bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Runaway Slaves and the Aftermath of Slavery on the Swahili Coast
Authors: Coret Clélia
Published: October 2021

Along the East African coast, marronage increased in the 19th century as a consequence of the intensification of the slave trade and the development of a plantation economy based on slave labor. Research on the fugitive slaves on the Swahili coast has been conducted since the 1980s and has mainly highlighted the ambivalent relationship (between rejection and belonging) of maroons with the dominant coastal culture—that of the slave owners, shaped in particular by Islam and urbanity. This article goes beyond the existing interpretations by showing that the aftermath of slavery often consisted of a range of options, less static than those described so far and less focused on opting either into or out of coastal culture. Relying on a case study in present-day Kenya and drawing from European written sources and interviews, I examine what happened to escaped slaves in the Witu region, where a Swahili city-state was founded in 1862. Their history is examined through a spatial analysis and the modalities of their economic and social participation in regional dynamics, showing that no single cultural influence was hegemonic in this region.
Slavery in the Middle Assyrian Period
Authors: de Ridder Jacob Jan
Published: October 2021

The Middle Assyrian period (1500–1000 BCE) is used to describe the Northern Mesopotamian state, centered around the capital city Aššur (mod. Qalʿat Aš-Širqāṭ, Iraq). In the early years, Aššur was a small urban center of little political importance. However, as the neighboring state of Mitanni/Hanigalbat weakened, the local rulers were able to politically and militarily dominate Northern Mesopotamia. Due to the expanse of this, originally, small state, a strong administration was required to make the governance of the newly conquered regions possible. Over 3,000 cuneiform texts from the Assyrian administration were uncovered, of which 2,000 were from the two capital cities Aššur and Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta. Just as in any ancient state, slaves were a part of society. However, attestations of slaves are relatively uncommon, and most scholarly attention has gone to the related class of deportees and prisoners of war. Nonetheless, administrative documents such as loans provide us with sufficient information on debt and chattel slavery to make a number of observations on (semi) privately owned slaves.
South China Sea
Authors: Thao Nguyễn Hồng
Published: October 2021

Malaysia’s partial submission to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on its extended continental shelf beyond 200 nm limit made in December 2019 sparked a new legal battle of diplomatic notes on the South China Sea (scs) from claimant States (Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam) and non-claimant States (Australia, Germany, France, Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States). It has greater volume and significance compared to the first exchange of notes in 2009 – 2011. This article examines the impact of diplomatic notes among claimants on the prospect for the peaceful settlement of the maritime disputes in the scs.
Tuna Fisheries Conservation and Management in the Pacific Islands Region
Authors: Hanich Quentin , Jung Myeonghwa , McDonald Alice , Oh Seoyeon , Moon Sukran , An Jieun , Yoon Mikyeong
Published: October 2021

The Korean tuna fishing fleet has a long history of participation in the tuna fisheries of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (wcpo), the largest tuna fisheries in the world. As one of the largest distant water fishing fleets operating in the wcpo, Korea has a strong interest in maintaining access to both eez s and the high seas, and ensuring sustainability of the region’s tuna stocks. The regulatory environment for tuna fisheries in the wcpo is complex and multi-layered, with regional, sub-regional and national legislation, regulation and policies all affecting tuna fishing vessels and operations. Management of tuna fisheries within Pacific Island eez s is increasingly being tightened, including through the introduction of zone-based management approaches, and Pacific Island countries are also advocating for improved management of tuna fishing in the high seas. While all four primary tuna species in the wcpo are currently considered healthy, catch rates and economic conditions in the southern and tropical longline fisheries are in decline and catch reductions will be necessary to improve catch rates and increase economic returns for longline vessels. Within this context, the Korean distant water fishing fleet will need to strengthen engagement and cooperation with Pacific island States in order to maintain their competitiveness.
From War to Global Peace Strategist
Authors: Majerus Joe
Published: October 2021

The present article sets out to more thoroughly examine George Marshall’s geo-political reasoning on strategic peace-building and the fundamentals of a more viable and sustainable peace structure. In so doing, it shows that although Marshall had been mainly preoccupied with the military side of the United States’ engagement in world affairs, he all the same developed a keen understanding of the strategic imperatives needed to fashion a more stable international order – particularly as concerned the methodical integration of America’s various foreign policies on a global scale.
Informal Wage Labour and Capital-Labour Struggles in Karnataka’s Automotive Sector
Authors: Kazi Danisha
Published: October 2021

This article examines the critical role of informal wage labour and capital labour struggles in India’s automotive and auto components sector in the post reform period. This is viewed through the analytical lens of the labour process and draws on fieldwork conducted in Karnataka in 2014. The labour process emphasises conflict between capital and labour as critical to understanding differentiation of the workforce. This contrasts with mainstream theories of labour flexibility which are narrowly based on efficiency motives of the firm. Taking a labour process perspective requires analysis at different levels of the economy, linking the firm level with the broader socio-economic forces at play. This demonstrates how differentiation of the workforce emerges from the way in which capital accumulation proceeds. At the firm level, the division of labour is augmented through the adoption of technology, organisation of production, disciplining workers, and on-going capital-labour struggles. Firms actively reshape the composition of the workforce to restrict the bargaining power of labour and reduce the value of labour power. This includes a growing preference for non-unionised rural and semi-rural workers and female workers, a dynamic observed throughout the automotive supply chain. The asymmetric balance of power between capital and labour and the state’s role in institutionalising a flexible labour regime are critical forces shaping capital accumulation, with implications for the structure of the workforce. Finally, the article outlines a new location of labour discontent in Karnataka’s automotive sector. This reveals that workers’ struggles against capital are shifting to include the issue of informal wage labour in the organised sector.
Precarious Self-Employment in India: A Case of Home-Based Own Account Enterprises
Authors: Tripathi Tulika , Mishra Nripendra Kishore
Published: October 2021

A new thrust towards self-employment is seen in India where more than half of the labor class is fending for itself outside the ambit of any kind of employment. Global production networks (gpn s) have changed the structure of the labor market and extended precarity to almost every part of work and world. This has created a labor class that is neither proletariat nor bourgeois but a petty producer integrated in gpn s through mediators called ‘contractors.’ These producers are basically laborers who have been pushed out of the factory system and forced into self-employment. The paper has studied the trajectory of non-agricultural home-based Own Account Enterprises (oae s); a classic case of petty producers across gender and caste lines in various sectors of industry using state-organized enterprise surveys conducted in 2010–2011 and 2015–2016. It has found a vast majority of oae s earning less than half the proposed minimum wage (pmv)—a threshold similar to the idea of living wages rates. The most distressed oae s are in manufacturing, especially, textile, garment, leather, and chemical industries. The over emphasis on self-employment is shrinking the space for labor movement particularly in the global South.
Upgrading in Automotive Global Production Networks: Workers’ Power in South Africa
Authors: Mashilo Alex M. , Webster Edward
Published: October 2021

The introduction of the concept of social upgrading was a welcome development in the study of Global Production Networks (gpns). We argue that although social upgrading is primarily a result of labour agency rather than automatically trickling down from economic upgrading, without economic upgrading social upgrading will not be sustainable. We show how it was through the use of their structural power, the development of associational power through building a national industrial union, the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa, and institutional and societal power, that workers realised social upgrading improvements in the automobile industry in South Africa. The rights consolidated in legislation and the institutions established were the result of workers using their power in strategic ways. We argue for an alternative approach to social upgrading that foregrounds workers power as a crucial determinant of social upgrading. This, we conclude, will require a labour-led development path.
Mobilising Social Movement for Peace
Authors: Lim Youngseop , Kim Dong Jin
Published: October 2021

Informed by the resource mobilisation theory, this article conducts a case study on Christianity in Korea, in order to explore the nexus between religion and social movements, and how this nexus could contribute to peace, rather than violence. Given its geopolitical dimensions, involving nuclear weapons and the legacy of the Cold War, the role of religion in the Korean conflict has been under-researched. Nonetheless, Christianity has influenced the Korean conflict, with its association with anticommunism, as well as with peace movements. This article argues that Christian ecumenical organisations in the context of the Korean conflict utilised their social resources for peace and reconciliation, when they rediscovered the just peace tradition in Christianity. This article contributes to theoretical and practical discussions surrounding religion, war, and peace, by conceptualising just peace in the Christian tradition, and by adding empirical substance to the nexus between ecumenism and social movement for just peace.
Towards a Future of Reconciliation
Authors: Ma Ming
Published: October 2021

This article explores the hope for unity and reconciliation within the divided Chinese Catholic Church from three aspects: The Second Vatican Council as well as the reformation of the Chinese society as an initiative for dialogue; the overlapping membership between the registered church and the unregistered church as a bridge for dialogue; and public theology in Chinese society as a ground for dialogue. Thus, the article concludes that despite the many obstacles in the way of reconciliation, the hope for the Chinese Church to achieve reconciliation with the Chinese government is sure; and, at the same time, the road to unity for the Catholic Church in China is long and full of challenges.
Insurrectionary Populism? Assessing the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol
Authors: Crothers Lane , Burgener Grace
Published: October 2021

The attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 was extraordinary. Analysts and commentators quickly attributed the attack as having been motivated by “populism” without much nuance or recognition of the diversity of voices and attitudes embedded in the insurrection. This commentary assesses the populist ideas and attitudes expressed by the insurrectionists in an effort to understand why they felt drawn to Washington, D.C. that day, as well as why they felt their attack on the U.S. Capitol was legitimate. In so doing, it addresses the particular ways the insurrectionists framed and legitimated their attack (at least to themselves). The January 6 insurrection was an extraordinary attack on American democracy, but it was related to deep themes and elements of US political culture. Understanding those dynamics is crucial to preventing such attacks in the future.
Proximity of Borders
Authors: Munro Zachary A.
Published: October 2021

Defining nonreligion has raised conceptual uncertainties about its substantive ontology and its relational distinctions from religion, secularity, secularization, and the secular. The field’s early development has deployed the religious/secular binary as a methodological tool, rendering secularity and nonreligion visible through its discursive positioning of being in-relation to religion. Although this has proven productive in substantiating such concepts, it has also constrained the field by identifying its objects of study indirectly. This paper argues for a proximal distinction between secularity and nonreligion using the development of secular Alcoholics Anonymous groups in Toronto, Canada, as an example, locating them between borders that constitute a third space. Within this space, secularity and nonreligion operate, identifying locations of proximity, border phenomena, and religious/secular entanglements that have otherwise remained interstitial and have precluded analysis. In turn, borders are retained for methodological utility, while the third space opens new analytical possibilities to advance the field forward.
Living Well Together
Authors: Beaman Lori G. , Steele Cory
Published: October 2021

This paper considers the study of nonreligion as a vital component of the discussion about “how to live well together” in the “new diversity.” Our specific interest concerning the notion of the “new diversity” is that of nonreligion. This paper therefore focuses on the intersection of law and nonreligion, in the areas of health, education, migration, and the environment. We argue that a continued shift away from a majoritarian Christian society in Canada and toward the “new diversity” has rather significant implications for law and society. The law has been increasingly required to balance the beliefs, values, and practices of both nonreligious and religious people to ensure Canadians can “live well together” in an ever changing (non)religious landscape.
The Partisan Consequences of Secularisation
Authors: Raymond Christopher D.
Published: October 2021

While we would expect secularisation to have important consequences for voting behaviour, data limitations in previous studies leave the specific implications of secularisation for Canadian electoral politics unclear. Using a data set covering the period between 1975 and 2005, this study examines which aspects of secularisation have affected the partisan balance of the electorate by estimating the effects of religious belonging, behaving, and believing on party preferences. The results show that while the effects of religion (and other social identities) have not changed over time, changes in the composition of the electorate resulting from the growing share of non-religious Canadians holding liberal views on questions of personal morality has benefited the NDP and undercut support for the Conservatives.
The Secular Diaspora in Canada
Authors: Wilkins-Laflamme Sarah
Published: October 2021

Almost all the existing research in the subfield of nonreligion and secularity studies has focused to date on majority populations (Whites from Christian family backgrounds) in North America and Europe. Using data from the 2011 National Household Survey and the 2013–2017 General Social Surveys, this research note is a first step towards better understanding the ethno-racial and immigrant diversity within the nonreligious population of one nation, Canada. A further emphasis is placed on socio-demographic trends among these different nonreligious groups, as well as their various experiences when it comes to the presence or absence of spiritual beliefs and practices in their lives away from organized religion.
Espionage, Intrigue, and Politics: Kalimpong Chung Hwa School as International Playhouse
Authors: Zhang Lisa Lindkvist , Poddar Prem
Published: October 2021

This article examines the ways in which Kalimpong, living up to its moniker as a “nest of spies,” was a site where local and international intrigues played out, especially at the local Chinese Chung Hwa School. It examines the period between the 1940s and early 1960s, when Kalimpong, on account of its strategic location, was home to “foreign Kautilyas” of different intelligence services. The Chung Hwa School came to play a part in this game as it provided cover/camouflage for Chinese secret agents. The secret services run by the British colonial state—and later the Indian state—suspected it to be a platform for intelligence gathering. A close reading of the archives uncovers the circuit of suspicion and misgiving surrounding the school. This article analyses these narratives and the ways in which, through the enmeshment of espionage, the Indian Intelligence Bureau, the local Chinese, and “China” were constituted in Kalimpong’s (under)world. The school also emerges as tangled in transnational and international machinations epitomizing People’s Republic of China–Republic of India relations and Guomindang–Chinese Communist Party rivalry.
In Search of the Asia Principle
Authors: Ge Sun
Published: October 2021

“Asia” is not the end result but a means of intellectual exploration. “Asia” is multivalent; it is not self-sufficient and exclusionary vis-à-vis other cultures. It does not exist as an epistemological abstraction. This unique attribute of “Asia” is, however, where its opportunity lies. Taking “Asia” as a means for intellectual inquiry, this article explores the “fūdo” 風土of humankind and cultural formations in dialogue with historical circumstances. It argues that global integration is not the homogenization of disparate societies but mutual respect for their specificities. Furthermore, this article proposes a new kind of universality and reassesses how the specific relates to the universal. Taking Asia’s historical experiences seriously, this article stresses that universality cannot act as an independent and superior imposition vis-à-vis specificities. Rather, specific experiences have to be put into an open dialogue between one another to unleash new possibilities. As a means to reconstruct a new universal imagination, “Asia” poses a potent challenge to hegemonic epistemologies.
Consolidating Southeast Asia and the Meaning of Force in History: Pax Ming and the Case of Chen Zuyi 陳祖義
Authors: Schottenhammer Angela
Published: October 2021

Many Chinese historians and politicians consider the Zheng He expeditions as voyages meant to establish peaceful relations with foreign countries. Although, in contrast with European overseas expansion, it was not in the interest of the Chinese emperor and his government to colonialize foreign countries, this does not mean that relations were peaceful. Subordination of neighbouring countries to the Ming court and their acceptance of Ming China’s claim to cultural, ideological and political superiority in the macro region—the implementation of a “pax Ming” in other words—was fully intended. The present article discusses Zheng He’s and the Ming court’s dealing with Chen Zuyi 陳祖義, an “inconvenient” local (“pirate”) leader of Chinese origins dominating parts of the Malacca/Melaka Straits, the use of violence in the implementation of official Ming goals and the ideological transfiguration and (re)interpretation of the Ming court’s own interests in Chinese historical sources.
Emerging Organizations When Implementing a Collaborative Professional Development Program
Authors: Misfeldt Morten , Tamborg Andreas , Fougt Simon Skov , Allsopp Benjamin Brink , Herfort Jonas Dreyøe
Published: October 2021

In this article, we explore an emerging organization that unfolds during the implementation of a collaborative and practice-oriented professional development program (PD) called Action Learning. In Action Learning, local mathematics supervisors facilitate meetings where mathematics teachers collaboratively discuss and develop interventions in their own teaching. Thereafter, teachers carry out their interventions and are observed by the team, who afterwards provide feedback in an evaluation meeting, thereby taking on a central role in the PD program. Drawing on qualitative interviews of teachers, local supervisors, and school managers and observations of meetings in the PD program, we investigate what roles emerge for local supervisors, and how their contributions are framed by colleagues and school managers. This identifies three simultaneously present logics among the stakeholders, positioning the supervisors in roles as project leaders, academic beacons, and equal coaches, confronting each of them with different and mutually exclusive expectations.

The impact sheet to this article can be accessed at 10.6084/m9.figshare.16610119.
On the Concept of an Anatolian-Greek Language Area
Authors: Cotticelli-Kurras Paola
Published: October 2021

This paper aims at presenting some thoughts on the hypothesis of an Anatolian-Greek language area in the second millennium bc comparing different approaches both in the theoretical frames and in the analysis of the linguistic facts. For this purpose, it is necessary to introduce some terminological premises, followed by a selection of methodological issues, which will help explore the putative features that characterize the Anatolian-Greek area (morphological traits such as actionality markers, particles, verbal prefixes as well as special morphological forms; morphosyntactic traits, such as modal particles, sentence particles, absolute participial constructions; lexical units and phonetic features).
Toponyms as a Gateway to Society
Authors: Lim Tyan Gin Shaun , Perono Cacciafoco Francesco
Published: October 2021

Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island, South-East Indonesia. Although there are rich studies on the Abui language and its structure, research on Abui toponymy, which aids the understanding of language, culture, and society, deserves greater attention. This paper analyzes features of Abui society through Abui toponyms collected using Field Linguistics and Language Documentation methods. It finds that, because place names communicate valuable information on peoples and territories, Abui toponyms reflect the agrarian lifestyle of Abui speakers and, more broadly, the close relationship that the people have with their landscape. Furthermore, Abui toponyms express positive traits in the Abui culture like kinship ties and bravery. Notwithstanding, like other pre-literate and indigenous societies, oral stories are commonly used to explain how places are named. This paper augments the existing Abui toponymic studies on the connection between names and the places they name and provides a deeper understanding of the Abui language, culture, and society.
The New Italian Model Bit Between Current and Future Trends
Authors: Malaguti Maria Chiara
Published: October 2021

In 2021, the new Italian Model Bilateral Investment Treaty has been published. It replaced the 2003 Model bit and can be considered as a significant example of the “new generation of bit s”, which try to better balance investor rights with the public prerogatives of States. The Model Treaty also introduces significant innovations as to the conduct of arbitrators and the corporate social responsibility of investors and is also aimed at coordinating Italian and European foreign investment policies. This article offers a view of this new Model bit and tries to insert it in the broader context of the proposed reforms regarding international investment law and arbitration.
Isolating China: Deglobalisation and its Impact on Global Value Chains
Authors: Gopalakrishnan Badri Narayanan , Chakravarthy Sumathi Lalapet , Tewary Tavishi , Jain Vranda
Published: October 2021

As global value chains (GVCs) account for 80% of global trade, the revival of protectionism, amidst the looming trade tensions between United States and other trading partners, particularly China will dampen the international input–output relations. By using a multi-regional and multi-sectoral dynamic computable general equilibrium model, this study analyses China driven GVCs. The study explores the impact of tariff change on China and its major trading partners on economic variables like consumption, investment, government expenditure, exports and imports and sectors like electronic goods, coal, crude oil and machine equipment for the five-year period, that is, 2021–2025. GTAP 10 database has been used. The findings of the study suggest that although China’s dominance may diminish, yet it would continue to be one of the prominent players in GVC. Further, based on the results, the global economy can look forward to fragmented and locally oriented supply chains. At the sectoral level, the shorter supply chains would lead a further disjoint global trade system with a wider range of suppliers for similar products and hence increased regionalisation of production.

JEL Codes: F10, F17, F60, F16, D58
A Review of Computer-Assisted Instruction for Students With Visual Impairment
Authors: Tuttle Michael , Carter Erik W.
Published: October 2021

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is a critical tool for accessing information and instruction among students with visual impairment (VI). This systematic review examined eight CAI intervention studies implemented with 92 U.S. school-age children with VI. The interventions were implemented with a diverse group of students across a variety of school types (e.g., neighborhood schools, schools for the blind), grade levels, and content areas (e.g., math, reading). Although some findings were promising, the effects of CAI were inconsistent across studies. This review highlights the need for (a) additional high-quality intervention evaluations, (b) more information on the social validity of CAI interventions, and (c) evaluations of CAI among students with a wider range of needs. Implications for practice and research aimed at enhancing the use of CAI are addressed.
Personality Underpinnings of Identity: The Mediating Role of Internal Dialogs
Authors: Puchalska-Wasyl Małgorzata M.
Published: October 2021

The Circumplex of Identity Formation Modes (CIFM) is the latest approach designed to integrate the various concepts describing identity formation in the Erikson–Marcia tradition. The CIFM assumes the relationships between identity modes and personality traits. The process of identity formation emerges as a result of the interaction between dispositional traits and social demands. Presumably, it involves internal dialogs understood as juxtaposing different visions of oneself and evaluating matters from different perspectives. This paper aims to test whether internal dialogs mediate the relationships between traits and identity modes. Participants (aged 14–18; 217 men, 205 women) completed: International Personality Item Pool-Big Five Markers-50, Internal Dialogical Activity Scale-Revised, and Circumplex Identity Modes Questionnaire. It was established that self-reflective dialogs mediate the positive relationship between Intellect and Consolidation; additionally, self-reflective and defensive dialogs mediate the positive relationship between Intellect and Exploration. Moreover, defensive and disruptive dialogs mediate the negative relationships between Emotional Stability and Moratorivity, Defiance, and Diffusion.
Electrically Induced Blink for the Prevention of Ocular Symptoms and Blurred Vision in Patients With Acute Facial Nerve Palsy
Authors: Mäkelä Eeva , Venesvirta Hanna , Ilves Mirja , Lylykangas Jani , Rantanen Ville , Uusitalo Hannu , Verho Jarmo , Vehkaoja Antti , Lekkala Jukka , Surakka Veikko , Rautiainen Markus
Published: October 2021

Objectives: Facial nerve palsy causes blurred vision and ocular discomfort due to deficits in blinking and eye closure. The objective of this study was to determine whether eye-blinks could be elicited by electrical stimulation and whether electrically induced blink would have an effect on the visual acuity and ocular symptoms in patients with acute facial nerve palsy. Methods: The zygomatic branch of the facial nerve of fifteen participants with acute facial nerve palsy was electrically stimulated in order to elicit a blink. In successful cases, the participant proceeded with a two-hour TV watching session in which an electrically induced blink was delivered every 5 seconds. The control condition consisted of an otherwise similar TV watching session without electrically induced blinking. Subjective ocular symptoms were evaluated with a Dry Eye Questionnaire and visual acuity was assessed with a Logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution (LogMAR) chart before and after both sessions. Results: The stimulation produced a blink in 8 participants (53%). The visual acuity in the affected eye decreased during the control session, whereas no significant change occurred during the stimulation session. The ocular symptoms were significantly reduced during the stimulation session. Conclusions: Electrically elicited blink is a promising method for reducing the eye symptoms in individuals with acute facial nerve palsy.
Clinical study of intramedullary nailing fixation for the treatment of Danis-Weber B in lateral malleolus fracture
Authors: Chen Hongfeng , Li Zhen , Yang Dongsong , Wang Pengru , Niu Junke , He Xishun , Wu Guangliang
Published: October 2021

Objective

To compare the clinical effects between anatomical locking plates and interlocking intramedullary nails in patients with Danis-Weber B lateral malleolus fractures.

Methods

This retrospective study enrolled patients with Danis-Weber B fractures of the lateral malleolus. All the operations were completed by the same group of surgeons. The reduction effect, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay, fracture healing time and ankle functional outcomes (Olerud-Molander Ankle Score [OMAS]) were compared. Postoperative complications, including incision infections, fixation discomfort and internal fixation loosening, were also compared.

Results

This study enrolled 73 patients that were treated with either an anatomical locking plate (locking plate group; n = 37) or an interlocking intramedullary nail (intramedullary nail group; n = 36). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of reduction effect, hospital stay and OMAS. The intramedullary nail group had significantly lower operation time, intraoperative blood loss and fracture healing time compared with the locking plate group. Postoperative complications in the intramedullary nail group were significantly lower compared with the locking plate group.

Conclusion

Using intramedullary nails resulted in more satisfactory functional outcomes compared with using locking plates in patients with Danis-Weber B fractures of the lateral malleolus.
Synthesis and characterization of levan hydrogels and their use for resveratrol release
Authors: Selvi Sinem Selvin , Hasköylü Merve Erginer , Genç Seval , Toksoy Öner Ebru
Published: October 2021

Considering the need for systematic studies on levan based hydrogels to widen their use in drug delivery systems and biomedical applications, this study is mainly focused on the synthesis and comprehensive characterization as well as drug release properties of hydrogels based on Halomonas levan (HL) and its chemical derivatives. For this, hydrolyzed and phosphonated HL derivatives were chemically synthesized and then cross-linked with 1,4-Butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDE) and the obtained hydrogels were characterized in terms of their swelling, adhesivity, and rheological properties. Both native and phosphonated HL hydrogels retained their rigid gel like structure with increasing shear stress levels and tack test analysis showed superior adhesive properties of the phosphonated HL hydrogels. Moreover, hydrogels were loaded with resveratrol and entrapment and release studies as well as cell culture studies with human keratinocytes were performed. Biocompatible and adhesive features of the hydrogels confirmed their suitability for tissue engineering and drug delivery applications.
Strategic Human Resource: Enhancing Performance With Six Sigma Approach
Authors: Madhani Pankaj M.
Published: October 2021

Human resource (HR) is the backbone of an organization and hence, there is need to build its underlying capabilities for effective service delivery. Six Sigma aims at improving the effectiveness of processes by collecting data and then using advanced statistical analysis tools to solve the problems. Six Sigma deployment in HR provides consistency in operations and leads to quality excellence by providing better services at lower costs. Six Sigma approach adds more science to the art of HR, which is used to measuring outcomes it can control, rather than those it can influence. Six Sigma deployment in HR transforms typical HR practices with a proactive approach and leads to better, faster and more cost-effective services; improve internal customer satisfaction and greater motivation and job satisfaction of employees. The research develops various framework for Six Sigma deployment in HR and provides case studies of successful Six Sigma deployment in various areas of HR.
Sri Lankan Fashion Designers: Self-Directed Learning in the Apparel Industry
Authors: Gopura Sumith , Payne Alice , Bandara Deepthi , Buys Laurie
Published: October 2021

The Sri Lankan apparel industry is currently in transition from apparel assembly to manufacturing original designs as a value addition. Design teams work closely with Western brands, buyers and designers to offer advanced creative and technical design services. The purpose of this article is to investigate how Sri Lankan designers acquire personal, high-value fashion knowledge and design skills in this crucial time of industry transition. The study adopts a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews conducted with 28 fashion design and product development professionals in the industry. Based on an inductive thematic analysis, the study finds that Sri Lankan designers’ acquisition of high-value fashion knowledge and skills comes primarily through their self-directed learning. This study proposes the Designers’ Self-Directed Learning Cycle to illustrate how designers’ learning happens and is applied in their professional practice. The findings are significant in understanding the designers’ practice in the export-oriented apparel value chain.
Augmentation of heat transfer via nanofluids in duct flows using Fourier-type conditions: Theoretical and numerical study
Authors: Umavathi J.C. , Bég O. Anwar
Published: October 2021

Motivated by developments in thermal duct processing, an investigation is presented to study the behavior of viscous nanoparticle suspensions flowing in a vertical duct subject to Fourier-type conditions. The left wall temperature is kept lower than that of the right wall. Brownian motion and thermophoresis which are invoked via the presence of nanoparticles are incorporated in the study. Numerical solutions with an efficient Runge–Kutta shooting method are also presented at all values of the control parameters. The impact of thermal Grashof number [Formula: see text], Eckert number [Formula: see text], thermophoresis [Formula: see text], and Brownian motion parameters [Formula: see text] on the velocity, temperature, and nanoparticle concentration distributions for identical [Formula: see text] and differing Biot numbers [Formula: see text] (at the duct walls) are computed and visualized graphically. With vanishing thermophoresis and Brownian motion parameters, the solutions match exactly with the earlier Newtonian viscous flow computations. Symmetric and asymmetric wall heat conditions are also acknowledged. Intensifying the thermal Grashof number, Eckert number, thermophoresis parameter, and Brownian parameter serve to amplify magnitudes of the velocity and temperature, whereas the nanoparticle concentration field is suppressed. The skin friction and Sherwood number are also computed with various combinations of the flow control parameters. Nusselt number values at the hot duct wall are enhanced with an increase in thermal buoyancy parameter, Eckert number, Brownian motion parameter, and thermophoresis parameter for equal Biot numbers. The opposite trend is computed for different Biot numbers. For any given values of Biot numbers, the mean velocity and bulk temperature are boosted with increase in thermal buoyancy parameter, Eckert number, Brownian motion parameter, and thermophoresis parameter. Hence, it may be inferred that the transport characteristics computed using Fourier-type boundary conditions are substantially different from those based on isothermal boundary conditions in nanofluid duct flows.
The Effects of Retirement on Sense of Purpose in Life: Crisis or Opportunity?
Authors: Yemiscigil Ayse , Powdthavee Nattavudh , Whillans Ashley V.
Published: October 2021

Does retirement lead to an existential crisis or present an opportunity to experience a renewed sense of purpose in life? Prior research has documented a negative association between retirement and sense of purpose in life, suggesting that retirement could lead people to feel aimless and lost. We revisited these findings using a quasiexperimental approach and identified the causal impact of retirement on purpose in life. In a nationally representative panel of American adults ( N = 8,113), we applied an instrumental-variable analysis to assess how Social Security retirement incentives in the United States drove differences in the likelihood of retirement. Results showed a sizable increase in purpose in life as an outcome of retirement. These improvements were driven by individuals with lower socioeconomic status who retired from dissatisfying jobs. The findings suggest that retirement may provide an opportunity to experience a renewed sense of purpose, especially among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.
Feline sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma with peritoneal carcinomatosis and effusion
Authors: Wu BinXi , Kastl Brandy , Cino-Ozuna Ada G. , Springer Nora L. , Thakkar Ravindra , Biller David , Whitehouse William , Easterwood Loren , Nguyen Thu Annelise
Published: October 2021

A 9-y-old, castrated male, domestic medium-hair cat diagnosed previously with chronic kidney disease developed anorexia and vomiting. Ultrasonography revealed abdominal effusion and a left renal perihilar mass. Cytologic evaluation of the peritoneal fluid and mass identified atypical epithelioid cells suspected to be of renal epithelial or possible mesothelial origin. Immunohistochemical (IHC) evaluation of a formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded peritoneal fluid cell block indicated both pancytokeratin and vimentin expression in the atypical epithelioid cell population. With scanning electron microscopic evaluation, similar epithelioid cells lacked the cell-surface microvilli expected of mesothelium, supporting an antemortem diagnosis of probable carcinoma. On postmortem examination, the left kidney was effaced by an infiltrative neoplasm with myriad similar nodules throughout the peritoneum. The neoplasm was composed primarily of polygonal-to-spindle-shaped cells with strong vimentin and weak pancytokeratin cytoplasmic immunolabeling. Further IHC characterization with PAX8, CK18, KIT, napsin A, SMA, desmin, CD18, and claudin 5 was performed. Histologic and IHC findings supported a diagnosis of sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma with peritoneal carcinomatosis. An in vitro cell culture line of neoplastic cells harvested from the primary tumor was successfully established for future research endeavors.
That's Interesting! A Flawed Article Has Influenced Generations of Management Researchers
Authors: Tsang Eric W.K.
Published: October 2021

Davis's (1971) article “That's interesting! Towards a phenomenology of sociology and a sociology of phenomenology” is regarded by many management researchers as a classic work and a basis for guiding management studies; in the wake of its publication, an interesting research advocacy gradually emerged. However, from the perspective of scientific research, Davis's core argument that great theories have to be interesting is seriously flawed. Interestingness is not regarded as a virtue of a good scientific theory and thus has little value in science. Moreover, obsession with interestingness can lead to at least five detrimental outcomes, namely promoting an improper way of doing science, encouraging post hoc hypothesis development, discouraging replication studies, ignoring the proper duties of a researcher, and undermining doctoral education.
A Qualitative Study: An Examination of Police Officers’ Lived Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Helfers Richard C. , Nhan Johnny
Published: October 2021

In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe prompting stay-at-home orders for all but the most essential workers in society. Policing was one of the professions that is essential for community safety, regardless of the circumstances. Officers were on the front-line of the COVID-19 public health crisis and their preparedness was crucial for officer and community health. During the onset of the pandemic little was known about how officers perceived the virus and how police agencies prepared officers to work in a highly contagious environment. This study used semistructured interviews of police officers in two states in the United States that had elevated cases of the virus. The authors explored the lived experiences of police officers to explore officers’ perceptions, concerns, implications the pandemic had on patrol activity, and agency preparedness during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed structural and cultural forces that resulted in officers and their agency leadership not taking the pandemic seriously, ill-preparation and ill-equipping, and disincentives in reporting exposure. Moreover, officers’ fears were largely not based on their own well-being, but on the risk of spreading the disease to their family members.
Liver Histology in Short Telomere Syndrome: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Bai Lixia , Rohrer Charles , Liu Yongjun
Published: October 2021

Short telomere syndrome (STS) encompasses a broad family of genetically inherited conditions caused by various mutations in telomerase and other telomere maintenance genes, resulting in premature telomere shortening. STS involves a variety of clinical manifestations, including dyskeratosis congenita, premature achromotrichia, bone marrow failure, immunodeficiency, pulmonary fibrosis and liver disease. Liver histopathologic features in STS patients have not been well characterized. We report a 46-year-old male patient who presented for dyspnea. The patient had a complicated medical history significant for immune thrombocytopenic purpura and splenectomy, recurrent respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, primary immunodeficiency, and severe hepatopulmonary syndrome. He and his brother both developed gray hair by their late 20s. He had a long history of intermittently elevated liver enzymes starting at age 33. These clinical manifestations prompted an evaluation for a possible telomere biology disorder, which revealed the telomere length was critically short and fell at or below the first percentile for age, supporting the diagnosis. The liver biopsy showed marked portal inflammation with interface hepatitis, ductular reaction and frequent foci of lobular inflammation with focal hepatocyte dropout. Hepatocytes around the portal tracts demonstrated ballooning degeneration and occasional Mallory-Denk bodies. A trichrome stain highlighted bridging fibrosis. A literature review shows liver histology is available in only a small number of STS patients, demonstrating a variety of morphologic features. Our case and others suggest liver disease associated with STS exhibits a spectrum of histopathology. Being aware of these features is important for establishing the correct diagnosis of STS which is under recognized.
Can’t You All Just Get Along? Effects of Scientific Disagreement and Incivility on Attention to and Trust in Science
Authors: Chinn Sedona , Hart P. Sol
Published: October 2021

Disagreement and incivility are increasingly common in science communication. While previous work has explored effects on issue attitudes, it has not examined how disagreement and incivility in news coverage influence attention to and trust in science. In this study, we investigate how civil and uncivil disagreement about non-politicized issues affects attention to science news, evaluations of research, and scientific trust. Results reveal that disagreement and incivility can not only lead to less attention to and acceptance of particular science issues, but also broader mistrust of scientists and scientific methods.
The Interview as a Technology for Understanding the Social World: The Case of Interviews About Race
Authors: Herron Brigette A. , Roulston Kathryn
Published: October 2021

The interview is a technology used all over the world to learn about others’ lives, disseminate opinions, and construct narratives concerning the social world. While formerly a province of elite members of society prior to the 19th century, the interview became accessible to ordinary people everywhere over the past 150 years. In this article, we explore how the interview as a technology, although promising in its democratic possibilities, can marginalize, exclude, and misrepresent people. We examine interviews conducted in relation to one particular context in the United States: Forsyth County, Georgia. Through our examination of interviews conducted about race in public media over the last 50 years, we found that sometimes the ways interviewees were selected, interviewed, and represented reproduced and reified existing stereotypes and discourses surrounding the question of “why Forsyth County continued to be an all-White county” for much of the 20th century. Furthermore, when information sought focused solely on interviewees’ opinions and perspectives, critical dialogue did not occur. We argue that for research interviews on sensitive topics such as “race” to fulfill their democratic promise, researchers must intentionally design studies in ways that support research for social justice.