Media reporting and academic research into young climate civil society organisations (CSOs) often focus on organisations using direct, confrontational and often controversial actions, but to what extent is this a true picture of young climate organisations? This paper examines the differences between young and old climate and environmental CSOs in the Netherlands. Drawing on niche theory, it uses set-theoretic typology building to examine the ways in which 39 young and old Dutch CSOs construct configurational organisational niches by narrowing down their membership and issue, using innovative strategies and developing stable financing sources. It finds that although there are significant differences between young and old CSOs in how they narrow down their membership and issues, their strategies are not significantly different: in other words, a focus on civil disobedience alone does not paint the whole picture of young climate groups.

The rise of conservative religion in the West threatens the enduring positive contribution of religion to civil society, if conservative churches, as often assumed, indeed generate more bonding than bridging social capital. Against this background, this study explores the civic engagement of evangelicals in the Netherlands. Two research questions are addressed: (1) To what extent are Dutch evangelicals more involved in religious than non-religious volunteering as compared to mainline Christians and non-church members? and (2) Which decisive factors determine the religious and non-religious volunteering of Dutch evangelicals as compared to mainline Christians and non-church members? Results show that these orthodox Christians are more involved in religious than in non-religious volunteering. Their religious volunteering is determined by their church attendance, Bible reading and social embeddedness in their congregation, while their non-religious volunteering is impeded by their mono-religious orientation and social embeddedness in their congregation and by the volunteering of their parents.

Multiple-identity organizations possess identity characteristics that belong to different and potentially conflicting value systems. How exactly these identities are projected in such an organization’s external communication has hardly been investigated. Here, we present a method that provides a systematic way to analyse the projected identity of multiple-identity organizations. A quantitative content analysis of the annual reports of a Dutch multiple-identity organization shows the presence of its utilitarian and ideological identity through the years 1998–2016. Results suggest that the relatively strong emphasis on the ideological identity of the organization is not in line with the identity perceived internally. Contextual knowledge about changes in the leadership, stakeholders’ demands, and the annual turnover provides a more thorough understanding of the research results. This study shows the volatility of identity, and it supports the presupposition that multiple-identity organizations are flexible in adapting their identity to changing circumstances.

There is limited scholarly research that broadly examines the representation of older adults and ageing through an ageism lens in print and online newspapers, including national, state and local publications. Drawing on ageism and stereotype theory, this research examines how older adults and ageing are represented in Australian newspapers. Data were collected over a 16-week period, during which 2,652 statements relating to older adults or ageing were extracted from 804 media publications. A summative content analysis approach was employed, involving the quantification of key concepts followed by an interpretive analysis to identify underlying themes and codes. The findings revealed that approximately 42.0 per cent of statements portrayed older adults and ageing negatively, while only 6.5 per cent were positive. Dominant ageist and stereotypical representations centred on themes of vulnerability, frailty, incapacity and injury or illness. As populations continue to age, it is critical that scholars persist in analysing and challenging dominant media narratives that shape how older people are framed. Furthermore, audience reception studies are needed to examine how such representations are interpreted by the public, thereby deepening understanding of the media’s role in shaping societal perceptions of older adults and ageing.

This article considers the legal status of the prohibition on gender-based violence against women. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) does not contain a prohibition on violence against women as such. However, the CEDAW Committee found in its General Recommendation 19 that the definition of discrimination against women in Article 1 CEDAW includes gender-based violence against women. As general recommendations are not binding, it is often suggested that, aside from the regional treaties on the issue, the prohibition exists only under soft law. By contrast, this article argues that the prohibition exists also under hard law. Whether the definition of discrimination against women in Article 1 CEDAW includes gender-based violence against women is a question of treaty interpretation.

The article contends that, in line with Article 31(3)(b) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the subsequent practice of States Parties in the application of CEDAW has established their agreement that discrimination against women in Article 1 includes gender-based violence against women. It argues further that General Recommendation 19 served as the catalyst for this subsequent State practice. The article also explores the relationship between treaties and customary international law and contends that CEDAW has generated rules of customary international law, namely that gender-based violence against women is prohibited and that there is an obligation on States to exercise due diligence to eliminate it. The large number of States Parties to CEDAW has not proved an obstacle to the generation of these customary rules.

This contribution focuses on volunteer initiatives that seek to assist refugee status holders in Rotterdam. It studies initiatives that are still in the process of fine-tuning their focus, grappling for funds, searching for volunteers, and seeking collaborations. The article lays bare the inequalities that such aspiring initiatives can be premised on and produce. In analyzing moments in which the label of ‘volunteer’ is rejected—or instead celebrated or transformed—this article demonstrates that the elastic representation of volunteering clashes with callous boundaries between ‘being only a volunteer’ and ‘doing something together.’ These boundaries are heartfelt by the organizers of these aspiring initiatives, who often have a refugee background themselves. By understanding inequality in volunteering in relation to debates about active citizenship, this article seeks to examine the workings of the glass ceiling that hinders the organizers of volunteer initiatives to transition into a position they consider more credible and professional.

We construct moduli stacks of stable sheaves for surfaces fibered over marked nodal curves by using expanded degenerations. These moduli stacks carry a virtual class and therefore give rise to enumerative invariants. In the case of a surface with two irreducible components glued along a smooth divisor, we prove a degeneration formula that relates the moduli space associated to the surface with the relative spaces associated to the two components. For a smooth surface and no markings, our notion of stability agrees with slope stability with respect to a suitable choice of polarization. We apply our results to compute elliptic genera of moduli spaces of stable sheaves on some elliptic surfaces.

We review our recent ConfliBERT language model (Hu et al. 2022 [ConfliBERT: A Pre-Trained Language Model for Political Conflict and Violence]) to process political and violence-related texts. When fine-tuned, results show that ConfliBERT has superior performance in accuracy, precision, and recall over other large language models (LLMs) like Google’s Gemma 2 (9B), Meta’s Llama 3.1 (7B), and Alibaba’s Qwen 2.5 (14B) within its relevant domains. It is also hundreds of times faster than these more generalist LLMs. These results are illustrated using texts from the BBC, re3d, and the Global Terrorism Database. We demonstrate that open, fine-tuned models can outperform the more general models in terms of accuracy, precision, and recall, and at a fraction of the cost.

Paleontologists Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould introduced punctuated equilibria (PE) to the scientific community in 1972 (Eldredge and Gould 1972). Since then, the concept has been debated and tested, misunderstood and clarified, applied, extended, and integrated into evolutionary thought. To celebrate PE’s semicentennial, we and Paleobiology’s editors have produced this special issue. Our goal has been to bring together paleontologists, evolutionary biologists, and historians of science to reflect on the concept of PE, how it has been tested, the underlying mechanisms for stasis and punctuated change, and the broader impacts of PE for paleontology, biology, and macroevolution. In this introduction, we highlight the key components and implications of PE, briefly review the history surrounding its emergence and reception, and outline how PE expands evolutionary theory. We explain the organization of the papers included in this special issue, providing brief summaries to guide the interested reader. Finally, we conclude with a call for paleobiologists to “rediscover” PE and consider how the concept and its implications can be applied to their own work. In this endeavor, we are aware that a great many authors have contributed significant data, insight, and perspective to these issues over the years. As our purpose in this introduction is not to provide a comprehensive review, we do not cite and recognize them all individually, but we applaud all of those who have weighed in on this important topic.

Dans la foulée des différentes vagues de mobilisation et de contestation des années 2010, les théories de la démocratie radicale ont permis de réfléchir à nouveaux frais au rapport des mouvements sociaux à la démocratie en les associant à un idéal d’insurrection populaire. Or, il découle de cette association une conception particulière de la conflictualité politique qui est susceptible de renoncer aux promesses pratiques et normatives de la démocratie. S’agissant de dépasser cette conception de la conflictualité politique et de réaffirmer la spécificité de l’apport démocratique des mouvements sociaux, cet article entend étayer l’hypothèse d’une institution insurgeante de la démocratie en soutenant que les mouvements sociaux contribuent par leurs pratiques contestataires à produire et à transformer l’ordre démocratique.

Telomere length is a biomarker of ageing, with shorter lengths associated with a higher risk of age-related diseases and mortality. Oxidative stress and inflammation predominantly contribute to telomere shortening. Diets rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties may help preserve telomere length. Nuts and seeds contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients and bioactive compounds. Their consumption is recognised as protective against age-related conditions. The objective of this review is to evaluate the role of nut and seed intake on telomere length in humans. A systematic search was conducted in four databases from inception to 12 March 2024 to identify observational and interventional studies assessing nut and seed intake and measuring telomere length as an outcome in adults (aged ≥ 18 years). Data from the included articles were extracted by one reviewer and verified by another reviewer. Out of the nine observational studies included, three reported positive associations between nut and seed intake and telomere length. None of the four interventional studies included reported a significant positive effect. Meta-analysis was not performed due to high variability in reporting telomere length measurements. The evidence is insufficient to confirm a beneficial role of nut and seed intake on telomere length. Adequately powered long-term intervention studies are needed.

Muscular dystrophy (MD) encompasses inherited myopathies characterised by progressive skeletal and cardiac muscle degeneration, chronic inflammation and metabolic dysfunction. While emerging therapies show pre-clinical promise, few reach clinical translation, highlighting the need for supportive interventions to improve function and quality of life (QoL). Nutritional strategies may offer such benefits; however, limited data exist characterising diet in MD or associations with functional outcomes. This study assessed diet, nutritional status and associations with muscle strength, function and QoL in MD adults. Adults with MD (n 39; FSHD = 8, LGMD = 9 and Other = 22) and matched Controls (n 17) completed two 3-d food records, strength/function assessments and QoL questionnaires. Between-group differences were analysed using t tests or Mann–Whitney U and associations using Pearson’s r or Spearman’s Rho (P < 0·05). Compared with controls, individuals with MD consumed more energy (89 % v. 35 % exceeded RDI, P = 0·023), but less carbohydrate (–21 %, P = 0·013), sugar (–31 %, P = 0·004), protein (–15 %), BCAA (–31 %, P = 0·049) and vitamin C (–43 %, P = 0·009). MD participants demonstrated reduced muscle thickness, strength, function and reported lower QoL and physical capacity (all P < 0·05). Protein intake positively correlated with strength and function (P < 0·05); branched-chain amino acids intake was associated with lean mass (r = 0·442, P = 0·02) and strength (r = 0·372, P = 0·036). Findings indicate adults with MD consume excess energy but insufficient protein and micronutrients, supporting the need for adult MD-specific dietary guidance to optimise musculoskeletal health and QoL.

Dans cet article, je soutiens que les dynamiques de boys club peuvent être comprises comme des instances d’actions collectives, même en l’absence d’intentions partagées. Il n’est pas satisfaisant de penser ces phénomènes comme de simples accumulations d’actions individuelles isolées. Une théorie minimaliste de l’action collective nous permet de considérer qu’il s’agit bien d’un phénomène d’action collective : l’ordre social patriarcal offre un plan d’action, qui oriente et coordonne les comportements des agents. C’est en vertu de cette coordination qu’on peut parler d’action collective.

In Julia Maskivker’s recent “Justice and Contribution,” she argues that, under normal circumstances, the failure to guarantee that life-sustaining workers are above the non-struggle point is not merely disrespectful and a failure of beneficence, but a violation of the norms of fair play and, as such, a “low blow.” In this article, I offer a critical reply to Maskivker. I begin by explaining her reasoning. Then I turn to critique, focusing on two key weaknesses and, in so doing, drawing out two larger lessons.

I argue for a general conception of justice that aims to identify what is common to multiple complementary types of justice. John Rawls agrees that there are multiple types (or “levels” or “subjects”) of justice, each needing its own principles, but he opposes a general conception in favour of “unity by appropriate sequence.” I present my general conception — justice as environment-shaping responsibility — as a different path to theoretical unity in a multi-type view of justice. I show how my general conception of justice can be arrived at through a process of generalizing that starts with Rawls’s conception of domestic justice.

This article addresses two objections by Samuel Kahn to my argument for a living wage for life-sustaining workers. First, it refutes the charge that my position is patronising for asserting that low wages impede a worker’s ability to thrive. Second, it responds to a challenge regarding the claim that individuals have a right to a monetary equivalent of their fair share of natural resources, and that this right can be used to determine the justice of a life-sustaining worker’s situation in modern society.

Guelph, Ontario, is one of a few cities in Canada that relies solely on groundwater for drinking water. City officials anticipate that the municipality will experience a water deficit in the near future. In response to water security issues residents have actively engaged in the state-sanctioned water source protection committee. This article explores the water management planning process upheld by Ontario’s Clean Water Act, 2006, and examines the question: Is the Clean Water Act’s participatory mode to water governance inclusive of “environmental, health, and other interests of the public”? The analysis of this question engages with the political ecology literature and, in particular, Linton and Budds’s three-part hydrosocial cycle framework. It is argued that the technology of regulatory law (i.e., the Clean Water Act, 2006) constructs the power dynamics and social relations within the state-sanctioned water committee resulting in the weakening of the environmental interests expressed by the public.

This prospective study investigated the associations of various diet quality indices with mortality in Japan. Participants were 13 355 men and 15 724 women from the Takayama study. Eight diet quality indices were assessed using an FFQ: the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, alternative Mediterranean diet scores, Healthy Eating Index-2015, Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010, Nutrient Rich Food Index 9.3, Diet Quality Score for Japanese, Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top and twelve-item Japanese Diet Index. Cox proportional models estimated hazard ratios and 95 % CI for all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a 1 sd difference for each index, with adjustment for confounders. During a mean follow-up of 14·1 years, 5339 deaths were recorded. Hazard ratios (95 % CI) per 1 sd higher index were 0·90 (0·87, 0·93) for Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010, 0·92 (0·89, 0·95) for Diet Quality Score for Japanese, 0·93 (0·91, 0·96) for Nutrient Rich Food Index 9.3, 0·94 (0·92, 0·97) for alternative Mediterranean diet and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, 0·94 (0·91, 0·97) for Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top, 0·94 (0·91, 0·98) for twelve-item Japanese Diet Index and 0·97 (0·94, 0·996) for Healthy Eating Index-2015. Similar protective associations were observed for CVD mortality, but not for cancer mortality. These findings suggest that all eight indices are associated with lower mortality and that the strength of associations varies across indices; the Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 showed relatively strong associations, followed by the Diet Quality Score for Japanese, whereas the associations of the Healthy Eating Index-2015 appeared relatively weaker in this Japanese population.