In this work, we explore modeling of wormholes in framework of f(R, T) gravity with the functional form f(R,T)=R+αR2+λT\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$f(R, T)= R+\alpha R^2 +\lambda T$$\end{document}, where R and T are the Ricci scalar and trace of energy-momentum tensor respectively, α\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\alpha$$\end{document} and λ\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\lambda$$\end{document} are arbitrary constants. Using the equation of state (EoS) pr=ωρ\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} (...) \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$p_r=\omega \rho$$\end{document} and shape function b(r)=r0arar0,(0shrink)

Avec plus de cent soixante mémorandums d’accords signés avec des constructeurs de barrages, l’Etat d’Arunashal Pradesh, situé dans l’Himalaya, dans une région nord-orientale de l’Inde faisant limite avec la Chine, le Boutant et le Myanmar, occupe une place de choix dans les plans d’aménagement hydroélectrique de l’Inde. Cet état est le foyer d’environ vingt-cinq communautés autochtones, chacune avec ses différentes traditions culturelles et institutionnelles pour l’administration des propriétés collectives, comme les terres agricoles et les forêts. À l’Arunachal Pradesh, à la (...) différence de nombreuses autres communautés de l’Inde, les droits de la communauté sur la terre et les forêts sont protégés par la loi. Malgré cela, avec le boom de l’énergie hydroélectrique, les contradictions entre les droits collectifs et les prérequis institutionnels du modèle de croissance néolibéral ont aiguisé les conflits dans cette région frontalière. (shrink)

Purpose Digital transformation leverages digital technologies to change current processes and introduce new processes in any organisation’s business model, customer/user experience and operational processes. Artificial intelligence plays a significant role in achieving DT. As DT is touching each sphere of humanity, AI led DT is raising many fundamental questions. These questions raise concerns for the systems deployed, how they should behave, what risks they carry, the monitoring and evaluation control we have in hand, etc. These issues call for the need (...) to integrate ethics in AI led DT. The purpose of this study is to develop an “AI led ethical digital transformation framework”. Design/methodology/approach Based on the literature survey, various existing business ethics decision-making models were synthesised. The authors mapped essential characteristics such as intensity and the individual, organisational and opportunity factors of ethics models with the proposed AI led ethical DT. The DT framework is evaluated using a thematic analysis of 23 expert interviews with relevant AI ethics personas from industry and society. The qualitative data of the interviews and opinion data has been analysed using MAXQDA software. Findings The authors have explored how AI can drive the ethical DT framework and have identified the core constituents of developing an AI led ethical DT framework. Backed by established ethical theories, the paper presents how DT pillars are related and sequenced to ethical factors. This research provides the potential to examine theoretically sequenced ethical factors with practical DT pillars. Originality/value The study establishes deduced and induced ethical value codes based on thematic analysis to develop guidelines for the pursuit of ethical DT. The authors identify four unique induced themes, namely, corporate social responsibility, perceived value, standard benchmarking and learning willingness. The comprehensive findings of this research, supported by a robust theoretical background, have substantial implications for academic research and corporate applicability. The proposed AI led ethical DT framework is unique and can be used for integrated social, technological and economic ethical research. (shrink)

Over the years, the urban heat vulnerability has evolved as a pressing global concern for researchers and policymakers alike. Numerous studies have aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of urban heat vulnerability on public health and safety. However, the critical task of selecting the most fitting indicator for urban heat islands in public spaces is not emphasized in the existing studies, considering the diverse indices available. Beyond identification, studies that delve into the prioritization of these indices and the determination of (...) optimal variables along with their respective weights are scanty. The present study attempts to address these gaps in urban heat vulnerability research through the lens of natural solutions. The study employs a fuzzy analytical hierarchy approach to ascertain the weights of selected criteria, providing a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted factors influencing their applicability. Real-time impact estimation using the fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solutions enhances the practicality of the findings. The results reveal a set of pivotal characteristics crucial for constructing a robust heat vulnerability index, facilitating the prioritization of selected criteria. The implementation of this hybrid methodology culminates in a streamlined, precise, and practical tool for evaluating heat vulnerability in hot urban public spaces. These findings contribute valuable insights to the academic discourse and offer a tangible resource for policymakers and practitioners. The proactive approach provides a roadmap for addressing impending challenges related to urban heat vulnerability, marking a positive step toward creating resilient and sustainable urban environments. (shrink)

This Book Offers A Fresh Exposition Of The Buddhist Theory Of Meaning (Apohavada) Against The Backdrop Of Indian Linguistic Thought And Shows How This Theory Is Positioned Vis-A-Vis Current Issues And Assumptions In Language. Consists A Very Useful Glossary.

This paper attempts to unravel how a reader embraces the idea of moral education while enjoying the aesthetic pleasure of the Harry Potter series. It develops a view on moral education through literary experience, which is intrinsically intertwined with aesthetic experience. The amalgamation of reality and fantasy in the Harry Potter novels creates an authenticity that can easily capture the moral attention of a reader by which his/her self-realized valuable emotional intelligence takes place. The well-knit plot encourages reader's self-efficacy (“I” (...) reactive attitude) that triggers the sui-generis, first-personal sense of morality and gradually develops the third-personal “we” attitude. Finally, based on an empirical study, the article explains how the Harry Potter series is productive in building the reader's positive moral psychology through different applications like moral agency, moral point of view, and moral judgment. (shrink)

We examine the interplay between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and related party transactions (RPTs). As per our findings, aggregate RPTs is associated with higher CSR expenditure. The level of business RPTs positively correlates with CSR spending, whereas a negative association is witnessed in the case of tone RPTs. Further analysis reveals a greater propensity among firms with significant RPTs to expropriate resources through manipulative earnings management practices that could lower CSR spending. We also document that high ownership concentration reduces CSR (...) expenditure. While the results are robust to alternate variable and model specifications, concerns surrounding endogeneity and sample selection bias have been addressed through the use of two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimations and the Heckman two-step selection models, respectively. The study extends the extant literature on the relationship between CSR and RPTs, with the potential moderating roles of earnings management and ownership concentration. From regulatory standpoint, the focus should be on the implementation of robust monitoring mechanism to curb misuse of RPTs as a tool for expropriating firms’ resources. Indian firms, on their part, should strengthen their internal corporate governance mechanisms to improve transparency in RPTs oversight, ensuring alignment with sustainability goals. (shrink)

Frequency selective surface -based intelligent spatial filters are capturing the eyes of the researchers by offering a dynamic behavior when exposed to the electromagnetic radiations. In this manuscript, a concept of creating complementary structures which stems from Babinet’s principle is illustrated. A hybrid complementary pair of FSS comprising double square loop FSS and double square slot FSS on either side of the dielectric substrate is proposed. DSLFSS offers band-pass behavior and can be placed as a superstrate, whereas DSSFSS behaves as (...) a band-stop intelligent spatial filter that blocks the radiations falling on it, thus making them applicable for use as a substrate. The technique utilized for analyzing DSLFSS and DSSFSS structures is based on the equivalent circuit modeling and transmission line methodology. The CPFSS structure offers the design simplicity, hence, suitable for placing them with the printed patch antenna radiators in wireless networking devices operating in sub-6 GHz 5G spectrum. DSLFSS offers band-pass behavior ranging from 2.99 to 5.56 GHz, whereas DSSFSS offers band-stop behavior ranging from 2.85 to 5.42 GHz covering all n77, n78, and n79 bands of FR1 spectrum of sub-6 GHz 5G range. The passband and the stopband offered by the two structures of CPFSS geometry are stable to oblique angles of incidence and the proposed design also offers polarization-independent behavior. The thickness of the dielectric region existing within the pair of designed structures is critical for the location of the passbands and the stopbands. The impact of the overall thickness of the dielectric substrate on the passbands and stopbands is also reported in this article. (shrink)

Corporate responsibility is considered the “epitome of corporate ethics.” In “the balanced concept of the firm,” a corporation is seen as a moral agent that has a balanced approach to managing three interrelated and equally important responsibilities viz. economic, social, and environmental. The case study aims to advance our understating of the “triple bottom line approach to CSR” by showing how a news media organization committed itself to dispensing its corporate responsibilities despite facing lawless situations. Through a detailed study of (...) organizational records and interviews with the top management of the organization, we found that Prabhat Khabar could reap rich benefits for its stakeholders by engaging in role-related work and following business practices that were innovative, contextually appropriate, and ethically correct. As Prabhat Khabar’s growth happened in a market that was adverse to business activities, we believe that its story would act as a role model function of corporate conduct in emerging economies. Moreover, it would help organizations understand how to commit themselves to corporate responsibilities in unfavourable circumstances. (shrink)

Background: Digital technologies such as smartphones, tablets and laptops have become a mainstay part of nearly every household and are gradually being integrated into the lives of both adults and children. We aim to determine the extent of exposure and usage of digital technology by children in their daily activities and to understand the transition in technological preferences and attitudes over the generation. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 children aged 05-12 years living in Prayagraj city of Uttar (...) Pradesh, India, using a pretested interview schedule. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were used for data analysis. The phenomenological method was used to understand respondents’ viewpoints about their preferences and attitudes related to technology. Results: An overwhelming majority of households have television followed by digital cameras, laptops, tablets, kindle and video games such as Playstation. Nearly half of children began to use digital devices from the age of 7 to 8 years. Nearly two-third of the children learnt to use digital devices on their own, and about 12% of them reported often practicing media multitasking. Over the generation, differences are noted in terms of possession, use and perception regarding digital technology. Conclusion: The availability of media content on such devices influences the screen time of children of all ages. The study underscores the importance of parental monitoring and devising a policy to regulate the ownership of digital devices and to reduce screen time to less than two hours per day, especially during early childhood. (shrink)

Speech perception has been a very productive and important area in psycholinguistics. In this review easy, I discuss Cutler's new book on native language listening. Cutler argues for a theory of speech perception, where all speech perception is accomplished by competence in native speech. I review this book and attempt to situate its main contributions in the broader context of cognitive science.

Philosophical Psychology, Volume 24, Issue 3, Page 427-435, 01Jun2011.

Concept of God according to Nyaya and Viśiṣṭādvaita philosophy; a study.

On the views of Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator on education; a study.

Readers with a keen interest in the pursuit of vijnana will be fascinated by the exploration in this work of the Vedic texts and the deep insights of the rishis, or seer-scientists.

Globalization is not just an economic phenomenon as economic transactions cannot take place without parallel flows of ideas, cultural products and people. The traditional notion of immigrants, i.e. those who leave one country to settle into another while leaving behind their past, is inextricably linked to the other flows that constitute globalization. The traditional notions of immigrants, i.e. movements back and forth between sending and receiving countries have historically been a fact of life for many immigrant groups. However, what is (...) new about contemporary migration is the scale, diversity, density and regularity of such movements and the socioeconomic consequences that they have brought about are unmatched by the phenomena of the past (Portes & Guarnizo, 2002). Migration, development and international relations are thus closely linked (Castles, 1999, 2000a, 2000b). Indeed, by definition, international migrants have always crossed national borders. Whereas physical mobility concerns the observable act of crossing boundaries, psychological mobility refers to people’s attitudes towards this act (Lazarova & Taylor, 2009). Thus, sociological explanations of migration focus on the importance of cultural and social capital. Cultural capital refers to knowledge of other societies and the opportunities they offer, as well as information about how to actually go about moving and seeking work elsewhere. In this context, an understanding of diversity is warranted. (shrink)

Contributed seminar papers presented at Akhilabhāratīyavaidikasaṅgoṣṭhī Vaidikavāṅmayasya Vividhāyāmaḥ (All India Vedic Seminar on Various Branches of Vedic studies) held and organized by Department of Sanskrit, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal and sponsored by Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Ved Vidya Pratishthan on 26th and 27th October 2017.

Haluk Ogmen and Bruno G. Breitmeyer (eds.): The First Half Second: The Microgenesis and Temporal Dynamics of Unconscious and Conscious Visual Processes Content Type Journal Article Category Book Review Pages 61-65 DOI 10.1007/s11023-011-9266-7 Authors Ramesh Kumar Mishra, Centre of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, Allahabad University, Allahabad, India Journal Minds and Machines Online ISSN 1572-8641 Print ISSN 0924-6495 Journal Volume Volume 22 Journal Issue Volume 22, Number 1.

Healthcare professionals such as nurses faced a tough time during the pandemic. Despite the personal and professional challenges, they contributed immensely during the pandemic. However, there were variations in nurses’ work engagement during the pandemic. One reason could be their personality, especially neuroticism. Neuroticism represents individuals’ proneness to distress in stressful situations, such as COVID-19. Hence, understanding how and in which conditions neuroticism influences work engagement is crucial. We used the Job Demand-Resource model to test the association between neuroticism and (...) work engagement. As neuroticism represents the stress-proneness of an individual, we further investigated if stress mediates the neuroticism-work engagement link. For the nurses, patient interaction is an integral part of their job. Based on the data collected from the nurses, we tested if contact with patients alleviates the adverse effect of neuroticism on work engagement. During COVID-19, there was an intense need for nursing support. Hence, avoiding duty when society is looking for support might induce a fear of stigmatization among the nurses. We examined if the perceived stigma of duty avoidance would affect the neuroticism-engagement relationship. Our results indicated that higher patient contact alleviated the adverse effect of neuroticism on work engagement. On the other hand, higher fear of stigma exacerbated the adverse effect of neuroticism on work engagement. We further checked the combined effect of beneficiary contact and fear of stigma on neuroticism-work engagement relationships. The findings highlighted the importance of societal factors and policymakers in enhancing nurses’ work engagement. (shrink)

While it is known that reward induces attentional prioritization, it is not clear what effect reward-learning has when associated with stimuli that are not fully perceived. The masked priming paradigm has been extensively used to investigate the indirect impact of brief stimuli on response behavior. Interestingly, the effect of masked primes is observed even when participants choose their responses freely. While classical theories assume this process to be automatic, recent studies have provided evidence for attentional modulations of masked priming effects. (...) Most such studies have manipulated bottom-up or top-down modes of attentional selection, but the role of “newer” forms of attentional control such as reward-learning and selection history remains unclear. In two experiments, with number and arrow primes, we examined whether reward-mediated attentional selection modulates masked priming when responses are chosen freely. In both experiments, we observed that primes associated with high-reward lead to enhanced free-choice priming compared to primes associated with no-reward. The effect was seen on both proportion of choices and response times, and was more evident in the faster responses. In the slower responses, the effect was diminished. Our study adds to the growing literature showing the susceptibility of masked priming to factors related to attention and executive control. (shrink)

Sustainable tourism is essential to improving the preservation of cultural property since it encourages ethical travel, helps local communities, and raises money for conservation initiatives. It guarantees the preservation of cultural treasures for future generations while promoting awareness and appreciation of them. In this paper, the relationship between sustainable tourism practice, environmental policies, tourist education, community involvement, tourism revenue allocation, and cultural heritage preservation were evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. Five hypotheses were developed and the dataset includes 232 (...) respondents. A systematic questionnaire with a Likert scale rating was used to evaluate the data. As a result, latent construct validity and reliability were examined, and the structural model evaluated the connections between the constructs in the context of the suggested hypotheses. The structural model revealed that EP, STP, and TE are positively connected to the CHP, providing support for hypothesis 1: Cultural Heritage Preservation and Sustainable Tourism Practice (CHP→STP) and 3:Cultural Heritage Preservation and Environmental Policies (CHP→EP) are well supported and show no significant changes to enhancing heritage preservation. (shrink)

Healthcare ethics is neglected in clinical practice in LMICs such as Nepal. The main objective of this study was to assess the current status of knowledge, attitude and practi...

Neuroimaging is critical in the diagnosis and treatment of brain cancers; however, the first detection of tumors is a challenge. Detection techniques like image segmentation are heavily reliant on the segmented image’s resolution. Magnetic resonance imaging tumor segmentation has emerged as a new study area in the medical imaging field. This spongy and delicate mass of tissue is the brain. Stable conditions allow for patterns to enter and interact with each other. To put it simply, a tumor is a mass (...) of tissue that has grown unchecked by the natural mechanisms that keep it under control. When cells divide uncontrollably, they create a cancerous tumor. Brain tumors can be detected and segmented using a variety of methods. A new method for detecting brain tumors using MRI images is presented in this research. An innovative Woelfel filter is used for enhancement, and morphological segmentation approaches combined with anisotropic diffusion are used for segmentation. Segmentation of brain tumors can be accomplished using thresholding and morphological techniques, which are both effective. The tumor will be located and identified using morphological image processing. Image denoising refers to the process of removing artefacts such as noise and aliasing from digital images. Here MATLAB programming language is utilised as it incorporates all the toolboxes required for the application involved in the work. (shrink)

Nowadays, the whole world is facing a pandemic situation in the form of coronavirus diseases. In connection with the spread of COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths, various researchers have analysed the impact of temperature and humidity on the spread of coronavirus. In this paper, a deep transfer learning-based exhaustive analysis is performed by evaluating the influence of different weather factors, including temperature, sunlight hours, and humidity. To perform all the experiments, two data sets are used: one is taken from Kaggle (...) consists of official COVID-19 case reports and another data set is related to weather. Moreover, COVID-19 data are also tested and validated using deep transfer learning models. From the experimental results, it is shown that the temperature, the wind speed, and the sunlight hours make a significant impact on COVID-19 cases and deaths. However, it is shown that the humidity does not affect coronavirus cases significantly. It is concluded that the convolutional neural network performs better than the competitive model. (shrink)

Employee wellbeing as a central aspect of organizational growth has been widely regarded and accepted. Therefore, a considerable growth in the number of researches focusing on employee wellbeing has been comprehended in recent years. Employee wellbeing characterizes the individual’s own cognitive interpretation of his/her life at work. The present study made an attempt to examine how workplace spirituality, empathic concern and organizational politics influences employee wellbeing. It was hypothesized that empathic concern mediates the relationship between workplace spirituality and employee wellbeing (...) while organizational politics act as a moderator in this relationship. A survey was conducted on 253 employees working in Uttar Pradesh Police department. The results obtained revealed that workplace spirituality, empathic concern and employee wellbeing carries a positive association among them whereas these variables were found to be negatively correlated with organizational politics. Results also depicted that empathic concern significantly mediates between workplace spirituality and employee wellbeing. Further, moderated mediation analysis confirmed employee wellbeing as a function of workplace spirituality, empathic concern and organizational politics. The present study has put forward several practical implications for business practitioners and research directions for academicians, emphasizing upon the need to investigate the comprehensive impact of employee wellbeing in organization and the society as a whole. (shrink)

This fourteenth volume of Collected Papers is an eclectic tome of 87 papers in Neutrosophics and other fields, such as mathematics, fuzzy sets, intuitionistic fuzzy sets, picture fuzzy sets, information fusion, robotics, statistics, or extenics, comprising 936 pages, published between 2008-2022 in different scientific journals or currently in press, by the author alone or in collaboration with the following 99 co-authors (alphabetically ordered) from 26 countries: Ahmed B. Al-Nafee, Adesina Abdul Akeem Agboola, Akbar Rezaei, Shariful Alam, Marina Alonso, Fran Andujar, (...) Toshinori Asai, Assia Bakali, Azmat Hussain, Daniela Baran, Bijan Davvaz, Bilal Hadjadji, Carlos Díaz Bohorquez, Robert N. Boyd, M. Caldas, Cenap Özel, Pankaj Chauhan, Victor Christianto, Salvador Coll, Shyamal Dalapati, Irfan Deli, Balasubramanian Elavarasan, Fahad Alsharari, Yonfei Feng, Daniela Gîfu, Rafael Rojas Gualdrón, Haipeng Wang, Hemant Kumar Gianey, Noel Batista Hernández, Abdel-Nasser Hussein, Ibrahim M. Hezam, Ilanthenral Kandasamy, W.B. Vasantha Kandasamy, Muthusamy Karthika, Nour Eldeen M. Khalifa, Madad Khan, Kifayat Ullah, Valeri Kroumov, Tapan Kumar Roy, Deepesh Kunwar, Le Thi Nhung, Pedro López, Mai Mohamed, Manh Van Vu, Miguel A. Quiroz-Martínez, Marcel Migdalovici, Kritika Mishra, Mohamed Abdel-Basset, Mohamed Talea, Mohammad Hamidi, Mohammed Alshumrani, Mohamed Loey, Muhammad Akram, Muhammad Shabir, Mumtaz Ali, Nassim Abbas, Munazza Naz, Ngan Thi Roan, Nguyen Xuan Thao, Rishwanth Mani Parimala, Ion Pătrașcu, Surapati Pramanik, Quek Shio Gai, Qiang Guo, Rajab Ali Borzooei, Nimitha Rajesh, Jesús Estupiñan Ricardo, Juan Miguel Martínez Rubio, Saeed Mirvakili, Arsham Borumand Saeid, Saeid Jafari, Said Broumi, Ahmed A. Salama, Nirmala Sawan, Gheorghe Săvoiu, Ganeshsree Selvachandran, Seok-Zun Song, Shahzaib Ashraf, Jayant Singh, Rajesh Singh, Son Hoang Le, Tahir Mahmood, Kenta Takaya, Mirela Teodorescu, Ramalingam Udhayakumar, Maikel Y. Leyva Vázquez, V. Venkateswara Rao, Luige Vlădăreanu, Victor Vlădăreanu, Gabriela Vlădeanu, Michael Voskoglou, Yaser Saber, Yong Deng, You He, Youcef Chibani, Young Bae Jun, Wadei F. Al-Omeri, Hongbo Wang, Zayen Azzouz Omar. (shrink)

How can we make moral progress on factory farming? Part of the answer lies in human moral psychology. Meat consumption remains high, despite increased awareness of its negative impact on animal welfare. Weakness of will is part of the explanation: acceptance of the ethical arguments doesn’t always motivate changes in dietary habits. However, we draw on scientific evidence to argue that many consumers aren’t fully convinced that they morally ought to reduce their meat consumption. We then identify two key psychological (...) mechanisms—motivated reasoning and social proof—that lead people to resist the ethical reasons. Finally, we show how to harness these psychological mechanisms to encourage reductions in meat consumption. A central lesson for moral progress generally is that durable social change requires socially-embedded reasoning. (shrink)

Formal principles governing best practices in classification and definition have for too long been neglected in the construction of biomedical ontologies, in ways which have important negative consequences for data integration and ontology alignment. We argue that the use of such principles in ontology construction can serve as a valuable tool in error-detection and also in supporting reliable manual curation. We argue also that such principles are a prerequisite for the successful application of advanced data integration techniques such as ontology-based (...) multi-database querying, automated ontology alignment and ontology-based text-mining. These theses are illustrated by means of a case study of the Gene Ontology, a project of increasing importance within the field of biomedical data integration. (shrink)

Existing research posits that decision makers use specific cognitive frames to manage tensions in sustainability. However, we know less about how the cognitive frames of individuals at different levels in organization interact and what these interactions imply for managing sustainability tensions, such as in Bottom of the Pyramid projects. To address this omission, we ask do organizational and project leaders differ in their understanding of tensions in a BOP project, and if so, how? We answer this question by drawing on (...) a 5-year study of a BOP project of a global pharmaceutical company in India. In line with the existing research, we found three kinds of frames—paradoxical, business case, and business—held differently across organizational levels and over time. We also found that the shift in frames of both project and organizational leaders was mediated by the decision-making horizon. The initial divergence across organizational levels, seen in paradoxical and business frames, was mediated by long-term decision-making horizon. However, there was an eventual convergence toward business frames associated with the shift from long- to shorter-term decision-making horizons and one that led to the project’s closure. We contribute by proposing a dynamic model of cognitive frames in sustainability, where the research has either alluded to top-down or bottom-up understanding. (shrink)

Quality assurance in large terminologies is a difficult issue. We present two algorithms that can help terminology developers and users to identify potential mistakes. We demon­strate the methodology by outlining the different types of mistakes that are found when the algorithms are applied to SNOMED-CT. On the basis of the results, we argue that both formal logical and linguistic tools should be used in the development and quality-assurance process of large terminologies.

Philosophical discussions of the phenomenon that has come to be known as ‘moral luck’ have either dismissed it as illusory or touted it as the evidence for doubting the probative value of our commitment to certain widely avowed views concerning interpersonal assessments of responsibility. In this discussion, we present a third, distinctive interpretation of the moral luck phenomenon. Drawing upon empirically robust results from psychological studies of judgment bias, we argue that the phenomenon of moral luck is demonstrably not illusory. (...) What we suggest, however, is that the phenomenon ought not to be taken to countenance doubts about the standards generally taken to be regulative of assessments of interpersonal responsibility. Rather, its significance lies in foregrounding certain generally unacknowledged obstacles we face in the process of conclusively applying general valid moral standards in making specific judgments of responsibility and desert.1. (shrink)

Can humans get arbitrarily capable reinforcement learning agents to do their bidding? Or will sufficiently capable RL agents always find ways to bypass their intended objectives by shortcutting their reward signal? This question impacts how far RL can be scaled, and whether alternative paradigms must be developed in order to build safe artificial general intelligence. In this paper, we study when an RL agent has an instrumental goal to tamper with its reward process, and describe design principles that prevent instrumental (...) goals for two different types of reward tampering. Combined, the design principles can prevent reward tampering from being an instrumental goal. The analysis benefits from causal influence diagrams to provide intuitive yet precise formalizations. (shrink)

Whistleblowing is the act of disclosing information from a public or private organization in order to reveal cases of corruption that are of immediate or potential danger to the public. Blowing the whistle involves personal risk, especially when legal protection is absent, and charges of betrayal, which often come in the form of legal prosecution under treason laws. In this article we argue that whistleblowing is justified when disclosures are made with the proper intent and fulfill specific communicative constraints in (...) addressing issues of public interest. Three communicative constraints of informativeness, truthfulness and evidence are discussed in this regard. We develop a ‘harm test’ to assess the intent for disclosures, concluding that it is not sufficient for justification. Along with the proper intent, a successful act of whistleblowing should provide information that serves the public interest. Taking cognizance of the varied conceptions of public interest, we present an account of public interest that fits the framework of whistleblowing disclosures. In particular, we argue that whistleblowing is justified inter alia when the information it conveys is of a presumptive interest for a public insofar as it reveals an instance of injustice or violation of a civil or political right done against and unbeknown to some members of a polity. (shrink)