In the vein of Peirce’s communication philosophy, language communication inevitably suffers from its vagueness and uncertainty. Paradoxically, what enables this vagueness and uncertainty to be solved, and the condition of communication to be sufficiently met, is not language itself, but “collateral experience” communicators may weave, exchange, and share in communication. Collateral experience is forceful in penetrating the “universe,” in which communicators may be engaged, and in helping them in the wake of communication to acquire knowledge current in the community. Consequently, (...) generality for a communicative act becomes established as the final goal of communication. Generality overcomes the vagueness and uncertainty arising from local and partial contingencies of context, and transcends beyond it. Due to communication, people become capable of finally resolving puzzlement, and of establishing their beliefs, with a guidance for their action. (shrink)

This volume explores the cross-linguistic diversity, and possibly inconsistency, of the span of linguistic means that signal reported speech and thought. The integration of broad linguistic (viewpoint in conversation and narrative) and cognitive (theory of mind and understanding the inner life and thought of others) strategies for handling mixed points of view will be considered.

This study examines the relation between a firm’s business strategy and its corporate social responsibility performance. Using a comprehensive measure of business strategy based on the Miles and Snow theoretical framework, we find that firms following an innovation-oriented strategy are associated with better CSR performance than those following an efficiency-oriented strategy. Specifically, compared with defenders, prospectors engage in more socially responsible activities, fewer socially irresponsible activities, and perform better in both stakeholder- and third-party-related CSR areas. Taken together, our results suggest (...) that business strategy is an important determinant of CSR performance. Prospectors take advantage of CSR, as their innovation-oriented strategy allows them not only to benefit more from CSR, but also to have more tolerance for the uncertainty, risk, and long time-horizon associated with CSR engagement. (shrink)

Wer Fichtes Programm der Wissenschaftslehre in der Ersten Einleitung betrachtet, in der er sie als Lehre des Grundes »des Systems der vom Gefühle der Nothwendigkeit begleiteten Vorstellungen« beschreibt, kann über die Verwendung des Begriffs der Notwendigkeit in 1812 nur erstaunt sein. Denn in diesem Vortrag verwendet Fichte in seinen Diskussionen mit Spinoza und Schelling, aber auch schon in 1811, den Begriff der Notwendigkeit - vielleicht bloß scheinbar - metaphysisch als bezogen auf das Absolute selbst. Die erstgenannten Bemerkungen und die weiteren (...) Bestimmungen im Rahmen der Wissenschaftslehren zeigen, daß sich Fichte zeitlebens über die Bedeutung der Modalkategorien durchwegs im klaren war. Dennoch stellt sich später folgende Frage: Wenn die Modalkategorien auf das Absolute bezogen werden, erneuert Fichte dann in seiner letzten Schaffensphase eine Metaphysik des Absoluten, oder betrachtet er diese Diskussion der vormaligen Metaphysik nur deshalb, um in einer negativen Folie seine eigene Darstellung der Wissenschaftslehre als Sicherscheinung des Absoluten klarzumachen? (shrink)

We investigate how firms adjust corporate pension plans in response to economic policy uncertainty (EPU). Using a sample of US-listed firms, we find that firms increase pension underfunding levels when facing higher EPU. The result is robust to controlling for pension portfolio returns, discount rates, plan sizes, pension liability, numbers of employees, other macroeconomic factors, difference-in-differences and instrumental variable estimation, and additional evidence of pension risk-shifting. Further analysis reveals that financial distress and information asymmetry induced through EPU are the potential (...) channels. The effect is stronger for firms having CEOs being excessively paid, using cash flow as a performance metric in CEO compensation, paying high dividends, and having short-term institutional investors, whereas the presence of unions, positive corporate culture, and social capital alleviate the effect. Notably, managers, not shareholders, appear to be the party reaping the benefits. Our findings suggest that firms may shift risk to employees in response to heightened uncertainty and institutional characteristics play a moderating role in this crucial business ethics issue. (shrink)

Health systems are integrating medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) into clinical care and increasingly center “complex care” patients. These patients have intersecting medical and social needs and often face systemic inequities that exacerbate their chronic health conditions. This paper describes a role for MLPs in hospital quality initiatives; examines the ethics of MLPs assisting with guardianship and institutionalization of hospital patients including marginalized groups; and advocates for MLP interventions designed to address intersectional and ethical concerns.

Peng and Nisbett put forward an influential theory of the influence of culture on the resolution of contradiction. They suggested that Easterners deal with contradiction in a dialectical manner, trying to reconcile opposite points of view and seeking a middle-way. Westerners, by contrast, would follow the law of excluded middle, judging one side of the contradiction to be right and the other to be wrong. However, their work has already been questioned, both in terms of replicability and external validity. Here (...) we test alternative interpretations of two of Peng and Nisbett’s experiments and conduct a new test of their theory in a third experiment. Overall, the Eastern and Western participants behaved similarly, failing to exhibit the cross-cultural differences observed by Peng and Nisbett. Several interpretations of these failed replications and this failed new test are suggested. Together with previous failed replications, the present results raise questions about the breadth of Peng and Nisbett’s interpretation of cross-cultural differences in dealing with contradiction. (shrink)

This paper presents social data and knowledge collective intelligence platform for TRaining Ethical AI Models (STREAM) to address the challenge of aligning AI models with human moral values, and to provide ethics datasets and knowledge bases to help promote AI models “follow good advice as naturally as a stream follows its course”. By creating a comprehensive and representative platform that accurately mirrors the moral judgments of diverse groups including humans and AIs, we hope to effectively portray cultural and group variations, (...) and capture the dynamic evolution of moral judgments over time, which in turn will facilitate the Establishment, Evaluation, Embedding, Embodiment, Ensemble, and Evolvement (6Es) of the moral capabilities of AI models. Currently, STREAM has already furnished a comprehensive collection of ethical scenarios, and amassed substantial moral judgment data annotated by volunteers and various popular Large Language Models, collectively portraying the moral preferences and performances of both humans and AIs across a range of moral contexts. This paper will outline the current structure and construction of STREAM, explore its potential applications, and discuss its future prospects. (shrink)

ABSTRACTWushu is widely misunderstood and its essentially combative nature is being challenged in public discussion. Understanding and recovering its essential nature has become a core issue. This...

ABSTRACTWushu is widely misunderstood and its essentially combative nature is being challenged in public discussion. Understanding and recovering its essential nature has become a core issue. This...

The development of CSR reflects the level and characteristics of professional sports organizations, and the CSR of professional sports clubs varies among different countries and regions. In order to explore the content of the CSR of Chinese professional sports clubs in a more comprehensive and systematic way, this study organizes previous studies on the CSR of clubs in different countries and regions, and analyzes the differences between Chinese professional sports clubs and clubs in Europe, North America, Japan, and other countries (...) and regions. We collected the opinions of 20 experts through semi-structured interviews and combined them with the “Five in One” overall layout to construct and explain the CSR system of professional sports clubs in China in the new era, filling the gaps in research on this topic. Research suggests that social economic responsibility, social political responsibility, social cultural responsibility, social construction responsibility, and social ecological responsibility constitute the CSR system of professional sports clubs in China. Within a certain range, the larger the scale and stronger the comprehensive strength of a club, the stronger its ability to fulfill its responsibilities, the more targets it fulfills, and the richer its content. The institutional environment and social awareness may account for this difference, and in a government-led social environment or in the case of nationalized club ownership, the Chinese plan may be more applicable. Our research not only provides theoretical reference for subsequent research on the CSR content of professional sports clubs but also helps guide the CSR practice of clubs of different sizes, thereby promoting the exploration of diversified CSR development patterns of professional sports clubs in the academic community. (shrink)

Frequent pattern mining is an effective approach for spatiotemporal association analysis of mobile trajectory big data in data-driven intelligent transportation systems. While existing parallel algorithms have been successfully applied to frequent pattern mining of large-scale trajectory data, two major challenges are how to overcome the inherent defects of Hadoop to cope with taxi trajectory big data including massive small files and how to discover the implicitly spatiotemporal frequent patterns with MapReduce. To conquer these challenges, this paper presents a MapReduce-based Parallel (...) Frequent Pattern growth algorithm to analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of taxi operating using large-scale taxi trajectories with massive small file processing strategies on a Hadoop platform. More specifically, we first implement three methods, that is, Hadoop Archives, CombineFileInputFormat, and Sequence Files, to overcome the existing defects of Hadoop and then propose two strategies based on their performance evaluations. Next, we incorporate SF into Frequent Pattern growth algorithm and then implement the optimized FP-growth algorithm on a MapReduce framework. Finally, we analyze the characteristics of taxi operating in both spatial and temporal dimensions by MR-PFP in parallel. The results demonstrate that MR-PFP is superior to existing Parallel FP-growth algorithm in efficiency and scalability. (shrink)

Collision-free autonomous path planning under a dynamic and uncertainty vineyard environment is the most important issue which needs to be resolved firstly in the process of improving robotic harvesting manipulator intelligence. We present and apply energy optimal and artificial potential field to develop a path planning method for six degree of freedom serial harvesting robot under dynamic uncertain environment. Firstly, the kinematical model of Six-DOF serial manipulator was constructed by using the Denavit-Hartenberg method. The model of obstacles was defined by (...) axis-aligned bounding box, and then the configuration space of harvesting robot was described by combining the obstacles and arm space of robot. Secondly, the harvesting sequence in path planning was computed by energy optimal method, and the anticollision path points were automatically generated based on the artificial potential field and sampling searching method. Finally, to verify and test the proposed path planning algorithm, a virtual test system based on virtual reality was developed. After obtaining the space coordinates of grape picking point and anticollision bounding volume, the path points were drew out by the proposed method. 10 times picking tests for grape anticollision path planning were implemented on the developed simulation system, and the success rate was up to 90%. The results showed that the proposed path planning method can be used to the harvesting robot. (shrink)

The mechanistic significance of a kinetic isotope effect on a cytochrome P‐450catalyzed reaction depends, fundamentally, on the nature of the interaction of the substrate with the active site of the enzyme as well as on the nature of the chemistry of the reaction catalyzed. Consequently, kinetic isotope effects can be used to extract information on the topology of the enzyme and the mechanism of substrate oxidation. Kinetic isotope effect studies are sometimes accompanied by ‘metabolic switching’ or a change in metabolic (...) pathway, catalyzed either by the same enzyme or by a different enzyme. For the specific case where ‘metabolic switching’ gives rise to a change in regional specificity for the cytochrome P‐450 catalyzed metabolism of a compound, this change can be explained in terms of the topological constraints on substrate binding imposed by the active site of the enzyme. (shrink)

Chinese consumers comprise a unique subculture that exerts a considerable influence on the market and are treated as a collective group by researchers. However, few studies have examined the effects of collectivism and consumer attitudinal attributes on consumer ethics. Although the practice of religion was prohibited in China before economic reforms in the late 1970s, religion remains a major factor that affects the ethical judgment of consumers. The present study, based on the Hunt–Vitell model, examines the influence of culture and (...) personal characteristics on consumer ethics. A total of 284 Chinese consumers were surveyed. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships in the research model. The results indicate that collectivism had a significant explanatory power for four dimensions of consumer ethical beliefs: actively benefiting from illegal activities; passively benefiting from questionable activities; actively benefiting from deceptive legal activities; and engaging in no harm and no foul activities. However, consumer attitude toward business significantly explained only the passive dimension of consumer ethics, and religious beliefs significantly explained only the active dimension of consumer ethical beliefs. (shrink)

The libidinal economy could be exploited by both political movements and advertising campaigns in a pictorial space that is related to the social space at any historical moment. The arrangement of desires in a propaganda poster of the Chinese Cultural Revolution is, in light of political semiotics, the same as in a campaign poster in a consumer society today. The same libidinal economy is rooted in our political unconsciousness and remains to be the deep structure of our political performance. A (...) critical image analysis or a political semiotic critique of this libidinal economy that rules us in the Chinese Cultural Revolution and in consumer society today is necessary and urgent. (shrink)

In order to improve the iris classification rate, a novel biogeography-based optimization algorithm based on local search and nonuniform variation was proposed in this paper. Firstly, the linear migration model was replaced by a hyperbolic cotangent model which was closer to the natural law. And, the local search strategy was added to traditional BBO algorithm migration operation to enhance the global search ability of the algorithm. Then, the nonuniform variation was introduced to enhance the algorithm in the later iteration. The (...) algorithm could achieve a stronger iris classifier by lifting weaker similarity classifiers during the training stage. On this base, the convergence condition of NBBO was proposed by using the Markov chain strategy. Finally, simulation results were given to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed iris classification method. (shrink)

Positioning accuracy of micropositioning stage in scanning ion conductance microscopy is the key to obtain high-precision scanning model. Most piezoelectric ceramic micromotion platforms are used for that, and hysteresis characteristics are the main reason for the nonlinear characteristics of piezoelectric ceramics and the influence on the control accuracy. In order to solve this problem, backpropagation algorithm based on whale optimization algorithm is used to model the hysteresis, which is directly used as a feedforward controller to compensate the hysteresis effect, and (...) the robust adaptive moving average control method is used for feedback control. The results show that the hysteresis model of backpropagation algorithm based on the whale optimization algorithm can fit the hysteresis curve well, and the maximum fitting error is 0.2050 μm, only 0.256%. By adopting feedforward and feedback, feedforward robust adaptive moving average control algorithm decreases the hysteresis from 17.64% to 2.51%, which enables the output of the piezoelectric ceramic controller to track the expected displacement well and makes it possible to improve the scanning accuracy. (shrink)

This book offers an in-depth analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility, gathering contributions by authors from various countries, cultures and political systems. It provides readers with a better understanding of the concept and its implementation in China by pursuing an international approach. The respective contributions examine Corporate Social Responsibility in terms of its close ties to ecology, corporate sustainability and the future of specific industries. The book is the product of two international meetings, the "Ecological Education and Sustainable Development Forum" in (...) Chengdu, China, and the "CSR & Business Sustainability Development Forum" in Shenzen, China. (shrink)

Most observers of the Chinese consumer market have seen its linear evolution from a traditional culture toward a more Westernized consumer society during the country's three-decade experimentation of the free market. Recent development, however, shows a cultural renaissance in China wherein Chinese people have increasingly demanded their traditional culture components to be part of their consumption experience, coinciding with China's re-emergence as a country of economic and political power. We identify this shift, explore its causes, and discuss its managerial and (...) theoretical implications. (shrink)

Calls for justice and reconciliation in response to political catastrophes are widespread in contemporary world politics. What implications do these normative strivings have in relation to colonial injustice? Examining cases of colonial war, genocide, forced sexual labor, forcible incorporation, and dispossession, Lu demonstrates that international practices of justice and reconciliation have historically suffered from, and continue to reflect, colonial, statist and other structural biases. The continued reproduction of structural injustice and alienation in modern domestic, international and transnational orders generates contemporary (...) duties of redress. How should we think about the responsibility of contemporary agents to address colonial structural injustices and what implications follow for the transformation of international and transnational orders? Redressing the structural injustices implicated in or produced by colonial politics requires strategies of decolonization, decentering, and disalienation that go beyond interactional practices of justice and reconciliation, beyond victims and perpetrators, and beyond a statist world order. (shrink)

Kant scholars have paid relatively little attention to his raciology. They assume that his racism, as personal prejudice, can be disentangled from his core philosophy. They also assume that racism contradicts his moral theory. In this book, philosopher Huaping Lu-Adler challenges both assumptions. She shows how Kant's raciology--divided into racialism and racism--is integral to his philosophical system. She also rejects the individualistic approach to Kant and racism. Instead, she uses the notion of racism as ideological formation to demonstrate how Kant, (...) from his social location both as a prominent scholar and as a lifelong educator, participated in the formation of modern racist ideology. As a scholar, Kant developed a ground-breaking scientific theory of race from the standpoint of a philosophical investigator of nature or Naturforscher. As an educator, he transmitted denigrating depictions of the racialized others and imbued those descriptions with normative relevance. In both roles, he left behind, as one of his legacies, a worldview that excluded non-whites from such goods as recognitional respect and candidacy for cultural and moral achievements. Scholars who research and teach Kant's philosophy therefore have an unshakable burden to take part in the ongoing antiracist struggles, through their teaching practices as well as their scholarship. And they must do so with a pragmatic attention to nonideal social realities and a deliberate orientation toward substantial racial justice, equality, and inclusion. Lu-Adler pushes the discourse about Kant and racism well beyond the old debates about whether he was racist or whether his racism contaminates his philosophy. By foregrounding the lasting legacies of Kant's raciology, her work calls for a profound reorientation of Kant scholarship. (shrink)

Although there have been numerous studies on mental wellbeing impairment or other negative consequences of Workplace Violence against healthcare professionals, however, the effects of WPV are not limited to those who experience WPV in person, but those who exposed to WPV information indirectly. In the aftermath of “death of Dr. Yang Wen,” a cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the psychological status of healthcare professionals. A total of 965 healthcare professionals from 32 provinces in China participated in our research. The (...) prevalence rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, depression, anxiety among healthcare professional in the current study were 25.60, 46.01, and 27.88%, respectively. Moreover, our research suggested that the awareness of WPV-incident had a significant association with PTSD symptoms. In addition, risk perception was shown to mediate the effect of WPV awareness on PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, the present research also found a U-shaped relationship between issue salience and PTSD symptoms, and the relationship between issue salience and anxiety, indicating that higher awareness of WPV issue was negatively related to mental health status but only to the points at which there were no additional effects of more issue salience. This study highlighted that more protective measures for healthcare professionals need to be implemented in response to potential WPV events. More importantly, risk perception was found to mediate the effect of WPV issue salience on PTSD symptoms, it is critical to reduce the mental health burden through intervening in risk perception. (shrink)

Lu Jia's New Discourses: A Political Manifesto from the Early Han Dynasty is a readable yet accurate translation by Paul R. Goldin and Elisa Levi Sabattini. Celebrated as "a man-of-service with a mouth [skilled] at persuasion", Lu Jia (c. 228-140 BCE) became one of the leading figures of the early Han dynasty, serving as a statesman and diplomat from the very beginning of the Han empire. This book is a translation of Lu Jia's New Discourses, which laid out the reasons (...) for rise and fall of empires. Challenged by the new Emperor to produce a book explaining why a realm that was conquered on horseback cannot also be ruled on horseback, Lu Jia produced New Discourses, to great acclaim. (shrink)