The integration of big data into criminal investigations is advancing significantly. Big data fundamentally involves the utilization of artificial intelligence technologies to analyse vast quantities of electronic information. The inherent features of big data contribute to minimizing subjectivity in investigative procedures and facilitate the evolution of criminal investigation methodologies and incident identification. However, challenges persist regarding the protection of rights and potential biases in data collection, as well as issues of subjectivity and the “black box effect” in data processing, alongside security concerns related to data storage. To address these challenges, it is essential to implement strategies such as enhancing the quality of big data, restricting the transparency of data processing methods and establishing a tiered protection framework for personal information.

In this paper, we provide sufficient conditions for a space X to satisfy the Ganea conjecture for topological complexity. To achieve this, we employ two auxiliary invariants: weak topological complexity in the sense of Berstein–Hilton, along with a certain stable version of it. Several examples are discussed.

Ibn Sīnā famously opens The Metaphysics (Al-ilāhiyyāt) of The Healing (Al-šifāʾ) with a discussion of what constitutes the subject matter of that science. Several candidates are introduced and subsequently dismissed, before “the existent qua existent” is identified as its subject matter. Among the candidates dismissed, he mentions “the ultimate causes for all existents, the four of them” (which are, however, things investigated [maṭālib] in this science). Here, Ibn Sīnā comes to problematise the notion of causality itself. He is adamant that “the existence of causes for things which are effects” is not self-evident, but needs to be proven by the metaphysician by means of a “demonstrative clarification” (bayān burhānī). He explains why sensation (ḥiss) and experience (taǧriba) cannot prove causality, before turning to its metaphysical proof. In this article, I investigate what Ibn Sīnā thought this “demonstrative clarification” of causality is. I present an analysis of his train of thought and a commentary on the various points he makes, leading up to his proof of causality. These points touch on problems of psychology, scientific method, and scientific proof, and can be unpacked by taking into account explanations he offers elsewhere.

Excavated from the Western Han tomb M336 at Zhangjiashan 張家山, Hubei 湖北, and published in 2022, the *Ci Mamei 祠馬禖 bamboo manuscript has yet to receive much attention. This article serves as a preliminary study of the manuscript, providing an annotated translation of its contents, a description of its codicological features, an examination of the ritual it documents, and a survey of its linguistic characteristics. The *Ci Mamei manuscript is studied in close comparison with the Ma 馬 text from the Qin 秦 tomb M11 at Shuihudi 睡虎地, as well as bamboo strip fragments from the Han 漢 (202 bce–220 ce) Jianshui Jinguan 肩水金關 frontier that document a similar ritual. I argue that *Ci Mamei, like the Shuihudi Ma text, is a ritual manual recording instructions on the performance of a sacrificial ritual. I show that the main purpose of the *Ci Mamei and Ma rituals is to pray for the overall well-being of horses, not specifically for having more newborn foals. I then illustrate that rhyme changes in the *Ci Mamei text denote different phases of the sacrifice. Lastly, I discuss the generic and formulaic properties of the language in *Ci Mamei, noting the possibility that the manuscript was interred because its language was believed to possess apotropaic qualities.

Sociolegal scholarship has long noted the many ways in which the law is interpreted and selectively applied by human decision-makers. Yet, the processes underlying one of the most significant discretionary waypoints in the criminal legal process – prosecutorial charging decisions – remain opaque. Using data from interviews and focus groups with prosecutors in three midsized jurisdictions, we propose a model of charging that integrates legal considerations, social identity, and organizational constraints. We find that felony prosecutors weave together legal and extralegal factors, often relying heavily on criminal history, to evaluate defendants’ moral character. Based on their evaluation of a defendant’s character, prosecutors charge strategically to secure a final disposition and sentence they view as appropriate for the defendant. Prosecutors’ identities and experiences act as lenses through which they interpret case facts in their evaluation of defendants’ character. However, the level of discretion provided by their chief prosecutor and the culture of the court community in which they work condition the process by which prosecutors achieve their desired outcomes for cases.

This article focuses on the nineteenth-century fertilizer manufacturer the Pacific Guano Company, and seeks to understand how it adapted its production in response to the collapse of the Maine menhaden fishery in 1879. This collapse devastated the national market for fish scrap, the firm’s primary input. The company managed to maintain relatively consistent fertilizer output throughout this period of uncertainty by embracing new materials and by actively seeking more stable sources of these novel ingredients. Outwardly, the company gave no indications that it was dealing with supply chain disruption, even though it was, at the same time, rapidly rewriting the recipes for its core products. This disconnect demonstrates how generic categories of nature can help a firm adapt to a crisis and how an environmental change as significant as a fishery collapse can be hidden from the public.

Depuis quelques années, en France et dans le monde anglophone, les savoirs des artisans mobilisent l’intérêt des chercheurs et des chercheuses. Récemment, la notion d’Artisanal Enlightenment a contribué à inspirer certaines études : la rencontre des cultures artisanales avec l’élite savante et éclairée aurait suscité des hybrides culturels et favorisé des transferts de savoirs. Cet article entend mettre à distance cette approche, en resserrant la focale sur les artisans au travail, en proposant une analyse au ras des pratiques, à partir de corpus inédits restituant les techniques mises en œuvre dans les ateliers. Il convient de prendre la mesure du retournement de perspective. Pendant longtemps en effet, les historiens et historiennes ont repris à leur compte des lieux communs sur les artisans, forgés par les contemporains, tels que l’enserrement dans des corps de métiers figés et rivaux entre eux. Un puissant mouvement de relecture a mis en cause ces stéréotypes. D’une part, l’histoire des sciences a souligné le rôle des praticiens dans l’émergence des sciences expérimentales. D’autre part, le mouvement de relecture de la révolution industrielle a réfuté un récit centré sur les ingénieurs, les industriels et les savants et montré les capacités inventives des artisans. Il apparaît de plus en plus que les savoirs artisanaux ont évolué indépendamment des mondes savants, ce qui incite à reconsidérer les relations entre savants et artisans et notamment l’intérêt des élites pour les techniques. Plusieurs thèmes sont ainsi mis en avant par les recherches récentes et développés dans cet article : la captation des savoirs artisanaux par les mondes savants, les relations de pouvoir qui sous-tendent la codification des pratiques artisanales, enfin les ressources de l’atelier, en plaçant au cœur de la réflexion les ressorts cognitifs du faire, du rapport à la matière, au geste et à l’outillage.

This year's BIALL Annual Conference, held in Leeds in June, was a great success, with excellent speakers, cutting edge tech on display and even a murder – which was quickly solved – during the big dinner on the Thursday night.

Kant refers to analytic cognition in several prominent places. The prevailing wisdom, however, denies the possibility of analytic cognition within his theory of cognition. I shall argue that this is mistaken. I show that we can account for analytic cognition’s possibility by appealing to variants of the more familiar conditions on the cognition of objects. I also highlight analytic cognition’s connection to insight and analytic knowledge. In the process, I provide a fuller account of Kant’s view of our mental lives than has been typically acknowledged.