bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nature as a You : Novalis’ Philosophical Thought and the Modern Ecological Crisis
Authors: Becker Christian , Manstetten Reiner
Published: June 2023

This paper aims to introduce the German Romantic poet Novalis into the discussion of the modern ecological crisis. In particular we examine Novalis’ unique philosophy of nature as a You in which he deals with both of the two aspects of the relationship between humans and nature: their original identity as well as the distinction between them. We analyse the way in which Novalis understood the relationship between nature and humankind dynamically, and show the significance of his concept of poetry for this question. This concept is analysed and described in respect to its principal features: creativity and love. The former is regarded by Novalis as a general capacity of humans as well as an expression of nature itself. Together with love it forms the base for a possible harmonious relationship between humans and nature. We furthermore interpret Novalis’ economic thought against the general background of his philosophy of nature and his understanding of humankind. Novalis recognises the crucial role economic action plays in the relationship between nature and humankind and he offers some important insights into this issue. Finally, we discuss the relevance of Novalis’ concept of nature as a You for environmental philosophy. By comparison with other concepts of nature in the modern environmental debate, we show how Novalis’ thought offers a new perspective on the human–nature relationship and thus fruitful stimulation for today's environmental philosophy.
Ontological Politics: Mapping a Complex Environmental Problem*
Authors: Carolan Michael S.
Published: June 2023

What is an environmental problem? Philosophers of science and sociologists of knowledge have been writing for more than a decade about the de-centred, multiple object. Yet what if this insight were applied to the realm of environmental problems? What would be revealed? These questions are explored in this paper by examining the ontology of environmental problems. Ethnomethodologists, social constructionists, and sociologists of knowledge have all painted a descriptive picture of a thoroughly sociological ontology; an ontology that is fluid, at times de-centred, and (at least potentially) multiple. Yet if ontology is social, and thus multiple, than it is also ultimately political. But multiplicity need not imply fragmentation. It can be coherent, but this requires both coordination and trust. To give further visual and conceptual shape to this argument a heuristic model is constructed. Through this model I ‘map’ a handful of environmental problems – in terms of their ‘complexity’ and ‘epistemological distance’ – and in doing so give focus to the ontologically diverse nature of environmental problems today. A case study involving a particularly contentious environmental dispute is then examined so as to give the argument additional focus and an empirical grounding.
Not Out of the Woods: Preserving the Human in Environmental Architecture
Authors: Light Andrew , Wallace Aurora
Published: June 2023

The North American environmental movement has historically sought to redress the depletion and degradation of natural resources that has been the legacy of the industrial revolution. Predominant in this approach has been the preservation of wilderness, conservation of species biodiversity and the restoration of natural ecosystems. While the results of such activity have often been commendable, several scholars have pointed out that the environmental movement has inherited an unfortunate bias against urban environments, and consequently, a blind spot to ways in which densely populated built spaces can serve to enhance rather than degrade efforts to achieve sustainability. After exploring this concern we argue that environmental architecture can serve as a counter-balance to this bias, focused, as it is, on the ways in which the construction and organisation of built spaces for humans can help or hinder the pursuit of environmental priorities. But if environmental architecture is to take this role then it must be understood in a broader context, one which does not exclude other moral, political and aesthetic values in the production of human environments. We will highlight several examples of how environmental architecture has combined success and failure at taking a broader view of environmental questions, with a specific focus on one green skyscraper that may be good for the natural environment but not necessarily for the human environment of the city.
Industrial Ecology for Sustainable Development: Six Controversies in Theory Building
Authors: Korhonen Jouni
Published: June 2023

This article is building the theory for the scientific field of industrial ecology. For this, the industrial ecosystem (IE) concept is used. IE uses the model of sustainable ecosystems in unsustainable industrial systems for making progress towards the vision of the industrial ecosystem. Six controversies are revealed and identified as research challenges. I invite all those who are interested in industrial ecology to respond to this contribution.
Conflicting Perspectives on Water in a Swedish Railway Tunnel Project
Authors: Sjölander-lindqvist Annelie
Published: June 2023

The building of a railway tunnel through the Hallandsås ridge in the southwest of Sweden resulted in sinking groundwater levels and a toxic spill for the local community. As a result, this highly technological project expanded from the addressing of technological and economic issues of rail traffic and tunnel building to include issues of environmental harm and how to assess and manage the geology of the ridge. A central concern for local residents as well as for the developer has been how to view and interpret the resource of groundwater. This article focuses on groundwater as a boundary object, bordering the domains of the technologists and the local community. In this situation, technological understanding and knowledge confronts an experience-based understanding and a symbolic interpretation of the water resource.
The Values of Ecologists
Authors: Lautensach Alexander K.
Published: June 2023

The popular stereotype of ecologists appears somewhat at odds with the ideal of the objective, detached, morally disinterested researcher. Ecologists tend to subscribe to this ideal, as do most natural scientists. This puts the stereotype into question. To what extent and in what respects can ecologists be regarded as motivated by environmentalist values? What other values might contribute to their motivations? The answers to those questions have bearing on how policy makers perceive the input they receive from ecologists and it has long-term implications for the funding of ecological research. To obtain some answers I analysed over fifty randomly selected publications of ecologists for explicit and implicit value statements. The analysis revealed an abundance of value statements. However, no bias was evident towards a conservationist or ecocentric environmental ethic such as suggested by the stereotype. I will suggest some explanations and ramifications of these results that take into account the ecologist's professional situation.
Can we be ‘Friends of the Earth’?
Authors: Shearman Richard
Published: June 2023

Reasons for protecting biodiversity are usually defined in terms of its instrumentality. Although there may be a number of ways to seek an alternative non-anthropocentric approach, I have chosen to develop an Aristotelian response that draws upon his conception of friendship and self-love. In doing so, I argue that a person living according to moral virtue will recognise that the nonhuman world should be valued and thus protected (at least in part) for its own sake.
Unprojected Value, Unfathomed Caves and Unspent Nature: Reply to an Editorial
Authors: Attfield Robin
Published: June 2023

This article replies to Alan Holland's challenge to reconcile belief in non-anthropogenic intrinsic value with the poetry of John Clare and its projection onto nature of human feelings, and thus with projective humanism. However, in literature and broadcasts, feelings are found projected upon buildings and belongings as well as upon natural creatures. This and the fact that many living creatures (such as the Northamptonshire species not remarked by Clare) never become objects of human projections but still remain valuable suggests that the basis of natural value lies elsewhere, at least in part. Such themes, together with that of nature's independent value, are variously illustrated from poems of Gray, Cowper and Marvell, and from expressions of nature's otherness in the Christian verse of Hopkins (who also helps answer Holland's further question concerning ‘what we have lost’), and in the pantheistic (or pagan) prose of Grahame's Wind in the Willows. In none of these writers does the value of nature depend on the projection of a humanistic sensitivity, but in different ways on the nature (diversely conceptualised) of natural creatures themselves.
Naturalism and Environmentalism: A Reply to Hinchman
Authors: Baxter Brian H.
Published: June 2023

The values which are definitive of the humanist project, such as freedom and self-determination, are of central concern to environmentalism. This means, according to Lewis P. Hinchman, that environmentalists should seek a rapprochement with humanism, rather than rejecting it for its apparent anthropocentrism. He argues that this requires in turn the acceptance of those approaches to human self-understanding which are central to the hermeneutic traditions and the rejection of naturalist approaches, such as sociobiology, which is accused of producing deterministic, reifying, reductionist, dehumanising forms of understanding of human beings and human life. This paper seeks to show that sociobiology does not pose the kinds of threat to humanism and environmentalism outlined by Hinchman.
Buddhism and the Ethics of Species Conservation
Authors: James Simon P.
Published: June 2023

Efforts to conserve endangered species of animal are, in some important respects, at odds with Buddhist ethics. On the one hand, being abstract entities, species cannot suffer, and so cannot be proper objects of compassion or similar moral virtues. On the other, Buddhist commitments to equanimity tend to militate against the idea that the individual members of endangered species have greater value than those of less-threatened ones. This paper suggests that the contribution of Buddhism to the issue of species conservation should not, however, be discounted. It argues, on the contrary, that Buddhist traditions, in reminding us of the moral significance of the suffering of individual animals, add an important dimension to debates concerning the ethical justification of efforts to conserve endangered species.
The Aesthetic Significance of Nature's Otherness
Authors: O'brien Marianne
Published: June 2023

In this article I consider and reflect upon the aesthetic significance of Simon Hail-wood's conception of nature as articulated in an earlier volume of this journal in his paper ‘The Value of Nature's Otherness’ (Hailwood 2000: 353–72). I provide a brief elucidation of Hailwood's conception of nature as other and I maintain that recognition of the value of nature's otherness and respect for nature's otherness requires as a necessary condition that one know and perceive that nature is other. I then go on to consider Hailwood's concerns over the possibility of locating nature's value as other in aesthetic responses to nature. I argue that such reservations are warranted insofar as they focus on an inadequate ‘subjectivist’ account of aesthetic experience but are not warranted for all accounts of aesthetic experience, in particular, I will argue that such reservations do not apply to the ‘cognitive’ model of aesthetic appreciation proposed by Allen Carlson as the ‘environmental model’ and developed in the work of Yuriko Saito. I conclude this paper by claiming that aesthetic value is a necessary component of otherness as a ground of nature's value and that this needs to be conceded if we are to be able to acknowledge the reality of something other than ourselves, to treat it appropriately and with respect.
Thinking through Botanic Gardens
Authors: Heyd Thomas
Published: June 2023

This essay discusses ways of thinking about botanic gardens that pay close attention to their particularity as designed spaces, dependent on technique, that nonetheless purport to present (and preserve) natural entities (plants). I introduce an account of what gardens are, how botanic gardens differ from other gardens, and how this particular form of garden arose in history. After this I contrast three ways of understanding the function of botanic gardens in the present time: as sites of recreation, of conservation or of encounter with nature. Finally I develop the idea that these gardens may serve as archetypes of collaboration with nature. I conclude that, in principle, botanic gardens can model alternative, creative new ways for human beings to relate to the natural environment.
Monkeywrenching, Perverse Incentives and Ecodefence
Authors: Turner Derek D.
Published: June 2023

By focusing too narrowly on consequentialist arguments for ecosabotage, environmental philosophers such as Michael Martin (1990) and Thomas Young (2001) have tended to overlook two important facts about monkeywrenching. First, advocates of monkeywrenching see sabotage above all as a technique for counteracting perverse economic incentives. Second, their main argument for monkeywrenching – which I will call the ecodefence argument – is not consequentialist at all. After calling attention to these two under-appreciated aspects of monkeywrenching, I go on to offer a critique of the ecodefence argument. Finally, I show that there is also a tension between the use of cost/benefit analysis to justify particular acts of ecosabotage and the clandestine nature of those acts.
Risk, Trust and ‘The Beyond’ of the Environment: A Brief Look at the Recent Case of Mad Cow Disease in the United States
Authors: Carolan Michael S.
Published: June 2023

The epistemologically distant nature of many of today's environmental risks greatly problematises conventional risk analyses that emphasise objectivity, materiality, factual specificity and certainty. Such analyses fail to problematise issues of ontology and epistemology, assuming a reality that is readily ‘readable’ and a corresponding knowledge of that reality that is asocial, objective and certain. Under the weight of modern, invisible, manufactured environmental risks, however, these assumptions begin to crack, revealing their tenuous nature. As this paper argues, statements of risk are ultimately social products that come to us by way of translation. They are statements not of what is (ontology) but of knowledge (epistemology) expressed in probabilistic terms, and are thus thoroughly social in nature, for it is we – through our actions and social networks – that imbue them with meaning. One way we do this is through our social relations of trust. And it is this relationship – between trust and risk – that this paper seeks to detail both conceptually and empirically (while remaining grounded in a realist philosophy of science). While one could look toward any number of case studies to develop the conceptual details of this project, this paper focuses on the relatively recent (and first) case of mad cow disease to have been reported within the United States. Here, we have an epistemologically distant, and thus hotly contested, ‘object’ (or is it?), which has been the source of much risk debate; a debate that is also, in part, the effect of a deeper erosion of trust, particularly toward those managing our meat supply.
Thoreau's Aesthetics and ‘The Domain of the Superlative’
Authors: Phillips Dana
Published: June 2023

Recently, ‘ecocritics’ have tried to show how literature might help us weather the global environmental crisis both emotionally and intellectually. Their arguments have been based, in part, on the assumption that despite its obvious strengths natural science has well-defined intellectual and ethical ‘limits’, and that environmental values are (therefore) best articulated by concerned humanists more in touch with the imagination. This essay addresses some of the problems faced by green humanists in their uneasy, mistrustful relationship with natural science, using passages from Thoreau as touchstone texts and juxtaposing those passages with remarks made by Bachelard, Coleridge, Stevens, Nietzsche, and Kant.
Response to Brady, Phillips and Rolston
Authors: Stewart Susan
Published: June 2023

A response to conference papers by Brady, Phillips, and Rolston on aesthetics and environmentalism, this essay argues that sound environmental policy might begin with basic questions about the purpose and extent of human life, for such policies shape human nature as they also shape the phenomenal world. Decisions based upon short-lived economic conditions cannot provide those long-term benefits necessary for the preservation of the environment. Aesthetic judgments, because they are reflective, help us anthropomorphise ourselves; along with scientific judgments, they might serve as foundational, rather than auxiliary, practices for determining the future of our finite planet.
Environmentalism: Spiritual, Ethical, Political
Authors: Smith Michael
Published: June 2023

The normative foundations of the environmental movement can be thought of in a range of different ways. The present paper is a commentary on very interesting papers by Thomas Dunlap, Thomas Hill and Kimberly Smith, who take up the spiritual, ethical and political perspectives respectively. Their accounts are described and evaluated.
Climate Change Discussions in Washington: A Matter of Contending Perspectives
Authors: Maccracken Michael C.
Published: June 2023

The scientific evidence and understanding underpinning societal responsibility for the accelerating pace of climate change has become increasingly strong over the past hundred years. Although many nations have begun to take actions that have the potential to eventually slow the pace of change, contention over the issue continues in the United States, particularly in the nation's capital. A major cause appears to arise from different interpretations of the evidence arising from different perspectives on the issue, including those of the scientific, environmental, fossil-fuel generating, technological, economic and ethical communities. In addition, the public encounters a cacophony of intermixed perspectives from the media and elected officials. While each perspective provides some useful insights, each alone contributes to inhibiting development of the national political consensus needed to responsibly address climate change. Without leadership that balances and reconciles competing perspectives, it is unlikely that a sufficient limiting of emissions will be enacted to prevent significant changes in climate that will impose increasing challenges for those in both developing and developed nations.
Gender, Values and Power in Local Environmental Conflicts: The Case of Grassroots Organisations in North Catalonia
Authors: Agüera-Cabo Mercè
Published: June 2023

Not much attention has been paid to gender in environmental management and decision-making. This article explores how a gender dimension can contribute to the environmental debate by means of a comparative study of three environmental grassroots organisations in the North of Catalonia (Spain). The study shows that gender is significant for distinguishing different priorities between women and men in local conflicts and in environmental interests in general. The analysis of unequal power relations between genders in grassroots organisations leads us to discuss how women have fewer opportunities to influence the environmental debate and to advance their ideas. The concluding thoughts stress the need for developing a gender dimension in environmental management and decision-making, considering the opportunities that are presented by emerging governance practices, and particularly by participatory processes.
Darwinian Humanism: A Proposal for Environmental Philosophy
Authors: Kirkman Robert
Published: June 2023

There are two distinct strands within modern philosophical ethics that are relevant to environmental philosophy: an empiricist strand that seeks a naturalist account of human conduct and a humanist strand rooted in a conception of transcendent human freedom. Each strand has its appeal, but each also raises both strategic and theoretical problems for environmental philosophers. Based on a reading of Kant's critical solution to the antinomy of freedom and nature, I recommend that environmental philosophers consider the possibility of a Darwinian humanism, through which moral agents are understood as both free and causally intertwined with the natural world.
To Be the Tortoise or the Hare: What is Right for FreshMenu?
Authors: Kumari Deepa , Kovid Raj K. , Oberoi Swati
Published: June 2023

This teaching case looks at the food-tech industry in India, the cloud kitchen space, in general, and a key player in this space FreshMenu, in particular. The FreshMenu case views two competing objectives: the scalability versus profitability of an internet-run entrepreneurial firm. The firm operates in an entrepreneurial ecosystem with different dynamics than traditional businesses. The case offers a historical perspective of the food-tech industry in India, the development of the cloud kitchen space, and the latter’s pros and cons. The case focuses on the evolution of FreshMenu and its founder’s dilemma. Despite being one of the first movers in the cloud kitchen space, FreshMenu has come across as the has-been for scalability and funding. Its founder ended up pitted against her close competitors—Rebel Foods Private Limited, Innerchef and Poncho Hospitality Limited. In an entrepreneurial world, where scalability is valued more than profitability, are the founder’s fears real or mythical? As the famous fable ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’ unfolded in the mind of FreshMenu’s founder, the picture of FreshMenu’s position became clearer.
The American Dreamers: The Effects of Media Coverage of Immigrants’ Age-at-Arrival
Authors: Madrigal Guadalupe
Published: June 2023

The Dreamers have become a driving force of policy and politics in the last two decades. Public opinion polls suggest that most Americans hold favorable attitudes towards Dreamers—more favorable than their attitudes about immigrants more broadly. This study suggests that age-at-arrival is a significant driving characteristic of this support. In 2019, I ran a 2-wave survey experiment in which respondents read a news story about an undocumented immigrant that either migrated at eleven or 21 years old. Respondents in the lower age-at-arrival condition reported more support for the immigrant; and this effect was most pronounced among those who were more opposed to immigration in general. A second 2-wave survey conducted in 2021 explored two possible mechanisms behind the impact of age-at-arrival: attitudes towards (a) assimilation and (b) attribution of responsibility. Results are considered as they relate to ongoing debates about Dreamers, media coverage, and attitudes about immigration.
After High School, What’s Next? Exploring Refugee Youths’ Perceptions and Preparations Around College Choice and Transition
Authors: Cureton Ashley , Aguinaldo Erick
Published: June 2023

Higher education can offer refugee youth a route to economic advancement and improved quality of life. However, the decision to pursue college poses a unique set of challenges and considerations. Drawing on Perna’s conceptual model of student college choice, this study employs a phenomenological approach to examine refugee students’ motivations and perceptions of college as well as their career aspirations. Semi-structured interviews with 15 refugee students revealed a strong desire to go to college and pursue a STEM career; an unfamiliarity with the college process; and a preference for community colleges. Modifications to using Perna’s model to better capture refugee youth’s college choice experiences are discussed. Findings from this study yields important insights regarding how high schools can offer guidance to refugee youth on the college choice process.
Vibro-acoustic characteristics of a submarine model excited by excitation forces of pump-jet duct
Authors: Zhang Junyue , Li Huiyao , Hua Hongxing
Published: June 2023

The vibro-acoustic responses of coupled pump-jet-submarine systems excited by fluid excitations on the wall of the duct are numerically investigated. The unsteady excitations are calculated by computational fluid dynamics and the vibration responses for different excitations on the inner and outer walls are contrastively analyzed through establishing a finite element model of the coupled system. Meanwhile, the effect of fluid–structure interaction and the excitation loading methods for the inner flow of duct are considered. The sound radiation characteristics for different excitation sources are predicted through using a boundary element model. The results show that the excitation force spectra of the inner wall have a remarkable discrete peak at blade passing frequency and its multiple, while the excitation force spectra of the outer wall show a broadband characteristic and discrete components appear at blade passing frequency. The modes of hull both dominate the vibro-acoustic responses of the coupled system for different excitation sources of the duct. The transmitted energy for inner excitation forces is significantly greater than that of outer excitation forces, but the sound radiation efficiency is relatively close. The excitations of the duct can transfer to the thrust bearing through stators as well as the hull and cause a coupled vibration between the duct–stator–hull and the shafting system. Besides, the method for applying distributed forces on the inner wall is more reliable.
Exploring the Role of Traditional Women Society Membership Among West African Immigrant Women Who Have Experienced Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
Authors: Akinsulure-Smith Adeyinka M. , Andjembe Etogho Elvine Belinda , Genco Simge Huyal
Published: June 2023

This study explores the complex nature of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) by juxtaposing the mental and sexual health of women who had undergone FGM/C as part of initiation/membership into a traditional women's society (TWS) with those who were also cut but not initiated into a TWS. While considerable differences emerged between TWS members and nonmembers, there was no evidence that TWS membership was protective against the physical and psychological trauma typically ascribed to FGM/C. In fact, the pattern of results would tend to suggest the opposite. Possible explanations for and implications of these findings are discussed.
Effect of Educational Intervention Program on Self-Efficacy of Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in South-East, Nigeria
Authors: Okafor Christiana Nkiru , Onyenekwe Chinedu Charles , Okonkwo Uchenna Prosper , Umunnah Joseph Onuuwa , Okoro Chukwuemeka Chukwubuikem , Mbanuzuru Ahaoma Victor , Agunwah Ukamaka Elizabeth , Odira Chika Chioma , Makata Eucharia Ngozi , Nwankwo Chinenye Mercy
Published: June 2023

Objectives:

Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic disease, which requires a level of confidence among the sufferers in its management. This study investigated the effect of an educational intervention program on self-efficacy (SE) in diabetic individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus in South-East, Nigeria.

Methods:

The study was a quasi-experimental controlled study, comprising 382 individuals with type 2 DM selected, and assigned to intervention (IG) and control groups (CG). The instrument for data collection was the Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Efficacy Scale (SCDS). Pretest data were collected, and thereafter education on diabetes management was given to the IG group. The IG was followed up for 6 months. At the end of 6 months, post-test data were collected using the same instrument. Data were analyzed using Pearson Chi-square test statistics. A P-value less than .05 alpha level was considered significant.

Results:

There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups before intervention. However, after 6 months of intervention, a significant proportion of participants’ scores in IG moved from low to either moderate, or high SE in almost all the SE domains ( P < .05.

Conclusions:

There was an improvement in most domains of self-efficacy in the intervention group after 6 months of educational intervention.
Massive Biventricular Thrombi in a Patient with Endometrial Adenocarcinoma Diagnosed on Computed Tomography Angiography
Authors: Barforoshi Shiva , Sharim Justin , Budoff Matthew J
Published: June 2023

Biventricular thrombi are a rare clinical entity and only reported in several case reports. Given ventricular thrombi are high risk for cardioembolic events, accurate detection and therapeutic management has an important influence on clinical outcomes. We present a case of a patient with biventricular thrombi that was initially diagnosed on computed tomography angiography, emphasizing its clinical utility as a rapid, non-invasive imaging modality for early detection.
Institutional incentives and contentious politics in post-Neoliberal Latin America (1985–2010)
Authors: Hatab Shimaa
Published: June 2023

The article focuses on the supply-side of protest activity in Latin America in the post-neoliberal era. It argues that parties’ cohesive voting in Congress under different power constellations and parties’ voter-linkage strategies create institutional conditions of power collusion, inter-branch stalemate, or party erosion that delineates political terrain for social mobilization. First, the firm control of a single party or coalition over the executive and legislature with cohesive voting of party members in line with party leadership denotes power collusion and incites underrepresented actors to protest. Second, the dislocation in the executive-legislative relations (either with party members voting against the president’s proposals in a majority government or with cohesive opposition bloc(s) acting against the president’s will in a minority government) leads to policy immobilism and pushes legislative parties to ignite popular discontent. Third, more programmatic party linkages increase the degree of party institutionalization and predictability about policy commitment and mitigate struggles in extra-electoral arenas. The theoretical argument is tested with a battery of statistical tests that lend credence to the institutional explanations of mass mobilization. This is corroborated with empirical cases that show the plausibility of the statistical findings in particular contexts.
Changing teacher educator cognition within a collaborative teacher education programme for CLIL: A case study in China
Authors: Zhu Yan , Liu Yue , Yang Nana , Newton Jonathan
Published: June 2023

This study reports on a six-month collaborative teacher education programme designed to support the implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in the Chinese primary education context. ‘Activity theory’ was used as an analytical framework to investigate the changes in cognition regarding CLIL experienced by two teacher educators – one at district level and the other at school level – and the factors that contributed to shifts in their cognition. Thematic analysis was conducted on data consisting of semi-structured interviews, field notes, a reflective report, and project meeting minutes. Results indicate that for both teacher educators, the programme functioned as an activity system that facilitated the emergence of advanced cognition of CLIL over the six months of the project, and did so along two distinct trajectories, one focusing on pedagogical applications of CLIL tenets and the other centring on implementing CLIL as an educational policy. The results also show how the collaborative nature of the teacher education programme fostered the expression of diverse views as well as shared motives through frequent interaction and co-construction of knowledge. As such, it offers a viable alternative to more traditional top-down approaches that are used to foster the professional development of teacher educators.
Exploring implementation processes of a parent-targeted educational video for improving newborn pain treatment: A sequential exploratory mixed-methods study
Authors: Larocque Catherine , Venegas Carolina Lavin , Dunn Sandra , Campbell-Yeo Marsha , Gilmore Lucy , Harrold JoAnn , Hu Jiale , McArthur Leanne , Modanloo Shokoufeh , Nicholls Stuart G , O’Flaherty Pat , Premji Shahirose Sadrudin , Reszel Jessica , Semenic Sonia , Squires Janet E , Stevens Bonnie , Taljaard Monica , Trepanier Marie-Josee , Venter Kathy , Wilding Jodi , Harrison Denise
Published: June 2023

Despite known analgesic effects of breastfeeding (BF), skin-to-skin care (SSC), and sweet solutions (sucrose) for newborns, these interventions remain underutilized. Our team produced a five-minute parent-targeted video (BSweet2Babies) demonstrating BF, SSC, and sucrose during newborn blood sampling. We conducted a sequential exploratory mixed-methods study with eight maternal-newborn units across Ontario, Canada to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing the video and the three pain management strategies.

Over a 6-month period, data collection included 15 telephone interviews, two email communications, and three community of practice teleconferences with the participating sites ( n = 8). We used the Theoretical Domains Framework as the coding matrix. Participants discussed integrating the video in prenatal education and the importance of involving leadership when planning for practice change. Key barriers included lack of comfort with parental presence, perception of high complexity of the strategies, short postpartum stays, competing priorities, and interprofessional challenges. Key facilitators included alignment with the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, modeling by Lactation Consultants, and frequent reminders.
How emergency response teams access tactical armoured vehicles in Canada
Authors: Towns Zachary , Ricciardelli Rosemary , Cyr Kevin
Published: June 2023

As Canadian police services rely on their emergency response teams (ERT) to respond to different calls for service, their reliance also requires police services to possess the equipment necessary to support their ERT. Since 2004, an ongoing trend remains that police services procure tactical armoured vehicles (TAVs) for their ERTs. In the current article, we explore trends in the procurement of TAVs by Canadian police services comparatively, drawing on two distinct data sets. The first is a content analysis derived from news media and the second is the result of a survey of ERTs across Canadian police services. Our purpose is to explore different trends in the procurement of TAVs by police services, looking comparatively at secondary sources and primary data to better understand the composition of ERTs, the positioning of TAVs within tactical policing and shed light on whether some TAVs are procured more often than others. Discussion centres on the relationship between TAVs and ERT –the need versus desire for TAVs – as well as how policing needs are interpreted and impacted by calls to defund the police.
(Re)considering equity, inclusion and belonging in the updating of the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia: The potential and pitfalls of book sharing
Authors: Adam Helen , Barblett Lennie , Kirk Gill , Boutte Gloria S
Published: June 2023

Few would dispute the importance of equity, inclusion and belonging in early childhood education and care, yet translation into meaningful practice rarely centres the priorities of historically divested communities. The national learning framework for early childhood in Australia is the Early Years Learning Framework, positioning the child as a capable agent and describing inclusive, culturally competent practice. This article presents part of a larger study investigating educators’ beliefs and practices when using culturally diverse literature to address the Early Years Learning Framework’s diversity principles. A critical theoretical framework enables a robust examination of how the Early Years Learning Framework constructs, maintains, legitimises and/or disaffirms social inequities, implicitly probing how literacy education mediate/s messages children receive about their identity, cultures and roles in society. The findings suggest that instead of pursuing anti-racism and transformative justice, educators’ pedagogical practices were likely to legitimise existing racist structures. The findings are discussed in relation to 20 recommendations published by a consortium of experts in the updating of the Early Years Learning Framework. The implementation of the updated Early Years Learning Framework must act on questions of justice for whom and according to whom. To move to ideologies, methodologies and pedagogies of potentiality, it is necessary to interrogate and reject oppressive and harmful practices, inaccurate and insensitive portrayals, and pedagogies damaging to Black, Indigenous, and other communities of Color which this study shows have beenevident in the EYLF to date.
Synergetic enrichment of aggrecan in nucleus pulposus cells by scAAV6-shRNA-mediated knockdown of aggrecanase-1 and aggrecanase-2
Authors: Shenegelegn Mern Demissew , Thomé Claudius
Published: June 2023

Degenerative disk disease (DDD) that aggravates structural deterioration of intervertebral disks (IVDs) can be accompanied by painful inflammation and immunopathological progressions. Current surgical or pharmacological therapies cannot repair the structure and function of IVDs. Nucleus pulposus (NP) cells are crucial for the preservation or restoration of IVDs by balancing the anabolic and catabolic factors affecting the extracellular matrix. Imbalanced anabolic and catabolic factors cause increased degradation of aggrecan. Aggrecanases A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase with ThromboSpondin motifs (ADAMTS)4 and ADAMTS5 are the main degrading enzymes of aggrecan. Previously, we characterized adeno-associated virus (AAV6) as the most suitable serotype with marked NP cellular tropism and demonstrated that ADAMTS4 could be silenced by self-complementary adeno-associated virus grade 6 small helix ribonucleic acid (scAAV6-shRNA) in NP cells of degeneration grade III, which resulted in enrichment of aggrecan. Nonetheless, neither scAAV6-shRNA-mediated inhibition of ADAMTS5 nor joint inhibitions of ADAMTS4 and ADAMTS5 have been investigated, although both enzymes are regulated by analogous proinflammatory cytokines and have the same cleavage sites in aggrecan. Therefore, we attempted scAAV6-shRNA-mediated inhibitions of both enzymes in NP cells of degeneration grade IV to increase efficacies in treatments of DDD. The degeneration grade of IVDs in patients was determined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before surgical operations. After isolation and culturing of NP cells, cells were transduced with scAAV6-shRNAs targeting ADAMTS4 or ADAMTS5. Transduced cells were analyzed by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry-assisted cell sorting (FACS), MTT assay (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay), immunoblotting, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Joint transduction of NP cells exhibited high transduction efficacies (98.1%), high transduction units (TU) (1381 TU/Cell), and no effect on cell viability or proliferation. Above all joint treatments resulted in effective knockdown of ADAMTS4 (92.8%) and ADAMTS5 (93.4%) along with additive enrichment of aggrecan (113.9%). Treatment effects were significant for more than 56 days after transduction ( P < 0.001). In conclusion, scAAV6-shRNA-mediated combined molecular therapy could be very valuable for more effective, durable, and less immunogenic treatment approaches in DDD.
Masterminding Hippocampal Circuits by Transplanting Human GABAergic Interneurons to Treat Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
Authors: Gupta Jyoti , Naegele Janice R.
Published: June 2023

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Consistent subsets: Computing the Houtman–Maks index in Stata
Authors: Demetry Marcos , Hjertstrand Per
Published: June 2023

The Houtman–Maks index is a measure of the size of a violation of utility-maximizing (that is, rational) behavior. In this article, we introduce the command hmindex, which calculates the Houtman–Maks index for a dataset of prices and observed choices of a consumer. The command is illustrated with an empirical application.
Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Reliability of the Toddler Sensory Profile 2 for Brazilian Children Aged 7 to 35 Months
Authors: Almohalha Lucieny , Santos Jair Lício Ferreira , Pfeifer Luzia Iara
Published: June 2023

Aim

To organize a cross-cultural adaptation study and analyze the reproducibility and test-retest reliability of a Brazilian version of the Toddler Sensory Profile 2 (TSP2Br) for children aged 7–35 months.

Methods

The English language version of the profile was translated and culturally adapted into Brazilian Portuguese, administered to 168 caregivers of toddlers aged 7–35 months, and then re-administered to a portion of the sample (39 caregivers; 23%) for 7–14 days for test-retest reliability. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability was analyzed using the Cronbach’s alpha and kappa coefficient, respectively. As it is a norm-referenced standardized assessment, the cut-off scores used were 1.0 and 2.0 standard deviations above and below the mean for each group of items established as the preliminary cut-off scores for the Brazilian children.

Results

The TSP2Br showed good internal consistency (>0.70) when measured on the total scale; however, when it was analyzed for sensory areas, five to seven areas presented alpha values <.70. By quadrants, alpha was <.70, for all items. The test-retest values fell into the category of near-perfect agreement (.89–.97). The preliminary cut-off points of the Brazilian scores were distinct from those of the Americans.

Conclusions

The TSP2Br showed preliminary reliability and validity in the identification of sensory processing problems in Brazilian children aged 7–35 months; however, it would be necessary to increase the sample size to generalize our findings to the general Brazilian population.
Safety and efficacy of transgraft internal trapping after proximal internal carotid artery ligation with high-flow bypass
Authors: Dofuku Shogo , Tsuruta Wataro , Hosoo Hisayuki , Hara Takayuki , Matsumaru Yuji
Published: June 2023

Objective

Proximal internal carotid artery (ICA) ligation with high-flow bypass is an important vascular reconstructive technique for giant ICA aneurysms or skull base tumors involving the ICA to control intraoperative bleeding. Retrograde or collateral blood flow occasionally remains postoperatively and requires complete internal trapping. Although transgraft internal trapping is one of the options, there are few reports on transgraft treatment. The purpose of this study was to report our experience of transgraft internal trapping and evaluate the safety and efficacy of this procedure.

Methods

We retrospectively selected patients who underwent transgraft internal trapping after proximal ICA ligation with high-flow bypass between January 2012 and June 2020.

Results

We encountered five cases of this procedure (one aneurysm case and four tumor cases). The median duration between the bypass and transgraft internal trapping was 12 days. In four out of five cases, a guiding catheter could be placed in the graft. No disruption of the anastomosis was observed. Transgraft internal trapping was achieved in all five cases with detachable coils. All treatments could be completed safely without any adverse events, including ischemic and hemorrhagic complications.

Conclusions

Transgraft internal trapping after proximal ICA ligation with high-flow bypass may be an option for preventing residual retrograde blood flow.
A new approach to controlling an active suspension system based on reinforcement learning
Authors: Dridi Issam , Hamza Anis , Ben Yahia Noureddine
Published: June 2023

Active suspension provides better vehicle control and safety on the road with optimal driving comfort compared to passive suspension. Achieving this requires a good control system that can adapt to any environment. This article uses a deep reinforcement learning method to develop an optimal neural network that meets the comfort requirements according to ISO 2631-5 standards. The algorithm trains the agent without any prior knowledge of the environment. Various simulations were performed, and the results were validated with the literature and the standard until the appropriate reward function was found. Simple and consistent road profiles were used while maintaining constant system parameters during training. The results show that suspension based on deep reinforcement learning reduces vehicle body acceleration and improves ride comfort without sacrificing suspension deflection and dynamic tire loading. The controller expects the RMS value of the acceleration to be 0.228 with a minimum overrun of the suspended mass.
Gating system design and casting simulation application for the grooved worm wheel by using zinc alloy sand casting process
Authors: Jin Chul Kyu
Published: June 2023

Bottom-up gated filling system was performed to produce worm wheel through a sand casting of zinc alloy. It was a symmetrical design in which two worm wheels were cast at once, the worm wheel was erected in the direction of gravity and had a gating system in which molten zinc alloy were poured from below. The recovery rate of the designed mold cavity was 60%. Casting analysis was performed to check that the worm wheel was sequentially filled without turbulent flow as the molten zinc alloy passed through the gate. Though the speed of the molten zinc alloy initially poured was unstable, it became stabilized while maintaining a constant speed due to the continuous inflow. The results of directional solidification were confirmed. An integrated mold cavity pattern was fabricated by 3D printer, and sand mold were manufactured accordingly. A sound worm wheel without defects could be fabricated through sand casting.