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This paper aims to analyze the relationship between China's maritime security policy and territorial disputes in the gray zone in the South China Sea. The study examines this relationship through the strategy and means of Chinese maritime security policy, aiming to clarify the factors that influenced this policy to drag its territorial disputes into the gray zone. The article argues that the rivalries between countries in the region fostered by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) operated as an external pressure on China. Furthermore, geopolitical factors and the perception of the Chinese ruling elite have contributed to considering the UNCLOS as a threat to China's maritime interests in the South China Sea. Consequently, the Chinese maritime security policy seeks to shift the status quo in the region to establish China as a hegemonic regional power with its sphere of influence while avoiding an open war with its neighbors and the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to develop a benchmark method to identify best practices in higher education across the country, in relation with management practices of academic productivity gender gaps and their impact on family responsibilities. This paper uses a qualitative approach to collect relevant information from official web pages from sixteen international universities previously selected. All information related to best practices policies implemented in each university was charted and assigned to one of the following categories for further analysis: ranking, gender policies, gender gaps, academic productivity, and childcare responsibilities. Results from this study revealed that the main best practices implemented in the included universities were practices related to harassment prevention, gender equality at college admission, development of protocols, leadership training, scholarships for study and research programs, adequate infrastructure, childcare financial support, flexible work schedules, family leave policies, improvement of the work environment and the development of departments in charge of follow-up and regular assessment of the proposed strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the final decades of the 20th century, territorial political economy was influenced by both urban and regional economy. The first called attention to the "triumph of the cities" and the second to the importance of consolidating "a new regionalism." Over the course of the 21st century, on the other hand, urban and regional economies have been conceptually articulated as a result of the "metropolitan revolution." The central objective of this article is to reflect on the characteristics of this process, the possible impacts and the great challenges. To conclude, this paper suggests that regional cohesion is determined by a functional polycentric territorial structure, a productive and sustainable economy and a multilevel and multi-scale governance model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]