Suchergebnisse

In this article, the author explores the inherent tension in the mixed political culture (i.e., parochial, subject, and participant) of postcolonial Macao under the reign of its first chief executive, Edmund Ho Hau Wah. The continuity of a parochial or subject political culture is reflected in the alliance between the government, pro-Beijing and probusiness elites, and traditional social organizations. Participant culture can be seen in the emergence of social movements and labor protests that challenge the government's capacity to govern effectively. The paradoxical and unaccountable system of the Macao administration and patrimonial rule, coupled with the failure of traditional social organizations in representing workers' interests, has resulted in a growing labor movement. Demand overload, government's tardiness in tackling social problems (social inequality, discrimination, and the relative deprivation of workers), and administrative corruption have pushed workers' grievances and tolerance to the limit, which has culminated in challenges to the legitimacy and governing capacity of the government, as shown in the "infamous" 2007 labor protest. (Asian Aff/GIGA)

While global cities have mostly been characterized as sites of intensive and extensive economic activity, the quest for global city status also increasingly rests on the creative production and consumption of culture and the arts. Arts, Culture and the Making of Global Cities examines such ambitions and projects undertaken in five major cities in Asia: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore. Providing a thorough comparison of their urban imaging strategies and attempts to harness arts and culture, as well as more organically evolved arts activities and spaces, this book analyses th

Australian society is becoming more culturally diverse (ABS 2012a). In contrast, it is also becoming less welcoming in many ways. Research by the Scanlon Foundation (Markus 2016), for example, has documented an increase in racism in Australia over the last ten years, including verbal abuse, physical violence, and worsening local relations (see also Acharya 2017; Reconciliation Australia 2016). Such a shift undermines the country's social cohesion and political stability, and the health and well-being of individuals, particularly migrants (Dunn et al. 2016).Australian research on everyday multiculturalism has demonstrated that local neighborhoods are important sites for tackling racism and fostering intercultural understanding. Everyday multiculturalism, as distinct from official multicultural policy, is concerned with the quotidian daily encounters between individuals who share culturally diverse social spaces, including local residential communities (Ho et al. 2015; Wise and Velayutham 2009). Increasingly, cities are places where large proportions of the population live in apartments (ABS 2014). At the same time, most migrants to Australia settle in cities and migrants are over-represented as a proportion of dwellers in private apartments (see below). This trend suggests the importance of apartments as key elements of urban neighborhoods and the specific roles they may play as significant places of intercultural interaction. These roles have not yet been properly recognized, even in very recent research (see e.g. Fincher et al. 2014; Harris 2016; Neal et al. 2013).

As the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) grows, so do the costs it imposes on society. Scientific, clinical, and financial interests have focused current drug discovery efforts largely on the single biological pathway that leads to amyloid deposition. This effort has resulted in slow progress and disappointing outcomes. Here, we describe a "portfolio approach" in which multiple distinct drug development projects are undertaken simultaneously. Although a greater upfront investment is required, the probability of at least one success should be higher with "multiple shots on goal," increasing the efficiency of this undertaking. However, our portfolio simulations show that the risk-adjusted return on investment of parallel discovery is insufficient to attract private-sector funding. Nevertheless, the future cost savings of an effective AD therapy to Medicare and Medicaid far exceed this investment, suggesting that government funding is both essential and financially beneficial.

Abstract. The spatial and temporal distribution of sea-level rise has the potential to cause regional flooding in certain areas, and low-lying island countries are severely at risk. Tuvalu, an atoll country located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, has been inundated by this regional flooding for decades. Tuvaluans call this regional flooding phenomenon King Tide, a term not clearly defined, blaming it for loss of life and property in announcing their intention to migrate. In this study, we clarified and interpreted King Tide, and analyzed the factors of King Tide in Tuvalu. Using tide gauge and topographical data, we estimated that 3.2 m could be considered the threshold of King Tide, which implied half of the island of Tuvalu was flooded with seawater. This threshold is consistent with the finding of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that King Tide events occur once or twice a year. We surveyed 28 King Tide events to analyze the factors of regional flooding. Tide gauge and satellite altimeter data from 1993 to 2012 were cross-validated and indicated that the King Tide phenomenon is significantly related to the warm-water effect. Warm water contributed to the King Tide phenomenon by an average of 5.1% and a maximum of 7.8%. The height of King Tide is affected by the combined factors of spring tide, storm surge, climate variability, and, significantly, by the warm-water effect.