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The diversity of the types of cement manufactured, driven by the extensive use of additions, has given cementitious composites properties that can directly interfere in the durability and useful life of concrete. Considering the interaction of sulfate ions with cement hydration products, in order to understand it becomes essential for the proper choice of materials in order to protect the structures from this aggressor agent. In order to verify the influence of the choice of cement type on the resistance to attack by sulfates, this article analyzes the compressive strength; sulfate content, electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy of mortars made with cements CP II-F-32, CP IV-32 and CP V-ARI submitted to calcium, sodium and magnesium sulfate solutions for 4 months. The specimens exposed to calcium and sodium sulfate solutions showed increased compressive strength at early ages due to the formation of ettringite in the pores. On the other hand, CP II-F-32 cement showed the greatest deterioration due to magnesium sulfate attack.

The economic and health shocks of 2020 have had a negative impact on the quality of life and livelihoods of millions of households, disrupted business activities, and an indescribable global economic recession. In this article, the author investigates the influencing factors on the rebirth of the competitiveness of the national economy, which suffered from the pandemic, not only in our country but also in the world. Now all countries are facing new conditions and are looking for ways to revive both social and economic. Therefore, economic competitiveness may be the process that would lead to post-pandemic economic recovery. All that remains is for each country to select those strong factors that would lead to the rebirth of the competitiveness of the national economy. The Republic of Moldova, in order to start the process of rebirth of economic competitiveness, must invest in the renewal of the education system, the health system and new methods of motivation must be developed in order to maintain and attract the talents gone abroad, back to the country

Abstract
The concept of utopia is from the moment of its inception umbilically tied to modern conceptions of progress that have legitimized settler colonialism, the genocide of Indigenous peoples, the violent subordination of women and racial and sexual "others," ecocide, and a "grow or die" form of civilization that is now threatening the very existence of all life on the planet. Drawing on the critical socialist insights of Gustav Landauer, Ernst Bloch, and Walter Benjamin, and the "non-Euclidean" utopianism of Ursula K. Le Guin, this article challenges the common association between utopia and culturally dominant ideas of progress and outlines a temporally and spatially grounded alternative approach to the study of utopias suitable to a post-anthropocentric world. The aims of the analysis are at once scholarly and practical: scholarly, inasmuch as it develops conceptual tools conducive to fresh interpretations of utopian texts and practices; and practical, insofar as it vitalizes utopian thought and action by illuminating hitherto obscure aspects of utopianism's transformative potential.

This review essay enters into conversation with Greg Beckett's 2019 There Is No More Haiti: Between Life and Death in Port-au-Prince to think through the geographies and temporalities of how crisis is known. Focusing on the urban Caribbean, it interrogates broadly circulating understandings of the city-as-crisis, asking how the "where" of crisis connects to a geographical imagination that sites Caribbean cultural authenticity in the countryside. Next, it reflects on the temporalities of crisis, in relation to Beckett's conceptualization of crisis as a chronic condition, as the routinized anticipation of rupture. Despite a rich tradition of Caribbean scholarship on temporalities, there has been limited engagement with the region's urban time-spaces. The author suggests that a more thorough consideration of Caribbean urban futures in particular might allow us to read an anticipatory attunement to insecurity and instability as an urban mode of temporal experience, in which future making in and through uncertainty can be not a source of despair but of hope.

In a recent context in which Romania is confronted with the problem of emigration, this article portrays the life and works of Grigore Nandriș (1895-1968), university professor and patriot, who offers an example of devotion to his profession and country that could be set as a standard for all the following generations. He defended Romania in the war, as a soldier, and then at home in the academia, at the University of Chernivtsi and abroad, in France, at the Romanian School at Fontenay-aux-Roses, and in England, at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. Brilliant linguist, speaking 14 foreign languages, he left a considerable amount of books, articles, reviews, conferences on linguistics, folklore, religion, and culture, being mainly interested in establishing links between language and place and culture and neighbouring nations. And above all, Grigore Nandriș's personality remains a landmark among scholars in his field and colleagues, friends, students, and followers, who admired his devotedness to the Romanian cause abroad.

The devastating Gorkha earthquake, measuring 7.8M on the Richter scale, struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, followed by a major aftershock on May 12, 2015. The earthquakes killed approximately 9,000 people and injured thousands more, garnering significant media coverage. We employ qualitative content analysis and media framing theories to demonstrate evidence of social construction in the Gorkha earthquake media coverage from two Nepali national and two Indian newspapers. Using a sample of 2,862 articles published within a year of the earthquake, five major frames: the disaster frame, disaster myths, the therapeutic community frame, recreancy, and international support emerged during the analysis. Our study demonstrates how media coverage reflects current geopolitical dynamics in the region, distinguishing impoverished Nepal from two emerging economic giants, India and China. We contribute to developing literature arguing that media coverage during disasters produces global human life hierarchies. Our study adds a class hierarchy dimension, where tourists are more valuable than locals, and even among tourists, those involved in high-end tourism attract additional media attention.

The aim of this article is to examine how establishment in Swedish society is interpreted and what values are considered important from the perspective of a non-governmental organisation mentoring programme, and how the non-governmental organisation's work towards establishment among 'unaccompanied' young people is carried out. The results are based on analysis of the non-governmental organisation's policy documents, conversations and semi-structured interviews with the employed mentors. Bridget Anderson's concept of a 'community of value' is used to critically analyse the data. The results show how the mentoring programme supports establishment, as well as the importance of mobility within the city and of building networks and knowledge about everyday life in Swedish society, all of which highlight certain values as more important than others for establishment in Sweden. The mentoring work is intended to overcome boundaries but risks reproducing boundaries whereby the young people need to create a belonging based on an idealised notion of 'Swedishness'.

Much of what goes on in organisational life happens at the edge of language, in the form of vague stirrings, fleeting feelings or small gestures. In the midst of relating to others, we may sense a potential new opening or an ill-defined disquiet. Usually, it is only later that we can make reference to a some-thing that has since emerged. I offer two reflective narratives of moments of action occurring with colleagues and students. I propose that as organisational and action research practitioners we need to learn a particular kind of artistry, one that pays attention to minor shifts and variations as they are occurring, often at the periphery of our awareness. I draw on Manning's work on 'minor gestures' and Shotter's notions of 'joint action' and 'withness thinking'. I turn to novelist Clarice Lispector to explore how we might approach crafting after-the-fact, reflexive accounts that remain in touch with the precarious potentiality of where things might go next.

AbstractThe onset of the COVID-19 pandemic increased uncertainty, leading to questions about how it spread, how long it would last, and its long-term effects. In academia, many scholars worried about their positions and career advancement. Our research focuses on how different groups within academia coped during the initial period of the pandemic, with particular attention paid to the role of anxiety. We argue that vulnerable groups, such as historically excluded individuals, graduate students, and women, felt even higher levels of anxiety. We use original survey data collected from international relations and political science scholars during May 2020. We content analyze open-ended responses to illustrate the impacts of the pandemic on our participants' work life, including research productivity, the job market, promotion, and tenure. These analyses reveal not only what different groups of scholars are concerned about, but also the different ways in which they discuss the pandemic. Our research aims to highlight the social and mental health effects of the pandemic, with an eye toward addressing inequalities in academia.

AbstractThe circular economy (CE) is seen as a model of production and consumption where resource use is reduced and extended in closed‐loop life cycles. Organisations have been fundamental in contributing towards CE for which limited outcomes are known from public organisations. This research aims to identify the factors influencing the implementation of CE and the strategies that support such implementation in the public sector. An organisational change management perspective was taken. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with employees from the central public sector in Portugal to gather insights. Results reveal issues such as organisational culture, CE awareness for people in public sector organisations and leadership related to areas of strategy and management, human resources, and communication and assessment as key elements to consider in shifting towards circularity for this type of organisation. This study contributes to the research that has called for an expansion of the scope of CE to include human‐based issues by viewing a public organisation as a multi‐dimensional system transitioning to circularity.

Obtaining a college degree can enhance many aspects of one's life including health outcomes and lifetime earnings. Given the racial opportunity gap that remains prevalent in the education system, and the gendered racial biases held against Black girls and women, they face many obstacles on their path to higher education. Considering the relationship between higher education and financial status, when these obstacles hinder their academic success Black women face serious economic issues that adversely impacts their livelihood and the wellbeing of their families. Still, there remains limited investigation into the indicators of college completion among this population. Assessing indicators related to college completion during their high school years can support educators in recognizing and monitoring students who require extra support early in their academic careers. This study uses an intersectional lens to investigate whether various school factors predict intent to complete college among this sample of Black high school girls ( N = 1,811). Findings show that teacher bias, school discipline, and school resources are significant predictors of college expectations among this sample.

Numerous changes that contemporary universities have to face with have also resulted in significant pedagogical implications. There is a growing number of criticisms toward contemporary universities that are often cited as being subject to market demands, which moves them away from basic science teaching activities. The aim of this paper is to examine the consideration of higher education in the context of the reality imposed by new and new goals of education. This goal is conceptualized within two tasks. The first task involves presenting different approaches to entrepreneurial education with significant pedagogical implications, primarily different teaching goals depending on the accepted conception. The second task presents various challenges facing the realization of entrepreneurial education as perceived by foreign authors. In conclusion the paper stresses that entrepreneurial education is a new field of research, but due to the increased importance of a practical application of knowledge in the changing conditions of work and life in the future it may become even more important.

In this study, pure polylactic acid (PLA) and composite polylactic acid/ curcumin (PLA / Cur) were prepared by a suspension of ultrasonically agitated micrometer-sized curcumin powder, which was mixed with chloroform solvent under slow mechanical stirring and incorporated into the PLA. The resulting suspension was used to cast free-standing PLA / Cur composite films. The filler content was chosen to be 2.0 wt % curcumin. Physical properties (glass transition, temperature, mechanical and thermodynamic) were analyzed by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS), which is a unique tool for analyzing the defects of polymer materials. The free volume and holebility of PLA and PLA / Cur were studied in vacuum and temperature range of 283 to 353 K. Ortho-positronium (o Ps), life , and intensity were measured as more sensitive parameters to determine free volume dimensions. The results of the thermodynamic property of PLA, examined with PALS technique, revealed a phase change of around 58 ºC. Also, an improvement was observed in the PLA / Cur structure with the addition of curcumin, by reducing nano-size defects.

Stories shape the human experience. Fairy tales, fables, and historical stories from many peoples influence contemporary culture and science. The Little Prince is an excellent example of a short tale that highlights the relative importance of living with ecology and connectedness. It also clearly illuminates the absurdity that can emerge when one becomes isolated from even the simple processes associated with the functioning of other natural systems or from ecological interactions. This is one of many excellent stories that can be used in teaching science to frame theory for learners into different and larger novel contexts. This fairy tale provides morals for daily living too--tend to your garden, watch sunsets, and use nature to tame your absurd life and connect to others. We use humour, stories, and current cultural memes from television and movies in many publications and/or their titles and in classroom lessons. Looking more broadly for tales and stories from different cultures and times promotes justice and openness.

The reflections provided in this article were presented in the 4th Sam Moyo Memorial Lecture, delivered at the SMAIAS/ASN Summer School in January 2021. The article focuses on the critical tradition of economic knowledge and thought about the socio-economic development of the Caribbean, which began in the last decades of the colonial era. The advances made through the early Independence period were concerned with the problems of individual countries and the region as a whole. The objective was to improve the material economic welfare of the broad masses of Caribbean people while generating the requisite economic growth to sustain an improvement in the general conditions of life. From the thought of W. Arthur Lewis to the Plantation Economy theorists and subsequent critiques, a rich critical tradition emerged, only to be displaced by the onset of the debt crisis and neoliberalism. This article reviews the main elements of this critical tradition, its advances, and retreats, as well as the new challenges presented to it today.