For a smooth affine algebraic group G over an algebraically closed field, we consider several two-variables generalizations of the affine Grassmannian , given by quotients of the double loop group $G(\!(x)\!)(\!(y)\!)$. We prove that they are representable by ind-schemes if G is solvable. Given a smooth surface X and a flag of subschemes of X, we provide a geometric interpretation of the two-variables Grassmannians, in terms of bundles and trivialisation data defined on appropriate loci in X, which depend on the flag.

Population health is shaped not only by global and national processes but equally by decisions taken at the local level. Yet comparatively little is known about why municipal public health policies differ. This study examines how structural conditions, previously found to influence local policymaking, combine with the presence or absence of universal targeting in public health policies across Poland’s 23 largest cities. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis and building on the Local Welfare Regimes perspective, the analysis consistently links universal targeting in municipal public health policy to a combination of strong civil society, substantial representation of women in city councils, and the absence of an unhealthy population. As one of the first explicit applications of the LWR theory with fsQCA, the study contributes to debates on universal targeting, confirming that it can be implemented in a range of ways, while simultaneously highlighting the risk of Matthew Effects.

The political and social preferences of homeowners command significant attention from political scientists. Homeownership appears to make individuals more politically right-wing in their preferences over redistribution and increases their political activism. Comparatively little is known about renters. While often treated as a single group, our main argument is that renters are heterogeneous in their political preferences and behaviour. Our contribution is to differentiate between renters who would like to own, a group we call “prospective homeowners,” and those who would prefer to rent, or “satisfied renters.” We use a first-of-its-kind, nationally representative survey of Canadian renters to show that prospective homeowners are more right-wing than satisfied renters but are not more likely to vote for right-wing parties. Our findings suggest that many of the effects ascribed to homeownership may in fact predate the purchase of a house.

As digital or video gaming has grown in popularity around the globe in the last few decades, attention to its potential as a means to learn L2s (second, foreign, or additional languages) has grown, as evidenced by an increase in academic journal-based treatment of research in DGBELLT (digital game-based and enhanced second/foreign language learning and teaching), alongside monographs and edited volumes. To identify common findings and research trends, we conducted a review of recent research and scholarship in the young field published between January 2021 and December 2024 inclusive in major academic journals and edited volumes. We ultimately selected 76 pieces for the review, categorizing them into five types or foci: reviews and meta-analyses, studies of game-enhanced L2 learning and L2 gaming, game-enhanced pedagogy, L2 learning game design and development, and teacher education. After synthesizing the pieces in each category, we offer concise take-aways and discussion, implicating gaps, needs, and future directions.

This study contributes to the growing literature on white identity in American politics by examining how dominant in-group identification varies among individuals and how expressions of white identity respond to shifts in social and political context that disrupt the racial order. Drawing on three rounds of in-depth interviews with white residents of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota from 2020 to 2023, I identify three ideal types of white identifiers: Type I (low awareness), Type II (disadvantaged awareness), and Type III (advantaged awareness). The findings suggest that the 2020 uprising constituted an epistemic disruption that heightened the salience of whiteness, prompting varied responses ranging from grievance to solidarity. While some participants reverted to prior identity expressions as the disruption faded, others maintained increased awareness and engagement. This study highlights the contextual nature of white identity and underscores the limitations of survey-based approaches in capturing its complexity. It offers a typology and framework for understanding how white Americans navigate racial identity amid sociopolitical change.

Temperament has been linked to the development of externalizing symptoms, but the nature of these associations remains unclear. Traditional approaches often treat early reactive temperament as static, overlooking developmental variation. This study applied a longitudinal latent change score model to examine how levels and changes in Negative Affect (NA) and Surgency from age 3 to 5 predict Conduct Problems (CP) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms in early childhood. Data from the National Educational Panel Study (N = 2,477) were analyzed. Temperament was assessed at ages 3, 4, and 5 using the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire, and CP and ADHD symptoms were measured at ages 5, 6, and 8 with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Measurement invariance was established. Significant individual differences in developmental change emerged. Change in NA and Surgency, but not baseline levels, predicted higher latent CP and ADHD symptom levels at age 5 and further increases through age 8. These findings indicate that intraindividual change in reactive temperament can be a relevant marker of developmental risk. Temperamental risk for externalizing symptoms in early childhood is not fixed but may be shaped by both stable dispositions and developmental change, highlighting the importance of assessing temperament development to identify early emerging risk.

This paper traces and assesses the trajectories of democratic innovations (DIs) in Germany across levels of governance and over time since 1990, providing novel and original data. We focus on three types of DIs that have been applied in Germany: direct democratic instruments, participatory budgeting, and deliberative mini-publics (DMPs). DIs proliferated differently across the different levels of governance (local, state, and federal), with shifting peaks in popularity and differing evolutions in process design and regulations. Going beyond description, this paper discusses the trajectories of DIs by applying a theoretical framework based, firstly, on Elstub and Escobar’s concept of DIs as providing opportunities for citizens (in participation, deliberation, and influence) and, secondly, on Warren’s system-oriented approach on democratic functions (these being empowered inclusion, collective will-formation, and collective decision-making). This framework provides a useful tool for analysing how the trajectories of DIs in Germany have affected citizens’ opportunities. Combined, these trajectories show a movement towards opportunities for inclusive participation, deliberation, and will-formation of a few citizens in DMPs, rather than opportunities for empowered participation or influence on political agendas and decisions.

The JADES survey recently reported the discovery of JADES-GS-z13-1-LA at z = 13, the highest redshift Lyα emitter (LAE) ever observed. This observation suggests that either the intergalactic medium (IGM) surrounding JADES-GS-z13-1-LA is highly ionised, or the galaxy’s intrinsic Lyα emission properties are extreme. We use radiative transfer simulations of reionisation that capture the distribution of ionised gas in the z = 13 IGM to investigate the implications of JADES-GS-z13-1-LA for reionisation. We find that if JADES-GS-z13-1-LA is a typical star forming galaxy (SFG) with properties characteristic of LAEs at z ∼ 6, its detection suggests that the universe is ≳ 5% ionised by z = 13. We also investigate the possibility that the extreme properties of JADES-GS-z13-1-LA are driven by an AGN. Using a simple analysis based on the fact that AGN are expected to produce more ionising photons than SFGs, we estimate that the probability that JADES-GS-z13-1-LA hosts an AGN is 71%, 42%, and 15% if the IGM is < 1%, ≈ 5% and ≈ 25% ionised, respectively. We also highlight other features in the spectrum of JADES-GS-z13-1-LA that may be indicative of AGN activity, including strong Lyα damping wing absorption extending to ∼ 1300 Å, and a possible CII*λ1335 emission line. Our findings strongly motivate dedicated follow-up observations of JADES-GS-z13-1-LA to determine whether it hosts an AGN.

AI assistants are increasingly used for navigating and analysing the contents of major archives. Applying Retrieval Augmented Generation to existing large language models, these tools draw on indexes of the relevant archives to answer, in natural language, users’ questions. In addition to being powerful finding aids, archival AI assistants are also presented as being capable of providing useful, automated answers to questions about the past. This article argues that such tools and how they are marketed result in major conceptual disruptions and uncertainties, placing pressure on our understanding of a range of roles, forms of information and outputs involved in the production of historical knowledge. In particular, we argue that these tools may obscure well-established beliefs that “sources” and “archives” are not unmediated, clearly navigable or necessarily comprehensive, and that the processes by which these are used to write “history” are by no means straightforward or instantaneous. With the aim of mitigating these misunderstandings, the article makes suggestions for how deployers could more carefully frame and describe the intended use of archival AI assistants (especially for public users), to ensure that their benefits for accessibility are exploited while also avoiding misconceptions and safeguarding rigorous historical practice.

Working with a national U.S. sample and data collected from our work with the nonprofit bridging organization Living Room Conversations, we counter the assertions of conflict profiteers. People in the U.S. are far less polarized than imagined, there is a great deal of trust in the election system, and a subsequent “reveal” strategy of this common ground thus becomes as, if not more, important than the need to “bridge” imagined chasms between citizens. With this strategy in place, those interested in or involved with bridging can further set the conditions for democratic dialogue by designing interventions that involve more and different kinds of people in their work, focusing on long-term impacts, and stretching definitions of participation from dialogue to civic action.