Defence diplomacy: is the game worth the candle?

Few defence topics have been as prominent or invested with as much optimism in recent years as defence diplomacy. This paper has been created to explore the issue and help guide policymakers. Foreword Few Defence topics have been as prominent or invested with as much optimism in recent years as defence diplomacy (also called military diplomacy or defence engagement). In response to the growing security challenges of Asia, scholars, policymakers and practitioners have looked for ways to build confidence, decrease the risk and impact of accidents and encourage peaceful dispute resolution. Defence diplomacy, namely the practice of military and defence officials engaging their overseas counterparts, is increasingly regarded as a vital way to achieve these aims. Given the importance of this topic, a special Centre of Gravity paper has been created to explore the issue and help guide policymakers. This edition features six short papers, each with a different take and policy recommendation. The authors were asked the same question ‘Is the game worth the candle?’ and while their answers focus largely on Australia there are lessons and implications from their findings for the entire region. Brendan Taylor, the head of the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre begins the special edition calling for a stocktake of current efforts, in a bid to understand what has worked and what resources it requires. He is joined by two colleagues, John Blaxland who argues strongly in favour of an expanded defence diplomacy program and Hugh White who urges caution about the strategic influence of the practice. To complement these views, Nick Bisley, Executive Director La Trobe Asia, highlights the need for realistic ambitions. Lieutenant General (Ret.) Peter Leahy draws on his distinguished career in the ADF to detail how defence diplomacy occurs in practice and why it matters. Finally, See Seng Tan, Deputy Director of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore provides a regional perspective on Australia’s defence diplomacy. The authors of these papers don’t agree with each other, and that was precisely why they were invited to contribute. But some common themes are clear. Such as the need for a clear —and public — strategy along with integrating defence diplomacy into the efforts of other parts of government. Together these six papers provide insight into the practice and potential of defence diplomacy. This special edition also marks a re-launch of the Centre of Gravity Series. While some of the design may change, the focus remains the same: inviting some of the best analysts from Australia and around the world to provide short, accessible papers on the key questions facing Australian strategic affairs

Prospects for the Rules-Based Global Order

The two-decade period of United States post-Cold War predominance is now over, and an era of greater multipolarity has begun. Many fear that the rise of China and a resurgent Russia will bring marked decline in respect for rules and international law. Western policymakers are responding by placing greater value on the ‘rules-based global order’. In 2016 Australia’s Defence White Paper warned that “the rules-based global order is under increasing pressure and has shown signs of fragility”. This new Centre of Gravity Paper by Greg Raymond, Hitoshi Nasu, See Seng Tan and Rob McLaughlin examines the idea of a ‘Rules Based Global Order’. It brings a multi-disciplinary focus to examine how the rules based global order emerged, what it really means and what its future looks like in a more contested strategic environment

Defence Diplomacy: Is the Game Worth the Candle?

Few Defence topics have been as prominent or invested with as much optimism in recent years as defence diplomacy. This special Centre of Gravity paper has been created to explore the issue and help guide policymakers. It features contributions from 6 authors including Brendan Taylor, John Blaxland, Hugh White, Nick Bisley, Peter Leahy and See Seng Tan

The issues of delay in construction project

The lack of completed and effective work schedule in the construction project causes conflicts at construction progress.As a result, project to be delayed.In Malaysia, the majorities attitudes of contractors are less emphasize to prepare work schedule.Thus, projects involved will over commit construction materials and human resources. From issue above, there is a need to study the techniques of work schedule for monitoring progress.With a case study provided, its findings focus on the necessity of prepare work schedule.After there has an adding work schedule, many construction phases run smoothly and construction resource also to be used wisely

Planococcus versutus sp. nov., isolated from soil

A taxonomic study was performed on a novel Gram-stain-positive, coccus-shaped, orange-pigmented motile bacterium, designated as strain L10.15T. The organism was isolated from a soil sample collected in Lagoon Island (close to Adelaide Island, western Antarctic Peninsula) using a quorum-quenching enrichment medium. Growth occurred at 4–30 °C, pH 6–11 and at moderately high salinity (0–15 %, w/v, NaCl), with optimal growth at 26 °C, at pH 7–8 and with 6 % (w/v) NaCl. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain L10.15T belonged to the genus Planococcus and was closely related to Planococcus halocryophilus Or1T (99.3 % similarity), Planococcus donghaensis JH1T (99.0 %), Planococcus antarcticus DSM 14505T (98.3 %), Planococcus plakortidis AS/ASP6 (II)T (97.6 %), Planococcus maritimus TF-9T (97.5 %), Planococcus salinarum ISL-6T (97.5 %) and Planococcus kocurii NCIMB 629T (97.5 %). However, the average nucleotide identity-MUMmer analysis showed low genomic relatedness values of 71.1–81.7 % to the type strains of these closely related species of the genus Planococcus . The principal fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1ω7c and anteiso-C17 :  0, and the major menaquinones of strain L10.15T were MK-5 (48 %), MK-6 (6 %) and MK-7 (44 %). Polar lipid analysis revealed the presence of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and aminophospholipid. The DNA G+C content was 39.4 mol%. The phenotypic and genotypic data indicate that strain L10.15T represents a novel species of the genus Planococcus , for which the name Planococcus versutus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is L10.15T (=DSM 101994T=KACC 18918T)

Automated Machine Learning (AutoML)-Derived Preconception Predictive Risk Model to Guide Early Intervention for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

The increasing prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is contributing to the rising global burden of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and intergenerational cycle of chronic metabolic disorders. Primary lifestyle interventions to manage GDM, including second trimester dietary and exercise guidance, have met with limited success due to late implementation, poor adherence and generic guidelines. In this study, we aimed to build a preconception-based GDM predictor to enable early intervention. We also assessed the associations of top predictors with GDM and adverse birth outcomes. Our evolutionary algorithm-based automated machine learning (AutoML) model was implemented with data from 222 Asian multi-ethnic women in a preconception cohort study, Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes (S-PRESTO). A stacked ensemble model with a gradient boosting classifier and linear support vector machine classifier (stochastic gradient descent training) was derived using genetic programming, achieving an excellent AUC of 0.93 based on four features (glycated hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)), mean arterial blood pressure, fasting insulin, triglycerides/HDL ratio). The results of multivariate logistic regression model showed that each 1 mmol/mol increase in preconception HbA(1c) was positively associated with increased risks of GDM (p = 0.001, odds ratio (95% CI) 1.34 (1.13-1.60)) and preterm birth (p = 0.011, odds ratio 1.63 (1.12-2.38)). Optimal control of preconception HbA(1c) may aid in preventing GDM and reducing the incidence of preterm birth. Our trained predictor has been deployed as a web application that can be easily employed in GDM intervention programs, prior to conception.Peer reviewe

The human face of security: Asia-Pacific perspectives

This is an edited collection of papers about the meanings of human security in an Asian-Pacific context, stemming from a conference held in New Zealand in 2001

Prepregnancy adherence to plant-based diet indices and exploratory dietary patterns in relation to fecundability

Background Modest associations have been reported between specific food groups or nutrients and fecundability [measured by time to pregnancy (TTP)]. Examining overall diets provides a more holistic approach towards understanding their associations with fecundability. It is not known whether plant-based diets indices or exploratory dietary patterns are associated with fecundability. Objectives We examine the associations between adherence to 1) plant-based diet indices; and 2) exploratory dietary patterns and fecundability among women planning pregnancy. Methods Data were analyzed from the Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes (S-PRESTO) study. Prepregnancy diet was assessed using a semi-quantitative FFQ from which the overall, healthful, and unhealthful plant-based diet indices (oPDI, hPDI, and uPDI, respectively) were calculated. Exploratory dietary patterns were derived using factor analysis based on 44 predefined food groups. Participants were categorized into quintiles based on their dietary pattern scores. TTP (expressed in menstrual cycles) was ascertained within a year from the prepregnancy dietary assessment. Discrete-time proportional hazard models, adjusted for confounders, were used to estimate fecundability ratios (FRs) and 95% CIs, with FR > 1 indicating a shorter TTP. Results Among 805 women, 383 pregnancies were confirmed by ultrasound scans. Compared with women in the lowest quintile, those in the highest quintile of the uPDI had reduced fecundability (FR of Q5 compared with Q1, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.46-0.91; P trend, 0.009). Conversely, greater adherence to the hPDI was associated with increased fecundability (1.46; 95% CI, 1.02-2.07; P trend, 0.036). The oPDI was not associated with fecundability. Among the 3 exploratory dietary patterns, only greater adherence to the Fast Food and Sweetened Beverages (FFSB) pattern was associated with reduced fecundability (0.61; 95% CI, 0.40-0.91; P trend, 0.018). Conclusions Greater adherence to the uPDI or the FFSB dietary pattern was associated with reduced fecundability among Asian women. Greater adherence to the hPDI may be beneficial for fecundability, though this requires confirmation by future studies.Peer reviewe