Invisible Barriers, Undeclared Wars

Despite the indisputable progress of gender equality in academia in recent decades, the relative stagnancy of women's participation in decision making and resource distribution remains a global issue. There is growing evidence that a large part of gender inequality in higher education and research cannot be explained by explicit measurable factors. Male bias is encoded in societal and academic culture and to a significant extent determines subconscious choices and decisions benefiting men. This chapter analyses cultural reasons behind gender inequality and typifies them in a form of a matrix based on gendered attitudes to women's leadership in academia. The analysis of typical resistances reveals psychological and social mechanisms of subtle gender discrimination and is followed by a set of proposed preventive measures.

The effect of the use of a soil improver based on waste brown coal on the enzymatic activity of soil in the cultivation of Paulownia hybrids (Paulownia Siebold & Zuccarini, 1835)

The effect of the use of a soil improver based on waste brown coal on the enzymatic activity of soil in the cultivation of Paulownia hybrids (Paulownia Siebold & Zuccarini, 1835). An important element in controlling the condition of the soil and the plants grown on it are tests of the enzymatic activity of the soil matrix. One of the greatest advantages of using enzyme tests is the ability to make an assessment that also includes other non-measurable factors that affect soil health and condition. The diagnosed changes in soil enzymatic activity are the best parameter for determining the biochemical processes taking place there. This article describes the enzymatic activity of lessive soils on which the Paulownia hybrid variety is cultivated and a soil improver based on waste brown coal is used

Using Grammarly to Enhance Students’ Academic Writing Skills

The paper aims to present the results of the experiment in applying the online writing assistant Grammarly.com to evaluate ESP students’ essay writing skills. One hundred master students’ papers were processed by the application to identify persisting errors at a master’s level. Quantitative and qualitative methods enabled the researchers to analyze the essays by setting five parameters: audience, formality, domain, tone, and intent. At the other end, the application broke down the outcome by five measurable factors: correctness, clarity, delivery, engagement, and style issues. The representative number of the essays fed into Grammarly.com provided a vivid and reliable picture of which lexis, grammar, structure, or style issues still need addressing. The most common mistakes detected by Grammarly.com were punctuation, wordy sentences, redundancy, and the abundance of personal pronouns in a formal style. They show that the gaps in students’ academic writing need a remedial course. Another objective of the research was to explore the potential of the online writing tool for students’ self-study. Grammarly.com cannot do work for students: it cannot think for them, neither can it write for them, but it can help learners identify the reoccurring writing problems, eliminate them, and monitor the progress. The application could be particularly useful for advanced students. The functionality of the Grammarly premium version allows for a choice of styles, type of addressee, tone of writing, and many other nuances, which could be beneficial not only for studies but in future professional life. Nonetheless, despite Grammarly’s advanced features, it only suggests a better variant, sometimes it errs, and in no way is it a substitute for a teacher.

The axis of professionalization

Using the results of two surveys conducted by the present authors, this paper examines translators’ and interpreters’ behaviour in the translation market and factors that influence it in (Slovak) society. In keeping with the familiar fact that not all translators are alike, we believe that empirically measurable factors enable us to observe behavioural patterns among translators and interpreters that are distinguishable along an axis of specialisation and an axis of professionalisation. The authors conducted two separate surveys involving 550 translators and interpreters – including literary translators, court translators and interpreters, translators of technical texts, audiovisual translators, institutional interpreters, and freelance translators – who worked across Slovakia’s market spectrum. In the analysis of the survey results, we found that, among other things, the level of professionalisation played a crucial role in translators’ decision-making processes within the broader social and professional context. In line with Toury’s (1995, 55) definitions of the norm, we hoped to “distinguish regularity of behaviour in recurrent situations of the same type” according to certain factors, including the degree of professionalisation and age, education, and type of translatorial activity.

Rigidity properties for commuting automorphisms on tori and solenoids

Assuming positive entropy, we prove a measure rigidity theorem for higher rank actions on tori and solenoids by commuting automorphisms. We also apply this result to obtain a complete classification of disjointness and measurable factors for these actions.

AMBER Alert Effectiveness Reexamined

Prior research based on limited datasets has suggested AMBER Alerts do little to prevent harm to child abduction victims. However, to investigate the possibility of recent improvements in AMBER Alert performance, the authors examine a sample of 472 AMBER Alerts issued over a 3-year period from 2012 to 2015, using available media accounts to code for relevant case information. The findings are consistent with prior research questioning AMBER Alert effectiveness: The crucial variable predicting Alert outcomes is abductor relationship to the victim, not AMBER Alert “performance.” Furthermore, cases involving “successful” AMBER Alerts are comparable on measurable factors to AMBER Alert cases where the child was recovered safely but the Alert played no role, suggesting both categories of cases involved little real risk. Implications for interpreting the viability of the AMBER Alert concept, public discourse regarding its contribution to child safety, and larger implications for crime control policy are discussed.

Acoustic Comfort as a Salutogenic Resource in Learning Environments—A Proposal for the Design of a System to Improve the Acoustic Quality of Classrooms

This article addresses the topic of environmental comfort from a salutogenic and pedagogical point of view. It begins by presenting a wide framework aimed at describing the complexity and specificity of the acoustic issue and the need to integrate decibel-based metrics with knowledge and reflections which are inherent to non-measurable factors. The article then focuses its attention on educational spaces and presents the results of an investigation carried out in 52 classrooms of 19 primary schools in Florence. From this research and keeping in mind the current Italian legislation, the following results are deduced: (1) the layout of a typical classroom, (2) the average reverberation time and (3) the sound-absorbing surface required to improve the acoustic quality of the typical classroom with polystyrene fibre panels. Subsequently, after having briefly described the more appropriate typology of sound-absorbing solutions, a system for the acoustic correction of classrooms is presented. This system is composed of two parts. The first part is fixed and its realisation is entrusted to specialised personnel; the second, based on the concept of personalisation and transformation of the educational space, is modifiable through time and designed and applied by the students themselves.

Recent advancements in understanding the terroir effect on aromas in grapes and wines

Terroir is about the link between wine and its origin. It has long been understood by sensory evaluation that the taste of wine from a given variety can be related to its origins. Specific organoleptic characteristics of wine are influenced by environmental factors such as soil and climate. By deconstructing the effect of measurable soil and climate parameters on grape and wine aroma compounds, the terroir effect on wine typicity can be better understood. Climate influences on vine development and grape ripening are mainly associated with temperature, radiation and rainfall, while soil influences are primarily associated with water availability and nitrogen supply. Significant advances have been made over recent years in understanding wine aromas and their molecular basis and influences of climate and soil on a wide range of molecules responsible for wine aroma expression. This article aims to review these recent research advances to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of how terroir influences wine typicity. The effect of terroir on wine quality and typicity is sometimes considered intangible and difficult to explain on a scientific basis. By combining agronomic, analytical and sensory approaches, however, this review shows that the terroir effect is mediated by measurable factors that can easily be monitored in the vineyard. Assessment of the results compiled by this review allows the suggestion that terroir expression at specific sites might be maximized by choosing appropriate plant material in relation to soil and climate, by acting on manageable parameters like vine water and nitrogen status, or by implementing canopy management to modify microclimate in the bunch zone.

How to measure and manage the soil effect in terroir expression

Terroir relates the taste of wine to the place where it was produced. It involves the influence of climate, soil, cultivar and viticultural practices. Huge progression has been achieved over the past years in the understanding of how the soil can shape the quality and the style of a wine. To do so, the soil effect needs to be broken into measurable factors. Once these are quantified by appropriate approaches, terroir can be mapped and managed. By fine-tuning the choice of plant material (rootstock and variety) and viticultural techniques to local soil conditions, it is possible to optimize terroir expression.