National Basis Research Articles

In a Class of Its Own? The Origins and Early History of Tennis in the 19th-Century Cape Colony

This article endeavours to awaken a scholarly interest in the origins and early history of tennis in the city of Cape Town and the Cape Colony more broadly. By drawing on newspaper accounts and other supplementary materials, the article maps out a social, political and cultural landscape that shaped this particular history prior to 1892, the year that tennis was established on a national basis in the region that would become the Union of South Africa in 1910. Much of this history has disappeared or has been erased from public consciousness and therefore events are called up that may appear insignificant to the modern reader. In recovering this history, this article seeks to demonstrate that the history of this sport matters because of its place in the social and political unfolding of 19th-century Cape colonial society. It then unpacks this history as it evolved predominantly among the English-speaking colonial middle class, in elite private residences, hotels, schools and clubs within the culture associated with these institutions.

‘Information from which money can be made is what is required’: William Blackwoods and the Irish Ordnance Memoir Commission of 1843-4

AbstractThe Irish Ordnance memoir scheme attempted to produce wide-ranging ‘statistical’ memoirs on a national basis, to accompany the large-scale (six-inch) mapping of the country by the Irish Ordnance Survey. Dating to the early 1830s, the memoir scheme had a stop-start existence and only published a specimen account for the parish of Templemore, County Londonderry (1837). But the scheme's overall aims of economic improvement and cultural revival attracted considerable support from Irish society and the Irish press. Public calls for resumption after memoir activity was stopped in 1840 led to an investigatory commission of 1843–4, appointed by the prime minister, Sir Robert Peel, but the commission's favourable findings were then disputed by him, primarily on grounds of cost. This article examines the impact of the Edinburgh publishing house of William Blackwoods on the memoir commission. The first section investigates the influence of Scottish voluntaryism on the commission, while the second assesses the impact of the firm on the emerging publication proposals in the immediate aftermath of the report. The article argues that the memoir scheme was not a victim of British antipathy but expired from a failure of the principals, including Blackwoods, to agree publishing terms, and both assesses and contextualises the scheme's demise from this adjusted perspective.

Community Interpreting in Germany - Interpreters’ working conditions and qualification

Abstract Background Community Interpreters (CI) play a crucial role in multilingual communication in health care and community services. Since CIs in Germany are mainly organized on a regional basis, there are no nationwide data available. The aim of this explorative cross-sectional study is to gain a better understanding of the work of CIs in Germany. Methods In cooperation with the Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists and the Federal Association of Non-statutory Welfare, a nationwide online survey was conducted between June and August 2022. Interpreters’ working conditions and qualification were assessed. Interpreters were recruited primarily through interpreter pools and training institutions in Germany. Results Across all 16 federal states, n = 1199 people clicked on the survey, of which n = 873 responses were usable for analysis. Most of the participants are female (74%) and born abroad (77%). The average work experience as interpreters is MED = 6 years (IQR = 3-10). 44% reported interpreting every now and then in their leisure time. The median hours of interpreting per month is 10 hours (IQR = 5-30). Most often they interpret in person (MED = 90%, IQR = 80-100%). They work in MED = 4 different areas (e.g. health care, education, social services, authority, court or police). 27% stated interpreting in six or more different settings. 69% have attended interpreting training (MED = 20 hours, IQR = 10-70), 29% of them passed a final exam. Of those who have never attended any training, 69% consider themselves as rather/very competent in interpreting. Conclusions This study provides a first national data basis for the group of CIs in Germany. People who work as CIs work in various fields. A large percentage do not interpret on a full-time basis. Most interpreters lack formal training for interpreting. Key messages • Community Interpreters in Germany lack formal training and qualification for interpreting. • Interpreting in health and community services is primarily a job that is done on the side.

Avrupa Ortak Dil Çerçeve Programı Kapsamında Açılan Erasmus Yoğun Dil Kurslarının Dil Öğrenimi Bağlamında İncelenmesi

The language learning process is a process that will continue throughout life and can be repeated and renewed at any age that individuals need. It is expected that carrying a language passport will be mandatory for every European citizen thanks to the right of free movement and work trail obtained together with full membership in the European Union. In other words, if people who find a job in any European country show this passport to the employer, they will have the opportunity to work in that country, and the languages and levels that individuals know will be indicated in the language passport. If a person with a language passport knows the language of the country in which he wants to live, it is expected that he will get a residence and work permit in that country more quickly. In this study, the studies conducted and ongoing studies related to the Intensive Turkish Language Course of the Erasmus Program were discussed. It should be remembered that there are various exchange programs related to different fields and sub-fields besides Erasmus. The number of participants coming to Turkey within the scope of these programs is increasing every day. English French Turkish German One of the services to be provided to these participants is the service of teaching Turkish as a foreign language which is considered to be a less spoken and less taught language apart from modern languages (English, German and French) today. The Council of the European Union, which has adopted lifelong learning as a principle with the E-European action plan, attaches great importance to language development as well as cultural development. For this reason, as in all other areas of education, it is believed that it will be useful to strengthen the information infrastructure and ensure coordination on a national basis in order to effectively use information technologies in education in the teaching of Turkish as a foreign language within the scope of European Union Education and Youth programs. Key Words: European Common Language Framework Program, Erasmus Intensive Language Course, Language Learning

Impact of Cooperative Innovation on the Technological Innovation Performance of High-Tech Firms: A Dual Moderating Effect Model of Big Data Capabilities and Policy Support.

The mechanism of cooperative innovation (CI) for high-tech firms aims to improve their technological innovation performance. It is the effective integration of the internal and external innovation resources of these firms, along with the simultaneous reduction in the uncertainty of technological innovation and the maintenance of the comparative advantage of the firms in the competition. This study used 322 high-tech firms as our sample, which were located in 33 national innovation demonstration bases identified by the Chinese government. We implemented a multiple linear regression to test the impact of CI conducted by these high-tech firms at the level of their technological innovation performance. In addition, the study further examined the moderating effect of two boundary conditions-big data capabilities and policy support (PS)-on the main hypotheses. Our study found that high-tech firms carrying out CI can effectively improve their technological innovation performance, with big data capabilities and PS significantly enhancing the degree of this influence. The study reveals the intrinsic mechanism of the impact of CI on the technological innovation performance of high-tech firms, which, to a certain extent, expands the application context of CI and enriches the research perspective on the impact of CI on the innovation performance of firms. At the same time, the findings provide insight for how high-tech firms in the digital era can make reasonable use of data empowerment in the process of CI to achieve improved technological innovation performance.

A case of ‘de-immigrantization’: when sexual minority individuals lose immigrant status

Individuals generally hold multiple, and sometimes stereotypically contrasted, group memberships which may change depending on uncontrollable contextual factors. For instance, if someone is a foreigner, there exist certain social stereotypes regarding their nationality which may influence others’ conceptualizations. However, how might an intersection of memberships, such as being both foreign and gay, affect natives’ perceptions of them when these stereotypes may not converge? Across four experiments, the stereotypes attributed to generalized and specific groups were examined to better understand intersectional prototypicalities. Results indicated certain cases in which immigrants may be “de-immigrantized”, or, perceived as less stereotypically immigrant. More specifically, Portuguese participants viewed gay immigrants as less prototypically immigrant, but did not view lesbian immigrants as less prototypically immigrant, bringing into question the complexity of double minority conceptualizations. Additionally, individuals from nationalities with a higher perceived percentage of gays or lesbians in their population (e.g., Brazil and France) were generally viewed as less prototypically immigrant than individuals from nationalities with a lower perceived percentage of gays or lesbians in their population (e.g., India and Japan). Conclusions provide support for intersectional theories and yield additional insights into the categorization of multiple minority groups on the basis of sexuality and nationality.

Asociația Națională Arădeană pentru Cultura Poporului, parte a societății civile românești din Monarhia Habsburgică (1863-1918)

Within the national cultural and institutional system, the regional cultural associations played a special role: Association for the Culture of the Romanian People from Maramureş (Sighet, February 5, 1861); the Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and Culture of the Romanian (ASTRA), founded at Sibiu, on October 23–26/November 4–7, 1861; the Arad National Association for the Culture of the Romanian People (Arad, April 30/May 12, 1863). Due to their regional character, they accelerated the cultural activity on a relatively extended geographical area, also favoring in time the access of village communities to culture act. At the same time, due to the concentration of the political and intellectual elite of all Romanians under foreign domination, they supported and launched extremely fruitful activities for the affirmation of the Romanian national identity. The foundation of regional associations (especially those in Sibiu and Arad, important illuminist, cultural and political centers), embodied the needs of the Romanian elite for developing, in an adequate framework, a major culture, corresponding to the one developed by the scientific institutions of other peoples. Taking into account their purposes and concerns, as well as their organization, the ASTRA and, partially, the Arad National Association, resembled the scientific, academic societies. From another point of view, the foundation of regional associations contributes to the process of institutionalizing Transylvania Romanian culture, on a national basis, which anticipated the expansion of the elements constituting national awareness towards the greater social categories. This process became more and more visible at the middle of the 19th Century, reflecting the dissemination of Romanticism in the local public interest, as well as in that of the whole South-eastern Europe. Regional associations brought to their program diverse cultural objectives, in the Romanticist direction, which amplified the forms of manifesting national sentiment and contributed to the affirmation of Romanian solidarity in general.

Analyzing National Red List data of East Asia

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List aims to assess global species distribution rather than specific regional or national distribution units. Most conservation activities are carried out on a national or regional basis; therefore, the demand for a national Red List is very high. This study analyzed the current status of the National Red List of six East Asian countries at a national level. A total of 12,462 taxa were evaluated in the Red List of six East Asian countries, in which China and Taiwan had the highest percentage of evaluated taxa, with more than 99% of native plants assessed in the country. In the threat category of the evaluated list, Japan received the highest rating at 82.8%, whereas China and South Korea received the lowest ratings at 10.9%. More than 85% of the taxa assessed on the Red List in six countries were not assessed on the IUCN Red List, and less than 10% were assessed redundantly in threat categories. The reason for the different evaluations of these two Red Lists is considered to be the setting of the distribution range. It is expected that the present study will serve as a foundation for future research.

Failure of a Multi-Centric Clinical Trial Investigating Neoadjuvant Radio-Chemotherapy in Resectable Pancreatic Carcinoma (NEOPA-NCT01900327)-Which Lessons Are Learnt?

A significant number of clinical trials must be prematurely discontinued due to recruitment failure, and only a small fraction publish results and a failure analysis. Based on our experience on conducting the NEOPA trial on neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy for resectable and borderline resectable pancreatic carcinoma (NCT01900327-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research-BMBF), we performed an analysis of potential reasons for recruitment failure and general problems in conducting clinical trials in Germany. Systematic analysis of environmental factors, trial history, conducting and funding in the background of the published literature. The recruitment failure was based on various study-specific conceptional and local environmental aspects and in peculiarities of the German surgical study culture. General reservations against a neo-adjuvant study concept combined with game changing scientific progresses during the long-lasting planning and funding phase have led to a reduced interest in the trial design and recruitment. Trial planning and conducting should be focused, professionalized and financed on a national basis. Individual interests must be subordinated to reach the goal to perform more relevant and successful clinical trials in Germany. Bureaucratic processes must be further fastened between a trial idea and the start of a study.

AXIOLOGY OF ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION OF THE “PRIORITY 2030” PROGRAMME OF THE BRIDGE BUILDING SPECIALISATION

The system of improving domestic engineering education is the most important condition that determines the technological sovereignty and security of the state. The changes carried out in higher technical school over the past decades have shown that management models implemented from the outside on the national basis, as a rule, do not take into account the objective essential relationships of the education system with the state’s goal setting for technological development. The State Programme “Priority 2030” launched in 2021, aimed at the synergy of goal-setting in achieving academic leadership, creates these mechanisms. The analysis of the programme’s intermediate stages shows that the methodology for its implementation requires refinement in terms of mechanisms that take into account the values and traditions of engineering schools. The article is devoted to the systematisation of practical experience and the development of methods in the context of the comparative axiological analysis of the trajectories of achieving the academic leadership “Priority 2030”.

Dominant research interests of Ilarion Slynko

The relevance of scientific research is determined by the importance of the scientist's scientific heritage as a separate milestone in the history of Ukrainian linguistic science. The purpose of the scientific work is to determine the main facets of the scientific and scientific-methodical activity of the outstanding Ukrainian grammarian and linguodidact of the founder of the syntactic school of the Chernivtsi University Professor I. I. Slуnko. The research methodology is based on general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as on specific linguistic methods ‒ descriptive with methods of classification and generalization of linguistic facts, logical comparison. Conclusions. Scientific achievements of Professor I. I. Slуnko (19.06.1912–01.01.1994) played an indisputable role in the development of linguistic studies not only in Bukovina, but also in Ukraine. In particular, two directions in the creative heritage of the scientist - the field of modern and historical syntax - are interconnected and complement each other, expressing the genesis of the formation of the syntactic system of the Ukrainian language on a national basis and the author's desire to preserve Ukrainian identity in the system of means of expressing thought. Promising are further studies of the linguistic personality of Ilarion Ilarionovуch Slуnko in all its manifestations ‒ temporal, spatial, evolutionary, cultural and aesthetic, status and social, linguoculturological, etc.

Applied Insulating Coatings for Gas Distribution Pipelines in the Republic of Belarus and Their Characteristics

Gas distribution system is a production complex, which is part of the gas supply system and consists of organizational and economically interconnected facilities designed to organize the supply of gas directly to consumers. On the national basis of the gas distribution system is formed by about 67.0 thousand km of external distribution gas pipelines, 28.0 thousand km of which are underground steel pipelines. As potentially hazardous objects, steel underground distribution pipelines are subject to higher requirements for corrosion protection. As a rule, they are provided with complex anticorrosion protection, an obligatory component of which is insulation coatings. Taking into account the above mentioned, the definition of general indicators characterizing condition of insulation, the degree of its wear is an actual task. To solve it, for the first time, we have analyzed an array of long-term statistical data on defects of protective coatings of distribution gas pipelines, detected by instrumental method. The values of specific defect density Dd and damageability Ad have been determined for all types of applied protective coatings. The best values have been found for insulation on the basis of heat-shrinkable tapes. The characteristic damage of the protective coating on the basis of bituminous mastics (microcracks), which can be used as an indicator of aging of this type of insulation, has been determined. It has been shown that defect formation in the insulation coatings of gas pipelines up to the present time is, as a rule, a low-intensive process, which has been confirmed, among other things, for gas pipelines operated for a long time. The obtained results were included into the justification of abolition of the previously used 40-year normative service life of steel gas pipelines in the new edition of the Rules of Technical Safety in the Field of Gas Supply of the Republic of Belarus.

Transboundary Rainfall Estimation Using Commercial Microwave Links

AbstractUnlike actual rainfall, the spatial extent of rainfall maps is often determined by administrative and political boundaries. Similarly, data from commercial microwave links (CMLs) is usually acquired on a national basis and exchange among countries is limited. Up to now, this has prohibited the generation of transboundary CML‐based rainfall maps despite the great extension of networks across the world. We present CML based transboundary rainfall maps for the first time, using independent CML data sets from Germany and the Czech Republic. We show that straightforward algorithms used for quality control strongly reduce anomalies in the results. We find that, after quality control, CML‐based rainfall maps can be generated via joint and consistent processing, and that these maps allow to seamlessly visualize rainfall events traversing the German‐Czech border. This demonstrates that quality control represents a crucial step for large‐scale (e.g., continental) CML‐based rainfall estimation.

Intensive Care Admissions and Outcome of Cardiac Arrests; A National Cohort Study From the United States.

Outcomes of cardiac arrest among patients who had cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in intensive care units (ICU) has limited data on the national level basis in the United States. We aimed to study the outcomes of ICU CPRs. Data from the national readmissions database (NRD) sample that constitutes 49.1% of the stratified sample of all hospitals in the United States were analyzed for ICU-related hospitalizations for the years 2016 to 2019. ICU CPR was defined by procedure codes. A total of 4,610,154 ICU encounters were reported for the years 2016 to 2019 in the NRD. Of these patients, 426,729 (9.26%) had CPR procedure recorded during the hospital encounter (mean age 65 ± 17.81; female 42.4%). And 167,597 (39.29%) patients had CPR on the day of admission, of which 63.16% died; while 64,752 (15.18%) patients had CPR on the day of ICU admission, of which 72.85% died. And 36,002 (8.44%) had CPR among patients with length of stay 2 days, of which 73.34% died. A total of 1,222,799 (26.5%) admitted to ICU died, and patients who had ICU CPR had higher mortality, 291,391(68.3%). Higher complication rates were observed among ICU CPR patients, especially who died. Over the years from 2016 to 2019, ICU CPR rates increased from 8.18% (2016) to 8.66% (2019); p-trend = 0.001. The mortality rates among patients admitted to ICU increased from 22.1% (2016) to 24.1% (2019); p-trend = 0.005. The majority of ICU CPRs were done on the first day of ICU admission. The trend for ICU CPR was increasing. The mortality trend for overall ICU admissions has increased, which is concerning and would suggest further research to improve the high mortality rates in the CPR group.

A Study on Freight Forwarders’s Function with Reference to Maxxpress Logistics Pvt Ltd.,

Freight forwarders typically arrange cargo movement to an international destination. Also referred to as international freight forwarders, they have the expertise that allows them to prepare and process the documentation and perform related activities pertaining to international shipments. Some of the typical information reviewed by a freight forwarder is the commercial invoice, shipper's export declaration, bill of lading and other documents required by the carrier or country of export, import, or transhipment. Much of this information is now processed in a paperless environment. A freight forwarder organizes the safe, efficient movement of goods on behalf of an exporter, importer or another company or person, sometimes including dealing with packing and storage. Taking into account the type of goods and the customers' delivery requirements, freight forwarders arrange the best means of transport, using the services of shipping lines, airlines or road and rail freight operators. In some cases, the freight forwarding company itself provides the service. Companies vary in size and type, from those operating on a national and international basis to smaller, more specialized firms, who deal with particular types of goods or operate within particular geographical areas.

Prevalence of dynapenia and overlap with disability, depression, and executive dysfunction.

This study aims to investigate handgrip strength and dynapenia prevalence among older adults stratified by Brazilian macroregions. Additionally, we aim to evaluate the overlap between dynapenia and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) disability, depression, and executive dysfunction on a national basis and by each Brazilian macroregion. This cross-sectional analysis was based on data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil). A multistage cluster sample design was used, with a representative population-based study of non-institutionalized community-dwelling Brazilians aged ≥ 50 years from 70 municipalities across all five macroregions of the country. The outcome variable was dynapenia. Covariables were IADL disability, depression, and executive dysfunction. The Brazilian macroregions were used for stratification. In addition, the following additional variables were included: age group, gender, education level, macroregions (North, Northeast, Southeast, South, and Midwest), self-reported health, multimorbidity, and falls. A total of 8,849 (94%) of the sample provided complete information for the handgrip strength assessment and were included in this analysis. Dynapenia prevalence was higher in North and Northeast regions (28.5% and 35.1%, respectively). We identified statistically significant differences between different macroregions for dynapenia, IADL disability, and verbal fluency, with worse values in the North and Northeast regions. In the North and Northeast macroregions, nearly half of the subjects that presented executive dysfunction and IADL disability also had dynapenia. There was a more significant overlap in the prevalence of all four conditions in the North and Northeast regions (4.8% and 5.5%, respectively), whereas the overlap was smaller in the South (2.3%). There was also a smaller overlap in the prevalence of dynapenia and depression in the South (5.8%) compared with other macroregions. Macroregions in Brazil exhibit marked differences in the prevalence of dynapenia and in its overlap with IADL disability, depression, and executive dysfunction.

Politicizing Family in Post-War Research on Family Planning: The Institute for Mother and Child in Warsaw1

ABSTRACT After the massive losses experienced during World War II, political post-war narratives created the image of the Polish nation as one family to which every man and woman should contribute. The state, in turn, took care of ‘its family’ by implementing social welfare measures. The present article will focus on individual actors and the extent to which socialist paternalistic attitudes influenced visions of the family at both the institutional and personal level. Mikołaj Łącki (1888–1969) was the head of the statistics department at the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw between 1951 and 1961. By examining materials held in the State Archive in Warsaw, the article scrutinizes Łącki’s legacy and his belief in building a health care system that would form the basis of a new Polish nation. His documents contain surveys about abortion, contraception methods and miscarriages. These sources are of particular interest as they reveal the extent of biased data collection and the impact of the political agenda on official data. In order to contextualize his work and the meaning of the surveys, the article begins with an analysis of the changing notion of ‘family’ and how the state reflected this in its social welfare policies.

A Regional Analysis of Airlines: The Impacts of South Korean won

ABSTRACT The airline world is a little bit complex, especially on a regional, national, and continental basis. It is aimed to make a comprehensive analysis of Asia-Pacific Airlines’ financial structure in this analysis. If the reality of South Korea’s development in the last two decades is accepted, this development also should have an impact on the airline world. As it is expected, the impact of the South Korean won–USD exchange rate changed the hypothetical financial structure of the Asia-Pacific Region during the COVID-19 period. This change is shown with three models and six analyses.

Are there any Dominant Theoretical Frameworks for Contextualization in School Science Textbooks?

In this work we tackled the question of whether research articles that analyze school science textbooks are theoretically grounded when considering contextualization. To answer this question we conducted a systematic literature review of the formulations of the notion of contextualization developed in scientific research that analyze science textbooks. For the selection of journals, we used the information available in Brazilian Qualis Journals, rated A1 or A2 in the Teaching area, which has Science Teaching as their scope. The research resulted in a sample of 48 articles between 2004 and 2021. The methodological framework was based on content analysis. Among the results, we highlight five different contextualization approaches in research articles that analyze textbooks. Furthermore, we notice that the contextualization perspective is not conceptualized in any predominant theoretical framework, either in official documents or academic literature. This work offers a basis for understanding how Brazilian Common National Basis (BNCC) will influence contextualization perspectives and its reflection in academic literature.

Crisis management in public–private partnerships: lessons from the global crises in the XXI century

PurposeGlobal crises have become increasingly recurrent events that jeopardize public-private partnerships (PPPs). In this context, the purpose of this paper is to expose the PPP-crisis research agenda by combining bibliometric and network analyses.Design/methodology/approachThe PPP literature associated with global crises between the 2008 global financial crisis and 2022 was analyzed in three stages: (1) paper selection and screening for the inclusion/exclusion of articles relevant to this research, (2) semantic network development for examining thematic relationships among selected papers by considering the co-occurrence of keywords within the chosen studies and (3) calculation of network metrics for analysis.FindingsThe paper identified six research avenues for the PPP-crisis agenda: public interest, relational governance, risk management, user-pay PPPs, crisis management and financial performance. The PPP-crisis literature has spread significantly in the last five years driven by the case study approaches on a national or regional basis. Conversely, non-crisis periods generate room to strengthen user-pay PPPs and relational governance. The pandemic and post-pandemic times shared the priorities of the 2008 financial crisis but also strengthened the management of the risks and the structural drivers of the global crisis.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates that during global crisis periods, the public interest and financial performance gain relevance in a detriment of structural solutions to social legitimacy erosion of PPPs because of the urgency of giving tools to the public and private sectors to tackle the financial issues, which steer future issues for PPPs.