Who were we, and where had we come from? Whence these customs and constraints by which we make some little progress day by day? My ongoing journeys and Genealogy research of now some twenty plus years have put me in touch with many distant relatives in North America. Family lists have thickened into tomes. I had hoped to uncover enough information to have constituted the capsule summaries of at least my own direct ancestors. Letters they might have written, what they said, did, and what they might have thought; or some anecdotes of their lives as they faced the challenges of their own lives and times. But lives are busy, recollections are scanty and unlikely ever to have been recorded, and letters are perishable. The mementos of the aged householder are scattered and lost at his demise, in the inevitable house-cleaning in preparation for the new resident of the old dwelling-place. Thus, little remaining history of the common man, as there is more apt to exist concerning nobles, kings, and notable persons. It does not mean that the life of the common man would not be an adventure of interest, only, that it’s history is not commonly available.

India is emerging as one of the economic giants of the world, and is gaining international influence and global leadership as the world's largest democracy. India's performance will have far-reaching consequences on whether the economic awakening of the country, which began more than two decades ago, can become a good model to be emulated by other developing economies.This book is a collection of policy papers and data-sets for the 35 states and federal territories of India. With a comprehensive approach to competitiveness, the research done by Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore takes into account different factors that collectively shape the ability of a nation to achieve substantial and inclusive economic development over a sustained period of time.ACI's methodology goes beyond rankings to conduct policy simulations on how each state or federal territory can improve its competitiveness. These policy simulations are a compelling value-added proposition enabling policymakers, industry leaders and administrators to identify relative challenges and opportunities, and to prioritise areas when crafting policies and development strategies.

This book (the 72nd and last in the annual series) summarizes approximately 500 reports of reading research identified between July 1, 1995 and June 30, 1996. The research studies in the book are categorized into 6 major areas: (1) summaries of reading research; (2) teacher preparation and practice; (3) sociology of reading; (4) physiology and psychology of reading; (5) the teaching of reading; and (6) reading of atypical learners. All but the first category in the book are further subcategorized, and individual studies within subcategories are grouped by subject. An author index and a list of journals monitored conclude the book. (RS)

This book titled 2017 Annual Competitiveness Analysis and Impact of Exchange Rates on Foreign Direct Investment Inflows to ASEAN Economies recount the development experience of ASEAN over the past 50 years, describe the long-term mega-trends which will shape ASEAN's development trajectory, and propose a development vision with actionable policy recommendations for ASEAN to become the fourth-largest economy in the world by 2030.Into its fifth edition, the book updates the annual economic competitive analysis for ASEAN-10 conducted by the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI). It also introduces an innovation to the institute's methodological framework which is the use of Shapley values to come up with objective weights for indicators, sub-environments and environments in the competitiveness index. This methodological innovation not only adds an element of objectivity in terms of the assignment of weights, but also validates the robustness of results obtained from the competitiveness studies over the past years.Recognising the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) to growth and development in the region, the book also presents an empirical investigation of the drivers of FDI inflows, with specific focus on the effects of exchange rate and its volatility. For a group of economies looking to leverage on FDI and trade to transform themselves into the fourth-largest economy in the world, it is important for ASEAN to achieve high external competitiveness, especially in terms of the member states' real effective exchange rates (REER). These research findings make important academic and policy contributions by teasing out the relationship between REER levels, volatility and FDI in the ASEAN context.Finally, the book collates speeches by academics and policy-makers on issues of key interests to the future development of ASEAN. It contains the reflection on the ASEAN Charter by Professor Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore. Moreover, the discussions on the One Belt One Road initiative and its implication for the region by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law of Singapore; and Professor Liew Mun Leong, Chairman of Surbana Jurong and Changi Airport Group as well as Provost Chair and Professor of NUS make this book a valuable compendium for policy-makers, thinkers, and anyone who has an interest in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific.