On the composition of parallel versions of the story "The appearance of the liṅga” (liṅgodbhava) in the Purāṇas

Parallel versions of Purāṇic narratives have been analysed by using text-historical and text-critical methods as well as structural approaches. Less attention has been given to the narrative structures and the ways in which parallel versions are produced. In this regard a narratological approach provides a helpful addition to the other methods. The plot or fabula of the story "The appearance of the liṅga”, which is retold several times in the Purāṇas, can be analysed as consisting of a common, stable set of fabula-elements, which is discernible in each version. Furthermore, the fabula-elements are composed of different text types, namely, doctrinal, prescriptive and liturgical. Differences in the versions can be detected in changes that occur not in all, but usually in only one or two fabula-elements. These differences between the versions are produced by changing events in the narrative as well as including different text types in individual fabula-elements. The combination of different text types is not necessarily an indicator that the narrative is composed of diverse textual layers, at different historical periods or by different authors. Rather, it is a characteristic feature of producing different versions of a narrative for different purposes and in various historical contexts. Furthermore, the combination of text types lends the narrative authority with respect to their doctrinal, normative or ritual conten

Teachers and Digital Literacies: Mixed-Methods Investigation into 1:1 Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments

Despite the bustling technological landscape in which we live and learn, technology is still limited in its integration within classrooms. The current drive in education to promote 21st-century skills and digital literacies appears to remain relatively idle for a variety of reasons. This mixed-methods study examines the impact 1:1 technology has on digital literacies and the barriers faced by teachers with its incorporation into secondary classrooms. It explores the extent to which instructors within 1:1 environments perceive their technology integration and investigates how this indirectly impacts the acquisition of digital literacies within the classroom. By gaining more insight into how technology and digital literacy skills are integrated into 1:1 classrooms, we may gain insight into current integration practices as well as barriers to implementation, furthering literature in this area. Moreover, this research may enable educational systems to effectively align beliefs, research, and practice to support teachers in meeting newly adopted technologies and digital literacy standards

Redrawing the maps in Kashmir: New geopolitical realities in the conflict between China, India, and Pakistan

The political geography of Kashmir has changed radically in recent months. The start­ing point was the Indian government’s decision on 5 August 2019 to divide the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into two Union territories. In response, Islamabad pub­lished a map on 4 August 2020 showing all of Kashmir as part of Pakistan. At the end of September 2020, the Chinese government terminated the status quo with India in the Ladakh/Aksai Chin region. This indicates a new phase in the conflict over Kash­mir, in which China and Pakistan could work more closely together. In addition, the conflict is being expanded to include a new geopolitical dimension because, for China, the dispute with India is now also part of the struggle with the United States over the future distribution of power in the Indo-Pacific. (Autorenreferat

Membership identity and consumer behaviour : the case of consumer co-operatives

The study of retail and consumption geographies has become increasingly popular areas of research in the broader discipline of geography over the last decade. Research has covered many aspects of retailing structure and practice, including retailing formats, shopping patterns and consumer identities. However, consumer co-operatives and their members as of yet have not been studied in geography, which is interesting given their considerable presence in the retailing environment. The success of consumer co-operatives in the retailing landscape hinges on the loyalty and economic participation of their members. Their loyalty in the co-operative may in turn be influenced by their identification with the organization. This can pose both challenges and opportunities for co-operatives to succeed in the face of strong retailing competition. This research is thus an attempt to examine the membership identities of co-operative members, and how this influences their consumer behaviour. To this end, self-administered questionnaires were distributed among members and non-members who patronized the Calgary Co-operative Association. They were asked about aspects of the consumer behaviour, shopping preferences, and identification with the co-operative. It was found that overall, members and non-members did not differ in their consumer behaviour. They traveled the same distances, showed the same levels of shopping loyalty at the Co-op, and had the same preferences for the ideal shopping environment. The greater difference however, lay within the membership. When members were disaggregated based on their levels of identification with the Co-op, it was found that members who more highly identified with the Co-op exhibited more loyal shopping behaviour with the Co-op, and those that had a lesser identification with the Co-op exhibited lower shopping loyalty to the Co-op. This has implications for further research on consumer identities with different retailing formats, co-operatives in other areas, and further adds to the growing body of research in geographies of retailing and consumption and co-operative studies

TwinLife survey methodology and fieldwork outcomes. Face-to-face survey of wave 2 (F2F 2a/b)

Lesaar S, Prussog-Wagner A, Hess D. TwinLife survey methodology and fieldwork outcomes. Face-to-face survey of wave 2 (F2F 2a/b). TwinLife Technical Report Series. Vol 10 v1.0.0. Bielefeld: Project TwinLife "Genetic and social causes of life chances" (Universität Bielefeld / Universität des Saarlandes); 2020.Presented by infas Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft Gmb

TwinLife survey methodology and fieldwork outcomes. Telephone survey of wave 1 subsample b (CATI 1b)

Lesaar S, Prussog-Wagner A, Hess D. TwinLife survey methodology and fieldwork outcomes. Telephone survey of wave 1 subsample b (CATI 1b). TwinLife Technical Report Series. Vol 09 v1.0.0. Bielefeld: Project TwinLife "Genetic and social causes of life chances" (Universität Bielefeld / Universität des Saarlandes); 2020.Presented by infas Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft Gmb

Graphene Oxide Sheets-based Platform For Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Culture: Toxicity, Adherence, Growth And Application

It was prepared the graphene oxide (GO) sheets by suspension of GO in ultrapure deionized water or in Pluronic F-68 using a ultrasonicator bath. Total characterization of GO sheets was carried out. The results on suspension of GO in water showed excellent growth and cell adhesion. GO/Pluronic F-68 platform for the growth and adhesion of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) that exhibits excellent properties for these processes. GO in water suspension exhibited an inhibition of the cell growth over 5 mu g/mL In vivo study with GO suspended in water (100 g/mL) on Fisher 344 rats via i.p. administration showed low toxicity. Despite GO particle accumulates in the intraperitoneal cavity, this fact did not interfere with the final absorption of GO. The AST (aspartate aminotransferase) and ALT (alanine aminotransferase) levels (liver function) did not differ statistically in all experimental groups. Also, creatinine and urea levels (renal function) did not differ statistically in all experimental groups. Taking together, the data suggest the great potential of graphene oxide sheets as platform to ACSs, as well as, new material for treatment several urological diseases.61

The Experience of Being Targets of Street Harassment in NYC: Preliminary Findings from a Qualitative Study Sample of 223 Voices who Hollaback!

Street harassment is an under-researched but likely prevalent experience for many New Yorkers. In partnership with Hollaback!, Cornell-ILR researchers sought to better understand how street harassment is experienced and the factors that influence its short- and long-term outcomes for those targeted by implementing a grounded qualitative study of descriptions of experiences of street harassment taking place in New York City submitted to the Hollaback! website between 2005 and 2008. In our report, we describe our findings and present a preliminary theoretical model of how street harassment is experience, as well as suggest some possible hypotheses for future study

A robust basis for multi-bit optical communication with vectorial light

Increasing the information capacity of communication channels is a pressing need, driven by growing data demands and the consequent impending data crunch with existing modulation schemes. In this regard, mode division multiplexing (MDM), where the spatial modes of light form the encoding basis, has enormous potential and appeal, but is impeded by modal noise due to imperfect channels. Here we overcome this challenge by breaking the existing MDM paradigm of using the modes themselves as a discrete basis, instead exploiting the polarization inhomogeneity (vectorness) of vectorial light as our information carrier. We show that this encoding basis can be partitioned and detected almost at will, and measured in a channel independent fashion, a fact we confirm experimentally using atmospheric turbulence as a highly perturbing channel example. Our approach replaces conventional amplitude modulation with a novel modal alternative for potentially orders of magnitude channel information enhancement, yet is robust to fading even through noisy channels, offering a new paradigm to exploiting the spatial mode basis for optical communication.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure