Cultural and Media Identity Among Latvian Migrants in Germany

This chapter explores how transnational media and culture impacts on the identity formation of recent Latvian migrants in Germany. In the context of the EU, Germany opened its labour market to the new EU countries rather late, when compared to other ‘old’ EU countries. This has had an effect on the composition of the group of Latvian migrants going to Germany, and their identities. In the light of this, this chapter examines how Latvian migrants in Germany feel and experience their belonging to Latvia and its culture. It analyses the social and communicative practices crucial for the development of belonging, including the rootedness in the country where they live and the cultural references that are important for them. The evidence for the analysis in this chapter comes from in-depth interviews, open media diaries and network maps of Latvian migrants in Germany. The chapter situates the description of evidence in the framework of cultural identity concepts and discusses the role of culture and media in the process of building migrant identity. The chapter argues that culture is shaping the transnational self-perception of Latvian migrants in Germany – as it provides collective narratives of imagined common frames of references, and confirms feelings of belonging and distinction

Observations of Mantle Seismic Anisotropy Using Array Techniques: Shear‐Wave Splitting of Beamformed SmKS Phases

Abstract: Shear‐wave splitting measurements are commonly used to resolve seismic anisotropy in both the upper and lowermost mantle. Typically, such techniques are applied to SmKS phases that have reflected (m‐1) times off the underside of the core‐mantle boundary before being recorded. Practical constraints for shear‐wave splitting studies include the limited number of suitable phases as well as the large fraction of available data discarded because of poor signal‐to‐noise ratios (SNRs) or large measurement uncertainties. Array techniques such as beamforming are commonly used in observational seismology to enhance SNRs, but have not been applied before to improve SmKS signal strength and coherency for shear wave splitting studies. Here, we investigate how a beamforming methodology, based on slowness and backazimuth vespagrams to determine the most coherent incoming wave direction, can improve shear‐wave splitting measurement confidence intervals. Through the analysis of real and synthetic seismograms, we show that (a) the splitting measurements obtained from the beamformed seismograms (beams) reflect an average of the single‐station splitting parameters that contribute to the beam; (b) the beams have (on average) more than twice as large SNRs than the single‐station seismograms that contribute to the beam; (c) the increased SNRs allow the reliable measurement of shear wave splitting parameters from beams down to average single‐station SNRs of 1.3. Beamforming may thus be helpful to more reliably measure splitting due to upper mantle anisotropy. Moreover, we show that beamforming holds potential to greatly improve detection of lowermost mantle anisotropy by demonstrating differential SKS–SKKS splitting analysis using beamformed USArray data

Group support systems features and their contribution to technology strategy decision-making: A review and analysis

Collective decision-making processes require careful design considerations in organizations. On one hand, the inclusion of a greater number of actors contribute to a wider knowledge base, on the other, it can become a diffuse process and be distorted from the principles initially established. This paper observes a specific collective decision making process in organizations—technology strategy formulation—and, through a critical review of the literature, analyzes how the advances in features of group support systems support improvements in different stages of this process. This paper also discusses the implications of GSS appropriation in group dynamics.This research was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/ BD/ 33727/ 2009), within the framework of the MIT Portugal Program.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mathematical approach to artificial neural network on methyl violet removal with magnetically coated activated carbon

In this study, new magnetic activated carbon (Fe3 O4-AC) was synthesized from activated carbon which was obtained from the inner bark of acorn with the activation of H3 PO4 and its effectiveness in Methyl violet (MV) removal from aqueous solutions was investigated. Characterization of the samples was done by scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. In MV adsorption on Fe3 O4-AC, pH (2–10), initial MV concentration (25–150 mg/L), amount of adsorbent (0.1–1.0 g), adsorption time (5–180 min) and temperature (298–318 K) adsorption parameters were investigated. The compatibility of MV and Fe3 O4-AC adsorption with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models was investigated, and it was determined that Langmuir isotherm which proposed single-layer adsorption, was the most compatible isotherm for adsorption at three different temperatures. The highest maximum adsorption capacity with Langmuir isotherm was obtained as 156.25 mg/g at 298 K. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model had a better fit with the best correlation to the kinetic data. Thermodynamic parameters (?G°, ?H° and ?S°) were calculated from the Van’t Hoff plot of lnKd . 1/T in order to discuss the removal mechanism of MV. Then, in MV removal process under different conditions, experimental results were compared with the artificial neural network model. © 2021 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved

When the Heart Meets the Mind: Exploring the Brain-Heart Interaction during Time Perception.

Recent studies suggest that time estimation relies on bodily rhythms and interoceptive signals. We provide the first direct electrophysiological evidence suggesting an association between the brain's processing of heartbeat and duration judgment. We examined heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP) and contingent negative variation (CNV) during an auditory duration-reproduction task and a control reaction-time task spanning 4, 8, and 12 s intervals, in both male and female participants. Interoceptive awareness was assessed with the Self-Awareness Questionnaire (SAQ) and interoceptive accuracy through the heartbeat-counting task (HCT). Results revealed that SAQ scores, but not the HCT, correlated with mean reproduced durations with higher SAQ scores associating with longer and more accurate duration reproductions. Notably, the HEP amplitude changes during the encoding phase of the timing task, particularly within 130-270 ms (HEP1) and 470-520 ms (HEP2) after the R-peak, demonstrated interval-specific modulations that did not emerge in the control task. A significant ramp-like increase in HEP2 amplitudes occurred during the duration-encoding phase of the timing but not during the control task. This increase within the reproduction phase of the timing task correlated significantly with the reproduced durations for the 8 s and the 4 s intervals. The larger the increase in HEP2, the greater the under-reproduction of the estimated duration. CNV components during the encoding phase of the timing task were more negative than those in the reaction-time task, suggesting greater executive resources orientation toward time. We conclude that interoceptive awareness (SAQ) and cortical responses to heartbeats (HEP) predict duration reproductions, emphasizing the embodied nature of time

MRI assessment of pituitary iron accumulation by using pituitary-R2 in β-thalassemia patients

WOS: 000432868300016PubMed ID: 28882060Background: Patients with thalassemia major (TM) require repeated blood transfusions, which leads to accumulation of iron in a wide variety of tissues. Accumulation of iron in the pituitary gland can lead to irreversible hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) in this group of patients. Purpose: To investigate the reliability of pituitary-R.2 as a marker to estimate the extent of pituitary iron load by comparing the pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings with hepatic iron load and serum ferritin levels. Material and Methods: A total of 38 beta-TM patients were classified into HH (group A, n = 18) and non-HH (group B, n = 17) groups. A third group, group C, consisted of 17 healthy participants. Each participant underwent 1.5-T MRI examinations. Pituitary gland heights (PGH), pituitary-R2 values, and liver-R2 values were measured by using multi-echo spin-echo sequences. Results: Pituitary-R2 values were significantly higher in group A compared with group B Rho < 0.05). A positive correlation was detected between the pituitary-R2 values and serum ferritin levels in TM patients Rho < 0. 01) A threshold value of 14.1 Hz for pituitary-R2 was found to give a high specificity and sensitivity in distinguishing the TM patients with HH from those with normal pituitary functions. PGH measurements were significantly lower in group A compared with group B Rho < 0.05). Conclusion: MRI-assessed pituitary-R2 seems to be a reliable marker for differentiating the TM patients with normal pituitary function from those with secondary hypogonadism due to iron toxicity