The suitability of visual taphonomic methods for digital photographs: An experimental approach with pig carcasses in a tropical climate

In the context of increased scrutiny of the methods in forensic sciences, it is essential to ensure that the approaches used in forensic taphonomy to measure decomposition and estimate the postmortem interval are underpinned by robust evidence-based data. Digital photographs are an important source of documentation in forensic taphonomic investigations but the suitability of the current approaches for photographs, rather than real-time remains, is poorly studied which can undermine accurate forensic conclusions. The present study aimed to investigate the suitability of 2D colour digital photographs for evaluating decomposition of exposed human analogues (Sus scrofa domesticus) in a tropical savanna environment (Hawaii), using two published scoring methods; Megyesi et al., 2005 and Keough et al., 2017. It was found that there were significant differences between the real-time and photograph decomposition scores when the Megyesi et al. method was used. However, the Keough et al. method applied to photographs reflected real-time decomposition more closely and thus appears more suitable to evaluate pig decomposition from 2D photographs. The findings indicate that the type of scoring method used has a significant impact on the ability to accurately evaluate the decomposition of exposed pig carcasses from photographs. It was further identified that photographic taphonomic analysis can reach high inter-observer reproducibility. These novel findings are of significant importance for the forensic sciences as they highlight the potential for high quality photograph coverage to provide useful complementary information for the forensic taphonomic investigation. New recommendations to develop robust transparent approaches adapted to photographs in forensic taphonomy are suggested based on these findings.     

The UN system's contribution to Asia-Pacific security architecture

Although it has been the major states of China, the former Soviet Union and especially the United States that have made the major contributions to shaping the security architecture of the Asia-Pacific region since 1945, the UN system has played a useful, adjunct role. This is especially the case in the post-Cold War era when its principal bodies, together with its various specialized agencies, have provided vital support in moving warring societies into a period of relative peace and stability. The UN peace-building operations in Cambodia and East Timor were some of the most demanding ever undertaken by this universal institution. But beyond these particular examples, the United Nations has been influential in the region in other, more indirect, ways. It has set standards, its charter has been a powerful source of ideas when it comes to composing parallel documents at the state or regional levels, and it has helped with the negotiation of global arms control treaties, making up to some degree for the absence of such arrangements at the regional level. The UN has also had a legitimating function, providing an arena where Asia-Pacific states can publicize their grievances, and receive approval or reprimand for their behaviour. It has played a valuable role, too, as third-party mediator. However, the UN's political structure constrains the contribution it can make to the security order since it is reliant on major state agreement before it can act. Veto power - not its actual use but simply its anticipated use - gives China, Russia and the United States a controlling function with respect to a potential UN role in the management of conflict. Beijing and Washington would work, and have worked, to exclude the United Nations from major involvement in conflicts in which they have direct security interests: the Taiwan and Korean issues being the two most obvious in this regard. Thus, the United Nations is a useful buttress but not a central pillar of the region's security architecture.     

High‐Throughput STR Analysis for DNA Database Using Direct PCR,

Since the Korean criminal DNA database was launched in 2010, we have focused on establishing an automated DNA database profiling system that analyzes short tandem repeat loci in a high‐throughput and cost‐effective manner. We established a DNA database profiling system without DNA purification using a direct PCR buffer system. The quality of direct PCR procedures was compared with that of conventional PCR system under their respective optimized conditions. The results revealed not only perfect concordance but also an excellent PCR success rate, good electropherogram quality, and an optimal intra/inter‐loci peak height ratio. In particular, the proportion of DNA extraction required due to direct PCR failure could be minimized to <3%. In conclusion, the newly developed direct PCR system can be adopted for automated DNA database profiling systems to replace or supplement conventional PCR system in a time‐ and cost‐saving manner.     

“认知主义视界的汉语语法”专题研究——汉语“口”和韩语“”的认知对比分析

汉语“口”和韩语“”的基本意义都是“人呼吸、进食和说话的器官”,在此基础上都有相关性和相似性扩展,其扩展动因是转喻、隐喻以及规约的内心意象.汉语“口”和韩语“”尽管在扩展细节上有诸多差异,但基本认知原则是一致的,这反映了当代语言学的基本精神,即人类语言的共性总是大于其个性.     

Earth Day and Its Precursors: Continuity and Change in the Evolution of Midtwentieth‐Century U.S. Environmental Policy

Earth Day 1970's legacy overshadows two earlier events resulting in popular misconceptions about U.S. environmental politics: that environmental policy began with Earth Day and that Congress and the president were not concerned with the environment until public opinion and interest groups pressured them. These misconceptions increase public opinion ambivalence and frustrate environmental leaders. This paper describes Earth Day 1970, the congressionally established Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission established in 1958, and President Kennedy's Natural Resources Tour of September 1963, arguing the latter two prepared for the convergence of multiple streams of policy change that resulted in the first Earth Day.     

十月革命前俄国远东朝鲜人的政治活动

日俄战争后,朝鲜人民反日运动高涨,俄远东的朝鲜移民也投入斗争中,成立大韩国民会、劝业会等朝鲜民族组织,积极从事政治活动,有力地支援了朝鲜国内的革命运动,同时也为俄国革命做出了一定的贡献。十月革命前朝鲜人在远东的政治活动构成了19世纪末20纪初亚非拉人民反侵略斗争的一个组成部分。     

A semiotic study of regional branding reflected in the slogans of Korean regions

The purpose of the present analyses of regional slogans is to provide a semiotic perspective for understanding the symbolic communication systems involved in the construction of Korean regional governments. This study attempts to evaluate the slogans in terms of the semantic and morphological aspects of the texts. Findings show an overuse of signs within the slogans of regional governments that weakened the delivery of information regarding local identity. A leading slogan for a large region may create a unique identity in relative terms, whereas second-tier regions tend to mimic the success of others. The present research illustrates that each region of Korea cannot be differentiated in terms of a semantic analysis of linguistic signs. The communication tendencies that influence the creation of slogans for Korean regions are morphologically complex but semantically simple, resulting in the failure of these regions to secure distinctiveness in their individual brand identities.     

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 PLA and regionalism in Guangdong

The traditional view that bi- and multilateral security arrangements are mutually exclusive is misleading. Since the Korean War the multilateral UN Armistice regime and strong bilateral alliances have kept peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. In the 1990s, multilateral security institutions such as KEDO have become more important in supplementing bilateral security treaties. Reflecting upon a future Korean Unification, the article argues that multilateral security institutions serve important complementing functions such as building additional trust, stabilizing commitment and enhancing resources that bilateral institutions often lack. The article concludes by suggesting that current bilateral relations (US-DPRK, US-ROK, ROK-J, US-PRC) and multilateral arrangements (KEDO) must be reinforced through enhanced multilateral co-operation to allow a peaceful Korean unification accepted by all parties concerned.     

中美关系的变化和朝鲜半岛的和平

中美关系将会全面寻求合作与竞争,但是基于中国的崛起和＂美国霸权＂的衰落,＂合作中冲突＂的局面可能会逐渐形成。通过加强联合与强调多边合作,中美两国在东北亚地区采取的下注战略都向着防止任何一方统治该区域的情况发生转型。除了中美关系的冲突或合作趋势之外,朝鲜半岛也存在卷入＂他者化＂或＂国际化＂的可能性。本文建议无论是韩美联盟还是中韩合作都应遵循独立适用原则,且我们应当探索战略性的普遍原则。