bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Automation of Banking Services on Customer Satisfaction
Authors:   Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Halder Sagar , Albino Michael Generalo ,   President Ramon Magsaysay State University, Philippines, Peralta Gene Abelon ,   President Ramon Magsaysay State University Castillejos Campus
Published: March 2024

Abstract. Automated banking is one of the key services used by banks to facilitate the delivery of services that meet consumer expectations, thus boosting the country’s economy. Major technological advancements have been witnessed in the banking industry due to the introduction of international standards in the operational norms of banking geared towards the betterment of client service quality. The aim of this research was to assess the effects of automation of banking services on customer satisfaction for different private banks in Khulna city. The study adopted a case study research design. Data was collected using questionnaires. The total reliability of the questionnaire, measured using a Cronbach's alpha coefficient, was 0.897. The sample size was 100 respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 20.0. Findings were presented in the form of tabulations (percentages, mean and standard deviation). From the findings, the automation of banking services such as mobile banking usage, internet banking usage, and automated teller machine usage was found to have a significant effect on customer satisfaction. Keywords: Mobile banking, internet banking, automated teller machine, customer satisfaction
Human Capital and Funding Success: Evidence from an Indonesian Equity Crowdfunding
Authors:   Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta, Kusumaningrum Susana Diah , Risfandy Tastaftiyan , Purnomowati Nasyi'ah Hasanah , Hartomo Deny Dwi
Published: March 2024

Abstract This study examines the impact of human capital on funding success in the context of Equity Crowdfunding (ECF) by analyzing data from 72 start-up companies seeking funding through SANTARA, the first ECF platform in Indonesia. Our findings indicate that various human capital indicators, including the number of directors, team members, economics undergraduate education, and graduates from foreign universities, do not significantly influence ECF success. However, we observed an intriguing result: start-up leaders with undergraduate degrees have a negative impact on crowdfunding success, leading to longer funding durations. This suggests that start-ups in Indonesia should not solely prioritize leaders with impressive educational backgrounds but should also consider individuals with practical experience in the business industry to enhance their chances of crowdfunding success.
Uwagi na temat reglamentacji sprzedaży napojów alkoholowych za pośrednictwem sieci Internet na tle wyroku NSA z dnia 8 września 2022 r., II GSK 2034/18
Authors: Kucharski Krzysztof
Published: March 2024

Przedmiotem analizy w niniejszym artykule jest ustalenie dopuszczalnych granic prowadzenia detalicznej sprzedaży napojów alkoholowych za pośrednictwem Internetu w świetle reglamentacyjnego modelu dystrybucji tego typu napojów. Zakres prowadzenia działalności gospodarczej w tym zakresie stanowi od dłuższego czasu kwestię sporów pomiędzy przedsiębiorcami a organami administracji publicznej. Regulacja ustawy o wychowaniu w trzeźwości i przeciwdziałaniu alkoholizmowi pozostawia bowiem w tej kwestii wątpliwości interpretacyjne. Z kolei potrzeby praktyki gospodarczej są na tyle duże, że przynosi ona szereg rozwiązań, których stosowanie kwestionowane jest przez organy administracji publicznej i część judykatury sądów administracyjnych. Przykładem rozstrzygnięcia sporu na przedmiotowym tle jest również jedno z ostatnich orzeczeń Naczelnego Sądu Administracyjnego z dnia 8 września 2022 r.
Ewolucja prawnej regulacji administracyjnego postępowania egzekucyjnego w Polsce
Authors: Masternak Marian
Published: March 2024

Przedmiotem artykułu jest ewolucja prawnej regulacji administracyjnego postępowania egzekucyjnego. W opracowaniu omówione zostały poszczególne etapy rozwoju tej regulacji, dzięki czemu możliwe było ukazanie procesu kształtowania się aktualnie funkcjonujących instytucji tego postępowania oraz sformułowanie wniosków de lege lata i de lege ferenda.
Collective patients’ rights in Polish law. Selected problems
Authors: Tykwińska-Rutkowska Dominika
Published: March 2024

The subject of the analysis in this publication is the problem of patients’ collective rights. In an attempt to find an answer to the questions concerning the essence of these rights and the relation between legal protection against violations of these rights and the protection against violations of individual rights of patients, the analysis covers the legal solutions in the field of patients’ rights in force in Poland, as well as the related literature and administrative court decisions. In this way, it was established that Polish legislation recognises the collective rights of patients understood as the rights of actual and potential patients treated as a collective, i.e. a group that deserves special protection, and establishes an additional method of their protection by way of administration, in which the object of protection is a collective interest (proceedings on practices violating collective patients’ rights before the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman), while some legislation recognises the right to collective patient involvement.
User-Generated Content Shapes Judicial Reasoning: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial on Wikipedia
Authors: C. Thompson Neil , Luo Xueyun , McKenzie Brian , Richardson Edana , Flanagan Brian
Published: March 2024

User-generated content, for example, on Wikipedia, is easily accessed but has uncertain reliability. This makes it attractive to use but also creates risk, so there should be limits to who uses Wikipedia and for what purposes. In this paper, we use a randomized control trial to show that Wikipedia’s influence extends to judicial decision making, a field that is highly professional and supposed to follow strict procedures. This causal evidence further emphasizes the widespread influence of Wikipedia and other frequently accessed user-generated content on important social outcomes. Our findings also reveal boundaries to user-generated content’s influence. Although Wikipedia’s influence does extend to courts of “first instance” (where the case is first decided), it does not extend to higher courts (Court of Appeals, Supreme Court). These results suggest that normative prohibitions do seem to be sufficient to keep Wikipedia from influencing the most-important, well-resourced parts of law but that these prohibitions are insufficient in areas where time and resource pressures are greater. By showing that Wikipedia is influencing such an important and formal domain, our paper reinforces the importance of improving the accuracy and reliability of user-generated content, especially in domains with far-reaching societal consequences. Because there is no obvious way to prevent individuals from taking advantage of user-generated content professionally or nonprofessionally, our findings also contribute to the ongoing discussion of how to build public repositories of knowledge into more reliable storehouses.
Decisions Under Uncertainty as Bayesian Inference on Choice Options
Authors: Vieider Ferdinand M.
Published: March 2024

Standard models of decision making under risk and uncertainty are deterministic. Inconsistencies in choices are accommodated by separate error models. The combination of decision model and error model, however, is arbitrary. Here, I derive a model of decision making under uncertainty in which choice options are mentally encoded by noisy signals, which are optimally decoded by Bayesian combination with preexisting information. The model predicts diminishing sensitivity toward both likelihoods and rewards, thus providing cognitive microfoundations for the patterns documented in the prospect theory literature. The model is, however, inherently stochastic, so that choices and noise are determined by the same underlying parameters. This results in several novel predictions, which I test on one existing data set and in two new experiments.

This paper was accepted by Manel Baucells, behavioral economics and decision analysis.

Funding: The author gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO) under the project “Causal Determinants of Preferences” [Grant G008021N] and the special research fund (BOF) at Ghent University under the project “The role of noise in the determination of risk preferences.”

Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.00265 .
An Iterative Sample Scenario Approach for the Dynamic Dispatch Waves Problem
Authors: Lan Leon , van Doorn Jasper M. H. , Wouda Niels A. , Rijal Arpan , Bhulai Sandjai
Published: March 2024

A challenge in same-day delivery operations is that delivery requests are typically not known beforehand, but are instead revealed dynamically during the day. This uncertainty introduces a trade-off between dispatching vehicles to serve requests as soon as they are revealed to ensure timely delivery and delaying the dispatching decision to consolidate routing decisions with future, currently unknown requests. In this paper, we study the dynamic dispatch waves problem, a same-day delivery problem in which vehicles are dispatched at fixed decision moments. At each decision moment, the system operator must decide which of the known requests to dispatch and how to route these dispatched requests. The operator’s goal is to minimize the total routing cost while ensuring that all requests are served on time. We propose iterative conditional dispatch (ICD), an iterative solution construction procedure based on a sample scenario approach. ICD iteratively solves sample scenarios to classify requests to be dispatched, postponed, or undecided. The set of undecided requests shrinks in each iteration until a final dispatching decision is made in the last iteration. We develop two variants of ICD: one variant based on thresholds, and another variant based on similarity. A significant strength of ICD is that it is conceptually simple and easy to implement. This simplicity does not harm performance: through rigorous numerical experiments, we show that both variants efficiently navigate the large state and action spaces of the dynamic dispatch waves problem and quickly converge to a high-quality solution. Finally, we demonstrate that the threshold-based ICD variant achieves excellent results on instances from the EURO Meets NeurIPS 2022 Vehicle Routing Competition, nearly matching the performance of the winning machine learning–based strategy.

History: This paper has been accepted for the Transportation Science Special Issue on DIMACS Implementation Challenge: Vehicle Routing Problems.

Funding: This work was supported by TKI Dinalog, Topsector Logistics, and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2023.0111 .
Literatura, música, atmosferas: Senhorita Else, de Arthur Schnitzler
Authors: Franco Ferraz Maria Cristina
Published: March 2024

Em Senhorita Else (Fräulein Else), publicado em 1924, fluxo de pensamento e composição musical se arti­culam, produzindo atmosferas que, a um só tempo, manifestam turbulências históricas da Viena da época e delas escapam. Nessa novela criada pelo médico e escritor Arthur Schnitzler (cujo pai era médico de Freud), acompanha-se o monólogo interior de uma jovem vienense de dezenove anos pertencente a uma família abastada à beira da ruína. No livro, a jovem Else vê-se diante de uma situação crítica: precisa obter, a qualquer custo, um empréstimo para salvar o pai endividado. É o que irá tentar junto a um rico sexagenário, vendedor de obras de arte, que lhe promete emprestar a soma sob uma condição: vê-la nua. A novela é atravessada por turbilhões de afetos: erotismo, força vital, inclinações insurgentes, impulsos suicidas, amor pelo pai, indigna­ção, desprezo, raiva. No ápice do enredo, fragmentos da partitura do Carnaval de Schumann entrelaçam-se ao texto, no momento em que Else cumpre e descumpre sua promessa, desnudando-se diante dos hóspedes do hotel para, a seguir, suicidar-se com uma overdose de Veronal, fármaco então muito utilizado para tratar insônia e excitabilidade nervosa. O clímax atmosférico é composto a partir de fragmentos de uma escrita musical que ritmam a crise final de Else, seu fluxo de consciência em processo de abolição. O desfecho, a morte, articula de modo indecidível sua destruição e um voo final: “Ich fliege... ich träume... ich schlafe... ich träu... träu – ich flie...”(Estou voando... estou sonhando... estou dormindo... son... son... - voan...”).
Diagnostic accuracy of early warning system scores in the prehospital setting
Authors: Bell Steve , Hill James E
Published: March 2024

The use of prehospital early warning scores in ambulance services is widely endorsed to promptly identify patients at risk of clinical deterioration. Early warning scores enable clinicians to estimate risk based on clinical observations and vital signs, with higher scores indicating an elevated risk of adverse outcomes. Local healthcare systems establish threshold values for these scores to guide clinical decision-making, triage, and response, necessitating a careful balance between identifying critically unwell patients and managing the challenge of prioritisation. Given the limited evidence for optimal early warning scores in emergency department and prehospital care settings, a systematic review was carried out by Guan et al (2022) to assess the diagnostic accuracy of early warning scores for predicting in-hospital deterioration when applied in the emergency department or prehospital setting. This commentary aims to critically appraise the methods used within the review by Guan et al (2022) and expand upon the findings in the context of clinical practice.
Nutrition a key issue for elderly
Authors: Whittle Beccy
Published: March 2024

A new standard has been launched to ensure that older people get the food they need to stay healthy
Controlling infection in care home laundries
Authors: Ashurst Adrian
Published: March 2024

Adrian Ashurst provides an overview regarding the importance of care homes providing laundry services that meet residents' needs
Foot care for residents with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Wright Kerri , Ojo Omorogieva
Published: March 2024

This article focuses on the care required for diabetic feet to prevent and ensure early detection of complications that could lead to ulceration and loss of limb
COLISÕES, PÊNDULO SIMPLES E PROJÉTEIS: VERIFICANDO O PRINCÍPIO DE CONSERVAÇÃO DO MOMENTO LINEAR ATRAVÉS DE UMA PROPOSTA EXPERIMENTAL
Authors: Bezerra Vieira Elainy , Alves de Sá Muniz Sampaio Thiago , Duarte Arraes Francisco Dirceu , Alves da Silva Marcelo Augusto
Published: March 2024

Poucos são os experimentos existentes e acessíveis, do ponto de vista da escola, que possam trazer previsões quantitativas no estudo das colisões e dos princípios de conservação da mecânica clássica. Esse artigo trata-se de uma proposta experimental de fácil acesso para o ensino de física que consiste basicamente em um sistema físico composto por duas esferas com massas semelhantes, com uma delas acoplada em um sistema pendular e a outra em repouso sobre uma superfície. Após ser realizada uma colisão praticamente elástica, ocorre a transferência de todo o momento linear e energia cinética do pêndulo para a esfera livre, que se torna um projétil. Dessa forma, além de abordar diferentes temas, como cinemática em duas dimensões e lançamento de projéteis, torna-se possível a realização do estudo quantitativo do experimento a fim de verificar o princípio de conservação do momento linear.
DESTILADOR DE BAIXO CUSTO PARA USOS GERAIS
Authors: Ragni Mirco , Almeida Toni , Souza José
Published: March 2024

O processo de destilação consiste na separação dos componentes mais voláteis de uma mistura, de modo a se reutilizar os mesmos para outros fins. Exemplos práticos do dia a dia são a destilação de bebidas alcoólicas para consumo, ou outros usos alimentares, e a de petróleo, que é utilizado para produção de combustíveis. Basicamente existem dois tipos de destilação, a simples e a fragmentada. A primeira é particularmente eficiente para separar o solvente (tipicamente líquido a temperatura ambiente) dos solutos (tipicamente sólidos a temperatura ambiente), uma vez que apenas o líquido participa do processo de ebulição durante o aquecimento. Já a fragmentada, separa um líquido de uma mistura de líquidos. Isto é possível pelo fato de que os componentes da micela possuem pontos de ebulição diferentes. Uma importante aplicação da destilação é a obtenção de água destilada, muito utilizada em laboratórios e para fins medicinais. Garantir um bom nível de pureza da água após o processo de destilação e que o próprio material do destilador não contamine significativamente a água não é algo trivial. Um destilador, mesmo o mais simples, requer um alto custo de aquisição e muitas comunidades carentes não têm acesso a esse tipo de tecnologia. O difícil acesso à água pura, seja para fins alimentícios ou medicinais, acaba sendo uma realidade para muitas pessoas. Com base enquanto exposto, neste trabalho é descrito o processo de montagem de um destilador simples de baixo custo que faz uso de materiais descartados ou de acesso relativamente simples. Tudo isso visando a obtenção de água livre de poluentes e apropriada para uso médico e alimentício. Para a construção do cilindro de condensação foram usados tubos de vidro das lâmpadas fluorescentes a vapor de mercúrio oportunamente descontaminadas. Os suportes dos canos de vidro foram projetados ao computador com CAD 3D e realizados por meio de impressora 3D enquanto como caldeira e usada uma panela de pressão.
Voando sobre Amsterdã
Authors: Pedreira Alves Iron
Published: March 2024

Sobre a arte:Esta foto lembra uma das primeiras ideias aprendidas na Física e que nos acompanha por toda a vida: a relatividade do referencial. Ao ver a imagem, temos a impressão de que o mundo gira ao nosso redor. Se descuidarmos, por alguns instantes podemos nos sentir o centro do universo e isso pode ser bom.
Resolving North-South Korean Conflicts: A Structural Approach
Authors: Lo Chih-Cheng
Published: March 2024

Abstract: This study seeks to search for the international environment conducive to the resolution of conflicts in the Korean peninsula. It will be demonstrated that North-South Korean interactions in the past five decades can be accounted for by the theory of structural balance. This theory advances not only our knowledge of inter-Korean interactions but also regional conflict resolution in general. The findings of this study suggest that a southern policy should proceed in parallel with the Northern policy in order to create a favorable security environment for rapprochement initiatives in the peninsula. The strategy calls for the efforts of Seoul and its allies, especially the United States, to encourage and help North Korea out of its international isolation through constructive and comprehensive engagement.
Inter-Korean Confidence-Building
Authors: Choi Kang
Published: March 2024

Abstract: Confidence-building in the Korean Peninsula must be directed to the achievement of the conditions for peaceful coexistence, crisis prevention/management, and reconciliation and cooperation. The first set of conditions is related to political confidence, the second set is related to military confidence, and the third set is related to the economic and social confidence. South Korea has taken various unilateral measures. These measure should be reciprocated by North Korea. Under the current situation, the most important confidence building measure is the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue and the implementation of the already agreed measures contained in the Basic Agreement and Protocols. On the other hand, South Korea should adopt “tit-for-tat” strategy in inter-Korean relations and should not beg dialogue for the sake of dialogue itself.
Building a Peace Regime on the Korean Peninsula: A Three-Step Concept for the Peace Process
Authors: Lee Samsung
Published: March 2024

Abstract: The article begins with an assessment that the relative rigidity of South Korean perspective allowed the problem-solving process on the Korean peninsula to be dominated by the two actors: North Korea and the United States. In many decisive moments, the South Koreans chose deadlock rather than diplomatic dealings with the North. When the United States was to make a political deal with the North, the South often chose to resist such developments. Had the South Koreans been more flexible than the U.S. or at least as flexible as the latter, they also could have played significant and creative role. As long as we want to avoid potential disasters of chaos and even violence that may result from a sudden collapse of North Korea, we must be able to project a patient vision of a long but peaceful process toward the ultimate establishment of a unified Korea. Assuming that this is our premise, this article suggests that a three-step evolution of peace process—from a four-party talks to a six-party talks, and again, to a five-way interaction system—that may be the most probable itinerary of the progress for peace on the Korean peninsula.
A Mandarin at the Gate: The Political Economy of China’s Commercial Aircraft Industry
Authors: Lee Wei-chin
Published: March 2024

Abstract: Almost anyone, accidental tourist or frequent flyer, who boarded a Chinese commercial flight in the 1970s or early 1980s, had a story to tell. Passengers used to joke that the state-run Civil Aviation Administration of China’s acronym, CAAC, stood for “Chinese Airlines Always Canceled,” or even worse “Chinese Aircraft Always Crash.” Even so, air travel is booming in China. This study focuses on China’s emerging civil aircraft manufacturing industry and the political questions it raises. Why is China concentrating on civil aircraft manufacturing? How did the aircraft industry come about in China? What are China’s policy goals in this industry? Given tough competition in world and domestic markets, how will China attain its goals? What strategies have Western aircraft companies adopted? In the case of China’s AE-100 project, how have international political and economic factors affected industrial policies? Finally, since Taiwan is developing its own aircraft industry, is it possible there will be cooperation across the turbulent strait, despite the political gulf?
Dimensions of ROK-U.S. Security Cooperation and Building Peace on the Korean Peninsula
Authors: Wilborn Thomas L.
Published: March 2024

Abstract: For many; the preferred option for obtaining peace in Korea is establishing a peace regime rather than allowing the DPRK to implode. Insofar as the ROK-U.S. alliance can contribute to building peace, political and economic relationships will be most important. But ROK-U.S. security cooperation can also contribute by maintaining deterrence; reducing tensions through effective crisis management and implementing CBMs; and by fostering South-North military dialogue. This last function might be facilitated by replacing the UN Command with another agency less objectionable to the DPRK in which the U.S. and ROK were formally equal.
Economic Interdependence and International Conflicts in the Asia-Pacific
Authors: Huh Tae-hoi
Published: March 2024

Abstract: In an attempt to rigorously explore the international implications of deepening Asian-Pacific economic interdependence, this study examines and evaluates the relationships between trade interdependence and the patterns of international conflicts among some regional countries using theoretical and empirical evidence. First, the present study brings into account some relevant works and articulates a theoretical linkage between economic exchange and an international conflict pattern. Second, because the question of the causality between the economic and conflict variables continues to obscure analytical enlightenment, this study tests major hypotheses in monadic and dyadic terms by employing the Granger causality test, which is designed to explore and verify various causal possibilities between time-series variables. Based upon the main findings of this research, increasing Asian-Pacific economic ties turn out to have some propitious implications for regional relations, moving a few regional countries in such “complex interdependent” situations toward improved relations with other trading countries. Nonetheless, this study argues that the magnitude of economic interactions does not appear to be a necessary condition for the improvement of relations between trading states. Without much regard to the function of a dyadic interaction elasticity; or the intensity of gains from trade with other regional countries relative to the gains from global trade, the merely expanding regional trade may not realize such a positive influence on interstate cooperation among major regional traders. Thus, despite increased intra-regional trade which appears conducive to extending “sensitivity dependence” among regional countries, this study suggests that the structure of “vulnerability dependence” among regional countries be adjusted continuously or accommodated among major economic partners lest a regional interaction elasticity be marginalized by a few inordinate economies.
Breaking Through a Stalemate?: A Study Focusing on the Kuril Islands Issue in Russo-Japanese Relations
Authors: Chang Duckjoon
Published: March 2024

Abstract: This paper is designed to analyze Russia’s foreign policy toward Japan in the post-war period, focusing on the Kuril islands issue. There may exist various factors which obstructed the development of a cooperative mood between the two countries. Among other things, the perpetual dispute over the Kuril islands has constituted a huge barrier to improvement in the relationship between Russia and Japan. Since the mid-1990s, however, Moscow and Tokyo have made joint efforts to improve the bilateral relationship. For the purpose of boosting its economy, the Russians need to host foreign investment with the active participation of Japanese capital. Russia also intends to expand its role in the Asia-Pacific arena with the support of Tokyo. On the part of Japan, the separation of the economic assistance issue from the territorial issue and the creation of trust between the leaders of the two countries are regarded as a better option for the long-term prospects for resolving the territorial issue. However, the real obstacle to the amelioration of the bilateral relationship has turned out to be Russian domestic instability. If the economic and financial crisis continues in Russia for a prolonged period of time, extremist political factions are likely to fan a chauvinistic, xenophobic, mood among the impoverished people, which may be a major impediment to the peaceful resolution of the territorial issues between Russia and Japan.
Promoting Sustainable Development of the Asia-Pacific Region through the APEC Approach: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Chen Wenjing , Zhao Yumin
Published: March 2024

Abstract: Whether trade and investment liberalization contribute to sustainable development or sabotage the basis of sustainable development is a question yet to be answered sufficiently, since the countries in the Asia-Pacific region are inclined to rely on foreign trade and foreign direct investment for their economic success. APEC has made remarkable achievements in advancing its trade and investment liberalization agenda due to its flexible mechanism and unique cooperative approach. With the same approach it has much to contribute to sustainable-development endeavors in the region. With the rapid pace of integration into the world economy and liberalization of trade and investment, particularly in Asia-Pacific, developing countries and regions are facing tough choices as to how to achieve economic development on an environmentally sustainable basis. This study reviews and analyzes the state of the region’s economies and challenges for the developing economies; and we identify opportunities for regional cooperation through APEC to reduce, simultaneously, the impediments to promoting trade liberalization, environmental improvement, and economic development.
APEC, Globalization, and the “Sustainable Development” Agenda
Authors: Zarsky Lyuba
Published: March 2024

Abstract: APEC’s approach to the environment has focused on practical, voluntary initiatives. In the first six years, however, the substantive results have been meager, in part because trade and environmental diplomacies ran on parallel, rather than integrated, tracks. This article surveys and evaluates APEC’s work on the environment in the 1990s. The first section outlines pressing environmental problems in Asia-Pacific and develops a theoretical framework to show why regional economic integration requires the coordination of environmental policies. The second part describes APEC’s environmental initiatives between 1991 and 1998. The third section examines the politics of environmental diplomacy at APEC and the “soft law” character of APEC as an institution. The last section evaluates APEC’s overall environmental work and concludes that a more robust, politically-grounded approach is needed for a regional trade regime—whether or not under the aegis of APEC—to promote sustainable development. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, there could be political openings for such a new approach.
Handle with Care: China’s Policy for Multiculturalism and Minority Nationalities
Authors: Magid Alvin
Published: March 2024

Abstract: The article adopts a revisionist perspective on China’s policy for multiculturalism and its minority nationalities, calling for a more sympathetic and cautious approach than is usually encountered in the Western scholarly and policy literature and the media. The importance of the Han factor in the Chinese population is underlined along with the reality of China’s cultural diversity based on more than fifty minority-nationality groupings. Attention is drawn to the efforts of China’s communist regime to grapple generally with multiculturalism against the backdrop of its economic-reform program and Chinese history, and to the regime’s problematic dealings especially with the Tibetans, Muslims and, to a lesser extent, Mongolians. Finally, the article examines key aspects of the Tibetan issue and warns against heavyhanded interference by other countries, particularly the United States.
Exploiting Nepal’s Hydropower Potential: Some Prospects
Authors: Pradhan Gyan
Published: March 2024

Abstract: This article examines the macroeconomic effects of hydropower projects in Nepal using an economy-wide, computable general equilibrium model. Hydropower projects can be expected to have important effects because of the considerable construction expenditures they involve and their electrical power generation. The finding here, as might be expected, is that hydropower projects will provide overall benefits, especially economic growth, although there may be an increase in the general level of prices and a decline in traditional exports in the short term. The benefits will be particularly significant if private foreign investment can be attracted to finance such projects. To the extent that the projects are financed domestically, the overall benefits are modest because funding for the projects will have to come from foregone investments. Given Nepal’s abundant water resources and the enormous demand for electricity in neighboring India and China, exploitation of this resource represents an excellent opportunity to finance the process of broad national development of Nepal. However, complex geopolitical problems in the region present serious challenges, and considerable political conviction will be required to see these projects through. It is imperative that hydropower projects are seen as equitable and take environmental issues into account through the highest degree of transparency and participation.
Do We Need an Alternative to the Disenchantment Narrative? Assessing Joas' Criticism of Weber against the Enduring Merit of the Concept and Theory of Disenchantment
Authors: De Vriese Herbert , Vanheeswijck Guido
Published: March 2024

Abstract: One of the central claims of Hans Joas' The Power of the Sacred is that Weber's narrative of the disenchantment of the world is in dire need of replacement by a more viable alternative. In his view, the disenchantment narrative not only fails to function as a correct explanation for the genesis and identity of Western modernity, but has a misleading effect on theoretical developments concerning the future of religion as well. Accordingly, Joas aims to liberate academic research from the lasting and disruptive influence of Weber's views of disenchantment. Not only does he reject Weber's term 'disenchantment' as a useful and unambiguous concept , he also discards it as a correct conceptualization of a long and linear historical process . This article expresses appreciation for Joas' challenging endeavor and its deeper intentions, yet ultimately finds his interpretation of Weber untenable on both counts. It critically assesses Joas' position by examining key components of the book where his twofold argumentation is constructed and by developing an alternative interpretation. The upshot of the analysis is to argue that nuance and redefinition are far more fruitful than elimination, and that both the concept and the theory of disenchantment remain meaningful tools for academic research. In one word, while endorsing Joas' invitation for a more in-depth examination of the concept and history of disenchantment, the article defends the enduring theoretical merit of Weber's disenchantment narrative.
Settler Colonialism and Harte’s Frontier
Ecogothic in “Three Vagabonds of Trinidad”
Authors: Hsu Li-hsin
Published: March 2024

The paper proposes to examine the tangled relationship between race and environment in the nineteenth-century American literary tradition by looking at the gothic representation of the three vagabond characters in relation to the Californian coastal landscape in
Bret Harte’s “Three Vagabonds of Trinidad” (1900). Critically seen as a reworking of Mark
Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), Harte’s story continues the questioning of the
civilization/wilderness dichotomy in Twain’s work, but the story complicates its racialecological dynamics by shifting the focus from a white boy and a black slave to a Chinese
orphan, a Native American vagrant, and a dog, and relocating their tramping and foraging
from the Mississippi river to the pine forest and marshland at the Pacific coast of a frontier
town in California. Harte’s repositioning of racialized (as well as politicized) persecution at
the western frontier articulates an ecogothic allegory on a transcontinental (as well as transglobal) scale, in which a seemingly ordinary western settlement is turned from what Leo
Marx considers a pastoral-industrial “middle landscape” into a liminal haunting (as well
as hunting) ground. 1
The paper examines how Harte’s account of Trinidad topographies
reveals a multi-layered ecological space and a haunted Romantic landscape that unsettles
environmental as well as social order, reflecting racialized political exclusions during the
course of the nineteenth century through legalized policies, such as the 1830 Indian Removal
Act, the 1855 Vagrancy Act, and the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act restricting the spatial mobilities of Native Americans, Chinese immigrants, and other minority groups. The paper will
focus on the intersection of orientalism, settler colonialism, and environmentalism, rethinking how the enmeshed race-environment relationship in Harte’s writing, informed by the
social and political practices of westward expansionism and racial segregation of his time,
might reveal a subtler process of ecological othering, unveiling the parasitical relationship
between racial exploitation and environmental destruction.
Lithium niobate waveguide-integrated Bi₂Te₃/graphene heterojunction photodetector
Authors: YUAN Tingfei , Dong Qiaonan , Sun Xinxing , GAO LANG , zheng yong , Wang Ke , Wu Rongbo , Cheng Ya
Published: March 2024

We demonstrate an on-chip photodetector by integrating graphene and topological insulator Bi₂Te₃ heterostructure on thin film lithium niobate waveguide. The lithium niobite on insulator (LNOI) waveguides are fabricated by photolithography-assisted chemical mechanical etching method. The Bi₂Te₃ and graphene heterostructure design provides enhanced photocurrent due to the effective photocarriers generation. The lithium niobite waveguide-integrated Bi₂Te₃/graphene heterojunction presents a high absorption coefficient of 2.4 dB/μm. The Bi₂Te₃/graphene heterojunction photodetector exhibits a responsivity of 2.5 mA/W without external bias at 1.55 μm wavelength, which is enhancement of 7-fold as compared to the pure graphene-based photodetector. The photodetector has a 3-dB bandwidth of over 4.7 GHz. This work provides a potentially viable method for a self-powered, high responsivity and fast response of the photodetector integrated into the LNOI photonic platform.
Social support in older adults: Validation and norm values of a brief form of the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (F-SozU K-6)
Authors: Reinwarth Anna C. , Petersen Julia , Beutel Manfred E. , Hautzinger Martin , Brähler Elmar
Published: March 2024

Background

Social relations are crucial for maintaining physical and mental health across the life span. As social roles, networks and needs change with age a valid assessment of social support in older adults and age-specific norms are necessary. The present work aims to [1) assess the level of social support in individuals > 60 years of the general German population, [2) evaluate the brief six-item form of the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (F-SozU K-6) in this age group and to [3) provide age-specific norm values.

Methods

We analyze data of N = 706 people representative for the German population collected in 2021. To assess social support, we used the F-SozU K-6. We tested for selectivity, item difficulty, internal consistency, construct and factor validity, as well as factorial invariance. Additionally, we assessed correlations and associations with depression, loneliness, and sociodemographic factors. Furthermore, we reported norm values for respondents > 60 years.

Results

Participants > 60 years reported a mean level of 23.97 (SD = 4.82) of social support. Results of the CFA confirmed a very good model fit. Measurement invariance across sex and age was shown. Associations with ADS and LS-S supported construct validity. Multiple regression analysis showed that female sex, increasing age, having a partner, and a higher equivalized household income were associated with higher levels of social support.

Conclusion

The F-SozU K-6 is a reliable and economical tool to assess perceived social support in older adults. Norm values for individual > 60 years are provided.
The short board effect of ESG rating and corporate green innovation activities
Authors: Zhu Fuxian , Xu Xiaoli , Sun Jiachang
Published: March 2024

This article aims to investigate whether differences in ESG ratings have an impact on corporate green innovation behavior. A high-order fixed effects model was established using panel data from Chinese companies from 2009 to 2022 to empirically test the impact of ESG rating divergence in the Chinese market on corporate green innovation behavior.The study demonstrates that ESG rating disparity raises the quantity but lowers the quality of businesses’ green innovation efforts because of the short board effect. After a series of robustness tests, the results are still valid.The mechanism investigation reveals that both an external pressure channel and an internal strategy adjustment channel are responsible for the impact of ESG rating disparity on green innovation efforts. The asymmetry of corporate green innovation activities is exacerbated by managers’ self-interest, whereas the asymmetry of green innovation is mitigated by the caliber of government. According to the heterogeneity analysis, the divergence of a business’s ESG rating between large-scale, non-heavy polluting, and places with strong environmental regulations can effectively slow down the asymmetric behavior of enterprise innovation activities. Additional investigation reveals that the phenomenon of ESG rating divergence spreads across industries and geographical areas. The short board effect of ESG rating divergence can be effectively mitigated by improving the quality of enterprise information disclosure and speeding up the digital transformation of businesses. The research conclusion provides marginal contributions on how to improve China’s ESG rating system and how enterprises can identify ESG rating differences and make scientific decisions.
How does collectivism help deal with perceived vaccine artificiality? The case of COVID-19 vaccination intent in European young adults
Authors: Trzebiński Wojciech , Trzebiński Jerzy
Published: March 2024

Vaccine "unnaturalness" (artificiality) is one of the major anti-vaccine arguments raised in public debate. Therefore, health communication should rebut unnaturalness arguments and be cautious when emphasizing human intervention (e.g., advanced vaccine technology), which may entail perceiving vaccines as artificial. Understanding how the relationship between perceived vaccine artificiality and vaccination intent differs across social groups can help enforce the above health communication efforts by focusing them on specific audiences. The objective of the current paper is to assess the moderating role of a particular socio-cultural factor—vertical collectivism (reflecting the orientation on social hierarchy)—in the relationship between perceived vaccine artificiality and vaccination intent. It is proposed that vertical collectivism diminishes the negative effect of perceived vaccine artificiality. Two studies with European young adults measured COVID-19 vaccination intent and vertical collectivism. Study 1 (N = 418) was correlational, measuring perceived vaccine artificiality. The data were analyzed with a moderation model. Study 2 (N = 203) was experimental, manipulating perceived vaccine artificiality by human-intervention appeal (i.e., emphasizing human intervention in vaccine development and operation). The data were analyzed with moderation and moderated mediation models. Study 1 demonstrated that the effect of perceived vaccine artificiality on vaccination intent was less negative when the level of vertical collectivism was higher. In Study 2, with higher levels of vertical collectivism, the effect of human-intervention appeal on vaccination intent was less negative, and the indirect effect through perceived vaccine artificiality turned even positive. Those results contribute to the fields of perceived naturalness/artificiality, vaccination behavior, health communication, and cultural dimensions theory, providing empirical evidence that the negative effect of perceived vaccine artificiality on vaccination intent is diminished by vertical collectivism, as proposed. Health practitioners are guided on how to consider different levels of collectivism of their audiences while referring to vaccine artificiality in their communication. Specifically, it is suggested that rebutting "unnaturalness" anti-vaccine arguments should be focused on people low in vertical collectivism, and messages featuring human intervention (e.g., a vaccine’s technological advancement) should be targeted at people high in vertical collectivism.
Ignored Histories: The Politics of History Education and Indigenous Settler Relations in Australia and Kanaky/New Caledonia, Angélique Stastny (2022)
Authors: Berthiot Marine
Published: March 2024

Review of: Ignored Histories: The Politics of History Education and Indigenous Settler Relations in Australia and Kanaky/New Caledonia, Angélique Stastny (2022)

Honolulu, HI: The University of Hawai‘i Press, 280 pp.,

ISBN 978 0 82488 997 5 (hbk), US$68
Insect media and photography: An interview with Jussi Parikka
Authors: Parikka Jussi , Mangalanayagam Nina , Wolthers Louise
Published: March 2024

Among one of the main inspirations for the research behind this Special Issue is Jussi Parikka’s 2010 book Insect Media: An Archeology of Animals and Technology. In this interview, the guest editors, Nina Mangalanayagam and Louise Wolthers, ask Professor Parikka to revisit some of the book’s core issues in relation to digital photography and the current media landscape in general. The conversation also revolves around artificial intelligence (AI), bugs, mimicry, contemporary art as well as scale and operational images, which reflect Parikka’s recent research.
The Atlas of Death
Authors: Essvik Olle
Published: March 2024

In a number of works of art, I have taken an interest in insects, bookworms that eat books, electronics as anatomy and clever robots whose actions in a way resemble the apparently primitive abilities of insects. This text has its starting point in two works of art, Eaten Books and Atlas of AInsects. In the artworks, I am interested in insect anatomy and insects as symbols of decay, survival, extinction, death and post humanity. The text is originally from an artistic lecture about my work with insects and coding, and is based on a reading from within the computer program Eaten Books. A performance where the software is letting insects erase the text.
The politics of glitch in online networked images
Authors: Dekker Annet
Published: March 2024

Rosa Menkman proposed that the concept of glitch should be considered a tipping point, a momentum, that can be seized, in which the power of subjectivity and the collaborative efforts of creators and the active spectators take centre stage. This article will discuss how in the last decades the glitch as noise and techne has shifted towards glitch as precarious aesthetics and how it has become associated with decolonial and feminist modes of critique. While the glitch is still seen as a material, a techne, there is a resistant aesthetics of mutiny, a tactical revolt of the material that is confronting systemic standardization, bias and institutionalization. As presented in the exhibition VJ Um Amel, Beit Um Amel (2020), the technologically induced phenomena are analogous with the crises and states of emergency in various global infrastructures, systems and information channels.
After the glitch: Photographic friction in Lisa Tan’s Dodge and/or Burn
Authors: Grundell Gachoud Vendela
Published: March 2024

This article aims to analyse how a photographic interaction, complicated by technical and bodily disruption, entails a productive glitch in the form of systemic friction. The analysis is grounded in artist Lisa Tan’s exhibition Dodge and/or Burn in Stockholm (2023–24), with a focus on a central video work. The exhibition’s theme of crisis and transformation guides the analysis within a qualitative framework informed by an art historical methodology of semiotics and phenomenology combined with media and disability studies. This interdisciplinary perspective organizes an account anchored in the artwork’s initial capture and exhibition display. As the glitch is redefined, from a technical error to an embodied experience of systemic friction, the article offers an innovative take on how both photography and glitch can be conceptualized and deployed. As a result, the glitch emerges as a tool to address today’s dominant sociotechnical systems and their visual underpinnings.