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This article considers the relevance of the theories of German jurist Carl Schmitt for understanding Papua New Guinea (PNG) politics and international relations, with a focus on relations with China. In pursuing this analysis, the text gives particular emphasis to Schmitt’s friend–enemy distinction. In order to understand the regional context in which China has a growing presence, this article initially highlights the preoccupation of Chinese intellectuals with the ideas of Schmitt. It proceeds to mention the use of Schmitt’s ideas in supporting the particular ideological positions of Chinese liberals, the New Leftists, those who articulate the China Path and even the Chinese state. Through a comparative analysis I both compare how Schmittian ideas have been used by Chinese intellectuals to critique the economic inequality in Chinese society and alternatively the relevance of such critiques to the issues of social inequality in PNG. The discussion subsequently focuses on PNG’s international relations and China’s increasing economic and political influence. While the United States and its regional partner Australia appear to be alarmed by an expanding Chinese presence, others do not necessarily believe that Beijing has overreaching ambitions of global dominance. The article considers the suggestion that Chinese thinking on international relations has been influenced by Schmitt’s concept of the Großraum, an alternative to the Westphalian system, in which international relations are marked by a dominant hegemon and self-contained regional blocks consisting of constellated nations. As PNG finds itself in a critical position and subject to pressures from both the West and China, the text considers PNG sovereignty within a possible regional system in which China serves as the dominant hegemon.

Mouse cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) differs from human CFTR in several important respects: altered gating pattern distinguished by prolonged residence in a sub-conductance state, reduced single-channel conductance and strong inward rectification. Transfer of the regulatory (R) domain of mouse CFTR to human CFTR was without effect, whereas transfer of both nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs) endowed human CFTR with greatly prolonged channel openings without conferring human CFTR with the sub-conductance state, single-channel conductance and inward rectification of mouse CFTR. We therefore hypothesised that the membrane-spanning domains (MSDs) determine these differences between human and mouse CFTR. To test this idea, we constructed the human-mouse CFTR (hmCFTR) chimeras hmTM1-6, hmTM7-12 and hmTM1-6:TM7-12 containing MSD1, MSD2 and MSD1+2 of mouse CFTR on a human CFTR background and studied them in excised inside-out membrane patches from transiently transfected CHO cells. For single-channel studies, we used a large Cl- concentration gradient ([Cl-]i, 147 mM; [Cl-]e, 10 mM) and clamped voltage at –50 mV, whereas for macroscopic studies, we used symmetrical Cl--rich solutions. All intracellular solutions contained PKA (75 nM) and ATP (1 mM) to activate and sustain CFTR activity; temperature was 37 °C. The three hmCFTR chimeras possessed a gating pattern intermediate between human and mouse CFTR. Both the single-channel conductance and open probability of the full open-state decreased in the rank order: human CFTR > hmTM7-12 > hmTM1-6 ≥ hmTM1-6:TM7-12 (n = 5-10). Like human CFTR, hmTM7-12 rarely transitioned to sub-conductance states, whereas hmTM1-6 sojourned to multiple sub-conductance states and hmTM1-6:TM7-12 resided in a tiny sub-conductance state resembling that of mouse CFTR. Human CFTR Cl- currents exhibited weak inward rectification, whereas those of mouse CFTR strongly inwardly rectified. Transfer of both MSDs of mouse CFTR to human CFTR in the chimeras hmTM1-6:TM7-12 reproduced the strong inward rectification of mouse CFTR (n = 4). Interestingly, the inward rectification of hmTM1-6 closely resembled that of mouse CFTR, whereas that of hmTM7-12 was intermediate between human and mouse CFTR (n = 6-9). Taken together, our data demonstrate that sequences from both MSDs specify the gating, conduction and rectification properties of CFTR with sequences from MSD1 playing a dominant role in determining the different rectification behaviour of human and mouse CFTR. Supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Cystic Fibrosis Trust. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Individual countries have developed very different strategies in responding to COVID-19, which can shape how citizens view the pandemic. How do different national traditions and past levels of trust in experts shape those national reactions? A new project funded by the Health Research Board will examine the perceptions of the pandemic in five European countries (Ireland, Sweden, Serbia, Germany and England), and look at how pre-existing levels of trust in the Government and in experts together with different national traditions are shaping the varieties of reactions to the pandemic. Reactions to the pandemic can vary between countries, and this may be tied to different national traditions, past experiences and how people view and trust experts. A survey experiment within this project will help us to investigate cross-national variation in pro-social attitudes towards different groups during the pandemic. We build on theories of empathy, in-group favoritism, assimilation and discrimination to study pro-social attitudes towards persons with a Muslim and non-Muslim name.

Papua New Guinea’s rain forest is the third-largest in the world following, the Amazon in South America and those in the Republic of Congo. So as a consequence, it represents a great storehouse of sequestering greenhouse gases, which are pivotal in controlling a rise in global temperature. The activities of the forestry industry have received opposition from environmental groups and the World Bank, but this opposition has not been welcomed by the local communities desirous of the level of development that accompanies logging operations. Recently non-governmental organization publications and media outlets have alleged that Papua New Guinea’s loggers are rampantly, increasingly, and illegally destroying the indigenous forests, earning “hundreds of millions in revenue” while refusing to pay taxes. However, it is necessary to gain some perspective on the industry by focusing on the most recent developments regarding the allegations of excessive and increased logging, and the actual revenues paid to the government and other stakeholders. This article considers these issues and recent government policy, particularly underlining the progressive export tax increase from 33percent to 55percent of the free onboard value. This article evaluates the consequences of the Government’s policies and suggests alternative ways to achieve sustainable forms of logging, which may also better satisfy the demands for increased development from local communities.

In more recent years, two Canadian philosophers, James Tully and Will Kymlicka, have produced widely acclaimed philosophical works which seek to make sense of both recent communitarian criticism of liberal political philosophy and the political issue of special group rights within a Canadian context. This chapter examines their views on the identity and function of the nation state. It compares their positions with those of Armour’s in The Idea of Canada, a work which sought to articulate a conception of a Canadian state and a Canadian national identity which could encompass diverse cultural and ethnic groups. Tully in particular has sought to defend the territorial and group rights of indigenous people in the Canadian as well as American context. He has endeavoured to add historical substance to the more recent communitarian/liberal debates by identifying an historical shift in the conception of the constitutional state which ignored communitarian positions, and by implication, the social-political interests of marginal groups, especially indigenous peoples.

In this essay David Lea approaches the decline in the study and teaching of the humanities within the university context from a financial perspective. As humanities departments are either closed down or have their curriculum attenuated, it is obvious that the revenue previously available to support such programs has not been forthcoming. This change is often explained as the result of cost cutting necessary during periods of financial crisis, but this justification is belied by the fact that while the humanities have suffered during recent “financial crises,” other areas within the university have grown. Resources that could have supported the humanities have instead been applied elsewhere: first, to increasing the administration and ancillary support staff; and second, in support of subjects oriented toward technology and the market. Ultimately, Lea links the decline of the humanities to the growing financialization of the economy, the ideology of managerialism, and a contemporary tradition that accords with the “procedures of the realms of the market and of liberal individualist politics.”

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