CHINESE SECURITY COOPERATION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, 2000-2017: EVIDENCE FROM THAILAND AND THE PHILIPPINES

Since the turn of the 21st century, China has steadily expanded security cooperation in Southeast Asia, reflected in more frequent naval port calls and military exercises and in increased arms sales to states in the region. Why has China been pursuing closer security cooperation in Southeast Asia, and what factors influence the degree to which Southeast Asian states seek, accept, or reject security cooperation with China? This thesis finds that China is primarily motivated to improve security ties in Southeast Asia in order to establish regional preeminence and cement its status as a great power. Related and supporting Chinese objectives include using security cooperation to achieve the following: establish influence within key Southeast Asian states that can be wielded to serve Chinese interests, prevent encirclement by the United States or its allies, and assuage regional anxieties about perceived Chinese aggressiveness. This thesis also finds that factors influencing the degree to which Southeast Asian states seek, accept, or reject security cooperation with China include the level of U.S. security cooperation a state receives, an interest in diversification of security partnerships, the prevalence of illiberalism or human rights abuses, and the presence or absence of a territorial dispute with China.http://archive.org/details/chinesesecurityc1094562780Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Path-Integral Quantization of the (2,2) String

A complete treatment of the (2,2) NSR string in flat (2+2) dimensional space-time is given, from the formal path integral over N=2 super Riemann surfaces to the computational recipe for amplitudes at any loop or gauge instanton number. We perform in detail the superconformal gauge fixing, discuss the spectral flow, and analyze the supermoduli space with emphasis on the gauge moduli. Background gauge field configurations in all instanton sectors are constructed. We develop chiral bosonization on punctured higher-genus surfaces in the presence of gauge moduli and instantons. The BRST cohomology is recapitulated, with a new space-time interpretation for picture-changing. We point out two ways of combining left- and right-movers, which lead to different three-point functions.Comment: 36 pages, LaTeX; published version (typos & eq.(7.12) corrected

The Maricunga Belt (chilean Precordillera) and its hydrothermal alteration zones as revealed by multispectral remote sensing and field studies

Remote sensing techniques offer a unique chance to analyse and map wide or nearly inaccessable areas under certain geoscientific aspects in relatively short time and at low cost. Therefore geological field campaigns together with multispectral image analysis were carried out for the Maricunga Belt in the chilenean Precordillera, south of the regional mining settlements San Salvador and Potrerillos (Atacama). On the basis of Landsat-TM 5, ASTER, radar-based DGM-data and field mapping/sampling the lithological/structural characteristics of several OH-bearing hydrothermal alteration zones of mostly Neogene age have been investigated because of their high value for future exploration. The often  unknown regional tectonic framework which seems to have controlled the alteration dimensions are also discussed. In order to obtain  reasonable lithological classification criteria for the remote sensing data fundamental statistical selection rules like the optimum index factor  (OIF) were applied to the combination of single TM bands. Furthermore specific band ratios (5/7; 5/4, 5/1) and principal components were  utilized to enhance the spectral properties of the argillized, bleached clay- and/or silica-rich alteration surfaces. Additional spectral measurements were carried out for each representative lithological unit of the alteration zones to estimate the quality of the calculated classifications/ratios for geological mapping. In some cases complementary geochemical data has been studied in order to obtain direct clues for understanding the type of some detected hydrothermal alterations. Finally the achieved data was compiled in a geological map which shows more than 20 hydrothermally altered surfaces in relation to the regional geology and the specific tectonic framework. The influence of three major fault systems (the N-S orientated West Fissure System, the NE-SW orientated Inca De Oro System and a poorly described NW-SE System) for the setting of the alterations seems to be obvious

Long-term effects of early parasite exposure on song duration and singing strategy in great tits

Song is a sexually selected trait in many bird species and has been suggested to function as a signal of a male's health and parasite resistance. Here we present an experimental field study on the long-term effects of parasite exposure early in life on adult bird song. We exposed nestling great tits (Parus major) to ectoparasitic hen fleas (Ceratophyllus gallinae) and on their recruitment into the local breeding population assessed the response to a playback of a challenging male in their breeding territory. We show, to our knowledge for the first time in a wild bird population, that parasite exposure early in life affects bird song: song duration of males that were exposed to parasites early in life was reduced by 32% compared with males that grew up in a flea-free environment. Early parasite exposure also significantly reduced the degree of song overlap with the playback, which has been shown to correlate with social status. There was no effect of early parasite exposure on the number of different song types sung or on the latency until the males started the vocal response to the playback. These results suggest that mates or rivals can use song duration and song overlap as proxies for an individual's exposure to parasites early in life. It thereby highlights both the importance of parasites in maintaining honesty of sexually selected traits and the costs of parasitism in terms of reduced attractiveness and competitivenes

Sudbury project (University of Muenster-Ontario Geological Survey): Field studies 1984-1989 - summary of results

In cooperation between the Ontario Geological Survey and the Institute of Geology and Institute of Planetology, geological, petrological, and geochemical studies were carried out on impact-related phenomena of the Sudbury structure during the last decade. The main results of the field studies are briefly reviewed. Footwall rocks, sublayer, and lower sections of the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC) were mainly mapped and sampled in the northern (Levack Township) and western (Trillabelle and Sultana Properties) parts of the north range. Within these mapping areas Sudbury Breccias (SB) and Footwall Breccias (FB) were studied; SB were also investigated along extended profiles beyond the north and south ranges up to 55 km from the SIC. The Onaping Formation (OF) and the upper section of the SIC were studied both in the north range (Morgan and Dowling Townships) and in the southern east range (Capreol and McLennan Townships)

General practitioners can evaluate the material, social and health dimensions of patient social status

OBJECTIVE: To identify which physician and patient characteristics are associated with physicians' estimation of their patient social status.DESIGN: Cross-sectional ulticentric survey. SETTING: Fourty-seven primary care private offices in Western Switzerland. PARTICIPANTS: Random sample of 2030 patients ≥ 16, who encountered a general practitioner (GP) between September 2010 and February 2011. MAIN MEASURES: PRIMARY OUTCOME: patient social status perceived by GPs, using the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, ranging from the bottom (0) to the top (10) of the social scale.Secondary outcome: Difference between GP's evaluation and patient's own evaluation of their social status. Potential patient correlates: material and social deprivation using the DiPCare-Q, health status using the EQ-5D, sources of income, and level of education. GP characteristics: opinion regarding patients' deprivation and its influence on health and care. RESULTS: To evaluate patient social status, GPs considered the material, social, and health aspects of deprivation, along with education level, and amount and type of income. GPs declaring a frequent reflexive consideration of their own prejudice towards deprived patients, gave a higher estimation of patients' social status (+1.0, p = 0.002). Choosing a less costly treatment for deprived patients was associated with a lower estimation (-0.7, p = 0.002). GP's evaluation of patient social status was 0.5 point higher than the patient's own estimate (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: GPs can perceive the various dimensions of patient social status, although heterogeneously, according partly to their own characteristics. Compared to patients' own evaluation, GPs overestimate patient social status