Previous studies revealed structural differences in cerebellar regions between monolinguals and bilinguals. However, the effect of bilingual experiences on cerebellar functional neuroplasticity remains unclear. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, we compared cerebellar functional connectivity (FC) between monolinguals and bilinguals, and then examined how age of second language acquisition (AoA-L2), immersion of L2 (Immersion-L2), proficiency level of L2 (PL-L2) and usage of L2 (Usage-L2) influence cerebellar FC in bilinguals. We found monolinguals exhibited increased FC between lobules VI, VIIIa and superior temporal gyrus. Increased AoA-L2 was related to decreased cerebello-cortical FC involving lobules VI, CrusI and precentral gyrus. Increased Immersion-L2 was associated with decreased cerebello-orbitofrontal FC. Higher PL-L2 corresponded to stronger cerebellar FC with posterior cingulate gyrus. Bilinguals who used L2 more frequently at home exhibited decreased cerebellar FC, while increased social Usage-L2 was associated with increased FC. These findings highlight bilingualism’s impact on cerebellar functional neuroplasticity, shaped by different bilingual experiences.

The present study investigates whether L1 Spanish-L2 English instructed and immersed adult sequential bilinguals show L1 attrition effects in the oral production of subject referring expressions in topic continuity. We tested the predictions from the Pragmatic Principles Violation Hypothesis and controlled for two factors that modulate rates of overproduction, namely antecedent distance and the number of potential antecedents. The results from two oral retelling tasks showed that instructed and immersed bilinguals significantly employ more overt material where functional monolinguals resort to the use of null pronouns. Moreover, factors such as antecedent distance and the number of potential antecedents arguably influence the production of the bilingual groups more strongly. Overall, L1 attrition effects are observed in both L2-immersed and L2-instructed bilinguals. However, attrition effects appear to be milder in instructed bilinguals, who sometimes pattern with functional monolinguals. These results call for new avenues within L1 attrition.

Sound symbolism refers to a non-arbitrary relationship between speech and non-speech sounds and their meaning. We investigated whether bilingual individuals, due to their exposure to diverse linguistic systems, exhibit an advantage in this domain compared to monolinguals, or whether this ability relies on universal mechanisms independent of linguistic background. Ninety-four bilingual (spoken languages: Italian and at least another language; age ranging from 22 to 66 years, M = 35.31, SE = 1.26) and 101 monolingual participants (all Italian speakers; age ranging from 22 to 64 years, M = 36.05, SE = 1.16) were presented with 120 words from four unknown languages and asked to infer their meaning from three alternatives. Results confirmed the presence of sound symbolism, as overall performance was significantly higher than chance, but no significant differences emerged between monolinguals and bilinguals, suggesting that sound symbolism is an automatic cognitive mechanism, independent of prior linguistic experience.

Brazil partnered with China to foster industrial and technological progress, and to increase autonomy and prestige. The outcome, however, has been de-industrialisation and increased dependency. Nevertheless, the perception persists that Brazil is rising alongside China towards a post-hegemonic, multipolar world. We argue this can be understood through the deep-rooted embedded-autonomy narrative that shapes Brazil’s approach to the world. This positions the United States as the primary obstacle to national goals and China as part of the solution. Brazil reached out in solidarity to China, expecting outsized material and ontological security gains. This outsourcing of anti-dependency played a key role in Brazil’s accommodation of China’s preferences, locking in path dependency. By seriously considering the ideas guiding Brazil’s foreign policy, we examine how the trajectory of Sino-Brazilian relations was sustained despite the apparent mismatch between goals and outcomes.

The family Kogiidae, comprising the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) and the dwarf sperm whale (K. sima), represents some of the least-known cetaceans worldwide. Their small size, deep-diving behaviour, and elusive surface activity result in very few live sightings, particularly in the North Atlantic Ocean. Here, we report two significant observations from the Azores in July 2025: a group of six K. breviceps, the largest reported group size of this species, and a confirmed sighting of K. sima off Pico Island – representing only the sixth record for the archipelago. Photographic evidence and expert validation confirmed the identification of K. sima based on body proportions. We also review records of both species, including other live encounters and strandings, across the Macaronesian archipelagos (Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde). Together, our observations and synthesis document an exceptional group size for K. breviceps, emphasise the rarity of K. sima in the region, and highlight the value of whale-watching platforms and citizen science for monitoring elusive cetaceans.

The conceptual design of mission-tailored aircraft is increasingly shifting towards system of systems (SoS) perspectives that account for system interactions using a holistic view. Agent-based modelling and simulation (ABMS) is a common approach for analysing an SoS, but the behaviour of its agents tends to be defined by rigid behaviour trees. The present work aims to evaluate the suitability of a prompt-engineered large language model (LLM) acting as the Incident Commander (IC), replacing the fixed behaviour trees that govern the agents’ decisions. The research contributes by developing a prompting framework for operational guidelines, constraints, and priorities to obtain an LLM commander within a wildfire suppression, SoS capable of replicating human decisions. By enabling agents in a simulation model with decision-making capabilities closer to those expected from humans, the commander’s decisions and potential emergent patterns can be translated into more defined requirements for aircraft conceptual design (ACD) (e.g., endurance, payload, sensors, communications, or turnaround requirements). Results showed that an LLM commander facilitated adaptive and context-aware decisions that can be analysed via decision logs. The results allow designers to derive aircraft requirements for their specific roles from operational outcomes rather than a priori assumptions, linking SoS mission needs and ACD parameters.

Central to drawn representations of activism and memory are ideas of embodiment and trace. From DIY protest signs to craftivism, the articulation of protest and memory is connected to the handmade trace of a witnessing individual present in time and place. This is reflected in comics scholarship through the notion of the drawn line conveying subjective experience through the trace of the body.

This article will consider the relationship between witnessing, truth claims, autographic drawing, and memory at a moment when AI image-generation tools have called into question the connection of drawn traces to their origin in time, space, materiality, and the body.

Although a combination of critical AI theory and comics studies, this article will outline ways in which generative AI presents a challenge to these ideas. Through comparison of Joe Sacco’s graphic reportage with recent AI images of conflict and history, the article considers the truth claims of images that are the products of computational and algorithmic processes considered broadly.

Comics scholarship has been slow to critically respond to these new conditions, and the task of disentangling the human/non-human in ontologies of trace is now compounded by generative drawings, which represent the outcome of archival reappropriation defined by opaque algorithmic parameters. This article will explore theoretical assumptions around authenticity and truth claims in analogue, computational, algorithmic, and generative drawing practice and ask what kinds of theory and practice are appropriate if activist graphic memoir is to endure as documents of political memory.

This article examines the short-lived Marvel comic Misty (1985–1986), created by feminist cartoonist Trina Robbins, as a case study in how comics can invite and depend on reader participation. We draw on an archival collection of over 1,000 fan letters and fashion designs submitted to Misty, along with recent communications with former readers, to explore how children and young adults influenced both the published comic and its surrounding culture. We argue that readers’ contributions – ranging from clothing designs to story ideas – constituted a form of activism: they challenged corporate publishing practices, promoted new story directions, and built local fan communities. Highlighting the recent memories of Misty’s reader contributors, we show how engaging in the comic’s participatory culture could, in turn, have lasting effects on readers, shaping their confidence, career paths, and creative philosophies. By reframing Misty’s collective participatory culture as activism and placing it in conversation with readers’ personal memories, this study contributes to scholarship on comics, fandom, and memory: even small acts of reader engagement can transform both cultural texts and individual lives.

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the frequency and severity of accidents involving electric vehicles (EVs) in comparison to internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). It draws on extensive data from Norway from 2020 to 2023, a period characterised by significant EV adoption. We examine over two million registered EVs that collectively account for 28 billion kilometres of travel. In total we have analysed 139 billion kilometres of travel and close to 14,0000 accidents across all fuel types. We supplement this data with data from the Highway Loss Data Institute in the US and Association of British Insurers data in the UK as well as information from the Guy Carpenter large loss motor database.

A thorough analysis comparing accident frequency and severity of EVs with ICEVs in the literature to date has yet to be conducted, which this paper aims to address. This research will assist actuaries and analysts across various domains, including pricing, reserving and reinsurance considerations.

Our findings reveal a notable reduction in the frequency of accidents across all fuel types over time. Specifically, EVs demonstrate a lower accident frequency compared to ICEVs, a trend that may be attributed more to advancements in technology rather than the inherent characteristics of the fuel type, even when adjusted for COVID. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that EVs experience fewer accidents involving single units relative to non-EV and suggests a decrease in driver error and superior performance on regular road types.

Reduction in EV accident frequency of 17% and a change in the distribution of average severity with higher damage costs and lower injury costs leading to an overall reduction of 11%

However, it is important to note that when accidents do occur, the number of units involved as a proxy for severity involving EVs is marginally higher than those involving ICEVs. The average claim cost profile for EVs changes significantly with property damage claims being more expensive and bodily injury claims being less expensive for EVs.

Overall, our research concludes that EVs present a lower risk profile compared to their ICEV counterparts, highlighting the evolving landscape of vehicle safety in the context of increasing EV utilisation.

This article documents the lives of three female cathedral choristers and the impacts of cathedral choral training on their subsequent lives and careers. The participants reported the acquisition of musical skills such as sight-reading and knowledge of liturgical repertoire as key. Extra-musical skills were also reported, including being organised and flexible, focusing on details, working hard, behaving in a professional manner and taking up leadership roles. In addition to the many positive experiences, the choristers identified a need for targeted pastoral care in their cathedral choral training. Further research needs to investigate the environmental structures and supports in cathedral choirs and the dynamics between conductors and child female choristers.

This essay traces the rise of ginseng as a crucial commodity in the Qing Dynasty, focusing on its integration into the empire’s administrative and economic structures. Central to this transformation was Pierre Jartoux’s influential identification of ginseng, which reoriented its trade from inland markets to maritime routes. This shift not only enhanced its global circulation but also broadened its accessibility to diverse consumers. The essay speaks to multiple fields of study. It contributes to global commodity history by highlighting how ginseng’s changing trade routes shaped early modern commerce. It also emphasizes the entangled nature of cultural and economic exchanges across regions. Additionally, it advances scholarship in the history of medicine by examining how ginseng’s therapeutic uses and meanings developed as it moved across different social and geographic contexts.

Civil penalties were introduced into the corporations legislation in 1993. They were seldom used initially. Only 14 civil penalty actions were commenced by the corporate regulator in the first six years. Over the past three decades, the civil penalty regimes which the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (‘ASIC’) enforces have significantly expanded. To understand the impact of these changes, the authors analyse a dataset of all ASIC’s civil penalty actions that were finalised for the 10-year period from 2013 to 2022. Based on this analysis, the authors argue that civil penalty actions have now become a very significant part of ASIC’s enforcement strategy. The authors also discuss other aspects of ASIC’s use of civil penalties, including ASIC’s success rate in this type of litigation, the characteristics of the defendants, the most common claims made by ASIC in civil penalty proceedings and the orders most often imposed by the courts. The authors identify possible reasons for their findings.

It is widely recognized that the hostile takeover is a key element of the UK’s shareholder value system of corporate governance. This article draws on archival evidence to offer a detailed account of the emergence of the hostile takeover and its acceptance within the media and government between 1952 and 1954. The existing literature claims that the takeover was not normalized until 1959, and that finance was restricted until then. This article shows that takeovers were accepted within government five years earlier, and that the Bank of England and Treasury knew that insurance companies were financing them, but did nothing about it.

The article begins with the legal and accounting changes introduced in Companies Act 1948, as well as the precarious financial position of shareholders. Together, they created an opening for hostile takeovers to emerge, which were driven by the desire of bidders to gain control of, and sell off, real property that was undervalued on corporate balance sheets. First emerging in 1952, the hostile takeover took the corporate and financial community, as well as the Government (the Bank of England, Board of Trade and Treasury) by surprise. The media led the way in cheerleading for the hostile takeover, while companies such as the Savoy Hotel Group and the Daily Mirror sought to defend themselves against unwelcome approaches. The Government ultimately settled for condemning “speculative” bids in public, but behind the scenes accepted the hostile takeover as legitimate. By 1954, it was recognized that: companies were under pressure to raise dividends and sell off assets in order to deter takeover bidders; that they only had limited options to defend themselves; and that there was little that could be done by Government. Managerialism had begun to give way to shareholder value.

Why do some countries cooperate in international negotiations while others do not? This paper examines how regime type and trade relationships jointly shape cooperation among states. While prior research claims that democracies are inherently more cooperative and that trade fosters collaboration, we argue that neither factor alone sufficiently explains patterns of cooperation. Drawing on 1,567 documents submitted by World Trade Organization (WTO) members during the Doha Round negotiations (2000–2012), we analyse cooperation between country pairs (dyads) using hurdle models to assess both the likelihood and extent of cooperation. We find that democracies are not uniformly more cooperative but become so only when high levels of trade interdependence exist. Similarly, democracies also cooperate with authoritarian regimes when intensive trade relationships are present. These results challenge the assumption that democratic governance naturally generates cooperation, showing instead that economic incentives play a decisive role. The study advances understanding of international cooperation in complex multilateral negotiation settings.

What should mostly matter is how successful environmental policies are at satisfying citizens’ policy preferences (e.g., reducing carbon emissions), relative to the policies’ cost. Yet, across 6 studies (N = 2759, 2 pre-registered), we found that French citizens tended to be rather insensitive to policy efficiency. In Experiments 1a–d (N = 854), citizens regarded an environmental policy driven by an altruistic intention that turned out to be inefficient as being more commendable than a policy motivated by selfishness that dramatically reduced carbon emissions. In Experiment 2 (N = 1105), altruistic but low efficiency policies were supported only slightly less than selfish but highly efficient policies. Independent manipulation of intent and efficiency indicated low sensitivity to large differences in efficiency expressed numerically, and substantial sensitivity to actors’ intentions. Moreover, moral commitment predicted stronger support for any environmental policy addressing the issue, regardless of its efficiency. Finally, Experiment 3 (N = 800) found that introducing reference points and qualitative appraisals of a policy’s impact and financial cost can nudge participants towards greater attention to its efficiency. Our paper highlights the importance of using contextual and qualitative (vs. numeric) descriptions of policies to make citizens more focused on their efficiency.