Shared waters, same standards – The Baltic Sea e-Nav project: A partnership for the future of marine navigation

In order to deploy the first layers of S-100 based navigation products in the Baltic Sea, and do so in a regionally harmonized manner, the Hydrographic Offices involved are partnering with academia and industry in the Baltic Sea e-Nav project. To unlock the full potential of the S-100 paradigm shift towards e-navigation, there is a need for transnational collaboration to build capacity and ensure seamless, harmonized products. In addition, the project will test S-100 products from an end-user perspective to ensure the most relevant and useable navigation data possible. The recently started project will continue until 2026 and is co-financed by the EU Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme

Skilled Migrants’ Well-Being Crises and Entrepreneurial Entry: A Conceptual Framework

Western societies address skill shortages via skilled migration programs, primarily utilized by ethnic minorities.Many first-generation skilled professional migrants (FGSPM), lacking prior entrepreneurial experience,choose entrepreneurship over employment in the host country. Understanding the psychological reasonsunderpinning this choice necessitates scholarly focus. Through an interdisciplinary literature review, we theorizea conceptual framework wherein the post-migration experiences of FGSPM engender a eudaimonic identity(EI) and eudaimonic well-being (EWB) crisis, which serves as the antecedent for entrepreneurial entry.This entry decision is enabled by the disposition of FGSPM and involves leveraging their unique human capital.Thus, entrepreneurship supports in resolving the FGSPM’s EI and EWB crisis. This framework contributesto migrant entrepreneurship literature by highlighting the EI and EWB crisis as the precursor to entrepreneurialentry, preceding disposition, and guiding future empirical research

Insights from migrant entrepreneurship in Portugal pre- and post- COVID- 19

This study explores the resilience of Brazilian businesses in Porto, Portugal, focusing on those that survivedthe COVID-19 pandemic. Entrepreneurs were interviewed before and after the pandemic, providing insightsinto the local entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) from a migrant perspective. Using a mixed embeddednessapproach, the research examines the pandemic’s impact on these businesses and identifies attributes criticalto their survival. This study highlights conceptual gaps in the EE framework, particularly regarding small businessesand migrant entrepreneurship during crises. Through Eisenhardt’s case study methodology, data werecollected via 32 in-depth interviews before the pandemic, with follow-ups revealing that only 15 businessesremained operational. Five surviving entrepreneurs were interviewed in detail. Resilient businesses, suchas restaurants and computer/cell-phone repair shops, adapted by offering in-home services and leveragingsocial media to engage clients, demonstrating creativity and risk-taking. Unlike many local entrepreneurs,Brazilians exhibited higher risk tolerance, using government financial aid not only for personal needs butalso to sustain their businesses. This research contributes to the literature by addressing theoretical gaps inmixed embeddedness and EE concepts, while applying an innovative analytical framework combining mixedembeddedness, resilience strategies, and resource orchestration theory. It offers practical implications forpolicymakers and stakeholders, emphasizing the economic and social integration of migrants. Tailored supportstrategies are recommended to address the unique challenges migrants face, underscoring the broadercontributions of migrant businesses to economic growth and social cohesion in host communities

The Role of Diaspora Networks in Driving Trade and Investment in Uzbekistan’s Emerging Economy

The Uzbek diaspora plays an important role in Uzbekistan’s economic development by easing internationaltrade, promoting Diaspora Direct Investment (DDI), and transferring knowledge and skills. This study examineshow diaspora networks in Russia, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and Türkiye influence trade and investmentflows, highlighting their impact on Uzbekistan’s economy. The findings reveal that while remittances andinvestments contribute significantly to national development, challenges such as informal labor markets,regulatory inefficiencies, and weak engagement frameworks continue to limit their full potential. Addressingthese barriers through targeted tax incentives, dual citizenship reforms, and structured diaspora engagementpolicies could significantly enhance economic contributions. This study emphasizes the strategic importanceof diaspora networks and calls for proactive policy measures to optimize their role, positioning theUzbek diaspora as a key driver of sustainable economic growth

The differential effect of individual and collaborative processing of written corrective feedback on French as a foreign language learners’ engagement

An increasing number of studies have explored the effects of collaborative writing on written outcomes; however, few studies have examined the influence of collaborative processing of feedback. This study addresses this gap by focusing on learner engagement. While collaborative writing involves co-authoring a text, which requires negotiation and idea sharing, collaborative processing of feedback focuses on jointly interpreting and responding to feedback. Utilizing a mixed-methods design, this study examined 24 learners of French as a Foreign Language (FFL) over an 8-week period. It compared their engagement with written corrective feedback (WCF) when processed individually versus in pairs. The findings provide insights into how different feedback processing modes influence learner engagement and highlight the potential benefits of collaborative feedback processing. The instructor provided indirect WCF, and learners revised their essays with think-aloud sessions. The study examined cognitive and behavioral engagement through writing analysis and used think-aloud reports examining affective engagement. Results indicated that learners’ cognitive engagement varied between individual and collaborative processing, with individuals employing fewer high-depth and low-depth processing strategies. However, affective engagement was found to be independent of task completion mode, and behavioral engagement did not differ between individual and collaborative processing of WCF.Un nombre croissant d’études a examiné les effets de l’écriture collaborative sur la production de textes; cependant, peu de recherches ont analysé l’influence du traitement collaboratif de la rétroaction. Cette étude comble cette lacune en se concentrant sur l’engagement des apprenants. Alors que l’écriture collaborative implique la corédaction d’un texte, nécessitant négociation et partage d’idées, le traitement collaboratif de la rétroaction corrective se focalise sur l’interprétation et la réponse conjointes à cette rétroaction. En adoptant une démarche mixte, cette étude a analysé le comportement de 24 apprenants du français langue étrangère (FLE) sur une période de huit semaines. L’étude a comparé l’engagement des apprenants face à la rétroaction corrective écrite (RCE), lorsqu’elle était traitée individuellement versus en binômes. Les résultats apportent des éclairages sur la manière dont les différentes modalités de traitement de la rétroaction influencent l’engagement des apprenants et mettent en évidence les bénéfices potentiels du traitement collaboratif de la RCE. L’enseignant a fourni une rétroaction indirecte, et les apprenants ont révisé leurs essais lors de séances de réflexion à voix haute. L’étude a examiné l’engagement cognitif et comportemental des apprenants à travers l’analyse de leurs productions écrites, ainsi que leur engagement affectif à partir des rapports de réflexion à voix haute. Les résultats indiquent que l’engagement cognitif varie selon le mode de traitement, avec une utilisation moindre de stratégies de traitement à profondeur élevée ou faible en contexte individuel. Cependant, l’engagement affectif s’est révélé indépendant du mode d’achèvement de la tâche, et l’engagement comportemental n’a pas différé entre le traitement individuel et collaboratif de la rétroaction

Authenticating Hafu Identities on Instagram: A Small Stories Analysis of Interactions on Hafugods

Described as “the predominant narrative environment for contemporary storytellers” (Mäkelä & Meretoja, 2022), social media are attracting increasing attention as sites for the study of a wide range of everyday narrative practices. Moreover, storytelling has become integrated into platform architectures through features such as Stories on Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook, and is being celebrated as “the ideal vehicle for presenting an authentic self” (Georgakopoulou, 2022). The word authenticity finds its roots in the Greek authentikós, (autós, self) and is associated with notions such as realness, genuineness, credibility and truthfulness (Lacoste, Leimgruber & Breyer, 2014, p2). In interactional sociolinguistics, authenticity is treated as an effect of discursive performance and negotiation of identity between participants in an interaction. The analytical focus is therefore on the discursive strategies and interactional processes that authenticate a person’s claim to a particular identity or group membership. This chapter explores the implications of authenticity as discursive performance in relation to hafu (ハーフ) identities, through a Small Stories (Georgakopoulou, 2013; 2016) analysis of an Instagram account called hafugods. Hafu is a racialised identity term used to describe someone who is mixed-ethnic or mixed-race Japanese, and hafugods presents itself as a space for telling stories about what it means to be hafu. The analysis demonstrates how storytelling is being mobilised for the performance of hafu identities, and reveals how alignment strategies such as ‘ritual appreciation’ and ‘knowing participation’ (Georgakopoulou, 2016) serve as authenticating practices of proving membership to the group, and by extension, a hafu identity