Digital Commons Network^™

Beyond Words: Semiotic Decoding Of Rẹ́Rẹ́Rún (Catastrophe Au Rendez-Vous) By Ọládẹ̀Jọ Òkédìjí And The Rich Tradition Of Yorùbá Theater, Nafiu O. Oloore Mr

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

Many researchers have focused on analysing novels, poems, and drama in the French language while neglecting certain subgenres. Although numerous studies have been conducted on semiotic analysis in French, little effort has been made to analyze Yorùbá drama. Thus, this study aims to provide a semiotic analysis of Rẹ́rẹ́rún (Catastrophe au rendez-vous) by Ọládẹ̀jọ Òkédìjí. This study adopts a qualitative research approach and textual explanation as its methodology. The semiotics theory proposed by Ferdinand de Saussure is employed as the theoretical framework. Following the qualitative method, twenty signs relevant to this study were selected for interpretation. Semiotics is chosen because …

Une Analyse Intersectionnelle De L'Albinisme Dans L'Instinct De Survie D'Éveline Mankou Et Ses Implications Contemporaines, Gracious Ojiebun, Eiloghosa Enogiomwan

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

Grâce à l'inclusion numérique, l'éducation devient plus interactive, accessible et inclusive, néanmoins, les enfants atteints d'albinisme en sont souvent exclus en raison de préjugés socio-culturels, de l'écart numérique et des barrières sociales systémiques. L'article explore comment les liens entre la culture, la géographie, la religion, le genre et le statut socio-économique peuvent conduire à une marginalisation violente en se servant d'une évaluation critique de L'instinct de survivre d'Evline Mankou, et en utilisant la théorie de l'intersectionnalité de Crenshaw, 1989.

Le roman dépeint un monde où la superstition et les traditions patriarcales condamnent un enfant atteint d'albinisme, tout en offrant un …

Voix Proverbiales Et L'Esthétique Socioculturelle : Les Proverbes Africains Dans La Trilogie De Kouta De Massa Makan Diabate, Ademola Malick Adebayo, Israel Adégòkè Owóṣení

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

Dans les traditions orales africaines, les proverbes sont des paroles condensées de sagesse, mot d'esprit, de raisonnement social et d'esthétique culturelle. La véritable littérature africaine est l’oralité et elle démontre la richesse linguistique, la complexité culturelle et l’esthétique de la parole à travers les proverbes, les chansons, les épopées, les mythes et les légendes ainsi de suite. L’oralité reflète la richesse linguistique et l’identité culturelle du continent noir. Cependant, les proverbes sont des transporteurs particuliers de la sagesse, la morale, la valeur, les codes sociaux et la croyance d’une société donnée. Dans la trilogie de Massa Makan Diabaté, les proverbes …

L’Insécurité Linguistique Selon La Perspective Des Élèves D’Immersion Française En Saskatchewan, Olushola Adedeji, Michael Akinpelu

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

Cet article examine l’insécurité linguistique (IL) chez des élèves d’immersion française (IF) en Saskatchewan en s’appuyant sur la sociolinguistique pour le changement. À partir d’un devis mixte (un questionnaire à large échelle auprès d’élèves de 7e–12e année et des groupes de discussion focalisés avec des élèves de 11e–12e année), l’étude décrit les différentes manifestations de l’IL, ses causes et ses effets sur les élèves tout en recensant des stratégies d’adaptation. Les résultats de l’étude montrent que l’IL est moins liée à une compétence linguistique objective qu’à des conditions sociales et pédagogiques modifiables. Des recommandations concrètes sont proposées, notamment la légitimation …

Femo Loquens: Gendered Memory, Afrosofian Thought, And The Speaking Woman In Present-Day Burkina Faso, Diweng Mercy Dafong

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

In order to analyze how female Burkinabè writers and filmmakers contribute to the decolonial endeavor of recovering knowledge, voice, and historical agency following colonial disruption, this paper introduces the idea of femo loquens, a gendered extension of homo loquens as theorized by François Ngoa Kodena. I contend that fiction makers like Apolline Traoré in her movie Sira, Monique Ilboudo in her novel Carrefour des veuves, and Roukiata Ouedraogo in herr novel Le petit mari serve as sofian thinkers whose artistic creations interact with gendered memory and postcolonial realities, drawing on Kodena's Afrosofian philosophy, which emphasizes epistemic plurality, cosmological rootedness, …

L'Exploration Des Figures De Style Dans Maeva Et Les Nuages Du Passé De Fatou Fanny-Cissé, Oladeji Olayiwola Nureni Mr

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

Cette étude examine la figure de style dans les romans contemporains de Fatou Fanny Cissé, Maéva et Les nuages du passé, dans le contexte de la littérature francophone africaine. En s'appuyant sur des critiques littéraires récentes, l'analyse s'inscrit dans une perspective décoloniale, s'interrogeant sur le rôle des figures de style dans la tension entre oralité et écriture, ainsi qu'entre esthétique et engagement politique. L'approche qualitative repose sur une analyse stylistique des deux œuvres, en intégrant des théories de la stylistique textuelle, de la critique postcoloniale et féministe. Les figures de style, telles que métaphores, ironies et personnifications, sont étudiées pour …

Contextualizing Inclusion And Connection In An Absurd World: An Analysis Of Albert Camus’ The Plague, Peter Akongfeh Akongfeh Agwu Ph.D, Peace Onwanua Ph.D., John Ogidi Acha

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

Scholars have extensively analyzed Albert Camus’s The Plaque, while interpreting its narrative through existential and absurdist lenses. However, little literature is recorded on how the novel contextualizes themes of inclusion and human connection amidst an absurd world. This study addresses this gap by examining the dynamics of solidarity and shared resistance among the characters within the framework of Camus’s philosophy of the absurd. The aim is to ex-ray how Camus reconciles the tension between the absurd and the human need for meaning through collective action and emotional bonds. A qualitative methodology is employed, involving a close textual analysis of the …

The French Revolution And Napoleon: The Beginnings Of A Modern World Order, S Trent Dunkin

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods, roughly 1789 to 1815, witnessed the fall of the Ancien Régime in France and the foundation of the French Republic. However, this larger period can be divided into three smaller periods: (1) the French Revolutionary Period (1789-1799); (2) the Napoleonic Era (1799-1814); and (3) the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815). This article discusses these three periods individually and their respective contributions that helped to usher in a political order more familiar to the contemporary world. Specifically, this article will explore the following things: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, the …

Digitalverse And The African Narratives: Ai As A New Platform For African Cultural Preservation, Mudasiru Babatunde Sulaiman Mr, Tajudeen Salaudeen

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

Abstract

This article delves into the concept of digital universe as a transforming digital system for the preservation of African culture, with a target on the unique role of artificial intelligence (AI) as a means of storytelling and cultural continuity. For long, there have been problems of availability of sustainable digital infrastructure where African storytelling can be preserved. This study therefore examines the intersection of AI and African storytelling through emerging digital projects, virtual storytelling spaces, and tools that digitize and translate African languages and oral traditions. It argues that AI not only expands the reach of African cultural narratives, …

Cultural And Social Inclusion In Sexe Et Mensonges: La Vie Sexuelle Au Maroc By Leïla Slimani: A Critical Perspective, Juliet N. Elikwu Dr.

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

Several published studies on Leïla Slimani's Sexe et Mensonges: La Vie sexuelle au Maroc have extensively examined the themes of sexual taboos and the challenges facing women in Moroccan society. But, limited attention has been given to her portrayal of cultural and social inclusion through the testimonies and narratives of marginalized women in academic discourse. This study seeks to analyze the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion within the framework of cultural norms and patriarchal structures depicted in the work. The study draws on a qualitative methodology centered on close textual analysis. The theoretical framework integrates Michel Foucault’s concepts of power …

Effects Of Hydrogen-Infused Water On Endurance Performance, Body Hydration Biomarkers, And Health-Related Quality Of Life In Collegiate Athletes (Hydro2eau): A Randomized-Controlled Clinical Trial, Jovan Kuzmanovic, Nikola Todorovic, Marijana Ranisavljev, David Nedeljkovic, Sergej M. Ostojic

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: Hydrogen-infused water (HIW) has attracted considerable interest over the past two decades due to its potential health benefits. However, its effects on exercise performance and hydration biomarkers remain inadequately explored, particularly in physically active populations such as collegiate athletes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of medium-term HIW supplementation on running performance, hydration biomarkers, and health-related quality of life in collegiate athletes. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial was conducted with twelve collegiate athletes (age: 25.1 ± 3.5 years, six female). Participants consumed 660 mL daily of either HIW (300 µmol/L dihydrogen) or control water (0 µmol/L …

Darlene Love: I Know Where I’Ve Been, Ken Derry

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been (2026), directed by Barry Avrich.

Man In Motion: The Rick Hansen Story, Sherry Coman

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story (2026), directed by Adrian Buitenhuis.

Hollywood And The Nazis On The Eve Of War: The Case Of The Mortal Storm, Rachel Gordan

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Alexis Pogorelskin, Hollywood and the Nazis on the Eve of War: The Case of The Mortal Storm (Bloomsbury Academic, 2024).

Disclosure Day, Christian Wilken

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Disclosure Day (2026), directed by Steven Spielberg.

Nothing Is As It Should Be: Estrangement, Threshold-Crossings, And Cosmic Struggle In David Lynch’S Blue Velvet And Lost Highway, Susanne Wigorts Yngvesson

Journal of Religion & Film

This article examines estrangement as a structuring existential and aesthetic principle in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986) and Lost Highway (1997). Through close, plot-attentive readings intended to remain accessible to readers unfamiliar with Lynch, it argues that the films stage three interlocking dynamics: becoming a stranger to oneself, the fracturing of the ‘ground’ of ordinary existence, and life as a cosmic struggle in which human agency is partial and contested. Paul Tillich’s The Courage to Be provides the main theological–philosophical lens, clarifying how anxiety, non-being and courage shape scenes of desire, violence and transformation. Film-theoretical work on thresholds and cinematic …

No Place For Us: The Scapegoat Mechanism In The Early Genealogy Of The Outlaw Road Movie, Luke Smith

Journal of Religion & Film

This essay applies René Girard’s scapegoat mechanism to an early genealogy of the outlaw-couple-on-the-run narrative and of the outlaw road movie more broadly. Through readings of You Only Live Once (1937), They Live by Night (1948), Gun Crazy (1950), and Bonnie and Clyde (1967), it argues that scapegoating in these films operates as a process rather than a single final act: the outlaw couple is first marked and excluded from ordinary goods such as work, respectability, and domestic space, then publicly blamed as a cause of disorder, then amplified through mythmaking, circulation, and repetition until finally sacrificed in a closing …

Misread Before Being Known: Race, Religion, And Institutional Non-Inquiry In Abrogation, Franklin Livingston

Journal of Religion & Film

Institutions often arrive at certainty before they arrive at knowledge. This article names that mechanism institutional non-inquiry — the organizational habit through which visual and cultural assumptions substitute for direct verification, allowing identity classifications to solidify before the subject meaningfully enters the encounter. Unlike prejudice, racialization, or established theories of pre-reflexive social perception, institutional non-inquiry isolates the organizational encounter itself as the specific procedural moment at which collective interpretive habits make inquiry feel unnecessary. Examining Abrogation (2024), a micro-budget American independent feature following Daud Khan, a Brown Pakistani-American infectious disease specialist whose movement through evangelical, civic, and federal institutions repeatedly …

Moving On: Purgatorial Seriality And Unanswered Prayer In Lost’S “Ab Aeterno”, Christian Wilken

Journal of Religion & Film

“Ab Aeterno” (Lost, 6.09) distills the series’ religious logic with unusual explicitness by staging theodicy not as doctrine but as narrative procedure. This article argues that the episode converts Catholic sacramental form (confession, absolution, and penitential address) into a serial ethics of endurance in which closure is structurally deferred. Richard Alpert’s confession establishes a subject who seeks an authorized word that would stabilize suffering, yet the priest’s refusal (“I can’t”) installs a theology of unanswered prayer that becomes the template for Richard’s long durée of waiting. Jacob’s “cork” parable then supplies a katechontic justification of restraint: evil is not abolished …

Between Icon And State: Sergei Eisenstein's Ivan The Terrible, Milja Radovic

Journal of Religion & Film

Remembering the 80th anniversary of Sergei Eisenstein’s film Иван Грозный (Ivan the Terrible, 1944/1945), it is crucial to re-examine Eisenstein’s work, including his last film that became an unintentional ‘testament’ to cinema. Eisenstein’s mastery has been pivotal for understanding cinema and film language, the way this language operates, constructs and deconstructs and communicates historical realities. This paper focuses on a film that was made in two parts, Part I in 1944 and part II in 1945, to investigate Eisenstein’s approach to the subject of history, nation and religion. The research considers how this master of cinema contemplated intricate ideas and …

Piercing The Veil In Sinners: Theological Insights From The Juke Joint, Antonio D. Sison Cpps

Journal of Religion & Film

Celebrated as a critical and commercial success, Ryan Coogler’s genre-defying opus Sinners has also been considered as one of the most culturally significant films of 2025. It also promises to be one of the most theologically resonant films of the year. This is evinced not only in its thematic and literary bases but, importantly, in its very audiovisual language and grammar, its stylistic strategies qua film. As reasoned in this essay, Coogler’s film is a rich locus theologicus, a nexus for theological discovery and insight.Sinners kindles the hermeneutical impulse to dialogue with African American/Pan-Africa theologies exemplified by the …

Affirmative Transcendence: The Ethics Of Mazu And The Internal Expansion Of The Confucian Moral Imagination, Yu Pei

Journal of Religion & Film

This paper proposes and defends the concept of affirmative transcendence through a systematic analysis of the 2012 Chinese television drama Mazu (38 episodes, CCTV). Affirmative transcendence names a structure in which the protagonist achieves sacred status (shen 神) not by negating her human relationships but by maintaining them while exhibiting a mode of moral perception that exceeds the limits of role-based ethics. The paper argues that what is analytically distinctive about this structure is its internal character: the tradition is not rejected but exceeded, and the exceeding is accomplished through resources the tradition itself provides. The paper identifies two …

A Metaphorical Passage To God: Simone Weil And Robert Bresson, V. G. Voigt Hogg Phd

Journal of Religion & Film

VOIGT HOGG_Abstract (REVISED)_Journal of Religion & Film_30 April 2026

This article contrasts the metaphysical and religious philosopher Simone Weil’s concepts of attachment and detachment with auteur director Robert Bresson’s method of subtraction. It argues for a commonality in their philosophy and cinema, that guides the reader or viewer respectively, to perceive a metaphorical passage to God through the lived experience of suffering. The article considers by what means does Weil and Bresson share a mutual commitment to understanding the state of the soul in affliction, while also acknowledging an opposition in the interpretation of detachment in relation to suicide. The …

Sertoli Cell Tumor In A Boar: Pathological And Immunohistochemical Comparison With Canine Cases, Anurak Tibboo, Hataitip Changchum, Nuttiya Saengrueng, Panvard Unjai, Natchanon Dumniem, Kasem Rattanapinyopituk, Komkrich Teankum

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Sertoli cell tumors (SCTs) are sex cord–stromal tumors of the testis that are common in dogs but rare in boars. This study characterized the pathological features of an SCT in a boar and compared its immunohistochemical profile with that of canine SCTs. Testicular tissues from boars (SCT, n = 1; normal testes, n = 2) and dogs (SCT, n = 3; normal testes, n = 5) were evaluated by histopathology and immunohistochemistry for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), vimentin, and cytokeratin. Gross examination revealed a solitary, well-circumscribed nodule in the left testis of the boar, accompanied by severe bilateral testicular …

Attention-Enhanced Multimodal Fusion Of Elevation And Aerial Imagery For Sinkhole Segmentation, Junfeng Zhu, Desireé Cunningham, Nathan Jacobs

Sinkhole Conference 2026

Image segmentation, the task of assigning a class label to each pixel in an image, has been widely applied in remote sensing to identify surficial geological and hydrological features from data sources such as multispectral satellite imagery, aerial photography, and digital elevation models. UNet is among the most widely adopted convolutional neural network architectures for segmentation, owing to its encoder–decoder structure and skip connections that enable precise spatial localization. UNet has been applied to detect sinkholes using lidar-derived high-resolution digital elevation data; however, existing models still fall short of the accuracy of manual sinkhole mapping. In this study, we aim …

Statewide Sinkhole Susceptibility Mapping In Florida Using Explainable Geoai, Osama M. Altarawneh, Weiwei Zhan, Clint Kromhout

Sinkhole Conference 2026

Sinkholes cause persistent damage to infrastructure, property, and groundwater resources across Florida. Statewide sinkhole hazard mitigation has been constrained by incomplete inventories and the absence of a high-resolution susceptibility map. This study presents a statewide sinkhole susceptibility assessment using an explainable GeoAI framework that integrates the citizen-reported Subsidence Incident Reports (SIR) database and a geologist-confirmed collapse-type sinkhole inventory from the Florida Geological Survey (FGS). Random Forest (RF) is used as the primary learner with ten geologic, hydrologic, topographic, and anthropogenic predictors. The influence of negative-sample buffer geometry on model behavior is evaluated across five annular buffer conditions (100-1000 m through …

Mobile Lidar Scans Of Caves: Methods For Tying In Ground Control Points, Robert E. Salaz, Jake Slyder, Ellen Trautner, Georgia Schneider

Sinkhole Conference 2026

Mapping cave passages using modern techniques such as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and photogrammetry are still in the juvenile stages. Newer technologies such as Simultaneous Location and Mapping (SLAM) LiDAR and faster computers have enabled speleologists to map caves much faster than traditional methods. From a land management perspective, the ability to efficiently collect detailed cave maps with reasonable precision quickly is crucial for decision making. The ongoing challenge with digital cave mapping using mobile LiDAR and photogrammetry techniques is geolocating the point-cloud underground. Mobile scanning methods can be tied to ground control points on the surface using high …

Mapping Sinkholes And Closed Depressions In The Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone: Comparison Of Lidar-Based Semi-Automated Detection Methods And Field Validation, Enzo Franceschi Genesi, Horia G. Olariu, Bradford Wilcox

Sinkhole Conference 2026

Sinkholes and closed depressions play a critical role in karst hydrology by facilitating rapid recharge to aquifer systems (Ford & Williams, 2007; White, 1988), yet their spatial distribution is often poorly quantified in large recharge zones, and the automated methods used to detect them vary widely in approach and reliability. This study compares three LiDAR-based automated detection methods to determine their relative performance for mapping sinkholes and closed depressions within the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, using a 0.5-meter resolution bare-earth Digital Elevation Model derived from high-density airborne LiDAR point cloud data (12.66 points/m²) obtained from OpenTopography. The three methods evaluated …

Karst Sinkholes And Civil Engineering: Overview Of Characterization And Treatment Options From A Geophysical And Geotechnical Viewpoint, Mia Painter, Stephen Welsh

Sinkhole Conference 2026

Sinkholes pose a significant geohazard to civil engineering infrastructure in regions underlain by carbonate karst terrain. Selecting an appropriate stabilization method requires balancing site conditions, infrastructure risk, environmental considerations, and cost, all of which depend on a thorough understanding of the planned or existing infrastructure and subsurface conditions. This paper provides an overview of common sinkhole characterization and stabilization methods used in the Mid-Atlantic and Appalachian regions of the United States from both geotechnical and geophysical perspectives. The application of geophysical methods in conjunction with intrusive investigations is reviewed as a means of reducing subsurface uncertainty and refining treatment designs. …

Sinkhole Hazards, Risks, And Remediation: A Fifty-Year Case Study In New Jersey, Usa, Oladoyin Kolawole, Rita L. Sousa, Christina Comuso, Mohab Hussein

Sinkhole Conference 2026

New Jersey presents a uniquely complex sinkhole and ground subsidence hazard shaped by intersecting geological, industrial, and anthropogenic forces. Sinkhole herein refers primarily to collapse sinkholes, that is, the abrupt or progressive downward failure of the ground surface into subsurface voids, as distinct from solutional closed depressions of purely karst origin. This paper synthesizes five decades (1976-2026) of documented sinkhole and ground subsidence records across the state, examining root causes, societal and environmental impacts, and remediation strategies employed in response to such hazards. The review shows that New Jersey’s hazard is governed by three dominant mechanisms: karst dissolution in carbonate …