Present Article Research Articles

“When there’s something wrong, it’s the colour”

Abstract Haitian pupils challenge the homogenous and monolingual imaginary of the Chilean classroom primarily given their limited proficiency in Spanish and their skin colour. One bottom-up strategy implemented by some schools is the recruitment of a Haitian intercultural facilitator, whose aim is to offer linguistic and cultural support primarily through interpretation and translation. The main objective of the present article is to explore how Haitian intercultural facilitators mediate the intersection between language and race in emerging multilingual Chilean classrooms. In order to do so, the article analyses three in-depth interviews with Haitian intercultural facilitators employing the main conceptual tools offered by the model of linguistic production and circulation developed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. The main results outline that both Haitian pupils and Haitian intercultural facilitators go through a process of racialisation carried out by the rest of the school community. In turn, this affects how Haitian pupils are perceived and treated, as well as how Haitian facilitators can mediate the tensions emerging at the intersection between language and race. These findings represent novel insights into the complex but little explored multilingual schooling processes in the Global South.

Between a Burden and Green Technology: Rishi Sunak’s Framing of Climate Change Discourse on Facebook and X (Twitter)

The issue of climate change has been one of the critical foci of political discourse worldwide (Wagner, 2023). Given that political debates and political discourse are quite often communicated on Social Networking Sites (SNSs), for instance Facebook and X (Araújo & Prior, 2021), it appears highly relevant to tap into political actors’ discourse on SNSs that addresses the issue of climate change. Guided by the importance of SNSs in political discourse on climate change, the present article introduces and discusses a study on how Rishi Sunak, the current prime minister of the United Kingdom (the UK), frames the issue of climate change on his official Facebook and X accounts. Specifically, the aim of the study was to identify the types of frames used in Sunak’s climate change discourse in a corpus of his posts on Facebook and X. The corpus was collected and analysed in accordance with the methodology proposed and developed by Entman (2007). The results of the analysis revealed that Sunak’s framing of climate change involved a pragmatic economy-oriented aspect, which was presented discursively by imparting it a personalised dimension that involved multimodality. In particular, it was discovered that Sunak frequently framed the issue of climate change via the frames Burden and Green Technology. The findings were discussed in conjunction with the prior research on framing in climate change discourse.

Correcting the record: Phonetic potential of primate vocal tracts and the legacy of Philip Lieberman (1934-2022).

The phonetic potential of nonhuman primate vocal tracts has been the subject of considerable contention in recent literature. Here, the work of Philip Lieberman (1934-2022) is considered at length, and two research papers-both purported challenges to Lieberman's theoretical work-and a review of Lieberman's scientific legacy are critically examined. I argue that various aspects of Lieberman's research have been consistently misinterpreted in the literature. A paper by Fitch et al.overestimates the would-be "speech-ready"capacities of a rhesus macaque, and the data presented nonetheless supports Lieberman's principal position-that nonhuman primates cannot articulate the full extent of human speech sounds. The suggestion that no vocal anatomical evolution was necessary for the evolution of human speech (as spoken by all normally developing humans) is not supported by phonetic or anatomical data. The second challenge, by Boë et al., attributes vowel-like qualities of baboon calls to articulatory capacities based on audio data; I argue that such "protovocalic"properties likely result from disparate articulatory maneuvers compared to human speakers. A review of Lieberman's scientific legacy by Boë et al.ascribes a view of speech evolution (which the authors term "laryngeal descent theory") to Lieberman, which contradicts his writings. The present article documents a pattern of incorrect interpretations of Lieberman's theoretical work in recent literature. Finally, the apparent trend of vowel-like formant dispersions in great ape vocalization literature is discussed with regard to Lieberman's theoretical work. The review concludes that the "Lieberman account"of primate vocal tract phonetic capacities remains supported by research: the ready articulation of fully human speech reflects species-unique anatomy.

Is collaborative consumption the new gamble to speed digital knowledge up in the accommodation sector?

PurposeThe present article aims to examine the development of the theoretical framework surrounding collaborative consumption (CC) standards in recent years regarding European short-stay accommodation booking platforms. The sharing economy has significantly impacted the tourist accommodation market in recent years. Starting with the use of experimental data on CCs published on Eurostat in 2019, this article analyzes the correlation between choices of CCs for short-stay accommodation, employment and the economic crisis.Design/methodology/approachA vector autoregressive panel approach was applied to investigate the correlation between CC short-stay accommodation choices using panel organization data from 561 EU regions between 2018 and 2021.FindingsAnalyzing the connection between the main data panel variables, a positive correlation was found, followed by an increasing trend in CC use. A self-multiplying effect is generated; that is, the more people use CC, the more electronic captures occur. Consequently, the improvement of CC use and knowledge-intensive activities in short-stay accommodation is strongly linked with employment and GDP.Originality/valueThe originality of the investigation is to examine with a cross-sectional panel data overview the reasons that can push stakeholders to adopt CC and to clearly define a new perimeter of research in terms of the endpoint of CC in short-stay accommodation. Furthermore, the study seeks to assess the end-point congruence to utilize CC as a new gamble to accelerate digital knowledge in the hospitality sector.

Effects of thermal cycling on residual stress in alloy parts via selective laser melting

Contradictory interpretation of the parameter dependence of residual stress in alloy parts formed through selective laser melting (SLM) were found in existing research, which is thought to be clarified in the present article. Parametrical simulations and experiments were designed and conducted firstly to concentrate on the dominant significance of the typical thermal cycling in SLM. It has been proved both by the XRD, EBSD and TEM experiments that correlation between residual stress and energy density depends on the peculiar characteristic of thermal cycling. Furthermore, the microscopic characterization accompanied with simulations of computational fluid dynamics, computational thermo-elastic-plastic mechanics and molecular dynamics reveals the effects of typical thermal cycling on the patterns of residual stress.

Double transition of young migrants in Luxembourg: vulnerable, resilient and empowering integration trajectories in the period of youth

Migrant integration trajectories have become more complex, open, uncertain, and continuously changing, over time. For young migrants, their integration endeavour intersects with their process of transition to adulthood, a double transition that poses additional challenges. Recent theoretical perspectives such as “liquid integration” aim at focusing on the dynamic, processual, and temporal nature of migrant integration. The present article focuses on the dynamic interplay of obstacles and enablers that, over time, interact to construct complex, often non-linear, and open-ended integration and coming of age trajectories of young migrants (aged from 18 to 30 years) coming from outside the European Union (EU) to EU countries. Empirical results from the H2020 MIMY (Empowerment through liquid Integration of Migrant Youth in vulnerable conditions) research project in Luxembourg will be presented. In order to address the goal of the research, qualitative data were gathered by means of N = 38 interviews with young migrants with different migratory paths, characteristics and experiences, and specifically included: young migrants from non-EU Portuguese-speaking countries (N = 16), refugees living in reception centres (N = 15), migrants who since arriving in Luxembourg have become publicly visible (N = 7). Content analysis of the interviews allowed a twofold purpose: (1) capturing the unfolding of intersectional integration obstacles that over time play a decisive role in the building of conditions of vulnerability of the double transition under analysis; (2) capturing the multidimensional resources that interactively build up to give rise to resilient and empowering integration and coming of age experiences. The identification of decisive multidimensional obstacles and resources present in the integration endeavour during the process of coming of age allowed us to capture differentiated routes of vulnerability, on the one hand, and resilience/ empowerment on the other. Key ingredients of both vulnerable and more resilient and empowering integration and coming of age trajectories are identified as well as their relational dynamics, enabling to address key challenges for the resilience and empowerment of young migrants in the process of negotiating their transition to adulthood amidst their integration challenges in the Luxembourgish society.

Vulnerability of the Pteridoflora Towards Climate Change in the West Albertine Rift: Case of the Mountain’s Stages of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The present article aims at analysing the floristic composition of Lycophytes and Ferns to test the disturbances on the vegetation structure occurring in the mountains zones of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP), further, to prove/underline the main threat and the vulnerability which actually is impacting the biodiversity in the mountains of the Western Albertine Rift due to climate changes and resulting in habitat loss as well as result of anthropogenic activities. The KBNP is located at the crossroad of the phytogeography regions of the Guinea-Congolese and Afromontane between 650 to 3326 m of altitude. During 10 years, we conducted comparison studies in the habitats (disturbed and undisturbed) encountered on the vegetation that scales between 1250 à 3300 m of altitude in 30 plots, 15 transects on a one kilometre. The results obtained reveal a variation in the flora composition within the three stages. The difference in the height, the diametric distribution (trees and shrubs) as well as the presence of Pteridophytes between undisturbed and disturbed habitats is highly significant within the 10 years’ observations. In stable and mature parcels, Pteridophytes constitute a very rich, diversified and stable population. Permanent threat manifested through the fragility of the habitats and is further translated by a modification of the floristic composition of the canopy, and sometimes trough the taming of the undergrowth in disturbed parcels. The mountainous part of the KBNP might probably constitute a climatic refuge for Pteridophytes in the Albertine Rift considering their diversity. Furthermore, considering these adaptations, the diversity and the specificity of the biotopes occupied, as well as the bioecological services recognized to Lycophytes and Ferns, they are the real markers for bioindicators of the delicatessen towards climate changes observed in the western rift Albertine. However, anthropogenic effects and sometimes, natural hazards resulting in this protected area, may also constitute a source of vulnerability for Pteridophytes

Gamification as a Didactic Motivator in Low-Resource Public English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Classrooms in Ecuador

The present article explores the feasibility and impacts of Gamification as a motivational tool in classrooms within low-resource public institutions in Ecuador, particularly in teaching English as a Foreign Language. By integrating game design elements into the educational process, teachers tend to enhance student motivation, thus creating a more effective environment for language learning. Traditionally, educators in Ecuadorian public institutions face challenges in engaging students in their classes, often due to outdated teaching methodologies and limited access to educational and technological resources. This study focuses on how gamification can increase student motivation and foster a more stimulating and enjoyable learning environment in low-resource settings concerning English as a Foreign Language instruction. Through the incorporation of gaming elements, teachers can improve language acquisition, student engagement, and encourage collaborative learning, as evidenced by previous studies. The utilization of a qualitative-deductive approach allowed for data collection through an extensive literature review across various educational contexts. Results suggest that Gamification offers a promising perspective for overcoming challenges in traditional education, promoting active student participation. Additionally, the findings highlight the potential of Gamification to revolutionize teaching practice and enrich the entire educational experience.

Utilization of theories in talent development: mapping the field of HRD

Purpose The process of talent development (TD) is one of the current trends in HRM and human resource development (HRD). Although scientific literature addressing the topic emphasizes that through development of talents, organizations can increase their productivity, performance and competitiveness, little is known so far concerning the development of this research field as a whole and particularly concerning theories prevailing in the area. While research into the field has been ongoing for two decades, the area has not yet been systematized based on key theories used as starting points for the research. The purpose of this paper is to focus on which theories in HRD are used in TD. Design/methodology/approach Concerning the topicality of TD, the present article provides a systematic review of literature summarizing current theories in TD based on the currently used typology of theories in HRD, adding the fourth pillar to the existing three, i.e. theories concerning adult learning and education, to increase the stability of the typology. Findings The paper argues that the area of TD prevalently uses sociological, psychological and ethical theories, which may be attributed to trends in HRD. The insufficient representation of theories of learning in TD, particularly in view of the fact that adult learning and development is the essence of TD, is an important finding. This finding is particularly important for science concerning adult learning and education. Originality/value The benefit of the presented analysis lies in a systematization of the individual theories and a comprehensive overview of the current theoretical framework of TD, as well as suggestions for future research making use of adult learning and education theories.

A review on synthesis of coumarin derived schiff’s base metal complexes and their control over E. coli bacterium

Nowadays, the dilemma of drug resistance to antibacterial strains is of huge concern. Among the bacteria, Escherchia coli (E. coli) is the major pathogen, which is found in human and other animals. It is responsible for variety of severe diseases. A variety of commonly used antibiotics such as amoxicillin, gentamycin, etc and fluid replacement method are the suggested treatments for the infections caused by E. coli. In a study, it was established that the metal-based heterocyclic drugs demonstrated a different mode of action compared to the commonly used heterocyclic antibacterial drugs. Coumarin, an oxaheterocycle, is a privileged scaffold in medicinal chemistry. Metal complexes of coumarin-derived Schiff’s bases exhibit a broad range of pharmacological activities. Therefore, in the present review article, we have focused on the synthesis of metal complexes of coumarin derived Schiff’s bases as well as their respective Schiff’s base ligands and their antibacterial activities against the gram-negative bacterium E. coli.

Bioinspired Liquid Metal based Soft Humanoid Robots.

The pursuit of constructing humanoid robots to replicate the anatomical structures and capabilities of human beings has been a long-standing significant undertaking and especially garnered tremendous attention in recent years. However, despite the progress made over recent decades, humanoid robots have predominantly been confined to those rigid metallic structures, which however starkly contrast with the inherent flexibility observed in biological systems. To better innovate this area, the present article systematically explores the value and potential of liquid metals and their derivatives in facilitating a crucial transition towards soft humanoid robots. Through a comprehensive interpretation of bionics, we present an overview of liquid metals' multifaceted roles as essential components in constructing advanced humanoid robots - functioning as soft actuators, sensors, power sources, logical devices, circuit systems, and even transformable skeletal structures. We conceived that the integration of these components with flexible structures, facilitated by the unique properties of liquid metals, can create unexpected versatile functionalities and behaviors to better fulfill human needs. Finally, we envision a revolution in humanoid robots, transitioning from metallic frameworks to hybrid soft-rigid structures resembling that of biological tissues. This article is expected to provide fundamental guidance for the coming research, thereby advancing the area. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Threatening as a sociocultural–conceptual communicative act

AbstractThe present article revisits threatening discourses from the perspectives of anthropological linguistics, cultural linguistics, speech act theory and pragmatics. On the basis of linguistic data from 11th‐century Britain (Old English), 14th‐century Norway (Old Norse), 19th‐century Ireland (Early Modern Irish English and Modern Irish), 20th‐century Hong Kong (Hong Kong English) as well as 21st century South Africa (Black South African English), the discussion establishes verbal threats as socio‐pragmatic modes of action, that is, commissives that come as both illocutionary and perlocutionary acts. The main aim of the article is to elaborate on the central role that sociocultural norms and conventions play in the enregisterment of threat in a speech community at a given point in time. The article contributes to the development of forensic–linguistic threat assessment through a stronger focus on the sociocultural embeddedness of threatening discourses.

Development of Neural Networks to Study Flow Behavior of Medium Carbon Microalloyed Steel during Hot Forming

In the present article, the application of an artificial neural network (ANN) model whose function is the development of plastic instability maps of a medium carbon microalloyed steel during the hot forming process is studied. Secondly, we proceed to create another ANN capable of providing the recrystallized grain size in the steady state resulting from forming deformation. We start from the experimental data of a medium carbon microalloyed steel obtained by hot compression tests with strain rates that vary between 10−4 s−1 and 3 s−1 and in a range of temperatures between 900 °C and 1150 °C. These experimental data are used to train the proposed ANN and obtain flow curves. Finally, the processing maps are developed by applying the dynamic materials model (DMM), according to which the safe hot forming domains and the plastic instability domains of the studied material are delineated. The comparison between the ANN and the experimental maps is carried out. It is ascertained that the optimal regions of forging in the ANN maps coincide with those obtained in the experimental maps. In addition, a study of the influence of the microstructure on the behavior of the studied steel during hot forming is carried out.

Caffeine and Purine Derivatives: A Comprehensive Review on The Chemistry, Biosynthetic Pathways, Synthesis-Related Reactions, Biomedical Prospectives and Clinical Applications.

Caffeine and purine derivatives represent interesting chemical moieties, which show various biological activities. Caffeine is an alkaloid that belongs to the family of methylxanthine alkaloids and it is present in food, beverages, and drugs. Coffee, tea, and some other beverages are a major source of caffeine in the human diet. Caffeine can be extracted from tea or coffee using hot water with dichloromethane or chloroform and the leftover is known as decaffeinated coffee or tea. Caffeine and its derivatives were synthesized via different procedures on small and large scales. It competitively antagonizes the adenosine receptors (ARs), which are G protein-coupled receptors largely distributed in the human body, including the heart, vessels, brain, and kidneys. Recently, many reports showed the effect of caffeine derivatives in the treatment of many diseases such as Alzheimer's, asthma, parkinsonism, and cancer. Also, it is used as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and hypocholesterolemic agent. The present review article discusses the synthesis, reactivity, and biological and pharmacological properties of caffeine and its derivatives. The biosynthesis and biotransformation of caffeine in coffee and tea leaves and the human body were summarized in the review.

Synthesis of Ni3V2O8-rGO composite nanostructure for high-performance hybrid supercapacitors via hydrothermal method

To address global energy demand, major efforts have been made to develop cutting-edge electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices. The present article discusses the hydrothermal synthesis of bare nickel vanadate and a nickel vanadate/reduced graphene oxide (Ni3V2O8-rGO) composite for supercapacitor applications. The physicochemical properties of pure Ni3V2O8 (NVO) and the Ni3V2O8-rGO (NVO-rGO) composite were investigated using a variety of characterization tools. The electrochemical traits of the NVO-rGO composite outperform bare NVO due to the synergistic effect. At a current density of 1 mAcm−2, the NVO and NVO-rGO nanostructures exhibit excellent specific capacitances of 85 Fg−1 and 108 Fg−1, respectively. These nanostructures also have energy densities of about 3.82 and 5.02 WhKg−1, with power densities of 141.75 and 151.57 WKg−1 for NVO and NVO-rGO composite, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies revealed a charge resistance of 2.05 Ω. The transfer coefficient and standard rate constant indicate that the charge storage mechanism is based on a quasi-reversible redox process. The present investigation demonstrates that the NVO-rGO composite has exceptional electrochemical performance. The outstanding electrochemical performance of both NVO and NVO-rGO underlines their potential as novel and promising materials for supercapacitor applications, implying significant feasibility for large-scale utilization.

A linearly implicit finite element full-discretization scheme for SPDEs with nonglobally Lipschitz coefficients

Abstract The present article deals with strong approximations of additive noise driven stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) with nonglobally Lipschitz nonlinearity in a bounded domain $ \mathcal{D} \in{\mathbb{R}}^{d}$, $ d \leq 3$. As the first contribution, we establish the well-posedness and regularity of the considered SPDEs in space dimension $d \le 3$, under more relaxed assumptions on the stochastic convolution. This improves relevant results in the literature and covers both the space-time white noise ($d=1$) and the trace-class noises ($\text{Tr} (Q) < \infty $) in multiple dimensions $d=2,3$. Such an improvement is achieved based on a key perturbation estimate for a perturbed PDE, with the aid of which we prove the convergence and uniform regularity of a spectral approximation of the SPDEs and thus get the improved regularity results. The second contribution of the paper is to propose and analyze a spatio-temporal discretization of the SPDEs, by incorporating a standard finite element method in space and a linearly implicit nonlinearity-tamed Euler method for the temporal discretization. The proposed time-stepping scheme is linearly implicit and does not suffer from solving nonlinear algebra equations as the backward Euler scheme does. Based on the improved regularity results, we recover the expected strong convergence rates of the fully discrete scheme and reveal how the convergence rates rely on the regularity of the noise process. In particular, a classical convergence rate of order $O(h^{2} +\tau )$ can be obtained even in high dimension $d=3$, as the driven noise is of trace class and satisfies certain regularity assumptions. The optimal error estimates turn out to be challenging and face some essential difficulties when the tamed time-stepping scheme meets the finite element spatial discretization, particularly in the context of low regularity and multiple dimensions $d \le 3$. Some highly nontrivial arguments are introduced to overcome the difficulties. Finally, numerical examples corroborate the claimed strong orders of convergence.

On the covariant formulation of gauge theories with boundaries

In the present article, we review the classical covariant formulation of Yang–Mills theory and general relativity in the presence of spacetime boundaries, focusing mainly on the derivation of the presymplectic forms and their properties. We further revisit the introduction of the edge modes and the conditions which justify them, in the context where only field-independent gauge transformations are considered. We particularly show that the presence of edge modes is not justified by gauge invariance of the presymplectic form, but rather by the condition that the presymplectic form is degenerate on the initial field space, which allows to relate this presymplectic form to the symplectic form on the gauge reduced field space via pullback.

Изменения чувства юмора при аффективных расстройствах: «дефицит», «патологическая защита», «маска»

<p style="text-align: justify;">Relevance. The present article provides an analysis of changes in the sense of humor in patients with affective disorders. The necessity of this research is due to the emergence of new findings and the insufficient systematization of the scientific data in this field, despite the fact that methods of psychosocial rehabilitation using humor and laughter are being actively developed. The present research is aimed at summarizing and systematizing existing data on the characteristics of the sense of humor in patients with affective disorders. Results. Three theoretical approaches to understanding the specifics of humor’s changes in patients with affective disorders are proposed: «deficit», «pathological defense» and «mask». The «deficit» model describes humor’s characteristics accompanying depressive syndrome. The ones in the foreground are: a decreased affective response to humor, a reduced tendency to engage in humorous interaction with others and to use humor as a coping strategy. In manic and hypomanic states, humor functions as a «pathological defense», blocking negative emotions and stimulating positive ones. In «smiling» depression, the meaning of smiling and laughter can be characterized as a «mask»: their main goal here is to reduce the significance or to hide completely a patient’s inner feelings from others. Also, affective disorders are accompanied by an increased interest in depressive humor. Presumably, it functions as a compensation for a decrease in the use of humor in general as an emotion regulation strategy. Conclusions. Changes in the sense of humor in patients with affective disorders are heterogeneous. Understanding their specifics may be used to improve modern psychosocial therapy programs focused on humor interventions and techniques. It may also be used as an additional diagnostic tool.</p>

Semaglutide in Cardiometabolic Diseases: SELECTing the Target Population

Cardiovascular diseases remain the main cause of death and disability worldwide. Despite the tremendous improvement in pharmacological, minimally invasive and rehabilitative strategies, global deaths due to cardiovascular diseases are still increasing. Additional risk factors have been recently proposed, and thanks to scientific progress, novel drugs for the control of the main risk factors focusing on the cardiometabolic pathways have been identified. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists represent an innovative step in the management of patients affected by type 2 diabetes mellitus. In addition to their significant efficacy on glycemic homeostasis, some members of this class of drugs have indications in the treatment of obesity. Furthermore, accumulated evidence in the literature has finally suggested a protective role in cardiovascular health. The possible role of GLP-1R agonist drugs (GLP-1RAs) on the mechanisms underlying chronic inflammation and the almost ubiquitous distribution of GLP-1 receptors could explain the enormous versatility of these drugs. Semaglutide is a GLP-1RA recently proven to be effective in cardiovascular outcomes. In the present article, we will review the available data on semaglutide in light of the most recent publications to better characterize the target population achieving cardiovascular benefits.

Exploring the Ethnicity and Social Condition of Muslim Calligraphers: A Short Note on Two Scribes from the Horn of Africa in the Mamlūk Period

Thus far, very little is known of the social origin and position of scribes and calligraphers in the premodern Islamic world. The difficulty in finding data on the biographies and activities of the professional practitioners of calligraphy in historiographical works is probably one of the main causes of this regrettable situation. Taking as a starting point the results of some previous groundbreaking research, the present article gathers scattered information retrieved from different sources about two calligraphers from the Horn of Africa that lived and worked in the Middle East during the Mamlūk period. In the analysis of these two cases, it is hoped that some light will be shed on the presence of calligraphic masters from the Horn in the Arab world from which may be gained, on a more general level, a better picture of the personalities of calligraphers in the Islamic world.