DJnomics and the transformation of the developmental state

Since the Asian financial crisis, the Korean state under Kim Dae Jung has witnessed significant challenges from foreign capital as well as from organized labor. Regime transition has influenced the social and political relations between the state and big business (chaebol). The traditional developmental state has gradually eroded as the power and capacity of the state was increasingly affected by economic globalization. The Korean economy has been transformed from a traditional developmental state model characterized by a hierarchical and authoritative relationship between the government and conglomerates into the market-oriented economic model.     

新韩国常识问答

跟以往相比，带着各种不同目的访问韩国的外国人迅速增加。体验过韩国的文化的外国人对于韩国的生活方式既感觉吸引又感觉困惑。韩文的字母到底有何特征？为什么韩国人不用刀而用剪刀切肉呢？对于以上这些问题，作者试图为韩国的日常生活和文化提供一个掠影式的解答。     

The Representation of Two Competing Visions on the Fundamentals of Copyright: A Content Analysis of Associated Press News Coverage on Copyright, 2004–2009

The importance of the public's understanding of copyright has increased in the digital age, and mainstream media play a significant role in informing the public of copyright law and policy. This study identifies two competing visions on the fundamentals of copyright—the private property vision and the public policy vision—and examines which vision is more predominantly covered by mainstream news media via a quantitative content analysis of Associated Press wire service stories on copyright. The findings suggest that, although the number of sources favoring copyright users’ rights has somewhat increased in the most recent two years, overall the private property vision has been more dominantly covered than the public policy vision in the AP news stories. The study concludes that the mainstream media coverage on copyright needs to move toward a more balanced point where both sides of the debate have an equal chance to present their views.     

Getting a Job in China

正Not too long ago, the idea of migrating from Europe to China for work would have seemed remote or even bizarre. Today, it seems a trend on the rise among Westerners unable to find jobs in recession-ridden home countries. A few weeks ago, I became one of the many young Europeans moving to Beijing to try to seize professional opportunities unimaginable back home.     

Agrarian and social change in a Javanese village

This article examines rural economic changes in a Javanese village since the introduction of the Green Revolution. Special focus is placed on rural labour market and on the structure of land tenure. It will be shown that cropping intensification, expanding work opportunities in the non-agricultural sector, the longer periods of education and the formation of a more rigid boundary between agricultural and non-agricultural work have helped to decrease pressure on the rural labor market. It will be argued in the latter part of this article that a pessimistic view of profitability in rice cultivation, coupled with rising land prices, has provided a condition in which capital investment in the agricultural sector is not thought of as the best option and consequently, the structure of land tenure has not experienced a substantial change after the Green Revolution.     

Kinematics of Signature Writing in Healthy Aging

Forensic document examiners (FDE) called upon to distinguish a genuine from a forged signature of an elderly person are often required to consider the question of age‐related deterioration and whether the available exemplars reliably capture the natural effects of aging of the original writer. An understanding of the statistical relationship between advanced age and handwriting movements can reduce the uncertainty that may exist in an examiner's approach to questioned signatures formed by elderly writers. The primary purpose of this study was to systematically examine age‐related changes in signature kinematics in healthy writers. Forty‐two healthy subjects between the ages of 60–91 years participated in this study. Signatures were recorded using a digitizing tablet, and commercial software was used to examine the temporal and spatial stroke kinematics and pen pressure. Results indicated that vertical stroke duration and dysfluency increased with age, whereas vertical stroke amplitude and velocity decreased with age. Pen pressure decreased with age. We found that a linear model characterized the best‐fit relationship between advanced age and handwriting movement parameters for signature formation. Male writers exhibited stronger age effects than female writers, especially for pen pressure and stroke dysfluency. The present study contributes to an understanding of how advanced age alters signature formation in otherwise healthy adults.     

Assessment of non-timber forest products in Phnom Kok community forest, Cambodia

Our study focused on the potential revenues of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in the Phnom Kok forest community in Cambodia. Questionnaires were administered at the beginning of 2007, and results showed that people collected plant- and animal-based NTFPs seasonally. Plant-based NTFPs collected included fodder, food, medicines, resin, construction materials, and ingredients for cosmetics. Animal-based NTFPs collected included honey and beeswax, live animals, bushmeat, medicines, and hides (skins). NTFPs are important economic and natural resources in community forests, and they are used for both family consumption and commercial trade. Resin products represented the largest source of income, followed by honey and beeswax and live animals. Overexploitation of NTFPs, forest degradation, and anarchic forest clearing through fire pose great threats to the continued production of NTFPs. Therefore, sustainable management techniques must be implemented and harvesting should be regulated. Local residents and leaders need to be educated about the long-term benefits of the forest and NTFPs in preserving the environment.     

Temporal Selective Exposure: How Partisans Choose When to Follow Politics

Political Behavior - It is widely theorized that echo chambers contribute to polarization, yet behavioral evidence of partisan selective exposure in the real world is surprisingly tenuous. Why do...