Local Sense Research Articles

Duty of care toward the Kinabatangan River: Environmental monitoring, social learning and Care of Place in Sabah, Malaysia

AbstractThis case study contributes to the conceptualisation of, and methodology for, studying caringscapes/carescapes that concern the relations among humans and between human and non‐human subjects. It analyses how some local villagers along the Lower Kinabatangan River express their ‘duty of care’ toward the river through their sustained local participation in restorative work by means of such projects as assessing changing water quality in their wetlands. Making sense of their emergent sense of responsibility to foster care for the river entails examining not only how the local sense of place centres upon the river, but also how the river itself affects local communal and personal identity in a two‐way flow. This case study highlights the agency of those experiencing the process of socioecological change involving a social learning process covering two decades via learning networks, community participation in citizen science, trust, and leadership by example.

Locality in the Folk Songs of Gulmi, Palpa and Arghakhanchi

This article draws on the folk songs of Gulmi, Palpa and Arghakhanchi with special focus on how they reflect and represent the sense of locality. Most of the folk songs that carry with them the sense of locality in the given districts are wali, Teej songs, savai and bhajan. People in these districts sing their own local folk songs to express their feelings deeply attached with their own local objects, places, people and gods and goddesses. I studied these folk songs in connection to the local beliefs and sensibilities that are regularly attached with what they do and anticipate in their actual local life. Anyway, the given folk songs duly reflect the local colors of the regional landscape, cultures, memories and music that have their own beauty and taste.

No Pattern Formation in a Quasilinear Chemotaxis Model with Local Sensing

No Pattern Formation in a Quasilinear Chemotaxis Model with Local Sensing

Farmers’ Perception of Shelter Forests and the Influencing Factors in Windy Desert Areas of the Hexi Corridor, China

Shelter forest systems in the sandy areas mainly comprise farmland shelter forests (FSF) and windbreak and sand-fixing forests (WSF). Through a questionnaire survey of farmers in the oasis–desert transition zone of the windy desert areas of the Hexi Corridor in China, a perception assessment model of farmers’ perception of the status quo and ecosystem service function of shelter forests was constructed, and the willingness of farmers to pay for shelter forest construction and protection was measured. Influencing factors for the farmers’ perception of shelter forests were analyzed by a multiple regression analysis. The results showed problems with pests and diseases all present in FSF and WSF, the destruction of farmland in FSF, and water scarcity in WSF. Farmers evaluated the ecological role of shelter forests as the most obvious in windbreak and sand fixation; intermediate in the four ecological roles of leisure and recreation, agricultural production, a sense of locality, and climate regulation; and the smallest in soil improvement. Nearly 95% of farmers are willing to donate funds to shelter forest construction and protection, and the average amount the farmers were willing to pay was CNY 54.30 per year. Willingness to pay, annual household income, gender, environmental experience, age, and interview area have significant effects on farmers’ perception of shelter forests. Finally, in this paper, we recommend increasing motivation through government financial support and training for farmers to address pests and diseases, water security, and the destruction of farmland in shelter forests to ensure healthy and sustainable growth.

The role of behavioral decision-making in panic buying events during COVID-19: From the perspective of an evolutionary game based on prospect theory

Sudden public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic have triggered widespread panic buying incidents globally, causing disruptions in commodity markets characterized by imbalances between supply and demand. This has posed a serious threat to social stability. During sudden public health events, panic buying typically complicates epidemic prevention and control efforts, leading to adverse consequences such as resource wastage, supply-demand imbalances, and market failures, which pose a threat to social stability and economic development. The progression of panic buying is significantly influenced by the actions and choices of both the public and local authorities. Therefore, studying the impact of the behavioral decisions made by the public and local governments plays a pivotal role in the evolution of such events. Building upon this premise, this paper studies the role of behavioral decisions in the COVID-19 panic buying event from the perspective of an evolutionary game. First, the public’s attitude toward the development of the event is divided into two categories: those with a negative attitude and those with a positive attitude. At the same time, the concepts of mental benefits and mental costs are introduced and quantified, serving as key factors in public decision-making. Second, prospect theory is used to elucidate the risk preferences and loss aversion of decision-makers. An evolutionary game model is constructed with the public and local governments as the main entities based on prospect theory. The replication dynamic equation is constructed using the benefit perception matrix, and the equilibrium point and stability conditions of the model are deduced. Third, the impact of participants' behavioral decisions during the panic buying event on the event’s evolution process is discussed through numerical simulation analysis. The results show that (1) in the context of sudden public health emergencies, material demand is the primary cause of public panic buying behavior. Postpanic buying events, such behavior is influenced primarily by the proportion of individuals with negative attitudes within the population. Local governments should release positive information regarding supplies in a timely manner during the nascent stage of panic buying events and actively monitor the proportion of individuals with negative attitudes. (2) There is a positive correlation between risk preference and public panic buying behavior, whereas loss aversion has the opposite effect. The spiritual benefits perceived by the public from engaging in panic buying increase with higher risk preference, whereas perceived costs related to health issues increase with deeper levels of loss aversion. (3) When response costs exceed what local governments are willing to bear, reputation gains and losses play a crucial role in their decision-making. The probability of local governments adopting responsive strategies increases with their emphasis on reputation and aversion to reputation losses. Higher-level governments should enhance the dissemination of positive and negative examples of government handling, enhancing local governments' sense of responsibility and honor to improve their perception of reputation gains and losses, thereby encouraging proactive management of panic buying events.

Fruitful Brewing: Exploring Consumers' and Producers' Attitudes towards Beer Produced with Local Fruit and Agroindustrial By-Products.

This study explored beer consumers' and producers' perceptions of using local fruit and agroindustrial by-products in brewing. An online survey was conducted in Italy with 496 beer consumers and 54 beer producers. The survey assessed sociodemographic information, consumption behavior, and support for brewery neolocalism, along with brewers' perceptions of the sustainability of their breweries. Findings showed high consumers' involvement in sustainable eating and high support for breweries utilizing local resources and operating in a sustainable way. Breweries rated their sustainability practices as moderate, and most of them considered their efforts in using local raw materials and repurposing by-products as "excellent". Both consumers and producers considered beer made with agroindustrial by-products less tasty than those with local fruit (p < 0.05), but no significant difference in willingness to buy was observed (p > 0.05). According to cluster analysis results, the ideal consumer profile for sustainable beers was characterized by a higher proportion of females prioritizing sustainability and local sourcing over sensory quality. Therefore, using local materials or agroindustrial by-products can align brewers' practices with consumers' preferences, enhancing competitiveness and market positioning by fostering a sense of sustainability and locality.

Bright is the moon over my home village: Chinese local executives and environmental decoupling

This study investigates whether and how local executives' hometown identities affect enterprises' environmental decoupling. Environmental decoupling refers to the discrepancy between a company's environmental sustainability promises and its actual environmental sustainability performance. Based on the place attachment theory, we expect local executives to engage in fewer corporate environmental decoupling actions than non-local executives. Using the annual data for Chinese companies listed on the A-share market between 2009 and 2021, we tested this hypothesis. Our findings reveal that local executives' sense of identification and belonging to their hometowns lessens the likelihood of businesses engaging in environmental decoupling. This result is more pronounced for companies located in regions with low population mobility, a slow marketization process, strict environmental regulations, and companies with high financing constraints and low corporate governance levels. Furthermore, we find that local executives decrease underreporting of the environmental performance of firms, thereby reducing firms' environmental decoupling. Following several robustness tests, the primary conclusions remain valid. This study offers new evidence that executive characteristics affect company sustainability from an environmental performance decoupling standpoint. It shows that identifying the executives' hometowns motivates them to uphold a sincere commitment to corporate social responsibility.

Urban graphic heritage and the making of place: the ‘arsenalisation’ of the Emirates stadium

ABSTRACT Having played at Highbury Stadium since 1913, Arsenal Football Club (Arsenal) moved a mere 500 metres to their new Emirates Stadium in 2006. In conforming to a contemporary ‘concrete bowl’ design, the new stadium lacked architectural distinctiveness. It also lacked the deeply emotional memories made over the years that meant Highbury was seen as ‘hallowed turf’. To embed a sense of history and heritage into the new stadium, Arsenal embarked on a process of place-making they described as ‘Arsenalisation’ which employs design-led graphic heritage within and around the space. Drawing on observation, visual analysis and interdisciplinary literature research, this article focuses on the impact of these interventions in supporters’ place-making and place attachment. It discusses the impact of graphic heritage on matchday rituals; the engagement of existing supporters and the initiation of new fans in Arsenal’s history; and the use of graphic heritage in re-establishing a local sense of place.

“Buddhist-Christian Style”: The Collaboration of Prip-Møller and Reichelt—From Longchang Si to Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre

Buddhist architecture plays a crucial role in traditional Chinese architecture, representing the localized adaptation of Buddhism, a foreign religion, in China. Historically, abundant materials, including paintings, photographs, and texts, demonstrate the longstanding interest of visiting Christian missionaries in Chinese Buddhist architecture. As their understanding deepens, Buddhist architecture becomes a valuable reference for the Sinicization of Christian venues in China. Unlike the “Chinese Roof with Western walls style” or “mixed Easten and Western façade style”, Tao Fong Shan represents a “Buddhist-Christian style”, with its success rooted in the similarity of life and spatial modes between Buddhist and Christian monasteries. Using Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre as a case study, this article examines the localization construction of Christian architecture. It explores how Norwegian missionary Karl Ludvig Reichelt (1877–1952) and Danish Christian architect Johannes Prip-Møller (1889–1943) collaborated to establish a Christian center targeting Buddhists. Through an in-depth study of Prip-Møller’s field research in the 1930s, especially his analysis of Longchang Si, the article investigates how Tao Fong Shan learned from it and transformed its spatial characteristics to achieve a localized sense of space perception through site selection, layout, and spatial design. It ultimately aims to influence the beliefs of Buddhists within the local context.

Beyond environmental harm: Industry claims, lived experiences, and the impacts of gas extraction

The peer-reviewed literature presents overwhelming evidence that fossil fuel based energy infrastructure projects are responsible for lower residential property values, environmental destruction and pollution that decrease residents' quality of life. These projects also challenge local people's sense of identity and even the threat of such a project can make residents question their sense of place. As evidence, we first present a bibliographic analysis of the environmental impact statements for the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia and the Jordan Cove Energy Project in Oregon. We find that their approval processes relies on non-peer-reviewed, industry-funded claims that pipelines will bring economic benefit and will have no effect on property values. Second, through original interview data gathered between 2019 and 2021 in West Virginia and in 2021 in Oregon, we engage with the concepts of sense of identity and sense of place to demonstrate that regardless of the local context, fossil fuel based energy infrastructure projects cause more than environmental damage; they trigger emotional reactions in residents that see or fear seeing their everyday lives upended. Taken together, this Perspective contributes to the emerging field of emotional energy geography to show how the plans and implementation of oil and gas pipelines become crucial turning points in residents' lives.

Short-term efficacy and safety of cardiac contractility modulation in patients with heart failure

Objective: To investigate the short-term efficacy and safety of cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) in patients with heart failure. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of patients with heart failure who underwent CCM placement at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from February to June 2022. With a follow-up of 3 months, CCM sensation, impedance, percent output, and work time were monitored, and patients were compared with pre-and 3-month postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) values, and 6-minute walk test distance and New York Heart Association (NYHA) cardiac function classification, and the occurrence of complications was recorded. Results: CCM was successfully implanted in all 9 patients. Seven(7/9) of them were male, aged (56±14) years, 3 patients had ischaemic cardiomyopathy and 6 patients had dilated cardiomyopathy. At 3-month postoperative follow-up, threshold was stable, sense was significantly lower at follow-up than before (right ventricle: (16.3±7.0) mV vs. (8.2±1.1) mV, P<0.05; local sense: (15.7±4.9) mV vs. (6.7±2.5) mV, P<0.05), and impedance was significantly lower at follow-up than before (right ventricle (846±179) Ω vs. (470±65) Ω, P<0.05, local sense: (832±246) Ω vs. (464±63) Ω, P<0.05). The CCM output percentage was (86.9±10.7) %, the output amplitude was (6.7±0.4) V, and the daily operating time was (8.6±1.0) h. LVEF was elevated compared to preoperative ((29.4±5.2) % vs. (38.3±4.3) %, P<0.05), the 6-minute walk test was significantly longer than before ((96.8±66.7)m vs. (289.3±121.7)m, P<0.05). No significant increase in the number of NYHA Class Ⅲ-Ⅳ patients was seen (7/9 vs. 2/9, P>0.05). The patient was not re-hospitalised for worsening heart failure symptoms, had no malignant arrhythmic events and experienced significant relief of symptoms such as chest tightness and shortness of breath. No postoperative complications related to pocket hematoma, pocket infection and rupture, electrode detachment, valve function impairment, pericardial effusion, or cardiac perforation were found. Conclusions: CCM has better short-term safety and efficacy in patients with heart failure.

Microwave Resonance-Based Lab-on-a-Chip Local Pressure Sensing

Microwave Resonance-Based Lab-on-a-Chip Local Pressure Sensing

$L^{p}$ gradient estimates and Calderón–Zygmund inequalities under Ricci lower bounds

In this paper, we investigate the validity of first and second order L^{p} estimates for the solutions of the Poisson equation depending on the geometry of the underlying manifold. We first present L^{p} estimates of the gradient under the assumption that the Ricci tensor is lower bounded in a local integral sense, and construct the first counterexample showing that they are false, in general, without curvature restrictions. Next, we obtain L^{p} estimates for the second order Riesz transform (or, equivalently, the validity of L^{p} Calderón–Zygmund inequalities) on the whole scale 1&lt;p&lt;+\infty by assuming that the injectivity radius is positive and that the Ricci tensor is either pointwise lower bounded, or non-negative in a global integral sense. When 1&lt;p \leq 2 , analogous L^{p} bounds on higher even order Riesz transforms are obtained provided that also the derivatives of Ricci are controlled up to a suitable order.

Classification of the conformally flat Tchebychev affine Kähler hypersurfaces

Tchebychev affine Kähler hypersurfaces were investigated firstly by Xu and Li, who classified the case of dimension 2. As for the case of higher dimension, Xu-Li also proved a classification for the Tchebychev affine Kähler hypersurfaces with complete Calabi metric and nonnegative Ricci curvature. In this paper, the classification of Tchebychev affine Kähler hypersurfaces is obtained under the assumption that Weyl curvature tensor vanishes. As corollaries, we completely determine 3-dimensional Tchebychev affine Kähler hypersurfaces in local sense and obtain the classification of Calabi complete Tchebychev affine Kähler hypersurfaces in R4, which partially improves the results of Xu-Li. In addition, a Bernstein-type result is got for the entire Tchebychev affine Kähler hypersurface in R4.

Irreversible Mixing Induced by Geostrophic Turbulence over the Global Ocean

Abstract Two recently proposed mixing diagnostics are employed to estimate the global surface irreversible mixing based on particle and tracer simulation driven by satellite-derived geostrophic velocities. These two novel diagnostics, similar to the traditional dispersion diffusivity and Nakamura’s effective diffusivity but defined in a localized and instantaneous sense, have the following advantages: 1) they reconcile the theoretical discrepancies between Eulerian-, particle-, and contour-based diffusivities and 2) they do not rely on the stationary and homogeneous assumptions of the turbulent ocean and are free from traditional average operators (e.g., Eulerian time–space or along-contour mean). Our results show that evident discrepancies among these three types of diffusivities do emerge when employing traditional estimates. However, these discrepancies could be significantly mitigated with the adoption of new diagnostic methods, implying that the three types of diffusivities can be effectively reconciled within a global framework. Moreover, finescale mixing structures and transient elevated mixing events due to geostrophic stirring can be clearly identified by the two new diagnostics, in contrast to previous estimates that are spatially and/or temporally smoothed. In particular, it is interesting to note that large values of the new diagnostics usually occur along narrow filaments/fronts associated with mesoscale eddies, and elevated mixing is observed to be located at the periphery of eddies. Our study presents a novel revisit of the global surface mixing induced by geostrophic eddies with an emphasis on irreversibility and provides new insights into previous questions regarding different mixing diagnostics in the community. Significance Statement Previous estimates of eddy mixing over the global ocean, using particle-based, tracer-based, and Eulerian-based diffusivities, have shown evident discrepancies. By using recently proposed novel mixing diagnostics, this study demonstrates that the three types of diffusivity estimates agree well with each other, indicating a practical unification of the three types of diffusivities. Also, since the new mixing diagnostics do not involve any traditional average operator, the local and instantaneous mixing maps over the global ocean are presented here, in contrast to previous spatial- or temporal-averaged ones. These new insights can address several unresolved issues in the mixing community.

Local Approximation Properties for the New Type q-Stancu-Durrmeyer Operators

In this article, we propose a new kind of q-Stancu-Durrmeyer operators (or shortly q-SD operators). We calculate first and second order moments, for and we give an estimation for the second order central moment, . Furthermore, through the use of the second modulus of continuity, we invent approximation properties of the q-SD operators in the local sense and by using order Lipschitz kind maximal function, we give a direct estimation for the q-SD operators again in the local sense.

The relevance of international restoration principles for ecosystem restoration practice in Rwanda

The restoration of degraded ecosystems is considered a key strategy to contribute to ecological integrity and human well‐being. To support restoration practice, 10 “Principles to guide the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030” were conceived through a consultative process and put forward by a group of leading international restoration actors. The extent to which these principles can inform successful restoration activities on the ground, however, remains largely unknown. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, we probed 32 stakeholders who plan, manage, and implement restoration in Rwanda to elicit which factors they perceive as most important for successful restoration based on the UN Decade principles. Using the Q‐methodology, we discovered that participants overall agreed that the UN Decade principles are relevant to inform successful ecosystem restoration in the study area. Further, the Q‐study revealed three distinct groups of stakeholders with different priorities in terms of opinions on restoration aims, stakeholder involvement, and relevant spatial scales. Based on semi‐structured interviews, we identified four considerations for successful restoration that require special attention in future restoration interventions in the study area: (1) restoring historical conditions, (2) collecting baseline data, (3) increasing local communities' sense of ownership, and (4) pursuing a long‐term vision for restoration activities. To address these considerations and thereby harvest the potential of ecosystem restoration to benefit both people and nature in the long run, diverse stakeholders with different priorities for restoration need to come together to discuss possible differences in their perceived priorities, perspectives, and approaches.

Local Epistemic Consciousness as A Basis for Attaching Responsibility for Marine Conservation in the Indonesian Coastal Region

The sea is the primary resource that needs to be maintained by all people based on its benefits. However, marine conservation efforts are only carried out by individuals related to them, especially local coastal communities. This condition implies that conservation efforts are never carried out optimally due to a lack of consciousness. This research aims to utilize the structure of epistemic consciousness as a means to convey social responsibility for protecting the marine environment. This research will employ a philosophical hermeneutics approach involving epistemology, ethics, human philosophy, and psychotherapy. The results of this research demonstrate that epistemic consciousness in an individual can enhance their abilities and understanding in adapting their knowledge framework to environmental conservation efforts. This consciousness is also capable of guiding an individual's responsibility in processing information and making decisions in specific contexts, especially in the local sense. Instilling a sense of responsibility can be achieved through the use of taglines and the symbolization of religious beliefs and traditional customs.

Three Decolonial Research Methodologies: Interrogating Qualitative Research in English Language Teaching Education

Along this reflection paper, we confront our former understandings of research as women teachers-researchers who intend to take the Epistemologies of the South as ways of being feeling-thinking-doing English language teacher education and research. A personal, academic, and collective journey has intersected and driven us into the decolonial turn to research ELT. Moreover, in this paper, we will share our uncertainties and struggles in an overt attempt to question our personal fine-grained colonial paradigms to find possible ways to demonumentalize research. Our research methodologies are intended to overcome a Western rationality of knowledge production that ingrains the ways through which our knowledge, research, and pedagogical practices are to be constructed. Walking the paths of decoloniality, we have moved from universal to more pluriversal understandings; we have constructed, co-constructed, valued and rescued situated knowledges emerging from our experience in our Global South. In the process, we have lived a mobilization of visions and pathways that destabilize and relocate our practices with a deep relation to that sense of locality that is ours. The aim of the following paper is to socialize how, through our research projects, we have envisioned inter-epistemic relational methodologies, hybrid, and testimonial narratives to portray ways to research English language teacher education with a decolonial spirit.

Codzienność rozszczelniona. O "Codziennej walce" Manu Larceneta

In the proposed reading of Manu Larcenet’s Le Combat Ordinaire, everyday life appears not only as the setting of the story but also its fundamental—though by no means obvious, despite the abundance of everyday life imagery and motifs—theme. In Larcenet’s unspectacular narration, conducted in a tone oscillating between buffo and serious, human day-to-day affairs, obscured by the facade of ritual, appear as an effort, a task to complete, a risk to be taken, a problem of existence in the “cracks” of which the most important experiences occur, defined by the dialectics of life and death, health and illness, nature and culture, order and disorder.&#x0D; The article presents an analysis of the key dimensions of this “everyday struggle:” from the textual game whose stake is the axiology of everyday life (the issue of intimate diary, the value of journalism as a profession), to the sense of locality and the construction of identity based on memory and postmemory, to use Marianne Hirsch’s concept (references to the war in Algeria). The interpretation of Larcenet’s graphic novel was carried out based on three premises: (1) the everyday settles into fiction thanks to mimesis; (2) contact with everyday life may lead to an epiphanic revelation of a spiritual truth (drawing on Jolanta Brach-Czaina’s concept described in her philosophical essay Szczeliny istnienia [Cracks in Existence], this phenomenon can be called the “unsealing” of everyday life); (3) literary depictions of human daily existence are where literature and sociology intersect, as a result of which literary works (or, comics in this case) help reveal the structures of everyday life.