Dubious Sources Research Articles

Inventing Ancestors and Limited Empiricism in Chosŏn Korea: A Case of the Kigye Yu Lineage

AbstractThis paper investigates how the members of the Kigye Yu lineage imagined and invented their ancestral roots during the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910) and how such a pursuit of ancestral origins led to subsequent developments in genealogical records. As early as the fifteenth century, Chosŏn elites began to show interests in genealogy that included identifying remote ancestors from ancient times for various political, social, and cultural reasons. From the seventeenth century, the transformation of kinship organization in line with the Confucian ideal of patriliny and elites’ competition for power and prestige intensified genealogical consciousness. Elites became heavily invested in searching for ancestral origins in the form of their lineages’ founders and their tombs. While claiming to rely on documentary and physical evidence, elites often deviated from their professed empiricism and adopted evidence from dubious sources such as oral testimonies and geomancy to rationalize invented ancestral roots. Such pliable approaches, often observed in other early modern cultures such as late imperial China and Europe, opened a floodgate of lineages glorifying their ancestry by pushing their origins back even to mythical founders of ancient Korean and Chinese kingdoms, and adorning their lineages with invented heroes. At the same time, loopholes and blank spots in genealogies enabled quasi- and nonelites to become a member of prominent lineages by grafting their names onto their family trees.

Analysis of Pharmaceutical Companies' Social Media Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on the Public.

The COVID-19 pandemic, a period of great turmoil, was coupled with the emergence of an "infodemic", a state when the public was bombarded with vast amounts of unverified information from dubious sources that led to a chaotic information landscape. The excessive flow of messages to citizens, combined with the justified fear and uncertainty imposed by the unknown virus, cast a shadow on the credibility of even well-intentioned sources and affected the emotional state of the public. Several studies highlighted the mental toll this environment took on citizens by analyzing their discourse on online social networks (OSNs). In this study, we focus on the activity of prominent pharmaceutical companies on Twitter, currently known as X, as well as the public's response during the COVID-19 pandemic. Communication between companies and users is examined and compared in two discrete channels, the COVID-19 and the non-COVID-19 channel, based on the content of the posts circulated in them in the period between March 2020 and September 2022, while the emotional profile of the content is outlined through a state-of-the-art emotion analysis model. Our findings indicate significantly increased activity in the COVID-19 channel compared to the non-COVID-19 channel while the predominant emotion in both channels is joy. However, the COVID-19 channel exhibited an upward trend in the circulation of fear by the public. The quotes and replies produced by the users, with a stark presence of negative charge and diffusion indicators, reveal the public's preference for promoting tweets conveying an emotional charge, such as fear, surprise, and joy. The findings of this research study can inform the development of communication strategies based on emotion-aware messages in future crises.

Evaluation of the Quality of Current COVID-19 Resources Developed for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries: A Scoping Review

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an urgent need for information on dealing with it among people with spinal cord injuries (SCI). Organizations provided resources, but many of them were generic. In some cases, the information was provided by dubious sources, contradictory, or not assessed for usability with individuals with SCI. This study reviewed COVID-19 web-based resources for individuals with SCI and evaluated their quality. Methods: A scoping review for COVID-19-related web-based resources for individuals with SCI was performed by first identifying SCI-relevant organizations and, subsequently, targeted website searching using a systematic search strategy in May 2021. The included resources were categorized based on their content and format (e.g., video, infographic, text). The resources were evaluated using tools that had been previously validated. Results: Our search identified 71 SCI organizations and 10,538 potential resources. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 112 resources were included and categorized based on their content into ten main domains: prevention, caregivers, exercise, mental health, stories, telehealth, specific organs/systems, report of evidence, SCI network COVID-19 response and COVID-19 communication rights toolkit. The average score for the quality of the text, infographic, and video resources are 9.72/28 (Range:3-24), 37.75/44 (Range:35-41), and 59.14/80 (Range: 49-75), respectively. Conclusion: Website resources mainly focused on preventing COVID-19. Only five of them addressed telehealth during COVID-19 for individuals with SCI. The results of this study will inform the development of SCI-oriented toolkits for future pandemics.

До питання про порушення стандартів новинного мовлення у телемаратоні «Єдині новини»

The main objective of this study was to find out the situation around the violation of news broadcasting standards of the Telemarathon «Edyni Novyny», as well as to attempt to establish the causes of this phenomenon. Research work involved the use of such methods – observation, the study of empirical material, content analysis, analysis, generalization, descriptive. Among the violations of news broadcasting standards, we distinguish the following: mixing facts and comments, references to dubious sources and the authorship of anonymous opinion, which is associated with non-compliance with the standard of reliability, uniformity of the genre palette, poor representation of cultural and artistic topics. The mixing of facts and opinions leads to a complete loss of essentially new information, blurring of factual fullness, dominance of the spectrum of comments, which means one thing – such news is rather conditional. The high frequency of use of some genres and the low frequency of use of others cause uniformity of news content. Poor presentation of news from the field of culture and art may indicate a stereotype about the organization of material of different thematic orientation. The reasons for violation of standards are superficial understanding by creative employees of TV channels of the basic concepts of news journalism – «fact» and «commentary», unreasonable attempts to express their attitude to the events of the surrounding reality, lack of specialized knowledge on the basic principles of television and radio production, inability to work with sources of information. In general, these reasons are rooted in the low professional level of journalists of the Telemarathon «Edyni Novyny». The results of the study are important for correcting the content of journalism education in general and teaching the basics of television and radio production in particular.

Features of Coverage of the War in Ukraine On the Example of the Website of the Official Iranian Mass Media «Irna»

Introduction. After the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine all countries of the world gradually got involved into the war which is perceived and viewed differently. Iran suddenly became one of the biggest challenges for the international community since it is a supplier of mass destruction weapons which almost caused the energy collapse of Ukraine in November-December 2022. Relevance of the study. Despite the numerous statements of the leading mass media, Iran is still positioning its pacifism and non-involvement in the war in Ukraine. The USA, GB, Germany, France, Turkey, Israel get appropriately involve in the information conflict as one side and the other side is India, China, Syria, Afghanistan and other countries of the East. Methodology. To find out what the matters, we decided to investigate the deployment of events and the development of confrontations on the pages of the most official Iranian mass media – the national news agency "Irna" with the help of content analysis, analogy, modelling and synthesis. Results. As a result of the conducted research it became clear that during15 months of the war (having hesitated a little at its beginning) IRNA carefully "documented" the course of events, but it also revealed certain strategies for hiding uncomfortable information and activation of so-called jeansa (hiding advertisement). The most common ones include periodic repetition (almost instilling) of phrases about support for Ukraine and its territorial integrity; permanent introduction of Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria, Yemen in the context as it is also not peaceful in these countries, Israel, the USA and Turkey appear as a counterweight to the Ukrainian-Russian twists and turns; attempts to shift attention from the actual to the extraneous are also not neglected; common input of information on policies of Russia and Putin "under the sauce" of different protocol interviews, vlogs and "international expert evaluations"; very often the agency refers to dubious sources like social networks. However, even the strategic use of tricks does not make individual items of IRNA news at least seemingly credible. The thought involuntarily arises that public non-compliance with international standards has deep historical roots and is connected with sacred values. Conclusions. Having carried out a superficial analysis of the history and religions of ancient Persia, we came to a logical conclusion: from the most ancient times to the present, the production of culture is subject to the law of sacred deception, known among Shia Muslims as taqiya and kitman. Thus, the official sources of the Islam Republic have the full right to lie. Yet, of course, all this requires additional research.

Rule Ambiguity, Institutional Clashes, and Population Loss: How Wikipedia Became the Last Good Place on the Internet

Scholars usually portray institutions as stable, inviting a status quo bias in their theories. Change, when it is theorized, is frequently attributed to exogenous factors. This paper, by contrast, proposes that institutional change can occur endogenously through population loss, as institutional losers become demotivated and leave, whereas institutional winners remain. This paper provides a detailed demonstration of how this form of endogenous change occurred on the English Wikipedia. A qualitative content analysis shows that Wikipedia transformed from a dubious source of information in its early years to an increasingly reliable one over time. Process tracing shows that early outcomes of disputes over rule interpretations in different corners of the encyclopedia demobilized certain types of editors (while mobilizing others) and strengthened certain understandings of Wikipedia’s ambiguous rules (while weakening others). Over time, Wikipedians who supported fringe content departed or were ousted. Thus, population loss led to highly consequential institutional change.

What Is Latin American History?

What Is Latin American History?

Sex, Money, and Murder on the Isthmus: Rumor, Disinformation, and the Politics of Denunciation in Revolutionary Mexico

Abstract In 1915, the Constitutionalist faction of Venustiano Carranza moved into southern Mexico, promising revolutionary justice and retribution against The Reaction. Unfamiliar with the social topography of the region, Carranza’s men depended on information gleaned from dubious sources to make key political decisions. Groups competing for the Constitutionalists’ patronage flooded Carranza’s correspondence, accentuating their own revolutionary bona fides while exposing their enemies. The result was a political milieu of denunciation, and nowhere was this milieu more acrimonious than in Juchitán, a coveted transportation hub in the isthmus region of Oaxaca. Using the Carranza archive in Mexico City, this essay examines denunciations sent from Juchitán in early 1915. These letters reveal an unmediated “popular voice,” unbound from the public sphere, its code of honor, and its recognition of the realm of privacy. The shift of public politics into the private sphere had two important consequences. First, unsubstantiated information—rumors, gossip—gained a prominent position in local politics. Second, it opened the door to political participation to marginalized groups, particularly the working classes and women. This essay examines two letters in detail, one from an “honorable worker” and the other from a prominent woman, both dealing in rumor, gossip, and conspiracy. Despite their inherent unreliability, these letters give us a window into the construction of the camarilla, prevailing perceptions about politics and the accumulation of wealth, and the possibilities and limits of women’s participation in high politics.

Perceived occupational risk of fentanyl exposure among law enforcement

BackgroundAlthough toxicologists, medical professionals, and service providers have determined that the risk of overdose from fentanyl exposure is extremely low for law enforcement and other first responders, hundreds of media and social media accounts contradict these facts, making these civil servants unnecessarily concerned about such occupational hazards. MethodsWe conducted a qualitative study to explore knowledge and fear of fentanyl exposure by interviewing 23 law enforcement leaders and officers in five diverse law enforcement agencies in the United States. ResultsNearly all leaders and officers interviewed wrongly believed that dermal exposure to fentanyl was deadly and expressed fear about such exposure on scene. Officers had a lack of education about fentanyl exposure and faulty or dubious sources of information about it. ConclusionThere is a substantial, pressing need for dissemination of research about the lack of overdose risk associated with dermal fentanyl exposure through channels that law enforcement trust, including through basic academy, in-service training, and law enforcement bulletins and newsletters.

Hoist by his own petard: A rejoinder to Contandriopoulos.

Hoist by his own petard: A rejoinder to Contandriopoulos.

Types (Disinformation)

Types (Disinformation)

Misattributions of the source of health-related information in HIV disease

ABSTRACT Introduction: Growing access to both legitimate and dubious sources of health information makes accurate source memory increasingly important, yet it may be negatively impacted by conditions that impair prefrontal functioning, including HIV. This study hypothesized that instructions supporting source encoding on a health-related memory task would disproportionately benefit source memory of people with HIV (PWH), and to examine the pattern of source memory errors that are observed. Method: 102 individuals (61 HIV+, 41 HIV-) completed comprehensive neurobehavioral (including health literacy) and neuromedical evaluations, and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions for a health-related memory task: Attend to Source Instructions explicitly participants to attend to the source of health statements presented to them, which were either health professionals or lay-persons, whereas no such instruction was provided in a Control Instructions condition. Results: There was no significant interaction of HIV status by condition or main effect of HIV (ps>.05). There was a main effect of condition whereby those who received Attend to Source Instructions performed better on item-corrected source memory than those in the Control Instructions condition (p =.04). Those who received Control Instructions were more likely to misattribute the source of the health information to a health professional when the correct source was a lay-person (Cohen’s d = −0.53), which was correlated with poorer overall cognitive performance (p =.008) and performance-based measures of health literacy (ps<.05). Conclusions: Given that people are rarely reminded to attend to the source of new health information in the real world, the risk for misattributing health information to a qualified health professional in the absence of such instructions raises the concern that people may readily incorporate questionable health recommendations into their health regimen, particularly among persons with poorer cognitive functioning and lower levels of health literacy. This may have significant downstream health consequences such as drug interactions, side effects, and inefficacy.

Perfil do conhecimento e comportamento sexual de adolescentes

Objetivo: Identificar o conhecimento e o comportamento sexual de adolescentes no interior de Mato Grosso. Métodos: Estudo transversal, exploratório descritivo e quantitativo, realizado com 57 adolescentes do sexo masculino no ano de 2018, estudantes em uma escola de ensino médio localizada em um município na região Centro-Oeste, no estado de Mato Grosso que foram avaliados por meio de um questionário semiestruturado. Resultados: A análise dos dados revelou que os adolescentes possuem conhecimento sobre sexualidade, embora eles reportaram não ter a liberdade necessária para falarem sobre a temática no âmbito familiar, recorrendo a fontes duvidosas, como a internet e amigos. Por outro lado, os resultados apontaram para uma pratica sexual insegura entre eles, com destaque para o não uso de preservativo nas relações sexuais e a pratica de sexo sob efeito de álcool. Conclusão: Os resultados demonstram a necessidade da realização de atividades que envolvam a promoção da saúde e a prevenção de doenças que atenda as dúvidas sobre sexualidade dos adolescentes, estendendo aos familiares e professores. Assim, acredita-se que esse grupo da população terá a compreensão necessária para desenvolver um comportamento sexual seguro, ampliando assim o seu autocuidado de sua saúde sexual.&#x0D;

Historiography on the �Siberian� Period of Mikhail Bakunin (1857-1861): A Critical Discourse

paper critically reviews the available scientific and biographical literature, which examines the four-year period of social activity of the Russian thinker and opposition politician Mikhail Bakunin in Siberia during the “thaw” of the late 1850s and early 1860s. purpose of the study is to provide critical perspectives on the myths of historiography that interfere with the reconstruction of Mr. Bakunin’s “Siberian period.” Thus, the author of the article aims to achieve the restoration of Mikhail Bakunin’s place and role in the public life of Russia in those times. In particular, the author refutes the myth that the “great rebel” was allegedly in a voluntary self-isolation during that period of his life. In addition, the dubious source of this historiographical version is critically analyzed, dating back to Mikhail Katkov, a very famous ideologist of imperial conservatism. author argues that the Katkov’s legend turned into a toolbox of official communist historiography, and then it was reproduced virtually unchanged in publications of the Soviet era until the collapse of the dominant regime. First of all, the author proposes to radically rethink the false conception of the Siberian period of Mikhail Bakunin that has become entrenched in historical literature. Second, the author considers it necessary to justify the redirection of the copyright affiliation of some sources of radical revolutionary journalism in 1860-1861 to Mikhail Bakunin, including the famous Letters (1860) to the editorial office of the Russian emigrant newspaper The Bell. Based on the methodology of textual content analysis of the keywords inherent in this journalistic message and similar letters from Mr. Bakunin from Siberia, the author formulates the main conclusion: the real author of this appeal at that moment could be only the closest friend and associate of Alexander Herzen, i.e., Mr. Bakunin himself.

Nonprobative Photos Increase Truth, Like, and Share Judgments in a Simulated Social Media Environment

Although online content contains information from both credible and dubious sources, most Americans use online platforms as a news source. What psychological factors increase the endorsement and spread of information online, both true and false? Given that related but nonprobative photos increase belief in information in laboratory tasks (the “truthiness effect”), such photos may have a related impact on processing information encountered online. Participants rated their belief in, liking of, and desire to share true and false general knowledge statements in a simulated, online social media environment to assess qualities that affect liking and sharing of true and false information. Compared with information presented alone, a nonprobative photo was associated with an increase in belief, liking, and sharing of both true and false information. Photos may increase the processing fluency of statements, affecting belief in and liking of statements, and consequently increasing the likelihood that statements are shared online.

1H NMR determination of adulteration of anabolic steroids in seized drugs

Counterfeiting and adulteration of pharmaceuticals is a prevalent problem worldwide and represents a major health risk to the population, with anabolic steroids being one of the main classes of drugs consumed and obtained from dubious sources. In this work, we propose the use of the 1H NMR technique to evaluate formulations containing anabolic steroids, with analysis of 40 samples of anabolic drugs that are used in injectable and capsule forms. The samples analyzed presented the following active ingredients: testosterone propionate, testosterone phenylpropionate, testosterone isocaproate, testosterone decanoate, testosterone cypionate, testosterone undecanoate, stanozolol, drostanolone propionate, trenbolone acetate, oxymetholone, and methandrostenolone. The 1H NMR spectroscopic measurements were performed using a 600 MHz Bruker Avance III spectrometer, with deuterated chloroform (CDCl3) containing 0.1% TMS as solvent. Of the 40 samples analyzed, eight did not show the presence of the active principle stated on the label. Three types of adulteration were found in the analyzed samples: absence of the active ingredient, adulteration with other substances, and concentration values below those indicated on the label. Sildenafil citrate was found in four samples. The GC–MS technique was used to confirm the adulteration results found using 1H NMR. Quantitative determination by NMR was performed using internal standard and ERETIC 2 methods, and the results obtained were statistically the same.

On the Use of Overt Anti-Counterfeiting Technologies

Many pharmaceutical companies use overt anti-counterfeiting technologies (OACTs), such as holograms, to fight counterfeiters. An OACT is typically implemented on the drug packaging, which makes it difficult for counterfeiters to produce convincing copies and easy for patients to tell the difference between authentic and counterfeit medicines. I consider a model in which an authentic firm sells its drug at a reliable source and counterfeiters and illegitimate genuine sellers sell their drugs at a dubious source. The authentic firm chooses an OACT to combat counterfeiters. I show that there may be an inverted U-shaped relationship between the complexity of the OACT and the magnitude of counterfeit medicine purchases. The nature of this relationship is a consequence of an OACT engendering two opposing effects. On one hand, adopting an OACT imposes an entry cost on counterfeiters, causing fewer counterfeiters to enter the dubious source; as a result, the drugs at this source have a greater chance of being genuine (a counterfeiters’ entry-dampening effect). On the other hand, more patients head to this dubious source rather than the reliable source owing to the increased chance of obtaining a genuine drug (a patients’ demand-enhancing effect). When the selected OACT is sufficiently complex to replicate, the former effect overrides the latter and thus the problem of counterfeit purchasing is relieved. However, when the OACT is not adequately sophisticated, the latter effect more than offsets the former. This leads to an anti-counterfeiting trap: the use of a rudimentary OACT may beget more counterfeit purchases. This result offers an understanding to the phenomenon that despite enormous spending on the upgrading of OACTs in recent years, annual global sales of counterfeit drugs have actually risen. I also find that using an OACT may result in higher prices for both counterfeit and authentic drugs. Furthermore, I demonstrate that, at the optimum, an authentic firm may find it more profitable to employ a mediocre OACT, whereas it may not use any OACTs if its price is regulated.

A Review: Drinking Water and Wastewater Quality Assessment in Ruminant Farms

Water is an essential part in any livestock production and it is more so in ruminant production that is highly water intensive. Water is not only essential as a medium of animal metabolism, but it is also an important cleaning medium. Therefore, it is important that the quality of drinking water is maintained at a certain level so as to lessen the possible adverse effects on the animals. Despite there being some standards set by the various agencies on the minimal water quality deemed suitable for livestock consumption, they are still vague and this, combined with poor compliance and the water sourcing of dubious sources in ruminant farms makes it hard to regulate the drinking water quality in ruminant farms. This, in turn, might lead to possible adverse effects in livestock production due to water contaminants. At the same time, most ruminant farms in Malaysia do not do proper treatment of their wastewater before releasing them into water bodies such as drains, rivers and lakes which could lead to possible adverse effects to the environment.

MECHANISMS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY: Medical consequences of doping with anabolic androgenic steroids: effects on reproductive functions.

Anabolic androgenic steroids (AASs) are appearance and performance-enhancing drugs (APEDs) used in competitive athletics, in recreational sports, and by body-builders. The global lifetime prevalence of AASs abuse is 6.4% for males and 1.6% for women. Many AASs, often obtained from the internet and dubious sources, have not undergone proper testing and are consumed at extremely high doses and in irrational combinations, also along with other drugs. Controlled clinical trials investigating undesired side effects are lacking because ethical restrictions prevent exposing volunteers to potentially toxic regimens, obscuring a causal relationship between AASs abuse and possible sequelae. Because of the negative feedback in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, in men AASs cause reversible suppression of spermatogenesis, testicular atrophy, infertility, and erectile dysfunction (anabolic steroid-induced hypogonadism). Should spermatogenesis not recover after AASs abuse, a pre-existing fertility disorder may have resurfaced. AASs frequently cause gynecomastia and acne. In women, AASs may disrupt ovarian function. Chronic strenuous physical activity leads to menstrual irregularities and, in severe cases, to the female athlete triad (low energy intake, menstrual disorders and low bone mass), making it difficult to disentangle the effects of sports and AASs. Acne, hirsutism and (irreversible) deepening of the voice are further consequences of AASs misuse. There is no evidence that AASs cause breast carcinoma. Detecting AASs misuse through the control network of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) not only aims to guarantee fair conditions for athletes, but also to protect them from medical sequelae of AASs abuse.

The languages of the Amazon by Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald (review)

Reviewed by: The languages of the Amazon by Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald Eithne B. Carlin The languages of the Amazon. By Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Pp. xxxiii, 514. ISBN 9780199593569. $160 (Hb). As stated in the preamble, the general aim of The languages of the Amazon is to provide linguists, anthropologists, students of Latin American studies, and the general reader with an introduction to the salient features and linguistic gems of the native languages of Amazonia in an accessible form, and in this Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald has certainly succeeded. Throughout the book the reader is exposed to A’s palpable passion for Amazonian languages, which grew out of her own field experience working on eight languages from three different language families, and from the high degree of linguistic complexity and quirkiness that Amazonian languages exhibit, often contradicting assumed universals. Drawing on the upsurge over the last twenty-five years of scholarly interest in the languages of this hotspot of linguistic diversity—c. 350 languages found in fifteen language families, and perhaps as many as thirty isolates—A provides us with a well-organized, highly readable, and lively book containing fourteen chapters, several tables and diagrams, eighteen maps, a glossary of terms used, and three indices to search for subjects, languages and language families, and authors. The list of references covers forty-six pages. Several chapters include a final section giving general historical or ethnographic references for the reader to consult, while at the same time pointing out dubious sources that should be avoided. In addition, six of the chapters have boxed insets with extra factual information and/or anecdotes that spice up the book. The book begins with a general introduction to Amazonia (Ch. 1) that includes an overview of the language families, the peoples and their demographics, and histories pre- and postconquest. The appendix to Ch. 1 consists of a list of native American words that were borrowed into European languages, such as Cariban manatee ‘large aquatic mammal’ (manati/manatï ‘breasts’), which is attested in Spanish by 1535 and in English by 1555. Ch. 2 offers a discussion of linguistic areas and the sometimes virulent language contact situations in Amazonia. The author distinguishes only one ‘long-standing linguistic area’ (73) in Amazonia, namely the Vaupés River Basin, on which she has previously published extensively, and one incipient linguistic area, or as she calls it a ‘contact zone’ (86), namely the Upper Xingu. The purported status of the Guaporé-Mamoré Basin as a linguistic area is left unresolved. A had already pointed out in Ch. 1 the need for linguists to be aware of and take into account the complex contact histories of Amazonian peoples, both pre- and post-European outthrust, since language shift and substrate phenomena are ubiquitous, often resulting from traditional kidnapping practices. The remainder of the book follows the structure of what one would find in a descriptive grammar: phonologies, including unusual sounds and gaps in sound systems (Ch. 3); typology of word structure and word classes (Ch. 4); properties of nouns, including possession (Ch. 5); properties and versatility of verbs (Ch. 6); grammatical relations and argument structure (Ch. 7); valency-changing strategies such as passives, causatives, and applicatives (Ch. 8); evidentiality (Ch. 9); genders, noun classes, and classifiers showing how the world is categorized (Ch. 10); serial verb constructions (Ch. 11); sentence formation and nominalizations (Ch. 12); stylistic features of Amazonian languages, including numeral systems, speech styles, male and female speech, and mixed languages (Ch. 13); and, finally, a summary called the ‘treasures of Amazonian languages’ (Ch. 14). The book is written using the ‘fundamental typological theoretical apparatus’ of basic linguistic theory (xvi). Each of the chapters contains carefully chosen examples to illustrate the relevant topics. Although it is understandable that choices have to be made while writing a book of this kind, there does seem to be some unevenness in the area covered in that several features found in the Guianas and northwestern Amazonia but less so elsewhere are not included. One example is implosive [End Page 529] consonants (not found in the subject index), which are only mentioned on p. 108 (Ch. 3) in regard to older speakers of Mamaind...