Protest Diffusion and Cultural Resonance in the 2011 Protest Wave

The 2011 protest wave, encompassing the Arab Spring revolutions, the Indignados movement in Spain and Greece, and the Occupy Wall Street movement has often been described as a new global protest cycle. However, the dynamics of diffusion suggest a more complex picture. Transmission of protest frames and repertoires from one country and cultural region to another was quite slow and tortuous. Moreover, adoption of the new ideas and practices of protest spawned by the protest wave of 2011 involved laborious dynamics of cultural translation and domestication. This situation points to the continuing importance of local protest cultures and cultural contexts, in addition to channels of transmission, even in an era of instantaneous communication technologies.     

Diffusion,transmutation, and regulatory regime in socialist market economies: telecoms reform in China and Vietnam

Abstract

Marketization and state restructuring are proceeding apace in China and Vietnam. China and Vietnam are not, however, converging upon the global regulatory model, even allowing for customary national variations. Rather, they are building up distinctive forms of regulatory regimes aiming to maintain the party-state's control over key state sectors, while at the same time integrating with the global economy and conforming to international norms and standards. This study argues that the regulatory model being adopted in Vietnam and China is the product of a specific kind of transition from a command to a market economy within an authoritarian political regime. While diffusion theories are of use in identifying external driving forces for the reform effort, these theories are of limited value for unveiling the dynamics of local contexts. Indigenous incentives, opportunity structures, and the experimental nature of public policy explain why, despite their exposure to global reform movements and commitment to multilateral institutions, China and Vietnam are likely to end up not with just a variety of the same regulatory regime, but a different one. The case of telecommunications regulation is used to illustrate this.     

工作记忆中央执行功能研究新进展

中央执行功能是工作记忆系统中最重要却又研究最少的一个成分。对中央执行功能的研究存在神经心理学、认知行为、脑成像，以及计算模拟等多种途径。近年来研究较多的执行功能包括：双任务协调、注意转换、抑制优势反应、记忆刷新等。目前该领域的研究热点是，运用潜变量分析和脑成像等多学科的先进手段，对执行功能的可分离性和结构有效性进行研究。     

Rapid presumptive "fingerprinting" of body fluids and materials by ATR FT-IR spectroscopy

Human body fluids and materials were evaluated using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Purified proteins, cosmetics, and foodstuffs were also assayed with the method. The results of this study show that the sampled fluids and materials vary in the fingerprint region and locations of the amide I peaks because of the secondary structure of the composite proteins although the C = O stretch is always present. The distinct 1016 cm(-1) peak serves as a signature for semen. The lipid-containing materials (e.g., fingerprints, earwax, tears, and skin) can also be easily separated from the aqueous materials because of the strong CH(3) asymmetric stretch of the former. Blood-saliva and blood-urine mixtures were also successfully differentiated using combinations of peaks. Crime scene investigators employing rapid, portable, or handheld infrared spectroscopic instruments may be able to reduce their need for invasive, destructive, and consumptive presumptive test reagents in evaluating trace evidence.     

Quantitative MRI in Isotropic Spatial Resolution for Forensic Soft Tissue Documentation. Why and How?*

Abstract: A quantification of T1, T2, and PD in high isotropic resolution was performed on corpses. Isotropic and quantified postmortem magnetic resonance (IQpmMR) enables sophisticated 3D postprocessing, such as reformatting and volume rendering. The body tissues can be characterized by the combination of these three values. The values of T1, T2, and PD were given as coordinates in a T1–T2–PD space where similar tissue voxels formed clusters. Implementing in a volume rendering software enabled color encoding of specific tissues and pathologies in 3D models of the corpse similar to computed tomography, but with distinctively more powerful soft tissue discrimination. From IQpmMR data, any image plane at any contrast weighting may be calculated or 3D color‐encoded volume rendering may be carried out. The introduced approach will enable future computer‐aided diagnosis that, e.g., checks corpses for a hemorrhage distribution based on the knowledge of its T1–T2–PD vector behavior in a high spatial resolution.     

Characterization of Digital Cameras for Reflected Ultraviolet Photography; Implications for Qualitative and Quantitative Image Analysis During Forensic Examination

Reflected ultraviolet imaging techniques allow for the visualization of evidence normally outside the human visible spectrum. Specialized digital cameras possessing extended sensitivity can be used for recording reflected ultraviolet radiation. Currently, there is a lack of standardized methods for ultraviolet image recording and processing using digital cameras, potentially limiting the implementation and interpretation. A methodology is presented for processing ultraviolet images based on linear responses and the sensitivity of the respective color channels. The methodology is applied to a FujiS3 UVIR camera, and a modified Nikon D70s camera, to reconstruct their respective spectral sensitivity curves between 320 and 400 nm. This method results in images with low noise and high contrast, suitable for qualitative and/or quantitative analysis. The application of this methodology is demonstrated in the recording of latent fingerprints.     

Identifying Diagonal Cutter Marks on Thin Wires Using 3D Imaging

We present work on matching 2‐mm‐thick wires using optical 3D imaging methods. Marks on such small surfaces are difficult to match using a comparison microscope as this 2D imaging method does not provide height data about the sample surface. Moreover, these 2D microscopy images may be affected by illumination. Hence, the reference and investigated sample should be present at the same time. We employed scanning white light interferometry and confocal microscopy to provide quantitative 3D profiles for reliable comparison of samples that are unavailable for simultaneous analysis. We show that 3D profiling offers a solution by allowing illumination‐independent sample comparison. We correctly identified 74 of 80 profiles using consecutive matching striae (CMS) criteria, and we were able to match samples based on profiles measured using different 3D imaging devices. The results suggest that the used methods allow matching cutter marks on thin wires, which has been difficult previously.     

Transnational Transmitters: Ethnic Kinship Ties and Conflict Contagion 1946–2009

Previous research has proposed that ethnic conflict may spread across borders. Although the importance of transnational ethnic groups is often emphasized, the processes through which contagion may take place remain unspecified. The present study presents a context for more precise analysis of contagion. Further, it identifies distinct processes through which contagion is likely to occur within this context. It is argued that when an ethnic group engages in violent conflict in one state, kin in a nearby state may be inspired to rebel because the outbreak of conflict renders ethnic bonds and similar conditions salient. These bonds and similarities become even more salient when the kin group has opportunities and willingness to mobilize for rebellion. Statistical analysis employing unique global data covering 1946–2009 supports this argument. These results indicate that kinship ties matter for contagion and identify some of the conditions which amplify the effects such ties have for contagion.