bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adaptive changes in pheromone production and release under rearing conditions in stink bugs
Authors: Xu Hao , Hu Tingxia , Li Xingpeng , Song Liwen , Yang Shaohang , Meng Ling , Turlings Ted C J , Li Baoping
Published: December 2023

BACKGROUND

Healthy cultures of arthropods are important for pest management programs (e.g. biocontrol). Little is known about how rearing conditions may affect pheromonal interactions. We investigated how rearing histories and densities affect pheromone emission/production in two stink bug species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), the predatory bug Arma custos, a biocontrol agent, and the bean bug Riptortus pedestris, a pest on legume crops.

RESULTS

Nymphs from newly established laboratory colonies of both species produced higher amounts of the defense (dispersal) compound, 4‐oxo‐(E)‐hexenal (OHE), in the presence of conspecific nymphs. Also, when two or more A. custos males were placed together, the dorsal abdominal glands (DAGs) ceased to release aggregation pheromone, whereas the metathoracic glands (MTGs) increased the emission of defensive odors. These changes resulted from exposure to conspecific pheromone odors, as confirmed by exposing bugs to pheromone standards. Hence, pheromone emissions in these stink bugs are readily changed in response to the odors of conspecifics, which may become a problem after long‐term rearing. Indeed, an old laboratory colony of A. custos (~30 generations) exhibited less‐developed DAGs and reduced pheromone production. Instead, males released significantly more defensive odors from the enlarged MTGs. Furthermore, long‐term rearing conditions appeared to favor nymphs that were able to share space with conspecifics by releasing less OHE, which has not yet occurred in the new laboratory colonies.

CONCLUSION

Rearing density affects pheromone release in newly established laboratory colonies of stink bug species, whereas long‐term rearing results in new pheromonal compositions coinciding with adaptive changes in gland development. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Evaluation of a flexible piecewise linear mixed‐effects model in the analysis of randomized cross‐over trials
Authors: Mwangi Moses , Verbeke Geert , Njagi Edmund Njeru , Florez Alvaro Jose , Mwalili Samuel , Ivanova Anna , Bukania Zipporah N. , Molenberghs Geert
Published: December 2023

Cross‐over designs are commonly used in randomized clinical trials to estimate efficacy of a new treatment. They have received a lot of attention, particularly in connection with regulatory requirements for new drugs. The main advantage of using cross‐over designs over conventional parallel designs is increased precision, thanks to within‐subject comparisons. In the statistical literature, more recent developments are discussed in the analysis of cross‐over trials, in particular regarding repeated measures. A piecewise linear model within the framework of mixed effects has been proposed in the analysis of cross‐over trials. In this article, we report on a simulation study comparing performance of a piecewise linear mixed‐effects (PLME) model against two commonly cited models—Grizzle's mixed‐effects (GME) and Jones & Kenward's mixed‐effects (JKME) models—used in the analysis of cross‐over trials. Our simulation study tried to mirror real‐life situation by deriving true underlying parameters from empirical data. The findings from real‐life data confirmed the original hypothesis that high‐dose iodine salt have significantly lowering effect on diastolic blood pressure (DBP). We further sought to evaluate the performance of PLME model against GME and JKME models, within univariate modeling framework through a simulation study mimicking a 2 × 2 cross‐over design. The fixed‐effects, random‐effects and residual error parameters used in the simulation process were estimated from DBP data, using a PLME model. The initial results with full specification of random intercept and slope(s), showed that the univariate PLME model performed better than the GME and JKME models in estimation of variance–covariance matrix (G) governing the random effects, allowing satisfactory model convergence during estimation. When a hierarchical view‐point is adopted, in the sense that outcomes are specified conditionally upon random effects, the variance–covariance matrix of the random effects must be positive‐definite. The PLME model is preferred especially in modeling an increased number of random effects, compared to the GME and JKME models that work equally well with random intercepts only. In some cases, additional random effects could explain much variability in the data, thus improving precision in estimation of the estimands (effect size) parameters.
Study of drug structures using topological descriptors and multi‐criteria decision making
Authors: Zhang Chuanhong , Sui Ruiqing , Kanwal Salma , Tawfiq Ferdous M. , Farooq Yasmeen , Aslam Adnan
Published: December 2023

It has been observed that there is a strong correlation between topological descriptors of chemical structures and their physical properties in a number of tests every year. There are several of these characteristics, including molecular mass, density, melting and boiling points, flash points, and others. Topological indices are numerical numbers associated with the molecular graph and are used in quantitative structure property relationship studies to predict their physical and chemical properties. In this work, we have calculated the reverse degree based topological descriptors of five molecular structures namely, hyaluronic acid–paclitaxel conjugates (), anticancer drug (), polyomino chain of ‐cycle (), triangular benzenoid (), and circumcoronene benzenoid series (). The values of topological indices are used in entropy method to calculate the weights. Then, using multiple criteria decision‐making techniques like COPRAS and PROMETHEE, we rank these molecular structures.
Intermolecular interaction characteristics of the Boron‐nitrogen rings, and with hexagonal boron nitride: A special molecular adsorption and weak interaction
Authors: Zha Peng , Jiang Shuaijie , Wang Pengcheng
Published: December 2023

With the discovery of cyclo[18]carbon, related theoretical research has become a very hot topic. Due to its unique molecular structure, many derivatives have been derived, especially its isoelectronic molecule cyclo B9N9. This work focused on the interaction between cyclo B9N9 molecules and explored the nature of their interaction. The interaction of the dimer of cyclo B9N9 was studied, quantum chemical calculation and wave function analysis were carried out, and compared with cyclo[18]carbon to find its commonness. It showed that the interaction between the cyclo B9N9 dimers is a weak electron generating stacking interaction. In addition, the adsorption of cyclo B9N9 was studied, and the interaction of graphene analogues hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN). Through calculation and analysis, it was found that the adsorption of cyclo B9N9 was much stronger than that of cyclo[18]carbon. In another sense, the π–π stacking interaction of boron nitrogen structure is stronger than that of carbon. To further validate this commonality, B6N6 was selected for the same calculation, and similar conclusions were obtained. It was also found that the more Boron nitrogen (BN), the stronger the stacking interaction.
Robust output regulation for a flexible wing system with unknown output disturbances and references
Authors: Meng Tingting , Fu Qiang , Huang Haifeng , Zhang Shuang
Published: December 2023

For a flexible wing system, two different exosystems are used to generate unknown references and output disturbances, respectively. The wing system is further perturbed by unknown distributed and boundary disturbances that have the same frequencies to the references and output disturbances. This article proposes two robust control methodologies to address the robust output regulation of the wing. At first, the observer based output feedback controls are designed based on state feedback controls and the following observers: (1) two exosystem observers based on tracking errors; (2) two exosystem observers addressing the uncertainties of output disturbances; (3) the PDE observer estimating the wing states. For the closed‐loop system, the tracking errors are proved to be exponentially convergent toward zero. Let the output disturbances be addressed through two adaption laws, not the observers in the above item (2), which together with other two exosystem observers and the PDE observer, gives observer based adaptive controls. From both cases, we obtain that the exosystem observers based on the tracking errors are necessary for the robust output regulation. By comparison, the former robust controls have a lower dimension and concise structure. Simulation examples have been provided to show the effectiveness of the robust controls.
Use of an unmanned aerial‐aquatic vehicle for acoustic sensing in freshwater ecosystems
Authors: Lawson Jenna , Farinha Andre , Romanello Luca , Pang Oscar , Zufferey Raphael , Kovac Mirko
Published: December 2023

Freshwater ecosystems are endangered, underfunded and understudied, making new methods such as passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) essential for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of data collection. However, many challenges are still to be addressed with PAM: difficulty in accessing research sites, the logistics of implementing large‐scale studies and the invasiveness of data collection. When combined with PAM and other sensing strategies, mobile robotics are a promising solution to directly address these challenges. In this paper, we integrate water surface and underwater acoustic monitoring equipment onto a prototype unmanned aerial‐aquatic vehicle (UAAV) capable of sailing and flight (SailMAV). Twelve autonomous sailing missions were run on Lake Vrana, Croatia, during which acoustic data were collected, and the ability of the UAAV to facilitate the collection of acoustic data demonstrated. Data were simultaneously collected using standard recording methods on buoys and banksides to provide a comparative approach. Acoustic indices were used to analyse the soundscape of underwater acoustic data and BirdNET (a deep artificial neural network) was used on water surface datasets to determine bird species composition. Results show higher species richness and call abundance from UAAV surveys and high site dissimilarity owing to turnover between stationary and UAAV methods. This highlights the success of the UAAV in detecting biodiversity and the complementarity of these methods in providing a broad picture of the biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems. Increased bird diversity and underwater acoustic activity in protected areas demonstrate the benefits of protecting freshwater ecosystems; however, site dissimilarity driven by turnover highlights the importance of protecting the entire ecosystem. We show how, by integrating PAM and a UAAV, we can overcome some of the current challenges in freshwater biodiversity monitoring, improving accessibility, increasing spatial scale and coverage, and reducing invasiveness.
Early eukaryotic microfossils of the late Palaeoproterozoic Limbunya Group, Birrindudu Basin, northern Australia
Authors: Riedman Leigh Anne , Porter Susannah M. , Lechte Maxwell A. , dos Santos Angelo , Halverson Galen P.
Published: December 2023

Fine‐grained, siliciclastic units of the >1642 ± 3.9 Ma late Palaeoproterozoic Limbunya Group, Birrindudu Basin host rich, well‐preserved organic‐walled microfossil assemblages that include members of total‐group eukaryotes. These assemblages include taxa characteristic of this interval such asTappania planaandSatka favosa, as well as less common taxa such asGigantosphaeridium fibratum,Gigantosphaeridium floccosum,Kamolineata elongata(= Valeria elongata; new combination), and four new species. The new taxa includeLimbunyasphaera operculatagen et sp. nov., the oldest known operculate taxon; the large septate filaments ofSiphonoseptum bombycinumgen. et sp. nov.; the platy tubular formBirrindudutuba brigandiniagen. et sp. nov.; andFilinexum torsivumgen. et sp. nov., which bears a spirally twisted wall constructed of bound fibres. Our data show that eukaryotic fossils are particularly abundant in marginal marine environments such as tidal flats and back‐barrier lagoonal settings. This is exemplified by the Blue Hole Formation, which features an especially diverse and complex assemblage. We also present a new within‐formation eukaryotic species richness estimate for the Palaeoproterozoic to Tonian. This estimate indicates that the oldest eukaryote‐bearing units already show species richness levels similar to those of the much younger and more heavily sampled Tonian period. Additionally, these oldest eukaryotic assemblages show significant morphological disparity, particularly in vesicle construction. These high levels of eukaryotic species richness and morphological disparity suggest that although late Palaeoproterozoic units preserve our oldest record of eukaryotes, the eukaryotic clade has a much deeper history.
What's in the Syllabus? Deconstructing Global Englishes Course Syllabi
Authors: Selvi Ali Fuad
Published: December 2023

Despite the recent proliferation of Global Englishes courses both quantitatively (in terms of the number of programs offered worldwide) and qualitatively (in various sizes, forms, modes, and modalities), large‐scale systematic investigations across various contexts are conspicuously underrepresented within the existing body of literature. Departing from this foundational premise, the current study seeks to address this gap through an exploratory content analysis of Global Englishes course syllabi (n = 104) offered within English, TESOL, or applied linguistics programs situated in diverse geographical settings. Positioning course syllabi as a primary data source and deconstructing them with a critical interpretative lens offer powerful insights into teacher educators' positionality of Global Englishes and the pedagogical parameters that shape their instructional decisions. Research results indicated that the courses within the dataset predominantly positioned Global Englishes in terms of its globalinguistic status, geospatial variation, and the heterogeneity characterizing its uses and users. Furthermore, the pedagogical goals of these courses primarily gravitated toward the cultivation of lower‐order thinking skills mainly through scholarship emanating from the Global North and were assessed by written assignments, examinations, and oral presentations. The apparent gap in pedagogical content, practices, and experiences needed to cultivate a robust professional knowledge base centered on Global Englishes suggests that these courses, as currently structured, run the risk of being perceived merely as “politically correct”, tokenistic and trivialized additions “about” and not “for” Global Englishes.
“Good for me to Leave it for Good”: A Longitudinal Study on How Emotion Labor in Teaching Contributes to a Beginning EFL Teacher's Resignation
Authors: Zhang Yujie , Zhang Lawrence Jun
Published: December 2023

Seldom have studies linked the early‐career teacher attrition problem to teachers' emotion labor, especially with a longitudinal design. Grounded in the poststructural approach, we designed a longitudinal study to investigate qualitatively how a second‐year English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language (EFL) teacher's emotion labor triggered by implicit feeling rules contributed to her resignation. We interviewed the novice EFL teacher about her experiences of teaching practice and emotion labor. Findings revealed that: (1) The sources of feeling rules could be complex but were mainly institutional wills, professional norms, and social expectations; (2) many factors triggering emotion labor existed in educational institutions, indicating the necessity of institutional reform; (3) the long‐term residual effects of emotion labor led to teacher attrition through the mediation of elevated burnout and decreased teacher wellbeing. Our study considers the teacher's resignation as her resistance to feeling rules and provides empirical evidence for the link between the power imbalance behind emotion labor and early‐career resignation. These findings point to a possible need for institutional support and reform as effective methods to increase teachers' wellbeing and career longevity.
“It's Just a Feeling!”: Emotions and Intersectionality in Language Teacher Narratives
Authors: Vitanova Gergana
Published: December 2023

Language teacher identities and emotions are deeply sociocultural phenomena. Although intersectionality has asserted itself as a powerful framework in other fields, it is just beginning to emerge in language teacher education. This article argues that intersectionality provides a powerful conceptual lens for analyzing the complex and varied connections between language teacher identity and emotions. It also claims that emotions originate in the spaces between different social factors. Specifically, the article investigates the following questions: How do English‐as a‐second‐language teachers construct their emotions in narratives and what discourses of emotion do they evoke? How are emotions generated within the intersectional spaces of facets of their social identities? To address these, the article focuses on the micro‐level of analysis and the daily emotional experiences of two language teachers. The findings show how the focal participants navigate the complex emotional landscapes of teaching and how these are mediated by the intersections of different social identity markers such as gender, race, non‐native speaking status, and socioeconomic status.
Propofol‐induced LINC01133 inhibits the progression of colorectal cancer via miR‐186‐5p/NR3C2 axis
Authors: Yao Yingying , Zhang Fang , Liu Feiyu , Xia Daolin
Published: December 2023

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a formidable threat to human well‐being, characterized by a largely enigmatic occurrence and progression mechanism. A growing body of literature has underscored the potential influence of propofol, a frequently administered anesthetic, on clinical outcomes in malignant tumor patients. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying the impact of propofol on the progression of CRC have yet to be fully elucidated. This study reveals a notable upregulation of LINC01133 expression in CRC cells subsequent to propofol treatment, which is mediated by FOXO1. Subsequently, a series of experiments were conducted to elucidate the role and mechanisms underlying propofol‐induced LINC01133 in CRC development. Our study uncovers that the upregulation of LINC01133 exerts a substantial inhibitory effect on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC cells. Further investigation revealed that LINC01133 can attenuate the proliferation, invasion, and migration of CRC cell lines through the miR‐186‐5p/NR3C2 axis. Results from in vivo experiments unequivocally demonstrated a significant reduction in the growth rate of subcutaneous implant tumors upon LINC01133 overexpression in CRC cells. These findings posit that propofol induces LINC01133 expression, leading to the inhibition of CRC progression. This revelation offers a novel perspective on propofol's antitumor properties and underscores the potential of LINC01133 as a promising therapeutic target for CRC.
From Teacher to Literacy Coach: Negotiating Roles and Learning on the Job
Authors: Ruesink Leah , Teichert Laura
Published: December 2023

This paper responds to Ippolito et al.'s (2021) “wonder,” “What preparation and in‐service support do coaches need to become systems thinkers, thought leaders, and change agents within their schools” (p. 182) by describing the obstacles and complexities experienced by two first‐year literacy coaches as they transitioned from classroom teacher to coach. They described challenges related to adult learning principles and communication (e.g., questioning) and understanding their role and position when working with teachers. Ultimately, they wanted to feel valuable to teachers but did not know what that looked like. The findings from this paper highlight the need for specific training in negotiating roles within relationships and adult learning principles. Coaches must understand adult‐centered communication and receive ongoing professional learning to develop a repertoire of adult communication strategies that will help them work with a broad swath of teachers.
Lying deadwood retention affects microhabitat use of martens (Martes spp.) in European mountain forests
Authors: Schwegmann Sebastian , Storch Ilse
Published: December 2023

Biodiversity loss due to intensive timber production is a ubiquitous conservation issue across temperate and boreal forest ecosystems. Retention forestry, the retention of deadwood and old‐growth features within production forest, is one management strategy that has been implemented in various countries around the world to conserve a wide range of taxa within managed forests. The success and ecological implications of retention forestry are currently subject to intensive investigation and while some taxa like birds and insects have already been studied frequently, larger mammals have received less attention. Pine martens are one of the few larger mammals in central Europe preferring older forest and potentially profiting directly from deadwood retention as a consequence of implemented retention forestry. The goal of our study was to assess the response of European marten species to deadwood retention in montane mixed forests. Using marten detection rates from camera traps on 135 research plots we assessed the response of martens to deadwood at three different spatial scales using generalized linear mixed models. We found no effect of lying deadwood on marten detections at the plot scale (1 ha) or in a 10 m radius around the camera traps. However, we found a significant increase of marten detections if logs (> 10 cm in diameter) were directly in front and in view of the camera trap. Our results show that deadwood retention as a measure of retention forestry does affect microhabitat use of martens, but not stand selection during the growing season. Logs directly in view of the camera trap increase marten detection rates as martens choose to move and forage along fallen trees when they are available. When using camera trapping to collect data on martens, trap positioning in front of logs can heavily bias trapping results when unaccounted for.

Keywords: beech marten, camera trapping, deadwood, logs, pine marten, retention forestry
Alternative Strategies for the Optimal Combination of GNSS and Classical Geodetic Networks: A Case-Study in Greece
Authors: Ampatzidis Dimitrios , Tzanou Eleni , Demirtzoglou Nikolaos , Vergos Georgios S.
Published: December 2023

The present study discusses two alternative strategies for the optimal combination of different geodetic reference frames in a rigorous way. The methodological variations stem from the (un)availability and types of the 3D network observables. The alternative strategies are tested in Drama region, Northern Greece, where two local networks were established; a 3D one expressed in ITRF2008 (a modern GNSS network established for precise surveying) and a classical one which refers to the official Greek Geodetic Reference System, the Hellenic Geodetic Reference System of 1987. The concept of the proposed strategy is based on the rigorous combination of the different networks at the Normal Equation (NEQ) level. The zenith angles play crucial role for the implementation of the alternative strategies, especially for the correct use of the vertical information. The results of the case study show that the combined solutions provide generally a good level of consistency with the individual networks (GNSS and conventional land surveying).
Experience, Institutions, and the Lived Welfare State
Authors: Annola Johanna , Lindberg Hanna , Markkola Pirjo
Published: December 2023

In this introductory chapter, Annola, Lindberg, and Markkola introduce the theoretical and historiographical foundations of the book. The authors contextualize the history of experience in the traditions of new social history, cultural and linguistic turns, the GermanErfahrungsgeschichte, and the history of emotions and senses. Focusing on institutions introduced by the state and developed by the welfare state mainly in the area surrounding the Baltic Sea, the chapter shows the various ways in which institutions that have shaped people’s everyday lives can be studied. By combining the history of experiences with the history of the welfare state and institutional studies, the chapter seeks new ways to understand how institutions have produced, reinforced, and sometimes prevented various experiences. The concept “lived institutions” is used to illuminate the interconnections between experience and welfare institutions and the ways in which these mutual connections are related to societal change. The introduction ends with a chapter-by-chapter outline of the book.
Stories of Silence, Echoes of Events: The Family as a Changing Site of Illness
Authors: Meier Marie
Published: December 2023

Today, citizens in many western countries are increasingly confronted with questions of mental health. In the mid-twentieth century, mental issues were not a subject commonly debated in public. Rather, the shame connected to so-called nervous diseases caused many families to conceal the mental distress of a family member. Drawing on and unpacking three oral history interviews, this chapter explores how the family as an institution has formed a changing site of illness. Following ecological approaches to mental suffering, it more specifically shows how the changing dynamics of secrecy and disclosure within families have shaped and determined how mental illness has been experienced. In doing so, the chapter offers a novel lens on how secrecy, as a kind of knowledge management, has intersected with broader societal and cultural developments and shaped the situated and historically contingent experiences of mental suffering.
Redressing or Excusing the Past? The Evaluation of Sexual Child Abuse in the Swedish Redress Scheme for Historical Abuse in Out-of-Home Care
Authors: Sköld Johanna , Sandin Bengt , Schiratzki Johanna
Published: December 2023

This chapter addresses how adult victims of historical institutional child abuse have been treated in the Swedish state’s financial redress scheme. It demonstrates how the experiences of child abuse in welfare institutions materialize in new experiences of the welfare state when the state decides to acknowledge and offer redress to its historically abused citizens. It is shown how the Swedish state’s redress scheme shifted away from an explicit aim to acknowledge the victims’ unjustifiable suffering to the limited ways in which the state could be considered responsible for past harms. As a case, the chapter scrutinizes which details were pivotal for why victims of child sexual abuse in out-of-home care did not receive the financial redress as adjudicated by a temporary redress board. The chapter highlights how it proved difficult to combine an acknowledgement of the victims’ experiences of abuse with an assessment of the responsibility of the state. Furthermore, it demonstrates how contemporary tort law came to influence the assessment of the historical redress claims and set the standards for who received financial redress and who did not. This resulted in renewed experiences of the lived welfare institution caused by a “non-apology” from the welfare state.
The Experience of Prison in Finnish Female Inmates’ Letters from the 1880s to the 1900s
Authors: Annola Johanna
Published: December 2023

In this chapter, Johanna Annola explores Finnish female inmates’ experiences of prison by analyzing their letters. The letters were written in the 1880s to the early 1900s to the directress of a Christian shelter for women. Annola suggests that even though prisoners did not always describe their lives in detail, their experiences of carceral TimeSpace are embedded in their letters as choices of cultural scripts. The letters also reveal entanglements between the present institution (the prison) and the absent institution (the shelter). These entanglements hint at the accumulation of carceral layers in the minds and bodies of the writers. Annola suggests that while the carceral layers produced an institutional burden, they also carried information that could be used to develop coping methods and survival strategies.
Re-negotiating Single Motherhood Within the Helsinki Mother and Child Home in Post-War Finland
Authors: Suominen Riikka
Published: December 2023

This chapter studies how single motherhood was negotiated within the Helsinki Mother and Child Home in post-war Finland. The home was founded by women of the labor movement and aimed at unmarried, mainly working-class women expecting a child. The Helsinki Mother and Child Home represents an important yet seldom studied part of the history of the women’s shelter and maternity care in Finland. Suominen studies the lived institution by analyzing encounters between the institution and single mothers from three dimensions: the ideal, individual, and sociomaterial. She understands the dimensions as overlapping and intertwined, but by studying them separately, it is possible to build a bridge between the ideas, individuals, and structures of society and uncover gendered and class-based processes that were connected to the lived institution and experiences of single motherhood.
The Construction of Early Social Citizenship: The Lived Institution of Poor Relief in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Finland
Authors: Kokko Heikki
Published: December 2023

The poor relief reform of 1852 in Finland coincided with the first rise of the Finnish national public sphere. Thus, the analysis of readers’ letters published in the nationwide Finnish-language press provides a rare history-from-below approach to the emerging social citizenship. In this chapter, Kokko argues that the poor relief institution in the 1850s Finland constructed an early social citizenship that was based on the interaction between the legislation, local experiences of civil society, and the transnational circulation of knowledge concerning the rights and responsibilities of the citizen. As a case study, the chapter indicates how early social citizenship was formulated in the modern experiential interplay between the local, societal, and transnational.
What Have We Learned from the Impact of the Pandemic on Our Relationship with Nature? The Importance of Views from Home
Authors: Garrido-Cumbrera Marco , Braçe Olta
Published: December 2023

Urban residents commonly spend a considerable proportion of their time indoors, and it is, therefore, important to pay particular attention to the characteristics of their home. During the time that humans remain indoors, the only bridge connecting them with the natural environment was through the views from their windows. Studies on the effect of these views have highlighted the restorative effects that nature views can provide, including feelings of calmness and relaxation. Likewise, such views can help better manage stress, anxiety and scape from loneliness, because they make a connection between indoor and outdoor spaces. At a time of lockdown and isolation following the COVID-19 pandemic, window views were for many the only option for contact with the natural environment, which provided significant positive effects. With the aim of assessing the benefits that views can bring to humans, we set out to study the role of views of nature from windows by analysing the GreenCOVID survey, conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, England and Ireland.
Landscapes of the Romantic Sublime: The Legacy of Nineteenth-Century Artistic Visions and Contributions to the Development of the Management of Natural Heritage
Authors: Finneran Niall
Published: December 2023

This chapter considers the influences of the nineteenth-century artistic Romantic movement towards the development of management strategies for natural heritage sites and how the legacy of this perspective pervades into the present day. The author takes primarily a British perspective, analysing the role played by poets, artists and writers in provoking a wider interest in engaging with natural heritage, but with a nod towards developments in the United States and Northern Europe at this time. It is argued that this is an overlooked contribution, and that nineteenth-century artistic attitudes to the natural world in the nineteenth century as well as its accessibility, played an important role in the emergence of the National Trust in 1895, as well as later popular perceptions of natural heritage in the UK. It is further argued that these intellectual currents underpin modern approaches to sense of place and the phenomenology of landscape.
Managing Heritage Landscapes of Cultural Value: A View from the National Trust Portfolio in Purbeck, Southern England
Authors: Churcher Tracey , Finneran Niall
Published: December 2023

This chapter will explore themes and issues in the management of landscapes of cultural value using as a core case study the National Trust portfolio on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset (UK). Key ideas and issues to be drawn out include: an assessment of the challenges faced by the National Trust in a post-COVID-19 environment in managing and interpreting portfolios based on natural landscapes, coastal sites, prehistoric and later archaeological sites and post-industrial and military training spaces, and above all, how the Trust engages with local stakeholders and navigates issues around climate change and tourist pressure. Recent political interest in the work and outreach of the National Trust will also be considered within this context.
Sustainable Project Management of Green Spaces, Protected and Conserved Areas: Opportunities and Challenges
Authors: Radomska Malgorzata , Clarke Richard , Hewlett Denise
Published: December 2023

Worldwide, the dynamics in which protected areas and in urban contexts, public parks and other forms of greenspaces have survived, is challenging. For example, impacts of climate change, seemingly endless political instabilities, decreased funding opportunities, increased numbers of tourists, notably so since the pandemic, a need to manage often conflicting purposes of conservation and use, all draw upon, managing agencies’ increasingly limited funds, staff capacities, their skills, knowledge, expertise and resources often simultaneously. Such events can have deep-seated impacts of change on environments and in turn on their management. Their effects can be of a temporary nature, invariably will warrant adaptive management actions to maintain an area’s purposes and many activities will engage with project and/or programme management principles of working. This chapter provides a review of project management in environmental contexts and identifies key challenges. We draw upon literature in the field of protected area, landscape and greenspace management. In this context, we discuss key principles of project management, with supporting theories and concepts from a generic perspective of the discipline of project management. Despite many managing agencies presenting themselves as able project-oriented organisations, key challenges that appear to be common amongst all projects are highlighted in protected area contexts and examples are provided within the text and through case studies provided.
Liability for AI Driven Systems
Authors: da Fonseca Ana Taveira , Vaz de Sequeira Elsa , Barreto Xavier Luís
Published: December 2023

This article tries to assess if the current civil liability regimes provide a sound framework to tackle damages when AI systems—especially those based on machine-learning—are involved. We try to find answers for three questions: is there a place for fault-based liability, when it is impossible to ascertain, among multiple actors, whose action caused the damage? Are current strict liability regimes appropriate to address no-fault damages caused by the functioning of AI-systems or a new system is needed? When should an agent be exempted from liability? This analysis takes into consideration the important work produced within the European Union, especially the 2019 Report on “Liability for AI and Other Emerging Digital Technologies” (by the Expert Group set up by the European Commission), the European the Parliament 2020 Resolution on Civil Liability for AI, the 2021 Draft AI Act, the 2022 Draft AI Liability Directive and the 2022 Draft Product Liability Directive.
The European Union’s Approach to Artificial Intelligence and the Challenge of Financial Systemic Risk
Authors: Keller Anat , Martins Pereira Clara , Pires Martinho Lucas
Published: December 2023

This piece examines the EU’s ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Laying Down Harmonised Rules on Artificial Intelligence’ (‘AI Act’) with a view to determining the extent to which it addresses the systemic risk created by AI FinTech. Ultimately, it is argued that the notion of ‘high risk’ at the centre of the AI Act leaves out financial systemic risk. This exclusion can neither be justified by reasons of technology neutrality, nor by reasons of proportionality: neither is AI-driven financial systemic risk already covered by existing (or proposed) macroprudential frameworks and tools, nor can its omission from the AI Act be justified by the prioritisation of other types of risk. Moving forward, it is suggested that the EU’s AI Act would have benefited from a broader definition of ‘high risk’. It is also hoped that EU policy makers will soon begin to strengthen existing macroprudential toolkits to address the financial systemic risk created by AI.
Societal Implications of Recommendation Systems: A Technical Perspective
Authors: Gonçalves-Sá Joana , Pinheiro Flávio
Published: December 2023

One of the most popular applications of artificial intelligence algorithms is in recommendation systems (RS). These take advantage of large amounts of user data to learn from the past to help us identify patterns, segment user profiles, predict users’ behaviors and preferences. The algorithmic architecture of RS has been so successful that it has been co-opted in many contexts, from human resources teams, trying to select top candidates, to medical researchers, wanting to identify drug targets. Although the increasing use of AI can provide great benefits, it represents a shift in our interaction with data and machines that also entails fundamental social threats. These can derive from technological or implementation mistakes but also from profound changes in decision-making.

Here, we overview some of those risks including ethical and privacy challenges from a technical perspective. We discuss two particularly relevant cases: (1) RS that fail to work as intended and its possible unwanted consequences; (2) RS that work but at the possible expense of threats to individuals and even to democratic societies. Finally, we propose a way forward through a simple checklist that can be used to improve the transparency and accountability of AI algorithms.
Data-Driven Approaches in Healthcare: Challenges and Emerging Trends
Authors: Freitas Ana Teresa
Published: December 2023

Data is dominating and revolutionizing the healthcare industry in unprecedented ways. Associated with the new technologies of artificial intelligence, they promise to create the foundations for a new paradigm of medicine focused on the individuality of each person. This chapter is divided into four sections that aim to introduce the reader to the topic of data-driven approaches in the health sector. In section one, three ideologies are presented that, despite having some overlaps, present different views on how data should be used in order to guarantee a health service centered on each individual. In section two, the data-driven concept is explored. The emerging challenges of processing large volumes of data and their impacts on individuals, institutions, and society are associated with innovation in other disciplines such as artificial intelligence and personalized medicine. Since artificial intelligence is becoming a disruptive technology in the health sector, section three is dedicated to addressing the ethics and legal challenges posed by this new technological advance. To conclude, section four describes how the healthcare industry has become a major proving ground for artificial intelligence applications, with both startups and venture capital investors recognizing the enormous potential this technology can offer.
Conclusion: Inside and Outside the Contact Zones of Transnational Women’s Movements of the West
Authors: Gehmacher Johanna
Published: December 2023

This concluding chapter uses a short text by Rosika Schwimmer, reflecting on the question of languages in transnational activism on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the founding of the IWSA, as a starting point to provide insights into the way Käthe Schirmacher ended her practices of translating and transferring between women’s movements shortly before the outbreak of the First World War. Following on from this, the chapter revisits the various forms of transnational mediation discussed in this book and formulates some concluding arguments on their dynamics and relevance. The chapter ends with brief methodological remarks on the question of language in the context of a history of transnational social movements.
Men, Women and Progress. Literary Translation
Authors: Gehmacher Johanna
Published: December 2023

This chapter analyses translations as cultural objects that circulate between languages and movement cultures. It takes the case of an English novel of the 1880s and its (partial) translation into German as a starting point to explore the milieus, dynamics, and practices of transcultural mediation between European women’s movements of the late nineteenth century. Tying in with the concept of ‘activist translation’, it compares translation as a form of political intervention with translating as a professional practice. It submits that to analyse the political and social contexts in which a text is translated as well as its relation to other, accompanying forms of transfer is a prerequisite to understanding the character and the rationale of a specific translation.
To America! Transatlantic Mediation
Authors: Gehmacher Johanna
Published: December 2023

Using the example of Käthe Schirmacher’s travel to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, this chapter explores the transatlantic networks and the internationalisation strategies of women’s movements in the late nineteenth century. It discusses the role of multilingual mediators in the building of transnational networks of activism and the opportunities this role offered to young, well-educated women like Schirmacher who were looking for both an income and a political mission. The chapter also analyses the concept of the ‘new woman’ Schirmacher propagated in her speech at the congress and argues that in so doing she contributed to shaping a new persona that opened up professional identities for women and thus chances to earn an independent income.
OSCE Securitization and De-securitization-The Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue
Authors: Lamçe Eni
Published: December 2023

Using Regional Security Complex Theory, this paper examines the role of the OSCE in securitizing and de-securitizing actors in developing Kosovo-Serbia relations. The research is based on an analysis of official documents collected at the archives of the OSCE Documentation Center in Prague. In this regard, the contribution provides an in-depth analysis of developments in Kosovo within the OSCE context starting from 1995, when the OSCE was established, until 2001, when the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was welcomed once again as an OSCE participating State. This period is contrasted against that of more recent positive developments in Kosovo starting from 2015, when Serbia was the first Western Balkan country to Chair the OSCE, until 2020, and the Albanian OSCE Chairmanship. This research investigates the role that the regional actors, namely the USA, the EU and the Russian Federation, played in enhancing or not Kosovo’s domestic developments. This study intends to bring to light the progress made on Kosovo’s path to democratization by highlighting the controversy in relation to its ongoing struggle to have a seat at the table of the OSCE and a voice on important issues concerning its domestic security.
Ukraine’s European Integration in the Context of Russian Aggression
Authors: Reznichuk Maryna
Published: December 2023

The full-scale invasion of Russia into the sovereign territory of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 marks the most significant armed conflict within the European continent since the end of the Second World War. In a paradoxical but perhaps foreseeable way, Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine has not only initiated a process of rethinking the European Union’s standard foreign and security policy towards Russia but has also led to an irreversible push for the integration of Ukraine into the legal order of the EU. As a result, Ukraine has received its long-awaited candidate status for EU membership. This article investigates the aspects of Ukraine’s search for geostrategic cooperation alternatives and the country’s determination of geopolitical priorities in light of the current military situation. The study is focused on the analysis of the legal framework of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU, as well as a review of the possible opportunities opened up for Ukraine through its status of a candidate for EU membership in the context of further reformation of the Ukrainian legal system and its harmonization with the EU acquis communautaire. This chapter also examines the legal characteristics of the current Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and the specifics of its application in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Particular attention is paid to possible options for the legal transformation of the Association Agreement, which include both the revision of the provisions and annexes to the current Agreement and the conclusion of a new agreement that would regulate Ukrainian-European relations because Ukraine has become an EU candidate country.
Shaping German Feminist Foreign Policy in Times of Conflict in Ukraine
Authors: Pierobon Chiara
Published: December 2023

The current conflict in Ukraine has caused European political leaders to question existing European security architecture. In his address to the Bundestag on 27 February 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz from the Social Democratic Party (SPD) referred to this time as a Zeitenwende (historic turning point) for the European continent, leading Germany to reinvent itself as a European security actor. This paradigm shift needs to be contextualized in the framework of an overall reshaping of Germany’s security and foreign policy already promoted by the new Social Democrats/Greens/Free Democrats’ government coalition in December 2021, including developing a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) for Germany. With the conflict in Ukraine, the discussion about a German FFP has become even more relevant, bringing to light a tension between more pragmatic and normative interpretations. This chapter focuses on processes through which the FFP was conceptualized in Germany, looking at discourses and narratives produced and circulated by the German Federal Office and, in particular, by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The chapter reveals that the current armed conflict in Ukraine has affected the very essence of a German FFP that justifies military assistance as a necessary instrument to protect the rights of women and more marginalized groups.