bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does the cjeu Misunderstand Investment Treaty Arbitration in Commission v Micula?
Authors: Gáspár-Szilágyi Szilárd , Usynin Maxim
Published: December 2022

This article focuses on the recent judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in European Commission v Micula (C-638/ 19 P) concentrating on two paragraphs in particular, namely paragraphs 144–145. These passages lead us to believe that the Court of Justice’s more recent and hostile attitude towards intra-EU investment treaty arbitration (in Achmea, Komstroy, and PL Holdings) might be a result of several misunderstandings by the Court on how investor-state arbitration and bit s work. The first concerns the nature of consent to arbitrate under an investment agreement. The second concerns the purpose of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), and the third relates to the retroactive effects of the Court’s judgment in relation to Romania’s consent to arbitrate under the Romania-Sweden BIT. From these three issues the fourth misunderstanding follows, which is a lack of clarity on the relationship between EU law and the Member States’ existing obligations under the ICSID Convention. This discussion is relevant because it shows that when a court which is foreign to a system and uses the features of that system to define and develop its own legal system, the chances that the foreign system will be potentially misunderstood or mischaracterised are very high. This in turn will not only cause legal problems, such as issues with legal certainty and the finality of decisions for already concluded arbitrations, but it will also set in motion other unexpected consequences.
The Law of Arbitration and EU Law – like Oil and Water?
Authors: Broberg Morten , Fenger Niels
Published: December 2022

The relationship between EU law and the law of arbitration has often been described as one of mutual indifference. However, from about 2010, the two systems began to interact with one-another through certain decisions of the CJEU. This led some observers to argue that the two systems had become intertwined. In order to establish whether the decisions of the CJEU provide a basis for such a finding, the present article considers the interaction between the two legal systems in three different areas. Firstly, whether in certain situations an arbitral tribunal must take EU law into consideration when deciding a dispute. Secondly, those situations where, one way or another, a Member State has been involved in the arbitration. Thirdly, the question whether arbitral tribunals can make so-called preliminary references to the CJEU under the TFEU. While the examination of the relationship between EU law and the law of arbitration shows that increasingly the two systems interact with each other, it also shows that in relative terms there are only a limited number of instances where EU law plays a role within the field of private arbitration. The article therefore concludes that the law of arbitration and EU law continue to be distinct legal systems.
Ratification of the ISDS Provisions in CETA – Current Court and Legislative Challenges – an Overview
Authors: Leonard Patrick
Published: December 2022

This article considers the recent rejection of challenges to the ratification of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement with Canada (CETA), by both the German Constitutional Court in March 2022, the Irish High Court and the Irish Supreme Court decision in November 2022, and the likely future path towards ratification. It considers the background to these court challenges, including the request from the Kingdom of Belgium to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) on the compatibility of the ISDS provisions of CETA with EU law, the underlying themes in the German and Irish court challenges, and the position on ratification across other countries in the EU. It concludes that the path to ratification is unclear and that the EU may be forced in the future to adopt a split model to any Free Trade Agreement with Canada.
Going Out of Business: Representing Insolvent Claimants Seeking Investment Treaty Protection in Arbitrations Brought against States (Winner of the Essay Competition 2022)
Authors: Hristova Velislava , Cherkezov Stanislav
Published: December 2022

In light of the continuing covid-19 pandemic, with its punctuating new waves and variants, and the war in Ukraine and accompanying global sanctions, it is likely that the number of insolvent claimants demanding investment treaty protection is on the rise. Against this background, it is the aim of this study to examine who can represent insolvent claimants in arbitral proceedings. In doing so, the authors examine the roles and representative powers of the different stakeholders in cases where an insolvent claimant has sought investment treaty protection in an arbitration brought against a State. By assessing the roles of insolvency administrators, companies’ shareholders and directors, and third-party funders, and analysing existing case law, the study serves as a guide to parties establishing their case strategy and to arbitrators faced with such issues.
Republic of Italy v Athena Investments A/S Before the Swedish Courts: Is There Still a Life After the CJEU’s Decision in Komstroy and PL Holdings?
Authors: Liebkind Anina , Norburg Fredrik , Holst Andreas
Published: December 2022

The Swedish Court of Appeal considers the CJEU’s decisions in Republic of Poland v pl Holdings Sàrl and Republic of Moldova v Komstroy LLC regarding the validity of the arbitration clause included in Article 26 of the Energy Charter Treaty for intra-EU arbitrations, and recalls its request for a preliminary ruling in an ongoing challenge proceeding. Following up on our 2021 EILA Rev case-note, covering the parties’ submissions prior to the Court of Appeal’s request for a preliminary ruling, we further explore the parties’ recounts of the CJEU’s recent decisions and the implications under Swedish law. The Svea Court of Appeal is the first Swedish court to decide on the validity of Article 26 of the Energy Charter Treaty in intra-EU arbitration.
Report on the 7th Annual EFILA Conference 2022 on Whether the EU is Still an Attractive FDI Destination Post-Achmea and Komstroy
Authors: Iannini Emma
Published: December 2022

The European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA) held its 7th Annual Conference on Thursday, 9 June 2022 in Amsterdam. Over a series of four expert panels and a keynote speech delivered by Prof. Dr. Anne van Aaken (Hamburg University), panelists discussed the future of FDI in Europe in the wake of “anti-isds” decisions of the CJEU such as Slovak Republic v Achmea and Republic of Moldova v Komstroy.
Taking Laila’s Name: Reimagining the Laila-Majnun Story in Brajbhasha
Authors: Hasson Michal
Published: December 2022

The story of Laila and Majnun served numerous poets in the Persian cosmopolis with an occasion to comment on love, both earthly and divine, and its transformative power. This essay examines an early modern Brajbhasha version of this famous love story and the ways in which a seventeenth-century Rajput-Muslim poet navigated register, idiom, plot, and literary devices so as to create a tale that addressed as wide an audience as possible, comprised of different religious sects, without losing sight of the Sufi message of the work. This, in turn, points to the need to study religious communities in early modern South Asia not as isolated islands but as part of a loosely connected network in which interaction, shared motifs, stories, and concepts were commonplace.
Il corpo del cadavere nel diritto islamico contemporaneo: la visione salafita
Authors: De Angelo Carlo
Published: December 2022

According to Muslim jurists the body belongs to God, who temporarily lends it to human beings, and therefore cannot be altered, except in the cases expressly provided for (circumcision, application of the ḥudūd punishments, etc.). Modifying the body is prohibited because it would violate its sacredness. The body of the human being is thus inviolable, and it is so both during life but also after death. And it is on the body after death, therefore on the corpse, that this article focuses. Starting with the jurisprudence produced by the Saudi Salafis in the second half of the last century, it reconstructs the rules relating to its ordinary handling and those relating to a specific exception, the autopsy.
Polish Physicians Held in the Miranda de Ebro “Campo de Concentración”
Authors: Cuerda Galindo Esther
Published: December 2022

Spain played an ambiguous and pragmatic role during the Second World War and its policy evolved as the war progressed. While Francoist Spain was friendly towards Nazi Germany, it never declared war on the Allies, even if it contributed Division Azul to the Reich’s invasion of the Soviet Union. Spanish neutrality allowed its territory to become a temporary safe haven for refugees fleeing the Nazi terror in Europe. Miranda de Ebro concentration camp (1937–1947) saw the internment of soldiers from the International Brigades who had fought on the Republic’s side in the Spanish Civil War, and of European refugees escaping from the Nazis. After the French, Poles represented the second biggest national group at Miranda and it is the Polish doctors on whom I focus in this paper because of Poland’s situation during and after the war. Most of the Polish doctors held in Miranda were Jews who had come to France before the war, where they had studied while keeping Polish citizenship. After release from Miranda, many joined the Allied forces fighting against the German Reich. But when the war ended, Poland – though formally independent – became a satellite country of the Soviet Union. Only one of the physicians ever returned to Poland. The rest continued their careers in Great Britain or the USA despite all the difficulties this entailed.
Establishing Judicial Precedents Through Advisory Opinions of the European Court of Human Rights
Authors: Gavrysh Khrystyna
Published: December 2022

The recent practice of the European Court of Human Rights to follow, in its case law, legal statements made in the exercise of its new advisory competence pursuant to Additional Protocol No. 16 raises some considerable issues. The most important of such issues regards the possibility for principles of law established by the Strasbourg Court to be recognized as judicial precedents within the European Convention of Human Rights system, which is the object of this paper. For this purpose, the analysis will focus not only on the approach of the European Court of Human Rights, but also on that of the Italian judicial authorities, which developed a particularly innovative case law at this regard. Finally, it will also consider the experience of other international judicial bodies, in order to draw some general conclusions on the contribution of advisory opinions to the development of international law.
Tackling Lacunae in International Courts and Tribunals’ Procedure: The Role of External Precedent
Authors: Milo Caterina
Published: December 2022

International courts and tribunals are frequently faced with the need to fill lacunae in their own rules of procedure. Among the many tools at the disposal of adjudicative bodies, external precedent emerges as one of the most flexible and intuitive, allowing to “borrow” from the procedure of other bodies. This paper offers an overview of how international courts and tribunals use external precedent on procedural matters in the context of a number of typical gap-filling techniques. To this end, it delves into the possibility of employing external precedent as a subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law, as an instrument for carrying out systemic interpretation, and as a way of invoking and delimiting inherent powers. Through this analysis, the paper questions the view according to which recourse to external precedent necessarily contributes to the legitimacy of international courts and tribunals. It shows that, at least in procedural matters, this nexus is not straightforward and varies according to the context in which reference to external precedent is made.
Multispectral Imaging of Vat. gr. 73
Authors: Toth Michael B. , Christens-Barry William A.
Published: December 2022

The multispectral imaging of the sample from BAV, Vat. gr. 73 in 2016 resulted in the discovery of important texts by Dexippus and Polybius. Imaging with a then state-of-technology integrated multispectral imaging system helped reveal texts in the manuscript that were no longer visible to the unaided eye due to interventions by earlier librarians. The resulting images were processed with several techniques that produced remarkable results for researchers. Collaboration between the scientific team, the BAV staff and other investigators provided new information and large amounts of data for further research.
Membra disjecta sinaitica III
Authors: Kessel Grigory
Published: December 2022

The tenth-century, Georgian manuscript geo. 49 preserved at the monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai is not a regular codex. What distinguishes this manuscript is that the Georgian scribe Iovane Zosime made use of a large number of reused parchment material that originally belonged to other manuscripts copied in a variety of languages. Some of these manuscripts, in turn, were made from the folios of other manuscripts that had been similarly reused before. As it is often the case with Sinai manuscripts, the codex Sin. geo. 49 is not complete and many of its leaves are missing. This article examines four Syriac undertexts in two previously unexplored membra disjecta—Vat. iber. 4 and HMML Ms. Frag. 32—and demonstrates that the recycled manuscript copies are rare and unique witnesses for the texts they originally contained.
Does Scotland Need Sera?
Authors: Nisbet Stanley
Published: December 2022

In place of “SERA News”, SER takes the opportunity to mark SERA’s tenth anniversary by inviting Stanley Nisbet to record its origins and comment on its development.
SED Funding of Educational Research: A View from New St Andrew’s House
Authors: Nicol Bill
Published: December 2022

This is the edited text of a lecture given by Bill Nicol HMI at the 1984 annual conference of the Scottish Educational Research Association. Its delivery coincided with his retirement from the Scottish Education Department’s Research and Intelligence Unit.
Racial Differences and Injury Pattern Variation: Impact of COVID-19 on a Bronx Trauma Center
Authors: Kiernan Risa N. , Salvitti Madison S. , Baltazar Gerard , Kivitz Scott , Sosulski Amanda , Karev Dmitriy , Celebi Taner B. , De Mel Stephanie , Amanat Sonia , Schulz Dana , Talty Nanette , Feliciano Jennifer , DiRusso Stephen
Published: December 2022

Background

New York City (NYC) became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Bronx, with the highest rates of poverty and violent crime of all NYC boroughs and a large Black and Hispanic population, was at increased risk of COVID-19 and its sequelae. We aimed to identify temporal associations among COVID-19 and trauma admission volume, demographics, and mechanism of injury (MOI).

Methods

A retrospective review of prospectively collected data was conducted from a Level II trauma center in the Bronx. January 1st–September 30th for both 2019 (Pre-COVID) and 2020 (COVID) were compared. Pre-COVID and COVID cohorts were subdivided into EARLY (March–May) and LATE (June–September) subgroups. Demographics and trauma outcomes were compared.

Results

Trauma admissions were similar between Pre-COVID and COVID. During COVID, there was an increased percentage of Black patients (Black Hispanic 20.1% vs 15.2% and Black Non-Hispanic 39.4% vs 34.1%, P < .05), younger patients (26–35 years old: 22.6% vs 17.6%, P < .05), and out-of-pocket payors (6.0% vs 1.6%, P < .05). Trauma severity outcomes were mixed—some measures supported increased severity; others showed no difference or decreased severity. During COVID, there was a rise in total penetrating injuries (27.4% vs 20.8%, P < .05), MVC (13.2% vs 7.1, P < .05), and firearm injuries (11.6% vs 6.0%, P < .05). Additionally, during LATE COVID, there was a resurgence of total penetrating, total blunt, MVC, falls, cyclists/pedestrians struck, and firearm injuries.

Discussion

Our results emphasize MOI variations and racial differences of trauma admissions to a Level II trauma center in the Bronx during COVID-19. These findings may help trauma centers plan during pandemics and encourage outreach between trauma centers and community level organizations following future healthcare disasters.
Genesis and Job: A Cosmic Conversation in Conflict
Authors: Brown William P.
Published: December 2022

The creation account of Gen 1:1–2:3 is only one of several accounts featured in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. The one account that most closely matches its cosmic orientation is the poetic description of creation given in Job 38–41. Nevertheless, both accounts are worlds apart regarding how they describe creation and what they find most important about creation. Their theological and literary differences make for a lively intertextual conversation, as entertained in the interpreter’s imagination. Let the dialogue begin.
She Decides: Reading Genesis 34 in Conversation with Narrative Ethics
Authors: Cifers Carrie
Published: December 2022

Genesis 34 is a troubling tale that includes an ambiguous sexual encounter (possibly rape), deception, brutal violence against an unsuspecting city, and the silence—or silencing—of the only female character, Dinah. This article models wrestling with this difficult passage through linguistic analysis and a narrative ethics framework that monitors the functions of reticence in narrative. Attending to the two major informational gaps—the narrator’s evaluation and the perspective of Dinah—alerts readers to the centrality of the latter as the key to unlocking the former.
The Theological Pretension of the Ethical: Reframing the Jewish Significance of Genesis 22
Authors: Schwartz Ethan
Published: December 2022

Due to the influence of Christian philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, modern Jewish readings of the Aqedah, or “binding of Isaac” (Gen 22:1–19), tend to understand the story in terms of a conflict between divine command and human ethics. Drawing on both biblical and extrabiblical evidence, this article argues that the conflict in the story is more plausibly understood as one between divine command and covenantal promise. Despite not being about theological ethics in the usual sense, this interpretation may still have Jewish meaning if we situate it in the realm of theodicy.
Characterization of the extruded polypropylene filled with cement kiln dust composite
Authors: El-Rafey Essam , Sadik Wagih A , Ramadan Tawfik A , El-Farouk Shimaa , Syala Eslam
Published: December 2022

Cement kiln dust (CKD), with different ratios (10, 20, and 30%), has been used as a filler for polypropylene (PP) thermoplastic forming the compound under study by the extrusion technique. The aftereffect of increasing CKD dosage on structural, mechanical, physical, and electrical properties of the neat PP has been investigated. Infrared (IR) spectra and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) proved that the mixture was physically blended. The mechanical characteristics like tensile strength, elongation% at break, besides the Izod impact decreased from 22.33 to 16.33 MPa, from 6.33 to 4.33, and from 52.33 to 34.70 J/m ‘respectively’, while the hardness increased from 77.20 to 83.56 Kg/mm2 with increasing CKD%. Water absorption results showed that the PP absorbed more water because of the low adhesion and hydrophilicity of cement dust particles. Filling PP with CKD up to 20% enhanced its thermal stability as indicated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The electrical measurements showed that rising CKD% promoted the insulation properties of PP. To the best of our knowledge, the present PP-CKD composite has not been prepared previously which provides novelty to this research. Manufacturing this composite on the industrial scale enhances the environment (by reducing CKD damping), reduces the cost of PP production, and utilizes a useful application for one of the most harmful industrial wastes.
The impact of negative oil shocks on military spending and democracy in the oil states of the greater Middle East: Implications for the oil sanctions
Authors: Dizaji Sajjad F
Published: December 2022

This study examines how negative oil shocks affect military expenditures and the quality of democracy in the oil rentier states of the greater Middle East using annual data from 1990 to 2018, inclusive. The theoretical analysis suggests that a reduction in oil revenues decreases the government spending on patronages and public goods and may challenge the political power of the incumbent leader. The results of the impulse response functions based on the estimated panel vector autoregressive models indicate that the responses of the military burden and non-military expenditures (as a percentage of GDP) to negative oil shocks become negative and statistically significant after three to four years. Reductions in the financial capability of a rentier government and spending on patronages improve the political environment and quality of democracy. However, this political improvement takes some time to develop as the government may resist the reduction in its expenditures during the initial phase of oil shocks. The policy implication of these results is informative for organizations and policymakers interested in the security and political impact of oil sanctions. Restrictions on oil exports decrease the military spending of the oil rentier states and improve their democracy indices in the long run, although the short-run impacts can be negative. These results are not sensitive to different proxies for oil abundance, alternative data on military expenditures, different indicators of democracy, and different groups of oil-dependent countries.
Small-scale shipping and the maritime commerce of eighteenth-century St. Petersburg
Authors: Kraikovski Alexei
Published: December 2022

The paper discusses the history of eighteenth-century St. Petersburg coastal shipping in the context of the Early Modern European coastal transportation growth. Based on the sources significantly understudied so far, I discuss the spatial and economic aspects of St. Petersburg coastal transportation. Using the conceptual framework of the littoral society and Greater St. Petersburg, I discuss the uncertainty of the very concept of the St. Petersburg coastal fleet. Based on the detailed account of the St. Petersburg coastal fleet prepared in the late eighteenth century, I reveal the commercial strategies used by the St. Petersburg merchants in their competition with their European counterparts. These observations confirm that St. Petersburg became a focal point of an enormous network of water transportation, and the local merchants used the coastal fleet as an efficient instrument of participation in international maritime commerce.
What factors influence the likelihood of rural farmer participation in digital agricultural services? experience from smallholder digitalization in Northern Ghana
Authors: Abdulai Abdul-Rahim , KC Krishna Bahadur , Fraser Evan
Published: December 2022

Participation in digital services is critical for the inclusiveness of digitalization in smallholder Africa. However, farmers engagement with digitalization services needs further explorations due to limited empirical research on the topic. This paper thus employs a cross-sectional survey of 1565 farmers in Northern Ghana to assess the factors that affect the likelihood of farmers’ participation in digital agricultural services. We applied a polynomial regression model to show that gender, affiliations to farmer groups, access to extension services, ability to place phone calls, and ownership/access to mobile phones increase the probability of participation in digital services. Thus, farmer characteristics, digital competencies, and access to digital resources are critical in determining who participates in digitalization, essentially positioning these as critical factors to consider in scaling of digital agriculture services. We further argue that access and impacts of digitalization could be exclusive due to existing equities in the identified fundamental elements for participation, adoption, and use of digitalization. Hence, strategies sensitive to the drivers of engagement, including strengthening farmer associations/groups, increasing access to extension services, building digital skills, and scaling access to digital tools (including mobile phones), are required for inclusiveness, scaling and the long-term sustainability of digitalization for smallholders.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Weight-Related Difficulties in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Systematic Review
Authors: Pitil Patricia Pawa , Ghazali Siti Raudzah
Published: December 2022

Multiple studies have investigated the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in improving psychological flexibility among overweight and obese individuals. However, to date, no specific reviews have focused on ACT and weight-related difficulties in this population. This systematic review of the literature aims to identify and assemble all ACT interventions in randomized controlled trials (RCT) that address weight-related difficulties in the treatment of overweight and obese adults. The PRISMA 2020 framework was used for the systematic review, includes manual and computerized database searches. Five databases (Medline, PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and Google) were utilized to gather all articles that: (a) published in English; (b) adopted the RCT design; (c) used ACT as an intervention; (d) included adult participants aged over 18 years with BMI of over 25 kg/m2, and (e) included weight-related difficulties and weight as outcome measures. The review identified seven studies comprising 698 overweight or obese participants of both genders. Improvements were reported in weight-related difficulties and percentage of weight loss in the ACT group and the non-ACT group. The present review supports ACT as an effective intervention that can help adults with weight-related difficulties and excess body weight. Further studies should be conducted in various overweight or obese populations with a more systematic RCT research design to establish the effectiveness of ACT in this area.
Knowing What You’ve Got Once It’s Gone: Identifying Familial Norms and Values through the Lens of (Sibling) Bereavement
Authors: Towers Laura
Published: December 2022

Following the death of a sibling, life as it was known and expected to be lived is permanently and irrevocably set on a different trajectory. Surviving siblings are left to consider all that they have lost beyond the individual who died. Using data from a qualitative study exploring experiences of sibling bereavement over the life course, this article presents a set of assumptions that people had regarding their imagined but unliveable futures. In doing so, it outlines how these ideas contribute to a currently under-developed understanding of normative expectations of the adult sibling relationship, as well as wider familial norms and values. As such, this article will demonstrate that death can actually reveal much about living relationships. It will conclude that bereavement research has much to offer the sociologies of family, relationships and personal life, as an alternative lens through which to learn more about familial norms and values.
Displaying Difference, Displaying Sameness: Mixed Couples’ Reflexivity and the Narrative-Making of the Family
Authors: Cerchiaro Francesco
Published: December 2022

Drawing on qualitative research involving Christian-Muslim couples in Italy, France and Belgium, the article explores the concept of mixedness by employing Finch’s concept of ‘displaying family’ to reach two goals: how the concept of mixedness bears multiple meanings and how the narrative tool of display works in the life story approach. The analysis distinguishes three main dimensions partners deploy to articulate the concept of mixedness. These are: (1) mixedness as a stigma to reject; (2) mixedness as difference that emerges in a couple’s daily life; and (3) mixedness as a resource to be valued by society. The analysis reveals how partners contest and redefine the concept of mixedness and how narratives work as a tool of family display through which partners: deny a socially ascribed negative definition of their family, narratively articulate the activity of ‘doing family’ on a daily basis and (re)signify a contested definition of family.
“Please Love Our Asian American Neighbors”: Christian Responses to Anti-Asian Racism during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Borja Melissa May , Zhang Kayla
Published: December 2022

How have American religious groups engaged in the issue of contemporary anti-Asian racism? This article examines statements issued by Christian denominations in the United States to understand how American Christians have responded to the recent rise in racist and violent attacks on Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that while all of the statements condemned anti-Asian racism, Christian responses varied in significant ways: in how they understood the problem of racism, in what they prescribed as solutions, and in the degree to which they engaged in the particular experiences of Asian Americans.
The Asian American Movement and the Church: Laying the Foundations for Asian American Theology
Authors: Hong Jane
Published: December 2022

This piece outlines the importance of the Asian American Movement (AAM) for the church and for the field of Asian American theology and ongoing discussions thereof. It contextualizes the AAM in a particular demographic moment when US-born Asian Americans outnumbered immigrants for the first and only time in American history. Using the example of Japanese American Methodist clergy active in the AAM, it considers how their experiences of state-sponsored incarceration shaped a firm belief that ethnic and racial identity should inform how church leaders do ministry, teach the Bible, and engage society. In particular, their incarceration experiences cemented a lifelong commitment to justice and to the liberation of oppressed peoples both in the USA and overseas.
The Antiracist Culture War and Its Disconnects: On Conventions, Deflections, and Alternative Idioms
Authors: Tran Jonathan
Published: December 2022

In the following, I relate recent work I’ve done on Asian Americans and Asian American Christianity to a political phenomenon I refer to as the “antiracist culture war.” While I foreground description and analysis of the culture war, the precarious presence of Asian Americans informs the article throughout, becoming explicit in its second half. From the precarity of their position, one can see how the culture war works and the fate it bestows to Asian Americans. The manner by which the culture war marginalizes Asian Americans exposes the warrior logic driving its operations. The antiracist culture war makes casualties of Asian Americans, bystanders conscripted into a war not of their making.
Tracking building operational energy and carbon emissions using S-curve trajectories—a prototype tool
Authors: Bunn Roderic , Burman Esfand , Warne James , Bull Jamie , Field John
Published: December 2022

New and refurbished non-domestic buildings are failing to live up to their anticipated performance. Shortfalls show in excess energy consumption, high carbon dioxide emissions and other failings in quantitative and qualitative performance metrics. This paper describes the component parts of the performance gap using evidence from building performance evaluations. It introduces a way of visualising the consequences of decisions and actions that are known to compromise performance outcomes using a performance curve methodology (the S-curve) which plots performance, and the root causes of underperformance, from project inception to initial operation and beyond. The paper tests the hypothesis with two case studies. It also covers the initial development of a prototype visualisation tool designed to enable live projects to track emerging operational energy and emissions against a high energy and emissions trajectory created from empirical evidence. The tool aims to help practitioners identify key risk factors that could compromise building performance and mitigate these risks at different stages of procurement.

Practical application: The Operational Energy and Carbon (OpEC) visualisation tool is designed for wide industrial application, on all sizes of a non-domestic building project, large and small. It aims to visualise the likely outturn energy performance of a project by calculating the penalties for shortcomings in project delivery. The penalties are visualised as weighted trajectories of energy and carbon dioxide emissions. The prototype tool aims to fill a gap between the capabilities of powerful energy modelling tools used in design and the capacity of non-specialist stakeholders to understand the emerging energy characteristics of a project as it moves through procurement, design, construction, and delivery.
Orientation and Mobility During COVID-19 and the Effect on Psychosocial Functioning
Authors: Kaiser Justin T. , Fast Danene , DeGrant Jasamyn N. , Welch-Grenier Stephanie
Published: December 2022

Introduction: This research explored the psychosocial effects observed during the COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to orientation and mobility (O&M) services for children with visual impairments. The survey asked professionals to identify what were their experiences in providing O&M instruction in-person and online and to describe their interactions with students and families during the fall of 2020. Methods: The online survey results included open-ended responses from 166 O&M specialists. The authors used thematic analysis to examine and code participants’ qualitative responses. Results: Psychological and social effects were identified as a major theme across the participants for how they affected an individual's health, well-being, and ability to complete aspects of O&M lessons. Professionals were challenged with providing appropriate instruction given the risks associated with COVID. Additionally, children with visual impairments became more isolated and less physically active over time. Discussion: Professionals, students, and parents often placed their concerns aside with the idea that changes to O&M services were a temporary measure with the student's best interest in mind. As the pandemic became prolonged, the effects on individuals became more pronounced. Implications for Practitioners: These circumstances raise many questions about the effectiveness of virtual instruction in O&M and its effect on professionals, students, and families. The importance of O&M becomes much more evident when considering the isolation many students experienced as a result of quarantine events.
COVID-19 and Turkish University Students With Visual Impairments: An In-Depth Inquiry
Authors: Sarica Ayşe Dolunay , Ulu-Ercan Elif , Coşkun Umut Haydar
Published: December 2022

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on the academic life, psychological well-being, social relations, and physical health of university students with visual impairments via their personal judgments. Methods: A qualitative research design was utilized with 19 participants studying at 10 Turkish universities located across seven cities. Personal online semi-structured interviews were held in January 2021. The audio-taped qualitative data were analyzed deductively in light of four predetermined themes: academic life, physical health, psychological well-being, and social relations. Results: Findings revealed the negative effects of the lockdown on daily and, specifically, campus life. Most participants claimed their preference for traditional over online education due to certain academic, psychological, and social difficulties, stating also that campus life had many academic and social advantages compared to online education. Physical health issues including access to medical treatments and lack of activity/mobility were also stressed. Discussion: It was interesting to observe that despite the interviews’ focus on daily life, students provided views on the benefits of traditional education and how and why their individual needs should be met by universities, much more than expected. Implications for Practitioners: It may be concluded that several developmental domains of students with visual impairments are affected by attendance at a university and that offices of disability services of higher education institutions and university counseling centers should take thoughtful actions to meet the specific needs of this student population tailored to both online and traditional education.
Access to Health and Disability Services for New Zealanders With Impaired Vision During the COVID-19 Pandemic 2020–2022
Authors: Good Gretchen A. , Nazari Orakani Solmaz , Officer Tara N. , Roguski Michael , McBride-Henry Karen
Published: December 2022

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected access to health and social services globally, leading to delays in accessing appropriate care. However, while there is a growing base of research into service access for the general population, there remains scarce information on the implications of the pandemic on disabled people. This article describes issues with health and disability support access for people with impaired vision in Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa). Methods: Applying an Interpretive Description methodology, 62 interviews were conducted with disabled people; 10 of these individuals identified as having impaired vision. Findings were analyzed thematically for the entire group of 62, representing varied impairment groups, and then for the 10 who had impaired vision. Results: Five key themes arose from the interviews, including transportation difficulties, mental distress, loss of community, loss of physical contact and signals, and general loss of support. Participants identified that this loss of support occurred at multiple levels, meaning that the disability and healthcare system as a whole was ill-equipped to manage their needs. Participants reported a lag-time in accessing care, meaning that the effects of the pandemic are still felt due to a lack of available support and resources. Discussion: This article remains one of a few studies to look at the implications of the pandemic on access to health and disability services for those with impaired vision. It highlights that despite Aotearoa's good track record in managing the pandemic, groups were forgotten and marginalized by the collective response to managing COVID-19. Implications for Practitioners: Blindness professionals must be aware of the possible disadvantages and impacts of pandemics and other disasters on people with impaired vision and their access to health and disability services. Policymakers must include disabled people at the decision-making table so that the diverse needs of these populations are managed.
Taking Organizations Seriously in Understanding the Geography of Invention
Authors: hUallacháin Breandán Ó
Published: December 2022

Large organizations mold technological advance in countries and even more so in cities. External economies of scale and invention are closely linked, but the organizational strategies of individual firms cannot be overlooked in understanding the geography of patenting. Market structures and inventive intensity are properties of complex systems featuring endogenous multi-directional interactions. Oligopolistic firms are pivotal in many large inventive cities, especially outside Silicon Valley. The more these firms dominate technological advance the higher the patenting rate. Less inventive large cities are frequently reliant on individuals and employees of universities and federal agencies to procure grants. Some implications of organizational structure and granularity for urban policy are outlined.
The Migration Response to Food Insecurity and Household Shocks in Southwestern Ethiopia, 2005–2008
Authors: Lindstrom David P. , Randell Heather F. , Belachew Tefera
Published: December 2022

This article examines how severe food insecurity and other shocks impact internal and international migration in southwestern Ethiopia using longitudinal survey data collected between 2005 and 2008 from a random sample of urban and rural households. We found an elevated risk of internal and international migration among sons and daughters in households that experienced severe food insecurity or farm loss. A household member's illness or death also significantly increased the risk of internal migration regardless of a household member's relationship with the household head. We also found that the effects of severe food insecurity and the other shocks were additive. With each additional shock, the risks of migration incrementally increased. This article provides compelling evidence of an international and an internal migration response to food insecurity and other shocks in a context where the prevalence of international migration is increasing and the potential for future international migration is substantial. These results challenge conventional wisdom in the migration literature that food insecurity and other household shocks will have larger relative effects on internal compared to international migration.
Incarcerated mothers’ experience of adversity heard using participatory mixed-method research
Authors: O’Malley Sinead , Devaney Carmel , Millar Michelle
Published: December 2022

This article is based on mixed-method participatory research with incarcerated mothers in Ireland. It draws on this research which aimed to profile imprisoned mothers, hear their experiences of motherhood and mothering and examine their available supports. An overview of relevant literature on motherhood, incarceration, trauma and addiction in the context of incarceration is presented, followed by a detailed outline and discussion of the participatory methods used. Participants were involved in the design and implementation of the research, but not the data analysis and reporting. Prominent themes highlighted in the lives of participants include trauma, addiction and mother–child separation. Rich accounts of child and adult trauma, associated addiction and criminality and voluntary and enforced separations from their children are described and discussed. The article concludes with a reflection on the key issues that arose for participants and considers how these might be responded to in the future.
The impact of pre-existing venous pathology on lower limb free flap reconstruction and the role of preoperative screening: a systematic review
Authors: Hagiga Ahmed , Adeboye Teniola , Dheansa Baljit
Published: December 2022

Lower limb reconstruction is performed to replace like with like and achieve tissue durability. Free flaps are a method of reconstruction commonly used to manage cases of lower limb deficits. However, the failure rate is 8.5%, with venous thrombosis and congestion playing a significant role. Despite this, preoperative venous mapping of recipient site before free flap reconstruction is not routinely practiced, often resulting in pathologies remaining unidentified until the intraoperative stage. The aim of the review was to evaluate the existing literature on the topic of lower limb preoperative venous assessment, screening, and its effect on lower limb free flap survival. Five different databases were searched from their inception to August 2021. The search terms and included studies were independently reviewed by two investigators for their eligibility. Eleven articles were eligible for inclusion, with a combined patient population of 99, and 107 flaps were identified to have lower limb pathology at the donor or recipient vein. Venous pathology was detected preoperatively in 69 veins using ultrasound duplex scanning and computed tomography angiography; of them, 3 (4.34%) resulted in failure. In comparison, 38 veins were diagnosed with venous pathology intraoperatively; of them, 5 (13.85%) failed. The studies evaluated in this review demonstrated that preoperative screening for venous pathology showed a higher flap survival rate. It can therefore be inferred that developing a standardized preoperative process for identifying venous issues in lower limb free flap reconstruction may improve outcomes. This can be explored in future research, with a focus on assessing the validity and efficacy of such screening tools, and their role in the management of patients identified with venous pathology.
Higher magnetic susceptibility of globus pallidus in patients after macrocyclic GBCAs: assessment using quantitative susceptibility mapping
Authors: Zhang Jing , Xie Lisi , Yang Xiaoling , Xu Liang , Chen Kewei , Luo Yuqing , Yu Chengxin
Published: December 2022

Background

As previous studies reported, gadolinium deposits in globus pallidus (GP) and dentate nucleus (DN) after repeated administrations of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) and a signal intensity (SI) increase on T1-weighted images were related to linear GBCAs, not macrocyclic GBCAs.

Purpose

To identify whether quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) could measure a subtle increase in magnetic susceptibility in DN and GP in patients after repeated administrations of gadoteric acid meglumine (Gd-DOTA).

Material and Methods

In this study, 50 patients with cerebral tumors who had received at least three injections of Gd-DOTA (GBCA group) and 50 individuals without a history of GBCA injections (non-GBCA group) were included. The image data for QSM and T1-weighted images were reviewed. Spearman rank correlation was used to estimate the associations between the values (magnetic susceptibility of QSM and SI ratios of T1-weighted images) and the number of Gd-DOTA injections.

Results

The mean magnetic susceptibility of GP in GBCA group was 0.136 ± 0.031 ppm, which was significantly higher than that in control group (0.114 ± 0.030 ppm) ( P = 0.001). In the GBCA group (n = 50), we found a substantial positive correlation between magnetic susceptibility of GP and the number of Gd-DOTA injections according to Spearman rank correlation coefficient (ρ = 0.673, P = 0.0001). There was a modest but significant correlation between magnetic susceptibility of DN and the number of Gd-DOTA injections (ρ = 0.311, P = 0.028).

Conclusion

In comparison to the control group, the magnetic susceptibility of GP in the GBCA group was significantly higher and had a substantial positive association with the number of Gd-DOTA injections.
(Re) reading Chivu Stone Inscriptions: Colonial Archives, National Histories and Commemorations in North-eastern India
Authors: Naorem Deepak , Singh Mutum Kenedy
Published: December 2022

There are a large number of contested spaces, objects, monuments, historical figures, events and memories in North-eastern states of India. Their commemorations often incite historical controversies, which often spill into the fragile, contested political landscape of the region. The construction of a memorial park at the site of nineteenth century stone inscriptions recently dragged these inscriptions out from historical obscurity, and hence they became another site of contested history in the region. This article historicises the creation of these contested objects and commemorations, in the local and colonial archives, and subsequent writing of national histories in the region. It will also look at the entanglements and intertextualities between these archives and local histories, and how they produced these contested objects and their numerous histories.
Book review: Bes, Lennart, The Heirs of Vijayanagara: Court Politics in Early Modern South India
Authors: Kadam Umesh Ashok
Published: December 2022

Bes, Lennart, The Heirs of Vijayanagara: Court Politics in Early Modern South India. Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2022, xxv + 567 pp., $84.00, ISBN 9789087283711 (Paperback).
Book review: Suhit K. Sen, The Paradox of Populism: The Indira Gandhi Years, 1966–1977
Authors: Roy Purabi
Published: December 2022

Suhit K. Sen, The Paradox of Populism: The Indira Gandhi Years, 1966–1977. Delhi: Primus Books, 2019, viii + 294 pp., ₹995, ISBN: 9789352909421.