1,136 research outputs found
FDI Effects of ASEAN Integration
For the past two decades, ASEAN Member States have pursued intra-regional market liberalization in order to provide more flexibility to multinationals and therefore promote the region as a competitive production platform. Attracting FDI has been a key objective of this regional project. This paper describes and analyzes recent trends in FDI to and among ASEAN countries, mainly comparing FDI patterns before and after the Asian Crisis, to characterize and assess the regionâs strategies to liberalize and facilitate investment. We find that FDI flows to ASEAN countries suffered after the Asian Crisis but have picked up since 2005. Moreover, ASEAN FDI is dominated by Singapore. In addition, the sectoral distribution of FDI has changed in some members of ASEAN (i.e., Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand) but not in others. We also perform an econometric analysis of the determinants of FDI to check for ASEAN-specific changes in FDI in the post-Crisis period. Our results, after controlling for a host of factors, indicate that ASEAN countries suffered a fall in total FDI but experienced an increase in intra-regional FDI after 1998. Moreover, we do not find any significant impact of FDI in China on ASEAN FDI.Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN); Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); Economic Integration; Knowledge Capital Model
FDI EFFECTS OF ASEAN INTEGRATION
For the past two decades, ASEAN Member States have pursued intra-regional market liberalization in order to provide more flexibility to multinationals and therefore promote the region as a competitive production platform. Attracting FDI has been a key objective of this regional project. This paper describes and analyzes recent trends in FDI to and among ASEAN countries, mainly comparing FDI patterns before and after the Asian Crisis, to characterize and assess the region?s strategies to liberalize and facilitate investment. We find that FDI flows to ASEAN countries suffered after the Asian Crisis but have picked up since 2005. Moreover, ASEAN FDI is dominated by Singapore. In addition, the sectoral distribution of FDI has changed in some members of ASEAN (i.e., Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand) but not in others. We also perform an econometric analysis of the determinants of FDI to check for ASEAN-specific changes in FDI in the post-Crisis period. Our results, after controlling for a host of factors, indicate that ASEAN countries suffered a fall in total FDI but experienced an increase in intra-regional FDI after 1998. Moreover, we do not find any significant impact of FDI in China on ASEAN FDI.ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN), FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI), ECONOMIC INTEGRATION, ASEAN INVESTMENT AREA, KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL MODEL
Why do These Match? Explaining the Behavior of Image Similarity Models
Explaining a deep learning model can help users understand its behavior and
allow researchers to discern its shortcomings. Recent work has primarily
focused on explaining models for tasks like image classification or visual
question answering. In this paper, we introduce Salient Attributes for Network
Explanation (SANE) to explain image similarity models, where a model's output
is a score measuring the similarity of two inputs rather than a classification
score. In this task, an explanation depends on both of the input images, so
standard methods do not apply. Our SANE explanations pairs a saliency map
identifying important image regions with an attribute that best explains the
match. We find that our explanations provide additional information not
typically captured by saliency maps alone, and can also improve performance on
the classic task of attribute recognition. Our approach's ability to generalize
is demonstrated on two datasets from diverse domains, Polyvore Outfits and
Animals with Attributes 2. Code available at:
https://github.com/VisionLearningGroup/SANEComment: Accepted at ECCV 202
Identifications of Einstein Slew Survey sources
The status of identifications of the Einstien Slew Survey, a bright soft x-ray catalog with 550 new x-ray sources, is discussed. Possible counterparts were found for greater than 95 percent of the Slew Survey based on positional coincidences and color-color diagnostics. The survey will be fully identified via upcoming radio and optical observations
Einstein Slew Survey: Data analysis innovations
Several new methods were needed in order to make the Einstein Slew X-ray Sky Survey. The innovations which enabled the Slew Survey to be done are summarized. These methods included experimental approach to large projects, parallel processing on a LAN, percolation source detection, minimum action identifications, and rapid dissemination of the whole data base
Harnessing autophagy to overcome mitogenâactivated protein kinase kinase inhibitorâinduced resistance in metastatic melanoma
Background
Patients with malignant melanoma often relapse after treatment with BRAF and/or mitogenâactivated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitors (MEKi) owing to development of drug resistance.
Objectives
To establish the temporal pattern of CD271 regulation during development of resistance by melanoma to trametinib, and determine the association between development of resistance to trametinib and induction of prosurvival autophagy.
Methods
Immunohistochemistry for CD271 and p62 was performed on human naevi and primary malignant melanoma tumours. Western blotting was used to analyse expression of CD271, p62 and LC3 in melanoma subpopulations. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence microscopy was used to evaluate trametinibâinduced cell death and CD271 expression. MTS viability assays and zebrafish xenografts were used to evaluate the effect of CD271 and autophagy modulation on trametinibâresistant melanoma cell survival and invasion, respectively.
Results
CD271 and autophagic signalling are increased in stage III primary melanomas vs. benign naevi. In vitro studies demonstrate MEKi of BRAFâmutant melanoma induced cytotoxic autophagy, followed by the emergence of CD271âexpressing subpopulations. Trametinibâinduced CD271 reduced autophagic flux, leading to activation of prosurvival autophagy and development of MEKi resistance. Treatment of CD271âexpressing melanoma subpopulations with RNA interference and smallâmolecule inhibitors to CD271 reduced the development of MEKi resistance, while clinically applicable autophagy modulatory agents â including Î9âtetrahydrocannabinol and Vps34 â reduced survival of MEKiâresistant melanoma cells. Combined MEK/autophagy inhibition also reduced the invasive and metastatic potential of MEKiâresistant cells in an in vivo zebrafish xenograft.
Conclusions
These results highlight a novel mechanism of MEKiâinduced drug resistance and suggest that targeting autophagy may be a translatable approach to resensitize drugâresistant melanoma cells to the cytotoxic effects of MEKi
Qualitative Research in Counseling: A Reflection for Novice Counselor Researchers
Counselors practice in a wide range of disciplines, but also represent a distinct discipline separate from medicine, psychology, and social work. Particularly in countries like Australia, Canada, and the Asia Pacific nations, as a relatively new field, counseling is taking up the challenges of encouraging a research culture that can both critique and support clinical practice and counselor education. This paper is thus written to support novice counselor researchers, and to inspire an emerging research culture through sharing formative experiences and lessons learned during a qualitative research project exploring minority issues in counseling
Distributed actuation and control of a morphing tensegrity structure
Structures and actuation systems need to be closely integrated together in the future to create faster, more efficient, lightweight dynamic machines. Such actuated structures would be used for morphing aircraft wings, lightweight actuated space structures, or in robotics. This approach requires actuators to be distributed through the structure. A tensegrity structure is a very promising candidate for this future integration due to its potentially excellent stiffness and strength-to-weight ratio, and the inherent advantage of being a multi-element structure into which actuators can be embedded. This paper presents methods for analysis of the structure geometry, for closed-loop motion control, and includes experimental results for a structure actuated by lightweight pneumatic muscles. In a practical morphing tensegrity structure, it cannot be assumed that tension and compression members always meet at a point. Thus, a form-finding method has been developed to find stable geometries and determine stiffness properties for tensegrity structures with nodes of finite dimension. An antagonistic multi-axis control scheme has been developed for the shape position and motion control. In the experimental actuated tensegrity system presented the pneumatic muscles are controlled by on-off valves, for which a dead-band switching controller is designed based on a new stability criterion. The experimental system demonstrates accurate control of shape change while maintaining a desired level of internal preload in a stiff structure, showing considerable promise for future lightweight dynamic machines
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