In Chapter 6 of Objects of Credence, Anna Mahtani argues that the opacity of credence raises difficulties for the Principal Principle and proposes a revised principle relating credence and chance that avoids it. In this comment on her book, I both defend Mahtani’s proposed principle against a charge of triviality and argue that the opacity of belief does not threaten the role of chance in guiding credence.

This article aims to reflect on ‘ecological vulnerability’ – which makes evident the relationship, flows and interactions between the human being/body and the environment/non-human world – as applied in the context of environmentally induced migration. In particular, the dual role of the law vis-à-vis environmentally displaced migrants as a generator and exacerbator of their vulnerability as well as potential antidote, valuable for attaining protection, will be highlighted. Namely, on one hand, the analysis will show how a lack of conceptualisation of the notion to understand the spatial and temporal patterns of climate change-related migration, as well as its consequences for societal well-being, contributes to generate and exacerbate the vulnerability of that category of migrants. On the other hand, the critical understanding of vulnerability, as developed in some recent legal reasoning of international and national jurisdictions, will be proposed as a key element for ensuring the resilience of both environmental migrants and the law itself, for both virtuously expanding traditional asylum norms and flexibilising access to international protection for those migrants.

While the diversity of foliicolous lichen-forming fungi has been explored in substantial depth, relatively little attention has been paid to their algal symbionts. We studied the unicellular green phycobionts of the lecanoralean lichens Bacidina (Ramalinaceae), Byssoloma, Fellhanera and Tapellaria (Pilocarpaceae) and graphidalean Gyalectidium (Gomphillaceae) from two extratropical foliicolous communities in continental Spain and the Canary Islands. We examined the pyrenoids of algal symbionts within thalli using TEM, and obtained several algal nrSSU and rbcL sequences from whole thalli, and also from cultures isolated from some of these lichens. Pyrenoid structure and molecular sequence data provided support for recognizing Chloroidium (Watanabeales, Trebouxiophyceae) as phycobiont in thalli of Byssoloma subdiscordans and Fellhanera bouteillei (Pilocarpaceae) in both communities. Bacidina apiahica (Ramalinaceae) and Tapellaria epiphylla (Pilocarpaceae) likewise appeared to partner with Chloroidium based on the presence of the same pyrenoid type, although we were able to obtain a phycobiont sequence only from a culture isolate of the latter. These results contrast with those obtained previously from a foliicolous lichen community in southern Florida, which revealed only strains of Heveochlorella (Jaagichlorella) as phycobiont of foliicolous Pilocarpaceae and Gomphillaceae. On the other hand, the pyrenoid we observed in the phycobionts associated with Gyalectidium setiferum and G. minus corresponded to that of Heveochlorella (Jaagichlorella). However, the poor quality of the phycobiont sequence data obtained from G. minus, probably due to the presence of epibiontic algae, could not provide additional perspective on the pyrenoid structure observations. Nonetheless, clear differences in pyrenoid ultrastructure can allow Chloroidium and Heveochlorella phycobionts to be distinguished from each other in TEM. Our results indicate a greater diversity of unicellular green-algal symbionts in foliicolous communities from Spain than previously observed in other geographical areas, and suggest that further studies focused on symbiont pairing in these communities might reveal distinctive and varied patterns of phycobiont preference.

Largely forgotten today, Albert Galloway Keller was one of the foremost sociologists of his time. A brilliant scholar and a staunch disciple of William Graham Sumner, Keller spent his entire academic career at Yale, first as a student and then as professor of the Science of Society, the chair formerly held by his mentor. The main coordinates of Keller’s sociology are to be found in his major work, Societal Evolution (1915), where he sought to apply Charles Darwin’s mechanism of variation, selection, and transmission to Sumner’s general scheme. Although Keller gave priority to social variables, his evolutionary sociology retained many elements of the typically Progressive Era preoccupations with heredity and the biological quality of individuals. The aim of this paper is to examine in some detail Keller’s views on eugenics and related issues, and to assess whether and to what extent these biologically deterministic elements played a role in his Darwinian approach to institutional change.

The Canadian League Against Epilepsy initiated a virtual epilepsy education program, conducting 29 webinars from March 2021 to September 2023. We report our experience, with the goal to inspire other groups to develop inclusive, equitable, and free educational spaces with a worldwide reach. Monthly sessions drew a median attendance of 118 participants, predominantly Canadian but also international, including physicians (58.9%) and trainees (22.8%). Post-webinar surveys (average 40% response rate) noted high satisfaction, a strong inclination to recommend the sessions, and an interest in clinical case-based topics. We plan to consider integrating a self-assessment section evaluating knowledge gained after each seminar.

Coverage path planning (CPP) is a subfield of path planning problems in which free areas of a given domain must be visited by a robot at least once while avoiding obstacles. In some situations, the path may be optimized for one or more criteria such as total distance traveled, number of turns, and total area covered by the robot. Accordingly, the CPP problem has been formulated as a multi-objective optimization (MOO) problem, which turns out to be a challenging discrete optimization problem, hence conventional MOO algorithms like Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-2 (NSGA-II) do not work as it is. This study implements a modified NSGA-II to solve the MOO problem of CPP for a mobile robot. In this paper, the proposed method adopted two objective functions: (1) the total distance traveled by the robot and (2) the number of turns taken by the robot. The two objective functions are used to calculate energy consumption. The proposed method is compared to the hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) and the traditional genetic algorithm (TGA) in a rectilinear environment containing obstacles of various complex shapes. In addition, the results of the proposed algorithm are compared to those generated by HGA, TGA, oriented rectilinear decomposition, and spatial cell diffusion and family of spanning tree coverage in existing research papers. The results of all comparisons indicate that the proposed algorithm outperformed the existing algorithms by reducing energy consumption by 5 to 60%. This paper provides the facility to operate the robot in different modes.

Against the backdrop of demographic change and the pluralisation of living arrangements, the article focuses on repartnering after widowhood, divorce and separation in older age in Germany. While theoretically framing repartnering as a lifecourse transition, the question arises of how later-life relationships form in relation to gender- and ageing-specific as well as structural and processual dimensions. Since previous research indicates that there are gender-specific patterns when repartnering in older age which differ from repartnering in middle age, the article explicitly accounts for gendered ageing and attitudes towards ageing. Using data from the German Ageing Survey (1996–2017), longitudinal hybrid panel regressions are modelled for 3,653 respondents, 11,628 observations and 179 new relationships. I propose to understand within-effects as processual and between-effects as structural dimensions of repartnering. The results for the structural dimensions show that the likelihood of repartnering is higher for men and for individuals with more negative attitudes towards ageing. The results for the processual dimensions show how repartnering becomes less likely the older one gets and the more positive one's attitudes towards ageing become. The interaction term for gender and ageing shows that ageing has a stronger influence on the likelihood to repartner for women than for men. Additionally, the findings reveal a difference between forms of singlehood: in the short term, repartnering is less likely for divorced or separated individuals than for widowed individuals, whereas the opposite effect shows in the long term. In sensitising the lifecourse perspective with gender- and ageing-specific concepts and analytically separating processual and structural dimensions, this article demonstrates the importance of gendered ageing and of the linkage between relationship transitions. Applying hybrid panel models to lifecourse transitions in older age reveals the processual dynamic and structural embeddedness of repartnering in older age.

Consider a variant of the usual story about the iterative conception of sets. As usual, at every stage, you find all the (bland) sets of objects which you found earlier. But you also find the result of tapping any earlier-found object with any magic wand (from a given stock of magic wands).

By varying the number and behaviour of the wands, we can flesh out this idea in many different ways. This paper's main Theorem is that any loosely constructive way of fleshing out this idea is synonymous with a ZF-like theory.

This Theorem has rich applications; it realizes John Conway's (1976) Mathematicians' Liberation Movement; and it connects with a lovely idea due to Alonzo Church (1974).

When the analytical lens of intersectionality was first applied to descriptive representation, it documented the increased level of disadvantage for those belonging to more than one underrepresented group. Although ethnic minority women have been slow to benefit from drives to boost ethnic minority or women’s representation, increasingly, political parties seeking to diversify see them as “ticking two boxes,” resulting in a new positive story of relative representational success in many countries and legislatures. However, we argue that the two narratives coexist: intersectional group membership mars the experience of ethnic minority women politicians despite their increased electoral success. Conceptualizing intersectional disadvantage beyond examining differential outcomes, we focus instead on how the mechanisms leading to those outcomes are experienced by ethnic minority women local councillors, from their selection to their working conditions and extra representative burdens. Using 85 interviews with ethnic minority women and men UK local councillors, we demonstrate how gender and racial inequalities leave ethnic minority women fighting two (or more) battles.

The ideas, practicalities, and challenges of establishing effective social protection in Africa are steadily, if somewhat slowly, gaining notice in both policy-making forums and mainstream social policy analysis. The world’s second largest and populous continent, Africa is also its poorest region, with chronic poverty, vulnerabilities, and preventable hardship. Despite some significant developments in social welfare interventions and outcomes since the turn of the century, the policy agenda and dynamics in most countries remain complex and tenuous, arguably more so than other lower and middle income (LMIC) regions. This special edition contributes to a critical analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing social protection systems in Africa. It also seeks to examine the extent to which the staple explanatory concepts of welfare dynamics in the northern and western hemispheres – the role of actors, ideas, and institutions – need to be modified or adapted when analysing welfare dynamics in Africa. The focus is on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) rather than the more diverse and heterogeneous Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. While, it is important to acknowledge that SSA nations are also distinct and varied; nevertheless, they share important characteristics in terms of historical contexts, average incomes, development outcomes, and most relevant for the purpose of this analysis, social policy strategies, and challenges.

After the beginning of the Syrian crisis, increased rates of infectious diseases were reported. Lebanon, a neighboring country with a major socioeconomic crisis, witnessed a measles outbreak since July 2023, with 519 reported suspected cases. Half of the cases were under 5 y of age, most of them were unvaccinated. The mass displacement of refugees from conflict areas in Syria to Lebanon and the low vaccination coverage have made the situation more challenging. Further efforts are required in Lebanon to address identified gaps to prevent or at least better control future outbreaks.

‘Captorhinikos’ chozaensis Olson, 1954 is a captorhinid eureptile with multiple tooth rows from the lower Permian (Cisuralian: Kungurian) Clear Fork Group of north-central Texas and the Hennessey Formation of Oklahoma. It has five maxillary and four dentary tooth rows. We re-examined the available specimens referred to ‘Captorhinikos’ chozaensis to elucidate aspects of its skeletal structure and assess its phylogenetic relationships. Our parsimony analysis confirmed previous suggestions that this taxon is not referable to the same taxon as Captorhinikos valensis Olson, 1954 (type species of the genus) and ‘Captorhinikos’ parvus Olson, 1970 and thus is placed in its own new genus, Sumidadectes. It also recovered Sumidadectes chozaensis n. comb. as the earliest-diverging moradisaurine captorhinid.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/0f89869a-1889-4d90-b721-a89ba5f40c4b

Since its launch in a 1984 Special Issue of Child Development, significant contributions and insights have followed that have expanded our understanding of psychopathology and normal human growth and development. Despite these efforts, there are persistent and under-analyzed skewed patterns of vulnerability across and within groups. The persistence of a motivated forgetfulness to acknowledge citizens’ uneven access to resources and supports, or as stated elsewhere, “inequality presence denial,” is, at minimum, a policy, social and health practice problem. This article will examine some of these issues from the standpoint of a universal human vulnerability perspective. It also investigates sources of resistance to acknowledging and responding to the scholarship production problem of uneven representations of basic human development research versus psychopathology preoccupations by race. Collectively, findings suggest interesting “patchwork” patterns of particular cultural repertoires as ordinary social and scholarly traditions.

This article offers an alternative focus for the study of the Ruthenian (Ukrainian) nation-building in early Austrian Galicia. It portrays elite Greek Catholic churchmen who made political claims about a self-standing Ruthenian nation already in the first decade of the nineteenth century. It argues that their political innovations were enabled by the ambitious state-building projects implemented in the second half of the eighteenth century by the Austrian government, most importantly new seminaries that cultivated an ethos of state service among Catholic clergymen. The early Ruthenian nationalism espoused by Greek Catholic prelates neither aspired to mobilize masses nor ascribed much importance to language rights, the kernel of nationalist struggles in later periods. It was rather a polemical device deployed to legitimize their rejection of the Polish national allegiance, associated with dynamically evolving republican traditions. By locating the Galician Ruthenian case in a regional comparative perspective, the article outlines the broader significance of this interpretation, interrogating some received wisdoms about the so-called non-historical nationalisms of Central and Eastern Europe.

We invoke the Bernstein–Gel$'$fand–Gel$'$fand (BGG) correspondence to study subcomplexes of free resolutions given by two well-known complexes, the Koszul and the Eagon–Northcott. This approach provides a complete characterization of the ranks of free modules in a subcomplex in the Koszul case and imposes numerical restrictions in the Eagon–Northcott case.