Delay in seeking medical services is common in elderly populations, which leads to disease progression and life difficulty. This study aims to assess the prevalence of delay in medical visits and treatment and define associated effects and factors in patients with senile cataract, which may help obtain a better understanding of late-life psychopathology and provide the basis for interventions. Patients aged more than 60 years were prospectively recruited in Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center. All participants were diagnosed with binocular senile cataract and (...) decided to have primary surgery in ZOC. The distributions of the popularity of delaying outpatient visits and treatment, the degrees of visual impairment, the influences on quality of life, and the reasons for delaying treatment among participants were accessed by the descriptive statistics. Factors associated with the perceptions of cataract treatment were accessed using a binary logistic regression model. A total of 400 senile patients aged from 60 to 94 years were enrolled. At diagnosis, 82 participants had a low vision with monocular acuity of both eyes below 0.05. All participants have felt that their normal lives were affected, and 64 participants felt that their lives were affected severely. Only 17 participants have sought for medical services immediately after feeling vision loss, and 294 participants have felt vision loss since a year ago before seeking medical help. A total of 298 participants have delayed the surgery time, and 229 patients delayed it for more than 12 months. There were 147 participants delaying surgery on account of no knowledge about it and 114 participants delaying surgery because of fear. There are a high proportion of elderly patients with senile cataract delaying their outpatient visits and surgery treatment, whose normal lives were severely affected. Increasing medical service propaganda about cataract and other common diseases in elderly populations would probably be helpful for improving perceptions of diseases and decreasing medical delays. Public needs to draw more attention to the healthy and medical status of the elderly ocular patients. (shrink)

This discussion seeks to highlight the ability of poetry to combat loneliness, a growing public health problem with significant negative health outcomes that potentially impact millions of Americans. We argue that poetry can play a very relevant role and have an impact in medicine. Through a brief literature review of previous studies on poetry in medicine, we demonstrate that poetry can not only combat loneliness but can also play important roles in helping patients, physicians, and other healthcare professionals/providers. Because of (...) the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe now is the perfect opportunity to utilize poetry because the benefits can be experienced even in solitude, which is why this is such a timely and pertinent issue today. (shrink)

A non‐normative, response‐dependent view about morality can avoid metaphysical extravagance and explain why the extension of some non‐normative concepts can non‐accidentally match the extension of moral concepts. These features make it a plausible reductive account of moral properties. However, some philosophers believe that a response‐dependent account of morality must contain an irreducibly normative component. I argue that it is impossible to defend such a position while retaining the response‐dependent nature of morality in the ordinary sense. However, I believe that philosophers' (...) motivation for engaging in such a philosophical project should be taken seriously. The underlying concern is that the plausibility of a response‐dependent view makes people's strong commitment to irreducible normativity a puzzle that requires an explanation. I explain why people systematically fail to give up this commitment without claiming that they rationally cannot give it up, which means a non‐normative response‐dependent view is immune from such a challenge. (shrink)

Resumen: La civilización China siempre ha sido conocida como la civilización de los rituales y la música, con la música jugando un papel importante a lo largo de las dinastías. El desarrollo de la música tradicional China no puede separarse de la inyección de varias ideas filosóficas y conciencia social. Ya sea el sistema de música ritual de la dinastía Zhou, las cien escuelas de pensamiento durante el período de los reinos combatientes, las discusiones metafísicas de las dinast Wei y (...) Jin, o la filosofía budista de las dinast Han y Tang, cada era ha jugado un importante papel catalizador en la formación de la teoría estética de la música tradicional China. Este artículo resume el proceso de desarrollo histórico de la cultura musical tradicional China. También analiza el proceso de construcción de la filosofía estética de la música tradicional China desde las perspectivas de las tres principales escuelas filosóficas: confucianismo, budismo y taoísmo. Estas tres escuelas han tenido el impacto más profundo en la música tradicional China. (shrink)

e-commerce has promoted the application of the Internet by traditional enterprises. While this phenomenon has deepened industrial embeddedness, it has also profoundly affected the development of traditional manufacturing and retail industries. Based on the embeddedness theory, this paper takes the e-commerce industrial chain in Xiong’an New Area of China as an example, uses location entropy method and local spatial autocorrelation to analyze its spatial characteristics and influencing factors, and also discusses the features of embeddedness from each dimension of industrial chains. (...) The results show the following: ① The supply chain of industry-dependent e-commerce is dominated by production wholesalers, and suppliers with cost advantages and commercial traditions are embedded in local characteristic industries; the e-commerce value chain is dominated by production and processing activities, and the spatial orientation of the business model is affected by regional industrial functions; the e-commerce enterprise chain is dominated by B2B enterprises, the high-level agglomeration of which reflects the absolute scale advantage provided by the e-commercialization of traditional industry. ② The distribution of the e-commerce industrial chains of Xiong’an New Area is characterized by spatial heterogeneity and has obvious spatial agglomeration. The industrial chains are concentrated in Xiong County, followed by Rongcheng County, and Anxin County has the weakest agglomeration. ③ The main factors that cause the uneven distribution of the e-commerce industrial chains in Xiong’an New Area include three aspects: transportation location advantages, traditional industrial foundation, and government policy regulation. Research can provide a scientific reference for accurately identifying the spatial development characteristics of the industrial chains from various perspectives and promoting the sustainable development and e-commercialization of traditional industries. (shrink)

We extend Savage et al.'s music and social bonding hypothesis by examining it in the context of Chinese music. First, top-down functions such as music as political instrument should receive more attention. Second, solo performance can serve as important cues for social identity. Third, a right match between the tones in lyrics and music contributes also to social bonding.

This study investigates the use of modal verbs in Chinese–English government press conference interpretation. Modal verbs mark the speaker’s opinion of or attitude toward the event described in a sentence. Interpreters also use modal verbs to indicate the stances of the source language speakers. The use of modal verbs has been examined in such contexts as research papers, textbooks, and second language learners’ output; however, studies that compare differences in modal verbs between source and target languages in the context of (...) interpreting are sparse. The investigation being reported is based on a comparable corpus—an original Chinese GPC and its English-translated version—and a parallel corpus—a translated English GPC and the original English version from the US. The results of the comparable corpus analysis indicate that the frequency of modal verbs in translated English is significantly higher than in original Chinese, in which only 40% of the modal verbs in translated English are consistent with their Chinese counterparts, while others are employed through amplification and value variation. The results of the parallel corpus analysis suggest that the increase of modal verbs in the target texts may help to achieve certain types of pragmatic functions in English. (shrink)

This paper argues that the proliferation of the new term ‘baby man’ has an impact on reconstructing established gender relationships and resisting China's authoritarian political power in a highly-censored online environment. This study employs feminist critical discourse analysis to investigate how Chinese feminism adopts the discursive construction of ‘baby man’ and how they echo the complex historical and sociocultural backgrounds through a case study of 43 posts containing ‘baby man’ on Chinese social media. The finding suggests that the term ‘baby (...) man’ is employed in discursive strategies, namely, double irony, the blunt resistance against both gender and power relationships that deconstruct the heteropatriarchal gender norm through the mother – son female gaze and contempt for the nation's past and current population policy. It argues that despite perennial censorship, these three discursive strategies help reconstruct the extant gender hierarchy backed by conservative Confucianist ethics and represent a grassroots challenge to the political authoritarianism indoctrinated by the state. (shrink)

Previous studies have shown that changes in gray matter density and volume in the left primary motor cortex are significantly associated with changes in individuals’ verbal intelligence quotient, but not with their performance intelligence quotient. In the present study, we examined the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation over the left primary motor cortex on performance in intelligence tests. We chose four subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Chinese Revised version and randomized participants into anodal, cathodal, and sham groups. We (...) found that anodal stimulation significantly improved performance in verbal intelligence subtests compared to cathodal and sham stimulation, while performance intelligence subtest scores did not change in any stimulation condition. These findings suggest that the excitation level of the left primary motor cortex has a unique effect on verbal intelligence. (shrink)

The New Year’s Sacrifice" by Lu Xun, a celebrated exploration of his native Lu Town, provides a profound commentary on the paradoxes within rural Chinese society. This paper aims to reinterpret the novella through a philosophical and theological lens, leveraging a New Criticism framework alongside methodologies such as close reading, content analysis, psycholinguistics, and cognitive mapping. Our analysis reveals a deeply entrenched social hierarchy characterized by the senior/central class led by Master Lusi, a duplicitous middle class, and a marginalized lower (...) class epitomized by Xianglin Sao. Within this rigid social structure, Lu Xun crafts a narrative rich in paradoxical dynamics and carnivalesque contradictions, highlighting both the microcosmic personal paradoxes and the macrocosmic thematic ironies, particularly the ironic notion of “blessing” that infuses the narrative with a complex tension. Moreover, the text engages in a profound act of self-reflexive paradox where the narrator, as both a construct and a reflection of Lu Xun’s own decontextualized self, serves as a medium for exploring themes of existential alienation and self-denial. This reinterpretation posits Lu Xun’s work not merely as a social critique but as a spiritual and philosophical meditation on the nature of suffering, identity, and the human condition, inviting a deeper understanding of the existential and theological underpinnings of his literary expression. (shrink)

Quasi-realists have proposed an “internal” reading of the mind-independence claim embedded in our moral discourse, according to which the claim to mind-independence itself is a moral claim. I argue against such a quasi-realist “internal” reading. My objection is that quasi-realists cannot plausibly explain why the majority of us, either implicitly or explicitly, take moral mind-independence to be a metaethical notion. Quasi-realists either must attribute a quite obvious mistake to most metaethical theorists without explaining why they cannot recognize it, or give (...) us an intolerably ad hoc explanation about why ordinary moral speakers fail to understand their own words. Without properly addressing this problem, we have good reason to reject the quasi-realist account of moral mind-independence. (shrink)

BackgroundThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates goods accounting for 20% of US consumers’ total expenditure. The agency’s potential susceptibility to corporate lobbying and political influence may adversely affect the its abilities to fulfill its duties as a vital federal agency. This study assesses whether the FDA’s product recall classifications in recall scenarios are influenced by firms’ lobbying activities.MethodsThe universe of all FDA recalls between 2012 and 2019 is obtained from the FDA’s website. Firm names are matched to federal-level (...) lobbying data obtained from the Center for Responsive Politics – a non-profit and nonpartisan organization that tracks lobbying expenditures and campaign contributions. Analyses are conducted using ordinary-least-squares regressions, in which the dependent variable is recall classification and independent variables are three different measures of firms’ lobbying activities in the one year prior to the recall.ResultsFirms that engage in lobbying appear more likely to receive favourable classifications from the FDA. When examining the above results by product type, we find that classification of food recalls seems to be subject to lobbying influence, but the same does not appear to be true for drug and device recalls. Evidence is consistent with the conjecture that the distinction between medical and food firms may be a result of medical firms targeting lobbying efforts at FDA approvals, rather than recalls.ConclusionsBetween 2012 and 2019, the FDA’s product recall classifications seem to be significantly influenced by firms’ lobbying activities. Lobbying firms appear to have received more favorable (i.e., less severe) recall classifications compared to non-lobbying firms. (shrink)

Commented Article: ZHANG, Yunpeng. Tragic prototypes and their evolution in classical Chinese works. Trans/Form/Ação: Unesp journal of philosophy, Marília, v. 47, n. 4, “Eastern thought”, e0240084, 2024. Available at: https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/14688.

Law article prediction is a task of predicting the relevant laws and regulations involved in a case according to the description text of the case, and it has broad application prospects in improving judicial efficiency. In the existing research work, researchers often only consider a single case, employing the neural network method to extract features for prediction, which lack the mining of related and common element information between different data. In order to solve this problem, we propose a law article (...) prediction method that integrates the characteristics of common elements. It can effectively utilize the co-occurrence information of the training data, fully mine the relevant common elements between cases, and fuse local features. Experiments show that our method performs well. (shrink)

Despite the role of public health interventions in controlling disease transmission and protecting the public during the COVID-19 emergency, the implementation of quarantine restrictions has raised serious ethical concerns, especially in relation to the well-being of vulnerable populations. Drawing on the lived experiences of rural Chinese migrants who are subject to pandemic control, the authors highlight their inadequate capacities to manage the risks associated with the pandemic and adjust to quarantine restrictions. Informed by an ethical discourse of vulnerability, we show (...) that underpinning this group’s deficient coping strategies is a range of detrimental social structures and institutions that have developed under the persistent rural–urban divide in China. These structural constraints and pathologies expose rural migrants to serious risks and uncertainties while depriving them of the means and resources necessary to protect their own interests in the process of complying with quarantine restrictions. Understanding the plight of rural Chinese migrants as a structural problem also has implications for the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We further suggest a need for state intervention to mitigate structural deficiencies and empower the vulnerable during the COVID-19 era. (shrink)

_Wh_-questions with the modal verb _can_ admit both mention-some (MS) and mention-all (MA) answers. This paper argues that we should treat MS as a grammatical phenomenon, primarily determined by the grammar of the _wh_-interrogative. I assume that MS and MA answers can be modeled using the same definition of answerhood (Fox in Mention-some interpretations, MIT seminar, 2013 ) and attribute the MS/MA ambiguity to structural variations within the question nucleus. The variations are: (i) the scope ambiguity of the higher-order _wh_-trace (...) and (ii) the absence/presence of an anti-exhaustification operator. However, treating MS answers as complete answers in this way contradicts the widely adopted analysis of uniqueness effects in questions of Dayal (Locality in _wh_ quantification: Questions and relative clauses in Hindi, 1996 ), according to which the uniqueness effects of singular _which_-phrases arise from an exhaustivity presupposition, namely that a question must have a unique exhaustive true answer. To solve this dilemma, I propose that question interpretations presuppose Relativized Exhaustivity: roughly, the exhaustivity in questions is evaluated relative to the accessible worlds as opposed to the anchor/utterance world. Relativized Exhaustivity preserves the merits of Dayal’s exhaustivity presupposition while permitting MS; moreover, it explains the local-uniqueness effects in modalized singular _wh_-questions. (shrink)

Histone post-translational modifications play important roles in transcriptional regulation. It is known that multiple histone modifications can act in a combinatorial manner. In this study, we investigated the effects of multiple histone modifications on expression levels of five gene categories in coding regions. The combinatorial patterns of modifications for the five gene categories were also studied in the regions. Our results indicated that the differences in the expression levels between any two gene categories were significant. There were some corresponding differences (...) in multiple histone modification levels among the five gene categories. Multiple histone modifications jointly impacted expression levels of every gene category. Four mutual combinations of histone modifications were found and analyzed. (shrink)

Through close reading of Jonathan Swift’s religious works and his novel, this paper traces his deepening critical attitudes towards religion. According to his writing time sequence, the targets of his ridicule become larger and larger, from Roman Catholic and Puritans, to the declining Christianity, and to all religions in general, which reflects his uncompromising stance as an Enlightener.

In most cases, a wh-question calls for an answer that names an entity in the set denoted by the extension of the wh-complement. However, evidence from questions with necessity modals and questions with collective predicates argues that sometimes a wh-question must be interpreted with a higher-order reading, in which this question calls for an answer that names a generalized quantifier. This paper investigates the distribution and compositional derivation of higher-order readings of wh-questions. First, I argue that the generalized quantifiers that (...) can serve as semantic answers to wh-questions must be homogeneously positive. Next, on the distribution of higher-order readings, I observe that questions in which the wh-complement is singular-marked or numeral-modified can be answered by elided disjunctions but not by conjunctions. I further present two ways to account for this disjunction–conjunction asymmetry. In the uniform account, these questions admit disjunctions because disjunctions may satisfy the atomicity requirement of singular-marking and the cardinality requirement of numeral modification. In the reconstruction account, the wh-complement is syntactically reconstructed, which gives rise to local uniqueness and yields a contradiction for conjunctive answers. (shrink)

I propose a new perspective on the study of scientific revolutions. This is a transformation from an object-only perspective to an ontological perspective that properly treats objects and processes as distinct kinds. I begin my analysis by identifying an object bias in the study of scientific revolutions, where it takes the form of representing scientific revolutions as changes in classification of physical objects. I further explore the origins of this object bias. Findings from developmental psychology indicate that children cannot distinguish (...) processes from objects until the age of 7, but they have already developed a core system of object knowledge as early as 4 months of age. The persistence of this core system is responsible for the object bias among mature adults, i.e., the tendency to apply knowledge of physical objects to temporal processes. In light of the distinction between physical objects and temporal processes, I redraw the picture of the Copernican revolution. Rather than seeing it as a taxonomic shift from a geocentric to a heliocentric cosmology, we should understand it as a transformation from a conceptual system that was built around an object concept to one that was built around a process concept. (shrink)

To correct the misconception that incommensurability implies incomparability, Kuhn lately develops a new interpretation of incommensurability. This includes a linguistic theory of scientific revolutions (the theory of kinds), a cognitive exploration of the language learning process (the analogy of bilingualism), and an epistemological discussion on the rationality of scientific development (the evolutionary epistemology). My focus in this paper is to review Kuhn's effort in eliminating relativism, highlighting both the insights and the difficulties of his new version of incommensurability . Finally (...) I suggest that some of Kuhn's difficulties can be overcome by adopting a concept of rationality that filly appreciates the important role of instruments in the development of science. (shrink)

In this paper we examine the pattern of conceptual change during scientific revolutions by using methods from cognitive psychology. We show that the changes characteristic of scientific revolutions, especially taxonomic changes, can occur in a continuous manner. Using the frame model of concept representation to capture structural relations within concepts and the direct links between concept and taxonomy, we develop an account of conceptual change in science that more adequately reflects the current understanding that episodes like the Copernican revolution are (...) not always abrupt. When concepts are represented by frames, the transformation from one taxonomy to another can be achieved in a piecemeal fashion not preconditioned by a crisis stage, and a new taxonomy can arise naturally out of the old frame instead of emerging separately from the existing conceptual system. This cognitive mechanism of continuous change demonstrates the constructive roles of anomaly and incommensurability in promoting the progress of science. (shrink)

Epistemology of testimony’s map has been charted by identifying the basic controversy between reductionism and non-reductions. John McDowell’s article “Knowledge by Hearsay” (1993/1998) has been taken as a clear example of non-reductionism. This is, however, only partially right. It is correct that, as a non-reductionist, he defends the justifying role that the default position plays in testimonial knowledge. But, his insistence on situating the default position inside the space of reasons suggests that default position should be understood as a kind (...) of reasoning, and that only then evidential reasons can be applied in concrete justifying procedures. This is a very different understanding of the default position from that of classical non-reductionists such as Coady (1992) and Burge (1993, 1997). If McDowell’s epistemology of testimony can be understood in this way, as this paper aims to establish, it should be considered as an attempt tosupersede the reductionist and non-reductionist dichotomy, an attempt that brings a series of reconsiderations of a satisfactory epistemology of testimony. (shrink)

This paper examines older people’s access to care experiences in rural China by integrating anthropological investigation with ethical inquiry. Six months of fieldwork in a post-reform primary hospital show how rural residents struggle to access gerontological and nursing care under socially disadvantageous conditions. This anthropological investigation highlights the unmet needs in medical and nursing care for older people, as well as some social, institutional and structural elements that impede access to care. Centring on protecting the vulnerable as informed by feminist (...) ethics scholarship, this paper argues that the failure to meet older people’s dependency needs is unjust, on the premise that it suggests a denial of the inherent value, rights and dignity of older people. This paper appeals for the provision of greater care and support by the state through putting in place social arrangements that better advance older people’s access to care. Some policy recommendations concerning health and social care reform for older people in rural China are also proposed. (shrink)

This paper offers a solution to a problem in Herschel studies by drawing on the dynamic frame model for concept representation offered by cognitive psychology. Applying the frame model to represent the conceptual frameworks of the particle and wave theories, this paper shows that discontinuity between the particle and wave frameworks consists mainly in the transition from a particle notion ‘side’ to a wave notion ‘phase difference’. By illustrating intraconceptual relations within concepts, the frame representations reveal the ontological differences between (...) these two concepts. ‘Side’ is an object concept built on spatial relations, but ‘phase difference’ is an event concept built on temporal relations. The conceptual analyses display a possible cognitive source of Herschel’s misconception of polarization. Limited by his experimental works and his philosophical beliefs, Herschel comprehended polarization solely in terms of spatial relations, which prevented him from replacing the object concept ‘side’ with the event concept ‘phase difference’, and eventually resulted in his failure to understand the wave account of polarization.Author Keywords: Herschel; Polarization; Object concept; Event concept; Frame; Cognitive psychology. (shrink)

Available evidence highlights the importance of emotion regulation in psychological well-being. However, translation of the beneficial effects of ER from laboratory to real-life remains scarce. Here, we present proof-of-principle evidence from a novel cognitive-emotional training intervention targeting the development of ER skills aimed at increasing resilience against emotional distress. This pilot intervention involved training military veterans over 5–8 weeks in applying two effective ER strategies [Focused Attention and Cognitive Reappraisal ] to scenarios presenting emotional conflicts. Training was preceded and followed (...) by neuropsychological, personality, and clinical assessments, and resting-state functional MRI data were also collected from a subsample of the participants. Results show enhanced executive function and psychological well-being following training, reflected in increased working memory, post-traumatic growth, and general self-efficacy. Brain imaging results showed evidence of diminished bottom-up influences from emotional and perceptual brain regions, along with evidence of normalized functional connectivity in the large-scale functional networks following training. The latter was reflected in increased connectivity among cognitive and emotion control regions and across regions of self-referential and control networks. Overall, our results provide proof-of-concept evidence that resilience and well-being can be learned through ER training, and that training-related improvements manifested in both behavioral change and neuroplasticity can translate into real-life benefits. (shrink)

BackgroundPhysical activity has a significant health impact worldwide and has been linked to a lower risk of the common cold.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to estimate the form of PA among Chinese adults and the correlation between PA and number of the common cold in China's eastern, central, and western areas.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingChina's eastern, central, and western regions from 30 November 2020 to 30 March 2021.PatientsA total of 1,920 healthy participants, who aged over 18 years old, with Internet access, (...) were enrolled, and then self-reported PA behaviors and number of the common cold were collected.MeasurementsThe authors calculated preference, intensity, frequency, and duration of PA in Chinese based on gender, age, and broad occupational categories and explored the potential effect between these factors and the common cold.ResultsApproximately 20.4% of participants reported not participating in sports regularly. Except for gender, there were significant differences in PA preference and intensity among the remaining individuals. However, intensity shows a U-shaped dose-response relationship with colds, whereas the frequency and duration have an inverse dose-response relationship. High intensity combined with high frequency increased colds the most. Nevertheless, non-exercise groups always have the most colds in each comparison.LimitationsThe result may be vulnerable to recall bias.ConclusionIntensity showed that U-shape, frequency, and duration showed inverse response to the number of colds last year, but age, sex, and occupation had no significant effects. High intensity and high frequency mixed increased colds the most, regardless of duration. (shrink)

Coevolution spreading dynamics on complex networks is a hot topic, which attracts much attention in network science. This paper proposes a mathematical model to describe the two competing complex information spreading dynamics on multiplex networks. An individual can only accept one of the two pieces of information. A heterogeneous mean-field theory is developed to describe the spreading dynamics. We reveal different regions through Monte Carlo simulations of the competing complex information spreading dynamics: no global information, one information dominant, and two (...) information coexistence. We finally find that the heterogeneity of the multiplex networks’ degree distributions does not qualitatively affect the results. (shrink)

In a previous article we have shown that Kuhn's theory of concepts is independently supported by recent research in cognitive psychology. In this paper we propose a cognitive re-reading of Kuhn's cyclical model of scientific revolutions: all of the important features of the model may now be seen as consequences of a more fundamental account of the nature of concepts and their dynamics. We begin by examining incommensurability, the central theme of Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions, according to two different (...) cognitive models of concept representation. We provide new support for Kuhn 's mature views that incommensurability can be caused by changes in only a few concepts, that even incommensurable conceptual systems can be rationally compared, and that scientific change of the most radical sort—the type labeled revolutionary in earlier studies—does not have to occur holistically and abruptly, but can be achieved by a historically more plausible accumulation of smaller changes. We go on to suggest that the parallel accounts of concepts found in Kuhn and in cognitive science lead to a new understanding of the nature of normal science, of the transition from normal science to crisis, and of scientific revolutions. The same account enables us to understand how scientific communities split to create groups supporting new paradigms, and to resolve various outstanding problems. In particular, we can identify the kind of change needed to create a revolution rather precisely. This new analysis also suggests reasons for the unidirectionality of scientific change. (shrink)

This study examines the Korean translations of a Japanese work Joshi no rongo [女子の論語/Women’s Analects] (Yuki, Ako [祐木亜子]. 2011. 女子の論語. Tokyo: Sunmark Publishing House), a modern interpretation of the Chinese classic The Analects, with a view to identifying how the paratexts of a translated text contributed, or hindered the reception of the work in the target culture. By drawing on Gérard Genette’s (1997 [1987]. Paratexts: Threshold of interpretation, Jane E. Lewin (trans.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) concept of “paratexts,” this study (...) both analyses translation shifts in the peritexts (e.g., cover, foreword, table of contents) and the epitexts (reviews) of the Korean translations. The analysis shows that the additions and rearrangements of some paratextual elements in the Korean translation further reinforced the traditional view presented in the source text, which ironically brought about heavy criticisms of the original Japanese text and resulted in the Korean retranslation of the work. The scrutiny of peritexts and epitexts in this article will enhance our understanding of the interactions between the translator, the publisher, and the public readers, which jointly contextualize the production and reception of a translated work in a given culture. (shrink)

In China's healthcare sector, a popular and socio-culturally distinctive phenomenon known as guanxi jiuyi, whereby patients draw on their guanxi with physicians when seeking healthcare, is thriving. Integrating anthropological investigation with normative inquiry, this paper examines medical guanxi through the lens of patient–physician trust and mistrust. The first-hand empirical data acquired – on the lived experiences and perspectives of both patients and physicians – is based on six months' fieldwork carried out in a county hospital in Guangdong, southern China, which (...) included in-depth interviews with 20 patients and 20 medical professionals. Patients who emphasized the positive effects of guanxi on patient–physician trust believed that it facilitates access to experienced medical specialists, enhances clinical communication, and reduces the financial and medical risks of over diagnosis and overtreatment by physicians. At the same time, these findings reveal patients' strong sense of mistrust, not only towards individual health professionals but also to the medical profession and China's commercialized healthcare industry. While some health professionals in the study responded favourably to medical guanxi, most were opposed to it on the grounds that it undermines professional standards and equitable healthcare. We found that the practice of medical guanxi is not morally justifiable, chiefly because it reinforces the present high levels of patient–physician mistrust and erodes trust between patients and the medical profession as a whole. In China, both the medical profession and the state need to promote patient–physician trust based on medical professionalism and institutional norms, rather than on guanxi or individual relationships. (shrink)