The domestic politics of international development in South Korea: stakeholders and competing policy discourses

Abstract

The paper examines the domestic politics surrounding South Korea's foreign aid policy. It delineates the institutional characteristics and strategic interests of key government and non-government stakeholders, and suggests an analytical framework to comprehend the country's aid policy regime. It suggests that two competing policy discourses exist – one emphasising ‘intellectual leadership’ and the other ‘ethical leadership’ as the key principle of aid policy. In practice, the country's political leadership promulgates a complex amalgam of these discourses in alignment with their own political imperatives and interests. The paper discusses ‘Global Saemaul Undong’ as such an example under the incumbent Park Geun-Hye administration.     

The Application of Voltammetric Analysis of Δ9‐THC for the Reduction of False Positive Results in the Analysis of Suspected Marijuana Plant Matter

The development of methodologies using inexpensive, fast, and reliable instrumention is desirable in illicit drug analysis. The purpose of this study was based on cyclic voltammetry technique to differentiate the electrochemical behavior of ?⁹‐THC, the psychoactive substance in marijuana, and five different extract plants to yield false positive results after analysis protocol for cannabinoids using thin‐layer chromatography and Fast Blue B salt. After applying a deposition potential of ?0.5 V in a glassy carbon working electrode, the results indicated an anodic peak current at 0.0 V versus Ag/AgCl after addition of ?⁹‐THC solution in the electrochemical cell, and limits of detection and quantification were 1.0 ng mL^?1 and 3.5 ng mL^?1, respectively. Other interfering plants showed distinct amperometric responses. This methodology was useful to detect ?⁹‐THC even in the presence of the Fast Blue B salt, which avoided false positive results for all the studied extract plants.     

Evaluation of Postmortem Cerebrospinal Fluid S100B Protein and Serotonin Levels: Comparison of Suicidal Versus Nonsuicidal Deaths in Konya,Turkey

Although suicide is a preventable public health problem, objective assays for suicide risk are limited. In this study, it was aimed to determine levels of S100B protein and serotonin as a marker for risk of suicide. S100B protein and serotonin levels were investigated with ELISA method in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in medicolegal autopsy cases, including those of suicide cases (n = 32) and nonsuicide cases (n = 56). The CSF S100B levels were higher (9.3 ± 2.9 ng/mL vs. 5.4 ± 2.0 ng/mL), and serotonin levels were lower (10.4 ± 4.9 ng/mL vs. 19.0 ± 5.7 ng/mL) in suicide group than nonsuicide group (p < 0.05). There was no correlation between S100B protein and serotonin levels with gender, age groups, postmortem interval, and cause of death. It is concluded that both S100B protein and serotonin in CSF may be useful for determination of suicide risk.     

CT、MRI在弥漫性轴索损伤法医学鉴定中应用价值分析

目的探讨CT和MRI检查方法在弥漫性轴索损伤(diffuse axonal injury,DAI)法医学鉴定中的应用价值。方法收集26例CT和MRI影像资料齐全的DAI鉴定资料进行回顾性分析,比较CT和MRI两种方法对DAI病灶检出率的差异,分析DAI病灶检出数量与法医学鉴定结果之间的关系。结果 26例经MRI检出DAI病灶787个,经CT检出DAI病灶32个,MRI对DAI病灶的敏感度显著高于CT(P0.01)具有统计学意义。26例DAI鉴定的伤残等级数值与影像学检查发现的病灶数量之间存在负相关(r=-0.908,P0.01)。结论 MRI检查对DAI病灶的检出率较CT检查具有明显优势,可为DAI诊断提供更为准确的依据,在法医临床学鉴定中具有重要的应用价值。     

Severe personality disorder,treatment engagement and the Legal Aid,Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012: what you need to know

Empirical research has demonstrated a link between legal coercion and treatment engagement following conviction among those with severe personality disorder. Legal coercive pressures were often applied by the Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection (IPP), until it was replaced by the Extended Determinate Sentence by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. In this paper, it is proposed that use of the new determinate sentence will lessen motivation for treatment engagement. One effect of treatment refusal may be greater reliance by the Secretary of State for Justice on his jurisdiction to transfer prisoners due for release to secure hospital transfers under the Mental Health Act 1983. Not only will this risk posturing undermine the principal aim of the Offender Personality Disorder Implementation Pathway to improve treatment engagement among the target group, it will also have negative implications for medical practitioners working in secure forensic hospitals. To demonstrate what is at stake, the paper briefly recapitulates empirical findings familiar to readers of the journal, before drawing on original unpublished data.     

运用二代测序技术拆分混合STR分型

目的探讨二代测序技术在混合STR分型拆分中的应用。方法对一例强制猥亵妇女案中受害人颈部的拭子和血样作DNA提取,以Precision ID GlobalFiler^TM NGS STR Panel v2试剂盒制备文库,经Ion S5测序仪测序,运用Torrent_Suite_v5.2.1软件进行数据分析后,将检测基因座的序列多态STR分型与长度多态STR分型进行比较。结果在D8S1179、D21S11、D2S441、D2S1338、D10S1248五个基因座发现存在序列特异的等位基因亚型,利用这些亚型对混合STR分型进行了成功拆分。结论二代测序技术提供的等位基因序列信息可对混合STR分型的拆分起到帮助作用。     

Analysis of some commonly found inhalants using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC MS) – Effect of substrates on the identification of inhalants

Inhalant abuse is a serious and ever-evolving problem for our society. Inhalants are abused more commonly by teenagers and adolescents. Inhalants such as glue, paint thinners, correction fluid, and nail paint remover are easily available in the market which makes them readily abused. Out of various methods of abuse, huffing (placing a piece of cloth soaked with inhalant is placed in the mouth), bagging (placing head in a polythene bag containing inhalant), and ballooning (balloons filled with inhalant are used for inhaling vapors through the mouth) are most common. Inhalant abuse results in multiple target organ dysfunction with neuritis and brain damage due to the dissolution of the myelin sheath. In acute poisoning cases, it might cause death due to asphyxia and sudden sniffing syndrome. In such cases, various articles containing traces of inhalants could be retrieved from the scene of incidence and to detect these traces become an important facet of the investigation. However, it might be difficult due to the rapid evaporation of inhalants and the formation of reaction product species. In the present study, an attempt has been made to study the effect of three substrates (balloon, cloth, polythene) on component profiles of four paint thinners and four nail paint removers. The study suggests that although some components are retained, there is the formation of a large number of reaction product species and these must be taken into consideration before furnishing the opinion. These reaction product species might also be inhalant specific which must be further explored.     

This May Come As a Surprise: How Prior Knowledge of Information in a Fear Appeal is Associated with Message Outcomes

Two related studies were performed aimed at finding if and how prior knowledge of threat and efficacy information in a fear appeal message is associated with message outcomes (attitude and behavioural intentions). the extended Parallel Process model (ePPm) (Witte 1992; 1998) served as theoretical framework for one study about a chlamydia fear appeal (n = 57) and another about an alcohol abuse fear appeal (n = 59). Findings from both studies suggest that prior knowledge of threat information is hardly relevant for readers’ reactions to a fear appeal message. Prior knowledge of efficacy information, however, proved to play a more important role, most often in a positive way. Findings from both studies furthermore suggest that the ePPm may be incorrect in assuming that individual differences – in this case, in prior knowledge – may only affect fear appeal outcomes in an indirect way, that is through different perceptions of threat and efficacy.     

Everyday health security practices as disaster resilience in rural Bangladesh

Health security is a relatively new concept in terms of how it is practised in disaster-prone locales. We observed 10 rural households in Bangladesh for four months using informal interviews, field diaries, and observation. The findings suggest that the everyday practises of health security involve the capabilities of “caring for themselves” in resource-constrained contexts. Understanding how households care for themselves prior to and during disasters presents an opportunity to examine how improved health might reduce the effects of disasters, ill health, and poverty. Some interventions are proposed to improve health security for poorer households in general and women in particular.     

When Protection Collapses: Post-Demobilization Trajectories of Violence

The implementation of peacebuilding activities, including the demobilization of non-state illegal actors, does not necessarily bring about a reduction in violence. While there are several theories that address the causes of persistent violence, there are few that adequately explain why rates of violence can rapidly increase in a post-demobilization context. Using the method of process tracing, this article explores the case of Córdoba Department, Colombia, where rates of violence have increased after the demobilization of paramilitary groups (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia [AUC]) in 2005. We argue that the AUC created and maintained a monopolistic illegal protection system during its years of operation, and this type of local order was able to contain violence. After demobilization, the protection system was disrupted and as a consequence, new competition between post-demobilization criminal organizations for existing illegal rents developed, petty crime became pervasive, and revenge killings spiked, thus contributing to increased rates of violence in the post-demobilization period. Our theory about the breakdown of protection finds support in other AUC-dominated regions of Colombia.