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First, he has neglected an important factor responsible for explaining the success of anti-corruption reforms, i.e. whether the reforms implemented have addressed the causes of corruption, especially the low probability of detecting and punishing corruption offenders in the three countries. It exists when, first, comprehensive anti-corruption laws are enforced impartially; second, sufficient resources and operational autonomy are allocated to the anti-corruption agencies (ACAs), which are not paper tigers or used as attack dogs against political opponents; and third, anti-corruption reforms are sustained and their impact monitored. Carothers contends that Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign has been successful because the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) had disciplined more than 437,000 officials by December 2019 (p. 185). [Extracted from the article]

Recent developmental state research highlights state-society configurations and contentious politics in shaping industrialization. Still, much of this work focuses on East Asia and tends to sidestep racialized labor exploitation, imperialism, and uneven incorporation into the global capitalist system through the trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonialism as important drivers. Through an historical analysis of Trinidad and Tobago, this paper examines how interventionist industrial policies emerged out of such structures and conditions. It highlights the role of anti-imperial and anti-racist struggles exemplified by the Black Power Movement in Trinidad and Tobago – a social movement comprising workers, marginalized youth, and civic leaders, which sought to overturn a colonial economy, reconfigure hierarchical race relations, address economic injustices, promote democratically negotiated industrialization, and chart a new course for a post-independent, multiracial Trinidad and Tobago. Utilizing archival data, this paper argues that Trinidad and Tobago's government shifted from a passive industrial strategy characteristic of the colonial era to a more active approach from 1970 to 1984 largely in response to forceful demands and demonstrations by the Black Power Movement, which, in turn, led to improved social conditions, nationalization of key industries, the creation of state-owned enterprises, new skills and technological investments, and more. These findings advance developmental state theory by specifying the heretofore largely unacknowledged role of racial justice and anti-imperialist social movements in bringing about a different path from the East Asian model toward industrial and social transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continents grow mainly through magmatism, relamination, accretionary prism development, sediment underplating, tectonic accretion of seamounts, oceanic plateaus and oceanic lithosphere, and collisions of island arcs at convergent margins. The modern Pacific–Rim subduction zone environments present a natural laboratory to examine the nature of these processes. The papers in this special issue focus on the: (1) modern and ancient accretionary margins of Japan; (2) arc–continent collision zone in the Taiwan orogenic belt; (3) accreting versus non-accreting convergent margins of the Americas; and (4) several examples of ancient convergent margins of East Asia. Subduction erosion and sediment underplating are important processes, affecting the melt evolution of arc magmas by giving them special crustal isotopic characteristics. Oblique arc–continent collisions cause strong deformation partitioning that results in orogen-parallel extension, crustal exhumation and wrench faulting in the hinterland, and thrust faulting–folding in the foreland. Trench-parallel widths of subducting slabs exert major control on slab geometries, the degree of coupling–decoupling between the lower and upper plates, and subduction velocity partitioning. An initially large width of the subducting Palaeo-Pacific Plate against East Asia caused flat subduction and resistance to slab rollback during the Triassic Period. These conditions resulted in shortening across SE China. Foundering and delamination of the flat slab during the Early Jurassic Epoch led to slab segmentation and reduced slab widths, followed by slab steepening and rollback. This pull-away tectonics induced lithospheric extension and magmatism in SE China during Late Jurassic – Cretaceous time. Melting of subducted carbonaceous sediments commonly produces networks of silicate veins in CLM that may subsequently undergo partial melting, producing ultrapotassic magmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to project China's emerging path towards high politics in East Asia, which is ostensibly spawned by regional geopolitical dynamics. Hegemonic transition, replacing hegemonic stability, is seemingly activating the dynamics. There is almost an inexorable move towards predominance, by the two major powers, that tends to get stimulated by the presence of issues that may trigger conflict, possibly war. These issues range from flashpoints to populist nationalism, economic interdependence, nuclear issues, and alliance relations in the Western Pacific. The paper concludes, by highlighting, likely resultant action–reaction cycles, polarizations, and alignments through the varying array of forces, possibility of war, mutual deterrence, and above all projecting overall power relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically tests bellicist theories of state building in the East Asian context, paying attention to the interplay between external threats and internal challenges and their implications for these states' extractive power. How much variation in state building in the region can be attributed to war and war preparation as a result of both external threats and internal challenges? In particular, it provides more fine-grained analysis on the different types of internal challenges and their impact on state capacity building. The article argues that in the East Asia region, both external threats and internal challenges are crucial to explaining the variation in state capacity across the region. However, we also find that different types of internal challenges have different effects. Particularly, communist insurgencies seem to have both an immediate and long-term positive effect in compelling the state to respond with more extraction to engage in state-building efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing interest in social movement actors as knowledge producers, but many movements have limited ability to access or produce credible, authoritative information. Building on sociolegal scholarship and social movement studies, we show how movements can overcome knowledge gaps they have via‐à‐vis state authorities and contribute to public knowledge through institutional tactics. We argue that features of the process of legal mobilization activate mechanisms that bolster movements' credibility, reveal or generate information, and thereby facilitate social movement knowledge production. We theorize these dynamics by analyzing environmental activism against U.S. military bases in Japan and South Korea, which allows us to leverage most similar legal contexts and types of claims to identify and illustrate the mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lamprophyre dikes and quartz veins in the Sizhuang gold deposit are used to date and unravel the Early Cretaceous stress regime in the Jiaodong Peninsula, North China Craton. The lamprophyre dikes are grouped into two major sets, trending NNW–SSE and NNE–SSW, respectively, and a subsidiary one, trending WNW–ESE, whereas the quartz veins trend mainly NNE–SSW. The age of lamprophyre dikes' intrusion was robustly calculated at c. 119 Ma by phlogopite 40Ar–39Ar dating. The fuzzy clustering technique defined four stress states, which were grouped into three stress regimes in Sizhuang. Furthermore, these stress regimes were interrelated with two regional far-field stress regimes, ST1 and ST2, defined by the available published fault-slip data near Sizhuang by applying the separation and stress inversion TR method (TRM). The palaeostress reconstruction indicates that extension and strike-slip tectonics (i.e. transtension) affect the emplacement of the lamprophyre dikes and quartz veins. More precisely, the dike emplacement occurred under unstable stress conditions related to the shift from E–W pure extension–transtension to WNW–ESE transtension, whereas the quartz veins formed under relatively stable WNW–ESE transtension with the variant and increasing fluid pressure ( ${P_{\rm{f}}})$ giving rise to the strike-slip against dip-slip kinematics along the faults. The change from the ST1 to ST2 stress regimes reflects the significant clockwise rotation in the palaeo-Pacific plate subduction direction and defines the switching time at c. 119 Ma as precisely obtained by the lamprophyre dating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, 405 glaciers with an estimated total mass of 49 Gt were reported in the 1970s. These have been retreating at an accelerated rate since the start of the 21st century. Because glacier studies in this region are scarce, ice loss and its influence on sea level rise and regional environments is poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed satellite data to quantify glacier mass change from 2000 to 2016 in six major glacier-covered regions on the peninsula. The mean rate of the glacier mass change over the study period was −0.46 ± 0.01 m w.e. a−1 (total mass change was −4.9 ± 0.1 Gt, −304.2 ± 9.1 Mt a−1), which is slightly lower than other regions in mid-latitude and subarctic zones. The mass loss accelerated from >−0.33 ± 0.02 m w.e. a−1 in the period 2000–2006/2010 to <−1.65 ± 0.12 m w.e. a−1 in 2006/2010–2015/16. The increase in mass loss is attributed to a rise in average decadal summer temperatures observed in the region (+0.68°C from 1987–99 to 2000–13). Moreover, a recent trend in Pacific decadal oscillation suggests future acceleration of mass loss due to a decline in winter precipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New data on the complete mitochondrial genome of Azygia robusta (Azygiidae) were obtained by the next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of A. robusta had a length of 13 857 bp and included 12 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and two non-coding regions. The nucleotide sequences of the complete mitochondrial genomes of two A. robusta specimens differed from each other by 0.12 ± 0.03%. Six of 12 protein-coding genes demonstrated intraspecific variation. The difference between the nucleotide sequences of the complete mitochondrial genomes of A. robusta and Azygia hwangtsiyui was 26.95 ± 0.35%; the interspecific variation of protein-coding genes between A. robusta and A. hwangtsiyui ranged from 20.5 ± 0.9% (cox 1) to 30.7 ± 1.2% (nad 5). The observed gene arrangement in the mtDNA sequence of A. robusta was identical to that of A. hwangtsiyui. Codon usage and amino acid frequencies were highly similar between A. robusta and A. hwangtsiyui. The results of phylogenetic analyses based on mtDNA protein-coding regions showed that A. robusta is closely related to A. hwangtsiyui (belonging to the same suborder, Azygiida) that formed a distinct early-diverging branch relative to all other Digenea. A preliminary morphological analysis of paratypes of the two azygiid specimens studied showed visible morphological differences between them. The specimen extracted from Sakhalin taimen (Parahucho perryi) was most similar to A. robusta. Thus, we here provide the first record of a new definitive host, P. perryi , for A. robusta and also molecular characteristics of the trematode specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Furcocercariae of the genus Neodiplostomum Railliet, 1919 (Diplostomidae Poirier, 1886) were found in freshwater snails Helicorbis sujfunensis Starobogatov, 1957 (Planorbidae Rafinesque, 1815) collected from three localities in the Russian southern Far East. For the trematodes from each locality, frogs played the role of the second intermediate host, and rats were the definitive host. Chickens were insusceptible to infection. The morphological and molecular data obtained for these trematodes indicated they were representatives of the same species. The experimentally-derived adult individuals were morphometrically similar to the East Asian Neodiplostomum seoulense (Seo, Rim, Lee, 1964), Neodiplostomum oriolinum Oschmarin, 1963, Neodiplostomum leei Chai and Shin, 2002, and Neodiplostomum boryongense Shin et al., 2008. Analysis of available data on the life cycle, developmental stage morphology, and molecular genetic characteristics of East Asian Neodiplostomum revealed a lack of information for objective assessment of the species status of neodiplostomula found in the East Asia region. Based on the considerations above and the data for the cox1 marker, we named the trematode Neodiplostomum cf. seoulense (Seo, Rim, Lee, 1964) sensu Pyo et al. , 2014. In a phylogenetic reconstruction based on nuclear and mitochondrial markers, neodiplostomulas clustered into geographically related groups: South American, North American, European, and East Asian, with the former occupying an external position in the tree, which may indicate South America as a center of Neodiplostomum speciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asia is increasingly at the centre of debates among International Relations (IR) scholars. China's political, economic, and military ascendency is increasingly considered as a crucial test case for main approaches to IR. Despite this renewed attention, mainstream theories employed to analyse contemporary Asia are still remarkably Euro-centric. A wave of studies has argued in favour of a broad 'decolonization' of theoretical concepts used to analyse East Asia as well as other regions. These efforts have produced several distinct research agendas. Firstly, critical and post-colonial theorists have worked on the par destruens, highlighting the inherent Euro-centrism of many IR concepts and theories. Secondly, scholars such as Buzan and Acharya have promoted the idea of Global IR, seeking to advance a 'non-Western' and non-Euro-centric research agenda. This agenda has found fertile ground especially in China, where several scholars have tried to promote a Chinese School of IR. This article has three main purposes. Firstly, it briefly explores the issue of Eurocentrism in IR studies dedicated to East Asia. Secondly, it maps the theoretical debates aimed at overcoming it, looking in particular at the 'Global IR' research programme and the so-called Chinese School. Finally, it sketches a few other possible avenues of research for a very much needed cooperation between Global IR and area studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outdoor air pollution continues to be a challenging health issue, even as countries experience economic growth. By exploiting a unique transboundary setting in East Asia, we study the impact of an increase in particulate matter (PM) concentrations on fetal deaths. Due to the westerlies in the mid-latitudes, residents in South Korea at times experience intermittent exposure to high levels of air pollution. Using such atmospheric setting, we estimate a reduced-form impact of high PM events on fetal deaths, which captures in utero exposure to pollution. Controlling for local weather and pollution trends, regression results indicate that high PM events in Beijing lead to a significant increase in daily fetal mortality rates in Korea, by approximately 7.4 per cent. This research finding provides lower-bound estimates of not only negative spillovers manifested in fetal health but also the impact of pollution on the health of the Chinese population and calls for a need to tackle transboundary air pollution via international cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines a hitherto neglected aspect of the expansion of international trade in nineteenth-century East Asia—that of how ordinary people understood changing trade patterns. Rather than the political debates and imperial competition that have been the focus of existing research, I use the diary of Sim Wŏn'gwŏn (1850–1933), a farmer from Ulsan, southeastern Korea, to assess how knowledge shaped Sim's perception of, and response to, the international grain trade. Sim used his diary to develop an economic world view based on his observation of cyclical, seasonal changes in the weather, harvests, and prices. While this enabled Sim to anticipate some fluctuations, the international rice trade posed a challenge as local market prices began to reflect events beyond Sim's sphere of information. I argue that uneven access to knowledge influenced Sim's participation in international trade, which in turn cannot be understood without reference to Sim's existing understanding of the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rocks of Lingshan Island, located along the continental margin of East Asia, have received increased attention. The Lingke-1 core mainly belongs to the Lower Cretaceous Laiyang Group. We investigate provenance, tectonic setting, palaeoclimate and palaeoredox conditions in the study area using elemental geochemistry, thereby elucidating the depositional history of the Lower Cretaceous sediments and reconstructing the palaeo-environment. To achieve this, 90 siltstones and 76 mudstones were sampled from this core and other outcrops on Lingshan Island. The chemical index of alternation (CIA) values for the majority of the samples and the bivariate diagrams indicate that the sedimentary rocks were subjected to minor weathering processes. Geochemical results suggest that source rocks for the region are felsic igneous and metamorphic rocks, along with minor proportions of intermediate igneous rocks. Major- and trace-element discrimination diagrams, deciphering the tectonic history, indicate that source rocks mainly originated from the continental island-arc and active continental margin. Several representative geochemical indices and the bivariate plots based on elemental contents show that the Laiyang Group was predominantly deposited in arid conditions. Sr/Ba values suggest a palaeosalinity transition from brackish to saline, demonstrating a depositional transformation from lacustrine facies for the lower Laiyang Group to marine facies in the upper Laiyang Group. U/Th and V/(V+Ni) ratios and Ce anomalies in the rocks indicate anoxic conditions. We conclude that the conspicuous decline in the trends of the above three geochemical indices, ranging between 400 and 800 m, may be related to the latest Hauterivian oceanic anoxic event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to analyse the temporal and spatial trends in the burden of anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder related to bullying victimisation on global, regional and country scales. Methods: Data were from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study. We assessed the global disability-adjusted life years (DALYs, per 100 000 population) of anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder attributable to bullying victimisation by age, sex and geographical location. The percentage changes in age-standardised rates of DALYs were used to quantify temporal trends, and the annual rate changes across 204 countries and territories were used to present spatial trends. Furthermore, we examined the relationship between the sociodemographic index (SDI) and the burden of anxiety disorders as well as major depressive disorder attributable to bullying victimisation and its spatial and temporal characteristics globally. Results: From 1990 to 2019, the global DALY rates of anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder attributable to bullying victimisation increased by 23.31 and 26.60%, respectively, with 27.27 and 29.07% for females and 18.88 and 23.84% for males. Across the 21 GBD regions, the highest age-standardised rates of bullying victimisation-related DALYs for anxiety disorders were in North Africa and the Middle East and for major depressive disorder in High-income North America. From 1990 to 2019, the region with the largest percentage increase in the rates of DALYs was High-income North America (54.66% for anxiety disorders and 105.88% for major depressive disorder), whereas the region with the slowest growth rate or largest percentage decline was East Asia (1.71% for anxiety disorders and −25.37% for major depressive disorder). In terms of SDI, this study found overall upward trends of bullying-related mental disorders in areas regardless of the SDI levels, although there were temporary downward trends in some stages of certain areas. Conclusions: The number and rates of DALYs of anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder attributable to bullying victimisation increased from 1990 to 2019. Effective strategies to eliminate bullying victimisation in children and adolescents are needed to reduce the burden of anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder. Considering the large variations in the burden by SDI and geographic location, future protective actions should be developed based on the specific cultural contexts, development status and regional characteristics of each country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Condensation inside marine containers occurs during voyages owing to weather changes. In this study, we define the condensation probability along one of the major routes for container ships between Asia and Europe. First, the inside and outside air conditions were measured on land in Japan, and a correlation analysis was conducted to derive their relationship. Second, onboard measurements were conducted for 20,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) ships to determine the variation in outside air conditions. Complicated patterns of weather change were observed with changes in latitude, sea area, and season. Third, condensation probability was estimated based on a multi-regression analysis with land and onboard measured data. The maximum condensation probability in westbound or eastbound voyages in winter was found to be approximately 50%. The condensation probability estimation method established in this study can contribute to the quantification of cargo damage risks for the planning of marine container transportation voyages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shanghai Municipal Council (SMC), which was mainly controlled by British residents in the treaty port of Shanghai, and protected by the British Foreign Office, came under serious challenge from the Guomindang (GMD) (the rising Nationalist Party of China) from 1927 onwards. The Shanghai Municipal Police (SMP)—an imperial police force with powers to arrest, prosecute and detain—was forced to collaborate with the GMD, and practice unlawful arrest, extradition and re-indoctrination of Communist suspects and convicts. This resulted in the erosion of state powers and the management of prisons. This article argues that the dismantling of British colonialism began to take place in Shanghai during the inter-war period at the expense of some English legal conventions, as demonstrated by SMP violations of existing legal practices and humanitarian commitments. Second, it also suggests that English judicial conventions had an unintended impact on some Chinese civilians, who were keen to safeguard their rights during their detention and trial in and beyond the Shanghai Legation. This article, therefore, offers a new periodisation of British decolonisation and a re-examination of colonial legacy in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to identify how the economies that do not necessarily prioritise social rights in their social policy arrangements fare in achieving various healthcare objectives. The big five of East Asian countries – China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore plus Hong Kong – are considered as such cases. It first highlights a wide range of variations in their healthcare offerings. It then shows that, contrary to the common belief, they constitute a surprisingly high level of redistributive elements in them. Deviating from their overall welfare regime characteristics, each healthcare system presents a unique combination of policy objectives in social, medical, economic and political terms, raising a question of the utility of social rights as a central conceptual lens to understand the world of welfare capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the way in which the British press reported on typhoons that affected Hong Kong during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Typhoons were a significant element in the narration of the British Empire, featuring frequently in British accounts of their involvements in the Far East, where Hong Kong was its only colony. I suggest that these accounts need to be considered alongside the consolidation of the 'tropics' as a region in British perceptions, and in doing so, this article opens discussions of the study of tropicality to the consideration not just of climate, but also of the significance of singular weather events. This article argues that the cultural representations of typhoons in the British press were a tool of 'othering'. In particular, there were two significant shifts around the 1880s in these reports. First, the term 'typhoon' became tied to these types of storms that affected Hong Kong. Second, the stories that were told about typhoon events emphasized British heroism and colonial management. Both these shifts in reporting stripped away the weather wisdom that British sailors had earlier identified in the local population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oriental armyworm Mythimna separata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a major migratory pest of cereal crops in East Asia, South Asia and Australia. To comprehensively understand the ecological tolerance of M. separata, we collected life table data of individuals from four consecutive generations reared under outdoor natural fluctuating temperatures from 15 April to 17 October 2018 in Yangling, Shaanxi, China. The results showed that the immature stage in early summer and summer were shorter than in spring and autumn. High mortality in late larval instar and pupal stages was observed in the summer generation. The adult pre-oviposition period in autumn was longer than the other seasons. The population in the earlier two seasons had heavier pupae and higher fecundity than the population in the latter two seasons. The intrinsic rate of increase and the finite rate of increase was the highest in early summer (r = 0.1292 day−1, λ = 1.1391 day−1), followed by spring (r = 0.1102 day−1, λ = 1.1165 day−1), and was the lowest in summer (r = 0.0281 day−1, λ = 1.0293 day−1). The results of this study would be useful to predict the population dynamics of M. separata and deepen our standing of the adaptiveness of this migratory pest in natural fluctuating ambient environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new fruticulose species, Polycauliona comandorica, is described from the supralittoral zone of the Commander Islands in the Russian Far East. This growth form is very rare in the family Teloschistaceae where the new species belongs. It is the only fruticulose species of the family that forms vegetative propagules (soredia and blastidia). Polycauliona comandorica is similar to the North American P. thamnodes but differs in having a lighter yellow to grey thallus, longer and thicker branches with a rough surface, soredia and blastidia, and in lacking apothecia. Two fruticulose-lobate pairs of species in Polycauliona are briefly discussed: P. comandorica-P. verruculifera and P. thamnodes-P. brattiae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption can erode political trust and a well-functioning democratic system, but it is unclear whether perceptions of corruption are significantly associated with citizens' perceptions about the fairness of income distribution. This study thus examines the role of political trust in shaping the relationship between perceptions of corruption and perceived fairness of income distribution for East Asian countries. The findings show that perceived corruption has strong detrimental effects on political trust, and that those who have lower levels of political trust are more likely to perceive the income distribution as unfair in their countries. Causal mediation analysis results indicate that political trust plays an important role in mediating the negative effect of perceived corruption on perceived fairness of income distribution. Moreover, the results from examining the mutual causality linking corruption, political trust, and perceived fairness suggest that the reciprocal causal effects are also significant and robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three species of the family Teloschistaceae (lichenized Ascomycota) are described as new to science from Southern and Eastern Siberia and the Far East. Corticolous Caloplaca saviczii belongs to the genus Caloplaca s. str.; it has C. cerina-like apothecia and green to grey-green, crateriform soralia with a white rim. Lendemeriella aureopruinosa is a saxicolous taxon with a thin grey thallus and small apothecia 0.3–0.6 mm in diameter, with a dark orange disc usually bearing epipsamma and often with a grey true exciple containing the pigment Cinereorufa-green. Orientophila infirma is a corticolous species with an endophloeodal thallus and small orange apothecia, 0.2–0.3 mm in diameter, usually with an inconspicuous thalline exciple. All new taxa presumably have a boreal north-eastern distribution in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Zhangguangcai Range in the Xing'an Mongolian Orogenic Belt, NE China, contains Early Jurassic (c. 188 Ma) Dabaizigou (DBZG) porphyritic dolerite. Compared with other island-arc mafic rocks, the DBZG dolerite is characterized by high trace-element contents, relatively weak Nb and Ta enrichments, and no Zr, Hf or Ti depletions, similar to OIB-type rocks. Analysed rocks have (87Sr/86Sr)i ratios of 0.7033–0.7044, relatively uniform positive ɛNd(t) values of 2.3–3.2 and positive ɛHf(t) values of 8.5–17.1. Trace-element and isotopic modelling indicates that the DBZG mafic rocks were generated by partial melting of asthenospheric mantle under garnet- to spinel-facies conditions. The occurrence of OIB-like mafic intrusion suggests significant upwelling of the asthenosphere in response to lithospheric attenuation caused by continental rifting. These processes occurred in an incipient continental back-arc environment in the upper plate of a palaeo-Pacific slab subducting W–NW beneath East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues surrounding the difficult task of correlating archaeological and climatic trajectories are directly impacting the study of human-environmental interaction in Ancient China. We have chosen to focus on the 4.2 ka BP event due to the widespread belief in recent Chinese archaeological publications that it brought about the collapse of Neolithic cultures in multiple regions of China. Following a literature review concerning the many issues surrounding the reconstruction of the 4.2 ka BP event in East Asia, we present three short case studies from the Lower Yangzi, the Shaanxi loess plateau, and the Central Plains detailing a number of problems with Chinese archaeological attempts at using climate change as a causal mechanism for sociopolitical change. We then focus on a common but highly problematic methodology—the growing use of archaeological data compiled in the Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics to correlate with climate proxies in order to generate linear, causal models explaining sociopolitical collapse. We follow with an example from Northeast China, where work from the past three decades has provided ample data with which to begin answering these questions in a more productive manner, and end with a set of suggestions for archaeologists and climate scientists going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Umbilicaria orientalis Davydov sp. nov. is described and phylogenetic analysis (ITS, mtLSU and RPB2) confirmed its distinctness and indicated a sister relationship with U. trabeculata within the U. vellea group. The species is morphologically similar to U. vellea but differs by simple, cylindrical or strap-like rhizinomorphs and by thalloconidia, developing both on the lower surface and on rhizinomorphs, that are 1–2 (rarely 4)–celled or in aggregates of up to 5–6 cells. Umbilicaria orientalis is described from the Russian Far East and is currently known from a wide range of localities in East Asia, from the Far East to South Siberia and Mongolia in the north, to Hebei and Tibet in the south. New sequences of U. americana were obtained; the species represents an independent phylogenetic lineage within Umbilicaria subg. Papillophora. Diagnostic traits and variability of different developmental stages of U. orientalis, as well as its East Asian distribution pattern, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pear psyllids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Psyllidae: Cacopsylla spp.) belong to the most serious pests of pear (Pyrus spp.). They damage pear trees by excessive removal of phloem sap, by soiling the fruits with honeydew which, in turn, provides a substrate for sooty mould, and by transmission of Candidatus Phytoplasma spp., the causal agents of the pear decline disease. The morphological similarity, the presence of seasonal dimorphism that affects adult colour, size and wing morphology and uncritical use of species names, led to much confusion in the taxonomy of pear psyllids. As a result, pear psyllids have been frequently misidentified. Many of the entries attributed to Cacopsylla pyricola and other species in the GenBank are misidentifications which led to additional, unnecessary confusion. Here we analysed DNA barcodes of 11 pear psyllid species from eastern Asia, Europe and Iran using four mitochondrial gene fragments (COI 658 bp, COI 403 bp, COI-tRNAleu-COII 580 bp and 16S rDNA 452 bp). The efficiency of identification was notably high and considerable barcoding gaps were observed in all markers. Our results confirm the synonymies of the seasonal forms of Cacopsylla jukyungi (= C. cinereosignata, winter form) and C. maculatili (= C. qiuzili, summer form) previously suggested based on morphology. Some previous misidentifications (C. chinensis from China, Japan and Korea = misidentification of C. jukyungi; C. pyricola and C. pyrisuga from East Asia = misidentification of C. jukyungi and C. burckhardti, respectively; C. pyricola from Iran = misidentification of C. bidens, C. pyri and Cacopsylla sp.) are also corrected. There is no evidence for the presence of European pear psyllid species in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on dust storm frequency (DSF) data from the China Meteorological Administration, Arctic sea-ice concentration (SIC) data from the Hadley Centre, and atmospheric reanalysis data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), temporal variations and regime shifts of East Asian DSF and Arctic SIC during 1961–2015 are revealed, and the possible relationship between them is explored. The results show that East Asian DSF in spring is closely associated with the preceding winter SIC from the northern Greenland Sea to the Barents Sea (20° W–60° E, 74.5° N–78.5° N). In the past half-century, both East Asian DSF and Arctic SIC have shown significant declining trends, with consistent regime shifts in the early 1980s. Further statistical analyses indicate that the abrupt decrease of East Asian DSF in spring may be attributed to the concurrent sharp loss of Arctic SIC in the preceding winter. It is the loss of Arctic SIC that causes the atmospheric circulation anomalies downstream by stimulating a Rossby wave train, resulting in decelerated wind speed, dampened vertical wind shear and restrained synoptic-scale disturbances over the dust source region, eventually leading to the decline in East Asian DSF over decadal timescales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have analysed a 6100-year record of benthic and planktonic foraminifera from inner neritic sediments from Core SK291/GC13, off the Goa coast, eastern Arabian Sea, to understand the response of benthic foraminifera to shallow-marine processes. The benthic foraminiferal assemblage is dominated by Nonion cf. asterizans , Ammonia beccarii , A. gaimardii and Virgulinella fragilis , which have been selected on the basis of a population of 10% or more in any three samples analysed. The planktonic foraminiferal population is sporadic and rare, with Globigerinoides ruber as the predominant species showing a variable trend. The foraminiferal proxies combined with total organic carbon (wt%) and δ13C and δ18O values of Ammonia gaimardii suggest distinct variations, indicating changes in productivity and salinity in the shallow eastern Arabian Sea. The coastal waters off Goa were relatively warmer and less saline between 6100 and 4600, or perhaps to 4200, calibrated years before the present (cal yr BP), corresponding to a stronger monsoon in South and East Asia. The shallow sea was cooler from ~4200 to 2600 cal yr BP in the study area, coinciding with a lower sea surface temperature in the northeastern Arabian Sea and an arid phase in the Indian subcontinent. From 2900 to 2600 cal yr BP the study core exhibits the impacts of short-term cold events, which have earlier been observed in the northeastern Arabian Sea, off Pakistan. During the Little Ice Age, the shallow sea off Goa was less productive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geochronological, major and trace element, and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic data are reported for the monzonitic rocks of the Fushan pluton in the Taihang Mountains, central North China Craton, in order to investigate their sources, petrogenesis and tectonic implications. Zircon U–Pb dating results reveal that the Fushan pluton was emplaced during the Early Cretaceous (∼126–124 Ma). The monzonites and quartz monzonites are mainly characterized by calc-alkaline and magnesian features and display light rare earth element (LREE) enrichment and flat heavy REE (HREE) patterns with slightly positive Eu anomalies. They have similar whole-rock initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.70653–0.70819), ε Nd(t) values (−13.6 to −18.6) and zircon ε Hf(t) values (−21.8 to −17.3). The primary magma of the Fushan pluton was derived from the partial melting of a spinel-facies amphibole-bearing ancient enriched lithospheric mantle. The monzonitic rocks also have high Ba–Sr and low Y and Yb contents, with high Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios. These geochemical features of monzonitic rocks are not only inherited from the magma source but also significantly enhanced by crystal fractionation during magmatic evolution; e.g. hornblende fractionation increased the Ba–Sr concentrations and Sr/Y ratios. During the Early Cretaceous, the slab sinking and roll-back of the Palaeo-Pacific Plate could have created an ancient big mantle wedge beneath East Asia and induced a lithospheric extensional process in the central North China Craton within an intracontinental setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how naturalized models of hegemonic masculinity affect race and sexuality in the James Bond film series. Through close analysis of film dialogue and paralinguistic cues, the article examines how the sexualities of East Asian female and male characters are constructed as oversexed and undersexed, respectively. The analysis therefore affirms Connell's (1995) conception of white heterosexual masculinity as exemplary: East Asian characters are positioned not only as racial Others, but as bodies upon which Bond's heterosexual masculinity is reflected and affirmed as normative and, by extension, ideal. In this way, race is curiously invoked to 'explain' sexuality, and Bond's unmarked white masculinity becomes the normative referent for expressions of heterosexual desire. By showing how the sexuality of East Asian characters is typecast as non-normative, the article gestures toward the possibility of theorizing racialized performances of heterosexuality as queer. (East Asia, James Bond, sexuality, race, masculinity, femininity, normativity, film) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to fill a gap in International Relations (IR) literature on East Asian security. ‘East Asia’ appears to be mostly an indeterminate conceptual construct, allowing scholars to look selectively at those aspects and areas that could justify their security thesis, albeit security dynamics in the region are all too difficult to comprehend and predict. This problem has been frequently pointed out in IR literature, but its methodological implications and suggestions have neither been appropriately illuminated nor been systematically offered, and the main solution commonly found in the literature was the tautological one of ‘better defining’ the region. As an alternative, this article suggests that one needs to tighten geographical focus and differentiate the subjects of analysis. When it comes to the study of East Asian security, one needs to aim to develop specific and differentiated generalizations as opposed to generalizations of a broad character. To showcase the fact that research outcomes can be more determinate when the target of analysis is more focused and specified, this article takes Northeast Asian security as an example and challenges the so-called ‘peaceful East Asia’ thesis, one of the mainstream perspectives on East Asian security. This article ultimately argues that while apprehending East Asian security dynamics through delimiting the scope of analysis and circumscribing the subjects of investigation is often deemed to be a modest enterprise―in particular, in terms of generalizability―the merits are substantial: research outcomes will be able not only to give us a truer mapping of the real world, but also bring us closer to building knowledge which satisfies the scientific criterion of ‘falsifiability.’ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What drove the East Asian tide of democratization during the “Third Wave?” Instead of focusing on a single-factor explanation, we perform qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) on fourteen cases in the region of East Asia from 1980 to 2000 and find three parallel pathways: (1) overthrow model, which features the positive effects of mass mobilization against authoritarianism under a deinstitutionalized authoritarian regime; (2) urban pressure model that works under an institutionalized authoritarian regime; and (3) inside-out model, in which democratization is triggered by the joint forces of domestic and international conditions under both types of regimes. These results demonstrate that the authoritarian status quo ante is an important determinant of democratic transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores some of the issues that prevent the existence of a more diverse canon in the field of world literature. It discusses extra-literary issues that have been effectively displaced onto the question of literary quality and outlines some of the concrete hurdles that face minority literatures, with reference to the literature of modern East Asia (China, Korea and Japan). The final section examines Pak Kyongni’s Land (1969–1994), a novel virtually unknown outside of Korea but revered there as the national epic. The discussion of a work that is regarded as ‘the best that has been thought and said in the world’ by one nation yet remains practically unknown to the world will bring to the fore issues of ranking and status produced by the ‘worldification’ of literatures. In the process, it will consider some of the dynamics between nationality and universality, the relations between literature and nation, and what it means for literatures to be in dialogue when literatures and literary histories have been defined along national lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The teaching of foreign languages to young learners is growing in popularity around the world. Research in this field, particularly of English as a second/foreign language education in East Asia, is a relatively new area of empirical inquiry, and it has the potential to make significant contributions to child second-language acquisition (Child-SLA) theory building, research methodologies, and policies in East Asia and beyond. This article reviews relevant peer-reviewed literature on English education among young learners in East Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan). I begin by reviewing policy literature to illustrate the social and policy contexts of early English education, identifying major policy-related concerns. Next, I review empirical studies of English learning and teaching, organizing them by their relevance to the previously identified policy concerns. The article concludes with suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

If perfectionism is understood as the state's non-neutral promotion of a valuableway of life, Confucian political theory, often pursued as a pluralist correction to global monism of liberal democracy, is ineluctably perfectionist. But how can Confucian perfectionism, committed to particular Confucian values, reconcile with the societal fact of value pluralism within the putative Confucian polity? This article argues that a potential tension between Confucian perfectionism and value pluralism can be avoided by making Confucian perfectionist goods the core elements of public reason with which citizens can justify their arguments to one another and by which the state can justifiably exercise its public authority to reasonable citizens who otherwise subscribe to various comprehensive doctrines. By defining a mode of Confucian perfectionism working through Confucian public reason broadly shared by citizens as public reason Confucianism, this article attempts to balance the Confucian polity's internal societal pluralism and the people's collective self-determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]