Retrospective View Research Articles

Reassessing power in the archaeological discourse. How collective, cooperative and affective perspectives may impact our understanding of social relations and organization in prehistory

AbstractThis paper critically examines how power is understood and used in archaeological interpretation of prehistoric societies. We argue that studies on power within archaeology have been haltered in their interpretive potential, frequently limited to individualizing coercive power with androcentric connotations. We explore new avenues of power through a retrospective view. Drawing on ideas first conceptualized by Hannah Arendt, while also incorporating theoretical ideas from collective action, anarchistic theory and the affective turn, we argue that power as a phenomenon and explanation within archaeology can be refined and nuanced when approached through a lens of collective agency and the affective potential of material culture. This connects, furthermore, to how we today see and act on changing power dynamics.

The role of CYP2B6 516G>T polymorphism on efavirenz/nevirapine toxicity. Implications on treatment outcomes: Lessons from Botswana.

The two non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), efavirenz (EFV) and nevirapine (NVP), are currently the core antiretroviral drugs for treatment of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa including Botswana. The drugs are metabolized by Cytochrome P450 2B6 (CYP2B6) liver enzyme. The CYP2B6 gene that encodes for metabolism of these drugs is known to be highly polymorphic. One of the polymorphism in the CYP2B6 gene, 516G>T, particularly the 516T allele, is known to confer poor metabolism of EFV and NVP. This may lead to high levels of plasma drug concentrations and development of treatment toxicities, like central nervous system toxicities, and cutaneous and hepatic toxicities, for EFV and NVP, respectively. The CYP2B6 516G allele on the other hand is associated with an extensive metabolism of the two NNRTIs drugs. We sought to establish association between possible developments of NNRTIs toxicities with CYP2B6 516G>T variation in Botswana.A total of 316 peripheral blood mononuclear cells samples were used in a retrospective view. All the samples were from participants on EFV/NVP-containing regimen with known toxicity output. TaqMan Real-Time PCR approach was applied for assessing CYP2B6 516 allele variation in cases with treatment toxicity and those without. Analysis was performed by chi-square statistics and logistic regression analysis.The rate of poor metabolizers among participants with toxicity and those without toxicity was 18.4% and 15.1%, respectively. The CYP2B6 516 genotype distribution comparisons between the participants with toxicity and those without were not statistically different (chi-square = .326; P = .568).CYP2B6 516 variation was not associated with NNRTI toxicity. No other factors were associated with toxicity when considering age, baseline body mass index, baseline CD4, baseline HIV viral load and adherence. The results were discussed in the context of all the studies done in Botswana to date.

Long Non-Coding RNAs as Molecular Biomarkers in Cholangiocarcinoma.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a biliary system cancer that has the characteristics of strong invasiveness, poor prognosis, and few therapy choices. Furthermore, the absence of precise biomarkers for early identification and prognosis makes it hard to intervene in the early phase of initial diagnosis or recurring cholangiocarcinoma following surgery. Encouragingly, previous studies found that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), a subgroup of RNA that is more than 200 nucleotides long, can affect cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis, and even drug resistance by altering numerous signaling pathways, thus reaching pro-cancer or anti-cancer outcomes. This review will take a retrospective view of the recent investigations on the work of lncRNAs in cholangiocarcinoma progression and the potential of lncRNAs serving as promising clinical biomarkers and therapeutic targets for CCA.

Nursing Queen Archetype in the Context of Changes in Estonian Society: A Retrospective View

Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), the founder of modern nursing, had influence on the whole of Europe. Nightingale has become the archetype of the queen of nurses and the latter can be used to understand different nursing cultures. The aim of the research is to analyse the manifestation and development of the nursing queen archetype retrospectively in the context of the history of Estonian nursing. The research method involves studying and interpreting historical photographs, documents, and biographies as well as secondary sources. The historical-cultural context provides a framework for analysing the development of nursing, taking into account Pierre Bourdieu’s theory. Data collection and analysis was conducted between 2019 and 2021. There were four developmental periods in the history of Estonian nursing: beginning in the early eighteenth century, the Republic of Estonia (1918–1940), the Soviet period (1940–1991), and the re-independent Republic of Estonia (since 1991). In periods of rapid change, the leaders (Anna Erma, Anette Massov, Ilve-Teisi Remmel) emerged, who became the equivalents to Nightingale or the queens for Estonian nurses.

A Retrospective View of Asunam in Sangam Literature: The Animal or Bird?

Sangam literature is celebrated as the traditional literature of Tamil. Contemporary scholars are re-reading the Sangam literature from a new perspective over time. Sangam literature can be called a biodiversity volume when it comes to ecological thinking. The creators of the Sangam period have identified the land-based creatures of his time in poetry. Numerous of them became extinct over time or have been renamed. In particular, the article discusses the search for a creature called Asunam that has been spoken of in Sangam poems, the poetic record, and the commentary of the narrators.

A retrospective view of early research on dominance, stress and reproduction in cooperatively breeding carnivores

A retrospective view of early research on dominance, stress and reproduction in cooperatively breeding carnivores

Gaullism and Atlanticism are Main Foreign Policy Paradigms of the Fifth Republic

Gaullism and Atlanticism in the foreign policy of the Fifth Republic appear as two fundamental but mutually exclusive ideological paradigms that, in various combinations, traditionally determined Paris’s behavior on the international stage. A comparative analysis of the ideological constructions of Gaullism and Atlanticism shows the fundamental reason for the conceptual discrepancy between the two doctrines. Gaullism calls on France to preserve its status as a world power at any cost. Atlanticism serves the geostrategic purpose of maintaining American military and political control over Europe. For this reason, Atlanticism does not recognize any other world powers within the Western universe but the United States.A retrospective view of the Gaullist and Atlanticist interaction reveals a steady trend towards a gradual shift of the Fifth Republic from Charles de Gaulle’s diplomacy principles. This trend led to the beginning in 2007 of a new era of the absolute dominance of Atlanticism in French foreign policy compared with the post-war period of the Fourth Republic.The advent of this era was marked by a significant improvement in France’s relations with the United States and NATO and increasing French activism on the track of Euro-federalist integra-tion, but, in general, by the perceptible banalization of France’s voice in international affairs.The results of this study help build future relations between Russia and France.

Performance of open government data in a developing economy: a multi-stakeholder case analysis of Ghana

PurposeThis study uses the technology fit–viability theory to study the performance of one of the early pioneers of open government data (OGD) in Africa. The study aims to investigate the task and technology fit, as well as the economic, IT infrastructure and organisational viability as performance measures for the Ghana Open Government Data (GOGD) initiative.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a qualitative approach by interviewing key actors within the GOGD ecosystem, namely, the OGD implementing body, data suppliers and data users. The results were compared with established OGD best practices and standards around the world.FindingsThe results suggest that Ghana’s OGD architecture appears far from meeting its fit and viability goals because of lacklustre performance attributed to the following factors: a complete lack of synergy among various stakeholder groups and actors in the GOGD ecosystem, a lack of sustainable financial support for the implementing body, a shortage of qualified staff for the GOGD project and partial neglect of GOGD as a consequence of the implementation of a new project called eTransform.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to Ghana’s OGD initiative. Perhaps, a comparative study on the performance of other OGD initiatives in Africa and other developed countries will present another view of how OGD initiatives are performing across the globe. Again, the number of interviewees in the study may not be sufficient to generalise the results.Practical implicationsThe study guides developing economies on how to examine national and international legal frameworks that have consequences on the usage of OGD at the national and sub-national levels. Besides, the study results will help implementing agencies and by extension government to be wary of the consequences of neglecting relevant stakeholders in the implementation process. The study also emphasizes on the need for developing economies to have sustainable funding and technical support for OGD implementation.Social implicationsThe study helps shape citizens’ understanding of what the government is doing pursuant to making data readily available for them. Because OGD spurs innovations, citizens’ continuous involvement is key in the process of realising government drive to be open and accountable to citizens through data.Originality/valueThis research is the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to present a retrospective and prospective view of a country’s OGD implementation to ascertain the country’s fit and viability. More uniquely, this study will be the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, in assessing the performance of OGD setup in Africa.

Potential Risk of Pollen from Genetically Modified MON 810 Maize Containing Cry1Ab Toxin to Protected Lepidopteran Larvae in the Pannonian Biogeographical Region-A Retrospective View.

Simple SummaryThe Cry1Ab toxin content in different plant organs is highly variable by genetic events and cultivars. This applies particularly to the pollen, which is the main route of exposure of protected lepidopteran larvae. Thus, uncertainties appear regarding safety assessments on the basis of analytical and biological studies: (a) genetic events and cultivars produce various Cry1Ab toxin contents; thus, risk analyses based on single pollen counts may be erroneous; (b) analytical problems have been identified explaining the high variability of the documented pollen toxin content; (c) stinging nettle patches subject to maize pollen sedimentation are frequent nearby maize field edges, where protected nymphalid larvae may feed; (d) substantial maize pollen sedimentation (300–600 pollen grains/cm2 in the dominant wind direction) occurs on the leaves of stinging nettle; (e) July and August are the critical months for the young larvae of Nymphalis io, which are the most sensitive for pollen containing Cry1Ab toxin; (f) the exposure of these larvae to maize pollen containing >100 ng of Cry1Ab toxin/g results in <40% mortality and extended developmental times in younger stages. This is a definite hazard, which is a sufficient legal ground for habitat conservation of this protected species in Hungary.A credible risk analysis of maize pollen containing Cry1Ab toxin must include the assessment of (i) pollen production and its Cry1 toxin content; (ii) distribution of the pollen grains in the surroundings; (iii) pollen-catching capacity of the weeds on field edges; (iv) the lifestyle of protected lepidopteran larvae living on weeds; (v) Cry1 toxin sensitivity of non-target caterpillars; and (vi) Cry1 toxin resistance of individual non-target populations. The concentration range of 5–4300 ng Cry1Ab toxin/g dry pollen determined in MON 810 pollen batches is too diverse for handling it as a single set in any mathematical modeling. Within the work carried out mainly with the DK-440 BTY cultivar, the seed samples officially received from the variety owner produced significantly different (250–470 vs. 5–15 ng/g) Cry1Ab toxin concentrations in the pollen. Nymphalis io L1-L3 larvae were nearly six times more sensitive for Dipel than Nymphalis c-album. Feeding on the back side and in a leaf nest, Vanessa atalanta may be subject to lower pollen exposures. N. io larvae may actively attempt to avoid patches with high pollen contamination. Cry1Ab toxin resistance also partially emerged in N. io populations reared in the Pannonian Biogeographical Region (Hungary).

The Seismic Early Warning System of Mexico (SASMEX): A Retrospective View and Future Challenges

The earthquake early warning system of Mexico, SASMEX, has 30 years of uninterrupted and successful operation. During this time, the system recorded ∼9,800 earthquakes and broadcast 111 alerts. Alerting was simplified recently, avoiding the emission of two types of alerts. Only earthquakes above a magnitude threshold, dependent on distance to the target city are alerted. SASMEX disseminates early warnings using dedicated receivers, public loudspeakers, multi-hazard radios, and participating TV and radio stations. It is estimated that ∼25 million people receive alert messages from SASMEX. Cell-broadcasting messaging, necessary for the timely delivery of alerts, is not implemented by the local cellular phone operators. The addition of cell phone communication would increase the number of users benefitting from the system. SASMEX does not publish ground motion predictions at the time of issuing the alert.Instead, it distributes a map of peak ground acceleration in Mexico City ∼1 minute after the arrival of strong motion, via electronic messaging. The accepted practice for the population in general is to evacuate at the sound of the alert. This is useful in schools and low-rise buildings, where people are generally drilled to evacuate rapidly. It is not effective in high-rise buildings and where large numbers of people concentrate. Finding protection and not trying to evacuate may be a better option, as it is recommended by other seismic early warning systems. The damaging 19 September 2017 earthquake underlined the difficulties of alerting earthquakes at close distances. Using a different sound of the alert or a countdown may be advisable, so people understand they have less time than normally assumed. There are few social studies on the use of the alert. It is suggested to conduct these studies to explore better ways to use and communicate the seismic alert, including automatic processes to shut down hazardous facilities.

Changes in adolescents’ personal values during the Chilean political transition from dictatorship to democracy. A retrospective view.

Changes in adolescents’ personal values during the Chilean political transition from dictatorship to democracy. A retrospective view.

Twenty-five years of the Education and the Information Technologies journal: Past and future

This article examines how research publications in education and information technologies have changed over the last twenty-five years. The authors investigate articles published in the journal: Education and Information Technologies (EAIT). To celebrate a quarter-century of this publication. They take a retrospective view of the EAIT journal, using Historical Research methodology to show some of the trends in topics covered and to interrogate the expanding cultural background of published authors. While computer technology has developed rapidly over this time, research methodologies, international collaborations, and discipline areas have multiplied quickly. Finally, this article identifies some unique papers that have appeared in print and provides glimpses into what the future may hold.

A retrospective view of early research on dominance, stress and reproduction in cooperatively breeding carnivores

Social carnivores have been central in studies of cooperative breeding, and research using noninvasive methods to examine behavioral and endocrine mechanisms of reproductive suppression started in the 1980s with dwarf mongooses in Serengeti National Park. Here, I synthesize the methods, findings and limitations of a research program that examined relationships between social dominance, age, mass, aggression, mating, gonadal steroids, glucocorticoids and reproduction in female and male dwarf mongooses, African wild dogs and wolves. Infanticide is a reliable backstop for reproductive suppression in females, and reproduction is energetically costly in these species. These conditions favor hypothalamic – pituitary – gonadal (HPG) adaptations that reduce the fertility of subordinate females to avoid the cost of producing doomed offspring. Infanticide also favors close synchronization of reproduction when subordinate females do become pregnant. In males, infanticide is a less reliable backstop and reproduction is less costly, so direct effects of subordination on fertility are less pronounced. Age is a strong predictor of social dominance in these species, but the evolutionary reason for this is not clear. In dwarf mongooses and wild dogs, alpha females were never deposed by younger packmates, but alpha males were: this difference is also not understood. Patterns of reproduction supported models predicting that alphas are less likely to share reproduction when the fitness costs of reproduction are high, when the fitness expected for dispersers is low, and with young subordinates to whom they are more closely related. Correlations between dominance and adrenal glucocorticoid concentrations varied between species and sexes, but did not support the hypothesis that chronic stress causes reproductive suppression.

Retrospective View and Thematic Analysis of Business-to-Business Relationships through Bibliometric Analysis

ABSTRACT Purpose In the current business context, deliberations concerning business-to-business relationships (business relationships) and their importance to business firms are increasing. The extensive research in this area over the past three decades had created a need to synthetize existing research. This paper explores the development of business relationships domain concerning (1) publication trend, (2) influential publications, (3) prolific contributors, (4) themes of research, and (5) future research directions. Methodology/Approach This study used the Web of Science core collection to identify influential articles, authors, journals, geographies, universities, and key research themes associated with business relationships. We developed a graphical analysis of the bibliographical material using VOSviewer. Network structures, including keywords co-occurrence and coauthorship analysis, further strengthened our understanding of this domain. Findings The findings showed a consistent increase in research on business relationships since its inception. The content analysis of the keywords revealed four dominant research themes: the role of information and technology in maintaining business relationships, value creation in business relationships, customer satisfaction and loyalty in business relationships, and inter-organizational trust and governance in business relationships. Research Implications This study provides a comprehensive view into research themes in business relationship area. The present study also helps researchers in identifying future directions of research in the business relationships area. Practical Implications The four key dominant themes identified in the study present key managerial insights. According to the research themes, business firms should embrace digital technological tools, collaborate with customers and other stakeholders, develop loyal customers, and implement relational governance mechanisms to develop long-term business relationships. Originality/Value/Contribution of the paper This study provides insight into the advancement of business relationships area by exploring the relevant body of knowledge, dominant research institutions, prominent topics, and future research possibilities. This includes articles published in top management journals from 1990–2020. This bibliometric study is a pioneering effort to map the domain of business-to-business relationships, wherein current insights and future research directions take center stage.

Professional Socialization: A Retrospective View From Graduation to Full-Time Employment

Context It is assumed that after the transition to practice, athletic trainers will have developed stronger decision-making strategies, will have become comfortable within their role, and will be able to reflect on how their employer assisted them through the transition-to-practice process. Objective The goal of this study was to gain an understanding of how athletic trainers have gone through the transition-to-practice process and what resources they relied on during and after the transition. Design Qualitative study, phenomenological design. Setting Semistructured interviews. Patients or Other Participants Twelve athletic trainers (10 women, 2 men; 4.0 ± 2 years certified) agreed to participate. Data saturation guided the total number of participants for this study. Data Collection and Analysis Videoconference interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim using Zoom. Credibility of the study was maintained using several mechanisms, including expert/peer review, member checks, and researcher triangulation. Results Two themes emerged as different points in time of the athletic trainer's transition to practice. The first theme was pre–entrance into the workforce, and within this theme, athletic trainers were able to reflect on the strategies and resources that were provided to them by their professional master of athletic training program. Within the second theme, post–entrance into the workforce, athletic trainers were able to recall the resources that were provided to them by their employers and those additional resources that were sought out individually. Conclusions Athletic trainers recognized how their master of athletic training programs prepared them for the transition-to-practice process based on the didactic coursework and intentional clinical education experiences. Athletic trainers also recognized the resources that were and were not provided to them to assist them in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities, as well as realizing the additional resources they needed to enhance their own clinical practice.

Time to Celebrate

Time to Celebrate

European integration: a retrospective view

European integration: a retrospective view

AIDS and prevention: a retrospective view at social projects with young people in Rio de Janeiro

RESUMO Desde 2010, vem-se observando um desmonte de políticas na área da saúde e dos direitos sexuais e reprodutivos. Este artigo objetivou recuperar a memória de intervenções sociais voltadas para o enfrentamento do HIV/Aids. Para tanto, analisou dois projetos sociais com jovens, desenvolvidos por organizações governamentais e não governamentais, na década de 2000, na favela da Maré, no Rio de Janeiro. Trata-se de um estudo socioantropológico que envolveu análise documental e entrevistas com as coordenadoras dos projetos, visando identificar princípios norteadores, abordagens metodológicas e lições. Os achados indicam que o trabalho de prevenção ao HIV/Aids considerou as demandas dos(as) jovens e abordou, de forma participativa, concepções sobre direitos, sexualidade, gênero e vulnerabilidade. O estímulo à atuação juvenil na produção de intervenções e as parcerias institucionais resultaram em atividades sobre temas do cotidiano vinculados, direta ou indiretamente, à prevenção ao HIV. Tal enfoque se contrapõe aos modelos de ação preconcebidos, muitas vezes impostos em contextos de vulnerabilidade social. Os projetos não estiveram isentos de tensões nas relações adulto vs jovens. Todavia, os desafios foram narrados a partir de uma perspectiva de aprendizagem, indicando a importância da recuperação da experiência pela memória, que ajuda a identificar lições aprendidas e a orientar ações futuras.

Reform and counter-reform of mathematics education in the USSR in 1960-1970

Introduction. In the 1960s and 1970s, a secondary school in the USSR became involved in the international mainstream for the reform of mathematics education. Both the content of mathematics education and its ideology and structure were subject to change. Today, the historical events of the last 50 years require a retrospective view. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to rethink the reform of mathematics education of the 1960s and 1970s in the new conditions of radical changes and modernization of the modern education system. The purpose of the study is to restore the objective history of the reform and counter-reform of mathematics education in the USSR, identify the prerequisites for the reform, analyze the reasons for its failure and identify the positive methodological aspects of transformations. Research methods. More than 100 sources were used, including documents from the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, textbooks on mathematics (pre-reform, reformist and post-reform textbooks), certificates of the participants of reform and counter-reforms. The leading methodological approaches included theoretical, philosophical, theoretical-mathematical and experimental-practical. Research results. The analysis of the facts made it possible to establish that the main motives for the reform in the USSR were, on the one hand, the international movement for the new content of school mathematics education based on the ideas of an international group of mathematicians who called themselves Bourbaki, and on the other, the excessive involvement of academic structures (mathematicians and academicians) in solving this issue. Results and discussion. The desire of the top leadership of the USSR not to lag behind the trends in science, education and technology in the world played a negative role in the field of Soviet mathematics education. The initiative in choosing the content of mathematics education “according to Western patterns” to academic workers and structures was erroneous, since the opinions of a community of thousands of teachers, practitioners, methodologists were not taken into account. According to the authors, another reason for the failure of the reform was the excessive involvement of academic structures. Conclusion. Historical experience shows that the greatest successes in education and science are achieved during the periods of stabilization. In the mathematics education of Russia, the stabilizing factor is textbooks written in the traditions of a systematic course, going back to the Elements of Euclid, which is a kind of cultural and historical standard. One of the main conclusions of the study is that the quality of training is closely related to the preservation of the domestic pedagogical tradition, its fundamental principles of learning (systematics and consistency).

Duhovnost u kriznim epidemiološkim uslovima

Spirituality can be important in various types of stress because it significantly contributes to a person's well-being, affects the overall quality of life and acts proactively, accelerating person's cognitive development by seeking different answers to a new situation. With a retrospective view of the spiritual and creative space at the time of COVID, we can say that this is a period of increased self-actualization of people, in which they manifested their absolute potentials as individuals. Although COVID left people without liturgical celebrations in certain periods, the living space did not have to remain spiritually empty, since the faithful could express their spirituality through their own prayer in their homes. These were modified conditions in Christian spirituality, where prayers represent an ecclesiastical act that connects the praying person with the community, conditions in which participation of an individual in the prayer of the church community that keeps and nourishes Jesus' prayer was hindered. The newly-established conditions opened up specific mental states in which people turned their attention to various non-religious forms of spirituality close to them: writing poetry, reading, painting, composing music, and thus new creative/artistic opuses were created that marked and are still marking this period. The books and songs 'at the times of COVID' were created, which represent a living and lucid document of time and a personal, authentic comment of an individual on one of the most unusual situations in which humanity has found itself in the last few decades. Painting studios have become a kind of quarantine in which painters stand behind their easels and in which the art world lives, transferred to the canvas in various techniques, waiting for its first exhibition entitled: 'From the times of COVID'.