bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Hidden Glimpse at Old Thailand? The “Siam Episode” in Fontane’s Novel Unwiederbringlich
Authors: Grimm Reinhold
Published: May 2019

Hardly ever do images of Thai or Thailand occur in German literature. Granted, there exists an early if seemingly isolated forerunner from the 17th century: namely, Heinrich Anshelm von Zigler und Kliphausen’s voluminous Baroque novel in titled Die asiatische Banise (“The Asian Banise” [which is the name of the heroine]). I adduced it, and briefly discussed its opening scene, in my talk “What is a Good Dramatic Text? A German’s Answer to a Thai’s Question” that I gave in Bangkok almost a decade ago, and which was subsequently published, in a Thai translation by Chetana Nagavajara, in Silpakorn University’s Journal of the Faculty of Arts and, in its English original, in my book Versuche zur europäischen Literatur of 1994. As for the three centuries following the Banise however I had been unaware of any treatments of Thai topics in German letters; and the quite recent, though very important and meritorious, exception to the rule, Hella Kothmann’s collection ofvarious Thai texts in German rendition, her Das siamesische Lächeln (“The Siamese Smile”), appeared only after I had penned and delivered my lecture—in fact, simultaneously, as it were, with my aforesaid book.
Malai Mongkhon: A Case of Postmodern Thai Theatre
Authors: Kerdarunsuksri Kittisak
Published: May 2019

Modern stage drama was introduced into Thai theatre during the mid-1960s within the university circle and later spread to the commercial level. To make their productions more attractive and accessible to popular audiences, some theatre practitioners sought to experiment with adopting indigenous sources, either traditional stories or theatrical elements, which have been found in modern Thai theatre from time to time since the early 1970s. During the 1990s, several productions made use of traditional stories and elements to a greater degree due to many factors, such as the promotion of Thainess, the demand for original Thai plays, and the trend in Southeast Asian theatre. Most of these productions can thus be considered as postmodern Thai theatre since revisiting the past, disrupting the distinction of high and low art forms, and juxtaposing unmatched elements are clearly discernible. Makhampo’m’s Malai Mongkhon, adapted from the myth of Phra Malai, was one of the works based on traditional Thai literature produced in this period. Not only was the myth used, but this production also made use of traditional theatrical elements, both court and folk, in juxtaposition with modern techniques. This production can be regarded as a representative of postmodern Thai theatre in the 1990s.
A Morphological Analysis of Neighborhood Structure—Toles and the Ritual Artifacts of the Kathmandu Valley Towns—The Case of Thimi
Authors: Pant Mohan , Shuji Funo
Published: May 2019

The traditional towns of the Kathmandu Valley are ingrained with varying cultural forms of different historical periods. But the paucity of documented literature and the evident difficulties conducting archaeological work on the existing settlements leave significant gaps in the knowledge of ancient and medieval towns of the Valley. This paper, through the morphological analysis of neighborhood units, known as toles, and their ritual artifacts, of one of the Valley towns—Thimi—attempts to discover the different historical layers of the settlement. In particular, the study finds that the territorial structure of the tole and its ritual artifacts such as the shrine of Ganesa, which is the symbol of a neighborhood locality, and the crossroad spirit, known as chwasa show a regular pattern in their location within the neighborhood quarter, and their distribution in the settlement. They are also found to be closely related to the settlement structure as defined by the neighborhood blocks and the street patterns. Following the morphological analysis, the study then reconstructs four historical phases, and suggests that the development of the town was regulated by the royal court. Further, through the case study of the three neighborhood units, the paper shows that totes constituted basic urban units—a transition level to the town settlement that differed from the lower level structure of the clan settlement unit.
The Emergence of the Beauty of the ‘Childscape’: Rediscovering the Path to the Hidden Dimension of Architecture for Children
Authors: Patumanon Tipsuda
Published: May 2019

A Phenomenological writing on the rediscovering the path to the hidden dimesion of architecture for children is an attempt to describe the emegence of the beauty of the 'childscape'. We, as adults, often see our child busily talks to the world. Many stories are created along many paths of his life. What we see depends on how often we give ourselves a chance to look and see… to listen and hear. The voices which come from the distant horizon of our child's world are the same voices with which we once spoke. When there is a fusion of the horizons between ourselves and our child, we will see in front of our eyes that the morning has broken at the horizon of the ‘childscape’ as it did on the first morning of time. The sun has broken the sky, opening the morning glory in celebration of the pleasantness of the earth becoming the golden land of the child in the ‘childscape’.
Tripiṭaka in Practice in the Fourth and Fifth Reigns: Relics and Images According to Somdet Phra Saṅgharāja Pussadeva’s Paṭhamasambodhi Sermon
Authors: Assavavirulhakarn Prapod , Skilling Peter
Published: May 2019

The Tripiṭaka is not simply an inert collection of manuscripts or books. It is a living thing, a store of ideas that has marked many aspects of social life, from ritual to ethics to mediation pratice, to literature, art, and education. The ideas and ideologies of the Tripiṭaka pervade society. One of the main ways through which the Tripiṭaka leaves the library and penetrates society is the sermon, which adapts the ideas and ideals of the Tripiṭaka to suit circumstances and audiences.
Ārādhanā Tham: ‘Invitation to Teach the Dhamma’
Authors: Skilling Peter
Published: May 2019

In Thailand, one of the main vehicles for the dissemination of knowledge about Buddhism is the sermon. This was especially so in the pre-modem period of limited literacy, and it is still so today. In formal contexts, whether in a temple or elsewhere, before a monk preaches a sermon a lay follower will recite a Pali verse inviting him to do so.
The Harmony Between Nature and Man in Thai Poetry
Authors: Chongstitvatana Suchitra
Published: May 2019

The paper is an attempt to investigate the concept of harmony between nature and man expressed in Thai poetry from the past to the present to see to what extent this concept has persisted through the change of time and to what extent it has changed.
Social and Psychological Factors in Thai Student’s Code-Switching
Authors: Suraratdecha Sumittra
Published: May 2019

This paper examines Thai-English code-switching by eight Thai students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa by taking into account Bell’s audience design factors (Bell 1984), speech accommodation theory (Giles & Smith 1979; Giles & Coupland 1991 ), and other psychosocial factors. Code-switching is defined here as an alternation between one language and another made by a speaker within a sentence, sentences, or a conversation. This paper proposes that code-switching is essentially an accommodative phenomenon; that is, speakers will switch into one language if they think it is appropriate to the topic or to their notions of self and addressee. Conversely, some speakers appear to actively resist code-switching, depending on their evaluation of their own linguistic skills and their perceptions of others. By bringing together observations about who favors code-switching and who resists it, the topic of conversation, among other factors, emerges as the most important social variable across individuals. The result runs counter to the audience design model proposed by Bell (1984), who claims that audience design factors are more influential than non-audience design factors in bilingual code choice.
The Distinctions between Indefinite Pronouns and Interrogative Pronouns in Thai
Authors: Teekhachunhatean Roongaroon
Published: May 2019

This article aims to present a study of the distinctions between two types of pronouns in Thai-indefinite pronouns and interrogative pronouns, which are homophonous and homographic but different in function. The results of the study reveal that they can be distinguished both syntactically and semantically. Therefore, they can be classified into two word classes.
Change in the Selection of Auspicious Personal Names in Thai Society
Authors: Sumniengngam Somchai
Published: May 2019

This article aims to study the change in the selection of auspicious personal names in Thai society by comparing the first names of people of two age groups, over 81 years old and under 20 years old, at different periods of time: before 1921 and 1981-2000. The result of the study shows that the first names of the young generation reflect a stronger belief in auspicious letters as practised in the traditional naming textbook "Tamrataksa" than those of the older generations. There are a few differences in the selection of names with favorable meanings of the old and young generations due to changing values.
Dancing or Stricken Peacock? Than Shwe, Suu Kyi and the Politics of Institutional Change in Myanmar
Authors: James Helen
Published: May 2019

In a country where signs, symbols and astrology have played key roles in its political and cultural evolution, the peacock as the emblem of an independent state has had a chequered history in Myanmar (Burma). Frequently juxtaposed to the Sheldrake, emblem of the Southern Mon kingdom centred on Pegu until incorporation into the larger Burmese empire in the mid-18th century, the country peacock could not withstand the advances of the rampant British lion during the 19th century. It is now a protected bird accorded sanctuary, and placed on a pedestal with reverence almost equal to that of the sacred ‘White Elephant’ found recently in the jungles of Arakan. Such indigenous institutions are playing a critical role as the transitional state of Myanmar seeks to transform its political and socio-economic fabric after 26 years of socialist policies (1962-1988). In analyzing the politics of institutional change in contemporary Myanmar, we are forced to take account of Muthiah Alagappa’s observation that transitional states are not necessarily in linear evolution to Western models of democratic governance, for this expected trajectory ‘has not been borne out in practice’ whilst ‘politics in developing countries has its own dynamics.’ Alagappa’s views resonate also in the writings of Robert Taylor who notes the complexity and problematic task of grafting multi-party democratic systems onto societies like Myanmar with weak traditions of civil society, low levels of economic development and patronclientalist politico-social structures. The following paper focuses on some of the key political and socio-economic issues at the heart of achieving evolutionary institutional change in Myanmar (Burma).
Understanding Foreign Language Education at BFSU
Authors: Yan Zhou
Published: May 2019

The paper shows that the students at Beijing Foreign studies University (BFSU) are from various parts of the country with uneven exposure to and different training in English. They have to go through a period of adjustment: learning new materials, new ways of language learning as well as of unlearning certain learning habits gotten from their high schools. It is pointed out that language learning does not only mean mastering linguistic rules or structures but also understanding culture of the target language. In order to do this many things are required: motivation, willingness to do rote learning and monotonous drills of basic structures, perseverance in practising newly acquired language skills, and psychological strength without feeling intimidated by error corrections by teachers or laughter by peers.
Categories and Logical Forms in Kant’s Metaphysical Deduction
Authors: Hongladarom Soraj
Published: May 2019

Compared with the other sections of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, the Metaphysical Deduction is among the most obscure and it seems that the section has not received as much critical and interpretive attention as its cousin, the Transcendental Deduction. This is rather surprising because it is at the Metaphysical Deduction that Kant crucial in establishing his program of justifying empirical knowledge in the face of radical skepticism. It is argued in this paper that the connection between the two types of logic is as follows: the logical forms, which belong to formal logic, are the ratio cognoscendi of the Pure Concepts of Understanding, since they provide the key to knowing the latter. On the other hand, the categories are the ratio essendi of the Logical forms, for it is the former that are the condition of the possibility of the latter.
Food, Emotion and the Empowerment of Women in Contemporary Fiction by Women Writers
Authors: Chatraporn Surapeepan
Published: May 2019

This paper aims to explore the connection between food and emotions and analyze how food empowers the women who cook and serve it. In the selected fictional bestsellers, which were made into successful films, food plays a vital role. Food functions as the title, the main theme, the dominant imagery, and distinctive figures of speech. Food has a direct impact on the emotions and behavior of those who consume the food prepared by these female cooks. Their food provides physical nourishment as well as emotional and spiritual sustenance. Food is used as a vehicle to communicate feelings, and an outlet for female creativity and artistic expression. The female cooks, who appear initially weak and inferior in status, grow to be influential and indispensable. Having derived their power from food, these female cooks eventually assume the roles of artistic chefs and, more importantly, saviors of body and soul.
The Myths of the Buddha’s Relics of the Tai People: Reflections on the Relationship Between Buddhism and Indigenous Beliefs
Authors: Hongsuwan Pathom
Published: May 2019

This article intends to analyze the relationship between Buddhism and the indigenous beliefs that are evident in the Tai myths of the Buddha’s relics. From the analysis of the characters and their symbolic behaviour, we can see that the religious beliefs of the Tai people were very complex. The relationship between religious beliefs shown in the myths of the Tai people shows various characteristics and can be categorized into three groups: first, the conflict between Buddhism and indigenous beliefs; second, the integration of indigenous beliefs into Buddhism; and third, the integration of Buddhism into indigenous beliefs. The kind of relationship that occurs in each group is due to the variety of aspects of these beliefs that co- exist. The conflict between Buddhism and indigenous beliefs is reflected in the myth’s plot, motif and character behaviour, which is due to the conflicting behaviour of the two completely opposite belief systems in the myths. The acceptance of each offer between the two belief systems is reflected in certain sets of motifs and character behaviour. The study of the integration of the two belief systems shows the development of the mythical characters and their behaviour, thus reflecting the religious thoughts and beliefs of the Tai people.
The Roles of the Buddha in Thai Myths: Reflections on the Attempt to Integrate Buddhism into Thai Local Beliefs
Authors: Jaruworn Poramin
Published: May 2019

This article aims at identifying the roles of the Buddha in Thai myths in order to explain how the Thai were able to integrate Buddhism into their indigenous beliefs. Certain myths played an important role in recording the conflicts in the minds of Thai ancestors as to whether they should continue to hold to indigenous beliefs or whether they should adopt Buddhism. The roles played by the Buddha in certain myths reflect the fact that the Buddha took over roles that were once performed by local gods. Such roles were the provision of fertility, light and water. Attitudes of the Thai embedded in the myths offer insight into the mechanism through which Buddhism was able to be integrated into the indigenous belief system.
The Legacy of Traditional Thai Literature and its Impact on Contemporary Children’s Literature
Authors: Sujjapun Ruenruthai
Published: May 2019

Literature is a significant part of any nation’s cultural heritage, its continuing existence depending on the values which are handed down from era to era, from generation to generation. Most traditional Thai literature follows the same conventions. The influence exerted by western literature helped to foster the development of contemporary Thai literature, but at the same time relegated traditional literature to the back burner, seemingly remote from contemporary Thai life. This can clearly be seen in contemporary children’s literature; for example, it is obvious that at the present time the books in The Adventures of Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling are bestsellers that have captured the hearts of children all over the world. Witches and the magic of the western world are borrowed by authors of children’s literature and even play a role in some Thai children’s books as well. Nevertheless, there are a number of Thai writers who appreciate traditional Thai literary works and who have made an effort to revive some works of traditional Thai literature both in terms of content and style. They narrate new versions of classical literature in modern form and with more up-to-date content in a manner that appeals to young readers.
Kurt Wais :A Centenary Appraisal
Authors: Nagavajara Chetana
Published: May 2019

Kurt Wais ( 1907-1995) would be 100 years old on 9 January 2007. He was Professor of Romance Philology and Comparative Literature at Tübingen University until his retirement in 1975. His immense erudition spanning several literatures and epochs equipped him well for pioneering work in Comparative Literature, of which he was the leading authority in Germany. Drawing on his "Nachlass" (private papers) now deposited with the renowned German Literature Archive in Marbach/Neckar, the author, a pupil of Kurt Wais, demonstrates how the precocious scholar, who had won international recognition at the age of 31 with his authoritative book on Stéphane Mallarmé, developed into a versatile researcher, a dedicated teacher and a trustworthy colleague. But this is far from a merely personal success story, for the achievements of Kurt Wais bear testimony to the strengths of German and European academic tradition. What Kun Wais described as his "life's work", a monumental comparative study of Europe's early medieval epics, occupied him until his death, with only one volume published, while the remaining 9 volumes, though still in manuscript form, might provide intimations of Europe as a cohesive entity, predating the dreams of the architects of the EU by almost a thousand years.
The Female Characters in Oe Kenzaburo’s Early Literary Works - Focusing on our Age and Sexual Beings
Authors: Krisdathanont Duantem
Published: May 2019

Oe Kenzaburo, the 1994 Nobel Prize winner, is one of the most talented authors of the contemporary literary world. However, he has been criticized for lacking an interest in portraying female characters clearly especially in his early years of writing. Considering himself to be a member of the postwar generation, Oe wrote Our Age and Sexual Beings in 1959 and 1963 to illustrate two types of human beings in his generation, the political being (seiji teki ningen) and the sexual being (sei teiki ningen). While the political being is an active hero who opposes others, refusing to conform to any existence in opposition to him, the sexual being neither confronts nor competes with others and yields without any protest. Also in order to expose the despair and alienation of these post-Ampo Japanese youths, Oe creates male characters to portray this theme, while female characters play only supporting roles. In addition, though the female characters in these two novels are developed from those in earlier works, they are still flat characters and not sufficiently developed in the story compared with the male characters. They are still created as the 'other' in the society. In this essay, I will examine in detail how female characters in Oe's Our Age and Sexual Beings are created as human beings who are inferior in the patriarchal society.
The Validity of the Rasa Literary Concept: An Approach to the Didactic Tale of PHRA Chaisurjya
Authors: Raksamani Kusuma
Published: May 2019

The rasa (emotive aesthetics), one of the major theories of Sanskrit literary criticism, has been expounded and evaluated in many scholarly studies by Indian and other Sanskritists. Some of them maintain that since the rasa deals with the universalized human emotions, it has validity not only for Indian but for other literatures as well. The rasa can be applied to any kind of emotive poetry such as lyric, epic, drama and satire. However, in Thai literature an emotive definition of poetry encompasses a great variety of works. A question is then raised in this paper about whether the rasa can be applied to a Thai poem of didactic nature. Phra Chaisuriya, a versified tale by Sunthon Phu, is selected as an example of study.
The Decline of Socialist Realism in Post-1975 Vietnamese Literature
Authors: Rato Montira
Published: May 2019

In Vietnam, Socialist Realism served as a tool for the party and the state to control art and literature. Its emphasis on the utilitarian function of literature and collectivism is a good explanation for why it flourished in Socialist countries, including Vietnam. However, Socialist Realism was found unsuitable for the development of Vietnamese literature in the post-1975 period. This study tries to examine how Socialist Realism was adopted and adapted in Vietnam, and why it was challenged in the post-war period.
Nathalie Sarraute: Tropisms and the Drama of Logos
Authors: Tirasait Nipaporn
Published: May 2019

Nathalie Sarraute created a new style of writing, renouncing the accepted literary forms by discarding conventional ideas about plot, chronology, and characterization. Research in this area has consistently shown that, in Sarraute, language is at the heart of her drama. However, this essay emphasizes that she played with the power of words and silences to make us hear far beyond the social surface of discourse and grasp what is really going on in the minds of the interlocutors. Against the structural linguistics of her time, Sarraute concentrated on every phoneme, every syllable of a word or an expression, testing and retesting it from all angles until those extremely rapid “invisible reactions” that we sense inside us--those inner movements called “tropisms” by Sarraute--become perceptible. Briefly, the prelinguistic impulses, which are the basic emotions underlying everyday human interrelationships, become the key concept of all her short, intense plays under the form of “logodrama.”
Noun Classifier Constructions in Thai: a Case Study in Construction Grammar
Authors: Singnoi Unchalee
Published: May 2019

This paper is a study in the framework of Construction Grammar that seeks for how much information grammatical units like noun classifier constructions in Thai can reveal and why such information must be presented as distinctive grammatical properties. The findings show that noun classifiers, occurring in nominal phrases, have a large number of grammatical functions not restricted to syntax but encompassing semantics and pragmatics, as well. They function syntactically by constituting numeric phrases, standing for head nouns, substituting for nouns, acting as the heads of modifier constructions, acting as noun modifiers and disambiguating constructions. Semantically, they are divided into generic and perceptual main types, which evince different syntactic behaviors. Finally, they pragmatically function by unitizing nouns, referring to particular entities, individuating items, and indicating the numeral ‘one’. It is these pragmatic functions that motivate their forms/structures. Therefore, information types such as semantic and/or pragmatic properties need to be included in the explanation and viewed as a cluster of information, rather than autonomous syntax.
Self-Awareness of Luang Phrabang Laoness in Thailand: a case Study of Myth and Ritual
Authors: Wungkeeree Bourin
Published: May 2019

This article offers a study of Lao people who migrated from Luang Phrabang to settle in Thailand, especially at Amphoe Lom Kao and Lom Sak, Phetchabun Province and Amphoe Dan Sai, Loei Province. These migrants have maintained their self-awareness as Luang Phrabang Lao by transmitting their own folk literature— for instance, local legends and hero tales, and rituals. Such ethnic transmission has been interpreted as an important mechanism for ethnic maintenance. Repeatedly reproduced in a discourse of myth telling in the context of spirit offering rituals, this transmission helps the community realize and remember that they are from Luang Phrabang, Lanxang, which was once a prosperous Buddhist centre in ancient times.
Wisdom from the Tortoise
Authors: Sujjapun Ruenruthai
Published: May 2019

The Hare and the Tortoise Part II: We do not race anymore won the ‘7 Book Awards’ of 2005 as the best work of children’s literature. This book borrows its plot from a well-known Aesop’s fable and creates some new content and philosophy. Instead of ignorantly running a race against the aggressive Hare, the Tortoise refuses to compete but rather walks slowly and happily to his destination. In addition to the plot from Aesop’s fable, the writer H. Nikhooky applies Buddhist doctrines with regard to defilements, i.e., lust, greed, anger, and delusion, as well as the Four Sublime States of Mind or the “Brahm-Vihara4”, i.e., kindness, compassion, sympathy, and equanimity in the many episodes during the long journey of the Tortoise family. Also, the book suggests that the best way of bringing people and the world to real happiness is through gratitude, forgiveness, consciousness, wisdom and sufficiency.
The Application of Global Grammar Theory to Locative and Directional Structures in Chinese, Thai and English
Authors: Parinyavottichai Chanyaporn
Published: May 2019

This paper employs the Global Grammar theory to analyze locative and directional phrases in Mandarin, Thai and English. I use translation-equivalent sentences from Mandarin, English, and Thai to illustrate the relation between the global grammar and its derived regional grammars and to show how the translation-equivalent sentences can become partly similar and partly dissimilar to each other. This paper also shows how a language teacher of Mandarin Chinese can effectively use the relation between the Global grammar and particular grammars to help students whose native language is English and Thai to learn the syntax and semantics of any Chinese sentence.
Praratchapuccha: Development and Significance in Buddhist Society
Authors: Kobbun Pisit
Published: May 2019

The research paper aims to study the development and significance of “Praratchapuccha”, a Royal inquiry on Buddhist problems, directed at the Buddha himself as well as his disciples. It studies the roles and significance of “Praratchapuccha” during and after the Buddha’s era and in early Thai society. The study reveals the development and the transmission of “Praratchapuccha” as well as the significance of “Praratchapuccha” in Buddhist society.
On the Intriguing Stranding of Four Cuvier’s Beaked Whales, Ziphius Cavirostris G. Cuvier, 1823, on the Lesser Antillean Island of Bonaire
Authors: van Bree Peter J.H. , Kristensen Ingvar
Published: May 2019

The stranding of four Cuvier’s Beaked Whales, Ziphius cavirostris, on the Lesser Antillean Island of Bonaire on April 3, 1974 is reported. The death of the animals was most probably caused by some kind of underwater explosion.
Morphology of the Intestine of the Goldfish (Carassius Auratus)
Authors: Weinberg Steven
Published: May 2019

A survey of the structures of the intestine of the Goldfish is given. Several morphological techniques have been used. Special attention has been paid to those characteristics of this organ that may be of importance to physiologists working with the same material, with emphasis on cell-to-cell contact in the mucosal epithelium, which appeared to be quite “tight”.
A Craniometric Comparison of Holocene Populations of Myotis Mystacinus (Kuhl, 1817) and M. Brandtii (Eversmann, 1845) (Chiroptera, Mammalia)
Authors: Rybář P.
Published: May 2019

This paper presents the results of an analysis of about four hundred skulls of Myotis mystacinus and M. brandtii of the Holocene age from the Záskočie Cave (Central Slovakia). A review of criteria for species determination is presented, including a new criterion concerning the morphology of P4 roots, as well as the results of a statistical survey of skull dimensions and correlation and regression analyses. The author concludes that the above mentioned bats are not sibling species, but that they belong to different subgenera of the genus Myotis.
On the Relation between Movements and the Shape of Somites in Early Embryos of the Teleost Brachydanio Rerio
Authors: van Raamsdonk W. , Pool C.W. , Mijzen P. , Mos W. , van der Stelt A.
Published: May 2019

As a working hypothesis it is supposed that in the teleost Brachydanio rerio, the muscle contractions, the growth, and probably some other factors, cause the first changes in the shape of the somites. Furthermore, the movements of the embryo could yield the forces by which the somites are brought to their theoretically optimal shape.

In order to test this hypothesis, we investigated the somite shape and structure of spontaneously immobile embryos. Although the results are difficult to interpret, they certainly do not contradict the hypothesis.

For further analysis we applied two kinds of lesions in order to immobilize early embryos: removal of the brain, and damage to the midbody somites. The results of these experiments indicate that both the development of the shape of the somite and the arrangement of the muscle fibres are dependent on movements of the embryo.
New and little-known species of Chthoniidae and Neobisiidae (Pseudoscorpiones, Arachnida) from the Movile Cave in southern Dobrogea, Romania
Authors: Ćurčić Božidar P.M. , Poinar George O. , Sarbu Serban M.
Published: May 2019

Two species of Roncus L. Koch, 1873 (Neobisiidae), new to science (R. ciobanmos n. sp. and R. dragobeten. sp.), and one species of Neobisium Chamberlin, 1930 [N. (N). biharicum Beier, 1939], collected in the Movile Cave, southern Dobrogea, Romania, have been described, diagnostic characters illustrated, and their geographic distribution analyzed. In addition, the description of Chthonius (Chthonius) monicae Boghean, 1989 (Chthoniidae), otherwise known only from two females, has been amended. The possible relationships of these species are discussed in view of the importance of some diagnostic characters and of the evolution of their cave habitat.
A black, non-troglomorphic amphibian from the karst of Slovenia: Proteus anguinus parkelj n. ssp. (Urodela: Proteidae)
Authors: Sket B. , Arntzen J. W.
Published: May 2019

A morphologically distinct cavernicolous salamander Proteus anguinus from southeastern Slovenia (Bela Krajina) is described as P. a. parkelj ssp. n. It differs from P. a. anguinus in a dark pigmentation, fully developed eyes, a skull with broader and shorter bones and fewer teeth, a voluminous jaw musculature that gives the head a bulky appearance, a proportionally longer trunk with a higher number of vertebrae, shorter extremities, and a shorter tail. Most of these traits are considered to be plesiomorphic character states. An allozyme analysis over 40 loci has shown the new dark pigmented taxon to be genetically similar to a white and troglomorphic neighbouring population from Stična (DNei = 0.23). Both populations in turn are genetically dissimilar to a geographically more distant population from Postojna (D Nei = 0.49). The observed level of genetic differentiation suggests that western and southeastern Slovenian populations form separate lineages since the uppermost Miocene but conservatively hitherto only a single species is recognised. The new taxon is only known from a small area and may be rare. P. a. parkelj, now under strict legal protection, is threatened by industrial pollution.
A Checklist of the Moths of Alaska
Authors: FERRIS CLIFFORD D. , KRUSE JAMES J. , LAFONTAINE J. DONALD , PHILIP KENELM W. , SCHMIDT B. CHRISTIAN , SIKES DEREK S.
Published: May 2019

This article represents the first published complete checklist of the moth taxa, resident and occasional, recorded to datefor Alaska. Seven-hundred and ten species are listed. General species distribution ranges within the state are included.Three North American records are listed for the first time: Cydia cornucopiae (Tengström); Eucosma hohenwartiana ([D. & S.]); Acronicta menyanthidis (Vieweg).
Modulation of Monsoon Circulations by Cross-Equatorial Ocean Heat Transport
Authors: Lutsko Nicholas J. , Marshall John , Green Brian
Published: May 2019

Motivated by observations of southward ocean heat transport (OHT) in the northern Indian Ocean during summer, the role of the ocean in modulating monsoon circulations is explored by coupling an atmospheric model to a slab ocean with an interactive representation of OHT and an idealized subtropical continent. Southward OHT by the cross-equatorial cells is caused by Ekman flow driven by southwesterly monsoon winds in the summer months, cooling sea surface temperatures (SSTs) south of the continent. This increases the reversed meridional surface gradient of moist static energy, shifting the precipitation maximum over the land and strengthening the monsoonal circulation, in the sense of enhancing the vertical wind shear. However, the atmosphere’s cross-equatorial meridional overturning circulation is also weakened by the presence of southward OHT, as the atmosphere is required to transport less energy across the equator. The sensitivity of these effects to varying the strength of the OHT, fixing the OHT at its annual-mean value, and to removing the land is explored. Comparisons with more realistic models suggest that the idealized model used in this study produces a reasonable representation of the effect of OHT on SSTs equatorward of subtropical continents, and hence can be used to study the role of OHT in shaping monsoon circulations on Earth.
Stratification Effects in the Turbulent Boundary Layer beneath a Melting Ice Shelf: Insights from Resolved Large-Eddy Simulations
Authors: Vreugdenhil Catherine A. , Taylor John R.
Published: May 2019

Ocean turbulence contributes to the basal melting and dissolution of ice shelves by transporting heat and salt toward the ice. The meltwater causes a stable salinity stratification to form beneath the ice that suppresses turbulence. Here we use large-eddy simulations motivated by the ice shelf–ocean boundary layer (ISOBL) to examine the inherently linked processes of turbulence and stratification, and their influence on the melt rate. Our rectangular domain is bounded from above by the ice base where a dynamic melt condition is imposed. By varying the speed of the flow and the ambient temperature, we identify a fully turbulent, well-mixed regime and an intermittently turbulent, strongly stratified regime. The transition between regimes can be characterized by comparing the Obukhov length, which provides a measure of the distance away from the ice base where stratification begins to dominate the flow, to the viscous length scale of the interfacial sublayer. Upper limits on simulated turbulent transfer coefficients are used to predict the transition from fully to intermittently turbulent flow. The predicted melt rate is sensitive to the choice of the heat and salt transfer coefficients and the drag coefficient. For example, when coefficients characteristic of fully developed turbulence are applied to intermittent flow, the parameterized three-equation model overestimates the basal melt rate by almost a factor of 10. These insights may help to guide when existing parameterizations of ice melt are appropriate for use in regional or large-scale ocean models, and may also have implications for other ice–ocean interactions such as fast ice or drifting ice.
Religion as a Macro Social Force Affecting Business: Concepts, Questions, and Future Research
Authors: Van Buren Harry J. , Syed Jawad , Mir Raza
Published: May 2019

Religion has been in general neglected or even seen as a taboo subject in organizational research and management practice. This is a glaring omission in the business and society and business ethics literatures. As a source of moral norms and beliefs, religion has historically played a significant role in the vast majority of societies and continues to remain relevant in almost every society. More broadly, expectations for responsible business behavior are informed by regional, national, or indigenous cultures, which in many parts of the world are heavily influenced by religious belief systems and religious institutions. In this essay, we discuss examples of how religion has functioned as a macro social force affecting business and society, discuss some of the key questions and issues related to research in this domain, offer some observations about why religion may be problematic with regard to its effects on business, and conclude by summarizing the articles contained in the special issue.
What Teachers Retain From Historic Site-Based Professional Development
Authors: Baron Christine , Sklarwitz Sherri , Bang Hyeyoung , Shatara Hanadi
Published: May 2019

Using a broad-based assessment for understanding what teachers learn in historic site-based professional development (HSBPD), this study follows 29 teachers from a HSBPD at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello to see how their work at historic sites affected their practice upon return to their classrooms. Influenced by the Interconnected Model of Teacher Growth and Complexity theory, this study considers the complex outcomes of teachers as individuals, professionals, and learners in communities of practice. Results explore a range of outcomes related to content, pedagogical content knowledge, working with peers, interactions with the historic site, and a willingness to reconsider historical information. The discussion offers a consideration of the network of HSBPDs as a cumulative system and the ways in which teachers’ on-site work can deepen our understanding of working with complex historical sources and make larger curricular changes.
Composite direct adaptive Taylor series – fuzzy controller for the robust asymptotic tracking control of flexible-joint robots
Authors: Ahmadi Seyed Mohammad , Fateh Mohammad Mehdi
Published: May 2019

Recent developments in the use of Taylor series-based controllers have increased the need for utilizing Taylor series system for complex nonlinear systems. This research aims at developing a direct adaptive controller for the tracking control of electrically-driven flexible-joint robotic manipulators. In our direct adaptive method, the decentralized controller benefits by two control terms, namely a Taylor series estimator to approximate an ideal controller for the diminution of joint tracking error in the presence of lumped uncertainty and also a fuzzy estimator to compensate an approximation error. The joint tracking error and its time derivatives up to the second order are guaranteed to converge asymptotically to zero by means of the stability analysis. To obtain better control performance, the particle swarm optimization is used for selecting the control parameters. Simple and accurate design, small joint tracking error and no need of bounding functions are the main advantages of proposed control method. Finally, numerous simulation studies are included to verify the efficiency of the controller.
What determines the role and position of works councils? Models of councils in Polish organizations
Authors: Skorupińska-Cieślak Katarzyna
Published: May 2019

Using data from in-depth interviews conducted with chairpersons of works councils, representatives of management and chairpersons of trade unions in 20 Polish organizations, this article explores the importance of different factors influencing the strength of works councils. The findings indicate a decisive role of such factors as management approach and activity of councillors, and a minor role in the case of individual regulations and works council’s age. Moreover, the article identifies three main models of works councils existing in Polish organizations after the amendment of the Act on Informing and Consulting Employees: ‘ perfunctory’ councils, ‘ constructive’ councils and works councils as a ‘ complement to unions’.
Sources of toleration: Individuals, cultures, institutions
Authors: Kaul Volker
Published: May 2019

Nowadays the question of toleration is less related to an international clash of civilizations than to the clashes that take place within the states and polities themselves. The article addresses the sources of toleration in this new global scenario, starting from the following set of questions: Do the sources of toleration differ across time and space? Does toleration have different roots in different civilizational contexts, such as China, India or Islam? Or, is toleration the result of particular institutional frameworks and designs? In this case, does the concept of toleration vary from one institutional setting to the other? Do empires, republics and democracies give rise to different forms of toleration? And last but not least, isn’t toleration rather a matter of individual morality, as many liberal theories sustain? The article distinguishes between three different sources of toleration: individuals, cultures and institutions. Kant and contemporary liberals, as John Rawls who follows him, situate the source of toleration in the individual itself and the capacity for practical reason. More communitarian-oriented thinkers, as Michael Walzer, defend ‘a historical and contextual account of toleration and coexistence’, arguing that ‘the best political arrangement is relative to the history and culture of the people whose lives it will arrange’. The institutionalist account, which goes back to John Locke’s A Letter Concerning Toleration establishing the separation between state and church, holds that it is the right institutional design that grounds toleration. The article concludes that political strategies aiming to cultivate toleration must take into account the causes of intolerance.
Fathers as Solo Caregivers in Spain: A Choice or a Need?
Authors: Fernandez-Lozano Irina
Published: May 2019

The increase in fathers’ involvement in childcare in Western societies has not translated into an equal distribution of childcare between mothers and fathers. While some couples actually succeed in “undoing gender” when the first child arrives, their characteristics that define them are not yet clear. This article provides four different explanations that contribute to understanding how parents share routine care in Spain, using a sample of dual-earner, heterosexual parents from the Spanish Time Use Survey 2010. The results show that fathers are more likely to be “equal sharers” when they earn less than their spouse; do not hold traditionally masculine jobs (e.g., managers or blue-collar workers); have time available and, more important, their spouses are not available from 5 p.m. onward. In line with previous research, this study provides evidence that dismantles the “myth” that higher status employees, and/or those with college education, are more egalitarian in practice.
Revolutionary Politics of Social Rights? An Ethnographic Account of the Homeless Workers’ Movement in São Paulo
Authors: Fierro Alberto
Published: May 2019

Critics of contemporary liberalism question whether the expansion of human and social rights can deliver radical social change. Drawing on ethnographic research in São Paulo, this article challenges this view by analysing how the discourse of rights has been critically redeployed by a radical Homeless Workers’ Movement – the Brazilian Movimento dos Trabalhadores sem Teto (MTST). The MTST’s strategic use of a discursive framework of social rights problematises existing scholarship which fails to account for the ways in which activists rework and redeploy ideas of rights in practice. In particular, the article demonstrates the centrality of rights discourse to the formation of radical political subjectivities and the emancipatory goals pursued by the MTST. This counter-hegemonic politics of rights re-signifies liberal discourse, exceeding its conventional juridical boundaries: it creates politicisation in occupations, and it constitutes a strategy of counter-conducts vis-à-vis neoliberal governmentality.
Benefit-to-Cost Analysis Framework for Intersection Illumination: A Case Study of Rural Conventional Intersections in Georgia
Authors: Gbologah Franklin E. , Guin Angshuman , Purcell Roger , Rodgers Michael O.
Published: May 2019

Lighting provides one of the most effective night-time intersection safety countermeasures. However, lighting is also one of the main contributors to intersection maintenance and operation costs. For a public transportation agency with jurisdiction over many intersections, the system-wide lighting costs can significantly deplete already limited funds for other important maintenance projects. A sound framework for conducting benefit-to-cost trade-off analysis would be beneficial to transportation agencies. Unfortunately, published works on the benefit-to-cost analysis are few and mostly dated. This paper outlines a detailed framework for conducting benefit-to-cost analysis for rural intersection lighting. The framework uses intersection lighting simulation models to generate annualized operating and maintenance cost data for different lighting levels. The intersection lighting models were developed with DIALux® professional lighting software. This study used the framework to conduct a case study of rural conventional three-leg and four-leg intersections with at least an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 500 from Georgia. Based on the available Georgia case study data, this paper finds that for rural intersection locations that require no electrification, basically any illumination level, including those less than the recommended minimum of 8 lux, is likely to be cost-effective for any entering AADT. However, locations that require electrification need to be evaluated based on the overall costs, entering AADT, existing crash rate, and a target benefit-to-cost ratio that signifies the level of cost-effectiveness required by the state Department of Transport (DOT). Consequently, a companion spreadsheet benefit-to-cost model has been developed to facilitate the cost-effectiveness analysis at any rural uncontrolled or stop-controlled intersection.