2010 Global Hunger Index


Book Description

As the world approaches the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which include a goal of reducing the proportion of hungry people by half, the 2010 Global Hunger Index (GHI) offers a useful multidimensional overview of global hunger. The 2010 GHI is the fifth in an annual series that records the state of global, regional, and national hunger. The 2010 GHI shows some improvement over the 1990 GHI, falling by almost one-quarter, but overall the index for hunger in the world remains at a level characterized as serious. The GHI captures three dimensions of hunger: insufficient availability of calories, shortfalls in the nutritional status of children, and child mortality. Accordingly, the Index includes the following three equally weighted indicators: the proportion of people who are undernourished, as estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the prevalence of underweight in children under the age of five, as compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO); and the under-five mortality rate, as reported by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The 2010 Index reflects data from 2003 to 2008, the most recent global data available on the three GHI components.





Book Description




Sex, Sea, and Self


Book Description

Sex, Sea, and Self reassesses the place of the French Antilles and French Caribbean literature within current postcolonial thought and visions of the Black Atlantic. Using a feminist lens, this study examines neglected twentieth-century French texts by Black writers from Martinique and Guadeloupe, making the analysis of some of these texts available to readers of English for the first time. This interdisciplinary study of female and male authors reconsiders their political strategies and the critical role of French creoles in the creation of their own history. This approach recalibrates overly simplistic understandings of the victimization and alienation of French Caribbean people. In the systems of cultural production under consideration, sexuality constitutes an instrument of political and cultural consciousness in the chaotic period between 1924 and 1948. Studying sexual imagery constructed around female bodies demonstrates the significance of agency and the legacy of the past in cultural resistance and political awareness. Sex, Sea, and Self particularly highlights Antillean women intellectuals' theoretical contributions to Caribbean critical theory. Therefore, this analysis illuminates debates on the multifaceted and conflicted relationships between France and its overseas departments and expands ideas of nationhood in the Black Atlantic and the Americas.







Une Transtion Juste


Book Description

EN SEULEMENT QUELQUES DÉCENNIES, les pays du monde entier sont devenus bien plus interdépendants qu’on n’aurait jamais pu l’imaginer. Notre regard sur le monde évolue et, avec lui, la demande pour que les cultures et les institutions politiques de la planète « pensent globalement » se fait croissante. Si penser globalement est souvent pavé de bonnes intentions, agir globalement sans tenir compte des réalités locales peut produire des résultats involontairement néfastes. Dans Une Transition juste, le célèbre auteur et entrepreneur camerounais NJ Ayuk montre comment cette triste réalité advient alors que les ambitieuses politiques de l’Agence internationale de l’énergie (AIE) en matière d’énergie verte étouffent et paralysent les économies énergétiques de l’Afrique. Avec une abondance naturelle de ressources pétrolières et gazières, l’Afrique a le potentiel d’être un leader mondial de l’énergie, mais l’énergie verte seule ne permettra pas d’opérer cette transformation. Une Transition juste analyse en détail la possibilité d’un avenir radieux pour les pays africains et les facteurs qui y font obstacle. NJ Ayuk nous présente un récit détaillé dans lequel il aborde avec expertise des sujets importants comme la réalité de la précarité énergétique, la valeur du gaz naturel en Afrique, l’impact néfaste de l’aide internationale en Afrique, l’adoption des nouvelles technologies ou encore la création de débouchés économiques pour les femmes. Avec une gouvernance réfléchie, du flair pour les perspectives d’avenir et l’attention toute particulière que les pays touchés par des réformes de grande envergure méritent, le continent africain est en mesure d’opérer une transition vers les énergies renouvelables juste et florissante pour toutes les parties concernées.




The Living Age


Book Description




Economic and Political Change in Asia and Europe


Book Description

Since the 1973 publication of Alain Peyrefitte’s prophetic When China Awakens, developments in East Asia have outstripped even the wildest predictions. China has undergone the fastest industrialization and urbanization process in history, yet tensions there are rising as some realize how far they have been left behind. This volume explores the applicability of European economic and social models to our analysis of East Asia’s and, in particular, China’s situation. Though millions of Chinese and other Asian people have been lifted out of poverty, inequality is rising nonetheless, and contemporary Europe and Asia are both witnessing collective action against rampant economic neoliberalism in the former and the exclusion of minorities in the latter. It is difficult to overstate the relevance of this assessment, which seeks answers to some central questions: Can events in Europe serve as a model for those in East Asia? Are there similarities or differences between the two regions? To what extent do political, economic or social systems stimulate or inhibit collective action? How culturally equivalent are the collective actions of marginalized/ disadvantaged people in the two locations, or are events in Europe symptomatic of specific cultural attributes? Comparing and contrasting the research tools and dominant paradigms in the social and economic sciences in East Asia and Europe, as this volume does, throws out some revealing results.




French Sentences Vol.2


Book Description

FRENCH SENTENCES Vol.2: English & French THIS EDITION: The dual-language text has been arranged into sentences for quick and easy cross-referencing. The text can be used on its own. However, the content is ideal for reinforcing grammar, and as a precursor to more advanced bilingual editions. This digital edition contains the content in ‘English to French’ and ‘French to English’ formats. Once a student has studied the basics, a suitable book about basic grammar is helpful. The suggestion is that it be studied more with the intent of recognition and understanding, rather than memorising and obsessive rote learning. Go through as much of the book you feel you can digest — maybe even the whole book — skipping over what is not easily understood. Then, read through a portion of text in this book, looking for examples of what you have picked up (or gleaned) in your hopefully not so arduous study of grammar. Even repeatedly seeing a word that you remember seeing listed as a ‘subject pronoun’ or a ‘third person plural’ verb of some sort is a great help. Then, depending on your inclination, return to the grammar book (or your basic French book), or move on to lengthier bilingual text — like in 2Language Books texts containing news or stories, for example —, or find some suitable French text: a simple novel, a French news website, etc. Grammar books will likely have some verb charts. However, there are currently good on-line resources that go further — dictionaries with a verb conjugation ‘search’ option. Many basic language books offer some form of audio support. Internet services — primarily news based radio stations — offer podcasts. Audio from television is an additional resource, and can be formatted for use on various digital platforms. However, if audio is an important component of your interest in languages, electronic devices that support quality text-to-speech (TTS) will likely be appealing. With a library card, TTS technology (in a device that supports the relevant content), and the above mentioned resources, an entire language learning system is available for not much more than a cup of coffee! There is no substantial financial outlay to get you started. Furthermore, there are no additional ongoing fees (and updates), and there are no expiry dates on ‘premium’ content and resources. (A Dual-Language Book Project) 2Language Books