This article explores the darker side of appeals to justice and social justice within liberal settings, particularly the US academy, where these terms are frequently mobilized to counter decolonial knowledge formations and aspirations. The authors draw from Frantz Fanon's critique of justice in colonial settings to demonstrate ways in which the coloniality of justice appears in the context of debates regarding the design and implementation of an Ethnic Studies requirement at the California State University and the California Community College Systems. (...) They view the decolonial pedagogy and epistemology of Ethnic Studies as an important dimension of the search for decolonial justice. (shrink)

Cualquiera que sea la opinión que uno tenga sobre la participación de la Iglesia católica en los debates políticos del Ecuador, nadie negará que ha sido y sigue siendo un actor importante de estos debates. Conocer sus ideas políticas contribuye a entender mejor este rol y a juzgarlo con más fundamento y menos apasionamiento. Por esto, el actual volumen reúne textos selectos de cinco pensadores católicos ecuatorianos representativos, desde fines del siglo XIX hasta las últimas décadas del siglo XX. Hablamos (...) de: • Monseñor Federico González Suárez (1844 – 1917). Historiador, arqueólogo, Obispo de Ibarra (1895 – 1905) y Arzobispo de Quito (1906 – 1917). • Cardenal Carlos María de la Torre (1873 – 1968). Arzobispo de Quito (1933-1967) y Cardenal desde 1953. • Julio Tobar Donoso (1894 – 1981). Jurista, diplomático, historiador. • Cardenal Pablo Muñoz Vega (1903 – 1994). Arzobispo de Quito (1967- 1985) y Cardenal desde 1969. • Monseñor Leonidas Proaño (1910 – 1988). Obispo de Riobamba (1954-1985) y candidato al Premio Nobel de la Paz en 1986. El objetivo de esta publicación es ofrecer una síntesis coherente del pensamiento político de estos autores, a pesar de las diferencias que entre ellos existen. No ofrecemos una compilación sobre “el” pensamiento político católico, así dicho en general, porque sería exhaustivo y pretencioso. Nos limitaremos a presentar una síntesis que nos introduzca a las principales cuestiones sociales y políticas que han preocupado a estas cinco figuras. Este trabajo tiene naturalmente sus límites debidos al amplio espacio de tiempo considerado, las múltiples cuestiones políticas implicadas y la productividad de los autores, todos ellos pensadores a la vez que personas de acción. (shrink)

En este artículo, nos proponemos revisar la consigna “Socialismo o Barbarie” en el marco del pensamiento de Rosa Luxemburgo y de Cornelius Castoriadis en vistas a resignificar la acción política en el contexto del neoliberalismo contemporáneo. Consideramos al neoliberalismo, más que como un régimen político o económico, como una “forma de vida” que impacta sobre los modos de ser, de actuar y de pensar de nosotros, hombres y mujeres del siglo XXI. Esta nueva configuración del capitalismo, que se afianza con (...) sus guerras y su creciente pobreza, que deja “a la intemperie” a jóvenes, niños, mujeres, ancianos, hace del neoliberalismo una nueva figura de la barbarie. Por ello, se hace necesario volver a pensar la acción política, el quién, el cómo y el dónde ejercerla en vistas a “transformar la sociedad” y hacer de ella un espacio-tiempo habitable. (shrink)

Hannah Arendt’s work is notably ambiguous in handling the concept of will. On the one hand, willing appears as an anti-political faculty; on the other, it is named as the spring of political action. This paper asks what does this shift mean to her political theory —hoping that it could also help us to think our current political conflicts. The main argument is that will’s consistency with the plurality of public-political life becomes intelligible only if we have in mind its (...) contentious feature as well as its bonding role among the several faculties that compose a multiple self. However, the anti-political notion of the will as a command that imposes itself as a sovereign decision seems hard to avoid. I conclude by suggesting that Arendt’s reappraisal removes its arbitrary and violent character by means of what she calls the transformation of will into love. (shrink)

Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAWs) are robotic weapons systems, primarily of value to the military, that could engage in offensive or defensive actions without human intervention. This paper assesses and engages the current arguments for and against the use of LAWs through the lens of achieving more ethical warfare. Specific interest is given particularly to ethical LAWs, which are artificially intelligent weapons systems that make decisions within the bounds of their ethics-based code. To ensure that a wide, but not exhaustive, survey (...) of the implications of employing such ethical devices to replace humans in warfare is taken into account, this paper will engage on matters related to current scholarship on the rejection or acceptance of LAWs—including contemporary technological shortcomings of LAWs to differentiate between targets and the behavioral and psychological volatility of humans—and current and proposed regulatory infrastructures for developing and using such devices. After careful consideration of these factors, this paper will conclude that only ethical LAWs should be used to replace human involvement in war, and, by extension of their consistent abilities, should remove humans from war until a more formidable discovery is made in conducting ethical warfare. (shrink)

O objetivo deste artigo é descrever técnicas grupais desenvolvidas nas turmas do 3º e 6º ano do ensino fundamental de uma escola municipal situada em uma cidade do interior do estado do Rio Grande do Sul. As técnicas tiveram o intuito de intervir em demandas escolares associadas a relações interpessoais e comportamentos desafiadores e opositores tendo como base os pressupostos teóricos e práticos da abordagem cognitivo-comportamental. Os grupos foram homogêneos, com média de 10 estudantes, com objetivo de psicoeducação e de (...) orientação/ treinamento, visando a promoção de saúde na escola. A experiência relatada colabora com a práxis metodológica da área a qual pertence, oferecendo relatos de práticas singulares que podem ser adaptadas a outros contextos e demandas escolares similares. (shrink)

Frente al fenómeno de transición demográfica, en el que se produce el envejecimiento de la población y el descenso de las tasas de natalidad, predominan diagnósticos de catástrofe. La demografía es usada como fundamento de la inviabilidad de los sistemas previsionales, y también de discursos natalistas. La caída de la natalidad preocupa doblemente: por el proceso de envejecimiento demográfico al que contribuye; y por sus propias consecuencias económicas, dadas las perspectivas de una inminente disminución de población activa, o sea, de (...) fuerza de trabajo, en momentos en que, por el envejecimiento, el peso económico sobre las sociedades seguirá incrementándose. Este artículo se propone discutir el diagnóstico del envejecimiento como un grave problema por sí mismo, para luego desmentir que sea inevitable y/o fundamental disminuir la protección previsional y/o que incrementar la natalidad sea imprescindible. La hipótesis fundamental es que la transición demográfica no es un fenómeno negativo “en sí mismo”. Es en virtud de determinados contextos distributivos que deviene en un “problema”: contextos caracterizados por la polarización de la distribución del ingreso y sistemas de protección social de tipo contributivo. (shrink)

The global spread of the novel coronavirus is affected by the spread of related misinformation—the so-called COVID-19 Infodemic—that makes populations more vulnerable to the disease through resistance to mitigation efforts. Here, we analyze the prevalence and diffusion of links to low-credibility content about the pandemic across two major social media platforms, Twitter and Facebook. We characterize cross-platform similarities and differences in popular sources, diffusion patterns, influencers, coordination, and automation. Comparing the two platforms, we find divergence among the prevalence of popular (...) low-credibility sources and suspicious videos. A minority of accounts and pages exert a strong influence on each platform. These misinformation “superspreaders” are often associated with the low-credibility sources and tend to be verified by the platforms. On both platforms, there is evidence of coordinated sharing of Infodemic content. The overt nature of this manipulation points to the need for societal-level solutions in addition to mitigation strategies within the platforms. However, we highlight limits imposed by inconsistent data-access policies on our capability to study harmful manipulations of information ecosystems. (shrink)

Viruses have generally been thought of as infectious agents. New data on mimivirus, however, suggests a reinterpretation of this thought. Earth’s biosphere seems to contain many more viruses than previously thought and they are relevant in the maintenance of ecosystems and biodiversity. Viruses are not considered to be alive because they are not free-living entities and do not have cellular units. Current hypotheses indicate that some viruses may have been the result of genomic reduction of cellular life forms. However, new (...) studies relating to the origins of biological systems suggest that viruses could also have originated during the transition from First to the Last Universal Common Ancestor. Within this setting, life has been established as chemical informational system and could be interpreted as a macrocode of multiple layers. The first entity to acquire these features was the First Universal Common Ancestor that evolved to an intermediate ancestral that could be named T-LUCA and be equated to Woese’s concept of progenotes. T-LUCA may have remained as undifferentiated subsystems with viruses-like structures. The net result is that both cellular life forms and viruses shared protein synthesis apparatuses. In short, virus is a strategy of life reached by two paths: T-LUCAs like entities and the reduction of cellular life forms. (shrink)

Viruses have generally been thought of as infectious agents. New data on mimivirus, however, suggests a reinterpretation of this thought. Earth’s biosphere seems to contain many more viruses than previously thought and they are relevant in the maintenance of ecosystems and biodiversity. Viruses are not considered to be alive because they are not free-living entities and do not have cellular units. Current hypotheses indicate that some viruses may have been the result of genomic reduction of cellular life forms. However, new (...) studies relating to the origins of biological systems suggest that viruses could also have originated during the transition from First to the Last Universal Common Ancestor. Within this setting, life has been established as chemical informational system and could be interpreted as a macrocode of multiple layers. The first entity to acquire these features was the First Universal Common Ancestor that evolved to an intermediate ancestral that could be named T-LUCA and be equated to Woese’s concept of progenotes. T-LUCA may have remained as undifferentiated subsystems with viruses-like structures. The net result is that both cellular life forms and viruses shared protein synthesis apparatuses. In short, virus is a strategy of life reached by two paths: T-LUCAs like entities and the reduction of cellular life forms. (shrink)

Cuando se estudian los hitos, modos y autores que han participado en la construcción de una suerte de canon de la poesía colombiana desde comienzos del siglo xx el investigador encuentra en diversas fuentes y a lo largo de las décadas el tópico frecuente de “la cuestión Silva”, entendido como la asimilación paulatina de la obra de José Asunción Silva dentro del canon, su referenciación como un norte pensado desde la modernidad y por tanto como legado de esa modernidad poética (...) a la poesía colombiana de las generaciones posteriores. Este artículo revisita, desde una relectura en la sombra de la obra de José Asunción Silva, ciertos hitos de su recepción relacionados con las diversas y a veces contradictorias maneras como se asumieron en Colombia -y se siguen asumiendo- los conceptos de modernidad, modernismo, simbolismo y decadentismo, y señala críticamente algunas de las referencias textuales y de lectura que tanto la obra como su recepción deben a los tránsitos de otras obras y otras estéticas y poéticas entre Europa y Colombia. (shrink)

In this paper we address the problem of short-term electric energy prediction using a time series forecasting approach applied to data generated by a Paraguayan electricity distribution provider. The dataset used in this work contains data collected over a three-year period. This is the first time that these data have been used; therefore, a preprocessing phase of the data was also performed. In particular, we propose a comparative study of various machine learning and statistical strategies with the objective of predicting (...) the electric energy consumption for a given prediction horizon, in our case seven days, using historical data. In this paper we have tested the effectiveness of the techniques with different historical window sizes. Specifically, we considered two ensemble strategies, a neural network, a deep learning technique and linear regression. Moreover, in this study, we tested whether the inclusion of meteorological data can help achieve better predictions. In particular, we considered data regarding temperature, humidity, wind speed and atmospheric pressure registered during the three-year period of data collection. The results show that, in general, the deep learning approach obtains the best results and that such results are obtained when meteorological data are also considered. Moreover, when meteorological data is used, a smaller historical window size is required to obtain precise predictions. (shrink)

_Aims to transform logic into a reflection on the nature of language._.

The mental model theory is an approach with clear psychological, linguistic, and cognitive consequences. This paper delves into some of the epistemological conclusions that can be drawn from it. In particular, it addresses the process why knowledge acquisition can modify the inferences people tend to make. That process is described by means of an example based on a well-known logical schema related to the conditional: Modus Tollendo Tollens.

Background The use of lengthy, detailed, and complex informed consent forms is of paramount concern in biomedical research as it may not truly promote the rights and interests of research participants. The extent of information in ICFs has been the subject of debates for decades; however, no clear guidance is given. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the perspectives of research participants about the type and extent of information they need when they are invited to participate in (...) biomedical research. Methods This multi-center, cross-sectional, descriptive survey was conducted at 54 study sites in seven Asia-Pacific countries. A modified Likert-scale questionnaire was used to determine the importance of each element in the ICF among research participants of a biomedical study, with an anchored rating scale from 1 to 5. Results Of the 2484 questionnaires distributed, 2113 were returned. The majority of respondents considered most elements required in the ICF to be ‘moderately important’ to ‘very important’ for their decision making. Major foreseeable risk, direct benefit, and common adverse effects of the intervention were considered to be of most concerned elements in the ICF. Conclusions Research participants would like to be informed of the ICF elements required by ethical guidelines and regulations; however, the importance of each element varied, e.g., risk and benefit associated with research participants were considered to be more important than the general nature or technical details of research. Using a participant-oriented approach by providing more details of the participant-interested elements while avoiding unnecessarily lengthy details of other less important elements would enhance the quality of the ICF. (shrink)

In this paper, I explore a new type of semiotic translation in the context of Audiovisual Translation Studies (AVTS). To that end, a set of formulaic sequencesbestowed of pragmalinguistic value (hedging strings) is analysed. It is argued that the semiotic analysis of conversational features in English may contribute to facilitate their pedagogical exploitation in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. This analysis builds theoretically on a semiotic translational framework termed Semiosic Translation (and its subset, Semiosic Subtitling) predicated upon three (...) types of translation: (i) Metaleptic translation; (ii) indexical translation; and (iii) translation as dynamic discontinuity. Th e translational rationale thus arrived at is deemed to account for what it is that binds together linguistic signs with other sign systems. (shrink)

August Weismann proposed that genetic changes in somatic cells cannot pass to germ cells and hence to next generations. Nevertheless, evidence is accumulating that some environmental effects can promote heritable changes in the DNA of germ cells, which implies that some somatic influence on germ line is possible. This influence is mostly detrimental and related to the presence of oxidative stress, which induces mutations and epigenetic changes. This effect should be stronger in males due to the particular characteristics of sperm. (...) Here, we propose the hypothesis that females are able to avoid males with oxidatively damaged DNA in the germ line by using oxidative‐dependent (pre‐ and post‐mating) signals. This new hypothesis may shed light on unsolved questions in evolutionary biology, such as the benefits of polyandry, the lek paradox, or the role of sexual selection on the evolution of aging. BioEssays 30:1212–1219, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

The work of Chandra and Harel contained in Chandra and Harel 156–178) can be considered as the beginning of the construction of a theoretical framework in which the computability and the complexity of queries to relational databases could be studied. In the definition of the class CQ of computable queries, the authors included untyped queries , that is, queries whose answers are relations of possibly different arities on different relational structures or databases. However, it seems that in the quite wide (...) and important work which followed on the subject, untyped queries were not considered at all, neither in the abstract machines side , nor in the logic framework. We propose to re-introduce these queries in the study of query computability and complexity without the need to leave the relational model. One important application which we consider in the theoretical setting is the computation of numerical queries, that is, queries which range over the naturals. Numerical queries do not fit in the current state of the theory regarding the two formalisms referenced above, since they can result in numerical values which are not necessarily in the domain of the given structure. We define an extension of the reflective relational machine of Abiteboul et al. , which we call untyped reflective relational machine , and we prove that this model is complete considering the whole class CQ . In the logic framework, we define a new quantifier, which we call conditional quantifier , and we build with it an infinitary logic which we denote by L ω 1 ω c . The difference between this logic and the well-known infinitary logic L ω 1 ω is that a formula of our logic can induce relations of different arities on different structures or databases. Then we prove that L ω 1 ω c strictly includes the whole sub-class of the total computable queries, including untyped queries. Finally, we define a fragment of L ω 1 ω c which we prove that exactly captures the sub-class of the total computable queries, but which is undecidable. We also define an undecidable fragment of L ω 1 ω which exactly captures the sub-class of the total and typed computable queries. (shrink)

As society advances, the educational system remains linked to the traditional model focused on the transmission of information and must adapt to new times and new profile of students, with the students and learning centered education. Active pedagogies developed during the 20th century become a fundamental reference point for the implementation of education competencies.

El presente estudio se basa en las colecciones de los manuscritos árabes que se conservan actualmente en España. Para ello se hace un análisis de las colecciones existentes. A continuación se lleva a cabo un estudio de los catálogos e inventarios aparecidos, desde los primeros en el siglo XVI hasta la actualidad, deteniéndose en los más destacados. La segunda parte del estudio se centra en la técnica del análisis documental, que engloba los trabajos de catalogación y descripción bibliográfica. Se repasa (...) la normativa vigente, para terminar con reflexiones personales de los datos que deben aparecer en los catálogos y cómo deben aparecer. (shrink)

In this paper, we argue that a rich phenomenological description of ?sweet tension? is an important step to understanding how and why sport is a meaningful human endeavour. We introduce the phenomenological concepts of intersubjectivity and horizon and elaborate how they inform the study and understanding of human experience. In the process, we establish that intersubjectivity is always embodied, developing and ethically committed. Likewise, we establish that our horizons are experienced from an embodied, developing and ethically committed perspective that serves (...) as the possibility for new intersubjective engagement. What follows is a discussion of the explanatory role of intersubjectivity and horizon in elucidating experiences of sweet tension in and through sport. The phenomenological account of sweet tension provides insights into the significance of our sporting experiences. Indeed, taking phenomenology seriously represents a commitment to descriptively elucidate what makes such experiences of sport significant and why we long for them. Recognising that sweet tension is a form of intersubjective horizon opens up new avenues for addressing ethical issues in sport as well as in crafting well-balanced games. (shrink)

Science is a dynamic process in which the assimilation of new phenomena, perspectives, and hypotheses into the scientific corpus takes place slowly. The apparent disunity of the sciences is the unavoidable consequence of this gradual integration process. Some thinkers label this dynamical circumstance a ‘crisis’. However, a retrospective view of the practical results of the scientific enterprise and of science itself, grants us a clear view of the unity of the human knowledge seeking enterprise. This book provides many arguments, case (...) studies and examples in favor of the unity of science. These contributions touch upon various scientific perspectives and disciplines such as: Physics, Computer Science, Biology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, and Economics. (shrink)

Por la educación recibida, por sus convicciones personales y por el “devenir” de su vida José Filgueira Varlverde llegó a ser el paradigma del profesor humanista. Su trayectoria y su praxis docente, encuadrada en el humanismo cristiano, se desarrolló en beneficio del Instituto de la ciudad de Pontevedra (1939-1976), ciudad en la que llegó a ser toda una institución.Por sus influencias familiares, las de sus maestros y amigos, José Filgueira Valverde (1906-1996) fue encaminado a una formación humanística que luego desarrollaría (...) en su dilatada función docente como profesor y catedrático de instituto de Lengua y Literatura Española (1928-1976). (shrink)

Mediante el análisis de las categorías: educación bancaria, educación liberadora y método pedagógico, planteadas por Paulo Freire, se reconoce que la primera deshumaniza a los sujetos que requieren ser emancipados, la segunda constituye el espacio para el desarrollo de una conciencia crítica, y mediante la tercera es posible la concientización en aras de una verdadera transformación social.