History Research Articles

Historical Changes, Contemporary Characteristics, and Five Transformations of Environmental Design in China

Historical Changes, Contemporary Characteristics, and Five Transformations of Environmental Design in China

A Study of Historical Changes and Paradigm Shifts in U.S. Physics Education: From the 1860s to the Present

A Study of Historical Changes and Paradigm Shifts in U.S. Physics Education: From the 1860s to the Present

COVID-19 and menstrual-related disturbances: a Spanish retrospective observational study in formerly menstruating women

IntroductionFour years after the start of the pandemic, there is limited evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on the women's health regardless of their reproductive status.ObjectiveThe aim was to analyze the prevalence and associated factors of menstrual-related disturbances in formerly menstruating women following SARS-CoV-2 infection.Study designA retrospective observational study of adult women in Spain was conducted during the month of December 2021 using an online survey (N = 17,512). The present analysis includes a subpopulation of SARS-CoV-2-infected and formerly menstruating women (n = 72). The collected data included general characteristics, medical history, and specific information on COVID-19. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U-tests were performed. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was then performed to investigate possible associations between the occurrence of menstrual-related disturbances after SARS-CoV-2 infection.Results38.8% of participants experienced menstrual-related disturbances following COVID-19. Among these, unexpected vaginal bleeding (20.8%) was the most common event, followed by spotting (11.1%) ( Table 1). Other reported changes were in the length (shorter = 12.5%) and flow (heavier = 30.3%) of menstrual bleeding in comparison to their previous experience. Regression analysis revealed that being a perimenopausal woman [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 4.721, CI 95%, 1.022–21.796, p = 0.047] and having a previous diagnosis of menorrhagia (AOR 5.824 CI 95%, 1.521–22.310, p = 0.010) were factors associated with the event.ConclusionThese findings could help health professionals provide their patients with up-to-date scientific information to empower them to actively manage their reproductive health, especially in societies where menstrual health is still taboo.

The three generations of Dennis The Menace

ABSTRACT This article will examine how in-storyworld explanations of updates to the appearance of the long running British comics character Dennis The Menace was expanded upon by creators to significantly retrospectively alter the character’s history, developing an ingenious multi-generational explanation for historical changes to the character over time that echo similar explanations found in long-running American series. These ‘retcons’ are assessed by using a unified catalogue of character components to discern whether there is any evidence in the original texts to support the idea of there being different versions of the same character, before describing social and practical reasons for the results found.

Sedimentation record of a complete glacial-interglacial cycle: Down-slope deposits, contourites and plumites of the North Sea trough mouth fan

Trough mouth fans (TMFs) are major submarine depocentres that form in front of ice streams advancing onto the continental shelf, and they provide extensive records of past glaciations and ice-sheet dynamics. However, early research about TMFs was conducted using primarily 2D seismic data, which limits the insights on the deposit's geometries and internal structures and more recent studies using 3D data have focused on the general depositional history of TMFs. Here, we assess the spatial and temporal changes of the glacio-marine landforms and deposits throughout the last glacial-interglacial cycle (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to 1, ∼130 ka to present) recorded in a >550 m thick progradational sequence. We use 3D reflection seismic data with significant vertical resolution (up to 2 m) imaging over 14000 km2 from the uppermost North Sea Fan (NSF) to document the seismic stratigraphy and sedimentary processes, by combining horizon picking and geomorphological analyses. The studied interval comprises five mappable units, four on the slope and one on the shelf, spanning from the modern seabed down to the top of the Tampen Slide (∼130 ka). Five different channel types (here included slide scars), as well as contourite and plumite packages are described based on their seismic facies, morphology, geometry, and stratigraphical position. We propose that contour currents are responsible for sediment delivery after the Tampen Slide deposition during the interglacial period before the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum, when high meltwater influx from the shelf produced turbidites. Sedimentation became debris-flow-dominated towards the end of the period of shelf-edge glaciation. The deglacial interval is characterized by the deposition of plumites on the slope. On the shelf, subglacial tills are deposited during both glacial and deglacial periods. We calculate an average sedimentation rate of <1 m/kyr during the interglacial (MIS 5-3), and around 50–65 m/kyr during the glacial and deglacial periods (MIS2-early MIS1). Thus, we document a change of two orders of magnitude in sedimentation rate during a glacial cycle on the slope of a glaciated margin.

On the History of the Japanese Book: Two Illustrated Woodcut Editions of the Seiashō (Notes by a Frog From a Well) by Poet Tonna (1289–1372)

On the History of the Japanese Book: Two Illustrated Woodcut Editions of the Seiashō (Notes by a Frog From a Well) by Poet Tonna (1289–1372)

The Historical Changes and Evolutionary Logic of China's Fertility Policy

The Historical Changes and Evolutionary Logic of China's Fertility Policy

Expanding the Middle-Income Group Through Education: Preliminary Evidence From China

Purpose This study explores the role of education in fostering middle-income earners in China, elucidating the development and current status of the capabilities of education in this regard. This study uses the historical changes in this demographic in the United States as a frame of reference to explore future goal-setting and implementation pathways for expanding the middle-income group through education in China. Design/Approach/Methods This study uses data on variables such as income, educational attainment, and years since graduation from the China Family Panel Studies database to analyze the changing patterns in China's middle-income group regarding educational attainment. This study also uses data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine the historical changes in the middle-income group in the United States and compares the findings to those in China. Findings Results reveal the following: the changing patterns in the share of the middle-income group relative to educational attainment; the distribution of the low-, middle-, and high-income groups by educational attainment; the changing trends in the share of middle-income group by educational attainment between 2012 and 2018; and the changing trends in the share of middle- and high-income groups by educational attainment regarding the number of years since graduation. Originality/Value Rooted in and driven by current issues facing China, this study compares education in China and the United States and offers preliminary evidence of the role of education in expanding the middle-income group.

Authoritarian innovation in the United States: the role of dual subnational systems of labor governance

I apply Curato and Fossati's (2020) concept of “authoritarian innovation” to analyze historic changes in labor governance in the United States that have undermined democratic participation in the workplace and in the polity. Drawing from comparative political economy and welfare state theories, I argue that since the 1930s the U.S. has had not one unified, national labor regime but two competing, subnational regimes: the New Deal and its legacy in the industrialized North and West Coast, and a counter-regime based initially in the former Confederate Southern states. The more anti-union, anti-welfare, and anti-democratic Southern regime survived the Civil Rights era of the 1960s and 1970s, gained ascendance nationally with the rise of neoliberalism in the 1980s and 1990s, and expanded its boundaries in the 2010s into the deindustrialized Midwest. The “dual regime” analysis highlights critical transitions and divergent paths in the reshaping of American democracy.

Anthropogenic effects on tropical cyclones near Western Europe

There is less consensus on whether human activities have significantly altered tropical cyclone (TC) statistics, given the relatively short duration of reliable observed records. Understanding and projecting TC frequency change is more challenging in certain coastal regions with lower TC activity yet high exposure, such as Western Europe. Here, we show, with large-ensemble simulations, that the observed increase in TC frequency near Western Europe from 1966 to 2020 is likely linked to the anthropogenic aerosol effect. Under a future scenario featuring regionally controlled aerosol emissions and substantially increased greenhouse gas concentrations (Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 5-85), our simulations show a potential decrease in TC frequency near Western Europe by the end of the 21st century. These contrasting trends in historical and future TC frequencies are primarily due to the rise for 1966–2020 and potentially subsequent fall for 2030–2100 in TC genesis frequency in the North Atlantic. The response of large-scale environmental conditions to anthropogenic forcing is found to be crucial in explaining the historical and future changes in TC frequency near Western Europe.

Assessing Trends in the Desire to Avoid Pregnancy: A Cautionary Note.

The desire to avoid pregnancy-to delay the next birth or have no further births-is a fundamental sexual and reproductive health indicator. We show that two readily available measures-prospective fertility preferences and the demand for contraception [Demand] construct-provide substantially different portraits of historical trends. They also yield correspondingly different assessments of the sources of contraceptive change. We argue, with supporting empirical evidence, that Demand enormously overstates the historical trend in the desire to avoid pregnancy because Demand as currently constructed is in part a function of contraceptive prevalence. This makes for "reverse causality" in decompositions of contraceptive change, producing an upward distortion on the order of 25 percentage points in the amount of contraceptive change attributed to a change in fertility desires. Decomposition of contraception change free of the distortion reveals that contraceptive change has been due almost entirely to more complete implementation of fertility preferences. This is explained in part by the surprisingly slight historical change in preferences, a fact we document and then show is a consequence of a historical shift in parity composition toward lower parities.

The Rise of American Yuppie Culture in the 1980s

In the 1980s, historical and political changes took place in the United States. Under these circumstances, the radical Americans in the 1960s gave way to a new stereotype—yuppies, who were preoccupied with physical fitness, psychic harmony and successful career with high salaries. In summary, historical and political changes converged to contribute to the emergence of American yuppie culture in the 1980s.

The evolution of cultural diversity in Pama-Nyungan Australia

Explaining the processes that produce cultural diversity has long been a focus of anthropological study. Whilst linguistic diversity has frequently been shown to be associated with population splitting during migrations, much less is known about the influence of migration patterns on other forms of culture. Here we compare variation between different cultural types to understand whether their diversity might also be a consequence of historic population change. For our case study, we developed a dataset of 90 cultural traits recorded across around 100 societies in Pama-Nyungan Australia focusing on three cultural forms important in Australian life: adolescent initiation, mortuary practice and rock art motifs. Trait diversity was analysed using phylogenetic methods and compared with language diversity since previous studies have suggested an association between Pama-Nyungan language evolution and population dispersal. We were able to demonstrate a strong association between the phylogenetic history of language and initiation ritual but not between language and mortuary ritual or rock motifs. The finding suggests population migration may have had a significant influence on initiation ritual diversity. It also lends support to the idea, as suggested by some authors, that the development of complex initiation practices may have played an active role in the dispersal of Pama-Nyungan speakers throughout the Australian continent. Our study results suggest that the type of phylogenetic comparative approach applied here can make an important contribution to the reconstruction of deep cultural history over long timescales.

Mediterranean Bioethics in the bioethically lessknown Mediterranean: a struggle for identity

Primarly as a reponse to mainstream bioethics – the one narrowed-down to issues related to medical ethics and research – various kinds of regional bioethics have emerged in an attempt to incoporate values other than those typical for the Anglo-Saxon culture. Among the most promising ones, the Mediterranean Bioethics, reflecting all the colorfulness of the Mediterranean microcosm and an expanded interest to the entire bios (faithful to the original ideas of Fritz Jahr and Van Renssealer Potter), has found its footholds particularly in Spain, Italy, Croatia, and Greece. Leaving aside those four countries with abundant literature and well-known contributions to the general history of bioethics, we wish to direct attention to other cultures and countries of the Mediterranean region, revealing a more complex struggle for identity.

“I Owe More to the Royal Favor, Than Any Merit I Posses Can Justly Claim”: The Loyalists As Transactional Leaders

Aim: This study examined the Loyalists and their embrace of transactional leadership style during the American Revolution. Methods: The study relied on primary and secondary historical sources and scholarship on transactional leadership. These included general histories, biographies, memoirs, sermons, public statements, and diaries. Results: In their efforts to oppose the American Revolution, the Loyalists relied on transactional tactics. Despite their prominence, wealth, offices, and connections, the Loyalists proved ineffective in opposing the transformational forces unleashed by the Revolution. Conclusion: While they included some of the most prominent political and religious leaders in the colonies, the Loyalists failed to stop the American Revolution, mainly due to their reliance on transactional leadership style. Recommendations: Studying the Loyalists offers insight into how transactional leadership can prove ineffective in transformational times and settings. When voters and followers demand reform, transactional leadership style and leaders who embrace it will fail to deliver. Scholars should look at the Loyalists as transactional leaders in their efforts to understand the American Revolution.

The Historical Changes and Evolutionary Logic of Transitional Community Governance in China

Effective transitional community governance is an objective requirement for achieving efficient grassroots governance. Analyzing the basic context, internal logic, and development drivers of transitional community governance changes is of positive significance for promoting the modernization of the national grassroots governance system and governance capabilities. Based on the perspective of historical institutionalism, China's transitional community governance has roughly gone through three stages: a government led unitary control system, a core diversified system, and a community governance system. The basic logic of its transformation is from "management" to "governance", from "extensive" to "refined", and from "government led" to "diversified co governance". Further looking ahead to the governance of transitional communities, the main directions lie in three aspects: firstly, continuously absorbing diverse entities and balancing the governance structure of transitional communities; The second is to empower communities with technology through digital empowerment; The third is to promote community cultural construction and eliminate the tension of community governance.

Application of Big Data in College Student Education Management Based on Data Warehouse Technology and Integrated Learning

Integrated learning has attracted much attention from industry and academia. In the new era, colleges and universities need to discuss information management in light of actual conditions, integrate different data in each information system into the same database, so as to form a data warehouse based on the integrated database which can truly reflect the historical changes of data and provides support for managers' decision-making. This paper analyzes the clustering effect of standard differential evolution algorithm, improved differential evolution algorithm and K-means algorithm. The algorithm is tested using Iris and Wine database marts, the results show that the K-means algorithm is a relatively poor algorithm and its accuracy is significantly lower than the other two. Based on big data, multi-factor interactive variance analysis technology is used to analyze different data indicators and influencing factors. Therefore, colleges and universities can use the database to better understand the problems and advantages in management, thus to improve management efficiency and teaching level.

Detection and attribution of changes in precipitation extremes in China and its different climate zones

Abstract Based on the observations and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) multi-model simulations, we conducted a detection and attribution analysis for the observed changes in intensity and frequency indices of extreme precipitation during 1961-2014 over the whole of China and within distinct climate regions across the country. A space-time analysis is simultaneously applied in detection so that spatial structure on the signals is considered. Results show that the CMIP6 models can simulate the observed general increases of extreme precipitation indices during the historical period except for the drying trends from southwestern to northeastern China. The anthropogenic signal (ANT) is detectable and attributable to the observed increase of extreme precipitation over China, with human-induced greenhouse gas (GHG) increases being the dominant contributor. Additionally, we also detected the ANT and GHG signals in China’s Temperate continental, Subtropical-tropical monsoon, and Plateau mountain climate zones, demonstrating the role of human activity in historical extreme precipitation changes on much smaller spatial scales.

Taxonomic Impediment for Conservation: The Case of Bees in an Undersampled Tropical Mid-Elevation Site, San Martín, Peru.

In this first field survey of an entire bee fauna for any part of Peru, we report a total of 1796 bees belonging to 181 species or morphospecies in four families. The taxonomic impediment was pronounced with only 80 species of 181 that could be named. With such a high proportion of undetermined species, it is not possible to adequately compare pollinator communities across different studies, assess historical changes or analyze endemism patterns to document ecology, behavior and evolution of the species and genera. This information is required to provide a sound basis for policymakers to protect habitats for the conservation of native pollinators.

Geochemical indices and sedimentation rates in the Pardo River basin, São Paulo state, Brazil

Sediment geochemical indices and sedimentation rates data from the Pardo River watershed, São Paulo State, Brazil, provide relevant reference guidelines for stakeholders to plan future actions aiming to achieve the appropriate management of that hydrographic basin. The watershed includes 20 municipalities where about 650,000 inhabitants are living and whose waters after withdrawal and treatment supply ∼300,000 people in that region. Six sediment cores provided the geochemical and radiometric dataset, which was obtained from sampling sites located in the following cities: Ourinhos, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, Águas de Santa Bárbara, Avaré, Botucatu, and Pardinho. The concentration data for some metals were compared with the reference values established by the Brazilian environmental legislation for sediment dredging because currently there is a lack of specific quality guidelines for marine or fluvial sediment in Brazil. Also, the entire dataset was used in the calculation of two traditional geochemical indices, i.e., the enrichment factor (EF) and contamination factor (CF). In some cores, both indices provided insight revealing possible anthropogenic inputs of magnesium oxide (MgO), potassium oxide (K2O), sulfur trioxide (SO3), vanadium oxide (V2O5), copper (II) oxide (CuO), and other constituents due to development of activities related to the crop production. The constant rate of supply (CRS) of the unsupported/excess lead 210 (210Pb) model has been successfully applied to the obtained a radiometric 210Pb dataset, yielding mean values of the mass accumulation rate (MAR) between 0.86 and 7.23 g/(cm2·y) and linear sedimentation rates (LSR) ranging from 2.9 to 7.1 cm/y. Both of these rates exhibited a significant correlation, representing physical weathering processes occurring in the basin. Chemical weathering rates reported in the literature indicate values much lower than the physical weathering rates and such findings have also been confirmed in the current study when the obtained data were compared with results from previous investigations in the Pardo River watershed. The CRS 210Pb chronological model was useful to track historical changes in the MgO and CuO concentration in the sediment cores, allowing curves to be plotted exhibiting major peaks in core 1 (1980–2010) and core 3 (2000–2010), a continuous increase from 1970 onwards until 2010 (core 4), and a sharp increase at the end of the monitoring period, 2017 (cores 5 and 6). Data available for the harvested area at a municipality located within the basin for the period 1990–2022 have indicated a more pronounced increase over the last years in the production of sugar cane, soybeans, and oranges, implying an increasing use of fertilizers and agricultural correctives for crop production, whose chemical composition would justify the trends observed for MgO and CuO concentrations in the sediment cores. The current study also revealed a wide range of significant relations involving the concentration of ferric oxide (Fe2O3) and other analyzed constituents, with iron tending to accumulate in the finer grain sizes (from 0.125 to <0.037 mm) of the sediment. The CRS 210Pb chronological model permitted evaluation of the history of the iron flux up to the present, which could represent baseline guidance levels for indicating future anthropic inputs in the basin.