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In a series of articles Dörnyei and his colleagues (Dörnyei, Ibrahim, & Muir, 2015; Dörnyei, Muir, & Ibrahim, 2014; Muir & Dörnyei, 2013) describe the phenomenon of a period of intense and enduring motivation in pursuit of a highly desired personal goal or vision. These surges of motivational energy, which they call Directed Motivational Currents (DMCs), uniquely differ from other types of highly behaviour or optimal forms of engagement that are to be found in the literature in the sense that individual learning activities form integrated parts of a coherent motivational superstructure. The current article offers the first systematic empirical investigation of this motivational phenomenon. Focusing on periods of unusually intense and enduring motivation experienced by migrant learners of Swedish as a second language, the purpose of this interview-based study is to consider whether core characteristics of DMCs can be identified in participants' descriptions of sustained motivated behaviour, thereby considering the validity of the DMC construct. Results reveal that motivated behaviour is characterised by features similar to those outlined by Dörnyei and colleagues, namely the presence of a salient facultative structure, the generation of positive emotionality, and the direction of motivated behaviour toward long-term identity investment goals. This indicates that the DMC construct captures a unique form of motivation worthy of future investigation.

In light of evidence for substantial alterations to the forms and spatial configurations of the Parthenon during the construction process, John R. Senseney interrogates the origins of the celebrated Ionic frieze, with its continuous figural procession sculpted by the workshop of Pheidias, in The Architectural Origins of the Parthenon Frieze. Emphasizing ancient planning methods, Senseney argues that the Parthenon’s builders settled on an Ionic frieze in response to the rare decision to include prostyle porches. To contend with formal complexities, the builders engaged in exploratory design within the construction of the east peristyle, east porch, and pronaos, the results of which then guided construction elsewhere in the superstructure. Comparative analysis supports Senseney’s argument that the Ionic form of the Parthenon frieze arose not from the sculptural program but rather in response to issues of alignment within the pronaos and as part of a fluid process of modeling that coalesced in an aesthetic focused on formal continuity and integration.

Marxian economics recognizes productive activities as the nature of the human being, but human beings create other dimensions of activities through ideology, religion, culture, and politics. All these activities comprise a sort of superstructure. It is very important for us to discuss how the superstructure is determined by social base directly and indirectly. The discussion will be on state, ideologies, and human characteristics itself.

I propose a “Milky Way / creation hypothesis” for the elongated eastern structures in early Maya E Groups: they were modeled on the Milky Way galaxy. These architectural arrangements, beginning in the Preclassic period (c. 900 B.C.–A.D. 200) in the southern Maya Lowlands, were adopted from predecessors in the Early Preclassic neighboring Gulf Coast region. The widespread overall similarity of E Groups suggests a shared belief system centered on myths about creation, and many of the characters (e.g., Maize God) and events of creation in Maya myths are set in the Milky Way. The general north–south axial orientation of the eastern platform, frequently pivoted northeast–southwest, is proposed to be related to the rainy season position of the Milky Way overhead. E Groups were probably multifunctional ritual theaters, the eastern platforms serving as stages for nighttime performances of creation stories. Late modifications into a tripart edifice, with structures or superstructures in the center and at both ends, replicated the major asterisms of the visible galaxy and/or the creator gods.

Excavations at the site of Tombos at the Third Cataract in Sudan have revealed tumulus graves adjacent to Egyptian-style tombs created during the New Kingdom. These tumuli began near the end of Egypt’s imperial control of Nubia (c. 1300 BCE) and continued into the early Napatan/Third Intermediate Period (1069–750 BCE). Thirty-five tumuli from the site are analyzed in terms of superstructure, substructure, artifacts and furniture, and the individuals buried within. The combined datasets of bioarchaeological observations and mortuary practices provide an opportunity to consider the processes of cultural expression in terms of “Nubian revival” within the context of Egyptian colonial “withdrawal.” Through a theoretically informed approach, the complexity of intercultural interactions during these dynamic sociopolitical times is examined, expanding beyond the Egyptian/Nubia binary. The tumulus graves at Tombos are used to demonstrate that a diverse set of practices were used that transcend these categories. Practices are entangled with multidimensional influences that question what is considered local and foreign. With variations showing similarities and differences of structures and practices found in the region during earlier, contemporary, and later periods, an innovative group of practices is revealed.

While the government of Evo Morales rules in the name of indigenous workers and peasants, in fact the country's political economy has since 2006 witnessed the on-going subjugation of these classes. If the logic of large capital persists, it is legitimated in and through petty indigenous capitalists. This article argues that Antonio Gramsci's conceptualisation of passive revolution offers a superior analytical point of departure for understanding contemporary Bolivian politics than does Álvaro García Linera's more widely accepted theory of creative tensions. However, the dominant manner in which passive revolution has been employed in contemporary Latin American debates has treated the socio-political and the ideological as relatively autonomous from the process of capital accumulation. What is necessary, instead, is a sharper appreciation of the base/superstructure metaphor as expressing a dialectical unity of internal relations between 'the economic' and 'the political', thus avoiding one determinism or another. Through a reading of Gramsci that emphasises such unity, this article interrogates the dynamics of 'extractive distribution', class contradictions of the 'plural economy', and transformations in the urban labour market which have characterised Bolivia's passive revolution under Evo Morales between 2006 and 2015.

Disaster mitigation as a pre-disaster measure within the scope of disaster risk management is significant in the sense of reducing the adverse effects of earthquakes in the context of earthquake-sensitive risk planning. In the urban planning context, the existence of numerous decision makers and alternatives, which are depending on many criteria, makes decision-making process difficult. This difficulty was overcomed through geographical information systems (GIS). In the context of GIS-based multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) analysis, we used analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) to determine earthquake-risky areas in Yalova City Center. First, AHP analysis related to geological and superstructure/infrastructure criteria was conducted and two separate AHP maps were obtained. Then, we conducted TOPSIS analysis to consider both criteria in the sense of earthquake risk-sensitive planning. Then, overall earthquake risk map obtained which could be used as an input for disaster mitigation processes.

The two first reflections on the politics of money you will see in Eich’s book, a substantial intervention (indeed, the notes are fully one-third the length of the main text itself), come from the visual arts and poetry. Commented upon at the end of his book, the cover image comes from Otis Kaye’s simultaneously playful and biting memento of the Met’s 1961 purchase of Rembrandt’s shimmering 1653 painting, Aristotle with a Bust of Homer. At some 2.3 million dollars, it was the most expensive museum purchase of all time. And Kaye (who seems to have lost most of his own savings in the great crash of 1929) offers both an homage, recreating the main figure of Aristotle with his hand on the bust of a representation of Homer, and a mordant reflection. The trompe l’oeil qualities of paper money in the painting hark back to earlier inflationary economics with the French revolutionary assignats, whose history found renewed interest among those trying to account for German hyperinflation and the Great Depression. Similarly, around Kaye’s edges, the dark intensity of Rembrandt’s background peels away to reveal utilitarian paneling, into which are fixed and interlaced wodges of cash, alongside other symbols of money making. The Heart of the Matter is more than just a wry reflection on the imbrication of art and commerce, or of Rembrandt interpretation—fleeting worldly fame, or lasting reputation. For while its truth seems superficially obvious—that the art world and the art market are inseparable—it is not entirely clear what sort of lesson we are supposed to learn about money. It is on the surface and under it, the base and the superstructure, form and content, style as well as substance. Is it telling us that a society where money is king is one that cannot see the truth of things, or that money, or at least the having of it, is what allows us not to think about it too much?

There is a growing need to produce water and energy more sustainably by incorporating the following objectives: (1) enhanced solar utilization, (2) reduced fossil fuel usage, (3) increased desalination efficiency, and (4) decreased environmental emissions. This paper investigates the following hypotheses: (1) the aforementioned objectives require a novel systems-integration approach that identifies synergistic design and operational strategies, (2) the water-energy nexus must integrate power plants and desalination systems, and (3) optimal solutions must supplement existing infrastructure with emerging technologies. To reduce the carbon footprint, fossil-based power plants are augmented with solar energy. Because of seasonal variations in supply and demand for energy and water—and because of the diurnal nature of solar energy—a multi-period approach is utilized. As a result of complex water-energy interactions, a superstructure representation is created to embed potential configurations of interest. The optimization formulation incorporates multiple objectives and guides the design and operational decisions. This approach is applied to a case study on the Kuwait water-energy nexus, and considers the following: (1) seasonal variations in fuel availability, prices, power demand, and water needs; (2) multi-period optimization of fuel usage within the existing infrastructure; (3) the potential for solar retrofits; (4) the impact of several carbon-footprint constraints on the minimum cost; and (5) optimal design and operational strategies. In infrastructure renewal projects, the developed approach and targeted application can help decision-makers create simultaneous design and operational strategies that meet economic and environmental objectives.

Background Diarrhea is a major public health problem that disproportionately affects children in developing countries, including Ethiopia. Most of the diseases can be prevented through safe drinking water supply and provision of basic sanitation and hygiene. However, there is a paucity of information on childhood diarrhea related to interventions in kebeles (smallest administrative structure) where community-led total sanitation (CLTS) implemented and not implemented (non-CLTS). Thus, the aim of this study was to assess and compare the association of water supply, sanitation and hygiene interventions, and childhood diarrhea in CLTS implemented and non-implemented kebeles. Method A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in Kersa and Omo Nada districts of Jimma Zone, Ethiopia from July 22 to August 9, 2018. Systematically selected 756 households with under-5 children were included in the study. Data were collected through interview using structured questionnaires. Water samples were collected in nonreactive borosilicate glass bottles. The binary logistic regression model was used; variables with a p value < 0.05 were considered as significantly associated with childhood diarrhea. Results The prevalence of childhood diarrhea in the past 2 weeks was 17.7% (95% CI: 13.9–21.5) in CLTS kebeles and 22.0% (95% CI: 17.8–26.2) in non-CLTS kebeles. The occurrence of childhood diarrhea, increased among children whose families did not treat drinking water at home compared to those who treated in both CLTS (AOR = 2.35; 95% CI: 1.02–05.98) and non-CLTS (AOR = 1.98; 95% CI: 0.82–4.78) kebeles. About 96% of households in CLTS and 91% of households in non-CLTS kebeles had pit latrine with and without superstructure. Children from families that used water and soap to wash their hands were 76% less likely to have diarrhea in CLTS kebeles (AOR = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.31–1.88) and 54% less likely to have diarrhea in non-CLTS kebeles (AOR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.17–1.72) when compared to children from families who used only water. The odds of having diarrhea was 1.63 times higher among children whose families live in CLTS non-implemented kebeles compared to those children whose families live in CLTS implemented kebeles (AOR = 1.63; 95% CI: 0.98–2.68). Conclusions No significant difference was observed in the prevalence of childhood diarrhea between CLTS and non-CLTS kebeles.