Month: January 2024

Abstract

Women’s mental health vulnerability, already a concern before the COVID-19 pandemic, has been exacerbated due to social isolation and restrictions on daily activities. This paper aims to follow a cohort of women from pre - to during the pandemic to determine the change in their mental health using the PHQ-2 scale (a mental health screening tool). Additionally, we investigate whether women with depressive symptoms before the pandemic suffered similarly to those without while controlling for pandemic-related factors. Primarily, we use the Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey dataset and apply pooled ordered logit and fixed effects ordered logit models. We find that the value of the PHQ-2 scale significantly increased during the first period of the pandemic and then eased over time. Interestingly, the behaviour of the individual scale items differed over time. This result questions the internal reliability of the scale during the pandemic and the importance of analysing the scale items individually. Furthermore, being depressed before the pandemic increases the probability of ‘depressive feelings’ and does not matter for ‘anhedonia’. Other factors increasing the probability of mental health disorders are taking care of children for 13–24 h a day and living with a person who has gone hungry. In contrast, wearing a mask and living in a grant-receiving household decreases the probability. These findings inform future researchers of the unexpected behaviour of scales and policymakers of the vulnerability of women’s mental health during unprecedented times, given their vital role in increasing the well-being of future generations.

Abstract

This paper seeks to explain Australia’s reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how it has affected Australia’s strategic decisions in responding to Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Canberra’s responses are consistent with the ‘dependent ally’ and the ‘middle power’ traditions in Australian foreign policy. The paper argues that these responses are framed by assessments that a competition and struggle between a democratic and authoritarian bloc is occurring; authoritarian values and approaches are key causes of instability and disruption to the post-World War II liberal rules-based order; and should Moscow achieve its objectives in Ukraine and beyond, there is an increased possibility that Beijing will be tempted to use similar coercive measures against Taiwan and other nations. Canberra is consequently putting even more emphasis on the US-Australia alliance, and groupings such as AUKUS and the Quad as central to collective democratic action to constrain and deter contrary authoritarian behaviours in the Indo- Pacific.

Abstract

Technologies of self-sovereign identity (SSI) and Web3 tools that strongly protect individual autonomy, combined with the ethics of Asian altruism, can effectively guide the governance of the emerging cyber civilization. In contrast, governance in Western industrial civilization stresses the pursuit of individual self-interest and struggles to balance the benefits of big tech with the protection of individual dignity and the preservation of the common good. We demonstrate, with reference to a local community in Japan, that SSI is successful in encouraging communal collaboration and well-being while providing individuals with greater control over their personal data. We also show that Web3 tools provide incentives for altruistic behaviors while safeguarding SSI. Integration of SSI and social protection demonstrates the potential for building an information society grounded in altruistic values, honoring individual dignity, and recognizing the government’s role in protecting social welfare. Ultimately, this research unveils how altruistic values can be fostered through SSI and Web3.

Abstract

Plastics are integral to the modern economy. They are lightweight, strong, flexible and are used in all sorts of products in almost every industry. However, their widespread usage and poor degradability/disposability have also made them a threat to the ecosystem and human society. A promising solution is to use bioplastics, which are derived from renewable carbon sources and/or are degradable at their end-of-life stage. However, bioplastics currently account for only a small fraction of the total global market share of plastics (about 1%). Among the major barriers to their industrial translation are a lengthy and expensive testing and certification process, greenwashing and public misconceptions. In this Review, we address these obstacles and propose an accessible pre-screening framework for testing a large number of bioplastic products before they undergo standardized testing. We further describe the challenges associated with the life cycles of bioplastics and discuss how to address them, with reference to a case study from South Korea.