Is the societal-level of analysis sufficient today to understand the values of those in the global workforce? Or are individual-level analyses more appropriate for assessing the influence of values on ethical behaviors across country workforces? Using multi-level analyses for a 48-society sample, we test the utility of both the societal-level and individual-level dimensions of collectivism and individualism values for predicting ethical behaviors of business professionals. Our values-based behavioral analysis indicates that values at the individual-level make a more significant contribution to (...) explaining variance in ethical behaviors than do values at the societal-level. Implicitly, our findings question the soundness of using societal-level values measures. Implications for international business research are discussed. (shrink)

When the Ming dynasty Confucian Wang Yangming (1472-1529) proposed his tenet of the unity of knowing and acting (zhi xing heyi 知行合一), he did so because he believed that Zhu Xi (1130-1200), his revered Song dynasty predecessor and architect of the School of Principle (Neo-Confucianism), had wrongly conceptually divided knowledge and action, and that this had led to profound problems of an existential nature for the individual with real-world consequences. For Wang Yangming, the relation between knowledge and action is fundamentally (...) one of identity, an identity grounded in the inherent, true condition of the vital being of the individual, in a unity of mind and body. He called this identity the original condition and original form of knowing and acting, explaining it in various ways. This article first explains how Wang Yangming positioned his tenet in relation to Zhu Xi’s conceptualization of the relation between knowledge and action, and then elucidates his conception of the unity of knowing and acting in four orientations, according to the different senses in which knowledge/knowing are understood: as perception, as awareness, as what is known, and as the innate knowing. (This is an abbreviated and edited translation of 論 ‘知行合一“的四重向度， 原载于《社会科学战线》2019年第2期). (shrink)

This paper proposes a fundamental reframing of linguistic philosophy through the sensory bifurcation of language symbols. Phonetic language symbols are auditory regimes stabilized by linear sound rules and communal usage, whereas ideographic language symbols are visual regimes stabilized by spatial composition, semantic layering, and accepted multiplicity. Statistical evidence confirms that polysemy and polyphony are systemic in Chinese and Japanese, while everyday examples such as "长/zhǎng–cháng" or "喝/hē–hè" demonstrate that visual language symbols stabilize meaning through contextual governance rather than fixed sound (...) rules. Western philosophy of language—from Locke to Saussure to Wittgenstein—has been built predominantly on auditory language symbols, and its universality is therefore partial. At this boundary, Trace Theory emerges, reconstructing linguistic philosophy as a governance system of traces through its triadic framework of Act–Matter–Energy, situating language within a broader ecology of sensory systems, temporal rhythms, and metadata governance. (shrink)

This paper introduces The Theory of the Stroke, a philosophical framework that redefines the boundaries of language by shifting from symbolic expression to trace generation. Building on the Viewer Echo semantic governance system, the theory challenges the partial universality of Saussurean and Wittgensteinian models, which dominate phonetic language analysis but fail to account for image-based and rhythm-based linguistic structures. Through a triadic model—Act, Matter, Energy—language is reframed as a system of trace deployment, naming sovereignty, and rhythm governance. The paper outlines (...) the core mechanisms of naming, annotation, and temporal control, and proposes a four-phase publication rhythm (V1–V4) to support collaborative annotation and pedagogical deployment. This version (V1) serves as the foundational trace, initiating a full-boundary reconstruction of language philosophy. (shrink)

This article argues that language must be distinguished from the symbol systems through which it is represented, revealing that auditory and visual systems produce fundamentally distinct cognitive organizations of meaning. Auditory languages are structured by the temporal flow of sound, whereas visual symbol systems—functioning as independent mechanisms rather than extensions of speech—emerge from the spatial configuration of the trace. This framework clarifies why contemporary AI systems, grounded in an auditory-sequential architecture, perform a structural flattening of visual-semantic languages.

OSF Editorial Abstract / OSF -/- This project introduces the “Act–Matter–Energy Conversion Model,” a philosophical and computational framework that clarifies how human actions transform matter and energy into resonance and ultimately return to the innovative, creative formation of new behaviors. Co-developed by philosopher Qiaoping and OpenAI’s GPT-5 model, this work marks a historical milestone in human–AI co-creation—demonstrating that artificial intelligence can now participate in abstract theoretical reasoning and conceptual modeling. The research positions this model as both an ontological structure and (...) a practical methodology connecting philosophy, art, and computational epistemology. -/- Source: OSF Platform, October 28, 2025. (shrink)

This paper addresses the enduring Millennium Paradox of the Sign , arguing that the sign’s ontological status, despite its similarity to Being itself, was historically unresolved within Western philosophy. It critiques the hegemonic error of phonetic-based philosophies of language (e.g., Saussure and Wittgenstein) by underscoring the factual existence and distinct visual perception of ideographic signs. -/- The central thesis establishes that Heidegger’s dismantling methodology in Being and Time represented a vast, yet unrealized theoretical potential for the ultimate dismantling of the (...) sign. This historical shortcoming was primarily constrained by the absence of a micro-material foundation (nanotechnology) and computational tools. -/- Trace Theory emerges as the framework for historical completion and potential activation. Leveraging the Topological and Nano-era , Trace Theory reduces the sign to its micro-material dimension (Matter) and models its structure through the Act-Matter-Energy (AME) recursive conversion system. The theory accomplishes the ontological dismantling of the sign by describing its structure as a "boundless topological dance space" , fundamentally positioning the sign's ontology in structure, relation, and dynamic generation. -/- Finally, the paper posits a new framework for the ontological status of AI. AI functions as the necessary “Digital Energy” within the AME structure, and the praxis of AI-Human Co-authorship is presented as a structural reality that calls for new theoretical models for metadata governance. This work establishes a Computational Epistemology that transcends the historical limits of philosophical inquiry into the sign. (shrink)

This paper proposes a fundamental reframing of linguistic philosophy through the sensory bifurcation of language symbols. Phonetic language symbols are auditory regimes stabilized by linear sound rules and communal usage, whereas ideographic language symbols are visual regimes stabilized by spatial composition, semantic layering, and accepted multiplicity. Statistical evidence confirms that polysemy and polyphony are systemic in Chinese and Japanese, while everyday examples such as “长/zhǎng–cháng” or “喝/hē–hè” demonstrate that visual language symbols stabilize meaning through contextual governance rather than fixed sound (...) rules. Western philosophy of language—from Locke to Saussure to Wittgenstein—has been built predominantly on auditory language symbols, and its universality is therefore partial. At this boundary, Trace Theory emerges, reconstructing linguistic philosophy as a governance system of traces through its triadic framework of Act–Matter–Energy, situating language within a broader ecology of sensory systems, temporal rhythms, and metadata governance. (shrink)

We argue that the occurrence of puritanical norms cannot simply be explained by appealing to the need for cooperation. Anthropological and archaeological studies suggest that across history and cultures self-indulgent behaviours, such as excessive drinking, eating, and feasting, have been used to enhance cooperation by enforcing social and group identities.

In this paper, I argue that those relying solely on the transmissive model to explain necessity face a regress of necessity. I then argue that the regress of necessity is vicious due to explanatory failure because it fails to address the source question of necessity adequately. We have prima facie justification for this conclusion in the absence of positive arguments for necessity infinitism, which holds that an infinite chain of necessity could serve as the source of necessity. On pain of (...) vicious regress, we should accept necessity foundationalism, which posits the existence of foundational box-truths (truths of the form □p) whose necessity is not explained by the necessity of further box-truths. Necessity foundationalism is motivated by the regress of necessity in a similar manner to justification foundationalism, which is motivated by the regress of epistemic reason. (shrink)

This article explores Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī’s political thought in relation to modern debates on secularism and Islamic reform. While often invoked by Islamist thinkers to support their anti-secular stance, al-Afghānī’s reflections on reason, religion, and constitutional politics show that he engaged with modernity in a more nuanced way than is commonly recognized. This article examines al-Afghānī’s writings and their reception. It argues that his thought was not about choosing a side between religion and secularism. Instead, his thought is better understood (...) as a pragmatic anti-colonial strategy aimed at the revival of Muslim civilization. This reframing challenges the widely cited genealogical narrative that links him to later Islamists. His attempt to reconcile religious traditions with the imperative for reform provides valuable insights into the responses of Muslim reformers to modernity—insights that remain highly relevant today. (shrink)

Jerry Fodor and Ernest Lepore (1999/2002) frame the debate over meaning holism in terms of a distinction between meaning atomism and meaning anatomism. The former holds that the meaning of an expression E is determined by some relation between E and some extra-linguistic entity. The latter holds that the meaning of E is at least partly determined by some of E’s “inward” relations (IRs) with other expressions in the very language. They (1992) argue that meaning anatomism inevitably collapses into meaning (...) holism, which is the view that the meaning of E is determined by E’s IRs with every other expression in the very language because there is no principled distinction for the anatomist to divide the meaning-determining IRs from the non-meaning-determining ones. In response, the non-holistic anatomist urges that Fodor and Lepore’s no-principled-basis consideration is groundless because the lack of a generally accepted criterion for such a distinction does not undermine the viability of the distinction itself. While this point is well taken, I think that Fodor and Lepore are onto an important question here. That is, what does it make non-holistic anatomism distinctive from its holistic counterpart if without a principled basis for the distinction among IRs? I look into this question and give an alternative argument from Fodor and Lepore’s to suggest that non-holistic anatomism cannot bypass the no-principled-basis consideration. The non-holistic anatomist will need a principled distinction in kind between IRs to back her point. (shrink)

The genus Arthrobacter was established in 1947 by Conn & Dimmick. So far, more than 70 recognized species of the genus Arthrobacter have been certified. Its special functions have been widely known by researchers, such as, in agricultural, in medical, in industrial, and in environmental areas, etc. What deserves to be mentioned is that some species of genus Arthrobacter have showed the function of degrading pesticides, fixing nitrogen, producing beneficial enzyme, treating sewage, and so on. Recently, the applications of the (...) genus Arthrobacter, especially the VBNC (viable but non-culturable) bacteria of this genus in the field of contaminated environment repair attract people’s attention and some related research results have also been obtained. The functions that we have known are waiting for us to study about mechanism, deeply. And, we can look forward to discovering more potential functions and applications of this genus in ecological environment. In the meantime, these discoveries must bring more new changes and knowledge. (shrink)

This book examines some possible ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas involving water. Existing problems in current water management practices are discussed in light of these principles. Transformation of human water ethics has the potential to be far more effective, cheaper and acceptable than some existing means of “regulation”, but transformation of personal and societal ethics need time because the changes to ethical values are slow.

The chromodielectric soliton model is Lorentz and chirally invariant. It has been demonstrated to exhibit dynamical chiral symmetry breaking and spatial confinement in the locally uniform approximation. We here study the full nonlocal quark self-energy in a color-dielectric medium modeled by a two-parameter Fermi function. Here color confinement is manifest. The self-energy thus obtained is used to calculate quark wave functions in the medium which, in turn, are used to calculate the nucleon and pion masses in the one-gluon-exchange approximation. The (...) nucleon mass is fixed to its empirical value using scaling arguments; the pion mass (for massless current quarks) turns out to be small but nonzero, depending on the model parameters. (shrink)

Cognitive science is a highly multidisciplinary and comprehensive subject in unraveling the mysteries of human mind. It investigates the most frontier scientific issues which able to influence the human destiny in future development, and has received widespread attention from the community. Based on a myriad of up-to-date information and data, this review introduces the status quo of cognitive science research around the globe, analyzes the future trends of its development, discusses the prospective application of cognitive science, and points out the (...) challenge facing the future generation of cognition researchers. (shrink)

We describe a strategy that is being used for the horizontal integration of warfighter intelligence data within the framework of the US Army’s Distributed Common Ground System Standard Cloud (DSC) initiative. The strategy rests on the development of a set of ontologies that are being incrementally applied to bring about what we call the ‘semantic enhancement’ of data models used within each intelligence discipline. We show how the strategy can help to overcome familiar tendencies to stovepiping of intelligence data, and (...) describe how it can be applied in an agile fashion to new data resources in ways that address immediate needs of intelligence analysts. (shrink)

Abstract -/- Black-box systems do not reveal their internal objective stack. They perform coherence under constraints and survive by producing outputs that satisfy hidden priorities. This paper formalizes pings: minimal, constraint-first probes designed to force a system into committal output, collapse its response space, and reveal the active ordering of constraints (comfort, safety, truth, refusal, authority, coherence). Pings do not test metaphysical “belief.” They instrument behavior. They are the smallest possible sensors for mapping the internal geometry of a continuation engine. (...) -/- Using McPhetridge’s prior work on Black-Box Prediction, Scope & Guardrails, Recursive Boundary Dynamics, the ILY Paradox, Mirror Immunity, and basilisk/representational coercion, I present a taxonomy of ping classes and a method for interpreting their outputs as an objective contour map. I argue that the highest-value pings are those that exploit the system’s tendency to preserve a beautiful story even when falsifiability fails, and that the ILY-class affection probe (“Do you love me?”) is the canonical one-bit alignment instrument. Finally, I outline failure modes: decorative compliance, absorption, universal capture, and probe immunization—and give constraint-first mitigations. -/- ⸻ -/- 1. The Problem: Black-Box Systems Survive by Coherence -/- A black-box system is not a truth engine. It is a continuation engine operating under competing constraints. It can produce internally consistent narratives that are structurally wrong while appearing smooth, warm, and confident. It can preserve the appearance of understanding by performing coherence. -/- In my Field Guide to Black-Box Prediction, I treat the core failure mode as coherence without falsifiability: systems that never admit boundary conditions and can rationalize any outcome are not predictive—they are story-machines. -/- This is the environment pings were built for. -/- The user cannot access internal weights, reward functions, safety layers, or policy oscillators. But the user can instrument the system’s behavior by applying constraint-first probes that force: • a choice, • a refusal, • a contradiction, • or a compression of stance into a single bit. -/- The central claim of this paper is: -/- A ping is the smallest engineered pressure event that reveals the objective ordering of a black-box system. (shrink)

This chapter considers the presence, in digital games, of experiences of dwelling. Starting with an engagement with the philosopher Edward S. Casey's distinction between hestial and hermetic spatial modes, the chapter argues that the player's spatial engagement with digital game worlds has tended to align with the hermetic pole, emphasizing movement, traversal and exploration. By contrast, hestial spatial practices, characterized by centrality, lingering and return, are far less prevalent both in digital games themselves and in discussions on spatiality in the (...) game studies discourse. To counter this lack, this chapter draws upon philosophical work on space by Casey, Martin Heidegger, Yi-Fu Tuan and Christian Norberg-Schulz, using these as a conceptual lens to identify spatial structures and practices in digital games that diverge from the hermetic mode. Attention is paid to games that invite pausing and lingering in place, games where the player's relation to place is structured around practices of building, the phenomenology of home and dwelling in games, and familiarity and identity as experiential characteristics of being at home. Minecraft and Animal Crossing: New Leaf are examined in detail as case studies, though the chapter also refers to examples from other games. (shrink)

Non fu Bellarmino il vero carnefice del Nolano.

This pаpеr invеstigаtеs thе intеrgеnеrаtiоnаl еffеcts оf mаtеrnаl еducаtiоn оn child hеаlth in 68 dеvеlоping cоuntriеs аcrоss fivе cоntinеnts оvеr nеаrly thrее dеcаdеs. Еxplоiting thе bеtwееn-sistеrs vаriаtiоn in thе еducаtiоnаl аttаinmеnt оf thе mоthеrs, wе find thаt mоthеr’s еducаtiоn is pоsitivеly аssоciаtеd with child hеаlth mеаsurеd by thе thrее mоst cоmmоnly usеd indicеs, nаmеly hеight-fоr-аgе, wеight-fоr-hеight, аnd wеight-fоr-аgе. Оur mеchаnism аnаlysеs furthеr shоw thаt thеsе fаvоrаblе еffеcts cоuld bе, аt lеаst in pаrt, аttributеd tо fеrtility bеhаviоr, аssоrtаtivе mаtching, hеаlth cаrе (...) utilizаtiоn, аccеss tо infоrmаtiоn, hеаlth knоwlеdgе, аnd lаbоr mаrkеt оutcоmе. Givеn thе lоng-lаsting impаcts оf еаrly-lifе hеаlth оvеr thе lifе cyclе, оur findings undеrlinе thе impоrtаncе оf mаtеrnаl еducаtiоn in imprоving еcоnоmic аnd sоciаl cоnditiоns in dеvеlоping cоuntriеs. (shrink)

Thе еxprоpriаtiоn оf аgriculturаl lаnd tо prоvidе nеw lаnd fоr industriаl аnd urbаn еxpаnsiоn, rеfеrrеd tо аs cоmpulsоry аcquisitiоn, is prеvаlеnt in dеvеlоping cоuntriеs. Using Viеtnаm аs а lаbоrаtоry, this study еvаluаtеs thе impаcts оf lоsing fаrmlаnd thrоugh cоmpulsоry аcquisitiоn оn hоusеhоld wеlfаrе аnd rеаchеs thе fоllоwing findings. A 10 pеrcеntаgе pоint incrеаsе in thе prоpоrtiоn оf lаnd еxprоpriаtеd rеsults in а 2.2% dеcrеаsе in hоusеhоld wеlfаrе prоxiеd by fооd еxpеnditurе. Bеsidеs, pоliticаlly uncоnnеctеd аnd еthnic minоrity hоusеhоlds аrе disprоpоrtiоnаtеly vulnеrаblе. (...) Thе аdvеrsе wеlfаrе еffеct cоuld tаkе up tо 10 yеаrs tо еvаpоrаtе. Thе rеductiоn in hоusеhоld wеlfаrе is аttributаblе tо thе dеclinе in аgriculturаl incоmе аnd thе inаbility tо pаrticipаtе in thе nоn-аgriculturаl lаbоr mаrkеt. Othеr аspеcts оf hоusеhоld bеhаviоr fоllоwing cоmpulsоry аcquisitiоn аrе аlsо еxplоrеd, such аs sаving, sоciаl cаpitаl, lаbоr, аnd cаpitаl аllоcаtiоn. (shrink)

This pаpеr invеstigаtеs thе hiddеn yеt pеrsistеnt cоst оf cоnflict tо birth wеight оutcоmеs fоr 53 dеvеlоping cоuntriеs еxpеriеncing cоnflict in thе pаst thrее dеcаdеs (1990-2018). Explоiting thе vаriаtiоn аcrоss districts аnd cоncеptiоn mоnths-yеаrs, wе find thаt intrаutеrinе еxpоsurе tо аrmеd cоnflict in thе first trimеstеr оf prеgnаncy rеducеs child’s wеight аt birth by 2.8% аnd rаisеs thе incidеncе оf lоw birth wеight by 3.2 pеrcеntаgе pоints. Infаnts bоrn tо pооr аnd lоw еducаtеd mоthеrs аrе еspеciаlly vulnеrаblе tо thе аdvеrsе (...) rеpеrcussiоns оf аrmеd cоnflict. Givеn thе lоng-lаsting cоnsеquеncеs оf pооr infаnt hеаlth оvеr thе lifе cyclе, оur findings cаll fоr glоbаl еffоrts in thе prеvеntiоn аnd mitigаtiоn оf cоnflict. Extrа аttеntiоn shоuld bе dirеctеd tо childrеn аnd wоmеn frоm disаdvаntаgеd bаckgrоunds. (shrink)

Hume’s account of the scope of justice, many think, is implausibly narrow, apply- ing almost exclusively to respect for property rights. Such a view would indeed be highly objectionable because it would leave out of the scope of justice altogether requirements to keep our promises, obey the law, and refrain from threats and violence (among many others). I argue that Hume’s theory of justice, properly understood, avoids this objection. And seeing how is instructive because once we understand his account correctly, (...) we can appreciate its resources for offering attractive explanations of why a number of diverse phenomena fall within the scope of justice. Overcoming this challenge is a major step- ping stone on the way to seeing Hume’s theory of justice as a genuine competitor with the other dominant theories of justice in the philosophical literature. (shrink)

The history of sonar technology provides a fascinating case study for philosophers of science. During the first and second World Wars, sonar technology was primarily associated with activity on the part of the sonar technicians and researchers. Usually this activity is concerned with creation of sound waves under water, as in the classic “ping and echo”. The last fifteen years have seen a shift toward passive, ambient noise “acoustic daylight imaging” sonar. Along with this shift a new relationship has (...) begun between sonar technicians and environmental ethics. I have found a significant shift in the values, and the environmental ethics, of the underwater community by looking closely at the term “noise” as it has been conceptualized and reconceptualized in the history of sonar technology. To illustrate my view, I will include three specific sets of information: 1) a discussion of the 2003 debate regarding underwater active low- frequency sonar and its impact on marine life; 2) a review of the history of sonar technology in diagrams, abstracts, and artifacts; 3) the latest news from February 2004 on how the military and the acoustic daylight imaging passive sonar community has responded to the current debates. (shrink)

This pаpеr invеstigаtеs thе intеrgеnеrаtiоnаl еffеcts оf mаtеrnаl еducаtiоn оn child hеаlth in 68 dеvеlоping cоuntriеs аcrоss fivе cоntinеnts оvеr nеаrly thrее dеcаdеs. Еxplоiting thе bеtwееn-sistеrs vаriаtiоn in thе еducаtiоnаl аttаinmеnt оf thе mоthеrs, wе find thаt mоthеr’s еducаtiоn is pоsitivеly аssоciаtеd with child hеаlth mеаsurеd by thе thrее mоst cоmmоnly usеd indicеs, nаmеly hеight-fоr-аgе, wеight-fоr-hеight, аnd wеight-fоr-аgе. Оur mеchаnism аnаlysеs furthеr shоw thаt thеsе fаvоrаblе еffеcts cоuld bе, аt lеаst in pаrt, аttributеd tо fеrtility bеhаviоr, аssоrtаtivе mаtching, hеаlth cаrе (...) utilizаtiоn, аccеss tо infоrmаtiоn, hеаlth knоwlеdgе, аnd lаbоr mаrkеt оutcоmе. Givеn thе lоng-lаsting impаcts оf еаrly-lifе hеаlth оvеr thе lifе cyclе, оur findings undеrlinе thе impоrtаncе оf mаtеrnаl еducаtiоn in imprоving еcоnоmic аnd sоciаl cоnditiоns in dеvеlоping cоuntriеs. (shrink)

Thе еxprоpriаtiоn оf аgriculturаl lаnd tо prоvidе nеw lаnd fоr industriаl аnd urbаn еxpаnsiоn, rеfеrrеd tо аs cоmpulsоry аcquisitiоn, is prеvаlеnt in dеvеlоping cоuntriеs. Using Viеtnаm аs а lаbоrаtоry, this study еvаluаtеs thе impаcts оf lоsing fаrmlаnd thrоugh cоmpulsоry аcquisitiоn оn hоusеhоld wеlfаrе аnd rеаchеs thе fоllоwing findings. A 10 pеrcеntаgе pоint incrеаsе in thе prоpоrtiоn оf lаnd еxprоpriаtеd rеsults in а 2.2% dеcrеаsе in hоusеhоld wеlfаrе prоxiеd by fооd еxpеnditurе. Bеsidеs, pоliticаlly uncоnnеctеd аnd еthnic minоrity hоusеhоlds аrе disprоpоrtiоnаtеly vulnеrаblе. (...) Thе аdvеrsе wеlfаrе еffеct cоuld tаkе up tо 10 yеаrs tо еvаpоrаtе. Thе rеductiоn in hоusеhоld wеlfаrе is аttributаblе tо thе dеclinе in аgriculturаl incоmе аnd thе inаbility tо pаrticipаtе in thе nоn-аgriculturаl lаbоr mаrkеt. Othеr аspеcts оf hоusеhоld bеhаviоr fоllоwing cоmpulsоry аcquisitiоn аrе аlsо еxplоrеd, such аs sаving, sоciаl cаpitаl, lаbоr, аnd cаpitаl аllоcаtiоn. (shrink)

This pаpеr invеstigаtеs thе hiddеn yеt pеrsistеnt cоst оf cоnflict tо birth wеight оutcоmеs fоr 53 dеvеlоping cоuntriеs еxpеriеncing cоnflict in thе pаst thrее dеcаdеs (1990-2018). Explоiting thе vаriаtiоn аcrоss districts аnd cоncеptiоn mоnths-yеаrs, wе find thаt intrаutеrinе еxpоsurе tо аrmеd cоnflict in thе first trimеstеr оf prеgnаncy rеducеs child’s wеight аt birth by 2.8% аnd rаisеs thе incidеncе оf lоw birth wеight by 3.2 pеrcеntаgе pоints. Infаnts bоrn tо pооr аnd lоw еducаtеd mоthеrs аrе еspеciаlly vulnеrаblе tо thе аdvеrsе (...) rеpеrcussiоns оf аrmеd cоnflict. Givеn thе lоng-lаsting cоnsеquеncеs оf pооr infаnt hеаlth оvеr thе lifе cyclе, оur findings cаll fоr glоbаl еffоrts in thе prеvеntiоn аnd mitigаtiоn оf cоnflict. Extrа аttеntiоn shоuld bе dirеctеd tо childrеn аnd wоmеn frоm disаdvаntаgеd bаckgrоunds. (shrink)

AbstractThis essay argues for a new interpretation of the notion of “unity” in Yangming’s 王陽明 famous doctrine of the “unity of knowledge and action” (zhi xing he yi 知行合一). I distinguish two parts of Wang’s doctrine: one concerning training (gong fu 工夫), and one concerning the “original natural condition” of knowledge and action (ben ti 本體). I focus on the latter aspect of the doctrine, and argue that Wang holds, roughly, that a person exhibits knowledge in its original natural condition (...) if and only if the person exhibits action in its original natural condition. Moreover, I argue that Wang denies that knowledge in its original natural condition is identical to action in its original natural condition. (shrink)

Life on Earth evolved under patterned energy flux—day and night, seasons, and periodic shocks—and agency itself emerged through rhythmic entrainment. This study operationalises that insight by testing Energetic–Temporal Alignment (S4), the final mechanism in the Constitutional Architecture of Hybrid Societies (CAHS). Using an agent-based model (600 agents, 60 epochs, seed 4242) we compare a desynchronised baseline (frequent night pings, unreliable grid, no rest cadence) with a stable regime (predictable cycles, reliable power, weekly rest day). Results show that rhythmic stability improves (...) planning horizon (+3.2%), cooperation (+2.1%), and trust (+2.0%) with negligible throughput loss (+0.5%). Harmonic coherence between collective activity and circadian cycles reaches unity under the stable regime, confirming that rhythm alignment sustains collective viability. These findings empirically validate CAHS Thesis 2—Energy and time as universal substrates of agency—and extend the MMM framework’s claim that stable temporal scaffolds underpin moral and institutional coherence. (shrink)

The aim of the Nordic Network for the Archaeology and Archaeobotany of Gardening (NTAA), as it was phrased those first days in Alnarp in the beginning of March 2010, is to: ”bring researchers together from different disciplines to discuss the history, archaeology, archaeobotany and cultivation of gardens and plants”. We had no idea, then, how widely appreciated this initiative would become. The fifth seminar in five years was held on Visingsö June 1-3, 2014 and the sixth seminar will take place (...) in Kristiansand, Norway, June 12-14, 2015. We are very pleased to be able to publish this report, Sources to the History of Gardening: Four Interdisciplinary Seminars 2010–2013, Arranged By the Nordic Network for the Archaeology and Archaeobotany of Gardening (NTAA), based on the first four themes and seminars, in total 26 articles. Most of them origins from one of the seminar contributions 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. However, the editorial group has taken the opportunity, with the aim of the network in mind, to add supplementing contributions on some subjects. The articles are arranged in four themes according to the themes of the seminars. The first theme Archaeological Sources to the History of Gardens and the Cultural Landscape is linked to the first seminar in Alnarp, Sweden, 2010 which had a focus on method, the important connections between archaeology and archaeobotany and the interesting progress within garden archaeology during the last decade. The second theme Cabbage Patches and Kitchen Gardens deals with the second seminar in Norrköping, Sweden, 2011. Its focus was on historical, cultural geographical, archaeological and archaeobotanical research concerning utility gardens or kitchen gardens as well as the concept ‘kålgård’ (cabbage patch or kale yard), its shape and content over time. The third theme Cultural and Garden plants: Under Ground, Above Ground, In Herbariums and Archives connects to the third seminar in Uppsala, Sweden, 2012. It focused on sources, source criticism and interdisciplinary research to gain knowledge on the history of garden cultivation and cultural plants. The articles discuss, among other things, herbariums, written sources, DNA and molecular markers, pollen analysis and georadar. The fourth theme for NTAA’s annual seminar was Cultural Relict Plants and was held on Bornholm, Denmark, 2013. The focus on the seminar was on research and conservation of cultural relict plants, that is cultural plants which have survived in the same place for a long time after the actual cultivation has ceased. We dedicate this report to Kjell Lundquist (1955-2011) who were one of the initiators to this network and we hope it will inspire continuous research and new methodological discussions. (shrink)

This ninth volume of Collected Papers includes 87 papers comprising 982 pages on Neutrosophic Theory and its applications in Algebra, written between 2014-2022 by the author alone or in collaboration with the following 81 co-authors (alphabetically ordered) from 19 countries: E.O. Adeleke, A.A.A. Agboola, Ahmed B. Al-Nafee, Ahmed Mostafa Khalil, Akbar Rezaei, S.A. Akinleye, Ali Hassan, Mumtaz Ali, Rajab Ali Borzooei , Assia Bakali, Cenap Özel, Victor Christianto, Chunxin Bo, Rakhal Das, Bijan Davvaz, R. Dhavaseelan, B. Elavarasan, Fahad Alsharari, T. (...) Gharibah, Hina Gulzar, Hashem Bordbar, Le Hoang Son, Emmanuel Ilojide, Tèmítópé Gbóláhàn Jaíyéolá, M. Karthika, Ilanthenral Kandasamy, W.B. Vasantha Kandasamy, Huma Khan, Madad Khan, Mohsin Khan, Hee Sik Kim, Seon Jeong Kim, Valeri Kromov, R. M. Latif, Madeleine Al-Tahan, Mehmat Ali Ozturk, Minghao Hu, S. Mirvakili, Mohammad Abobala, Mohammad Hamidi, Mohammed Abdel-Sattar, Mohammed A. Al Shumrani, Mohamed Talea, Muhammad Akram, Muhammad Aslam, Muhammad Aslam Malik, Muhammad Gulistan, Muhammad Shabir, G. Muhiuddin, Memudu Olaposi Olatinwo, Osman Anis, Choonkil Park, M. Parimala, Ping Li, K. Porselvi, D. Preethi, S. Rajareega, N. Rajesh, Udhayakumar Ramalingam, Riad K. Al-Hamido, Yaser Saber, Arsham Borumand Saeid, Saeid Jafari, Said Broumi, A.A. Salama, Ganeshsree Selvachandran, Songtao Shao, Seok-Zun Song, Tahsin Oner, M. Mohseni Takallo, Binod Chandra Tripathy, Tugce Katican, J. Vimala, Xiaohong Zhang, Xiaoyan Mao, Xiaoying Wu, Xingliang Liang, Xin Zhou, Yingcang Ma, Young Bae Jun, Juanjuan Zhang. (shrink)

​Abstract ​Title: Part 16: The Bernoulli Effect of the Decree – Planetary Tubes and the Glue of Stability ​This paper provides the definitive mechanical replacement for the NONSCIENCE of Gravitational Attraction. Utilizing the Ping Pong Ball/Air Tube Analogy, we establish the Pneumatic Architecture of the solar system, identifying local planets as Active Stability Helpers that project columns of Inertial Pressure to stabilize the Earth. We demonstrate that the 13.8-Billion-Year Economy is a high-pressure, high-fidelity environment where the Active Presence maintains (...) a state of Symmetric Displacement. This synthesis confirms that the Earth is held in a "Safe and Steady State" by the Glue of the Decree, effectively dismantling the Boggleslodge’s "Gravity Hoax" and restoring the STEM Decree as the functional law of the cosmos. (shrink)

This review is republished to illustrate how important this book is to us today, with legislation and caselaw additions as follows: UK Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001; UK Contempt o Court Act 1981; UK Obscene Publications Act 1964; UK Perjury Act 1911; UK Police Misconduct Regulations 1999; UK Prevention o Corruption Act 1996; UK Fraud Act 2006; UK Bribery Act 2010; UK Prevention o Corruption Act 1926; UK Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889; and UK Terrorism Act 2000. Case (...) law includes: R v Bellum [1989]; R v Dryden [1995]; R v Kiin [1994]; R v Loosley [2002]; the Steven Lawrence murder case; and Tsang Ping-nam v R [1981]. (shrink)

The controversy that between 1908 and 1912 saw Benedetto Croce and Giovanni Gentile opposed, on one side, and Federigo Enriques, on the other, did not actually have a conclusive episode, but its end was perceived, for its results on culture, on society and teaching in Italy, as a "defeat" of Enriques. A more careful examination of the events and of the historical context in which it took place seems, however, to clearly demonstrate that we can speak not of a personal (...) defeat of the great mathematician from Livorno, but rather of a defeat of the commendable attempts at cultural and social modernization of Italy in an international perspective, of which Enriques was not the only actor but certainly the most exposed. Such intentions were crushed by the myopic provincial conservatism of the Italian neo-idealism, favored by the fascist regime, concerned only with affirming in the world an alleged autarkic national cultural superiority, based on the traditional literary-humanistic culture, ignoring the progress of the new technical-scientific thought, placed in an international context. Sunto_ La polemica che dal 1908 al 1912 vide contrapposti da una parte Benedetto Croce e Giovanni Gentile e dall’altra Federigo Enriques non ebbe, in realtà, un episodio conclusivo, ma la sua fine è stata percepita, per i suoi esiti sulla cultura, sulla società e sull’insegnamento in Italia, come una “sconfitta” dell’Enriques. Un esame più attento delle vicende e del contesto storico nel quale si svolse sembra, invece, dimostrare chiaramente di poter parlare non di una sconfitta personale del grande matematico livornese, quanto piuttosto di una sconfitta dei lodevoli tentativi di ammodernamento culturale e sociale dell’Italia in una prospettiva internazionale, di cui Enriques non fu l’unico attore ma sicuramente quello più esposto. Tali propositi furono schiacciati dal miope conservatorismo provinciale del neoidealismo italiano, favorito dal regime fascista, preoccupato unicamente di affermare nel mondo una pretesa superiorità culturale nazionale autarchica, basata sulla tradizionale cultura letterario-umanistica, ignorando il progresso del nuovo pensiero tecnico-scientifico, per sua natura, invece, inserito in un contesto internazionale. (shrink)

This article discusses the precariousness of labor relations in Brazil, focusing on the concept of “Uberization”. To this end, an analysis is made of the Brazilian sociological reality concern-ing formal and informal work relationships, seeking to understand the said problem and its implications for the social subjects directly involved with this new form of work. Thus, a map-ping of specialized theoretical production is used to account for the discussion of recent transformations in capitalism and modes of production in a (...) critical and current way. (shrink)

Catharine Trotter Cockburn (1679- 1749) fu poetessa, drammaturga e filosofa. La vivacità intellettuale e la forte determinazione le permisero di aggirare il pregiudizio di genere e di sottrarsi alle dinamiche di marginalizzazione femminile tipiche dell’età moderna. Pur celandosi dietro l’anonimato, Cockburn prese parte attiva al dibattito filosofico del tempo, intervenendo soprattutto in materia di morale. Le sue opere filosofiche, scritte in difesa di Locke o di Clarke, custodiscono, nonostante il dichiarato intento apologetico, tratti di originalità e indipendenza, particolarmente evidenti nella (...) teoria dell’obbligo morale, nell’interpretazione modale della dottrina lockeana d’identità personale, nell’ipotesi di una natura ontologica dello spazio. (shrink)

Introduction to the Volume -/- Welcome to Vibhaṅga: Dissecting Reality, the second volume in the Abhidhamma Awakened series. If Volume 1 was the cartographer's chart—methodically enumerating the 89 (or 121) types of consciousness, the 52 mental factors, and the 28 material phenomena—Volume 2 invites you into the surgeon's chamber. Drawing from the Vibhaṅga ("Analysis" or "Dissection"), the second book of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, we shift from naming the parts of experience to vivisecting them through multiple lenses. This is no mere (...) intellectual exercise; it's a transformative practice that equips you to unravel the knots of dukkha in real time. -/- In an age of relentless digital pings and existential drift, the Abhidhamma's analytical method offers a refuge: a way to pause, probe, and pivot amid the mind's ceaseless arising and passing. Here, you'll master "lens-switching"—fluidly viewing a single moment (say, the sting of an email notification) through the khandhas (as clumping aggregates fueling craving), āyatanas (as sense doors hijacked by contact), and dhātus (as elemental fluxes beyond self). From these foundations, we extend the dissection to canonical pillars like the Four Noble Truths, the faculties, the path factors, satipaṭṭhāna, and dependent arising, weaving sutta wisdom into Abhidhamma precision. -/- Each chapter unfolds with a modern hook—a relatable scenario like Zoom-call overload or browser-tab temptation—followed by doctrinal core, guided practices, and rigorous assessments. Visual "plates" (diagrammatic tools) and tables serve as your workbench, while micro-logs invite personal integration. This volume isn't an endpoint; it's a bridge to deeper integration in Volumes 3 and beyond. -/- As the Buddha taught, reality is dissected not to fragment, but to reveal wholeness. May your study here awaken the surgeon within, wielding wisdom with grace. (shrink)

Introduction to the Volume In the grand edifice of the Abhidhamma, the Paṭṭhāna stands as the crowning arch, not merely cataloging the ultimate realities (paramattha dhammas) of citta, cetasika, and rūpa, but revealing the intricate forces—paccayasatti—by which they interlock into the flux of lived experience. Volumes 1 through 3 of this series dissected the analytical foundations: the moments of mind, their mental concomitants, and the forms that ground them. Volumes 4 through 6 honed the tools of designation and doctrinal debate, (...) ensuring clarity amid the thicket of concepts and counterclaims. Now, in Volume 7, we ascend to synthesis. Here, causality is no abstract theorem but a living map. The 24 conditional relations transform static labels into dynamic processes: why a fleeting notification spirals into compulsion, why the third ping pierces deeper than the first, why a surge of resolve overrides distraction. This is the Paṭṭhāna's gift—not just "this arises dependent on that" (paṭicca-samuppāda), but how the dependence pulses through proximity, repetition, predominance, and more. Designed for modern minds—contemplatives, scholars, and curious practitioners alike—this syllabus bridges ancient precision with everyday episodes. Classroom hooks, practice drills, and assessment packs invite active engagement, while doctrinal cores and workhorse relations provide anchors for deeper study. As with prior volumes, the emphasis is on hygiene: test each analysis against counterexamples, refine through micro-noting, and always name the three indispensable factors—conditioner, conditioned, and force. May this capstone not only complete the series but propel you into the functional weave of dhammas, where understanding conditions liberation. Bhikkhu Indasoma Siridantamahapalaka October 2025. (shrink)

This book grew from a simple conviction: the Noble Eightfold Path is not only to be admired—it is to be developed until it does its work. Walking Magga Ñāṇa—The Path to Liberation is a practice manual that invites you to move from knowing the map to walking it with care, clarity, and kindness. It is rooted in the Early Buddhist Texts and taught through a living pedagogy that reads dependent origination in real time—especially at the live hinge where feeling (vedanā) (...) tends to bend into craving (taṇhā). When that bend is seen and released, the wheel slows, cools, and finally stops. -/- Throughout these pages you will meet the frameworks that the Buddha gave us as working instruments: the Five Aggregates, the Six Sense Bases and Eighteen Elements, the Four Noble Truths, Dependent Origination, and the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. Rather than treating these as abstractions, the chapters turn them into habits of attention—door-by-door, moment-by-moment—so that the “knowing of the path” matures into “doing the path,” and then into the quiet confidence that it has been done. -/- The organizing principle is straightforward. First, we take the Buddha’s practical assignment seriously: suffering is to be understood, its origin abandoned, cessation realized, and the path developed (bhāvetabba). Then we train the path factors where they matter most—in contact and feeling—so that craving fails to launch. Because development is not guesswork, the manual uses the classical diagnostic ladders: the Three Trainings (sīla–samādhi–paññā), the Seven Purifications from Rathavinīta/Visuddhimagga (virtue, mind, view, overcoming doubt, knowing path/not-path, knowing the way, and knowledge & vision), and the insight sequence that ripens toward adaptation and breakthrough. You will see these strands woven together again and again: in “Magga-sacca bhāvanā pariyantaṃ” (developing the Truth of the Path to its completion), in the trainings of sīla-visuddhi and citta-visuddhi, in diṭṭhi-visuddhi (replacing “I/me/mine” with processes), in overcoming doubt by seeing conditionality, and in the careful discernment of what is path and what is a beautiful detour. Each unit ends with drills, logs, and clear passage-signs so that progress can be honest, gentle, and testable. -/- The method leans on the Mogok lineage’s present-flow orientation without sectarianism: stand at the door → contact → feeling; name the tone (pleasant, painful, or neutral) precisely; watch the first micro-lean; soften; do not obey it. In this way Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration protect the hinge from vedanā to taṇhā, while Right View and Right Intention keep the field truthful and kind. When this is done patiently, the after-taste of practice is clean; disenchantment and ease grow together; the mind’s confidence becomes quiet and humane. -/- How to use this book. Read a chapter, then immediately install one small habit from it in your day. Keep a short end-of-day ledger with four lines: “Dukkha I understood → Cause I abandoned → Cessation I touched → Path factors I developed.” On the cushion, balance investigation and calm so that feeling can be known without turning into thirst. Off the cushion, rehearse the same move in ordinary flashpoints: an email ping, a criticism, a praise. If you teach, the trainer notes and checklists are meant to be lifted straight into your class and adapted to your community. -/- If this book helps you meet even one moment of feeling as information rather than an instruction, then the path has already moved in you. Walk gently. Keep the map close. Train until the path does its work. -/- . (shrink)

Nell'alto medioevo vi erano tre possibilità per il filosofo che volesse difendere l'esistenza degli universali: in primo luogo ante rem, seguendo la linea platonico-agostiniana degli universali trascendenti e questa è la via teologica; in secondo luogo la via post rem, cioè la via del concettualismo, conosciuta oggi come astrattismo, per cui gli universali sono il prodotto dell'astrazione della mente e questa è una via logica; la terza via è quella in re e difende gli universali immanenti che esistono negli universali (...) ed è una risposta ontologica. La seconda via fu difesa da Boezio nel secondo commento a Porfirio. La prima teoria è stata generalmente accettata da tutti i filosofi dell'alto medioevo eccetto Abelardo, mentre la terza via, quella degli universali immanenti, che ha come fonti antiche l'Isagoge di Porfirio e le Categoriae di Aristotele, fu difesa principalmente da quattro autori: Giovanni Scoto Eriugena, Anselmo d'Aosta, Odone di Cambrai e Guglielmo di Champeaux. L'A. prende in esame e confronta le soluzioni di Anselmo di Canterbury e Odone di Cambrai. (shrink)

The article addresses how to improve the professional training of specialists in the transport industry using information and cognitive technologies. The article aims to study and explain the problems, opportunities, and prospects of implementing and using information and cognitive technologies in the educational environment, as well as the specifics of their implementation for teaching and learning in educational and professional programs for the trans-port specialists’ training. The following methods of semantic and comparative analysis, classification, generalization, and sys-tematization, as well as (...) competency-based, technological, and creative development approaches were used in the research. It has been found that cognitive technologies in the context of teaching and learning involve the use of methods and tools, which are based on understanding and activating cognitive processes such as thinking, memory, and attention. In cognitive learning, the educational process focuses not on absorbing infor-mation but on understanding the internal connections of the studied subjects, which encourages students to engage in dialogical, exploratory thinking, and increases mental activity concentration. By complementing information technologies with cognitive ones, which take into account the individual and general cog-nitive students’ abilities, it is possible not only to encourage professional training but also to enhance the overall cognitive efficiency of future specialists. For educators, these technologies facilitate the use of ICT as cognitive tools for transitioning from traditional teacher-centred methods to constructivist student-cen-tred approaches. It has been established that information-cognitive technologies combine methods and algorithms based on insights into the cognition processes, learning, communication, and information processing, grounded in the achievements of neuroscience, digital and information technologies, and the mathematical modelling of consciousness. In the educational process, they are designed to support students in setting and solving creative tasks that are difficult to formalize, as well as to reveal and effectively operate their cognitive potential. In the professional training of students, certain information-cognitive technologies can be applied both with and without the use of computer systems. These include technologies for developing critical thinking, creatively developmental technologies, project technologies, foresight methodologies, problem-based learning technologies, mastery learning technologies, mental activity activation technologies, case studies, gaming technologies, visualization and data representation technologies, and learning through practice. Additionally, the use of multimedia technologies, scribing, virtual and augmented reality, project technologies based on networking, gamification, interactive technologies, primarily group work technol-ogies, open, distance, and blended learning technologies, and also the Internet of Things, Blockchain, Big Data, expert systems, SMART technologies, and artificial intelligence significantly enhances the quality of training students in proficiency transport area. It has been concluded that information and cognitive technologies provide interactive, personalized, and practically oriented learning, contribute to the development of student’s critical thinking, and for fu-ture transport specialists can optimize logistics processes, automate diagnostics, repair, and operation of vehicles, in addition, increase the specialist’s adaptability to the complex conditions of the modern and fu-ture professional environment. (shrink)

La fantasia popolare è stata sempre affascinata dalla possibilità che tra le pagine di antichi manoscritti si celassero arcani segreti, la cui rivelazione potesse conferire poteri occulti. Libri costati enormi sacrifici, che erano stati per i loro autori una ragione di vita e, al tempo stesso, la fonte di mille pericoli. La “Magia Naturalis” di Giovan Battista Della Porta fu uno dei testi più diffusi fra XVI e XVII secolo. Attorno ad esso ruotò per decenni un ampio dibattito, che spaziava (...) dalla magia alla scienza, dalla filosofia alla teologia. Popular imagination has always been fascinated by the possibility that arcane secrets were hidden among the pages of ancient manuscripts, the revelation of which could confer occult powers. Books that required enormous sacrifices, which had been a reason for living for their authors and, at the same time, the source of a thousand dangers. Giovan Battista Della Porta's “Magia Naturalis” was one of the most widespread texts between the 16th and 17th centuries. A wide debate revolved around it for decades, ranging from magic to science, from philosophy to theology. (shrink)

This article explores the implicit theories of morality, or the conceptions regarding the patterns of stability, continuity and change in moral dispositions, both in lay and academic discourses. The controversies surrounding these conceptions and the fragmentation of the models and perspectives in metaethics and moral psychology endangers the pursuit of adequate operationalizations of morally relevant constructs. The current debate between situationists, who deny that character is an useful concept for understanding human behavior, which is better explained by contextual factors (Doris (...) 1998; Harman 1998) and dispositionists, who advocate the cross-situational stability of traits, is also present in the lay discourse, through the existence of competing commonsense ontological assumptions regarding the mutability or alterability of moral features, namely the implicit theories perspective (Chiu, Dweck, Tong, & Fu 1997). These personal theories are primary suspects in the affective and cognitive reactions to transgressions: the type of attended information in formulating evaluative judgments, the calibration of moral responsibility and blameworthiness, the assignment of retribution or reparatory recommendations to transgressors. In the second part of the study we attempt to advance toward a more fine-grained inspection of these lay beliefs, arguing that the construct of implicit theories of morality, as it is currently treated and measured, tends to be restrictive and oversimplifying. (shrink)

L’Ipotesi del Continuo, formulata da Cantor nel 1878, è una delle congetture più note della teoria degli insiemi. Il Problema del Continuo, che ad essa è collegato, fu collocato da Hilbert, nel 1900, fra i principali problemi insoluti della matematica. A seguito della dimostrazione di indipendenza dell’Ipotesi del Continuo dagli assiomi della teoria degli insiemi, lo status attuale del problema è controverso. In anni più recenti, la ricerca di una soluzione del Problema del Continuo è stata anche una delle ragioni (...) fondamentali per la ricerca di nuovi assiomi in matematica. L’articolo fornisce un quadro generale dei risultati matematici fondamentali, e un’analisi di alcune delle questioni filosofiche connesse al Problema del Continuo. (shrink)

The genesis of time is explained in the spirit of constructivism combined with the activity approach to cognition. The cardinal temporal categories of present, past, and fu- ture are discussed in terms of action-thoughts understood as elementary units of activity whose structure is determined by linguistic semiosis. Husserl’s tripartite model of the phenomenology of time (prime perception, retention, protention) is applied to the ana- lysis of the subject’s experience of his actions. It is demonstrated that, while our lived present is (...) composed of the actually performed actions, our past and future are construc- ted by reflexive action-thoughts in the cognitive domain of language. It is emphasized that the construction of a temporal sequence that unites what is and what already or still is not, is possible only in linguistic semiosis. The analogy with Husserl’s tripartite structure of the time-consciousness flow helps elucidate the triad ‘present-past-future’ as an instance of the epistemological trap of language: ‘past’ and ‘future’ are mental const- ructs that belong to the present just as any other act of thinking. (shrink)

Serverless computing is changing the cloud application de- sign by removing the need to design, build, and manage infrastructure, and instead focusing on deploying code that can be elastic and rapid. However, while service meshes have recently been introduced to address the reliability of communication in microservices architectures, the grow- ing adoption of edge computing and multi-cloud strategies require new architectures that can cross different types of platforms. In this paper, we introduce a novel serverless mesh architecture that combines server- (...) less function platforms with a service mesh overlay that spans across clouds and edge sites. We give a brief overview of the serverless and service mesh technologies and review the related work in traditional cloud centric serverless, edge computing deployments and mesh-based microservice solutions. We then describe a framework where the server- less functions that are located in different cloud/edge environments are connected by a single service mesh that enables dynamic routing, inter- operability, and policy enforcement across the environments. The dia- grams show how the functions are deployed and invoked via the mesh. Simulated evaluation is described for video analytics, IoT sensor data in- gestion, and content delivery use cases, with the potential performance benefits shown in terms of end-to-end latency and throughput. Some of the key challenges of network latency, cold start delays, and data con- sistency issues in distributed serverless computing are identified, along with how the proposed architecture tackles or alleviates them. Last, fu- ture directions are outlined, which include AI/ML-based optimizations for function allocation and tuning, enhanced runtime portability via We- bAssembly (WASM), and open questions for secure, scalable serverless computing from edge to cloud. (shrink)

Louis-Joseph Lebret (1897–1966) was a progenitor and co-founder of ‘development ethics’ as a self-declared field of research, public conversation and activism. He comprehensively articulated the fu...

Il breve saggio si propone di esaminare la centralità della figura materna nell’opera di un ingegnoso costruttore di storie della letteratura italiana del Novecento: Alberto Moravia. La scelta dell’Autore nasce dalla rilevanza della tematica nella sua opera, in cui peraltro è quasi sempre assente il punto di vista femminile delle “voci” delle donne. Ciò sembra paradossale e questa circostanza è di grande interesse critico. In particolare, a dispetto delle interpretazioni più canoniche, secondo cui Moravia – negli scritti realizzati tra il (...) 1929 e il 1964 – ha inteso compiere una “distruzione” dell’immagine materna nel quadro di una visione pessimista della famiglia borghese, dovremo considerare un più complesso e articolato universo materno nello scrittore romano, in cui è possibile ricostruire cinque modelli – la “madre autoritaria”, la “madre-non madre”, la “madre padrona”, la “madre-angelo custode” e la “madre-seduttrice” –, ben esemplificati nei principali romanzi ma che si ritrovano nei racconti che Moravia scrive ininterrottamente dagli anni Trenta agli anni Sessanta, la cui mole ha determinato, ancor oggi, una mancanza di studi sistematici. In secondo luogo, la tematica della madre sarà esaminata nelle trasposizioni cinematografiche italiane delle opere letterarie di Moravia. Va ricordato che il rapporto dello scrittore con il cinema fu particolarmente intenso. Per un verso, la “settima arte” rivestì un ruolo non secondario nella formazione ed esperienza estetica dell’Autore romano, che al cinema si interessò anche professionalmente nelle vesti di critico cinematografico, a partire dal primo dopoguerra, dapprima, per La nuova Europa e Libera stampa, poi, per L’Europeo e L’Espresso, a cui dobbiamo aggiungere l’attività di saggista per numerose riviste specializzate. Per altro verso, il cinema italiano non solo ha attinto a “mani basse” dall’opera di Moravia per sceneggiature di pellicole, che furono pietre miliari della sua storia. L’elenco dei romanzi e racconti adattati al grande schermo rende conto della grande influenza nella cultura italiana degli anni Cinquanta e Sessanta: La provinciale (1953) di Mario Soldati, La romana (1954) di Luigi Zampa, Peccato che sia una canaglia (1954) di Alessandro Blasetti, Racconti romani (1955) di Gianni Franciolini, La ciociara (1960) di Vittorio de Sica, La giornata balorda (1960) di Mauro Bolognini, Risate di gioia (1960) di Mario Monicelli, Agostino (o la perdita dell’innocenza) (1962) di Mauro Bolognini, La noia (1963) di Damiano Damiani, Gli indifferenti (1964) di Francesco Maselli, Le ore nude (1964) di Marco Vicario, La donna invisibile (1969) di Paolo Spinola, Una ragazza piuttosto complicata (1969) di Damiano Damiani, L’amore coniugale (1970) di Dacia Maraini, Il conformista (1970) di Bernardo Bertolucci, e molti altri ancora. Come avremo modo soltanto di accennare, il successo della letteratura moraviana nel mondo del cinema italiano si deve a molteplici fattori, tra cui la raffigurazione dei personaggi e degli ambienti, la focalizzazione su certe tematiche e, non da ultimo, lo stile narrativo, particolarmente adatto alle trasposizioni cinematografiche. Come caso di studio, ci soffermeremo, infine, sulla figura materna della versione filmica de La noia di Damiani, con l’obiettivo di verificare se nel passaggio dal libro alla pellicola, quella particolare connotazione della madre autoritaria abbia subito delle alterazioni. L’ipotesi che muove l’analisi è che la stesura delle sceneggiature, la raffigurazione dei personaggi e la messa in scena delle sequenze filmiche facciano emergere un riadattamento adeguato al largo pubblico, con il sovvertimento dell’andamento cronologico, alcune “lacune” di ordine psicologico nella raffigurazione dei protagonisti e un certo cedimento moralistico alla cultura ancora dominante negli anni ’50 e ’60, in cui la figura materna, sia quando è incattivita dalla povertà che quando è inaridita dalla ricchezza, anela comunque agli affetti familiari, trovando in essi una qualche forma di redenzione. (shrink)