bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in mainland Tanzania, 2019
Authors: Ngasala Billy E. , Chiduo Mercy G. , Mmbando Bruno P. , Francis Filbert T. , Bushukatale Samwel , Makene Twilumba , Mandara Celine I. , Ishengoma Deus S. , Kamugisha Erasmus , Ahmed Maimuna , Mahende Muhidin K. , Kavishe Reginald A. , Muro Florida , Molteni Fabrizio , Reaves Erik , Kitojo Chonge , Greer George , Nyinondi Ssanyu , Kabula Bilal , Lalji Shabbir , Chacky Frank , Njau Ritha J. , Warsame Marian , Mohamed Ally
Published: April 2024

Background

Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been a major contributor to the substantial reductions in global malaria morbidity and mortality over the last decade. In Tanzania, artemether-lumefantrine (AL) was introduced as the first-line treatment for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in 2006. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends regular assessment and monitoring of the efficacy of the first-line treatment, specifically considering that artemisinin resistance has been confirmed in the Greater Mekong sub-region. This study's main aim was to assess the efficacy and safety of AL for treating uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in Tanzania.

Methods

This was a single-arm prospective antimalarial drug efficacy trial conducted in four of the eight National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) sentinel sites in 2019. The trial was carried out in outpatient health facilities in Karume-Mwanza region, Ipinda-Mbeya region, Simbo-Tabora region, and Nagaga-Mtwara region. Children aged six months to 10 years with microscopy confirmed uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria who met the inclusion criteria were recruited based on the WHO protocol. The children received AL (a 6-dose regimen of AL twice daily for three days). Clinical and parasitological parameters were monitored during follow-up over 28 days to evaluate drug efficacy.

Results

A total of 628 children were screened for uncomplicated malaria, and 349 (55.6%) were enrolled between May and September 2019. Of the enrolled children, 343 (98.3%) completed the 28-day follow-up or attained the treatment outcomes. There were no early treatment failures; recurrent infections during follow-up were common at two sites (Karume 29.5%; Simbo 18.2%). PCR-corrected adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR) by survival analysis to AL on day 28 of follow-up varied from 97.7% at Karume to 100% at Ipinda and Nagaga sites. The commonly reported adverse events were cough, skin pallor, and abdominal pain. The drug was well tolerated, and no serious adverse event was reported.

Conclusion

This study showed that AL had adequate efficacy and safety for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Tanzania in 2019. The high recurrent infections were mainly due to new infections, highlighting the potential role of introducing alternative artemisinin-based combinations that offer improved post-treatment prophylaxis, such as artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ).
Παρεμβατικές μελέτες για την ενίσχυση των προφορικών και αναγνωστικών δεξιοτήτων μαθητών με μαθησιακές δυσκολίες ή σε υψηλή επικινδυνότητα για εμφάνιση μαθησιακών δυσκολιών
Authors: Παπακώστας Αθανάσιος
Published: April 2024

Τα τελευταία χρόνια, οι αναγνωστικές παρεμβάσεις εντός του πεδίου της ειδικής αγωγής έχουν συγκεντρώσει σημαντική προσοχή, λόγω της ανάγκης για πρόληψη των Μαθησιακών Δυσκολιών (ΜΔ). Οι δεξιότητες προφορικού λόγου και μεταγλωσσικής επίγνωσης, όπως η Μορφολογική Επίγνωση (ΜΕ), φαίνεται πως συνεισφέρουν στην αναγνωστική ανάπτυξη στην πρώτη σχολική ηλικία, αλλά η εμπειρική έρευνα δεν έχει ακόμα προσδιορίσει ενδελεχώς τη διδακτική αποτελεσματικότητά τους στον προφορικό λόγο και στην ανάγνωση. Ειδικότερα, αν και υπάρχουν στοιχεία ότι ο ρόλος της ΜΕ είναι συνδετικός μεταξύ των δεξιοτήτων γλωσσικής επίγνωσης και σημαντικός για την κατάκτηση της πρώτης ανάγνωσης, είναι ακόμα υποερευνημένος. Η παρούσα διατριβή διερεύνησε τα παραπάνω με μια μετα-ανάλυση και δύο πειραματικές μελέτες. Στη μετα-ανάλυση παρουσιάζονται τα συγκεντρωτικά αποτελέσματα στον προφορικό λόγο και ανάγνωση των πειραματικών μελετών στις οποίες μαθητές με ΜΔ και σε επικινδυνότητα για εμφάνιση ΜΔ διδάχθηκαν στρατηγικές ΜΕ, αποκλειστικά ή στο πλαίσιο πολλαπλών δεξιοτήτων-στόχων. Επιπλέον, δημιουργήθηκαν 2 παρεμβατικές μελέτες για μαθητές Α΄ και Β΄ δημοτικού με ΜΔ ή σε επικινδυνότητα για εμφάνιση ΜΔ στις οποίες διδάχθηκαν στρατηγικές ΜΕ, φωνολογικής επίγνωσης, γραφοφωνημικών αντιστοιχιών, πραγματολογικής επάρκειας, αφηγηματικού λόγου και λεξιλογίου με στόχο την ενίσχυση του προφορικού λόγου και της ανάγνωσης. Τα αποτελέσματα αποκάλυψαν τη σημαντική αποτελεσματικότητα της άμεσης και σαφούς διδασκαλίας γνωστικών και μεταγνωστικών στρατηγικών προφορικού και γραπτού λόγου, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της ΜΕ, στην κατάκτηση των αντίστοιχων δεξιοτήτων. Τα ευρήματα αυτά συνεισφέρουν στην υπάρχουσα γνώση στο πεδίο της ειδικής αγωγής, καθώς παρέχουν υποστήριξη για την αποτελεσματικότητα της παρέμβασης στο πλαίσιο των τμημάτων ένταξης. Οι μελέτες ενισχύουν την κατανόηση της επίδρασης των αναγνωστικών παρεμβάσεων με τη διάκριση των αποτελεσματικών διδακτικών προσεγγίσεων, περιεχομένου και στρατηγικών. Η δυνατότητα εφαρμογής των προτάσεων των μελετών στο πλαίσιο του σχολείου είναι εκτεταμένη και περιλαμβάνει την επιμόρφωση των εκπαιδευτικών ειδικής αγωγής και εκπαίδευσης και τον σχεδιασμό των αναγνωστικών παρεμβάσεων.
An arena of angry minds?
Authors: Παπαϊωάννου Κωνσταντίνος-Ιάσων
Published: April 2024

Στόχος της παρούσας διδακτορικής διατριβής είναι η ενδελεχής ανάλυση της σχέσης μεταξύ θεωριών συνωμοσίας και λαϊκισμού, καθώς και της δυναμικής σχέσης των δύο αυτών φαινομένων με τη δημοκρατία. Η εμβάθυνση στους λόγους για τους οποίους οι άνθρωποι έλκονται από τις θεωρίες συνωμοσίας και τον λαϊκισμό, και διερευνώντας τους υποκείμενους ψυχολογικούς και πολιτικούς μηχανισμούς που διέπουν αυτή τη σχέση, προωθεί μια πιο διαφοροποιημένη εννοιολόγηση και κατανόηση αυτών των όρων. Mέσω μιας ιστορικής αναδρομής της χρήσης των δύο όρων και επισκόπησης της υπάρχουσας σχετικής βιβλιογραφίας, η παρούσα διατριβή καταδεικνύει ότι για ένα σημαντικό χρονικό διάστημα υπήρχε συναίνεση στη βιβλιογραφία ότι η πίστη στις θεωρίες συνωμοσίας σχετίζεται με έναν τρόπο σκέψης παρανοϊκό ή ψυχοπαθολογικό. Και ότι το τελευταίο επίσης συνδέεται με διάφορες αρνητικές κοινωνικό-πολιτικές συνέπειες (π.χ. εξτρεμισμός). Παρόλα αυτά, η συμβατική αυτή άποψη δυσκολεύεται να προσφέρει μια ικανοποιητική απάντηση στο εξής ερώτημα: αν οι θεωρίες συνωμοσίας είναι πρωτίστως επιβλαβείς για όσους πιστεύουν σε αυτές και για το κοινωνικό τους περιβάλλον, τότε τι ωθεί τόσα πολλά άτομα να τις υιοθετούν; Παράλληλα, η διατριβή στοχεύει να διαδραματίσει ρόλο σε ένα πολυσυζητημένο ερώτημα των τελευταίων χρόνων: δηλαδή, στο κατά πόσον ο λαϊκισμός αποτελεί εγγενή κίνδυνο για τη δημοκρατία ή αν μπορεί να προωθήσει τον εκδημοκρατισμό, δίνοντας φωνή σε αποκλεισμένα τμήματα της κοινωνίας και επαναφέροντας το ανταγωνιστικό/συγκρουσιακό στοιχείο στην πολιτική. Μετά από έρευνα σε διαφορετικές χώρες, χρησιμοποιώντας κυρίως ποσοτικές μεθόδους με ερωτηματολόγια και κοινωνικά πειράματα, τα συμπεράσματα της διατριβής εδράζονται σε συγκρίσεις μεταξύ διαφορετικών πολιτικών και κοινωνικών πλαισίων. Η Ελλάδα της κρίσης προσφέρει ένα διαφορετικό πλαίσιο από ό,τι, για παράδειγμα, το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο. Τούτο όχι μόνο διευρύνει το πεδίο εφαρμογής της παρούσας μελέτης, αλλά και ενισχύει τη δυνατότητα γενίκευσης και αξιοπιστίας των εν λόγω ευρημάτων. Συνολικά, τα συμπεράσματα της διατριβής στηρίζουν την έκκληση για επαναπροσδιορισμό της συμβατικής άποψης η οποία υποδηλώνει ότι η υιοθέτηση λαϊκιστικών απόψεων ή συνωμοσιολογιών πεποιθήσεων οδηγεί απαραίτητα σε διάβρωση των δημοκρατικών αξιών. Αν και αναγνωρίζει τις ανησυχίες που εκφράζονται από άλλους μελετητές σχετικά με τις αρνητικές συνέπειες των υπό εξέταση φαινομένων, η παρούσα διατριβή υποστηρίζει πως είναι σημαντικό να υπερβούμε την κυρίαρχη ερμηνεία του λαϊκισμού και των θεωριών συνωμοσίας ως εγγενώς παθολογικών ή «ψυχοπαθολογικών» και, αντίθετα, να υποστηρίξουμε μια πιο αποστασιοποιημένη στάση κατά την προσέγγιση αυτών των θεμάτων. Αυτή η νέα προσέγγιση είναι απαραίτητη για τους μελετητές ώστε με τη σειρά τους να δομήσουν μια περισσότερο ολοκληρωμένη και διαφοροποιημένη κατανόηση των δύο φαινομένων και να εμβαθύνουν στους λόγους για τους οποίους ασκούν έλξη σε ένα σημαντικό τμήμα των κοινωνιών μας.
The Policy of Risk-Based Internal Audit of Enterprises in the Real Sector of the Economy
Authors: Teryuhov Viktor
Published: April 2024

In continuation of the topic of the author’s article «Relevance and practice of risk management in domestic enterprises» (Auditor, No. 4 (2022)) in this material, the author proposes the form of an internal document (standard) «Risk-oriented internal audit Policy», which can be used by enterprises of the real sector of the economy in their practical activities.
Bridging Ideological Divides:
Authors: Madueme Hans , Wood Todd
Published: April 2024

Why do creationists persist in rejecting the evidence for Darwin’s theory of evolution? This paper explores longstanding disagreements among Christians over the epistemic status of evolution. Like other studies that have tried to define the evidence for evolution, a recent analysis by Gijsbert van den Brink, Jeroen de Ridder, and René van Woudenberg does not adequately face up to antecedent commitments that play into any assessment of evolution. The scientific theory of evolution involves higher-level models that are associated with a range of non-scientific factors, including theological judgments. In light of these realities, an emphasis on mutual dialogue and understanding offers promising opportunities for Christians trying to discover the truth about God’s creation.
La exclusión dentro de la exclusión: el derecho a la salud mental de las personas privadas de la libertad con consumo problemático de drogas
Authors: Agudelo Álvarez José Miguel , Quintero Nova Sebastián , Vela Sánchez Ginna Alejandra , Velásquez Alarcón Juan José
Published: April 2024

El contexto penitenciario colombiano se ha caracterizado por una masiva vulneración de derechos fundamentales, a tal punto que la Corte Constitucional ha declarado el estado de cosas inconstitucionales en este ámbito. Adicionalmente, la estigmatización hacia el consumo de drogas y la desacertada aplicación de políticas públicas, que lo consideraron un problema de seguridad nacional y no de salud pública, han llevado a la invisibilización de las afectaciones a la salud mental derivadas del consumo de estas sustancias y la discriminación hacia este sector poblacional. Siendo así, este capítulo se pregunta sobre el estado de los mecanismos para garantizar el derecho a la salud mental de las personas privadas de la libertad con consumo problemático de drogas. Entonces, el objetivo es indagar cuáles son estas medidas con base en el análisis de caso realizado en la Cárcel Distrital de Bogotá D. C. por medio de una metodología cualitativa de análisis bibliográfico. Finalmente, se concluye que si bien la cárcel estudiada cumple en cierta medida con la garantía del derecho fundamental en la mencionada población, esta no es la realidad de todas las cárceles del país, por lo cual se presenta un particular fenómeno de exclusión dentro de la exclusión respecto a las personas privadas de la libertad con consumo problemático de drogas.
Practical Algorithms with Guaranteed Approximation Ratio for Traveling Tournament Problem with Maximum Tour Length 2
Authors: Zhao Jingyang , Xiao Mingyu
Published: April 2024

The traveling tournament problem (TTP) is a hard but interesting sports scheduling problem inspired by Major League Baseball, which is to design a double round-robin schedule such that each pair of teams plays one game in each other’s home venue, minimizing the total distance traveled by all n teams (n is even). In this paper, we consider TTP-2 (i.e., TTP under the constraint that at most two consecutive home games or away games are allowed for each team). In this paper, we propose practical algorithms for TTP-2 with improved approximation ratios. Because of the different structural properties of the problem, all known algorithms for TTP-2 are different for n/2 being odd and even, and our algorithms are also different for these two cases. For even n/2, our approximation ratio is [Formula: see text], improving the previous result of [Formula: see text]. For odd n/2, our approximation ratio is [Formula: see text], improving the previous result of [Formula: see text]. In practice, our algorithms are easy to implement. Experiments on well-known benchmark sets show that our algorithms beat previously known solutions for all instances with an average improvement of 5.66%.

Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 62372095 and 62172077] and the Sichuan Natural Science Foundation [Grant 2023NSFSC0059].
Venous eczema: an update for nurses working in primary care
Authors: Nazarko Linda
Published: April 2024

Venous eczema is one of the more common skin conditions seen by nurses in the UK, with the incidence set to rise as the population ages. Linda Nazarko details the best practice for diagnosis and management in a primary care setting

Around 2 million people in the UK have venous eczema. The number of people with venous eczema is set to rise in line with population ageing, rising levels of obesity and falling levels of activity. Venous eczema is often under-recognised and poorly treated. This article outlines the causes of venous eczema, one of the complications of venous disease and how it can be managed.
Performance Evaluation of Fiducial Marker-Based Pose Estimation for Relative Localization of Agricultural Tractor and Implement
Authors: Nguyen Nang Van , Wonjae Cho , Tokuda Kenichi
Published: April 2024

Highlights

3D pose estimation using a typical webcam and a fiducial marker could be implemented to accurately localize the relative pose of an agricultural implement with respect to a tractor at a short camera-marker distance of around 1 m.

The marker-based localization could aid in the positioning of a proper hitching pose for autonomous implement hitching.

Camera exposure needs to be tuned for the detection of a marker with both light and dark on the marker plane.

Abstract. Computer vision using a typical webcam and a fiducial marker was established for localizing an implement with respect to a tractor in the context of an autonomous hitching operation. Bench tests and the tractor-implement hitching tests were conducted with different camera-marker center offsets, camera exposures, and outdoor lighting conditions to estimate the marker pose in the camera frame and compare it to the ground truth of the corresponding offsets. The results of the bench tests demonstrated that the computer vision robustly detected the marker at 1m camera-marker distance, achieving a 100% marker detection rate. It also accurately estimated both translations and rotations of the marker pose with RMSE less than 6 mm and 1°, respectively. Furthermore, the marker-based positioning provided accurate implement localization with an average absolute error of 6.4 mm and 0.6° under all tested lighting conditions and could be used to aid in the localization of proper implement hitching poses. Keywords: 3D pose estimation, Accuracy, Detection rate, Fiducial marker, Typical webcam.
A Method for Evaluating Global Navigation Satellite System Position Accuracy in Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Authors: Ladino Karla S. , Sama Michael Patrick
Published: April 2024

Highlights

A novel UAS-based GNSS testing system was developed to assess both horizontal and vertical accuracy components.

Recommendations are provided for further standard development related to UAS GNSS testing protocols.

Future research can utilize this framework to enhance understanding of UAS GNSS accuracy.

Abstract. Current standards for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) testing are primarily designed for assessing horizontal positioning accuracy in ground-based applications. However, there is a notable absence of guidelines specifically addressing vertical accuracy assessment and applications that extend beyond ground-based scenarios, including those involving small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This effort aimed to develop a UAS-based GNSS testing system, tailored for the evaluation of GNSS receiver performance in dynamic low-altitude scenarios. The main objectives included (1) designing a GNSS testing system for UAS applications and (2) validating the system through field testing. The system development consisted of GNSS receiver configuration, data acquisition system design, processing procedures, and UAS payload and base station component design. The UAS payload featured multiple GNSS receivers operating in different modes, and data were collected using a custom Python script on a Raspberry Pi computer. For in-field validation, dynamic flight testing with vertical profiles was conducted. A robotic tracking total station (TTS) was used as the reference instrument for measuring the location of the UAS payload. The findings underscore the system's capabilities, primarily emphasizing its functionality rather than conducting an extensive assessment of the individual GNSS receiver performance. The UAS-based testing system that was developed was capable of satisfying most of the criteria for existing GNSS test standards. The insights derived from this process offer recommendations for standardizing UAS-based GNSS testing methods, with a particular focus on mission design, battery management, data processing, and environmental adaptability. Keywords: Dynamic Error, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Positioning Accuracy, Tracking Total Station (TTS), Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).
‘Bi þat watz Gryngolet grayth and gurde with a sadel’: Characterizing Gringolet in Old French and Middle English Romances
Authors: Mills Marisa
Published: April 2024

Abstract: While the development and changes of Gawain’s character is of considerable interest to Arthurian scholars, Gringolet—the famous mount associated with him—receives comparatively less attention. Scholars should consider Gringolet a character himself and moreover, attend to the fact that his characterization changes through different romances, much like Gawain’s own.
Disease and Healing in Ancient Societies: Dental Calculus Residues and Skeletal Pathology Data Indicate Age- and Sex-Biased Medicinal Practices among Native Californians
Authors: Zimmermann Mario , Byrd Brian F. , Engbring Laurel , Eerkens Jelmer Willem , Arellano Monica V. , Leventhal Alan M. , Grant Dave , DiGuiseppe Diane , Mabie Elisabeth , Berim Anna , Gang David R. , Tushingham Shannon
Published: April 2024

ABSTRACT: The health of humans is intricately linked to the substances we ingest—both food and nondietary items. Adverse health outcomes related to smoking of such products as tobacco and other psychoactive substances are clearly established in modern populations but are less well understood for ancient communities. Grasping these dynamics is further complicated by the curative, religious, and medicinal context of many of these substances, which have often been commodified, refined, and altered in recent history. As part of a larger collaboration with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe dedicated to understanding medicinal plant use among Native Californians, this article summarizes new metabolomic data from three Middle- and Late-Period ancestral heritage Ohlone sites: Thámien Rúmmeytak (CA-SCL-128), ’Ayttakiš ’Éete Hiramwiš Trépam-tak (CA-ALA-677/H), and Síi Túupentak (CA-ALA-565/H). The authors used an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry platform to analyze chemical residues from 95 human dental calculus samples from 50 burials. Using multivariate statistics, they coanalyzed demographic and skeletal pathology data with chemical residue profiles and considered skeletal markers for a series of oral and postcranial health conditions. Results indicate sex and age biases in consumption patterns. Periodontitis stands out as the most significant local factor for changes in the oral metabolome. However, while chemical markers of oral diseases may be related to pathogen activity, associations between residues and postcranial conditions such as osteoarthritis suggest traditional curative practices and the ingestion of medicinal substances. Hence, this study yields new insights into the broader context of illness and healing in the past.
Contrasting Male and Female Dietary Life Histories: A Case Study at an Ancestral Muwekma Ohlone Heritage Site in San Jose, California
Authors: Eerkens Jelmer W. , Tichinin Alina , Karapanos Nikoletta , Campbell-Grey Alexandra , Firenzi Alexandria M. , Bartelink Eric J. , Leventhal Alan M. , Arellano Monica V. , DeOrnellas Brieann
Published: April 2024

ABSTRACT: Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of bones and teeth at the ancestral heritage Muwekma Ohlone site of Yakmuy ́Ooyákma-tka (“Place of the East Ridge Site”; CA-SCL-215) reveal significant differences in the dietary life history of males and females. Overall, isotope data indicate that site inhabitants were primarily dependent on low-trophic-level foods, likely plants, and minor amounts of marine food for their main source of dietary protein. From tooth dentin serial samples, we found that males and females were similar for δ13C in early childhood (age 1–9 years), but boys were elevated in δ15N by 0.6–1.0‰ relative to girls, indicating boys were accessing slightly greater amounts of higher-trophic-level foods, such as meat from game. The sex-biased difference in δ15N diminishes during the second decade of life, as female δ15N values increase and become equal to males. However, a difference in δ13C emerges during the second decade: female δ13C values are elevated relative to males. This could indicate that teenage females consumed higher amounts of low-trophic-level, marine-derived protein, such as shellfish. During later adult years the difference in δ13C disappears, while males again show an increase in δ15N relative to females. Although these differences are small, they reveal important sex-biased life history patterns during childhood and adulthood in this ancient community.
Measuring The Effectiveness of Youth Development Training Provided by Bangladesh National Cadet Corps: A Case Study
Authors: Huda Kazi Nazmul , Hossain AKM Iqbal , Rahaman Atiqur
Published: April 2024

ABSTRACT: Youth represent a pivotal demographic and social asset for every nation, serving as a critical component for national human resource development. Strategic investment in systematic and well-planned Youth Development Training (YDT) can unlock their innate potential and equip them to navigate career challenges effectively. The Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) offers YDT as a significant intervention for youth development, potentially fostering both individual growth and the sustainable progress of Bangladesh. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of BNCC’s YDT in developing leadership qualities, personal skills, and community development attitudes through quantitative analysis. An extensive literature review was meticulously undertaken, investigating deep into existing literature to identify the research gap areas, develop hypotheses, and carefully place the relevant variables essential for the study’s comprehensive analysis and interpretation. A survey instrument comprising sixteen variables was devised, employing the widely used five-point rating scale to assess participant responses. Primary data were collected from 170 male and female BNCC cadets. However, data analysis proceeded utilizing the one-sample “t-test” method. 14 out of 16 hypotheses were accepted with an admirable score. The findings of the study indicate that BNCC’s YDT significantly enhances leadership qualities, particularly in command skills and self-confidence among cadets. Additionally, the YDT program demonstrates a notable impact on fostering community development attitudes among participants. However, the YDT of BNCC is relatively poor in developing creative capability and Information Technology (IT) Skills among the cadets. Based on these results, specific policy recommendations are proposed, including heightened promotion of BNCC training and social development activities to its stakeholders, the establishment of leadership development institutes and innovation clubs, a memorandum of understanding with social service agencies to facilitate social development activities, and many more to maintain the area of strength, which could also contribute to remodeling the existing theories of youth development.
Exploring the Criticality of Natural Resources Management and Technological Innovations for Ecological Footprint in the OECD Countries
Authors: Shobande Olatunji A. , Ogbeifun Lawrence
Published: April 2024

ABSTRACT: The urgent imperative to confront the complex interplay between managing natural resources and fostering technological innovation, particularly in OECD countries, has become a focal point in global conversations. It is abundantly clear that critical issues such as the rampant overexploitation of our natural resources, insufficient embrace of sustainable practices, and the profound repercussions of technological advancements on our ecological footprint demand meticulous scrutiny and comprehensive action. This scrutiny is vital to guide the formulation of judicious policies and strategies capable of addressing these complex challenges. The challenges faced by OECD countries, distinguished by their advanced industrialization, and elevated standards of living, are further compounded by the depletion of natural resources resulting from extensive economic activities. The extraction and utilization of resources, encompassing water, minerals, and energy, emerge as significant contributors to ecological degradation. The heightened demand for raw materials to sustain technological industries has precipitated the overexploitation and depletion of natural resources, manifesting in activities such as mining, deforestation, and other extraction processes, leading to habitat destruction and biodiversity loss. Furthermore, the manufacturing and utilization of technology, particularly within industries heavily reliant on non-renewable energy sources, have been substantial contributors to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The study assesses the dynamic relationship between natural resources, economic growth, and technological innovation with respect to ecological footprints. It analyses the annual data series of a panel of 20 organisation for economic cooperation and development countries using the second-generation cointegration panel and cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag methodology. The results of the slope coefficient confirm the existence of slope heterogeneity among countries. Furthermore, it affirms the long-term relationship among variables. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of effective utilisation of resources while investing in technological innovation to attain sustainable development goals.
Governance Quality And Economic Growth In The Caribbean In Times Of Covid-19
Authors: Onafowora Olugbenga A. , Owoye Oluwole
Published: April 2024

ABSTRACT: The Caribbean region faces a daunting challenge as it confronts the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to shed light on the intricate relationship between governance quality and the economic performance of Caribbean nations, especially in the context of a global health crisis. Our research method involves a panel-random effects model, which captures the effects of governance quality and the COVID-19 pandemic on economic growth. We utilize data from various Caribbean countries, considering six dimensions of governance quality, trade openness, inflation, investment, and human capital. This comprehensive approach ensures a nuanced understanding of the region’s economic landscape during these turbulent times. Our findings expose a significant negative association between the various dimensions of governance and the ongoing pandemic crisis. Specifically, governance indicators such as voice and accountability, rule of law, political stability, and absence of violence, along with government effectiveness, emerge as positive catalysts for economic growth. On the contrary, the control of corruption and regulatory quality demonstrate a notable negative impact on growth. Furthermore, our research unveils that investment and human capital significantly contribute to boosting output growth in the Caribbean. Conversely, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and trade openness is observed to be detrimental to economic growth. These findings corroborate existing empirical evidence on the governance-growth nexus, underscoring the complex interplay between governance and economic development. These results emphasize the urgency of long-term strategies to enhance governance quality in Caribbean countries. It is imperative to bolster the capacity of governments to address future epidemic episodes, recognizing the persistent threat of pandemics. Policymakers should prioritize measures that promote voice and accountability, rule of law, political stability, and government effectiveness while addressing corruption and regulatory quality issues. This research holds profound significance for both academics and policymakers, offering a pathway to stable and sustainable long-term economic growth and calling for proactive preparedness in the face of future global health challenges. It also invites further research in this critical area.
Fundamentals of Institutional Quality and Economic Freedom
Authors: Murphy Ryan H.
Published: April 2024

ABSTRACT: Social scientists have extensively studied the causes of good institutions, including the origins of economic freedom. Results concerning the causes of different kinds of institutions are often similar, often concluding that the geography, environment, and culture are important factors. However, a recent political economy framework suggests that certain dimensions of economic freedom, namely specific dimensions of the size of government (government consumption, transfers and subsidies, and the top marginal tax rate), differ systematically from other dimensions of liberalization. This paper explores these arguments by constructing an index of a set of consensus predictors of institutional quality: ethnic fractionalization (predicts negatively), the natural log of the population size (negatively), absolute latitude (positively), natural resource rents (negatively), the presence of the country in the Americas (negatively), British legal origins (positively), the presence of the country in Eurasia (positively), and island geography (positively). The countries with the “best” fundamentals for institutional quality are Iceland, Ireland, Malta, Finland, and Cyprus, while the five with the “worst” fundamentals are Angola, Nigeria, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Ghana. It then takes this index of “fundamentals” of institutional quality and shows that, although they predict economic liberalism as a whole (as measured by the Economic Freedom of the World index) as they would predict other measures of institutional quality, they predict oppositely (i.e., corresponding to larger governments) for the dimensions of the size of government listed above. The result is congruent with the predictions of the political economy model. Additionally, this result is not contingent on the inclusion of any one of the “fundamental” variables, although natural resource rents and absolute latitude appear to be the most important variables. Countries with considerably more economic freedom than would be predicted by their fundaments include Peru, Singapore, the United States, Chile, and Canada; should deviations from fitted values be seen as presaging future movements in institutions, these countries are the most likely to see upcoming declines. The aforementioned political economy model implies that these findings are the result of complexities involved in the interaction between state capacity and different dimensions of economic liberalization.
"Visions Again Came To Me of My African Ancestors Bound and Dragged onto Slave Ships": From Political Autobiography to Burton's Post-Black Power Neo-Abolitionist Memoir
Authors: Alexander Patrick Elliot
Published: April 2024

Abstract: This article builds upon African American literary theorist Margo Perkins's conception of political autobiography from her award-winning book Autobiography as Activism: Three Black Women of the Sixties , and the work of critical prison studies scholars Angela Y. Davis and Dylan Rodríguez. It reads Susan Burton's 2017 narrative, Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women , as reflecting an untheorized subgenre of African American confinement literature: the post-Black Power neo-abolitionist memoir. In the memoir, Burton alludes to slavery and anti-slavery activism to contextualize historically the post-Black Power-era prison-industrial complex and galvanize opposition to it.
From Affective Schemata to Authentic Becoming: How Reading about Bodies Can Shape Our Mental Landscape and Philosophical Outlook; Postcritique and A. S. Byatt's "A Stone Woman"
Authors: Rokotnitz Naomi
Published: April 2024

Abstract: Fully crediting the "brain-body-narrative nexus" (Wojciehowski and Gallese 62) that shapes readers' reception, perception, and processing, this article examines A. S. Byatt's "A Stone Woman," in conjunction with current research on the "extended mind." I explore (1) how Byatt's use of sensory-motor cues agitates readers' affective schemata, (2) how this affective stimulation can influence mental responses and the reading experience, and (3) how Byatt thereby also influences attitudes toward the thematic content of the story, extending the wonder tale genre's preoccupation with personal development and aligning with philosophical traditions that encourage readers to undertake their own process of authentic becoming.
The Three Dresses
Authors: Richards Jess
Published: April 2024

Abstract: While combining fiction writing and artistic processes in my creative practice PhD project
(2020), I worked with several fairy tales. My short story "The Three Dresses" is written from the point of view of dresses made from snow, darkness, and mirrors. As a first-person narrative, the reader embodies each dress in turn throughout the story, which alludes to "Cinderella" traditions from subtypes ATU510A and ATU501B. The main point of differentiation is in the agency of the dresses as speaking objects and their ability to reveal the relationship between the seamstress who made them and the persecuted young woman who wears them.
The City-Sin: Collective Responsibility for the Plague in Early Modern London
Authors: Fleck Andrew
Published: April 2024

Abstract: The epidemic of bubonic plague that struck London in 1603 created its own culture of collectivity. Instead of seeking to place blame on others, the writers responding to the epidemic understood the disease to be divine punishment and a call to collective moral reform. Analyzing the plague pamphlets of Thomas Dekker, William Muggins, Thomas Middleton, and a Dutch refugee residing in London, Jacob Cool, this article argues that the focus on personal moral responsibility for the plague and the need for collective reform created an unexpected culture of collectivity in early modern London.
"A Jury ye young fools is nothing. What's to be done with Public Opinion!": True Crime, Individual Responsibility, and Two Averys on Trial
Authors: Baron Kassie Jo
Published: April 2024

Abstract: Articles from BBC, Times , and Rolling Stone have commented on the recent rise of the true crime genre in the United States; however, interest in crime and criminality is anything but new. Nineteenth-century public interest in crime drove the press, leading to an explosion of printed material. Textile operative Sarah Maria Cornell's 1832 murder by Methodist minister Ephraim K. Avery was a media sensation that brought together readers in industrial New England and led to journalistic investigations, broadsides, lithographs, a touring show of wax figures, and a threat on P. T. Barnum's life. Those following the case became invested in understanding the lives and motivations of both victim and perpetrator, as the genre's subjective interpretation of objective facts was used to influence consumers' responses. Today, the fascination with the murder of young white women is reproduced in the United States by binge consumption of both serialized and episodic investigations in podcasts and mini-series. The investigation and trial of Steven Avery for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach drew international interest after the release of Netflix's Making a Murderer in 2015. The popularity of true crime relies on a perennial fascination with violence, a desire to avoid a similar fate, and the sense of community created between fellow consumers. Connecting coverage of the nineteenth-century Ephraim K. Avery with that of today's Steven Avery reveals that true crime media's obsessive focus on white female victims perpetuates an emphasis on personal responsibility that hides systemic violence.
Ralph Ellison's Acoustic Stereoscope: Reading Invisible Man through Günther Anders's Phenomenology of Music
Authors: Devlin Paul
Published: April 2024

Abstract: This article is a reading of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man (1952) in light of Günther Anders's phenomenology of listening (1931) and hypothesized acoustic stereoscope (1949), proposing the latter as a source for the narrator's speculative desire to hear five recordings of Louis Armstrong's "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Bliue" playing simultaneously. Anders's obscure theories and notions about listening offer a way to conceptualize some of the novel's most enigmatic moments, including its descriptions of echo and its notoriously ambiguous final sentence. The article also explores Anders's career, possible social connections to Ellison, as well as Ellison's renewed interest in music in the late 1940s after years of ambivalence following his decision to stop pursuing music as a career. This recovered interest included working for inventor and sound engineer David Sarser. This part-time employment intersects with the philosophical questions and aural metaphors under investigation here, pointing to a different intellectual context for the novel's prologue and epilogue (1951) than for parts of the novel composed in the 1945–48 period.
Fluid Faiths: Reading Religion Relationally in Asian American Literature
Authors: O'Briant Jack
Published: April 2024

Abstract: While the designation of Asian American literature as a field dates back to as recently as the 1970s, it is nevertheless surprising that, to my knowledge, there is not a single scholarly monograph on the topic of religion in Asian American literature. However, in religious studies and the social sciences, there is a growing body of scholarship examining the role of religion in Asian American communities, and particularly, but not exclusively, the prominence of various expressions of Christianity therein. Despite this prominence, criticism within the field of Asian American literature has largely interpreted the presence of Christianity primarily in terms of its associations with oppressive colonial regimes. This article demonstrates the value of supplementing such readings with greater attentiveness to the specific religious histories underlying Asian American literature in order to better account for the ambivalence—rather than outright antagonism—toward Christianity that seems characteristic of many Asian American literary texts. Such an approach implies, just as national and racial identities are historically complex and often contested categories, that religion's cultural fluidity makes it an equally rich site for understanding literary expressions of the painful loss and transformation as well as the unexpected richness and beauty manifested within the conditions and consequences of global migration. Drawing on Shu-mei Shih's notion of relational comparison, the article turns to scholarship on the history of Christianity in both Korea and Vietnam to demonstrate how these histories inform and aid in interpreting the ambivalences of Christianity's presence in the novels Dictée by Theresa Hak Kyung and The Gangster We Are All Looking For by lê thi diem thúy.
An Immigrant as a Blogger in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah
Authors: Shymchyshyn Mariya
Published: April 2024

Abstract: The preliminary part of this article outlines the changes that immigrants face in today's era of global mobility and how these changes correlate with the aesthetics of migratory fiction. Then I discuss the identity of a Nigerian immigrant, Ifemelu, in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah and the reasons that led to her dissatisfaction with identitarian politics in the United States and prompted her to start a blog about racism. The article concentrates on the monetization of race through Ifemelu's blog posts and the movement from politicizing race to its capitalization. I assess the grounds for her shift from political blogging in the United States to writing a historical and cultural blog after returning to Nigeria. Her blogging in America became a way of capitalizing on race while in Nigeria, suggesting that cultural and historical blogging is a way to build a new, collective, decolonized identity. Decolonization as an act of refusal must be turned into the act of assertion, an act of refoundation.
DEA models as a tool for evaluating and measuring the efficiency of public universities
Authors: Krajčo Karol , Habánik Jozef , Grenčíková Adriana
Published: April 2024

Nowadays, the issue of measuring economic and non-economic efficiency is related not only to the enterprise itself but also to the organizations providing education. Measuring the economic efficiency of an educational institution cannot be done as clearly as in the case of enterprises whose mission is to produce products and services for the purpose of selling them. In the case of educational institutions in the form of public universities, profit cannot be considered as the main objective. Universities only report data stipulated by the current legislation, thus measuring efficiency is a rather challenging matter with ambiguous quantification. This study analyzes the efficiency of public universities through some publicly available indicators of their activities. The selection of indicators was made based on the analysis of previous scientific works that dealt with the issue. The basic selection criteria were whether the indicators were verifiable and unquestionable. The work focused on the construction of a model based on DEA analysis of efficiency at constant returns to scale. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, cluster analysis, deduction, induction, comparison, and synthesis were also used. Through these methods, it was possible to construct a general model for evaluating the efficiency of public universities.
The role of institutional quality in reducing environmental degradation in Canada
Authors: Mukhtarov Shahriyar , Aliyev Javid , Jabiyev Farid , Aslan Davut Han
Published: April 2024

This paper uses the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) technique to explore the influence of institutional quality, income, consumption of renewable energy, trade openness, and total factor productivity on consumption-based CO2 emissions in Canada from 1996 to 2021. Estimation findings showed that institutional quality, renewable energy use, and total factor productivity exert a statistically significant and negative influence on CO2 emissions. Moreover, our findings indicated that there is a statistically significant and positive impact of income on CO2 emissions, while trade openness exhibits an insignificant impact on CO2 emissions. The study discusses alternative policies, emphasizing the role of institutional quality in reducing CO2 emissions.
Effect of home care activities on labor participation in a developing country
Authors: Fajardo Hoyos Claudia Liceth , Mora Rodríguez Jhon James
Published: April 2024

This article analyzes the differences in labor participation due to home care activities in Colombia. Indirect and direct care activities can be inside or outside the market sphere. For example, a domestic service worker provides indirect and, sometimes, direct care services. A high percentage of care activities are delegated to women because these tasks are supposedly proper for their gender and are a natural part of their daily lives. To understand the disadvantaged position of women in the labor market, their participation in unpaid work must be considered. Our results show that gender stereotypes continue to overburden Colombian women in unpaid activities. Variables such as age, schooling, sex, and household headship are relevant when direct and indirect caregiving activities are included in the analysis of labor participation.
Home among right angles: cube living
Authors: Wallace Shannon
Published: April 2024

This article focuses on the dwellings of the Villa in Beroun in the Czech Republic, designed by HŠH Architects, and Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion, with architectural designs inspired by games, toys and creative play. The architectural designs inspired by the stacking blocks Lego®, K’nex® and Cidori® are explored and compared to GC Prostho by Kengo Kuma. The environmental implications of housing designs with malleable layouts, which reduce the need for constant changing and moving of houses throughout occupant lifetimes, are explored. The melding of the house and the game as a basis for rethinking the home space, which allows for rearranging walls and renewable capsular compartments, are analysed through the unsuccessful Nakagin Capsule Tower case study. The Villa in Beroun was dissected using gestalt psychology in order to unpack how the human mind reads its enveloping, malleable design. Due to its unique approach to black steel, concrete and glass material, the Villa in Beroun was analysed against new brutalist definitions.
Vulneración de Derechos Fundamentales por práctica de la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo en una comunidad autónoma distinta a la de residencia: comentario a la Sentencia 78/2023, de 3 de julio de 2023, del Tribunal Constitucional
Authors: Boldova Marzo Daniel Miguel
Published: April 2024

El presente trabajo estudia la Sentencia 78/2023, de 3 de julio de 2023, del Tribunal Constitucional, que analiza la práctica de interrupción voluntaria del embarazo en una comunidad autónoma distinta a la de residencia. La cuestión principal radica en apreciar una vulneración a la garantía de interrumpir voluntariamente el embarazo dentro de los supuestos legales, como parte del contenido constitucionalmente protegido del derecho fundamental a la integridad física y moral (art. 15 CE).
Italian places in Japanese manga: a study on topophilia in graphic narratives
Authors: Ursini Francesco-Alessio , Samo Giuseppe
Published: April 2024

The goal of this paper is to offer an analysis on how Italian places act as key narrative units in Japanese manga. Building on a quantitative and qualitative corpus study, the paper investigates how culturally salient locations are embedded in these narratives. It is first shown that authors develop salient locations (“places”) as distinct entities playing key roles within narrative structures. It is then shown that these representations of places follow principles of cultural relevance, popularity, historical and geographical faithfulness. This is the case because authors creating manga set in Italy share knowledge and appreciation of Italian places and their cultural import with readers. These results are framed in a theory of geo-criticism and in a possible worlds analysis of places in fiction, hereby extended to graphic narratives.