Worrisome Exaggeration of Activity of Electrocatalysts Destined for Steady-State Water Electrolysis by Polarization Curves from Transient Techniques

Cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry techniques substantially misjudge the performance of water splitting electrocatalysts due to their transient nature that forbids the interface from reaching a steady-state. This misjudgment leads to the potentially detrimental yet unwittingly falsified data accumulation in the literature that requires immediate attention. Alternatively, sampled-current voltammetry (SCV) constructed from steady-state responses is advised to be widely adopted for screening electrocatalysts that are actually destined for steady-state operations. To show that this exaggeration is universal, a well-characterized activated SS, coprecipitated Co(OH)2, and Pt foil electrodes are studied for OER and HER in 1.0 M KOH. The results urge that it is time to adopt a relatively more precise alternative technique such as SCV.

State and COVID-19 Response in the Asian Tiger Economies

By comparing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Tiger economies, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, this article examines the advantages and limitations of the statist command and control approaches to crisis management. Local, regional, and global politics as well as global political economy impinge and influence the state response. The article argues that a combination of factors – the institutional memory, overall state capacity and efficacy rooted in the preexisting institutional nexus, performance legitimacy, trust, reliance on scientific rationality, and integration with global scientific networks – stood in good stead in dealing with the crisis. Yet, as the crisis rolled on, some of the stellar performers showed considerable gaps in planning and politics trumped sensible policies. Despite the commonality, the article shows that there were important differences in the responses of the three Tiger economies, especially in rolling out the vaccines, which can be explained not only by the state capacity but also the larger global politico-economic contexts. The article argues that the state capacity is affected by the global dynamics, the specificity of geopolitical and historical contexts, which must be factored in in explaining successes and failures of state responses.

Extraregional Migratory Flows in Transit as Complex Unbounded Emergency (Risk): Conceptual Challenges and Empirical Lessons in Costa Rica

Recent migratory flows transiting through Central America have led to unprecedented institutional and humanitarian responses across the sub-region. Between 2015 and 2016, the small Central American countries and Costa Rica in particular experienced at least two major “migration waves,” triggered by thousands of “extraregional migrants” in transit from Cuba, Haiti, and many countries from Asia and Africa who became stranded for months in Central America. The article examines how these recent and unusual migratory flows led to novel state responses, including the use of disaster risk management principles and operational mechanisms. Based on empirical data from Costa Rica, the article explores how the concept and notion of complex unbounded emergency (risk) may be appropriate in understanding the practical implications of this new migratory reality in terms of disaster risk reduction and management. It aims to shed new insights on the complexities of extraregional migratory flows, which are likely to continue into the foreseeable future.

Nonlinear vibration behaviors of marine rotor system coupled with floating raft-airbag-displacement restrictor under ship heaving motion

To study the nonlinear vibration behaviors of rotor system coupled with floating raft-airbag-displacement restrictor under ship heaving motion, the dynamic model is established considering the effect of heaving motion, its steady-state responses are numerically obtained using Runge-Kutta method and the results are surveyed by tools such as the spectrum waterfall diagram, time-domain response, frequency-domain response, axis orbit, and Poincaré map. The effects of rotating speed, ship heaving amplitude, and its frequency on the nonlinear dynamic behavior of the system are mainly studied. The results show that the responses of the rotor and raft are of obvious nonlinear behaviors such as amplitude jumping, bifurcation, and chaos due to the effects of nonlinear oil film force and ship heaving motion. With the increase of rotating speed, the motion of rotor and raft presents quasi-periodic and chaotic vibrations. Ship heaving amplitude and its frequency all have great effect on the vibration of rotor and raft; as heaving amplitude or frequency increases, the motion state of rotor and raft changes, and the amplitude of raft increases significantly. The displacement restrictor can effectively limit the vibrating displacements of the raft when ship heaving amplitude or its frequency is large.

Fundamental insight into redox enzyme-based bioelectrocatalysis

Redox enzymes can work as efficient electrocatalysts. The coupling of redox enzymatic reactions with electrode reactions is called enzymatic bioelectrocatalysis, which imparts high reaction-specificity to electrode reactions with non-specific characteristics. The key factors required for bioelectrocatalysis are hydride ion/electron transfer characteristics and low specificity for either substrate in redox enzymes. Several theoretical features of steady-state responses are introduced to understand bioelectrocatalysis and to extend the performance of bioelectrocatalytic systems. Applications of the coupling concept to bioelectrochemical devices are also summarized with emphasis on the achievements recorded in the research group of the author.

Law and Order in Contemporary Papua New Guinea: an Examination of Causes and Policy Options

<p>After twenty-one years of independence, problems of law and order remain the single most important issue on the agenda of public debate in Papua New Guinea. The impression is one of rising crime and social disorder, on the one hand, and an ineffective crime prevention capability on the other. Against that background, this thesis offers an exploratory and illuminative account about the nature of crime and delinquency in Papua New Guinea. A general descriptive analysis of causal determinants of crime in Papua New Guinea is offered, with examination of the prevalence of law and order problems in different parts of the country, and the effectiveness of state responses as reported by youths and government officials in the city of Port Moresby, and also by young people and village leaders in the Central Highlands region of the country. The thesis is unique in that it is the first research of its kind to be carried out by a Melanesian scholar belonging to a tribal group whose explanations for crime and delinquency are also given formal acknowledgement. The thesis concludes that as crime and social disorder in Papua New Guinea is manifest with a Melanesian social and cultural setting, it must be examined as a melanesian social problem that requires Melanesian approaches in addressing it.</p>

Law and Order in Contemporary Papua New Guinea: an Examination of Causes and Policy Options

<p>After twenty-one years of independence, problems of law and order remain the single most important issue on the agenda of public debate in Papua New Guinea. The impression is one of rising crime and social disorder, on the one hand, and an ineffective crime prevention capability on the other. Against that background, this thesis offers an exploratory and illuminative account about the nature of crime and delinquency in Papua New Guinea. A general descriptive analysis of causal determinants of crime in Papua New Guinea is offered, with examination of the prevalence of law and order problems in different parts of the country, and the effectiveness of state responses as reported by youths and government officials in the city of Port Moresby, and also by young people and village leaders in the Central Highlands region of the country. The thesis is unique in that it is the first research of its kind to be carried out by a Melanesian scholar belonging to a tribal group whose explanations for crime and delinquency are also given formal acknowledgement. The thesis concludes that as crime and social disorder in Papua New Guinea is manifest with a Melanesian social and cultural setting, it must be examined as a melanesian social problem that requires Melanesian approaches in addressing it.</p>

Bordered Trajectories: The Impact of Institutional Bordering Practices on Young Refugees’ (Re-)Engagement with Post-15 Education in Greece

Greece has been a site of various crises in recent years: firstly, the financial crash of 2008; secondly, the ongoing ‘refugee crisis’, which peaked in 2015; and thirdly, the current COVID-19 pandemic. This paper addresses the first of these crises, and particularly how state responses to increased migration flows shape young refugees’ (aged 15–25) (re-)engagement with post-15 learning opportunities upon arrival in the country. It is based on semi-structured interviews with young refugees living in Thessaloniki, conducted as part of an ethnographic doctoral project on educational decision-making. The findings reveal that three key institutional bordering practices in Greece—namely the bordering of space (via encampment), time (via enforced waiting), and public services (via administrative barriers)—played central roles in young refugees’ (re-)engagement with post-15 education; often causing their dreams to be diverted or downgraded. However, with determination and the support of willing gatekeepers, refugee youth found ways to (re)construct adapted learning trajectories despite, and in response to, these arrival challenges.