bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Selective and comprehensive characterization of the quinochalcone C-glycoside homologs in Carthamus tinctorius L. by offline comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography/LTQ-Orbitrap MS coupled with versatile data mining strategies
Authors: Yang Wenzhi , Si Wei , Zhang Jingxian , Yang Min , Pan Huiqin , Wu Jia , Qiu Shi , Yao Changliang , Hou Jinjun , Wu Wanying , Guo Dean
Published: December 2015

An offline 2D LC/LTQ-Orbitrap MS approach and versatile data mining techniques were developed to characterize new QCGs from C. tinctorius.
Protein self-assembly induces promiscuous nucleophilic biocatalysis in Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH) reaction
Authors: Joshi Pralhad N. , Purushottam Landa , Das Nirmal K. , Mukherjee Saptarshi , Rai Vishal
Published: December 2015

Self-assembled states of proteins render efficient promiscuous nucleophilic biocatalysis in MBH reaction in a green process.
Iodine-mediated thiolation of phenol/phenylamine derivatives and sodium arylsulfinates in neat water
Authors: Wang Dingyi , Zhang Rongxing , Lin Sen , Yan Zhaohua , Guo Shengmei
Published: December 2015

An efficient and convenient protocol for iodine-mediated thiolation of phenols/phenylamines with sodium benzene-sulfinates in water has been achieved.
Preparation and UCST-type phase behavior of glycopolypeptides in alcoholic solvents
Authors: Wang Xi , Ge Chenglong , Ling Ying , Tang Haoyu
Published: December 2015

Glycopolypeptides with mannose pendants exhibited a reversible UCST-type phase behavior in various alcoholic solvents. The solution phase transition temperature was related to the solvent, concentration, main-chain length, and side-chain composition.
A two-terminal perovskite/perovskite tandem solar cell
Authors: Jiang Fangyuan , Liu Tiefeng , Luo Bangwu , Tong Jinhui , Qin Fei , Xiong Sixing , Li Zaifang , Zhou Yinhua
Published: December 2015

The first bottom-up solution-processed perovskite–perovskite tandem solar cell has been successfully fabricated via an optimized charge recombination layer comprising spiro-OMeTAD/PEDOT:PSS/PEI/PCBM:PEI. The as-fabricated tandem device delivers an open voltage of up to 1.89 V, close to the sum of the two perovskite subcells.
Fabrication of textile fabric counter electrodes using activated charcoal doped multi walled carbon nanotube hybrids for dye sensitized solar cells
Authors: Arbab Alvira Ayoub , Sun Kyung Chul , Sahito Iftikhar Ali , Memon Anam Ali , Choi Yun Seon , Jeong Sung Hoon
Published: December 2015

Textile fabric electrodes have attained increasing demand as they offer the benefits of light weight, flexibility, and low cost.
Nanocarbon-intercalated and Fe–N-codoped graphene as a highly active noble-metal-free bifunctional electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction and evolution
Authors: He Daping , Xiong Yuli , Yang Jinlong , Chen Xu , Deng Zhaoxiang , Pan Mu , Li Yadong , Mu Shichun
Published: December 2015

A highly active bifunctional electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions was developed based on nanocarbon-intercalated and Fe–N-codoped graphene materials.
Fluorinated smart micelles as enzyme-responsive probes for 19F-magnetic resonance
Authors: Buzhor Marina , Avram Liat , Frish Limor , Cohen Yoram , Amir Roey J.
Published: December 2015

Labeling smart PEG–dendron hybrids with fluorine-containing groups transform their micelles into enzyme-responsive probes for 19F-magnetic resonance.
High quality interfacial sulfur passivation via H2S pre-deposition annealing for an atomic-layer-deposited HfO2 film on a Ge substrate
Authors: Seok Tae Jun , Cho Young Jin , Jin Hyun Soo , Kim Dae Hyun , Kim Dae Woong , Lee Sang-Moon , Park Jong-Bong , Won Jung-Yeon , Kim Seong Keun , Hwang Cheol Seong , Park Tae Joo
Published: December 2015

The effects of interface sulfur passivation for ALD HfO2/Ge substrate were studied through the (NH4)2S solution treatment and the rapid thermal annealing under an H2S atmosphere.
Aggregation-induced emission enhancement and mechanofluorochromic properties of α-cyanostilbene functionalized tetraphenyl imidazole derivatives
Authors: Zhang Yuyang , Li Huifang , Zhang Gaobin , Xu Xianyun , Kong Lin , Tao Xutang , Tian Yupeng , Yang Jiaxiang
Published: December 2015

Twisted tetraphenyl imidazole derivatives functionalized by α-cyanostilbene possess aggregation-induced emission enhancement and mechanochromic luminescence properties.
Exploring and controlling intrinsic defect formation in SnO2 thin films
Authors: Porte Yoann , Maller Robert , Faber Hendrik , AlShareef Husam N. , Anthopoulos Thomas D. , McLachlan Martyn A.
Published: December 2015

By investigating the influence of key growth variables on the measured structural and electrical properties of SnO2 prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) we demonstrate fine control of intrinsic n-type defect formation.
Facial synthesis of KCu7S4nanobelts for nonvolatile memory device applications
Authors: Wu Chun-Yan , Wang Xin-Gang , Pan Zhi-Qiang , Wang You-Yi , Yu Yong-Qiang , Wang Li , Luo Lin-Bao
Published: December 2015

A memory device was fabricated based on KCu7S4nanobelts/Cu Schottky diode which displayed typical resistive switching behavior with a low set voltage of 0.4–1 V, a current ON/OFF ratio of ∼104, and a retention time >104s.
Jump Squat is More Related to Sprinting and Jumping Abilities than Olympic Push Press
Authors: Loturco I. , Kobal R. , Maldonado T. , Piazzi A. , Bottino A. , Kitamura K. , Abad C. , Pereira L. , Nakamura F.
Published: December 2015

The aim of this study was to test the relationships between jump squat (JS) and Olympic push press (OPP) power outputs and performance in sprint, squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ) and change of direction (COD) speed tests in elite soccer players. 27 athletes performed a maximum power load test to determine their bar mean propulsive power (MPP) and bar mean propulsive velocity (MPV) in the JS and OPP exercises. Magnitude-based inference was used to compare the exercises. The MPV was almost certainly higher in the OPP than in the JS. The MPP relative to body mass (MPP REL) was possibly higher in the OPP. Only the JS MPP REL presented very large correlations with linear speed (r>0.7, for speed in 5, 10, 20 and 30 m) and vertical jumping abilities (r>0.8, for SJ and CMJ), and moderate correlation with COD speed (r=0.45). Although significant (except for COD), the associations between OPP outcomes and field-based measurements (speed, SJ and CMJ) were all moderate, ranging from 0.40 to 0.48. In a group composed of elite soccer players, the JS exercise is more associated with jumping and sprinting abilities than the OPP. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm if these strong relationships imply superior training effects in favor of the JS exercise.
Tick a Box, Any Box: A Case Study on the Unintended Consequences of System Misuse in a Hospital Emergency Department
Authors: Lederman Reeva , Kurnia Sherah , Peng Fei , Dreyfus Suelette
Published: December 2015

Long patient waiting periods and a high administrative load plagued the Emergency Department of a major Australian hospital. In response, the department installed a new information system. Technically, the new system worked perfectly. Yet, within 9 months the department suffered a catastrophic loss of patient revenue. The financial disaster led to senior doctors being forced to abandon their medical duties in order to correct complex administrative problems. It triggered a complete review of training, task and role prioritisation. This case study describes a major and costly error resulting from the use of the newly implemented hospital IS. It traces how the error came about, how the hospital responded and what hospitals could do when deploying new systems to prevent such errors. We examine hospitals as hierarchical organisations with financial and organisational goals that sometimes conflict. The case presented explores the cultural setting of the IS roll-out, where medical professionals are accustomed to autonomy over their work practices and are disinclined to engage in activities that they see as interfering with patient care. The case highlights issues in respect to deployment and adoption. These include user training and consideration for the existing organisational culture and stakeholder practices when implementing large systems that cause significant organisational change. The discussion can be structured around stakeholders’ behaviour, user resistance, goal conflicts, power shifts, training, division of labour and work flow management. In addition the case raises governance questions: What mechanisms can be used in IT projects to prevent errors like this from arising?
The Dilemma of Public E-procurement in Costa Rica: Case on the Duality of Technological Platforms and Implementation Models
Authors: Barahona Juan Carlos , Elizondo Andrey M , Santos Manuel
Published: December 2015

Due to its characteristics, size and impact, e-procurement has a strategic importance for public administration, since its implementation necessarily crosses many institutional barriers and paradigms of many public managers. Many nations around the world are developing or revamping their National Public e-Procurement Systems. E-procurement brings a set of new rules and dynamics that create ways of doing business with the State in a totally different fashion, with a whole new and bigger set of participants, new incentives and a radically different cost structure. This case describes the experience of Costa Rica in implementing two different approaches for national e-procurement and the implications for public policy, e-government strategy and business development. Costa Rica has become an interesting laboratory for the world, since both approaches are coexisting and operating separately. Nevertheless, the country seeks to maintain a single e-procurement platform. The choice of either one of the platforms will bring serious organizational, economic, technological and political consequences for the government. We used multiple data collection methods. The data were collected from 2009 to 2012 from primary sources, studies, consulting work, official documents and the written press. Lessons drawn can be extended to other e-government ventures.
Single crystal growth in spin-coated films of polymorphic phthalocyanine derivative under solvent vapor
Authors: Higashi T. , Ohmori M. , Ramananarivo M. F. , Fujii A. , Ozaki M.
Published: December 2015

The effects of solvent vapor on spin-coated films of a polymorphic phthalocyanine derivative were investigated. Growth of single crystal films via redissolving organic films under solvent vapor was revealed by in situ microscopic observations of the films. X-ray diffraction measurement of the films after exposing to solvent vapor revealed the phase transition of polymorphs under solvent vapor. The direction of crystal growth was clarified by measuring the crystal orientation in a grown monodomain film. The mechanism of crystal growth based on redissolving organic films under solvent vapor was discussed in terms of the different solubilities of the polymorphs.
Changes in discharge affect more surface than subsurface breakdown of organic matter in a mountain stream
Authors: Solagaistua Libe , Arroita Maite , Aristi Ibon , Larrañaga Aitor , Elosegi Arturo
Published: December 2015

Discharge fluctuations modify water depth and velocity in streams and this can affect leaf litter breakdown, which is an important ecosystem function. Both during droughts, when parts of the surface dry out, and during floods, which scour the benthic surface, macroinvertebrates can seek refuge in the subsurface. Therefore, as an important part of them depend on organic matter, the effects of discharge fluctuations on leaf breakdown might be greater on the surface than in the subsurface of lotic ecosystems. To test this hypothesis, we measured microbial and total breakdown rates of alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertner) both on the surface and in the subsurface in two areas of a stream, namely, the permanently wet channel and the parafluvial areas. Reduced discharge dried out only the surface of the parafluvial areas, and thus, breakdown rates were reduced only in this habitat. In contrast, breakdown rates were similar in both habitats of the permanently wet channel, but also in the subsurface of the parafluvial area. The subsurface can mitigate the effects of discharge alterations on the breakdown of organic matter in streams, which might be critical for the productivity of these ecosystems under increased drought frequencies.
Contributions of microbiome and mechanical deformation to intestinal bacterial overgrowth and inflammation in a human gut-on-a-chip
Authors: Kim Hyun Jung , Li Hu , Collins James J. , Ingber Donald E.
Published: December 2015

Significance

The main advance of this study is the development of a microengineered model of human intestinal inflammation and bacterial overgrowth that permits analysis of individual contributors to the pathophysiology of intestinal diseases, such as ileus and inflammatory bowel disease, over a period of weeks in vitro. By studying living human intestinal epithelium, with or without vascular and lymphatic endothelium, immune cells, and mechanical deformation, as well as living microbiome and pathogenic microbes, we identified previously unknown contributions of specific cytokines, mechanical motions, and microbiome to intestinal inflammation, bacterial overgrowth, and control of barrier function. We provide proof-of-principle to show that the microfluidic gut-on-a-chip device can be used to create human intestinal disease models and gain new insights into gut pathophysiology.
Mandatory binding tax arbitration—is this a pathway to a more efficient Mutual Agreement Procedure?
Authors: Markham Michelle
Published: December 2015

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recently been exploring ways to improve dispute resolution mechanisms in the realm of international tax, notably through the use of binding mandatory arbitration as part of the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) Article in Double Tax Agreements.

This article seeks to examine whether binding mandatory arbitration would provide an effective mechanism for resolving international tax disputes. It investigates policy concerns with mandatory arbitration, especially sovereignty issues, access to mandatory arbitration and its scope, as well as the interface between MAP arbitration and domestic remedies. The possibility of deferring time limits on arbitration, the appropriateness of the ‘last-best-offer’ or baseball arbitration approach versus the ‘independent opinion’ approach and contentious issues surrounding the appointment of arbitrators will be considered, along with recent developments in arbitration processes.

‘Arbitration of taxation disputes is attractive and effective, presenting significant advantages to businesses and governments… Arbitration always reaches a conclusion, provides for impartial determinations with proper taxpayer participation and applies law rather than expediency. The process is orderly, predictable and transparent.’ 1
Positive and negative forms of replicability in gene network analysis
Authors: Verleyen W. , Ballouz S. , Gillis J.
Published: December 2015

Motivation: Gene networks have become a central tool in the analysis of genomic data but are widely regarded as hard to interpret. This has motivated a great deal of comparative evaluation and research into best practices. We explore the possibility that this may lead to overfitting in the field as a whole.

Results: We construct a model of ‘research communities’ sampling from real gene network data and machine learning methods to characterize performance trends. Our analysis reveals an important principle limiting the value of replication, namely that targeting it directly causes ‘easy’ or uninformative replication to dominate analyses. We find that when sampling across network data and algorithms with similar variability, the relationship between replicability and accuracy is positive (Spearman’s correlation, rs ∼0.33) but where no such constraint is imposed, the relationship becomes negative for a given gene function (rs ∼ −0.13). We predict factors driving replicability in some prior analyses of gene networks and show that they are unconnected with the correctness of the original result, instead reflecting replicable biases. Without these biases, the original results also vanish replicably. We show these effects can occur quite far upstream in network data and that there is a strong tendency within protein–protein interaction data for highly replicable interactions to be associated with poor quality control.

Availability and implementation: Algorithms, network data and a guide to the code available at: https://github.com/wimverleyen/AggregateGeneFunctionPrediction.

Contact:  jgillis@cshl.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Bridging fisheries management and biodiversity conservation norms: potential and challenges of balancing harvest in ecosystem-based frameworks
Authors: Garcia S. M. , Rice J. , Charles A.
Published: December 2015

Balanced harvesting has been proposed as a way for fisheries management to achieve the requirements of both the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC)—to maintain stocks at the level at which they could produce MSY—and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)—to maintain ecosystem structure and functioning. This paper examines these requirements and briefly presents four system-level relationships (spectra), representing ecosystem structures that might guide management decision-making aiming to meet both requirements. These spectra would fit in the widely accepted frameworks of the Ecosystem Approach enshrined in the CBD and adopted by FAO for Fisheries. A size spectrum, relating biomass to body length, is used as an example to illustrate its potential to support management decision-making—much like present stock-based harvest control rules—in more ecosystem-compliant fishing strategies at a sector or ecosystem level, as a complement to those currently used at a stock/population level.
Physics and Anesthesia Equipment
Authors: Peyton James , Gummerson Matthew C. , Ramamurthi Radhamangalam J. , Yeung Albert , Brustowicz Robert M.
Published: December 2015

This chapter contains 28 questions relevant for the Pediatric Subspecialty Exam about the topic of physics and anesthesia equipment.
Cardiovascular System
Authors: Zibaitis Audrius , Walsh Tomas , August David A. , Rubin Jamie , Collard Vincent , Nguyen Hayden , Pritzlaff Scott , Schure Annette
Published: December 2015

This chapter contains 99 questions relevant for the Pediatric Subspecialty Exam about the topic of the cardiovascular system.
Gastrointestinal System
Authors: Janik Luke S. , Bhattacharya Somaletha T. , Downey Laura A.
Published: December 2015

This chapter contains 35 questions relevant for the Pediatric Subspecialty Exam about the topic of the gastrointestinal system.
Hematology/Oncology
Authors: Sriswasdi Patcharee
Published: December 2015

This chapter contains 31 questions relevant for the Pediatric Subspecialty Exam about the topic of hematology/oncology.
Fetal
Authors: Wang Matthew C.
Published: December 2015

This chapter contains 25 questions relevant for the Pediatric Subspecialty Exam about the topic of fetal anesthesiology.
Ophthalmology
Authors: Kalra Aman , Dohadwala Tasneem T. , Mehter Najma
Published: December 2015

Ophthalmologic anesthesia for neonates, infants, and children requires a thorough understanding of several pharmacological and physiological concepts. Because most infants and children are unable to cooperate and stay immobile, almost all pediatric ophthalmologic procedures require general anesthesia. This chapter’s review questions capture the unique facets of pediatric ophthalmic anesthesia. Understanding of these concepts is necessary for the safe anesthetic management of these patients.
Orthopedic Surgery
Authors: Manuel Solmaz P. , Mai Christine L. , Brustowicz Robert
Published: December 2015

Anesthesia for pediatric orthopedic and spinal surgery presents multiple challenges for the anesthesiologist. Children often present with comorbidities and concomitant diseases that affect the respiratory and cardiovascular functions. Significant blood loss and prolonged operating times can pose significant risks. Airway management in a child with a syndrome can be both difficult and challenging. Orthopedic tumor surgery may be complicated by chemotherapy treatment, anesthetics can be affected by drug interactions, and postoperative pain management can be complex. In this chapter, we review common coexisting diseases in pediatric patients undergoing orthopedic surgeries. These diseases include syndromes such as Down syndrome, Marfan syndrome, and Klippel-Feil syndrome; muscular dystrophies such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy; and bony cancers such as osteosarcoma.
General Anesthesia
Authors: Sabbe Bryan M.
Published: December 2015

This chapter covers various aspects of Pediatric General Anesthesia. Within this chapter topics covered include techniques for achieving induction of general anesthesia, along with limitations and potential complications of each. Also discussed is how to manage the pediatric airway, including mask ventilation, supraglottic airway devices, and endotracheal intubation, in addition to handling both expected and unexpected pediatric difficult airways. This includes assessment and airway management of several congenital craniofacial syndromes, and the means of achieving single-lung ventilation and lung separation in pediatric patients, along with evaluating and treating potential complications of each technique. Finally, means of defining, evaluating, and understanding the signs and stages of general anesthesia in pediatric patients are discussed.
Principles of Biostatistics and Study Design
Authors: Ellinas Herodotos , Doyle D. John
Published: December 2015

This chapter contains 33 questions relevant for the Pediatric Subspecialty Exam about the topic of principles of biostatistics and study design.
India’s National Security
Authors: Ganguly Sumit
Published: December 2015

Foreign and defence policy overlap in most countries, and India is no exception. This chapter traces the origins of India’s national security policies and discusses key turning points. It argues that the first major shift in the country’s defence policies took place in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian border war. In the wake of this conflict the country embarked upon a substantial program of military modernization. It also focuses on a series of extant threats that the country confronts, the policies and strategies that have been adopted to address them, and their limitations and prospects. The chapter also addresses the question of India’s military industrial base and its shortcomings. The final section focuses on the key challenges that confront the country and are likely to shape the course of its national security policies.
Resources
Authors: Norohna Ligia
Published: December 2015

This chapter first discusses the nature of challenges that natural resources pose to India’s growth and then focuses on four related issues: its resource trade and investment patterns; the global responses its searches for resources and engagements have evoked; the sustainability and equity challenges around resource development for India’s growth; and finally the foreign, trade, and security policy implications of a growing global resource dependence. It posits three scenarios of how India may perceive itself and orient its resources policy in response to the unfolding global and domestic developments. The chapter suggests an urgent need for the Indian state to engage more sharply, effectively, and with greater commitment on the natural resources question. It also suggests the need for international action to attend to allocation, regulation, and sustainability in the global resource economy.
State and Politics
Authors: Staniland Paul , Narang Vipin
Published: December 2015

How do the structure and character of Indian politics and the state—its parties, coalitions, and bureaucracies—affect Indian foreign policy behaviour? This chapter traces the role of Indian domestic politics in Indian foreign policy, showing that there are significant domestic ‘transmission belts’ in the generation of Indian foreign policy. India resides in a relatively dangerous security environment, with enduring rivalries with both of its major neighbours Pakistan and China, and with a prominent role in global affairs. But the structure and character of Indian politics and the state significantly shape how India reacts to the pressures of that security environment. The authors show how the general low salience of foreign policy can often insulate politicians in this issue area, and how bureaucracies and organs of the state such as the Ministries of Defence and External Affairs can consequently drive Indian foreign policy independent of electoral pressures or accountability.
The Parliament
Authors: Chaudhuri Rudra
Published: December 2015

This chapter outlines the role of the Indian Parliament in the domain of foreign policy. It shows how the legislature can shape and even check executive decisions. Contrary to popular accounts, the chapter argues that Indian Prime Ministers have found themselves more vulnerable than otherwise accepted to the push and pull tensions of parliamentary oversight. This was amply clear in their approach to treaties, alliances, territorial agreements, and war and peace more generally. The chapter looks carefully at single-party governments in the early years of the republic and their relationship with the Indian Parliament in the making of foreign policy. It goes on to study the experience of governments and the execution of foreign policy in the twenty-first century, whilst also examining the role of state legislatures and regional politics.
Think-Tanks and Universities
Authors: Mattoo Amitabh , Medcalf Rory
Published: December 2015

Even though India’s engagement with the rest of the world has seen considerable expansion in the last two decades, the role of universities and think-tanks in shaping the contours of much of that engagement has been limited. The chapter explores the reasons behind the lack of influence or impact of these institutions in the foreign policy-making of the country. In doing so, it traces their historical trajectory and institutional evolution, outlines the state of research output generated by them, and brings into relief the lack of synergy between the academic, the policy, and the bureaucratic community. However, in recent times, there seems to be a course-correction with the government recognizing the importance of utilizing outside expertise from academia and think-tanks as India navigates the complex terrain of international relations in the coming years.
Public Opinion
Authors: Kapur Devesh
Published: December 2015

This chapter examines the role of public opinion on Indian foreign policy and focuses on four principal questions: One, how informed is the Indian public about foreign policy issues and how have its views been measured? Two, what shapes public opinion on foreign policy issues in India? Who are the key actors and how have they changed over time and issue area? Three, what are the mechanisms that link public opinion to public policy in foreign policy and on what issues has public opinion mattered? And four, what is public opinion about India in other major countries and what does it reveal? Finally the chapter concludes with some observations on public opinion’s interactions with changes in other variables shaping foreign policy, such as the rise of business and a more federal polity.
India and the Region
Authors: Cohen Stephen P.
Published: December 2015

‘South Asia’ as a term was only invented in the 1960s. Since 1947 India has competed with Pakistan to be the inheritor of the ‘Raj’ tradition. This near-permanent conflict is the major restraint on Indian power and influence. Outside powers also play a regional role, but their vision of the region is unfocused, and not necessarily India-centric. The region is faced with the potential spread from Afghanistan of radical Islamic ideologies, as potentially destabilizing as the venerable Kashmir dispute. India’s regional influence is also hampered by its weak economic position and its mismanagement of military policies, while the acquisition of nuclear weapons did not ensure security. Despite this, with its enormous cultural and political influence, India remains a model for the region, but has yet to translate aspiration into achievement at the regional level, undercutting its relations with major outside powers.
India’s Bifurcated Look to ‘Central Eurasia’
Authors: Kavalski Emilian
Published: December 2015

India’s relations with Afghanistan and the post-Soviet countries of Central Asia have contributed to the growing interest in the country’s ‘rise’ to global prominence. Treating them together under the label of ‘Central Eurasia’, Indian policy-makers insist that despite the obvious differences between them, the issues that frame India’s strategic interests in Afghanistan and the Central Asian states are interconnected. The chapter explores the historical contexts that frame India’s current engagement with Central Eurasia. The investigation undertakes a parallel assessment of New Delhi’s engagement with both Afghanistan and the Central Asian republics. The comparative analysis indicates that what has thwarted India’s outreach to Central Asia has become the key to its effective involvement in Afghanistan—namely, that India engages both in the context of its strategic rivalry with Pakistan.
The Gulf Region
Authors: Ahmad Talmiz
Published: December 2015

India’s traditional focus on economic and community-based ties with the Persian Gulf has been complemented in the twenty-first century with a dramatic upswing in political, defence, security, energy, and economic linkages with the countries of the region. Developments in the Gulf after the Arab Spring—centred around the Saudi–Iran divide on sectarian and strategic bases, competition for space and influence among various Islamist groups, and challenges to the traditional domestic structures within GCC countries—have created considerable turbulence in the regional security scenario. Given its high stakes in the region, Indian foreign policy faces a new imperative: defining and realizing a new security architecture in the Persian Gulf that would embrace all players, regional and extra-regional, in association with other major Asian powers which share India’s interests in Gulf stability.
Israel
Authors: Kumaraswamy P.R.
Published: December 2015

Since the early 1920s, disagreements with Jewish national aspirations and later on the Arab–Israeli conflict prevented India from maintaining even formal relations. Since the normalization of relations in 1992, India has been pursuing a mature policy that differentiates bilateral benefits from multilateral differences. Without abandoning its core positions concerning the Palestinians, India has managed to forge a strong and nuanced relationship with Israel. This policy enjoys the support of principal stakeholders in both the countries. The long-term stability, sustainability, and progress of this relationship depend upon the ability of both the countries to find common ground for cooperation while agreeing to disagree on the disagreeable.
The Foreign Policy of the Raj and Its Legacy
Authors: Mahajan Sneh
Published: December 2015

The Government of British India was a colonial state and, therefore, determinants of its foreign policy were very different from those of a sovereign state. Its foreign policy was designed to serve Britain’s imperial interests. To ensure the defence of India, it maintained states in the immediate neighbourhood of India as ‘buffer states’. The British valued their Empire greatly and took far-reaching measures for its defence and of the routes to India. They perceived threat to their Indian Empire from the expansion of the Russia Empire which is often described as Russophobia. The British Government retained responsibility for relations with the states in the Indian Ocean rim (except the Aden Settlement until 1937). But substantial expenditure was met out of the Indian Treasury. The legacy of the Raj has left an indelible impact on the foreign policy of the Indian Republic.
India and the International Financial Institutions
Authors: Kirk Jason A.
Published: December 2015

If the International Monetary Fund and World Bank did not exist, then the global financial crisis of 2007–2008 may well have given rise to something like them. Though they have undergone many changes since their birth in 1944, their rules reflect the political relationships of the past more than the economic realities of the present. Whether and how India—a historically important actor for both institutions—and other ascendant stakeholders can contribute to a new consensus vision for global economic governance remains to be seen. And given India’s ‘emergence’, how these institutions and India will adapt to each other in the future will be important for all concerned.
Multilateralism in India’s Nuclear Policy
Authors: Rajagopalan Rajesh
Published: December 2015

India has been an unrelenting proponent of nuclear disarmament and an active participant in multilateral nuclear arms control negotiations, but paradoxically it is also deeply sceptical of and estranged from the global nuclear regime. This chapter examines India’s efforts in nuclear arms control and disarmament to suggest an explanation for this paradox, which is that India has used multilateralism as a way of avoiding difficult national security choices. Multilateralism thus became the option and this led to exaggerated expectations about its benefits. On the other hand, India, as a weak state had little control over the results of such multilateral exercises, which have invariably been unfavourable to India and unhelpful in resolving its security dilemma, which led to the estrangement and scepticism about such efforts.
Multilateral Diplomacy on Climate Change
Authors: Dubash Navroz K. , Rajamani Lavanya
Published: December 2015

This chapter reviews India’s foreign policy on climate change, arguing that while it is marked by tactical virtuosity, it increasingly exhibits strategic vacuity. The chapter traces the evolution of India’s role in international climate negotiations, noting particularly India’s key role in highlighting equity and enshrining the concept of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities’ as a cornerstone of the negotiation process. The chapter then examines the turbulent phase from 2007 onwards, when India, along with other large developing country allies, experimented with new articulations of climate policy. This discussion explores the emergent drivers of Indian climate policy, including international pressures, shifting domestic political context, the emergence of ‘co-benefits’ as a framing concept, and the role of key personalities. The chapter concludes by suggesting that an exclusive emphasis on an equitable climate deal should transition to an approach that provides equal attention to equity and effectiveness in international climate outcomes.
Before Midnight
Authors: Sagar Rahul
Published: December 2015

This chapter examines ideas about war, peace, and international relations over the century preceding independence, of which there were many more and in greater depth than widely supposed. It outlines how and why Indians first began to articulate views on the subject, and subsequently analyses these ideas. It proposes that, contrary to the opinion of some scholars, Indians thought carefully about the nature of international relations. Most importantly, it emphasizes the plurality of views on the subject, and explains how and why proponents of pragmatism in foreign relations came to be sidelined in the period immediately preceding independence. Several of the personalities developing notions of what a foreign policy for India should involve as of the early twentieth century, including India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, became important actors in formulating and implementing foreign policy post-independence.
Establishing the Ministry of External Affairs
Authors: Raghavan Pallavi
Published: December 2015

This chapter argues that the decision to retain the institutional wisdom of the old External Affairs Department, as well as its predecessors, was taken quite deliberately, with a clear understanding of the problems this posed, as well as the advantages. The author argues that the arguments for retaining this structure were often advanced most persuasively by those who had the highest stakes in its continuance: bureaucrats and officials of the Indian Civil Service. These institutional memories continued to shape the foundational assumptions about both the conduct, as well as content, of Indian foreign policy, well after the transfer of power. Finally, it is argued, it is important to differentiate the various strands of political thought that went into constituting the often monolithically understood ‘Nehruvian foreign policy’: this was constructed by a variety of officials, politicians, and political lobbies who frequently differed with Nehru on the best approach to India’s foreign policy.
Free Banking
Authors: Dowd Kevin
Published: December 2015

This chapter provides an overview of the issues raised by free banking. A central objective is to set out the core theory of free banking, draw out its predictions, and then compare those predictions against the abundant historical evidence from the many free (or relatively free) banking systems of the past. The evidence is largely supportive of the predictions of free banking theory and, in particular, of its claim that an unregulated banking system would be stable. The evidence also supports the predictions made by free banking theory that government intervention weakens the financial system—often in profound and misunderstood ways—and causes many of the problems it is ostensibly meant to cure.
Social Economy as an Extension of the Austrian Research Program
Authors: Chamlee-Wright Emily , Storr Virgil Henry
Published: December 2015

Contemporary Austrian scholars have attempted to develop a research program in social economy (including a focus on mental models, generalized norms, social networks, and culture) to complement the school’s already well-developed research program in political economy. Rather than settling on a single approach or adopting a single perspective, however, they have pursued a number of different strategies. As a result, Austrian contributions to understanding how social factors affect economic action have yet to be systematized as part of a coherent social economy research program. The aim of this chapter is to fill that gap. Further, we will argue that although it is broadly interdisciplinary, a social economy research program is one in which Austrian economics has a particularly important role to play given the school’s emphasis on developing an economics of meaning and its focus on the discovery role that markets play in generating widespread social coordination.
Organizations and Markets
Authors: Foss Nicolai J. , Klein Pierre , Linder Stefan
Published: December 2015

Austrian economics focuses on markets but has much to say about organizations. In particular, Austrian insights on the structure of production, the heterogeneity and subjectivity of resources, the nature of uncertainty, the role of monetary calculation, and the function of the entrepreneur provide solid foundations for a distinctly Austrian theory of organizations. This chapter reviews these insights, discusses recent literature on Austrian economics and the theory of the firm, and suggests new directions for developing and extending an Austrian approach to organizations. In doing so it answers the following questions: Why, do organizations, large and small, emerge and persist? How do they avoid the problem of economic calculation faced by socialist economies? Why do organizations take the shapes they do, why do their characteristics vary over time and across industries, and why do they succeed or fail? Are most organizations stable over time, or do organizations, like markets, adapt and learn? and How do entrepreneurs arrange assets and manage individuals within organizations?
Constitutional Political Economy and Austrian Economics
Authors: Pennington Mark
Published: December 2015

This chapter draws on key concepts from the Austrian school of economics to consider both the practical implications for and the ethical evaluation of the ideal constitutional schemes proposed by John Rawls and James Buchanan. With regard to practicalities, the chapter challenges the types of political regimes favored by Rawls and Buchanan on the grounds that they pay insufficient attention to the “knowledge problem.” With respect to moral evaluation, the chapter argues that the contractarian method provides insufficient grounds to judge the legitimacy of political institutions in a world characterized by actors with bounded rationality and diverse standards of evaluation.
The Market Process Theory Perspective on Capitalism
Authors: Aligica Paul Dragos
Published: December 2015

This chapter starts with a brief comparative overview of the distinctive theoretical core of market process theory, preparing the way for a systematic presentation of what the capitalist market system looks like when framed through theoretical lenses shaped by a process view. Noting that such an approach has analytical, explanatory, and normative implications, the chapter focuses on the normative aspects. Its objective is twofold: first, to show how descriptive and analytical process theory requires and transmutes into a specific form of normative process theory and, second, to identify the convergence points with the existing relevant literatures, themes, and theoretical perspectives that are (or should be) part of the conceptual and logical elaboration of this normative political economy framework.
On the Economy-Wide Implications of Kirznerian Alertness
Authors: Minniti Maria
Published: December 2015

The system-wide implications of entrepreneurship are usually linked to the effects of innovation on economic growth or to the consequences of alternative institutional settings on various forms of entrepreneurial activity. Yet the motivations and consequences of system-wide entrepreneurship go well beyond those related to innovation and institutions. The goal of this chapter is to show that the market process is entrepreneurial in all its aspects, including its most quotidian operations and adjustments. Specifically, this chapter argues that adopting a Kirznerian alertness perspective allows us to appreciate how entrepreneurship is essential to, and at the center of, the whole dynamic market process, including not only innovation and institutions but also growth, allocation of resources, equilibration, and business cycles, all of which are, ultimately, products of entrepreneurial action.
The Austrian Theory of Finance
Authors: Dempster Gregory
Published: December 2015

Austrian school economists have long been interested in monetary and financial operations that characterize modern capitalism. With a few exceptions, this interest was confined, at least until the late twentieth century, primarily to the aggregate effects of these operations on the workings of the economy at large, focusing on the overall outcomes of human action rather than specifics of how the decision to engage in those actions comes about. In other words, Austrian theorists emphasized the role of business enterprise but not the conduct of business. The last thirty years of development in the Austrian school have seen a profound change in this regard, with notable contributions emerging in all areas of business education. This chapter demonstrates the development of Austrian theory with respect to finance and makes the case that this development is sufficient in scope to qualify as a distinctive Austrian theory of finance.
The Knowledge Problem
Authors: Kiesling Lynne
Published: December 2015

F. A. Hayek’s elaboration of the difficulty of aggregating diffuse private knowledge is the best-known articulation of the knowledge problem and an example of the difficulty of coordinating individual plans and choices in the unavoidable presence of dispersed, private, subjective knowledge. Prices communicate some of this private knowledge and serve as knowledge surrogates. The knowledge problem has a deep provenance in economics and epistemology. It is a deep epistemological challenge, with which several scholars in the Austrian tradition have grappled. This chapter analyzes the development of the knowledge problem in two main categories: the complexity knowledge problem and the contextual knowledge problem. It also provides an overview of the development of the knowledge problem as a concept with both complexity and epistemic dimensions, its relation to and differences from modern game theory and mechanism design, and its implications for institutional design and robust political economy.
The Political Economy of Foreign Intervention
Authors: Duncan Thomas K. , Coyne Christopher J.
Published: December 2015

This chapter highlights the insights that the Austrian tradition brings to the analysis of foreign intervention. Foreign intervention is the use of the discretionary power of a government in one society to address the perceived problems in foreign societies. As such, the attempt to exercise top-down government authority, even with the most noble of intentions, will ultimately face problems similar to those faced in all types of central planning. The limits of human reason and the planner’s ability to engage in rational constructivism apply as strongly abroad as they do domestically. This chapter lays out those limitations and encourages a note of caution in attempts to intervene abroad.
From Subsistence to Advanced Material Production
Authors: Manish G.P. , Powell Benjamin
Published: December 2015

This chapter provides a summary of the lessons that the Austrian theory of capital holds for the field of development economics. It provides an introduction to the concepts of the structure of production and time preference and a brief overview of how the rate of time preference limits both the available pool of savings and the extent of capital formation. The implications that this uniquely Austrian insight holds for the theory of economic growth are spelled out, in particular the fact that what constrains the growth of developing countries is not the availability of technology but the availability of savings to undertake investment. The chapter also provides a brief exposition of the concept of capital heterogeneity and its implications for the impossibility of economic calculation under a system of central planning. A critique of some popular models that advocate planning as a means of economic development is also provided.
The Financial Crisis in the United Kingdom
Authors: Evans Anthony J.
Published: December 2015

This chapter looks at the role of ignorance rather than incentive explanations (such as moral hazard) to explain the financial crisis in the United Kingdom. It uses empirical evidence to suggest that economic explanations should allow scope for the possibility of clusters of errors and explores the institutional factors that can create them. Specific attention is given to the concepts of regime uncertainty and big players, and how they accelerated the crisis. The epistemic function of prices is also discussed, as is the importance of calculation and recalculation during periods of financial turmoil. The chapter attempts to demonstrate that contemporary Austrian economics can provide important contributions to our understanding of business cycles—both in theory and in practice.