Relations Of Production Research Articles

'Animals Continue to Gather': Animality and the Desubjectification of Feminine Desire in Jennifer's Body

This article examines the depiction of interspecies kinship in the 2009 queer horror-comedy film Jennifer's Body through analysis of the 2007 film script. The article centers on scenes of women and various species of non-human animals gathering to form an ‘interspecies pack’. Through these scenes, Jennifer's Body taps into a significant history of cultural association between feminine desire and interspecies kinship. From the maenads of ancient Greece to the witches of early-modern Europe, to the Disney princesses of the USA, the interspecies pack functions as a powerful evocation of feminine desire within the dominant Western imaginary. This analysis aims to develop frameworks for reading depictions of kinship between women and non-human animals outside the interpretive confines of analogy. This work thereby attends to Patricia MacCormack's ethical injunction to feminist analysis to think ‘the animal’ beyond its use as anthropomorphic representation (2005). The article takes Barbara Creed's psychoanalysis of ‘the monstrous-feminine' as a point of departure and utilizes Deleuze and Guattari's theorization of the pack (Deleuze and Guattari, 1987, 26-38; 239-250). The interspecies pack is read as a model for desire that decenters the human(ist) subject. The depiction of women as participants within interspecies packs therefore opens up liberatory possibilities for encountering feminine desire outside its representation as the desire of a human subject. To examine how participation within the interspecies pack decomposes the human(ist) subject, this article focuses on three ways the pack functions. Firstly, as the production of (interspecies and queer) relations outside of naturalized kinship structures. Secondly, as the presence of desire outside of human subjectivity. Thirdly, as the envelopment of the human subject within a metamorphic, fluid dimension of matter that cuts across species.

Reassembling and generating cultural networks

This paper proposes a research agenda to study cultural networks that assumes their role both in making meaning and as adaptative tools for humans and their communities. First, the agenda grounds the study of cultural networks in Whitehead’s (1861–1947) metaphysics of process, posing that cultural networks emerge during human’s production of relations with the world of phenomena. Then, the paper identifies two approaches to studying cultural networks, reassembling them or generating them. Thirdly, it contextualizes the importance of understanding cultural networks vis a vis the consolidation of the digital humanities in the academic domain, and the productivity of networks as tools to explore the cultural in networked domains of human experience. The final remarks locate the proposed research agenda within the context of multidisciplinary research on cultural analytics.

Causal Relations and Cohesive Strategies in the Narratives of Heritage Speakers of Russian in Their Two Languages

Causal relations allow a very detailed insight into the narrative skills of children from various backgrounds; however, their contribution has not been sufficiently studied in bilingual populations. The present study examines the expression of causal relations and the linguistic forms used to encode them in narratives of bilingual children speaking Russian as the Heritage Language (HL) and Hebrew as the Societal Language (SL). Narratives were collected from 21 typically developing Russian–Hebrew bilingual children using the Frog story picture book and were coded for frequency and type of episodic components, and for causal relations focusing on enabling and motivational relations. Results showed that the number of episodic components was higher in Hebrew than in Russian. An in-depth analysis showed that more components were mentioned in the first five episodes, particularly at the onset of the story. Causal relations were similar in both languages but were differently distributed across the languages—more enabling relations in Russian stories and more motivational relations in Hebrew stories. Production of episodic components and causal relations was affected by language proficiency but not by age of onset of bilingualism (AoB). In terms of language forms, lexical chains (e.g., search~find) were the most frequent means for inferring relations. Syntactic and referential cohesion were used in dedicated episodes to convey relations in both languages. Finally, a higher number of significant correlations between narrative productivity measures, episodic components, and causal relations were found in SL/Hebrew than in HL/Russian. The study results underscore the need to understand how language-specific abilities interact with knowledge of narrative discourse construction.

“It’s kind of like a real-life superhero”: How law enforcement officers discursively reinforce group power relations through self- and other- categorization in talk

In examining law enforcement officers’ communication, this study aims to identify the ways in which power structures are maintained through discourse, specifically through the discursive practices of self- and other- categorization. This study attends to the language used by law enforcement officers, and the linguistic strategies they engage, when distinguishing themselves from those who are not law enforcement officers. Furthermore, this study examines how the linguistic strategies employed by law enforcement officers relate to various discourses of power to identify ways in which social relations are reproduced in talk. Findings demonstrate some of the ways in which multiple interrelated discourses reinforce one another in the (re)production of power relations.

Status quo crisis again? RMB challenges and dollar hegemony

ABSTRACT Despite the slow process of RMB internationalisation over the last decade, we make an empirical argument that China has recently intensified the RMB’s international and domestic capacity to make it a formidable challenger to the dollar as a global currency in the medium and long-term range. We highlight that China has made substantial progress in expanding the RMB currency network and institutionalising a deep and open domestic financial market, the two most severe obstacles emphasised by the skeptics on RMB internationalisation. In developing this argument, we draw on the ‘credit theory’ of money and explain the global expansion of the RMB currency network in terms of the external and internal production of credit and debt relations denominated in the RMB across borders. Our empirical findings suggest that the pace of the growing foreign demand for RMB-denominated assets has recently taken off.

Social Construction of the “Good Refugee” and the Resistances of Asylum Seekers in Italy between Marginalization and Autonomous Crossing of Urban Spaces

Recent research and studies have undermined the idea that borders are not only a demarcation between an inside and an outside, but a performative space around which unexpected interactions, power relations, economic value, conflicts and new spatialities are produced. Inside and around the structures organized for the reception of asylum seekers, we are witnessing a constantly evolving process of production of new social relations and new micro-spatialities that tend to progressively change the territorial features. This paper, based on observations and materials collected during a long ethnographic study carried out between Padua and Venice, investigates the controversial relations between asylum seekers and such urban spaces and suburbs, with attention given to migrants who relate to the territory just as a point of transit. We analyze the widespread phenomena of segregation these individuals, who have often left the reception system, are subjected to in their daily routine of using public space in certain urban areas. Moreover, through a perspective and a positioning that allowed us to live some protests and phenomena of resistance “from within”, we focus on the ways in which the streets and the squares of the provincial towns and urban centers have presented themselves as “borderscapes”.

Inclusive Education in the Context of Ethnocultural Diversity: Understanding the Process of Exclusion in Order to Act in the School – A Secondary Publication

This issue reveals that the implementation of inclusive education is an unfinished challenge, both within the system and for individual self-improvement. This process of changing practices, by continually questioning the school’s responsibility for the (re)production of inequalities, exclusion, and unequal social relations, is riddled with obstacles, unpredictable situations, and strong emotions. In particular, the researchers point out that many systemic mechanisms of school culture contribute to replicating and reifying hierarchical school experiences and exacerbating processes of institutional discrimination against immigrant backgrounds and/or racialized students. The empirical research presented also highlights the deficit thinking of school staff toward immigrant students and their parents. The results show that staff tend to use linguistic and cultural gaps between students and the school system to explain academic failure. Be that as it may, the researchers as well as the school actors and students interviewed in this issue suggest fertile ways to improve inclusion in the school context, stressing the importance of giving voice to the various actors to move toward institutional transformation.

Music, Phones and Bank Loans

This article explores the making of two branded Spotify playlists to critique the concept of ‘affective labor.’ Over the last few decades, scholars have argued that social media users and creative industries workers alike are engaged in a new type of labor, affective labor, which generates economic value for companies. The article challenges this framing. Drawing on Marxist concepts of productive and unproductive labor, in addition to feminist social reproduction theory, it details playlists made for Motorola phones and Itaú bank by paid contractors. The article situates the role of these playlists, as part of advertising campaigns, within the broader circuits of capital, showing how both paid and unpaid playlisting are unproductive labor, and therefore do not produce surplus value. The playlists do, however, assist in the overall reproduction of capitalism, particularly through the commodification of labor power for the paid lists. The article argues that characterizing musical production involving affect, especially online, as ‘affective labor’ hampers our ability to understand affect within the production and reproduction of capitalist social relations. It contends that a key political question of affect is not only the production of subjectivities, but the conversion of affectively dense, social values into commodified labor controlled by capital. Affective politics is when affects are literally put to work.

Inclusive Education in the Context of Ethnocultural Diversity: Understanding the Process of Exclusion to Act in the School — A Secondary Publication

This paper reveals that the implementation of inclusive education is an unfinished challenge, both within the system and for individual self-improvement. This process of changing practices, by continually questioning the school’s responsibility for the (re)production of inequalities, exclusion, and unequal social relations, is riddled with obstacles, unpredictable situations, and strong emotions. In particular, the researchers point out that many systemic mechanisms of school culture contribute to replicating and reifying hierarchical school experiences and exacerbating processes of institutional discrimination against immigrant backgrounds and/or racialized students. The empirical research presented also highlights the school staff’s deficit thinking toward immigrant students and their parents. The results show that staff tend to use linguistic and cultural gaps between students and the school system to explain academic failure. Be that as it may, the researchers as well as the school actors and students interviewed in this paper suggest multiple ways to improve inclusion in the school context, stressing the importance of giving voice to the various actors in order to move toward institutional transformation.

Artificial intelligent Global Online Learning (GOL) theory by generalized n-ary fuzzy relation

Following the devastating COVID pandemic, a new global strategy is required to switch from traditional education to blended or online learning method. Nevertheless, there is no adamant theoretical base available for such an important transition or similar situations in the future. On the other hand, educational systems encounter uncertainty as an integral part of multilayered teaching routes. To analyze the interactions among interconnected entities, soft computing methodologies can serve as an efficient tool to manage such systems with uncertain information through incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for assessing students performances. Nevertheless, the classical binary fuzzy relation and other existing theoretical models are not capable of explaining/configuring uncertain-based datum for multiplex correlations. To fill these gaps, the present study establishes a neoteric AI-base “Global Online Learning (GOL) theory” using the newly developed n-ary relation and n-ary fuzzy relation as the generalization of classical and binary fuzzy relations. Through the enhanced mathematical concepts and intelligent soft computing techniques, the convoluted multilayer relationships of entities can be punctiliously assessed for different values of n. Furthermore, a network-based perspective is proposed as a promising systematic model when systems are imperfect and prone to uncertainty. In the provided graphical context, the n-ary relation represents the hypergraph pattern, while the n-ary fuzzy relation refers to the generalized fuzzy hypergraph model. Fundamental characteristics of n-ary fuzzy relation, including reflexive, symmetric, transitive, composition, t-cut, support and Cartesian product, are systematically provided to extract mathematical interrelated expressions, as well as parametric connection between t-cut and Cartesian product. Based on the n-ary fuzzy relation, the n-ary fuzzy hyperoperation “∘ρ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\circ _{\\rho }$$\\end{document}” is assigned to construct fuzzy hyperalgebra as the extension of classical algebra with illustrative examples. The relationships between fuzzy hyperalgebra and hyperalgebra are investigated through the notation of (∘ρ)t\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$(\\circ _{\\rho })_{t}$$\\end{document} for t∈(0,1].\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$t\\in (0,1].$$\\end{document} With the introduced t-cut methodology, the corresponding hypergraph is derived to simplify the analysis of educational information. The AI-base GOL theory provides a solid gadget for learning data management, e.g., the grading evaluation of online assessments, where the evaluation of components is accomplished on real data in terms of fuzzy n-ary relation, t-cut and support through a graphical attitude. The results indicate that the AI-base GOL theory is a robust platform to meticulously manage and control uncertain-based intercorrelated information. This platform can be converted into a coding gadget for artificial intelligent educational online mega-systems.

ЕКОНОМІЧНА ТЕОРІЯ У СИСТЕМІ ПІДГОТОВКИ МЕНЕДЖЕРІВ

The article examines the problems of implementing the competency approach in the process of training managers on the example of teaching a course in economic theory. The relevance of this problem is due to new challenges for the management education system, when the emphasis changes and shifts from the simple transfer of knowledge to the acquisition of certain skills for adaptation to constantly changing economic and social conditions. Therefore, the educational process should be aimed at determining and achieving specific professional results, where theoretical knowledge is an extremely important component for achieving a high professional level. The study of economic theory is the basis for the formation of an economically literate personality, which is the basis for the formation and functioning of a developed national economy of the state. The object of economic theory is the economic processes in society and the functioning of its economic system, the main function of which is the creation of favorable conditions for achieving economic or social benefits both for individuals or groups and for society as a whole. Education in the field of management should combine theoretical knowledge with practical aspects of market behavior of economic subjects. The task of this discipline is to study the general principles of the economic functioning of society, to study the patterns of development of economic systems, to carry out an analytical study of the mechanism of their use by people in the process of economic activity, as well as to determine the key characteristics of the main socio-economic systems and the directions of their evolution. The main goal of studying economic theory is to develop a system of knowledge about the social form of production of economic relations, problems of effective use of limited production resources and methods of meeting public needs in various socio-economic entities. The specifics of the content of vocational and economic education are determined by the requirements for its final result, namely, the creation of a harmonious and comprehensively developed personality who possesses professional knowledge, skills and abilities, which are the basis for self-realization in the economic and managerial sphere of society and provide a complex and multifaceted study of laws economic life of society.

A situated governmentality approach to energy transitions: technologies of power in German and Indian smart grid strategies

Abstract. Around the world, smart grids are emerging as a universal tool to address a wide range of social and technical problems facing energy systems. Despite considerable research on these systems, the ways they differ in the local (re)production of power relations have so far been little discussed. This paper fills this gap by developing a “situated governmentality approach” in conversation with the critique of Foucauldian governmentality studies. By applying this approach to smart grid strategies in Germany (Smart Energy Showcases – Digital Agenda for the Energiewende, SINTEG) and India (National Smart Grid Mission, NSGM), we identify different ways in which power is mediated through situated governmentalities. While SINTEG employs technologies of power that promote a disciplinary regime, the exercise of power in the case of the NSGM displays many elements of a digitally enhanced sovereign approach. The findings reveal the range of governmental programmes that can be realized through smart grids and open up a perspective on the situated functioning of smart grids in energy transitions.

Petrokemijski bestijarij

Given the almost simultaneous beginning of fossil fuel extraction and the foundation of socialist Yugoslavia, it can be argued that Yugoslav socialist modernity was petromodernity. Self-governing socialism and its relationship to the environment and nonhuman animals were grounded in and enabled by fossil fuel extraction, the products derived from it, and the energy produced by its use. In this article, I explore the relationships between Yugoslav petromodernity, plastic production, and plastic animal toys. I analyze the ways in which petromodernity and its attendant practices of fossil fuel extraction and petrochemical product consumption were naturalized through the habituation of bodily senses to plastic through petromodern pedagogy, as exemplified by the design of plastic animal toys. I argue that plastic animal toys become vehicles for the introduction of the Plasticene and means for the production of relations of dominance over animals and nature. The aesthetics of cuteness, as enacted through the design of plastic animal toys, played a key role in these processes.

Ex Vivo Endotoxin Stimulation of Blood for Predicting Survival in Patients With Sepsis: A Systematic Review

Sepsis is a syndrome characterized by host immune dysfunction, with the extent of immunoparalysis differing among patients. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is used commonly to assess the immune function of critically ill patients with sepsis. However, the reliability of this ex vivo diagnostic test in predicting clinical outcomes remains uncertain. Does LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production from the blood of patients with sepsis predict mortality? Secondary outcomes included ICU and hospital stay durations, nosocomial infection rate, and organ recovery rate. Human sepsis studies from various databases through April 2023 were evaluated. Inclusion criteria encompassed LPS-stimulated blood assays, English language, and reported clinical outcomes. Bias risk was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). Relationships between TNF production and mortality were analyzed at sepsis onset and during established sepsis, alongside secondary outcomes. Of 11,580 studies, 17 studies (14 adult and three pediatric) were selected for analysis. Although 15 studies were evaluated as moderate to high quality using the NOS, it is important to note that some of these studies also had identifiable biases, such as unclear methods of participant recruitment. Nine studies detailed survival outcomes associated with LPS-induced TNF production at sepsis onset, whereas five studies explored TNF production's relationship with mortality during established sepsis. Trends suggested that lower LPS-induced TNF production correlated with higher mortality. However, heterogeneity in methodologies, especially the LPS assay protocol, hindered definitive conclusions. Publication bias was highlighted using funnel plot analysis. Concerning secondary outcomes, diminished TNF production might signify worsening organ dysfunction, although the link between cytokine production and nosocomial infection varied among studies. For functional immune profiling in sepsis, streamlined research methodologies are essential. This entails organizing cohorts based on microbial sources of sepsis, establishing standardized definitions of immunoparalysis, using consistent types and dosages of immune stimulants, adhering to uniform blood incubation conditions, and adopting consistent clinical outcomes.

Pengaruh Komunikasi yang Efektif Guru Pendidikan Agama Kristen dan Budi Pekerti terhadap Motivasi Belajar Siswa Kelas VIII SMP Negeri 4 Tarutung Tahun Pembelajaran 2023/2024

This study aims to determine the positive and significant influence of effective communication by Christian Religious Education and Character Education teachers on the learning motivation of class VIII students at SMP Negeri 4 Tarutung for the 2023/2024 academic year. The hypothesis of the study is there is a positive and significant influence of effective communication by Christian Religious Education and Character Education teachers on the learning motivation of class VIII students at SMP Negeri 4 Tarutung for the 2023/2024 academic year. The method that used in this study is an inferential quantitative method. The population is all 123 students of class VIII of SMP Negeri 4 Tarutung for the 2023/2024 academic year who are Protestant Christians and samples are determined 40% of the total population as many as 50 people by using random sampling techniques. The study instrument is a closed questionnaire with 39 items, namely 22 items for variable X and 17 items for variable Y. The results of data analysis obtained: a) Testing a positive relation (Product Moment Pearson) obtained a value of rcount = 0.413> rtable (a = 0.05, n = 50) = 0.297. b) Testing a significant relation (t-test) obtained a value of tcount= 3.141>ttable (a=0.05, df=n-2=48)= 2.000. c) Obtain the degree of influence with the regression equation Ŷ= 18,33 + 0,46X. d) Test the hypothesis using the F test to obtain Fcount= 9.823>Ftable (a=0.05, df numerator k-1=1, df denominator=n-2=50-2=48) =4.00. Thus Ha is accepted and H0 is rejected. The study concluded that there was a positive and significant influence of effective communication by Christian Religious Education and Character Education teachers on the learning motivation of class VIII students at SMP Negeri 4 Tarutung for the 2023/2024 academic year.

The Role of Public Relation Strategy, Product Branding, Digital Marketing, and Customer Loyalty in Company Growth

This research aims to investigate the interconnected dynamics of public relations strategy, product branding, digital marketing, and customer loyalty in fostering company growth. Employing a qualitative approach, the study utilizes semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and industry experts as the primary method of data collection. Sampling techniques involve purposive sampling to ensure diversity in perspectives. Data analysis involves thematic analysis, enabling the extraction of nuanced insights and patterns from the qualitative data. The findings provide comprehensive insights into the symbiotic relationship between these factors and their collective impact on company growth, offering valuable implications for strategic business development and marketing management strategies.

“Carnal conviviality” and the end of race?

ABSTRACT This paper seeks to address some confusions and contestations surrounding Paul Gilroy’s conceptualisation of conviviality. In particular, it seeks to argue that conviviality cannot be reduced to mere tentative co-existence, nor does it designate the absence of racism. Rather, it aims to demonstrate the messy complexity of everyday life, as people attempt to build lives alongside one another as they find themselves throwntogether on the margins of society. It does this through the qualitative exploration of fighters at a Polish-owned Muay Thai/Kickboxing gym in East London, where fighters enact what I refer to as “carnal conviviality”, a form of intimate, bodily togetherness constituted through training to fight that bonds fighters across racial, ethnic, religious and gendered lines. Although inherently local and messy, I argue that the production of social relations that see the human in the other are essential in times of mounting crises.

The Impact of Meetings on the Network Governance and Mobility of UN Policy Programs on Environment and Education

Purpose This paper adds to the understandings of how face-to-face meetings contribute to the network governance and global mobility of United Nations (UN) policy programs on environmental and sustainability education (ESE). Design/Approach/Methods Data from interviews with 13 international ESE policy leaders were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for key themes related to the research purpose. Findings The findings indicate that meetings provide an arena for collaboration and influence on UN ESE policy programs, as well as facilitating the impact of the policy programs on UN member country policy. In addition, attending meetings enables the production of network relations that bind ESE policy communities together across distant locations. They are also a venue for the networking labor involved in forging new relationships and facilitating the social learning that supports global policy mobility. Originality/Value This pilot study enriches understanding of face-to-face meetings as a key vector of policy mobility and a significant factor in the overall network governance of UN organizations and their policy programs. We hope the study contributes to the fields of critical policy studies and ESE, as well as to informing policy actors on how important their participation in meetings can be for the network governance and mobility of UN policy programs.

COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy: How discrepant public health discourses shape responsibility for fetal health

Early in COVID-19 vaccine rollout, expert recommendations about vaccination while pregnant and breastfeeding changed rapidly. This paper addresses the (re)production of gendered power relations in these expert discourses and recommendations in Canada. We collected texts about COVID-19 vaccine use in pregnancy (N ​= ​52) that Canadian health organizations (e.g., professional societies, advisory groups, health authorities) and vaccine manufacturers made publicly available online. A discourse analysis was undertaken to investigate intertextuality (relations between texts), social construction (incorporation of assumptions about gender), and contradictions between and within texts.National expert recommendations varied in stating COVID-19 vaccines are recommended, should be offered, or may be offered, while manufacturer texts consistently stated there was no evidence. Provincial and territorial texts reproduced discrepancies between the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommendations, including that COVID-19 vaccines should be versus may be offered in pregnancy. Our findings suggest gaps in data and discrepant COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, eligibility, and messaging limit guidance regarding vaccination in pregnancy. We argue that these discrepancies magnified the already common practice of deferring responsibility for the uncertainties of vaccination in pregnancy onto parents and healthcare providers. The deferral of responsibility could be reduced by harmonizing recommendations, regularly updating texts that describe evidence and recommendations, and prioritizing research into disease burden, vaccine safety, and efficacy before vaccine rollout.

Militaries, militias and unicorns: platform authoritarianism in Brazil

The article presents two cases in which the appropriation of technological innovations leads to renewed economic and power relations, which in turn reinforce local transformation processes of governmental management and of barely-regularized economic activities. The workings of a command and control system in Rio de Janeiro and the delivery structure of a "food tech" company reinforce authoritarian or violent modes of operation, all the while enabling the development of illicit activities linked to the “militianization” of crime, as well as of security forces, of economic activities and of politics in present-day Brazil. Based on these cases, we present a discussion on a few specificities concerning the technological appropriation of certain devices in the Global South and its effects on the production of society and social relations.