bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress in Metabolic Syndrome and Associated Diseases
Authors: Vona Rosa , Gambardella Lucrezia , Cittadini Camilla , Straface Elisabetta , Pietraforte Donatella
Published: May 2019

Metabolic syndrome (MS) represents worldwide public health issue characterized by a set of cardiovascular risk factors including obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and impaired glucose tolerance. The link between the MS and the associated diseases is represented by oxidative stress (OS) and by the intracellular redox imbalance, both caused by the persistence of chronic inflammatory conditions that characterize MS. The increase in oxidizing species formation in MS has been accepted as a major underlying mechanism for mitochondrial dysfunction, accumulation of protein and lipid oxidation products, and impairment of the antioxidant systems. These oxidative modifications are recognized as relevant OS biomarkers potentially able to (i) clarify the role of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in the etiology of the MS, (ii) contribute to the diagnosis/evaluation of the disease’s severity, and (iii) evaluate the utility of possible therapeutic strategies based on natural antioxidants. The antioxidant therapies indeed could be able to (i) counteract systemic as well as mitochondrial-derived OS, (ii) enhance the endogenous antioxidant defenses, (iii) alleviate MS symptoms, and (iv) prevent the complications linked to MS-derived cardiovascular diseases. The focus of this review is to summarize the current knowledge about the role of OS in the development of metabolic alterations characterizing MS, with particular regard to the occurrence of OS-correlated biomarkers, as well as to the use of therapeutic strategies based on natural antioxidants.
Relationship Between Serum Alpha-Tocopherol and Overall and Cause-Specific Mortality
Authors: Huang Jiaqi , Weinstein Stephanie J. , Yu Kai , Männistö Satu , Albanes Demetrius
Published: May 2019

Rationale:

Although there has been a long-standing interest in the human health effects of vitamin E, a comprehensive analysis of the association between circulating vitamin E and long-term mortality has not been conducted.

Objective:

Determine whether serum α-tocopherol (the predominant form of vitamin E) is related to long-term overall and cause-specific mortality and elucidate the dose-response relationships with better quantification of the associations.

Methods and Results:

We conducted a biochemical analysis of 29 092 participants in the ATBC Study (Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention) that originally tested vitamin E and β-carotene supplementation. Serum α-tocopherol was measured at baseline using high-performance liquid chromatography, and during a 30-year follow-up we identified 23 787 deaths, including deaths from cardiovascular disease (9867), cancer (7687), respiratory disease (2161), diabetes mellitus (119), injuries and accidents (1255), and other causes (2698). After adjusting for major risk factors, we found that men with higher serum α-tocopherol had significantly lower all-cause mortality (hazard ratios=0.83, 0.79, 0.75, and 0.78 for quintile 2 (Q2)–Q5 versus Q1, respectively;
P
trend
<0.0001), and significantly decreased mortality from cardiovascular disease, heart disease, stroke, cancer, respiratory disease, and other causes, with risk reductions from 17% to 47% for the highest versus lowest quintile. The α-tocopherol association with overall mortality was similar across subgroups of smoking intensity, years of smoking, alcohol consumption, trial supplementation, and duration of follow-up. The association was, however, significantly modified by baseline age and body mass index, with stronger inverse associations for younger men and men with a lower body mass index (
P
interaction
≤0.006).

Conclusions:

In this long-term prospective cohort study, higher baseline serum α-tocopherol biochemical status was associated with lower risk of overall mortality and mortality from all major causes. Our data support the long-term health benefits of higher serum α-tocopherol for overall and chronic disease mortality and should be replicated in other more diverse populations.
Clinical Significance of the Presence or Absence of Lipid‐Rich Plaque Underneath Intact Fibrous Cap Plaque in Acute Coronary Syndrome
Authors: Hoshino Masahiro , Yonetsu Taishi , Usui Eisuke , Kanaji Yoshihisa , Ohya Hiroaki , Sumino Yohei , Yamaguchi Masao , Hada Masahiro , Hamaya Rikuta , Kanno Yoshinori , Murai Tadashi , Lee Tetsumin , Kakuta Tsunekazu
Published: May 2019

Background

Although most coronary thromboses occur on the surface of lipid‐rich plaque (
LRP
) with plaque rupture (
PR
), previous pathological and optical coherence tomography studies demonstrated diversity in the morphological characteristics of culprit plaque underlying the thrombus, including lesions with intact fibrous cap (
IFC
). We investigated the clinical significance of
IFC
in relation to the presence or absence of
LRP
observed via optical coherence tomography in culprit lesions of acute coronary syndrome.

Methods and Results

We investigated 510 patients with acute coronary syndrome who underwent optical coherence tomography for the culprit lesion. Optical coherence tomography analysis included the presence or absence of
PR
, which were categorized into the
PR
group and the
IFC
group, respectively. The
IFC
group was further categorized on the basis of the presence of
LRP
. Incidence of major adverse cardiac events (
MACEs
), including cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and clinically driven remote revascularizations, was compared. Culprit lesions were categorized into 328
PR
s and 182
IFC
s.
MACEs
occurred in 85 patients (16.7%) during the median follow‐up duration of 621 days.
LRP
was detected in 325 lesions (99%) with
PR
, whereas 60 (33.0%) of the lesions with
IFC
did not show
LRP
. Kaplan‐Meier analysis revealed significantly lower
MACEs
in the
IFC
group compared with the
PR
group. Furthermore, the
IFC
group without
LRP
showed significantly lower
MACEs
compared with the
IFC
group with
LRP
. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis demonstrated that
IFC
without
LRP
was an independent predictor of better prognosis.

Conclusions

Exclusion of
LRP
underneath
IFC
culprit lesions in acute coronary syndrome may predict a lower risk of future
MACEs
.
Modulation of Event-related Potentials of Visual Discrimination by Meditation Training and Sustained Attention
Authors: Zanesco Anthony P. , King Brandon G. , Powers Chivon , De Meo Rosanna , Wineberg Kezia , MacLean Katherine A. , Saron Clifford D.
Published: May 2019

The ability to discriminate among goal-relevant stimuli tends to diminish when detections must be made continuously over time. Previously, we reported that intensive training in shamatha (focused-attention) meditation can improve perceptual discrimination of difficult-to-detect visual stimuli [MacLean, K. A., Ferrer, E., Aichele, S. R., Bridwell, D. A., Zanesco, A. P., Jacobs, T. L., et al. Intensive meditation training improves perceptual discrimination and sustained attention. Psychological Science, 21, 829–839, 2010]. Here we extend these findings to examine how discrimination difficulty and meditation training interact to modulate event-related potentials of attention and perceptual processing during vigilance. Training and wait-list participants completed a continuous performance task at the beginning, middle, and end of two 3-month meditation interventions. In the first intervention (Retreat 1), the continuous performance task target was adjusted across assessments to match training-related changes in participants' perceptual capacity. In the second intervention (Retreat 2), the target was held constant across training, irrespective of changes in discrimination capacity. No training effects were observed in Retreat 1, whereas Retreat 2 was associated with changes in the onset of early sensory signals and an attenuation of within-task decrements at early latencies. In addition, changes at later stimulus processing stages were directly correlated with improvements in perceptual threshold across the second intervention. Overall, these findings demonstrate that improvements in perceptual discrimination can modulate electrophysiological markers of perceptual processing and attentional control during sustained attention, but likely only under conditions where an individual's discrimination capacity is allowed to exceed the demand imposed by the difficulty of a visual target. These results contribute to basic understanding of the dependence of perceptual processing and attentional control to contextual demands and their susceptibility to directed mental training.
A Dream on Trial
Authors: Van Hove Rebecca
Published: May 2019

This paper re-examines Hyperides’ speech In Defence of Euxenippus as evidence for the role of divination in fourth-century BCE Athens. The oration recounts an occasion of oracular divination through incubation at Amphiaraos’ sanctuary in Oropos, whereby the Athenian Assembly ordered individuals to undergo incubation to resolve an issue concerning land ownership. This paper argues that Hyperides’ speech not only furnishes crucial evidence which broadens our understanding of divination beyond the famous oracle at Delphi, it also provides us with a valuable case study for the process of oracular consultation. The paper analyses the different stages of this process, including the selection of incubants, the nature of the dream received and the aftermath of incubation, demonstrating how the dream could be contested. It thereby sheds new light on the complexities of oracular transmission and interpretation, both of which are open to contestation as a result of the multiplicity of religious authority.
Odysseus, Emotional Intelligence, and the Plot of the Odyssey
Authors: Minchin Elizabeth
Published: May 2019

It is well recognized amongst psychologists that individuals exhibit not one but multiple intelligences (Gardner 1993). Perhaps the most conspicuous of these, especially in interpersonal contexts, is emotional intelligence: that ability to understand and predict one’s own emotions, and those of others, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and behaviour (Mayer, Salovey and Caruso 2008). Although the Odyssean Odysseus is known for his ability to think his way out of difficult situations, his problem-solving ability is not his only distinguishing cognitive attribute. This paper begins with a brief discussion of emotional intelligence and its scope. I then observe how the poet, through his narrative, reveals this ability in Odysseus: his emotional intelligence serves the hero well in some social situations but (as happens to us all) fails him in others. I shall argue, with reference to a number of examples, that the poet has an implicit understanding of emotional intelligence; that he uses his hero’s uneven performance with respect to this ability as a motivating factor in his development of the plot; and that this attribute of Odysseus, along with his craftiness, is what makes this character—and ultimately this story—so engaging.
The Seven Eyes of God
Authors: Yogev Jonathan
Published: May 2019

The image of the stone with seven eyes in the book of Zechariah 3-4 is very puzzling, and has been interpreted in various ways. In this study I will suggest that the most logical interpretation of this image lies in the Babylonian kalû ritual and the well-known mythological Sibittu iconography that was familiar and accepted by the returning Babylonian exiles. This iconography was chosen for a specific reason, and then was given a new identity by the prophet, probably as part of a certain agenda.
König und Tempel
Authors: Pietsch Michael
Published: May 2019

When looking at the literary history of the dynastic oracle in 2 Sam 7:1-17 and its narrative embedding in the historiographic concept of Samuel and Kings, one can argue that in the beginning, there was a royal oracle of salvation shaped by a common Ancient Near Eastern royal ideology. Even though the exact wording or the original ‘Sitz im Leben’ of the oracle cannot be identified with any certainty, some observations in the literary structure of the narrative indicate that the ‘deuteronomistic’ narrator in 2 Sam 7 used an earlier form of the dynastic oracle in order to combine it with the motive of building the temple and creating a coherent story that plays a key role in the historiographic structure of his narrative work. Later (dtr) editors enhanced the concept of building the temple over the dynastic promise and interpreted the time of David as the final stage of Israel’s conquest of the land. The dynastic oracle has not been revoked, but the political reign of the Davidides has been relativised, so that the text was opened up for new interpretations and applications, which can be studied in the wide range of its history of reception.
Hexaplaric Excavations
Authors: Ceulemans Reinhart
Published: May 2019

This article introduces ten Hexaplaric readings that are cited in Greek and Latin Christian literature that is not exegetical or treats a biblical book other than the one the Hexaplaric reading relates to.
Reconsidering the Confucian View of the Economy in the Age of the Anthropocene
Authors: Christensen Jan Erik
Published: May 2019

The common practice of outsourcing manufacturing to countries in which factories’ production costs and environmental standards are far lower than in the West indicates an underlying issue: a refusal to take responsibility for the environment, in favor of economic profitability. In confronting this problem, I suggest the need to reflect on the idea of the ‘distinction between righteousness and profit’ that is emphasized in Confucianism. Through an analysis of primary texts, I explain how the Confucian emphasis on ecological harmony implies a need for economic development as well as individual wealth, as it views humans as part of nature with a need to thrive as moral beings. The Confucian view of the economy informs contemporary attitudes by offering a richer way of thinking about economic development.
Additional data on Pratylenchoides riparius (Andrássy, 1985) Luc, 1986 (Nematoda: Merliniidae) from Iran
Authors: Hosseinvand Manouchehr , Eskandari Ali , Ghaderi Reza
Published: May 2019

The second population of Pratylenchoides riparius, including females and males, is described and illustrated based upon morphological, morphometric and molecular data. The present population from Iran is characterised by some differences with the type population of the species from Hungary in stylet length (24-26 vs 21-22 μm), slightly longer body (1002-1230 vs 830-960 μm), pharynx (202-211 vs 182-190 μm) and tail (64-85 vs 48-57 μm), areolated outer bands of the lateral field (vs non-areolated), widening of the lateral field near tail terminus (vs lateral incisures connecting each other) and presence of males (vs absent). The taxonomic status of the species with regarding the data from the type and presently recovered population, as well as the closely similar species is discussed. The newly recovered population was studied based upon its molecular phylogenetic charactes using the D2-D3 of 28S rRNA and the partial 18S rRNA gene sequences and the results revealed that it forms a clade with P. magnicauda in 28S, but occupies a distant placement from it in 18S phylogeny.
“Girls Are Also People of the Holy Qur’an”
Authors: Akiba Jun
Published: May 2019

This article focuses on Muslim girls’ education in Ottoman Istanbul during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Through the extensive use of archival and narrative sources, it demonstrates that girls in pre-Tanzimat Istanbul enjoyed ample opportunities for elementary education. Two registers of the distribution of imperial gifts to schools in Istanbul, one in the 1780s and the other in 1811, reveal the existence of a substantial number of girls’ schools run by female teachers. Many of these schools presumably operated in teachers’ private homes, but there were also vakıf-funded girls’ schools. Additionally, girls benefited from coeducational schools. Drawing on these findings, I estimate that, in 1811, approximately one-fifth of the girls living in Istanbul received elementary schooling, and that there were about 100 female teachers in Istanbul. The increasing visibility of girls’ schools and female teachers can be considered in the context of social change in the eighteenth century.
‘Due Regard’ Obligations under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: The Laying of Cables and Activities in the Area
Authors: Treves Tullio
Published: May 2019

This article examines in detail the obligations of ‘due regard’ found in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC). It considers the way these are reflected in the International Seabed Authority (ISA) current Prospecting and Exploration Regulations, and then looks at the way that ‘due regard’ obligations have been considered by international courts and tribunals and by scholars. It then considers the specific ‘due regard’ issues raised by cable laying, and the modalities for settlement of disputes that may arise from such activities.
Three Eighteenth-Century Attempts to Map the Natural Order: Johann Herrmann – Georg Christoph Würtz – Paul Dietrich Giseke
Authors: van Putten Kees
Published: May 2019

By the second half of the eighteenth century, the age-old concept of nature as a chain of being had been superseded by the idea that the order of nature was a two-dimensional whole. Carolus Linnaeus, for instance, stated that vegetal nature was ordered like a geographical map. Paul Dietrich Giseke, one of his followers, rendered this metaphor concrete by making a “genealogic-geographical map of the natural orders of plants.” Could mapping nature in this way help to produce a true image of it and thereby achieve a better understanding of nature’s order? I intend to answer this question by analyzing Giseke’s map along with two closely connected images of the order of nature, Johann Herrmann’s “Table of affinities between animals” and the hitherto unnoticed “geographical map” of medicines, designed by Georg Christoph Würtz. The article deals with the relation between these images, examines the respective advantages and drawbacks of their maps and situates them with respect to the models of the natural history of the time.
Recognition as the Spark in the Exchange of Ownership of a Sermon
Authors: Kruger Ferdi
Published: May 2019

Homiletics research indicates that worshippers must contend with a process of recognition during preaching. This article identifies two possible impediments to the listening process, namely schemata and inner speech. The research question is: To what extent can a clear understanding of recognition entail mindful (active) listening and how would such listening influence the ownership of a sermon? A listener’s recognition has to do with remembering or recollecting familiar things, events and words. Remembering brings new meaning and understanding. Recognition is the spark that ignites listeners’ ability to participate in the listening process so that there can be an exchange of sermon ownership. This investigation was done from a practical-theological vantage point with intra-disciplinary engagement with social psychology and communication sciences. Anamnesis is examined from the perspective of recognition viewed philosophically as well as via Hebrews 5:11–16 and James 1:19–22. After a hermeneutic consolidation of the different insights, the article closes with homiletic perspectives on the creative functioning of recognition as part of active listening.
Russian Anti-Extremism Legislation and Internet Censorship
Authors: Kravchenko Maria
Published: May 2019

This article is focused on the enforcement of Russian anti-extremist legislation through web regulation. Russian law enforcement has shifted from a focus on preventing terrorist violence to a focus on prosecuting online hate speech and anti-authority rhetoric under current anti-extremist and anti-terrorist laws. The vague definition of extremist activity in federal law has been broadly interpreted by law enforcement agencies. Through the idea of public security, Russian law enforcement agencies have overestimated the threat of online content without regard for the context, audience, and impact of online statements. The result has been a steady increase in blocked access to web pages and sanctions on web users and providers. The article analyzes the legal norms pertaining to web content control, and details law enforcement practice and major trends. It also identifies the most common publications, people, and organizations targeted by Russian law enforcement for sanctions based on online statements.
Banning Jewish “Extremist” Literature in Russia: Conversion and Toleration in Historical Perspective
Authors: Schainker Ellie R.
Published: May 2019

In 2017, Russia’s Ministry of Justice banned a nineteenth-century book written by the German rabbi Markus Lehmann, labeling it extremist literature. This article places current Russian efforts to stamp out religious extremism in a broader historical context of imperial productions of tolerance and intolerance and the impact on religious minorities. It examines the case of Jews in the Russian Empire and post-Soviet Russia through the lens of religious conversion, forced baptisms, and freedom of conscience in the realm of apostasy. Lehmann’s book, characteristic of nineteenth-century Orthodox Jewish historical fiction in German, used the historical memory of forced conversions of Jews in medieval and early modern Europe to forge a new path to integration in tolerant, Protestant environs. This article offers a historical and literary reading of Lehmann’s banned book against the longer arc of imperial Russian toleration and conservative appropriations of toleration for discrimination against minorities.
Academic Expertise and Anti-Extremism Litigation in Russia: Focusing on Minority Religions
Authors: Shterin Marat , Dubrovsky Dmitry
Published: May 2019

This article contributes to the growing body of research on the increasing role of judicial systems in regulating politics and religion (‘judicialization of politics and religion’) across the globe. By examining how academic expertise is deployed in anti-extremist litigation involving Russia’s minority religions, this article reveals important processes involved in this judicial regulation, in particular when legal and academic institutions lack autonomy and consistency of operation. It focuses on the selection of experts and the validation of their opinion within Russia’s academia and the judiciary, and identifies patterns in the experts’ approach to evidence and how they validate their conclusions in the eyes of the judiciary. Academic expertise provides an aura of legitimacy to judicial decisions in which anti-extremist legislation is used as a means to control unpopular minority religions and to regulate Russia’s religious diversity. As one of the few systematic explorations of this subject and the first focused on Russia, this article reveals important processes that produce religious discrimination and the role that anti-extremist legislation plays in these processes.
Cartelization, Neoliberalism, and the Foreclosure of the Jasmine Revolution: Democracy’s Troubles in Tunisia
Authors: Powers Colin
Published: May 2019

While frequently hailed as the sole success story of the Arab Uprisings, the consolidation of Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution has in fact proven deeply problematic. This paper will argue that the frailty of Tunisia’s democratic present is a direct function of liberal democratization, specifically implicating this practice of democratization in the hollowing and cartelization of the political system. In insulating policymaking within a host of nocturnal councils, I will argue that liberal democratization has purposefully obstructed the translation of popular preferences into policy outcomes, thereby preventing the Tunisian people from realizing the social democracy they so clearly desire.
Implementing Provisions on Climate Finance Under the Paris Agreement
Authors: Zhang Hao
Published: May 2019

This article examines the substantive and procedural rules on climate finance adopted as part of the Paris Rulebook. It finds that the Rulebook has occasioned some important progress, less on substance than on procedure facilitating greater transparency. On substance, the Rulebook recognizes the existing goal by developed-country parties to the unfccc to raise $100 billion of climate finance per year by 2020 and it provides for a process to be initiated in 2020 to determine a new collective goal that will be no less than the existing one. On procedure, the Rulebook establishes extensive reporting obligations for improved understanding of climate-finance flows. By examining the implementation challenges and gaps, this article discusses whether the climate-finance provisions of the Paris Agreement as developed through its Rulebook will be able to remain consistent with the applicable principles of international law on climate finance and thus drive a comprehensive shift in finance flows.
EU Climate Law: Largely Uncharted Legal Territory
Authors: Peeters Marjan
Published: May 2019

EU climate law has come to consist of many rules and court decisions. Given its breadth, complexity, and dynamic nature, it is a huge challenge for scholars to acquire a good overview, let alone develop a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the law. It should not be taboo to concede that hard-working scholars may fall short of having a thorough appreciation of the “state of the art” of EU climate law. Because of this, not only prioritization but also cooperation among scholars is necessary. While legal research can point to problems and shortcomings in EU climate law, it should at the same time delve on the importance of having a body of EU climate law leading to emission reductions that most likely would not have been achieved if the EU member states had had to decide on this objective individually.
The Effects of Visual Movement on Beat-Based vs. Duration-Based Temporal Perception
Authors: Torres Nathércia L. , Luiz Carlos dos Santos , Castro São Luís , Silva Susana
Published: May 2019

It is known that moving visual stimuli (bouncing balls) have an advantage over static visual ones (flashes) in sensorimotor synchronization, such that the former match auditory beeps in driving synchronization while the latter do not. This occurs in beat-based synchronization but not in beat-based purely perceptual tasks, suggesting that the advantage is action-specific. The main goal of this study was to test the advantage of moving over static visual stimuli in a different perceptual timing system – duration-based perception – to determine whether the advantage is action-specific in a broad sense, i.e., if it excludes both beat-based and duration-based perception. We asked a group of participants to perform different tasks with three stimulus types: auditory beeps, visual bouncing balls (moving) and visual flashes (static). First, participants performed a duration-based perception task in which they judged whether intervals were speeding up or slowing down; then they did a synchronization task with isochronous sequences; finally, they performed a beat-based perception task in which they judged whether sequences sounded right or wrong. Bouncing balls outperformed flashes and matched beeps in synchronization. In the duration-based perceptual task, beeps, balls and flashes were equivalent, but in beat-based perception beeps outperformed balls and flashes. Our findings suggest that the advantage of moving over static visual stimuli is grounded on action rather than perception in a broad sense, in that it is absent in both beat-based and duration-based perception.
Micro-Mobility in Flux
Authors: Deschacht Nick , Winter Anne
Published: May 2019

In this article we use new, unique data on population composition and socio-economic structure for the c. 670 municipalities of the Belgian provinces of East Flanders, West Flanders and Antwerp in 1796, 1815 and 1846, in order to gain insight into the changing patterns of local migration intensity from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. Although so-called micro-mobility is often disregarded in migration studies, this article argues that a spatial and diachronic analysis of local migration rates provides insight into the dynamics of social and economic change in relation to migration behaviour. The data show that the proportion of non-native residents varied strongly in accordance with different regional economies at the end of the eighteenth century, but that spatial variation declined markedly as overall migration rates converged on a higher average level by the mid-nineteenth century – leading to a re-interpretation of the mobility transition hypothesis.
Ritual Time and Popular Expectations of Papal Rule in Early Modern Rome
Authors: Hunt John M.
Published: May 2019

The political and ritual life of early modern Rome provided its inhabitants ample opportunities not only to express grievances with papal government but also to voice expectations of newly elected pontiffs. Three ritual moments in particular—each linked as a cycle related to the pope’s reign—looked toward the future. These were the papal election, the possesso (the newly elected pontiff’s procession to San Giovanni in Laterano), and the pope’s death. As the papal election commenced in the conclave, Romans communicated their hopes for a pontiff who would adhere to a traditional moral economy by keeping the city abundantly supplied with grain and other foodstuffs. The ceremonies connected to the possesso reinforced these concerns; during the pope’s procession from Saint Peter’s to San Giovanni, the people greeted him with placards, statues, and ritual shouts, which reminded him to uphold this sacred duty. A pope who failed to abide by this moral economy faced popular discontent. This took the form of murmuring and pasquinades that wished for his imminent death, thus anticipating an end to his odious reign and to the future freedoms of the vacant see, a time in which the machinery of papal government and justice halted, allowing the people to vocalize their anger. Immediately on the heels of the pope’s death came the papal election, starting the cycle anew. This paper will argue that the rhythms of papal government enabled the people to articulate their expectations of papal rule, both present and future, grounded in traditional paternalism.
Effects of Transitions in North American Animal Agriculture on Animal Well-being: Personal Observations
Authors: Seidel G.E.
Published: May 2019

People involved with production animal agriculture in the U.S., including owners and workers, are often portrayed as callous to animal welfare. While callous people exist in any population, I maintain that most people who own and work with farm animals do consider animal welfare, both for moral and economic reasons. It is rare that stressed, unhealthy or injured animals are more profitable than healthy, unstressed ones. Furthermore, the owners of farm animals and related facilities overwhelmingly are families or individuals (~97%), not corporations; most owners of so-called industrial farms are but a generation removed from so-called family farms, and most of these owners still have values similar to those of traditional family farms, although their hired workers may not. Farmers need to have income, so husbandry practices need to be profitable for farms to be sustainable. However, production animal agriculture has not been very profitable, partly because most products are commodities, and this low profitability has been a major cause of the huge decrease in numbers of farmers and farm units over the past century. The net result is larger units with less attention paid to individual animals, which can be problematic, but does not necessarily result in decreased animal welfare. Modern genetic tools and facilities can be used to promote animal welfare simultaneously with improving production efficiency and economic viability.
Teaching Cultural Studies and Area Studies in Thailand
Authors: Hayes Michael
Published: May 2019

This short paper discusses teaching western Cultural Studies, in particular Australian Cultural Studies, in Thailand. By contextualising pedagogical issues, such as classroom practices and course contents, with the surrounding economic, institutional, and national educational agendas, this paper outlines some of the tensions between western and Asian tertiary education systems. Specifically, examining the development and place of cultural studies in the western university highlights the inability for cultural studies to articulate its specific view of culture.
Cultivating the Garden of Theater Culture: A New Perspective on Traditional Theater in Thailand
Authors: Damrhung Pornrat
Published: May 2019

After questioning the conventional distinction between traditional and modem theater in Asia, this essay suggests that it may be more fruitful to view today’s live theater traditions as part of a garden of theater culture that includes both native and imported elements and both deep-rooted and recently transplanted traditions. The remainder of the essay amplifies this perspective using examples from Thailand’s theater traditions during the last century and a half. This prepares the way to consider the strengths and weaknesses of traditional theater staged in Thailand during the last decade or so, whether centered on juxtaposing various artistic forms onstage or performing artistic reinterpretations of traditional stories. In seeking to strengthen these approaches for future performances, the author suggests the need for pooling the discipline and creativity performers have in order to fashion patterns of artistic expression that convey significance both among artists and to their audiences.
Brecht and Songs
Authors: Gilliam Jeffrey
Published: May 2019

It may come as a surprise that Brecht has highly developed and original ideas about how music should serve the text in his songs. Even more surprising is the willingness of those professional composers with whom he collaborated notably Kurt Weill, Paul Dessau, and Hanns Eisler, to accept Brecht as a musical mentor.
Popular Techniques of Buddhist Meditation as Apparatus for Mental Health Development in Thailand
Authors: Pilunowad Orawan
Published: May 2019

During the Chatchai Government in the 1980’s, Thailand had witnessed unprecedented growth in the country’s economy. In 1997, however, the economic prosperity that the Thai had enjoyed blasted like bubbles. This economic downturn had resulted in an unemployment of over 2 million people. While most people talked about the dark side of this economic crisis, the author saw some glimmering bright side of the downturn. This was the time, the author argued, to heal the national illness by using culturally-based therapy: Buddhist meditation. This illness was of two kinds: (1) depression and anxiety from being “losers” in the turmoil; (2) materialism and consumerism which needed a longterm therapeutic measure.
Denise Levertov: Celebrated Contemporary American Woman Poet of Perceptiveness and Great Wisdom
Authors: Chatraporn Surapeepan
Published: May 2019

Denise Levertov possessed an ability to capture and perceive mystical reality in apparently ordinary experience. Her sensitivity to sensuous daily life, her attention to the familiar and her application of the concrete to the spiritual opened the gates of mystery of the world and evoked spiritual insight into the essence and ecrets of life overlooked or unseen by most people. Levertov’s enthusiasm for life in whatever circumstances and her persistent articulation of joy were drawn from her concern of living life to the fullest because only life experienced to the fullest could enrich and enlighten man. Though not defining herself as a feminist, Levertov spoke with a distinctively feminine but strong voice and wisely expressed a contemporary woman’s perpectives on female identity, female strength , female wisdom, and female complexity while subtly advocating sexual equality. Her perceptive views of love and marriage as well as her keen understanding of womanhood well reflected the changing roles and status of contemporary women.
The Fantastic: Towards a Dynamic Notion of Genre
Authors: Chotiudompant Suradech
Published: May 2019

Fantasy has played a crucial role in shaping literature since time immemorial. Yet , proper syste matic work on fantasy has not been done until the last century, when scholars began to realize its importance and give it due recognition. First published in 1970, Tzvetan Todorov’s The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Lirerary Genre represents one of the touchstones of critical work on the fantastic genre. His pioneering ideas have inspired literary critics worldwide to deve lop their own premises on the genre, some of which bear Todorov’s indelible imprints. This essay attempts to chart how Todorov constructs his paradigm by means of his structuralist standpoint and how later critics, such as Christine Brooke-Rose and Rosemary Jackson, respond to his theoretical postulate. The main objective of this essay is to investigate how these theoretical dialogues, with Todorov’s model of the fantastic genre functioning as an axis, shed light on a complex notion of genre as dynamic institution, which needs to be resilient enough to accommodate changes and in turn prescriptive enough to be the guideline for readers and writers alike.
Technological Drive, the Self and the Ethical
Authors: Kelly Michael
Published: May 2019

I want in this essay to change the way we approach the promise of technology. In bringing out the philosophical substance packed into the highly critical diagnostic portion of Virilio’s work, I focus on Virilio’s observations concerning the human psychological relation to technology. I argue that a form of resentment similar to that found in Nietzsche’s genealogy of morals provides the motivating factor in the push for continual and increasingly rapid technological innovation: technological drive follows from fallen man’s desire to reconcile his mortality. Understanding this drive brings home the direness of the human condition that makes technological promise so attractive and technological resistance so difficult. Given this conundrum, we must articulate an ethic of technological modesty. An ethic of technological modesty encourages (1) the resistance of capricious urges for technological satisfaction and (2) the subjection of technologies to a rigorous phenomenological investigation that weighs their potential benefits and reductions, as well as the conditions that might precipitate and exacerbate these benefits or reductions. This ethical plan pushes Virilio’s phenomenology of the “accident” of technology, and comes in the phenomenological/pragmatic tradition of Hans Jonas’ imperative of responsibility and Don Ihde’s phenomenological investigation of the dimensions of technology that amplify and reduce natural human capacities.
Rhythmic Units and Tonal Variation in Thai
Authors: Teeranon Phanintra
Published: May 2019

This study investigates whether rhythmic units influence tonal realizations in Thai connected speech. The informants are three female radio announcers, 26 and 30 years of age. Their speech was recorded prior to informing them about the study. They were then asked to read two sets of tone checklists: unchecked and checked syllables. For each tone, five tokens were selected for each following context: (1) a salient syllable in one-syllable, two-syllable, and three-syllable rhythmic units, and (2) a weak syllable in a two-syllable rhythmic unit, the first weak syllable and the second weak syllable in a three-syllable rhythmic unit. The fundamental frequency values of all of the tokens were analyzed and recorded using WINCECIL and EXCEL. Line graphs were drawn to show the realization of different tones in different contexts. WINPSY 0602 2000 (School of Psychology, University of New South Wales) was used to analyze whether the variation between tone shapes is statistically significant.
Tonal Variations and Changes in a Language Mixture Area : A Case Study of Northeastern Thailand (ISAN)
Authors: Akharawatthanakun Phinnarat
Published: May 2019

In northeastern Thailand or "Isan"; Lao, otherwise known as the northeastern Thai dialect, is used as a lingua franca by people living in the area, in which minority ethnic groups are scattered. Some of the ethnic groups speak Tai dialects/languages, such as the Nyo, Phuthai, Saek, Kaloeng, Yoi, as well as others. When tonal languages belonging to the same language family are spoken in an area with the respective speakers in constant contact, it is worthwhile to investigate to what extent their tonal systems and tonal characteristics have influenced each other. To achieve this, the earliest available literature has been examined to obtain what appear to be prototypical tonal systems for the three languages. The specific goal, then, was to determine how well these prototypes have been preserved in a region of high language contact.
Directions: Influence on Establishing Bearing and Settlement
Authors: Hinshiranan Nid , Arunotai Narumon
Published: May 2019

People in different cultures have their own unique ways of constructing bearing points and directions to orient themselves with their environment and to give meaning to the world around them. Along with this cognition process, there are social values connected to directions and spatial organization. This article explores the notions of directions and reference points and how they influence the orientation of architectural structures and settlement in different cultures.
Lak Ban and Lak Muang: The Ideology of Settlement Landscape in Traditional Southeast Asia
Authors: Osiri Navanath
Published: May 2019

This paper describes the identifying role ritual architecture plays in the construction of settlement landscapes in northern mainland Southeast Asia. Integrating ethnographic and art historical data, it develops a framework for understanding lak ban and lak muang in terms of their socio-historical development, spatial organisation, ritual observances, designs, and meanings.
Traditional Thai Wisdom as Based on the Pali Tipitaka: A Challenge to Science and Technology
Authors: Promta Somparn
Published: May 2019

The Pali Tipitaka as used in Theravada Buddhist countries is considered to play various important roles. In Thailand, the Pali Tipitaka is not only a religious text but also a main source of Thai wisdom. The recent call for a greater role for Thai wisdom mainly comes from the awareness that the Western way of thought that dominates the modern Thai way of life is something that should be seriously examined. This paper will examine one important Western mode of thought which is generally called science and the attempt by Thai traditional thinkers to create Thai wisdom as a tool for examining that Western mode of thought through the reading and interpretation of the Pali Tipitaka.
Karma as Moral Justice in Thai Buddhism
Authors: Satha-Anand Suwanna
Published: May 2019

This article explores philosophical implications of the Buddhist theory of karma as a framework for moral justice. It investigates in what ways and under what conditions karma delivers justice for the individual. From the analysis of both canonical texts and writings of Thai Buddhist scholars, it becomes clear that the Buddhist theory of Karma implies an understanding of justice as entailing elements of both retributive and consequentialist positions. Lastly, it explores the strengths and the limitations of karma as providing moral justice. This last point indicates a discussion of the necessity of including the collective dimension in any discussion of karma.
Europe – Africa – Asia: The Complementary Relation Between the World Cultures
Authors: Beck Heinrich
Published: May 2019

In this paper Heinrich Beck outlines his theory about the relations among the world cultures and their contribution toward what he calls' creative peace'. Three of the world's cultures, namely that of Europe, Africa and Asia, are seen as much as members of a living organism, which is taken to be a 'Heuristic principle of possible understanding' whereby the integration and mutual reception of these three world cultures can be effected. The European tendency toward rationality and analysis is complemented by the Afro-Asiatic tendency toward holism and synthesis. And there is still further division between the African and the Asian mind. Though both emphasize unity and harmony, the African mind is predicated upon the immediately unity of nature and spirit, whereas the Asian one is characterized by traquility of conciousness. This, in turn, is contrasted by the European mind which is based upon the separation between mind and matter. These contrasts present themselves, according to Beck, as an occasion for a triadic and dialectical ontological structure, from which emerges a dynamic unity out of the contrasting unities. Thus a way is shown for world peace, which is not a static kind, but a dynamic and creative one.
The Mixing of English and Thai in Thai Television Programs
Authors: Kannaovakun Prathana , Gunther Albert C.
Published: May 2019

This study set out to systematically observe and describe the mixing of English with Thai-based discourse, often termed code-mixing, in Thai television programs. Data came from 100 hours of programming randomly sampled from five genres of Thai television programs - Thai drama, talk or variety shows, academic or hard talk shows, game shows and sports programs.
Bangkok Morphology and its Old Settlements an Overview
Authors: Kulachol Kamthorn
Published: May 2019

This article outlines the physical development of Bangkok since its founding as a capital city 220 years ago, with an emphasis on its old settlements known as the Rattanakosin area.
Lexical Development of Thai Children at 0;9-2;0: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Rungrojsuwan Sorabud , Burnham Denis , Luksaneeyanawin Sudaporn
Published: May 2019

This study investigates lexical development of Thai children at 0;9-2;0. Based on the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories: Words and Gestures, 1989 (CDI), a Thai version of the CDI word checklist was developed. Following a cross-sectional research design, parents of 180 children were asked to report their children's lexical development. Four main aspects of lexical development were investigated: the onset of development, cumulative vocabularies, lexical categories of words acquired, and the relationship between comprehension and production in lexical acquisition.

It was found that individual variation plays an important role in children's lexical development. Instead of pinpointing the exact age of the onset of development, a tentative range of onset is reported about 0;9-1;3. Although children's vocabulary items increase over time, it was found that there were two distinct types of increase: gradual and rapid. The gradual increase was found from 0;9-1;6, and 1;9-2;0. The rapid increase, at about 1;6, represents a period of vocabulary explosion. It was found that Thai children's lexicon is "noun" dominant. From an examination of the relationship between word comprehension and production, it was found that comprehension precedes production at the onset of lexical development. However, data from this study also demonstrate that at about the period of vocabulary explosion, some words are comprehended only after they have been produced. It is also suggested that lexical development should also be investigated using a longitudinal research design, because data from a longitudinal study can indicate the development of individual children and might demonstrate more clearly development in terms of individual variation.