ABSTRACTWe investigated the time course of selective attention to face regions during judgment of dis/approval by low and high social anxiety undergraduates (with clinical levels on que...

Regional institutional marketing supports sustainable farming by bringing wholesome, nutritious food to members of the community. Schools, in particular, can benefit greatly from this arrangement in comprehensive efforts to address childhood obesity. Nineteen previous publications examined issues around supply of and/or demand for regional food procurement by institutions across the United States, including levels of interest, perceived benefits, and barriers to this arrangement. Food service directors, farmers, and/or distributors participated in surveys, interviews, workshops/forums, case studies, and one evaluation about regional (...) food procurement. Accounts of seven farmer cooperatives or networks indicate that institutional customers are more often restaurants (n = 5), health care facilities (n = 2), colleges/universities (n = 2), and other facilities (n = 2), than public schools (n = 1) or food retailers (n = 1). The studies agree that the main benefits offered by regional food procurement are support of the local economy and increased access to fresh and nutritious food. Barriers consistently faced by food services and farmers have to do with lack of infrastructure and financial support for processing and central distribution. Though obstacles vary by district and/or geographic characteristics, results indicate that across groups there is a clear need for better support mechanisms by which farms can connect with regional markets. The practice of farm-to-institution marketing holds the potential to improve nutritional status of community members and financial stability of farmers, though institutional support is needed for systemic transition to this purchasing method. (shrink)

Should studies of social history engage in questions of important socio-political changes? The answer is undoubtedly affirmative. So far as the important changes in 19th century China are concerned, some case studies in regional social history have presented a picture of greater complexity and diversity. The Ningbo case, for example, shows that when a port that has had a history of foreign trade becomes embroiled in conflict between Chinese and foreigners, this conflict may simply become one mode of interaction amongst (...) many between Chinese and foreigners. The case of Turmot is an important turning point in Chinese history, since it marks the reversal of 2000 years of frequent attempts by nomadic tribes to expand southward. This trend is completely reversed by the Han nationalities’ northward immigration and reclamation, a development as significant as the Western invasion of China in terms of consequent social transformations. These historical traces revealed from within regions deepen our comprehension of these social transformations; consequently, such studies in social history may manage to provide answers different from those offered by the traditional model of political history. (shrink)

This paper examines how the riparian vegetation of perennial and ephemeral rivers systems in the semi-arid, winter rainfall region of South Africa has changed over time. Using an environmental history approach we assess the extent of change in plant cover at 32 sites using repeat photographs that cover a time span of 36-113 years. The results indicate that in the majority of sites there has been a significant increase in cover of riparian vegetation in both the channel (...) beds and adjacent floodplain environments. The most important species to have increased in cover across the region is Acacia karroo. We interpret the findings in the context of historical changes in climate and land use practices. Damage to riparian vegetation caused by mega-herbivores probably ceased sometime during the early 19th century as did scouring events related to large floods that occurred at regular intervals from the 15th to early 20th centuries. Extensive cutting of riparian vegetation for charcoal and firewood has also declined over the last 150 years. Changes in the grazing history as well as increased abstraction and dam building along perennial rivers in the region also account for some of the changes observed in riparian vegetation during the second half of the 20th century. Predictions of climate change related to global warming anticipate increased drought events with the subsequent loss of species and habitats in the study area. The evidence presented here suggests that an awareness of the region's historical ecology should be considered more carefully in the modelling and formulation of future climate change predictions as well as in the understanding of climate change impacts over time frames of decades and centuries. (shrink)

The article devoted to historiographical analysis of the works of Russian researchers, containing information about the activities of the central party organ that functioned on the territory of Bashkortostan during the rule of N. S. Khrushchev. The new soviet leader was responsible for several relatively liberal reforms in areas of domestic policy. This period of time was characterized by complex socio-political conditions caused by the transition of the internal life of Soviet Russia from Stalin’s version of authoritarianism to Khrushchev’s (...) more liberal policy. Personnel reshuffles in the highest echelon of the central party, which functioned on the territory of Bashkortostan during the ‘thaw‘ of Khrushchev, undoubtedly left their imprint on carrying out the policy in various areas of life in the multinational region. The first secretaries of the Bashkir regional committee of the CPSU were the conductors of the ideas of the leader of the USSR. Khrushchev’s ‘thaw‘ caused unprecedented economic, cultural and social transformations in the life of Soviet Russia and in particular in the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The analytical characteristic of the works is given, the basic tendencies of the researchers on this issue are considered. It is shown that, as a result of changes in the political life of Russia, the main trends in the study of this problem have also changed. (shrink)

The region of the Middle East is highly conflict-loaded. The absence of one distinct regional power may be considered both cause and consequence of this structural feature. At the same time, there are significant power gaps between states in the Middle East, with Israel among the most powerful actors and accordingly defined as a potential regional power. Due to the specific empirical setting of the Middle East region, an analytical design emphasizing relational and procedural dynamics is required. (...) In attempting to develop such a design, this paper utilizes three well-established schools of thought of international relations: (neo)realism, institutionalism, and constructivism. These three schools of thought are further used for developing hypotheses on both Israeli regional policy and its effects on the Middle East. After illustrating these hypotheses in relation to four periods in the contemporary history of Israel, theoretical lessons to be learned for the analysis of regional powers in other world areas are presented. (shrink)

The Spanish Federal Council of the European Movement (SFCEM), founded as a Spanish organization to favour the integration of Spain in Europe, was composed of representatives of various political organizations of the Republican government in exile. Correspondence between the President, Salvador de Madariaga, and the members of the Basque and Catalonian delegations discloses one of the most critical issues of the time: how to organize the Spanish regions after the fall of Franco’s regime. This article explores how the ideas (...) of a Spanish federation – defended by Madariaga – and the interest of the nationalist groups collided during the decades of 1950s and 1960s. The result was a harsh debate on separatism between the Basques and Catalans, who saw Franco’s Spain as the representation of centralism and repression of their identities, and other Spanish exiles. (shrink)

Having been supressed and denied their rights by successive Syrian governments over the years, Syrian Kurds are now asserting a de facto autonomy. Since the withdrawal of the Syrian President's forces from the ethnically Kurdish areas in the early months of the current civil war, the inhabitants have declared a self-rule government along the lines of the Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq. For Syrian Kurds, the creation of a small autonomous region is a dream fulfilled, albeit one unrecognized (...) by the international community. Some 15% to 17% of the Syrian population is Kurdish. Whether they can achieve statehood will depend on a reading of international law and on how the international community reacts. There are certain aspects which differentiate Kurdish self-rule in Syria from its counterpart in Iraq. View HTML Send article to KindleTo send this article to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about sending to your Kindle. Find out more about sending to your Kindle. Note you can select to send to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be sent to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply. Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.Kurdish Regional Self-rule Administration in Syria: A new Model of Statehood and its Status in International Law Compared to the Kurdistan Regional Government in IraqVolume 17, Issue 3LOQMAN RADPEY DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1468109916000190Your Kindle email address Please provide your Kindle [email protected]@kindle.com Available formats PDF Please select a format to send. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services. Please confirm that you accept the terms of use. Cancel Send ×Send article to Dropbox To send this article to your Dropbox account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about sending content to Dropbox. Kurdish Regional Self-rule Administration in Syria: A new Model of Statehood and its Status in International Law Compared to the Kurdistan Regional Government in IraqVolume 17, Issue 3LOQMAN RADPEY DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1468109916000190Available formats PDF Please select a format to send. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services. Please confirm that you accept the terms of use. Cancel Send ×Send article to Google Drive To send this article to your Google Drive account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about sending content to Google Drive. Kurdish Regional Self-rule Administration in Syria: A new Model of Statehood and its Status in International Law Compared to the Kurdistan Regional Government in IraqVolume 17, Issue 3LOQMAN RADPEY DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1468109916000190Available formats PDF Please select a format to send. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services. Please confirm that you accept the terms of use. Cancel Send ×Export citation Request permission. (shrink)

Two of the lead articles in this issue examine the emerging practice of organ procurement by normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) in terms of whether or not these patients are “dead” at the time t...

Regional market integration in Europe and North America has grown increasingly extensive. This integration has created institutions and structures to guide pancontinental political, economic, and social policies. At the same time, both regions are experiencing pressures of decentralization. These competing trends are transforming relationships between and among business, society, and government. This article compares and contrasts integration in North America and Europe, and discusses the implications of political, economic, and institutional changes in these two regions for business-government relations and (...) the structure and strategic orientation of the corporate public affairs (PA) function. This article reviews recent literature on comparative political economy, business and public policy, and corporate PA, and it presents a conceptual model and research propositions, supported by case illustrations, of how integration and decentralization affect business-government relations and corporate PA in Europe and North America. (shrink)

As stated above, the process of the regionalization of Confucianism was symbolically raising the banner of unofficial Confucian schools in a regionally dispersed situation. This resulted in a refreshing contrast to the unified characteristics of Han Confucianism. The consolidation of a position of united imperial authority during the Han had led to Confucian discourse becoming official ideology, with wandering Confucians being absorbed into the political center of gravity, and the use of a single authority to solve any given question. An (...) examination of this process from the viewpoint of spatial and geographical distribution, demonstrates that the process of transmission was from a "wider area" to a "single place" . During the Han the cultural focus was concentrated in northern regions such as Qi, Lu, Liang [this is the state Wei—Ed.], and Song. Their locations were mutually overlapping with the political centers of gravity. At the same time, the cultural focus was invariably in the regions where Confucian activities were most concentrated. This was coterminous with the territorial limitations of the domination of the Han. A question emerges therefrom: with the post-Han south-north cultural migration, did the mutual interaction between the political and cultural centers have a defining influence on the spatial composition of the stratum of Confucian scholars? (shrink)

In ‘from times to worlds and back again: a transcendentist theory of persistence’ (henceforth TTP) Alessandro Giordani outlines five competitor views regarding the manner in which objects occupy regions along a dimension. These are: (1) classical uni-location (2) bare uni-location (3) multi-location (4) counterpart presence and (5) transcendent presence. Each view comes in both a temporal and modal version and Giordani argues that one ought to prefer transcendentism (i.e. 5) along both dimensions. According to temporal transcendentism, necessarily, no object is (...) exactly located at any region along the temporal dimension. Instead, any object, O, is derivatively present at some region, R, along the temporal dimension in virtue of bearing certain relations to something (according to TTP an event) that occupies R along that dimension. According to modal transcendentism, no object is exactly located at any region along the modal dimension. Instead, any object, O, is derivatively present at some region, R, along the modal dimension in virtue of bearing certain relations to something (according to TTP an event) that occupies R along that dimension. I argue that such a view is under motivated, and, at any rate, may not in fact offer a distinct view. (shrink)

Human languages typically employ a variety of spatial metaphors for time (e.g., “I'm looking forward to the weekend”). The metaphorical grounding of time in space is also evident in gesture. The gestures that are performed when talking about time bolster the view that people sometimes think about regions of time as if they were locations in space. However, almost nothing is known about the development of metaphorical gestures for time, despite keen interest in the origins (...) of space–time metaphors. In this study, we examined the gestures that English‐speaking 6‐to‐7‐year‐olds, 9‐to‐11‐year‐olds, 13‐to‐15‐year‐olds, and adults produced when talking about time. Participants were asked to explain the difference between pairs of temporal adverbs (e.g., “tomorrow” versus “yesterday”) and to use their hands while doing so. There was a gradual increase across age groups in the propensity to produce spatial metaphorical gestures when talking about time. However, even a substantial majority of 6‐to‐7‐year‐old children produced a spatial gesture on at least one occasion. Overall, participants produced fewer gestures in the sagittal (front‐back) axis than in the lateral (left‐right) axis, and this was particularly true for the youngest children and adolescents. Gestures that were incongruent with the prevailing norms of space–time mappings among English speakers (leftward and backward for past; rightward and forward for future) gradually decreased with increasing age. This was true for both the lateral and sagittal axis. This study highlights the importance of metaphoricity in children's understanding of time. It also suggests that, by 6 to 7 years of age, culturally determined representations of time have a strong influence on children's spatial metaphorical gestures. (shrink)

We consider the time delay of massive, non-relativistic, one-dimensional particles due to a tunneling potential. In this setting the well-known Hartman effect asserts that often the sub-ensemble of particles going through the tunnel seems to cross the tunnel region instantaneously. An obstacle to the utilization of this effect for getting faster signals is the exponential damping by the tunnel, so there seems to be a trade-off between speedup and intensity. In this paper we prove that this trade-off is (...) never in favor of faster signals: the probability for a signal to reach its destination before some deadline is always reduced by the tunnel, for arbitrary incoming states, arbitrary positive and compactly supported tunnel potentials, and arbitrary detectors. More specifically, we show this for several different ways to define “the same incoming state” and “the same detector” when comparing the settings with and without tunnel potential. The arrival time measurements are expressed in the time-covariant approach, but we also allow the detection to be a localization measurement at a later time. (shrink)

With regard to facial emotion recognition, previous studies found that specific facial regions were attended more in order to identify certain emotions. We investigated whether a preferential search for emotion-specific diagnostic regions could contribute toward the accurate recognition of facial emotions. Twenty-three neurotypical adults performed an emotion recognition task using six basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. The participants’ exploration patterns for the faces were measured using the Moving Window Technique (MWT). This technique presented a small window (...) on a blurred face, and the participants explored the face stimuli through a mouse-controlled window in order to recognize the emotions on the face. Our results revealed that when the participants explored the diagnostic regions for each emotion more frequently, the correct recognition of the emotions occurred at a faster rate. To the best of our knowledge, this current study is the first to present evidence that an exploration of emotion-specific diagnostic regions can predict the reaction time of accurate emotion recognition among neurotypical adults. Such findings can be further applied in the evaluation and/or training (regarding emotion recognition functions) of both typically and atypically developing children with emotion recognition difficulties. (shrink)

In recent times, the role of the regional economy changed significantly under certain conditions of globalization and structural adjustment. The process of changing must be crucial to analyse regional economy and develop the planning of regional economy. Developing economies depend often on industries and country policies. Modern studies tend to participate in important factors in this field such as energy intensity, labour skills, local industries, resources, and local expertise. Furthermore, in this study, to start developing the regional economy and make (...) the revolution in this field to connect it with new technology, we train the deep learning algorithm of gathering factors to manage them perfectly and make a good prediction for the future economy. Hybrid sequence to sequence algorithms of deep learning fed with previous information from past years and run the system to compare the predicted result data with current information to evaluate the method to be certified for the coming years. (shrink)

The main goal of this work is to place the Regional History of Education into the broader context of general history and to create a theoretical structure that includes its main approaches and characteristics while avoiding the frequent confusions and oversights with which it is often associated. Our outline of regional history alludes to its conceptual foundations, defines the object of its analysis and also identifies the convergence of factors that shape this area of study, such as genealogy, multicentrism, comparison (...) and social synthesis. Once these different aspects have been described it will be easier to understand that the past is not only a dependent variable of time but also, to a great degree, of space. (shrink)

Sydney Shoemaker argues that time without change is possible, but begs the question by assuming an, in effect, Newtonian absolute time, that 'flows equably' in a region in which there is no change and in one in which there is. An equally possible, relativist, assumption, consistent, it seems, with relativity theory, is that where nothing changes there is no time flow, though there may be elsewhere, where there is change. Such an assumption would require some revision (...) of uncritical common thought about time. Aristotle argues that there is no time without change but that time is not change. His arguments for the latter can be faulted both internally and again in terms of the same relativist assumption. From the Physics we can derive, though Aristotle himself did not, an argument that time is to change as geometrical space is to body: the thing itself in abstraction. (shrink)

Transitional justice scholars are increasingly concerned with measuring the impact of transitional justice initiatives. Scholars often assume that TJ mechanisms must be properly designed and ordered to achieve lasting effect, but the impact of TJ timing and sequencing has attracted relatively little theoretical or empirical attention. Focusing on Latin America, this article explores variation within the region as to when TJ occurs and the order in which mechanisms are implemented. We utilize qualitative comparative analysis to assess the impact of (...) TJ timing and sequencing on democratic development. We find little evidence for path dependency owing to the chronological order of mechanisms. We do find, however, that amnesties and trials approach a sufficient condition for democratic consolidation in Latin America; trials, however, come closest to being a necessary condition for successful democratic consolidation. (shrink)

This book explores the key motif of the religious Other in devotional (bhakti) literatures and practices from across the Indian subcontinent. The primary aim of this book is to reconsider and challenge inherited notions of the bhakta's or devotee's Other and unmask processes of representation that involve adoption, appropriation, and rejection of different social and religious agents. The book considers the ways in which bhakti might be conceived as having an inter-regional impact--as a force, discourse, network, mythology, ethic--while critically engaging (...) with extant scholarly narratives about what bhakti is and tracing when and how those narratives have been used. The sheer diversity of South Asia's devotional traditions renders them an especially rich resource for examining social and religious fault lines, thereby furthering scholarly understanding of how communalism and sectarianism originate and develop on local or regional levels, with wider geographic implications. Bringing together studies from a subcontinent-wide variety of linguistic, geographical, and historical frames for the first time, this book will be an important contribution to the literature on bhakti, and it will be of interest to scholars of South Asian Religion and Asian Religion. (shrink)

Introduction. Modern times are characterized by independence from financial support for travel due to introducing an ordinary region with its daily surrounding into tourist circulation, focusing not on distance, but on the depth of emotions when choosing a place to visit. The aim of the study is to assess the factors of transforming the tourist environment in a region, which might result in a number of challenges for managing the regional development. Methods. In the framework of the study, (...) both general logical methods and empirical methods are used. In particular, the analysis of approaches to managing a tourist region in the post-tourism era, as well as new tourist practices are based on classification and periodization. When choosing the factors of the tourist region new format, the case method and comparison were applied. The scientific novelty of the study. The authors substantiate that the new era will be determined by changes in the labor–leisure ratio, new tourist practices and new tourist region format. The new tourist region format involves a transition to understanding the tourist as a temporary resident of the region and actualizes the need for coexistence. Results. The state of post-tourism for such a region may be due to the emergence of new residentsowners of second homes and business migrants, as well as the social effect of deliberate tourism practices. The competition of such regions is based on intangible resources. The factors of transforming the tourist environment made it possible to give a new look at assessing the effectiveness of an event for the territory. The authors propose threshold values that will allow making decisions on the co-financing of the event from the regional or local budget. Conclusions. Hybridization of tourism and leisure does not provide a complete answer about a possible reduction in work hours, however, indicates a short-term leisure mobility of individuals. New tourism practices are based on awareness and desire to increase self-efficacy. Such transformations open up new opportunities for the territory development. (shrink)

The research concept of the "regionalization of Confucianism" has been extracted as an "ideal type." It can be summarized approximately under the dual aspects of premodern intellectuals as "using the Way to oppose power" and "using the Way to supplement power." At the same time, the process of the "regionalization of Confucian learning" was complete. This created positions for spatially mobile intellectuals both within the professional bureaucratic class and in the class of popular gentry scholars . Thus relief is (...) provided for the worrying situation of the split between the "transmission of the Way" and the "transmission of control" that has been a perplexing matter since pre-Qin times. (shrink)

In order for the Islamic message to be delivered to people, The Prophet (pbuh) and his companions have made great efforts. A great part of the companions (ashab) were not in the places where they lived after death of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). They have made enormous sacrifices by abandoning their homeland in order to bring Islam to different lands/intercounty. Especially the second Khalif Omer period has passed with the struggles against the two great states of the time, Sasani (...) and Byzantine. In this period, Muslims conquered many places such as Palestine, Egypt, Damascus, Hama, Aleppo, Antakya, Rakka and Urfa. Thus, the Islamic armies came to Anatolia. One of the companion who participated in the activities of conquest actively is Iyâz b. Ghanm who died in 20/641. Iyâz b. Ghanm who was brought to the governor of al-Cezîrah by Khalif Omer has conquered many places such as Nusaybin, Dârâ, Sincar, Meyyâfarikîn (Silvan) and Mardin and he has been conducive in meeting the region with Islam. Thus, in a time that could be counted as short as seven years from the death of the Prophet, the Islamic message reached remote geographies. The aim of this study is to give information about Iyâz b. Ghanm, who was at the head of the army that conquered the al-Jazeera region and to determine whether there are narrations that are personally transmitted from him or that it is included in isnad. As can be seen when the narrative literature is researched, some hadiths narrated by Iyâz b. Ghanm are in the following hadith sources: Sahîh-Bukhârî and Ibn Hibbân; Şuabu’l-Îmân and Sunan al-Kubrâ-Beyhakî; Musned-Ebû Ya’lâ and Ahmed b. Hanbel; al-Mu’cam al-Kebîr-Taberânî. Determination of these narratives will reveal the contribution of the Islamic commander, who has a significant place in the memory of the inhabitants of al-Jazeera region and the adjacent surroundings, to the hadith. (shrink)

Time arises in the theory of gravity through the semiclassical approximation of the gravitational part of the solution of the Wheeler-De Witt equation in the manner shown by Banks (SCAG). We generalize Banks' procedure by grafting a Born-Oppenheimer type approximation onto SCAG. This allows for the feedback of matter onto gravity, wherein the latter is driven by the (quantum) mean energy-momentum tensor of matter. The wave function is nonvanishing in classically forbidden configurations of gravity. In SCAG this is described (...) by the evolution of matter in imaginary time. This is interpreted as an inverse temperature, and the norm of the matter wave function, no longer conserved for these gravitational configurations, is a partition function. A simple cosmological model is worked out to illustrate these ideas. In this model it is shown that the temperature of the matter which emerges into the classically permitted region is the inverse bounce time of the bounce executed by the system in the forbidden region (behind the horizon).Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future. And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable.—T. S. Eliot, “Burnt Norton,”Four Quartets, 1943. (shrink)

Food systems are made of a myriad of actors, visions and interests. Collaborative governance arrangement may foster their transformation towards greater sustainability when conventional means, such as state-oriented planning, technological developments or social innovations provide insufficient impetus. However, such arrangements may achieve transformative results only under certain conditions and in specific contexts. Despite an abundant literature on participatory schemes, the success for collaborative governance arrangements remains partially understood and deserves academic attention, in particular in the field of food systems reform. (...) This article provides an in-depth analysis of an empirical case study in the Walloon Region (Belgium), where the administration for sustainable development initiated a six-month participatory process to collectively construct a roadmap towards a sustainable regional food system. The article explores the extent to which the process has allowed transformative voices to emerge, and assesses whether the outcome provides a promising tool for adopting a transformative policy at the regional scale. It argues that the facilitation process insufficiently attenuated existing power relations and highlights key underlying factors (including time, resources, expertise and coalition building) that, like in classical negotiation settings, strengthen or weaken specific actors. It discusses the link between the results of the participatory process and the potential for policy-makers to build upon these to guide further the region’s food system towards a sustainable future. (shrink)

The problem of finite-time tracking control is discussed for a class of uncertain nonstrict-feedback time-varying state delay nonlinear systems with full-state constraints and unmodeled dynamics. Different from traditional finite-control methods, a C 1 smooth finite-time adaptive control framework is introduced by employing a smooth switch between the fractional and cubic form state feedback, so that the desired fast finite-time control performance can be guaranteed. By constructing appropriate Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals, the uncertain terms produced by time-varying state (...) delays are compensated for and unmodeled dynamics is coped with by introducing a dynamical signal. In order to avoid the inherent problem of “complexity of explosion” in the backstepping-design process, the DSC technology with a novel nonlinear filter is introduced to simplify the structure of the controller. Furthermore, the results show that all the internal error signals are driven to converge into small regions in a finite time, and the full-state constraints are not violated. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. (shrink)

The shaping of creative economy is particularly important for development of cities and regions. This process can be analyzed in conjunction with changes in work and leisure time and their place in the human life cycle. This article aims to approximate the main features of: contemporary position of elderly people, creative ageing policy, benefits from seniors creativity and controversies linked to this concept. This essay also indicates the patterns of recommendations and activities in development of services for older people (...) which may be the subject of further in-depth research. These examples exist in: documents and strategic programs, the activities of network organizations and the activities of urban cultural and artistic institutions. (shrink)

Presentism says that only present objects exist. But the view has trouble grounding past-tensed truths like “dinosaurs existed”. Standard Eternalism grounds those truths by positing the existence of past objects—like dinosaurs. But Standard Eternalism conflicts with the intuition that there is genuine change—the intuition that there once were dinosaurs and no longer are any. I offer a novel theory of time—‘The Imprint’—that does a better job preserving both the grounding and genuine change intuitions. The Imprint says that the past (...) and present exist, but where the present exhibits mass-energy, the past only consists of curved empty regions of spacetime. We therefore avoid saying that there are dinosaurs, since there is no mass-energy in the past; but the curvature of the past gives us a way to ground the truth that “dinosaurs existed”. (shrink)

Hellman and Shapiro explore the development of the idea of the continuous, from the Aristotelian view that a true continuum cannot be composed of points to the now standard, entirely punctiform frameworks for analysis and geometry. They then investigate the underlying metaphysical issues concerning the nature of space or space-time.

Anthony C. Yu, Carl Buck Distinguished Professor in Humanities, Chairman, Division of East Asian Languages, University of Chicago, Divinity School, writes: "Robert Allinson's book represents tremendous thoughtfulness, originality, and erudition. Its wide-ranging and lucid discussions cover a huge terrain, from ancient metaphysics to quantum mechanics. The enlistment of certain classical Confucian concepts and themes at critical junctures to advance the book's argument also provides luminous comparison. His interpretation of the Confucian emphasis on life as social and self-preservation is both humane (...) and interesting, much as his analysis of the Mencian notion of compassion deserves our attention." In Space, Time and the Ethical Foundations ideas about space and time are developed, unique to the history of philosophy, that match the new physics. A well grounded metaphysics is presented which offers a safe haven between stifling skepticism and wild imagination, and an original philosophical method is demonstrated which sharply demarcates philosophy from the empirical sciences.A new foundation is laid for ethics by grounding ethics on the author's psycho-biological deduction of the emotions that offers a progressive model to replace the Freudian paradigm. An originally designed trans-cultural ethics, doubly grounded on both Eastern and Western thought, presents an antidote to the contemporary retreat into relativism. Insights from biology, psychology, evolutionary theory and ethics are brought together in a unique and fruitful synthesis. At the same time, human barbarisms such as the Holocaust are pointed to as reminders that there are just limits to compassion. This book presents a sophisticated text for metaphysics, epistemology and systematic ethics. (shrink)

The issue of how basic sensory and temporal processing are related is still unresolved. We studied temporal processing, as assessed by simple visual reaction times (RT) and double-pulse resolution (DPR), in patients with partial vision loss after visual pathway lesions and investigated whether vision restoration training (VRT), a training program designed to improve light detection performance, would also affect temporal processing. Perimetric and campimetric visual field tests as well as maps of DPR thresholds and RT were acquired before and after (...) a 3 months training period with VRT. Patient performance was compared to that of age-matched healthy subjects. Intact visual field size increased during training. Averaged across the entire visual field, DPR remained constant while RT improved slightly. However, in transition zones between the blind and intact areas (areas of residual vision) where patients had shown between 20 and 80% of stimulus detection probability in pre-training visual field tests, both DPR and RT improved markedly. The magnitude of improvement depended on the defect depth (or degree of intactness) of the respective region at baseline. Inter-individual training outcome variability was very high, with some patients showing little change and others showing performance approaching that of healthy controls. Training-induced improvement of light detection in patients with visual field loss thus generalized to dynamic visual functions. The findings suggest that similar neural mechanisms may underlie the impairment and subsequent training-induced functional recovery of both light detection and temporal processing. (shrink)

The main goal of this work is to place the Regional History of Education into the broader context of general history and to create a theoretical structure that includes its main approaches and characteristics while avoiding the frequent confusions and oversights with which it is often associated. Our outline of regional history alludes to its conceptual foundations, defines the object of its analysis and also identifies the convergence of factors that shape this area of study, such as genealogy, multicentrism, comparison (...) and social synthesis. Once these different aspects have been described it will be easier to understand that the past is not only a dependent variable of time but also, to a great degree, of space (understood as a cornerstone of human life and of the social relations that shape and give meaning to the past, present and future). (shrink)

Notoriously, the Einstein equations of general relativity have solutions in which closed timelike curves occur. On these curves time loops back onto itself, which has exotic consequences: for example, traveling back into one's own past becomes possible. However, in order to make time travel stories consistent constraints have to be satisfied, which prevents seemingly ordinary and plausible processes from occurring. This, and several other "unphysical" features, have motivated many authors to exclude solutions with CTCs from consideration, e.g. by (...) conjecturing a chronology protection law. In this contribution we shall investigate the nature of one particular class of exotic consequences of CTCs, namely those involving unexpected cases of indeterminism or determinism. Indeterminism arises even against the backdrop of the usual deterministic physical theories when CTCs do not cross spacelike hypersurfaces outside of a limited CTC-region|such hypersurfaces fail to be Cauchy surfaces. We shall compare this CTC-indeterminism with four other types of indeterminism that have been discussed in the philosophy of physics literature: quantum indeterminism, the indeterminism of the hole argument, non-uniqueness of solutions of differential equations and lack of predictability due to insuffcient data. By contrast, a certain kind of determinism appears to arise when an indeterministic theory is applied on a CTC: things cannot be different from what they already were. Again we shall make comparisons, this time with other cases of determination in physics. We shall argue that on further consideration both this indeterminism and determinism on CTCs turn out to possess analogues in other, familiar areas of physics. CTC- indeterminism is close to the epistemological indeterminism we know from statistical physics, while the "fixedness" typical of CTC-determinism is pervasive in physics. CTC- determinism and CTC-indeterminism therefore do not provide incontrovertible grounds for rejecting CTCs as conceptually inadmissible. (shrink)

The diversities in the natural, social, and human environment of various regions often lead to the differences in their regional economic development level and industrial structure and layout; moderate regional differences can mobilize economic vitality and improve development efficiency, but excessive differences may lead to social instability or even turbulence. Intelligent algorithms or their improved and hybrid algorithms can recently achieve more suitable solutions to practical problems of nonlinear, discrete, nondifferentiable, and multiple constraints. Therefore, this paper's main point is on (...) the analysis of regional economic development differences based on intelligent hybrid algorithms. On the basis of summarizing and analyzing previous research works, this paper expounded the research status and significance of regional economic development differences analysis, elaborated the development background, current status, and future challenges of intelligent hybrid algorithms, introduced the methods and principles of principal component distance weighting algorithm and sequential quadratic programming algorithm, constructed a basic model for regional economic development differences based on intelligent hybrid algorithm, conducted the construction of analysis index system and the hybrid of intelligence algorithm, analyzed the regional economic development differences based on intelligent hybrid algorithm, performed the principal component analysis and time-space change analysis of regional economic development, and finally carried out a simulation experiment and its result analysis. The study results show that the intelligent hybrid algorithm can simulate the intelligent behavior of certain groups in nature when analyzing the differences in regional economic development, so that it has essentially parallelism, high accuracy, and convergence speed. The study results of this paper provide a reference for further researches on the regional economic development differences analysis based on intelligent hybrid algorithm. (shrink)

A one-dimensional scattering problem off a δ-shaped potential is solved analytically and the time development of a wave packet is derived from the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. The exact and explicit expression of the scattered wave packet supplies us with interesting information about the “time delay” by potential scattering in the asymptotic region. It is demonstrated that a wave packet scattered by a spin-flipping potential can give us quite a different value for the delay times from that (...) obtained without spin-degrees of freedom. (shrink)

John Paul IIs prescriptions for humanizing the world economy are not likely to have the impact of Leo XIIIs Rerum Novarum because the reception accorded reform proposals depends on opportunity and circumstances as well as the ethical soundness and the logic of the principles advanced. Because of historical circumstances, Thomas Mores critique of the emerging agricultural capitalism of his time was ignored while Catholic Social Teaching inspired by Kettelers work, endorsed and publicized by Leo, strongly impacted the industrializing world (...) of a century ago. Whereas More defended a church seen as an impediment to economic progress by leading-edge Protestant entrepreneurs, Catholic Social Teaching was propagated at a time when Catholicism was enmeshed in the spread of industrialization. In our current world economy, increasingly dominated by non-Catholic regions of the East and a resurgent liberalism in the West, John Pauls recommendations currently seem more likely to meet the fate of Mores critique than of Leos. Implications for stakeholder theory are also discussed. (shrink)

What is the nature of temporal passage—the movement of events or moments of time from the future through the present into the past? Is the future and the past as real as the present, or is the present—or perhaps the present and the past—all that exists? What role, if any, does language play in giving us an insight into temporal reality? Is it possible to travel through time into distant regions of the future or the past? What accounts (...) for the direction of time, the sense we have that we are moving toward the future and not back into the past? What is the relation between the physics of time and the philosophy of time? These are the kind of dizzying questions that have been addressed by metaphysicians since antiquity, and time has remained a critical concept for many thinkers and philosophers since then (for instance, in his Confessions, St Augustine, restating an observation by Plotinus, wrote: ‘So what is time? If no one asks me, I know; if I seek to explain it, I do not’). Interest in the subject has also been enduring—and has blossomed anew in the past century. The Philosophy of Time is a new title in the Routledge series, Critical Concepts in Philosophy. It meets the need for an authoritative reference work to make sense of the subject’s vast literature and the continuing explosion in research output. Edited by L. Nathan Oaklander, a leading scholar in the philosophy of time, this new Major Work from Routledge brings together in four volumes the canonical and the very best cutting-edge scholarship in the field to provide a synoptic view of all the key issues and current debates. With a comprehensive introduction to the collection, newly written by the editor, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, The Philosophy of Time is an essential work of reference and is destined to be valued by philosophers of time—as well as those working in related areas of philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of religion—as a vital research resource. (shrink)

The role of subnational regions is ill-conceived in international law scholarship, which has come to slowly accept the important role that cities can play as international actors. Opening up the academic debate for a perspective on regions promises to develop new insights on the divide of governance functions between international organizations and states, regions and cities. At the same time, the regional focus helps to unearth some of the shortcomings of overly enthusiastic approaches to what cities can do as (...) global actors. International law scholarship has found it difficult, however, to engage with the concept of the region. This is owed, as this Article demonstrates, to difficult definitional issues as well as the informalizing bend of a focus on regional governance, which is hard to square with traditions of formalist thinking in international law. Ultimately, the Article argues that regions can function as a useful prism through which to analyze current governance challenges. (shrink)

Introduction. Developing human potential, improving the population’s life quality of the regions are the unconditional priorities of the regional socio-economic policy. The implementation of such priorities requires an objective assessment of the existing socio-economic situation of the Russian Federation’s constituent entities, an analysis of the conditions for regional development, a search for economic growth drivers, and the development of effective mechanisms for implementing priorities. The designated issues are in the area of scientists’ and specialists’ close attention, whose range of scientific (...) research and applied practices is constantly replenished. In this regard, the article expands the understanding of the complexity of the regions’ socio-economic and technological development, and various aspects of the processes of regional development are considered on the basis of the proposed model, the essence of which is represented by the triad “conditions-factors-results”. Within the framework of the proposed triad, «conditions» were determined by the socio-economic situation of the region, scientific, technological and digital «factors» were considered as drivers of development; and “results” were investigated through social parameters that reflect the level of human development. Taking into account the importance of achieving social results in the framework of technological development, studies aimed at studying the interdependence of the processes of technological transformation and human development seem to be very timely and relevant. Purpose. Reveal the mutual influence of the scientific and technical potential and the level of digitalization of the territory, as factors of socio-economic development, on the human potential of the region. Methods. For the study, a statistical analysis was used based on data from Rosstat, Moscow School of Management Skolkovo, RIA Rating; correlation analysis; methods of comparative analysis, rating, grouping and positioning of regions. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the developed model of regional development, the content of which is described by the triad “conditions-factorsresults”. The conditions of regional development are considered as opportunities to achieve the set goal, factors - as catalysts for technological development of territories, results - as an increase in human potential. At the same time, the model has reproductive characteristics, since it provides for direct and feedback connections, namely: the achieved «results» affect and change the «conditions» that form the updated «factors», which in turn generate new «results». The resulting cumulative effect of the technological development of the regions is converted into the strengthening and development of human potential. Results and Conclusions. The authors conducted a study on the influence of integral indicators of the socioeconomic situation of regions, the level of scientific and technical potential and digitalization on the human development index of the regions of the Ural and Siberian federal districts. The comparison of the regions was carried out both separately for each federal district and jointly for all regions of the two districts. The grouping and positioning of regions in the study of the triad «conditions-factors-results» made it possible to identify the strongest regions where a favorable socio-economic situation, high digital and scientific and technical potential contribute to the development of human potential. In contrast, less prosperous regions (from the standpoint of conditions and factors of technological development) are not capable of a technological breakthrough and are limited in their impact on human potential. The unevenness of digital development and the scientific and technical potential of the regions was established, and the leading regions and outsider regions characterized by unequal opportunities for technological development were identified. The positioning of the regions made it possible to identify groups for which measures are needed to expand opportunities for technological development. The influence of the level of digitalization and scientific and technical potential on the human development index was established, which made it possible to identify regions, one of which is advisable to be included in interregional interaction (partnerships) to enhance the use of their specific capabilities, while others - to overcome the lag in the studied areas of development. (shrink)

Introduction. The authors clarify and expand the concepts of heterogeneity properties of regional socio-economic and digital spaces. Heterogeneity of space is associated with the regional uneven development and results in their socio-economic and digital differentiation, which, in turn, determines unequal conditions for ensuring the population’s life quality. In the context of the study, heterogeneity of the regional space is defined as a property of uneven spatial development of the Russian Federation’s constituent entities according to the territorial, sectoral, and temporary characteristics (...) that determine and affect the level and quality of life of the population. The citizens’ life quality throughout the country is an absolute priority of economic development at the federal and regional levels. Indeed, only then should we speak of a positive assessment of economic growth when it does not follow the path of the previous inefficient development, but is aimed at achieving a real improvement in people’s wellbeing [3; 4; 17]. Taking into consideration the particular importance of social priorities and their implementation throughout the country, the authors think it necessary to study the properties of the economic space, to determine their impact on the population’s life quality. The aim of the study is to analyze the effect of heterogeneity of the regional socio-economic and digital spaces on the population’s life quality in the Russian Federation’s constituent entities. Methods. To conduct the study, the authors make use of statistical analysis based on the data of the Russian Statistics Agency, Moscow School of Management Skolkovo, Russian Information Agency Rating; content analysis, methods of comparative analysis and positioning of regions. The scientific novelty of the study consists in expanding ideas about heterogeneity of the regional space from the standpoint of the regional socioeconomic situation and the level of their digitalization, which result in differentiating the Russian Federation’s subjects and unequal conditions for the people’s life, to a different extent affecting the population’s life quality throughout the country. In methodological terms, the study is supplemented by a pairwise comparison of the regional space characteristics and the multivariate positioning of regions in the coordinates: socio-economic space - quality of life; digitalization is a quality of life. Results. The authors study the impact of integrated indicators of the socio-economic situation of the regions, their digitalization level on the population’s life quality in the Russian Federation’s constituent entities. At the same time, the authors apply a comparison of various integral nature of the regional space indicators used, as a rule, autonomously, for multi-characteristic typologies (groups of regions I—IV and groups of regions A—D), by means of which a group of the most powerful regions was identified where the life quality is associated with the best socio-economic situation and active digitalization of these regions. Conclusions. It was found that uneven economic and digital territory development leads to interregional differentiation of the population’s life quality, as a result of which the leading regions and the outsider regions are distinguished, characterized by unequal conditions for the citizens’ life. The typology made it possible to identify groups of regions for which selective measures are needed to increase the level and quality of the population’s life. For some regions, the priority is to use their economic potential and new digital technologies, for others, active interregional interaction; the third (the weakest) cannot provide a decent standard of living without profound government support. (shrink)

In the two feature articles for this volume, Gruber et al and Buonomano & Rovelli focus on what the former call the 'two-times problem', in short, the apparent lack of fit between time as described by physical science and our own temporal experience, where 'experience' involves things like memory, anticipation, and perception of change and motion. In this short note I'll make the case that the twotimes problem is less serious than it is often made out to be in (...) the specific case of features like 'passage ' and 'presentness' that are central to the 'A-theory' of time ---the theory that holds time to be composed of dynamic regions of 'past', 'present' and future', and for time to genuinely flow or pass.My contention is three-fold: (1) the two-times problem is better understood as a three-times problem: rather than a conflict between 'physical' and 'manifest' time, what we have in the case of time is differences between the time of physics, the time of experience, and the 'folk' concept of time. (2) Understanding the problem in this way helps deflate certain problems about the relationship of these three pictures; the time of experience and the time of physics are less obviously in a problematic conflict than often supposed; and the folk concept of time is what brings in problematic features of time hard to fit with either the time of physics of experience. (3) Understanding the time of experience as independent from the folk concept of time better fits the actual aims of the... (shrink)

Time-delayed coincidence Mössbauer experiments, in which the spread in energy may be either greater or less than the natural linewidth, are discussed. This discussion leads to the conclusion that in the uncertainty relation ΔE Δt ≥ $\begin{array}{*{20}c} / \\ h \\ \end{array} /2$ , Δt should be interpreted as the duration time of the measurement and not as the lifetime of the state. Further analysis shows that confinement of photons to the region of space between emitter and (...) absorber should cause a frequency spread much larger than actually observed. This leads to the conclusion that to think of photons as being created at one point in space, traveling with the velocity of light to another point, then being absorbed or destroyed, is incorrect. (shrink)

This chapter presents the successive stages to make changes in the Polish development policy after 1989. The national administration reform of 1990 in the Third Commonwealth of Poland restored the local government after 40 years of non-existence during the time of Polish People’s Republic that was a satellite state of the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Another reform took place in 1998 as a part of preparations for the country’s membership in the European Union from 2004. Currently (...) developed strategic documents are suggesting the use of the "polarization and diffusion model of the development." The authors also discuss the regional policy currently implemented in Poland, which was designed in years 2009-2014. The process of creation of new policy includes plans to reform the policy instruments and to update the strategic framework. Conclusions highlight a need for a clearer division of powers between the center and regional governments and the importance of strengthening the financial basis and institutional capacity building. (shrink)

In 1949 the great logician Kurt Gödel constructed the first mathematical models of the universe in which travel into the past is, in theory at least, possible. Within the framework of Einstein’s general theory of relativity Gödel produced cosmological solutions to Einstein’s field equations which contain closed time-like curves, that is, curves in spacetime which, despite being closed, still represent possible paths of bodies. An object moving along such a path would travel back into its own past, to the (...) very moment at which it “began” the journey. More generally, Gödel showed that, in his “universe”, for any two points P and Q on a body’s track through spacetime, such that P temporally precedes Q, there is a timelike curve linking P and Q on which Q temporally precedes P. This means that, in principle at least, one could board a “time machine” and travel to any point of the past. Gödel inferred, in consonance with the views of Parmenides, Kant and the modern idealists, that under these circumstances there could be no such thing as an objective lapse of time, that time or, more generally, change, is an illusion arising from our special mode of perception. For consider an observer initially at point P. At point Q he boards a time machine and travels back to point P, taking time t′′ to do so. In that case, according to his own clock, t′ – t + t′′ > 0 seconds have elapsed, and yet an identical clock left at P would show that 0 seconds have elapsed. In short, there has been no “objective” lapse of time at all. Gödel remarks that in his universe this situation is typical: for every possible definition of an “objective” time one could travel into regions which are past according to that definition. He continues. (shrink)