bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SOL width broadening by spreading of pedestal turbulence
Authors: Chu Xu , Diamond P.H. , Guo Zhibin
Published: January 2022

The pedestal turbulence intensity required to convert the thin, laminar H-mode scrape-off layer (SOL) to a broad turbulent SOL is calculated using the theory of turbulence spreading. A lower bound on the pedestal turbulence level to exceed the neoclassical heuristic drift (HD) width is derived. A reduced model of SOL turbulence spreading is used to determine the SOL width as a function of intensity flux from the pedestal to the SOL. The cross-over value for exceeding the HD model width is then calculated. We determine the pedestal turbulence levels—and the critical scalings thereof—required to achieve this level of broadening. Both drift wave and ballooning mode turbulence are considered. A sensitivity analysis reveals that the key competition is that between spreading and linear E × B shear damping. The required pedestal turbulence levels scale with ρ/R.
Comparison of impact and water vapor characteristics between two types of floods in Eastern China
Authors: Guo Lianyi , Shi Yi , Jiang Huiru
Published: January 2022

Floods are one of the most devastating natural hazards, resulting in social and economic losses. As a flood-prone area, East China (EC) suffers floods mainly related to monsoons and tropical cyclones (TC). However, how the floods induced by heavy rain (HR) and TC impact on human life, and what their differences are, is not yet clear. In this paper, we assess the spatiotemporal characteristics of two types of floods in South China (SC), the middle and low reaches of the Yangtze River (YHR), and North China (NC) for 1985–2020, and investigate the impacts on human mortality and displacement. Furthermore, we use the improved areal source-receptor attribution method to quantify the water vapor contribution from each moisture source. Results show that HR-induced floods occur more frequently than TC-induced floods in three study areas for 1985–2020. The spatial pattern of the severity of floods exhibits an increasing gradient from North to South. The trends of annual mean mortality and displacement rates were significantly decreasing over time. The most important moisture sources for HR-induced floods in three study regions are all from EC. Contributions account for 26.6%, 45.0% and 54.5% in SC, YHR and NC, respectively. However, the most important moisture source for TC-induced floods in SC and YHR is from the Western Pacific Ocean. Contributions account for 21.9% and 44.3% in SC and YHR, respectively. The above result within the Lagrangian framework is well confirmed by the Eulerian framework.
Non-invasive breath collection in murine models using a newly developed sampling device
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Authors: Hintzen K F H , Smolinska A , Mommers A G R , Bouvy N D , van Schooten F J , Lubbers T
Published: January 2022

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath have the potential to be used as biomarkers for screening and diagnosis of diseases. Clinical studies are often complicated by both modifiable and non-modifiable factors influencing the composition of VOCs in exhaled breath. Small laboratory animal studies contribute in obtaining fundamental insight in alterations in VOC composition in exhaled breath and thereby facilitate the design and analysis of clinical research. However, long term animal experiments are often limited by invasive breath collection methods and terminal experiments. To overcome this problem, a novel device was developed for non-invasive breath collection in mice using glass nose-only restrainers thereby omitting the need of anesthetics. C57Bl/6 J mice were used to test reproducibility and different air sampling settings for air-flow (ml min−1) and time (minutes). Exhaled air was collected on desorption tubes and analysed for VOCs by gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-tof-MS). In total 27 compounds were putatively identified and used to assess the variability of the VOC measurements in the breath collections. Best reproducibility is obtained when using an air flow of 185 ml min−1 and a collection time of 20 min. Due to the non-invasive nature of breath collections in murine models, this device has the potential to facilitate VOC research in relation to disturbed metabolism and or disease pathways.
Physicochemical foundations of the pioneering technology for the carbonaceous uranium ore processing
Authors: Mukhachev Anatoliy , Nefedov Volodymyr , Yelatontsev Dmytro
Published: January 2022

The article presents the results of the first known industrial trials for the processing of uranium-containing slag obtained during blast-furnace smelting of carbonaceous iron-uranium ore (Zhovtorichenske deposit, Ukraine). It is shown that the fractional precipitation of iron and aluminum impurities allows reducing the losses of uranium and increasing the degree of utilization of nitrate nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen, additionally producing the ammonium nitrate as fertilizer. The scheme for chemical concentrate processing ensured a significant increase in the degree of uranium deposition into the finished product – up to 60%. Nitric acid sludge processing technology made it possible to maintain the water balance and completely prevented the discharge of off-balance effluents into the river Dnipro.
Mechanical model and numerical analysis of a method for local rock reinforcing to control the floor heave of mining-affected roadway in a coal mine
Authors: Sakhno Ivan , Sakhno Svitlana , Kamenets Viacheslav
Published: January 2022

A floor heave controlling method has been substantiated, based on the creation of locally reinforced zones of a special shape in roadway floor, which allows saving stability even with a low rocks friction ratio. The method is based on a mechanical model of the formation of an increasing strength spacer system in roadway floor. The numerical analysis of rock massif stress-strain state carried out by the finite element method, has made it possible to determine the mechanism of floor heave during rock reinforcing. The performed analysis of the simulation results has made it possible to determine the influence of the quality of rock reinforcing and the rock friction ratio value on the amount of heave in the mining-affected roadway. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been proven as a result of a comparative analysis.
Influence of the method of gate road protection on the operating efficiency of methane drainage boreholes
Authors: Krukovska Viktoriia , Kocherha Viktor
Published: January 2022

Methods of numerical modelling have helped to carry out the research of coupled processes of rock deformation around a gate road with methane drainage boreholes and methane filtration in terms of applying different techniques of its protection. The following has been shown: without the use of protective structures, underworked drainage boreholes are broken and stop functioning. If the protective structures are used, the rock-bolting beam above the mined-out space becomes stable. Boreholes go beyond the zones of inelastic deformations and remain in their operating conditions even after their undermining by a stope. The yield of a methane-air mixture in two methane drainage boreholes increases that is confirmed by experimental data. The efficiency of roof degassing by boreholes when using the considered protective structures is 13-63%. The borehole position is of great importance for its operating efficiency. If the borehole is beyond the filtration area, methane yield is minimal. It is quite high within the zone of increased fissuring of host rocks. If the methane drainage borehole is near the zone of inelastic deformations, methane yield reaches its maximum, but reliability of borehole operation is not high. The borehole is broken within the zone of inelastic deformations.
Substantiating the parameters for selecting a pillar width to protect permanent mine workings at great depths
Authors: Krukovskyi Oleksandr , Bulich Yurii , Kurnosov Serhii , Yanzhula Oleksii , Demin Vladimir
Published: January 2022

Application of a method to protect permanent mine workings by large pillars requires thorough analysis of geomechanical processes aimed at providing stability for a mine working during its long-term operation. The purpose of the paper is to study the processes of coal rock mass deformation to substantiate the selection of the protective pillar width. The examples to be considered are represented by mining-geological conditions of a central panel of PJSC Colliery Group “Pokrovske” where four permanent mine workings are planned to be driven. To substantiate the width of protective pillars, geomechanical stability of mine workings have been assessed in terms of the effect of stoping operations of the adjacent longwalls of the block and beyond their effect. It has been shown that insufficient dimensions of a support pillar result in considerable influence of stoping operations on the stability of permanent mine workings. Along with the increasing dimensions of a support pillar, the pressure in the rocks around the permanent inclined mine workings decreases, and the support load decreases as well. In terms of the appropriate dimension of the support pillar, the boundaries of the effect become smaller; the bolting and frame support provides completely the required mine working stability.
Regularities of elastic oscillations development during crystalline rocks destruction and mathematical modelling of the destruction process
Authors: Popov Stanislav , Babets Yevhen , Kryvenko Oleksii , Vasylenko Yevhen , Romanenko Oleksandr
Published: January 2022

The article is devoted to determining regularities of occurrence and development of seismoacoustic oscillations in rocks under loading to the moment of their destruction. Investigations conducted by the authors enable ascertaining dependences of occurrence and development of such oscillations for crystalline rocks of different hardness that are typical of iron ore deposits of Kryvyi Rih basin. A mathematical model based on the obtained dependences makes it possible to determine the moment of the instable stress state onset – the indication of rock destruction – using characteristics of seismoacoustic waves. This model is essential for forecasting the moment of hazard occurrence based on geomechanical conditions of mining iron ore deposits.
Fatigue performance of butt-welded austenitic stainless-steel joints evaluated by peak-stress method
Authors: Pan Chunyu , Dai Zhen , Xue Jian , Peng Yang , Dong Jun
Published: January 2022

In this study, the fatigue performance of butt-welded austenitic stainless-steel joints is investigated by fatigue test, nominal-stress method and peak-stress method. Welding profiles and misalignment were analyzed, residual stresses were measured, and fatigue tests were conducted. The experimental fatigue data are regressed to the stress range versus life-to-failure (S–N) curve of the nominal stress method, and the factor affected dispersion is analyzed by using the peak-stress method. The following conclusion can be drawn: (1) The fatigue strength is 155 MPa in nominal stress method, which is higher than that of structural steel (80 MPa) in the international fatigue design standards. (2) The influence of the welding misalignment and distortion can be accurately estimated by the combing the reference S-N curve and stress magnification factor formulae from the international fatigue design standards.
Entrepreneurship and the Poverty Experience
Authors: Morris Michael
Published: January 2022

Poverty is more than a lack of money or an inability to afford basic necessities. It is an experience that is multidimensional and includes challenges related to literacy, health, food security, housing, transportation, safety, fatigue, underemployment, limited social networks, and limited access to many opportunities available to those in other income categories. Poverty is a pernicious global problem with unacceptably high levels persisting in spite of trillions of dollars of annual spending by governments and other organizations. While this kind of investment represents a critical lifeline to many individuals and families, it is not moving enough of them out of poverty. As a result, there is a need to explore alternative solutions and approaches. Entrepreneurship, or the creation of businesses, by those experiencing poverty is one potential pathway to a better life. Yet it is a pathway about which we understand relatively little. While the poverty–entrepreneurship interface has received growing attention from scholars over the past few years, very little theoretical or conceptual work has been done. More critically, there is scant empirical evidence on such basic questions as the rate of business creation by those in poverty, success and sustainability rates, key success factors, the role of institutions and entrepreneurial ecosystems in venture outcomes, and much more. The unique difficulties faced by these entrepreneurs can be captured through the liability of poorness, a concept which includes gaps in five types of literacy, a scarcity or short-term orientation, severe nonbusiness distractions, and the lack of any safety net. As a result, the ventures that are created tend to be survival businesses that are labor intensive, with low margins, little differentiation, no bargaining power with suppliers or customers, lack of equipment and technology, and limited capacity. These are fragile enterprises, suggesting the priority may not simply be fostering higher levels of start-up activity among the poor, but interventions that enable them to become sustainable. A beginning point in realizing the potential of entrepreneurship as a poverty alleviation tool is the development of new insights on expanding opportunity horizons of these individuals, helping them escape the commodity trap, rethinking resourcing and microcredit, and assisting with adoption of the entrepreneurial mindset.
The Incentive Sensitization Theory of Addiction
Authors: Robinson Mike J.F. , Zumbusch Alicia S. , Anselme Patrick
Published: January 2022

Many theoretical constructs have been formulated over the years to explain the phenomenon of addiction. While the incentive sensitization theory of addiction acknowledges the important contributions of many former theories, it postulates that addiction is a state of aberrant motivation. Through repeated drug use, individuals with addiction become hypersensitive to the effects of the drugs themselves and to the stimuli associated with these drugs, including a variety of drug paraphernalia. For all individuals consuming drugs, drug-related stimuli have an inherent predictive value that signals an impending dose of the drug. For people with addiction, these drug cues move beyond being merely predictors for the drug and are imbued with excessive motivational value (called incentive salience); they become powerful motivational magnets capable of instigating and enhancing cravings for the drug. This incentive sensitization occurs through a process of neuroadaptations in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system that have been shown to be long-lasting. These brain changes yield increasingly intense, highly focused cravings for an addictive target and transform cues related to the target into incentive stimuli that promote compulsive reward-seeking and relapse. The incentive sensitization theory does not deny a role for pleasure, habits, and withdrawal in addiction, but posits that those individuals with addiction (a) continue to take drugs compulsively even while experiencing diminished pleasure, (b) demonstrate creative new ways to procure drugs when necessary, and (c) often relapse well beyond when withdrawal has subsided. The critical factor in the development and maintenance of addiction is the persistent neuroadaptation that sensitizes the attribution of incentive salience to drugs and their cues, which explains why recovering from addiction is a long and slow process. The incentive sensitization theory can account for drug-induced attentional bias as well as how addiction can develop toward nondrug reward sources such as food, sex, and gambling environments.
Gender, Sexuality, Adolescence, and Identity in Schooling
Authors: Gonick Marnina , Conrads Judith
Published: January 2022

Gender and sexuality are key aspects of identity that intersect with other social categories such as race, class, ethnicity, and ability to shape life experiences. While these forces are at work throughout one’s lifetime, adolescence is a particularly important time of discovery, negotiation, and resistance. Most young people in Western countries spend an enormous amount of time in schools, grouped together by age with others from their communities, including teachers and other school personnel. Schools are, therefore, important sites of sociality where young people are faced with the social and power dynamics of belonging, inclusion, and exclusion. The forms these processes take include forming friendships and romantic relationships as well as bullying and violence. Gender and sexuality are central to how these dynamics play out. Young people who do not conform to dominant binary versions of gendered expressions of femininity and masculinity as well as heterosexuality often encounter barriers to inclusion and recognition. Social relations among youth are central, but school curriculum, policies, teacher-student interactions, and how schools are physically organized all contribute to the shape that gender and sexuality will take in a particular context or location. Beyond the official curriculum, schools are sites where an unofficial curriculum of the body, gender performance, and gendered and sexed relations is learned through interactions with others and through encounters with powerful regimes of normativity. Young people are social agents who are actively involved in negotiating their gendered and sexed identities. However, they do so within the constraints of the discourses available to them to make meaning of their experience.
Teaching Writing in the Digital Era
Authors: Laidlaw Linda
Published: January 2022

In the digital era, written communication for children and youth is changing. As texts and media include complex intersections of print, image, sound, and other modalities, the ways in which writing is conceived is shifting. The evolution and impact of digital technologies follow a long history of invention, innovation, and change in written communication, with critiques of writing and communication technologies present in both historical and contemporary contexts. A new development in contemporary digital culture is the significant and widespread participation of children and youth in digital media and communication due to the ubiquity, affordances, and appeal of mobile digital devices. In the history of writing instruction, pedagogical approaches and perspectives have continued to evolve, with the teaching of writing at times positioned as subordinate to the teaching of reading, a pattern that has repeated into the digital era in which an emphasis on digital writing production and text creation has been similarly less of a focus than receptive consumption of media. Shifts in digital practice and the emergence of new devices for writing present both challenges and opportunities for the teaching of writing and the creation of texts in schools, with issues of digital resource provision and access to technology presenting hurdles for some teachers. Teacher awareness of the digital worlds, practices, and “funds of knowledge” that students are bringing to the writing classroom is vital to reimagining the writing classroom within contemporary digital culture. In the 21st century, writing instruction needs to be inclusive of the operational demands of writing as well as sociocultural and critical requirements, in addition to responding to fluid technoliteracy contexts and consideration of how “writing” itself is changing.
Theories of Tolerance in Education
Authors: Bindewald Ben
Published: January 2022

Scholars in diverse democratic societies have theorized tolerance in various ways. Classical liberal tolerance can best be understood as non-interference with forms of behavior or expression one finds objectionable. It has been criticized for being too permissive of hate speech and not demanding enough as a theoretical guide to civic education. Alternatively, robust respect is characterized by open-mindedness and respect for diversity. Critics have suggested that it is too relativistic and overly ambitious as a guide to civic education. Discriminating (in)tolerance suggests that tolerance should only be extended to individuals and groups who support the advancement of egalitarian politics and the interests of historically marginalized groups. It has been criticized for being overly authoritarian and dogmatic. Mutuality emphasizes reciprocity and sustained engagement across difference. Critics argue that it is not revolutionary enough to address past injustices and persistent inequality.
Community-Based Reforms in the Monitoring Architecture of Elementary Education in India
Authors: Bhatty Kiran
Published: January 2022

Governance has emerged as a major factor explaining the decline in the quality of public education around the world, including India. Monitoring is an important element of governance, not just as a means of tracking performance but also for planning and policymaking. In recent years, it has gained greater relevance in light of the increased participation of the private sector in all aspects of education delivery. How the government monitors education depends on the structures and systems it has in place to collect adequate and appropriate information, process the information, and follow through with a feedback mechanism. However, for monitoring to be effective, not only is it necessary to get information to the government, but it is equally important to close the feedback loop by acting on the information in a timely fashion. The community can play an important role in this process by verifying official data and providing valuable information not collected by government sources on the functioning of schools in real time. What is required are platforms for sharing that information with the community and a mechanism for response from the government.

The importance of community participation in monitoring education was given a boost in India with the passage of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, in 2009, which assigned the monitoring function to the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)—a body answerable to the Parliament of India. This separation of implementation and monitoring functions created an opportunity for the community to participate directly in the monitoring of the RTE Act through an exercise of community monitoring undertaken by the NCPCR. The impact of this exercise was wide-ranging—from creating awareness about the right to education to mobilizing the community to voice their concerns regarding schools, creating platforms of dialogue between the state and the citizens, building trust with teachers, and bringing concrete improvement in the functioning of schools. Unfortunately, the inability to get the process institutionalized with state structures led to its early demise.
The Effect of the Elite School Group on Quality of Schooling
Authors: Li Manli , Sun Mengliao
Published: January 2022

In China, the equalization of education quality is an important strategy for the development of national education. The study focuses on the analysis of the current situation and educational effects of the elite school group (ESG), which is a strategy for educational equity in Beijing. On the one hand, by the ESG data collected in Beijing and the descriptive statistical analysis, it is discovered the macro scale and system building of the ESG in Beijing; On the other hand, the impact of ESG mode on students’ academic performance from the empirical level is verified, and the internal education mechanism and the root cause is uncovered. In terms of problems and suggestions, corresponding policy recommendations and other extended thinking are suggested.
Privatization of Education in Latin American Countries
Authors: Adrião Theresa , Croso Camilla
Published: January 2022

Privatization of education in Latin America, and particularly in South America, has been an ongoing process since the last decades of the 20th century and continues to be a pressing issue in the present times. It has been leveraged in the context of regional neoliberal consolidation and taken root in legal and policy frameworks, as well as in mainstream public opinion. Education privatization has concretely taken shape through its governance and supply as well as through the different curricular dimensions, including textbooks, teacher training and evaluation procedures, with important consequences in terms of equity and the realization of the right to education for all.
The Women’s Movement in Bangladesh
Authors: Azim Firdous
Published: January 2022

The women’s movement in Bangladesh can be traced to the moment of its birth and can be aligned with nation-building efforts. These early feminist campaigns and interventions influenced the ways in which feminist campaigns were launched or how feminist standpoints were conceptualized during the last decades of the 20th century. Three main movements or campaigns marked this moment, leading to new forms of activism and new issues that have emerged in present times. Thus the main contours of women’s activism in the country can be traced to the concepts and campaigns that animated the social movement arena from the 1970’s to the 90’s. Any account of the women’s movement in Bangladesh has to keep in mind the complexities of the ‘woman question’, and the evolution of strategies and tactics for advocating for women’s greater rights and freedoms.
Commerce in Qing Central Asia, 1644–1864
Authors: Kim Kwangmin
Published: January 2022

After a long decline beginning in the early 15th century, Sino-Central Asian trade witnessed an upward trend as of the late 17th century. The tea-horse trade between the Qing government and small Tibetan tribes in northwestern China was the first significant type of Sino-Central Asian trade during the Qing period. Despite the fact that the Qing largely discontinued this trade in the early 18th century, Central Asian and Chinese smugglers still carried on the tea trade. Meanwhile, the Zunghar Khanate forced the Qing to open tribute trade in the 1670s, expanding the venue for the Sino-Central Asian trade. The destruction of the khanate in the 1750s led to further expansion of the Sino-Central Asian trade, as the simultaneous expansion of the Qing and Russian Empires in Central Asia provided a stimulus. The Qing Empire’s initiatives to support its military in Xinjiang, including annual injections of silver into Xinjiang, provided a boost to the local agriculture and commerce there. The Russian expansion in Siberia along the Irtysh River and Russia’s decision to utilize Siberian towns as new bases for trade with China led to growth of trade between Xinjiang and Siberia. The long-standing pattern of Sino-Central Asian trade—the exchange of Central Asian horses and animals for Chinese tea and silk—remained dominant throughout the period. But Chinese rhubarb and Xinjiang jade emerged as new items of long-distance trade while the importance of staple goods in the overall trade increased steadily. The Chinese merchants emerged as the most dominant player in the trade, primarily due to their command of the supply of tea and rhubarb in the Central Asian market. Altishahri landlords and merchants made adjustments to advance their agricultural and commercial enterprises. Three groups of Central Asian merchants—Bukharans, Andijanis, and Kazakhs—thrived, as they facilitated the Sino-Russian trade.
Chinese Merchants in Japan and Korea
Authors: Kang Jin-A
Published: January 2022

In the mid-19th century, Chinese merchants moved to the treaty ports of Japan and Korea to expand the domestic commercial network abroad. They made significant profits by importing and distributing British cotton clothes via Shanghai to Japan and Korea. While Chinese merchants in Japan remained purely economic immigrant groups, those in Korea took an active political role since their advance to Korea on business was part of an effort by the Qing dynasty to strengthen its influence in Korea. Before the Mukden Incident in 1931, Chinese merchants in Kobe, Japan, engaged in trade with China and Southeast Asia and continued to be a powerful commercial group in Asian trade. However, Chinese merchants in Korea suffered from business crisis earlier on. They were hit hard by the sharp decline in import trade from China, which was their primary business, due to Japan’s protective tariff policy introduced in 1924. Until 1930s, both Chinese merchants in Japan and Korea were forced to gradually revise their business strategies to sell Japanese products in Greater China and Korea. The outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 turned out to be a decisive blow to the already struggling businesses of the Chinese merchants in Japan and Korea.
Multicultural Lives, Defiance and Liberation Politics in Namibia: The Getzen-Kerina Family History
Authors: Henrichsen Dag
Published: January 2022

A portrait of several generations of the Namibian Getzen-Kerina family reveals multicultural and cosmopolitan lives in this former German and South African colony of South West Africa. The lives and struggles of, in particular, Ida Getzen-Leinhos (alias Kaera, 1863–1926), Magdalena Getzen (alias Kasondoro, 1905–1977), and William Erich Getzen (alias Mburumba Kerina, b. 1932) provide a way to consider the complexity of central themes in Namibian history. With its strong roots in Herero society on the one hand and multicultural entanglements across the racial and ethnic divisions of segregated settler and apartheid society on the other hand, the Getzen-Kerina family history reflects subaltern experiences, networks, and worldviews that have shaped many Namibian families and influenced—often discretely—trajectories of defiance, antiracism, as well as anticolonial and antiapartheid resistance and liberation politics.
Routes to Emancipation in East Africa
Authors: Becker Felicitas , Liebst Michelle
Published: January 2022

Slaves, ex-slaves, and their descendants have taken multiple and complex routes toward emancipation in East Africa. Their experiences varied regionally, with status contests most clearly traceable in those areas where slavery had been most concentrated, especially on the coast. As scholars have established, the legal abolition of slavery did not lead directly to emancipation in East Africa, but it contributed to the quick erosion of slavery-based labor regimes around 1900. Ex-slaves pursued economic security and livelihoods through access to land and wage labor and sought to shed the stigma of slave origins by seeking religious affiliations, education, ethnic identities, and kinship ties. Routes to emancipation were highly gendered as female slaves within owners’ households lacked both political support and legal rights to their children. Moreover, male ex-slaves’ ambitions to assert their own patriarchal status by controlling women could be a major obstacle for ex-slave women’s search for emancipation. Although political independence in the 1960s encouraged the condemnation of slavery as an aberration from a different era, slavery-derived social differences linger, and people with a genealogy of slavery may face status implications in certain situations. Though East African societies, rural ones especially, are readily characterized as timelessly egalitarian, they struggle to this day with the legacy of slavery and incomplete emancipation.
The Economic Implications of Training for Firm Performance
Authors: Martins Pedro S.
Published: January 2022

A small literature on the relationship between employee training and firm performance is currently emerging. This line of research is particularly promising given the underexplored potential of training to drive productivity, wages, and employment. Until recently, training was regarded as a costly and risky investment because workers may leave their firm after being trained. However, studies on labor and education economics have found that training results in high returns for firms and that the costs of training can be recouped in a relatively short time. These results follow from different econometric identification approaches, including a small but growing number of randomized controlled trials. Moreover, most training is of a general nature and therefore applicable in other firms, which is at odds with the original theory of training but consistent with novel models that emphasize labor market power. There are a number of possibilities for future research, including a better understanding of the heterogeneity and patterns of training contents and formats across firms and workers, the differentiation of the effects of training along such dimensions, the role of labor market competition in driving training, the extent to which the productivity effects of training are shared with employees, the role of labor market institutions (including minimum wage, collective bargaining, and occupational licensing) in the dimensions above, and the firm performance effects of training provided to unemployed job seekers (as opposed to employees). Evaluation of the public training programs developed during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and new forms of training in the context of the growth of remote work also merit further investigation.
The 1918–1919 Influenza Pandemic in Economic History
Authors: Karlsson Martin , Kühnle Daniel , Prodromidis Nikolaos
Published: January 2022

Due to the similarities with the COVID–19 pandemic, there has been a renewed interest in the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic, which represents the most severe pandemic of the 20th century with an estimated total death toll ranging between 30 and 100 million. This rapidly growing literature in economics and economic history has devoted attention to contextual determinants of excess mortality in the pandemic; to the impact of the pandemic on economic growth, inequality, and a range of other outcomes; and to the impact of nonpharmaceutical interventions.

Estimating the effects of the pandemic, or the effects of countermeasures, is challenging. There may not be much exogenous variation to go by, and the historical data sets available are typically small and often of questionable quality. Yet the 1918–1919 pandemic offers a unique opportunity to learn how large pandemics play out in the long run.

The studies evaluating effects of the pandemic, or of policies enacted to combat it, typically rely on some version of difference-in-differences, or instrumental variables. The assumptions required for these designs to achieve identification of causal effects have rarely been systematically evaluated in this particular historical context. Using a purpose-built dataset covering the entire Swedish population, such an assessment is provided here. The empirical analysis indicates that the identifying assumptions used in previous work may indeed be satisfied. However, the results cast some doubt on the general external validity of previous findings as the analysis fails to replicate several results in the Swedish context. These disagreements highlight the need for additional studies in other populations and contexts which puts the spotlight on further digitization and linkage of historical datasets.
The BRICS Grouping
Authors: Stuenkel Oliver
Published: January 2022

The emergence of the BRICS grouping has been one of the most noteworthy yet misunderstood elements of global politics over the past decades. Despite its role in the transition toward a less Western-centric world order and the group’s surprising process of institutionalization, symbolized by the creation of a joint development bank, the relevance of BRICS remains contested by many scholars. To some, it amounts to little more than a marketing ploy articulated by a bank to attract investors, with very limited theoretical or real-world relevance due to the many differences between member states. To others, the grouping is symbolic of a broader power shift that has taken place in the world since 2000, with profound consequences for international politics. At the same time, the relatively limited time and energy academics have dedicated to the subject in the discipline’s leading journals is at least partly due to a Western-centric perspective that still dominates the discipline, which limits the attention scholars pay to initiatives led by non-Western powers. During the 2010s, however, a growing number of academics both in the West and in the Global South began to analyze the origins and impact of the BRICS and to write about the grouping focusing on issues such as South–South cooperation; questions of hierarchy, status, global governance, and the provision of global public goods; as well as sovereignty, democracy, financial statecraft, and global order. Despite continued doubts about how to think about the BRICS group, there is now a rich and highly diverse body of scholarship involving many different theoretical and geographic perspectives.
Race, Racism, and the Teaching of International Relations
Authors: Sen Somdeep
Published: January 2022

Discussions of race and racism are often missing in the curriculum of international relations courses or, when present, categorized as a “critical approach” and placed outside the mainstream. But this absence or marginalization from the mainstream of the discipline does not mean that such discussions are beyond the scope of its primary agenda—that is, theorize interstate relations. On the contrary, questions of race and racism have been foundational to the historical development of international relations. In its formative years, the discipline’s understanding of the global order was shaped by the Darwinist conceptions of racial hierarchies adopted by some its core theorists. They viewed the imperial domination of the “White races” over the “darker peoples of the world” to be justified, considering the immeasurable racial superiority of the former. Revisionist international relations scholars, also active during the formative years of the discipline, worked to upend these racialized hierarchies and underlined the need to account for the struggles and national aspirations of the dominated in international politics. Yet, international relations’ racist disciplinary precepts have persisted, and a color line—both globally and within the discipline—continues to divide the world into racialized, binary categories (e.g., civilized/uncivilized, modern/backward, and developed/undeveloped) that legitimize Western authority in international politics. However, the introduction of race and racism in the teaching of the discipline equally unsettles the assumption that international relations embodies a value-free scientific endeavor. Instead, the role of racist precepts in the making and workings of the field demonstrates that the discipline’s mainstream is deeply positioned in its view of the world and, as a consequence, fails to account for the multiplicity of ways in which international politics is encountered and experienced.
Buddhist Cosmology
Authors: Huntington Eric
Published: January 2022

Buddhist cosmology addresses the contents, structures, and processes of the world, especially with a view toward how these relate to the experiences of living beings. Some ideas occur broadly across various traditions, including that the world is disk-shaped, centers on the enormous mountain Sumeru, contains a human-inhabited continent called Jambudvīpa, and carries numerous layers of heavens above and hells below. At the same time, differing cosmological interpretations have been key to the development of many of the diverse philosophies and practices seen across Buddhist history. Over time, scholars, artists, and practitioners have reinterpreted cosmological features and frameworks to express new ideas about the personhood of the buddha, the nature of enlightenment, the techniques by which followers progress along the Buddhist path, and more. Some major innovations of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhism were cast in explicitly cosmological terms. Such important cosmological statements appear not only in scriptures and treatises but also in other aspects of Buddhist culture, such as ritual performances, visual artworks, and material objects. The cosmology of Buddhism is deeply intertwined with everything from its most profound intellectual developments to the lives and activities of everyday individuals.
Prajñāpāramitā and Khmer Esoteric Buddhism in the 10th to 13th Centuries
Authors: Chemburkar Swati
Published: January 2022

Prajñāpāramitā, the Perfection of Insight or Wisdom, designates the vast and complex corpus of texts in Mahāyāna Buddhism, which is commonly called Prajñāpāramitā literature. The earliest known text is the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 verses), which was assembled during the first two centuries of the Common Era and became the focus of study of Mahāyāna Buddhism. During the next two centuries, the Aṣṭasāhasrikā was expanded in varying lengths, up to one hundred thousand verses that scholars call the “Larger Prajñāpāramitā” texts. Crystallization of ideas made shorter Prajñāpāramitā texts possible during the subsequent two hundred years lasting up to the 5th century. The final development took place from 600 to 1200 ce and coincided with the emergence of Tantric or Esoteric Buddhism that emphasized the ritual use of Prajñāpāramitā texts. This final phase also saw the representation of the Perfection of Wisdom in anthropomorphic form as a goddess with various colors and ritual gestures, holding various attributes in statuary, manuscript illuminations, and in literary sources.

By the 8th century, Prajñāpāramitā visualization practices developed in deity yoga stimulated image production and various epiphanies. Texts, such as the Prajñāpāramitā-nāma-aṣṭaśataka, describe achieving epiphanies of the goddess and cite the mantras that invoke her presence. Manuals, such as the 11th to 12th century Sādhanamāla and Niṣpannayogāvalī, include instructions on the ways of achieving visualization practices.

The earliest surviving identifiable image of Prajñāpāramitā is an early 7th century bronze from Gilgit, Kashmir. Her cult became very important during the Pāla period (8th to 12th century) in the area of modern Bihar and West Bengal. She was accorded a significant place in Pāla-period Buddhism. Many illustrated manuscripts were prepared during this time and have survived in Nepal and Tibet, carried by monks who visited the north Indian monasteries.

The literature, ritual, and visualization practices associated with Prajñāpāramitā reached China and influenced the development of Buddhist thought. Her cult was popular in Java from the 10th to the 14th century. In Japan, Prajñāpāramitā texts were ceremoniously recited under royal patronage to avert calamities. Ritual and meditational practices that focus on Prajñāpāramitā continue today at Kwā Bāhā in Nepal, and further, all Tibetan schools and orders study Prajñāpāramitā along with cultivating the visualization practices in some form.

In Cambodia, Prajñāpāramitā as a goddess achieved exceptional prominence in the 12th through 13th centuries, especially under the king Jayavarman VII. Some of her Khmer iconographic forms had no Indian prototypes and are not recorded in ritual manuals anywhere in the Buddhist world. The emergence of distinct Khmer forms of Prajñāpāramitā in Cambodia under the Esoteric Buddhism of Jayavarman VII necessitates re-evaluating scholars’ understanding of the goddess.
Sacred Place and Sacred Places
Authors: Gorringe Tim
Published: January 2022

Sacred places have characterized most known settled societies. They have been both religious, domestic, civil, and related to the natural world. The Renaissance looked back to both Greek and Roman models, but in Europe, the Gothic model retained its importance. A lively debate as to whether sacred spaces are needed, and if so how to build them, runs from the 15th century to the present. The importance of domestic sacred space has declined for most communities in the West apart from Jews and Eastern Orthodox Christians, and secularization has led to the deconsecration of many religious buildings. However, the late 20th century also saw many inspirational religious buildings that in many ways broke with tradition, and the importance of civil sacred places has increased as secularization has grown. Romanticism, the roots of which can be traced to the 16th century, finds the sacred above all in the natural world, and this has informed both New Age religious movements and developments like the establishment of national parks.
The Discovery of Gold Mines in Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, and Goiás
Authors: Romeiro Adriana
Published: January 2022

After more than a century and a half of looking for precious metals, by private individuals and the Portuguese crown, gold in abundant quantities was finally discovered in 1695, in the sertões of Cataguases—a region that corresponds to the central portion of the current state of Minas Gerais. The event marked the beginning of a series of finds in the most western part of Portuguese America in the first half of the 18th century, in the regions that would come to be known as Minas do Cuyabá and Minas dos Goyazes. The 18th century marked the dawn of a golden era in the Luso-Brazilian world, pointing to the concretization of the promises that, since the 16th century, had proclaimed an era of wealth for Portugal. The most profound consequence of the discovery of gold was a new geopolitical reconfiguration of Portuguese dominions in the American continent, in a politically delicate conjuncture, in which America came to occupy a central position in the Portuguese Empire, at the same time that Iberian territorial boundaries—established by the Treaty of Tordesillas—were the subject of intense negotiation. The captaincy of Minas Gerais, where a large amount of gold was discovered for the first time, constituted a laboratory where the Portuguese crown drafted the political and administrative formula that would later be applied in the captaincies of Mato Grosso and Goiás.
The Spanish Language in Latin America in the 20th Century
Authors: Stavans Ilan
Published: January 2022

The Spanish language is the second largest in the world. While most of its syntactical patterns are the same, many of its speakers—around 450 million of them (the majority of whom live in Latin America)—use it in diverse, heterogeneous ways, to the point that it might be convenient to talk not of one español but of several. Its modernization began before the Spanish-American War, at the end of the 19th century, with the various drives toward national independence. Mass media (radio, TV, movies, and the internet) has also played a crucial role, along with immigration into and out of the region, tourism, language contact with indigenous tongues, English, and of code-switching strategies, tourism, and the emergence of working-class dialects like cantinflismo. The centripetal role played by Madrid’s Real Academia Española and its branches throughout Latin America can help to explain the tension between unity and plurality.