Search Results (31)

Dogs’ societal roles have shifted globally. In private spheres, dogs are increasingly regarded as family and granted legal protections, but in public, they are framed as dangerous and subjected to increased legal restrictions. Changing perceptions of dogs and differences in the law’s beneficiaries may influence how people develop legal knowledge. Where enforcement is limited or challenging, legal knowledge becomes an important component of the law’s capacity to shape behaviour. Using the United Kingdom (UK) as a case study, we examined people’s knowledge of 22 laws, divided between UK-wide current laws, nation-specific laws, and plausible hypothetical laws representing high-priority issues. We conducted a nationally representative survey with 1758 participants, split equally across the four UK nations. We first conducted exploratory model-building to identify variables associated with knowledge and then analysed these variables using multinomial models. Accurate legal knowledge among the UK public was limited, with participants frequently overestimating the existence of laws that prioritise dogs and their owners. Dog owners responded with greater certainty but not greater accuracy than non-dog owners. Older participants were more accurate overall, while responses to hypothetical laws suggested generational differences in views on animal welfare. These findings suggest gaps between the law in reality and what people assume the law to be. Full article

The role of human rights is increasingly subject to scrutiny and debate. However, historically, human rights functioned as powerful tools for social change. In this context, this paper explores the origin, evolution and impact of the Inter-American Human Rights System, analysing its impact from three perspectives. First, it reviews empirical studies that advocate distinguishing between compliance with the system’s orders and their broader impact. Case examples are presented to demonstrate how compliance with general orders, such as guarantees of non-repetition, can influence human rights practices across the region, even when compliance is only partial. The analysis highlights that impact extends beyond formal compliance, encompassing the strategies of human rights organisations, interactions between national and international spheres, and progress in the recognition and justiciability of rights, along with measures aimed at benefiting specific groups. Finally, the relationship between the region’s democratic development and the system’s relevance is explored, highlighting its remarkable adaptability to emerging realities and societal demands despite persistent challenges. In the face of prevailing scepticism, the system continues to function as a vital mechanism for promoting social transformation across Latin America. Full article

For well over a century, unresolved ambiguities in defining land as a finite, non-renewable resource have often facilitated rent-seeking and shaped inequitable distributions of wealth derived from nature and collective contributions. In the absence of clear conceptual and legal distinctions between land’s intrinsic worth and the incremental value conferred by human-made improvements, communities and ecosystems were frequently denied their rightful share, thereby influencing inequitable economic, social, and environmental trajectories. Though not universal, these historical patterns now reemerge in “digital land” platforms, where data, user engagement, and communal knowledge are likewise subject to private appropriation. By bridging these classical land debates with emerging forms of digital exploitation, this article offers a novel theoretical framework that reveals how unresolved land-valuation ambiguities reappear in user-generated data ecosystems. Without robust conceptual frameworks and effective regulatory oversight, such digital spheres risk replicating the exploitative logic once attached to physical land. By clarifying these parallels, this article underscores the urgent need for well-informed governance inspired by past land policy debates—particularly those focused on equity, transparency, and sustainability. Ensuring that resource management, whether rooted in soil or servers, consistently adheres to principles of fairness and shared prosperity is essential to avert new forms of unregulated extraction and to advance more inclusive, sustainable development. Full article

The processes of information exchange and the movement of material flows form a communication space that reflects the relationship of complex intersystem interactions in various spheres of our life within the framework of the concepts of information-theoretical theory. One of these concepts, reflecting the mutual influence between processes at a qualitative level, is the transfer of entropy. The direction and intensity of these flows reflect the main social and economic processes. As it is known, air transport is one of the most reliable and high-speed modes of transport, influencing the processes of socio-cultural interaction between different regions. This indirectly affects the development of industrial relations, the development of technology and intercultural exchange. New technologies in aviation improve the flight performance of airliners and reduce the costs of transporting passengers. The size and range of modern airliners are increasing, and ticket prices are being optimized. The processes of the liberalization of developing air transportation markets, the emergence of low-cost air carriers, open skies agreements, and the reduction in restrictions on the nomenclature of carriers and routes have led to the growth and diversity of air transport links. This article considers air transport as a complex system that takes into account the interconnectedness of the elements of the transportation system and the influence of some subsystems on others, which are not always obvious. The object of the study was the communication space formed on the basis of air transportation between regions of the world. To assess the dynamic properties of the world communication space, ICAO data for the period of 1970–2021 were used. The subject of the analysis was a time series reflecting the flows of passengers and cargo over the considered time horizon. The entropy transfer algorithm was used as an analysis tool. In the course of the research, the features of dynamic changes in the properties of the communication space were revealed. The analysis showed that the flows of entropy transfer between regions of the world change depending on political, economic, social, and technological factors. Examples of the application of the proposed approach are considered: an analysis of the cognitive model of the air transport flow structure, an analysis of the regional communication space, and an analysis of changes in the global communication field. The results of the analysis can be useful for assessing the development of the communication field of various regions, which will allow us to solve the problems of forming forecasts and effective scenarios for the development of transport flows at different hierarchical levels of economic management. Full article

This article aims to determine the causes of the delays in South African construction project planning, discussing the centralised hierarchical planning system factors, multiple agencies/spheres of government regarding building-permit approval factors, and systems and spheres of government/multiple agencies for improving preconstruction project planning in South Africa. It also describes a one-stop centre as a framework for improving South African preconstruction planning. The nature of planning in South Africa is influenced by many legislative measures. The delays being experienced in the educational infrastructure project have attributed to the backlogs currently existing in the delivery of basic education infrastructure. This study was conducted using a quantitative research design technique to assess the secondary data findings through primary data gathered on about 106 construction industry operatives. The primary data collected from the 106 construction operatives focused on architects, engineers, surveyors, and contractors. The researchers conducted a pilot survey with experts/professionals before an industry-wide survey as a questionnaire pretest. The finalised questionnaire was used as a data-gathering technique in the quantitative study approach. A focus group discussion was held to validate the findings. The collected information was then subjected to quantitative analysis in SPSS Version: 29.0.2.0 to verify the veracity of the research. According to the findings, a one-stop centre would enhance systems and sectors of government/multiple agencies and prevent preconstruction project-planning delays in South Africa. A centralised hierarchical planning system is essential for reducing preconstruction-planning delays and multiple agencies/sectors of the government delaying building-permit approvals. The critical research contribution is in that expanding on what is already known about preconstruction project planning in South Africa, this study shows how crucial it is to identify and understand the factors that influence preconstruction project planning in that country. The limitation, however, is that, regarding South Africa, the available literature indicates that there is a problem with systems responsible for approving construction projects. In conclusion, by proposing a structure known as the one-stop centre (OSC) to address the issues that lead to delays in preconstruction project planning in South Africa, this study offers a significant contribution. Full article

Understanding the psychological drivers of pro-environmental behavior across different socioeconomic statuses (SESs) is crucial for effectively addressing environmental challenges. To assist businesses and management departments in adequately identifying the psychological characteristics of target consumer groups from different SES backgrounds, our research manipulated subjective SES through three experimental studies to investigate the influence of subjective SES on pro-environmental behavior. Studies 1 and 2 adopted online experiments to examine the influence of subjective SES on pro-environmental behavior within the private sphere and the public sphere. Subsequently, Study 3 further investigated the psychological mechanisms through which subjective SES influences pro-environmental behavior. These results indicated that individuals from high SES backgrounds exhibit a greater propensity for green consumption behavior and contribute more financially to environmental organizations than those from low SES backgrounds. In addition, these studies further elucidated that the sense of control and life history strategy sequentially mediate the relationship. These findings provide empirical evidence for understanding whether and how subjective SES influences pro-environmental behavior, and enriching the theoretical framework of the relationship between subjective SES on pro-environmental behavior. Full article

This case report provides us with insight on how blood glycemia affects refraction, vergence and accommodation in a single diabetic patient. A 21-year-old type I diabetic woman was the subject studied in this report. Refraction, near and far fusional vergence ranges, near point of convergence, monocular accommodative facility, amplitude of accommodation, lag of accommodation, and near and far phoria, were measured before and after controlled caloric intake and insulin injection. Measurements were taken a total of 10 times, once a week for 10 consecutive weeks. Blood glycemia levels were provided by a measuring device that was attached to the patient’s body at all times. Statistically significant differences were found in the glucose levels before and after lunch, p = 0.041, sphere refraction of the right eye, p = 0.016, but not in the left eye, p = 0.051. Accommodative facility in both right and left eyes, p = 0.019, p = 0.028, respectively, and amplitude of accommodation, p = 0.016, p = 0.019, right and left eyes, respectively were statistically different before and after insulin injection. In a 21-year-old subject with type I diabetes, a diminution in blood glucose levels influences refractive myopic state, and is associated with a decrease in accommodative facility and in amplitude of accommodation. Full article

Since the 1970s, astronomers have struggled with the issue of how matter can be accreted to promote black-hole growth. While low-angular-momentum stars may be devoured by a black hole, they are not a sustainable source of fuel. Gas, which could potentially provide an abundant fuel source, presents another challenge due to its enormous angular momentum. While viscous torques are not significant, gas is subject to gravity torques from non-axisymmetric potentials such as bars and spirals. Primary bars can exchange angular momentum with the gas within corotation, causing it to spiral inwards until reaching the inner Lindblad resonance. An embedded nuclear bar can then take over. As the gas reaches the black hole’s sphere of influence, the torque becomes negative, fueling the center. Dynamical friction also accelerates the infall of gas clouds closer to the nucleus. However, because of the Eddington limit, growing a black hole from a stellar-mass seed is a slow process. The existence of very massive black holes in the early universe remains a puzzle that could potentially be solved through direct collapse of massive clouds into black holes or super-Eddington accretion. Full article

As an unsupervised data representation neural network, auto-encoder (AE) has shown great potential in denoising, dimensionality reduction, and data reconstruction. Many AE-based background (BKG) modeling methods have been developed for hyperspectral anomaly detection (HAD). However, their performance is subject to their unbiased reconstruction of BKG and target pixels. This article presents a rather different low rank and sparse matrix decomposition (LRaSMD) method based on AE, named auto-encoder and independent target (AE-IT), for hyperspectral anomaly detection. First, the encoder weight matrix, obtained by a designed AE network, is utilized to construct a projector for generating a low-rank component in the encoder subspace. By adaptively and reasonably determining the number of neurons in the latent layer, the designed AE-based method can promote the reconstruction of BKG. Second, to ensure independence and representativeness, the component in the encoder orthogonal subspace is made into a sphere and followed by finding of unsupervised targets to construct an anomaly space. In order to mitigate the influence of noise on anomaly detection, sparse cardinality (SC) constraint is enforced on the component in the anomaly space for obtaining the sparse anomaly component. Finally, anomaly detector is constructed by combining Mahalanobi distance and multi-components, which include encoder component and sparse anomaly component, to detect anomalies. The experimental results demonstrate that AE-IT performs competitively compared to the LRaSMD-based models and AE-based approaches. Full article

This study aimed at the mechanical characterization, on a nanometric scale, of the constituents obtained for different fractions in duplex stainless-steel plates subjected to 850, 950, 1000, and 1150 °C heating treatments via hardness measurements and determining their influences on the fretting wear behavior of the studied steel. The obtained ferrite (α)-, austenite (γ)-, and sigma (σ)-phase fractions were determined using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The mechanical characterization was carried out using hardness measurement and fretting wear techniques via nanoindentation. For comparison purposes, the Vickers microhardness was also characterized to determine the effect of the σ phase, which eventually formed, on the obtained microstructure properties as a whole. Two distinct behaviors were observed, depending on the eventual formation of σ phase as a function of the treatment temperature: (i) specimens treated at 850 and 950 °C showed a hardening effect (HV_0.5 values of 333 ± 15 and 264 ± 13, respectively) due to σ-phase precipitation (hereafter termed ‘as-aged’), and (ii) specimens treated at 1000 and 1150 °C (with HV_0.5 values of 240 ± 13 and 249 ± 4, respectively) showed no σ-phase precipitation (hereafter termed ‘as-solubilized’). The increases in the microhardness values for the as-aged specimens were attributed to the hardness of the σ-phase precipitates (which showed nanohardness values varying in the 8.0–8.5 GPa range), which was approximately twice that of the austenite and ferrite grains (both phases showed nanohardness values in the 3.6–4.1 GPa range, on average). When formed (for fractions on the order of 8% and 3% at 850 and 950 °C, respectively), σ phase was mainly observed at the α/γ grain interfaces or boundaries. Fretting wear tests, using a diamond sphere with a radius of 10 μm as the counter body and a load of 20 mN, revealed the same wear mechanisms in the α/γ matrix for all studied conditions. However, as-solubilized specimens (heat-treated at 1000 and 1150 °C) displayed higher resistance to fretting micro-wear in the austenitic grains compared to the ferritic grains, indicating lower plastic deformation in the respective wear scars on the obtained tracks. In particular, as-aged specimens (heat-treated at 850 and 950 °C) exhibited lower coefficients of friction due to their higher surface resistances. The localized wear at σ-phase grains was much less pronounced than at ferrite and austenite grains. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the mechanical behavior of microstructural changes in duplex steel at the nanometric scale. Full article

Cobalt–chromium–molybdenum (Co-Cr-Mo) alloy is a material recommended for biomedical implants; however, to be suitable for this application, it should have good tribological properties, which are related to grain size. This paper investigates the tribological behaviour of a Co-Cr-Mo alloy produced using investment casting, together with electromagnetic stirring, to reduce its grain size. The samples were subjected to wear and scratch tests in simulated body fluid (Ringer’s lactate solution). Since a reduction in grain size can influence the behaviour of the material, in terms of resistance and tribological response, four samples with different grain sizes were produced for use in our investigation of the behaviour of the alloy, in which we considered the friction coefficient, wear, and scratch resistance. The experiments were performed using a tribometer, with mean values for the friction coefficient, normal load, and tangential force acquired and recorded by the software. Spheres of Ti-6Al-4V and 316L steel were used as counterface materials. In addition, to elucidate the influence of grain size on the mechanical properties of the alloy, observations were conducted via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The results showed changes in the structure, with a reduction in grain size from 5.51 to 0.79 mm. Using both spheres, the best results for the friction coefficient and wear volume corresponded to the sample with the smallest grain size of 0.79 mm. The friction coefficients obtained were 0.37 and 0.45, using the Ti-6Al-4V and 316L spheres, respectively. These results confirm that the best surface finish for Co-Cr-Mo alloy used as a biomedical implant is one with a smaller grain size, since this results in a lower friction coefficient and low wear. Full article

Modern society faces major environmental problems, but there are many difficulties in studying the nature–human relationship from an integral psychosocial perspective. We propose the ecomind sponge conceptual framework, based on the mindsponge theory of information processing. We present a systematic method to examine the nature–human relationship with conceptual frameworks of system boundaries, selective exchange, and adaptive optimization. The theoretical mechanisms were constructed based on principles and new evidence in natural sciences. The core mechanism of ecomindsponge is the subjective sphere of influence, which is the limited mental representation of information received from and processed based on the objective sphere of influence–actual interactions in reality. The subjective sphere is the sum of two sub-spheres: influencing (proactive) and being influenced (reactive). Maladaptation in thinking and behavior of the mind as an information collection-cum-processor results from the deviation of the subjective sphere from reality, which includes two main types: “stupidity” and “delusion”. Using Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics on a dataset of 535 urban residents, we provide consistent statistical evidence on the proposed properties of subjective spheres. The dynamic framework of ecomindsponge can be used flexibly and practically for environmental research as well as other psychosocial fields. Full article

The complex concept of food sustainability has become crucial in all spheres of life. Dietitians, food scientists, and technologists are in a unique position to promote sustainability in food systems. However, the perceptions of food sustainability among food science professionals and college students are under-researched, particularly in Spain. The aim of this study was therefore to analyze perceptions related to food and to food sustainability in a sample of Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HND) and Food Science and Technology (FST) students in Barcelona (Spain). An exploratory and descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using qualitative and quantitative methodology and convenience sampling. Two focus groups and an online questionnaire were conducted (300 participants completed the survey, 151 from HND and 149 from FST). Although the students expressed concern about food sustainability, their dietary choices were primarily associated with or influenced by taste/pleasure and health/nutrition. The issue of sustainability seemed more internalized by women than men, whereas the generalized conception of a sustainable diet was essentially based on environmental aspects, with socioeconomic dimensions largely overlooked. The concept of sustainability should be promoted among food science students in all its multidimensionality, and actions need to be implemented that bring sustainability closer to students’ social practices, which should be incorporated into all university education and that is taught by professors duly trained in the subject. Full article

This paper discusses a disruptive approach to wave energy conversion, based on a hybrid solution: the E-Motions wave energy converter with integrated triboelectric nanogenerators. To demonstrate it, a physical modelling study was carried out with nine E-Motions sub-variants, which were based on three original hull designs (half-cylinder (HC), half-sphere (HS) and trapezoidal prism (TP)). A unidirectional lateral tribo-device was incorporated within the E-Motions’ hull during the experiments. The physical models were subjected to eight irregular sea-states from a reference study on the Portuguese coastline. Results point towards a significant hydrodynamic roll response, with peaks of up to 40 °/m. Three peaks were observed for the surge motions, associated with slow drifting at low frequencies. The response bandwidth of the HC sub-variants was affected by the varying PTO mass-damping values. By comparison, such response was generally maintained for all HS sub-variants and improved for the TP sub-variants, due to ballast positioning adjustments. Maximum power ratios ranged between 0.015 kW/m³ and 0.030 kW/m³. The TENGs demonstrated an average open-circuit voltage and power per kilogram ratio of up to 85 V and 18 mW/kg, respectively, whilst exhibiting an evolution highly dependent upon wave excitation, surge excursions and roll oscillations. Thus, TENGs enable redundant dual-mode wave energy conversion alongside E-Motions, which can power supporting equipment with negligible influence on platform hydrodynamics. Full article

Certain features of socioeconomic models can be distinctly determined in different countries and regions. However, such models are quite flexible under external and internal influences. Their changes can be observed under the impact of unpredictable factors, the COVID-19 pandemic being one. The aim of the work is to identify differences in the structure of socioeconomic models under the influence of the pandemic. The object of the study is the socioeconomic models of various states. The subject of the study is the transformation of socioeconomic models at different stages of the pandemic. Research methods include analysis of statistical data, correlation and comparative analysis, and graphical methods of presenting results. A comparison of data from the most well-known socioeconomic models was carried out for the first time. It is determined that the countries of the Chinese model adopted restrictive measures of high Stringency Index. The countries of the Japanese model used unique crowd management methods, and the countries of the Scandinavian, German and Anglo-Saxon models resorted to unprecedented monetary injections into the social and economic spheres. It was revealed that quarantine measures eventually cost countries less than monetary injections. It was shown that a decrease in the Pandemic Uncertainty Index stabilized the economic behavior of the population and businesses and increased the volume of export-import operations. It was found that the pandemic affected the economy indirectly through the level of uncertainty and rigidity of preventive measures. It is assumed that the intensity and severity of measures could be influenced by global trends leading to certain types of preventive measures rather than by the COVID-19 statistics of a particular country. Full article