De Clercq Research Articles

Decoding Virtual Employee Engagement: A Bibliometric Analysis

This study investigates virtual employee engagement using a bibliometric analysis methodology. The objective of this study is to collect information and data pertinent to virtual employee engagement. In conducting this study, the researcher collected and extracted data from the Scopus database. In July 2023, a total of 933 articles were discovered in the Scopus database. After that, VOSviewer is used for scientific mapping and analysis of publication performance, including identifying the contributions of authors, journals, countries, and the number of author keywords. The quantity of publications has increased significantly over the years. Several countries have contributed to publications on virtual employee engagement. The United States contributes the most to this publication subject, followed by India, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Germany, Pakistan, and France. Based on article documents production, the Personnel Review" is the journal with the greatest influence because it produces 32 documents. While, the highest value number of citations is "International Journal of Human Resource Management" with the total number of 1.015 citations. In the field of virtual employee engagement research, De Clercq D and Pereira R is regarded as the highest number of document publication author; and Knight C, Patterson M, et al. are the most cited authors with 297 citations. The keyword presents key terminology from the field organized into six distinct categories colors (red, blue, green, yellow, purple and light blue). This study has a broad implication for virtual employee engagement perceptions. The findings can benefit many researchers to can utilize the data for their investigations with depth of information encourages field research.

Response to Trevor de Clercq’s “Some Proposed Enhancements to the Operationalization of Prominence

Response to Trevor de Clercq’s “Some Proposed Enhancements to the Operationalization of Prominence

The Separability Thesis

Abstract Debates over the metaphysical status of aesthetic properties have persisted for decades in Aesthetics. One question that consistently arises in any discussion of aesthetic properties is whether they are fundamentally evaluative or descriptive in character. Aesthetic properties are often treated as parallel to moral properties which means many philosophers take it for granted that aesthetic properties are fundamentally evaluative. There are some philosophers, like Frank Sibley and Jerrold Levinson, who take the road less traveled and treat aesthetic properties as primarily descriptive in character. In this paper, I outline Levinson’s intriguing view that the evaluative aspect of an aesthetic property can be canceled leaving us with the descriptive essence of the property. I refer to this as the separability thesis. It contends that evaluative reactions to aesthetic properties can be separated from the objective, perceptual content of an aesthetic experience thereby leaving us with the non-evaluative core of the property. I go on to defend the separability thesis from a powerful challenge developed by Rafael De Clercq. Ultimately, I contend that while De Clercq’s argument is clever and insightful it fails to undermine the separability thesis.

Reverse Extensions and Multi-Layered Experiences of Harmony in Drake’s Harmonic Loops

Drake's music features both lyrics and harmonies that often appear multilayered, ambiguous, and conflicted to listeners. Sometimes these multilayered harmonies are created through what I call "reverse extensions," where the bass line moves one or more thirds below the root of the chord in a fixed harmonic loop. These reverse extensions can sometimes be heard as a "harmonic-bass divorce" (de Clercq 2019) in which the bass line moves independently from the harmonic layer. However, I argue that they often can also be heard as single integrated harmonies, and that these plural hearings draw on intra- and inter-textual memory to create multilayered harmonic experiences which help evoke the conflicted and ambivalent feelings that Drake's lyrics are famous for.
 The plural identities of these chords can be understood by adapting elementary concepts from jazz theory, in which extended chords can be mimicked by or substituted with "slash chords" that add a bass note below the base triad; for example, G/A (G major triad with A in the bass, or AGBD) sounds like Am11 (ACEGBD). This chord sometimes seems to convey a double function of both G and Am. Relationships like this create an "extension-related family" of chords which often easily substitute for one another in chord progressions. I argue that by enumerating possibilities for chord substitutions, and plural hearings of extended chords, reverse extensions are an “enactive music theory” which frames chord identity as a structure subjectively enacted by an individual, rather than an objective property inherent “the music itself.”

No time for complacency on COVID-19 in Europe

No time for complacency on COVID-19 in Europe

Managerial competence and innovation performance: The mediating role of willingness to change, entrepreneurial orientation and culture

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) significantly influence Saudi Arabia’s economic stability and growth. However, this industry faces significant managerial competence (MC) and innovation performance (IP) obstacles. Based on the findings of previous studies, i.e., Kellermanns and Eddleston (2006), De Clercq et al. (2015), Vafaei-Zadeh et al. (2019) and Renwarin et al. (2023) and the dire need for further exploration, the researchers developed the conceptual framework and model for confirmation in the context of Saudi Arabia. The study aims to investigate the direct and indirect linkages between MC and IP, mediated by a willingness to change (WTC), entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and entrepreneurial culture (EC) among SMEs in Saudi Arabia. The study used responses from 368 managers of Saudi Arabian SMEs. The structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis results confirmed that MC has a significant positive effect on WTC, IP, EO and EC. Besides, the factors such as WTC, EO, and EC positively and significantly affect IP. Finally, the mediation analysis through path analysis suggests a mediating role of WTC, EO and EC between MC and IP. The findings of this study can assist SME managers in making informed resource allocation decisions that can lead to maximum outcomes for their businesses. Besides, this study can help SME managers overcome challenges while improving their organizations’ innovation performance.

Cidofovir for the Treatment of Molluscum Contagiosum Virus.

That cidofovir, an acyclic nucleoside phosphonate (ANP), was inhibitory to the replication of poxviruses was first demonstrated by De Clercq et al.. That its active metabolite, the diphosphate, was found to be inhibitory to the molluscum contagiosum (M. contagiosum) DNA polymerase was demonstrated by Watanabe and Tamaki. Twelve different independent observations have then indicated that cidofovir administered intravenously, topically or intralesionally is efficacious in the treatment of M. contagiosum mostly in immunosuppressed patients.

Critical varieties and motivic equivalence for algebras with involution

Motivic equivalence for algebraic groups was recently introduced by De Clercq [Compos. Math. 153 (2017), pp. 2195–2213], where a characterization of motivic equivalent groups in terms of higher Tits indexes is given. As a consequence, if the quadrics associated to two quadratic forms have the same Chow motives with coefficients in F 2 \mathbb {F}_2 , this remains true for any two projective homogeneous varieties of the same type under the orthogonal groups of those two quadratic forms. Our main result extends this to all groups of classical type, and to some exceptional groups, introducing a notion of critical variety. On the way, we prove that motivic equivalence of the automorphism groups of two involutions can be checked after extending scalars to some index reduction field, which depends on the type of the involutions. In addition, we describe conditions on the base field which guarantee that motivic equivalent involutions actually are isomorphic, extending a result of Hoffmann on quadratic forms.

Demonstrating critical thinking in accounting: applying a competency framework

ABSTRACT Supporting students to demonstrate critical thinking skills while studying accounting is challenging. Researching how to do this is made more difficult because ‘[t]here is no single, agreed-upon definition of critical thinking within accounting education … ’ [Wolcott, S. K., & Sargent, M. J. 2021. Critical thinking in accounting education: Status and call for action. Journal of Accounting Education, 56, 100731. https://doi-org/10.1016/j.jaccedu.2021.100731; p. 2]. Terblanche and De Clercq [2021. A critical thinking competency framework for accounting students. Accounting Education, 30(4), 325–354. https://doi-org/10.1080/09639284.2021.1913614] have proposed a critical thinking competency framework for accounting students (TDC framework) that can be used to support research in this area. This framework involves certain skills and dispositions using terms and language grounded in the critical thinking literature. This study applies the TDC framework to a study of a first-year accounting unit at an Australian university, involving 101 students from five offerings of the unit over three years (2019–2021). Using phenomenography, evidence is provided of students demonstrating critical thinking skills and dispositions at an introductory level. The cognitive skills displayed are Interpretation, Analysis, Evaluation, Making inferences, Explanation, Self-regulation, and Challenge assumptions. The dispositions displayed are Confident in own ability to reason, Inquisitive, and Open-minded about divergent world views. This study used an integrated set of interventions grounded in the scholarship of learning and teaching. It provides evidence about how to support students to demonstrate critical thinking skills while studying accounting at university.

Social capital and corporate entrepreneurship: the role of absorptive capacity in emerging markets

PurposeThis paper studies the role of inter-firm supply chain social capital and intra-firm social capital in enabling Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE), and also investigates the moderating and mediating effect of absorptive capacity.Design/methodology/approachA correlational descriptive survey research is employed for 200 firms; adopting a 13-item Likert scale obtained from Wang and Li (2016) for measuring inter-firm social capital, and an eight item Likert scale for measuring absorptive capacity. This is in addition to a nine item Likert scale obtained from De Clercq et al. (2013) to measure the intra-firm social capital, and a nine item semantic differential scale developed by Covin and Slevin (1989) for measuring the level of corporate entrepreneurship. Statistical analysis packages SPSS V.24 and AMOS V.24 were used.FindingsResults provide evidence that structural supply chain social capital has an effect on corporate entrepreneurship; mediated by potential absorptive capacity. Additionally, the effect of relational supply chain social capital on corporate entrepreneurship is fully mediated by potential absorptive capacity. Furthermore, the effect of cognitive supply chain social capital on corporate entrepreneurship is fully mediated by potential absorptive capacity. On the other hand, results show that both intra-firm social capital and realized absorptive capacity moderate the relationship between potential absorptive capacity and corporate entrepreneurship.Research limitations/implicationsThe convenience sampling technique increases the probability of selection bias. In addition, the research focused on two aspects of intra-firm social capital, namely relational and cognitive dimensions, and overlooked the structural dimension of social capital.Practical implicationsProviding managers with insights about the critical role of developing social capital among supply chain partners to facilitate the transfer and exchange of crucial knowledge necessary for product development and innovation. This is in addition to the need to capitalize on intra-collaborations and cross-functional routines to facilitate CE.Originality/valueThis study provides a required extension to the previous literature, which has not empirically modeled the role of potential absorptive capacity as means by which supply chain social capital dimensions enable CE. Also, the research identifies contingency factors that enable the effect of potential absorptive capacity on CE; namely intra-firm social capital and realized absorptive capacity.

COVID-19 and the Local Tradition of the People of North Maluku

Dealing with pandemics has never been a new issue, seen from the perspective of the history of mankind. It was a manifestation of l’histoire se répète. As an example, a few centuries prior to the Black Death and Cholera Outbreak, Galvao wrote that a respiratory disease had broken out in Ternate around 1553, while De Clercq mentioned a deadly plague in Bacan throughout 1706-1709. Traditionally, these issues were treated as a result of badly conducted supernatural rituals. They opted for herbal treatments, and exorcism, and even migrated to the hinterland as an act of self-quarantine. Today, COVID-19 has become a global pandemic and reached the islands of North Maluku province, with Ternate as the epicentrum of the outbreak. However, there has been a resolution, which facilitates another traditionally crafted effort, such as Liliyan, Barifola, and Rera, based on the oral tradition mentioned in Dora Bololo. We seek to discover how far cultural aspect would affect the economic and social life of the locals, as well as in what domain tradition and local practice should contribute to the current situation. Thus, this research aims to understand and analyze such a combination of traditionally generated solutions within a current scientific framework, especially on how history, anthropology, as well as archival, and memory study could understand the living aspect of the locals and therefore apply Vansina’s (1985) approach in oral tradition as historical sources.

Right‐angled Artin pro‐p$p$ groups

Let p $p$ be a prime. The right-angled Artin pro- p $p$ group G Γ $G_{\Gamma }$ associated to a finite simplicial graph Γ $\Gamma$ is the pro- p $p$ completion of the right-angled Artin group associated to Γ $\Gamma$ . We prove that the following assertions are equivalent: (i) no induced subgraph of Γ $\Gamma$ is a square or a line with four vertices (a path of length 3); (ii) every closed subgroup of G Γ $G_{\Gamma }$ is itself a right-angled Artin pro- p $p$ group (possibly infinitely generated); (iii) G Γ $G_{\Gamma }$ is a Bloch–Kato pro- p $p$ group; (iv) every closed subgroup of G Γ $G_{\Gamma }$ has torsion free Abelianization; (v) G Γ $G_{\Gamma }$ occurs as the maximal pro- p $p$ Galois group G K ( p ) $G_K(p)$ of some field K $K$ containing a primitive p $p$ th root of unity; (vi) G Γ $G_{\Gamma }$ can be constructed from Z p $\mathbb {Z}_p$ by iterating two group theoretic operations, namely, direct products with Z p $\mathbb {Z}_p$ and free pro- p $p$ products. This settles in the affirmative a conjecture of Quadrelli and Weigel. Also, we show that the Smoothness Conjecture of De Clercq and Florence holds for right-angled Artin pro- p $p$ groups. Moreover, we prove that G Γ $G_{\Gamma }$ is coherent if and only if each circuit of Γ $\Gamma$ of length greater than three has a chord.

Newly Emerging Strategies in Antiviral Drug Discovery: Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Erik De Clercq on Occasion of His 80th Anniversary.

Viral infections pose a persistent threat to human health. The relentless epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a global health problem, with millions of infections and fatalities so far. Traditional approaches such as random screening and optimization of lead compounds by organic synthesis have become extremely resource- and time-consuming. Various modern innovative methods or integrated paradigms are now being applied to drug discovery for significant resistance in order to simplify the drug process. This review provides an overview of newly emerging antiviral strategies, including proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC), ribonuclease targeting chimera (RIBOTAC), targeted covalent inhibitors, topology-matching design and antiviral drug delivery system. This article is dedicated to Prof. Dr. Erik De Clercq, an internationally renowned expert in the antiviral drug research field, on the occasion of his 80th anniversary.

The Musical Language of Rock

The Musical Language of Rock

Abstract 53: Discovery of novel potent and orally bioavailable small-molecule inhibitors of ENPP1 to stabilize cGAMP and ATP in the tumor microenvironment and boost anti-tumor immunity

Abstract Extracellular 2',3'-cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) has a critical immune-transmitter role in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Tumor cells produce and secrete cGAMP, which primes immune cells for tumor rejection through STING (stimulator of interferon genes) signalling (Marcus et al., Immunity 2018; Carozza et al., Nature Cancer 2020). Ecto-nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase-1 (ENPP1) is the only enzyme known to hydrolyze extracellular cGAMP. In concert with the ectoATPase CD39 and the 5'-nucleotidase CD73, ENPP1 also contributes to the generation of an immunosuppressive TME by converting extracellular ATP into adenosine. ENPP1 is overexpressed in a number of tumor types, including breast cancer, liver cancer, thyroid cancer and sarcomas, and has been associated with poor outcome. Hence, inhibition of ENPP1 is an emerging strategy to augment anti-tumor immunity by stabilizing extracellular cGAMP and ATP, thereby turning cold tumors into immunologically hot tumors. Here, we report on the identification and characterization of novel chemical series of ENPP1 inhibitors. A drug-like small-molecule library (~160,000 compounds) was screened to identify inhibitors of ENPP1-mediated cGAMP hydrolysis. Hits were confirmed to also inhibit ATP hydrolysis by ENPP1, but not nucleotide hydrolysis mediated by the closely related ENPP2 (autotaxin) enzyme. A selection of hits, chemically distinct from previously reported ENPP1 inhibitors (such as those based on QS1; Carroza et al, Cell Chem Biol, 2020), were subjected to hit-to-lead optimization supported by structure-based guidance. This led to the identification of ENPP1 inhibitors with sub-nM potency on ENPP1 in biochemical assays, which maintained a >1000x selectivity window with respect to ENPP2 and to other phosphodiesterases. These compounds translated well to stabilization of nucleotides in the presence of ENPP1-overexpressing cancer cell lines, with IC50 values in the nM range. A selection of compounds was profiled for DMPK (drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic) parameters, and compounds with a suitable profile were prioritized for in vivo evaluation. Orally bio-available, metabolically stable compounds were assessed in mouse syngeneic tumor models, selected on the basis of high ENPP1 and high cGAS (cGAMP synthase) expression. Stabilization of cGAMP, activation of a STING-mediated cytokine response and immune-cell infiltration/activation in the TME were used as pharmacodynamic endpoints. An update on in vivo efficacy data in a range of ENPP1-positive tumor models will be provided during the presentation. These novel orally bioavailable ENPP1 inhibitors unleash local, TME-restricted, innate immune activation, and hold the promise to overcome the current limitations of direct STING agonists. Citation Format: Matthias Versele, Javier del Pino Garcia, Ilse Vandecaetsbeek, Karolien Castermans, Ranie Kellens, Wanda Haeck, Hugo Klaassen, Arnaud Bourin, Dries De Clercq, Sara Allasia, Sandro Boland, Arnaud Marchand, Patrick Chaltin, Mathieu Bollen. Discovery of novel potent and orally bioavailable small-molecule inhibitors of ENPP1 to stabilize cGAMP and ATP in the tumor microenvironment and boost anti-tumor immunity [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 53.

Lifting low-dimensional local systems

Let k be a field of characteristic \(p>0\). Denote by \(\mathbf {W}_r(k)\) the ring of truntacted Witt vectors of length \(r \ge 2\), built out of k. In this text, we consider the following question, depending on a given profinite group G. Q(G): Does every (continuous) representation \(G\longrightarrow \mathrm {GL}_d(k)\) lift to a representation \(G\longrightarrow \mathrm {GL}_d(\mathbf {W}_r(k))\)? We work in the class of cyclotomic pairs (Definition 4.3), first introduced in De Clercq and Florence (https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.11130, 2018) under the name “smooth profinite groups”. Using Grothendieck-Hilbert’ theorem 90, we show that the algebraic fundamental groups of the following schemes are cyclotomic: spectra of semilocal rings over \(\mathbb {Z}[\frac{1}{p}]\), smooth curves over algebraically closed fields, and affine schemes over \(\mathbb {F}_p\). In particular, absolute Galois groups of fields fit into this class. We then give a positive partial answer to Q(G), for a cyclotomic profinite group G: the answer is positive, when \(d=2\) and \(r=2\). When \(d=2\) and \(r=\infty \), we show that any 2-dimensional representation of G stably lifts to a representation over \(\mathbf {W}(k)\): see Theorem 6.1. When \(p=2\) and \(k=\mathbb {F}_2\), we prove the same results, up to dimension \(d=4\). We then give a concrete application to algebraic geometry: we prove that local systems of low dimension lift Zariski-locally (Corollary 6.3).

Unexpected benefits of microbiota

Cancer Cachexia is a condition of muscle wasting seen in cancer that contributes to mortality. On the basis of previously reported connections between gut microbiota and cachexia, de Clercq et al. transplanted fecal microbiota from healthy obese donors to patients with cancer cachexia and compared their outcomes with those of patients receiving autologous microbiota. Unexpectedly, the allogeneic transplantations had no effect on cachexia but they did improve patients' responses to chemotherapy and overall survival. The findings are intriguing but also raise numerous questions about the specific effects of the microbiota: There were no nonobese donor controls, so it is possible that any allogeneic microbiota transplantation might be beneficial. Clin. Cancer Res. 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-4918 (2021).

Current Strategies of Antiviral Drug Discovery for COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the family of enveloped, single-strand RNA viruses known as Betacoronavirus in Coronaviridae, first reported late 2019 in China. It has since been circulating world-wide, causing the COVID-19 epidemic with high infectivity and fatality rates. As of the beginning of April 2021, pandemic SARS-CoV-2 has infected more than 130 million people and led to more than 2.84 million deaths. Given the severity of the epidemic, scientists from academia and industry are rushing to identify antiviral strategies to combat the disease. There are several strategies in antiviral drugs for coronaviruses including empirical testing of known antiviral drugs, large-scale phenotypic screening of compound libraries and target-based drug discovery. To date, an increasing number of drugs have been shown to have anti-coronavirus activities in vitro and in vivo, but only remdesivir and several neutralizing antibodies have been approved by the US FDA for treating COVID-19. However, remdesivir’s clinical effects are controversial and new antiviral drugs are still urgently needed. We will discuss the current status of the drug discovery efforts against COVID-19 and potential future directions. With the ever-increasing movability of human population and globalization of world economy, emerging and reemerging viral infectious diseases seriously threaten public health. Particularly the past and ongoing outbreaks of coronaviruses cause respiratory, enteric, hepatic and neurological diseases in infected animals and human (Woo et al., 2009). The human coronavirus (HCoV) strains (HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, and HCoV-HKU1) usually cause common cold with mild, self-limiting upper respiratory tract infections. By contrast, the emergence of three deadly human betacoronaviruses, middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS) (Zaki et al., 2012), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) (Lee et al., 2003), the SARS-CoV-2 (Jin et al., 2020a) highlight the need to identify new treatment strategies for viral infections. SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent of COVID-19 disease named by World Health Organization (WHO) (Zhu N. et al., 2020). This disease manifests as either an asymptomatic infection or a mild to severe pneumonia. This pandemic disease causes extent morbidity and mortality in the whole world, especially regions out of China. Similar to SARS and MERS, the SARS CoV-2 genome encodes four structural proteins, sixteen non-structural proteins (nsp) and accessory proteins. The structural proteins include spike (S), envelope (E), membrane (M), nucleoprotein (N). The spike glycoprotein directly recognizes and engages cellular receptors during viral entry. The four non-structural proteins including papain-like protease (PLpro), 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro), helicase, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) are key enzymes involved in viral transcription and replication. The spike and the four key enzymes were considered attractive targets to develop antiviral agents (Zumla et al., 2016). The catalytic sites of the four enzymes of SARS-CoV2 share high similarities with SARS CoV and MERS in genomic sequences (Morse et al., 2020). Besides, the structures of the key drug-binding pockets are highly conserved among the three coronaviruses (Morse et al., 2020). Therefore, it follows naturally that existing anti-SARS-CoV and anti-MERS drugs targeting these enzymes can be repurposed for SARS-CoV-2. Based on previous studies in SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, it is anticipated a number of therapeutics can be used to control or prevent emerging infectious disease COVID-19 (Li and de Clercq, 2020; Wang et al., 2020c; Ita, 2021), these include small-molecule drugs, peptides, and monoclonal antibodies. Given the urgency of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, here we discuss the discovery and development of new therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2 infection based on the strategies from which the new drugs are derived.

Discussion to the special issue: Supporting the transition of a diversity of students: Developing the “whole student” during and beyond their time at higher education.

Apart from the current Covid19 context, the higher education sectors across the world have been faced with major challenges over the last few decades (Auerbach et al., 2018; Haggis, 2004), including increased numbers and diversity. Considering the many challenges in higher education, especially the rise of students’ mental health issues, I am strongly convinced that education sectors, but in particular the higher education sector, have a societal responsibility to not just focus on students as learners of knowledge and/or professional skills, but to support them in being developed as “whole students”. All these challenges also raise a need for research into the broader context to identify how we can better support the diverse student population as they transition into higher education, but also how to prepare them for a positive experience during and beyond their time in higher education. Overall, it can be said that the contributions to this special issue beneficially addressed some of the main foci to widening the perspectives on diversity related to the transition into higher education. The contribution came from different European countries, including Belgium, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. De Clercq et al. (in this special issue) indicated that environmental characteristics, such as distinctiveness of countries, is often overlooked in research. In this discussion article, therefore, some particular references will also be made to a specific country, New Zealand. This may be of interest and relevant for the particular questions raised in this special issue as focusing on student diversity in educational contexts has been considered important for some time in this country. Aoteraroa New Zealand is a country in the South Pacific colonised by Europeans in the 19th century. In the second part of the 20th century, the focus across the New Zealand education sectors, including higher education, started to develop beyond just a European perspective, and started to focus more on recognition of student diversity. Initially, the main focus was on the indigenous population, the Māori people. In the last few decades of the 20th century, the focus was extended to the Pacific Island people, many of whom migrated to New Zealand from a wide range of different islands in the South Pacific. In the 21st century, the focus on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) groups was further extended, and over the last decade also because of the increase of refugees from the Middle East and Asia. Providing some insights from the other end of the world, in quite a different and de-colonised ex-European nation may help European (and other) countries to reflect on their own approaches.

The Romance Inter-Views: Syntax

The Romance Inter-Views are short, multiple Q&A pairs that address key issues, definitions and ideas regarding Romance linguistics. Prominent exponents of different approaches to the study of Romance linguistics are asked to answer some general questions from their viewpoint. The answers are then assembled so that readers can get a comparative picture of what’s going on in the field.For the first Inter-Views we selected (morpho-)syntactic research, and asked 8 syntacticians, representing four approaches to the study of Romance linguistics, to answer our questions. The approaches we selected are Cartography, Distributed Morphology, Minimalism, and Nanosyntax. The scholars we interviewed are listed hereafter.For Cartography:Luigi Rizzi, professor of Linguistics at the Collège de France;Norma Schifano, lecturer in Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham. For Distributed Morphology:Karlos Arregi, associate professor in Linguistics at the University of Chicago;Andrés Saab, associate researcher at CONICET, Buenos Aires and associate professor in Linguistics at the University of Buenos Aires. For Minimalism:Grant Armstrong, associate professor of Spanish Linguistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison;Caterina Donati, professor of Linguistics at the CNRS Laboratoire de Linguistique formelle, Université de ParisFor Nanosyntax:Karen De Clercq, CNRS researcher at the Laboratoire de Linguistique formelle (Université de Paris).Antonio Fábregas, professor of Linguistics at UIT, The Arctic University of Norway