bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Sellers of Catan: The Impact of the Settlers of Catan on the United States Leisure and Business Landscape, 1995-2019
Authors: Price Erica 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
While Monopoly is still one of the best-known board games in the United States today, increasing attention is paid to The Settlers of Catan, a mid-1990s German immigrant to the United States and a mid to late 2010s staple in popular culture and on store shelves. However, the one place where Catan has seen a drop in popularity over the past decade is in its first world, that of hobby board games. With so many new and innovative games and mechanics flooding the hobby market each year, Catan struggles to find a place. This struggle is due in part to its lack of innovation, attempt to keep pace with game trends, and seemingly, a reluctance to buy into the popularity of app-supported games (though solely mobile versions of Catan exist), crowdfunding, and new mechanics. This research explores Catan’s history in the United States to illustrate the paradox of its growing popularity with the general public while also experiencing a downturn in accolades from within the hobby, all while functioning as a barometer against which we can measure trends in the selling and playing of hobby board games.
Fitness profiles of professional futsal players: identifying age-related differences
Authors: Sekulic Damir , Gilic Barbara , Foretic Nikola , Spasic Miodrag , Uljević Ognjen , Veršić Šime 
Published: April 2021

Summary

Study aim: The aim of this study was to determine the fitness profiles of senior and junior futsal players and to identify potential differences between the studied age groups.

Materials and methods: 44 male futsal players from 5 professional futsal teams participated in this study. Subjects were divided into two age groups (seniors [>18 years; n = 26] vs juniors [<18 years of age; n = 18]). Players were tested for anthropometrics (body mass, body height and body fat percentage), jumping capacity (countermovement jump and standing broad jump), kicking speed (for dominant and non-dominant leg), sprinting capacity (5- and 10-meter sprints), 20-yard test, futsal-specific reactive agility, and futsal-specific change-of-direction speed tests.

Results: No significant differences between age groups were apparent for anthropometrics. Seniors achieved better results than juniors in tests of kicking speed, for both the dominant (106.81 ± 6.94 km/h and 100.94 ± 5.33 km/h, respectively, t-test: 3.02 [p < 0.001], Cohen’s d: 1.02) and nondominant leg (95.54 ± 8.57 km/h and 85.28 ± 8.71 km/h, respectively, t-test: 3.88 [p < 0.001], Cohen’s d: 1.25).

Conclusions: Seniors did not achieve significantly better results than juniors in most of the observed variables. Since the maximum biological maturity occurs up to 18 years, and studied juniors were in their late adolescence, we can assume that differences between groups are related to other indices (i.e. technical skills, tactical knowledge).
Physical fitness changes among amateur soccer players: effects of the pre-season period
Authors: Silva Rui , Lima Ricardo , Camões Miguel , Leão César , Matos Sérgio , Pereira Joel , Bezerra Pedro , Clemente Filipe Manuel 
Published: April 2021

Abstract

Study aim: To assess changes in physical fitness of amateur soccer players after a pre-season training period and baseline fitness dependencies.

Material and methods: Twenty-one amateur soccer players were assessed during the pre-season. The following physical variables were assessed before and after a two-month pre-season training period: (i) cardiorespiratory fitness, (ii) strength and power, and (iii) change of direction (COD).

Results: Significant decreases were found for countermovement jump (CMJ) (p < 0.001; d = 1.161), drop jump (DJ) (p = 0.014; d = 0.958), and horizontal jump (HJ) (p = 0.042; d = 0.640), while no significant changes were found for the overall variables from the beginning to the end of pre-season. Fit players revealed significant decreases for CMJ (p = 0.002; d = –2.495), DJ (p = 0.004; d = –1.760), HJ (p = 0.028; d = –1.005), COD deficit (p = 0.034; d = 1.013), and maximal aerobic speed (MAS) (p = 0.026; d = –4.053). No significant changes were found for unfit players.

Conclusions: Amateur soccer coaches should consider assessing physical qualities at the beginning of pre-season and use the free-of-charge monitoring tools such as session-rate of perceived exertion (s-RPE) during the training process.
The International Criminal Court, Sitting Heads of State Prosecutions, and the Paradox of the Balance of Power
Authors: Cacciatori Mattia 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Compliance with international law is commonly accepted as strengthening inter--state relationships and, therefore, consolidating inter-state politics. This article argues that, in certain circumstances, hostility to international law can be regarded as indicative of shifts in the balance of power that undermine the enforcement of injunctions of international law. These, it will be shown, need to be addressed through inter-state dialogue. To sustain the argument proposed, the article focuses, from an international relations perspective, on the resistance to the practice of prosecuting sitting Heads of State by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The prosecution of a sitting Head of State is considered in this article as the poster--child of liberal institutionalism. The track record of the ICC in this domain is worrying: out of 3 situations (Omar al Bashir in Sudan; Uhuru Kenyatta in Kenya; and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya) the Court was unable to finalize a single one. Following theoretical plexuses derived from the English School of international relations, and particularly Hedley Bull’s “Paradox of the Balance of Power”, the article draws attention to the case of Gaddafi in Libya and to the international debate on the potential prosecution of Bashar al Assad in Syria. This is done to show that the transition between the two is exemplificative of a paradoxical dynamic: international law is more efficient in situations of balance of power; but violations of international law are, in specific cases, necessary to rectify it. Ultimately, the article argues, more attention should be dedicated to the resistance to the prosecutions of sitting Heads of State to understand the implications that this might have for the balance of power, and in the construction of a truly pluralist international society based on inter-state dialogue.
“Felix Cohen Was the Blackstone of Federal Indian Law:” Taking the Comparison Seriously
Authors: Habermacher Adrien 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
This paper explores the many facets of Rennard Strickland’s comparison between Sir William Blackstone, author of the 1765–69 Commentaries on the Laws of England, and Felix Cohen, architect of the 1942 Handbook of Federal Indian Law. It consists of a side by side analysis of both authors’ master works, political and educational projects, as well as general contribution to jurisprudence. It reveals that despite the stark differences between Blackstone’s work on the English common law from his professorship at Oxford in the late eighteenth century, and Cohen’s endeavors on the US federal law concerning Native Americans as a civil servant at the turn of the 1940s, there are remarkable similarities in the enterprises of legal scholarship the two jurists took on, the larger political projects they promoted, and their role in the development of legal thought. The idea that “Felix Cohen was the Blackstone of Federal Indian Law” has stylistic appeal and could have been little more than a gracious way to celebrate Cohen. An in-depth comparative examination of legal history and jurisprudence however corroborates and amplifies the soundness of the comparison.
Methodology of Measuring Stress – Effects on Motivation & Performance in Public and Private Organisations in Kosovo
Authors: Tolaj Sejdë , Havolli Ymer 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Stress has emerged as an increasing problem in organisations and companies over the recent decades. The workplace has become a place of rapidly changing forces, such as increasing competition, quality pressure, innovation and increasing pace of doing business. As a result, employees’ demands have increased dramatically and this has led to the creation of stress at work. Despite the awareness of the importance of occupational stress, the growing number of stress research and stress measurement methodologies at workplace, there are still major empirical gaps in Kosovo, where this topic is not explored enough. Therefore, the present research seeks to provide scientific contribution to the spread of stress among organisations in Kosovo and to identify factors that cause stress among public and private sector employees. To achieve this goal, as part of the Doctoral Thesis, a methodology of measuring stress has been applied in organisations, and the effects of stress on motivation and performance of employees has been studied. The study has shown that there are several stress factors in organisations, and managers need to undertake specific interventions to manage the occupational stress. Findings of this paper suggest that occupational stress is mainly caused by job insecurity, lack of information on developments in the organisation, work overload, inadequate treatment by the employer, destructive relations among colleagues, lack of general working conditions and resources. The findings also show that occupational stress negatively affects the employees, in particular by reducing employee performance, reducing work efficiency and decreasing their motivation. Furthermore, the results indicate that both public and private sector employees consider similar factors as stressful and experience relatively similar levels of stress. Based on findings from primary data collected through surveys and secondary data from international literature, it is recommended to undertake periodic stress tests, engage senior management level in re-designing jobs, increasing decision-making authority of the employees, reducing workload, reducing role conflict, and continuously providing training.
Topological graph persistence
Authors: Bergomi Mattia G. , Ferri Massimo , Zuffi Lorenzo 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Graphs are a basic tool in modern data representation. The richness of the topological information contained in a graph goes far beyond its mere interpretation as a one-dimensional simplicial complex. We show how topological constructions can be used to gain information otherwise concealed by the low-dimensional nature of graphs. We do this by extending previous work in homological persistence, and proposing novel graph-theoretical constructions. Beyond cliques, we use independent sets, neighborhoods, enclaveless sets and a Ramsey-inspired extended persistence.
Pupils’ Preconceptions About Heat, Temperature and Energy
Authors: Kramarová Lenka , Prokša Miroslav 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
This article is focused on finding out pupils’ preconceptions about heat, temperature and energy. As a research tool we used a didactic test with individual types of tasks about the concepts. A total of 122 respondents aged 12 to 14 participated in the research. The research sample consisted of two groups of pupils. One group consisted of pupils attending a school assigned for talented pupils, for simplicity they are referred as talented pupils. The second group consisted of pupils who do not attend this type of school, we marked them as “general population”. The number of respondents in the sample of talented pupils was 54. The number of respondents in the sample “general population” was 68 pupils. In the research we compared ideas about concepts heat, temperature and energy of talented pupils and pupils of the “general population”. We also compared talented pupils and pupils of the “general population” in solving of conceptual and algorithmic tasks in didactic test. We found out pupils of the age from 12 to 14 have misconceptions about the concepts. We also identified the misconceptions and the most common are also mentioned in this article.
Conditions for Experimental Activities at Elementary and High Schools from Chemistry Teachers’ Point of View
Authors: Rusek Martin , Chroustová Kateřina , Bílek Martin , Skřehot Petr A. , Hon Zdeněk 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
School experiments represent a necessary means of subject-matter presentation in chemistry education and are important for chemical (scientific) thinking. Despite being a focus of several texts, a complex view on the experimental activity in chemistry education in Czechia is missing. The results of a questionnaire survey among 466 lower-secondary, lyceum and grammar school teachers focused on types of conducted experiments, their frequency, the place they are conducted. The most frequently used chemicals and sources of inspiration are presented in the paper. The results show that despite experiments’ significant role in education, its occurrence is rather seldom and teacher’s demonstrations prevail over students’ experiments. The list of the most often used chemicals suggests the experiments are mostly focused on inorganic chemistry. These results open further questions regarding occupational safety at schools as an important factor which could also be the reason for such a low representation of experiments in Czech chemistry education.
Water Quality and Ichthyofauna Habitat Conditions in Lake Czolnowskie (N-W Poland)
Authors: Brysiewicz Adam , Czerniejewski Przemysław , Kozioł Agnieszka , Rogacki Michał , Dąbrowski Jarosław 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Increasing anthropopressure affects natural ecosystems and may express itself in regional or spot contamination of water and soil environment. The quality of ground and surface waters depends to a large extent on drainage area management, where biogenic substances (i.e. nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) are transported with surface run-offs to the environment. The article discusses results of studies on the drainage area of Lake Czolnowskie (Zachodniopomorskie Province). Studies covered physical and chemical assessment of soil conditions and water quality; additionally, fish was caught using two independent methods - gillnets and power generator (pursuant to CEN EN 14011 2003 and PN-EN 14011 2006). Results obtained confirm regular run-off of biogenic materials from the surface of farmed drainage area to Lake Czolnowskie. During the period of studies, the reservoir was exposed to i.e. reduction of water oxygen (3.56 mg/dm3) and permanently elevated level of general phosphorus (0.15-0.27 mg/dm3) and ammonium acid (0.16-0.27 mg/dm3), which degraded the quality of life for ichthyofauna inhabiting the lake.
Determining Cellulolytic Activity of Microorganisms
Authors: Grata Katarzyna 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Decomposition of cellulose to glucose requires complex cooperation of glycoside hydrolase enzymes. As a result of glycoside β-1,4 bonds hydrolysis, shorter chains of cellulose, oligodextrin, cellobiose and glucose are created. A number of bacteria and fungi demonstrate the capacity to degrade cellulose. Their activity can be assessed with the use of qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative methods with the use of e.g. Congo red, are used in screening studies, however, they do not provide information about the quantity of the produced enzyme. Spectrophotometric methods are more accurate and they measure the quantities of reducing sugars with the use of appropriate substrates, e.g. carboxymethylcellulose is used to determine endoglucanases, avicel cellulose to determine exoglucanases and Whatman filter paper to determine total cellulolytic activity. Activity of microorganisms depends not only on their species or type but also, among others, on substratum composition, cultivation conditions and the appropriate selection of parameters of the carried out enzymatic reactions.
The Fight for Free Navigation. Construction of the Channel by the Vistula Spit as Part of the Political Struggle with the Russian Federation
Authors: Fabiszewski Wojciech 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
As a consequence of Stalin’s decision, the Vistula Lagoon was divided between Poland and the Soviet Union. Since the Soviet fleet created a naval base in Bałtisko, from 1945 the possibility of using the waterway through the Bay by Poland was practically excluded. The Soviet side allowed iPoland to use the Gulf outlet only to a small extent.
In practice, this meant the destruction of the seaport in Elbląg, but also radically limited the possibilities of economic development of this part of Poland, which for many centuries operated on the basis of the Polish economy.
After 1989, the Russian side made it even more impossible for the Polish side to use transport routes through the Bay.
Ultimately, Poland decided to build a canal through the Vistula Spit. This channel is to enable the revitalization of the port in Elbląg, but also the northern areas of Poland.
The article presents the arguments of the Polish side, including economic ones, justifying the implementation of this undertaking.
International Tourism Cooperation Based on “the Belt and Road”: Strategy and Path
Authors: Zhifei LI , Chenchen Zhang 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Culture is the soul of tourism and tourism is the carrier of culture. With the help of regional cooperation platforms and historical and cultural symbols of the ancient Silk Road, “The Silk Road Economic Belt” and “The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road” will develop economic cooperation among countries along the belt and road, and jointly build a community of Shared interests, destiny and responsibility featuring political mutual trust, economic integration and cultural tolerance. In order to implement the “Belt and Road” initiative, promote international cooperation and meet the development needs of its own industries, it has important practical significance to carry out international tourism cooperation under the strategic background of “Belt and Road”, which enhances the in-depth exchange of cultures of various countries, broadens the service choice of international tourism, and learns from advanced service concepts. Following the “Belt and Road” strategy, as the pilot industry of connectivity tourism led to the development of international tourism cooperation, but is still in its infancy, the overall scale is still small, with a larger space for future development. At this stage, there are four problems and challenges in international tourism cooperation under the Belt and Road Strategy: the foundation of cooperation is not solid enough, cultural resources are not fully utilized, brand awareness is insufficient, and the degree of convenience needs to be improved. Therefore, to achieve a stable and sustainable development of tourism in the countries along the route through four paths:the development of permanent mechanism of international tourism cooperation, the creation of unique Silk Road cultural characteristics of tourism products and routes, the creation of tourism boutique projects and the cultivation of international brands, enhance infrastructure construction and tourist visa facilitation.
Theoretical Models of Teaching Creativity - Critical Review
Authors: Szmidt Krzysztof J. , Majewska-Owczarek Anna 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
This paper is an attempt to present selected classifications of models of teaching creativity, which may have been found in literature over the last years. Models of teaching creativity are understood by the authors as well-developed systems of statements, based on a specific theory of creativity and concerning strategies and methods of teaching creative thinking and action, conditions of education, the role of a teacher in that process, and evaluation of education results. The paper describes several classifications of such models, including the authors’ own proposal, and presents a more detailed description of the heuristic model of teaching creativity. In the conclusion, the authors propose a thesis that the issue of methods of teaching creativity is open and the answer to the question about the best teaching methods in that obligation, which is interesting from the pedagogical point of view, should, as in the whole didactics, be answered by teachers, using their knowledge about creativity and its development.
The Issue of Assessment Criteria for Performance of Creative Tasks with the Example of the Odyssey of the Mind
Authors: Justyńska Martyna 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Assessment of performance of creative tasks is one of important issues discussed in psychology and pedagogy of creativity. There is no single approach to the best manner of assessment or the determination of explicit assessment criteria. So, how do jurors (judges) cope during competitions? What do they consider when assessing creative efforts? Those issues are discussed in this work. The author studies the Odyssey of the Mind, which is one of the biggest creativity development programmes in the world. The issues discussed in the present paper primarily concern the criteria and manner of assessing performance of creative tasks; they form an introduction to a further study and discussion on the issue of competent judges, assessment, and the function performed by the assessment in the Odyssey of the Mind.
Searching for Wisdom in Children’s Dialogues: A Mixed Approach in Educational Practice
Authors: Płóciennik Elżbieta 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
The paper presents an analysis of diagnostic and exploratory the author’s studies carried out in various Polish cities, whose main purpose was to identify and analyze specific manifestations of wisdom (with creativity as its strong predictor) in older preschool children. Such research and analysis of collected research material would only be possible using mixed methods. Integration of quantitative and qualitative analyses enabled the analysis of collected research materials to be more in-depth and broader. Likewise, when drawing wider conclusions, the use of this approach allowed to generalize results. Combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis of the research material also allowed to compare research results against a number of studies and concepts supporting child development, especially in cognitive sphere.
Teachers’ Creative Self-Efficacy, Self-Esteem, and Creative Teaching in Estonia: a Framework for Understanding Teachers’ Creativity-Supportive Behaviour
Authors: Nemeržitski Stanislav , Heinla Eda 
Published: April 2021

Abstract

Context. Teachers’ creative self-efficacy (CSE), or personal beliefs about one’s own abilities to recognize and produce creative outcomes, is believed to be one of the factors that support creativity in the classroom and is connected to general self-esteem.

Objectives and design. In the present paper, two studies were conducted to map Estonian teachers’ CSE and the factors, beliefs and attitudes towards creativity that are related to it, as well as how teachers transfer their CSE into their everyday activities in the classroom. In the first study, Estonian adaptation of Rubenstein et al. (2013) Teaching for Creativity Scales and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Pullmann & Allik, 2000) were used. The second study was based on a qualitative analysis, using in-service teachers’ self-reports focusing on their teaching practices.

Main outcomes. As a result of both studies, a framework for understanding teachers’ CSE is proposed, where self-esteem and perceived societal value of creativity are associated with the manifestation of CSE in the classroom, which in turn transfers into enhancing creativity through teaching for creativity and creative teaching.