Domestic Concern Research Articles

Measurement of Supply Chain Resilience and Safety Level of China Lighting Industry Chain

The supply chain resilience and safety level of lighting industry chain are one of the key fields of domestic concern at present. Based on a literature review, the ideas and methods of measuring the supply chain resilience and safety level of lighting industry chain were put forward. Then, an evaluation index system of industry chain resilience and safety was established, which included five dimensions: the risk management level, integrity, control force, stability, and competitiveness of industry chain. Considering the resilience of China’s industry chain and the main safety difficulties faced, the evaluation system was used to measure and evaluate the supply chain resilience and safety level of China’s lighting industry chain on the basis of the specific connotations and core elements of industry chain safety. The evaluation results show that the total score of the supply chain resilience and safety level of China’s lighting industry chain is 0.92, indicating the relatively high supply chain resilience and safety level of China’s lighting industry chain. Suggestions are put forward to strengthen the management of technological innovation ability, low-carbon ability, and domestic self-sufficiency rate of input products, so as to boost the high-quality, sustainable, and rapid development of China’s lighting industry. The research results can provide a scientific decision basis for the supply chain resilience and safety level of China’s lighting industry chain.

Taming the Italian ‘Trojan horse’: the a non domino sales of cultural objects

Abstract For a long time, scholars have argued that Article 1153 of the Italian Civil Code, regulating the good faith purchase of goods, creates a ‘congenial place’ for buying stolen cultural objects. What is an Italian domestic concern becomes international in international cases where Italian law is found to be applicable. Consequently, both scholarship and case law have looked into the problem and questioned the applicability of the article to cultural objects. This Contribution explores the contours of the norm, explains how it risks playing the role of the ‘Trojan horse’, and then shows why it was essential for the Italian Supreme Court to intervene. In deciding on a case concerning the ownership rights of Peruvian and Chilean cultural property sold a non domino and located in Italy, the Italian Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the lower Court and applied the principles of international public order derived from cultural conventions. Where the application of Italian law, specifically of Article 1153 of the Italian Civil Code was necessary, the Supreme Court strengthened the article's constitutive element of good faith by making hermeneutical use of Article 4 of the 1995 Unidroit Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. The resulting good faith requires a higher level of care on the art-buyer side, a standard that changes depending on the character of the party concerned. Ultimately the Contribution points to the importance of the choice that the Supreme Court made to identify a dynamic bonam fidem to cope with the problems posed by Article 1153 of the Italian Civil Code.

Natural Resource Underpricing in WTO Subsidies Rules and Beyond: A Reflection of North-South Divide in Globalization

The article discusses natural resource underpricing in multilateral subsidy rules’ negotiations. It starts from the U.S. experiences to consider foreign natural resource underpricing practices under its underdeveloped subsidy rules. The United States then brought its domestic concern to the Uruguay Round establishing the World Trade Organization; however, conflicts had been shown between the industrialist countries and the resource-endowed ones regarding the ways of using natural resources as a comparative advantage. At this corner of trade rulemaking, the North’s pro-market demand was likely to collide with the South’s natural resource sovereignty. Natural resource underpricing has again taken the stage in the ongoing Doha Development Round for renegotiation of the WTO Subsidies Agreement; nevertheless, it seems to partly place this multilateral trade rulemaking under a stalemate. The crux of the subsidy debates on natural resources is how to deal with the government’s market predominance concern as to reflect the government’s roles in the natural resource sector. The European Union’s pressure on the WTO accession of several resource-endowed countries has been quite effective since the latter chose to surrender part of their natural resource sovereignty as a price of economic integration. However, the EU present anti-dumping practice against the natural resource underpricing problem seems to add fuel to the dilemma since its trade law consistency is under challenge.

Putting Interfaith Dialogue on the Public Diplomacy Radar: Goals, Power, Strategies, and the Influence of Worldviews

Putting Interfaith Dialogue on the Public Diplomacy RadarGoals, Power, Strategies, and the Influence of Worldviews Juyan Zhang (bio) introduction Since the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions, interfaith dialogue has gained traction in world affairs. It has become a domestic concern for countries with different religious faiths and the need to promote inter-faith understanding and harmonious coexistence.1 It has become a diplomatic instrument as states increasingly realize the role of religion in shaping international relations.2 The beginning of the twenty-first century saw even more interest in interfaith dialogue. Rapid growth of communication technology and increased international migration have brought people of different religions into closer contact.3 States have tapped religion as a source of soft power, and religious organizations have actively expanded their influence in the world arena. At the same time, religious hostilities are on the rise.4 Research has shown that interfaith dialogue can contribute to personal, relational, and structural changes.5 On the micro level, members of interfaith groups experience relational, personal, and transformative learning.6 On the macro level, interfaith dialogue brings about positive changes to global affairs. For example, after the Second Vatican Council made positive statements about other religions and recognized the unity of humankind,7 the Roman Catholic Church redefined its position by focusing on religious freedom, poverty, engagement with various cultures, and nuclear disarmament.8 Against such a backdrop, nation states have shown increasing interest in using interfaith dialogue for diplomacy. In the post-September 11 world, policymakers have recognized that religion continues to be a strong source of personal motivation and that foreign policy and security analysis need to incorporate an understanding of religion.9 Accordingly, faith-based diplomacy has been recognized as an essential area of expertise.10 [End Page 216] congruence between public diplomacy and interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue at the international level shares significant similarities with public diplomacy. Public diplomacy is defined as a relationship management function that promotes strategic people-to-people communication to establish a sustaining relationship.11 Similarly, interfaith dialogue is “an intentional encounter between individuals who adhere to differing religious beliefs and practices in an effort to foster respect and cooperation among these groups through organized dialogue.”12 Public diplomacy is regarded as a dialogical form of international political communication aimed at creating mutually beneficial relations.13 Similarly, interfaith dialogue is regarded as one of the most important political instruments for reaching across borders and building bridges of peace and hope.14 There is also significant congruence between public diplomacy and interfaith dialogue in terms of the changes they bring about. Neufeldt observed three approaches regarding how change occurs through inter-faith dialogue. The theological approach aims at understanding each other’s doctrines, worldviews, and personal experiences. The political approach aims at generating social coexistence and legitimizing or delegitimizing a political process or actor. The peacebuilding approach aims at developing a joint platform for conflict resolution.15 Among the three approaches, the theological approach matches cultural diplomacy, which refers to long-term public diplomacy that promotes understanding of a nation’s culture; the political approach matches engagement diplomacy, which aims at creating shared resources and fashioning a common language;16 and the peacebuilding approach matches conflict resolution in public diplomacy. Such congruence makes it possible to examine how interfaith dialogue fits into public diplomacy. dialogue as two-way symmetrical communication Interfaith dialogue is often portrayed as an effort to foster respect, cooperation, tolerance, and collaboration. Real-world dialogue, however, is a more complicated process. An organization may engage in sham dialogue and have no intention of conceding,17 while well-intentioned dialogue may generate no results. James E. Grunig’s excellence theory, the most influential theory in the field of public relations, can greatly inform our understanding of the dynamics of interfaith dialogue. The theory’s [End Page 217] notion of two-way symmetrical communication has been equated with dialogue.18 In the two-way symmetrical model, organizations use communication to adjust their ideas and behavior to those of others. Grunig argues that the model represents the most ethical and effective public relations. Critics argue that the model is unrealistic because organizations hire public relations people not as...

Juridical Review of the Right to Restitution, Rehabilitation, and Compensation for Victims of the Crime of Trafficking in Persons according to Law No. 21 of 2007 on Court Decisions

The two continents and oceans around Indonesia make Indonesia in the position of international shipping trade routes. However, in the geographical location of the State of Indonesia, it is threatened to become a traffic lane for crime. Trafficking in people or persons is not only a domestic concern, but is a universal problem that is increasing every year. The purpose of this research is to find out or provide knowledge about the fulfillment of restitution rights and rehabilitation rights, and compensation for victims of trafficking in persons which are criminal acts in court decisions. Normative juridical law is the method used by the author in this study. This study provides results that the right to rehabilitation, restitution, and compensation for victims of the Criminal Act of Trafficking in Persons in Decision No. 257/Pid.Sus./2019/PN SDA and Decision No. 889/Pid.Sus/2018/PN SDA according to the Law No. 21 of 2007 was not implemented or not applied by the Panel of Judges.

A Prediction Model of Health Development Based on Linear Sequential Extreme Learning Machine Algorithm Matrix.

The rapid development of social economy not only increases people's living pressure but also reduces people's health. Looking for a healthy development prediction model has become a domestic concern. Based on the analysis of the influencing factors of health development, this paper looks for a model to predict the development of public health, so as to improve the accuracy of health development prediction. In this paper, the linear sequential extreme learning machine algorithm can be used to evaluate the health status of a large number of data, analyze the differences of each evaluation index, and construct the analysis model of health status. Therefore, this paper introduces rough set theory into linear sequential extreme learning machine algorithm. Rough set can analyze the double analysis of evaluation scheme, predict the health development of different individuals, and improve the evaluation accuracy of mass health evaluation. The simulation results show that the improved line sequential extreme learning machine algorithm can accurately analyze the mass health and meet the needs of different individuals' health evaluation.

An Honourable U-Turn? Finland and New Europe after the End of the First World War

Abstract The article deals with the situation of a small, newly- and uncertainly independent country that had a peculiar experience in the year 1918. The country had declared its independence in December 1917, had received the recognition from Soviet Russia, the Nordic countries, Germany and its allies, and France in January 1918. Almost simultaneously, it drifted to a civil war, in which both the Germans and the Russians participated. However, the Civil War was mainly a domestic concern, and the outcome was the defeat of an attempt at a socialist revolution and the victory of an extremely pro-German government that even elected a German king in Finland in October 1918. The project was never fulfilled, but the experience left an exceptional, pro-German mental heritage, to which the terms of the armistice of November 1918 was a shock. They were seen as unjust, revengeful and even petty—both by the Finnish “Whites” (non-socialists) and the “Reds” (socialists). The Versailles Treaty in 1919 did not directly concern Finland. However, it might have done so in the question of Finnish borders, which was still partly unresolved—both in the west (a strife with Sweden over the Åland Islands) and in the east (ethnically Finnish Eastern Karelia). Moreover, the Allies were uncertain whether Finland should be considered Scandinavian or Baltic. Britain and the United States had not yet recognized Finland’s independence, so in order to secure independence and territorial integrity, the Finns had to adjust to the Allies’ demands and actively drive a Western-oriented policy. This was done for the same reason why the German orientation had been previously adapted—the threat of Russia and revolution—but it was psychologically strenuous for some political circles because they felt that there was an element of dishonorable opportunism to it. However, they could offer no alternative in a situation in which a newborn state had to secure its independence and legitimacy in New Europe, adjusting to disappointments and demands.

Collaborative networks enable the rapid establishment of serological assays for SARS-CoV-2 during nationwide lockdown in New Zealand.

BackgroundSerological assays that detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 are critical for determining past infection and investigating immune responses in the COVID-19 pandemic. We established ELISA-based immunoassays using locally produced antigens when New Zealand went into a nationwide lockdown and the supply chain of diagnostic reagents was a widely held domestic concern. The relationship between serum antibody binding measured by ELISA and neutralising capacity was investigated using a surrogate viral neutralisation test (sVNT).MethodsA pre-pandemic sera panel (n = 113), including respiratory infections with symptom overlap with COVID-19, was used to establish assay specificity. Sera from PCR‑confirmed SARS-CoV-2 patients (n = 21), and PCR-negative patients with respiratory symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 (n = 82) that presented to the two largest hospitals in Auckland during the lockdown period were included. A two-step IgG ELISA based on the receptor binding domain (RBD) and spike protein was adapted to determine seropositivity, and neutralising antibodies that block the RBD/hACE‑2 interaction were quantified by sVNT.ResultsThe calculated cut-off (>0.2) in the two-step ELISA maximised specificity by classifying all pre-pandemic samples as negative. Sera from all PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients were classified as seropositive by ELISA ≥7 days after symptom onset. There was 100% concordance between the two-step ELISA and the sVNT with all 7+ day sera from PCR‑confirmed COVID-19 patients also classified as positive with respect to neutralising antibodies. Of the symptomatic PCR-negative cohort, one individual with notable travel history was classified as positive by two-step ELISA and sVNT, demonstrating the value of serology in detecting prior infection.ConclusionsThese serological assays were established and assessed at a time when human activity was severely restricted in New Zealand. This was achieved by generous sharing of reagents and technical expertise by the international scientific community, and highly collaborative efforts of scientists and clinicians across the country. The assays have immediate utility in supporting clinical diagnostics, understanding transmission in high-risk cohorts and underpinning longer‑term ‘exit’ strategies based on effective vaccines and therapeutics.

Forced Migration Magnitude and violence in international crises: 1945–2015

AbstractThis study focuses on forced migration and interstate violence during international crises, as a major security concern with salient implications for international relations stability. The empirical data consists of 229 crises designated as Forced Migration Crises (FMC), identified within the 374 crises of the International Crisis Behavior (ICB) project. The study outlines a framework for analyzing FMC compared with Non-Forced Migration Crises (NFMC), presents an index of Forced Migration Magnitude (FMM), and probes three hypotheses. It points to transformations in forced migration since WWII, compares crises with and without forced migration, and explores patterns of FMM and violence. Results lead to rejection of hypothesis 1 on similarities between FMC and NFMC, supporting hypothesis 2 on considerable diversity between them. Findings on extended scope, strategic locale, enduring forced migration problems and increased violence support hypothesis 3, challenging the placement of forced migration merely as a social or humanitarian domestic concern. Instead, results show a salient increase in FMM, coupled with more severe interstate violence and war, dangerously destabilizing regions worldwide. These patterns require the integration of forced migration within crisis frameworks, as a new research agenda, to understand the nature of forced migration in the 21st century and its impact.

“Fanatic Energy in the Wrong Places” : Potemkin Neoliberalism and Domestic Soft Power in the 2018 Men’s Football World Cup in Russia

This thesis uses the 2018 World Cup in Russia to engage with the processes of neoliberal restructuring and the conception of soft power. Based on a comparison of the host cities of Ekaterinburg and Volgograd, it unpacks the World Cup at multiple scales of analysis and offers a light and revisable framework for understanding mega-events. Grounded in primary qualitative and secondary documentary data, the thesis demonstrates multiple dimensions of Potemkinism in the articulation of this World Cup. Inspired by but moving beyond traditional post-colonial thought, it attempts to make good on the premise of theorizing from anywhere, making a case for the relatively invisible cities of the Global East in a landscape of urban theory dominated by the hegemonic North or the subaltern South. This ambition represents the overall frame for the thesis, while the work itself focuses more specifically on the planning and impacts of hosting the World Cup. This work is composed of two central thrusts. Within an understanding of mega-events as fundamentally urban events, the first thrust explores hosting as the vanguard of neoliberal restructuring, one of the traditional means of making sense of mega-events. In this view, bidding and hosting are seen as a strategy for inter-urban competition and a ploy to attract increased flows of tourists and capital. This is understood as one of the markers of a shift to a more entrepreneurial mode of urban governance and is part of wider global political economic restructuring that de-emphasizes the national in favor of regional or municipal scales. Using Neil Brenner’s conceptualization of rescaled competition state regimes, this part of the thesis explores how rescaling worked on the ground in Russia and demonstrates that these processes of neoliberalization are not as easily understood as they might first appear. Instead, what is revealed in the articulation of the Russian World Cup is a seemingly paradoxical combination of national state-led projects to develop the peripheries in regionally and municipally specific ways, for the purposes of interurban differentiation and competition. The thesis proposes the notion of Potemkin neoliberalism to make sense of these seeming paradoxes and, further, traces some of the uneven developments within the host cities. This is framed within an emphasis on the superficial rather than the substantive, meaning an attention towards aesthetics and appearance rather than on structural reforms and durable infrastructural improvements. The second thrust investigates Joseph Nye’s notion of soft power, which is another traditional way of understanding the rationales for hosting mega-events. Soft power analyses typically frame hosting through the lens of foreign policy, a view that tends to ignore the domestic component entirely. Separate from this, some mega-event studies focus on hosting as a strategy for nation- or identity building, but typically these do not situate this domestic concern within the conceptual apparatus of soft power. Combining these two approaches, this thesis takes the Russian World Cup as a primarily domestic affair, both to develop the urban peripheries (as demonstrated in the first thrust), and to inculcate certain soft power narratives within the domestic population. Conceptualizing the narrative project as soft power allows a tracing of each element in the soft power equation: narrative generation, the mechanisms of distribution, and the reception (or lack thereof) among host city residents. This is presented as discursive Potemkinism, whereby a certain set narratives were promoted as the official way to understand the mega-event, though with little attention to the realities underneath. Finally, the thesis explores the final element in the soft power equation – the impacts on host city residents – through an attention to the micro level of everyday life. In this, it engages with de Certeau and Lefebvre to create a spectrum of tactics employed by residents to disalienate themselves by various degrees from World Cup developments. The thesis emphasizes the individual and the quotidian to offer a more nuanced, human level approach to understanding mega-event-led urban development. Situated in a relational comparative urbanism that valorizes the Global East, these two thrusts represent the core contributions of this monograph. Overall, the thesis presents an investigation of the 2018 men’s Football World Cup that takes stock of global political economic processes, Russian national state spatial strategies, uneven municipal developments, the creation and distribution of soft power narratives to the domestic audience, and the adoption, reworking, or outright refusal of those narratives among host city residents.

Using a student-led, community-specific training module to increase PrEP uptake amongst at-risk populations: results from an exploratory pilot implementation

ABSTRACTHIV incidence continues to be a significant global and domestic public health concern. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is safe and effective in preventing HIV. PrEP uptake in the populations at risk for HIV has been slow and unequal. One reason for this is low levels of provider knowledge about PrEP. Prior training initiatives have focused exclusively on prescribers, which overlooks a substantial number of professionals who interact with patients. A novel method of training was designed and implemented by an interprofessional student team. The training module was purposely designed with community specificity about the patients at the highest risk for new HIV infections. Assessment of this training initiative occurred by query of electronic medical records to determine changes in the number of prescriptions for PrEP following the training intervention. Results indicate this student-led initiative was effective in providing education about PrEP, which translated to changes in PrEP prescription.

Staying Relevant: Commonwealth Education at 60

Education, once a mainly domestic concern, has been affected as much as any sector by the forces of globalisation and international connectivity. A country’s global standing now depends, in part, o...

Understanding landowners’ interest and willingness to participate in forest certification program in China

Forest certification is considered a viable market-based strategy for promoting sustainable forest management by providing landowners with financial incentives and social recognition for responsible forest practices. In China, it is an issue of international as well as domestic concern, especially considering the magnitude of country’s wood exports. To examine landowners’ perceived barriers to and interests in forest certification in China, we conducted a landowner survey in Shandong province in 2016 and analyzed whether and how landowners’ ownership motivations, management objectives, sociodemographics, and perceptions about benefits and drawbacks associated with certification schemes influenced their willingness to participate in certification programs. Results indicate that the majority of landowners in Shandong province are not currently familiar with forest certification programs but are willing to consider participating when provided with pertinent information. There may be a potential market for certification programs in China with appropriate outreach and extension. In addition, landowners’ willingness to participate in certification programs is significantly affected by the expected benefits and limitations associated with certification schemes, landownership motivation, management objectives, and characteristics of the forestland and households. Findings will be useful to institutions and policy makers interested in understanding and promoting the market for forest certification in China and other developing countries with similar circumstances.

UKRAINIAN POLITICAL REGIONALISM IN CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHALLENGES

Social and political challenges facing Ukraine after the Revolution of dignity, pro- cesses of regionalization and decentralization of European research actualized in political Regional studies. Regions in the EU has in fact become the basic structures of European political and economic space in the context of the philosophy of «Europe of Regions».Obviously, the Ukrainian political science must not stand by these trends pan and actively accompany this general trend of spatial structures. For balance and stability of the country depends on the regional structure, adequacy of political and socio-econom- ic development. In this context it is particularly topical issue is the balance in the rela- tions between the «center-regions» regulation is carried out by centralized and decen- tralized mechanisms. Accordingly, the purpose of the article is analysis of domestic political of regions in the current development of the state in the context of modern trends of regionalism.The article analyzes the domestic political status of regions in the context of the current complex processes of constitutional reform, decentralization of power and territorial re- form. It is noted that areas related to the political-spatial system, acting as a kind of po-litical system is not sufficiently developed. As a result, regional issues considered most economists or geographers, and the main thrust of Political Studies focused on the analy- sis of regional electoral processes and regional elites.This state of the domestic political concern of regions as administrative and territo- rial reform one of the main areas involve drastic changes is the system of public authorities at regional level. All this adversely affects the development of regional theory and practice of regionalism, as evidenced by the extremely inconsistent regional policy, the complexity and ambiguity of tragic political and legal processes: the Russian occupation of Crimea, the self-proclamation of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR).It is noted that the problem of disintegration of the Ukrainian society since indepen- dence have not been solved. Under regional theory should offer the best answer to this challenge. In particular, what model of government will help curb the centrifugal tenden- cies, strengthening integrity and thus provide an effective model of public administration and democracy.Given the tragic events that occurred in Ukraine in 2014–2017 years, to administrative- territorial reform on the basis of administrative regionalism became impossible. Only with the use of policy instruments regionalization return of the Crimea and Donbas be real. It is noted that the political regionalism hides significant political risks versus administrative, including uncertainty about the future prospects of devolution trends.In this regard, notes that the learning experience of European countries, we should not idealize him and mindlessly trace unconditionally perform tips and suggestions of foreign politicians and experts (especially in the federalization). After these reforms, most EU countries carried out under conditions which significantly different from the current Ukrai- nian. It is also necessary to take into account national specifics, which differs signifi- cantly from European and neighboring countries geographic presence aggressor who provokes and supports separatist movements in Ukraine.

Juvenile Court Practitioners’ Construction of and Response to Sex Trafficking of Justice System Involved Girls

ABSTRACTThe commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a growing domestic health and policy concern. Exploited girls may be at heightened risk for entering the juvenile justice system. The purpose of this study was to explore the needs of CSEC victims and resources available for system-involved girls. The data from this study included semistructured interviews, case discussions, and residential placement meeting observations with juvenile justice personnel. Findings revealed labeling issues related to (1) how court workers construct female victims of CSEC through exploitation myths, (2) the importance of trauma history and relational contexts, and (3) system-level barriers. Recommendations for practice are discussed.

The World Heritage Convention and Tasmania’s tall-eucalypt forests: can an international treaty on environmental protection transcend the vicissitudes of domestic politics?

UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention provides for the protection of natural and cultural heritage deemed to be of Outstanding Universal Value. The 1031 sites inscribed on World Heritage List are a source of prestige for the countries where they occur. However, conflicts between protection of Outstanding Universal Value and resource extraction can arise within large-scale natural landscapes. The tall-eucalypt forests of the Australian island of Tasmania have been at the heart of such a conflict for over 30 years. The aim of this paper is to analyse how the processes of the Convention respond to contrasting approaches by a State Party. The paper traces the history of the dispute over Tasmania’s tall-eucalypt forests through the Convention’s processes of evaluation, inscription and boundary modification. In particular, it considers the processes and outcomes pertaining to two diametrically opposed proposals for minor modification to the boundaries of the Tasmanian Wilderness made by consecutive Australian governments in 2013 and 2014: the first was for the purpose of protecting the forests, and the second for opening them to logging in order to fulfil a domestic election promise. In each case, criteria weighted in favour of long-term heritage protection played a critical role. The application of these criteria, combined with strong domestic concern and the ability of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee to prioritize heritage protection, has resulted in the protection of these forests and the enhancement of the ecological resilience of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The paper concludes that the power of an international treaty can transcend the vicissitudes of domestic politics and provide enduring protection of Outstanding Universal Value, particularly when backed by strong domestic scrutiny and community support.

The Architectural Characteristics of Housing through the Rail and Property Model of MTRC in Hong Kong

Domestically, a recent controversial part on Mixed-Use Development is its case that utilizes railroad sites among urban infrastructure. but most of all, a concern is being concentrated on the Mixed-Use Development that uses railroad depot. It has the advantage, which can give diversity and publicness to urban environment by using and planing the upper and bottom of railroad depot, a proximity site as Development Available Land. However, there are few cases except for only Yang-cheon APT in SinJeong railway depot as a domestic case even though a domestic concern about Mixed-Use Development is rising more than ever. Method: Accordingly, this study has something in common with a domestic case, dealing with a case of development in Hongkong that enhances efficiency for city space through Mixed-Use Development and solves various urban problems. Result: A purpose of this study, based on overall comprehension about Rail and Property Model of MTRC in Hongkong, is to figure out how it solve various problems in Mixed-Use Development using Railway Depot or stations in the base of Rail and Property Model of MTRC.

Regaining the Economic Edge: Policy Proposals for High-skill Worker and Student Authorizations

The unrivaled dominance of the United States’ economic power and institutions of higher education, coupled with its need to compete for hearts and minds in third-world countries during the Cold War, led to the development of a U.S. immigration system which focused more on family unification, refugee protection, protection of U.S. labor markets, and diversity than on the need to compete economically with other nations. This framework can be seen in both the rules surrounding foreign students attending U.S. universities and in rules regarding permanent residence and short term visas for highly skilled foreign workers. A recent report by the National Foundation for American Policy found that foreign students comprise “70 percent of the full-time graduate students (masters and PhDs) in electrical engineering, 63 percent in computer science, 60 percent in industrial engineering, and more than 50 percent in economics, chemical engineering, materials engineering and mechanical engineering.”1 Given this alarming statistic that the majority of critical science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate students are foreign visitors, how will the critical occupations requiring these skills in the United States be filled? More specifically, setting aside for purposes of this paper the larger issue of the need to grow U.S. student interest in STEM fields, how can the short-term STEM needs of the United States be met? Beyond this domestic concern, is the current balance of education simply working to train foreign students to compete with the United States after they return home? In this paper we will examine the current state of noteworthy U.S. practices in higher education, short term professional visas, and permanent residence. After this analysis of current U.S. practices, we will offer several practical suggestions for reforming U.S. laws in these areas.

Singapore in 2014: Managing Domestic and Regional Concerns and Signalling a New Regional Role

Singapore in 2014: Managing Domestic and Regional Concerns and Signalling a New Regional Role

The impact of populist radical right parties on foreign policy: the Northern League as a junior coalition partner in the Berlusconi Governments

Despite the populist radical right’s (PRR) popularity among political scientists, little scholarship has focused on its influence on foreign policy. This lack of study is due, in part, to a general lack of attention to the role of political parties in foreign policy, both in comparative politics and international relations (IR). This is unfortunate because, due to Europeanization and globalization, the domain of foreign policy has expanded, making foreign policy increasingly a domestic concern and, most importantly, touching on major themes of PRR parties. Combining insights from comparative politics and IR, we theorize the mechanisms, which may facilitate the impact of such parties on foreign policy. Subsequently, we examine whether the Italian Northern League (LN), as a prime example of a PRR party participating in a coalition government, has had an impact on Italy’s foreign policy and, if so, what accounts for this (lack of) influence. This paper concludes that, unlike common understanding, the PRR is not persistently anti-internationalist/anti-EU; rather, its position depends on the extent to which international politics helps or hinders the promotion of ‘the people’. Second, despite the LN’s strong coalition position, it pursued an effective foreign policy mainly regarding immigration policy. Third, IR theories of junior coalition partners and foreign policy should address the nature of the party system and how inter-party electoral competition affects the strength of a junior coalition partner. Fourth, these theories need to acknowledge that party preferences are sometimes trumped by national concerns, as suggested by more systemic IR theories.