The need for technical input, particularly set design in the overall theatrical process cannot be overemphasised in the pursuit of an aesthetically pleasing stage performance. This is because set design (flats and platforms) is the first place of contact irrespective of the medium of production. This work, therefore, examines postmodern trends in set designs within the backdrop of emerging set design concepts and interpretations via the use of sophisticated technology (such as light emitting diode screen, green-hippo software, 3D digital model (...) among others), in our contemporary society, using selected productions in Ultima Studios and Zmirage, Lagos. The study employs the descriptive and participantobservation methods while the interview instrument complements the two methods. The two methods enable us to study the trends, dimensions and techniques of set designs in Ultima Studios and Zmirage, Lagos. This study also relies on relevant journals, articles, textbooks and appropriate internet materials. More so, Sunnie Enessi Ododo’s (2002) Representational and Presentational Performance Styles, is adopted as our theoretical framework. Our findings show that set design for the stage or screen production goes beyond physical set design method to include the virtual set design. Postmodern trends in set design such as media mapping projection set design are also recognised. We also discover that, set design is a make-believe world that requires expertise, experience and professionalism in the process of its artistic utilisation within the postmodern age. The work concludes that, technical experts in the theatre should advance with the new trends of set design for both stage and screen production by studying and learning various trends and dimensions of postmodern set design. The study recommends that postmodern set design should not be downplayed in any production either screen or stage in the Nigerian theatre. (shrink)

Current local and national demographic trends have deepened the existing and formed new global demographic processes that have received a new historical reasoning that requires deep scientific research taking into account the influence of the multifactorial global dimension of the modern society development. The purpose of the article is to study the development of global demographic processes and to define the causes of their occurrence, manifestations, implications and prospects for implementation in the first half of the 21st century. The authors (...) have identified and characterized four global demographic processes, namely population growth, migration, increase of tourism, and change in population structure. It is projected that in the 30’s of the 21st century, the number and growth rates of the world population will reach the objective growth and these dynamics over the next two decades will begin to change in the direction of reducing the growth rates, which will lead to gradual stabilization, and eventually reduce the size of the world population. By the middle of the 21st century, one can observe the preservation of the growth rates of international and domestic migration, the growth of international migration flows from the South to the North and from the East to the West, the strengthening of new economically developed centers of gravity (Canada, Australia and New Zealand), the increase in migration of rural population to cities, as well as urbanization and activation of the metropolises development. The share of international tourists in comparison with the world population will be constantly increasing, and the annual growth rate of the number of international tourists will significantly depend on the world economy and may vary at the several percent level. Permanent change will occur in the age, religious-cultural and socio-economic structure of the population. (shrink)

This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal trends in mathematical competencies of Grade 8 students in a public high school located in Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. The study collected data over a period of six academic years, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of students' performance in 16 distinct mathematical competences of basic education curriculum. These topics include, but are not limited to, special products and factors, factoring, and basic concepts of probability. Using a quantitative research design, the study analyzed both (...) numerical and secondary data to identify patterns or trends in students' mathematical competencies. Trends were analyzed through regression analysis using slopes. The significance of these trends was then evaluated using t-tests for the standard error of slopes. The statistical analysis revealed significant upward trends in certain mathematical topics, indicating an improvement in the students' competencies over the six academic years. However, certain topics displayed downward or stable trends, indicating areas for improvement in the teaching methods used for these topics. The study highlights the importance of flexible and adaptable approaches to mathematics education. It emphasizes the need for constant evaluation and improvement of teaching methods to enhance student learning outcomes. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for educators and policymakers to guide evidence-based decision-making and improve the quality of mathematics education in the new normal setup. Implications and future research directions are incorporated in the study. (shrink)

The research aims to identify the trends of Palestinian higher educational institutions in Gaza Strip as learning organizations from the perspective of senior management in the Palestinian universities in Gaza Strip. The researchers used descriptive analytical approach and used the questionnaire as a tool for information gathering. The questionnaires were distributed to senior management in the Palestinian universities. The study population reached (344) employees in senior management is dispersed over (3) Palestinian universities. A stratified random sample of (182) employees from (...) the Palestinian universities was selected and the recovery rate was (69.2%). Statistical analysis (SPSS) program was used for analysis and processing the data. The study found the following results: There is an agreement about: the importance of the focus of "organizational structure" with an average approval, the importance of "technological infrastructure" axis with high approval, and the importance of "strategic" with an average approval. The results concluded that the study sample agree on the importance of "organizational dimension" highly. The results showed that the sample believe that the "strategic leadership" level in the universities got medium-approval. There is a fair level agreement about the axis of interest "teams / committees". There is an agreement about the importance of the "human dimension" moderately. The results showed that the sample is highly agreed about the importance of focus of the "knowledge management", and the focus of the "continuing education". They agreed weakly to somewhat about the importance of the focus of "scientific research", moderately agree about the importance of the center of "institutional culture", agree moderately on the importance of "cognitive dimension". The results showed that the sample largely agree on the importance of the focus of "strategic partnerships and alliances". They agree highly on the axis "keep up with the labor market" and on the focus of the importance of "technology incubators". The results showed that the sample moderately agree about the importance of the theme on "consulting and training", the importance of the focus of "social responsibility", and the focus of the "Community dimension". The study found a group of recommendations including: there is a need to provide suitable environment that achieve learning organizations. There is a need to develop the technological infrastructure (hardware, software, networks, databases, and human skills) because of the great advantages that they offer. The universities need to adopt knowledge management in the academic and administrative departments because knowledge is the core of the work of these departments. The establishment of technology incubators in universities to adopt outstanding university research projects, to protect, to supports, and to market them; furthermore, to develop the capabilities and skills of employees in the field of information technology. (shrink)

The field of neutrosophic set theory and its applications has been rapidly expanding, particularly since the introduction of the journal "Neutrosophic Sets and Systems." New theories, techniques, and algorithms are being developed at a very high rate. One of the most notable trends in neutrosophic theory is its hybridization with other set theories such as rough set theory, bipolar set theory, soft set theory, hesitant fuzzy set theory, and more. Various hybrid structures like rough neutrosophic sets, neutrosophic soft set, single (...) valued neutrosophic hesitant fuzzy sets, among others, have been proposed in a short period. Neutrosophic sets have proven to be crucial tools across a wide array of fields including data mining, decision making, e-learning, engineering, medical diagnosis, social sciences, and beyond. -/- The third volume in the series “New Trends in Neutrosophic Theories and Applications” focuses on theories, methods, and algorithms for decision making, as well as applications involving neutrosophic information. Some topics introduce new sets such as the Pythagorean neutrosophic vague soft set, the triangular fuzzy penta-partitioned neutrosophic set, interval-valued neutrosophic b-open sets, and interval-valued neutrosophic b-closed sets. Other topics present applications in medical diagnosis, non-preemptive neutrosophic priority queues with uneven services (labeled as NM/NM/1), AHP in an interval neutrosophic set environment, MAGDM in a triangular fuzzy neutrosophic number environment, MAGDM in a pentapartitioned neutrosophic environment, the entropy-ARAS strategy in a single-valued neutrosophic number environment, and the MABAC strategy in a rough neutrosophic set environment. (shrink)

This chapter reviews some interesting research trends in the philosophy of information (PI). First, PI is defined; then, a series of open problems in PI on which philosophers are currently working is considered. The conclusion highlights the innovative character of this new area of research.

This article is in three parts. The first discusses trends in philosophy. The second defends reliance on intuitions in philosophy from some doubts that have recently been raised. The third discusses Philip Kitcher's contention that contemporary analytic philosophy does not have its priorities straight. While the three parts are independent, there is a common theme. Each part defends what is regarded as orthodoxy from attacks. Of course there are other reasonable challenges to philosophical methodology. The article's aim is just to (...) respond to some charges that have been made. (shrink)

New trends in the economic systems management in the context of modern global challenges: collective monograph / scientific edited by M. Bezpartochnyi, in 2 Vol. // VUZF University of Finance, Business and Entrepreneurship. – Sofia: VUZF Publishing House “St. Grigorii Bogoslov”, 2020. – Vol. 1. – 309 p.

The objectives of the study are to determine the main trends and characteristics of the provision of services by Ukrainian travel companies over the past 10 years. Ukraine is explored in terms of domestic and international tourism (inbound and outbound). The study uses the data of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the data of the regional statistical offices, as well as the results of the author's calculations. Modern methods of global clustering and marketing segmentation, (...) using statistically significant data of quantitative and qualitative expert assessments, allow us to identify the development trend of the service of Ukrainian travel agencies. Завдання дослідження - визначення основних тенденції і характерних особливостей надання послуг українськими туристичними компаніями за останні 10 років. Досліджується Україна в розрізі внутрішнього та міжнародного туризму (в'їзного та виїзного). У дослідженні використовуються дані Всесвітньої організації туризму, Державної служби статистики України, дані регіональних управлінь статистики, а також результати авторських розрахунків. Сучасні методи глобальної кластеризації і маркетингової сегментації, з використанням статистично значущих даних кількісних і якісних експертних оцінок, дозволяють ідентифікувати тренд розвитку сервісу українських туристичних компаній. (shrink)

The monograph examines the current trends in the development of digital technologies in marketing, management and business administration. The prospects for the development of digital technologies in various sectors of the economy of Ukraine and the trends of the influence of digital technologies on global shifts in the systems of marketing management and business administration are determined. The transformations of business models in the conditions of the digital economy are analyzed, the impact of blockchain technologies on the development of promising (...) areas of the marketing management system and business administration is analyzed. Reasonable impact of digital technologies on the transformation of management systems in social, public, legal and administrative spheres and various sectors of the economy. The contours of the formation of the digital economy in the sectors of economic activity and the social sphere have been developed. (shrink)

This is a trend study of School Size, Location and Enrolment Figures of Junior secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria covering 2008 – 2016 with implications on sustainable development. The study was tailored to follow the ex-post facto research design. This study was a census, hence the entire population of 227 public secondary schools were used. Secondary quantitative data were obtained using “School Size, Location and Enrolment Figures Checklist (SSLEFC)” were analysed using descriptive statistics, while line graphs (...) and bar charts were used to illustrate the statistical trends. The hypotheses were tested using the independent t-test statistical approach. Findings showed that higher rates of enrolment were recorded in large and urban schools than in small schools and rural schools respectively. The mean differences in the enrolment trend among urban and provincial schools were factually huge. It was presumed that there is an upward pattern in enrolment in all the schools from 2008 – 2013 and a descending pattern from 2015– 2016. Based on this conclusion, implications were discussed, while it was recommended, among others, that infrastructural provisions and adequate supply of qualified personnel be allocated to urban and rural schools evenly, to discourage rural-urban migration but promote active rural participation in Education, as well as foster sustainability in schools. (shrink)

In this paper we investigate some important trends in contemporary naturalist aesthetics in relation to two decisive issues. Firstly, it is important to explicitly clarify what kind of naturalism is at stake within the debate, more specifically whether an account of the topic involves forms of physical reductionism, emergentism, and/or continuistic views of art and culture with nature. Secondly, we argue that it is necessary to define what conception of art is assumed as paradigmatic: whether this conception deals with basically (...) autonomist approaches to art, assuming aesthetic experience to coincide with the disinterested contemplation of formal features, independently of cognitive, practical, and ethical implications, or whether the arts are considered an enhancement of the features of human expe- rience and developments of other human behaviours. The second part of the paper will investigate some recent developments in current neuroaesthetics and fresh enactivist proposals in the aesthetic field which display a tendency toward a non-reductive naturalism, views of the arts as continuous with other modes of behav- iour and more conscious attitudes about the risks of scientism within scientific in- vestigations. Generally speaking, we espouse an idea of culture as the natural development of human organic experience that involves new emerging properties depending on the re-organization of already existing natural resources and favour continuistic and emergentist views as more suited to dealing with specific prob- lems in the field of the arts and as better responding to the criticism of irrelevancy directed against the latter, compared to reductive naturalist approaches. (shrink)

Government agencies in New Zealand are not required to systematically collect data on online hate speech, thus, there is a lack of longitudinal evidence regarding this phenomenon. This report presents trends in personal experiences of and exposure to online hate speech among adult New Zealanders based on nationally representative data. The findings from this study are also compared with results from a similar research study conducted in 2018. In addition, this report explores people’s perceptions about other issues related to hate (...) speech. The goal of this study is to fill some knowledge gaps regarding the extent and nature of hate speech in New Zealand. It also seeks to provide reliable and robust evidence to inform public conversation on the topic and the implementation of strategies and activities to ensure all New Zealanders, no matter what their characteristics, are safe online to benefit from the multiple opportunities of the digital environment. (shrink)

During the twentieth century, the mechanistic worldview came under attack mainly because of the rise of quantum mechanics but some of its basic characteristics survived and are still evident within current science in some form or other. Many scholars have produced interesting studies of such significant mechanistic trends within current physics and biology but very few have bothered to explore the effects of this worldview on current chemistry. This paper makes a contribution to fill this gap. It presents first a (...) brief historical overview of the mechanistic worldview and then examines the present situation within chemistry by referring to current studies in the philosophy of chemistry and determining which trends are still mechanistic in spirit and which are not. (shrink)

“Trends in Logic XVI: Consistency, Contradiction, Paraconsistency, and Reasoning - 40 years of CLE” is being organized by the Centre for Logic, Epistemology and the History of Science at the State University of Campinas (CLEUnicamp) from September 12th to 15th, 2016, with the auspices of the Brazilian Logic Society, Studia Logica and the Polish Academy of Sciences. The conference is intended to celebrate the 40th anniversary of CLE, and is centered around the areas of logic, epistemology, philosophy and history of (...) science, while bringing together scholars in the fields of philosophy, logic, mathematics, computer science and other disciplines who have contributed significantly to what Studia Logica is today and to what CLE has achieved in its four decades of existence. It intends to celebrate CLE’s strong influence in Brazil and Latin America and the tradition of investigating formal methods inspired by, and devoted to, philosophical views, as well as philosophical problems approached by means of formal methods. The title of the event commemorates one of the three main areas of CLE, what has been called the “Brazilian school of paraconsistency”, combining such a pluralist view about logic and reasoning. (shrink)

Bakery products are very important in human nutrition and are the basis of any daily diet. Their social significance is determined by the traditions and habits of the population of the countries, accessibility for all groups of the population, diverse assortment, including bakery products for functional and specialized purposes. The up-to-date trend is to expand the assortment of functional bakery products, the use of which will provide the body’s need for the necessary macro- and micronutrients for an active and (...) healthy lifestyle. In the bread and bakery products market, consumer preferences are constantly changing. Consumers prefer products that contain less fat and sugar. The market is in demand for bakery products that are healthy, while taste remains an important success factor. Manufacturers include popular healthy additives (grains, seeds and legumes) in their products. Particularly popular at present are ingredients from Eastern Europe and Asia: yuzu, sesame, matcha, shiso. Tropical fruits (passion fruit, mango, bergamot) and fragrances (dried hibiscus, lavender and rose) are predicted to become popular. This causes the complexity of demand segmentation, features of merchandising and pricing policy, features of consumer behavior and consumption psychology, etc. An assessment is given of the dynamics of production and consumption of bread and exports of products, and a forecast is made for the development of the world market for bread and bakery products. The results of the analysis are necessary to assess the level of food safety and to develop a strategy that takes into account the current trends in the global bread and bakery products market. Prospective trends for sustainable production of frozen bakery products have been developed. (shrink)

Trends and advances in Education and Management in Africa.

The paper examines the main trends in the search for a theory of general biology throughout the 20th century — the physicalization on one hand, and the semiotization on the other. These two approaches had their predecessors and were formed already in the 19th century biology, as Darwinian and Baerian biology. In theoretical biology, there are co-existing (however, asymmetrical) trends toward specifying solutions and generalizing axioms. The inclusion of the biological organism as a subject into biological theory requires an analysis (...) of the concept of scientific fact. A cross-disciplinary typology of facts on the basis of their invariant features is provided. The main periods of development of theoretical biology are briefly characterised, and the trend towards the theory of biological communication and meaning outlined. (shrink)

Emotions are a central aspect of communication. Consequently, emotion analysis (EA) is a rapidly growing field in natural language processing (NLP). However, there is no consensus on scope, direction, or methods. In this paper, we conduct a thorough review of 154 relevant NLP publications from the last decade. Based on this review, we address four different questions: (1) How are EA tasks defined in NLP? (2) What are the most prominent emotion frameworks and which emotions are modeled? (3) Is the (...) subjectivity of emotions considered in terms of demographics and cultural factors? and (4) What are the primary NLP applications for EA? We take stock of trends in EA and tasks, emotion frameworks used, existing datasets, methods, and applications. We then discuss four lacunae: (1) the absence of demographic and cultural aspects does not account for the variation in how emotions are perceived, but instead assumes they are universally experienced in the same manner; (2) the poor fit of emotion categories from the two main emotion theories to the task; (3) the lack of standardized EA terminology hinders gap identification, comparison, and future goals; and (4) the absence of interdisciplinary research isolates EA from insights in other fields. Our work will enable more focused research into EA and a more holistic approach to modeling emotions in NLP. (shrink)

Many have argued that there is no reason why natural selection should cause directional increases in measures such as body size or complexity across evolutionary history as a whole. In this paper I argue that this conclusion does not hold for selection for adaptations to environmental variability, and that, given the inevitability of environmental variability, trends in adaptations to variability are an expected feature of evolution by natural selection. As a concrete instance of this causal structure, I outline how this (...) may be applied to a trend in phenotypic plasticity. (shrink)

The creation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973 has significantly altered the dynamics of trade in fauna and flora. Despite this effort, curbing of criminal trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora has remained a key challenge for some countries. The objective of this study was to identify and establish the trafficking routes of illegal wildlife and forest products, analyzing the patterns and trends of wildlife and forest (...) crime including their drivers, actors and modus operandi, and assessing the criminal justice response including the legislative, enforcement, prosecutorial and judicial systems. The analysis was based on the methodologies and principles embedded in African environmental ethics. It was concluded that African ethics allows for ‘sustainable poaching’ under the framework of Eco-Afrocentricism; but condemns poaching done for trafficking purposes. Five canons of sustainability were developed to guide ‘sustainable poaching’. African capitalism thesis was used to support the analysis from political and economic perspectives. (shrink)

In the last twenty eight years DreamBoat Children’s theatre has gained prominence in South-South Nigeria. Its operations have become more professional and have received more attention within the school system. But this was not so in the beginning. The study set out to find out what factors led to this development. Qualitative method was used to gather data from children, teachers and practitioners as well as observation of many DreamBoat’s children’s theatre productions across two states of Cross River and Akwa (...) Ibom. Data was gathered from over 500 children and two hundred teachers in four towns. The principal question the study sought to answer was: How can the DreamBoat children’s theatre performances help the child perceive patterns, relations feelings and produce an inner meaning? Or how do children experience theatre aesthetically? The research findings revealed that the type of stories enacted were the principal framework of transmitting meanings to young persons, the play is the heart of production and another aesthetics medium is the style of production. This is the icing on the cake it adds colours, sparkle and glamour. Conclusively as Children’s theatre producers work to stir the souls of young people by bringing them universal themes, feeding their imagination and giving beauty and fantasy enshrined in theatre which embodies all arts, then and only then will valuable contributions be made to the growth of creative individuals who will hold the baton for generations yet unborn. (shrink)

Topicality of the research topic. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increase in the instability of the structure of ecosocial systems. Technological innovations have led to a sharp deterioration in natural social ecodynamics. The aim of the research is the conceptual modeling of the proliferation of biopolitics from the social sphere to the field of international relations with the subsequent transformation into a systemic factor of the global evolutionary process. Research methods and results. The model is (...) based on our previously proposed concept of a three-module stable evolutionary strategy of technogenic civilization. In relation to the triple spiral of anthropo-socio-technogenesis, i.e., the historical development of the cultural-ecological niche of Homo sapiens, constructed by him, this means the following. Periods of stable progressive growth of evolutionary and civilizational success are replaced by periods of various scales crisis, up to civilizational or even biological-evolutionary singularity. During the crisis, the importance of the political factor increases sharply, and over the past 50 years, this primarily relates to the field of biopolitics. The regional differentiation of the biopolitical sphere reconstruction during the fight against the pandemic will inevitably complicate international relations not only between regions that belong to different cultural and civilizational types. Probably less so, the same problems will affect the reconciliation of differences caused by geopolitical, interethnic, religious and even economic (competition) reasons. The first phase of the adaptive civilizational response is to reduce the degree of connection between the individual socio-cultural elements of modern civilization, i.e., slowing down the globalization process and intensifying interregional conflicts of various contents. In particular, such contradictions will be most acute in the post-Soviet geopolitical space, where the conditions of the civilizational rift are imposed on the conflicts of the transition period. Due to the specifics of modern high technologies, the process will enter the phase of global socio-techno-ecological self-developing systems reconstruction, which includes man as its element. And the obvious conclusion will be the transition of the development of biopolitical issues to a new, no longer international, but global-evolutionary level. In our understanding, transbiopolitics is a political issue related to the rationalization of the global evolutionary process. The latter will become a bearing element of the global process of evolution of the noosphere with the subsequent complication and increase of cohesion between separate sociocultural types which are a part of system of the modern globalizing civilization. (shrink)

The study investigated school characteristics and enrolment trend in upper basic schools in Akwa Ibom State Nigeria from 2008-2016. Two research questions were answered while two null hypotheses were also tested. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Census technique was adopted in selecting all the 227 public upper basic schools in the area of study. An instrument tagged “School Characteristics and Enrolment in Upper Basic Schools Checklist (SCEUBSC)” was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics (percentages) was used (...) to summarize data relating to the research questions, bar chart was used for illustrations of the enrolment pattern while independent t-test was used to test the two null hypotheses at .05 alpha level. Findings revealed that enrolment in upper basic schools in Akwa Ibom State was high in single-sex schools and boarding schools, while it was low in mixed-sex schools and day schools. Based on the findings, it was concluded that there was an upward trend in enrolment in all the schools from 2008- 2013 and a downward trend from 2015-2016. It was recommended among others that research allocation in terms of personnel and infrastructures should be evenly distributed across the state as these will reduce rural-urban migration. Keywords:. (shrink)

Digital technologies are becoming an essential tool in modern trade, contributing to its development and change. This article examines global trends in using digital technologies in trade and their potential impact on the Ukrainian market. The research shows that e-commerce, mobile shopping experience, smart technologies, and data analytics are key areas that affect consumers and business processes. The authors of the article analyze the impact of digital technologies on consumers, pointing to the growth of e-commerce and the convenience of online (...) shopping. Smart technologies such as facial recognition, chatbots, and virtual reality are becoming increasingly common in trade processes. The authors discuss the potential benefits of digital technologies for the Ukrainian market and point out the need to adapt and implement these innovations. (shrink)

The present yearbook (which is the fourth in the series) is subtitled Trends & Cycles. It is devoted to cyclical and trend dynamics in society and nature; special attention is paid to economic and demographic aspects, in particular to the mathematical modeling of the Malthusian and post-Malthusian traps' dynamics. An increasingly important role is played by new directions in historical research that study long-term dynamic processes and quantitative changes. This kind of history can hardly develop without the application of (...) mathematical methods. There is a tendency to study history as a system of various processes, within which one can detect waves and cycles of different lengths – from a few years to several centuries, or even millennia. The contributions to this yearbook present a qualitative and quantitative analysis of global historical, political, economic and demographic processes, as well as their mathematical models. This issue of the yearbook consists of three main sections: (I) Long-Term Trends in Nature and Society; (II) Cyclical Processes in Pre-industrial Societies; (III) Contemporary History and Processes. We hope that this issue of the yearbook will be interesting and useful both for historians and mathematicians, as well as for all those dealing with various social and natural sciences. (shrink)

Empirical research has recently emerged as a key method for understanding the nature of causation, and our concept of causation. One thread of research aims to test intuitions about the nature of causation in a variety of classic cases. These experiments have principally been used to try to resolve certain debates within analytic philosophy, most notably that between proponents of transference and dependence views of causation. The other major thread of empirical research on our concept of causation has investigated the (...) role that normative considerations play in causal judgments. These experimental results suggest that philosophical accounts of our concept of causation should take a broader view of what might be relevant. For both lines of research, we describe some of the significant experiments and outline key philosophical morals that have been drawn, all while pointing out various limitations. We conclude by considering other kinds of empirical research that should be philosophically interesting for those studying the nature of causation and our concept of causation. In particular, we point towards the need for philosophical research about causal perception, causal reasoning, and causal learning, as well as ways in which this research could play a role in prescriptive metaphysics. (shrink)

The article presents an analysis of global trends in setting the inflation target and the acceptable corridor of inflation target fluctuations. Inflation targeting is an important attribute of the monetary regime of inflation targeting, its main quantitative parameter. The tendency of the inflation targeting regime in 70 countries all over the world are considered, of which 41 countries have official recognition by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the inflation targeting regime. It was found that most countries set the inflation (...) target at 5% or below, and the level of the corridor of fluctuations in relative terms hovers around 20-50% of the target value. The latest trends related to changes in the monetary policy of the European Central Bank have been studied, recommendations for determining the acceptable corridor of fluctuations of the inflation target in small and open economies on the example of Ukraine are provided. (shrink)

Popper's supporters argued that most criticism is based on an incomprehensible interpretation of his ideas. They argue that Popper should not be interpreted as meaning that falsifiability is a sufficient condition for the demarcation of science. Some passages seem to suggest that he considers it is only a necessary condition. Other passages would suggest that for a theory to be scientific, Popper requires (besides falsifiability) other tests, and that negative test results are accepted. A demarcation criterion based on falsifiability that (...) includes these elements will avoid the most obvious counter-arguments of a criterion based on falsifiability alone. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.30071.47527. (shrink)

Modern global economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and various changes in the structure of the world market of goods and services require the developing of new models of economic systems management based on appropriate strategic management methodology, implementation innovation, use of prospects for various risks caused by the pandemic, implementation mechanisms for ensuring the security of economic systems. Ensuring effective management of economic systems in the current global challenges is impossible without the introduction of a new concept of (...) functioning and sustainable development of economic entities. To ensure effective management of economic systems in the context of modern global challenges it is necessary to determine the state of the economic process of entities and explore the impact of risks on current activities, justify and developing a system to overcome negative effects on economic activity and obtain a positive economic result. The effectiveness of developed conceptual provisions to ensure effective management of economic systems is determined by the ability of the management system to withstand the destructive effects of the external environment and due to the strengths to direct the resources of economic entities to maintain the economic process, able ensure to save resources and cover current costs economic entities, etc. (shrink)

Roseoloviruses are ubiquitous worldwide. Its infection in children is very common causing a disease named as Roseola infantum. It appears that most of the children are still being suffered by the same disease without any proper treatment all over the world. And, the situation becomes worst when these latent viruses reactivated in future to develop disease complications and cancer in human. The Present review is an attempt to describe Roseoloviruses causing diseases including cancer in human in the light of recent (...) researches done so far in the past. (shrink)

يقدم هذا البحث معالجة تحليلية موجزة للاتجاهات الأساسية في فلسفة اللغة المعاصرة، وهي ثلاثة: 1- الاتجاه الممتد من فريجه ورسل وفتجنشتين المبكر عبر الوضعية المنطقية وكواين وديفيدسون ودميت وبتنام وكريبكي. ويهتم بالعلاقة بين المعنى والصدق والإشارة. والسؤال الأساسي في هذا الاتجاه هو: ما شروط صدق الجملة؟ 2- الاتجاه الممتد من مور وفتجنشتين المتأخر ومدرسة أكسفورد (رايل، وأوستن وستراوسون، وجرايس) وسيرل وهابرماس وبراندوم. ويهتم بالعلاقة بين اللغة والمتكلم. والسؤال الأساسي في هذا الاتجاه هو: ما العلاقة بين المعنى والاستعمال. 3- الاتجاه الذي (...) يمثله تشومسكي وتلاميذه في علم اللغة مثل كاتز وفودور ومن سايرهم. ويهتم بالمعرفة اللغوية. والسؤال الأساسي في هذا الاتجاه هو: كيف نفسر الإبداع اللغوي؟ . (shrink)

The present Yearbook (which is the fourth in the series) is subtitled Trends & Cycles. Already ancient historians (see, e.g., the second Chapter of Book VI of Polybius' Histories) described rather well the cyclical component of historical dynamics, whereas new interesting analyses of such dynamics also appeared in the Medieval and Early Modern periods (see, e.g., Ibn Khaldūn 1958 [1377], or Machiavelli 1996 [1531] 1). This is not surprising as the cyclical dynamics was dominant in the agrarian social systems. With (...) modernization, the trend dynamics became much more pronounced and these are trends to which the students of modern societies pay more attention. Note that the term trend – as regards its contents and application – is tightly connected with a formal mathematical analysis. Trends may be described by various equations – linear, exponential, power-law, etc. On the other hand, the cliodynamic research has demonstrated that the cyclical historical dynamics can be also modeled mathematically in a rather effective way (see, e.g., Usher 1989; Chu and Lee 1994; Turchin 2003, 2005a, 2005b; Turchin and Korotayev 2006; Turchin and Nefedov 2009; Nefedov 2004; Korotayev and Komarova 2004; Korotayev, Malkov, and Khaltourina 2006; Korotayev and Khaltourina 2006; Korotayev 2007; Grinin 2007), whereas the trend and cycle components of historical dynamics turn out to be of equal importance. (shrink)

Abstract: In developing societies, foreign direct investment is an invaluable tool for achieving economic growth by enhancing competitiveness through offering employment, transferring sophisticated technologies, boosting productivity and promoting infrastructure. The main objective of the paper is to examine the trends of foreign direct investment and economic growth in Africa, with specific reference to Nigeria’s experience in pre-recession period. The paper notes that foreign direct investment provides capital for investment, it enhances job creation and managerial skills, and possibly technology transfer. The (...) paper observe that prior to the economic recession, Nigeria experienced continued increased in foreign direct investment. The study is an empirical investigation, using a time series data between 1999-2014. The data collected was analyzed using table of frequency distribution, bar chart, graph and correlation analysis. The analysis shows that there is a high positive correlation relationship between FDI and economic growth in Nigeria during the period under study. Based on the results and findings, the paper recommend among others that for Nigeria to optimize the potential benefits of FDI, it is important that the government exercise fiscal discipline and control measures in its pattern of borrowing and spending. (shrink)

Education is a developmental process that may be improved by using a range of strategies to develop engaging classes. It stands for the educators' personal philosophy and utmost aspiration. This study aimed to assess and identify the strategies, methods, and trends of teaching-learning on students’ perspectives and their effectiveness in the new normal of education. The study employed the descriptive approach with a quantitative research design in analyzing the strategies, methods, and trends of teaching-learning. The participants of the study are (...) the professional teachers in the selected 2 public schools in the Agusan del Sur division under the San Luis District, particularly at San Luis National High School and San Mariano Elementary School. Based on the findings, it was gleaned from the findings, it was definitely concluded that the overall weighted mean value was 4.08 with a descriptive level of observation and interpretation of very satisfied based on the results. Additionally, it was revealed that the z-computed value in the result obtained with 105.329 is greater than the z-critical value of 1.87, which definitely resulted in the rejection of the hypothesis of the study. Thus, there is a statistically significant difference in the strategies, methods, and trends of teaching in the new normal learning perspective as observed by the participants of the study. Therefore, the strategies, methods, and trends in teaching shows to lay the foundation of why and how to conduct the class and helps set expectations by the students at school, also creating a shared class culture where students take more responsibility and understanding for their class participation. (shrink)

[This is a pre-print; please cite the published version] This paper employs structural topic modeling (STM) to describe the academic philosophy landscape in Brazil. Based on a public national database, a corpus consisting of 12,515 abstracts of monographs defended in philosophy graduate programs between 1991 and 2021 was compiled. The final STM model identified 74 meaningful research topics, clustered into 7 thematic categories. This study discusses the prevalence of the most significant topics and categories, their trends across three decades, and (...) their (positive or negative) association with the supervisor's gender. Results show the first empirical evidence that Brazilian philosophical research exhibits a greater focus on philosophers than on specific themes or problems. Moreover, by visualizing the variations in topic prevalence over time, it was possible to track the rise or decline of the major interest categories and topics. Finally, results also show which topics are more influenced or less influenced by gender. (shrink)

The services sector strategic development unites a multitude of economic and managerial aspects and is one of the most important problems of economic management. Many researches devoted to this industry study are available. Most of them are performed in the traditional aspect of the voluminous calendar approach to strategic management, characteristic of the national scientific school. Such an approach seems archaic, forming false strategic benchmarks. The services sector is of special scientific interest in this context due to the fact that (...) the social production structure to the services development model attraction in many countries suggests transition to postindustrial economy type where the services sector is a system-supporting sector of the economy. Actively influencing the economy, the services sector in the developed countries dominates in the GDP formation, primary capital accumulation, labor, households final consumption and, finally, citizens comfort of living. However, a clear understanding of the services sector as a hyper-sector permeating all spheres of human activity has not yet been fully developed, although interest in this issue continues to grow among many authors. Target of strategic management of the industry development setting requires substantive content and the services sector target value assessment. (shrink)

Xuan-Hung Doan, Phuong-Tram T. Nguyen, Viet-Phuong La, Hong-Kong T. Nguyen (2019). Chapter 5. Researchers who lead the trends. In Quan-Hoang Vuong, Trung Tran (Eds.), The Vietnamese Social Sciences at a Fork in the Road (pp. 98–120). Warsaw, Poland: De Gruyter. DOI:10.2478/9783110686081-010 -/- Online ISBN: 9783110686081 © 2019 Sciendo.

The Covid-19 crisis raises questions of resilience, sustainable transitions and global trade in the wake of a pandemic. Port cities require new scenarios to deal with these questions, and over the past year several online initiatives were held to discuss this challenge. So does the European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN) ‘Thinking Beyond the Crisis’ series, which explores the urban impacts of and responses to the coronavirus outbreak in EUKN member countries. The online webinar “Port cities and Mega-Trends: Glocal Approaches to (...) Sustainable Transitions,” - held on 26 January 2021 and organised with the French National Agency for Territorial Cohesion (ANCT) and the port city of Le Havre - offered a platform to reflect on the global impact and local effects of mega-trends on port cities, including the recent, far-reaching impacts of Covid-19. The event specifically explored the strategies and experiences of the ports of Le Havre (France), Incheon (South Korea), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Hamburg (Germany). -/- . (shrink)

Understanding the buying and shopping behaviour of current and potential consumers is essential in formulating a successful marketing strategy. It is no longer sufficient for companies to merely produce goods or provide services; companies must know who their consumers are, why they buy, when, where and at what price they buy, and what benefits they expect to gain from the purchase. Companies also need to identify how far consumers are willing to travel to make their purchases and whether the size (...) of the sales area plays a significant role in their preferences. Retailers must also determine whether their customers prefer online shopping or want to buy and spend their leisure time in shopping centres. The paper aims at presenting the selected current trends in buying and shopping through elaborating an overview of the selected research studies and secondary data. The paper also gives an overview of contemporary trends in shopping, customer preferences with regard to types of retail outlets, e-commerce as such, buying and shopping in the online environment and, last but not least, the changes in consumer behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. -/- Pochopenie nákupného správania súčasných a potenciálnych spotrebiteľov je podstatou úspešnej marketingovej orientácie na trhu. Nestačí už len vyrábať výrobky, resp. Poskytovať služby, je potrebné poznať, kto je spotrebiteľ, prečo nakupuje, kedy a kde nakupuje, za akú cenu a aký úžitok od nákupu očakáva. Akú vzdialenosť je ochotný prejsť za nákupmi, či hrá v tejto preferencii podstatnú úlohu predajná plocha predajne, alebo vzdialenosť. Či preferuje online prostredie, alebo chce okrem nákupov (hlavne) v nákupných centrách tráviť aj svoj voľný čas. Cieľom nášho príspevku bolo zhodnotiť vybrané súčasné trendy v nakupovaní prostredníctvom spracovania prehľadu vybraných výskumov a sekundárnych dát. V príspevku sa stručne venujeme prehľadu súčasných trendov v nakupovaní, preferenciám spotrebiteľov podľa typu predajní, elektronickému obchodu ako takému, nakupovaniu v online prostredí a v neposlednom rade aj zmenám v spotrebiteľskom správaní počas trvania pandemie COVID-19. (shrink)

Background: Hazardous use of alcohol is a public health problem which accounts for 4.0% of global burden of disease. There are very few studies about alcohol consumption trend among tribal in Bangladesh. We investigated the pattern and trend with reasons for alcohol use in Hill Tract dwellers with the aim to increase the awareness of this problem. Objective: To identify the pattern of alcohol use and its effect among the tribal so that effective measures can be taken to (...) eliminate the social evil. Materials and method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among tribal community of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Rangamati district, Bangladesh between June 2014 to February 2015. Out of 846 people coming in ‘Naniarchor’ and ‘Langadu’ upazila health complexes 716 (84.6%) constituted the study group. The CAGE test was used as a screening test in determining alcohol dependence. Results: The prevalence of alcohol consumption among tribal is 48.9%. Rural areas (65%) are the most vulnerable area. Home-made alcohol (61%) was the most patronized alcoholic beverage. Most of the cases (82%) started alcohol before 30 years of age and 46% participants took alcohol daily. To get pleasure is the commonest factor for taking alcohol (57%). Physical and mental degenerations were found in most of the alcoholic cases (88%). Conclusion: The results of the present study are likely to increase the awareness of the problem in hill areas and help the concerned authorities to shape the requisite alcohol control policies in these regions. (shrink)

In this paper, as an extension of CI-algebras, we discuss the new notions of Neutro-CI-algebras and Anti-CI-algebras. First, some examples are given to show that these definitions are different. We prove that any proper CI-algebra is a Neutro-BE-algebra or Anti-BE-algebra. Also, we show that any NeutroSelf-distributive and Anti-Commutative CI-algebras are not BE-algebras.

Accurate assessment and comprehension of smoking behavior are pivotal for elucidating associated health risks and formulating effective public health strategies. In this study, we introduce an innovative approach to predict and analyze smoking prevalence using an artificial neural network (ANN) model. Leveraging a comprehensive dataset spanning multiple years and geographic regions, our model incorporates various features, including demographic data, economic indicators, and tobacco control policies. This research investigates smoking trends with a specific focus on gender-based analyses. These findings are pivotal (...) for enhancing public health initiatives aimed at mitigating tobacco use, assessing associated health risks, and mitigating smoking-related diseases. (shrink)

The danger of deflation has been rather frequently mentioned recently among nu-merous concerns over the European and partly American economies. Analysts cite the Japanese economy which has been suffering from deflation for the last two decades despite the large investments in economy and the government's efforts to increase inflation. Similarly, notwithstanding many trillions of dollars, euro, pounds and yen that were invested in economies over the past few years, the infla-tion in the Western countries still remains low. On the whole, (...) there are reasons to maintain that European countries suffer from ‘the Japanese disease’, and this disease can progress or even become chron-ic. The USA, although to a lesser extent, has the signs of the disease as well. As a result, the financial infusions can become permanent, as it happened in Japan. The present paper defines the reasons of the problem, explains the irregularity of the inflation-deflation processes in the world and also offers some forecasts. (shrink)

We now found nine new topologies, such as: NonStandard Topology, Largest Extended NonStandard Real Topology, Neutrosophic Triplet Weak/Strong Topologies, Neutrosophic Extended Triplet Weak/Strong Topologies, Neutrosophic Duplet Topology, Neutrosophic Extended Duplet Topology, Neutrosophic MultiSet Topology, and recall and improve the seven previously founded topologies in the years (2019-2023), namely: NonStandard Neutrosophic Topology, NeutroTopology, AntiTopology, Refined Neutrosophic Topology, Refined Neutrosophic Crisp Topology, SuperHyperTopology, and Neutrosophic SuperHyperTopology. They are called avantgarde topologies because of their innovative forms.

This text examines recent illiberal trends in traditionally liberal institutions. Specifically, it critiques radical “anti-racism” approaches based on critical race theory (CRT) and the ideas of academics such as Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo. It also focuses on Unitarian Universalism, a historically liberal church whose national leadership has adopted an extreme version of critical race theory. -/- Racial and other inequities are problems in all societies and all of human history, and there are no simple, easy or objectively correct (...) solutions. While critical race theory (CRT) offers important insights on racism and racial disparities, I believe in liberalism, freedom of speech and the free exchange of ideas, things that extreme CRT adherents, Kendi and DiAngelo oppose. -/- Freedom of speech and expression and the free exchange of ideas support diversity, multiculturalism and marginalized groups. Illiberalism, dogmatism and authoritarianism are oppressive of all groups, minority and majority, and should be rejected wherever they appear. (shrink)

The study aimed to identify the reality of the use of artificial intelligence applications as a modern trend among training institutions in the southern Palestinian governorates. The study used the descriptive analytical method. The southern Palestinian governorates, and the random sample was used to collect data, as (90) applicable questionnaires were retrieved. The results of the study showed that the general estimate of artificial intelligence applications reached (83.63%), and that the order of areas of artificial intelligence applications is as (...) follows (Training And Development, System Capacity, User Behavior, Smart Agent, News Availability), and the results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences. In the use of artificial intelligence applications according to the gender variable, there are statistically significant differences in the use of artificial intelligence applications according to the variables (educational qualification, age group, number of years of service, governorate). The study presented a set of recommendations, the most important of which are: the need to attract experts and specialists to work in training institutions in order to develop applicable artificial intelligence applications, as well as the need for centers to develop their training systems in line with modern technology. (shrink)

The work of Leroi-Gourhan has had a strong impact on twentieth century French thought. To account for the origin of our human capacities of memory, anticipation and language, Leroi-Gourhan builds on a “Technology” understood as the study of the functional linkage between the organisms and their environment. In continuity with the biological world, without sudden event, it is to explain the gradual separation of social memory by the interplay of technical innovations that will allow free thinking detached from the immediate (...) situation. The fulcrum of this liberation is the tool: both a biological fact and a movable organ, it permits the passage from the biological world to the human world. (shrink)