bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Sociopolitical Historical Process of Social Work Education in Turkey
Authors: Cankurtaran Özlem , Aykara Aslıhan
Published: October 2024

The chapters in Part I explore the role of sociopolitical context in social work education in different countries. Sociopolitical and cultural conditions of a country play a very important role in informing what type of social work education is being developed and delivered in that country. Contributions in this opening section of the handbook provide some basic understanding of how political administrations influence the development and delivery of social work education as well as professional practice. Overall, these chapters set the scene for the entire handbook and provide an understanding of social work education in Turkey, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Singapore, and Brazil.
Women and the Evolution of Gender-Sensitive Social Work Education in China before and after Economic Reform
Authors: Liu Meng , LI Ying , Chan Cecilia Lai Wan
Published: October 2024

COVID-19 and increasing centralization of planning and control in China have produced obvious shifts in power and politics in society, affecting social workers’ role in service delivery and social work education. The transformation from a planned to a market economy has created new social classes in society; it has widened the income gap, power, and influence between rich and poor and men and women and intensified the rural-urban divide. From a socialist guiding principle of gender equality (women holding up half the sky) before China’s economic reform, the status of women rapidly deteriorated as more men became leaders of private enterprises and big corporations. Increasing unemployment and violence against women in China emphasize the need for social work education during rapid economic and social change. Social work education was reinstated in China in the late 1980s as a response to the expansion of private enterprises that offered little employment security and the breakdown of existing social protection and insurance for all, provided previously by the socialist state. This chapter reviews recent developments in social work in the light of women’s diminishing power, focusing on violence against women and the role of social work education in response to the changing needs of women and the promotion of gender equality in China. Future developments promoting gender-sensitive social work education in the new era are critically reviewed.
Power and Politics in Collaborative Social Work
Authors: Samaraweera H. Unnathi S.
Published: October 2024

Over a century ago, the field of social work originated with social workers exerting authority over individuals receiving services, resulting in a notable power disparity. However, as the discipline progressed, this hierarchical structure has been questioned. The expansion of social work has brought about a shift in perspective, acknowledging individuals receiving services as “the expert of experiences.” This shift has encouraged collaborative endeavors between service users and social workers to work toward shared objectives. This move toward collaborative social work underscores the importance of establishing equitable power dynamics between both parties. This chapter delves into the evolution of power dynamics within the social work field in Sri Lanka, underscoring the significance of comprehending these power dynamics. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s conceptualizations of power, the chapter examines state politics, academia, and everyday contexts to analyze the interplay of power dynamics within collaborative social work. It posits that the idea of balanced power relations between service users and social workers, as advocated in collaborative social work classrooms, is influenced by various societal factors. The chapter stresses the necessity of exploring power dynamics in intricate contexts to foster parity between service users and social workers. It examines the impact of neoliberal governance, social policies, academia, and the diverse social milieu on shaping collaborative relationships in social work practice. Understanding and negotiating power dynamics in these complex settings are essential while problematizing the social work profession as an apparatus of neoliberal governmentality and an agent which reproduces dominant state discourse.
Promoting Diversity in Social Work Education in England through Work-Based Route
Authors: Haider Sharif
Published: October 2024

Social work education in the United Kingdom had to change its course several times since the start of the 21st century. The main thrust of all these changes clearly lies in the government’s aim of improving the standards of social work education, and of both equipping students with the appropriate knowledge and skills to carry out their social work roles and increasing the number of social workers, specifically in English children’s services. The profession is having difficulty recruiting and retaining enough social workers from diverse backgrounds to meet the needs of England’s population. The introduction of tuition fees and austerity measures has only made this situation worse. This chapter describes a study that investigated what employers need to do to increase access to training by groups of people who are currently underrepresented in England’s social work professions. This research focuses on work-based social work training. A case study approach used semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data from employers. A more representative workforce undoubtedly allows local authorities in England to work toward greater social mobility and diversity and to provide services fairly and equally in order to meet communal needs. The data, however, suggests that local authorities’ overall processes and systems regarding recruitment and selection have failed to attract minority ethnic groups, males, the disabled, and older people into work-based social work training. This chapter provides sound evidence-based strategies to widen participation through work-based training.
Social Work and Professional Representation
Authors: Negura Lilian , Masse Yannick , Lévesque Maude , Savard Sébastien , Bourque Mélanie
Published: October 2024

This chapter on social work and professional representation provides an overview of the history of social work in Canada and explores the complex tensions defining the professional identity of social workers today, in both institutional and community settings. The chapter deconstructs the lasting dynamics fostered by the ideologies of social service, from the Judeo-Christian values of charity work to the neoliberalism of today. It then discusses the core policies and principles informing contemporary Canadian social work, the difficulties that they engender, and the ways in which professionals have responded to internal and external occupational pressures. Power relations influencing the social work identity are discussed as they relate to both current practice and the broader establishment of the profession nationally. The chapter concludes by highlighting the means of resistance that have strengthened, and continue to strengthen, Canadian social work.
Professional Boundaries in Social Work Practice
Authors: Blundell Peter
Published: October 2024

Professional boundaries are an integral part of social work praxis and a key component of ethical decision-making. Social workers often acknowledge their value but struggle to articulate what they are or how they are used. Essentially, professional boundaries are about the protection and safety of clients and service users; therefore it is important to understand both their impact and their influence on practice. Despite this necessity, there is a paucity of research that explores how this concept is understood, experienced, and used by social workers. This chapter explores a variety of themes relating to the management of professional boundaries in social work practice. These themes are partly based on a study completed between 2013 and 2016 that explored the concept of professional boundaries from the perspective of U.K. social workers. Participants often identified feelings of ethical distress when faced with boundary challenges or dilemmas. However, participants were often willing to break or blur boundaries if that decision meant building better relationships with or delivering better services for the people they were supporting. These actions were often an act of resistance against what participants felt were examples of organizational or systemic oppression. This resistance often led to tensions between participants and the organization they worked for, and some participants ultimately left their role. This chapter argues that social workers need greater access to independent supervisory spaces to ensure that they have opportunities to reflect and process difficult and challenging professional boundary experiences, especially when these involve challenging oppressive systems.
Social Justice as Participatory Parity
Authors: Nupur Priyanka
Published: October 2024

Social justice is the foundational principle of social work practice. Its conceptualization needs critical reflection to guide interventions. Currently, especially in cities which contain diverse populations caught in a web of various socioeconomic and political dynamics, marginalization and social injustice have taken complex forms. Hence, an evolved framework of social justice that addresses contemporary issues of marginalization and deprivation is required. Drawing from the work of Nancy Fraser, this chapter aims to provide a nuanced framework of social justice as participatory parity, aimed at comprehending the issues in contemporary cities. Reevaluating social work practice in light of this theory of social justice, the chapter aims to guide social work interventions at a structural and institutional level.
Challenges of Social Work Education in Slovenia: Between the Needs of People and the Expectations of Government
Authors: Rihter Liljana , Mešl Nina
Published: October 2024

Social work education was established in Slovenia in 1955. During the socialist regime, it developed partly under the influence of politics and partly independently with its own research-oriented work. After Slovenia’s independence in 1991, the curriculum changed occasionally and autonomously, both by cooperation with various international organizations and by responding to the actual needs of people and society. Yet the knowledge, competencies, and values of social workers are not entirely in line with the expectations of the labor market in the field of social protection, where the majority of social workers are employed. Both social policy and social legislation in Slovenia follow the neoliberal ideology focused on managerialism, effectiveness, bureaucracy, and control. Consequently, there is less space and time for social workers to perform their work in line with contemporary social work concepts and with approved positive results for people. Due to the observed gap between the needs of the people the social workers work with and the requirements of the employers in the field of social protection, qualitative research (focus group discussion) on the current and possible future needs (on the nonprobability purposeful sample) of employers in social protection was performed. The results show that some changes should be made in the social work curriculum to introduce more competencies to work with persons with various challenges and to gain additional interdisciplinary knowledge. Yet additional endeavors are needed to persuade employers to focus more on the real needs of users and not only on their main expectation of efficiency.
Challenges of the Transformation of Social Policy and Social Work in Contemporary Russia
Authors: Borodkina Olga , Starshinova Alevtina
Published: October 2024

This chapter is devoted to an analysis of the ongoing process of transformation of social policy and social work in Russia, which is connected with the transition of the welfare state to the welfare service state. The development of this process, which is global in nature, is caused by the inefficiency of the existing traditional forms of social support to solve the problem of social inequality and to compensate for new social risks. The transformation of social policy and social work is aimed, on the one hand, at preserving the stability and cohesion of society and, on the other, at creating conditions for the realization and expansion of individual opportunities. The main directions of welfare state transformations are institutional changes and social investment. These directions are associated with implementation of new forms of social services, growing NGO activities, and increasing citizens’ responsibility for their well-being and are manifested at theoretical as well as practical levels. The system of social support in Russia is becoming increasingly diverse in using new approaches. It demands taking into account global challenges and the social context of regional diversity and social heterogeneity. The chapter analyzes the changes taking place in the Russian welfare state, including the formation of new conceptual approaches to the welfare state focusing on development of social services, new configuration of the system of social services, and development of social investment.
Professional Imperialism, Colonial Legacy, and Crisis in Indian Social Work
Authors: Dash Bishnu Mohan
Published: October 2024

The political imperialism of the West has continued to maintain its colonial legacy in Indian society and has made adverse impacts on Indian social institutions and social welfare practices. Unfortunately, despite Indian political independence since 1947, India’s indigenous social work practices couldn’t be revived, and the recipient social work discipline which was shaped and influenced by the social, political, and cultural context of the West was further reinforced by the growth of neoliberalism. As a result professional imperialism continues to be perpetuated in Indian social work academics. During 2018, the movement of Bharatiyakaran of social work education aimed to revive the ancient Indic wisdom and indigenous social work practices in social work academia. The movement not only challenged the colonial legacy and professional imperialism in social work but also developed the new Bharatiyakaran of Social Work Curriculum, based on Indian ancient native wisdom, knowledge, and practices. This chapter describes the nature and extent of professional imperialism in social work education and its impact on the professionalization of social work education in India. It also examines the impact of Western culture and ideology on shaping social work education, curriculum, and practice in India. The chapter argues for decolonizing social work education in India and presents the revival of Bharatiyakaran of social work education to counter the potential crisis created due to professional imperialism in India.
Keeping Social Work Education Relevant in Singapore
Authors: Woo Ivan Mun Hong
Published: October 2024

This chapter highlights four domains of knowledge that are relevant for social workers working in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. The domains of knowledge are civic-mindedness, leadership, social justice, and futurology. A sustainable environment requires a strong sense of civic-mindedness, and social workers are in the best position to create that environment. Leadership is an important domain of knowledge to help social workers guide their actions in the mobilization of human resources. Social justice is vital in a VUCA world that often does not present social workers with clear right and wrong solutions. Futurology brings together evidence from other disciplines to systematically predict how people will live and work in the future, and instill in people a sense of control in a VUCA world. The four knowledge domains, when integrated, equip social workers with sensitivity to align their interventions with the political climate of their times.
Strengthening the Resilience of Students and Social Workers
Authors: Punová Monika
Published: October 2024

This chapter is focused on strengthening the resilience of students and social workers. Resilience refers to the processes by which a student or social worker is able to adapt and achieve the desired well-being despite experiencing significant difficulties related to education or the realization of the profession. The chapter introduces the resilience approach and also reflects on its criticisms. It presents the results of empirical studies on the demands of social work in the Czech Republic and internationally and highlights strategies for enhancing resilience in education and practice. These strategies are based on strength-based social work, on the social-ecological approach, and on the principle of resilience as “ordinary magic,” whereby coping with difficulties is primarily based on commonly available resources and opportunities.
Global Migration and Control Politics
Authors: Schmelz Andrea
Published: October 2024

Flight, migration, and mobility combine for a very important field in international social work. In Europe and around the globe social work faces violent, postcolonial borders and border demarcations against migrants and refugees. The chapter deals with resulting challenges and concepts in international social work focusing on the following key issues. First, policies of migration control and their impact on social work are highlighted. In this context, the chapter analyzes how borders impact the scope of action of social workers and affect the exclusion of refugees and migrants in camps. In order to claim social and political inclusion, protest movements by and solidarity movements with refugees and migrants emerged, challenging social work as a human rights profession. Consequently, the chapter elaborates how social work as a human rights profession can be conceptualized and applied in social work practice in the context of the UN human rights protection system. Finally, the chapter analyzes how social work can contribute to the defense of human rights in the understanding of “social workers without borders” and applying potential political interventions.
Social Work Education and Global Social Change in the United Kingdom, Mainland Europe, and the United States
Authors: McInnes Alison , Murphy Terry
Published: October 2024

This chapter focuses on the results from two linked anonymous online surveys, the first focusing on experiences of 51 international participants working in social work education across the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Sweden, and the Republic of Ireland. It replicates a larger online survey looking at a total of 400 academics working in multiple institutions in higher education in the United Kingdom. Both surveys examine the impact of workload and organizational stress on the participants in a time of global social change. They included the opportunity for participants to make qualitative comments to explain and expand upon their quantitative answers. This allowed for a critical examination of the experiences of academics/educators in social work departments (with a specific commitment to equalities and empowerment-based practices). These practices are located both internationally (via the Global Agenda of the International Federation of Social Workers) and nationally, related to governmental guidance published by Social Work England and other regulators. The main research question was: Do modern marketized universities produce an academic working environment which reflects or contradicts social work philosophies? The initial findings appear to indicate that the location of social work academics/educators within market-led departments in universities (dominated by the need to produce metrics in a competitive league-table environment) play a much larger role than any implicit commitment to distinct social work values and ethics.
Training and Professional Practice of Brazilian Social Work and the Impacts of the Hegemony of the Radical and Critical Approach
Authors: Oliveira Edson Marques , Renan Theo
Published: October 2024

The objective of this chapter is to carry out an analysis and reflection of the impacts of the professional formation of social work in Brazil from the 1970s until the present time, notably on the political and ideological impacts of the adoption of the Marxist radical critical approach in the Brazilian context. The chapter highlights the impacts of this approach in the political and organizational field of the profession, in scientific production, and in professional training and practice. This is qualitative, bibliographic, and documentary research. The chapter presents a moment and movement of resistance to the unilateral hegemony in the educational and practical fields of Brazilian social work that emerged in mid-2010. The radical, organic, and mechanistic application of the radical critical approach, with a Marxist bias, in the Brazilian case leads to evidence of harmful and noxious elements in education and professional practice, a process of deconfiguration and alienation of professional identity, leading the profession to a crisis of lack of credibility, materiality, and professional visibility, reduction of work spaces, and no way to face the new demands of the 21st century.
International Law and the Expansion of LGBTI Rights in Colombia and the Americas
Authors: Albarracín-Caballero Mauricio , Shaw Ari
Published: October 2024

This chapter argues that the expansion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) rights in the Americas has developed simultaneously in domestic and international law, strategically driven by legal mobilization from social movement organizations to create complementary and mutually reinforcing norms at both levels. An examination of the case of Colombia illustrates how international law can be used as a strategic tool in domestic litigation and how activists worked through international institutions to both consolidate national gains and develop precedents for future litigation. Domestic courts have relied on international law to buttress and legitimize more expansive interpretations of LGBTI rights, and international jurists have invoked domestic law to ground their judgments in national legal and constitutional developments. While certain dynamics are unique to the trajectory of LGBTI rights in Colombia, the case offers insights into how international law can, under some conditions, impact the spread of LGBTI rights more broadly throughout the region.
Byron’s Letters
Authors: Howe Anthony
Published: October 2024

This essay considers the publication history, the evolving critical reception, and the relation to a growing body of scholarship on Romantic period epistolary culture of Byron’s letters. Byron’s immersion in this epistolary culture is examined in detail. The essay sets out, and proceeds to interrogate, the well-established view that the letters are equal to, and perhaps exceed, much of Byron’s poetry as literary performances. The essay also considers the letters chronologically, as representing different periods of Byron’s life, with a particular focus on the effect of fame on the poet’s sense of audience and the letters’ relation to travel writing. The later letters to John Murray, more coterie than private writing, are given detailed consideration. Close readings of particular letters set out some of the literary qualities that distinguish this unique body of epistolary writing.
The Textuality and Intertextuality ofDon Juan, Cantos XIII–XVII
Authors: Stabler Jane
Published: October 2024

‘Somewhere or other’, George Orwell wrote at the start of his Notes on Nationalism, ‘Byron makes use of the French word longueur, and remarks in passing that though in England we happen not to have the word, we have the thing in considerable profusion.’ This chapter looks at Byron’s use of travelogue in the English and Norman Abbey cantos of Don Juan. It begins with Orwell’s perceptions about vagrant life in England in Down and Out in Paris and London, and focuses on details in Byron’s manuscripts which were omitted from the published cantos. Orwell and Byron are similarly concerned with the exposure of social inequality and establishment cant through a close attention to linguistic conventions and to things. The evolution of swearing, the persistence of ghost stories, the poverty that exists in a wealthy nation, and soul-destroying ennui emerge as a vital satiric legacy 100 years after Byron was writing.
Byron and World Literature
Authors: Tuite Clara
Published: October 2024

This essay considers how Byron’s life, work, and reception presides over the transformation of Enlightenment ideals of cosmopolitanism and worldliness into a form of global Romanticism that anticipates Goethe’s coinage ideal of Weltliteratur. A new regime of imperial global modernity provided the broader context for the emergence of world literature, which coincides with the reordering of Europe that followed the Napoleonic Wars. In this sense, Goethe’s ‘epoch’ of world literature is also the epoch in which capitalism and imperialism combined to form what Immanuel Wallerstein has called the modern ‘world-system’. A critical feature of the story of Byron and world literature is thus the history of a new commercially driven form of English imperialism that both collaborates with and gains ascendancy over the Habsburg empire after the Napoleonic Wars. This essay explores how Byron’s work straddles Enlightenment cosmopolitanism and Romantic world literature in part through a complex repurposing of Orientalism. It considers Byron’s distinctive form of global Romanticism in relation to this Enlightenment legacy, tracking how Byron transforms a lived experience and poetic practice of cosmopolitan citizenship of the world into a dynamic, immersive cross-cultural world literature that is also a strenuous satirical critique of the post-Napoleonic world-system and its new imperialisms.
Byron the Aristocrat
Authors: Beckett John
Published: October 2024

Byron was an English peer with a landed estate centred on Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire. The title of Baron entitled him to be called Lord Byron, or (among his fellow peers) simply Byron. It also gave him an automatic right to a seat in the House of Lords from his twenty-first birthday for life. He was never one of the grandees. The Byrons were poor in aristocratic terms, but even so, the status, and the seat in Parliament, were undeniable. Had Byron never written a single stanza of passable poetry he would have been, and have remained, an aristocrat. The chapter explores how Byron became an aristocrat, how he executed the position, and how, following his self-imposed exile from Britain in 1816, he went on to live an aristocratic life in Italy and Greece. After his death his reputation spread across Europe. The chapter ends with an assessment of how his life and writing were shaped by his aristocratic values.
Epiphenomenal and True Non-Iterative Vowel Harmony
Authors: McCollum Adam G.
Published: October 2024

This chapter discusses the (non-)iterativity of vowel harmony patterns, and goes on to explain how to model non-iterativity within Optimality Theory. In rule-based terms, an iterative rule is one whose output feeds further application of the rule, while a non-iterative rule does not feed itself. As noted by Kisseberth, modeling such patterns is a challenge for Optimality Theory. Five types of patterns that apply within a domain strictly smaller than the word are examined. Four of these support the claim of Kaplan that apparent non-iterativity can be derived via other well-motivated patterns in the relevant language. However, data from the Central dialect of Crimean Tatar supports the case that harmony may be truly non-iterative, which suggests that iterativity must be choice in the phonological grammar.
Non-Alternating, Non-Participating, And Idiosyncratic Vowels
Authors: Krämer Martin
Published: October 2024

This chapter gives an overview of the non-harmonic and exceptional aspects of vowel harmony patterns, in which, for example, vowels neither alternate or participate as triggers; are disharmonic or anti-harmonic; vacillate in their behavior; or, exceptionally, trigger harmonization. The classic typology of non-harmonic vowels labels them as neutral, and these neutral vowels are in turn subdivided into either transparent or opaque categories. As will be seen in this chapter, this classification is too simple to describe all systemically and idiosyncratically exceptional vowels. The chapter’s initial typological overview is followed by a discussion of the different types of approaches to these phenomena.
Vowel Harmony in Gesture-Based Phonology
Authors: Smith Caitlin
Published: October 2024

This chapter provides an overview of theories of vowel harmony (VH) that assume the gestures of Articulatory Phonology as units of representation. VH has guided advancements within the field of gestural phonology, including proposals for new gestural parameters and development of optimality theoretic grammars designed to operate over gestural representations. In addition, gestural representations provide a unique perspective on unanswered questions that arise in the study of VH. These include what kinds of constraints drive harmony, how to represent transparency to harmony, and how to account for cases of exceptionality in the application of harmony. The chapter begins by describing the gesture as a unit of representation, and then goes on to describe several proposed gestural theories of VH, both hybrid featural and gestural theories and purely gestural theories.
The Computational Power of Harmonic Forms
Authors: Aksënova Alëna , Rawski Jonathan , Graf Thomas , Heinz Jeffrey
Published: October 2024

This chapter discusses the nature of vowel harmony (VH) from a computational perspective. In particular, it considers the dependencies present in surface forms of phonological representations obeying various types of harmony. It situates this typological landscape of dependencies within a corresponding landscape of computational functions. The precise nature of these functions gives us a principled window into the characteristic similarities and differences between harmony types. It goes on to show that this landscape is restricted, and that VH is tightly constrained typologically, describing how the interactions of these functions elucidate key properties of harmonic systems, and how these properties enable new avenues for typological and computational work.
Vowel Harmony in Semitic Languages
Authors: Khan Geoffrey
Published: October 2024

This chapter describes various harmonic processes that are found in Semitic languages. The majority of these are not strictly speaking cases of vowel harmony (VH), if this is defined as an unbounded (‘iterative’) rule that affects all and typically only vowels (as triggers and targets) in a ‘word.’ This applies, for example, to pharyngealization (‘emphasis’) and various forms of local harmonic processes. Several of the Semitic languages discussed here have been in contact with non-Semitic languages that exhibit VH. This has led to various degrees of convergence with the VH processes of these contact languages. Cases of harmonic processes can, however, be found elsewhere in Semitic where there is no clear evidence of them being induced by language contact. The languages discussed include Tigre, Tigrinya, Arabic, Hebrew, Akkadian, and Neo-Aramaic.
Vowel Harmony in Uralic Languages
Authors: Fejes László , Siptár Péter , Vago Robert M.
Published: October 2024

This chapter first gives a brief overview of vowel harmony (VH) in Proto-Uralic and of the diverse harmony systems of the present-day languages, and then the relevant languages are discussed one by one. Uralic languages are sometimes mentioned as languages with front-back VH in general, although many of them lack VH altogether. Even the existing harmony systems show a high degree of diversity, and closely related languages and even dialects often differ considerably in this respect. The languages (or groups of closely related languages) are presented according to their geographic location: from west to east. Special attention is paid to less well-known languages and to languages with less regular harmony systems. The authors focus on complexities, exceptions, and vacillating forms that can arguably reveal more about the nature of VH than completely regular cases do.
Kant on the Sublime
Authors: Zuckert Rachel
Published: October 2024

This chapter situates Kant’s view of the sublime within eighteenth-century discussion: Kant combines the displeasing, threatening character of sublime natural objects, emphasized by Edmund Burke, with the pleasingly elevating, cognitively and morally enhancing aspects of the experience of the sublime described by others (e.g., Moses Mendelssohn and Alexander Gerard). In the CPJ account, it argues, Kant not only presents this complex phenomenology of the sublime, but also attempts to explain it by reference to the activity of the cognitive faculties of imagination and reason: the subject experiences the object as overwhelming through engaging with it imaginatively, and is elevated because that felt inadequacy of the imagination calls to mind the vocation of reason, as superior to both the imagination and the natural object that frustrates it. Kant’s final task is to justify the claim in judgments of the sublime to universal subjective validity, on the grounds that such feelings arise from a ‘foundation in human nature’. Two clusters of scholarly questions concerning Kant’s account are then discussed: first, concerns about Kant’s claim that the truly sublime (admirable) object is the subject’s own mind, not the natural object that prompts the experience, and second, debates concerning the connection of the Kantian sublime to morality.
Kant on Education
Authors: Frierson Patrick R.
Published: October 2024

This chapter lays out Kant’s approach to moral education, focusing on how Kant addresses the tension between the need to cultivate autonomy in those being educated and the centrality of respect for individuals’ own capacities for choice and judgment. Even as teachers seek to shape and cultivate their pupils towards genuine autonomy, those teachers must respect pupils’ agency; and moral education must in some way be at the same time an auto-education whereby individuals perfect themselves. The chapter lays out this tension and then discusses four features of Kantian moral education that reconcile respect for pupils and the cultivation of pupils’ autonomy in different ways: negative education, discipline, moral exemplars, and the moral catechism.
Potato β-aminobutyric acid receptor IBI1 manipulates VOZ1 and VOZ2 transcription factor activity to promote disease resistance
Authors: Yu Ruimin , Jin Yumeng , Liu Lang , Zhang Yonglin , Wu Xinya , Zuo Yingtao , Qi Yetong , Yang Zhu , Zhou Jing , Xu Meng , Nie Jiahui , Ding Biao , Birch Paul R J , Tian Zhendong
Published: October 2024

Upon infection with nonpathogenic microorganisms or treatment with natural or synthetic compounds, plants exhibit a more rapid and potent response to both biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the molecular mechanisms behind this phenomenon, known as defense priming, are poorly understood. β-minobutyric acid (BABA) is an endogenous stress metabolite that enhances plant tolerance to various abiotic stresses and primes plant defense responses, providing the ability to resist a variety of pathogens (broad-spectrum resistance). In this study, we identified an aspartyl-tRNA synthetase (AspRS), StIBI1 (named after Arabidopsis IMPAIRED IN BABA-INDUCED IMMUNITY 1 [IBI1]), as a BABA receptor in Solanum tuberosum. We elucidated the regulatory mechanisms by which StIBI1 interacts with two NAC (NAM, ATAF1, 2, and CUC2) transcription factors (TFs), StVOZ1 and StVOZ2 (VASCULAR PLANT ONE ZINC FINGER [VOZ]), to activate BABA-induced resistance (BABA-IR). StVOZ1 represses, whereas StVOZ2 promotes, immunity to the late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans. Interestingly, BABA and StIBI1 influence StVOZ1- and StVOZ2-mediated immunity. StIBI1 interacts with StVOZ1 and StVOZ2 in the cytoplasm, reducing the nuclear accumulation of StVOZ1 and promoting the nuclear accumulation of StVOZ2. Our findings indicate that StVOZ1 and StVOZ2 finely regulate potato resistance to late blight through distinct signaling pathways. In summary, our study provides insights into the interaction between the potato BABA receptor StIBI1 and the TFs StVOZ1 and StVOZ2, which affects StVOZ1 and StVOZ2 stability and nuclear accumulation to regulate late blight resistance during BABA-IR. This research advances our understanding of the primary mechanisms of BABA-IR in potato and contributes to a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of potato late blight using BABA-IR.
Unveiling the hidden agenda: Biases in news reporting and consumption
Authors: Galeazzi Alessandro , Peruzzi Antonio , Brugnoli Emanuele , Delmastro Marco , Zollo Fabiana
Published: October 2024

Recognizing the presence and impact of news outlets’ biases on public discourse is a crucial challenge. Biased news significantly shapes how individuals perceive events, potentially jeopardizing public and individual wellbeing. In assessing news outlet reliability, the focus has predominantly centered on narrative bias, sidelining other biases such as selecting events favoring specific perspectives (selection bias). Leveraging machine learning techniques, we have compiled a six-year dataset of articles related to vaccines, categorizing them based on narrative and event types. Employing a Bayesian latent space model, we quantify both selection and narrative biases in news outlets. Results show third-party assessments align with narrative bias but struggle to identify selection bias accurately. Moreover, extreme and negative perspectives attract more attention, and consumption analysis unveils shared audiences among ideologically similar outlets, suggesting an echo chamber structure. Quantifying news outlets’ selection bias is crucial for ensuring a comprehensive representation of global events in online debates.
Effects of Immunotoxicity biomarkers, essential elements and vitamin D levels on the severity levels of COVID-19 disease in Turkey
Authors: Secerlı Jülide , Çetinkaya Serdar , Leblebici İlknur Sıla , Özdemir Latif Alperen , Yücel Çiğdem , Karaismailoğlu Eda , Kara Umut , Özcan Aydan , Öcal Nesrin , Arslan Yakup , Şenkal Serkan , Erdem Onur , Bacanlı Merve Güdül
Published: October 2024

Many mechanisms are thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of the COVID-19 pandemic, which started in 2019 and affected the whole world. It has been claimed that a deficiency in the immune system can significantly affect the severity of COVID-19 disease. It is important that the levels of essential elements and vitamin D are at certain levels for the healthy functioning of the immune system. Therefore, in this study, it was aimed to evaluate immunotoxicity biomarkers (tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-10, interferon (IFN)-γ, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1)), vitamin D, and essential element levels in COVID-19 patients in Turkey. According to the results of the study, it was found that the magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), and selenium (Se) levels decreased as the severity of the disease worsened, while the iron (Fe), and copper (Cu) levels were similar to the mild group and the control group, and the levels decreased as the disease worsened. It has also been found that vitamin D levels decrease as the severity of the disease worsens. Compared to the control group, TNF-α, MCP-1, and IFN-γ levels were found to decrease as the severity of the disease worsened. Also, it was observed that there was a significant relationship between essential metal levels and disease progression in most of the patient groups.
Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Detection of Phytophthora kernoviae, P. ramorum, and the P. ramorum NA1 Lineage on a Microfluidic Chip and Smartphone Platform
Authors: Mainello-Land Amanda , Saville Amanda C. , Acharya Jyotsna , Ristaino Jean
Published: October 2024

Rapid, field-deployable assays such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) are critical for detecting nursery and forest pathogens such as Phytophthora ramorum and P. kernoviae to prevent pathogen spread. We developed and validated four LAMP assays for genus-level detection of Phytophthora spp., species-level detection of P. kernoviae and P. ramorum, and lineage-level detection of the P. ramorum NA1 lineage. The cross-reactivity of the two species-specific LAMP assays was evaluated using a set of 18 Phytophthora spp. known to infect nursery crop hosts. The correct target species were detected by the species-level LAMP assays. The Phytophthora spp. LAMP assay was evaluated against 27 Phytophthora spp. and other bacterial and fungal pathogens and reacted with all the Phytophthora spp. evaluated but no other bacterial or fungal species. The limit of detection (LOD) of the P. kernoviae LAMP was 100 fg/µl, and the LOD of the P.  ramorum LAMP assay was 1 pg/µl of DNA. The NA1 LAMP assay was tested against the NA1, NA2, EU1, and EU2 lineages of P.  ramorum and was lineage-specific but had a higher LOD (100 pg/µl) than the species-specific LAMP assays. Both P. ramorum and P. kernoviae LAMP assays were highly precise (>0.94) in detecting the respective pathogens in symptomatic rhododendron leaves and co-inoculation experiments. The four LAMP assays were run in tandem on a microfluidic chip and smartphone platform and can be used in the field to detect and monitor spread of these regulatory Phytophthora spp. in forest and/or nursery settings.
CREB coactivator CRTC1 in melanocortin‐4 receptor‐expressing cells regulate dietary fat intake
Authors: Matsumura Shigenobu , Fujisawa Miyu , Fujiwara Mizuki , Okayama Houko , Marutani Miona , Nousou Eri , Sasaki Tsutomu , Harada Naoki
Published: October 2024

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate‐response element‐binding protein‐1‐regulated transcription coactivator‐1 (CRTC1), a cytoplasmic coactivator that translocates to the nucleus in response to cAMP, is associated with obesity. We previously reported that CRTC1 deficiency in melanocortin‐4 receptor (MC4R)‐expressing neurons, which regulate appetite and energy metabolism in the brain, causes hyperphagia and obesity under a high‐fat diet (HFD). HFD is preferred for mice, and the dietary fat in HFD is the main factor contributing to its palatability. These findings, along with our previous results, suggest that CRTC1 regulates the appetite for dietary fat. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the dietary fat intake behavior and energy metabolism of MC4R neuron‐specific CRTC1 knockout mice fed soybean oil or lard. CRTC1 deficiency increased the intake of soybean oil and significantly increased body weight gain. Furthermore, obesity induced by soybean oil intake was partially due to leptin resistance. No significant changes in soybean oil intake were observed between young CRTC1‐deficient and wild‐type mice; however, soybean oil intake increased with age. Moreover, lard intake did not significantly affect the body weight. Overall, our findings highlighted the crucial role of CRTC1 in the regulation of spontaneous dietary fat intake. Furthermore, the role of CRTC1 becomes increasingly significant with age.
Neuronal connectivity, behavioral, and transcriptional alterations associated with the loss of MARK2
Authors: Caiola Hanna O. , Wu Qian , Li Junlong , Wang Xue‐Feng , Soni Shaili , Monahan Kevin , Wagner George C. , Pang Zhiping P. , Zhang Huaye
Published: October 2024

Neuronal connectivity is essential for adaptive brain responses and can be modulated by dendritic spine plasticity and the intrinsic excitability of individual neurons. Dysregulation of these processes can lead to aberrant neuronal activity, which has been associated with numerous neurological disorders including autism, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's disease. Nonetheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying abnormal neuronal connectivity remain unclear. We previously found that the serine/threonine kinase Microtubule Affinity Regulating Kinase 2 (MARK2), also known as Partitioning Defective 1b (Par1b), is important for the formation of dendritic spines in vitro. However, despite its genetic association with several neurological disorders, the in vivo impact of MARK2 on neuronal connectivity and cognitive functions remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the loss of MARK2 in vivo results in changes to dendritic spine morphology, which in turn leads to a decrease in excitatory synaptic transmission. Additionally, the loss of MARK2 produces substantial impairments in learning and memory, reduced anxiety, and defective social behavior. Notably, MARK2 deficiency results in heightened seizure susceptibility. Consistent with this observation, electrophysiological analysis of hippocampal slices indicates underlying neuronal hyperexcitability in MARK2‐deficient neurons. Finally, RNAseq analysis reveals transcriptional changes in genes regulating synaptic transmission and ion homeostasis. These results underscore the in vivo role of MARK2 in governing synaptic connectivity, neuronal excitability, and cognitive functions.
Human ovarian extracellular vesicles proteome from polycystic ovary syndrome patients associate with follicular development alterations
Authors: Couty Noemie , Estienne Anthony , Le Lay Soazig , Rame Christelle , Chevaleyre Claire , Allard‐Vannier Emilie , Péchoux Christine , Guerif Fabrice , Vasseur Claudine , Aboulouard Soulaimane , Salzet Michel , Dupont Joelle , Froment Pascal
Published: October 2024

The development of the ovarian follicle requires the presence of several factors that come from the blood and follicular cells. Among these factors, extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent an original communication pathway inside the ovarian follicle. Recently, EVs have been shown to play potential roles in follicular development and reproduction‐related disorders, including the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The proteomic analysis of sEVs isolated from FF in comparison to sEVs purified from plasma has shown a specific pattern of proteins secreted by ovarian steroidogenic cells such as granulosa cells. Thus, a human granulosa cell line exposed to sEVs from FF of normal patients increased their progesterone, estradiol, and testosterone secretion. However, if the sEVs were derived from FF of PCOS patients, the activity of stimulating progesterone production was lost. Stimulation of steroidogenesis by sEVs was associated with an increase in the expression of the StAR gene. In addition, sEVs from FF increased cell proliferation and migration of granulosa cells, and this phenomenon was amplified if sEVs were derived from PCOS patients. Interestingly, STAT3 is a protein overexpressed in sEVs from PCOS patients interacting with most of the cluster of proteins involved in the phenotype observed (cell proliferation, migration, and steroid production) in granulosa cells. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that sEVs derived from FF could regulate directly the granulosa cell activity. The protein content in sEVs from FF is different in the case of PCOS syndrome and could perturb the granulosa cell functions, including inflammation, steroidogenesis, and cytoskeleton architecture.