Suchergebnisse

In democratic countries, deliberative democracy is proposed to rectify problems of liberal democracy. This paper explores deliberative democracy in China, conventionally regarded as an authoritarian country. After examining some deliberative practices and institutions in China and its more democratic public sphere, a conclusion is drawn that despite problems such as flawed institutional design and state domination, an immature deliberative democracy exists in China. The prospect of deliberative democracy in China is optimistically predicted, based on the public's strong democratic consciousness, the government's interest in democratic reform and the relatively moderate practices of deliberative democracy.

Under increasing public concern for the passenger safety in large passenger vehicles, legislative regulations are enforced and continuously updated. Recently, a new federal regulation was proposed in North America to enhance the safety level of the motorcoach passengers under the rollover, based on regulation No.66 of the Economic Commission for Europe, but with more severe loading conditions in the form of full passenger mass ballasted to all seats. The studies in this thesis use the explicit finite element method (implemented in LS-DYNA) and the load transfer index U* to model and analyze the motorcoach rollover event in order to evaluate the structural performance and passenger safety in accordance with related legislative regulations. A modified version of complete finite element model of a typical motorcoach is developed and validated using data from the component test and the complete vehicle rollover test. The rollover tests are numerically replicated for loading conditions corresponding to the vehicle with zero and full passenger mass respectively. The comparative study is performed on the structural resistance to deformation and energy absorption capability. The original concept of U* index is applied for analysis of key structural components experiencing the elastic-plastic deformation to determine the load path and examine the load transfer efficiency. Obtained coach rollover simulation results indicate that test condition of the proposed regulation leads to a 150% increase in penetration distance to the surviving space of the passenger compartment compared to the ECE R66 condition. The key structural members, which absorb the most energy in the rollover impact, are identified, and the need for the higher rollover resistance of the coach for its compliance with the newly proposed regulation is demonstrated. Obtained load transfer analysis results show the effectiveness of the application of the U* approach in detecting the change of load path within the structural elements experiencing plastic ...

In democratic countries, deliberative democracy is proposed to rectify problems of liberal democracy. This paper explores deliberative democracy in China, conventionally regarded as an authoritarian country. After examining some deliberative practices and institutions in China and its more democratic public sphere, a conclusion is drawn that despite problems such as flawed institutional design and state domination, an immature deliberative democracy exists in China. The prospect of deliberative democracy in China is optimistically predicted, based on the public's strong democratic consciousness, the government's interest in democratic reform and the relatively moderate practices of deliberative democracy.

We consider the non-linear properties \ and boundaries in the three forms of sharing, gift, \ and reselling economy. We decode the economic \ rationality and marketplace mechanisms in today's \ ever booming sharing/gifting/reselling networks. \ We contribute to the fundamental economics literature \ by decomposing a merchandise into two \ parts: the ownership good and the detached good. \ The ownership good can be utilized or shared \ by the owner. The detached good can either be \ given as a gift or be resold for an income. The \ separation is bounded by considering the estimated \ finite life of the good and a future time stamp \ of detachment. We consider owner's holding cost, \ various transaction costs, rewards, as well as the \ incentive mechanism from the network. We find \ that there exist various conditions when certain \ ownership form is more preferred to the others. \ Our results also indicate that governmental and \ marketplaces' incentive policies play an important \ role when consumers make decisions among the \ three economic forms and consequently adjusting \ the total social welfare.

Malaysia is a multilingual and multiethnic country with a substantial population of ethnic Chinese, who use standardized languages such as Malay, English, and Mandarin, as well as various Chinese dialects in their daily lives within and beyond Chinese communities. Cantonese is a community language that significantly impacts the lives of local Chinese in the city of Ipoh, Malaysia. This study aims to examine the vitality of Cantonese in Ipoh using the language vitality and endangerment (LVE) tool developed by UNESCO. Nine LVE-proposed factors reflecting the degree of endangerment were investigated. Using a survey method, 377 participants from various groups were randomly selected from the Chinese community in Ipoh, Malaysia during January 6 to February 5, 2022. The result shows that Cantonese in Ipoh is rated as "Unsafe," indicating that measures should be taken to prevent its further decline. The result suggests that further research is needed to gain a clearer understanding of the factors affecting language shift and maintenance, as well as the potential and challenges of linguistic and cultural diversity in the contemporary world.