Search Results (18)

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to constitute a public health emergency of international importance, although the state of emergency declaration has indeed been terminated worldwide, many people continue to be infected and present different symptoms associated with the illness. Undoubtedly, solutions based on divergent technologies such as machine learning have made great contributions to the understanding, identification, and treatment of the disease. Due to the sudden appearance of this virus, many works have been carried out by the scientific community to support the detection and treatment processes, which has generated numerous publications, making it difficult to identify the status of current research and future contributions that can continue to be generated around this problem that is still valid among us. To address this problem, this article shows the result of a scientometric analysis, which allows the identification of the various contributions that have been generated from the line of automatic learning for the monitoring and treatment of symptoms associated with this pathology. The methodology for the development of this analysis was carried out through the implementation of two phases: in the first phase, a scientometric analysis was carried out, where the countries, authors, and magazines with the greatest production associated with this subject can be identified, later in the second phase, the contributions based on the use of the Tree of Knowledge metaphor are identified. The main concepts identified in this review are related to symptoms, implemented algorithms, and the impact of applications. These results provide relevant information for researchers in the field in the search for new solutions or the application of existing ones for the treatment of still-existing symptoms of COVID-19. Full article

Critical suicide studies is a relatively new area of research, practice, and activism, which we believe can offer creative new vantage points with which to ‘think’ suicide into the future. We present findings from a qualitative research study undertaken to understand how critical suicide studies is being conceptualized by those who draw from this orientation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine scholars, practitioners, activists, and/or those with lived and living experience of suicidality. To analyze the data, we used reflexive thematic analysis and drew on a social constructionist orientation. We discovered that metaphors were an important way of conceptualizing and reflecting upon critical suicide studies. Four themes were generated: critical suicide studies is a site of respite and fortification; critical suicide studies is a felt experience; critical suicide studies is a desire line; critical suicide studies is yearning. We contend that the dominant language available to describe suicide and suicide prevention might not be adequate for expressing the complexities and contradictions of suicide prevention practice or suicide’s ultimate unknowability. We call for more diverse, inclusive, and expansive frameworks for understanding and responding to suicide and show the potential of joining other critical scholars and social movements to build a more just, caring, and inclusive world. Full article

The authors propose that the theoretical framework of Western philosophy is supported by metaphysical ontology through the differentiation and analysis of two different kinds of “particulars-universals” in Plato’s “world visible to the naked eye” and “world known to the soul” in the solar metaphor and line metaphor. In today’s society, where big data, the Internet, and artificial intelligence are prevalent, we should say goodbye to Aristotle’s “physicalism”, return to Plato’s theory of ideas, and use theoretical information science to reinterpret the theory of ideas, change from the scientific paradigm of physicalism to the scientific paradigm of “informatics”, and consciously use the world view, scientific outlook, and methodology of information science to guide our study, life, and work. Full article

This article is an introductory essay to the Special Issue “A Comparative Study of Media in Contemporary Visual Art”. It starts with a short overview of the terminological discussion about intermediality as a concept and its relationship with medialities with other prefixes—such as mixed, intra-, multi-, and transmedialities. So far, intermediality has been discussed less by art historians than by literary scholars. This introductory essay argues that critical analysis of intermediality in contemporary artworks may offer additional insights for investigation of the issues addressed in these artworks. The case studies in this Special Issue underscore this view. As a kind of kick-off, the second part of this essay includes a short case study that focuses on two artworks by the Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué in order to provide insight into how intermedial relations can act as metaphors for the sociopolitical relations addressed in his artworks. Applying philosopher Manuel DeLanda’s “assemblage theory”, philosopher Edward S. Casey’s concept of “absorptive mapping”, and anthropologist Tim Ingold’s view of living beings as consisting of a bundle of lines facilitates the highlighting of the sociopolitical aspects of intermediality in Mroué’s artworks. Full article

This paper presents a review of studies that have provided evidence supporting metaphorical embodiment. These studies are divided into three categories of behavioral, neuroimaging, and corpus studies. After summing up the findings of these studies, it is concluded that metaphorical embodiment is supported by these three lines of research. This is followed by a review of a number of studies that have measured sensorimotor and action effector strengths of various concepts. Then, the idea of sensorimotor and action effector strength of concepts is linked to metaphorical embodiment to present the main idea of the paper. Based on the findings of studies that have measured sensorimotor and action effector strengths of concepts, it is suggested that the degree of involvement of sensorimotor systems in mental simulation of metaphoric actions may not be at the same level in all metaphors. It depends on the sensorimotor strength of the base of the metaphor in various modalities. If the base of a metaphor has a high degree of perceptual strength in a certain modality, that modality plays the most important role in the processing of that metaphor, while other modalities take less important roles. In other words, depending on the sensorimotor strengths of the base of a metaphor in various modalities, those modalities have various levels of importance in the processing of that metaphor. If the base of the metaphor is weak in all modalities, modal resources can come into play to process that metaphor. Full article

Nowadays, efforts are being made in Finland to develop education across borders through projects that seek to deal with global learning crises. Palestine, being engaged in high-intensity struggle and faced with emergencies in education, is one example of such an initiative. Both actual and virtual walls exist in the collaboration between Palestinian and Finnish universities. By using conceptual metaphor theory and Ricoeur’s metaphor theory, this paper discusses and analyzes metaphors that emerge in the process of building education without walls in the OLIVE international project. Project activities support online teaching and learning methods. Drawing from the experience of first-stage implementation, the paper brings forward metaphors that emerge in developing mentoring. The study explores new perspectives on mentoring to conceptualize the metaphor by considering the need to decolonize engagement with learning through both intellectual and embodied–affective elements. This is done by providing a framework for immersive learning. As a result, one can conclude that mentoring is not only cognitive but also an embodied metaphor with affective elements and needs immersive learning environments. Mentoring is fluid, as the roles of mentors and mentees interchange and intertwine. Mentoring takes place in groups, between and among peers, students, teachers, and researchers both on-line and on-site. Full article

Drones, as mobile media of the present day, increase the operational and narrative capabilities of television and accelerate the logistics of shooting. Unmanned aerial vehicles with a camera properly steered by a pilot are able, to some extent, to replace a jimmy jib/crane and a dolly; basic technical devices, used in the studios, enabling the creation of narrative systems of pictures in film and television. Television is more and more often using drone footage to report events, broadcast live, as well as create coverage and television documentaries. In many productions, the pilot of the drone simultaneously acts as the drone camera operator, which can improve the effectiveness of shooting, but also carries some risks related to flight safety. The article describes and presents in the form of processed footage the real conditional ties of a Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) flight faced by pilots filming with a drone. VLOS is a type of air operation, which requires maintaining eye contact with the drone. In many countries, a drone visibility flight is legally sanctioned as VLOS Operation. An experiment was conducted to investigate the interactions between a human and a machine in airspace steered using a controller with a touchscreen. The drone pilot was considered an integral part of the drone’s flight system control Experimental data was collected with the use of a mobile eye-tracker, video cameras, surveys, and pilot declarations. During the experiment, eight television drone pilot operators recaptured a model shot under the regime of VLOS flight at low altitudes. They all show that both advanced and beginner pilots did not look at the UAV for over half the time of shot execution. The experiment allowed establishing two coefficients related to the effectiveness of a VLOS flight aiming at filming from the drone. The results point to clear differences in screen perception styles used by drone television pilots. The coefficients were described in the form of mathematical formulas and their limit values were determined. The research also determines the limits of pilots’ perception, within which they can film with a drone. The outcomes may help to optimize the process of aerial filming with the use of a drone, carried out for television, film, and other media, as well as in a simulation of such a flight for research and training. From the perspective of media science and social communication, the presented study included a technological component that can be accessed through information science, using statistical models and variable distributions. Media scholars can study the impact of the media without having to look into the metaphorical black box. Computer science opens up this possibility. Full article

To contribute to the debate on climate-proof urban regeneration, the illustrated study seeks to understand how the provision of new multiscalar, multidimensional, and integrated planning tools based on sustainable and resilient strategies can guarantee high levels of urban, environmental, and energy efficiency and quality, as well as circularity of resources, counteracting the effects deriving from climate change. Starting from some regulatory and design references that integrate a new ecologically oriented city model into the planning of urban projects, the contribution identifies in the construction of green and blue infrastructures (GI) new design metaphors capable of improving biodiversity; favoring ecological and energy transition; restoring the quality of the air, water, and soil environmental matrices with natural solutions; and making cities truly inclusive, sustainable, and resilient. The methodology adopted for the design of the “Acilia–Madonnetta” Urban and Metropolitan Centrality in the Municipality of Rome simulates a planning process for part of the X Municipality by applying an iterative and interscalar logic, an articulation of levels and phases with the aim of prefiguring the construction of a GI characterized by new ecological-environmental and functional endowments strictly related to the promotion of an efficient, smart, and green city. The contribution highlights the potential and limits of the proposed experimentation, relating both to the quality and innovation of design solutions and possible evolutionary lines and to the lack of clear institutional governance that is limiting the implementation of projects. Full article

Background: Many investigations have been performed on the effects of mental exertion that consumes self-regulatory resources and then affects physical and/or cognitive performance later on. However, the effect of manipulating self-regulation and interventions to attenuate this negative effect remains unclear. Moreover, there is continuous controversy regarding the resource model of self-regulation. Objective: We conducted a systematic review to assess the literature on manipulating self-regulation based on four ingredients (standard, monitoring, strength, and motivation) in order to counter mental exertion and improve physical and/or cognitive performance. The results provide more insight into the resource model. Method: A thorough search was conducted to extract the relevant literature from several databases, as well as Google Scholar, and the sources from the references were included as grey literature. A self-regulation intervention compared to a control condition, a physical and/or cognitive task, and a randomised controlled trial were selected. Result: A total of 39 publications were included. Regarding the four components of self-regulation, the interventions could mainly be divided into the following: (i) standard: implementation intervention; (ii) monitoring: biofeedback and time monitoring; (iii) strength: repeated exercise, mindfulness, nature exposure, and recovery strategies; (iv) motivation: autonomy-supportive and monetary incentives. The majority of the interventions led to significant improvement in subsequent self-regulatory performance. In addition, the resource model of self-regulation and attention-restoration theory were the most frequently used theories and supported relevant interventions. Conclusion: In line with the resource model, manipulating the four components of self-regulation can effectively attenuate the negative influence of mental exertion. The conservation proposed in the strength model of self-regulation was supported in the current findings to explain the role of motivation in the self-regulation process. Future studies can focus on attention as the centre of the metaphorical resource in the model. Full article

Construction engineering projects are costly and require large amounts of labor, physical, and financial resources. The failure of a construction engineering project typically brings huge losses. Previous studies have focused on the identification of risks, but insufficient attention has been given to strategic resource allocation for risk management after risk identification. Statistics show that most construction engineering project failures are caused by common risks. Common risks are called gray rhino risks. This metaphor illustrates that many risks are obvious but dangerous. This study was motivated by the challenge of efficiently managing gray rhino risks with limited inputs. The literature suggests that gray rhino risks are abundant in construction engineering projects and that there are mutual eliciting relationships between them, which make it difficult for the manager to devote enough resources to the prevention of key risks. Considerable resources are wasted on unimportant risks, resulting in key risk occurrence and failure of construction engineering projects. Therefore, this study describes an innovative multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) technique for ranking risks based on the strength of the eliciting relationships between them. This study used the fuzzy technique and created an interference fuzzy analytical network process (IF-ANP) method. By employing the IF-ANP alongside a decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach, the subjectivity can be effectively reduced and the accuracy improved during expert risk evaluation for construction engineering projects. IF-ANP was used to quantify eliciting relationships between risks and DEMATEL was used to rank risks based on the IF-ANP result. An empirical study was done to meticulously rank five risks that were selected from the gray rhino risks in the Chengdu–Chongqing Middle Line High-speed Railway construction engineering project. They are capital chain rupture, decision failure, policy and legal risk, economic downturn, and stakeholder conflict. The results showed that the policy and legal risk was the source of other risks, and that these other risks were symptoms rather than the disease. Full article

Information literacy can be seen as a fundamental prerequisite for a sustainable complex information society. As a lack of information literacy, information poverty represents a significant social and educational issue. Information literacy and information poverty will be the new dividing lines of a complex world, as the “rich north and poor south” metaphor became in the 20th century. A careful study of discourses in information literacy allows for effective educational and social policies aimed at its development. The aim of this study is to present an analysis of different approaches and discourses to define the concept of information literacy based on a review of papers from Web of Science. The study identifies four important directions of definitions or new grasps of information literacy, with an emphasis on social justice, the analysis of social and technological change, and a demand for higher quality information literacy education. Based on this analysis, the discourses present in the responses of undergraduate information studies and library science students (n = 132) collected between 2019 and 2022 are studied. The qualitative study shows that these underlying discourses are present in the students’ responses but, at the same time, offer specific perspectives on their fulfilment. Full article

(1) Background: Health professionals play an important role in addressing parents who are hesitant or reluctant to immunise their children. Despite the importance of this topic, gaps remain in the literature about these experiences. This meta-ethnography aimed to synthesise the available body of qualitative work about the care experiences of community and hospital health professionals in encounters with parents hesitant or reluctant to vaccinate their children. The aim is to provide key information for the creation of strategies that address vaccine hesitancy or refusal and ensure public trust in vaccination programs, which are required in a pandemic context such as the current one. (2) Methods: Noblit and Hare’s interpretive meta-ethnography of 12 studies was followed. A line of argument synthesis based on a metaphor was developed. (3) Results: The metaphor “The stone that refuses to be sculpted”, accompanied by three themes, symbolises the care experiences of health professionals in their encounters with parents that hesitate or refuse to vaccinate their children. (4) Conclusions: The creation of clearer communication strategies, the establishment of a therapeutic alliance, health literacy and the empowerment of parents are recommended. The incorporation of health professionals in decision making and the strengthening of multidisciplinary teams interacting with such parents are also included. Full article

Perinatal psychological distress (PPD) may cause delays in help-seeking in the perinatal period, which is crucial for families with small children. Help-seeking theories focus on rational processes of behavior wherein ‘help-seeking’ is viewed as a decision-making process, in which action is preceded by recognizing a problem. We identified the phase prior to actual help-seeking actions as a life situation and a phenomenon through which to gain a deeper understanding from women’s own perspectives. The aim of this study was to integrate and synthesize knowledge of women’s experiences of contemplating seeking help for PPD. We chose interpretative meta-ethnography by Noblit and Hare (1988) and implemented eMERGe guidelines in reporting. The search was performed systematically, and the 14 included studies were evaluated with Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist (CASP). We identified seven themes and a metaphor in a lines-of-argument synthesis, showing that contemplating help-seeking is a multidimensional phenomenon. We did not observe a straightforward and linear process (as previous research suggests) but instead a complex process of contemplating help-seeking. A clinical implication is that service providers should work with outreach and develop their tools to connect with mothers with PPD. Another suggestion is to improve training in mental health literacy prior to or during pregnancy. Full article

Provision of antenatal care includes risk identification, prevention and management of pregnancy-related diseases, but also health education, health promotion, support and guidance to smooth the transition to parenthood. To ensure good perinatal health, high-quality, free and easily accessed antenatal care is essential. The aim of this study was to identify, integrate and synthesize knowledge of midwives’ experiences of providing antenatal care, attending to clients’ individual needs whilst facing multiple challenges. We conducted a meta-ethnography, which is a seven-step grounded, comparative and interpretative methodology for qualitative evidence synthesis. A lines-of-argument synthesis based on two metaphors was developed, based on refutational themes emerging from an analogous translation of findings in the included 14 papers. The model reflects midwives’ wished-for transition from a midwife-dominated caring model toward a midwifery-led model of antenatal care. Structural, societal and personal challenges seemingly influenced midwives’ provision of antenatal care. However, it emerged that midwives had the willingness to change rigid systems that maintain routine care. The midwifery-led model of care should be firmly based in midwifery science and evidence-based antenatal care that emphasize reflective practices and listening to each woman and her family. The change from traditional models of antenatal care towards increased use of digitalization no longer seems to be a choice, but a necessity given the ongoing 2020 pandemic. Full article

Systems Chemistry investigates the upkeep of specific interactions of an exceptionally broad choice of objects over longer periods of time than the average time of existence of the objects themselves. This maintenance of a dynamic state focuses on conditions where the objects are thermodynamically not very stable and should be rare or virtually inexistent. It does not matter whether they are homochirally enriched populations of chiral molecules, a specific composition of some sort of aggregate, supramolecules, or even a set of chemically relatively unstable molecules that constantly transform one into another. What does matter is that these specific interactions prevail in complex mixtures and eventually grow in numbers and frequency through the enhancing action of autocatalysis, which makes such systems ultimately resemble living cells and interacting living populations. Such chemical systems need to be correctly understood, but also intuitively described. They may be so complex that metaphors become practically more important, as a means of communication, than the precise and correct technical description of chemical models and complex molecular or supramolecular relations. This puts systems chemists on a tightrope walk of science communication, between the complex reality and an imaginative model world. This essay addresses, both, scientists who would like to read “A Brief History of Systems Chemistry”, that is, about its “essence”, and systems chemists who work with and communicate complex life-like chemical systems. I illustrate for the external reader a light mantra, that I call “to make more of it”, and I charily draw systems chemists to reflect upon the fact that chemists are not always good at drawing a clear line between a model and “the reality”: The real thing. We are in a constant danger of taking metaphors for real. Yet in real life, we do know very well that we cannot smoke with Magritte’s pipe, don’t we? Full article