Human languages are powerful representational tools, but can they represent every possible kind of entity? This seems unlikely. We can easily imagine languages—God’s language, or that of advanced extraterrestrials—that represent features of reality that our actual languages fail to capture. Eklund (2024) calls these alien languages. Yet despite the intuitive pull of this picture, it is unclear what alien languages, so understood, would amount to. I argue that there are no alien languages in this sense; human languages can represent any entity that can be linguistically represented at all. Still, I propose an alternative sense in which a language can be alien. On my cognitive account of alien language, a language is alien when linguistic understanding of it requires cognitive resources not used in understanding human languages. This account better explains the sense in which we can and cannot speak an alien language. We can represent whatever alien languages represent, but understanding alien languages may require cognitive resources that we lack.

This work analyses vacuum magnetic field topology in Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) with respect to changes in the current in the superconducting coils. We develop a fast automated scheme to locate fixed points (such as X- and O-points) and calculate the trace of the Jacobian of the field line map for them ($\mathrm{Tr}(\text{M})$), which represents several important properties of the fixed point. We perform two sets of coil current scans: (i) scans where each coil current is varied individually, using the ‘standard’, ‘high iota’ and ‘low iota’ configurations as starting points; (ii) a scan of over $2\times 10^5$ magnetic configurations in which the coil currents are randomly sampled. In both cases, we constrain the coil currents to the normal range of W7-X. We verify the principal roles of the non-planar, planar and control coils: the non-planar coils establish island chains with a certain phase; the planar coils modify the location of the island chain by both controlling the $\iota$ profile and shifting the configuration ‘inward’ and ‘outward’; the control coil affects the island size and phase. We also find that $\vert (\mathrm{Tr}(\text{M})-2)\vert$ (a quantity closely related to the magnitude of the Greene’s residue) tends to increase with the minor radius of the fixed points, and that $\mathrm{Tr}(\text{M})$ for X- and O-points can be very differently affected by the control coil current. Finally, we show that $\vert (\mathrm{Tr}(\text{M})-2)\vert$ serves as a proxy for island size for internal island chains, which may help identification of suitable experimental candidates.

Youth involved in the juvenile legal system face elevated rates of internalizing and externalizing behavioral health problems, including distress, substance use, and antisocial behavior. However, research rarely examines how these problems co-develop and relate to long-term legal outcomes. This study applied group-based multi-trajectory modeling to longitudinal data from 1,216 system-involved male youth (Mage = 15.29; 46% Latino/Hispanic, 37% Black, 15% White, 2% multiracial/other) to uncover patterns of co-occurring externalizing (antisocial behavior, harmful substance use, antagonistic traits) and internalizing (distress) problems and their association with rearrest in young adulthood. We identified eight unique trajectory groups, three of which showed elevated rearrest risk: (1) youth with moderate externalizing and internalizing problems that worsened over time, (2) youth with high-decreasing externalizing problems but moderate-increasing internalizing problems, and (3) youth with high-stable antagonistic traits in the absence of other elevated problems. Membership in these high-risk groups was predicted by specific contextual factors – including peer deviance, violence exposure, negative home environment, and low school orientation – highlighting the role of both risk and protective influences. These findings underscore the utility of longitudinal, dimensional behavioral health assessment in identifying long-term system-involvement risk and tailoring intervention strategies for system-involved youth.

In this paper, we derive the exact formula for the probability that three randomly and uniformly selected points from the interior of the unit cube form vertices of an obtuse triangle.

This paper argues that the current UK fiscal framework fails to support growth-enhancing public investment while inadequately restraining debt accumulation. Frequent changes to fiscal rules, their short horizon and incentives that prioritise current spending over long-term investment have undermined economic stability and productivity growth. We propose a reformed framework centred on clear fiscal objectives, enhanced OBR analysis of long-run sustainability and a target for the primary surplus consistent with maintaining stable debt. A supplementary investment rule would ensure adequate public capital formation. Together, these reforms aim to raise productivity, support resilience and improve living standards.

This article, which relies on underutilized archival collections as well as oral histories, is one of the first comprehensive examinations of the feminist struggle to decriminalize abortion during Brazil’s transition to democracy during the 1980s. We discuss how the consolidation of the antiabortion Christian right and its proximity to several political parties, including ones on the left, coupled with the politically moderate tone of the transition from dictatorship to democracy, constrained the space in which Brazilian feminists could make radical demands of the state. Moreover, we contend that although the creation of the state-funded feminist organ Conselho Nacional dos Direitos da Mulher in 1985 brought important visibility to feminist issues and inserted the movement’s agenda squarely within the government apparatus, it also fragmented feminists, threatened co-optation by the state, and ultimately compelled abortion rights activists to prioritize the more palatable strategy of expanding access to therapeutic abortions, which were already permitted by law. In addition to divergences in political strategy, feminists struggled to create multiracial and multiclass coalitions during this period, when many Black feminists and working-class women were organizing around other concerns. As a result, feminists were not able to fundamentally alter public opinion about the political importance of abortion, and their efforts to enshrine the termination of pregnancy as a human right in the 1988 Constitution were unsuccessful.

Depuis plus d’une décennie, le Mali est confronté à une crise sécuritaire complexe ayant conduit au déploiement de plusieurs missions internationales de paix, dont la Minusma. Si cette dernière avait pour objectif de soutenir la stabilisation du pays, elle a progressivement fait l’objet de critiques croissantes au sein de la population.

Cet article propose d’analyser les attentes des Maliens à l’égard de la Minusma et d’examiner comment leurs perceptions ont influencé son acceptabilité ainsi que l’évaluation de son efficacité. En mobilisant l’approche de l’évaluation qualitative des politiques publiques, l’étude considère cette mission comme une politique publique internationale de paix. L’analyse repose sur une enquête qualitative réalisée à Bamako en 2020 et 2021. Elle révèle un décalage entre les attentes locales et le cadre de référence de la mission ainsi que l’importance de la légitimité locale dans la conduite, voire la poursuite, des opérations de paix.

The Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) Survey on the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) is designed to systematically explore the dynamic radio sky, detecting sources that vary on timescales from minutes to several years. In this paper, we present Data Release 1 of the VAST Extragalactic Survey, which targets slowly evolving synchrotron transients in the southern sky. The observations were carried out between June 2023 and May 2025, comprising 2945 images of 276 fields spanning ∼ 12300 deg2, observed at 888 MHz with a typical rms sensitivity of 0.24 mJy beam–1 and 12—20 arcsec resolution. Each field was revisited approximately every two months, yielding 10 or 11 observations per field. The VAST pipeline extracts the light curves for all the observed sources, and additional filters are implemented to improve the reliability of the resulting light curve database. The light curve database contains 0.5 million sources and 6.4 million individual measurements, publicly available through the CSIRO data access portal. An untargeted variability search yields 117 astrophysical variables, including 27 pulsars, 40 radio stars (10 newly detected at radio wavelengths), 44 active galactic nuclei, two optically identified supernovae, one supernova candidate, one brown dwarf, and two sources without multi-wavelength counterparts that are yet to be identified. This data release provides the first large-scale, high-cadence, uniform view of long-term radio variability in the extragalactic sky and lays the groundwork for future population studies of radio transients with ASKAP.

Numerous experts and activists placed hope in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer to reignite the conversation of nuclear disarmament and arms control. However, evidence on the persuasive effects on popular media is mixed, and studies estimating such causal effects are scarce. We draw on narrative persuasion literature to underpin the disarmament and arms control communities’ expectations of the Oppenheimer movie's impact with regards to various dimensions of nuclear disarmament and arms control. Leveraging nationally representative survey data from Italy both before and after the movie's release, we first show that younger respondents, men, and those with higher education were more likely to see the movie. Using inverse probability weighting, propensity score matching, and difference-in-difference methods, we then correct for these biases and find qualified evidence that watching the movie increased support for nuclear arms control. At the same time, the movie did not move attitudes towards unilateral nuclear disarmament, opposition to proliferation, or opposition to nuclear weapons use. Beyond sparking the conversation about the dangers of nuclear weapons, the movie did not appear to have shifted public attitudes in the direction of broader disarmament goals. Our findings not only shed light on the persuasive effects of the Oppenheimer movie and popular media more broadly, but further contribute to our understanding of public views regarding nuclear disarmament and arms control.

This article critically examines how Web3 decentralization policy trends impact global digital governance, questioning whether they genuinely distribute power or merely shift influence to a new, tech-savvy elite. Based on fieldwork in Silicon Valley since August 2022 and engagement with scholars and practitioners up to December 2025, the article provides a conceptual analysis with emerging empirical insights around the nascent global Web3 movement. While Web3 advocates challenge centralized data monopolies and traditional state structures, this analysis critiques the assumption that Web3 democratizes power, highlighting both its potential for inclusion and risks of exclusion, insofar as it may reinforce hierarchies rooted in technical expertise and digital access. While acknowledging the broader landscape of Web3 governance (including hybrid and federated models) and scoping the Global North and Global South contexts considering global adoption cases, the article particularly focuses on three post-Westphalian paradigms: (i) Network States, (ii) Network Sovereignties, and (iii) Algorithmic Nations. While Network States advocate for crypto-libertarian governance, Network Sovereignties and Algorithmic Nations emphasize cooperative governance aimed at empowering minority communities, such as indigenous groups, stateless nations, and e-diasporas, through decentralized, data-driven systems. By engaging with both the limitations and some promises, prospects, and pitfalls of Web3, this article questions whether Web3 can create a more inclusive global order or if influence is increasingly concentrated among a new elite. This article contributes to debates on sovereignty, governance, and citizenship by advocating hybrid policy frameworks that balance global and local dynamics, emphasizing solidarity, digital justice, and international cooperation for equitable Web3 governance.

This paper examines Health System Resilience (HSR) through a political science lens, arguing that the capacity of health systems to become resilient is shaped not only by technical capabilities and available resources but also by the political theories underpinning health systems and health policy. While HSR has gained prominence in health research as a concept, its integration with political theories remains limited – particularly within political science literature. Drawing on a scoping review, the paper finds that political dimensions – such as governance and leadership, institutional path dependency, and power dynamics – are rarely and unevenly addressed in the literature. Most sources adopt a fragmented view of policy and politics, infrequently identifying the Political Determinants of Health (PDoH) systematically or analysing them through robust political theory. As a result, resilience is often depoliticised and treated as a managerial issue rather than a contested political process. In light of these findings, the paper proposes new opportunities to scrutinise how HSR is shaped by the interplay of actors, ideas, and institutions. In doing so, it contributes to developing a political science of health that fosters stronger interdisciplinary engagement. The paper calls on political scientists to engage more proactively with public health scholarship to support politically informed and more effective resilience strategies.

Democratic innovations have gained popularity in Finland, especially during the last 15 years, at the national and subnational level. However, research on Finnish democratic innovations is still fragmented, focusing on isolated methods, case studies, and experiments. Our article aims to provide a first comprehensive outlook of the diffusion of democratic innovations in Finland. From the 1980s onwards, we identify five legislative milestones that illustrate the gradual institutionalisation of various innovations. Furthermore, we trace the historical roots of three sets of innovations – direct democratic instruments, participatory budgeting, and deliberative mini-publics – and describe their scope and patterns of dissemination. Our inspection shows that democratic innovations have created truly novel channels for citizen influence, but their impact varies greatly. While policymakers still have doubts of citizens’ competences, our analysis suggests a growing role for democratic innovations in Finnish politics, supported by their institutionalisation as well as pragmatic adaptation.

This article articulates and defends an argument for pantheism which has not featured prominently in contemporary philosophy of religion but which is rooted in foundational ideas defended by pantheists and by non-pantheistic theists. It is inspired in part by the idea advocated by some theists that God is existence itself, and in part by the idea associated with pantheistic thinkers such as Śaṅkara that the universe is the “way” that fundamental existence is. Moreover, it is motivated by a simple and attractive view about God’s fundamental nature which might be shared by pantheists and non-pantheists according to which God is the asymmetric source of all else. Beginning from this view about God’s fundamental nature, it argues that God is existence. It then contends that there is therefore a clear and robust sense in which the universe “is” God, since the universe is the “way” existence is.

Overlapping galaxies, in which a foreground galaxy partially overlaps a background galaxy, offer a unique opportunity to measure dust attenuation, a key nuisance parameter in galaxy studies, empirically and in great detail by modelling the light of both the foreground and background galaxy and inferring the missing light in the overlapping region. However, the current catalogue of overlapping pairs is relatively limited in number compared to catalogues dedicated to individual galaxies. Expanding this catalogue is not only a necessity to facilitate further detailed dust studies beyond the few limited studies conducted thus far but also to improve pair-to-pair variance and support automated identification through machine learning techniques. To achieve this, we utilise galaxies classified as ‘overlapping’ from Galaxy Zoo DECaLS (GZD-1, -2, and -5), along with images from Data Release 10 (DR10) of the DESI Legacy Survey, in our individual citizen science project to classify these pairs directly using volunteers. This new catalogue will not only provide a wealth of targets for future dust studies but will also contribute to a deeper understanding of these pairs and dust as a whole.

As a language of religious and administrative importance in the early centuries of the common era, Gāndhārī came to be a donor into its neighbouring languages, such as Tocharian and Chinese. Consequently, advances in Gāndhārī historical phonology can help us discover new loanwords, refine our understanding of the historical phonology of its neighbouring languages, and eventually improve our understanding of the relationship between the communities that spoke those languages. One unresolved problem in the study of Gāndhārī phonology is the development of Sanskrit unaspirated velar stops: the relative paucity of data and variation in spelling have left previous researchers hesitant regarding the developments of those stops and their phonetic realization. In the present article, we take a bird’s eye view and analyse the development of these velars across the whole edited corpus; our main contribution is the discovery of the phonetic environment conditioning the development of /k/ and /g/, thereby fully explaining the seemingly chaotic spelling observed in previous publications.

This Editorial introduces the Special Issue of the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine focused on the evolution, implementation, and critique of the recovery approach in mental health. Tracing its roots to the 19th-century writings of John Perceval, a pioneer in lived experience advocacy, we outline how the recovery approach has grown into a global movement grounded in human rights, agency, and systemic transformation. We define the recovery approach and outline its values of shared humanity, justice, equality, respect, and compassion. We then discuss both the global progress made (including advances in peer support, Recovery Colleges, and coproduction in research, policy, and service development) and the significant challenges faced (ranging from tokenism and epistemic inequality to professionalisation and systemic resistance). The Editorial also explores tensions such as ‘neorecovery’, clinician uncertainty, and the co-optation of lived experience roles. We then provide a brief overview of the diverse contributions that comprise the Special Issue. Rather than romanticising the potential of lived experience integration, or celebrating marginal successes, we argue that, as a whole, this scholarly body of work illuminates pathways to mental health system reform and transformative change. These contributions help us inch closer to the promised revolution, a mental health system that has its foundations in equally valued clinical expertise, scientific rigour, and lived experience knowledge. Such a system would assist people that encounter psychological distress and mental illness, in all its forms, to not only heal but overcome, transcend, and flourish beyond suffering.