Perceived threat and prejudice towards immigrants in Finland: A study among early,middle, and late Finnish adolescents

Using integrated threat theory, this study examined how perceived threat, or fear of immigrants, manifests among early, middle, and late Finnish adolescents, and the relationship between perceived threat and prejudice among early, middle, and late adolescents. The sample consisted of 795 Finnish adolescents between 11 and 19 years of age. Realistic and symbolic threats were the most perceived threats and were more prevalent among late adolescents. There was a positive relationship between prejudice and realistic threat, and between prejudice and symbolic threat, but a negative relationship between prejudice and negative stereotyping, and this relationship remained relatively stable from early to late adolescence. Implications on the fight against prejudice towards immigrants among early, middle, and late adolescents are also discussed.     

Consolidation of stone blocks prior to placement: A case study of the Roman wall in Tarragona (Spain): Report and methodology

The possible pre-consolidation of the stones used to repair the Roman wall of Tarragona was studied, on the premise that this had been carried out prior to placement in the wall. A detailed study of the stones was conducted in order to determine whether they had been treated, and if so, how this had been done. A semi-quantitative X-ray mineralogical analysis using the Rietveld method was performed, together with porosity and textural analyses. This paper concludes with a discussion of how the stones studied here were pre-consolidated using lime slurry.     

Criticism strategies and their underlying cultural norms in online interactions: A study of native speakers of Persian and English

This study investigated cross-cultural perception of Persian and American speakers and the strategies they employed to level criticisms on Facebook. Seventeen strategies were discovered, 10 of which were used by both groups, three by Persians, and four by only Americans. Content analysis demonstrated that Persian speakers employed more indirect strategies, while Americans mainly chose direct strategies. Underlying sociocultural norms were investigated through interviews which revealed Persians preferred to save hearer's face and respect their “shakhsiat.” It was also found that Persians observe the cultural schema of “ru-dar-b?yesti” and “adab va ehteram” when criticizing, while Americans used direct assertive criticisms politely.     

Comparative persuasive styles in Arabic and English: A study of the United Nations General Assembly Debate speeches

This study analyzed persuasive styles and tactics used in the United Nations General Assembly Debate speeches by Arabic and English speaking leaders. Past work has identified three persuasive styles: analogical, presentational, and quasilogical. The literature suggests that Arabs use analogical and presentational styles, while the “West” prefers the quasilogical style. Our results indicate that Arabs used the quasilogical style more often than English speakers. All speakers drew upon most of the tactics identified to strengthen their arguments. Finally, there has been a shift in the usage of some tactics for both sets of speakers over 30 years.     

Stress-Inducing and Anxiety-Ridden: A Practice-Based Approach to the Construction of Status-Bestowing Evaluations in Research Funding

Minerva - More than resource allocations, evaluations of funding applications have become central instances for status bestowal in academia. Much attention in past literature has been devoted to...     

Factors influencing the intention to revisit a cultural attraction: The case study of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rovereto

This paper analyses the different factors influencing the intention to revisit a cultural attraction with an application to the Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art (MART) in Rovereto, Italy. The empirical data were obtained from a survey undertaken in 2009 and a zero-truncated count data model is estimated. The findings reveal that sociodemographic characteristics positively influence the probability to return to the museum. Also, as reported in other studies, the temporary exhibitions offered by the museum have a significant impact with an incidence rate ratio almost twice as high. No matter how much visitors spend on accommodation, they are less likely to revisit if they travel in groups, by train or on foot, are far from their town of origin and have spent a long time visiting the museum.     

New concepts in reassessing mining heritage: A study and its implications from the Ancient Iron Mine of Llumeres (North Spain)

The possibility of giving a continuing value to an abandoned historic mine is not only of academic interest but can be a crucial economic and heritage issue for regions with long mining traditions but which are now severely affected by mine closures. This article suggests a different perspective on the rationale for studying, preserving and developing our mining heritage as an educational facility. To illustrate the case, the ancient iron mine of Llumeres, in the Asturias region, in North Spain, is presented as an example. A key point of our thesis is that a closed mine is not a ‘dead entity’ but simply in transition to another useful state and that after the closure, another organism arises, with very different appearance and vital signs. We suggest that this new organism be recognised for its high patrimonial value and that this heritage value be preserved. Accepting this point of view would mean an increase in efforts to identify and appropriately manage these vital signs. We propose that the particular mining-related aspects (which are usually viewed as negative, such as subsidence or groundwater modification), be considered as part of the heritage of the mining activity, considered in the widest sense. To facilitate understanding, these are discussed in comparison to those for a prehistoric cave, for which there is a broader experience and solid knowledge and recognition of heritage value. We have also analyzed the importance of recognising the geometric and functional relationships between the underground workings and the superficial signatures, in defining an extended patrimonial entity, which has been recently presented to the cultural and political authorities. For the case of the iron mine of Llumeres, we explain the methodology required to analyze and classify the documents in order to investigate and reconstruct the 3D geometric structure of the mine and how this can be integrated into a Geographical Information System (GIS) to improve management and editing of the information. Additionally, the historic mining technological methods employed in the underground workings of Llumeres have been studied and all the information integrated into a 3D visualization package and made available as a free 3D video sample of the subsurface information. In summary, this work represents a major step forward in improving our knowledge of the ancient iron mine of Llumeres and, as a consequence, it has been possible, for the first time, to consider the underground mining heritage in the framework of the better known (but as yet unrecognised) overground heritage. This new patrimonial entity offers enhanced possibilities for acceptance and recognition in a societal context and to aid that acceptance, we propose a radical conceptual change of perspective, pointing out new elements requiring research.     

Research and Publication by Communication Faculty in East Africa: A Challenge to the Global Community of Communication Scholars

Abstract

Few African scholars publish articles in top journals, present papers at prestigious conferences, or produce monographs that influence the direction of the field of communication as a whole. We explored hindrances to scholarly productivity in East Africa by administering questionnaires to faculty members at five leading communication departments and conducting in-depth interviews with department heads, librarians, and other senior faculty members. Results indicated that an increase in institutional priority on research and publication makes this an opportune juncture for collaboration with the international scholarly community to facilitate research and publication activity by African academics.     

A procedure for determining the chemical composition of binder and aggregate in ancient mortars: its application to mortars from some medieval buildings in Pisa

The use of a scanning electron microscope equipped with a microanalytical system is proposed for characterising ancient mortars. A calculation procedure is presented that allows a determination of the binder and aggregate compositions (including volatile components) from microprobe data collected on the binder, and chemical, mineralogical, petrographical and physical data collected on the mortar bulk sample. The proposed procedure is applied to 11 mortar samples from three historical monuments built in Pisa throughout the Middle Ages. The binder of the analysed samples consists of a carbonate crystalline fraction and an amorphous carbonate-free fraction that makes up from 20 to 60 % by weight of the binder. The aggregate composition, on average, is close to that of the Arno River sands.