Development of decision-support and intelligent agent systems necessitates mathematical descriptions of uncertainty and fuzziness in order to model vagueness. This paper seeks to present an outline of Peirce’s triadic logic as a practical new way to model vagueness in the context of artificial intelligence. Charles Sanders Peirce was an American scientist–philosopher and a great logician whose triadic logic is a culmination of the study of semiotics and the mathematical study of anti-Cantorean model of continuity and infinitesimals. After presenting Peircean semiotics (...) within AI perspective, a mathematical formulation of a Peircean triadic set is given in relationship with classical and fuzzy sets. Using basic logical operators, all possible respective implication operators, bi-equivalence operators, valid rules of inference, and associative, distributive and commutative logical properties are derived and verified through the truth function approach. In order to suggest practical directions, aggregation operators for Peirce’s triadic logic have been formulated. A mathematical formulation of a medical diagnostic problem and ER diagram of a library management system using Peirce’s triadic relation show potential for further applications of the proposed triadic set and triadic logic. Alongside, a classical AI game—The Wumpus World—is implemented to show practical efficacy in comparison with binary implementation. Besides giving some preliminary formulations for trichotomous set theory and definition of finite automaton, development of hybrid architectures for intelligent agents and evolutionary computations are discussed as potential practical avenues for Peirce’s triadic logic. (shrink)

A believer reads to retain his liveliness. The readings will be constant and regular. For those who share the same goals, coming together and discussing books will increase the benefits. Those people who renew themselves and strengthen their faith within the written word will be firmer in their resistance against withering.Reading works that will make one closer to Allah the Almighty is praiseworthy. Even more commendable is to take one s reading beyond theory by seeking ways to bring one s (...) knowledge into practice, for one s servanthood depends on daily improving one s performance. The essence of knowledge is practice, and its purpose is to come closer to the All-Compassionate. Islam is high morality says Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The Messenger of Allah, who is a paragon of virtue, prefers people with good manners. This book, which is an introductory guide for young readers, focuses on the necessity of acquiring fine morals, the rights of parents, honesty, and etiquettes and manners in social relations.". (shrink)

Multi-level institutional designs with distributed power and authority arrangements among federal, state, regional, and local government agencies could lead to the emergence of differential patterns of socioeconomic and infrastructure development pathways in complex social–ecological systems. Both exogenous drivers and endogenous processes in social–ecological systems can lead to changes in the number of “basins of attraction,” changes in the positions of the basins within the state space, and changes in the positions of the thresholds between basins. In an effort to advance (...) the theory and practice of the governance of policy systems, this study addresses a narrower empirical question: how do intergovernmental institutional rules set by federal, state, and regional government agencies generate and sustain basins of attraction in funding infrastructure projects? A pattern-oriented, agent-based model (ABM) of an intergovernmental network has been developed to simulate real-world transportation policy implementation processes across the federal, the state of Vermont, regional, and local governments for prioritizing transportation projects. The ABM simulates baseline and alternative intergovernmental institutional rule structures and assesses their impacts on financial investment flows. The ABM was calibrated with data from multiple focus groups, individual interviews, and analysis of federal, state, and regional scale transportation projects and programs. The results from experimental simulations are presented to test system-wide effects of alternative multi-level institutional designs, in particular different power and authority arrangements between state and regional governments, on the emergence of roadway project prioritization patterns and funding allocations across regions and towns. (shrink)

BackgroundInstitutional review boards (IRBs) are formally designated to review, approve, and monitor biomedical research. They are responsible for ensuring that researchers comply with the ethical guidelines concerning human research participants. Given that IRBs might face different obstacles that cause delays in their processes or conflicts with investigators, this study aims to report the functions, roles, resources, and review process of IRBs in Saudi Arabia.MethodThis was a cross-sectional self-reported survey conducted from March 2021 to March 2022. The survey was sent to (...) 53 IRB chairpersons and the administration directors (or secretary) across the country through email after receiving verbal consent. The validated survey consisted of eight aspects: (a) organizational aspects, (b) membership and educational training, (c) submission arrangements and materials, (d) minutes, (e) review procedures, (f) communicating a decision, (g) continuing review, and (h) research ethics committee (REC) resources. A total of 200 points indicated optimal IRB functions.ResultsTwenty-six IRBs across Saudi Arabia responded to the survey. Overall, the IRBs in this study scored a total of 150/200 of the points on the self-assessment tool. Relatively newer IRBs (established less than ten years ago) conducted meetings at least once in a month, had annual funding, had more balanced gender representation, tended to score higher than older IRBs. The organizational aspect score was the lowest among all items in the survey (14.3 score difference, p-value < 0.01). The average turnaround time for expedited research from proposal submission to final decision was 7 days, while it was 20.5 days for the full committee review.ConclusionSaudi IRBs performed generally well. However, there is room for focused improvement with respect to extra resources and organizational issues that require closer evaluation and guidance from the regulatory bodies. (shrink)

"Philosophical anthropology" is a special and extremely comprehensive branch of the history of world science and modern philosophical thought in general. Philosophical anthropology is an important branch of Western philosophical and social thought. Philosophical anthropology, which took its historical roots from ancient Greek philosophy, existed in the later periods of the history of philosophy, acquired a new meaning in German classical philosophy, and became a special trend in the history of philosophy starting from the beginning of the 20th century, is (...) also, in general, a new philosophy of man. It is a philosophical teaching that includes the results of various systems of knowledge about the nature and existence of man in the 20th century Western Europe, mainly in German-language philosophy. In a broader sense, philosophical anthropology is a scientific system consisting of a set of philosophical ideas, concepts, and teachings that focus on man and aim to study him. Philosophical anthropology, which emerged in the late 1920s as a result of Max Scheler's philosophical teaching and was considered a new direction in the history of thought, developed as a branch of non-classical philosophy. (shrink)

In today’s complex selling environment, it is challenging for sales leaders to enhance the effectiveness of their sales teams. The aim of this study is to observe the impact of authentic leadership on salespersons’ internal and external behaviors under B2B selling context [i.e., transactive memory system, innovative work behavior, and customer-directed OCB] and their consequences in team selling performance. Respondents of our survey included salespersons and managers working in the sales departments of pharmaceutical companies. By using structural equation modeling, the (...) dyad responses from 348 matched salespeople–managers were analyzed. The findings disclose that authentic leadership behavior has a stronger relationship with the TMS, innovative work behavior, and customer-directed OCB. Our results also indicate that innovative work behavior and customer-directed OCB are potentially mediated between authentic leadership and team selling performance relationship. The theoretical implication of these results for managerial practice is also discussed. (shrink)

We compute the energy tensor and the energy-momentum tensor for electrodynamics coupled to the current of a charged scalar field and for electrodynamics coupled tothe current of a Dirac spinor field, without using the equations of motion.

Što bi moglo poći krivo u liberalizmu, već je poodavno nagovješteno. Jedan od najvećih liberalnih mislilaca, John Dewey, napisao je niz tekstova u svojoj »kasnoj fazi« u kojima je jasno ukazao na apsolutistički defekt liberalističke doktrine koji je nevjerojatno aktualan i danas. Taj nam uvid može poslužiti kao upozorenje što bi liberali trebali izbjeći u budućnosti. U tekstu se analiziraju mogućnosti otvorene Deweyjevim ključnim stavom da se liberalizam mora obraniti od vlastitih esencijalističkih, odnosno apsolutističkih pretenzija. Jedan takav »de-esencijalizirani« liberalizam počiva (...) na inspirativnom uvidu da »individuum nije ništa fiksno , dano. On je nešto što se postiže, i to ne u izolaciji« već samo u širem društveno-kulturalnom kontekstu. U tom smislu, liberalizam ima smisla samo ako je liberalni socijalizam.It seems that it has for long been anticipated what, actually, might have gone wrong with liberalism itself. One of the greatest thinkers of liberalism, John Dewey, had written extensively about this topic in his “late works” where he rather precisely described what he termed an absolutist defect of liberalist doctrine. This potent description, in author’s view, is still plausible today. Dewey’s insight can serve us as a particular warning about what contemporary liberals, faced with “neo-liberal” deviations should avoid in the near future. This text is particular analysis of various possibilities opened by Dewey’s key insight that liberalism indeed must defend itself from its own essentialist, that is absolutist intentions. Such a “de-essentialized” liberalism resides on Dewey’s inspirational insight that an “individual is nothing fixed , given, but it is achieved, not in an isolation” but in a specific wider social and cultural context. In that sense liberalism is meaningful only if it is the liberal socialism. (shrink)

The ability to convert human somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is allowing the production of custom‐tailored cells for drug discovery and for the study of disease phenotypes at the cellular and molecular level. IPSCs have been derived from patients suffering from a large variety of disorders with different severities. In many cases, disease related phenotypes have been observed in iPSCs or their lineage‐specific progeny. Several proof of concept studies have demonstrated that these phenotypes can be reversed in (...) vitro using approved drugs. However, several challenges must be overcome to take full advantage of this technology. Here, we highlight recent advances in the field and discuss the main challenges associated with this technology as it applies to disease modelling. (shrink)

This commentary defines an additional characteristic of human learning. The nature of this test is different from the ones by Newell: This is a hard, pass/fail type of test. Thus a theory of cognition cannot partially satisfy this test ; it either conforms to the requirement fully, or it doesn't. If a theory of cognition cannot satisfy this property of human learning, then the theory is not valid at all.

The main purpose of this article is to bring Ragin’s recent methodological contributions, which build on ideas borrowed from fuzzy logic, to the attention of management scholars. To demonstrate the possible use of the techniques developed by Ragin in management research, three specific examples for their likely applications are presented: the replications of Porter’s diamond framework for Turkey, Greece and Canada. The article concludes that Ragin’s systematic techniques prove helpful in making explicit the process of comparing qualitative evidence derived from (...) case study research, and thus they deserve greater attention in the management literature. (shrink)

No tenim temps per a res. La família, els amics, l’esport o altres dèries sempre queden en un segon pla. També el cultiu del pensament, que suposadament és una de les coses que identifica més i millor la nostra espècie, resta a l’espera. La pressa ens aclapara. En aquest context precipitat necessitem temps per descobrir el temps. Un oasi de pensament que comencem a explorar gràcies a parar atenció aquí i allà: ressenyem les observacions resultants, plantegem sengles qüestions estimulants i (...) esmolem el senderi amb l’exercici compartit d’enraonar, altrament conegut com a diàleg. No en va Ramon Llull augurava taxatiu que: “Pensar per un mateix és l’únic projecte a la vida”. (shrink)

Miguel Angel Muñoz brings together in this book several inteviews he made over more than two decades in England, France, Spain and Mexico. These conversations complete and close a cycle, not of creation, but of the exercise of conversing with multiple creators: poets, historians, anthropologists and novelists. These are works that he believes coincide in an identical aesthetic conviction: they insist on concern not only for creativity but also for the complex social and cultural history that we live in the (...) world of yesterday and today. (shrink)

Includes 2 texts: Lucio Anneo Seneca, by Juan Fernando Ortega Muñoz, and Andaluces universales, by Francisco García Bazán.

ObjectivesTo examine implicit and explicit attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women among heterosexual undergraduate and graduate psychology and nursing students.MethodsImplicit attitudes were measured via the Implicit Association Test and explicit attitudes via the Attitudes Toward Lesbian Women and Gay questionnaire.Main resultsAll groups held negative implicit attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women. Among undergraduates, nursing students reported holding more negative explicit attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women than psychology students.ConclusionThe curricula in both nursing and psychology studies need to (...) address the medical and paramedical needs and issues of sexual minorities. (shrink)

¿Qué relación existe entre el cine y la filosofía, entre la narración y el pensamiento, entre la imagen y el concepto? ¿Qué tipo de conocimiento puede ofrecer el cine? ¿Qué quiere el cine de la filosofía? ¿Y la filosofía del cine? ¿Puede hacerse filosofía a través del cine o toda la filosofía que se hace es siempre una proyección de filosofía que no tiene nada que ver con el cine ni con las películas? ¿Puede el cine hacer algo más que (...) ilustrar ideas filosóficas previas? ¿Pueden los cineastas transmitir con sus películas ideas filosóficas originales? ¿Existe un pensamiento cinematográfico que se resiste a ser traducido al lenguaje conceptual? ¿Qué han dicho los filósofos sobre el cine? (shrink)