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Eclipsing the West: China, India and the forging of a new world
No full textAs the international order begins to crumble, this incisive book asks what the rise of the Asian superstates means for the future. The Western-dominated world we have known for the past three hundred years is coming to an end. As America withdraws from its role as enforcer of the international order, other countries are moving in to fill the void. Among them are two rising Asian 'superstates'. Accounting for more than a third of the world's population, China and India have the potential to wield enormous economic and political power. China is already vying with the US for the top spot in the global economy, and on some measures has surpassed it. By the middle of the century India may be number two. How will these countries navigate their growing roles on the world stage? What are the implications for commerce, international law and the fight against climate change? Vince Cable has followed China and India for decades, first as a professional economist and later as a senior government minister. In Eclipsing the West he draws on the latest data and a lifetime of political and economic experience to offer a compelling account of what the rise of the Asian superstates means for the future
Unravelling structures of parental and childfree (dis)advantage
No full textChallenging the marginalisation of the childfree experience in the management and organisation studies literature, this study examines the inequality mechanisms generated by the way in which norms of neoliberal workplace productivity and parental normativity interact in relation to childfreeness at work. Based on 21 interviews conducted via an insider approach, the findings of this study reveal how the (interaction of) various ethical frameworks that are reflected in acts of giving an account bring certain moral parenting and childfree subjects into being, while constraining the emergence of others as viable subjects. Whereas extant studies have provided insights into parental structures of disadvantage and (to a limited extent) childfree privilege in relation to ideal worker notions of the unencumbered employee without (child)care responsibilities, this study advances our knowledge through its focus on social relations of moral accountability. The analysis of this study unravels so far largely ignored forms of parental privilege and childfree disadvantage, while offering a theoretical contribution by extending Butler’s concept into of the heterosexual matrix into the reproductive heterosexual matrix
The effect of healthy lifestyles and social determinants on independent life expectancy and sex differences in China: evidence from a 13-year cohort study
Get PDFBackground Functional independence is the basis for healthy ageing and quality of late life. However, evidence on how healthy lifestyle factors and social determinants of health affect longevity in independence remains limited, particularly regarding sex differences. We aimed to examine the associations of these factors with life expectancy with and without dependency, and to assess whether such effects differ by sex. Methods This cohort study used data from the nationally representative Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Study (CLHLS), which collected data from 2008 to 2021. Participants aged 65–100 years were included if they had at least one follow-up or death record. Healthy lifestyle factors (ie, diet, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol use) and social determinants of health (ie, financial status, education, health-care access, built environment, and social context) were assessed at baseline. Functional independence was determined by self-reported need for assistance with activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living at each survey wave. A continuous-time three-state Markov model was applied to estimate hazard ratios and 95% CIs between independence, dependence, and death, yielding total and independent life expectancy by sex, adjusted for covariates. Findings 11 804 participants were included in the study. At age 65 years, females had longer total life expectancy than males (18·18 years [95% CI 17·74–18·49] vs 15·50 years [15·10–15·89]) but shorter independent life expectancy (10·35 years [10·13–10·55] vs 11·29 years [11·05–11·54]). The gain in independent life expectancy was greater for males with 3–4 healthy lifestyle factors versus males with 0–1 healthy lifestyle factors (2·45 years [2·24–2·67]) compared with females with 3–4 healthy lifestyle factors versus females with 0–1 healthy lifestyle factors (2·09 years [1·90–2·29], p=0·015). However, females had greater gains in independent life expectancy from favourable social determinants of health. Those with 4–5 positive social determinants of health indicators lived 1·95 (1·74–2·16) more years independently compared with those with 0–1, surpassing the 1·67 year (1·49–1·85) gain observed in males (p=0·047). The combination of both favourable lifestyle behaviours and supportive social conditions produced the largest improvement in independent life expectancy, with gains of 3·94 (3·73–4·15) years for males and 3·89 (3·68–4·11) years for females. Interpretation Pathways to healthy ageing differ between sexes in China: males benefit more from lifestyle modifications whereas females gain more from improved social conditions. These results underscore the importance of sex-specific public health strategies that focus on reducing unhealthy behaviours among males and improving social support for females. Funding National Natural Science Foundation of China and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Innovation Fund. Translation For the Chinese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section
Sinostan: China’s inadvertent empire
No full textSinostan: China’s inadvertent empire by Raffaello Pantucci & Alexandros Petersen, Oxford University Press, 2022, 331 pp., £27.49 (hardback
Revealing POMDPs: qualitative and quantitative analysis for parity objectives
No full textPartially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) are a central model for uncertainty in sequential decision making. The most basic objective is the reachability objective, where a target set must be eventually visited, and the more general parity objectives can model all ω-regular specifications. For such objectives, the computational analysis problems are the following: (a) qualitative analysis that asks whether the objective can be satisfied with probability 1 (almost-sure winning) or probability arbitrarily close to 1 (limit-sure winning); and (b) quantitative analysis that asks for the approximation of the optimal probability of satisfying the objective. For general POMDPs, almost-sure analysis for reachability objectives is EXPTIME-complete, but limit-sure and quantitative analyses for reachability objectives are undecidable; almost-sure, limit-sure, and quantitative analyses for parity objectives are all undecidable. A special class of POMDPs, called revealing POMDPs, has been studied recently in several works, and for this subclass the almost-sure analysis for parity objectives was shown to be EXPTIME-complete. In this work, we show that for revealing POMDPs the limit-sure analysis for parity objectives is EXPTIME-complete, and even the quantitative analysis for parity objectives can be achieved in EXPTIME
Beyond the Global North: evidence on 'manfluencers', social media and gender norms among adolescent boys from a global literature review and mixed-methods research across six states in Mexico
No full textMisogynist ‘manfluencers’ and other gendered social media content available to adolescent boys and young men have alarmed parents, educators, media, policy-makers and researchers. While some evidence from schools suggests links with a rise of sexist attitudes, research on the impacts of ‘manfluencers’ and social media use in the development of gender norms among adolescent boys is limited and often focused on relatively homogenous populations within the Global North. This paper addresses this gap by discussing insights from a multi-lingual, multi-disciplinary review of literature, and from empirical research conducted in Mexico, drawing on Participatory Diagnosis, Photovoice and semi-structured interviews with 269 adolescents and a survey of 283 adolescents across the country. While confirming the presence of misogynist influencers directly addressing masculinity, results highlight the much more pervasive influence of a wider set of influencers, often figures from broader cultural life, who reinforce misogynistic and harmful attitudes towards what it means to be a man without explicitly focusing on masculinity (‘indirect manfluencers’). Findings also demonstrate the importance of offline social contexts (such as pre-existing cultural norms and practices, and family and peer relations) in shaping both the nature and effects of boys’ and young men’s social media use and engagement with ‘misogyny influencers’
China’s BRI and the EU’s global gateway in Southeast Asia: conditional engagement versus non-interference
No full textThis article explores the contrasting strategies of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the European Union’s (EU) Global Gateway in Southeast Asia, focusing on the principles of conditional engagement and non-interference. The BRI offers flexible financing with minimal political conditions, allowing recipient countries to maintain sovereignty over domestic affairs, but raising concerns over debt dependency and transparency. In contrast, the Global Gateway emphasises sustainable investments tied to governance reforms, human rights and environmental protections, which, while promoting long-term stability, can be perceived as interference by nations wary of external influence. Through a comparative analysis, this article examines the economic and political implications of both models, assessing their impact on infrastructure development, governance and sovereignty in Southeast Asia. By highlighting the advantages and drawbacks of each approach, the study addresses the broader question of how external powers can effectively engage in the region without undermining national autonomy. The findings suggest that while both initiatives offer significant benefits, their success depends on the specific needs and preferences of individual Southeast Asian nations
Employment ties and investor trust: decoding the role of social signalling
No full textSecuring funding is a critical challenge for entrepreneurs, often exacerbated by information asymmetry between investors and entrepreneurs. This research uses a dataset of 411 private equity cases to investigate whether direct and indirect employment ties influence investment decisions through the mediating roles of reputation, social obligation, and social signaling. Our findings highlight social signaling, which reflects the symbolic credibility of affiliations with reputable organizations, as the dominant mechanism in reducing uncertainty and shaping investor trust. In contrast to prior research that emphasizes reputation (Podolny, 1994; Stuart, Hoang, & Hybels, 1999) and social obligation (Gulati, 1995; Shane & Cable, 2002) as key mediators, we find these mechanisms do not independently mediate the effects of employment ties when social signaling is considered. By extending signaling theory (Spence, 1973) to the context of organizational behavior, we demonstrate the importance of symbolic associations in driving decision-making in uncertain, high-stakes environments. These insights provide practical guidance for entrepreneurs and investors seeking to navigate trust and credibility in organizational settings
Framework for harnessing value from international remittances to improve household welfare
No full textThe primary goal of the research was to evaluate the influence of international remittances on households welfare-based results obtained from primary data collected from remittance recipients. To attain that goal, the study examined theoretical and empirical evidence to ascertain prior expectations on the association between international remittances and household welfare. The study adapted and utilized a logistic regression technique to analyze primary cross-sectional data collected from survey respondents. Findings from the research indicated that households that receive international remittances have better household welfare relative to those that do not. The study also established that remittances have macroeconomic benefits, which include gains in foreign currency reserves, financial development, provision of capital to small businesses, and increasing demand for domestic equity securities on the Zimbabwe Stock Market. There is a need for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to extend its financial literacy training to remittance recipients. This helps recipients make better use of remittances, such as contributing to national savings and starting small businesses to enhance their economic welfare
Democratic recession, autocratic resurgence and the future of governance in Africa
No full textThis book re-examines and contextualises political developments that have seen African countries make progress in achieving democratic governance over the last two decades alongside their struggle to institutionalise it amidst socioeconomic and political complexities. It provides a comprehensive discussion on emerging or ‘aborted democratisation’ and its social consequences, as contributors analyse the environmental, security, socioeconomic, and political impacts of political transitions, whether democratic or otherwise, on the continent. The book explores the potential causes of democratic regression and the consolidating authoritarianism in regions where democratic progress appeared promising and their actual implications for African governance. Finally, it provides practical recommendations for sustainable policy changes to ensure democratic survival. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of African politics and studies, democracy and democratisation, autocratisation studies, development and area studies, human rights, governance, human security, and more broadly to political science, African history, international relations, and the wider social sciences