If You Don’t Know, Now You Know: JASE Special Issue on Hip-Hop Pedagogy for Students with Disabilities (Side A)

This special issue examines Hip-Hop pedagogy (HHP) as a culturally grounded, multimodal approach that supports K–12 students with disabilities. Hip-Hop is presented as a comprehensive culture rooted in the five elements—MCing, DJing, breakdance, graffiti, and knowledge—which offer inclusive pathways for identity development, community, and learning. This special issue of JASE highlights HHP as an asset-based framework that enhances engagement, self-expression, assessment, and social-emotional growth while aligning with high-leverage practices. Research demonstrates that hip-hop–infused instruction can deepen academic understanding, reframe behavioral challenges, and promote equitable, disability-affirming learning environments. The included articles explore belonging for students who stutter, integrated pedagogical models, mentorship through Hip-Hop, mathematics problem solving, and transition planning for postsecondary readiness. Together, these works position Hip-Hop culture as a transformative educational tool that fosters participation, critical consciousness, and authentic inclusion for learners with disabilities

Why Repeat Visitors Matter for Harassment‑Prone Destinations: Five Actionable Lessons for Accommodation Managers

The goal of the study was to identify demographic factors that could predict visitors likely to support micro-traders at a destination after being harassed by a member of their community. Then show how the accommodations sector (like hotel managers and vacation home rental managers) can use the findings to improve visitor support of micro-traders at destinations with trader harassment (TH). The researcher examined seven demographic features of visitors to four countries. They were their gender, education level, income level, marital status, prior visit to the destination, type – domestic or international, and whether they were alone at the time of the harassment event. The survey respondents were individuals 18 years and older who had visited and experienced TH in the Dominican Republic, India, Italy, or Mexico. Regression analysis revealed that prior visitation was the only significant predictor of post‑harassment support intentions. Repeat visitors were substantially more likely than first‑time visitors to indicate willingness to support micro‑traders if given the opportunity. The article concludes by outlining five evidence‑based strategies through which accommodation providers can apply these findings to strengthen visitor support for micro‑entrepreneurs in TH‑prone destinations. Central to these strategies is sustaining repeat visitation and converting first‑time visitors into returning guests

Integrating User Adaptation and Retrofit Strategies for Overheating Mitigation in Energy-Poor Buildings under Climate Change Scenarios

This study conducts a comprehensive, long-term analysis of passive strategies aimed at mitigating overheating in residential structures occupied by elderly individuals and children up to fifteen years old. In fact, in the European Union, around 50 million households experience energy poverty, exposing vulnerable groups—such as pregnant women, the infirm, people with disabilities, children, and the elderly—to increased risks from overheating. This study conducts a comprehensive, long-term analysis of passive strategies aimed at mitigating overheating in residential structures occupied by elderly individuals and children up to fifteen years old. Focusing on a typical building constructed in Milan during the 1960s, dynamic building energy simulations were utilized to explore various passive strategies combined with the use of ceiling fans. These strategies were evaluated both before and after a standard retrofit, which primarily focused on building insulation. The findings reveal that while natural ventilation and ceiling fans effectively lower indoor temperatures, they may not suffice to maintain comfort conditions for the insulated building in the future, thus necessitating the implementation of an active cooling system. Furthermore, a comparative analysis between baseline and retrofit scenarios was conducted to assess cooling and heating needs, uncovering significant energy, economic, and environmental benefits associated with the studied strategies. Moreover, the study aims to harness the resilience and adaptability of building occupants by incorporating lean and deep renovation strategies into a comprehensive timeline for building renovation. This approach is designed to address the evolving challenges exacerbated by climate change, ensuring the long-term sustainability and comfort of residential buildings

Tailoring Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Toughness with Carbon Fibers: Linking Microstructure and Fracture Energy

This paper presents a multiscale experimental study on the effect of carbon microfiber reinforcement on the fracture behavior of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC).Various fiber lengths (0.1–6 mm) and contents (1.2–20 kg/m³) were tested, linking microstructural features obtained via X-ray computed tomography (CT), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to mechanical performance. Results show that a dosage of 6 kg/m³ of 3–6 mm fibers offers a balance between workability and fracture resistance, with fracture energy increasing up to 195% compared to plain concrete. This research provides insights for optimizing fiber type and content in UHPFRC for structural applications

Shear and Compressive Joint Behaviour of Concrete Floating Structure for Offshore Wind Turbine

Japan\u27s commitment to growing renewable energy generation from 30 to 45 GW has intensified the focus on offshore wind turbines. Due to the presence of extensive deep-sea waters, the installation of fixed turbines is impractical, making floating structures a more viable option. For supporting structure of said turbines, concrete is preferred over steel as it offers various commercial and technical benefits. However, the response of concrete in offshore environment is still under consideration. When considering rationalisation of construction, pre-casting of modules is one option, however in that case, it is necessary to clarify the behaviour of the joints. This research includes comparative compressive joint behaviour analysis to observe the behaviour of concrete with and without joint under air condition. Additionally, it investigates the shear joint behaviour of concrete floating structure subjected to static loading conditions, both under air & water. In order to keep it simple, only prestressed PC bar is provided between the two concrete modules. The experimental setup under this research includes four cases; Case 1 for Compressive fracture behaviour of monolithic concrete module in air, Case 2 for Compressive fracture behaviour of concrete module with joint in air, Case 3 for Shear fracture behaviour of joint in air and Case 4 for Shear fracture behaviour of joint in water. The experimental results depict that the concrete modules containing joint shows almost the same (approximately 7% lesser) compressive strength than that of monolithic concrete. Additionally, it is observed that the concrete modular joint, exhibit similar joint shear strength (about 6% lesser) in water submerged conditions as compared to under air scenario. The above findings significantly contribute to the growing knowledge on the behaviour of concrete in offshore environments and provide valuable insights into the optimisation of such structures for enhanced durability under harsh conditions

Del policial clásico al post-neopolicial: La estética del crimen en la narrativa mexicana, 1940–2020

Del policial clásico al post-neopolicial: La estética del crimen en la narrativa mexicana, 1940–2020 is a comprehensive study of Mexican crime fiction from cultural, gender, social, political, and literary perspectives. This book covers the different phases Mexican crime fiction has evolved through in the past eighty years: classical detective fiction (1940–1960s), género negro (1970s), neopolicial (1980–2000), narconarrative (1990s to the present), and post-neopolicial (2000 to the present). The first half of the book offers an overview of the development of crime fiction in the United States, how it was adopted by Mexican writers in the 1940s, and the changes it went through in its various phases. Writers studied include, among others, Paco Ignacio Taibo II, Rafael Ramírez Heredia, and Juan Hernández Luna. In addition, the author of this book coins a new term, post-neopolicial, to describe the most current form of crime fiction in the twenty-first century as exemplified in a corpus of novels that depict the realities of contemporary Mexico. The second half of the book focuses on the evolution of crime fiction by Mexican women writers from the 1940s to the present: from the classic detective formula to contemporary realistic narratives protagonized by subversive female characters in the works of María Elvira Bermúdez, Margos de Villanueva, Rosa Margot Ochoa, Ana María Maqueo, Carmen Boullosa, Myriam Laurini, Susana Pagano, Liliana Blum, Cristina Rivera Garza, Ana Ivonne Reyes Chiquete, Orfa Alarcón, Malú Huacuja del Toro, and others. Del policial al post-neopolicial: La estética del crimen en la narrativa mexicana, 1940-2020 es un estudio comprensivo de la narrativa criminal mexicana desde una perspectiva cultural, de género, social, política y literaria. Este libro abarca las diferentes facetas de la evolución de la narrativa criminal mexicana durante los últimos ochenta años: el policial clásico (1940–1960s), el género negro (1970s), el neopolicial (1980–2000), la narconarrativa (1990s-presente), y el post-neopolicial (2000-presente). La primera sección del libro ofrece una vista panorámica del inicio y evolución de la narrativa criminal en los Estados Unidos, su adopción por los escritores mexicanos en los años 1940s y los sucesivos cambios por los cuales el género ha atravesado durante sus diferentes facetas. Entre los escritores que se analizan en detalle en esta sección se encuentran Paco Ignacio Tabo II, Rafael Ramírez Hereda y Juan Hernández Luna. Cabe destacar que la autora de este libro ha acuñado un término nuevo, el post-neopolicial, para describir las formas más vigentes de la narrativa criminal mexicana del siglo veintiuno, ejemplificada en un corpus de novelas que retratan las realidades contemporáneas. La segunda mitad del libro se enfoca en la evolución de la narrativa criminal escrita por mujeres desde 1940 hasta el tiempo presente: de la fórmula clásica a las narrativas realistas contemporáneas protagonizadas por personajes femeninos subversivos en las obras de María Elvira Bermúdez, Margos de Villanueva, Rosa Margot Ochoa, Ana María Maqueo, Carmen Boullosa, Myriam Laurini, Susana Pagano, Liliana Blum, Cristina Rivera Garza, Ana Ivonne Reyes Chiquete, Orfa Alarcón, Malú Huacuja del Toro y otras.https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/psrl/1035/thumbnail.jp

Critical assets and value networks in resilient innovation ecosystems in the EU Outermost Regions

The authors share key insights gained regarding the effective management of critical assets in Resilient Innovation Ecosystems (RIEs) in the EU Outermost Regions (OR) through a program to “Discover, Incubate, and Accelerate Start-ups and SMEs” (DIAS) applied to 22 Start-Ups and SMEs in the Azores, Canaries, La Réunion and Madeira in the EU funded project “Innovation Capacity Building for Higher Education in Europe’s Outermost Regions” (INCORE) project. DIAS is an experimental inductive case-study based research approach using Qualitative Comparative Analysis for assessment based on Diffusion of Innovation, Value Network Analysis and Knowledge Diffusion concepts. It is used to determine when the persistent phenomenon of “unfair advantage” (in the form of an intensive nexūs of collaboration) in RIEs emerges. The research results suggest that RIEs have archetypal structures that exist in multiple different constellations of relevant causal variables that may change dynamically over time. Identifying the currently most relevant archetypal structure is the most important step to identify what assets are critical at that specific evolutionary phase, and then selecting and applying the most suitable actionable interventions to accelerate the emergence of their RIEs through the encouragement of relevant swarm principles. The proposed change theory was not proven. Due to the fractal and transformative nature of RIEs, the cases covered in this study are seen as sufficiently representative to arrive at insights that can support the strategically needed transformation of the regions\u27 entrepreneurial and innovation capacity

The True Environmental Cost of Data Centers: An Insight into the Construction Phase of the Era of Artificial Intelligence

In recent years, there has been a significant adoption of commercial applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI). These applications have created a demand for infrastructure that support data storage, mining, and throughput compute power services, commonly known as data centers. This demand, which is projected to substantially increase over the next decade, places data centers to be a major contributor to the construction industry\u27s global carbon emissions. However, with research mostly focusing on minimizing carbon emissions during the operation phase of most buildings, environmental impacts incurred during their construction phase are still deserving a deeper study. To address this gap, this work empirically evaluates the true cost to the environment of the construction of a data center by collecting and analyzing real-world project data on carbon emissions of material utilization and operation sequences. Findings of the presented analyses expose how on average carbon emissions are higher by 414% in the case of foundation systems (A - Substructure) for all data centers when compared to residential projects, and how the expected 25% increase of data center construction can pose an additional 1,832.51M kgCO2e in 2025, translating to 0.0054% of the world’s total carbon emissions coming from the U.S. market alone. This work aims to address sustainable development goals through understanding the extent of the environmental impact of building such critical infrastructure, which is vital in supporting the connectivity of people, fostering innovation, and accelerating industrialization

Experimental comparison of cycle modifications and ejector control methods using variable geometry and CO2 pump in a multi-evaporator transcritical CO2 refrigeration system

To reduce the direct global warming impact of refrigerants in HVAC&R applications, low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, including natural refrigerants, have been extensively investigated as alternatives to hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants. Among the natural refrigerants, Carbon Dioxide (CO2) offers several advantages, such as excellent transport and thermo-physical properties, being neither toxic nor flammable, and having a low price and high availability around the world. However, the high critical pressure and low critical temperature of CO2 often lead to transcritical operation, resulting in lower efficiency due to the additional compressor power necessary to achieve transcritical operation relative to subcritical HFC cycles. Therefore, a number of cycle modifications are used to enhance the coefficient of performance (COP) of transcritical CO2 cycles to meet or surpass those of HFC cycles. This paper provides a systematic experimental investigation of four such cycle architectures by employing the same multi-stage, two-evaporator CO2 refrigeration cycle test stand, 3 of these configurations in transcritical and 1 in subcritical conditions. The four cycles architectures included intercooling, open economization, an internal heat exchanger and two different ejector control approaches. Specifically, a variable-diameter motive nozzle and a variable-speed liquid CO2 pump located directly upstream of the ejector motive nozzle inlet were analyzed. Based on the experimental data, the maximum COP improvements are 4.64 % and 9.47 % when the ejector and the internal heat exchanger are used, respectively. The CO2 pump, once successfully stabilized, can control the ejector, increase its efficiency by up to 15 % and increase the cooling capacity to a maximum of 6.2 %. Nevertheless, a reduction in COP is measured when the pump is in use; however, unlike the other three different configurations, it was only analyzed under subcritical conditions