The Influence of Christian Nationalism on U.S.Foreign Policy

This paper explores the influence of Christian nationalism on U.S.foreign policy,examining its historical roots,ideological foundations,and contemporary implications.Christian nationalism,an ideology that links Christianity with national identity,has shaped U.S.foreign policy in areas such as religious freedom,Middle East diplomacy,and national security.Through its emphasis on the moral duty to defend Christianity and its promotion of conservative social values,Christian nationalism has affected U.S.relations with countries around the world,particularly in the Middle East and with religious minorities.The paper discusses the complexities and controversies surrounding Christian nationalism,its impact on the U.S.’s global image,and the challenges it poses to religious pluralism.The future of Christian nationalism’s influence on U.S.foreign policy is uncertain,as societal shifts and evolving global dynamics may prompt a reevaluation of its role in shaping America’s international actions.Overall,the paper provides a nuanced analysis of how Christian nationalism has intertwined with U.S.foreign policy and how its influence might evolve in the future.

Palestinian Nation Branding via Public Diplomacy

The term“branding”is still contested when linked to nations;colleagues in Palestine would argue that the term“promotion”could be of a more positive impact;in fact,this paper will examine this issue as scholars automatically link“branding”to products,business,and trade.It is not easy to imagine the nation as a brand;a nation cannot re-make itself,like a company launching a new product.Branding a nation is inspired by its national identity which started to evolve with the evolution of the nation states;it heavily relies on people’s attachment to a shared land,shared history,shared language,shared culture,religion,clothing,behaviours,values,attitudes,or positions in dealing with internal and external variables.It is crucial to distinguish the identity for a nation which is usually done through studying the elements depending on which a nation promotes itself using public diplomacy.Public diplomacy is a soft power’s key instrument which we cannot ignore;in soft power,the narrative and the reality have to reflect each other.A nation’s identity is partly inherited from history and partly a continuing construction;there are aspects of national reputation which can be altered,for better or worse,by choice of actions,words,and images.Even the inherited parts of national reputation are open to revision as time goes by,states have gun a long way in their nation branding and Palestine cannot remain indifferent.This paper aims to address the importance of Palestinian national branding and to further shed light on how this could be done.Based on examples of other successful countries―case studies,the paper shall introduce a number of elements that shape a national identity;those elements are expected to inspire scholars and policy-makers in determining what is worth promoting in Palestine that would lead to successful branding of Palestine as a nation.In branding for Portugal,Cristiano Ronaldo,the soccer player was determined to be a national brand;the Portuguese chose to brand themselves with his initials CR7.Today,if you read,hear,or visit Portugal,you will find a lot related to CR7,whether we like soccer or not,CR became an attractive brand for his country.For their nation branding,Portuguese chose tourism,cuisine,culture,and sports rather than their history of conquering the world,and this paper will be inspired by this example and others.In Palestine,not much work had been put on nation branding;therefore,this paper will introduce the concepts and will try to examine how important it is for serving the national cause and the strategic national goals,in doing so,the paper will try to answer the following questions:What is nation branding?How is public diplomacy related to nation branding?Can public diplomacy replace nation branding?What is the image of Palestine and Palestinians abroad?How are we seen by others vs.how do we wish to be seen?Does Israel play a role in branding Palestine and Palestinians internationally?Is it important to consider a national brand/s for Palestine?What is the Palestine that we aspire to promote?

China's Public Diplomacy since the 18^(th) CPC National Congress

It is pointed out for the first time at the 18thCPC National Congress on November 8,2012 that"public diplomacy and cultural exchanges should be pushed forward",signifying integration of public diplomacy into China’s national strategy.Over the past year,China’s public diplomacy has made remarkable progress in institution-building,

An Examination of the Concepts and Principles of China's Major-Country Diplomacy with Its Own Characteristics for a New Era

The victorious convening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC)has indicated China’s major-country diplomacy with its own characteristics has entered a new era.Rooted in China’s diplomatic practices since the 18th National Congress of the CPC and the report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC,this paper is intended to elaborate on the issues relating to the concepts and principles of China’s major-country diplomacy with its own characteristics for a new era,in a bid to establish a basic framework for their studies.The core concepts of China’s major-country diplomacy with its own characteristics for a new era include a community with a shared future for humanity;inclusive development;amity,sincerity,mutual benefit,and inclusiveness;and the correct view on righteousness and interests.And the basic principles of China’s major-country diplomacy with its own characteristics for a new era include being enthusiastic and pressing on;bottom-line thinking;win-win cooperation;and mutual consultation,joint construction and co-sharing.These concepts and principles should be applied in China’s concrete diplomatic practices.

2017 Symposium on International Developments and China＇s Diplomacy Held in Beijing

The 2017 Symposium on International Developments and China's Diplomacy,coorganized by CIIS and China Foundation for International Studies(CFIS),was held in Beijing on December 9,2017.Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the opening and delivered a keynote speech entitled"China's

Tourism Image Plan for Wunvfeng National Forest Park

After the introduction of tourist resources in Wunvfeng National Forest Park, the paper had planed its overall image from the perspectives of concept design, visual identity, behavioral norms and audio identity. The slogan of Wunvfeng National Forest Park had been identified as "tour of nature and mythology-Wunvfeng", and the park's emblem, symbolic mascots, spokesman of tourism image and tourist souvenirs had been set, so as to better display tourist advantages of Wunvfeng National Forest Park and create more economic and social benefits.

Laparoscopic vs open partial colectomy in elderly patients:Insights from the American College of Surgeons- National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database

AIM: To compare the outcomes between the laparoscopic and open approaches for partial colectomy in elderly patients aged 65 years and over using the American College of Surgeons- National Surgical Quality Improvement Program(ACS NSQIP) database. METHODS: The ACS NSQIP database for the years 2005-2011 was queried for all patients 65 years and above who underwent partial colectomy. 1:1 propensity score matching using the nearest- neighbor method was performed to ensure both groups had similar preoperative comorbidities. Outcomes including postoperative complications, length of stay and mortality were compared between the laparoscopic and open groups. χ2 and Fisher's exact test were used for discrete variables and Student's t-test for continuous variables. P < 0.05 was considered significant and odds ratios with 95%CI were reported when applicable. RESULTS: The total number of patients in the ACS NSQIP database of the years 2005-2011 was 1777035. We identified 27604 elderly patients who underwent partial colectomy with complete data sets. 12009(43%) of the cases were done laparoscopically and15595(57%) were done with open. After propensity score matching, there were 11008 patients each in the laparoscopic(LC) and open colectomy(OC) cohorts. The laparoscopic approach had lower post-operative complications(LC 15.2%, OC 23.8%, P < 0.001), shorter length of stay(LC 6.61 d, OC 9.62 d, P < 0.001) and lower mortality(LC 1.6%, OC 2.9%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Even after propensity score matching, elderly patients in the ACS NSQIP database having a laparoscopic partial colectomy had better outcomes than those having open colectomies. In the absence of specific contraindications, elderly patients requiring a partial colectomy should be offered the laparoscopic approach.

U.S. national parks accessibility and visitation

Accessibility is a factor affecting national park visitation.However,the effect of accessibility on national park visitation is not fully understood.This paper examines the relationship between U.S.national park visitation and accessibility.First,the global and local accessibility indexes of each park unit are computed based on an accessibility model that takes into account the surrounding population and its proximity to the park unit.Integrated in the model is a distance decay coefficient that is derived from U.S.national park visitor surveys and therefore pertinent to the case of study.Then correlation analysis is performed between park visitation and accessibility based on park types,regions,and visitation types.Results show that total visitation is positively related to accessibility in National Memorials,Military Parks and Battlefield Parks/Sites but negatively related to accessibility in national parks and national monuments.However,recreational overnight stay visits are commonly negatively correlated to accessibility for almost all park types.Moreover,local accessibility index displays enhanced correlation coefficients with improved significance levels in many categories of analysis.Results suggest that historical/cultural national parks which often show positive correlations tend to attract more local visitors,but nature-based parks which mainly show negative correlations tend to attract more distant visitors.

U. S. -Iraq War and China's National Security

Discussions about the U. S-Iraq war would last for years, but the war will surely produce long-term influences on international strategic structure and China’s security environment. The feature and influence of the war are determined by the America’ purposes in launching the war, which, in the common.

China-U.S. Trade Balance from the National Income Perspective

This paper calculates the China-U.S. trade balance from the national income perspective based on an input-output model that differentiates domestic and foreign-invested companies. The result shows that due to different degrees of dependence of both countries on foreign production factors such as foreign capital for the manufacturing of export goods,only 87.7% of the domestic value-added created by China's exports to the U.S. in 2012 was China's national income, whereas 96.2% of value-added in U.S. exports to China was U.S.national income. In the comparison of total export volume and export value-added, the home country's national income created by exports can more realistically reflect a country's gains from trade. In 2012, China's trade surplus with the U.S. stood at 102.8 billion US dollars in national income terms, which is 61% and 22% smaller than the results in gross and value-added terms, respectively. The implication is that the traditional trade balance accounting method seriously exaggerates the China-U.S. trade imbalance.

Nationwide trends and predictors of inpatient mortality in 83884 transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt

AIM: To evaluate and validate the national trends and predictors of in-patient mortality of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in 15 years.METHODS: Using the National Inpatient Sample which is a part of Health Cost and Utilization Project, we identified a discharge-weighted national estimate of 83884 TIPS procedures performed in the United States from 1998 to 2012 using international classification of diseases-9 procedural code 39.1. The demographic, hospital and co-morbility data were analyzed using a multivariant analysis. Using multi-nominal logistic regression analysis, we determined predictive factors related to increases in-hospital mortality. Comorbidity measures are in accordance to the Comorbidity Software designed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.RESULTS: Overall, 12.3% of patients died during hospitalization with downward trend in-hospital mortality with the mean length of stay of 10.8 &#x000b1; 13.1 d. Notable, African American patients (OR = 1.809 vs Caucasian patients, P &#x0003c; 0.001), transferred patients (OR = 1.347 vs non-transferred, P &#x0003c; 0.001), emergency admissions (OR = 3.032 vs elective cases, P &#x0003c; 0.001), patients in the Northeast region (OR = 1.449 vs West, P &#x0003c; 0.001) had significantly higher odds of in-hospital mortality. Number of diagnoses and number of procedures showed positive correlations with in-hospital death (OR = 1.249 per one increase in number of procedures). Patients diagnosed with acute respiratory failure (OR = 8.246), acute kidney failure (OR = 4.359), hepatic encephalopathy (OR = 2.217) and esophageal variceal bleeding (OR = 2.187) were at considerably higher odds of in-hospital death compared with ascites (OR = 0.136, P &#x0003c; 0.001). Comorbidity measures with the highest odds of in-hospital death were fluid and electrolyte disorders (OR = 2.823), coagulopathy (OR = 2.016), and lymphoma (OR = 1.842).CONCLUSION: The overall mortality of the TIPS procedure is steadily decreasing, though the length of stay has remained relatively constant. Specific patient ethnicity, location, transfer status, primary diagnosis and comorbidities correlate with increased odds of TIPS in-hospital death.

THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE NATIONAL LABORATORIES IN MATERIALS RESEARCH

The role of the National Laboratories is summarized from the era of post World War II to the present time. The U.S. federal government policy for the National Laboratories and its influence on their materials science infrastructure is reviewed with respect to .determining overall research strategies, various initiatives to interact with industry (especially in recent years),building facilities that serve the nation, and developing leading edge research in the materials sciences. Despite reductions in support for research in the U.S. in recent years, and uncertainties regarding the specific policies for Research &Development (R&D) in the U.S., there are strong roles for materials research at the National Laboratories. These roles will be centered on the abilities of the National Laboratories to field multidisciplinary teams, the use of unique cutting edge facilities, a focus on areas of strength within each of the labs,increased teaming and partnerships, and the selection of motivated research areas. It is hoped that such teaming opportunities will include new alliances with China, in a manner similar, perhaps, to those recently achieved between the U.S. and other countries.

Statistical Communique of the People's Republic of China on the 1998 National Economic and Social Development

In 1998, facing the complicated and severe domestic and internationaleconomic environment, people of all nationalities, under the correct lead-ership of the Central Party Committee and the State Council, implement-ed a series of policies aiming at increasing input and expanding domesticdemand. Difficulties brought about by the Asian financial crisis and dev-astating flooding were overcome, various reforms were further deepened,and economic growth was promoted, resulting in great achievements at-tracting worldwide attention.

Forge Ahead with Major-Country Diplomacy with Chinese Features

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China's diplomacy has progressed toward major achievements in ideological concepts, strategic operations and practical innovation. In its role as responsible major power, China achieved fruitful results in building generally stable major-country relationships for balanced development. It remains actively involved in hotspot issues in its surrounding area, with Korea, India and the South China Sea especially, to defuse tension. Amid a diminished willingness of many countries to participate in serious global problems, and with difficulties facing multilateral regimes, China was proactive, holding multilateral summits and hosting diplomacy platforms to cope with worldwide challenges and to gather international consensus on safeguarding world peace and seeking common development. The 19th Party Congress gained unprecedented international attention. Socialism with Chinese characteristics has taken on a new look, and China's diplomacy will continue progressing toward a favorable external environment for the country's development.

Japan’s Politics and Diplomacy after DPJ Took Power

Great changes occurred to the Japanese power structure as DPJ had taken power. The new government in Japan is now headed by DPJ and its alliance–Social Democratic Party and People's New Party, substituting for LDP-Komeito coalition government, an alternation of two conservative parties, though not in a strict sense of the two-party alternation. The election intensified the conservative politics in general, though different from the hawk conservative force in the post-cold war period. The Japanese political currents see a trend of 'de-rightwardization'. This will help to improve Japan’s relations with its Asian neighbors. Yukio Hatoyama calls for building 'fraternity society' and fostering 'fraternity' spirit in diplomatic affairs. He is for the view of attaching equal importance to U.S. and Asia.

Chinese science diplomacy in Arctic climate governance based on a survey and interviews with Chinese scientists

Science diplomacy is attracting increasing attention in the international relations literature.This study investigates how Chinese scientists understand this term and explores China’s dynamic praxis in Arctic climate governance.It conducts a theoretical and practical examination of science diplomacy in terms of three dimensions—science in diplomacy,diplomacy for science,and science for diplomacy—thus achieving a high degree of consistency.A multi-method approach,combining qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and involving the adoption of a literature review,participant interviews,and questionnaires,is adopted.Data were collected from interviews with 16 Chinese scientists involved in Arctic climate governance and from 130 valid questionnaires collected from Chinese natural scientists working in the climate change field.Drawing on qualitative and quantitative findings,the study reveals that the three-dimensional framework of science diplomacy can provide insight into Chinese scientists’understandings of the topic.In contrast to the participants’vague theoretical responses,the outlines of China’s Arctic climate governance can be clearly identified within this framework.The study concludes by underlining the tension between theory and practice in terms of science diplomacy and highlighting the emerging challenges for China in developing its Arctic science diplomacy against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict.Moreover,it is suggested that,to further develop China’s Arctic science diplomacy,it is vital to take account of the deficiencies in China’s science diplomacy.The study’s empirical results contribute to an understanding of the dynamic nature of science diplomacy in the Chinese context.

American Foreign Policy and Diplomacy During and After the Arab Spring, the Challenge of Democratization ＆ the Legacy of President Obama＇s Administration

Recent scholarship on great-power foreign policy and diplomacy undermines President Obama＇s realist approach compared to his predecessor Bush＇s neoconservative idealism approach to the Middle East＇s geopolitical enduring Arab-Israeli conflict, the rising power of political Islam, the unexpected events of the Arab Spring, along with the challenge of democratization. This article genealogically examines President Obama＇s foreign policy and diplomacy in response to the chronology of the unfolding events of the Arab Spring in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen that witnessed the Arab Spring of 2011. President Obama and his top diplomats＇ performances in response to each country recounting events were assessed, critically analyzed, and compared to the other in terms of the U.S. bilateral relations with each country, U.S. national interests, and her strategic goals in the Middle East region. The researcher analyzed the aforementioned issues within the complicated realities of the Palestinian/Arab Israeli conflict, the rising power of political Islam on the Middle East＇s ground manifested by the Muslim Brotherhood rise to power in Egypt, ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and Libya, and the rivalry between Sunni and Shia＇a---supported by Iran in Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen. The research findings indicate that in a broader sense Obama＇s foreign policy and diplomacy has been a movement away from the U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy since World War II, particularly when he （Obama） decided that the U.S. should abstain from exercising the veto power at the United Nations （UN） on resolution 2334 in support of the Palestinian right to have their own state, thus following the consensus of other permanent members of the UN security council and international law.

New Changes in the International Situation and China＇ s Strategic Choices

The international situation is evolving more impressively than it has at any time since the end of the Cold War. Globalization has been in decline. Nations are scrambling to gain greater influence. The intemational strategic pattern is being adjusted. Many countries have problems with public management, and are faced with a new array of social trends and increasingly popular movements. The world is entering a new era full of chaos and anxiety. Mankind once again faces significant trade-offs and choices in peace and conflict, development and recession, openness and isolation, liberalism and conservatism. China strives to advocate win-win cooperation and lead the trend of reform and opening to maintain a favorable external environment despite world chaos, and enhance status and institutional fights in the international system. China＇s 30 years of development was successful in the process of integrating into the existing international system; China is a participant as well as a builder of the international system, rather than a challenger or a subversive. In the future, with a constructive attitude, China will promote the international system in a more reasonable direction together with international partners, in order to better safeguard world peace and security, and promote sustainable development throughout the world.

U.S. National Strategy: betweem Offensive and Integration

As the hegemonic country in the world system, U. S. national strategy is global and multi-directional. Since September 11, 2001, America has made series of adjustments in its global strategy, including adjustment in security focus and change of security means. Come what may, since America has become the superpower in the world system, its national strategy has always been between offensive and integration. In a sense, current American strategy is the combination of the two. Although different government would tilt toward one direction, none

A systems perspective on national prioritisation of sustainable development goals:Insights from Australia

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)requires effective national initiatives and resource allo-cation.Yet,the simultaneous attainment of all goals is hindered by constraints such as limited budgets and resources,varied national priorities,and the intricate nature of the goals.As we approach 2030 and beyond,an urgent need for an effective,data-driven prioritisation system exists to optimise what can be accomplished.A considerable knowledge gap persists in identifying the priority areas that demand concentrated attention and how their improvement would propel overall sustainability goals.To bridge this gap,our study presents a priori-tisation approach that identifies significant SDG indicators based on urgency and impact,utilising Benchmarking,Bivariate,and Network analysis.Furthermore,we introduce an innovative Impact Index(IMIN)to assess an indi-cator’s extensive effect on the SDG network.This system carries significant international relevance by establishing a robust framework to identify key,potent,and interconnected indicators.It supports decision-makers worldwide in comprehending their nation’s SDG performance and promotes efficient resource allocation.In the specific con-text of Australia,our analysis spotlights several impactful,yet underperforming SDG indicators.These include the protection of Freshwater,Terrestrial,and Mountain Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs),the share of renewable energy and energy intensity level of primary energy,targeted research and development,gender equality in national parliaments,and carbon-efficient manufacturing,amongst others.