The daiku phenomenon: social and cultural influences of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Japan

In the rude awakening of western colonisations in Asia during the nineteenth century, Japan drastically embraced the ‘better and more modern’ western values towards the end of that century—which began with the Meiji Restoration (Meiji Ishin [ ]). Since the nation began frantically learning everything Western—while keeping its traditional values at heart, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony ‘Choral,’ or daiku as it is known in Japan, has been present throughout the turbulent twentieth century. The social and cultural phenomenon known as nenmatsu-no daiku ([ ] A countless number of annual year-end Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony concerts held throughout Japan each year.) is the subject under scrutiny in this paper. Japan’s almost desperate pursue toward westernization and the much-debated Japanese cultural trait, the ‘groupism’ mentality would make the existence of the daiku phenomenon appear to the bewildered outsider as a horrendous mix of the two elements, but is that simply so? Evidently, the sudden influx of western cultures and ideologies from Europe and the U.S.A. is in great part accountable for the continual and prevalent existence of the daiku in modern Japan. However, we must not overlook the underlying home-grown factors, which have kept the phenomenon well and alive even today. This paper intends to discuss the historical background leading to this phenomenon and present a summary of what daiku is, giving examples of different types of performances as a result of the phenomenon. An attempt will also be given to examine the significance Beethoven’s Ninth has for the Japanese in both social and cultural contexts.     

任中共抚顺特支书记时的杨靖宇

2009年8月,是杨靖宇将军任中共抚顺特支书记80周年纪念,他是优秀的共产主义战士、人民军队的杰出将领、伟大的抗日民族英雄、东北抗日联军的创建人和领导人、建国后中共中央为个人举行公祭仪式第一人。谨以此文以示怀念。     

从可持续发展的角度看稳定中国的人口规模

当前中国实行的计划生育政策其实是一种压缩型人口政策,随着社会、经济的发展,以及计划生育本身作用的发挥,人口增长面临严重下滑趋势,不利于中国可持续发展,亟需引起重视。     

利用多波段光源显现提取麻点状表面客体上的手印

在犯罪现场上,案犯在麻点状表面客体上留下手印经常可见。完整有效地提取这类客体上的手印,成为勘验人员急需掌握的技术。笔者经反复利用多波段光源试验提取该类客体上的手印,收到良好的效果。     

Citizen co‐production of cyber security: Self‐help,vigilantes, and cybercrime

Given the limited resources and capabilities of states to maintain cyber security, a variety of co‐production efforts have been made by individuals or by collectives, of varying degrees of organization and coordination. This article identifies different forms of citizen co‐production of cyber security and notes the risk of unintended consequences. Safeguards and principles are proposed in order to facilitate constructive citizen/netizen co‐production of cyber security. Although co‐production of security can contribute to social control, only those activities within the bounds of the law should be encouraged. Activities of private citizens/netizens that test the limits of legality should be closely circumscribed.     

从人性完满实现看和谐社会的构建

和谐社会是一个以人为本的社会,以人的全面自由发展为目标。而人的全面发展也即人性的完满实现。科学对人性完满实现的作用是有其限度的。吸收宗教的合理成分有助于人性的完满实现。“构建社会主义和谐社会”的提出体现了向一种神圣与世俗相结合的新价值观的转换。     

经济引力原理引论

人类社会进入工业化和城市化的阶段后,经济发展的不平衡规律表现得更加明显,这种不平衡规律不仅在国与国之间体现出来,而且在一国内部也表现得非常突出。一国内部的不平衡发展是什么因素决定的?有什么规律和特点?有否调节的手段和办法?政府在其中起着什么样的作用?大量的资料分析表明,区域之间经济发展过程中存在着经济引力原理,因此,需要对经济引力的形成、构成要素、特点和我国经济引力区的划分类型、区域引力的调节等进行探讨和论述。     

当代中国马克思主义大众化进程中存在的主要问题

马克思主义是引领我们兴党、富国、强民的科学理论。推动当代中国克思主义大众化,不仅仅是一种理论诉求,也是一种现实需要,更是一种历史使命。但是,由于宣传主体、理论宣传等方面存在的问题,影响和制约了当代中国克思主义大众化的进程。只有通过对这些问题的分析,才能为推动当代中国马克思主义大众化的实现提供新的思考。     

Determining Shoe Length from Partial Shoeprints

The length of a shoe has significant value in reflecting characteristics of the owner, and thereby, it can help in tracking suspects in criminal cases. However, the shoeprints left at a crime scene are often incomplete, resulting in difficulties in assessing shoe length. To find a way to estimate the shoe length from a partial shoeprint, 109 shoes with different sizes and general patterns were collected, and their prints were lifted using magnetic powder. Four feature points were defined on a shoeprint, and the longest distance between the feature points was defined as shoe length. Using linear, quadratic, and cubic regression analyses, a total of 15 equations were obtained between the shoe length and the other distances between the feature points. Out of these, the five most accurate equations were selected as the optimal equation. The verified test, including another 18 pairs of shoes, showed an average error of equations between 0.591 cm and 0.732 cm. The equations were also applied in two practical cases, resulting in good accuracy. The study demonstrates that shoe length could be determined from partial shoeprints through the proven equations.