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The article explores social psychological aspects concerned with diasporic relationships among the South Asian diaspora in Denmark and is a follow up of a project conducted in the mid-nineties. The first wave focussed on the intergenerational relations within the double challenge perspective dealing with age transition and ethnic belonging while the second wave focuses at the relationships across the borders within a theoretical framework of life course perspectives combined with diaspora conceptualisations. In-depth interviews were conducted and analysed through meaning condensation. The gendered experiences of the young adults perceived as active actors indicate reinterpretation of the self, others and home. The results depict that the young adults‘ relationships involve both the country of origin and the Danish welfare society, though refutes the myth of return, in spite of Denmark turning increasingly restrictive in migration policies in the past years. How does moving across the geographical borders affect the relationships of diaspora members both here– in the country of residence and there- in the country of origin? The article delineates some of the processes through gendered experiences of the young adults perceived as active actors based on an empirical longitudinal study. The results indicate transformations in belongings and longings indicating reinterpretation of the self, others and home in context of exclusion processes at various levels.

Background: MBBS internship is the best year in the entire curriculum and the best thing that ever happens. Aims and Objectives: (1) Evaluation of the quality of internship program provided to interns in Government Doon Medical College and Hospital and (2) to assess the level of satisfaction among interns related to their learning. Materials and Methods: The participants of this study were the batch 2016 cohorts of Government Doon Medical College, first batch who had completed their internship. A questionnaire containing multiple-choice answers was designed using Google Forms to assess their feedback. The questionnaire was allotted to the interns, by batch 2016 two MBBS graduates who completed their internship recently. The answers in Google Forms ticked were collected by them, and the data entered in an Excel sheet were represented in pie charts and bar charts and the average percentage was calculated for the degree of learning. A subjective assessment was made based on the findings. Results: All interns felt internship as useful. 52% of interns on average learned and acquired all the important skills in all the departments (medicine, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedics, pediatrics, emergency, etc.), on average 40.8% were able to perform all the skills of every discipline seeking assistance, 17.6% learned all the skills but were not confident, and 9.8% of students learned nothing. 100% of interns learned all communication skills regarding doctor–patient interaction and ethical behavior among colleagues, seniors, and paramedical staff. Conclusion: Internship program in Government Doon Medical College and Hospital provides lucrative learning to young interns. Majority of interns felt satisfied with the internship, but some improvements can also be done to cover the lack.

Mechanical activation (MA) of glauconite [(K,Na,Ca)(Fe3+,Al,Mg,Fe2+)2(Si,Al)4O10(OH)2] has been investigated to improve its cation exchange capacity (CEC), an impediment for its direct use as nutrients (agro-mineral), notably potassium. Glauconite is mechanically activated using planetary ball milling for varying lengths of time up to 240 min. Milling induces time dependent physicochemical changes in terms of particulate characteristics (morphology, particles size distribution, geometrical and BET specific surface area), structure (crystallite size and strain; –OH/H2O bonding) and surface charge (zeta potential). It is possible to tailor the CEC of glauconite with MA. A remarkable improvement (30-fold!) in the CEC of K+ ions is possible. The effect of milling time on the exchange behaviour is ion-specific. Plausible mechanisms of cation exchange are presented in terms of the chemical nature of the ions involved and the physicochemical changes. Lastly, MA approach is compared with reported methods of potassium recovery; its superiority as a green option is underlined.

Re-oxidation inclusion formation being a major concern in open air induction melting and casting facilities has acquired significant attention worldwide. Mathematical modeling has been attempted to understand the contributions from the two major sources of oxygen pickup viz. diffusion of oxygen through gaseous boundary layer and air entrainment in the past. In this work, an integrated approach has been developed to estimate the total oxygen pickup content from the aforementioned sources. The developed model consists of a fairly comprehensive and plausible formulation by incorporating refinements like time dependent velocity modification and application of modified Ranz-Marshall correlation which has not yet been addressed. The consolidated model predictions are in good agreement with the data obtained from literature. For further validation, a customized experimental setup was designed and oxygen pickup studies were performed upon it. The model predictions of oxygen and nitrogen pick up pertaining to the designed experiments have been found to be in concurrence with the measured total oxygen and nitrogen contents respectively.

Educational and cultural dimensions of transnational academic exchange such as student exchanges, double degree programmes, internships have been researched but the romantic dimensions are almost overlooked, especially qualitatively, while Green (EU’s Erasmus study abroad programme is ‘responsible for 1m babies’, 2014) documents that one quarter students on Erasmus exchange scheme met their long-term partner while studying abroad.

Augmenting granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) content in Portland Slag Cement (PSC) beyond the conventional limit of 70% is the stimulus for this study. Such enhancement other than bringing down the carbon footprint of cement conserves natural resources. However, beyond 70% slag incorporation, early strength gain of PSC is meagre because of its low reactivity. This study explores mechanical activation (MA) of GBFS to alter its reactivity, and thereby raising the possibility of increased slag incorporation in PSC. MA of slag is carried in an eccentric vibration mill. Formulations with different MA slag contents and clinker are studied in terms of heat of hydration (using isothermal conduction calorimetry) and compressive strength (CS). CS of clinker–slag formulations augmented with the extent of MA. Hydration behaviour of these blends i.e. increased heat evolution, accelerated reactions etc. is in agreement with CS values. X-ray diffraction and TG–DTG employed as complimentary tools to comprehend the hydration process corroborate with CS results, and hydration characteristics. Thus, MA can be used to enhance the hydration characteristics (reactivity) of GBFS, and henceforth its content in PSC. Sufficiently activated slag incorporation even up to 90% yields comparable strength than commercial PSC at all ages of curing.

The focus of this paper is on isothermal conduction calorimetric study of the geopolymerisation of mechanically activated fly ash. Mechanical activation was carried out in an eccentric vibratory mill due to its high efficiency. The samples used for calorimetry were characterised in terms of particle size distribution (by laser diffraction), morphology and chemical heterogeneity (by SEM–EDS) and structure (XRD and FTIR). The calorimetric response, rate of heat evolved ( $$\dot{q}$$ ) with geopolymerisation time (t), was collected for 24 h. The 7 × 7 calorimetric maps were prepared using the data at seven reaction temperatures (TGP = 27, 32, 37, 42, 47, 53, 60 °C) for seven samples obtained after different duration of milling (tMA = 0, 5, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120 min). Comprehensive profiling of fly ash reactivity was done in terms of the maps for rate of heat evolved ( $$\dot{q}$$ vs. time), total heat evolved (Q vs. time), fraction reacted (α vs. time) and iso-conversion time (tα). Each of the mechanically activated samples behaved uniquely. A model-free approach based on ‘iso-conversional methods’ was deployed to analyse the kinetics of geopolymerisation. The analysis revealed that activation energy changes with fraction reacted and displays three regimes of dependence. The merit of the model-free analysis over traditionally used ‘model-based analysis’ is emphasised. Further, in the context of geopolymerisation, empirical parameters based on fraction reacted are used to delineate efficacy of mechanical activation vis-a-vis reaction temperature.

Intense X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) can rapidly excite matter, leaving it in inherently unstable states that decay on femtosecond timescales. As the relaxation occurs primarily via Auger emission, excited state observations are constrained by Auger decay. In situ measurement of this process is therefore crucial, yet it has thus far remained elusive at XFELs due to inherent timing and phase jitter, which can be orders of magnitude larger than the timescale of Auger decay. Here, we develop a new approach termed self-referenced attosecond streaking, based upon simultaneous measurements of streaked photo- and Auger electrons. Our technique enables sub-femtosecond resolution in spite of jitter. We exploit this method to make the first XFEL time-domain measurement of the Auger decay lifetime in atomic neon, and, by using a fully quantum-mechanical description, retrieve a lifetime of $2.2^{ + 0.2}_{ - 0.3}$ fs for the KLL decay channel. Importantly, our technique can be generalised to permit the extension of attosecond time-resolved experiments to all current and future FEL facilities., Comment: Main text: 20 pages, 3 figures. Supplementary information: 17 pages, 6 figures

Indians, mostly skilled, have been invited to fill gaps in the Danish labour market in the last decade, changing the demographics and dynamics of the Indian diaspora. The chapter covers this diaspora, also historically, focusing on the psychosocial aspects of transnationalism and intimate relationship formation. The theoretical framework combines life course perspective, processes of interconnectedness and inclusion/exclusion. Studies of Indian couples and ‘mixed couples’ consisting of Indians in exogamous marriages with Danish spouses form the empirical part. The results show Indian diaspora transformations, such as multiple belongings, differential engagement in Danish society and India related to generational and couple formation patterns.

The globalization-based acculturation process in the Indian Himalayan region of Ladakh represents a highly complex network of intercultural interactions. Ladakhi youth negotiate their cultural orientation and identity in relation both (a) to indirect intercultural exposure through media and (b) to intermittent cultural contact through tourism in Ladakh. Additionally, many Ladakhi students take sojourns in large Indian cities. Like other Eastern populations exposed to cultural globalization, young Ladakhis are influenced by several local and global cultural streams. Within this acculturative process, Ladakhi youth are caught between ambiguous societal pressures toward both tradition and change. Through in-depth interviews, in the present study we investigated the negotiations of eight Ladakhi students’ cultural identity in Leh (Ladakh) and Delhi. In doing so, we draw pragmatically on theories of multiculturalism and dialogical self. Participants reported negotiating their cultural identity through dialogue among various personal, cultural, religious, and social voices, where these voices require selectively incorporating various cultural elements within the parameters established by societal constraints. Results indicate the vast complexity and dynamics within the Ladakhi acculturation process, with multiple interacting cultural streams, religions, and significant sociohistorical factors calling for an in-depth qualitative approach to elucidating the processes underlying globalization-based acculturation. The globalization-based acculturation process in the Indian Himalayan region of Ladakh represents a highly complex network of intercultural interactions. Ladakhi youth negotiate their cultural orientation and identity in relation both (a) to indirect intercultural exposure through media and (b) to intermittent cultural contact through tourism in Ladakh. Additionally, many Ladakhi students take sojourns in large Indian cities. Like other Eastern populations exposed to cultural globalization, young Ladakhis are influenced by several local and global cultural streams. Within this acculturative process, Ladakhi youth are caught between ambiguous societal pressures toward both tradition and change. Through in-depth interviews, in the present study we investigated the negotiations of eight Ladakhi students’ cultural identity in Leh (Ladakh) and Delhi. In doing so, we drew pragmatically on theories of multiculturalism and dialogical self. Participants reported negotiating their cultural identity through dialogue between various personal, cultural, religious, and social voices, where these voices require selectively incorporating various cultural elements within the parameters established by societal constraints. Results indicate the vast complexity and dynamics within the Ladakhi acculturation process, with multiple interacting cultural streams, religions, and significant sociohistorical factors calling for an in-depth qualitative approach to elucidate the processes underlying globalization-based acculturation.

Intermarried couples in Denmark face a range of psychosocial challenges in the context of dominant discourses of homogeneity coexisting with ethnic diversity. This article deals with the couples’ managing of everyday life, mental health, well-being and implications for health promotion and counselling. The participants in this qualitative study (n = 10) are persons in mixed relationships where one partner is from South Asia and the other a native Dane, forming visibly ethnically different households [Phoenix, A. (2011). Psychosocial intersections: Contextualising the accounts of adults who grew up in visibly ethnically different households. In Lutz, V., & L. Supik (Eds.), Framing intersectionality: Debates on a multi-faceted concept in gender studies. Surrey: Ashgate]. The analysis indicates that internal, personal and family aspects, such as realistic plans, mixing everyday practices and focussing on the fun part, are in interplay with external aspects such as formal and informal acceptance of the interm...

This paper explores some social‐psychological aspects of South Asian young adults in Denmark, including identity processes through social relations across geographical borders and psychological diaspora consciousness, and is a follow‐up of a project conducted in the mid‐nineties, in Denmark (N = 14). Diasporic conceptualisations focusing on human‐centredness and processes in migration, combined with a lifecourse perspective, provide the theoretical framework for this study. The method used is in‐depth interviews, analysed through condensation and meaningful categorisation of the narratives. The young adults are perceived as active actors in relation to their life situation. The results show the young adults', as well as the parental generations', re‐interpretation of the self, other and home. They also show that the young adults' diasporic identities involve the countries of origin as well as the Scandinavian welfare societies. However, the myth of return is not supported, although the countries of residence have adopted increasingly restrictive migration policies in the past years.

Despite an increase in cross border intimate relationships and children of mixed parentage, there is little mention or scholarship about them in the area of childhood and migrancy in the Nordic countries. The international literature implies historical pathologization , contestation and current complex paradigms regarding these children. This chapter explores how children of mixed parentage negotiate their identities in the Danish context, where statistically and socially there are no widely acceptable terms for categorizing them. To this purpose, an empirical qualitative in-depth interview study of children and young people of mixed parentage residing in Copenhagen area is conducted. The theoretical framework is eclectic, combining post-structural approach with mixed identity negotiation theory and transnationalism. The main conclusion is that the children reveal various strategies of identity formation in the context of partial migrancy. They position themselves as having an “in-between” identity or “just Danes” in their everyday lives among friends, family, and during leisure activities. Thus a new paradigm is evolving away from the pathologization of mixed children, simplified one-sided categories. These findings also have implications for social policy and practices related to mixed children.

The article is based on a research project using survey data (N=628) and qualitative interviews (N=60) with young people and their parents belonging to the five largest ethnic minority groups in Denmark, along with the experiences of psychosocial services for minority young people. The theoretical framework is social psychological, combining theories of modernisation, family relations and effects of discrimination. The article examines interaction with the parents in relation to their intimate partnership formation and the dynamics of religious endogamy. Main findings are that parents may be either supportive or against the young people, contrary to the dominant discourses about intergenerational conflicts. The continued practice of religious endogamy is another finding. The article criticises the reductionistic dichotomy ‐ either own or parental choice ‐ and appeals for broader concepts which focus both on own choice and parental acceptance. The article also throws light on some strategic services dealing with the problems of ethnic minority young people in forming intimate partnerships in other countries. A model for psychosocial intervention is presented which directs attention to ageism and sexism, as well as racism, at personal, interpersonal and structural levels.

We use midinfrared pulses with stable carrier-envelope phase offset to drive molecular vibrations in the charge transfer salt ET−F2TCNQ, a prototypical one-dimensional Mott insulator. We find that the Mott gap, which is probed resonantly with 10 fs laser pulses, oscillates with the pump field. This observation reveals that molecular excitations can coherently perturb the electronic on-site interactions (Hubbard U) by changing the local orbital wave function. The gap oscillates at twice the frequency of the vibrational mode, indicating that the molecular distortions couple quadratically to the local charge density.

This article presents some results from an empirical investigation of youth at different functional levels, directing attention to the young people’s double challenge of being a young person and belonging to an ethnic minority, especially their experiences of and coping with race discrimination. There is also some material on the minority and majority young people’s impressions of the ‘others’. Positive management of the ethnic challenge entails acceptance of ethnic belonging and amalgamated cultural forms, along with an active constructive response to racially discriminatory experiences. In the empirical investigation these experiences and strategies are illustrated in the young people’s narratives. Finally, views of the roles of family and society are delineated for young people who take on the double challenge positively.

This final chapter is the result of many epistemological as well as ethical reflections and brings insights from my clinical practice into this research. Besides working as an academic since 2000, in the Department of Psychology and Educational Studies at Roskilde University along with affiliation to Interdisciplinary Studies in Health Promotion and Health Strategies, for the past three decades I have been working as a clinical psychologist, providing counselling and psychotherapy. My clients have included, among others, ethnically mixed couples and families, ethnic minority youths, their families and transnational adoptees. It has been a challenge to combine the research-based results from the present study focussing on ‘ordinary’, intermarried couples with positive mental health and wellbeing, with insights from my psychosocial practice. A survey about the psychotherapeutic activities of psychologists in Denmark (Jacobsen, Nielsen & Mathiesen, 2013) in a Danish psychological journal Psykolog Nyt, made me aware that just 2% of psychologists in Denmark have a Ph.D. degree along with a specialisation in psychotherapy Thus only a few psychologists possess “double competence” which combines clinical practice experiences with research experience. Besides it was pointed that about 7% have a minority background like me while 93% have majority Danish background. At the same time significance of qualitative research in enhancing counselling and psychotherapy has been highlighted emphatically by McLeod, 2012.

This chapter deals with the broader social context that mixed couples live within, both in the country of residence and in the diaspora spouse’s country of origin. Along with a focus on everyday practices and activities within the marriage, participants express their attitudes towards broader social questions and conditions that lie outside their intimate relationship, including those concerning religion and politics. The treatment the mixed couples — especially the diasporic spouses — meet in broader society reveals the extent to which their humanity is recognised and how human the receiving society is, as expressed by Tutu in 2014: ‘When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognising the humanity in others.’ These aspects of their narratives reflect wider social attitudes — in other words the ‘outside’ rather than ‘inside’ as delineated by Cabarello, Edwards & Puthussery (2008). While ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ have been analytically separated here, it is acknowledged that in real life they are closely intertwined.

This chapter introduces the primary empirical study and is intended to provide context and some information about research methodology. The point of departure relates to sampling technique and a consideration of the ethical challenges faced. The data collection process is also described. I discuss here the issue of sample size, the number of research participants and subsequent generalisation because it is an important one in qualitative research and there is often discussion about researcher-based and a reader-based analytical generalisation. Finally I outline the study participants and provide their major demographic features as well as short biographical notes.

This chapter begins with a delineation of theories of general intimate partner selection within social psychology. It attempts to answer the question of how people from different ethnic backgrounds come together. The answers to this question within this sample show a commonality of coming together for the participants through the process of falling in love combined with pragmatic aspects, despite highly varied contextual factors.

Starting from the admittedly scarce literature and theoretical conceptualisations regarding the processes of socialisation in the context of multi-ethnicity, the primary focus in this chapter is on the processes of parenting in visibly ethnically mixed couples and households (Phoenix, 2011), represented by the participants in the present study. The objective of this book is not to focus solely on the troublesome elements in mixed couple relationships and parenting, because mixed relationships may be culturally and socially enriching and expand the world-view of the partners involved. One illustration of these positive features is that the children of mixed heritage may have linguistic and cultural advantages compared with monocultural children. According to Tizard & Phoenix (2002, p. 1), people worry about ‘mixedness’ of children of mixed parentage, rather than seeing them as fortunate constellations (or as the inheritors) of two cultures.

One of the key issues being investigated in this book is the wellbeing of the intermarried couples in relation to various life domains. In the previous chapter, we found that these couples are influenced both by ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ aspects and in this chapter an attempt is made to bring these aspects together, among others, through the concept of gaze. By drawing on the narratives, I examine the mental wellbeing of the couples, not in a narrow clinical sense, but in terms of self-understanding and significant relationships.

This chapter sets out to highlight the phenomenon of intermarriage in Denmark from a historical context, as well as by analysing current demographic patterns and statistics.

This chapter deals with maintaining intermarried relationships through the life course. It follows on from the previous chapter’s discussion of the ‘getting together’ narratives of the couples characterised by the centrality of love. Some theoretical conceptualisations of love — both in society in general and within close relationships — forms the first section of this chapter, while the second section presents an everyday life approach to studying the management of mixed couple life. The third section delineates a three-stage ontogenetic (relating to the developmental history of individual within its own lifetime) division.

We measure the ultrafast recombination of photoexcited quasiparticles (holon-doublon pairs) in the one dimensional Mott insulator ET–F2TCNQ as a function of external pressure, which is used to tune the electronic structure. At each pressure value, we first fit the static optical properties and extract the electronic bandwidth t and the intersite correlation energy V. We then measure the recombination times as a function of pressure, and we correlate them with the corresponding microscopic parameters. We find that the recombination times scale differently than for metals and semiconductors. A fit to our data based on the time-dependent extended Hubbard Hamiltonian suggests that the competition between local recombination and delocalization of the Mott-Hubbard exciton dictates the efficiency of the recombination.

Using ultrafast resonant soft x ray diffraction we demonstrate photoinduced melting of antiferromagnetic order in the correlated electron insulator NdNiO3. Time dependent analysis of the resonant diffraction spectra allows us to follow the temporal evolution of the charge imbalance between adjacent Ni sites. A direct correlation between the melting of magnetic order and charge rebalancing is found. Furthermore we demonstrate that the magnetic ordering on the Ni and Nd sites which are locked together in equilibrium become decoupled during this nonthermal process. © 2013 American Physical Society.

By measuring time-dependent optical birefringence with 4-femtosecond (fs) laser pulses, we determine the time scale for photoinduced melting of orbital order in the single-layer manganite La${}_{0.5}$Sr${}_{1.5}$MnO${}_{4}$. Such high time resolution is required to distinguish atomic motions that control the Jahn-Teller distortion from even faster electronic rearrangements. The experiment reveals an 18 fs bottleneck for the loss of orbital order, corresponding to about one-quarter period of the in-plane Jahn-Teller mode. Furthermore, we observe coherent oscillations of this Jahn-Teller mode. Both their amplitude and the birefringence drop exhibit a threshold in their fluence dependence, indicating cooperativity in the lattice response.

We report on ultrafast optical experiments in which femtosecond midinfrared radiation is used to excite the lattice of complex oxide heterostructures. By tuning the excitation energy to a vibrational mode of the substrate, a long-lived five-order-of-magnitude increase of the electrical conductivity of NdNiO3 epitaxial thin films is observed as a structural distortion propagates across the interface. Vibrational excitation, extended here to a wide class of heterostructures and interfaces, may be conducive to new strategies for electronic phase control at THz repetition rates.

“The East and the West must unite to provide one another with what is lacking” Abdu'l Baha in Sinha & Sinha, 1997 Mindfulness & meditation are gaining popularity in the West­ern psychological practice in the past 4-5 decades, especially within psychotherapeutic approaches, health promotion, and stress reduction. The origins and the broader context, however, seem to be overlooked in some of these practices. This article focuses on the origin of these phenomena in the first part, as it is important for both their interpretation and appli­cation in the current Western context. As these practices, entered Western psychology through India, basic assumptions about hu­man nature in Indian psychology, monoism of body-mind, cen­trality of consciousness and meditation as a part of daily conduct are presented. The basic constructs of Buddhism, an integral part of Indian psychology, in relation to mindfulness and meditation, are also delineated as illustrations of these assumptions. The second part reflects on the application of the meditative practices through cognitive existential study of mindfulness (Ka­bat-Zinn, 2003) and a study on the phenomenology of medita­tion (Madsen, 2007). Both emphasize an experienced instructor, regular practice as a part of daily life, conceptual consciousness understandings for beneficial effects of these practices. The last part reflects critically on perils of mindfulness and meditation in the context of modernity. There is an appeal for considering these as a part of daily life, not just a technique, along with considering their origin and aspects such as spiritu­ality considered as compassion and interconnectednes, spiritua­lity as compassion, interplay between the Eastern and Western psychological understandings and the broader context.