bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vegetation and Thermal Comfort in Open Spaces: The Case of Sistan Province
Authors: Davtalab Jamshid , Hafezi Mohammad Reza , Adib Morteza
Published: May 2021

Given the role of open spaces in quality of living environment and the importance of climatic comfort for effective usage of such spaces, this research examines the impact of vegetation in producing thermal comfort in the hot arid Sistan Province, southeast Iran. For this purpose, 29 points were selected in Zabol University in two different locations—adjacent to buildings and vegetation; or solely surrounded by vegetation. The climatic parameters were then measured 3-hour intervals for these points during the warmest summer days of August 2016 at three microclimate, local and city levels. The parameters measured were air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, etc. These measurements were then used to calculate the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) as the main comfort criteria in open spaces.The results indicate that vegetation can bring all climatic parameters to comfort levels in their immediate proximity. These parameters are not affected in their vicinity, however. Therefore, mean climatic comfort was higher at microclimatic level as compared with local or city levels. Furthermore, the parameters most affected by vegetation were found to be wind velocity and average radiant temperature.
Experimental evidence, delivered in “Operational Resource Theory of Imaginarity”, proves the physical existence of Sub-Atomic GEONs
Authors: Vegt Wim
Published: May 2021

The publication “Operational Resource Theory of Imaginarity“ in “Physical Review Letters” in 2021 (Ref. [2]) presenting the first experimental evidence for the measurability of “Quantum Mechanical Imaginarity” directly leads to the fundamental question in this experiment: How is it possible to measure the imaginary part of “Quantum Physical Probability Waves”? This publication provides an unambiguously answer to this fundamental question in Physics, based on the fundamental “Gravitational Electromagnetic Interaction” force densities. The “New Theory” presents a new “Gravitational-Electromagnetic Equation” describing Electromagnetic Field Configurations which are simultaneously the Mathematical Solutions for the Quantum Mechanical “Schrodinger Wave Equation” and more exactly the Mathematical Solutions for the “Relativistic Quantum Mechanical Dirac Equation”. The Mathematical Solutions for the “Gravitational-Electromagnetic Equation” carry Mass, Electric Charge and Magnetic Spin at discrete values.
Кудряшов Александр Леонидович. (2021). РОЛЬ САМОЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ В ОТНОШЕНИИ ДЕТСКОЙ ТРАВМЫ И ТРЕВОГИ// FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (ICFARS) April 2021, Berlin - Germany: collection of scientific papers / OEAPS OU.; editorial board: Flora Bertrand (editor-in-chief) [and others]. - Tallinn, Estonia: OEAPS OU., 2021. P. 40-69.
Authors: Kudryashov Alexander
Published: May 2021

Травмирующие детские переживания (физическое насилие и невнимание, эмоциональное насилие, сексуальное насилие) встречаются часто и приводят к множеству негативных последствий для здоровья, таких как тревожность, неуверенность в себе и стресс. Хотя взаимосвязь между детской травмой и тревогой хорошо изучена, необходимы дополнительные исследования, чтобы понять механизмы, лежащие в основе этой взаимосвязи. Текущее исследование выдвинуло гипотезу о том, что учебная (академическая) самоэффективность, представление о том, что человек обладает способностью достигать желаемых результатов в учебной (академической) деятельности, будет иметь опосредованную связь между детской травмой и тревогой в выборке студентов университета ( n = 204). Кроме того, была выдвинута гипотеза, что пол будет сглаживать взаимосвязь между детской травмой и тревогой. В данном исследовании эмоциональное насилие (EA), эмоциональное пренебрежение (EN) и физическое пренебрежение (PN) анализировались отдельно. Результаты показали, что, хотя EA, EN и PN имели значимые прогностические установки для учебной (академической) самоэффективности, сама академическая самоэффективность не является значимым предиктором тревоги.
More Matter Than Antimatter, All Falling Down - V2
Authors: Maes Stephane
Published: May 2021

In a multi-fold universe, gravity emerges from Entanglement through the multi-fold mechanisms. As a result, gravity-like effects appear in between entangled particles that they be real or virtual. Long range, massless gravity results from entanglement of massless virtual particles. Entanglement of massive virtual particles leads to massive gravity contributions at very smalls scales. Multi-folds mechanisms also result into a spacetime that is discrete, with a random walk fractal structure and non-commutative geometry that is Lorentz invariant and where spacetime nodes and particles can be modeled with microscopic black holes. All these recover General relativity at large scales and semi-classical model remain valid till smaller scale than usually expected. Gravity can therefore be added to the Standard Model. This can contribute to resolving several open issues with the Standard Model. In particular with chirality flips of fermions induced by gravity, right-handed neutrinos (and left-handed anti-neutrinos) can appear in flight and now acquire mass when encountering Higgs bosons. Because perturbatively self-gravity effects may be stronger for anti-neutrinos, the chirality flips in flight will trap longer in flight right-handed anti neutrinos than left-handed neutrinos; creating a matter antimatter asymmetry. While very small this can explain the dominance of matter of antimatter, hence why we exist. As we visit the properties of antimatter, we also predict that, in a multi-fold universe, anti-matter is attracted by gravity, not repelled; something that is still an open issue today in Physics.
FARID AKMAL DJAMALUDDIN RESUME HTN
Authors: DJAMALUDDIN FARID AKMAL
Published: May 2021

Hukumtatanegaramerupakansistempenataaanyangberisiketentuanmengenaistruktur ketenagaaraandanmengenaisubstansinormakenegaraan.Dengankatalain,HukumTata Negaramerupakancabangilmuhukumyangmembahasmengenaitatastruktur kenegaraan,mekanismehubunganantarastrukturkenegaraan,sertamekanismehubungan antarastrukturnegaradenganwarganegara.
Thái độ và ý định mua rau Vietgap của người tiêu dùng TPHCM
Authors: Giao Ha Nam Khanh , Duy Ha Phuong
Published: May 2021

Nghiên cứu nhằm phân tích các yếu tố của thái độ tác động đến ý định mua rau VietGAP của người tiêu dùng tại Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh (TPHCM), bằng việc khảo sát 633 người dân. Lý thuyết Hành vi có kế hoạch (TPB) được sử dụng có điều chỉnh, cùng với phương pháp phân tích độ tin cậy Cronbach’s Alpha, phân tích yếu tố khám phá (EFA), phân tích yếu tố khẳng định (CFA), và mô hình cấu trúc tuyến tính với phương tiện SPSS 20.0 và AMOS 20.0.Kết quả xử lý hồi quy bội cho thấy có 04 thành phần thái độ tác động đến ý định mua rau VietGAP của cư dân TPHCM, sắp theo thứ tự độ mạnh giảm dần: (1) An toàn thực phẩm, (2) Sự tin tưởng, (3) Mối quan tâm về sức khỏe, (4) Chuẩn chủ quan. Từ đó, nghiên cứu đề xuất một số hàm ý quản trị đối với Ban Quản lý các doanh nghiệp sản suất rau VietGAP ở TPHCM nhằm giúp nâng cao khả năng bán hàng.
Socioeconomic status correlates with measures of Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) system: a meta-analysis
Authors: Piot Leonardo , Havron Naomi , Cristia Alejandrina
Published: May 2021

Using a meta-analytic approach, we evaluate the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and children’s experiences measured with the Language Environment Analysis (LENA) system. Our final analysis included 22 independent samples, representing data from 1583 children. A model controlling for LENATM measures, age and publication type revealed an effect size of r_z= .186, indicating a small effect of SES on children’s language experiences. The type of LENA metric measured emerged as a significant moderator, indicating stronger effects for adult word counts than child vocalization counts. These results provide important evidence for the strength of association between SES and children’s everyday language experiences as measured with an unobtrusive recording analyzed automatically in a standardized fashion.
Effect of elevated temperatures on the performance of metakaolin geopolymer cement Incorporated by cement kiln dust
Authors: Kassem Nourhan Nabil , Kishar Essam A. , Ahmed Doaa A.
Published: May 2021

The aim of the present work was to study the influence of elevated temperatures on the thermal behavior of geopolymer cements based on the incorporation of metakaolin with cement kiln dust. Geopolymer composites were synthesized by partially substituted metakaolin (MK) with 0, 20, 30 and 40 wt% of cement kiln dust (CKD). The mixture of liquid sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was used as alkaline activator solution with fixed ratio 2.5 and the concentration of sodium hydroxide was 10 Molar. The obtained geopolymer specimens were cured in water at ambient temperature (25°C) for 28 days and then subjected to various elevated temperatures 200°C, 400°C, 600°C and 800°C for 1hour. Geopolymer cements were characterized before and after temperature exposure via visual appearance, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and the compressive strength test. Some selected samples were investigated by using thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG).The results show that, all geopolymer specimens loss their compressive strength from ambient temperature to 400°C, this is due to the escape of moisture and dehydroxylation of aluminosilicate gel from the geopolymer matrix. However, geopolymer samples gained strength upon heating to 600°C as a result of further polymerization of unreacted silicate species. At 800°C, the geopolymer mix with 20% CKD retained highest strength and thermal stability than other mixes due to viscous sintering process which induced crack healing thus enhanced the mechanical properties of geopolymer under high temperature. This suggests that geopolymer paste that contains 80%MK and 20% CKD can withstand high temperature as well as very suitable for refractory and fire resistance applications.Keywords
Isnaul khaer-htn
Authors: khaer Isnaul
Published: May 2021

Ruang lingkup kajian Hukum Tata Negara adalah mengenai organisasi negara yang mencakup lembaga - lembaga negara, hubungan satu dengan yang lain, dan kekuasaannya. Selain itu, juga mencakup warga negara termasuk Hak Asasi Manusia (HAM), dan wilayah negara.Dalam dengan ruang lingkup kajian Hukum Tata Negara, Logemann dalam bukunya “Het Staatsrecht van Indonesie” , seperti dikutip Usep Ranawidjaja , menyatakan bahwa Hukum Tata Negara adalah hukum mengenai organisasi (tata susunan) negara yang mencakup dua bidang pokok, yaitu: hukum mengenai kepribadian hukum dari jabatan - jabatan; dan hukum mengenai lingkungan kekuasaan negara yaitu lingkungan manusia tertentu, lingkungan wilayah tertentu, dan lingkungan waktu tertentu.
Does variability in recognition memory scale with mean memory strength or encoding variability in the UVSD model?
Authors: Spanton Rory Wilfrid , Berry Christopher
Published: May 2021

The unequal variance signal detection (UVSD) model of recognition memory assumes that the variance of old item memory strength (σo) is typically greater than that of new items. It has been suggested that this old item variance effect can be explained by the encoding variability hypothesis. However, Spanton and Berry (2020) failed to find evidence for this account, suggesting that σo may simply scale with mean memory strength (d) in the UVSD model. Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effects of encoding variability and strength scaling on old item variance by creating conditions in which mean memory strength and variability in item characteristics was either low or high in 2 × 2 factorial designs. In Experiment 1, overall strength determined estimates of σo, with no effect of item characteristic variability. The same effect of overall strength was found in Experiment 2; there was also a significant effect of item characteristic variability, although this manipulation also had some effect on d and was therefore partially confounded. Experiment 3 similarly found a simultaneous increase in old item variance and memory strength in a design using mixed item characteristic variability conditions in a single study/test block. We conclude that old item variance increases with mean memory strength in the UVSD model, with uncertainty about the effects of encoding variability, and that future explanations of the old item variance effect should bear this in mind.
Learning through processing: Towards an integrated approach to early word learning
Authors: Meylan Stephan , Bergelson Elika
Published: May 2021

Children's linguistic knowledge and the learning mechanisms by which they acquire it grow substantially in infancy and toddlerhood. And yet, theories of word learning largely fail to incorporate these shifts. Moreover, researchers' often-siloed focus on either familiar word recognition or novel word learning limits the critical consideration of how these two relate. As a step towards a mechanistic theory of language acquisition, we first present a framework of "learning through processing," and relate it to the prevailing methods used to assess children's early knowledge of words. Incorporating recent empirical work, we posit a specific, testable timeline of qualitative changes in the learning process in this interval. Finally, we conclude with several challenges and avenues for building a comprehensive theory of early word learning: better characterization of the input, reconciling results across approaches, and treating lexical knowledge in the nascent grammar with sufficient sophistication to ensure generalizability across languages and development.
Visualization of Facial Attractiveness Factors Using Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping
Authors: Sano Takanori
Published: May 2021

Research on attractiveness prediction using facial features has been actively conducted in recent years. The use of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) has been reported to achieve highly accurate predictions. In this study, we used Gradient-Weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) to visualize the hidden layers of the constructed CNN model, which enabled us to investigate the attractiveness factors of faces and to confirm the features that are important for prediction. The results showed that this model has important features in the area related to sexual dimorphism, which is consistent with the findings of psychological research.
Beyond Guidance: It’s Time to Focus on the Consequences of Attentional Capture
Authors: Zivony Alon
Published: May 2021

Attentional capture is assumed to automatically trigger attentional engagement, which gates working memory access. However, recent studies show that engagement is not a necessary outcome of capture and can be disrupted by manipulations that leave capture intact. In this commentary, I suggest that these findings have important implications for the capture debate. Mainly, they suggest that capture may have different consequences under different conditions. Moreover, they caution against interpreting the absence of evidence for engagement as evidence that capture did not occur. Finally, they open the door to future investigation about factors that determine and modulate engagement, independently from capture.
Getting to the source of the illusion of consensus
Authors: Connor Desai Saoirse , Xie Belinda , Hayes Brett
Published: May 2021

Consensus between informants is a valuable cue to a claim’s epistemic value, wheninformants’ beliefs are developed independently of each other. Recent work (Yousif et al., 2019) described an illusion of consensus such that people did not generally discriminate between the epistemic warrant of true consensus, where a majority claim is supported by multiple independent sources, and false consensus arising from repeated claims from the same sources. We re-examined this issue in two ways. First, a Bayesian re-analysis of the Yousif et al. (2019) results found that the evidence for the illusion of consensus was not as strong as originally claimed. Second, three experiments tested the hypothesis that the illusion of consensus only arises when people are unsure about the independence of the primary sources on which informant claims are based. When steps were taken to highlight the independence between data sources in the true consensus conditions, and confidence ina claim was measured against a no consensus baseline (where there was an equal number of reports supporting and opposing a claim), we eliminated the illusion of consensus. Under these conditions, more weight was given to claims based on true consensus than false consensus. These findings have implications for how people evaluate consensus and reason with dependent information. Our findings are relevant to the contemporary media context, where the (in)dependence of information sources can be obscured and lead to the appropriation of erroneous beliefs.
Campaign trail cliche: an analysis of U.S. politicians photo-taking behavior with children
Authors: Gabrieli Giulio , Low Wei Ying Genevieve , Carollo Alessandro , Esposito Gianluca
Published: May 2021

During recent years, several researchers investigated politicians' public appearances to understand the impact of their actions on voters' intentions. Despite the large body of literature surrounding the politicians' families, especially in the U.S. context, little is known about the practice and general influence of politicians taking photographs with infants and children. In this study, politicians' behavior, and especially their public appearances next to infants and children during the presidential campaigns, is evaluated. Results across different presidential campaigns (from 1924 to 2020) confirm that politicians are more likely to take pictures with infants and children the closer it gets to the actual election date. Moreover, results reveal that the different parties —Democratic and Republican— engage in this practice at different stages of the campaign, which varies their likelihood of being elected.
The Only Thing That Can Stop Bad Causal Inference Is Good Causal Inference
Authors: Rohrer Julia M. , Schmukle Stefan C. , McElreath Richard
Published: May 2021

In psychology, causal inference—both the transport from lab estimates to the real world and estimation on the basis of observational data—is often pursued in a casual manner. Underlying assumptions remain unarticulated; potential pitfalls are compiled in post-hoc lists of flaws. The field should move on to coherent frameworks of causal inference and generalizability that have been developed elsewhere.
Do cognitive load and ADHD traits affect the tendency to prioritise social information in scenes?
Authors: Martinez Cedillo Astrid Priscilla , Dent Kevin , Foulsham Tom
Published: May 2021

We report two experiments investigating the effect of working memory (WM) load on selective attention. Experiment 1 was a modified version of Lavie et al. (2004) and confirmed that increasing memory load disrupted performance in the classic flanker task. Experiment 2 used the same manipulation of WM load to probe attention during the viewing of complex scenes, while also investigating individual differences in ADHD traits. In the image viewing task, we measured the degree to which fixations targeted each of two crucial objects: (1) a social object (a person in the scene) and (2) a non-social object of higher or lower physical salience. We compared the extent to which increasing WM load would change the pattern of viewing of the physically salient and socially salient objects. If attending to the social item requires greater default voluntary top-down resources, then the viewing of social objects should show stronger modulation by WM load compared to viewing of physically salient objects. The results showed that the social object was fixated to a greater degree than the other object (regardless of physical saliency). Increased saliency led to increased fixations on the non-social object, but did not change fixations on the social object. Increased levels of ADHD-like traits had a small effect in only one condition. Importantly, working memory load did not affect number of fixations on the social object. Such findings suggest rather surprisingly that attending to a social area in complex stimuli is not dependent on the availability of voluntary top-down resources.
Interpretation of Spurious Differential Item Functioning
Authors: Kim Yongnam , Lee Seo Young
Published: May 2021

This article provides a causal graphical discussion that helps to fill the gap between statistical analysis of differential item functioning (DIF) and the substantive judgment of item fairness. Presented causal graphical representations that describe how the data were generated in a causal sense and the accompanying graphical explanation show a rigorous but nonetheless intuitive way to understand which DIF should be considered genuine or spurious. In particular, the article presents three scenarios where spurious DIF is structurally embedded and will be detected by various statistical methods regardless of functional forms of item response models (e.g., 1PL, 2PL, and 3PL). The first scenario considers a case where an unknown common cause produces a spurious association while the other two scenarios consider cases where a special variable, referred to as a collider, plays a role in inducing a less intuitive type of spurious DIF. Findings about colliders, especially due to sample selection, have never been discussed in the DIF literature before but can be useful for resolving some confusion in DIF applications when analyzing a selected sample such as military data.
Bayesian Causal Inference: A Unifying Neuroscience Theory
Authors: shams ladan , Beierholm Ulrik
Published: May 2021

Understanding of the brain and the principles governing neural processing requirestheories that are parsimonious, can account for a diverse set of phenomena, and can maketestable predictions. Here, we review the theory of Bayesian causal inference, which hasbeen tested, refined, and extended in a variety of tasks in humans and other primates byseveral research groups. Bayesian causal inference is a normative model and hasaccounted for human behavior in a vast number of tasks including unisensory andmultisensory perceptual tasks, sensorimotor, and motor tasks, and has accounted forcounter-intuitive findings. The theory has made novel predictions that have been testedand confirmed empirically, and recent studies have started to map the algorithms andneural implementation of the model in the human brain. The parsimony, the diversity ofthe phenomena that the model has explained, and its illuminating brain function at allthree of Marr's levels of analysis make Bayesian causal inference a strong neurosciencetheory. The progress made in understanding Bayesian causal inference in the brain hasbeen due to the contributions and collaboration of many labs around the worldspecializing in different research topics and methods exploring different aspects of brainfunction. Overall, this highlights the importance of collaborative and multi-disciplinaryresearch for the development of new theories in neuroscience.
Constitution-Making in the Informal Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe, East Asia, and Inner Asia, 1945–1955
Authors: Sablin Ivan
Published: May 2021

This chapter provides an overview of dependent constitution-making under one-party regimes in Albania, Bulgaria, China, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, North Korea, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia during the first decade after the Second World War. Employing and further developing the concept of the informal Soviet empire, it discusses the structural adjustments in law and governance in the Soviet dependencies. The chapter outlines the development of the concepts of “people’s republic” and “people’s democracy” and discusses the process of adoption and the authorship of the constitutions. It then compares their texts with attention to sovereignty and political subjectivity, supreme state institutions, and the mentions of the Soviet Union, socialism, and ruling parties. Finally, it surveys the role of nonconstitutional institutions in political practices and their reflection in propaganda. The process of constitution-making followed the imperial logic of hierarchical yet heterogeneous governance, with multiple vernacular and Soviet actors partaking in drafting and adopting the constitutions. The texts ascribed sovereignty and political subjectivity to the people, the toilers, classes, nationalities, and regions, often in different combinations. Most of the constitutions established a parliamentary body as the supreme institution, disregarding separation of powers, and introduced a standing body to perform the supreme functions, including legislation, between parliamentary sessions, which became a key element in the legal adjustment. Some constitutions mentioned socialism, the Soviet Union, and the ruling parties. The standardization of governance in the informal Soviet empire manifested itself in the constitutional documents only partially. Propaganda and archival documents revealed the prominence of nonconstitutional institutions, parties and leaders, as well the involvement of Soviet representatives in state-building. Domestic parties and leaders in the Soviet dependencies were also presented as subordinate to their Soviet counterparts in propaganda.
Best Practices for E-Mentoring Student Researchers - Tutorials and Tools for Greater Efficiency and Effectiveness
Authors: Mahayosnand Ponn P , Bermejo Diana Mora
Published: May 2021

E-mentoring can provide a rich virtual knowledge-building experience, connecting mentors and students around the world. The need for social distance during the COVID-19 pandemic made it the more plausible means of mentorship, opening to further exploration of its best practices for maximized efficiency and effectiveness (Mahayosnand et al, 2021, 4). This paper is written by a mentor and mentee pair, sharing experiences from both perspectives. The mentor, currently located in Gaza, Palestine, recruited and mentored 6 students in the United States during the 2021 spring semester. These e-mentoring relationships were conducted voluntarily. The mentor is an independent public health researcher interested in Islam and Health and Muslims’ health in relation to COVID-19. The mentee worked on average 9 hours and 6 minutes per week for a 3-credit field experience course. This paper offers an opportunity for the pair to reflect on their research e-mentoring experience, make necessary adjustments for the upcoming semester, and offer insights for future research mentor-mentee pairs. This field report is split into 4 sections: (1) the benefits of e-mentoring; (2) lessons learned; (3) effective e-mentoring tools and systems, such as the weekly meeting call notes system; e-mentoring internship syllabus agreement, mentee research orientation, and maximizing Google Workspace; and (4) tips from a mentee. While forced to this method of mentoring during the pandemic, e-mentoring offers an effective means to conduct academic research globally and should be further explored and promoted.
Black seed (Nigella sativa), a COVID-19 medicinal intervention - a recommendation for the Americas
Authors: Mahayosnand Ponn P , Ahmed Samiha , Sabra ZM
Published: May 2021

This special report presents the medicinal use of black seed (Nigella sativa) for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). The authors analyze current COVID-19-specific black seed studies in the Middle East, South Asia, and the Far East. While black seed has benefits far beyond its antiviral and immunity-enhancing effects, the authors focus on the properties relating specifically to COVID-19. Since some of the countries discussed have fewer financial and human resources than the US, the successful ingestion or inhalation of black seed or black seed oil deserves worthy attention. This report is split into two sections, which explore (1) the Islamic, historical, botanical, and scientific significance of black seed; and (2) the chemical composition, nutritional values, and current use of black seed as a prophylactic and COVID-19 treatment. The authors intend to introduce black seed, a common ancient natural medicine that can be used to improve overall health and well-being, to key stakeholders in the Americas. Key stakeholders include researchers, policymakers, public health and preventive medicine clinicians and practitioners, and other persons concerned about a more equitable, economical, and accessible alternative, all-natural option for preventing and treating COVID-19. Black seed also serves as an introduction to Prophetic Medicine, a complementary practice used throughout the Muslim world alongside allopathic medicine. Implemented into one’s daily life, black seed has proven health implications surpassing the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Ergodicity in Economics: a Decision theoretic evaluation
Authors: Andreozzi Luciano
Published: May 2021

Peters (2019a) discusses a compound lottery that allegedly reveals a weakness of the way uncertainty is modeled within economics. This note evaluates that example in the light of standard expected utility. I obtain two results. First, using a variant of Rabin (2000) calibration theorem, I show that the paradox Peters obtains only arises because he implicitly assumes an unbounded utility function for money. That when utility is unbounded such paradoxical outcomes can arise is a well-known fact in decision theory, so his contribution on this matter is of limited interest. Second, I use the same example to illustrate Peters' claim that, when applied to compound lotteries, expected utility is based on the implicit assumption that the underlying stochastic process is ergodic. I compare Peters' analysis with the original one due to Samuelson (1971) and show that this claim is unfounded.
Wittgenstein and Foucault - a research note
Authors: Toth Ben
Published: May 2021

This research note considers the extent to which Michel Foucault was familiar with the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein. It also describes Foucault’s account, in The order of things (OT), of the intellectual conditions that made Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico Philosophicus (TLP), and analytic philosophy more generally, possible. I argue that Foucault had little knowledge of either Wittgenstein or analytic philosophy until 1967, making the description about what made them possible in OT all the more compelling.
Do agrivoltaics improve public support for solar? A survey on perceptions, preferences, and priorities
Authors: Pascaris1 Alexis S. , Schelly Chelsea , Rouleau Mark , Pearce Joshua M.
Published: May 2021

Agrivoltaic systems allow for the simultaneous production of solar-generated electricity and agriculture. As the climate change related impacts of conventional energy and food production intensify, finding strategies to increase the deployment of solar photovoltaic systems, preserve agricultural land, and minimize competing land uses is urgent. Given the proven technical, economic, and environmental advantages provided by agrivoltaic systems, increased proliferation is anticipated, which necessitates accounting for the nuances of community resistance to solar development on farmland. Minimizing siting conflict and addressing agricultural communities’ concerns will be key in promoting public support for agrivoltaics, as localized acceptance of solar is a critical determinant of project success. This survey study assessed if public support for solar development increases when energy and agricultural production are combined in an agrivoltaic system. Results show that 81.8% of respondents would be more likely to support solar development in their community if it combined the production of both energy and agriculture. This increase in support for solar given the agrivoltaic approach highlights a development strategy that can improve local social acceptance and the deployment rate of solar photovoltaics. Survey respondents prefer agrivoltaic projects that a) are designed to provide economic opportunities for farmers and the local community b) are located on private property or existing agricultural land c) do not threaten local interests and d) ensure fair distribution of economic benefits. Proactively identifying what the public perceives as opportunities and concerns related to agrivoltaic development can help improve the design, business model, and siting of systems in the U.S.
Discussing The Foundations for Interpretivist Digital Government Research
Authors: McBride Keegan , Misnikov Yuri , Draheim Dirk
Published: May 2021

As the research domain of digital government continues to develop itself as an important body of scholarly research, and it continues to grow in terms of researchers, publications, research funding, and other related indicators, it is important to understand the core theoretical and philosophical basis of the discipline. However, there is currently a lack of critical discussion about the concrete role of research philosophy for digital government research; which is one of the biggest current criticisms against the domain. This paper makes a first step in addressing this criticism by presenting arguments and discussion in favor of the importance of an interpretivist research philosophy for the domain of digital government. The paper provides a comprehensive overview of an interpretivist ontology and epistemology for digital government, discusses relevant theories and methods, and concludes with an overview of what is essential for conducting and carrying out interpretivist digital government research. This paper’s contribution represents one of the first concentrated efforts to lay out some initial foundations for the role of interpretivism, and research philosophy more generally, for the field.
Social workers’ perceptions on clients’ service needs and social work practices during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Mesiäislehto Merita , Kivipelto Minna , Hiilamo Heikki
Published: May 2021

Ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the specialized health-care resources have been the main focus of political attention in any country. However, the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have also had a major impact on social services. The pandemic increased service needs among those who were already adult social work clients before the pandemic; it also created needs among new groups of clients, while the operating environment for service provision changed dramatically. In our study, we examine social workers’ perceptions on: 1) how well social services were able to respond to clients’ needs during the pandemic; and 2) examine practices in adult social work that were used and developed during the outbreak of the pandemic. For the analysis, we use national survey data obtained from social workers in the Social Barometer survey collected in May 2020 (n=496) and in January 2021 (n=412). The findings show that according to social workers, during the first year of the pandemic social work in Finland succeeded in responding to clients’ rather clear and concrete problems, such as difficulties in applying for social benefits and a lack of housing, while more complicated problems, such as unmanageable debts, loneliness and mental health problems, were not adequately responded to. At the same time, social workers assessed that people suffering from these problems were the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Treatment for natural experiments: How to improve causal estimates using conceptual definitions and substantive interpretations
Authors: Öberg Stefan
Published: May 2021

The local average treatment effect (LATE) estimator has enabled a wide range of empirical studies that use natural experiments to estimate causal effects from observational data. This empirical literature has overlooked a crucial assumption regarding the definition of the treatment, however—the part of the stable unit treatment value assumption referred to as the consistency assumption in epidemiology. The consequence of ignoring this assumption has been that results have been misinterpreted and over-generalized. I illustrate these problems using examples from seminal studies from the natural experiments literature and present how to improve definitions of the treatment in future studies. Correctly interpreted LATEs are substantially more specific than previously acknowledged but reclaim their internal validity. By providing clear and careful definitions of the treatment and substantive interpretations of the results, future studies will increase their usefulness by presenting the causal effect that has been actually estimated.
Cockfighting in later life: A qualitative inquiry into elderly Filipinos’ gambling experiences
Authors: Peñalba Ericson H.
Published: May 2021

The surviving passion for cockfighting or sabong among Filipinos has made it a culturally and legally acceptable form of gambling. As an established cultural phenomenon, sabong has largely influenced the ways its practitioners make a living. It is in this context that this qualitative study explored the experiences of two old Filipinos who had been engaging in the blood sport for a very long time. This study employed an in-depth interview technique and was guided by the principles of an indigenous research method known as pagtatanong-tanong or ‘asking questions.’ Through a thematic analysis of the responses obtained from the interviews, this study has surfaced six key themes that characterized the informants’ experiences: (1) cockfighting as an all-consuming pastime, (2) cockfighting as a thrill-seeking activity (3) family influence on cockfighting, (4) cockpits as venues for socializing, (5) betting as a way of earning money, and (6) gambling as a family issue. Such experiences could be regarded as both positive and negative illustrations and consequences of gambling in later life.
Digital storytelling: a tool for promoting historical understanding among college students
Authors: Peñalba Ericson H.
Published: May 2021

As an engaging learning strategy, digital storytelling provides students opportunities for developing competencies as they immerse themselves in a meaningful learning experience. The study presented in this article explored the potential of digital storytelling as an instrument for the promotion of historical understanding. Thirty first-year teacher education students, who were divided into eight groups, participated in a digital storytelling project that required them to produce their own digital stories. The project was designed as an 8-week activity, which consisted of activities that guided them throughout the pre-production, production, and post-production phases. After the final week of the project, the students participated in focus group discussions. Aside from the focus group responses, data were also obtained from their reflection journal entries and digital stories. The qualitative data were subjected to thematic network analysis, surfacing six organising themes, namely historical significance, historical imagination, perspective taking, continuity, historical emphasis, and values and traits identification. These findings suggest specific courses of action for integrating technology in a history classroom.
Adaptation to Climate Change among Farmers in Bulacan, Philippines
Authors: Peñalba Ericson H.
Published: May 2021

The vulnerability of the Philippines to climate change and variability has been highlighted by its exposure to severe weather-related conditions. Farmers are particularly vulnerable to such adverse effects given their limited adaptive capacity. In this regard, this study examines the local adaptation experiences and practices of farmers in a second-class farming municipality. It is then based on the assumption that a lay understanding of how farmers perceive and adapt to climate change can be used to provide implications for enhancing their adaptive capacity. Using a combination of qualitative data from key informant interviews and focus group discussion and secondary data from government agencies, this paper reveals that farmers perceive serious health and livelihood risks despite having limited knowledge of how climate change occurs. They recognize that changes in climate conditions have caused considerable effects to temperature and rainfall which, in turn, have posed serious challenge to water supply. Their farming activities are also at risk from interrelated impacts such as damage to crops, pest infestation, and decrease in rice yield. Hence, they consistently employ common adaptation measures as direct responses to climate variability such as the planting of new crop varieties, use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, use of technology in farming, and diversification of household income. However, the lack of financial resources hinders them from utilizing new adaptation techniques and technologies, which they perceive to be more appropriate and beneficial. These results suggest a more conscious effort of transforming coping strategies to short-term climate variability into adaptation measures to long-term climate changes.
Lifestyle Medicine for Treatment–Resistant Depression
Authors: Mahayosnand Ponn P , Sabra ZM
Published: May 2021

The authors recommend that time, resources, and funding be allocated to support the cost–effective lifestyle medicine interventions for mental illness (and, in fact, all chronic illnesses, pain management, etc.). These interventions have positive results and seem to support true health and healing. In November 2020, Navarro et al10 published a paper regarding their promising on–going clinical trial. The main aim of their study is to “evaluate the effectiveness of an Internet–based adjuvant lifestyle–based intervention for patients with TRD.”10 Since TRD can be exacerbated by stressors that have become more common due to the COVID–19 pandemic, such as poor physical health and economic struggles, their study is an important one. Information and communications technologies and video conferencing will be used. The authors hypothesize that by the time of their 1–year follow–up, the lifestyle program group will show greater adherence and therefore benefits of the intervention. They said, “If this Internet–based multimodal lifestyle intervention program is useful as an adjunct to the pharmacological treatment of depression, this approach should be considered for the management of patients with TRD in similar emergency situations.”10 This study is not only promising because of its novel approach to treating TRD, but also because this intervention may be duplicated and used almost anywhere in the world and at any time, even times of emergency. The idea that TRD could be successfully treated by combining lifestyle medicine with modern–day technology rather than by administering drugs is hopeful.
A model of inter-organizational network formation
Authors: Gaonkar Shweta , Mele Angelo
Published: May 2021

How do inter-organizational networks emerge? Accounting for interdependence among ties while studying tie formation is one of the key challenges in this area of research. We address this challenge using an equilibrium framework where firms' decisions to form links with other firms are modeled as a strategic game. In this game, firms weigh the costs and benefits of establishing a relationship with other firms and form ties if their net payoffs are positive. We characterize the equilibrium networks as exponential random graphs (ERGM), and we estimate the firms' payoffs using a Bayesian approach. To demonstrate the usefulness of our approach, we apply the framework to a co-investment network of venture capital firms in the medical device industry. The equilibrium framework allows researchers to draw economic interpretation from parameter estimates of the ERGM Model. We learn that firms rely on their joint partners (transitivity) and prefer to form ties with firms similar to themselves (homophily). These results hold after controlling for the interdependence among ties. Another, critical advantage of a structural approach is that it allows us to simulate the effects of economic shocks or policy counterfactuals. We test two such policy shocks, namely, firm entry and regulatory change. We show how new firms' entry or a regulatory shock of minimum capital requirements increase the co-investment network's density and clustering.
Marriage and Divorce Trajectories of Men and Women with Histories of Eating Disorders
Authors: Tabler Jennifer , Utz Rebecca L.
Published: May 2021

Eating disorders (ED) can have lasting effects on individual health and wellbeing. The aim of the current study was to determine the association between ED subtype and treatment on marital trajectories. The data was derived from the Utah Population Database, and the analytic sample comprised of 3196 persons previously diagnosed with an ED (between years 1995-2015) in the state of Utah, including 2,917 females and 279 males. We compared time to first marriage and time to first divorce by ED subtype (bulimia nervosa [BN], anorexia nervosa [AN], and ED not otherwise specified [EDNOS]), BMI category (underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese), and ED-related treatment, using Cox-proportional hazard regression. Results suggested underweight BMI (relative to normal weight BMI) (Hazard Rate Ratio [HRR]=0.71, p<0.01), and having higher overall ED-related hospitalizations or outpatient visits was associated with later-age at first marriage (HRR=0.24 & HRR=0.25 respectively, p<0.001). Results indicated that BN (relative to AN) (HRR=2.16, p<0.01) and being underweight (relative to normal weight) (HRR=1.79, p<0.05) were associated with earlier-age at first divorce. Clinicians should consider relationship-based therapies for ED patients, particularly those with histories of BN.
Ergogenic effects of sodium bicarbonate supplementation on swimming performance: a meta-analysis
Authors: Grgic Jozo
Published: May 2021

This meta-analysis explored the effects of sodium bicarbonate supplementation on swimming performance. Seven databases were searched to find relevant studies. A random-effects meta-analysis of standardized mean differences (SMD) was performed to analyze the data. Nine studies were included in the review. There was no significant difference between placebo and sodium bicarbonate when considering data from all included studies (SMD: –0.10; p = 0.208) or in the subgroup analysis for 91.4-m and 100-m swimming tests (SMD: 0.11; p = 0.261). In the subgroup analysis for 200-m and 400-m swimming tests, there was a significant ergogenic effect of sodium bicarbonate (SMD: –0.22; p < 0.001). Overall, these results suggest that sodium bicarbonate ingestion improves performance in 200-m and 400-m swimming events. The ergogenic effects of this supplement were small, but they may also be of substantial practical importance given that placings in swimming competitions are commonly determined by narrow margins.