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TOKYO GHOUL: CONTEXTUALIZING SOCIAL POLLUTION THROUGH IDENTITY
No full textenterThis thesis examines the concept of social pollution within Sui Ishida’s manga
series Tokyo Ghoul, investigating how the narrative critiques societal anxieties
surrounding purity, identity, and exclusion in a Japanese cultural context. Social
pollution is defined as the perceived contamination of normative social structures,
which is explored through themes of ethnonationalism, xenophobia, class, and gender
identity. By employing a close reading of the full Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul:re
series in their English translations, this research contextualizes the portrayal of ghouls
and marginalized identities in relation to real world Japanese constructs. This includes
ideas of Nihonjinron, the historical discrimination of Burakumin, and expectations of
gender conformity. Through this analysis, the thesis argues that ghouls serve as
metaphorical representations of those socially excluded, revealing the persistent
societal tension between inclusion and the fear of the “other.”ente
Enhancing fraction education: an exploration of multimedia learning principles and effective digital material design
No full textHofstetter, Fred T.Many students struggle to understand fractions, and this has led to a growing interest in using technology to support math education. This thesis looks at how digital learning materials can be improved using multimedia learning principles and better instructional design. The study reviews and analyzes a variety of freely available digital tools for teaching fractions, focusing on how well they follow educational guidelines and support student learning. ☐ A custom rubric was used to evaluate these tools based on Mayer’s multimedia learning principles, research-based instructional criteria, and the presence of interleaved practice. The findings show that most digital tools are focused on blocked practice rather than interleaved. Many also lack clear learning goals, strong feedback, and thoughtful user design. ☐ To help address these issues, this thesis proposes a Digital Material Development Framework (DMDF). This framework offers five key phases for designing better digital materials: instructional design, user interface design, interactivity, implementation/testing, and feedback/assessment. While the focus is on fractions, the framework can be adapted for other subjects as well. ☐ The goal of this study is to provide a starting point for developing better, more engaging, and research-based tools for learning fractions—tools that can eventually be tested in classrooms and refined with real feedback from students and teachers.University of Delaware, School of EducationM.Ed
In-situ Visual Microdamage Detection in Lead-based Perovskite Solar Cells
No full textThis article was originally published in Science China Chemistry. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-025-2922-1
This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-025-2922-1
© Science China Press 2025
This article is embargoed until September 21, 2026Although Lead (Pb)-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have garnered intense attention for their remarkable photovoltaic conversion efficiency, their commercial process is urgently in need of an effective damage-evaluation system for the early diagnosis of faulty PSCs. The main cause of microdamage in perovskite films is the outflow of Pb, which significantly impacts device performance. However, no reliable correlation has been established between classical damage detection techniques and Pb detection, resulting in limited detection sensitivity. Here, we report an in-situ visual microdamage evaluation method of PSCs by coating the device surface with a silica gel encapsulation layer containing porphyrin molecules. This detection technology enables high selectivity and sensitivity based on the strong complexation between the porphyrin ring and trace Pb outflow from degraded PSCs. By establishing the linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity and Pb concentration in PSCs, trace Pb outflow is pinpointed and quantified with a low detection limit of 0.65 μg cm−2. An applet is developed for the in-situ visual fluorescence detection method to facilitate the continuous real-time monitoring of series-type PSCs, thereby enabling the prompt identification and replacement of damaged PSCs and ensuring the swift restoration of high efficiency.Xuanhua Li acknowledges financial support from the Shccig-Qinling Program (SMYJY202300294C), the Science, Technology, and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (GJHZ20220913143204008, JCYJ20220818103417036), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22261142666, 52172237, 52372225) and the Shaanxi Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (2022JC-21). The authors thank the members of the Analytical & Testing Center of Northwestern Polytechnical University for the help with XPS, XRD and SEM characterization
The Politics of Paleoanthropology: An Evaluation of Human Evolution Museum Exhibits
No full textenterMuseums are authorities for disseminating scientific information to the public.
Human evolution exhibits address questions of who we are, where we come from, and
why we are here, with modern human diversity and race intimately intertwined within
these questions. How and why do natural history museums in differing cultural
contexts present the story of human evolution, modern human diversity, and race to
the public differently? I travelled to six natural history museums in three countries to
document each human evolution exhibition: The American Museum of Natural
History in New York City and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
in Washington D.C. representing the sample from the United States, the Maropeng
Visitor Centre Museum at the Cradle of Mankind World Heritage Site in Gauteng and
the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town representing the sample from South
Africa, and the Natural History Museum in London and the Oxford University
Museum of Natural History in Oxford representing the British sample. I examined the
mediums, language, and design used in the creation of the exhibitions and analyzed
the existing literature on museum exhibition design as well as the history, curators,
funding, and other internal factors that impacted decisions in the exhibition creation
process. In each nation, a key theme emerged between the representative museums.
American museums focus on evolution prior to Homo sapiens, largely avoiding deeper
conversations on modern human diversity and the concept of race. Instead, both
worked to reconcile religiosity and evolution for their audience. South African
museums highlight current and historical issues within anthropology, focusing on a
shared African heritage and the meaning of self-identity in a post-apartheid era. British
museums tend to have more focus on nationalism but are more so defined by their
explicit avoidance on discussions of race and diversity, at times erring on racial
insensitivity. Museums both reflect the cultural and political worldviews of their
countries whilst simultaneously acting as mediums by which to shape it. As a result,
human diversity, race, and evolution are interpreted and displayed uniquely around the
world and remain important spaces for increasing racial literacy, science education,
and social justice awareness.ente
Overruling the Executive: Judicial Strategies to Resist Democratic Erosion
No full textThis article was originally published in Journal of Law and Courts. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/jlc.2024.30.
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Law and Courts Organized Section of the American Political Science Association.
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original article is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained prior to any commercial use.How can autonomous apex courts with specific attitudes and role conceptions counter executive aggrandizement? This article theorizes two causal mechanisms through which justices can resist democratic erosion. The first mechanism involves apex courts employing judicial review to neutralize autocratic legalism by blocking strategies such as institutional conversion, replacement, and layering that executives use to expand their power. The second involves apex courts building coalitions within and beyond the judiciary, enabling diverse actors – including judges, political parties, the media, and NGOs – to leverage their unique resources against executive encroachment. I conceptualize these two mechanisms by combining theory-building process tracing with counterfactual analysis of an unlikely case of democratic resilience: Argentina from 2007 to 2015. Drawing on evidence from 125 elite interviews, over a thousand newspaper articles, hundreds of state documents, memoirs, and other primary sources, this article demonstrates how the Supreme Court nullified President Cristina Kirchner’s attempts to undermine freedom of expression and judicial independence, thereby contributing to democratic resilience.No funding was used for this article
Creating Open Educational Resources (OER) for Global Apparel Trade and Sourcing Courses
No full textThis article was originally published in International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.18465.
© 2023 The author(s). Published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This study shared the best practices and discussed the opportunities and challenges of using open educational resources (OER) in global sourcing classes
Distinguishing Journalism from Political Influence Operations: Rethinking the FEC’s Approach to the Press Exemption
No full textThe Role of Host-Range Expansion and Co-Speciation in Host–Parasite Associations With the Divergence of the Great Tit Species Complex
No full textThis article was originally published in Ecology and Evolution. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70859.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
© 2025 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.During the evolution of parasites, co-speciation and host-range expansion are thought to play roles in establishing associations with hosts, while sorting events can lead to dissolution of those associations. To address the roles of these processes, we focus on avian haemosporidian parasites infecting hosts of the intensively studied great tit species complex. We estimated the phylogeography of lineages detected in the species complex, and quantified their transition probabilities among hosts. Lineages detected in different host species presented a strong geographical signal but did not form monophyletic groups. Yet, distributions of lineages are not merely the result of their dispersal limitations, as many lineages that infect only one focal species can be found in birds sympatric with other focal species. Besides, closely related lineages that infect the same host species reach more similar rates of infection than expected by chance. Finally, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon lineages infecting P. major, the most recently dispersed species, were more generalized than others, consistent with a pattern of generalist parasites expanding their host ranges by infecting newly encountered host species. Our results suggest that host–parasite associations in this system are mainly the result of sorting events and host-range expansion of parasites, rather than co-speciation.This research was funded by the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC): no. 32170418 (to L.D.), 32000292 (to X.H.)