Asymmetric Relationship Research Articles

Affective Ambiguities and Incompatible Value Frameworks: Sustaining Collaborations Within and beyond Neoliberal Academia

Abstract In this article, the authors mobilize the concept of affective ambiguity in order to explore the epistemological and structural incompatibilities that collaboration implies in the context of the highly asymmetrical relationships of power within and beyond neoliberal academia. They show that collaborations between university-based anthropologists at different stages of their careers and the groups and communities they seek to collaborate with are governed by mutually contradictory value frameworks. These value frameworks are shaped by the structural inequalities of these constellations and by diverging temporalities, socialities, and expectations that tend to make such collaborations unsustainable. Drawing on their own involvement in Kollektiv Polylog, a collective of refugee women, lecturers, former students, and activists in and beyond Berlin that are working together in the context of various publication, teaching, and video projects, the authors highlight the affective, temporal, and material resources that all actors need to invest in order to make collaboration productive.

Analysis of Dual-Driven Feed System Vibration Characteristics Based on Computer Numerical Control Machine Tools: A Systematic Review

Vibration in state-of-the-art machining impacts accuracy by diminishing the machine’s dynamic precision and the workpiece surface quality. The dependability of the cutters and productivity becomes a severe problem for optimizing the computer numerical control machine tools’ (CNCMT) efficiency. Therefore, investigating the twin ball screw drive system vibration properties as well as its corresponding control measures is vital. This paper thoroughly reviews the recent works on methods of analyzing and controlling vibration for dual-driven feed systems (DDFS). The research on vibration control technologies, parameter identification, and system modeling are identified and summarized; the merits and drawbacks of various methods are discussed for comparative purposes. Furthermore, the asymmetrical relation between DDFS and single-driven feed systems are thoroughly discussed based on their dynamic properties. Finally, based on existing studies, related research prospects are described systematically, and these research directions are sure to markedly contribute to developing methods for dampening vibrations on DDFS of CNCMT.

On the Asymmetric Relationship Between Physician Mental Health Disorders on Quality of Healthcare Under the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan: Quantile on Quantile Regression Analyses.

When examining the nexus of physician mental health disorders and healthcare quality from the empirical perspective, mental health disorders are frequently associated with cyclical patterns corresponding to cyclic seasonality, mood swings, emission of air pollution and business cycles, the potential asymmetric effects of physician mental health disorders on healthcare quality have not received adequate attention from researchers. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the asymmetric relationship between physician mental health disorders and healthcare quality during the pandemic outbreak in Taiwan. Daily data for care quality indicators and physician mental health disorders were collected from the National Insurance Research Database in Taiwan, and the quantile-on-quantile regression model was applied to proceed with our analyses. Our results indicated that the overall aggregate effects of each quantile of physician mental health disorders on the cumulative quantiles of healthcare quality are negative (positive) for the 14-day readmission rate (preventable hospitalization rate and non-urgent ED-visit rate). Positively (negatively) cumulative effects of each quantile of physician mental health disorders were detected in the middle (low and high) quantiles of the preventable hospitalization rate. The cumulative effects of each quantile of physician mental health disorders on the high (low and middle) quantiles of the 14-day readmission rate are negative (positive), but the cumulative effects on various quantiles of the non-urgent ED-visit rate exhibit the opposite pattern. The observed variation in the relationship between physician mental health disorders and different quantiles of healthcare quality suggests the need for tailored strategic interventions based on distinct levels of healthcare quality when addressing the higher risk of physician mental health disorders during the pandemic outbreak conditions.

Causality in extremes of time series

Consider two stationary time series with heavy-tailed marginal distributions. We aim to detect whether they have a causal relation, that is, if a change in one causes a change in the other. Usual methods for causal discovery are not well suited if the causal mechanisms only appear during extreme events. We propose a framework to detect a causal structure from the extremes of time series, providing a new tool to extract causal information from extreme events. We introduce the causal tail coefficient for time series, which can identify asymmetrical causal relations between extreme events under certain assumptions. This method can handle nonlinear relations and latent variables. Moreover, we mention how our method can help estimate a typical time difference between extreme events. Our methodology is especially well suited for large sample sizes, and we show the performance on the simulations. Finally, we apply our method to real-world space-weather and hydro-meteorological datasets.

Multiple pathways to science enjoyment: a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis in TIMSS 2019

ABSTRACT Cultivating students’ enjoyment of science is one of the significant aims of science education. However, it seems challenging to achieve this goal in most countries or economies. Using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 Hong Kong data, this study aims to identify multiple configurations of school conditions to develop students’ science enjoyment with a School Analytics model. A fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) was employed to capture the potential asymmetric relationships and measure multiple combinations of different conditions. Results indicated that no single school condition was necessary or sufficient for high enjoyment of science (ES). While lacking instructional clarity was a sufficient condition for low enjoyment of science (∼ES). Three different configurations resulted in ES and ∼ES respectively. The combination of supportive school discipline and high instructional clarity jointly constituted a crucial science learning environment for developing science enjoyment in Hong Kong secondary schools. Under this environment, the effectiveness of science investigation was further discussed to enhance science enjoyment. Our study enlightens educational practitioners to improve students’ science enjoyment with multiple combinations of school conditions.

Relationship between the Silk Road and Circumglobal Teleconnection Patterns on the Interannual and Interdecadal Timescales

The Silk Road pattern (SRP) and circumglobal teleconnection pattern (CGT) are two well-known teleconnection patterns, representing the summer circulation variations of the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, which have different definitions but are often regarded as one teleconnection pattern. In view of the distinct features of the SRP/CGT on the interannual (IA) and interdecadal (ID) timescales, the present study investigates the linkages and differences between the SRP and CGT on the two timescales, respectively. On the IA timescale, both the SRP and CGT feature a similar circumglobal wave train structure with strong and significant centers over Eurasia but show clear independence. Specifically, the SRP and CGT illustrate largely the mid-/high-latitude-related and tropics-related parts of the Northern Hemisphere upper tropospheric circulation variations, respectively. Also, the CGT shows a stronger connection to the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) heating and El Niño–Southern Oscillation than the SRP, which makes the CGT more like a tropical forcing-driven atmospheric mode and the SRP more like an internal atmospheric mode. The linkages and differences between them are associated with their asymmetrical relationship during their positive and negative phases, which are attributed mainly to the asymmetrical impact of the ISM heating/cooling on the Eurasian circulations. On the ID timescale, the SRP and CGT are characterized by a coherent two-wave train structure over Eurasia and feature a similar teleconnection pattern over Eurasia, which is associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. The present findings on their linkages and differences are helpful in understanding the variability and prediction of the SRP and CGT.

Do natural resources ensure energy efficiency? A novel paradigm of resources-efficiency nexus for sustainable development

There is been ample discussion on the resource-growth and resource-finance nexus in almost every country but the resource-energy paradigm is lacking in developed and developing economies. Henceforth, this research inspects the link between natural resources and energy efficiency in the USA from 1985 to 2021. To avoid biases in the outputs, the research also included the role of economic growth (GDP) and renewable energy(REC). The research utilized an updated time series data sample and also employed relevant approaches which comprise DF-GLS for unit root determination, the Bayer-Hanck test for equilibrium, and the novel MMQR as the primary approach. For robustness tests, the research included parametric tests such as FMOLS, DOLS, CCR, and a non-parametric approach which is BSQR for validity. The results observed that variables are stationary at Difference D(1) and long-term equilibrium has been found. Moreover, the main outcomes disclose that natural resources have an asymmetric relationship where the forest rents present a resource curse while mineral rents have blessings for energy efficiency in the USA across all quantiles. Moreover, GDP and REC substantially improve energy efficiency in the USA. The robustness protocols exhibit that outcomes are analogous to the main outcomes and are therefore, valid, reliable, and robust. Established on the estimates, the research provides relevant policy suggestions to policymakers concerning the sustainable use of natural resources, economic growth, and renewable energy related to energy efficiency.

Master Narratives in US Contemporary War Discourse: Situating and Constructing Identities of Self and Other

The present paper aims to discuss the discursive strategies of otherization, legitimation, and normalization typically found in extracts from the author’s video corpus of US Presidents’ selected official statements at the height of actual or potential armed conflicts between the First Gulf War (1990-1991) and the end of the Obama Administration (2016). The underlying working assumption is that, to consolidate asymmetrical power relationships and monitor dissent and/or win domestic consent about the use of force, the US Administration systematically resorts to a relatively restricted inventory of political myths and cultural constructs sustained by strategic storytelling and powerful master narratives, or Intertextual Thematic Formations. The qualitative analysis, informed by a systemic functional, critical discourse approach, is undertaken at both the macro- and micro-levels, with a view to highlighting how master narratives project distinct/conflicting standpoints and socio-institutional roles and identities (e.g. the-President-as-Father-of-the-Nation; the-Community-as-Protector-of-its-Members'-Interests; the-West-as-Civilizer), while feeding the myth of a ‘super-empowered’ President and ultimately sustaining the ideological square. The final contention is that awareness-raising pedagogical models are needed which work upwards from the bottom of the hierarchical narrative structure, contextualizing the master narrative and linking it to the audience’s individual narratives, so that discourse can fulfil its critical function of dismantling potentially manipulative and/or normalizing discourse practices and foster civil society-led, personal counter-narratives that remove stereotyping and oversimplification.

The Struggle for Autonomy of Weak States under Asymmetric Alliances: Based on the Case Comparison Between Philippines and South Korea

The need for diplomatic autonomy of weaker states in asymmetric alliances rises as their power increases, leading to a struggle for autonomy. In the U.S. Asia-Pacific alliance system, both the Philippines and South Korea are advancing the struggle for autonomy, but the effects of the struggle are showing differences. So why is the Philippines struggle for autonomy relatively more effective while South Koreas struggle is less effective when it is the same U.S. Asia-Pacific ally? This study mainly applies the case comparison method to analyze the main factors that cause the different effects of the autonomy struggle between the two countries by comparing the autonomy struggle in the Philippines after Duterte came to power and in South Korea after Moon Jae-in came to power. This paper argues that the factors that contribute to the different effects of autonomous struggle are mainly strategic dependence and the degree of interest bundling and acquisition at the external level, the degree of sovereign security and domestic political preference at the internal level, and the effective conditions for the autonomous struggle of weak states are also related to this. This study will provide insights into the struggle for autonomy of weak states in asymmetric relations and offer new perspectives for predicting the direction of the U.S. alliance system and the positioning of Korean-Philippine policy.

“I Am a Poor Man with a Family”: Rangers, Social Welfare, and Monitor Networks in the Forests of Interwar Zlatna, Romania

In the interwar period, forestry emerged as a powerful tool through which state institutions attempted to shape social and natural environments in rural Romania. This article evaluates how criminality, poverty, surveillance, exploitation, and labor intersected in Romania’s forests through the figure of the forest ranger, responsible for a range of tasks from managing forest ecology to serving as the state’s representative in the woodlands. Using a microhistorical approach, the article recounts the story of a Zlatna ranger investigated for theft in the late 1920s. His story and the individuals involved offer important insight into the asymmetrical power relations and local social factors that negotiated the forests’ legibility. Rangers served as part crucial asset, part embarrassing liability, existing in a liminal space between the state and local society. Through local forestry agents, their informal networks, and the “involuntary monitors” these invariably created, state forestry officials had valuable points of contact with rural society. This article demonstrates the value of rural perspectives in historical studies, challenging prevailing notions that conceptualize rural people as simple, irrelevant, or singlemindedly opposed to the encroachment of the modern state.

Dispel the Clouds and See the Sun: Influencing Factors and Multiple Paths of User Retention Intention Formation.

To achieve user retention through multifactor synergy, Internet enterprises must reduce costs and increase efficiency and sustainable development. In response to the dilemma that Internet companies are experiencing increasingly high user acquisition costs and serious user churn, this paper investigates a sample of 46,695 user reviews of nine product series from Xiaomi Ecological Chain. Case studies and qualitative comparative analysis are used to explore the influence mechanisms of quality of experience, brand trust, and brand attachment on users' retention intentions. Our findings are as follows. (1) Brand attachment alone is not necessary for high user retention intention, but user perception, cognition, and brand trust are necessary. (2) Quality of experience positively impacts brand trust, attachment, and user retention intention. Therefore, improving user perception and cognition is critical in generating high user retention intention. (3) Five configuration paths can achieve high user retention intention, while three configuration paths lead to low user retention intention, and there is an asymmetric relationship between these paths. Among them, the role of quality of experience-driven configuration paths in generating user retention intention is the most prominent. (4) User perception and cognition can substitute with brand trust and attachment in the substitution relationship between configuration paths. Our findings have important theoretical and practical implications for revealing the realization paths of high user retention intention in Internet companies and provide a new perspective for future research.

Intensity change and zonal and meridional movements of the Aleutian Low and their associated broad-scale atmospheric-oceanic characteristics

The changes in the intensity and position of the Aleutian Low (AL) exert significant effects on the ocean-land-atmosphere interactive processes and climate over East Asia, the North Pacific, and North America. In this study, the interannual variations of the AL intensity, meridional shift, and zonal shift, as well as their associated dynamical processes are investigated. The results show that the intensity, meridional shift, and zonal shift of the AL are well characterized by the three leading EOF modes of sea level pressure over the North Pacific, and are strongly correlated with the Pacific-North American pattern, the West Pacific pattern, and the Tropical/Northern Hemisphere pattern, respectively. The intensity variation of the winter AL seems to be closely associated with the ENSO-related atmosphere-ocean processes in the previous autumn, whereas the meridional shift is not associated any significant signal in the previous months, signifying a relatively higher predictability of the former. Besides, the eastward and westward movements of the AL show asymmetric features, attributed possibly to their asymmetric relationships with ENSO.

Comparison of the Asymmetric Relationship between Bitcoin and Gold, Crude Oil, and the U.S. Dollar before and after the COVID-19 Outbreak

This paper aims to reveal the asymmetric co-integration relationship and asymmetric causality between Bitcoin and global financial assets, namely gold, crude oil and the US dollar, and make a comparison for their asymmetric relationship before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Empirical results show that there is no linear co-integration relationship between Bitcoin and global financial assets, but there are nonlinear co-integration relationships. There is an asymmetric co-integration relationship between the rise in Bitcoin prices and the decline in the US Dollar Index (USDX), and there is a nonlinear co-integration relationship between the decline of Bitcoin and the rise and decline in the prices of the three financial assets. To be specific, there is a Granger causality between Bitcoin and crude oil, but not between Bitcoin and gold/US dollar. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an Asymmetric Granger causality between the decline in gold prices and the rise in Bitcoin prices. After the outbreak of the pandemic, there is an asymmetric Granger causality between the decline in crude oil prices and the decline in Bitcoin prices. The COVID-19 epidemic has led to changes in the causality between Bitcoin and global financial assets. However, there is not a linear Granger causality between the US dollar and Bitcoin. Last, the practical implications of the findings are discussed here.

The impact of technological innovation and financial development on environmental pollution in gulf cooperation council - A linear and nonlinear ARDL approach.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are highly vulnerable to climate change, including rising sea levels, extreme weather, and other environmental and social issues. GCC countries showed remarkable economic growth and development. However, this growth and development put severe pressure on the environment, leading to the degradation of the Environment. Therefore, it is essential to investigate essential factors of environmental degradation, such as technological innovation and financial development. However, per capita income and energy consumption are also crucial factors of environmental degradation. Henceforth, the study carried out panel data from 2001 to 2019 to examine the influence of technological innovation, financial development, energy consumption, and per capita income on environmental degradation in GCC. After conducting necessary preliminary tests, the study employed a symmetric and asymmetric ARDL approach to quantify the numerical estimates. Both symmetric and asymmetric models show that technological innovation reduces environmental degradation, while energy consumption, per capita, and financial development expedite the ecological deterioration in GCC. The Wald tests demonstrate the asymmetric relationship between technological innovation, energy consumption, financial development, and environmental degradation. However, the study fails to find a significant asymmetric relationship between per capita and ecological degradation. The recommendations are added in the recommendation part of the paper.

Seeking Certainty in an Asymmetric Relationship: Livestream Shopping in China

Seeking Certainty in an Asymmetric Relationship: Livestream Shopping in China

Walking a Tightrope: Turkey between the EU and Russia in the Crimea Crisis

The Crimea crisis marked one of the latest critical points in the European Union (EU)-Turkey-Russia triangle. This article analyzes Turkey’s position between the EU and Russia, after the events that unfolded in February 2014, by adopting Holsti’s role theory. Developing a research map through official documents, this article assesses Turkey’s two-sided strategic position, by asking the following question: How did Turkey’s intertwined relationships with the EU and Russia affect its foreign policy formulation in the Crimea crisis? Turkey’s role formulation during the Crimea crisis is defined by empirical data acquired through the official documents of EU institutions and the Turkish and Russian foreign policy ministries. MAXQDA software was utilized to provide a systematic qualitative analysis of the 123 official declarations. This article argues that Turkey’s response to the Crimea crisis was affected by several factors stemming from its asymmetric relationship with Russia, its EU candidate status, and kinship with the Crimean Tatars.

Надгосударственность и суверенитет в Европейском союзе и Евразийском экономическом союзе

In the last decade, the notion of sovereignty has been increasingly used in public discussions. A variety of actors are appealing to it, from systemic actors looking for ways to overcome the global governance and security crisis to sovereigntists protesting universalism and the weakening of the role of the state. Under these conditions, the transformation of sovereignty within integration associations is of particular interest. The concept of “strategic sovereignty” has appeared in the discourse of the most advanced among them, the European Union (EU). Among the challenges to this sovereignty, Brussels puts emphasis on the policies of China and Russia. The latter also actively appeals to the notion of sovereignty, and is itself the core of another integration association – the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). From the very creation of the Eurasian Customs Union, it has been emphasized that it borrows the experience of the EU and aims to become a nexus in interlinking regional integration agreements across Eurasia. In the context of the conflict between Russia and the west, the EU and the EAEU are increasingly opposed to each other. This study is focused on identifying the features of the transformation of sovereignty in integration associations on the example of the EU and the EAEU. The analytical focus of the evaluation of the two models is set by the concept of four dimensions of sovereignty by S. Krasner and the phenomenon of supranationality. As the study shows, the transformation of sovereignty is not limited to the transfer of power to supranational bodies. In the EU, sovereignty is shared among the levels of this political community, forming a multi-level system of governance. Regarding the EAEU, the literature is dominated by the opinion that the sovereignty of the participating countries is indisputable, and the association itself is purely interstate in nature. Indeed, there are practically insurmountable obstacles to transferring the issues of organization of power to other levels by the EAEU states. At the same time, different dimensions of sovereignty here were affected by asymmetric relations with Russia even before the formation of the EAEU. The union was created on the basis and because of these dependencies, but it also transforms them.

Non-linear Effect of Islamic Banks' Liquidity Risk to Financial Stability; Evidence from the Indonesian Banking Industry

Liquidity risk is a pivotal aspect that determines the soundness of financial performance in the banking system. Therefore, the study aims to examine the influence of Islamic banks' liquidity risk on banking stability. Using time series data ranging from 2004m1 to 2022m8, the study adopts a non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) approach to examine the influence of liquidity risk on financial stability in the Indonesian banking sectors. The result of the study reveals that it has a non-linear and asymmetric relationship between liquidity risk and financial stability in the banking system. In the short run, an additional increase/decrease in the change of liquidity risk negatively affects financial stability. In addition, the long-run relationship shows that only an additional increase in change has a negative and significant relationship to financial stability. The COVID-19 pandemic also becomes a significant determinant that affects financial stability in the long-run relationship. The findings of the study imply that the Indonesian financial authorities should set suitable regulations to mitigate and address the issue of Islamic banks' liquidity risk, particularly in anticipating its non-linear and asymmetric impact on financial stability.

Impact of financial development, energy consumption and urbanization on CO2 emissions from buildings using quantile ARDL model

Urbanization plays a crucial role in facilitating the integration of population growth, industrial development, economic expansion, and energy consumption. In this paper, we aim to examine the relationships between CO2 emissions and various factors including economic growth, urbanization, financial development, and energy consumption within Pakistan’s building sector. The study utilizes annual data spanning from 1990 to 2020. To analyze the cointegration relationship between these variables, we employ the quantile autoregressive distributed lag error correction model (QARDL-ECM). The findings of this research provide evidence supporting the presence of an asymmetric and nonlinear long-term relationship between the variables under investigation. Based on these results, we suggest the implementation of tariffs on nonrenewable energy sources and the formulation of policies that promote sustainable energy practices. By doing so, policymakers and architects can effectively contribute to minimising environmental damage. Overall, this study offers valuable insights that can assist policymakers and architects in making informed decisions to mitigate environmental harm while fostering sustainable development.

The effect of Chinese vaccine diplomacy during COVID-19 in the Philippines and Vietnam: a multiple case study from a soft power perspective

Vaccine diplomacy is a subset of global health diplomacy and refers to the use and delivery of vaccines to achieve a country’s global health goals and foreign policy objectives. Countries have used vaccine diplomacy to increase their soft power during the COVID-19 pandemic. China, an emerging world power, was no exception in this trend. By December 2022, China had dispatched 1.65 billion vaccines worldwide; approximately one-third of the Chinese vaccines were sent to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. China attempted to increase its soft power via vaccine diplomacy to appeal to its neighbours with which it has long-standing territorial disputes in the South China Sea (SCS). Focusing on two key claimants in the SCS, our study has the following research question: How effective was Chinese COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy in the Philippines and Vietnam from a soft power perspective? Through a qualitative multiple case study research design, we determined the effectiveness of Chinese vaccine diplomacy in the Philippines and Vietnam by using four indicators of soft power: public opinion, foreign policy, attractiveness, and business and trade. Data collection consisted of a literature search of academic literature and newspaper articles that were published between 26 May and 13 June 2022. A thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the data. Analysing the effectiveness of Chinese vaccine diplomacy based on the four indicators of soft power, our results show that only the indicators of attractiveness in Vietnam and business and trade in the Philippines have somewhat improved. In contrast, the indicators of public opinion and foreign policy showed neutral or negative results for China. This study concludes that Chinese vaccine diplomacy in the Philippines and Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic was unsuccessful from a soft power perspective. One reason is that China undermined its soft power approach by simultaneously using hard power tactics in Southeast Asia. Using vaccine diplomacy to increase soft power is not always desirable from a global health perspective. Instead, countries should focus on equitable vaccine access and address asymmetrical power relations.