Oshio Heihachirō and his revolt of 1837 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Japanese at Massey University

Although there is an abundance of resource material concerning Oshio Heihachiro in Japanese, there is very little in English. Thus, this thesis seeks to make available and analyse for English readers some of the rich offerings that exist in Japanese. It sets out to describe the life and times of Oshio and to analyse the influences that moulded his thought and that ultimately motivated him to take action against the heartless hierarchy and greedy merchants who refused to show any compassion on the desperately poor during the disastrous days of the Tempo Famine (1830-1837). The later life and death in an abortive uprising in 1837 of Oshio Heihachiro were a clear commentary on his thought and teaching, namely, the necessity of the unity of knowledge and action. He was a living embodiment of the Wang Yang-ming dictum, "To know and not to act is the same as not knowing at all". His first-hand knowledge of the situation impelled him to action. Oshio's morality and integrity were sincerely demonstrated in his final act of sacrificing his reputation, and even life itself, for his principles. He was a reformer, not a revolutionary as some historians call him. His motivation was moral, not political. His was the dilemma of being grateful for the favours and status that his family enjoyed through the Tokugawa Shogunate and of being grieved by the corruption and inefficiency exhibited by the Shogunate's representatives, of supporting the system in principle on the one hand and of being exasperated by the intransigence of the system's officials on the other. With scant planning and preparation, he foolhardily attacked the heartless bureaucrats and wealthy merchants of Osaka. This was tantamount to a challenge against the most repressive powers of the autocratic authority of his day, the Shogunate itself. His revolt was fated to fail but it sent ripples in ever-widening circles throughout Japan in the final decades of the Tokugawa period

A League of Their Own : The Soviet Origins of the United Nations

An analysis of the USSR's role in the creation of the United Nations, with particular reference to the impact on Soviet decision makers of the historical experience of the League of Nations.Peer reviewe

Stalin, Trump, and the Politics of Narcissism : A Response to Rose McDermott’s “The Nature of Narcissism"

I was intrigued by Rose McDermott’s piece on “The Nature of Narcissism”.[1] As a narrative historian of international relations, I appreciated her call for analysis of the “influence of individual-level differences on international outcomes.” Central to narrative history is the reconstruction and analysis of the actions and interactions of individuals, as well as people’s goals, motivations, feelings, and experiences

The metabolic sequelae of oesophago-gastric resection

Bypass or resection of the stomach and oesophagus, has long been recognised to result in profound changes in the handling of ingested nutrients. This results in significant morbidity after radical surgery for oesophago-gastric cancer, in particular post-prandial hypoglycaemia, altered appetite, early satiety and noxious post-prandial symptoms. By profiling and challenging the gut hormone axis in healthy volunteers and patients who had undergone total or subtotal gastrectomy, or oesophagectomy, this thesis explores the possible causative mechanisms for the challenges faced by this patient population. In the surgical groups, an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) resulted in enhanced secretion of satiety and incretin gut hormones (GLP-1, GIP, PYY) and insulin, followed by hypoglycaemia in a cohort of patients. Continuous glucose monitoring of gastrectomy participants over two weeks of normal lifestyle identified an increased incidence of day and night time hypoglycaemia. RNAseq and mass spectrometry based peptidomics of human and murine enteroendocrine cells in the pre- and post-operative populations revealed no significant change in the underlying cellular pathways for nutrient sensing and gut hormone secretion, indicating that the altered hormone secretion is primarily driven by accelerated nutrient transit, rather than adaptive changes in the gut. Finally, specific blockade of the GLP-1 receptor in post-gastrectomy patients using Exendin 9-39 normalised insulin secretion and prevented reactive hypoglycaemia after an OGTT. In conclusion, profound changes in gut hormone secretion as a result of enhanced nutrient transit after foregut surgery likely underlie the early and late post-prandial symptoms seen in this group, and therapies specifically targeting the gut hormone axis, and GLP-1 in particular, could be the first targeted treatments for post-gastrectomy syndromes.Research constituting this thesis was supported by: NIHR Evelyn Trust Royal College of Surgeons European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes Wellcome Trus

The politics today companion to West European politics

This book is an essential reference guide for students of West European politics and West European area studies. A perfect companion to European politics today (by the same authors), it contains details of major events, political leaders, important dates, organisations and recent elections, all in an accessible, easy-to-read format. A comprehensive reference work, the book also provides a sound historical background for students of contemporary Europe. It covers the information and terms of reference students need to know to understand developments in European politics from the Second World War to the present day. Much of the book is devoted to those European countries most often featured in comparative courses in colleges and universities: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain as well as the European Union. Also included are details of personalities and events which have proved decisive for smaller and less familiar European democracies. From Resistance leaders to presidents, civil wars to scandals, the forces shaping the Europe of today are detailed in this book. This book is ideal for undergraduate students on politics, European studies and area studies courses

The Politics Today Companion to West European Politics

This book is an essential reference guide for students of West European politics and West European area studies. A perfect companion to European politics today (by the same authors), it contains details of major events, political leaders, important dates, organisations and recent elections, all in an accessible, easy-to-read format. A comprehensive reference work, the book also provides a sound historical background for students of contemporary Europe. It covers the information and terms of reference students need to know to understand developments in European politics from the Second World War to the present day. Much of the book is devoted to those European countries most often featured in comparative courses in colleges and universities: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain as well as the European Union. Also included are details of personalities and events which have proved decisive for smaller and less familiar European democracies. From Resistance leaders to presidents, civil wars to scandals, the forces shaping the Europe of today are detailed in this book. This book is ideal for undergraduate students on politics, European studies and area studies courses

Defensor da fé: Geoffrey Elton e a Filosofia da História

Defensor da fé: Geoffrey Elton e a Filosofia da Históri

The usage of data in NHS primary care commissioning: a realist review

Background Primary care has been described as the ‘bedrock’ of the National Health Service (NHS) accounting for approximately 90% of patient contacts but is facing significant challenges. Against a backdrop of a rapidly ageing population with increasingly complex health challenges, policy-makers have encouraged primary care commissioners to increase the usage of data when making commissioning decisions. Purported benefits include cost savings and improved population health. However, research on evidence-based commissioning has concluded that commissioners work in complex environments and that closer attention should be paid to the interplay of contextual factors and evidence use. The aim of this review was to understand how and why primary care commissioners use data to inform their decision making, what outcomes this leads to, and understand what factors or contexts promote and inhibit their usage of data. Methods We developed initial programme theory by identifying barriers and facilitators to using data to inform primary care commissioning based on the findings of an exploratory literature search and discussions with programme implementers. We then located a range of diverse studies by searching seven databases as well as grey literature. Using a realist approach, which has an explanatory rather than a judgemental focus, we identified recurrent patterns of outcomes and their associated contexts and mechanisms related to data usage in primary care commissioning to form context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations. We then developed a revised and refined programme theory. Results Ninety-two studies met the inclusion criteria, informing the development of 30 CMOs. Primary care commissioners work in complex and demanding environments, and the usage of data are promoted and inhibited by a wide range of contexts including specific commissioning activities, commissioners’ perceptions and skillsets, their relationships with external providers of data (analysis), and the characteristics of data themselves. Data are used by commissioners not only as a source of evidence but also as a tool for stimulating commissioning improvements and as a warrant for convincing others about decisions commissioners wish to make. Despite being well-intentioned users of data, commissioners face considerable challenges when trying to use them, and have developed a range of strategies to deal with ‘imperfect’ data. Conclusions There are still considerable barriers to using data in certain contexts. Understanding and addressing these will be key in light of the government’s ongoing commitments to using data to inform policy-making, as well as increasing integrated commissioning

Search for domain wall dark matter with atomic clocks on board global positioning system satellites

Cosmological observations indicate that 85% of all matter in the Universe is dark matter (DM), yet its microscopic composition remains a mystery. One hypothesis is that DM arises from ultralight quantum fields that form macroscopic objects such as topological defects. Here we use GPS as a ~ 50,000 km aperture DM detector to search for such defects in the form of domain walls. GPS navigation relies on precision timing signals furnished by atomic clocks hosted on board GPS satellites. As the Earth moves through the galactic DM halo, interactions with topological defects could cause atomic clock glitches that propagate through the GPS satellite constellation at galactic velocities ~ 300 km/s. Mining 16 years of archival GPS data, we find no evidence for DM in the form of domain walls at our current sensitivity level. This allows us to improve the limits on certain quadratic scalar couplings of domain wall DM to standard model particles by several orders of magnitude.Comment: 7 pages (main text), and 12 pages for Supplementary Information. v3: Update titl