Master's thesis. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): David S. Yost, Lyman Miller. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-61). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 249-254).

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): H. Lyman Miller, Edward A. Olsen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-105). Also available online.

The Communist Party(CP) was formed in 1921, on the foundation created by the International Socialist League (ISL). An investigation of the theory and practice of the CP reveals the combination of a socialist commitment with an abstract theoretical perspective. The Party was obstructed, through its own idealised understanding of class relations, from pursuing its declared goals. This study investigates the rhythms of struggle and the dynamic development of the workers' movement. It examines the growing social weight and developing structural strength of black workers and the organisation and action which these generated. CP policies are examined in the light of these developments. Oppression which spans different classes created the underlying basis for a class alliance between the oppressed black petty bourgeoisie and exploited and oppressed black workers. The CP tended to conflate a co-incidence of different processes of radicalisation and different class interests. The Party broke from the white labour tradition out of which it had emerged; it pursued a policy of popular frontism for much of its history. This policy, and the conflation of different processes and class interests promoted an uncertainty within the Party as to its role. On this basis, the Party did not always identify underlying processes, and hence its uncertainty as to how to relate to the dynamic processes of radicalisation, organisation and action, and the ebbs and flows of the class struggle was promoted. In 1950, the Party responded to the threat of state banning, and, at a time when working class combativity was developing, it disbanded. In the period under study, the goal of working class leadership in an organised class alliance was not achieved.

Public opinion in Britain influenced the government’s policy of retreat in response to Chinese nationalism in the 1920s. The foreigners’ rights to live, preach, work and trade in China extracted by the ‘unequal treaties’ in the nineteenth century were challenged by an increasingly powerful nationalist movement, led by the Kuomintang, which was bolstered by Soviet support. The Chinese began a major attack on British interests in June 1925 in South China and continued the attack as the Kuomintang marched upward to the Yangtze River, where much of British trade was centred. Policymakers in Britain struggled to come up with a workable policy that could meet the new challenge of Chinese nationalism and satisfy its own interests in East Asia. The result was a complete renunciation of the traditional gunboat policy for a policy of friendship and conciliation. Why then did Britain begin its retreat from China? Why, in the face of the contrasting forces of Chinese nationalism and strong opposition from the British community in China, did Britain decide to relinquish its traditional treaty rights? Political, strategic and economic issues determined, to an extent, Britain’s China policy, but historians have neglected to see the vital influence of domestic opinion in Britain and to take into account the cultural context within which policy was made. In a time when mass audiences read the news and actively engaged in debates over policy, policy needed not only to be pragmatic and profitable, but also persuasive. An entire section of British thought about China has been neglected in the existing literature. This thesis argues that the confluence of liberal, Labour, business, pacifist and missionary opinion in Britain after the First World War and the victory of its narrative of China provided critical support for a policy of imperial retreat from China.

A competitive gas-to-gas trading market has yet to emerge in Asia. Yet in spite of the various barriers and restrictions, the trend of liberalization seems to inevitable. How a natural gas trading market just might develop in East Asia is what this thesis explains and predicts. Moreover, it lays out what the preconditions for the changes are, and what the costs and benefits from such changes may be. Considering Asia’s current market situation, the wholesale competition model could be a practical option for Asia’s gas markets. A critical role in building up the gas-to-gas trading market will be played by China. In the first stage of market liberalization, China alone can be expected to form its own trading hub on its east coast, say in Shanghai. If the transactions of the trading hub work smoothly and the set prices lower than oil-linked gas prices, then other gas-importing countries would likely join the trading hub by interconnecting with a physical pipeline. / text

Indian accounts of anatomy from the early centuries of the Common Era display a shared desire to enumerate the parts of the human body. Two such accounts occur in the foundational texts of āyurveda --- the Caraka-saṃhitā and Suśruta-saṃhitā --- and another in the Buddhist commentarial text, the Visuddhimagga. Scholars have mined these medical sources in particular to determine the extent and accuracy of anatomical knowledge in ancient India. But little has been done to understand the logics that these sources apply in dismembering, enumerating, and rearranging the body. A close reading reveals three distinct ways by which the materiality of the body could be interpreted in ancient India to conform to broader ideologies and epistemologies. Moreover, through examining both āyurvedic and Buddhist sources, it soon becomes clear that generalizations like "religion" and "medicine" mask the constellation of complex and often-overlapping concerns present in these various studies of anatomy. / text

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the worldwide leading cause of death among non-communicable diseases and results in a huge burden of mortality and morbidity. China, a rapidly growing East Asian country, has the world largest population and is facing an increasing burden. Incidence of CVD is lower in China than in Western countries. There are more strokes, especially hemorrhagic strokes, but less coronary heart disease (CHD) in China than in Western countries. Statin, a first-choice drug for lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), has been shown to be effective in preventing CVD and is widely used in Western countries. However, it is not known whether the same can be applied to Asian countries, where the incidence of CVD is lower and ischemic events are rarer. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of statin for prevention of CVD in East Asian populations. Methods A systematic review was conducted by searching for randomized controlled trials from 3 databases (PubMed, MEDLINE and Cochrane Trial) for prevention of CVD comparing statin with usual care or placebo in East Asian population. Data on CVD events (deaths, CHD and cerebrovascular events, rehospitalization and revascularization) and serum lipid levels (total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides (TG)) were extracted. Risk ratios of CVD events and change in serum lipid level were tabulated. The relationship between change in serum lipid level and mortality and incidence of CVD events were also explored. Results Fourteen studies were included, with most of them (9 studies) done in Japan. Overall, statins did not significantly reduce risk of mortality, CHD events, cerebrovascular events, revascularization and rehospitalization due to CHD. However, statins consistently lowered the risk of angina-related rehospitalization by 53% (95% confidence interval (CI) 23% to 71%) and 64% (95% CI 11% to 86%) respectively in 2 studies. There was a consistent reduced risk of composite CVD events by 34% (95% CI 5% to 55%) to 54% (95% CI 6% to 41%) in 4 studies for secondary prevention. In terms of change in lipid levels, TC and LDL-C were significantly reduced by 8% to 31% and 14% to 41% respectively with statin treatment. Change in HDL-C and TG were not consistent across studies. Lowering of TC and LDL-C level was correlated with the reduction in composite CVD and CHD events. Conclusion The use of statins in East Asian populations to prevent CVD may not be as effective as in Western countries, because of the lower baseline risk and different patterns of CVD. As the prevalence of CVD risk factors increases, the incidence of CVD will increase and the pattern of CVD may change, so careful monitoring is needed. More importantly, most of the studies included had small sample sizes, short follow-up periods and/or low methodological quality, which might contribute to the inconsistent findings. A further large-scale randomized controlled trial should be done to confirm the benefits of statins among Chinese. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

Background: Human papillomavirus vaccination is newly developed in this decade. There are 2 types of vaccines. Bivalent vaccine targets on HPV types 16, 18 to prevent cervical cancer. Quadrivalent vaccine target on HPV type 6, 11, 16, 18 to prevent genital warts and cervical cancer. England has adopted a population –based HPV vaccination program. In attempt to find out the worthiness to implement the population-based vaccination program in Hong Kong, this project reviewed 15 cost-effectiveness analyses in Asian countries. Asian countries may have the similar characteristics, such as culture, sex behavior, genome, etc, that makes the result more applicable to Hong Kong. Methodology: Cost-effectiveness analysises of human papillomavirus vaccination were identified by the searching engine MEDLINE (Ovid) by using relevant keywords. All English and Chinese articles relevant to the topic were identified. Articles conducted for the cost-effectiveness of human papillomavirus vaccine in Asian countries were considered as the potential literature for the review. Result and Discussion: The searching engine identified 259 literatures, 16 of them are in Asian countries, 1 of them did not meet the criteria of quality assessment. 15 of them are included in this review. 6 different model approaches were used in the 15 articles. Results from the same countries in 2 separated articles were heterogeneous. That may probably due to the different assumption and perspectives used. Different perspectives would include different costing. Studies only including the direct cost would likely over-estimate the cost-effectiveness of the vaccine. The threshold value adopted would also affect the result. A stricter threshold value would under-estimate the cost-effectiveness. Some low-and-middle income countries has no available data on the vaccination because the vaccine is not available in the market, the data would only rely on the past literature or international data. 12 out of the 15 studies showed that the vaccination is cost-effective in the countries. Conclusion and Implication: the ICER is sensitive to the price of the vaccine, the efficacy, the duration of protection, the discount rate, the screening coverage rate, and the age of receiving vaccination, the vaccination coverage rate and the cervical cancer or genital warts incidence rate. Some studies showed that regular screening combined with vaccination program would be cost-effective. In the studies comparing the 2 types of vaccines, all the results showed that quadrivalent vaccine dominant to the bivalent vaccine. Moreover, the vaccination would decrease the cervical cancer incidence by 20% to 90%. In view of the prevalence of HPV type and the high incidence rate of genital warts. The quadrivalent vaccine is likely beneficial to Hong Kong / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health