bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Contractivity of neural ODEs: An eigenvalue optimization problem
Authors: Guglielmi Nicola , De Marinis Arturo , Savostianov Anton , Tudisco Francesco 
Published: February 2025

We propose a novel methodology to solve a key eigenvalue optimization problem which arises in the contractivity analysis of neural ordinary differential equations (ODEs). When looking at contractivity properties of a one-layer weight-tied neural ODE

u
˙

(
t
)
=
σ
(
A
u
(
t
)
+
b
)

\dot {u}(t)=\sigma (Au(t)+b)

(with

u
,
b
∈

R

n

u,b \in \mathbb {R}^n

,

A
A

is a given

n
×
n

n \times n

matrix,

σ
:

R

→

R

\sigma : \mathbb {R}\to \mathbb {R}

denotes an activation function and for a vector

z
∈

R

n

z \in \mathbb {R}^n

,

σ
(
z
)
∈

R

n

\sigma (z) \in \mathbb {R}^n

has to be interpreted entry-wise), we are led to study the logarithmic norm of a set of products of type

D
A

D A

, where

D
D

is a diagonal matrix such that

d
i
a
g
(
D
)
∈

σ
′

(

R

n

)

diag(D) \in \sigma ’(\mathbb {R}^n)

. Specifically, given a real number

c
c

(usually

c
=
0

c=0

), the problem consists in finding the largest positive interval

I

⊆

[

0
,
∞
)

\mathrm {I}\subseteq \mathbb [0,\infty )

such that the logarithmic norm

μ
(
D
A
)
≤
c

\mu (DA) \le c

for all diagonal matrices

D
D

with

D

i
i

∈

I

D_{ii}\in \mathrm {I}

. We propose a two-level nested methodology: an inner level where, for a given

I

\mathrm {I}

, we compute an optimizer

D
⋆

(

I

)

D^\star (\mathrm {I})

by a gradient system approach, and an outer level where we tune

I

\mathrm {I}

so that the value

c
c

is reached by

μ
(

D
⋆

(

I

)
A
)

\mu (D^\star (\mathrm {I})A)

. We extend the proposed two-level approach to the general multilayer, and possibly time-dependent, case

u
˙

(
t
)
=
σ
(

A
k

(
t
)
…
σ
(

A

1

(
t
)
u
(
t
)
+

b

1

(
t
)
)
…
+

b

k

(
t
)
)

\dot {u}(t) = \sigma ( A_k(t) \ldots \sigma ( A_{1}(t) u(t) + b_{1}(t) ) \ldots + b_{k}(t) )

and we propose several numerical examples to illustrate its behaviour, including its stabilizing performance on a one-layer neural ODE applied to the classification of the MNIST handwritten digits dataset.
Personhood and self-identity
Authors: Pettit Philip 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
An agent will count as a person, by traditional theories, to the extent that they can reason, are fit to be held responsible, enjoy claims of dignity, and can live up to certain ideals distinctive of personhood. The humanoids will meet those connotations of personhood insofar as they make commitments to one another on an open front, projecting a persona that they effectively invite others—and, interiorizing, invite themselves—to rely on: ‘this is who I am’. In order to ‘personate’ in that sense, they must be able to reason, to ascribe and assume responsibility, to be able to claim rights against one another, and to live up to the ideals of the persona they project. The person or personating agent will enjoy an important form of self-identity over time, even as they change and recognize that they change in their public profile. Not only will they be intertemporally connected in the sense that their states at any time—say, of memory or intention—reflect their states at others: say, of experience or performance. They will also be generally connected by sustaining a commitment to a certain stable or evolving persona. In this richer construal of what they are as a self, it will make sense for them to embrace an ideal of knowing themselves and being true to their self.
Korngold in America
Authors: Winters Ben 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Through an examination of the film scores and post-Hollywood concert works of Erich Korngold, the book argues for a reassessment of the composer’s place in twentieth-century music historiography. Using extensive archival evidence, it dismantles the myths that have obscured a proper understanding of Korngold’s work for Warner Bros.; furthermore, it challenges assumptions about the relationship between his film scores and his wider work for the concert hall and opera house. The result provides a more complete picture of his artistry unencumbered by anxieties about the relative value of mass culture and is unapologetic about the important role played by his music in the Hollywood films of which it is a part.
A Hollywood Compositional Toolbox
Authors: Winters Ben 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Chapter 3 suggests that—mindful of the apparent restrictions placed on his compositional process by the circumstances of production, and the richness of his creative interactions with colleagues—scoring films nonetheless offered Korngold opportunities to explore both his personal compositional methods and the nature of his own compositional toolbox. The chapter explores the ways in which he engaged with the technology of film, including his use of synchronization technologies during composition and recording. Then the attention turns to Korngold’s penchant for recycling material, before finally exploring the stylistic, timbral, and harmonic characteristics of his film music.
Korngold’s Hollywood Legacy
Authors: Winters Ben 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Chapter 7 examines the reception history of Korngold’s post-Hollywood concert works to add much-needed nuance to the prevailing view of the composer’s post-war concert career as a critical failure. The tendency to see Korngold’s career in such stark terms ignores the ways in which his final films and concert works bring together what modernist ideology would attempt to keep apart: Hollywood and classical concert culture. This final chapter then returns to the role of Hollywood in Korngold’s career as a whole, and addresses the place of both Korngold and Hollywood in twentieth-century music history. As such, it suggests that the optimism which Korngold recognized in his own music emerges as his lasting legacy.
Weaponizing Waste
Authors: Lepawsky Josh 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
In November 2011 a US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was convened to address the problem of counterfeit electronic parts in US military supply chains. The problem was attributed to electronic waste sourced from the United States, repurposed in China, and sold back to weapons manufacturers. This chapter asks what might the invocation of ‘e-waste’ with respect to US military supply chains reveal about those supply chains? What might it disclose about the assumptions on which their operations rest? And what operations of associated, but perhaps less obvious, systems might also be disclosed by the invocation of e-waste as a threat to US military supply chains? The chapter closely examines the transcript of the hearing, submitted documents, and testimony to provide some answers to these questions. By examining the invocation of a particular waste object (‘e-waste’) the chapter shows that object to be a symptom, rather than a cause, of a struggle between identifiable actors over the rightful disposition of private versus public interests in military provisioning.
Waste as Posthuman Critique
Authors: Pyyhtinen Olli , Onali Alma , Zavos Stylianos 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Engaging with waste scholarship, STS, and posthumanist feminist literature while also employing snippets from our ongoing garbographic fieldwork, the chapter explores the dis/entanglement of humans and waste by placing a spotlight on minoritarian encounters and messy relations. The underlying rationale of this exploration is to problematize and disrupt the ontological hygiene characterizing the intricate relationship of our societies with waste. The chapter examines how humans are entangled with waste much more intimately than current modes and technologies of waste management and the technocratic zero-waste utopia of the idealized circular economy would make us believe. Ultimately, rather than adhering to conventional notions that consider waste as a passive end-product of human classifications, we approach it as a vital, unruly matter that necessitates immediate efforts to discover ways to live with it. This urge also prompts the need to critically confront the anthropocentric notion of care.
Poetry, Sound, and the Matter of Prosody, 1800–2000
Authors: Miller Peter 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
When modernist poets rejected meter at the beginning of the twentieth century, they seemed to reject something at the heart of poetry: sound. Yet meter was only one of the many sound media that poets on either side of 1900 used to structure their poems. As new technologies like the phonograph unsettled print modes of representing sound, language, and voice, poets likewise pluralized the sonic basis, or “prosody,” of their work. Enlisting talking birds and printed ballads, illuminated manuscripts and books shaped like vinyl LPs, poets in Britain and America mixed new media with old to revitalize the lyric tradition and explore the cultural stakes of sound reproduction. Examining key moments of prosodic innovation from Romanticism to hip hop, Poetry, Sound, and the Matter of Prosody, 1800–2000 reads the fall of meter against the rise of modern sound recording to reframe prosodic analysis as a form of media theory. By considering the broad range of elements affecting the sounds and rhythms of poetic language, some tangible (e.g. paper, ink, vinyl), others intangible (e.g. meter, genre, musical form), the book provides a richer sense of the prosodic repertoire of individual poems while enabling unexpected connections between poems from different historical periods. Anchored around five canonical figures, William Wordsworth, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Ezra Pound, and Langston Hughes, while attending to their work’s ongoing transformation by contemporary popular culture, the book offers both formal and historical insights into the nature of lyric poetry after Romanticism.
Epilogue
Authors: Miller Peter 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The book’s epilogue considers two quite different pieces of contemporary prosodic culture: Amazon’s voice-activated “virtual assistant” Alexa and the body of musical poetry known as rap or hip-hop. Consulting the work of the literary critic Jonathan Culler and the rap artist Tupac, the epilogue argues that taking seriously such overtly mediated prosodic forms will help clarify the nature of poetic sound more generally. The epilogue concludes by identifying four related goals to help guide the future of poetry studies, including expanding the object of prosodic analysis, broadening the academy’s sense of who performs prosodic analysis, reimagining what is meant by historical poetics, and reaffirming the disciplines commitment to textual criticism.
Economic Crisis and Punishment
Authors: Kovras Iosif 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Chapter 2 seeks to explain the puzzling variation in the extent to which European countries embraced retributive justice following the 2008 economic crisis. While some established special prosecutorial bodies and took steps to facilitate prosecutions, others seemed to consider the crisis ‘business as usual’ and relied on the existing investigative and prosecutorial mechanisms to seek out wrongdoing. It revisits some of the central explanations proffered by the literature in response to the crisis, noting the emphasis either on the powerful status of the offenders/bankers or on the challenges faced by prosecutorial authorities investigating white-collar crimes. The chapter offers a more holistic framework of post-crisis retribution by focusing on the catalytic role of politicians in shaping the prospect of prosecution. In other words, the chapter shifts the focus of scholarly attention to politicians’ appetite for retribution. It argues that the way a financial crisis unfolds plays a significant role in shaping the desire of politicians to promote an agenda of retributive justice. With a banking collapse, politicians will be more proactive, as voters’ demand for punishment is high, and the risk of a loss of stability in the banking industry is minimal. With a severe yet negotiated crisis following a bailout/bail-in, politicians are more reluctant to endorse policies that may risk the recovery of a fragile banking sector that needs government support.
Cyprus
Authors: Kovras Iosif 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Chapter 4 presents the contrasting experience of politicians in Cyprus who followed a business-as-usual model with little desire for retribution; tellingly, only a handful of bankers were prosecuted in the decade following the crisis. More precisely, the complete collapse of the banking industry was prevented by proactive government intervention (bailout/bail-in), leaving politicians with the delicate task of managing ‘zombie’ banks. This made Cypriot politicians more mindful of the effect investigations could have on the stability of the weakened financial system; problematically, they might prolong the crisis and incur further political costs. Hence, political demand for retribution was mitigated by concerns about economic and political stability.
Shading the Truth
Authors: Kovras Iosif 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Why (and how) do some post-crisis truth recovery mechanisms fail to have any impact? While most theories are built on success stories, studying failures can be equally important for theory development. Knowing the factors that make some fact-finding commissions destined to fail would greatly improve our understanding of the constraints to effective truth recovery and learning after a crisis. To this end, this chapter draws on the comparative experience of Greece and Cyprus, two countries that experimented with truth commissions but were unsuccessful. Interestingly, even though they experienced different types of crises—Greece had a public debt crisis, and Cyprus had a banking crisis—their outcomes were the same. Understanding the mechanics of their failure would clarify how instrumental logic is operationalized and can undermine truth recovery mechanisms. The chapter shows that, in both cases, the commissioners were driven by the instrumental logic of learning, whereby learning from the past is geared toward creating authoritative public (and finger-pointing) narratives of the causes of the crisis to score points against opponents or divert blame.
Looking Backward or Moving Forward?
Authors: Kovras Iosif 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The chapter explores the strategic dilemma faced by political leaders in the aftermath of economic crises: whether to prioritize retrospective accountability or forward-looking economic recovery. A new theoretical framework is proposed to analyze voter preferences for different accountability models, including retributive (criminal prosecutions), restorative (truth commissions and apologies), and economic recovery. The chapter employs a mixed-methods approach, using survey data from Iceland and a conjoint experiment conducted in Ireland, to test these hypotheses. Results indicate that voters favor restorative approaches, such as truth commissions and public apologies, over exclusive focus on economic recovery. These findings suggest that truth commissions are valued for their ability to provide clear, comprehensive accounts of crises, while public apologies fulfill citizens’ expectations for leaders to acknowledge and learn from past mistakes. This finding challenges the conventional view of ‘economic voting’ wherein the chief concern for the party in power is to develop a proactive reform agenda to help economic recovery as this will boost its prospects of electoral survival. However, non-economic policies and non-electoral forms of accountability are equally important. The chapter argues that a well-designed policy of retrospective accountability can curtail the appeal of demagogues who hijack popular calls for accountability in post-crisis settings to score political points, thereby protecting democratic institutions while also yielding electoral rewards for the incumbent.
Student Politics in Egypt
Authors: Ramzy Farah 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Our understanding of student politics in Egypt is marked by past representations of the role of students as the intellectual avant-garde of the nation, and of the student movement as integral to massive protests for national and regional causes. That said, the neoliberalization of higher education in the 1990s redefined universities’ missions to focus on the professionalization of students whose role is henceforth to acquire skills for the job market. While this shift is well documented, little is known about its impact on student politics. Although universities remained important sites for all political groups, student politics fell out of sight, in favour of alternative categories like youth activism or new protest movements which, paradoxically, do not account for the historical specificity of students as political actors. Even after the 2011 revolution, the story remains unfinished: we need to question how the structural and political shifts affected student politics in the twenty-first century.
Student Unions
Authors: Ramzy Farah 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The revolution of 2011 paved the way for the reimagination of the role of student unions, which used to be bureaucratic entities instrumentalized for the co-optation of students. The remaking of student unions reveals the complex and nuanced relationship students had with parties, elections, and politics in its most conventional sense. The idea was that revolutionary unions ought to be ‘neutral’, to move beyond the conflicts of politics in order to be representative of all students. In reality, the definition of ‘politics’ from which unions should be distanced remained fluid and ambiguous, especially as repression hit in the post-2013 context. This chapter traces the difficult and emotionally charged process of the negotiation of the meaning of politics as part of how students made sense of unions’ missions. The negotiation carries traces both of a neoliberal and a prefigurative logic, although neither involved a full break with conventional politics.
Wanting to know whether
Authors: Nissan-Rozen Ittay 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
It is argued that that the desire attributed to an agent, X, in sentences of the form ‘X wants to know whether P’, is not X’s overall desire for ‘X knows that P or X knows that “not P”’, but rather X’s expected conditional desire for knowing the truth about P, given the truth. An implication of this account for distributive justice is discussed.
Healthcare Clinicians’ Perspectives on Managing Suspected Elder Abuse: “We Don’t Want to Just Swoop in and Do What We Think is Best”
Authors: Makaroun Lena K , Shin Naomi , Hruska Kristina L , Rosen Tony , Dichter Melissa E , Thorpe Carolyn T , Rodriguez Keri L , O’Hare Ann , Rosland Ann-Marie 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Background and Objectives
Elder abuse (EA) is common and has significant health impacts. New initiatives seek to capitalize on opportunities to respond to EA from within the healthcare system, but little is known about what clinicians may need to be successful in these efforts. Our objective was to understand perceived barriers and facilitators to managing all phases of EA within an integrated healthcare system from the perspectives of front-line clinicians from a range of different disciplines.

Research Design and Methods
Thirty-seven clinicians (10 social workers, 9 physicians, 7 psychologists, 6 nurses and 5 advanced practice providers) from different clinical sites within two large Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical centers participated in semi-structured interviews. The interview guide was designed to elicit facilitators and barriers to discrete stages in the process of addressing EA, including detection, reporting, intervention and monitoring. Transcripts were coded using deductive (based on a pre-specified conceptual model) and inductive approaches and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results
Most (78%) participants were women, ranging in age from 33-64 years, and practicing in a variety of settings (e.g., primary care, emergency department) with between 4-25 years of VHA experience. We identified five interrelated themes that cut across the different stages of EA care: situational context (theme 1), degree of trust in familial and healthcare relationships (theme 2), extent of education and skills (theme 3), and existing system infrastructure (theme 4) all contributed to clinician empowerment and motivation towards action (theme 5).

Discussion and Implications
Efforts to enhance skills training, build trusting relationships, and improve system infrastructure could help to equip clinicians to engage in healthcare system interventions to reduce harm from EA.
Development of a Mindfulness and Self-compassion (MASC) Stress Reduction Program for Caregivers of Persons with Dementia with Behavioral Symptoms
Authors: Stone Sarah M , Giraldo-Santiago Natalia , Miller Angela , O’Donnell Arden , Travis Aniyah , Ritchie Christine S , Vranceanu Ana-Maria 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Background and Objectives
Caregivers of persons living with dementia experience high stress triggered by the behavioral symptoms of care-recipients. Current stress management interventions exist but are primarily focused on providing support or education targeting general caregiving stress. We need caregiver interventions that also address stress triggered by the behavioral symptoms of persons living with dementia. . Here, we showcase the development of the Mindfulness and Self Compassionate Care program (MASC), a new program that integrates emotional regulation skills (mindfulness, compassion, and self-compassion), with practical strategies to manage behavioral symptoms in persons living with dementia.

Research Design and Methods
In this mixed-methods study, we conducted five focus groups (N=28) with a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of stressed caregivers of persons living with dementia who endorse behavioral symptoms. We aimed to understand their needs, preferences, and perceptions of the proposed MASC skills. Twenty-four of these caregivers completed an optional quantitative survey. We used a hybrid inductive-deductive approach for qualitative analyses and descriptive statistics to analyze quantitative data.

Results
Qualitative analyses showed high stress in caregivers stemming from their care-recipients behavioral symptoms. Caregivers reported interest in a program like MASC, liked the proposed skills, and provided recommendations to enhance the program's format and content. Quantitative analyses supported the need of the program and the interrelation between program mechanisms and outcomes.

Discussion and Implications
Caregivers provided valuable information for adapting the program content and methodology. Current work includes an open pilot with exit interviews to refine the program with the goal of efficacy testing and implementation.
Effects of inactivated bacillus sp. DU-106 on high-fat diet-induced obesity and the gut–liver axis
Authors: Li Yanli , Zhao Wenjun , Jiang Bingyan , Huang Xiao-Chun , Liu Jie , Huang Junyuan , Hu Bang , Liu Yong-Xin , Du Bing , Li Pan 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Probiotics are often utilized for disease prevention, but the study of inactivated probiotics is still in its infancy. This study investigated the impact of both live and inactivated Bacillus sp. DU-106 on obesity-related liver lipid metabolism, the inflammatory response, and the equilibrium of the gut–liver axis. Both live and inactivated Bacillus sp. DU-106 ameliorated the development of metabolic disorders, insulin resistance, and hepatic steatosis in obese mice. The expression of proteins and mRNA related to hepatic lipid metabolism and inflammation was inhibited. Moreover, the intestinal barrier damage and intestinal flora composition caused by the high-fat diet were reversed. The total concentration of short-chain fatty acids increased after treatment with live or inactivated Bacillus sp. DU-106. Both live and inactivated Bacillus sp. DU-106 have antiobesity effects. We speculated that Bacillus sp. DU-106 does not colonize the gut but exerts its antiobesity effects by regulating gut–liver axis homeostasis through its intracellular components.