bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparative perspective on social welfare policies for the indigenous peoples in Taiwan and India: exploring best practices and lessons
Authors: Majumdar Koustab 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThis study discusses the social welfare policies for Indigenous peoples in Taiwan and India. Offering critical insights into the historical progression of social welfare policies, this study provides an analytical review of the existing policies and outlines the different approaches to social welfare with an emphasis on best practices in both countries. The synthesis of literature makes it evident that Taiwan and India show a notable shift towards mainstreaming indigeneity. The primary approach of this reformative process involves dismantling the historical impacts of colonization and adopting more inclusive policy frameworks for the welfare of their Indigenous peoples. This study outlines similarities such as increasing budgetary allocations, framing social welfare policies based on Indigenous rights and values, and recognizing culture as an essential aspect within welfare policies. However, the Taiwanese social welfare policy is characteristically operating towards transitional and historical justice for Taiwan. On the other hand, India has adopted a dynamic social development model of social welfare policy that works on need-based action. The dichotomy between right-based (Taiwan) and need-based social development policy (India) reinforcements characteristically local policy dynamics and modelling towards country’s approach to Indigenous social welfare. Conversely, differences exist within the best practices of Indigenous social welfare policies, serving as a pioneering lesson for both Taiwan and India.
Development of a low-temperature immersion microscopy technique for ice research
Authors: Muniozguren-Arostegi Bittor , Muñoz-Marzagon Patricia , Faria Sérgio Henrique 
Published: January 2024

AbstractPerennial ice can be studied for many purposes, including paleoclimate records or rheological properties. For most of those purposes, the ice microstructure must be studied, often through optical microscopy. The aim of this work is to assess the viability of immersion microscopy for the study of ice microstructures. It consists of using an oil between the objective lens and the specimen, to increase image resolution. Immersion microscopy is a technique well-developed for the investigation of diverse materials, but it has so far not been explored for ice research. Here we investigate the challenges and advantages of that technique. The main challenge is related to the selection of the immersion oil itself, which must satisfy a number of criteria, ranging from refractive index and viscosity to toxicity and reactivity. We identify pure silicone oil (dimethicone) as a simple and safe option for immersion microscopy of inner ice structures. Among its advantages, it provides higher resolution (compared to standard ‘dry’ microscopy) and it can be simultaneously used as a long-term coating to prevent undesired sublimation of the ice-sample surfaces. For the observation of surface structures, however, another type of oil with higher refractive index should be used.
Freedom of Movement and the Normative Value of the Right to Work in the United Kingdom Post-Brexit
Authors: O'Connor Niall , Harvey Darren 
Published: January 2024

AbstractA new legal order has arisen in the United Kingdom (‘UK’) following that country's withdrawal from the European Union (‘EU’). Nowhere are these changes more evident than in the complex rules that have emerged in the fields of freedom of movement and the right to work. In evaluating the new legal landscape, this Article has two overarching aims. The first is to assess the level of protection granted to the right to work and associated free movement rights within EU and UK law, including the terms of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement. The second aim is to examine the extent to which those right to work rules are reflective of the status of the right to work as a fundamental social right. It is argued that Brexit unmoors the right to work from EU free movement rules, thereby undermining the normative value of that right, while exacerbating flaws in domestic rules governing access to employment for both national and migrant workers.
Data-driven hypothesis generation among inexperienced clinical researchers: A comparison of secondary data analyses with visualization (VIADS) and other tools
Authors: Jing Xia , Cimino James J. , Patel Vimla L. , Zhou Yuchun , Shubrook Jay H. , De Lacalle Sonsoles , Draghi Brooke N. , Ernst Mytchell A. , Weaver Aneesa , Sekar Shriram , Liu Chang 
Published: January 2024

Abstract

Objectives:
To compare how clinical researchers generate data-driven hypotheses with a visual interactive analytic tool (VIADS, a visual interactive analysis tool for filtering and summarizing large datasets coded with hierarchical terminologies) or other tools.

Methods:
We recruited clinical researchers and separated them into “experienced” and “inexperienced” groups. Participants were randomly assigned to a VIADS or control group within the groups. Each participant conducted a remote 2-hour study session for hypothesis generation with the same study facilitator on the same datasets by following a think-aloud protocol. Screen activities and audio were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Hypotheses were evaluated by seven experts on their validity, significance, and feasibility. We conducted multilevel random effect modeling for statistical tests.

Results:
Eighteen participants generated 227 hypotheses, of which 147 (65%) were valid. The VIADS and control groups generated a similar number of hypotheses. The VIADS group took a significantly shorter time to generate one hypothesis (e.g., among inexperienced clinical researchers, 258 s versus 379 s, p = 0.046, power = 0.437, ICC = 0.15). The VIADS group received significantly lower ratings than the control group on feasibility and the combination rating of validity, significance, and feasibility.

Conclusion:
The role of VIADS in hypothesis generation seems inconclusive. The VIADS group took a significantly shorter time to generate each hypothesis. However, the combined validity, significance, and feasibility ratings of their hypotheses were significantly lower. Further characterization of hypotheses, including specifics on how they might be improved, could guide future tool development.
Identifying culture as cause: Challenges and opportunities
Authors: Lonati Sirio , Lalive Rafael , Efferson Charles 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Causal inference lies at the core of many scientific endeavours. Yet answering causal questions is challenging, especially when studying culture as a causal force. Against this backdrop, this paper reviews research designs and statistical tools that can be used – together with strong theory and knowledge about the context of study – to identify the causal impact of culture on outcomes of interest. We especially discuss how overlooked strategies in cultural evolutionary studies can allow one to approximate an ideal experiment wherein culture is randomly assigned to individuals or entire groups (instrumental variables, regression discontinuity design, and epidemiological approach). In doing so, we also review the potential outcome framework as a tool to engage in causal reasoning in the cultural evolutionary field.
Base sizes of primitive groups of diagonal type
Authors: Huang Hong Yi 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Let G be a permutation group on a finite set

$\Omega $

. The base size of G is the minimal size of a subset of

$\Omega $

with trivial pointwise stabiliser in G. In this paper, we extend earlier work of Fawcett by determining the precise base size of every finite primitive permutation group of diagonal type. In particular, this is the first family of primitive groups arising in the O’Nan–Scott theorem for which the exact base size has been computed in all cases. Our methods also allow us to determine all the primitive groups of diagonal type with a unique regular suborbit.
Cytokines in hepatitis C-infected patients with or without opioid maintenance therapy
Authors: Nygaard-Odeh Kristin , Soloy-Nilsen Hedda , Kristiansen Magnhild Gangsoy , Brekke Ole Lars , Mollnes Tom Eirik , Berk Michael , Bramness Jorgen G. , Oiesvold Terje 
Published: January 2024

Abstract

Objective:
Both chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and opioids cause altered blood levels of cytokines. Previous studies have investigated levels of selected groups of cytokines in patients on opioid maintenance treatment. Little is known about the levels of multiple cytokines in patients with chronic HCV infection on opioid maintenance treatment. Our aim was to investigate the cytokine profile in patients with active HCV infection with and without opioid maintenance treatment.

Methods:
We conducted a cross-sectional study in an out-patients population included upon referral for antiviral hepatitis C infection treatment. The level of 27 cytokines was measured in serum using multiplex technology. Patients were interviewed using a modified version of the European addiction severity index. Data pertaining to weight, height, current medication, smoking habits, allergies, previous medical history and ongoing withdrawal symptoms were collected. Non-parametric testing was used to investigate differences in levels of cytokines between the two groups. A 3-model hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyse associations between cytokines and confounding variables.

Results:
Out of 120 included patients, 53 were on opioid maintenance treatment. Median duration of opioid treatment was 68.4 months. There were no demographical differences between the two groups other than age. IL-1β was lower and eotaxin-1 higher in the group on opioid maintenance treatment than in the non-opioid group. No other inter-group differences in the remaining cytokine levels were found.

Conclusion:
In HCV infection patients, the impact of chronic opioid administration on peripheral circulating cytokine level is minimal.
Ultra-processed foods consumption among a USA representative sample of middle-older adults: a cross-sectional analysis
Authors: Aljahdali Abeer Ali , Rossato Sinara Laurini , Baylin Ana 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe study evaluated the association between ultra-processed foods (UPF) and nutrient intake and identified the socio-demographic characteristics associated with UPF consumption among a nationally representative sample of middle-older adults. Dietary assessment was collected in 2013 using a validated FFQ. The Nova system was used to classify food and drinks into UPF. The percentage of dietary energy from UPF was calculated and used throughout the analyses, and average nutrient intake across quintiles of UPF was evaluated. The determinants associated with the dietary caloric contribution of UPF intake were investigated using linear regression models. A cross-sectional analysis of a nationally representative study of Americans over the age of 50, the Health and Retirement Study, was conducted. The analysis included 6220 participants. The mean age was 65 (se 0·28) years, with 55 % being female. UPF intake accounted for 51 % (se 0·25) of total intake. An increase in the percentage of (%UPF) consumption was correlated with an increase in calories, carbohydrates, saturated fat and sugar, and a decrease in fibre, vitamins and minerals. %UPF intake was inversely associated with being Hispanic, higher income, physical activity, vegetarian diet and Mediterranean diet but positively associated with very low food insecurity. UPF represented half of the calories consumed. A higher %UPF intake was associated with a lower nutrient profile, suggesting decreasing %UPF intake as a strategy to improve the nutritional quality of middle-older adults. A few socio-demographic factors were associated with %UPF, which would help in planning strategies to reduce UPF consumption.
A Song of Fallen Flowers: Miyazaki Tōten and the making of naniwabushi as a mode of popular dissent in transwar Japan, 1902–1909
Authors: Littler Joel 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe popular genre of sung and spoken performance—naniwabushi—was the biggest ‘craze’ during the first decade of the twentieth century in Japan. This article uncovers how Miyazaki Tōten (1870–1922), a revolutionary and thinker who became a naniwabushi balladeer, was instrumental in the rise of naniwabushi as a popular art form during the Russo-Japanese transwar period (1902–1909) and used it to engage in a practice of nihilist democracy. In using a transwar frame to examine the content, audiences, and contemporary reports of his performances, this article concludes that Miyazaki Tōten created ‘new’ naniwabushi to deliberately link the techniques and rhetoric of the Freedom and People’s Rights Movement from the 1880s to the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). He used naniwabushi to articulate his concepts of autonomous freedom, nihilism, and anarchist communitarianism in a time usually characterized by the heavy suppression of dissent. It counters the impression of the wholesale embrace of nationalism and support for Japanese imperialism and shows how Japan’s urban poor engaged in political discourse through popular entertainment that was critical of Japanese imperialism.
Exposing linguistic imperialism: Why global IR has to be multilingual
Authors: Aydinli Ersel , Aydinli Julie 
Published: January 2024

AbstractA key feature of the long-observed ‘core’ hegemony in International Relations (IR) is a linguistic one, yet it remains the least explored and confronted, with even today’s ‘Global IR’ discussion unquestioningly taking place in English. However, the non-English IR world is demographically and intellectually immense, and global IR cannot afford to ignore it. This study argues that English dominance in IR knowledge production and dissemination is a pillar of a dependent relationship between an English-speaking core and a non-English periphery. It further argues that this linguistic unilateralism, through assimilation, is structurally homogenising, and impedes the periphery’s original contribution potential in an imperialistic manner. This study examines 135 journals from 39 countries in the linguistic periphery to assess the degree and nature of English dominance in them. It explores the relationship between publication language and ranking and analyses citations to understand whether language matters for being cited in the core. We conclude with recommendations for institutions, individuals, and knowledge outlets, including a call for greater multilingualism, which – though a possible risk for parochialism and provincialism – is necessary for periphery concept development and incorporation into a broadened ‘core’, and a necessary stage to curbing the imperialistic impact of linguistic unilateralism and encouraging a genuine globalisation of IR.
Un-suturing Westphalian IR via non-Western literature: A Grey Man (1963)
Authors: Cho Young Chul , Seo Jungmin 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This paper aims to un-suture common-sense assumptions based on Westphalian International Relations (IR) from South Korea’s non-essentialist and situated perspective, in the context of decolonising IR. Towards this end, the paper methodologically investigates a South Korean novel, A Grey Man, published in 1963 during South Korea’s early post-colonial period at the height of the Cold War. Using a non-Western novel to conduct a contrapuntal reading of Westphalian IR, this paper constructs a different type of worlding, conceptualising ‘the international’ through ‘the cultural’. It explores the following questions: How do ‘yellow negroes’ (the subject race) make sense of themselves and their roles and life-modes in a world defined for them by the white West (the master race)? How do yellow negroes understand and respond to the white West, which is hegemonic in world politics and history? In what ways does the protagonist of A Grey Man resist, engage with, and relate to the hegemonic West, which he has already internalised? In addressing these questions, the paper attempts to access different IR words to think with, such as race, white supremacy, intimacy without equality, sarcastic empathy, and disengagement. These provide an arena in which we can think otherwise, while un-suturing dominant Westphalian IR thinking.
Tailoring the motion planning of humanoids in complex arena: a regression-firefly-based approach
Authors: Sahu Chinmaya , Parhi Dayal R. , Muni Manoj Kumar , Kamat Saurabh Sameer 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIn the current investigation, a two-stage hybridization model has been used for the motion planning of humanoids in complex environmental conditions using regression analysis and the firefly algorithm. In the first step, sensory outputs are fed to the regression model, and an initial turning angle (ITA) is obtained. In the second step, the ITA is again fed as input to the firefly model along with other required inputs, and the final turning angle (FTA) is obtained. The FTA serves as the guiding parameter for the humanoids to reach their desired destinations. The developed motion planning scheme has been implemented on NAO humanoid robots in simulation and experimental platforms. A Petri-Net control strategy has been integrated along with the hybrid scheme while negotiating multiple humanoids in a common platform. The results obtained from the motion planning analysis in simulation and experimental arenas are compared against each other in terms of selected navigational parameters and observed satisfactory agreements. Finally, the proposed hybrid controller is also tested against another standard navigational model and substantial enhancement in the performance has been noticed.
Design, modeling, and control of a novel soft-rigid knee joint robot for assisting motion
Authors: Li Yinan , Wang Yuxuan , Yuan Shaoke , Fei Yanqiong 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThis paper presents the design, modeling, and control of a novel soft-rigid knee joint robot (SR-KR) for assisting motion. SR-KR is proposed to assist patients with knee joint injuries conducting gait training and completing walking movements. SR-KR consists of a novel soft-rigid bidirectional curl actuator, a thigh clamping structure, and a crus clamping structure. The actuating part of SR-KR is composed of soft materials, which ensures the wearing comfort and safety, while the wearing parts contain rigid structure, which ensures the efficient transmission of torque. The bending deformation model of SR-KR is established, which reveal the relationship among SR-KR’s bending curvature, working pressure, and output torque. Experiments show that SR-KR can provide more than 26.3 Nm torque for knee joint motion in human gait range. A double closed loop servo control system including attitude servo and pressure servo is built to better apply SR-KR. Mechanical property test, trajectory-driven test, and lower limb wearing test have been conducted, which show that SR-KR has ability to assist in lower limb motion and has potential in the fields of rehabilitation and human enhancement.
A novel Human-Aware Navigation algorithm based on behavioral intention cognition
Authors: Li Jiahao , Zhang Fuhai , Fu Yili 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIn order to ensure safe and comfortable human–robot navigation in close proximity, it is imperative for robots to possess the capability to understand human behavioral intention. With this objective in mind, this paper introduces a Human-Aware Navigation (HAN) algorithm. The HAN system combines insights from studies on human detection, social behavioral model, and behavior prediction, all while incorporating social distance considerations. This information is integrated into a layer dedicated to human behavior intention cognition, achieved through the fusion of data from laser radar and Kinect sensors, employing Gaussian functions to account for individual private space and movement trend. To cater to the mapping requirements of the HAN system, we have reduced the computational complexity associated with traditional multilayer cost map by implementing a “first-come, first-served” expansion method. Subsequently, we have enhanced the trajectory optimization equation by incorporating an improved dynamic triangle window method that integrates human behavior intention cognition, leading to the determination of an appropriate trajectory for the robot. Finally, experimental evaluations have been conducted to assess and validate the efficacy of the human behavior intention cognition and the HAN system. The results clearly demonstrate that the HAN system outperforms the traditional Dynamic Window Approach algorithm in ensuring the safety and comfort of humans in human–robot coexistence environments.
Enjoyment of music and GCSE uptake: survey findings from three North East schools in England
Authors: Whitford Helen , Kokotsaki Dimitra 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIn recent years, music education has seen a decline in the number of students choosing to continue their studies at Key Stage 4 (14- to 16-year-old students) and choose music as a GCSE option in England. Whilst the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), a school performance measure which excludes the arts, has come under much scrutiny as to its impact on school music, enjoyment and the perceived importance of music lessons could also be contributing factors to low uptake. This paper presents student survey findings from the first part of a two-phase project that was based on a qualitatively driven mixed-method research design. Findings demonstrated that a decline in enjoyment and in the importance attributed to school music occurred in the first three years of lower secondary school (Key Stage 3). The enjoyment of school music was linked with the students’ engagement with practical components of music making, and its importance was mostly equated with future employment opportunities. The findings are discussed in terms of their practical implications in the teaching of music in secondary schools.
Love for a handsome man requires a lot of friends: Sociability practices related to romance games (Otome Games) in Japan
Authors: Giard Agnès 
Published: January 2024

AbstractJapan is the world’s largest producer of love simulation games, revealing a curious feature: these games, in theory, assign female players to the unique task of seducing a male character, but, in reality, they promote the establishment of a network of friendship between women. Love cannot be achieved if this network is not carefully woven both in play and in real life. Based on the analysis of this double dynamics, outwardly contradictory, I would like to advance the following hypothesis: that such games enable their users to ‘outsmart’ gender expectations. These games, called otome games, became popular in the context of a national panic related to the declining birthrate: they target the market of women who – living alone or with their parents – are held responsible for the future shortfall of the system. These new generations of women don’t start a family. They have no children. How do they manage to ward off exclusion and stigma? The study will focus on the strategies collectively devised to turn otome games into an identity-building tool, promoting friendship between players as a means of resistance against social norms.