For Pierre Hadot, inventor of ‘Philosophy as a Way of Life’ (PWL), scholasticism, of which Aquinas is usually seen as the arch-representative, was not only the opposite of PWL but the agent of its destruction. I argue that Hadot’s view of Aquinas results from confusing ‘philosophy’ in the broad sense, which is how it needs to be understood in relation to PWL, with ‘philosophy’ in the narrower sense that it had for Aquinas himself. When Aquinas’s life and work is examined with this distinction in mind, he is seen to be as much an exponent of PWL as the medieval and modern thinkers (Boethius of Dacia, Dante, Montaigne, Kant, Nietzsche) usually cited by Hadot and his followers. This conclusion puts into doubt the historical narrative proposed by exponents of PWL. But some of Hadot’s own remarks leave room for a restricted version of PWL, stripped of its historical narrative and suggestions about the content of a philosophical life. This pure methodological Philosophy as a Way of Life, MPWL, does not make the unsustainable claims of PWL and helps to show how analytical, historical and more broadly philosophical approaches to Aquinas can be brought together.

Recent work by Michael O. Hardimon and Quayshawn Spencer defends a minimalist (or deflationary) biological realism about race. Their approach has two distinct features. First, unlike revisionist biological race, minimalist biological races are a conception of race that correspond to our ordinary race concepts. Second, unlike hereditarian or essentialist accounts, minimalist biological races are not claimed to be robustly explanatory. This paper argues against their account of the biological genuineness of race. I argue the minimalist biological conception of race lacks the explanatory constraints of genuine biological kinds. Rather, minimalist biological races are gerrymandered kinds.

The suboptimal size of municipalities is often a challenge for service delivery due to scale limitations. Intermunicipal cooperation (IMC) has expanded as an alternative to top-down amalgamations, offering a more flexible and typically voluntary approach. Many studies have been devoted to understanding the driving factors of IMC, providing static empirical evidence on the characteristics of cooperating municipalities. This article contributes to the literature with a dynamic analysis of the drivers of cooperation, using a Cox proportional hazards model over a long period and a very large sample of municipalities in Catalonia. This dynamic analysis unravels the direction of the causal relationship in complex relationships such as fiscal restrictions or political legitimation with cooperation. Furthermore, as we have data from eight relevant local services, we improve both the theoretical and empirical analysis of cooperation dynamics based on the characteristics of the services.

As international exploration of the Meso-Neoproterozoic continues, these layers have become a key target for deep oil and gas field exploration. The Ordos Basin exhibits considerable sedimentary thicknesses within the Meso-Neoproterozoic. However, significant hydrocarbon discoveries have not been forthcoming, primarily due to the complex tectonic evolution. This paper focuses on the southern Ordos Basin, utilizing logging-seismic calibration to interpret seismic data and elucidate Meso-Neoproterozoic tectonic features. By comparing ancient and modern tectonic patterns, based on palaeotectonic maps retrieved through the impression method and combining these with tectonic evolution profiles, the study clarifies the history of tectonic modification. Under the control of two fracture systems – basin-controlling fractures at the margin and trough-controlling fractures – the Changchengian exhibits two categories (single-fault and double-fault) and five sub-categories of fault depression combinations. The study highlights significant differences between ancient and modern tectonics in the Meso-Neoproterozoic, which are attributed to various tectonic stages, including the trough-uplift depositional differentiation stage during the early rift-late depression of the Changchengian, the basin-margin subsidence stage of the southwestern depression of the Jixianian, the uplift and denudation stage of the Sinian basin’s main body and the four-stage tectonic remodelling stage of differential uplift-subsidence in the Palaeoproterozoic. This study employs the ancient-present tectonic pattern as a point of departure, thereby enhancing the theoretical understanding of deep-seated tectonics in the Ordos Basin. It offers novel insights into the exploration of Meso-Neoproterozoic gas reservoirs from a tectonic remodelling perspective.

Statistical criteria of fairness, though controversial, bring attention to the multiobjective nature of many predictive modelling problems. In this paper, I consider how epistemic and non-epistemic values impact the design of machine learning algorithms that optimize for more than one normative goal. I focus on a major design choice between biased search strategies that directly incorporate priorities for various objectives into an optimization procedure, and unbiased search strategies that do not. I argue that both reliably generate Pareto optimal solutions such that various other values are relevant to making a rational choice between them.

Certain plant species have the potential to establish themselves in agricultural fields, especially when they are already present nearby. Their spread can be influenced by improper management or intentional and unintentional introduction. Recently, cut-leaved gipsywort (Lycopus exaltatus L.) has been increasingly present in some row crops, where it was previously found only along field edges and irrigation channels, with no data about their presence in crops. Currently, no effective control methods for this rhizomatous species have been reported. To address this, 11 herbicides commonly used for weed management in major crops were evaluated in greenhouse studies. These included bentazon, dicamba, foramsulfuron, glyphosate, halauxifen-methyl, imazamox, mesotrione, nicosulfuron, tembotrione, thifensulfuron-methyl, and tribenuron-methyl. A dose-response study was conducted to identify the most effective option for cut-leaved gipsywort control using existing crop protection products. The study evaluated percentage reductions in dry biomass and canopy cover. The results suggest that bentazon, as the only nonsystemic herbicide, was least effective in controlling cut-leaved gipsywort with an effective dose (ED90) estimated at 1.5× of the recommended labeled rate, or 2,205 g ai ha−1. Plants exposed to dicamba exhibited no regrowth at the field-use rate. Cut-leaved gipsywort may regrow when foramsulfuron, mesotrione, nicosulfuron, and tembotrione are applied at the recommended field-use rates. Halauxifen-methyl and imazamox were most effective, with estimated ED90 values of 0.21× (0.85 g ai ha−1) and 0.4× (16.14 g ai ha−1), respectively, which are lower than the recommended labeled rates. Although reduced rates are not recommended because good herbicide stewardship practices should aim to prevent the development of herbicide resistance, with both halauxifen-methyl and imazamox, cut-leaved gipsywort exhibited no regrowth when one-half of the recommended labeled rates were applied.

Understanding the developmental and occupational histories of Ancestral Maya settlements is crucial for interpreting their roles in broader social, political, and economic dynamics. This article presents 62 new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates from residential groups in the outlying settlement zone at Alabama, a major inland Ancestral Maya center in East-Central Belize. Alabama is a rare example of a “boomtown” in the Maya lowlands, experiencing rapid development primarily during the 8th and 9th century CE, corresponding to the Late to Terminal Classic periods. Using Bayesian stratigraphic sequence models, we construct detailed developmental and occupational histories for the townsite, clarifying the timing of its development, occupation, and abandonment. Our analysis reveals complex residential histories, confirming a rapid tempo of Late and Terminal Classic settlement growth and indicating continuities in occupation into the 10th century CE and beyond. Furthermore, we identify two separate periods of occupation during the Early Classic (cal AD 345–545) and the Late Postclassic (cal AD 1325–1475), demonstrating that parts of the settlement were inhabited at different intervals over many centuries. These results offer the first detailed deep-history perspective for the East-Central Belize region, establishing a framework that addresses challenges in chronology-building posed by poor pottery preservation and the complexities of earthen-core architecture at the site and enabling future chronological modeling in this lesser-known frontier of the eastern Maya lowlands.

Given an automorphism ϕ of a group G, the map $(g,h) \mapsto gh\phi(g)^{-1}$, defines a left action of G on itself, whose orbits are called the ϕ-twisted conjugacy classes. In this paper, we consider two interesting aspects of this action for mapping class groups, namely, the existence of a dense orbit and the count of orbits. Generalising the idea of the Rokhlin property, a topological group is said to exhibit the twisted Rokhlin property if, for each automorphism ϕ of the group, there exists a ϕ-twisted conjugacy class that is dense in the group. We provide a complete classification of connected orientable infinite-type surfaces without boundaries whose mapping class groups possess the twisted Rokhlin property. Additionally, we prove that the mapping class groups of the remaining surfaces do not admit any dense ϕ-twisted conjugacy class for any automorphism ϕ. This supplements the recent work of Lanier and Vlamis on the Rokhlin property of big mapping class groups. Regarding the count of twisted conjugacy classes, we prove that the number of ϕ-twisted conjugacy classes is infinite for each automorphism ϕ of the mapping class group of a connected orientable infinite-type surface without boundary.

Political polarization has transcended political arenas, influencing personal decisions. While such biases are often ascribed to out-group animosity, a person’s “party tag” may act as a proxy for other characteristics, overstating partisanship’s role in private life. To explore this, we focus on online dating, using a conjoint experiment with 3,000 UK participants to isolate the effect of partisanship from other traits. Our findings indicate that the influence of partisanship is on par with conventional criteria like physical appearance, yet tolerance for opposing views plays an even stronger role. We also find imporant partisan asymmetries: both groups favour co-partisans, but Labour supporters are twice as likely to do so. Counter-stereotypic profiles reduce bias among Conservatives but heighten it among Labour supporters.

Climate change increasingly threatens human development, economic resilience and labour market stability. Using panel data from Chinese A-share listed firms (2007–2021), this study quantifies the employment impacts of extreme temperatures. A one-standard-deviation increase in exposure reduces employment by 0.07 per cent, equivalent to an average loss of 0.0054 workers per firm and 4.36 jobs across the sample. Extreme heat has a stronger effect than cold, with temperature bin analysis showing an average loss of 0.191 workers per firm and 15.565 jobs overall. Mechanism analyses indicate that extreme temperatures heighten operational risks and financial constraints, reducing labour demand. Internal and external buffers are identified: higher wages mitigate employment losses, government subsidies provide external support, while robot adoption and supply chain concentration show limited moderating effects. Heterogeneity analyses reveal greater vulnerabilities in underdeveloped, resource-dependent and climate-sensitive regions. Results emphasize the need for climate-adaptive policies to protect employment amid rising environmental risks.

In-crop site-specific weed recognition systems have enabled precise and selective use of alternative nonchemical weed control technologies to provide much-needed support for weed management programs in large-scale cropping systems. Laser weeding has long been proposed, but only recently has it been commercialized as a highly precise, nonchemical weed control option for cropping systems. The weed control efficacy of several laser types (e.g., CO2, diode, fiber, and Nd:YAG) has been identified; however, no studies have investigated the use of readily available, high-power, low-cost consumer-grade laser diode arrays. The weed control efficacy of a 97-W, 445-nm laser diode array was investigated with the aims of evaluating 1) the irradiation energy requirement (as determined by treatment duration) of spot laser treatments required to control key grass (rigid ryegrass) and broadleaf (wild radish) weeds and 2) the influence of growth stage on energy requirement for annual ryegrass and wild radish control. Seedlings of rigid ryegrass and wild radish at growth stage 1 (GS1) were controlled by low laser energy densities of 0.2 to 0.5 J mm−2. As plant size increased, the energy densities required to control the seedlings increased substantially. For example, 2.0 J mm−2 was required to control GS4 rigid ryegrass, representing a 10-fold increase over that required for GS1 seedlings. Similarly aged but substantially larger wild radish seedlings remained mostly uncontrolled by 2.0 J mm−2 treatments. Wild radish was consistently more tolerant of laser treatments than annual ryegrass, but this difference was likely due to the more rapid growth rate that resulted in larger plants at the time of treatment, especially during warmer growing conditions. These results clearly define the potential for laser weeding using laser diode arrays and they also identify the need for additional testing across a wider range of weed species with higher-powered, affordable diode arrays.

This study examines how entrepreneurs balance between short-term operational continuity and long-term development amid a polycrisis comprising economic volatility, geopolitical disruption, and regulatory instability. Using survey data from 150 entrepreneurs and four case studies, it develops the Integrated Entrepreneurial Resilience and Growth model, which theorizes resilience through three interlinked mechanisms: improvizational action, institutional workarounds, and strategic reconfiguration. Findings reveal that entrepreneurs employ dual temporal strategies, improvising for immediate survival while planning for future growth. Additionally, ecosystem engagement with accelerators, mentors, and investors enhances resilience by providing resources, knowledge, and legitimacy. The study advances a dynamic and embedded understanding of resilience by linking internal adaptive capacities with external institutional support. It bridges dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial ecosystem perspectives to explain how entrepreneurs navigate overlapping crises. The study presents a novel framework for resilience under continuous structural disruptions, offering insights for policymakers and program designers seeking to support entrepreneurship in volatile contexts.

A series of new laboratory experiments explore the transient flow in an enclosed space of depth $H$, which is subject to an upward displacement ventilation flux, $Q_V$, and which contains a localised heat source of buoyancy flux $F_s$, when the buoyancy of the ventilation air changes by $\Delta g'$. Initially, the plume, produced by the heat source, entrains the ventilation air, leading to a two-layer stratification which depends on the dimensionless strength of convection, $\mu \propto F_s^{1/3}H^{5/3}/Q_V$. When the buoyancy of the ventilation air decreases, $\Delta g' \lt 0$, a new layer of relatively dense fluid grows next to the floor. The fluid entrained by the plume from this new layer causes the plume to intrude between the original upper and lower layers. For a sufficiently large decrease in buoyancy, $|\Delta g' Q_V /F_s| \gt 1$, then as the new lower layer grows, the plume eventually becomes negatively buoyant relative to the original lower layer and intrudes between the new lowest layer and the original lower layer. When the buoyancy of the air supply increases, $\Delta g'\gt 0$, it mixes with the fluid in the original lower layer. If the increase in buoyancy is sufficient, $\Delta g' Q_V/F_s\gt 1$, then the new supply air eventually also mixes with the original upper layer. In each case, a new two-layer stratification becomes re-established. We propose new models for the evolution of the transient flow, assuming that the buoyancy profile can be approximated by a staircase of well-mixed layers. These layers are emptied or filled through the action of the plume and ventilation. We find that the model predictions are consistent with our new experiments in each of the four regimes. We conclude by discussing the implications of these transient flows for thermal comfort and the mixing of contaminants into the occupied lower region of the space.