bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New data on morphological evolution and dietary adaptations of Elephas recki from the Plio-Pleistocene Shungura Formation (Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia)
Authors: Bedane Tomas Getachew , Mackaye Hassane Taïsso , Boisserie Jean-Renaud
Published: March 2024

The proboscideans, abundant and diverse throughout the Cenozoic, are essential terrestrial megaherbivores for studying morphological adaptations and reconstructing paleoenvironments in Africa. This new study of the lineage of Elephas recki (or “Elephas recki complex”) from the Plio-Pleistocene deposits of the Shungura Formation aimed at investigating further the interplay between morphological and behavioral adaptations within proboscideans. For this, we used the most complete and well-preserved third molars of the series for characterizing morphological changes, while describing dietary behavior by applying mesowear angle analysis to all identifiable cheek teeth. Biometric character changes indicated that evolutionary change was not a gradual, progressive trend through the Shungura sequence deposition. Rather, we observed a complex trend involving sudden changes. The mesowear angle analysis suggested that Elephas recki from the Shungura Formation had consistently herbaceous monocot (such as grass and sedges) dominated dietary habits throughout its evolution, except for some slight tendencies of mixed browse/graze diet in certain time intervals. We therefore did not observe any correlation between morphological change and feeding preferences over two million years. This delay between the acquisition of the observed diet and purportedly consequent morphological changes questions the classical interpretations of factors at play in this evolutionary sequence.
Self and morality: Expansive perspectives and environmental activism
Authors: Finnerty Samuel , piazza jared , Levine Mark
Published: March 2024

Amidst escalating global environmental crises, understanding the psychological factors driving pro-environmental action is crucial. We argue that stewarding the Earth System away from instability requires an embrace of expansive perspectives that drive effective action. Past perspectives underscore the importance of ‘expansiveness’ for prosocial behaviour, including both a more inclusive moral universe and an extended self-concept. Across two studies (N = 546), assessed via the well-established Moral Expansiveness Scale (MES), and identification processes. Specifically, we employed a tailored version of the MES to scrutinize self-identity and its relative expansiveness. Study 1 revealed a significant relationship between moral concern and self-expansion, yet each exhibited distinct patterns, displaying discriminant validity. The degree of identification with an entity, especially nature-related ones, related to moral concern judgments associated with it, offering fresh insights into moral expansiveness. In Study 2, individuals demonstrating broader and deeper moral circles, alongside a more inclusive self-concept, exhibited heightened tendencies to identify as environmental activists and engage in pro-environmental activism. However, neither construct predicted signing the Climate and Ecology Bill, indicating the need for further investigation into factors influencing pro-environmental behaviour. This paper extends research into environmental activism by examining the unique contribution of expansiveness in moral circles and the self-concept, shedding light on individuals' prosocial engagement with the natural world.
Chatbots and mental health: A scoping review of reviews
Authors: Mayor
Published: March 2024

The majority of individuals presenting with mental disorders do not receive mental health services. The use of chatbots for mental health is now frequently discussed as a means to increase access to mental health resources. For this scoping review of reviews on chatbots for mental health, we performed a systematic search of the literature on Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed and Dimensions.ai and identified 14 relevant reviews published in scientific journals which identified publications following a systematic search on two or more databases. Three additional relevant reviews were included following forward and backward reference examination. The 17 included reviews are: eight systematic reviews (three with meta-analysis), seven scoping reviews and two unlabeled reviews. We have summarized the scope of the reviews as well as their findings. Most reviews included at least one study with 15 participants or less. Few reviews report an important proportion of RCTs and some original publications most of the time report on piloting studies. Overall, the reviews examined the opinions of users of chatbots (generally good user’s perceptions although some find deterrents), the features of chatbots, the outcomes and measures in studies relying on chatbots, the effectiveness of chatbots (particularly the meta-analyses) for the alleviation of mental disorder symptomatology (three meta-analyses find effectiveness for depression, whereas other clinical targets might need further research) as well as their potential for the assessment of mental health. The use of machine learning and natural language processing frameworks (Dialogflow, RASA) seems to drive an increasing number of studies of chatbots for mental health. Overall, we conclude that there is potential for the use of chatbots for mental health, but that progress is necessary in following areas affecting interaction dynamics: reduction of the frequent lack of empathy and repetitiveness, inclusion of user assessment within the chatbot system, inclusion of a memory of past interactions. Large language models might be capable of reducing part of these issues and playing an increasingly important role in the field. Whether data privacy can be guaranteed to users is also an important question, which seems to be overlooked in the field.
Shedding light on changes in subjective experience during an intensive contemplative retreat: the Lyon Assessment of Meditation Phenomenology (LAMP) questionnaire
Authors: Abdoun Oussama , Poublan-couzardot Arnaud , Offort Stéphane , Pagnoni Giuseppe , Lutz Antoine
Published: March 2024

Background: A significant share of meditation research relies on trait psychometric measures of mindfulness, which neglect the intricate and dynamic unfolding of experiential processes entailed by meditation over time. There have been, however, a few attempts to capture ongoing changes in experience during meditation. In this study, we integrate and expand upon three of these previous approaches to create a novel instrument, which we called the Lyon Assessment of Meditation Phenomenology (LAMP). This questionnaire encompasses contextual, conative, affective, somatic, attentional, cognitive, and meta-cognitive domains.Methods: Fifty-three experienced meditators completed it after each meditation session during an intensive 10-day retreat. We modeled the time courses of the individual answers to each question using generalized additive modeling, and automatically clustered participants using group-based trajectory modeling.Results: Over 60% of the assessed measures exhibited significant change during the retreat across the group, following distinct temporal trajectories. These trajectories reflected differences between meditation types (chiefly, focused attention and open monitoring) and individual expertise, supporting a previously proposed multi-dimensional phenomenological model of mindfulness. We also identified three clusters of individual temporal trajectories associated with prior meditative experience and difficulties experienced during the retreat. Finally, we replicated and extended core findings from mindfulness research on pain regulation.Conclusions: The proposed multidimensional experience-sampling approach provides a rich characterization of the dynamical aspects of meditative experience and may be usefully employed to deepen our knowledge of the phenomenology and mechanisms of meditation and meditation-based interventions.
Automatic Annotation of Grammaticality in Child-Caregiver Conversations
Authors: Nikolaus Mitja , Agrawal Abhishek , Kaklamanis Petros , Warstadt Alex , Fourtassi Abdellah
Published: March 2024

The acquisition of grammar has been a central question to adjudicate between theories of language acquisition. In order to conduct faster, more reproducible, and larger-scale corpus studies on grammaticality in child-caregiver conversations, tools for automatic annotation can offer an effective alternative to tedious manual annotation. We propose a coding scheme for context-dependent grammaticality in child-caregiver conversations and annotate more than 4,000 utterances from a large corpus of transcribed conversations. Based on these annotations, we train and evaluate a range of NLP models. Our results show that fine-tuned Transformer-based models perform best, achieving human inter-annotation agreement levels. As a first application and sanity check of this tool, we use the trained models to annotate a corpus that is almost two orders of magnitude larger than the manually annotated data and verify that children's grammaticality shows a steady increase with age. This work contributes to the growing literature on applying state-of-the-art NLP methods to help study child language acquisition at scale.
Thriving Through Autonomy: High-Ability Adolescents' Well-Being Amidst the Pandemic
Authors: Palisek Petr , Jabůrek Michal , portešová šárka
Published: March 2024

Most research has so far focused primarily on the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on early adolescents. This pre-registered study fills this gap by investigating possible links between pandemic regulations and positive outcomes, namely school well-being. Specifically, we test the assumption that high-ability early adolescents benefit from virtual schooling by experiencing higher school well-being while schooled virtually. Data from a Czech sample (N = 210) do not support this claim but show a strong effect of autonomy on school well- being. We also explore the changes reported by our participants after returning to classrooms.
A Cautionary Tale about Linear Probability Models : Yet Another Reply to Holm, Hjorth Trolle, and Jæger
Authors: Yastrebov Gordey
Published: March 2024

In this open working paper, I respond to Holm, Hjorth-Trolle, and Jæger (2024), who have recently addressed my comment (Yastrebov, 2023) on their original work (Holm et al., 2019). In my comment, I raised the concern that the authors’ most original hypothesis—regarding unequal responses of advantaged and disadvantaged students to negative information shocks—does not have a sound theoretical basis and that its empirical test may not be entirely convincing. In their rejoinder, the authors disagree with my critique and defend their interpretation. However, despite some clarifications offered, they make some further confusing statements and ignore one of my major criticisms—a temptation to interpret differences in marginal effects from a linear probability model (LPM) substantively. I revisit these concerns, and show, with a simulation, that in interpreting their main empirical finding—i.e., that the effects of ability on the probabilities of enrolling and completing high school converge with increasing family socioeconomic status—the authors might be erroneously attributing the properties of probability distributions to a substantive process (such as compensatory advantage or status demotion avoidance). The argument I am making is not at all new (to the authors included) but is apparently worth revisiting as a reminder to use LPMs with caution.
Socio-economic Determinants of Smoking Prevalence and Intensity in Nepal
Authors: Adhikari Naveen , GC Shreezal , KC Subin , Raut Nirmal Kumar
Published: March 2024

This study examines the socioeconomic determinants of smoking and smoking intensity in Nepal. Leveraging data from the nationally representative Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019, a logistic regression is utilized to identify predictors of individual smoking while the study relies on Poisson estimation technique to examine the determinants of smoking quantity. Our results indicate that individual characteristics—particularly age, level of education, history of alcohol use, and consumption of smokeless tobacco—play a significant role in predicting the prevalence of smoking. On the other hand, household factors like wealth scores, household size, and house-specific attributes are only weakly associated with both smoking behavior and intensity. Our results also support that similar set of socio-economic variables influence the likelihood of smoking and the quantity of cigarettes consumed. These findings emphasize the need for demand-side interventions targeted to specific socioeconomic groups, and supplementing the existing supply-side policy and regulatory measures implemented by the Government of Nepal.
Impact of Financial Literacy on the Socio-Economic Well-being of People in Kaski District, Nepal
Authors: Ranabhat Deepesh
Published: March 2024

Financial literacy is considered one of the crucial factors influencing the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper examines how financial literacy affects social and economic well-being in Nepal’s Kaski District. The study follows descriptive and cross-sectional research designs. A sample of 385 households was selected for data collection. The head of each household was identified as the participant, and a survey questionnaire was used to collect the necessary data. Various statistical techniques, such as frequency distribution, exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling, were used for data analysis. This study found that financial literacy positively influences both the social and economic well-being of households. Possessing the necessary knowledge and skills in financial matters enables individuals to meet their social and economic needs. The findings are very important for policymakers, educators, and stakeholders to enhance financial knowledge and skills and support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Factors Affecting Credit Risk in Nepalese Commercial Banks
Authors: Bhattarai Seema
Published: March 2024

This study analyzes the factors affecting credit risk in Nepalese commercial banks. The study comprises data from 27 commercial banks from 2002 to 2020 A.D. For analysis, the Least Square Dummy Variable (LSDV) Regression for model I and Random Effect (RE) Regression Analysis for model II were performed. The effect of the independent variables on credit risk, using loan loss provision and non-performing loans, as proxies of it was examined. While comparing both models, the loan loss provisioning was found to better explain the credit risk. The growth rate of GDP, a macroeconomic variable, had a significant and positive effect on credit risk, which was unexpected whereas the control variable, the interbank interest rate, had a negative and significant effect on credit risk. Furthermore, the year dummy showed a relatively high requirement for loan loss provision, especially in the years 2019 and 2020, which may be due to COVID-19. The bank-specific variables like size, and government banks had significant and positive effects on credit risk. This implied that the merging of banks was not fruitful as it caused an increase in the total assets of banks, which would lead to an increase in the size of commercial banks. That increase in the size of commercial banks was found to increase credit risk. In addition, government-owned banks were found to have higher credit risk than other banks. The government should think about reforms through private sector participation in government-owned banks as another alternative to reduce credit risk.
Contribution and compatibility of public open space in disaster management: Perception and experience from Kathmandu Metropolitan
Authors: Timalsina Krishna Prasad , Subedi Bhim Prasad , Sapkota Kanhaiya
Published: March 2024

Despite the extensive literature on public open space (POS) in urban settings, its role in disaster risk reduction and management(DRRM) as perceived and experienced by its residents is limited. Taking a case from Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), this paper analyzes the role and suitability of POS in DRRM. It focuses on: (a) how urban residents perceive and experience the linkages between POS and DRRM, (b) how they utilized the POS during disasters, and in what ways they were instrumental in helping disaster victims,and (c) to what extent the existing POSs are compatible for DRRM in dense urban areas. This study uses qualitative research methodology employing POS inventory taking, key informant interviews, in-depth interviews, and field observation as research instruments. The result of the study shows that people's perception on the use of POS during disasters was very positive and these spaces were intrinsically utilized during disasters in the metropolitan Kathmandu. However, their effectiveness and compatibility in DRRM were contingent upon contextual factors, the inherent nature and types of POS, and the extent of accessibility to them.
Talent Management Practices and Organizational Performance in Nepalese Private Banks
Authors: Mahato Surendra
Published: March 2024

This study aimed to investigate the impact of talent management practices, including talent attraction, talent development, talent retention, talent selection, and reward management, on financial performance in Nepalese banks. A questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale was used to collect data from 256 employees from 17 Nepalese banks over a 10-year period. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted using the AMOS software to analyze the data. The results showed that talent attraction, talent development, and talent retention had a significant positive impact on return on equity (ROE), while the impact of talent selection and reward management on ROE was found to be insignificant. Additionally, talent development had a significant positive impact on return on assets (ROA), while the impact of the other talent management practices on ROA was insignificant. These findings suggest that talent management practices can play a critical role in improving the financial performance of Nepalese banks, particularly in terms of ROE. The study provides valuable insights for bank managers and policymakers on the importance of talent management practices for enhancing financial performance.
Pitfalls of Cooperatives: Framework for Effective Management: Qualitative Evidence from Developing Countries
Authors: Khanal Khageshyor
Published: March 2024

This qualitative research investigates the difficulties of cooperatives in Nepal, concentrating on governance, management, and financial sustainability. The study used deliberate sampling to identify thirteen cooperative managers in Kathmandu, Nepal, as participants. Semi-structured interviews were performed, using an interview guide consisting of open-ended questions covering major topics such as challenges, decision-making processes, organizational structure, financial management, and sustainability plans. The sample size was set based on data saturation to ensure complete data collection. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcribed interviews, which included systematic data coding using a mix of deductive and inductive coding approaches. The investigation found recurring mistakes and obstacles in cooperative governance, management, and financial sustainability. To enhance legitimacy, direct quotes from participants were used. The results emphasize the need of resolving governance concerns, enhancing communication and dispute resolution within cooperatives, and adopting good financial management practices. The research adds to the current literature by offering framework and insights into the unique issues encountered by cooperatives in Nepal and making suggestions to improve their sustainability.
Impact of Covid-19 on Investors Herding Behavior: Evidence from Stock Market
Authors: Sharma Sushil , Khanal Khageshyor
Published: March 2024

The purpose of this research was to use a descriptive and causal-comparative approach to analyze herding behavior in the Nepalese stock market during the COVID-19 epidemic. The study employed a regression model and a cross-sectional standard deviation (CSSD) index to evaluate the herding tendency. The investigation covers a significant time period from January 1, 2018, to February 28, 2023, and involves a substantial number of observation sessions totaling 1103. It appears that there is currently no evidence to suggest that herding behavior has occurred before, during, or after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study indicates that market participants were making independent decisions based on their own analysis and assessment of the situation during the pandemic, rather than relying on the actions or decisions of others.
Cultural Trauma in Wagle’s ‘Palpasa Café’
Authors: Kattel Achut Raj
Published: March 2024

This research article focuses in the area of Wagle’s ‘Palpasa Café’ in the background of Maoist’s insurgency in Nepal. Such a study is significant in order to diagnose the society that faced dreadful events and envision the trouble and trauma people faced during the insurgency. The research method adopted in this article is cultural trauma defined by Jeffrey C. Alexander. The major findings of the present article are characters face dreadful events in the novel ’Palpasa Café’ and it frightens them so much that they are anxious of their future identity and security. ‘Palpasa Café’ has the setting of war, and it shows the terror felt both in city and village. The study's main conclusions are ‘Palpasa Café’ is a novel of cultural trauma and it presents a large number of people affected by the horrendous event.
Preparedness for Academic Excellence in Higher Education through BPO
Authors: Hamal Balendu
Published: March 2024

COVID-19 Pandemic has been a very serious problem worldwide. It has damaged all economic germinate areas. Also the Nepalese higher education field has been disturbed. Our teaching and learning methodologies are conventional. Additionally, politicians, policy makers do not want to change and adopt new concept with high-tech. Academicians and administrative staff are thinking positively, but those people are not techno friendly so that in crucial time they are resistant to change. Still, these situations create a big opportunity in Nepal; thus, the higher education sector would apply the BPO technique to provide quality education for their students with low budgets.

This study focuses on how to professionally manage teaching and learning service delivery over the public or private networks to help students use ICT effectively and efficiently. It is a new concept in the education field of Nepal, but developed countries have practiced from last decade. The 21st century is more competitive, and challenges and opportunities come together, where we live in a boundary-less small village appropriate to the speedy of ICT. Through the use of outsourcing (offshoring), stakeholders can take more benefits than the usual method. Especially BPO procedure helps teachers, students, and organizations to meet international standards throughout academic excellence and smooth operation.
Need of Demonetization to wash away the Black Money of the Corrupt People and Market: A Review of the Lesson from India
Authors: Paudel Janardan
Published: March 2024

This research paper presents corruption and demonetization with respect to some impacts on people, production and market. The research question to be answered is" Why was demonetization of Rs. 500 and 1000 notes in India and Nepal needed? The methodology is qualitative and related to interaction with people and document analysis. Demonetization is the process of stripping units of currency from their legal status. After demonetization, those units of currencies will not be used as before. It means their age will be passed away. The units of currencies will have no any existence. If someone circulates these units of currencies after demonetization, it will be a matter of fraud or doing illegal activity and the person will be the subject of deserving candidate for legal action and punishment for blackmailing government and people. Narendra Modi's midnight announcement of the legal proceeding of demonetization of the notes of Rs 500 and 1000 made the silently sleeping citizens wake up around the thunderstorm without cloud and amidst many sink holes without landslides. Millions of corrupted people counting their dreamful beautiful golden notes turned amongst heavy and scaring ghosts haunting around them. This situation was nearly compared to the philosophy of Nietzsche's "Death of God". It is because blackmailed money is the form of God for the blackmailers. The silent sound turned into the unending shape of murderer. It was one of the greatest decisions made by The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in the history of India and other territories in the proximity of India. In the overall situation, it was a feeling of patriotic ideology in controlling black money in India, Nepal and Bhutan.
An Overview of the Past of Animal Domestication
Authors: Adhikari Ram Chandra
Published: March 2024

The study aimed to explore the domestication of animals concerning their advantages, disadvantages and history. The article is based on literature survey. Going through the websites of different academic search engines and agencies literatures were deeply analyzed. There are many breeds of few species of domesticated animals. Pople have been using domesticated animals for many purposes like guard, porter, labor, friends, food, fertilizer, as ornament of houses, as income source, for study and research, experimental purposes, biotechnology, improving the variety and beautify the nature. The study also found that most of the domestic animals of today were domesticated from 11,000 years ago. Dogs were domesticated 35,000 years ago, goat, pig, cow, sheep and other cattle were domesticated in 9500 Before Common Era (BCE) and cats in 7500 BCE. Horse was domesticated 5500 years ago, chicken 4000 years ago and insects were domesticated 5000 years ago. Domestication of animal is essential for the conservation of genetic resource too.
कालीपारे दाइ कति राम्रो गीतको सन्दर्भ विश्लेषण
Authors: रेग्मी Regmi रेखा Rekha
Published: March 2024

प्रस्तुत लेख कालीपारे दाइ कति राम्रो गीतको सन्दर्भ विश्लेषण मूलसमस्यामा केन्द्रित छ भने यसको विश्लेषण गीतमा विद्यमान वैयक्तिक, भौतिक र संज्ञानात्मक सन्दर्भका आधारमा भएको छ । गुणात्मक अनुसन्धानविधि र पाठविश्लेषण ढाँचामा तयार हुने यस लेखमा विश्लेषणविधिको उपयोग भएको छ । सङ्कथन अध्ययनअन्तर्गत सन्दर्भ विश्लेषण यस लेखको सैद्धान्तिक आधार हो । पाठनिष्ठ अर्थ निर्धारणका लागि लेखकले अभिव्यक्तिका माध्ययमबाट वैयक्तिक, भौतिक र संज्ञानात्मक सन्दर्भको सहयोग लिएको हुन्छ । धर्मराज थापाको लेखन तथा तारादेवीको आवाजमा स्वराङ्कन भएको कालीपारे दाइ कति राम्रो शीर्षकको गीति सङ्कथनमा वैयक्तिक, भौतिक र संज्ञानात्मक सन्दर्भको प्रभावकारी संयोजन भएको छ । वैयक्तिक सन्दर्भको प्रेरकका रूपमा देखादेखी हुँदा पनि बिचमा बग्ने कालीगङ्गाका वारिपारि भै रहनुपरेको परिस्थितिमा सँगै बस्न नपाउँदाको समाख्याताको मनको तुलबुली र कारकका रूपमा जवानीको चढ्दो अवस्थाका प्रेमिल अनुभूति गर्ने समाख्याताको भूमिका सशक्त छ । समाख्याताका रूपमा उपस्थित नायिकामा अनुरक्ति जगाउने ‘ढाकाटोपी र काँधमा गलबन्दी’ले सजिएका नायकको भूमिका नेपथ्यमा छ । गीतको वैयक्तिक सन्दर्भ प्रेममय भावनाले वशीभूत पर्दाको स्थितिवर्णनमा केन्द्रित छ । गीतको संज्ञानात्मक सन्दर्भ बयली खेल्दै खोली तरेर भेट्न पुग्दा पनि मन पर्ने मान्छेसित मन खोल्न नसक्नाको कारणसँग सम्बन्धित छ । गीतले समाख्याता र उसको नेपथ्यमै रहेको नायक वारिपारि हुनाले राम्रो लागेर अनि रहर गरेर पनि ‘भेट होला कि’भन्दै पर्खंदै आफ्नो जूनी बितेको अभिव्यक्तिका साथ समाख्याताको मनले भोग्न नपाएको प्रेमको कुण्ठामा असमञ्जस्यको स्थिति रहेको भावलाई सन्दर्भसँग सम्पृक्त गरेको छ । भौतिक सन्दर्भका रूपमा जवानीमा नारी–पुरूष परस्पर प्रेमजन्य भावनामा पर्ने अवस्था, क्रियाकलाप र प्रेमको भोगका खातिर मनमा पैदा हुने इच्छा एवम्म् उक्त रहरको नैसर्गिक पूर्ति सहज हुन नपाउँदाको अवस्थालाई प्रस्तुत गरिएको छ । संज्ञानात्मक सन्दर्भका रूपमा कुनै पनि सामाजिक/सांस्कृतिक कारण बिना नै एक्लिएको समाख्याताको मानसिकतामा रहेको मानसिक उद्वेलनको प्रभावकारी चित्रण भएको विषयमा विमर्श भएको छ ।
The Techno-politics of Canada’s First Internet
Authors: Hilstob Kayla
Published: March 2024

Background: Internet scholars are uncovering and connecting histories of early internets across the globe, but the Canadian context remains underexplored. Drawing on unpublished and declassified documents of the Canadian Armed Forces at Ottawa’s Directorate of History and Heritage, this article investigates the history and significance of SAMSON (Strategic Automatic Message Switching Operational Network), an early Canadian internet that experienced a series of setbacks beginning almost immediately at its advent in 1965, until the project was completed in 1984.

Analysis: Canada’s internet infrastructural techno-politics are examined through Brian Larkin’s framework of examining technical ways through which the political is constituted.

Conclusions and implications: This paper shows how this early internet was a techno-political system that shaped and was shaped by Canada’s pursuit of its national identity amid fears of U.S. influence and rising demands for self-determination within the Québécois and Indigenous nations.
Canada’s Nuclear Colonialism: Capitalist Realism and the Neoliberal Public Sphere
Authors: Dressler Harrison
Published: March 2024

Background: In Canada, actors in industry, government, and civil society have proposed small modular reactors as a technological solution to climate change.

Analysis: A quantitative and qualitative content analysis of New Brunswick’s mainstream newspapers indicates a profound bias in favour of perspectives drawn from actors in industry and government. The sources underemphasize the risk profile of small modular reactors, delegitimize criticism, and promote a nuclear realist project tied to the imperatives of neoliberal capitalism and colonialism.

Conclusions and implications: Disproportionate coverage of pro-nuclear sources from industry and government thwarts representative public deliberation. Indigenous nations, acting as counterpublics, challenge technocratic, colonial, and neoliberal discourse.
The Crisis of Democracy Archive
Authors: Cairns James
Published: March 2024

Background: It is now commonplace to say that democracy is in crisis. What exactly does that diagnosis mean?

Analysis: Examining an archive of Google Alerts over the past three years, this commentary addresses themes and contradictions in the public debate about the so-called crisis of democracy.

Conclusions and implications: The analysis shows that debate is characterized by significant disagreement on the nature of the crisis—how it started, its main symptoms, and its potential resolution. While this commentary rejects the assumption that liberal democracy is in crisis, it argues that there is radical insight and potential in this misguided view.
Behn’s White Innocence: Language Politics in the Dutch-Surinamese Translations of Oroonoko (1688)
Authors: Vandenberghe Fauve
Published: March 2024

Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko (1688) has elicited myriad contradictory readings based on its central ideologies about race and slavery. The ambivalence within the novel has made it a popular text to adapt or translate to produce a certain politics. This essay examines two twentieth-century Dutch-Surinamese translations of the novel: H.D. Benjamins’s of 1919 and Albert Helman’s of 1983. I contextualize both translations within each author’s language politics and imperial projects, reading their work through the lens of Gloria Wekker’s notion of “white innocence.” I argue that Benjamins and Helman rely on Behn’s ethnographic authority and her white sentimentalized womanhood to produce an imperialist politics that perpetuates the long-standing myth of the Netherlands as a gentle and benevolent nation. By moving beyond the notorious politicization of Oroonoko during the nineteenth-century abolition movement, this essay sheds new light on how the novel’s ambivalent politics has been manipulated to political ends throughout history.
The Ameliorationist Trap: Reformist Capture and the Long Eighteenth Century
Authors: Sheldon Ryan Kaveh
Published: March 2024

This essay advances ameliorationism as a keyword and diagnostic concept for reappraising eighteenth-century anti-slavery writing and political thought; it also considers the implications of eighteenth-century abolitionism for contemporary abolitionist theory and practice. I argue that Anglophone Atlantic writing on the transatlantic slave trade and colonial plantation slavery is overwhelmingly oriented by a reformist perspective that aims to soften, economize, and refine the practice of slave-based agricultural production in order to stave off demographic and environmental catastrophe. By way of a brief consideration of merchant and philosopher Thomas Tryon, I meditate on how this reformist line of thinking puts forward potent critiques of slavery that nonetheless reinscribe the plantation as a necessary form of social organization. This reformist trap confronts contemporary organizers and theorists of abolition, and scholars of the long eighteenth century might contribute to the struggle to abolish police forces and prisons by critically dismantling fictions about the recuperability of carceral systems.
Romanticism After Black Studies
Authors: Van Camp Thom
Published: March 2024

This course emerges from my individual research and seeks to bring students into an experimental project of co-reading. The course reading plan is structured by pairing canonical Romantic poets with writing by Black theorists from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This course is designed for the graduate level and would also be appropriate for upper-level undergraduate students.
Fiscal Consolidation and Income Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Komatsuzaki Takuji
Published: March 2024

This paper estimates the effects of past fiscal consolidations in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) on income inequality. For the 13 LAC countries with fiscal consolidation episodes identified by the narrative approach, one percent of GDP fiscal consolidation increases the disposable Gini coefficient by 0.12 percentage point on average in five years. The size of the effect tends to be larger for tax-based consolidations and for non-commodity exporters but broadly similar during booms and slumps.
Anuario 2. 2018.2019
Authors: García León Josefa , Carcelén González Ricardo , Sanz Alarcón Juan Pedro
Published: March 2024

La publicación “Anuario 2. Colección Docente, Investigación, Innovación” se presenta como una memoria que resume la actividad docente e investigadora, así como participación en proyectos de innovación docente, de los profesores adscritos al Departamento de Arquitectura y Tecnología de la Edificación de la Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena durante el curso académico 2018-2019. Anuario 2 incorpora el material elaborado por los docentes responsables de un total de 26 asignaturas de Grado (en Arquitectura, en Fundamentos de Arquitectura y en Ingeniería de Edificación), 3 asignaturas de Másteres (en Patrimonio Arquitectónico), 12 reseñas de artículos 83, y un resumen de la actividad principal de 3 grupos de investigación del Departamento de Arquitectura y Tecnología de la Edificación.
APPLICATION OF MAINTENANCE DURING THE WAITING PERIOD ('IDDA'): A PERSPECTIVE FROM OTTOMAN AND TURKISH CIVIL LAW
Authors: Ahmet Ekşi  , Uddin A.H.M. Ershad
Published: March 2024

This study examines the Islamic perspective on alimony or maintenance during 'idda, which is the waiting time a divorced woman must observe before remarrying. The study will also evaluate Ottoman law's application to a divorced woman's maintenance during the waiting time by analysing court records from its six-century history. Finally, the study will explain how poverty alimony practices are handled in Turkish law. This study used a mixed-methods research design involving qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques. The study will begin with a literature review of Islamic, Ottoman, and Turkish law to establish a theoretical framework for the research. The literature review will also provide an overview of the existing scholarship on the topic, identify gaps in the literature, and inform the research questions. The study used a purposive sampling technique to select court records from the Ottoman era relevant to the research questions. The chosen court records will be analysed using content analysis to identify the legal principles that guided the court's decision-making on alimony or maintenance during the 'idda. The study aims to comprehensively analyse the Islamic perspective on alimony or maintenance during the `idda period and evaluate the Ottoman law's application to a divorced woman's maintenance during the waiting time. The study also explains how poverty alimony practices are handled in Turkish law. The study's findings will contribute to the existing literature on Islamic law, Ottoman law, and Turkish law and provide insights for policymakers, legal experts, and women who have gone through the divorce process in Turkey.
A ROUTINE ACTIVITY APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING THE REASONS FOR TECHNOLOGY-FACILITATED HARASSMENT AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA
Authors: Khan Samina , Nordin Rohaida , Hassan Muhamad Sayuti
Published: March 2024

The rapid increase in technologies is forcing more people to be online, which is offering perpetrators to commit technology-facilitated harassment (TFH). This paper explores various reasons associated with the rise of TFH cases against women in India by employing routine activity theory (RAT). A conceptual framework is proposed to understand the reasons for technology facilitated- harassment against women (TFHW) in India. This paper adopted a qualitative methodology and observed that accessibility, anonymity, anger, revenge, and political agenda were the vital sources of motivation among perpetrators. The sharing of personal data, underreporting, lack of awareness of laws, negligence, less awareness of technology, gender perception in using the technology, and patriarchal society made women in India suitable targets. Lastly, a lack of effective laws, careless enforcement agencies, and no privacy settings materialised in the absence of a capable guardian. Thus, this paper provides a new perspective on RAT by utilising it on TFHW in India. Further, it will serve as a platform to locate how TFH incidents can be minimised by addressing the reasons in the context of a motivated offender, a suitable target, and a capable guardian.
DEATH PENALTY AND RIDDAH: A CRITICAL EVALUATION TOWARDS THE CLAIM OF A JURISTIC IJMĀ‘
Authors: Muhammadin Fajri Matahati , Romadhon Nur Fajri
Published: March 2024

Contemporary academics and ‘ulama debate back and forth regarding whether Islam really supports the execution of those who have apostatised away from Islam (i.e. committed riddah). There is already numerous research dedicated to the interpretation of verses of the Qur’an and aḥadīth relevant to riddah, and what legal rulings can be derived from them. What often alludes contemporary academics is what some ‘ulama call the “third primary source of Islamic law”, namely ijmā‘. Claims of and counterclaims against ijmā‘ regarding executing the murtadin have often been cited in passing, somehow the latter more lengthily explained. What is missing, however, is a comprehensive analysis of these ijmā‘ claims and counterclaims and this is what our research does. Through literature research using comparative fiqh analysis, we critically examine whether an ijmā‘ has been achieved during the era of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ (pious predecessors) then the classical madhāhib regarding the matter of murtadin execution, considering also potential exceptions. Finding the affirmative, we critically analyse what to make of the contemporary dissenting opinions in navigating the present-day challenges to implement Islamic criminal law.
INCORPORATING THE ROME STATUTE INTO NATIONAL LAW: LESSONS FOR MALAYSIA
Authors: Abdul Ghafur Hamid@ Khin Maung Sein
Published: March 2024

Although the former Malaysian government, due to political pressure, decided not to proceed with accession to the Rome Statute, this is not the end of the game. To join the Rome Statute had been in principle accepted by preceding governments and has been the ardent hope of the civil society. How to incorporate the Rome Statute into the Malaysian legal system has been deliberated among the Malaysian government (including the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Malaysian Parliamentarians, and civil society since a long time ago. As adopting the Rome Statute is in the best interest of humanity as a whole, the idea will definitely revive at any time in the future when the political climate is favourable. The objectives of the present paper, therefore, are to rebut the main objections against the Rome Statute and to identify the best way of incorporating the Rome Statute into the Malaysian law once Malaysia decides to accede to it. This is a doctrinal legal research supplemented by a comparative methodology, focusing on an analysis of key provisions of the Rome Statute and the Malaysian laws that could be affected, and a comparison between the practices of selected dualist and monist countries. The paper finds that Malaysia, as a dualist State, should opt for applying the single comprehensive enactment modality rather than the multiple one. It is in the best interest of Malaysia for clarity and effectiveness purposes. It concludes with recommendations for the proposed draft implementing legislation, together with suggestions for consequential amendments.
THE STANDARD OF PROOF IN INQUESTS: LESSONS FROM MALAYSIA AND OTHER JURISDICTIONS
Authors: Syahrin binti Jeli Bohari  , Muhamad Helmi Md Said  , Ramalinggam Rajamanickam
Published: March 2024

An inquest, also known as inquiry of death in Malaysia, is governed by the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). The main objective of an inquest is to investigate the cause of death. However, the lack of established procedures in Malaysia to guide coroners in conducting inquests has created many ambiguities. These ambiguities are demonstrated in numerous cases where decisions have been reviewed on a variety of grounds. One of the critical issues not addressed by the CPC is the standard of proof applicable in inquests. This article aims to study the correct standard of proof to be applied by the coroner at the end of an inquest proceeding. The focus is on the relevant standard of proof at the end of an inquest in Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The research methodology is doctrinal legal research using comparative study. It is found that the standard of proof applied in Australia is settled, that is on the civil standard of balance of probabilities. The development of applicable standards of proof in inquests in Malaysia and the United Kingdom is observed in case law, which shows a shift from the criminal standard of proof to the civil standard of proof. The authors propose that specific legislation be enacted to govern the coroner’s court in Malaysia, in order to provide a clear and definitive legislative framework as well as guidance in the practice and procedure for coroners, including the issue of standard of proof.
THE ORIGINS OF THE TRUST DOCTRINE FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: A COMMENTARY FROM THE MALAYSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Authors: Asril Amirul Zakariah  , Wan Izatul Asma Wan Talaat  , Murshamshul Kamariah Musa  , Mohd Shahril Nizam Md Radzi
Published: March 2024

The Trust Doctrine governs the fiduciary relationship between the state and indigenous peoples, in which the state acts as a trustee for the benefit of its indigenous peoples. However, many states have failed to fulfil their duty and have acted oppressively towards the indigenous peoples. This study critically examines the background and origins of the Trust Doctrine from the United States, its practical application in the state-indigenous relationship, and the efforts made towards a positive translation of the doctrine. In addition, the study explores the impact of a positive implementation of the Trust Doctrine in Malaysia and on the international stage, particularly in the context of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). By analysing the Trust Doctrine's origins, application, and impact, this study highlights the challenges and opportunities for the rights of indigenous peoples (Orang Asli) in Malaysia and beyond. The study emphasises the significance of transforming the Trust Doctrine into a meaningful tool for promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, while also recognising its potential for environmental protection. Ultimately, this study contributes to the ongoing global discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples and the need for more effective state-indigenous relations. The research methodology employed in this study involves a doctrinal legal research approach and utilises the content analysis method to gather perspectives from the international context and apply them to the Malaysian context.
Foliar Morphological and Micromorphological Variation of Dioscorea Species in Terengganu, Malaysia
Authors: A Azahana , A.S. Dahlia , M.Y. Noor Syaheera , N.H. Noor Haslinda , H.S. Othman , M.S. Salleh
Published: March 2024

Dioscorea species are recognised for their production of tuberous roots and are referred to as "ubi" by the local population in Malaysia. The tubers of Dioscorea are commonly consumed by individuals residing in the East Coast region of Peninsular Malaysia as their primary food source. These tuberous roots are particularly abundant during the monsoon season, typically observed in local markets from October to December. Due to the availability and potential of this Dioscorea species, a study about the variation in morphological and micromorphological study of the leaves of three species of Dioscorea in Terengganu was conducted in order to identify the variation in their morphological and micromorphological characteristics. The selected species are D. esculenta (ubi itik), D. alata (ubi besar), and D. hispida (ubi gadong). The collection has been done in the Kuala Berang Terengganu area. The leaves morphological characteristics such as leaf colour, leaf type, leaf shape, leaf size, leaf margin and hairiness of adaxial and abaxial surface and shape of leaves and petiole were recorded. The morphological descriptors were suggested by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) / International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The foliar anatomical studies of selected Dioscorea were followed by the standard tissue sectioning procedures and the observation was done by using light microscopy. The morphological study shows the variations in leaf shape, leaf base, and leaf size but they have the similarity in term of leaf margin shape and leaf attachment which is all species are petiolate. The micromorphological study shows the presence of non-glandular and uniseriate trichomes which is only obtained in the D. esculenta and D. hispida. Hence, this study contributes to the information on these species, especially for classification and identification of Dioscorea species.Keywords: Dioscorea, morphology, foliar anatomy