bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strategies to Promote Better Outcomes in Young People with Chronic Illnesses
Authors: Yeo M , Sawyer SM
Published: December 2023

Introduction: This paper aims to provide an overview of chronic illness and disability in young people, focusing on the developmental needs of young people and the impact of chronic illness on adolescence. The emotional well-being of the young person with chronic illness is explored and strategies that promote better health outcomes for the young person through health, family and school settings are discussed.

Methods: Literature was searched using Medline from 1980 to 2002 using the keywords chronic illness, chronic disease, disability, psychological, social, outcomes and transition. Articles were also hand searched from retrieved articles.

Conclusions: Young people with chronic illness have the same developmental needs as other adolescents. Traditional health care is focused on disease outcomes; however, young people do not necessarily share the same focus. Improving health outcomes for young people involves health professionals having an understanding of adolescent development and broadening the medical perspective to incorporate the developmental perspective. Building competence in young people with chronic illness, strengthening connectedness within the family, school and peer group and building the capacity of the health care team in different settings will provide opportunities to enhance resilience in young people with chronic illness. In doing so, their health outcomes will hopefully also be improved.
From Recreation to Creative Expression: The Essential Features of an Adolescent Inpatient Psychosocial Support Programme
Authors: McFerran-Skewes K , Sawyer SM
Published: December 2023

Introduction: Adolescent Inpatient Units are now an established component of leading tertiary children’s hospitals in the developed world. While different methods have been used to provide psychosocial support in these settings, there is little recent literature about these programmes. We aimed to identify programme goals and to explore the features that are thought to underpin an effective programme.

Materials and Methods: A qualitative paradigm was used to identify the essential features of the psychosocial support programme within the adolescent inpatient unit, Royal Children’s Hospital, by drawing on the practice wisdom of experts involved in the development of the psychosocial support programme since its inception over a decade ago. In-depth interviews were conducted that were analysed thematically following recording and transcription.

Results: Seven out of nine identified professionals were interviewed. These staff identified that while the psychosocial support programme had focussed on different activities since its inception, the goals of the program had been consistent over time. The essential underpinning features were reported to be support for the programme and communication between multidisciplinary health professionals. When this was effective, the overarching role of the programme was reported to be the promotion of identity formation in adolescents.

Conclusions: This small-scale qualitative investigation reveals that identity formation has consistently been the focus of the psychosocial support programme in our adolescent unit, despite the different ways the programme has been run over time. Findings about the importance of support and communication are essential knowledge for those considering the implementation of similar programmes.
Craniofacial Anomalies: Clinical and Molecular Perspectives
Authors: Cohen Jr M Michael
Published: December 2023

The first three disorders discussed are abnormalities of bone: too little bone in cleidocranial dysplasia caused by mutations in RUNX2; too much bone in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva with overexpression of BMP4; and abnormal bone in McCune-Albright syndrome and fibrous dysplasia caused by mutations in GNAS1. Disorders of the sonic hedgehog signaling network are discussed next, including holoprosencephaly and the nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome, the former being caused by sonic hedgehog (SHH) mutations and the latter being caused by patched mutations (PTCH).
Inovasi Menuju Transformasi Digital dalam Pelayanan Publik Kajian Sistem Manajemen Pelayanan Desa (SIMPEDA) di Desa Balung Lor
Authors: Cahya Ningtyas Vella Nur , Angin Ria
Published: December 2023

Digital transformation is largely seen as a cultural shift that changes the way governments work, communicate, and deliver services, but can also have far-reaching implications, including changing organizational structures and cultures. One of the efforts made by the Jember Regency Government to innovate in digital transformation is by launching the SIMPEDA (Village Service Management System) application for villages in Jember Regency, one of which is Balung Lor Village. This research aims to describe the service transformation process before and after the existence of SIMPEDA in Balung Lor Village. This research uses a qualitative descriptive research method by collecting data through interviews, observation and documentation. The results of the research show that the implementation of the SIMPEDA innovation has gone very well in Bakung Lor Village and they have benefited from this innovation even though there are also negative impacts. Apart from that, according to the study findings, researchers found weaknesses. The theory put forward by Rogers does not cover innovation culture. Rogers' theory does not explain how innovation culture also requires changes in behavior in providing services from manual to digital-based.
Analisis Penerapan Pendekatan dan Model Pembelajaran Mata Pelajaran Bahasa Indonesia di Kelas IV Sekolah Dasar
Authors: Aulia Annisa , Rahmadita Annisa Aulia , Putri Azlia Anugerah , Sekarani Fira , Zakiyyah Nuralifah , Rahmania Tia , Mayarni Mayarni
Published: December 2023

The purpose of this research is to analyze the implementation of approaches and learning models in the Indonesian language subject at the Elementary School level. The subjects of this study are fourth-grade teachers in several public elementary schools located in Jakarta. The research employs a qualitative descriptive method through techniques such as interviews, observations, and literature reviews (library research). The findings of the study reveal that many teachers use contextual approaches and the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) model in teaching Indonesian language in the classroom. This is because these approaches and models are considered more suitable for the current development and needs of students.
Pengaruh Pendekatan Permainan dalam Kartu Pinmat Math Hero terhadap Pemahaman Matematika di Tingkat Sekolah Dasar
Authors: Mohammad Wily , Maulidiyah Nabilla Ryca
Published: December 2023

This qualitative research investigates the use of the Math Hero Flashcards in elementary school children's mathematics education. Math Hero Flashcards are specially designed learning tools aimed at enhancing mathematical understanding, accuracy, and mastery of arithmetic operations for numbers 1-10 through interactive games. The study involves direct observation, interviews, and interactive play with children with the aim of understanding the effects of Math Hero Flashcards on children's mathematical understanding, learning motivation, and interest. The results of the research indicate that the use of Math Hero Flashcards enhances elementary school children's mathematical understanding, fosters motivation for learning, and creates a more enjoyable learning experience. However, some interview participants mentioned that they had found alternatives in the form of math game apps on their phones. Therefore, this research underscores the need for integration between physical learning tools like Math Hero Flashcards and learning technology to achieve holistic and engaging mathematics education for children.
Systematic Literature Review: Kemampuan Menulis Matematis dan Resiliensi Matematis 2019-2023
Authors: Arvianti Kharisa Rahma
Published: December 2023

Mathematical writing ability significantly impacts students' learning success as it reflects the depth of their understanding of the learning material. Students demonstrating a high level of mathematical resilience can tackle complex issues and obstacles in mathematics learning. The aim of this research is to describe the theoretical framework in studies related to mathematical writing ability and mathematical resilience from 2019 to 2023, as well as to depict trends related to research on mathematical writing ability and mathematical resilience during this period. The research utilizes the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method by examining 17 relevant articles. The findings reveal various definitions and indicators collected in the research. Three dominant indicators are used in studies on mathematical writing ability, and six indicators according to Sumarmo are employed in research on mathematical resilience. Trends in related research tend towards qualitative research types, particularly at the junior high school and high school education levels.
ETHNOGRAPHY RESEARCH IN EDUCATIONAL: A LITERATURE REVIEW
Authors: Fansury Andi Hamzah , Rampeng Rampeng
Published: December 2023

Ethnography is a type of qualitative research that gathers observations, interviews, and documentary data to produce detailed and comprehensive accounts of different social phenomena. Ethnographic study helps in developing the theoretical base for problems in education of a particular group. Ethnographic research does not often start with a strong theoretical base, not it is much concerned with theory testing. There may be theory development, but formal theory enters research only after its relevance has been established. In ethnographic research, theory emerges from the data as grounded theory- not as preconceived theory. Ethnographic study helps in the development of a theory as it does not simply tabulate that a certain behavior has occurred, but it attempts to understand what the behavior means the persons under study.
Abnormal Returns around the Announcement of Covid-19 Cases on Stock Prices in Indonesia
Authors:   Department of Economic and Bisnis, Universitas Tarumanagara, Jakarta, Indonesia., Yusbardini Yusbardini
Published: December 2023

The purpose of this study is to find out whether there is a difference in abnormal returns on the day around the first announcement of the COVID-19 case and to find out whether there is a difference in abnormal returns after and before the first announcement of the COVID-19 case in Indonesia in pharmaceutical industry stocks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The population in this study are pharmaceutical companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. While the sampling technique was purposive sampling. The data analysis technique used in this study was a one-sample t-test on normally distributed data and one sample Wilcoxon signed ranked test for abnormally distributed data for days around the announcement of Covid 19. The results of this study show whether there is no difference in abnormal returns around the announcement of Covid -19. And also there is no difference in abnormal returns 5 days before and after the announcement of Covid 19.
Post-Pandemic Assessment of COVID-19’s Impact on Tourist Accommodation Businesses in Tamale Metropolis, Ghana
Authors:   Department of Ecotourism and Hospitality Management, Nyankpala Campus, Ansong Lydia Panyin , Wuleka Kuuder Conrad-J. ,   Department of Ecotourism and Hospitality Management, Nyankpala Campus, Adzo Doke Dzigbodi ,   Department of Environment and Sustainability Studies, Nyankpala Campus
Published: December 2023

The study was carried out to ascertain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourist accommodation businesses in the Tamale Metropolis. Simple random sampling techniques were employed to select 30 tourist accommodation facilities for inclusion in the study. Qualitative data were sourced using semi-structured interview guides and thus analyzed through putting same into themes and sub-themes. The findings revealed that the pandemic had “damming” impacts on tourist accommodation businesses due to travel bans and border closures. In order to control the effects of the pandemic, many hotel managers decided to cancel external contracts, ‘slash’ employees’ pay, terminate some employee appointments and raise or lower service prices to cut down costs. It was also revealed that hotels were often concerned with issues of health and safety and took several precautions to avoid viral infections. The study recommends the adoption of recent technologies such as facial scan, self-check-in and check-out including the use of automatic door technologies to improve safety. Government also needs to swiftly provide financial support for SMEs operating within the tourism and hospitality value chain aimed at revamping the industry.
The Use of Intentionalism, Textualism, Purposivism, Lenity, and the Absurd Doctrine When Evaluating Legislative Intent and Legislative History
Authors:   Morgan State University, Ph.D., Esq. Donald L. Buresh,
Published: December 2023

This essay aims to illustrate how to use effectively the theories of intentionalism, textualism, purposivism, the principle of lenity and the absurd doctrine when a statue or a case is the focus of the analysis. Legislative intent and legislative history of a statute or a case are paramount in this effort. The benefit of using these tools in evaluating federal and state laws. Many legal scholars, practitioners, and students will likely find these techniques valuable. The legal analytical technique of issue, rule, analysis, and conclusion (IRAC) is of fundamental importance when conducting a legal analysis. However, theories of intentionalism, textualism, purposivism, the duty of lenity, and the absurd doctrine are used in the analysis section of an IRAC argument. They increase the competence in the legal profession when fashioning arguments. The more tools that are in a legal scholar’s, practitioner’s, or student’s tool bag, the stronger their arguments, provided that the instruments are used correctly. The intent of this essay is to help those in the legal profession as well as law students use the right tools at the right time. It should be remembered when the only tool that one has is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Thus, adding tools to an individual’s legal tool bag is the goal of this essay.
Implementation of Local Government Policies in Handling Elderly in Paul City
Authors:   Social sciences doctoral program student, Tadulako University, Sabrin Sabrin , Hasbullah Hasbullah ,   Tadulako University, Mangngasing Nasir ,   Tadulako University, Daswati Daswati ,   Tadulako University, Ahsan Sitti Chaeriah ,   Tadulako University
Published: December 2023

This research aims to determine the handling of the elderly in Palu City by looking at the implementation process of Minister of Home Affairs Regulation Number 60 of 2008. The approach used in this research itself is a qualitative descriptive approach. Qualitative research itself is a research that produces and manages descriptive data, such as interview transcripts and observations. While descriptive is a study that seeks to reveal a problem and situation as it is, for this reason researchers are limited to only stating facts and not using hypotheses. The results of this research itself show that the implementation of policies for handling the elderly through the Regional Elderly Committee in Palu City has not gone well. By using the theory put forward by Edward III (1980) as a research basis, it is known that all aspects are not working well. In the communication aspect, it can be seen that there are deficiencies in the transmission dimension and clarity dimension, proving that the communication carried out by the Palu City Regional Commission for the Elderly in implementing the policy for handling the elderly is not working as it should. In the resource aspect, it can be seen that there is a shortage of human resources and budget resources during the process of implementing policies for handling the elderly in Palu City. Meanwhile, in the disposition aspect, it can be seen that several informants did not delegate the handling of the elderly to the technical OPD who understand how to handle the elderly as they should, which shows that there is a lack of coordination among all the administrators of the Palu City Elderly Committee. As for the bureaucratic structure aspect, it can be seen that there is a mismatch between the resource aspect which is not running well and the bureaucratic structure aspect, where the essence of this aspect prioritizes the policy implementation process which must use mechanisms.
Ruminant grazing feeding and methane production
Authors: Vergara-López Juan
Published: December 2023

Climate change limits the release of radiation from the earth's atmosphere, a product of the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) such as CO2, methane, ammonia, among others. Ruminants contribute methane to the atmosphere when fed with low quality forage diets, which in the light of different conservationist organizations, qualifies them as major pollutants. When Venezuela signed the Kyoto Protocol in 2004, it undertook to establish a GHG measurement system, as well as scientific research on the subject; however, there are still no research groups in the country dedicated to the permanent measurement of GHG contributions from these production systems. Grazing pastures and forages of medium to low quality, with high contents of cell wall of low degradability, produce a positive balance towards the generation of methane of enteric origin, which could be mitigated if these feeding schemes are improved, tending to improve the digestibility of basic diets. Methane production by these production systems in the state of Zulia is calculated at 209 Gg, 7.1 % of the total inventoried at the national level; however, the lack of research in this area, as well as of systematic inventories of local herds, prevents obtaining accurate data in this regard.
Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of Curd and Whey Kefir Produced from Etawa Goat Milk
Authors: Sadewi Siwi Meutia , Nurhasanah Nurhasanah , Sudibyo Sudibyo , Windayani Neneng , Kiswandono Agung Abadi , Satria Heri
Published: December 2023

Kefir is a fermented drink with many benefits. Kefir contains antioxidant compounds that can inhibit free radical activity.In addition, kefir contains lactic acid bacteria, which provide good antibacterial activity and improve the health of the digestive tract. This research aimed to determine the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of kefir made from Etawa goat milk. The methods used in this research included fermentation of Etawa goat milk with 10 % kefir seeds at 37 °C and a fermentation time of 2 days. Antioxidant activity was tested using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and antibacterial activity was tested using agar diffusion. The peptide molecular weights in kefir were analyzed using SDS-PAGE. The results showed that the antibacterial and antioxidant activities in Etawa goat's milk curd kefir has a higher activity than whey kefir. The antioxidant activity of curd has an IC50 of 43.99 ppm, which is a powerful antioxidant. Curd's antibacterial activity forms a clear zone of 7 mm against Bacillus cereus and is included in the solid antibacterial category. In Escherichia coli, a clear zone of 6 mm was formed and included in the moderate antibacterial category. The results of SDS-PAGE gel visualization found three prominent bands measuring 10, 15, and 33 kDa, respectively.
Probiotics
Authors:   Department of Periodontics and Implantology, Mahe Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, India, MR Arjun
Published: December 2023

In the last two decades probiotics have become popular and a trend among healthy individuals which enhances their health. Recently probiotics are incorporated into various products in the market specifically diary products which are fermented. These probiotics are being studied and promoted for their use in enhancing human health. There is strong scientific evidence to support the benefits of probiotics. This paper is a literature focusing on the benefits of probiotics.
Epidemiological Specificity оf COVID-19 Comorbidity
Authors: Kabaeva Ekaterina Nikolaevna , Yakushin Mikhail Alexandrovich , Vorobeva Anna Vladimirovna
Published: December 2023

Numerous observations have proven the influence of COVID-19 on the formation of comorbid pathology; however, the patterns of this relationship and the epidemiological consequences have not been sufficiently studied. Combination of two or more diseases of the cardiovascular system is a predictor of adverse outcomes in stroke patients with coronavirus infection, both in the acute period and after hospitalization. Ischemic stroke in patients with COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk of severe post-covid syndrome. The negative impact of the obligatory lockdown on disease outcomes has encouraged the authors to search for new organizational solutions as well as to elaborate appropriate technologies aimed at optimizing medical and social care for people who had no choice but to follow lockdown rules. Obligatory self-isolation, anxiety-depressive disorders, and frequent negative outcomes among these patients require the adoption of new organizational decisions and the development of effective technologies aimed at optimizing medical and social care. The authors conducted an analytical analysis of post-infectious complications in patients with ischemic stroke complicated by COVID-19. The authors conducted a combined retrospective study. Measures for improvement of medical care in stroke patients with concurrent COVID-19 were presented.
Aspects of Healthcare Staffing With Specialists in Healthcare Organization and Public Health in Moscow
Authors: Tregubov Valeriy N. , Shestakov Dmitriy D.
Published: December 2023

Introduction. How many public health and healthcare organization professionals a health facility has on staff has a significant impact on the integration of all functional units, the ability to successfully address pressing issues, and the quality and safety of medical care.
Purpose. The goal was to conduct a comparative analysis of staffing dynamics in health facilities with public health specialists in Moscow and Russia from 2017 to 2021.
Materials and methods. Statistical, logical, and analytical methods were used. Data on the number of public health specialists in Moscow and Russia, workforce density and quantity of health facilities were obtained from statistical data of the Central Research Institute of Organization and Informatization of Healthcare of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation from 2017 to 2021. The demand for chief physicians, deputy chief physicians, methodologists, and medical statisticians was identified based on job vacancies on job search websites (HeadHunter (hh.ru), SuperJob.ru, zarplata.ru, careerist.ru) at the beginning of 2023.
Result. It was shown that there remained a negative trend in Moscow, Russia, between 2017 and 2021 in the number of heads of medical organizations and their deputies. Conversely, over the five-year period the number of methodologists have increased, and the number of medical statisticians remained virtually the same. There are open positions for experts in healthcare organization and public health in the Moscow healthcare system, despite the established network of academic and educational institutions for the training of medical specialists.
Resource Provision of the Obstetric Service of St. Petersburg with Beds and Medical Personnel
Authors: Moiseeva Karina Ev.
Published: December 2023

Introduction. In the context of a declining birth rate, maintaining and improving the level of women's reproductive health is the main task in the activities of the obstetric service, the normal functioning of which is impossible without satisfactory resource provision.
Purpose. To conduct a comparative assessment of the resource provision of the obstetric service of St. Petersburg with obstetric beds and medical personnel with indicators in the Russian Federation and the Northwestern Federal District in dynamics for 2017–2021.
Material and methods. Using the information obtained from statistical collections Federal State Budgetary Institution «Central Research Institute for the Organization and Informatization of Healthcare» of the Ministry of Health of Russia, a comparative assessment of the indicators of the provision of the obstetric service of the metropolis with obstetric beds and medical personnel in dynamics over five years was carried out. Statistical analysis of the obtained data was carried out using StatSoft STATISTICA 10.0.
Results. In 2017–2021 the obstetric service of the metropolis had a lower, compared with Russia and the Northwestern Federal District, availability of obstetric beds, more than half of which were beds for pregnant women and women in childbirth. In the dynamics of the provision of St. Petersburg with obstetric beds in general, beds for pregnant women and women in childbirth, and beds for the pathology of pregnancy, a trend of annual reduction in beds, common with the Russian Federation and the federal district, was observed. However, the rates for all obstetric beds have declined less significantly than the national and county averages. Provision of women of childbearing age in St. Petersburg with obstetrician-gynecologists exceeded the average figures for Russia and the Northwestern Federal District. With the annual negative dynamics of the decrease in the provision of the obstetric service in the Russian Federation and the federal district with medical personnel, in the metropolis the increase in obstetrician-gynecologists for five years was 1.6 %, and the provision with midwives decreased less significantly. The contribution of the metropolis to the obstetric bed fund and medical personnel of the obstetric service of the federal district was more than a third and increased almost every year.
Turkiye – Sudan Relations in Post-Bashir Era
Authors: DEVECİOĞLU Kaan
Published: December 2023

The aim of this study is to scrutinize the diplomatic relations between Turkiye and Sudan post the era of Omar al-Bashir. Historical relations between the Republic of Turkiye, established in 1923 as the successor to the Ottoman Empire, and Sudan have had a positive impact in contemporary times across political, economic, socio-cultural, and security domains. While the relations during the Republican era were relatively limited when Sudan gained independence from Britain, they saw a significant improvement with the administration of Omar al-Bashir and Hasan al-Turabi, who came to power in 1989. Following Turkiye's declaration of "Africa Year" in 2005, Sudan emerged as a prominent country in Ankara's Sub-Saharan Africa policy. Particularly, the African Opening Action Plan initiated in 1998 and the deepening of policies by AK Party governments strengthened relations with Sudan. However, following the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, transitional periods and political crises in Sudan have adversely affected Turkiye – Sudan relations. This study will address these relations during this period, initially focusing on political, economic, security, and socio-cultural parameters. Subsequently, the study will examine the causes of the crisis in Sudan and the trajectory of the relations. Findings from the post-Bashir era indicate that despite challenges, the relations between the two countries have endured. Nevertheless, the escalation of internal disputes in Sudan into conflicts casts uncertainty on the future of these relations.
Early Capitalism in Colonial Missions
Authors: Petterson Christina
Published: December 2023

Drawing on unpublished archival material, this volume compares two Moravian missions, in Greenland and Australia, to demonstrate how their practices evolved over the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries as part of a globalizing world and economy. Delivering in-depth analysis of the far-reaching and deep-seated effects of missionary activity on indigenous communities and social relations, it also explores how the indigenous were ‘othered’ in empire, and the role missionaries played in this process.

Petterson provides an insight into the lives of indigenous peoples, and the missionaries who lived amongst them, at a time of changing identities and socio-economic change. Analysing how missionary practice developed over this period, it also demonstrates how attitudes to and engagement with indigenous peoples transformed. Standing outside of national and imperial boundaries, and ambivalent about the political notion of imperialism and colonisation itself, nonetheless missionaries functioned in parallel with colonial structures, and were part of a broadly culturally colonial mission. On the outskirts of imperial organisation, they were often a crucial part of colonial practice. This book examines both missionaries and indigenous peoples as ‘others’ in imperial systems through the economic and cultural practices of their spiritual colonialism.
Getting Illustration Clients
Authors: Davies Jo , Brazell Derek
Published: December 2023

The commissioning process can be a confusing maze for the commercial illustrator just starting out – so let Getting Illustration Clients be your beacon for success. Written by the duo that brought you Becoming a Successful Illustrator, here Jo Davies and Derek Brazell demystify the commissioning process for commercial illustration, from the point of the view of those hiring and briefing freelance illustrators: the art editors, the designers, the agents and more.

With insider tips that will make your work garner attention and satisfy the needs of the brief, each section is beautifully illustrated with full-colour examples of projects typical to main areas of practice from around the globe. The book features key action points and summaries, as well as case studies from commissioning professionals for Harper Collins, VMLR&Y, Wooga Games and many more. Supporting exercises underpin Jo and Derek’s guidance, to be used off the shelf by students, graduates and early-career professionals working independently.

For the practicing illustrator who wants to see the commissioning process from ‘the other side’, you will always have to hand expert advice on what clients want, how commissioning works and how to get your work noticed. For lecturers in illustration, this is your go-to recommendation for recent graduates looking for advice on the working world of commercial illustration.
The Fear of Chinese Power
Authors: Crean Jeffrey
Published: December 2023

The real and potential power of China, the world’s most populous nation, has long been seen as a threat by its smaller neighbors and global powers alike. The Fear of Chinese Power provides a history of this perceived threat from the 1880s to the present day, and offers rich historical context to an enduring and current concern.

Focusing on the United States, but also exploring perceptions from Britain, Germany, the Soviet Union and Japan, this book asks why these fears exist and shows how they have played out on both a strategic, diplomatic level, and in the public sphere. Taking a chronological approach, the chapters explore themes such as western opposition to Chinese immigration, international views of China’s new republic, hopes of friendship during the rule of Chiang Kai-Shek, the Korean and Cold Wars, Communist China’s economic growth, the Chinese in popular culture and China as a modern global power.
Anti-Racism as Communism
Authors: Gomberg Paul
Published: December 2023

In the United States there have been brilliant examples of anti-racist struggle—black soldiers in the Civil War, coal miners of Alabama, and especially the anti-racist working-class struggles led by the Communist Party. Yet racism persists: Jim Crow replaced racial slavery, and mass incarceration has replaced Jim Crow. Why? Paul Gomberg argues that racism is functional for capitalism, supplying low-wage, vulnerable labor and driving down conditions for all workers. How can anti-racists put an end to racist society? Gomberg argues for race-centered Marxism: anti-racism must lead working-class struggle, but racism will end only in a communist society that creates opportunity for all.
Teaching Creative Writing
Authors: Vanderslice Stephanie
Published: December 2023

The only textbook of its kind, this is an all-in-one introduction to the history, theories and practices of teaching creative writing in higher education, covering such topics as: damaging myths and pervasive lore; the use of revision; inclusive spaces and workshops; genre in creative writing; working multi-modally; assessing and grading work; and teaching creative writing online. This book will lead teachers through creating their own syllabi, course plans, and statements of teaching philosophies, and features capsule interviews with experts of key topics and teacher guides to using the book in an online companion resource
Developing a Neo-Peircean Approach to Signs
Authors: Jappy Tony
Published: December 2023

This book takes up the most important of Charles Sanders Peirce’s undeveloped semiotic concepts and highlights their theoretical interest for a general semiotics.

Peirce’s career as a logician spanned almost half a century, during which time he produced several increasingly complex sign systems. The best-known, from 1903, included a signifying process involving sign, object and interpretant, the universally known icon-index-symbol division and, finally, a system of 10 distinct classes of signs. Peirce subsequently expanded this signifying process to include 2 objects, the sign and 3 interpretants; however, in the 5 years between 1903 and his final systems of 1908, he introduced a number of highly innovative semiotic concepts which he never developed.

Among these concepts is hypoiconicity, which comprises 3 levels of isomorphism holding between sign and object and offers an interesting alternative to the traditional literal-figurative distinction in the analysis of verbal and non-verbal signs, in spite of the mutations the subdivisions of the icon subsequently underwent. Another is semiosis, which Peirce introduced and defined in 1907 but rarely illustrated. This is shown to be a far more complex signifying process than the well-known three-correlate definition of 1903. Exploring the changing theoretical background to the introduction of these new concepts, this book identifies and explains these developments.
Mapping Middle-earth
Authors: Behrooz Anahit
Published: December 2023

In this cutting-edge study of Tolkien’s most critically neglected maps, Anahit Behrooz examines how cartography has traditionally been bound up in facilitating power.

Far more than just illustrations to aid understanding of the story, Tolkien’s corpus of maps are crucial to understanding the broader narratives between humans and their political and environmental landscapes within his legendarium. Undertaking a diegetic literary analysis of the maps as examples of Middle-earth’s own cultural output, Behrooz reveals a sub-created tradition of cartography that articulates specific power dynamics between mapmaker, map reader, and what is being mapped, as well as the human/nonhuman binary that represents human’s control over the natural world.

Mapping Middle-earth surveys how Tolkien frames cartography as an inherently political act that embodies a desire for control of that which it maps. In turn, it analyses harmful contemporary engagements with land that intersect with, but also move beyond, cartography such as environmental damage; human-induced geological change; and the natural and bodily costs of political violence and imperialism. Using historical, eco-critical, and postcolonial frameworks, and such theorists as Michel Foucault, Donna Haraway and Edward Said, this book explores Tolkien’s employment of particular generic tropes including medievalism, fantasy, and the interplay between image and text to highlight, and at times correct, his contemporary socio-political epoch and its destructive relationship with the wider world.
Subsistence Strategies and Craft Production at the Ancient Egyptian Ramesside Fort of Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
Authors: Nielsen Nicky , Crist Walter , Shaw Ian , Mairs Rachel , Saretta Phyllis , Grajetzki Wolfram , Grajetzki Wolfram , Anthony Flora Brooke , Hollis Susan Tower , Quirke Stephen , Grajetzki Wolfram , Eaton-Krauss Marianne , Gillam Robyn , Dunn-Vaturi Anne-Elizabeth , Voogt Alex de , Muratov Maya
Published: December 2023

Drawing on more than twenty years of archaeological study and investigation at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham by a team from the University of Liverpool (led by Professor Steven Snape), this book paints a nuanced picture of daily life not only at this liminal military site, but also in Ramesside Egypt more broadly. Constructed during the reign of Ramesses II, the fortified settlement was situated 300 kilometres west of Alexandria and represents the furthest western outpost of the Egyptian New Kingdom empire. Excavations in Area K of the fortress have uncovered extensive evidence for the living arrangements, minor industries, food production and daily life of the fort’s inhabitants.

This previously unpublished material forms the bedrock of this volume, which focuses on analysing the various subsistence and craft production strategies that were conducted alongside each other in this area, from baking, brewing and butchery to lithics working, bone-carving and weaving. These traces of the activities of the soldiers and their families shed new light on what life was like at this military installation and for ordinary Egyptians more widely, shifting away from a focus on elite social groups. The archaeological evidence covered in this book prompts a re-evaluation of the realities of the relationship between Egyptians and Libyans at the close of the Late Bronze Age. The purpose of the fortress’ construction was primarily defensive, however the surviving material points to co-operation by means of collaborative farming and trading, and provides a direct counterpoint to the more belligerent contemporary royal monumental inscriptions describing Egypto-Libyan relations.
Negative Hermeneutics and the Question of Practice
Authors: Davey Nicholas
Published: December 2023

How do words and images function hermeneutically? How does hermeneutic practice work? Answering these questions and more, Nicholas Davey develops the hermeneutical foundations of creative practice. In doing so, he not only uncovers the significance of philosophical hermeneutics for the arts and the humanities, but defends the humanities as a whole from the current scepticism inspired by deconstruction and post-structuralism.

Taking Gadamer’s language ontology as its cue, this pioneering volume not only addresses certain weaknesses that Davey observes in Gadamer’s thought but further takes Gadamerian thinking beyond Gadamer himself. In particular, Davey investigates the productive value of negativity that is central to hermeneutics and to wider spheres of creative learning.

Advocating a renewed confidence in hermeneutics and the humanities, Negative Hermeneutics and the Question of Practice reveals how hermeneutical thinking provides a map of the dynamics within creative practice, eliminating the need for an externally imposed ‘theory’ of the arts.
Ideology and Interpellation
Authors: Fardy Jonathan
Published: December 2023

Ideology and Interpellation examines the relation between ideology, the humanist subject, interpellation, and the role of theory. Placing the work of Althusser, Rancière, Baudrillard, and Laruelle into dialogue, this book offers a useful starting point for understanding the demands and possibilities for ideological critique after the deconstruction of the subject.

With chapters devoted to each French theorist’s critique, the book first examines the historical and political roots of Althusser's theory of ideology, then placing focus on Rancière's historiographic work in the following chapter. Coming hot on the heels of his blistering critique of his teacher, Althusser, in Althusser's Lesson, Rancière argues that employers' failure to “interpellate” or recruit workers was due to their work-centric attitude and failure to understand the workers' dreams of lives devoted to unwaged aesthetic and philosophical labour. The fifth chapter shows how Baudrillard disrupts Althusser's fundamental belief that ideology can be unmasked to reveal true structures, by exposing how a society of simulation realizes the untrue by integrating it into the fabric of experience. Finally, Fardy explores how Laruelle calls into question Althusser's presumption that “standard philosophy” is sufficiently guarded against the lures of ideology. On the contrary, Laruelle suggests that this view is in fact that of the ideology of standard philosophy.

Shedding light on the continuing relevance of post-Althusserian Marxist thought, Ideology and Interpellation further demonstrates the need today for a rigorous theory of ideology, traces of which can be found in Althusser's legacy.
The Poetics of the Sensible
Authors: Breton Stanislas
Published: December 2023

In the first English language translation of this classic late 20th-century text within French Catholic thought, Poetics of the Sensible brings together insights from Neoplatonism and phenomenology with a distinctive and innovative approach.

Taking a stance within the generative conception of human language represented by continental thinkers such as Humboldt and Herder and powerfully articulated today by Charles Taylor, Stanislas Breton expands the sense of the “poetic”—the constructive meaning-bearing capacity that is a core characteristic of humanity—to include the body and its senses phenomenologically intertwined with the world. Defying Heidegger’s prohibition on the question of God alongside contemporary thinkers such as Jean-Luc Marion, Jean-Louis Chrétien and Emmanuel Falque, he boldly writes of God, of the angel, of the icon, and of prayer in a refusal to bracket his religious faith. Against a Neoplatonic backdrop, Breton promotes the dense material dimensions of embodied signification as paradoxically harbouring meaning that is greater than that of conceptual abstraction alone.

Illuminating Breton’s poetic and allusive discourse, Poetics of the Sensible showcases his unique voice in French philosophy, phenomenology and the philosophy of religion and is essential reading for scholars and students alike.
The Problem of Free Will and Naturalism
Authors: Onof Christian
Published: December 2023

The problem of free will is one of the oldest and most central philosophical conundrums. The contemporary debate around it has produced a range of sophisticated proposals, but shows no sign of leading to convergence. Christian Onof reviews these contemporary approaches and argues that their main shortcomings are ultimately due to paradoxical requirements on free will imposed by the naturalistic framework.

Onof singles out Kant’s critical solution as one that stands out among historical approaches insofar as it is based upon a rejection of this framework. By using the same methodological tool that he applies to contemporary proposals, namely a distinction between a volitional account of how we control our actions, a psychological account of the reasons for it and a metaphysical account of our status as agent, Onof shows that Kant’s solution constitutes a coherent picture of free will.

By exhibiting the structure running through several key publications of Kant's critical period and drawing upon unpublished notes, Onof addresses several debates which loom large in contemporary Kant literature. His exegetical work puts Kant’s theory into conversation with contemporary analytic theories of free will and leads to defining a Kantian position that overcomes the issues plaguing existing approaches to the problem of free will.
Holocaust Memory in the Digital Mediascape
Authors: Evans Jennifer V. , Fagen Erica , Lundrigan Meghan
Published: December 2023

This is a comprehensive study of Holocaust memory in the digital age of social media and an important examination of how social technology affects the way history is made and circulated online.

Social media has become a place where memories of the Holocaust take shape through user-driven content shared in elaborately interconnected communication networks. Curated exhibits, documentaries and scholarly research, smartphone photos, short videos and online texts act as windows into the popular consciousness. They document how everyday people make sense of the crime of genocide, presenting unique challenges to historians. Does participatory media create a different understanding of genocide than more traditional forms of writing? How does expertise manifest in the digital public sphere? Do YouTube tourist videos and concentration camp selfies undermine the seriousness of the Holocaust and Holocaust studies by extension? Holocaust Memory in the Digital Mediascape provides valuable answers to these questions and much more.

The book comes with a range of helpful images and it also analyzes the way vernacular memory around the Holocaust and postwar reckoning and reconciliation is mobilized as well as contested in the digital sphere. It is an important volume for all scholars and students of the Holocaust, its history and memory.
Pencil
Authors: Beggy Carol
Published: December 2023

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

A cylinder of baked graphite and clay in a wood case, the pencil creates as it is being destroyed. To love a pencil is to use it, to sharpen it, and to essentially destroy it.

Pencils were used to sketch civilization’s greatest works of art. Pencils were there marking the choices in the earliest democratic elections. Even when used haphazardly to mark out where a saw’s blade should make a cut, a pencil is creating. Pencil offers a deep look at this common, almost ubiquitous, object.

Pencils are a simple device that are deceptively difficult to manufacture. At a time when many use cellphones as banking branches and instructors reach students online throughout the world, pencil use has not waned, with tens of millions being made and used annually. Carol Beggy sketches out how the lowly pencil is still a mighty useful tool.

Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.
Autonomy, Care and Family Law
Authors: Heenan Anna
Published: December 2023

There is a tension at the heart of family law and policy between the increasing influence of individual autonomy and the demands of caring for children. Individual autonomy envisages decisions made in one’s own best interests, whereas decisions around care are often made for the good of the family, and may conflict with the caregiver’s individual interests. Whereas individual autonomy valorises economic self-sufficiency, caregiving responsibilities constrain choice and conflict with paid work. This book explores this tension to consider how, given changing social trends, family law and policy should take account of caregiving responsibilities on parental separation. Crucially, it suggests that we need to rethink family law by placing care at its centre.

This book draws on original empirical data to explore the experiences of parents in England and Wales, where the division of paid work and care is considered a choice, and Sweden, where parents are encouraged to work full-time, supported by wellfunded state childcare. This comparative perspective sheds light on whether the clash between the ideas of autonomy and care could be reconciled in a more gender equal society.

The book argues that caregiving is hidden from, and undervalued by, law and policy in both jurisdictions, underscoring the need for the proposed new approach. The law needs to think more deeply about what it means to care, and how the care provided by parents differs. Anna Heenan outlines how family law might look different if the proposed framework, based on placing care at the heart of family law, is adopted.