Hongjian Tang

Feudalism was a combination of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. Although derived from the Latin word feodum or feudum (fief), then in use, the term feudalism and the system it describes were not conceived of as a formal political system by the people living in the Middle Ages. In its classic definition, by François-Louis Ganshof (1944), feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior nobility revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs.A broader definition of feudalism, as described by Marc Bloch (1939), includes not only the obligations of the warrior nobility but also those of all three estates of the realm: the nobility, the clergy, and the peasantry bound by manorialism; this is sometimes referred to as a "feudal society". Since the publication of Elizabeth A. R. Brown's "The Tyranny of a Construct" (1974) and Susan ReynoldsSusan Reynolds's Fiefs and Vassals (1994), there has been ongoing inconclusive discussion among medieval historians as to whether feudalism is a useful construct for understanding medieval society.

Those who formulated the concept of feudalism were affected by the search for simplicity and order in the universe associated with the work of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) and especially Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Historians and philosophers were persuaded that if the universe operated systematically, so too must societies. In the 16th century16th century some students of the law and customs of the fief declared that feudal institutions were universal and maintained that feudal systems had existed in Rome, Persia, and Judaea. The philosopher Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) considered the fief one of humankind's eternal institutions. Adopting a similar position, Voltaire (1694-1778) contested the judgment of Montesquieu (1689-1755) that the appearance of feudal laws was a unique historical event. The philosophical historians of 18th-century Scotland searched for feudalism outside western Europe, and they expanded the construct's field of significance to encompass peasants as well as lords. Adam Smith (1723-90) presented feudal government as a stage of social development characterized by the absence of commerce and by the use of semi-free labour to cultivate land. Smith's student John Millar (1735-1801) found "the outlines of the feudal policy" in Asia and Africa. The association popularly made between the feudal construct and ignorance and barbarism fostered its extension to regions which Europeans scarcely knew and which they considered backward and primitive.

Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves, or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals, but share common themes. When something is private to a person, it usually means that something is inherently special or sensitive to them. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security (confidentiality), which can include the concepts of appropriate use, as well as protection of information. Privacy may also take the form of bodily integrity.The right not to be subjected to unsanctioned invasions of privacy by the government, corporations or individuals is part of many countries' privacy laws, and in some cases, constitutions. All countries have laws which in some way limit privacy. An example of this would be law concerning taxation, which normally requires the sharing of information about personal income or earnings. In some countries individual privacy may conflict with freedom of speech laws and some laws may require public disclosure of information which would be considered private in other countries and cultures. This was a major concern in the United StatesUnited States, with the Supreme Court passage of Citizens United.Privacy may be voluntarily sacrificed, normally in exchange for perceived benefits and very often with specific dangers and losses, although this is a very strategic view of human relationships. For example, people may be ready to reveal their name, if that allows them to promote trust by others and thus build meaningful social relations. Research shows that people are more willing to voluntarily sacrifice privacy if the data gatherer is seen to be transparent as to what information is gathered and how it is used. In the business world, a person may volunteer personal details (often for advertising purposes) in order to gamble on winning a prize. A person may also disclose personal information as part of being an executive for a publicly traded company in the USA pursuant to federal securities law. Personal information which is voluntarily shared but subsequently stolen or misused can lead to identity theft. The concept of universal individual privacy is a modern construct primarily associated with Western culture, British and North American in particular, and remained virtually unknown in some cultures until recent times. According to some researchers, this concept sets Anglo-American culture apart even from Western European cultures such as French or Italian. Most cultures, however, recognize the ability of individuals to withhold certain parts of their personal information from wider society--closing the door to one's home, for example. The distinction or overlap between secrecy and privacy is ontologically subtle, which is why the word "privacy" is an example of an untranslatable lexeme, and many languages do not have a specific word for "privacy". Such languages either use a complex description to translate the term (such as Russian combining the meaning of уединение--solitude, секретность--secrecy, and частная жизнь--private life) or borrow from English "privacy" (as Indonesian privasi or Italian la privacy). The distinction hinges on the discreteness of interests of parties (persons or groups), which can have emic variation depending on cultural mores of individualism, collectivism, and the negotiation between individual and group rights. The difference is sometimes expressed humorously as, "when I withhold information, it is privacy; when you withhold information, it is secrecy."

Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines accounted for the largest share of the global vaccines market in 2017. The large share of this segment is mainly attributed to increasing focus of companies towards recombinant and conjugate vaccines, growing prevalence of diseases, and increasing government initiatives.An in-depth analysis of the geographical scenario of the industry provides detailed qualitative and quantitative insights about the five major geographies (North AmericaNorth America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) along with the coverage of major countries in each region. North America accounted for largest share of vaccines market in 2017. The large share of this segment is mainly attributed to the well established vaccination program in the region, increasing prevalence of diseases, growing adoption of advanced vaccines, and large pool of key players. The Asia-Pacific vaccines market is expected to grow at a highest CAGR of 8.9%. The growth in the APAC market is mainly attributed to large patient pool, rising prevalence of diseases, growing awareness on vaccination, increasing government initiatives, and expanding presence of key players in this region. In addition, factors such as increasing disposable income and growing awareness about heath in emerging countries are further propelling the demand of vaccines in APAC.

Those who formulated the concept of feudalism were affected by the search for simplicity and order in the universe associated with the work of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) and especially Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Historians and philosophers were persuaded that if the universe operated systematically, so too must societies. In the 16th century some students of the law and customs of the fief declared that feudal institutions were universal and maintained that feudal systems had existed in Rome, Persia, and Judaea. The philosopher Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) considered the fief one of humankind's eternal institutions. Adopting a similar position, Voltaire (1694-1778) contested the judgment of MontesquieuMontesquieu (1689-1755) that the appearance of feudal laws was a unique historical event. The philosophical historians of 18th-century Scotland searched for feudalism outside western Europe, and they expanded the construct's field of significance to encompass peasants as well as lords. Adam Smith (1723-90) presented feudal government as a stage of social development characterized by the absence of commerce and by the use of semi-free labour to cultivate land. Smith's student John Millar (1735-1801) found "the outlines of the feudal policy" in Asia and Africa. The association popularly made between the feudal construct and ignorance and barbarism fostered its extension to regions which Europeans scarcely knew and which they considered backward and primitive.