Boundary Markers Research Articles

Farmers’ Perceptions, Socio‐economic and Political Stakes: What Inspires the Integration of Prunus africana On‐Farms in Central Uganda?

Globally, the diversity of indigenous medicinal tree species is threatened and yet such plants provide the least costly means of treatment for the poor. The factors that inspire adoption of such plants on farm are unclear. This study was conducted in communities adjacent to six protected areas in central Uganda, to (1) document the local uses of Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman, (2) assess the farmers’ perception towards integration of P. africana on farm, and (3) determine the factors that influence adoption of P. africana on farms. A total of 206 smallholder farmers were engaged through semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Data were analyzed in SPSS 20.0. Both material (medicine, timber, fuel) and non-material (windbreak, boundary marking and shade) uses were recognized. Up to 73% of the farmers perceived well the planting of P. africana on farms, and the positive perception evolved from training them in tree seed handling techniques, general nursery operations, and on-farm tree management. The farmers’ age, income and farm size were the most important factors predicting their readiness to integrate P. africana on-farm. However, their involvement was likely to only be beneficial if they get access to sufficient land and quality seedlings. Moreover, the farmers needed to be continuously provided with free/low cost seed/seedlings, trained in on farm tree management and soil fertility enhancement to approve integration of indigenous tree technologies.

TBX2/3 is required for regeneration of dorsal-ventral and medial-lateral polarity in planarians.

The molecular mechanisms responsible for axis establishment during non-embryonic processes remain elusive. The planarian flatworm is an ideal model organism to study body axis polarization and patterning in vivo. Here, we identified a homolog of the TBX2/3 in the planarian Dugesia japonica. RNA interference (RNAi) knockdown of TBX2/3 results in the ectopic formation of protrusions in the midline of the dorsal surface whichshows an abnormal expression of midline and ventral cell markers. Additionally, the TBX2/3 RNAi animals also show the duplication of expression of the boundary marker at the lateral edge. Furthermore, TBX2/3 is expressed in muscle cells and co-expressed with bmp4. Inhibition of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling reduces the expression of TBX2/3 at the midline. These results suggest that TBX2/3 RNAi results in phenotypic characters caused by inhibition of the BMP signal, indicating that TBX2/3 is required for DV and ML patterning, and might be a downstream gene of BMP signaling.

Whose emotions? Boundaries and boundary markers in the study of emotions

ABSTRACT This essay highlights the ‘boundary work’ accomplished through the identification and labelling of emotion with respect to the representation of communities and their memberships, the marking of group inclusion or exclusion, and the uses of emotion for shoring up, defining, and strengthening identities. It distinguishes between emotional self-identifications, the labelling practices that are used to mark the emotions of others, and the performances of emotions and practices of marking that are used for social mobility, for making claims to represent others, and for social reproduction. Bringing the author’s analysis of representations of emotion in the context of Telugu-speaking southern India into conversation with the essays in this volume, the essay identifies five different types of socio-cultural work that the performance, representation, and marking of emotion can perform. These include: (1) establishing one’s own membership in a group; (2) incorporating others; (3) staking a claim to represent others; (4) marking distinctions; and (5) reproducing existing social distinctions. While not an exhaustive list, nor always mutually exclusive, these categories are intended to illustrate a series of examples that provide a context for thinking about what is at stake in the representation, performance, and marking of emotion. The essay concludes with a recommendation to be attentive to the specific contexts in which emotion is performed, marked, or represented, and to ask who is doing the marking of emotion, what their relationships are to those who are marked as experiencing or displaying specific emotions, and what work such actions accomplish for those doing the marking.

Akali Dal’s Dilemma in relegating an ethnic agenda to moderate politics: An empirical analysis of the dera controversy and sacrilege issue

ABSTRACT The article argues that the moderation of Akali politics brings electoral gains for the party so long as it is in congruence with Sikh ethnic agenda. However, any drive for moderation of ideology beyond marked boundaries, relegating Sikh issues to the backburner has backfired for the party socially and politically. This was demonstrated during the assembly elections (2017) when the party tried to appease Dera Sirsa for electoral considerations, even compromising with Sikh traditions. As a result, the party suffered heavy electoral losses due to Sikh anguish over its soft attitude towards the Dera controversy and desecration of Guru Granth Sahib.

The Legal Element of Fixing the Boundary for Indonesian Complete Cadastre

In 2017, the Indonesian government implemented the systematic land registration (PTSL) process, projected to be finished by 2025. However, this process faces some challenges in the spatial and legal data collection process, resulting in the Indonesian cadastral system still being incomplete. For instance, during the three years of its implementation, out of about 135 million parcels, only 49.5% have been registered. Therefore, the level of completeness needs to be improved. This research aims to assess the compliance of the fixed boundary process’ legal elements, such as the parties that locate the boundary, agreement between the adjoining landowners, and boundary markers. This is a piece of qualitative research in which the data were obtained through interviews from questionnaire surveys to land administration policymakers. Subsequently, the research carried out regulation assessments to develop a country-context cadastre typology of the current cadastral mapping activities. Data were obtained from the results of the PTSL campaign in the Madiun regency. The result showed that the high percentage (i.e., 96.61%) of legal elements regarding the boundary agreement in a rural area could be used as a potential enabler towards achieving completion of the Indonesian cadastre.

Extraction of Road Lane Markings from Mobile LiDAR Data

This study presents a method for automatic extraction of road lane markings from mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. Road lanes and traffic signs on the road surface provide safe driving for drivers and aid traffic flow movement along the highway and street. Mobile LiDAR systems acquire massive datasets very quickly in a short time. To simplify the data structure and feature extraction, it is essential for traffic management personnel to apply the right methods. Road lanes must be visible and are a major factor in road safety for drivers. In this study, a methodology is devised and implemented for the extraction of features such as dashed lines, continuous lanes, and direction arrows on the pavement from point clouds. Point cloud data was collected from the Riegl VMX-450 mobile LiDAR system. The alpha shape algorithm is implemented on a point cloud and compared with the widespread use of edge detection techniques applied for intensity-based raster images. The proposed methodology directly extracts three-dimensional and two-dimensional road features to control the quality of road markings and spatial positions with the obtained marking boundaries. State-of-the-art results are obtained and compared with manually digitized reference markings. The standard deviations were evaluated and acquired for intensity image-based and direct point cloud-based extractions, at 1.2 cm and 1.7 cm, respectively.

Purity and Property at Gezer: The Commons in a Second Temple Town

Abstract Since the late nineteenth century, thirteen rock-cut inscriptions have been detected in the vicinity of Tel Gezer. Their date, function, and relationship to settlement history have all been debated. This article systematically relates the so-called “Boundary of Gezer” stones to the archaeology of the Hellenistic town on the tel. In doing so, it presents the first publication of an epitaph reused as the threshold of a house reportedly built in the 130s BCE. A boundary-making project of this nature was the result of the Hasmonean conquest of a stronghold of great strategic and ideological significance. The Gezer stones can be elucidated by means of comparison to boundary markers from Gerasa in Transjordan, Achaemenid Cilicia, and Greece. Code-switching between Greek and Hebrew/Aramaic, the bilingual boundaries distinguish between two forms of property, not two populations, providing important evidence for collective property rights in Second Temple Judaism.

Remembering Emmett Till

Remembering Emmett Till

A Discourse Analysis of Galatians and the New Perspective on Paul by David I. Yoon

Reviewed by: A Discourse Analysis of Galatians and the New Perspective on Paul by David I. Yoon Jermo van Nes david i. yoon, A Discourse Analysis of Galatians and the New Perspective on Paul (Linguistic Biblical Studies 17; Leiden: Brill, 2019). Pp. xiii + 312. $203. A revised version of Yoon’s doctoral dissertation supervised by Stanley E. Porter and accepted in 2018 by McMaster Divinity College, this monograph offers “both an outline of SFL [Systemic Functional Linguistics] discourse analysis, including theory and methodology, and an application of that theory to identify the context of situation in Galatians in view of [the] New Perspective on Paul [NPP]” (p. viii). The book is equally divided into two parts, theory and analysis, closed by a summary and conclusion, and is supplemented by three appendixes providing supportive linguistic data, a bibliography, and two indexes. The first part of Y.’s study serves as the framework for his SFL discourse analysis of Galatians. Chapter 1 traces the origin of the New Perspective on Paul, discussing contributions of its leading proponents as well as responses by sympathizers, dissenters, and mediators. Y. concludes that all sides of the debate describe the Jewish soteriological system in terms of either legalism (Old Perspective) or covenantal nomism (New Perspective). In chap. 2, Y. surveys approaches to discourse analysis in both modern linguistics and NT studies, [End Page 353] arguing that SFL discourse analysis “is far more comprehensive and heuristically beneficial” (p. 63) than other approaches as it describes “more than simply the textual meaning” (p. 63). Chapter 3 outlines the systemic and functional components of SFL discourse analysis in general and the concept of register in particular. Y. explains that the context of the situation determines register, which can be described in terms of field, tenor, and mode. He argues that the field of discourse is realized by the ideational metafunction of language, referring to the main ideas of a text as determined by the transitivity network (i.e., the processes, participants, and circumstances of a primary clause) and lexis; the tenor of discourse is realized by the interpersonal metafunction of language, denoting the social dynamics among the participants in a text as determined by speech functions and social roles; and the mode of discourse is realized by the textual metafunction of language, reflecting the structure and organization of a text as determined by cohesion, thematization, and prominence. In the second part of his study, Y. applies the criteria set for mood, field, and tenor analysis to Galatians. His mood analysis in chap. 4 reveals that 2:14b–21 addresses hypocritical more than improper behavior; that justification is not thematized; and that 3:15–25 on the promise and the law is the letter’s “prominent peak” (p. 189). Analyzing the field of Galatians in chap. 5, Y. concludes that justification is not a major subject of the letter. He also finds that Paul often contrasts faith with the law, writing positively about the former and negatively about the latter. This is supported by a lexico-semantic excursus on the phrase “works of the law” (erga nomou). With regard to tenor, Y. in chap. 6 concludes that Galatians “reflects a dire and grave situation . . . that demanded immediate reaction” (p. 260). For Y., all of this is to suggest that the context of the situation in Galatians seems to indicate that Paul feels threatened by a form of legalism more than covenantal nomism. This is not to say that Paul is addressing petty legalism, nor that the law can never serve as a set of boundary markers. As the first monograph-length study that approaches the New Perspective on Paul from a merely linguistic point of view, Y.’s dissertation is a welcome contribution. Y. is to be commended for providing accessible surveys of such complex issues as are the New Perspective on Paul and (SFL) discourse analysis. Introducing linguistic criteria that realize the mode, field, and tenor of discourse, which Y. applies to Galatians, is particularly helpful. These criteria warrant his conclusions, of which some are new in Pauline studies. It is to be expected that not everyone will agree with these conclusions, but, unlike many other scholars, Y. at...

Efficient stable-width adder-sapling strategy using Brent Kung adder

Abstract Addition is energetic arithmetic operation and is the base of other arithmetic operations like multiplication, subtraction and division. Adder could be advanced circuit that does expansion of twofold numbers. Gadgets with less control utilization and great execution are continuously favoured. Parallel Prefix adders are broadly utilized in computerized plan. This can be fundamentally since of the flexibility preparation in the adders. Brent Kung Adder employments less circuitry to get the result. The main concept of the paper, so as to diminish area and delay as well as power compared to existing work. In this paper we present Brent Kung Adder Plantlet structure and compared with modified full adder and ripple carry adder. Proposed structure (BKA) is an advanced binary adder design. Arrangement using straightforward otherwise post-decrease procedure. In straightforward or else boundary marker diminishments, retiring inferior ask bit from each adder give up of full-broadness adder sapling is post-abbreviated. At that point the condition of straight-decrease, lower mastermind pieces of convincing stage adder produce stay abbreviated. Both these strategies don't give a capable arrangement. In this brief, another arrangement is shown to obtain fixed-expansiveness BK-AS resolution using abbreviated data. The most raised precision in the current consistent broadness AS. The complete strategy synthesized and simulated by using Xilinx ISE 14.7 by using Verilog HDL.

ВІДПОВІДАЛЬНІСТЬ ЗА ПОРУШЕННЯ ЗЕМЕЛЬНОГО ЗАКОНОДАВСТВА

The article is devoted to the theoretical definition of the concepts of responsibility, legal responsibility, land offense «responsibility» and «legal responsibility for land offenses». It has been established that a land offense is a socially harmful criminal act or omission that contradicts the norms of land law. Land offenses are considered as negative social phenomena, as they encroach on the land system and law and order, aimed at ensuring the rational use and protection of land and protection of persons using land. It is concluded that legal liability is applied for the commission of the relevant offense: disciplinary or administrative misconduct, criminal offense, civil violation in the field of land relations. All the above indicates that a land offense is a guilty, illegal act or omission that contradicts the legal norms of rational use of land resources, impedes the rights and legitimate interests of landowners and land users, violates the state procedure for land management as the national wealth of our country. It is stated that depending on the specific type of objects, land offenses can be divided into two groups: the actual land offenses and land offenses of environmental orientation. It also identifies a number of important functions that are implemented during prosecution for violations of land legislation. These questions will be relevant for further research. A land offense is a socially harmful criminal act or omission that contradicts the norms of land law. Land offenses are considered as negative social phenomena, as they encroach on the land system and law and order, aimed at ensuring the rational use and protection of land and protection of persons who use land. Also, depending on the specific type of objects, land offenses can be divided into two groups: the actual land offenses and land offenses of environmental orientation. Offenses of the first group violate the requirements of rational use and protection of land, legal rights and interests of landowners and land users, including tenants. These include: noncompliance with the requirements for the use of land for its intended purpose; unauthorized occupation of land plots; destruction of boundary markers; evasion of state registration of land plots and submission of unreliable information about them and some others.

From emergency practice to Christian polemics? Augustine’s invocation of infant baptism in the Pelagian Controversy

In this article, I build upon Jean-Albert Vinel’s account of Augustine’s “liturgical argument” against the Pelagians by exploring how and why Augustine uses both the givenness of the practice of infant baptism and its ritual components as evidence for his theological conclusions in opposition to those of the Pelagians. First, I explore infant baptism in the Roman North African Church before and during Augustine’s ministry. Second, I interpret Augustine’s rhetorical adaptation of the custom in his attempt to delineate the defining characteristics of Catholic Christianity in the early fifth century. I show how Augustine mobilizes his belief in the efficacy of the Church’s practice of infant baptism to make explicit a boundary marker of “Catholic” Christianity, which was long implicit in the practice itself. Perceiving the consequences of Pelagianism, Augustine organizes his anti-Pelagian soteriology around the central node of infant baptism, the most theologically and rhetorically strategic means by which he could refute the Pelagian heresy and underwrite what he understood to be the traditional vision of sin and salvation evident in the baptismal rite.

Deep Metric Learning for Cervical Image Classification.

Cervical cancer is caused by the persistent infection of certain types of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and is a leading cause of female mortality particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA) is a commonly used technique in cervical screening. While this technique is inexpensive, clinical assessment is highly subjective, and relatively poor reproducibility has been reported. A deep learning-based algorithm for automatic visual evaluation (AVE) of aceto-whitened cervical images was shown to be effective in detecting confirmed precancer (i.e. direct precursor to invasive cervical cancer). The images were selected from a large longitudinal study conducted by the National Cancer Institute in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica. The training of AVE used annotation for cervix boundary, and the data scarcity challenge was dealt with manually optimized data augmentation. In contrast, we present a novel approach for cervical precancer detection using a deep metric learning-based (DML) framework which does not incorporate any effort for cervix boundary marking. The DML is an advanced learning strategy that can deal with data scarcity and bias training due to class imbalance data in a better way. Three different widely-used state-of-the-art DML techniques are evaluated- (a) Contrastive loss minimization, (b) N-pair embedding loss minimization, and, (c) Batch-hard loss minimization. Three popular Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (ResNet-50, MobileNet, NasNet) are configured for training with DML to produce class-separated (i.e. linearly separable) image feature descriptors. Finally, a K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) classifier is trained with the extracted deep features. Both the feature quality and classification performance are quantitatively evaluated on the same data set as used in AVE. It shows that, unlike AVE, without using any data augmentation, the best model produced from our research improves specificity in disease detection without compromising sensitivity. The present research thus paves the way for new research directions for the related field.

Word Segmentation for Classical Chinese Buddhist Literature

With the growth of digital humanities, information technologies take on more important roles in humanities research, including the study of religion. To analyze text for further processing, many text analysis tools treat a word as a unit. However, in Chinese, there are no word boundary markers. Word segmentation is required for processing Chinese texts. Although several word segmentation tools are available for modern Chinese, there is still no practical word segmentation tool for Classical Chinese, especially for Classical Chinese Buddhist literature. In this paper, we adopt unsupervised and supervised learning techniques to build Classical Chinese word segmentation approaches for processing Buddhist literature. Normalized variation of branching entropy (nVBE) is adopted for unsupervised word segmentation. Conditional random fields (CRF) are used to generate supervised models for Classical Chinese word segmentation. The performance of our word segmentation approach achieves an F-score of up to 0.9396. The experimental results show that our proposed method is effective for correctly segmenting most Classical Chinese sentences in Buddhist literature. Our word segmentation method can be a fundamental tool for further text analysis and processing research, such as word embedding, syntactic parsing, and semantic labeling.

The proposal of a GSSP for the Berriasian Stage (Cretaceous System): Part 2

In part 1 of this work we discussed the possibilities for the selection of a GSSP for the Berriasian Stage of the Cretaceous System, based on prevailing practical methods for correlation in that J/K interval, traditional usage and the consensus over the best boundary markers that had developed in the last forty years. This consensus has developed further, based on the results of multidisciplinary studies on numerous sites over the last decade. Here in Part 2 we give an account of the application of those results by the Berriasian Working Group (ISCS), and present the stratigraphic evidence that justifies the selection of the locality of Tré Maroua (Hautes-Alpes, SE France) as the proposed GSSP. We describe a 45 m-thick section in the Calcaires Blancs vocontiens – that part of the formation covering the calpio­nellid Chitinoidella, Remanei. Intermedia, Colomi, Alpina, Ferasini, Elliptica and Simplex biozones. The stratigraphic data collected here has been compiled as part of a wider comparative study of complementary Vocontian Basin sites (with localities at Charens, St Bertrand, Belvedere and Le Chouet). Evidence from Tré Maroua thus sits in this substantial regional biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic context. For the purposes of the GSSP definition, here we particularly concentrate on the unbroken sequence and biotic markers in the interval immediately below the boundary, the Colomi Subzone (covering circa 675,000 years), and immediately above, the Alpina Subzone (covering circa 725,000 years). Particularly significant fossil datums identified in the Tré Maroua profile are the primary basal Berriasian marker, the base of the Alpina Subzone (a widespread event marked by dominance of small Calpionella alpina, with rare Crassicollaria parvula and Tintinopsella carpathica): the base of the Berriasian Stage is placed at the base of bed 14, which coincides with the base of the Alpina Subzone. Secondary markers bracketing the base of the Calpionella Zone are the FOs of the calcareous nannofossil species Nannoconus wintereri, close below the boundary, and the FO of Nannoconus steinmannii minor, close above. The Tithonian/Berriasian boundary level occurs within M19n.2n, in common with many documented sites, and is just below the distinctive reversed magnetic subzone M19n.1r (the so-called Brodno reversal). We present data which is congruent with magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic data from other key localities in France and in wider regions (Le Chouet, Saint Bertrand, Puerto Escaño, Rio Argos, Bosso, Brodno, Kurovice, Theodosia…), and thus the characteristics and datums identified at Tré Maroua are key for correlation and, in general, they typify the J/K boundary interval in Tethys and connected seas.

Customs and Municipal Law: The Symbolic Authority of the Past (Low Countries, 16th–17th Century)

ABSTRACT Over the past decades, legal historians have become more cautious when it comes to rules that in the Middle Ages and the early modern period were defined as ‘(old) customs’. Earlier optimistic appraisals as to the age of such rules have been challenged. This article argues that efforts of debunking should be combined with a more thorough analysis of the legal consciousness of past societies. It proposes to look at old municipal private law, not as a set of rules fixed by tradition, but rather as a malleable body of norms. The symbolic qualities of law were such that renewal and rephrasal could be combined with an ideology of conservation. It was perfectly possible for administrators to promote new rules as being a part of an ‘age-old law’ of the city or the land, without breaching the implicit conventions as to the qualities of law. However, as will be demonstrated further, there were limits to the agency of administrators in this regard. The codes as to the features of law marked boundaries that had to be taken seriously.

Kongssteinen og navnet Stavanger

This article present a new and somewhat daring interpretation of the name Stavanger. Previous discussions have revolved around from which topographical elements the name originates. The suffix ON angr, fjord, predates the Viking Age. ON stafr, standing staff became early an appellative for boundary markers. The King’s stone (Kongssteinen) was a remarkable boulder, at least 5.6 meters high and 6.2–7.5 meters wide. In the 4th century, the nearby land was cleared for farming and the boulder became clearly visible from the fjord. The King’s stone was one of several hoarstones for an ancient farm, Eiganes, – the parent farm of the town. It balanced on the top of a low mountain ridge (29 MASL) above the medieval town. It is discussed whether this boundary marker gave name to the fjord Stavanger, which in the 10th century also became the name of the town.

Frequent activity on Vulcano (Italy) spanning the last 80 ky: New insights from the chemo-stratigraphy of the Brown Tuffs

The Brown Tuffs (BT) are widespread reddish-brown to grey, ash-rich pyroclastic deposits recognized in the stratigraphic sequences of the Aeolian Islands and Capo Millazzo peninsula (Sicily) that span the last 80 ky. They have very homogeneous lithological, textural and sedimentological features which make it difficult to reliably correlate units on the islands to proximal units in the source areas. Here we carefully re-interpret the stratigraphic profiles of the BT on Vulcano and Lipari where the deposits are thickest and present the most complete succession. The investigation is based on a large dataset of major and minor element geochemistry of juvenile glass components for the majority of the recognized BT depositional units, whilst also providing new radiocarbon ages. The distinctive chemical groupings observed within the glass analyses, both temporally and spatially, allow us to fingerprint the three main stratigraphically defined macro-units in which the BT succession can be sub-divided using prominent tephra marker beds, the Ischia Tephra (Monte Epomeo Green Tuff; 56 ky) and Monte Guardia pyroclastics from Lipari (herein radiocarbon dated to 27–26 ky). The Lower (80–56 ky; LBT), Intermediate (56–27 ky; IBT) and Upper BT (here dated at 24–6 ky; UBT) macro-units display K-series volcanic glasses ranging from basaltic trachy-andesites, through trachy-andesites, to more evolved trachytes, all consistent with an origin on Vulcano. The UBT are clearly distinguished from the lower macro units by their higher-SiO2 trachy-andesite to trachytic glasses, which extend to noticeably lower TiO2, CaO and MgO contents. These features make it possible to re-define the geochemical-evolutionary boundary between IBT and UBT as corresponding to the 24 ky Spiaggia Lunga scoria bed on Vulcano, which is stratigraphically higher (and younger) than the previous boundary marker (Monte Guardia). The glass compositions of the LBT, IBT and UBT are used to: (1) assess links to known proximal eruption units outcropping on Vulcano; (2) validate medial-distal BT occurrences across the Aeolian archipelago (Salina, Filicudi and Panarea) and on Capo Millazzo; (3) confirm that the BT are responsible for distal volcanic ash layers preserved in Central Mediterranean marine sedimentary archives. Interestingly, the glass compositions of the UBT are very similar to those of the Punte Nere unit, the earliest pyroclastic products erupted from the currently active La Fossa cone on Vulcano, indicating the corresponding magmatic system has likely erupted similar melts and products over the last 24 ky and thus extending its life cycle. Such information is crucial for evaluating the long-term eruption scenarios underpinning hazard assessment of the La Fossa caldera magmatic system.

Family Matters: Negotiating Intergenerational Mixed Identities among Eurasian Families in Singapore

This paper tracks and explores the generational changes in the dynamics of racial identity and identification of Eurasians in Singapore, as reflected in family life. Eurasians are a historic mixed-descent community originating in the mixing of European and Asian cultures in the region since the 16th century. By analysing the embodied enactment and negotiation of mixed identities intergenerationally in the spheres of marriage and language choices, the paper reveals how families express and construct what it means to be Eurasian in the Singaporean context. This study draws on 30 interviews with self-identified Eurasians over two generations, including six paired intra-family interviews, illustrating intergenerational identity shifts. While the boundedness of racial identification appeared to be the norm for earlier generations, a tempering of race as a boundary marker and an openness to changing familial rhythms have served to encourage a lowering of race consciousness among younger Eurasians in Singapore.

Exploring shared decision making in breast cancer care

Shared decision making (SDM) is acknowledged as the gold standard of healthcare communication, particularly relevant to preference-sensitive care such as breast cancer treatment. However, research on patients’ experiences shows a misalignment between clinicians’ goals and the rhetoric regarding patients’ empowerment during SDM for this treatment. This warrants detailed examination on the conversational dynamics of SDM, and this study aims to identify interactional features and social practices through which SDM is achieved. Fifteen audio recordings from adjuvant treatment breast cancer consultations were examined using the methodology of conversation analysis (CA), and recurrent patterns relevant for understanding SDM were identified. Boundary markers, rhetorical questioning and epistemic markers discouraged a shared orientation to patient participation, reinforcing perceived imbalanced doctor–patient power relations. Cues for SDM such as multi-turn utterances and spaces for transition were presented but not recognised by patients, resulting in sub-optimal two-way discussions about decision making. The findings also reveal that interactional practices were deployed that theoretically should have enabled patients to contribute to SDM. However, in reality these did not result in extended sequences of reciprocated contributions from practitioner and service user. SDM did not happen with the ease implied by current models, and the resultant interactions bore more similarity to expert-led, rather than collaborative, decision making