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The development of verbal strategies in L2 Italian of low/non-literate adult learners
Get PDFI present the results of a research conducted in Palermo, Italy (the 'gateway to Europe' in the new migrations crossing the Mediterranean Sea) between 2017 and 2019.A conspicuous feature in new migrations is widespread illiteracy and low schooling rates, especially in the case of migrants coming from sub-Saharan Africa or Bangladesh. This research focused on the acquisition of verbal morphosyntax in adult learners with limited or no literacy in a language of origin upon arrival on Italian shores
Inter-laboratory mass spectrometry dataset based on passive sampling of drinking water for non-target analysis
Get PDFNon-target analysis (NTA) employing high-resolution mass spectrometry is a commonly applied approach for the detection of novel chemicals of emerging concern in complex environmental samples. NTA typically results in large and information-rich datasets that require computer aided (ideally automated) strategies for their processing and interpretation. Such strategies do however raise the challenge of reproducibility between and within different processing workflows. An effective strategy to mitigate such problems is the implementation of inter-laboratory studies (ILS) with the aim to evaluate different workflows and agree on harmonized/standardized quality control procedures. Here we present the data generated during such an ILS. This study was organized through the Norman Network and included 21 participants from 11 countries. A set of samples based on the passive sampling of drinking water pre and post treatment was shipped to all the participating laboratories for analysis, using one pre-defined method and one locally (i.e. in-house) developed method. The data generated represents a valuable resource (i.e. benchmark) for future developments of algorithms and workflows for NTA experiments
Dopad epidemie nemoci COVID-19 na distribuci, prezentaci a monetizaci kulturního obsahu: hudba, film a divadlo
Get PDFTato zpráva se zabývá dopadem vládních protiepidemických opatření - přijatých v souvislosti s bojem proti epidemii koronaviru v době od 10. března 2020 do června 2021 - na fungování vybraných kulturních odvětví v České republice. Soustředíme se na tři vybraná odvětví kulturních průmyslů (hudba, film a divadlo), přičemž zvláštní pozornost věnujeme digitální distribuci kulturního obsahu. Zajímá nás především zkušenost aktérů kulturního pole s dopadem protiepidemických opatření na jejich stávající distribuční strategie a obchodní modely, zkušenost s alternativními strategiemi distribuce kulturního obsahu prostřednictvím webcastingu, streamovacích služeb, nových technologií a netradičních způsobů kontaktu s publikem. Zpráva hledá odpověď rovněž na obecnější otázku, co epidemická krize odhalila o fungování zkoumaných kulturních odvětví a postavení jejich aktérů v České republice. Ve výzkumné zprávě nejenže popisujeme zkušenosti postižených aktérů kulturních průmyslů, ale rovněž identifikujeme překážky a příležitosti, které stávající či nové způsoby digitální distribuce kulturního obsahu v době protiepidemických opatření přinášejí.This report addresses the impact of government anti-epidemic measures - taken in connection with the fight against the coronavirus epidemic between March 10, 2020 and June 2021 - on the functioning of selected cultural sectors in the Czech Republic. We focus on three selected sectors of the cultural industries (music, film and theater), paying special attention to the digital distribution of cultural content. We are mainly interested in the experience of cultural actors with the impact of anti-epidemic measures on their existing distribution strategies and business models, experience in alternative strategies for distributing cultural content through webcasting, streaming services, new technologies and non-traditional ways of contacting the audience. The report also seeks to answer the more general question of what the epidemic crisis has revealed about the functioning of the cultural sectors examined and the position of their actors in the Czech Republic. In the research report, we not only describe the experiences of affected actors in the cultural industries, but also identify the obstacles and opportunities that existing or new ways of digital distribution of cultural content bring during anti-epidemic measures
Multi-pathogen infections and Alzheimer's disease
Get PDFAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease associated with the overproduction and accumulation of amyloid-beta peptide and hyperphosphorylation of tau proteins in the brain. Despite extensive research on the amyloid-based mechanism of AD pathogenesis, the underlying cause of AD is not fully understood. No disease-modifying therapies currently exist, and numerous clinical trials have failed to demonstrate any benefits. The recent discovery that the amyloid-beta peptide has antimicrobial activities supports the possibility of an infectious aetiology of AD and suggests that amyloid-beta plaque formation might be induced by infection. AD patients have a weakened blood-brain barrier and immune system and are thus at elevated risk of microbial infections. Such infections can cause chronic neuroinflammation, production of the antimicrobial amyloid-beta peptide, and neurodegeneration. Various pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites have been associated with AD. Most research in this area has focused on individual pathogens, with herpesviruses and periodontal bacteria being most frequently implicated. The purpose of this review is to highlight the potential role of multi-pathogen infections in AD. Recognition of the potential coexistence of multiple pathogens and biofilms in AD's aetiology may stimulate the development of novel approaches to its diagnosis and treatment. Multiple diagnostic tests could be applied simultaneously to detect major pathogens, followed by anti-microbial treatment using antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-biofilm agents
Whose Landscape Is It? Remapping Memory and History in Interwar Central Europe
Get PDFAfter the collapse of the Habsburg Empire and the sanctioning of new national borders in 1920, the successor states faced the controversial task of reconceptualizing the idea of national territory. Images of historically significant landscapes played a crucial role in this process. Employing the concept of mental maps, this article explores how such images shaped the connections between place, memory, and landscape in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Hungarian revisionist publications demonstrate how Hungarian nationalists visualized the organic integrity of “Greater Hungary,” while also implicitly adapting historical memory to the new geopolitical situation. As a counterpoint, images of the Váh region produced in interwar Czechoslovakia reveal how an opposing political agenda gave rise to a different imagery, while drawing on shared cultural traditions from the imperial past. Finally, the case study of Dévény/Devín/Theben shows how the idea of being positioned “between East and West” lived on in overlapping but politically opposed mental maps in the interwar period. By examining the cracks and continuities in the picturesque landscape tradition after 1918, the article offers new insight into the similarities and differences of nation-building processes from the perspective of visual culture
Psychometric evaluation of the Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation – General Population : Czech version
Get PDFObjectives. This study aimed to assess psychometric properties, such as reliability, construct validity, and cut-off scores, for the Czech version of the Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation – General Population (GP-CORE) questionnaire, a tool usable for repeated measurement of psychological distress within routine clinical settings. Participants and setting. Two general populations and one clinical sample were used with N values of 420, 394, and 345, respectively. Hypotheses. One of the competing theoretical factor solutions will demonstrate the best fit. Statistical analysis. To examine the factor structure of the GP-CORE, a confirmatory multidimensional item response theory analysis (graded response model) was employed. Results. The best fitting model was a bifactor solution representing one content domain of overall distress and two item wording domains (positively and negatively worded items). Clinical cut-off scores were determined to be 1.85 (men) and 1.90 (women). Study limitations. The GP-CORE can be used as an unidimensional measure of overall distress, but users have to be aware of the influence of positive vs. negative item wording on the responses
A New Austrian Regionalism : Alfons Walde and Austrian Identity in Painting after 1918
Get PDFThis essay assesses the role of regionalism in interwar Austrian painting with a focus on the Tyrolean painter and architect Alfons Walde (1891–1958). At a time when painting was seen to be in crisis, eclipsed by the deaths of prominent Viennese artists such as Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, regionalism offered an alternative engagement with modern art. As the representative of a wider regionalist movement, Walde paved the way for a clearly identifiable image of rural Austria without foregoing the modernization process that took place in the Alps at the time. Filtering essential elements of local culture and synthesizing them with both a modern formal language and “modern” topics, most significantly ski tourism, he created a regionalism that reverberated beyond the narrow confines of his home province and caught particular momentum during the rise of the Austrian Ständestaat in the 1930s. Moving in between regional and national significance, Walde's work underlines the essential position of the region in Austria after 1918 and conveys that an engaged regionalism that responded to the rapid cultural and political changes taking place became a significant aspect of interwar Austrian painting
Ideální konsenzus, reálná diverzita a výzva veřejného ospravedlnění : k limitům idealizace v liberální politické teorii
Get PDFThe paper deals with the methodological clash between idealism and anti-idealism in political philosophy, and highlights its importance for public reason (PR) and public justification (PJ) theorising. Upon reviewing the broader context which harks back to Rawls’s notion of a realistic utopia, we focus on two major recent contributions to the debate in the work of David Estlund (the prototypical utopian) and Gerald Gaus (the cautious anti-utopian). While Estlund presents a powerful case on behalf of ideal theorising, claiming that motivational incapacity and other non-ideal features of “human nature” – the so-called bad facts – do not normally refute the desirability of highly utopian theories of justice, we show that Gaus is correct in stressing the importance of feasibility considerations, including empirical knowledge about human societies. Because moral disagreement is to be expected even among cognitively and morally excellent reasoners, we argue that Estlund’s search for Truth about justice must idealise away normative diversity as just another bad fact. This methodological dispute has important ramifications for current debates about PR and PJ as the grounds of liberal legitimacy. Because consensual approaches rely on strong idealisation which results in exclusion of numerous comprehensive doctrines from consideration, we conclude that convergence-based liberal political theory has distinct advantage as regards exploiting normative diversity to the advantage of everyoneThe paper deals with the methodological clash between idealism and anti-idealism in political philosophy, and highlights its importance for public reason (PR) and public justification (PJ) theorising. Upon reviewing the broader context which harks back to Rawls’s notion of a realistic utopia, we focus on two major recent contributions to the debate in the work of David Estlund (the prototypical utopian) and Gerald Gaus (the cautious anti-utopian). While Estlund presents a powerful case on behalf of ideal theorising, claiming that motivational incapacity and other non-ideal features of “human nature” – the so-called bad facts – do not normally refute the desirability of highly utopian theories of justice, we show that Gaus is correct in stressing the importance of feasibility considerations, including empirical knowledge about human societies. Because moral disagreement is to be expected even among cognitively and morally excellent reasoners, we argue that Estlund’s search for Truth about justice must idealise away normative diversity as just another bad fact. This methodological dispute has important ramifications for current debates about PR and PJ as the grounds of liberal legitimacy. Because consensual approaches rely on strong idealisation which results in exclusion of numerous comprehensive doctrines from consideration, we conclude that convergence-based liberal political theory has distinct advantage as regards exploiting normative diversity to the advantage of everyon
Češi na sítích, důvěra a polarizace v době pandemie
Get PDFVýzkumná zpráva shrnuje klíčová zjištění z dotazníkového šetření české populace na konci roku 2020. Zaměřuje se na to, jak se během pandemie vyvíjela recepce zpráv (s důrazem na online sociální sítě), jak se Češi zapojovali do online diskuzí a proč a jak se vyvíjela důvěra a polarizace během prvního roku pandemie.The research report summarizes the key findings from survey research on Czech adult population at the end of year 2020. It focuses on the news reception (emphasizing the role of the online social networking sites), online dicussions, trust and polarization - and their changes in the first year of pandemic
Distribúcia verejných zdrojov ako nástroj mobilizácie volebnej podpory. Prípad alokácie hasičskej techniky na Slovensku
Get PDFČlánok analyzuje distribúciu hasičskej techniky do obcí na Slovensku v období pred parlamentnými voľbami v roku 2016. Z výsledkov vyplýva, že obce vedené starostami z vládnej strany a tiež obce, kde vládna strana v predošlých voľbách zaznamenala lepší výsledok, boli v distribučnom procese zvýhodnené. Súčasne text ukazuje, že pridelená technika mala pozitívny dopad na podporu vládnej strany a ešte výraznejšie zvyšovala podporu vládneho predstaviteľa, ktorý distribučný mechanizmus osobne riadil. Daný efekt je najsilnejší v najmenších obciach a s rastúcou veľkosťou obcí sa oslabuje.Research shows that political parties use public resources as a vote-buying mechanism. This paper analyzes the distribution of fire engines to Slovak municipalities before 2016 election. We find that towns with mayors from the ruling party as well as municipalities where this party scored better in previous election were advantaged in the selection process. We also show that grants increase the electoral support of the ruling party and even more substantially they boost the share of votes of the government representative who personally directed the distribution. This positive effect is strongest in smaller municipalities and it weakens with rising town population