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Topic Review
Acute and Chronic Stress Reactions and HPA Axis
Due to the influence of various stressful stimuli, psychological stress alters the homeostasis of the organism. Consequently, the organism reacts, and the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are activated, producing and releasing specific hormones. In addition to acute stress, chronic psychological stress also activates the HPA axis, which causes elevated glucocorticoid levels. 
  • 2.3K
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Dog-Whistle Politics
Dog-whistle politics is the use of coded or suggestive language in politics to garner support from a wider audience for a candidate. Dog whistles serve the purpose of attracting the intended political audience without garnering ire with opposing audiences, similar to ultrasonic dog whistles used in sheepherding. The concept of dog-whistles has similarities to the concept of code words. Accusations of dog-whistling may be used to accuse an individual of expressing a "hidden" meaning when no such message was intended and the actual words used are innocuous. Such accusations can be a form of political correctness or gaslighting and are by their nature impossible to refute. An example is the accusation that using the phrase "international banks" is evidence of anti-Semitism. When it exists, a dog-whistle is a type of doublespeak used in political messaging. Dog whistles work by employing language that has normal meanings to the majority, but can be implied or loaded to mean very specific things to intended recipients. One example commonly believed to be dog whistling may include is the use of 'family values' as a signal to Christians that the candidate is Christian and would support policies related to Christian values without raising flags among the non-religious who might oppose a Christian candidate. This type of dog whistle would serve the purpose of gaining popularity with Christians without losing popularity with non-Christians.
  • 2.3K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Participatory Methods for Urban Development
Despite the fact that vulnerable communities are the most affected by unplanned cities, considerably less attention has been given to involving them in urban development in order to ensure equitable outcomes. In this regard, there is an urgent need for governments to introduce and enforce processes that allow citizens, including vulnerable communities, to participate in development planning and policymaking. However, at present, there is a lack of guidance for practitioners regarding the definition of a clear purpose of community engagement and the selection of appropriate participatory methods to fulfil the set purpose. This study provides a thorough account of the participatory methods that can be used to achieve various engagement goals throughout the urban development process. This structured literature review used 71 reports published from 2000 to 2020. The review revealed 34 participatory methods, wherein most of the methods are devoted to informing, consulting and involving communities, whilst only a few methods are available for interactive public participation that supports true collaboration and empowerment. The study identified 12 purposes of community engagement in urban development, and mapped the 34 participatory methods for achieving them. The analysed case studies showed that the current community engagement practices are mainly in the pre-design and briefing stages of the urban development processes, and that most projects are aiming to achieve the ‘inform’ and ‘consult’ levels of engagement, with a few aiming to achieve the ‘involve’ and ‘collaborate’ levels. This study shows that community engagement is often overlooked during the professional design, development and post-development phases. The paper presents an onion model which can be used by practitioners to choose appropriate participatory methods based on the intended urban development phase, the engagement level and the purpose of the community engagement.
  • 2.2K
  • 16 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Realigning Election
In political science and political history, a realigning election (often called a critical election, political realignment, or critical realignment) is a set of sharp changes in party ideology, issues, party leaders, regional and demographic bases of power of political parties, and the structure or rules of the political system, such as voter eligibility or financing. The changes result in a new political power structure that lasts for decades, replacing an older dominant coalition. Scholars frequently invoke the concept in American elections and occasionally those of other countries. US examples include the 1896 presidential election, when the issues of the Civil War political system were replaced with those of the Populist and Progressive Era, and the 1932 election, when the Populist and Progressive Eras were replaced by the New Deal issues of New Deal liberalism and modern conservatism. Realigning elections typically separate (what are known in the field of comparative politics as) party systems—with 1828, for example, separating the First Party System and the Second Party System in the US. It is generally accepted that the United States has had five distinct party systems, each featuring two major parties attracting a consistent political coalition and following a consistent party ideology, separated by four realignments. Political realignments can be sudden (1–4 years) or can take place more gradually (5–20 years). Most often, however, particularly in V. O. Key Jr.'s (1955) original hypothesis, it is a single "critical election" that marks a realignment. By contrast, a gradual process is called a secular realignment. Political scientists and historians often disagree about which elections are realignments and what defines a realignment, and even whether realignments occur. The terms themselves are somewhat arbitrary, however, and usage among political scientists and historians does vary. In the US, Walter Dean Burnham argued for a 30–38 year "cycle" of realignments. Many of the elections often included in the Burnham 38-year cycle are considered "realigning" for different reasons. Other political scientists and quantitative elections analysts reject realignment theory altogether, arguing that there are no long-term patterns. Political scientist David R. Mayhew states, "Electoral politics is to an important degree just one thing after another ... Elections and their underlying causes are not usefully sortable into generation-long spans ... It is a Rip Van Winkle view of democracy that voters come awake only once in a generation ... It is too slippery, too binary, too apocalyptic, and it has come to be too much of a dead end." Sean Trende, senior elections analyst at RealClearPolitics, who argues against realignment theory and the "emerging Democratic majority" thesis proposed by journalist John Judis and political scientist Ruy Teixeira in his 2012 book The Lost Majority states, "Almost none of the theories propounded by realignment theorists has endured the test of time... It turns out that finding a 'realigning' election is a lot like finding an image of Jesus in a grilled-cheese sandwich – if you stare long enough and hard enough, you will eventually find what you are looking for." In May 2015, statistician and FiveThirtyEight editor-in-chief Nate Silver argued against a blue wall Electoral College advantage for the Democratic Party in the upcoming 2016 US presidential election, and in post-election analysis published in January 2017, Silver cited Trende in noting that "there are few if any permanent majorities" and both Silver and Trende argued that the "emerging Democratic majority" thesis led most news coverage and commentary preceding the election to overstate Hillary Clinton's chances of being elected.
  • 2.2K
  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Social Media
Social media is a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through the building of virtual networks and communities.
  • 2.2K
  • 14 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Malaysia’s Housing Policy, Low-Income Households' Housing Affordability
Housing affordability is a long-held issue in Malaysia and housing policies for low-income households have been implemented over years. However, there is a contradiction that housing affordability of low-income households has not been met, while a bulk of affordable housing is still vacant. In 2019, Malaysia enacted the National Affordable Housing Policy (DRMM) which was intended to improve housing affordability for low-income groups. In such circumstances, the questions are, why Malaysia’s long-term implementation of affordable housing policies cannot guarantee housing affordability and whether the DRMM can effectively improve housing affordability as expected.
  • 2.2K
  • 02 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Excavation (Archaeology)
In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is a site being studied. Such a site excavation concerns itself with a specific archaeological site or a connected series of sites, and may be conducted over as little as several weeks to over a number of years. Numerous specialized techniques with particular features are used. Resources and other practical issues do not allow archaeologists to carry out excavations whenever and wherever they choose. These constraints mean many known sites have been deliberately left unexcavated. This is with the intention of preserving them for future generations as well as recognising the role they serve in the communities that live near them. Excavation involves the recovery of several types of data from a site. These data include artifacts (objects made or modified by humans), features (modifications to the site itself such as post molds, burials, and hearths), ecofacts (evidence for the local environment and resources being used such as snail shells, seeds, and butchered bones) and, most importantly, archaeological context (relationships among the other types of data). Ideally, data from the excavation should suffice to reconstruct the site completely in three-dimensional space. The presence or absence of archaeological remains can often be suggested by remote sensing, such as ground-penetrating radar. Basic information about the development of the site may be drawn from this work but the understanding of finer features usually requires excavation though appropriate use of augering.
  • 2.2K
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Urban Middle-Class
With the rapid urbanization, the emergence of a middle class is exerting its influence on the urban form and structure. A data-driven approach based on principal component analysis (PCA) has been used to define multidimensionally the middle class and its housing typology.
  • 2.2K
  • 22 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Embodied 'Basic' Emotions in Chinese and English Language
References to the body are one feature shared across languages, particularly when describing the mental processes of emotion, reflecting the embodiment of an emotional experience. Embodied emotion concepts encompass these categorized outcomes of bidirectional brain–body interactions yet can be differentiated further into afferent or interoceptive and efferent or autonomic processes. Between languages, a comparison of emotion words indicates the dominance of afferent or interoceptive processes in how embodied emotions are conceptualized in Chinese, while efferent or autonomic processes feature more commonly in English. Correspondingly, in linguistic expressions of emotion, Chinese-speaking people are biased toward being more receptive, reflective, and adaptive, whereas native English speakers may tend to be more reactive, proactive, and interactive. 
  • 2.2K
  • 05 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Proportionality (Law)
Proportionality is a general principle in law which covers several special (although related) concepts. The concept of proportionality is used as a criterion of fairness and justice in statutory interpretation processes, especially in constitutional law, as a logical method intended to assist in discerning the correct balance between the restriction imposed by a corrective measure and the severity of the nature of the prohibited act. Within criminal law, it is used to convey the idea that the punishment of an offender should fit the crime. Under international humanitarian law governing the legal use of force in an armed conflict, proportionality and distinction are important factors in assessing military necessity.
  • 2.2K
  • 11 Oct 2022
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