China’s Assertiveness in the South and East China Sea: A Constructivist Approach

<p><strong>La asertividad de China en los Mares del Sur y del Este de China: acercamiento constructivista</strong></p><p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>This article aims to discuss the issue of China’s assertiveness in the South and East China Seas within the constrictivist framework, as economic (liberalism) and military power (realism) are not sufficient to explain the complexity of the problem.<strong> </strong>It aims to answer the following question: How does the constructivist approach lend itself to the understanding of China’s assertiveness in the case of the South and the East China Sea territorial disputes? It will also explore the following hypotheses: the victimized identity perception leads China to be assertive in the South China Sea dispute and the perception of Japan’s behavior as aggressive (as in the past) provokes China to be assertive in the East China Sea dispute.</p><p><strong>Resumen</strong></p><p><strong></strong>El presente artículo tiene como objetivo discutir la cuestión de la asertividad de China en Los Mares del Sur y del Este de China dentro del marco constrictivista, ya que el poder económico (liberalismo) y el poder militar (realismo) no son suficientes para explicar la complejidad del problema. Tiene como objetivo responder a la siguiente pregunta: ¿Cómo se presta el enfoque constructivista a la comprensión de la asertividad de China en el caso de las disputas territoriales del Mar del Este y del Sur de China? También explorará las siguientes hipótesis: la percepción de la identidad victimizada lleva a China a ser asertiva en la disputa del Mar del Sur de China y la percepción de agresividad en el comportamiento de Japón (como en el pasado) provoca que China sea asertiva en la disputa del Mar del Este de China.</p><p> </p>

Facial expression processing in developmental prosopagnosia

<p>Individuals with developmental prosopagnosia experience lifelong deficits recognising facial identity, but whether their ability to process facial expression is also impaired is unclear. Addressing this issue is key for understanding the core deficit in developmental prosopagnosia, and for advancing knowledge about the mechanisms and development of normal face processing. In this thesis, I report two online studies on facial expression processing with large samples of prosopagnosics. In Study 1, I compared facial expression and facial identity perception in 124 prosopagnosics and 133 controls. I used three perceptual tasks including simultaneous matching, sequential matching, and sorting. I also measured inversion effects to examine whether prosopagnosics rely on typical face mechanisms. Prosopagnosics showed subtle deficits with facial expression, but they performed worse with facial identity. Prosopagnosics also showed reduced inversion effects for facial identity but normal inversion effects for facial expression, suggesting they use atypical mechanisms for facial identity but normal mechanisms for facial expression. In Study 2, I extended the findings of Study 1 by assessing facial expression recognition in 78 prosopagnosics and 138 controls. I used four labelling tasks that varied on whether the facial expressions were basic (e.g., happy) or complex (e.g., elated), and whether they were displayed via static (i.e., images) or dynamic (i.e., video clips) stimuli. Prosopagnosics showed subtle deficits with basic expressions but performed normally with complex expressions. Further, prosopagnosics did not show reduced inversion effects for both types of expressions, suggesting they use similar recognition mechanisms as controls. Critically, the subtle expression deficits that prosopagnosics showed in both studies can be accounted for by autism traits, suggesting that expression deficits are not a feature of prosopagnosia per se. I also provide estimates of the prevalence of deficits in facial expression perception (7.70%) and recognition (2.56% - 5.13%) in prosopagnosia, both of which suggest that facial expression processing is normal in the majority of prosopagnosics. Overall, my thesis demonstrates that facial expression processing is not impaired in developmental prosopagnosia, and suggests that facial expression and facial identity processing rely on separate mechanisms that dissociate in development.</p>

Facial expression processing in developmental prosopagnosia

<p>Individuals with developmental prosopagnosia experience lifelong deficits recognising facial identity, but whether their ability to process facial expression is also impaired is unclear. Addressing this issue is key for understanding the core deficit in developmental prosopagnosia, and for advancing knowledge about the mechanisms and development of normal face processing. In this thesis, I report two online studies on facial expression processing with large samples of prosopagnosics. In Study 1, I compared facial expression and facial identity perception in 124 prosopagnosics and 133 controls. I used three perceptual tasks including simultaneous matching, sequential matching, and sorting. I also measured inversion effects to examine whether prosopagnosics rely on typical face mechanisms. Prosopagnosics showed subtle deficits with facial expression, but they performed worse with facial identity. Prosopagnosics also showed reduced inversion effects for facial identity but normal inversion effects for facial expression, suggesting they use atypical mechanisms for facial identity but normal mechanisms for facial expression. In Study 2, I extended the findings of Study 1 by assessing facial expression recognition in 78 prosopagnosics and 138 controls. I used four labelling tasks that varied on whether the facial expressions were basic (e.g., happy) or complex (e.g., elated), and whether they were displayed via static (i.e., images) or dynamic (i.e., video clips) stimuli. Prosopagnosics showed subtle deficits with basic expressions but performed normally with complex expressions. Further, prosopagnosics did not show reduced inversion effects for both types of expressions, suggesting they use similar recognition mechanisms as controls. Critically, the subtle expression deficits that prosopagnosics showed in both studies can be accounted for by autism traits, suggesting that expression deficits are not a feature of prosopagnosia per se. I also provide estimates of the prevalence of deficits in facial expression perception (7.70%) and recognition (2.56% - 5.13%) in prosopagnosia, both of which suggest that facial expression processing is normal in the majority of prosopagnosics. Overall, my thesis demonstrates that facial expression processing is not impaired in developmental prosopagnosia, and suggests that facial expression and facial identity processing rely on separate mechanisms that dissociate in development.</p>

Female migration in the Cape Verde islands: From islandness to transnationalism

Following island studies scholars’ suggestion to think “with the archipelago” in order to denaturalize and de-territorialize the object of study and grant more attention to decolonization processes and mobilities, this paper uses a gender perspective and multi-sited ethnographic research to explore changes in Cape Verdean identity perception related to islandness and migration issues. The tension between ‘openness’ and ‘closure’ is significant in the case of Cape Verde, where the relationship between the island and islanders represents a condition of being in the world. The sea opens to the outside, but it also closes off and imprisons islanders within the borders of the island. Before the 1970s, when most Cape Verdean migrants were men, inside/outside boundaries were played out as gender boundaries along the male/female opposition: external/internal, Terra Longe (the outside world)/Terra Mamaizinha (the motherland), danger/security. On the isle of Santo Antão, however, this has been changing with the gradual feminization of emigration to Europe. This shift has revolutionized the previous sense of home, giving rise to a new form of transnational female family that connects places of immigration and places of origin while also reorienting Cape Verdean female belonging from insular to transnational.

Having to “Hold It”: Factors That Influence the Avoidance of Using Public Bathrooms among Transgender People

Transgender people often avoid going to the bathroom in public, at work, and at school because they are afraid of facing problems while using them. Utilizing the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, the largest sample to date with transgender people, this study (N = 25,694) aimed to understand the factors associated with avoiding bathroom usage as well as how the avoidance may impact the health of transgender people. Logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with avoidance of bathrooms. More than six out of 10 transgender people avoided using public bathrooms. Being questioned about a person’s bathroom choice, gender identity, perception of gender identity, previous experiences of discrimination, suicidal ideation, and serious psychological distress were found to be associated with avoidance of public bathrooms due to fears of having problems when using them. Gender-neutral bathrooms that are safe and accessible for transgender people need to be more available and accessible in the United States.