bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Drug Menace as Contributor to the Duterte Electoral Victory
Authors: Fabella Raul V.
Published: November 2020

We construct the drug menace as a standard 2×2 collective action problem with two self-interested households A and B, each facing a strategy set (C, D) = (Cooperate, Don’t Cooperate). If the households cooperate, that is attain (C, C), they stop the drug menace; if not, which is the usual outcome of these games under laissez faire, non-cooperation rules instanced by the Nash equilibrium (D, D) and the drug menace overruns the community. We introduce a game transformation via a third party-intervention-by-statute (TPIS) mechanism: a third party promulgates and enforces a statute S which penalizes non-cooperation D, spells out the contribution c of households, the statutory penalty p for, and the likelihood f of being caught, playing D. For certain combinations of c, p and f, the intervention is efficient, that is, attains (C, C) as the Nash equilibrium of the transformed game. The likelihood of an efficient statute rises the lower is c and the higher the expected penalty pf, features associated with a strong and wise third party. The TPIS mechanism is a parable for the role of governments in general: to consolidate and galvanize the local forces to overcome collective action problems. The third party is normally identified with the government in the hands of persons who hold the mantle of government. When the mantle is contestable and the basis of contestability is electoral, there is a vent for good governance in the form of welfare-improving interventions. The perception of households matter in elections and aspirants with a perceived superior track record on or one that promises superiority at solving the most salient community problems will rise to the top of the voting preference. Whether the track record is real or constructed matters little as long as it is perceived by the voter as true. Duterte won the Philippine presidency for a variety of reasons but the most cogent and tailor-made for his persona was the narrative that he got rid of the drug problem by employing a death squad which carried out extrajudicial executions in Davao City. By showing himself capable of bypassing the widely despised corrupt due process was an electoral plus for many poor people. Duterte’s electoral victory was rooted in the narrative that drug menace was a collective action problem number one and that if there was a solution it was inexorably tied to Duterte’s real or imagined persona.
Making Rare Books Public: the Jiangsu Provincial Guoxue Library in the Nanjing Decade (1927-1937)
Authors: Shan Fred Yi
Published: November 2020

The history of the Jiangsu Provincial Guoxue Library (Jiangsu shengli guoxue tushuguan 江蘇省立國學圖書館) during the Nanjing Decade (1927-1937) demonstrates how China’s intellectual and material legacies—rare books in this case—were given new meaning and put into use in the form of a modern public library. Unpacking both the discursive and practical meanings of the ‘publicness’ of the library, this article demonstrates that during this transitional period, rare book collection became both a spiritual and material site where Chinese scholar-collectors and librarians inscribed their political ideals and advocacy, promoted research into China’s past, and inherited centuries-old practices from the literati-collectors of the premodern era.
Colloquium 3 Commentary on Moore
Authors: Bailey Jesse
Published: November 2020

This paper is a response to Christopher Moore’s excellent paper, “Questioning Aristotle’s Radical Account of Σωφροσύνη.” I expand upon some of the themes in the four suggestions Moore makes in his “Four Possible Defenses” of Aristotle that I take to be the most fruitful avenues of research. I then argue that pursuing these avenues will show that Aristotle’s thinking in the Nicomachean Ethics about σωφροσύνη—and virtues in general—cannot be understood by looking only at the early books. I argue that his deeper analysis of virtue and φρόνησις in book VI demand a revaluation of the apparent finality of his comments in book III. Specifically, I argue that the Nicomachean Ethics as a whole is constructed as a dialectical advancement that points to a progressively deepening understanding of the relationship between the discussion of the individual virtues in the early books and the discussion of φρόνησις in book VI must be developed in order to understand Aristotle’s conception of any individual virtue.
Colloquium 4 Commentary on Garrocho
Authors: Ramos Santiago
Published: November 2020

This commentary examines Diego Garrocho’s paper, “Mythological Sources of Memory and Oblivion.” I argue that Garrocho’s thesis hinges on the assumption that two historical continuities exist between myth and philosophy. First, it supposes a continuity of understanding: between the mythical conception of memory and oblivion, and the philosophical reformulation of the same, there lies no essential difference; both the mythical and philosophical traditions share a univocal, or at least analogical, concept of memory and oblivion. Second, it supposes a continuity of appreciation: memory and oblivion are valued at various stages in the history of thought in univocal or analogical ways. I go on to see whether these continuities have taken place within the work of Plato, who, I argue, is an axial figure between myth and philosophy.
Confucianism, Commerce, Capitalism
Authors: Schneider Henrique
Published: November 2020

This paper discusses commerce in Early Confucianism. It argues that the virtuous Confucian agent engages with the world in different ways, including in commerce – it is another way of acting with virtue. This conception is compared with two roughly contemporary approaches in economics, the thought of Wilhelm Röpke and the Humanomics project by Vernon Smith. In both, virtue is constitutive to commerce. However, they differ substantially in the exact relationship between virtue and commerce. While in Early Confucianism commerce is a way for the agent to unfold and cultivate virtues, in Röpke, virtues are a corrective to the utilitarianism in commerce. In Humanomics, agents engaging in commercial relations find shared virtues.
Global Managerial Resources and the Choice of Entry Mode for International Expansion: A Test of Penrosean Resource-Based Perspective
Authors: Moon Chul Woo
Published: November 2020

Linking the Penrosean resource-based view (RBV) to firm's mode choice decision for entering into international markets, this paper proposes a dynamic model of mode choice based on the Penrosean resource-based theory. Specifically, the model suggests that firm's managerial resource developed for a particular mode (e.g., international acquisitions or alliances) in the past will affect the firm's subsequent choice of governance mode in the future. An empirical test based on a sample ofU.S .. firrns' international strategic combination activities generally supported the adequacy of the proposed Penrosean model.
The First Ten Years of Kim Jong-il's Economic Policy: Changes and Future Direction of North Korea's Economic Policy
Authors: Bae Chong-Ryel
Published: November 2020

What will the North Korean economy look like a decade from now? Ever since North Korea's implementation of its Economic Management Improvement Measures in July 2002, a wide range of views have been voiced with regard to the future direction of the North Korean economy. This paper discusses what changed and what remained the same during the ten years since the death of Kim Il-Sung in July 1994, after which North Korea began trying to change its economy in accordance with its own version of socialism. The current state of the North Korean economy makes certain things clear. Difficult though it may be to predict how the quantitative aspects of the North Korean economy will change, there is general agreement that it will increasingly become market-oriented. However, there is no agreement on the pace of transition. Will it be a radical bang or a gradual transformation or a third-way. The future direction of the North Korean economy will become more evident over time.
Changing Incentives and Opportunities for Risk-Taking in Recent U.S. Banking Industry
Authors: Lee Seok Weon
Published: November 2020

We examine how the rd,~ionship between bank ownership structure and risk-raking may be differently affected by the different regulatory regimes in the U.S. banking industry. We find that higher insider-ownership banks had greater risk-raking incentives than lower insider-ownership banks between 1987-1990 (a period of relative deregulation and decline of the U.S. banking industry), when we represent risk-raking by systematic risk. However, chis greater systematic risk-caking is unprofitable, indicating chat banks pursued perverse risky strategies in the lace l 980s as suggested by the moral-hazard hypothesis in banking literature. Bue we find char greater systematic risk-caking incentives of higher insider-ownership banks than lower insider-ownership banks disappeared, and that the association between risk-raking and profitability improved over the period of tightened regulation (1991-1995). These results may offer some supp:ming evidence for the effectiveness of regulatory reforms in the U.S. banking industry beginning around 1991.

In testing the partitioned sample between lower insider-ownership banks vs. higher ones, we find that the positive relationship between insider ownership and risk-raking, and the negative relationship between the risk-taking and profitability, is significantly more transparent JOY the set of hankJ with lower insider mi11ership over the period 1987-1990. Thus, at r'flJ' lrn11 /weir of stock ownership, banks greatly increase risk, but ultimately unprofirahle risks, as the level of imider ownership rises over the period of dc:regulation and decline of the banking industry. This result is consistent with the corporate-control hypothesis. Over the periOO 1 lJ) 1-1995, we also find char at high levels of stock ownership, banks sc:c:med to engage in profirable risk-taking as the level of insider ownership rose, as predicted by the corporatc:-control hypothesis.

Overall, in terms of only addressing the owner/manager agency problem, these results strongly suggest that in years of deregulation, the owner/manager agency problem of banks can be easily addressed by changing insider holdint,rs or ownership structure ro accommodate increased risk. But this policy suggestion should be taken with caution, since banks seem to take on more than enough risk in years of deregulation, which may ultimately increase the probability of bank failure. TI1is might suggest that the increase in insider holdinb:rs to address the ov,rner/manager agency problem should be associated with closer monitoring of the banks' risk-taking behavior. This policy suggestion shoulJ he encouraged more strongly, especially to banks with very low levels of stock ownership.
International Monetary Cooperation and Democratic Institutions: The Importance of Executive-Legislative Relations in Germany and France, 1919-1929
Authors: Cho Chansoo
Published: November 2020

This article examines how changes in• formal political institutions can affect the extent to which a nationally defined monetary policy is committed to an international monetary order by comparing the German and French cases during the period of 1919–1929. There is no dearth of studies that employ domestic political institutional variables to explain policy outcomes regarding international economic relations. And at the same time, for the past decade, a host of “second image reversed” works have improved our understanding of domestic-international interaction. While many scholars of international political economy have written about domestic sources of trade policy, increasing numbers of authors have devoted substantial attention to the explanatory power of domestic variables in monetary issues. Particularly, when accounting for variations on democratic commitment to international monetary cooperation, the importance of executive-legislative relations deserves special attention. Germany and France during the 1920s provide us with an interesting pair of comparison in that their parliamentary democracies had subtle differences in executive-legislative relations.
Chinese UN Representation at the Crossroads: International Pressures for Change in U.S. China Policy, 1961
Authors: Kang Jean S.
Published: November 2020

In 1961, the Kennedy administration confronted widespread domestic and foreign anticipation that significant changes would be made to existing U.S. China policy. Although the new administration proposed to liberate the United States from past policies and offer fresh, innovative solutions to problems confronted worldwide, the major issues that characterized and defined the American relationship with both the Chinese Communists on the mainland and the Chinese Nationalists on Taiwan posed a challenge for the new President and his top advisers. This study examines the Kennedy administration’s deliberations with regard to the Chinese representation matter at the United Nations and mounting international pressures from U.S. allies and other nations for the United States to assume a more flexible posture toward Communist China. Despite the lack of a major departure from existing policies, initiatives proposing a reappraisal of U.S. China policy during the Kennedy administration precipitated discussions and debates that significantly contributed to the evolution towards the eventual transformation of Sino-American relations.
Enduring Logics of U.S. Foreign Aid during the Bush Administration
Authors: Cho Chansoo
Published: November 2020

Since 9/11 the Bush administration has made larger pledges than ever to the cause of promoting development and fighting HN/AIDS in various corners of the globe. Foreign aid policy initiatives taken by the Republican president needed some explanations considering the GOP's longstanding dislike for foreign aid. One of the common answers was 9/11; the U.S. had to address the sources of discontent against itself by providing foreign development assistance to countries most vulnerable to terrorist infiltration. This paper argues that U.S. foreign aid during the Bush administration is not just a response to the spread of anti-American sentiments among failed and failing states but an outgrowth of foreign policy ideas that had shaped the liberal hegemon’s vision of the new world order since the end of the Cold War. Particularly continuities between the Clinton and Bush administrations are stressed in terms of foreign policy ideas. Three themes of post-Cold War U.S. foreign policy are identified here: globalization, democracy promotion, and good governance. Globalization has been routed as the facilitator of economic prosperity through the liberalization of trade and capital flows. Democracy promotion has been endorsed as a long-term solution to security instability of the post-Cold War world. Good governance has been advanced as a yardstick by which to compare countries in their willingness and capability to be part of global community. Those major tenets of U.S. foreign policy affected the policy outlook of foreign aid in a way that makes less significant the difference between the Clinton and Bush administrations than is assumed.
An Analysis of Private Equity Funds in Korea and Their Role in the Korean Economy in the Post-Crisis Period
Authors: Shin Jiyeon , Woo Wonseok
Published: November 2020

This paper aims to argue that private equity funds play a critical role in the Korean economy and that their presence, now and in the future is essential. Moreover, domestic private equity funds will be complementary to foreign private equity funds, not a substitute, at lease for the time being. In arguing so, we will look into the investment experiences of foreign private equity funds and see how foreign private equity funds have helped transform the economy in the pose-financial crisis era. We will also look at the domestic private equity funds market co examine the replicability of private equity-driven growth in Korea. The paper will conclude with further recommendations for the growth of the private equity market. In the past five years or so, Koreans have come to be familiar with names such as Carlyle, Newbridge Capital, Lone Star, etc. These are the names of major foreign institutional investment firms that bought out the Korean domestic banks, Koram Bank, Korea First Bank, and Korea Exchange Bank. Recently, with the incident of the Lone Star scandal disclosed in regards to its acquisition of Korea First Bank, the Korean media have given extensive coverage co the issues relating to private equity funds. Especially after the scandals involving foreign investors, there is public discontent about the large volume of foreign private equity funds, mainly in the financial sector, that seem to ‘eat and run’ once increased profits have been made. People have scrutinized investments of this kind with critical eyes. Nevertheless, we should acknowledge the contributions that the foreign private equity funds have played in various sectors of the economy in the pose-crisis period. Foreign funds have invested in troubled Korean firms, understanding any risks involved, and successfully turned them around for the better. To chat end, even if domestic private equity funds that have been set up since 2004 have not yet performed co the market expectation, we have to understand chat they have further roles to play as we anticipate growth of the M&A market in the coming years.
Openness and Growth: Evidence from Korea for 1986-2004
Authors: Lee Jae-Hyung
Published: November 2020

By utilizing a unique annual series data of the Korean economy from 1986 co 2004, this paper discovers chat differences between two indicators of openness (i.e., trade and finance) are causal co the differentials in real per capita income growth race. The empirical evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that, with ocher factors given, greater openness co finance and trade makes a substantial contribution co higher real per capita income growth rate. Therefore, in order to increase real per capita income growth race, Korean economic policies must pursue greater openness to trade and finance as well as regulatory reform.
"Do We Have a Winner? What the China-India Paradox May Reveal about Regime Type and Human Security"
Authors: Joshi Devin K.
Published: November 2020

As the concept of human security spreads in the pose-Cold War period it is often presumed that non-democracies have worse human security than democracies. But the national human security (NHS) siruation in weak or failed democracies can be even worse than in some non-democracies. So how exactly do the NHS records of stares with different regime types like non-democratic China and democratic India compare? To address this question the paper assesses and compares NHS in terms of "freedom from want" (anti-poverty security) and "freedom from fear" (anti-violence securiry). It develops a theory of how different regime types might impact NHS based on how regimes differ along the 1) democratic-authoritarian and 2) predarory-developmental dimensions. It then conducts empirical testing of the theory through a global analysis of 178 countries and case studies of contemporary China and India. The study finds that while democracies and developmental states generally have higher NHS than autocracies and predatory states, developmental authoritarian states like China on average have slightly higher human security than predatory democracies like India.
The Globalization of Sound and Identity: Korean Traditional Music in the World
Authors: Willoughby Heather A.
Published: November 2020

A systematic preservation and promotion system of Korean cultural heritage was established through the Cultural Properties Protection Law. Since 1962, the government has promulgated Korean traditional music throughout the world for entertainment purposes as well as a form of soft power. However, although successful in terms of introducing music to a broader, global audience, the underlying intention of such performances was to build an internal sense of nationalism. This article briefly reviews the establishment of the CPPL, its correlation to nationalismand the ambition of wielding soft power through global performances of Korean traditional music. It further provides two examples of performances aimed at foreign audiences and offers suggestions for the in creased effective ness of future performances abroad.
Europe's Responses to Fukushima: Nuclear Renaissance Revisited?
Authors: Courmont Barthélémy
Published: November 2020

The accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant on March 2011 has had a major effect on the public perception of nuclear energy worldwide. In Europe, its psychological impact has been particularly strong, as it happened exactly twenty-five years after the Chernobyl nuclear accident of 1986. On a continent where the highest number of nuclear plants is concentrated, it has led several countries, including Germany, to call for a phase-out, while other nuclear powers, such as France and the United Kingdom, have kept their nuclear policies unchanged, and reaffirmed their projects to build new plants. These profound divisions among European countries raise the question of whether the “nuclear renaissance” will be revisited. This article examines the media reactions to the Fukushima accident in several European countries, and the political decisions that followed, in order to evaluate the European responses to Fukushima. It focuses on the different perceptions and their direct effects on the political decisions taken in European countries.
Engaging with the Enemy: China-Taiwan Economic and Strategic Relations After 2008 and Beyond
Authors: Courmont Barthélémy
Published: November 2020

The improvement of the China-Taiwan relationship since 2008 reshapes not only the economic ties between Taipei and Beijing but also the security dialogue over the Taiwan Strait. A new economic framework agreement (ECFA), multiple exchanges and high level meetings have characterized the re-engagement between two traditional enemies. In parallel, the development of a “Taiwanese” nationalism, that is slowly replacing the traditional “Chinese” nationalism that deeply changes the nature of the relation, as well as its finality, has been observed. This article explores the current Cross-Strait relation-ship. Instead of focusing on the possibility of a reunification, it suggests that deepening economic and cultural cooperation might boost confidence that will implement possible peace agreement in a longer term.
Revisiting the WTO DDA Negotiations: Analysis of its Current Impasse
Authors: Cho Youngjeen
Published: November 2020

The DDA negotiations were launched in 2001, the first under the auspice of the WTO. The goal of the DDA was to further liberalize trade and to improve existing WTO rules. This paper examines the question what has caused the current impasse of the DDA. In order to address this question, the paper reviews the history of the DDA and analyzes critical issues of the negotiations. The lack of consensus is due to key players failing to minimize the gaps in their positions on critical issues, such as market access of agricultural products. This paper outlines the critical issues of the DDA negotiations and explores the challenges the DDA had to confront.
Chinese Patron-Clientelism for the Twenty-First Century: The Rise of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang
Authors: Campbell Joel R. , Keum Hieyeon
Published: November 2020

Patron-clientelism is the central dynamic propelling leadership change in China, and this model of personal association opened a path for China’s current top leaders. Patron-clientelism bolsters the key features of the Chinese political system: Leninist political organization, intra-party divisions, conflictual decision-making processes, and the vital roles played by senior figures. Patron-clientelism is characterized by both vertical and horizontal dimensions, and it is accompanied by endemic personalism, factionalism, corruption, and nepotism. Clientelistic ties have shaped all leadership transitions since the Maoist period, and they were most evident in the falls of leaders Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang in the 1980s. Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang are the latest beneficiaries of the patron-clientelistic system. Xi was propelled by his “princeling” background and his association with the Shanghai faction of former top leader Jiang Zemin. Li is the latest scion of the Communist Youth League faction that produced Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao. The recent fall of Bo Xilai illustrates some of the pitfalls of factional and “princeling” leadership.
Patchwork vs. Proactive Social Protection Policies: CCTs and Social Expenditure in Brazil and the Philippines
Authors: Curry Mark Stevenson
Published: November 2020

Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs disburse cash grants to targeted recipient families under requirements for education and maternal health. These programs have been widely adopted with international donor assistance since the 1990s. Most CCT research examines program effectiveness at the demand level-the cash provision and compliance outcomes. This paper considers the respective supply-side question of health and education budgeting in Brazil and the Philippines during the relevant period of CCT implementation. The data provide that whereas Brazil has improved such access to services to complement its CCT programs, the Philippines has underinvested in supply-side provision. Brazil thus exhibits an integrated conceptualization of social protection for development. The Philippines exhibits a patchwork scheme for short term goals.
Development Assistance and Geopolitics in Australia-China-Taiwan Relations
Authors: Atkinson Joel
Published: November 2020

The development assistance programs of Australia, China and Taiwan impact each other’s geopolitical interests in the South Pacific region. This “aid triangle” has recently undergone a significant transformation. Previously, the interests of Australia and China aligned in competing against Taiwan for political influence in the region. However, since 2008, China-Taiwan relations have warmed and their aid contest in the South Pacific has been largely put on hold. This has ameliorated Taiwan’s conflict with Australia, and the two countries have increased their development assistance cooperation. However, China’s role in undermining Australia’s policy towards Fiji, and the global deterioration in China’s relations with a US coalition (including Australia), have potentially increased the competitive aspects of the Sino-Australian side of the triangle.
The Formation of AFTA and Trade Diversion: Evidence from China’s Agricultural Exports
Authors: Doanh Nguyen Khanh , Lee Jeehoon , Heo Yoon
Published: November 2020

This study analyzes the impacts of the formation of AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Agreement) on China’s agricultural exports. The Hausman-Taylor analysis is applied to panel data collected from China and its 68 trading partners from 1993–2012. Our major findings areas follows. First, the discrimination in tariffs imposed by AFTA diverts trade in agricultural products from China toward AFTA’s member countries. Second, at the sectoral level, the trade diversion effects of AFTA’s formation on China’s exports are significant in the case of beverage and tobacco industries. AFTA and China need to focus more on diversifying and differentiating their farming products. To gain better access to AFTA’s market, more investment in research and development activities is recommended as a cure for Chinese farmers. Moreover, this study implies that more efforts in reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers to further liberalize trade between China and AFTA could enhance their bilateral trade flows.
From Universalism to Managerial Coordination: Major Power Regulation of the Use of Force
Authors: Travlos Konstantinos
Published: November 2020

Cooperation among major powers in order to regulate an aspect of international relations has been central to questions of global governance. In peace science the focus has been on the efficacy of major power regulation of the use of force. However, fruitful study requires variables that can capture the quality of major power regulation of the use of force. To provide such an instrument I use Peter Wallensteen’s “universalism-particularism” variable-concept as the foundation. On it I built the concept of managerial coordination and the instrument that captures its quality, the scale of interstate managerial coordination (IMaC). Using IMaC, puzzling prior findings concerning major power regulation and minor power conflict are shown to be artifacts of operationalization.
On Peace Capital: The Case of Academic Cultural Capital Inside the United Nations and its Universities
Authors: Kester Kevin
Published: November 2020

The United Nations (UN) is often questioned about its ongoing involvement in matters of peace and security, but its involvement in higher education for peace in the 21st century is rarely examined. This paper investigates the use of higher education as a peacebuilding tool within the UN apparatus. First, I describe the work in which UN universities are engaged. Second, I examine the academic cultural capital that UN officials possess that enable their admission into the UN. I investigate this across UN agencies generally and then in regard to faculty specifically at one United Nations university. Third, I share commentary from scholars I interviewed at this university, and from scholars in Ethiopia and Somaliland, to corroborate and challenge the results of the qualifications review, and to elaborate on the education that the UN promotes. Data was analyzed through a Bourdieusian cultural capital framework. The findings point toward social reproduction through academic peace capital in the UN and its university.
Political Crisis and Institutional Resilience: Conditional Cash Transfers under Scrutiny in Brazil and Philippines
Authors: Curry Mark Stevenson
Published: November 2020

Extraordinary political transitions in 2016 in two middle-income developing countries, Brazil and the Philippines, may adversely affect efforts to reduce poverty and gender/social inequalities through Conditional Cash Transfers (‘CCTs’). This paper investigates institutional conditions governing CCTs in these two countries and reflects on the potential impacts of policy incursions. The proposition here is that sound developmental programmes can produce broad and compelling within-institution influences as well as causal cross-institution linkages in other domains. New and quickly successful programmes can also be targets for policy assaults and subversions. How resilient are social protection institutions like CCTs to political shocks? Applying Levitsky and Way’s (2015) concept of timing and sequencing in authoritarian regime durability to the question of institutional resilience, this comparative-historical case study aims to examine three issues: the processes traced by CCT evolution that in each case relate to institutional resilience, the factors contributing to policy shocks, and the resilience of CCTs in response to seismic macro-political change. The approach takes varieties of knowledge as a valuable alternative to neoliberal structures of domination and contributes to the important and urgent need to understand social protection institutions as human development resources of variable durability.
Strengthening Public-Private Partnership in Sri Lanka’s Infrastructure Development Project: The Colombo Port Case
Authors: Kim Taekyoon , Lee Sang Jun , Pradeep Manjula
Published: November 2020

Infrastructure has been a key component to Sri Lanka’s economic and social development especially through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), but Sri Lanka is currently at a crossroads in term of fostering its PPP framework for infrastructure. This study sets out to examine and delineate the current landscape as well as the future prospects of Sri Lanka’s PPP with the particular reference to the Colombo Port Expansion projects implemented since 1999 as a proxy for Sri Lanka’s outlook of infrastructure PPP. It further contends that a given rule-of-thumb on PPP projects is not feasible in developing countries given their economic and political volatility, but positive changes in government strategies and policies can be suggested for better practices and effectiveness in Sri Lanka’s infrastructure PPP. Rather than simply suggesting a positive-descriptive overview of the Colombo Port case, this study advances the proper management of the PPP unit as a critical juncture for strengthening the future landscape of Sri Lanka’s PPP initiatives.
Critical Review of North Korean Women and Children's Health, 2000-2019: Physical and Mental Health Challenges with a Focus on Gender
Authors: Wright Amanda , Pyun Lynn , Ha Eunhee , Kim Jungsun , Kim Hae Soon , Kim Seok Hyang , Oh Insoo , Kim Eun Mee
Published: November 2020

Women account for over eighty percent of recent North Korean defectors arriving in South Korea, yet there is dearth of gender-based research. Given the speed with which the dialogue on denuclearization with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) has progressed since 2017, there is a surprising gap in research on possible health threats. If sanctions are eased, interactions with these previously isolated people will increase leading to potential health problems. This article reviews studies published since 2000 to understand physical and mental health faced in DPRK, among North Korean defectors to South Korea, and to provide policy recommendations. A content analysis of ninety studies found that mental health challenges are severe for North Korean defectors, and that women suffer differently than men during defection and its aftermath. We recommend a more nuanced and gendered approach for future research in order to devise tangible solutions to improve the health of North Koreans in general, and defector women and children in particular.
New genera, new species and new records of leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from Vietnam
Authors: DIETRICH CHRISTOPHER H. , NGUYEN HUONG T. T. , PHAM HONG THAI
Published: November 2020

Recent collecting in northern Vietnam yielded specimens of several new leafhopper species, two of which represent new monotypic genera, and several additional species not previously recorded from Vietnam. The two new genera (Hochiminus n. gen. and Pseudocestius n. gen.) and 15 new species (Abrus digitatus n. sp., Aeternus ninhbinhensis n. sp., Drabescoides bispinosa n. sp., Tenompoella vietnamensis n. sp., Uzelina (Uzelina) vietnamensis sp. n., Hochiminhus tamdaoensis n. sp., Pseudocestius cucphuongensis n. sp., Phlogothamnus pseudorugosus n. sp., Scaphoidella albopunctata n. sp., Bundera onukiiformis n. sp., Carinata arcuata n. sp., Traiguma hamocauda n. sp., Signoretia tamdaoensis n. sp., Amrasca (Quartasca) curvata n. sp., Amrasca (Quartasca) excavata n. sp.) are described and illustrated and comparative notes are provided. An additional 28 species representing 20 genera are newly recorded from Vietnam. Most of the latter were previously recorded only from southern China. The enigmatic species, Tardrabassus pakneunensis Dai & Dietrich, previously known from two males collected in Laos in 1918, is newly recorded from Vietnam based on recently collected female specimens. The ovipositor structure of the female confirms placement of Tardrabassus in Iassinae. The female pregenital sternite and ovipositor of Hamulotettix ungulatus Dai & Zhang are also illustrated for the first time. A new synonymy is also proposed: Ujna consors Distant, 1908 equals Mileewa puerana Yang & Meng, 2010, n. syn.
A new diurnal gecko in the genus Gonatodes (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae) from the foothills of the Serranía de San Lucas, Norosí-Colombia
Authors: CARVAJAL-COGOLLO JUAN E. , EGUIS-AVENDAÑO JORGE A. , MEZA-JOYA FABIO LEONARDO
Published: November 2020

We describe a new species of diurnal gecko, Gonatodes castanae sp. nov. from the foothills of the Serranía de San Lucas, municipality of Norosí, Department of Bolívar, Colombia. The new species differs from all species in the genus by the combination of the following characters: moderate size, subcaudal scale pattern type B (1’1’1’’), typically two rows of lateral scales on the digits, and aspects of color pattern in males (dorsum, flanks, limbs and tail with white ocelli on a black background) and females (dorsum, flanks, limbs and tail with brown to black reticulations and withe spots on a greenish-yellow background). The validity of the new species is also supported by molecular analyses. This species inhabits relicts of riverine forests at about 150 m above sea level (a.s.l.). Gonatodes castanae increases the number of known species in this genus to 34 and the species registered for Colombia to eight.
A new white-spotted moray eel, Gymnothorax aurocephalus sp. nov. (Muraenidae: Muraeninae) from Andaman Sea, India
Authors: NASHAD M. , MOHAPATRA ANIL , VARGHESE SIJO P. , RAMALINGAM L. , K BINEESH K. , MOHANTY SWARUP RANJAN
Published: November 2020

Gymnothorax aurocephalus sp. nov. is described herein based on 4 specimens. Three were collected from off Swaraj Dweep Island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (A&N Islands) from a depth of 125–130 m and one specimen off Interview Island, A&N Islands at a depth of 90 m. This new species is distinguishable from its congeners by the following combination of characters: chocolate brown color overlain with small irregular white spots, golden skin shadings close to rictus; anus slightly before midbody; pointed and serrated jaw teeth; uniserial teeth in jaws and vomer; vertebral formula 7/61/148–149. The species is compared to all its congeners with white spots.
A new species of Lepidotrigla from the South China Sea off Vietnam (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes: Triglidae)
Authors: PROKOFIEV ARTEM M. , YATO TAKUJI
Published: November 2020

A new species of the gurnard genus Lepidotrigla is described from the South China Sea off southernmost central Vietnam. Lepidotrigra firmisquamis sp. nov. is most similar to L. alata and L. marisinensis and co-occurs with L. marisinensis in the Bays of Nha Trang and Van Phong, but can be easily distinguished from both species by the well developed preocular spines and postorbital groove and by a slightly lower lateral-line scale count (54–58 instead of 58–64). A comparison with all Lepidotrigla species known from the South China Sea is presented.
Late postnaupliar development of the freshwater copepods Lovenula falicifera and Metadiaptomus colonialis (Calanoida: Diaptomidae) from South Africa
Authors: MNISI PERAL , DIPPENAAR SUSAN M.
Published: November 2020

The life cycle of calanoid copepods consists of eggs hatching into nauplii (6 stages) which then moult into copepodids (5 stages), followed by the final moult into the adult female and male. The family Diaptomidae contains two subfamilies, Diaptominae and Paradiaptominae, with paradiaptomids almost exclusively consisting of African taxa. The copepodid stages III, IV and V were described for some freshwater diaptomine genera (i.e., Eudiaptomus Kiefer, 1932, Aglaodiaptomus Light, 1938, Skistodiaptomus Light, 1939, Leptodiaptomus Light, 1938, Megadiaptomus Kiefer, 1936 and Diaptomus Westwood, 1836). Copepods collected from Turfloop Dam, South Africa, with a plankton net were fixed and preserved in 70% ethanol. Calanoid copepods were studied under stereo- and light microscopes, using the wooden slide technique and features drawn. Examined specimens were identified as the copepodid stages of two African species, Lovenula falcifera (Lovén, 1845) and Metadiaptomus colonialis (van Douwe, 1914). Copepodids of the two species can be distinguished by their body size and the structure and size of the maxillipeds. The description and illustrations of three postnaupliar stages (CoIII, CoIV and CoV) are provided for both species. The identification of different stages is based on the number of urosomites, antennule development, the segmentation of legs 1–4, and the development of the fifth leg. These copepodids are compared with those of other described diaptomid genera.
The genus Coenosia Meigen in Iran, with a key to species and description of a new species (Diptera: Muscidae)
Authors: PARCHAMI-ARAGHI MEHRDAD , PONT ADRIAN C. , GILASIAN EBRAHIM
Published: November 2020

An identification key to the seven known Iranian species of the genus Coenosia Meigen, 1826 is given, including Coenosia persica Pont & Parchami-Araghi, sp. nov. as well as the newly recorded C. humilis Meigen, 1826, C. nigridigita Rondani, 1866 and C. testacea (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830). Photographs of the habitus and male genitalia of the studied material in addition to illustrations of the male genitalia of the new species are provided.
An update on the distribution of the poorly known flower beetle genus Cymophorus Kirby, 1827 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) in Asia
Authors: XU HAO , QIU JIAN-YUE
Published: November 2020

The genus Cymophorus Kirby, 1827 in Asia is represented by the single species C. pulchellus Arrow, 1910. This rare species is traditionally divided into two subspecies, the nominate subspecies from India and C. pulchellus tonkinensis Schein, 1954 from Indochina. While recently, the latter was informally treated as a synonym of C. pulchellus. By examining type material and additional specimens, the differences in the external features between the individuals from the two regions are reconsidered, and the two taxa are probably not identical. Precise localities of C. pulchellus tonkinensis in China are given, and geographic distribution of both subspecies is summarized in a map.
Highly Sensitive Gold Nanoparticle Polymerase Chain Reaction in the Detection of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase-Positive Gastric Cancer from a Biopsy Specimen
Authors: Zhang Dan , Lu Zhaoxi , Sun Bing
Published: November 2020

Gastric cancer is a malignant tumor that is originated from the epithelia of the gastric mucosa. Although the gastroscopic biopsy of suspicious gastric areas can provide better early-warning opportunities for patients with malignant tumors that result in achieving early diagnosis and
treatment, many malignant tumors are still excluded due to atypical histology, sampling errors, nonspecific antibodies, and other reasons, which pose a threat to the physical and mental health of patients. Therefore, more sensitive and specific detection methods of gastric cancer are needed
to improve the screening efficiency of gastroscopic biopsy. The sensitivity of nano PCR was 10 times higher than that of conventional PCR. In comparison with the conventional RT-PCR method, nano PCR technology can amplify brighter bands and identify higher gene expression levels for ALK weak
positive gastric cancer in IHC, and improve the detection rate of clinical specimens with lower ALK staining. Therefore, nano-gold polymerase chain reaction used gold nanoparticle (nano-gold PCR) has high sensitivity and positive detection rate for ALK-positive gastric cancer identified by
gastroscopy. When a low concentration was observed for the amplified gene, especially when the biopsy tissue was too small to carry out IHC staining, the target gene could be amplified more effectively. Therefore, nano PCR technology is proposed to be widely used in target gene detection of
biopsy tissue to achieve better tumor screening.
Experimental Study on Targeting Brain Tumor with Ultrasound Nanoparticles Across Blood Brain Barrier
Authors: Liu Yuguang , Gao Hua , Hu Qisheng , An Puying
Published: November 2020

Glioma is a malignant tumor that originates in the brain and accounts for more than half of all brain tumors. The disease is associated with a high fatality rate. Satisfactory treatment cannot be achieved through conventional craniotomy. We use carboxymethyl chitosan-coated Fe3
O4 composite nanoparticles (CMCS-Fe3 O4 NPs) as a drug delivery platform, and installed transferrin (TRF) with a targeting function on the platform. The anticancer drug methotrexate (MTX) is loaded onto the composite nanomaterial to complete a new delivery
system for nano-drug targeted treatment of glioma. The composite nanoparticle is not toxic to cells in vitro, but after loading with it is loaded with MTX, it significantly inhibits proliferation of C6 cells. In vivo experiments show that CMCS-Fe3 O4NPs-TRF-MTX
has a marked therapeutic effect on glioma in mouse models. The nano complex quickly penetrates the blood-brain barrier and enters brain tissues. An aggregation effect is not obvious. MRI monitoring for up to 4.0 h shows that CMCS-Fe3 O4 NPs-TRF-MTX slowly releases drug
molecules over an extended period, thus increasing the duration of drug activity.
Comparison of Aedes albopictus Monitoring Methods and Dengue Risk Assessment in Central China
Authors: Chen Chuanwei , Zhang Huaiqing , Liu Qiyong , Li Yu , Liu Jiqi , Liu Xiaobo , Song Xiuping , Jiang Zhili , Li Jie , Zhao Ning , Zhu Li , Shen Yang , Yue Yujuan , Tang Zhengqiang , Gao Chaoqun , Guo Yuhong
Published: November 2020

Dengue fever has been attracting more attention in recent years. Dengue fever is mainly transmitted to humans by the Aedes albopictus mosquito and disease patterns are influenced by its wide distribution and high density during the summer season in China. Dengue epidemics in central
China previously occurred exclusively in rural areas, while these recent outbreaks mostly occurred in urban areas in southern China. Until now, the presence of Aedes Albopictus in central China has been scarcely acknowledged. This study is a survey of Aedes and attempts to clarify this new
distribution pattern using the Breteau Index (BI) method and a polylactic-glycolic acid (PLGA) copolymer mosquito trap simultaneously in urban and rural areas. The BI can provide a direct value on Aedes density compared to CI. Rural areas are at a higher risk for dengue compared to urban areas
in central China. Our findings provide a basis for the prevention and control of dengue vectors, as well as providing information for control strategies for other infectious diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Vector control strategy related to the management of diseases transmitted
by Aedes should be based on the distribution patterns of different vector species, particularly in the rural environments in central China.
On the Dynamics of Atmospheric Bores
Authors: Haghi Kevin R. , Durran Dale R.
Published: November 2020

The dynamics of a prototypical atmospheric bore are investigated through a series of two-dimensional numerical simulations and linear theory. These simulations demonstrate that the bore dynamics are inherently finite amplitude. Although the environment supports linear trapped waves, the supported waves propagate in roughly the opposite direction to that of the bore. Qualitative analysis of the Scorer parameter can therefore give misleading indications of the potential for wave trapping, and linear internal gravity wave dynamics do not govern the behavior of the bore. The presence of a layer of enhanced static stability below a deep layer of lower stability, as would be created by a nocturnal inversion, was not necessary for the development of a bore. The key environmental factor allowing bore propagation was the presence of a low-level jet directed opposite to the movement of the bore. Significant turbulence developed in the layer between the jet maximum and the surface, which reduced the low-level static stability behind the bore. Given the essential role of jets and thereby strong environmental wind shear, and given that idealized bores may persist in environments in which the static stability is constant with height, shallow-water dynamics do not appear to be quantitatively applicable to atmospheric bores propagating against low-level jets, although there are qualitative analogies.