This paper concerns the difficulty of avoiding an additive version of the Very Repugnant Conclusion. An impossibility theorem is provided which shows that we cannot avoid this version of the Repugnant Conclusion even if we deny the Mere Addition Principle and closely related principles which place limits on the badness of adding happy people, such as “Dominance Addition” and additive “Non-Sadism” conditions. I argue that the impossibility theorem shows that the additive version of the Very Repugnant Conclusion cannot reasonably be avoided by population-ethical means alone. One must instead either deny structural conditions such as acyclicity, adopt a radically unorthodox fixed-population axiology, or accept this version of the Very Repugnant Conclusion.

In previous work [4] we introduced and examined the class of betweenness algebras. In the current article we study a larger class of algebras with binary operators of possibility and sufficiency, the weak mixed algebras. Furthermore, we develop a system of logic with two binary modalities, sound and complete with respect to the class of frames closely related to the aforementioned algebras, and we prove an embedding theorem which solves an open problem from [4].

Afforestation and forest restoration have been central to emerging global strategies for climate change mitigation. Based on a framed field experiment (FFE) conducted in the Uttara Kannada region in Karnataka, India, this study investigates whether monetary incentives could effectively promote afforestation and what the likely distributional consequences are. The FFE set-up was designed to provide respondents with choices on planting native or commercial trees in their village common forest. The native trees were associated with higher risk of survival compared to commercial trees. They also provided a mix of monetary and non-monetary benefits which differed across three variations in the experimental design. We find that monetary payments for planting native species worked better when combined with non-monetary benefits. Also, private tenurial rights mediated responses to monetary incentives. The results highlight how heterogeneous interests within the community could play an important role in determining effectiveness and distributional outcomes of afforestation policy.

Obesity represents a major global public health concern. Body fat percentage (BF%) is a key indicator for assessing adiposity and provides a more precise estimation of obesity-related health risks compared to the traditional body mass index (BMI). Accumulating evidence suggests that BF% is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. However, most genetic studies on BF% have been conducted in European and American population, with limited data available from Chinese cohorts. To address this gap, a classical twin study was conducted using data from the Qingdao Twin Registry in China to estimate the heritability of BF% adjusted for age, sex, and BMI. This study included Han Chinese twins registered in the Qingdao Twin Registry. This study included 344 middle and old-aged Chinese twin pairs (217 monozygotic and 127 dizygotic). comprising 327 males and 361 females. The median age of participants was 50 (interquartile range [IQR]:12) years, with BF% of 27.6 (11.4) %. Model fitting indicated that the best-fitting model was AE model. The additive genetic effect (A) accounted for 54% (95% CI [44, 59) of the total variance, while unique environmental effect (E) contributed 46% (95% CI [37, 56]). In conclusion, this twin-based study provides robust evidence for a moderate genetic contribution (heritability = 54%) to BF% in a middle- and old-aged Qingdao population.

The study offers a comparative view of the rituals associated with dying, death, and funerals of the Central European Habsburgs in the early modern period. The authors first attempt to place the topic within the historiographical framework of current research. They also pay attention to the heuristic basis on which the phenomenon can be studied. Further on in the text, they gradually reveal the course of the Habsburgs’ illnesses immediately preceding their deaths, the rituals associated with the different lengths of time the dying spent on their deathbeds, their deaths, autopsies, funerals, and subsequent mourning ceremonies, including the dissemination of information about the deaths of Central European Habsburgs to various parts of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Holy Roman Empire, and other European countries. The study concludes with a reflection on the representation of imperial majesty in the allegorical language of mourning ceremonies.

Drawing on the theory of policy diffusion, I analyze 129 regulatory firearm law provisions from 1991 to 2019 across the United States and examine the innovation and development of restrictive firearm policies. I control for the demographics, politics, and institutional characteristics of the states and hypothesize that public health concerns lead to the adoption of firearm regulations. I find support for my hypothesis: most novel, state firearm policy diffusion is dependent on state firearm suicide and homicide rates. Furthermore, I find that states are more likely to adopt policy if they are characterized by a large population, a large white population, high firearm ownership, a liberal government, or if their geographical neighbors are actively adopting firearm regulations. Firearm-related fatalities have risen dramatically, but a majority of states have adopted few policies to address this public health concern. My article highlights the state-level factors that produce a public policy response to this phenomenon.

This case study documents the characteristics of a Community Congregate Dining (CCD) for Japanese Canadian (Nikkei) seniors aged 65+ in the Greater Toronto Area and explores participants’ and providers’ experiences. Data were collected through (a) observations of six CCD sites; (b) qualitative interviews with 45 CCD program participants, 1 family member, 15 program providers and volunteers; and (c) analysis of policy and administrative documents about the CCD programs. Our thematic analysis identified social benefits, educational benefits, and the importance of Japanese meals and entertainment that together created a unique atmosphere of ‘Japanese-ness’ at the CCD. While the CCD fosters a sense of belonging and supports healthy aging among Nikkei seniors, the program’s success depends on managing diverse linguistic needs, maintaining opportunities for meaningful interaction, and ensuring transportation access. The findings highlight broader lessons for designing inclusive and culturally responsive social services for increasingly diverse Canadian older adults.

What explains the attitudes of diasporas toward their ancestral homeland? One answer suggests some pull toward the country of origin (“ancestral homeland”) based on a shared cultural identity. In contrast, another explanation looks at how host country (“contemporary homeland”) politics surrounding the “perpetual foreigners” can push the diaspora toward their ancestral homeland. In this paper, we recognize that the link between the diaspora and the ancestral homeland is malleable. Specifically, we focus on the linguistic link—which can vary both spatially and temporally. We argue that when individuals of the diaspora do not speak the ancestral homeland language with their family at home, the primordial ethnic bond is weakened, and thus, they are less positive toward their ancestral homeland. We test our argument by focusing on the ethnic Chinese diaspora globally. Using the Sinophone Borderlands Survey, we identify and test whether those who speak Standard Chinese at home are more pro-China than their coethnics who speak a non-Standard Chinese vernacular. The results highlight that while the ethnic Chinese diaspora is more positive toward China than the non-ethnic Chinese respondents, what matters is whether a, and if so, which, Chinese vernacular is spoken.

A growing body of work suggests that authoritarian regimes can enhance their external legitimacy by undertaking reform—from democratic or “pseudodemocratic” institutional changes at the domestic level to participation in international efforts to mitigate climate change. Yet the shared theoretical logic underlying this work has received surprisingly little empirical attention. This research contributes by offering findings from an iterative series of original survey experiments conducted over nationally representative samples of US citizens. Study 1 tested the foundational hypothesis—that reforms build external legitimacy—by adopting a simple independent groups design. Studies 2 and 3 subjected that hypothesis to harder tests via conjoint designs, and also evaluated extension hypotheses about when and in what sense “legitimacy” is gained. Across studies, the results consistently demonstrate that reforms (of a variety of types) do generate external legitimacy, offering both positive benefits as well as shielding benefits in keeping with theoretical arguments. The results also provide support for several new and previously undocumented findings concerning the role of reform type, type of legitimacy-derived gain, and the conditions under which such gains are more or less likely to accrue.