bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing present and future coastal moderation of extreme heat in the Eastern United States
Authors: Raymond Colin , Mankin Justin S
Published: October 2019

Climate models suggest a rapid increase of extremely hot days in coming decades. Cool marine air currently ventilates extreme heat in populous coastal regions, diminishing its impacts, but how well climate models capture this effect is uncertain. Here we conduct a comprehensive observational analysis of coastal extreme-heat ventilation—its length scale, magnitude, and regional patterns—and evaluate two ensembles of downscaled global climate models along the eastern US coast. We find that coastal areas are 2 °C–4 °C cooler than ∼60 km inland, resulting in reductions near 50% in population exposure to temperatures above 35 °C. Large seasonal and inter-regional variations are closely linked with land-sea temperature contrasts. High-resolution models underestimate coastal cooling by 50%–75%, implying that substantial and spatiotemporally varying model bias correction is necessary to create accurate projections of coastal extreme heat, which is expected to rise considerably with anthropogenic forcing. Our results underline the importance of regionally- and observationally-based perspectives for assessing future extreme heat and its impacts, and for positioning effective heat-risk management for communities and jurisdictions that span coast-to-inland areas.
Identifying the complex types of atmosphere-ocean interactions in El Niño
Authors: Song Wan-Jiao , Yu Jin-Yi
Published: October 2019

A technique is developed to identify the types of atmosphere-ocean interaction during El Niño-Southern Oscillation events using sea surface temperature, sea level pressure (SLP), and outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data. Two pairs of indices are derived that separate the interactions into tropical and subtropical types and basin-wide and local types. The dominant interaction type for the observed El Niño events since 1980 is identified and shown to shift with time from the tropical to subtropical and from basin-wide to local. Thus, the 21st century El Niños have become dominated by subtropical and local interactions, in strong contrast to the 20th century El Niños that were dominated by the tropical and basin-wide interactions. These changes result in the 1997–98 and 2015–16 extreme El Niños being different in their evolutions and global impacts, despite having similar intensities. SLP is the key variable for separating the tropical and subtropical types of interactions, while OLR is the key variable for separating the basin-wide and local types of interactions.
Structural diversity as a predictor of ecosystem function
Authors: LaRue Elizabeth A , Hardiman Brady S , Elliott Jessica M , Fei Songlin
Published: October 2019

Biodiversity is believed to be closely related to ecosystem functions. However, the ability of existing biodiversity measures, such as species richness and phylogenetic diversity, to predict ecosystem functions remains elusive. Here, we propose a new vector of diversity metrics, structural diversity, which directly incorporates niche space in measuring ecosystem structure. We hypothesize that structural diversity will provide better predictive ability of key ecosystem functions than traditional biodiversity measures. Using the new lidar-derived canopy structural diversity metrics on 19 National Ecological Observation Network forested sites across the USA, we show that structural diversity is a better predictor of key ecosystem functions, such as productivity, energy, and nutrient dynamics than existing biodiversity measures (i.e. species richness and phylogenetic diversity). Similar to existing biodiversity measures, we found that the relationships between structural diversity and ecosystem functions are sensitive to environmental context. Our study indicates that structural diversity may be as good or a better predictor of ecosystem functions than species richness and phylogenetic diversity.
Numerical Simulation of the Influence of Large-scale Structures on Wave Force of Adjacent Small-scale Bars in Composite Structures
Authors: Li Zhenglin
Published: October 2019

In order to calculate the wave loads on the small and medium scale bars of composite structures accurately, not only the action of incident wave but also the wave diffraction caused by near large-scale structure and the effect of radiation on wave load of small scale bars should be considered. In this paper, based on the VOF method, the three-dimensional wave numerical flume of the wave acting on the composite structure is constructed in Fluent. The incident wave force, diffraction wave force and total force acting on the composite structure are obtained by numerical calculation. Compared with the results obtained by using the Morison formula alone, the effectiveness of the wave loads calculated by the model is verified. The results show that under certain wave conditions, the wave diffraction caused by large-scale structures can not be ignored. In addition, the influence of the incident wave number, the diameter of the pile and the position of the pile on the wave load of the small-scale pile is also studied. The results can provide a scientific reference for the accurate calculation of wave loads on small-scale piles in marine engineering with composite structures.
Prediction of quantitative risk assessment and risk level criteria based on the data from oil tanker collision simulation at Kyauk Phyu Deep Sea Port, Myanmar
Authors: Nyi Toe Soe Nyi , Wu W Q , Chen Y
Published: October 2019

The rates of ship accidents in waterways have been massively increased by many reasons including ship to ship collision. Collisions of crude oil tankers threat the health, safety and marine environment to its related surroundings. This study presents the QRA for double hull crude oil tanker collision in Kyauk Phyu Deep Sea Port of Myanmar navigational waterway by following the FSA guide lines. In order to present the useful simplified risk assessment method, the risk is predicted including frequencies, consequences analysis with the virtual ship collision model which is constructed based on the local situations. Furthermore risk acceptance criteria are also illustrated by F-N, F-T and F-P curves. The maximum acceptable risk levels are also conducted for social risk (1*10−3 fatalities per year), environmental risk (0.7*10−3 spills per year) and property risk (4*10−1 USD per year) respectively. Ultimately, this paper aims to develop the IMO’s FSA into simplified method and hopes to assist the local authorities’ decision making process in case of tanker incident occurs in this area.
Research on integrated power generation control system based on wind, rainwater and energy store battery
Authors: Hao Zhongjia , He Longying , Shen Lumin , Zhong Jie , Chen Pengpeng
Published: October 2019

The exploitation and utilization of new energy is the current trend of the energy industry. By analyzing the characteristics of wind energy, rainwater energy, graphene and energy store battery, an overall scheme of wind, rainwater and energy store integrated power generation system for urban buildings is designed, so is its control system. The design of control system includes hardware design and software design. By this control system, it achieves the goal of charge control and discharge control. This system takes the microcontroller as the data acquisition and controller, the data which has processed is displayed in the screen, by this SX1278 wireless communication module, and the data is transmitted to the computer.
Comparison of human and bovine dental enamel by TEM and t-EBSD investigations
Authors: Koblischka-Veneva A. , Koblischka M. R. , Schmauch J. , Hannig M.
Published: October 2019

The microstructures of human dental enamel and bovine enamel are compared to each other. To obtain samples for transmission electron microscopy (TEM), focused ion-beam (FIB) milling is used. The preparation of such TEM-slices is found to be very effective when operating the FIB with adapted parameters. After the milling process, the TEM-slices are then thinned by means of the ion beam to achieve samples being transparent for the electron beam. With a home-built sample holder, the electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) can be operated in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) in transmission mode called t-EBSD. This technique enables the crystallographic orientation measurement on nanometer-sized, non-conducting enamel grains with a reasonable quality. Both TEM and t-EBSD images reveal a similar arrangement of the apatite crystals within the enamel, but it is obvious that the nanostructure of human enamel follows a more complex construction principle. The grain sizes of bovine enamel are much larger, and it is difficult to recognize the chain arrangement as found previously in the human enamel. As a result of the comparison, one can state that the nanostructure of human enamel is clearly more complicated than the bovine counterpart.
Strength and thermal properties of unfired four-hole hollow bricks manufactured from a mixture of cement, low-calcium fly ash and blended fine aggregates
Authors: Huynh Trong-Phuoc , Nguyen Trong-Chuc , Do Ngoc-Duy , Hwang Chao-Lung , Bui Le Anh-Tuan
Published: October 2019

This study develops a new type of eco-friendly building brick so-called unfired four-hole hollow brick (UFHB) by using a mixture of ordinary Portland cement (OPC), low-calcium fly ash (FA), and different proportions of crushed sand (CS) and river sand (RS). A hydraulic-static pressure was applied to form the brick samples. The effect of various CS-RS blends on the mechanical strength of the UFHB samples was studied. In addition, the numerical method was applied to simulate the heat transfer process through the brick wall. The obtained results show that the UFHB mixture containing a mixture of 10% RS and 90% CS as blended fine aggregate registered the highest strength value in comparison with other UFHB mixtures. Moreover, utilization of the UFHB was highly effective in term of heat insulation as compared to the conventional brick.
Furfuryl alcohol-derived carbon monoliths for CO2 capture: adsorption isotherm and kinetic study
Authors: Singh J , Basu S , Bhunia H
Published: October 2019

Porous carbon monoliths have been synthesized using furfuryl alcohol as a carbon precursor in the nanocasting technique. The highest surface area of 1225 m2g−1 was found for the carbon monolith exhibited the micropore volume of 0.85 cm3 g−1. The various functional groups have been obtained on the surface of the adsorbent which increases its basicity as confirmed from the XPS analysis. The dynamic CO2 uptake was 1.0 mmol g−1 at 30°C using temperature swing adsorption set up under 12.5% CO2 flow. The effect of various adsorption temperatures along with CO2 concentrations on the adsorption capacity was also investigated. The increase in the CO2 uptake capacity by rising the temperature from 30°C onwards to 100°C confirms the involvement of exothermic and physisorption process. Also, the experiments for five adsorption-desorption cyclic runs were conducted for the regeneration study, indicating the good stability and reusabilty of the samples.
A novel inertial sensor exploiting magnetic fluid
Authors: Zhang X , Xia X , Zhang W , Xiang Z
Published: October 2019

Narrow available frequency range and low linearity of traditional magnetic fluid inertial sensors make them unpractical. A novel inertial sensor exploiting magnetic fluid is designed to solve these shortcomings. Through simulation and experiments, characteristics of magnetic fluid such as damping effect and levitation effect are studied. It shows that magnetic fluid has excellent damping effect which can be controlled by magnetic field. In order to improve the frequency response, both levitation and damping effect are used in sensors. Cylindrical permanent magnet is employed as the inertial mass, which can transform acceleration to the change of magnetic field. Linear hall sensor with high sensitivity is the transducer installed on the position where magnetic field gradient of cylindrical permanent magnet is maximal and has best linearity. Verification experiments of the designed sensor are conducted on vibration platform. Experimental results give that application of magnetic fluid for inertial sensor optimizes its performance greatly. Available frequency range of the designed sensor is increased by 256% after using magnetic fluid as damping material. This paper provides a reference for research on magnetic fluid and its application in inertial sensors.
Functional targeting nanomicelles with ph-triggered peptide activation for improved drug delivery in lung cancer
Authors: Wang Yuehua , Jia Fei , Yue Chunyan , Sun Jian , Wang Weizhi
Published: October 2019

Mild acidic environment and tumor angiogenesis are two typical features. The specific response toward lower pH may increase the targeting ability both for drug delivery. Herein, we present a responding self-assembled nanoparticle that is tumor angiogenesis targeting and pH triggered based on a novel recognition peptide DP. DP is pH-responsive as well as the affinity ligand of tumor marker EGFR. Efficient drug delivery and in vitro therapy in cell level could be accelerated in the conditions of EGFR overexpression and a mild acidic environment. We believed that such responsive materials will open a new way to turn on target imaging diagnostics and specific cancer therapies.
Microstructure and properties of superconducting, ferromagnetic and hybrid nanowire networks of La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 and La0.5Sr0.5MnO3
Authors: Koblischka M. R. , Koblischka-Veneva A. , Zeng X. L. , Karwoth T.
Published: October 2019

We have successfully fabricated La1-x
Sr
x
MnO3 (LSMO) nanowires with various x level, and La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 (LSCO) nanowires/nanoribbons via electrospinning. The colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) of the LSMO nanowire networks have been investigated. and the Tc of the LSCO nanowires and nanoribbons are around 19.2 K and 29.3 K respectively. Furthermore, we have established a LSCO/LSMO nanowire hybrid system. From obervation by scanning electron microscopy, the average diameter of the nanowires is around 220 nm and the average length can reach over 50 μmm. The randomly aligned LSCO and LSMO nanowires show numerous connections and form a complicated hybrid network system. The nanowires are polycrystalline with the grain size of ∼30 nm as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and EBSD. According to four-probe electrical transportation measurements, the superconductivity of the hybrid sample is suppressed and an anti-magnetoresistance effect is observed. SQUID measurements of M(T) and M(H) were carried out as well, revealing the soft magnetic character of the nanowires.
Study of delignification process and crystallinity index on lignocellulose components of corn cob in different pretreatments: a combination of pretreatment (ionic choline acetate and NaOH) and NaOH pretreatment
Authors: Rofiqah U. , Safitri A. , Fadhilah
Published: October 2019

This study studied the effect of combination pretreatment (ionic liquid choline acetate and NaOH) and pretreatment of NaOH in the process of delignification and lignocellulose crystallinity index. This process was carried out to obtain a good lignocellulose biomass, which has a low lignin content and a high crystallinity index to be prepared as a raw material for making bioethanol. Low lignin content and high index of crystallinity can influence the success of the enzymatic hydrolysis process and of course bioethanol production. In the combination of pretreatment, the highest lignin removal was found from process with 5% of NaOH as much as 41.63% but the cristalinity index was found from proces with 3% of NaOH as much as 46.33. While, In the NaOH pretreatment, the highest lignin removal and cristalinity index was found from process with 5% of NaOH as much as 7.63% and 3.87, respectively.
Assessment of climatic variation on bio cement mortar-based infrastructure
Authors: Abdulkareem M , Ayeronfe F , Majid M Z A , Sam A R M , Kim J H J
Published: October 2019

Over the last few decades, effects of climate change have been widely studied by researchers. This change alters environmental conditions, which in turns influence the activities of bacteria. Therefore, this study assesses the effect of climatic variation on bio cement mortar- based infrastructure. This is achieved by evaluating the effects of temperature and relative humidity on the compressive strength of bio cement mortar. The bacteria used in the bio cement mortar are bacillus subtilis. 30 ml of bacillus subtiliss pore solution was added to the mix to create bio cement mortar. Test sample cubes of bio cement mortar were prepared and cured at different temperatures and different relative humidity. In addition, control sample cubes of cement mortar without bacteria were water cured. The 7- and 28-days compressive strengths were obtained. The results showed that the compressive strength of the bio cement mortar increased as both temperature and relative humidity increased. The 7- and 28-days compressive strengths increased by as much as 83.3% and 110% respectively when temperature increased, and by as much as 106.1% and 73.5% respectively when relative humidity was increased.
Characterization of coffee grounds as biosorbent for removal dyes from aquaeous solutions
Authors: Mukti N. I. F. , Hidayat A.
Published: October 2019

Low cost and effective biomass wastes may have ample applications in water decontamination procedures. Coffee waste is one of the most populer were used as low cost adsorbents for the removal of dyes from aqueous solutions. The aim of this research is to study the effect of washing the coffee residue for dyes adsorption. The characterization functional group of adsorbents was characterized with FTIR, and proximate analysis. The experimental data obtained in the present study indicate that coffee grounds are suitable for use as biosorbents in the removal of dyes.
Kobayashi–Hitchin correspondence for analytically stable bundles
Authors: Mochizuki Takuro
Published: October 2019

We prove the existence of an Hermitian–Einstein metric on holomorphic vector bundles with an Hermitian metric satisfying the analytic stability condition, under some assumption for the underlying Kähler manifolds. We also study the curvature decay of the Hermitian–Einstein metrics. It is useful for the study of the classification of instantons and monopoles on the quotients of four-dimensional Euclidean space by some types of closed subgroups. We also explain examples of doubly periodic monopoles corresponding to some algebraic data.
Resource Wealth and Political Decentralization in Latin America
Authors: Arce Moises , Hendricks Michael
Published: October 2019

Existing literature has emphasized economic conditions as central to protests over resource extraction. However, it is also necessary to examine the political conditions that make some regions or provinces more prone to protest. These political conditions are tied to electoral and partisan dynamics and draw attention to the political context or environment in which protests emerge. Focusing on electoral and partisan dynamics can help explain the variation of protest across geography and time, and in particular, why similar resource-abundant provinces within the same country experience different levels of protest.
Legislatures and Representation in Latin American Politics
Authors: Simison Emilia
Published: October 2019

The variation offered by Latin American legislatures makes them empirically and theoretically relevant to the field of legislative studies. Since the 1980s, the study of these legislatures has experienced significant growth, widening the range of topics covered and the territorial scope of the analysis. Legislative-executive relations, elections and careers, and legislative behavior continue to be the most studied topics. In addition, by the 2010s a greater number of empirical analyses have made use of cross-national comparisons of the region and studied both subnational legislatures and how internal processes and institutions shape legislative outcomes. This academic interest still coexists with a low level of citizen confidence in the legislatures, which are considered to be ineffective in policymaking. In between lies representation. Its study has attracted increased attention in a context of significant changes in descriptive representation in the region, such as the increased presence of women and minorities in legislative bodies. Taking this into account, substantive representation and its limits have been analyzed in terms of (a) the representation of women, minorities, and social classes; (b) bills’ territorial scope and subnational influences; and (c) how legislative organization impacts representation. This connection between citizens and congress members affects citizens’ perceptions of congresses as well as other democratic institutions. Despite its policy implications, this connection is still understudied, as are issues such as interest representation, amendments, and legislative speeches.
The Inclusion-Moderation Thesis: An Overview
Authors: Tepe Sultan
Published: October 2019

The inclusion-moderation thesis hinges on the idea that competitive electoral processes tame radical ideas thereby leading to the transformation of extremist parties into more moderate ones. The theory offers a causal process: as parties are included in their electoral systems, the competitive processes and negotiations move them from the tail end of their ideological spectrums to positions that are more acceptable to broader constituencies. While the theory offers an affirmative view of the incorporation of all parties to electoral competition, it poses many questions ranging from whether such transformations are inevitable or strategic to if and how inclusion leads to the capture of the entire political system by radical ideas. A review of the existing research shows that it pays more attention to parties' overall policy commitments and privileges the position of party leadership. Focusing on the overall impact of moderation much research disregards the impact of internal party dynamics, emphasizes the utility of centralization of power or hierarchical structures and their tendency to promote moderation. One of the paradoxical findings of such studies is the assumption that moderation does not require democracy yet still promotes democratic results. More important, the theory makes several assumptions about inclusion without carefully identifying how democratic the electoral context is, the ways in which voters stand in their respective political spectrums or how they reward and punish parties that subscribe to extremist or moderate positions. The evidence suggests that inclusion-moderation cannot be reduced to a mechanical process; the ideologies of extreme parties, the overall context of competition and electorates’ decision making processes need to be taken into account to understand if and how electoral inclusion can alter parties’ commitments and policies. Inclusion may lead not only to procedural adjustments, while keeping extremist ideologies in tact but also to ideational transformation that makes extremist parties more prone to recognize and negotiate with other groups. When the context is not democratic moderation might mean domestication of parties with what may appear to be “extremist” or “radical” in context thereby thwarting the overall democratization of the system. Some analyses also show exclusion may lead to the moderation of extremist parties. Given the contradictory evidence, the insights of the inclusion moderation model cannot serve as a one-size-fits all model but help to understand how the inclusion process works by presenting an ideal type for both party and electoral behavior while both conformity and divergence from the model offer important insight to democratic processes and democratization.
Nature and Nurture as an Enduring Tension in the History of Psychology
Authors: Honeycutt Hunter
Published: October 2019

Nature–nurture is a dichotomous way of thinking about the origins of human (and animal) behavior and development, where “nature” refers to native, inborn, causal factors that function independently of, or prior to, the experiences (“nurture”) of the organism. In psychology during the 19th century, nature-nurture debates were voiced in the language of instinct versus learning. In the first decades of the 20th century, it was widely assumed that that humans and animals entered the world with a fixed set of inborn instincts. But in the 1920s and again in the 1950s, the validity of instinct as a scientific construct was challenged on conceptual and empirical grounds. As a result, most psychologists abandoned using the term instinct but they did not abandon the validity of distinguishing between nature versus nurture. In place of instinct, many psychologists made a semantic shift to using terms like innate knowledge, biological maturation, and/or hereditary/genetic effects on development, all of which extend well into the 21st century. Still, for some psychologists, the earlier critiques of the instinct concept remain just as relevant to these more modern usages.

The tension in nature-nurture debates is commonly eased by claiming that explanations of behavior must involve reference to both nature-based and nurture-based causes. However, for some psychologists there is a growing pressure to see the nature–nurture dichotomy as oversimplifying the development of behavior patterns. The division is seen as both arbitrary and counterproductive. Rather than treat nature and nurture as separable causal factors operating on development, they treat nature-nurture as a distinction between product (nature) versus process (nurture). Thus there has been a longstanding tension about how to define, separate, and balance the effects of nature and nurture.
Developmental and Life-Course Theories of Crime
Authors: McGee Tara Renae , Farrington David P.
Published: October 2019

Developmental and life-course theories of crime are collectively characterized by their goal of explaining the onset, persistence, and desistance of offending behavior over the life-course. Researchers working within this framework are interested not just in offending but also in the broader category of antisocial behavior. Their research aims to investigate the development of offending and antisocial behavior throughout life; risk and protective factors that predict this development; the effects of life events; and the intergenerational transmission of offending and antisocial behavior. While there have been a number of developmental and life-course theories of crime, the more influential and empirically tested ones include Sampson and Laub’s age-graded informal social control theory and Moffitt’s typological model of life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited offending. While developmental and life-course criminology has come to be viewed a single type or grouping of criminology, there are distinctions between the more sociological life-course perspectives and the more psychological developmental perspectives. These are a result of the disciplinary training of the individuals working in the field and are reflected in the types of variables examined and the theoretical explanations developed and applied to explain the relationships. The broader life-course perspective focuses on the examination of human lives over time, with an understanding that “changing lives alter developmental trajectories,” according to Glen Elder in his 1998 work. Life-course approaches to studying human development are not unique to criminology and are represented within many disciplines, such as medicine and epidemiology. There are four central themes of the life-course paradigm: the interplay of human lives and historical times; the timing of lives; linked or interdependent lives; and human agency in making choices. Therefore the life-course perspective within criminology focuses on the examination of criminal behavior within these contexts. Given its sociological origins, life-course theoretical explanations tend to focus more on social processes and structures and their impact on crime. Developmental perspectives within criminology tend to be more psychological in nature, and its theoretical explanations tend to focus more on individual characteristics and the impact of familial processes on the individual. Both of these perspectives require longitudinal data, that is, data collected over time for each individual. Collectively, developmental and life-course criminology allow for the examination of: within-individual changes over time; the impact of critical life events; the importance of the social environment; and pathways, transitions and turning points.
Qualitative Research on Educational Technology in Latin America
Authors: Kenski Vani Moreira , Lacerda Santos Gilberto
Published: October 2019

Important changes have taken place in the field of educational technology over the last few decades due to leaps in informatics, the explosive growth of the use of computers in schools, and the popularization of the Internet as a tool for teaching and learning. This scenario demands a broader understanding of the educational potential of new resources and didactic materials available to schools and innovative modes of individual and collective action in an increasingly digital society. Such changes have been faster since the start of the 21st century, which saw increased interest in educational technologies and many researchers orienting their studies to the modus operandi of the process of teaching and learning mediated by various types of digital technologies, be they presential, non-presential, hybrid, mobile, collaborative, cooperative, interactive, individualized, assistive, active, ubiquitous, and so on. With this, research in the field of educational technology has been consolidated and has begun to adopt methods of qualitative research that take account of this diversity of objects. This article seeks to point out the contributions of qualitative research methodologies in the formatting of this field of knowledge in Latin America. This is based on an examination of the most widely used scientific journals in the region, drawing on almost 100 articles published between 2016 and 2017. The analysis indicates that educational technology is evolving in Latin America, mainly due to the continuous and accelerated advance of digital information, communication, and expression technologies (DICETs). At the same time, there remains a great lack of scientific journals in the area, an issue that must be addressed given the strategic importance of this field of knowledge for the universalization of education in Latin America. Peer-reviewed journals have prioritized studies based on research and development (R&D) methods that emphasize media engineering for education and have a predominance of case studies. But they also present research problems related to qualitative issues that arise from the use of DICETs in specific teaching and learning situations. The scenario under analysis shows that research in this area has gradually evolved from a strongly technical perspective to a humanist one through qualitative analyses focusing on the limits and possibilities of DICETs. Thus, they raise important clues for future research, such as the challenges of adopting collaborative and interdisciplinary research approaches aimed at better understanding the processes and educational relations mediated by technologies; the new possibilities of hybrid education that can be addressed in different school contexts; and the question of teacher training for this new scenario. Such developments are crucial for advancing knowledge about educational technology in Latin America.
Navigating Kaupapa Māori Fields of Knowledge
Authors: Macfarlane Angus , Macfarlane Sonja , Curtis Toby
Published: October 2019

In the context of Māori and Indigenous ways of knowing, a recurring theme in professional educative discourse is the notion that it would be advantageous for educators and researchers to attain enhanced understandings of Māori worldviews, Maōri histories, Maōri experiences of struggle, Māori lived realities—and of the nascent, yet optimistic, contentions by Māori about their roles in theoretical developments and educational jurisdictions. How might adopting a power-sharing partnership approach within these parameters strengthen research endeavors? How might such an approach be mutually beneficial? How might it be monitored? These and other questions continue to be posed by Māori. What is consistently being recommended by Māori is the need for researchers to broaden and deepen their awareness and respect for knowledge that flows from different, yet potentially complementary, streams—in this case, the Māori and Western knowledge streams. Progress is happening, but it is not embedded within the culture or research that is with, about and for Māori. We argue that it is now timely for social scientists, cultural critics, political analysis, research funders, and academics to move from commentary to commitment.

In this article, the authors propose that by exploring Māori philosophies and developing a deeper and more meaningful understanding of theoretical models that can potentially enhance and deepen cultural awareness, both Māori and non-Māori researchers can be assisted and supported, in their respective fields, to achieve more culturally robust, inclusive, and sustainable research findings. Such models provide frameworks—in essence, an adaptable set of options—for research operations that acknowledge voices, histories, and contributions and thereby support both cultural enhancement and culturally safe research practice.
Interviewing Elites in the Educational Field
Authors: Quaresma Maria Luísa , Villalobos Cristóbal
Published: October 2019

Elites can be understood as a group of people in possession of the highest levels of economic, social, cultural, and political capital. For this reason, these groups are considered key actors in understanding social inequality, the configuration of social structures, and the distribution of power within societies.

In the field of education, elites tend to concentrate in a small, select group of schools and universities, forming a social context that is key to understanding processes of (social) mobility and the reproduction of social positions.

The indisputable relevance of education in both the formation and consecration of elites make it almost impossible not to focus in the educational system when one is called to problematize the power of elites.

Through a literature review surveying the available literature within the field as well as examples of previous research, principle epistemological, conceptual, and empirical frameworks necessary to address interviews with elites in the educational sphere can be observed. The chapter review three critical dimensions of the interview process: (a) design, analyzing aspects such as the potentialities and limitations of the different types of interviews, the issue of validity and, the question about the distance between interviewer and interviewee (b) contact and consent to participate, studding the identification, contact and pre-meeting stage and (c) the interview process, analyzing aspects such as the place of the interview, the cultural aspects involved in any interview, the objective and purpose of the interview, the knowledge and skills that the interviewer must display, and the dispute over the power and status that is displayed in this type of interaction. Researchers who study education and/or elite social classes and who want to deepen their understanding of a group of people might refer to this qualitative research process of studying elites in the educational field.
Listening to Students in Schools
Authors: Souza Marilene Proença Rebello de , Cruz Silvia Helena Vieira
Published: October 2019

Access to education has generally been recognized as a human right. There is a consensus among the various sectors of civil society and government regarding the importance of schooling from the earliest years of life. But only recently have the fields of humanities and education begun to consider the importance of children’s perceptions, representations, and meanings attributed to the school and the educational institutions offered to them. Listening to children at school has drawn the attention of researchers when the right to a democratic school has been extended to more children, aiming at assuring them access to the knowledge socially constructed by mankind as well as access to social and cultural activities. Knowing what children think and feel during the process of schooling and in educational practices is today an important aspect of educational research. The qualitative approach has been shown to be fundamental in listening to very young children on various aspects of their school experience, thus promoting the expansion of knowledge about differing school contexts. However, this listening process presents several challenges for research, including the development of strategies that favor a child’s multiple ways of communicating and the search for solutions related to potential ethical issues. Researching children’s perspectives can provide a basic foundation for better pedagogical practices and public policies with regard to children.
Digital Culture and Qualitative Methodologies in Education
Authors: Schlemmer Eliane
Published: October 2019

From a digital culture perspective, this article has as main objective to assess two contemporary qualitative research methods in the field of education with distinct theoretical orientations: the cartographic method as a way of tracing trajectories in research-intervention with a theoretical basis in the biology of knowledge, enactive cognition and inventive cognition; and the cartographic method as a means of identifying and mapping the controversies linked to the different associations between human and non-human actors with a theoretical basis in actor-network theory (ANT). With their own specificities, both methods have been fruitful in the development of qualitative research in the field of education, in the context of digital culture, and more recently, in the hybrid culture of atopic habitation, mainly because they also relate to equally consistent theories and aspects of human cognition, making it possible to detect traces and clues in the fluid associations between actors enhanced by different digital technologies (DT), including data mining and learning analytics. From the Brazilian perspective on the topic, this article approaches the experience of the cartographic method of research intervention as well as the cartography of controversies as tools for developing qualitative research in education. These different forms of the cartographic method have inspired the construction of didactic-pedagogical experiences based on theoretical approaches linked to cognition, producing inventive methodologies and interventionist pedagogical practices. These methodologies and practices, which will be discussed at length in this article, have been developed and validated by the Research Group in Digital Education at Unisinos University at different levels and in varied educational settings.
Critical Perspectives on Evaluative Research on Educational Technology Policies in Latin America
Authors: Dussel Inés
Published: October 2019

In the past decade, ambitious plans for digital inclusion have been developed in Latin America. These plans included a strategy of massive and universal distribution of equipment at a 1:1 ratio to students at different levels of the education system (i.e., a computer for each student). The programs were accompanied by both policy analyses and independent studies hoping to account for the program’s successes and achievements. These studies can facilitate analysis of the orientations and dimensions of these investigations, considering them as practices of knowledge production that imply the construction of a perspective, as well as indicators and problems that make visible certain some aspects of policy and mask others. They constitute forms of problematizing the social, that is to say, the construction of themes or topics that return to a problem that requires attention, which many times are taken as a reflection of reality and not as the product of an predetermined evaluative perspective. It is also significant that among these evaluative studies, a number were conducted through qualitative perspectives, which facilitate more complex and plural approaches to the processes of technological integration and digital inclusion within the classroom. In these qualitative studies, the construction of categories was part of the research and covered a multiplicity of meanings that the policies took for the actors involved, thus opening a richer and potentially more democratic perspective on the construction of knowledge about educational policy in the region.
Critical Realism for Ethnography
Authors: Banfield Grant
Published: October 2019

While specific applications of critical realism to ethnography are few, theoretical developments are promising and await more widespread development. This is especially the case for progressive and critical forms of ethnography that strive to be, in critical realist terms, an “emancipatory science.” However, the history of ethnography reveals that both the field and its emancipatory potential are limited by methodological tendencies toward “naïve realism” and “relativism.” This is the antimony of ethnography. The conceptual and methodological origins of ethnography are grounded in the historical tensions between anti-naturalist Kantian idealism and hyper-naturalist Humean realism. The resolution of these tensions can be found in the conceptual resources of critical realism. Working from, and building upon, the work of British philosopher Roy Bhaskar, critical realism is a movement in the philosophy of science that transcends the limits of Kantian idealism and Humean realism via an emancipatory anti-positivist naturalism. Critical realism emerged as part of the post-positivist movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. From its Marxian origins, critical realism insists that all science, including the social sciences, must be emancipatory. At its essence, this requires taking ontology seriously. The call of critical realism to ethnographers, like all social scientists, is that while they must hold to epistemological caution this does not warrant ontological shyness. Furthermore, critical realism’s return to ontology implies that ethnographers must be ethically serious. Ethnography, if it is to hold to its progressive inclinations, must be about something. Critical realism for ethnography pushes the field to see itself as more than a sociological practice. Rather, it is to be understood as a social practice for something: the universalizing of human freedom.
Culturally Responsive Evaluation as a Form of Critical Qualitative Inquiry
Authors: Bryan Michelle , Lewis Ashlee
Published: October 2019

As a form of applied research, program evaluation is concerned with determining the worth, merit, or value of a program or project using various research methods. Over the past 20 years, the field of program evaluation has seen an expansion in the number of approaches deemed useful in accomplishing the goals of an evaluation. One of the newest approaches to the practice of evaluation is culturally responsive evaluation. Practitioners of CRE draw from a “responsive approach” to evaluation that involves being attuned to and responsive toward not only the program itself, but also its larger cultural context and the lives and experiences of program staff and stakeholders. CRE views culture broadly as the totality of shared beliefs, behaviors, values, and customs socially transmitted within a group and which shapes group members’ world view and ways of life. Further, with respect to their work, culturally responsive evaluators share similar commitments with scholars to critical qualitative inquiry, including a belief in moving inquiry (evaluation) beyond description to intervention in the pursuit of progressive social change, as well as positioning their work as a means by which to confront injustices in society, particularly the marginalization of people of color. Owing to these beliefs and aims, culturally responsive evaluators tend to lean toward a more qualitative orientation, both epistemologically and methodologically. Thus, when taken up in practice, culturally responsive evaluation can be read as a form of critical qualitative inquiry.
Metalinguistic Transfer
Authors: Li Guofang , Sun Zhuo , Li Haoyun
Published: October 2019

Metalinguistic awareness is a cognitive process that allows a person to explicitly think about structural features of language such as phonological, morphological, and orthographic features and use this knowledge base to monitor and control his/her use of language. Metalinguistic awareness is strongly associated with monolingual children’s early literacy skills. The concept of metalinguistic awareness has also been used to explore the possibility of any paralleled mechanism that metalinguistic awareness operates in predicting bilingual children’s early literacy learning, especially between two languages that are orthographically distant such as Chinese and English. Research on Chinese-English bilingual children in both Chinese as a first language context (e.g., Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) and Chinese as a heritage language context (e.g., Canada, United States, and the United Kingdom) confirms some cross-language facilitation of early literacy skills mediated by metalinguistic awareness in general, but overall research findings reveal a variance in terms of the directionality of transfer and aspects of transfer in predicting literacy skills in the two languages within the respective phonological, morphological, and orthographic awareness domain. Several linguistics-external factors such as individual children’s language proficiencies in the two languages and their exposure to formal language instruction mediate patterns of metalinguistic transfer in phonological, morphological, and orthographic awareness across the two different language contexts.