The Unable Individual : The Actantial Analyses of Three Chinese Films and Discussion on Their Representations of the Individual’s Position in Contemporary Chinese Society

The thesis studies three contemporary Chinese films, Incense (Xianghuo 2003), Beijing Bicycle (Shiqi sui de danche, 2001), and South of the Clouds (Yun de nanfang, 2004). The aim of the thesis is to find out how these films represent the individual, his relationships with others, and his possibilities in society. The films all portray a male individual setting out to pursue a goal, facing one obstacle after the other in the process, and in the end failing to achieve his goal. The other characters in the films are also primarily either unable or unwilling to help the lead character. In the thesis these features of the films are analysed by applying A.J. Greimas’s structuralist semiotic theory about the actantial structure of discourses. The questions about the individual’s position are answered by defining which instances in the films actually represent the actantial positions of the sender, receiver, subject, object, helper and opponent. The results of the actantial analyses of the three films are further discussed in the light of theories regarding individualization. The focus is on the theories of Ulrich Beck, Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim and Zygmunt Bauman, who see a development towards individualization in societies following the disintegration of traditional social structures. For the most part, these theories do seem to be applicable to the films’ representations of the individual’s position, especially regarding the increased responsibility of the individual. For example, the position of the family is represented as either insignificant or negative in all of the films, which fits with the description of the individualized society, contradicting the idea of traditional Chinese society. On the other hand, the identities and goals of the characters in the films are not represented as fragmented in the way the theories would suggest.

Bismuth tungsten-oxide bronzes - a study of intergrowth phases and related aspects

Reaction of bismuth metal with WO$_3$ in the absence of oxygen yields interesting bronze-like phases. From analytical electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the product phases are found to have the general composition Bi$_x$ WO$_3$ with bismuth in the 3+ state. Structural investigations made with high resolution electron micrscopy and cognate techniques reveal that when x < 0.02, a perovskite bronze is formed. When x $\geqslant$ 0.02, however, intergrowth tungsten bronzes (i.t.b.) containing varying widths of the WO$_3$ slab are formed, the lattice periodicity being in the range 2.3-5.1 nm in a direction perpendicular to the WO$_3$ slabs. Image-matching studies indicate that the bismuth atoms are in the tunnels of the hexagonal tungsten bronze (h.t.b.) strips and the h.t.b. strips always remain one-tunnel wide. Annealed samples show a satellite structure around the superlattice spots in the electron diffraction patterns, possibly owing to ordering of the bismuth atoms in the tunnels. The i.t.b. phases show recurrent intergrowths extending up to 100 nm in several crystals. The periodicity varies considerably within the same crystal wherever there is disordered intergrowth, but unit cell dimensions can be assigned from X-ray and electron diffraction patterns. The maximum value of x in the i.t.b. phases is ca. 0.07 and there is no evidence for the i.t.b. phase progressively giving way to the h.t.b. phase with increase in x. Hexagonal tungsten bronzes that contain bismuth with x up to 0.02 can be formed by starting from hexagonal WO$_3$, but the h.t.b. phase seems to be metastable. Optical, magnetic and electron transport properties of the i.t.b. phases have been measured and it appears that the electrons become itinerant when x > 0.05.

Corporate disclosure in relation to combating corporate bribery: A case study of two Chinese telecommunications companies

This paper investigates the association between global community concerns about bribery activities and anti-bribery disclosure practices by two Chinese telecommunication companies operating internationally, namely China Mobile and ZTE. Based on content analysis of annual reports and global news media articles over a period of 16 years from 1995-2010, the findings suggest that the changes in the level of disclosures by the two major Chinese telecommunications companies were closely associated with the level of international concerns over bribery practices within the Chinese telecommunications industry. This finding indicates that the companies adopt anti-bribery disclosure practices in order to minimise the gap of trust (Social capital) between companies themselves and global stakeholders. In this paper we argue that, for domestic companies in China, culturally constructed social capital, such as guanxi, creates a level of trust between managers and their stakeholders, which obviates the need for managers to disclose anti-bribery performance information. However, for companies operating internationally, as social capital is inadequate to bridge the gap of trust between managers and global stakeholders, managers use disclosures of anti-bribery performance information as a way to minimise such a gap.

Effect of the puroindoline locus and environment on Chinese fresh noodle texture

Grain produced from doubled-haploid (DH) wheat lines, developed from a hard- and a soft-grained wheat cultivar, were bulked according to Pinb (puroindoline b) genotypes for an assessment of Chinese fresh noodle texture by a trained taste panel. Each DH line was designated as 'soft' or 'hard' grained, based on a PCR amplification of the wildtype, soft allele, or the mutant, hard allele. Theoretically, the soft and hard grain bulks represented respective Pinb alleles and an independent assortment of unlinked alleles from the parents, Sunco and Chuanyu 12. Grains from the parents and DH lines were grown at 2 locations in Queensland, Australia, and one in Sichuan, China. The grains were milled and processed for a taste panel evaluation in Chengdu, Sichuan. Results suggest the Pinb alleles had a significant effect on noodle softness and explained 30% of the variation; the 'soft' Pinb allele conferred a softer noodle texture. Location had a significant effect on noodle smoothness; wheat grain grown at Biloela, Queensland, produced a smoother noodle texture than grain grown in Sichuan. The effect of location confirms the importance of environment as a variable for this quality character. This investigation exemplifies the utility of Pinb markers for specifically altering Chinese Fresh Noodle texture.

Sharism and social awareness of the Chinese One Child Generation: Urban youth and digital networks

This thesis is a study of Chinese One Child Generation's digital and social sharing. It examines urban youth grassroots communities, including an urban farmers' community and volunteers in educational camps. These case studies explain the emergence of 'sharism' in reaction to the growing risks in China, such as food safety and environmental degradation emanating from China's rapid economic development, and growing urbanism, globalisation, and consumerism. The new forms of 'sharism' are linked to guanxi (social relations) and connected youth communities, which are made possible by increasing accessibility to digital and networked technologies.

Anticipating Chinese Tourists Arrivals in Australia: A Time Series Analysis

Given the growing importance of the Chinese tourist market to Australia, an understanding of Chinese tourists' arrival patterns is essential to accurate forecasting of future arrivals. Drawing on 25 years of records (1991-2015), this study developed a time-series model of monthly arrivals of Chinese tourists in Australia. The model reflects the exponentially increasing trend and strong seasonality of arrivals. Excellent results from validation of the model's forecasts endorsed this time-series model's potential in the policy prescription and management practice of Australian tourism industries.

Albert and Elsa Einstein at the Shanghai home of Chinese painter and calligrapher Wang Yiting; with Shanghai University President Yu Youren, former Beijing University professor Zhang Junmai, the Einstein's Japanese hosts Mr. and Mrs. Inagaki, and Einstein's colleague Mr. Pfister and his wife (and daughter?) Portraits Groups

Dedication: Freundlichste Erinnerung an Herrn Prof. Einstein und seine Frau Gemahlin. I-Jing Wang, Shanghai, China

On the use of oxalates as starting materials for low-temperature preparation of bronzes and other reduced phases

A novel low-temperature method of preparing bronzes of tungsten and vanadium and other reduced phases is reported.

Early detection of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Chinese and Indian adult population

Objectives of this study were to determine secular trends of diabetes prevalence in China and develop simple risk assessment algorithms for screening individuals with high-risk for diabetes or with undiagnosed diabetes in Chinese and Indian adults. Two consecutive population based surveys in Chinese and a prospective study in Mauritian Indians were involved in this study. The Chinese surveys were conducted in randomly selected populations aged 20-74 years in 2001-2002 (n=14 592) and 35-74 years in 2006 (n=4416). A two-step screening strategy using fasting capillary plasma glucose (FCG) as first-line screening test followed by standard 2-hour 75g oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) was applied to 12 436 individuals in 2001, while OGTTs were administrated to all participants together with FCG in 2006 and to 2156 subjects in 2002. In Mauritius, two consecutive population based surveys were conducted in Mauritian Indians aged 20-65 years in 1987 and 1992; 3094 Indians (1141 men), who were not diagnosed as diabetes at baseline, were reexamined with OGTTs in 1992 and/or 1998. Diabetes and pre-diabetes was defined following 2006 World Health Organization/ International Diabetes Federation Criteria. Age-standardized, as well as age- and sex-specific, prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes in adult Chinese was significantly increased from 12.2% and 15.4% in 2001 to 16.0% and 21.2% in 2006, respectively. A simple Chinese diabetes risk score was developed based on the data of Chinese survey 2001-2002 and validated in the population of survey 2006. The risk scores based on β coefficients derived from the final Logistic regression model ranged from 3 – 32. When the score was applied to the population of survey 2006, the area under operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the score for screening undiagnosed diabetes was 0.67 (95% CI, 0.65-0.70), which was lower than the AUC of FCG (0.76 [0.74-0.79]), but similar to that of HbA1c (0.68 [0.65-0.71]). At a cut-off point of 14, the sensitivity and specificity of the risk score in screening undiagnosed diabetes was 0.84 (0.81-0.88) and 0.40 (0.38-0.41). In Mauritian Indian, body mass index (BMI), waist girth, family history of diabetes (FH), and glucose was confirmed to be independent risk predictors for developing diabetes. Predicted probabilities for developing diabetes derived from a simple Cox regression model fitted with sex, FH, BMI and waist girth ranged from 0.05 to 0.64 in men and 0.03 to 0.49 in women. To predict the onset of diabetes, the AUC of the predicted probabilities was 0.62 (95% CI, 0.56-0.68) in men and 0.64(0.59-0.69) in women. At a cut-off point of 0.12, the sensitivity and specificity was 0.72(0.71-0.74) and 0.47(0.45-0.49) in men; and 0.77(0.75-0.78) and 0.50(0.48-0.52) in women, respectively. In conclusion, there was a rapid increase in prevalence of diabetes in Chinese adults from 2001 to 2006. The simple risk assessment algorithms based on age, obesity and family history of diabetes showed a moderate discrimination of diabetes from non-diabetes, which may be used as first line screening tool for diabetes and pre-diabetes, and for health promotion purpose in Chinese and Indians.

Serum uric acid and metabolic risk factors in three ethnic groups: Asian Indians and Creoles in Mauritius and Chinese in Qingdao, China

In humans with a loss of uricase the final oxidation product of purine catabolism is uric acid (UA). The prevalence of hyperuricemia has been increasing around the world accompanied by a rapid increase in obesity and diabetes. Since hyperuricemia was first described as being associated with hyperglycemia and hypertension by Kylin in 1923, there has been a growing interest in the association between elevated UA and other metabolic abnormalities of hyperglycemia, abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. The direction of causality between hyperuricemia and metabolic disorders, however, is unceartain. The association of UA with metabolic abnormalities still needs to be delineated in population samples. Our overall aims were to study the prevalence of hyperuricemia and the metabolic factors clustering with hyperuricemia, to explore the dynamical changes in blood UA levels with the deterioration in glucose metabolism and to estimate the predictive capability of UA in the development of diabetes. Four population-based surveys for diabetes and other non-communicable diseases were conducted in 1987, 1992, and 1998 in Mauritius, and in 2001-2002 in Qingdao, China. The Qingdao study comprised 1 288 Chinese men and 2 344 women between 20-74, and the Mauritius study consisted of 3 784 Mauritian Indian and Mauritian Creole men and 4 442 women between 25-74. In Mauritius, re-exams were made in 1992 and/or 1998 for 1 941 men (1 409 Indians and 532 Creoles) and 2 318 non pregnant women (1 645 Indians and 673 Creoles), free of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and gout at baseline examinations in 1987 or 1992, using the same study protocol. The questionnaire was designed to collect demographic details, physical examinations and standard 75g oral glucose tolerance tests were performed in all cohorts. Fasting blood UA and lipid profiles were also determined. The age-standardized prevalence in Chinese living in Qingdao was 25.3% for hyperuricemia (defined as fasting serum UA > 420 μmol/l in men and > 360 μmol/l in women) and 0.36% for gout in adults between 20-74. Hyperuricemia was more prevalent in men than in women. One standard deviation increase in UA concentration was associated with the clustering of metabolic risk factors for both men and women in three ethnic groups. Waist circumference, body mass index, and serum triglycerides appeared to be independently associated with hyperuricemia in both sexes and in all ethnic groups except in Chinese women, in whom triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and total cholesterol were associated with hyperuricemia. Serum UA increased with increasing fasting plasma glucose levels up to a value of 7.0 mmol/l, but significantly decreased thereafter in mainland Chinese. An inverse relationship occurred between 2-h plasma glucose and serum UA when 2-h plasma glucose higher than 8.0 mmol/l. In the prospective study in Mauritius, 337 (17.4%) men and 379 (16.4%) women developed diabetes during the follow-up. Elevated UA levels at baseline increased 1.14-fold in risk of incident diabetes in Indian men and 1.37-fold in Creole men, but no significant risk was observed in women. In conclusion, the prevalence of hyperuricemia was high in Chinese in Qingdao, blood UA was associated with the clustering of metabolic risk factors in Mauritian Indian, Mauritian Creole, and Chinese living in Qingdao, and a high baseline UA level independently predicted the development of diabetes in Mauritian men. The clinical use of UA as a marker of hyperglycemia and other metabolic disorders needs to be further studied. Keywords: Uric acid, Hyperuricemia, Risk factors, Type 2 Diabetes, Incidence, Mauritius, Chinese

Albert and Elsa Einstein at the Shanghai home of Chinese painter and calligrapher Wang Yiting; with Shanghai University President Yu Youren, former Beijing University professor Zhang Junmai, the Einstein's Japanese hosts Mr. and Mrs. Inagaki, and Einstein's colleague Mr. Pfister and his wife (and daughter?) Portraits Groups

Dedication: Freundlichste Erinnerung an Herrn Prof. Einstein und seine Frau Gemahlin. I-Jing Wang, Shanghai, China

Distribution of ocular biometry in 7- and 14-year-old Chinese children

Purpose: To describe distributions of ocular biometry and their associations with refraction in 7- and 14-year-old children in urban areas of Anyang, central China. Methods: A total of 2271 grade 1 students aged 7.1 ± 0.4 years and 1786 grade 8 students aged 13.7 ± 0.5 years were measured with ocular biometry and cycloplegic refraction. A parental myopia questionnaire was administered to parents. Results: Mean axial length, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, central corneal thickness, corneal diameter, corneal radius of curvature, axial length/corneal radius of curvature ratio, and spherical equivalent refraction were 22.72 ± 0.76 mm, 2.89 ± 0.24 mm, 3.61 ± 0.19 mm, 540.5 ± 31 μm, 12.06 ± 0.44 mm, 7.80 ± 0.25 mm, 2.91 ± 0.08, and +0.95 ± 1.05 diopters (D), respectively, in 7-year-old children. They were 24.39 ± 1.13 mm, 3.42 ± 0.41 mm, 3.18 ± 0.24 mm, 548.9 ± 33 μm, 12.03 ± 0.43 mm, 7.80 ± 0.26 mm, 3.13 ± 0.14, and −2.06 ± 2.20 D, respectively, in 14-year-old children. Compared with 7-year-old children, the older group had significantly more myopia (−3.0 D), longer axial length (1.7 mm), deeper anterior chamber depth (0.3 mm), thinner lens thickness (−0.2 mm), thicker central corneal thickness (10 μm), and greater axial length/corneal radius of curvature ratio (0.22) (all p < 0.001), as well as smaller corneal diameter (−0.03 mm, p = 0.02) and similar corneal radius of curvature. Sex differences were similar in both age groups, with boys having longer axial length (0.5 mm), deeper anterior chamber depth (0.1 mm), shorter lens thickness (0.03 mm), greater central corneal thickness (5 μm), greater corneal diameter (0.15 mm), and greater corneal radius of curvature (0.14 mm) than girls (all p < 0.01). The most important variables related to spherical equivalent refraction were vitreous length, corneal radius of curvature, and lens thickness. Conclusions: The 14-year-old group had larger parameter dimensions than the 7-year-old group except for corneal radius of curvature (unchanged) and lens thickness and corneal diameter (both smaller). Boys had large parameter dimensions than girls except for lens thickness (smaller). Axial length, corneal radius of curvature, and lens thickness were the most important determinants of refraction.

Paraxial schematic eye models for 7- and 14-year-old Chinese children

Purpose.: To develop three-surface paraxial schematic eyes with different ages and sexes based on data for 7- and 14-year-old Chinese children from the Anyang Childhood Eye Study. Methods.: Six sets of paraxial schematic eyes, including 7-year-old eyes, 7-year-old male eyes, 7-year-old female eyes, 14-year-old eyes, 14-year-old male eyes, and 14-year-old female eyes, were developed. Both refraction-dependent and emmetropic eye models were developed, with the former using linear dependence of ocular parameters on refraction. Results.: A total of 2059 grade 1 children (boys 58%) and 1536 grade 8 children (boys 49%) were included, with mean age of 7.1 ± 0.4 and 13.7 ± 0.5 years, respectively. Changes in these schematic eyes with aging are increased anterior chamber depth, decreased lens thickness, increased vitreous chamber depth, increased axial length, and decreased lens equivalent power. Male schematic eyes have deeper anterior chamber depth, longer vitreous chamber depth, longer axial length, and lower lens equivalent power than female schematic eyes. Changes in the schematic eyes with positive increase in refraction are decreased anterior chamber depth, increased lens thickness, decreased vitreous chamber depth, decreased axial length, increased corneal radius of curvature, and increased lens power. In general, the emmetropic schematic eyes have biometric parameters similar to those arising from regression fits for the refraction-dependent schematic eyes. Conclusions.: The paraxial schematic eyes of Chinese children may be useful for myopia research and for facilitating comparison with other children with the same or different racial backgrounds and living in different places.

Chinese cultural competency and Australian law students: Reflections on the design of short term mobility programs

There is an emerging need for Australia’s law graduates to better understand the unique challenges and opportunities in our largest trading partner, China. Similarly, as China opens up to the world, its graduates are increasingly well-poised to make an indelible mark on Chinese-Australian relations, particularly in the areas of finance, property, trade and commerce. Chinese and Australian law schools must urgently develop a deeper awareness of each other’s language, culture and political systems in their graduates. The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of Chinese cultural competency to Australian legal education and reflect on projects that enable students to attain a level of cultural competency over a short period. We do this by considering a recent ‘short term mobility project’ in Wuhan, China.