bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geopolitics of Land Borders Closure in West Africa
Authors: Maigari A. M. , Dantani U. , Yelwa M. M. , Aliyu A.
Published: February 2024

This article discuss how a border policy of a particular country shaped the economic, political and security of the neigbouring countries. Border in the era of globalization, it is beyond a mere geographical demarcation that separates one country from the other. It occupies a central place in the international, continental and regional economic, political and security discourse. The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to close its land borders in August 2019 for economic and security reasons has affected commercial activities and movement of people between the frontiers of Nigeria with Togo, Benin Republic, Cameroon, and Niger Republic. Secondary data were sourced for the analysis and discussion. Hegemonic Stability Theory is adopted as theoretical framework to explain the phenomenon. The results show that the internal affairs of Nigeria become a theme for discussion at the regional economic bloc, Economic Community of West African States. Domestically, Nigerian government has portrayed border closure as one of the best decision to safeguard home industries and farmers from the importation of cheap goods. The paper further found that the border closure has provided Nigeria with an opportunity to compelled its neighbours to set up a joint border security patrol to check the influx of undocumented migrants, illegal selling of weapons, importation contraband products and discontinue the harbouring of terrorist groups in the border communities. However, the border closure led to economic hardship for Nigerians at the border communities and those who engage in cross border trade by rendering them jobless. Therefore, the article concludes that border can be used by an economically strong country to protects its political, economic and security interests. This is evident between Nigeria with its neigbhours when Nigeria shut its land borders because it is stronger than all its entire neighbours; economically and politically as well as military strength. Also, with a population of over 280 million people, it is a huge market in which the neighbours takes advantage of, for trading, labour migration and other commercial activities.
History, Modernity and Global Identities
Authors: Touraine Alain
Published: February 2024

The first stage of modern societies was defined in one part of the world by the establishment of a direct link between the sacred world and the human world: this is monotheism. In other parts, early stages were defined by empires or by categories of purity, such as castes in India. In the western world, as well as in places like Japan, a second stage links sacredness and political power, for which the paradigmatic political institutions were absolute monarchies. The third stage is what we call industrial society, which is defined by a massive increase in labor productivity, mechanization and class struggle at the social level. Now we are entering in a new “society of communication” which is no longer based neither on production nor on nation-states and cities, but rather on global systems. In this new type of society, the social actors must be “total”, that is they must be active in the cultural – mediatic – domain as well as in the political and economic fields. While in industrial societies the main actors were generally considered to be social classes, and the central notions were production and class conflict, in societies of communication the main actors represent more total categories, as those of “women” or “migrants” do in western countries today, and the central notion is subjectivation, which language is that of fundamental human rights.
Nation and Civilization in the Global Age
Authors: Köchler Hans
Published: February 2024

In the history of mankind, we witness a succession of increasingly complex forms of social organization. These are never mere agglomerations of individuals simply by chance, but specific forms of cooperation with a purpose – of collective survival, and, over time, existence in the sense of “good life”, namely of cultural refinement. Through all periods of history, many and diverse forms of organization evolved along these lines. By showing the historical development of such organizations from the antique Greek to the modern nation-state and beyond, this essay will discuss the relationship between “nation”, “state”, “civilization” and “cultural identity” with regards to the contemporary process of globalization.
Unsettling Subjectivity across Local, National and Global Imaginaries Producing an Unhappy Consciousness
Authors: Steger Manfred B. , James Paul
Published: February 2024

This article analyzes the complex and subtle dynamics involved in producing and representing the global-local nexus in everyday life. Its socio-historical context is the destabilization of the current globalization system – and its associated global imaginary – marked by the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, continuing with the populist explosion in the mid 2010s, and climaxing in the 2020 Global Coronavirus Pandemic. But rather than mischaracterizing the current context as “deglobalization”, we describe it as a contemporary intensification of what we have been calling the “Great Unsettling”. This era of intensifying objective instability is linked to foundational subjective processes. In particular, we examine the production of an “unhappy consciousness” torn between the enjoyment of global digital mobility and the visceral attachment to the familiar limits of local everyday life. In doing so, we rewrite the approach to the sources of ontological security and insecurity.
Glocalization Self-Referential Remembrances
Authors: Robertson Roland
Published: February 2024

This intervention is comprised of a sketch of the ways in which I have encountered the concept of glocalization, as well as glocality, during the past thirty-forty years. In one sense this means that it is extra-autobiographical. In saying this I have strongly in mind the not infrequent maxim that all good sociology, as well as anthropology and other social sciences, are at the same time extra-autobiographical. As will be seen in what follows this relationship between the autobiographical and the extra-autobiographical is part and parcel of the intellectual image that is presented here. My first conscious encounter with the word and idea of glocalization was an indirect result of the intellectual concern that I developed with globalization in the 1980s or, perhaps, even before then. It should be said in this respect that there were a number of binaries that were prominent in social scientific discourse in the 1960s and 1970s that undoubtedly had a strong bearing on my thinking about globalization and later glocalization. These included such conceptions as cosmopolitanism-localism and various others of that nature. Even less obvious were such distinctions as transcendence-immanence and sacred-profane. The genealogy inspired by such binaries were undoubtedly in my mind as I began explicitly to enter what might well be called the “glocal fray”. Moreover, I was to learn after I first used the concept of glocalization in 1992 that an anthropologist, Eric Swyngedouw, had used this concept around the same time as myself; both of us inspired by Japanese business discourse. As the 1990s wore on more and more people joined in the debate with varying degrees of hostility and enthusiasm, more frequently the former than the latter. In tracing this history, I shall obviously speak about the changes in, and fortunes of, the better-known concept of globalization as well as the “lesser” concept of localization. Being a sociologist – more appropriately now, a transdisciplinarian – I shall also focus upon the increasingly significant branch of social/natural science that addresses such issues as climate change, biodiversity and the debate about the Anthropocene. This paper is being composed during the tragic and global phenomenon of the Covid-19 pandemic. The latter surely exhibits glocal characteristics in the large.
Defining Revolution The Egyptian “Revolutions” in 1952 and 2011
Authors: Al-Salim Farid
Published: February 2024

Egyptian society has been shaped by two revolutions: The Free Officer Movement government takeover in 1952 and the ouster of President Mubarak in 2011. Both were revolutions but were very different in character. This paper will comparatively analyze the two events, the “revolutionary actions”, and the aftermath of the Free Officers on July 23, 1952 as well as that of January 25, 2011. It will examine the societal climate in which each of these series of events occurred, the nature of the “revolutionary action”, and the resultant effects of these events. It will be argued that although both were revolutions, the circumstances that led to them and the way that the revolutionary action was inspired, organized, and executed was very different in 2011 from those in 1952. This paper will seek an examination to each of these “revolutions” in terms of ideology and philosophy, public support, the nature of the “revolutionary” action (viz. the actual mechanism that resulted in the ouster of the previous regime). By analyzing these aspects of each “revolution”, one can analyze the applicability of the designation of “revolution” in describing both of these groups of events.
The Virus and the Glocal Tracing Semiopolitical Interactions
Authors: Sedda Franciscu
Published: February 2024

This work explores the reactions that the sudden appearance of COVID-19 has caused. More precisely, it is an attempt to grasp the re-articulation of the semiopolitical relations in the first two months of the spread of the virus (or at least of awareness of its circulation). At the heart of this process are the states. We will analyse how some of them managed the unpredictable and the risk represented by the virus. At the same time, we will see how this has brought into play not only the interactions between states, and the interaction between them and the planetary dimension, but also how it has redefined (within each individual state) the form of the collective, that is to say the relationship between rulers and governed, between central government and territories etc. What results is the need for abandoning static definitions of the local and the global in order to trace the multiple glocal relationships that constitute the fabric of our reality.
Glocalised Foodscapes The Self, The Other and The Frontier
Authors: Stano Simona
Published: February 2024

While food is capable of mediating between different cultures, opening kitchen systems to all sort of inventions, crosses and contaminations, it is also the space for domestication and adaptation. This has become particularly evident in contemporary glocalised foodscapes, where migratory flows, travels and the development of media systems have made the processes of translation across different food cultures increasingly evident and consistent, affecting (much faster than in the past) the existing culinary “traditions” and becoming part of them. The distinction between the global and the local dimension has thus progressively blurred, making established meanings and identities no longer clearly defined, but rather expressed through several and multiple interpretations. It is therefore essential to understand the semiotic processes underlying such interpretations, and the way they contribute to the definition of contemporary food meanings and identities. This paper deals with these crucial questions by focusing on some relevant case studies related to the Peruvian foodsphere, whose recent development and success on a global scale has been promoted precisely by means of an emphasised process of glocalisation operated by local food services and haute-cuisine chefs that have become famous worldwide.
Defamiliarizing the Familial a Cosmopolitan Reading of Satyajit Ray’s “Agantuk”
Authors: Kattar Nishita
Published: February 2024

In their introduction to the anthology Cosmopolitanisms, Breckenridge et al. describe cosmopolitanism as “ways of living at home abroad or abroad at home” (2000: 587). Cosmopolitanism, in these two dimensions, is enacted in Satyajit Ray’s film Agantuk (1991) as well. While the dominant tendency in the film’s reception has been to draw a dichotomy between parochialism and cosmopolitanism – with each proclivity identified with a different branch of the same family tree – this paper shall attempt to problematize this binary. Rather than articulating a tension between the home and the world, this paper proposes that Agantuk illustrates two different cosmopolitanisms – a way of “living at home abroad” and a way of “living abroad at home”. While both cosmopolitan approaches diverge significantly, the film makes a strong case that they emanate from a common space of middleclass privilege and access, by contextualizing them against the economic liberalization reforms of 1991 India. Globalization is seen as fostering a banal, consumerist variety of cosmopolitanism – a means for a financially stable middle class to garner cultural capital, and to produce itself as “modern” on a global scale. It is this consumption-oriented cosmopolitanism that bears the brunt of the film’s critical as well as recuperative efforts. Melted and recast, it has the potential to produce a “thicker”, more inclusive form of local, everyday cosmopolitanism – a cosmopolitanism that is equipped to resist the impulse to flatten and commodify alterity, and to open itself to plural, co-existing modes of inhabiting modernity.
India’s Nepal Policy (1950-2020) and Globalisation in Nepal: Challenges within and from China
Authors: Gupta Rishi
Published: February 2024

Seventy years (1950-2020) of India’s diplomatic ties with Nepal have been defined by deep-rooted socio-cultural, economic and people to people relations. The two countries share an open border that is nowhere found in a contested South Asia. Meanwhile, as a landlocked country between India and China, Nepal has struggled to keep up with its national interests and global aspirations. With its India centric foreign policy, Nepal has time and again attempted to reduce its dependence on India and sought to improve ties with China and other countries. The advent of globalisation in the 1990s bestowed Nepal to explore opportunities for its economic growth and shift to remuneration and services-based economy from agriculture. The labour migration from Nepal to third countries changed Nepal’s foreign policy objectives with India as until now India was the largest recipient of the Nepalese labourers. The arrival of democracy allowed Nepal to interact with China more openly in the last two decades, which has stood as a challenge to India’s traditional presence in Nepal. In this light, the present study examines the seventy years of India’s Nepal policy and attempts to contextualise China into it. It studies the overriding elements of Nepal’s foreign policy, along with India and China’s strategic interests in Nepal. With a focus on India’s Nepal policy, the paper further argues that India’s missteps and assertive stance towards Nepal have caused a great deal of damage, eventually pushing Nepal towards China. These moves have also presented Beijing an opportunity to advance its ties in trade, investment and military relations with Nepal and ensure stability and control in Tibet by putting a stop to anti-China activities in Nepal with the help and support from the Nepalese Government and Army.
Green Values in Crowdfunding Projects
Authors: Zakharova Olga V. , Pupysheva Irina N. , Payusova Tatiana Y. , Zakharov Anton Viktorovich , Sulkarnaeva L.D.
Published: February 2024

The green projects and initiatives are an important source to harmonize the relationships between society and nature. We define green projects as eco-friendly activities. Due to large-scale environmental problems for the last seventy years, it is relevant to develop the conditions for implementing these projects and transferring them to new spheres and regions. However, green projects are not often financed by traditional ways i.e. budget and bank financing. Therefore, an alternative way of financing such as crowdfunding is widely used regarding social and green projects. Nowadays, there are a lot of studies concerning the impact of various factors on the success of crowdfunding projects. However, there are not enough investigations about the values underlying the green crowdfunding projects. The purpose of the article is to investigate the values underlying the green projects and their impact on the attraction of funding from people living around the world. We identified seven values associated with the concept of sustainable development. According to these values, we studied the abstracts of 390 green projects on the crowdfunding platforms using the hermeneutical analysis. Additional we studied the relationship between the values and the project localization. Our findings allow enhancing the project attractiveness for backers. Besides, this research allows the project authors and the owners of crowdfunding platforms to predict the project development.
Decolonizing Management and Leading Change through African Philosophy
Authors: Osiri J. Kalu , Amaugo Amarachi N. , Francis Jenesha , John Emile O.
Published: February 2024

Africa currently operates and manages her affairs with and from a colonial perspective, in business, politics, and education. Living everyday life through a colonial lens has stunted growth and innovation because instead of using her strengths, which is leading with African management philosophy, Africa continues to operate with a Western framework, that is a system where the toxic influence and effects of coloniality continues to permeate African political institutions, the education system and culture. The authors advocate for a return to indigenous management philosophy, to ensure success and long-term sustainability. This paper sheds light on a historical background of African societies prior to the destruction of her cultures and institutions by slavery and colonialism. The authors offer key differences between African and Western approaches to show why the Western system has failed Africa. Lastly, the authors offer a framework for policy formulation in the form of propositions.
Between the Local and the Global Interwining Archives for the Construction of the History of Colonial Northeast Rioplatense
Authors: Salinas María Laura , Valenzuela Fátima
Published: February 2024

This research recovers methodological and heuristic interests that developed a few years ago, which have led us to work on the local and global historical archives from a humanistic horizon. This task puts us in a different place as historians, for it forces us to rethink the social function of the archives and of the historians in those archives. In the Northeast region of present-day Argentina, the space for discussion on archives begins to be a terrain won over by historians, who develop projects to recover, digitise and conserve documentary sources. Throughout this article we will focus on characterising a set of global and local archives that are vital to Rioplatense colonial history. We are interested in problematizing about documentary dispersion and how we build documentary corpus from sources that lie in different repositories. Beyond exploring them and briefly entering its institutional history, the work is oriented to present an in-depth analysis of the documentary typologies that can be found in those archives and that are vital to historical research in the region.
Un Mapa de la Conquista de la Nueva España el “Lienzo de Tlaxcala”
Authors: Jaramillo Arango Antonio , Cossich Vielman Margarita , Navarrete Linares Federico
Published: February 2024

The aim of this paper is to analyze the Lienzo de Tlaxcala, a sixteenth-century document, taking into consideration the different publics to which it was targeted. One version of this document was sent to the Spanish crown, where it was inserted in the European courtesan tradition of wall decoration with gobelin tapestries exalting the monarchy military and religious victories. In this context, the Lienzo de Tlaxcala worked as a conquest tapestry. At the same time, if we take into account the visual structure of the document, the location of some of the key places in it, and the comparison with some 18th century texts, we can propose that the Lienzo was interpreted as a map by Mesoamerican readers. Hence, the Lienzo de Tlaxcala could be considered as both a conquest tapestry and a map, depending on the public and on the reading and interpretation parameters that were applied. The Lienzo narrative allowed the inhabitants of Tlaxcala to claim and protect their rights within the Spanish legal system. It was in these circumstances that they also produced several genealogic documents that linked the protagonists of the Mesoamerican wars and alliances between 1519 and 1541 with their sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries’ descendants. These are all part of what we can call an Indigenous social memory of the conquest, and its own archive, parallel to that of Western culture.
A School Community between War and Imperial Illusions the World Seen from the Archive of a High School in Milan (1935-45)
Authors: Palumbo Enrico
Published: February 2024

This essay aims to investigate the connection between a local archive and global history, with a glocal perspective in a school environment. The work will deal with the archive of a high school in Milan, Italy, and examine how this community, with its principal, teachers and students, looked at (and was involved with) international events between 1935 and 1945. This was the period when fascist Italy declared war on Ethiopia and took part in the Second World War in its quest for an Empire and, later, for a new role in a Nazi-ruled Europe. Fascist foreign policy, which meant “war policy” in that period, and the way the Italian schools dealt with it became part of the totalitarian design of the regime. Changes in the local perspective regarding international events reflect changes in the regime’s political agenda.
Impact of Globalization on Communication and Culture the Indian Scenario
Authors: Nag Debanjana
Published: February 2024

Globalization in the contemporary world has changed its nature, form and shape expeditiously. Accordingly, its impact is not also limited to economic phenomenon only but has transmitted in all other aspects of life. It is very liquid in nature that changes its form very quickly. Along with it also changes the other phenomenon associated with it like the cultural, structural and societal issues etc. The communication technologies act as a carrier in this regard. It carries out all the transformations occurring in a society to a global level and thus plays a very important role in creating cultural homogenization, differentialism and cultural convergence in the societies. It not only acts as a mirror like reflective process to unleash the old and new forms of inequalities present in the society, but also enhance the levels of modernity in the society.
Defining the Role of Public Relations in India’s Foreign Policy
Authors: Gupta Mona
Published: February 2024

Public relations and its practices are perceived to have a direct role in working towards managing and improving foreign relations, and is instrumental in the implementation of larger and more inclusive foreign policies. To justify the connection between public relations and foreign affairs of India, the following research paper defines the conceptual role of public relations in India’s foreign policy-making and implementation. The paper explains how public relations functions helped India to open the lines of communication between India and its foreign allies and create a space for itself in the global environment. The study examines the key incidents in the foreign policy actions and developments in India and analysed them on the basis of the strategic application of the tools of public relations. The findings reveal the strategic role of public relations in the development of foreign relations of India and how the government has successfully worked in a two-way symmetrical format for developing and implementing its foreign policy initiative.
Globalisation Paradox and Economic Competitiveness of Emerging Economies
Authors: Igwe Paul Agu , Rahman Mahfuzur
Published: February 2024

The opening-up of BRICS economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) has been regarded as one of the benefits of globalisation. This paper explored the globalisation conundrum and the relationships between internationalisation, economic competitiveness and growth of emerging economies. It examines if there are economic gains and if they are widely shared by revisiting Rodrik’s globalisation paradox and Adam Smith’s propositions on the wealth of the nations and highlighting the difference between economic competitiveness and comparative advantage. This review covered the period between 2006 and 2021 to gain a better understanding of the globalisation paradox. The review suggests that the efficiency gains from trade liberalisation are not equally shared by every country leading to “unbalanced prosperity”. Although the rise of China and India as global superpowers was due to globalisation, many Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are poorer or further behind economically (referred to in this article as “globalised but economically-forsaken”).
Culture as a Universal Variable Opportunity Flow and Selection Process in Silicon Valley
Authors: Alexandre Olivier
Published: February 2024

In Silicon Valley, new technology is considered to be second nature. Techies from all over the world go there to develop companies, solutions or projects related to it. To do this, they need to manage two processes simultaneously: first, to integrate a growing flow of entrants and possible partners and, secondly, to select limited options between multiple opportunities and potential matches. This article analyzes the way Silicon Valley professionals handle this double bind. Based on a survey in the region and conceptual tools inherited from the sociology of globalization, it sheds light on how they build up, use and communicate about “culture” as a measurable and assessable variable. On the one hand, promotion of Silicon Valley’s “culture codes” increases the flow of entrants. On the other hand, from the techies’ point of view, acceptance of these codes by newcomers makes the selection process easier and more rational.
A Politica Externa da União Europeia Medidas Restritivas e Proteção Humanitária
Authors: Costa Leite Isabel
Published: February 2024

The genesis of the European Union (EU) is focused on the regional integration purpose which aims to assure peace. Although various impulses have been introduced in order to establish a collective external policy, this one was confronted with somewhat diverging national perspectives. As the EU shares common values in the issues of democracy, human rights and state of law, it is recognized as an essentially humanitarian power that uses soft power tools in its external relations. The application of restrictive measures such as restrictions concerning political and diplomatic nature, admission and circulation, and trade and financial nature, has been used with the goal of changing behaviours or policies of states, entities or individuals who break the principles of international or humanitarian law. The paper aims to articulate the EU sanction regimes, as a result of a gradual legal framework that reached the EU Global Regime of Sanctions in Human Rights, with the adoption of strategic action plans in human rights and democracy.
A Democratização Educativa como Direito e Meio Para Uma Globalização Humanizada
Authors: Eyng Ana Maria , Pianezzola Da Silva Jéssica Adriane , Henenrich Pacheco Eduardo Felipe
Published: February 2024

The meanings of democratic participation in educational contexts are discussed in this text in the counter-hegemonic globalization weave of possibilities. The methodological pathway establishes a dialog among documentary and bibliographic studies and empirical data on the participation under the theoretical perspective of complex thinking and democratic justice. On the trails of counter-hegemonic globalization, conceptual argumentation and guidelines of educational and childhood policies indicate that participation is an essential element of praxis. In this context, participation acts as principle, strategy and result in the multidimensional configuration of emancipatory learning and the right to democratic education as a possibility of ensuring sustainability of human and planetary life conditions.
Israeli Humanitarian Aid in Latin American Comparative Study Mexico-2017 and Brazil-2019
Authors: Gutiérrez González Ana Lucía
Published: February 2024

Israel is leader in rescue missions around the world, while Latin America and the Caribbean is the second most disaster-prone region. This thesis compares and analyses 2 Israeli humanitarian missions sent to Mexico and Brazil in 2017 and 2019, respectively. With this analysis we were able to answer our main question: Is it convenient for Israel to send humanitarian missions on every disaster that occurs in Latin American countries and what are the implications in diasporic relations settings? This research was conducted with a qualitative approach based on case studies. Data was collected by observation and in-depth interviews with 3 experts on the field. With all the collected information we built an evaluation matrix to work as a guide or checklist for future Israeli humanitarian missions in Latin America. Our analysis shows that both cases did not follow the same patterns for execution, and as well did not bring out the same outcomes. Throughout the whole research ask ourselves if it is convenient for Israel to send humanitarian aid on every disaster that occurs in Latin American countries. The answer in short is yes, but it is worth exploring the long version by reading this research. We conclude that Israel is a global leader in humanitarian missions, which does not mean that is not necessary for the missions to follow a protocol to protect the receiving countries, the reputation of the helping country and the relations between the parties involved.
Towards an Ecumenial or a Catastrophic City A Design, Ecumene and Humanitarian Discussion
Authors: Castro Seixas Paulo , Lobner Nadine
Published: February 2024

This paper is an attempt to explore the interplay of humanity and science to respond to novel globalization processes in the face of the 21st century. The human situation is presented through two schisms: the human-nature and the socio-cultural. Sustainability and ecumene studies are proposed as the new aggregated science fields aiming at solutions for the 21st century. Ecumene studies respond to the need to create a planetary intellectual infrastructure (a planetary brain) that “thinks” in an ecumenial way (beyond border conviviality) for a global transformation and reconciliation of human differences in/for a cosmopolitan perspective. Ecumenic, humanitarian and design movements/studies are considered the main areas of ecumene studies as an inter- and transdisciplinary field, with the city (in all its forms) as its core platform. The city as a human extension and dissipative system reveals a duality since its origin, coming to a peak of conviviality as it will comprise two third of humanity by 2050. This peak will either lead to higher forms of organization (anastrophe), or to collapse (catastrophe). The paper presents the “ecumenial city” or Ecumenopolis (city of Human Rights) as a anastrophic future projection and a call for everyone, emphasizing both a destiny and small actions for activating transformation and reconfiguration in times of approaching the peak.
The Seer Writes Back Examining the Anti-Colonial Politics in Swam Vivekananda’s “Raja Yoga”
Authors: Bhattacharjee Subhayu
Published: February 2024

As a thinker and reformer of the period ascribed as the “Bengal Renaissance”, Swami Vivekananda is usually read and studied in the light of his impact on social andreligious reforms in India. This has elicited multiple responses to Vivekananda’s works and life ranging from profound spiriualism to political connotations. The latter again has come to be defined either in terms of eulogies for his contribution to social and political reforms during colonial rule or, much recently owing to postcolonial studies, in terms of omplicity with colonial presumptions about the Orient such as the “effeminate Bengalee”. The latter variety of critical discourse has come to closely resemble what Partha Chatterjee has aptly described as “derivative discourse”. However, my principal contention in this paper is that while the derivative nature of Vivekanada’s discourse has good enough claims to be made in its favour particularly when considered from the historical and social contexts of their formulation, its resistive potential as an anti-colonial intellectual exercise is too often missed due to a lack of serious textual engagement with them. This paper will attempt to focus on the textual aspect of Vivekanda’s thought that establishes not only its critique to the foundations of Western discourse on logic, science and politics, but also identify possible sites of subversion of these foundations in the light of Vedantic interpretation.
Communicating Gender Equality During Covid-19 Pandemic an Analysis of Indian Corporate Websites
Authors: Gupta Mona , Tyagi Akhsay
Published: February 2024

Covid-19 has been the test of time for corporates to act responsibly toward the sustainable development goal of gender equality. The present research is conducted to understand the representation of gender equality in Indian corporates through their websites during the pandemic of the Covid-19 second wave using the Impression management technique. Impression management taxonomy has been applied to lead the content analysis of the 110 corporate websites from public and private sector companies for a period of six months. It is found that the corporates have been using more assertive techniques than defensive and the private sector has been active in comparison to the public sector in working towards gender equality initiatives. The situation of pandemic resulted in low business and struggle for existence still some companies tried to be gender- sensitive. In a focus group discussion with corporate representatives, it is found that Covid-19 was a difficult situation even for the corporates, but by posting womencentric stories and sharing their concerns, it was possible for an organisation to get a dedicated women workforce. Websites thus can work as a potent corporate communication tool whereby promoting gender equality, a company can be a morale booster for its employees and can gather positive public support.
Decommodifying Platform Work through an EU Definition of Worker
Authors: Sanz De Miguel Pablo , Bazzani Tania , Arasanz Juan
Published: February 2024

This article aims to highlight the process of recommodification characterizing the new forms of work today, in particular gig economy jobs, and the possible solutions that can be suggested to guarantee adequate protection. After having explained the importance of labour law to decommodify the new forms of work, in particular platform work, this article explains the different ways to legally classify them at the national level and the relevant contribution an EU definition of worker could bring to address the problem of recommodification. In doing this, the article also mentions some relevant aspects of the EU proposal for a directive in the field.
Naming and the Relegation of Poor Migrants: an Ubuntu Appraisal
Authors: Nyamudo Rudolph
Published: February 2024

Naming of a kind that relegates unwelcome poor strangers is a current challenge in countries that continue to experience substantial migration of destitute individuals. On the basis of African moral philosophy, and specifically an ubuntu/hunhu ethical theory, I examine the ethics of naming and particularly the concern that some names relegate unwelcome poor strangers in the host society. First, I discuss the problem of terms such as “foreign” and the relegation of poor migrants. Secondly, I draw attention to the ethic I am going to use to evaluate names, probing the African philosophy’s understanding of stranger and brother in terms of human dignity. Thirdly, I apply my favored dignity-based ethic to contemplations of naming, demonstrating which kinds of names are demeaning, which instead are apposite, and how various agents should change theirpresent practices. What is distinct and new in this philosophical investigation on naming and the relegation of poor immigrants is that I appeal to ubuntu moral theory and propose positive alternatives about which names should be used along with recommendations for change of practice.
Remote assessment and monitoring with advanced wound therapy to optimise clinical outcomes, access and resources
Authors: Lee Aliza , Woodmansey Emma , Klopfenstein Benjamin , O'Leary Jessica L , Cole Windy
Published: February 2024

Objective:

Patients in rural communities may have limited access to wound care; however, this may be mitigated by using a shared care approach. This study assessed the impact of a remote assessment and monitoring tool in combination with adjunctive continuous topical oxygen therapy (cTOT) in patients with diabetes and hard-to-heal wounds.

Method:

Patients with hard-to-heal wounds (defined as no visible improvement in the previous four weeks) were enrolled to this 12-week pilot study to validate a shared care approach using an Advanced Digital Wound Care Platform-telehealth (ADWCPt) system (eKare Inc., US) coupled with cTOT. Patient and wound assessments were reviewed by the clinician either remotely, via telehealth calls, or at the clinic, and the number of face-to-face clinic visits was recorded. Patient health status scores were captured before and after the study, along with feedback on usability of the remote platform and cTOT device.

Results:

The wounds in all eight patients studied reduced in size over 12 weeks (mean percentage area reduction 92.0%), and two wounds were completely re-epithelialised. Another wound almost healed (99.2% wound area reduction). Clinical interactions consisted of self-assessments (n=80, 50.0%), video assessments with the clinician (n=27, 16.9%), and face-to-face interactions in clinic (n=53, 33.1%). Operational efficiencies encompassed a 54.0% increase in the number of clinical interactions, whereas clinical time was reduced by 25.8%. Health status scores improved across all eight patients and feedback on the shared approach and cTOT device was favourable.

Conclusion:

A shared care model with ADWCPt coupled with an innovative cTOT device saved time and resources, improving patient access and engagement, along with a marked improvement in the wound healing trajectory.
Angularly stable terahertz multiband LiNbO3-polymer hybrid metamaterial for microfluidic refractive index sensing
Authors: Ma Tao , Su Linxing , Fan Yabo , Wang Wenqian , Liu Heng
Published: February 2024

A terahertz (THz) LiNbO3-polymer hybrid metamaterial (LPHM) consisting of three-layer Au patterns and two medium interval layers is demonstrated, and the bulk refractive index (RI) sensing performance is also studied. The parameter optimizations and sensing performances of the LPHM are simulated by the finite-element method (FEM). The results show that the reflection or absorption spectrum of the LPHM has four peaks in the 1–10 THz band, and the peaks move toward the lower frequency when the period (P) of the LPHM or the side length (a) of the notched square frame increases but shift to the higher frequency when w1 or w2 increases. Moreover, the LPHM has a wide angular stability and good structural stability. The sensing performance shows that the LPHM can achieve an RI sensitivity of 11.5 µm/RIU with a detection limit (DL) of 2.9×10−4RIU. The LPHM has potential applications in pharmacological biodevices, THz immunosensing, modern medical and clinical practices, and detection of thin films and biochemical substances, and it can be expected to realize multiphysical parameter measurements.
Measurement of nanocomposite scintillators by terahertz time domain spectroscopy
Authors: Guo Quan , Li Yang , Chen Jun-Feng , Li Xiang , Zhang Mei , Gao Ke-Qing , Sheng Liang
Published: February 2024

Nanocomposite scintillators are expected to combine the advantages of inorganic and plastic scintillators, such as high detection efficiency, high light yield, fast decay time, low cost, and ease of processing. They are currently the forefront and hot field of scintillator research. In this study, a non-destructive method was developed for measuring the content of inorganic components in nanocomposite scintillators by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The complex refractive index of BaF2 nanocomposite scintillators with different mass contents was measured in the terahertz band. As the mass content of BaF2 nanoparticles increases, the refractive index and extinction coefficient of BaF2 nanocomposite scintillators also gradually increase in the terahertz band. By combining the effective medium theory, the expected mass content was obtained, proving the feasibility of this measuring method.
Cohesive framework for non-line-of-sight imaging based on Dirac notation
Authors: Redo-Sanchez Albert , Luesia-Lahoz Pablo , Gutierrez Diego , Muñoz Adolfo
Published: February 2024

The non-line-of-sight (NLOS) imaging field encompasses both experimental and computational frameworks that focus on imaging elements that are out of the direct line-of-sight, for example, imaging elements that are around a corner. Current NLOS imaging methods offer a compromise between accuracy and reconstruction time as experimental setups have become more reliable, faster, and more accurate. However, all these imaging methods implement different assumptions and light transport models that are only valid under particular circumstances. This paper lays down the foundation for a cohesive theoretical framework which provides insights about the limitations and virtues of existing approaches in a rigorous mathematical manner. In particular, we adopt Dirac notation and concepts borrowed from quantum mechanics to define a set of simple equations that enable: i) the derivation of other NLOS imaging methods from such single equation (we provide examples of the three most used frameworks in NLOS imaging: back-propagation, phasor fields, and f-k migration); ii) the demonstration that the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction operator is the propagation operator for wave-based imaging methods; and iii) the demonstration that back-propagation and wave-based imaging formulations are equivalent since, as we show, propagation operators are unitary. We expect that our proposed framework will deepen our understanding of the NLOS field and expand its utility in practical cases by providing a cohesive intuition on how to image complex NLOS scenes independently of the underlying reconstruction method.
Ultra-broadband frequency shifting of laser pulses in a square multicore chalcogenide fiber
Authors: Balakin Alexey , Skobelev Sergey , Andrianov Alexey , Anashkina Elena , Litvak A. G.
Published: February 2024

The process of Raman frequency shifting of out-of-phase laser pulses in fibers with a square configuration of weakly coupled cores having two or more zero dispersion wavelengths has been studied. The use of out-of-phase distributions in multicore fibers makes it possible to increase pulse energies by orders of magnitude in comparison with the case of single-core fibers. Conditions for the stability of out-of-phase laser pulses are determined and confirmed by numerical simulations. A configuration of chalcogenide multicore fiber with three zero dispersion wavelengths is proposed, allowing ultra-broadband frequency shifting of laser pulses up to 6.2 μm with an energy efficiency of more than 25%.
Nanoimprinted exciton-polaritons metasurfaces: cost-effective, large-scale, high homogeneity, and room temperature operation [Invited]
Authors: Ha My Dang Nguyen , Bouteyre Paul , Trippé-Allard Gaëlle , Chevalier Céline , Deleporte Emmanuelle , Drouard Emmanuel , Seassal Christian , Nguyen Hai Son
Published: February 2024

Exciton-polaritons represent a promising platform that combines the strengths of both photonic and electronic systems for future optoelectronic devices. However, their application is currently limited to laboratory research due to the high cost and complexity of fabrication methods, which are not compatible with the mature CMOS technology developed for microelectronics. In this work, we develop an innovative, low-cost, and CMOS-compatible method for fabricating large surface polaritonic devices. This is achieved by direct patterning of a halide-perovskite thin film via thermal nanoimprint. As a result, we observe highly homogeneous polaritonic modes of quality factor Q ≈ 300 at room temperature across a centimetric scale. Impressively, the process provides high reproducibility and fidelity, as the same mold can be reused more than 10 times to imprint the perovskite layer on different types of substrates. Our results could pave the way for the production of low-cost integrated polaritonic devices operating at room temperature.
A beta-Poisson model for infectious disease transmission
Authors: Hilton Joe , Hall Ian
Published: February 2024

Outbreaks of emerging and zoonotic infections represent a substantial threat to human health and well-being. These outbreaks tend to be characterised by highly stochastic transmission dynamics with intense variation in transmission potential between cases. The negative binomial distribution is commonly used as a model for transmission in the early stages of an epidemic as it has a natural interpretation as the convolution of a Poisson contact process and a gamma-distributed infectivity. In this study we expand upon the negative binomial model by introducing a beta-Poisson mixture model in which infectious individuals make contacts at the points of a Poisson process and then transmit infection along these contacts with a beta-distributed probability. We show that the negative binomial distribution is a limit case of this model, as is the zero-inflated Poisson distribution obtained by combining a Poisson-distributed contact process with an additional failure probability. We assess the beta-Poisson model’s applicability by fitting it to secondary case distributions (the distribution of the number of subsequent cases generated by a single case) estimated from outbreaks covering a range of pathogens and geographical settings. We find that while the beta-Poisson mixture can achieve a closer to fit to data than the negative binomial distribution, it is consistently outperformed by the negative binomial in terms of Akaike Information Criterion, making it a suboptimal choice on parsimonious grounds. The beta-Poisson performs similarly to the negative binomial model in its ability to capture features of the secondary case distribution such as overdispersion, prevalence of superspreaders, and the probability of a case generating zero subsequent cases. Despite this possible shortcoming, the beta-Poisson distribution may still be of interest in the context of intervention modelling since its structure allows for the simulation of measures which change contact structures while leaving individual-level infectivity unchanged, and vice-versa.