Territorial-Administrative Decentralisation and Ethnocultural Diversity in Ukraine: Addressing Hungarian Autonomy Claims in Zakarpattya

The paper argues firstly that, since there is no obvious separatist movement within Zakarpattya, the Ukrainian state should seek as far as possible to accommodate Hungarian identity claims within the region (and those of other smaller minority communities living within the state) as part of a normative and instrumental strategy of promoting ‘unity in diversity’. Secondly, it argues that Ukraine’s current concept of decentralization offers space to realise the non-territorial vision of cultural autonomy, provided that sufficient attention is also given to maintaining pre-existing territorially-based provisions with regard to minority language use and political representation for Hungarians at both regional and national level

Territorial-Administrative Decentralisation and Ethnocultural Diversity in Ukraine: Addressing Hungarian Autonomy Claims in Zakarpattya

The paper argues firstly that, since there is no obvious separatist movement within Zakarpattya, the Ukrainian state should seek as far as possible to accommodate Hungarian identity claims within the region (and those of other smaller minority communities living within the state) as part of a normative and instrumental strategy of promoting ‘unity in diversity’. Secondly, it argues that Ukraine’s current concept of decentralization offers space to realise the non-territorial vision of cultural autonomy, provided that sufficient attention is also given to maintaining pre-existing territorially-based provisions with regard to minority language use and political representation for Hungarians at both regional and national level

Analytical solution for wave propagation through a graded index interface between a right-handed and a left-handed material

We have investigated the transmission and reflection properties of structures incorporating left-handed materials with graded index of refraction. We present an exact analytical solution to Helmholtz' equation for a graded index profile changing according to a hyperbolic tangent function along the propagation direction. We derive expressions for the field intensity along the graded index structure, and we show excellent agreement between the analytical solution and the corresponding results obtained by accurate numerical simulations. Our model straightforwardly allows for arbitrary spectral dispersion.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Reflections on teaching mindfulness to teenagers: from research to clinic

Increased stress reactivity during adolescence has been associated with vulnerability for psychiatric disorders in adulthood and mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) seem to be an option to stress. However, there is still debate on how to best teach MBI to teenagers. For the last 6 years, authors have been proposing the “Mindfulteen” (MT) to teenagers between 12 and 19 years in Geneva. The MT was first applied in different clinical trials and in a qualitative study and, as the results were encouraging, is now proposed in a clinical context at the University Hospital. Authors aim to share here some lessons learned from this experience: 1. Motivation and curiosity are key to engagement, and this is particularly important in school settings; 2. Even if adaptation is needed for different age groups, the program’s core remains easily the same; 3. Short formal practices with not much silence are needed, and metaphors can help; 4. Clarifying the intention of each practice can improve engagement, and the same explicit attitude can be brought into inquiry; 5. A trauma-sensitive approach is crucial, especially in clinical settings; 7. Proposing different versions of the same practice facilitates home practice; 8. Even if participants are not practicing between sessions, it doesn’t mean that they are not integrating mindfulness into their lives; 9. Creative and playful activities can provide rich mindful moments. In conclusion, there are open questions about teaching mindfulness to adolescents and authors believe that sharing and exchanging experiences is important to find some of the answers.&nbsp

Affect graphing: leveraging graphical representations in the study of students’ affect in mathematics

Affect (e.g., beliefs, attitudes, emotions) plays a crucial role in mathematics learning, but reliance on verbal and written responses (from surveys, interviews, etc.) limits students’ expression of their affective states. As a complement to existing methods that rely on verbal reports, we explore how graphing can be used to study affect during mathematical experiences. We analyze three studies that used graphing to represent, stimulate recall, and reflect on affect. In each, students were asked to draw their perception of an affective construct, such as confidence or intensity of emotion, against time. The studies differed in participant populations, target affect, timescales of participant experience, and structural features of the graphs. The affordances of graphing include reduced dependence on verbal data, temporal ordering of participants’ recollections, explicit representation of change over time, and the creation of objects (the graph) for discussion. These studies as examples show that well-structured graphing can productively supplement existing methods for studying affect in mathematics education, as a different medium through which students can communicate their experience

Woody plant encroachment intensifies under climate change across tundra and savanna biomes

CITATION: Garcia Criado, M. et al. 2020. Woody plant encroachment intensifies under climate change across tundra and savanna biomes. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 229(5): 925–943. doi:10.1111/geb.13072The original publication is available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14668238Aim: Biomes worldwide are shifting with global change. Biomes whose extents are limited by temperature or precipitation, such as the tundra and savanna, may be particularly strongly affected by climate change. While woody plant encroachment is prevalent across both biomes, its relationship to temperature and precipitation change remains unknown. Here, we quantify the degree to which woody encroachment is related to climate change and identify its main associated drivers. Location: Tundra and savanna biomes. Time period: 1992 ± 20.27–2010 ± 5.62 (mean ± SD). 1876–2016 (range). Major taxa studied: Woody plants (shrubs and trees). Methods: We compiled a dataset comprising 1,089 records from 899 sites of woody plant cover over time and attributed drivers of woody cover change across these two biomes. We calculated cover change in each biome and assessed the degree to which cover change corresponds to concurrent temperature and precipitation changes using multiple climate metrics. Finally, we conducted a quantitative literature review of the relative importance of attributed drivers of woody cover change. Results: Woody encroachment was widespread geographically and across climate gradients. Rates of woody cover change (positive or negative) were 1.8 times lower in the tundra than in the savanna (1.8 vs. 3.2%), while rates of woody cover increase (i.e., encroachment) were c. 1.7 times lower in the tundra compared with the savanna (3.7 vs. 6.3% per decade). In the tundra, magnitudes of woody cover change did not correspond to climate, while in the savanna, greater cover change corresponded with increases in precipitation. We found higher rates of woody cover change in wetter versus drier sites with warming in the tundra biome, and higher rates of woody cover change in drier versus wetter sites with increasing precipitation in the savanna. However, faster rates of woody cover change were not associated with more rapid rates of climate change across sites, except for maximum precipitation in the savanna. Main conclusions: Woody encroachment was positively related to warming in the tundra and increased rainfall in the savanna. However, cover change rates were not predicted by rates of climate change, which can be partially explained by climate interactions in both biomes. Additional likely influences include site-level factors, time-lags, plant-specific responses, and land use and other non-climate drivers. Our findings highlight the complex nature of climate change impacts in biomes limited by seasonality, which should be accounted for to realistically estimate future responses across open biomes under global change scenarios.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.13072Publishers versio

Metacognition is Prior

We agree with Carruthers that evidence for metacognition in species lacking mindreading provides dramatic evidence in favor of the metacognition-is-prior account and against the mindreading-is-prior account. We discuss this existing evidence and explain why an evolutionary perspective favors the former account and poses serious problems for the latter account

Introdução de segmentos nodais e enraizamento in vitro de Apuleia leiocarpa

Apuleia leiocarpa Vogel J. F. Macbr. is a tree species native to Brazil that has high wood quality, and is currently threatened with extinction. Seminal seedlings of grápia are rarely commercialized, and vegetative propagation techniques, such as micropropagation, are considered as alternative methods for the production of grápia trees. However, there is a lack of available information about the in vitro introduction of nodal segments, and little information is available regarding in vitro rooting of grápia trees. As such, there are knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in order to define a micropropagation protocol for this species. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate different disinfestation solutions in the introduction of nodal segments and of different types and concentrations of auxins in the in vitro rooting of grápia explants. For the introduction of nodal segments, different types of disinfestation solutions and immersion times were evaluated. For rooting, different concentrations and types of auxins were evaluated. The best disinfestation treatment was found to be immersion in sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution with 2.5% active chlorine for 5 minutes. For rooting, treatment with 1.0 mg L-1 of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA, C10H7CH2CO2H) resulted in the highest rates of adventitious rooting. Grápia nodal segments can be established in vitro, and provide a good source of propagules for micropropagation, and rooting can be favored through the application of NAA.Apuleia leiocarpa Vogel J. F. Macbr. é uma espécie arbórea nativa do Brasil que possui madeira de alta qualidade e, atualmente, se encontra ameaçada de extinção. Mudas seminais de grápia dificilmente são comercializadas, sendo técnicas de propagação vegetativa, a exemplo da micropropagação, uma alternativa a ser considerada para produção de mudas. No entanto, há uma falta de informação disponível sobre a introdução in vitro de segmentos nodais e pouca informação está disponível sobre o enraizamento adventício de grápia. Como tal, existem lacunas de conhecimento que precisam ser abordadas para definir um protocolo de micropropagação para essa espécie. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar diferentes soluções de desinfestação na introdução de segmentos nodais e de diferentes tipos e concentrações de auxinas no enraizamento in vitro de explantes de grápia. Para a introdução, foram testados diferentes tipos de solução de desinfestação e tempos de imersão. Para o enraizamento, foram avaliadas diferentes concentrações e tipo de auxina. O melhor tratamento de desinfestação foi a imersão em solução de hipoclorito de sódio (NaOCl) a 2,5% de cloro ativo por 5 minutos. Para o enraizamento, o tratamento com 1,0 mg L-1 de ácido naftalenoacético (ANA, C10H7CH2CO2H) resultou nas maiores taxas enraizamento adventício. Os segmentos nodais de grápia podem ser estabelecidos in vitro, consistindo em boa fonte de propágulos para a micropropagação, e o enraizamento pode ser favorecido pela aplicação de ANA

Animal Metacognition: Problems and Prospects

Researchers have begun to evaluate whether nonhuman animals share humans’ capacity for metacognitive monitoring and self-regulation. Using perception, memory, numerical, and foraging paradigms, they have tested apes, capuchins, a dolphin, macaques, pigeons, and rats. However, recent theoretical and formal-modeling work has confirmed that some paradigms allow the criticism that low-level associative mechanisms could create the appearance of uncertainty monitoring in animals. This possibility has become a central issue as researchers reflect on existing phenomena and pause to evaluate the area’s current status. The present authors discuss the associative question and offer our evaluation of the field. Associative mechanisms explain poorly some of the area’s important results. The next phase of research in this area should consolidate the gains achieved by those results and work toward a theoretical understanding of the cognitive and decisional (not associative) capacities that animals show in some of the referent experiments

The Associations of Cancer’s Financial Stress on the Patient-Caregiver Dyad’s Sleep and Psychological Well-Being

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp23/1037/thumbnail.jp