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Focuses on the proceedings of the 9th meeting of the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association held in Hong Kong, China in 2002. Topics; Participants; Publication of papers and articles.

In Indonesia, Chinese voluntary associations took on a new level of importance after the fall of Suharto’s New Order regime in 1998 that ushered in a revival of Chinese identity politics. At the same time, Sino-Indonesian relations are blossoming, and the rise of China as a global power means that Indonesia can only benefit from stronger ties with China in the future. In this new atmosphere of cooperation, I argue that Chinese Indonesian individuals and voluntary organizations play a crucial function as trade and cultural intermediaries. Drawing on both empirical and qualitative fieldwork data, in this paper, I examine how members of Chinese voluntary organizations view their ethnicity, national belonging, and strategic position in the contexts of post-Suharto Chinese identity politics and Sino-Indonesia relations. More broadly, this paper also offers a critical analysis of the internal dynamics of contemporary Overseas Chinese voluntary organizations and the role they play in building trade and sociocultural relationships between China and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, I examine the use of performance-based financing to scale-up HIV testing in men who have sex with men, or MSM, by global health initiatives in China. This mechanism, which ties financing directly to the achievement of targets and indicators, assures that measurable results are produced from health interventions and accounts for financial spending. On the one hand, its adoption into HIV programming in China articulates with broader shifts in global health that place currency on particular forms of evidence. At the same time, performance-based financing reshapes how HIV interventions are carried out and what counts in these programmes. The suturing of financing to outputs directs what gets counted and how, and as a consequence leads to the production of measurable results as an end in and of themselves. Based on 22 months of ethnographic research carried out in China, I explore the effects of this mechanism and, in doing so, ask what gets left out in the pursuit of evidence. In particular, I demonstrate how the demand for outputs undermines HIV prevention in MSM, thus risking the very lives these interventions are intended to save. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper extends the IS continuance model to improve our understanding of the determinants of E2.0 post-adoption. Our proposed research model incorporates four constructs into the IS continuance model: firm size, firm scope, subjective norms and competitive pressure from the perspective of organizational and environmental context based on the TOE framework. Results from a survey of customers of Mingdao, a leading Enterprise 2.0 platform in China, support our model. The research findings show that organizational and environmental context factors, including subjective norms and competitive pressure, significantly influence enterprises' intentions to renew their E2.0 service in addition to technology perceptions. Perceived usefulness and satisfaction are no longer the strongest predicators of continuance usage in the context of enterprise systems. The theoretical and managerial implications of these results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We briefly summarize the history of the rise of comparative physiology in China, the research work focused on by domestic and international counterparts in the field of comparative physiology of China, and international academic exchange and collaboration during this period. We also introduce some of the interesting model systems used in past and current research. This paper is based on documents in historical materials such as the proceedings of the 1st (August 1988) to 6th (October, 2007) Comparative Physiology Academic Session of the Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences, collected physiological works in commemoration academic papers of the 70th (1926–1999) and 80th anniversary of the Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences (1926–2006), CBP and the Physiology History of China, and the authors'' own research experience. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper discusses the history and uniqueness of social work education in Macao, a small city in southern China, with a small population and an economy driven mainly by gambling and the tourism industry. The population of Macao has grown over the past 10 years creating increasing demands for social services. In response, the Macao government has adopted a proactive role in social service planning and the development of innovative services to meet newly emerging needs. Macao is now in a stage of new development in social services, with ample opportunities and challenges. Professional training, professional associations and accrediting organizations form a sophisticated interlocking system that reflects the development of a profession and its level of maturity. Social work education is playing a significant role in the development of professional social services and in enhancing the professionalization of social work, though the process is slow. This paper argues that reasons for the slow progress are manifold. It is expected that there will be further developments in social work education in Macao, and its interplay with the expansion of social welfare services will certainly set a new scene for the social work profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper surveys the roles of seven Chinese associations in Kuala Terengganu in maintaining and propagating Chinese culture within a Malay state. These associations have played significant roles in maintaining and propagating Chinese culture as far as the range of cultural activities hosted by them is concerned. There is also a reasonable level of state cultural leadership, though lacking in certain areas. But the small population and the outflow of the younger generation have presented a host of problems to the Chinese associations with regard to the required critical mass, pool of talent, injection of ideas and second-tier leadership. The lack of financial support is yet another problem arising from the peripheral role of the Chinese in the state economy and their small numbers. Meanwhile, leaders of the Chinese associations exercise restraint so as not to infringe on Malay religious sensitivity when hosting outdoor cultural activities during the Muslim ritual periods. They also exhibit a high degree of tolerance towards Islamisation programmes undertaken by the state as long as these programmes do not encroach into their private socio-cultural domains. Despite their small population, the Chinese in Kuala Terengganu are a politically significant minority as a result of the political outbidding among the Malays. Leaders of the Chinese associations have benefited from such a position in resolving certain long-standing cultural issues. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Control Rod Hydraulic Drive Mechanism (CRHDM) is a newly invented patent of the Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology Tsinghua University which owns CRHDM''s independent intellectual property rights while the integrated valve made up of three direct action solenoid valves is the key part of this mechanism. Therefore, the performance of the solenoid valve affects the integrated valve and the CRHDM directly. In this paper, we present a method to design the parameters of the direct action solenoid valve based on orthogonal experiment design, back propagation (BP) neural network and particle swarm optimization (PSO). The result proves that the method is feasible and accurate to design the parameters in order to obtain the biggest electromagnetic force. Besides, the result also shows that it is the current which influences the electromagnetic force of the direct action solenoid valve most. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Social work education in China has experienced a very rapid expansion in recent years. Top Chinese leaders have advocated strongly for social work and in 2006, the government launched a series of new social policy initiatives aimed at professionalizing social work. This has provided an opportunity for researchers and educators to think about the possible impact and future challenges confronting the civil affairs sector and social work educators. In this paper, the authors will provide an analysis of the recent development of social work education in China, and also highlight the major challenges that social work educators and the social services sectors will encounter in the context of the professionalization of social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports our field study findings about the efforts of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to rationalize Chinese public organizations. Our focus here is on public organizations in western China. Classifying the development of China into the strategizing, politicizing, and pragmatizing eras, with each era having its unique historical events, reflecting CPC’s basic logic in organization and management and in turn affecting officials’ behavioral tendencies, we examine CPC’s basic political–rational approach and the different rationalization models used in different eras. The contending models had produced mix-results, as most officials are either politically submissive to higher authority, as in the case of western China or, as in eastern region, in transformation, becoming a self-serving hybrid with monopoly of both economic and political powers. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emphasizes on the initiation of the First Cross Taiwan-strait Conference on Statistical Physics organized by mainland China physicists. Participants of the conference; Composition of the scientific program of the conference; Highlights of the opening and closing session of the conference; Inclusions of the relevant papers not included in the proceedings.

Presents an overview of the Asia Pacific Tourism Association's Eighth Annual Conference at the Shangri-La Hotel in Dalian, China during July 10-13, 2003. Objective of the conference; Features of the conference; Themes of the refereed research papers.

The article presents information on research papers related to organizational programs on restoration ecology. The paper "Restoration Grower's Association: A Work in Progress (Washington)," by Amy Tippery focuses on the Restoration Growers Association which is launched as a way to encourage the use of native species that are locally adapted to King County, Washington and to help promote native plant nurseries and growers in the county. The members include 16 native plant nurseries and growers located throughout King County who use the association's free service to help expand their markets. The greatest challenge for the association has been participant buy-in in the face of demand that is still in its infancy. The paper "The Role and Activities of NGOs in Reforestation in the Northeast Asian Region," by K.H. Moon and D.K. Park describes the work of non-governmental organizations in restoring forests and battling desertification, for example, the Northeast Asian Forest Forum, a joint effort of experts from South Korea, China, Mongolia, and Japan.

This article reports on the International Sociological Association's (ISA) Second Worldwide Competition for Young Sociologists. Two highlights should be mentioned first in this report on this year's Second Worldwide Competition for Young Sociologists, which was organized by Veronica Stolte-Heiskanen and ended with a two-week colloquium in Oerlinghausen. First, counting all Chinese papers into one, they were the largest group with seven finalist papers. Considering further that, for the first time, sociologists from Beijing were officially permitted to participate, then the strong Chinese participation with finalist quality essays is an important result for the World Congress in Bielefield and a point to note in future sociological ventures. Second, Nigerian sociology was represented by four participants which turned put to be an active, sociologically well trained group in the Oerlinghausen Colloquium organized by Steven Vaitkus. They were filled with the sociological imagination in its best conceptual sense. As already indicated in the Round Table on Nigerian Sociology and crowned by the recent election of Layi Erinosho onto the new Executive Committee of the ISA--Nigeria proves to be the first station of sociology in Africa.

On 21 and 22 November 2006, 90 hemp experts from 23 countries and five continents met in Hürth in the Rhineland (Germany) to exchange views on the current status quo and future trends of the global hemp industry. The 4th International Conference of the "European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)" revealed a globally increasing interest in hemp raw materials due to worldwide raw material shortages. Special highlights of the conference: The manifold industrial applications of hemp in China as well as the interest of the wood material industry in hemp as alternative raw material for board materials. The mood on the 4th EIHA Conference was substantially different from previous years. One could sense a new interest in hemp. This became clear also through a large number of new projects and investments, ideas and products as well as a couple of new actors. doi:10.1300/J237v12n02_06 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article elaborates on the release of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) collection of 31 major papers in Beijing, China. These papers were published in the publication and were translated into Chinese. The move is considered the first major project completed as part of its emerging engagement between the two organization. It was launched during the news conference on May 7, 2008 and was published by China Science Press. The achievement was applauded by leaders of the two organizations as a benefit to global science education and as an augur of future cooperative ventures between the Academy and AAAS.

Information about several papers discussed at a conference sponsored by the International Association for World Englishes (IAWE) held at the City University of Hongkong in China on December 1-5, 2009 on the English language is presented. Topics include linguistic variation, analysis of phonetic techniques and language teaching. The conference highlighted the conference banquet where Professor Edward Thumboo of the National University of Singapore was given the Lifetime Award by the IAWE.

The article presents information on various conferences on dermopathology. Ninth International Congress of Dermopathology will be held from May 19-22, 2004 in Beijing, China. The overall Program will consist of Plenary Lectures, Symposia, Free Paper Sessions and Poster Discussions. The Tenth World Congress of Pediatric Dermatology will be held from July 7-10, 2004 in Italy. The International Centre for Study and Research in Dermatology will organize this Scientific Meeting in association with Department of Dermatology of the Catholic University of Sacred Heart and with the aid of the Italian Group of Pediatric Dermatology, and the European Society of Pediatric Dermatology.

Information about several papers discussed during the Third International Conference on Environmental and Engineering Geophysics held in Wuhan,China on June 15-20, 2008 is presented. During the event, attendees discussed the growing significance of environmental and engineering geophysics and the need for international collaboration to address mankind's problems.