177 research outputs found
SPRACHFEHLER ALS LITERARISCHES AUSDRUCKSMITTEL ANA BILIC DAS KLEINE STÜCK VOM GROSSEN HIMMEL
No full textThis paper elaborates a theme at the interface between linguistics and literature on the case example of a novel which belongs to the immigrant literature as part of the contemporary Austrian literature. The Croatian author Ana Bilic describes in her first novel written in German language Das kleine Stück vom großen Himmel (The small part of the big sky) published in 2002 the love relationship between a Croatian unnamed female student and the Austrian student Ernst which takes place in Vienna. The unusual thing in this novel is the fact that in numerous sentences and passages the author uses a strange German language which is characterized by interference mistakes, or to be precise a Croatian-German language variation which more or less differs grammatically and lexically from standard German language. In the paper this consciously alienated language is being investigated concerning the influence of the Croatian mother tongue of the author, but also concerning common mistakes while learning German language. The paper also analyses the motivation of Ana Bilic for such in the context of immigrant literature unusual language use, which is also connected with the plot of the novel. Thus qualitative as well as quantitative methods of analysis are being used, whereby the former ones refer to the content and the latter ones to the frequency of interference mistakes in the book. The interference mistakes belong on one side to the fictional (text-internal) world and on the other side to the factual (text-external) level, because they reflect the plot of the book and establish on the level of content and language a connection between the first-person narrator and the author, who also had to learn German after her arrival to Vienna. As a result of this most interference mistakes appear in the first chapters of the novel, which reflects the first phase in German language learning of the female narrator. Further on in the novel the quantity of the mistakes decreases parallel to the rising foreign language abilities of the narrator, which holds true for the less frequent language acquisition and competence mistakes. The aim of the Ana Bilic is obviously to show by means of the plot and the language use the mechanisms and the process of foreign language acquisition, whereby she makes an innovative contribution to the contemporary German-speaking immigrant literatur
Moja mama je došla s jednin vapor: los italianismos en el habla de los inmigrantes dálmatas en la Argentina
No full textThe aim of this study is to examine the Italian loanwords incorporated into the speech of Dalmatian migrants in Argentina. In Dalmatia, a region in southern Croatia, the Italian influence—still present today—stems from factors of prestige and is particularly evident in the local lexicon. Among the languages spoken by migrants who arrived during various waves of migration, there is a notable presence of Italian loanwords. Drawing on speech recordings of Dalmatian migrants in Argentina and a corpus of semi-structured interviews, this study will explore the formal characteristics of Italianisms across different structural levels, as well as their communicative functions and roles in the construction of identity. This work is part of a larger research project on Croatian speech in Argentina (Bilic, 2022) and contributes to the growing interest in cataloging Italianisms (Heinz, 2017) to examine the unique features of each receiving language and deepen our understanding of linguistic contact phenomena.O objetivo deste estudo é analisar os empréstimos do italiano incorporados à fala dos migrantes dálmatas na Argentina. Na Dalmácia, região situada no sul da Croácia, a influência italiana — ainda presente até os dias atuais — está relacionada a fatores de prestígio e é particularmente notável no léxico. Nas línguas faladas pelos migrantes, provenientes de diferentes ondas migratórias, observa-se um grande número de empréstimos italianos, ou italianismos, incluindo, em muitos casos, expressões fixas. A partir do registro da fala de migrantes dálmatas na Argentina e de um corpus de entrevistas semiestruturadas, serão analisadas as características formais dos italianismos em diferentes níveis estruturais, bem como suas funções na comunicação e na construção de identidades. Este trabalho integra uma pesquisa mais ampla sobre a fala croata na Argentina (Bilic, 2022), que investiga os processos de mudança e os fenômenos de contato com o espanhol — incluindo aspectos fonológicos, morfossintáticos e lexicais — na fala dos imigrantes croatas no país. Está inserido no campo dos estudos sobre línguas de herança e línguas em contato em contextos migratórios, além de refletir o crescente interesse em censos de italianismos nas línguas do mundo (Heinz, 2017), com o objetivo de observar as características particulares de cada língua receptora e contribuir para a compreensão das situações de contato linguístico.El propósito de este trabajo es estudiar los préstamos procedentes del italiano incorporados en el habla de inmigrantes dálmatas en la Argentina. En la Dalmacia, región del sur de Croacia, la influencia italiana —presente hasta la actualidad— responde a factores de prestigio y se evidencia particularmente en el léxico. En las lenguas que hablan los inmigrantes que se trasladaron en diferentes olas migratorias, se encuentra una gran cantidad de préstamos italianos, o italianismos, y en muchos casos fórmulas fijas. A partir del registro de habla de inmigrantes dálmatas en Argentina y de un corpus de entrevistas semi-estructuradas, se observa las características formales de los italianismos en diferentes niveles estructurales. El trabajo se enmarca en una investigación más amplia centrada en el estudio del habla croata en el país (Bilic, 2022) que estudia los procesos de cambio y los fenómenos de contacto con el español —aspectos fonológicos, morfosintácticos y léxicos— en el habla de inmigrantes croatas en la Argentina, en el marco de los estudios sobre lenguas de herencia y lenguas en contacto en contextos migratorios. Así también, responde al interés creciente de censar italianismos en las lenguas del mundo (Heinz, 2017) a fin de observar las características particulares en cada lengua receptora y de contribuir a la comprensión de situaciones de contacto lingüístico
Assessment of the cross-protective capability of recombinant capsid proteins derived from pig, rat, and avian hepatitis E viruses (HEV) against challenge with a genotype 3 HEV in pigs
No full textHepatitis E virus (HEV), the causative agent of hepatitis E, is primarily transmitted via the fecal-oral route through contaminated water supplies, although many sporadic cases of hepatitis E are transmitted zoonotically via direct contact with infected animals or consumption of contaminated animal meats. Genotypes 3 and 4 HEV are zoonotic and infect humans and other animal species, whereas genotypes 1 and 2 HEV are restricted to humans. There exists a single serotype of HEV, although the cross-protective ability among the animal HEV strains is unknown. Thus, in this study we expressed and characterized N-terminal truncated ORF2 capsid antigens derived from swine, rat, and avian HEV strains and evaluated their cross-protective ability in a pig challenge model. Thirty, specific-pathogen-free, pigs were divided into 5 groups of 6 pigs each, and each group of pigs were vaccinated with 200 μg of swine HEV, rat HEV, or avian HEV ORF2 antigen or PBS buffer (2 groups) as positive and negative control groups. After a booster dose immunization at 2 weeks post-vaccination, the vaccinated animals all seroconverted to IgG anti-HEV. At 4 weeks post-vaccination, the animals were intravenously challenged with a genotype 3 mammalian HEV, and necropsied at 4 weeks post-challenge. Viremia, fecal virus shedding, and liver histological lesions were compared to assess the protective and cross-protective abilities of these antigens against HEV challenge in pigs. The results indicated that pigs vaccinated with truncated recombinant capsid antigens derived from three animal strains of HEV induced a strong IgG anti-HEV response in vaccinated pigs, but these antigens confer only partial cross-protection against a genotype 3 mammalian HEV. The results have important implications for the efficacy of current vaccines and for future vaccine development, especially against the novel zoonotic animal strains of HEV
The Impact of Treated Urban Wastewaters and Flood Discharge on the Quality of Bathing Water
No full textWhat do we know about the Adriatic Sea and the state of its health [...
O croata como língua de herança na Argentina: entre a vulnerabilidade e a manutenção linguística
No full textEn el contexto sudamericano, la población migrante representa una porción numerosa que, en la mayoría de los casos, deja de usar su lengua de herencia. El propósito de este trabajo es presentar los resultados de un estudio que indagó por la situación de la lengua croata como lengua de herencia en el contexto sudamericano, atendiendo a la tensión entre desplazamiento y mantenimiento lingüístico. El análisis se centra en Argentina, donde se estima que entre 250 000 y 500 000 personas son descendientes de migrantes del pueblo croata. El estudio se sustenta en un corpus de habla croata de migrantes de segunda y tercera generaciones, así como en documentos oficiales y no oficiales, reunidos por los autores. Los resultados sugieren que existen signos de erosión lingüística en los niveles fonológico, morfosintáctico y léxico. A su vez, la identidad y el fortalecimiento de la conciencia lingüística cumplen un rol relevante a favor del mantenimiento de la lengua ancestral en el contexto migratorio. El trabajo aporta al estudio de las lenguas minoritarias y amenazadas, y contribuye a la comprensión de los procesos dinámicos que atraviesa la vitalidad de las lenguas de herencia.In the South American context, migrant population makes up for a large portion of the population who, in most cases, stop using their heritage language. This work aims to present the results of a study that inquired about the status of the Croatian language as a heritage language in South America, and analized the tensions between linguistic displacement and maintenance. The analysis is focused on Argentina, where an estimated 250 000 to 500 000 people are from Croatian descent. The study is based upon a corpus of Croatian speech gathered from second and third-generation migrants and from official and non-official records, gathered by the authors. Findings suggest that there are signs of linguistic attrition at the phonological, morphosyntactic, and lexical levels. They also suggest that identity and language awareness strengthening play a significant role in the maintenance of the ancestral language in this migrating context. The study contributes to the field of minority and endangered languages, and helps understand the dynamic processes influencing the vitality of heritage languages.Dans le contexte sudaméricain, la population migrante représente une grande portion qui, dans la plupart des cas, cesse d’utiliser sa langue de patrimoine. Ce travail présente les résultats d'une étude sur la situation de la langue croate en tant que langue d’héritage dans le contexte sud-américain, en tenant compte de la tension entre déplacement et maintien linguistique. Cette analyse s'est concentrée sur l’Argentine, où l’on estime qu’entre 250 000 et 500 000 personnes sont des descendants de migrants issus du peuple croate. L’étude s’est appuyée sur un corpus croate de migrants de deuxième et troisième générations, ainsi que sur des documents officiels et non officiels, recueillis par les auteurs. Les résultats suggèrent qu’il existe des signes d’attrition linguistique aux niveaux phonologique, morphosyntaxique et lexical. À leur tour, l’identité et le renforcement de la conscience linguistique jouent un rôle pertinent en faveur du maintien de la langue ancestrale dans le contexte migratoire. L’ouvrage contribue à l’étude des langues minoritaires et menacées, et contribue à la compréhension des processus dynamiques que traverse la vitalité des langues patrimoniales.No contexto sul-americano, a população migrante representa uma grande parcela que, na maioria das vezes, deixa de usar sua língua de herança. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar um estudo da situação da língua croata como língua de herança no contexto sul-americano, levando em consideração a tensão entre deslocamento e manutenção linguística. A análise tem se concentrado na Argentina, onde se estima que entre 250.000 e 500.000 pessoas sejam descendentes de migrantes do povo croata. O estudo tem se baseado em um corpus croata de migrantes de segunda e terceira geração, bem como em documentos oficiais e não oficiais, coletados pelos autores. Os resultados sugerem que há indícios de erosão linguística nos níveis fonológico, morfossintático e lexical. Por sua vez, a identidade e o reforço da consciência linguística desempenham um papel relevante a favor da manutenção da língua ancestral no contexto migratório. A obra contribui para o estudo das línguas minoritárias e ameaçadas, e contribui para a compreensão dos processos dinâmicos pelos quais passa a vitalidade das línguas de herança.Fil: Bilic, Josip Bruno. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras; ArgentinaFil: Cúneo, Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Lingüística; ArgentinaFil: Franic, Ivana. Universidad de Zagreb; Croaci
Muslim Women in the UK and Bosnia: Religious Identities in Contrasting Contexts
No full textThis thesis explores Muslim women’s religious identities and the processes through which they construct and narrate these identities by comparing Bosnian and UK Muslim women. Disproportionate political and media attention on Muslim women in Europe has in turn prompted an increase in academic interest. However, most academic research neglects the experiences of the indigenous European Muslim women thereby maintaining the image of the foreign ‘other’. This research forges a more inclusive approach by considering the views of indigenous European Muslim women. The study is based on interviews with 20 Muslim women, four focus groups and observation of the activities of three Muslim women’s organisations. I subscribe to a feminist perspective where participants’ voices are privileged and, since I belong to both communities, the complexities of my positionality were constantly reflected upon during the course of the research. My analysis is organised around three main themes that emerged from my participants’ accounts of religious identity: family life, hijab and women’s organisations. Family was identified as an important factor in these women’s early perceptions of Islam. However, violent events – the war in Bosnia and the effects of 9/11 and 7/7 in the UK – affected women’s reflections on what it means to be a Muslim woman in Europe, initiating independent re-evaluation of religious identity. This process was transformative, often resulting in a decision to wear the hijab and/or to seek out spaces that encourage a positive sense of Muslim identity such as women’s organisations. During the process of constructing their religious identities, women, in both countries, faced challenges from the societies they live in and also from their families. Their agency is constantly questioned. I argue that two contrasting socio-cultural and historical contexts affect the diversity of lived experiences of the Muslim women and the way they organise, while the similarities, inspired by their faith, lie in skilful negotiation of their religious identities in face of many challenges
Beyond Access to Finance - A Micro- and macro level study of determinants of SME growth
No full textThe present study analyses the weaknesses and strengths of the “tools” used by governments
to promote the Small- and Medium sized enterprise (SME) sectors as much as it aims to
assess the policy responses to the evolving policy context by conducting a two-level study of
both qualitative and quantitative characteristics using EU member states as well as Swedish
SMEs as units of analysis. As the trade-and industry sector, in addition to scholars and policymakers,
have recognized the importance of SMEs to employment and the domestic economy,
attention has been focused on the capital market imperfections that have arisen as an effect of
the financial crisis. The essence of the argument that has driven SME policies is that
increasing access to finance will promote the sectors contribution to the economy and
employment, yet this cross-country study shows that there is no direct correlation between the
improvement of access to finance and employment creation and SME contribution to the
economy. In order to determine the desirability and accessibility of such programs, the micro
level study examines how the level of interest rate in the public financial support loan
program in Sweden responds to the growth needs of Swedish SMEs. Essentially, the
argument that comes to the fore is that the public financial support program in Sweden targets
SMEs successfully and that the level of the interest rate itself does not determine SMEs
growth investments
Conceptual Modelling and Evaluation of E-business Processes Using Cloud Based Framework Insight Maker
No full textToday's e-business processes require constant qualitative adjustments and improvements. Regarding economics implications, the best approach is to evaluate their conceptual modeling, after planning and prior to implementation. The basic idea is to make savings, which in the following examples will be a shortening of the time of the process, and therefore a cheaper price of a product, service, or both. To achieve those goals and the expected guidance for making decisions for changes, in this paper is described and used Insight Maker which is web-based, general-purpose modeling and simulation tool. It is designed to make modeling and simulation accessible to a wider audience of users. Insight Makers has integrated all three general modeling approaches: agent-based modeling, system dynamics and imperative programming in one modeling framework. This open source framework, give an opportunity to making different conceptual models, rearranging and reengineering the business processes, simultaneously making re evaluation of changes. In this paper, the used examples, specifically, models and simulations, show us, graphical and numerical results that allow an unambiguous evaluation of the changes
Novel Method for Mitigating Injectivity Issues during Polymer Flooding at High Salinity Conditions
No full textSynthetic polymers, in the emulsified form, have been utilized for enhanced oil recovery applications by using saline make-up water. However, there are concerns that have been raised about their injectivity. The large entangled polymer chains can clog the pore throats, giving a tendency to cause injectivity reduction. In this study, processing techniques were used to condition an acrylamide-based copolymer inverse emulsion system at a salinity of 50,000 ppm TDS before being injected into porous media. The investigated polymer solution contained 4,000 ppm active emulsion-polymer and 2,400 ppm surfactant, providing a zero-shear rate viscosity of 13 mPas. Shearing with two agitators, a disperser and Ultra-Turrax, at different intensities and pressure-driven flow into a thin capillary reduces the size of the largest polymer and disentangles the polymer chains while maintaining its viscosifying power as much as possible. Subsequently, the filtration ratios (퐹푅) with optimum between 1–1.2 were determined by performing filtration tests in a 1-micron polycarbonate membrane to evaluate the plugging behavior. This was followed by sand-pack flooding tests of differently sheared solutions in order to investigate the impact of pre-conditioning on injectivity.Bulk experiments enabled the establishment of master curves showing viscosity and screen factor dependences on accumulated energy during pre-shearing, regardless of shear origin. The injected unsheared polymer solution has an 퐹푅 of 1.6 and an injectivity gradient, e.g. ratio of resistance factor over 10 pore volumes, of 2.4. All injected pre-conditioned solutions have an 퐹푅 in the optimal range between 1 to 1.2. By imposing 15 MJ/m3, the disperser-sheared solution improves the injectivity by decreasing the injectivity gradient to 1.3, while the viscosifying power is reduced by 2% and the screen factor by 30%. To reach the same injectivity gradient of 1.3 with Ultra-Turrax, 31 MJ/m3 were imposed, which reduces the viscosity and screen factor by 11% and 44% respectively. The sheared solution into a capillary imposes 50 MJ/m3, giving an injectivity gradient of 2.7. Both viscosity and screen factor are reduced by 19% and 53% respectively. This indicates that the injectivity performance is shear-origin dependent and the resulting polymer structure, when sheared through contractions, has a different alignment as compared to shearing with the agitators, the disperser and Ultra-Turrax.In conclusion, the rheological dependencies of sheared polymer solutions form a master curve dependent of accumulated energy during shearing with different shearing devices. Further, the proven beneficial impact of pre-conditioning with agitators before injection enables a better utilization of polymer flooding operations by reducing the risk of pore plugging.Applied Earth Science
BC-MRI-SEG: A Breast Cancer MRI Tumor Segmentation Benchmark
No full textBinary breast cancer tumor segmentation with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data is typically trained and evaluated on private medical data, which makes comparing deep learning approaches difficult. We propose a benchmark (BC-MRI-SEG) for binary breast cancer tumor segmentation based on publicly available MRI datasets. The benchmark consists of four datasets in total, where two datasets are used for supervised training and evaluation, and two are used for zero-shot evaluation. Additionally we compare state-of-the-art (SOTA) approaches on our benchmark and provide an exhaustive list of available public breast cancer MRI datasets. The source code has been made available at https://irulenot.github.io/BC_MRI_SEG_Benchmark
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