Some philosophers argue that pragmatist accounts of causation require accepting perspectivalism—the view that causation depends on an agent’s perspective. This paper critically evaluates this inference by examining Price’s arguments for perspectivalism and against Woodward’s view. I demonstrate that Price’s positive argument rests on an unacceptable premise, and drawing on Woodward’s work, I propose a pragmatist realist view of causation that survives Price’s criticisms. This pragmatist realism identifies causes through human concerns and practices, but treats the causal relation as objective and independent of agential perspectives. The paper concludes by showing Ismael’s perspectivalist view is consistent with pragmatist realism.

This paper presents the design of a nonlinear adaptive flight control system for the Cessna Citation X longitudinal dynamics. The aircraft pitch rate is controlled using a combination of recursive least squares-based nonlinear dynamic inversion and an adaptive neural network controller. The recursive least squares algorithm provides online parameter estimates to support the inversion, while the neural network compensates for residual modeling errors through online weight adaptation. To enhance robustness and ensure stability, a fixed-gain proportional integral derivative controller is integrated into the control structure. Unlike conventional gain-scheduled controllers, where PID gains vary with flight condition, the proposed adaptive controller uses a single baseline set of fixed gains. The adaptive component updates the control action online, enabling the same controller configuration to operate effectively across all 64 cruise conditions without any gain scheduling. A systematic tuning methodology is introduced for initialising the recursive least squares, selecting forgetting factors and applying covariance resets to ensure accurate adaptation. The controller is able to track a pitch-rate reference model that satisfies longitudinal flight quality requirements. Robustness is assessed under realistic disturbances, including wind gusts, Dryden turbulence, actuator loss-of-effectiveness and actuator noise. Simulation results demonstrate that the controller achieves precise reference tracking while maintaining Level 1 flight qualities. Stability is formally guaranteed using Lyapunov-based analysis. The findings highlight the ability of the designed hybrid adaptive controller to overcome limitations of linearisation, gain scheduling and estimator sensitivity, forecasting a practical and certifiable method for the integration of intelligent adaptive flight control systems into commercial aircraft.

We conducted a single-center prospective cohort study in Ontario, Canada, to assess concomitant pulmonary embolism (PE) in hyperacute stroke. Stroke CT angiography was modified to start at the diaphragm in order to include the chest. Primary outcome of PE was reported by cardiothoracic/chest radiologists. 12/208 stroke patients had an acute PE (5.8%), all of which were clinically asymptomatic, despite imaging in some showing right-heart strain. None had cancer and only half had a patent foramen ovale. Patients with PE tended to have more severe stroke, large vessel occlusion and worse outcomes. The implications and management of these findings require further exploration.

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has profoundly reconfigured the contemporary workplace, redefining the interactions among human employees, AI systems, and organizational processes. Yet, most research adopts a tool-centric view, overlooking how AI’s emergence as an alternative working agent reshapes managerial attention and employee welfare. Drawing on the attention-based view (ABV) and a dual-agent model, we theorize that AI adoption activates two opposing mechanisms: a human attention gain mechanism, where collaboration needs heightened focus on employees and increased employee-related corporate social responsibility (ECSR), and an AI attention shift mechanism, where deep AI embedding redirects attention toward AI, suppressing ECSR. Using panel data from 2575 Chinese listed firms (2013–2023), we find an inverted U-shaped relationship between AI adoption and ECSR. Moreover, industry AI substitution risk sharpens and left-shifts this curve, while top management team (TMT) functional diversity and employee stock ownership flattens and right-shifts it. These findings advance research on AI adoption, managerial attention, and employee-focused CSR by illuminating how attention allocation in dual-agent contexts shapes ethical and strategic outcomes, offering actionable insights for balancing human–AI integration with sustained employee welfare.

Evaluation of genotypes is essential for assessing yield stability in organic farming, helping identify suitable cultivars for Punjab’s growers. This is particularly important given the harmful effects of intensive chemical use on soil and water quality, which drives the shift toward organic practices. Unlike conventional methods, organic farming relies on sustainable approaches such as crop rotation, green manure and bio-pesticides to promote agroecosystem health. The experiment was conducted during the Kharif seasons of 2020 and 2021 in a randomised complete block design at the Research Farm of the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab. Ten Basmati varieties, including Punjab Basmati 5, Punjab Basmati 4, Punjab Basmati 3, Punjab Basmati 2, Basmati 386, Basmati 370, CSR 30, Pusa Basmati 1121, Pusa Basmati 1509 and Pusa Basmati 1718, were assessed for the various yield-attributing parameters, such as effective tillers, number of grains per panicle, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, straw yield and total biomass. Pusa Basmati 1509 produced the highest grain yield (3.6 tonnes/ha), biomass yield (6.7 tonnes/ha) and harvest index (35.2 %) among all varieties followed by Punjab Basmati 4 and Pusa Basmati 1718. Net returns (INR 122,000 per ha) and benefit-cost ratio (B:C) (2.09) were the highest in Pusa Basmati 1121 because this cultivar fetches higher price in the market due to its superior aroma and cooking quality. The future research could delve into the organic cultivation practices specifically developed for these cultivars, contributing to the development of sustainable and resilient agriculture system in the region.

I present a new ontological argument that rests on two evaluative theses, both inspired by Anselm’s Proslogion 2. First, for any F and Q, it is no better for there to be an F, given Q, than it is for there to be something perfect. Second, it is better for there to be something perfect if there is such a thing than if there isn’t. It follows that there is something perfect. I examine these premises, consider some parodies, and suggest possible atheistic replies.

We revisit evaluation of logical formulas that allow both uninterpreted relations, constrained to be finite, as well as an interpreted vocabulary over an infinite domain. This formalism was denoted embedded finite model theory in the past. It is clear that the expressiveness and evaluating complexity of formulas of this type depend heavily on the infinite structure. If we embed in a wild structure like the integers with additive and multiplicative arithmetic, logic is extremely expressive and formulas are impossible to evaluate. On the other hand, for some well-known decidable structures, the expressiveness and evaluating complexity are similar to the situation without the additional infrastructure. The latter phenomenon was formalized via the notion of “Restricted Quantifier Collapse”: adding quantification over the infinite structure does not add expressiveness. Beyond these two extremes little was known. In this work we show that the possibilities for expressiveness and complexity are much wider. We show that we can get almost any possible complexity of evaluation while staying within a decidable structure. We also show that in some decidable structures, there is a disconnect between expressiveness of the logic and complexity, in that we cannot eliminate quantification over the structure, but this is not due to an ability to embed complex relational computation in the logic. We show failure of collapse for the theory of finite fields and the related theory of pseudo-finite fields, which will involve coding computation in the logic. As a by-product of this, we establish the first lower bounds for the complexity of decision procedures for several decidable theories of fields, including the theory of finite fields. This article includes material in the extended abstract “Embedded Finite Models: Beyond Restricted Quantifier Collapse,” that appeared in the Logic in Computer Science conference (LICS ’23).

In three-dimensional (3D) through-the-wall radar imaging, unknown wall parameters such as thickness and relative permittivity distort electromagnetic wave propagation, causing image defocusing and target displacement. Autofocusing is therefore essential, but conventional methods are computationally demanding due to two-dimensional (2D) searches over wall parameters and repeated reconstruction of full 3D images. To address this challenge efficiently, a slice-based 3D imaging strategy is adopted. Radar data are acquired along a linear aperture parallel to the wall at multiple heights. For each height, the collected measurements form a B-scan dataset, which is processed independently to reconstruct a 2D image slice. A computationally efficient two-step framework is proposed. First, the wall’s relative permittivity is estimated from the time-domain response of the B-scan at a selected height, and autofocusing is performed by varying only the wall thickness, reducing the conventional 2D search to a one-dimensional problem. Second, focused 2D image slices are reconstructed at all heights. The final 3D image of the concealed targets is obtained by superimposing these slices into a volumetric representation. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed technique yields well-focused images while significantly reducing the computational cost.

Transnational cultural encounters between Africa and China, such as Chinese artist Pu Yingwei’s exploration of Kenya’s dam infrastructure and the reception of French-Senegalese director Mati Diop’s film Dahomey on African artifact repatriation among Chinese youth, generate new sites of knowledge circulation and epistemic inquiry. These exchanges exemplify an approach of “reflexivity,” which emphasizes critical reflection on one’s own positionality, research processes, and the broader conditions shaping knowledge production. Oriented toward mutual reference and epistemic affinity between Asia and Africa, this approach promotes a relational mode of knowledge-making attentive to both shared historical legacies and existing structural disparities.

In this paper, a passive, chipless ${2 \times 2}$ RFID tag array designed on a thin polyimide substrate is proposed for a wearable application. The radiating element comprises a star-shaped multi-ring structure enclosed in a square folded split ring. Requirement of compactness in wearables gives rise to electromagnetic interference (EMI) due to close coupling between the tag elements, which deteriorates the performance of the RFID system and requires mitigation of the EMI. In the present work, the coupling is analyzed extensively for two separate cases: when all array elements are of the same size and when they are of two different sizes, to investigate both inbound and outbound EMI scenarios. The orientation of each tag element with specific configuration is examined to achieve minimum coupling and to gain a larger read range, an important parameter in the design of passive RFID tags. Furthermore, specific absorption rate analysis confirms the safety and suitability of the design for on-body applications. The prototype model of the proposed configuration is developed, measured, and compared with the simulation results. A good agreement between the simulation and measured results confirms its suitability for compact wearable applications.

Members of the majority party in Congress sometimes vote against bills that they prefer over the status quo. We estimate a model of congressional roll-call voting that allows for this kind of non-ideological protest voting. We find that protest voting has significant implications for roll-call-based estimates of ideology and other analyses that rely upon them. For example, a traditional item response theory model curiously identifies members of the Squad as relatively moderate Democrats, but our protest-voting-adjusted scores identify them as the most liberal members of Congress. We also find that previous studies may have underestimated responsiveness, the effects of ideology in elections, the utility of non-roll-call-based measures of ideology, and the increase in congressional polarization. Although the implications for most substantive applications are likely modest, our analyses suggest that future researchers can better measure legislative ideology by accounting for a small number of non-ideological votes.

NEURAL MATERIALS (2024) is a live AV show created by SONAMB (Vicky Clarke). The project represents a collaboration between Vicky Clarke, visual artist Sean Clarke, and industry partner Bela, a company specialising in hardware with interactive sensors for music-making. The AV show utilises a new performance system incorporating a hybrid set-up in combination with both a sound sculpture and the output of a machine learning model trained on a ‘post-industrial’ sonic dataset. The dataset renders in sound Manchester’s industrial past and present through field recordings of cotton mills, the canal network and the electromagnetic resonances of a newly gentrified city centre. This article analyses NEURAL MATERIALS as musical composition, live AV show and a demonstration of creative audio-generative AI, linking the work to scholarly and compositional legacies of Sonic Materialism and musique concrète. By combining documentation analysis and performance analysis, I interrogate how sound’s indexical properties are transformed via machine learning (ML) processes, questioning whether machines are able to evoke a sense of space or heritage. Ultimately, I contend that such audio-generative systems have the capacity to reshape our perception of industrial histories, technologies and future sonic realities, indexing sociohistorical cues that are reactivated at the point of listening.