Humanities & Social Sciences

This book is a detailed study of contact-induced change in the Neo-Aramaic dialect of the Jews of Sanandaj, a town in western Iran. Since its foundation in early 17th century, the city has been home to a significant Jewish community. The Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of the town displays different historical layers of contact with various Iranian languages over the course of many centuries. The Iranian languages in question are Gorani, Kurdish, and Persian. Among these, Gorani has had a particularly deep impact on Jewish Neo-Aramaic, whereas the impact of Kurdish, and especially Persian, remains superficial. Jewish Neo-Aramaic records a history of language shift from Gorani to Kurdish in the region. The book offers insights into contact-induced change in social contexts in which a language is maintained as a demarcation of communal identity in a multilingual setting. ; This book is a detailed study of contact-induced change in the Neo-Aramaic dialect of the Jews of Sanandaj, a town in western Iran. Since its foundation in early 17th century, the city has been home to a significant Jewish community. The Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of the town displays different historical layers of contact with various Iranian languages over the course of many centuries. The Iranian languages in question are Gorani, Kurdish, and Persian. Among these, Gorani has had a particularly deep impact on Jewish Neo-Aramaic, whereas the impact of Kurdish, and especially Persian, remains superficial. Jewish Neo-Aramaic records a history of language shift from Gorani to Kurdish in the region. The book offers insights into contact-induced change in social contexts in which a language is maintained as a demarcation of communal identity in a multilingual setting.

The functional domain of apprehensionality encompasses grammatical markers or constructions which conventionally encode or pragmatically implicate that the situation described by the clause is an undesirable possibility. Its main manifestations discussed in this volume are (i) apprehensives, which are modal markers which can occur in main clauses, and thus could serve to translate English might in Don't go near this dog, it might bite (but also add a component of undesirability), and (ii) precautionary subordinators such as English lest in Don't go near this dog, lest it bite. As just illustrated, such elements tend to occur in warnings and are often but not necessarily accompanied by an instruction as to how to avoid the undesirable situation. Although wide-spread cross-linguistically, they have received very little attention in the linguistic literature and their discussion has been mostly restricted to brief sections in language-specific discussions of some lesser studied languages. This volume addresses this gap by presenting in-depth discussions of apprehensional markers in individual languages (and in some contributions, language groups), by experts on these languages and based on first-hand data. The editors' introduction offers a review of the existing literature, including of the varied terminology used and of the main research questions arising. The individual papers present detailed investigations of the semantic and pragmatic properties of the construction(s) in question, their syntactic status, and in many cases also their diachrony. The final contribution is a questionnaire for the in-depth exploration of variation within apprehensional constructions. The volume is aimed at typologists, semanticists interested in modality, and general linguists.

This book explores the rich paremiological heritage of Jibbali/Śḥərɛ̄́t, an endangered pre-literate language belonging to the Modern South Arabian sub-branch of Semitic, spoken by an ever-decreasing number of people in the Dhofar governorate of the Sultanate of Oman. Reflecting the historical value of proverbs and idiomatic expression within the documentation of a language, Giuliano Castagna analyses a sizeable share of Jibbali/Śḥərɛ̄́t proverbs, sayings and idioms from Arabic-language publications, as well as hitherto unpublished expressions that reveal undocumented features in the domains of lexicon, phonetics, phonology and morphology. Castagna’s grammatical analysis (phonetic, phonological and morphological) of these pieces of folk knowledge underpins the documentation of an obsolete lexicon. It is accompanied by a brief introduction to the study of proverbs (paremiology) and a succinct grammatical sketch of Jibbali/Śḥərɛ̄́t, making the book useful both to experts and to students of these topics.

The symposium entitled Vekhi, or Landmarks, is one of the most famous publications in Russian intellectual and political history. Its fame rests on the critique it offers of the phenomenon of the Russian intelligentsia. It was published in 1909, under the editorship of Mikhail Gershenzon, as a polemical response to the revolution of 1905, the failed outcome of which was deemed by all the Landmarks contributors to exemplify and illuminate fatal philosophical, political, and psychological flaws in the revolutionary intelligentsia that had sought it. Its fame persists until today not least because the volume has been deemed by many in Russia and the West to have proven prophetic in its prediction (and urgent warning) that the realization of the intelligentsia’s platform would bring ruin upon Russia. More than any other text, its republication in 1991 symbolically heralded the end of the ideological hegemony of Marxist-Leninism in the Soviet Union.

The impact of economic geography both within and beyond the wider field of geography has been constrained in the past by its own limitations. Drawing together the work of several eminent geographers this superb collection assesses the current state of knowledge in the sub discipline and its future direction. In doing so, the contributors show how economic geographers have offered explanations that affect places and lives in the broader context of the global economy. Offering a discussion of theoretical constructs and methodologies with the purpose to show the need to combine different approaches in understanding spatial (inter) dependencies, contributors also demonstrate the need to engage with multiple audiences, and within this context they proceed to examine how geographers have interfaced with businesses and policy. This excellent collection moves economic geography from a preoccupation with theory towards more rigorous empirical research with greater relevance for public policy. With excellent breadth of coverage, it provides an outstanding introduction to research topics and approaches.

The working group “WG:Roadmap” of the 6G Platform Germany, funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), has set itself the goal of identifying emerging application scenarios, new technologies, and future requirements that shape the 6G research, development, and standardization efforts in Germany and Europe. Toward this goal, the WG has collected, analyzed, and harmonized numerous 6G use cases from various academic institutions and companies under the 6G Platform. As a result, this white paper conveys the current findings from the Working Group. It presents the most recent view on the identified 6G use cases and use case families, existing and novel technology building blocks needed to realize those use cases, as well as new requirements they entail. Representing the German 6G program, the use cases presented in this white paper give insights from German industrial companies, network operators, and further communications stakeholders whose needs may differ from countries with other economic priorities. Besides, the view shown in this paper follows the alignment with the prominent European 6G projects such as 6G-SNS and 6G-IA, which is in line with the working group’s goal to give a first glimpse of a German-European 6G vision.

Apps, die Schulkinder an die Hausaufgaben erinnern und den Eltern zeigen, wie lange ihre Kinder dafür gebraucht haben; digitale Anwendungen, die Sozialarbeiter*innen und ihren Klient*innen anzeigen, wie sich diese entwickelt haben; Programme, die die Integration von Geflüchteten unterstützen sollen: Der Einfluss digitaler Technologien auf unsere persönliche Lebensführung und damit auch auf die Gestaltung unseres sozialen Miteinanders ist hier nicht nur Nebeneffekt, wie er häufig beim Gebrauch digitaler Medien zu beobachten ist, sondern er ist intendiert und häufig sogar primäres Ziel. Aber wie weit reicht dieser Einfluss, und wie ist er zu bewerten? Der Band reflektiert die Nutzung digitaler Technologien zu sozialen Zwecken mit Blick auf das Spannungsfeld von Lenkung und Selbstermächtigung oder auch Hilfe und Kontrolle aus verschiedenen Disziplinen.

What will happen to the university when knowledge is no longer scarce, but ubiquitously available and even produced by machines? In The University as a Mirror of Society, Paul van Geest, Emile Aarts, and Ronald de Jong show how artificial intelligence reaches into the very heart of academia, thus impacting education, research, governance, and our understanding of what it means to be human. This book is a journey taking the reader from the medieval university to the contemporary campus, demonstrating how universities have continuously been challenged to respond to major societal shifts. However, the current AI revolution is different. AI is not merely a tool; it is transforming the very conditions under which knowledge is created, evaluated, and trusted. In doing so, it places the university’s traditional role as gatekeeper under increasing existential pressure. The authors provide a clear analysis of AI as a system technology and discuss its implications for scientific integrity, the transformation of academia, and the future of work at large. At the same time, they pose a fundamental question: how will AI-technologies shape our conception of humankind and how does this inflict the university as a space for reflection and critical inquiry? This book is a powerful plea for a university that strives not only to be faster and more efficient, but above all wiser, more careful, and more humane.

Wie gestaltet sich die Beschulungspraxis für neu migrierte Schüler*innen in der Grundschule? Katharina Schitow analysiert mittels institutioneller Ethnographie, wie institutionelle Praktiken und Texte den Umgang mit neu migrierten Schüler*innen prägen. Sie zeigt, wie migrationsspezifisches Unterscheidungswissen in schulische Texte eingeschrieben und institutionell wirksam wird und eröffnet eine kritische Perspektive auf die institutionelle Dimension des Umgangs mit neuer Migration in der Grundschule – die nicht zuletzt zum Verständnis der komplexen Verschränkung von Institution, Wissen und Migration beiträgt.

Given the phenomenal popularity of mukbang (a live-streamed eating show) among young people, first in Korea and now globally, it is no longer a secret that they like to watch other people eating and cooking in the digital age. This chapter provides an overview of the evolution of mukbang culture in Korea while exploring the sociocultural meanings of this new cultural phenomenon. The chapter suggests that mukbang as a social phenomenon is deeply rooted in the precarious contexts of Korean youth, also known as the ingyeo generation. Young people’s increasing engagement with mukbang illustrates how a shifting sociocultural structure engages with an emerging affective structure through digital mediation. Young Koreans’ negotiation of their precarious present and future through vicarious experiences of binge eating implies how the basic needs of eating are mediated, spectacularized and resignified as a subcultural practice.

This book is open access and available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Manchester University. Faced with economic decline, unprecedented levels of unemployment and new forms of political extremism during Britain’s last great economic crash, politicians and planners in Liverpool and Manchester responded by investing in dramatic and ambitious programmes of urban regeneration. Urban Redevelopment and Modernity in Liverpool and Manchester, 1918-1939 is the first book to provide the hitherto unknown story of the innovative transformation of these cities. Charlotte Wildman challenges academic scholarship in British history, which associates the post-1918 period with the emasculation of local government and the decline of civic culture. She shows that local politicians, planners, architects, businessmen and even religious leaders embraced innovative trends in creating distinct forms of urban modernities, which particularly changed the way women experienced the transformed city. Urban Redevelopment and Modernity in Liverpool and Manchester, 1918-1939 offers a complex, interactive and multipolar interpretation of the ways cities develop, pointing to new methods and ways of understanding both interwar Britain and urban history more generally. At a time of debate and discussion about devolution and decentralisation of government, this book makes an opportune contribution to debates about urban governance and regionalism in contemporary Britain.

War die Geschichte der »heroischen Moderne« im 20. Jahrhundert bloß eine des »Höllensturzes« und der »Bloodlands« oder auch eine der erfolgreichen Demokratien und Sozialstaaten? Und wer waren die Heroen dieser Moderne – Dezisionisten, die disruptiv eine neue Welt erzwingen wollten, oder Sozialingenieure, die soziale Gemeinschaft von unten aufbauten? Thomas Etzemüller beschreibt Versuche, in einer wirren, unsicheren Epoche Ordnung zu schaffen, und analysiert dazu konstruktive Experten, die diagnostizierten und justierten, statt mit großer Geste abzuräumen. Dabei zeigt er: Ihr Wirken war zutiefst ambivalent, denn Gemeinschaft durch Inklusion bedeutete auch den Ausschluss »untauglicher« Menschen.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the entirety of Wisława Szymborska’s poetic oeuvre. The author employs in-depth historical reflection on Szymborska’s beginnings to reveal that – without describing her post-war beginnings and reflecting on her early entanglement in socialist realist newspeak – Szymborska’s mature anti-dogmatic attitude will remain unclear. The book shows how Szymborska’s rhetoric and stylistics – figures of reservation, negation, contradiction, tautology, and repetition – are closely connected with the construction of the poetic world and affect the shape of her messages. After all, Wisława Szymborska is a poet of sophisticated wit, a surprising freedom of expression, and an unusual game with various literary styles, even with colloquial Polish.

The volume collects the proceedings of the conference held at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice within the EU-funded MSCA project SECRETS. The volume investigates Giovan Battista Della Porta’s Magia naturalis (1589) as a cornerstone of early modern knowledge. Adopting a multidisci-plinary approach—from experimental science and epistemology to art, music, and gender—the contributions explore the complex “reform of magic” imple-mented by Della Porta. The essays analyze the work’s experimental back-ground, its use of ancient sources, and its reception in the seventeenth century. This collection offers a new perspective on how Magia naturalis re-defined the boundaries of nature and magic at the dawn of the modern age.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused detrimental economic effects worldwide. Adults around retirement age are especially vulnerable in this respect, being more likely to experience disturbances to their employment patterns: indeed, older adults are in general more affected by COVID-19 than the younger ones and less comfortable with working remotely, particularly as this often implies the possession of specific technological skills. Here, we examine the different impacts of the pandemic crisis on the various socio-demographic groups, particularly focusing on workers aged 50 and above who have experienced an involuntary job loss in the first year of the pandemic. We make use of the second Corona round of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), with data collected in all continental EU countries plus Switzerland and Israel during the summer of 2021. We analyse the extent to which the older European population kept being able to make ends meet, especially as a significant number of people in the sample experienced retirement or involuntary loss of employment, which translates into rising inequalities. Our results rely on subjective measures of economic well-being, measuring the respondents' self-perceived economic vulnerability. We show the ability to cover households' expenses to be associated with increasing age; however, also the likelihood of job loss results to be higher among the older individuals. Indeed, economic vulnerability is generally stronger among the individuals with poorer health and, thus, the oldest ones. We reveal the existence of a social component of poverty and highlight the need for economic support for ageing individuals in Europe, with some interesting differences across the EU countries.