Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Transhiatal Approach Essay Example for Free
Transhiatal Approach Essay Abstract: Tethered cord syndrome (TCS) is a stretch-induced functional disorder of the spinal cord, which is directly related to filum fixation. Classic surgical approaches to the filum involve open surgery and include varying amounts of spinal bone removal. In an effort to reduce the morbidity and mortality of these procedures, we explored a less invasive method. We evaluated the ability, safety and feasibility for extradural endoscopic dissection of the filum terminale by performing upward orientated navigation in the sacral spinal canal through the sacral hiatus using a rigid endoscope. Four adult, phenol-formalin embalmed cadavers were used for extradural endoscopic dissection of the filum at the tip of thecal sac. After preparing the anatomical area of sacral hiatus, a rigid endoscope (Storz, of 3.8 mm external diameter with one working channel) was inserted into the sacral spinal canal and the filum was identified and cut easily. In all cases, it was possible to manipulate the rigid endoscope and inspect the full length of the extradural sacral spinal canal, especially at the S1-S2 level. Our results indicate that the tested transhiatal approach for upward orientated extradural endoscopy represents a minimally invasive procedure that provides an appropriate and feasible route to the extradural sacral spinal canal. Furthermore it is an attractive alternative for filum dissection in cases where tethered cord syndrome is not accompanied by any other pathology. Introduction Physicians and scientists have explored the clinical usefulness of spinal endoscopy over six decades. Endoscopic spinal surgery represents a major advance in the treatment of spinal disorders. It involves the use of small incisions that preserve normal tissues while allowing the spinal pathology to be fully treated. This technique carries interesting clinical benefits, and its utility continues to expand as technology advances. Tethered cord syndrome (TCS) is a manifestation of spina bifida occulta and can occur as a complication of surgically closed spina bifida aperta. The mechanical cause of TCS is an inelastic structure anchoring the caudal end of the spinal cord and preventing cephalad movements of the lumbosacral cord. Stretching of the spinal cord occurs in patients either when the spinal column grows faster than the spinal cord or when the spinal cord undergoes forcible flexion and extension. Symptomatic TCS can occur in adults as well as in children, manifesting with various clinical symptoms (Dachling, 1982; Kaplan, 1980; Klekamp et al. 1994), such as pain, neurological deficits, and bowel and bladder dysfunction. Further studies have shown that early surgical correction in adults is recommended because of the high risk for irreversible neurological deficits (Bermans et al. 2001). In recent years, further research efforts of scientists have ranged from full-fledged neurosurgery to minimally invasive approaches and have involved the use of flexible and rigid endoscopes for diagnosis and treatment of certain pathological entities (Heavner et al. 1991; Sabreski Kitahata, 1995 1996; Warnke et al. 2001, I, II; Warnke et al. 2003). Encouraging results from the performance of co-axial downward orientated thecaloscopic procedures, with flexible steerable endoscopes in the lumbar subarachnoid space in living humans (Warnke et al. 2003), prompted us to study further thecaloscopic procedures for filum terminale dissection by using a rigid endoscope. This procedure usually offers a better optical view of the studied anatomic structures. The aim of the present anatomic study was not only to determine if the tip of thecal sac could be clearly visualized. Based on the fact that epidural endoscopy through sacral hiatus was proved to be safe and possible (Sabreski Kitahata, 1995 1996; Sabreski Gerens, 1998), it also sought to explore the possibility of using a rigid endoscope to untether prefixed filum terminale. Materials and Methods For this study, four adult phenol-formalin embalmed male cadavers from the Anatomy Department of the Medical School of the University of Athens were dissected using microsurgical and endoscopic techniques. Neurosurgical technique Fig.2Insertion-of-the-rig Fig.1Sacral-Hiatus Cadavers were placed in the prone position. A midline skin incision was centered over the sacral hiatus [fig. 1]. After anatomical preparation, the rigid endoscope [fig.2] was inserted through the sacral hiatus and directed into the sacral spinal canal cephalad. It was angled in that manner in order that it would face the tip of thecal sac. The filum, which was holding thecal sac, was identified and dissected [fig.3]. The rigid endoscope used was a Storz with a 3.8mm external diameter and one working channel. For the documentation, a video-tape (Fuji VHS) was used and digital photographs were taken using a Fuji AS-205.  Results With the help of a rigid endoscope, it is possible to visualize directly the tip of thecal sac and to perform a dissection of the filum terminale. A rigid endoscope was inserted into the sacral spinal canal and, with the benefit of the visibility it granted, was advanced cephalad with relative ease. The rigid endoscope provided a large field of view, which enabled the anatomical structures to be seen. The filum can be easily identified in fine detail, as it is the only structure adherent to the tip of thecal sac at the S1-S2 level. This procedure represents a minimally invasive method for direct visualization of the tip of thecal sac and dissection of filum terminale. Discussion Diseases of the spine predispose persons to chronic complaints ranging from mild discomfort to intense pain. Endoscopy of the anatomic structures contained within the spine makes possible thorough examinations for existing pathology and facilitates the application of appropriate methods of therapy (Warnke et al. 2003; Sabreski Kitahata, 1996). Use of neuroendoscopy has become widespread in spinal surgery for conditions ranging from degenerative disease to deformity correction (Heavner et al. 1991; Sabreski Gerens, 1998; Sabreski Kitahata, 1995 1996). The growth in the number of minimally invasive spine surgical procedures being performed has been spurred by both technical advances and by its associated reduction in operative morbidity (1998; 1995; 1996). However, minimally invasive techniques are primarily employed in extradural procedures. Transhiatal extradural filum untethering provides the ability to untether a prefixed filum in a minimally invasive way. When referred to a neurosurgical clinic, adult patients with tethered cord syndrome tend to show significant progressive neurological deficits (Klekamp et al. 1994; Dachling, 1982).  Some authors (van Leeuwen, et al. 2001) have advocated prophylactic surgical treatment for the prevention of progressive neurological symptoms, which is, in this case, related to low morbidity. As an alternative to the risky open surgical treatment procedure, we evaluated the extradural endoscopic procedure for untethering of filum in cadavers. Extradural filum untethering could be indicated in cases of prefixed filum without other accompanying pathology such as meningomyelocele, CSF fistula, or arachnoidal cysts. It could also be performed before a surgical intervention, which generally include dura opening and removal of various amounts of spinal bone. During inspection of the sacral spinal canal with the rigid endoscope, the declination of the sacral spinal canal did not bring difficulties for the upward manipulation of the endoscope. Following the physical inclination of the sacral spinal canal, the filum could be approached and dissected before reaching the lumbosacral angle. In some instances, it was difficult to dissect the filum because of its elasticity. However, the minimally invasive nature of neuroendoscopy provided by this procedure, and by the employment of the rigid endoscope, allows for a larger field of view at the sacral spinal canal through a smaller incision. This access and the ability to perform extradural inspection and filum dissection using this transhiatal approach are comparable with other therapeutic interventions used in neurosurgery, such as the endoscopic epidural placement of catheters in anaesthesiology. Conclusions This method of extradural endoscopic dissection of the filum terminale minimizes surgical trauma and provides excellent visualization of and access to the extradural sacral spinal canal. Furthermore, it enables the filum to be identified and thus provides a minimally invasive alternative to current open surgical procedures indicated for filum untethering. Utilization of this procedure could: (1) facilitate untethering of prefixed filum terminale without opening the dura and (2) minimize patient morbidity thereby presenting an overall attractive alternative to current methods of filum dissection. At present, neuroendoscopy is most widely used in minimally invasive spine surgery, but novel uses continue to emerge in the literature. As technology evolves and more experience is obtained, neuroendoscopy will likely achieve additional roles as a mainstay in spinal surgery. References Heavner JF, Cholkhavatia S, Kizelsheeyn G. (1991). Percutaneous evaluation of the      epidural and subarachnoid space with flexible endoscope. Reg. Anesth. 15 S1: 85. Iskandar BJ, Fulmer BB, Hadley MN, Oakes WJ. (2001). Congenital tethered spinal cord          syndrome in adults. Neurosurg. Focus 10(1): Article 7. Kaplan JQ, Quencer RM. (1980) The occult tethered conus syndrome in the adult.        Radiology 137:387-391. Klekamp J, Raimpondi AJ, Samii M. (1994) Occult dysraphism in adulthood: clinical   course and management. Child Nerv Syst 10:312-320. van Leeuwen R, Notermans NC, Vandertop P. (2001). Surgery in adults with tethered   cord syndrome: outcome study with independent clinical review. J. Neurosurg.    (spine) 94: 205-209. Pang D, Wilberger JE. (1982) Tethered cord syndrome in adults. J. Neurosurg. 57: 32-47. Sabreski LR, Gerens, F. (1998) Safety of epidural endoscopy. Reg. Anest. Pain Med.     23: 324-325. Sabreski LR, Kitahata LM. (1995) Direct visualization of the lumbosacral epidural        space through the sacral hiatus. Anest. Anal. 60: 839-840. Sabreski LR, Kitahata LM. (1996) Persistent radiculopathy diagnosed and treated with             epidural endoscopy. J. Anesth. 10: 292-295. Warnke JP, Tschabitscher M, Nobles A. (2001). Thecaloscopy Part I.: The endoscopy of           the lumbar subarachnoid space: Historical review and own cadaver studies.   Minim. Invas. Neurosurg. 42: 61-64 Warnke JP, Mourgela S, Tschabitscher M, Dzelzitis J. (2001) Thecaloscopy Part II:       Anatomical Landmarks. Minim. Invas. Neurosurg 44:181-185. Warnke JP, Kà ¶ppert H, Bensch-Schreiter B, Dzelzitis J, Tschabitscher M. (2003)           Thecaloscopy Part III: First Clinical Application. Minim. Invas. Neurosurg          46:94-99.
Monday, August 5, 2019
The aging problem of China
The aging problem of China Introduction Today, China is a hot item in the media because of its fast growing economy. Some people are even afraid of this because they think it is a threat to our own economy. This because of the differences in the political and economical system of china compared to our political and economical systems. The Peoples Republic of China, also known as China, was established in 1949. Its land covers a large part of centre Asia. In the 1950s, its population was estimated at around 30 percent of the total global population (Naughton, 2007). Because of this huge amount of people, the Chinese government came up with a plan to put a hold to this growing population. They set a law which prohibited each family to have more than one child, the so-called One-Child Policy. The population of China today is relatively young, with a low dependency rate. This is favorable for economic growth (Naughton, 2007). In the future this will lead to an imbalance of the population. This because each working citizen has two elder (parents), this means a working class which is far too small on the total population. Every year, the number of elderly people in China rises with approximately three percent. A way to describe this is calling this a Four-Two-One problem. Which means one child has to take care of two parents and four grand parents (Vandendriessche, 2008). The research question which I will try to answer is the following: How is china going to handle the aging problem of the population? To answer this question, I divided this question into several sub-question, namely: How has this aging problem risen? What are the difficulties which china is facing because of this problem? How do the Chinese old people deal with their longevity financially? Motivation of the subject: The subject of Chinese economy is interesting to me because I have little faith in the current economic system of the western society. I believe this economic system based on debts, is not what we would like in the future. And China is one of the few economies which is growing at the moment, despite the current Financial Crisis. Chinas economy will expand 7.2 percent in 2009 from a year earlier. (Bloomberg.com, 2009) But because many economists say capitalism is the best economic system at the moment, I am surprised to see that China does not apply this system. The reason the subject of the aging of Chinas population is important to the economy, is that will one of the greatest pitfalls in Chinas economic and societies future. A disproportionate ration of the population will retire in the future, therefore a much smaller group of working people will have to keep the society up and running. Is this possible, or are there many problems which China will have to face in the future? And if there will be problems, is China able to prevent or solve them? This is interesting because of the large number of citizens of China. This cannot be compared with any other country in the world, because it will happen on a much larger scale as for instance in the Netherlands. Methodology: First I will try to adumbrate an image of how the situation has developed to the state in which it is at this moment. With this image, certain problems will arise from this. I will try to give a broader view on these problems. These problems, when not solved, will have an impact on the economic environment of China. This I would like to formulate in the third chapter. Finally I am going to investigate whether these, in the future, elder people still have the means to survive on their own, or how the Chinese government is going to assist them with this. This with some kind of pension fund or will the Chinese government terugvallen on the social responsibility of family. With these sub-answers I would like to give an answer to the main question. How China is going to handle the problem of the aging of the population. The data which I need I will get from articles from the Chinese Economic Review, data from the Chinese Bureau of Statistics, Chinese Data Centre and the Chinese Statistical Yearbook. Furthermore I will search for books on the Chinese economy and the history of the Chinese economy and society. Structure The first chapter is about the introduction of the problem and each factor contributing will be explained. In chapter two I am going to give a literature review on five of the interesting papers I have found. Then I will try to find answers to the sub question of my problem statement. These will each cover a chapter. Chapter three: How has this aging problem risen? Chapter four: What are the difficulties which china is facing because of this problem? Chapter five: How do the Chinese old people deal with their longevity financially? After this I will draw a conclusion based on the previous chapters. With this I will try to give an answer to the main question. Chapter 2 Literature Review Population and economic development Gale Johnson tries to answer the question, what would happen to fertility and population growth if the present population policy were changed to one that emphasized family planning and permitted families to have the number of children that they wished? It seems reasonable to project that there would be an increase in fertility. This would be very small in urban areas and relatively small in higher income rural areas. There would be increased fertility in the lower income rural areas, but it seems unlikely that after two decades or so it could be more than ten percent. There is evidence to support the following changes in social and economic policies: Significantly improve the quality of rural secondary schools and increase the percentage of girls attending. Create an attractive pension program for rural areas. Give farm people the ownership or permanent rights to the use of the land they farm or, failing that, enforce the policy of no reallocation of farm land on the basis of demographic changes. Change policies and institutions so that families could migrate from rural to urban areas. Which would lead to adaption of the fertility patterns of urban areas, leading to decline in fertility. I believe the largest impact on the fertility rate, when present policy towards this is changed, will be in the poorer regions of the rural areas. But I do not think all changes give will work. The improvement of educational quality and increasing the percentage of girls will be the one of the most important measures to be taken. This will give an re-allocation of human capital. With this re-allocation, people will get other jobs and therefore a need for many children to work on the farms will decrease. Pension funds are in my opinion essential in order for elderly citizens of China to get by financially. This because the life expectancy rate is increasing. The right of ownership is a viewpoint which will be very sensitive. This because China still has a communistic government. But when pension funds are not one of the future measures which will be taken, this is one of the other options for Chinese citizens to make enough money in order to cope with their longevity financially. Sources of Chinas economic growth 1952-1999: incorporating human capital accumulation Wang and Yao, find that first, the accumulation of human capital in China, as measured by the average years of schooling in population aged 15-64 years, was quite rapid and it contributed significantly to growth and welfare. However, the rate of growth of human capital declined in the reform period in 1978-1999 and its contribution to GDP growth was smaller compared to the pre-reform period. In the industrial countries, the contributions to growth by the factor input have declined and the growth of TFP has become the driving force. In China, the potential to further increase factor inputs is limited especially after one considers the rapidly aging population, a decling labor force in the future, and the constraints in natural resources. China has to rely more on productivity growth. Futher productivity growth would depend very much on two factors: First whether or not China can improve allocative efficiency by continuing reforms in the state and financial sectors and by increasing regional integration, allowing freer factor mobility across sectoral devides, such as rural-urban and state- nonstate, and second whether or not China is able to transform itself from an imitation based economy to an innovation based knowledge economy and continue its progress in industrial upgrading. I agree with Wang and Yao on the fact that productivity has to grow in China. But in order to do this China has to open up more to other countries. Otherwise this would take too long. China is in need for knowledge, this can be seen in the imitation based economy. When China would have the knowledge, they would invent these products themselves. Chinas economic environment has its limitations to grow, this because of their ownership laws. China does not have to change into a Capitalistic society, but I think it does have to loosen up in order to cope with the problems it faces. Pension reform in China: preparing for the future According to Loraine West, a combination of pension plans, including defined benefit and defined contribution, are replacing the former single defined benefit plan. The specifics of each plan, including indexation for inflation, and the combination of plans available to workers vary across regions. By focusing only on the urban labor force, which presently comprises just 27 percent of Chinas total labor force, the reformed old age security system is unlikely to address the issue of growing rural-urban inequality. The proliferation of regional and industry-based pools diminishes the potential benefits of pooling, such as risk sharing, lower administrative costs, and enhanced labor mobility, and also makes it more difficult to achieve the goal of a national level pool. The key objectives of the new pension system is to move away from a pay-as-you-go system to partial funding in preparation of the aging of the population. However, to have a successful pension system in the future, the financing burden has to be shared by employees, employers and the government rather than being borne exclusively by the individual work unit. In the short run, it is critical that regulations and supervision catch up with the new system. In the long term, expansion of coverage and benefit adjustments need to be considered. I agree it will be hard to implement a new old age security system in China. However, I believe it will be key to implement a system which is the same in every part of China. Otherwise the differences between rural and urban areas will only expand, and thus create an even higher burden on the economy than it is at this moment. This will be difficult to fulfill because which groups have to contribute the most. This might even call for a similar system as in the Netherlands, where the government guarantees a minimal pension wage and where the rest is contributed by the companies and working force. How can China solve its old age security problem? The interaction between pension, soe and financial market reform. According to Estelle James, she suggests a plan which sets up individual accounts for each worker, with funds that are productively invested. This is similar to reforms that have been sweeping Latin America, Eastern Europe and are now being considered in the United States. Besides making the system more fiscally sustainable and avoiding peak contribution rates, prefunding can be used to increase saving that is committed for long term investments and pension funds can be used as engines to financial market development and corporate governance. This can be done with two mandatory pillars; one publically managed and tax or pay-as-you-go financed, the other privately managed, with the object of building and managing retirement savings. This to avoid high payroll taxes as the populations age, thereby making the system more sustainable, and to increase national savings that are committed to the long term. However, the part of the economy that is growing most rapidly, in part because it faces low taxes, liabilities and regulations, would suddenly be hit with a heavy legacy of the past. The challenge for China is to find a way to implement a more funded system, that includes decentralized competitive management of the funds, quickly, before coverage increases become a social necessity and makes the transition more difficult. Here I have the same critique as on the previous literature, namely about the rural and urban separation. When the pension system first only reforms the urban part and later expands its coverage towards the rural area, the cost will only increase more and more. But it will be complicated to implement a new system immediately for the entire country, this because it will give a huge burden on the current working class. Chapter 3: The history of China. The year 1949 can be viewed as the First major divide in Chinese history. Before this year, no rapid growth ever occurred in Chinese economy. This was completely different after 1949, when rapid growth was considerably normal. The government is also drastically different after 1949. In 1950 a new law was introduced which stated that: Parents have the duty to raise their children well and the children in their turn have the duty to support their parents. This was a good way for the Chinese government at that time, to not be directly responsible for the attendance of the elder citizens. This was an indication of the change from a harmonious civilization towards a more individualistic civilization. During the fifties, a five-guarantee program had launched for the rural areas. This program mend support from the government for elder who had no offspring or other people who took care of them in the form of food, clothing, shelter, medical care and a funeral. (Naughton, 2007) in 1951, the Chinese government came up with the act Labour Insurance Regulations of the Peoples Republic of China. These first pension regulations where only for citizens working at state enterprises. This mend that all employees of such enterprise have to give three percent of their salary to a mutual fund within this company, and when they reached the age of sixty and they had worked for more than twenty years they would receive a pension. (Frazier, 2004) This reality, this resulted in a relatively low percentage of people who received a pension, because until 1971 nobody could reach this twenty years of work experience. At the end of the seventies, two major new regulations were introduced. First in 1978 where China opened their borders a tiny bit for foreign companies to do business with Chinese companies, but still under heavy oversight by the Chinese government. This also led towards a higher independency of the state enterprises. These where allowed to keep their profit. But also the responsibility of pensions was now entirely for these companies. It was now also allowed for Chinese citizens to start up their own company. (KNAG, 2007) However, these new private owned companies were not able to give the same pension security as these former state enterprises. Therefore the Chinese government came up with a new experiment of pension funding in 1982. They tried to create pension funds not just per company, but pension funds for an entire city to create a higher safety net. These funds were filled by employees working in this city on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis. This means the pensions which are cu rrently paid, are funded by the taxes and contributions from the working people at the same moment. That means there are no assets being set aside. The rural area did not benefit from all these regulations. Because of this new kind of economy, the rural areas decentralized. This took a lot of security away for the elder in these areas, because they were still dependant on the help of family. The second regulation introduced in the late seventies was the One-Child Policy. This because the government of China began to see the great threat of the exponentially growing population. This phenomena I will explain in the next chapter. In the years 1991 and 1995 the government tried to reform the current PAYG system by creating a multi pillar system. (Vandendriessche, 2008) This system contained three pillars which all contributed to one overall pension fund. The first pillar was the basic pension for every employee of a company funded by the state. The second pillar was a individual fund which was filled during the years of work of each person. Frazier calls this Defined Contribution. The third pillar is optional, and is an additional payment made to the pension fund to increase the pension received later in the employees lives. But even with this new reformed pension funding, it is far from ideal. Chapter 4: How has this aging problem risen? Aging of population (also known as demographic aging, and population aging) is a summary term for shifts in the age distribution of a population toward older ages. Which is a direct consequence of the ongoing global fertility transition (decline) and of mortality decline at older ages. (Gavrilov and Heuveline,2003) These two factors can both be seen in the statistical yearbook of China. (Appendix 1) One of the factors, the mortality rate decline at older ages (See Appendix 1F), can be explained mainly by a better health care; more knowledge of the human body and better medicine (especially anti biotic). The New Rural Co-operative Medical Care System (NRCMCS) is an new project set up in the year two-thousand-five to improve the health care sector in China, especially to make it affordable for the rural area. (China daily, 2005) This NRCMCS covers around eighty percent of the total cost of the hospitals. Under the new policy, the central government, local governments, and individual farmers each invest 10 yuan (US$1.23) per year to establish a medical insurance account. The money accumulated is then used to fund hospital treatment. (China daily, 2005) Thought this initiative, many Chinese citizens are now covered for their medical insurance. Around eighty percent of all Chinese citizens living in the rural areas have signed up, which are approximately 685 million people. The second factor, the fertility rate is harder to explain. Deliberately decreasing the fertility rate has been an issue of the Chinese government since 1971. In 1970, the total fertility rate was 5.8. At the time of 1978, the fertility rate has decreased with fifty percent to 2.7. This due to the policy known as wan-xi-shao, meaning later marriages, longer spacing between children, and fewer children in total. Through 1979 the probability of a couple having a second child, given that they had already given birth to a first child, was 95 percent (Feeney and Yu, 1987). Chinas leaders where still worried because chinas baby-boomers where now reaching marriage age. These baby boomers where born in the years before this wan-xi-shao policy because of the Great Leap Forward. Chinas leaders thought these group of people would have to many children and this would outgrow the population carrying capacity. The One-Child policy was established as a law in 1980 by the former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. He implemented this law to limit the birth rate of China. This policy was instantly controversial because of it was strictly enhanced in the first years. There was for example a policy for mandatory insertion of intrauterine devices for women with one child and sterilization for couples with two or more children. At 1984, resistance (both nationally and internationally) has risen to a crucial level. The Chinese government relinquished these strict policies and the overall law loosened up. This mend for example that regional governments, especially in rural areas, a policy which allowed couples to have a second child when their first child was a girl. In more urban areas the One-Child Policy was maintained more strictly. But not only due to the one-child policy fertility rates has gone down. There are significant similarities between China and other surrounding Asian countries in their fertility rates. (See Appendix 1E) However, this has not the same reason is these countries. In some countries, notably Japan and Korea, the low birth rate may be partly attributable to rising job opportunities and earning power for women. But that is not the case in Taiwan, Singapore or Hong Kong, where women have excellent work opportunities and access to low-paid domestic help from Southeast Asia. There is a reluctance to marry, particularly among the better educated women, as well as a preference for few, if any, children. (Bowring, 2007) But because the Great Leap Forward in China, their fertility rate has risen in the years between 1955 and 1970. This in contrast with the other Asian countries shown in this graph (See Appendix 1E). Chapter 5: What are the difficulties which china is facing because of this problem? The most obvious problem China will face is the increasing group of elder people. According to Estelle James, In 1990 only nine percent of Chinas population was over the age of 65, bu by 2030 this proportion will more than double, to twenty-two percent. This means that more than a quarter of the elder people of the entire world will live in China by 2030. As you can see in Appendix the dependency ratio of elderly people in rural areas will be approximately 0.34 in 2030, and 0.18 in urban areas. Zeng et al. (2008) suggest that, if urbanization reaches 75%, the dependency ratio is likely to continue to rise rapidly in rural areas and may exceed 0.6 by 2050, versus just over 0.3 in urban areas. With such a high dependency ratio, a high contribution rate is required from working people to cover the current bill. The second problem is the gender imbalance in China. There is a huge surplus of men. At this moment there is are thirty-two million more Chinese boys than girls under the age of twenty. (NYTimes, 2009) These surplus of boys are known in China as guang guan. Together with the fact that not everyone will marry or have a child when the sex-ratio is normal, there will be a lot of elderly in the future who do not have children to support them and must rely on some sort of pension. Lin Jiang believes there will be almost four million elderly citizens in the rural area by 2030 who do not have a single child. The third problem is that the growth of the working age population will drop off quickly and reach zero growth after 2015. (see appendix) He calculated this because of The persistence of fertility and mortality rates combines with the existing structure of the population to produce predictable patterns of change of the labor force. Also According to Naughton, The labor market is just now absorbing the last huge birth cohort (the baby boom echo born in the late 1980s) The GDP rate per capita (appendix 2) is still increasing. However the rate of increasing is declining in the last two years. This in accordance with the future growth/ decline of the working age population a conclusion can be drawn that the growth of GDP rate per capita will also decline, not taken into account the growth of the economy. Therefore it is important to stimulate this growth of economy. This has to be reacted on in order to stop the rising burden on the currently employed after 2015, because of the change in population structure. Chapter 6: How do the Chinese old people deal with their longevity financially? It is difficult to ascertain exactly how other countries have financed the transition because of the fungibility of money and the ambiguity of the counterfactual. Most reforming countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe have utilized parametric changes that downsized bloated benefit obligations, to reduce the IPD and the financing gap. Beyond that, the following revenue sources appear to be common: Keeping part of the system PAYG, so contributions continue flowing into the PAYG pillaras in Poland, Hungary, Uruguay and Sweden; Raising revenues from contributions by increasing the payroll tax or the compliance rate-an add-on was used in OECD countries and most other countries are trying to decrease evasion; Using other special revenue sources such as a lottery or a value added tax (Argentina); Using general revenues or social security surpluses that are available at the municipal, provincial or state level (Chile); Applying proceeds from the sale of SOE assets to cover pension liabilities (assetdebt swaps)-SOE and pension reform were linked in Peru, Bolivia and Poland; Borrowing in the short run and repaying with the surplus that the system would run in the longer run, as the individual accounts take on a greater portion of the total pension responsibility (most countries have used this method to smooth the burden of transition costs over many cohorts). Most of these methods would be appropriate for China. China is now using proceeds from a national lottery, a tax on interest income and, as already discussed, direct allocations from the MOF. We concentrate here on a source that has just been tapped proceeds from the sale of state assets-and another source that is essential but has yet to be seriously addressedbenefit reduction. These two sources, between them, could cover much of the transition costs. References: Homan, T. R. (2009, June 18). World Bank Raises China 2009 Growth Forecast to 7.2%. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087sid=aoNG311GdSSk Naughton, B. (2007). The Chinese Economy: Transitions and growth. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England Vandendriessche, A. (2008) Hoe worden ouderen verzorgd in China? The Netherlands Frazier, M.W., After Pension Reform: Navigating the Third Rail in China, Studies in Comparative International Development 39:2 (2004), p. 48. Feeney, G., and Jingyuan Yu (1987) Period Parity Progression Measures of Fertility in China. Population Studies, 41(1): 77-102 Statistical yearbook of china Bureau of statistics Zeng, Y., Z. Wang, J. Leiwen and D. Gu (2008), Projection of Family Households and Elderly Living Arrangement in the Context of Rapid Population Aging in China, GENUS. Wang Feng (2005). Can China Afford to Continue Its One-Child Policy? AsiaPacific Issues, No. 77, March. Honolulu: East-West Center. Bowring, P. (2007) How Asians can have more babies. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/18/opinion/18iht-edbowring.1.5768104.html?_r=1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_health_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/02/content_489869.htm Knag, 2007 : http://www.geografie.nl/index.php?id=640tx_ttnews[swords]=giscHash=2f4cd4ee67tx_ttnews[tt_news]=611tx_ttnews[backPid]=502 King, Frank H. (1911). Farmers of Forty Centuries. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press. Maddison, Angus (1998). Chinese Economic Performance in the Long Run. Paris: Development Centre of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Perkins, Dwight (1967). Government as an Obstacle to Industrialization: The Case of Nineteenth-Century China. Journal of Economic History, 27(4):478-92. Riskin, Carl (1975). Surplus and Stagnation in Modern China. In Dwight Perkins, ed., Chinas Modern Economy in Historical Perspective, 49-84. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Wang, Gabe T. (1999). Chinas Population: Problems, Thoughts and Policies, 6, 28-29, 38-39. Aldershot: Ashgate. http://www.chinability.com/GDP.htm ONeill, B. and S. Scherbov (2006), Interpreting UN Urbanization Projections Using a Multi-state Model, Interim Report IR-06-012. (NYTIMES, 2009) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/world/asia/11china.html
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Foreign Language Essay :: Foreign Languages Essays
Foreign Language Essay Innehà ¥llsfà ¶rteckning Innehà ¥llsfà ¶rteckning          2 Inledning          3 Sammanfattning          4 Allmà ¤nt          5 Japans industriella          6 struktur Faktorer som bidragit     11 till Japans framgà ¥ngar Jà ¤mfà ¶relse mellan          14 Sverige och Japan Kà ¤llfà ¶rteckning          18 Bilaga          19 Inledning Sverige à ¤r nu i en djup là ¥gkonjunktur, med massor av "sparpaket". Dà ¤rfà ¶r tyckte jag att det skulle vara intressant att titta pà ¥ just en av và ¤rldens stà ¶rsta och starkaste marknadseko nomier och se vad som skiljer den mot Sverige. Jag valde inte USA utan Japan som kommer lite i skymundan mot den stora jà ¤tten i Và ¤st. Jag kommer att ta upp lite om fà ¶retagsstruktur d v s om de à ¤r konglomerat eller ej, stort eller litet o s v. Sedan tà ¤nkte jag ta upp lite om instà ¤llningen till arbete hos japanerna, d v s hur deras tra ditioner à ¤r i fà ¶rhà ¥llande till arbetet. Pà ¥ det hà ¤r sà ¤ttet tà ¤nkte jag pà ¥visa vad som gà ¶r Japan till en rela tivt solid ekonomi. Jag vill ocksà ¥ visa vad som gjort att Japan har haft sà ¥ otroliga framgà ¥ngar speciellt efter andra và ¤rldskriget. Sammanfattning Japan à ¤r ett relativt litet land, men à ¤ndà ¥ har det utvecklat en và ¤l digt stark ekonomi. Bristen pà ¥ tillgà ¥ngar och det isolerade là ¤get har lett till att japanerna mà ¥ste ha en effektiv handel à ¶ver grà ¤n serna. Japan har ett và ¤lutvecklat industridepartement som samarbetar dagligen med industrin och fungerar som ett samordnings- och rà ¥dgivningsorgan. De stora industrigrupperna stà ¥r fà ¶r hà ¤lften av Japans fà ¶rà ¤dlings và ¤rde, men bara ca 1/5 av sysselsà ¤ttningen. Detta beror frà ¤mst pà ¥ att industrigrupperna tillà ¤mpar livstidsanstà ¤llning och seniori tets systemet vilka à ¤r mycket kostsamma, men ger mà ¥nga fà ¶rdelar bl a effektiva arbetare. Industrigrupperna samarbetar med smà ¥- och medelstora fà ¶retag, de hjà ¤lper dem med bl a finansiering och rà ¥d givning. I gengà ¤ld arbetar de mindre fà ¶retagen lojalt fà ¶r de stora och blir som ett slags sà ¤kerhetsomrà ¥de fà ¶r dem. De flesta japanerna sparar fà ¶r en oviss framtid, dà ¤rfà ¶r att de ej har nà ¥gon speciell social trygghet genom staten, endast en folk pension pà ¥ ca 3816 kr/mà ¥nad. Genom detta sparande blir ban kerna enormt kapitalstarka och dà ¤rfà ¶r à ¤r just de 4 stà ¶rsta banker na i và ¤rlden ja panska. Det genomsnittliga sparkapitalet fà ¶r en japansk familj à ¤r ca 354 000 kr. Deras marginalskatt à ¤r endast ca 10% vilket moti verar à ¶vertidsarbete och mer sparande, dà ¤rfà ¶r arbetar japanerna ca 6 h mer à ¤n t ex europà ©er. Det finns mà ¥nga faktorer som har bidragit till Japans framgà ¥ngar framfà ¶r allt efter andra và ¤rldskriget bl a den stabila stà ¤llningen in ternationellt, den effektiva inrikespolitiken, nà ¤ringssystemet, styr ningen av fà ¶retagen och de effektiva arbetarna. Jà ¤mfà ¶r man Sverige och Japan sà ¥ à ¤r det, det lite stà ¶rre landet med 8 miljoner inv. mot det lilla landet med en enorm befolkning pà ¥ 125 miljoner.
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Marie de Frances Eliduc, Boccaccios Ninth Tale of the Fifth Day, and Shakespeares As You Like It :: comparison compare contrast essays
Comparing Women in Marie de Frances' Eliduc, Boccaccio's Ninth Tale of the Fifth Day, and Shakespeare's As You Like It  Whether it is Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian, or Renaissance writing, women have always played a significant role in literature. Sometimes they act as counterparts to men, but sometimes they dominate the storyline themselves. Helen of Troy, Guildeluec, Monna Giovanna, and Rosalind, among others, prove to be just as vital characters as the men in their stories. Whether it is beauty, kindness, or strength, each one contributes significantly to the grandeur of the classic in which she is a part. Helen of Troy is perhaps one of the most famous women of all literature. It is her beauty that Paris desires, and it is her abduction by this handsome youth that brings the Greeks and Trojans to war. Helen is powerful although the Hellenic tradition stresses the importance of men's achievement. Sparking a war is quite a task for one woman to accomplish, and yet Helen in Homer's The Iliad does not play an active role as Achilles does. She is a stereotypical beautiful woman, whose physical appearance is all that counts, and her beauty becomes only a curse. As a woman, she is no more than an object of possession. Nowhere in the epic does the reader really gain insight into how she thinks or feels. In Marie de Frances' "Eliduc," Guildeluec is Eliduc's wife, or first wife, who is a devout Christian. She, as well as the story, puts great importance on the pleasing of God. The Judeo-Christian tradition is known for God's adoration rather than man's achievement. The portrayal of Guildeluec, which is rather unrealistic, adds to the story's fairy-tale style. Guildeluec is the loyal wife who waits patiently at home while her husband fights for the good of his country as well as his Lord. She waits patiently once again when he leaves to help another king since his own monarch no longer trusts him. Eliduc meets the king's daughter and falls in love, despite the fact that he has promised his wife he would never leave her. When Guildeluec realizes that her husband is in love with another woman, she not only saves this woman's life, but gives her to Eliduc as well. The fairy-tale characteristics come into play here because no woman in real life would be so kind if her husband cheated on her.
Friday, August 2, 2019
Mirror Essay -- essays research papers
In the first stanza, the "I am not cruel, only truthful" phrase reveals the mirror's personality and charter. Unlike humans a mirror cannot judge her with opinions. Sylvia Plath uses onomatopoeia to give the mirror human characteristics. On line five she writes "The eye of a little god, four-cornered" which shows that the mirror is given God-like powers over the women. It becomes almost an obsessive relationship between the mirror and the women because she looks to the mirror for comfort only to confronted with the truth about your youth wasting away. The mirror triggers conscious and unconscious memories of her life faithfully. On line thirteen it reads "I see her back, and reflect it faithfully" once again showing that truthful charter of the mirror. Regardless of the fact she hates her reflection the women becomes dependent on the mirror, and on line fifteen you can see that relationship were it says "I am important to her. She comes and goes." The phase "I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions." Shows that a mirror is not capable of showing anything else, then what is put in front of it. The mirror shows no color and has no preference. Although the mirror revels reality the women still clings to objects that blind her from the truth. In the second stanza, the phase "Then she turn to those liars, the candles or the moon" shows that the woman is attempting to hide her flaws behind the darkness. It is very ...
Comparison between Salazar and other Authoritarian Regime in the era
Estado Novo or simply the New State was established after the overthrowing of the first republic in 1933. The second Republic was established by Antonio de Oliveira. This authoritarian regime adopted an integral orientation totally different from what characterized most of the fascist states in Europe. The basis of his authoritarian rule was on the premises of economic and political stability; he instituted major reforms which greatly privileged the people in the upper classes to the disadvantage of the poor section of the society. The regime that Salazar established was more inclined towards the church and there was much influence from it, perhaps this emanates from the fact that he was a strong catholic himself. It has been described as a nationalist political regime which was almost similar to the one established hy his italian counterpart , Benito Mussolini. The regime was nevertheless different from the Mussolini Fascism because of its different and less totalitarian leanings. His State was basically founded on the Catholicism and the Anti-communism ideologies. Salazar did not claim in developing power for his regime with the same degree as fascist did (Cook, B 2001) One of the outstanding difference between Salazar and other dictators is that he did not intiate the cult of personality instead he is more recognized for his mere simple and ascetic manners. â€Å"his one party system was based on a different premise to those of Germany and Italy,the ruling party Unicao Nacional was not intended as a radical means of reshaping political view and mobilizing political opinion rather it was a device to create consensus or to demobilize politics altogether. (Lee,Stephen 2000) The origin of Salazar and Hitler’s regimes is coincidental, Hitler and Salazar arose to power on the same year and precisely the same month, the two dictators’ ascension to power was seen by many as the hope of their nations. The two leaders had the same agendas but none seemed to be fascinated by the other. During the Second World War Portugal chose to remain neutral and safeguard her interest both locally and internationally. Her support for either of the sides would have threatened it own existence and the colonies it owned overseas. (Stanely, G 2008) Perhaps the common factor that the two dictators shared during this war period was the hatred towards soviet communism, they felt that rise of communism would be a great threat to the capitalist attitudes adopted by their regimes. (Lieitz, C 2000) notes that the two leaders worked very hard towards frustrating Soviet attempt to spread their communism ideologies to the different parts of Europe. Salazar and Franco of Portugal had a common fear of the Anglo-Russian agreement and the relationship that Russia was having with the United Nation. As time went on the two dictators greatly depended on Germany for trade as this was a very important element for their retention of their power, they felt that the rise of communist power would have a great influence and this would ultimately jeopardize their regimes. (Cull, N Holbrook, D, Welch, D 2003) Stanely, G (1987) attribute Salazar regime survival in power to his manipulative ability where he gave some fictitious power to some of the institutions, elections continued to be held where president was elected but he continued to control the most powerful office on the land, Stanely, G notes that Salazar allowed kept some kind of constitution dispensation something which was totally different with Franco’s regime. According to Stanely and Paney this â€Å" enabled Salazar to the degree of opprobrium suffered by the Franco regime in 1945†(p631). Despite being a dictator he was able to penetrate the walls made by the international community barring dictators the limelight enjoyed by the democracies especially in the western world. (Christian, L 2001) Despite the fact that Salazar wanted Portugal to thrive economically he has been described as having established a traditional and conservative regime. Compared to what Mussolini and his Germany counterpart achieved he fell short of industrializing his country. He had no ambitions of expansion â€Å"Portugal has no need for wars, usurpations or conquests†(Lee, Stephen 2000). Portugal seemed more satisfied with what they had explaining the reason why Salazar felt they should first preserve what they had acquired in the past, this contradicted with Hitler and Mussolini who felt that expansion was the only way to consolidate power. Salazar regime has been described as one of the milder dictatorships in the period after the two great wars. The carefully adopted policy initiated and approached by Salazar explains why his regime outlived the other right wing authorities but this longevity has been greatly attributed to the country’s delay in democratization.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Mongol invasion on the Muslim world
The Mongols entered history as just one among a number of nomad tribes on the steppes of central Asia. The rise of the Mongols and the beginnings of the Mongol conquests arose out of a dramatic shift from such disunity to unity, and it was achieved through the personality and military skills of one man. In all probability he was born in 1167. He was given the name of Temuchin. The nomad world he entered was a fierce and unforgiving one of rivalry and survival skills. Like all Mongol children, Temuchin learned to ride with great skill and to handle a bow and arrows. After an eventful younger life his thoughts turned towards the opportunity of defeating his rivals and taking control of the unified Mongol tribes. Many years of warfare followed, the decisive victory being Temuchin's defeat of the Naimans. In 1206 a grand assembly was called at the source of the Onon River. A white standard symbolizing the protective spirit of the Mongols was raised. Its nine points represented the newly unified Mongol tribes. The gathering then proclaimed Temuchin as Genghis Khan (‘Universal Ruler') (Turnbull, 2003). Before we turn to the Mongols beliefs and their attitudes towards the religions of others, some general observations are in order. We cannot take it for granted that the motives for, or indeed character of, â€Å"conversion†in the thirteenth century will be identical with those we would recognize todayâ€â€or certainly those which would meet with the approval of the purist. In particular, such motives might have more to do with political, diplomatic or economic considerations than with inner conviction. We should be wrong to emphasize the individualistic over against the communal, the internal over against the outward form of law or cultic practice, and the profoundly personal transformation over against the adoption of additional cultural norms. For instance, the Uighur conversion to Manichaeism in the late eighth century had owed something to economic relations with Sogdian merchants, and it has also been calledâ€â€like the Khazar afghans adoption of Judaismâ€â€Ã¢â‚¬Å"a declaration of ideological independence.†(Jackson, 2001) Like earlier steppe rulers, the Mongol qaÄÅ'ans presided over public debates between representatives of different faiths. The impulse behind these events is unclear. In a recent article, Richard Foltz points out that the effect of the whole policy was to make mischief, but he stops short of suggesting that the aim was to divide and rule. It has been proposed that a debate took place at the point when the sovereign meditated a change of religious allegiance. There may be some truth in this: Juwaynis account of the conversion of the Uighurs some centuries previously, indeed, appears to be based upon the idea that such debates were always the means of bringing the ruler to a new faith. But we cannot discount the possibility that one purpose was entertainmentâ€â€that the public religious disputation, in other words, was the intellectual counterpart of the bloody gladiatorial conflicts which the Mongols staged between captured enemy soldiers (Fiey, 1975). Lastly, the frontiers between different faiths were not impermeable. â€Å"Shamanism†was itself an amalgam, and we occupy no vantage point that enables us to distinguish some pristine model from accretions that might have attached themselves to the Mongols' beliefs in the few centuries preceding the rise of Chinggis Khan (Franke, Herbert 1994). A syncretistic approach had long been the hallmark of the nomads religious beliefs; it is reflected in the Secret History of the Mongols, where elements from the mythical history of the early Turks, the Khitans and other steppe and forest peoples are appropriated and integrated into the Mongolsown origin myths (Amitai-Preiss, 1996). Intent as the Mongols may have been on sharing the world only with subjects, they were also compelled to share it with a plethora of spirits, often malevolently inclined and in any case termed â€Å"demons†by Western European writers. When Rubruck's little group in 1253 passed through a difficult stretch in the Tarbaghatai range, his guide asked the friars to chant a prayer that would put the demons to flight. Diagnosis of the activity of these invisible powers, and if possible their harnessing for good purposes, was the job of the shamans; and there is no dearth of testimony that by the middle decades of the thirteenth century Mongol rulers manifested a heavy dependence upon shamans and fortune-tellers. Shamanistic activities are geared to influencing conditions in this life, not to securing an after-life. The Mongols ancestral beliefs and practices and the great world religions, in other words, were valid for different spheres: hence the â€Å"tolerant†policy of the Mongol qacans, to which we shall return (Elias, 1999). So it was not at all incongruous that a Mongol sovereign or prince should make some formal gesture towards, say, Christianity or Islam while continuing to observe the â€Å"shamanistic†practices of his forebears: Rubruck saw even those of Mà ¶ngke's wives who had no knowledge of the Christian faith venerating the cross (Charpentier, 1935). We do not have to see this as some kind of celestial insurance, as if any of the several faiths with which the Mongols were confronted might embody the Truth and so it was advisable to court them all, although the idea finds support in a speech ascribed to Qubilai by Marco Polo. On leaving the camp of the Mongol prince Sartaq, Rubruck was told, â€Å"Do not call our master a Christian: he is not a Christian; he is a Mongol.†(Heissig, 1980) Although he goes on to say that â€Å"they regard the term Christendom as the name of a people†(i.e. presumably the Franks of Europe), it is doubtful whether this necessarily supports DeWeese's contention that religion in Inner Asia was a communal affair. It may well have been so; but Rubruck (whose interpreter was proverbially inadequate) could easily have misunderstood the reason for the warning, and a different explanation comes to mind. We should notice that on several occasions the Mongol terms for religious specialists seem to have been interpreted as denoting the religious community as a whole. Rubruck, for instance, employs the Mongol word toyin (Chinese daoren, â€Å"man of the path,†i.e. Buddhist priest) as a designation for the Buddhists (â€Å"idolators†) in general (Fennell, 1983). And the use of erkeÄÅ'à ¼n (â€Å"Christian priest†) betrays a similar confusion in the thirteenth-century sources. This might explain the apparent bewilderment of the Qacan Gà ¼yà ¼g at Innocent IV's request that he become a Christian and the anger in the camp of the Mongol general Baiju over the same injunction on the part of Ascelin. The QaÄÅ'an Mà ¶ngke, too, objected when Rubruck was misrepresented as having called him a toyin. It is possible that with one exception the Mongolian lexicon recognized only religious specialists and contained no word for the respective religious community en masse. The exception was the Muslims who confronted Chinggis Khan in the shape of the powerful KhwÄ razmian Empire. Here two words were available: sartacul, employed in the Secret History to designate the KhwÄ razm-shÄ h's subjects, and dashman (from Persian dÄ nishmand, literally â€Å"learned man†), which denoted the Muslim religious class. But to the best of our knowledge the language contained no word for â€Å"Christian†or â€Å"Buddhist,†as opposed to erkeÄÅ'à ¼n or toyin for priest/monk. Even in the late thirteenth century Persian authors in the Mongol empire equated â€Å"Christian†(Persian: tarsÄ ) with â€Å"Uighur†on account of the large number of Christians among that people (Allsen, 1994). At what juncture â€Å"Shamanism†merits being called a religion, it is difficult to say. It has been proposed that in any consideration of the religious beliefs and practices of Inner Asian peoples we need to distinguish between â€Å"popular†cultic practiceâ€â€Ã¢â‚¬Å"folk religion, †as Heissig calls it â€â€and what has been termed â€Å"Tenggerism, †centered on the sky-god, i.e. those beliefs and practices associated with a monarchy based on divine sanction. DeWeese is skeptical, and sees the dichotomy as between, not two competing levels of religious thought and ritual, but â€Å"imperial†and â€Å"domestic†styles of evoking essentially the same system of religious values and practices (Amitai, 2001). A clash between the aspiring steppe emperor and the representative of popular traditions might, nevertheless, provide a framework within which we can locate the downfall of Teb Tenggeri (Kà ¶kà ¶chà ¼), the shaman who had been instrumental in Chinggis Khan's enthronement but had then got above himself and was eliminated. RashÄ «d al-DÄ «n seems to suggest that Teb Tenggeri had a following among the ordinary Mongols, who were ready to believe in his spiritual accomplishments. The difficulty with this scenario is that it was Teb Tenggeri who invoked Heaven's mandate and Chinggis Khan who disregarded it (Bundy, 1996). The notion that the early thirteenth-century Mongols worshipped the supreme sky-god, Tengri (Tenggeri), has been challenged on the basis of the way in which the term tenggeri is used in the Secret History, the only Mongolian narrative source that has come down to us. But Anatoly Khazanov makes the plausible suggestion that the Mongols were experiencing the pull of monotheism, as Tengri took on more of the attributes of the omnipotent God. Indeed, a shift is visible during the early decades of the conquest period, to judge from the comments of contemporary observers. The Mongols believed in one God, creator of all things visible and invisible, though they did not worship Him, as was fitting, reverencing idols instead. Subsequent observers, at any rate, were ready to class the Mongols as monotheistic. Rubruck assumed that they had acquired monotheism from the Uighurs. â€Å"You are not a polytheist,†Qadi HamÄ «d al-DÄ «n SÄ biq SamarqandÄ « told Qubilai Qacan during the clampdown on Islamic observance in China in the 1280s, â€Å"because you write the name of the great God at the head of your edicts (yarlighs)†(Jackson, 1994). This development, of course, made it easier for representatives of the different confessional groups to claim the Qacan as one of their own. Reference: Allsen, Thomas T. â€Å"The Rise of the Mongolian Empire and Mongolian Rule in North China.†In CHC. Vol. 6: Alien Regimes and Border States, 907–1368, eds. H. Frank and D. Twitchett. Cambridge, 1994, pp. 321–413. Amitai, Reuven. â€Å"The Conversion of Tegà ¼der Ilkhan to Islam.†JSAI, 25 (2001), pp. 15–43. Amitai-Preiss, Reuven. â€Å"Ghazan, Islam and Mongol Tradition: A View from the MamlÃ… «k Sultanate.†BSOAS, 59 (1996), pp. 1–10. Bundy, David. â€Å"The Syriac and Armenian Christian Responses to the Islamification of the Mongols.†In Medieval Christian Perceptions of Islam: A Book of Essays, ed. John Victor Tolan. New York and London, 1996, pp. 33–53. Charpentier, Jarl. â€Å"William of Rubruck and Roger Bacon.†In Hyllningsskrift tillà ¤gnad Sven Hedin pak hans 70-akrsdag den 19. Febr. 1935. Stockholm, 1935, pp. 255–67. Elias, Jamal J. â€Å"The Sufi Lords of Bahrabad: Sa'd al-Din and Sadr al-Din Hamuwayi.†Iranian Studies, 27 (1994), pp. 53–75. Endicott-West, Elizabeth. â€Å"Notes on Shamans, Fortune-tellers and yin-yang Practitioners and Civil Administration in Yà ¼an China.†In The Mongol Empire and Its Legacy, eds. R. Amitai-Preiss and D.O. Morgan. Leiden, 1999, pp. 224–39. Fennell, John. The Crisis of Medieval Russia 1200–1304. London, 1983. Fiey, J.M. â€Å"Iconographie syriaque: Hulagu, Doquz Khatun †¦et six ambons?†Le Musà ©on, 88 (1975), pp. 59–68. Foltz, Richard. â€Å"Ecumenical Mischief under the Mongols.†CAJ, 43 (1999), pp. 42–69. Franke, Herbert. From Tribal Chieftain to Universal Emperor and God. The Legitimation of the Yà ¼an Dynasty. Sitzungsberichte der bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, phil.-hist. Klasse, 2. Munich, 1978 [Reprinted in H. Franke. China under Mongol Rule. Aldershot, 1994]. Heissig, Walther. The Religions of Mongolia. Tr. Geoffrey Samuel. London, 1980. Jackson, Peter. â€Å"Christians, Barbarians and Monsters: The European Discovery of the World beyond Islam.†In The Medieval World, eds. Peter Linehan and Janet Nelson. London, 2001, pp. 93–110. Jackson, Peter. â€Å"Early Missions to the Mongols: Carpini and His Contemporaries.†In Hakluyt Society. Annual report for 1994, pp. 14–32. Stephen Turnbull, 2003. Genghis Khan & the Mongol Conquests, 1190-1400, Routledge    Â
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