bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Are We in Control?
Authors: Lee Edward A.
Published: December 2023

This chapter introduces the problem of accountability and control in technology development. Traditionally, technology has been understood to emerge from deliberate, top-down, intelligent decisions by humans. More recently, it has become clear that a chaotic evolutionary process plays a major role. This chapter addresses the questions of to what extent humans are in control of technology development, how accountability changes with increased use of AI, and how society may need to adapt. In particular, technology coevolves with human society, and even if every deliberate design decision made by humans is ethical, this provides little assurance that bad outcomes will be avoided.
AI @ Work: Human Empowerment or Disempowerment?
Authors: Koeszegi Sabine T.
Published: December 2023

Recent advancements in generative AI systems fuel expectations that AI will free workers to resolve creative, complex, and rewarding tasks by automating routine and repetitive work. Furthermore, algorithmic decision systems (ADS) will improve decision quality by providing real-time information and insights, analyzing vast amounts of data, and generating recommendations to support decision-making. In this narrative, AI empowers workers to achievements that they could not reach without the technology. However, using AI in work contexts may also lead to changes in workers’ roles and identities, leading to feelings of reduced self-efficacy and lower confidence in their abilities and a sense of diminished value in the workplace, their ethical decision-making abilities, and professional integrity. Initial empirical findings on the impact of AI in the work context point to essential design aspects that will determine which of the narratives becomes a reality. This chapter presents these initial findings and makes design suggestions.
The Re-enchanted Universe of AI: The Place for Human Agency
Authors: Nowotny Helga
Published: December 2023

Generative AI designed as a digital tool to communicate with humans raises a series of questions to what extent ChatGPT and its rivals approach, match, and eventually may surpass human cognitive abilities. I propose to situate their amazing performance in a longer historical perspective of the evolution of human knowledge that occurs by externalizing or “outsourcing” knowledge operations, beginning with the invention of writing. However, the latest developments confront us with digital technologies that render it increasingly difficult to distinguish genuinely human characteristics and abilities from artificially created ones. This renders the question of human agency and the extent to which it is transferred to machines as crucial for digital humanism, especially when we reflect on some uncanny resemblances with the immanent “enchanted” cosmic order in which our ancestors lived.
The Road Less Taken: Pathways to Ethical and Responsible Technologies
Authors: Winter Susan
Published: December 2023

Technology is no longer just about technology—now it is about living. So, how do we have ethical technology that creates a better life and a better society? Technology must become truly “human-centered,” not just “human-aware” or “human-adjacent.” Diverse users and advocacy groups must become equal partners in initial co-design and in continual assessment and management of information systems with human, social, physical, and technical components. But we cannot get there without radically transforming how we think about, develop, and use technologies. In this chapter, we explore new models for digital humanism and discuss effective tools and techniques for designing, building, and maintaining sociotechnical systems that are built to be and remain continuously ethical, responsible, and human-centered.
Governance for Digital Humanism: The Role of Regulation, Standardization, and Certification
Authors: Neppel Clara , Shaw Patricia
Published: December 2023

Assuring that digital systems and services operate in accordance with agreed norms and principles is essential to foster trust and facilitate their adoption. Ethical assurance requires a global ecosystem, where organizations not only commit to upholding human values, dignity, and well-being but are also able to demonstrate this when required by the specific context in which they operate. We focus on possible governance frameworks including regulatory and non-regulatory measures, taking as an example AI systems. Thereby, we highlight the importance of considering the specific context, as well as the entire life cycle, from design to deployment, including data governance. Socio-technical, value-based standards, and certification schemes are introduced as enabling instruments for operationalizing responsible and ethical approaches to AI in line with upcoming regulatory requirements.
Value-Sensitive Software Design: Ethical Deliberation in Agile Development Processes
Authors: Zuber N. , Gogoll J. , Kacianka S. , Nida-Rümelin J. , Pretschner A.
Published: December 2023

This chapter discusses the integration of ethical deliberations within agile software development processes. It emphasizes the importance of considering ethical implications during the development of software, not just AI. The chapter proposes modes of reflection and deliberation that include disclosive, weighing, and applicative modes of contemplation. It argues that these three kinds of thinking are guided by different normative values. The chapter suggests that agile development is an excellent starting point for implementing ethical deliberations, as it allows for continuous reflection and learning. It also proposes that development teams can perform this task themselves up to a point with proper guidance. This section further discusses the potential of agile processes to naturally accommodate ethical deliberation. However, it also acknowledges the challenges associated with implementing agile processes, especially in the context of machine learning models.
Introduction to Security and Privacy
Authors: Weippl Edgar , Schrittwieser Sebastian
Published: December 2023

This chapter on Security and Privacy builds on two aspects central to digital humanism: (1) self-determination and (2) humans in the center.

Security refers to a system being in a state of protection against potential threats and risks; what this means specifically depends on the so-called security requirements (Bishop, IEEE Security and Privacy, 1(1), 67–69, 2003). Typically, this pertains to protecting data’s (1) confidentiality, (2) integrity, and (3) availability. Thus, security mechanisms are designed to prevent unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.

Privacy is the individual’s fundamental right to determine and limit who has access to their personal information and experiences, ensuring their ability to maintain personal boundaries, confidentiality, and freedom from unauthorized surveillance (Bélanger and Crossler, Privacy in the digital age: A review of information privacy research in information systems. MIS Quarterly, pp. 1017–1041, 2011). Security and privacy are of utmost importance in this increasingly connected world, as they can help protect individuals, companies, and organizations from data breaches, identity theft, and other malicious attacks.

The goals of digital humanism are to shape technologies in accordance with human values and needs, instead of allowing technologies to shape humans. Our task is not only to rein in the downsides of information and communication technologies but to encourage human-centered innovation (Werthner, The Vienna manifesto on digital humanism. In Digital transformation and ethics (pp. 338–357). Ecowin, 2020).

In the following sections, we will analyze security requirements that can compromise these goals and show which security mechanisms can be employed to protect them. Both security and even more privacy are central to digital humanism—also mentioned as one of its principles.
Bias and the Web
Authors: Baeza-Yates Ricardo , Murgai Leena
Published: December 2023

Bias is everywhere, sometimes blatantly explicit, but most of the time it’s hidden, as it often arises from that which is missing, the gaps in our knowledge or data. In this chapter, we cover what bias is and its different sources: how it arises, persists, feeds back into a system, and can be amplified through algorithms. To exemplify the problem, we use the Web, the largest information repository created by humankind. The first countermeasure against bias is awareness – to understand what is represented—so that we may identify what is not. So, we systematically explore a wide variety of biases which originate at different points on the Web’s information production and consumption cycle. Today, many if not all the predictive algorithms we interact with online rely on vast amounts of data harvested from the Web. Biased data will of course lead to biased algorithms, but those biases need not be replicated precisely. Without intervention, typically they are amplified. We start with engagement bias, that is, the difference in rates at which people produce content versus passively consume it. We then move onto data bias: who is producing data on the Web, in what language, and the associated measurement and cultural biases. Algorithmic bias and fairness are intertwined. We discuss the difficulty in defining fairness and provide examples of algorithmic bias in predictive systems. Lastly, we look at biases in user interactions. We discuss how position bias can be mitigated by distributing visuals across results and shared information about other users can lead to different social biases. We discuss how biases continually feed back into the Web and grow through content creation and diffusion.
Copyright Enforcement on Social Media Platforms: Implications for Freedom of Expression in the Digital Public Sphere
Authors: Mendis Sunimal
Published: December 2023

Online social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok) constitute a core component of the contemporary digital public sphere. As such, their regulation should be designed in a manner that enables these platforms to flourish as digital spaces for robust democratic discourse. Ensuring effective protection of users’ fundamental right to freedom of expression is critical toward achieving this aim.

This chapter explores how the current EU legal framework on copyright enforcement—the seminal provision of which is Article 17 of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive (DSM) [2019]—can undermine the freedom of expression on social media platforms by limiting users’ ability to reuse and reinterpret copyright-protected content in ways that promote democratic discourse. Thus, the chapter focuses on legal aspects of social media platform regulation.

The chapter concludes by outlining several proposals presented by copyright law scholars for ensuring a fair balance between user and copyright holder interests in a way that promotes robust democratic discourse in the digital public sphere.
Evolution of Computing
Authors: Larus James R.
Published: December 2023

Computers and computing emerged within a lifetime and completely changed our world. Although their history is brief, the change they precipitated has been rapid and constant. Today’s world would be unimaginably different without these machines. Not necessarily worse, but certainly slower, static, disconnected, and poorer. One has to look back to the steam engine in the nineteenth century or electricity in the early twentieth century to find technologies with similar rapid and far-reaching effects. This chapter briefly describes the evolution of computing and highlights how its growth is closely tied to concerns of digital humanism.
Platforms: Their Structure, Benefits, and Challenges
Authors: Parker Geoffrey , Van Alstyne Marshall
Published: December 2023

In this chapter, we describe platforms and their structure and how that structure differs from traditional linear value chains. We then discuss some of the key economic factors, including two-sided and multi-sided network effects, which underpin both the platform value proposition and the ability to create welfare for users. Platform and technology firms have grown to the point where their market capitalizations greatly exceed oil, gas, and financial services firms. We then explore some key governance and regulatory issues, including privacy, false information, and antitrust. We conclude with a discussion of emerging issues posed by Large Language Models such as ChatGPT, including their ability to create false information at scale and disrupt creative industries.
Sovereignty in the Digital Age
Authors: Timmers Paul
Published: December 2023

The century-old concept of state sovereignty is acquiring new and hotly debated meaning, due to digital disruption and technology-without-borders, dominance by powerful—often foreign-owned—global tech companies, and cyber-undermining by malicious states. Sovereignty, as we know it, is also threatened by rising geopolitical tensions, war, and global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and global cyber-crime. This chapter deals with the future of sovereignty in a digital and geopolitically contested age. It starts with an introduction into international relations, sovereignty, and strategic autonomy thinking. It reflects on the impact of digital technology on the international system of states. Then the chapter provides an analysis and some practical guidance to tackle the challenges of developing public policy for sovereignty in the digital, and digital humanistic, age. Finally, two case studies and a set of questions invite the reader to a deeper dive.
Digital Transformation, Digital Humanism: What Needs to Be Done
Authors: Werthner Hannes
Published: December 2023

Information technology (IT) changes our society and world, from the individual level up to the ongoing geopolitical powerplay. From an ontological point of view, it influences how we perceive the world and how we think about it. This transformation only happened in the short time span of about 80 years, and it is continuing. We highlight some of the major features of this process. Besides its enormous achievements, this development has serious shortcomings. We will discuss some of them and describe our positive answer: Digital Humanism, an approach that describes, analyzes, and, most importantly, influences the complex interplay of technology and humankind, for a better society and life, fully respecting universal human rights. It is a proactive approach, focusing on the integration of technical and social innovation. Then we will present our Digital Humanism initiative, discuss its research and innovation roadmap, and finish with a general framework integrating the different dimensions of this initiative. [Some arguments have already been partly expressed in other publications such as Werthner (Electronic Markets, 32:145–151, 2022a) and Werthner et al. (IEEE Computer, 56(1):138–142, 2023).]
A Short Introduction to Artificial Intelligence: Methods, Success Stories, and Current Limitations
Authors: Heitzinger Clemens , Woltran Stefan
Published: December 2023

This chapter gives an overview of the most important methods in artificial intelligence (AI). The methods of symbolic AI are rooted in logic, and finding possible solutions by search is a central aspect. The main challenge is the combinatorial explosion in search, but the focus on the satisfiability problem of propositional logic (SAT) since the 1990s and the accompanying algorithmic improvements have made it possible to solve problems on the scale needed in industrial applications. In machine learning (ML), self-learning algorithms extract information from data and represent the solutions in convenient forms. ML broadly consists of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning. Successes in the 2010s and early 2020s such as solving Go, chess, and many computer games as well as large language models such as ChatGPT are due to huge computational resources and algorithmic advances in ML. Finally, we reflect on current developments and draw conclusions.
Cardiovascular and mortality outcomes with GLP-1 receptor agonists vs other glucose-lowering drugs in individuals with NAFLD and type 2 diabetes: a large population-based matched cohort study
Authors: Krishnan Arunkumar , Schneider Carolin V. , Hadi Yousaf , Mukherjee Diptasree , AlShehri Bandar , Alqahtani Saleh A.
Published: December 2023

Aims/hypothesis

We aimed to determine whether the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) in individuals with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus decreases the risk of new-onset adverse cardiovascular events (CVEs) and mortality rate compared with other glucose-lowering drugs in a real setting at a population level.

Methods

We conducted a population-based propensity-matched retrospective cohort study using TriNetX. The cohort comprised patients over 20 years old who were newly treated with glucose-lowering drugs between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2021, and followed until 30 September 2022. New users of GLP-1RAs were matched based on age, demographics, comorbidities and medication use by using 1:1 propensity matching with other glucose-lowering drugs. The primary outcome was the new onset of adverse CVEs, including heart failure, composite incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; defined as unstable angina, myocardial infarction, or coronary artery procedures or surgeries) and composite cerebrovascular events (defined as the first occurrence of stroke, transient ischaemic attack, cerebral infarction, carotid intervention or surgery), and the secondary outcome was all-cause mortality. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate HRs.

Results

The study involved 2,835,398 patients with both NAFLD and type 2 diabetes. When compared with the sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors group, the GLP-1RAs group showed no evidence of a difference in terms of new-onset heart failure (HR 0.97; 95% CI 0.93, 1.01), MACE (HR 0.95; 95% CI 0.90, 1.01) and cerebrovascular events (HR 0.99; 95% CI 0.94, 1.03). Furthermore, the two groups had no evidence of a difference in mortality rate (HR 1.06; 95% CI 0.97, 1.15). Similar results were observed across sensitivity analyses. Compared with other second- or third-line glucose-lowering medications, the GLP-1RAs demonstrated a lower rate of adverse CVEs, including heart failure (HR 0.88; 95% CI 0.85, 0.92), MACE (HR 0.89; 95% CI 0.85, 0.94), cerebrovascular events (HR 0.93; 95% CI 0.89, 0.96) and all-cause mortality rate (HR 0.70; 95% CI 0.66, 0.75).

Conclusions/interpretation

In individuals with NAFLD and type 2 diabetes, GLP-1RAs are associated with lower incidences of adverse CVEs and all-cause mortality compared with metformin or other second- and third-line glucose-lowering medications. However, there was no significant difference in adverse CVEs or all-cause mortality when compared with those taking SGLT2 inhibitors.

Graphical Abstract
The role of fire in the Medieval and Early Modern landscape of Bad Waldsee within the broader context of the pre-Alpine forelands of south-western Germany
Authors: Saeidi Ghavi Andam Sara , Marinova Elena , Wick Lucia , Haas Kristin , Lemmes Claudia , Rösch Manfred , Schiedek Thomas , Krahn Kim J. , Nelle Oliver , Hirbodian Sigrid , Rückert Peter , Schwalb Antje , Hinderer Matthias
Published: December 2023

Fire, an important element of human land use strategies, was part of many early industrial activities but also of burning incidents that significantly impacted settlement structures and development. The spatial proximity of the historically well-documented medieval town and sediment archive deposited in its central lake (Stadtsee) was taken to investigate the interplay of fire and socio-environmental developments during the preindustrial phase of 750−150 bp (ad 1200–1800). The burning episodes were detected using the sediment macroscopic charcoal record (> 150 μm) and were interpreted considering sedimentological, palynological, and historical evidence. Macro-charcoal analysis revealed two main phases of biomass burning: a late Medieval one (653−533 cal bp ), followed by a distinct fire-free interval, and a second Modern Times phase (313 cal bp until today). During the late Medieval times and after ad 1750 (200 cal bp) low-magnitude local fires coincided with high-intensity land use pressure. Major historical events like the Thirty Years’ War and the fire incident near the town (ad 1386, 174 cal bp) were also documented by the charcoal sedimentary record. The specific terrain morphology and the town microclimate impacted the chance of whether certain local burning patterns were detectable at all. This study demonstrates that during the Medieval period to the present day, fire events, mainly anthropogenic, were coupled with the main vegetation developments. Anthropogenic fire was an inseparable part of the Bad Waldsee landscape, as also recorded historically by the town archives.
Optimizing anomaly-based attack detection using classification machine learning
Authors: Gouda Hany Abdelghany , Ahmed Mohamed Abdelslam , Roushdy Mohamed Ismail
Published: December 2023

One of the significant aspects of our digital world is that data are literally everywhere, and it is increasing. On the other hand, the number of cyberattacks aiming to seize this data and use it illegally is increasing at an exponential rate, and this is the challenge. Therefore, intrusion detection systems (IDS) have attracted considerable interest from researchers and industries. In this regard, machine learning (ML) techniques are playing a pivotal role as they put the responsibility of analyzing enormous amounts of data, finding patterns, classifying intrusions, and solving issues on computers instead of humans. This paper implements two separate classification layers of ML-based algorithms with the recently published NF-UQ-NIDS-v2 dataset, preprocessing two volumes of sample records (100 k and 10 million), utilizing MinMaxScaler, LabelEncoder, selecting superlative features by recursive feature elimination, normalizing the data, and optimizing hyper-parameters for classical algorithms and neural networks. With a small dataset volume, the results of the classical algorithms layer show high detection accuracy rates for support vector (98.26%), decision tree (98.78%), random forest (99.07%), K-nearest neighbors (98.16%), CatBoost (99.04%), and gradient boosting (98.80%). In addition, the layer of neural network algorithms has proven to be a very powerful technology when using deep learning, particularly due to its unique ability to effectively handle enormous amounts of data and detect hidden correlations and patterns; it showed high detection results, which were (98.87%) for long short-term memory and (98.56%) for convolutional neural networks.
Arbitrage problems with reflected geometric Brownian motion
Authors: Buckner Dean , Dowd Kevin , Hulley Hardy
Published: December 2023

Contrary to the claims made by several authors, a financial market model in which the price of a risky security follows a reflected geometric Brownian motion is not arbitrage-free. In fact, such models violate even the weakest no-arbitrage condition considered in the literature. Consequently, they do not admit numéraire portfolios or equivalent risk-neutral probability measures, which makes them unsuitable for contingent claim valuation. Unsurprisingly, the published option pricing formulae for such models violate classical no-arbitrage bounds.
Enhanced simulated moving bed reactor performance for the synthesis of solketal by implementing the ModiCon strategy
Authors: Corrêa Isabella , Faria Rui P. V. , Rodrigues Alírio E.
Published: December 2023

The need to extend the range of potential uses for the Simulated Moving Bed Reactor (SMBR) leads the development of new operational strategies that enable the equipment to perform increasingly difficult reactions and separations. Solketal is the valorization product from the reaction between glycerol and acetone, a thermodynamic limited process that faces miscibility and selectivity issues. In this work, the ModiCon SMBR is proposed and optimized aiming to overcome the difficulties of solketal synthesis in the Conventional SMBR. The optimization is based on the “Reactive-Separation Volumes” methodology, a well-established procedure followed for optimizing numerous other SMBR processes. The results demonstrate that the new SMBR operating mode can produce solketal with a purity of 97%, reaching a productivity of over 9.69 $${\text{kg}}_{{{\text{Solk}}}} {\text{ L}}_{{{\text{Ads}}}}^{{ - {1}}} {\text{ day}}^{{ - {1}}}$$

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, 38% higher than the Multifeed, another non-conventional strategy proposed in the open literature for the synthesis of solketal. The desorbent consumption is 6.76 $${\text{L}}_{{{\text{Desorbent}}}} \,{\text{kg}}_{{{\text{Prod}}}}^{ - 1} ,$$

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35% higher than the Multifeed. The most impressive result is the decrease in the reactants consumption of 12%. Such results demonstrate that this strategy intensifies the process even more than other non-conventional operating strategies proposed in the literature, which makes it more appealing to be implemented in the large scale solketal production.
The NMR signature of maltose-based glycation in full-length proteins
Authors: Defant Pauline , Regl Christof , Huber Christian G. , Schubert Mario
Published: December 2023

Reducing sugars can spontaneously react with free amines in protein side chains leading to posttranslational modifications (PTMs) called glycation. In contrast to glycosylation, glycation is a non-enzymatic modification with consequences on the overall charge, solubility, aggregation susceptibility and functionality of a protein. Glycation is a critical quality attribute of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. In addition to glucose, also disaccharides like maltose can form glycation products. We present here a detailed NMR analysis of the Amadori product formed between proteins and maltose. For better comparison, data collection was done under denaturing conditions using 7 M urea-d4 in D2O. The here presented correlation patterns serve as a signature and can be used to identify maltose-based glycation in any protein that can be denatured. In addition to the model protein BSA, which can be readily glycated, we present data of the biotherapeutic abatacept containing maltose in its formulation buffer. With this contribution, we demonstrate that NMR spectroscopy is an independent method for detecting maltose-based glycation, that is suited for cross-validation with other methods.
On Computing Medians of Marked Point Process Data Under Edit Distance
Authors: Sukegawa Noriyoshi , Suzuki Shohei , Ikebe Yoshiko , Hirata Yoshito
Published: December 2023

In this paper, we consider the problem of computing a median of marked point process data under an edit distance. We formulate this problem as a binary linear program, and propose to solve it to optimality by software. We show results of numerical experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method and its application in earthquake prediction.
Comparing CNN-based and transformer-based models for identifying lung cancer: which is more effective?
Authors: Gai Lulu , Xing Mengmeng , Chen Wei , Zhang Yi , Qiao Xu
Published: December 2023

Lung cancer constitutes the most severe cause of cancer-related mortality. Recent evidence supports that early detection by means of computed tomography (CT) scans significantly reduces mortality rates. Given the remarkable progress of Vision Transformers (ViTs) in the field of computer vision, we have delved into comparing the performance of ViTs versus Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for the automatic identification of lung cancer based on a dataset of 212 medical images. Importantly, neither ViTs nor CNNs require lung nodule annotations to predict the occurrence of cancer. To address the dataset limitations, we have trained both ViTs and CNNs with three advanced techniques: transfer learning, self-supervised learning, and sharpness-aware minimizer. Remarkably, we have found that CNNs achieve highly accurate prediction of a patient’s cancer status, with an outstanding recall (93.4%) and area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (AUC) of 98.1%, when trained with self-supervised learning. Our study demonstrates that both CNNs and ViTs exhibit substantial potential with the three strategies. However, CNNs are more effective than ViTs with the insufficient quantities of dataset.
Transcranial Irradiation Mitigates Paradoxical Sleep Deprivation Effect in an Age-Dependent Manner: Role of BDNF and GLP-1
Authors: Lutfy Radwa H. , Essawy Amina E. , Mohammed Haitham S. , Shakweer Marwa M. , Salam Sherine Abdel
Published: December 2023

The growing prevalence of aged sleep-deprived nations is turning into a pandemic state. Acute sleep deprivation (SD) accompanies aging, changing the hippocampal cellular pattern, neurogenesis pathway expression, and aggravating cognitive deterioration. The present study investigated the ability of Near Infra Red (NIR) light laser to ameliorate cognitive impairment induced by SD in young and senile rats. Wistar rats ≤ 2 months (young) and ≥ 14 months (senile) were sleep-deprived for 72 h with or without transcranial administration of NIR laser of 830 nm. Our results showed that NIR photobiomodulation (PBM) attenuated cognitive deterioration made by SD in young, but not senile rats, while both sleep-deprived young and senile rats exhibited decreased anxiety (mania)-like behavior in response to PBM. NIR PBM had an inhibitory effect on AChE, enhanced the production of ACh, attenuated ROS, and regulated cell apoptosis factors such as Bax and Bcl-2. NIR increased mRNA expression of BDNF and GLP-1 in senile rats, thus facilitating neuronal survival and differentiation. The present findings also revealed that age exerts an additive factor to the cellular assaults produced by SD where hippocampal damages made in 2-month rats were less severe than those of the aged one. In conclusion, NIR PBM seems to promote cellular longevity of senile hippocampal cells by combating ROS, elevating neurotrophic factors, thus improving cognitive performance. The present findings provide NIR as a possible candidate for hippocampal neuronal insults accompanying aging and SD.
“I do not want to stop teaching”: The impact of conflict and displacement on teachers in southern Mosul
Authors: Paradies Maria
Published: December 2023

This article explores the emotional and physical conditions experienced by Iraqi teachers after the fighting and displacement began in 2014 (IOM, 2018) in southern Mosul. It contributes to reducing the paucity of research on teacher well-being in conflict-affected contexts, showing that education can have a healing role for teachers, as well as for students. Teaching helps them to be resilient, to re-establish relationships, and to focus once again on their knowledge and skills. The paper draws on findings from hybrid research involving 35 teachers in 10 different primary and secondary schools in Ninewa governorate. The research explores their needs and challenges from multiple perspectives. While confronted with daily hardships and challenges, teachers do not want to abdicate their role as educators. Teaching helps them to have a sense of purpose. Their strong sense of vocation and motivation to continue teaching under such challenging circumstances add to the debate on teacher well-being and resilience.
Beyond the Ancient and the Modern: Thinking the Tragic with Williams and Kitto
Authors: Bento Sílvia
Published: December 2023

The philosophy of Bernard Williams, recognised as a prominent expression of ethical thought, presents an intense dialogue with ancient Greek tragic culture. Combining erudition and elegance, Williams evokes Greek tragedies to discuss modern ethical ideas and conceptions. Our article intends to consider Williams’ thought from a cultural point of view: we propose analysing Williams’ cultural methodology, which may be described as a way of thinking beyond the traditional dichotomies between the ancient and the modern, especially concerning the notion of the tragic. Accordingly, we shall examine the affinities between ancient and modern tragic cultures by identifying common narrative and poetical elements. To do so, we shall consider the interpretation of Hamlet, developed by the classicist scholar H.D.F. Kitto. In Form and Meaning in Drama: A Study of Six Greek Plays and of “Hamlet” (1956), Kitto proposes reading Hamlet in close alliance with Oedipus Tyrannus. Kitto maintains that both tragedies are poetical expressions of a shared tragic element: miasma, or “pollution”, a concept thoroughly treated by Williams in the third chapter of Shame and Necessity. Our article aims to combine Williams’ cultural methodology—we may call it the deconstruction of the repeated theoretical frameworks regarding the differences between the ancient and the modern—and Kitto’s reading of Hamlet in line with Oedipus Tyrannus, which may be understood as an illustration of the persistence of common tragic elements beyond time and the historical separation of cultural periods. Our perspective shall be both cultural and aesthetical.
Run Length Limited Error Control Codes Derived from Reed Solomon Codes
Authors: Farkaš Peter , Rakús Martin
Published: December 2023

Reed Solomon codes were standardized for numerous wireless communication systems. Most practical Reed Solomon codes belong to non-binary linear block codes defined over finite fields with characteristic two. Each linear block code contains one codeword composed of all zeros. The concatenation of this and also other codewords can lead to long, theoretically even infinite, runs of equal symbols. Such long runs do not support synchronization in wireless receivers and therefore are unwanted. In this paper it is shown that extended and some appropriately shortened Reed Solomon codes constructed over finite fields with characteristic two can be transformed into Run Length Limited Reed Solomon codes. The presented method, if applicable, allows for doing it without inserting additional redundancy. Another advantage is that after the transformation, if some round conditions are fulfilled, the decoding does not have to be rebuilt.
Bewegungsförderung im Team
Authors: Schoser Daria Sophia , Füllgraebe Freya , Trapp Lisa-Marie , Schüller Fiona , Ringreb Fiona , Froböse Ingo , Wilke Christiane
Published: December 2023

Hintergrund und Fragestellung

Aktuelle Studien zeigen, dass ein Großteil der Kinder und Jugendlichen die empfohlene Bewegungszeit von mindestens 60 min körperlicher Aktivität am Tag nicht erreicht. Schulen stellen über die große Erreichbarkeit der Zielgruppe ein geeignetes Setting zur Bewegungsförderung dar, das besonders an weiterführenden Schulen bislang kaum berücksichtigt worden ist. Daher braucht es Strategien für Bewegungsförderung in diesem Setting. Das Peer-Mentoring stellt einen vielversprechenden Ansatz dar, der im Sportbuddy-Projekt an weiterführenden Schulen erprobt wird. Ist das Sportbuddy-Projekt eine Möglichkeit der Bewegungsförderung, die umsetzbar ist und subjektiv wahrgenommen die Bewegungsmotivation und das Bewegungsverhalten beeinflusst?

Studiendesign und Untersuchungsmethoden

Über einen Zeitraum von neun Wochen fand das Sportbuddy-Projekt statt, was über ein Eins-zu-eins-Mentoring von Sporthelfer*innen sowie eine AG und ein Bewegungsbuch Fünftklässler*innen zu mehr Bewegung anregen sollte. Am Ende der Projektdurchführung wurden alle Beteiligten, Fünftklässler*innen, Sporthelfer*innen und Lehrkräfte mittels leitfadengestützten Interviews befragt. Die Auswertung der 15 Interviews erfolgte anhand der qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse.

Ergebnisse

Alle Beteiligten äußerten Zuspruch für das Projekt. Besonders von den Fünftklässler*innen wurde Spaß am Projekt und ein Zugehörigkeitsgefühl zur Projektgruppe betont sowie eine längere Projektdauer gewünscht. Eigenorganisierte Treffen zwischen den Sportbuddys haben vereinzelt stattgefunden. Einige Aussagen berichteten von einer selbst wahrgenommen positiven Änderung des Bewegungsverhaltens. Kleine Hindernisse zeigten sich in der Initiierung des Projekts, da es an allen Schulen zu Verzögerungen und dadurch kürzerer Projektlaufzeit gekommen ist.

Schlussfolgerung

Aus den Interviews wird deutlich, dass das Sportbuddy-Projekt das Potenzial einer niederschwelligen Bewegungsförderung besitzt, um Fünftklässler*innen zu mehr Bewegung zu motivieren. Anpassungen bezüglich der Initiierung und der Verzahnung der einzelnen Komponenten sollten allerdings noch getroffen werden.
Academic success is in the eye of the beholder: understanding scholars’ implicit appointment preferences through adaptive choice-based conjoint analysis
Authors: Graf Laura , Rimbeck Marlen , Stumpf-Wollersheim Jutta , Welpe Isabell M.
Published: December 2023

Because scholarly performance is multidimensional, many different criteria may influence appointment decisions. Previous studies on appointment preferences do not reveal the underlying process on how appointment committee members consider and weigh up different criteria when they evaluate candidates. To identify scholars’ implicit appointment preferences, we used adaptive choice-based conjoint analysis (ACBC), which is able to capture the non-compensatory process of complex decisions like personnel selection. Junior and senior scholars (N = 681) from different countries and types of higher education institutions took part in a hypothetical appointment procedure. A two-step segmentation analysis based on unsupervised and supervised learning revealed three distinct patterns of appointment preferences. More specifically, scholars differ in the appointment criteria they prefer to use, that is, they make different trade-offs when they evaluate candidates who fulfill some but not all of their expectations. The most important variable for predicting scholars’ preferences is the country in which he or she is currently living. Other important predictors of appointment preferences were, for example, scholars’ self-reported research performance and whether they work at a doctorate-granting or not-doctorate-granting higher education institution. A comparison of scholars’ implicit and explicit preferences yielded considerable discrepancies. Through the lens of cognitive bias theory, we contribute to the extension of the literature on professorial appointments by an implicit process perspective and provide insights for scholars and higher education institutions.
Klasse gegen Klima? Transformationskonflikte in der Autoindustrie
Authors: Dörre Klaus , Liebig Steffen , Lucht Kim , Sittel Johanna
Published: December 2023

Ökologische Großgefahren wie der Klimawandel betreffen alle, sie ebnen soziale Ungleichheiten aber keineswegs ein. Die Klassenvergessenheit ökologischer Aufklärung trägt dazu bei, dass Maßnahmen gegen die Erderhitzung auf soziale Barrieren treffen. Deshalb ist die sozial-ökologische Transformation konfliktträchtig. Anhand empirischer Tiefenbohrungen bei zwei deutschen Autoherstellern zeigt der Beitrag, wie Management und Arbeiterschaft einer Karbonbranche mit den Veränderungen umgehen. Mit Hilfe klassentheoretischer Überlegungen werden die untersuchten Werke als Klassengesellschaften in Miniatur beschrieben. Sie konstituieren soziale Felder, in denen die Transformation nicht nur das Spiel, sondern auch die Spielregeln ändert, nach denen die betrieblichen Akteure handeln. Klassenachse und ökologische Achse müssen in ihrer jeweiligen Besonderheit betrachtet werden, um ihre Wechselwirkungen in Transformationskonflikten zu verstehen. Nur so lässt sich erklären, warum Konflikte transformativ oder konservierend verlaufen können. Die Haltung betrieblicher Interessenvertretungen und gewerkschaftlicher Strukturen, aber auch der Einfluss externer Vetospieler (Klimabewegungen, radikale Rechte) beeinflussen die Konfliktdynamiken erheblich. Fallübergreifend zeigt sich, dass institutionell eingehegte Klassenauseinandersetzungen in mitbestimmten Unternehmen mehr und mehr zu sozial-ökologischen Transformationskonflikten werden. Es handelt sich um Mehrebenenkonflikte, in denen eigentumsbasierte Entscheidungsmacht eine zentrale Rolle spielt. Weder entsteht eine ökologische Klasse jenseits der Produktion, noch bildet sich ein ökologisches Proletariat heraus. Stattdessen setzt sich ein Transformationskorporatismus durch, der am Entscheidungsmonopol über Geschäftsmodelle, über das Eigentümer und strategiefähiges Management verfügen, an klassenspezifische Grenzen stößt.
Reflexive use of methods: a framework for navigating different types of knowledge and power in transformative research
Authors: Minna Kaljonen , Jacobi Johanna , Korhonen-Kurki Kaisa , Lukkarinen Jani P. , Ott Anna , Peltomaa Juha , Schneider Flurina , Tribaldos Theresa , Zaehringer Julie G.
Published: December 2023

In transformative sustainability science, reflexivity is considered critical for ethically sound and socially relevant research. In practice, many transdisciplinary knowledge co-production processes have faced problems in mitigating power hierarchies among the participating actors and the different types of knowledge. In this paper, we develop and test a reflexive framework that enables transdisciplinary researchers to convey more explicitly how their methodological choices play a role in im/balancing power relations in knowledge co-production. The reflexive framework allows researchers to distinguish the different types of knowledge co-produced by the methods, as well as tracking the movements between them. We utilize the framework to reflect upon the methodological choices made through the application of three different transformative methods, namely the Transition Arena, Theory of Change, and Participatory Food Sustainability Assessment and Transformation Framework in different contexts. The results illuminate how the agility between the knowledge types is critical for navigating tensions in power imbalances, as well as producing transformative knowledge. Moreover, the results call further attention to the co-production of critical knowledge in sustainability science.
Cucumber seed polypeptides regulate RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis through OPG/RANKL/RANK and NF-κB
Authors: Yu Tao , Liu Xiao , Jiang Meng , Li Yuanyue , Su Heng , Niu Ben
Published: December 2023

Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) is a common disease that endangers the health of elderly women. Cucumber seeds have shown excellent therapeutic effects on PMOP, but the mechanism of cucumber seed peptide (CSP) remains unclear. The expression levels of NF-κB and osteoclast-related genes were detected by RT-qPCR. The levels of apoptosis-related proteins were detected by Western blotting. Nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 and osteoclast formation were detected by immunofluorescence and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining, respectively. ELISA was used to detect the expression levels of OPG, M-CSF, and RANKL. Hematoxylin–eosin (H&E) and TRAP staining were used to observe the effects of CSP on bone formation. In RAW264.7 cells, CSP (0.4 mg/L, 4 mg/L, and 40 mg/L) effectively inhibited the expression of osteoclast-related genes (Cathepsin-K, MT1-MMP, MMP-9, and TRAP). TRAP-positive multinucleated giant cells gradually decreased. Furthermore, NF-κB pathway activation downstream of RANK was inhibited. In bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs), the expression levels of M-CSF and RANKL gradually decreased, and OPG gradually increased with increasing CSP concentrations. Treatment of RAW264.7 cells with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC, an inhibitor of NF-κB) prevented the formation of osteoclasts. Treatment with different concentrations of CSP effectively decreased the levels of RANKL and M-CSF in rat serum and increased the expression of OPG in the oophorectomy (OVX) rat model. Furthermore, different concentrations of CSP could ameliorate the loss of bone structure and inhibit the formation of osteoclasts in rats. CSP inhibits osteoclastogenesis by regulating the OPG/RANKL/RANK pathway and inhibiting the NF-kB pathway.
Climate-change habitat shifts for the vulnerable endemic oak species (Quercus arkansana Sarg.)
Authors: Subedi Suresh Chandra , Drake Seth , Adhikari Binaya , Coggeshall Mark V.
Published: December 2023

Quercus arkansana (Arkansas oak) is at risk of becoming endangered, as the total known population size is represented by a few isolated populations. The potential impact of climate change on this species in the near future is high, yet knowledge of its predicted effects is limited. Our study utilized the biomod2 R package to develop habitat suitability ensemble models based on bioclimatic and topographic environmental variables and the known locations of current distribution of Q. arkansana. We predicted suitable habitats across three climate change scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5) for 2050, 2070, and 2090. Our findings reveal that the current suitable habitat for Q. arkansana is approximately 127,881 km2 across seven states (Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida); approximately 9.5% is encompassed within state and federally managed protected areas. Our models predict that all current suitable habitats will disappear by 2050 due to climate change, resulting in a northward shift into new regions such as Tennessee and Kentucky. The large extent of suitable habitat outside protected areas suggests that a species-specific action plan incorporating protected areas and other areas may be crucial for its conservation. Moreover, protection of Q. arkansana habitat against climate change may require locally and regionally focused conservation policies, adaptive management strategies, and educational outreach among local people.
Effect of urgency level on prehospital emergency transport times: a natural experiment
Authors: Valentin Jan Brink , Hansen Nanna Høgh , Behrndtz Anne Brink , Væggemose Ulla , Gude Martin Faurholdt
Published: December 2023

Accurate estimation of ambulance transport time from the scene of incident to arrival at the emergency department (ED) is important for effective resource management and emergency care system planning. Further, differences in transport times between different urgency levels highlight the benefits of ambulance transports with highest urgency level in a setting where ambulances are allowed to not follow standard traffic rules. The objective of the study is to compare ambulance urgency level on the differences in estimates of ambulance transport times generated by Google Maps and the observed transport times in a prehospital setting where emergency vehicles have their own traffic laws. The study was designed as a natural experiment and register study. Ambulance transports dispatched with different levels of urgency (Level A and B) were included in the Central Denmark Region (a mixed urban and rural area) from March 10 to June 11, 2021. Ambulance transports for highest urgency level were compared to lowest urgency level with Google Maps estimated transport times as reference. We analyzed 1981 highest urgency level and 8.958 lowest urgency level ambulance transports. Google Maps significantly overestimated the duration of transports operating at highest level of urgency (Level A) by 1.9 min/10 km (95% CI 1.8; 2.0) in average and 4.8 min/10 km (95% CI 3.9; 5.6) for the first driven 10 km. Contrary, Google Maps significantly underestimated the duration of transports operating at lowest level of urgency (Level B) by −1.8 min/10 km (95% CI −2.1; −1.5) in average and −4.4 min/10 km (95% CI −5.4; −3.5) for the first driven 10 km. Google Maps systematically overestimates transport times of ambulance transports driven with Level A, the highest level of urgency in a setting where ambulances are allowed to not follow standard traffic rules. The results highlight the benefit of using urgency Level A and provide valuable information for emergency care management.