Problematic Relationship Research Articles

On the Epistemic Role of Narrative Features in Determining Unsubstantiated Scientific Practices

Purpose: This study explores the disciplinary narrative structured in a specific scientific context: cancer research. Specifically, it examines the narratives of ten biologists vis-à-vis the use of machines and consumables within a cancer research lab in Belgium. The aim is to answer the following main research question: What is the relationship between the scientists and the lab's machines and consumables?Design: A qualitative analysis is conducted over 18 months of a) participant-observation recordings, b) semi-structured individual interviews, and c) collective interviews with ten lab scientists. The analysis is guided by Walter Fisher's narrative paradigm and Mona Baker's narrative features.Findings: The findings expose a problematic relationship between the scientists and their lab machines and suggest that scientists trust machines and consumables unquestionably. This problematic relationship is evidenced as the scientists' narratives violate four narrative features: 1) temporality, 2) causal emplotment, 3) relationality, and 4) selective appropriation. The study claims that these narrative features are well-positioned to identify unsubstantiated scientific practices.

Quasi-synonyms of the ophthalmological terminological system: towards the formulation of the problem

Ophthalmic terminology is a part of the medical terminology system. The medical terminological system has been studied in sufficient detail, however, to date, questions remain open regarding the synonymy of linguistic units within the ophthalmological terminological system. The purpose of the study is to consider the problem of relations within the ophthalmological terminological system and to prove the existence of a triple series of terms — quasi-synonyms. The object of the study is ophthalmological terminology, the thematic group is "ophthalmological diseases". The relevance of this work is due to the fact that ophthalmological terms with semantic similarity that can both replace each other and function in parallel in speech have not yet been sufficiently studied, in addition, it is necessary to establish what type of synonymy exists between these terms. The method of linguistic experiment used in the work makes it possible to achieve the purpose of the study. The study included 2,535 ophthalmological terms, of which 51 were names of ophthalmological diseases. An experiment was conducted to obtain evidence of the existence of different types of ophthalmic terms. The experiment involved ophthalmologists, nursing staff, patients of the ophthalmological center of Irkutsk (324 people — medical staff, 324 patients). The main conclusion of the study is that there are synonymous relations between terms within the ophthalmological terminological system. The conducted experiment allows us to talk about the existence of a triple set of terms, which confirmed the hypothesis about the functioning, in addition to the generally accepted terminology and professional jargonisms, of "folk" terminology (70% of the total number of terms included in the study). All terms of the triple series, being quasi-synonyms, have semantic similarity, but are not identical, relations of inclusion and intersection arise between them, they exist in the language in parallel. In the future, it is necessary to consider quasi-synonyms of other thematic groups of the ophthalmological terminological system in order to better understand the specifics of their use and the source of their occurrence, as well as whether they can become absolute synonyms and under what conditions.

From object to objectified: The ongoing precarity of Black bodies in institutional spaces

This article examines the precarity of Black bodies in institutional spaces, particularly the detrimental impact on the career of the Black arts practitioner. Ongoing systemic discrimination within institutional sites, as experienced by Black artists, scholars and curators, can be traced to the problematic historical relationship of the Black body to the exhibitionary complex. The continued performative spectacularization of Blackness in institutional settings, as in the cases of Artists Space in 1979 and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2021, highlights the difficulty for Black professionals invested in decolonial work to unsettle this misrepresentation without the risk of repercussions. In each case study, institutional responses to claims of racial discrimination illuminate their negation of the Black experience and the consequence to Black practitioners of questioning and activating against systemic inequities within these sites. To address the topic in an honest and scholarly manner, this article includes references to histories of colonial violence, as well as examples of harmful racial slurs exacted in response to the concerns of Black practitioners. In so doing, this article is an act of decentring imperialist research methods’ and engages an alternative method for exploring deeply sensitive narratives in a rigid institutional structure.

Probabilistic linguistic prospect outranking risk decision making method based on stochastic dominance and application in emergency plan evaluation

In the decision-making process, probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTSs) could represent decision-makers’ uncertain evaluation information. The combination of probabilistic and linguistic information assists decision-makers to depict their evaluation information more flexibly. In this paper, a prospect outranking decision-making method based on stochastic dominance is proposed for solving the multi-attribute risk decision-making problem under the probabilistic linguistic information environment. Firstly, to fully preserve the original probabilistic linguistic information, we give the definitions of the generalized probability distribution and the corresponding generalized cumulative distribution function of a PLTS for defining the distance measure between PLTSs. Secondly, based on the positive and negative ideal cumulative distribution functions, we propose the probabilistic linguistic prospect value functions. After that, considering the uncertainty of the relationship between alternatives, several kinds of novel prospect stochastic dominance and almost stochastic dominance relations are defined, which consider the decision makers’ distinction between gains and losses to measure the subtle relationship between alternatives. The stochastic dominance approach and the almost stochastic dominance approach under the probabilistic linguistic decision-making environment are put forward. Besides, we use the superiority and inferiority ranking method to solve the dominance ranking problem of the uncertainty relationship between any two alternatives. Finally, the proposed method is applied in the evaluation of emergency plans to show the accuracy and reliability, and comparative analyses are made to illustrate its availability.

HISTORIOSOPHICAL AND ANTHROPOCENTRIC ASPECTS IN THE NOVELS BY YURIY KOSACH

Purpose. The article deals with the novels by Yuriy Kosach in the context of historiosophical and anthropocentric issues of the European and national existentialism. The study is based on the little-known historical novels ​“The Rubicon of Khmelnytskyi” ​and ​“The Day of Wrath​”. Theoretical basis. Yuriy Kosach’s prose oeuvre is an impressive and original phenomenon of the Ukrainian creative writing. It greatly regenerated the Ukrainian fiction in worldview, problematic and thematic, genre and stylistic aspects, showing the concordance with the need to modernize national and European literary-aesthetic consciousness of the 20th c. The historical and adventure novels “The Rubicon of Khmelnytskyi” and “The Day of Wrath”, which present a person against the historical background, are particularly conspicuous in the aspect of artistic portrayal of historical events and figures. Kosach managed to integrally render the concept of a person, to apprehend the depth of its nature and multiplicity of senses of its existence, to reconsider the complexity of psychological filling of a person’s inner world, to present a broad view of the problem of relations between people, to originally substantiate his anthropological concept which is the embodiment of the “national code”. Originality. It traces the evolution of the word picture of B. Khmelnytskyi, which unfolds against the background of sociohistorical events and moral challenges. For the first time it has been proved that in his historical and adventure novels with the elements of philosophism (existential antejizm) and psychologism, the prose writer showed the specificity of forming the historic figure of Hetman as a wise European helmsman, a state-minded person, and a leader of the Ukrainians. Conclusions. It has been emphasized that Yuriy Kosach raised important psychological, historiosophic and ontological problems such as a human being and its existence, life and death, psychological splitting, fate and a person’s destiny, morality, national identity, struggle for own rights and freedoms, feeling of responsibility for others etc.

Linguodidactic aspects of intercultural communication in the multilingual space of Kazakhstan

ABSTRACT The importance of addressing the linguodidactic problems of intercultural communication in the multilingual educational space of the Republic of Kazakhstan lies in the fact that by 2021, the Programme of trilingual education in the region, adopted for implementation in the early 2000s, will have reached its final stage. The purpose of this study is to present a brief analysis of the problems encountered and to state the successes and problems in overcoming them. The leading methodological platform for considering the effects of the trilingual education system was the classical theory of K.D. Ushinski on the anthropological approach to the formation of a multilingual personality, which makes it possible to address the problem of intercultural and ethnic relations in the region. The method of analysing scientific discourse on the international experience of multilingual education was also implemented. The study presents the legislative, applied, and scientific aspects of linguodidactics in the educational field of the country analysed here, reveals the unresolved problems, and shows the success of implementing multilingual education in a particular culturally specific region.

The influence of sibling relationship quality on the social, emotional, and behavioral functioning of children and adolescents: a scoping review

ABSTRACT Families play a pivotal role in the development of social-emotional outcomes. Recent research indicates that sibling relationship quality plays a particularly important role in child and adolescent social, emotional, and behavioral development. To date, there are few studies that have translated this information in a manner that is useful for professionals working with children, adolescents, and their families. The present scoping review aims to fill this gap in the literature. Twenty-three empirical studies published between 1990 and 2021 were reviewed and synthesized. Results highlighted the unique ways that sibling negativity and positivity influence the development of social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. Namely, sibling negativity was found to play a primary role in influencing adverse outcomes, such as internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and social difficulties. However, in some cases, sibling positivity was found to decrease the incidence of these outcomes. Sibling positivity was also found to be a protective factor in the context of adverse life events, such as trauma. Results indicate a need for assessment strategies aimed at identifying problematic sibling relationship qualities. Additionally, results support the need for interventions that reduce sibling negativity and promote sibling positivity that can be delivered by professionals as well as families.

Ethnographic Investigations into Medical Violence in Nepali Healthcare Facilities

Introduction: Violence is not an inherent byproduct of human relationships, but conflicts are. The factors and circumstances that lead to tension and conflicts between health seekers and Nepali medical establishments and staff members who work there are examined in this article. Development: Embedded with relevant literature review, through the analysis of qualitative information, this part of the article is developed into four different sections. The first part deals with the context of the medical consultations that result in the development of a problematic relationship. This is followed by the examination of different types of violence, confrontations, and protests that emerge through such relationships. The implications of swelling medical promises and consequent heightened expectations are analyzed in the third part whereas the fourth part highlights how the typical medical practices that exist in Nepali hospitals itself is increasing the possibility of confrontations and violence. Conclusions: The frequent occurrence of tussles and medical violence in both public and private hospitals in Nepal suggests that they can happen in any hospital, irrespective of ownership. There is always a communication gap between the service providers and the patient party because of the esoteric nature of medicine. Conflict and violence towards service providers can also thrive in the context of a differential explanatory model of the two sides. The mounting animosity also signals a decline in trust between healthcare providers and seekers in Nepal.

“Soul on Ice”: Black Commodification, Race, and the National Hockey League

The NHL has a long-standing, problematic relationship with race. The North American sporting and racial climate have brought even more attention to this reality. A notable tactic to counter the accusation of reinforcing racism within sports corporations, including the NHL, is publicly associating themselves with minoritized organizations. This often occurs through formal partnerships or the acquisition of minoritized-founded entities, initiatives, and organizations. This paper considers how salient discourses of race and Blackness are articulated by the hosts and contributors of NHL Studio’s Soul on Ice: The Podcast (SOIP) as an acquired NHL entity. The NHL aims to reposition itself on issues of race and the portrayal of Black members within hockey through SOIP. The podcast gives a platform to empower Black voices within White hockey culture but also problematically enmeshes the NHL within the commodification of Black culture and hardship. The acquisition of Soul on Ice: The Podcast by the NHL is used to sanitize and shield the league while reinforcing the normative Whiteness of hockey. Further, the consequences of the leagues’ commodification of Blackness and the nuanced experiences of Black NHL players and community members shared via the podcast are unpacked.

Reconsidering Intercultural Component of Foreign Language Learning in the Result of Russia-Ukraine War (Ukrainian Perspective)

According to the generally accepted paradigm culture is considered an indispensable element of language learning process. Analysis of modern didactic materials and textbooks shows that target culture is presented in both explicit and implicit way. Authors insist that shaping students’ intercultural awareness cannot be limited to students’ exposure to another culture. Real intercultural approach also involves students’ ability to present their home country and culture. For this purpose it is essential to determine elements of students’ native culture which are to be incorporated in language learning process. Analysis of cultural patterns utilized in language learning proves that it offers a variety of everyday and touristic topics but omits the problems of wars and conflicts which are pertinent to many countries. The full-scale Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has challenged educators in Ukraine to reconsider approaches to cultural representations of home country. Authors claim that current war has significantly transformed the image of Ukraine as well as the global agenda, and showcase this with relevant examples. Due to these facts it has become impossible for students to present their home country through the prism of peaceful relations and omit the problem of war and its implications. For this purpose authors specified war-related topics which are relevant to national curriculum and can be potentially incorporated in the content of foreign language learning. In order to find out educators’ attitude towards incorporating war-related problems in national curriculum the authors have questioned over 300 teachers from various parts of Ukraine. The obtained data clearly shows that most educators support the idea of integrating war-related topics as they have a potential to showcase the problem of human values, inter-personal relations and cultural dimensions.

Personal reformulation during the clinical associate psychologist apprenticeship: Exploratory mixed methods evaluation.

Clinical associate psychologists (CAPs) train under the auspices of the apprenticeship programme and are a new addition to the psychological workforce. This project sought to evaluate whether a "personal reformulation" (PR) was helpful in terms of personal and professional development during the apprenticeship. A mixed methods evaluation containing a longitudinal quantitative element and a "Big Q" qualitative element with a single cohort of N = 18 CAPs. A PR consists of a 2-hr one-to-one session and a follow-up session with a cognitive analytic psychotherapist. During a PR, a sequential diagrammatic reformulation is produced to aid recognition and revision of potentially problematic relationship patterns at work. Two outcome measures concerning reflective capacity and professional quality of life were completed at the start of the apprenticeship, pre-PR and at 3-month PR follow-up. The semi-structured interviews (n = 11) conducted at the follow-up were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Quantitative changes were limited to significant increases to general confidence and 8/12 apprentices had a reliable increase in confidence in communication. Qualitatively, five overarching themes were found: (1) gaining insight, (2) wellbeing, (3) nature of the space, (4) being an apprentice, and (5) moving forward. PRs were generally found to be emotionally challenging, but relatively large amounts of insight are possible from a very brief intervention that can contribute to personal and professional development during clinical training. More controlled research needs to be conducted and wider applications and evaluations of PRs in different professions would be welcome.

Rosyjskojęzyczni pisarze w transnarodowej literackiej przestrzeni Białorusi w latach 20. i na początku lat 30. XX wieku: paradoksy i nieuchronność niepowodzenia kolektywnego projektu

In the years 1922–1936 in the Belarusian Soviet republic there were four official languages: Belarusian, Yiddish, Polish and Russian. There were educational institutions, theatres, print publishing houses and literary organizations of national minorities, including Latvian and Lithuanian. Russian-speaking authors who started in the circles of workers’ correspondents (rabkors) and literary studios, by 1926 formed the group “Zvenya” (“Links”), from which in 1927 the group “Minsky Pereval” (“Minsk Pass”) was separated. In the studies devoted to the Belarusian-Russian literary interrelations and the history of Russian-language literature in Belarus, the activities of this group are not presented. The article fills this gap and offers new aspects for considering the problem of Belarusian-Russian relations and non-Belarusianlanguage literature in Belarus. Despite a significant number of studies, both problems remain relevant. The material of the article controverts the ideologically biased position that considers Belarus as an indigenous part of the “Russian world”, and at the same time proposes a popular one in literary studies in relation to the period of the 16th–19th centuries (sometimes also the 20th century) the concept of “multilingual literature of Belarus”. The article traces the stages of the institutionalized existence of Russian-speaking group in the Belarusian literary space, from contradictory relations with the influential association “Maladniak” (“Saplings”) to the establishment of the Union of Soviet Writers (1934). It was used the archival documents, publications of Russian-language authors of the 1920s and early 1930s, and the verbatim report of the First Congress of Soviet Writers.

The Parmalat Scandal: An Analysis of Financial Deception and Its Implications for Global Business

The Parmalat scandal, often compared to Europe's Enron case, highlights one of the biggest financial frauds in global business history. Revealed in 2003, the case exposed an astonishing €14 billion deficit in the company's accounts, resulting from fraud, mismanagement, and oversight failures. This case study delves into the complexities of the Parmalat scandal, exploring its causes, impacts, and lessons for global businesses. It examines inadequate corporate governance, strategic missteps, auditing failures, and ethical violations, highlighting the importance of maintaining an ethical and transparent corporate culture. The role of auditing is emphasized, pointing out deficiencies in both internal and external audits, and the need for stricter controls and a whistleblowing culture. Parmalat's strategic decisions are scrutinized to understand how they contributed to the company's decline. The problematic relationship between majority and minority shareholders is discussed, revealing internal conflicts. The response to the scandal included a push for better corporate governance standards, regulatory reforms, and the adoption of more robust governance models. The importance of an ethical corporate culture, financial transparency, and the empowerment of whistleblowers are underscored as essential for preventing future frauds. The Parmalat case serves as a warning of the need for transparent and ethical practices in business, reinforcing that profitability should not override ethical considerations. This study provides a blueprint for companies to avoid similar pitfalls, highlighting corporate governance, business ethics, and oversight as pillars for trust and economic stability.

Developing intercultural competences of Polish religion teachers in the context of refugees from Ukraine: in theory and practice

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to seek an answer to the following question: Do religion teachers have the opportunity to learn and develop skills in the areas necessary to support refugees from Ukraine? If so, how should this be done? To address the issue, the problem of intercultural relations was first presented in a synthetic manner, based on the perspective of the socio-political conditions that underpinned educational initiatives for the development of intercultural competence by teachers of religion. An attempt was then made to define basic concepts such as multiculturalism, interculturalism, intercultural competence and intercultural competence, as directly related to teachers of religion. The next stage of the research directly referenced practice by defining the necessary forms and specific actions in developing the intercultural competence of teachers of religion. A descriptive method, one of the qualitative methods, was applied to answer the questions posed. This method was used to assess the state of intercultural competence of religion teachers in a Polish school.

Simone Weil et les dimensions mystiques de la nourriture

This article aims to examine the mystical meanings of food in the texts Gravity and Grace, Waiting for God, and First and Last Notebooks by the French philosopher Simone Weil (1909-1943). The main questions posed over the course of this study are as follows: How does Weil interpret food in her mystical texts? What relationship do her ideas have with her context of the Second World War, with Judaism, with her body? Are biomedical understandings of behavior, such as anorexia nervosa, applicable to Weil? The methodology will involve an in-depth reading of the three texts mentioned above, sketching the key theories of decreation and affliction. The main thesis of the paper is that food has an irremediably ambiguous status in Weil, marking both the degrading subjection of the human being to the earthly laws of necessity and gravity, and paradoxically, a path to salvation, where, through the spiritual transformation of decreation, the human being eats and is eaten by God. The author argues that this quasi-Christian mysticism must first be understood in Weil’s context of the Second World War, and that it also involves a problematic relationship with Judaism. Moreover, this study contends that interpretations utilizing primarily medical frameworks to understand Weil's food deprivation, such as anorexia nervosa, are insufficient. Such pathologization, as will be demonstrated, neglects the complex and often ambiguous mystical, ethical, and ontological meanings that Weil locates in hunger.

What is the Problem of Gender Inequality Represented to be in Inter-National Development Policy in Burkina Faso?

This article contributes to critical policy analysis scholarship from a post-structuralism perspective. Employing the ‘What’s the problem represented to be’ (WPR) framework, a Foucault-influenced post-structural approach, we investigate what is the problem of Gender Inequality (GI) represented to be in development in Burkina Faso. Based on systematic analysis of selected (inter)national development policy documents and in-depth stakeholder interviews, our results show two main categories of problem representations: a) local culture/ informal structures that strengthen and are strengthened by patriarchy, and b) women’s weak agency that undermine their effective participation. These problem representations are framed from two different but overlapping standpoints: rights and development. Furthermore, the informal structures are presented as the source of the problem of GI while formal structures are portrayed as the solution. The underlying assumptions ignore the gendered impacts of history, colonial legacies, the interconnectedness and often-conflicting state policies and globalisation. Consequently, the problem of GI is depoliticised, rendered local, technical, and static. This deflects responsibility in solving the problem, limits local agency and the exploration of effective cultural and bottom-up policy responses. Alternatively, GI could be represented as a problem of structural unequal power relations – rather than a simplistic blame of local culture.

ВЗАИМООТНОШЕНИЯ С РОДСТВЕННИКАМИ В СЕМЬЕ МУЧЕНИЦЫ ПЕРПЕТУИ

The article describes relationship in the family of Christian martyr of the 3rd century St. Perpetua. Author analyses how conflict between a Christian and his/her non-Christian relatives, typical moment in the Lives of Christian martyrs, is reflected in “The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas”. The uniqueness of this document is that the family conflict is described on behalf of the martyr herself in Perpetua’s prison diary, where the problem of relations with her household and, in particular, the conflict with her father, pushing her to apostasy, is the central motif. If we compare “The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas” with more recent “Acts of Perpetua and Felicitas”, one can see how a realistic description of the relations in the family of a newly converted Christian woman in all its diversity, from like-mindedness with a catechumen brother to an acute conflict with her father, is replaced by the tradition in “Lives of saints” in which the non-Christian household becomes an indistinguishable crowd of “just pagans” whom a newly converted Christian identifies with his/her sinful past and often perceives as enemies.

Conceptualizing Domestic Violence Within Clinical Documentation

Domestic and family violence (DFV) is a global issue with significant impacts on victim-survivors. The emergency department (ED) serves as the initial point of contact for victim-survivors. Given the significant role that clinical notes play in the management of patients and the communication between healthcare professionals, understanding how healthcare practitioners describe and document abuse reported in emergency settings is crucial. Yet, there remains a gap in understanding how health professional document DFV in the medical records of women presenting to the ED. Therefore, this qualitative descriptive study explored how DFV is documented in patient records of women presenting to the ED. Clinical notes from healthcare workers, including medical practitioners, nurses, social workers, mental health clinicians and ambulance officers, were qualitatively analyzed. Overall, the study included 43 presentations from 32 women (aged 18–56 years old) who visited a regional ED, during which instances of DFV were noted. An inductive content analysis resulted in the identification of four categories, including (a) DFV articulated in direct speech, (b) Unambiguous DFV, (c) Unconfirmed DFV, and (d) Problematic relationship. Although most references to DFV in the clinical notes included direct quotations from the patient’s descriptions of abuse or were documented unambiguously by healthcare professionals, a notable number of clinical notes exhibited a degree of caution or reluctance to acknowledge DFV dynamics when describing these events. These findings support the need for sustained and consistent professional training among healthcare professionals concerning the identification, documentation, and response to disclosures, suspicions, and allegations of DFV to better support victim-survivors presenting to the ED and other hospital settings.

Design methodology based on multi-objective optimization with evolutionary algorithms for humidification-dehumidification desalination systems using updated approaches

This paper develops a methodology for multi-objective optimization using Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II). The methodology aims to address the problem of the close relation between variables based on a mathematical model that simulates design variants of humidification-dehumidification (HDH) desalination systems, where the variation of one parameter can affect another. The approach consists of an exhaustive study of the state of the art to incorporate as many results as possible, including variable and parameter constraints established by previous research. Energy efficiency and potable water production are optimized with respect to the total area of the system's active components and the ratio of seawater converted to potable water. The calculations generate 20 Pareto optimal solutions, with an average pure water production of 14.01 l/h, and an average of the total and solar heating areas of 22.43 m2 and 8.52 m2, respectively, including many other parameters with similar values compared to other publications. The methodology is flexible, updatable, and generates high efficiency values, confirmed by the comparison of equivalent parameters and the pinch analysis, also with respect to previous results. The sensitivity analysis performed, presents different trends in the relation between variables in this scenario contributing to feedback on the behavior of hyperparameters of the algorithm, indicating a very wide potential of solutions. For the water temperature entering the dehumidifier, the range between 30 and 37 °C is determined as the optimum range, however, this is not the only result from the trend analysis of these 20 solutions, compared with other references. This methodology is a contribution to the overall objective of improving the HDH technology design process; optimal solutions are obtained for systems of the configuration chosen to apply it, but it can be adapted to others.

ЕДИНИЧНЫЕ ЛЕКСЕМЫ В ЯЗЫКЕ ОЛОНХО (к методологии словарной интерпретации)

Compilation of a dictionary of the language of the Yakut heroic epic Olonkho resulted in distinguishing two main groups of units of lexicographic description: stable verbal complexes and single lexemes. The article is devoted to the consideration of the functional-semantic features of single lexemes from the point of view of their lexicographic presentation in the given dictionary. The analysis carried out on the material of the text «Nyurgun Bootur the Swift» (version by K. G. Orosin, 1947) indirectly revealed the problem of semantic relations of units of the Olonkho language, focusing on the need to use textual method when carrying out dictionary work. In addition, conclusions are formulated about the main trends in the semantic typification of single lexemes related to the process of their use in the olonkho text.