bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis and modification mechanism of vanadium oxide coated LiFePO4 cathode materials with excellent electrochemical performance
Authors: Geng Jing , Zou Zhengguang , Wang Tianxing , Zhang Shuchao , Ling Wenqin , Peng Xiaoxiao , Liang Fangan
Published: August 2023

In an era of rapid industrial development, such that the demand for energy is increasing daily, lithium-ion batteries are playing a dominant role in energy storage devices due to their high safety and low cost. However, it is still a challenge for the preparation of advanced cathodes, which can determine the battery performance, with stable structures and fast diffusion of Li+. This is especially the case for lithium iron phosphate (LFP), a cathode material with severe limitations due to its low conductive efficiency. To improve its conductivity, LFP was compounded with defect-modified V2O5 to prepare LFP/V/C materials with excellent electrochemical properties, which exhibited an initial capacity of 138.85 mAh g−1 and 95% retention after 500 charge/discharge cycles at a current density of 5 C. Also, the effect of defects on ionic diffusion was discussed in detail by means of density function theor (DFT) calculations, confirming that the improvement of electrochemical performance is closely related to the introduction of hybrid conductive layers of surface cladding.
A rolling distance experiment
Authors: Cross Rod
Published: August 2023

A simple experiment is described to measure the coefficient of rolling friction for a ball rolling to a stop on a horizontal surface.
Low-frequency noise in AlTiO/AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistors with non-gate-recessed or partially-gate-recessed structures
Authors: Nguyen Duong Dai , Deng Yuchen , Suzuki Toshi-kazu
Published: August 2023

We have systematically investigated low-frequency noise (LFN) in AlTiO/AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistors (FETs) with non-gate-recessed or partially-gate-recessed structures, where gate insulators using AlTiO, an alloy of Al2O3 and TiO2, are obtained by atomic layer deposition. For drain current LFN, we find pure

1

/

f

spectra for the well-above-threshold regime, and superposition of

1

/

f

and Lorentzian spectra near the threshold voltage. The Hooge parameters are evaluated from the

1

/

f

contribution and found to be independent of the AlTiO thickness. However, the remaining AlGaN thickness strongly affects the Hooge parameter near the threshold voltage; in the low channel electron concentration regime of the partially-gate-recessed FETs, a smaller remaining AlGaN thickness gives a larger Hooge parameter proportional to the inverse of the electron concentration, indicating that channel electron number fluctuation dominates the Hooge parameter. We consider that the channel electron number fluctuation is caused by electron traps introduced by the recess etching process in the remaining AlGaN. On the other hand, the Lorentzian spectra give specific time constants almost independent of the AlTiO thickness and the remaining AlGaN thickness, corresponding to trap depths of 0.6–0.8 eV. This can be attributed to traps in AlTiO near the AlTiO/AlGaN interface.
Electron beam irradiation effects on GaN/InGaN multiple quantum well structures
Authors: Yu Liyuan , Hu Jianhua , Ma Yuchen , Zhao Lixia
Published: August 2023

GaN-based semiconductors have a strong potential for applications in space systems due to their high radiation resistance. Here, we investigate the influence of 1.5 MeV electron irradiation on the structural, electrical, and optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs). The results show that at lower electron fluencies, the indium content in the InGaN/GaN MQWs decreases by about 0.4% because of the ionization of valence electrons induced by electron irradiation, but at higher electron fluencies, the indium concentration increases by about 2.3% because of the appearance of indium-rich ‘clusters’ in the homogeneous quantum wells. Moreover, the fitted activation energy of the irradiated quantum wells increases by about 16% compared to that of the as-grown MQWs.
Towards tunable graphene phononic crystals
Authors: Yu Yuefeng , Kirchhof Jan N , Tsarapkin Aleksei , Deinhart Victor , Yücel Oguzhan , Höfer Bianca , Höflich Katja , Bolotin Kirill I
Published: August 2023

Phononic crystals (PnCs) are artificially patterned media exhibiting bands of allowed and forbidden zones for phonons—in analogy to the electronic band structure of crystalline solids arising from the periodic arrangement of atoms. Many emerging applications of PnCs from solid-state simulators to quantum memories could benefit from the on-demand tunability of the phononic band structure. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of suspended graphene PnCs in which the phononic band structure is controlled by mechanical tension applied electrostatically. We show signatures of a mechanically tunable phononic band gap. The experimental data supported by simulation suggests a phononic band gap at 28–33 MHz in equilibrium, which upshifts by 9 MHz under a mechanical tension of 3.1 N m−1. This is an essential step towards tunable phononics paving the way for more experiments on phononic systems based on 2D materials.
Enterprise standardization and convergence of large-volume infusion pump drug libraries
Authors: Ubanyionwu Samuel , Khandekar Divya , Mara Kristin C , Teaford Hilary
Published: August 2023

Purpose

With the implementation of a new electronic health record (EHR) system across Mayo Clinic, a project was approved to standardize and converge 9 region-specific large-volume infusion pump (LVP) drug libraries for Baxter SIGMA Spectrum pumps.

The objectives of the project were to (1) develop recommendations for identified variances in practice, (2) consolidate regional drug libraries into a converged enterprise library, (3) improve the drug library management process, and (4) maintain or exceed previous Dose Error Reduction System (DERS) compliance for infusions administered. Harmonization efforts with infusion pumps decreased the number of drug libraries maintained, reduced content maintenance time, and increased readiness for smart infusion pump–EHR interoperability. Seven of the 8 regions for which change in DERS compliance was assessed showed improved compliance relative to baseline in the 30-day postwashout period. Furthermore, when comparing pre- and postimplementation DERS compliance, the number of regions meeting the minimum compliance rate of 95% increased from 5 to 6 regions.

Conclusion

The project improved the drug library management process, allowed for DERS compliance to be accurately compared across regions, and ensured that patients across the enterprise receive the same standard of care with the administration of intravenous medications.
God save the queen! How and why the dominant evergreen species of the Mediterranean Basin is declining?
Authors: Alderotti Francesca , Verdiani Erika
Published: August 2023

Quercus ilex may be considered the queen tree of the Mediterranean Basin, dominating coastal forest areas up to 2000 m above sea level at some sites. However, an increase in holm oak decline has been observed in the last decade. In this review, we analysed the current literature to answer the following questions: what are the traits that allow holm oak to thrive in the Mediterranean environment, and what are the main factors that are currently weakening this species? In this framework, we attempt to answer these questions by proposing a triangle as a graphical summary. The first vertex focuses on the main morpho-anatomical, biochemical and physiological traits that allow holm oak to dominate Mediterranean forests. The other two vertices consider abiotic and biotic stressors that are closely related to holm oak decline. Here, we discuss the current evidence of holm oak responses to abiotic and biotic stresses and propose a possible solution to its decline through adequate forest management choices, thus allowing the species to maintain its ecological domain.
Face Structure, Beauty, and Race: A Study of Population Databases Using Computer Modeling
Authors: Singh Prateush , Oregi Paul , Dhar Shivani , Krumhuber Eva , Mosahebi Ash , Ponniah Allan
Published: August 2023

Background

Understanding the differences in facial shapes in individuals from different races is relevant across several fields, from cosmetic and reconstructive medicine to anthropometric studies.

Objectives

To determine whether there are features shared by the faces of an aesthetic female face database and if they correlate to their racial demographics using novel computer modeling.

Methods

The database was formed using the “top 100 most beautiful women” lists released by “For Him Magazine” for the last 15 years. Principal component analysis (PCA) of 158 parameters was carried out to check for clustering or racial correlation with these clusters. PCA is a machine-learning tool used to reduce the number of variables in a large data set, allowing for easier analysis of the data while retaining as much information as possible from the original data set. A review of the literature on craniofacial anthropometric differences across ethnicities was also undertaken to complement the computer data.

Results

Two thousand eight hundred and seventy aesthetic faces formed the database in the same racial proportion as 10,000 faces from the general population as a baseline. PCA clustering illustrated grouping by latent space parameters for facial dimensions but showed no correlation with racial demographics. There was a commonality of facial features within the aesthetic cohort, which differed from the general population. Fourteen papers were included in the review which contained 8142 individuals.

Conclusions

Aesthetic female faces have commonalities in facial features regardless of racial demographic, and the dimensions of these features vary from the baseline population. There may even be a common human aesthetic proportion that transcends racial boundaries, but this is yet to be elucidated.

Level of Evidence: 5
PCGAN: a generative approach for protein complex identification from protein interaction networks
Authors: Pan Yuliang , Wang Yang , Guan Jihong , Zhou Shuigeng
Published: August 2023

Motivation

Protein complexes are groups of polypeptide chains linked by non-covalent protein–protein interactions, which play important roles in biological systems and perform numerous functions, including DNA transcription, mRNA translation, and signal transduction. In the past decade, a number of computational methods have been developed to identify protein complexes from protein interaction networks by mining dense subnetworks or subgraphs.

Results

In this article, different from the existing works, we propose a novel approach for this task based on generative adversarial networks, which is called PCGAN, meaning identifying Protein Complexes by GAN. With the help of some real complexes as training samples, our method can learn a model to generate new complexes from a protein interaction network. To effectively support model training and testing, we construct two more comprehensive and reliable protein interaction networks and a larger gold standard complex set by merging existing ones of the same organism (including human and yeast). Extensive comparison studies indicate that our method is superior to existing protein complex identification methods in terms of various performance metrics. Furthermore, functional enrichment analysis shows that the identified complexes are of high biological significance, which indicates that these generated protein complexes are very possibly real complexes.

Availability and implementation

https://github.com/yul-pan/PCGAN.
USNAP: fast unique dense region detection and its application to lung cancer
Authors: Wong Serene W H , Pastrello Chiara , Kotlyar Max , Faloutsos Christos , Jurisica Igor
Published: August 2023

Motivation

Many real-world problems can be modeled as annotated graphs. Scalable graph algorithms that extract actionable information from such data are in demand since these graphs are large, varying in topology, and have diverse node/edge annotations. When these graphs change over time they create dynamic graphs, and open the possibility to find patterns across different time points. In this article, we introduce a scalable algorithm that finds unique dense regions across time points in dynamic graphs. Such algorithms have applications in many different areas, including the biological, financial, and social domains.

Results

There are three important contributions to this manuscript. First, we designed a scalable algorithm, USNAP, to effectively identify dense subgraphs that are unique to a time stamp given a dynamic graph. Importantly, USNAP provides a lower bound of the density measure in each step of the greedy algorithm. Second, insights and understanding obtained from validating USNAP on real data show its effectiveness. While USNAP is domain independent, we applied it to four non-small cell lung cancer gene expression datasets. Stages in non-small cell lung cancer were modeled as dynamic graphs, and input to USNAP. Pathway enrichment analyses and comprehensive interpretations from literature show that USNAP identified biologically relevant mechanisms for different stages of cancer progression. Third, USNAP is scalable, and has a time complexity of O(m+mc log nc+nc log nc), where m is the number of edges, and n is the number of vertices in the dynamic graph; mc is the number of edges, and nc is the number of vertices in the collapsed graph.

Availability and implementation

The code of USNAP is available at https://www.cs.utoronto.ca/∼juris/data/USNAP22.
Brain size and shape diversification in a highly diverse South American clade of rodents (Echimyidae): a geometric morphometric and comparative phylogenetic approach
Authors: Fernández Villoldo J Ariel , Verzi Diego H , Lopes Ricardo T , Dos Reis Sergio F , Perez S Ivan
Published: August 2023

Brain morphological variation is analysed through virtual endocasts in a highly diversified clade of caviomorph rodents belonging to the family Echimyidae. Diversification in brain size and shape is explored through geometric morphometrics and comparative phylogenetic analyses. The results indicate that brain shape is largely independent of general size and reveal different trends in brain size and shape. Fossorial Euryzygomatominae, arboreal Echimyini and the semi-aquatic Myocastorini Myocastor show high encephalization; the former with a greater contribution from the olfactory bulb and petrosal lobe, and the latter two with a larger surface area of neocortex. The Euryzygomatomyinae and Myocastorini of terrestrial habits show low encephalization with a low contribution of the neocortex. Phylogenetic comparative analyses suggest that endocranial morphological evolution would have been influenced by both phylogeny and locomotor habits. The concurrence of the best fit of the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model and the significant phylogenetic signal in the datasets suggests the involvement of constraints on morphological diversification within the major clades, as expected under phylogenetic conservatism. This could be explained by an early establishment of a particular endocranial morphology in each major clade, which would have been maintained with relatively little change.
Apomixis occurs frequently along the entire American Cordillera
Authors: Ptáček Jan , Sklenář Petr , Klimeš Adam , Romoleroux Katya , Vidal-Russell Romina , Urfus Tomáš
Published: August 2023

Apomictic plants mostly occur at higher latitudes and higher elevations, where they tend to occupy deglaciated areas. By analysing samples of the alpine floras of different latitudinal zones of the Americas (Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, USA), we investigated whether the proportion of gametophytic apomixis is comparable between the temperate alpine zones of the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere and whether the proportion of apomictic species increases from the alpine tropics towards the temperate alpine zone.

The reproductive systems of 196 species and 275 individuals were determined by a flow-cytometric seed screening of 999 seeds. Phylogenetic logistic regression was used to evaluate differences in the proportion of apomictic species in samples of regional alpine floras.

The apomictic embryo:endosperm ratio was determined for 33 species (two pseudogamous species and 31 species with autonomous apomixis) belonging to 28 genera of 13 families. The probability of a species being apomictic did not significantly differ between the regions. The highest probability of a species being apomictic was estimated for the northern temperate zone (29.6%), followed by the tropical zone (12.5%), and the southern temperate zone (11.9%).

Our results show that asexual plant reproduction by apomixis is not restricted to the alpine zone of the Northern Hemisphere and its representation in alpine floras of the Southern Hemisphere, including the alpine tropics, has been substantially underestimated.
p55γ degrades RIP3 via MG53 to suppress ischaemia-induced myocardial necroptosis and mediates cardioprotection of preconditioning
Authors: Li Zhenyan , Dai Rilei , Chen Min , Huang Lixuan , Zhu Kun , Li Mingyang , Zhu Wenting , Li Yang , Xie Ning , Li Jingchen , Wang Li , Lan Feng , Cao Chun-Mei
Published: August 2023

Aims

Regulated necrosis (necroptosis) and apoptosis are important biological features of myocardial infarction, ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, and heart failure. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying myocardial necroptosis remain elusive. Ischaemic preconditioning (IPC) is the most powerful intrinsic cardioprotection against myocardial I/R injury. In this study, we aimed to determine whether IPC suppresses I/R-induced necroptosis and the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Methods and results

We generated p55γ transgenic and knockout mice and used ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery to produce an in vivo I/R model. The effects of p55γ and its downstream molecules were subsequently identified using mass spectroscopy and co-immunoprecipitation and pulldown assays. We found that p55γ expression was down-regulated in failing human myocardium caused by coronary heart disease as well as in I/R mouse hearts. Cardiac-specific p55γ overexpression ameliorated the I/R-induced necroptosis. In striking contrast, p55γ deficiency (p55γ−/−) and cardiac-specific deletion of p55γ (p55γc-KO) worsened I/R-induced injury. IPC up-regulated p55γ expression in vitro and in vivo. Using reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, we found that Hif1α transcriptionally regulated p55γ expression and mediated the cardioprotection of IPC. IPC-mediated suppression of necroptosis was attenuated in p55γ−/− and p55γc-KO hearts. Mechanistically, p55γ overexpression decreased the protein levels of RIP3 rather than the mRNA levels, while p55γ deficiency increased the protein abundance of RIP3. IPC attenuated the I/R-induced up-regulation of RIP3, which was abolished in p55γ-deficient mice. Up-regulation of RIP3 attenuated the p55γ- or IPC-induced inhibition of necroptosis in vivo. Importantly, p55γ directly bound and degraded RIP3 in a ubiquitin-dependent manner. We identified MG53 as the E3 ligase that mediated the p55γ-induced degradation of RIP3. In addition, we also found that p55γ activated the RISK pathway during IPC.

Conclusions

Our findings reveal that activation of the MG53-RIP3 signal pathway by p55γ protects the heart against I/R-induced necroptosis and underlies IPC-induced cardioprotection.
CMR reclassifies the majority of patients with suspected MINOCA and non MINOCA
Authors: Liang Kate , Bisaccia Giandomenico , Leo Isabella , Williams Matthew G L , Dastidar Amardeep , Strange Julian W , Sammut Eva , Johnson Thomas W , Bucciarelli-Ducci Chiara
Published: August 2023

Aims

In ∼5–15% of all cases of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) have unobstructed coronaries on angiography. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has proven useful to identify in most patients the underlying diagnosis associated with this presentation. However, the role of CMR to reclassify patients from the initial suspected condition has not been clarified. The aim of this study was to assess the proportion of patients with suspected MINOCA, or non-MINOCA, that CMR reclassifies with an alternative diagnosis from the original clinical suspicion.

Methods and results

A retrospective cohort of patients in a tertiary cardiology centre was identified from a registry database. Patients who were referred for CMR for investigation of suspected MINOCA, and a diagnosis pre- and post-CMR was recorded to determine the proportion of diagnoses reclassified. A total of 888 patients were identified in the registry. CMR reclassified diagnosis in 78% of patients. Diagnosis of MINOCA was confirmed in only 243 patients (27%), whilst most patients had an alternative diagnosis (73%): myocarditis n = 217 (24%), Takotsubo syndrome n = 115 (13%), cardiomyopathies n = 97 (11%), and normal CMR/non-specific n = 216 (24%).

Conclusion

In a large single-centre cohort of patients presenting with ACS and unobstructed coronary arteries, most patients had a non-MINOCA diagnosis (73%) (myocarditis, Takotsubo, cardiomyopathies, or normal CMR/non-specific findings), whilst only a minority had confirmed MINOCA (27%). Performing CMR led to reclassifying patients’ diagnosis in 78% of cases, thus confirming its important clinical role and underscoring the clinical challenge in diagnosing MINOCA and non MINOCA conditions.
Real-time guiding by deep learning during echocardiography to reduce left ventricular foreshortening and measurement variability
Authors: Sabo Sigbjorn , Pettersen Hakon Neergaard , Smistad Erik , Pasdeloup David , Stølen Stian Bergseng , Grenne Bjørnar Leangen , Lovstakken Lasse , Holte Espen , Dalen Havard
Published: August 2023

Aims

Apical foreshortening leads to an underestimation of left ventricular (LV) volumes and an overestimation of LV ejection fraction and global longitudinal strain. Real-time guiding using deep learning (DL) during echocardiography to reduce foreshortening could improve standardization and reduce variability. We aimed to study the effect of real-time DL guiding during echocardiography on measures of LV foreshortening and inter-observer variability.

Methods and results

Patients (n = 88) in sinus rhythm referred for echocardiography without indication for contrast were included. All participants underwent three echocardiograms. The first two examinations were performed by sonographers, and the third by cardiologists. In Period 1, the sonographers were instructed to provide high-quality echocardiograms. In Period 2, the DL guiding was used by the second sonographer. One blinded expert measured LV length in all recordings. Tri-plane recordings by cardiologists were used as reference. Apical foreshortening was calculated at the end-diastole. Both sonographer groups significantly foreshortened the LV in Period 1 (mean foreshortening: Sonographer 1: 4 mm; Sonographer 2: 3 mm, both P < 0.001 vs. reference) and reduced foreshortening in Period 2 (2 and 0 mm, respectively. Period 1 vs. Period 2, P < 0.05). Sonographers using DL guiding did not foreshorten more than cardiologists (P ≥ 0.409). Real-time guiding did not improve intra-class correlation (ICC) [LV end-diastolic volume ICC, (95% confidence interval): DL guiding 0.87 (0.77–0.93) vs. no guiding 0.92 (0.88–0.95)].

Conclusion

Real-time guiding reduced foreshortening among experienced operators and has the potential to improve image standardization. Even though the effect on inter-operator variability was minimal among experienced users, real-time guiding may improve test–retest variability among less experienced users.

Clinical trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT04580095.
Should higher education be subsidized more?
Authors: Declercq Koen , Ooghe Erwin
Published: August 2023

We investigate in which countries fiscal externalities provide a justification for increasing subsidies to higher education. First, we show that the marginal fiscal recovery rate, i.e., the ratio of the change in total net fiscal revenues and the change in total subsidy costs caused by a small change in tuition subsidies, is the key statistic: if larger than a well-specified threshold value, then a small increase in subsidies is desirable from a welfare point of view. We also show that the marginal fiscal recovery rate depends on three statistics: the elasticity of participation with respect to subsidies, the success probability of the marginal student, and the ratio of the net fiscal revenue gain and the subsidy level of a degree in higher education. Second, we use this formula to approximate the marginal fiscal recovery rate in twenty OECD countries. The average marginal fiscal recovery rate is equal to 0.94, meaning that, on average, 0.94 euro is recovered of an increase in subsidies by one euro. This average hides substantial heterogeneity between countries. In six countries, the marginal fiscal recovery rate is larger than one, implying that an increase in subsidies to higher education is unambiguously desirable (i.e., a Pareto improvement) in these countries. In the other 14 countries, the marginal fiscal recovery rate is below one. Yet, if the degree of inequality aversion is not extreme, then increasing subsidies is also desirable in 12 additional countries. Third, to check the quality of our approximation of the marginal fiscal recovery rate, we simulate it for Belgium (region of Flanders) on the basis of a more detailed model. This simulation provides a somewhat lower, yet fairly similar result compared to the approximation.
Examining the Bidirectional Nature of Loneliness and Anxiety Among Older Adults in Daily Life
Authors: Van Bogart Karina , Scott Stacey B , Harrington Karra D , Felt John M , Sliwinski Martin J , Graham-Engeland Jennifer E
Published: August 2023

Objectives

Loneliness in later life increases the risk for adverse health outcomes; however, less is known about how loneliness is maintained. Anxiety may play an important role in maintaining loneliness, but little is known about how this connection plays out over time in daily life. This study thus focused on the within-person associations between momentary loneliness and anxiety among older adults.

Methods

Participants were 317 diverse older adults (40% Black; 13% Hispanic, mean age = 77.45 years, 67% women) systematically recruited from the Bronx, NY, who completed ecological momentary assessments 5 times daily for 14 consecutive days. Multilevel models tested bidirectional contemporaneous, momentary cross-lagged (t − 1), day-level cross-lagged (average day to end of day), and day-to-day cross-lagged associations between loneliness and anxiety. Separate sensitivity analyses controlled for concurrent overall mood valence or depressed state. Gender and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) status were tested as moderators at all timescales.

Results

Significant bidirectional associations between loneliness and anxiety were found at the contemporaneous and momentary cross-lagged (t − 1) timescales. Higher average daily loneliness predicted higher end-of-day anxiety, but not vice versa. Loneliness and anxiety were not significantly associated from day to day. Sensitivity analyses revealed some associations varied depending on inclusion of either concurrent mood valence or depressed state. Neither gender nor MCI status moderated associations at any timescale.

Discussion

Findings shed light on the complex temporal ordering of loneliness and anxiety in daily life and extend contemporary theoretical notions of loneliness, including the possibility of interventions that target key moments in daily life.
Early changes in health coverage and access to dental care associated with Medicaid expansion under the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Elani Hawazin W , Figueroa Jose F , Kawachi Ichiro , Rosenthal Meredith
Published: August 2023

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected early changes in health coverage and access to dental care services in states that expanded Medicaid versus those that did not is currently not well known. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, we found that, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, states that had previously expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act had lower uninsurance rates for White low-income adults (−8.8 percentage points; 95% CI: −16.6, −1.0) and lower dental uninsurance rates for all low-income adults (−5.4 percentage points; 95% CI: −10.4, −0.5). Our findings also suggest that the combination of Medicaid expansion with coverage of adult dental benefits in Medicaid was associated with improved dental coverage and access to dental care during the pandemic. With the expiration of the public health emergency declaration, states are considering strategies to prevent disruptions in Medicaid coverage. Our study adds to the evidence of the importance of Medicaid expansion in stabilizing health coverage during a public health crisis.
6. Authoritarian regimes
Authors: Lindstaedt Natasha
Published: August 2023

For many years, the concept of an authoritarian regime was considered to be one large category, with little understanding of how these regimes differed. The study of authoritarian regimes has come a long way since. Though all authoritarian regimes share in common that there is no turnover in power of the executive, there are considerable differences that distinguish autocracies. Authoritarian regimes today are increasingly attempting to use ‘democratic’ institutions to prolong their rule. This has led to a rise in competitive authoritarian regimes, or hybrid regimes. In spite of these changes, authoritarian regimes are more robust than ever. This chapter explains the different ways in which authoritarian regimes are categorized. The chapter then explains how the different types of authoritarian regimes perform, and what factors make them more durable. As the chapter demonstrates, autocratic regimes have become increasingly better equipped to maintain themselves.
13. Political parties
Authors: Katz Richard S.
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines the role that political parties play in the working of democracy. Political parties are among the major actors in democratic politics. Whether or not in power as the result of victory in free and fair elections, the governments of most countries have effectively been in the hands of party leaders. When governments were not in the hands of party leaders, most often it was because party government was interrupted by a military takeover. The chapter first considers various definitions of a political party, before tracing the origins of political parties. It then describes the functions of parties and the ways in which parties are organized, regulated, and financed. It concludes with an analysis of the role of parties in the stabilization of democracy in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, as well as challenges confronting parties in the new millennium.
16. Social movements
Authors: Rucht Dieter
Published: August 2023

This chapter presents the major theories and approaches in social movement research, highlighting four constitutive elements. Next, in a more descriptive approach, it outlines some general patterns and profiles of contemporary social movements, stressing the need to interpret social movements in relation to their key reference groups of which, besides movements’ opponents, allies, third parties, and bystanders play a crucial role. Another section is devoted to comparative aspects and findings in social movement studies, including the more recent trend towards the transnationalization of some movements. Finally, a typology of the basic functions and effects of social movements is presented. The general theme is that the structural context, the shared perceptions, and experiences, as well as the dynamic interactions between social movements and their reference groups are crucial for a better understanding of the functions and effects of social movements as potential creators of social change.
22. The impact of public policies
Authors: Ichijo Atsuko
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines the role of public policies. It starts by defining public policy and introducing a series of tools for analysing different types of public policies. The chapter argues that we need to consider both the short-run effects of policies and their longer-run political effects, with each empirical section examining both how policies work and how they shape (or fail to shape) longer-run political coalitions. It starts by analysing policies affecting income equality, looking at policies shaping longer-run patterns of income redistribution. It then turns to economic performance, reviewing arguments about different ‘varieties of capitalism’ and their underlying political and economic logics. The penultimate section turns to examining the role of quotas and other policies in shaping women’s representation in legislatures. The chapter concludes with discussion of climate change and the economic and political logics of policies aiming to reduce carbon emissions.
Introduction to Politics
Authors: Garner Robert , Ferdinand Peter , Lawson Stephanie
Published: August 2023

Combining theory, comparative politics, and international relations, Introduction to Politics provides an introduction to the subject. It covers both comparative politics and international relations, and contextualizes this material with a wide range of international examples. The text takes a balanced approached to the subject, serving as a strong foundation for further study. The material is explored in an accessible way for introductory study, but takes an analytical approach which encourages more critical study and debate. Topics range from political power and authority to democracy, political obligation, freedom, justice, political parties, institutions and states, and global political economy.
8. Institutions and States
Authors: Ferdinand Peter
Published: August 2023

This chapter deals with institutions and states. Institutions are essentially regular patterns of behaviour that provide stability and predictability to social life. Some institutions are informal, with no formally laid down rules such as the family, social classes, and kinship groups. Others are more formalized, having codified rules and organization. Examples include governments, parties, bureaucracies, legislatures, constitutions, and law courts. The state is defined as sovereign, with institutions that are public. After discussing the concept of institutions and the range of factors that structure political behaviour, the chapter considers the multi-faceted concept of the state. It then looks at the history of how the European type of state and the European state system spread around the world between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries. It also examines the modern state and some of the differences between strong states, weak states, and democratic states.
14. Civil Society, Interest Groups, and the Media
Authors: Ferdinand Peter
Published: August 2023

This chapter focuses on the concept of civil society, along with interest groups and the media. It first provides a background on the evolution of civil society and interest groups before discussing corporatism. In particular, it examines the ways in which civil society responds to state actors and tries to manoeuvre them into cooperation. This is politics from below. The chapter proceeds by considering the notion of ‘infrapolitics’ and the emergence of a school of ‘subaltern’ studies. It also explores the role of the media in political life and the impact of new communication technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones on politics. Finally, it evaluates some of the challenges presented by new media to civil society.
23. Conclusion: Retreat from a Globalizing Towards a Post-Western-Dominated World
Authors: Lawson Stephanie
Published: August 2023

This chapter summarizes the text’s various arguments. It first considers the relationships between the study of political philosophy, political institutions, and international relations and suggests that the study of politics cannot be divorced from the study of other social sciences such as economics, sociology, psychology, philosophy, law, and history. It also contends that the study of politics should be seen as a genuinely international and comparative enterprise and explains how trends in globalization have further eroded the distinctions between domestic and international politics and between the domestic politics of individual nation-states. Finally, it discusses the rise of the so-called ‘new medievalism’, a scenario in which the world is moving towards greater anarchy; signs that global power is shifting from the West to the East; and developments showing that domestic politics and international relations are mutating.
16. Internal Security and External Complication(s)
Authors: Wolff Sarah
Published: August 2023

After the end of the Cold War, the internal–external security nexus, which refers to the links between what used to be distinct concepts under the Westphalian approach to international relations, has become a reality of European security. This chapter reviews the development of the external dimension of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA), which manifests this internal–external nexus, covering its evolution from a side product of European economic integration to a multi-dimensional and increasingly digitalized policy area. In the last decade, multiple ‘crises’—from the Syrian refugee inflows of 2015, to Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021, the war in Ukraine in 2022 and its ensuing refugee flows to the European Union (EU)—shaped the policy responses. From the reintroduction of internal border controls in March 2020 as a first reaction of EU member states to the Covid-19 crisis to the adoption of the temporary protection directive as an unprecedented response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, the EU has developed new coordinating tools to adapt to this state of continuous emergency and to the proteiform nature of global security changes.
8. Empire
Authors: Hirst Aggie , de Merich Diego , Hoover Joe , Roccu Roberto
Published: August 2023

This chapter contests the myth that imperialism has ended by showing how imperial attitudes, racialised power hierarchies, and material inequalities that structured the era of empires remain in place today. It discusses why the field of International Relations conventionally sidelined the issues of imperialism and racism. Dismantling structural racism and imperialism requires long-term work on many fronts. Campaigns combining Postcolonial and Decolonial theories like ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ and ‘Why is My Curriculum White?’ have resulted in new publications and toolkits that decolonise the university. The chapter also recognises the need to review programmes, modules, and reading lists to include perspectives from outside the West, as colonialism and imperialism are at work in core disciplinary concepts and theories.
4. Globalization and neoliberalism
Authors: Best Jacqueline
Published: August 2023

This chapter evaluates the contested concepts of globalization and neoliberalism, and looks at their role in Global Political Economy (GPE). There are significant debates about the political salience of globalization, with hyperglobalists, sceptics, and transformationalists disagreeing on its implications for the power of the state. Scholars also disagree about when the era of globalization began. Meanwhile, neoliberalism is a set of economic ideas and policies built upon a belief in the ‘free market’ as an unquestionable value in political and economic life. Neoliberal globalization has increased living standards in many parts of the world while also intensifying inequality along the lines of class, race, and gender. At the heart of debates about neoliberalism and globalization are three core puzzles: whether they are primarily depoliticizing or repoliticizing strategies; whether they are best understood by looking at global-level processes or at changes in everyday life; and whether their power is primarily material or ideational.
9. Environment and climate
Authors: Stevenson Hayley
Published: August 2023

This chapter begins by looking at mainstream and critical perspectives on the relationship between globalization and the environment. It shows how race and gender are implicated in the distribution of environmental harms, and how clean and safe environments in the Global North often come at the expense of communities in the Global South. A case study of green technology reveals that this asymmetry also characterizes efforts to transition to more sustainable societies. There are four key perspectives on globalization and the environment: liberal environmentalism, eco-Marxism, environmental justice, and ecofeminism. The chapter then turns to the topic of global governance to see how environmental multilateralism has developed over the past five decades, and the tensions that remain between global rules on trade and the environment.
14. Global governance
Authors: Jolly Richard , Weiss Thomas G.
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses ‘global governance’, the term now used widely to analyse the international system. Global governance consists of collective efforts to identify, understand, and address worldwide problems and processes that go beyond the capacities of individual states. The question of how to improve global economic governance can be understood by addressing the main ‘gaps’ in the international system: knowledge, norms, policies, institutions, leadership, and compliance. The chapter then presents three illustrations of current issues in global governance—and the gaps therein—to help in understanding international responses (both weak and strong) to communicable diseases, economic instability, and child welfare. Ultimately, addressing global governance problems requires more robust intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Security Studies: Critical Perspectives
Authors: Guillaume Xavier , Grayson Kyle
Published: August 2023

Security Studies: Critical Perspectives takes a question-centred approach by introducing the analysis of security from critical and interdisciplinary perspectives. It provides a set of analytic steps so that readers develop the critical thinking skills and confidence to ask important questions about security and our worlds in contemporary politics. Common-sense security assumptions that reproduce forms of oppression and domination are revealed and their justifications decentred while perspectives inclusive of class, gender and sexualities, ethnicity and race, religion, disability, culture and ideology, political belonging, and the global south are introduced. In doing so, the chapters in this book combine critical analysis with concrete empirical issues that connect readers to the social and political worlds around them.
5. Critical questions
Authors: Guillaume Xavier , Grayson Kyle
Published: August 2023

This chapter outlines the nine different questions we can ask in relation to security: who can ‘speak’ security; security for whom; security where; security when; security from what; security how; security why; security for what purpose; and security at whose expense? Asking some of these questions help to determine the context within which security is being mobilized, while others enable us to precisely identify what security does within a given socio-political order. The chapter uses the global drug war as an illustrative case study. By asking the nine security questions about the global drug war, the chapter shows how illicit drugs have been used as a pretext to reproduce racism, violence, and structural inequalities. As such, the chapter concludes by restating the importance of not taking security thinking at face value.
7. War and socio-political orders
Authors: Basham Victoria M.
Published: August 2023

This chapter evaluates the relationship between war and society. The tendency to define war as fighting has led humanity to collectively condemn and attempt to curtail war horrors through international laws and regulatory practices. It is therefore easy to see why states around the world see preparing for war and waging it as vital to their security. The chapter focuses on three key questions: where is war? How is war possible? What (or who) does war secure? Asking these questions enables a deeper understanding of the choices that societies make about why, when, and where to fight and prepare for war; how the choices of actors and their actions make war possible; and the benefits and costs to people's security that wars can bring about. Indeed, such questions can help us to evaluate whether we should continue to prepare and wage war, and for what purposes.
10. Gender and sexuality
Authors: Hobbs Jennifer , McLeod Laura
Published: August 2023

This chapter assesses the relevance of gender and sexuality for understanding how security/insecurity are distributed in the world. Our ideas about gender and sexuality—that men and women are the only genders, and that each gender has particular bodies, characteristics, and abilities—have been used for centuries to enact and justify the oppression of women and those who do not fit into this gender binary. As such, gender and sexuality form part of the unequal distribution of insecurity and violence we see in the world. The chapter looks at this topic bearing in mind specifically the following critical questions: security for whom, where, how, and at whose expense? To do so, it utilizes three key feminist concepts: intersectionality, the everyday, and transformation. The chapter argues that gender and sexuality help us gain a critical perspective of security/insecurity by revealing new areas of study, and helping us to see traditional security topics in a new light.