Mothers and Daughters of the Maidan: Gender, repertoires of violence, and the division of labour in Ukrainian protests

The Euromaidan shocked most observers of Ukrainian politics, not only for its longevity (November 21, 2013 – February 22, 2014), but also for its turn to violent repertoires of protest in the later stages. What was at first a peaceful mass protest event which saw nearly equal participation of men and women (Onuch, 2014d; Onuch & Martsenyuk, 2013), turned into what seemed to be a violent and male dominated riot. While much attention has been paid to the brave ‘women of the Euromaidan’ who also engaged in violent protests (Khromeychuk, 2014; Phillips, 2014), female activists and other protest participants (‘ordinary’ citizens) have reported a gendered division of labour in the protest zone. Thus, it is still not clear what the role of gender was during the different stages of protest - and if the participation of women was in fact, any different from that of male protest participants. This paper employs original data from rapid interviews and onsite surveys of protest participants, and the authors’ in-depth interviews with 48 activists to investigate how violent repertoires and the general militarization of the Euromaidan protests reproduced patriarchal gender stereotypes

Russo-Ukraine War and Gendered Approaches to Strategic Competition

The 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia represents a logical step in the Russian war against women, minorities, and “Western values.”  The discussion aims to better understand the complexity and fragility of the contemporary security environment by presenting an effective frame for correctly analyzing women’s influence and experience as both agents and subjects of change. The panelists explore the conflict through the weaponization of gender in the global information war against the U.S., NATO, and Ukraine. Furthermore, they highlight the correlation between the weaponization of gendered narratives and its relationship to fostering societal resilience and networks of resistance. The discussion introduces the conceptual framework of information warfare, narrative warfare, and civilizational confrontation, and its linkages with resilience and resilient societies. It provides an analysis of the deeper meaning of WPS in the macro context of the assault on democracy, human rights, and rule of law – to include the role of women in building resilient societies. Information and cognition have impacted the war-fighting experience in the current conflict and its marked role in gendered narratives, which have been utilized by both the Russians and Ukrainians. Lessons learned and policy recommendations for developing a more effective and robust WPS agenda for U.S. (and allied and partner) foreign policy and information operations, especially in advancing new notions of integrated deterrence, while expanding the development of resilience are brought to the fore. Achieving unity of effort is crucial because there can be disjuncture between the declaratory level and WPS policies.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/wps/1015/thumbnail.jp

The Predictive Power of Social Media Sentiment for Short-Term Stock Movements

Ever since modern-day financial markets existed, people have been trying to forecast movements in stock prices, as accurate predictions would entail economic benefits and the reduction of risks. This paper examines whether social media sentiment can be used to predict short-term stock movements. Using more than two years of data from Twitter, we assess the effect the extracted sentiment holds for 10 companies listed in the S&P500. Applying different sentiment analysis approaches and forecasting models, we find that for three out of the ten companies, sentiment does significantly improve the forecasting performance. A custom-built sentiment model outperforms an off-the-shelf VADER model, and tree-based models deliver better performance than linear ones. On the theoretical front, this provides evidence against the Efficient Market Hypothesis and warrants future research regarding the circumstances under which stock returns might be predictable

Efficient chemotherapy of rat glioblastoma using Doxorubicin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles with different stabilizers

Background: Chemotherapy of glioblastoma is largely ineffective as the blood-brain barrier (BBB) prevents entry of most anticancer agents into the brain. For an efficient treatment of glioblastomas it is necessary to deliver anti-cancer drugs across the intact BBB. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles coated with poloxamer 188 hold great promise as drug carriers for brain delivery after their intravenous injection. In the present study the anti-tumour efficacy of the surfactant-coated doxorubicin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles against rat glioblastoma 101/8 was investigated using histological and immunohistochemical methods. Methodology: The particles were prepared by a high-pressure solvent evaporation technique using 1% polyvinylalcohol (PLGA/PVA) or human serum albumin (PLGA/HSA) as stabilizers. Additionally, lecithin-containing PLGA/HSA particles (Dox-Lecithin-PLGA/HSA) were prepared. For evaluation of the antitumour efficacy the glioblastoma-bearing rats were treated intravenously with the doxorubicin-loaded nanoparticles coated with poloxamer 188 using the following treatment regimen: 3×2.5 mg/kg on day 2, 5 and 8 after tumour implantation; doxorubicin and poloxamer 188 solutions were used as controls. On day 18, the rats were sacrificed and the antitumour effect was determined by measurement of tumour size, necrotic areas, proliferation index, and expression of GFAP and VEGF as well as Isolectin B4, a marker for the vessel density. Conclusion: The results reveal a considerable anti-tumour effect of the doxorubicin-loaded nanoparticles. The overall best results were observed for Dox-Lecithin-PLGA/HSA. These data demonstrate that the poloxamer 188-coated PLGA nanoparticles enable delivery of doxorubicin across the blood-brain barrier in the therapeutically effective concentrations

Re-balancing problem for assembly lines: new mathematical model and exact solution method

The purpose of this study is to develop a new mathematical model and an exact solution method for an assembly line rebalancing problem. When an existing assembly line has to be adapted to a new production context, the line balancing, resources allocation and component management solutions have to be revised. The objective is to minimize the number of modifications to be done in the initial line in order to reduce the time and investment needed to meet new production requirements. The proposed model is evaluated via a computational experiment. The obtained results the efficacy of the proposed method

A triász zátonyok fejlődése a Tethys északi peremén = Evolution of the Triassic Reefs on the Northern Part of the Tethys

Elkészítettük az Aggteleki platform 10 000-es térképét. Két zátonyt különítettünk el. Leírtuk faunájukat és flórájukat, összesen 98 fajt. Egy új fajt (Aggtecella hungarica) és egy új ásványt (nonstrandit) írtunk le. Rekonstruáltuk a platform fejlődését az anisusi-ladin-ban. Egész pontosan meghatároztuk a zátony kialakulás korát: Trinodosus subzona. Az első zátony a Trinososus subzóna kezdetétől a Curionii subzónáig létezett, majd a zátony ÉK-re progradált. Bebizonyítottuk, hogy a Neotethys riftesedése és az Aggteleki zátony kialakulása között ok-okozati összefüggés van. Kimutattuk, hogy minden neptúni telér három időszakban keletkezett: Binodosus-, Trinodosus-, Avisianum subzone. | We finished the 1:10 000 map about the Aggtelek platform. We distinguished two reefs, described their fauna and flora, all together 98 species. We described a new species (Aggtecella hungarica) and a new mineral (nonstrandit). We reconstructed the evolution of the platform during the Anisian-Ladinian. We determined the exact age of the reef forming: Trinodosus subzone. The first reef existed from the beginning of the Trinososus subzone until the Curionii subzone, than the reef prograded to the NE. We proved, that there is a causal relation between the rifting of the Neotethys and the forming of the Aggtelek reef. We justified, that every neptunian dykes originated during three interval: Binodosus-, Trinodosus-, Avisianum subzone

PENGARUH STRES KERJA DAN MOTIVASI KERJA TERHADAP KINERJA KARYAWAN (Survei Pada Karyawan Di Hotel Novotel Bandung)

ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh Stres kerja dan Motivasi kerja terhadap Kinerja karyawan di Hotel Novotel Bandung. Rumusan masalah dalam penelitian ini adalah bagaimana tanggapan karyawan tentang stres kerja pada Hotel Novotel Bandung, bagaimana tanggapan karyawan tentang motivasi kerja pada Hotel Novotel Bandung, bagaimana tanggapan karyawan tentang kinerja karyawan pada Hotel Novotel Bandung dan seberapa besar pengaruh stres kerja dan motivasi kerja terhadap kinerja karyawan di Hotel Novotel Bandung baik secara simultan maupun parsial. Metode yang digunakan penulis dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian deskriftif dan verifikatif dengan teknik pengumpulan data studi kepustakaan, studi di lapangan, dan kuisioner. Adapun ukuran populasinya 110 karyawan dengan sampel yang diteliti adalah berjumlah 86 orang, sedangkan teknik sampling yang digunakan untuk menghitung besarnya ukuran sampel adalah non-probability sampling adalah metode incidental sampling. Sesuai dengan perhitungan statistik, stres kerja dan motivasi kerja memberikan kontribusi terhadap kinerja karyawan pada Hotel Novotel Bandung sebesar 73% sedangkan sisanya sebesar 27% merupakan pengaruh dari variabel lain yang tidak diteliti. Kata Kunci : Stres kerja, Motivasi kerja, dan Kinerja karyawa

The role of persistence in students’ self-realization

The paper analyzes the results of an empirical research obtained with the help of a sample of students. The research of persistence was carried out within the framework of the dispositional concept of personality traits and individuality by A. I. Krupnov. The techniques developed by A. I. Krupnov as well as the author’s test of persistence were used in the study. After allocating the levels of persistence, the features of self-realization were analyzed in each group of the respondents. The specificity of self-realization was revealed in the context of the author’s polysystemic concept, the author’s multidimensional questionnaire on personality’s self-realization (MQPSR) was used as a diagnostic tool. The empirical study revealed statistically significant differences in the specifics of self-realization of the students with different levels of persistence manifestation. The respondents with a high level of persistence realize themselves more successfully in different spheres of life due to the obvious active behaviour, optimistic attitude, high motivation, creative methods and techniques of self-expression, internal self-regulation and constructive behavior. The students with low persistence lack successful self-realization because of passivity, pessimism, external locus of self-control, a high level of barriers and standard simple schemes of self-expression

Effect of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi on growth and development of onion and wild relatives

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi play an important role in the uptake of nutrients and water from soil. Onions, Allium cepa L., are plants with a shallow root system. As a result, onion plants need a lot of fertiziler for their growth. Furthermore, onion plants are sensitive to drought. The aim of the current research project is to study the beneficial effect of mycorrhizal fungi on the growth and development of Allium species and to determine whether it is possible to improve onions for mycorrhizal responsiveness by means of breeding