Is Negative Interest Rate Effective?

On February 16, 2016, a year and a half after the European Central Bank implemented an unprecedented monetary policy of setting a negative interest rate to stimulate its flagging economy, Japan followed this bold move by setting its own interest rate below zero. By charging negative interest rate on excess funds that commercial banks hold at Bank of Japan, the central bank is hoping that banks will be encouraged to lend instead of hoarding cash, and businesses and households to spend and invest. This research is a narrative approach to examine the pros and cons of negative interest rate policy in Europe and Japan. Additionally, to evaluate whether this policy is effective or not

Colonial lives of the carceral archipelago: rethinking the neoliberal security state

Mass incarceration, police brutality, and border controls are part and parcel of the everyday experiences of marginalized and racialized communities across the world. Recent scholarship in international relations, sociology, and geography has examined the prevalence of these coercive practices through the prism of “disciplinary,” “penal,” or “authoritarian” neoliberalism. In this collective discussion, we argue that although this literature has brought to the fore neoliberalism's reliance on state violence, it has yet to interrogate how these carceral measures are linked to previous forms of global racial ordering. To rectify this moment of “colonial unknowing,” the collective discussion draws on decolonial approaches, Indigenous studies, and theories of racial capitalism. It demonstrates that “new” and “neoliberal” forms of domestic control must be situated within the global longue durée of racialized and colonial accumulation by dispossession. By mapping contemporary modes of policing, incarceration, migration control, and surveillance onto earlier forms of racial–colonial subjugation, we argue that countering the violence of neoliberalism requires more than nostalgic appeals for a return to Keynesianism. What is needed is abolition—not just of the carceral archipelago, but of the very system of racial capitalism that produces and depends on these global vectors of organized violence and abandonment. L'incarcération de masse, la brutalité policière et les contrôles aux frontières constituent une partie intégrante des expériences quotidiennes des communautés marginalisées et racialisées du monde entier. Des études récentes en relations internationales, en sociologie et en géographie ont examiné la prévalence de ces pratiques coercitives par le prisme du néolibéralisme « disciplinaire », « pénal » ou « autoritaire ». Dans cet article, nous soutenons que bien que cette littérature ait mis en évidence la dépendance du néolibéralisme à la violence étatique, elle ne s'est pas encore interrogée sur le lien entre ces mesures carcérales et les formes précédentes d'ordre racial mondial. Cet article s'appuie sur le féminisme noir, les approches décoloniales, les études indigènes et les théories de capitalisme racial pour rectifier cette « ignorance coloniale » marquante. Il démontre que les formes « nouvelles » et « néolibérales » de contrôle national doivent se situer dans la longue durée globale de l'accumulation racialisée et coloniale par dépossession. Nous associons les modes contemporains de maintien de l'ordre, d'incarcération, de contrôle migratoire et de surveillance à des formes antérieures d'assujettissement racial/colonial pour soutenir que contrer la violence du néolibéralisme exige davantage que des appels nostalgiques au retour du keynésianisme. Ce qu'il faut, c'est une abolition : non seulement de l'archipel carcéral, mais aussi du système de capitalisme racial en lui-même qui produit et dépend de ces vecteurs globaux de violence organisée et d'abandon. El encarcelamiento masivo, la brutalidad policial y los controles fronterizos forman parte de las experiencias cotidianas de las comunidades marginadas y racializadas de todo el mundo. Estudios recientes en RI, Sociología y Geografía han examinado la prevalencia de estas prácticas coercitivas a través del prisma del neoliberalismo “disciplinario,” “penal” o “autoritario.” En este artículo, sostenemos que, si bien esta literatura puso en primer plano la dependencia del neoliberalismo de la violencia estatal, aún tiene que cuestionar la manera en que estas medidas carcelarias se vinculan a formas anteriores de ordenamiento racial global. Para rectificar este momento de “desconocimiento colonial,” el artículo recurre al feminismo negro, a los abordajes descoloniales, a los estudios indígenas y a las teorías del capitalismo racial. Demuestra que las formas “nuevas” y “neoliberales” de control interno se deben situar dentro de la longue durée global de la acumulación por desposesión racializada y colonial. Al trazar un mapa de los modos contemporáneos de vigilancia policial, encarcelamiento, control de la migración y vigilancia sobre las formas anteriores de subyugación racial-colonial, sostenemos que contrarrestar la violencia del neoliberalismo requiere algo más que apelaciones nostálgicas de retorno al keynesianismo. Lo que se necesita es la abolición, no solo del archipiélago carcelario, sino también del propio sistema de capitalismo racial que produce y depende de estos vectores globales de violencia y abandono organizados

Experimental and theoretical studies of composite multiple-box girder bridges

Due to their high torsional and wrapping stiffness as well as economic and aesthetic reasons, multi spine composite concrete-deck steel-box girder bridges became a very popular choice in highway bridges. Currently, North American Codes of Practice have recommended some analytical methods for the design of curved multiple-box girder bridges, providing a geometrically defined criterion to establish when horizontally curved may be treated as a straight bridge. To meet the practical requirements arising during the design process, a simple design method is needed for straight and curved composite box girder bridges in the form of load distribution factors. This study consisted of an experimental and a theoretical investigation. The experimental investigation included testing up-to-collapse three bridge models. While the theoretical investigation used a finite element software to examine the behavior of 225 different bridges to extract stress distribution factors for maximum bending stresses that occur at the mid span.</jats:p

Experimental and theoretical studies of composite multiple-box girder bridges

Due to their high torsional and wrapping stiffness as well as economic and aesthetic reasons, multi spine composite concrete-deck steel-box girder bridges became a very popular choice in highway bridges. Currently, North American Codes of Practice have recommended some analytical methods for the design of curved multiple-box girder bridges, providing a geometrically defined criterion to establish when horizontally curved may be treated as a straight bridge. To meet the practical requirements arising during the design process, a simple design method is needed for straight and curved composite box girder bridges in the form of load distribution factors. This study consisted of an experimental and a theoretical investigation. The experimental investigation included testing up-to-collapse three bridge models. While the theoretical investigation used a finite element software to examine the behavior of 225 different bridges to extract stress distribution factors for maximum bending stresses that occur at the mid span.</jats:p

Neonatal circumcision in the United States: Authoritative knowledge and social justice

Neonatal male circumcision is available from physicians on request in the United States and parents are authorized to use non-medical sources of knowledge in electing circumcision. This situation resembles Brigitte Jordan's (1997) prediction that authority over producing knowledge in birth environments will become more equally distributed between the participants. Circumcision provides an opportunity to evaluate this possibility, with the conclusion that it does not represent the sort of shift that Jordan described. Analysis of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Policy Statement on Circumcision and its associated commentaries and response, and of ethnographic interviews and surveys of parents show how' the AAP uses traditional claims to biomedical authority to bolster its claim that parents must make a determination about circumcision's advisability. The dissertation also offers a critique of circumcision on two levels: first in terms of the bioethical contradictions inherent in the practice, and second in terms of the relationship between individual experiences and the overall structure of the practice itself. Alternatives derived from classical theories of social justice are proposed to resolve the ethical issues in a manner consistent with U.S. values.</p