Contrasting catching-up histories of the Korean and the Japanese heavy electrical industries in the 1970s-2000s

The thesis is motivated by contrasting catching-up performances of the Korean heavy electrical industry (HEI) across nuclear power and gas turbine, which have serious ramifications for energy policy as well as catching-up studies. When the opposite performance of Japanese counterparts across the two technologies is compared to the Korean case, the existing catching-up literature based on firm capabilities and sectoral approaches does not offer direct answers. Also, while most of government energy policies are focused on research and development (R&D) efforts, they pay little attention to a wide set of institutions, which might constrain and incentivise a specific technology catching-up. The idiosyncratic catching-up experiences and potential mismatch between catching-up policies and the institutional factors of the Korean HEI urge comparative and institutional perspectives for a generalisable claim. Therefore, the thesis adopts a partial comparative case study between the Korean HEI and the ‘earlier’ latecomer, namely Japanese HEI, as a reference case with mostly secondary evidences based on a broad version of national system of innovation system (NSI) approach (Freeman 1987; Lundvall 1988; Lundvall et al., 2002). The adopted NSI framework assumes a potential dichotomy of cross-technology and cross-nation performance attributes to contrasting institutional set-ups. It focusses on two salient institutions of the electricity supply industry (ESI), including business and environmental regulations, and their impact on the catching-up performances across the two technologies. It finds historically evolved ESI-HEI relationships based on the specific institutional set of ESI substantially influenced the dichotomy of cross-nation and cross-technology catching-up performances, regardless of R&D expenditures and relative technological capabilities of HEI firms. The result supplements the NSI literature by linking the variation of a set of institutions with catching-up performance variations. It also offers strategic implications to catching-up countries, such as the potential necessity for institutional reforms of the ESI in pursuing energy technology catching-up policies

Commemorating 50 Years (1967-2017) 50th Anniversary Celebratory Volume, Asian-Pacific Weed Science Society (APWSS); Indian Society of Weed Science (ISWS), India and The Weed Science Society of Japan (WSSJ)

The impetus for this 50th Anniversary Celebratory Volume of the Asian-Pacific Weed Science Society (APWSS) came from our firm conviction of the immense effort by the Society’s founding fathers, and those who followed in their footsteps, to nurture the discipline in a way beneficial to the people and cultures in the Asian-Pacific region. After 50 years of existence, there is reason for the success of this ‘interchange’ of knowledge and association of like-minded people, to be celebrated. In this Celebratory Volume, with contributions from several members, we have attempted to contextualize the contributions of the APWSS, in terms of its origin and development, as well as its activities, which are firmly rooted in promoting the understanding of weeds and responsibly managing weed impacts with appropriate methods..

Healthy Housing 2016: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Energy and Environment of Residential Buildings, 20-24 November, 2016

This conference series was initiated in Sendai, Japan in 2000 and has played a significant role in the development of Energy and Environment of Residential Buildings. It is well attended by researchers and academics from Asia, Europe and North America. In 2016 the conference moves to Brisbane, Australia, hosted by Queensland University of Technology and has adopted the overarching theme of Healthy Housing. The conference offers an exciting program that will not only facilitate research exchange between academics, but will supports and facilitatse dialogue with industry (housing providers) and government (housing regulators). These procedings collect the papers for the 2016 conference covering the topics: – Sustainable design and construction – Indoor environment – Neighbourhood planning – Modelling, simulation and post-occupancy evaluation – Building information and management – Valuation, marketing and financ

Muscle activation patterns in shoulder impingement patients

Introduction: Shoulder impingement is one of the most common presentations of shoulder joint problems 1. It appears to be caused by a reduction in the sub-acromial space as the humerus abducts between 60o -120o – the 'painful arc'. Structures between the humeral head and the acromion are thus pinched causing pain and further pathology 2. Shoulder muscle activity can influence this joint space but it is unclear whether this is a cause or effect in impingement patients. This study aimed to observe muscle activation patterns in normal and impingement shoulder patients and determine if there were any significant differences. Method: 19 adult subjects were asked to perform shoulder abduction in their symptomatic arm and non-symptomatic. 10 of these subjects (age 47.9 ± 11.2) were screened for shoulder impingement, and 9 subjects (age 38.9 ± 14.3) had no history of shoulder pathology. Surface EMG was used to collect data for 6 shoulder muscles (Upper, middle and lower trapezius, serratus anterior, infraspinatus, middle deltoids) which was then filtered and fully rectified. Subjects performed 3 smooth unilateral abduction movements at a cadence of 16 beats of a metronome set at 60bpm, and the mean of their results was recorded. T-tests were used to indicate any statistical significance in the data sets. Significance was set at P<0.05. Results: There was a significant difference in muscle activation with serratus anterior in particular showing a very low level of activation throughout the range when compared to normal shoulder activation patterns (<30%). Middle deltoid recruitment was significantly reduced between 60-90o in the impingement group (30:58%).Trends were noted in other muscles with upper trapezius and infraspinatus activating more rapidly and erratically (63:25%; 60:27% respectively), and lower trapezius with less recruitment (13:30%) in the patient group, although these did not quite reach significance. Conclusion: There appears to be some interesting alterations in muscle recruitment patterns in impingement shoulder patients when compared against their own unaffected shoulders and the control group. In particular changes in scapula control (serratus anterior and trapezius) and lateral rotation (infraspinatus), which have direct influence on the sub-acromial space, should be noted. It is still not clear whether these alterations are causative or reactionary, but this finding gives a clear indication to the importance of addressing muscle reeducation as part of a rehabilitation programme in shoulder impingement patients