On the Borderlines of South-Eastern Europe : Migration in the Films of Aida Begić and Želimir Žilnik

This paper analyses recent works by Aida Begić and Želimir Žilnik— Never Leave Me (2017) and The Most Beautiful Country in the World (2018), respectively. These works narrate the evolving lives of migrants on the borderlines of the Balkan Anatolian region. Migrants’ aspiration to reach their “dream land” is interpreted as a journey towards unfolding “the virtual realities of consciousness” of both actors and directors. The reflections of both Begić and Žilnik on the issue of migration, filmed in an accented style, highlight their own post-Yugoslav perspectives, which allows us to analyse the two films in context of “return to homeland”—a concept present both in Naficy’s theories of an accented cinema and in Boym’s notion of “reflective nostalgia.”

A new species of the genus Eremochorus Zaslavskij, 1962 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from South-eastern Altai (Russia)

A new species, Eremochorus (Eremochorus) kuraicus Legalov, sp. nov. from Kosh-Agach District, South-eastern Russian Altai of Western Siberia is described and illustrated. This species is similar to E. mikhailovi Legalov, 2007 from Central Altai but differs from it in the longer rostrum with distinct middle carina, longer elytra and the aedeagus. A distribution map for E. kuraicus Legalov, sp. nov. and E. mikhailovi is given.

Common Spelling Mistakes of Hamza and Alif among Beginners

Alif is considered one of the first Arabic alphabets, while most linguists count the Hamza from the Arabic alphabet census, and these two letters have different forms in writing. So that some scholars do not consider both letters: Hamza and Alif, as independent letters of the alphabet, and at the same time they imagine in front of beginners in a close form, in addition to the lack of attention to train in writing these two letters correctly. This research seeks to detect mistakes made by students when writing and spelling with regard to Hamz and Alif, and to present the most appropriate ways to treat these mistakes. The researcher relies on the descriptive approach. As for the research tools, the research refers to the questionnaire, which is distributed to 103 first-year students from the Department of Arabic Studies of the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, in addition to the secondary data that helps the researcher cover the first objective—knowing that the analysis of the information is done by MS Excel. The research also concluded that the students have a theoretical knowledge of the use of the Hamza and the Alif in different words and phrases, but when they come to the practical side, they misspell, and they also have a simple experience in writing the Hamza and the Alif in various patterns, in addition to the difficulty that most students face when distinguishing the difference between them in sentences.

A new catfish of the genus Trichomycterus from the Rio Paraíba do Sul Basin, south-eastern Brazil, a supposedly migrating species (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae)

A new species of the catfish genus Trichomycterus is described from the Rio Paraíba do Sul, south-eastern Brazil. This species exhibits some morphological character states that are unique amongst congeners, including a robust opercle and a long interopercle with numerous odontodes (50–60 opercular and 90–100 interopercular), a black bar on the basal portion of the caudal fin and a dark brown flank with a well delimited dorsal yellow stripe. It also exhibits some morphological traits that are uncommon amongst congeners, such as the presence of nine pectoral-fin rays. The presence of a shallow hyomandibular outgrowth and a ventrally expanded pre-opercular ventral flap suggests that this species is closely related to T. melanopygius, T. pradensis and T. tete. The new species also differs from T. melanopygius, T. pradensis and T. tete by having an emarginate caudal fin and a single median supra-orbital pore S6. Anecdotal evidence suggests that T. largoperculatus and T. pradensis have migratory habits, a condition not previously reported for eastern South American trichomycterines.

Rethinking Education in the Raw Materials Sector through Tailor-Made Teaching Methodologies

This article presents a methodology applied to the design of a tailor-made program for teaching staff that addresses the needs of high-level educational institutions in the Eastern and South-Eastern European (ESEE) region. The tailor-made program was implemented as a one-week online course for 22 “Trainees” from six ESEE universities earlier in 2021. “Trainees” from six participating universities are currently developing acceleration programs, planned to occur continuously until 2024, increasing the percentage of the trained academic staff to >50% at each of the six universities. During that period, 240 students will benefit from 140 improved RawMaterials-related courses, improving their learning and understanding.