bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Passions and the Passion: Robert Southwell's Mary Magdalene
Authors: Ransom Emily A.
Published: February 2024

Abstract: While still a fugitive at large, the Jesuit poet Robert Southwell published his best-selling prose masterpiece, Mary Magdalens Funerall Teares , which deftly combines the English literary vogue of complaint with Ignatian meditation in an eloquent grand style. While scholarship has mostly treated this work as a meditation for recusant Catholics separated from Christ's body in the Eucharist, as Mary was separated from Christ on Easter morning, this article argues that its widespread popularity and literary influence was a strategic success in large part owing to its bold and timely approach to human passions directed to its Protestant readers. In an era in which England's "finest wits are now given to write passionat discourses," Southwell suggested an alternative both to Neostoic curbing of passion and even to Augustinian moderation, presenting the Magdalen as a figure of godly vehemence in whom reason itself is ruled by a love in which "the excesse cannot be faultie."
"I do play the touch": Touchstone and Testing in As You Like It
Authors: Weindling Lauren
Published: February 2024

Abstract: This article takes as its subject a philological explication of the name of Touchstone, the fool in William Shakespeare's As You Like It , unpacking its connotations by tracking its usage in early modern print material. Literally a stone used to test gold's purity, the touchstone's metaphorical usage reveals a cultural desire to know true from feigning and likewise intimates violent interrogation when addressing the Jesuit threat to Queen Elizabeth's rule. This enlarged context illuminates a critique of this epistemological method in Touchstone's comedy. There is no certain method to test others, for identity and allegiance are not innate qualities exposed with violent pressure but products of verbal play. Moreover, this method presupposes, then fabricates, guilt.
HyperColorization: propagating spatially sparse noisy spectral clues for reconstructing hyperspectral images
Authors: Aydin M. Kerem , Guo Qi , Alexander Emma
Published: February 2024

Hyperspectral cameras face challenging spatial-spectral resolution trade-offs and are more affected by shot noise than RGB photos taken over the same total exposure time. Here, we present a colorization algorithm to reconstruct hyperspectral images from a grayscale guide image and spatially sparse spectral clues. We demonstrate that our algorithm generalizes to varying spectral dimensions for hyperspectral images, and show that colorizing in a low-rank space reduces compute time and the impact of shot noise. To enhance robustness, we incorporate guided sampling, edge-aware filtering, and dimensionality estimation techniques. Our method surpasses previous algorithms in various performance metrics, including SSIM, PSNR, GFC, and EMD, which we analyze as metrics for characterizing hyperspectral image quality. Collectively, these findings provide a promising avenue for overcoming the time-space-wavelength resolution trade-off by reconstructing a dense hyperspectral image from samples obtained by whisk or push broom scanners, as well as hybrid spatial-spectral computational imaging systems.
Blind multi-Poissonian image deconvolution with sparse log-step gradient prior
Authors: Dong Wende , Wang Qixiang , Tao Shuyin , Tian Chao
Published: February 2024

Blind image deconvolution plays a very important role in the fields such as astronomical observation and fluorescence microscopy imaging, in which the noise follows Poisson distribution. However, due to the ill-posedness, it is a very challenging task to reach a satisfactory result from a single blurred image especially when the power of the Poisson noise is at a high level. Therefore, in this paper, we try to achieve high-quality restoration results with multi-blurred images which are contaminated by Poisson noise. Firstly, we design a novel sparse log-step gradient prior which adopts a mixture of logarithm and step functions to regularize the image gradients and combine it with the Poisson distribution to formulate the blind multi-image deconvolution problem. Secondly, we incorporate the methods of variable splitting and Lagrange multiplier to convert the original problem into sub-problems, then we alternately solve them to achieve the estimation of all the blur kernels of corresponding blurred images. Besides, we also design a non-blind multi-image deconvolution algorithm which is based on the log-step gradient prior to reach the final restored image. Experimental results on both synthetic and real-world blurred images show that the proposed prior is very capable of suppressing negative artifacts caused by ill-posedness. The algorithm can achieve restored image of very high quality which is competitive with some state-of-the-art methods.
Crisis-driven digitalization and academic success across disciplines
Authors: Tinjić Dina , Nordén Anna
Published: February 2024

While the rapid digitalization in higher education, accelerated by the COVID-19 pan- demic, has restructured the landscape of teaching and learning, a comprehensive under- standing of its implications on students’ academic outcomes across various academic disciplines remains unexplored. This study, therefore, aims to fill this gap by providing an in-depth examination of the effects of crisis-driven digitalization on student performance, specifically the shift to emergency remote education during the COVID-19 crisis. Lever- aging a panel dataset encompassing 82,694 individual student course grades over a span of six years, we explore the effects of digitalization across nationalities, educational levels, genders, and crucially, academic disciplines. Our findings are threefold: (i) firstly, we note that crisis-driven digitalization significantly impacted students’ chances of passing a course and achieving higher course grades in comparison to the pre-crisis period. (ii) Secondly, we found the effect to be heterogeneous across disciplines. Notably, practical disciplines, such as nursing, experienced a negative impact from this sudden shift, in contrast to more theoretical disciplines such as business administration or mathematics, which saw a positive effect. (iii) Lastly, our results highlight significant variations in the impact based on educational levels and nationalities. Master’s students had a harder time adapting to the digital shift than their bachelor counterparts, while international students faced greater challenges in less international academic environments. These insights underscore the need for strategic interventions tailored to maximize the potential of digital learning across all disciplines and student demographics. The study aims to guide educators and policymakers in creating robust digital learning environments that promote equitable outcomes and enhance students’ learning experiences in the digital age.
Application of glutamate weighted CEST in brain imaging of nicotine dependent participants in vivo at 7T
Authors: Jacobs Paul S. , Jee Joelle , Fang Liu , Devlin Emily , Iannelli Claudia , Thakuri Deepa , Loughead James , Epperson Cynthia Neill , Wilson Neil , Roalf David , Reddy Ravinder , Nanga Ravi Prakash Reddy
Published: February 2024

Introduction

With nicotine dependence being a significant healthcare issue worldwide there is a growing interest in developing novel therapies and diagnostic aids to assist in treating nicotine addiction. Glutamate (Glu) plays an important role in cognitive function regulation in a wide range of conditions including traumatic brain injury, aging, and addiction. Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) imaging via ultra-high field MRI can image the exchange of certain saturated labile protons with the surrounding bulk water pool, making the technique a novel tool to investigate glutamate in the context of addiction. The aim of this work was to apply glutamate weighted CEST (GluCEST) imaging to study the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) in a small population of smokers and non-smokers to determine its effectiveness as a biomarker of nicotine use.

Methods

2D GluCEST images were acquired on 20 healthy participants: 10 smokers (ages 29–50) and 10 non-smokers (ages 25–69), using a 7T MRI system. T1-weighted images were used to segment the GluCEST images into white and gray matter tissue and further into seven gray matter regions. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were performed, comparing mean GluCEST contrast between smokers and non-smokers across brain regions.

Results

GluCEST levels were similar between smokers and non-smokers; however, there was a moderate negative age dependence (R2 = 0.531) in smokers within the cingulate gyrus.

Conclusion

Feasibility of GluCEST imaging was demonstrated for in vivo investigation of smokers and non-smokers to assess glutamate contrast differences as a potential biomarker with a moderate negative age correlation in the cingulate gyrus suggesting reward network involvement.
Organomegalies as a predictive indicator of leukemia cutis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Kanitthamniyom Chanakarn , Wannaphut Chalothorn , Pattanaprichakul Penvadee , Kungwankiattichi Smith , Owattanapanich Weerapat
Published: February 2024

Background

Leukemia cutis (LC) is an extramedullary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) infiltrate. No previous study has described the clinical characteristics and outcomes of Thai patients diagnosed with AML with LC.

Materials and methods

We conducted a 7-year retrospective case-control study on Thai AML patients at Siriraj Hospital from November 2013 to July 2020. Patients were divided into LC and non-LC groups. Initial clinical presentations and laboratory findings were examined to identify LC-associated factors. Overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) were assessed. Pathological tissues underwent re-evaluation to validate the LC diagnoses.

Results

The study included 159 patients in a 2:1 ratio (106 non-LC and 53 LC). The LC group had a mean ± SD age of 54.3 ± 15.5 years; females were predominant. Three-fifths of the LC patients had intermediate-risk cytogenetics; 20.4% had an adverse risk, and 10.2% had a favorable risk. Most were classified as AML-M4 and AML-M5. Leukemic nodules were the primary finding in 58.5% of the cases, mainly on the legs. In the multivariate analysis of predictive factors associated with LC, organomegalies, specifically hepatomegaly, and lymphadenopathy, remained significant factors associated with LC [OR 4.45 (95%CI 1.20, 16.50); p = 0.026 and OR 5.48 (95%CI 1.65, 18.20); p = 0.005], respectively. The LC group demonstrated a significantly reduced OS (log-rank test p = 0.002) (median OS of 8.6 months vs. 32.4 months). RFS was considerably lower in the LC group (log-rank test p = 0.001) (median duration of 10.3 months vs. 24.4 months in the non-LC).

Conclusions

AML patients who developed LC tended to experience notably poorer prognoses. Therefore, it is imperative to consider aggressive treatment options for such individuals. The presence of organomegalies in AML patients serves as a strong predictor of the possible occurrence of LC when accompanied by skin lesions.
Beyond partisan filters: Can underreported news reduce issue polarization?
Authors: Bram Curtis
Published: February 2024

While many news outlets aim for impartiality, 67% of Americans perceive their news sources as partisan, often presenting only one side of the story. This paper tests whether exposing individuals to news stories their political adversaries focus on can mitigate political polarization. In an experiment involving a real-world political newsletter—sent to participants who had opted to receive news that uncovers media biases—exposure to a specific story about refugee policy led respondents to reassess their positions. This reevaluation changed their stances on the issue and reduced the ideological distinctions they made between Democrats and Republicans. These findings underscore the need for future studies to untangle the specific circumstances where cross-partisan exposure can alter political attitudes.
Research on quantitative evaluation of digital economy policy in China based on the PMC index model
Authors: Hong Shuai , Wang Tianzun , Fu Xiaoyi , Li Guo
Published: February 2024

The development of digital economy is a strategic choice to grasp the revolution of new science and technology and the new opportunities of industrial reform. The development of digital economy depends on the good support of policy and theoretical system. Therefore, the quantitative evaluation of policy texts provides the basis of decision-making and the suggestions of path optimization for the formulation and improvement of digital economy policy of China. By selecting the text of digital economy policy issued by China government, the paper constructs a quantitative evaluation model of digital economy policy using the methods of content analysis and text mining. The empirical research results show that the overall design evaluation of the selected policy is relatively reasonable. Six policies were evaluated as excellent and two as acceptable. In view of the problems such as lack of predictive policy in the policy type, lack of specific policy in the policy timeliness, imbalance in the use of policy guarantee, and lack of comprehensive coverage in the policy objectives, the paper puts forward corresponding countermeasures and suggestions.
Assessing postnatal care for newborns in Sub-Saharan Africa: A multinational analysis
Authors: Eshetu Habitu Birhan , Aragaw Fantu Mamo , Negash Wubshet Debebe , Belachew Tadele Biresaw , Asmamaw Desale Bihonegn , Tareke Abiyu Abadi , Asratie Melaku Hunie
Published: February 2024

Background

No doubt providing optimal postnatal care (PNC) prevents both maternal and neonatal deaths, in addition to the prevention of long-term complications. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) had the highest neonatal mortality rate, despite this adequate content of PNC for the newborn is not explored in SSA, therefore, it is important to identify the factors affecting adequate content of PNC for the newborn in the region. This may assist the program and policymakers to give an intervention based on the findings of the study.

Methods

A secondary data analysis was performed using 21 SSA countries’ Demographic and Health Surveys. A total weighted sample of 105,904 respondents were included in this study. A multilevel binary logistic regression model was fitted. The odds ratios along with the 95% confidence interval were generated to determine the individual and community-level factors of adequate PNC for the newborn. A p-value less than 0.05 was declared as statistical significance.

Results

Adequate PNC for newborns in sub-Saharan Africa was 23.51% (95% CI: 23.26, 23.77). Mothers age ≥ 35(AOR  =  1.21,95% CI: 1.06,1.16), mothers’ primary education (AOR  = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.23), secondary education (AOR  = 1.58, 95% CI:1.51,1.66), higher education (AOR  = 1.61,95% CI:1.49,1.75), rich wealth status (AOR  = 1.05,95% CI = 1.01,1.10), ANC visits 1–7 (AOR  = 1.61,95% CI:1.51, 1.73), antenatal care (ANC) visit 8 and above (AOR  = 2.54,95% CI: 2.32, 2.77), health facility delivery (AOR  = 4.37, 95% CI:4.16,4.58), lived in east (AOR = 0.23,95% CI = (0.20,0.26), central(AOR = 0.21,95% CI = 0.19,0.24), west African sub-regions (AOR = 0.23,95% CI = 0.21, 0.27), Urban dwellers (AOR = 1.22,95% CI: 1.17,1.27), and low community poverty (AOR = 1.21 (95% CI = 1.11,1.31) were associated with adequate content of PNC for the newborn.

Conclusion

The finding of this study showed that the overall prevalence of adequate content of PNC for a newborn in SSA countries was low. The low prevalence of adequate content of postnatal care for newborns in SSA countries is a concerning issue that requires immediate attention. Age of the respondents, level of education, wealth status, ANC visits, place of delivery, residence, community-level poverty, and sub-region of SSA were the individual-level and the community-level variables significantly associated with adequate PNC for the newborn. Strategies should focus on increasing access to antenatal care services, particularly for vulnerable populations, such as younger mothers, those with lower education levels, and individuals residing in impoverished communities to improve PNC for the newborn.
Enhancing misinformation correction: New variants and a combination of awareness training and counter-speech to mitigate belief perseverance bias
Authors: Siebert Jana , Siebert Johannes Ulrich
Published: February 2024

Belief perseverance bias refers to individuals’ tendency to persevere in biased opinions even after the misinformation that initially shaped those opinions has been retracted. This study contributes to research on reducing the negative impact of misinformation by mitigating the belief perseverance bias. The study explores the previously proposed awareness-training and counter-speech debiasing techniques, further developing them by introducing new variants and combining them. We investigate their effectiveness in mitigating the belief perseverance bias after the retraction of misinformation related to a real-life issue in an experiment involving N = 876 individuals, of whom 364 exhibit belief perseverance bias. The effectiveness of the debiasing techniques is assessed by measuring the difference between the baseline opinions before exposure to misinformation and the opinions after exposure to a debiasing technique. Our study confirmed the effectiveness of the awareness-training and counter-speech debiasing techniques in mitigating the belief perseverance bias, finding no discernible differences in the effectiveness between the previously proposed and the new variants. Moreover, we observed that the combination of awareness training and counter-speech is more effective in mitigating the belief perseverance bias than the single debiasing techniques.
Human dog-mediated rabies in the Circle of Kati, Mali: An epidemiological situation analysis and the stakeholder’s knowledge regarding rabies and the One Health approach
Authors: Traoré Amadou Dit Baba , Savadogo Madi , Diouf Nicolas Djighnoum , Tarnagda Zékiba , Alambedji Rianatou Bada
Published: February 2024

Background and Aim: Human dog-transmitted rabies remains a serious public health issue in Mali despite efforts to mitigate it. Indeed, several stakeholders have implemented multiple initiatives for years. However, there is still a lack of cooperation among stakeholders. This study was conducted to capture situational data on rabies and One Health practices among key actors involved in the fight against rabies in Mali.

Materials and Methods: Data from veterinary and medical services were collected for analysis. Data collection was based on a review of technical documents (epidemiology of rabies in animals and humans and activities conducted to tackle the disease) and stakeholder interviews (awareness of rabies and the One Health approach).

Results: With regard to the epidemiological situation, the findings revealed unsatisfactory vaccination coverage in dogs and low suspected sample collection for laboratory diagnosis. In addition, only half of the exposed individuals received complete post-exposure prophylaxis. A survey carried out by experts in the fields of animal health, human health, and the environment indicated that only 22.47% were well aware of rabies and had never heard of the One Health approach. Overall, there was no significant association between knowledge and participant sector of origin (p > 0.05), highlighting the need for operationalization of the One Health approach in Mali.

Conclusion: Therefore, an integrated national action plan for rabies control should be developed with a particular focus on capacity building, particularly in the area of the One Health core competencies.

Keywords: epidemiology, multisectoral engagement, One Health, Public Health priority zoonoses, Stakeholders.
Tourism rebound in the post-pandemic era:
Authors: Raimundo da Silva Raianne , Violin Fábio Luciano , Santana Ana Beatriz Aragão , Raimundo Glória Geovana de Oliveira
Published: February 2024

The primary objective of this study focused on analyzing the behavior of tourist product consumers in the post-pandemic period. To achieve this, a research was conducted, encompassing websites and scientific articles from the years 2020 to 2022, with the aim of identifying the major challenges and assessing how tourists perceived the post-pandemic recovery. The study relied on data from official websites of the Ministry of Tourism (Mtur), the Forum of Hotel Operators in Brazil (FOHB), and a recent survey conducted by the website O Globo. The central findings related to consumer behavior indicated that while the tourism sector has not yet fully recovered, its resurgence has shown a positive trajectory. Notably, the airline and hotel sectors have been prominent in this recovery. Furthermore, it was observed that tourists are currently inclined to choose domestic flights during this period of recovery, often with an emphasis on family travel.
CHROMATOGRAPHIC AND SPECTRAL STUDY OF ARCTIUM LAPPA AND ARCTIUM TOMENTOSUM FRUCTUS CULTIVATED IN ALTAI
Authors: Kolomiets Natalia Eduardovna , Boev Roman Sergeevich , Zhalnina Ludmila Vladimirovna , Ali Abdujalil Kaid Hasan
Published: February 2024

Burdock is an ingredient of official and traditional medicines in different countries, its roots are used for food, biologically active additives, functional nutrition products, fertilizers, etc. A great demand led to the situation when many countries including Russia began the plant’s cultivation. Despite that, the aboveground parts of the plant including its fructus still remain expendable. At the moment, burdock fructus are officially used only in China and Japan. In Russia they are not used and studies of their chemical composition and pharmacological properties are scarce.

The research showed that fructus of Arctium lappa and A. tomentosum cultivated in Altai using by traditional way of growing, and new of agrotechnics of cultivation contain lignans, hydroxycinamic acid, fatty acids and their derivatives, polysaccharides and anthocyanin’s. The use of a new cultivation technology increased the content of lignans and other BAS by 10–25%. Hydroxycinamic acid is one of the dominant substances in fructus by content, therefore it is possible to standardize raw material according to this parameter. The presence of methyl cis-9, cis-15-octadecadienoate and 11-Eicosenoic acid methyl ester in fructushas been discovered for the first time. Ethyl linoleate and methylfolate or methyl cis-9-octadecenoate are found to be dominant components of fatty acids and their derivatives.

Additional studies of chemical composition, pharmacological properties, clinical approbation are needed to obtain evidence of the efficiency of burdock fructus utilization for clinical purposes and prevention.
It’s The Cosmos, Albert, But Not as We Know it!
Authors: Brell Edward
Published: February 2024

Examining Einstein's Legacy Through Diverse Lenses: A Comparative Analysis ofCriticisms. Albert Einstein's revolutionary work continues to shape our understanding of theuniverse. This paper explores five diverse perspectives on his theories, examining criticismsraised by figures like Lawrence Krauss, Glenn Borchardt, and others. Through comparativeanalysis, we delve into their objections regarding mass-energy equivalence, space-time, andother key concepts. While reaffirming the core principles of Einstein's work supported byrobust evidence, the analysis also identifies potential areas for further investigation andhighlights the importance of ongoing critical engagement in scientific progress.
A Survey Report of the Study of Sustainability Science in India
Authors: Das S Harshika , Bhattacharjee Proma
Published: February 2024

A sufficient level of awareness among members belonging to different spheres of society and practicable policies, and a proper roadmap to advance towards a sustainable future is a prerequisite when it comes to addressing diverse sustainability challenges while at the same time satiating the growing demands of the Indian population. This has become all the more significant in the light of socio-environmental and economic issues burgeoning daily. This calls for immediate and adequate efforts from our side to alleviate the situation by assessing the current status of the domain of Sustainability in India and recognizing the areas requiring greater focus. This paper gives a comprehensive insight into a survey-based analysis of the state of sustainability science in India. It explores the various aspects of the same by gauging the general attitude, and opinions on collaboration, funding and several other pertinent factors. The paper provides workable recommendations for action and outlines clearly the background and structure of the survey along with key findings, which can all provide functional and applicative insights to enhance the impact of sustainability.
Curative Resection of T1a Inlet Patch Adenocarcinoma With Traction-Assisted Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection
Authors: Bahdi Firas , Tamai Robert , Lu David Y. , Eshtiaghpour Daniel D. , Thaker Adarsh M. , Sedarat Alireza
Published: February 2024

Esophageal inlet patch (EIP) adenocarcinoma is extremely rare. We present a case of a 58-year-old man who underwent a diagnostic esophagogastroduodenoscopy for dysphagia and found to have a 2 cm polypoid mass arising from an EIP. Biopsies and staging were consistent with T1aN0M0 EIP adenocarcinoma. While surgical resection was the main method of treatment of these lesions, very few case reports have shown that endoscopic resection can successfully remove these lesions. After multidisciplinary discussion, the patient underwent curative traction-assisted endoscopic submucosal dissection—which is the first known case report to highlight the success of this technique.
The Gecko and the Mosquitoes: A French Officer's Insights into the Early Phase of the 1930–31 Nghệ-Tĩnh Soviets
Authors: Del Testa David W.
Published: February 2024

In letters home to his relatives, Lieutenant Martin Troyes (1905–1997) provides perhaps the only eyewitness accounts of the early part of the 1930–31 Nghệ-Tĩnh Soviets written while the rebellion is occurring from the perspective of a soldier. The Nghệ-Tĩnh Soviets were a Communist-led anti-colonial uprising mainly in Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh provinces of north-central Vietnam, which began as localized protests against heavy taxation and for political representation but quickly evolved into widespread violence and destruction. Troyes's comments point to much wider-ranging violence than scholars have previously discussed and much broader internecine violence than historians have previously presented, especially between Catholic Vietnamese and Communist sympathizers.
The Vietnamese Migrant Community in Laos: Social Stratification and Diversity (1893–1945)
Authors: Nhung Nguyen Thi Tuyet
Published: February 2024

As Vietnam and Laos share extensive and contiguous borders, there is a long history of Vietnamese migrations into Laos. From 1893 to 1945, the French colonial administration of Indochina brought many Vietnamese people to Laos, who later formed a large Vietnamese community there. Given Laos's small population, the French colonial government had to rely on the Vietnamese labor force to build a new colonial regime and infrastructure and exploit its natural resources. Most of these immigrants came from the more populated areas in Tonkin and Annam. They worked in various roles such as civil servants, soldiers, workers, or coolies depending on the needs of the French colonial government and business. While qualified civil servants, including interpreters, secretaries, teachers, nurses, and soldiers, earned better salaries and welfare, free workers and coolies were subject to low social status and hard working conditions. This article describes how the colonial system of wages and occupations contributed to social stratification and diversity within the Vietnamese migrant community and shaped migrants’ diverse responses to French colonial rule.
Les archives coloniales au secours de la diversité génétique : Des petits ruminants du Maghreb (Algérie-Maroc)
Authors: Da Silva Anne , Taurisson-Mouret Dominique
Published: February 2024

Les archives coloniales révèlent qu'au moment de la conquête, le cheptel ovin du Maghreb était encore le reflet des pratiques pastorales tribales ancestrales qui l'avait façonné. Des races d'ovins avaient émergé au sein des tribus dont elles portaient le nom. Elles avaient développé des capacités d'adaptation et de résilience remarquables. Or, des études réalisées récemment montrent que la grande diversité génétique à laquelle on pouvait s'attendre était difficilement détectable. Pour documenter ce processus historique de dilution et d'homogénéisation, cet article propose une approche intégrative sciences dures / sciences humaines, où les archives coloniales jouent un rôle important. L'hypothèse est, en effet, que la politique d’élevage coloniale et les changements qu'elle a entrainés ont considérablement marqué les relations entre pasteurs, ovins et milieux.
Unfeeling, Unflinching, and ‘Superbly Uncuddly’: Muriel Spark’s “The Desegregation of Art”
Authors: Lok Joshua
Published: February 2024

Much about Muriel Spark is upsetting. Not least the fact that her writing, whether in style or subject matter, is perennially unclassifiable. Speaking to Janice Galloway in 1999, Spark admits that it is “very difficult to put my work in any genre and under any label––very very difficult ... It bothers people.”1 According to Ruth Whittaker, her writing is “more obviously resistant to the process of critical labelling than many writers because her direction and emphases change considerably in the course of her work.”2 As a result, it has proven a difficult task to assign Spark a place in the literary canon or even to assess her work's overall character. Nevertheless, and perhaps paradoxically, Spark’s art exudes aesthetic and ideological certainty.
Automation and Diminutions in Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings
Authors: Jones Loma Sylvana
Published: February 2024

Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings (2020) is immediately intimate. There is a raw edge to the essays; the pervasive pressure of the white gaze is intense, pushing a ‘shiv of light’ into Hong’s prospective peace.1 Despite its characterisation as a collection of self-reflexive essays, there is a compelling narrative flow which guides the reader through the often-autobiographical elements of the book. The first-person perspective of the writing exposes the author, allowing the reader into painful moments in Hong’s life and career as well as providing insights into Asian American heritages and histories. Hong picks apart the careful web of shame, assimilation, racialisation and suppression that intersect to constitute a system of emotional undercurrents, the minor feelings of the book’s title. The ‘I’ of the writing has a lyric quality, and Hong's poetic voice colours the vivid and visceral tangents of the work.
'I didn't bring my heart with me' : Unfeeling as a mode of resistance in Abdulrazak Gurnah's Afterlives.
Authors: Mathers Alisha
Published: February 2024

This retelling of a Swahili fable is a cautionary tale, exposing the potential dangers of offering wholehearted support to a colonial regime while also subtly advocating for ‘heartlessness’ as a mode of survival. ‘Don’t you think that was a clever little monkey?’, Khalifa asks the protagonist Ilyas. The story suggests that, when faced with abuses of power, Ilyas might learn not to ‘bring his heart’ with him; to be disaffected, or ‘unfeeling’.
Chronotopes of Power
Authors: Piero Mike
Published: February 2024

Chronotopes of Power
FAQs pt 4
Authors: White Frederick
Published: February 2024

FAQs pt 4
My Body Was Never Made
Authors: Propper Tara
Published: February 2024

My Body Was Never Made
Window in the Morning
Authors: Wilson Leonore
Published: February 2024

Window in the Morning
Nothing New
Authors: Gore Sylee
Published: February 2024

This artwork resonates with a precluded tangibility. One might discern urbanity in the regular lines of concrete blocks; nature in the sand-coloured clouds; domesticity in the starched indigo-dyed fabric. Spliced angular planes converse and intersect;
soft against rough, warm against cool. The work’s title extinguishes any hope of fresh feeling: satiety turns to glut, then a numbness settles in. Suggestions of familiar palability are undercut by the collage in two main ways: firstly, through the
transformative abstraction of collage itself; and secondly, through the alienation of a work made solely from cut pages. Just as the idea of ‘feelingness’ flickers within ‘unfeelingness’, the depiction of texture on paper injects haptic sensation into what is
merely seen. But the smoothing abstraction of images yields unexpected hierarchies. Even severed nerves retain their link to sharp sensations: a studied indifference is undermined when phantom feelings recur.
Gravity
Authors: Caden Katie
Published: February 2024

We are pleased to share with you our very first radio play: Gravity by Katie Caden. Caden is
an alumnus of Soho Writers Lab and has had her work performed at Vault festival,
the Bunker Theatre, Southwark Playhouse, Theatre 503, Camden People's Theatre
and Battersea Arts Centre. Her last show 'Paper Straws', produced by her theatre
company PearShaped, won the Vault Origins award and her first play 'Are You
Happy Now' was shortlisted for Lyric Hammersmith's Original Theatre Voices
competition. Caden's writing explores contemporary issues, and interrogates the way we live our
lives today, experimenting with form and often using humour as a way to
communicate serious issues. She writes to understand other people, and herself,
exploring why we behave in the way we do? Why do we make poor decisions and
repeat our mistakes? And what drives us to hurt each other or conversely express
our love? Writing 'Gravity' in response to Unfeeling, the theme for this year's issue,
allowed Caden to consider these things and, in particular, how people can express
their love through their actions whilst saying they don't care, and conversely how we
can tell people we love them and then behave like we don't. All the characters battle
with these impulses and the push and pull between feeling too much and feeling
nothing at all. Alongside this, Caden has included technology almost as an extra
character, interfering with these dynamics, pulling attention away from the situation
at hand, and impacting the characters' ability to feel to the fullest extent.
Author Biographies
Authors: Edwards Sarah Bethany , Chambre Sarah
Published: February 2024

In this section, you can find a complete list of the biographies for all of the editors, authors and artists contained within this issue.
St Sebastian
Authors: Nockels Joseph
Published: February 2024

The image of St. Sebastian, as well as St. Edmund whom died in a similar vain, being shot with arrows though unharmed is well known. It raises a sense of unfeeling being a resultant of deliberate faith, though not in the hands of man but God. Nonetheless, in both saint’s cases it forms a clear act of resistance and defiance. In more recent interpretations by historians, the arrows shot into St. Sebastian have been interpreted as foreign pathogens attacking the body, medicalising the image, and reminding us of the harm experienced during the Covid pandemic, all caused by a non-anthropomorphic unconscious agent. Here, the arrows are bent and twisted, taking unfeeling as a deliberate response into humanity’s own hands. Drawing in pen.
Within and Beyond: Indie Magazines and the Asian Diasporic Subject
Authors: Fu Mike
Published: February 2024

As a resident of New York City during my twenties and early thirties, I lived through a cascade of cultural eras that exemplified America’s complex and oftentimes contradictory character. Certain palpable shifts coincided with major political events: my time in the city was bookended by the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008 and Donald Trump’s last year in office in 2020. Other changes were more subtle or cumulative in nature, broader trends that took shape around me as I grew into my adult identity and found footing within various communities. Millennials and Generation Z began to stake positions in public discourse with their idiosyncratic worldviews and economic or political grievances, all while Internet 2.0 developed in step with the proliferation of smartphones and the rise of social media. Amidst this wholesale reshaping of human experience by technology, I started to become aware of the independent magazine as a site of representational discourse and collective identity formation, especially for the Asian American community.
Connecting with India: E. M. Forster’s ‘Some Books’ and Louis MacNeice’s ‘India at First Sight’
Authors: Kenyon Jennifer
Published: February 2024

In 1942, in a radio talk broadcast to India on the BBC’s Eastern Service, E. M. Forster noted that, while the time in the London recording studio was ‘quarter to two’, in India, the clock ‘points to some other hour, which prompts in me the fancy that the connection between us is a connection outside time’. Forster broadcast 145 talks on the BBC between 1928 and 1963, embracing radio’s power to move beyond physical borders in order to explore the possibility of a deeper relationship between speaker and listener. While critical studies initially focused on Forster’s broadcasts for British audiences, the publication of a selected edition of his BBC talks in 2008 marked the beginning of a growing interest in his transmissions to India. Most episodes ran under the self-effacing title ‘Some Books’, though they shared recommendations and reviews of a wide range of plays, music, and exhibitions alongside fiction, biographies, and histories. Forster was optimistic about the potential for ‘connection’ between Britain and India, yet his Eastern Service career began in 1941, just six years before the Partition of India and the dissolution of the British Raj. While this period was defined by volatility and political unrest, critics of ‘Some Books’ have tended to disregard the problematic power dynamics inherent in the act of broadcasting from the centre of the empire to a colony under British control.
From Strings to Sensors: Movement Representation in AI Theatre
Authors: Maiti Abhik
Published: February 2024

The assimilation of AI technology into theatre practices has inaugurated an expansive frontier of possibilities for both thespians and spectators. In terms of movement, this involves the use of avatars, which inhabit a customary screen milieu (encompassing three-dimensional in-world scenography) that necessitates simultaneous consideration of a tridimensional theatrical space and coexisting performers, within a moment of real-time inception and interconnectedness. This complex confluence raises questions pertaining to the ‘avatarisation’ of corporeal embodiments on the theatrical stage and the consequent emergence of novel performative methodologies. Within AI-enabled performances, the use of motion capture technology, commonly known as ‘mocap’, entails the recording of skeletal data from physical actors, referred to as ‘mocaptors’, who wear a geo-spatial system for motion capture. This is then translated into digital data that can subsequently be used to animate digital characters or avatars.
Moving Together, Sharing Space in Dance Your Way Home by Emma Warren
Authors: Ho Olivia Min Wei
Published: February 2024

Italian has two words for dancing, ballare and danzare. The former refers to the informal, everyday dancing one does with family and friends; the latter means dancing of a high level, the kind that usually requires years of formal training. British author Emma Warren observes that the conflation of both these meanings into the single English verb ‘dance’ comes at the cost of nuance; for one to be defined as a dancer, the assumption follows that one is good at dancing. In her vibrant non-fiction book Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through the Dancefloor, she seeks to decouple these meanings: if one dances, she argues, then one is a dancer, no matter how excellently or terribly one dances. Her book is concerned not with professional dance but with the ordinary movement of bodies together to music, the spaces this shapes, and the communities this creates. She writes: ‘Moving together to music, I realised, allows us to form new relationships with ourselves and with the wider world’ (7).
Sexual/Orientation: Navigating the Asylum System as a Queer Black Man in Edafe Okporo’s Asylum (2022)
Authors: Mathers Alisha
Published: February 2024

Unable to live in his homeland of Nigeria because of his sexuality, Edafe Okporo fled to America. Seeking asylum in the so-called Land of the Free, however, proved harder than he expected. In his memoir and manifesto Asylum, Okporo traces his search for refuge from Nigeria to New York City.The result is a harrowing tale of loss, detailing Okporo’s tiresome fight to find refuge from persecution.
Recent ethnographic studies have explored the experiences of queer refugees, specifically how queer community groups have supported and excluded queer refugees in asylum, but also how the safety of queer refugees within the asylum system is extremely precarious. Asylum, however, provides a rare insight into an asylum system from a queer refugee’s perspective. The narrative also offers an in-depth exploration into the often- hidden parts of the asylum process, such as his initial moments of exile and life in detention in the United States.
The Secret Formula for Getting Rich with Scientific Research using Academic Marketing: Prepare to be Amazed!
Authors: Pontes Felipe
Published: February 2024

Objective: How do internet searches work? Have you ever thought about how things could be different if you marketed your research better? In this editorial, I seek to challenge the more restrictive narrative of scientific production and scientific dissemination by blending theory with practical examples, inviting you, the reader, to try a more targeted digital engagement, turning your research into an open conversation with users in general, not just a monologue confined to the digital shelves of journals, merely accumulating points for CAPES.

Method: Leaving the comfort zone of impersonal, third-person writing, in this editorial, we will dive into the rediscovered art of “selling” research to the public.

Results: I initially unravel the mystery of the search algorithm, with a touch of academic marketing, to spice up the quest for online visibility.

Contributions: Among strategies of Academic Search Engine Optimization (ASEO) and reflections on the reluctance of some academics towards marketing, I propose that we revisit our view of how research can be “sold” to the market. Additionally, I bring some implicit and explicit ideas for research that could be conducted along this line of more effective scientific dissemination.
Editorial #19. Integralidad de funciones universitarias: políticas, gestión y prácticas
Authors: Iucci Cecilia
Published: February 2024

Editorial de la revista #19
Audiovisual comunitario y etnografía colaborativa: reflexiones desde una práctica integral junto a organizaciones de liberados/as
Authors: Wolanski Sandra , Grünbaum Yamila , Laurens María Paz
Published: February 2024

Este artículo comparte resultados de una experiencia de extensión universitaria que vinculó a investigadoras, docentes y estudiantes universitarios/as con trabajadores/as liberados/as que integran la Rama de Liberados, Liberadas y Familiares del Movimiento de Trabajadores Excluidos. Se trata de una organización que nuclea cooperativas de trabajo y polos productivos cuyos integrantes comparten la experiencia de haber atravesado el encierro carcelario. La intervención analizada produjo dos piezas audiovisuales, una destinada a la formación interna en la organización y otra para la difusión pública de la misma. A partir de esta experiencia, se desarrolla una reflexión teórico–metodológica en torno a las potencialidades de la producción audiovisual como herramienta de la colaboración, en tanto práctica integral que articula investigación–extensión–aprendizaje y, en particular, para la potenciación de procesos de co–construcción de conocimiento.
La integralidad de funciones como proceso. La experiencia de la cátedra de Sociología y Extensión de la Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias de la Universidad Nacional del Litoral
Authors: Bailone Jerónimo , Pinter Paula
Published: February 2024

El trabajo presenta el accionar de la cátedra de Sociología y Extensión, de la Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias de la Universidad Nacional del Litoral, con relación a sus actividades de docencia, extensión e investigación, con el objetivo de vincular este proceso a la luz del concepto de integralidad de funciones. Al reflexionar sobre el trabajo realizado en conjunto con el sistema de salud pública de la ciudad de Esperanza, en diferentes dispositivos de extensión, docencia e investigación, se problematiza la integralidad de funciones en dicho accionar. A través del recorrido analizado, se pretende aportar a la reflexión sobre acciones de integralidad. El artículo concluye con los alcances logrados en este proceso y los desafíos pendientes.
Reseña / Textos clave de la extensión crítica latinoamericana y caribeña
Authors: Soto Oscar Humberto
Published: February 2024

¿Es posible condensar largos procesos de soterrada lucha política e intelectual, epistémica y territorial, en sistematizaciones teóricas? ¿Qué praxis marginal de resistencia ha sido el soporte de esos "úteros" sociales y políticos que han cobijado la genealogía de una extensión marcada por su criticidad? El libro Texto clave de la extensión crítica latinoamericana y caribeña constituye una pieza histórico–literaria fundamental para el reconocimiento de la extensión crítica en toda la dilatada geografía latinoamericana y caribeña. Su cometido principal es aportar un entramado de nociones teóricas, epistemológicas y metodológicas que describan la corporalidad de la corriente conocida bajo el nombre de Extensión Crítica Latinoamericana y Caribeña. Construir una "arqueología" de las matrices de pensamiento que confluyen en este tipo particular de extensión es, en este libro, una forma efectiva de sumergir al lector en buena parte de la biografía subalterna regional.
Reseña / Extensión universitaria: rupturas y continuidades
Authors: Malagrina Julieta Karen
Published: February 2024

Extensión universitaria: rupturas y continuidades impacta en el escenario actual de una formación superior pública comprometida con la sociedad definida por del desempeño de experiencias colectivas, interdisciplinarias e intersectoriales, leídas desde el paradigma de la complejidad y la integralidad. Los cinco capítulos habilitan a una agenda actual de temas medulares en extensión a través de debates, reflexiones y propuestas sobre la base de que la misma produce nuevos sentidos e invita a la activa participación de la comunidad académica: amplía la extensión a una territorialidad humanizada, invita a la curricularización como estrategia política, siembra una sistematización asociada a la enseñanza, tranversaliza la comunicación que vincula, transforma y promueve la formación en extensión como herramienta instituyente. Desde la extensión así pensada, la universidad se entrama en un proceso formativo recíproco con la sociedad a la vez que enriquece las trayectorias disciplinares desde la sensibilidad de las praxis con dimensión ético–política.