bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The mentoring relation as an interpersonal process in EDUCATE: A qualitative case study of mentor–mentee perspectives
Authors: De Ossorno Garcia Santiago , Doyle Luke
Published: February 2021

The EDUCATE research-based accelerator employs academic mentors to support entrepreneurs to use research in the development of educational technology. Mentorship is a common feature of business accelerators, yet only a few empirical studies have shown or analysed the relationship and how it influences business success outcomes. In EDUCATE, the mentorship adopts a unique approach by focusing the relationship on goals and evidence-based knowledge exchange concerning educational technology. Examining previous literature on mentorship and exploring the novel features of EDUCATE, a qualitative case study was conducted using a semi-structured interview with a mentor and mentee within the programme. Although this was a limited study of only one dyad mentor−mentee relationship, the research elicits findings that may be of interest for future research. The study highlights the importance of the interpersonal process of mentorship, and advances understanding of what constructs effective mentorship relationships for accelerators. Findings suggest that from the perspective of the mentee, the psychosocial function forms a big component of the relationship. Concepts such as trust, decision-making, personality and self-efficacy arise in the analysis. In contrast, the mentor focuses on career functions and aspects of the programme such as frequency of interaction and knowledge about research. In addition, structured goals within the relationship seem to help the research activities expected in the accelerator. In conclusion, mentorship within EDUCATE is key for the programme, the psychosocial functions in the relationship are critical for entrepreneur satisfaction and, consequently, the integration of research and practice. Constructs such as trust and personality are worth exploring as components within training of the psychosocial aspect of mentors’ activity, as opposed to the traditional view of expert and experienced mentors, often acquired in business accelerators. The analysis of the interpersonal process is of importance to further understand the definition of ‘good mentor’ within formal mentoring programmes for evaluation purposes.
Developing Little Bridge as an evidence-informed English language learning platform for 6–12 year olds
Authors: Rogers Emma , Weatherby Kristen
Published: February 2021

English is considered by many to be the global language of business and communication and, as such, parents and educators in countries in which English is not a native language are now encouraging children to study English at a young age. Much second language teaching and learning, however, does not take into account the real-world context within which language will be put to use. Little Bridge has developed an English language learning platform for students aged 6−12 years, within which learners acquire English vocabulary and skills and are able to apply what they have learned in real conversations with other English learners around the world. As part of UCL’s EDUCATE research accelerator programme, Little Bridge worked with a mentor to design and conduct mixed-methods research into the relationship between this social aspect of their platform and students’ achievement in learning English. Findings suggested that Little Bridge users who are the most active participants in the platform’s social network also complete more of the platform’s learning activities and achieve better results than those with the lowest social participation rates. The relationship between the academic mentor and Little Bridge enabled the company to develop a research mindset, understand the value of the data that they already have, and improve their understanding of the platform.
A learning architecture: Developing a collective design pedagogy in Mumbai with Muktangan School children and the Mariamma Nagar community
Authors: Antaki Nicola
Published: February 2021

A collective design pedagogy is an idea for a socially engaged learning practice that involves schoolchildren in the production of their city. How can children be involved in (re)designing their environment and work with the wider community, to democratize the city and develop practices of responsible citizenship? The case study is situated in Mumbai, where the changing population, economy and environment have created a need for more child-centred learning activities and pedagogical innovation. In collaboration with education NGO Muktangan School and the neighbourhood Mariamma Nagar, the research sets out a series of pedagogical experiments investigating the city’s potential to house socio-spatial active citizenship practices by children, school staff and the community, between 2012 and 2017. Four series of workshops included the same class of schoolchildren in observing, assessing and then transforming their environment. Using activities borrowed from architectural practice, they transformed their school and neighbourhood by designing interventions. Critical pedagogical, constructivist and co-design methods included the children in activating what Henri Lefebvre called the right to the city; the development of a collective design practice fuses learning with the environment. Children can become active citizens through design and work with local craft as a political design tool. The children identified well-being as the overarching itinerary for their design projects: they designed responses to problems such as open gutters, mosquitoes, fighting and bad language, lack of green spaces and insufficient waste management. This paper argues that children’s role as architects is pedagogical: with facilitation, they can be involved in the production of their current environment, develop their political identity, and foster their ability to communicate ideas. Co-design allows children to develop empathy, think critically and learn how to learn.
Co-researching complexities: Learning strategies for edge walking in community–university research partnerships
Authors: Chubb Laura A. , Fouché Christa B. , Sadeh Kengah Karen
Published: February 2021

Community–university research partnerships (CURPs) comprise a diverse group of stakeholders who share differing capabilities and diverse insights into the same issues, and they are widely regarded as valuable to navigate the best course of action. Partnering as co-researchers is core to nurturing these partnerships, but it requires careful navigation of complexities. The different insider and outsider positionalities occupied by co-researchers highlight experiences of ‘walking on the edges’ of each other’s worlds. This not only challenges these collaborations, but also enables a depth of understanding that may not be achieved in CURPs where the luxury of, or effort in, building a team of co-researchers to collect, analyse and write up data is not present. This article focuses on learning strategies to advance the co-researching capacities of CURPs where stakeholders occupy divergent positions. The focus will be on lessons from a co-researching partnership comprising a university-affiliated academic researcher, a local Kenyan non-governmental organization (NGO) and members of a community in which the NGO worked. We argue that applying selected learning strategies may facilitate positive experiences of edge walking and enhance the meaningful two-way sharing required for cross-cultural CURPs. It is recommended that community and university research partners examine the utility of these learning strategies for strengthening co-researching in CURP contexts.
Turning ‘evidence for development’ on its head: A view from Africa
Authors: Stewart Ruth
Published: February 2021

The ‘evidence for development’ community aims to produce research that is useful and used to address issues of poverty and inequality, largely in low- and middle-income countries (often referred to as the ‘global South’). The unspoken norm, however, is that much of the engagement, funding and attention is focused on organizations and individuals in the global North, with the assumption that they are effective in supporting the needs of the global South. In this research paper, I explore the initiatives and the individuals and organizations that are working within the ‘evidence for development’ community in Africa, using the lens of the African philosophy of ubuntu. I present findings from a programme of work undertaken across Africa to identify and better understand the innovation in evidence-informed decision-making taking place across the continent. I demonstrate that, while resource-poor and not well publicized, the evidence community in Africa is world leading in a number of respects. These include the interconnections within its continent-wide network, and the engagement of some governments within its ecosystem. Reflecting on these findings, I discuss and critique the underlying foundations of patriarchy, development and coloniality that shape the field of ‘evidence for development’. I highlight how, in an era of decoloniality, post-‘development’ and antipatriarchy, the ‘evidence for development’ community risks becoming outdated and being ineffective if it does not engage with the challenges inherent within these concepts. I argue that using the alternative lens of ubuntu enables us to celebrate the successes of Southern evidence communities, and to work together on a level footing with the North to tackle the challenges of poverty and inequality through better use of evidence.
Responses of seed germination, seedling growth under salinity stresses and variability for phenotypic traits in Tossa Jute (Corchorus olitorius L.)
Authors: Mukul Md. Mia , Ahmed Sheikh Shorif Uddin , Akter Nargis , Mostofa Md. Golam , Rahman Md. Sohanur , Talukder Fakhar Uddin
Published: February 2021

Salinity is a serious abiotic stress to Jute and other crop cultivation at saline regions in the world. No salt tolerant Tossa Jute (Corchorus olitorius L.) variety was developed in Bangladesh. Hence, six Tossa Jute accessions were investigated at germination stage against six concentration levels (0.00 or d.H2O, 8.0, 10.0, 12.0, 14.0 and 16.0 dS m-1) of salt (NaCl) using RCB design at Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI) during March-July, 2020. Jute seeds collected from Gene Bank of BJRI were allowed to germinate under laboratory condition. Seed germination rate was adversely affected as well as delay in germination was prolonged with increasing the salt concentration. In control, seeds were germinated up to 14.0 dS m-1 salt solution. Among six genotypes, Acc. 1141 and Acc. 3801 showed the highest germination rate (86.67 %); Acc. 3801 gave maximum root length (17.0 mm), dry biomass (6.37 mg); and Acc. 1089 showed higher shoot length (10.0 mm), fresh weight (43.93 mg) and salt tolerance index (60.69 %) under 14.0 dS m-1 level. Higher relative salt harm rate (7.14 %) was observed in both Acc. 1141 and Acc. 3801 under 14.0 dS m-1 salinity indicating highly tolerance to salinity. Acc. 3801 and Acc. 1141 were found good for germination under salt stresses; Acc. 3801, Acc. 1089 for fiber yield and salt tolerance; Acc. 3801 and Acc. 1407 for higher fiber yield. Acc. 3801 was found good for salt tolerance and fiber yield content. The genotypes with good desirable characters would be used as breeding materials to develop high yielding salt tolerant Tossa Jute variety.
The role of immersion learning in the acquisition and processing of L2 gender agreement
Authors: Klassen Gabrielle , Ferreira Aline , Schwieter John W.
Published: February 2021

In this paper, we examine the effects of learning environment on second language (L2) gender agreement. English speakers learning L2 Spanish participated in a self-paced reading task and a picture selection task prior to and after a short-term study abroad experience. The results from the self-paced reading task showed that their reliance on the masculine article as the default (e.g., McCarthy, Corrine. 2008. Morphological variability in the comprehension of agreement: An argument for representation over computation. Second Language Research 24(4). 459–486) was reduced over time abroad. Findings from the picture selection task showed that the learners did not attend to the gender of articles unless it was their only cue, but that after the study abroad experience they began to use gender as an anticipatory cue for lexical selection. We interpret these results as support for an adapted version of the Shallow Structures Hypothesis (Clahsen, Harald & Claudia Felser. 2006a. Grammatical processing in language learners. Applied Psycholinguistics 27(1). 3–42; Clahsen, Harald & Claudia Felser. 2006b. How native-like is non-native language processing? Trends in Cognitive Sciences 10(12). 564–570) and the notion that in immersion contexts L2 learners shift their parsing strategy to be more communicatively focused (Schwieter, John W. & Gabrielle Klassen. 2016. Linguistic advances and learning strategies in a short-term study abroad experience. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 1(2). 217–247).
Terminology, units and reporting – how harmonized do we need to be?
Authors: Flatman Robert
Published: February 2021

Harmonization initiatives in laboratory medicine seek to eliminate or reduce illogical variations in service to patients, clinicians and other healthcare professionals. Significant effort will be required to achieve consistent application of terminology, units and reporting across laboratory testing providers. Current variations in practice for nomenclature, reference intervals, flagging, units, standardization and traceability between analytical methods, and presentation of cumulative result data are inefficient and inconvenient, or worse yet, patient safety risks. All aspects of laboratory service across the “total testing process” ultimately depend on concise, reliable communication. Clinical terminologies (e.g. SNOMED-CT, LOINC, IFCC/IUPAC NPU) provide a mechanism to correctly identify an analyte or panel of tests within a request for testing and communicate the results back to the clinician or electronic health record (EHR). Electronic systems for requesting and reporting laboratory testing are said to be interoperable when reliable connection and communication of content occur. Modern electronic reports and EHRs will provide greater flexibility and functionality, but also require effective guidelines or standards to ensure consistent representation of laboratory data. Programs to harmonize service in these areas require ongoing local, national and international efforts and should incorporate stakeholders from laboratories, medical staff, information technology and informatics specialists, patient representatives and government. The process of identifying harmonized best practice, then ensuring uptake across many laboratory testing providers, is generally iterative rather than “one off”. New opportunities for additional harmonization will be generated as analytical performance, standardization and traceability, and diagnosis and treatment continue to evolve.
The view of a general practitioner on immediate access for patients to their laboratory test results
Authors: Shah Syed Ghulam Sarwar , Hannan Amir , Elliott Bruce , Brindle Ingrid , Fitton Richard
Published: February 2021

This position paper presents the role of laboratory test results in traditional general practice and provides a recommendation for responsible sharing of results with patients for improved safety, efficiency and outcomes. This paper looks at the relationship between the laboratory, the general practitioner consultation, the patient, safety and general practice capacity. We suggest changes in the traditional practice of communicating laboratory test results whereby normal or abnormal results are made available to patients as soon as they become available. We also endorse the opinion that using online tools such as email or text messages could enhance the provision of rapid access to laboratory test results for patients.
Favorable outcome after nine minutes of shoulder dystocia preceded by a tight nuchal cord
Authors: Novoa Maria , Friedman Jonathan , Lee Siwon , Hitt Wilbur C. , Gonzalez Tanya
Published: February 2021

Objectives

A case report involving a tight nuchal cord and concomitant shoulder dystocia with a review of the literature. We demonstrate that favorable outcomes may result with correct application of maneuvers and adequate management after delivery.

Case presentation

A 41 years old woman was admitted with spontaneous rupture of membranes. The first stage of labor was unremarkable. During the second stage, an intentionally-cut tight nuchal cord was followed by 9 min of shoulder dystocia that was finally relieved by delivery of the anterior shoulder. APGAR scores were 0, 3, 4, 7 at 1, 5, 10 and 20 min respectively. The neonate was placed under therapuetic hypothermia and was discharged after 13 days. At 5 months and 1.5 years of age, the infant met age appropriate developmental milestones with no neurologic sequela.

Conclusions

Shoulder dystocia can result in fatal outcomes for the neonate. Adequate management highlights the need for prompt recognition of this complication and application of appropriate maneuvers. Therapeutic hypothermia decreases mortality and improves neurological development in infants who experience hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).
Regulation of RNA helicase activity: principles and examples
Authors: Donsbach Pascal , Klostermeier Dagmar
Published: February 2021

RNA helicases are a ubiquitous class of enzymes involved in virtually all processes of RNA metabolism, from transcription, mRNA splicing and export, mRNA translation and RNA transport to RNA degradation. Although ATP-dependent unwinding of RNA duplexes is their hallmark reaction, not all helicases catalyze unwinding in vitro, and some in vivo functions do not depend on duplex unwinding. RNA helicases are divided into different families that share a common helicase core with a set of helicase signature motives. The core provides the active site for ATP hydrolysis, a binding site for non-sequence-specific interaction with RNA, and in many cases a basal unwinding activity. Its activity is often regulated by flanking domains, by interaction partners, or by self-association. In this review, we summarize the regulatory mechanisms that modulate the activities of the helicase core. Case studies on selected helicases with functions in translation, splicing, and RNA sensing illustrate the various modes and layers of regulation in time and space that harness the helicase core for a wide spectrum of cellular tasks.
At whose expense? System justification and the appreciation of stereotypical humor targeting high- versus low-status groups
Authors: Baltiansky Dean , Craig Maureen A. , Jost John T.
Published: February 2021

Many popular comedians tell complicated jokes that involve multiple levels of interpretation. The same joke may be perceived as criticizing or reinforcing the societal status quo, depending on perceivers’ assumptions about the target of the punchline (e.g., whether the joke is at the expense of high- or low-status groups). We focused on how such jokes are experienced by listeners who are psychologically prone to justifying (vs. challenging) the status quo. In a sample of Mechanical Turk workers (N = 179), we explored whether individual differences in system justification would be associated with the appreciation of group-based (stereotypical) humor, depending on the perceived target of the joke. As hypothesized, high system-justifiers found jokes targeting low-status groups (e.g., women, poor people, racial/ethnic minorities) to be funnier than low system-justifiers did. In some cases, low system-justifiers found jokes targeting high-status groups (rich people, European Americans) to be funnier than high system-justifiers did. These results expand upon previous demonstrations that humor appreciation is linked to relatively stable ideological dispositions and suggest that different individuals may perceive complex group-based humor in divergent ways.
Social harms and social class in Iranian youth and adolescents living in slums in the suburbs: a systematic review
Authors: Mahmoodi Zohreh , Solimannejad Tahereh , Solimannejad Mohamad , Niazi Mohsen
Published: February 2021

Background

Socioeconomic and environmental factors can affect the health of the people living in slums in the suburbs. In these areas, the youth and adolescents are the main age groups susceptible to a multitude of harms such as addiction, AIDS, delinquency, aggressive behavior, and prostitution. The present study was conducted to investigate the state of social harms and social class in Iranian youth and adolescents living in slums in the suburbs.

Methods

In the present systematic review, the researchers searched for observational and qualitative papers published in Persian or English languages during 2010–2020 timespan in the following databases: Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Irandoc databases, Google Scholar, SID, and Magiran. Based on MESH, the keywords of “social class”, “social harm”, “youth”, “adolescent”, and “slum” were chosen. Papers were assessed according to the inclusion criteria, and the quality of the papers was evaluated using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale for quantitative articles and the COREQ scale for qualitative ones.

Results

Of 491 articles assessed, 11 (eight cross-sectional and three qualitative papers) were deemed suitable. According to the results, social harms reported were: drug abuse (two studies), female sex workers (two studies), poverty (two studies), AIDS (two studies), social insecurity (two studies), psychedelic substances (one study), alcohol (one study), delinquency (one study), divorce (one study), physical problems (one study), prostitution because of poverty (one study), unemployment (one study), and adolescents’ forced labor due to destitution (one study). Moreover, the assessed papers used education (three studies), economic status (three studies), occupation (two studies), income (two studies), place of residence (two studies), social status (two studies), and cultural status (one study) as indicators of the social class in the individual and their parents, and categorized them in three groups of high (one study), middle (three studies), and low classes (seven studies).

Conclusion

The present systematic review investigated, for the first time in Iran, social harms and social class in the youth and adolescents living in slums in the suburbs. The results showed that social harm is high among the youth and adolescents in outskirt slums of Iranian cities. Therefore, any attempt to empower the youth and adolescents living in these parts will have direct effects on the health of the residents of these areas.
A stabilized fractional-step finite element method for the time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations
Authors: Shang Yueqiang , Liu Qing
Published: February 2021

We present a fractional-step finite element method based on a subgrid model for simulating the time-dependent incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. The method aims to the simulation of high Reynolds number flows and consists of two steps in which the nonlinearity and incompressibility are split into different steps. The first step of this method can be seen as a linearized Burger’s problem where a subgrid model based on an elliptic projection of the velocity into a lower-order finite element space is employed to stabilize the system, and the second step is a Stokes problem. Under mild regularity assumptions on the continuous solution, we obtain the stability of the numerical method, and derive error bound of the approximate velocity, which shows that first-order convergence rate in time and optimal convergence rate in space can be gotten by the method. Numerical experiments verify the theoretical predictions and demonstrate the promise of the proposed method, which show superiority of the proposed method to the compared method in the literature.
Toward a transdisciplinary integration of research purposes and methods for complex dynamic systems theory: beyond the quantitative–qualitative divide
Authors: Hiver Phil , Al-Hoorie Ali H. , Larsen-Freeman Diane
Published: February 2021

Complexity theory/dynamic systems theory has challenged conventional approaches to applied linguistics research by encouraging researchers to adopt a pragmatic transdisciplinary approach that is less paradigmatic and more problem-oriented in nature. Its proponents have argued that the starting point in research design should not be the quantitative–qualitative distinction, or even mixed methods, but the distinction between individual versus group-based designs (i.e., idiographic versus nomothetic). Taking insights from transdisciplinary complexity research in other human and social sciences, we propose an integrative transdisciplinary framework that unites these different perspectives (quantitative–qualitative, individual–group based) from the starting point of exploratory–falsificatory aims. We discuss the implications of this transdisciplinary approach to applied linguistics research and illustrate how such an integrated approach might be implemented in the field.
A tablet derived from Andrographis paniculata complements dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine treatment of malaria in pregnant mice
Authors: Bastiana  , Widyawaruyanti Aty , Ilmi Hilkatul , Tumewu Lidya , Prasetyo Budi , Hafid Achmad Fuad , Aryati
Published: February 2021

Objectives

The use of standard antimalarial drugs, such as dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHP) for the treatment of malaria during pregnancy is limited due to the risk of teratogenicity. The alternative is therefore required although few exist. Here we show a phytopharmaceutical drug derived from Andrographis paniculata (AS201-01), which is effective as herbal antimalarial both in vitro and in vivo and may be a suitable alternative when used in complementary treatment with DHP.

Methods

Plasmodium berghei infected pregnant BALB/c mice were divided into four groups: G1 (negative control), G2 (AS201-01), G3 (DHP), and G4 (combination of DHP and AS201-01). Pheripheral blood was collected during therapy for counting parasitemia. Placental samples were analyzed for the expression of IFN-γ, TNF- α, IL-10, placental parasite counts and foetal morphology.

Results

Groups G4 and G3 both showed a 100% inhibition of peripheral parasitemia. However, the treatment in G4 was found to be less effective than that in G2 and G3 in preventing placental parasitemia. The G4 treatment was able to reduce the expression of IFN-γ and IL-10, whereas TNF-α was not significantly different from the control group. Foetal morphologic abnormalities were observed in all groups except G2; G4 showed lower percentage of abnormalities compared to G3 and G1.

Conclusions

A combination of A. paniculata tablet (AS201-01) with DHP has the potential to reduce the toxicity of DHP in malaria treatment.
Fetal intracranial structures: differences in size according to sex
Authors: Kavak Ebru Celik , Kavak Salih Burcin , Sanli Cengiz , Batmaz Ibrahim , Ozden Seren , Sapmaz Ekrem
Published: February 2021

Objectives

We aimed to compare gender difference on sizes of some structures in the brain of normal male and female fetuses between 20 and 22 week gestations.

Methods

A total of 300 female and 300 male singleton pregnancies with low risk were included in the study. Biparietal diameter, head circumference, transcerebellar diameter, cisterna magna, nuchal fold thickness, anterior and posterior horn of lateral ventricles, length and width of cavum septum pellucidum were measured transabdominally. Mean±SD values were calculated and comparison of measurements were done between male and female fetuses. Kolmogorov–Smirnov and independent samples t-test were used for statistical analysis. A value of p<0.05 were accepted as statistically significant.

Results

We determined statistically significant difference in sizes of some structures of the brain of male and female fetuses. Mean±SD value of cavum septi pellucidi width was 3.38±0.61 and 3.85±0.96 in female and males, respectively (p<0.05). Male fetuses were also found to have larger anterior (1.92±0.30 vs. 1.58±0.26, p<0.0001) and posterior horn of lateral ventricles (6.00±0.87 vs. 5.53±1.17, p<0.05).

Conclusions

Difference in sizes of some structures of the brain starts in fetal life. This finding may be important in evaluating the intracranial structures more precisely. These results may also give a contribution to the understanding physiological and pathologic differences between males and females.
Using smartphones to document linguistic landscapes: the LinguaSnapp mobile app
Authors: Gaiser Leonie Elisa , Matras Yaron
Published: February 2021

LinguaSnapp is a smartphone application developed to support documentation of linguistic landscapes, especially in multilingual urban settings. Since its launch in Manchester in 2016, bespoke versions have also been created for Melbourne, Jerusalem, St Petersburg and Hamburg. We describe the rationale and the operational setup behind the app, and provide examples of how the documentation facility can support analyses pertaining to the relation between language repertoire and spatial demarcations, and how it can be used in public engagement.
Secure account-based data capture with smartphones – preliminary results from a study of articulatory precision in clinical depression
Authors: Miley Erin Victoria , Schaeffler Felix , Beck Janet , Eichner Matthias , Jannetts Stephen
Published: February 2021

Smartphone technology is continuously being updated through software and hardware changes. At present, a limited number of studies have been undertaken to assess the impact of these changes on data collection for linguistic research. This paper discusses the potential of smartphones to gather reliable recordings, along with ethical considerations for storing additional personal information when working in other contexts (i.e. healthcare settings). A pilot study was undertaken using the FitvoiceTM account-based application to analyse articulatory proficiency in depressed and healthy participants. Results suggest that phonetic differences exist between these groups in terms of plosive production, and that smartphones are capable of adequately recording these minute aspects of the speech signal for analysis.
Stimmen: A citizen science approach to minority language sociolinguistics
Authors: Hilton Nanna Haug
Published: February 2021

This paper presents the project Stimmen fan Fryslân ‘Voices of Fryslân’. The project relies on a smartphone application developed to involve local communities in the creation of speech corpora, particularly of lesser used languages. This paper lays out the scientific and societal context of the project, showcases the smartphone application and gives an overview of the results from the project that attracted more than 15,000 users. Some key methodological issues are considered, and the paper discusses the role of smartphone technology for citizen science in minority language areas while also showing new maps with distributions of lexical and phonological variation in Frisian.
Sprekend Nederland, a multi-purpose collection of Dutch speech
Authors: Hinskens Frans , Grondelaers Stefan , van Leeuwen David
Published: February 2021

This contribution sketches the aims, participant recruitment and methodology of the Sprekend Nederland project, the amount and types of data, the research possibilities they offer and suggestions for similar future projects.
Gschmöis – Crowdsourcing grammatical data of Swiss German
Authors: Hasse Anja , Bachmann Sandro , Glaser Elvira
Published: February 2021

In recent years, a number of applications on Swiss German have been released. They all crowdsource dialectological data, yet until recently their main focus has been on lexical and phonological features. In 2018, we launched the appgschmöis, an app designed to (1) give users an insight into dialectological research, and (2) collect Swiss German data on all linguistic levels, but with a strong emphasis on morphosyntactic phenomena. At the beginning, three rounds were published. Since then new rounds were published periodically. By including not only lexical and phonological features, we want speakers of Swiss German to become aware of differences in the grammar of various Swiss German dialects.The same linguistic phenomena are covered by multiple questions, and some of the questions are duplicated from more traditional projects, like atlas projects on Swiss German. This allows for comparison across different question types (i.e. translation tasks vs. multiple choice questions), different collection methods (fieldwork methods used in the SDS, written questionnaires used in the SADS, and crowdsourcing via the smartphone applicationgschmöis), and different groups of informants (NORMs vs. speakers of Swiss German of various gender and age groups). Furthermore, the older data of previous projects can directly be compared with the crowdsourced data, so that recent dialect change can be detected.
Schnëssen. Surveying language dynamics in Luxembourgish with a mobile research app
Authors: Entringer Nathalie , Gilles Peter , Martin Sara , Purschke Christoph
Published: February 2021

The mobile app Schnëssen establishes a digital and participatory research platform to collect data on present-day spoken Luxembourgish through crowdsourcing and to present the results of data analysis to the general public. Users can participate in different kinds of audio recording tasks (translation, picture naming, reading, question) as well as in sociolinguistic surveys. All audio recordings are accessible to the public via an interactive map, which allows the participants to explore variation in Luxembourgish themselves. In the first year of data collection, roughly 210.000 recordings have be collected covering numerous variation phenomena on all linguistic levels. Additionally, over 2800 sociolinguistic questionnaires have been filled out. Compiling such amounts of data, the Schnëssen app represents the largest research corpus of spoken Luxembourgish.
Crowdscapes. Participatory research and the collaborative (re)construction of linguistic landscapes with Lingscape
Authors: Purschke Christoph
Published: February 2021

Public signage is a central element of the socio-pragmatic organization of everyday practice. The survey of signs and written language in the public sphere has developed into a vital branch of sociolinguistics called “linguistic landscapes”. The paper introduces a participatory research project, Lingscape, that focuses on the documentation and analysis of linguistic landscapes worldwide. Making use of a dedicated mobile research app, the project aims at creating awareness for the semiotic complexity and social relevance of public signage. After the discussion of two basic functions of public signage and two fundamental pragmatic conditions of sign perception, the text briefly introduces the app and project workflow. This is followed by the results of an analysis of the Vienna linguistic landscape using a large dataset collected with the app. This includes a quantitative evaluation of the contributions by different user groups to the (re)construction of a Vienna “crowdscape” as well as a qualitative investigation of the presence and social status of Austrian German in said crowdscape. Finally, the text presents an in-depth discussion about challenges for participatory research in practical work that focuses on the objectives of participatory research and the practical necessities against the backdrop of academic practice.
Attributional and relational influence of numerals in S’ncamtho metaphors
Authors: Ndlovu Sambulo
Published: February 2021

Youth varieties in Africa such as S’ncamtho, the Ndebele-based youth variety in Zimbabwe, and urban vernaculars interact with urban and modern experiences which offer them new materials and experiences to base their metaphors on compared to older metaphors in the base languages. This paper explores the use of numeral qualities and associations in the conceptualisation and orthographic representation of S’ncamtho metaphors. S’ncamtho is popular with urban youth and this makes social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, SMS and Instagram key in the performance of the youth variety, a performance that includes the creation, use and contraction of metaphors. Numerals offer phonetic attributes which are exploited in S’ncamtho as metaphors for contracting longer words into shorter ones for fast and economic writing on social media. Numerals are also used as frames to create analogies which elicit euphemistic and general S’ncamtho metaphors. Qualities of numerals such as sound, form and association are used to derive S’ncamtho metaphors and a unique numeral aided orthography to represent some of these metaphors in writing. The research deploys relational and attributional tenets of metaphor theory to analyse the numerical mappings in S’ncamtho metaphors.
Editorial: using smartphones to collect linguistic data
Authors: Hilton Nanna Haug , Leemann Adrian
Published: February 2021

In the last decade, we have seen a number of studies come to life in which the collection of data for linguistic research has not followed a traditional path of holding in-person interviews or experiments, or using surveys for eliciting judgements, but instead have made use of smartphone technology and applications for collecting data. The current collection is the first to include papers with reflections from the linguistics community about the use of smartphone technology for linguistic research. The scope of the projects presented in this collection is a broad one. They have the mode of data collection, i.e. through a phone, in common, but all present different opportunities and challenges. The studies discussed in this introduction use smartphones to investigate language variation and change, clinical linguistics, psycholinguistics, and the sociology of language. Our hope is that this issue will provide ideas and inspiration, as well as access to readily usable tools, to keep researchers working, in a remote fashion, towards increasing our understanding the human competence of language.
Developing a curriculum designed to overcome intolerance: A conceptual approach
Authors: Hinner Michael B.
Published: February 2021

The paper examines the theoretical foundation of intolerance and explores potential topics for a curriculum designed to overcome intolerance. Previous research has shown that a negative self-image and low self-esteem seem to foster intolerance. Likewise, individuals with low levels of self-awareness tend to be more willing to express intolerance while paying less attention to the impression their behaviour and communication has among others. Individuals with a negative self-image and low self-esteem often resist change and tend to look for information that confirms and reinforces their existing viewpoints while ignoring information that contradicts their viewpoints. The research of Kruger and Dunning (1999), though, suggests that instruction in metacognition can overcome these negative characteristics. Especially if metacognitive training is coupled with multicultural education, cultural diversity training, and foreign language instruction as other research has revealed.
Media framing of the Macedonia name change issue: The use of fear-inducing language strategies
Authors: Trajkova Zorica
Published: February 2021

It is considered a huge socio-political step for a country to change its name, especially under pressure imposed by another country. In January 2019, Macedonia officially became the Republic of North Macedonia after a three-decade long dispute with its neighbouring country Greece. Macedonian citizens have long suffered the consequences of this dispute and have often expressed their dissatisfaction on the social media. However, the media played a crucial role in shaping their opinions regarding this situation.

This paper attempts to present how pro- and anti-government oriented media sources framed the issue and influenced the citizens’ perceptions of it. More precisely, it conducts a critical discourse analysis of 30 online newspaper articles, written during three specific periods on a timeline from January 2018 to February 2019, before, during and after the name change. The analysis sets out to identify lexical, pragmatic and discursive devices acting as potential fear triggers through which threat frames are being constructed. The results showed that both pro- and anti- government media sources appeal mostly to people’s emotions by generating fear related to a hypothetical future – in the case of the former it instigated fear of what might happen with the future of the country provided the name was not changed, while in the case of the latter, if the name was changed.
Impoliteness on the political stage: The case of the 2019 final Macedonian presidential debate
Authors: Neshkovska Silvana
Published: February 2021

Electoral debates are a win-lose game in which the stakes for the political contenders are extremely high. The antagonistic nature of these encounters very frequently results in impoliteness or face aggravating moves with which the debaters aim to hurt the opponent’s positive or negative face.

The aim of this research is to investigate the impoliteness strategies employed by politicians during electoral debates. Garcia-Pastor’s (2008) positive-face and negative-face impoliteness strategies are taken as a starting point in the analysis at hand. The final electoral debate of the 2019 presidential elections in the Republic of North Macedonia is used as a data source for this research, which is based on several different hypotheses and is both qualitatively and quantitative oriented. The findings of the research are in line with the insights gained from previous studies, which, more or less, suggests that Macedonian politicians follow the mainstream “rules” when it comes to using impoliteness in political debates.
Fostering civility and politeness awareness in professional discourse: Critical genre analysis of course books in professional communication
Authors: Sousa Alcina Pereira de
Published: February 2021

This paper aims to analyse a set of communicative events within the service encounter genre in tourism and leisure interdiscursive domains as displayed in course books on professional communication in English (commonly pointing to ESP). These supposedly replicate interaction in real life settings. Therefore, it is relevant to uncover the ways authentic interactions can be interpreted in the pedagogical setting of workplace conversation from a discursive and pragmatic perspective. More specifically, this empirical and exploratory study discusses ways of improving rapport management skills in interpersonal and intercultural communication, in general, and in professional interaction, in particular, in a selection of excerpts on greeting / asking for info exchanges. The study uncovers participants’ possible co-constructions of civility and politeness strategies in naturally occurring classroom discourse supported by course materials in English for glocal communication across segments in the tourism domain as object of this study.
The spatio-temporal co-occurrence of free-ranging common fallow deer and domestic caprines on the island of Rhodes, Greece
Authors: De Marinis Anna M. , Masseti Marco
Published: February 2021

The Dama dama dama population of the island of Rhodes has an important conservation significance because of its unique genetic characters. Currently, many are the factors that threaten its survival. Aim of this paper is to provide the first data on the spatio-temporal co-occurrence between the only free-ranging Greek population of common fallow deer and local domestic caprines. Kilometric abundance index (KAI) was derived from spotlight counts. The unattended domestic caprines appear to impact on fallow deer, in particular during fawning season. Livestock monitoring over time can act as a proxy indicator of the status of this deer population.
Indexing authenticity in visual political (social media) communication: a metapragmatics-based analysis of two visual registers of the authentic
Authors: Blasch Lisa
Published: February 2021

In this paper, I apply a metapragmatics-based approach to visual communication, combined with adapted concepts of Social Semiotics (“visual modality”) and CDA-oriented visual analysis (“canons of use”), to reconstruct two visual registers of authenticity which are prevailing within a social media photo sample of recent Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz (Facebook, Instagram; total of 84 photos), posted during the parliamentary elections in 2017. Triangulated with the discourse analysis of the marketing manager’s metapragmatic reflections on this social media campaign, the study shows how the partly intertwined registers of (1) “professional sensorism” (as a blended register comprising emblems of sensory modality and balanced composition, thereby drawing on the conceptualization of authenticity as sensory and affective experience of “now”) and (2) “voyeuristic fictionalization” (comprising indexicals associated with fiction genre, and based on the notion of authenticity as arising via “unnoticed observing”) are conceptualized and implemented as a—superior—visual stylization, acting as a social positioning, in mediatized political communication.
Biomechanical evaluation of self-cinching stitch techniques in rotator cuff repair: The single-loop and double-loop knot stitches
Authors: Frosch Stephan , Buchhorn Gottfried , Kück Fabian , Walde Tim Alexander , Lehmann Wolfgang , Spering Christopher
Published: February 2021

In rotator cuff repair, strong and reliable suturing is necessary to decrease failure rates. The biomechanics of two self-cinching stitches – the single-loop knot stitch (SLKS) and the double-loop knot stitch (DLKS) – and the modified Mason-Allen stitch (mMAS) were compared. Twenty-seven porcine infraspinatus tendons were randomized among the three stitches. Each was cyclically loaded (10–80–200 N for 50 cycles each) while the gap formation was measured. Next, ultimate load to failure was tested. The gap widths after cyclic loading were 8.72 ± 0.93 mm for the DLKS, 8.65 ± 1.33 mm for the mMAS, and 9.14 ± 0.89 mm for the SLKS, without significant differences. The DLKS showed the highest ultimate load (350.52 ± 38.54 N) compared with the mMAS (320.88 ± 53.29 N; p = 0.304) and the SLKS (290.54 ± 60.51 N; p < 0.05). The DLKS showed similar reliability and better strength compared with the mMAS, while the SLKS showed a slight but not significant decrease in performance. In our experience, the DLKS and SLKS have clinical advantages, as they are easy to perform and the self-cinching loop knot allows the surgeon to grasp degenerative tendon tissue. Initial intraoperative tightening of the suture complex (preloading) before locking is important in order to decrease postoperative elongation.
The crystal structure of para-trifluoromethyl-aniline hemihydrate, C14H14F6N2O
Authors: Hosten Eric C. , Betz Richard
Published: February 2021

C14H14F6N2O, orthorhombic, Pbcn (no. 60), a = 17.7552(12) Å, b = 10.7574(9) Å, c = 8.0207(7) Å, V = 1532.0(2) Å3, Z = 4, R

gt
(F) = 0.0415, wR

ref
(F
2) = 0.1154, T = 200 K.
Redetermination of the crystal structure of 2-amino-2-methyl-propane-1,3-diole, C4H11NO2
Authors: Hosten Eric C. , Betz Richard
Published: February 2021

C4H11NO2, monoclinic,P21/n(no. 14),a = 6.0864(4) Å,b = 10.9696(8) Å,c = 8.5928(5) Å,β = 93.360(3)°,V = 572.72(7) Å3,Z = 4,Rgt(F) = 0.0307,wRref(F2) = 0.0891, T = 200 K.
The crystal structure of 5-carboxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium-4-carboxylate, C6H8N2O6
Authors: Clark Candyce R. , Hosten Eric C. , Betz Richard
Published: February 2021

C6H8N2O6, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 7.4709(4) Å, b = 14.2051(9) Å, c = 7.3198(4) Å,

β

$\beta $

 = 97.096(4)°, V = 770.86(8) Å3, Z = 4, R

gt
(F) = 0.0346, wR

ref
(F
2) = 0.0946, T = 200 K.