The main dental problems are due to the complete lack of specific prevention and treatment programs, together with handicap, presence of systemic diseases and medicines taken. The level of oral hygiene is poor and the conditions of the residual dental elements are precarious because of root caries and periodontal problems. Prostheses are usually old (on average 15) and appear scarcely retentive and unstable. We believe in the need for specific interventions aiming at the various issues emerging from the present study, so as to achieve a smaller prevalence of dental loss, periodontal disease and caries. These relatively simple interventions are now lacking because of the non-demand of treatment from patients and for economical reasons.

Different Conceptions and a General Concept of Human Rights

In this study, I show that human fights are historical projects. They are legal inventions and institutional structures and respond to historical injustices and serious atrocities suffered by people, or which threaten them. It is useful therefore to first distinguish, both historically and systematically, different conceptions of human fights from a concept of human fights. I will distinguish three conceptions： national, international and transnational. Included in national conceptions are the human fights declarations of North America （1776） and France （1789）. The starting event of the international conception is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations after the Second World War in 1948. And it can be argued that a transnational conception of human fights that better fits the globalised world and the already global developments in intemational law and governance is needed.

From Disintegration to Fragmentation:The Islamic Movement and the al-Inqadh Regime in Sudan

The Islamic Movement of Sudan established the first Islamist regime in the Sunni Islamic world by a military coup.By seising state power,the Islamic Movement tried to overhaul the political system of Sudan.However,what it brought to the politics of Sudan was far from what its leader Hasan al-Turabi envisioned.It was largely due to the failure of the Islamic Movement to institutionalise its control over state power,originating from its design to conceal the nature of the coup which prevented it from claiming the official leadership of the state.The military Islamists leading the coup continued to run the state publicly.The institutions of the Islamic Movement itself were weakened in the process,making it more difficult to lay the national politics on an institutional foundation.The division and conflicts among the Islamists could not be solved in an institutional framework,leading to the split of the Islamic Movement.The Islamists were further fragmented after the split,both within and without the regime,opening the gate for factional politics.

Individualisation Is Eroding Traditions Worldwide： A Comparison between Europe and China

There is in principle a close connection between individualisation and the state in both the European and Chinese contexts. But this connection can assume entirely different forms; indeed it can even point in diametrically opposed directions. From a sociological point of view it is important to distinguish between individualism as an ideology and individualisation as a real process resting on institutions. Individualisation means institutionalised individualism. By institutionalised individualism is not meant only a social ideology or an individual mode of perception. Rather, it designates central institutions of modem society such as, for example, civil and social basic rights, all of which are addressed to the individual; alternatively, it refers to the need, mediated through training and the labour market, to develop one＇s own biography and to extricate oneself from collective regulations; but it also refers to the neohberal global market regime which forces individuals to realise their self-interest as the innermost core of rationality.