bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social Eksklusion
Authors: Jensen Niels Rosendal
Published: February 2024

Denne artikel er struktureret således, at den først tager livtag med selve begrebet social eksklusion og inddrager både de objektive og subjektive forhold. Forståelsen af social eks- klusion har betydning for socialpædagogik og socialt arbejde med børn, unge og ældre, der enten er på kanten eller på vej. For de profes- sionelle er det vigtigt og nødvendigt at have viden om, hvad social eksklusion kan forstås som, dens mange former og multidimensionale karakter. På den baggrund kan professionerne sammen med forskningen udvikle en “pro- blembevidsthed” om hvilke indsatser, der gør en forskel.

Artiklen indledes med en skitse af fem grundtendenser i det nutidige samfund med relevans for social eksklusion. Pointen er, at skiftet fra klassisk velfærdsstat til privatise- ring og markedsgørelse fører til et nyt syn på eksklusion. Derefter følger en indkredsning af begrebet social eksklusion, som munder ud i en arbejdsdefinition. På vej til afgræsningen af begrebet trækkes på nogle af de væsentlige teo- retiske bidrag, som gennemgående peger på, at eksklusion er et forhold mellem individ og samfund. Denne relationelle forståelse benyt- tes til at udrede begrebets historie og udvikling. Herunder belyses, at både politikere og forske- re anvender skiftende forståelser afhængigt af

formål. Efter at have afrundet den konceptuelle indkredsning præsenteres tre temaer om eks- klusion, nemlig (1) uddannelse, (2) fattigdom og arbejdsløshed og (3) diskriminering. Til sidst opsamles artiklens hovedpointer i kon- klusionen.
Viviendas turísticas y transformaciones demográficas: un estudio sobre el turismo masivo en el Algarve
Authors: De la Osada Saurí David , Ribero de Almeida Claudia
Published: February 2024

El presente artículo se enmarca dentro de las crecientes investigaciones del turismo en general yde las viviendas turísticas en particular. Tiene la hipótesis de que el turismo actual sigue la lógica delurbanismo de las décadas anteriores y, así mismo, es una manera de aprovechar el excedente residencial.Y contiene los objetivos de detectar y delimitar las zonas de oferta turística, así como analizar un primeresbozo de sus impactos en la demografía.
Para ello se ha utilizado una metodología basada en el cálculo de la clusterización de elementosturísticos con operaciones generales como Moran’s o Getis Ord Gi* y una evaluación multicriterio propiaen una región de turismo de primer nivel y con oferta diversificada como El Algarve. Posteriormente,se comprueba cartográficamente el análisis del crecimiento y cambio de usos del suelo y los impactospor freguesia, escala administrativa más pequeña de Portugal.
Los resultados muestran una dependencia del aeropuerto y de las infraestructuras crecidas en periodosanteriores, una diferencia entre el oeste de sol y playa y el este con un turismo más urbano-cultural, y,sobre todo, la importancia de decisiones en los cambios de usos del suelo que han determinado estosespacios. Por último, se ha demostrado la importancia de las viviendas turísticas en el turismo y cómoestas están alejando poblaciones de jóvenes e inmigrantes en edad de trabajar de las zonas de mayoroferta de alojamiento local.
Controversias jurídicas sobre la protección de datos respecto a los sistemas de videovigilancia y geolocalización de personas trabajadoras en la reciente jurisprudencia europea y nacional
Authors: Ramos Poley Luis
Published: February 2024

El presente trabajo trata de analizar el contenido del derecho a la intimidad y a la protección de datos. Presta especialmente atención al alcance de estos derechos en el ámbito laboral, donde actualmente existen ciertas controversias en el uso de dispositivos de videovigilancia en el trabajo y de geolocalización de personas trabajadoras. Concretamente, se analiza cómo ha ido evolucionando la normativa sobre este derecho y cómo ha ido impactando sobre la jurisprudencia más reciente del Tribunal Constitucional, del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos y del Tribunal Supremo. Concluyendo que cuando lo laboral está en juego, se estaría realizando una interpretación restrictiva de estos derechos, transformando el derecho a la intimidad y a la protección de datos de las personas trabajadoras.
On the Issue of the Legal Expediency of "Automatic Sanctions" in the Russian Legal System
Authors: Osipov Mikhail Yur'evich
Published: February 2024

The subject of the study is a critical analysis of the “theory of automatic sanctions,” which is based on the patterns of formulation and functioning of sanctions developed in the general theory of law. The study aims to determine, based on the analysis of, the patterns of formulation and functioning of sanctions as an element of the rule of law in the Russian legal system by analyzing the signs of automatic sanctions set out in these works. Also, the subject of the study is the patterns of application of sanctions in the Russian legal system, knowledge of which will allow us to draw conclusions about the advisability of the existence of “automatic sanctions” in the Russian legal system. The research methods are analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, abstraction, generalization, modeling formal legal approach, and a variety of these methods as legal analysis. Analysis of the nature of “sanctions” shows that they are aimed primarily at protecting the existing legal order by bringing the person who violated the disposition of the legal norm to legal liability and by applying other protective measures to restore the violated legal order. The effective application of sanctions involves establishing the following circumstances: who committed this unlawful act, whether the person is guilty of committing an offense, if sanctions provide responsibility for its commission; what measures of protection can be applied in this case to a person who has violated the legal order set out in the disposition of the legal norm, whether in this case there are circumstances excluding the wrongfulness of the act, or other circumstances excluding the application of these sanctions. All this requires implementing a law enforcement process, which makes the existence of such a phenomenon as automatic sanctions inappropriate.
O Profesor Bożenie Witosz
Authors: Dobrzyńska Teresa , Ficek Ewa , Hanus Anna , Rejter Artur , Wojtak Maria , Bilut-Homplewicz Zofia , Czachur Waldemar
Published: February 2024

Rozmowa poświęcona jest dorobkowi naukowemu profesor Bożeny Witosz.
Evaluation of ex vitro growth and field performance of micro propagated polyploid clones of Neolamarckia cadamba
Authors: Ho Wei Seng , Gong Shoufu , Eng Wee Hiang , Ling Kwong Hung
Published: February 2024

The evaluation of field performance in tissue culture-derived seedlings is essential to determine their suitability for reforestation programs and commercial forestry, as it provides valuable insights into their adaptability to different environmental conditions and management practices. This report provides the first analysis of the growth characteristics of colchicine-induced polyploids of Neolamarckia cadamba. Field planting revealed that octoploid plants grow slower than mixoploid and tetraploid plants, but SPAD results showed that they have better photosynthetic capacity than the other two types. Notably, after 30 months of transplantation, the polyploid clones of N. cadamba exhibited better growth performance than other N. cadamba trees planted in various locations. These novel polyploid clones of N. cadamba could be valuable resources for advanced breeding programs aimed at producing improved clones for planted forest development. By enhancing the adaptability of polyploid N. cadamba clones, they have the potential to reduce the site-specific effects of N. cadamba, ultimately improving tree productivity and adaptation across different planting sites.
Cytokine disbalance in the rats’ kidneys following Leiurus macroctenus envenomation
Authors: Matkivska Ruzhena , Shchypanskyi Serhii , Vovk Tetiana , Raksha Nataliia , Maievskyi Oleksandr , Savchuk Olexiy
Published: February 2024

Scorpion envenomation is a challenge for the healthcare system. The development of inflammation is very interesting yet at the same time, an important effect of the scorpion venom, being indicative of the severity and progression of envenomation. Excretion of venom toxins and endotoxins by kidneys expectedly makes this organ a perfect target for inflammation development. Therefore, this work was focused on the assessment of cytokine, growth factor (GF), and transcription factor profiles in the kidneys of rats, envenomated by scorpion Leiurus macroctenus. Using the ELISA method, we have shown that starting from the 3rd h of envenomation, the levels of most of the assessed parameters were constantly rising, reaching the peak levels at 24 h; therefore, this period is likely the most stressful for the renal system in the aspect of envenomation. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the relative concentrations of anti-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-8 were rising, while most of the pro-inflammatory cytokine levels were not, suggesting the cytokine imbalance, which theoretically may lead to the insufficient immune response and potential tissue damage by the venom toxins. The elevated levels of GFs fibroblast GF-2, vascular endothelial GF, and epidermal GF can also be related to the tissue-destructive action of L. macroctenus venom.
Effect of farmers’ knowledge and production practices on the intensity of cassava bacterial blight in Western Kenya
Authors: Okoth Joe Habert , Muthomi James Wanjohi , Mwang’ombe Agnes Wakesho
Published: February 2024

The study was conducted to determine the association between farmers’ knowledge and production practices on the intensity of cassava bacterial blight (CBB) in Western Kenya. Multistage sampling was used to select 193 farms in Nambale and Teso south sub-counties in Western Kenya. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to obtain information on farmer’s knowledge and cassava production practices. Within each farm, bacterial blight incidence was determined and 30 cassava plants were evaluated for disease severity. Symptomatic leaf samples were collected for isolation and confirmation of the CBB pathogens. GPS coordinates of each farm were taken for the development of disease distribution maps. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test which was used to determine the association between sociodemographic traits and disease incidence. CBB was prevalent in both sub-counties and Xanthomonas phaseoli pv manihotis was the more widespread compared to Xanthomonas axonopodis pv cassavae. However, there was no association between CBB incidence, training, seed source, and intercropping suggesting that other factors contributed to the high prevalence of the disease. About 85% of the farmers interviewed were unaware of the disease suggesting that the farmers could be spreading the disease unknowingly through the use of self-recycled and neighbor-obtained cassava cuttings. The findings of this study will contribute toward measures aimed at curbing the disease and its spread.
Porphyridium sp. Microalgae as a source of polysaccharides
Authors: Boychenko Yulia-Danae , Budenkova Ekaterina , Kostyushina Nina , Babich Olga , Kashinskikh Egor
Published: February 2024

Polysaccharides (Ps) are valuable raw materials for a number of industrial sectors. Obtaining Ps from microalgae is both convenient and environmentally friendly. Red microalgae are potential producers of Ps because many of the representatives of this group produce a large number of exo Ps that perform protective functions for cells. This study compared three members of the Porphyridium genus for their ability to produce exocarbohydrates in response to nutrient medium chemical composition and lighting conditions. The experiments revealed that strain P-293 compared to P-271 and P-519 produced the highest amount of exocarbohydrates (2.25 g/g on average) under nitrogen source deficiency and sodium chloride excess (0.62 and 18.78 g/L, respectively). Under red-white light conditions, strains P-293 and P-519 produce statistically significantly more exocarbohydrates compared to white and blue light. Strain P-271 produces more exocarbohydrates when cultivated with white light illumination.
Cristãos nas terras do Cã: as viagens dos frades mendicantes nos séculos XIII e XIV
Authors: Gonçalves Rafael Afonso
Published: February 2024

O livro aborda as sagas dos frades principalmente franciscanos e dominicanos, pertencentes a ordens mendicantes e que se arriscaram em perigosas viagens ao Oriente nos séculos XIII e XIV. Para o autor, não foram homens que se expuseram pelo simples prazer ou pela vontade de percorrerem aventurosamente terras desconhecidas e ignotas, antes foram homens cujo objetivo era marcadamente político-religioso, mas agindo dentro de uma nova configuração. Segundo o autor, esses missionários assumiram e definiram para si uma tarefa – a de expandir a fé cristã – que, embora longe de ser uma novidade, ganharia com eles praticamente um caráter duplo. Para dominicanos e franciscanos, viajar e observar a diversidade do mundo exterior, paisagens, povos e costumes não deviam ser tomados como algo pecaminoso, um afastamento das preocupações espirituais, mas sim como um caminho para encontrar as manifestações diversas de Deus no mundo sensível. Dessa forma, eles acabariam por redefinir o próprio sentido missionário, pois, para melhor difundir a fé, era preciso ser iniciado na doutrina cristã e nos seus preceitos e também estar preparado para os obstáculos que se encontrariam e para as variedades do mundo não conhecido, de suas línguas e de seus costumes, peculiaridades, estranhezas e maravilhas.
The Chinese Computer
Authors: Mullaney Thomas S.
Published: February 2024

The fascinating, untold story of how the Chinese language overcame unparalleled challenges and revolutionized the world of computing.

A standard QWERTY keyboard has a few dozen keys. How can Chinese—a language with tens of thousands of characters and no alphabet—be input on such a device? In The Chinese Computer, Thomas S. Mullaney sets out to resolve this paradox, and in doing so, discovers that the key to this seemingly impossible riddle has given rise to a new epoch in the history of writing—a form of writing he calls “hypography.” Based on fifteen years of research, this pathbreaking history of the Chinese language charts the beginnings of electronic Chinese technology in the wake of World War II up through to its many iterations in the present day.

Mullaney takes the reader back through the history and evolution of Chinese language computing technology, showing the development of electronic Chinese input methods—software programs that enable Chinese characters to be produced using alphanumeric symbols—and the profound impact they have had on the way Chinese is written. Along the way, Mullaney introduces a cast of brilliant and eccentric personalities drawn from the ranks of IBM, MIT, the CIA, the Pentagon, the Taiwanese military, and the highest rungs of mainland Chinese establishment, to name a few, and the unexpected roles they played in developing Chinese language computing. Finally, he shows how China and the non-Western world—because of the hypographic technologies they had to invent in order to join the personal computing revolution—“saved” the Western computer from its deep biases, enabling it to achieve a meaningful presence in markets outside of the Americas and Europe.

An eminently engaging and artfully told history, The Chinese Computer is a must-read for anyone interested in how culture informs computing and how computing, in turn, shapes culture.
Quantum Ecology
Authors: Calzati Stefano , de Kerckhove Derrick
Published: February 2024

An exploration of the emerging quantum technological paradigm and its effects on human consciousness and cultures.

In Quantum Ecology, Stefano Calzati and Derrick de Kerckhove identify three technological ecologies—linguistic, digital, and quantum—to better understand today's shattered globalized contemporaneity and navigate the impact of soon-to-come quantum information technologies. Today's societies, based as they are on language and writing, face disruption brought on by digital transformation, which is not predicated on sharing meaning but on sheer computability. This produces what the authors call an “epistemological crisis.” From here, the book explores how emerging quantum computers and communication will trigger an even deeper existential shift based on quantum physics' principles of discreteness, uncertainty, and entanglement.

Enriched with evidence from biology, anthropology, sociolinguistics, and information and cognitive sciences, the authors draw upon diverse case studies to sustain a convincing philosophical and political argument. The book's chapters move from a discussion about the coevolution of humans and language to the codependence of writing, thinking, and innovation, then proceed to investigate “datacracy,” the power of algorithms. Finally, the authors outline the looming psychocultural effects and geopolitical challenges of the nascent quantum technological paradigm.
Toy Theory
Authors: Giddings Seth
Published: February 2024

A novel interpretation of the history and theory of technology from the perspective of toys, play, and play objects.

Toy Theory addresses the relationships between toys and technology in two distinct but overlapping ways: first, as underexamined cultural artifacts and behaviors with significant technical attributes and, second, as playful and toylike dimensions of technology at large. Seth Giddings sets out a “toy theory” of technology that emphasizes the speculative, experimental, and noninstrumental in technological paradigms and argues that children's playthings, rather than being the most ephemeral and inconsequential of technical devices, instead offer analytical and anthropological resources for understanding the materiality and imaginaries of technology over time.

After defining toy theory in general and conceptual terms, Giddings examines different types of toys to explore shifting relationships between the microcosmic symbolic or mimetic content, material and technical constitution, and modes of play of toys and toy-related artifacts, on the one hand, and prevailing, macrocosmic, technological paradigms and imaginaries, on the other. Taking a broad historical and genealogical view, Giddings traces contemporary postdigital toy and play culture to precedents from the neolithic through to the Enlightenment to consumer culture from the early nineteenth century to the present day.
Gaming Democracy
Authors: Massanari Adrienne L.
Published: February 2024

How play and gaming culture have mainstreamed far right ideology through social media platforms.

From #Gamergate to the ongoing Big Lie, the far right has gone mainstream. In Gaming Democracy, Adrienne Massanari tracks the flames of toxicity found in the far right and “alt-right” movements as they increasingly take up oxygen in American and global society. In this pathbreaking contribution to the fields of internet studies, game studies, and gender studies, Massanari argues that Silicon Valley's emphasis on meritocracy and free speech absolutism has driven this rightward slide. These ideologies have been coded into social media spaces that implicitly silence marginalized communities and subject them to rampant abuse by groups that have learned to “game” the ecology of platforms, algorithms, and attention economies.

While populist movements are not new, phenomena such as QAnon, parental rights activism, and COVID denialism are uniquely “of the internet,” with supporters demonstrating both technical acumen and an ability to use memes and play as a way of both building community and fomenting dissent. Massanari explores the ways that the far right uses memetic humor and geek masculinity as tools both to create a sense of community within these leaderless groups and to obfuscate their intentions. Using the lens of play and game studies as well as the concept of “metagaming,” Gaming Democracy is a novel contribution to our understanding of online platforms and far right political activism.
Collaborative Intelligence
Authors: Chappell Arellano Karen
Published: February 2024

A deep look into the multifaceted landscape of artificial intelligence, considering AI's ethical and societal implications and celebrating its diverse and innovative applications.

In this edited collection Collaborative Intelligence, Mira Lane and Arathi Sethumadhavan embark on a captivating exploration of artificial intelligence. The book delves deeply into the dynamic interplay between theory and practice, shedding light on the transformative potential and complexities of AI. For practitioners deeply immersed in the world of AI, Lane and Sethumadhavan offer firsthand accounts and insights from technologists, academics, and thought leaders, as well as a series of compelling case studies, ranging from AI's impact on artistry to its role in addressing societal challenges like modern slavery and wildlife conservation.

As the global AI market burgeons, this book enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and interdisciplinary dialogue. It caters not only to the practitioners shaping the AI landscape but also to policymakers striving to navigate the intricate relationship between humans and machines, as well as academics. Divided into two parts, the first half of the book offers readers a comprehensive understanding of AI's historical context, its influence on power dynamics, human-AI interaction, and the critical role of audits in governing AI systems. The second half unfolds a series of eight case studies, unraveling AI's impact on fields as varied as healthcare, vehicular safety, conservation, human rights, and the metaverse. Each chapter in this book paints a vivid picture of AI's triumphs and challenges, providing a panoramic view of how it is reshaping our world.
Enacting Platforms
Authors: Malazita James
Published: February 2024

An analysis of the game engine Unreal through feminist, race, and queer theories of technology and media, as well as a critique of the platform studies framework itself.

In this first scholarly book on the Unreal game engine, James Malazita explores one of the major contemporary game development platforms through feminist, race, and queer theories of technology and media, revealing how Unreal produces, and is produced by, broader intersections of power. Enacting Platforms takes a novel critical platform studies approach, raising deeper questions: what are the material and cultural limits of platforms themselves? What is the relationship between the analyst and the platform of study, and how does that relationship in part determine what “counts” as the platform itself? Malazita also offers a forward-looking critique of the platform studies framework itself.

The Unreal platform serves as a kind of technical and political archive of the games industry, highlighting how the techniques and concerns of games have shifted and accreted over the past 30 years. Today, Unreal is also used in contexts far beyond games, including in public communication, biomedical research, civil engineering, and military simulation and training. The author's depth of technical analysis, combined with new archival findings, contributes to discussions of topics rarely covered in games studies (such as the politics of graphical rendering algorithms), as well as new readings of previously “closed” case studies (such as the engine's entanglement with the US military and American masculinity in America's Army). Culture, Malazita writes, is not “built into” software but emerges through human practices with code.
Prior Art
Authors: Christensen Peter H.
Published: February 2024

A groundbreaking text on the history of the use of patents in architecture.

Although patents existed in Renaissance Italy and even in Confucian thought, it was not until the middle third of the nineteenth century that architects embraced the practice of patenting in significant numbers. Patents could ensure, as they did for architects' engineering brethren, the economic and cultural benefits afforded by exclusive intellectual property rights. But patent culture was never directly translatable to the field of architecture, which tended to negotiate issues of technological innovation in the context of the more abstract issues of artistic influence and formal expression. In Prior Art, scholar Peter Christensen offers the first full-scale monographic treatment of this complex relationship between art and invention.

Christensen's method, a site-oriented approach steeped in multinational and multilingual archival work, is geared toward unifying fractured global histories of architectural patents through the distinct union of architectural, cultural, and legal history. Prior Art offers a record of the marriage of intellectual property and architectural invention—a momentous, understudied, and still underutilized aspect of architectural culture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—and the ways in which it influenced how buildings are conceived, designed, engineered, constructed, and promoted.
The Feeling of Space
Authors: Bardt Christopher
Published: February 2024

A richly illustrated exploration of humanity's drive to shape life as a spatial project, from Plato's time to the digital era.

Place is something real, but space is generally conceived as abstract and immaterial. In The Feeling of Space, Christopher Bardt explores this damaging modern binary and traces the contradictory impulses that have dematerialized our sense of space through history: fear and wonder; a yearning for the infinite and the intimate; and the need for autonomy and for belonging. Using rich illustrations and examinations of art, technology, and philosophy, Bardt argues that if we can get back to first feeling space, then we can treat space as the substance that gives agency to our intersubjectivity—our exchange of conscious and unconscious thoughts.

Expertly connecting ideas with clear examples from lived experiences, Bardt's revolutionary framework will appeal to a broad readership, particularly those who are interested in the theoretical and philosophical aspects of spaces. In an age when digital media have dissolved, not increased, our sense of connection, The Feeling of Space shows that when we learn to experience space as a medium as real as a place, we not only see ourselves as inherently spatialized beings but can rebuild the bonds that tie us together.
In through the Side Door
Authors: Malone Erin
Published: February 2024

The vital story of how women designers and researchers pioneered the field of interaction and user experience design for software and digital interfaces.

Framed against the backdrop of contemporary waves of feminism and the history of computing design, In through the Side Door foregrounds the stories of the women working in the field of computing and the emergent discipline of interaction design as the graphical user interface was developed. Erin Malone begins with a handful of pioneers who brought to the field various methods from a variety of backgrounds including design, technical communication, social psychology, ethnography, information science, and mechanical engineering. Moving into the early days of desktop computing, the book highlights the women on the teams inventing contemporary desktop computer interfaces and related tools, including those at Xerox PARC, Apple's Human Interface Group, and Microsoft.

Malone takes the reader through the invention of the World Wide Web, the third wave of feminism, and the dot-com boom and bust. Coming up to contemporary times, the book features women working on the web, designing equipment interfaces, and working in voice UX, mobile design, and civic design, and continues with the up-and-coming leaders driving social impact, changing human-centered design and research, and working to be accountable for the harms of contemporary software products. Along the way, the author also touches on the challenges and biases women have faced in the workplace and continue to encounter despite cultural and sociological advancements.
Cities Made Differently
Authors: Graeber David , Dubrovsky Nika
Published: February 2024

Full of playful graphics, provocative questions, and curious facts, this book asks what makes a city and how we might make them differently.

What makes a city a city? Who says? Drafted over decades out of a dialogue between artist and author Nika Dubrovsky, the late anthropologist David Graeber, and Nika's then four-year-old son, this delightful and provocative book Cities Made Differently opens a space for invention and collaboration. Fusing anthropology, literature, play, and drawing, the book is essentially a visual essay that asks us to reconsider our ideas about cities and the people who inhabit them. Drawing us into a world of history and myth, science and imagination, Graeber and Dubrovsky invite us to rethink the worlds we inhabit—because we can, and nothing is too strange or too wonderful to be true.

With inspired pictures and prompts, Cities Made Differently asks what a city is, or could be, or once was. Sleeping at the bottom of the ocean? Buried in lava? What were those cities of long ago, and what will the cities of the future be? They might be virtual, ruled by AI, or islands of beautiful architecture afloat in seas of greenery. They might be utopian places of refuge or refugee camps as far as the eye can see. On land, underground or aloft, excavated or imagined, cities, this book tells us in provocative and funny ways, can be anything we want them to be—and what we want them to be can tell us something about who we are, what it is to be human, and what's possible when we make way for wonder.

Cities Made Differently exists in two versions, one for reading and thinking, the other, downloadable at a4kids.org, for drawing and dreaming.
The Biology of Kindness
Authors: De Vivo Immaculata , Lumera Daniel
Published: February 2024

How kindness—and other prosocial behaviors toward others—can help us live longer and healthier lives.

The science is in: being good is actually good for you. In this bracingly original book, The Biology of Kindness—the first in a trilogy on the topic of daily wellness—the science of mindfulness and the findings of biology come together to show how kindness and optimism improve overall well-being in profound, organic, and demonstrable ways. Daniel Lumera, an expert in meditation and mindfulness, and Immaculata De Vivo, a preeminent researcher in molecular epidemiology, outline a revolutionary approach to health, longevity, and quality of life—and explain the scientific evidence that supports their work.

Identifying five fundamental values—kindness, optimism, forgiveness, gratitude, and happiness—and describing six essential strategies for cultivating these values—relationships, nutrition, physical activity, meditation, music, and connection with nature—De Vivo and Lumera chart a practical course for pursuing a long, healthy, and happy life. Along the way they provide the scientific data that reveal the impact such behavior has on biology, particularly on telomeres, the parts of DNA that serve as biomarkers of aging. While DNA is mostly immutable, telomeres are influenced by our choices, and The Biology of Kindness offers incontrovertible evidence that what is commonly ascribed to “spiritual” well-being has a clear and direct impact on physical health, helping to buffer premature aging and decrease the incidence of chronic disease.

At a time when life seems to be ruled by a desire to get “everything and immediately,” Lumera observes, there is a compelling case to be made for the discipline of devotion, dedication, and passion—for the good of the body as well as the soul.
Sex and the Planet
Authors: Battin Margaret Pabst
Published: February 2024

What if human reproduction was always elective? A prominent bioethicist speculates about the possibilities—and the likely consequences.

What would the world be like if all pregnancy was intended, not unintended as it is nearly half the time now? Considerably better, Margaret Pabst Battin suggests in Sex and the Planet, a provocative thought experiment with far-reaching real-world implications. Many of the world's most vexing and seemingly intractable issues begin with sex—when sperm meets egg, as Battin puts it—abortion, adolescent pregnancy, high-risk pregnancy, sexual violence, population growth and decline. Rethinking reproductive rights and exposing our many mistaken assumptions about sex, Sex and the Planet offers an optimistic picture of how we might solve these problems—by drastically curtailing unintended pregnancies using currently available methods.

How we see this picture—as recommendation, prediction, utopian fantasy, totalitarian plot, hypothetical conjecture, or realistic solution—depends to a great degree on which of thirteen problematic assumptions we maintain, assumptions Battin works to identify and challenge. Taking on sensitive topics like abortion and rape and religious issues around contraception, she shows how a fully informed, nonideological approach could defuse much of the friction such issues tend to generate. Also, in her attention to male contraception and the asymmetry of female and male reproductive control, she pulls in the 50 percent of the human race—those with Y chromosomes—largely left out of discussions of reproductive health. Sex and the Planet, finally, takes a global view, inviting us to consider a possible—even plausible—reproductive future.
The AI Conundrum
Authors: Briggs Caleb , Briggs Rex
Published: February 2024

A timely, practical guide to AI—its strengths, weaknesses, and real-world applications—for business professionals and policymakers.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, can recognize a pattern from any set of data it is given, which is what makes it such an extraordinarily powerful tool. But because not all patterns are authentic or reliable, AI's pattern-finding superpower can lead to spurious patterns—and to disastrous results for business and government entities that rely on them. Hence the conundrum at the heart of AI: its greatest strength can also be its greatest weakness. Targeting the businessperson who needs to know how to use AI profitably and responsibly, Caleb Briggs and Rex Briggs offer in this book a foundational understanding of AI that is easy to grasp yet thorough enough to be used effectively.

The AI Conundrum:

• Draws on the authors' diverse expertise—in pure math, computer science, marketing, data science, and business—to make AI concepts and applications approachable for readers of all tech levels.

• Provides a framework for comparing AI to the next-best alternative, and for gauging where AI is likely to be successful—or to pose greater risk than benefits.

• Includes dozens of real-world case studies highlighting the successes and failures of AI applications across various industries.

• Offers actionable insights for responsible implementation and risk mitigation.

• Provides a worksheet for identifying potential problem areas and performing a cost-benefit analysis on its companion website.

The AI Conundrum is an invaluable resource for professionals and students seeking a full understanding of AI—its applications, limitations, and ethical considerations—as we enter a brave new era.
From Sensing to Sentience
Authors: Feinberg Todd E.
Published: February 2024

A new theory of Neurobiological Emergentism that explains how sentience emerges from the brain.

Sentience is the feeling aspect of consciousness. In From Sensing to Sentience, Todd Feinberg develops a new theory called Neurobiological Emergentism (NBE) thatintegrates biological, neurobiological, evolutionary, and philosophical perspectives to explain how sentience naturally emerges from the brain.

Emergent properties are broadly defined as features of a complex system that are not present in the parts of a system when they are considered in isolation but may emerge as a system feature of those parts and their interactions. Tracing a journey of billions of years of evolution from life to the basic sensing capabilities of single-celled organisms up to the sentience of animals with advanced nervous systems, including all vertebrates (for instance, fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals), arthropods (insects and crabs), and cephalopods (such as the octopus), Feinberg argues that sentience gradually but eventually emerged along diverse evolutionary lines with the evolution of sufficiently neurobiologically complex brains during the Cambrian period over 520 million years ago.

Ultimately, Feinberg argues that viewing sentience as an emergent process can explain both its neurobiological basis as well its perplexing personal nature, thus solving the historical philosophical problem of the apparent “explanatory gap” between the brain and experience.
Algorithm design of a combinatorial mathematical model for computer random signals
Authors: Yao Qinghua , Qiu Benhua
Published: February 2024

To improve the processing effect of computer random signals, the manuscript employs the intelligent signal recognition algorithm to design a combinatorial mathematical model for computer random signals, and studies the parameter estimation of conventional frequency hopping signal (FHS) based on optimizing kernel function (KF). First, the mathematical form and graphical representation of the ambiguity function of the conventional FHS are explored. Furthermore, a new KF is presented according to its fuzzy function (FF) and the parameters of conventional FHSs are estimated according to the time-frequency distribution corresponding to the KF. Then, simulation experiments are carried out in different types of interference noise environments. The proposed combinatorial mathematical model for computer random signals shows a practical impact, and can effectively improve the effect of random signal combination.
Discovering unknown Madagascar biodiversity: integrative taxonomy of raft spiders (Pisauridae: Dolomedes)
Authors: Yu Kuang-Ping , Kuntner Matjaž
Published: February 2024

Madagascar is a global biodiversity hotspot, but its biodiversity continues to be underestimated and understudied. Of raft spiders, genus Dolomedes Latreille, 1804, literature only reports two species on Madagascar. Our single expedition to humid forests of eastern and northern Madagascar, however, yielded a series of Dolomedes exemplars representing both sexes of five morphospecies. To avoid only using morphological diagnostics, we devised and tested an integrative taxonomic model for Dolomedes based on the unified species concept. The model first determines morphospecies within a morphometrics framework, then tests their validity via species delimitation using COI. It then incorporates habitat preferences, geological barriers, and dispersal related traits to form hypotheses about gene flow limitations. Our results reveal four new Dolomedes species that we describe from both sexes as Dolomedes gregoric sp. nov., D. bedjanic sp. nov., D. hydatostella sp. nov., and D. rotundus sp. nov. The range of D. kalanoro Silva & Griswold, 2013, now also known from both sexes, is expanded to eastern Madagascar. By increasing the known raft spider diversity from one valid species to five, our results merely scratch the surface of the true Dolomedes species diversity on Madagascar. Our integrative taxonomic model provides the framework for future revisions of raft spiders anywhere.
Domestic sewage dispersion scenarios as a subsidy to the design of urban sewage systems in the Lower Amazon River, Amapá, Brazil
Authors: Medeiros de Abreu Carlos Henrique , Perez Araújo Elizandra , Ferreira Albuquerque Cunha Helenilza , Teixeira Marcelo , Cavalcanti da Cunha Alan
Published: February 2024

The final in natura discharge of urban domestic sewage in rivers in the Amazon is a widespread practice. In addition, there is an evident lack of knowledge about the self-depurative characteristics of the receiving water bodies in these rivers. This problem is a challenge for designing sanitary sewage system (SSS) projects in the region. We aimed to numerically simulate hydrodynamic scenarios to study pollutant dispersion processes in an urban stretch impacted by domestic sewage in the Lower Amazon River (Amapá, Brazil) using a hydrodynamic model calibrated and coupled to a dispersive model (Lagrangian) (SisBaHiA). The following methodological steps were performed: (a) bathymetric and liquid discharge experimental campaigns using acoustic techniques (acoustic doppler current profiler—ADCP); (b) identification of point and diffuse sources of pollution in the Santana Channel (CSA) and North Channel of the Amazon River (NCM) in Macapá; (c) calibration of the hydrodynamic model and simulation of the dispersive process of domestic sewage plumes; (d) simulation of dispersive process scenarios in two seasonal hydrological periods and different tidal phases. The results of the simulations indicated significant spatiotemporal variations in the plumes, suggesting critical restriction of water quality in the dry period. The hotspot water collection supply station for ETA-CAESA was found to be the most threatened site by diffuse and point source loads. The simulated impacts showed that concentration variation worsens seasonally, restricting the multiple uses of water in both seasonal periods, regardless of tide phase. The pollutant plumes near the coastal-urban zone were apparently more inhibited by the influence of currents, and, due to the greater dilution capacity in the center of the channel, by the effect reversing with the approximation to the riverbank. The research hypotheses were supported: (a) the process of self-depuration of pollutants in the NCM has considerable limitations in shallow areas, and (b) SSS design projects in the region of the Amazon estuarine complex require hydrodynamic and strict water quality assessment, especially when their hydrological-seasonal and bathymetric characteristics are significantly unfavorable to dispersive processes. Thus, a hydrodynamic analysis should be the primary criterion in designing any SSS projects in this stretch of the estuarine Amazon region.
The decline and fall of the mammalian stem
Authors: Brocklehurst Neil
Published: February 2024

The mammalian crown originated during the Mesozoic and subsequently radiated into the substantial array of forms now extant. However, for about 100 million years before the crown’s origin, a diverse array of stem mammalian lineages dominated terrestrial ecosystems. Several of these stem lineages overlapped temporally and geographically with the crown mammals during the Mesozoic, but by the end of the Cretaceous crown mammals make up the overwhelming majority of the fossil record. The progress of this transition between ecosystems dominated by stem mammals and those dominated by crown mammals is not entirely clear, in part due to a distinct separation of analyses and datasets. Analyses of macroevolutionary patterns tend to focus on either the Mammaliaformes or the non-mammalian cynodonts, with little overlap in the datasets, preventing direct comparison of the diversification trends. Here I analyse species richness and biogeography of Synapsida as a whole during the Mesozoic, allowing comparison of the patterns in the mammalian crown and stem within a single framework. The analysis reveals the decline of the stem mammals occurred in two discrete phases. The first phase occurred between the Triassic and Middle Jurassic, during which the stem mammals were more restricted in their geographic range than the crown mammals, although within localities their species richness remained at levels seen previously. The second phase was a decline in species richness, which occurred during the Lower Cretaceous. The results show the decline of stem mammals, including tritylodontids and several mammaliaform groups, was not tied to a specific event, nor a gradual decline, but was instead a multiphase transition.
Custo de produção de soja transgênica em propriedade rural do oeste catarinense
Authors: Enderle Aline Aparecida , Vogt Mara
Published: February 2024

Este estudo de caso descritivo e qualitativo investiga os custos de produção de soja transgênica em uma propriedade rural de pequeno porte no oeste catarinense durante a safra 2020/2021. Os dados, coletados diretamente com o proprietário, abordam tanto os custos fixos quanto as variáveis associadas à produção, com ênfase no pró-labore e nos gastos com insumos como sementes, adubo e colheita. A análise revela uma distribuição significativa entre custos fixos e variáveis, destacando a necessidade de um gerenciamento de custos mais eficaz. Este trabalho busca contribuir para o campo da contabilidade de custos no agronegócio, oferecendo insights práticos para a gestão financeira em propriedades rurais e potencialmente auxiliando outros produtores na avaliação de suas próprias práticas de produção. Embora os resultados não sejam generalizáveis devido à natureza do estudo de caso, eles fornecem uma base comparativa valiosa para a produção de soja transgênica. Sugere-se que pesquisas futuras abordem outras culturas na propriedade e analisem a evolução dos custos ao longo do tempo.
A Mixed Methods Study to Uncover the Adoption Potential of Digital Marketing in Indian SMEs
Authors: Ahmad Khalil , Pandey Naveen
Published: February 2024

The purpose of this study is to examine the current level of digital marketing adoption among SMEs in India. It aims to assess the extent of adoption, identify challenges hindering adoption, and explore the perceived benefits of digital marketing. The study utilizes a mixed-method approach to provide comprehensive insights into the adoption of digital marketing strategies by SMEs. Data collection was conducted from SMEs operating in various industries. The study analyzes survey responses and conducts focus group discussions to explore the extent of digital marketing adoption, challenges faced by SMEs, and perceived benefits.

The findings indicate that SMEs in India have informative websites but limited adoption of digital marketing tools and strategies. The focus group discussions highlight challenges related to training, security, and legal practices that hinder digital marketing adoption. Despite the challenges, SMEs recognize the advantages of digital marketing, including cost reduction, time savings, market expansion, and quick product launches.

The study focuses on SMEs in India, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other regions. The research is based on self-reported data, which may be subject to response biases. Future research could explore the effectiveness of specific digital marketing strategies and interventions to overcome adoption barriers.

This research contributes to the existing knowledge by providing insights into the adoption of digital marketing among SMEs in India. The study offers recommendations for future research and practical implications for enhancing digital marketing capabilities among SMEs, addressing a gap in the literature.