Specific Context Research Articles

Essential Guidelines for Manufacturing and Application of Organoids.

An organoid is a self-organized three-dimensional structure derived from stem cells that mimics the structure, cell composition, and functional characteristics of specific organs and tissues and is used for evaluating the safety and effectiveness of drugs and the toxicity of industrial chemicals. Organoid technology is a new methodology that could replace testing on animals testing and accelerate development of precision and regenerative medicine. However, large variations in production can occur between laboratories with low reproducibility of the production process and no internationally agreed standards for quality evaluation factors at endpoints. To overcome these barriers that hinder the regulatory acceptance and commercialization of organoids, Korea established the Organoid Standards Initiative in September 2023 with various stakeholders, including industry, academia, regulatory agencies, and standard development experts, through public and private partnerships. This developed general guidelines for organoid manufacturing and quality evaluation and for quality evaluation guidelines for organoid-specific manufacturing for the liver, intestines, and heart through extensive evidence analysis and consensus among experts. This report is based on the common standard guideline v1.0, which is a general organoid manufacturing and quality evaluation to promote the practical use of organoids. This guideline does not focus on specific organoids or specific contexts of use but provides guidance to organoid makers and users on materials, procedures, and essential quality assessment methods at end points that are essential for organoid production applicable at the current technology level.

Family resilience and vulnerability of patients at diagnosis of lung cancer: A qualitative study.

To explore and analyse the adaptation process of patients and their families at the point of lung cancer diagnosis. Totally 23 operable lung cancer patients were included in this study. Colaizzi's method of phenomenology was employed for data analysis. This study found two different aspects of family adaptation at the diagnosis of lung cancer. For family resilience, three themes emerged: (1) Positive family belief systems (giving meaning to a cancer diagnosis and maintaining a positive/optimistic attitude), (2) Flexible family organizational patterns (maintaining the stability of family structure and function, adjusting the relationship between patients and family members and receiving external support and help) and (3) Good communication and problem-solving strategies (open communication on an equal basis, positive and open expression of emotions and collaborative problem-solving). For family vulnerability, three themes were as follows: (1) Negative family belief systems (negative attitudes and concealment and self-isolation due to stigma), (2) Rigid family organizational patterns (adaptation lost, conflicts between family support and patients' willingness and pressure upon social support) and (3) Unhealthy communication and problem-solving (poor communication, emotional asymmetry of family members and tendency to solve problems alone). The study highlights the existence of the family resilience and family vulnerability at the point of lung cancer diagnosis and provides patient's perspective for understanding family resilience in specific cultural contexts. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews. ChiCTR2300074801.

Rethinking fieldwork: researching food in the aftermath of lockdown

The article raises questions related to field research methodology in a specific context. The authors take into consideration mainly the context of uncertainty, generated by Covid-19 pandemics which forced them to reshape the field research methodology as previously known and commonly used by Romanian ethnologists. The authors provide a brief presentation and analysis of the first steps done as part of what later would become a larger field experience in terms of investigating Romanian food heritage. It relies on five examples represented by five interviews conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic. The interviews that compose the case study have a special value. The negotiation to set up the meetings, the arguments of each of the parties, the conditions in which the discussions were organized are all angles that deserve to be discussed as source of what we might call ethnological motivation. What can determine the people, members of a specific culture, to share their knowledge and their life experience about a certain topic, when the very act of speaking might be a dangerous one? In each of these examples, the informant was responsive when informed that we were conducting research related to local traditions, specific family cuisine, without producing television shows, and without overexposing themselves. We notice the existence of a need to tell, a real duty to tell relevant information about one’s own culture, a vector that characterizes communities just as, for the researcher, there is a work ethic which implies his obligation to make all necessary efforts to find out information.

Considerații privind valoarea de optativ a conjunctivului românesc și bulgăresc în propoziții independente

The Romanian and Bulgarian languages share common features stemming from the Balkan linguistic aria. Among the distinctive grammatical constructions in Balkan languages is the new-type analytic subjunctive, a replacement for the infinitive in various languages such as Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Albanian, and Greek. The subjunctive can manifest in present, imperfect, perfect, and pluperfect tenses in most languages. However, Romanian has more limited combinations, employing only the present and perfect tenses. Despite these differences, the subjunctive shares structural, semantic, and usage similarities across Balkan languages. The use of the subjunctive in optative sentences is a common feature in Balkan languages, conveying achievable desires in the present and strong but unrealizable wishes in the past. This paper aims to broaden the research on the Balkan-type subjunctive by illustrating parallels in the modal values of this mood in Romanian and Bulgarian in independent optative sentences. The research underscores numerous correspondences in the use of the subjunctive in optative sentences in Romanian and Bulgarian. In both languages, within the optative context, the subjunctive expresses various sentiments such as desire, wishes, regret, protest, and indignation. The expression of both factual and counterfactual desires using present and past subjunctive forms is also similar in both languages. The present forms of the subjunctive express a factual desire, meaning an achievable wish that could be fulfilled in the future. The present subjunctive forms are very often encountered in idiomatic expressions that convey wishes and imprecations. Many similarities are noted between expressions in the two languages, both in terms of structure and in semantics and lexical means. The use of present subjunctive forms is not typical for expressing counterfactual wishes (unrealizable or difficult to achieve) but occurs in specific contexts. Wishes expressed through past subjunctive forms are counterfactual because the circumstances in which they could have been realized are omitted. Such statements convey the speaker's regret regarding an unfulfilled desire. In Romanian grammar, detailed treatment of the uses of the perfect subjunctive is lacking, but it is noted to have optative value. In Bulgarian, counterfactual wishes are expressed using three past tenses of the subjunctive – pluperfect, imperfect, and perfect. In this regard, the capabilities of the perfect subjunctive in Romanian stand out for expressing multiple meanings. With the exception of some meanings of the imperfect subjunctive in Bulgarian, the perfect subjunctive in Romanian can convey nearly all the meanings of the three past tenses in Bulgarian. The study highlights numerous similarities in the use of the subjunctive in Romanian and Bulgarian in optative sentences, offering observations that contribute to a deeper understanding of this mood within the field of Romanian, Bulgarian, and Balkan linguistics.

Musical Ontology: Works, Versions, and Lineages

Abstract In this paper, I develop a novel account of musical works according which they are situated heir lines, consisting of actual and possible work-versions that are situated in specific musical-historical contexts. And I argue that this account offers a better explanation of three core phonenomena - musical multiplicity, musical flexibility, and musical audibility - than its competitors. Finally, I introduce the broader category of musical lineages - sequences of work-versions each of which has evolved in certain ways from its predecessors - and argue that musical works can be viewed as lineages that are initiated by the requisite sorts of compositional intentions and whose constituent work-versions must satisfy standards of similarity from their original contexts of composition.

Reflections on Transformation, Teamwork, and Mentoring: Student Teachers’ Self-Assessed Learning, Equality, and Equity in Competence-Based Education

<p style="text-align:justify">This research concentrated on observing academic student teachers’ teamwork, especially its effectiveness and their attitudes to collaboration and transformation, as well as their reflective, written self-assessments in relation to teamwork. Teams have been studied widely, but these kinds of special contexts are rare. The target group was higher education teachers, the context was an introduction of a new pedagogical program, and the teams acted under the guidance of mentors and occasional lecturers. Besides the content analysis, the study method was a deep analysis of the essays. The most effective positive influencers proved to be social exchanges, including mentoring, peer support, input for learning and the experiences of wellbeing. Individual distrust of working methods in teams, and emotional suspicions of their self-efficacy in transformational settings emerged as latent factors, revealing mainly the difficulty of changing traditional mindsets. The analyses offered individual and community-wide opportunities to steer education in the future.</p>

Theological and Ethical Perspectives on Rethinking the Co-existence of Flourishing and Vulnerability

Theological and Ethical Perspectives on Rethinking the Co-existence of Flourishing and Vulnerability

Can The Zambian Insurance Industry Use Internal Hire Versus External Hire As A Strategic Tool?

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of internal and external hiring practices as tools for strategic human resource management in the Zambian Insurance industry. The investigation analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of both internal and external hiring strategies, with a specific focus on their impact on organizational performance and employee development. Through an extensive examination of existing literature, interviews with industry professionals, and a survey of senior executives responsible for recruitment and selection processes in the Zambian Insurance sector, the study gathered data from a sample of both large and small insurance companies operating in different regions of Zambia. This ensured that the entire industry was represented. The study provided valuable insights into the strategic considerations and outcomes of internal and external hiring in this specific context, enhancing our understanding of effective human resource management practices in the Zambian Insurance industry and offering recommendations for improving talent acquisition strategies. The study also looked at the possibility of turning the human resource function in the surveyed industry from a 'day-to-day' issue to a more strategic aspect of the business through a comprehensive hiring plan and the use of internal recruitment with employee retaining strategies. In conclusion, the research findings suggest that the Zambian insurance sector has the capability to utilize both internal and external candidates as a strategic approach. The decision to choose between internal and external hiring is influenced by various factors, including financial considerations, the immediate need to fill a vacant position, the desire to bring in fresh expertise, and the compatibility with the company's culture. Internal hiring offers several advantages for the Zambian insurance industry, such as cost savings, reduced recruitment time, and the ability to foster employee growth and loyalty within the organization. Conversely, external hiring brings in new perspectives, skills, and experiences that may not be readily available internally.

Disrupting human resource management with people analytics: a study of applications, value, enablers and barriers in Italy

PurposeThis research aims to explore whether or how organizations adopt people analytics (PA), its value and potential socio-technical factors that can enable or hinder PA projects by disrupting and reshaping human resource management. We do this by focusing on the Italian context.Design/methodology/approachWe conduct a scoping review of data collected between 2018 and 2022 via Google Alerts (GA), a content change detection and notification service that is gaining popularity in scholarly research.FindingsOur findings suggest that the diffusion of PA applications in Italy, especially those of a descriptive nature, is growing. Most of the existing PA applications are positioned in a positive technocratic light, envisioning the value of PA for both employees and organizations. The value for the latter appears to be direct, while the value for employees is realized through organizational initiatives. The findings also suggest that while enablers can vary between PA application types, the barriers, especially technological and environmental, are generic for both descriptive and predictive/prescriptive PA applications.Originality/valueTheoretically, we propose a framework for analyzing PA applications, their values, enablers and barriers. Methodologically, we present and describe in detail a novel approach, drawing on GA that can be used to study PA in specific contexts. Practically, our study serves as a helpful point of reference for managers planning or implementing PA in Italy, for benchmarking PA in Italy over time and for comparative international studies.

Investigation of the Effects of Mutating Iron-Coordinating Residues in Rieske Dioxygenases

Rieske dioxygenases are multi-component enzyme systems, naturally found in many soil bacteria, that have been widely applied in the production of fine chemicals, owing to the unique and valuable oxidative dearomatization reactions they catalyze. The range of practical applications for these enzymes in this context has historically been limited, however, due to their limited substrate scope and strict selectivity. In an attempt to overcome these limitations, our research group has employed the tools of enzyme engineering to expand the substrate scope or improve the reactivity of these enzyme systems in specific contexts. Traditionally, enzyme engineering campaigns targeting metalloenzymes have avoided mutations to metal-coordinating residues, based on the assumption that these residues are essential for enzyme activity. Inspired by the success of other recent enzyme engineering reports, our research group investigated the potential to alter or improve the reactivity of Rieske dioxygenases by altering or eliminating iron coordination in the active site of these enzymes. Herein, we report the modification of all three iron-coordinating residues in the active site of toluene dioxygenase both to alternate residues capable of coordinating iron, and to a residue that would eliminate iron coordination. The enzyme variants produced in this way were tested for their activity in the cis-dihydroxylation of a small library of potential aromatic substrates. The results of these studies demonstrated that all three iron-coordinating residues, in their natural state, are essential for enzyme activity in toluene dioxygenase, as the introduction of any mutations at these sites resulted in a complete loss of cis-dihydroxylation activity.

Conservative treatment of Peyronie's disease: a guide.

To review the literature on the topic, to suggest a common line of treatment applicable across a wide community of specialists, and to contribute in maintaining the high level of interest in this disease. A comprehensive and exhaustive review of the literature was performed, identifying hundreds of articles on the topic. Peyronie's disease is a condition that has been recognized, studied, and treated for centuries; despite this, if one excludes surgery in cases in which the deformity is stable, no clear treatment (or line of treatment) is available for complete relief of signs and symptoms. Treatment options were divided into local, oral, and injection therapy, and a wide variety of drugs, remedies, and options were identified. Low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy, vacuum therapy, penile traction therapy, phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors, hyaluronic acid, and collagenase of Clostridium histolyticum may be recommended only in specific contexts. Further studies on individual options or potential combinations are required.

An "integration" of professional identity formation among rural physicians experiencing an interplay between their professional and personal identities.

The present understanding of professional identity formation is problematic since it underrepresents minority physicians and potentially excludes their professional identity formation experiences. Rural physicians are expected to have similar underrepresented aspects as minority physicians because of their specific sociocultural contexts and consequent private-professional intersection, which lead to ethical complexities. Therefore, to bridge this research gap, we interviewed 12 early- to mid-career Japanese physicians working in rural areas and explored their experiences. Through a narrative analysis guided by Figured Worlds theory, we analysed the data by focusing on the vocabulary, expressions, and metaphors participants used to describe their experiences. A central theme emerged concerning how the rural physicians configurated their personal versus professional participation in their local communities. Further, their identity narratives varied regarding how they constructed their identities, rural communities, and relationships as well as their identity formation ideals and strategies to achieve them. Informed by 'Big Questions' concerning worldview framework, we delineated four identity narratives as prototypes to describe how they participated in their communities. These identity narratives provide a preliminary understanding of how diverse identity formation is for rural physicians. In addition, our findings exposed the current professional identity formation framework as potentially biased towards single forms of participation in monolithic communities, overlooking complicated forms of participation in multiple communities. We argue that applying frameworks and concepts to capture these multiple forms of participation as well as revisiting the 'discourse of integration' are necessary steps to overcome the limitation of the current understanding of professional identity formation.

Achievement goals and emotions of Chinese EFL students: A control-value theory approach

Drawing on the control-value theory, the study investigated how achievement emotions (i.e., enjoyment and anxiety) were predicted by their proximal antecedents (i.e., control appraisal, intrinsic value appraisal, and extrinsic value appraisal) and distal antecedents (i.e., achievement goals: mastery-approach goal, mastery-avoidance goal, performance-approach goal, and performance-avoidance goal) in a Chinese EFL context. A total of 2268 Chinese university students participated in a questionnaire survey. Path analyses show that enjoyment was predicted by all the above-mentioned achievement goals and appraisals, while anxiety was not predicted by extrinsic value appraisal and mastery-avoidance goal. Results also show that control-value appraisals partially mediated the relationships between three achievement goals (mastery-approach goal, mastery-avoidance goal, and performance-avoidance goal) and the two achievement emotions. These findings elucidate the mechanism underlying the instigation of emotions, instantiating the control-value theory in the specific EFL context. The findings also provide insightful pedagogical implications for L2 emotion intervention.

Reappraisal and mindset interventions on pressurised esport performance

AbstractThis study investigated the impact of two low‐resource interventions on esport competitors' responses to pressure, focusing primarily on state anxiety, challenge and threat appraisals, and action performance. In Experiment 1, a single‐session arousal reappraisal intervention demonstrated a significant influence on high‐pressure esports performance. Notably, it not only prompted a shift in appraisals from threat to challenge but also reduced cognitive and somatic anxiety, increased quiet eye durations and heightened cognitive effort. In Experiment 2, a preliminary assessment of the Mindset‐Reappraisal intervention was undertaken, demonstrating enhancements in esport action performance, including accelerated completion times and heightened shooting accuracy. This intervention cultivated a stress‐enhancing mindset, lowered cognitive and somatic anxiety, fostered challenge appraisals and underscores the practical efficacy of cost‐effective interventions within the specific context of our performance task. Effective management of arousal levels and educating esports competitors on stress mindset implications may improve performance under pressure, offering valuable insights for esports performance psychology. These findings suggest opportunities for refining pressure‐response strategies, paving the way for comprehensive approaches to optimise performance in competitive esports.

Saracens, Moors and Islam: was there a Muslim race in medieval Europe?

Against the view that antecedents to modern racism can be found in medieval Europe’s depictions of Moors, Saracens and the prophet Muhammad, this article demonstrates that representations of Muslims from the seventh to the fifteenth centuries were both respectful and resentful, lacking the kind of coherence necessary to show a pattern of racialisation. Rather than reflecting a structural continuity with the Orientalism that emerged in the nineteenth century, the representations that prevailed were the product of the power interests at play in specific historical and geographical contexts. Certainly, there was prejudice, xenophobia and ethnocentrism, sometimes taking forms that superficially resemble modern racisms. But only with the rise of various European powers as empires in the modern era did it become possible to ideologically and structurally racialise Muslims. Thus, ‘race’ should be seen as a modern development that accompanied the rise of capitalism and European colonialism.

Decolonizing English Academic Writing education through translingual practices

This study investigated the predominance of English in the academic discourse and its potential to marginalize multilingual individuals and explored how translingual practices could be a means to decolonize English Academic Writing (EAW) education within the specific context of a Sino-U.S. joint-venture university. A case study centered on the academic experience of a multilingual student from China delved into the interplay between established EAW norms and the student's language practice, identity, and ideology. The findings revealed that EAW norms that prevail in global academic communication significantly affected the student's linguistic choices and self-perception. These findings also indicated that translingual practices could contribute to the decolonization of EAW education by advocating for inclusivity and diversity. Therefore, this study calls for a pedagogical reorientation that not only acknowledges but also incorporates translingual practices in EAW education to actively confront colonial legacies.

A systematic literature review of research examining the impact of citizenship education on active citizenship outcomes

AbstractThis article reports on a systematic review of the evidence concerning the impact of citizenship education, specifically focusing on the effect of different teaching activities on a range of active citizenship outcomes. It provides a narrative synthesis of 109 articles in peer reviewed journals, representing a wide range of methodological approaches. The review was undertaken for a teacher audience and the research team identified four themes with practical implications. First, we discuss the significance of school ethos and distinguish between distinctive aspects of ethos in the literature including relationships between students and teachers, values and behaviours. Second, we explore some of the characteristics of successful projects, including detailed consideration of the type of projects selected for action by young people, the role of teachers, and the duration of projects. This discussion suggests that, whilst full project cycles (involving students identifying and researching areas for action and devising, implementing and reviewing action plans) are valuable, there is also evidence to suggest that short, partial projects may be easier to implement and still secure comparable benefits. Third, we consider the evidence about whether and how citizenship education can have some compensatory effect, closing the civic gap between different groups of young people. In the fourth theme we consider the wide range of teaching strategies which have been demonstrated to have some success in practice.Context and implicationsRationale for this studyThis literature review was undertaken on behalf of a teacher's organisation to consider the evidence base for citizenship education.Why the new findings matterThe review demonstrates the breadth of evidence for the positive impact of citizenship education and highlights several avenues for further exploration relating to school ethos, action projects and reducing inequalities.Implications for researchers and educational institutionsImplications for practice relate to the importance of how students perceive the ethos of the school as a whole, as well as their experiences when learning citizenship. This has specific implications for school leaders whose support is required to nurture a positive school ethos (beyond the formal curriculum). Implications for citizenship teachers include making use of short, partial active citizenship projects more routinely; and adopting strategies for closing the civic gap. Researchers are urged to move beyond large‐scale surveys to explore longitudinal studies in specific contexts to track impacts over time for different students.

The Living Word and Its Death Threats

AbstractThe expression ‘the living word’ has wide application, often in preference to an alternative use of language that is likely to threaten it. An enquiry is proposed into the potential utility of the expression for theorizing newer threats such as the use of Large Language Models. The main influence on the enquiry is the theory of dialogism, developed from work by Bakhtin and his colleagues, but other perspectives are included. The paper examines the relationships between the expression and four of its threats: technologization, monologues, static and normative approaches to meaning-making, and monolingualism. The living word appears to survive all such threats, though human thinking, communication, and meaning-making are all transformed in the process, while the perceived threat is assimilated or resisted but does not disappear. There are several contradictions in usage of the term and some resistance to the metaphor of life and death in the context of language. Faith in the living word is likely to depend on careful modulation of its meanings for a specific context through dialogue. The paper concludes that ‘the living word’ might act as a placeholder for our responses to new threats, bearing in mind that we have been continually participating in productive dialogues even when surrounded by static, monologic, and monolingual linguistic practices.

Ethical management and stakeholder relations: Insights from Slovak companies with foreign participation

The practice of ethical management has gained traction due to its role in enhancing stakeholder relations, which can have severe repercussions for organisations. By prioritising ethics, companies not only uphold moral principles but also gain a competitive advantage. This is particularly true in societies that value socially responsible business and give preference to companies that go beyond the requirements of the law. Understanding the significance of ethical management practices is therefore becoming key to creating a responsible and sustainable business environment that benefits both an organisation and its stakeholders, such as employees, consumers and society. The purpose of this article is to present a comprehensive exploration of the impact of selected aspects of ethical management in Slovak companies with foreign participation on the ethicality of their relationships with stakeholders. By examining a range of factors related to ethical management, the article seeks to identify statistically significant differences among companies with different approaches to managing business ethics. Employing this analysis, the article contributes to the understanding of ethical practices in Slovak companies and provides insights for academics and practitioners of business ethics. The data used for this analysis was collected through an online questionnaire survey, resulting in a sample size of 179 monitored subjects, all of whom are Slovak companies with foreign participation. The research design included two groups of factors: “general factors of business ethics” or “ethical management approaches” and “ethicality of company-stakeholder relationships.” The statistical analysis included the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, followed by the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis H test, and post hoc analysis using the Bonferroni adjustment for previously identified significances. The results of the research presented in the article indicate a predominantly positive ethical stance towards employees, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders among Slovak companies. Statistically significant differences were found in the levels of ethicality in relation to legal form, with limited liability and joint-stock companies showing different perceptions towards supplier ethics. The research also proves that an ethical organisational climate is a major determinant of the ethicality of Slovak companies and suggests that a robust integration of ethics into strategic planning significantly improves their stakeholder relations. It can also be concluded that the scope of a code of ethics is particularly significant for community relations, whereas the frequency with which it is updated has less impact. This research holds significant value because it explores the impact of ethical management practices on stakeholder relations and ethical issues in Slovak companies with foreign participation. By focusing on the specific context of Slovak companies, the research offers unique insights into the relationship between ethical management factors and stakeholder dynamics. This research aims to bridge a gap by shedding light on the intricate dynamics between ethical management and stakeholder relations. The findings provide valuable guidance to organisational leaders, policymakers and stakeholders in fostering ethical behaviour and mitigating ethical risks within companies.

Guided Diverse Concept Miner (GDCM): Uncovering Relevant Constructs for Managerial Insights from Text

The Guided Diverse Concept Miner (GDCM) is an innovative deep learning algorithm tailored for the extraction of managerially relevant concepts from textual data, emphasizing the autonomy in discovering insights without predefined labels or guidance. This tool stands out by embedding words, documents, and concepts within the same vector space, which simplifies the interpretation of unearthed concepts and ensures their alignment with managerial outcomes. Central to GDCM’s methodology is its capacity to focus on concepts that are highly correlated with user-specified managerial outcomes, termed guiding variables, thereby enhancing the relevance and application of extracted insights in decision-making processes. The algorithm’s design inherently promotes the diversity of the recovered concepts, ensuring a broad spectrum of insights. Through practical application in analyzing customer reviews related to online purchases, GDCM not only identified key concepts influencing conversion rates but also validated its findings against established theories and prior causal research. This validation underscores GDCM’s utility in generating actionable, diverse insights tailored to specific managerial contexts, marking a significant advancement in how businesses leverage textual data for strategic decisions.