Search Results (246)

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role in education. Learning path recommendation is one of the key technologies in artificial intelligence education applications. This paper applies knowledge space theory and fuzzy set theory to study the construction of consistent fuzzy competence spaces and their application to learning path recommendation. With the help of the outer fringe of fuzzy competence states, this paper proves the necessary and sufficient conditions for a fuzzy competence space to be a consistent fuzzy competence space and designs an algorithm for verifying consistent fuzzy competence spaces. It also proposes methods for constructing and reducing consistent fuzzy competence spaces, provides learning path recommendation algorithms from the competence perspective and combined with a disjunctive fuzzy skill mapping, and constructs a bottom-up gradual and effective learning path tree. Simulation experiments are carried out for the construction and reduction in consistent fuzzy competence spaces and for learning path recommendation, and the simulation studies show that the proposed methods achieve significant performance improvement compared with related research and produce a more complete recommendation of gradual and effective learning paths. The research of this paper can provide theoretical foundations and algorithmic references for the development of artificial intelligence education applications such as learning assessment systems and intelligent testing systems. Full article

Ocean Literacy (OL) can be broadly defined as a framework for understanding the complex and evolving relationships between people and the ocean. It is increasingly recognized as a vital component of marine conservation and sustainability efforts. OL is inherently interdisciplinary, and psychology, while being a particularly relevant field, remains an underutilized field in this space. This paper demonstrates how psychological theories, frameworks, and validated measures can meaningfully inform OL strategies across its ten proposed dimensions: knowledge, awareness, attitudes, behavior, activism, communication, emotional connections, access and experience, adaptive capacity, and trust and transparency. Full article

This autoethnographic study examines my transformation as an educator teaching gender and sexuality to future helping professionals in South African higher education. Through systematic analysis of personal journals, teaching reflections, and pedagogical materials collected over 180 contact hours, I explore how innovative approaches can create collaborative learning environments in traditionally sensitive subject areas. Drawing on critical pedagogy, queer theory, and decolonizing methodologies, the research reveals three interconnected pedagogical innovations: structured vulnerability protocols that transcend traditional “safe space” models, progressive exposure pedagogy that challenges heteronormative assumptions by introducing diverse content early, and indigenous knowledge integration that positions students as knowledge co-creators. The findings demonstrate how my professional evolution from knowledge authority to learning facilitator enabled authentic engagement with diverse epistemologies while maintaining academic rigor. Students consistently contributed concepts absent from academic literature—from social media discourse about sexual identity hierarchies to traditional cultural practices—enriching collective understanding. This study addresses significant gaps in South African literature on tertiary-level sexuality education pedagogy, offering concrete strategies for implementing transformative approaches. The research contributes to autoethnographic scholarship by demonstrating how systematic reflection can generate theoretical insights about collaborative knowledge construction while acknowledging the ongoing challenges of teaching sensitive subjects within complex cultural contexts. Full article

This article illuminates the cosmology of Raa Haqi (often called Dersim Alevism or Kurdish Alevism), a rarely examined strand within Alevi Studies. Existing scholarship’s emphasis on identity politics and sparse ethnography has left Raa Haqi’s mythological and cosmological dimensions underexplored. This paper approaches Raa Haqi through a dual authority framework: (1) Ocak lineages and Ocak–talip relations—sustained by kinship institutions like kirvelik, musahiplik, and communal rites such as the cem—and (2) jiares, non-human agents from the Batın realm that manifest in Zahir as sacred places, objects, and animals. Methodologically, I conduct a close, motif-based reading of folktales compiled by Caner Canerik (2019, Dersim Masalları I), treating them as ethnographic windows into living theology. The analysis shows that tales encode core principles—rızalık (mutual consent), ikrar (vow), sır (the secret knowledge), fasting and calendrical rites, ritual kinship, and moral economies involving humans, animals, and Batın beings. Dreams, metamorphosis, and jiare-centered orientations structure time–space, ethics, and authority beyond the Ocak, including in individual re-sacralizations of objects and sites. I conclude that these narratives do not merely reflect belief; they actively transmit, test, and renew Raa Haqi’s cosmological order, offering Alevi Studies a theory-grounded, source-proximate account of Kurdish Alevi mythic thought. Full article

Considering the new technologies, trends, and geopolitical challenges brought about by the globalization of the Internet, research on international rules in cyberspace holds theoretical urgency, practical significance, and provides guidance for real-world applications. A comparative analysis of relevant papers on the international governance of cyberspace between 1999 and 2020 was conducted using the knowledge mapping tool CiteSpace in Chinese and English databases. The analysis revealed that Chinese research exhibits a stronger focus on national policies, with distinct characteristics at different stages of research. In contrast, English literature demonstrates a clear delineation of the theoretical foundation and maintains a continuous and in-depth exploration of foundational topics. While the field of communication in Chinese has a significantly higher quantity of research compared to English, there exists a structural gap between this field and its foundational theories. In the process of a paradigm shift, it is crucial to emphasize Chinese academic perspectives in this field, pay attention to both domestic and international foundational knowledge and emerging trends, and strengthen theoretical innovation and academic community-building. Full article

According to a clever but rarely quoted or acknowledged work of E. Vessiot that won the prize of the Académie des Sciences in 1904, “Differential Galois Theory” (DGT) has mainly to do with the study of “Principal Homogeneous Spaces” (PHSs) for finite groups (classical Galois theory), algebraic groups (Picard–Vessiot theory) and algebraic pseudogroups (Drach–Vessiot theory). The corresponding automorphic differential extensions are such that $di{m}_K\left(L\right)=\mid L/K\mid <\infty$, the transcendence degree $trd(L/K)<\infty$ and $trd(L/K)=\infty$ with $difftrd(L/K)<\infty$, respectively. The purpose of this paper is to mix differential algebra, differential geometry and algebraic geometry to revisit DGT, pointing out the deep confusion between prime differential ideals (defined by J.-F. Ritt in 1930) and maximal ideals that has been spoiling the works of Vessiot, Drach, Kolchin and all followers. In particular, we utilize Hopf algebras to investigate the structure of the algebraic Lie pseudogroups involved, specifically those defined by systems of algebraic OD or PD equations. Many explicit examples are presented for the first time to illustrate these results, particularly through the study of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation in analytical mechanics. This paper also pays tribute to Prof. A. Bialynicki-Birula (BB) on the occasion of his recent death in April 2021 at the age of 90 years old. His main idea has been to notice that an algebraic group G acting on itself is the simplest example of a PHS. If G is connected and defined over a field K, we may introduce the algebraic extension $L=K\left(G\right)$; then, there is a Galois correspondence between the intermediate fields $K\subset K^{\prime }\subset L$ and the subgroups $e\subset G^{\prime }\subset G$, provided that $K^{\prime }$ is stable under a Lie algebra $\Delta$ of invariant derivations of $L/K$. Our purpose is to extend this result from algebraic groups to algebraic pseudogroups without using group parameters in any way. To the best of the author’s knowledge, algebraic Lie pseudogroups have never been introduced by people dealing with DGT in the spirit of Kolchin; that is, they have only been considered with systems of ordinary differential (OD) equations, but never with systems of partial differential (PD) equations. Full article

Urban safety is a critical concern for sustainable city development, with crime patterns often linked to localized environmental factors. Understanding the spatial dynamics of safety is critical for informed design and planning of urban environments. This study employs a Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) approach to investigate how crime in Austin, Texas, correlates with Points of Interest (POIs) such as bars, transit stations, financial businesses, and public spaces, while accounting for localized socio-economic factors. Building on theoretical frameworks like Routine Activity Theory and Crime Pattern Theory, the analysis integrates crime data from the Austin Police Department (APD), POI datasets, and census variables to explore spatially varying relationships often overlooked by traditional global models (e.g., OLS). A novel adaptive geo-grid method refines spatial units by clustering high-density downtown areas into smaller zones and retaining larger grids in suburban regions, ensuring precision without over-fragmentation. Analysis of crime incidents and POI data reveals significant spatial non-stationarity in crime–environment associations. Transportation-related facilities demonstrate strong spatial correlation with crime citywide, particularly forming persistent crime hotspots around transit hubs in areas like Rundberg Lane, South Congress, and East Riverside. Alcohol-related establishments show a strong positive correlation with crime in entertainment districts (coefficient up to 13.5, p < 0.001) but a negligible association in suburban residential areas (coefficient close to 0, p > 0.05). The GWR model significantly outperforms traditional OLS regression, capturing critical local variations obscured by global models. Downtown Austin emerges as a complex hotspot for urban safety where multiple high-risk POI types overlap. This research advances urban design and planning knowledge by providing empirical evidence that environmental factors’ influence on safety is spatially conditional rather than universally consistent, aligning with Crime Pattern Theory and Routine Activity Theory. The findings support place-specific crime prevention strategies, offering policymakers data-driven insights for developing targeted design strategies for urban zones. Full article

Background: Urban loneliness is rising worldwide and is a recognised public-health threat. Nature-Based Social Prescriptions (NBSPs), guided group activities in natural settings, are being piloted in six cities through the EU project RECETAS. However, in new contexts such as Marseille, its implementation is constrained by professionals’ limited knowledge of the concept. Objectives: (i) Exploring how professionals in Marseille (France) conceptualise NBSPs; (ii) Identifying perceived facilitators and barriers to implementing NBSPs among residents facing social isolation and loneliness. Methods: Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with health, social-care, and urban–environment professionals selected via network mapping and snowball sampling. Verbatim transcripts underwent inductive thematic analysis informed by Social Representation Theory, with double coding to enhance reliability. Results: Five analytic themes emerged: (1) a holistic health paradigm linking nature, community, and well-being; (2) stark ecological inequities with limited green-space access in deprived districts; (3) work challenges due to the urgent needs of individuals facing significant socio-economic challenges in demanding contexts; (4) a key tension between a perceived top-down process and a preference for participatory approaches; (5) drivers and obstacles: strong professional endorsement of NBSPs meets significant systemic and institutional constraints. Conclusions: Professionals endorse NBSPs as a promising approach against loneliness, provided programmes tackle structural inequities and adopt participatory governance. Results inform the Marseille RECETAS pilot and contribute to global discussions on environmentally anchored health promotion. Full article

Maxwell’s equations epitomize our knowledge of standard electromagnetic theory in vacuums and matter. Here, we report the clearcut results of an extensive, ongoing investigation aiming to mathematically digest Maxwell’s equations in virtually all problems based on the three standard building units, dielectric and magnetic, found in practice (i.e., spheres, cylinders and plates). Specifically, we address the static/quasi-static case of a linear, homogeneous and isotropic dielectric and magnetic sphere subjected to a DC/low-frequency AC external scalar potential, (vector field, ), of any form, produced by a primary/free source residing outside the sphere. To this end, we introduce an expansion-based mathematical strategy that enables us to obtain immediate access to the response of the dielectric and magnetic sphere, i.e., to the internal scalar potential, (vector field, ), produced by the induced secondary/bound source. Accordingly, the total scalar potential, = + (vector field, = + ), is immediately accessible as well. Our approach provides ready-to-use expressions for and ( and ) in all space, i.e., both inside and outside the dielectric and magnetic sphere, applicable for any form of (). Using these universal expressions, we can obtain and ( and ) in essentially one step, without the need to solve each particular problem of different () every time from scratch. The obtained universal relation between and ( and ) provides a means to tailor the responses of dielectric and magnetic spheres at all instances, thus facilitating applications. Our approach surpasses conventional mathematical procedures that are employed to solve analytically addressable problems of electromagnetism. Full article

Even though clinoptilolite mineral is the most important natural zeolite for technical applications, the molecular-level insights and detailed knowledge of their true local structures and adsorption behavior are largely lacking. An experimental determination of their surface structures, in particular, could be very challenging due to the sensitivity of some facets to temperature and impurities. In this study, we present a robust multiscale modeling framework to investigate the adsorption of 5-fluorouracil, an anticancer drug, on dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D3)-optimized Na-clinoptilolite surfaces. Using a combination of interface force field and polymer consistent force field-based molecular dynamics with simulated annealing and parallel replica sampling, followed by DFT-D3 optimizations, we explore a wide configurational space of surface–molecule interactions. Our results show that Na-clinoptilolite surfaces support very strong adsorption, with adsorption energies ranging from −430.0 to −174.4 kJ/mol. Surface models with exposed Na cations consistently exhibit stronger binding, in contrast to their known steric hindrance effects in bulk environments. Furthermore, cation-free surfaces displayed relatively weaker interactions, yet configurations exposing the 8-membered rings (8 MR) demonstrated more favorable adsorption than those exposing 10 MR channels due to enhanced hydrogen bonding and spatial and entropic confinement effects. These findings reveal the importance of surface composition, local geometry, and configurational sampling in determining adsorption performance and lay the groundwork for future studies on cation-specific and multicationic clinoptilolite systems. Full article

Genealogy is the study of family history and ancestral lineage, tracing relationships across generations through records and narratives. The digital revolution has shifted genealogical research from traditional archives to online platforms. Grounded in knowledge co-creation theory, this study examined the role of social media communities and their managers as knowledge hubs within the genealogical ecosystem. Its central innovation lies in identifying two emerging actors in modern genealogical knowledge ecology: the online community as a hub of expertise and the community manager as a key figure in knowledge creation. Drawing on interviews with fifteen Facebook managers of genealogical communities from diverse Jewish backgrounds worldwide, the study explored their perceptions of online genealogical spaces and their roles as facilitators of knowledge. Participants demonstrated a high level of professionalism and thoughtful engagement with sources; however, verifying the accuracy of genealogical claims was not within the scope of this study. Interviews were conducted in English and Hebrew based on participant preference. Thematic analysis revealed five key areas: two focused on the community’s role as a knowledge hub for both members and outsiders, and three on the manager’s role through self-perception, member engagement, and strategic initiatives. As part of a broader dissertation, this chapter deepens understanding of collaborative, community-driven genealogical knowledge in the age of social media. Full article

We expand our previous study of replicated gauge configurations in lattice SU($N_c$) Yang–Mills theory—employing Bloch’s theorem from condensed matter physics—to construct gauge-fixed field configurations on significantly larger lattices than the original, or primitive, one. We present a comprehensive discussion of the general gauge-fixing problem, identifying advantages of the replicated-lattice approach. In particular, the consideration of Bloch waves leads us to a visualization of the extended gauge-fixed configurations in terms of (color) magnetization domains. Moreover, we are able to explore features of the method to optimize the evaluation of gauge fields in momentum space, furthering our knowledge of the “allowed momenta”, an issue that has hindered wider applications of this approach up to now. Interestingly, our analysis yields both a better conceptual understanding of the problem and a more efficient way to compute the desired large-volume observables. Full article

Humor creation is presented as a modality in human communication involving “double framing”, in which a scenario, understanding, or agreed-upon reality is presented and is suddenly revealed to be something else by being recontextualized during the humorous presentation. This analysis utilizes Ba Theory, as articulated in the philosophy of Kitaro Nishida and Shimizu. Ba is a cognitive space for developing relationships, both interpersonal and in relationships to shared environments. A state of Ba arises in social interaction, requiring the need for pragmemic triggers to initiate creation and sustaining of a Ba state. The creation of humor requires that participants be in a state of Ba with each other, sharing the knowledge and understanding of the frames to which they are exposed. Examples are provided from Japanese, Chinese, German, Persian, Arabic, and English humor creation. Full article

This study investigated individuals’ emotional responses to bed bugs and how these were influenced by sex, proximity, and educational intervention. Using a pre-post experimental design, participants (n = 157) completed emotional assessments before and after viewing an educational video about bed bugs. Contrary to our initial hypothesis that only fear and disgust would be observed, participants also exhibited high levels of anxiety and anger. Following the educational intervention, disgust, fear, and anger toward bed bugs increased significantly. Participants experienced greater disgust and fear when imagining encounters with bed bugs in closer proximity, with home infestations giving stronger responses than workplace scenarios. The educational video reduced disgust toward bed bugs in the home but increased fear of them in public spaces, potentially promoting vigilance that could limit bed bug spread. Females reported higher levels of disgust and fear than males across all proximity conditions, supporting evolutionary theories regarding sex-specific disgust sensitivity. The educational video successfully increased participants’ knowledge about bed bugs while simultaneously shifting emotional responses from contamination-based disgust to threat-specific fear. These findings suggest that educational interventions can effectively modify emotional responses to bed bugs, potentially leading to more rational management behaviors by transforming vague anxiety into actionable awareness of specific threats. Full article

Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) have emerged as a transformative methodology integrating deep learning with scientific computing. This review establishes a three-dimensional analytical framework to systematically decode PINNs’ development through methodological innovation, theoretical breakthroughs, and cross-disciplinary convergence. The contributions include threefold: First, identifying the co-evolutionary path of algorithmic architectures from adaptive optimization (neural tangent kernel-guided weighting achieving 230% convergence acceleration in Navier-Stokes solutions) to hybrid numerical-deep learning integration (5× speedup via domain decomposition) and second, constructing bidirectional theory-application mappings where convergence analysis (operator approximation theory) and generalization guarantees (Bayesian-physical hybrid frameworks) directly inform engineering implementations, as validated by $72\%$ cost reduction compared to FEM in high-dimensional spaces ($p<0.01,n=15$ benchmarks). Third, pioneering cross-domain knowledge transfer through application-specific architectures: TFE-PINN for turbulent flows ($5.12\pm 0.87\%$ error in NASA hypersonic tests), ReconPINN for medical imaging ($▵\mathrm{SSIM}=+0.18\pm 0.04$ on multi-institutional MRI), and SeisPINN for seismic systems ($0.52\pm 0.18$ km localization accuracy). We further present a technological roadmap highlighting three critical directions for PINN 2.0: neuro-symbolic, federated physics learning, and quantum-accelerated optimization. This work provides methodological guidelines and theoretical foundations for next-generation scientific machine learning systems. Full article