Subject Positions Research Articles

Absence of syntactic passive in creoles: Evidence from French-based Mauritian Creole

Abstract This article examines passive-type constructions in Mauritian Creole, arguing that they are topic, not passive constructions. I claim that their initial argument (the displaced object) occupies the specifier position of a Topic Phrase, not the structural subject position. This proposal is motivated by the fact that nothing at the surface identifies the displaced object as a grammatical subject, except its position relative to an auxiliary or verb. The topic analysis is supported by both semantic restrictions relating to specificity and animacy and syntactic restrictions relating to distribution (word order) and coordination. It is also supported by the fact that these same restrictions do not apply in unaccusatives, a structurally similar type of construction. The important contribution of this article is that passive-type constructions in Mauritian Creole are ‘apparent’ rather ‘real’ passives, with the wider implication being that creoles, like many languages, do not use canonical passives to express passive meaning.

Do political quotas work? Gender quotas and women’s political participation in Nepal

This article presents an investigation into the lives and lived experiences of women who joined politics through quotas. In particular, it explores the transformative potential of a quota policy through the ‘subject position’ of women politicians in Nepal, especially those who had no prior background in politics before being elected to their first political positions. Using Bourdieu’s theory of capital, I reveal how political quotas have strengthened women’s overall capital, allowing them to improve their position in both their families and society. Quotas have created new roles for women. The power and prestige attached to these new roles have not only offered some immediate changes to these women’s lives, but also led to changing perceptions of women in politics, shifting the discourse from a view of women’s participation in politics as an exception to one of it as an entitlement. This article is based on a qualitative study carried out with women politicians in Nepal.

CLIMATE SUBJECTIVITY: YOUTH, INNOCENCE AND WILLFULNESS IN THE SWEDISH CLIMATE MOVEMENT

This article explores the changing notions of political subjectivity in the climate movement in the Global North. Previously, activists have embraced climate justice ideals, assigning responsibility to the Global North and emphasizing solidarity with the Global South. However, a new parallel subject position is gaining prominence within the movement: "the child." Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, the article analyzes interpretations of the child within the movement, examining the association of this subject position with innocence and the right to protection. Youth activists, addressed as children, grapple with this identity, navigating between embracing and feeling constrained by it. This child identity leads to an alternative subjectivity that resonates with the notion of "the willful child." This article reflects on the potential and limitations of these child subjectivities, shedding light on the dynamics of political subject formation in the face of the climate crisis and in social movements in general. It highlights how adopting the child identity can empower and restrict youth activists in their efforts to advocate for climate action.

The Pathos of Finitude

Abstract Although it is sometimes construed as a mere negation of philosophical discourse, François Laruelle maintains that there is a positive side to his project of “nonphilosophy.” Often this takes the form of a defense of the “ordinary man,” a faceless individual, without qualities, defined by absolute finitude. Laruelle claims to articulate a rigorous science of man, capable of thinking human individuals in their essence, outside the philosophical interpellation to which they are usually submitted. This science intends to finally break apart the post-Kantian empirico-transcendental doublet, which is, for Laruelle, emblematic of the divided, fragmented, and alienated figure with which philosophy has always (mis)represented man. It does this by relinquishing all empirical and figural content in the name of an uncompromising formalism—a purely transcendental method. Yet, despite this intention, a preoccupation with subjective finitude, and the pathos derived from it, is both retained and amplified, describing an invariably fraught relationship between the ordinary man and the extraordinary world furnished by philosophy. Ultimately, nonphilosophy offers less a science of ordinary individuals and more an ethos for academic philosophers, guiding its readers toward a specific subject position, achieved through an ongoing labor of abstraction.

Does the association between adiposity measures and pre-frailty among older adults vary by social position? Findings from the Tromsø study 2015/2016

IntroductionPre-frailty provides an ideal opportunity to prevent physical frailty and promote healthy ageing. Excess adiposity has been associated with an increased risk of pre-frailty, but limited studies have explored whether the association between adiposity measures and pre-frailty varies by social position.MethodsWe used data from the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study (Tromsø7) conducted in 2015–2016. Our primary sample consisted of 2,945 women and 2,794 men aged ≥ 65 years. Pre-frailty was defined as the presence of one or two of the five frailty components: low grip strength, slow walking speed, exhaustion, unintentional weight loss and low physical activity. Adiposity was defined by body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), fat mass index (FMI) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass. Education and subjective social position were used as measures of social position. Poisson regression with robust variance was used to assess the association between adiposity measures and pre-frailty, and the interaction term between adiposity measures and social position measures were utilised to explore whether the association varied by social position.ResultsIn our sample, 28.7% of women and 25.5% of men were pre-frail. We found sub-multiplicative interaction of BMI-defined obesity with education in women and subjective social position in men with respect to development of pre-frailty. No other adiposity measures showed significant variation by education or subjective social position. Regardless of the levels of education or subjective social position, participants with excess adiposity (high BMI, high WC, high FMI and high VAT mass) had a higher risk of pre-frailty compared to those with low adiposity.ConclusionWe consistently observed that women and men with excess adiposity had a greater risk of pre-frailty than those with low adiposity, with only slight variation by social position. These results emphasize the importance of preventing excess adiposity to promote healthy ageing and prevent frailty among all older adults across social strata.

Administrative and legal status of the state service of financial monitoring as a subdivision of financial intelligence

The activity of the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine as a financial intelligence unit is aimed at protecting the national security of the state by initiating and ensuring the conduct of financial investigations related to the laundering of criminal proceeds, the financing of terrorism, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Revealing the concept of the administrative and legal status of the State Financial Monitoring Service as a unit of financial intelligence, it is worth noting that the general understanding of the legal status involves the position of certain subjects in the state established by legal norms. Peculiarities of the legal status of state authorities are provided for in the normative legal acts that regulate their activities. In our opinion, to study the content of the administrative and legal status of the DSFM, it is appropriate to consider such structural elements as: purpose, functions, tasks and competence (rights and duties). Analysis of the goals, functions, tasks and competences (rights and duties) of the State Financial Monitoring Service as a unit of financial intelligence established at the regulatory and legal level, as well as direct work on the implementation of such tasks, allows us to assert that the administrative and legal status of the State Financial Monitoring Service monitoring involves its active activity as a financial intelligence unit. Therefore, the administrative-legal status of the State Financial Monitoring Service as a unit of financial intelligence should be considered as a set of interconnected elements established by administrative-legal norms, with the help of which the State Financial Monitoring Service implements its powers to prevent and counter the legalization (laundering) of income. proceeds of crime, the financing of terrorism and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Групповая работа как средство формирования субъектной позиции студента вуза

The article presents the results of employing group work with university students on the formation of their subjective position by fostering communication among peers aimed at solving specific educational tasks. It provides rationale for the relevance of using group work with university students and describes examples of organizing group work in classes (film analysis, practical situation solving, business and role-playing games), outlining the psychological and pedagogical conditions for conducting such sessions. The effectiveness of the application of group work on the formation of students’ subjective position is demonstrated through the implementation of the following methods: the “Interaction Position Diagnostic Questionnaire (IPD)” by V.G. Maralov and V.A. Sitarov, and “The target of the relationship” by E.A. Chirkina and S.L. Kopotev. The conclusion highlights a significant positive shift in the expression of students’ subjective position as a result of their participation in group activities during educational sessions. Moving forward, continued exploration of innovative pedagogical approaches and assessment strategies is crucial for optimizing the educational benefits of group work and empowering students to become active agents in their own learning journeys. Ultimately, fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment where students can engage meaningfully with their peers is paramount for nurturing their development as autonomous learners and responsible global citizens.

Constructing Stay-at-Home Fathers’ Work-Care Identities in China

This article examines how stay-at-home fathers (SAHFs) position their primary caregiving identity in relation to paid work that they either used to have or currently have part-time/freelance. The aim is to understand how their sense of masculinity is shaped by and/or rebelled against normative gender expectations. 22 Chinese SAHFs participated in this qualitative research, involving one-to-one repeat structured interviews over a year. Four fathering identities emerged from the data: “Ambivalent SAHFs”, “Reluctant SAHFs”, “Proud SAHFs”, and “Reflective SAHFs”. The juxtaposition of these subject positions indicates the tensions between assuming the primary caregiving role and conforming to normative gendered expectations for men. However, the findings also demonstrate that stay-at-home fathering identity is not fixed, but subject to change over time, with spousal support being crucial to their transition. This constant evolution challenges oversimplified categorizations of SAHFs as purely choice-driven or circumstantial.

Is science to be trusted? How environmentally active youths relate to science in social media.

Research has shown a great distrust among youths toward political representatives, who they demand should "listen to the science." However, less research has been done on youths' own trust in science. This study explores and explains how youths who are environmentally active in two different environmental youth organizations relate to science in social media, whether they trust science, and how youths' relation to science creates a discursive context in which they may develop their identity. The study uses the approach of discourse analysis to examine social media content published on Facebook by Fridays for Future Sweden and Fältbiologerna (the Swedish Field Biologists). The study shows (i) how subject positions for scientists and youth are created in relation to one another based on different expressions of youths' trust in science and (ii) how environmental youth organizations, by identifying with science, make youths important actors in the discourse on climate change.

The Fantasy of Anorexia: Historical Entanglements of Evolutionary Thought, Food Restriction, and Curative Imaginaries

There has been a recent increase in literature that critically engages how anorexic people experience their symptoms and challenges the current approaches to recovery in treatment centers. Yet, this work does not grapple with transnational scientific histories of the medicalized construction of eating disorders that affect who is able to be legible as eating disordered. Doing so (re)naturalizes anorexia as a disease that predominantly affects white girls and women, reinforcing erasures of those not easily interpellated into anorexic subjective positions. I address this gap through a disability studies and queer science studies grounding. I analyze early French writings on anorexia’s emergent forms, US dietetics in the burgeoning domestic science movement, and the differential pathologization of body size in the context of evolutionary thinking on capacity, debility, and nervousness. In doing so, I argue that anorexia nervosa emerges through racist sciences that spread and transformed across US-Euro imperial medical geographies, effectively functioning as a curative approach to the contradictions between white supremacist securitization of whiteness and its reproductive futurities. This paper highlights implications for present eating disorder diagnostic norms, re-situating them in a broader geohistorical context during which hierarchies of ability and personhood were organized through race, gender, and capacity.

Linguistic justice in English-medium instruction contexts: a theoretical argument

Abstract This article looks at English-medium instruction (EMI) contexts in higher education from a linguistic justice perspective and offers a theoretical argument to discuss the potential for EMI to be defended as a positive and valuable phenomenon, beyond economic and competitive arguments. In the final keynote panel at the 2022 ICLHE conference, Philippe Van Parijs pondered how EMI teachers might be seen: either as killers, traitors, sellers, saviours, upgraders, or liberators. After providing characterisations for each of these labels, Van Parijs suggested that EMI teachers should be better conceived of as civilisers, not in a missionary sense of civilising the barbarian, but in the Aristotelian meaning of civic virtue, of citizens being part of public life, actively involved in discussion of public affairs. This seems to imply a specific view of English, one that almost naturally equates the language to democratic progress and consensus. In the article, I challenge this assumption and suggest that for English to be a democratising agent and EMI truly a gate-opener to higher education, emphasis needs to be placed on listening subject positions and regimes of uptake as key aspects of democratic deliberation and key elements to overcome prejudiced views of accents and voices.

Efficacy of head postural correction program on craniovertebral angle, scapular position, and dominant hand grip strength in forward head posture subjects: A randomized controlled trial.

Forward head posture (FHP) is a common postural disorder that alters shoulder function. This study examined the efficacy of a corrective program involving postural correction exercises (PCEs), scapular stabilization exercises (SSEs), and kinesiotaping (KT) on improving craniovertebral angle (CVA), scapular position, and dominant hand grip strength (HGS) in individuals with FHP. Sixty subjects (8 males and 52 females, 18-40years old) were randomly allocated into four equal groups: Group A: received PCEs only, Group B: received PCEs and SSEs, Group C: received PCEs and KT, Group D: received PCEs, SSEs and KT. All subjects received treatment for 4weeks (4 times/week) and postural advice. Outcome measures included cranio-vertebral angle (CVA), scapular position using Lateral Scapular Slide Test and dominant HGS using a CAMRY dynamometer that were assessed at baseline and 4weeks post intervention. Comparing all groups post training revealed that there were statistically significant increases (p<0.05) in all measured variables (CVA, scapular position and dominant HGS) in favor of group (D). Combination of PCEs, SSEs and KT interventions has achieved the best gains in terms of CVA, dominant HGS and regaining optimal scapular position in FHP subjects.

Instant interaction driven adaptive gaze control interface

Gaze estimation is long been recognised as having potential as the basis for human-computer interaction (HCI) systems, but usability and robustness of performance remain challenging . This work focuses on systems in which there is a live video stream showing enough of the subjects face to track eye movements and some means to infer gaze location from detected eye features. Currently, systems generally require some form of calibration or set-up procedure at the start of each user session. Here we explore some simple strategies for enabling gaze based HCI to operate immediately and robustly without any explicit set-up tasks. We explore different choices of coordinate origin for combining extracted features from multiple subjects and the replacement of subject specific calibration by system initiation based on prior models. Results show that referencing all extracted features to local coordinate origins determined by subject start position enables robust immediate operation. Combining this approach with an adaptive gaze estimation model using an interactive user interface enables continuous operation with the 75th percentile gaze errors of 0.7∘\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$^\\circ $$\\end{document}, and maximum gaze errors of 1.7∘\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$^\\circ $$\\end{document} during prospective testing. There constitute state-of-the-art results and have the potential to enable a new generation of reliable gaze based HCI systems.

Arabic Compound Numerals: New Insights on Case, Agreement, and Quantification

This paper examines the syntax of additive compound numerals in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), uncovering their unique properties related to number morphology, definiteness, and Case assignment within numeral–noun constructions. These properties necessitate a constituency analysis which reveals that compound numerals have the structure of copulative compounds in MSA, and they are phrases, not functional heads. Drawing on the distinction between inherent, lexical, and structural Cases, this paper posits that the accusative Case on the numerals is an inherent Case, inaccessible to syntactic transformations. Furthermore, the analysis of numeral–noun constructions as numerically quantified phrases (NQPs) explains the assignment of a structural accusative Case or the inherent genitive Case on the quantified noun, based on the overtness of NQ0. Finally, the paper addresses the intriguing question of how NQPs in MSA, despite lacking a nominative Case, can assume the subject position and govern agreement in both verbal and verbless sentences.

Beyond redemption: A critical analysis of The Sun’s construction of prisons and prisoners through the lens of social representations theory

Whilst there is some research into the media’s coverage of the British penal system, little is conducted through the lens of social psychology. This study employs social representations theory in order to examine British tabloid newspaper The Sun’s contribution to the public understanding of prisons and prisoners from a psychological perspective. The data consists of 34 articles published within the month of March 2017 which were analysed using a modified version of Foucauldian discourse analysis. It was found that The Sun’s coverage of the penal system contributed to a construction of prisons as both out of control and as providing prisoners with an easy life, and a construction of prisoners as both inherently dangerous and undeserving. These constructions contribute to a social representation of prisoners as ‘beyond redemption’. The implications of these findings are considered in light of the subject positions offered and the opportunities for action provided.

Indirect reciprocity in Japanese

I shall discuss a special usage of the Japanese reciprocal expression otagai. In this usage, otagai does not occur as the object of a transitive verb and does not induce a reciprocal interpretation. Rather, it seems to modify the nominal in the subject position. I argue that otagai in such examples expresses reciprocity only indirectly in that the relation is not expressed overtly in the sentence in question. The relation is a psychological one in that the sentence as a whole says that each participant of the speech context knows that the other participant(s) have the property given by the overt predicate in the sentence. This, then, entails that each of them has this same property since know is a factive predicate. Since each participant has to be in a position to assess what the other member(s) are thinking of, the group of people in question must know each other well. This means that the nature of reciprocity is essentially the same in English and Japanese except that otagai could introduce a covert psychological relation to satisfy the reciprocity requirement. The article also discusses the similarity between the indirect use of otagai and the indirect passive in Japanese.

A Statistical and AI Analysis of the Frequency Spectrum in the Measurement of the Center of Pressure Track in the Seated Position in Healthy Subjects and Subjects with Low Back Pain.

Measuring postural control in an upright standing position is the standard method. However, this diagnostic method has floor or ceiling effects and its implementation is only possible to a limited extent. Assessing postural control directly on the trunk in a sitting position and consideration of the results in the spectrum in conjunction with an AI-supported evaluation could represent an alternative diagnostic method quantifying neuromuscular control. In a prospective cross-sectional study, 188 subjects aged between 18 and 60 years were recruited and divided into two groups: "LowBackPain" vs. "Healthy". Subsequently, measurements of postural control in a seated position were carried out for 60 s using a modified balance board. A spectrum per trail was calculated using the measured CoP tracks in the range from 0.01 to 10 Hz. Various algorithms for data classification and prediction of these classes were tested for the parameter combination with the highest proven static influence on the parameter pain. The best results were found in a frequency spectrum of 0.001 Hz and greater than 1 Hz. After transforming the track from the time domain to the image domain for representation as power density, the influence of pain was highly significant (effect size 0.9). The link between pain and gender (p = 0.015) and pain and height (p = 0.012) also demonstrated significant results. The assessment of postural control in a seated position allows differentiation between "LowBackPain" and "Healthy" subjects. Using the AI algorithm of neural networks, the data set can be correctly differentiated into "LowBackPain" and "Healthy" with a probability of 81%.

Locative Inversion in Old English Embedded Clauses

A grammatical construction resembling Present-Day English locative inversion has already been found in Old English, with a fronted prepositional phrase prompting V2 word order, both in main and subordinate clauses. It has been demonstrated that several discourse-related factors influence the positioning of objects, fronted locatives, finite verbs and subjects in subordinate clauses. One of the main aims of the present paper is to provide a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the locative inversion construction in Old English subordinate clauses. The Old English data for this study were obtained from the York–Toronto–Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Old English Prose, and they were analysed using Corpus Studio. The results were compared with those for main clauses, and discourse-related factors such as PP anaphoricity or subject type were analysed in order to find the motivation for the existence of this alternation of word orders. PP anaphoricity proved not to be a determining factor in triggering finite verb inversion, while other factors such as subject weight and subject type do seem to motivate finite verb inversion, thus yielding an embedded PP-V-S word order.

Искусственный интеллект и вопросы профессиональной этики в подготовке будущих учителей

The purpose of the study is to determine the place of artificial intelligence (AI) in the future teacher’s value system. The article shows that the subjective position of future teachers is an integrator of mastering new instruments of professional activity and corresponding values, contributes to a conscious and reflexive approach to AI application in professional activity. The scientific novelty is in substantiating the logic of students’ mastering (future teachers) of professional values (“extraction” –“mastering” – “humanization”) in extended educational interactions (subject – content, subject – subjects, subject – AI). The results of the pedagogical university students’ questionnaire on risks of AI application in education are given as an illustration of ethical challenges. As a result, a model of AI risks in education has been defined that includes risks for an individual and risks for the community.

The Role of Stakeholders in the Provision of Minimum Service Health Care in Wonosobo Regency

Introduction: Wonosobo regency is one of the districts with the lowest achievement of minimum service standards in the health sector in Central Java. In 2022, Wonosobo District could only achieve 16.67%. The implementation of a policy requires the cooperation of all stakeholders. The low achievement of Wonosobo District shows the lack of commitment of the local government and other stakeholders in efforts to provide health services according to minimum service standards. Objective: This study aims to identify the stakeholders involved and how their roles in the fulfilment of health services according to minimum service standards in Wonosobo district so that it can be an evaluation material for stakeholders in optimising efforts to fulfil minimum service standards. Method: This research uses a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. The research informants were identified using a purposive mechanism based on stakeholder involvement. Primary data collection in this research was conducted through in-depth interviews using tools such as interview guidelines, recording and note-taking equipment. Secondary data was obtained through legislative documents and derivative products issued by the Wonosobo District Government and its subordinate organisations, as well as literature reviews. Result: The results of the stakeholder identification show that there are 9 stakeholders involved, representing policy-making groups (Wonosobo District Parliament, Wonosobo District Secretariat, Wonosobo District Development Planning Agency, Wonosobo District Health Office), policy-implementing groups (District Health Office, PHC and health cadres) and support groups outside the system (sub-district government, village government and PKK cadres). Conclusion: Based on the mapping conducted, there are two categories of stakeholders in this study, namely key players and subjects. Wonosobo District Parliament, Wonosobo District Secretariat, Wonosobo District Development Planning Agency, Wonosobo District Health Office, and PHC are in the key player position. Health cadres, sub-district governments, village governments and PKK cadres are in the subject position.