Left-wing Research Articles

Use of DC Motor Control in Development of Pipe Welding Technology by Using the GMAW Process for Variation of Welding Nozzle Movement

Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) welding technology is a welding method that is widely used in industry. A problem that often occurs is that it is difficult for a welder to control the speed of movement of the welding nozzle, which can affect the quality of the welding results. With welding tools that can control the movement of the welding nozzle, this problem can be overcome and increase the efficiency and productivity of the welding manufacturing process. The method for testing the quality of welding results is analyzed visually using the visual test and penetrant test methods. The use of GMAW welding tools for pipe butt joints using DC motor control to vary the movement of the welding nozzle is effective, making it easier for the welder and good welding results. Good welding results were obtained for setting the welding nozzle movement time in 1.4 seconds and 1 second for one left and right the movement cycle on a pipe joint rotating at a constant speed of 24 rpm. Setting the time for the welding nozzle movement in 0.6 seconds for one cycle of left and right movement produces poor welding in pipe joints that rotate at the same speed.

„Służyć Bogu, Ojczyźnie i Rodzinie”. Kobiety w faszystowskich Włoszech (1925–1940)

The article focuses on characterizing the ideological assumptions and policies of the fascist movement toward women, and, after 1922, those of the state governed by the National Fascist Party (PNF) and, above all, by Benito Mussolini. Women’s equality, among other things, was established in the initial period of fascism when its left wing was strong. Gradually over time as the movement came to power and especially after taking it in 1922, Il Duce and the party embraced conservative, nationalist social and economic policies that referred to the great Roman past in a desire to reconstruct the empire and increase the number of Italian citizens that would be newly formed Italian fascists. To achieve this goal, especially after 1925 when the totalitarian state and society was being built, the regime pursued a policy of the total control and subordination of women to the state and the system. Divorce, abortion, and the sale of contraceptives were banned, the “excessive education” of girls and the possibility of woman undertaking professional work were limited, while the roles of women in society as mothers, wives, and guardians of the “home” were promoted.

Shaping climate change discourse: the nexus between political media landscape and recommendation systems in social networks

Recommendation systems have become ubiquitous, and they actively participate in creating our individual and collective identity. In this paper, the diffusion of climate change information has been studied based on YouTube’s recommendation system and the political media landscape. The YouTube channels of CNN, BBC News and Fox News, as the most popular channels, respectively, for Left, Center and Right parties, were explored using web scraping and social network analysis to check what kind of recommended content will pop up if a user looks for climate change videos. Using an agent-based modeling approach, the competition between Left, Center and Right media in pushing their own narrative of climate change in society was simulated. The results suggest YouTube’s recommendation algorithm is highly biased since most of the recommended content was from the same channel fitting their own political agenda. The agent-based modeling indicates the size of a network is a decisive factor in further spread of a message as Left media always dominated Center and Right media in pushing their own perspective on climate change regardless of higher weights assigned to Right media. This study shed light on how public perception on climate change can be shaped by recommendation systems and digital companies.

Attempted Suicide with a Self-Inflicted Penetrating Stab Wound to the Medulla Oblongata Caused by a Pair of Scissors: Case Illustration

A 78-year-old male patient with a history of psychotic depression was found in the bathroom of his apartment with a pair of scissors driven deeply into the back of his neck. He presented with tetraparesis with residual control over the left lower limb movement. Immediate skull radiograph and brain computed tomography scans revealed the tip of the scissors passing into the foramen magnum. Emergent surgery with midline suboccipital craniectomy and resection of the posterior arch of C1 was performed. The scissors were spontaneously dislocated in the course of surgery. Thereafter, debridement, placement of external ventricular drain and primary closure of the dura and skin were achieved. Post-operatively, the patient was not able to follow any instructions. On the 22nd post-operative day, the patient passed away in palliation. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a suicide attempt involving the use of scissors reaching the medulla oblongata.

Sources of left-wing attitudes towards the activism of local groups

Some leftist intellectuals distance themselves from local activism and accuse it of neglecting political goals and being insensitive to cultural problems. Their critique of activism is based on patterns drawn from modernization discourse and often reveals classism toward the poorer strata of society. The deprecation of local activism is linked to the shift in traditional leftist discourse and its refocusing on cultural problems. Furthermore, it is associated with the political development of the metropolitan middle class. The radicalization of demands in the cultural sphere to politically win over the middle class means that, from the perspective of local communities, leftist discourse loses its credibility as a force capable of systemic change and poverty reduction. In addition, a leftist critique of local activism often repeats the value-laden models that were used during the systemic transformation of the 1990s and served at the time as an ideological justification for exploitation and middle-class supremacy. All this makes the leftist critique of local activism a de facto class critique, conducted in the interests of the middle class.

Disentangling the effects of message content and message sharer on students' views of political misinformation.

A consistent finding in fake news research is that people are more likely to believe content in favor of their political views. Unclear, however, is whether this political bias is moderated by contextual effects, such as politicians sharing content on their social media accounts. The present study investigated how both message content and sharer affect views of political misinformation. Participants (N = 164) evaluated eight news messages. Message content (pro-left/pro-right misinformation) and sharer (left-wing/right-wing/unknown politician) were manipulated within subjects. As expected, participants agreed more with concordant misinformation (aligned with their political orientation) and perceived it as more accurate than discordant misinformation. There was an additional, smaller effect of politician: Participants agreed more with discordant misinformation when shared by a politician representing their political viewpoint than when shared by others. Furthermore, left-oriented participants' agreement with concordant misinformation was hardly affected by message sharer, whereas right-oriented participants' agreement with concordant misinformation was-unexpectedly-positively affected by the left-wing politician. Irrespective of their political orientation, participants perceived misinformation from the left-wing politician as more accurate than misinformation from other politicians. Our findings suggest that both message content and sharer affect views of misinformation and interact in doing so, which is important for designing interventions on recognizing misinformation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Thuringia

Abstract The small federal state Thuringia has been politically unique over the last two legislative terms in two respects: It is the only German state in which a minister president belonging to the Left Party is leading a left of center coalition government; in other states where the Left Party is participating in governmental coalitions it is always the SPD that is leading the government. And, at least since 2019, Thuringia is unique because it is ruled by a minority government of the Left Party, SPD, and Greens. This article argues that the first uniqueness is a historically contingent deviance from national patterns that can be explained by the electoral development of the Thuringian SPD. The unique type of minority government has been caused primarily by the electoral success of the AfD in Thuringia, and it might serve as a model for other federal states if coalition building becomes equally difficult.

The importance of Ukraine in the process of ensuring the energy security of Central European countries in the political thought of Polish political parties during the Russian-Ukrainian war. Selected issues

Ukraine has played an extremely important role in ensuring the energy security of Central European countries over the years, mainly due to its position as a transit state. Past energy crises (2006, 2009) have affected the perception of the country in Europe and led to Russian-German energy projects that reduce the level of regional security (e.g., Nord Stream 1, Nord Stream 2). In Poland, various political parties (Law and Justice, Civic Platform, the Left Party, Polish People’s Party) have referred differently to regional cooperation and the function Ukraine might offer in this type of process. In this context, the aim of the article was to analyse the political thought of selected Polish parliamentary parties regarding the importance of Ukraine in ensuring the energy security of Central European countries during Russia’s armed attack on Ukraine in 2022. The starting point of the analyses was the general thesis that political parties in Poland treated Ukraine as a key state in efforts to limit the negatively perceived energy policy of the Russian Federation in the region.

Economic Ideology in Indian Politics: Why Do Elite and Mass Politics Differ?

A long line of scholarship has argued that ideological division structures party politics in many parts of the world. In India, however, there is a long-held consensus that the parties do not sort themselves ideologically, especially regarding economic policymaking. The paper analyses National Election Studies data between 1996 and 2019 by Lokniti-CSDS, and shows that voters cluster around the centre-left position on economic issues. Nevertheless, there are discernible ideological differences among the party members. The Bhartiya Janata Party members are more likely to favour privatisation, and members of Left parties prefer labour rights. These ideological differences are also evident in our analysis of the manifestos of political parties since 1952 and an expert survey conducted in 2022. We argue that these elite differences in economic policy do not translate into mass politics because all political parties present the State as the solution to economic deprivation. The rise of welfare populism in Indian politics in the past two decades, we suggest, is a result of centralisation within political parties in which the welfare promises are directly linked to the party leaders.

Metronidazole pharmacokinetics in geese (Anser anser domesticus) after intravenous and oral administrations.

Metronidazole (MTZ) is a 5-nitroimidazole anti-bacterial and anti-protozoal drug. In human and companion animal medicine, MTZ remains widely used due to its effectiveness against anaerobic bacteria and protozoa. In farm animals, however, MTZ is currently prohibited in several countries due to insufficient data on nitroimidazoles. The purpose of this study was to assess its pharmacokinetics (PK) in geese after single intravenous (IV) and oral (PO) administrations. Fifteen-month old healthy male geese (n = 8) were used. Geese were subjected to a two-phase, single-dose (10 mg/kg IV, 50 mg/kg PO), open, longitudinal study design with a two-week washout period between the IV and PO phases. Blood was drawn from the left wing vein to heparinized tubes at 0, 0.085 (for IV only), 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 24, and 48 h. Plasma MTZ concentrations were measured using HPLC coupled to an UV detector, and the data were pharmacokinetically analyzed using PKanalix™ software with a non-compartmental approach. MTZ was still quantifiable and well above the LLOQ at 24 h after both routes of administration. Following IV administration, terminal elimination half-life, volume of distribution, and total clearance were 5.47 h, 767 mL/kg, and 96 mL/h/kg, respectively. For the PO route, the bioavailability was high (85%), and the mean peak plasma concentration was 60.27 μg/mL at 1 h. When parameters were normalized for the dose, there were no statistically significant differences for any of the PK parameters between the two routes of administration. The study shows that oral administration of MTZ seems to be promising in geese, although comprehensive research on its pharmacodynamics and multiple-dose studies are necessary before its adoption in geese can be further considered.

Coup (September 12, 1980) in Turkey

The internal situation in Turkey worsened at the end of the seventies due to the conflict and clash of the Turkish left and right, in addition to the development of the Islamic movement, the Turkish left movement, and the armed Kurdish movement, and the emergence of economic problems such as widespread unemployment, deteriorating living conditions, decline in personal income, sit-ins and demonstrations by workers and the niqab. At the level of internal reasons that led to a coup (12 September 1980). In terms of external reasons, major political transformations occurred within the countries neighboring Turkey, such as the coming of Saddam Hussein to power in Iraq, the outbreak of the Iranian peoples’ revolution or the Iranian Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, and finally the occupation of Afghanistan by Soviet Union forces. (1980) At that stage, there were concerns among the military establishment Turkish and protector of Kemalist principles.The concern of the United States of America about the weakness of the Turkish political system in the face of riots, violence, demonstrations and clashes in the streets, as well as American concerns about the dominance of Islamic and leftist movements over the reins of government in Turkey led to an agreement and a signal to the Turkish military establishment of the necessity of... a military coup and the restoration of political stability to the country. Therefore, the military establishment in Turkey carried out a military coup on the morning of September 12, 1980, with a military statement, taking control of government institutions and the reins of government, sending party leaders and politicians to prisons, and declaring a state of emergency in the country.In this research, we attempted to study the coup (September 12, 1980) in Turkey, especially its influential internal and external causes. We divided the research into two sections, the first section entitled (Internal causes of the coup on September 12, 1980) and the second section (External causes of the coup on September 12, 1980). We concluded the research with summary conclusions at the end of the research.

Do parties matter for policy accumulation? An analysis of social policy portfolios in 22 countries

AbstractThis article analyses the role of political parties in policy accumulation. We study this relationship in the area of social policy. Our analysis builds on a large data set covering the size of policy portfolios (policy targets and instruments) in three subfields of social policy for 22 OECD countries over 30 years. We find that the probability of social policy accumulation is not affected by the government's ideological position. Left governments do not produce more extensive social policy portfolios than right ones. Yet, this striking result does not contradict governments’ political ideologies, as left and right parties accumulate for different reasons. While left parties address new social policy targets to broaden the scope of the welfare state, right parties adopt new policy instruments to condition social benefits. These findings hold regardless of how we measure governments’ ideological position and despite strong endogenous policy growth dynamics, that is, countries with greater policy portfolios also display higher levels of policy accumulation. Our findings indicate that party political considerations can explain the reasons for but not the level of policy accumulation. Changes in government are thus unlikely to stall or slow down the constant accumulation of public policies.

Efficacy of spinal fusion in treatment of splintered fracture of the C6 vertebral body with spinal cord compression in an adolescent (case history)

Fractures and dislocation fractures of C5‑Th1 vertebrae account for about 70 % of all spinal injuries. The article describes a case history of the successful treatment of the fractured C6 vertebra by means of spinal fusion with an autogenous bone. The SCT (spiral computed tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), performed for diagnostic purposes, showed a splintered fracture of the C6 vertebra with spinal cord compression and mild spinal cord swelling. The clinical picture indicated acute pain in the cervical spine, quadriplegia, and functional disorder of the pelvic organs caused by the severity and level of the injury. The patient underwent two simultaneous surgeries: during the first operation, a fragment of autologous bone from the left iliac wing was taken, and during the second surgery, spinal fusion of C5‑C7 with autologous bone and fixation with a titanium plate were performed. After the interventions, the follow-up SCT of the C-spine showed no signs of spinal cord compression, and the wedge-shaped deformation of the vertebral canal was remedied. No displacement of the vertebral bodies and changes in the height of the vertebrae and vertebral discs is present. After treatment, the patient will undergo long-term rehabilitation measures. The obtained result proves the efficacy of autobone spinal fusion with anterior low-profile titanium plate fixation with four screws. Due to correct and timely medical care provided to the patient, all of the treatment objectives (minimizing secondary injuries of the spinal cord and ensuring optimal conditions for recovery of neurons and axons in the area of disturbed blood supply, spine stabilization) were accomplished.

Making realism work, from second wave feminism to extinction rebellion: an interview with Caroline New

ABSTRACT Caroline New is an energetic activist who has interpolated critical realist ideas into the front-line of political activism. In this wide-ranging interview, she begins by reflecting on her life and how she became a realist and her account is illustrated with personal anecdotes recalling memories of well-known philosophers and activists from the time. She discusses how her position set her apart from other feminists and she examines the interacting threads of longstanding debates on the political left, as well as longstanding debates within critical realist circles, such as the relative importance of quantitative methods in social research and the scope for agency as a source of intentional change. Finally she brings some of her ideas to bear on contemporary issues. This engaging interview notably provides some of the social context in which critical realism developed, while also pointing towards its future potential.

Women's political participation in the socio-cultural environment of Pakistan: A critical review of mainstream political parties (2018-2022)

Although women make up half of Pakistan's population, their participation in politics has historically been limited. While women today are more politically active and articulate than in the past, their involvement is still hindered by various factors, including patriarchal structures, a genderbiased socio-cultural environment, and a conservative interpretation of Islam. This study utilizes qualitative methods to assess the participation of women as voters and candidates by examining the roles of far-right (Jamaate-Islami), central (Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz and Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf) and left (Pakistan People Party Parliamentarian) political parties in the 2008, 2013, and 2018 elections. Relevant secondary sources, including the selected parties' manifestos, have been analyzed through content analysis to establish the appropriate context. The research findings indicate that although regulatory efforts aim to increase women's representation, political parties frequently prioritize female candidates with preexisting political backgrounds. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that the parties' ideological positions significantly impact their dedication to female political participation and representation. Although political parties have made some progress in improving women's representation and participation in elections, it is clear that a significant and ongoing dedication is necessary to close the gender gap in political engagement.

Domestic terrorism, incumbency, and legislative vote shares

A small number of studies have examined the effect terrorism has on political ideology and vote choice cross-nationally. However, scholars yet to understand how terrorist attack type influences vote choice based on the political ideology of incumbent governments. Thus, we examine the effect domestic and transnational terrorist attacks have on vote choice in legislative elections while accounting for the ideology of the incumbent government. In examining 56 democracies from 1975 – 2014 from various regions and levels of development, we find that domestic attacks, and not transnational, significantly effect both right and left party votes shares when the incumbent party in government is of a similar ideology. We attribute these results to the perception of instability that accompanies domestic attacks and the effects it has on voters’ evaluations of political parties. These findings have important implications for understanding how terrorism influences electoral behavior.

Past the saturation point: Why voters switch from mainstream to niche parties and vice‐versa

AbstractWhen do voters switch from mainstream to niche parties and vice‐versa? To understand these switches, we focus on the saturation of the party system. We theorize that when a party system is oversaturated – i.e. when a higher effective number of parties contests elections than predicted based on socio‐political contextual characteristics (the system's ‘carrying capacity’) – it becomes increasingly likely that: (1) mainstream party voters defect to niche parties; and (2) niche party voters refrain from switching to mainstream parties. Based on vote‐switching patterns in 15 countries and 53 elections, we find that oversaturation increases shifts from mainstream to niche parties. Further analyses show that this holds for shifts from mainstream to radical left and right parties, but not for shifts to green parties. This has important consequences for research on vote switching, the electoral consequences of policy differentiation and the competition between niche and mainstream parties.

Using geometric wing morphometrics to distinguish Aedes japonicus japonicus and Aedes koreicus

BackgroundAedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald, 1901) and Aedes koreicus (Edwards, 1917) have rapidly spread in Europe over the last decades. Both species are very closely related and occur in sympatry. Females and males are difficult to distinguish. However, the accurate species discrimination is important as both species may differ in their vectorial capacity and spreading behaviour. In this study, we assessed the potential of geometric wing morphometrics as alternative to distinguish the two species.MethodsA total of 147 Ae. j. japonicus specimens (77 females and 70 males) and 124 Ae. koreicus specimens (67 females and 57 males) were collected in southwest Germany. The left wing of each specimen was removed, mounted and photographed. The coordinates of 18 landmarks on the vein crosses were digitalised by a single observer. The resulting two-dimensional dataset was used to analyse the differences in the wing size (i.e. centroid size) and wing shape between Ae. j. japonicus and Ae. koreicus using geometric morphometrics. To analyse the reproducibility of the analysis, the landmark collection was repeated for 20 specimens per sex and species by two additional observers.ResultsThe wing size in female Ae. koreicus was significantly greater than in Ae. j. japonicus but did not differ significantly for males. However, the strong overlap in wing size also for the females would not allow to discriminate the two species. In contrast, the wing shape clustering was species specific and a leave-one-out validation resulted in a reclassification accuracy of 96.5% for the females and 91.3% for the males. The data collected by different observers resulted in a similar accuracy, indicating a low observer bias for the landmark collection.ConclusionsGeometric wing morphometrics provide a reliable and robust tool to distinguish female and male specimens of Ae. j. japonicus and Ae. koreicus.Graphical

‘The voice of the true British housewife’: the politics of housewifery at Labour’s women’s conferences, 1945–1959

ABSTRACT Drawing on the records of Labour’s annual women’s conference, this article analyses why, how and with what effects women activists in the Labour Party claimed to represent ‘the housewife’ in post-war Britain. Building on longstanding traditions on the left, Labour women saw a politics of housewifery as the most effective means of advancing the interests of working-class women in post-war Britain, and asserted the housewife's need for state intervention, good quality housing, and generous welfare provision. They also recognised that the housewife’s concerns extended far beyond her own home, and were keen to promote her interests in different arenas, including paid work. Yet the success of groups like the British Housewives League meant that Labour women found it increasingly difficult to pursue a left-wing politics of the housewife. In opposition, they began to adopt the language of consumerism, losing sight of the emphasis on gender which had made their politics distinctive. This article thus shows that housewifery was a malleable and contested identity in the post-war period, valuable to those on the left as well as non-partisan women and those on the right. It also provides a new perspective on longstanding debates over the Labour Party’s failure to appeal to women voters.

Take the Streets or Take the Parliament? Political Participation Choices of Radical Left Individuals

Voters across Europe have become increasingly polarised on both ends of the political spectrum in the last decade. While radical right parties were able to mobilise voters on their salient topics, radical left parties were only sporadically successful. In this article, we analyse why radical left parties fail to benefit from increasing polarisation by examining their potential voter base. Radical left individuals should have a lower incentive to participate in elections to change the status quo because of their suspicion towards authorities in general and the government more specifically. Instead, they should engage in status quo -busting grassroots activities to enforce revolutionary, rather than evolutionary, change. Our hypotheses are put to an empirical test by relying on data from the European Social Survey. We include respondents from 17 Western European countries from five rounds of the European Social Survey. The results have important implications for our understanding of the demand side of the political extremism wave.