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The article titled "WHEN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS DETRACT VALUE FROM SOCIETY: A REJOINDER" by Gamble and Munoz examines the potential negative impact of some tax-exempt nonprofit organizations (TENPOs) on society. The authors identify 12 factors that contribute to this value detraction, including government policies and choices made by TENPO managers. They argue that the benefits of tax-exempt status and tax-deductible donations do not outweigh the lost tax revenues. However, the analysis has some limitations, such as a lack of clarity in defining TENPOs and a failure to estimate the value provided by TENPOs compared to lost tax revenues. The text also critiques the article for not considering the value provided by TENPOs and the impact of corporate tax avoidance and evasion. It emphasizes the importance of diverse approaches to organizing and governing, and acknowledges the valuable work of TENPOs in areas like education, diversity, healthcare, and poverty alleviation. The article concludes by calling for further research and policy changes related to TENPOs and tax exemption. [Extracted from the article]

This Current Sociology Monograph draws together six articles that broker novel concepts into economic sociology. To orient this enterprise, this article examines the concepts of creativity and novelty in social theory and explains why it is challenging work to broker concepts across intellectual communities. To understand the existing boundaries across which one could broker, it next describes how the subfield of economic sociology has been shaped by the separation of economics and sociology as distinct fields, which ultimately led to a decline of sociologists studying the economy. Two counter-acting organizational forces that sought to institutionalize a subfield of economic sociology was the formation in the mid-1970s of the International Sociological Association's Research Committee on Economy and Society (ISA RC02), and the institutionalization in the mid-1980s of the New Economic Sociology. The latter became a global brand exported from the United States that eclipsed the former. The New Economic Sociology, a community of scholars primarily based in and focused on the United States and typically indifferent (if not skeptical) to neo-Marxist approaches and international political economy, became globally associated with what constitutes economic sociology (and what is not). Consequently, it would be beneficial to broker in concepts to economic sociology beyond the historic limitations of the New Economic Sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship within queer international political economy (IPE) has highlighted the intimate links between sexuality and capitalism, as well as the insights offered by queer approaches to the study of the global economy. This article critically advances this literature by examining the political economic foundations and facets of trans oppression. Against the backdrop of an (anti-) 'trans culture war' in the United Kingdom, gender-critical and other transexclusionary feminist discourse has sought to cleave trans people from class struggle and to portray trans activism as separate from, and in conflict with, the goals of the feminist movement. This discourse, I contend, is indicative of a broader lack of understanding about the ways in which trans oppression links to other forms of gender oppression under capitalism. The article argues that feminist IPE, and specifically social reproduction approaches, offer a powerful toolbox with which to illuminate the material bases of gendered, racialised and sexualised inequalities within the global economy, including those experienced by trans people, and to uncover their co-constitutive character. However, theorising trans oppression in/through feminist IPE will require scholars to engage more deeply with queer and trans theorising, specifically accounts of heteronormativity and the body, and to relinquish the cis-normative attachments that shape some accounts of gender, capitalism and social reproduction, notably within the Marxist feminist tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In global port competitions, container port service quality (CPSQ) plays a critical role in determining user satisfaction and port competitiveness. Despite numerous empirical research efforts on the relationship between CPSQ and customer satisfaction, few studies have analysed the configurational effects of CPSQ on customer satisfaction. To address a gap in research, this study examines the factors that influence customer satisfaction among port users, including cargo owners and logistics service providers. The focus is on container ports in non-transshipment ports in South Korea, as well as a transshipment port in Singapore, which are representative of major global maritime countries. In this study, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is applied to a sample of 99 in South Korea and 175 from Singapore to understand the causal configurations of CPSQ factors, including resources, outcomes, processes, management, image and social responsibility determining the level of satisfaction of port users. The findings using current configurational thinking through fsQCA can assist academics in generating valuable insights that are closely in line with the intricate realities of global port competitions. This approach can also provide practical implications for managers operating in contexts similar to the two countries being studied. • Emphasises the critical role of CPSQ in influencing user satisfaction and competitiveness among container ports. • Utilises fsQCA to explore the complex, causal configuration of CPSQ factors affecting customer satisfaction. • Provides insights into service quality in different port contexts and offers implications for similar global maritime environments. • Enhance understanding of CPSQ's impact on customer satisfaction and inform strategies for improved service quality in maritime supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper employs a cross-sectional data set comprising the main dimensions of the European Union's International Digital Economy and Society Index (I-DESI) and utilises grouping methods based on objective weights to evaluate the relative digital readiness of Hungary and other Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states of the EU. The objective was not to establish a total ordering (ranking) of the countries in the data set, but rather to identify the most appropriate means of grouping the CEE countries into homogeneous units, utilising multivariate statistical and decision-theoretical techniques (tiered DEA, partially ordered sets and clustering). Despite the disparate methodologies employed, the findings are consistent in that the CEE countries (including Hungary) exhibit a general resemblance to one another and demonstrate comparatively lower levels of digital readiness than Northern and Western European countries. The notable exception is Estonia, which exhibits a distinctive level of digital advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Originally, International Political Economy (IPE) provided analysis beyond orthodox economic thought, initially considered a pariah. It was a heretical project. Relying on this prejudice of dissent from mainstream economic thought, heterodox economists may be tempted today to incorporate the concepts and methods of IPE into their work. However, these concepts can actually be very close to orthodox economics, as orthodox thought has gradually made a comeback in the work of the IPE, to the point of becoming a pillar in some cases. Consequently, the use of concepts derived from IPE in heterodox economic work may be inconsistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, its Middle East policy has undergone three stages: initial rise, elevated influence, and adjustment. With the outbreak of a new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7, 2023, the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East has significantly shifted, marked by deepening divisions within the Arab world, challenges to US strategy, and the expansion of China's diplomatic space. This study explores how these changes impact China's Middle East policy and analyzes how China responds to emerging challenges, including rising geopolitical risks, obstacles to bilateral economic cooperation, shifts in international public opinion, and the sustainability of its "balanced diplomacy" approach. China aims to maintain a balance between Palestine and Israel, promote regional stability, and advance economic cooperation. However, in light of new regional dynamics, this study proposes that China needs to adjust its policy by strengthening its engagement with international responsibilities, ensuring security and economic cooperation in parallel, and increasing foreign aid and public diplomacy. Moreover, China should innovate its public opinion management and information dissemination strategies to navigate the complex media environment. By analyzing these issues, this article will examine the direction of China's Middle East policy adjustments and their broader implications for regional dynamics and global strategic competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroscience research affects individuals in diverse and profound ways, not only in the many laboratories and imaging facilities worldwide but also far beyond them. Often, these experiences inspire creative expression, leading to powerful artworks with beautiful and thought-provoking stories to tell or ideas to reflect on. Since 2011, the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience--an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)--has hosted an international art competition to showcase artworks inspired by neuroscience. Everyone from scientists to professional artists to individuals with a neuroscience encounter in their daily lives can submit their work. The independent jury selects a winner for the competition and several honorable mentions. In the 14th edition of "Art of Neuroscience" (AON), we had submissions from six continents in a wide range of artistic forms: painting, drawing, sculpture, dance, video, and applied arts, to name a few. Here, we celebrate the artworks submitted in this edition and congratulate the winners and honorable mentions while sharing stories that inspired their work. Below, you will find the work and stories as told by the artists. With each artwork, we include commentary from the jury detailing their impressions. Without further delay, we present the winners and honorable mentions from the 14th edition of AON. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe work of Karl Polanyi has figured prominently over the past two decades in critical international political economy (IPE) scholarship that attempts to understand the changing foundations of the world economy. Especially important have been the concepts of ‘embedded’ versus ‘disembedded’ economies and the double movement, which were embraced by John Ruggie in his pathbreaking effort to harness Polanyi to better understand changes in the Bretton Woods era during the 1980s. Most IPE scholarship follows Ruggie’s use of Polanyi, which we argue does not fully exploit the depth and scale of his usefulness. We extend the applicability of Polanyi’s ideas for IPE by considering two under-appreciated facets of his thought: his focus on the state as the most critical site of contestation through which world market is established and organised, and his concern for controlling the speed by which change unfolds in society, or what he called the ‘rate of change’. Both facets are underpinned by Polanyi’s deeply historical account of global change and transformation. Including these into our use of Polanyi extends the utility of his ideas to better understand contemporary developments such as technological change and the resurgence of nationalism and populism, which are the well-springs of the next great transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractSince the 1990s, a particular approach to analysing the political influence of economic ideas has emerged in International Political Economy (IPE)—often labelled ‘the ideational turn’. This approach highlights the strong link between intellectual debates in the economics profession and developments in the realm of economic policy. This article re-examines this body of literature in the context of the crisis of neoliberalism and investigates how our theories of the power of economic ideas have been shaped by the neoliberal conjuncture under which they developed. The neoliberal era witnessed a broad depoliticisation of economic policy debates, a process in which economists played a crucial role. However, while major policy breaks in the twentieth century were tied to shifts in dominant economic theories, recent changes have occurred without corresponding transformations in economic thinking. Ideas once deemed heretical—such as tariffs, price controls, or industrial policy—have gained traction in policy circles, despite rejection from mainstream economics. This suggests that, unlike the neoliberal era, we are entering a period where economic policymaking is increasingly detached from academic economics. The article examines the consequences of these recent changes and discusses their impact on the study of economic ideas for IPE in a post-neoliberal world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWith simultaneous policy and scholarly attention to the pollution crisis and the climate crisis, there is growing recognition that the two are intimately interconnected through the demand for oil, gas, and coal generated by synthetic materials. Drawing on theoretical resources from international political economy and beyond, we show how petrochemicals sit at the intersection of a number of the primary drivers of the climate crisis, including fossil fuel production and industrial agriculture. The role of petrochemicals and their place in the global political economy of transitions, therefore, warrant greater empirical and critical conceptual scrutiny. Towards this end, we suggest conceptualizing and acting upon the recognition that oil, gas and coal function as feedstock for industries central to the reproduction of modern capitalism, centering the challenge of ‘de-fossilization’. Defossilization goes beyond decarbonization as emphasized in mainstream debates on energy transitions by introducing alternatives to the use of oil, gas and coal as raw materials for synthetics. This reorientation has important conceptual and strategic implications, revealing key tensions, contradictions and challenges for furthering just and sustainable transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines international photography contests in East Asia from the 1950s to the 1970s and the influence of select photographers on ideological struggles during the Cold War. It focuses on salon photography, a style blending conventional pictorialism and modernist aesthetics, which was often overlooked by critics who favoured realism and documentary styles in the region. These photographers aimed to create a distinct aesthetic by integrating Western trends, yet chose local subjects to symbolize their cultures for international competitions. The article challenges the dismissal of salon photography, arguing that it played a significant ideological role in the Cold War, symbolizing artistic freedom associated with the Western Bloc. Through a study of photographers from South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Vietnam, the article explores how their work contributed to anti-communist solidarity and how salon photography’s aesthetic choices were intertwined with political motivations, reflecting the geopolitical climate of the time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As global manufacturing competition increasingly emphasizes supply chain resilience, enhancing the risk resistance of manufacturing supply chains through digital empowerment has become a critical priority. This study leverages the opportunities of the digital economy to deeply investigate the mechanisms that enhance supply chain resilience. Using data from China' s A-share listed manufacturing companies from 2012 to 2020, a research framework is constructed based on information asymmetry and transaction cost theories. Employing text analysis and factor analysis, the study develops indicators for digital empowerment and supply chain resilience and examines their relationship through both theoretical analysis and empirical testing. The findings reveal that: (a) Digital empowerment significantly enhances supply chain resilience in the manufacturing sector, and this conclusion is robust across various robustness checks. (b) Mechanism analysis demonstrates that digital empowerment drives supply chain resilience primarily by enhancing innovation vitality within enterprises. (c) The moderating analysis shows that environmental uncertainty positively influences the resilience of digitally empowered manufacturing supply chains. (d) Further analysis indicates that the effects of digital empowerment on supply chain resilience vary depending on factor intensity, supply chain position, and industry competition levels. These results validate the positive role of digital empowerment in promoting supply chain resilience and explore the 'black box' mechanism from the perspective of innovation vitality. The study also highlights the moderating influence of environmental uncertainty. By advancing the understanding of how the digital economy fosters high-quality development in manufacturing, this research provides actionable insights for strengthening supply chain resilience, achieving greater control over supply chain dynamics, and promoting deeper integration between digital technologies and the real economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional wisdom argues that a well functioning financial system is essential to foster economic growth and development. While its financial market is still underdeveloped, China has not only achieved great economic growth and speedy export growth, but also elevated its position as an exporter in the global value chain (GVC). This paper examines the impact of trade credit on the GVC positions of Chinese manufacturing enterprises. The empirical study finds that trade credit has a significant promotional effect on enterprises' GVC positions, and the effect is more pronounced for private firms, firms with high market position, and firms in high-technology industries. The mechanism analysis shows that trade credit heightens the export quality of products and alleviates the financing constraints of enterprises, thus promoting their GVC positions. The findings have implications for Chinese manufacturing firms to exploit the role of trade credit in promoting their GVC positions and fostering new advantages in international competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The primary aim of this single cross-sectional study was to identify the physical characteristics (anthropometric, somatotype, body composition) of orienteering athletes (OAs) and to compare them with nutrition knowledge (NK) and physical activity level (PAL). Methods: Data were collected from 58 subjects of seven countries, including Angola (n = 1), Brazil (n = 5), Poland (n = 1), Portugal (n = 26), South Africa (n = 1), Spain (n = 22) and Sweden (n = 2). The subjects included 10 elite (E) female (F) OAs [age: 25.5 ± 6.4 years, body mass: 59.5 ± 7.7 kg, stature: 168.1 ± 6.5 cm, body mass index (BMI): 21.0 ± 1.9 kg/m2], 13 E male (M) OAs (age: 24.3 ± 5.0 years, body mass: 65.0 ± 5.5 kg, stature: 175.1 ± 6.0 cm, BMI: 21.3 ± 2.2 kg/m2), 18 non-elite (NE) FOAs (age: 41.7 ± 10.3 years, body mass: 60.6 ± 8.5 kg, stature: 161.3 ± 11.7 cm, BMI: 23.4 ± 3.7 kg/m2), and 17 NEMOAs (age: 37.2 ± 14.6 years, body mass: 71.5 ± 14.2 kg, stature: 174.0 ± 8.8 cm, BMI: 23.6 ± 4.1 kg/m2). The participants were selected to ensure a diverse and representative sample of international-level orienteering athletes. Measurements were taken at two IOF world ranking events, the "Portugal "O" Meeting (POM)" and the "35° Trofeo Internacional Murcia Costa Cálida", where only top-ranked orienteers compete. The selected participants from these seven countries were among the registered athletes in these international competitions. The OAs were measured according to the guidelines of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). NK was evaluated using the updated Abridged Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire (A—NSKQ). PAL was assessed using the short version of the self-reported International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short Form (IPAQ—SF). Results: The percentage of body fat (p < 0.01) in MOAs was significantly lower than in FOAs. Endomorphy (p = 0.037) and mesomorphy (p = 0.025) in EOAs were significantly lower than in NEOAs, but ectomorphy (p = 0.038) was significantly higher. EMOAs are ectomorphic mesomorphs, while NEMOAs are balanced mesomorphs, EFOAs are central, and NEFOAs are endomorphic mesomorphs. Significant differences (p < 0.01) were also observed in sports nutrition knowledge (SNK) among EOAs and NEOAs, with the former group achieving a higher percentage of correct responses. In the case of total nutritional knowledge (TNK), EOAs of both sexes scored significantly higher (p = 0.043) than their NEOA counterparts. A significant negative correlation was also observed between percentage of body fat (%BF) and metabolic equivalent (MET) in minutes per week (min/week) (r = −0.39, p = 0.038), bone mass (BM) and MET-min/week (r = −0.40, p = 0.033), and endomorphy and SNK (r = −0.38, p = 0.045) in FOAs. Among MOAs, the most significant findings included a negative correlation between age and METmin/week (r = −0.49, p = 0.010), kilocalorie (kcal) per week (r = −0.46, p = 0.016), and SNK (r = −0.40, p = 0.029). Conclusions: The key findings indicate that EOAs have lower BF percentages and higher NK scores compared to NEOAs. These results on the physical characteristics of OAs and the score of PAL and classification of NK can be useful to coaches and sports scientists to improve orienteer's performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: South Korean archers have excelled in global competitions. However, limited research exists on the factors contributing to their long-term success, particularly in the context of achieving ×10 scores. This qualitative study investigated the exceptional success of South Korean archers, focusing on their achievement of ×10 scores. Using a content analysis approach guided by epistemological perspectives, we examined the techniques, mental strategies, and coping skills for environmental factors influencing ×10 shooting performance. Methods: Data were collected using convenience and snowball sampling from 65 Korean archers (M age = 18 years ± 0.5; 55% female and 45% male) with experience hitting ×10 scores. A hybrid coding approach, combining deductive and inductive methods, was used to analyze responses. Deductive analysis applied an 8-step archery model, while inductive coding identified emergent themes. Trustworthiness was ensured through multiple rounds of coding, expert validation, and member checking. Results: The findings revealed several key themes across four phases of archery performance. In the preparation phase, confidence and positive mindset (30.9%), loss of self-consciousness (21%), mastery-oriented goals (18.5%), performance-oriented goals (18.5%), and psychological regulation strategies (11.1%) were significant. During the drawing and anchoring stages, physical techniques and stability (55.4%), surrounding environments (35%), and attentional focus (9.6%) were crucial. In the aiming and release phase, wind management strategies (48.4%), natural posture and kinesthetic balance (35.7%), and confidence and positive outcome expectation (15.9%) were prominent. Lastly, in the post-shot phase, positive emotion elevation (74%), cognitive affirmation (14%), and tension management (12%) were key themes. These themes illustrate the comprehensive strategies, techniques, and coping skills essential for achieving ×10 scores in archery. Conclusions: The holistic approach equips Korean archers to manage psychological demands and maintain consistent performance under pressure. The findings provide practical applications for archers, coaches, and sport psychologists, guiding the development of interventions to enhance mental strategies, physical techniques, and environmental coping skills, thereby improving performance outcomes in archery sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the decline in productivity growth and its impact on wages, economic growth, and government funding. It highlights the importance of management innovation in reversing the productivity slump and emphasizes the need for radical changes in bureaucratic management structures. The text provides examples of companies that have successfully implemented post-bureaucratic management practices, leading to higher productivity and employee engagement. It concludes by suggesting that embracing new ways of managing and organizing large institutions could unlock untapped human potential and drive significant productivity growth. [Extracted from the article]

Arguments in support of carbon border adjustment measures are often based on considerations of justice. Implementing carbon border adjustment measures would be necessary to, first, promote fair competition between corporations and, second, make carbon pricing instruments more effective and thus prevent the harms of dangerous climate change. Yet, both arguments tend to obscure considerations of distributive justice relative to the burdens of climate policies and the benefits of economic cooperation. In this article, we first explain why the case for carbon border adjustment measures based on the ideal of fair competition between corporations is flawed. Second, if the priority of harm avoidance over fair burden-sharing can justify carbon border adjustment measures, we argue that it does not justify all kinds of carbon border adjustment measures. On the contrary, it puts significant constraints on their design. We contend that just carbon border adjustment measures should include design features that allow for some form of carbon leakage risk, either via country-differentiated prices or via country-specific exemptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay argues that a meshing of the genealogical analysis proposed by critical geoeconomics with the critical (geo)political economy approach is well-equipped to expound on the proliferation of geostrategic thinking and practices in the contemporary era marked by the 'great power rivalry' or the 'new Cold War'. To elaborate on this proposition, I examine the rise of global strategic-technologic competition centring on semiconductor production and Taiwan's position and positioning in such dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For over a century, spatialised economic representations of variegated political strands have found a convenient linguistic shell in the term geoeconomics. Since the 1990s, iterations of geoeconomics, usually citing the US-based strategist Edward Luttwak, have become subject to attendant scrutiny by geographers. However, the longer arc of geoeconomic postulates and reasoning, deeply entwined with key 20th century political moments and economic events has long been overlooked. Notably, nearly all of these arguments share a common desire to twist the economic spaces of capitalism towards particular national-political aims that nonetheless are planetary in reach. Invariably this means that geoeconomics' entanglement with imperialism merits careful consideration. Alongside the range of other interventions assembled in this set, we therefore call for a broad and sustained effort to respond to the present 'geoeconomics boom', that is fuelled by a transatlantic, and increasingly trans-Pacific, think-tank industry. In these contexts, we chart vectors for a critical geoeconomics in the form of five condensed theses inviting further debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The course of contemporary international affairs has catapulted the scholarship on inter-state hegemony into an important period of progress and development. Forwarded as Hegemony Studies 3.0, a new and ambitious research program has consolidated these scholarly endeavors and emphasized the interconnectedness between hegemony and international order. In an attempt to advance this research agenda even further, I argue that Hegemony Studies 3.0 currently limits itself from realizing its full potential by conceptualizing hegemony too narrowly. Consequently, I find that hegemony research in its present form suffers from widespread methodological statism. This is evident in the way the analytical and methodological strategies of the scholarship equate the entirety of the domestic sphere of the hegemon with the state and its formal institutions. Moving onwards, I suggest a much broader conceptualization of hegemony and point toward avenues ahead for the scholarship which are inspired by the everyday turn in International Political Economy and the general (re)historicization of the field. These ways forward open up a myriad of new paths of research for hegemony scholars to explore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For centuries, international reparations were commonly exacted as a form of victor's justice after war. Following World War II, however, the bitter legacy of the Treaty of Versailles and West Germany's compensation of Nazism's victim shifted this practice, ushering in a novel moral economy of international reparations. Yet, while recent decades have seen increased transnational activism around reparations, as well as interstate aid payments and official apologies, international reparations remain infrequent, and agreements often fail to end financial claims. This paper argues that one explanation for this lackluster record is a central paradox relating to finality. Though international reparations are designed to settle accounts and provide a basis for deeper reconciliation, by opening issues of traumatic memory to public debate, they often achieve the opposite effect and inspire a cascade of further financial claims. As evidence, we examine three cases of international reparations' occurrence and rejection: Germany's reparations for Nazi-era crimes, the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) formation following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and reparations negotiated but removed from the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. Employing process tracing methods on archival documents, we demonstrate in each case how this paradox helps explain international reparations' limitations as a practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the effect of state visits by the Catholic pope on human rights in the host country to understand how a small theocracy like the Vatican can exert disproportionate political influence in international politics. Our theory of the strategic interaction between the Catholic Church and host governments describes how the pope's use of conditional approval and criticism incentivizes governments to refrain from human rights violations. Drawing on a new dataset of papal state visits outside Italy and a novel identification strategy, we test for the first time whether governments react in anticipation of a papal visit by improving their human rights protection. Our empirical analysis offers robust evidence for this causal effect, which is supported by qualitative evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to provide an initial historical reconstruction of the contribution made by Richard N. Cooper (1934–2020) to the understanding and management of the globalized economy that has emerged since the sixties. Cooper was fully involved in the age of decoupling between the economic space, increasingly globalized, and the political space, still fragmented into distinct nation-states. He was, among other things, the author of The economics of interdependence (1968) influencing the birth of the International Political Economy, senior staff economist for the Council of Economic Advisers in the Kennedy administration (1961–1963) and Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs in the Carter administration (1977–1981). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the market demand, the development of the high-speed railway (HSR) is crucial. The purpose of this study is to analyze the competitive and cooperative behavior of enterprises in the international HSR industry chain. The evolutionary game model between upstream and downstream enterprises and the evolutionary game model between peer enterprises are constructed and solved. Then, the factors influencing strategy selection process and evolution direction are evaluated by numerical experiments. The findings reveal that various factors play role in relationships among HSR enterprises to evolve differently. For the upstream and downstream enterprises, critical factors such as the probability of winning the bid, construction costs, increased management costs, and transaction costs paid will influence the speed and direction of evolution. Whereas, for the peer enterprises, other factors, related to the winning probability of joint bidding, income distribution, cost distribution, and transaction costs will influence the speed and direction of evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research suggests that psychological factors play an important role in trying to explain and predict the participation, performance, and health of player and practitioners in soccer. However, most previous works have focused on specific research questions and included samples from male populations. As part of a larger Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) project aiming to steer women's soccer research, our purpose with this scoping review was to give an overview of the current state of psychology-related research within women's soccer. We searched five electronic databases up to April 2023, from which 280 original peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria. Included records were inductively coded into 75 specific research topics and nine broader research categories. Population characteristics within each topic and category, and overall publication trends, were identified. The results revealed a growth in research attention, with notable increases in publication rates around the international competitions years, over the last two decades. While a notable number of abstracts did not report sufficient details about population age and/or playing levels, senior elite players were identified as the most common population studied. Most studies examined several topics from different research categories, with research focusing on emotions, moods and/or environmental factors, and the specific the topics of anxiety, stress, and coach behavior, receiving most research attention. Our study provides an informative mapping of all psychology-related research activity within women's soccer, which will enhance researchers' understanding of the current quantity of literature within this complex, heterogeneous, and growing area of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have evaluated the characteristics of enterprises; however, the understanding of the effects of foreign capital and competition with the informal sector on the occurrence of bribery is limited. Competition with the informal sector is related to fundamental characteristics of the involved countries, such as low development levels, which, in turn, is connected to high levels of corruption. There is no consensus concerning the impact of foreign capital on corruption. Using a multilevel logit, we estimate the likelihood of bribery among firms in 88 emerging countries. This study finds that competition with informal enterprises is associated with an increased likelihood of bribery occurrence; however, there is no difference between foreign and domestic corporations in terms of corrupt behavior. We split the countries into six regions. Competition with the informal sector presents a positive effect on the firms' likelihood to bribe in five of these six regions. Foreign capital is statistically nonsignificant in all regions, while a significant difference is found across the regions related to the effects of improvement in bureaucratic quality, income, and national political stability. The study indicates that homogenous anti‐corruption policies are not very effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a contemporary perspective, the current COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly an extraordinary event, but historically speaking pandemics are periodically recurring phenomena and intimately connected with socio-economic processes of globalisation. Therefore, history may serve as a backdrop for coming to terms with the present, by comparing current challenges with previous events that are both sufficiently similar and sufficiently different. In this article, the COVID-19 crisis will be assessed from a humanities perspective, using a pandemic drama entitled Children of the Sun (written by Russian novelist and playwright Maxim Gorky in 1905) as a critical mirror. In Gorky's play, the pandemic as a disruptive event reveals a number of tensions and divides, between science and society first of all, but also between socio-economic classes and subcultures, which become interconnected through globalisation but evolve at an uneven pace. Thus, Gorky's drama addresses a number of themes that are still relevant for COVID-19 controversies, such as the relationship between basic and applied research, global competition and vaccine development, science and suspicion, and the socio-economic unevenness between the global North and the global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that the Brazilian trade liberalization in the early 1990s led to a permanent relative decline in the vote share of left-wing presidential candidates in the regions more affected by the tariff cuts. This happened even though the shock, implemented by a right-wing party, induced a contraction in manufacturing and formal employment in the more affected regions, and despite the left's identification with protectionist policies. To rationalize this response, we consider a new institutional channel for the political effects of trade shocks: the weakening of labor unions. We provide support for this mechanism in two steps. First, we show that union presence—proxied by the number of workers directly employed by unions, by union density, and by the number of union establishments—declined in regions that became more exposed to foreign competition. Second, we show that the negative effect of tariff reductions on the votes for the left was driven exclusively by political parties with historical links to unions. Furthermore, the impact of the trade liberalization on the vote share of these parties was significant only in regions that had unions operating before the reform. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that tariff cuts reduced the vote share of the left partly through the weakening of labor unions. This institutional channel is fundamentally different from the individual-level responses, motivated by economic or identity concerns, that have been considered in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to contribute to the body of knowledge on sustainable poverty reduction by exploring the relationship between rural and structural transformations and rural poverty incidence in Asian developing countries, this paper selected China, the Philippines, and Vietnam as case studies. Based on a comparison with the provincial data from those three countries, both the graphic and regression analysis suggest that structural and rural transformations matter in rural poverty reduction in these three countries. There is strong evidence showing that raising the share of non-agricultural GDP and the share of rural off-farm employment significantly contributes to rural poverty reduction in all three countries. More importantly, with the expansion of the non-farm sectors in both urban and rural areas, high-value agricultural share has a statistically significant and negative correlation with rural poverty in China and Vietnam over time, while such a negative correlation is much weaker or even does not exist in the Philippines. This paper further concludes with several implications for policymakers to promote inclusive structural and rural transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to profile the physical-performance related match-data of players (n = 3211) in five leagues (Bundesliga: BU, Ligue1: L1, La-Liga: LL, Premier-League: PL, and Serie-A: SA), regarding five positions: central-defender (CD), fullback (FB), central-midfielder (CM), winger (WN), and forward (FW). The physical-variables were: total-distance (TD), distance at 15–20 km·h−1 (RUNd), distance and efforts at 20–25 km·h−1 (nHSR, HSRd) and > 25 km·h−1 (nSPR, SPRd), accelerations at 1.5–3.0 m·s−2 (mACC), and > 3.0 m·s−2 (hACC), decelerations at −1.5/-3.0 m·s−2 (mDEC), and <-3 m·s−2 (hDEC), and peak-velocity (VMAX). Principal-Component (PC), Cluster and a Mixed-Model analysis were implemented. Results: 1) two PC (explained variance > 75%) grouped variables related to the amount of activity (PC1 = TD, RUNd, nHSR, HSRd,m ACC and mDEC) and intensity (PC2 = nSPR, SPRd, VMAX, hACC and hDEC); 2) CD and CM, in any league, were mainly grouped in clusters 1 and 4, respectively, while the rest FB, FW and WN, were distributed in clusters 3 and 5; 3) the SA and PL leagues, the FW, FB and WN positions and clusters 4 and 5 were profiles closest to the intensity. Knowing physical profiles could be useful both for the recruitment department of the club and for the analysts in those teams that take part in international competitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China, the United States, and the European Union have spoken of a global competition surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI). There is widespread talk of an ‘AI Arms Race’. But what is the nature of this race? We argue that the arms race metaphor does not capture the dynamics of global competition in the AI sector. Instead, we propose the notion of a ‘geopolitical innovation race’ for technological leadership in a networked global economy. Based on an analysis of government documents, we find that actors (1) are open to both zero-sum and positive-sum approaches in AI development, (2) organise actor networks differently based on national innovation cultures, (3) prioritise economics and status next to security concerns, and (4) are open to how AI should be interpreted. Referring to the competitive race of AI research and development, the three technopoles perpetuate the geopoliticisation of innovation and intertwine security and economic interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

States differ significantly in international sports competitions in how they use the resources they have and whether they do so in an efficient manner. In this paper, we investigate the efficiency of the nations from the so-called "Global South", in total 52 states, during the 2000–2024 Summer Olympics. By doing this, our paper is the first using the Bayesian stochastic frontier analysis for exploring the performance of the states of the Global South. We perform an age decomposition, which shows that the 25–29 and 30–34 age cohorts contribute the most to Olympic performance. Our findings also suggests that transient efficiencies are higher than persistent efficiencies in a majority of the analyzed nations. Our analysis represents an important contribution in analyzing developing states' efficiency in elite sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWater governance has recently gained increasing political and academic attention. However, in many of these debates, it is often narrowly understood as a set of institutional arrangements, rather than as a contested political terrain. I argue that an international political economy (IPE) of water enables scholars to conceptualize water governance not as a thing, but rather as a set of social relations: dynamic rather than static, political rather than technical, and contested rather than consensual. Moreover, I show that a feminist social reproduction approach reveals how the struggle over water is gendered and racialized, making an epistemic shift and contributing to tracing the connection between everyday life and global capitalism. Through the review of five books recently published, I map the emerging field of the IPE of water as a fertile research agenda, and I argue that it should be addressed with an approach that is critical, relational, and feminist. The review article develops its analytical tools by showing: the connection between the local, national, and transnational scales; the changing role of business; and the extension of social reproduction theory to the study of nature, uncovering the intertwined dynamics of exploitation and expropriation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, the Donald Trump administration rejected the draft Treaty on the Prevention of Placement of Weapons in Space (PPWT) in the UN Conference on Disarmament and instead created the Space Force, the first new US military service branch established in decades. The administration had to overcome a series of obstacles to achieve this, though, including public opposition from powerful government actors, the absence of a coherent strategic vision guiding the creation of a Space Force, and entrenched bureaucratic resistance. This article adopts the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) theory to show how Trump administration officials changed their dominant narratives in defense policy. By portraying the United States as the “hero” that faced increasing space security threats from “villains,” Russia and China, the policy narrative promoted conditions in which the president could more easily advance the “solution” to the problem: establishment of the Space Force. Specifically, this study identifies five rhetorical themes used to help shape the policy narrative and then codes the content of 132 different declarations and national space directives from administration officials, with 3982 datapoints, over a 20‐year period. The article finds evidence of narrative strategies that promoted US security interests and vilified the actions of China and Russia in the lead‐up to changes in the strategic force posture. It concludes with a discussion of the added value of the NPF model and the need for more in‐depth analysis of inflection points in different space narratives around the world and in multilateral forums for space governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of digital economy promotes the transformation and upgrading of China's shipping fields. Among them, the international shipping anti-monopoly legal system is one of the important contents of China's shipping legislation. In the era of digital economy, it is difficult for the existing system to better regulate the international liner shipping market with shipping alliance as the core. Countries have re-examined the anti-monopoly legal regulation system of international shipping. As both a major shipping and trading country, it is urgent for China to improve its shipping legislation with the anti-monopoly system as its core. In order to cope with the new pattern of shipping alliance in the era of digital economy, we should learn from the advanced experience of international shipping legislation, base on the perspective of China's shipping economic development and our own needs, and make effective exploration from the aspects of coordinating the development of digital economy and shipping management mechanism, improving shipping supervision ability and accelerating the improvement of shipping legal system with Chinese Characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Assessing the Economic Value of Statins: A Comparison of Branded and Generic Options in India" published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Disease Research discusses the economic implications of statins in treating cardiovascular diseases in India. The study compares the cost variations between branded and generic statins, highlighting significant price differences that may impact patient compliance and healthcare systems. The research emphasizes the importance of including more hypolipidemic drugs under the Drug Price Control Order to reduce cost disparities and promote the use of cost-effective generic options. The study findings suggest that promoting generics can enhance treatment adherence and improve overall health outcomes, contributing to the goal of achieving universal health coverage. [Extracted from the article]

The article in Prisma Social Magazine addresses research on Spanish fiction audiovisual production, highlighting the industry's growth due to emerging digital technologies and streaming platforms. It mentions the increase in production companies and feature films, as well as Spain's role as a provider of fiction productions for Netflix. Challenges such as international competition and job insecurity are noted, but technological development and professional training in the industry are also highlighted. [Extracted from the article]

Research issues on the geopolitics of sea lanes and ports are among the most important issues in international affairs, as they present several variables due to the international competition of major powers over them, especially since the strategic importance of straits and sea lanes represents one of the geopolitical dimensions influencing the paths of building international relations, as they represent elements of geopolitics and have a direct impact on the economic, security and military aspects associated with the competing international powers. This paper will examine the variables explaining the geopolitical importance of the strategic Strait of Malacca, as it is characterized by international competition between China and the United States of America, and is considered the most important transit point for trade and maritime navigation between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and also constitutes a vital corridor for global trade (oil and gas), and the security of maritime sovereignty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the British IMF crisis of 1976 and its connection to neoliberalism and the Cold War. The crisis arose from economic challenges, including inflation and a declining pound, leading to negotiations with the IMF for financial assistance. US and West German policymakers viewed austerity measures as necessary to maintain Western security and prosperity amid global economic disruptions. The article highlights the complex interplay between economic policies, Cold War strategies, and international alliances during this period. [Extracted from the article]

Rare earth is an important strategic resource and a key mineral resource for global competition. As the depletion of primary rare-earth resources increases, a great number of rare-earth secondary resources, such as waste phosphor powder collected from fluorescent lamps, cathode-ray tubes, and other luminescent materials, continue to be generated and accumulated. How to achieve the low-carbon extraction and green and efficient utilization of these resources has become an urgent problem to be solved. In recent years, preliminary enrichment methods, such as flotation, magnetic separation, and adsorption, chemical methods, such as acid leaching and alkaline fusion, external-field-enhanced methods (including mechanical activation, microwave and oxidant, green solvent, etc.), and solvent extraction have been used for the separation and extraction of rare-earth elements (REEs), such as Y, Eu, Ce, Tb, La, and Ga, from waste phosphors. In this article, we systematically summarized the research progress of commonly used separation and extraction methods for REEs in waste phosphor powders, analyzed the advantages, disadvantages, and existing problems of different methods, and proposed potential directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Case competitions are growing in popularity, in part because they are believed to build the skills and employment opportunities that higher education institutions are struggling to provide. We add to the nascent research on case competitions and answer calls for more exploration of career-related aspects of case competitions by exploring their employability benefits and opportunities. Design/methodology/approach: We use extant research and experiential learning theory to identify four key benefits and their interrelationships. These are tested using survey data of 212 international case competition students. Findings: We confirm four dominant benefits of learning through feedback, broadened horizons, the development of skills and enhanced employment opportunities, and confirm the interrelationship between them. Importantly, we demonstrate the critical role that feedback plays in the development of skills and broadened horizons. Practical implications: The findings confirm that HIEs should encourage students to participate in extracurriculars, and in particular, case competitions. The implications provide guidance on how to structure extracurricular and case competition activities to maximize skill development and employment opportunities. Insights are also relevant to coach training. Originality/value: Prior work has focused on individual benefits and largely ignored the critical role of feedback. We build and test hypotheses on benefit interrelationships and validate the impact of feedback. We thereby extend experiential learning and research on the employability benefits of case competitions and extracurricular activities in general. Our insights are relevant to maximizing the value of extracurriculars and maximizing the value of case training and competitions, in particular to achieve employability advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the age of economic globalization, industries and corporations are increasingly faced with new market realities owing to the intensification of international competition. This study posits that corporations either use resistance through political voice or decide to restructure to adapt to these realities. Three Japanese textile industries with poor competitiveness were selected as case studies and were observed from the perspective of corporate survival strategies. The towel industry in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, implemented resistance through a voice strategy; the glove industry in Higashikagawa City, Kagawa Prefecture, chose to move manufacturing overseas as an adjustment strategy; and the uniform industry in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, chose to utilize foreign workers as another adjustment strategy. These findings address the gap between prior research on 'adaptation' and research on political 'resistance' and demonstrate that variations exist in the strategies employed by less competitive industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document explores the concept of soft balancing in international relations, focusing on regional dynamics and the role of regional institutions in power politics. It discusses soft balancing strategies in various regions, such as the Indo-Pacific, central Asia, Europe, and BRICS, and their impact on regional and global orders. Additionally, the document delves into topics like the EU's soft balancing governance model, US-China institutional balancing in the Indo-Pacific, and the evolution of soft balancing in informal institutions like BRICS. The text also touches on other subjects like nuclear security in Vietnam, mobile money in Somalia, and feminist perspectives on heritage destruction by Islamic State. [Extracted from the article]

This paper proposes a new five-dimensional agenda for UK international development policy, offering an alternative to the current approach. The agenda is based on a critical evaluation of UK development policy since 1997 and incorporates insights from the 'post-aid' discourse. Key recommendations include: Recognition of complexity: The UK must acknowledge the complex and contested nature of global development and the inherent limits of development policies and aid interventions. Re-evaluation of private-sector aid instruments: A temporary pause in the use of private-sector mechanisms as a channel for overseas development assistance is advised, given concerns about their effectiveness in driving sustainable outcomes. Consolidation of aid priorities: The UK should streamline its efforts, focusing on areas that demonstrate clear contributions to long-term sustainability and positive development outcomes. Adoption of partnership models: A shift towards peer-to-peer learning and equal partnerships with global South countries is recommended, to foster equitable and respectful relationships. Mitigation of negative impacts and improvement of policy coherence: The UK must address the unintended negative consequences of its development interventions and ensure coherence in policy-making across all government departments to enhance development outcomes. This agenda is informed by extensive research, including thematic analysis of policy documents, semi-structured interviews with civil servants and development experts, and a detailed evaluation of 186 UK-funded projects over a 23-year period. The proposed framework seeks to build more respectful and equal partnerships with governments and communities in the global South, enhancing support for vulnerable populations and reducing poverty. This approach is also expected to restore the diminished soft power benefits of UK aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Challenging the pessimistic and alarmist view of competition between the United States and China, we propose a soft balancing argument—institutional balancing for peace (shortened to 'institutional peace')—to highlight the positive outcomes of their strategic rivalry. We argue that globalization, economic interdependence and nuclear deterrence have motivated the US and China to engage in institutional balancing to vie for security, power and influence in the international system. We examine how the US and China have used multilateral and minilateral security institutions, such as various trilateral dialogue mechanisms, the Quad, the Shangri-La Dialogue, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, to compete in the Indo-Pacific region in the period since the 2008 global financial crisis. We suggest that institutional balancing between the US and China has led to three positive externalities for the region: sustained institutional dynamism, new incentives for regional cooperation and the provision of public goods, unintentionally fostering regional peace and prosperity in the long run. If the United States and China can manage their strategic competition through international institutions, the emerging transition of the international order may be more peaceful than historical transitions, even amid potential regional military crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We introduce two data-driven procedures for optimal estimation and inference in nonparametric models using instrumental variables. The first is a data-driven choice of sieve dimension for a popular class of sieve two-stage least-squares estimators. When implemented with this choice, estimators of both the structural function h 0 and its derivatives (such as elasticities) converge at the fastest possible (i.e. minimax) rates in sup-norm. The second is for constructing uniform confidence bands (UCBs) for h 0 and its derivatives. Our UCBs guarantee coverage over a generic class of data-generating processes and contract at the minimax rate, possibly up to a logarithmic factor. As such, our UCBs are asymptotically more efficient than UCBs based on the usual approach of undersmoothing. As an application, we estimate the elasticity of the intensive margin of firm exports in a monopolistic competition model of international trade. Simulations illustrate the good performance of our procedures in empirically calibrated designs. Our results provide evidence against common parameterizations of the distribution of unobserved firm heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]