Colonial policy studies in Japan: racial visions of Nan'yo, or the early creation of a global South

This article examines Japanese colonial policy studies (shokumin seisaku gaku) with a particular focus on its relationship with the distinct region of ‘Nan'yo’ (the South Seas). Specifically analysing the works of Takekoshi Yosaburo (1865–1950), Nitobe Inazo (1862–1933) and Yanaihara Tadao (1893–1961), it seeks to uncover the ways in which the exponents of this study area accounted for Nan'yo based on their conceptions of race. It also shows how they inflicted envisaged racial hierarchies on the southern Pacific and how such attempts were related to colonial policy debates behind the practice of Japanese imperialism. Part of the findings point out that Takekoshi's and Nitobe's comparable projections of strict racial hierarchies on the Malays served to justify the southward colonization of the Japanese. Yanaihara's depiction of Nan'yo islanders as radically underdeveloped was tailored to championing Japan's sustained espousal of the League Mandate. The article argues that their accounts of Nan'yo formed part of a transnational knowledge chain about colonial and racial victimization. Like their western counterparts including Gustav Le Bon, Paul Leroy-Beaulieu, Paul S. Reinsch and J. A. Hobson, they built purported racial pyramids with the tropical areas at their bottom, the bulk of which correspond to today's global South. They have been accomplices in this colonial present.

Primary Education Teacher Training: an exploratory study from the lockdown towards the post Covid period

This exploratory study, conducted during the first Covid-19 lockdown, formed part of the practical module of the Teacher Training in Primary Education course at the University of Udine, and was carried out on a sample of trainees enrolled on the course. The research had the following objectives: to understand the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown on trainees and to reflect on the impact on planning of teaching in a traditional classroom environment or in VLE, Virtual Learning Environment. In order to improve the practical components of the course, observations focused on organizational, methodological and pedagogical aspects. The data, gathered in an online questionnaire, provided a comparison of teacher training delivered in person in the pre-Covid period and in later training online. The data also provided information on the strengths and weaknesses of classroom and distance learning, on the use of technology and on the professional development of teachers in the future. The study found a multitude of issues that will need to be further explored in the post Covid period, including rethinking models and approaches in initial teacher training. Tirocinio di Scienze della Formazione Primaria: uno studio esplorativo nel primo lockdown per Covid. Il presente studio esplorativo è stato promosso, durante il primo lockdown per Covid-19, all’interno del Tirocinio del Corso di Studi in Scienze della Formazione Primaria dell’Università di Udine su un campione di studenti iscritti al tirocinio. La ricerca esplorativa ha avuto come obiettivi: comprendere le ricadute nei tirocinanti conseguenti allo stato di emergenza e riflettere sulla didattica in presenza e a distanza sui piani organizzativo, metodologico e pedagogico per potenziare l’offerta formativa del tirocinio. I dati, desunti da un questionario online, hanno permesso un confronto sul tirocinio in presenza nel periodo pre-Covid e successivamente svolto in DaD. I dati hanno fornito anche risultati su punti di forza e criticità della didattica in presenza e a distanza, sull’uso delle tecnologie e sulla professionalità docente futura. Lo studio ha inoltre rilevato una molteplicità di aspetti che andranno ulteriormente approfonditi per il periodo post Covid-19, tra cui il ripensamento di modelli ed approcci nella formazione iniziale degli insegnanti.

Thermoplastic Mandrel for Manufacturing Composite Components with Complex Structure

This study was to solve the mandrel demolding problem after curing the composite component with complex structure. In this paper, a reusable thermoplastic mandrel with heating softening characteristics was developed by resin transfer molding (RTM). The glass transition temperature (Tg), surface roughness, and reusability of the mandrel, as well as the shape, surface roughness, thickness uniformity, and internal quality of the formed structure, were tested. The result showed that the Tg of the mandrel was between 80 and 90 °C and the surface roughness was less than Ra 0.5 μm. Additionally, the mandrel can be recycled and can still maintain a good shape after 20 times of deformation. By using this method, the demolding process can be realized by heating and softening the mandrel. The profile error of the formed structure was within 0.5 mm, the surface roughness was less than Ra 0.5 μm, the thickness error was within 0.2 mm, and the average porosity of the upper and lower halves of composite parts was 0.72% and 0.61%. All those data showed that the formed part was in good shape and of good quality. The thermoplastic mandrel can solve the demolding problem of composite materials with complex shapes.

Entomophagy in Gabon across the African context

Entomophagy is well established in the food habits of Africa; however, country-wide knowledge remains limited for several countries, including Gabon. Here, two surveys on entomophagy were conducted in Gabon through face-to-face interviews. The first survey collected information on insect eating habits from 169 potential consumers. Edible insects formed part of the diet of most Gabonese people, with more than 60% of consumers within participants, and were particularly common among the Teke ethnic group (93%). Familiarity with edible insects was influenced by culture and family, but not by gender or study level. The second survey focused on edible insect species and their host plants, by interviewing a sample of 113 both villagers and retailers. Seventy-five species of insects from six insect orders (Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Isoptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata and Orthoptera) were consumed in Gabon, and were collected from 48 species of host plant. Many insects were formerly reported in the literature related to entomophagy; however, 13 species were newly reported as edible in this study: Bidessus batekensis, Bunaeopsis licharbas, Copelatus ateles, Copelatus confinis, Copelatus fizpaci, Copelatus tondangoyei, Gonobombyx angulata, Gonometa titan, Hydrocyrius columbiae, Oxychirus semisericeus, Philobota sp., Psara sp. and Ptyelus flavescens. Consequently, these surveys highlighted that entomophagy is common in Gabon. However, strategies to promote edible insects are needed to have a significant impact on food issues in Gabon (e.g. food insecurity and dependence on foreign food supplies). Additional researches on entomophagy in Gabon are required to further develop these strategies.

Sociological variety and the transmission efficiency of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a secondary analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from 15 communities in Zambia

ObjectivesSelected Zambian communities formed part of a cluster randomised trial: the Zambia and South Africa TB and AIDS Reduction study (ZAMSTAR). There was wide variability in the prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and tuberculosis (TB) disease across these communities. We sought to clarify whether specific communities could have been more/less vulnerable to M. tuberculosis transmission as a result of sociological variety relevant to transmission efficiency.DesignWe conducted a mixed methods secondary analysis using existing data sets. First, we analysed qualitative data to categorise and synthesise patterns of socio-spatial engagement across communities. Second, we compared emergent sociological variables with a measure of transmission efficiency: the ratio of the annual risk of infection to TB prevalence.SettingZAMSTAR communities in urban and peri-urban Zambia, spanning five provinces.ParticipantsFifteen communities, each served by a health facility offering TB treatment to a population of at least 25 000. TB notification rates were at least 400 per 100 000 per annum and HIV seroprevalence was estimated to be high.ResultsCrowding, movement, livelihoods and participation in recreational activity differed across communities. Based on 12 socio-spatial indicators, communities were qualitatively classified as more/less spatially crowded and as more/less socially ‘open’ to contact with others, with implications for the presumptive risk of M. tuberculosis transmission. For example, watching video shows in poorly ventilated structures posed a presumptive risk in more socially open communities, while outdoor farming and/or fishing were particularly widespread in communities with lower transmission measures.ConclusionsA dual dynamic of ‘social permeability’ and crowding appeared relevant to disparities in M. tuberculosis transmission efficiency. To reduce transmission, certain socio-spatial aspects could be adjusted (eg, increasing ventilation on transport), while more structural aspects are less malleable (eg, reliance on public transport). We recommend integrating community level typologies with genome sequencing techniques to further explore the significance of ‘social permeability’.Trial registration numberISRCTN36729271.

Feasibility of an adjunctive cognitive task in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder

Visuospatial cognitive tasks that influence memory reconsolidation may be of benefit in reducing intrusive memories for traumatic events when used as an adjunct to trauma-focused psychotherapy. We conducted a feasibility assessment of a protocol that involved the use of a visuospatial cognitive task, the Tetris intervention, alongside routine exposure-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants were inpatients attending for PTSD treatment at a psychiatric hospital. The Tetris intervention was administered on three occasions when imaginal exposure had formed part of the treatment session. Using a phone app, participants also monitored intrusive memories over a 3-week period. Feasibility outcomes were fully met for the demand, implementation, practicality and adaptability criteria. Only a single criterion was not met for each of the acceptability and implementation criteria. Limited-efficacy testing outcomes are also discussed. Overall, the findings from our feasibility study indicated viability of the protocol, which involved implementation of the Tetris intervention alongside routine exposure-based treatment for PTSD, in a clinical inpatient setting.

Polish-Ukrainian Treaty of Good Neighbourhood. Analysis of the decision-making process

2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Treaty of Good Neighbourhood, Friendly Relations, and Cooperation between Poland and Ukraine. In the presented article, by applying elements of decision analysis, an attempt was made to explain the decision to conclude the Treaty. First, the decision-making centres in Poland and Ukraine, and their awareness with respect to Polish-Ukrainian relations, were presented as three separate circles: public opinion, political parties, and groups of the most important decision-makers. The decision to sign the treaty was possible thanks to the political and intellectual elites who originated in the former communist-era opposition, both in Poland and Ukraine. Those elites convinced the governing circles to accept their conception of foreign policy. In Poland, this was all the easier because people originating directly from those elites formed part of the decision-making bodies. In Ukraine, however, the foreign policy conception of the dissident circles was internalised by the President. Secondly, using the game theory and assuming the rationality of decision-makers, the decision-making process was reconstructed, understood in the category of interactions between two decision-making centres. The two states aimed to conclude a treaty that would satisfy both parties. It can thus be concluded that they demonstrated a readiness to compromise during the negotiations. It can also be assumed that this readiness was slightly asymmetrical in Poland’s favour. Ukraine was willing to sacrifice much more in order for the treaty to be negotiated.

Beastly Modernisms: The Question of Animal Speech and Psychology in James Joyce and Virginia Woolf

This essay analyses the ways in which James Joyce and Virginia Woolf addressed from a very early stage key issues related to contemporary posthumanist theories such as the question of animal speech and psychology. Both Joyce’s description of human-animal encounters in Ulysses and Woolf’s depiction of a sentient animal subject in Flush: A Biography at first present, and then subvert, the idea of the use of language as evidence of a human surpassing of the animal. By challenging preconceived notions of species distinctions, these authors ultimately decenter the human to focus instead on the centrality of animal subjectivity and sensory experience. While the question of a sharp divide between human and nonhuman animals along the axis of speech can be traceable to the anthropocentric tradition of western humanism and not least to such a possible source as Cervantes (whose novella “The Dialogue of the Dogs” is listed as part of both Joyce’s Trieste library and the library of Leonard and Virginia Woolf), the idea of expanding the typically modernist focus on inner life by also including other forms of subjectivity may have derived from the coeval, burgeoning fields of zoology, ethology and comparative psychology. Drawing from these sources and popular areas of knowledge which formed part of the cultural climate of the time, both Joyce and Woolf explore cross-species intersubjectivity in ways that shift the terms of representation away from anthropocentric views in order to affirm, blur and deny the boundaries between the human and the non-human.

Socialist Construction for Siberia: Comecon Cooperation and the Making of Ust`-Ilimsk Forest Industrial Complex in the USSR, 1970s and 1980s

This article examines the history of socialist collaboration in Comecon through the lens of a large industrial project in Soviet Siberia. It examines the construction of the Ust`-Ilimsk forest industrial complex which was conceived as a collective effort of six socialist European countries. On the one hand, the project formed part of the Soviet Union's strategy of technological colonization of Soviet Eastern lands, and on the other, it aimed to enhance socialist collaboration and integration efforts through the exchange of material goods and expertise, as prescribed by the project agreements. The paper focuses on the interplay between ideological implications, national interests and material shortages when completing the project, showing the contradictory nature of socialist collaborative construction. It argues that the Soviet central government sought material resources for the construction from ‘brother’ socialist countries with an ideological emphasis on how important it was for further cooperation in the Eastern bloc. In fact, the project exposed difficulties, ranging from material shortages typical of state socialism and the predominance of national economic interests, with the result that this socialist project was compelled to also make use of Western equipment and expertise, transforming Ust`-Ilimsk from a socialist to a far more international construction site.

Influence of the Different Combination of Diameters of Two Tool Heads on Forming Quality in Double Sided Incremental Forming

The existing double sided incremental forming (DSIF) mostly uses two tools with the same diameter as the upper/lower tools, which is not conducive to improve the forming quality and forming efficiency. In this paper, the influence of the different combination of the upper and lower tool head diameters on the thickness distribution and the contour dimension accuracy of the formed part is studied by using ANSYS / LS-DYNA software and by taking the model with bidirectional convex features as the research object. It is found that the reasonable combination of different diameters of the upper/lower tools based on the characteristics of the parts to be formed can improve the forming quality and forming efficiency.