Deconstructive Strategy Research Articles

Imagination, reason and traditional African poetry

One phantasm of the colonial experience in Africa is the spirited search for an African identity, which Eurocentrism tried to blot out through different ways, ranging from the denial of its existence to an outright replacement of it with accounts that revert to the occidental for validation. As a contribution to this identity-crisis management project, Afrocentric scholarship, from ethnophilosophy to present-day decolonial discourses, has tried to challenge that dominant narrative based on suppressed facts and logical reasoning. Studies of these kinds generally swing between oppositional scholarship and equalization schemes, without investigating Africa per se from a non-oppositional stance. Thus, this study, which is qualitatively descriptive and logically analytical, in addition to being deductive and synthetical in design, investigates the imaginative in a typical African poem. Aided by Derridean deconstructive strategy, the study reconstitutes an image of the African as more than rational, thereby implicating the imaginative functioning as a possible condition for cultural re-engineering and engagement of reality beyond reason.

Revealing structural and functional specificity of lignin from tobacco stalk during deep eutectic solvents deconstruction aiming to targeted valorization

Achieving efficient exploitation of agricultural waste is of great significance for future biorefinery. A green deconstruction strategy of lignocellulose exerts an immense impact on their conversion and lignin valorization. Deep eutectic solvent (DES) as eco-friendly solvents can sufficiently fractionate lignin from lignocellulose, and the considerate comprehension of fundamental chemistry of lignin would facilitate the process optimization and tailored upgrade of lignin in biorefinery. Herein, three different DESs, including acidic and alkaline systems, were adopted to deconstruct raw and hydrothermal tobacco stalk under certain conditions, gaining different lignin fractions. Structural transformation of recovered lignin macromolecules during acidic and alkaline DES delignification has been investigated in comparison with mill wood lignin (MWL) via state-of-the-art NMR spectra, GPC, FTIR, and TGA techniques. Results showed that hydrothermal pretreatment facilitated the yields (from 35.6% to 46.0% to 43.1–58.5%) and molecular weights (from 1310 to 2280 g/mol to 1600–2400 g/mol) of the recovered DES lignin. Moreover, acidic DES lignin presented significantly fragmented (without β-O-4 linkage) and condensed structures as well as the lower molecular weight, while a well-preserved structure (~50/100 Ar β-O-4 linkage) and fewer hydroxyl groups were observed in alkaline DES ones. Furthermore, these lignins displayed structure-dependent nanoparticle size, excellent UV absorption, and antioxidant activity, offering a crucial foundation for the targeted valorization of lignin from agricultural waste.

The ecodesign methodologies to achieve buildings’ deconstruction: A review and framework

The ecodesign methodologies in the design stage enable buildings to be adapted to the needs of users and deconstructed at the end-of-life. Although ecodesign methods incorporate circular economy (CE) principles, they are little explored in projects and constructions. This study analyses how the construction sector approaches ecodesign methods to achieve buildings' deconstruction. Through an integrative literature review, 288 articles were threefold analyzed: (i) bibliometric, (ii) conceptually about ecodesign methods, and (iii) categorically. The results showed a lack of understanding about the ecodesign concepts, and an integrated methodology was proposed. The most inclusive and sustainable ecodesign method for buildings deconstruction was Design for Adaptability and Disassembly (DfAD). The review shows the concentration of the studies in three categories and a framework was created relating DfAD strategies. The sector needs more information on ecodesign methods, deconstruction strategies, reusing of materials, and in the life cycle tools as decision support to make sustainable buildings.

The Wisdom of God as the Eternal Feminine: Dante and V.S. Solovyov on Sophianic Unity

The paper deals with the continuity of ideas concerning the Eternal Feminine and Sophia as the Wisdom of God from the point of view of Dante Alighieri and Vl.S. Solovyov. The analysis focuses not so much on the very notion of Sophia as on the meaning, origins, and contexts of their conception of Sophianic unity. The latter, being an ideal form of reducing a multitude to a unity, is considered as either an alternative or a supplement to the model of totality that reproduces the binary and hierarchical structure which at the social and political level is considered to be the pattern of imperial centralism. The study proceeds from the consequences of Dante’s negation of the difference between the spiritual sense of the Holy Scriptures and the literary sense of secular poetry. It is shown that for Dante it was necessary, first of all, to understand under whose inspiration and guidance he composed his verses, which gave particular importance to the image of a guide in his magnum opus. I show that in this context Dante turned to the intuitive representation of the feminine idea as a guiding principle that was personified by Beatrice, although Dante did not use the term “Sophia” and could not use the term “the Eternal Feminine,” which did not yet exist at the time. The disputes in Dante’s time on the essence of monarchy are considered in connection with his understanding of femininity as the guiding principle of such a unity of humanity that could reject a rigid hierarchy and, thus, free itself from imperial centralism. It is pointed out that the social and political aspects of the all-encompassing Sophia, which also resolves contradictions as a supplement to the intrinsically contradictory Logos, were given great importance in Solovyov’s philosophy. The paper concludes that it was Solovyov, who, having identified Sophia with humanity as a whole, created the presuppositions for a detailed study of the structure of Sophia’s unity. This study ends with a discussion of the validity of the convergence of a non-hierarchical Sophianic unity with the deconstructive strategies of modern philosophy, the aim of which is the elimination of binary oppositions and hierarchies from the gender context.

The act of seeing with no eyes: a videographic project about visuality as an instrument of power

This article focuses on the video pieces from the project The act of seeing with no eyes (2020). The project consists of two videos that explore the concept of visuality as an instrument of power and a legitimising tool for the politics of domination and inequality. By the use of appropriated archive images, and using collage as the main montage technique, as well as a deconstructive strategy of appropriated material - the images are cut, superimposed and juxtaposed in a plastic way -, relations and contrasts are established between images captured by control and surveillance devices, together with different tests of visual perception. Through the formal and thematic analysis of the video pieces proposed in the project, as well as the study and comparison with other artistic references, the intention is to rethink the dialectic of the montage used, and how it allows us to re-signify the appropriated images, questioning visuality as a discourse of progress and emancipation.

Deconstructive Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Morphine‐Family Alkaloid (−)‐Thebainone A

AbstractHerein, we describe the development of a deconstructive strategy for the first asymmetric synthesis of (−)‐thebainone A, capitalizing on an enantioselective C−C bond activation and a C−O bond cleavage reaction. The rhodium‐catalyzed asymmetric “cut‐and‐sew” transformation between sterically hindered trisubstituted alkenes and benzocyclobutenones allowed efficient construction of the fused A/B/C rings and the quaternary center of the natural product. The newly optimized conditions show broad substrate scope and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99.5:0.5 er). Taking advantage of boron‐mediated ether bond cleavage, we completed the synthesis of the morphine alkaloid (−)‐thebainone A by two complementary routes.

Deconstructive Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Morphine-Family Alkaloid (-)-Thebainone A.

Herein, we describe the development of a deconstructive strategy for the first asymmetric synthesis of (-)-thebainone A, capitalizing on an enantioselective C-C bond activation and a C-O bond cleavage reaction. The rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric "cut-and-sew" transformation between sterically hindered trisubstituted alkenes and benzocyclobutenones allowed efficient construction of the fused A/B/C rings and the quaternary center of the natural product. The newly optimized conditions show broad substrate scope and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99.5:0.5 er). Taking advantage of boron-mediated ether bond cleavage, we completed the synthesis of the morphine alkaloid (-)-thebainone A by two complementary routes.

Verbalization of gender stereotypes as parts of language image of a holiday (based on the material of Ukrainian Soviet and modern journalism)

The article is devoted to the consideration of the stereotype phenomenon linguo-cognitive and linguo-pragmatic aspects. We define a stereotype in connection with the notion of a frame in cognitive linguistics and note its features such as substantial simplification and significant stability. The study was carried out on the material of two chronologically and qualitatively different segments of Ukrainian media discourse (Soviet and modern). The thematically outlined segment was selected for analysis: the texts about the holidays and written for the holidays, which usually have a wide audience and potentially affect the formation of public consciousness via recording the proclaimed evaluations in the world language picture. Therefore, attention is paid to the functional aspect of the studied linguistic units. It was found that gender stereotypes, that is, those that determine the characteristic roles of men and women, occupy the most prominent place among the stereotypes verbalized in holiday journalism. Their use is usually a representation of one of two basic strategies. The first one is the strategy of stereotype assertion, which is a verbal confirmation of its existence and at the same time serves for its additional fixation in the world language picture. The second is a strategy of disproving, or deconstruction of a stereotype, which at the linguistic level is realized through direct negation or antithesis. We come to the conclusion that the majority of gender stereotypes in Soviet texts are purely propagandistic, in line with ideology, that is, they form stereotypical images in the world picture according to the first named strategy, while in modern writings we see attempts to get free from totalitarian influence, which is clearly shown by the functioning of these cognitive structures in the strategy of deconstruction.

Strategi Kontruktif Dan Dekonstruktif: Proses Identifikasi Pola Bilangan Mahasiswa Calon Guru SD

This study aims to describe the process of identifying elementary student teacher candidates using constructive and deconstructive strategies. This study's research subjects were 6th-semester PGSD students of Mataram University who attended elementary mathematics learning courses. This type of research is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach. Data collected in the form of test results about patterns and interviews. Then the data is analyzed. The results of the data analysis showed that there was no difference between the process of identifying student patterns using either constructive or deconstructive strategies. The process carried out by students is seeing the shape of the image compiler, making rules for each image, then determining the next pattern rules based on the rules that have been made previously in each image.Keywords: pattern identification, constructive strategy, deconstructive strategy, figural pattern

Unintendierte Effekte der Strategie der Dekonstruktion

Abstract The Strategy of Deconstruction and its Unintended Effects. On the Deconstructive Way of Dealing with Difference in Pedagogical Settings The pedagogical dealing with difference has been questioned for its unintended effects on the reproduction of power relations. This criticism has been expressed mainly from a deconstructive point of view. Nevertheless, the strategy of deconstruction has not yet been questioned for unintended effects itself. The article discusses three aspects where unintended effects of these strategy can at least possibly emerge: (1) a deterministic view of the binary hierarchy, (2) a narrow understanding of transformation as proliferation and (3) a one-sided understanding of reproduction.

Design for Deconstruction: Futuristic Sustainable Solution for Structural Design

The aim of this research is to investigate the sustainability of design for deconstruction on saving: natural raw materials, embodied energy and carbon emission of steel buildings. A methodology is devised to account for designed for upcoming reclaim at the early planning phase. The procedure is relied on PAS2050 method. A steel structure building of two bays of size (6m x 8m) and of 4m height is devoted as a case study to assess the methodology. In this case study, three different floor systems are suggested: composite steel deck, hollow core precast concrete planks, and demountable precast composite floor system. The reduced quantity of embodied carbon energy is estimated through considering the steel building. The calculation of embodied carbon of the three models is relied on records of the Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE). The results show that CO2 emissions from the building can be dropped around 50%, when design for deconstruction strategy is considered. Design standards and codes lack a little procedure to follow. Therefore, this study also outlines some helpful specifications, guidelines, and detailing of design for deconstruction of steel buildings.

Portuguese College Students’ Perceptions About the Social Sexual Double Standard: Developing a Comprehensive Model for the Social SDS

Research on the sexual double standard (SDS) indicates its maintenance among college students, despite some attenuation and the emergence of alternative standards. Results show some inconsistencies, however, which highlight conceptual and methodological weaknesses that limit conclusions about the existence and expression of the SDS. One response entails distinguishing personal acceptance of the SDS from its social existence; maintenance of the SDS may reside in the latter, as there is some evidence for a decline in personal but not in social SDS. We aimed to analyse Portuguese college students’ perceptions about the social SDS and to develop a comprehensive model for it. Four male (n = 30) and four female (n = 17) focus groups were conducted with data analysis framed by Grounded Theory. The social SDS emerged especially with regard to casual sex and multiple partners, legitimized by the accepted/recognized existence of sexual gender roles and stereotypes. It is maintained through conformity with SDS and gender prescriptions in order to prove/protect femininity, masculinity and sexual reputation. The process reduces sexual autonomy and has drawbacks for sexual health and wellbeing. Our comprehensive model can inform deconstructive strategies to promote egalitarian, liberal, and positive sexual experiences.

Endovascular treatment for aneurysms at the A1 segment of the anterior cerebral artery: current difficulties and solutions.

Aneurysms located at the A1 segment of the anterior cerebral artery are considered rare and unique entities. Endovascular treatment (EVT) is effective in preventing aneurysmal bleeding. However, EVT for A1 aneurysms is difficult due to their distinctive configurations. A current review of EVT for A1 aneurysms is lacking. Therefore, we focused on the available literature on this specific issue. To more clearly expound this entity, we also provided some illustrative cases. The A1 segment can be equally divided into the proximal, middle, and distal segments. Proximal aneurysms are most common and difficult to treat via EVT. The A1 segment has a complex anatomy and many important branches. Due to the small size, predominant posterior direction, and sharp upturn of the microcatheter from the parent artery, microcatheter positioning and support is difficult for A1 aneurysms. EVT for A1 aneurysms mainly includes reconstructive and deconstructive strategies. The complications of EVT for A1 aneurysms include aneurysmal perforation, thromboembolic events, and coil protrusion related to stent-assisted embolization. A1 aneurysms represent rare and difficult vascular lesions. EVT is quite challenging for A1 aneurysms due to their distinctive configurations. The outcomes are acceptable.

Deficit thinking in South Africa's water allocation reform discourses: a cultural discourse perspective

ABSTRACT The article focuses on how deficit thinking emerges from the statements made by some of the participants of a study on water allocation reform in South Africa. It draws from interviews and focus group discussions from a select few participants of the qualitative study. The application of the deconstructive strategy to analyse data revealed perceptions of deficiencies in the capacities of Black people in agriculture as well as in government offices. The study found that expressions of concern regarding threats on the environment when and if water is allocated to Black communities were based on assumptions of inherent deficiencies within the Black communities. This article characterises this perception as ‘deficit thinking’. The article provides the basis for such characterisation by explaining the origins and meaning of the concept of deficit thinking. It argues for the need to consider the impact of social forces such as apartheid discriminatory practices on the socio-economic constitution of the Black person. The article concludes that deficit thinking needs to be considered and confronted as a challenge trumping water reform. It warns of the implicitness and covertness of deficit thinking and recommends that discourses reflect the realities of post-1994 South Africa which emerged from colonial and apartheid rule.

Characterization and engineering of a two-enzyme system for plastics depolymerization

Plastics pollution represents a global environmental crisis. In response, microbes are evolving the capacity to utilize synthetic polymers as carbon and energy sources. Recently, Ideonella sakaiensis was reported to secrete a two-enzyme system to deconstruct polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to its constituent monomers. Specifically, the I. sakaiensis PETase depolymerizes PET, liberating soluble products, including mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (MHET), which is cleaved to terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol by MHETase. Here, we report a 1.6 Å resolution MHETase structure, illustrating that the MHETase core domain is similar to PETase, capped by a lid domain. Simulations of the catalytic itinerary predict that MHETase follows the canonical two-step serine hydrolase mechanism. Bioinformatics analysis suggests that MHETase evolved from ferulic acid esterases, and two homologous enzymes are shown to exhibit MHET turnover. Analysis of the two homologous enzymes and the MHETase S131G mutant demonstrates the importance of this residue for accommodation of MHET in the active site. We also demonstrate that the MHETase lid is crucial for hydrolysis of MHET and, furthermore, that MHETase does not turnover mono(2-hydroxyethyl)-furanoate or mono(2-hydroxyethyl)-isophthalate. A highly synergistic relationship between PETase and MHETase was observed for the conversion of amorphous PET film to monomers across all nonzero MHETase concentrations tested. Finally, we compare the performance of MHETase:PETase chimeric proteins of varying linker lengths, which all exhibit improved PET and MHET turnover relative to the free enzymes. Together, these results offer insights into the two-enzyme PET depolymerization system and will inform future efforts in the biological deconstruction and upcycling of mixed plastics.

Ring-opening functionalizations of unstrained cyclic amines enabled by difluorocarbene transfer

Chemical synthesis based on the skeletal variation has been prolifically utilized as an attractive approach for modification of molecular properties. Given the ubiquity of unstrained cyclic amines, the ability to directly alter such motifs would grant an efficient platform to access unique chemical space. Here, we report a highly efficient and practical strategy that enables the selective ring-opening functionalization of unstrained cyclic amines. The use of difluorocarbene leads to a wide variety of multifaceted acyclic architectures, which can be further diversified to a range of distinctive homologative cyclic scaffolds. The virtue of this deconstructive strategy is demonstrated by successful modification of several natural products and pharmaceutical analogues.

Nature, modernity, and diversity: Swedish national identity in a touring association’s yearbooks 1886–2013

ABSTRACT Using a discourse analytical method, this paper explores how Sweden and Swedish national identity are expressed in the yearbooks from the Swedish Tourist Association, and if there have been any changes in the discursive constructions during 127 years of publications. The results indicate changing discursive strategies during the period. Around 1900, a homogeneous national identity was constructed through ideas about a common essence and culture. In the following decades, perpetuation strategies justified the identity by referring to a common history. A shift occurred around 2000, with transformation and deconstruction strategies that questioned the established ideas about Sweden and Swedishness.

Clean construction and demolition waste material cycles through optimised pre-demolition waste audit documentation: A review on building material assessment tools.

Waste from the construction sector poses huge challenges for sustainable waste management. This is not only due to the vast amount of waste produced in construction and demolition activities, but also due to pollutants potentially contained in these products. Subject to these conditions, waste management must ensure recovery of as many resources as possible, while making sure to keep material loops clean. This demanding task requires more knowledge about the existing building stock and an adaptation of current demolition processes. Innovative technologies, such as Building Information Modelling, or modern frameworks, such as Geographic Information Systems, offer a high potential to synoptically provide stock material information for future demolition activities for individual objects to be deconstructed as well as for whole cities as a basis for managing the anthropogenic stock and potential urban mining. Suitable methods of data collection allow for acquiring the desired input for the generation of building stock models enriched with demolition-related information. With the latter, selective deconstruction strategies as well as appropriate waste stream routing agendas can be planned and executed, thereby securing safety at work during the demolition process itself and a waste stream routing according to the waste hierarchy. This review article gives an overview of currently deployed building material assessment tools (data capture and visualisation), both a prerequisite for improved information on materials and geometry (and thereby mass/volume). In addition, this article describes workflows employable for the purpose of urban mining in end-of-life buildings, of which one holistic approach will be described in depth.

A Hybridity Continuum

The article proposes an analytical framework in the form of a continuum in order to examine instances of hybridity in terms of mechanisms, qualities and outcomes. By foregrounding material pathways and processes through the coming together of disparate elements, the continuum provides a platform to analyse the overlapping spatio-temporalities and bleeding palettes of hybridity. The continuum is deployed to illustrate hybridity in an aspect of embodiment denoted by the term ‘bodyworld’ to mark human–non-human relationalities. Specific reference is made to athletes who operate gym machines and the psychophysical work of performers. The hybridity continuum is developed in the light of the so-called 3As of bodyworld: assemblages, affordances and actants. Reference is also made to Shaun Gallagher’s ‘body schema’ and its links with distributed cognition, as well as to Heike Jöns’s socio-material ‘dynamic hybrids’ from the field of human geography. In reading hybridity and bodyworld in the light of each other via the continuum, the article suggests a deconstructive strategy that draws attention to the material conditions of human activity, thereby shedding light on our understanding of psychosomatic practices. The focus of the continuum on material processes serves to counter the ubiquitous quality often associated with hybridity.

“Musil’s Discourse”: Some Aspects of a Linguistic Experiment

The article is devoted to the role of experiment in the process of discourse formation as a linguistic phenomenon. The object of the study is the discourse initiated by the largest Austrian writer of the twentieth century, Robert Musil. The aim of the study is a discursive analysis of the philological and literary-critical interpretations of the novel “A Man Without Qualities”, which is a central fragment of the “Musil’s Discourse”. It is noted that the Musil’s discourse unfolding during the century, is formed by numerous participants representing various groups of subjects: literary scholars, writers, cultural experts, psychologists and literary critics. Particular attention is paid to the bipolar structure of the Musil’s discourse as its main characteristic. It is shown that the leading German critic Marcel Reich- Ranicki set a new direction for the development of Musil’s discourse. The results of the analysis of Musil’s discourse at the level of its content, as well as at the levels of strategies and means of implementation are presented. The main strategies of the studied fragment of the discourse are identified - the deconstruction strategy and the conservation strategy, implemented in the tactics of invective, tactics of positive presentation and tactics of support. It is proved that the idea of the experiment laid down by Musil in the basis of the novel “A Man Without Qualities” is transposed to the Musil’s discourse as a whole and turns it into an object of experiment.