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The world is changing, and the liberal international order (LIO) is at stake. Scholars and pundits hold different views on whether and how an order transition will take place. We argue that the divergent arguments around LIO are rooted in contested conceptualizations of what an international order is as well as the untheorized measure of what counts as a 'transition' of international order. We propose a synthesized and deductive approach to defining international order with three pillars: power, institutions, and norms. We argue that a significant order transition will take place when at least two pillars of the order are fundamentally challenged and eventually changed. Applying this deductive, three-pillar conceptual framework of international order, we preliminarily examine how US-China competition has impacted the current LIO in the Indo Pacific. We conclude that the multi-pillar feature of the international order technically strengthens the sustainability and resilience of the current LIO. Even though China's rise might change the power distribution in the system—the power pillar of the order, the mere power shift between China and the United States will not lead to a significant order transition if the other two pillars of the order remain intact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have received increasing attention in recent years as a promising means to address poverty challenges in rural China. This paper uses a unique three-wave panel data set of household surveys, collected from seven officially recognized poor counties in rural China during 2012–2018, to examine the effect of ICT adoption on poverty. The results show that ICTs contributed positively to poverty reduction in the sampled counties, which may have been primarily achieved through increased migration and off-farm income, instead of through improved agricultural production and farm income. This suggests that ICT development facilitated households escaping poverty by helping them diversify their livelihood strategies away from agriculture in remote mountainous areas. The findings highlight the importance of creating incentives to complement the opportunities brought by ICTs for local development. It is important to strike a balance between poverty reduction and food security objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subtropical forests act as a carbon sink and play an important role in mitigating global warming. However, the understanding of the effects of stand characteristics and climatic factors on forest carbon sequestration capacity remains limited. Based on multiple regression analyses using structural equation modeling and plot-level data of coniferous and broadleaf forests from the national forest resource inventories, our study quantified vegetation carbon accumulation rate (VCAR) and the underlying influence pattern in Zhejiang Province, Southeastern China. The mean VCAR of coniferous and broadleaf forests was 2.30 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 and 4.53 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 during 2004–2009, and 1.56 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 and 1.98 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 during 2009–2014, respectively. Stand characteristics (i.e., change in tree density and mean diameter at breast height) and climatic factors (i.e., mean annual precipitation (MAP), temperature, sunshine hours, and monthly precipitation fluctuation) were the major driving factors on the change patterns of VCAR. All factors, except precipitation fluctuation, had positive effects on VCAR. The positive effects of MAP decreased with the increase in MAP, but the negative effects of precipitation fluctuation increased with the increase in precipitation fluctuation. Precipitation increased with increasing elevation, while the VCAR was lower at lower elevations. Additionally, we found that broadleaf forests could be able to cope better with the negative effects of precipitation fluctuation. Overall, this study provides new insights into the sensitivity and potential of vegetation carbon accumulation for structural development and climate change response in Zhejiang Province to better promote sustainable forestry development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Challenging a popular view that China's rise will lead the United States and China to fall into the 'Thucydides trap'—a possible hegemonic war between the two—this paper proposes an 'institutional peace' argument, suggesting that the ongoing international order transition will be different from previous order transitions in history. Instead of using military means to change the international order, China and the United States have relied on various institutional balancing strategies to compete with one another for an advantageous position in the future international order. The discussion on the institutional competition between China and the US around the AIIB and the ARF-related multilateral security architecture supports the 'institutional peace' argument: institutional competition in the form of institutional balancing strengthens the dynamics and utility of international institutions, encourages states to offer new public goods, and could lead to a more peaceful order transition in the international system. However, this institutional peace argument is constrained by two caveats: the continued validity of the MAD nuclear deterrence and a limited degree of ideological antagonism between the US and China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has one of the world's largest populations using alcohol. With the trend of increasing alcohol consumption and the rapid growth of its aging population, China has faced imminent public health challenges in the past few decades. This research study aims to investigate determinants related to alcohol consumption behaviors or alcohol dependence among older adults (age ≥60) in China. Using the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey from 2000 to 2014 waves (n = 35,377), we estimated multivariable logistic regression models to examine the factors associated with current alcohol consumption status, alcohol consumption experience, daily consumption, and alcohol dependence. Of all respondents between 2000 and 2014, 5.7% were current alcohol users, 20.3% reported alcohol use experience, 3.3% used alcohol daily, and approximately 1.1% reported alcohol dependence. Current smoking status, health status, and respondents' gender were associated with all alcohol-related behaviors (p <.05). In addition, older adults from newer waves had higher odds of becoming daily alcohol consumers and having alcohol dependence, compared with older adults in the 2000 wave. Older adults living in an institution had lower odds of becoming current alcohol users, compared with those living with household members. Older adults residing in eastern regions had higher odds of becoming current alcohol users, compared with northern residents. Rural residents had higher odds of reporting alcohol use patterns (p <.01), except alcohol use experience. Future public health interventions and promotional strategies should focus on regional and community disparities in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the new four-year undergraduate programme, a general education framework titled ‘General University Requirements’ (GUR) has been developed and implemented since 2012/2013 at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). To evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the GUR in its first year, focus group interviews with students were carried out. In 13 focus groups, 62 first-year students from eight faculties/schools who took GUR subjects in 2012/2013 academic year were interviewed by trained researchers. Results showed that students generally had good perceptions of the GUR in terms of the subject content, teaching methods and the overall effectiveness of the subjects. The interactive teaching and learning initiatives adopted in GUR subjects were particularly appreciated, although students expressed minor concerns on the administration of GUR subjects. The results suggest that the first-year implementation of the GUR at PolyU was generally smooth and successful from the perspectives of the students. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Leadership at the regional level has come under the spotlight not only in the post-Cold War context, but also more recently following the global financial crisis. Yet, leadership by states within region-building and regional associations as leaders vis-à-vis other regions or powers remains relatively new territory for analysis and consideration, even though the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has attracted both admirers and sceptics. This introductory essay is intended to achieve two principal objectives regarding this symposium addressing Asia-Pacific regional leadership. First, we seek to put the ‘Asia-Pacific’ in historical context and identify some of the forces that have not only shaped but also hindered its realization. Recognizing China's historical role and contemporary rise is important to understand the parameters within which ASEAN and its member states seek to define particular visions of regional identity and enact collective enterprises. The other key background consideration when thinking about contemporary leadership in the Asia-Pacific is that the United States is seemingly in decline. The Asia-Pacific's two most consequential powers – the United States and China – are pervasive considerations for any regional organization that aims to lead and promote cooperation to solve collective action problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are some of the most important biochemical components of plant organic matter, and hence, estimation of their contents can help monitor the metabolism processes and health of plants. This study, conducted in the Yixing region of China, aimed to compare partial least squares regression (PLSR) and support vector machine regression (SVMR) methods for estimating the nitrogen (CN), phosphorus (CP), and potassium (CK) contents present in leaves of diverse plants using laboratory-based visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) reflectance spectroscopy. A total of 95 leaf samples taken from rice, corn, sesame, soybean, tea, grass, shrub, and arbour plants were collected, and theirCN,CP,CK, and Vis-NIR reflectance data were measured in a laboratory. The PLSR and SVMR methods were calibrated to estimate theCN,CP, andCKcontents of the obtained samples from spectral reflectance. Cross-validation with an independent data set was employed to assess the performance of the calibrated models. The calibration results indicated that the PLSR method accounted for 59.1%, 50.9%, and 50.6% of the variation ofCN,CP, andCK, whereas the SVMR method accounted for more than 90% of the variation ofCN,CP, andCK. According to cross-validation, the SVMR method achieved better estimation accuracies, which had determination coefficients of 0.706, 0.722, and 0.704 forCN,CP, andCK, respectively, than the PLSR method, which had determination coefficients of 0.663, 0.643, and 0.541. It was concluded that the SVMR method combined with laboratory-based Vis-NIR reflectance data has the potential to estimate the contents of biochemical components. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Much educational effectiveness research has been conducted over the past 40 years in developed countries, whereas few studies have focused on developing or newly industrialized countries such as the People's Republic of China. The case studies discussed in this article are part of a larger multiple-case, mixed-methods study that investigated 6 pairs of more and less effective Chinese schools. The research described here focused on differentially effective rural schools and revealed several important differences and similarities between those schools. The study also found differences between Chinese urban and rural schools and contrasts between the processes of educational effectiveness in China and those described in the international literature. Suggestions for improving educational effectiveness in rural China are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnosis of HIV-associated neurobehavioral disorders often heavily relies upon patient complaints of cognitive difficulties. Yet, research in North America suggests that such complaints may be heavily influenced by affective factors. However, no work in this area has been done in China. The present study examined the relationships among depressed mood, anxiety, memory performance and subjective memory complaints among HIV/AIDS patients in Hong Kong. A total of 90 individuals with HIV were administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Patient's Assessment of Own Functioning Inventory (PAOF), and Hong Kong List Learning Test. Forward regression analysis indicated that the BDI Cognitive-Affective score was the most significant predictor of subjective memory complaints on the PAOF. Furthermore, present results also supported previous findings that some individuals with HIV infection are more "accurate" than others in the self-appraisal of their memory ability. Given inaccuracies that exist in subjective memory complaints, these findings highlight the importance of comprehensive cognitive assessment when evaluating the neuropsychological status of individuals of HIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This interpretive study of the implementation of a school-based assessment scheme of biology practical work in Hong Kong examines three teachers' struggles with the issue of fairness in relation to their classroom actions. Though the teachers' discourses were dominated by, and their classroom actions were pre-eminently influenced by, the notion of fairness, they did so in three qualitatively different ways: (1) fair in the sense of assessing students on a fair basis; (2) fair in the sense of not jeopardizing students' chances to learn the subject matter while they are being assessed; and (3) fair in the sense of not depriving students' of opportunities of receiving all-round education. The implication is that assessment innovation is a necessary, but not a sufficient, mechanism for changes within our educational system. The role of the teacher is challenged by the new assessment scheme—the co-existence of assessment and learning requires a significant change in the teacher's pedagogy. For teachers to implement the new programme their existing understanding and beliefs concerning assessment must be challenged and opportunities provided for them to come to terms with the philosophy of the new assessment scheme. Most importantly, the teachers themselves must undertake such a learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which examined the effects of course characteristics on student ratings of Hong Kong university teaching. Introduction; Methodology; Results and discussion.

Studies Chinese parents' perceptions of the value of children. Cultural stereotypes regarding the posterity values of children; Gender differences in Chinese parents' perceptions of the value of children; Chinese cultural beliefs on raising children; Effect of the changes in the value of children to parents on the reproductive behavior of Chinese couples.