bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Educomunicación, webradio y educación no formal en un contexto Erasmus+: la experiencia de Europa on air
Authors: Ortiz Sobrino Miguel Ángel , López Vidales Nereida , González Pérez Juan Carlos
Published: September 2021

La webradio y las redes sociales se han revelado como herramientas esenciales para el aprendizaje y la adquisición de competencias en comunicación. También algunas acciones del programa Erasmus+ han devenido en escenario idóneo para la educación no formal. Este artículo presenta la experiencia de Europa on air, un proyecto Erasmus+ en el que los alumnos participantes adquirieron competencias de comunicación a través de la webradio y de las redes sociales, así como otras de carácter lingüístico, intercultural y relacionadas con la ciudadanía europea y el respeto a la diversidad. Como principales resultados de la experiencia destacan su capacitación en técnicas de producción y emisión de programas radiofónicos y el uso de las redes sociales como vehículos de comunicación para difundir la diversidad cultural y social de la Unión Europea (UE). Igualmente, el proyecto sirvió para que mejoraran sus competencias idiomáticas en lengua francesa e inglesa. Paralelamente, el concepto de inclusión y ciudadanía europea se promovió a través de la convivencia con familias de estudiantes e instituciones educativas de cada país participante. Todas las competencias adquiridas fueron oficializadas a través de Europass. Europa on air se basó en estancias semanales en los cinco países acogidos al proyecto en las que los alumnos asistieron a actividades culturales, deportivas y sociales que sirvieron de base para elaborar los contenidos de los programas que realizaron para la webradio de cada institución educativa, que después fueron viralizados en las redes sociales. Las conclusiones generales completan otras aportaciones de la literatura científica y experiencias en la radio pública.
Evaluating the impact of contactless fingerprint imagery spatial loss on matcher performance
Authors: Orandi Shahram , Libert John , Bandini Bruce , Ko Kenneth , Grantham John , Cochran Brian , Watson Craig
Published: September 2021

Observations in previous studies have shown that contactless capture devices may be prone to capturing superfluous data (e.g., fingernail or finger background), distortion and imaging artifacts especially around the periphery of the captured fingerprint images, as well as not being able to consistently capture certain fingers from each hand. This study tests the hypothesis that eliminating certain error prone fingers, or eliminating some of the periphery of all fingerprint images, may yield an improvement in the matcher s ability to make an identification as well as possibly improving the service time from the matcher.
Systemic macrophage depletion attenuates infarct size in an experimental mouse model of stroke
Authors: Lee Seung-Won , Song Dong-Jun , Ryu Han-Seung , Kim You-Sub , Kim Tae-Sun , Joo Sung-Pil
Published: September 2021

Objective: Macrophages have been shown to play important roles in various pathophysiological processes of the central nervous system via neuroinflammation, leading to an increased interest in macrophage biology. Circulating blood monocytes are among the first cells to infiltrate the brain after ischemic stroke; however, the role of innate immune cells such as monocytes and macrophages remains to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the association between blood monocytes and infarct size following ischemic stroke.Methods: We induced stroke using a focal ischemia mouse model through middle cerebral artery suture occlusion. To deplete circulating blood monocytes, clodronate was injected intraperitoneally 24 h before the surgery. Animals were sacrificed at specified time points, and the infarct size and mRNA expression were then measured.Results: The clodronate-injected mice showed significantly smaller infarct size than the control mice. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that monocyte depletion significantly blocked the infiltration of macrophages and microglia. The mRNA expression levels of macrophage and microglia markers were higher in the left infarcted brain than in the right non-infarcted brain.Conclusions: In summary, monocyte depletion reduced the infarct size and mitigated neurological deficits in mice following ischemic stroke, likely by blocking the infiltration of inflammatory cells such as macrophages and microglia.
Offset-fed vortex wave generator based on reflective metasurface
Authors: Sun Sheng , Yang Ling-Jun , Sha Wei ,   School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China,   College of Information Science & Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Published: September 2021

Orbital angular momentum, as a basic physical quantity of electromagnetic waves, has been widely studied since 1992. Recently, the geometric phase metasurface, which is also known as Pancharatnam-Berry (P-B) phase metasurface, has been proposed. Because of its frequency-independent and angle-dependent phase control characteristics, it can generate high-performance and broadband vortex wave. However, the current design of reflective metasurface encounters the following problems: 1) the reflected vortex wave is partly blocked by the feeding antenna; 2) in practical applications, the cross-polarized field will inevitably be induced due to the feed antenna and the reflective metasurface. How to avoid the cross-polarization is still worth further investigating. In this work, an offset-fed vortex wave generator is proposed. It consists of a right-handed circularly polarized Archimedes spiral antenna and a reflective metasurface. Firstly, the offset feeding design is introduced to avoid generating the cross-polarized fields caused by the feeding antenna. A geometric meta-atom of the reflective metasurface is designed at a working frequency of 8.5 GHz. By regularly arranging meta-atoms with different orientation angles, the convergence and phase compensation functions are imparted only to the co-polarization field. The cross-polarized field is intentionally weakened and refracted along other directions. Subsequently, a low cross-polarized vortex wave with an enhancement effect is obtained at the desired observation position. There are three contributions made in this work: 1) a P-B meta-atom is proposed to fabricate the reflective metasurface; 2) the conversion relationship between the co-polarized and cross-polarized field is studied from the initial state to the final state, and the four transformation processes are demonstrated in detail; 3) an offset-fed vortex wave generator is established which allows one to generate high-performance vortex beam with arbitrary OAM mode. The experimental results are in good agreement with those simulation results, proving the proposed method effective and feasible. The proposed design shows its advantages including simple structure, polarization selectivity, and regional field enhancement effect, which has great potential applications in vortex wave communication and OAM-based target detection.
Fast fluorescence lifetime microscopy imaging of any number of discrete irregular regions of interest
Authors: Niu Jing-Jing , Liu Xiong-Bo , Chen Peng-Fa , Yu Bin , Yan Wei , Qu Jun-Le , Lin Dan-Ying ,   Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems, Center for Biomedical Photonics & College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Published: September 2021

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) has been widely used in biomedical research due to its high specificity, high sensitivity and quantification ability in cell microenvironment sensing. The fluorescence lifetime detection method based on time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is one of the most commonly used techniques at present. However, due to the limitation of imaging principles and conditions, this technique has the disadvantages of long data acquisition time and consequently low imaging speed. In this paper, a fast FLIM technique for any number of discrete and irregular regions of interest (ROIs) in biological samples is developed. The technology uses acousto-optic deflectors (AODs) to achieve fast and flexible addressing scanning, optimize the synchronization strategy between AOD and TCSPC, and reconstruct the lifetime image through simple online feature analysis of the ROI shapes. For the case of multiple discrete irregular ROIs in biological samples, it can greatly save the time of data acquisition, thus realizing the fast FLIM imaging of these ROIs, which is benificial to the study of the heterogeneity of biological events in biological system. In particular, the fast fluorescence imaging result for 87 discrete points in the field of view shows that this method can obtain a fluorescence lifetime image in a very short acquisition time (only 52.2 ms) and thus achieving a very fast imaging speed in such a situation. Dynamic FLIM imaging of lysosome probe LysoSensor Green DND-189 in living cells stimulated by ammonium chloride is carried out to monitor the real-time change of pH value in lysosome lumen. The acquisition time for a single fluorescence lifetime image of lysosomes in two ROIs is only 200 ms. The results show that the rapid FLIM technology can be used to dynamically monitor the changes of microenvironment in biological samples, and will play an important role in the microenvironment sensing in living cells.
Common host variation drives malaria parasite fitness in healthy human red cells
Authors: Ebel Emily R , Kuypers Frans A , Lin Carrie , Petrov Dmitri A , Egan Elizabeth S
Published: September 2021

The replication of Plasmodium falciparum parasites within red blood cells (RBCs) causes severe disease in humans, especially in Africa. Deleterious alleles like hemoglobin S are well-known to confer strong resistance to malaria, but the effects of common RBC variation are largely undetermined. Here, we collected fresh blood samples from 121 healthy donors, most with African ancestry, and performed exome sequencing, detailed RBC phenotyping, and parasite fitness assays. Over one-third of healthy donors unknowingly carried alleles for G6PD deficiency or hemoglobinopathies, which were associated with characteristic RBC phenotypes. Among non-carriers alone, variation in RBC hydration, membrane deformability, and volume was strongly associated with P. falciparum growth rate. Common genetic variants in PIEZO1, SPTA1/SPTB, and several P. falciparum invasion receptors were also associated with parasite growth rate. Interestingly, we observed little or negative evidence for divergent selection on non-pathogenic RBC variation between Africans and Europeans. These findings suggest a model in which globally widespread variation in a moderate number of genes and phenotypes modulates P. falciparum fitness in RBCs.
Creating SPACE to evolve academic assessment
Authors: Schmidt Ruth , Curry Stephen , Hatch Anna
Published: September 2021

Universities and research institutions have to assess individuals when making decisions about hiring, promotion and tenure, but there are concerns that such assessments are overly reliant on metrics and proxy measures of research quality that overlook important factors such as academic rigor, data sharing and mentoring. These concerns have led to calls for universities and institutions to reform the methods they use to assess research and researchers. Here we present a new tool called SPACE that has been designed to help universities and institutions implement such reforms. The tool focuses on five core capabilities and can be used by universities and institutions at all stages of reform process.
Epilogue
Authors: Buttenwieser Ann L.
Published: September 2021

This chapter recounts how the State Department of Environmental Conservation allowed the Parks Department to open the Floating Pool Lady at Barretto Point Park in the Bronx on June 27, 2018. It points out the appreciation that the author has received since the floating pool started its voyage, emphasizing how people enjoying and having fun provided proof that creating the swimming facility yielded many accomplishments. It also discusses how the Floating Pool Lady weathered two hurricanes and a formidable rainstorm, such as superstorm Sandy in 2012, which only caused minimal damage. The chapter mentions how children in the Bronx from a recreationally underserved neighborhood no longer have to swim in putrid waters now that the floating pool has become accessible. It notes how the Floating Pool Lady had a seasonal record of nearly fifty thousand swimmers in 2019, despite over twelve inches of rainfall in July and August.
Evaluating Results
Authors: Brower Andrew V. Z. , Schuh Randall T.
Published: September 2021

This chapter explores the tools used to evaluate the quality and plausibility of results of phylogenetic analyses. The term “fit” has been widely used in the phylogenetic literature to indicate the degree to which data conform to (or are explained by) a cladogram. The most commonly used measure of fit applied to discrete character data is the consistency index, or ci. Meanwhile, measures of synapomorphy are less frequently reported than the consistency index. The chapter then considers the resolution of branches; multiple equally parsimonious cladograms; successive approximations weighing; and data decisiveness. It also differentiates between total evidence and consensus, before describing supertrees. Finally, the chapter looks at approaches for evaluating support or stability of phylogenetic results, including branch support, jackknifing, bootstrapping, randomization tests, and sensitivity analysis.
Species
Authors: Brower Andrew V. Z. , Schuh Randall T.
Published: September 2021

This chapter studies the systematists' perspective on species concepts and the role of species in systematics. No matter how sophisticated the tools and methods enhancing the conceptualization of reality may become in the future, systematists will still be constrained by their perceptions. In their more modest, empirical view, systematists embrace their perceived reality and prefer species concepts that incorporate tools for identifying and delimiting species as empirical hypotheses, thereby providing them with efficacious working terminal elements for phylogenetic analysis and classification of more inclusive taxa. It is fortunate that cladists employed the notion of a “phylogenetic” species concept based on diagnosability before more metaphysically inclined authors appropriated the term for concepts founded on monophyly or common ancestors. As noted, Willi Hennig's species concept was a version of the “biological” species concept, and it fell to his followers to develop a species concept that is well suited to cladistic principles. Among the earliest of the post-Hennigian empiricists was American Museum ichthyologist Donn Rosen. Rosen's concept, sometimes called the apomorphic concept because of its requirement that every recognized species must have its own derived character state, accomplished two key advances for systematics: it proposed a cladistic criterion for recognizing species, and it defined species as the minimal units of analysis, as far as taxonomy is concerned, thus setting a lower bound for systematic inquiry.
Evaluating Hypothetical Scenarios of Evolution, Ecology and Adaptation
Authors: Brower Andrew V. Z. , Schuh Randall T.
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses how the methods for testing theories of cospeciation are not well suited to test coevolutionary theories of ecological association, adaptation, and more loosely constrained patterns of host association. It is, nonetheless, desirable to evaluate such theories in a rigorous historical context. Indeed, the ability to use the results of cladistic analyses to evaluate ecological and adaptational theories represents a truly powerful application of the method. This area of inquiry has become a standard approach in contemporary phylogenetic research, to the extent that one's chances of publishing a study in a high-profile journal may be diminished if the tree is not couched as a test of such a hypothesis. Within the cladistic framework, two interrelated approaches to evaluating adaptational hypotheses have been proposed: mapping and optimization. The chapter then describes methodological approaches that are best suited to extrinsic data, but which also apply to the optimization of heritable traits that were not part of an analysis. The rationale is based on the desire to provide an independent test of theories about the evolution or association of attributes within individual lineages when there is no straightforward way to produce a hierarchic scheme for those attributes.
Biodiversity and Conservation
Authors: Brower Andrew V. Z. , Schuh Randall T.
Published: September 2021

This chapter assesses the role of biological systematics in conservation. Increasing awareness of the global destruction, diminishment, degradation, and fragmentation of natural habitats in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine environments has brought the study of “biodiversity” to a new level of intensity. Biodiversity, as the term is currently used, has many meanings, and its study ranges broadly across biology. There are, however, aspects of biodiversity that are strictly systematic, including (1) recognition and enumeration of the world's biota, and (2) inference of historical relations — both genealogical and geographical — among members of the biota. These types of knowledge can be used directly to inform our efforts for staving off continuing extinction at the hand of the human species.
On the Move
Authors: Dan-Cohen Talia
Published: September 2021

This chapter follows a lab through the seemingly mundane process of moving from one building to another. It provides an ethnographic perspective on the activity of a lab that calls special attention to the physical habitat within which lab members operate. It mentions Peter Galison's statement that architecture serves as a daily reminder to practitioners of who they are and where they stand. It also talks about Thomas Gieryn, who extends the range of actors and institutions for whom the built environments of research can be meaningful. The chapter explains the existence, outward appearances, and internal arrangements of space of research buildings, which give meanings to science, scientists, disciplines, and universities. It elaborates how the move to a new building is a case in point that serves as a reminder to practitioners of who they are and where they stand and as a million-dollar incidental experimental control.
The Rise of the Muslim American Lobby
Authors: Cury Emily
Published: September 2021

This chapter talks about the impacts the US government's targeting of American Muslims have on the organizations that aim to speak on their behalf. It highlights government policies associated with the War on Terror that wreaked havoc on Muslim communities but have resulted in a new political structure of opportunity for Muslim American advocacy groups. It also explains how being targeted as an out-group has solidified perceptions of, and attachments to, a Muslim American collective identity. The chapter delves into Muslim American organizations that gained previously unimaginable degrees of visibility and access to the policy process, the media, and sources of funding. It points out how anti-Muslim discrimination had the unintended consequence of providing US Muslim organizations with opportunities to access the policymaking process, make claims on the state as an American minority group, and communicate a Muslim American collective identity.
Donor-State Partnerships in the Cambodian Land Sector
Authors: Beban Alice
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the formation of Cambodia's postwar property rights regime by tracing the evolving relationship between the German donor agency GIZ and the Cambodian state. It reviews donor agencies that ignored the failures of Cambodia's Land Rights Program and donor practices and turned the political issue of land control into a technical problem. It also explains the practices that justified the donors' continued presence, even as they created uncertainty over what was actually happening on the ground and shut down space for deeper questions about the relationships between land titling and tenure security. The chapter charts the affiliation of GIZ with the Cambodian Ministry of Land since 1995 to determine how donor interventions worked to strengthen the state elite's grip on power. It illustrates how faith in the efficacy of land title is produced in public discourse through oversimplified technical data and veiled threats that silence deeper questions.
Communal Land Struggles in the Wake of the Land Reform
Authors: Beban Alice
Published: September 2021

This chapter investigates the struggles for communal land recognition and examines the detrimental effects of the land titling reform on collective mobilization. It confirms how both private and communal land titles as tools for land rights advocacy in Cambodia are limited and illustrates the power to define interventions that are in the hands of state actors whose own interests often run counter to the demands of rural communities. It also delves into how struggles for communal land in Khang Cheung and Khang Leit have evolved and how the Order 01 land reform shaped these struggles. The chapter discusses the connected points in the story of Ming Tam, Head of non-governmental organization (NGO) Green Cambodia, about the tensions inherent to social movements organized by and with NGOs and focused on a politics of state recognition. It reveals the limits of a politics of recognition, both in the state's ongoing production of uncertainty over the claims process.
Conclusion
Authors: Beban Alice
Published: September 2021

This chapter reviews the exploration of land and state relations in Cambodia, which suggests that an idealized democracy has never existed or that the post-conflict Cambodian state has always contained the threat of violent authoritarianism. It explains the project of liberal peacebuilding that focused on instituting capitalist democracy and resulted in economic liberalism without political liberalism. It also talks about Cambodia's economic boom that showed how authoritarian power is compatible with extractive resource capitalism. The chapter discusses how the Cambodian government's shift to a more overt authoritarianism is not an isolated case as governments throughout the world have come to power with strong nationalist platforms, sweeping away citizen freedoms in pursuit of political objectives. It mentions how contemporary populist politics shore up exclusionary and even violent political power while offering selective progressive policies.
Bishop Philippe Cabassole and the “War of the Seneschals,” 1347–1349
Authors: Archambeau Nicole
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the “war of the seneschals,” which is the first moment of danger or event that five or more witnesses of Countess Delphine’s inquest described. It explains that the “war” centered on the removal of Lord Raymon d’Agoult as seneschal of Provence by Queen Johanna, who tried to replace him with her trusted ally, Lord Giovanni Barrili. It also points out that the “war” was a local feud that did not exactly fully erupt as a civil war but was still a dangerous event for witnesses in Delphine’s inquest. The chapter explores why several witnesses involved in the “war,” did not describe the political background in detail. It also illustrates the “war” as an inquest into Delphine’s sanctity where witnesses focused their testimony on how they saw her care for others and endure physical suffering in order to bring peace to the feuding lords.
Lord Giraud de Simiana and the Health of Body and Soul
Authors: Archambeau Nicole
Published: September 2021

This chapter reviews moments of danger identified by witnesses in the canonization inquest for Countess Delphine, which occurred between 1343 and 1363. It discusses how witnesses turned to Countess Delphine at specific chronological moments, such as in 1349 when they asked her to travel and speak to feuding local lords who threatened peace in Provence. It also highlights the witnesses’ stories of miraculous intercession, in which the cultural influences they shared blurred the boundaries between body and soul. The chapter talks about how the stories of witnesses reveal a concept of health that included body and soul equally, noting that health was just as much about peace and safety as it was about physical robustness. It recounts how witness testimony was shaped by time, place, and the special demands of a canonization inquest.
Review
Authors: Agathocleous Tanya
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines how attempts to subdivide the imperial public sphere along racial lines so as to undermine dissent led to the development of new mass media forms in which the racial divide was explicit. This affected both the ways audiences were addressed and the ways information was amassed and presented. For such knowledge, the chapter investigates how an imperialist form of white supremacy influenced the emergence of two “reviews of reviews” at the turn of the twentieth century, within which the digestion and redaction of other periodicals was seen as a way to accelerate an imagined community into a lived reality. The chapter unpacks a specific instance of this phenomenon in detail, demonstrating how an Indian periodical loosely based on W. T. Stead's Review of Reviews affected Stead's ideas as well as his publishing enterprise more broadly. It also discusses the Calcutta-based journal, the Indian World, that was explicitly and cannily a derivative of Stead's.
Visions of Japan and Other “Countries” in the World
Authors: Fujiwara Gideon
Published: September 2021

This chapter begins by outlining Commodore Matthew Perry's arrival and the “opening” of Hakodate port. It analyses the crises of foreign policy and domestic politics of the United States and Japan after a historic treaty was signed to “open” Japan. With such awareness, the chapter documents Hirao Rosen's journeys to Ezo in 1855 and how he rediscovered “Japan,” its regional diversity, and its place within a larger global community. It reviews Rosen's observation on the governance of Matsumae castle town and Hakodate, as well as the diverse populations residing there. As an ethnographic scholar, he was perplexed to see peoples from the United States, England, and other European countries interacting freely, while noticing stark contrasts between the cultures and mannerisms of the Japanese and the Westerners. The chapter also discusses Rosen's documents on the local and Japanese cultures he encountered on the northern island, as well as the commonalities and differences in the seasonal festivals and ceremonies practiced locally and transmitted there from Tsugaru, Nanbu, and elsewhere in Japan. Ultimately, it focuses on Rosen's ethnographic inquiries on Tsugaru and Japan, and his engagement with kokugaku.
Locating Tsugaru within Sacred Japan
Authors: Fujiwara Gideon
Published: September 2021

This chapter explores the dynamics between ethnographic research and kokugaku since the late eighteenth century. It discusses Hirao Rosen's work in documenting folk life and culture across both Tsugaru and Ezo as ethnographic studies, then focuses on Rosen's three major works from 1855 to 1865: Strange Tales of Gappo, Echoes of the Valley, and New Treatise on the Spirit Realm. In these intellectual works, Rosen sought verification of the meaning of such phenomena in the ancient texts of China and Japan. The chapter also analyses the interplay between Tsugaru and Imperial Japan that culminates with Rosen's full engagement with Hirata kokugaku, following his enrollment as an official Hirata disciple. Ultimately, the chapter recounts Rosen's strange, mysterious, and spiritual matters in local society, and how he utilized the Hirata kokugaku teachings to thrust Tsugaru into the larger spiritual landscape of Imperial Japan.
Introduction
Authors: Person Katarzyna
Published: September 2021

This chapter describes lawyers, engineers, young yeshiva graduates, and sons of businessmen with connections that came from Warsaw and its suburbs, such as Łódz. It recounts the autumn of 1940 when these men reported by the hundreds to a collection point in the Jewish Council building in order to get a job as ghetto policemen. It also cites one of the inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto that recalled how it was considered a success to get into the police since there was not much work to do and food rations were given. The chapter mentions a German propaganda film from the spring of 1942, which shows the ghetto policemen differing very little from German soldiers. It looks deeper into the history of the Jewish Order Service, wherein Jewish policemen are portrayed as dutiful German soldiers, German officials, and traitors to their own people.
Organization and Objectives of the Service
Authors: Person Katarzyna
Published: September 2021

This chapter traces the Statute of the Jewish Order Service, which was presented to the German authorities on November 12, 1940 and approved by the governor of the Warsaw District a few weeks later. It mentions Stanisław Adler, one of the creators of the Jewish Order Service regulations and author of its statute, that based them on the regulations of the prewar State Police and the official instructions of the Blue Police. It also outlines the higher ranks of the Jewish Order Service, which included the commander and his deputy, and lower ranks, which were formed by section commanders and policemen. The chapter describes the yellow armbands and service number worn by the policemen. It talks about the two rooms in the Judenrat Building at 26/28 Grzybowska Street that the Jewish Order Service occupied in the first two months of its operations.
Police in the Eyes of the Ghetto Population
Authors: Person Katarzyna
Published: September 2021

This chapter begins with a description of the first days of the Jewish police presence on the ghetto streets, wherein the Jewish population welcomed the appearance of the functionaries with a smile of kindness. It cites underground Jewish newspapers that illustrated the policemen as characters from the land of Adam Czerniaków's grotesque. It also notes how some Jews portrayed the police as a criminal organization and as a real threat to the unity of the community. The chapter talks about ghetto inhabitants that saw the policemen as people with agency, who chose to carry out orders against the interest of other Jews. It looks at the majority of personal documents written in the ghetto by those who considered themselves to be victims of the overwhelming violence of the police, which saw the Jewish Order Service as a collection of smugglers, Gestapo informers, and war profiteers.
Not For The Fainthearted
Authors: Schweid Richard
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the training and working conditions of home health aides (HHAs). The largest home care agency franchisers employ tens of thousands of HHAs. Home care is a lucrative business, and part of that profitability is based on keeping wages as low as legally possible. Because the job is hard and the salary is minimum wage, the workers are usually women of color, or white women with a limited education, who do not have a wide choice of jobs and are trying to survive on the low end of the income-inequality gap. Many aides are African Americans, and many others are first-generation immigrants or their daughters. Indeed, the home care industry in both urban and rural settings depends on immigrant labor. The chapter then looks at the experiences of HHAs from Cooperative Home Care Associates, a home health care agency located in the South Bronx, which provided home health aides to elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients.
Home Care for Sale
Authors: Schweid Richard
Published: September 2021

This chapter begins by assessing the psychological and emotional demands of home care work. It then explains how home care, like other aspects of health care in the United States, is a marketplace commodity. Because need is so great, this commodification of home health care has proved tremendously profitable to the agencies serving as middlemen. In theory, these agencies impose a certain quality control, carefully screening and training the aides they send out to work. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Those agencies that work on a strictly private-pay basis and do not accept Medicaid clients are not subject to the federal regulations and are not legally required to provide aides with any training whatsoever. Moreover, the high cost of using agencies has generated a vast gray market for aides who work freelance and privately, without working for an agency or under any supervision other than that of the client and the client's family.
Russia’s Fascist Thinkers and Doers
Authors: Laruelle Marlene
Published: September 2021

This chapter looks into Russia's strategy of bolstering the European and U.S. far right. It addresses the fringe element of Russia's society that is inspired by extreme right arguments, adding its sociological basis remains difficult to grasp. The chapter then presents Russia's grassroots groups, which can be divided into several categories. It begins by discussing small far-right movements that try to adapt to the wider Zeitgeist and shift their doctrines from classic fascism to a defense of a Christian and white Russia resistant to migrants. The chapter also reviews a broader subculture of paramilitary and extreme combat sport communities that promote vigilantism with some elements of their repertoire identifiable as fascism light, such as a muscular masculinity and the cult of violence. Next it focuses on the Russian “thinkers,” those who spread the idea of Russia's Aryan identity, revamp race theories, or endorse the concept of the Conservative Revolution. Ultimately, the chapter examines how the groups' presence in the public space partly contributes to blurring Russia's antifascism posture.
Why the Russian Regime is not Fascist
Authors: Laruelle Marlene
Published: September 2021

This chapter synthesizes the political niches inside state structures, the grassroots actors, and Russia's strategy of bolstering the European and U.S. far right into a broader discussion deconstructing the main theories of Russia's alleged fascism. It presents Timothy Snyder's argument in which he based his claim on historical analogies rather than on the advancement of a typology of fascism that would fit the current Russian regime. The chapter also demonstrates another aspect of the debate to be debunked following Russia's alleged fascism: the use of the concept of totalitarianism. The totalitarianism theory states that totalitarianism is a novel form of government that cannot be considered a higher degree of authoritarianism but is instead one of a kind. The chapter then shifts to discuss the Putin regime's missed core element of fascism: mass indoctrination and mobilization. Ultimately, the chapter identifies only one feature of a scholarly definition of fascism in the Russian regime: the militia subculture which is directly supported by state institution.
Russia’s Memory and the Future of Europe
Authors: Laruelle Marlene
Published: September 2021

This chapter argues that the Russian regime does not exhibit doctrinal coherence and the “Putinism” is not a fixed category. It explains the Putin regime's ideational construction as a return to normalcy: political as well as geopolitical, economic, and cultural. This return to normalcy implies achieving a form of emotional security, or securitization, and dignity. The chapter also elaborates the distinction between Russia and “the West,” arguing that these distinctions are crucial, as Russia positions itself differently toward each. Russia's declared identification with Europe makes it possible to articulate three interlinked geopolitical projects. The first is to insist on the existence of a “true” Europe with conservative values, the second geopolitical project is to bring Russia closer to the Mediterranean, and the third project is to rebalance, at regular intervals, like a pendulum, the Europe–Asia equilibrium of Russian foreign policy. With such context, where both “the West” and Russia compete to define what Europe means, the chapter analyses how the strategic narrative on fascism takes form.
Drunk on Genocide
Authors: Westermann Edward B.
Published: September 2021

This book reveals how, over the course of the Third Reich, scenes involving alcohol consumption and revelry among the SS and police became a routine part of rituals of humiliation in the camps, ghettos, and killing fields of Eastern Europe. The book draws on a vast range of newly unearthed material to explore how alcohol consumption served as a literal and metaphorical lubricant for mass murder. It facilitated “performative masculinity,” expressly linked to physical or sexual violence. Such inebriated exhibitions extended from meetings of top Nazi officials to the rank and file, celebrating at the grave sites of their victims. The book argues that, contrary to the common misconception of the SS and police as stone-cold killers, they were, in fact, intoxicated with the act of murder itself. The book highlights the intersections of masculinity, drinking ritual, sexual violence, and mass murder to expose the role of alcohol and celebratory ritual in the Nazi genocide of European Jews. Its surprising and disturbing findings offer a new perspective on the mindset, motivation, and mentality of killers as they prepared for, and participated in, mass extermination.
Rituals of Humiliation
Authors: Westermann Edward B.
Published: September 2021

This chapter evaluates the significance of ritual and symbolism to the construction and manifestation of power under National Socialism. It underlines the importance of practices such as the mammoth party rallies at Nuremberg, the universal displays of the swastika on flags, pins, and armbands and the ubiquitous use of “Heil Hitler” as the standard greeting of the Third Reich under the Nazi regime. The chapter also contends that the creation of Nazi power was accomplished in no small measure by the use of ritual, and, in fact, ritual in the Third Reich served as an expression of “social power” that extended into virtually all aspects of German society. These celebratory events of Nazi power involved daily acts of verbal or physical humiliation of Jews, communists, and socialists, as well as organized and exemplary episodes of abusive behavior. Ultimately, the chapter studies the symbiotic relationship between violence, competition, and male comradeship and how it became manifest in the actions, rituals, and celebratory practices of Nazi paramilitary organizations through acts of humiliation by SS and policemen on the streets, in the concentration camps, and in the killing fields.
Black Rochester at Midcentury
Authors: Hill Laura Warren
Published: September 2021

This chapter charts the emergence of a sizable Black population in New York city, starting with the Black renaissance that happened in the fields and orchards surrounding the city, an agricultural belt responsible for growing a significant portion of the nation's food supply. It talks about local white agricultural workers that abandoned the fields for better-paying factory jobs in Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse, which created a labor shortage in the fields. It also mentions how farmers turned to places like Sanford, Florida, and to the “East Coast Migrant Stream” to employ Black agricultural migrants. The chapter recounts how the agricultural migrants eventually left the stream and opted instead to put down roots in the North, with Rochester becoming a popular destination. It discusses how the new influx of Black migrants created a demographic shift, the likes of which Rochester had never seen before.
FIGHTing for the Soul of Black Capitalism
Authors: Hill Laura Warren
Published: September 2021

This chapter documents the various plans to encourage Black entrepreneurship. It mentions that Kodak spearheaded the creation of the Rochester Business Opportunities Council (RBOC) after it became wary of further negative publicity. It also analyzes the collaboration between the locally headquartered corporations, several universities, and private citizens with RBOC in order to provide funds, training, and technical assistance to Black individuals seeking to start or expand a business. The chapter discusses other organizations in Rochester that envisioned a different form of Black capitalism, a more collective capitalism wherein the Black community would operate businesses for the common good. It explores the alternative vision of Black capitalism, where profits are reinvested in daycare centers, affordable housing, and shopping centers.
Manufacturing Bad Mothers
Authors: Krasas Jackie
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the field of psychology that intersects with child-custody determination. It discusses the incorporation of psychological discourses in the standards applied to determine custody and the actual involvement of psychologists and therapists as mediators or as custody evaluators that render an expert opinion on a given case. It also highlights contemporary Western psychological frameworks that rest on and support neoliberal ideas about individualism, individual responsibility, and privatization. The chapter cites individual, psychological-based interventions in the form of psychotherapy that represent neoliberal answers to social problems. It emphasizes how therapeutic approaches are founded on promoting individual accommodation or adjustment to existing circumstances rather than challenging social structures that create traumatic or troubling social milieus.
The Outer Tradition of Goujian as a Servant
Authors: He Jianjun
Published: September 2021

This chapter focuses on Goujian, the king of Yue who destroyed Wu and became a hegemon among the state rulers, particularly the story of Goujian living in Wu as a servant after he was defeated by Fuchai. It recounts how Fuchai avenged the death of his father by defeating Goujian and how the king decided to surrender himself to Fuchai and went to Wu as a servant to the Wu king. It also notes that several recorded events are not found in Zuozhuan and are different from Sima Qian's reports. The chapter demonstrates some connection to the “Yue yu” section in Guoyu and relies upon dialogue and songs to unfold the stories and portray characters. It highlights Goujian's ability to endure difficulty and humiliation, Chief Chancellor Bo Pi's avarice and deceitfulness, Fuchai's irresolution and tendency to fall for cunning words, and Wu Zixu's anger and frustration toward Fuchai.
The Outer Tradition of Goujian's Return to His State
Authors: He Jianjun
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses Goujian's reconstruction of Yue, covering the two- or three-year period after he returned from his time as a captive in Wu. It starts with the people of Yue welcoming Goujian's return and encouraging him to strive to become a hegemon, focusing on Goujian's efforts to rebuild Yue, reform his governance, and plan revenge against Wu. It also explains how Goujian's rejuvenation of the state resembles that of King Helü as both their paths to hegemony began with the construction of their capital cities and were designed and supervised by their chief advisors, Fan Li and Wu Zixu, respectively. The chapter also covers Goujian's efforts in reviving his state, which involved governmental reform, the bribing of Wu, and revenge upon his rival, Fuchai. It uses both dialogues and descriptions to present Goujian's strategies and ministers.
Mobility, Time, and Value
Authors: Howlett Zachary M.
Published: September 2021

This chapter analyzes the high-stakes of the Gaokao, which, together with its undetermined outcome, forms a pillar of its fatefulness. It talks about how people see the exam as something consequential since it enables them to migrate from rural to urban places, expanding their capacity to realize important life projects like marriage, childbirth, and eldercare. It also emphasizes the value to people of the migration from rural to urban living, which relates intimately to how they perceive it as a journey toward modernity and national development. The chapter refers to the central-place theory that models China's complex system of interconnected, hierarchically nested regions and markets and corresponds closely with people's native understanding of place. It recounts how urban hierarchy assumed its current form after the commercial revolution of the Tang-Song transition in the ninth to thirteenth centuries.
Counterfeit Fairness
Authors: Howlett Zachary M.
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses uncertainty as the other pillar of fatefulness and the sincere belief in the relative fairness of the Gaokao that continues to play an important ideological role. It investigates people's false confidence in their ability to see through state proclamations of educational fairness, emphasizing that little is considered holy in the post-belief society. It also highlights people's inflated view of their examination chances despite their cynicism. The chapter talks about the ostensible goals of the examination system in terms of modernization and urbanization, which are undermining the perception of the examination's fairness. It explains how people in rural areas experience the examination as something more determined and less fair as resources and human capital flow up the score-value hierarchy into the ever-widening cities.
Magic and Meritocracy
Authors: Howlett Zachary M.
Published: September 2021

This chapter investigates the popular religious and magical dimensions of meritocracy. It focuses on the aleatory aspect of uncertainty, which is derived from interpersonal competition and uncontrollable random events. It also explores how people employ magical concepts like fate, luck, and karmic merit to explain the vicissitudes of success and failure and describes the magico-religious dimension of meritocracy as an integral part of the examination life. The chapter cites the participation of teachers in school prayers, which represents a de facto concession that merit, as orthodoxly conceived, cannot by itself determine the outcome of the Gaokao and the students' lives. It explains how people supplement orthodox social reciprocity with cosmic reciprocity by attributing to luck and fate, which cannot be explained by diligence, persistence, and composure alone.
Lost and Confused
Authors: Howlett Zachary M.
Published: September 2021

This chapter looks at a growing epidemic of lostness and confusion in China and speculates on the future of the Gaokao and similar meritocratic institutions in the rapidly changing world. It examines the momentous challenge that the architects of the Gaokao might face if the exam continues to serve as a fateful rite of passage in which people perceive it as both consequential and chancy. It also refers to China's poor rural areas that no longer see the exam as fair and middle classes that no longer perceive the examination as consequential, with parents opting to send their children abroad instead. The chapter analyzes the challenge of maintaining the fatefulness of the Gaokao, which is not intrinsic to the examination alone but also to the problem of general social and economic policy. It investigates the feeling of lostness and confusion of high-school graduates, which starts right after the Gaokao due to the existential void that accompanies the sudden relaxation of discipline after the test.