We examine the interplay of global and domestic media sentiment and the global financial cycle with regard to effects on the exchange rates of emerging markets (EMs). We apply both linear and regime-switching models that employ various measures of media tone and media coverage and proxies for the global financial cycle. The results reveal a significant appreciation of the EMs’ currencies in response to domestic and global sentiment shocks as well as the general and pure global factors (risky asset prices). We also identify an asymmetric effect in which the impacts of domestic and global sentiments and global financial cycles on EM currencies are greater in the case of positive media coverage.

Accurate self-assessment is notoriously difficult for many second language (L2) speakers as they struggle to align self-evaluations of their performance with external assessments by raters or examiners. We investigated whether a brief peer-assessment activity helps L2 speakers align their self-assessment of comprehensibility with the evaluations by external raters. We also explored how speakers’ metacognitive knowledge contributes to their self-assessments. We recorded 40 L2 English-speaking international students completing an academic oral summary task and self-assessing their speech for comprehensibility. Half of the students then performed a brief peer-assessment activity, whereas the other half engaged in a filler task before all students self-assessed their initial performance again. The speech of all students was subsequently evaluated for comprehensibility by 30 external listeners, allowing us to estimate the extent to which the students’ and the external raters’ assessments converged. Whereas engaging in peer-assessment was generally associated for L2 speakers with greater alignment between their self-ratings and external listeners’ evaluations, peer-assessment appeared to mainly benefit L2 speakers with initially good self-assessment skills. Metacognitive knowledge was not associated with greater alignment between self- and other-assessments. We discuss whether and how brief peer- and self-assessment awareness-raising activities can help L2 speakers calibrate self- and other-assessments.

The moral foreign language effect (MFLE) suggests that using a second language promotes utilitarian moral decisions, though its robustness and underlying mechanisms remain debated. This study investigated the MFLE and its potential moderators, including cognitive control, emotional distress and contextual variability (operationalized as victim vulnerability through narrative cues signaling physical fragility), among 255 Chinese-English bilinguals who judged moral dilemmas in either their native or second language. Contrary to prior findings, no significant MFLE emerged, nor did cognitive control or emotional distress alone moderate moral judgments. In contrast, victim vulnerability showed a robust main effect, with higher vulnerability increasing utilitarian responses. Moreover, this effect interacted with emotional distress: it was pronounced under low distress but diminished under high distress. These findings challenge the generalizability of the MFLE and highlight the pivotal influence of emotional and contextual factors, particularly emotional arousal and perceived victim vulnerability, on moral judgments across languages.

A single shell of brachiopod Porambonites wesenbergensis Teichert, 1930 is encrusted in several places with thin sheets of Rothpletzella, tentatively assigned to R. gotlandica Wood, 1948, which are preserved as pyritized molds. The spheroidal shape of the pyrite is rare, as is its apparent nucleation on the calcitic walls of Rothplezella. Presumably, its calcareous sheaths were coated with organic films that provided substrate for heterogeneous nucleation. Comparable wall-directed nucleation was documented in the Ediacaran Conotubus, where pyritization initiates on the tube walls and progresses inward. The same brachiopod is also heavily encrusted by craniids and bryozoans. It is unclear whether the brachiopod P. wesenbergensis was encrusted postmortem or during its life.

This study investigates the intersection of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and democratic pedagogy in K-12 music education in Macau, centring on the experiences of a single teacher, Adam, throughout a school year. This study explores how GenAI tools assisted Adam in teacher planning, shifting learning objectives and bridging gaps among students in the music classroom. The data further highlighted a paradox in integrating GenAI in music education: while Adam saw AI tools as enhancing certain aspects of creative expression, such as generating musical ideas or assisting in composition, he also recognised AI’s deterministic nature as a constraint on deeper creative agency and critical engagement. This research contributes to the growing discourse on GenAI in education, problematising the assumption that GenAI inherently democratises music education. It emphasises the critical importance of thoughtful GenAI implementation to ensure that it complements rather than supplants the essential human elements of teaching, advocating for a holistic and sustainable approach to personalised and democratic music education.

We assess ongoing regional glacier loss in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg using a set of manually mapped glacier outlines for 2017, 2020, 2022 and 2023. Vorarlberg has lost about half of its glacierized area since a previous inventory in the mid-2000s. In 2017–23, glacier area was lost at an average rate of 5% per year. Area loss rates at individual glaciers have increased over time but show considerable variability between glaciers and subperiods. Of 30 glaciers previously inventoried, 5 have vanished completely since 2017. We discuss mapping differences due to the variable interpretation of the images by multiple observers and the mapping challenges that arise even with very high-resolution (10 cm) imagery. Processes leading up to the complete loss of glacier ice, mainly increased debris cover and fragmentation into very small features, cause inherent uncertainties in documenting the disappearance of mountain glaciers and ice bodies. We considered criteria that might be used to define terminology and found 16 remaining glacier fragments with crevasses indicating past or current ice flow, which could be considered glaciers rather than ice bodies.

Schools play a crucial role in supporting adolescent mental health, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where young people face structural and societal challenges. This study explores the feasibility and acceptability of the Health Action in Schools for a Thriving Adolescent Generation (HASHTAG), a multilevel intervention for at-risk adolescents aged 13–14 in South Africa. HASHTAG includes two components: thriving environment in schools (TES), a whole-school approach, and thriving together (TT), a classroom-based programme. Using a mixed-methods design, we assessed feasibility in two Khayelitsha schools through implementation measures (attendance, fidelity and acceptability), focus groups (n = 46), and pre-post surveys (n = 231). Despite COVID-19 disruptions, the intervention was implemented with high fidelity and met all progression criteria. Students and staff found HASHTAG relevant and engaging, particularly appreciating the TT sessions delivered by external facilitators. The TES teacher module also created space for reflection and self-care. Some teachers suggested improved sensitisation could strengthen the programme’s impact. Although no significant changes were observed in quantitative outcomes, no harms were reported. These findings support the feasibility and acceptability of HASHTAG and highlight the need for a full-scale trial to evaluate its potential impact on adolescent mental health in LMIC settings.

This study examined whether self-assessed multilingual proficiency and use of additional languages predict individual differences in inhibitory control (IC) and mind wandering (MW) among UK university students. Sixty-five participants completed a Go/No-Go task measuring response inhibition and the BMW-3 questionnaire, which assessed unintentional, intentional and meta-awareness dimensions of MW. Multilingualism was operationalised using a continuous composite index integrating self-rated proficiency and daily use of non-native languages. The index scores were not significantly associated with response inhibition or meta-awareness. However, higher multilingual proficiency index scores were significantly associated with lower levels of unintentional MW. These findings suggest that, moving beyond categorical comparisons, greater self-reported multilingual proficiency and use of additional languages may support the regulation of internally directed thought, rather than externally triggered IC. Implications for future research and potential applications in education and attention-related interventions are discussed.

This article examines the incentives, strategies, and constraints faced by judicial entrepreneurs in advancing bankruptcy enforcement—a legal area traditionally considered politically sensitive—in Wenzhou, China. While existing studies on Chinese courts emphasize external and institutional factors, this study argues that judicial entrepreneurs can play a pivotal role in driving reforms. In response to the 2011 private lending crisis, Wenzhou court leaders promoted bankruptcy as a means of resolving failing firms. They began with pilot cases and gradually institutionalized bankruptcy by mobilizing social, judicial, and political resources. These efforts were shaped by both personal attributes and self-serving interests. However, judicial entrepreneurship encountered limits, such as legal rules, the inconsistency of enforcement, and the government’s core interests. The study contributes to the debates on courts and social change by showing how court leaders can overcome institutional constraints through alliance building, public engagement, and local adaptation of national rules. It also enriches our understanding of judicial policymaking across regimes by highlighting a symbiotic, rather than a zero-sum, state-court relationship in the analysis of judicial politics.

We consider shock models governed by the bivariate geometric counting process. By assuming the competing risks framework, failures are due to one of two mutually exclusive causes (shocks). We obtain and study some relevant functions, such as failure densities, survival functions, probability of the cause of failure, and moments of the failure time conditioned on a specific cause. Such functions are specified by assuming that systems or living organisms fail at the first instant in which a random threshold is reached by the sum of received shocks. Under this failure scheme, various cases arising for suitable choices of the random threshold are provided too.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a powerful and flexible modeling framework for testing complex relationships among observed and latent variables. However, its methodological complexity and analytical flexibility also increase the risk of questionable research practices (QRPs), especially in fields like applied linguistics, where training in advanced statistics may be limited. This article synthesizes the literature on QRPs and applies it to SEM by identifying seven categories of problematic practices: not checking assumptions, not validating a measurement model, not testing competing models, not sufficiently justifying modeling decisions, relying on post hoc model modification, overemphasizing global fit indices, and incomplete or nontransparent reporting. Each practice is described with examples and linked to broader issues in research ethics and transparency. The paper concludes with concrete recommendations for improving the credibility and reproducibility of SEM research, emphasizing the integration of best practices with the principles of open science.

We present a short database of the mole fraction of CO2 and 14CO2 in atmospheric air samples from an urban area in Gliwice, Silesia, Poland. The research covered a period from August 2023 to July 2024. A new laboratory air sampler stand was established to monitor carbon dioxide levels in Gliwice, giving the possibility to determine CO2 levels in the air using appropriate instruments to collect the air samples, extract CO2 from them, and thus measure carbon isotopes ratio 14C/12C. The analysis of the mole fraction of CO2 was determined using a low-cost system (CARBOCAP GMP343), while the carbon isotopes concentration was measured using MICADAS. The 14C in the air samples varied randomly from –55 to –24‰, while the monthly mole fraction of CO2 varied from 428 to 470 ppm. It has been also observed also that CO2 concentration is linked with the planetary boundary layer. The fraction of fossil of total CO2 has been estimated at the level of 2.5% during the investigated period of time. Another aim of this study was to investigate pine needles as 14C archives in a contemporary environment. The examination of the needles was based on the analysis of the similarities and differences in radiocarbon concentrations in pine needles of various ages collected in the middle of consecutive seasons, with 3 months resolution in Gliwice. The concentration of 14C in the needles was determined using a liquid scintillation counter. The mean F14C from all the samples was 99.80(70) pMC.

A set $S \subseteq \mathbb{R}$ is almost Erdős if, for every $\varepsilon \gt 0$, there exists a set $E \subseteq \mathbb{R}$ of positive Lebesgue measure such that $\{x \in S : ax+b \notin E\}$ is nonempty for all $|a| \gt \varepsilon$ and $b \in \mathbb{R}$. In this note, we show that any decreasing null sequence $(x_n)$ with decay rate greater than $1/2$ is an almost Erdős set.

Subspecialty neurology fellowship training is becoming increasingly more common and a requirement to practice at academic institutions. This is especially true for electroencephalography (EEG) and epilepsy, as neurology residency does not usually provide adequate exposure to this complex field. Little is known about the availability and content of epilepsy fellowships in Canada. This study aims to identify this information and characterize available programs. Eight pediatric and eight adult epilepsy fellowship programs were identified. There was a wide range in the availability of resources in many centers, but all centers provided exposure to core EEG and epilepsy skills.