Search Results (1,163)

This study investigates how Greek professionals formulate upward requests and simultaneously manage rapport and workplace identity within hierarchical exchanges. The data comprise 400 written requests elicited through a discourse–completion task from 100 participants, supplemented by follow-up interviews. Integrating pragmatic perspectives on request mitigation with Spencer-Oatey’s Rapport-Management model and a social constructionist perspective on identity, the analysis reveals a distinctive “direct-yet-mitigated” style: syntactically direct head acts (typically want- or need-statements) various mitigating devices. This mitigation enables speakers to preserve superiors’ face, assert entitlement, and invoke shared corporate goals in a single move. Crucially, rapport work is intertwined with identity construction. Strategic oscillation between deference and entitlement projects four recurrent professional personae: the deferential subordinate, the competent and deserving employee, the cooperative team-player, and the rights-aware negotiator. Speakers shift among these personae to calibrate relational distance, demonstrating that rapport management functions not merely as a politeness calculus but as a resource for dynamic identity performance. This study thus bridges micro-pragmatic choices and macro social meanings, showing how linguistic mitigation safeguards interpersonal harmony while scripting desirable workplace selves. Full article

This Special Issue of Cancers, entitled “Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML): Updates on Diagnosis, Treatment and Management”, will be a forum for stimulating discussions and thought-provoking debates, featuring cutting-edge scientific manuscripts on the most relevant topics related to the diagnosis and therapeutic advances for the management of AML [...] Full article

More than seventy-five years ago, R. Hanbury Brown and R. Q. Twiss performed the first experiments in quantum optics. At the outset, their results showed great promise for the field of astronomical science, featuring inexpensive hardware, immunity to atmospheric turbulence, and enormous interferometry baselines. This was put to good use for the determination of stellar diameters up to the present time. However, for two-dimensional imaging with faint objects, the integration times are prohibitive. Recently, in a sequence of papers, the present author developed a stochastic search algorithm to remove this roadblock, reducing millions of hours to minutes or seconds. Also, the author’s paper entitled “The Rise of the Brown-Twiss Effect” summarized the search algorithm and emphasized the mathematical proofs of the algorithm. The current algorithm is a sequence of six lines of code. The goal of the present article is to streamline the algorithm in the form of a discrete-time dynamic system and to reduce the size of the state space. The previous algorithm used initial conditions that were randomly assorted pixel intensities. The intensities were mutually statistically independent and uniformly distributed over the range $\left[0,\delta \right)$, where $\delta$ is a (very small) positive constant. The present formulation employs a transformation requiring the uniformly distributed phase of the fast Fourier transform of the cross correlations of the data as initial conditions. We shall see that this strategy results in the simplest discrete-time dynamic system capable for exploring the alternate features and benefits of compartmental nonnegative dynamic systems. Full article

Current technological development has made the Internet and new technologies increasingly present in people’s lives, expanding their opportunities but also potentially posing risks for dysfunctional use. This study aims to identify psychopathological factors associated with dysfunctional ICT use, extending the evidence beyond the well-established relationships with mood disorders to include personality disorders (i.e., cluster C in particular). A total of 711 participants (75.70% female; Mage = 28.33 years, SD = 12.30) took part in the data collection. Firstly, the results showed positive correlations between higher levels of addictive patterns for the Internet, social networks, smartphones and applications, and video games and higher levels of borderline symptoms as assessed by the Borderline Symptom List 23—Short Version. Moreover, scores reflecting high addictive patterns also positively correlated with general narcissistic traits as indicated by the total score of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory 13—Short Version and those specifically described by its Entitlement/Exploitativeness dimension, as well as with higher levels of almost all the personality traits assessed by the Personality Inventory for DSM 5—Brief Form (i.e., negative affectivity, detachment, disinhibition, and psychoticism). These findings broaden the still scarce body of evidence on the relationship between personality disorders and dysfunctional ICT use, which, however, needs to be further explored. Full article

Standard arguments for open borders draw on cosmopolitan premises. By contrast, statism as a theory of global justice seems to be at odds with open borders. If states are only responsible for protecting the autonomy of citizens and do not owe foreigners equal consideration of their claims, it appears to follow that they may legitimately exclude unwanted immigrants as long as their human rights are not at stake. In this article, I argue that one can be a statist and still defend open borders. Even though moral equality gives rise to demands of distributive justice only in the context of shared subjection to the authority of the state, such that foreigners are not entitled to equal treatment, moral equality demands that the state shows equal respect for their autonomy. Immigration restrictions that are not aimed at protecting the autonomy of citizens are incompatible with equal respect for foreigners’ autonomy, since they subject the latter to unilateral coercion without it being necessary for the former to lead autonomous lives. Full article

This study examines the distinctive male leadership—comprising procurators, parish priests, and chaplains—of the beguinage of St. Elizabeth in Valenciennes during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Contrary to the majority of beguine communities in the southern Low Countries, where leadership appointments were dictated by religious or secular authorities, this community was entitled to elect its male administrators autonomously. The elected were generally influential figures in local religious and secular affairs and maintained a close relationship with the comital family of Hainaut. The analysis will demonstrate how this politically embedded ecclesiastical framework not only ensured doctrinal legitimacy but also mediated conflicts between secular lords and church authorities, thus enabling the community’s survival amid accusations of heresy and institutional repression. By examining the electoral criteria and functional specialization of male leaders, and their interactions with self-governed beguines, this research tries to offer a new perspective on the complex governance strategies of the medieval beguine movement. Full article

Objective: This study seeks to analyze the incidence of breastfeeding self-efficacy in postpartum woman who are undergoing prenatal care at the Family Health Strategy Units in the city of Tubarão, Santa Catarina (SC), Southern Brazil, from August to December 2022. Methods: An observational epidemiological study with a cross-sectional design was carried out with puerperal women—either primiparous or multiparous—who were followed in the municipal public network, along with their live-born children delivered at the maternity hospital of Hospital Nossa Senhora da Conceição in Tubarão, SC. Participants agreed to participate in the study. For data collection, an instrument developed by researchers and a validated instrument entitled Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form were used to assess the self-efficacy of breastfeeding. Results: The mean score of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES) was 61.75 points (±6.39), indicating high self-efficacy. There was an association between the mean of the general score and/or the domains of the BSES with maternal characteristics. Women with higher education had greater technical mastery (p = 0.010), and those with previous breastfeeding experience and those who breastfed their children during the first hour of life had a higher average in the overall score and in the domains of the scale. In addition, those who planned the pregnancy (p = 0.024) and those who did not receive assistance from the milk bank (p = 0.047) had greater technical domain. Conclusions: In the present study, there was a predominance of high breastfeeding self-efficacy. It was verified that the personal and clinical aspects interfered in the self-efficacy of breastfeeding. Full article

This research is situated within the Irish tertiary educational space, between higher education (HE) and further education and training (FET). The higher education organisation in which this research is set is the Literacy Development Centre (LDC)—South-East Technological University (SETU), and the further education organisation is the Longford Westmeath Education Training Board (LWETB). This study focuses on the provision of a 30 Credit NFQ Level 6 qualification entitled Certificate in Adult Literacy Studies. Methods include multiple focus groups to capture the differing accounts of experience. The findings of this research present a unique 360-degree view of experiences of the blended delivery of this curriculum programme. Voices reported here include all stakeholders, specifically the people who logistically manage the programme from both the HE and FE perspectives, the lecturers and their students. The research focuses specifically on the opportunities, the positives, the challenges and the lessons learned for all the research participants involved in delivering this programme within this tertiary space. This article concludes with a discussion of the impact of this type of academic delivery upon the students and other respective organisational stakeholders from both the HE and the FE perspectives. Full article

This editorial introduces the Special Issue entitled “Phase Change Materials for Building Energy Applications”, which gathers nine original research articles focused on advancing thermal energy storage solutions in the built environment. The selected contributions explore the application of phase change materials (PCMs) across a range of building components and systems, including façades, flooring, glazing, and pavements, aimed at enhancing energy efficiency, reducing peak loads, and improving thermal comfort. This Special Issue highlights both experimental and numerical investigations, ranging from nanomaterial-enhanced PCMs and solid–solid PCM glazing systems to full-scale applications and the modeling of encapsulated PCM geometries. Collectively, these studies reflect the growing potential of PCMs to support sustainable, low-carbon construction and provide new insights into material design, system optimization, and energy resilience. We thank all contributing authors and reviewers for their valuable input and hope that this Special Issue serves as a resource for ongoing innovation in the field. Full article

In informal economic contexts, migrant entrepreneurs have been extolled as highly resilient and adaptable. This study critically investigates the adverse psychological foundations inherent in such enterprises, focusing on how dark triad personality traits emerge in the leadership orientations of marginal migrant entrepreneurs. Following a qualitative ethnographic approach, this research engaged 10–15 migrant employees through participant observation, field notes, and semi-structured interviews in an informal economic context. Thematic analysis revealed five dominant patterns: narcissistic leadership with entitlement and emotional disrespect; Machiavellian behavior of manipulation and deception; psychopathic detachment in emotional callousness; absence of light triad actions such as empathy, humility, and selflessness; and moral disengagement through rationalizations such as “everyone does it” or system blame. Migrant business owners prefer to rationalize their exploitative acts as being necessary for economic survival, thus legitimizing immoral conduct and suppressing moral self-regulation. The findings indicate that marginality not only drives entrepreneurial innovation, but also has the potential to create exploitative inclinations that are institutionally and morally unchecked. Solving this issue requires not only mere psychological awareness, but also systematic reforms that foster ethical robustness and emotional sensitivity. This study ultimately asserts the need to reframe migrant entrepreneurship discourse, including both ethical and psychological accountability. Full article

Background/Objectives: To avoid becoming mired in prolonged deep dementia, some people seek to hasten death by advance instructions rejecting life-sustaining medical intervention (LSMI) at a point of cognitive decline they define in advance as unacceptable. When the time comes to implement such advance instructions and to allow the person in advanced dementia to die, many clinicians experience moral and ethical qualms. The decision makers face a clash between people’s legally recognized self-determination prerogative to control their post-competence medical fate and the decision makers’ conviction that humane treatment dictates sustaining the well-being, i.e., the physical “best interests,” of the patient who no longer recalls prior instructions grounded in concerns about personal dignity. The authors’ objective here is to provide guidance in resolving this anguishing dilemma confronting medical decision makers. Methods: The authors construct and analyze a case scenario involving a patient in a state of advanced dementia with a clear advance instruction rejecting LSMI at the current point of debilitation, but who is not ostensibly suffering, is experiencing a modicum of life satisfaction, and is making life-affirming utterances. The two lead authors present contrasting views on whether legal and moral factors impel the implementation of the advance directive rejecting treatment or rather dictate life-sustaining medical intervention. Results: At this early stage of jurisprudence involving persons in advanced dementia, there can be no definitive resolution of the difficult legal/moral clash confronting decision makers. Some sources would conclude that persons are legally entitled to define precipitous mental decline and complete dependence on others as intolerably undignified and inconsistent with their self-defined life narrative. Other sources would be guided by humane respect for the contemporary well-being of a non-suffering patient, especially one making life-affirming utterances. Conclusion: Through the lens of this illuminating case and contrasting analyses, readers should better understand how clinicians should weigh advance directives against shifting care preferences subsequently articulated by persons with advanced dementia. Full article

While data-driven digital technologies (e.g., mobile applications) have brought convenience to users, they have also raised data privacy concerns. Regulators have taken various actions that ensure user data privacy to balance the protection and exploitation of personal data. However, the effect of privacy regulatory protection in preparing mobile users for data sharing remains unclear. This research develops and empirically tests an integrative model of how mobile users adjust their intention to share personal data in response to privacy regulatory protection. The results indicate that privacy regulatory protection can increase users’ intention to share personal data through enhancing psychological ownership of data (i.e., entitlement effect) and decreasing privacy concerns (i.e., reassurance effect). Moreover, the entitlement effect can be attenuated as app control over data increases, while the reassurance effect can be accentuated as users’ privacy efficacy increases. This research provides new insights into the role of privacy regulatory protection in promoting user data sharing by highlighting the psychological mechanisms underlying users’ responses to such regulations. It provides implications for digital platforms seeking to balance the challenges of user data protection with the benefits of data-driven marketing. Full article

This article summarizes the scope and content of the Special Issue (SI) entitled “Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Cartography for a Sustainable World” and its contribution to the global discourse regarding sustainability concerns. At the heart of the discussion in this SI lies: (i) GIS, a valuable tool and a means for modeling, designing, and analyzing (spatial) data and processes related to the pursuance of sustainability objectives at both local and global scales; and (ii) Cartography as a discipline, which through maps and visualizations can convey the present state. The latter can play a vital role in educating, empowering, and raising public awareness with regard to sustainability concerns on the one hand, and can form a basis for policy-makers, scientists, and citizens for articulating effective sustainability strategies on the other. The fulfillment of the SI goals is attained through a collection of 26 papers that delve into and attempt to visualize sustainability achievements or concerns on a variety of themes in different parts of the world. More specifically, the content of this collection of papers can be categorized into the following sustainability-related themes: Urbanization, Transportation, Carbon Emissions Management, Infrastructure, Rural Development, and Climate Change. The main conclusion is that planning and implementing sustainability policies is a challenging and multi-level task, and must be carried out within a fully dynamic decision environment. Although some progress has already been made, more intensive and collective efforts from scientists, governments, the entrepreneurial community, and citizens are needed in order for the ambitious goals of Agenda 2030 to be reached. Full article