Population Pressures and the North–South Divide between the first century and 2100

This article examines the relationship between the populations of the more and less developed societies between the first century and 2100. Such an analysis reveals a changing dependency between the level of development (and GDP) achieved and population numbers between the first century and 1998. In relation to the past the article suggests a dynamic model for dividing the world into more and less developed areas. In relation to the present and the future it bases the population analysis on the developmental division of the world as published by one of the co-authors of this article. The article largely uses population estimates (with those referring to the past taken from Angus Maddison and those referring to the future from the most recent projections by the United Nations). Taking the 2013 UN projection as a model, it discusses three variants for demographic development in the North and South up to 2100. It argues that the more restrictive population growth variants of the UN projection predict a greater relative ‘Third Worldisation’ of the world than does the most dynamic projection.     

Development of a Novel Finger-Trigger Interface for Trigger Pull Measurement

Trigger pull is the force that needs to be exerted on the trigger to discharge a firearm. The measurement of trigger pull can assist in the evaluation of the safety, function, and manufacturing characteristics associated with a firearm during the forensic firearm examination process. Nonetheless, the accuracy and uncertainty of trigger pull measurements may be affected by the measuring device, test procedure, and environmental conditions. In this work, an innovative finger-trigger interface device was developed to facilitate accurate trigger pull measurements. The idea was to reduce the variation related to the position of the measurement device on the trigger in existing measuring methods and devices. Three force sensors based on different technologies were initially evaluated. While two of the three sensors failed to produce data, the miniature capacitive plate sensor exhibited high precision and a linear response over the range of typical trigger pulls. To examine the effects of the finger-trigger interface on trigger pull measurement, different sensor housing prototypes were designed in silico and 3D printed for the construction of three finger-trigger interface devices. The performance of each finger-trigger interface device was evaluated by measuring the trigger pulls of several selected firearms and comparing the data to a previously published study. Our preliminary results demonstrated the novel finger-trigger interface device offered a new way to measure trigger pull in situ with acceptable accuracy and precision.     

Corporate policy entrepreneurship and cross-boundary strategies: How a private corporation champions mobile healthcare payment innovation in China?

The private nature of corporate actors does not necessarily preclude them from contributing to public interest. When business strategies and genuine public motivation are favorably aligned, corporate actors from the private sector can also drive public sector innovations. For a private corporation, policy entrepreneurship inherently entails crossing not only the public–private boundary but also various policy domains. This study formulates five propositions to characterize the cross-boundary strategies of corporate policy entrepreneurship, a distinct form of policy entrepreneurship in a developing authoritarian state. The case study of mobile healthcare payment innovation in China finds that the corporate entrepreneur used a series of cross-boundary strategies adeptly that eventually made the innovation not only adopted in one locality but also rapidly diffused nationwide. These strategies were not used in isolation or in a pure stepwise fashion but appeared to be recursive and interactive, suggesting the dynamic nature of corporate policy entrepreneurship in a multilevel governance system. More studies could be done to further examine strategies and processes of other forms of policy entrepreneurship in various national and sectoral settings.     

Diffusion models over the life cycle of an innovation: A bottom-up and top-down synthesis approach

The diffusion models tend to be tested individually in isolation and remain the same over time for the studied innovations in the literature. Moreover, there is growing interest to learn from other countries in our current age of globalization. Therefore, this paper chooses the innovation of public resources trading platforms in China to fulfill above literature gaps. We have examined key events and the issuances of related laws and regulations by Chinese governments. Our contributions are twofold: (a) Our analysis and results show that the diffusion models evolve over the different stages of a life cycle of an innovation, contrasting to the literature results that diffusion models remain the same for their studied innovations. Due to major diverse characteristics among different adopter categories over a life cycle of an innovation, we argue that it is appropriate and necessary to apply different diffusion models on different adopter categories, which is missing in the current literature. (b) We find a first bottom-up and then top-down synthesis approach as an effective, efficient diffusion process for both fitting local needs (i.e., effective) and adopting innovations rapidly nationwide (i.e., efficient).     

Fatal Methemoglobinemia Due to Acute Inhalation of Methyl Nitrite in an Industrial Accident

Methyl nitrite is suggested to cause methemoglobinemia by generating methemoglobin, which may be lethal when the methemoglobin concentration exceeds 70%. However, intoxication with methyl nitrite is seldom reported compared with that with other nitrites. Here, we present an industrial accident involving methyl nitrite inhalation during its synthesis process that resulted in three fatalities and one survivor. The autopsy revealed conspicuous blue-gray discoloration in various parts of the body, including the skin, airway mucosa, vessels, brain, heart, and among other areas. The toxicological tests on the deceased showed methemoglobin concentrations in the blood over the lethal level and increased nitrite ion levels in the blood, gastric contents, liver, and lung tissue compared with those in control samples. The cause of death was determined to be methemoglobinemia-induced hypoxia due to methyl nitrite inhalation. This report provides evidence that in methyl nitrite intoxication, exposure duration has a significant influence on the postmortem changes and likelihood of a fatal outcome may be related to the age of the victim. More attention is required regarding the industrial hazards of this substance.     

Budgeting for Accountability: A Comparative Study of Budget Reforms in the United States during the Progressive Era and in Contemporary China

Budgeting is an important mechanism for ensuring public accountability. How do budget reforms in the United States during the Progressive Era compare to those in contemporary China? Are administrative and legislative budget controls essential to an effective, efficient government? Though the two countries differ in many respects, significant parallels between their budget reforms are evident. In the United States, electoral accountability alone does not guarantee overall government accountability if proper budgetary institutions are absent. China's recent budget reform reveals that it is possible to develop accountability, absent open elections, but with limitations and constraints. Lessons on budgeting and accountability for other developing and transitional countries are drawn from this comparative study.     

论协商民主及其在我国的实现

作为一种在西方政治学界兴起的新理论,协商民主强调平等性、责任性和公共性.协商民主的实行有利于和谐社会的实现:有利于公民美德的重塑以及保障和促进公共政策的合法性.但是由于其制度化和程序化规范的缺失与不足;公共利益的难以确定性和公民参与能力的贫困等因素制约着协商民主的发展,我们必须加强作为民主政治发展的方向和前景的协商民主制度建设,提高公民参与的能力和素质.     

缅甸大选后的外交形势及其政策趋势

2010年缅甸举行了20年来的首次大选,这是缅甸国家政治转型的一次重要契机。对于缅甸大选结果及新政府的建立,东盟邻国、周边大国和西方国家反映各异．但即使是长期与缅甸对立的西方大多数国家也对大选有了一定程度的认可。未来。缅甸执政当局仍将面临各种政治势力和国内国际局势影响下重新洗牌、西方国家继续施加压力和制裁而出现的不确定性局面。中国和缅甸长期以来建立的密切关系也将因西方国家不断对缅甸的威逼利诱经受考验。     

深入了解卡斯特罗思想,加强古巴革命研究——《卡斯特罗语录》中文版介绍

<正>最近《卡斯特罗语录》(Selecclon de Pensamientos de Fidel Castro)中文版由社科文献出版社出版。参加本书翻译的是中国社会科学院拉美所副所长、古巴研究中心主任宋晓平研究员,古巴研究中心顾问徐世澄研究员和拉美所张颖副研究员。