bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Factors associated with the implementation of health-promoting telework from the perspective of company decision makers after the first COVID-19 lockdown
Authors: Lang Gert , Hofer-Fischanger Kathrin
Published: May 2022

Aim

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies shifted to telework, with few insights into its implementation, organisational conditions or the role of workplace health promotion and management. This study focused on a multifactorial investigation of conditions in companies which implemented and evaluated telework during the first lockdown in 2020 as well as on their future intentions to facilitate teleworking under health-promoting working conditions.

Subject and methods

The research hypotheses relate to an extended technology acceptance model. In a mixed-methods design, expert interviews were fed into the development of an online questionnaire. Out of 1858 contacted companies representing a broad range of Austrian businesses, 192 responses (general management, workplace health managers, etc.) were analysed using descriptive and multivariate statistics.

Results

The degree of implementation and claim to teleworking increased significantly during the first lockdown and did not return to pre-pandemic levels afterwards. Changes depended on preparation and experience: evaluation of teleworking and willingness to continue offering teleworking were conditional on preparation and the degree of implementation. Prerequisites for future intentions to implement health-promoting teleworking included readiness, general willingness and existing workplace health promotion/management structures.

Conclusion

This paper demonstrates the potential of health-promoting organisational cultures for development processes – particularly in times of crisis. Anchoring health-focused structures in companies helps to create health-promoting frameworks. Health-promoting teleworking can be developed from workplace health promotion/management using established approaches. It is essential to build on in-house capacities and competencies to develop awareness for a holistic culture for health-promoting (tele)work and to encourage deliberations about potential measures.
Alignment of values and political orientations amplifies climate change attitudes and behaviors
Authors: Smith E. Keith , Hempel Lynn M.
Published: May 2022

Anthropogenic climate change presents an immediate threat, necessitating a rapid shift in climate change relevant behaviors and public policies. A robust literature has identified a number of individual-level determinants of climate change attitudes and behaviors. In particular, political orientations and self-transcendent values are amongst the most consistent and substantive predictors. But, political orientations and individual values do not operate in isolation of each other, and rather are deeply related constructs. Accordingly, this analysis focuses on identifying the direct and interactive effects of political orientations and human values on climate change attitudes and behaviors. Adopting cross-national data from 16 Western European states (2016 ESS), we find that when in alignment, the effect of human values on climate change concern and policy support is amplified by political orientations. The moderating effect of political orientations is most substantive for self-transcendence (positive) and conservation (negative) values.
Forced governmentality: from technology to techne
Authors: Collier William George Andrew , Whitehead Mark
Published: May 2022

‘Success replaces legitimacy’ (Foucault, 2004). This assertion serves as the premise for this paper, exploring corporations that accept responsibility—or are being forced to take responsibility—for certain public issues because they are successful and, therefore, are seen as legitimate actors in the defence of individual rights in the digital age. Specifically, this paper extends the theoretical utility of applying a Foucauldian perspective of governmentality to the corporation, as set out in Collier and Whitehead’s (2021) Corporate Governmentality: Building the Empirical and Theoretical Case. In particular we seek to extend one of the Collier and Whitehead’s proposed typologies: forced governmentality. Using the Foucauldian analytical language of governmentality, it is possible to illuminate aspects of corporate governmental ambition that were previously unavailable through the current discourses. The crux of the issue consists of modern technologies that create governmental problems but are governed by the companies that created them. Consequently, the private sector actors that contribute to the creation technological problems are being forced to manage related action spaces. Using Facebook as a case study, this paper identifies the characteristics of forced governmentality through a critical reading of Mark Zuckerberg’s Blueprint for Content Governance and Enforcement.
Extremal $$K_4$$-minor-free graphs without short cycles
Authors: Barát János
Published: May 2022

We determine the maximum number of edges in a $$K_4$$

K
4

-minor-free n-vertex graph of girth g, when $$g=5$$

g
=
5

or g is even. We argue that there are many different n-vertex extremal graphs if n is even and g is odd.
Imitation learning based decision-making for autonomous vehicle control at traffic roundabouts
Authors: Wang Weichao , Jiang Lei , Lin Shiran , Fang Hui , Meng Qinggang
Published: May 2022

The essential of developing an advanced driving assistance system is to learn human-like decisions to enhance driving safety. When controlling a vehicle, joining roundabouts smoothly and timely is a challenging task even for human drivers. In this paper, we propose a novel imitation learning based decision making framework to provide recommendations to join roundabouts. Our proposed approach takes observations from a monocular camera mounted on vehicle as input and use deep policy networks to provide decisions when is the best timing to enter a roundabout. The domain expert guided learning framework can not only improve the decision-making but also speed up the convergence of the deep policy networks. We evaluate the proposed framework by comparing with state-of-the-art supervised learning methods, including conventional supervised learning methods, such as SVM and kNN, and deep learning based methods. The experimental results demonstrate that the imitation learning-based decision making framework, which ourperforms supervised learning methods, can be applied in driving assistance system to facilitate better decision-making when approaching roundabouts.
Ramsey’s conditionals
Authors: Günther Mario , Sisti Caterina
Published: May 2022

In this paper, we propose a unified account of conditionals inspired by Frank Ramsey. Most contemporary philosophers agree that Ramsey’s account applies to indicative conditionals only. We observe against this orthodoxy that his account covers subjunctive conditionals as well—including counterfactuals. In light of this observation, we argue that Ramsey’s account of conditionals resembles Robert Stalnaker’s possible worlds semantics supplemented by a model of belief. The resemblance suggests to reinterpret the notion of conditional degree of belief in order to overcome a tension in Ramsey’s account. The result of the reinterpretation is a tenable account of conditionals that covers indicative and subjunctive as well as qualitative and probabilistic conditionals.
Dormant and active emotional states
Authors: Stout Rowland
Published: May 2022

The paper is concerned with the metaphysics of emotion. It defends the claim that all emotional states, whether dormant or active, are dispositional, arguing against the prevailing view that dispositional emotional states are dispositions to go into actual emotional states. A clear distinction may be made between first-order and second-order emotional dispositions, where second-order emotional dispositions are dispositions of emotional sensitivity and first-order emotional dispositions are the emotional states themselves. Active emotional states are treated as dispositional emotional states in the process of being manifested, not as different states altogether. Describing active states as occurrent states is misleading as it suggests an exclusive distinction between active/occurrent and dispositional, which is what is being questioned. The idea that dispositional states have no subjectivity is challenged, as is the argument that being flooded with a feeling as a result of an encounter with a frightening or aggravating situation cannot be the manifestation of a disposition.
What Works to Increase Charitable Donations? A Meta-Review with Meta-Meta-Analysis
Authors: Saeri Alexander K. , Slattery Peter , Lee Joannie , Houlden Thomas , Farr Neil , Gelber Romy L. , Stone Jake , Huuskes Lee , Timmons Shane , Windle Kai , Spajic Luke , Freeman Luke , Moss David , Behar Jon , Schubert Stefan , Grundy Emily A. C. , Zorker Michael
Published: May 2022

Many charities rely on donations to support their work addressing some of the world’s most pressing problems. We conducted a meta-review to determine what interventions work to increase charitable donations. We found 21 systematic reviews incorporating 1339 primary studies and over 2,139,938 participants. Our meta-meta-analysis estimated the average effect of an intervention on charitable donation size and incidence: r = 0.08 (95% CI [0.03, 0.12]). Due to limitations in the included systematic reviews, we are not certain this estimate reflects the true overall effect size. The most robust evidence found suggests charities could increase donations by (1) emphasising individual beneficiaries, (2) increasing the visibility of donations, (3) describing the impact of the donation, and (4) enacting or promoting tax-deductibility of the charity. We make recommendations for improving primary research and reviews about charitable donations, and how to apply the meta-review findings to increase charitable donations.
What beliefs about writing guide EFL curricula? An analysis of relevant policy documents for teaching English at German secondary schools
Authors: Peltzer Katrin , Siekmann Lea , Parr Judy Margaret , Busse Vera
Published: May 2022

Although curricular analyses are of crucial importance for curricular development, documents for teaching writing in English as a foreign language [EFL] in Germany have not yet received much attention. Our study explores what beliefs about writing guide educational policy documents for teaching EFL in Germany. Using Ivanič’s (2004) discourses of writing [DoW] as a theoretical lens, we conduct a curricular analysis of 11 curricula for lower secondary school (Year 9/10) and their guiding superordinate documents. Our data suggest that none of the documents offers a comprehensive conceptualization of writing. The skills and the genre discourses are predominant; the process, the creativity, and the social practices discourses receive little attention, while the sociopolitical discourse of writing is missing. Differences in discourse frequency in curricula among school types and federal states may hinder transitions between educational tracks. The relative neglect of the procedural character of writing and the lack of acknowledgment of the social dimension of learning to write further suggest a misalignment between curricula and current research into (foreign language) writing pedagogy. This may be particularly detrimental for less proficient or socially disadvantaged learners. Implications for curricular development are outlined, suggesting that a more comprehensive approach to writing that covers all six DoW is important. In particular, we highlight the potential of process-oriented writing and also refer to the need to address digital literacy in writing.
The Learner’s Perspective Study Methodology: a legacy for future researchers
Authors: Williams Gaye
Published: May 2022

David Clarke’s research has shifted the focus of classroom research in mathematics education from study of cultural patterns to study of patterns of participation and the learning that can result in highly complex social environments. His Complementary Accounts Methodology which informed the Learner’s Perspective Study design included multi-source data collection generated through the latest technological advances at that time. That research design enriched the author’s doctoral research which was situated within the Learner’s Perspective Study. One intention of this paper is to highlight ways in which Clarke’s methodology added to the richness of the study Williams undertook, in particular, the flexibility of Clarke’s methodology in enabling adaptation to support a theoretical framework that included but extended beyond social theories of learning. In doing so, this paper draws attention to an aspect of Clarke’s methodological legacy, the potential for his Complementary Accounts Methodology to contribute to support of researchers employing diverse theoretical frameworks.
Transition Needs Compassion: a Thematic Analysis of an Online Compassion-Focused Therapy Group in a Gender Service
Authors: Pipkin Alastair , Smith Aimee , Shearn Christina
Published: May 2022

Objectives

Transgender and gender non-conforming people may face elevated rates of shame and self-criticism in light of minority stress. Compassion-focused therapy has a growing evidence base in addressing trans-diagnostic processes in mental health difficulties, including shame and self-criticism. The objective of the present study was to explore the experience of an initial pilot compassion-focused therapy group delivered online in a Gender Service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Six transgender people completed a semi-structured interview after attending an 8-week compassion-focused therapy group in a national Gender Service. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify themes in the data.

Results

Four themes were identified from the data: Transition Needs Compassion; Acceptability of the Compassion-Focused Approach; Being in a group with other transgender people; and Online delivery works despite its challenges. Participants reported that the compassion-focused framework was an appropriate and helpful way of understanding their experiences of stigma and that both the content and process of the group had benefitted them. Being with other transgender people raised some anxieties, such as comparisons or fear of offending, but also enabled seeing the self in more positive and accepting ways. While online delivery had some challenges, participants largely felt it was an effective mode of delivery, aided by the experiential nature of the group.

Conclusions

Compassion-focused therapy seems to be a feasible and acceptable approach for transgender and gender non-conforming people. Group processes may be helpful in increasing self-acceptance. Further quantitative exploration of therapy process and outcomes is warranted.
Three-dimensional (3D) liver cell models - a tool for bridging the gap between animal studies and clinical trials when screening liver accumulation and toxicity of nanobiomaterials
Authors: Tutty Melissa Anne , Movia Dania , Prina-Mello Adriele
Published: May 2022

Despite the exciting properties and wide-reaching applications of nanobiomaterials (NBMs) in human health and medicine, their translation from bench to bedside is slow, with a predominant issue being liver accumulation and toxicity following systemic administration. In vitro 2D cell-based assays and in vivo testing are the most popular and widely used methods for assessing liver toxicity at pre-clinical stages; however, these fall short in predicting toxicity for NBMs. Focusing on in vitro and in vivo assessment, the accurate prediction of human-specific hepatotoxicity is still a significant challenge to researchers. This review describes the relationship between NBMs and the liver, and the methods for assessing toxicity, focusing on the limitations they bring in the assessment of NBM hepatotoxicity as one of the reasons defining the poor translation for NBMs. We will then present some of the most recent advances towards the development of more biologically relevant in vitro liver methods based on tissue-mimetic 3D cell models and how these could facilitate the translation of NBMs going forward. Finally, we also discuss the low public acceptance and limited uptake of tissue-mimetic 3D models in pre-clinical assessment, despite the demonstrated technical and ethical advantages associated with them.

Graphical abstract

3D culture models for use as in vitro alternatives to traditional methods and conventional in vivo animal testing for testing liver accumulation and toxicity of nanobiomaterials
Prospective study relating genotype profiles with race performance in racing pigeons
Authors: Kolvenbag Geert , Scott Mark , de Kloet Arne , de Kloet Ed
Published: May 2022

This is a prospective study to investigate the impact of genotype profiles on race performance in racing pigeons. Genotypes studied included lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), dopamine receptor (DRD), myostatin (MSTN), and feather keratin (F-KER), as well as demographic factors such as gender, color, and the mtDNA. This study shows differences within genotypes DRD456 (P = 0.027) and F-KER (P = 0.018). For DRD456, race coefficients were lower (= better performance) for genotype CT. For F-KER, race coefficients were lower for GG, overall, while within the F-KER TT genotype race performance was best at longer distances. After including Queen L mtDNA in the model, both the effects of F-KER and DRD456 remained significant. The effect of Queen L mtDNA alone was significant (P = 0.004) and mainly driven by the effect in short distance races. In addition, birds with the checker color check had a lower race coefficient than birds with the color blue bar (P = 0.0012). Also, this effect was independently significant and remained significant in the multivariate analysis. No differences in race coefficients were seen between genotypes for LDHA and MSTN nor for the demographic factor of gender. While individual factors were related to differences in race performance, and although one could be tempted to favor a bird with DRD4 CCCT–F-KER TT–LDHA AB–checker color for long distance races, further and larger prospective studies including birds unrelated to our family of birds will be needed to confirm our findings and to determine a superior profile including multiple genetic factors.
Schulbezogene Einstellungen von Kindern aus bildungsfernen Milieus in der Corona-Pandemie
Authors: Klopsch Britta , Rohlfs Carsten
Published: May 2022

Das Distanzlernen im Lockdown benachteiligt, darin besteht weitgehend Konsens, insbesondere Kinder und Jugendliche aus bildungsfernen Milieus. Die Schere zwischen Privilegierten und Zurückgelassenen, die in Deutschland ohnehin stark geöffnet ist, weitet sich durch die COVID-19-Pandemie immer deutlicher. Empirische Belege für diesen pandemiebedingten Wirkzusammenhang sind allerdings noch wenig belastbar, und selten werden in den entsprechenden Untersuchungen Schüler:innen selbst befragt und noch weniger solche, die an Schulen in herausfordernder Lage unterrichtet werden. Vorliegender Beitrag referiert eine quantitative Studie an Grundschulen in besonders benachteiligter Umgebung während des Lockdowns im Frühjahr 2021 und fragt nach individuellen Einstellungen, Haltungen und Lernerfahrungen der Schüler:innen während des Homeschoolings. Ziel war es, nicht pauschalisierend eine Gruppe von Heranwachsenden als benachteiligt und damit als abgehängt zu definieren, sondern empirisch zu untersuchen, welche individuellen Faktoren, Rahmenbedingungen und Wirkmechanismen dazu führen, dass einige dieser Schüler:innen das Lernen im Lockdown erfolgreicher gestalten können als andere mit zunächst gleichen Ausgangsbedingungen. Die Datenanalysen ergaben vier stabile Cluster, die auf unterschiedliche Ausprägungen der Student Agency aufbauen und Potenziale und Anknüpfungsmöglichkeiten aufzeigen, um Lernende aus bildungsfernen Milieus individuell zu fördern – im Homeschooling und im Präsenzunterricht.
Sunlight activated ultra-stable long persistent luminescence glass ceramic for outdoor information display
Authors: Zhao Jingtao , Lei Lei , Ye Renguang , Zhang Junjie , Zhang Xianghua , Xu Shiqing
Published: May 2022

Natural sunlight activated persistent luminescence (PeL) is ideal candidate for optical information display in outdoors without the requirement of electric supply. Except the brightness and duration, the stability especially water resistance of the PeL materials is of significant importance for practical application, which remains a great obstacle up to date. Herein, we report a new sunlight activated PeL glass ceramic containing hexagonal Sr13Al22Si10O66:Eu2+ crystals, which exhibits strong blue PeL and can last more than 200 h. The PeL can be charged by the full wavelengths located in AM 1.5G due to the broad distribution of traps in the crystal structure. The PeL is clearly observed by the naked eye even after 24 h upon sunlight irradiation irrespective of the weather, and the photoluminescence intensity only decreased ∼3.3% after storing in water for 365 d. We demonstrate its potential application for thermal and stress responsive display as well as long-term continuous security indication upon sunlight irradiation, which not only save vast energy and reduce environment pollution, but also are appropriate for outdoor usage.
Influence of brazing process and gap size on the fatigue strength of shear and peel specimen
Authors: Jöckel A. , Baumgartner J. , Tillmann W. , Bültena J. , Bobzin K. , Heinemann H. , Hebing J. , Erck M.
Published: May 2022

Brazing is a joining technique used in many industries for components that consist of many individual parts. Many of these components are cyclically loaded during service. For this reason, reliable approaches to assess the service life must be developed. For this purpose, it is necessary to gain knowledge about factors influencing the fatigue strength and the damage behavior. In this paper induction, vacuum- and continuous furnace brazed shear and peel specimen with different brazing gap widths are analyzed. Therefore, the specimens were characterized, measuring the geometry of the specimens and surface condition of the brazing radii, and tested under load control using constant amplitudes. It is found that the manufacturing process and the parameters used have a significant influence on the mechanical properties of the brazing material, the surface condition and the profile of the fillet radii. These properties have again an influence on the damage behavior and the fatigue strength. In particular crack-like defects of varying severity, which can extend deep into the brazing material, that are located in highly stressed areas of the fillet radii have a significant influence on the fatigue strength. It is also found that, regardless of the brazing process used, there is a tendency in the area of the brazing gap width for the number and size of defects to increase with increasing gap size, which can negatively affect fatigue strength depending on the damage behavior.
Self-adaptive opposition-based differential evolution with subpopulation strategy for numerical and engineering optimization problems
Authors: Li Jiahang , Gao Yuelin , Zhang Hang , Yang Qinwen
Published: May 2022

Opposition-based differential evolution (ODE) is a well-known DE variant that employs opposition-based learning (OBL) to accelerate the convergence speed. However, the existing OBL variants are population-based, which causes many shortcomings. The value of the jumping rate is not self-adaptively adjusted, so the algorithm easily traps into local optima. The population-based OBL wastes fitness evaluations when the algorithm converges to sub-optimal. In this paper, we proposed a novel OBL called subpopulation-based OBL (SPOBL) with a self-adaptive parameter control strategy. In SPOBL, the jumping rate acts on the individual, and the subpopulation is selected according to the individual’s jumping rate. In the self-adaptive parameter control strategy, the surviving individual’s jumping rate in each iteration will participate in the self-adaptive process. A generalized Lehmer mean is introduced to achieve an equilibrium between exploration and exploitation. We used DE and advanced DE variants combined with SPOBL to verify performance. The results of performance are evaluated on the CEC 2017 and CEC 2020 test suites. The SPOBL shows better performance compared to other OBL variants in terms of benchmark functions as well as real-world constrained optimization problems.
Corporate Disclosures on Climate Change: An Empirical Analysis of FTSE All-Share British Fossil Fuel Producers
Authors: Attenborough Daniel
Published: May 2022

Although UK company law has become more sensitive to climate change problems, many open questions and issues remain about the practical utility of disclosure as a presumptive regulatory solution. This article presents and analyses unique empirical research to explore if and to what extent FTSE All-Share British fossil fuel producers are clearly and reliably: (a) integrating into their overall business risk management the ‘material’ risks that climate change presents to their operations; and (b) reporting the impact of their business activities on the climate and the likely consequences of any business decisions in the long term. The results show that current disclosure regulation apparently fails to secure behavioural change on the part of most companies in our sample. The article offers several explanations that provide a possible answer with validity as to why disclosure does not achieve its organising purpose of managing the risks and impacts of climate change.
Decay of the Weyl curvature in expanding black hole cosmologies
Authors: Schlue Volker
Published: May 2022

This paper is motivated by the non-linear stability problem for the expanding region of Kerr de Sitter cosmologies in the context of Einstein’s equations with positive cosmological constant. We show that under dynamically realistic assumptions the conformal Weyl curvature of the spacetime decays towards future null infinity. More precisely we establish decay estimates for Weyl fields which are (i) uniform (with respect to a global time function) (ii) optimal (with respect to the rate) and (iii) consistent with a global existence proof (in terms of regularity). The proof relies on a geometric positivity property of compatible currents which is a manifestation of the global redshift effect capturing the expansion of the spacetime.
Humour Workshops for Staff Working in Palliative Care
Authors: Linge-Dahl Lisa , Kreuz Rainer , Stoffelen Mieke , von Hirschhausen Eckart , Radbruch Lukas
Published: May 2022

Palliative care teams frequently use humour as a coping instrument. Humour used within the professional team has to be distinguished from humour in the interaction with patients. Humour among staff members working in palliative settings is widely accepted and the positive effect has been demonstrated. Four humour-workshops were organized for staff working in a palliative care unit. All participants completed the State-Trait-Cheerfulness-Inventory (STCI-S and T) and the Distress-Thermometer. Before and after the last two workshops, saliva samples were collected for analysis of oxytocin concentrations. The humour workshops were performed by two coaches based on a concept for the use of humour and mindfulness in the nursing routine. Overall 31 staff members out of 37 participated. Representatives of all professions were included, 28 women, 3 men, 24 to 59 years old. Saliva samples demonstrated a small but not significant oxytocin increase from a mean of 1.52 pg/ml to 1.80 pg/ml after the intervention (p .26). The mean p value of distress was reduced from 5.24 to 3.90 with an effect of p = .05 and bad mood was reduced from 11.19 to 9.43 (p = .36), seriousness decreased from 15.06 to 12.26 (p .01) and cheerfulness changed from 16.33 to 19.03 (p = .02). Despite the small sample size, the reduction of distress and seriousness and the increase of cheerfulness was significant. The changes in Oxytocin and bad mood proved to not be significant. Feedback from participants confirmed the value of humour in palliative care.
Corporate Groups and Shadow Business Practices
Authors: Anker-Sørensen Linn
Published: May 2022

The uniqueness of this book is its conceptualization of a corporate group as a system of interaction, comprised of nodes, links and internal governance tools. This framework can be used to understand what constitutes a group, based on affiliation-linkages. By increasing our perception of group-structuring we can assess the extent to which existing laws address all variables. If the law does not consider certain variables to be used for identifying groups, a case of shadow business may be identified. Group-transparency is a recurring topic on the regulatory agenda. In this book, three legal domains are analysed questioning whether specific amendments have led to increased group-transparency: the control-definition for consolidated accounts, shareholder-transparency in company law, and major holding disclosure in listed companies. This book identifies deficiencies of the law in obtaining its regulatory objective of group-transparency, and proposes an interpretative solution based on Systems Thinking.
Cantankerous Essays
Authors: Dore Ronald
Published: May 2022

Prompted by increasing evidence of the world's shift to the right, not least among the industrialised nations, here is a cri de Coeur from almost the last survivor from the post-war crop of European sociologists and scholars of Japanese Studies. After six decades following developments in Japanese society, economy and culture and as a well-known 'leftie' - he describes the evolution of his cognitive and evaluative/emotional perceptions of Japan, and explains why he can no longer be described as a Japanophile. To which are added essays on more general issues of the day, such as events in the Ukraine, Iran and Israel. The key words are indeed 'cantankerous' (because he is greatly exercised by the 'conspiracies of silence' embedded in the culture of modern political and public life); 'musings' (because this is not so much a single-focus monograph, rather a collection of spontaneous, but deeply-considered reflections on matters of the moment) and 'disillusioned' (both by Japan's reversion to chauvinistic nationalism, and because, as a youth, he hoped for and expected an enhancement of the role of reason in international affairs.) This will be of special interest to all who know or have accessed the author's vast literary output relating to Japan; it also has considerably wider relevance among those who are in any way connected with contemporary society, politics and economics and wish to confront the 'conspiracy of silence' within our interdependent world.
The State of the Japanese State
Authors: McCormack Gavan
Published: May 2022

In this, his latest work, Gavan McCormack argues that Abe Shinzo’s efforts to re-engineer the Japanese state may fail, but his radicalism continues to shake the country and will have consequences not easy now to predict. The significance of this book will be widely recognized, particularly by those researching contemporary world politics, international relations and the history of modern Japan. McCormack here revisits and reassesses his previous formulations of Japan as construction state (doken kokka), client state (zokkoku), constitutional pacifist state, and colonial state (especially in its relationship to Okinawa). He adds a further chapter on what he calls the ‘rampant state’, that outlines the increasingly authoritarian or ikkyo (one strong) turn of the Abe government in the fifth year of its second term. And he critically addresses the Abe agenda for constitutional revision.
The Rise and Evolution of Meiji Japan
Authors: Huffmann James
Published: May 2022

Considered a doyen of Meiji studies, particularly in the field of the newspaper press in Japan, former journalist Jim Huffman. and H. Orth Hirt Professor of History [Emeritus] at Wittenberg University, was recently honoured (2017) with the Distinguished Service Award by the Association of Asian Studies (AAS), marking his outstanding scholarship and service in the field of Asian studies. Huffman is the author of eight acclaimed books, including Creating a Public: People and Press in Meiji Japan, A Yankee in Meiji Japan: The Crusading Journalist Edward H. House, Japan: A History in Documents and most recently Down and Out in Late Meiji Japan. Supported by an introductory mini memoir, this collection of Huffman's writings comprises thirty journal papers and scholarly essays, thematically structured under (1) Media, (2) Society, Culture and Environment, and (3) Democracy, Government and Nationalism. Part 4 offers a selection from his portfolio of book reviews. The Rise and Evolution of Meiji Japan provides a valuable one-stop access to the scholarship of Jim Huffman that both complements and enhances his existing published works.
Richard Sorge, the GRU and the Pacific War
Authors: Chapman John W. M.
Published: May 2022

Sorge’s activities between 1930 and 1942 have tended to be lauded as those of a superlative human intelligence operator, and the Soviet Union’s GRU (Soviet military intelligence unit) as the optimum of spy-masters. Although it was unusual for a great deal of inside knowledge to be obtained from the Japanese side, most attention has always been paid on the German side to the roles played by representatives of the German Army in Japan. This book, supported by extensive notes and a bibliography, by contrast, highlights the friendly relations between Sorge and Paul Wenneker, German naval attaché in Japan from 1932 to 1937 and 1940-45. Wenneker, from extensive and expanding contacts inside the Japanese Navy (and also concealed contacts with the Japanese Army) supplied Sorge with key information on the depth of rivalry between the Japanese armed services.
US-Japan Human Rights Diplomacy Post 1945
Authors: Buckley Roger
Published: May 2022

Comprising two volumes, this is a pioneering study which examines how the United States has deployed public diplomacy with Japan to confront Japanese sexual and labour trafficking, while also charting the successes and failures of the US’s own record on anti-trafficking practices at home and abroad. The subject is an important aspect of human rights advocacy where much remains either unknown or imprecise with regard to a phenomenon that involves millions of people across all continents and within all nation states. The approach is largely chronological and country-based, using documentary evidence from 1945 onwards to trace national and international responses to what is frequently termed ‘modern slavery’, placed within the broader and still evolving context of respect for the full panoply of human rights. Volume 1 comprises the analysis, debates and outcomes, together with ten primary documents relating to the years 1945-1999, as well as a bibliography and index. Volume 2 comprises a further 34 documents relating to the years 2000-2020, including international covenants, US Trafficking In Persons and Congressional reports, and Japanese government papers.
Korea 1905-1945
Authors: Daeyeol Ku
Published: May 2022

This important new study by one of Korea’s leading historians focuses on the international relations of colonial Korea - from the Japanese rule of the peninsula and its foreign relations (1905-1945) to the ultimate liberation of the country at the end of the Second World War. In addition, it fills a significant gap - the ‘blank space’ - in Korean diplomatic history. Furthermore, it highlights several other fundamental aspects in the history of modern Korea, such as the historical perception of the policy-making process and the attitudes of both China and Britain which influenced US policy regarding Korea at the end of World War II.
Comparison of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms at diagnosis among healthcare personnel before and after the emergence of the omicron variant
Authors: Laracy Justin C. , Robilotti Elizabeth V. , Yan Judy , Lucca Anabella , Aslam Anoshe , Babady N. Esther , Kamboj Mini
Published: May 2022

We used a self-reporting system to compare symptom frequency of hospital personnel with coronavirus disease 2019 before and after the emergence of the Omicron variant. Omicron was more likely to result in asymptomatic carriage (7% vs 12%; P = .009), and fewer symptoms were observed in those with booster vaccination.
Trajectories of Aristocratic Wealth, 1858–2018: Evidence from Probate
Authors: Bond Matthew , Morton Julien
Published: May 2022

In the past two decades, the decline of the British aristocracy and its apotheosis, the hereditary peerage, have received scant scholarly attention. Major historical works in the 1960s to the 1990s laid much responsibility for the decline on features of the British aristocracy that are anachronistic in modern capitalist societies, such as their landed, rentier status, conspicuously sumptuous lifestyles, and disdain for commerce, helped on by reductions in the value of agricultural land from the 1870s. This article reappraises these arguments by examining the decline of the hereditary peerage's wealth using a newly created data set that includes all available probate grants for peers from 1858 to 2018. The article challenges established research by finding that peers’ absolute wealth but also relative mean wealth did not decline during the agricultural depression of the late nineteenth century, and that serious decline only began and accelerated from World War II. Signs of resurgence appeared in the 1980s, with the value of peers’ grants reaching Victorian levels in real but not relative terms. The comprehensive character of the data and the distinction between real and relative wealth allow for multiple conceptual and analytic additions to the existing debates. We find that new peerages created for businessmen who were much wealthier than the older, landed peers masked decline in the interwar years. Significantly, however, the differences in wealth between old and new peerages disappeared over time, suggesting that the wider aristocracy's decline was due less to characteristics particular to it than to external forces allied to the broader postwar political and fiscal environment.
Experimental study of turbulent bubbly jet. Part 1. Simultaneous measurement of three-dimensional velocity fields of bubbles and water
Authors: Kim Dong , Schanz Daniel , Novara Matteo , Seo Hyunduk , Kim Youngwoo , Schröder Andreas , Kim Kyung Chun
Published: May 2022

This study proposes a method for simultaneous measurements of time-resolved three-dimensional velocity fields of the dispersed and continuous phases of a turbulent bubbly jet at a low void fraction using Lagrangian particle tracking (LPT) velocimetry with the Shake-The-Box algorithm. Four high-speed cameras are used to acquire time series of images that include both bubbles and fluid tracer particles. Bubbles are firstly tracked using intensity differences between tracer particles and bubbles, then the bubble images are removed from the camera images and all tracer particles are tracked using the residual images. Subsequently, FlowFit interpolation is applied to the LPT results obtained by phase separation to investigate flow characteristics of a bubbly jet. The bubbly jet was divided into two regions along the vertical direction: jet-like and plume-like regions. Streamwise vortex structures of continuous phase were generated mainly by the rising bubbles. The Gaussian and top-hat velocity profiles matched well with the ensemble-averaged fluid and bubble velocities, respectively. The measured slip velocity in the radial direction was not constant but linearly increased. The classical assumption of self-similarity with Gaussian profiles for fluid velocity and bubble concentration is experimentally verified. The fluid volume flux and entrainment coefficient are obtained as a function of the slip velocity, void fraction, plume and bubble width based on three-dimensional measurements. We found that the classical integral theory agrees well with experiments in the plume region.
Global oscillations in low-density round jets with parabolic velocity profiles
Authors: Nair Arun B. , Deohans Aayushi , Vinoth B.R.
Published: May 2022

Experiments and spatiotemporal stability analysis are carried out to study the global oscillations in laminar low-density round jets with parabolic velocity profiles. The experimental results of laminar low-density jets with parabolic velocity profiles exhibit global axisymmetric oscillations. The spatiotemporal stability results based on base profiles from numerical simulations are consistent with the present experimental results. These results differ from the prediction of stability study by Coenen et al. (Phys. Fluids, vol. 20, 2008, p. 074104). They reported that the low-density jets with near parabolic velocity profiles show global helical oscillations. It is observed that the method used by Coenen et al. is not able to predict the nature of global oscillations observed in experiments for low-density jets with near parabolic profiles. The present spatiotemporal stability results demonstrate that the base flows from Navier–Stokes equations are required to predict the critical conditions observed in experiments for low-density jets with near parabolic velocity profiles. The breakdown distance of globally unstable low-density jets scales with

$(Re-Re_c)^{-1/2}$

(

$Re_c$

is the critical Reynolds number), consistent with the scaling law obtained from the nonlinear global mode of the Ginzburg–Landau equation.
Direct numerical simulation-based characterization of pseudo-random roughness in minimal channels
Authors: Yang Jiasheng , Stroh Alexander , Chung Daniel , Forooghi Pourya
Published: May 2022

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) are used to systematically investigate the applicability of the minimal-channel approach (Chung et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 773, 2015, pp. 418–431) for the characterization of roughness-induced drag on irregular rough surfaces. Roughness is generated mathematically using a random algorithm, in which the power spectrum (PS) and probability density function (p.d.f.) of the surface height can be prescribed. Twelve different combinations of PS and p.d.f. are examined, and both transitionally and fully rough regimes are investigated (roughness height varies in the range

$k^+ = 25$

–100). It is demonstrated that both the roughness function (

${\rm \Delta} U^+$

) and the zero-plane displacement can be predicted with

${\pm }5\,\%$

accuracy using DNS in properly sized minimal channels. Notably, when reducing the domain size, the predictions remain accurate as long as 90 % of the roughness height variance is retained. Additionally, examining the results obtained from different random realizations of roughness shows that a fixed combination of p.d.f. and PS leads to a nearly unique

${\rm \Delta} U^+$

for deterministically different surface topographies. In addition to the global flow properties, the distribution of time-averaged surface force exerted by the roughness onto the fluid is calculated. It is shown that patterns of surface force distribution over irregular roughness can be well captured when the sheltering effect is taken into account. This is made possible by applying the sheltering model of Yang et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 789, 2016, pp. 127–165) to each specific roughness topography. Furthermore, an analysis of the coherence function between the roughness height and the surface force distributions reveals that the coherence drops at larger streamwise wavelengths, which can be an indication that very large horizontal scales contribute less to the skin-friction drag.
Emergence of unstable invasion during imbibition in regular porous media
Authors: Wang Zhongzheng , Pereira Jean-Michel , Sauret Emilie , Gan Yixiang
Published: May 2022

The unstable fluid–fluid displacement patterns in porous media with rough invasion fronts and trapping of the defending phase are often observed in drainage, i.e. when the solid is non-wetting to the invading phase. On the other hand, during imbibition, compact and faceted growth is expected in regular porous media with geometrically homogeneous pore structure. Here, we report the irregular growth of invading fluid during the imbibition process in two-dimensional regular porous media. The ramified invasion morphology associated with thin fingers is reminiscent of capillary fingering. Through examining the capillary pressure signals and the type of pore-scale invasion mechanisms, the fundamental differences between faceted growth and irregular invasion are revealed. By analysing the pore-scale invasion mechanisms, a phase diagram describing the dominance of different invasion events is proposed. Through conducting systematic quasi-static radial injection simulations across a wide range of porosity and wettability, excellent agreement is observed on the transition boundary from faceted and compact displacement patterns to irregular and dendritic invasion morphologies. This is reflected by the overlap of the transition boundaries from analytical prediction, type of pore-scale invasion events, and macroscopic morphology quantified by the fractal dimension. This work provides new insights on the role of geometrical features of solid structures during multiphase flow with emphasis on the porosity and wettability. The findings could assist in guiding the design of microfluidic devices to control deterministically the multiphase flow, transport and reaction processes.
COLLECTIVE REDRESS IN EUROPE: MOVING FORWARD OR TREADING WATER?
Authors: Fairgrieve Duncan , Salim Rhonson
Published: May 2022

The recent Representative Actions Directive 2020/1828/EC is a welcome advance in developing collective redress in Europe. However, this article contends that whilst the Directive is a positive development, shortfalls in its design restrict its potentially transformative impact for consumers. Critical examination is made of the Directive's rules on scope, standing, remedies, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), cross-border claims, funding, awareness and the provision of information. The article further considers whether the Directive will serve to improve co-ordination in civil procedure in this area which has traditionally been very diverse at a Member State level.
THE LEGALITY OF A TRIPS WAIVER FOR COVID-19 VACCINES UNDER INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT LAW
Authors: Mercurio Bryan , Upreti Pratyush Nath
Published: May 2022

This article assesses the arguments and challenges that are likely to arise should investors file an investor–State dispute settlement (ISDS) claim over measures taken in response to a waiver of obligations relating to intellectual property rights (IPRs) under the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). After providing an overview of the proposed waiver of IPRs for COVID-19 vaccinations and treatments, it examines the jurisprudence relating to IP and investor–State arbitration and the grounds upon which investors would rely to make a case in ISDS and possible State defences. The analysis, which focuses on fair and equitable treatment and expropriation, concludes that it will be difficult for investors to succeed in claiming that measures taken in response to a TRIPS waiver of IPRs breach any substantive protection provision contained in an international investment agreement. States should, however, seek additional security by revisiting existing treaties and adding additional layers of safeguards to ensure legitimate and non-discriminatory measures taken in response to a TRIPS waiver do not lead to investor claims.
International Yield Comovements
Authors: Bekaert Geert , Ermolov Andrey
Published: May 2022

We decompose long-term nominal bond yields into real and inflation components in an international context using inflation-linked and nominal bonds. In contrast to extant results, real rate variation dominates the variation in inflation-linked and nominal yields. Cross-country nominal and inflation-linked yield correlations have declined since the Great Recession. Real rates are the main source of the correlation between nominal yields. Our results are robust to various alternative measurements of inflation expectations and the liquidity premium. They continue to hold when a no-arbitrage term structure model with real, nominal, and inflation factors is used to effect the yield decomposition.