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Universities

Universities

A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. A university provides both tertiary and quaternary education. University is derived from the Latin universitas, meaning corporation (since the first medieval European universities were simply groups of scholars). medieval European universities]

History

Because of the above definition, the oldest universities in the world were all European, as the awarding of academic degrees was not a custom of older institutions of learning in Asia and Africa. However, institutions of higher learning considerably older than the most ancient European universities existed in countries such as China, Egypt and India. The Academy, founded in 387 BC by the Greek philosopher Plato in the grove of Academos near Athens, taught its students philosophy, mathematics, and gymnastics, and is sometimes considered a forerunner of modern European universities. Other Greek cities with notable educational institutions include Kos (the home of Hippocrates), which had a medical school, and Rhodes, which had philosophical schools. Another famous classical university was the Museum and Library of Alexandria. About a thousand years after Plato, institutions bearing a resemblance to the modern university existed in Persia and the Islamic world, notably the Academy of Gundishapur and later also al-Azhar University in Cairo. In Asia, there were a number of institutions of higher learning that vaguely resembled universities in the Western sense of the word. In general, these are of considerable antiquity, predating western institutions of higher learning by centuries. In China, it's recorded that the education system had been established during the Yu period (2257 BC - 2208 BC) and the imperial central academy was named Shangyang (Shang means higher and Yang means school) at the time. The higher learning institution - imperial central academy, was called Piyong in Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC - 249 BC), Taixue in Han Dynasty (202 - 220) and Guozijian in Sui dynasty. For example, Nanjing University traces its source back to the imperial central academy at Nanking founded in 258 by the Kingdom of Wu. The early Chinese state depended upon literate, educated officials for operation of the empire, and an imperial examination was established in the Sui Dynasty (581 -618) for evaluating and selecting officials from the general populace. The ancient cities of Nalanda, Vikramasila, Kanchipura and Takshasila were greatly reputed centres of learning in the east, with students from all over Asia. In particular, Nalanda was a famous center of Buddhist scholarship, and as such it attracted a vast number of Buddhist scholars from China, central Asia and Southeast Asia. In the Carolingian period, a famous academy was created by Charlemagne for the purpose of educating the children of aristocrats to help train the professionals needed to run an empire. It was a foreshadow of the rise of the University in the 11th century. The first European medieval university was the University of Magnaura in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), founded in 849 by the emperor Bardas, followed by the University of Salerno (9th century)University of Bologna (1088) in Bologna, Italy, and the University of Paris (c. 1100) in Paris, France. Many of the medieval universities in Western Europe were born under the aegis of the Catholic Church, usually as cathedral schools or by papal bull as Studia Generali. In the early medieval period, most new universities were founded from pre-existing schools, usually when these schools were deemed to have become primarly sites of higher education. Many historians state that universities and cathedral schools were a continuation of the interest in learning promoted by monasteries. In Europe, young men proceeded to the university when they had completed the study of the trivium–the preparatory arts of grammar, rhetoric, and logic–and the quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. (See degrees of Oxford University for the history of how the trivium and quadrivium developed in relation to degrees, especially in anglophone universities). Universities are generally established by statute or charter. In the United Kingdom, for instance, a university is instituted by Act of Parliament or Royal Charter; in either case generally with the approval of Privy Council, and only such recognized bodies can award degrees of any kind.

Universities around the world

The funding and organisation of Universities is very different in different countries around the world. In some countries Universities are predominantly funded by the state, while in others funding may come from donors or from fees which students attending the University must pay. In some countries the vast majority of students attend University in their local town, while in other countries Universities attract students from all over the world, and may provide University accommodation for their students.

Universities and student life in different countries


- British universities
- Dutch universities
- French universities
- Irish universities
- Italian universities
- Spanish universities
- US universities
- Egyptian universities

Selective admissions

Unlike community colleges, enrollment at a university is generally not available to all. However, admission systems vary widely around the world, as discussed in the article college admissions.

Colloquial usage

Colloquially, the term university is used around the world for a phase in one's life: "when I was at university…"; in the United States, college is often used: "when I was in college…". See college, §3, for further discussion. In the United Kingdom and Australia "University" is often contracted to simply "Uni". The usual practice in the United States today is to call an institution made up of several faculties and granting a range of higher degrees a "university" while a smaller institution only granting bachelor's or associate's degrees is called a "college". (See liberal arts colleges, community college). Nevertheless, a few of America's oldest and most prestigious universities, such as Boston College, Dartmouth College and the College of William and Mary, have retained the term "college" in their names for historical reasons though they offer a wide range of higher degrees.

See also


- Corporate universities
- List of colleges and universities
- List of oldest universities in continuous operation
- List of academic disciplines
- Medieval universities, including list of
- Muslim educational institutions
- Private university
- Public university
- School and university in literature
- University ranking
- College applications
- Wikiportal/University
- [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikiversity Wikiversity]

Related terms

: academia - academic rank - academy - admission - alumnus - aula - [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brain_farm Brain farm ]-Bologna process - business schools - Grandes écoles - campus - college - college and university rankings - dean - degree - diploma - discipline - [http://wiktionary.org/wiki/Dissertation dissertation] - faculty - fraternities and sororities - graduate student - graduation - lecturer - medieval university - medieval university (Asia) - mega university - perpetual student - professor - provost - rector - research - scholar - senioritis - student - tenure - tuition - undergraduate - universal access - university administration

References


- Walter Ruegg (ed), A History of the University in Europe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (3 vols) ISBN 0521361079 (vol 3 reviewed by Laurence Brockliss in the Times Literary Supplement, no 5332, 10 June 2005, pages 3-4). Category:Educational stages ko:대학교 ms:Universiti ja:大学 simple:University th:มหาวิทยาลัย

Higher education

Higher education is education provided by universities and other institutions that award academic degrees, such as community colleges, and liberal arts colleges. Higher education includes both the teaching and the research activities of universities, and within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as quaternary education or graduate school). Higher education differs from other forms of post-secondary education such as vocational education. However, most professional education is included within higher education, and many postgraduate qualifications are strongly vocationally or professionally oriented, for example in disciplines such as law and medicine. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy; it is often argued that in a modern economy the quantity and quality of such human capital is the most important factor underlying economic growth.

Working in higher education

Universities are fairly large employers. Depending on the funding, a university has a teacher per 3-20 students. According to the ideal of research-university, the university teaching staff is actively involved in the research of the institution. In addition, the university usually also has dedicated research staff and a considerable support staff. Typically to work in higher education as a member of the academic faculty, one must first obtain a doctorate in an academic field, although some lower teaching positions require only master's degree. Member of the staff or administration have usually such education that is necessary for the fulfilment of their duties. Typically institutes of the university have some technical support personnel and a secretary. Depending on the organization of the university, the main adminstration is more or less centralized. Typically most of the adminstrative staff works in different adminstrative sections, such as Student Affairs. In addition, there may be central support units, such as a university library which have a dedicated staff. The professional field involving the collection, analysis, and reporting of higher education data is called institutional research. Professionals of this field can be found, in addition to universities, in e.g. state educational departments.

Further reading

Higher education in the United States
- Davies, Antony and Thomas W. Cline (2005). [http://www.business.duq.edu/faculty/davies/research/roimba.pdf The ROI on the MBA,] BizEd.
- El-Khawas, E. (1996). Campus trends. Washington, DC.: American Council on Education.
- Ewell, P.T. (1999). Assessment of higher education and quality: Promise and politics. In S.J. Messick (Ed.), Assessment in higher education: Issues of access, quality, student development, and public policy. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Finn, C. E. (1988, Jul.-Aug.). Judgment time for higher education: In the court of public opinion. Change, 20(4), 34-39.
- Green, Madeleine, F., ed. 1988. Leaders for a New Era: Strategies for Higher Education. New York: Macmillan.
- Snyder, Benson R. (1970). The Hidden Curriculum. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Veblen, Thorstein (1918). The Higher Learning in America: A Memorandum on the Conduct of Universities by Businessmen. New York: Huebsch
- Forest, James and Kevin Kinser (2002). Higher Education in the United States: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Higher education in Canada
- Bakvis, Herman and David M. Cameron (2000), [http://www.irpp.org/po/archive/po0500.htm#sufa "Post-secondary education and the SUFA"]. IRPP.

External links


- [http://www.study-in-europe.info/ Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges in Europe]
- [http://www.vidyasoochika.co.in VidyaSoochika - Higher Education Opportunities]
- [http://www.higher-ed.org Higher Education Resource Hub]
- [http://www.higher-ed.org/heus Encyclopedia of Higher Education in the United States]
- [http://www.ericdigests.org/2002-3/finance.htm How Minority Students Finance Their Higher Education]
- [http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-3/quality.htm Ensuring Quality and Productivity in Higher Education]
- [http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/success Writings on Higher Education Practice from the National University of Singapore]
- [http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-3/reform.htm Reform Initiatives in Higher Education]
- [http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9219/higher.htm Budgeting for Higher Education at the State Level: Enigma, Paradox, and Ritual]
- [http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-926/blue.htm Blue Ribbon Commissions and Higher Education]
- [http://www.fullyemployedmba.com/x374.php Part Time MBA - Balancing Life, Work and School - Article]
- [http://www.acenet.edu/ American Council on Education]
- [http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/heri.html Higher Education Research Institute]
- [http://www.ashe.ws/ Association for the Study of Higher Education] Category:Educational stages Category:Education ja:高等教育

Academic degree

This article is about academic degrees. For other degrees, see Degree (disambiguation) A degree is any of a wide range of awards made by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study.

History

The first universities were founded in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries. As with other professions, teaching in universities was only carried out by people who were properly qualified. In the same way that a carpenter would attain the status of master carpenter when fully qualified by his guild, a teacher would become a master when he had been licensed by his profession, the teaching guild. Candidates who had completed three or four years of study in the prescribed texts of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric and logic), and who had successfully passed examinations held by their masters, would be awarded a bachelor's degree. Thus a degree was only a step on the way to becoming a fully-qualified master – hence the English word graduate, which is based on the Latin gradus ("step"). Today the terms master, doctor and professor signify different levels of academic achievement, but initially they were equivalent terms. The University of Bologna in Italy, regarded as the oldest university in Europe, was the first institution to award the degree of Doctor in Civil Law in the late 12th century; it also awarded similar degrees in other subjects including medicine. Note that medicine is now the only field in which the term doctor is applied to students who have only obtained their first academic qualification. The University of Paris used the term master for its graduates, a practice adopted by the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge as well as the "ancient" Scottish universities of St Andrew's, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. The naming of degrees eventually became linked with the subjects studied. Scholars in the faculties of arts or grammar became known as masters, but those in philosophy, medicine and law were known as doctor. As study in the arts or in grammar was a necessary prerequisite to study in subjects such as philosophy, medicine and law, the degree of doctor assumed a higher status than the master's degree. This led to the modern hierarchy in which the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is a more advanced degree than the Master of Arts (M.A.). The practice of using the term doctor for all advanced degrees developed within German universities and spread across the academic world. The French terminology is tied closely to the original meanings of the terms. The baccalauréat (cf. bachelor) is conferred upon French students who have successfully completed their secondary education and admits the student to university. When students graduate from university, they are awarded licence, much as the medieval teaching guilds would have done, and they are qualified to teach in secondary schools or proceed to higher-level studies. In Europe, degrees are being harmonised through the Bologna process, which is based on the three-level hierarchy of degrees (Bachelor (Licence in France), Master, Doctor). This system is currently in use in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This system is gradually replacing the two-stage system now in use in some countries.

Types of academic degrees

Some examples of specific degrees follow each general term. For more information, see the article about the general term.
- Associate's degrees (U.S.): AA, ABS, AS
- Foundation degrees (U.K.): FdA, FdEd, FdEng, FdMus, FdSc, FdTech
- Bachelor's degrees: AB, BA, BComm, BE, BS, BSc, BFA, BCL, LLB, BM, BBA, BChir, BEng, MBChB, SB, BSSc
- Master's degrees: MA, MS, MSc, JD 
- , MALD, MApol, MPhil, MRes, MFA, MTh, M.T.S., M.Div., MBA, MPA, MSW, MPAff, MLIS, MLitt, MPM, MPP, MPT, MRE, LLM, MEng, MSci, MChem, MPhys, MMath, MMus, MESci, MGeol, MTCM, MSSc, BCL (Oxon)#, BPhil (Oxon)#.
- Specialist degrees: EdS, B.Acc., C.A.S.,
- Doctorate degrees: PhD, EdD 
- , EngD, DNursSci, DBA, DD, DSc, DLitt, DA, DMA, DMus, DCL, ThD, PharmD, DPT, DPhil, DOM, OMD, PsyD, DSW, LL.D, J.S.D. and S.J.D.
- Note: In the U.S., despite its name, the J.D. degree is not a doctoral level degree. It is a first professional degree and does not confer the title of doctor. While normally taken after a bachelors-level degree, neither is the J.D. a masters-level degree. The LL.M., which is earned after the J.D., is a masters-level law degree. The S.J.D. (Doctor of Juridical Science) is considered a doctoral-level degree and is the highest degree one can attain in law. Also, in the U.S., holders of the EdD (doctor of education) are considered "doctorally prepared" only within the field of education (see, for example, [http://www.aacsb.edu/ AACSB] rules for accreditation)[http://www.academicforum.co.uk .] #Note: Despite their names, the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) and the Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil) offered at Oxford University are both advanced master's degrees (in law and philosophy respectively). In some countries, such as Australia, a diploma is a specific academic award of lower rank than an academic degree. Australia has several different types of diplomas: Diplomas, Advanced Diplomas, Graduate Diplomas and Postgraduate Diplomas. A diploma can also be an additional course taken after a standard bachelor's degree giving specilisation in a particular field. For example, Australian schoolteachers often study a bachelor's degree in Arts or Science (with a significant education component) for the first three years, then in their final year complete a Diploma of Education (DipEd), which qualifies them as school teachers. In Ireland a National Diploma is below the standard of the honours bachelor degree, whilst the Higher Diploma is taken after the bachelor degree. In Germany, there are several academic degrees. The lowest degree is the Bachelor (equivalent to a English Bachelor (hons.)), the (equivalent) Diplom (FH) or Diplom I. After that follows the Diplom II, Diplom (University), the Magister (in humanities) or the Master. After a Diplom II, Diplom (University), a Magister or a Master students can proceed to a doctorate. The highest academic degree in Germany is the Habilitation. The situation in Austria is similar to the situation in Germany: The students get a Diploma as well, but they graduate either with a Magister degree or with a Diploma. This depends on the faculty: arts, sciences and fine arts earn a Magister degree, while technical sciences get a Diploma in engineering. So the degree that, for example, an Information Technology student earns is "Diplom-Ingenieur".

See also


- ad eundem degree
- Degrees of Oxford University
- Lambeth degrees
- Education by country
- Higher education
- Honorary degree
- European higher education area
- Lisbon recognition convention
- ja:学位

Tertiary education

Tertiary education, also referred to as third-stage or third level education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education such as a high school, secondary school, or gymnasium. Tertiary education is commonly higher education which prepares students for a quaternary education. Colleges and universities are examples of institutions that provide tertiary education. The term Tertiary education can also be used to refer to vocational education and training. In Australia the term Post-secondary education is usually used for vocational and non-academic education as distinct from Tertiary education offered at academic oriented institions like Universities.. Tertiary education generally culminates in the receipt of a degree: vocational certification, Associate's degrees, or Bachelor's degrees (B.A. or B.S.).

See also


- Academic degree
- Education by country
- List of colleges and universities by country Category:Educational stages Category:Education

Quaternary education

Quaternary education or postgraduate education is the fourth-stage educational level, and follows the completion of an undergraduate degree at a college or university. Graduate school is an example of quaternary education; some consider masters-level degrees as part of tertiary education; some consider postdoctoral positions to be quaternary education while others consider them to be jobs. In Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and most countries of continental Europe, this term is normally not used. Postgraduate study is considered part of tertiary education.

See also


- Education by country
- Graduate student
- Higher education

Lists


- Professional Master's degree including a list
- List of colleges and universities by country Category:Educational stages Category:Education

Corporation

A corporation is a legal entity (distinct from a natural person) that often has similar rights in law to those of a natural person. Civil law systems may refer to corporations as "moral persons;" they may also go by the name "AS" (anonymous society) or something similar, depending on language (see below). In colloquial usage, "corporation" usually refers to a commercial entity set up in accordance with a governmental framework. Churches (mainly in US, but not so much in other countries, where Churches have a different status), interest groups (both can form as not-for-profit corporations or can exist as voluntary associations), cities and townships (often chartered as public corporations), among others, may also have historically lengthy corporate identities.

Legal status

The law typically views a corporation as a fictional person, a legal person, or a moral person (as opposed to a natural person); United States law recognises this as corporate personhood. Under such a doctrine (obviously a legal fiction), a corporation enjoys many of the rights and obligations of individual citizens, such as the ability to own property, sign binding contracts, pay taxes, have certain constitutional rights, and otherwise participate in society. (Note that corporations do not possess all the rights appertaining to individuals: in most jurisdictions, for example, a corporation cannot vote.) In common law countries, the classic statement of this principle is found in Lennard's Carrying Co Ltd v Asiatic Petroleum Co Ltd [1915], where Lord Haldane said: :"My Lords, a corporation is an abstraction. It has no mind of its own any more than it has a body of its own; its active and directing will must consequently be sought in the person of somebody who is really the directing mind and will of the corporation, the very ego and centre of the personality of the corporation." The most salient features of incorporation include: #Limited Liability. Unlike in a partnership, stockholders of a corporation hold no liability for the corporation's debts and obligations: see leading case in common law, Salomon v. Salomon & Co.. As a result their "limited" potential losses cannot exceed the amount which they paid for the stock. Not only does this allow corporations to engage in risky enterprises, but limited liability also forms the basis for trading in corporate stock. Without the limitation on the amount that an investor can lose, the time and effort required to determine whether the stock could wipe the investor out would render the stock market very illiquid (as one can observe in the very illiquid market for partnership interests). A lender can, however, require a personal guarantee on a loan to a corporation, thus introducing personal liability. #Perpetual Lifetime. The assets and structure of the corporation exist beyond the lifetime of any of its shareholders, officers or directors. This allows for stability of capital, which thus becomes available for investment in projects of a larger size and over a longer term than if the corporate assets remained subject to dissolution and distribution. This feature also had great importance in the medieval period, when land donated to the Church (a corporation) would not generate the feudal fees that a lord could claim upon a landholder's death. In this regard, see Statute of Mortmain. #Profit Maximization. In Anglo-American jurisdictions, business corporations are generally required to serve the best interests of the shareholders, a rule that courts have generally interpreted to mean the maximization of share value, and thus profits. Corporate directors are prohibited by corporate law from sacrificing profits to serve some other interest. Originally this included such areas as environmental protection, or the improvement of the welfare of the community. For example, when Henry Ford cut dividends and reduced car prices in order to increase the number of people who could afford to buy his cars, his brother-in-law, Mr. Dodge, a shareholder, sued him for having harmed profitability: Dodge v. Ford Motor Company, 170 N.W 688 (Mich.S.C. 1919). Mr. Dodge succeeded and went on to form his own car company with the proceeds of the suit. However, modern law by statutes and court decisions holds that a corporation does have an implied authority to make charitable contributions to society.

Ownership and control

Humans and other legal entities (such as trusts and other corporations) can hold shares. When no stockholders exist, a corporation may exist as a "non-stock corporation", a "membership corporation", or similar — this second type of corporation counts as a not-for-profit corporation. In either category, the corporation comprises a collective of individuals with a distinct legal status and with special privileges not vouchsafed to ordinary unincorporated businesses, to voluntary associations, or to groups of individuals. Typically, a board of directors governs a corporation on the stockholders' behalf. The board has a fiduciary duty to look after the interests of the corporation. The corporate officers such as the CEO, president, treasurer, and other titled officers are chosen by the board to manage the affairs of the corporation. Corporations can also be controlled (in part) by creditors such as banks. In return for lending money to the corporation, creditors can demand a control interest analogous to that of a shareholder, including one or more seats on the board of directors. Creditors are not said to "own" the corporation as shareholders do, but can outweigh the shareholders in practice, especially if the corporation is experiencing financial difficulties and cannot survive without credit. Shareholders in a corporation are said to have a "residual interest." Should the corporation end its existence, the shareholders are the last to receive its assets, following creditors and others with interests in the corporation. This can make investment in a corporation risky; however, the risk is outweighed by the corporation's limited liability, which ensures that the shareholder will only be liable for the amount they invested.

Formation

Historically, corporations were created by special charter of state governments. Today, corporations are usually registered with a state, and become regulated by the laws enacted by that state. Registration is the main prerequisite to the corporation's assumption of limited liability. As part of this registration, it must designate the principal address of the corporation (where to contact it in the event of legal process), and often an agent or other legal representative of the corporation. Generally, a corporation files articles of incorporation with the government, laying out the general nature of the corporation, the amount of stock it is authorized to issue, and the names and addresses of directors. Once the articles are approved, the corporation's directors meet to create bylaws that govern the internal functions of the corporation, such as meeting procedures and officer positions. The law of the state in which a corporation operates will regulate most of its internal activities, as well as its finances. If a corporation operates outside its home state, it is often required to register with other governments as a foreign corporation, and is almost always subject to laws of its host state pertaining to employment, crimes, contracts, civil actions, and the like.

Naming

Corporations generally have a distinct name. Historically, corporations were named after their membership: for instance, "The President and Fellows of Harvard College." Nowadays, corporations in most jurisdictions have a distinct name that does not need to make reference to their membership. In Canada, this possibility is taken to its logical extreme: many smaller Canadian corporations have no names at all, merely numbers (e.g., "Ontario 123-4567 Limited"). In most countries, corporate names include the term "Corporation", or an abbreviation that denotes the corporate status of the entity. See Types of corporations for a full list. These terms, known as words of limitation, obviously vary by jurisdiction and language. Their use puts all persons on constructive notice that they have to deal with an entity whose liability remains limited, in the sense that it does not reach back to the persons who constitute the entity; one can only collect from whatever assets the entity still controls at the time one obtains a judgment against it. Certain jurisdictions do not allow the use of the word "company" alone to denote corporate status, since the word "company" may refer to a partnership or to a sole proprietorship, or even, archaically, to a group of not necessarily related people (for example, those staying in a tavern).

Unresolved issues

The nature of the corporation continues to evolve, both through existing corporations pushing new ideas and structures, and governments regulating them in response to new situations. A current question is that of diffused responsibility: for example, if the corporation is found liable for a death, then how should the blame and punishment for this be allocated across the shareholders, directors, management and staff of the corporation? The present law diffuses this responsibility. One may think that the owners of the business - the shareholders - should be ultimately responsible for such circumstances, but the modern corporation may have many millions of small-scale shareholders who know nothing about its business activities. Worse still, traders - especially hedge funds - may rapidly turn over their partial ownership of a corporation many times a day. One suggestion is that the directors should be passed the burden of moral and legal responsibility as part of their job of representing the shareholders. This is currently an active area of debate.

Origins

Etymology

The word "corporation" derives from the Latin corpus (body), representing a "body of people"; that is, a group of people authorized to act as an individual (Oxford English Dictionary). The word universitas also used to refer to a group of people but now refers specifically to a group of scholars (see University). In the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, the term corporation was also used for the local government body in charge of a borough. This style was replaced in most cases with the term council in the United Kingdom in 1973, and in the Republic of Ireland in 2001. The sole exception is the Corporation of London which retains the title.

Pre-modern corporations

Corporations have been present in some forms as far back as Ancient Rome. Although devoid of some of the core characteristics by which corporations are known today, they nonetheless were enterprises, sanctioned by the state, with a form of shareholders who invested money for a specific purpose. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, the rise of Christianity and the influx of Germanic tribes, the Roman conception of the corporation merged with other views. Germanic tribes, for example, maintained that a group entity in and of itself could have a separate identity from that of its members. These influences came together in the body of canon law built around the conception of the church as corporate structure in the Middle Ages. Different theories of the church as corporate body were favored by different individuals but all agreed on one key component: that the church was more than just its members and could maintain an existence perpetually, regardless of the death of any individual member. This, together with discussion as to the relationship between the head of a corporation (such as the Pope) and its members, contributed not only to the development of modern corporations and corporate theory but also set the stage for many ideas that would come to fruition during the enlightenment. Kenneth Pomeranz, an economic historian, argues that the need to perform pseudo-governmental operations (such as the waging of war) accounts for the development of this economic structure in Europe but not in China or in the Middle East. Older corporate entities gained incorporation as "the person/people of xx". This reflected the people who made up the "body" and also emphasised their legal identity. The law classifies a corporation either as a corporation sole (one person) or as a corporation aggregate (any other number). Examples include (the link gives the legal name; the nickname appears in brackets with the nature of the corporation)
- The Governor and Company of the Bank of England (Bank of England — corporation aggregate)
- The Chancellor Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge (Cambridge University — corporation aggregate)
- The President and Fellows of Harvard College (Harvard College — corporation aggregate)
- Her Majesty the Queen in Right of New Zealand (New Zealand Government — corporation sole)
- The Archbishop of Canterbury (corporation sole)
- The Dean, Chapter and Students of the Cathedral Church of Christ in Oxford of the Foundation of King Henry VIII (Christ Church, Oxford — corporation aggregate) Using strict definitions, universities and colleges count as corporations since they merely comprise groups of people.

Development of modern commercial corporations

college, dating from 7 November 1623, for the amount of 2,400 florins]] Early corporations of the commercial sort were formed under frameworks set up by governments of states to undertake tasks which appeared too risky or too expensive for individuals or governments to embark upon. The alleged oldest commercial corporation in the world, the Stora Kopparberg mining community in Falun, Sweden, reportedly obtained a charter from King Magnus Eriksson in 1347. Many European nations chartered corporations to lead colonial ventures, such as the Dutch East India Company, and these corporations came to play a large part in the history of corporate colonialism. In the United States, government chartering began to fall out of vogue in the mid-1800s. Corporate law at the time was very restrictive and very closely regulated by the states. Forming a corporation usually required an act of legislature. Investors generally had to be given an equal say in corporate governance, and the corporation's activities were tightly restricted to its express purposes. Many private firms in the 19th century avoided the corporate model for these reasons (Andrew Carnegie formed his steel operation as a limited partnership, and John D. Rockefeller set up Standard Oil as a trust). Eventually, state governments began to realize the economic value of providing more permissive corporate laws. New Jersey was the first state to adopt an "enabling" corporate law, with the goal of attracting more business to the state. Delaware followed, and soon became known as the most corporation-friendly state in the country; even today, most major public corporations are set up under Delaware law. The 20th century saw a proliferation of enabling law across the world, which helped to drive economic booms in many countries before and after World War I. After World War II, and especially starting in the 1980s, many countries with large state-owned corporations moved toward privatization, the selling of publicly-owned services and enterprises to private, normally corporate, ownership. Deregulation - reducing the public-interest regulation of corporate activity - often accompanied privatization as part of an ideologically laissez-faire policy. Another major postwar shift was toward conglomerates, in which large corporations purchased smaller corporations to expand their industrial base. Japanese firms developed a horizontal conglomeration model, the keiretsu, which was later duplicated in other countries as well. While corporate efficiency (and profitability) skyrocketed, small shareholder control was diminished and directors of corporations assumed greater control over business, contributing in part to the hostile takeover movement of the 1980s and the accounting scandals that brought down Enron and WorldCom following the turn of the century. More recent corporate developments include downsizing, contracting-out or out-sourcing, off-shoring and scoping down activities to core business, as information technology, global trade regimes, and cheap fossil fuels enable corporations to reduce labour costs, transportation costs and transaction costs, and thereby maximize profits. For a history of corporations that is “pro-corporate”, see John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, The Company: a Short History of a Revolutionary Idea (New York: Modern Library, 2003). For a history of corporations that is “critical”, see Joel Bakan, The Corporation. The pathological pursuit of profit and power (Toronto: Viking Canada, 2004).

Types of corporations

For-profit and non-profit

Main article: non-profit organization In modern economic systems, the corporate conventions of governance commonly appear in a wide variety of business and non-profit activities. Though the laws governing these creatures of statute often differ, the courts often interpret provisions of the law that apply to profit-making enterprises in the same manner (or in a similar manner) when applying principles to non-profit organizations — as the underlying structures of these two types of entity often resemble each other.

Closely-held and public

The institution most often referenced when the word "corporation" is used, as in the title of the movie The Corporation, is a public or publicly traded corporation, the shares of which are traded on a public market (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq) designed specifically for the buying and selling of shares of stock of corporations by and to the general public. Most of the largest businesses in the world are publicly traded corporations. However, the majority of corporations are said to be closely held, privately held or close corporations, meaning that no ready market exists for the trading of ownership interests. Many such corporations are owned and managed by a small group of businesspeople or companies, although the size of such a corporation can be as vast as the largest public corporations. The affairs of publicly traded and closely held corporations are similar in many respects. The main difference in most countries is that publicly traded corporations have an additional burden of complying with securities laws, which (especially in the U.S.) grant further rights to stockholders to protect them from fraud or unfairness in connection with the sale and purchase of stock. The publicly traded corporation must usually follow much more stringent disclosure requirements, and sometimes additional procedural obligations in connection with major transactions (e.g. mergers) or events (e.g. elections of directors).

Multinational corporations

Following on the success of the corporate model at a national level, many corporations have become transnational or multinational corporations: growing beyond national boundaries to attain sometimes remarkable positions of power and influence in the process of globalising. The typical "transnational" or "multinational" may fit into a web of overlapping ownerships and directorships, with multiple branches and lines in different regions, many such sub-groupings comprising corporations in their own right. Growth by expansion may favour national or regional branches; growth by acquisition or merger can result in a plethora of groupings scattered around and/or spanning the globe, with structures and names which do not always make clear the structures of ownership and interaction. In the spread of corporations across multiple continents, the importance of corporate culture has grown as a unifying factor and a counterweight to local national sensibilities and cultural awareness.

National features

There are various types of corporations throughout the world.

United States

In the United States, several corporate forms exist; the name of "corporation" generally applies to a business, run for profit, to which one of the states of the United States has granted a corporate charter. American corporations often charter as a Delaware Corporation in Delaware, which charges no tax on activities outside the state and has courts experienced in commercial law. Corporations set up for privacy or asset protection often charter in Nevada, which allows setting them up with no record of who owns them. The federal government of the United States usually does not grant corporate charters, except for some special instances such as Amtrak and Freddie Mac and banks and credit unions which opt not to receive charters from their home states. Historically, most U.S. states issued charters for fixed lengths of time (for example, a manufacturing corporation might receive a charter good for 40 years), and only by an act of the legislature. In theory, a limited charter forced corporations to remain accountable to government (that is, to the community) for the special privileges granted to them. Investors protested that it actually led to unhealthy amounts of political payoffs and graft. Most states now charter unlimited-term corporations for a small fee, and possibly for a yearly tax. Legally, corporations are accorded some corporate personhood, i.e. Constitutional rights similar to those held by persons. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on this question in the 1886 case Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad. Many countries around the world now have corporate laws based upon state laws from the United States. For example, corporations in Japan are organized under a variant of the corporate law of Illinois, and corporations in Saudi Arabia follow corporate laws copied from New York. The oldest corporation in the United States, and the oldest in North America, is the President and Fellows of Harvard College (also known as the Harvard Corporation), chartered in 1650.

Canada

In Canada both the federal government and the provinces have corporate statutes, and thus a corporation may have a provincial or a federal charter. Many older corporations in Canada stem from Acts of Parliament passed before the introduction of general corporation law. The oldest corporation in Canada, and second oldest in North America, is the Hudson's Bay Company, chartered in 1670. Federally recognized corporations are regulated by the Canada Business Corporations Act

German-speaking countries

Germany, Austria and Switzerland recognize two forms of corporation: the Aktiengesellschaft (AG), analogous to public corporations in the English-speaking world, and the Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH), similar to (and an inspiration for) the modern limited liability company.

See also


- Bylaw
- Commercial law
- Corporate governance
- Delaware corporation
- Preferred stock
- Stock certificates

Corporate taxation

In many countries, including the United States and United Kingdom, corporate profits are taxed at a corporate tax rate, and dividends paid to shareholders are taxed at a separate rate. Such a system is sometimes referred to as "double taxation," because any profits distributed to shareholders will eventually be taxed twice. One solution to this (as in the case of UK tax system) is for the recipient of the dividend to be entitled to a tax credit which addresses the fact that the profits represented by the dividend have already been taxed. The company profit being passed on is therefore effectively only taxed at the rate of tax paid by the eventual recipient of the dividend. Where a double taxation system exists, the additional tax burden is often an incentive for smaller businesses to organize in the form of a partnership, limited liability company, or other type of entity that is not separately taxed. Such entities are often called "pass-through entities." In the United States, business corporations owe taxes according to two basic categories. A "C corporation" must pay corporate taxes, while "S corporations" pay no corporate taxes but instead pass profits and losses directly to their owners (the stockholders) who declare such profits and losses as part of their personal taxable income. An S corporation must generally have no more than 100 stockholders, who must be natural persons (not other corporations or entities), must reside in the United States, and must consent to the classification; moreover, the S corporation can only issue a single class of stock. As a result of these restrictions, all publicly traded corporations and many larger close corporations have C corporation status. Certain kinds of investment companies are also exempt from corporate income taxes, provided they distribute almost all of their income to shareholders in the form of dividends or capital gains distributions.

Other commercial entities

Several other forms of business entity exist under the laws of various countries. These include:
- Partnership
- Limited partnership (LP)
- Limited liability partnership (LLP)
- Limited liability company (LLC)
- Sole proprietorship

Quotes


- Corporations have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be condemned, they therefore do as they like. —Lord Thurlow
- An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. —"Corporation" as defined by Ambrose Bierce in The Devil's Dictionary
- The opinion of the Court, after mature deliberation, is that this [a corporate charter] is a contract, the obligation of which cannot be impaired without violating the Constitution of the United States. —Chief Justice John Marshall, Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819).

Further reading


- Klein and Coffee. Business Organization and Finance: Legal and Economic Principles (Foundation, 2002), ISBN 158778713X
- Hessen, Robert. In Defense of the Corporation. (Hoover Institute 1979), ISBN 081797072X
- Kirzner, Israel M. Competition and Entrepreneurship (University of Chicago Press, 1973), ISBN 0226437760
- Bromberg, Alan R. Crane and Bromberg on Partnership. 1968.
- Conard, Alfred F. Corporations in Perspective. 1976.
- John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, The Company: a Short History of a Revolutionary Idea (New York: Modern Library, 2003).
- Joel Bakan, The Corporation. The pathological pursuit of profit and power (Toronto: Viking Canada, 2004).
- Alfred Sohn-Rethel Economy and Class Structure of German Fascism,London, CSE Bks, 1978 ISBN 0906336007

See also


- Business
- Conglomerate (company)
- Corporate behaviour
- Corporate governance
- Corporate haven
- Corporate personhood
- Corporate state
- Corporation (university) (student corporation)
- Corporatism
- Guild
- Incorporate
- Limited liability company (LLC)
- Megacorp
- Public Limited Company (PLC)
- Shelf Corporation
- Tax haven
- Venture capital

Lists


- Lists of companies

Documentary


- The Corporation (a 2003 documentary film about "today's dominant institution")

External links


- [http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Corporations.html Corporations] — article by Robert Hessen
- [http://www.company-formation-glossary.co.uk Company Formation Glossary]
- [http://www.ukcorporator.co.uk/guidance/G59.php Standard UK Company Formation Configurations]
- [http://www.gangsofamerica.com/ Gangs of America by Ted Nace] — A free book on historical and legal bases of Corporations Category:Business law Category:Corporations law Category:Legal entities Category:Types of companies ko:주식회사 ja:株式会社

Medieval university

The first European medieval universities were established in Italy, France and England in the late 11th and the 12th Century for the study of arts, law, medicine, and theology.

Origins

With the increasing professionalization of society during the 12th and 13th centuries, a similar demand grew for professional clergy. Prior to the 12th century, the intellectual life of Europe had been relegated to monasteries, which were mostly concerned with the study of the liturgy and prayer; very few monasteries could boast true intellectuals. Following the Gregorian Reform's emphasis on canon law and the study of the sacraments, bishops formed cathedral schools to train the clergy in canon law, but also in the more secular aspects of church administration, including logic and disputation for use in preaching and theological discussion, and accounting to more effectively control finances. Learning became essential to advancing in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and teachers attracted prestige as well. However, demand quickly outstripped the capacity of cathedral schools, which were essentially run by one teacher. On top of that, tensions rose between the students of cathedral schools and burghers in smaller towns. So, cathedral schools migrated to large cities, like Paris and Bologna. Bologna The predecessor of the modern university found its roots in Paris, especially under the guidance of Peter Abelard, who wrote Sic et Non (Latin "yes and no"), which collected texts for university study. Dissatisfied with tensions between burghers and students and the censorship of leading intellectuals by the Church, Abelard and others formed the Universitas, modeled on the medieval guild, a large-scale, self-regulating, permanent institution of higher education. By the 13th century, almost half of the highest offices in the Church were occupied by degreed masters (abbots, archbishops, cardinals), and over one-third of the second-highest offices were occupied by masters. In addition, some of the greatest theologians of the High Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas and Robert Grosseteste, were products of the medieval university. The development of the medieval university coincided with the widespread reintroduction of Aristotle from Byzantine and Jewish scholars and the decline in popularity of Platonism and Neoplatonism in favor of Aristotelian thought.

Characteristics

Medieval universities did not have a campus. Classes were taught wherever space was available such as churches and homes, a university was not a physical space but a collection of individuals banded together as a universitas (the corporation). Universities were generally structured along two types, depending on who paid the teachers. The first type was in Bologna, where students hired and paid for the teachers. The second type was in Paris, where teachers were paid by the church. These structural differences created other characteristics. At the Bologna university the students ran everything -- a fact that often put teachers under great pressure and disadvantage. In Paris, teachers ran the school; thus Paris became the premiere spot for teachers from all over Europe. In Paris the main subject matter was theology, for as the Church paid the salary, it set the topic. In Bologna, where students chose more secular studies, the main subject was law. Oxford and Cambridge were predominantly supported by the crown and the state, a fact which helped them survive the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538 and the subsequent removal of all the principal Catholic institutions in England. University studies took six years for a Bachelor degree and up to 12 additional years for a master's degree and doctorate. The first six years taught the faculty of the arts, which was the study of the seven liberal arts: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music theory, grammar, logic and rhetoric. The primary emphasis was on logic because of its close ties to scholasticism, which was a popular method of teaching. Once a Bachelor of Arts had been obtained, the student would choose one of three faculties -- law, medicine, or theology -- in which to pursue the master's degree and doctorate degree. Theology was the most prestigious area of study, and the most difficult. Courses were offered according to books, not by subject or theme. For example a course might be on a book by Aristotle, or a book from the Bible. Courses were not elective, the course offerings were set, and everyone had to take the same courses. There were, however, occasional choices as to which teacher to use. Students entered the University at 14 to 15 years of age. Classes usually started at 5am or 6am. Students were afforded the legal protection of the clergy. In this way no one was allowed to physically harm them; they could only be tried for crimes in a church court, and were thus immune from any corporal punishment. This gave students free rein in urban environments to break secular laws with impunity, a fact which produced many abuses: theft, rape and murder were not uncommon among students who did not face serious consequences. This led to uneasy tensions with secular authorities. Students would sometimes "strike" by leaving a city and not returning for years. This happened at the University of Paris strike of 1229 after a riot (started by the students) left a number of students dead; the University went on strike and did not return for 2 years. As the students had a legal status of clerics, which, according to the Canon Law, could not be gained by women, women were not admitted into universities. A popular textbook for university study was called the Sentences (Quattuor libri sententiarum) of Peter Lombard; theology students and masters were required to write extensive commentaries on this text as part of their curriculum. Much of medieval thought in philosophy and theology can be found in scholastic textual commentary because scholasticism was such a popular method of teaching. Any University of international excellence in Europe was registered by the Holy Roman Empire as a Studium Generale. Members of these institutions were encouraged to disseminate their knowledge across Europe, often giving lecture courses at a different Studium Generale.

List of medieval universities

List of medieval universities (founded before 1600), in order of foundation. Note that many of these institutions were schools prior to the university foundation date.
- University of Bologna, Italy – founded 1088
- University of Paris, France – founded 1150
- University of Oxford, England – founded before 1167
- University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy – founded 1175
- University of Vicenza, Italy – founded 1204
- University of Cambridge, England – founded 1209
- University of Palencia, Spain – founded 1212
- University of Arezzo, Italy – founded 1215
- University of Salamanca, Spain – founded 1218
- University of Padua, Italy – founded 1222
- University of Naples, Italy – founded 1224 by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
- University of Toulouse, France – founded 1229
- University of Siena, Italy – founded 1240
- University of Valencia, Spain – founded 1245
- University of Piacenza, Italy – founded 1248
- University of Valladolid, Spain – founded 1250
- Sorbonne, France (at the University of Paris) – founded 1257
- University of Northampton, England – founded 1261 – disbanded 1264
- University of Montpellier, France – founded 1289
- University of Coimbra, Italy – founded 1290 (in Lisbon)
- University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy – founded 1303
- University of Macerata, Italy – founded 1290
- University of Lisbon, Portugal – founded 1290
- University of Lérida – founded 1300
- University of Avignon, France – founded 1303
- University of Orléans, France – founded 1306
- University of Perugia, Italy – founded 1308
- University of Coimbra, Italy – founded 1308
- University of Treviso, Italy – founded 1318
- University of Cahors – founded 1332
- University of Angers, France – founded 1337
- University of Pisa, Italy – founded 1338
- University of Grenoble – founded 1339
- Charles University of Prague, Czech Republic – founded 1348
- University of Florence, Italy – founded 1349
- University of Perpignan – founded 1350
- Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland – founded 1364
- University of Vienna, Austria – founded 1365
- University of Pécs, Hungary – founded 1367
- University of Erfurt, Germany – founded 1379
- University of Heidelberg, Germany – founded 1385
- University of Cologne, Germany – founded 1388
- University of Ferrara, Italy – founded 1391 by papal bull
- University of Zadar, Croatia – founded 1396
- University of Fermo, Italy – founded 1398 by papal bull
- University of Leipzig, Germany – founded 1409
- University of St Andrews, Scotland – founded 1413 by papal bull
- University of Rostock, Germany – founded 1419
- University of Leuven, Belgium – founded 1425
- University of Barcelona, Spain – founded 1450
- University of Glasgow, Scotland – founded 1451 by papal bull
- Istanbul University, Turkey – founded 1453
- University of Greifswald, Germany – founded 1456
- University of Basel, Switzerland – founded 1460
- University of Bratislava (Universitas Istropolitana), Slovakia – founded 1465
- University of Tubingen (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen), Germany – founded 1476
- University of Uppsala, Sweden – founded 1477
- University of Copenhagen, Denmark – founded 1479
- University of Aberdeen, Scotland – founded 1494
- University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain – founded 1495
- University of Wittenberg, Germany – founded 1502
- University of Seville, Spain – founded 1505 by papal bull - 1551 by city council
- Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – founded 1538
- National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico – founded 1551
- National University of San Marcos, Peru – founded 1551
- Université de Genève, Switzerland – founded 1559
- University of Leiden, Netherlands – founded 1575
- University of Vilnius, Lithuania -- founded 1579
- University of Zaragoza, Spain – founded 1583 - Founded as School of Zaragoza in Century VII
- University of Edinburgh, Scotland – founded 1583
- University of Dublin, Ireland – founded 1592
- University of San Carlos, Philippines – founded 1595 See also: List of oldest universities in continuous operation

References


- Cobban, Alan B. English University Life in the Middle Ages Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1999. ISBN 0814208266
- Ferruolo, Stephen The Origins of the University: The Schools of Paris and their Critics, 1100-1215 Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0804712662
- Haskins, Charles Homer. The Rise of Universities. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1972. ISBN 0879683791
- Rait, Robert S. Life in the Medieval University. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1931. ISBN 0527736503
- Seybolt, Robert Francis, trans. The Manuale Scholarium: An Original Account of Life in the Mediaeval University. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1921.
- Thorndyke, Lynn, trans. and ed. University Records and Life in the Middle Ages New York: Columbia University Press, 1975. ISBN 039309216X

See also


- Studium Generale
- Ancient universities of Scotland
- Town and gown
- Medieval university (Asia)

External links


- [http://www.csupomona.edu/~plin/ls201/medieval2.html The Educational Legacy of Medieval and Renaissance Traditions.]
- [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/medievalbook/intro.htm From Manuscript to Print: Evolution of the Medieval Book.]
- [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/vitry1.html Life of the Students at Paris.]
- [http://www.andrews.edu/~penner/colleges/organiz.html The Heritage of University Planning: Medieval Colleges: General Organization.]
- [http://mars.acnet.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc1/lectures/25meduni.html Medieval Universities.]
- [http://historymedren.about.com/library/atlas/blatmapuni.htm Medieval History: A Medieval Atlas]
- [http://www.cam.ac.uk/cambuniv/pubs/history/medieval.html A Brief History: The Medieval University.]
- [http://www.wits.ac.za/alumni/med_univ.html Discussion Document: Is University Life Any Different Today than it was Yesterday?] Category:Middle Ages Category:Colleges and universities Category:Academia

Asia

Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, and the world's largest continent. Defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia, Asia is either regarded as a landmass of its own, or as part of Eurasia. The demarcation between Asia and Africa is the isthmus of Suez (although the Sinai Peninsula, being a part of Egypt east of the canal, is often geopolitically considered a part of Africa). The boundary between Asia and Europe runs via the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, to the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, the Caspian Sea, the Ural River to its source, and the Ural Mountains to the Kara Sea at Kara, Russia. About 60 percent of the world's human population lives in Asia. Asia as a political division consists of the eastern part of Eurasia and nearby islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, often excluding Russia. Pacific Ocean

Etymology

The word Asia entered English, via Latin, from Ancient Greek Ασία (Asia; see also List of traditional Greek place names). This name is first attested in Herodotus (c. 440 BC), where it refers to Asia Minor; or, for the purposes of describing the Persian Wars, to the Persian Empire, as opposed to Greece and Egypt. Even before Herodotus, Homer knew of a Trojan ally named Asios, son of Hyrtacus, a ruler over several towns, and elsewhere he describes a marsh as ασιος (Iliad 2, 461). The Greek term may be derived from from Assuwa, a 14th century BC confederation of states in Western Anatolia. Hittite assu- "good" is probably an element in that name. Alternatively, the ultimate etymology of the term may be from the Akkadian word (w)aṣû(m), cognate of Hebrew יצא, which means "to go out", referring to the direction of the sun at sunset in the Middle East. This may be compared to a similar etymology proposed for Europe, as being from Semitic erēbu "to enter" or "set" (of the sun). These etymologies presuppose an originally Mesopotamian or Middle Eastern perspective, which would explain how the term "Asia" first came to be associated with Anatolia as lying west of the Semitic speaking area.

Geographical Regions

See also Geography of Asia. As already mentioned, Asia is a subregion of Eurasia. For further subdivisions based on that term, see North Eurasia and Central Eurasia. Some Asian countries stretch beyond Asia. See Bicontinental country for details about the borderline cases between Asia and Europe, Asia and Africa and Asia and Oceania. Asia itself is often divided in the following subregions:
- North Asia
- Central Asia
- East Asia (or Far East)
- Southeast Asia
- South Asia (or Indian Subcontinent)
- Southwest Asia (or West Asia)

North Asia

This term is rarely used by geographers, but usually it refers to the bigger Asian part of Russia, also known as Siberia. Sometimes the northern parts of other Asian nations, such as Kazakhstan are also included in Northern Asia.

Central Asia

There is no absolute consensus in the usage of this term. Usually, Central Asia includes:
- the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan (excluding its small European territory), Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
- Afghanistan, Mongolia, and the western regions of China are also sometimes included.
- Former Soviet states in the Caucasus region. Central Asia is currently geopolitically important because international disputes and conflicts over oil pipelines, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Chechnya, as well as the presence of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan.

East Asia (or Far East)

This area includes:
- The Pacific Ocean islands of Taiwan and Japan.
- North and South Korea on the Korean Peninsula.
- China, but sometimes only the eastern regions Sometimes the nations of Mongolia and Vietnam are also included in East Asia. More informally, Southeast Asia is included in East Asia on some occasions.

Southeast Asia

This region contains the Malay Peninsula, Indochina and islands in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The countries it contains are:
- In mainland Southeast Asia, the countries Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
- In Maritime Southeast Asia, the countries of Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia (some of the Indonesian islands also lie in the Melanesia region of Oceania). East Timor (also Melanesian) is sometimes included too. The country of Malaysia is divided in two by the South China Sea, and thus has both a mainland and island part.

South Asia (or Indian Subcontinent)

South Asia is also referred to as the Indian Subcontinent. It includes:
- the Himalayan States of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
- the Indian Ocean nations of Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Southwest Asia (or West Asia)

This can also be called by the Western term Middle East, which is commonly used by Europeans and Americans. Middle East (to some interpretations) is often used to also refer to some countries in North Africa. Southwest Asia can be further divided into:
- Anatolia (i.e. Asia Minor), constituting the Asian part of Turkey.
- The island nation of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea.
- The Levant or Near East, which includes Syria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and the Asian portion of Egypt.
- The Arabian peninsula, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen and occasionally Kuwait.
- The Caucasus region, including Armenia, a tiny portion of Russia and almost the whole of Georgia and Azerbaijan.
- The Iranian Plateau, containing Iran and parts of other nations. Also see Gulf States, for a different grouping involving several of the above countries.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Asia In terms of gross domestic product (PPP), Asia's largest economy wholly within Asia is that of the PRC (People's Republic of China), however the economy of the E.U. (European Union), one state of which (Cyprus) lies within Asia, is the largest in the world. The E.U.'s status as a supranational union, rather than a sovereign state, makes the claim questionable, especially since, when considered alone, the economy of Cyprus is one of the smallest in both the E.U. and Asia, and not many times larger than that of East Timor, the Asian state with the smallest economy (although as of 2005 there is no reliable data for either Iraq or North Korea). Over the last decade, China's and India's economies have been growing rapidly, both with an average annual growth rate over 6%. PRC is the world's third largest economy after the E.U. and U.S.A., followed by Japan and India as the world's fourth and fifth largest economies respectively (then followed by the European nations: Germany, U.K., France and Italy). In terms of exchange rates however, Japan has the largest economy in Asia and the third largest in the world. Trade blocs:
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations
- Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement
- Commonwealth of Independent States
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
- South Asia Free Trade Agreement (proposed)

Natural resources

Asia is by a considerable margin the largest continent in the world, and is rich in natural resources, such as Petroleum and iron. High productivity in agriculture, especially of rice, allows high population density of countries in the warm and humid area. Other main agricultural products include wheat and chicken. Forestry is extensive throughout Asia except Southwest and Central Asia. Fishing is a major source of food in Asia, particularly in Japan.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing in Asia has traditionally been strongest in East and Southeast Asia, particularly in PRC, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The industry varies from manufacturing cheap goods such as toys to high-tech goods such as computers and cars. Many companies from Europe, North America, and Japan have significant operations in the developing Asia to take avantage of its abundant supply of cheap labor. One of the major employers in manufacturing in Asia is the textile industry. Much of the world's supply of clothing and footwear now originates in Southeast Asia.

Financial and other services

Asia has three main financial centers. They are in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. Call centers are becoming major employers in India, due to the availablity of many well-educated English speakers. The rise of the business process outsourcing industry has seen the rise of India and China as the other financial centers.

Early history

Main article: History of Asia The history of Asia can be seen as the distinct histories of several peripheral coastal regions, East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East, linked by the interior mass of the Eurasian steppe. The coastal periphery was home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations, with each of the three regions developing early civilizations around fertile river valleys. The civilizations in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and the Yangtze shared many similarities and likely exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the wheel. Other notions such as that of writing likely developed individually in each area. Cities, states and empires developed in these lowlands. The steppe region had long been inhabited by mounted nomads, and from the central steppes they could reach all