Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How a Bill Becomes a Law in China: Stages and Processes in Lawmaking

Thirty years ago, in his landmark study of how “a bill becomes a law” in the United States, Daniel Berman reminded constitutional scholars that policy-making processes have an enormous impact on the content of the laws they produce, and are not mere “technical devices” designed to permit orderly Congressional lawmaking. This article begins from the assertion that 16 years after the beginning of China's post-Mao political and legal reforms, scholars of Chinese politics and law need to pay greater attention to the impact which lawmaking processes have on the content of the laws and policies that this system produces. Specifically, it asks the following questions. First, how are national-level laws drafted in post-Mao China, and what are the politics of the lawmaking process? Secondly, what factors in the process affect the “life chances” of a particular draft law? That is, why do some laws win a place on the legislative agenda, while most drafts languish in obscurity, and still others emerge briefly, only to disappear later into the bureaucratic swamp? And finally, what systematic impact, if any, do the politics of the lawmaking process have on the content of the laws which the system produces?
Exchange rate volatility and exports from East Asian countries to Japan and the USA

The purpose of this article is to investigate the impact of exchange rate volatility on exports in four East Asian countries (Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand). Specifically, this article aims at determining whether the bilateral real exchange rate volatility between an East Asian country and its trading partner negatively affects the exports of the East Asian country. Considering the dominant roles of the USA and Japan as trading partners of those East Asian countries, this article focuses on the quarterly export volumes of East Asian countries to the US and Japan for the period from 1981 to 2004. Except for the case of Hong Kong's exports to Japan, cointegration tests and estimations of error correction models indicate exchange rate volatility has negative impacts on exports either in the short-run or in the long-run, or both. On the other hand, the real GDP of importing countries and depreciation of real bilateral exchange rates turn out, in general, to have positive effects. Of special interest is the finding that the impact of the exchange rate volatility does not show any stylized differences depending on whether the importing country is Japan or the USA, even though dollar invoicing dominates in East Asia.
A New Agenda for Research on the Trajectory of Chinese Capitalism

This article sets a new agenda for research on the trajectory of Chinese capitalism. We first critically review the conflicting views on the causes of China's economic development. Then we suggest that insights from the comparative capitalism and economic sociology literatures can provide theoretical tools to understand the critical features of Chinese capitalism in a more systematic manner. The comparative capitalism literature can help us understand how Chinese capitalism resembles or differs from other varieties of capitalism in terms of the relationships between government, firms, and workers. The literature on economic sociology provides insights about how particular markets have evolved and become stabilized. We use these perspectives to suggest a set of possible research agendas for studying Chinese capitalism.
Mortality from all causes and circulatory disease by country of birth in England and Wales 2001-2003.

BACKGROUND Differences in mortality by country of birth in England and Wales in people under 70 years of age have been demonstrated previously. Changes in age distribution of migrants and in migration patterns have occurred subsequently. METHODS All-cause and circulatory disease mortality for people aged 20 years and over in England and Wales by country of birth were examined using population data from the 2001 Census and mortality data for 2001-2003. Indirect standardization was used to estimate sex-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) in comparison to mortality for England and Wales as a whole. RESULTS SMRs for all-cause mortality were statistically significantly higher than the national average for people born in Ireland, Scotland, East Africa and West Africa and lower for people born in China and Hong Kong. SMRs for circulatory disease were highest among people born in Bangladesh and lowest among people born in China and Hong Kong. Patterns of ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease mortality differed by country of birth. CONCLUSIONS Mortality, particularly due to ischaemic heart disease and stroke, differs markedly by country of birth in all age groups including the > or =70-year-old group.
The evolution of human trafficking messaging in the United States and its effect on public opinion

Despite a near unanimous agreement that human trafficking is a morally reprehensible practice, there is confusion around what qualifies as human trafficking in the United States. Adopting a mixed-method strategy, we examine how human trafficking is defined by the public; how contemporary (mis)understanding of human trafficking developed; and the public opinion consequence of this (mis)understanding. The definition of human trafficking has evolved over time to become nearly synonymous with slavery; however, we demonstrate that media and anti-trafficking organisations have been focussing their attention on the sexual exploitation of foreign women. We show that general public opinion reflects this skewed attention; the average citizen equates human trafficking with the smuggling of women for sexual slavery. Using a survey experiment, we find that shining light on other facets of human trafficking â€“ the fact that human trafficking is a security problem and a domestic issue â€“ can increase public response to the issue.
Meeting sexual partners online: associated sexual behaviour and prevalent chlamydia infection among adolescents in Norway: a cross-sectional study

Objectives Evidence is mixed as to whether meeting sexual partners online (‘internet-partners’) is associated with risky sexual behaviour and/or sexually transmitted infection transmission. Accordingly, we sought to estimate the prevalence of reporting various online romantic and sexual activities among Norwegian adolescents, including internet-partners, and the reason for meeting them and to examine differences in sexual behaviour, partnership characteristics and chlamydia infection prevalence among those reporting internet-partners versus those reporting only offline partners. Methods Population-based cross-sectional survey among sexually experienced girls and boys, 15–20 years, using electronic questionnaires and collecting urine samples for Chlamydia trachomatis PCR testing (79% provided both, n=1023). We used logistic regression to examine associations, adjusting for potentially confounding variables. Results Overall, 30% of both genders reported internet-partners (ever). Boys (but not girls) with internet-partners had higher chlamydia prevalence than those reporting meeting sexual partners only offline (8.1%, 95% CI 4.3% to 13.7% vs 1.6%, 0.5% to 3.7%). Two-thirds of girls and 37% of boys reported meeting their most recent internet-partner to start a romantic relationship, while the remainder did so with the specific intention of having sex. Among both genders, reporting sexual (vs romantic) reasons for meeting their most recent internet-partners was associated with reporting several risky sexual behaviours, including multiple recent sex partners (adjusted OR girls: 3.27, boys: 2.48) and three-fold higher chlamydia prevalence. Conclusions This population-based study suggests that internet-partners are common among adolescents in Norway, and the reason for meeting them was more strongly associated with additionally reporting sexual risk behaviours and prevalent chlamydia infection than the internet itself as a meeting venue.
Rice-Buying Behavior of Chinese People in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Canada

This study investigates rice-buying behavior in Chinese people living in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Canada and suggests marketing strategies for rice products. Data were collected from a comprehensive Web-based survey and analyzed using grey relational analysis method. In total, we received 445 valid questionnaires. For China-Chinese consumers, we suggest that the rice marketing mix should focus on higher quality, fair price, extra healthfulness, wide distribution channels, and food safety guarantees during promotion. For China-English consumers, the marketing mix should ensure that rice products contain clear educational instructions and also focus on stable price, convenience of locations, and sufficient communication with consumers during promotion. The results suggest employing different marketing mix strategies for Chinese and English-speaking countries.
Language, Literacy, and Nationalism: Taiwan's Orthographic Transition from the Perspective of Han Sphere

The Han sphere, including Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China, adopted Han characters and classical Han writing as the official written language before the 20th century. However, great changes came with the advent of the 20th century. After World War II, Han characters in Vietnam and Korea were officially replaced by the romanised Chu Quoc Ngu and phonemic Hangul, respectively. In Japan, the number of Han characters in use decreased, and the syllabic Kana system was promoted to a national status. In Taiwan, although Taiwanese romanisation was developed centuries ago, Han characters remain the dominant orthography in current Taiwanese society. This paper examines Taiwan's orthographic transition from the perspective of the Han sphere. Both internal and external factors have contributed to the different outcomes of orthographic reform in these countries. Internal factors include the general public's demand for literacy and anti-feudal hierarchy. External factors include the political relationships between these countries and the origin of Han characters (i.e. China).
Population genetic structure of the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica: panmixia at spatial and temporal scales

Since the 1970s, the population of the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica has dramatically declined in East Asia. Consequently, conservation and resource management of this species are urgently required. However, the population genetic structure of this species, in temporal and spatial scales, is still poorly understood. We used 8 polymorphic microsatellite DNA loci to investigate its genetic composition. For cohort analysis, juvenile (glass) eels were collected yearly between 1986 and 2007 from the Danshui River, Taiwan; for arrival wave analysis, glass eels were collected monthly from Fulong Estuary, Taiwan; and for spatial analysis, glass eels were collected from Taiwan, China, Korea and Japan. Genetic differentiation among annual cohorts, arrival waves and spatial samples was very low; a significant difference was observed among annual cohorts and spatial samples, but not among arrival waves. However, specific temporal or spatial scale patterns were not seen in either pairwise genetic comparisons or the phylogenetic tree of all samples. Occasional genetic variations among samples occurred randomly, but a stable lasting genetic structure could not be formed. The isolation by distance (IBD) test showed no evidence of genetic structuring at the spatial scale, and the results of the isolation by time (IBT) test were insignificant among arrival waves. Genetic heterogeneity over a 21 yr time scale showed marginal significance, potentially reflecting a genetic drift in the Japanese eel. Our results suggest the existence of a single panmictic population of Japanese eel in East Asia. Therefore, the Japanese eel should be considered as a single management unit for conservation.
Place assimilation and phonetic grounding: a cross-linguistic perceptual study*

This paper investigates predictions made by the ‘phonetic knowledge hypothesis’ (Jun 1995, 2004, Hayes & Steriade 2004) about the relation between perceptibility of stops and common patterns of major place assimilation. In two perceptual experiments, stimuli with Russian released and unreleased voiceless stops in clusters were presented for identification of 56 listeners, native speakers of Russian, Canadian English, Korean and Taiwanese Mandarin. Percentages of correct responses and reaction time data were used to determine scales of perceptual salience. Results reveal considerable perceptual differences between places of articulation, consistent across four language groups. Perceptual salience of place of articulation was strongly affected by presence or absence of stop releases. While the salience scale for released stops closely corresponded to cross-linguistic patterns of assimilation, the scale for unreleased stops did not. The results provide partial support for the hypothesis, while suggesting a less direct relation between scales of phonetic difficulty and phonological markedness.
Transition tectonics of northern Taiwan induced by convergence and trench retreat

As an active collision zone between the Luzon arc and the China continental margin, the Taiwan mountain belt is undergoing strong crustal shortening and rapid uplift, especially in its south-central part. In contrast, northeast Taiwan, located near the junction between the Taiwan orogen and the Ryukyu arc, is subject to both the compressional force exerted by the indentation of Philippine Sea plate and the tensile force induced by trench retreat related to the suction force at the Ryukyu Trench. As a function of these two forces, the stress regime rapidly changes from south to north, from compression in the Taiwan collision zone to extension in the Ryukyu subduction zone. By using a two-dimensional plane-stress finite-element model with elasto-plastic rheologies, we analyze the relationship between the kinematics of convergence, the crustal deformation, and the stress distribution in the present Taiwan collision zone between the Ryukyu and Luzon subduction zones. Our model predicts that in northeastern Taiwan, a transition zone may develop between pure compression (which characterizes most of the collision zone of Taiwan) and pure extension (which prevails in the northeastern part of the model). The transition in the stress field is characterized by two intermediate regimes, one mainly compressional and one mainly extensional, where significant strike-slip deformation is expected. We show that the interaction between the opening of the Okinawa Trough and the collision at the northwestern boundary of the Philippine Sea plate plays a crucial role in controlling the stress and strain patterns. The location of the transition zone in the north is a balance between these two factors, which may explain the variability of tectonic regimes in the region. Hu, J.-C. , Yu, S. -B. , Chu, H. -T. , and Angelier, J., 2002, Transition tectonics of northern Taiwan induced by convergence and trench retreat, in Byrne, T.B. , and Liu, C. -S. , eds., Geology and Geophysics of an Arc-Continent collision, Taiwan, Republic of China: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America Special Paper 358, p. 149–162. INTRODUCTION The island of Taiwan is located at the junction of the Ryukyu arc and the Luzon arc at the western edge of the Philippine Sea plate. The plate interaction around this segment of the convergent plate boundary between the Eurasian and Philippine Sea plates is complex (Fig. 1). Seismicity northeast of Taiwan indicates the presence of a Wadati-Benioff zone, where the Philippine Sea plate subducts northward along the Ryukyu Trench (e.g., Tsai, 1986). In contrast, south of Taiwan, the Eurasian plate subducts southeastward beneath the Philippine Sea plate along the Manila Trench (e.g., Wu, 1978; Tsai, 1986; Pezzopane
Evaluating Learners" Communication Strategies within a Synchronous Cyber Environment

In order to increase the competitiveness of Taiwan in the international environment, the Taiwanese government has become aware of the importance of English in reforming English education and establishing a new language testing system in leading to more successful language learning. However, many scholars in Taiwan are dubious as to whether this reformed English education has really improved the English communicative ability of learners. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to investigate learners’ communicative competence in terms of communication strategies, by means of administrating a set of communicative task based activities within a computer mediated environment to provide evidence of the current learning outcomes. Drawing upon the framework proposed by Bachman (1990), communication strategies could be identified. After the data collection, the learners’ speech data were analysed based on the taxonomy of Poulisse (1993), and the findings revealed that the learners employed the re-conceptualisation strategy more frequently than the substitution strategy. A new strategy, named “additional strategy”, was discovered during this study. Therefore, this study suggests that the importance of adopting a communicative task-based activity into classroom increases opportunities for learners to interact with each other to improve their communicative competence.
ANTIMICROBIAL, ANTI­OXIDATIVE AND ANTI­HEMOLYTIC ACTIVITY OF PIPER BETEL LEAF EXTRACTS

Piper betel L. belongs to family Piperaceae commonly known as Paan. It is extensively grown in Srilanka, India, Thailand, Taiwan and other Southeast Asian countries. The leaves are pungent, bitter, sweetish, acrid in nature. It has got large number of biomolecules which show diverse pharmacological activity along with carminative, stomachic, antihelminthic, tonic, aphrodisiac, laxative activities. The leaves are used for treating cough, foul smelling in mouth, ozoena, bronchitis, clears throat, vulnery and styptic. In the present experiment four different extracts (water, methanol, ethyl acetate and petroleum ether) of Piper betel leaves were tested against four different pathogenic bacteria namely Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris and Escherichia coli. Further few known and unknown metabolites were isolated from these extracts. Structural elucidations of new metabolites were done by different analytical techniques like NMR, Mass and IR spectroscopy. Later on anti‐ oxidative and anti‐haemolytic activities were determined. Anti‐oxidative studies were done by TBARS and DPPH method. Anti‐haemolytic activity was determined using erythrocytes model and the extent of lipid peroxidation of the same was also determined.
Contribution of viral lysis and nanoflagellate grazing to bacterial mortality in the inner and outer regions of the Changjiang River plume during summer

AN-YI TSAI1*, GWO-CHING GONG1,2,3, ROBERT W. SANDERS4 AND JUN-KAI HUANG1 1 INSTITUTE OF MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY AND ECOLOGY, NATIONAL TAIWAN OCEAN UNIVERSITY, KEELUNG 202-24, TAIWAN, REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 2 CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE OCEANS, NATIONAL TAIWAN OCEAN UNIVERSITY, TAIWAN, REPUBLIC OF CHINA, NATIONAL APPLIED RESEARCH LABORATORIES, TAIWAN OCEAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE, TAIWAN, REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19122, USA
Conclusions from a behavioral aging study on male and female F2 hybrid mice on age-related behavior, buoyancy in water-based tests, and an ethical method to assess lifespan

Due to strain-specific behavioral idiosyncrasies, inbred mouse strains are suboptimal research models for behavioral aging studies. The aim of this study is to determine age-related behavioral changes of F2 hybrid C57BL/6NxBALB/c male and female mice. Lifespan was followed (nmales=48, nfemales=51) and cohorts of mature adult (7 months), middle-aged (15 months), and old mice (22 months of age; n=7-12 per group) were assessed regarding open-field activity, exploration, passive avoidance learning/memory, and depressive-like behavior. We found that both males and females demonstrated decreased exploratory behavior with age, while memory and depressive-like behavior were maintained. Females exhibited enhanced depressive-like behavior compared to males; however, a correlation between fat mass and swimming activity in the test directly accounted for 30-46% of this behavioral sex difference. In addition, we suggest a method to qualitatively estimate natural lifespan from survival analyses in which animals with signs of pain or severe disease are euthanized. This is, to our knowledge, the first behavioral study to consider both sex and aging in hybrid mice. We here define decreased exploratory behavior as a conserved hallmark of aging independent of sex, highlight the effect of buoyancy in water tests, and provide a method to assay lifespan with reduced animal suffering.
Review of the mudflat varunid crab genus Metaplax (Crustacea, Brachyura, Varunidae) from East Asia and northern Vietnam

Abstract Intertidal mudflat crabs of the genus Metaplax H. Milne Edwards, 1852 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Varunidae) from China, Taiwan, and northern Vietnam are taxonomically revised by morphological and molecular evidence. These crabs show sexual dimorphism and morphological variation of a considerable range in the infraorbital ridge, one of the primary features previously used for species identification. In this study, four species were identified from the region: M. elegans De Man, 1888; M. longipes Stimpson, 1858; M. sheni Gordon, 1930; and M. tredecim Tweedie, 1950. Based on the results of the morphological examination, and as confirmed by molecular evidence from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), taxonomic confusion surrounding M. longipes was resolved, and M. takahasii Sakai, 1939, is considered a junior synonym of M. longipes. The geographical distribution of Metaplax longipes extends along the shores of China, north to Jiangsu, whereas the Southeast Asian M. tredecim was newly recorded from northern Vietnam and Hong Kong.
Importance and Challenges of SMEs: A Case of Pakistani SMEs

This paper attempt to highlight the importance and challenges that SMEs facing now a days. The small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) regarded as a key contributor in progression of an economy and main pillar of GDP of any country. SMEs are the major source in generating employment. Generally, the large firms are often thought as the larger contributors towards the economic development and foreign exchange earnings but now this point of view has been changed because countries like Korea, Taiwan, and Japan have developed and boosted their economies through the Small and Medium Enterprises businesses.