Crown Property Research Articles

ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC FINANCE IN KAUTILYA'S ARTHASHASTRA

The study attempts to explore the Arthashastra, an ancient Indian treatise on public finance, authored by Kautilya around 300 BCE during the Mauryan period. The Arthashastra covers a wide range of topics including administration, politics, ecology, and economics, providing insights into the economic and political conditions of that era. The treatise emphasises the importance of treasury management, revenue generation, and expenditure allocation for the well-being of the state and its citizens. It enumerates seven sources of revenue, including income from crown property, state-controlled activities, taxes, trade, fees and service charges, fines, and miscellaneous sources. The Mauryan state, guided by the principles of the Arthashastra, established a centralised and efficient administration with specific officials responsible for revenue collection and management. The study also explores the significance of fraud prevention, accounting, auditing, and budgeting in public finance. The Arthashastra serves as a valuable historical document, offering inspiration and guidance for modern public finance, emphasising the balance between state management and the welfare of the people.

Gender Disparities in Land Rights a Myth or a Reality? Case studies of the situations in Kenya and Tanzania

<p><big>All things being equal, and in a truly democratic world, one will expect that the fact that women are the majority in almost every single community of the world should guarantee them at least equal control or ownership over resources and enjoy most of the rights and privileges in that particular community. But things seem not to be working that way as evidence from the literature shows that women are always relegated to the background when it comes to the issue of control or ownership over, and sometimes even access to property in most societies which include the right to own and use land. This undoubtedly has a consequence on the productive and overall development of such a community. In recent times, the issue of gender discrimination, disparities, and inequalities has attracted the attention of researchers over the past decade with enormous literature in this area. There are, however, few studies that provide a comparative analysis of the situation between two or more countries. This paper seeks to fill this void of knowledge based on a review of relevant literature on land rights with an emphasis on the situations in Kenya and Tanzania. The results have shown the prevalence of four types of land rights such as communal property rights, non or open-access property rights, state or crown property rights, and private property rights. The results have further indicated that the controversial land rights of Kenya have led to the reduction in the lands of certain groups of people, increasing land disputes, and also discriminating against women in their land rights. In the case of Tanzania, there were several cases of bias against women concerning the ownership of land, especially under the customary system of Tanzania. Issues of discrimination against women were also identified in the inheritance laws of the land which is a paramount feature within the norms and cultures of the people of Tanzania. The lack of equal access to land by women in both countries is found to harm productivity in several sectors of their economies, especially in agriculture. Policymakers are therefore admonished to ensure equal access by both genders to land as this will lead to efficiency in the management and usage of land which is certainly good for sustainability in the development of any economy.</big></p>

Axial Postural Abnormalities in Parkinsonism: Gaps in Predictors, Pathophysiology, and Management.

Axial Postural Abnormalities in Parkinsonism: Gaps in Predictors, Pathophysiology, and Management.

Enfeoffment to Use, Legalism, and Humanism in Gower's Mirour de l'Omme

Enfeoffment to Use, Legalism, and Humanism in Gower's <i>Mirour de l'Omme</i>

Making Informal Settlement Upgrading Plan to Action: A Comparative Analysis of Slow-Changing Community

Informal settlement upgrading has always been a crucial element of urban planning and developmentmissions, particularly in a rapidly changing population and economic environments. Despite having beenassociated with planning process of national slum upgrading/prevention, it could hardly be accomplishedunless some threatening catalysts upon housing security are triggered. The researchers studied two suburbcommunities on the Crown Property Bureau’s lands: The Second Phuddhamonthon Road Community (SPC) and Wat Indrabanjong Community (WIC). Both are recognized as ‘slow-changing communities’. The research waschronologically conducted during 2009-2012 by abductive approach. Hence, the paper aims 1) to elucidate themechanism of planning platform and dialogues under a specific context to generate mutual consensus amongstakeholders; 2) to identify a series of neighborhood qualifications, limits, and potentials under a diverse livingambience that frequently impede actual changes; and 3) to extrapolate some mechanisms and conditions,bringing about a ‘critical point’, which ignites the settlement to a radical change. The key failure and successare 1) community leader and leadership, 2) the status of individual economic burdens, and 3) ad-hoc planningtactics.

History of Amalgamation of Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria

This paper discusses the History Of Amalgamation Of Northern And Southern Protectorates. This research work will be divided into various parts. Firstly, we shall start with preliminary definition of terms. According to Chambers Everyday Dictionary, Legal means “pertaining to”, according to law, “lawful”. Regime means administration amalgamation means “the blending of different things a close union”.1 According to Price, “colonies are territories which has been acquired by the Crown either by settlement, by cession, by purchase or by conquest, and were thus Crown property in which British authority was unassailable in domestic and international law. Nwabueze contends: that the effect of annexation of territory is to divest the sovereign of the territory so annexed of his sovereignty and to transfer it to the British Crown who then becomes the new sovereign of the colony with unlimited powers of Government and a complete dominion over its territory, the inhabitants of which becomes the Crown subjects. A protectorate on the other band implies primarily jurisdiction over the external affairs of the protected territory.

The Influence of Commercial Development by Quasi-Public Agencies on the Urban Spatial Pattern of Pathumwan District, Bangkok, Thailand

This paper defines the urban spatial pattern of the Pathumwan District in Bangkok after the end of the period of Thai absolute monarchy in 1932, although the monarchy still maintained important influence in the area. The district is known as a prime commercial zone of the capital city where Siam BTS Station, one of the busiest Bangkok mass transit hubs, is located. Unlike other commercial areas in Bangkok, the district represents images of a modern city with traces of royal traditional elements in the period of Thai absolute monarchy. The research data were collected from archival materials including official documents, newspapers, magazines, and other related publications. The results show that the Crown Property Bureau (CPB) and Chulalongkorn University, two large and powerful quasi-public agencies, are the major influential landlords whose properties absorb a huge amount of investment, as well as generate commercial clusters, with intense commercial competition among business groups, along the corridor of Rama I-Sukhumvit Road. Investors try to sustain their clusters, but those with less economic strength are forced to leave the area.

Guanopreneurs and the dynamics of policymaking in the Cape Colony, 1843-1845

Having identified an opportunity to extract significant income from selling guano, a popular and profitable natural fertiliser, from individual islands within its territorial waters, the Cape colonial administration established loading infrastructure and promulgated a new policy to prevent an uncontrolled rush during the mid-19th century. Given the uneven power relations between the administration and its citizenry and the lack of genuinely representative institutions, the new measures generated significant conflict between the authorities and business community that turned the policy-making process into an acrimonious affair. Individual businessmen with networks in London, the Cape legislative council, judiciary and the Cape Town municipality and who desired free access to the source for trading purposes, opposed the attempt of the authorities to monopolise access to the product through Ordinance 4 of 1845 (the so-called Guano Ordinance) in order to generate income for governance purposes. A complicating factor was the fact that the expenditure connected to the new policy regime (infrastructure, customs control, and policing), still had to be sanctioned by the Imperial Government. Similarly, the new ordinance had to be aligned with and sanctioned by the imperial authorities, allowing politically-connected businessmen to use their influence in London and the Colonial Office, to force the Cape government into a process of bargaining, persuasion and compromise. With seabird guano declared Crown property, Cape Town’s prospective wealthy guanopreneurs had to pay for guano freight while effectively removing their resource-poor counterparts from the race. On an international scale, the Cape Guano Ordinance provided the basis for similar legal measures in other parts of the world and trade during the next decade.

Exhibiting the collections of the Spanish Crown and nobility for the nation: the Count of Valencia de Don Juan and the 1892 European historical exhibition

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on the place and role accorded to the collections of the Spanish Crown and nobility at the Exposición Histórico-Europea organized in Madrid in 1892. It sets the exhibition in the political and cultural context of the Fourth Centenary of the Discovery of America and analyses the role of Juan Crooke y Navarrot, the Count of Valencia de Don Juan to understand how royal and aristocratic collections were instrumentalized in a bid to assert the place of the Spanish monarchy on the European and international scene and strengthen its prestige. Commissioner of Crown property, the Count of Valencia de Don Juan was one of the members of the nobility who exhibited their collections to the public. Therefore, his investment in the organization of the exhibition, as a non-professional curator, helps understand what the event meant for Spanish nobility. This enables us to gauge what role such exhibiting played in the construction of the national heritage and art historiography of Spain.

A Study on the Effect of N453 from Fungi on Inhibiting CFTR Chloride Channels in Intestinal Epithelial Cells

Secretory diarrhea remains a global health problem, especially in developing countries. Cyclic AMP‐stimulated intestinal Cl− secretion plays a crucial role in pathogenesis of diarrheas including cholera and traveler's diarrhea. Inhibition of cAMP‐activated Cl− channel is considered as drug target for secretory diarrhea. The main objective of this study was to identify a novel inhibitor of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), cAMP‐activated Cl− channel, from a screen of fungal metabolites. A fungal derivative compound N453 was identified as an active compound that could inhibit cAMP‐activated Cl− secretion in intact T84 cells with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of ~ 0.78 μM in Ussing chamber experiments. Importantly, MTT assays revealed that N453 (up to100 μM) did not affect cell viability, suggesting that inhibition of cAMP‐activated Cl− current was not due to cytotoxic effect. In apical Cl− current analysis, N453 suppressed CFTR‐mediated apical Cl− current in a concentration‐dependent manner with IC50 of ~ 2 μM. On the other hand, the Na+‐K+ ATPase activity was not affected by N453. Of interest, N453 concentration‐dependently inhibited basolateral cAMP‐activated K+ channels with an IC50 of ~ 23 μM. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that N453 inhibits Cl− secretion in intestinal epithelial cells, at least in part, by inhibiting CFTR‐mediated apical Cl− current and basolateral cAMP‐activated K+ channels. N453 may be useful as potential therapy of secretory diarrheas.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by the NSTDA Chair Professor grant (the Fourth Grant) of the Crown Property Bureau Foundation, Faculty of Science Mahidol University, Faculty of Graduate Studies Mahidol University and Tonkla Ramathibodi.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

In Vitro Studies on the Mechanism of CFTR Inhibition by a Fungus‐derived Compound and Its Potential Anti‐diarrheal Application

Secretory diarrheas caused by enterotoxin‐producing bacteria are a major global health problem. Overactivation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channels play an important role in the pathogenesis of secretory diarrheas. Preliminary results in our laboratory found that the fungus‐derived N453 inhibited CFTR‐mediated Cl− secretion with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of ̴ 2 μM in intestinal epithelial (T84) cells. This study aimed to explore its underlying mechanisms and to demonstrate its anti‐diarrheal application. As analyzed by apical Cl− current measurement, pretreatment with phosphodiesterase and multi‐drug resistance protein 4 inhibitors did not affect the inhibitory effect of N453 on cAMP‐induced Cl− secretion T84 cells. In addition, N453 inhibited Cl− secretion induced by CPT‐cAMP (non‐hydrolyzable cAMP). These results suggest that CFTR inhibition by N453 does not involve alteration of intracellular cAMP levels. Moreover, N453 inhibited CFTR‐mediated Cl− transport induced by genistein (direct CFTR activator), suggesting that N453 might directly inhibit CFTR activity. Pretreatment with inhibitors of AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) and protein phosphatase (PP), negative regulators of CFTR, did not affect the inhibitory effect of N453 on cAMP‐induced Cl− secretion, suggesting that CFTR inhibition by N453 is not resulted from activation of these negative regulators. Interestingly, N453 inhibited Cl− secretion induced by cholera and heat‐stable enterotoxins. Collectively, N453 derived from fungi acts as CFTR inhibitors, which may be beneficial for the treatment of secretory diarrheas.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by the NSTDA Chair Professor grant (the Fourth Grant) of the Crown Property Bureau Foundation, Faculty of Science Mahidol University, Faculty of Graduate Studies Mahidol University and Kasetsart Veterinary Development Funds.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Neighbor and Height Effects on Crown Properties Associated with the Uniform-Stress Principle of Stem Formation

According to the uniform-stress principle of stem formation, the amount of leaf area a tree carries and the leverage it exerts on the stem determine the stem dimensions. Within an even-aged monoculture, the leaf area per tree and the leverage placed on the stem are functions of tree density and tree height. The uniform-stress principle presents the means to translate density effects on crown characteristics into stem dimensions and total standing volume. This approach is truly a top-down method of simulating growth tree and stand growth because leaf area and other crown properties must be determined before stem size and taper can be calculated. Each crown property influences either the sail area or the leverage placed on the stem, but the degree to which a specific crown property affects these parameters changes with stand density and height. Leverage is the more complicated of the two variables, being a function of the height to the base of the live crown and the vertical distribution of leaf area. The purpose of this brief review is to summarize the effects of stand density on the height to the base of the live tree and the vertical distribution of leaf area and the various ways these variables have been quantified.

Chlorogenic Acid Enriched in Coffee Pulp Extract Attenuates Hepatic Steatosis by Modulating Gene‐regulated Lipid Metabolism and Lipid Transporters

Background &amp; AimsCoffee pulp (CP) is the first by‐product of coffee processing. Major constituents in CP include chlorogenic acid (CGA), epicatechin (EC), caffeine exhibited antioxidant, lipid lowering action, and several biological activities. However, it remains unknown whether CP rich CGA improved hepatic steatosis. This study aimed to investigate the effect of CP aqueous extract (CPE) on hepatic steatosis, and identified the mechanisms involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells.MethodsHepG2 cells at the cell density of 5×105 cells/well were pre‐incubated with CPE (10–200 μg/ml), CGA, and caffeine for 24 hr. Intracellular lipid accumulation was quantified using Nile red staining followed by flow cytometry. Cell viability of HepG2 cells was determined using MTT assay. The mRNA expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism and lipid transporters were also determined using quantitative real‐time PCR.ResultsCPE at the dose of 50–200 μg/ml, CGA, and caffeine significantly decreased lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells. Correspondingly, CPE decreased lipogenesis‐associated genes: PPARγ, and up‐regulated lipolysis‐related genes: PPARα. In addition, CPE reduced the lipid uptake transporter, FAT/CD36, while increased the lipid efflux transporters, ABCG5/8.ConclusionCPE has hepatic lipid‐lowering effects by modulating genes related lipolysis, lipogenesis, and lipid transporters. These findings indicate that anti‐hepatic steatosis by CPE is attributed to hepatic lipid‐lowering action for reversing such pathology. Thus, CPE could potentially be developed into nutraceutical product for prevention of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by the Faculty of Medicine Endowment Fund (066/2560 to CS), Chiang Mai University, the Research and Researcher for Industry (RRI) by Thailand Research Fund (TRF) (PHDI0010 to CS), and the NSTDA Chair Professor grant (the Fourth Grant) of the Crown Property Bureau Foundation and the National Science and Technology Development Agency to Professor Dr. Vatcharin Rukachaisirikul.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Tiliacora triandra (Colebr.) Diels Ameliorates Hepatic Steatosis by Inhibition of HMGR and Down‐regulation of FAT/CD36

Background &amp; AimsTiliacora triandra (Colebr.) Diels (TT) is a native plant of Southeast Asia widely used in northeastern Thai cuisines, and is known in Thai language as Yanang. High concentration of polyphenolic compounds found in TT aqueous extract (TTE) include epicatechin (EC), quercetin (QC), cyanidine (CD), and gallic acid (GA), respectively. TTE has shown various beneficial pharmacological effects such as anti‐inflammatory, anti‐cancer, anti‐aging, anti‐oxidant, anti‐hypercholesterolemia, and inhibition of intestinal cholesterol absorption. However, the effects of TTE on cholesterol synthesis and hepatic steatosis are limited. This study aimed to investigate the direct effects of TTE on cholesterol synthesis and hepatic lipid accumulation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells.MethodsHepG2 cells at the cell density of 5×105 cells/well were treated with TTE, EC, and QC in a molar ratio for 24 hr. The cytotoxic effect of TTE was evaluated using MTT assay. Hepatic lipid accumulation was quantified by Nile red staining and detected by flow cytometry. The mRNA expression of genes involved in cholesterol synthesis, HMGR, and the fatty acid transporter, FAT/CD36, was also evaluated using quantitative real‐time PCR.ResultsTTE significantly reduced hepatic lipid accumulation up to the dose of 100 μg/ml similarly to that of EC and QC without any cytotoxic effect. This effect also corresponded to the reduction in HMGR and FAT/CD36 gene expressions, resulting in a significant decreased in de novo hepatic cholesterol synthesis and free fatty acid accumulation.ConclusionThese findings suggest that TTE exhibits lipid‐lowering action by decreasing both hepatic cholesterol synthesis and lipid accumulation, leading to improved non‐alcoholic fatty liver. Thus, TTE could potentially be developed as nutraceutical product for prevention of progressive liver diseases in obesity, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome.Support or Funding InformationThis study is supported by the Faculty of Medicine Endowment fund (093/2560), Chiang Mai University, Research and Researcher for Industry (RRI) by Thailand Research Fund (TRF), (PHDI0009 to CS) and the NSTDA Chair Professor grant (the Fourth Grant) of the Crown Property Bureau Foundation and the National Science and Technology Development Agency to Professor Dr. Vatcharin Rukachaisirikul.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Crown Estate Devolution

One of the Smith Commission's more significant recommendations was that responsibility for managing the Crown Estate in Scotland, and the revenue generated from it, should be transferred to the Scottish Parliament.1 The Crown Estate is currently managed on a UK-wide basis by the Crown Estate Commissioners under the Crown Estate Act 1961 (“CEA”). Its origins date back to 1760, when George III surrendered the revenues from Crown lands to parliament in return for support via the civil list, an arrangement confirmed by each subsequent monarch. Today the Crown Estate consists of a mixture of hereditary Crown property rights, more recent rights vested in the Crown by statute, and modern property acquisitions. It does not comprise the entirety of Crown property rights, nor is it the personal property of the sovereign. It is, in effect, a publicly-owned property business, the revenues from which accrue to the UK Treasury.

&lt;em&gt;Muyren los traydors!&lt;/em&gt; La lucha de bandos en Tarragona a fines del siglo XIV

The initial relationship of the collaboration between kings and archbishops at the height of the lordship of Tarragona, soon gave way to the first stages of tension and confrontation, which deteriorated or improved depending on the circumstances at that time. Disagreements peaked during the last few decades of the reign of Peter the Ceremonious, who just like his son John, and with the support of a league of citizens motivated by the Crown itself, endeavoured to transform the city into an exclusive Crown property. This situation was welcomed neither by some in the clergy nor by a group of neighbours, who claimed adamantly the dominion of the prelate. This resulted in a number of serious conflicts amongst factions, which maintained a firm commitment to taking over the political control of the city and prominently to end the shared authority, which in the face of the many attempts, was not achieved until several centuries later. Thus, I am putting forward a proposal which aims to reconstruct and study the various episodes still unknown to a large number of historians by using a combination of historical documents of the city and several unpublished legal proceedings.

The Foundation of the Siam Commercial Bank and the Siam Cement Company: Historical Context and Alternative Historiographies

Both established prior to the First World War, the Siam Commercial Bank and the Siam Cement Company are two of the principal investments of the Thai Crown Property Bureau. Most accounts exaggerate the role of the Thai monarchy and elites, and underestimate the significance of the political and economic context and of the role of Europeans, especially Danes, in the formation of these companies. Emphasis on the part of Thai writers on the role of Thai elites in the history of these companies forms part of a narrative that sees the nation’s development as guided from above by a far-sighted and benign monarchy.

THE TRANSFORMATION OF CHINA'S SOES

Since the 1990s China has largely adopted the Singapore SOE model, which relies on private-like corporatization and the pursuit of profit. This paper replays the political and economic chess to answer why the Singapore model was chosen. To this end, it demonstrates how the transformation through corporatization, under a newly founded legal system called the “State-Owned-Assets management,” was gradually embraced by Chinese administrative bureaucrats even though the change faced serious institutional obstacles. This article concludes with a critique of how the transformation of China's SOEs has now mutated to resemble a system of Crown property.

Study on a Decree of Amīr Čoban of 726 AH/1326 CE

Based on the analysis of a damaged document from the Ilkhanid period, this paper elucidates several diplomatic points and poses questions about arranging and issuing documents of the Ilkhanid chancellery. This scroll-shaped document of 726 AH/1326 CE is considered the oldest document in the National Library and Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran (SAMI), and a roll from the beginning section is lost. The script style is šikasta-ta‘līq (broken ta‘līq) popularly practiced in the period. On the recto of the document, four seals are stamped: an āl-tamġā seal (vermilion seal) in Arabic script, another āl-tamġā in ’Phags-pa and Arabic scripts, a qarā-tamġā seal (black seal) in Arabic script, and another black seal in Arabic script. On the verso are six black seals, which are engraved in Uigur and Arabic scripts. These seals are the oldest examples of personal seals and doubtless show various practices of the Ilkhanid chancellery. Through the examination of this document, it has become clear how to stamp the seal on o icial documents. The practice of āl-tamġā seal derives from the Mongols, the Turks, and China. The āl-tamġā seal was stamped on the prede ned place where the date and place of issue was written and on each joint line of two sheets of paper. This decree was issued in the place named Kūhak. Judging from other documents, the issuer is Čoban, the leading amīr of the Ilkhan Abū Sa‘īd. The decree con rmed a certain person’s ownership of a village and that the village in question was not included in the īnǧū (crown property). This paper attempts to reconstruct the original form of the document. Also, the text of another comparable document is presented in the appendix.

The Forgotten Heritage of the Rattanakosin Area

In order to safeguard the vanishing traditions and the history of a city, it is necessary to document and record the forgotten heritage. The aim of this study is to raise public awareness of the cultural significance of the Rattanakosin area including ancient wangs (mansions) and shophouses endangered by the development of urban projects and the lack of good management leading to their deterioration. This includes Crown Property Bureau’s assets of historical buildings on Rattanakosin Island. The research results show that heritage buildings are being demolished and replaced by modern concrete structures. The main conclusion drawn in this paper is that: If the heritage buildings continue to be replaced with present day structures, in the near future the entire history of the Rattanakosin area might be lost.