Introduction into the structure, contents and specifications of the Information Coding Classification, developed in the seventies and used in many ways by the author and a few others following its publication in 1982. Its theoretical basis is explained consisting in the Integrative Level Theory, following an evolutionary approach of ontical areas, and integrating also on each level the aspects contained in the sequence of the levels, the distinction between categories of form and categories of being, the application (...) of a feature of Systems Theory and the inclusion of a concept theory, distinguishing four kinds of relationships, originated by the kinds of characteristics. Its special Subject Groups on each of its nine levels are outlined and the combinatory facilities at certain positions of the Systematifier are shown. Further elaboration and use have been suggested, be it only as a switching language between the six existing universal classification systems at present in use internationally. (shrink)

A study examined the journalistic codes of ethics from 23 countries involved in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), using descriptive and interpretative content analysis. The contents of the 24 codes from the 23 countries were divided into explicit categories on the basis of a 17-part classification scheme, including: "truth, ""acquisition of facts, ""professional secrecy, ""freedom of information, ""professional integrity, ""human rights," and "values." Results indicated that: (1) the most important principle in all the codes (...) was represented by truth; (2) the general rule on acquisition and checking of facts was that journalists should use open and honest means to acquire information; (3) confidentiality of sources must be maintained; and (4) freedom of information figures prominently in nearly all of the codes. Findings suggest the development among the CSCE countries of some sort of basic, universal model of journalistic codes where the accent is on truth, freedom of information, and protection of the individual. Studies like this one point to the increasing urgency for research on the "new Europe" and its rapidly changing cultural landscape. (Twenty-one references, a list of the codes of ethics examined, and a list of publications in English and Swedish of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication of the University of Tampere are attached.) (RS). (shrink)

A lot of research has been done on the detection of mental workload using various bio-signals. Recently, deep learning has allowed for novel methods and results. A plethora of measurement modalities have proven to be valuable in this task, yet studies currently often only use a single modality to classify MWL. The goal of this research was to classify perceived mental workload using a deep neural network that flexibly makes use of multiple modalities, in order to allow for feature sharing (...) between modalities. To achieve this goal, an experiment was conducted in which MWL was simulated with the help of verbal logic puzzles. The puzzles came in five levels of difficulty and were presented in a random order. Participants had 1 h to solve as many puzzles as they could. Between puzzles, they gave a difficulty rating between 1 and 7, seven being the highest difficulty. Galvanic skin response, photoplethysmograms, functional near-infrared spectrograms and eye movements were collected simultaneously using LabStreamingLayer. Marker information from the puzzles was also streamed on LSL. We designed and evaluated a novel intermediate fusion multimodal DNN for the classification of PMWL using the aforementioned four modalities. Two main criteria that guided the design and implementation of our DNN are modularity and generalisability. We were able to classify PMWL within-level accurate on a seven-level workload scale using the aforementioned modalities. The model architecture allows for easy addition and removal of modalities without major structural implications because of the modular nature of the design. Furthermore, we showed that our neural network performed better when using multiple modalities, as opposed to a single modality. The dataset and code used in this paper are openly available. (shrink)

The Sciences of the Qurʾān contain information about the process of Qurʾān and its structural characteristics, language and stylistic features, as well as statistical data on the content of the Qurʾān. This information, which contributes significantly to the understanding of the Qurʾān, is generally classified within the relevant narratives and the classifications are sometimes associated with verses. In this context, the way in which the Sciences of the Qurʾān explain the verses, which do not act solely on methodical (...) premises, differs from the Qurʾānic exegesis books. In the Sciences of the Qurʾān, the subject of revelation forms are classified within the frame of the narrations, and the 51st verse of the Sūrat al-Shūrā is frequently referred to. In other words, the related classifications are matched with the 51st verse of the Sūrat al-Shūrā. In the exegesis, this verse is handled more comprehensively considering its context and the literal possibilities. There are two remarkable comments about this verse in terms of its reflection in the revelation classifications. However, on the contrary, it is possible to encounter examples where the verse is subject to specific discussions. One of them belongs to Jār Allāh al-Zamakhsharī (d.538/1144) and the other to Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Bayḍāwī (d. 685/1286). When the exegesis of al-Zamakhsharī and al-Bayḍāwī are examined, it is seen that this verse is the subject of ru’yat Allah (seeing Allah) discussion between Muʿtazila and Ahl al-Sunnah and the classifications are made in this context. However, it is interesting to note that the classification of al-Zamakhsharī is more suitable for the perspective of the Sciences of the Qurʾān. In this study, the codes of the determinations made by al-Zamakhsharī and al-Bayḍāwī related to the 51st verse of Sūrat al-Shūrā was read on the commentaries. While al-Zamakhsharī explains this verse as a proof for the argument that God cannot be seen, al-Bayḍāwī develops an example of reactionary interpretation upon Zamakhsharī’s view. The Sciences of the Qurʾān (as a discipline), which opens a separate title to the ways of revelation, uses this verse as a template and takes it away from the discussion. In the study, the subjective dimensions of the discussion and classifications made in the context of this verse were evaluated. As a result, it is concluded that a classification similar to classification of al-Zamakhsharī has been made in the literature of the Sciences of the Qurʾān as it provides more comprehensive framework. Summary: During the period of revelation of the Holy Qurʾān not only the sunnah and actions of the Prophet which explained the Holy Qurʾān, but also various sources of information based on language and consultation, were used in order to understand the Holy Qurʾān. The first people introduced to the revelation used their own language/oratory skills, which were natural them, to understand the Qurʾān and were also able to observe the events and problems that brought about the revelation of the verses. These elements, used by those first people for understanding the Qurʾān, were readily available in their society. Therefore, understanding of the Qurʾān while the Prophet was still alive did not require a codification of those resources or treatment of the matter on a theoretical level. Subsequent generations mostly compensated the lack of those advantages by the use of the Sciences of the Qurʾān books penned individually after 2nd Century (A.H.), and those written systematically under the collective name "the Sciences of the Qurʾān" starting from the 6th century (A.H.). These works covered many subjects such as the beginning of the revelation, the accentuation of the Qurʾān, the physical development process of the Qurʾānic text, information based on observation as well as the tone and content of the Qurʾān and provided information details for Qurʾānic interpretations. Over time, this information was classified in the Sciences of the Qurʾān literature, organized under various relevant titles and enhanced with examples, numerical and qualitative information. One of the main topics of the Sciences of the Qurʾān is the subject of “revelation and its forms”. In the literature of the Sciences of the Qurʾān, the classifications made under this topic are generally associated with the verse 51 of Sūrat al-Shūrā. In this verse, the forms of communication between Allah (Jalla Jalaluhu) and the servant/prophet are categorized. The context of the verse 51 of the Sūrat al-Shūrā in the tafsīr literature is different from the context in the Sciences of the Qurʾān literature. As a matter of fact, while this verse is examined in detail with respect to the context, concept analysis, and the possibilities of i‘rāb (classical Arabic grammar), it is merely referred to in the Sciences of the Qurʾān. This is due to the fact that the determinations and classifications made in the Sciences of the Qurʾān are shaped mostly in the light of the historical context and narrations of the subject.It is also possible to encounter examples of tafsīr where the 51st verse is made the topic of detailed discussions. There are two remarkable comments about this verse in terms of its reflection in the revelation classifications. One of them belongs to Jār Allāh al-Zamakhsharī (d.538/1144) and the other belongs to Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Bayḍāwī (d. 685/1286). The tafsīr s of al-Zamakhsharī and al-Bayḍāwī make it clear that this verse is the subject of ru’yat Allah discussion between the Muʿtazila and Ahl al-Sunnah and the classifications are made accordingly. The fact that i‘rāb examinations of the two authors are similar and both took into account other linguistic possibilities despite their preferences, which also prove that the points of conflict are not literal. Al-Zamakhsharī thinks that this verse determines the way Allah speaks not only with his prophets but also with all people. According to al-Zamakhsharī, the 51st verse refers to the three forms of communication that takes place between God and any of His servants. Allah communicates with His servants; a) through inspiration, inspiration to heart or through dreams, b) by making His words heard through certain channels, c) by sending one of his angels as a messenger. In the verse, the first is expressed as revelation, the second is to speak behind a veil, and the third is to send a messenger. According to al-Zamakhsharī, Allah's inspiration to the mother of Moses, the dream that He showed to Abraham regarding the sacrificing of his son and inspiration of Psalms to David, all relate to the revelation concept mentioned in the first option. Al-Zamakhsharī believes that revelation from behind a veil is an adage. This adage can be compared to a king speaking with one of those at his service behind a veil/curtain, where the person hears the voice of the king but cannot see him. Allah only spoke to Moses and angels in that manner, and sent angels to speak to His other servants/prophets.As a response to al-Zamakhsharī, al-Bayḍāwī interpreted the verse concisely explaining the 'revelation' (وحيا) as a secret word that is quickly understood. Because, in terms of its nature, revelation is not a word made up of sound waves that come one after another to make words. In the verse, this word refers both to the Night Journey (Mi‘rāj) and the talk mentioned in the hadiths regarding the ru’yat Allah, and Allah speaking to Moses without Moses seeing Allah. However, in the verse min verâi ḥicâb/attributed to the word 'revelation 'من وراء حجاب makes it clear that the expression refers to a form of speech in which Allah is heard but not seen. Therefore, the word 'revelation' refers to a mutual talk and according to al-Bayḍāwī, this is proof that ru’yat Allah is possible. The fact that the classifications made in the Sciences of the Qurʾān literature agrees with the classification of al-Zamakhsharī, not al-Bayḍāwī. This result is closely related to the structural features of the Sciences of the Qurʾān in which authors strive to make general explanations that are beyond sectarian preferences and views. Understanding the verse as a conversation between Allah and man, and not between Allah and His prophet, provides a more comprehensive classification in terms of the use of revelations (not only the use of the word revelation) in the Qurʾān. Thus, the address that was made to Abraham in his dream, the revelation of to Moses' mother, and inspiration to our holy Prophet and other people can be interpreted according to this verse. In addition, the ru’yat Allah debate was excluded from the subject in the classifications made in the Sciences of the Qurʾān and implication of the verse was limited to the talks made in a worldly manner. (shrink)

Medical expert systems (MES) are knowledge-based computer programs that are designed for advising physicians on diagnostical and therapeutical decision-making. They use heuristic methods developed by Artificial Intelligence researchers in order to retrieve from large knowledge-bases information needed in the situation. Constructing the knowledge-base of a MES embraces the problem of explicating and fixing the conceptual, causal and epistemic relations between a lot of medical objects. There is a number of preconditions which any adequate representation of such knowledge must fulfil, (...) among them the conditions of consistency, of completeness, of unequivocality, etc. Existing systems for classification and coding, like ICD and SNOMED, are not designed for the needs of constructing expert systems or, more generally, of knowledge processing and knowledge engineering. Their syntax is not sufficiently rich for expressing the more complex structures of (medical) knowledge. What is needed, is a language that can be used for expressing logical and descriptive relations between medical objects and facts, approximately at the level of the language of second order predicate logic. Simultaneously, it must be possible to process this language at the machine level. This can be achieved by using some dialects of the programming language LISP or, particularly, by using the programming language PROLOG. Thus, in order to achieve a suitable classification system, it is necessary to develop a system of medical data structures and predicates expressed in LISP or PROLOG. (shrink)

The use of genetic testing has prompted the question of whether insurance companies should be able to use predictive genetic test results (GTRs) in their risk classification of clients. While some jurisdictions have passed legislation to prohibit this practice, the UK has instead adopted a voluntary code of practice that merely restricts the ways in which insurance companies may use GTRs. Critics have invoked various theories of justice to argue that this approach is unfair. However, as well as sometimes (...) relying on somewhat idealised assumptions, these analyses have tended to invoke theories that have wide-ranging and highly revisionary implications for insurance. Moreover, they fail to adequately engage with a conception of justice that plausibly undergirds the status quo approach to insurance in the UK. I argue that it is a mistake to simply invoke a single contestable theory in seeking to develop sound policy on the use of GTRs in insurance. To that end, in this paper, I outline three plausible principles of justice that policy on this issue ought to balance: A principle of equity, a principle of equal access and a principle of need. In doing so, I shall offer a pluralist justice-based argument in support of the spirit, if not the precise letter, of the UK approach. (shrink)

Graphic pattern (e.g. geometric design) and number-based code (e.g. digital sequencing) can store and transmit complex information more efficiently than referential modes of representation. The analysis of the two genres and their relation to one another has not advanced significantly beyond a general classification based on motion-centred geometries of symmetry. This article examines an intriguing example of patchwork coverlets from the maritime societies of Oceania, where information referencing a complex genealogical system is lodged in geometric designs. By (...) drawing attention to the interplay of graphic pattern and number-based code and its role in the knowledge economies of maritime societies, the article offers new insight into possible ways of designing a digital informational surface that captures the behaviour of an operational system, allowing both for differentiation and integration. (shrink)

Modeling law search and retrieval as prediction problems has recently emerged as a predominant approach in law intelligence. Focusing on the law article retrieval task, we present a deep learning framework named LamBERTa, which is designed for civil-law codes, and specifically trained on the Italian civil code. To our knowledge, this is the first study proposing an advanced approach to law article prediction for the Italian legal system based on a BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) learning framework, which has (...) recently attracted increased attention among deep learning approaches, showing outstanding effectiveness in several natural language processing and learning tasks. We define LamBERTa models by fine-tuning an Italian pre-trained BERT on the Italian civil code or its portions, for law article retrieval as a classification task. One key aspect of our LamBERTa framework is that we conceived it to address an extreme classification scenario, which is characterized by a high number of classes, the few-shot learning problem, and the lack of test query benchmarks for Italian legal prediction tasks. To solve such issues, we define different methods for the unsupervised labeling of the law articles, which can in principle be applied to any law article code system. We provide insights into the explainability and interpretability of our LamBERTa models, and we present an extensive experimental analysis over query sets of different type, for single-label as well as multi-label evaluation tasks. Empirical evidence has shown the effectiveness of LamBERTa, and also its superiority against widely used deep-learning text classifiers and a few-shot learner conceived for an attribute-aware prediction task. (shrink)

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore Australian public and stakeholders views towards the regulation of the Internet and its content. The federal government called for submissions addressing their proposal, and this paper analyses these submissions for themes and provides clarity as to the Australian public and stakeholders key concerns in regards to the proposed policy. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a qualitative approach to analyse the public consultations to the Australian Federal Government. These documents are coded (...) and analysed to determine negative and positive viewpoints. Findings – The research has shown, based upon the analysis of the consultation, that there was no public support for any of the measures put forward, that the Australian Federal Government in its response has not recognised this public feedback and instead has only utilised some of the qualitative feedback obtained through the public consultation process to try to justify its case to proceed with its proposals. Research limitations/implications – The study is focussed on Australia. Practical implications – The paper analyses a proposed national approach to filtering the content of the Internet and discussed the public reaction to such an approach. Social implications – The paper looks at how different parts of Australian society view Internet filtering in a positive or negative manner. Originality/value – The only study that directly looks at the viewpoint of the Australian public. (shrink)

This paper describes the automated classification of legal norms in German statutes with regard to their semantic type. We propose a semantic type taxonomy for norms in the German civil law domain consisting of nine different types focusing on functional aspects, such as Duties, Prohibitions, Permissions, etc. We performed four iterations in classifying legal norms with a rule-based approach using a manually labeled dataset, i.e., tenancy law, of the German Civil Code ($$\hbox {n} = 601$$). During this experiment the (...) $$F_1$$ score continuously improved from 0.52 to 0.78. In contrast, a machine learning based approach for the classification was implemented. A performance of $$F_1 = 0.83$$ was reached. Traditionally, machine learning classifiers lack of transparency with regard to their decisions. We extended our approach using so-called local linear approximations, which is a novel technique to analyze and inspect a trained classifier’s behavior. We can show that there are significant similarities of manually crafted knowledge, i.e., rules and pattern definitions, and the trained decision structures of machine learning approaches. (shrink)

A new edge detection technique based on the texture feature coding method is proposed. The TFCM is a texture analysis scheme that is generally used in texture-based image segmentation and classification applications. The TFCM transforms an input image into a texture feature image whose pixel values represent the texture information of the pixel in the original image. Then, on the basis of the transformed image, several features are calculated as texture descriptors. In this article, the TFCM is (...) employed differently to construct an edge detector. In particular, the texture feature number of the TFCM is considered. In other words, the TFN image is used for subsequent processes. After obtaining the TFN image, a simple thresholding scheme is employed for obtaining the coarse edge image. Finally, an edge-thinning procedure is used to obtain the tuned edges. We conducted several experiments on a variety of images and compared the results with the popular existing methods such as the Sobel, Prewitt, Canny, and Canny–Deriche edge detectors. The obtained results were evaluated quantitatively with the Figure of Merit criterion. The experimental results demonstrated that our proposed method improved the edge detection performance greatly. We further implemented the proposed edge detector with a hardware system. To this end, a field programmable gate array chip was used. The related simulations were carried out with the MATLAB Simulink tool. Both software and hardware implementations demonstrated the efficiency of the proposed edge detector. (shrink)

For a better detection in Network information security monitoring system, the author proposes a method based on adaptive depth detection. A deep belief network was designed and implemented, and the intrusion detection system model was combined with a support vector machine. The data set adopts the NSL-KDD network communication data set, and this data set is authoritative in the security field. Redundant cleaning, data type conversion, normalization, and other processing operations are performed on the data set. Using the data (...) conversion method based on the probability mass function probability mass function coding, a standard data set with low redundancy and low dimensionality can be obtained. Research indicates that when the batch size reaches 64, the accuracy of the test set reaches its maximum value. As the batch size increases, the accuracy first increases and then decreases. When the batch size continues to increase, the model will inevitably fall into the local optimal state, resulting in the degradation of the detection performance of the system. In terms of the false alarm rate, the DBN-SVM model is also the highest; however, it is only 10.73%. Under the premise of increasing the detection rate, the false alarm rate is improved; for the overall detection performance of the model, it is within an acceptable range. In terms of accuracy, the DBN-SVM model also scored the highest. The accuracy rate is the ratio of normal and correct classification for intrusion detection. It can explain the detection ability of the model. In summary, the overall detection ability of the DBN-SVM model is the best. The good classification ability to use SVM is proved, and the classification of low-dimensional features is expected to increase the detection rate of the system. (shrink)

Recent developments regarding the pharmacology of psychoactive substances are significant for treating depressions or opioid addictions. Current theories, hypotheses, and models of drug effects assume a cause–effect narrative, which is based on a stimulus/response mechanism. These narratives prioritize effects rather than conscious experiences. In this sense, drug experiences are quickly subsumed into common categories and codes of biological determinism. If subjective experiences are in the focus of the research, it quickly becomes a link to mystical, spiritual, or transcendental narratives. These (...) classifications lead to epistemological doublets (Gadamer). In this article, psychedelic experiences of drug users are analyzed in the frame of the pharmaco-analysis by Deleuze/Guattari. These framed psychedelic experiences are interpreted by means of a non-philosophical approach through philo-fictions (Laruelle), i.e., contradictory assumptions and hyperspeculations. In this respect, the aim of this article is to bring philo-fictions in relation to psychedelic experiences and to discuss them with models of information science, quantum mechanics, new materialism, and the philosophy of immanence. The result will be an open synthesis, with the assumption of further reflections on the agency, immanence, and the wholeness of matter. (shrink)

Chapter 1 First Person Access to Mental States. Mind Science and Subjective Qualities -/- Abstract. The philosophy of mind as we know it today starts with Ryle. What defines and at the same time differentiates it from the previous tradition of study on mind is the persuasion that any rigorous approach to mental phenomena must conform to the criteria of scientificity applied by the natural sciences, i.e. its investigations and results must be intersubjectively and publicly controllable. In Ryle’s view, philosophy (...) of mind needs to adopt an antimentalist stance to achieve this aim. Antimentalism not only definitively rejects the idea that mind is a substance separated from the body, it also denies that mental phenomena radically differ from physical phenomena by virtue of several unique features. Most problematically, mental phenomena have a conscious character (mental states are related to specific qualitative feelings) and are accessible only to the first-person (only the subject knows directly what s/he is experiencing inside his/her mind). Ryle takes a strong stance on antimentalism going so far as to maintain that an approach to mind which aims to meet the criteria of scientificity set by the natural sciences must avoid any reference to internal, unobservable mental states. In his view (which is considered a specifically philosophical version of psychological behaviorism and also addresses questions put forward in psychological research), mental states can be redescribed in terms of behavioral dispositions. In this chapter, we address the historical roots of the antimentalist view and analyze its relation to the later tradition of research on mind. We show that, compared to the antimentalist stance, functionalism and cognitivism take a step back when they maintain that direct reference to mental states is necessary since mental states cause and therefore explain human behavior. This step backwards is often interpreted as a return to mentalism. However, this is only partially true. Indeed, we suggest that these later traditions retain one important element of Ryle’s antimentalism, i.e. the idea that mental states must be uniquely identified using external and publicly observable criteria, while excluding any reference to introspection and those qualitative dimensions of a mental state, which are accessible only to the first-person. According to the perspective we put forward, this epistemological stance has continued to influence contemporary research on mind and current philosophical and psychological theories which both tend to exclude the subjective qualities of human experience from their accounts of how the mind works. The issue we raise here is whether this is legitimate or whether subjective qualities do play a role with respect to the way our mind works. The conclusion of this chapter anticipates the argument the book makes in in favor of this latter position, starting from a particular angle, i.e. the problem of how we categorize concepts related to our internal states. -/- Chapter 2 The Misleading Aspects of the Mind/Computer Analogy. The Grounding Problem and the Thorny Issue of Propriosensitive Information -/- Abstract. After the crisis of behaviorism, cognitivism and functionalism became the predominant models in the field of psychology and of philosophy, respectively. Their success is mainly due to the new key they use for interpreting mental processes: the mind/computer analogy. On the basis of this analogy, mental operations are seen as cognitive processes based on computations, i.e. on manipulations of abstract symbols which are in turn understood as informational unities (representations). This chapter identifies two main problems with this model. The first is how these symbols can relate to and communicate with perception and thus allow us to identify and classify what we perceive through the senses. Here we limit ourselves to presenting this issue in relation to the classical symbol grounding problem originally put forward by Harnad on the basis of Searle’s Chinese room argument. An attempt to address the problem raised here will be made in chap. 3. The second point we discuss in relation to the mind/computer analogy concerns the idea of information it fosters. Indeed, following this analogy, information is something available in the external world which can be captured by the senses and transmitted to the central system without being influenced or modified by the procedures of transmission. This perspective does not take into account that – unlike computers – in living beings information is acquired by means of the body. As Ulric Neisser has already pointed out, the body is itself an informational source that provides us with additional sensory experience that influences (modifies or complements) the information extracted from the external world by the senses. To develop this line of analysis and to determine exactly what information is provided by the body and how this might influence cognition, we examine Sherrington’s and Gibson’s positions. Moving on from their views, we qualify bodily information in terms of ‘proprioception’. We use ‘proprioception’ in a broad sense to describe any kind of experience we have of our internal states (including postural information as well as sensations related to the general state of the body and its parts). Following Damasio’s and Craig’s studies, we further elaborate this position, arguing that living beings are equipped with an internal propriosensitive monitoring system which maps all the changes that constantly occur in our body and that give us perceptual (‘proprioceptive’ or propriosensitive) information about what happens inside us. Moreover, relying on Goldie’s and Ratcliffe’s view, we show that emotional information can also be considered as a form of ‘proprioception’ which contributes to determining everything we perceive. This analysis leads us to the second main thesis of this book: ‘proprioception’ is a form of internal perception and it is an essential component of the sensory information we can access and use for all cognitive purposes. -/- Chapter 3 Semantic Competence from the Inside: Conceptual Architecture and Composition -/- Abstract. Concepts are essential constituents of thought: they are the instruments we use to categorize our experience, i.e. to classify things and group them together in homogeneous sets. Here we define concepts as the internal mental information (representations) that allows us, among other things, to master words in natural language. By analyzing the way in which individuals master word meanings we explore a number of hypotheses regarding the nature of concepts. Following Diego Marconi’s research, we differentiate between two kind of abilities that underpin lexical competence – so-called ‘referential’ and ‘inferential competence’ – and we suggest that, in order to support these abilities, concepts must also include two corresponding kinds of information, i.e. inferential and referential information. We point out that the most widely used and acknowledged theories of concepts do not make this distinction, instead broadly characterizing the information used for categorization in terms of propositionally described feature lists. However, we show that while feature lists can explain inferential competence, they do not account for referential competence. To address the issue of referential competence we examine Ray Jackendoff’s hypothesis that to account for the possibility of linking perceptual and conceptual information we need to assume the existence of a (visual) representation that encodes the geometric and topological properties of objects and bridges the gap between the percept and the concept. Furthermore, we analyze the extension of this work by Jesse Prinz who introduced the notion of a proxytype, a perceptual representation of a class of objects that incorporates structural and parametric information related to their appearance. However, as we point out, proxytypes can only explain the relationship between perception and concepts with respect to instances that can be perceived through the senses and that belong to the same class by virtue of their physical similarity. We suggest that this notion be extended to include larger conceptual classes. To accomplish this, we further develop Mark Johnson, George Lakoff and Jean Mandler’s idea of a schematic image and argue that conceptual representations include a perceptual schema. Perceptual schemata are non-linguistic, structured experiential gestalts (patterns or maps) that make use of information taken from all sensory modalities, including body perception. They accomplish a quasi-conceptual function: they allow us to recognize and to classify different instances. In this work, we hypothesize that perceptual schemata are an essential component of concepts, but not identical to them. Instead, we suggest that concepts include both perceptual and propositional information with perceptual schemata providing the ‘perceptual core concept’ that grounds related propositional information. -/- Chapter 4 In the Beginning There Were Categories. The Bodily Origin of Prelinguistic Categorical Organization: The Example of Folkbiological Taxonomies -/- Abstract. Studies of categorization in psychology and the cognitive sciences have made use of the notions of ‘category’ and ‘concept’ without precisely defining what is meant by either; in fact, often these terms have been used as synonyms, making it difficult to address specific issues related to conceptual development. This chapter begins by discussing the definitions of, as well as the distinctions between, ‘categories’ and ‘concepts’ in the classical philosophical tradition (Aristotle, Kant and Husserl). We introduce our view of categories with reference to Husserl. Categorization is defined as the way in which our experience is originally (pre-linguistically) organized in a passive and fully unconscious manner on the basis of universal structuring principles. Conceptualization is explained as a later process in which the earlier categorical macro-classes are further subdivided into more specific and detailed sets; this later process also relies on linguistic learning and exposure to culture. On the basis of Ray Jackendoff, Jean Mandler, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s work, we hypothesize that categorization is a two-step process that begins with the formation of homogeneous sets of entities partitioned into regions that describe the ontological boundaries of the objects that humans perceive (categories) and continues at a later stage with the development of more specific classifications (concepts). In this chapter, we mainly address three related issues: Why should we assume that there is categorical organization which precedes the development of a conceptual system? How do categories and concepts relate to each other? Shall we hypothesize that categories are innate or that they are formed before concepts on the basis of information and organizational structure available at a very early developmental stage? We show that categorical partitions are necessary for categorization and, following Mandler, that the general categories we form at an early age do not match our adult superordinate concepts. As for the third issue, we argue that there might be no need to assume that categories are innately present in the human mind, since their formation can be explained – at least in certain cases – by basic mechanisms that work on body (propriosensitive) information. This hypothesis will not be discussed in general, but in relation to a particularly relevant example of categorical partition, i.e. the folk-biological dichotomy between ANIMATE/INANIMATE. This is compared with other dichotomies that derive from it, but are not directly categorical such as LIVING/NON-LIVING and BIOLOGICAL/NON-BIOLOGICAL. -/- Chapter 5 Internal States: From Headache to Anger. Conceptualization and Semantic Mastery -/- Abstract. Here we ask if we can also apply the distinction between referential and inferential competence we introduced in Chapter 3 to words that do not refer to things that are perceived using the external senses, especially to words/concepts that denote bodily experiences (such as pain, thirst, hunger, etc.) or emotions. We introduce and discuss the hypothesis that – even though such words/concepts do not refer to intersubjectively identifiable entities in the external world – they do have a kind of referent that can be accessed via direct perception, more specifically ‘proprioception’, as we have defined it in terms of all propriosensitive information we can consciously access. In the first part of the chapter, we specifically consider terms denoting bodily experiences such as ‘pain’ or ‘hunger’ and argue that their referents are identified and classified from a first-personal point of view on the basis of four main characteristics: their specific intensity, their localization in the body, their co-occurrence with other signals and above all their specific qualitative sensations. Emotions are addressed in the second part of the chapter. We suggest that there is a continuity between bodily experiences and emotions. In particular, we argue for a perceptual theory of emotions in line with that proposed by James and Lange at the end of the 19th century and developed more recently by authors such as Damasio (see also chap. 2§5, §6). The hypothesis we put forward is that the referential information that supports the categorization of emotions and therefore also our mastery of terms referring to emotions consists in the perception (i.e. the ‘proprioception’) of those bodily states and changes in bodily states which constitute our emotional experience. In the context of this discussion we examine some objections to this line of reasoning that arise from a cognitivist perspective and following authors such as Oatley, Johnson-Laird and Frijda, we distinguish between basic emotions that can be identified and classified solely on the basis on how they feel and complex emotions whose identification and classification additionally depends on cognitive factors. To describe how emotions are identified and classified on the basis of how they feel, we rely on Marcel and Lambie’s distinction between an ‘emotion state’ and an ‘emotion experience’. Both notions indicate kinds of feelings that we consciously experience. However, they describe first-order and second order emotion awareness respectively. The emotion state is the feeling we have of the bodily states and changes that occur when we are experiencing an emotion, while the emotion experience is the fully developed and integrated emotion we both experience and are, with reflection, aware of experiencing. On the basis of this differentiation, we also show that the same characteristics that aid in the identification and classification of bodily experiences (specific qualitative sensations; somatic localization; specific intensity; presence/absence of specific concomitant sensations) can also be used for the identification and classification of emotions – at least basic emotions. In the last two sections of the chapter we present some clinical evidence on the semantic competence of people who suffer from Alexithymia and Autism Spectrum Disorder which supports the conclusions of our preceding analyses. -/- Chapter 6 The ‘Proprioceptive’ Component of Abstract Concepts -/- Abstract. In this chapter, we address the issue of whether the mastery of abstract words requires only inferential knowledge and thus, if the concepts that support the mastery of abstract words include only linguistic information. We start by differentiating the notions of ‘abstract’ and ‘general’ which are often erroneously confused. We then identify a strict definition of abstract, as contrasted with ‘concrete’, that applies to words or concepts whose referent cannot be experienced by the senses. We argue that abstract words/concepts would be better described as theoretical, because they are usually conceived as structured sets of inferential knowledge expressed linguistically; that is, as small theories. Pointing out parallels with Carnap’s analysis of this issue in philosophy of science, we hypothesize that words/concepts denoting non-observable entities are not all ‘equally theoretical’, because their link to sensory experience can be stronger or weaker. We revive the distinction, inspired by Quine, between theoretical and intertheoretical concepts/words. This distinction relies on the fact that the former – unlike the latter – retains a strong, although indirect, connection with perception. In Quine’s discussion, perception is understood uniquely in terms of observability, i.e. of external sensory experience. Here we argue, however, that bodily, ‘proprioceptive’ (i.e. propriosensitive) experience can also serve to referentially ground theoretical (i.e. abstract) concepts/words. We frame this issue using the example of the theoretical concept ‘freedom’ and Lakoff’s hypothesis that this concept is developed on the basis of bodily information. We contrast this with the example of ‘democracy’ which more closely resembles an intertheoretical concept/word. Furthermore, we show that one of the classical views put forward in psycholinguistic research to explain how abstract concepts are mentally represented – i.e. Paivio’s Dual Coding Theory – points in the same direction as our analysis. The same is true of Barsalou’s work suggesting that we use internal information to understand at least some abstract words. To sustain this position, we put forward two lines of evidence: the first comes from psycholinguistic studies while the second examines deficits of semantic competence exhibited by people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. On the basis of our analysis, we put forward a classification that distinguishes between different kinds of concreteness and different degrees of abstraction: concepts/words referring to body experiences and basic emotions are described as analogous to concrete concepts/words because they are grounded in perceptual (i.e. propriosensitive) experience, while abstract concepts/words are considered more or less abstract depending on whether they are intratheoretical (and rely entirely on inferential information) or theoretical (and are partially grounded in perceptual – or more often in propriosensitive perceptual – information). In the last section of the chapter we consider two scales that have been used in psycholinguistic research to measure the degree of concreteness vs. abstractness of words and we show that – used conjointly – they can provide a measure of the internal vs. external grounding of specific words. (shrink)

For living beings, information is as fundamental as matter or energy. In this paper we show: a) inadequacies of quantitative theories of information, b) how a qualitative analysis leads to a classification of information systems and to a modelling of intercellular communication.From a quantitative point of view, the application in biology of information theories borrowed from communication techniques proved to be disappointing. These theories ignore deliberately the significance of messages, and do not give any definition (...) of information. They refer to quantities, based upon arbitrarily defined probabilistic events. Probability is subjective. The receiver of the message needs to have meta-knowledge of the events. The quantity of information depends on language, coding, and arbitrary definition of disorder. The suggested objectivity is fallacious. (shrink)

While a number of jurisdictions internationally prohibit insuring companies to be able to use genetic information in their risk classification, a voluntary code of practice permits insurers the limited use of predictive genetic test results in the UK. Jonathan Pugh1 offers a pluralist justice-based argument in support of the UK practice. Pugh’s position is developed to avoid what he sees as flaws with the current debate on insurers’ access to genetic information, including an alleged reliance on idealised (...) assumptions about the predictive power of genetic test results, revisionary implications for the provision of insurance suggested in the debate and failings of commentators to engage adequately with a conception of justice that undergirds the status quo approach in the UK. Pugh suggests that a quasi-libertarian approach to justice is implicit within the terms of the present Code and should be phrased as a principle of equity. Further, he argues that basic egalitarian and non-comparative concerns should be captured in broad principles: equal access and need. This leaves him with three principles that should be balanced in order to guide protection insurance policy. When the argument is applied to review …. (shrink)

The Journal of Economic Literature codes classification system (JEL) published by the American Economic Association (AEA) is the de facto standard classification system for research literature in economics. The JEL classification system is used to classify articles, dissertations, books, book reviews, and working papers in EconLit, a database maintained by the AEA. Over time, it has evolved and extended to a system with over 850 subclasses. This paper reviews the history and development of the JEL classification (...) system, describes the current version, and provides a selective overview of its uses and applications in research. The JEL codes classification system has been adopted by several publishers, and their instructions are reviewed. There are interesting avenues for future research as the JEL classification system has been surprisingly little used in existing bibliometric and scientometric research as well as in library classification systems. (shrink)

The emphasis on evidence based medicine (EBM) has placed increased focus on finding timely answers to clinical questions in presence of patients. Using a combination of natural language processing for the generation of clinical excerpts and information theoretic distance based clustering, we evaluated multiple approaches for the efficient presentation of context-sensitive EBM excerpts.

Meaning is a central concept of (bio)semiotics. At the same time, it is also a word of everyday language. Here, on the example of the world information, we discuss the “reduction-inflation model” of evolution of a common word into a scientific concept, to return subsequently into everyday circulation with new connotations. Such may be, in the near future, also the fate of the word meaning if, flexed through objectified semantics, will become considered an objective concept usable in semiotics. We (...) argue that reducing meaning to a technical term essentially synonymous to code and stripped of most of the original semantic field is not a necessary prerequisite for a meaningful application of the concept in semiotics and in biology. (shrink)

Although information content is invariant up to an additive constant, the range of possible additive constants applicable to programming languages is so large that in practice it plays a major role in the actual evaluation of K(s), the Kolmogorov complexity of a string s. We present a summary of the approach we've developed to overcome the problem by calculating its algorithmic probability and evaluating the algorithmic complexity via the coding theorem, thereby providing a stable framework for Kolmogorov complexity (...) even for short strings. We also show that reasonable formalisms produce reasonable complexity classifications. (shrink)

Ethnobotanical research provides ample justification for comparing diverse biological nomenclatures and exploring ways that retain alternative naming practices. However, how (and whether) comparison of nomenclatures is possible remains a subject of discussion. The comparison of diverse nomenclatural practices introduces a suite of epistemic and ontological difficulties and considerations. Different nomenclatures may depend on whether the communities using them rely on formalized naming conventions; cultural or spiritual valuations; or worldviews. Because of this, some argue that the different naming practices may not (...) be comparable if the ontological commitments employed differ. Comparisons between different nomenclatures cannot assume that either the naming practices or the object to which these names are intended to apply identifies some universally agreed upon object of interest. Investigating this suite of philosophical problems, I explore the role grey nomenclatures play in classification. ‘Grey nomenclatures’ are defined as those that employ names that are either intentionally or accidentally non-Linnaean. The classification of the lichen thallus (a symbiont) has been classified outside the Linnaean system by botanists relying on the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN). But, I argue, the use of grey names is not isolated and does not occur exclusively within institutionalized naming practices. I suggest, ‘grey names’ also aptly describe nomenclatures employed by indigenous communities such as the Samí of Northern Finmark, the Sherpa of Nepal, and the Okanagan First Nations. I pay particular attention to how naming practices are employed in these communities; what ontological commitments they hold; for what purposes are these names used; and what anchors the community’s nomenclatural practices. Exploring the history of lichen naming and early ethnolichenological research, I then investigate the stakes that must be considered for any attempt to preserve, retain, integrate, or compare the knowledge contained in both academically formalized grey names and indigenous nomenclatures in a way that preserves their source-specific informational content. (shrink)

The arguments in this book are informed at once by the moral-political implications of how knowledge is produced and circulated and by issues of gendered subjectivity. In their critical dimension, these lucid essays engage with the incapacity of the philosophical mainstream's dominant epistemologies to offer regulative principles that guide people in the epistemic projects that figure centrally in their lives. In its constructive dimension, ____Rhetorical__ ____Spaces__ focuses on developing productive, case-by-case analyses of knowing other people in situations where social-political inequalities (...) create asymmetrical patterns of epistemic power and privilege. (shrink)

Departing from an epistemological tradition for which knowledge properly achieved must be objective, especially in eschewing affect and/or special interests; and against a backdrop of my thinking about epistemic responsibility, I focus on two situations where care informs and enables good knowing. The implicit purpose of this reclamation of care as epistemically vital is to show emphatically that standard alignments of care with femininity—the female—are simply misguided. Proposing that the efficacy of epistemic practices is often enhanced when would-be knowers care (...) about the outcomes of investigation, I suggest that epistemic responsibility need not be compromised when caring motivates and animates research. Indeed, the background inspiration comes from the thought, integral to feminist and post-colonial theory and practice that, despite often-justified condemnations of research that serves "special interests," particularities do matter, epistemically. Such thoughts, variously articulated, are integral to enacting a shift in epistemology away from formal abstraction and toward engaging with the specificities of real-world, situated knowledge projects. They are not unequivocally benign, for villains too care about the outcomes of their projects. Hence multi-faceted engagements with epistemic practices and processes are urgently required across the social-political world. (shrink)

In a remarkable development, I have constructed a new definition for a self-delimiting universal Turing machine (UTM) that is easy to program and runs very quickly. This provides a new foundation for algorithmic information theory (AIT), which is the theory of the size in bits of programs for selfdelimiting UTM's. Previously, AIT had an abstract mathematical quality. Now it is possible to write down executable programs that embody the constructions in the proofs of theorems. So AIT goes from dealing (...) with remote idealized mythical objects to being a theory about practical down-to-earth gadgets that one can actually play with and use. (shrink)

This paper begins to develop a conception of ecological subjectivity and hence of social-political practice that can promote social justice across diverse populations and situations. It urges a provocative posing of the question “who do we think we are?” to direct attention to often unspoken assumptions about subjectivity and agency that tend silently to inform current philosophical inquiry. Drawing attention to the often-unconscious processes of “we-saying.” it aims to highlight and to prompt contestation of the silent assumptions that tend to (...) inform that “we.” In so doing, it appeals to humility as an epistemic and moral virtue. (shrink)

Modern, science-centered naturalisms can be charged with a certain moral laxity, according to S. T. Coleridge. This fault reflectsnbsp; a devitalizing, materialistic metaphysics informed by a narrow and self-serving conception of reason. Thus seeking a remedy that can bring justice to the spiritual as well as the physical aspects of experience, Coleridge envisages a lsquo;true naturalismrsquo; that will not only address the question lsquo;What is Life?rsquo; but also frame a lsquo;true realismrsquo; that includes what might be called a lsquo;true moralismrsquo;. (...) This calls, however, for a Heraclitean metaphysics capable of linking lsquo;goodnessrsquo; in both thinking and acting to a *Logos*mdash;that is, an essentially nonmodern theory of actuality that can do justice at once to the quicknesses and the uniformities of both Life and Thought. Coleridgersquo;s thus presents an outline of how one might respond to a challenge that can be best met, I argue, with the help of certain insights of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, A. N. Whitehead, Gilles Deleuze, and C. S. Peirce. By enlisting Hannah Arendtrsquo;s individual-centered conception of morality, which ties ethics to public concerns, it is also possible to sketch a metaphysically grounded response to Friedrich Nietzschersquo;s call for a lsquo;healthy moralityrsquo; capable of overturning the nihilistic values entrenched in modern thought. br /. (shrink)

Modern methods of information storage up completely new possibilities for the systematics of biology, understood in the widest sense. The construction of identification codes for use with punchcards must be considered against the wider background of these new possibilities. A critical pre-condition for the use of these modern methods is that questions of terminology and classification should be fundamentally restudied. The book for flowering plants “Flora von Deutschland” has been used as a basis for developing several punch-card codes. (...) These codes have made it possible to establish sets of IBM punchcards, totalling about 3000 in all, for German flowering plants. Современные методы хранения информации раскрывают для биологической систематики совершенно новые возможности. Составление ключов определения использующих пуншкарты следует рассматривать в связи с этими новыми возможностями. Для применения новых способов бесусловно требуется основное изучение вопросов терминологии и классификации. Посредством определителя цветных растений „Flora von Deutschland” .составились разные ключи определения для пуншкарт. С помощью этих ключов изготовились системы ИБМ пуншкарт для цветных растений Германии. Die modernen Methoden der Wissensspeicherung erschließen für die gesamte biologische Systematik völlig neue Möglichkeiten. Der Aufbau von Bestimmungsschlüsseln für Lochkarten muß in dem durch diese neuen Möglichkeiten gegebenen größeren Zusammenhang gesehen werden. Eine entscheidende Voraussetzung für die Anwendung der modernen Verfahren ist die erneute und gründliche Beschäftigung mit den Fragen der Terminologie und der Ordnungslehre. Ausgehend von dem Bestimmungsbuch für Blütenpflanzen „Flora von Deutschland“ wurden verschiedene Lochkartenschlüssel entwickelt. Mit Hilfe der Schlüssel konntenIBM-Karteien von insgesamt rund 3.000 Lochkarten über deutsche Blütenpflanzen aufgestellt werden. (shrink)

A new working hypothesis of sleep-wake cycle mechanisms is proposed, based on ontogeny and functional/anatomic compression of two stochastic neuronal models of information coding that complement each other in a key/lock fashion: the axonal arbor patterns (AAP – “hardware”) and the neuronal spike interval inequality patterns (SIIP – “software”). [Hobson et al.; Nielsen; Revonsuo; Solms; Vertes & Eastman].

In this paper we present two types of logics and \ ) where certain p-adic functions are associated to propositional formulas. Logics of the former type are p-adic valued probability logics. In each of these logics we use probability formulas K r,ρ α and D ρ α,β which enable us to make sentences of the form “the probability of α belongs to the p-adic ball with the center r and the radius ρ”, and “the p-adic distance between the probabilities of (...) α and β is less than or equal to ρ”, respectively. Logics of the later type formalize processes of thinking where information are coded by p-adic numbers. We use the same operators as above, but in this formalism K r,ρ α means “the p-adic code of the information α belongs to the p-adic ball with the center r and the radius ρ”, while D ρ α,β means “the p-adic distance between codes of α and β are less than or equal to ρ”. The corresponding strongly complete axiom systems are presented and decidability of the satisfiability problem for each logic is proved. (shrink)

A great deal of interest in codes of ethics exists in both the business community and the academic community. Within the academic community, this interest has given rise to a number of studies of codes of ethics. Many of these studies have focused on the content of various codes.One important way the study of codes of ethics can be advanced is by applying formal tools of analysis to codes of ethics. An understanding of important dimensions that may differ across codes (...) of ethics, a common terminology to describe these dimensions, and a means to measure these dimensions will facilitate applying such tools. They will also facilitate discussion, enable comparisons, and advance our understanding of codes of ethics. The present paper describes a classification scheme to use in studying codes of ethics. This scheme uses six important dimensions to distinguish among codes of ethics: length, focus, level of detail, shape, thematic content, and tone. The paper also introduces metrics that can be used to measure the dimensions. (shrink)

Emotional facial expressions can inform researchers about an individual's emotional state. Recent technological advances open up new avenues to automatic Facial Expression Recognition (FER). Based on machine learning, such technology can tremendously increase the amount of processed data. FER is now easily accessible and has been validated for the classification of standardized prototypical facial expressions. However, applicability to more naturalistic facial expressions still remains uncertain. Hence, we test and compare performance of three different FER systems (Azure Face API, Microsoft; (...) Face++, Megvii Technology; FaceReader, Noldus Information Technology) with human emotion recognition (A) for standardized posed facial expressions (from prototypical inventories) and (B) for non-standardized acted facial expressions (extracted from emotional movie scenes). For the standardized images, all three systems classify basic emotions accurately (FaceReader is most accurate) and they are mostly on par with human raters. For the non-standardized stimuli, performance drops remarkably for all three systems, but Azure still performs similarly to humans. In addition, all systems and humans alike tend to misclassify some of the non-standardized emotional facial expressions as neutral. In sum, emotion recognition by automated facial expression recognition can be an attractive alternative to human emotion recognition for standardized and non-standardized emotional facial expressions. However, we also found limitations in accuracy for specific facial expressions; clearly there is need for thorough empirical evaluation to guide future developments in computer vision of emotional facial expressions. (shrink)

How should we measure metacognitive sensitivity, i.e. the efficacy with which observers’ confidence ratings discriminate between their own correct and incorrect stimulus classifications? We argue that currently available methods are inadequate because they are influenced by factors such as response bias and type 1 sensitivity . Extending the signal detection theory approach of Galvin, Podd, Drga, and Whitmore , we propose a method of measuring type 2 sensitivity that is free from these confounds. We call our measure meta-d′, which reflects (...) how much information, in signal-to-noise units, is available for metacognition. Applying this novel method in a 2-interval forced choice visual task, we found that subjects’ metacognitive sensitivity was close to, but significantly below, optimality. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings, as well as related computational issues of the method. We also provide free Matlab code for implementing the analysis. (shrink)

Changing Methods is a collection of original essays by feminist practitioners, scholars, and activists. The authors show why "the method question" has moved to the top of many feminist research and interpretive research strategies, and engage in thinking about how ideas and actions have developed within complex social circumstances. The essays in this book challenge the tradition that has allowed abstracted, formalized versions of the ideas and experiences of privileged white men to set standards for how everyone should conduct themselves. (...) The authors use new-found knowledge to displace the dominant ideology constructed around race, class, gender, and heterosexual privilege, and then propose innovative feminist-informed analyses of subjects as diverse as political change, critical linguistics, child care, religious studies, and violence against women. (shrink)

Background Retraction is a mechanism for alerting readers to unreliable material and other problems in the published scientific and scholarly record. Retracted publications generally remain visible and searchable, but the intention of retraction is to mark them as “removed” from the citable record of scholarship. However, in practice, some retracted articles continue to be treated by researchers and the public as valid content as they are often unaware of the retraction. Research over the past decade has identified a number of (...) factors contributing to the unintentional spread of retracted research. The goal of the Reducing the Inadvertent Spread of Retracted Science: Shaping a Research and Implementation Agenda (RISRS) project was to develop an actionable agenda for reducing the inadvertent spread of retracted science. This included identifying how retraction status could be more thoroughly disseminated, and determining what actions are feasible and relevant for particular stakeholders who play a role in the distribution of knowledge. Methods These recommendations were developed as part of a year-long process that included a scoping review of empirical literature and successive rounds of stakeholder consultation, culminating in a three-part online workshop that brought together a diverse body of 65 stakeholders in October–November 2020 to engage in collaborative problem solving and dialogue. Stakeholders held roles such as publishers, editors, researchers, librarians, standards developers, funding program officers, and technologists and worked for institutions such as universities, governmental agencies, funding organizations, publishing houses, libraries, standards organizations, and technology providers. Workshop discussions were seeded by materials derived from stakeholder interviews (N = 47) and short original discussion pieces contributed by stakeholders. The online workshop resulted in a set of recommendations to address the complexities of retracted research throughout the scholarly communications ecosystem.ResultsThe RISRS recommendations are: (1) Develop a systematic cross-industry approach to ensure the public availability of consistent, standardized, interoperable, and timely information about retractions; (2) Recommend a taxonomy of retraction categories/classifications and corresponding retraction metadata that can be adopted by all stakeholders; (3) Develop best practices for coordinating the retraction process to enable timely, fair, unbiased outcomes; and (4) Educate stakeholders about pre- and post-publication stewardship, including retraction and correction of the scholarly record.ConclusionsOur stakeholder engagement study led to 4 recommendations to address inadvertent citation of retracted research, and formation of a working group to develop the Communication of Retractions, Removals, and Expressions of Concern (CORREC) Recommended Practice. Further work will be needed to determine how well retractions are currently documented, how retraction of code and datasets impacts related publications, and to identify if retraction metadata (fails to) propagate. Outcomes of all this work should lead to ensuring retracted papers are never cited without awareness of the retraction, and that, in public fora outside of science, retracted papers are not treated as valid scientific outputs. (shrink)

Moore and Donnelly argue in the paper ‘The job of “ethics committees”’ that research ethics committees should be renamed and that their job should be specified as “review of proposals for consistency with the duly established and applicable code” only.1 They raise a large number of issues, but in this comment I briefly want to suggest that two of their arguments are fundamentally flawed. The first flawed argument is the argument related to the separation of powers. Moore and Donnelly proceed (...) from the premise that it is pro tanto better to have an institutional arrangement that separates code-making powers and decisional powers, and then proceed to argue that this separation is not feasible for what they call ‘ethics consistency review’ because “no matter who established any prespecified review standards, the review decision maker must be empowered at review to revise those standards when this would make for an ethical improvement. This is because any understanding of ethics-consistency standards themselves and of their implications for any case is fallible and improvable in …. (shrink)

The rise of the Internet, social media, and digitized historical archives has produced a colossal amount of text-based data in recent years. While computer scientists have produced powerful new tools for automated analyses of such “big data,” they lack the theoretical direction necessary to extract meaning from them. Meanwhile, cultural sociologists have produced sophisticated theories of the social origins of meaning, but lack the methodological capacity to explore them beyond micro-levels of analysis. I propose a synthesis of these two fields (...) that adjoins conventional qualitative methods and new techniques for automated analysis of large amounts of text in iterative fashion. First, I explain how automated text extraction methods may be used to map the contours of cultural environments. Second, I discuss the potential of automated text-classification methods to classify different types of culture such as frames, schema, or symbolic boundaries. Finally, I explain how these new tools can be combined with conventional qualitative methods to trace the evolution of such cultural elements over time. While my assessment of the integration of big data and cultural sociology is optimistic, my conclusion highlights several challenges in implementing this agenda. These include a lack of information about the social context in which texts are produced, the construction of reliable coding schemes that can be automated algorithmically, and the relatively high entry costs for cultural sociologists who wish to develop the technical expertise currently necessary to work with big data. (shrink)

Contrary to the traditional claim that needs for unambiguous communication about animal and plant species are best served by a single set of names ruled by international Codes, I suggest that a more diversified system is required, especially to cope with problems emerging from aggregation of biodiversity data in large databases. Departures from Linnaean nomenclature are sometimes intentional, but there are also other, less obvious but widespread forms of not Code-compliant grey nomenclature. A first problem is due to the circumstance (...) that the Codes are intended to rule over the way names are applied to species and other taxonomic units, whereas users of taxonomy need names to be applied to specimens. For different reasons, it is often impossible to refer a specimen with certainty to a named species, and in those cases an open nomenclature is employed. Second, molecular taxonomy leads to the discovery of clusters of gene sequence diversity not necessarily equivalent to the species recognized and named by taxonomists. Those clusters are mostly indicated with informal names or formulas that challenge comparison between different publications or databases. In several instances, it is not even clear if a formula refers to an individual voucher specimen, or is a provisional species name. The use of non-Linnaean names and formulas must be revised and strengthened by fixing standard formats for the different kinds of objects or hypotheses and providing permanent association of ‘grey names’ with standardized source information such as author and year. In the context of a broad-scope revisitation of aims and scope of scientific nomenclature, it may be worth rethinking if natural objects like plant galls and lichens, although other than the ‘single-entity’ objects traditionally covered by biological classifications, may nevertheless deserve taxonomic names. (shrink)

This study aims to reveal the pedagogical thinking patterns, intuitive orientations toward learning theories, and professional identity formation of prospective Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge (RCMK) teachers by analyzing their cognitive representations of the concept of “learning” through drawing-based visual data. The research is grounded in the assumption that learning is a multilayered experience intertwined with meaning-making, value construction, and identity formation, extending beyond the acquisition of knowledge. In this respect, it is assumed that visual representations, similar to verbal narratives, (...) offer rich and often implicit indicators of how individuals conceptualize learning; therefore, the drawings produced by the participants in response to the prompt “Can you draw learning?” were treated as a qualitative data source for uncovering their mental models. The research was designed qualitatively, employing participant drawings as the data collection tool and applying thematic analysis based on document analysis. The study group consists of first-year prospective RCMK teachers enrolled at the Faculty of Theology, Kırşehir Ahi Evran University. At the beginning of the 2024–2025 academic year, each participant was asked to produce a single drawing representing “learning,” resulting in 70 visual artifacts. Sixteen drawings that did not meet eligibility and interpretability criteria were excluded, and the final analysis was conducted on 54 drawings (analytical dataset, n=54). Following preliminary coding, the coding framework was refined, and thematic classifications were structured under three overarching categories: “Traditional,” “Modern,” and “Hybrid,” with all percentages reported based on the analytical dataset. Bruner’s cognitive representation theory and Kolb’s experiential learning cycle jointly informed the interpretive framework. The findings show that 59.3% of the participants conceptualize learning within a traditional teacher-centered and knowledge-transmission-oriented paradigm; 31.5% adopt hybrid patterns that combine traditional and contemporary indicators; and 9.3% demonstrate a modern approach emphasizing experience, interaction, and contextual sensitivity. Traditional representations predominantly included books, libraries, classroom-board arrangements, and teacher figures, visualizing learning as an accumulative and transmissive process. Modern representations highlighted nature/environment, social interaction, play/collaboration, and everyday life contexts, positioning learning as a multi-actor, affective process that transcends classroom boundaries. Hybrid representations reflected a transitional mindset wherein classical elements such as classrooms and books coexist with technology, collaboration, and experiential motifs, indicating the gradual evolution of pedagogical cognition. The study integrates visual data with descriptive quantitative indicators (frequency–percentage) and in-depth content-symbol analyses, thereby presenting an intensive mixed-qualitative thematic approach. Codes, themes, and decision rules were connected to an audit trail; boundary cases and operational definitions were refined through peer debriefing, thus enhancing credibility, dependability, and confirmability. Ethical approvals were secured, informed consent was obtained, and all visual materials were anonymized and used solely for scientific purposes. Overall, the results demonstrate that while text- and teacher-centered assumptions remain dominant in the mental learning maps of prospective teachers, hybrid representations indicate a meaningful potential for renewal through the incorporation of interaction, nature/context, collaboration, and technology. The findings emphasize the need to systematically structure experiential, visual, and creative activities (e.g., metaphor/drawing workshops, rubric-based drawing analysis, micro-teaching modules aligned with Kolb’s cycle) within teacher education. The study acknowledges its limitations, including a homogeneous sample from a single institution and context-dependent interpretations of visual data; transferability rather than generalizability is emphasized. The research ultimately contributes to strengthening the use of visual data in religious education studies, offering both theoretical implications and practical insights for future teacher education design. (shrink)

Sports organizations face various ethical challenges. To tackle these, ethical codes are becoming increasingly popular instruments. However, a lot of questions remain concerning their effectiveness. There is a particular lack of knowledge when it comes to their form and content, and on the influence of these features on the effectiveness of these codes of ethics. Therefore, we developed a framework to analyze ethical codes and used this to assess codes of ethics in sports clubs from six disciplines. The form and (...) content characteristics of the codes were tested for their impact on the ethical climate of sports clubs. Our results show that most codes focus on the themes of integrity, and on solidarity among the members of sports clubs. Deontological phrasing is dominant in ethical codes in sports clubs. The occurrence of comprehension aids, such as examples, and procedural content, such as the mentioning of sanctions, is low. When it comes to code effectiveness, i.e., the influence on the ethical climate, we see a positive significant effect of the use of consequentialist oriented statements, and of the combination of regulatory and inspirational phrasing. Also the presence of explicit guidelines for the members of the board had a positive significant affect. This shows that codes should be a source of inspiration and stimulate moral awareness, rather than merely guide behavior by simple rules. Other content elements do not influence code effectiveness, suggesting that ethical codes merely have a function of raising ethical awareness in sports clubs. These results help to shed light on what it takes for a code of ethics to become a useful and effective instrument to tackle unethical behavior in sports clubs. (shrink)

This article investigates the role of immigration discourse in American newspapers on public opinion, using the lens of speech act theory, with references to key studies by Austin (Austin, J. L. 1962. How to do things with words. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press), Searle (Searle, J. R. 1969. Speech acts. An essay in the philosophy of language. New York: Cambridge University Press; A classification of illocutionary acts. Language in Society 5(1). 1–23), and Bach and Harnish (Bach, K. & R. (...) M. Harnish. 1979. Linguistic communication and speech acts. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press). The research analyzes a collection of 20 articles from five major U.S. newspapers: The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, New York Post, and New York Daily News. A mixed-methods approach is utilized, incorporating detailed line-by-line coding alongside comprehensive sentiment analysis. The study categorizes illocutionary acts into constatives, directives, commissives, and acknowledgments to assess how newspapers construct narratives related to immigration. Findings reveal that constatives are often used to establish ideological viewpoints through selective information presentation, directives seek to motivate or influence readers, while commissives and acknowledgments enhance emotional connections or ideological stances. Liberal outlets typically depict immigrants positively and promote inclusive conversations, whereas conservative publications frequently generate feelings of fear and urgency to support stricter immigration measures. These findings underscore the powerful impact of media discourse in shaping perceptions of immigration, highlighting how speech acts operate not only as descriptive components but also as mechanisms for ideological persuasion and public opinion formation. (shrink)

The last decade has seen an explosion of research on the gut microbiota—the trillions of microorganisms that colonize the human gut. It is now clear that interindividual diversity in microbiota composition plays an important role in determining susceptibility to a wide variety of diseases. However, identifying the precise changes in microbiota composition that play causal roles has remained a largely unrealized goal. Here, we propose that functional classifications of microbes based on their interactions with and effects on the host—particularly the (...) host immune system—will illuminate the role of the microbiota in shaping human physiology. We outline the benefits of “functional” classification compared to phylogenetic classifications, and review current efforts at functional classification of the microbiota. Finally, we outline a theoretical framework for classifying host-microbiota interactions. Future advances enabling broader functional classifications of the microbiota promise to revolutionize our understanding of the role of gut microbes in health and disease. Functional classifications of the human microbiota reveal previously hidden patterns and will be key to cracking the microbiota composition code. This figure shows a theoretical comparison between phylogenetic classification and functional classification of a host-associated microbial community. (shrink)

This paper establishes the Internal Language Theorem for M₃(ℂ) Structure within the framework of Operatiology (formerly Cognitional Mechanics, CM). CM derives all four Standard Model dimensionless coupling constants with zero free parameters, but the mechanism by which M₃(ℂ) Structure generates the structural constants used in these derivations has remained implicit. In particular, the repeated appearance of the cyclotomic evaluation values Φ₁(3)=2, Φ₂(3)=4, Φ₃(3)=13, and Φ₆(3)=7 has lacked a formal derivation. The present version (V2) is a reformulation under the axiom system (...) of Operatiology (A1, A2, A4). Three structural advances over V1 are established. First, the uniqueness of the evaluation point x=n=3 is no longer grounded in information completeness but in a direct A4-forcing argument: dim=n=3 is the unique primitive integer datum supplied by M₃(ℂ) Structure itself without external input. Every other integer invariant of M₃(ℂ) — such as Tr(H²)=6 or det H=−2 — is a secondary algebraic consequence of n=3 and is therefore forbidden as an evaluation point by the minimality enforced by A4. Second, the Operational Generation Classification (Lemma 4.4) establishes that the admissible structure-generating operations under {A1, A2, A4} fall into exactly three classes — periodic action (C₃), inversion action (Cartan reflection P: H↦−H), and polynomial closure (x³±1) — and that these three classes exhaust precisely the cyclotomic factors {Φ₁, Φ₂, Φ₃, Φ₆}. The exclusion of Φ₄ is thereby grounded in generative closure: Φ₄ passes both the Cayley–Hamilton degree condition and the integer evaluation condition (Φ₄(3)=10∈ℤ), but is not produced by any generation class of Lemma 4.4. The integer-eigenvalue condition is necessary but not sufficient; generative closure is the decisive criterion. Third, Axiom A3 — employed throughout the CM corpus as an independent postulate bounding spectral actions by Φ₃=13 and Φ₆=7 — is shown to be derivable from A1, A2, and A4 alone via the Internal Language Theorem. A3 is a theorem, not an axiom. This reduces the independent axiom count of CM from four to three, retroactively clarifying the logical structure of the entire corpus without invalidating any prior derivation. The result is a fully self-generated internal language: {Φ₁, Φ₂, Φ₃, Φ₆} is complete, unique, and necessary. The algebra M₃(ℂ) does not receive these values from outside — it generates them from its own axiomatic structure through the self-evaluation formula Φₙ(n). This mechanism has no analogue in conventional physics, where M₃(ℂ) functions as a carrier of pre-existing particle ontology, nor in Connes–Lott finite noncommutative geometry, where free parameters remain as external inputs. CM inverts the direction of inquiry: not from entities to algebra, but from algebra to entities. In that inversion, cyclotomic polynomials — invisible in conventional physics — become unavoidable. Appendix A provides an exhaustive numerical verification of the admissibility classification under all three conditions jointly. Appendix B provides a 50-digit precision algebraic derivation of five structural ratios R1–R5 from the internal language {Φ₁, Φ₂, Φ₃, Φ₆}, with CODATA comparison explicitly designated as an external Tier-3 empirical correspondence test, not part of the Tier-2 algebraic derivation. ◆◆◆ [PYTHON VERIFICATION CODE — note: × denotes * and ^ denotes **, and the following conversions apply in this listing: / denotes ／, . denotes ．, : denotes ：] ◆◆◆ from sympy import cyclotomic_poly, Symbol, factor as sfactor, degree ◆ from sympy import ZZ ◆ x = Symbol('x') ◆ # Generative condition： the admissible set is produced exclusively by ◆ # three generation classes (Lemma 4．4)： ◆ # (i) Periodic action： C3 --> Phi_3 (via det(xI-C3) = x^3-1) ◆ # (ii) Inversion action： Cartan reflection P --> Phi_6 ◆ # (iii) Polynomial closure： x^3-1 --> Phi_1, Phi_3； ◆ # x^3+1 --> Phi_2, Phi_6 ◆ # No other cyclotomic polynomial is generated by these classes． ◆ GENERATIVE_SET = {1, 2, 3, 6} ◆ def is_admissible(k, n=3)： ◆ """ ◆ Returns (True, msg) if Phi_k is admissible under all three ◆ conditions； (False, msg) otherwise． ◆ Condition (1)： Cayley-Hamilton degree closure： deg(Phi_k) <= n-1． ◆ Condition (2)： Integer evaluation： Phi_k(n) in Z． ◆ Condition (3)： Generative condition： Phi_k produced by one of ◆ the three generation classes of Lemma 4．4． ◆ """ ◆ phi = cyclotomic_poly(k, x) ◆ d = degree(phi, x) ◆ val = phi．subs(x, n) ◆ if d > n - 1： ◆ return False, (f"Phi_{k}： degree {d} > {n-1}, " ◆ f"excluded by CH degree closure") ◆ if val not in ZZ： ◆ return False, (f"Phi_{k}： evaluation {val} not integer, " ◆ f"excluded by real integer eigenvalue condition") ◆ if k not in GENERATIVE_SET： ◆ return False, (f"Phi_{k}： evaluation {val} is integer and " ◆ f"degree {d} <= {n-1}, but Phi_{k} is not " ◆ f"produced by any generation class " ◆ f"(Lemma 4．4)． Excluded by generative " ◆ f"closure criterion．") ◆ return True, f"Phi_{k}： degree {d}, value {val}, admissible" ◆ print("=== Admissibility check at n=3 ===") ◆ admissible = [] ◆ for k in range(1, 13)： ◆ result, msg = is_admissible(k, n=3) ◆ print(msg) ◆ if result： ◆ admissible．append(k) ◆ print(f"\nAdmissible set： {{Phi_k ： k in {admissible}}}") ◆ print("Evaluation values：") ◆ for k in admissible： ◆ phi = cyclotomic_poly(k, x) ◆ print(f" Phi_{k}(3) = {phi．subs(x, 3)}") ◆ phi3 = cyclotomic_poly(3, x) ◆ phi6 = cyclotomic_poly(6, x) ◆ print(f"\nCartan reflection check：") ◆ print(f" Phi_3(-x) = {phi3．subs(x, -x)．expand()}") ◆ print(f" Phi_6(x) = {phi6．expand()}") ◆ print(f" Identical： {phi3．subs(x,-x)．expand() == phi6．expand()}") ◆ p1 = x^3 - 1 ◆ p2 = x^3 + 1 ◆ print(f"\nCayley-Hamilton terminal polynomials：") ◆ print(f" x^3 - 1 = {sfactor(p1)}") ◆ print(f" x^3 + 1 = {sfactor(p2)}") ◆ print("\n=== Uniqueness of n=3 ===") ◆ for n in [2, 3, 4]： ◆ adm = [] ◆ for k in range(1, 13)： ◆ phi = cyclotomic_poly(k, x) ◆ d = degree(phi, x) ◆ if d <= n - 1： ◆ val = phi．subs(x, n) ◆ if val in ZZ and k in GENERATIVE_SET： ◆ adm．append((k, int(val))) ◆ print(f"n={n}： admissible set {adm}, count={len(adm)}") ◆◆◆ [END] ◆◆◆ -/- Published on July 12, 2026 DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21308933 . 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This chapter special attention is paid to theoretical and methodological issues of studying the cultural landscape by means of textual methods.In the first section we discussed the history of structural and poststructural understanding of the text. Yuri Lotman’s concept of the text and the concept of semiosphere significantly expand the possibilities for studying not only culture, but the geographical space that is transformed by culture—the cultural landscape. Concept of textuality loses certainty of its borders and covers an extremely broad scope (...) of human activity. Necessarily subjective mental constructs in the perception and scientific interpretation of reality were pointed by Boris Gasparov who introduced the concept of presumption of textuality into scientific. The presumption of textuality according to Boris Gasparov (in respect of acts of speech) is the need to submit a statement or event as direct and entirely foreseeable phenomenon. In the context of the presumption of textuality cultural landscape is an ideal object of study. The formation and existence of the cultural landscape defines its semantic structure, where not only events but also places associated with them are perceived as significant and carry a certain message to society. The criterion for significance of place in the culture supports the use of its name as a unit of the text and the ability of name for the formation of secondary (figurative) values, i.e. for denomination (Elena Berezovich).The secondary or figurative meanings of place names represent the message—for example, the secondary meanings of names Kamchatka and Kolyma doesn’t cause any serious discrepancies. These messages may be read in their historical and, accordingly, the semantic consistency. Sometimes, the loci-messages are used to generate new messages, for example, in the development of pilgrimage routes and thematic tours. In other cases, reading the loci-messages, the interpretation of place meanings and the local text of culture depends on the intentions of the perceiver.Names of places allow us to consider the texts of the cultural landscape as a «rolled-up mnemonic programs» (Yuri Lotman). Signs-place names and corresponding geographical objects are in certain respects to each other.The process of creating of any text is indicated by Alexander Piatigorsky as a subjective situation. Subjective situation in the cultural landscape continues infinitely, and the process of reading (perception) also does not stop, respectively, the subjective and the objective situations coincide in time. Culture doesn’t not only deal with (inherits, reflexes) previously created and captured in the geographical space senses, but also makes its own changes, even as a result of perception, if it involves revising messages created earlier. In this regard, with respect to the space semantically ordered by culture, nothing can be more appropriate than the notion of intertext, which occurs as a result of «reading-writing», as a space of convergence of various citations (Julia Kristeva). We come to the fact that the concept of the text is perceived and interpreted extremely broad—as flexible hierarchical, adjustably structuring system of significant elements (Vladimir Abashev), which allows us to interpret the cultural landscape as a text.In the second section patterns of existence of the text of the cultural landscape are examined. In the cultural landscape, as it was already noted, there is a fixation of meanings in space, which are changing, in spite of all its fluidity, nevertheless these meaning are associated with the place/region or macroregion of their appearing. The spatial structure of the cultural landscape can serve as a text, where each element has strong values and meanings. The intersection of meanings in a single locus gives the increment of meaning. The very multivalency in the space has a value of «cultural saturation», bordering on with the concept of cultural heritage.Elements of structure «center—province—periphery—the border» determine meanings of each specific geographical objects, occupying a certain place in this matrix. Roads in the cultural landscape serve both a spokesmen idea of communication and proper communication, especially actual in travelling, generating new meanings (the classics of the genre—«Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow» by Alexander Radishchev).The concept of palimpsest is applied to cultural landscape; the concept is used in interpretation and analysis of other texts of culture. Culture texts of various epochs are manifested in the landscape; overlapping one another, forming unique combinations, many of them falling into a new cultural-historical context are «read» again, sometimes with diametrically opposite permutation of emphasis and meanings.The logic of the sign system of cultural landscape is nonlinear; it doesn’t have a clear narrative structure. One can imagine the cultural landscape as netting meanings. If there are nodes, there is a fabric of irregular weaving. In the structure of the cultural landscape the emphasis is made on the selection of system of centers and semantically meaningful territories.In the cultural landscape there are polysemantic signs and lacunae of meaning. Actually the natural properties of the area have their meaning, but only in the presence of the observer. Lacunas may arise as wrong side of meanings in a particular system of philosophical, aesthetic, ethical origin. It is like natural landfills or «tent cities» of homeless that recur in the landscape of the city, but in places, virtually uncontrolled by urban civilization. The concept of the «escheated» area allocated by researchers there where weaker qualities or features for which this or that territory belongs to the great cultural or economic center of gravity is interesting in this respect.In cultural studies, though culture is seen as a text, the structural unit of the text is not defined. But the spatial component of culture requires a manifestation of the structure. In the cultural landscape the locus/place can become the structural unit, but in a different sense—as the locus-symbol, locus-message, locus-sign, for it implies that the symbolic value is connected to a particular territorial unit.The third section presents opportunities to explore the urban landscape rendered as a text. City is a special type of cultural landscape, which has a hyper-semantic richness, where each element and relationship of elements bears a message. A cityscape is full of symbols and messages where semantic of bypassed historical periods is transmitted; the elements of urban structure are also charged semantically—the planning of historical center and outskirts speak for themselves, etc.Deep ideas or the archetypes of world culture lie in the notion of the city. Myths, symbols and images serve as the basis of perception and reading the city: squares, circles, vertical lines are perceived in their archetypical sense—as a mandala (a symbolic scheme of the universe) of a city (Alexander Barabanov).Exploring the semantics of the landscape of St. Petersburg, Vladimir Toporov identifies such coefficients as: straightness, curvature, sloping streets; organization of space; indoor-outdoor space; the discontinuity-continuity and separation-fusion of space. The city has its own «language»—its physiognomic elements and objects (streets, squares, monuments, etc.), the city is interpreted in cultural studies as the heterogeneous text and has some common sense.The internal structure of the city, like the internal structure of the text, consists of a system of units and nodes (Kevin Lynch), links (relations) and the properties inherent in the city (the text), as a whole. Cities like literary texts have their own genre image that expresses to some extent the meaning of the place, the meaning of the city (Ekaterina Koneva).The fourth section discusses possible strategies for reading the text of the cultural landscape.In contemporary philosophy of culture (Valery Podoroga) the process of reading is understood as an attempt to understand the Other. The reader engages into communication with a text, which may be presented as the entity that understands its reader. The text grows, pervades its reader.Therefore, «reading» the text of the cultural landscape is similar to the method of modeling images of place offered by Dmitri Zamyatin—latent information is converted by a researcher, who comes in an active communication with it, in the space-sign model.In the act of reading the text of the cultural landscape one should take into account the fact that semiotic systems, as they determined by Yuri Lotman, while being read require a translation, as the semiotic mechanisms—that are not only essential for accurate transmission of the text, but they are mechanisms of the creative consciousness. The message, which appears as the text, suggests at least two cultural codes, not identical but equivalent—one encodes the text; the other is used for its decoding. Given that the exposition of the text of the cultural landscape is non-linear and does not determine by itself the direction of reading, that gets the reader more opportunities for deciphering and interpretation.In the cultural landscape there are always some areas, lines, and «blocks» for reading. The texts-landscapes of national history are easiest for reading. For example, the study of the semiotic structure of the cultural landscape of Russia based on Russian Poetry (Olga Lavrenova) shows that it is «frozen in the space a wave of colonization». Earlier developed European part of Russia is separated from the structureless, internally chaotic the space-place name Siberia by border-frontier of the Ural Mountains.The same text of the cultural landscape of Russia can not be read in historical, but also in religious and mythological way. This reading, in contrast to the historical, is more versatile and at the same time more general. Texts of cultural landscapes of regional and local levels can be read in the same vein. Geopolitical reading (in the prism of politics in the cultural landscape of Russia, where quite other structural elements stand out –for example such as «red belt»), reading from the history of ideas or geobiography of individuals can be justified.Reading of the landscape has a few other key approaches. First, it is determined by the point review, and secondly, plastic landscape, its rhythm, structure stand out as important elements. Reading of the landscape has three main levels—poetry (sensitive), aesthetic and cognitive.In the fifth section, another strategy for reading of the text of the cultural landscape is proposed—through local cultural texts representing a body of art, documentary and folklore texts related to a specific place. The texts of works of art serve as generators of meanings for a specific cultural landscape/place. The presence of texts that are genetically related to the landscape implies that the landscape as a semiotic system is also built on the principle of «mosaic of citations», as the product of absorption in the informational component of the landscape of other texts and while reading this intertext—the generation of other texts are launched.Vladimir Toporov fundamentally investigated for the first time the issue with local text of culture by the resorting to the example of St. Petersburg text of Russian culture, which he defined as a construct of a general nature, characterized by semantic overcompaction, which he termed as synthetic supertext tuned to a higher meanings and purposes, having a semantic connection, wholeness, the presence of the core rising to a single source. Vladimir Toporov examines and classifies (in axiological and ontological key) semantic aspects of the image of the city, ranging from high to low, explores the myths that underlie the text of St. Petersburg—the myth of the creator, the eschatological myth, the myth of the ontological opposition to Moscow. Nature and landscape features serve as one of the storylines in the St. Petersburg text. It is fully justified to view the Petersburg text not only as a meaning, but also as a communication function of the landscape of St. Petersburg, transmitting itself as a message «to Russia» and outside.Vladimir Abashev investigated Perm text of Russian culture. Analyzing the written sources starting from Epiphanius the Wise, Boris Pasternak to modern «samizdat» poetry, posters and brochures, the researcher includes semiotizated features of the landscape, history, geography, consumer attitudes and behavior in the Perm text. As the result paradigm of the local text is determined, here we can find both specific objects of the urban landscape and complex hybrid units like the «Permian animal style». An important element of Perm text is the ability of of its name «Perm» to be applied in anagrams, which are used as giving birth to meanings in shaping the image of the city. Resonance of Perm text in Russian culture, of course, can not be compared to the St. Petersburg text. Nevertheless, since the time of Aleksander Pushkin, pronounced the famous «from Perm to Tavrida» in the poem, addressed to «the slanderers of Russia», the name of «Perm» sounds like some kind of expression of existent ultimacy.Another limit can be found in the above mentioned poem filled with patriotic fervor «To the slanderers of Russia»—Tavrida—inspired Aleksander Lyusy to study the text of the Crimea, which is a more recent variation on the theme of ancient myth. The same author explores the Caucasus text of Russian literature, where, unlike other local texts, themes of captivity, love and revenge are clearly expressed.Miron Petrovsky considers Kyiv text not in the regard of Russian culture in general, but in Mikhail Bulgakov’s literary heritage, where the city of Kiev is interpreted as the eternal city (Rome-Jerusalem), perishing in a global cataclysm. The plastic landscape of Kyiv and its metaphysics (inverting spaces) are reflected in the storylines of many novels.The reflection on «the genius and the place» is no less interesting than the local texts, in this reflection authors from different positions and with different methodological arsenal study images of places and spatial concepts in some classical works of Russian literature. The monograph of Pyotr Vail «Genius Loci» seems to be the most significant study of concepts of space, made in philological vein.The sixth section—it is another strategy for reading of the cultural landscape, this time with the help of travel, which as a cultural phenomenon has its own semantic categories. The semantics of the cultural landscape requires not a dispassionate observation in the direct contact with it, but empathy—the study applying hermeneutical method of research. Worldly, mundane space is available to third-party observation and description, but it is very poor in its semantics. These spaces exist simultaneously in one and the same cultural landscape, and a traveller moving along the face of the planet, chooses in which of them he will make his way and accordingly how rich and polysemantic his observations will be.Travelling is seen as the geographical self-awareness of culture, as a prototype of a metaphor and concept of the way that is one of the fundamental in any culture. There is a classification of travel in the context of semiosphere—it is a vector in the plane for everyday travel, circling for eternal wanderers or cursed mythological characters, the vector of ascent—for spiritual journeys and pilgrimages. (shrink)

This chapter reveals specific of semiosis, where geographical objects take part as a «material envelope» of signs and/or their names.The first section discusses some theoretical principles of semiotics, concerning in particular the categories of signs and sign situation in relation to the realities of the cultural landscape. Culture is based on the semiotic mechanisms, it is continuously generated new signs and preserved existing ones, both of them come into the communication process, i.e. acquire, transform and transmit information (Yuri Lotman).A (...) sign is a very vast concept, we will not introduce the new definition, but take it to the broader sense as an object which, under certain conditions (in particular sign situation), has a value not equal to the object itself.According to some definitions, not only the objects, events and actions can serve as a sign (information signal), but also images, playing the role of representatives of another object, properties or relations.To paraphrase Alexander Piatigorsky, we can say that people can use loci, geographical objects as characters precisely because some properties inherent in them (not in the psyche of the people and not in the acts of signal communication) objectively allow for such use. We propose to consider the ontological duality of objects in the geo-cultural space—they are not only or mainly representatives of the physical reality, but of culture itself, and when the name of the object—place name—is used as a sign, there is always the image of the thing beyond and physical reality of the city, river, mountain, plain associated with this image. The architectural features of the city, length, size, physical and geographical peculiarities of the natural landscape components are usually included in geographical image.Unlike metaphor, considered earlier in the context of geo-cultural space, the main function of the sign is a communicative function. In the case of the cultural landscape metaphors may be reduced to symbols, and vice versa, they can return a quality of metaphorical projections in both cases adding to and enriching the images associated with this or that geographical object in a specific culture. In this case, signs with symbolic meaning are generated.For geographical objects in the context of culture we can talk about the symbols, more valued than the sign, and related to it by their nature. Symbols are closer to the making of images, and the more meanings symbols have the richer is their content.So called cultural signs are considered, signs having a cultural component in the denotative or connotational part (Yulia Pikuleva). All semiotic forms in the cultural landscape have cultural component mainly in its denotative component. The content of signs that is a part of the cultural landscape is as multidimensional, as the meaning of the lexical unit.In the second section we investigate the relation of images and signs in the cultural landscape. The sign is the information unit; the concept of the sign includes the information carried by the sign, and the amount of knowledge about the object or concept denoted by this sign.Information processes perform an organizing role in all the «spaces», conditionally allocated within the geographical space, particularly related to human activity—i.e. in economic, socio- and geo-cultural spaces.Information and sign processes are studied in the materialized forms of their manifestation and in the form of so-called «intangible heritage», which is also recognized as an integral part of the cultural landscape. Also it is examined the evolution of culture in its living space—the ways of introduction of new impulses (innovation), the spatial aspects of their interaction with the long-established structures of the cultural landscape.A man, a bearer of a culture, transforms the perceived spatial information in accordance with the code of culture (if under the code of culture to understand the system of internally related concepts that define human behavior in culture).Culture understands space, and it is associated with the birth of multi-level geographical images—from image of the world to the image of place. Stable images of a geographical objects, locality, landscape elements, that exist in the public consciousness and/or recorded in works of art, are referred to as the image of the place and become, in turn, an integral part of the cultural landscape.From the visual landscape images arises the symbolic landscape of culture; the construction of symbolic imagery passes through the stages of schematization—the isolation of characteristic detail of the landscape, conventialization—anchorage the detail of this code of value, providing meaningful parts (a slope, a review, meaningfulness) and finally—the birth of the matrix circle of meaning (Evgeny Kolbovsky). Semiotics of the perceived landscape-space can be considered as the language of space, and may act as a «modeling package of culture» (Yuri Lotman).In the Dmitri Zamyatin’s concept geographical images represent a research construct, where the most important nuances of all the values and meanings associated with a particular place are structured and identified.Although the geographic image exists in culture, like any other image, the priority of space in the mentality of culture leads to what it is perceived and re-presented as a «cloud of meanings», swirling around the site/landscape with its own coordinates in geographical space and its geographic features. As elements of the image of the place such phenomena as topophily (affection to some places) and topophoby (disgusting to some places) are considered (Yi-Fu Tuan).Sign systems of cultural landscapes are «crystallized» coming out of the system of geographical images with the assistance of symbolic and metaphorical elements.The third section is devoted to the semiotics of cultural landscape.Semiotic structure of the cultural landscape of the local level is based on the sign objects and environmental zones, which are also full of meaning. Spatial codes are distinguished and they govern semiotization of local space—these codes are: architectonical structure (volumes, plastic form), object-function (functions of objects), social and symbolic—according that the significant form (of monument, a triumphal arch, etc.) becomes the term of spatial judgment and acquires its meaning only if it is installed at the appropriate place (Leonid Chertov).Appealing to another territorial and hierarchical level, which is not perceived immediately for its scale, we can say that in the cultural landscape of the region and macroregion architectonic code do exist not in the direct perception of objects, but in their images. The volume and mass of mountain systems and plains, depressions and seas are read through a map; they are perceived and interpreted through the luggage of geographical knowledge, which a person receives in secondary school.Subject-functional codes at maсroterritorial level are relatively rare, since such thing as a narrow functional object doesn’t exist, except for science cities, military installations and military grounds. Existed during the Soviet period labeled regions of specialized industrial production, such as «the forge of the country», «the breadbasket of the country» is now a thing of the past.Analogues of expression having a subject-predicate structure in the cultural landscape of the country can serve the cities if their building were a kind of symbolic act. Such, for example, as St. Petersburg and Komsomolsk-on-Amur—the first one was a «window to Europe» and at the same time was the equivalent of the name of the patron saint of its creator, the other—was assigned the Soviets at the far eastern frontier and carried in its name the idea of communism. Renaming of cities in the Soviet period and the emergence of city-names, such as the Kirov, Kuibyshev and others, also served as a statement of names of the new political elite in the cultural landscape. New Jerusalem bores both in its name and semantics of its internal structure religious idea of Heavenly city, the heavenly Jerusalem, and of Jerusalem as analogue of terrestrial city.Signs-names of the places, signs-geographical objects, signs-landscapes may have precedential genesis or may be a spokesmen for a «typical situation», «typical, standard landscape». A precedential cultural symbol acts as a kind of cultural character and correlates with the notion of value as a cultural value characteristics (Yulia Pikuleva). With respect to the dichotomy of a cultural (and/or historical) precedent and a «typical situation» in the case of objects of geographical space super-personal character (known to all members of the community) of the sign is important, its relevance in terms of process of cognition (cognitive and emotional), its constant or regular use among certain culture.Geographic objects and landscape elements become symbols in the case if in the culture there are strong associations with the momentous historical events, with the artifacts and unique features of the natural landscape.Considering the cultural landscape as a sign system, we can observe that it complies with the most of the rules of semiotics—minimization of the original text, discrete transfer of continuous content, delimitation of the text, metonymy.In relation to the signs of the space-semantic web the classical classification of Charles Peirce is applied—symbolic, index and iconic signs are single out in the cultural landscape. But symbolic and index signs are most used.Interpretation of the cultural landscape as a sign system can be expanded using a more modern classification based on the «base sign», developed by Abraham Solomonik. Geographical locations and place names serve as natural, imaging, linguistic, hieroglyphic (writing systems) signs. The symbolic level of the sign system, as the maximum level of abstraction, according to Abraham Solomonik expressed in mathematical codes, is practically inapplicable to the cultural landscape.So, if we consider the semantics of geographic objects, which is readable within semiosphere of world culture, the geo-cultural space appears as a spatial-semantic network. The nodes of the network are the cities, rivers, mountain peaks and mountain ranges filled with history, meanings and ideals of humanity. Different objects of spatial-semantic networks are in complex, rich with nuances, but undeniable relationship. For example, the relationship of names and corresponding cities, such as «Vatican—Jerusalem—Constantinople» is read as symbols of the two branches of Christianity. Otherwise, for example, the bipolar attitude to «Jerusalem—Mecca» is read as the unmerging of two cultural and religious worlds. (shrink)

In this chapter, we address the issue of whether the mastery of abstract words requires only inferential knowledge and thus, if the concepts that support the mastery of abstract words include only linguistic information. We start by differentiating the notions of ‘abstract’ and ‘general’ which are often erroneously confused. We then identify a strict definition of abstract, as contrasted with ‘concrete’, that applies to words or concepts whose referent cannot be experienced by the senses. We argue that abstract words/concepts (...) would be better described as theoretical, because they are usually conceived as structured sets of inferential knowledge expressed linguistically; that is, as small theories. Pointing out parallels with Carnap’s analysis of this issue in philosophy of science, we hypothesize that words/concepts denoting non-observable entities are not all ‘equally theoretical’, because their link to sensory experience can be stronger or weaker. We revive the distinction, inspired by Quine, between theoretical and intertheoretical concepts/words. This distinction relies on the fact that the former—unlike the latter—retains a strong, although indirect, connection with perception. In Quine’s discussion, perception is understood uniquely in terms of observability, i.e. of external sensory experience. Here we argue, however, that bodily, ‘proprioceptive’ (i.e. propriosensitive) experience can also serve to referentially ground theoretical (i.e. abstract) concepts/words. We frame this issue using the example of the theoretical concept ‘freedom’ and Lakoff’s hypothesis that this concept is developed on the basis of bodily information. We contrast this with the example of ‘democracy’ which more closely resembles an intertheoretical concept/word. Furthermore, we show that one of the classical views put forward in psycholinguistic research to explain how abstract concepts are mentally represented—i.e. Paivio’s Dual Coding Theory—points in the same direction as our analysis. The same is true of Barsalou’s work suggesting that we use internal information to understand at least some abstract words. To sustain this position, we put forward two lines of evidence: the first comes from psycholinguistic studies while the second examines deficits of semantic competence exhibited by people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. On the basis of our analysis, we put forward a classification that distinguishes between different kinds of concreteness and different degrees of abstraction: concepts/words referring to body experiences and basic emotions are described as analogous to concrete concepts/words because they are grounded in perceptual (i.e. propriosensitive) experience, while abstract concepts/words are considered more or less abstract depending on whether they are intratheoretical (and rely entirely on inferential information) or theoretical (and are partially grounded in perceptual—or more often in propriosensitive perceptual—information). In the last section of the chapter we consider two scales that have been used in psycholinguistic research to measure the degree of concreteness versus abstractness of words and we show that—used conjointly—they can provide a measure of the internal versus external grounding of specific words. (shrink)

User modeling is a key topic in many applications, mainly social networks and information retrieval systems. To assess the effectiveness of a user modeling approach, its capability to classify personal characteristics (e.g., the gender, age, or consumption grade of the users) is evaluated. Due to the fact that some of the attributes to predict are multiclass (e.g., age usually encompasses multiple ranges), assessing fairness in user modeling becomes a challenge since most of the related metrics work with binary attributes. (...) As a workaround, the original multiclass attributes are usually binarized to meet standard fairness metrics definitions where both the target class and sensitive attribute (such as gender or age) are binary. However, this alters the original conditions, and fairness is evaluated on classes that differ from those used in the classification. In this article, we extend the definitions of four existing fairness metrics (related to disparate impact and disparate mistreatment) from binary to multiclass scenarios, considering different settings where either the target class or the sensitive attribute includes more than two groups. Our work endeavors to bridge the gap between formal definitions and real use cases in bias detection. The results of the experiments, conducted on four real-world datasets by leveraging two state-of-the-art graph neural network-based models for user modeling, show that the proposed generalization of fairness metrics can lead to a more effective and fine-grained comprehension of disadvantaged sensitive groups and, in some cases, to a better analysis of machine learning models originally deemed to be fair. The source code and the preprocessed datasets are available at the following link: https://github.com/erasmopurif/toward-responsible-fairness-analysis. (shrink)

BackgroundLow-stakes crimes related to alcohol and/or drugs are common around the world, but research is lacking on police–suspect interactions of such crimes. A large proportion of these suspects are intoxicated during interrogations, and many may have substance use disorder, making them potentially vulnerable to interrogative pressure.MethodsTo address this lack of knowledge, the taxonomy of interrogation methods framework and a common classification of question types were applied in the coding of written police interrogations. Two archival studies, one pilot and (...) one main study analyzed police interrogations with suspects of alcohol- and drug-related crimes in Sweden.ResultsFor both Study 1 and 2, suspects showed signs of alcohol and/or drug intoxication, hangover or withdrawal in more than 50% of all interrogations. In Study 2, additional coding indicated that suspects displayed signs of substance use disorder in 57% of the interrogations. The main results from both studies revealed a large number of direct questions asked by the police across all interrogations, and relatively little use of the strategic interrogation techniques from the taxonomy of interrogation methods framework. In fact, when it came to interrogation techniques, law enforcement used more confrontational techniques in their interactions with intoxicated suspects compared to sober suspects. Furthermore, suspects displaying signs of substance use disorder were significantly more cooperative and prone to confess than suspects without indicators of substance use disorder.ConclusionAs the first novel study on low-stakes crime interrogations related to alcohol and/or drugs, the present study provides useful information about current Swedish interrogation practices and areas for improvement. The study results indicate that suspects displaying signs of intoxication or substance use disorder may be more vulnerable during police interrogations. This may in turn have the potential to inform the development of new interrogation policies. Due to the novelty of this research, more studies are needed, both on a national and international level, to examine interrogations in low-stakes crimes further. (shrink)

The emergence of (large) language models has resulted in a paradigm shift in terms of developing general-purpose models that can contribute to a variety of tasks and domains. For the first time in the history of AI, the community of researchers has access to pre-trained models that can perform repeated inference across many unanticipated natural language tasks, from text classification through question answering to summarization. Moreover, these models can be tuned further to fit the needs of the downstream task (...) more directly by using adequate training data, thus enhancing the model performance on target tasks. While the generalizability of language models is clear and can be witnessed by experts and non-experts alike thanks to public APIs like ChatGPT, their robustness has been repeatedly shown to be fragile. Language models struggle with adequately weighing minor variations in the inputs (e.g., in negation or perturbation probes), they may be unable to perform well in novel settings (e.g., in domain-specific applications), and their predictions may be inconsistent across different phrasing of the same input (e.g., in information extraction settings). This chapter discusses these challenges in more length and provides a summary of directions for designing robust AI that leverages the power of LLMs in combination with data augmentation with other models or graphs, with novel methods for language model adaptation such as in-context learning and prefix-tuning, with neuro-symbolic integration with code and logic interpreters, and with analogical principles. This chapter discusses representative methods from each of these research directions in terms of their motivation, design, results, strengths, and weaknesses. The chapter concludes with a summary of lessons learned and open challenges that can be pursued to develop even more robust AI in the future. (shrink)