bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of a Repeated Reading Intervention Delivered Online to Upper Elementary Students
Authors: Romig John Elwood , Jetton Ashley
Published: June 2023

Repeated reading is an intervention with strong evidence for improving students’ oral reading fluency. However, little research has examined the use of this intervention outside of traditional school contexts. School closures due to COVID-19 forced schools and teacher preparation programs to create new approaches to evidence-based reading interventions that could be delivered online. This study examined the effects of a repeated reading fluency intervention delivered synchronously online. A single-case repeated acquisition design examined the intervention’s effects on three upper elementary students’ correct word reading fluency, defined as the number of words read correctly per minute. Visual analysis indicated repeated readings had a positive impact on all students’ reading fluency. Future research should examine whether this intervention can improve students’ comprehension when delivered online.
“Double-Sided Learning”: A Qualitative Study of Teacher Candidate Experiences in a Virtual Reading Intervention Clinical Experience
Authors: Gesel Samantha A. , Stewart-Ginsburg Jared H. , Washburn Erin K. , Kingsbery Corinne R. , Lev Jocelyn H. , Brooks Rachel , Owen Hayley
Published: June 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic altered the ways that teacher educators could provide teacher candidates (TCs) with clinically-rich opportunities to build TCs’ skills and self-efficacy related to teaching reading. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences of 19 TCs who participated in a semester-long virtual reading tutoring program during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted semi-structured interviews, then analyzed data through inductive and deductive coding. Four themes emerged, centering (a) the impact of the pandemic on typical clinical experiences, (b) the application of coursework within this virtual clinical experience, (c) TCs’ perceptions of program elements that supported their implementation, and (d) TCs’ perceived benefit of the program for their own development as a teacher and for the reading outcomes of the children with whom they worked. We discuss implications for future work related to enhanced clinical experiences related to TCs’ implementation of reading interventions for striving readers.
The disappointment of Rosa Luxemburg: Rethinking revolutionary commitment in the face of failure
Authors: Mrovlje Maša
Published: June 2023

Despite the recent revival of revolutionary commitment in response to left melancholia, I suggest that the contemporary academic left has not adequately addressed the difficulty of responding to failure as an inevitable aspect of revolutionary politics. The dominant tendency has been to try to offset the risk of failure by managing revolutionary action in line with a pre-given model of revolutionary change – only to limit the range of possibilities for revolutionary engagement. To address this problem, I draw on Rosa Luxemburg, a foremost revolutionary thinker, whose experiences of disappointment led her to rethink the notion of revolutionary commitment as a practice of learning from failure. This rethinking of commitment suggests a different way of engaging with failure – one that expands our imagination of political possibilities beyond the confines of the dominant contemporary responses to left melancholia and enriches their visions of revolutionary change.
The anatomo-politics of affect: An investigation of affective governmentality
Authors: Harmat Jonathan
Published: June 2023

The present inquiry concerns ‘affective governmentality’ and is guided by the following question: How did affects become intelligible objects of knowledge and what enabled a scientific conception of affect to turn into a distinctive government of affect? In answering this question, the article first outlines how a lineage of thinkers used the speculative tools of geometry to conceptualize and deduce human affects. Through an analysis of Spinoza’s Political Treatise, the article then investigates how this geometric conception of affect enabled a productive and indirect government of affect. The article’s contribution to the study of affective governmentality is twofold: First, it advances the methodological claim that the proper register to study affects in governmentality is anatomo-political rather than biopolitical. Second, the analysis of the Political Treatise exemplifies, nuances and substantiates our understanding of how desires and affects were reconceptualized geometrically to conceive a government of bodies and souls.
Scapegoating Immigrants in Times of Personal and Collective Crises: Results from a Czech Panel Study
Authors: Kudrnáč Aleš , Eger Maureen A. , Hjerm Mikael
Published: June 2023

According to scapegoat theory, individuals tend to attribute personal or social problems to an out-group (real or imagined). This self-serving bias protects the ego or social identity from responsibility while increasing prejudice towards the out-group blamed for feelings of frustration. In this research note, we test this theory using five waves of the Czech Household Panel Study (CHPS 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), which captures the tail end of the 2015–2016 refugee crisis in Europe through the lockdown in response to COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We focus attention on both personal and professional domains, asking if factors like subjective health, work stress, relationship dissatisfaction, life dissatisfaction, and unhappiness contribute to attitudes towards immigrants over time. We also ask whether socio-political attitudes such as distrust in the government, social distrust, and political disinterest are associated with changes in anti-immigrant sentiment. Results show that personal and professional domains help explain between-individual differences in attitudes towards immigrants, while trust in the government and society are related to both within-individual change and between-individual differences in anti-immigrant sentiment.
Accommodation for profit, not for refugees: Racial capitalism and the logics of Berlin’s refugee accommodation market
Authors: Kreichauf René
Published: June 2023

In response to the difficulties refugees face in finding housing, Berlin’s government has developed new housing-like shelters that offer longer-term accommodation. Drawing on literature concerning racial capitalism and urban migration governance, I explain how these shelters represent a multilayered business opportunity for revenue extraction, resulting in the ongoing displacement, spatial fixing, and continued racialization of refugees. Notably, I reveal the prominent roles of Berlin’s government, city-owned housing, and public real estate agencies. They use the construction of new refugee shelters in an entrepreneurial way in order to revitalize their own fiscal budgets, as well as to put urban land into production. This allows them to develop and then turn refugee shelters into substandard, racialized, and highly profitable forms of new urban housing for refugees and other racialized and low-income populations. Expounding the ways the building of accommodation as substandard urban housing leads to race-based pursuit of profit, I argue that refugee housing serves as an urban migration fix and is developed within the logic of racial capitalism. This article contributes to attempts to use racial capitalism as a framework to scrutinize urban and migration processes, helping us comprehend the distinctly racial logics of urban and migration governance, and housing precarity.
The Moralization of Politics in Brazil
Authors: Miskolci Richard , Balieiro Fernando de Figueiredo
Published: June 2023

This article analyzes the formation of a media framing of political moralization in Brazil that was consolidated during the decade of 2010, during the peak of an anti-corruption prosecution and the campaign against ‘gender ideology’. This media framing was characterized by the association of the agenda for probity in the conduct of public business with a traditional family morality. The research methodology is anchored in studies of media framing in an analytical perspective that joins sources of digital sociology to political communication studies to analyze an archive collected on platforms of social networks and news media. We contrast the results of the investigation to contributions and gaps of political sociology and gender and sexuality studies focused on either public or private morality. The analysis of the materials shows how the far-right developed a political-communicational strategy on social networks to unite the two dimensions of morality to gain electoral support.
‘That just doesn’t feel right at times’ – lone working practices, support and educational needs of newly employed Healthcare Assistants providing 24/7 palliative care in the community: A qualitative interview study
Authors: Patynowska Katarzyna A , McConnell Tracey , McAtamney Colette , Hasson Felicity
Published: June 2023

Background:

Healthcare assistants working in hospice at home settings have a pivotal role in supporting people dying at home and their family caregivers. Some healthcare assistants are working alone in patients’ homes, which magnifies some of the issues reported for those working closely with other team members. There is a dearth of evidence in terms of education, training and support needs for healthcare assistants when working alone.

Aim:

To explore the role of newly employed lone working healthcare assistants delivering palliative care in the community, and their support and educational needs.

Design:

Qualitative exploratory study using semi-structured interviews.

Setting/participants:

Healthcare assistants ( n = 16) employed less than 12 months by a national non-profit hospice and palliative care provider located across the UK.

Results:

Analysis of interviews identified three main themes: (1) Healthcare assistants have a unique and complex role catering for holistic needs of patients and their family caregivers in the home environment; (2) preparation for the complex role requires focus on experiential learning and specific training to support holistic care provision; (3) lone workers experience loneliness and isolation and identify peer support as a key intervention to support their wellbeing.

Conclusions:

Given the complexities of their role within community palliative care teams, there are key learning points in relation to healthcare assistant preparation. Education and support networks should be prioritised to reduce isolation and support ongoing learning and development of newly employed healthcare assistants; all of which is vital to ensure safety and quality of care for the growing number of people they support in the community.
Baseline cognitive function predicts full remission of suicidal symptoms among patients with treatment-resistant depression and strong suicidal ideation after low-dose ketamine infusion
Authors: Lin Wei-Chen , Su Tung-Ping , Li Cheng-Ta , Wu Hui-Ju , Tsai Shih-Jen , Bai Ya-Mei , Tu Pei-Chi , Chen Mu-Hong
Published: June 2023

Background:

Whether pretreatment working memory and response inhibition function are associated with the rapid and sustained antisuicidal effect of low-dose ketamine among patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and strong suicidal ideation is unclear.

Methods:

We enrolled 65 patients with TRD, comprising 33 who received a single infusion of 0.5 mg/kg ketamine and 32 who received a placebo infusion. The participants performed working memory and go/no-go tasks prior to infusion. We assessed suicidal symptoms at baseline and on postinfusion Days 2, 3, 5, and 7.

Results:

The full remission of suicidal symptoms persisted for 3 days after a single ketamine infusion and the ketamine-related antisuicidal effect persisted for 1 week. Lower cognitive impairment at baseline (indicated by a higher rate of correct responses on a working memory task) was associated with the rapid and sustained antisuicidal effect of low-dose ketamine in patients with TRD and strong suicidal ideation.

Discussion:

Patients with TRD and strong suicidal ideation but low cognitive impairment may benefit the most from the antisuicidal effect of low-dose ketamine.
The Sound of Silence: An Immersive Approach to Spearfishermen's Ecological Knowledge Along the Dakar Coastline
Authors: Brochier Timothée , Puig Nicolas
Published: June 2023

At the crossroads of sensory anthropology and underwater bioacoustics, this article offers an immersive approach to garner the knowledge and perceptions of Dakar underwater fishermen. Four Senegalese fishermen conveyed their extensive knowledge of the peri-urban underwater environment through the descriptions of and commentaries on the seven dives they recorded using a camera equipped with an integrated microphone attached to their heads that focused on the marine soundscape. This methodology was aimed at documenting their ecological knowledge of the underwater marine environment of Dakar concerning its growth, the modifications of the shoreline, and underwater urban extensions such as sewers, water drainage from the surface and various discharges. Notions such as “guest” fish or “social” fish, among others, are used by divers to describe the behavior of fish, highlighting the elements that allow assessing the catchability of different species. A decrease in the attractiveness of the Dakar coast for migratory fish is described in connection with urban pollution discharges, the destruction of underwater habitats, and the development of scuba-diving and night-hunting practices. In general, the information collected puts into perspective the changes perceived both in connection with the worldwide scale of global warming and the problems of over-exploitation.
Online and offline learning of player objectives from partial observations in dynamic games
Authors: Peters Lasse , Rubies-Royo Vicenç , Tomlin Claire J , Ferranti Laura , Alonso-Mora Javier , Stachniss Cyrill , Fridovich-Keil David
Published: June 2023

Robots deployed to the real world must be able to interact with other agents in their environment. Dynamic game theory provides a powerful mathematical framework for modeling scenarios in which agents have individual objectives and interactions evolve over time. However, a key limitation of such techniques is that they require a priori knowledge of all players’ objectives. In this work, we address this issue by proposing a novel method for learning players’ objectives in continuous dynamic games from noise-corrupted, partial state observations. Our approach learns objectives by coupling the estimation of unknown cost parameters of each player with inference of unobserved states and inputs through Nash equilibrium constraints. By coupling past state estimates with future state predictions, our approach is amenable to simultaneous online learning and prediction in receding horizon fashion. We demonstrate our method in several simulated traffic scenarios in which we recover players’ preferences, for, e.g. desired travel speed and collision-avoidance behavior. Results show that our method reliably estimates game-theoretic models from noise-corrupted data that closely matches ground-truth objectives, consistently outperforming state-of-the-art approaches.
Composite Bite Blocks—An Indigenous, Simple, Fixed Class II Corrector
Authors: Jayaram Priyanka , Biswas P. P. , Varghese Hanna
Published: June 2023

Fixed functional appliances are used at either the fag end of the growth spurt or after the completion of the same. We orthodontists are yet to come across an appliance which satisfies all the ideal requirements for a fixed functional appliance. Most disadvantages of the fixed functional appliances such as increase in lower anterior facial height, proclination of lower anteriors, constant breakages, and huge expenses were taken into consideration in the basic designing of this ingenious appliance. In this article, a simple fixed functional appliance was designed to function along with fixed appliance therapy to stimulate mandibular growth. After the initial leveling and aligning, 0.019 × 0.025 stainless steel posted arch wires were placed. The bite jumping blocks were fabricated in the upper and lower arches with light cure blue composite. Using indirect bonding trays they were bonded in position. The case finished in an ideal overjet and overbite with a balanced face. Cephalometric values demonstrate an advancement of the mandible.
But Where is the Magic? Emotional-relational Humans and their Untold Stories in International Relations
Authors: Tripathi Shambhawi
Published: June 2023

The affective turn in International Relations (IR) has been engaged in the critical project of returning the emotional to the international for a while now. Following these efforts to reinvest humanity in politics, this article seeks to investigate if an engagement with emotional humans can provide refuge from, grapple with and ultimately transform a disenchanted world of IR and spell new worlds into existence that place the emotional-relational at the centre of its practice. Drawing on feminist, aesthetic and decolonial scholarship on emotional-relational humans, I argue that such imaginations can open routes to recovery for emotional worlds in the discipline. I introduce magical realist fiction as a genre of literary writing which embraces the magical ability of humans who resist and transform unbearably rational worlds through their emotional relations with each other. Gleaning moments of emotional incantations by humans–in Isabel Allende’s A Long Petal of the Sea, Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera–which work to transform a world that becomes too difficult to bear for its inhabitants, I contend that IR stands to gain invaluable lessons by immersing itself in the kind of emotional magic that such literature and its resident humans spell into being.
Experiences of foster carers remotely accessing the children in care (CIC) consultation model during the Covid-19 pandemic: A service evaluation
Authors: Gosling Jonah , Purrington Jack
Published: June 2023

This service evaluation explored foster carers’ experiences of remotely accessing the children in care consultation model during the Covid-19 pandemic. The service evaluation utilised the Kirkpatrick evaluation model to collect data at four levels (reaction, learning, behaviour and results) and employed a mixed methodology. Participants were foster carers who had accessed remote consultations between June 2020 and June 2021. Thirteen participants completed questionnaires and eight consented to follow-up interviews. Questionnaires were analysed descriptively, and interviews were analysed thematically. Questionnaires demonstrated that most participants felt listened to, felt they could talk about what mattered to them and felt the consultations were the right length. However, some participants were unsure whether the pace and delivery were suitable for them. The thematic analysis highlighted four themes: (1) Reassurance and support: the consultations provided foster carers with reassurance and support that underpinned their current actions and aided their working relationships with other professionals; (2) Approach and understanding: the sessions provided foster carers with both specific and general approaches to challenges and enhanced their understanding; (3) Online consultation approval/disapproval: foster carers had mixed views regarding the remote delivery, but most valued this; (4) Behaviour change: following consultation, most foster carers experienced a change in behaviour within the household. Recommendations are discussed.
Should we touch tricuspid valve at the time of LVAD implantation? A young patient series
Authors: Yavas Soner , Kervan Umit , Karahan Mehmet , Kocabeyoglu Sinan Sabit , Sert Dogan Emre , Ersoy Ozgur , Demirkan Burcu , Temizhan Ahmet , Ozatik Mehmet Ali
Published: June 2023

Background:

The aim of the study is to compare the results of patients who had moderate or severe tricuspid insufficiency (TI) at the time of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation that did not undergo intervention.

Methods:

Between October 2013 and December 2019, 144 patients who did not undergo tricuspid valve repair (TVR) during LVAD implantation in our department were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups according to the TI grade; Group 1: 106 patients (73.6%) with moderate TI and Group 2: 38 patients (26.4%) with severe TI. All patients were evaluated for mortality, need of inotrope, blood product transfusion, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, and early and late right ventricular failure (RVF). Minimally invasive technique was favored in patients with worse right ventricular (RV) function to prevent the need for postoperative RV support and bleeding.

Results:

The mean ages of the patients in the Group 1 and Group 2 were 46 ± 15 years (82% male), and 45 ± 11.2 years (81.5% males), respectively. Post-operative duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU stay, blood loss, and reoperations were similar ( p > 0.05). There was no significant difference in early RVF, pump thrombosis, stroke, bleeding, and 30-day mortality between groups ( p > 0.05). Incidence of late RVF was higher in Group 2 ( p < 0.05).

Conclusion:

Although the risk of late RVF may increase in patients with preoperative severe TI, not intervening in TI during LVAD implantation does not cause adverse clinical outcomes in the early period.
Effect of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive functions of Egyptian males following recovery: A cross sectional study
Authors: GamalEl Din Sameh Fayek , Nabil Ismail Nashaat , Kaddah Amr , Abdel Salam Mohamed Ahmed , Korani Mahmoud Sayed , Hamed Mostafa Ahmed
Published: June 2023

Introduction:

We aimed to assess the sexual and the reproductive functions in males post COVID-19 infection in Beni-Suef Governorate.

Methods:

One hundred men were recruited in the current study. All participants were assessed by the Arabic validated version of the International Index of the Erectile Function 5 (ArIIEF-5), semen analysis, and Hospital Depression and Anxiety Scale (HADS). Finally, morning testosterone serum level was measured.

Results:

There were significant decreases in the sperm total motility, the ArIIEF-5 score, and serum total testosterone in the post COVID-19 patients after 3 months when compared to the controls. However, there were significant increases in the sperm total motility, the ArIIEF-5 score, and serum total testosterone in the post COVID-19 patients after 6 months group when compared to the post COVID-19 patients after 3 months group. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the HADS score in the post COVID-19 patients after 3 months when compared to the controls. In contrast, there was a significant decrease in the HADS score in the post COVID-19 patients after 6 months when compared to the post COVID-19 patients after 3 months.

Conclusion:

Our study had shown temporary impairment of sexual and reproductive functions in post COVID-19 convalescent males especially after 6 months from the onset of the infection.
Emotional advertising in Morocco during the COVID-19 pandemic: A semiotic analysis
Authors: Chirig Abdelkrim , Bouziane Karima , Zakhir Marouane
Published: June 2023

The world recently went through the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic – a highly infectious disease that has changed people’s lives drastically in many ways. This pandemic has also pushed the government and companies to use numerous advertising strategies either to promote their products or attract people’s attention. Emotions, most of which are manifested subconsciously, are significantly exploited by advertising agencies, because the former are deemed to be the very fabric nature of the human soul and are, as Heath puts it, ‘so powerful that we cannot make a decision unless our emotions concur with it’ (p. 10). One of the many effective strategies used is emotional advertising which is exerted on the consumer’s subconscious chiefly at two levels: (1) the need for a product or service and (2) the fear of a particular adversity. This study, thus, is an attempt to examine and analyze Moroccan emotional advertising during the COVID-19 pandemic from a semiotic perspective. This article uses the principles of a qualitative approach, taking into account Barthes’s basic notions of meaning. Through the verbal and nonverbal signs, the semiotic analysis at hand is an attempt to demonstrate the covert messages behind the emotional strategy of advertising manifested amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The results lead to a relative understanding of how these advertising agencies took advantage of the health crisis then so as to promote goods or services.
Culture, Coping, and Racial Discrimination Stress Among Chinese American Youth: A Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study
Authors: Li Danni , Liew Jeffrey , Kiang Lisa
Published: June 2023

Using a longitudinal mixed methods approach, this study examined Chinese American youth’s experiences and coping with racial discrimination. Participants included 25 second-generation Chinese American youth who participated in an 8-year, three-wave longitudinal study. The participants’ average age at Time 1 was 15.5 years. Participants were interviewed with open-ended questions about their experiences of discrimination growing up. In addition, quantitative survey data were collected to examine associations between youth’s ethnic identity, acculturation, cultural values, coping, and discrimination stress. The interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Qualitative responses were coded and quantitative data were analyzed using independent sample t-tests. The participants reported both overt and covert experiences of racial discrimination. Despite facing racial discrimination, many Asian American youth chose to cope in culturally congruent ways that are consistent with their cultural values. Our findings provide new evidence that discrimination distress is linked to negative psychosocial outcomes, lower ethnic identity, and less recognition of heritage culture. Furthermore, our results suggest that culturally congruent coping strategies labeled as maladaptive in North American culture could be adaptive for Chinese American youth against discrimination distress. Study findings have implications for culturally responsive services and practices to support Chinese American youth to succesfully cope with racial discrimination.
Current Intensive Care Management of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura: A Case Report and Updated Literature Review
Authors: Okoli Sandra , Jenkins Kathleen A. , Bojanowski Christine M.
Published: June 2023

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), caused by severely reduced activity of the von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease ADAMTS13, is a medical emergency with life-threatening complications and a 90% mortality rate if left untreated. It presents a diagnostic challenge given the multiorgan involvement of the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and central nervous systems. Furthermore, the well-known full pentad of fever, hemolytic anemia, bleeding associated with thrombocytopenia, neurological signs, and renal disease is often absent in patients with TTP. We present a 51-year-old male adult with TTP. We utilized the PLASMIC scoring system, which predicts the likelihood of ADAMST13 activity in adults with features of thrombotic microangiopathy and thrombocytopenia with high sensitivity and specificity. We further review the literature supporting the expert statement on ICU management of patients with TTP that plasma exchange (PEX) should be initiated within 6 hours of diagnosis with adjunctive glucocorticoids, rituximab, and caplacizumab. If PEX is unavailable, plasma infusion can be started while the patient awaits transfer to a center with PEX capabilities.
What Predicts Failure to Appear for Court Hearings?
Authors: Spohn Cassia
Published: June 2023

Despite its importance, the pretrial process has not been subjected to the type of scrutiny directed at judges’ sentencing decisions. The goal of this project, which uses data on defendants released pretrial in four Arizona counties, was to identify the factors that predict failure to appear (FTA) for court hearings and to determine whether these predictors vary across defendants. We found that the likelihood of FTA was affected by a combination of defendant characteristics, case characteristics, and the jurisdiction where the case was adjudicated; the FTA prediction score, which is obtained from the risk assessment instrument used in all Arizona counties, also had a significant effect on the likelihood of FTA. Discussion focuses on inter-jurisdictional differences in FTA rates, the fact that the type of pretrial release did not predict FTA, and the fact that the defendant’s race/ethnicity affected the FTA prediction score and most of the Public Safety Assessment factors.
Working and Parenting During a Pandemic: Children’s and Parents’ Perceptions of Work-Life Balance While Working From Home
Authors: Levine Kenneth J. , Aley Melinda , Aladé Fashina
Published: June 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many parents to work from home while children participated in distance learning, providing a unique opportunity to examine what children observed about work-life balance. Parent-child dyads ( N = 194) completed online surveys about their perceptions of work-life balance. Examination of mothers and fathers found similar challenges about working at home. Parents reported that work-life balance was problematic while children reported positive work-life balance for their parents due to the time spent together while everyone was at home.
A jubilee of fifty books known only by title
Authors: Brownsmith Esther , Lied Liv Ingeborg , Kartzow Marianne Bjelland
Published: June 2023

This article ends the special issue that aims to introduce the conception of “books known only by title” as a fruitful new focus of research. In this article, we include an annotated assortment of books known only by title. This collection of fifty such books is not exhaustive, but it may serve as an inspiration and a springboard for future researchers by demonstrating the breadth and rich diversity of this phenomenon. To aid such research, we have provided bibliographic information for each entry. We also discuss ways of categorizing these books and the challenges of those categorizations. The list is hardly exhaustive, but it is selective. Our examples center on the first millennium C.E., and they center on the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Certain entries may push at those boundaries but were included because of their special interest to us. Most notably, the classical texts of Greco-Roman culture were not included; nor were the canons of East Asia, or many other literary cultures across the globe.
Sibyls, destruction, and loss in the context of reproductive science
Authors: Borchardt Francis
Published: June 2023

The sixth-century prologue to a collection of Sibylline Oracles introduces the anthology according to a pattern recognizable in prologues to a number of texts of the period. It begins by praising the oracles for the great value they have for readers. But then, it introduces a problem: the oracles have suffered from destruction, loss, and corruption at several points in their history. The prologue goes on to offer a solution: the creation of the very anthology of Sibylline Oracles being produced. The rhetorical function of such a prologue is clear: It ensures the value of Sibylline Oracles while simultaneously demonstrating the utility, or even necessity of the newly created collection. Of interest in this study is the way the prologue introduces and illustrates the problem of destruction, loss, and corruption. In no less than three different vignettes, the prologue shows how the oracles are especially resistant to preservation. And these instances are not alone. A discourse of sibylline loss circulated around the textual world of antiquity. This study argues that the discourse is best understood within the framework of ancient ideals concerning intergenerational transfers of knowledge from fathers to sons, and some ancient theories of reproductive science, which held that only men contained reproductive potential, while women were empty vessels or fallow fields waiting to be filled. The article concludes that sibyls are so frequently sites of loss and destruction of knowledge because, as women, they are believed to lack the capacity to reproduce themselves both intellectually and biologically.
Reinvestigate the significance of STRIPAT and extended STRIPAT: An inclusion of renewable energy and trade for gulf council countries
Authors: Cui Yiniu , Aziz Ghazala , Sarwar Suleman , Waheed Rida , Mighri Zouheir , Shahzad Umer
Published: June 2023

The rapid growth experienced by the Gulf Council countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) has placed significant strain on their ecological footprint due to extensive energy consumption. Consequently, it becomes necessary to examine the factors contributing to the high ecological footprint and explore potential solutions for its reduction. This study aims to analyze the key factors influencing the ecological footprint in the GCC countries from 1995 to 2020. Through an extensive review of existing literature, it is evident that economic growth, urbanization, and trade can disturb ecological balance, while environmental technology and renewable energy offer potential remedies for environmental challenges. Thus, these variables have been selected as independent factors for investigation. The results obtained from advanced panel techniques emphasize the significance of adopting environmental technologies and increasing the utilization of renewable energy sources in order to decrease the ecological footprint. Conversely, economic growth, urbanization, and trade are identified as crucial drivers of environmental degradation. Considering that the GCC countries heavily rely on oil and petroleum exports, as well as non-renewable energy sources for their economic activities, the positive relationship between economic growth and trade is to be expected. The results propose multifold recommendations: (i) providing incentives for renewable energy and (ii) prioritizing the implementation of clean technology over traditional technologies.
From clinical to judicial decision-making, and back again in Bell v. Tavistock? Preparing for the legacy of court involvement in gender care for minors
Authors: Garland Fae , Horowicz Ed , Dimopoulos Georgina , Taylor-Sands Michelle
Published: June 2023

Gender care for minors in England has recently been scrutinised by the courts and is currently undergoing significant transformation, shifting away from the long-standing centralised service provision model. Alongside this change, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health has recently published Version 8 of its Standard of Care, which introduces radical changes that shift away from age restrictions on medical interventions. This article considers what role judicial decision-making could, or should, play in this new era of healthcare provision for adolescent gender care, especially since Bell v. Tavistock. Despite Bell seemingly returning decision-making to clinicians, patients, and their families, we argue that the decision has left the door open in a way that threatens the autonomy and rights of gender diverse children. Through a comparative analysis with Australian case law, we demonstrate how and why uncertainties left by Bell may in fact lead to continued court involvement. Finally, we suggest several pragmatic responses that may mitigate the risk of unnecessary and time-consuming court involvement.
Non-partner Violence During Pregnancy and Utilisation of Reproductive Healthcare Services by Women in India: An Application of the Andersen–Newman Behavioural Model
Authors: Sarkar Sanjukta
Published: June 2023

Women’s abuse is a global health problem that erodes their self-esteem and saps their energy. Research evidence for India mainly focusses on use of reproductive healthcare services by women based on their experience of intimate partner violence during pregnancy. We hypothesise that non-partner violence during pregnancy can be equally detrimental for women and their children’s well-being. As this aspect remains unexplored, we investigate the relationship between physical non-partner violence (PNPV) faced by women during pregnancy in India and utilisation of three reproductive healthcare services by them, namely antenatal care, institutional delivery and postnatal checks. Using data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey and employing binary multivariable logistic regression models under the framework of the Andersen–Newman Behavioural Model of health services utilisation, we find that women who experience PNPV during pregnancy are significantly more likely to give birth in a medical facility but less likely to make use of postnatal care services. Thus, recognising the connection between violence during pregnancy and the utilisation of maternal health services can enable healthcare and other social support organisations to identify the unique needs of pregnant women experiencing abuse and help in reducing such violence from happening in the first place.
Do Board Characteristics Affect Banks’ Environmental Performance?
Authors: Agnese Paolo , Battaglia Francesca , Busato Francesco , Taddeo Simone
Published: June 2023

This study empirically investigates the relationship between board characteristics (board size, board independence, Corporate Social Responsibility sustainability committee, board gender diversity, CEO duality, board-specific skills) and environmental performance (emissions, environmental innovation and resource use) of a sample of banks from different countries. In detail, we use an unbalanced panel dataset of 1,644 observations for 311 banks from the United States, Europe, the UK and Canada, over the period between 2015 and 2020. Through the Fixed Effect panel model and the generalized method of moments system version of the Arellano-Bond estimator, we find that both the percentage of women on boards and the presence of the CSR sustainability committee enhance the banks’ environmental performance. These findings are confirmed by all three sub-pillars of environmental performance, that is, emissions, environmental innovation and resource use. Our results shed light on the role that certain board characteristics play in improving the environmental performance of banks.
Residents’ Perceptions Towards the Touristic Development of a Rural Mexican Community
Authors: Jiménez Sergio Ochoa , del Río Sacnicté Valdez , García Alma Rocío García , Osuna Beatriz Alicia Leyva
Published: June 2023

Tourism has an important economic contribution at a global level; however, in some cases, this is not reflected in the benefit of the inhabitants of tourist destinations, since in an unusual way their opinion is asked for their place of residence to become a tourist destination. Therefore, in order to know the perception of the inhabitants of a community in northern Mexico to become a tourist development pole, a study was carried out with reference of the Social Exchange theory.To achieve this aim, a questionnaire was applied to 367 representatives of families of this population. Exploratory factor analysis was performed in SPSS version 27, followed by structural equation modelling in AMOS 27. The findings show that as long as the inhabitants perceive that they will receive a direct benefit in terms of socioeconomic aspects that will improve their quality of life, as well as improvements in the town’s infrastructure, they will accept that their town will become a tourist attraction with the consequences that this entails.
People Quality Measurement in Service Industry: A New Approach
Authors: Gupta Nitin , Vrat Prem , Ojha Ravindra
Published: June 2023

In the service sector, the quality of people working at the operational level plays a crucial role in delivering a satisfactory customer experience. Though the types of attributes may be the same, their degree of impact on the delivered service quality may vary from one industry to another. This article uniquely identifies the critical attributes of people quality specific to the 10 contributing industries in the service sector. In the research article, the tools such as brainstorming, a focused group approach, a survey questionnaire, secondary research, and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) have been used for the identification, selection, prioritization, and weight allocation to the CTQs, sub-CTQs that define the quality of people. Further detailed analysis resulted in a three-layered hierarchy with key segments such as attitude, skill, and knowledge at the top at level one, seven critical to quality (CTQs) at level two, and 35 sub-CTQs at level three. Based on the identified CTQs and sub-CTQs, two innovative indices have been developed—quick people quality index (QPQI) and overall people quality index (OPQI). These indices may conveniently be used for evaluating the performance of an individual working at an operational level, engaged in the identified industry in the service sector. These indices are easy to use and require little computation time. The service organization may greatly be benefited by measuring the people quality periodically. They may take the initiatives to bridge the gaps highlighted by this model and improve people’s quality. This improvement in people quality will lead to an improvement in the delivered service quality of the organization.
Mechanism of Ziyuglycoside II-mediated Ferroptosis-related Proteins on the Proliferation and Metastasis of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Cell Lines
Authors: Zhang Jian-hui , Xie Li-jun , Wang Han-lu , Chen Hui , Meng Xiao-rong , Lin Xing , Lin Xin-fu , Liao Li-sheng , Chen Ting , Luo Jie-Wei , Hong Lu-yu , Chen Xin
Published: June 2023

Background

Ferroptosis is a novel type of regulated cell death and targeting ferroptosis may be a potential treatment strategy for lung cancer. Ziyuglycoside II (ZYG II) has a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of lung cancer cells. However, the selective anti-tumor effect of the ZYG II against lung cancer has not been systemically studied.

Objectives

We combined ferrostatin-1 and erastin to explore the potential therapeutic mechanism of the ZYG II for lung adenocarcinoma.

Materials and Methods

A549 and H1299 cells were randomly divided into the control, ZYG II, ferroptosis inhibitor group (ZYG II+ ferrostatin-1), and erastin group (ZYG II+ erastin). Cell proliferation was detected using the CCK-8 method. Cell migration and invasion were evaluated using the Transwell assay. The protein expression levels of Glutathione Peroxidase 4 (GPX4), Solute Carrier Family 7 Member 11 (SLC7A11), and Transferrin receptor 1 (TFR1) were measured using western blotting.

Results

Compared with the control group, the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of the ZYG II group significantly decreased, the protein expression levels of GPX4 and SLC7A11 in the ZYG II group declined significantly, and the expression of TFR1 increased significantly ( p < 0.05). After adding ferrostatin 1 (ZYG II+ Ferrostatin 1), the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of the inhibited cells were significantly increased, the expression of GPX4 and SLC7A11 increased significantly and the expression of TFR1 decreased significantly ( p < 0.05). However, after adding the erastin (ZYG II+ erastin), the cell viability was further inhibited in A549, the expression levels of GPX4 and SLC7A11 were further inhibited and the expression of TFR1 was further increased ( p < 0.05).

Conclusion

ZYG II significantly inhibited the survival rate, proliferation, migration, and invasion ability of A549 and H1299 cells, possibly by inducing ferroptosis.
Gandhi and Gandhi: Modernity, Gender and Reform in the Films of Rajesh Khanna
Authors: Nigam Harshit
Published: June 2023

Meghnad Desai fittingly described the twentieth-century India as ‘a tale of two Gandhi dynasties’ – Mahatma Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. The confluence of two Gandhi(s) – former, ideologically and latter, socio-historically – provides an opportunity to read Rajesh Khanna’s star text with an altogether distinct theoretical approach. In this article, the author attempts to read Rajesh Khanna (1942–2012), the popular and veteran Indian actor, against the politico-historical backdrop of Indira Gandhi’s leftward leanings and to reveal the possibility of the Gandhian (former) paradigm for reform and national reconciliation within the iconography and the form of his films. More specifically, the article examines Mahatma Gandhi’s framework of an alternate modernity and masculinity embedded within Rajesh Khanna’s on-screen persona. Khadi, one of the major tropes for Mahatma to critique the western models of modernity, masculinity and progress, finds a focused attention vis-à-vis the iconography of Rajesh Khanna’s star text. Rajesh Khanna’s foray into electoral politics in early 1990s, echoing the Gandhian connotations of his stardom, will also be the subject of a brief discussion in this article.
Artificial Intelligence Integration into School Education: A Review of Indian and Foreign Perspectives
Authors: Karan Bablu , Angadi G. R.
Published: June 2023

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly influencing our education system. It is apparent that the students of today are mostly attached with their smart mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and various other forms of advanced technologies for their quality of learning. It has become an urgent necessity for school students to become future AI ready. Understanding the wide potential impact of AI, India has started initiatives to prepare young learners for future AI ready. Central Board of Secondary Education in the direction of National Education Policy (2020) introduces two-fold AI in its affiliated school curricula. Using a systematic review technique, the present study has attempted to explore the promise and potentiality of AI in school education, and provide a comprehensive overview of the current status and development trends of AI in school, the initiatives, planning, strategies, and steps taken by India and other countries regarding AI integration in their school system. Finally, the study brings out some concluding remarks towards innovative AI integration.