Search Results (3,424)

In 2015, the Japanese public broadcaster NHK aired an educational series that re-examined traditional fairy tales by putting their characters on trial for their immoral behavior, such as revenge, violence, and dishonesty. These tales, rooted in premodern Japanese folklore, were widely available in various book formats by the late nineteenth century and, unlike modern adaptations, they did not sanitize violence or evil. This study analyzes four miniature picture books from the late nineteenth century that recount the story, Kachikachi yama (The Crackling Mountain). This analysis focuses on both verbal and visual representations of good and evil, with attention to themes of loyalty, filial piety, and virtuous revenge. The findings reveal that these picture books presented young readers with complex moral lessons, where the boundaries between good and evil were blurred. Additionally, they illuminate the prevailing image of children during that era, depicting them as “little adults” expected to be educated and prepared for the practical realities of the adult world. Full article

Five Pilipina American (PA) social work MotherScholars, from a doctoral student to an interim dean, used kuwentuhan (Pilipinx methodology) to amplify their survivance and thrivance despite attempted exclusion, reduction, and distortion as Pilipinos by coloniality/modernity. Grounded in decolonial feminism (the view that oppressions such as sexism and racism co-constitute coloniality and that unsettling oppressions disrupts hegemony) and Pinayism (an integrated framework revaluing the labor, intellect, and nurturance of mothering through a cultural lens), the authors work coalitionally across their PA diversity to re-center ginhawa (aliveness or sense of ease and wellness). Together, they embarked on an iterative self-study process of data generation and analysis that included presenting, recording, and transcribing two panel presentations at a premier social work conference, writing reflections and hay(na)ku poems about their experiences and processes, reading and rereading the data, and meeting and discussing the data, their process, and past and current events pertinent to the content. The stories highlight how the authors are living and enlivening decoloniality, and that, in so doing, they continue a lineage of those who have resisted coloniality/modernity and promoted thrivance. Collectively, these kuwentos (stories), reflections, hay(na)ku, and their weaving together, are memory, resistance, counter-storytelling, and healing. Full article

Background: For patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a multidomain intervention that integrates physical activity, cognitive training, and dietary intervention is necessary to delay cognitive decline. The proliferation of smartphones, software development, and online service improvements now enable the delivery of online intervention programs and the concurrent collection of patient-generated data. This paper aims to report on a protocol for developing a smartphone-based multidomain intervention tailored to the level of patients with MCI. Methods: Our program targeted patients with MCI aged 60–79. The physical activity domain provides training that is appropriate for the patient’s strength and fitness levels. The cognitive training uses both verbal and nonverbal stimuli to stimulate various domains of cognitive function. It was designed to match tasks to the patient’s abilities, promoting motivational growth. Dietary interventions were designed to enable patients to plan their diet and learn to adopt appropriate eating habits. Results: We designed and organized a screen for home aerobic exercise, story quizzes, nonverbal cognitive training, and memory diary screens. Conclusions: We developed a smartphone application-based multidomain intervention program to delay cognitive decline in patients with MCI. We will verify its efficacy in future clinical trials. Full article

This article explores the relationship between genealogy and the environment as a pathway towards decolonising indigenous minds. In Māori worldviews, everything is categorised, organised, and understood through whakapapa, or genealogy. Whakapapa resides within the land and water, safeguarding ancestral stories as they weave through time, space, and place. The environment serves as a powerful tool for maintaining, reclaiming, and reinforcing indigeneity. Strengthening the connections between whakapapa and the environment offers significant avenues for decolonising Indigenous minds, by recalibrating and releasing colonised ways of being to embody mauritau (mindfulness) through whenua kura (placefulness). Unlike Cartesian dualism, which separates the body and mind, the Māori conception of the mind is multifaceted and embodied. The mind is thought to be situated in the solar plexus, emotions in the gut, and connection to spirit in the head, all of which are deeply rooted in whakapapa and the enduring ties to ancestors and place. Whakapapa’s connections to the land, water, animals, and spiritual entities are imbued with narratives that aid in recollection and provide profound cultural context to place. These narratives offer pathways for communion with the land and water, enabling sensitivity to environmental cues, such as changing seasons, solstices, moon phases, star cycles, and natural rhythms within our inner landscapes of body, heart, and mind, fostering a sense of placefulness. Full article

In the Sahel region of West Africa, land degradation has raised concerns about the threat of desertification, leading to the establishment of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 1994. Over time, the focus has shifted from simply combating desertification to a more comprehensive international program focused on preserving the health of our land by offsetting any damage with restoration efforts by 2030 to sustain ecosystem functions and services. This balancing process—which is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—is known as Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). We examine Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) patterns, namely degradation and rehabilitation processes, by integrating participatory mapping with high-resolution satellite imagery with local stories, observations, historical records, and existing studies. The data elicited an understanding of the processes driving land degradation and adaptation strategies among three distinct ethnic groups of crop and livestock farmers in the village of Yallé in southern Burkina Faso. Some of these people were originally from this region, while others moved from places where the land was already degraded. Participants in the study had diverse experiences and perceptions of land degradation, its drivers, and adaptation strategies, which were influenced by their ethnicity, livelihood activities, and life experiences. These differences highlight the impact of cultural and socioeconomic factors on how people view land degradation, as well as the role of local knowledge in managing the environment. The study emphasizes the necessity of incorporating ethnoecological perspectives into projects focused on Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) to better understand land degradation and improve land management. This integration can significantly contribute to strengthening global sustainability and community resilience. Full article

This study presents a novel framework for integrating corrosion effects into critical infrastructure seismic risk assessment, focusing on reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Unlike traditional seismic fragility curves, which often overlook time-dependent degradation such as corrosion, this methodology introduces an approach incorporating corrosion-induced degradation into seismic fragility curves. This framework combines time-dependent corrosion simulation with numerical modeling, using the finite–discrete element method (FDEM) to assess the reduction in structural capacity. These results are used to adjust the seismic fragility curves, capturing the increased vulnerability due to corrosion. A key novelty of this work is the development of a comprehensive risk assessment that merges the corrosion-adjusted fragility curves with seismic hazard data to estimate long-term seismic risk, introducing a cumulative risk ratio to quantify the total risk over the structure’s lifecycle. This framework is demonstrated through a case study of a one-story RC moment frame building, evaluating its seismic risk under various corrosion scenarios and locations. The simulation results showed a good fit, with a 3% to 14% difference between the case study and simulations up to 75 years. This fitness highlights the model’s accuracy in predicting structural degradation due to corrosion. Furthermore, the findings reveal a significant increase in seismic risk, particularly in moderate and intensive corrosion environments, by 59% and 100%, respectively. These insights emphasize the critical importance of incorporating corrosion effects into seismic risk assessments, offering a more accurate and effective strategy to enhance infrastructure resilience throughout its lifecycle. Full article

Most retinal and optic nerve diseases pose significant threats to vision, primarily due to irreversible retinal neuronal cell death, a permanent change, which is a critical factor in their pathogenesis. Conditions such as glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration are the top four leading causes of blindness among the elderly in Japan. While standard treatments—including reduction in intraocular pressure, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapies, and retinal photocoagulation—can partially delay disease progression, their therapeutic effects remain limited. To address these shortcomings, a range of neuroprotective and regenerative therapies, aimed at preventing retinal neuronal cell loss, have been extensively studied and increasingly integrated into clinical practice over the last two decades. Several of these neuroprotective therapies have achieved on-label usage worldwide. This narrative review introduces several neuroprotective and regenerative therapies for retinal and optic nerve diseases that have been successfully translated into clinical practice, providing foundational knowledge and success stories that serve as valuable references for researchers in the field. Full article

Radon is, after tobacco, the most frequent cause of lung cancer. Communicating about its risks with a didactic perspective so that citizens become aware and take action to avoid radon remains a challenge. This research is framed in Spain, where 17% of the territory exceeds the maximum radon limits allowed by the WHO, and aims to study the role and impact of the media in radon risk communication. A mixed methodological design is applied, combining content analysis of news published in the last two decades by local media in the most affected areas with interviews with journalists and a survey of citizens to provide a multi-perspective approach. The results show that, although news coverage of radon is becoming more frequent, it is a topic that fails to position itself on the agenda for effective communication. The media are the most frequent source of information on radon, although they are not considered by the public the most trustworthy one. News stories about radon focus mainly on health and research to inform about the radon levels to which citizens are exposed and the risks associated with cancer. Collaborative strategies between the media, organizations, and public administration seem key to advancing the fight against radon. Full article

Bone grafting in oral and maxillofacial surgery has evolved significantly due to developments in materials science, offering innovative alternatives for the repair of bone defects. A few grafts are currently used in clinical settings, including autografts, xenografts, and allografts. However, despite their benefits, they have some challenges, such as limited availability, the possibility of disease transmission, and lack of personalization for the defect. Synthetic bone grafts have gained attention since they have the potential to overcome these limitations. Moreover, new technologies like nanotechnology, 3D printing, and 3D bioprinting have allowed the incorporation of molecules or substances within grafts to aid in bone repair. The addition of different moieties, such as growth factors, stem cells, and nanomaterials, has been reported to help mimic the natural bone healing process more closely, promoting faster and more complete regeneration. In this regard, this review explores the currently available bone grafts, the possibility of incorporating substances and molecules into their composition to accelerate and improve bone regeneration, and advanced graft manufacturing techniques. Furthermore, the presented current clinical applications and success stories for novel bone grafts emphasize the future potential of synthetic grafts and biomaterial innovations in improving patient outcomes in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Full article

Gentrification and displacement of low-income and minority families is a frequently discussed phenomenon when it comes to community planning. To best address and redistribute resources for these neighborhoods, needs assessments are often conducted to identify the problem areas, such as crime, poverty, and abandoned infrastructure. Although needs assessments are a great starting point, they often neglect the hand of valuable community assets that should be preserved when engaging with gentrifying neighborhoods. To engage in these neighborhoods, researchers, governments, non-profits, and redevelopment corporations are more often turning to an asset-based community development approach (ABCD) pioneered by Kretzmann and McKnight (1993). This ABCD approach utilizes an asset mapping technique to identify and better understand the present strengths of a community. This was an approach taken by researchers to assist in the Salt Lake City’s (SLC) initiatives to document the city’s transformation and potentially preserve assets for their plan, called “Thriving in Place: A SLC Anti-displacement Strategy”. Asset mapping includes surveying and plotting resources both physical and non-physical, such as sustainable food sources, churches, schools, relationships, social networks, and individuals. The product of the asset map was an ArcGIS StoryMap—which is a GIS-based map that can be used for storytelling. Full article

This technical study on strengthening a five-story building in Bucharest, a city known for its high seismic activity in Europe, required implementing a base-isolation system as part of the rehabilitation solution. The main challenge was assembling the elastomeric equipment system at the base of the building and the structural system, which was considered a rigid solid with six degrees of dynamic freedom. This required defining and solving differential equations of motion for earthquake action. It was determined that switching from a six-DoF system to a three-DoF system and then customizing the results for one DoF was justified. The analysis involved designing an isolation system with elastomeric anti-seismic devices and using a dynamic model with degrees of freedom to calculate the response for the first mode (fundamental) of seismic action from the spectral composition of an earthquake. The variation in amplitudes in the three zones—pre-resonance, at resonance and after resonance—is of great interest from a practical and design perspective. Also, the support solution was optimized in terms of the isolators’ location and the stiffness and damping parameters so that the degree of dynamic isolation could be achieved at the highest possible values (I ≥ 60%). Full article

For authors who revisit their experiences of childhood to write stories for young readers, imaginatively drawing on memories plays a prominent role in the creative process. Whereas connections between memories and narratives have featured in literary studies and children’s literature studies, the unfolding of negotiations between memory and imagination as authors create narratives of life writing is underexplored. This article examines how negotiations of memory and imagination unfold on paper during the writing processes for Roald Dahl’s Boy (1984), David Almond’s Counting Stars (2000), and Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming (2014). While positioning itself in the field of cognitive literary studies and the archival study of creative writing processes, this article aims to generate insights on the reconstructive approach to memory, which considers episodic remembering as imagining the past. By transposing the study of the dynamics of writing processes, or genetic criticism, to children’s literature, I explore notes, mindmaps, manuscripts, and typescripts held at the archives of Dahl, Almond, and Woodson to chart how they imaginatively incorporate memories of their youth into their life writing. As such, this research informs understandings of the narrative genesis of the authors’ works, while drawing on the manifestations of their literary creativity in an attempt to broaden knowledge regarding memory and imagination. Full article

Immersive journalism, utilizing virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, offers a transformative approach to storytelling by creating deeply engaging news experiences. This study examines the acceptance of immersive journalism by people working in news media industries focusing on different demographic groups. Using qualitative focus groups, participants from varied age groups experienced VR news stories and discussed their perceptions and responses. Key findings revealed high emotional engagement across all demographics, with younger participants showing greater enthusiasm and ease with the technology, while older participants expressed interest but faced technological barriers. Trust in the media and perceived realism were crucial factors influencing acceptance. Concerns about accessibility and inclusivity were also significant, particularly among older and less technologically proficient participants. This study concludes that, for immersive journalism to gain widespread acceptance, media organizations must address technological barriers, enhance user education, and ensure ethical standards in storytelling. These insights contribute to understanding how immersive journalism can be integrated into mainstream media to enhance audience engagement and trust, highlighting the importance of accessibility and emotional resonance in the adoption of innovative media technologies. Full article

For decades, the discoverability and visibility of a paper relied on the readership of the academic journal where the publication was issued. As public interest in biomedicine has grown, the news media have taken on an important role in spreading scientific findings. This investigation explores the potential impact of news media stories on the citations and altmetrics of a paper. A total of 2020 open-access biomedical research papers, all published in the same year, 2015, and in journals with an impact factor between 10 and 14, were investigated. The papers were split into two groups based on the sole criterion of receiving or not receiving news media coverage. Papers with news media coverage accounted for 44% of the total. They received, on average, 60% more citations, 104% more blogs, 150% more X posts, 106% more Facebook reports, 40% more Wikipedia references, 85% more videos, and 51% more Mendeley readers than papers without news media coverage. The correlation between news media outlets and increased citations and altmetrics is evident. However, the broader societal impact of news media coverage, in terms of bringing scientific matters or discoveries to the public eye, appears to be more robust when compared to the reactions of the scientific community. Full article

Drawing on life-story interviews and ethnography conducted in Israel from 2009 to 2023, this article examines how members of the Spanish-speaking Moroccan–Jewish diaspora in Israel recalled their habits of eating non-kosher food in Morocco. We explore how these memories emerged in response to commonplace discourses that depict Moroccan Jews as a distinctly religious-traditional ethnic group, untouched by European secular influences, and dichotomous to modern secular cultures in Israel. Contrary to this image, members of the community whom we interviewed highlighted a Jewish Moroccan life that was deeply connected to Spanish colonialism and the broader Hispanic and Sephardi worlds. We focus specifically on the concept of selkear, a Haketia (Judeo-Spanish) term meaning to let something go, make an exception, or turn a blind eye. Our analysis of our participants’ memories provides a nuanced understanding of Jewish religiosity in the context of colonialism and of how Mizrahi–Sephardi immigrants in Israel reclaimed their Judaism. Highlighting the practice of eating non-kosher food is thus a strategy used to challenge dominant notions of rigid religious commitment within the Sephardi diaspora and their interpretation in Israel. Full article