Central Reference Point Research Articles

Causal inference in multi-cohort studies using the target trial framework to identify and minimize sources of bias.

Longitudinal cohort studies, which follow a group of individuals over time, provide the opportunity to examine causal effects of complex exposures on long-term health outcomes. Utilizing data from multiple cohorts has the potential to add further benefit by improving precision of estimates through data pooling and by allowing examination of effect heterogeneity through replication of analyses across cohorts. However, the interpretation of findings can be complicated by biases that may be compounded when pooling data, or, contribute to discrepant findings when analyses are replicated. The "target trial" is a powerful tool for guiding causal inference in single-cohort studies. Here we extend this conceptual framework to address the specific challenges that can arise in the multi-cohort setting. By representing a clear definition of the target estimand, the target trial provides a central point of reference against which biases arising in each cohort and from data pooling can be systematically assessed. Consequently, analyses can be designed to reduce these biases and the resulting findings appropriately interpreted in light of potential remaining biases. We use a case study to demonstrate the framework and its potential to strengthen causal inference in multi-cohort studies through improved analysis design and clarity in the interpretation of findings. Special Collection: N/A.

Ethical banking behavior among millennials and Gen-Z in Malaysia

PurposeThis study aims to determine the factors that influence ethical banking behavior among millennials and Gen-Z in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachA stratified sample of 525 millennials and Gen-Z of Malaysian banking customers was used. Extended ethical decision-making (EDM) model was tested using partial least square-structural equation model for the analysis.FindingsThe findings indicated that the engagement of millennials and Gen-Z in ethical banking is influenced by factors such as intention, judgment and awareness, which shaped both generations’ ethical banking behavior.Practical implicationsThis study could be a central reference point and assist banking institutions in understanding the preferences of millennials and Gen-Z.Originality/valueThis study extends the previous EDM model that focused solely on consumer's belief systems. Three aspects differentiate this paper and contribute to its originality, namely, the uniqueness of millennials and Gen-Z behavior, incorporating new variables along with the EDM models and study in Malaysian context.

The Airport and the Zoo

This article focuses on the shared history of Frankfurt Zoological Garden and Airport, developing an infrastructural perspective on the rise of behavioral thinking in postwar environmental sciences. It shows that technical and logistical environments, such as seaports, airports, train stations, and highways, shaped the way environmental scientists and a broader public conceptualized animal behavior. Similar to ergonomics and human factor engineering in the 1950s and ’60s, human-made spaces and interiors became central reference points for developing and testing new ideas on the interaction between animals and “the environment.” Further, airports were sites of knowledge transfer between practitioners, including animal traders, care attendants, veterinarians, logistics experts, and scientists. The first part of the article draws on the works of biologist and Frankfurt’s Zoo director Bernhard Grzimek, who made excessive use of air cargo to ship wild animals to Frankfurt. The second part traces the emergence of new spaces for animals at Frankfurt Airport in the 1950s—such as the “animal room” in the cargo area. The third part of the article uncovers the hidden networks of animal traders and shipping companies that made Frankfurt Airport a major international hub in animal air cargo. Lastly, the article argues that hands-on experience of animal behavior, such as that conducted in airports like Frankfurt, is part of a broader pattern of environmental knowledge production in in the twentieth century—in close proximity to infrastructure projects.

Racialised underclass: pathways to work for Roma students in the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT This paper examines the interplay of class and race in theeducation of Roma students in the Czech Republic. We contribute to theliterature on the role of teachers as gatekeepers to future education andemployment by looking into how they assign educational and career routes basedon what they perceive as appropriate for particular students, with students'backgrounds being the deciding criterion. Race and social class are centralpoints of reference, which may operate separately or in concert. The perceivedlow aspirations of Roma children do not only result from an association withtheir social class but are also a product of a racialised school environment,which builds on an understanding of biologised and homogenous Roma identities. We interviewed twenty pedagogues twice, at the beginning of the school year (2021/2022) and towards the end of the year, as their students were preparing to transition from compulsory to secondary education.

Community perceptions of sustainability: (Re)framing what matters for more just, ethical, and liveable municipalities

ABSTRACT Municipal governments and community organisations are key stakeholders in the mobilisation of global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through opportunities to make and implement sustainability policies at local levels. However, as perceptions of sustainability are normalised through globalising, colonial, neoliberal, and capitalist discourses, alternative stories of sustainability become marginalised. In response, this article positions diverse, contrasting, and often conflicting perceptions of sustainability within a relational assemblage to map the affects of difference between normalising and alternative perceptions of sustainability in local governance contexts of Saskatchewan, Canada. This article adopts cartographic and diffractive storytelling to map diverse perceptions of sustainability gathered through a series of focus groups and a Skills Forum event, as part of the Governing Sustainable Municipalities (GSM) project. By reading perceptions of sustainability through each other, economic, social, and environmental pillars of sustainability and diverse perceptions of sustainability from diverse stakeholders come into an entangled/differentiated relationship. As there is no central point of reference in a relational assemblage, heterogeneous perceptions of sustainability are held together through complex patternings of diverse, multiple, and often sticky, uneven knottings that dislodge hierarchical assumptions about what counts as sustainability. Providing an emplaced and situated account of perceptions of sustainability, we illustrate how municipal and organisational actors can transform through co-implicated relationships with social and material forces. To this end, assemblage thinking provides important anticolonial possibilities for sustainability policy making and implementation in the municipal sector.

Poetry, Philosophy, and Smart AI

Abstract: Here I look at sundry aspects of the current controversy about Generative AI and, in particular, the implications of this new and rapidly evolving technology for poetry, the arts, and human creativity in general. My essay looks at earlier episodes in the history of thought, from Descartes on, that I take to have prefigured this latest debate around 'the human' in relation to its various physical, 'artificial,' or (presumptively) prosthetic means of extension and refinement. I also discuss its bearing on literary-critical issues concerning the formal or structural aspects of poetry, the role (if any) of authorial intent, and the extent to which criticism enters into– and might lay claim to a stake in–what counts as human creativity. A central point of reference is William Empson's 1930 book, Seven Types of Ambiguity, where these issues are raised in a strikingly prescient way through his practice of close-focused textual analysis allied to great philosophical acuity. I conclude that a priori attitudinizing, pro or con, is not much use in this context, but that poets, critics, philosophers, cognitive scientists, and AI researchers need to cooperate in the reexamination of many long-standing but now highly contestable distinctions.

Pristup odozdo prema gore nasuprot odozgo prema dolje: kako se participativni dizajn može koristiti za definiranje postkonfliktnog kulturnog pamćenja u Hrvatskoj

Ethnic tensions and a constitutional crisis brought about the disintegration of Yugoslavia, which resulted in Croatia loosening ties with the Federation and subsequently declaring its independence. The quest for Croatian independence led to the Homeland War which took place between 1991–1995. The post-conflict transformation of the country primarily concentrated on the political and economic aspects of reconstruction, however the importance of developing a national strategy to deal with cultural memory, as part of the rebuilding process, has largely been neglected. Through a series of case studies, this paper will reveal how a significant proportion of Croatia’s cultural memory is dealt with through various forms of community engagement, centering around local civic organisations that “sprung up” as a consequence of the Homeland War. These communities are staging memorials, not just as places and occasions to gather around grief, but as means of highlighting the self-expression of loss in a public setting. Technological advancements, especially open-source access to new media, has encouraged more personal and community initiated and driven projects. Centered around participatory design, these projects demonstrate a more inclusive approach that enables local communities to record, collect and communicate their cultural memory, rather than rely on ‘approved’ state institutions. This article looks at how participatory design can aid in bridging and preservation of cultural memory of the Homeland War through the development of a participatory design framework which could be used as a central reference point to facilitate participatory projects between cultural institutions and their patrons, thus creating a more empowering approach to post-memory.

The Meddling Professor: Bernard Crick's Active Defence of Politics

It's now fifteen years since the death of Bernard Crick. His contribution to modern scholarship and political writing continues to be recognised largely with reference to ‘the book’ and ‘the biography’, namely the ‘mere essay’ In Defence of Politics and his major work on George Orwell. The central contention of this article, however, is that Crick's corpus of work continues to have a wide contemporary relevance that reaches far beyond these two central reference points. Crick's arguments about ideology and political cultures remain hugely significant to anyone seeking to understand or contest the emergence of populism. Populism has, in recent years, reaffirmed its status as a highly effective mode of political galvanisation. Crick saw populism as the most urgent threat to politics and his concerns are widely echoed in academia and beyond. This article uses some of Crick's political ‘meddling’ in his final years as a lens through which to examine Crick's active defence of politics. These include Crick's deep engagement with Scottish political life, and manifestations of his truculent moderation and intellectual pluralism. It argues that Crick embodied a positive faith that, though powerful and serious, threats to politics could be disarmed and repelled.

The impact of cybercrime on students' social relationships amid COVID-19: A Ha'il University study

This study examines the profound impact of cybercrime on the social dynamics of students at Ha'il University in Saudi Arabia during the tumultuous period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a carefully crafted and validated questionnaire and data collected from 110 participants, the study reveals nuanced shifts in relationships involving peers, instructors, and especially family members. The importance of understanding these shifts is underscored by the global increase in cyber activity during lockdowns. The findings reveal a pronounced and disturbing impact of cybercrime on family ties. Although the overall gender-based findings were mostly the same, female students showed a higher level of awareness in family-centered situations. This suggests that there are deeper implications for this group and points to the subtleties in society that may be influencing these views. In response to these troubling findings, the study presents a comprehensive set of recommendations. These include raising awareness of cybercrime among students and the wider community, pushing for the introduction of holistic policies and regulations against such crimes, and the essential embedding of cybercrime education within academic curricula. It also emphasizes the paramount need for robust support structures for victims, underscoring the importance of a holistic approach to combating the threat of cybercrime. The implementation of these strategies aims not only to curate a safer digital landscape but also to mitigate the ever-increasing detrimental effects of cybercrime on interpersonal relationships. The robust sample size coupled with meticulous methodology enhances the credibility and applicability of these findings, making this study a central reference point for future research efforts, policy formulation, educational strategies, and community outreach programs in an increasingly digital age.

The Indonesian “Cosmopolitan Islamic Intellectual” Revisited: A Focus on the Continued Prevalence of “Cosmopatriotism” and the “West”

Abstract This paper argues that the mainstream Indonesian cosmopolitan Islamic intellectual milieu has not been adequately conceptualized in existing literature. By presenting a political history of the evolution of this cosmopolitan cohort and by engaging with contemporary emic Indonesian debates on the nexus between cosmopolitanism, Islam, and the nation state, the paper finds that in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in the archipelago, cosmopolitan Islamic thought has been, and continues to be, significantly driven and shaped by the interplay of international influences dominated by the “West” and Indonesian patriotic politics. More recently, Indonesia’s perceived status as an Islamic periphery and the country’s emerging soft power agenda contribute to furthering a peculiar relationship between cosmopolitanism and patriotism in Indonesian Islamic intellectualism. The paper argues that as a result of the strong impact of patriotism, mainstream Indonesian cosmopolitan Islamic intellectuals are best understood as nationally rooted “cosmopatriots,” representing “cosmopatriotism,” while the “West” remains a central intellectual and cultural reference point.

Exploring the referential range of etymologically-related lexical pairs in the language of the Qur’an: A cognitive-semantic approach

The present study conducts a cognitive-semantic analysis of etymologically-related lexical pairs in the language of the Qur’an. Based on objective selection criteria, the lexical pair rīĥ (a singular form literally meaning wind) and riyāĥ (a plural form literally meaning winds) has been claimed to be representative of the final data set, which includes 20 lexical pairs. Building on the theoretical underpinnings of descriptive semantics and frame semantics, the analysis sought to fulfill three main objectives: (a) identifying the referential range of the pair rīĥ and riyāĥ and its central reference point; (b) explaining the way the historical and theological context helps to mark the connotations associated with each sense in the referential range; and (c) sorting the discourse functions communicated through the cognitive frame(s) evoked by such a lexical pair. Findings showed that the central cognitive frame of both lexical items is that of moving air. However, rīĥ has developed, through metaphorical extension, two other senses that are not applicable to riyāĥ: power/predominance and smell. Finally, both lexical items have been proven to have positive, negative, and neutral connotations that have been divinely manipulated to perform various discourse functions.

Against Renaissance Perspective: The Soaring Gaze

This essay explores whether ontology is internal to traditional Chinese culture from the perspective of the view from above. Ancient Chinese philosophy, poetry, and art abound with all kinds of descriptions of viewing from above. Such views from on high, as illustrated by famous works discussed in this essay, usually admit of no fixed focus; that is, there is no ontic being, concealed or disclosed, controlling the perceiving eyes. The gaze from above, which is either fluid or decentered, in some cases does not even focus on any real object. It merely reveals an abstract historical review or an attitudinal stance. As such, the fushi gaze, devoid of any concrete object of perception or any central point of reference, always points to the absence of ontology.

Morgenländischer Glanz. Eine deutsche jüdische Literaturgeschichte (1750–1850) by Kathrin Wittler

Reviewed by: Morgenländischer Glanz. Eine deutsche jüdische Literaturgeschichte (1750–1850) by Kathrin Wittler Carsten Schapkow Kathrin Wittler. Morgenländischer Glanz. Eine deutsche jüdische Literaturgeschichte (1750–1850). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019. xii + 620 pp. This ambitious, innovative, and highly readable book of 620 pages—one does not want to miss a single page—is a "German Jewish literary history" based on Kathrin Wittler's 2016 dissertation deciphering the trope of Orientalism among Jewish writers—male and female, well-known and less known today—between 1750 and 1850 in the context of their own literary productions. In doing so, this study goes beyond existing works by Hans Otto Horch, Sander Gilman, Jack Zipes, and Andreas Kilcher. As has been well researched, within this time frame, a modern Jewish identity responding to the challenges of the era of emancipation (see, e.g., Michael A. Meyer's 1996 Deutsch-jüdische Geschichte in der Neuzeit) [End Page 202] and a distinct modern German national culture was developing, as well as the emergence of the academic field of (German) Orientalism. By not focusing on the last third of the nineteenth century and beyond, with its unique debates on German Jewish identities, Wittler urges us to pay attention to these eminent earlier debates. Thus, it is the goal of this book to emphasize the connectedness between academic subjects such as Germanistik, Jewish studies, and Orientalism by also applying current discussions on postcolonialism to it. As Wittler argues, Jewish writers did not express an affiliation with the Orient but rather a connection to particular "time spaces of the Orient," which were not exclusively attached to biblical topics. This thorough book is organized into five chapters and a conclusion covering these 100 years of literary history. This is the time frame when ideas and concepts on the emancipation of the Jews in Germany were debated—decisively well before Jews eventually became citizens in 1871. Treatises like the "Civic Betterment of the Jews" (1781) by Dohm led to wide-ranging responses amongst Jews and non-Jews in the belles lettres as well. The introductory chapter, "Orientalism in German Jewish literature," not only describes the scope and goal of the study but also provides a coherent analysis regarding the existing terminology and meaning of a "German Jewish literary history" with an emphasis on German Jewish as a nonhyphenated term. Wittler opens this chapter by raising the question of who (Jewish and non-Jewish authors) and what topics belong to this literature? According to her account, it makes a difference whether one is writing about a nonhyphenated "German Jewish" literature or the hyphenated variant. Instead of asking about the "contribution" of Jewish authors to German literature and looking for traces of "Jewish identity," Wittler "analyzes the literary procedures that were used around 1800 to (self-) attribute Jewish authorship and origin." Without doubt, the relation Jews had with German literature was an intimate one, arguably finding its first peak with Mendelssohn. A central category of analysis throughout her book is what Wittler terms self- or external Orientalism (Selbst und Fremdorientalisierung). Most strikingly, the author convincingly conveys and strengthens the Jewish voice in this regard by not renarrating the multiple existing accounts of Jews' passive modes of adaption. Instead, Jewish authors cultivated an "Oriental splendor" and thus expressed their own Jewish voice. This can be seen in Chapter 2, titled "On the Oriental Spirit of Hebrew Poetry: Jewish Traditions in the Competitive Field of Antiquities." The focus here is on Hebrew poetry as the central point of reference in the intellectual discourses mainly before 1800, which, as Wittler rightly points out, has thus far been widely neglected in scholarship. In these debates, Jewish writers like Mendelssohn, Ephraim, Behr, Kuh, and Ascher helped to establish a literary discourse with a distinct Jewish voice that was built on models of antiquity and that did not perceive Jewish literary traditions as Oriental and foreign to the Western canon but rather as an integral part of it. This Jewish voice has been denied by non-Jewish writers such as Breitenbach, Gleim, and Herder who did not recognize Hebrew writings mainly those of the Bible as part of the classical canon of the Western...

Psychosocial risks in the working environment – approaches to formative risk assessment

The following explanations are based on the central reference points and results of the basic research project on psychosocial risks in the world of work, which was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The aim of this project was to develop a formative risk assessment of psychosocial risks in the world of work with a special focus on the dynamic interdependencies between gainful employment and care work as well as structural work stress and subjectively perceived work stress. The result of this project is a theoretical-generic model of a formative risk assessment, which can be specifically configured for different stakeholder groups and was operationalized as a psychotherapeutic medical product via the Innosuisse project “SELBA” (Self Recognize, Understand, Change and Monitor Work Stresses and Strains).

Digital Twin – A Tool for Project Management in Manufacturing

The Digital Twin concept has the potential to be a useful tool in project management and in Lean manufacturing. The common goal of risk management by project managers and mitigating unpredictable behavior using the Digital Twin can improve the development of manufacturing systems. Digital Twins would also aid project managers in managing resources and communication between stakeholders. The researcher is working with a manufacturing SME in the engineering sector in the application of digitalisation tools to optimize production operations. A Digital Twin is being developed, and this will be used to investigate aspects of risk and resource management as well as the benefits of communication using visualization. Are there aspects of process development that can now be measured using Digital Twins that we were not capable of previously? The Digital Twin as a central point of reference for information about a manufacturing process and its associated equipment could add efficiencies to maintenance and process improvements over the lifecycle of a system.

Pushkin’s Myth in the Novel "The Slynx" by T. Tolstaya: the Trickster, Buratino and “Our Be All”

The article analyzes Pushkin’s myth as presented in T. Tolstaya’s "The Slynx" (2000), its structure, main components, character specifics, intertextual connections to Russian classics and the author’s own works. The novel enhances the literary tradition of the 20th century and establishes a new artistic paradigm that complements and reinterprets the entire Pushkin mythology. The essential foundations of the Pushkin myth in Tolstaya’s texts were the culture of the Silver Age and Russian traditionalism, which showed interest in the archaic. The author adeptly blends factual and non-factual elements of the poet’s biography, including lines from his texts and allusions, and Pushkin becomes the central reference point justifying the post-apocalyptic city-world. This is achieved by analogy with the Book of Genesis and resembles a primer filled with puppet figures and farce. Despite the various artistic depictions of the poet’s ironic and trickster-like qualities, the image still maintains a sense of mystery that harkens back to ancient times. In the novel, the image of the poet serves as the foundation of the world, representing a sacred point with multiple layers of meaning that ultimately shape the course of history and culture. In her work, T. Tolstaya excludes subjective evaluations and focuses on the archaic need for oral tradition. She conveys the voices of poets by rising above written symbolism, images, and texts.

SCREENING SPACE IN FILM ADAPTATIONS OF ESTONIAN HISTORICAL FICTION: “THE LAST RELIC” (1969) AND “BETWEEN THREE PLAGUES” (1970)

This article analyses the spatial representations of “The Last Relic” (Viimne reliikvia, Grigori Kromanov, 1969) and “Between Three Plagues” (Kolme katku va? hel, Virve Aruoja, 1970). While almost diametrically different in terms of intention, execution and reception, the films exemplify the complex interplay of the past and the present that is typical to screen adaptations of historical fiction. “The Last Relic” and “Between Three Plagues” belong to the same wave of cinematic works that was inspired by debates on the architectural heritage of Tallinn’s Old Town in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Using this historical urban environment, as well as its broader field of connotations, as a central point of reference, the films provide intriguing critiques of the late Soviet period that was characterised by negotiations of power, identity and history. As specimens of the heritage film genre, “The Last Relic” and “Between Three Plagues” open up a room for discussing the discursive intricacies of narrating the nation, demonstrating that industrial conditions, audio-visual struc- tures and ideological undercurrents can sometimes lead to unexpected, even conflicting constellations.

The Kingdom of God in Rechenschaft vom Glauben

Summary The 2021 republication of the German Baptist statement of faith, Rechenschaft vom Glauben (first published in 1977), affords an opportunity to reflect on its wider significance beyond Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Having undertaken a detailed and methodical study of the text and context of the Rechenschaft vom Glauben, it is my conviction that this Baptist confession of faith retains its relevance today. Taking the kingdom of God as my point of departure, I offer both a descriptive elucidation and a critical appraisal of the Rechenschaft. My main aim is to bring this key Baptist confession to the attention of English-speaking evangelical theologians and church leaders throughout Europe and to encourage them to follow the lead of the Rechenschaft in its insistence that the kingdom of God constitutes the central reference point for evangelical theology.

Unter die Lupe genommen: Kompositorische Auseinandersetzungen mit Ludwig van Beethoven seit 2010

Beethoven enjoys an astonishing presence in contemporary musical life, although two hundred years separate him from our present. His mature works are considered “the foundation of modern music” (Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen 2019). However, their continued veneration and marketing has often led to a failure to recognise their potential for innovation, which once made them the new music of their time. Like “classical music” in general, Beethoven is frequently misunderstood as a self-evident exhibit in “The Imaginary Museum of Musical Works” (Lydia Goehr 1992). The tension between enduring modernity and growing historical distance makes Beethoven a central point of reference for contemporary composers. Since his 200th anniversary in 1970, numerous compositional explorations of his music have emerged, especially in the run-up to the 250th anniversary in 2020. Using a small selection of new instrumental works from the 2010s by Hans Zender, Johannes Schöllhorn, Frank Zabel, Johannes Quint, Vito Palumbo and others, this essay examines various ways of arrangements and recompositions which reflect on, update or analyse Beethoven’s music.

Hegel’s Concept of Right

This article examines the foundations for the legitimacy of law from the perspective of Hegel’s philosophy. In a first step, Kant’s justification of law is discussed, as Hegel takes the Kantian model as a central point of (critical) reference. Then, in the Section 2, I discuss Hegel’s reasons for rejecting the main strategies of justification of the legal order: natural law, contractarianism and legal positivism. This is further followed by a discussion of the meaning and scope of Hegel’s contextualism, according to which there can be no practical normativity without a certain historical embedding. Finally, I describe a more traditional met-aphysical reading (supported among others by Kevin Thompson) that I consider to be the correct solution, contrasting it with Honneth’s theory of recognition and Bran-dom’s pragmatism.