Easy Decision Research Articles

$\beta$ -wave-based exploration of sensitive EEG features and classification of situation awareness

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to explore the electroencephalogram (EEG) features sensitive to situation awareness (SA) and then classify SA levels. Forty-eight participants were recruited to complete an SA standard test based on the multi-attribute task battery (MATB) II, and the corresponding EEG data and situation awareness global assessment technology (SAGAT) scores were recorded. The population with the top 25% of SAGAT scores was selected as the high-SA level (HSL) group, and the bottom 25% was the low-SA level (LSL) group. The results showed that (1) for the relative power of $\beta$ 1 (16–20Hz), $\beta$ 2 (20–24Hz) and $\beta$ 3 (24–30Hz), repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) in three brain regions (Central Central-Parietal, and Parietal) × three brain lateralities (left, midline, and right) × two SA groups (HSL and LSL) showed a significant main effect for SA groups; post hoc comparisons revealed that compared with LSL, the above features of HSL were higher. (2) for most ratio features associated with $\beta$ 1 ∼ $\beta$ 3, ANOVA also revealed a main effect for SA groups. (3) EEG features sensitive to SA were selected to classify SA levels with small-sample data based on the general supervised machine learning classifiers. Five-fold cross-validation results showed that among the models with easy interpretability, logistic regression (LR) and decision tree (DT) presented the highest accuracy (both 92%), while among the models with hard interpretability, the accuracy of random forest (RF) was 88.8%, followed by an artificial neural network (ANN) of 84%. The above results suggested that (1) the relative power of $\beta$ 1 ∼ $\beta$ 3 and their associated ratios were sensitive to changes in SA levels; (2) the general supervised machine learning models all exhibited good accuracy (greater than 75%); and (3) furthermore, LR and DT are recommended by combining the interpretability and accuracy of the models.

Hearing outcomes following reimplantation of functional legacy cochlear implants

ObjectivesRecently, patients with certain legacy cochlear implants (CIs) have sought out reimplantation to enjoy the benefits offered by newer processor technology. This decision can be difficult, especially when the individual relies exclusively on the device for communication and scores at the ceiling of performance metrics. To date, most outcome data is derived from reimplantation of a non-functioning CI—a relatively easy decision. The aim of this study is to report hearing outcomes following reimplantation of legacy implants to guide surgeons and patients approaching this high-stakes clinical situation. Patients and interventionFour patients implanted with Advanced Bionics Clarion C1 devices over 20 years ago underwent reimplantation. ResultsThree reimplanted patients demonstrated a maintenance or improvement in their audiometric performance with one patient experiencing only a 5 % decrease in AzBioQ score. Each patient expressed satisfaction with the expansion of technological capabilities including improved battery life, and device connectivity. There were no failed reimplantations or other adverse effects. ConclusionsReimplantation of a functioning legacy CI result in stability or improvement in auditory performance. All individuals in this series report that they enjoy the new connectivity and programming technologies. As the rate advancement in CI technology continues to increase and newer device architectures emerge, these data will help to inform the decision to reimplant functioning devices.

Epidemiological and clinical profile of ocular eviscerations in northern Algeria, about 136 cases

Despite the existence of well codified indications, the performance of mutilating surgery in ophthalmology is not an easy decision to take due to the aesthetic and moral damages that patients may suffer. This surgery should be considered as a last resort in the case of a non-functional, painful and unsightly eye or in the presence of an oncological involvement and after all conservative alternatives have been exhausted. This study aims to define the factors making it possible to favor ocular evisceration, which is the least mutilating of the above-mentioned surgeries, by determining the epidemiological and clinical aspects of the patients. In addition, the results of the study will serve as a starting point for epidemiological surveillance and will guide preventive activities and the fight against blindness. We conducted an exhaustive retrospective study of medical records from the archives of the ophthalmology departments of the Dr. Tidjani Damardji University Hospital Center in Tlemcen, the Specialized Hospital Establishment in ophthalmology of Oran Hamou Boutlelis, the Specialized Hospital Establishment in ophthalmology of Oran Front de mer and the University Hospital Center of Bejaia (unit Franz Fanon), in order to specify the epidemiological-clinical profile of patients who have undergone an ocular evisceration in the north of Algeria from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2014. We have identified 136 patients, representing an admission rate of 0,13% in all these services. We noted a slight male predominance with an estimated sex-ratio of 1.4. Evisceration was carried out mainly following an ocular trauma in 39% of cases. The surgical technique performed in all patients is a classic non-conservative evisceration of "four quadrants" or "four squares" under general anesthesia in 55.9% of cases. Post-operative complications were found in 19.8% of patients in our series, the main one being exteriorization of the intra-scleral implant in 9.5% of cases. This rate corresponds to the data in the literature, with figures between 0 and 67%. This complication may be in relation with the experience or even the competence of the surgeon. Accessibility to ocularists and the quality of prosthetic equipment were also studied. All the data collected were compared with data from the international medical literature. Our study carried out in the north of Algeria on ocular eviscerations, allowed us to deduce that this surgery is rarely carried out in ophthalmology. Its main indications are post-traumatic and post-infectious. The prevention of mutilating surgeries requires early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of ophthalmological pathologies and trauma. Losing an eye is always experienced as a tragedy and can be devastating at any age, affecting self-image and self-esteem. Psychological support is therefore essential.

Lightweight Machine Learning Method for Real-Time Espresso Analysis

Coffee crema plays a crucial role in assessing the quality of espresso. In recent years, in response to the rising labor costs, aging population, remote security/authentication needs, civic awareness, and the growing preference for non-face-to-face interactions, robot cafes have emerged. While some people seek sentiment and premium coffee, there are also many who desire quick and affordable options. To align with the trends of this era, there is a need for lightweight artificial intelligence algorithms for easy and quick decision making, as well as monitoring the extraction process in these automated cafes. However, the application of these technologies to actual coffee machines has been limited. In this study, we propose an innovative real-time coffee crema control system that integrates lightweight machine learning algorithms. We employ the GrabCut algorithm to segment the crema region from the rest of the image and use a clustering algorithm to determine the optimal brewing conditions for each cup of espresso based on the characteristics of the crema extracted. Our results demonstrate that our approach can accurately analyze coffee crema in real time. This research proposes a promising direction by leveraging computer vision and machine learning technologies to enhance the efficiency and consistency of coffee brewing. Such an approach enables the prediction of component replacement timing in coffee machines, such as the replacement of water filters, and provides administrators with Before Service. This could lead to the development of fully automated artificial intelligence coffee making systems in the future.

Comparison design and evaluation power in cohort and self-controlled case series designs for post-authorization vaccine safety studies.

Post-authorization safety studies (PASSs) of vaccines are important. PASSs enable the evaluation of association between vaccination and adverse events following immunization through common study designs. Clinical trials during vaccine development typically include a few thousand to 10,000 participants while a PASS might aim to detect a few adverse events per 100,000 vaccine recipients. While all available data may be utilized, prior consideration of power analyses are nonetheless crucial for interpretation in cases where statistically significant differences are not found. This research primarily examined cohort study design and self-controlled case series (SCCS) design, estimating the power of a PASS under plausible conditions. Both the cohort study and SCCS designs necessitated large sample sizes or high event counts to guarantee adequate power. The SCCS design is particularly suited to evaluating rare adverse events. However, extremely rare events may not yield sufficient occurrences, thereby resulting in low power. Although the SCCS design can more efficiently control for time-invariant confounding in principle, it solely estimates relative measures. A cohort study design might be preferred if confounding can be adequately managed as it also estimates absolute measures. It may be an easy decision to use all the data at hand for either design. We found it necessary to estimate the sample size and number of events to be used in the study based on a priori information and anticipated results.

Factors affecting the choice of neurosurgery: Medical student’s perspective

IntroductionChoosing a promising specialty for medical students is not an easy decision, particularly in a field like neurosurgery known for its high levels of stress. However, in recent years, there has been a decrease in interest, especially among female students, in choosing surgical specialties. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify influential factors in the selection of neurosurgery as a specialty from the perspective of medical students. MethodsThis descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2023 at the Shahr-e Kord University of Medical Sciences. we estimated a sample size of 425 individuals from the study population. We collected the data using a questionnaire, which was administered through an online questionnaire system. ResultsMale and female perceptions of neurosurgery was similar across many of the surveyed factors, except for: “Male dominated”,“ Tolerant of criticism”, “Duration of residency” and “Must be an athlete”. The factor analysis reduced the 28-variable dimensionality to six latent factors that accounted for 60.72% of the variance found. The factor analysis recognized that, although male and female medical students do have some similar Survey Variable, the influence or weighing of those preferences is different for male and female students. The first latent factor for females consisted of: “Diverse patient population,” and “Procedural based.” The first latent factor for males consisted of: “Male dominated,” and “Prestige.” ConclusionThe factor analysis indicated that male and female students weight differently when selecting a specialty; this difference may account for the large differences in proportion between males and females in Neurosurgery residency.

A nomogram proposal for early prediction of intensive care unit admission in patients with acute antipsychotic poisoning.

Early identification of antipsychotic poisoned patients who may have a potential risk for intensive care unit (ICU) admission is crucial especially when resources are limited. Nomograms were previously used as a practical tool to predict prognosis and planning the treatment of some diseases including some poisoning conditions. However, they were not previously investigated in antipsychotic poisoning. The current study aimed to construct a nomogram to predict the need for ICU admission in acute antipsychotic poisoning. Patients and methods: This 2-year study included 140 patients acutely intoxicated with antipsychotics and admitted at Tanta University Poison Control Centre throughout July 2019 to June 2021. Personal and toxicological data, findings of clinical examination and electrocardiography, as well as, results of laboratory investigations at time of admission were recorded. According to the outcome, patients were divided into ICU-admitted and ICU-not admitted groups. The results of this study provided a proposed nomogram that included five significant independent predictors for ICU admission in acute antipsychotic intoxications; the presence of seizures (OR: 31132.26[108.97-Inf]), corrected QT interval (OR: 1.04[1.01-1.09]), mean arterial blood pressure (OR: 0.83[0.70-0.92]), oxygen saturation (OR: 0.62[0.40 to 0.83)], and Glasgow Coma Scale (OR: 0.25 [0.06-0.56]). It could be concluded that the developed nomogram is a promising tool for easy and rapid decision making to predict the need for ICU admission in acute antipsychotic poisoning.

A PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO INTERNAL CONFLICT IN J. K. ROWLING’S HARRY POTTER SERIES

As humans, we are inevitably confronted with circumstances in which we must decide whether to make an easy or challenging decision. This is due to factors that might lead to the emergence of the individual's inner conflict, which then prompts the manifestation of psychological conflict. In literature, conflicts are what generally make a plot develop and progress. Thus, the primary focus of this article is the internal conflict which can be defined as a psychological struggle that develops within the self. The paper aims to investigate main characters, Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Voldemort, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Draco Malfoy of Rowling’s Harry Potter novels by analysing their internal conflicts and how those conflicts affect their decision making. For this purpose, Kurt Lewin’s classification of internal conflicts will be used to identify the type of inner conflicts each character encounters. In this way, a better understanding of the aforementioned characters can be formed.

Kurdistan Parliament Elections 1992 and the Impact of the Results on the Popular Party

The Election of 1992 was an important result of the Kurdish movement, despite the confrontations and difficult circumstances that Kurdistan has gone through, the Kurdistan front was able to take desiccion about elections in order to establish a parliament and the Kurdistan Regional Government. The elections were the first democratic examination to add legitimacy to the Kurdish government to replace the Kurdish front. In fact, the process of election which had been done was not an easy decision because the Iraqi govemnemet imposed the siege on Kurdistan and on the other hand, regional pressures to prevent the existence of any other Kurdish region.
 Also, most of the political parties affiliated with the Kurdistan Front were not with the conduct of the elections, ultimately the elections were done. This research deals with the way of how the law of the elections was taken by the Kurdistan Front, then the conduct and completion of the elections, legal violations, and the lack of credibility of political parties when conducting the elections, finally, the results were decided in favor of Party and Yekiti, and the seats were divided equally between them. The results of the elections had a negative impact on the parties that did not excel, so they made preparations and thought about forming serious alliances between the parties (Kurdistan Democratic Popular party, Kurdistan Socialist party and Kurd Socialist Party) to form the Kurdistan Union Party in 1992, but it did not last long, The year after party was dissolved, and on August 16th 1993, in the eleventh conference, the party joined with the kurdistan Democratic Party.

Performance Analysis of Tree-Based Algorithms in Predicting Employee Attrition

Based on data throughout 2022, there have been many reductions in employees both globally and Indonesia. The reduction was made due to adjustments with developments to keep the business afloat in increasingly fierce competition. However, reducing the number of employees is not an easy decision to make. This decision can have an impact on many aspects of the development and course of a business or company. To make a decision especially related to the aspect of termination of employment, it is necessary to consider carefully and thoroughly. Assessment and decision-making cannot be based on just one aspect, other aspects need to be seen to be taken into consideration. Additional aspects that can be selected to strengthen decision-making can be taken from the data. Data will not have any value without processing it with various approaches, one of which is the prediction process. Starting from the data, the prediction results will be more appropriate to make a decision. This study made a comparison of 3 decision tree algorithms, and produced a comparison of the three methods in terms of accuracy. The results of this study are the best accuracy for each algorithm C.45 = 83.44; Random Forests = 85.85; LMT = 88.29 with a linear precision value, and the best algorithm model with the highest accuracy is the Logistic Model Tree (LMT) algorithm.

Guest Decision To Book A Hotel Room Through Social Media : The Mediation Effect Of Behavioural Intention

The influence of social media on guest decision behavior in booking hotel rooms is increasingly relevant in today's digital era. Social media provides a broad platform for guests to seek information, interact, and make decisions regarding hotel room bookings. Perceived ease of use is an important factor influencing guests' decisions, where an intuitive interface, simple navigation, and a smooth booking process will influence their conclusion to make a booking through social media. In addition, perceived helpfulness is also a key consideration, where relevant information, reviews from previous guests, and useful recommendations on social media can shape positive perceptions and encourage guests to take the next step. Booking intention, as a result of perceived ease of use and usefulness, is also an important variable that influences guest behavior. This research aims to study and identify guests' decisions in booking hotel rooms through social media. One of them is to find out whether social media as a channel for booking hotel rooms is useful, easy to use, and easily accessible to the wider community. the type of research used is a quantitative approach with an explanation (explanatory research). The variables in this study are perceived easy use, perceived usefull, booking intention, and decision to book a hotel room. the population used in this study were UNP Hotel & Convention Center guests. The number of samples used was 111 respondents with purposive sampling technique and describe data from respondents' answers to questionnaires along with inferential statistical analysis techniques using the SEM (structural equilibrium modeling) data analysis method with the PLS (partial least square) approach. SmartPLS 3.intention order application. Booking intention significantly mediates between perceived ease of use and the decision to book a hotel room on social media. Social media. This is because the coefficients from X to M and M to Y are significant in both.

Perspective Of Indian Immigrant Students Going Abroad

It is undoubtedly not a simple and easy decision to leave one's comfort zone in your home country and move to a completely new host country, in search of better education and more career prospects. Also, globalization has created a kind of scenario across the world that the experience and exposure fascinate the students to take this tough decision of leaving their home country. In Indian context, there is a significant transformation in the education industry during the last decade as a large number of Indian students are moving to foreign destinations every year not only for earning international degrees but also building careers in diverse fields. Present study describes about the challenges faced by Indian students when they travel to the host countries USA, Australia, and Canada through an empirical mode. The primary data is collected from a sample of four hundred Indian Immigrant students of USA, Australia and Canada based on questionnaire through snowball sampling method of data collection. The objectives included to analyse perception of Indian immigrant students regarding issues and challenges on gender basis and to analyse perception of Indian immigrant students regarding issues and challenges on the basis of country. The findings indicated host country language, inconvenient travelling, unpleasant behaviour of people as more challenging for females as compared to males in the host countries. Also, understanding of host country language, costly medical facilities, missing the country food crazily are more challenging for Indian immigrant students in Canada.

Data-driven models for flood prediction in an ungauged karst wetland: Napahai wetland, Yunnan, China.

Flood prediction for ungauged karst wetland is facing a great challenge. How to build a wetland hydrological model when there is a lack of basic hydrological data is the key to dealing with the above challenge. Napahai wetland is a typical ungauged karst wetland. In ungauged wetland/condition, this article used the wetland open water area (OWA) extracted from Landsat remote sensing images during 1987-2018 to characterize the hydrological characteristics of Napahai wetland. The local daily precipitation in the 1987-2018 rainy season (June-October) was used to set the variables. Based on the following hypothesis: in the rainy season, the OWA of the Napahai wetland rises when there is an increase in accumulated precipitation (AP), two data-driven models were established. The study took the area difference (AD) between two adjacent OWAs as the dependent variable, the accumulated precipitation (AP) within the acquisition time of two adjacent OWAs, and the corresponding time interval (TI) of the OWA as explanatory variables. Two data-driven models (a piecewise linear regression model and a decision tree model) were established to carry out flood forecasting simulations. The decision tree provided higher goodness of fit while the piecewise linear regression could offer a better interpretability between the variables which offset the decision tree. The results showed that: (1) the goodness of fit of the decision tree is higher than that of the piecewise linear regression model (2) the piecewise linear model has a better interpretation. When AP increased by 1 mm, the average AD increased by 2.41 ha; when TI exceeded 182 d and increased by 1 d, the average AD decreased to 3.66 ha. This article proposed an easy decision plan to help the local Napahai water managers forecast floods based on the results from the two models above. In addition, the modelling method proposed in this article, based on the idea of difference for non-equidistant time series, can be applied to karst wetland hydrological simulation problems with data acquisition difficulty.

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Fifteen-minute consultation: An approach to the management of PIMS-TS in a district general hospital

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disease across the globe but children seem to be much less affected than adults. Coincidentally with the first wave of the pandemic, a cluster...

Application of the Grey System Theory in Construction Management

Material management is an important task in building construction. They account for a substantial proportion of investment capital and construction volume. However, as material prices are often affected by the market, choosing the right construction supplier is not an easy decision for contractors, especially for those materials required during the finishing phase of the construction. As one of these finishing materials is paint, identifying core criteria for evaluating and selecting the best construction paint supplier is a crucial economic choice for construction contractors. Assessing the importance of these criteria is a complex multi-criteria decision-making problem. To reflect the risks and uncertainties in this problem, the current paper presents a grey system theory approach to prioritize important criteria for selecting paint material suppliers in construction projects.

The Editor’s Drawers

Dear Readers:We’re very happy to release our special issue “Black Laughs Matter,” which we announced two years ago in active support of AHSA’s statement of solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter. We are fortunate to have Darryl Dickson-Carr as guest editor. His work on Black satire, especially from the Harlem Renaissance to the contemporary period, is well known to scholars working in the fields of humor and African American rhetoric, literature, and culture. Darryl’s introductory essay will stake out the ground of our special issue, while I am sure that the six fine articles of “Black Laughs Matter” will capture your interest.Our next special issue (9.2, fall 2023) will focus on participation and humor—instances of interaction between performers and audiences, opportunities to establish affinity, or catalysts of activism, to name a few. Our guest editors for the issue are Michael Moser and Nele Sawallisch, two distinguished American studies scholars from Germany. So keep your eye out for what we’re confident will be another in a string of successful special issues. And if you have a topic to propose for a special issue, let us know.This issue also includes the debut of a new feature that we’re calling Spit Takes. The inaugural piece for this feature is Mike Reiss’s “The Algebra of Jokes.” Reiss has had a long and successful career in comedy, especially television comedy, having been a writer and showrunner for The Simpsons. His quick take in “The Algebra of Jokes” is full of witty insights about a particular genre of joke that requires the audience to work through the joke’s unspoken logic, and we expect you’ll find these remarks illuminating and entertaining. Truth be told, it was Reiss’s submission of this piece that prompted us to come up with the feature as a way to include it in our pages. Now our further hope is that others with professional experience in the production of humor will follow Reiss’s lead. Of course, the primary focus of StAH is still humor scholarship, but we’re always on the lookout for ways to engage our readers. And we’re hoping that Spit Takes will be a different way to spur your interest.Finally, our next issue of Studies in American Humor will be stewarded by a new editorial team. My five-year term as editor is up, as is Jim Caron’s tenure as senior associate editor. Working with Jim and associate editor David Gillota; book review editor Sabrina Fuchs Abrams; contributing editors Joanne Gilbert, Gretchen Martin, Bruce Michelson, and Jonathan Rossing; guest editors Jim Caron, Darryl Dickson-Carr, Marianne Kongerslev, and Judith Yaross Lee (twice); all of the authors whose fine articles, book reviews, and On Second Thought comments have appeared in our pages; and our sharp-eyed PSUP copyeditor MJ Devaney has been a very fulfilling experience.The fact that it has gone so well comes as a bit of a surprise to me. After agreeing to come on board, I had my reservations about whether I was up to the task. But the collaborative spirit that has been part of the editorial practice since Judith Lee’s tenure as editor, if not earlier, made for a very smooth transition. And we aim to continue that effective process as a new editorial team comes on board. In the interest of continuity, David Gillota will take the reins as editor. Given his great work as associate editor and as book review editor prior to that, moving him into the editor’s chair was an easy and sound decision. David’s exceptional organizational mastery has kept everything humming over the last five years. And our two new associate editors, Sabrina Fuchs Abrams and Gretchen Martin, also have years of experience in other StAH roles, so we’re expecting a seamless transition from issue 8.2 to issue 9.1. Christopher Gilbert will come on board as book review editor; his name should be familiar to our readers, given the frequency with which his work has appeared in our pages. And Todd Thompson and Heidi Hanrahan, who are no doubt well known to the AHSA community, will come on board as members of our contributing editor teams on “The Year’s Work” features.Last, I would be remiss not to acknowledge you, our readers. All of our work on StAH is done with you in mind. It’s been my pleasure to have had this relationship with you in print.Yr Obdt Svt,—LH

Guest column: A panorama of counting problems the decision version of which is in P 3

Since Valiant's seminal work, where the complexity class #P was defined, much research has been done on counting complexity, from various perspectives. A question that permeates many of these efforts concerns the approximability of counting problems, in particular which of them admit an efficient approximation scheme ( fpras ). A counting problem (a function from Σ * to N) that admits an fpras must necessarily have an easy way to decide whether the output value is nonzero. Having this in mind, we focus our attention on classes of counting problems, the decision version of which is in P (or in RP). We discuss structural characterizations for classes of such problems under various lenses: Cook and Karp reductions, path counting in non-deterministic Turing machines, approximability and approximation-preserving reductions, easy decision by randomization, descriptive complexity, and interval-size functions. We end up with a rich landscape inside #P, revealing a number of inclusions and separations among complexity classes of easy-to-decide counting problems.

Neurocomputational mechanisms of confidence in self and others

Computing confidence in one’s own and others’ decisions is critical for social success. While there has been substantial progress in our understanding of confidence estimates about oneself, little is known about how people form confidence estimates about others. Here, we address this question by asking participants undergoing fMRI to place bets on perceptual decisions made by themselves or one of three other players of varying ability. We show that participants compute confidence in another player’s decisions by combining distinct estimates of player ability and decision difficulty – allowing them to predict that a good player may get a difficult decision wrong and that a bad player may get an easy decision right. We find that this computation is associated with an interaction between brain systems implicated in decision-making (LIP) and theory of mind (TPJ and dmPFC). These results reveal an interplay between self- and other-related processes during a social confidence computation.

Crisis and opportunity

It is not a good time for the global economy. Many countries are experiencing an economic downturn due to several factors. COVID-19 remains a persistent challenge to many countries despite high vaccination rates. In Asia and beyond, a new surge of cases has been delaying the ability of economies to recover and “normalize” since early 2020. Another factor is the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war that started in February 2022. With no end in sight, the war has taken a toll on global supply chains including food (i.e., wheat, potatoes) and oil. Rising food and oil prices have affected societies worldwide unequally with the poor and marginalized receiving the greatest negative impact of actions and decisions made beyond their states' borders. Governments will face tremendous challenges in addressing the economic hardship experienced by their people. Their pandemic response has drained their fiscal resources and led many states to borrow extensively. In the Philippines, for example, government debt has doubled since the pandemic began. This has severely limited the ability of its government to effectively respond to inflation and jumpstart the economy. But it is in Sri Lanka where a full-fledged economic crisis wreaked havoc with the resignation of the government. Without sufficient foreign currency reserves, the Sri Lankan economy virtually shut down with a shortage of oil and gas as well as basic food necessities. As seen in the past, such economic hardship caused popular outrage with massive protests unseen in its contemporary history. The global economic downturn is a serious legitimacy challenge to governments of all types. The dire global economic situation requires states and international institutions to immediately act, seriously work in a collective manner, and commit to uplift everyone from the crisis. This is not an easy decision as retreating to protectionist measures is the easy and rational path in the short run. The looming food crisis around the world is not because there is a lack of supply but with political decisions that seek to protect domestic markets at the sacrifice of foreign markets. This “protectionist reflex” could cause more hardship, especially in low-income economies and highly unequal societies. We will have to wait in the coming months whether the global economy can indeed fix these market distortions on its own but as history has taught us, previous international economic crises required proactive measures of states and international organizations. Asian Politics & Policy has published numerous articles on the linkages between economic crisis and political factors. Yu's (2010) study about China's proposal to develop a Western Economic Triangle has been met with skepticism given the various challenges in the country's western frontier. This inequality within one of the world's biggest economies will continue to impact the ability of China to recover from the current economic downturn. China's more assertive stance in the region will also influence its ability to present itself as a problem solver to the current economic crisis. The country's ability to integrate itself into the global economy and be more interdependent with other countries has not necessarily released the mechanisms attributed by international relations theory regarding liberal or democratic peace. Leon (2017) argued that this is because China remains in a process of power transition. Thus, it will take some time before China can act as a responsible economic actor. Finally, existing regional trade arrangements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership may require adjustments to appropriately and sufficiently address the current challenges faced by economies in the Indo-Pacific region. In one study, such trade arrangements may have to balance the desire to be autonomous from the global trade order with the necessity of linking with other economies to address the global economic crisis (Novikov & Shumkova, 2018). In this issue of Asian Politics & Policy, we are pleased to publish original research articles that covered topics ranging from military history, Taiwan's soft power diplomacy, irrigation policy reforms in Southeast Asia, policy brokers for infrastructure projects in Thailand, and youth violence in Nepal. We are also featuring two policy review articles regarding COVID-19 policy responses in Indonesia and Hong Kong as well as the usual media and book reviews. We hope that our journal can be a good academic medium for serious and rigorous debates and discussions on public policies and international affairs in Asia.