bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Patients’ perception of infection control in dentistry
Authors: Pradhan Dilesh , Tuladhar Sapna Laxmi , Adhikari Ram Kumar
Published: January 2024

Background: Dentistry is a high-risk profession for infections due to exposure to contaminated materials like blood, saliva, and instruments. Both dental staff and patients can contract diseases via person-to-person contact or contaminated objects.
Objectives: To assess patient perception of infection control practices in dentistry which will help in planning effective public health care delivery.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 170 patients visiting Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital (KMCTH) over the period of three months (2022 June to 2022 August) for any form of dental treatment. Ethical approval was granted by Institutional Review Committee of KMCTH on 8th June 2021. Data obtained were entered and analysed using SPSS v.21.
Results: Majority of the participants believed dentists should wear gloves (164, 96.7%), face masks (159, 93.8%), and eye goggles (105, 61.9%) while treating patients, and 152 (89.6%) of participants agreed that dentist should change gloves between patients. However, nearly half of the participants were not hesitant to receive treatment from the dentist not wearing gloves (82, 48.3%) and mask (86, 50.7%). In total, 119 (70.2%) agreed that it was possible to catch an infection during dental treatment and 121 (71.3%) did take interest in sterilisation of instruments but only 21 (12.3%) always asked their dentist about the method of sterilisation.
Conclusion: Patients possess a strong awareness of the importance for infection control in dental practice, however, this study underscores the importance of implementing effective infection control measures in dental settings to ensure the safety and well-being of patients.
Incidence of difficult laparoscopic cholecystectomy at a tertiary care hospital in eastern Nepal
Authors: Bhattarai Amit , Adhikari Dinesh , Yadav Dipak Kumar , Poudel Saurav , Parajuli Bivusha , Koirala Ashok , Yadav Rohit Prasad
Published: January 2024

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the gold standard modality for the treatment of gall bladder diseases. Sometimes LC needs to be converted to open due to intraoperative complications. A few factors like age, body weight, comorbidities, ASA score, and surgeons’ experience will warn about the possible complications and need for conversion to open. Prior prediction of the difficulties will warn the surgeon to prepare accordingly. The patient’s family will also be counseled regarding it.
Objectives: To identify the possible factors for predicting difficult LC.
Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the general and laparoscopic surgery department at Nobel Medical College Teaching Hospital, Biratnagar, Nepal. Simple random sampling technique was utilised in this retrospective analysis. Data were taken from 2021 May to 2022 May after institutional ethical clearance. Descriptive statistics were assessed done using SPSS v.26.
Results: A total of 230 cases were included and analysed in the study. The incidence of difficult LC was 17.8%. An overall conversion rate of LC to open cholecystectomy in difficult LC was seen in 1.3% of the cases. Intraoperative complications were not seen in 87.8% of the patients. The mean duration of hospital stay in difficult LC cases was five days.
Conclusion: Predicting difficult LC will not only warn surgeons to be prepared for the possible difficulties but will also help in counseling patients’ families regarding the intraoperative complications and the possible need for the conversion to open.
Antibiotic abuse: A cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitude, and behaviour among undergraduate students of western Nepal
Authors: Deo Satish Kumar , Parajuli Bijaya , Sapkota Biswash , Dahal Aashma
Published: January 2024

Background: Antibiotic abuse has drawn the attention of public health experts, stakeholders, and medical science due to the substantial economic loss that it causes to individuals and nation. 
Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and behaviour on antibiotic abuse among undergraduate level students of Pokhara, Nepal.
Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted after ethical clearance in 361 undergraduate level students of Pokhara, Nepal from 2022 November to 2023 January. Convenience sampling technique was utilised for data collection. Data were analysed primarily by Chi-square test to find the associated factors using SPSS v.21.
Results: A total of 361 respondents participated, and 61.77% were female. Most of the respondents (67.31%) were from health sciences, while 32.68% of the respondent was of non-health sciences. The mean age of the respondents was 20.97 ± 1.56 years. More than half of the respondents had inadequate knowledge and unfavourable attitude towards antibiotics while the prevalence of self-medication was found to be 72.6%.
Conclusion: This study recommends for further large-scale research to understand the current state of antibiotic use and misuse among general population. Self-medication rate was high regardless of perceived knowledge and positive attitude. So, this study urges for the need of behavioural interventions that aims at raising awareness and establishing effective use of antibiotics.
Correlation between hand grip strength and anthropometric measurement among undergraduate medical students
Authors: Shrestha Pragya , Mansur Dil Islam , Maskey Sunima , Shrestha Sheprala , Jha Reena Kumari
Published: January 2024

Background: Hand grip strength is a simple procedure of assessing the function of hand and forearm. It can be used as a tool to evaluate nutritional status of individual, neurological disorder and to assess the post-operative status of the patient. The grip strength is affected by different variables such as geographical variation, gender, height, weight, body mass index and handedness of the individual.
Objective: This study aims to correlate hand grip strength with gender, height, weight, body mass index and handedness among Nepali population.
Methods: The study was analytical cross-sectional study conducted in students of Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences. Convenience sampling was used. The height of the participants was taken by using Stadiometer in centimeter and weight was taken by using weighing machine in kilogram and body mass index was calculated. Hand grip strength was obtained by using Dynamometer measured in kilogram. The data were entered in Microsoft Excel Sheet and analysis was done in SPSS version 16.0.
Results: Hand grip strength showed moderate positive correlation with both height and weight both in both dominant and non-dominant hands. Hand grip strength was positively correlated in underweight, normal weight and obese category of body mass index whereas overweight category was negatively correlated.
Conclusion: Hand grip strength shows correlation with the gender, height, weight and body mass index.
Radiographic evaluation of preoperative periapical status in teeth with apical abscess
Authors: Chaudhary Sanjeeb , Singh Harender , Gharti Archana , Chaudhary Govind Kumar , Gupta Abhishek
Published: January 2024

Background: The presence of preoperative periapical lesion is a significant prognostic factor that influences the outcome of endodontic treatment. Radiographic evaluation of periapical status is important for diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of periapical lesion.
Objectives: To radiographically compare and evaluate the preoperative periapical status using periapical index (PAI) in teeth with acute and chronic apical abscess.
Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Chitwan Medical College, between 2022 February to 2022 May using nonprobability convenience sampling technique. Forty-eight periapical radiographs with a diagnosis of apical abscess {24 acute apical abscess (AAA) = Group 1; 24 chronic apical abscess (CAA) = Group 2)} were included for evaluation. Four observers (Three endodontists and one oral radiologist) evaluated the periapical status on radiographs and scored them according to PAI scoring system. Statistical analysis was done using the Mann-Whitney U test and SPSS v.22.
Results: The most common PAI score for teeth in Group 1 was three (13, 54.20%) with mean PAI score = 3.21 and in Group 2 the score was four (13, 54.20%) with mean PAI score = 3.79. Analysis of PAI scores found significant differences (p = 0.009, p <0.05) between groups. The distribution of PAI varied according to apical diagnosis (p <0.05). Intraobserver and Interobserver agreement values demonstrated good self-agreement and interobserver agreement.
Conclusion: Teeth with CAA were more likely to have higher PAI scores and therefore, periapical radiograph and PAI scoring system can be used effectively for the evaluation of preoperative periapical status in teeth with apical abscess.
Psychological status and coping measures of individuals living with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases
Authors: Shrestha Sony , Paudel Narayani , Parajuli Puspa
Published: January 2024

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and imparts substantial economic burden on individuals and health systems. Anxiety and depression were almost three times more common in COPD patients compared to the participants from the general population.
Objectives: To assess the psychological status and coping measures of individuals living with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.
Methods: Analytical cross-sectional research was conducted in medical outpatient department of Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital from 2019 Nov 20 to 2020 May 20 after institutional ethical clearance. Total 185 individuals diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease seeking medical care were included in the study by using purposive sampling. Data collection was done through face-to-face interview technique using Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-10 and Brief Cope inventory. The collected data were analysed using SPSS software version 20.
Results: Based on a cut-off value of ?1.85 of Hopkins symptoms checklist-10, almost all (180, 97.3%) patients had mental distress. Frequently used approach coping subscales by the patients were emotional support (82, 44.2%), religion (81, 42%), planning (80, 41.8%), and active coping (80, 41.7%). Similarly, mostly used avoidance coping were: denial (80, 41.8%), venting (79, 41.1%), and self-blame (78, 40.6%).
Conclusion: Almost all patients living with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases had predicted mental distress and they were using both approach and avoidance coping measures.
Kimura’s disease: A case report of recurring multiple swellings in the periauricular region
Authors: Bista Meera , Bista Raunak , Lakhey Mamata , Gautam Shirjan
Published: January 2024

Kimura’s disease is a rare, benign chronic inflammatory disorder that manifests with abnormal proliferation of vascular endothelium and lymphoid tissues. Ten years back, then 15-year-old Nepali (Asian) male presented to the otorhinolaryngology department with swelling of approximately 5 cm x 6 cm on the left and 6 cm x 7 cm on the right post-auricular region. The patient consulted for cosmetic reasons. Fine-needle aspiration cytology revealed Kimura’s disease. A high index of suspicion is needed to diagnose this disease. Early diagnosis can have proper treatment and treatment of co-existing conditions related to this disease.
Combined endoscopic approaches in management of complicated forgotten double J stent: A case report
Authors: Giri Ganesh Kumar , Khadka Tunam , Sherpa Pasang , Pradhan Erena , Adhikari Aayam , Paudyal Prajwal
Published: January 2024

Forgotten Double J (DJ) ureteric stent with encrustation is a source of morbidity and unrequired admission. It is prevalent due to a lack of patient education and follow-up in third-world countries like Nepal. A case is reported of 30 years gentleman who had underwent right pyelolithotomy for large staghorn calculus and placement of DJ stent after surgery. The patient presented with encrusted, retained DJ stent which was managed with endoscopic combined intrarenal surgery with retrieval of the forgotten DJ stent.
Congenital chylothorax in a preterm infant with non-immune hydrops: A case report with literature review on treatment options
Authors: Raya Ganendra Bhakta , Basnet Srijana , Nyaupane Sitaram
Published: January 2024

Congenital chylothorax is rare with an incidence of 1:10,000-24,000 live births. Congenital chylothorax occurs in lymphatic disorders, heart diseases, cancers, chromosomal abnormalities, tracheoesophageal fistula, etc. Acquired causes are due to surgical thoracic duct trauma. Many cases of chylothorax are idiopathic. The case fatality rate is 15% to 57% and reaches 98% in hydrops foetalis. There is no set standard of treatment for congenital chylothorax. Prenatally, thoracentesis or pleuro-amniotic shunts are done. Postnatally, management of cause, drainage, dietary changes, Octreotide, and Sildenafil have variable results. Pleurodesis, pleuroperitoneal shunt, abrasion, thoracic duct ligation, and anastomoses are surgical options.
Cytogenetic and agro-morphological study of Wheat addition lines possessing Thinopyrum elongatum and Aegilops triuncialis chromosomes
Authors: Devkota Sushma , Maharjan Raju , Pant Deepak Raj , Joshi Giri Prasad
Published: January 2024

Novel genetic variation can be induced by introgression of alien chromosomes in wheat for which wheat-alien addition lines carrying 45 chromosomes are instrumental. In the course of developing wheat addition lines with 45 chromosomes, two different parental lines Wheat-Thinopyrum elongatum disomic addition lines (Wheat-Th. DALs; 2n=44)) and Wheat-Th. elongatum- Aegilops triuncialis 3CSAT double monosomic addition lines (Wheat-Th. DMALs; 2n=44) need to cross. The present study mainly focuses on the effects of chromosomal additions in wheat background by comparing the morphological and agronomic traits of the parental lines. Both the parental lines were reconfirmed 2n=44 cytologically by using squash technique. Pollen fertility was highest (75%) in Wheat-3CSAT-6E DMAL and lowest (44.73%) in Wheat-5E DAL, whereas, spike length was longest (8.71 cm) in Wheat-3CSAT-3E DMAL and shortest (5.92 cm) in Wheat-1E DAL. Plant height was highest (97.6 cm) in Wheat-3CSAT-5E DMAL and lowest (55.33 cm) in Wheat-7E DAL. The plant height of DMALs always exceeded that of DALs. Furthermore, seed set was highest (31 seeds per spike) in Wheat-7E DALs and lowest (13 seeds per spike) in addition lines disomic for 4E chromosomes. The effect of different alien chromosomes in wheat is discussed in this paper.
Economics of production of Sunkagati-1 variety of acid lime in Nepal
Authors: Subedi Sanjiv , Timsina Krishna Prasad
Published: January 2024

There is a huge opportunity for acid lime farming in Nepal. The demand is much higher than domestic production resulting voluminous import from abroad. This research aimed to assess the economics of production of Sunkagati-1 variety of acid lime in Nepal. Morang, Sunsari, Chitwan and Nawalparasi districts were selected for this study after consultation with the concerned agricultural experts and nursery entrepreneurs producing Sunkagati-1 saplings. The primary information was collected through the field survey whereas secondary information was obtained reviewing the relevant literatures. All total 70 farmers were selected as the samples through simple random sampling for the field survey. Financial analysis of farms with plant age between 3 to 7 years, was carried out which estimated the NPV (12% discount rate) NRs.4,48,672/ha, BCR 1.09, IRR 19% and the Pay-back period of 5 years, 5 months and 26 days. The value of BCR being greater than one, IRR higher than discount rate, positive NPV and short payback period indicated that commercial acid lime farming cultivating Sunkagati-1 variety is a profitable enterprise in Nepal. The unpaired t-test showed that there is no significant difference in productivity of Sunkagati-1 across eastern (Sunsari and Morang) and central (Chitwan and Nawalpur) regions; however, the price of acid lime in central region (NRs.102/kg) was significantly higher (1 % level of significance) than that of in eastern (NRs.93.8/kg). Moreover, this study revealed that porous border and unorganized market (I= 0.81) was the most severe problem followed by infestation of disease and insect pests (I= 0.76), inadequate quality seedlings (I= 0.68), inadequate technical knowledge and trainings (I=0.41) and inadequate storage and processing facilities (0.34). There is need of government intervention which would assure access to quality inputs & technology, marketing & value chain development and appropriate plant protection measures for the promotion of commercial acid lime farming in Nepal.
Effect of talent management practices on talent retention in higher educational institutions of Nepal
Authors: Thapa Makshindra
Published: January 2024

This paper concerns answering how talents are managed in the dimensions of attracting, developing, and motivating, as well as examining the effect of these dimensions on retaining talents. Empirical shreds of evidence have indicated the positive and significant effects of various talent management practices on different aspects of performance. The absence of studies on talent management practices focusing on attracting, developing, and motivating talents and analyzing their effect on retaining them prompted this study. The study uses descriptive and causal-comparative research designs to describe and analyze the causal relations among the study variables. Quantitative data is collected from 132 respondents using a questionnaire survey developed based on intensive reviews. The findings of the descriptive analysis indicate moderate efforts given by the institutions managing talents. The correlation result shows positive and significant associations between talent retention and talent attraction and development, as well as talent motivation. The findings from multiple regression analysis showed a positive and significant effect of talent attraction and development on talent retention. However, talent motivation showed no significant effect on talent retention. The findings may have practical uses for administrators to manage talents by evaluating their actions, strategies, and policies to retain talented employees and deal with a surplus or shortfall of a talented workforce. The findings provide new insight into the field of study of talent management and retention. Particularly studies focusing on the areas of attraction, development, motivation, and retention of talents in diverse organizational settings.
Product features and consumer preference for soft drinks in Nepal: A comprehensive analysis
Authors: Manandhar Raju Bhai
Published: January 2024

Soft drinks are gaining popularity, even in Nepal. Product features are focused on advertising soft drinks because they are critical in meeting the expectations of customers. The study intended to assess the relationship between ingredients, quality, and flavor in soft drink preferences. A descriptive and causal research design was used in this study. This survey relied heavily on primary data. To obtain preliminary data, a four-point Likert scale questionnaire survey was created. This study employed a convenience sample technique to identify 315 respondents from the Kathmandu Valley who had previously consumed soft drinks in order to collect the relevant data. The study adopted cross tab, independent t-test, and correlation to analyze the data. The quality, ingredients, and flavor are positively correlated with consumers' preference for soft drinks. As per the result quality is the first preferable factor to select soft drinks and it has a high correlation with consumers’ preferences. It assures customers to make them ready to purchase particular soft drinks. So the company should maintain the standard of quality of the product by using high-quality ingredients to meet the consumer's expectations and the company also need to maintain the standard of flavor to build up the company’s image. The future researcher can survey taking another factor with a large sample using different methodologies to examine the consumer’s preference for soft drinks.
A Randomized Trial of Therapeutic Ultrasound on Pain, Tenderness, and Muscle Stiffness Using a High and Low Intensity Model of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Authors: Gabison Sharon , Nussbaum Ethne L.
Published: January 2024

Purpose:

This study evaluated ultrasound (US) effectiveness in an experimental model of soft tissue injury, and examined the model, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), as a variable in the outcome.

Methods:

One hundred and twenty females completed 30 repetitions (low-DOMS) or 70 repetitions (high-DOMS) of eccentric contractions of biceps brachii muscles and received one of four protocols: no US (control), placebo US, or 3 MHz US, pulsed 20% duty cycle, at either 0.6 W/cm2, spatial-average temporal-peak intensity (SATP) (0.12 W/cm2, spatial-average temporal-average intensity (SATA)) or 1.0 W/cm2, SATP (0.2 W/cm2 SATA). A further 60 females completed a low-DOMS protocol and received one of three protocols: placebo US, or continuous wave 3 MHz US at either 0.2 or 0.4 W/cm2, SATP/SATA. US was applied to biceps muscles for 5 minutes on days 1 to 3. Muscle soreness, tenderness, and stiffness were measured pre-DOMS induction and at 24, 48, and 72 hours post-induction.

Results:

Pulsed US, 20% duty cycle, at 0.6 W/cm2, SATP, (0.12 W/cm2, SATA) reduced muscle soreness in a low-DOMS but not in a high-DOMS protocol. Continuous wave US at 0.4 W/cm2, SATP/SATA reduced tenderness. Continuous US at 0.2 W/cm2, SATP/SATA was marginally effective on stiffness and tenderness.

Conclusion:

The results have implications for US management of acute soft tissue injury and the use of DOMS as an experimental model for soft tissue inflammation.
Effects of Temperature and Diurnal Cycle in the Molting Schedule of Mangrove Crab, Scylla serrata (Forskål, 1775)
Authors: Biag Darwin , Mendoza Jr Antonino
Published: January 2024

Soft-shell crab farming is gaining popularity since all crab parts can be eaten with almost no discards. However, its biggest challenge is the tedious monitoring every 4-hour interval to check for molting. A total of 90 mangrove crabs weighing 80-100 g were stocked in individual crab trays, recording 24-hour water temperature and incidence of hourly molting for 57 days to provide another basis for monitoring and cues in the molting schedule. Results showed that molting (82.24 %) happens at optimum temperature (Topt) levels, between 27–31°C, with a high incidence of molting (85.29 %) at nighttime when the water temperature is lower and within the Topt. Findings suggested that aside from 4-hour intervals, monitoring of molting for soft-shell crab farming is recommended at nighttime and early morning.
Market Predictability and Mean Reversion in MENA Markets: An Empirical Study of Equity Market Efficiency
Authors: Chambino Mariana , Horta Nicole , Dias Rui
Published: January 2024

This research aims to provide evidence for investors and regula­tors of the MENA stock markets, including Bahrain (BASI), Egypt (EGX 30), Abu Dhabi (FTSE ADX), Pakistan (KSE 100), Morocco (MASI), Oman (MSM 30), Qatar (QSE), Saudi Arabia (TADAWUL ALL), and Tunisia (TUNNIDEX), from March 1, 2018, to February 23, 2023. Because variance ratios are less than one, the results show that indexes do not follow the random walk hypoth­esis (RWH), suggesting autocorrelation in returns over time and average re­versal in all indexes. These findings refute both the RWH and the financial market information efficiency hypothesis. According to the study, market regulators should take initiatives to improve information in these regional markets.
Do the NMS-10 Develop Sustainably in the EU? A Kuznets Curve Approach
Authors: Todorov Ivan , Stankova Mariya
Published: January 2024

Research background: Sustainable development with its three di­mensions (economic, social, and ecological) is of key importance to the exist­ence of human civilization. Sustainability is a complex category and in this re­search, each of its components is analyzed separately and in connection with others. Economic stability is related to the level of real income per capita, indi­cating the standard of living of a nation; social resilience is shown by income inequality, and environmental sustainability is expressed by the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per person. Purpose of the article: The focus is on the empirical analysis of the nexuses between income inequality, environ­mental quality, and purchasing power with a view to sustainability in 10 Eu­ropean Union member countries from Central and Eastern Europe, known as the NMS-10. To achieve its purpose, the study derives the original and ecolog­ical Kuznets curve for the NMS-10 as a group. The links between income ine­quality and living standard, on the one hand, and environmental degrada­tion and living standard, on the other hand, are estimated. Methods: The re­search methodology includes two autoregressions with distributed lag (ARDL) with annual data from Eurostat and Transparency International for the period 2007–2020. Findings & Value added: The obtained empirical results indicate a long-term N-shaped relationship between income inequality and purchasing power in the NMS-10, while living standard affects the quality of the environ­ment in NMS-10 neither in the long term nor in the short term.
Migratory Modernisms: Novel Homelands in Monica Aliâ€™s Brick Lane
Authors: Friedman Susan Stanford
Published: January 2024

This essay argues that Monica Aliâ€™s novel, Brick Lane (2003), imports elements of Joyceâ€™s Ulysses and Woolfâ€™s Mrs. Dalloway into its narrative as a form of cultural translation that inserts a contemporary story of Bangladeshi migration into the tradition of the 20th century British/Irish novel. The clue that unravels the connections is the name of Chanuâ€™s boss, Mr. Dalloway. The numerous subsequent echoes of the precursor texts (Chanu as Bloom; Nazneen as Clarissa) are not instances of the empire writing back against colonial dominance, or belatedness, or post/colonial mimicry. Aliâ€™s transplantations of Joyceâ€™s Dublin and Woolfâ€™s London into the migrant enclave of post-1970 Brick Lane perform a â€œtranslationâ€ in which the â€œoriginâ€ and â€œtargetâ€ texts are linked yet remain incommensurable. Like migration itself, this cultural translation is portrayed as a site of creativity that legitimates the new while it registers the connection/disconnection between the old and the new. Aliâ€™s intertextual strategy places Brick Lane at the centre, not the periphery of modern British literature.
Distant Homes: Migrant Sensibilities and the Problems of Acculturation
Authors: Gupta Santosh
Published: January 2024

Continued waves of diasporic movement over successive historical moments in South Asia make it difficult to homogenise all diaspora into one mould. The present paper explores the conflict between the process of acculturation and the longing for homeland experienced by three South Asian poets who belong to a specific period in modern diaspora. Contemporaries all, Agha Shahid Ali (1949-2001), Meena Alexander (1951-) and Imtiaz Dharker (1954-) express in their poetry their (c)overt sense of longing and attachment to the homeland even as they negotiate the different interstitial spaces they occupy. Their reinvention of their identity in the process of acculturation and their expanding political concerns lead them to look beyond the nation as home and develop a form of cosmopolitanism. Does this cosmopolitanism give them an assurance, a sense of belonging or an uneasy discomfort? I intend to discuss some of these issues as expressed in their poetry.
Reading Diaspora: The Architectonic Spaces in Preeta Samarasanâ€™s Evening is the Whole Day
Authors: Leon Carol
Published: January 2024

Â Many Malaysian writers have delved into the subjects of race, identity and nationhood, given the postcolonial and multicultural contexts of the country. One relatively new writer who has added her voice to the narrative of the Indian diasporic community in Malaysia is Preeta Samarasan. Evening is the Whole Day (2008) is a riveting text by a diasporic author writing about the diasporic Indians living in Malaysia. Naturally themes of home and homeland are dominant in the text. Indeed, the house occupied by the rich, middle-class family in the narrative, called the Big House, becomes a reflection of the many issues faced by Indians living in a country rife with racial politics. More than just reflecting this familyâ€™s desire to belong, in Evening is the Whole Day, the house becomes a space wherein the personal and the public coincide. Within this space too, differing realities exist between the poor and the rich. It is this diverse economic standings which create varying realities for both groups of people.This paper then will explore the architectonic spaces in Evening is the Whole Day with the aim of highlighting some of the pressing issues faced by the Indians in Malaysia. The motif of the house and, by extension, the notion of home, is evoked as a theoretical concept to image and analyse some of these issues.
A Note on Vietnam War Poetry
Authors: Thumboo Edwin
Published: January 2024

Â From the response to Vietnam War (1955-75), especially its atrocities including the long-term effects of chemical weapons, it is clear that the total experience, immediate and long-term, was most unusual. Moreover, for the Vietnamese, it was national survival and identity. For the Americans, an attempt to stem the spread of Communism. A third factor was the different reaction in part religious/spiritual/cultural in the attitudes to death and destruction in which duty and doing the right thing mattered. This is reflected in the poetry written by both sides in the works of Vietnamese poets, Pham Tien Duat, Nguyen Duy, Huu Thinh and Van Le, and Americans, John Balaban for example. With the final piece, it emerges that all cultures, whatever their form, ultimately share the same substance consisting of universal values that transcend war, geography, culture and politics.
Breaking Silences: Telling Asian American Female Subversive Stories in Maxine Hong Kingstonâ€™s The Woman Warrior and Fae Myenne Ngâ€™s Bone
Authors: Myer Chingyen Yang
Published: January 2024

The paradox of silence has been an on-going topic of interest in Asian American literary and critical analysis. In the dominant American cultural discourse, silence is often viewed as passivity and weakness while for people from non-Western cultures, silence can be a powerful and profound method of communication. As American-born female Chinese American writers, Maxine Hong Kingston (1940-) and Fae Myenne Ng (1956-) face dual marginalisation and subjugation in both the dominant American and Chinese American cultures. They are confronted with the â€œimpulse to speak and the impulse not to speakâ€ (Yamamoto 129). Keeping in mind King-Kok Cheungâ€™s assertion that articulation rather than silence is the ultimate act of resistance against patriarchal and racist domination (â€œDonâ€™t Tellâ€ 400), I examine how Kingston and Ng confront the silence that undermines their agency as female and marginalised subjects through the development of an eloquent female discourse. Through their retelling of family and communal stories from female perspectives, I demonstrate how their breaking of silence is an act of disruption and resistance against erasure by their dual cultural traditions and American political and institutional apparatuses.
Images of Bangladesh in Niaz Zamanâ€™s Novels
Authors: Huq Sabiha
Published: January 2024

Niaz Zaman, a renowned Bangladeshi writer in English, has employed realism in all three novels she has thus far written: The Crooked Neem Tree (1982), A Different Sita (2011) and The Baromashi Tapes (2011). Against the backdrop of Bangladesh at different points in time, Zamanâ€™s novels focus on womenâ€™s struggles in ways that according to critics like Toril Moi, may seem to be a feministic realism in womanâ€™s fiction. The worlds depicted in her novels differ in a variety of ways but not in focal themes, as she draws upon womenâ€™s experiences in preâ€ and postâ€independence Bangladesh with a singularity of style, adhering to historical facts. Representation of regular lives with the most commonplace details like clothing, food, rituals, daily habits, etc. is sometimes mingled with romance, rebellion and accidents; and this blend infuses her stories with glorious and extraordinary journeys of ordinary women. Quite expectedly, imperfections of human life also become significant parts of such narratives of lived experiences, and that often becomes an aesthetic experience in Zamanâ€™s fiction. The women in her novels are given as much moral strength as needed for women to become leading figures in events carried out single-handedly without the presence of men. This paper is an attempt at reading how Zaman has used her fictional work to depict an essentially Bangladeshi reality.
The Silent Soldiers: A Postcolonial Feminist Study of Selina Hossainâ€™s River of My Blood and Khaled Hosseiniâ€™s A Thousand Splendid Suns
Authors: Rabbani Fahanaz , Chaudhury Tazin Aziz
Published: January 2024

This paper attempts a postcolonial feminist interpretation of Selina Hossainâ€™s River of My Blood and Khaled Hosseiniâ€™s A Thousand Splendid Suns to identify parallels between women protagonists â€“ Boori, Mariam, Laila, Nita and Ramija â€“ who grapple with political imbalance as well as social and sexual oppression in their respective conservative, patriarchal societies. Driven by nationalism as well as a desire for freedom, these Muslim women exhibit a passive resistance and embody the power of the socially and sexually oppressed as they traverse through pain and suffering in two war-torn countries, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The resounding force of nature and folk and oral traditions in Hossainâ€™s rural village, Haldi, echo the imagery used in Hosseiniâ€™s depiction of the bustling cities, Kabul and Herat. The significance of how womenâ€™s cultural and social identities and their critical minds in postcolonial countries are closely identified with the linguistic traditions and folk culture of their societies is also highlighted. In accordance with the norms of postcolonial feminism, the significance of womenâ€™s immeasurable sacrifices, as portrayed in the selected words, is examined and celebrated.
The Blame Game: War and Violence in Dilruba Z. Araâ€™s Blame
Authors: Biswas Sanjib Kr , Tripathi Priyanka
Published: January 2024

Contemporary studies pertaining to the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh by South Asian women writers have ignited reinvestigation into the intensity of violence, rape and attribution of blame. Ethnicity based gendered violence in 1971 and the sudden shift in the attribution of the blame are some of the issues that have also been dealt with by a few Bangladeshi diasporic women novelists such as Tahmima Anam and Dilruba Z. Ara in their post-2000 novels written in English. Dilruba Z. Ara, a Swedish-Bangladeshi novelist, in her novel Blame (2015) emphasises that the blame game is a significant repercussion of war. Ara clarifies that Bengali people blamed Pakistanis for the 1971 genocide whereas Pakistanis blamed Bengali nationalists for not abiding by the Pakistani nationality. This novel, in the form of a Bildungsroman, is divided into three parts which narrate the journey of the female protagonist from the bondage of patriarchy towards a liberal life, her engagement in the war and her sexual victimisation in the same war. The mass killing of civilians, plundering of the country and victimisation of women do not end with the war; rather the blame game continues during the war resolution process. Courageous women in the war such as Araâ€™s protagonist Laila and her friend Gita are blamed for their own victimisation. In the context of how the blame game became an important tool to nullify gendered violence in the 1971 war, the paper intends to reread Araâ€™s novel Blame.
â€œTrapped Between Worldsâ€: The Function of Memory, History and Body in the Fiction of Tan Twan Eng
Authors: Wilson Bernard
Published: January 2024

This paper takes as its starting point Homi Bhabhaâ€™s explanation of culture and diversity in his essay The Location of Culture (1994), in which he denotes cultural meaning as existing in a transitional space between clashing cultures and, associatively, between competing histories. The cultural space to which Bhabha refers offers a path to a reinvention of the hybrid self (and nation) beyond the more restrictive parameters of what Foucault has termed â€œthe inscribed surface of eventsâ€ (Foucault, â€œNietzsche, Genealogy, Historyâ€ 344) that the body represents. With reference to Bhabhaâ€™s delineation of spatial awareness and Foucaultâ€™s observations of power discourse and the body as a site of knowledge and discursion but also as an inhibiting site of colonisation, and in light of previous English-language Malaysian fiction, I will examine the ways in which Tan Twan Eng (1972-) investigates the conundrum of memory and historical inscription, and his textual approach to the vexed questions of self-determinism and postcolonial agency in his novels, The Gift of Rain (2007) and The Garden of the Evening Mists (2012).
Interrogating Muslim Identity: Distinctiveness and Voluntary Adjustments in Adib Khanâ€™s Solitude of Illusions
Authors: Shariful Karim
Published: January 2024

This paper aims at a critical reading of Adib Khanâ€™s second novel, Solitude of Illusions (1996), in order to examine how an Indian Muslim makes voluntary adjustments of his historical identity crisis that transcends rigid cultural tags. With a view to maintaining an unchallenged control over the Indians, the British had purposely inflamed religious antagonism in colonial India, causing disunity and rivalry among the Hindus and Muslims. Being victims of the coloniserâ€™s â€œdivide and ruleâ€ policy, these two communities experienced a feeling of insecurity about their respective distinct identity. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Muslims in particular experienced a setback concerning their discrete politics, education, language and culture. The reputed Bangladeshi-Australian diaspora writer, Adib Khan (1949-), has reflected these issues in his novel, Solitude of Illusions. This paper analyses Khanâ€™s attempt at reconfiguring the history of the Indian subcontinent to scrutinise the lifestyle, struggles and changing attitudes of Indian Muslims of Bengali heritage from the colonial to the postcolonial era. It is noted that while focusing on the life and identity crisis of these Bengali Muslims, Khan also favours a compassionate and positive approach to overcome cultural anxieties. This paper investigates how the culturally dislocated Muslims make themselves adaptable to the changing postcolonial world.
Genealogy as National History in Jun Cruz Reyesâ€™s Etsa-Puwera
Authors: Emmanuel V. Dumlao  , Laurence Marvin S. Castillo
Published: January 2024

This essay analyses Filipino writer Jun Cruz Reyesâ€™s Centennial Literary Prize-winning novel Etsa-Puwera (2000) as a historical novel that makes use of genealogy or family history as a way to contest the historiographic foundations of official, i.e. elite-centred, nationalism. It first embarks upon a discussion of the significance of the novel as both a discursive unit in the stateâ€™s official regime of the nation-formation narrative, and a creative project that overtly intends to foreground the limits of, and mystifications by, official nationalism. The essay then discusses how the discursive invocation of the family shapes ideological conceptions on nation and nationalism. Finally, it closely reads how Etsa-Puwera employs the expansive genealogical narrative of the Balinghasay clan to interrogate mainstream, elite-centred historiography and its influence in the construction of Filipino nationalist discourse, and foreground the historical agency of the unjustly excluded etsa-puwera of Philippine society.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Forest of Enchantments
Authors: Shukla Chatterjee
Published: January 2024

.
Broken Plates; AK Ramanujan
Authors: Leonard Jeyam
Published: January 2024

.
The Poetry of Dennis Haskell: Stylisation and Elegy
Authors: McCooey David
Published: January 2024

In this essay I concentrate on the elegiac poetry of the Australian poet Dennis Haskell. I argue that the emphasis in Haskellâ€™s work on the quotidian, clarity of expression and the communication of emotion, has a material effect on the ways in which Haskell approaches the elegiac project: the poetic expression of grief in the face of loss. In the essay I identify three main classes of elegy in Haskellâ€™s oeuvre: elegies for fellow poets (which, after Lawrence Lipking, I call â€œtombeauxâ€); the familial elegy; and the spousal elegy. Haskellâ€™s engagement with the genre of the elegy therefore occupies a spectrum between what might be termed â€œpublicâ€ elegies, and â€œintimateâ€ elegies. As I discuss, the intimate elegies indicate a more profound, and sometimes troubled, engagement with the genre of elegy, tipping on occasion in anti -elegy and self-elegy. By undertaking textual analyses of various poems from within the three classes of elegy practised by Haskell, I illustrate the different ways in which he deals with one of the most profound problems that faces an elegist: how to express the profound emotion of grief through the affordances of poetic stylisation.
Dialogical Intersections of Tamil and Chinese Ethnic Identity in the Catholic Church of Peninsular Malaysia
Authors: Pillai Shanthini , Leong Pauline Pooi Yin , Perry Melissa Shamini , Wei Wei Angeline Wong
Published: January 2024

The contemporary Malaysian Catholic church bears witness to the many bridges that connect ecclesial and ethnic spaces, as liturgical practices and cultural materiality of the Malaysian Catholic community often reflect the dialogic interactions between ethnic diversity and the core of traditional Roman Catholic practices. This essay presents key ethnographic data gathered from fieldwork conducted at selected churches in peninsular Malaysia as part of a research project that aimed to investigate transcultural adaptation in the intersections between Roman Catholic culture and ethnic Chinese and Tamil cultural elements. The discussion presents details of data gathered from churches that were part of the sample and especially reveal how ceremonial practices and material culture in many of these Malaysian Catholic churches revealed a high level of adaptation of ethnic identity and that these in turn are indicative of dialogue and mutual exchange between the repertoire of ethnic cultural customs and Roman Catholic religious practices.
Jason Eng Hun Lee, Beds in the East
Authors: Jeyam Leonard
Published: January 2024

.
Love, Death and Memories: On Dennis Haskellâ€™s Rhonda Poems
Authors: Fan Weina
Published: January 2024

Dennis Haskellâ€™s Rhonda poems are undoubtedly the most brilliant and important part of his poetry in the sense that he wrote passionately about love, death and memories in relation to Rhonda in them. As Haskellâ€™s wife and lifelong love, Rhonda not only played a central part in his life and writing, but shaped and deepened his perception of humanity and human relationships. Despite the great impact of Modernism on modern and contemporary English poetry, Haskellâ€™s poetry is strikingly personal, accessible and lyrical. In his work, Haskell seeks to present the approximately genuine pictures of aspects of human relationships in terms of love, death and memories and ultimately, strives to make sense of the dynamics of love in our mundane life.
Provisional Meanings: Belonging and Not-Belonging in the Poetry of Dennis Haskell
Authors: Hetherington Paul
Published: January 2024

Dennis Haskellâ€™s poetry persistently explores images of home and departure. As it does, it questions what we may know and depend on, suggesting that many of our understandings are provisional. Haskellâ€™s poetry also contrasts what is imagined and desired with what is knowable â€“ giving prominence to quotidian knowledge and observable reality â€“ and restlessly explores the relationship of religious belief to lived experience. In this light, the elegiac strand in his work becomes a way of probing the gap between death and the limitations of language, highlighting the sometimes problematic relationship between thought and expression. Yet, poetry provides a means of access to otherwise unapproachable thoughts and feelings and connects the poet (and reader) to an articulate human community. It enables the delineation of a simultaneously observant, detached and engaged subjectivity that consistently seeks to find connections â€“ whether at home, while travelling or in international settings. This poetry joins the familiar and unfamiliar in works that question how people understand one another and their unique circumstances, and how the ineffable, while it may be evoked in words, nevertheless retains its deep mysteries. Haskell is interested in the ways in which we make and disturb meaning, and in questioning how belief in God or an afterlife may be understood despite scepticism and doubt.
PECULIARITIES OF THE USE OF ART-PEDAGOGICAL TECHNOLOGIES IN PRIMARY SCHOOL LANGUAGE AND READING LESSONS
Authors:   Бердянський державний педагогічний університет, CHEMONINA L.
Published: January 2024

Статтю присвячено важливій проблемі сьогодення – упровадженню інновацій, а саме арт-педагогічних технологій, у процес мовної та літературної освіти учнів початкової школи. Актуальність обраної проблеми визначається провідною рисою сучасної шкільної освіти нашої держави – наявністю інтегративних процесів. Апелюючи результатами аналізу наукових досліджень вітчизняних учених і проведеного опитування учителів початкової школи, авторка переконливо обґрунтовує доцільність використання арт-педагогічних технологій у процесі формування у здобувачів початкової освіти компетентностей як ключових, так і з мовно-літературної освітньої галузі. У пропонованій статті наявний матеріал, що є результатом науково-пошукової та практичної діяльності дослідниці стосовно особливостей здійснення мовної та літературної освіти зазначеного контингенту дітей на засадах арт-педагогічних технологій. Закцентовано увагу на відмінностях арт-педагогіки й арт-терапії, зазначено особливості використання стратегій цих наук в освітньому процесі нової української школи. Публікація вміщує матеріал щодо аналізу п арт-педагогічних технологій, приклади їх реалізації на уроках мови і читання в першому концентрі сучасного ЗЗСО. Авторка наголошує, що використання запропонованих завдань не вимагає спеціальної мистецької підготовки ані вчителя, ані учнів і сприятиме реалізації комплексного та діяльнісного підходів, на яких сьогодні ґрунтується процес мовної і літературної освіти молодших школярів. Стаття буде корисною фахівцям у галузі початкової освіти, які працюють в Новій українській школі й активно впроваджують освітні інновації на уроках мови і читання, та стане в нагоді викладачам педагогічних закладів вищої освіти, які здійснюють підготовку майбутніх учителів початкової школи. Ознайомлення зі змістом публікації сприятиме оволодінню студентами спеціальності 013 «Початкова освіта» фаховими компетентностями щодо упровадження у процес мовно-літературної освіти учнів початкової школи арт-педагогічних технологій задля формування в дітей системи необхідних знань, умінь і навичок з мовно-літературної освітньої галузі. Ключові слова: арт-педагогічні технології, мовно-літературна освіта, художньо-прикладні технології, ігрові технології, музично-мистецькі технології, фото/відеотехнології, івент-технології.