In this work we review the formalism used in describing the thermodynamics of first-order phase transitions from the point of view of maximum entropy inference. We present the concepts of transition temperature, latent heat and entropy difference between phases as emergent from the more fundamental concept of internal energy, after a statistical inference analysis. We explicitly demonstrate this point of view by making inferences on a simple game, resulting in the same formalism as in thermodynamical phase transitions. We show that (...) analogous quantities will inevitably arise in any problem of inferring the result of a yes/no question, given two different states of knowledge and information in the form of expectation values. This exposition may help to clarify the role of these thermodynamical quantities in the context of different first-order phase transitions such as the case of magnetic Hamiltonians. (shrink)

Data on patterns of marriage, differential fertility and mortality were collected from 211 Kotia women residing in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Consanguineous marriages made up just over a quarter of the total, and of these, father's sister's daughter (FSD) were more common than mother's brother's daughter (MBD). The mean inbreeding coefficient for the sample (F) was 0·0172. Women in consanguineous marriages had a lower mean number of total conceptions, live births and living offspring (net fertility) than women in (...) non[hyphen]consanguineous marriages. Significant heterogeneity was found in the means of living offspring for FSD, MBD and non-consanguineous couples, but not for conceptions and live births. (shrink)

Color charts, or grids of evenly spaced multicolored dots or squares, appear in the work of modern artists and designers. Often the artist/designer distributes the many colors in a way that could be described as “random,” that is, without an obvious pattern. We conduct a statistical analysis of 125 “random-looking” art and design color charts and show that they differ significantly from truly random color charts in the average distance between adjacent colors. We argue that this attribute generalizes results in (...) subjective randomness in a black/white setting and gives further evidence supporting a connection between subjective randomness and what is esthetically pleasing. (shrink)

A growing number of lay Buddhist practitioners have sought out alternative ways to incorporate Buddhist teachings in their daily practices and make positive changes in society by “doing good” for others. Sometimes recognized as part of “humanistic Buddhism,” this approach emphasizes general morality and focuses on people who need help as a way to fulfill Buddhist teachings in this world. Some Chinese Buddhist practitioners who follow the Tibetan Buddhist tradition also carry out similar humanistic engagements but use more subtle space-making (...) processes and often “brand” these as Buddhist practices. Drawing on the ethnographic observations of lay Buddhist practitioners in urban China, this article examines how urban practitioners promote (middle-class) morality and well-being lifestyles through what I call “atmospheric Buddhism.” Ultimately, the article argues that an alternative mode of Buddhist practice is emerging in Chinese urban environments in order to cope with politically constrained environments. (shrink)

Este escrito muestra que el método que surge a partir del pensamiento cartesiano, con un propósito explicativo, revela una radical insuficiencia que conducirá a una nueva propuesta metódica que tiene ahora un propósito comprensivo: la hermenéutica. El método cartesiano se revela suficiente para comprender fenómenos de la naturaleza, pero se muestra insuficiente para hacerse cargo del fenómeno humano. Este método, originalmente orientado a la comprensión de textos, especialmente la escritura sagrada, con Schleiermacher se amplía para convertirse en un procedimiento de (...) comprensión de lo humano en general. This paper shows that the method emerging from Cartesian thinking, with an explanatory purpose, reveals a radical insufficiency that will lead to a new methodical proposal that has a comprehensive purpose: hermeneutics. The Cartesian method shows itself sufficient for the comprehension of natural phenomena, but it shows itself insufficientfor the human phenomena. This method—primarily oriented toward the comprehension of lexts. in particular Holy Scriptures— broadens in Schleiermacher's work so as to turn into a procedure for the comprehension of what is in general human. (shrink)

A lo largo de la historia, las relaciones de la poesía con las otras bellas artes han sido objeto de numerosos estudios basados principalmente en criterios de comparación. El lenguaje poético, trasciende las fronteras de la literatura y se convierte en un elemento clave para determinar si la obra es arte. La forma, la percepción y la ejecución de la performance, que en sus orígenes estaba ligada al acto representativo basado en el texto, como medio artístico de expresión en el (...) contexto latinoamericano se convierte en una herramienta de denuncia en las movilizaciones sociales relativas a la defensa de los derechos humanos. El máximo exponente del arte performance en Guatemala, Regina José Galindo (nacida en 1974), comenzó su trayectoria desde el ámbito de la poesía. Sus acciones performativas establecen conexiones formales y funcionales con el lenguaje poético, creando metáforas a través del sujeto, el objeto y la acción, que sirven como catalizador del mensaje a transmitir y que provocan otro tipo de recepción, que va más allá de los límites habituales que se circunscriben a ambas disciplinas. Las metáforas performativas de la artista, además de cuestionar la posición social de la mujer, logran que el observador, a través de la identificación, alcance la plenitud de la experiencia emancipatoria. (shrink)

This article reviews the development of a new epistemic discourse in Latin America. Global modernity opens up a historical time of bifurcation and cognitive emergency, which confronts the hegemony of Eurocentric thinking. An episteme that expresses the profound historical changes of the modern mind-set. It also aims to imagine an inherent rationality that holds a complex holistic vision of the world as well as the values of freedom and social equality. El artículo examina el desarrollo de un nuevo discurso epistémico (...) en América Latina. La modernidad global abre un tiempo histórico de bifurcación y emergencia cognoscitiva que confronta la hegemonía del pensamiento eurocéntrico. Episteme que expresa los profundos cambios históricos del modo de pensar moderno y pretende imaginar una racionalidad inherente a una visión holística compleja del mundo y a los valores de libertad e igualdad social. (shrink)

The issue of communicated accountability is particularly important in Faith-Based Charity Organisations as the donated funds and use of those funds are often meant to fulfil religious obligations for the well-being of society. Integrating Stewart’s (1984) ladder of accountability with the Statement of Recommended Practice guidance for charities, this paper examines communicated accountability practices of Muslim and Christian Charity Organisations in England and Wales. Our content analysis results indicate communicated accountability to be generally limited, focusing on providing basic descriptive information (...) rather than judgement-based information. Our interviews with trustees and preparers of Trustee Annual Reports in Muslim Charity Organisations identified the reasons being due to high donor trust and consequently weak demand by stakeholders for the latter type of information, as well as internal organisational issues related to the organisational structure and culture, lack of internal professional expertise and high accountability cost. (shrink)

La cimatheque, un centre alternatif du film, situé dans le centre du Caire a ouvert ses portes le 3 juin 2015. Elle est née d’abord du désir de jeunes cinéastes de créer une société de production indépendante. Avec la révolution le projet s’est étoffé, et la Cimathèque est devenue un lieu de rencontre, de projection, de production, de digitalisation, d’archivage, de débats à l’adresse de tous les cinéphiles. L’Égypte possède une longue tradition cinématographique, interrompue par des années de négligence, de (...) corruption et un manque d’ambition pour un art profondément aimé par la population. La question de l’archivage du patrimoine cinématographique mais aussi des productions contemporaines sur divers supports est centrale dans le projet de la Cimathèque, surtout dans une époque de déconstruction du sens de l’histoire collective. (shrink)

Resumen: El trabajo presenta algunas proposiciones iniciales sobre el desarrollo de la universidad peruana. La investigación se divide en cuatro partes. La primera sección, estudia las tendencias históricas esenciales que definen la universidad actual. La segunda, describe la influencia de los cambios tecnológicos en la educación universitaria. La tercera, muestra las relaciones divergentes entre heterogeneidad de saberes y la educación superior principalmente monocultural. La cuarta parte, discute las posibilidades de desarrollo de la universidad.: The paper presents some initial proposals on (...) the development of the university in Peru. The research is divided into four sections. The first one studies the essential historical trends that define the current university. The second, describes the influence of technology and its changes upon college education. The third shows the divergent relations between heterogeneity of knowledge and higher education, mainly monocultural. Finally, the fourth section discusses the possibilities of development in the university. (shrink)

How kids play in virtual worlds, how it matters for their offline lives, and what this means for designing educational opportunities.

Para construir seu próprio edifício filosófico em _Diferença e Repetição_, Deleuze dedicou-se no início de sua trajetória à pesquisa sistemática daquilo que chamou de “linhagem menor” em história da filosofia. Neste artigo buscamos explorar especificamente o embate deleuziano com o pensamento de Leibniz, situado no limiar dessa linhagem. Embora uma monografia mais extensiva tenha sido publicada por Deleuze apenas décadas mais tarde, seguimos a hipótese de que seus primeiros esboços críticos sobre o pensamento leibniziano aparecem já no seminário _O que (...) é fundar?_, endereçado ao problema do fundamento. À luz desse texto, abre-se uma perspectiva produtiva para a compreensão da relação entre as filosofias dos dois pensadores. (shrink)

Jaegwon Kim (1998a, 2005) claims that his exclusion problem follows a priori for the non-reductive physicalist given her commitment to five apparently inconsistent theses: mental causation, non-identity, supervenience, causal closure and non-overdetermination. For Kim, the combination of these theses entails that mental properties are a priori excluded as causes, forcing the non-reductive physicalist to accept either epiphenomenalism, or some form of reduction. In this thesis, I argue that Kim’s exclusion problem depends on a particular conception of causation, namely sufficient production, (...) and that when causation is understood in interventionist terms, the non-reductive physicalist can avoid the exclusion problem. I argue that Woodward’s (2003, 2008a, 2011a) version of interventionism not only provides an account of mental causation that avoids the exclusion problem, but argue that it also upholds all of the minimal commitments of non-reductive physicalism, thereby providing a successful non-reductive physicalist solution to the exclusion problem. In Chapter 2, I argue that all five theses are minimal commitments of non-reductive physicalism that cannot be rejected in order to avoid the exclusion problem. Chapter 3 identifies the assumptions that I take to underlie the exclusion problem. Chapter 4 introduces and outlines the central features of Woodward’s (2003) interventionism and Chapter 5 argues that Woodward’s interventionist account of mental causation provides a solution to the exclusion problem. I examine two alternative interventionist accounts of mental causation[1] that fail to provide satisfactory solutions to the exclusion problem and conclude that Woodward’s account therefore provides the only satisfactory account of mental causation and solution to the exclusion problem. Chapter 6 addresses some challenges proposed by Michael Baumgartner (2009, 2010) and argues that the interventionist is able to defend her position against these objections and uphold the interventionist solution to the exclusion problem outlined in this thesis. [1. Proposed by List and Menzies (2009) and Campbell (2007, 2008a, 2008b, 2010).]. (shrink)

Comparing food taboos across 78 cultures, this paper demonstrates that meat, though a prized food, is also the principal target of proscriptions. Reviewing existing explanations of taboos, we find that both functionalist and symbolic approaches fail to account for meat's cross-cultural centrality and do not reflect experience-near aspects of food taboos, principal among which is disgust. Adopting an evolutionary approach to the mind, this paper presents an alternative to existing explanations of food taboos. Consistent with the attendant risk of pathogen (...) transmission, meat has special salience as a stimulus for humans, as animal products are stronger elicitors of disgust and aversion than plant products. We identify three psychosocial processes, socially-mediated ingestive conditioning, egocentric empathy, and normative moralization, each of which likely plays a role in transforming individual disgust responses and conditioned food aversions into institutionalized food taboos. (shrink)

(2013). Evolutionary modules and Bayesian facilitation: The role of general cognitive resources. Thinking & Reasoning: Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 27-53. doi: 10.1080/13546783.2012.713177.

ABSTRACT The aim of this article was to develop an interpretation of the relation between Deleuzian transcendental empiricism and Deleuze-Guattarian political philosophy in the “Treatise on Nomadology,” which focuses on the concept of the nomadic war machine. To understand this concept, it is necessary to keep in mind that this is a transcendental Idea or virtual multiplicity, correlated of an effondement (‘ungrounding’), which sustains a difference by right in relation to the State apparatus and the military institution. On the basis (...) of this premise, the three aspects of the nomadic war machine are analyzed: a spatial-geographical one (the smooth space), a numerical one (the numbering number), and an affective one (the weapons). Finally, we conclude with an examination of the authors’ critical reading of the notion of absolute war in Clausewitz, which allows us to strengthen the interpretation of the concept of nomadic war machine as transcendental Idea. (shrink)

This article re-examines the distinction between the libertarian approach and the egalitarian approach to the regulation of campaign finance. The conventional approach (as exemplified by the work of Owen Fiss and Ronald Dworkin) is to reconcile the competing values of liberty and equality. By contrast, this article advances the normative claim that democracies should seek to incorporate both the libertarian and the egalitarian approaches within constitutional law. I argue that instead of emphasizing one value over the other, the ideal position (...) is one that simultaneously recognizes the values of liberty and equality despite the irreconcilable tension between them. Rather than choosing one value over the other, or reconciling these values by redefining them, I claim that it is vital to maintain the tension between liberty and equality by instantiating the conflict in law. Democracy is better served when the law contains an explicit tension between these foundational values.After setting forth this normative framework, I then apply it to the campaign finance decisions of the Supreme Courts of the United States and Canada, respectively. I make two main claims. First, I argue that although the libertarian/egalitarian distinction is usually presented as a binary choice, the laws of a given jurisdiction often simultaneously display both libertarian and egalitarian characteristics. For this reason, I claim that the libertarian/egalitarian distinction is better conceived of as a “libertarian-egalitarian spectrum.” Second, I argue that in recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Canada, respectively, have privileged one value—liberty or equality—at the expense of the other. The U.S. Supreme Court has over-emphasized the value of liberty (most notably in itsCitizens Uniteddecision), with the result that political equality is markedly undermined. By the same token, the Supreme Court of Canada’s commitment to equality has become too one-sided in recent cases (HarperandBryan), with the result that there are significant impairments to free speech liberties. I argue that both of these approaches are detrimental to democratic participation and governance. Finally, this article offers a preliminary proposal for how courts and legislatures can allow for the conflict between liberty and equality to be instantiated in law. (shrink)

In Sri Lanka’s armed conflict, gender, sexuality, and sex work are intermeshed with militarized nationalism. Militarization entrenches gender performances and heteronormative schemes while enabling women to transgress these—whether as combatants or as sex workers. Familiarly, in this nationalist encounter, women are expected to safeguard culture, notably through proper dress and sexual conduct. Sexualactivity that challenges containment arouses anxiety because loyalty to military groupor communal boundary can be compromised. Drawing on three examples—adress codecall by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam women’s (...) wing, consequences for a woman alleged to be a sex worker, and the public stripping of an alleged suicide bomber at a military checkpoint—this article explores how gendered behaviors and sexualities marked as culture are constructed and controlled in the interests of militarized, nationalist projects; how women can be both agents and objects of these controls; and the implications for women who refuse to comply. (shrink)

Nosso objetivo foi discutir a análise do estatuto das armas e do armamento no quadro de uma reflexão sobre a tecnologia como apresentada por Gilles Deleuze e Félix Guattari na obra Mil Platôs. Os autores oferecem uma interpretação sobre a especificidade desses elementos técnicos a partir de sua ligação com o processo de inovação das sociedades guerreiras nômades. Esse processo é indissociável de certo modo de operação da metalurgia artesanal e itinerante sobre o phylum maquínico, definido como matéria-movimento composta por (...) singularidades e manifesta em traços de expressão determinados. Porém, o phylum maquínico e a linhagem tecnológica do armamento também podem ser capturados por um aparelho de Estado, passando a funcionar de maneira distinta daquela em que operavam quando conexos ao espaço nômade. Essa captura está na gênese de uma indústria armamentista, cerne problemático da relação entre guerra, técnica e capital para o qual se direciona nossa reflexão final. (shrink)

O conceito tardio de plano de imanência na filosofia de Gilles Deleuze diz respeito não apenas à recusa de um segundo mundo transcendente, mas também de um campo transcendental organizado sob a determinação recíproca entre sujeito universal e forma geral de objeto. A construção desse conceito passa, portanto, pela crítica do fundamento transcendental kantiano desenvolvida por Deleuze através de um resgate original do empirismo de Hume. A discussão gira em torno do estatuto da subjetividade: segundo a crítica empírica, o sujeito (...) não pode ser entendido como um pressuposto a _priori_, mas deve, sim, ser compreendido como um produto _a_ _posteriori_ cuja emergência remete, em última instância, a um princípio de repetição. Assim, buscando compreender a amplitude da noção de imanência na filosofia deleuziana, analisamos a leitura do filósofo francês a respeito do problema do fundamento transcendental, sobretudo em _Empirismo e Subjetividade_. Por fim, indicamos brevemente de que maneira o conjunto dessa problemática reaparece em _Diferença e Repetição_. (shrink)

The ability to bear witness to human trauma and devastation through technologies in the new media age endorses suffering as a form of mass spectacle which can negotiate distance between an exterior world as well as the unfamiliar and the unknown. Our engagements with these forms of mediated suffering in postmodernity can be public and complex and conditioned by both media power and our ability to domesticate suffering in the private confines of our homes. This article reviews the domestication of (...) suffering historically in mainstream media. It contends that mediated suffering has become an entrenched ritual in the media landscape and is a multi-faceted device which can be functionalist and therapeutic yet too pervasive to be rendered meaningful in people’s everyday lives. (shrink)

Mobile technologies such as tablets, iPads, laptops, netbooks as well as mobile phones with internet connectivity and recording features present new challenges to the academy. In the age of convergence and with the encoding of several features into mobile telephony, private spaces of the classroom can be reconfigured through the mediation of technologies. In most cases, existing rules and regulations of higher education institutions do not comprehensively address these challenges. The introduction of new technologies into the classroom has been often (...) framed historically as vital and relevant for a progressive academic society or as part of a national imperative to transform the ways in which the authors access and engage with knowledge. This paper surveys British universities to examine how they govern the phenomenon of recording content through mobile technologies. The results reveal a pervasive use of mobile devices in UK universities and clear divergences in approaches to enacting mobile device-specific policies to govern the usage of these technologies. (shrink)

Background and ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to draw the attention toward the implications of COVID-19 and the related restrictions imposed worldwide especially in Pakistan. The primary objective was to highlight the levels of psychological distress, anxiety, family violence, suicidality, and well-being due to COVID-19 and the secondary objective was to associate it to social demographic factors.Materials and MethodsIt is designed as a cross-sectional study by employing an online questionnaire in the English language and obtaining responses using a snowball (...) sampling technique. We used three validated measures including Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder index and World Health Organization Well-Being Index.ResultsA sample of 420 participants was recruited from across Pakistan, with most participants were females, students and belonging to Punjab. Nearly one-fourth of the participants scored above the minimum value set for moderate or high psychological distress. There was a higher prevalence of distress among females and resident of province Punjab. The majority of individuals reported that they were living with their family and more than half were neutral regarding their satisfaction with their living conditions. 40.5% believed that the lockdown has had a negative impact on their mental health. 31.4% have reported that they themselves have experienced abuse from a family member. 48.6% scored high on the GAD-7 scale and low wellbeing score was found among 80.2%. Students were found to be more vulnerable to mental illness and anxiety.ConclusionWith the lockdown restrictions, psychosocial distress has become prevalent in Pakistan. (shrink)

Charity governance is undergoing a crisis of confidence. In this paper, we suggest an alternative approach to how governance could be perceived and conceptualized by considering the ethical notions of governance embedded in religious enquiry, with a specific focus on the Islamic perspective of governance. We firstly develop an ethical framework for charity governance, utilizing insight from the Islamic perspective. Secondly, we undertake an empirical study to assess the experience of governance within Islamic charity organizations. Our theoretical framework provides a (...) comprehensive approach to viewing organizational governance with an emphasis on governance as a mechanism for working towards social justice and the public good. However, our empirical findings reveal an ‘ethical gap’ between the ideals of the Islamic Ethical Framework and the reality of governance practice within Muslim charity organizations. We consider the implications of these findings and outline avenues for future research. (shrink)