bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Badminton Service Foul System based on machine vision
Authors: Zhenyang Chen , Caluyo Felicito , Louise de Ocampo Anton , Hernandez Rowell , Sarmiento Jeffrey
Published: September 2024

Introduction: In today's sports activity landscape, the identity of fouls and misguided moves in badminton poses extensive challenges. A badminton carrier foul takes place when a player fails to stick to the guidelines in the course of a serve. Common fouls such as improper position, foot placement and racket position.Aim: The purpose of this study is to improve an advanced machine version system using Archerfish looking Optimization-driven intelligent ResNet50 (AHO-IResNet50) to enhance the accuracy of service foul identification in badminton, thereby improving match score analysis and decision-making for the Badminton practices.Methodology: The dataset were obtained that incorporates numerous images capturing various phases of badminton matches, with racket positions and player movements during service, to train the proposed model. A discrete Wavelet rework (DWT) algorithm is utilized to extract the huge features. The proposed method includes an AHO algorithm to fine-tune the IResNet50 model for more desirable badminton service foul identification. This proposed approach leverages the adaptability of Archerfish hunting strategies to optimize IResNet50's parameters, enhancing accuracy and reducing errors in badminton foul recognition.Results: The suggested recognition model is applied in a Python software program. During the result analysis phase, we evaluated the model's efficacy across diverse parameters along with accuracy (94.7%), precision (86.7%), recall (84.9%), and specificity (93.5%). We additionally conduct comparative analyses with existing methodologies to examine the effectiveness of our suggested classification. Conclusion: The acquired findings show the efficacy and superiority of the proposed framework, significantly lowering errors and improving the accuracy of foul identification
Hubungan Minat Belajar Peserta Didik dengan Hasil Belajar Kognitif pada Mata Pelajaran Matematika di Sekolah Dasar
Authors: Adawiyah Auliyatul , Larasati Diyas Age , Pratiwi Desi Eka
Published: September 2024

Masih ada sekitar 50% peserta didik yang masih kesulitan untuk menghafal perkalian, masih ada juga yang belum bisa perkalian susun terkadang ada yang sudah langsung bisa hafalan tetapi setelah itu peserta didik lupa sehingga hasil belajar peserta didik menjadi menurun nilainya masih ada yang dibawah KKM. Tujuan penelitian untuk mengetahui ada atau tidaknya hubungan minat belajar peserta didik dengan hasil belajar kognitif pada mata pelajaran matematika kelas V di SD Al Hikmah Surabaya. hasil signifikansi pada minat belajar peserta didik 0,200 yaitu sig 0,200 > lebih besar dari taraf signifikansi 0,05. hasil signifikansi hasil belajar peserta didik 0,063 yaitu maka sig 0,063 > lebih besar dari taraf signifikansi 0,05. nilai F = 5,251 dengan signifikansi 0,005 sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa signifikansi 0,005 > lebih besar dari pada taraf signifikansi 0,05. uji T 0,000 maka nilai sig 0,000 < taraf signifikansi 0,05. Penelitian ini menggunakan penelitian kuantitatif, dengan menggunakan Korelasi Product Moment Person sehingga dapat mengetahui apakah minat belajar peserta didik dapat mempengaruhi hasil belajar peserta didik pada mata pelajaran matematika. berdasarkan hasil dari rumus Korelasi Product Moment dapat disimpulkan bahwa hasil perhitungan 0,743.
Lubricant Distribution Process From Sales to Consumers
Authors: Widyaningrum Aprilia , Evy Purwitasari Maria
Published: September 2024

The purpose of this study was to determine the lubricant distribution process, to determine the constraints in the lubricant distribution process, to find solutions that can be applied in overcoming the lubricant distribution constraints. The research methodology used is descriptive qualitative which aims to describe the conditions and analyze the Lubricant Distribution Process. In this study, data related to the author's study are sourced from library studies, field studies, and documentation techniques. The results of the research regarding the lubricant distribution process, the authors draw the following conclusions: the lubricant distribution process has several stages as follows: The customer visits the office or sends a PO (Purchase Order) to the Sales team. Then the CS (Customer Service) Team helps the sales team schedule shipments by inputting data according to customer requests into the system. The process of checking data, goods and prices is carried out by the Sales Spv to provide a decision on whether or not the goods and prices will be sold and sent to the customer. If the PO is approved or approved by SPV Sales, the issuance of a travel certificate will appear in the distribution system, but if the PO is not approved, the travel document will not be printed and the price quote will be reviewed to the customer. Constraints in the Lubricant Distribution Process are as follows: lack of delivery fleets, lack of driver discipline, and inappropriate delivery of goods to customers. The solutions are: adding inventory (Distribution Fleet) as needed, giving warnings, guidance, coaching and direction to drivers both inside and outside the company, and accepting returned goods according to company policies and procedures.
Hajj Administration Procedures at the Ministry of Religion in Indonesia
Authors: Ibrahim Naufal
Published: September 2024

The purpose of this study was to find out how the Hajj administration procedures were carried out at the Ministry of Religion, to find out the constraints of the Hajj administrative procedures carried out by the Ministry of Religion and to find out how to solve problems that occurred in the Hajj Administration Procedures at the Ministry of Religion. The research methodology used is descriptive qualitative which aims to describe the conditions and analyze the procedures for the administration of hajj at the ministry of religion. In this study, data relating to the author's study are sourced from library studies, field studies, and documentation techniques. The results of the research on Hajj administration procedures at the ministry of religion which is as follows: for information on the departure of the pilgrimage that is fifteen years old, prospective pilgrims can check with the portion number that has been printed on registering for Hajj registration, for bank validation numbers that have passed 7 working days or have expired, it is confirmed that prospective pilgrims when opening Hajj savings accounts do not leave files in the bank, they must wait until the process is complete and prospective pilgrims receive the file and for prospective pilgrims, they must prepare the requirements before registering Hajj with the Ministry of Religion so that data can be input quickly.
The process of sending goods through containers at PT Utama Logistik Fokusindo
Authors: Riansyah Denisto
Published: September 2024

Economic development requires sufficient and adequate transportation services. Without transportation as a supporting facility, satisfactory results cannot be expected to be achieved in developing a country. The purpose of this research is to find out the process of sending goods through containers. This research method uses qualitative research by collecting data through interviews, observation and literature study. The results of this study are that the process of sending goods through containers via train at PT Berkat Mandiri Logistik North Jakarta has several stages, namely making Delivery Orders, Making internal shipping and external shipping, Preparing empty containers, Transferring containers to cars, Making travel documents, Stuffing processes, Delivery to trains, Delivery to Surabaya, Dooring process.
Obstacles and challenges of rural development in Afghanistan: examining problems and solutions: a review
Authors: Fayaz Gul Mazloum Yar  , Janat Gul Zazia
Published: September 2024

This study comprehensively examines the multifaceted challenges impeding rural development in Afghanistan and proposes strategic recommendations for achieving sustainable growth. The research employs extensive document analysis, a critical review, and a literature review spanning 2020 to 2024, analyzing institutional, socio-cultural, economic, environmental, and infrastructural factors affecting rural development. The findings reveal that development is hindered by institutional obstacles such as ineffective governance, centralized planning, and a lack of coherent strategies, alongside socio-cultural issues like migration, low educational attainment, gender disparities, and economic barriers including poverty, unemployment, and limited market access. Environmental concerns such as land degradation and inadequate infrastructure further exacerbate these challenges. The study recommends a holistic approach, emphasizing decentralization, community engagement, infrastructure investment, sustainable agricultural practices, and vocational training to build local capacities. Collaborative efforts between stakeholders are essential to drive sustainable development in Afghanistan's rural areas.
Advancing Food Security in the Cryolithozone and Exploring Organic and Mineral Fertilizer Strategies for Enhanced Crop Yields
Authors: Gomadhi G. , Dhanalakshmi K. , Chitra K. , Prabhavathi S. Jaya , Gayathry G. , Vidhya D. , Malathi G.
Published: September 2024

The Cryolithozone, characterized by its frozen soil and harsh climatic conditions, presents unique challenges to agricultural productivity and food security. As global temperatures rise, the thawing of permafrost in the Cryolithozone offers opportunities for agricultural expansion but also raises concerns about soil degradation and nutrient loss. In this article, we explore innovative approaches to enhance crop yields and food security in the Cryolithozone, focusing on the integration of organic and mineral fertilizer strategies. We discuss the potential benefits and challenges of utilizing organic fertilizers, such as compost and manure, to improve soil fertility and mitigate nutrient deficiencies. Additionally, we examine the role of mineral fertilizers in supplying essential nutrients to crops in nutrient-deficient Cryolithozone soils. By synthesizing current research and best practices, we propose holistic fertilizer management strategies tailored to the unique environmental conditions of the Cryolithozone. These strategies aim to optimize nutrient utilization efficiency, minimize environmental impacts, and promote sustainable agricultural development in cold regions.
Study of Seasonal Variations in the Physical-chemical Features of the Cauvery Estuary, Southeast Coast of India
Authors: Kalaivani M. , Sukumaran M.
Published: September 2024

Water is a vital element of the environment, supporting life on Earth and being necessary for all living creatures to live. Between rivers and the ocean, estuaries are places with distinctive ecological traits, an abundance of flora and fauna, and a crucial role in hydrological processes and biodiversity. The biological and physico-chemical aspects of aquatic habitats are intertwined. Investigating seasonal fluctuations in the physico-chemical characterisation of the east coast Cauvery estuary in Tamil Nadu is the goal of the current study. The Cauvery Estuary’s physical and chemical properties are known and have an effect on the estuary. Seasonal fluctuations in the climatic and physico-chemical parameters pH, DO, ammonium, nitrate, BOD, sodium, chloride, sulfate, and fluoride content were noted in the waters of the Cauvery estuary. In the future, research on the ecology, biodiversity, and cultural aspects of the estuary species, as well as the determination of the permissible limit for fisheries and aquatic life, may benefit greatly from the initial data on the physical and chemical properties of the Cauvery estuary. In order to protect the Cauvery Estuary, conservation initiatives are started in collaboration with local non-governmental organizations after a thorough understanding of the various factors influencing these ecosystems is obtained.
Estimulación del aprendizaje de la física y matemática en la edad preescolar
Authors: Parillo Mancilla Guillermo , Condori Luisa , Parillo Condori Luis Guillermo
Published: September 2024

Con la realización del presente proyecto se logró desarrollar experiencias para el aprendizaje de la física y matemática en los niños de 2 a 6 años de la I.E. Aldea Infantil Virgen del Pilar; por medio de estrategias didácticas y utilización de materiales didácticos diseñados, lo que les ha permitido adquirir nociones y habilidades de conteo, seriación, clasificación, como actividades divertidas y sencillas lo que posteriormente facilitará al niño la comprensión de la física y la matemática. Las actividades fueron diseñadas para que los niños aprendan divirtiéndose, a través de juegos didácticos manipulativos. En el resultado final se observa cómo los niños a pesar de su condición de ausencia de padres, los niños con autismo obtuvieron avances significativos para su edad. La estimulación de un aprendizaje significativo, lo obtuvimos increíblemente con niños entre 2 años y seis años con mayor facilidad en el área de física, con un  proceso  personalizado;  es decir cada niño con un acompañante pedagógico que ha sido trascendental en el cambio significativo en niños muy especiales  acogidos en la I.E. Aldea Infantil,  cada sesión de estimulación y uso de material didáctico estuvo acompañado de la  representación de un pequeño drama o canción, a modo de  darle un toque artístico, lleno de secuencias tanto numéricas como escénicas  como cierre del desarrollo del proyecto.  Se demostró que con el diseño eficaz y pertinente de materiales didácticos fue posible la estimulación del aprendizaje de la física y la matemática
La contabilidad electrónica, como estrategia para evitar la evasión fiscal en México
Authors: González Velázquez Juan Gilberto , Serrano Sotelo Mirtha Karina
Published: September 2024

Los informes de la ONU desde 1996 comentan: La corrupción se ha convertido en un problema importante en todo el mundo y se ha iniciado un proceso de acuerdos de acción colectiva en esta área a nivel regional (ONU, 2004, p. 10). Sin embargo, el primer acuerdo firmado no cubría todas las regiones del mundo y excluía a la mayoría de las regiones asiáticas y Oriente Medio. También hubo otros acuerdos, se discutieron prácticas específicas como el soborno. Por lo tanto, la comunidad internacional mostró interés en desarrollar un acuerdo verdaderamente global con capacidad de prever y rechazar todas las formas de corruptelas. Así surgió el pacto de las Naciones Unidas contra la deshonestidad.
Factores que determinan el desarrollo local de Chilpancingo de los Bravos, Guerrero, en 2023
Authors: Ávila Vázquez Edgar Iván , Baldovinos Leyva Irma
Published: September 2024

El desarrollo de las zonas urbanas puede manifestarse a través de varios indicadores, como un bajo Producto Interno Bruto (PIB) per cápita, altas tasas de desempleo, y un estancamiento o disminución de la actividad comercial y empresarial. El trabajo analiza los factores que determinan el desarrollo local de la ciudad de Chilpancingo de los Bravo Guerrero, en 2023, empleando el método de cuantificación económica y social, se contrasta un sistema de indicadores económicos que reflejan el desempeño de los recursos que se tienen para tal efecto, bajo la premisa teórica del desarrollo local. Como resultado de ello, se concluye que existen diversas limitantes estructurales que han mermado el desarrollo local, vulnerando el acceso de mejores condiciones económicas a sus habitantes y empresas, por lo que se debe impulsar el aprovechamiento de los recursos endógenos, priorizando el impulso y sofisticación de modos de producción sustentables, así como la inclusión de grupos vulnerables a la cadena productiva, lo que permitirá al municipio fungir de manera efectiva como un polo de desarrollo en la economía de Guerrero.
Exploring the Influence of Family Cultural Capital, School Environment, and Peer Relationships on the Scientific Literacy of Primary School Students: A Conceptual Analysis in Chengdu City, China
Authors: Yiru Chen , Ping Wong Siew
Published: September 2024

This paper explores the impact of blended education on the quality of college student learning in Southwest China during the post-epidemic era. The study highlights the potential of blended learning to enhance student engagement, adaptability, and learning outcomes through the integration of digital tools with traditional teaching methods. It identifies critical factors such as institutional support, technological infrastructure, and faculty training as essential for maximizing the benefits of blended education. Additionally, the paper examines the unique socio-cultural context of Southwest China, emphasizing the need to address regional disparities in digital access to ensure educational equity. The findings suggest that blended education can serve as a transformative model for higher education in the region, fostering essential 21st-century skills and reducing educational inequalities. The paper concludes with recommendations for policymakers and educators to support the sustainable implementation of blended education, contributing to a more resilient and inclusive higher education system.
Effectiveness of yoga intervention on depression, stress, and sleep quality in IT professionals with chronic low back pain: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Vignesh Chinnasamy , Rajkumar Navaraj Chelliah Jesus , Pramanik Mou , Kumasi Basavaraj , Elayaraja Masilamani , Bangari Deepak , Rawat Bindiya , Sethi Deepika , Bhoria Yogender , Setiawan Edi , Gogoi Hemantajit , Govindasamy Karuppasamy
Published: September 2024

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is prevalent among IT professionals and often accompanied by psychological symptoms such as depression, stress, and sleep disturbances. While conventional treatments primarily target pain management, holistic approaches like yoga show promising results in addressing both physical and psychosomatic factors. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to assess the impact of a yoga intervention on depression, stress, and sleep quality in IT professionals with CLBP. A total of 83 IT professionals with CLBP were randomly allocated to either a yoga (n = 40) intervention group or a control group (n = 40) receiving standard care. The intervention group underwent a structured yoga program tailored for CLBP, while the control group followed a standard care protocol. Outcome measures, including pain intensity, depression levels, perceived stress, and sleep quality, were assessed using validated standard questionnaires. Preliminary analysis reveals significant enhancements in the yoga intervention group compared to the control group. Specifically, participants in the yoga group reported a statistically significant reduction in pain intensity (p < 0.05), along with notable decreases in depression scores (p < 0.05), anxiety score (p < 0.05), and stress levels (p < 0.05). Additionally, the yoga intervention group demonstrated enhanced sleep quality (p < 0.05) compared to the control group. This RCT provides compelling evidence for the efficacy of yoga as an adjunctive therapy for CLBP management in IT professionals. The findings emphasize the potential of yoga in alleviating both physical and psychological symptoms associated with CLBP. Healthcare providers may consider incorporating yoga into treatment programs for CLBP in IT professionals to optimize outcomes and enhance overall well-being. Moreover, these results emphasize the importance of holistic interventions in addressing the complex nature of CLBP in the workplace.
Prediksi Jumlah Pendaftar Jemaah Umrah Menggunakan Backpropagation dan Regresi Linear pada PT. Hajar Aswad Mubaroq
Authors: Fikri M. Hayatul , Permana Inggih , Mundzir Mediantiwi Rahmawita , Megawati Megawati
Published: September 2024

Umrah adalah perjalanan menuju Baitullah (Ka'bah) di Makkah yang dilakukan untuk melaksanakan serangkaian amal ibadah dengan memenuhi persyaratan-persyaratan khusus. PT Hajar Aswad Mubaroq adalah salah satu agen perjalanan umrah yang secara konsisten siap memberikan layanan kepada calon Jemaah Umrah untuk melakukan ibadah di tanah suci. Pada saat ini PT. Hajar Aswad Mubaroq masih melakukan prediksi manual untuk menghitung prediksi jumlah Jemaah yang akan berangkat umrah. Salah satu akibat dari prediksi manual jumlah pendaftar Jemaah umrah dengan akurat adalah perselisihan jumlah booking pesawat yang terkadang terdapat kekurangan dan kelebihan pemesanan. Sehubungan dengan itu penelitian ini bertujuan memprediksi jumlah Jemaah Umrah PT. Hajar Aswad Mubaroq menggunakan Teknik Machine Learning Agar meminimalkan kesalahan dalam pemesanan penerbangan dan meningkatkan efisiensi analisis serta pengambilan kebijakan terkait data yang ada. Teknik Machine Learning yaitu metode Backpropagation dan Regresi Linear. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan performa terbaik untuk prediksi jumlah pendaftar Jemaah umrah PT. Hajar Aswad Mubaroq yaitu menggunakan algoritma Backpropagation dengan nilai RMSE sebesar 0.101 +/- 0.000, R2 sebesar 0.010 +/- 0.021 dan MAPE 19.74% pada percobaan window size 8.
Design and Analysis of Cybersecurity Information Sharing Mechanism Between Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRT) in Indonesia on Blockchain Technology Through Hyperledger Composer and Interplanetary File System (IPFS)
Authors: Hariyanto Fajar , Ramli Kalamullah
Published: September 2024

Sharing cybersecurity information among the Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) is a crucial step in enhancing organizational cybersecurity. However, a primary challenge faced is the lack of trust among users regarding the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of shared information. This study proposes a new approach by designing a mechanism for sharing cybersecurity information among CSIRTs in Indonesia on blockchain technology using Hyperledger Composer. This approach offers an innovative solution by leveraging the advantages of blockchain technology. Through this approach, cybersecurity information can be shared in a decentralized manner, overcoming the weaknesses of centralized systems, and enhancing overall information security. Another advantage of blockchain technology is its high performance and scalability, enabling increased speed, and user capacity in the process of sharing information. By implementing a blockchain-based mechanism for sharing cybersecurity information, this research aims to ensure crucial aspects of information security, namely confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The contribution of this study is not only in enhancing organizational cybersecurity but also in providing an innovative solution to practical challenges in sharing cybersecurity information among CSIRTs.
BOARD ATTRIBUTES AND TIMELINESS OF FINANCIAL REPORTS OF LISTED NON-FINANCIAL FIRMS IN NIGERIA
Authors: Lawal Rashida , Tahir Kabir Hamid
Published: September 2024

This study is on board attributes and timeliness of financial reports of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. The study covers a period of ten (10) years from 2011 to 2020. The study embraced the correlational research design. The population of the study comprises of one hundred and fourteen (114) non-financial firms that are listed on the NXG as at 31st December 2020 out of which sixty (60) was selected using a two-point filter to eliminate the firms that has not fulfil the criteria for the sample selection for the study. The dependent variable of the study is timeliness of financial reports and is proxied by audit report lag. The independent variable which is board attributes is proxied by board size and board gender. While the control variable profitability and firm size. Board attribute was found to have a negative and significant impact on timeliness of financial report of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. This implies that for every increase in the board size and an increase in the number of females on the board, there is a significant reduction in the audit report lag among listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. It can be concluded that board attribute reduces audit report delay among listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that the board of directors of listed non-financial firms should reduce the level of leverage in their capital structure since it was found that delay in audit report increases with an increase in leverage.
Fast Food Globalization in the Provincial Philippines
Authors: Matejowsky Ty
Published: September 2024

Few contemporary societies remain beyond the global reach of today’s fast food industry. In both profound and subtle ways, this style of cuisine and the corporate brands that promote it have effectively transformed the appetites, health profiles, and consumer sensibilities of millions the world over. To better understand the variegated impact of McDonald’s and other national and international quick-service eateries on local life within a non-western urban context, Ty Matejowsky offers readers a highly engaging and granular account detailing the rise and popularity of these American-style chains throughout the Philippines. In Fast Food Globalization in the Provincial Philippines, Matejowsky examines the rich, diverse, and decidedly syncretic food traditions of the Philippines, one of the few global markets where industry giant McDonald’s lags behind in competition with an indigenous chain. Drawing on over twenty years of ethnographic fieldwork in two provincial Philippine cities—Dagupan City, Pangasinan and San Fernando City, La Union—Matejowsky has crafted one of the few anthropological accounts of fast food production and consumption within the socioeconomic milieu of a less-developed country. By turns critically engaged and highly reflexive, he examines many of the historical, political, economic, and sociocultural complexities that characterize the Philippines’ now thriving fast food scene. Amid intersections of post-colonial resistance, retail indigenization, corporatized childhood experiences, and rising “globesity,” Matejowsky considers the myriad ways this seemingly ubiquitous dining format is reimagined by industry players and everyday Filipinos to create something that is both intimately familiar and entirely new.
Guardian of the Wall
Authors: Holcomb J. David
Published: September 2024

Guardian of the Wall examines Leo Pfeffer's church-state thought and its influence on the U.S. Supreme Court. The book argues that Pfeffer’s understanding of the First Amendment’s religion clauses, shaped as it was by his historical and religious context, led him to advocate a separationist historical narrative and absolutist application of the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. Pfeffer’s jurisprudence was pivotal in shaping the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment throughout the last half of the twentieth century. Guardian of the Wall challenges the popular contention that Pfeffer’s separationist philosophy was hostile to religion and sought to remove religion from the public square. Instead, it illustrates how Pfeffer believed a broad reading of both religion clauses protected religious freedom, secured religious equality, and fostered authentic participation of religion in public life. The book concludes by analyzing the Court’s shift away from the strict separation of church and state during the past thirty years and contends that the Court should reconsider Pfeffer’s approach to the First Amendment’s religion clauses.
The Politics of Institutional Failure in Madagascar's Third Republic
Authors: Marcus Richard R.
Published: September 2024

Madagascar’s constitution of August 19, 1992 brought hope to a population exhausted by economic failures associated with a failed experiment in scientific socialism and years of mismanagement. The repetition of transparent elections and the promulgation of “good governance” in the years that followed appeared to serve as an indicator of institutional strengthening and, by extension, progress. Unfortunately, a broader institutional analysis points toward a series of shocks to the political system by way of legal, but highly detrimental, juridical and constitutional shifts to the system. These shocks were meant to serve particularized political networks with long clientalistic roots and were made possible by the narrow vision of institutionalism that did not take careful stock of those networks or the leaders at the top of them. Little effort was made to look beyond a legislature brought in by careful elections but producing legislation serving individuals, the ways in which inchoate political parties distort institutional outcomes and the potential for institutionalization, the weakness of civil society to offer opportunities for popular engagement, or the use of donor-funded decentralization programs to build ministries that served as powerful and rapid proxies for leadership centralization. By the time the celebrated president, Marc Ravalomanana, was overthrown in March 2009 it became clear that there were few opportunities to seed political opposition and such limited space between individual leaders and primary institutions of public management that critical state functions immediately began to unravel. In this book the author considers the institutions of the Third Republic, how they formed, and why they looked like models for democratic change before turning to consider how the institutions themselves have been manipulated in plain sight by leaders looking to champion their own networks. He concludes that the rise of the Fourth Republic in 2010 did little to address these underlying concerns and argues that a new agenda is in order to consider not just the way in which institutions form, but the way in which networks of power, and leaders at the top of those networks, grow and change malleable institutions in young democracies with few avenues of accountability.
Contemporary Conversations on Immigration in the United States
Authors: Freidenberg Judith Noemí
Published: September 2024

Contemporary Conversations on Immigration in the United States: The View from Prince George’s County, Maryland contextualizes the narratives of international migrants arriving to Prince George’s County, Maryland from 1968 to 2009. The life course trajectories of seventy individuals and their networks, organized chronologically to include life in the country of origin, the journey, and settlement in the county, frame migration as social issue rather than social problem. Having internalized the American dream, immigrants toil to achieve upward social mobility while constructing an immigrant space that nurtures well-being. This book demonstrates that an immigrant’s experience is grounded in personal, social, economic, and political spheres of influence, and reflects the complexity of migrants’ stories to help demystify homogenous categorization.
Memory, Reconciliation, and Reunions in South Korea
Authors: Kim Nan
Published: September 2024

Memory, Reconciliation, and Reunions in South Korea: Crossing the Divide explores the history and tells the story of the emotionally charged meetings that took place among family members who, after having lost all contact for over fifty years on opposite sides of the Korean divide, were temporarily reunited in a series of events beginning in 2000. During an unprecedented period of reconciliation between North and South Korea, those nationally televised reunions would prove to be the largest meetings held theretofore among civilians from the two states since the inter-Korean border was sealed following the end of active hostilities in 1953. Drawing on field research during the reunions as they happened, oral histories with family members who participated, interviews among government officials involved in the events’ negotiation and planning, and observations of breakthrough developments at the turn of the millennium, this book narrates a grounded history of these pivotal events. The book further explores the implications of such intimate family encounters for the larger political and cultural processes of moving from a disposition of enmity to one of recognition and engagement through attempts at achieving sustained reconciliation amid the complex legacies of civil war and the global Cold War on the Korean Peninsula.
Organizational Culture and Performance
Authors: Okoro Henrietta M.
Published: September 2024

The recent merger waves in most organizations fail to increase organizational performance and sustain a competitive advantage. Several U.S. organizational mergers failed to sustain market competition and retain employees. Most consolidated and merged banks in Nigeria are in distress and have failed to increase organizational performance. Currently, organizational leaders are facing challenges regarding how to integrate two or more merged cultures to maintain employee commitment, job satisfaction, and employee retention. The author used a quantitative correlational and regression study that collected data related to a merged bank in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria, to examine if a relationship existed between organizational culture and organizational performance. The study results indicated that a measure of the combination of cultural traits (mission, involvement, consistency, and adaptability) had a significant relationship with each of the organizational performance measures (employee commitment, job satisfaction, and employee retention). The need to provide solutions to the failed mergers and strategies for sustaining higher performance in partnership mergers and acquisitions becomes imperative. In this book, Henrietta Okoro integrates organizational culture traits with insights from research to provide readers with distinctive strategies to improve and sustain employee retention, job satisfaction, and higher organizational performance. Emphases were made on distressed banks, global bank mergers, acquisitions trends, and implications for sustainability. Recommendations were provided to leaders in various industries and future research prospects. The book highlights the factors of job satisfaction, employee commitment, thinking beyond financial gain in mergers and acquisitions, failure as a learning tool, and the cultural traits necessary to sustain creativity and higher organizational performance. Throughout the book, Henrietta Okoro draws from compelling examples of the merged organizations and research in the social sciences to demonstrate the relationship between organizational culture and performance and how it can enhance employee retention, job satisfaction, and higher organizational performance. The book further provides an excellent resource for business sectors that grasp market globalization, organizational leaders, higher institutions, scholars, professionals, researchers, and project managers, in various industries and other corporate sectors with the synergy intent of merger and acquisition to sustain market diversification, improved performance, customer base, and business synergy expansion.
The Homecoming Seasons
Authors: MacGuire James P.
Published: September 2024

The Homecoming Seasons: An Irish Catholic Returns to a Changing Long Island is a deeply moving memoir of a returning native's re-experience of his childhood community. After many years abroad as a graduate student at Cambridge, a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand, and as a country program director of health care and agricultural programs in central Africa, James MacGuire returned to New York and spent most of the 1980s at Time Inc., Macmillan and the Manhattan Institute.

In 1990 he married and several years later, with a second child on the way, he and his wife decamped from Manhattan for a small enclave called the Isle of Wight in the village of Lawrence on the south shore of Long Island, where MacGuire had grown up.

This book tells the story of MacGuire’s return to this world—how it had evolved from ancient times; been inhabited by indigenous peoples; colonized by the Dutch and English; and then grew from a sparsely populated agricultural corner of western Long Island to an early summer resort, then an outer, and, finally, an inner suburb of New York City.

Jamie MacGuire skillfully weaves memories of his childhood in this almost hidden world with sketches of his family and their friends before updating his account with a lovingly detailed, diary-like depiction of returning. His parents’ friends now much older, the community more diverse, as he, his wife and children make new friends as they proceed into this changed world. He captures in cinematic detail the wonder of the wetlands and surrounding natural world, the poignant life, death and rebirth of community, the joys and sorrows of marriage and parenthood, and the profound exultation of safely shepherding two beloved sons to triumphant adulthood.

This is an uplifting literary memoir that will earn and deserve the widest possible audience.
Ernestine L. Rose
Authors: Lazarus Joyce B.
Published: September 2024

Overlooked by historians for over half a century following her death, Ernestine L. Rose (1810−1892) was one of the foremost orators and social reformers of her era. A fearless human rights activist, she fought for racial equality, women’s rights, freethought and religious freedom, and she can be considered a forerunner of twentieth-century activists in civil rights and the women’s movement. Rose was a pioneer in many movements, articulating the notion that all Americans are endowed with natural rights guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence and by the Constitution. Her passion was to see everyone―women and men, regardless of race, religion or ethnic origin―possessing the civil rights promised by American democracy.

Unlike other nineteenth-century female reformers such as Lucy Stone, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ernestine Rose was the only non-Christian, foreign-born woman. For this reason, she did not entirely fit in and she felt tensions within the women’s rights and abolitionist circles, as nativism and anti-Semitism worsened in the United States. Rose’s outspoken opinions put her at odds with the religious zeal of the American public as well as that of many reformers. A visionary leader, she crisscrossed two continents to fight for change, seeking to raise public awareness of international issues and of social movements in Europe and in the United States.

The topic of this book is highly relevant to current struggles for racial justice and for preserving and strengthening democracy in the United States. Rose’s words are as pertinent today as they were during her lifetime. This book offers a new understanding of Ernestine Rose’s important contributions to American democracy.
Climbing the Vines in Burgundy
Authors: Gambal Alex
Published: September 2024

Named one of the New York Times Best Wine Books of 2023

Named one of the Washington Post's Best Wine Books of 2023

This is a unique tale about the first non-Frenchman to ever own one of the Montrachet Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy, France. Weaved throughout entertaining stories that celebrate the history of this world renowned region, is the chronicle of an American breaking through cultural barriers to find adventure and success.

After a rather conventional start, Alex Gambal left his family’s real estate and parking business to follow his passion for wine and winemaking. In 1993, he moved to Beaune, France with his wife and two children. For three years he worked with an exporter, to market and sell some of the oldest French family-owned domains in the world. He and his family were welcomed into a community of distinguished winemakers. In 1997, Alex launched a boutique winery—initially buying grapes and eventually owning 30 acres of vineyards that included the storied Grand Cru Batard Montrachet.

Part memoir and part an account of practical business sense, this book is a unique personal story about how an American became a participant in the fabric of this exclusive community and in return gained a profound respect for Burgundy, its unique winemakers, and the romance of its vineyards.
Abstinence and Holiness, Embracing Self-Deprivation
Authors: Fogel Joshua A.
Published: September 2024

The Babylonian Talmud is a product of late antique rabbinical discourse and debate. It is an immense, complex, multi-volume work divided by topics into tractates which are written in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic. Tractate Nazir deals with a person (male or female) who basically assumes three abstentions for a defined period of time: no wine or product of the grapevine, no cutting of bodily hair, and no contact with a human corpse. The practice itself is controversial within Judaism. Nonetheless, virtually every conceivable factor involved in a vow to be a nazir is debated by the rabbis in this tractate and in great detail. This volume is arranged by Talmudic folio pages and is aimed at explaining the intricacies of the original text. It may be read on its own and in conjunction with the tractate itself as an aid to understanding.
Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic
Authors: Bradshaw Richard , Fandos-Rius Juan
Published: September 2024

The Central African Republic (CAR) came into existence on 1 December 1958 as a semi-autonomous member state of the Communauté (French Community), meaning that France still controlled its currency, defense, foreign affairs and national security. The history of the CAR can be interpreted in radically different ways. One the one hand the people of Central Africa have suffered enormously at the hands of slave traders, concessionary companies, French colonialists and African rulers, and their country remains largely ‘undeveloped.’ On the other most Central Africans have retained free use of land on which they grow crops and from which they extract numerous valuable resources. Their way of life is in the long run perhaps more sustainable than those of the ‘experts’ who come to assist them. The theme of essential continuity in the history of the CAR is as important, if not more important in the long run, than the themes of violent change, exploitation, and enduring dependence. Deep roots of continuity provide a surprising stability in the face of dramatic and often very painful change on the surface.

The Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1200 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Central African Republic.
They Hurt, They Scar, They Shoot, They Kill
Authors: Bodart Joni Richards
Published: September 2024

Young adults live in a violent culture, so trying to protect them from the world they live in is not only futile but can also be dangerous. No matter their ethnicity, social class, or economic status, teens must know how to survive the perils that may await them. Most teens understand this, and they want books, television shows, and films to reflect the reality of their world—the bad along with the good.

In They Hurt, They Scar, They Shoot, They Kill: Toxic Characters in Young Adult Fiction, Joni Richards Bodart examines works of fiction that feature characters who threaten the psychological and physical well-being of teens and their friends and families. In this companion volume to They Suck, They Bite, They Eat, They Kill, the focus is on individuals who prey on the vulnerable: bullies, manipulators, torturers, sexual predators, and sadists. The novels and stories discussed in this volume feature adult criminals or predators who look for young people to ensnare; school personnel who interact with students in harmful ways; teens who bully others in order to hide their own fears and weaknesses; and parents, siblings, and others who mistreat family members.

Arranged in five sections that cover such topics as bullies, school shootings, and monsters at home, this volume analyzes the most important and well-written series and titles for teens. They Hurt, They Scar, They Shoot, They Kill will help parents, teachers, and other adults understand the value of these titles and the benefits of reading them, so they will be less likely to forbid them to their teens or challenge library collections for carrying them.
A Matter of Discretion
Authors: Calfano Brian R. , Michelson Melissa R. , Oldmixon Elizabeth A.
Published: September 2024

Clergy are pillars of local religious communities, and Roman Catholic priests are perhaps the quintessential examples of pastors functioning as political elites. The political science literature demonstrates that priests (indeed, clergy more generally) are well-positioned to influence the faithful, even if this influence is somewhat inconsistent. At their core, priests are opinion leaders and representatives of their church to both the faithful and their local communities.

But exactly how Catholic priests determine the political acts and attitudes associated with their elite role remains a puzzle. We suggest it is the product of an interactive institutional, social, and psychological milieu, the complexity of which has not been fully assessed in the extant literature. Though some might prefer to think of priests as profiles in courage operating above the political fray, the institutional and personal realities of priest life often forces them to deal with the political realm. In doing so, priests are variably responsive to different principals, or reference groups, that represent specific dimensions of their professional context. Drawing on a series of randomized experiments on samples of Roman Catholic priests in the US and Ireland, we find that priests cognitively draw on varying professional and personal cues in responding to their employer’s institutional preferences. Furthermore, how priests represent their church's political preferences to parishioners appears to be a matter of individual-level discretion.
Expert Searching in the Google Age
Authors: Jankowski Terry Ann
Published: September 2024

How do expert searchers fit into the Google age? Is there still a role for them? How can you be the best searcher you can be? What tools can you use to develop your skills and build better searches? These questions and more are covered by Jankowski. After making a case for the value librarians can bring to the searching process, whether using Google or other databases, Jankowski takes you through the entire search cycle and offers a glimpse into the future of searching.

How do you negotiate a search so that all parties are satisfied? How do you decide which resources to use and use them to their best advantage? What are the steps to building a good search strategy and how do you adapt and modify it? When the results are in how do you manage the results and document the process? Filled with tips and tricks gathered from over 40 years of experience Jankowski provides the answers in this conversational, yet practical guide. In addition to providing checklists and examples throughout the book, an entire chapter describes search tools and resources to grow your own expertise. Opportunities to apply the knowledge gained are offered in most chapters.

This compact useful book can be used as a reference text, for self-study or as a course text.