The study determined the dynamics of growing grain crops in Ukraine and the geography of their export. The problems of ensuring export logistics as a result of military aggression by russia in the context of ensuring food security are pointed out. The main directions of export logistics of grain crops from Ukraine and the peculiarities of transportation by railway, river and road transport were studied. The directions of diversification of export logistics of grain crops from Ukraine during (...) martial law in the context of ensuring food security have been determined. Further ways of ensuring the development of the export of grain crops from Ukraine and improving the logistics infrastructure are substantiated. A description of the directions of cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union countries regarding the promotion and support of export logistics to the main countries of importers of agricultural products to ensure food security is provided. Ways of post-war restoration of the logistics of export of agricultural products from Ukraine and ensuring the sustainability of agricultural producers are considered. (shrink)

This study aimed to explain the level of adoption of vegetable technologies among the youth members of 4-H clubs in some parts of Southern Leyte, Philippines, and expose its governing predictors. The data gathering employed cross-sectional and primary information among the 118 youth members selected in the form of a census. The study used a researcher-developed research instrument adapted from existing studies in the literature. The collected data were summarized using some standard descriptive metrics in statistics and an ordinal regression (...) model was constructed to determine the predictors of vegetable technology adoption. The findings revealed that there are only a few youth members are implementing (8.47%) and adopting (4.24%) the vegetable technologies even if they have positively perceived the 4-H coordinator. The regression model revealed that youth members are more like to implement the vegetable technology if they have a higher income (p-value<0.1), they have no financial debt (p-value<0.01) and they learned from an effective 4-H coordinator (p-value<0.1). Furthermore, the ordered regression model revealed that youth members are going to implement (p-value<0.01) and adopt (p-value<0.01) the technology if it is not complex to follow. Conclusively, the local government must support the youth members regarding the financial aspect, and by providing expert agricultural extension agents to guide them in implementing and adopting the vegetable technologies. (shrink)

In this article the key aspects of logistical support of the airline’s innovation activity on the market of air transport services have been defined, the structure of the airline’s innovation system, logistics approach to managing the innovation activity of an airline enterprise have been considered and the main objectives of logistical activity in the context of innovation activity support of airlines have been clarified. The importance and peculiarities of logistical support of the airline’s innovation activity as an innovation flow (...) control system have been studied. The algorithm of formation of the logistical support mechanism for the airline’s innovation activity has been elaborated and specified. The objectives tree for improving the efficiency of logistical support of the airline’s innovation activity has been created. (shrink)

The relevance of the problem under study is stipulated by the need to stabilize the market for tourist services in existing restrictions caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The purpose of the research: The purpose of the article is to develop integrated measures for the formation of transport and logistics clusters to increase the synergetic effect of the proposed activities aimed at raising the mobility level of potential consumers of tourist services. Methods of the research: The main research methods include (...) predicting and simulating; they make it possible to consider the problem of forming the package of tourist and transport services as a process of targeted monitoring and optimization of tourist routs. Results of the research: The article presents the concept of creation of the network of transport and tourist clusters in Poland and its functioning; large rail carriers are the core of the clusters. Practical significance: The proposed models for the formation of a package of tourist services are aimed at increasing the synergetic effect for all cluster participants, as well as at the development of tourist activities during the pandemic. (shrink)

Due to the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) lockdown implemented by the government, we had to transform our classes into the online sphere. The most commonly used methods of online teaching in Government Medical College, Thrissur were, live online lectures, PowerPoint presentations with narrations, prerecorded videos and assignments. Aim: To assess the logistical aspects, merit and demerits of different online teaching-learning methods among phase-1 medical student in a tertiary care teaching hospital during COVID-19 lockdown Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted (...) from July 2020 to September 2020, among phase-1 MBBS students of Government Medical College, Thrissur, Kerala, India. Data was collected from 161 students through a questionnaire consisting of two parts. The first part dealt with logistical aspects, like net connectivity, gadget, expenditure, financial burden, residence and eye strain with online teaching learning methods. The second part dealt with the merits and demerits of each type of teaching learning methods, according to the students. All statistical data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 16. Qualitative data was expressed as a percentage. Results: A total of 97.5% population of students was able to frequently access the online classes. Online learning strained the eyes of 47.8% of students. Mobile phones were used by 92.5% of students for attending online classes internet connectivity was mainly through 4G (71.4%) followed by Wi-Fi (19.9%) connections. Their most preferred method of online learning was online live lectures (35.4%) followed by PowerPoint presentations with narrations (33.5%). Blended learning (online and traditional together) was best preferred method of learning (46.6%). Conclusion: Live online lectures and blended learning were preferred by the majority of students. Thus, the online classes can be continued along with the traditional teaching in future. (shrink)

Bài viết nghiên cứu thực trạng hoạt động logistics xanh tại Việt Nam hiện nay, chỉ ra những cơ hội và thách thức đối với doanh nghiệp hoạt động trong dịch vụ logistics xanh. Từ kết quả nghiên cứu, nhóm tác giả đề ra một số giải pháp, kiến nghị nhằm thúc đẩy hoạt động logistics xanh cho các doanh nghiệp logistics tại Việt Nam, giúp giảm lượng khí thải carbon. [This article examines the current state (...) of green logistics practices in Vietnam. It provides general information on costs, human resources, infrastructure in green development investment, and evaluates the effectiveness of businesses. The article also discusses the opportunities and challenges of operating in green logistics services, as well as government policies that support such activities. Based on this research, the author proposes several solutions and recommendations to promote green logistics practices in Vietnam's logistics businesses, intending to reduce carbon emissions.]. (shrink)

The paper presents a pioneering approach to assessing the effectiveness of innovation processes in logistics. Indicators and the procedure of evaluating the efficiency of innovation processes in enterprise logistic activity are described. Possibilities of applying this approach are suggested.

I shall attempt in what follows to show how mereology, taken together with certain topological notions, can yield the basis for future investigations in formal ontology. I shall attempt to show also how the mereological framework here advanced can allow the direct and natural formulation of a series of theses – for example pertaining to the concept of boundary – which can be formulated only indirectly (if at all) in set-theoretic terms.

A preponderance of empirical research in higher education exists on the use of electronic resources to promote university education and learning. This suggests that this area of research has attracted significant interest worldwide. However, there seems to be inadequate information on the association between specific electronic infrastructures, how they are utilized for learning, and their effects on students’ learning effectiveness in higher institutions in Nigeria. This research draws on previous studies and seeks to establish how different electronic resources are used (...) in universities and how they impact students’ learning effectiveness. Using a descriptive survey design, this survey examined 1,452 participants (undergraduates and postgraduates) from Nigerian universities. The data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation, while a Polytomous Logistic Regression Model was used in testing the hypothesis formulated. Findings showed that the degree of the use of digital infrastructures in universities is low. The extent of learning effectiveness among students in universities is also low. The usage of e-infrastructures (such as e-learning, e-communication, and e-library tools) significantly predicted students’ levels of learning effectiveness. Based on these results, conclusions and relevant theoretical and practical implications are discussed for policy reforms in education and e-learning. This study faces a limitation arising from the small number of universities studied. However, it is suggested that future related studies extend their focus beyond the context of Nigeria. (shrink)

Nghiên cứu tìm hiểu tác động của chất lượng dịch vụ logistics đến sự hài lòng của khách hàng tại một số doanh nghiệp logistics trên địa bàn Hà Nội. Kết quả hồi quy cho thấy, các nhân tố quan trọng tác động đến sự hài lòng của khách hàng về chất lượng dịch vụ logistics tại công ty. Từ đó, nghiên cứu đề xuất các hàm ý giải pháp giúp có được nguồn khách hàng trung thành, (...) gia tăng doanh thu và khẳng định năng lực logistics của mình trong ngành dịch vụ nói chung và dịch vụ logistics nói riêng. (shrink)

: In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a critical enabler of innovation in supply chain and logistics management. By leveraging AI capabilities, enterprises can automate key processes, optimize operations, and make data-driven decisions that lead to enhanced efficiency, reduced costs, and improved customer satisfaction. Microsoft Azure provides a comprehensive suite of AI-driven tools and services designed to streamline and automate various aspects of supply chain and logistics operations. This paper explores how Azure's AI tools are reshaping (...) the landscape of supply chain management, focusing on key areas such as demand forecasting, inventory management, route optimization, predictive maintenance, and real-time monitoring. Furthermore, the paper delves into the benefits, challenges, and implementation strategies for integrating Azure AI solutions within enterprise ecosystems, with realworld case studies demonstrating successful AI-powered transformations. (shrink)

Bài viết nghiên cứu tác động của Tỷ suất sinh lời đến Tỷ lệ nắm giữ tiền mặt tại các doanh nghiệp logistics trên thị trường chứng khoán Việt Nam. Nghiên cứu này sử dụng bộ dữ liệu từ 81 doanh nghiệp niêm yết và đang giao dịch trên thị trường chứng khoán Việt Nam trong giai đoạn 2018-2023 và sử dụng phương pháp hồi quy dữ liệu bảng theo các mô hình POOLED OLS, FEM, REM, FGLS để khắc (...) phục khuyết tật của mô hình. Kết quả chỉ ra rằng, cả 3 biến độc lập đại diện cho Tỷ suất sinh lời gồm: Tỷ suất sinh lời của tài sản (ROA); Tỷ suất sinh lời của vốn chủ sở hữu (ROE); Tỷ suất sinh lời của doanh thu (ROS) đều có tác động tích cực đến Tỷ lệ nắm giữ tiền ở các doanh nghiệp logistics trong thời gian nghiên cứu. (shrink)

Nghiên cứu này nhằm mục đích tìm hiểu các yếu tố quyết định đến ý định lựa chọn chương trình cử nhân ngành logistics của sinh viên trên địa bàn TP. Hà Nội. Sử dụng thuyết hành động hợp lý (TRA), kết quả nghiên cứu chỉ ra rằng, Thái độ và Chuẩn chủ quan có ảnh hưởng đến ý định lựa chọn chương trình cử nhân ngành logistics của sinh viên. Dựa trên phát hiện này, nghiên cứu đề (...) xuất một số biện pháp tạo động lực và thu hút người học theo đuổi cử nhân ngành logistics. (shrink)

Technologies currently have a tremendous impact on all spheres of economy, business and a state. They integrally change people’s conception of trade, property, and market entities interaction. Artificial intelligence, additive, informationommunication, green technologies, biotechnologies, and blockchain technologies development and implementation confirm their leadership importance and inevitability in relation to the activities traditional approaches. In the modern world only the companies with flexible vision, equipment and technologies able to instantly reform, adapt to new conditions and challenges, will benefit. The point at (...) issue is Industry 4.0 as a new technological mode emergence. (shrink)

The paper is Part III of the large research, dedicated to both the revision of the system of basic logical categories and the generalization of modern predicate logic to functional logic. We determinate and contrapose modern Fregean logistics and proposed by the author ultra-Fregean logistics, next we describe values and arguments of functions, arguments of relations, relations themselves, sets (classes), and subsets (subclasses) as derivative categories (concepts) of ultrafregean logistics. Logistics is a part of metalogic, independent (...) of semantics. Fregean logictics is a metalogical theory, based on the quadruple <particular (individual), predicate, equality, sequence>; it generates predicate logic. Ultrafregean logictics is based on the quadruple <particular, function, representation, sequence>, where the notion of a function is a generalization of the notion of a predicate and the notion of representation is a generalization of the notion of equality; this logictics generates functional logic. For the completely correct denotation of the functional values, we need the Churchian symbolics with parenthesis. Predicates are usually identified with relations. A relation is the derived and even definable category of ultra-Fregean logictics. Namely, relations are representations by functions (of one of their arguments). We show that Frege could really establish this definition and the notion (category) of representation but, unfortunately, rejected this course of thought. Next, we show that every n-ary relation can be resolved for some of its arguments via some (n-1)-ary function. A set, or class, is a derived and not definable category of ultra-Fregean logistics. The universal way to introduce the sets is Frege’s abstraction principle. We formulate this principle for functional logic and show that the notion of a set is quantified, so there is the dual existential notion of a nonempty subset, involved by the same abstraction principle. (shrink)

The University of Tehran English Proficiency Test (UTEPT) is a high-stakes entrance examination taken by more than 10,000 master’s degree holders annually. The examinees’ scores have a significant influence on the final decisions concerning admission to the University of Tehran Ph.D. programs. As a test validation investigation, the present study, which is a bias detection research in nature, utilized multistep logistic regression (LR) procedure to examine the presence of gender differential item functioning (DIF) in the UTEPT with a sample of (...) 6,555 examinees who took the test in November 2006. Specifically, the LR DIF two-degree of freedom Chi-squared test of significance was employed to test the significance of DIF. Following what has been recently suggested in the literature, the test of significance for DIF was accompanied by a measure of magnitude, namely the R-squared effect size for LR DIF, for the interpretation of which the two widely accepted classification schemes were used comparatively. The results reveal that 39 of the 100 items in the test display significant gender differences. However, these group differences are viewed as “negligible” based on both of the schemes. Accordingly, it could be argued that the UTEPT is a gender DIF-free test, though the Reading Comprehension section of the test remains in need of further analysis as it seems that the general trend of DIF indices at the item level may hint at an inclination towards males. (shrink)

In the paper, I argue there is a whole political logistics to deportation. This is made visible by bringing the concept of microphysics to bear on the topic. Taking the case of enforced and escorted removals from the UK, I show that this logistics is vividly and graphically documented in the inspection reports. Hitherto largely ignored, inspection reports offer researchers a trove of information regarding the mechanisms and procedures of deportation. As I finally draw out, this focus can (...) speak to questions about the relationship of ethics to deportation: the inspection reports show how a certain form of ethical calculation, based on a risk-based approach to the use of force has been inscribed into the practices of deportation. DOI 10.17879/95189425134. (shrink)

ABSTRACT: This 1974 paper builds on our 1969 paper (Corcoran-Weaver [2]). Here we present three (modal, sentential) logics which may be thought of as partial systematizations of the semantic and deductive properties of a sentence operator which expresses certain kinds of necessity. The logical truths [sc. tautologies] of these three logics coincide with one another and with those of standard formalizations of Lewis's S5. These logics, when regarded as logistic systems (cf. Corcoran [1], p. 154), are seen to be equivalent; (...) but, when regarded as consequence systems (ibid., p. 157), one diverges from the others in a fashion which suggests that two standard measures of semantic complexity may not be as closely linked as previously thought. -/- This 1974 paper uses the linear notation for natural deduction presented in [2]: each two-dimensional deduction is represented by a unique one-dimensional string of characters. Thus obviating need for two-dimensional trees, tableaux, lists, and the like—thereby facilitating electronic communication of natural deductions. The 1969 paper presents a (modal, sentential) logic which may be thought of as a partial systematization of the semantic and deductive properties of a sentence operator which expresses certain kinds of necessity. The logical truths [sc. tautologies] of this logic coincides those of standard formalizations of Lewis’s S4. Among the paper's innovations is its treatment of modal logic in the setting of natural deduction systems--as opposed to axiomatic systems. The author’s apologize for the now obsolete terminology. For example, these papers speak of “a proof of a sentence from a set of premises” where today “a deduction of a sentence from a set of premises” would be preferable. 1. Corcoran, John. 1969. Three Logical Theories, Philosophy of Science 36, 153–77. J P R -/- 2. Corcoran, John and George Weaver. 1969. Logical Consequence in Modal Logic: Natural Deduction in S5 Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 10, 370–84. MR0249278 (40 #2524). 3. Weaver, George and John Corcoran. 1974. Logical Consequence in Modal Logic: Some Semantic Systems for S4, Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 15, 370–78. MR0351765 (50 #4253). (shrink)

Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Early prediction and diagnosis are critical in preventing severe outcomes and improving the quality of life for patients. This project focuses on developing a robust heart disease prediction system using machine learning techniques. By analyzing a comprehensive dataset consisting of various patient attributes such as age, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other medical parameters, the system aims to predict the likelihood of a patient having heart disease. The project (...) employs various machine learning algorithms such as Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, Support Vector Machines (SVM), and Random Forests to classify the data and provide an accurate prediction. The system's performance is evaluated using metrics like accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score, ensuring that it can offer reliable results in real-world applications. Furthermore, feature selection techniques are applied to identify the most significant factors contributing to heart disease, thus improving the model's interpretability. The proposed solution is intended to aid healthcare professionals by providing early alerts and recommendations, ultimately facilitating timely interventions. (shrink)

Customer churn prediction is a critical challenge for businesses in retaining their customer base and optimizing their marketing strategies. Machine learning (ML) techniques offer a powerful approach to predict customer churn by analyzing historical customer behavior, demographic information, and usage patterns. This paper provides an overview of machine learning-based models used for predicting customer churn, including classification algorithms such as logistic regression, decision trees, random forests, support vector machines (SVM), and neural networks. We explore how businesses can leverage these models (...) to identify customers who are likely to churn and take proactive measures to retain them. The paper also highlights the challenges in churn prediction, such as imbalanced data, overfitting, and the interpretability of models, and provides insights into the future of churn prediction models. Case studies in telecommunications, retail, and banking sectors are discussed to demonstrate practical applications. (shrink)

The article provides the analysis of the entrance into the innovative activity and organized regulation of interaction which is based on the scientific and technological changes, concentration of production and the feasibility study of administrative decisions, which are dominated by a conglomerate of technical, technological and engineering management decisions. The research formulates the provisions for the productive use of business as the form of economic relations which is based on the entrepreneur function. These provisions are formulated basing on the conditions (...) of efficient division of labour and cooperation. The research singles out a number of systemic positions which allow perceiving logically and distinguishing the production, service and business, to distribute human activities between the groups of occupations and types of service activities. Among these systemic provisions the most efficient is a modelling approach which, when the society enters more complex social and economic stage, transfers the science from the environment of operations with the bulk characteristics into the environment of the analysis of specific sets of coefficients. The logistics of Ukraine’s joining the process of business is associated with the position of the recognition of the primacy of the physical abilities of the person, which should be developed in part in the system of public security and partly in the business environment, commercialization and private capital. Person enters the business environment and habitat as an initiative individual. These indicators are the following: «connections» between the old and the new, between the objects which exist and those which only start to appear and will exist in future; «sources» of development, movement, changes; «mechanism» of development, ways of changing from old to new quality; «direction» of development; «style» of thinking, understanding reality; «essence» of true knowledge; «essence itself» of cognition; «alternativeness» of metaphysics and dialectics. (shrink)

The authors of the book have come to the conclusion that toensuring the country’s security in the conditions of military aggression, it is necessary to use the mechanisms of protection of territories and population, support of economic entities, international legal levers of influence on the aggressor country. Basic research focuses on assessment the resource potential of enterprises during martial law, the analysis of migration flows in the middle of the country and abroad, the volume of food exports, marketing and (...) class='Hi'>logistics system. The research results have been implemented in the different decision-making models during martial law, information and economic security management, formation of personnel potential and assets of enterprises, food, energy and environmental security management, use of budgetary levers and financial instruments. The results of the study can be used in the developing of directions, programs and strategies for the post-war recovery of Ukraine’s economy and the attraction of foreign investments in the regions, decision-making at the level of ministries and agencies that regulate security management processes. The results can also be used by students and young scientists in the educational process and conducting scientific research on the problems of ensuring the country’s security. (shrink)

Every year, the Vietnamese people reportedly burned about 50,000 tons of joss papers, which took the form of not only bank notes, but iPhones, cars, clothes, even housekeepers, in hope of pleasing the dead. The practice was mistakenly attributed to traditional Buddhist teachings but originated in fact from China, which most Vietnamese were not aware of. In other aspects of life, there were many similar examples of Vietnamese so ready and comfortable with adding new norms, values, and beliefs, even contradictory (...) ones, to their culture. This phenomenon, dubbed “cultural additivity”, prompted us to study the co-existence, interaction, and influences among core values and norms of the Three Teachings –Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism–as shown through Vietnamese folktales. By applying Bayesian logistic regression, we evaluated the possibility of whether the key message of a story was dominated by a religion (dependent variables), as affected by the appearance of values and anti-values pertaining to the Three Teachings in the story (independent variables). Our main findings included the existence of the cultural additivity of Confucian and Taoist values. More specifically, empirical results showed that the interaction or addition of the values of Taoism and Confucianism in folktales together helped predict whether the key message of a story was about Confucianism, β{VT ⋅ VC} = 0.86. Meanwhile, there was no such statistical tendency for Buddhism. The results lead to a number of important implications. First, this showed the dominance of Confucianism because the fact that Confucian and Taoist values appeared together in a story led to the story’s key message dominated by Confucianism. Thus, it presented the evidence of Confucian dominance and against liberal interpretations of the concept of the Common Roots of Three Religions (“tam giáo đồng nguyên”) as religious unification or unicity. Second, the concept of “cultural additivity” could help explain many interesting socio-cultural phenomena, namely the absence of religious intolerance and extremism in the Vietnamese society, outrageous cases of sophistry in education, the low productivity in creative endeavors like science and technology, the misleading branding strategy in business. We are aware that our results are only preliminary and more studies, both theoretical and empirical, must be carried out to give a full account of the explanatory reach of “cultural additivity”. (shrink)

It is crucial to actively detect the risks of transactions in a financial company to improve customer experience and minimize financial loss. In this study, we compare different machine learning algorithms to effectively and efficiently predict the legitimacy of financial transactions. The algorithms used in this study were: MLP Repressor, Random Forest Classifier, Complement NB, MLP Classifier, Gaussian NB, Bernoulli NB, LGBM Classifier, Ada Boost Classifier, K Neighbors Classifier, Logistic Regression, Bagging Classifier, Decision Tree Classifier and Deep Learning. The dataset (...) was collected from Kaggle depository. It consists of 6362620 rows and 10 columns. The best classifier with unbalanced dataset was the Random Forest Classifier. The Accuracy 99.97%, precession 99.96%, Recall 99.97% and the F1-score 99.96%. However, the best classifier with balanced dataset was the Bagging Classifier. The Accuracy 99.96%, precession 99.95%, Recall 99.98% and the F1-score 99.96%. (shrink)

Purpose ‐ The purpose of this paper is to explore the "resource curse" problem as a counter-example of creative performance and innovation by examining reliance on capital and physical resources, showing the gap between expectations and ex-post actual performance that became clearer under conditions of economic turmoil. Design/methodology/approach ‐ The analysis uses logistic regressions with dichotomous response and predictor variables on structured tables of count data, representing firm performance as an outcome of capital resources, physical resources and innovation where appropriate. (...) Findings ‐ Key findings relevant to economic and business practice follow. First, a typical characteristic of successful Vietnamese firms in the transition period is their reliance on either capital resources or physical asset endowments. Second, poor performers exhibit evidence of over-reliance on both capital and physical assets. Third, firms that relied on both types of resources tended to downplay creative performance. Some evidence suggests that firms face more acute problem caused by the law of diminishing returns in troubled times. Fourth, the "innovation factor" has not been tapped as a source of economic growth. Research limitations/implications ‐ This study has some limitations. The size of the survey sample is approximately 150 firms, while the potential sample of > 300 should be possible in the future. When the size increases, the research could be expanded to include further variables that will help investigate more deeply into the related issues and business implications. With regard to the implications of the study, the absence of innovations has made the notion of "resource curse" identical to "destructive creation" implemented by ex-ante resource-rich firms, and worsened the problem of resource misallocation in transition turmoil. The Vietnamese corporate sector's addiction to resources may contribute to economic deterioration, through a downward spiral of lower efficiency leading to consumption of more resources. Practical implications ‐ Insights obtained from this study could save transition economies' resources which have almost always been considered sine qua non before any critical major policymaking, while this is not necessarily true, and in many cases, even counterproductive. Originality/value ‐ Original data set on Vietnam stock market are collected, processed, prepared and used by the authors. Original design by the authors for regression equations with dichotomous predictor variables: dependence on endowed physical assets, reliance on capital resources and significant signs of creative performance/innovations. Original idea of viewing "resource curse" as absence of innovation and due to uncreative "destructive creation" of poor-performing commercial operations by resource-rich firms is used in the paper. We have searched the literature in business research and found that the empirical results have not been previously reported. (shrink)

While various definitions of moral distress have been proposed, some agreement exists that it results from illegitimate constraints in clinical practice affecting healthcare professionals’ moral agency. If we are to reduce moral distress, instruments measuring it should provide relevant information about such illegitimate constraints. Unfortunately, existing instruments fail to do so. We discuss here several shortcomings of major instruments in use: their inability to determine whether reports of moral distress involve an accurate assessment of the requisite clinical and logistical facts (...) in play, whether the distress in question is aptly characterized as moral, and whether the moral distress reported is an appropriate target of elimination. Such failures seriously limit the ability of empirical work on moral distress to foster appropriate change. (shrink)

Political fact-checkers evaluate the truthfulness of politicians’ claims. This paper contributes to an emerging scholarly debate on whether fact-checkers treat political parties differently in a systematic manner depending on their ideology (bias). We first examine the available approaches to analyze bias and then present a new approach in two steps. First, we propose a logistic regression model to analyze the outcomes of fact-checks and calculate how likely each political party will obtain a truth score. We test our model with a (...) sample of fact-checks from Newtral, a major Spanish fact-checker. Our model would signal bias under two assumptions: a) all political parties are on average equally accurate in their statements; b) the verification method gives precise instructions and is implemented systematically. We investigate this second assumption with a series of interviews with Newtral fact-checkers. We show that standard verification protocols are so loosely implemented that fact-checks reflect a set of journalistic decisions, rather than a bias in the statistical sense. We call for a more rigorous definition of verification methods as a pre-requisite for an unbiased assessment of politician’s claims. (shrink)

Since the 1860s, petroleum companies, through their influence on local governments, port authorities, international actors and the general public gradually became more dominant in shaping the urban form of ports and cities. Under their development and pressure, the relationships between industrial and urban areas in port cities hosting oil facilities evolved in time. The borders limiting industrial and housing territories have continuously changed with industrial places moving progressively away from urban areas. Such a changing dynamic influenced the permeability of these (...) borders. Port cities are nodes and logistic points where various flows of commodities, wealth, and knowledge gathered before further re‐distribution. These flows affected port cities by changing their spatial organization and the availabiity of space between borders. The main question here is: How did industrial and urban borders evolve through time in port cities? Through a historical analysis, the article explores the settlements of oil facilities and the influence of oil companies over local, regional, and national governments in creating borders and how it influenced the porosity of port cities. This article, through the petroleum narrative, illustrates the impacts of past borders on the contemporary urban form through the evolution of the French port city of Dunkirk, in the North of France. As a historical study, the article analyzes the changing relationships between petroleum industrial sites and housing areas in the city of Dunkirk, using aerial pictures, archival sources, and regulations of different periods. The importance of this analysis lies in knowing that former oil sites previously located on the periphery of Dunkirk, that were forgotten by the authorities are now located within the current urban tissue. This process demonstrates the importance of historical developments to understand current challenges in the urban planning of industrial port cities. (shrink)

The so-called ‘‘species problem’’ has plagued evolution- ary biology since before Darwin’s publication of the aptly titled Origin of Species. Many biologists think the problem is just a matter of semantics; others complain that it will not be solved until we have more empirical data. Yet, we don’t seem to be able to escape discussing it and teaching seminars about it. In this paper, I briefly examine the main themes of the biological and philosophical liter- atures on the species problem, (...) focusing on identifying common threads as well as relevant differences. I then argue two fundamental points. First, the species problem is not primarily an empirical one, but it is rather fraught with philosophical questions that require—but cannot be settled by—empirical evidence. Second, the (dis-)solution lies in explicitly adopting Wittgenstein’s idea of ‘‘family resemblance’’ or cluster concepts, and to consider spe- cies as an example of such concepts. This solution has several attractive features, including bringing together apparently diverging themes of discussion among bio- logists and philosophers. The current proposal is con- ceptually independent (though not incompatible) with the pluralist approach to the species problem advocated by Mishler, Donoghue, Kitcher and Dupre ́, which implies that distinct aspects of the species question need to be emphasized depending on the goals of the researcher. From the biological literature, the concept of species that most closely matches the philosophical discussion pre- sented here is Templeton’s cohesion idea. (shrink)

Summary Background Self-binding directives instruct clinicians to overrule treatment refusal during future severe episodes of illness. These directives are promoted as having potential to increase autonomy for individuals with severe episodic mental illness. Although lived experience is central to their creation, service users’ views on self-binding directives have not been investigated substantially. This study aimed to explore whether reasons for endorsement, ambivalence, or rejection given by service users with bipolar disorder can address concerns regarding self-binding directives, decision-making capacity, and human (...) rights. Methods This study used qualitative data from an internet-based survey distributed to the mailing list of the UK charity Bipolar UK, which contained multiple closed and open questions on advance decision-making in bipolar disorder. Quantitative analysis of a closed question about self-binding directives had already demonstrated endorsement amongst a very high proportion of participants with bipolar disorder who completed the survey. We conducted thematic analysis of responses from those participants who answered a subsequent open question about reasons for their view. Research was co-produced within a multi-disciplinary team, with clinical, legal, and ethical expertise, and lived experience of bipolar disorder. Ideas and methodologies associated with all these areas of expertise were used in the analysis of these reasons and to gain insight into the thoughts of individuals with bipolar disorder about self-binding directives and associated issues. Findings Between Oct 23 and Dec 5, 2017, 932 individuals with a self-reported clinical diagnosis of bipolar disorder completed the internet survey, with 565 (154 men; 400 women; 11 transgender or other) providing free text answers to the open question. A large majority of respondents endorsed self-binding directives, nearly all describing a determinate shift to types of distorted thinking and decision-making when unwell as their key justification. Responses indicating ambivalence were dominated by logistical concerns about the drafting and implementation of self-binding directives, while those who rejected self-binding directives also cited logistical concerns, validity of their thinking when unwell, and potential contravention of human rights. Interpretation This study is, to our knowledge, the first large study of reasons why mental health service users might endorse or reject the use of self-binding directives. The findings provide empirical support for introducing self-binding directives into mental health advance decision-making practice and policy and may help to address enduring ethical concerns surrounding possible implementation of the directive while a person retains decision-making capacity. The opinions expressed here in responses given by multiple service users with bipolar disorder challenge a prominent view within international disability rights debates that involuntary treatment and recognition of impaired mental capacity constitute inherent human rights violations. Funding The Wellcome Trust . (shrink)

Patients’ knowledge of hypertension and treatment has been found to affect health outcomes of hypertension. This study aimed to assess the impact of therapeutic patients’ education on knowledge of hypertension and lifestyle/dietary modification among hypertensive patients in Nigeria. The study was conducted among 317 hypertensive patients randomized into controlled and intervention groups (158 vs 159, respectively) between March 2021 and February 2022. Baseline knowledge of the patients was assessed and intervention was provided for the intervention group with a structured educational (...) program at a baseline and six months. Descriptive data were presented with a frequency table in percentage while the chi-square test and univariate logistic regression were used to determine the association between categorical variables. Out of the total 318 patients, 275 completed the study (response rate: 86.8%) with 136 in the control group and 139 in the intervention group. The mean age of the patients was 59.5 (±12.5) and patients >60 years (49.5%) were the most frequent age category. The baseline knowledge score of hypertension was 9.8 (±2.6) and 9.3 (±2.6) on a scale of 16 points in the control group and intervention group, respectively (P=0.060) while at six months 11.9 (±2.3) vs 10.8 (±2.4) (P<0.001) and 12 months 12.6 (±2.5) vs 9.5 (±2.0) (P<0.001), respectively. Knowledge of lifestyle/dietary modification in the control group and intervention group at baseline was 7.0 (±2.1) and 6.6 (±2.0), respectively, while at six months 7.5 (±1.5) vs 9.9 (±1.3) (P<0.001) and at 12 months 7.2 (±1.5) vs 10.4 (±1.2), respectively. Marital status, body mass index, and family history of hypertension were associated with knowledge of hypertension and lifestyle/dietary modification (P<0.001). The educational intervention provided was associated with a significant improvement in knowledge of hypertension and lifestyle/dietary modification. The marital status of the patients, body mass index and family history of hypertension influenced patients’ level of knowledge. (shrink)

Cloudbursts pose a significant threat in India, especially during the South-West Monsoon season that commences in June. India's diverse climate regions, including the northern Himalayan region, Indo-Gangetic Plain, southern peninsula, and coastal areas, experience sporadic cloudbursts, with only 31 recorded instances, mainly in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir. To address the lack of comprehensive Indian cloudburst data, we've curated a dataset, incorporating meteorological factors for cloudburst prediction. This dataset encompasses variables such as Temperature, Wind Gust, Wind Gust Speed, (...) Humidity, Monsoon patterns, Air Pressure, and Cloud Density. Our goal is to improve preparedness and mitigation strategies, safeguarding lives, and property in cloudburst prone areas. Employing optimized machine learning algorithms, our model analyzes these parameters alongside prevailing weather conditions, facilitating cloudburst event prediction. We evaluate the prediction performance of machine learning algorithms, including KNN. The KNN algorithm outperformed others with an accuracy of 86.18%. Moreover, we provide graphical insights into the correlation between humidity and cloudburst occurrence, emphasizing the importance of weather variables in prediction models. This research contributes to cloudburst forecasting, even with limited Indian data, and highlights the potential of utilizing diverse machine learning techniques for improved accuracy. (shrink)

Abstract: Heart diseases are increasing daily at a rapid rate and it is alarming and vital to predict heart diseases early. The diagnosis of heart diseases is a challenging task i.e. it must be done accurately and proficiently. The aim of this study is to determine which patient is more likely to have heart disease based on a number of medical features. We organized a heart disease prediction model to identify whether the person is likely to be diagnosed with a (...) heart disease or not using the medical features of the person. We used many different algorithms of machine learning such as Gaussian Mixture, Nearest Centroid, MultinomialNB, Logistic RegressionCV, Linear SVC, Linear Discriminant Analysis, SGD Classifier, Extra Tree Classifier, Calibrated ClassifierCV, Quadratic Discriminant Analysis, GaussianNB, Random Forest Classifier, ComplementNB, MLP Classifier, BernoulliNB, Bagging Classifier, LGBM Classifier, Ada Boost Classifier, K Neighbors Classifier, Logistic Regression, Gradient Boosting Classifier, Decision Tree Classifier, and Deep Learning to predict and classify the patient with heart disease. A quite helpful approach was used to regulate how the model can be used to improve the accuracy of prediction of heart diseases in any person. The strength of the proposed model was very satisfying and was able to predict evidence of having a heart disease in a particular person by using Deep Learning and Random Forest Classifier which showed a good accuracy in comparison to the other used classifiers. The proposed heart disease prediction model will enhances medical care and reduces the cost. This study gives us significant knowledge that can help us predict the person with heart disease. The dataset was collected from Kaggle depository and the model is implemented using python. (shrink)

Objective: There are benefits and risks of giving patients more granular control of their personal health information in electronic health record (EHR) systems. When designing EHR systems and policies, informaticists and system developers must balance these benefits and risks. Ethical considerations should be an explicit part of this balancing. Our objective was to develop a structured ethics framework to accomplish this. -/- Methods: We reviewed existing literature on the ethical and policy issues, developed an ethics framework called a “Points to (...) Consider” (P2C) document, and convened a national expert panel to review and critique the P2C. -/- Results: We developed the P2C to aid informaticists designing an advanced query tool for an electronic health record (EHR) system in Indianapolis. The P2C consists of six questions (“Points”) that frame important ethical issues, apply accepted principles of bioethics and Fair Information Practices, comment on how questions might be answered, and address implications for patient care. -/- Discussion: The P2C is intended to clarify whatis at stake when designers try to accommodate potentially competing ethical commitments and logistical realities. The P2C was developed to guide informaticists who were designing a query tool in an existing EHR that would permit patient granular control. While consideration of ethical issues is coming to the forefront of medical informatics design and development practices, more reflection is needed to facilitate optimal collaboration between designers and ethicists. This report contributes to that discussion. (shrink)

We examined the links between moral identity—the centrality of moral principles to identity—and political purpose during emerging adulthood. We analyzed data from two waves of a longitudinal study of civic purpose. T1 surveys were collected before high school graduation and T2 survey were collected two years later. We categorized people (N = 1,578 at T1 and N = 480 at T2) into political purpose groups based on the person-centered perspective and then performed multinomial logistic regression analysis to test whether moral (...) identity was associated with categories of political purpose. The findings from our study indicate that moral identity at T1 is linked with the maintenance and formation of T2 political purpose. (shrink)

Ranking theory is a formal epistemology that has been developed in over 600 pages in Spohn's recent book The Laws of Belief, which aims to provide a normative account of the dynamics of beliefs that presents an alternative to current probabilistic approaches. It has long been received in the AI community, but it has not yet found application in experimental psychology. The purpose of this paper is to derive clear, quantitative predictions by exploiting a parallel between ranking theory and a (...) statistical model called logistic regression. This approach is illustrated by the development of a model for the conditional inference task using Spohn's ranking theoretic approach to conditionals. (shrink)

Serious games are an effective method of reproducing aspects of the complex interplay between environments and stakeholders in business situations. In the game we describe here, The Sustainable Port, players experience what it is like to make decisions in such a complex environment. Their aim in the game is to grow the Port of Rotterdam while keeping economic growth in balance with sustainability goals. In this study, we assessed whether experienced Port of Rotterdam employees (PoR employees) show different psychophysiological patterns, (...) and more specifically EAR-derived features, compared to students. We did this on the assumption that physiological patterns will tell us something about how people who are familiar with the environment of the Port of Rotterdam, more specifically Port of Rotterdam employees, make decisions compared to those lacking such familiarity.Our sample consisted of 28 PoR employees and 65 students, all of whom played The Sustainable Port game and had their faces recorded with a camera. The Eye Aspect Ratio was extracted from these recordings and then from those we extracted EAR-derived features. Our results show that Port of Rotterdam employees perform better than students and that the two groups are characterized by different physiological variations in their EAR-derived features. A logistic regression model used to identify PoR employees and students obtained an F1 score of 0.62, a PR AUC score of 0.64, and a ROC AUC score of 0.70. performing significantly above baseline suggesting the effectiveness of using EAR-derived features for this task. Our interpretation was further confirmed by a pseudo-R2 score used to evaluate the goodness of fit of a logistic regression model on the entire dataset. We found that Port of Rotterdam employees had a lower variation in blink rate per minute (blinks/m) and higher variation in the root mean square difference of successive difference in blinks (RMSSD), the consecutive difference between two continuous blinks. Moreover, this study shows that our methods were robust enough to negate the effects of confounders, such as biological sex and age that affect some other studies that analyze blinks. (shrink)

The rapid digitalization of various societal sectors in Ukraine, including public services, banking, e-learning, and logistics, emphasizes the need for enhanced practical IT competencies among students. Despite the widespread availability of digital devices, educational curricula often lack tasks that provide hands-on experience with configuring networks and operating systems. This study aimed to address this gap by updating the curriculum of the "Information Processes and Methods of Their Algorithmization" course to focus on practical tasks that involve creating and configuring information (...) resources. To achieve this, the Debian operating system was chosen due to its flexibility, low resource requirements, and compatibility with outdated hardware. Key tasks included configuring services for business and home use, such as remote server access, secure file sharing, web hosting, and office environments with essential software like LibreOffice and Thunderbird. Performance metrics, including memory usage and disk space utilization, were evaluated for different configurations of the operating system, demonstrating its efficiency even on low-resource systems. The results highlight Debian as a cost-effective and adaptable solution for both educational and small-scale business needs, fostering practical IT skills while minimizing hardware expenses. In comparison, Ubuntu Server was found to be more advanced yet resource-intensive, making it better suited for corporate environments. This study underscores the potential of open-source solutions like Debian for improving IT education and promoting their broader adoption in academic and business contexts. (shrink)

Kate Crawford presents AI as “both reflecting and producing social relations and understandings of the world”; or again, as “a form of exercising power, and a way of seeing… as a manifestation of highly organized capital backed by vast systems of extraction and logistics, with supply chains that wrap around the entire planet”. I interpret these material insights through a Marxist understanding of ideology, with reference to Marx/Engels, Guy Debord and Louis Althusser. In the German Ideology, Marx and Engels (...) present ideology as the alienated and alienating discourse of exchange, dissimulating the material forces of production and its science. Guy Debord presents the spectacle as the further representation of capital. The spectacle is a total Weltanschauung, pure appearance, where “whatever appears is good and where what is good, appears.” Above all, the spectacle is ideology, representing “the impoverishment, enslavement and negation of real life”. Louis Althusser presents ideology as essential for the reproduction of labor-power and capital. His notion of “interpellation” explains the subjective uptake of ideology, how we respond, “yes!” to its call. The algorithms of AI are enactments of surplus value generating capital as data. The AI data-world is the spectacle, “the autonomous movement of non-life” (Debord) where the proletariat/consumer is the producer of their own ideological subjection. Is resistance possible? What form might it take? And if AI is understood as ideology, i.e. as a language that obscures the true conditions of real life, then what are those true conditions? What is “real life”? (shrink)

ABSTRACT Objectives There is little research on moral uncertainties and distress of palliative and hospice care providers (PHCPs) working in jurisdictions anticipating legalising voluntary assisted dying (VAD). This study examines the perception and anticipated concerns of PHCPs in providing VAD in the State of Queensland, Australia prior to legalisation of the practice in 2021. The findings help inform strategies to facilitate training and support the health and well-being of healthcare workers involved in VAD. Design The study used a qualitative approach (...) to examine and analyse the perception and anticipated concerns of PHCPs regarding challenges of providing assisted dying in Queensland. Fourteen PHCPs were recruited using a purposive sampling strategy to obtain a broad representation of perspectives including work roles, geographical locations and workplace characteristics. Data were collected via one in-depth interview per participant. The transcripts were coded for patterns and themes using an inductive analysis approach following the tradition of Grounded Theory. Setting The study was conducted in hospital, hospice, community and residential aged care settings in Queensland, Australia. These included public and private facilities, secular and faith-based facilities, and regional/rural and urban facilities. Participants Interviews were conducted with fourteen PHCPs: 10 nurses and 4 physicians; 11 female and 3 male. The median number of years of palliative care practice was 17, ranging from 2 to 36 years. For inclusion, participants had to be practising palliative and hospice care providers. Results PHCPs are divided on whether VAD should be considered part of palliative care. Expectations of moral distress and uncertainty about practising VAD were identified in five areas: handling requests, assessing patient capacity, arranging patient transfers and logistical issues, managing unsuccessful attempts, and dealing with team conflicts and stigma. Conclusions The possibility of having to practise VAD causes moral distress and uncertainty for some PHCPs. Procedural clarity can address some uncertainties; moral and psychological distress, however, remains a source of tension that needs support to ensure ongoing care of both patients and PHCPs. The introduction of VAD post-legalisation may present an occasion for further moral education and development of PHCPs. (shrink)

Traditional wisdom dictates that statistical model outputs are estimates, not measurements. Despite this, statistical models are employed as measurement instruments in the social sciences. In this article, I scrutinize the use of a specific model—the logit model—for psychological measurement. Given the adoption of a criterion for measurement that I call comparability, I show that the logit model fails to yield measurements due to properties that follow from its fixed residual variance.

Mexico, with the commissioning of the "National Crusade Against Hunger Program" in 2013, aimed at serving the population that presents both extreme poverty and food deprivation. The article aims to analyze whether the criterion of the selection of the municipalities of the State of Veracruz incorporated in the National Crusade Against Hunger Program (PNCH) show complementarity with the efforts in the fight against poverty in the social expenditure strategy applied in the Priority Attention Zones Program (ZAP) and the Priority Areas (...) Development Program (PDZP) and, particularly, the indigenous municipalities that have a greater degree of social exclusion. The adjustment of a binary logistic regression model is presented, in order to assess the incidence of contextual factors to interpret the scope of the strategy adopted by the federal government in the fight against poverty and hunger. As a result, it is evident that there is no continuity in the fight against poverty, since the municipalities included in the strategy Priority Areas of Attention and Program of Development of Priority Zones are not considered in the selection of municipalities incorporated in the National Program of Crusade Against Hunger, a situation that identifies the relationship between programs is not complementary. (shrink)

The increasing prevalence of mental health issues, particularly stress, has necessitated the development of data-driven, interpretable machine learning models for early detection and intervention. This study leverages multimodal data, including activity levels, perceived stress scores (PSS), and event counts, to predict stress levels among individuals. A series of models, including Logistic Regression, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting, and Neural Networks, were evaluated for their predictive performance. Results demonstrated that ensemble models, particularly Random Forest and Gradient Boosting, performed significantly better compared to (...) Logistic Regression. Random Forest achieved an accuracy of 73%, while Gradient Boosting delivered a balanced precision-recall tradeoff with an accuracy of 72%. Gradient Boosting outperformed in identifying high-stress instances, achieving a recall of 70%, making it the most reliable model for stress prediction. Explainable AI (XAI), which refers to the ability of machine learning models to provide transparent and understandable explanations for their predictions, was employed in this study using SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations). SHAP values revealed that Perceived Stress Score (PSS) had the most significant impact on predictions, followed by event count and activity inference. Higher PSS scores strongly correlated with high-stress predictions, while increased event counts and activity levels were associated with lower stress. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating behavioral patterns in stress diagnostics and highlight the utility of explainable models in improving transparency, trust, and usability for clinical decision-making. This research establishes a robust foundation for deploying interpretable machine learning systems to support mental health diagnostics and enhance clinician decision support. (shrink)

Biological evolution and technological innovation, while differing in many respects, also share common features. In particular, implementation of a new technology in the market is analogous to the spreading of a new genetic trait in a population. Technological innovation may occur either through the accumulation of quantitative changes, as in the development of the ocean clipper, or it may be initiated by a new combination of features or subsystems, as in the case of steamships. Other examples of the latter type (...) are electric networks that combine the generation, distribution, and use of electricity, and containerized transportation that combines standardized containers, logistics, and ships. Biological evolution proceeds, phenotypically, in many small steps, but at the genetic level novel features may arise not only through the accumulation of many small, common mutational changes, but also when distinct, relatively rare genetic changes are followed by many further mutations. In particular, capabilities of biologically modern man may have been initiated, perhaps some 150 000 years ago, by one or few accidental but distinct combinations of modules and subroutines of gene regulation which are involved in the generation of the neural network in the cerebral cortex. It is even conceivable that it was one primary genetic event that initiated the evolution of biologically modern man, introducing some novel but subtle feature of connectivity into the cerebral cortex which allowed for meta-levels of abstraction and upgraded modes of information processing. This may have set the stage for the evolution of integrated but diverse higher capabilities such as structured language, symbolic thought, strategic thought, and cognition based empathy. (shrink)

The judiciary system deals with various types of cases, including civil disputes and criminal trials, that require efficient management and strict adherence to procedures. Traditionally, handling these cases involves extensive paperwork, complex scheduling, and logistical challenges. These existing methods often lead to delays, high costs, limited accessibility, and inconsistent data management. To address these issues, we propose developing an online portal for case management and hearings. This e-portal aims to automate processes, reduce costs, improve accessibility, enhance transparency, and ensure consistent (...) data management. By implementing this solution, we aim to expedite case resolutions, lower expenses, provide better access to information for all parties, and create a more efficient legal system. (shrink)

Religion has always been argued as a cultural factor that influences behavior. Similarly, previous studies had shown that demographic factors such as age, gender, education level, and work experience were linked to behavior. This present study examined if demographic factors and religiosity dimensions could predict ethical behavior, specifically Islamic ethical work behavior, in Brunei. This study used an existing data set, which had been employed with a different approach and research questions. A total of 370 respondents were analyzed. Model analysis (...) involved the use of binomial logistic regression. It correctly classified 77% of cases. The result showed that demographic factors were not significant predictors of Islamic ethical work behavior. However, all religiosity dimensions were significant predictors of Islamic ethical work behavior, providing support for religion influencing behavior in the workplace—to a certain extent, in the society—although the degree of effects varied, suggesting opportunities for further research. The findings were discussed, and limitations and recommendations were then presented. (shrink)

As moral injury is a still-emerging concept within the area of military mental health, prevalence estimates for moral injury and its precursor, potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs), remain unknown for many of the world’s militaries. The present study sought to estimate the prevalence of PMIEs in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), using data collected from CAF personnel deployed to Afghanistan, via logistic regressions controlling for relevant sociodemographic, military, and deployment characteristics. Analyses revealed that over 65% of CAF members reported exposure (...) to at least one event that would be considered a PMIE. The most commonly PMIEs individuals reported included seeing ill or injured women and children they were unable to help (48.4%), being unable to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants (43.6%), and finding themselves in a threatening situation where they were unable to respond due to the rules of engagement under which they were required to operate (35.4%). These findings provide support for both the presence of exposure to PMIEs in CAF members and the need for formal longitudinal data collection regarding PMIE exposure and moral injury development. (shrink)

When national borders in the modern sense first began to be established in early modern Europe, non-contiguous and perforated nations were a commonplace. According to the conception of the shapes of nations that is currently preferred, however, nations must conform to the topological model of circularity; their borders must guarantee contiguity and simple connectedness, and such borders must as far as possible conform to existing topographical features on the ground. The striving to conform to this model can be seen at (...) work today in Quebec and in Ireland, it underpins much of the rhetoric of the P.L.O., and was certainly to some degree involved as a motivating factor in much of the ethnic cleansing which took place in Bosnia in recent times. The question to be addressed in what follows is: to what extent could inter-group disputes be more peacefully resolved, and ethnic cleansing avoided, if political leaders, diplomats and others involved in the resolution of such disputes could be brought to accept weaker geometrical constraints on the shapes of nations? A number of associated questions then present themselves: What sorts of administrative and logistical problems have been encountered by existing non contiguous nations and by perforated nations, and by other nations deviating in different ways from the received geometrical ideal? To what degree is the desire for continuity and simple connectedness a rational desire, and to what degree does it rest on species of political rhetoric which might be countered by, for example, philosophical argument? These and a series of related questions will form the subject- matter of the present essay. (shrink)

Presently, there is a lack of psychological and quantitative studies in Singapore about discriminatory attitudes. This paper aimed to contribute to this aspect. However, to examine actual behavior can be difficult due to the sensitive nature of the needed data. Hence, this study approached discrimination at an attitudinal level. Six vulnerable groups were examined in this study. They consisted of people of a different race, immigrants or foreign workers, homosexuals, people living with HIV/AIDS, people of a different religion, and unmarried (...) couples living together. Two research questions were posed: 1) What is the prevalence of having discriminatory attitude toward vulnerable groups? and 2) What are the predictors of these discriminatory attitudes? Using a sample population of 1,972 Singaporeans, descriptive analysis and binomial logistic regression analysis were conducted. Firstly, based on the results, the prevalence ranged between 10.76% to 42.46%. Singaporeans have discriminatory attitude toward vulnerable groups who can be categorized into two: the least discriminated (three groups ranging between 10.76% to 15.48%) and the highly discriminated (three groups ranging between 30.86% to 42.46%). Secondly, binomial logistic regression showed support for several significant predictors such as emphasis on the importance of religion and tradition, and employment status, depending on the model assessed. However, one pattern was observed in all the models, that a person who discriminates one group is more likely to discriminate another group. The findings were then discussed and explained within the context of Singapore. (shrink)

Human civilization is very clearly reaching a point of critical mass when it comes to technology and how it transforms culture and the economics that is therefore driven forward. The conversation around the practical aspects of generative artificial intelligence (Chat GPT, Q Star, Bard, Claude, Genesis, Firefly, and others) and their ethical implications is massively trending. The political conversations around it are slow to catch up but will soon take over once the general public feels their impact, which is likely (...) to happen in the next two to three years. -/- What is not being spoken of is the need for new economic models that can integrate the enormous and continuous shifts in trade that will occur, as we continue to implement more efficient manufacturing and logistics. Things like 3D printing in hub regions, the automation of transportation, augmented and virtual reality, and new creativity-based industries will all disrupt capital markets as well as social systems due to what we could call "meta-scarcity", which is to say, "the scarcity of scarcity"; In effect, we will lack the scarcity to maintain predictive power over the future. This is because when technology is capable of optimizing for creativity, people come up with new demands, and when new demands are supplied as quickly as they arise, no one is capable of knowing what kind of trends the market will take, yet it is necessary to try as public discussion could beneficially shape the economic landscape. (shrink)