bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Implications of the use of podcast in the development of listening skills at a university level
Authors:   Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Cárdenas Sánchez Silva E Elizabeth , Valentina Galimberti Jessica ,   Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo
Published: May 2021

A second or foreign language acquisition is a process in which learners develop and enhance different skills such as listening. However, students still struggle to comprehend L2. For instance, when a trainee works on a language proficiency, English listening material such as audios/videos and different pronunciations or sounds is difficult to analyze. Therefore, researchers have been investigating about techniques that work in classes and they found out that podcasting is increasingly being exploited by language teachers as a new popular and dynamic method to inspire learning inside and outside the traditional classroom (Stanley, 2006). This paper deals with student’s listening difficulties, podcasts’ technique and suggestions to be implemented in other settings.
The most common errors within the written discourse of EFL beginners at Ecuadorian universities
Authors:   Universidad Técnica de Machala, Soto Sandy T. , Vargas Caicedo Estefanía ,   Universidad de Guayaquil, Cajamarca Carmen Maricela ,   Universidad Nacional de Educación, Escobar María Liliana ,   Universidad de Yachay Tech
Published: May 2021

Making errors while learning a language is nothing else than part of the learning process itself. The transfer of the mother tongue (L1) into a second language (L2) acquisition process is inevitable and mainly noticeable in the initial learning levels. The results of an Error Analysis (EA) in the written discourse become an advantage in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) since it provides a clear image of what should be reinforced in the classroom. The aim of this study is to identify the most common errors made by EFL beginning level Ecuadorian college students in their written discourse. The researchers elaborated a linguistic corpus from writing samples provided by a group of forty-five students from three public universities in Ecuador. The EA process yields a high percentage of errors related to Word Missing; Form Spelling; Lexical Single; Lexico-Grammar, Verbs, Complementation; Style, Grammar, Verbs, Number; Grammar Articles; and, Grammar – Adjective Order. Errors in the analyzed samples mainly occur due to the interference and negative transfer resulting from the L1 (Spanish) over the L2 (English). Poor lexical and grammar knowledge are also causatives of the errors found in the study.
Crecimiento económico: opciones de política económica
Authors:   Universidad Técnica de Machala, Vega Jaramillo Flor Yelena , Sotomayor Pereira Jorge Guido ,   Universidad Técnica de Machala, Capa Benítez Lenny Beatriz ,   Universidad Técnica de Machala
Published: May 2021

El crecimiento económico es un objetivo fundamental de los países, se considera que al aumentar la riqueza total de una nación, también se ven mejoradas las posibilidades de reducir la pobreza. Su análisis se ha convertido en una preocupación constante de las ciencias económicas, estudiándolo desde diferentes enfoques y teorías. Dentro de este contexto es importante resaltar el papel del gobierno, requiriéndose además, de la participación público privada para identificar las necesidades de políticas públicas para de esta manera lograr un aumento de la productividad. El presente trabajo tiene por objetivo analizar el crecimiento económico basado en las decisiones de política económica tomadas por el gobierno de Ecuador.
Acciones de responsabilidad social en la Universidad Técnica de Machala: percepción de docentes
Authors:   Universidad Técnica de Machala, Salcedo-Muñoz Virgilio , Campuzano-Vásquez John ,   Universidad Técnica de Machala, Aguilar González Verónica ,   Consultora Independiente, Salcedo-Muñoz Rafael ,   Consultora Independiente
Published: May 2021

El presente trabajo investiga la percepción que tienen los docentes de la Universidad Técnica de Machala sobre acciones de Responsabilidad Social, para ello se aplicó una encuesta con 20 preguntas en las cuales se indaga la presencia de iniciativas y programas enmarcados con la Responsabilidad Social Universitaria y como estas pueden afectar a docentes y demás usuarios internos y externos. La investigación es de tipo descriptivo, con enfoque metodológico cuantitativo. Los resultados arrojan que la universidad no tiene una estructura administrativa especializada en Responsabilidad Social Universitaria mediante la cual se desarrollen y ejecuten programas, acciones, proyectos o iniciativas que la muestren como una institución moderna y adecuada a los cambios estratégicos.
Ámbito jurídico normativo de la responsabilidad social empresarial (RSE) en el sector bananero del Ecuador
Authors:   Universidad Técnica de Machala, Guzmán Arias Rocío de Lourdes
Published: May 2021

La importancia de la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial, en adelante RSE, ha evolucionado en los últimos tiempos; en este sentido, el gobierno ecuatoriano ha creado políticas y programas para hacer efectiva su aplicación. En la presente investigación, se analiza la importancia y papel que desempeña el derecho en la aplicación de la RSE en el ordenamiento jurídico ecuatoriano, y cómo estos inciden específicamente en el sector bananero. La normativa jurídica existente al respecto, contempla leyes, reglamentos, decretos, resoluciones, entre otros. Sin embargo, la balanza se inclina al aspecto económico y la protección de los bienes, llamados derechos colectivos o derechos humanos.
Comparative Anaerobic Co-Digestion Effects of Some Agricultural Biomass on Their Digestates Biochemical Properties
Authors: M. Stephen Chomini , Collina Kambai , W. Chinaka John , A. Emilia Chomini , Victor Fatoke
Published: May 2021

The huge agro-industrial biomass wastes had engendered the need for appropriate treatment technology, which could be deployed to sustainably manage and convert them to useful by-products. Consequently, the comparative anaerobic co-digestion effects of some agricultural biomass on their digestates biochemical properties were conducted. Twelve (12) replicates slurries from four mixing ratios of maize cob, poultry droppings and cow dung (1:0, 1:0, 1:0 and 1:1:1) as treatments TA, TB, TC and TD respectively, were separately digested in 13.6L locally fabricated batch-digester reactors, for eight weeks. Proximate and amino acids constituents were evaluated by standard procedure prior to and at post anaerobic digestion (AD). The biogas yields followed the sequence of TD (2200.7ml/kg) > TB (2197.9ml/kg) >TC (2079.0ml/kg) > TA (1713.2ml/kg), showing co-substrate effects. Proximate assay depicted a decrease in crude lipid across the treatments, with TC (86.82%) and TD (64.66%) as highest and lowest values. Crude fiber and nitrogen free extract had similar observation, apart from TB and TC with increased values. Percentage moisture and percentage ash contents increased across treatments. Carbon - Nitrogen ratio reduction (C/N Reduction) was in the range of 12.94 -85.79%. The Percentage chemical oxygen demand reduction (CODR), followed the order of TA (46.81%) > TB (34.15) >TC (25.81%) >TD (8.00%). There was increased histidine, glycine, cystine, methionine, total nonessential amino acids (TNEAA) and total aromatic amino acids (TArAA), with decrease in aspartic acids and serine. Percentage arginine, threonine, glutamic acid, proline, alanine, isoleucine, tyrosine, total amino acids (TAA) and total essential amino acid (TEAA) decreased only in TB. While, only TA had Percentage increased lysine (25.00%), valine (40.98%) and TArAA (6.13%), with phenylalanine unaffected (0.00%), Percentage leucine of TB (60.14%) and TD (23.08%) were reduced after AD. The process had revealed the alternative waste management, energy options, and useful industrial by-products for agro-allied industries.
Appraisal of Public Opinions Towards Potential COVID-19 Vaccination in FCT-Abuja Nigeria
Authors: F.A. Obafemi , H.O.K. Olabode , M.O. Edeh
Published: May 2021

The emergence of the novel Coronavirus Disease in 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, and the subsequent global threat, resulting in the current pandemic in over 215 countries, characterized by alarming morbidity, mortality, and social effects in affected humans, as well as an economic downturn due to national and international border closures used as a containment strategy, necessitated this study to assess the opinions of the public on the potential vaccination against COVID-19. This research primarily aims to provide policy makers with useful information on public perceptions of the disease, as well as public knowledge and preparedness for its prevention and eventual eradication. Two hundred (200) organized open-ended questionnaires were distributed at random across the six (6) Area Councils in Abuja, Nigeria. The responses were subjected to the Pearson Chi-Square Test at a CI of 95 % and a level of significance of 5%. Of the 1200 respondents sampled, 976 (81.3%) were willing to be immunized if vaccines were available. However, 5 (0.4%) respondents expressed indifference, while 219 (18.3%) respondents did not support the use of COVID-19 vaccine for a variety of reasons, including a lack of confidence in the vaccine, belief in God for COVID-19 virus safety, and fear and dislike of injectable drugs. Thus, showing a vaccine response that was significantly affected by religion, marital status and education (P<0.05). According to the results of the current study, respondents believe the novel Coronavirus has the potential to cause varying degrees of damage, eventually leading to death. However, their response revealed that vaccine acceptance could be hampered by distrust and other apprehensions. As a result, vaccinations must be implemented strategically and with enough publicity for the intent of enlightenment, empowering citizens to adopt the established intervention mechanism.
Update to Assessing Economic Damages in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation: The State of Nebraska
Authors: Rosenbaum David I. , Richardson Mark
Published: May 2021

In a recent paper, Rosenbaum and Richardson (2019) described assessing economic damages in personal injury and wrongful death cases in Nebraska. That article omitted discussion of Nebraska's rules regarding hedonic damages. This note corrects that omission.
A pre-clinical trial study on Afzelin: Anti-human lung cancer, anti-cholinesterase, and anti-glucosidase properties
Authors: Cao Ming , Fan Bo , Zhen Tianchang , Wang Junling
Published: May 2021

Introduction

Afzelin is a glycosyloxyflavone that is kaempferol attached to an alpha-L-rhamnosyl residue at position 3 via a glycosidic linkage. It has a role as a plant metabolite, an antimicrobial (Antibacterial and antifungal) agent and an anti-inflammatory agent. It is a glycosyloxyflavone, a trihydroxyflavone and a monosaccharide derivative. In this work, we determined the anticholinergic, antiepileptic, antidiabetic, and anti-human lung cancer capacities of afzelin.

Material and methods

IC50 values were calculated for both acetylcholinesterase, and α-glycosidase as key enzymes effects of afzelin. The cytotoxicity and anticancer potential of human lung over the Afzelin using the common cytotoxicity test i.e., 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in vitro condition.

Results

IC50 values obtained 365.11 nM for acetyl cholinesterase and 0.94 nM for α-glycosidase were calculated in this study. Indeed, for these enzymes, Ki values were found as 300.65±56.01 nM for acetyl cholinesterase and 1.65±0.11 nM for α-glucosidase. Cell viability of Afzelin was very low against lung poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (PC-14), lung moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma (LC-2/ad), and lung well-differentiated bronchogenic adenocarcinoma (HLC-1) cell lines without any cytotoxicity on the normal cell line.

Conclusions

As mentioned, the Afzelin had significant antioxidant and anti-human lung cancer properties. It appears that the anti-human lung carcinoma effect of Afzelin is due to their antioxidant effects.
Anti-human lung cancer activities and survey
of glutathione reductase and glutathione S transferase
inhibition properties with molecular modeling studies
of 2′-hydroxy-5′-methyl-3′-nitroacetophenone:
a pre-clinical trial study
Authors: Dou Yawei , Lv Shanshan , El-kott Attalla F. , El-kenawy Ayman E.
Published: May 2021

Introduction

The molecular docking method was found to calculate the biological activity of the 2′-hydroxy-5′-methyl-3′-nitroacetophenone (2′-H-5′-
M-3′-N) molecule against the enzymes studied.

Material and methods

In these calculations, the enzymes used were glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione S-transferase (GT). After the modeling calculations were completed, the ADME/T parameters were examined
to calculate the future drug use properties of the 2′-H-5′-M-3′-N molecule.
To survey the antioxidant properties of 2′-H-5′-M-3′-N, the DPPH test was
used. Several human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines, i.e., lung moderately
differentiated adenocarcinoma (LC-2/ad), lung poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (PC-14), and lung well-differentiated bronchogenic adenocarcinoma (HLC-1) cell lines, were used to determine the anticancer properties
of the molecule.

Results

Cell viability of 2′-H-5′-M-3′-N was very low against PC-14, LC-2/ad,
and HLC-1 cell lines without any cytotoxicity towards the normal cell line.
The IC50 values of 2′-H-5′-M-3′-N against LC-2/ad, PC-14, and HLC-1 cell lines
were 475, 250, and 691 µg/ml, respectively. The best anti-human lung cancer properties of 2′-H-5′-M-3′-N against the above cell lines were observed
in the case of the PC-14 cell line.

Conclusions

2′-H-5′-M-3′-N was found to have significant antioxidant and
anti-human lung cancer properties. It appears that the anti-human lung carcinoma effect of 2′-H-5′-M-3′-N is due to its antioxidant effects.
Current advances in pharmacological treatments for patients with COVID-19
Authors: Kim Sun Bean , Yeom Joon-Sup
Published: May 2021

Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, more than 150 million people in over 200 countries have been infected, with over 3 million people dying due to it, as of May 1, 2021. Many researchers are working continuously to find effective drug treatments for COVID-19; however, the optimal treatment approach remains unclear. In this article, current advances in pharmacological treatments for patients with COVID-19 are discussed. Data obtained from recent studies indicate a mortality benefit with the administration of dexamethasone or adjunctive tocilizumab and potential clinical benefits with remdesivir (with or without baricitinib). Several monoclonal antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 have been developed. The US Food and Drug Administration issued two emergency use authorizations: one for bamlanivimab/etesevimab and another for casirivimab/imdevimab for patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, at high risk of progression to severe disease and/or hospitalization. The pathogenesis of COVID-19 indicates that antiviral treatments would be most beneficial in the early phase of the infection that is primarily driven by replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, whereas immunosuppressive/anti-inflammatory therapies are likely to be more beneficial during the late phase of the infection, when the disease is driven by an exaggerated immune/inflammatory response to the virus that causes tissue damage.
Practical strategies for the improvement of the Korean Medical Association’s governance
Authors: Kim Jin Suk , Lim Ji Yeun
Published: May 2021

This study aims to suggest practical strategies for improving the governance system of the Korean Medical Association (KMA). To this end, we used survey studies, statistical analysis, and literature reviews. The statistical analysis was performed using an analytic hierarchy process and frequency analysis. In our previous study, we proposed some measures to improve the governance system of the KMA. These measures included the organization of top decisionmakers’ meetings, recruitment of non-member officers, new qualification requirements for representatives and officers, commitment of functional roles to six vice-presidents, and organization of professional committees supporting the roles of six vice-presidents. In this study, we proposed practical strategies for the improvement measures and an implementation organization to achieve the suggested practical strategies. For the implementation of the practical strategies, the members of the KMA should understand the issue and the importance of the KMA’s governance. Additionally, the strong support of the members should be required to solve the internal problems of the KMA and to improve its governance system.
Barriers to E-Commerce Adoption among SMEs in Sierra Leone: The Moderating Role of Geographical Location
Authors: S. Brima Abdulai , Sesay Brima
Published: May 2021

E-commerce implementation by businesses in developing countries are faced with substantially greater challenges than businesses in developed countries due to the unreliability of the internet connection, the poor availability of accessing it due to the poor infrastructure, the high cost of doing so, and also the low level of ICT penetration. This study explored the barriers to e-commerce adoption among SMEs in Sierra Leone and came up with solid policy implications as to how to mitigate those challenges that need to be overcome for the success of e-commerce adoption. The main purpose of the research was to identify the most challenging barriers to e-commerce adoption and in the process investigate their moderating effect of geographical location for SMEs. A survey was done to collect 442 usable questionnaires from registered SMEs owners in the capital city and three major rural districts (Bo, Kenema and Makeni) of Sierra Leone. Persons’ correlation and multiple linear regression models were used to test the hypotheses of the study. The Results of correlation analysis showed that technological, organizational and environmental barriers are statistically significant and negatively correlated with e-commerce adoption. The results further showed that technological barrier is the most challenging barrier to e-commerce adoption. Similarly, the moderating effects of geographical locations were tested using regression analysis. The key finding is that, all the predictors have a more negative effect on e-commerce adoption for rural SMEs compared with urban SMEs. Based on the results, the study concluded with making a call for the Sierra Leone authorities, policy makers, entrepreneurs, and SMEs managers to offer conducive business environment, and focus more attention to rural SMEs for expanding their e-commerce adoption capacity.
School Organizational Climate and Job Satisfaction of MSU Junior High School Teachers
Authors: V. Valdez Anabelie , P. Guro Analyn , H. Cana Norhana , M. Lawi Lawan
Published: May 2021

This study examines the relationship of the teachers’ profile, to the school organizational climate and job satisfaction of the teachers. Using descriptive correlational design, the investigation was participated by 30 junior high schools that were purposively selected through convenient sampling. The results of the statistical analysis revealed that teacher profile such as age, marital status, educational attainment and teaching experience are having positive and significant relation to organizational climate and job satisfaction. Likewise, organizational climate and job satisfaction are also significantly correlated and have directly proportional relationships. As such, organizational leaders, employees/teachers profile has significant bearing in promoting favorable organizational climate while organizational climate has significant contributions in promoting the job satisfaction of the workers.
Local Corpus and Praxis in Soil Management of the Manobo Tribe in Cotabato, Philippines
Authors: C. Bangi Juliet , M. Neyra Neyrma , P. Candog Flordeliza
Published: May 2021

A study was conducted to document the local knowledge and practices in soil management of the Manobo tribe in Cotabato Province, Philippines. This is to determine the validity of the local corpus with the western knowledge. A total of 145 key informants were selected randomly from various Manobo groups using semi-structured survey questionnaires and field documentation. A prior informed consent (PIC) was sought by the researcher and followed by a consultation dialogue with the tribal leaders, elders and other key person of the study. Manobo tribes were located in the undulating areas of Arakan, Cotabato dominated by the sub- tribes Tinananen and Kulamanen. The Arumanen were in the distant area of Carmen and Libungan while the Obo Manobo and Kidapawanen sub-tribes were situated in Magpet and Makilala, Cotabato. About 32.41percent were tribal chieftains and farming was the prime source of living. Tribal women and children were involved in major farming activities. The farming information was obtained mostly from the tribal elders (88.97%), chieftains (71.72%), and co-tribesmen (54.48%). Most of the farms were marginalized and primarily planted with upland rice, corn and root crops. Farmers practiced rotational system of gathering food, kaingin and fallow period, “tudak” or dibble method of planting, “kompak” system (communal planting), and the use of perception and actual field observation in managing the soils through the biophysical indicators. Most of the informants (88.97%) used local corpus in farming and the 90.34 percent respondents wanted to continue the indigenous knowledge important to preserve the natural resources like water (96.95%), soil (89.31%), and forest trees (85.50%). Fallow period was the known local corpus and praxis of the 78.76 percent informants including the planting of leguminous crops. The identified indigenous corpus and praxis of the Manobo were found scientifically in agreement with modern knowledge hence, considered as relevant, valid and factual.
Learning Styles and Strategies of Teaching the Filipino Language
Authors: L. Englis Jessalyn Marie
Published: May 2021

The success of learning a certain language that uses appropriate style helps in the enhancement of the performance of the learners. The main objective of this study is to identify the learning styles of the students in the first level of tertiary education of Filipino language and determine the strategies and techniques, the teachers use in teaching Filipino subject at Palompon Institute of Technology – Tabango Campus. Using descriptive design, the learning styles of the students and the strategies used by the teachers in teaching Filipino were identified and determined. The researchers also examined if the learning styles and the teaching strategies have a significant correlation towards learning the Filipino language. It came out that most of the learners are visual learners while the teachers appeal to the bodily kinesthetic aspect of the students. Thus, the learning style of the learners and the strategies used by the teachers have no significant relationship in the students’ learning. With this, it is recommended that the developed enhancement program must be implemented to help link the learners’ learning styles towards excellent language learning.
The Relationship of BIST Sector Indices with Exchange Rate Volatility
Authors: Vurur Necmiye Serap
Published: May 2021

Through globalization, the increased integration in financial markets has made the relationship between exchange rate and stocks important. The study aims to model the exchange rate volatility using daily data for the period 04.01.2010-15.10.2020 and investigate the causality relationship between sector returns and exchange rate return volatility. In order to model the volatility of the exchange rate return series, the GARCH model was used to reveal the possible asymmetry feature in the series. As a result of the model applications, GARCH (2,2) was determined as the most suitable model to measure volatility modelling. Then, the Granger causality test was used to see whether there is a relationship between BIST sector return indices and exchange rate return volatility. As a result of the study, one notes that there is a uni-directional causality from the exchange rate return volatility series to the service, technology, and industrial sector indices. There is a bi-directional causality relationship between the financial sector index and the exchange rate return volatility series. It is noteworthy that the causality relationship between the BIST100 index and the exchange rate is towards the volatility of the exchange rate return series from the BIST 100 index, unlike the sector indices. According to this result, it is seen that the changes in the dollar exchange rate affect the decisions of the investors who will invest in the relevant index. The results show that in the case of Turkey, mostly traditional theories are valid.
The Path of Least Resistance: Multinational Collaboration on AI for Military Logistics and Sustainment
Authors:   Center for Security and Emerging Technology, Konaev Margarita , Chahal Husanjot
Published: May 2021

As multinational collaboration on emerging technologies takes center stage, U.S. allies and partners must overcome the technological, bureaucratic, and political barriers to working together. This report assesses the challenges to multinational collaboration and explains how joint projects centered on artificial intelligence applications for military logistics and sustainment offer a viable path forward.
Introducción: ¿Qué podría ser queer y qué es lo que queer podría ser?
Authors:   InterAlia Editorial Board
Published: May 2021

Este número heterogéneo de InterAlia procura hacer más amplio el significado de queer desde unas posiciones inesperadas. Por un lado, incluye dos traducciones al español de sendos ensayos magistrales de Lee Edelman y David M. Halperin y, por el otro, indaga en lo que tiene de queer la figura del fumador, la música creada con un rebanador de huevo, el adulto que rehúsa renegar de su niñez, el pino parlante que se inventa un cuento melodramático ambientado en la República de Weimar y, finalmente, Patricia Nell Warren, la escritora nacida en Montana (EE. UU.), que aprendió el ucraniano –la lengua de su marido inmigrante– lo suficiente como para llegar a ser reconocida como poeta en Ucrania, que a continuación salió del armario como lesbiana y que acabó publicando el primer bestseller norteamericano sobre hombres gais. Este número de InterAlia se ocupa asimismo de la condición y de las perspectivas de los estudios queer en diferentes lugares, pero también de la mercantilización de las identidades queer como consecuencia de facilitar la información sobre los pronombres de género preferidos, así como otros datos personales, a los actores de la economía de la información global. Por último, este número plantea la cuestión de la aparente falta de un espacio común para quienes se identifican como queers y quienes no comparten más que la singularidad de su deseo. Lxs autorxs de este número se preguntan qué puede ser queer tanto en general como política, filosófica y estéticamente.
A Pine with Six Hands
Authors: Piskorska Liliana
Published: May 2021

On a broad stretch of lowlands striated by the blue threads of rivers, there was a city all in gold. And in the city, there was a hill of piled up rubble, and on the hill there grew a pine, and on the pine there were six hands.

And the hill is immense, the top invisible behind the clouds; it rises sharply into the sky, and on all its slopes, there is a black forest. Huge oaks, pines, beeches, firs – one growing upon the others. A tree jutting over another tree, higher and higher. Between them, on the ground, a thicket of thorns, hawthorn and poisonous herbs. A rubble of huge rocks, all green with wet moss, and among them – the pine. She stands tall and has six branches like six green hands, and one of them strange, magical.

The forest differs in no respect from a thousand others, on other hills across the world. And the pine seems the same, no different from a thousand other pines.

From the very top of the hill you can see the entire horizon of the land – mountains, fields, forests, and waters. Villages, great ironworks, houses, factories, and little towns. So many that you cannot count them all. And they lie like a painted picture, so marvelous that you could look at it for a hundred years and still not have enough.

The dawn was rising.
A Pine with Six Hands: Introduction
Authors: Foit Mathias
Published: May 2021

The extraordinary story of Countess Dina Alma de Paradeda, who spent the final weeks of her life in Breslau (modern-day Wrocław, which, at the time, lay within the borders of the German Empire), was introduced to the German-speaking world by Jens Dobler. In 2010, Dobler republished and appended an afterword to a more-than-one-hundred-year-old novel by Walter Homann, Tagebuch einer männlichen Braut [The Diary of a Male Bride], which had been inspired by incidents in de Paradeda’s life. The afterword catalogues the few definite facts as well as the unexplained mysteries and conjec­tures concerning the biography of the self-styled comtesse. It remains unknown whether Dina, born as Alfred (or Alfredo) H. (or P.?) and came of an aristocratic background; who her biological father was and if he really was a Spanish consul in Rio de Janeiro; what the nature of her relationship with her stepfather (a German doctor who had married a Brazilian widow) was; whether or not Dina’s fiancé knew her secret and if he was possibly pressured into breaking the engagement by his family; and finally, who and why reported the countess to the police. Certain, however, is the fact that the tragic history of one of the first identifiable trans* individuals in Central Europe inflamed public opinion not only in Germany, but also in the United States and New Zealand. In addition to numerous press articles, frequently contradicting one another and thus making it more difficult to reconstruct those events, at least two novels inspired by the predicaments of the “Breslau male bride” appeared in print. The fact that they came out just months following the scandal caused by her suicidal death clearly attests to the wide publicity and popularity this story enjoyed. I myself came across it while doing doctoral research on the life of queer people in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century in German territories that passed under Polish rule in 1945.
THE VALUE OF INTRAOPERATIVE EXPRESS BIOPSY IN DETERMINING THE LEVEL OF COLON RESECTION IN THE SURGICAL TREATMENT OF HIRSCHSPRUNG'S DISEASE
Authors:   Belarusian State Medical University, Govorukhina O.A.
Published: May 2021

Introduction. Hirschsprung's disease is a congenital malformation characterized by the absence of intramural ganglia in the intestinal wall. The goals of the surgical treatment of HD are to remove the aganglionic segment of the intestine and restore the patency of the gastrointestinal tract, bringing down the normally innervated intestine to the anus while maintaining the function of the sphincters. An incorrect determination of the length of the affected segment of the colon can lead to non-radical surgical treatment with a persistent aganglionic zone. The use of an intraoperative express biopsy to determine the resection area during radical surgery will help to solve this problem. Purpose: determination of the level of agangliosis of the colon in the surgical treatment of Hirschsprung's disease. Methods: From 2010 to 2019, 49 patients aged 3 weeks to 16 years underwent an intraoperative express biopsy to determine the area of bowel resection. The use of intraoperative express biopsy made it possible to objectively and reliably determine the area of bowel resection, to reduce the number of complications associated with errors in resection of the aganglionic segment. Conclusion. When performing radical surgery for Hirschsprung's disease, an intraoperative express biopsy is required to determine the level of coloanal anastomosis in order to avoid errors in determining the aganglionic region and the transitional zone of the intestine.
SPLENIC ARTERY EMBOLIZATION IN OUR OWN MODIFICATION IN PATIENTS WITH SEGMENTAL PORTAL HYPERTENSION AND BLEEDING FROM VARICES OF THE GASTRIC FUNDUS
Authors: Mahiliavets E.V. , Harelik P.V. , Vasilchuk L.F. , Cherniy A.V.
Published: May 2021

There is still no single point of view regarding the choice of the most effective method for treating left-sided portal hypertension, due to the difficulties in organizing the recruitment of patient groups for controlled studies on this topic. Aim. Preliminary analysis of the results of performing endovascular embolization of the splenic artery in our own modification in patients with left-sided portal hypertension. Materials and methods. Endovascular embolization of the splenic artery in our own modification was performed in three patients with chronic recurrent pancreatitis and left-sided portal hypertension (all males) aged 46 to 59 years after a repeated episode of bleeding from varices of the gastric fundus (2 to 3 relapses). A distinctive feature of our modification of X-ray endovascular partial embolization of the proximal segment of the splenic artery was that the criterion for stopping the process of reducing blood flow through the splenic artery was endoscopic confirmation of the fact of achieving reliable hemostasis. Results and discussion. All patients underwent successful surgery. Two patients were transferred after surgery to the Department of Surgical Pancreatology, Hepatology and Transplantation. In one case, it was required to stay in the intensive care unit for four days after surgery due to the severity of preoperative blood loss. The time spent in hospital in the postoperative period was (Me [min; max]) - 7 [6; 7] days. During the postoperative observation of these patients for the period from 22 to 60 months, no recurrence of bleeding from gastric varices was noted. In all patients, endoscopic examination after a year showed regression of the degree of expansion of gastric varices. Сonclusions. The method of endovascular embolization of the splenic artery presented in the article makes it possible to effectively achieve reliable hemostasis in bleeding from varices of the fundus of the stomach in patients with left-sided portal hypertension while maintaining blood flow through the splenic artery sufficient to minimize the risk of developing total necrosis and abscess of the spleen, necrotic changes in the fundus of the stomach and pancreas The reproducibility of the surgical intervention, its effectiveness and safety should be noted. It is advisable carry out further studies of the effectiveness of the technique in randomized controlled trials.
DIAGNOSIS OF SLEEP DISORDERS AND CARDIOVASCULAR PREVENTION
Authors:   Belarusian State Medical University, Nekhaichik T.A. , Pastukhova T.S. ,   Belarusian State Medical University
Published: May 2021

Recent studies allow us to consider sleep disorders not only as a sign of somatic pathology, but also as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. However, general clinical practice does not pay sufficient attention to the evaluation of sleep disorders. This misses the opportunity to improve cardiovascular prognosis in patients who have avoidable sleep disturbance factors. The aim of the study was to assess the duration and quality of sleep in 73 patients of the cardiology departments of 432 Main military clinical medical center in various age groups by interviewing and filling out a questionnaire to assess the quality of sleep. It is established that this method can be used for the primary assessment of sleep quality. The disadvantage of this method is its subjective nature, which can be corrected by evaluating sleep based on programs embedded in fitness trackers. An algorithm for diagnosis and management of patients with sleep disorders in different age groups is proposed.
ACCOMPANYING SYMPTOMS OF THE DISORDERED EATING IN THE PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA AS THE REASON FOR THE SUSPENSION OF MAKING A DIAGNOSIS (THE RESULTS OF THE CLINICAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS)
Authors:   Belarusian State Medical University, Shubina S.N.
Published: May 2021

The article focuses on the study of the neuropsychological features of the patients with schizophrenia, who have the signs of the disordered eating at the preclinical stage. The paper contains the data of the study of 60 female patients (aged 28 (25-33) years, median Me (25%-75%)) who have suffered from paranoid schizophrenia for up to 5 years. 23 of the female patients have had the disordered eating in the past medical history, i.e. during the examination the female patients reported that they had tried to loose weight, had taken laxatives and had trained intensively 5 years before they were diagnosed with schizophrenia. At the moment of examination the female patients have also had the signs of the disordered eating, moreover, the signs included only overeating and purging behavior. Besides, we have used the Kaplan-Meier method to determine the difference in the time of making clinical diagnoses (schizophrenia) depending on the absence and presence of the relevant signs of the disordered eating.
Book Review
Authors: Behrens Susan J.
Published: May 2021

The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal about Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power. By Deirdre Mask. 2020. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Pp. 326.  $26.99. ISBN 978-1-250-13476-9.
‘No additional information required’: creative writing as research writing
Authors: Cowan Andrew
Published: May 2021

The question of whether artistic practice might be construed as a research practice is one that has been pursued extensively since the 1990s. Much in the discourse remains open to contention, though a degree of consensus has emerged on certain key themes: that art is indeed productive of knowledge, that this knowledge is to be understood experientially and non-conceptually, but that it must be framed in a form consistent with established academic procedures. Jen Webb’s several contributions to this discourse provide a valuable context for considering whether it may be possible to overcome the conceptual and practical separation between art and the academy. Using Webb’s work as a frame, this article engages with the debate about the knowledge status of art through a consideration of its contradictions, and suggests that a pragmatic solution is to be found in the operations of the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF), which now accepts the research credentials of creative writing as being self-evident.
‘Tissue of making’ in practice-led research: Practi-care, prepositional thinking and a grammar of creativity
Authors: Rendle-Short Francesca
Published: May 2021

This paper, as essay, elaborates on Barbara Bolt’s notion of the ‘double articulation’ of practice-led research and its relationship to knowledge, and also draws on the work of Ross Gibson and the insider-outsider view of the artist-researcher; the restlessness of narrative acknowledgement. It builds on ideas of practice, where the primary focus of practice-led research is ‘to advance knowledge about practice, or to advance knowledge within practice’ (Candy & Edmonds 2018: 65). Where this leads is to a definition of a prepositional mode of articulating knowledge through practice, where the relations between are key, the abouts, the withins, the ofs; how the different parts of the process or ‘tissue of making’ (to use Bolt’s term) connect with, interrelate, link, belong, resist. It does this by mapping a series of iterative creative works that have been created and/or made over time through the workings of a specific practice. It traces intersecting lines of thought as a way to explore the processual nature of research; the space of, and value in thinking prepositionally; and the syntax or grammar of creativity.
Editorial: the employability of the creative writing PhD
Authors: Krauth Nigel , van Loon Julienne , Watkins Ross
Published: May 2021

The employability of the creative writing PhD and summary of the issue.
Group-devised screenplays and film projects in Higher Education curriculum
Authors: Tofler Marilyn , Pechenkina Ekaterina
Published: May 2021

Group work is a well-recognised pedagogical practice in Higher Education (HE), meant to facilitate peer collaboration in contexts simulating realistic industry situations. While group work is credited with helping students to develop a range of communication, social and negotiation skills, it can also disenfranchise students, leading to disorganisation and creative disputes. With increased numbers of students taking up HE film and television and creative writing degrees, group work is necessary to prepare students for industry practice. However, with limited time within a semester to produce such artefacts as screenplays and short films, group-based projects can backfire, creating tensions and conflicts, and resulting in decreased student satisfaction. This study discusses the process of implementation and evaluation of a redesigned screenwriting model, where the act of restructuring the group work component of the studies to ensure that all students participate in the writing of the team’s screenplay helped shift the unequal power balance between students and boost individual student agency. While contextualised in the field of screenwriting and filmmaking, the findings pertaining to group work dynamics and the mindful use of student evaluations to improve teaching can be transported to other disciplines and contexts. Personal skills developed through HE group work, such as collaboration and negotiation, may be applied to other real-world industry and international settings.
Writing the self as other: Autrebiography
Authors: Williams Paul
Published: May 2021

According to Roland Barthes, the autobiographic act of remembering and reclaiming the past commits the fallacy of conflating the author, narrator and protagonist, and giving the first two power over the latter. The past self is a fictional ‘other’, and the writing of memoir is a reading of the past self as a text. JM Coetzee therefore calls his meta-autobiographies (the three-part Scenes from a Provincial Life) autrebiographies, or ‘other-life-writing’. In this paper, I discuss the need for writers of memoir and autobiography to construct a past self as ‘other’, and argue for the impossibility of any kind of authentic representation of the ‘self’ in memoir or autobiography.
Doing collective biography differently by incorporating methods of narrative inquiry, poetic inquiry and performance studies into the analysis of writings-as-data
Authors: Cannell Chloe , Spasovska Elena , Gou Yuwei , Nilsson Alice , Clarkson Rebekah , Di Niro Corinna , Levy Nadine , Walker Amelia
Published: May 2021

This article reports on methods used to analyse creative writings as data in a collective biography research project undertaken by eight academics. All of us bear broadly feminist and/or queer outlooks, and all experience deep dissatisfaction with neoliberalism’s deepening on academia. We came together to witness shared struggles and imagine things otherwise. As outlined in Doing Collective Biography (Davies & Gannon 2006), collective biographers respond to themed writing prompts in a group workshop setting. The writings become data that the team analyses to generate, enrich and transform knowledges around the research theme. We followed these processes, but did collective biography differently by additionally incorporating analysis methods of narrative inquiry, poetic inquiry and performance studies. This article discusses the benefits and challenges these methods offered. Our objective is to share our learning with other researchers interested in pursuing similar projects.
Other worlds: Multirealist writing as a strategy for representing climate crisis
Authors: Kirne Jack
Published: May 2021

This article advocates for the utility of multirealism for writing about the climate crisis. Seeking to contribute to scholarly debates that have considered realist literary fiction’s capacity to represent climate crisis (Clark, 2015; Ghosh, 2016; Lockwood, 2018; Johns-Putra, 2018), I advocate for a multirealist literary mode. This mode seeks to destabilise the ontological foundations of realism by assembling narratives that draw into focus the other possible worlds that coexist alongside western modernity without resorting to speculative or spectacular digressions that otherwise exceed the bounds of literary realism. In doing so, I advocate for the utility of practice as an imaginative space to radically reimagine the world and our engagements with it without needing to defer to a possible future. My understanding of how the multirealist text represents the ontological crisis wrought by climate catastrophe is informed by my practice-led research as well as the work of other writers and literary scholarship. Specifically, I conduct my discussion here with reference to a range of ecocritical works, before turning my attention to Olga Tokarczuk’s novel Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (2018), as well as my short story, “A Still Thing Shaken” (2019).
Collaboration and its discontents: considerations for creative writing HDR students collaborating on traditional research outputs
Authors: Philp Alex , Jeffery Ella , McGowan Lee
Published: May 2021

Collaboration between creative writing researchers in the academy, and particularly the benefits and potential of HDR writing groups, are topics that have drawn increasing scholarly attention. Batty notes that while ‘creative writing is often seen as an isolated practice, it is also one in which practitioners crave connection and people with whom to share their ideas, for moral support and critical feedback’ (2016: 69). While collaboration is vital to developing new networks and communities, the development and maintenance of collaborative practice is often as complicated as it is productive. This article examines some of the deeper complexities of collaborating on traditional research outputs and considers the ways in which creative writing HDR students in particular can develop a range of strategies to navigate collaborative practice. Through reflecting upon several exemplars of collaborations experienced by the authors – including a HDR writing group – this article contends that collaboration is often more complex than the literature suggests. Rather than being conceptualised as an always generative, ideal model for producing research outputs, collaboration should instead be conceptualised, discussed in scholarship, and approached in ways that are as diverse, paradoxical, and fluid as collaborative endeavours are in practice.
Collaboration and authority in electronic literature
Authors: Wright David Thomas Henry
Published: May 2021

This paper explores collaborative processes in electronic literature. Specifically, it examines writer authority as it applies to text, code, and other media. By drawing from cinematic auteur theory, Mitchell’s Picture Theory (1994), Said’s Beginnings: Intention and Method (1975), Cayley’s Grammalepsy (2018), and Flores’s (2019) generational approach to digital literature, this paper highlights unique issues that arise in the creative collaborative production of digital literary works, and the influence these processes have on how these works are ‘read’. The creative processes employed in Montfort, Rettberg, and Carpenter’s respective Taroko Gorge, Tokyo Garage, and Gorge (2009), Jhave’s ReRites (2017–2018), and Luers, Smith, and Dean’s novelling (2016)), as well as reflections on the author’s own collaborative creative experiences (Paige and Powe (2017) with Lowry and Lane, Little Emperor Syndrome (2018) with Arnold, and V[R]erses (2019–) with Breeze) are explored in detail. From these analyses, this paper concludes that in digital literary practices code should be regarded as a meta-authority that denotes authority to specific components of the work. A better understanding of these complexities as they apply to attribution is emphasised in the future development of digital literary creative practice and education.