Popular Science Literature Research Articles

ОШИБОЧНОСТЬ И СУБЪЕКТИВНОСТЬ ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЯ ТЕРМИНА «ГОМОФОБИЯ» В НАУЧНОМ И ОБЩЕСТВЕННОМ ДИСКУРСЕ

Цель. Среди значительной части общества наблюдается критическое отношение к однополой сексуальной активности, степень выражения которого варьирует от поддержки юридического противодействия попыткам изменить институт брака с целью включить в него однополые партнёрства до единичных случаев насилия в отношении представителей гомосексуального сообщества. Подобное критическое отношение, в независимости от степени его проявления и причин, иногда обозначается как т.н. «гомофобия». С другой стороны, употребление подобного термина вызывает вопросы по поводу адекватности, точности и непредвзятости. Целью данного исследования является анализ (а) происхождения термина «гомофобия»; (б) адекватности его прикладного использования; (в) политических мотивов применения; (г) концепций, описывающих биологические причины критического отношения к однополой активности.Метод и методология работы. Основу исследования образуют феноменологический, описательный (дескриптивный) и сравнительный (компаративистский) методы, а также принцип систематизации и обобщения данных теоретических и практических исследований.Результаты. Термин «гомофобия» возник в начале 1970-х гг. в среде гомосексуального движения Соединённых Штатов. Прикладное использование термина «гомофобия» является необъективным по нескольким фундаментальным причинам. Употребление термина «гомофобия» в общественной риторике носит предвзятый, политический характер. Существуют различные модели, объясняющие причины критического восприятия однополого поведения, интерес представляет собой модель поведенческой иммунной системы. Использование термина «гомофобия» в научной деятельности для обозначения всего спектра критического отношения к однополой активности не имеет научного обоснования и является некорректным. Кроме того, использование термина «гомофобия» размывает грань между сознательным критическим отношением к гомосексуализму, основанном на убеждениях, и формами проявления агрессии, смещая ассоциативное восприятие в сторону агрессии и психопатологии. Для использования в отечественной научной литературе, посвященной изучению данного вопроса предлагаются термины «критическое отношение», «негативизм» или «скептицизм».Область применения результатов. Результаты исследования могут быть применены в общественно-политическом дискурсе, направленном на защиту и развитие базовых нравственных и социальных ценностей.

Obraz Oceanii w polskiej literaturze popularnonaukowej

Oceania’s image in Polish popular science literature In Polish popular science literature Oceania is seen as aplace characterized by the heavenly landscapes and friendly people but also as an area known from its cannibalistic tradition, dangerous jungle and animals. Article is analysis of this image and shows the most popular characteristics of this area which includes author’s point of view and specific measures applied by them, for example stereotypes, ethnocentrism and stylistic devices. Disclosure of them is very important to understand how literature influences on books recipients and their worldview. This is the main goal of this work.

Советская публицистика и научно-популярная литература как источник инспирации контркультуры в Западной Сибири

Советская публицистика и научно-популярная литература как источник инспирации контркультуры в Западной Сибири

Annotated bibliography of the parthenogenetic marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis, a new research model, potent invader and popular pet.

The marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis is a new obligately parthenogenetic species that was detected in the mid-1990s in the German aquarium trade. Since then it has become a popular pet in many countries throughout the world and a valuable laboratory model for a broad range of biological disciplines. Releases have led to the establishment of wild populations in several European countries, Madagascar and probably Japan, making marbled crayfish an interesting paradigm of evolutionarily young and ongoing bioinvasions. This article provides an annotated bibliography of the scientific and popular scientific literature on marbled crayfish from its detection until today. Each reference is assigned to a publication format and one or more biological categories. The content is shortly described and its significance for marbled crayfish research and general biology is assessed. Of the 239 references listed 140 (58.6%) deal primarily with laboratory experiments on the biology of marbled crayfish and the establishment and use of marbled crayfish as a research model, 74 (31.0%) with its biogeography, invasions and ecology and 25 (10.4%) with hobby aquarist issues and the pet trade.

Kultūrinės realijos ir jų vertimo strategijos Martino Lindstromo knygoje „Prekės ženklo jausmas“

Cultural references in source texts are recognized as probably the most troublesome elements of atranslation, raising not only the question of the proper selection of a particular lexical unit but alsothe issue of the cultural competence. Many researchers, linguists, and scientists deal with definition,recognition, classification and translation matters of culture-specific items, yet the consensuscannot be reached. Different definitions, interpretations, and even classifications, which strongly relyupon similar criteria, are offered. Therefore, the analysis of translation strategies used to render culture-specific items in popular science literature are very important and relevant to the overall analysisof cultural realia. Aiming to research translation strategies of CSI in the genre of popular science,Martin Lindstrom’s book Brand Sense: build powerful brands through touch, taste, smell, sight, andsound” (2005) and its Lithuanian translation Prekės ženklo jausmas, accomplished by Lina Krutulytė,was chosen. The analysis presented in this article is restricted to the group of common expressionsdenoting CSI, as translation of proper nouns follow the recommendations provided by the LithuanianLanguage State Commission and were found to be less problematic as compared to the group ofcommon expressions. For the analysis of translation strategies used to render culture-specific items,categorization of Davies (2003) was followed. To accomplish the research goals, descriptive, comparativeand quantitative analysis was employed. The obtained results indicate that prevailing translationstrategies used to render common expressions in the popular science book by Martin LindstromBrand Sense were literal translation, localization, preservation, and addition. No examples of omission or creation were observed. The analysis has revealed that the usage of translation strategies wasinconsistent – homogenous and semantically similar CSI were rendered differently, using differenttranslation strategies, thus the target text lacks cohesion and logical approach. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sal.0.29.15129

Tłumacz rzeczy Randalla Munroe: zadania tłumacza książki objaśniającej świat obrazami

This case study analyses the process of translation of a popular science (picture)book that originated from the Internet comic strip xkcd. It explores the obstacles resulting from the text-image interplay. At the macroscale, while such institutions in Poland as the Book Institute or translator associations do develop standards and provide information on the book market and good (or actual) practices, they never explicitly mention comic books – the closest one can find is “illustrated books” or “others”. Additionally, popular science literature – uninteresting, one would say – is much less discussed than artistic translation (with due allowance for comic books and graphic novels) despite having a tradition of using words and images together. Thing Explainer does seem to use “other” translatory techniques: firstly, because the author decided to use only one thousand most common English words (a semantic dominant to be retained in Polish); and secondly, because the illustrations – from diagrammatic to extremely detailed – are an indispensable, though variably integrated with the verbal, medium of knowledge transfer. This paper focuses on the second aspect. Specifically, it discusses: rigorous requirements for text volume and location (exacerbated by the said 1000-word list); technical issues (including choosing typefaces, formatting text, modifying graphics etc.); overlapping responsibilities of the editors, the translator and the DTP artist; and unusual text-image relations (e.g. the image helping a translator decode what he actually translates).

Making Sense of Chemistry: Synthetic Rubber in German Popular Scientific Literature (1929-2009)

The chapter analyzes the popular literature on synthetic rubber between 1929 and 2009 and asks how popular science books explained and interpreted rubber research and development to a general (German) public. How does popular literature produce different narratives, including myths, of the same history? The invention and use of synthetic rubber were important topics in popular science literature in the Weimar Republic and during the Nazi period as well as after 1945 in the German Democratic Republic (DDR) and in the Federal Republic of Germany (BRD). Narratives and argumentative schemes of these books are analyzed, and it is shown how they constructed the social meaning of rubber and how the positive and negative resonance of this construction changed according to different political contexts.

Основные тенденции развития научной медицинской литературы в 1918–1935 гг.

Основные тенденции развития научной медицинской литературы в 1918–1935 гг.

Основные тенденции развития научной медицинской литературы в 1918–1935 гг.

Основные тенденции развития научной медицинской литературы в 1918–1935 гг.

ПОРІВНЯЛЬНИЙ ЕЕГ АНАЛІЗ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ НАВЧАННЯ ПРИ ЧИТАННІ ТЕКСТУ З ПАПЕРОВИХ, ЕЛЕКТРОННИХ ТА АУДІО КНИЖОК

In this work the peculiarities of reading comprehension from electronic, audio devices and hard copies were studied through comparative analysis of the learning accuracy and electrical activity of the brain when reading or listening to the text. Eighty students took part in the research. They were offered 2 passages of text from fiction and popular-scientific literature for reading, presented in a form of an e-book, MP3-format and in a printed copy. The level of comprehension and assimilation of the read material was checked by testing based on the content of the text immediately after reading and in 2 weeks. The comparative EEG analysis did not reveal significant differences in the spectral power of the studied ranges when reading a paper book and e-book. Differences were found when listening to audiobooks comparatively to reading. In general, the effectiveness of text learning does not depend on the way of its presentation, however, sex and individual traits of a person, such as preferred learning style and extraversion level, are more important.

Philosophy of Technical Equipment Improvement as Exemplified by a Jaw Crusher

Objectives: Current importance of the investigation has been stipulated by the necessity to solve the tasks set before domestic mechanical engineering to develop new energy efficient equipment and energy saving technologies. Methods: The study demonstrates the possibility for the synthesis of innovative technical and technological solutions by developing the intellectual arrays of object development as exemplified by a jaw crusher. The method of the study is represented by the construction of the intellectual array of technological object development based on the comprehensive studies of scientific, technical, popular science literature and patent files. Findings: A number of innovative technical solutions have been developed; the relevant patent applications have been submitted to the authorized bodies. It has been shown that the philosophy of technological equipment improvement founded on the creation of the intellectual arrays of its development represents a powerful tool for establishing the level of development of a technological object and for the synthesis of patentable innovative solutions. Applications/Improvements: The possibility of the synthesis of patentable solutions has been proven based on the analysis of the existing similar designs and their prospective structural and technological development.

Semantic Models of Sentences with Verbs of Motion in Standard Language and in Scientific Language Used in Biology

The semantic models of sentences with verbs of motion in German standard language and in scientific language used in biology are analyzed in the article. In its theoretic part it is affirmed that the article is based on the semantic theory of the sentence. This theory, in its turn, is grounded on the correlation of semantic predicative classes and semantic roles. The combination of semantic predicative classes and semantic roles is expressed by the main semantic formula – proposition. In its practical part the differences between the semantic models of standard and scientific language used in biology are explained. While modelling sentences with verbs of motion, two groups of semantic models of sentences are singled out: that of action (Handlung) and process (Vorgang). The analysis shows that the semantic models of sentences with semantic action predicatives dominate in the text of standard language while the semantic models of sentences with semantic process predicatives dominate in the texts of scientific language used in biology. The differences how the doer and direction are expressed in standard and in scientific language are clearly seen and the semantic cases (Agens, Patiens, Direktiv1) help to determine that. It is observed that in scientific texts of high level of specialization (biology science) in contrast to popular scientific literature models of sentences with moving verbs are usually seldom found. They are substituted by denominative constructions. In conclusions it is shown that this analysis can be important in methodics, especially planning material for teaching professional-scientific language.

The frontiers of empirical science: A Thomist-inspired critique of scientism

Scientistic conceptualisations hold to the positivistic positions that science is limitless in its potential representations of material phenomena and that it is the only sure path to knowledge. In recent popular scientific literature, these presuppositions have been reaffirmed to the detriment of both philosophy and theology. This article argues for the contrary position by a meta-analysis of empirical science from a Thomist perspective. Identifying empirical science as limited in its method and bound to the material sphere of being alone, we posit that rather than standing as the sole path to the knowledge of being, empirical science is constrained at its frontiers. It is subsequently contended that far from empirical science having the explanatory ability to respond to all presenting scientific problems in principle, fundamentals without the grasp of the methodology of empirical science exist. To relate the article’s meta-analysis to scientific praxis, physical cosmology – as the most foundational empirical science – is exemplified in the discussion.Keywords: Philosophy; Religion; Science; Scientism; Thomism; Metaphysics; Epistemology

Philosophy of Technical Equipment Improvement as Exemplified by a Jaw Crusher

Objectives: Current importance of the investigation has been stipulated by the necessity to solve the tasks set before domestic mechanical engineering to develop new energy efficient equipment and energy saving technologies. Methods: The study demonstrates the possibility for the synthesis of innovative technical and technological solutions by developing the intellectual arrays of object development as exemplified by a jaw crusher. The method of the study is represented by the construction of the intellectual array of technological object development based on the comprehensive studies of scientific, technical, popular science literature and patent files. Findings: A number of innovative technical solutions have been developed; the relevant patent applications have been submitted to the authorized bodies. It has been shown that the philosophy of technological equipment improvement founded on the creation of the intellectual arrays of its development represents a powerful tool for establishing the level of development of a technological object and for the synthesis of patentable innovative solutions. Applications/Improvements: The possibility of the synthesis of patentable solutions has been proven based on the analysis of the existing similar designs and their prospective structural and technological development. Keywords: Innovations, Intellectual Array, Jaw Crusher, Philosophy of Technology

Monitoring behavioral risk factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases in 2014

To estimate the prevalence of behavioral risk factors and awareness of the Ryazan area about them. The study included 367 people of the urban population aged 25-64 years living in the Railway area of Ryazan. Among the included in the study was 157 (42,8%) men and 210 (57,2%) women. Distribution of citizens by sex and age in the sample corresponds to the distribution by sex and age of the population of the Ryazan region (p0,05). In the study of harm from a variety of risk factors respondents gave less importance overweight, high blood pressure and nutrition, physical activity than smoking or alcohol. The most popular sources of information on risk factors was the Internet, television, and popular scientific literature. Among all the examined 35% of men and 8% of women currently smoke. 9% took more than 5-6 doses of alcohol for 1 time, indicating the need for building a culture of its use. 4,5% of respondents abused alcohol. Level of anxiety/depression of the population not changed - 40,3% Although not a small positive trend in reducing the prevalence of some risk factors (smoking, alcohol), their level is still high, and this dictates the need for further work to promote a healthy lifestyle, nutrition and combating the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.

Cochrane Commentary: Probiotics For Prevention of Acute Upper Respiratory Infection

Probiotics may improve a person's health by regulating their immune function. Some trials have shown that probiotic strains can prevent respiratory infections. Even though the previous version of our review showed benefits of probiotics for acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), several new studies have been published. To assess the effectiveness and safety of probiotics (any specified strain or dose), compared with placebo, in the prevention of acute URTIs in people of all ages, who are at risk of acute URTIs. We searched CENTRAL (2014, Issue 6), MEDLINE (1950 to July week 3, 2014), EMBASE (1974 to July 2014), Web of Science (1900 to July 2014), the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, which includes the China Biological Medicine Database (from 1978 to July 2014), the Chinese Medicine Popular Science Literature Database (from 2000 to July 2014) and the Masters Degree Dissertation of Beijing Union Medical College Database (from 1981 to July 2014). We also searched the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) and ClinicalTrials.gov for completed and ongoing trials on 31 July 2014. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing probiotics with placebo to prevent acute URTIs. Two review authors independently assessed the eligibility and quality of trials, and extracted data using the standard methodological procedures expected by The Cochrane Collaboration. We included 13 RCTs, although we could only extract data to meta-analyze 12 trials, which involved 3720 participants including children, adults (aged around 40 years) and older people. We found that probiotics were better than placebo when measuring the number of participants experiencing episodes of acute URTI [at least one episode: odds ratio (OR): 0.53; 95% CI = 0.37-0.76, P < .001, low quality evidence; at least three episodes: OR: 0.53; 95% CI = 0.36-0.80, P = .002, low quality evidence]; the mean duration of an episode of acute URTI [mean difference (MD): -1.89; 95% CI = -2.03 to -1.75, P < .001, low quality evidence]; reduced antibiotic prescription rates for acute URTIs (OR: 0.65; 95% CI = 0.45-0.94, moderate quality evidence) and cold-related school absence (OR: 0.10; 95% CI = 0.02-0.47, very low quality evidence). Probiotics and placebo were similar when measuring the rate ratio of episodes of acute URTI (rate ratio: 0.83; 95% CI = 0.66-1.05, P = .12, very low quality evidence) and adverse events (OR: 0.88; 95% CI = 0.65-1.19, P = .40, low quality evidence). Side effects of probiotics were minor and gastrointestinal symptoms were the most common. We found that some subgroups had a high level of heterogeneity when we conducted pooled analyses and the evidence level was low or very low quality. Probiotics were better than placebo in reducing the number of participants experiencing episodes of acute URTI, the mean duration of an episode of acute URTI, antibiotic use and cold-related school absence. This indicates that probiotics may be more beneficial than placebo for preventing acute URTIs. However, the quality of the evidence was low or very low.

Type 2 diabetes in youth.

Since the 1990s, concerns about a global obesity epidemic have flourished. These concerns regarding obesity are expressed in popular culture and scientific literature and emphasize both weight and weight loss when defining health and well-being. As a result scholars are now calling attention to a "shadow epidemic" of weight stigma that is shown to have harmful physiological and psychological impacts in youth. In tandem with "globesity" concerns, there has been a similar concern expressed over the epidemic of type 2 diabetes, which some have termed "diabesity." Although there is less known about diabetes stigma, the topic has much overlap with obesity stigma. In this narrative review we discuss the related problems of obesity and type 2 diabetes stigma, with an emphasis on issues specific to youth, as relevant. Drawing from literature on weight bias, critical weight studies, and Health at Every Size (HAES), we highlight pedagogical approaches to address obesity stigma and their implications to redress the problem of type 2 diabetes-related stigma in health care.

The Evolutionary Epic

The Evolutionary Epic Ian Hesketh (bio) Upon his return from Africa in 1871, the London-based explorer and anthropologist Winwood Reade decided that he would write a grand historical narrative that would illustrate how Charles Darwin’s great principle of natural selection had functioned throughout all of history. Though he referred to his project as a “universal history,” what he ended up producing [End Page 35] went well beyond what is typically meant by that term. His The Martyrdom of Man (1872) did describe the history of humanity within an overarching evolutionary framework, but it extended backwards in time to the origins of the solar system in the big bang of his day, the nebular fire mist, and forwards into the distant future to a point in time when Reade envisioned a perfected human species. What he ultimately produced was a Victorian evolutionary epic (Hesketh, “A Good Darwinian?” 44). It is true that there was no term for this form of literary production at the time, which helps explain why Reade relied on the less satisfying “universal history.” “Evolutionary epic” was not, therefore, an actor’s category. Several historians of Victorian science, however, have argued that there was a burgeoning and distinct genre of popular science literature at the time that we can call the evolutionary epic (Lightman; Amigoni and Elwick). Reade, for instance, ended up producing a historical narrative of the evolution of all life that had many precursors, including most notably Robert Chambers’s Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, first published anonymously in 1844. James Secord’s magisterial study, Victorian Sensation (2000), of the reading and publishing of Vestiges makes the case that Chambers combined a romantic narrative with a developmental theory of life, beginning with an original seed event and ending with the evolution of the human mind, thereby making the book a literary sensation that sold incredibly well throughout the nineteenth century. Chambers’s combination of romantic narrative and scientific theory was so successful that it became the basis for the evolutionary epic genre. As described in Bernard Lightman’s Victorian Popularizers of Science (2007), Chambers’s “monad-to-human style cosmic evolutionary narrative” became a highly successful form that was appropriated by other popular science writers such as Grant Allen, David Page, Arabella Buckley, and Edward Clodd (221). Telling a grand story about the evolution of life became a way to inform a wide range of readers about nascent theories of evolution that were being proposed in more technical literature by the likes of Herbert Spencer, Thomas Henry Huxley, and, of course, Darwin. Far from using it as a mere conduit for these theories, however, authors of the evolutionary epic shaped the narrative framework to promote their own interpretations of what the story of evolution might mean for the present and, ultimately, the future. Making evolution more conducive to religious sensibilities was one particular way in which the authors of the evolutionary epic helped legitimate evolution in the minds of many Victorian readers. The evolutionary epic also came to be associated with a Whiggish interpretation of the present as the result of slow developmental processes originating deep in the past that had inevitably led to the rise and dominance of European civilization. The evolutionary epic gave this view the legitimacy of a scientific narrative that promised continued human intellectual, social, and political progress into the distant future. Reade, for instance, looked [End Page 36] forward to the invention of passenger air travel, the automobile, and the ready availability of laboratory-manufactured food (Reade 513). However, by the end of the nineteenth century, some versions of the evolutionary epic took a darker turn. By the 1880s, many began to worry that humanity’s success in transcending the laws of nature might lead to its inevitable downfall. In this regard, the evolutionary epic began to address notions of decline and regression. E. Ray Lankester, for instance, suggested that the long evolutionary history of humanity shares something with the life history of barnacles and ascidians, sea creatures that become less complex as food becomes more readily available in the later stages of their development. He believed that our own intellectual development had become arrested due...

Out-of-the-box

Fifty years have elapsed since my primary education began with the 3 Rs – Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. Since then there have been significant technological advances in writing and arithmetic with the mass introduction of the word processor and calculator. For reading, however, the technology and method remains the same. In the absence of a recognized model for our world, I have drawn on the popular science literature and my own calculations to propose a tariff of 10,000 hours or 2000 books as the investment to acquire a new mastery. If these estimates are correct, the challenge for the information professional is how to optimize this investment.

Scholarly Holds Lead Over Popular and Instructional: Text Type Influences Epistemological Reading Outcomes

Scholarly scientific literature conveys epistemological assumptions scientists operate on. Popular scientific literature and instructional science texts deviate in their portrayal of science from these epistemological assumptions. Thus, scholarly scientific literature holds more potential for improving students’ epistemological understanding of science. In an experimental study, we had 78 high school students read an original report from a scholarly scientific journal, a version of the same research article modified for low-knowledge readers, a popular scientific article, or a chapter from a science textbook. Students who had read the research article or the modified research article improved significantly strongest in their understanding of the constructive nature of science and the argumentative nature of science. We conclude that scholarly scientific literature produces more beneficial epistemological reading outcomes than popular scientific literature and instructional science texts. Therefore, science teachers should be encouraged to incorporate scholarly scientific literature in classroom reading activities.