bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Edukasi Keamanan Digital dalam Penggunaan Dompet Digital di Kalangan Mahasiswa: Upaya Meningkatkan Kesadaran dan Keamanan Transaksi
Authors: Astri Rumondang Banjarnahor
Published: February 2025

This study aims to enhance digital security literacy among Dompet Digital users. With the growing adoption of Dompet Digitals offering transactional convenience, digital security risks have also risen, especially among users with limited data protection awareness. The educational program focuses on introducing digital security risks, such as phishing, malware, and social engineering, along with providing protective strategies like two-factor authentication (2FA) and avoiding unsecured public Wi-Fi networks. The methods employed include socialization sessions, seminars, and workshops designed to build Dompet Digital users’ awareness in safeguarding their accounts. The program results indicate a significant increase in users' awareness and practical skills in identifying risks and implementing security measures. Additionally, users are expected to act as change agents, spreading this knowledge within their communities. Regular educational initiatives and collaboration with Dompet Digital providers are also recommended as ongoing steps to maintain digital security.
Estudo do processo MIG/MAG-PV com arame AWS A5.9 ER316LSI: influência da %EN na morfologia e diluição de revestimento em aço ASTM A36
Authors: Gonçalves Jaderson Luis dos Santos , Gonzalez Arnaldo Ruben , Pimentel Rafael Ellwanger , Botega Matheus , Marcolin Vinicius Campagnaro , Mainardi Vinícius Almeida , Euzébio Lucas Souza
Published: February 2025

A investigação dos parâmetros do processo de soldagem a arco elétrico é essencial para a viabilidade do revestimento, uma solução eficiente em comparação ao componente maciço, tanto do ponto de vista econômico quanto em relação à redução do peso final da estrutura. O processo MIG/MAG – PV oferece diversos benefícios em relação ao processo convencional, destacando-se pela flexibilidade, possibilidade de aplicação em todas as posições, baixo aporte térmico e elevada taxa de deposição, devido à influência do componente de Eletrodo Negativo (EN). Este trabalho teve como objetivo utilizar o processo MIG/MAG – PV, com metal de adição AWS A5.9 ER316LSi, aplicado sobre uma superfície livre (bead-on-plate) em substrato de aço carbono ASTM A36 (6,35 mm), na posição plana (1G), visando à otimização do cordão de solda. Foi utilizado o arranjo experimental Box–Behnken Design (BBD), considerando como variáveis independentes a Corrente Negativa (In), o Tempo de Corrente Negativa (Tn) e a Corrente de Base (Ib). Além disso, foi empregada a Metodologia de Superfície de Resposta (MSR), com otimização realizada por meio do método desirability, visando alcançar a máxima Área de Reforço (Ar), com seis réplicas. Com um coeficiente de determinação R² de 97,23% e erro absoluto de 2,77%, o processo alcançou um valor mínimo de aproximadamente 4% de diluição e altura média de 4,3 mm. A otimização atingiu o alvo de máxima Ar de 31,85 mm², com valores de %EN variando entre 17% e 25%. Conclui-se que o processo é viável para aplicação em revestimentos, apresentando características morfológicas satisfatórias e elevada qualidade superficial.
Compras públicas sustentáveis circulares: um caminho para o desenvolvimento institucional
Authors: Mendonça Carmen Thereza Pietsch Cunha , Guarnieri Patricia , Streit Jorge Alfredo Cerqueira , Vieira Bárbara de Oliveira , Gomes Vanessa Cabral
Published: February 2025

Partindo-se do princípio de que para se alcançar a economia sustentável circular requer a tomada de decisão dos responsáveis pelas compras públicas no intuito de superar os obstáculos organizacionais, e incentivar a produção de produtos e serviços sustentáveis e circulares, este artigo visa explorar uma lacuna de pesquisa que sugere estudos de caso baseados em histórias reais de sucesso e fracasso na implementação de compras públicas circulares, com foco em facilitadores, barreiras, práticas e motivadores (Qazi & Appolloni, 2022). Para atingir o objetivo proposto, optou-se por utilizar o procedimento de revisão sistemática da literatura que segue o protocolo proposto por Cronin et al. (2008), abrangendo artigos publicados nas bases de dados Emerald, MDPI, Scopus, Science Direct e Web of Science, sem recorte temporal. Os resultados permitem compreender as compras públicas sustentáveis ​​e circulares como um avanço nas compras governamentais, uma vez que agregam componentes relevantes ao desenvolvimento sustentável e apoiam a tomada de decisão do poder público nas compras. Além de sintetizar o conhecimento sobre o tema, traz uma agenda de pesquisa ampliada ao identificar estudos propostos nos artigos de revisão. Além disso, apresenta novos estudos baseados no tema sob investigação. Como contribuições teóricas, este estudo inova ao oferecer a concepção de compras públicas circulares sustentáveis ​​aspectos práticos e sociais relativos ao tema abordado. Este estudo propõe práticas de implementação encontradas na literatura como uma contribuição valiosa. Como contribuição social, o artigo analisa o desenvolvimento da sustentabilidade e da circularidade que afeta a todos.
Elevando o desempenho: uma revisão bibliográfica do treinamento intervalado de subida na corrida
Authors: Andres Leandro Rubio
Published: February 2025

O estudo "Elevando o Desempenho: Uma Revisão Bibliográfica do Treinamento Intervalado de Subida na Corrida" tem como objetivo realizar uma análise abrangente e detalhada sobre a relevância e o impacto desse tipo específico de treinamento na performance de corredores. O trabalho revisa artigos científicos nacionais e internacionais para identificar os benefícios fisiológicos e biomecânicos associados ao treinamento intervalado de subida, além de discutir seus desafios e as melhores estratégias para implementação prática. O treinamento em subida tem sido apontado como uma ferramenta eficaz para desenvolver força muscular, resistência e eficiência mecânica, aspectos fundamentais para a melhoria do desempenho em corridas planas e acidentadas. Com base na revisão da literatura, a pesquisa busca responder à seguinte questão central: "Qual a importância e como o treinamento intervalado de subida impacta no desempenho dos corredores?". Acredita-se que este trabalho possa fornecer subsídios valiosos para treinadores, profissionais de educação física e atletas que buscam otimizar seus treinos. Além disso, espera-se que as informações levantadas possam inspirar futuras pesquisas na área, ampliando o conhecimento sobre a aplicação de métodos específicos de treinamento para maximizar o rendimento esportivo em diferentes contextos e modalidades de corrida.
Democracy Education in the Sociocultural Perspective of Indonesian Society
Authors: Sadeli Elly Hasan , Zamroni  , Nasiwan Dan
Published: February 2025

Objective: The practice of democracy in Indonesia has been long, the truth is that it begins with the direct election of the leaders.  Subsequently, the revival of the democratization process at the national level began in the era of reform, and one of them was the election of executive leaders, from the president to the regional heads.
 
Method: Becoming the foundation of Indonesian democracy and strengthening democracy in the local environment. Especially in the local community of Banyumas, in the province of Central Java, democratic life has a unique and interesting democratic practice. This research uses qualitative methods. The data of the study are the result of observations and interviews conducted in the community of Banyumas. 
 
Result: The results showed that the concept of democratic education is still limited to the definition of democracy, i.e., that they are elections. However, democratic values are present in people's lives. Most people tend to be satisfied with the practice of democratic values, especially regarding freedom: freedom to practice religion, freedom of assembly and implementation of institutions, freedom of speech, and electoral vote.
 
Conclusion:  The implication of the research is the strengthening and development of cultural activities as a form of democratic education in Banyumas society. This increases people's understanding of democratic values that are reflected in everyday culture and customs. Banyumas culture can give wider access to people without formal education to understand democracy.
SPATIAL MONITORING RESULTS VISUALISATION FOR SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION ACTIVITIES
Authors:   University of Economics Varna, Bulgaria, KEHAYOVA-STOYCHEVA Maria , VASILEV Julian ,   University of Economics Varna, Bulgaria
Published: February 2025

The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology for visualizing spatial data on the results of monitoring sustainable household activities. The research covers the creation of a methodology for using a GIS-based approach in the visualization of spatial data on indicators on sustainable consumption. Current research activities on sustainable urban consumption and the methods for presenting aggregated results reveal the novelties in this paper. Testing the proposed methodology for using a GIS-based approach in the visualization of spatial data on indicators of sustainable consumption results in the adaptation of the new technology in other countries, cities, teams focused on the analysis and visualization of spatial data on certain indexes. Moreover, the proposed approach opens two dimensions: (1) the possibility of visualization of cross-sectional spatial data on sustainable consumption and (2) the possibility of visualization of time series spatial data on sustainable consumption. The results of the study showed that other researchers and municipality specialists on sustainable urban consumption may use the proposed methodology for presenting (visualizing) spatial data. They may be cross-sectional or time-series spatial data. This visualization is an opening point for the decision-making process in finding solutions to some problems with ecology, recycling and taking specific measures to promote and stimulate sustainable consumption. Moreover, measures for preventing bad practices in contrast with sustainable consumption may be taken. The suggested method introduces the potential to visualize cross-sectional spatial data related to sustainable consumption and the opportunity to visualize time series spatial data on sustainable consumer activities. The study findings indicate that other researchers and consumption sustainability experts can employ this proposed approach to present spatial data effectively.
Density Functional Theory Investigation on Muon Hyperfine Interaction in Methylated Guanine-Cytosine Double-Strand DNA
Authors: Jamaludin Ammaina , Sulaiman Shukri , Zaharim Wan Nuradhilah , Lee Sin Ang
Published: February 2025

The aims of this study were to determine the most likely Mu trapping sites based on total energy consideration as well as identifying the associated muon hyperfine coupling constant of 1, 2, and 3 methylated guanine-cytosine base pair double-strand DNA. The Density Functional Theory method was used at B3LYP/6-31G level of theory to accomplish the objectives of the investigation. The relative energy in the 3 methylated guanine-cytosine base pair double-strand DNA molecule showed that N7 sites in the guanine base have the lowest energy, followed by N3, and C8 sites. It was found that the addition of a methyl group at the C5 atom in the cytosine base does change the stability of the C8 sites in the 3 methylated guanine-cytosine base pair double-strand DNA molecule, but the associated muon hyperfine coupling constant (HFCC) is not affected. The results of this study indicate that there will be no overlaps in the resonance dips due to N7, N3, and all C8 sites of the guanine bases and N3, C5, and C6 sites of the cytosine bases in the Avoided Level Crossing Muon Spin Resonance spectrum.
MEANINGS AND POWERS OF THE FEMALE BODY: EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXPERIENCES WITH OLDER WOMEN IN THE CARIMBÓ DANCE IN TUCURUÍ-PA
Authors: Araújo Lidiane Wanzeler , Miranda José Valdinei Albuquerque
Published: February 2025

O presente artigo é parte da dissertação de mestrado e busca cartografar os sentidos e as potências do corpo de Mulheres de Mais Idade que vivenciam e praticam a dança do carimbó. São mulheres do carimbó que não “se entregam” às limitações da idade mais avançada, como também aos decalques (preconceitos, estigmas, estereótipos) produzidos e reforçados sobre seus corpos pela sociedade. A pesquisa busca construir um outro olhar sobre esse decalque, não reforçando a sua ideia, mas sim, com o objetivo de trazer uma nova perspectiva sobre esses corpos de mulheres que dançam. Essas mulheres do carimbó têm identidades próprias, são mulheres que dançam, são corpos em movimento que expressam seus desejos, alegrias, saberes e experiências de vida, pois fogem dos rótulos que já estão instituídos sobre elas. Então surge a seguinte pergunta de pesquisa: Que sentidos e potências a experiência com a dança do carimbó provoca no corpo e vida dessas mulheres? A metodologia é composta pelo acompanhamento das atividades com o carimbó, fotografias e entrevistas com as mulheres interlocutoras. Os resultados indicam que a experiência do encontro das mulheres com o carimbó faz com que elas revigorem suas energias e coloquem em funcionamento outra dinâmica, além de suas vidas serem ressignificadas. É a partir do encontro alegre entre as mulheres com a dança do carimbó que seus corpos são afetados de forma positiva produzindo novos sentidos e aumentando suas potências de agir.
RESÍDUOS SÓLIDOS E DESIGN SUSTENTÁVEL – UMA ANÁLISE DA RECICLAGEM NA “ECONOMIA CIRCULAR” À LUZ DA AGENDA 2030
Authors: Dos Santos Antonio Nacilio Sousa , Felippe José Neto de Oliveira , Dezem Lucas Teixeira , Assunção Ismael Duarte , Pereira Kleberson Ricardo de Oliveira , Guimarães Adalton Ferreira , Silva Álesson Rocha , Taumaturgo Ana Caroline da Silva , Recuero Angélica Socca Cesar , Da Silva Davison Arruda , Nascimento Ian Felipe , Furtado Ronan Gomes , Veloso Christiane Carvalho , da Silva Hélder Ferreira , Soares Djeimi da Silva , Rasia Rodrigo
Published: February 2025

A crescente preocupação com a sustentabilidade impulsionou debates sobre a gestão de resíduos sólidos e sua reintegração ao ciclo produtivo, especialmente no contexto da economia circular. A Agenda 2030 da ONU estabelece metas para garantir padrões sustentáveis de produção e consumo, reforçando a necessidade de reavaliar o modelo linear de descarte. Nesse contexto, a pesquisa busca responder: como a reciclagem, no âmbito da economia circular, pode contribuir para o design sustentável e a redução do impacto ambiental, em consonância com os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS)? A fundamentação teórica baseia-se nos princípios da economia circular, conforme formulado por Ellen MacArthur (2013), Catherine Weetman (2019) e nas discussões sobre resíduos sólidos e sustentabilidade de autores como Boulding (1966), que introduziu a ideia de economia como um sistema fechado, e McDonough e Braungart (2002), que propuseram o conceito de “Cradle to Cradle”. Além disso, incorpora a perspectiva de design sustentável de Manzini (2006), destacando a relação entre inovação e responsabilidade socioambiental. A pesquisa adota uma abordagem qualitativa a partir de Minayo (2016), empregando a metodologia descritiva e bibliográfica de Gil (2010), uma análise compreensiva fundamentada na perspectiva weberiana (Weber, 1969). As fontes incluem relatórios internacionais, artigos científicos e documentos institucionais sobre gestão de resíduos e políticas de sustentabilidade. Os resultados indicam que a reciclagem, quando inserida no paradigma da economia circular, não apenas reduz impactos ambientais, mas também potencializa soluções inovadoras no design sustentável. Conclui-se que a implementação de estratégias articuladas entre setor produtivo, políticas públicas e educação ambiental é fundamental para consolidar um modelo de desenvolvimento mais responsável e alinhado aos princípios da sustentabilidade global.
Implementation Of Coso-Based Pharmaceutical Inventory Stock-Taking At The Cinta Bunda Clinic
Authors: Syahrudin Muhammad , M. Galih Munggaran
Published: February 2025

To improve service delivery and reduce preventable deaths and illnesses, the government and the healthcare industry are endeavoring to expand the growing number of healthcare facilities in Indonesia. The transactions that occur can also cause stock mismatches in the bookkeeping with the physical ones in the clinic warehouse so that to prevent this it is necessary to do stock-taking. The STIE Gema Widya Bangsa Community Service Activity team after conducting an initial survey and talking to the clinic management about the problem. The implementation method in this Community Service Activity program is arranged systematically through several stages. The application of the inventory control system for medical and non-medical goods at the Cinta Bunda Clinic is expected to improve the quality of the inventory control system into a relevant and accurate inventory report.
Manusia sebagai Peziarah Harapan
Authors: Widyawan Louis Aloysius
Published: February 2025

Pope Francis has declared 2025 as an Ordinary Jubilee Year with the theme Pilgrims of Hope (Peregrinantes in Spem). Amid a world grappling with various crises that threaten humanity and the natural environment, the Pope emphasizes the importance of hope, asserting that Christian hope never disappoints. This hope is not mere optimism or a denial of suffering and death but a virtue rooted in faith and realized through acts of love. In the tradition of Western philosophy, hope has also been a significant topic explored by Gabriel Marcel, a French philosopher, playwright, and music critic. This article seeks to uncover the strong correlation between Marcel’s philosophical reflections and Pope Francis’s magisterial teachings on hope. For Marcel, hope is fundamentally an inner drive that motivates and emboldens individuals to respond to the ontological exigencies of their existence, even while inhabiting a "broken world" that seeks to alienate humans from themselves, others, the world, and God. For Pope Francis, hope is a call of faith to seek and realize the common good, including care for creation, amidst the multifaceted crises of humanity and the environment. By comparing key ideas, this article identifies a shared vision of Pilgrims of Hope in these two perspectives.
Theatre of the Borderlands
Authors: del Rosario Moreno Iani
Published: February 2025

Theatre of the Borderlands: Conflict, Violence, and Healing is an enlightening and encompassing study that focuses on how dramatists from the Northern Mexico border territories write about theater. The plays analyzed in this study are representative of the most important Northern Border playwrights whose plays’ themes present the US-Mexico Borderlands in a socio-historical and political context. The most important themes observed include topics that engage in discussions of: the indigenous, Border crossings, heroes and folk saints, the city of Tijuana, and violence in the Borderlands, to name a few.

These themes have led to the birth of the Teatro del Norte movement, a group of determined playwrights insistent on presenting dramaturgical themes that show the bond between their particular geographies, histories, socio-political and economic situations, thereby giving birth to an original voice and new aesthetic of representation.

Dealing with the topics already mentioned, and pairing them with more timely ones like immigration reform, namely, this study can serve as an invaluable resource to many interdisciplinary academic settings, and can grant an eye-opening insight to Border relations through several critical readings.
News and Novela in Brazilian Media
Authors: Rosas-Moreno Tania Cantrell
Published: February 2025

Citizens everywhere are turning to multiple news sources to inform their daily decisions. In Brazil, an emerging global power and democracy, those sources include the ever-popular telenovelas and, on a rising basis, newspapers. News and Novela in Brazilian Media: Fact, Fiction, and National Identity examines how news issues help frame telenovela plots, comparing key issues across Brazilian media to highlight differing levels of progression associated with press freedom. Scrutiny of concurrent print news stories, print news photos, and telenovela scenes indicate that when a hit telenovela is compared to news, the novela becomes a more progressive storyteller. At least, race, class, gender, and religious news issues seem more progressive: An Afro-Brazilian wins a local election; a favela or shantytown is idealized; a less popular African religion is heralded while Protestantism is marginalized and Catholicism continues as the right religion; and women achieving power leads to a more egalitarian society. In a diversifying media environment, where lines between fact and fiction are increasingly blurred, Brazilian alternative news studies are critical measures of Brazil’s state of media opening that inform national identity formation.
The Anthropology of Western Religions
Authors: Leaf Murray J.
Published: February 2025

The world’s “great” religions depend on traditions of serious scholarship, dedicated to preserving their key texts but also to understanding them and, therefore, to debating what understanding itself is and how best to do it. They also have important public missions of many kinds, and their ideas and organizations influence many other important institutions, including government, law, education, and kinship. The Anthropology of Western Religions: Ideas, Organizations, and Constituencies is a comparative survey of the world’s major religious traditions as professional enterprises and, often, as social movements. Documenting the principle ideas behind Western religious traditions from an anthropological perspective, Murray J. Leaf demonstrates how these ideas have been used in building internal organizations that mobilize or fail to mobilize external support.
Japan's March 2011 Disaster and Moral Grit
Authors: Brannigan Michael C.
Published: February 2025

Japan’s March 11, 2011 triple horror of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown is its worst catastrophe since Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Recovery remains an ongoing ordeal. Japan's Responses to the March 2011 Disaster: Our Inescapable In-between uncovers the pivotal role of longstanding cultural worldviews and their impact on responses to this gut-wrenching disaster. Through unpacking the pivotal notion in Japanese ethics of aidagara, or “in-betweenness,” it offers testament to a deep-rooted sense of community. Accounts from survivors, victims’ families, key city officials, and volunteers reveal a remarkable fiber of moral grit and resilience that sustains Japan’s common struggle to rally and carve a future with promise and hope.

Calamities snatch us out of the mundane and throw us into the intensity of the moment. They challenge our moral fiber. Trauma, individual and collective, is the uninvited litmus test of character, personal and social. Ultimately, whether a society rightfully recovers from disaster has to do with its degree of connectedness, the embodied physical, interpersonal, face-to-face engagement we have with each other. As these stories bring to light, along with Michael Brannigan’s extensive research, personal encounters with survivors, and experience as a volunteer in Japan’s stricken areas, our degree of connectedness determines how we in the long run weather the storm, whether the storm is natural, technological, or human. Ultimately, it illustrates that how we respond to and recover after the storm hinges upon how we are with each other before the storm.
Lydia Pinkham
Authors: Danna Sammy R.
Published: February 2025

Lydia Pinkham was one of the 19th century’s most remarkable businesswomen, her influence spreading beyond the late 1800s and her native New England. A champion of equal rights for women and blacks at a time when such causes lacked widespread support, Pinkham was ahead of her time on other issues. Chief among them was the well-being of women struggling with serious health issues related to their menstrual cycles and other so-called “women weaknesses.” But as the teetotaling Pinkham and her namesake company soared to entrepreneurial heights by selling her patient relief in the guise of an alcohol-laced potion known as the Vegetable Compound, generations that followed have been left to wonder: Was she worthy of her female customers’ trust or just an opportunist?

In Lydia Pinkham: The Face That Launched a Thousand Ads, historian Sammy R. Danna offers the latest book-length biography that explores all sides of the Lydia Pinkham phenomena. Danna illustrates how remarkable an American historical figure she was, who with associates masterfully used and reinvented the marketing tools of her day, while battling the misogyny of the medical establishment. But Danna also asks whether she was just a grandmotherly version of the pitchmen who roamed from town to town with their snake oil elixirs. Students and scholars in the fields of women’s studies, American culture, and the histories of medicine, advertising, and business will see Lydia Pinkham in a new light.
Donors and Archives
Authors: Purcell Aaron D.
Published: February 2025

Donor work and fundraising is essential for any vibrant archival program. Without new collections and new funding, archives programs can stagnate, and their operations can become vulnerable to economic downturns. Archivists spend a lot of time managing collections, other archivists, and researchers in their reading rooms, but often not enough time considering the stuff that makes up their collections, where that stuff comes from, and how that stuff—and the sources of that stuff—can be valuable tools for advocacy, promotion, and fundraising for their archival programs.

Donors and Archives: A Guidebook for Successful Programs reviews the complex landscape of donor work, archival donations, and institutional fundraising for today’s archivists. It provides practical approaches to enhance donor relations for all types of archival programs, such as academic, government, private, and corporate archives. The book covers the planning, the process, and the partners needed for successful donations and donor programs.

Arranged into four sections, the book offers practical advice and best practices in a number of areas including: how donations work, who donates to archives, how to prepare for donors, how to evaluate and manage the stuff from potential donors, how to work with an institution’s development office, what are the obligations and expectations of archivists and donors, how to develop donor strategies, how to work with friends and supporters of the archives program, what happens after the donation is complete, and what is the overall value of donors to archival programs.

Donors and Archives: A Guidebook for Successful Programs highlights the importance of development and fundraising for archives, while focusing on the donor and potential donor. Their interest, their support, their enthusiasm, and their stuff are vital to the success of archival programs. Archivists involved in donor work and fundraising will find the practical advice and best practices in this book applicable, replicable, timely, and valuable.
The United States and Terrorism
Authors: Hirschbein Ron
Published: February 2025

What is terrorism? Academics search in vain for the unholy grail: the definition of terrorism that will exonerate or condemn American officials. There are many vying definitions and no tribunal to resolve the contest. In this unique essay, Ron Hirschbein analyzes conflicts in which officials themselves called their actions “terrorist.” He reveals that terrorism didn’t always get bad press. In fact, terror bombing was indispensable to winning World War II. Not only did the Allied Forces bombed German cities, but they also used the nuclear bomb in Japan, killing many noncombatant civilians. During the Cold War, the threat of nuclear annihilation became the strategy to deter war between the superpowers.

Many ironies are brought to light in revisiting these conflicts, such as the fact that it was accepted that safety depended upon the willingness to detonate weapons of mass destruction. Not even American citizens enjoyed noncombatant immunity during the Cold War as they were held hostage to mutually assured destruction and marked for sacrifice in various strategic scenarios. Indeed, their lives were risked in confronting crises in Berlin and Cuba. Subsequent conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, as well as the War on Terror itself, are also examined. Like World War II, all involved killing noncombatants by accident or design. Casting these conflicts in an ironic light reveals incongruities in language and situations in which triumphant dreams become self-defeating realities (as with the second Iraq war). The War on Terror, now rebranded as an “Overseas Contingency Plan” seems to be the answer to a Jihadist’s prayer. Further, U.S.-led covert attacks and assassinations by drones raise many discussions of legalities. And today the curse of terrorism is fodder for captivating primetime entertainment, enjoyed even by the president of the United States.
The Elements of English
Authors: Malless Stan , McQuain Jeff
Published: February 2025

Stan Malles and Jeff McQuain have written this brief, yet very important glossary in the spirit of E.D. Hirsch’s bestselling Cultural Literacy. Here is a dictionary of basic terms for literature, composition, and grammar that every American, no matter their age, needs to know.

Perfect for home and classroom use, The Elements of English is simple to use, unintimidating to read and easy to understand. Each area of language arts is divided into its own section, and a comprehensive index is also included. Each entry is concise, yet explained very clearly. Examples are listed to illustrate meanings, as are reminders, hints, and tips that further define and elucidate the terms.

The Elements of English has been used very successfully in classrooms across the country. This revised and expanded edition includes new entries plus three additional appendices. This is a little book that fills a big need, and it deserves a wide distribution and readership.
Nations in Transit 2014
Authors:   Freedom House
Published: February 2025

Since 1995, Freedom House’s Nations in Transit series has monitored the status of democratic change from Central Europe to Eurasia, pinpointing the region’s greatest reform opportunities and challenges for the benefit of policymakers, researchers, journalists, and democracy advocates alike.

Covering twenty-nine countries, Nations in Transit provides comparative ratings and in-depth analysis of electoral process, civil society, independent media, national and local democratic governance, judicial framework, and corruption. Nations in Transit 2014 evaluates developments in these areas from January 1 to December 31, 2013.
Historical Dictionary of United States-Middle East Relations
Authors: Hahn Peter L.
Published: February 2025

U.S. foreign relations in the Middle East has remained crucial through many decades and the complications facing the United States in the Middle East have become even more acute. While the United States downgraded its military operations in Iraq, that country failed to achieve a stable, democratic footing and instead experienced schism and civil strife. Israeli-Palestinian disputes over land, the status of refugees, and control of Jerusalem intensified, and international conflicts between Arab states and Israel escalated for the first time since the 1980s. The Arab Spring protest movements of 2011 and after ignited political turmoil across the region, leading to revolutionary change in several states and triggering persistent unrest and violence in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq. During the recent decade, in short, the Middle East has become the most unstable, dangerous, and complicated region of the world and the United States remains near the center of the maelstrom.

This second edition of Historical Dictionary of United States-Middle East Relations contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on national leaders, non-governmental organizations, policy initiatives, and armed conflicts, as well as entries on such topics as intelligence, immigration, and weapons of mass destruction. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the US and Middle East Relations.
How Karl Marx Can Save American Capitalism
Authors: Dworkin Ronald W.
Published: February 2025

When the Cold War ended, some people called it the “end of history.” Capitalism and liberal democracy had prevailed. Later, when the West clashed with radical Islam, Americans realized history hadn’t ended after all—at least not abroad. Now, in How Marx Can Save American Capitalism, Ronald W. Dworkin shows us that even the home front is in play and capitalism and liberal democracy are threatened. Dworkin uses Karl Marx to tip the balance in their favor—a paradox, as Marx was the sworn enemy of capitalism and liberal democracy, but also logical, as Marx knew the weak spots in capitalism and democracy better than anyone.

In the past, capitalism’s weak spots were obvious: sweatshops, workhouses, and hunger. The twentieth century welfare state saved capitalism by fixing them. Today’s weak spots are less obvious; they don’t even seem related— mass loneliness, a declining birth rate, young people postponing adulthood, and workers using sleep aids to function on the job. Yet they pose the same risk to capitalism that child labor and horrid factory conditions once did. Marx’s ideas applied to contemporary America show how they are all of apiece. Saving capitalism demands a third way—not rigid Republican conservatism or blind Democratic state interventionism, but a new politics in which the state focuses laser-like on advanced capitalism’s unique threats to private life, while leaving much of the free market intact.
Vital Post-Secular Perspectives on Chinese Philosophical Issues
Authors: Pfister Lauren F.
Published: February 2025

Vital Post-Secular Perspectives on Chinese Philosophical Issues presents a number of contemporary philosophical issues from a wide range of Chinese philosophical texts, figures, and sub-traditions that are usually not addressed in English studies of Chinese philosophical traditions. Lauren F. Pfister presents new perspectives in three parts: the first part offers critical perspectives on the life and works of one of the most significant 20th century Chinese philosophers and historian of Chinese philosophical traditions, Feng Youlan (1895-1990); the second part explores questions related to Ruist (“Confucian”) theism and the complicated textual developments within two canonical Ruist texts, ending with a critique of a 21st century translation and interpretation of one of those two classical texts; the third part presents philosophical assessments of 20th and 21st century cultural issues that have had immense social and interpretive impacts in contemporary Chinese contexts – Chinese utopian projects, Chinese netizens in “Human Flesh Searches,” and questions about the links between sageliness and saintliness in Ruist and Christian communities.
An Overview of Analysis and Adaptive Pitch Control of an Offshore Floating Multi-Wind-Turbine Platform
Authors: Bashetty Srikanth , Ozcelik Selahattin
Published: February 2025

This chapter outlines the findings of research focused on the creation of a new semi-submersible Offshore Floating Multi-Wind-Turbine Platform (OFFWIND). The primary concerns addressed involve modeling the aerodynamic forces caused by wind speed on the turbines, as well as the hydrodynamic forces resulting from wind and wave interactions on the entire system. To simulate the rotation of the rotors on the five wind turbines placed on the platform, a multiple-moving reference frame combined with a sliding mesh technique is employed. The evaluation of pressure, velocity, and turbulence intensity contours of the OFFWIND is conducted, particularly concentrating on the downstream turbine which operates in the partial wake of the turbines located upstream. The aerodynamic forces acting on the wind turbines are assessed to analyze their aerodynamic efficiency. The determined aerodynamic loads are integrated with the hydrodynamic forces to assess the platform’s movements in response to wind and wave conditions. An adaptive control algorithm has been developed for blade pitch control. The performance of the adaptive control is evaluated against a standard Proportional-Integral (PI) controller. Simulation results demonstrate that the adaptive controller significantly improves rotor speed stability and reduces power output fluctuations under varying operational conditions.
JOINT SEGMENTATION AND REGISTRATION VIA VARIATIONAL FORMULATION FOR 2D MONO-MODAL IMAGES
Authors: Mohd Fauzi Nurul Asyiqin , Ibrahim Mazlinda , Rada Lavdie
Published: February 2025

Two of the main branches of image processing are segmentation and registration. Image segmentation aims to partition the images into foreground and background based on distinguishable characteristics, meanwhile, image registration involves finding an optimal geometric transformation from the given images. These two tasks are often treated separately, however, the joint models between segmentation and registration have their advantages compared to the separate tasks. In this paper, two variational models for joint image segmentation and registration are reviewed and compared using mono-modal images. Results showed that joint image segmentation and registration model based on linear curvature gives better results compared to the state-of-the-art models.
AN OVERVIEW ON RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENT OF NANOCELLULOSE AS SENSING MATERIAL IN VARIOUS APPLICATIONS
Authors: Janudin Nurjahirah , Mohd Kasim Noor Azilah , Knight Victor Feizal , Norrahima Mohd Nor Faiz , Abdul   Razak Mas   Amira   Idayu , Mohd   Noor Siti   Aminah , Ong Keat   Khim , Wan Yunus Wan   Md   Zin
Published: February 2025

Polymers made from plant and animal sources are attracting a lot of attention in the research area due to their cost-effectiveness, renewable, and sustainable characteristics. Their abundance in nature, nano-dimension size, large surface area, stability, and biocompatibility make nanocellulose (NC) one such polymer that has piqued researchers' attention. By 2025, the nanocellulose market is expected to be worth USD 783 million. Therefore, fast advances in nanotechnology and material sciences have aided nanocellulose research, culminating in their development as potential biomaterials. Nanocellulose has been studied extensively in numerous sectors such as healthcare, household product, electronic, renewable energy, and food agricultural. Nanocellulose applications in the sensing sector have gotten a lot of interest recently. The latest advancements in nanocellulose, with a particular emphasis on their performance as sensing material for various applications, are presented and explored in depth here.
INVESTIGATION ON THERMAL CHARACTERISTIC OF BANANA WASTE/ WOOD SAWDUST BRIQUETTE
Authors: Abdul   Razak Abdul   Mu’iz , Abd   Razak Amirul   Asraff , Ku   Ahmad Ku   Zarina , Abdullah Mohd   Faizal , Raja Othman Raja Nor Izawati
Published: February 2025

Current consumption of fossil fuel has raised questions on related topics related to environmental concern and global warming which need to be minimized as per regulations in various countries. This has resulted in the development of various fossil fuel alternatives such as recycling biomass into energy sources to diversify energy supply. This study aims to produce solid fuel briquettes from sawdust and banana waste including pseudo-stem, leaves, and banana peel. This is to take advantage of the currently untapped and abundant resource of banana waste in the agriculture sector and timber industry. In this research, banana peel, molasses and starch are chosen as a binder for briquette production. This project aims to study the combustion characteristic of solid biomass briquette and optimize the control factor using Taguchi method. Based on Taguchi statistical analysis, the combustion characteristic is mainly influenced by banana waste ratio, sawdust ratio and sawdust ratio. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) done on the samples exhibited four major stages of mass losses with Briquette 1 consisting of 30% banana peel binder, 0:1 Banana stem: Banana leaves ratio and 10 % sawdust weight possessing the least mass residue. This combustion analysis gave four parameters which were ash content (3.0–11.0 %), volatile matter (89.0–97.0 %), moisture content (16.5–44.0 %) and dry matter basis (56 - 83.5 %) where some of the briquette sample falls within the standard range of ISO 17225-1:2020. Based on experimental results the binder ratio exhibited the most contribution to all combustion properties. To minimize ash content and maximize volatile matter the type of binders is the least significant factor. However, the banana waste ratio is the least significant factor in minimizing moisture content.
HEALTH INDEX OF TRANSFORMER’S MONITORING USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENT
Authors: Hashim Fakroul Ridzuan , Januar Yulni , Zamzamir Afzan , Adnan Ja’afar , Ishak Mohd Taufiq
Published: February 2025

Dissolve Gas Analysis (DGA) for transformers is used to differentiate between a transformer in good condition or the one which needs to schedule for maintenance. The main goal of DGA is to identify more precisely problems caused by the various gas formations in the transformer and encountered. Key Gas Method (KGM) analysis is one of the DGA's techniques often used. KGM is used in forecasting the health index of the transformer based on formational of gases in transformer. KGM’s classified the transformer health index in several conditions, which are Condition 1, Condition 2, Condition 3, or Condition 4. The multilayer perceptron (MLP) network outperforms K-Nearest Neighbourhood (KNN), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers with 90.02 % on accuracy. On the other hand, Bayesian Regularization (BR) training algorithm gives the best accuracy results among Levenberg Marquardt and Backpropagation training algorithms with 95.10 % on accuracy.
Learning Under the New Normal: Remote Learning Readiness among Students of a Philippine State University
Authors: Pabro Beverly , Quimbo Maria Ana
Published: February 2025

With the outbreak of COVID-19, education shifted to a new norm with remote learning becoming the primary mode of instruction. This transition highlighted the need to understand students’ readiness for this new educational set-up. This study was conducted to assess students’ readiness for remote learning at a Philippine State University. It aimed to determine the expectations of the students on remote learning set-up, the challenges faced, and the assistance needed to propose recommendations and interventions to address the challenges and ensure an effective delivery of education through remote learning. The study was conducted through an online survey administered to 238 undergraduate and graduate students. The remote learning readiness survey was adapted from the Online Readiness Assessment by Vicki Williams (2014), which covers areas such as expectations, self-direction, learning preferences, study habits, learning strategies, language skills, technology skills, technology-mediated communication skills, and hardware/software requirements. Results showed that most of the respondents strongly agreed that remote courses are not easier than face-to-face courses. Moreover, a majority reported being self-directed to finish what they started and dedicated specific time to do their coursework. The majority also expressed confidence in navigating the internet and communicating via email and other synchronous platforms. Challenges encountered are poor or unstable internet connections, financial cost of study, heavy academic workload, time management difficulties, unavailability of gadgets and internet data, difficulty in managing distractions, and mental health issues concerns such as anxiety, In response to these challenges, the study proposes several interventions, including academic support, financial assistance, and mental health services.
Poziom wyszczepienia przeciw COVID-19 a nadmiarowe zgony w ujęciu regionalnym w Polsce
Authors: Murkowski Radosław
Published: February 2025

Scientific studies prove the effectiveness of universal vaccination in fighting viral diseases or mitigating their effects. The aim of the study discussed in this article is to assess the relationship between the rate of vaccination of the Polish population against COVID-19 and the number of excess deaths by region. The key predictors used in the study were the rate of full vaccination against COVID-19 for regions (NUTS 2), sub-regions (NUTS 3) and powiats at the end of 2021, and the number of excess deaths per 100,000 people in the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022, i.e. during the fourth and fifth waves of the pandemic. The research was based on Statistics Poland and e-Health Centre data. Excess deaths were estimated using the analysis of time series. The calculations were performed using the number of deaths by age and sex of the deceased on a weekly basis for NUTS 2 and NUTS 3, and on a half-year basis for powiats. The results of the performed analyses indicate that there is a moderately strong association between the anti-COVID-19 vaccination rate at the end of 2021 and the number of excess deaths in the period between the beginning of July 2021 and the end of June 2022. We also observed significant differences between regions as far as their excess death rates between the beginning of July 2021 and the end of June 2022, and their anti-COVID-19 vaccination rates at the end of 2021 are considered.
Oddziaływanie ryzyka w łańcuchach i systemach żywnościowych na międzynarodowy handel rolno-żywnościowy
Authors: Kulawik Jacek
Published: February 2025

The international agri-food trade is conducted within specifically configured food chains. These processes are exposed to various risks subject to propagation. As catastrophic and systemic risks increase, food chains, and consequently whole food systems, may be partially or completely destroyed. This poses serious threats to food security and socio-political stability. In the recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have led to such a pattern of negative correlations. The aim of the article is to present the channels and mechanisms through which risks in food chains and systems affect international agri-food trade. The article is based on a thorough literature review and a quantitative analysis of synthetic data concerning global agri-food trade in nominal and real terms, as well as in the form of structural indicators.
The analysis shows that, firstly, the issue of risk is clearly evolving towards holistic resilience modelling and linking it with issues of food sector sustainability and efficiency (productivity). In conclusion, entities operating within foreign trade should adapt to this trend by changing their instruments and systems of risk management. Secondly, the restrictions imposed in many countries on agri-food exports destabilized trade in these products in the short term, and in the long term, proved to be disadvantageous for the countries implementing it.