bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Abundant resources can trigger reduced consumption: Unveiling the paradox of excessive scrounging
Authors: Vacus Robin , Korman Amos
Published: March 2024

In ecological contexts, it is conventionally expected that increased food availability would boost consumption, particularly when animals prioritize maximizing their food intake. This paper challenges this conventional wisdom by conducting an in-depth game-theoretic analysis of a basic foraging model, in which animals must choose between intensive food searching as producers or moderate searching while relying on group members as scroungers. Our study reveals that, under certain circumstances, increasing food availability can amplify the inclination to scrounge to such an extent that it leads to a reduction in animals’ food consumption compared to scenarios with limited food availability. We further illustrate a similar phenomenon in a model capturing free-riding dynamics among workers in a company. We demonstrate that, under certain reward mechanisms, enhancing workers’ production capacities can inadvertently trigger a surge in free-riding behavior, leading to both diminished group productivity and reduced individual payoffs. Our findings provide intriguing insights into the complex relationships between individual and group performances, as well as the intricate mechanisms underlying the emergence of free-riding behavior in competitive environments.
Navigating the EU Health Claim Regulation
Authors: Shortt Colette
Published: March 2024

The Health Claim Regulation (HCR) is the legal framework used by food businesses to highlight the benefits of their food products on labels or in promotional communications in the European Union (EU). The rules aim to ensure consumer protection from misleading health claims and to promote fair competition, the free circulation of foods bearing health claims and innovation. There are different authorisation procedures managed by the European Commission (EC) for distinct types of claims and considerable guidance is available both on the presentation of the dossier and the scientific aspects of substantiation of the health claim. While thousands of health claims have been submitted by applicants, only a small percentage have been authorised and the rate of submission has slowed dramatically from the early years of the HCR’s introduction. Nevertheless, applicants have been successful and health claims have been authorised in each health claim type. More recently, the introduction of the Transparency Regulation has impacted the submission process in significant ways, and it remains to be seen if this change will encourage or deter applicants from submitting. While the HCR has been in place for 16 years, there are still many outstanding items, such as nutrition profiling and “on hold” claims that affect businesses. In addition, authorities often take different views on the flexibility that can be applied to authorised health claim wording. This makes implementation of authorised health claims across the EU often complex for businesses to manage. However, despite these issues, the HCR has made strides to protect consumers from misleading claims and provided a robust framework for the scientific evaluation of health claims which is highly regarded worldwide.

Information

© The Author 2023
Waste Management: Landfill Selection Using Gis and Analytical Hierarchy Process
Authors: Shukor A. A. H. M. , Ishak N. M. , Salleh S. A. , Othman F.
Published: March 2024

The widespread use of landfilling as a convenient waste management method has become unsustainable due to the rapid development causing a surge in waste generation, threatening the lifespan of existing landfills. The closure of landfills presents waste management challenges, necessitating more extensive garbage disposal facilities to accommodate the growing urban population. However, poor site selection methods can have a negative impact on both the environment and human health, which goes against the objectives of sustainable development goal (SDG). Methods like Geographic Information System (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) facilitate decision-making processes. This integration reduces analysis time and costs enhances accuracy and minimizes errors. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) provides a framework to validate judgments and derive measurable values in decision-making involving theories and concepts. In this study, several criteria were used to create a final suitability map which is the distance from the residential area, distance from the plantation area, distance from the main road, distance from waterways, type of soil, slope, and land cover. The results indicate that distance from residential has the highest weightage of importance, which is 27%. It also found that the highly suitable new landfill area is located at Batu in Kuala Langat, Pulau Carey, and Bukit Rotan in Kuala Selangor.
Tensor Categories for Vertex Operator Superalgebra Extensions
Authors: Creutzig Thomas , Kanade Shashank , McRae Robert
Published: March 2024

Let

V
V

be a vertex operator algebra with a category

C

\mathcal {C}

of (generalized) modules that has vertex tensor category structure, and thus braided tensor category structure, and let

A
A

be a vertex operator (super)algebra extension of

V
V

. We employ tensor categories to study untwisted (also called local)

A
A

-modules in

C

\mathcal {C}

, using results of Huang-Kirillov-Lepowsky that show that

A
A

is a (super)algebra object in

C

\mathcal {C}

and that generalized

A
A

-modules in

C

\mathcal {C}

correspond exactly to local modules for the corresponding (super)algebra object. Both categories, of local modules for a

C

\mathcal {C}

-algebra and (under suitable conditions) of generalized

A
A

-modules, have natural braided monoidal category structure, given in the first case by Pareigis and Kirillov-Ostrik and in the second case by Huang-Lepowsky-Zhang.

Our main result is that the Huang-Kirillov-Lepowsky isomorphism of categories between local (super)algebra modules and extended vertex operator (super)algebra modules is also an isomorphism of braided monoidal (super)categories. Using this result, we show that induction from a suitable subcategory of

V
V

-modules to

A
A

-modules is a vertex tensor functor. Two applications are given:

First, we derive Verlinde formulae for regular vertex operator superalgebras and regular

1
2

Z

\frac {1}{2}\mathbb {Z}

-graded vertex operator algebras by realizing them as (super)algebra objects in the vertex tensor categories of their even and

Z

\mathbb {Z}

-graded components, respectively.

Second, we analyze parafermionic cosets

C
=

C
o
m

(

V
L

,
V
)

C=\mathrm {Com}(V_L,V)

where

L
L

is a positive definite even lattice and

V
V

is regular. If the vertex tensor category of either

V
V

-modules or

C
C

-modules is understood, then our results classify all inequivalent simple modules for the other algebra and determine their fusion rules and modular character transformations. We illustrate both directions with several examples.
Fractional excretion of total protein predicts renal prognosis in Japanese patients with primary membranous nephropathy
Authors: Kuno Hideaki , Kanzaki Go , Sasaki Takaya , Okabayashi Yusuke , Haruhara Kotaro , Yokote Shinya , Koike Kentaro , Ueda Hiroyuki , Tsuboi Nobuo , Yokoo Takashi
Published: March 2024

Background

Primary membranous nephropathy (pMN) is one of the most common types of glomerulonephritis, with a third of patients progressing to renal insufficiency. Various prognostic factors have been reported, of which urinary protein and renal function are the most critical parameters. Fractional excretion of total protein (FETP) indicates protein leakage that accounts for creatinine kinetics and serum protein levels. In this study, we investigated the association between FETP and renal prognosis in pMN.

Methods

We retrospectively identified 150 patients with pMN. FETP was calculated as follows: (serum creatinine × urine protein)/(serum protein × urine creatinine) %. We divided the patients into three groups according to FETP values and compared the clinicopathological findings. The primary outcome was an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decrease of ≥30% from the baseline level.

Results

FETP was associated with urinary protein and renal function, Ehrenreich and Churg stage, and global glomerulosclerosis. The primary outcome was observed in 38 patients (25.3%), and the frequency of the primary outcome was higher in the high FETP group (P = .001). FETP is higher than protein–creatinine ratio (PCR) in the area under the curve. In the multivariate analysis adjusted for age, eGFR, PCR and treatment, FETP was significantly associated with primary outcome (adjusted hazard ratio, 8.19; P = .019).

Conclusions

FETP is a valuable indicator that can reflect the pathophysiology and is more useful than PCR as a predictor of renal prognosis in patients with Japanese pMN.
Early vs. delayed mechanical circulatory support in patients with acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock
Authors: Buda Kevin G , Hryniewicz Katarzyna , Eckman Peter M , Basir Mir B , Cowger Jennifer A , Alaswad Khaldoon , Mukundan Srini , Sandoval Yader , Elliott Andrea , Brilakis Emmanouil S , Megaly Michael S
Published: March 2024

Aims

Despite increased temporary mechanical circulatory support (tMCS) utilization for acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (AMI-CS), data regarding efficacy and optimal timing for tMCS support are limited. This study aimed to describe outcomes based on tMCS timing in AMI-CS and to identify predictors of 30-day mortality and readmission.

Methods and results

Patients with AMI-CS identified in the National Readmissions Database were grouped according to the use of tMCS and early (<24 h) vs. delayed (≥24 h) tMCS. The correlation between tMCS timing and inpatient outcomes was evaluated using linear regression. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with 30-day mortality and readmission. Of 294 839 patients with AMI-CS, 109 148 patients were supported with tMCS (8067 veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, 33 577 Impella, and 79 161 intra-aortic balloon pump). Of patients requiring tMCS, patients who received early tMCS (n = 79 906) had shorter lengths of stay (7 vs. 15 days, P < 0.001) and lower rates of ischaemic and bleeding complications than those with delayed tMCS (n = 32 241). Patients requiring tMCS had higher in-hospital mortality [odds ratio (95% confidence interval)] [1.7 (1.7–1.8), P < 0.001]. Among patients requiring tMCS, early support was associated with fewer complications, lower mortality [0.90 (0.85–0.94), P < 0.001], and fewer 30-day readmissions [0.91 (0.85–0.97), P = 0.005] compared with patients with delayed tMCS.

Conclusion

Among patients receiving tMCS for AMI-CS, early tMCS was associated with fewer complications, shorter lengths of stay, lower hospital costs, and fewer deaths and readmissions at 30 days.
Complementarity of field studies and RCTs: evidence from Bt eggplant in Bangladesh
Authors: Ahsanuzzaman  , Husain Hamza , Zilberman David
Published: March 2024

Randomised control trials (RCTs) and field studies are two empirical approaches. We conducted a field study analysing the adoption of Bt eggplant in Bangladesh and compared the results of previous RCTs. We find that Bt eggplant raises yields, lowers total cost and pesticide costs and generates a price premium compared to non-Bt eggplant, increasing profits by 23 per cent. We also identify factors contributing to adopting Bt eggplant, including better access to credit, farm sizes and expected profitability. Our low-cost field study confirms the impact assessment results of RCTs and provides insight into factors affecting adoption.
May Measurement Month 2021: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Poland
Authors: Sęk-Mastej Anna , Banach Maciej , Mastej Mirosław , Jankowski Piotr , Gierlotka Marek , Olszanecka Agnieszka , Wolf Jacek , Prejbisz Aleksander , Osadnik Tadeusz , Tomasik Tomasz , Windak Adam , Grobelczyk Agnieszka , Beaney Thomas , Ahmadi-Abhari Sara , Poulter Neil R , Jozwiak Jacek J
Published: March 2024

May Measurement Month 2021 (MMM21) is the fourth edition of the global initiative in Poland initiated by the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) and aimed at raising awareness of hypertension and the need for blood pressure (BP) screening. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 was carried out in 132 sites - between May and September 2021. Blood pressure was measured in 1699 subjects (mean age: 40.8 ± 17.0 years; 68.8% females). After multiple imputation, the age and sex standardized systolic and diastolic BP was 126.6/78.7 mmHg for the entire group, 133.8/81.9 mmHg in individuals on antihypertensive medication, and 125.4/78.6 mmHg in those not taking antihypertensive drugs. The proportion of subjects with high BP (≥140/90 mmHg) were: 30.9% for the entire group, 40.4% in subjects taking antihypertensive drugs, and 17.9% in those not taking antihypertensive drugs. Of all participants, 33.9% were in the age range of 18–29 years and we observed higher BP levels and more frequent BP elevation in males in this age group. These data provide unique insights into the hypertension rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the associated restrictions, only limited data could be obtained for older adults. Interestingly, among young Polish participants, the rate of hypertension and the level of BP were higher in males compared to females, suggestive perhaps of a higher susceptibility of males to experience a rise in BP during specific circumstances associated with a pandemic.
Immigration and Business Dynamics: Evidence from U.S. Firms
Authors: Mahajan Parag
Published: March 2024

This paper studies the impact of immigration on U.S. local business dynamics using a comprehensive collection of survey and administrative data. It finds heterogeneous impacts across the employer productivity distribution that favor higher-productivity firms and lead to increases in average local earnings. Responses to immigration along the exit margin are particularly important. Immigrant inflows cull establishments from low-productivity firms while preserving establishments from high-productivity firms. Overall, reduced exit accounts for 43% of immigrant-induced job creation and 41% of immigrant-induced earnings growth. A general equilibrium model proposes a mechanism that ties immigrant workers to high-productivity employers and shows how accounting for changes to the employer productivity distribution can yield substantially larger estimates of immigrant-generated economic surplus than canonical models of labor demand.
Variation in dental morphology and dietary breadth in primates and their kin
Authors: Selig Keegan R , Ramsay Malcolm S , Lahosky Rebecca , Schroeder Lauren , Silcox Mary T
Published: March 2024

Sympatric animals may consume diets of differing breadths as a strategy to reduce competition. Studying patterns of dietary breadth in extinct taxa is difficult because available data are generally limited to morphology. Dental topographic analysis (DTA) is useful for comparing occlusal morphology and allows for examination of dietary adaptations in extinct taxa. What remains unknown is how dental morphology, quantified using DTA, covaries with dietary breadth. The niche variation hypothesis (NVH) posits that taxa with broader ecological niches will be characterized by greater variability in morphology relative to specialized taxa. Therefore, we predict that taxa with greater dietary breadth will have more varied dental morphology compared to specialists as a result of the molar morphology of specialists being under greater genetic control relative to generalists, with specialists requiring teeth specially adapted to efficiently process a smaller range of food sources. We measured curvature, complexity, and relief of the M2 of 3 pairs of closely related euarchontan mammals (primates and treeshrews), with each taxon within a pair categorized as a generalist or specialist. Our results indicate that generalists do not consistently show greater variability in dental morphology compared to specialists among primates, but that atelids and treeshrews do generally follow the predictions of the NVH, with the caveat that our treeshrew sample is small. This suggests that while dietary specialists may be under greater genetic constraint with respect to their molar topography, a link between dietary breadth and dental form is not clear. Our study demonstrates that variation in dental topography does not necessarily reflect dietary breadth and highlights the fact that it is difficult to categorize even the most specialized primates (i.e. bamboo lemurs) as “dietary specialists.”
Probability of normal tissue complications for hematologic and gastrointestinal toxicity in postoperative whole pelvic radiotherapy for gynecologic malignancies using intensity-modulated proton therapy with robust optimization
Authors: Yoshimura Takaaki , Yamada Ryota , Kinoshita Rumiko , Matsuura Taeko , Kanehira Takahiro , Tamura Hiroshi , Nishioka Kentaro , Yasuda Koichi , Taguchi Hiroshi , Katoh Norio , Kobashi Keiji , Hashimoto Takayuki , Aoyama Hidefumi
Published: March 2024

This retrospective treatment-planning study was conducted to determine whether intensity-modulated proton therapy with robust optimization (ro-IMPT) reduces the risk of acute hematologic toxicity (H-T) and acute and late gastrointestinal toxicity (GI-T) in postoperative whole pelvic radiotherapy for gynecologic malignancies when compared with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), intensity-modulated X-ray (IMXT) and single-field optimization proton beam (SFO-PBT) therapies. All plans were created for 13 gynecologic-malignancy patients. The prescribed dose was 45 GyE in 25 fractions for 95% planning target volume in 3D-CRT, IMXT and SFO-PBT plans and for 99% clinical target volume (CTV) in ro-IMPT plans. The normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of each toxicity was used as an in silico surrogate marker. Median estimated NTCP values for acute H-T and acute and late GI-T were 0.20, 0.94 and 0.58 × 10−1 in 3D-CRT; 0.19, 0.65 and 0.24 × 10−1 in IMXT; 0.04, 0.74 and 0.19 × 10−1 in SFO-PBT; and 0.06, 0.66 and 0.15 × 10−1 in ro-IMPT, respectively. Compared with 3D-CRT and IMXT plans, the ro-IMPT plan demonstrated significant reduction in acute H-T and late GI-T. The risk of acute GI-T in ro-IMPT plan is equivalent with IMXT plan. The ro-IMPT plan demonstrated potential clinical benefits for reducing the risk of acute H-T and late GI-T in the treatment of gynecologic malignances by reducing the dose to the bone marrow and bowel bag while maintaining adequate dose coverage to the CTV. Our results indicated that ro-IMPT may reduce acute H-T and late GI-T risk with potentially improving outcomes for postoperative gynecologic-malignancy patients with concurrent chemotherapy.
Pericardioesophageal fistulae after left atrial ablation: a case series
Authors: Shah Savan K , Pendleton Audrey C , Khan Arsalan A , Alex Gillian C
Published: March 2024

Pericardioesophageal fistula is an uncommon, yet serious complication that can occur after left atrial ablation for cardiac arrhythmias. Timing of this complication is variable; however, it has been reported to occur from a week to over a month post-ablation. The incidence of this complication after ablation is <0.05%; however with increasing rates of left atrial ablations, early recognition is imperative. Nonspecific symptoms, including chest pain, dysphagia, and fever, can indicate the presence of a fistula within the first month after ablation. Early drainage with subsequent definitive treatment is key to limiting morbidity. Here we report four cases of pericardioesophageal fistula all occurring ~1 month post-ablation, with two patients surviving after prompt diagnosis and surgical treatment. Successful treatment in these two cases was achieved with fistula takedown and intercostal muscle flap interposition and esophageal stenting.
Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle regulates microbiota–gut–inner ear axis for hearing protection
Authors: Guo Zhanhang , Wu Yunhao , Chen Bo , Kong Mengdie , Xie Peng , Li Yan , Liu Dongfang , Chai Renjie , Gu Ning
Published: March 2024

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a highly prevalent form of sensorineural hearing damage that has significant negative effects on individuals of all ages and there are no effective drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. In this study, we unveil the potential of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle assembly (SPIOCA) to reshape the dysbiosis of gut microbiota for treating NIHL. This modulation inhibits intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress responses, protecting the integrity of the intestinal barrier. Consequently, it reduces the transportation of pathogens and inflammatory factors from the bloodstream to the cochlea. Additionally, gut microbiota-modulated SPIOCA-induced metabolic reprogramming in the gut–inner ear axis mainly depends on the regulation of the sphingolipid metabolic pathway, which further contributes to the restoration of hearing function. Our study confirms the role of the microbiota–gut–inner ear axis in NIHL and provides a novel alternative for the treatment of NIHL and other microbiota dysbiosis-related diseases.
Sex-Based Disparities in the Transition to Dolutegravir-Based Antiretroviral Therapy in West African HIV Cohorts
Authors: Tiendrebeogo Thierry , Malateste Karen , Poda Armel , Minga Albert , Messou Eugene , Chenal Henri , Ezechi Oliver , Ekouevi Didier K , Ofotokun Igho , Jaquet Antoine ,   IeDEA West Africa Collaboration, Zannou Marcel Djimon , Poda Armel , Ezechi Oliver , Messou Eugene , Chenal Henri , Minga Kla Albert , Tanon Aristophane , Seydi Moussa , Mensah Ephrem , Yonaba Caroline , Tossa Lehila Bagnan , Dame Jocelyn , N’Gbeche Sylvie Marie , Kouakou Kouadio , Folquet Madeleine Amorissani , Eboua François Tanoh , Traore Fatoumata Dicko , David Agatha , Takassi Elom , Jaquet Antoine , Ekouevi Didier Koumavi , Dabis François , Becquet Renaud , Bernard Charlotte , Malateste Karen , Marcy Olivier , Plaisy Marie Kerbie , Rabourdin Elodie , Tiendrebeogo Thierry , Dahourou Désiré , Desmonde Sophie , Jesson Julie , Leroy Valeriane , Moh Raoul , Azani Jean-Claude , Koffi Jean Jacques , Komena Eric , Bengali Maika , Cissé Abdoulaye , Gnepa Guy , Horo Apollinaire , Boni Simon , Kangah Eulalie , Moh Corinne , Eliam Jeanne , Ofotokun Ighovwerha , Martin Chris , Benzekri Noelle , Goettlieb Geoffrey , Keiser Olivia , Jaquet Antoine , Ekouevi Didier , Ofotokun Ighovwerha , Becquet Renaud , Benzekri Noelle , Bernard Charlotte , Boni Simon , Dabis François , Dahourou Désiré , Desmonde Sophie , Ekouevi Didier Koumavi , Jaquet Antoine , Jesson Julie , Komena Eric , Leroy Valeriane , Malateste Karen , Ofotokun Ighovwerha , Plaisy Marie Kerbie , Rabourdin Elodie , Tiendrebeogo Thierry
Published: March 2024

Transition to dolutegravir among 21 167 individuals experienced in antiretroviral therapy in West Africa showed heterogeneous timelines and patterns. Initially reported sex disparities tended to catch up over time with persisting disparities, according to contributing HIV clinics. Key factors facilitating dolutegravir switch were male sex, age <50 years, viral suppression, and regimens not based on protease inhibitors.
An Upsurge of Measles Cases in Mali—a Consequence of Pandemic-associated Disruption in Routine Immunization
Authors: Nampota-Nkomba Nginache , Keita Adama Mamby , Juma Jane , Sidibe Diakaridia , Kourouma Nana , Sissoko Seydou , Haidara Fadima Cheick , Traore Cheick Tidiane , Traore Cheick Bougadari , Traore Awa , Gaume Brigitte , Sow Samba Ousmane , Kotloff Karen L , Tapia Milagritos D
Published: March 2024

Measles deaths highlight immunization program gaps. In the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance study in Mali, we observed a rise in under-5 measles-related deaths in 2022 that corresponded with increased measles cases at the same time and a decline in measles vaccine coverage in Mali in 2020.
Evaluation of Sonicate Fluid Culture Cutoff Points for Periprosthetic Joint Infection Diagnosis
Authors: Alvarez Otero Judith , Karau Melissa J , Greenwood-Quaintance Kerryl E , Abdel Matthew P , Mandrekar Jay , Patel Robin
Published: March 2024

Introduction

Implant sonication is useful for recovery of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) pathogens in culture, but exact cutoff points for definition of clinically significant sonicate fluid culture results vary from study to study. The aim of this study was to define ideal sonicate fluid culture cutoff points for PJI diagnosis.

Methods

Sonicate fluid cultures from hip and knee prosthesis components removed between February 2007 and December 2020 were studied. Prosthesis components were placed in solid containers in the operating room; in the clinical microbiology laboratory, 400 mL Ringer's solution was added, and containers subjected to vortexing, sonication and then vortexing, followed by centrifugation. Concentrated sonicate fluid was plated on aerobic and anaerobic solid media, and culture results reported semiquantitatively, as no growth, <20, 20–50, 51–100, or >100 CFU/10 mL sonicate fluid. Sonicate cultures from cement spacers and cultures yielding more than 1 microorganism were excluded. Sensitivity and specificity of each cutoff point was evaluated.

Results

A total of 1448 sonicate fluid cultures were evaluated, 68% from knees and 32% from hips. PJI was present in 644 (44%) cases. Sensitivity of sonicate culture was 75.0% at <20 CFU/10 mL, 55.3% at ≥20 CFU/10 mL, 46.9% at >51 CFU/10 mL, and 39.8% at >100 CFU/10 mL. Specificity was 78.2%, 99.8%, 100%, and 100%, at the 4 cutoff points, respectively.

Conclusions

A cutoff point for sonicate fluid culture positivity of ≥20 CFU/10 mL is suitable for PJI diagnosis.
Else Voigtländer (1882–1946)
Authors: Ferran Íngrid Vendrell
Published: March 2024

This chapter examines Else Voigtländer’s place within early phenomenology. The chapter starts by disclosing her relation to Lipps and to prominent phenomenologists of the Munich Circle, such as Pfänder, Scheler, Geiger, and Daubert. It proceeds to offer an analysis of her work as it is embedded within the phenomenological tradition. In particular, the chapter focuses on her original application of the phenomenological method, her contribution to the emotivist theory of self-consciousness, her analysis of the social dimension of the self, her development of a concept of affectivity as intimately linked to value, and her study of specific phenomena, such as Ressentiment and erotic love. The chapter finishes with a discussion of the mechanisms that might have led to Voigtländer’s omission from the canon of phenomenology and an argument for the necessity of rewriting the history of the phenomenological movement to include her as a full-fledged member.
Hedwig Conrad-Martius (1888–1966)
Authors: Miron Ronny
Published: March 2024

This chapter establishes three constitutive layers in the phenomenological study of reality of Hedwig Conrad-Martius (1888–1966): phenomenal, ontological, and metaphysical. Each of these layers is distinguished by an inaugurating question: “where do we encounter [essences] in concrete realization?,” “what is reality?,” and “where does the world remain?,” respectively. The suggested division describes the chronological evolution of Conrad-Martius’s thinking, starting with Doctrine of Appearance (1916), continuing with an ontological inquiry in Realontologie (1923), and arriving at an articulated metaphysical discussion in the writings composed during the 1930s. The illumination of the arguments consolidating each of the related layers also demonstrates the dynamic taking place between the layers and their eventual joining together. However, because the philosophical insights achieved up to the late 1930s were never abandoned in her subsequent oeuvre, the layered observation is suggested as a key for understanding Conrad-Martius’s thinking as a whole.
Feminist Philosophizing in Nineteenth-Century German Women’s Movements
Authors: Moland Lydia
Published: March 2024

Leaders of nineteenth-century women’s movements in Germany often turned to philosophy to ground their activism. In this chapter, I focus on feminist philosophizing: explicitly theoretical thinking about the status, nature, and particular concerns of women that went on to inspire movements for social change. The chapter begins with the foundations of this thought among women in the early nineteenth century such as Dorothea Schlegel, Rahel Levin Varnhagen, and Bettina von Arnim. The chapter then discusses Louise Otto-Peters’s Enlightenment-based agitation for women’s education and employment; Clara Zetkin’s fight for women’s place in a socialist revolution; and Helene Stöcker’s Nietzsche-inspired reevaluation of sexual values. The chapter emphasizes the ways in which these women absorbed and extended German philosophical thought, including the philosophies of Kant, Schlegel, Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche.
Women Philosophers and the Neo-Kantian Movement
Authors: Kinzel Katherina
Published: March 2024

This chapter introduces four women philosophers and explore their relation to the neo-Kantian movement: Hedwig Bender and Grete Hermann in Germany, Camille Bos in France, and Hilda Oakeley in the UK. The chapter identifies four key concerns of the neo-Kantian “orthodoxy” of the Baden and Marburg schools—the philosophy-science relation, antipsychologism, scientific change, and historical method. The chapter analyzes how, in taking up and developing Kantian concepts, Bender, Hermann, Bos, and Oakeley contribute to these discussions. Reflecting on the profound differences in their philosophical orientations, the chapter highlights the centrifugal tendencies that had been at work in the reception of Kant throughout the nineteenth century, and how these were amplified at the turn to the twentieth, when neo-Kantian philosophies were dispersed in different intellectual, institutional, and national contexts.
The Idea of the Earth in Günderrode, Schelling, and Hegel
Authors: Ng Karen
Published: March 2024

This chapter provides an interpretation of Karoline von Günderrode’s fragment “The Idea of the Earth” and argue that it contributes to central theoretical and practical questions in the idealist context. The chapter considers Günderrode’s use of the term Idea, in relation to Kant, Schelling, and Hegel, focusing on Schelling’s account of the Idea in Bruno in particular. Günderrode’s theoretical contribution consists in presenting the earth as a context of truth and knowledge, and her practical contribution consists in situating living activity in relation to the goal of realizing what she calls a “collective organism” (gemeinschaftlicher Organismus). In arguing that the Idea of the earth provides a context for both truth and ethical action in a unified philosophy, the chapter suggests that Günderrode presents an earthly, ecological approach to idealism that intervenes in a number of long-standing assumptions and debates.
Ethics
Authors: Saunders Joe
Published: March 2024

A basic theme in ethics concerns how one relates to others. This chapter explores this, through the concepts of empathy and community, as found in the works of Edith Stein and Gerda Walther. Some ethical theories take as their starting point the idea that human beings are selfish individuals, and view ethics as a corrective to that. Stein and Walther, with their emphasis on empathy and community, offer a different picture of human beings and their relations to each other, one where we feel and live together. This chapter unpacks the ethical significance of their conceptions of empathy and community. In doing so, it compares and contrasts their views with each other’s, and also one of the prominent ethical theorists in German philosophy, Kant.
Germaine de Staël (1766–1817)
Authors: de Bruin Karen
Published: March 2024

As France came out of the Reign of Terror and into the Thermidorian period, not only did Germaine de Staël articulate a moderate republican liberalism, but she also elaborated an informal poetics of a new literary genre—the “philosophical novel”—that could morally reform the nation. This genre proposed individual responsibility and duty to freedom, grounded in German idealism, as the new public morality of a liberal republic. The genre also depended on a specific type of genius found predominantly in exceptional women writers, whom she elevated to the status of moral educators of the nation.
Plants, Animals, and the Earth
Authors: Nassar Dalia
Published: March 2024

This chapter considers the ways in which women philosophers theorized the more-than-human world, focusing on romanticism and phenomenology. Beginning with Germaine de Staël’s high estimation of German philosophies of nature, the chapter argues that Staël offers compelling reasons for taking seriously the German approach to the study of nature. I proceed to discuss one such approach, articulated by Karoline von Günderrode in her groundbreaking work “Idea of the Earth.” The chapter contends that Günderrode develops a distinctive ethical position in relation to the “earth,” which prefigures (and goes beyond) contemporary environmental ethics. Similar prefigurations can be found in the work of Edith Stein, who sought to demonstrate how empathy with non-human animals can enrich experience and expand understanding. The chapter concludes by turning to Hedwig Conrad-Martius’s critical intervention in discussions of plant intelligence. It argues that Conrad-Martius’s critique reveals the limits of empathy, while also demonstrating a deep connection between late phenomenology and romanticism.
Rahel Levin Varnhagen (1771–1833)
Authors: Keller Paula
Published: March 2024

Central to Rahel Levin Varnhagen’s philosophical thought is the question: how should we live in an unjust world? Varnhagen presents a strategy of communal retreat. This is both a strategy to survive injustice and to oppose and ultimately overcome it. It has three component parts, which are outlined in the chapter. According to Varnhagen, one ought to live authentically, embed oneself in a supportive community, and work on a project of self-development. In presenting this strategy, Varnhagen, the chapter argues, offers a way out of a dilemma, outlined by Hannah Arendt in her biography of Varnhagen, of living either as pariah or parvenu.
Bananas
Authors: Bennett Evan P.
Published: March 2024

Bananas are among the oldest food crops cultivated by humans and are today the most-consumed fruit in the world. Their place in the diets of billions of people is the result of modern industrial capitalism. The organization of labor in banana production, the control of the banana trade by a few multinational companies, and even the fact that one variety rules the world market when dozens of other cultivars are produced worldwide are evidence of this connection. Such capital-intensive production has resulted in a flood of healthy fruit that has been anything but healthy for the environment, workers, and democracy in the tropical nations where banana production dominates.
Agricultural Labor
Authors: Striffler Steve
Published: March 2024

This chapter argues that labor is not only central for understanding agricultural history, but that agricultural labor provides a particularly compelling lens through which to understand human history. The modern world emerged unevenly through hundreds of years of struggle between those who work the land and those who rule over them. There was nothing natural or inevitable about the emergence of industrial agriculture, or the world it sustains. Subsistence farmers initially resisted creating and turning over surpluses to elites, then resisted efforts to reorient their production toward markets, and then continued to struggle against the competitive, exploitative logic of agrarian capitalism. They struggled against forms of agriculture that all too frequently left those who worked the land with little to show for their efforts and beholden to a political and economic class who lived off of their labor. This struggle was a central force driving history.
Peasants and the Peasantry
Authors: Rigg Jonathan
Published: March 2024

The chapter traces the origins of peasant studies as a route into understanding current debates over peasants and the peasantry. After exploring the question “who are the peasantry?,” three positions are identified: those of the peasant persisters, the peasant eradicators, and the peasant reformers. For some scholars, contemporary agrarian change has consigned the peasantry to the history books. Others focus on explaining how, even in the context of globalization, peasants-as-smallholders persist, while still more identify a neo-peasantry emerging even in the context of thoroughgoing agrarian change and deep structural transformations. There is also a long history of peasant political movements, and these remain vital, notably in La Vía Campesina. These broad debates over the peasantry are then grounded in the experience of one country, Thailand.
Double Take
Authors: Williams Verna L.
Published: March 2024

This chapter presents the significance of the Garrett v. Board of Education case in gender and the law casebooks. It examines the Detroit School Board’s decision against the backdrop of Detroit’s transformation from a manufacturing powerhouse to a paradigm of urban decline. Analyzing the Garrett case from the perspective of race raised the implication that the Board’s plan was never just about sex. Moreover, the case showcases the invisibility of race in education law and policy despite its centrality and continued salience. The chapter argues that failing to acknowledge the centrality of race resulted in a weak solution that would only establish the disparities the Detroit School Board sought to diminish.
English language education and educational policy in Singapore
Authors: Bokhorst-Heng Wendy D. , Silver Rita Elaine
Published: March 2024

This chapter provides an overview of English language education and policy in Singapore in relation to a world Englishes perspective, considering policy, practices, and ideologies. It takes a critical view of Kachru’s model as applied to Singapore English(es), noting the complexities of internal variation among Singapore’s English users, and how Singapore has moved from the Outer to the Inner Circle and thus demands a more nuanced framework. Analysis takes a discourse-analytic approach, anchored in Ruiz’s conceptualization of language orientations and applied to Singapore’s secondary English language syllabus. It considers how these orientations frame the narrative of policy, are operationalized into learning targets, and inform teacher practice. To understand further the position of English and Englishes in Singapore, the chapter draws on the Douglas Fir Group’s framework for second language acquisition (SLA), considering the mutually interactive forces of the macro (ideological), meso- (sociocultural/institutional) and micro-levels (human social interaction) involved in language-learning contexts.
Chinese Pidgin English in Southeast Asia
Authors: Li Michelle , Matthews Stephen
Published: March 2024

Having developed in South China, Chinese Pidgin English (CPE) spread into Southeast Asia. Evidence from historical sources attests to the use of CPE in Singapore, Malaysia, Borneo, and Makassar. These sources show CPE to have been used in several contexts including in trading houses, between Chinese domestic servants and European employers, and in colonial administration, as in courtrooms and police operations. We then consider what influence CPE may have had on the varieties of English spoken in Malaysia and Singapore by examining four features: (i) think so-complementation, (ii) suppose conditionals, (iii) what for questions, and (iv) topicalization and null objects. While Chinese-influenced features of these varieties could have developed through influence of CPE and/or directly from Chinese, specific constructions point to influence from CPE. These findings expand the known sphere of use of CPE and shed light on its connections to other contact languages of the region.
Studying Judicial Citations and Citation Data
Authors: Frankenreiter Jens
Published: March 2024

References to prior case law and other legal materials play a crucial role in justifying judicial decisions in many jurisdictions worldwide. This chapter provides an overview of research using quantitative methods to investigate citations in judicial opinions, offering a literature survey, a roadmap for gathering and analysing citation data, and a discussion of methodological challenges and opportunities for advancement in this field. In the literature review, the chapter distinguishes various streams of work, including macro-level studies that describe and compare citation patterns across different legal systems and micro-level analyses of judges’ citation decisions. It argues that micro-level studies are particularly well suited to produce results that inform our comparative understanding of judge behaviour. However, this work faces methodological challenges related to using traditional quantitative methods in the context of citation data, which have largely gone unnoticed in the legal literature. The chapter demonstrates these challenges through simulations and discusses ways to overcome them. The chapter also discusses the importance of methodological innovations and new research directions in the study of citations in legal opinions more generally. Beyond overcoming the previously mentioned methodological challenges, opportunities for improvement include conducting research that explicitly compares citation patterns across jurisdictions and developing theories that connect citation networks to relevant features of legal systems. Pursuing these opportunities can bolster the credibility of research investigating citation behaviour and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the factors that influence the use of citations in legal systems across the globe and judicial behaviour more generally.
Formal Law and Its Relationship to Minhag/Takkanot
Authors: Schwartz Marcus Mordecai
Published: March 2024

This chapter discusses Jewish custom and communal enactments. These two categories are difficult because Jewish legal authorities have treated them at different times and in different places in different ways: sometimes the same as formal law and other times as less than formal law. These “marginal norms” present opposing conceptual trends already in early rabbinic sources. There was a great deal of debate in classical rabbinic texts about the nature of custom and communal practice. This helps us understand why there was so much ambiguity around marginal norms in later rabbinic writings. The study goes on to explore two major categories of marginal norms: minhag (custom) and takkanah/gezeirah (communal enactment/prohibition). Examples in each of these two discussions illustrate these categories of marginal norms. The examples are in no way comprehensive, but they are ideally relevant and enlightening on the differences between the categories.
North American Reform Judaism and the Halakhah
Authors: Washofsky Mark
Published: March 2024

This chapter focuses upon the conflicted attitude of the North American Reform movement toward halakhic tradition, describing it as one of “doctrine versus practice.” The movement’s major doctrinal statements, especially the Pittsburgh Platform of 1885, tend to portray Reform as a non-halakhic Judaism. They reject the notion of halakhic authority and legal discipline as out of step with Reform’s commitment to individual religious autonomy and to the creation of a Judaism suited to the culture of modernity. At the same time, the Reform movement has produced a considerable halakhic literature, including over 1,300 responsa, indicating that as a matter of practice Reform has not abandoned halakhah and its discourse. The chapter recounts the role of Rabbi Solomon B. Freehof, the preeminent halakhist of North American Reform Judaism, in identifying the role of the halakhic literature as a source of “guidance, not governance” for a movement that in its doctrine champions freedom of individual religious choice. It concludes with some broad outlines of a theory of halakhah as it functions in this purportedly non-halakhic movement.
Educating for Social Change
Authors: Hertel Shareen
Published: March 2024

This chapter lays out a framework for international studies pedagogy that equips students not only to analyze global challenges intellectually but also to interact in ways distinct from what they may experience outside of the classroom. Drawing on scholarship across multiple fields, the chapter offers practical tools for cultivating a “caring classroom” anchored around four key principles: (1) mutual respect, (2) multidimensionality, (3) collective purpose, and (4) empowerment. Such tools include peer review of student work, simulations, professional guest speakers from within and beyond the university, and information literacy promotion (including of online source material). The pragmatic strategies central to this style of teaching equip students to manage conflict, hone collective purpose, build networks, expand their professional development, and prepare for civic life.
Pedagogies of Creativity
Authors: Frueh Jamie
Published: March 2024

Recognizing global politics courses as opportunities for both students and teachers to express their creativity enhances the educational experience for all involved. Constructivist approaches to human creativity provide an ontological foundation for pedagogical strategies that treat learners and teachers as collaborators in the project of education and pedagogies of creativity engage the agency of both students and teachers of global politics. Learners are agents of the changes to their own knowledge and understanding. Teachers are agents of the learning environments in which engaged and metacognitive learners attend both to course material and to the mental processes through which they integrate new ideas into their existing understandings. Design thinking is one process for actualizing instructor creativity in building coursework and classroom tactics specific to learning outcomes, institutional contexts, and student populations. For example, designing and implementing group oral examinations improved learning about both the patterns of human interactions across differences and the processes of group deliberations.
International Studies, Large Classes, and the Politics of Education
Authors: Hornsby David J.
Published: March 2024

This chapter gives focus to large international studies classes and how to make them meaningful learning spaces. Long derided as learning environments with little academic value or where few pedagogical options exist, this chapter considers research-informed strategies that offer ways to foster student engagement while recognizing the practicalities of managing such spaces. Through focusing on the range of pedagogical and assessment strategies such as problem-based learning, team-based learning, flipped learning, student engagement and assessment feedback, the chapter situates teaching large classes as a matter critical in fostering critical scholars and engaged citizens that contribute to democracy more broadly. All the while providing ideas and strategies for addressing the real challenges associated with teaching in these environments.
Learning to Solve Problems
Authors: Boyer Mark A. , Brown Scott W.
Published: March 2024

Connecting theory to practice for our students is a recurrent challenge for any teacher. International studies pedagogy is no different. Problem-based learning (PBL) has emerged as a significant paradigm shift in the traditional college education from centering lecture-based delivery to a curriculum integrating real-world, authentic problems as the core of the instructional activity. This chapter discusses one approach, problem-based learning and examines the underlying educational research-based logic supporting the approach. It also presents one specific adaptable application, using simple Lego models, as a tool for teaching systems theory.