Research Puzzle Research Articles

A convoy, an emergencies act, and a state of exception: How Canada’s Emergencies Act contradicts Carl Schmitt’s critiques of deliberative democracy

As a liberal and parliamentary democracy, Canada should be a prime target for Carl Schmitt’s critiques about determining the ‘state of exception’. Yet, Canada’s Emergencies Act, which permits ‘special temporary measures that may not be appropriate in normal times’ immediately after the declaration of an emergency, brings forth an interesting research puzzle: can a liberal or parliamentary democracy have both the practices of deliberative democracy and still fulfil Schmitt’s criteria of the sovereign both determining when and deciding on what occurs during the state of exception? By examining the events of the 2022 Freedom Convoy, we find that Canada’s use of the Emergencies Act meets Schmitt’s criteria of the -*sovereign determining when, and deciding on what occurs during the state of exception, but ultimately escapes Schmitt’s critiques of liberal and parliamentary democracies.

A narrative position analysis of asylum seekers’ stories about waiting for their permit permission in Norway

This research aims to understand more about the consequences that living for many years without a residence permit in Norway can have for asylum seekers. As a narrative inquiry study, the research puzzle is asylum seekers in Norway without a resident permit. This article focuses on one family. The data material is collected with different methods, such as field talks, interviews, pictures, and messages on Messenger. The study uses narrative position analysis, and it analyses the narrated story on three different levels. The main results shows that the parents of the family tend to position themselves differently according to whether they are talking about the time before they fled, the time while fleeing or after the fled. When talking about the decision to flee, they present themselves as active subjects with high agency. They have the ability to take active decisions and play an essential role for the family’s life. The analyses reveal three different master narratives; being a parent, being a citizen of a community and being an asylum seeker. I conclude with thoughts about the waiting period as an asylum seeker, and I ask whether Norway respects and ensures human rights. Is the situation of long-term asylum seekers and the condition of the waiting period in different reception centers a form of national abuse of power?

Is There a Link between Tax Administration Performance and Tax Evasion?

The performance of tax administrations (TAs) is usually described as their capacity to complete activities with the minimum of resources engaged. Accordingly, tax administration performance is a multifaceted phenomenon, and measuring and benchmarking its performance against other countries or regions remains a puzzle for researchers and practitioners. This paper introduces a new approach for measuring tax administration performance using the Composite I-Distance Indicator (CIDI) based on 11 individual performance measures from 35 European tax administrations over two consecutive years (2018–2019). For the given scores of tax administrations, we conducted a correlation analysis with (a) tax evasion loss and (b) the fiscal deficit of countries in which these tax administrations operate, aiming to assess the strength of the statistical relationship between these variables. The study highlights Denmark and the Netherlands as exemplary models for tax administration, with “Revenue Collection” being identified as a crucial driver of excellence and “Operational Performance” (such as “e-filing” and “on-time filing”) forming critical aspects of TA efficiency. Also, the study finds a negative correlation between tax avoidance and tax administration performance.

Welfare Stigma and the Take-Up of Consumer Broadband Subsidies

Abstract Limited participation in broadband subsidy programs is a growing concern among policymakers and a puzzle for researchers. This study examines participation in Lifeline and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) across US counties. We propose that local attitudes toward welfare represent an important factor in the take-up of broadband subsidies. To test this hypothesis, we model program participation on multiple covariates using two different measurements that approximate local attitudes toward welfare. The findings indicate that program participation is inversely related to anti-welfare attitudes at the county level. We discuss theoretical contributions and implications for program design.

Structure of methylaluminoxane (MAO): Extractable [Al(CH 3 ) 2 ] + for precatalyst activation

Methylaluminoxane (MAO) is used as a precatalyst activator for million ton–scale production of commercial polyolefins, but its precise structure and associated activation mechanisms have been a fundamental research puzzle for more than 40 years. We report here the crystallographic characterization of an active MAO component, which reveals a discrete two-dimensional sheet cluster [Al 33 O 26 (CH 3 ) 47 ][Al(CH 3 ) 3 ] 2 featuring two trimethylaluminum units, Al(CH 3 ) 3 , coordinated to two unsaturated aluminum sites. Our structural data are consistent with the hypothesis that the active sites bear coordinated Al(CH 3 ) 3 and provide [Al(CH 3 ) 2 ] + for precatalyst activation. Quantum chemical calculations revealed the most preferred sites for [Al(CH 3 ) 2 ] + abstraction (a change in Gibbs free energy of 0.0 kilocalories per mole). Olefin polymerization tests on metallocenes activated with the crystallized MAO show higher activities than with the commercial MAO.

The Ruse of Recognition: Black Labor in the Afterlife of Slavery

Given the abolitionism professed by successive labor leaders in the years following the U.S. Civil War, why did the cause of interracial solidarity fail to gain traction in postbellum organized labor? Drawing on archival and secondary data on the encounter of Black and White labor from Reconstruction to the turn of the twentieth century, we trace the failure of interracial solidarity to the labor movement’s refusal to reckon institutionally with what Hartman calls the “nonevent of emancipation” and the “afterlife of slavery” for Black populations. Enslaved artisans dominated the skilled trades before the war, and White unions emerged correspondingly to exclude Black labor. When, after the Civil War, the formerly enslaved began to argue that they were being excluded from unions, White labor used emancipation as an anti-Black discursive technology to deny those claims. White labor also employed violence to exclude Black people from the labor movement. By addressing the research puzzle in this way, we offer a novel synthesis of Black studies and the sparse but important body of work on the sociology of slavery to reframe the mainstream approach to interracial solidarity in the sociology of labor and labor movements.

Climate, food (in)security and conflict in the Bangladesh delta: Myths and puzzles

Bangladesh is customarily presented as a poster child for climate change and conflict given its dense population and susceptibility to climate variability. This vulnerability exacerbates existing challenges such as food insecurity and conflict potential. Crises like pandemics and conflicts are external drivers stressing already compromised domestic governance, such as violent politics, poor rule of law, and corruption, further compounding the challenges of land and water resource management and affecting food (in)security in Bangladesh. While we will argue that Bangladesh’s all-out (‘securitised’) efforts to achieve food security are largely successful and there is no evidence of climate conflict related to food, this does not obviate very real food security challenges in remote areas. However, these have not built up to the sense of frustration associated with food riots or community violence. Navigating the possible linkages between climate, food (in)security, and conflict requires debunking common myths and identifying unresolved research puzzles in Bangladesh’s context. These myths promote the oversimplification of complex issues and may lead to misinformed policies and actions. Future research needs to be focused on understanding how climate factors interact with local economic, political, and social dynamics, including governance mechanisms, religious and ethnic tensions, economic inequality, grievances, and political exclusion.

L1 novice writing as a missing piece in the Learner Corpus Research puzzle

Abstract This paper investigates the possible benefits of integrating an L1 novice corpus into the study of learner writing, through a study on hedging adverbials and complement clauses. A more traditional tripartite comparison is first drawn between French EFL learner writing, L1 English novice writing, and English expert writing. Then, a comparison is made between L1 French novice writing and French EFL learner writing. The study uses data from the following corpora: the Varieties of English for Specific Purposes dAtabase (VESPA; Paquot et al., 2022) (French EFL learner writing), the British Academic Written English (BAWE; Heuboeck et al., 2008) corpus and the Michigan Corpus of Upper-level Student Papers (MICUSP; Ädel & Römer, 2012) (both L1 English novice writing), the Kulturell Identitet i Akademisk Prosa: nasjonal versus disiplinavhengig (KIAP‑EN; Fløttum et al., 2006) corpus (English expert writing), and the The French Academic wRiting (FAR) corpus (L1 French novice writing). The results speak to the importance of including a L1 novice component to the current methodologies employed in Learner Corpus Research (LCR), since such inclusion helps to provide a better and more nuanced interpretation of the findings obtained by means of a more traditional tripartite approach.

초심자의 질적연구 입문 경험

The purpose of this study is to explore the beginner’s introductory qualitative research experience to understand the meaning of internal and external experiences experienced by researchers in the process of conducting qualitative research. In particular, I would like to explore what kind of experiences researchers form in relation to their identity as qualitative researchers in the process of conducting their research. For this purpose, a research puzzle called ‘What kind of experience did I form in the process of conducting qualitative research as a beginner of qualitative research and what is the meaning of the experience?’ was formed, and the researcher’s own qualitative research experience was analyzed according to the narrative inquiry method of Clandinin and Connelly (2000) and the meaning of the experience was formed. The meaning of the researcher’s introductory qualitative research experience, which was reconstructed and solved with five narrative topics, is as follows. First, “the point where I stopped, come back there,” second, “grope the way for lack of sight,” third, “I get lost in the ups and downs of fear, shame, and overwhelming emotions,” and fourth, “moving forward while making a path, fifth, still on the road: living as a qualitative researcher.” This study deals with my qualitative research experience as a beginner, and it may be meaningful to expand and share empirical understanding of the process of conducting qualitative research and the process of forming identity as a qualitative researcher to beginners who start qualitative research vividly in my own voice.

특성화고 전문교과 교사의 과학 교사와의 융합 수업 경험에 대한 내러티브 탐구

The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of ICT(Information and communications technology) teacher working at a technical high school in Gyeonggi Province as they collaboratively design and implement integrated lessons with the researcher, who is a science teacher. With the aim of understanding the participants’ experiences, the research puzzle posed the question, “What experiences does ICT teachers have in integrated lessons with science teachers?” The research participants’ experiences were examined and analyzed in relation to time, space, and socio-cultural context. The significance of the participants’ experiences in integrated lessons and their implications for the teachers’ professional lives are presented as follows: “Am I a service worker or a teacher?”, “Discrepancy between the regular curriculum and reality”, “Environments conducive to integrated lessons”, “Observing students immersed in the lesson”, and “Breaking down internal barriers: Listening to the researcher’s life story, meeting experienced teachers outside of school, and studying and teaching other subject, and realizing there are many opportunities outside of school”. The teaching experiences revealed through the voices of the research participants in the school context may contribute to the diversity of technical high school education and suggest directions for the development of integrated education in the future.

성평등 관점의 성교육을 실천하는 보건교사의 경험에 관한 내러티브 탐구

Objectives The purpose of this study was to conduct a narrative inquiry into the motivations for practicing sexuality education provided by health teachers and the various practice experiences of sexuality education from a gender equality perspective.
 Methods Six health teachers who practice sexuality education from a gender equality perspective were selected as participants in this study. By collecting stories about their experience in practicing sexuality education from a gender equality perspective and going through the process of reexamining the research purpose and research puzzle, the intermediate text was processed based on the three axes of narrative inquiry: temporality, sociality, and space (place). The intermediate text was interpreted and analyzed with evidences based on the perspective of the research puzzle and previous research and theory and presented as a research text.
 Results The meaning of the health teacher's experience of practicing sexuality education from a gender equality perspective was derived by classifying it into three dimensions: personal justification, practical justification, and social justification. First, in terms of personal justification, it was derived as ‘awareness of gender inequality and growth gained from it’, ‘self-reflection and internalization of gender equality perspective’, and ‘establishing teacher identity as a minority in school space’. Second, in terms of practical justification, it was derived as ‘approaching everyday life as unfamiliar and making gender equality a habit’, ‘expanding the perspective of gender equality to the periphery’, and ‘changing perception of feminism’. Third, in the social justification dimension, it was derived as ‘implications of the implementation process for generalization of gender equality education’, ‘desire to improve structure for efficient practice of gender equality education’, and ‘clarification of support for gender equality education policy’.
 Conclusions This study about the current state of sexuality education from a gender equality perspective provides meaningful data to prepare practical support measures, suggests new practice and processes to solve problems in school sexuality education, and contributes to find the alternatives for various changes in the sexuality education field in the future.

Habits and Persistent Food Restriction in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa: A Scoping Review.

The aetiology of anorexia nervosa (AN) presents a puzzle for researchers. Recent research has sought to understand the behavioural and neural mechanisms of these patients' persistent choice of calorie restriction. This scoping review aims to map the literature on the contribution of habit-based learning to food restriction in AN. PRISMA-ScR guidelines were adopted. The search strategy was applied to seven databases and to grey literature. A total of 35 studies were included in this review. The results indicate that the habit-based learning model has gained substantial attention in current research, employing neuroimaging methods, scales, and behavioural techniques. Food choices were strongly associated with dorsal striatum activity, and habitual food restriction based on the self-report restriction index was associated with clinical impairment in people chronically ill with restricting AN. High-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) and Regulating Emotions and Changing Habits (REaCH) have emerged as potential treatments. Future research should employ longitudinal studies to investigate the time required for habit-based learning and analyse how developmental status, such as adolescence, influences the role of habits in the progression and severity of diet-related illnesses. Ultimately, seeking effective strategies to modify persistent dietary restrictions controlled by habits remains essential.

성인 여성의 외상 후 중도장애 경험에 대한 자전적 내러티브 탐구

Objectives The purpose of this study is to understand meaning of my own experience by exploring the experiences of post-traumatic disability experienced in adulthood with autobiographical narrative inquiry.
 Methods Research puzzle was built what life story do I form when it comes to experiencing post-traumatic disability. Based on data such as my own memories, diaries and memos, I reconstructed the narrative in consideration of the three-dimensional narrative exploration space, “Temporality, Sociality, and Place”. The meaning of the experience was derived according to the narrative exploration procedure of Clandinin and Connelly(2000).
 Results As a result of the study, First, the story of living as a relational being was reconstructed into six narratives: “A body trapped in a body, a voice that came in an urgent moment, choosing to be a mother rather than a daughter, numerous Samaritans who constantly became my neighbor, reaching out with new invitations, and a family who was with me through a long tunnel.” Second, the story of living in relation to the body was reconstructed into four narratives: “A broken jar, I am not disabled, a flawed pottery is beautiful, and I wake up to the fountain of life, not a jar.” The meaning of the experience is revealed through the exploration of the story lived after the disability in adulthood. First, “the scales are peeled off in my eyes and I see them right away,” second, “invitation to connect to my neighbors and the world beyond me,” and third, “a journey to accept self-acceptance and life as a whole.”
 Conclusions Through this autobiographical narrative inquairy, I hope that the understanding of the experience of living with disability in adulthood and damaged bodies will extend beyond the understanding of individual humans to the understanding of the lives of the disability in adulthood. And I made a suggestion based on the research results.

Exploring Archival Silences: A 1922 Estate Manager’s Diary Offers a New Voice From the Archives at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

In 2020, as part of a National Endowment for the Humanities Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) grant, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens curatorial staff digitized Estate Manager Frank Landon McGinnis’s daily 1922 diary. In addition to being a unique primary source and an interesting research puzzle, this diary also provides a look into the daily workings of a significant estate during the height of its active years. This case study will: share the digitization standards and workflows of this project, analyze the data found in the diary, and also consider the archival silences that exist in all archives and the impact a diary of this type can have on our historic understanding of an era.

Enhancing Public Health Communication Regarding Vaccine Trials: Design and Development of the Pan-European VACCELERATE Toolkit.

The pan-European VACCELERATE network aims to implement the first transnational harmonized and sustainable vaccine trial Volunteer Registry, being a single entry point for potential volunteers of large-scale vaccine trials across Europe. This work exhibits a set of harmonized vaccine trial-related educational and promotional tools for the general public, designed and disseminated by the pan-European VACCELERATE network. This study primarily aimed to design and develop a standard toolkit to increase positive attitudes and access to trustworthy information for better access and increased recruitment to vaccine trials for the public. More specifically, the produced tools are focused on inclusiveness and equity, and are targeting different population groups, including underserved ones, as potential volunteers for the VACCELERATE Volunteer Registry (older individuals, migrants, children, and adolescents). The promotional and educational material is aligned with the main objectives of the Volunteer Registry to increase public literacy and awareness regarding vaccine-related clinical research or trials and trial participation, including informed consent and legal issues, side effects, and frequently asked questions regarding vaccine trial design. Tools were developed per the aims and principles of the VACCELERATE project, focusing on trial inclusiveness and equity, and are adjusted to local country-wise requirements to improve public health communication. The produced tools are selected based on the cognitive theory, inclusiveness, and equity of differently aged and underrepresented groups, and standardized material from several official trustworthy sources (eg, COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access; the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; the European Patients' Academy on Therapeutic Innovation; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the World Health Organization). A team of multidisciplinary specialists (infectious diseases, vaccine research, medicine, and education) edited and reviewed the subtitles and scripts of the educational videos, extended brochures, interactive cards, and puzzles. Graphic designers selected the color palette, audio settings, and dubbing for the video story-tales and implemented QR codes. This study presents the first set of harmonized promotional and educational materials and tools (ie, educational cards, educational and promotional videos, extended brochures, flyers, posters, and puzzles) for vaccine clinical research (eg, COVID-19 vaccines). These tools inform the public about possible benefits and disadvantages of trial participation and build confidence among participants about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and the health care system. This material has been translated into several languages and is intended to be freely and easily accessible to facilitate dissemination among VACCELERATE network participant countries and the European and global scientific, industrial, and public community. The produced material could help fill knowledge gaps of health care personnel, providing the appropriate future patient education for vaccine trials, and tackling vaccine hesitancy and parents' concerns for potential participation of children in vaccine trials.

Species diversity of medically important necrophagous flies in Southwest Iran

Abstract. Akbari M, Rafinejad J, Fazeli-Dinan M, Aivazi AA, Jalilian A, Sheikhi S, Akbarzadeh K. 2023. Species diversity of medically important necrophagous flies in Southwest Iran. Biodiversitas 24: 1467-1472. Species diversity of medically important necrophagous flies in Southwest Iran. Biodiversitas 24: 1467-1472. The insects are the most successful group in the phylum Arthropoda. Flies are among the most diverse group of insects and organisms. Flies can affect human health in many ways, such as the transmission of a wide range of pathogens and myiasis. Species diversity is the middle level of the hierarchical system of biodiversity. Flies, like other insects, are sensitive to biotic and abiotic factors, and their biodiversity will change under different climatic conditions. This study was performed in Ilam province, in southwest Iran. Two methods were used for collecting the flies, including bottle traps and insect nets. Fly collections were done monthly at each collection site for a year, and to identify the trapped flies, reliable identification keys were used. Calculation of fly species diversity indices was done based on the Shannon-Wiener index, species dominance based on the Simpson dominance index, species richness employing the Margalef's index, and evenness was performed based on the Evenness index. Different aspects of species diversity were calculated using PAST V.3 software. The dominance and abundance of necrophagous flies were higher in the south of the province. The highest evenness was related to the north of the province. A comparison of the diversity of necrophagous flies also indicated that the north of the province has a high species diversity. A significant and positive relationship between fly frequency and the temperature was seen. There was also a significant and negative relationship between the frequency of flies and humidity. The results of this study completed one of the research puzzles on the biodiversity of Iranian flies. The abundance and diversity of necrophagous flies were high in the Ilam province, especially in spring.

Strongly Correlated Exciton-Magnetization System for Optical Spin Pumping in CrBr3 and CrI3 .

Ferromagnetism in van der Waals systems, preserved down to a monolayer limit, attracted attention to a class of materials with general composition CrX3 (X=I, Br, and Cl), which are treated now as canonical 2D ferromagnets. Their diverse magnetic properties, such as different easy axes or varying and controllable character of in-plane or interlayer ferromagnetic coupling, make them promising candidates for spintronic, photonic, optoelectronic, and other applications. Still, significantly different magneto-optical properties between the three materials have been presenting a challenging puzzle for researchers over the last few years. Herewith, it is demonstrated that despite similar structural and magnetic configurations, the coupling between excitons and magnetization is qualitatively different in CrBr3 and CrI3 films. Through a combination of the optical spin pumping experiments with the state-of-the-art theory describing bound excitonic states in the presence of magnetization, weconcluded that the hole-magnetization coupling has the opposite sign in CrBr3 and CrI3 and also between the ground and excited exciton state. Consequently, efficient spin pumping capabilities are demonstrated in CrBr3 driven by magnetization via spin-dependent absorption, and the different origins of the magnetic hysteresis in CrBr3 and CrI3 are unraveled.

The Influence of Geographical Factors on Polyploidy in Angiosperms with Cartographic Evidence from the Northwestern Himalayas: A Review

The review paper comprised the impact of geographical and environmental factors on polyploidy and vice versa. The review covers different effects of geographical factors, like spatial isolation, altitude, and local climate on polyploidy, and the behavior of polyploid(s) in abiotic factors, such as temperature and light with a few examples of northwest Himalayas. The paper concludes that polyploid plants behave differently in environmental conditions, as polyploids are more prominent in higher altitudes, colder environments, and nutrient-rich soil than diploid progenitors, but have a mixed distribution in different geographical conditions. Further, polyploidy is more common among perennials than annuals, while niche differentiation depends more on the local environment. The virtual case study results from North and North Western India have been shown with the help of ArcGIS online software. The scrutiny of spatial distribution on maps highlights the fact that polyploidy is still a complex research puzzle with interesting perspectives.

On the history and growth of the stigma concept: A reflection on the positioning of social relationships in stigma research

AbstractThe stigma concept has been tremendously successful one. Before Goffman's influential book only a handful of papers used the term in the abstract or title of a paper—in 2020 there were 3464. While the reason for stigma's dramatic growth is likely over determined two possibilities are suggested. The first is the usefulness that the concept carries for understanding the shame, social awkwardness, rejection, misunderstanding, and exclusion that people frequently experience across so many stigmatizing circumstances. The second is that the complexity of the stigma experience provides an enormous number of research puzzles in need of investigation as there are so many different stigmatizing circumstances that are affected at multiple levels across multiple outcomes. The current special issue addresses this complexity by focusing on the particularly important domain of social relationships but at the same allows complexity in the types of stigmatizing circumstances considered and the levels at which they are investigated. In what might be a model for the stigma field as it faces its tremendous growth, Doyle and Barreto (2023) use the multiple contributions to the special issue to develop thematic questions that will guide future research into stigma and social relationships.

The Role of Cloud–Cloud Interactions in the Life Cycle of Shallow Cumulus Clouds

Abstract Some of the climate research puzzles relate to a limited understanding of the critical factors governing the life cycle of cumulus clouds. These factors force the initiation and the various mixing processes during cloud life cycles. To shed some light into these processes, we tracked the life cycle of thousands of individual shallow cumulus clouds in a large-eddy simulation during the Holistic Interactions of Shallow Clouds, Aerosols, and Land-Ecosystems field campaign in the U.S. southern Great Plains. Concurrent evolution of clouds is tracked and their respective neighboring clouds are examined. Results show that the clouds initially smaller than neighboring clouds can grow larger than the neighboring clouds by a factor of 2 within 20% of their lifetime. Two groups of the tracked clouds with growing and decaying neighboring clouds, respectively, show distinct characteristics in their life cycles. Clouds with growing neighboring clouds form above regions with larger surface heterogeneity, whereas clouds with decaying neighboring clouds are associated with less heterogeneous surfaces. Also, those with decaying neighboring clouds experience larger instability and a more humid boundary layer, indicating evaporation below the cloud base is likely occurring before those clouds are formed. Larger instability leads to higher vertical velocity and convergence within the cloud, which causes stronger surrounding downdrafts and water vapor removal in the surrounding area. The latter appears to be the reason for the decaying neighboring clouds. Understanding those processes provide insights into how cloud–cloud interactions modulate the evolution of cloud population and into how this evolution can be represented in future cumulus parameterizations.