The Expressive Injustice of Being Rich

According to limitarianism, it is morally impermissible to be too rich. We consider three main challenges to limitarianism: the redundancy objection, the inconclusiveness objection, and the commitment objection. As a distributive principle, we find that limitarianism fails to overcome the three objections—even taking recent theoretical innovations into account. Instead, we suggest that the core commitment of limitarianism can be drawn from the excess intuition. It entails that at some point, people’s claims to retain wealth become qualitatively different: they become preposterous from the point of view of interpersonal morality and justification. Extreme wealth, we argue, adds a distinctive expressive reason to worry about inequality and insufficiency, compounding these other distributive injustices. In retaining or wasting excess wealth while others have too little, the wealthy send a message of complete disregard for the interests of their co-citizens. They express that their disadvantaged compatriots have a diminished moral standing

Differences and Similarities in Psychological Characteristics between Cultural Groups Circum Mediterranean

We examined differences and similarities between groups sampled from the Mediterranean region in social orientation, cognitive style, self-construal, and honor, face, dignity values and concerns using a large battery of tasks and measures. We did this by conducting secondary data set analyses focusing on comparisons between nine pairs of samples recruited from the Mediterranean region (Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus [Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities], Lebanon [Muslim Lebanese and Christian Lebanese], Egypt) that have overlapping and divergent features in terms of religious, ethnic, national, and linguistic factors as well as various physical and socio-ecological characteristics. Across 38 different psychological characteristics, comparisons between Turkish and Turkish Cypriot samples and between Christian and Muslim samples from Lebanon revealed that they were most similar to each other. In contrast, Greek and Turkish samples were the least similar. Our analyses of intercorrelations between variables, variability and size of differences provide additional insights into the within-region variation in social orientation, cognitive style, self-construal indicators, as well as honor, face, and dignity values and concerns. Our research contributes to the growing literature on regional variation of psychological processes while raising important pointers for the role of background and socio-ecological characteristics in cultural group similarities and differences

A Distributed Data-Driven and Machine Learning Method for High-Level Causal Analysis in Sustainable IoT Systems

A causal relationship forms when one event triggers another’s change or occurrence. Causality helps to understand connections among events, explain phenomena, and facilitate better decision-making. In IoT systems, massive consumption of energy may lead to specific types of air pollution. There are causal relationships among air pollutants. Analyzing their interactions allows for targeted adjustments in energy use, like shifting to cleaner energy and cutting high-emission sources. This reduces air pollution and boosts energy sustainability, aiding sustainable development. This paper introduces a distributed data-driven machine learning method for high-level causal analysis (DMHC), which extracts general and high-level Complex Event Processing (CEP) rules from unlabeled data. CEP rules can capture the interactions among events and represent the causal relation- ships among them. DMHC deploys a two-layer LSTM attention mechanism model and decision tree algorithm to filter and label data, extracting general CEP rules. Afterward, it proceeds to generate event logs based on general rules with heuristic mining (HM), extracting high-level CEP rules that pertain to causal relationships. These high-level rules complement the extracted general rules and reflect the causal relationships among the general rules. The proposed high-level methodology is validated using a real air quality dataset

Inside the Mask: the lives and lies of Harry Bensley. A creative-critical investigation into truth, gender and ethics in non-fiction narrative writing.

This thesis creatively and critically explores the ambiguous terrain between fact and fiction, truth and lies, and past and present in nontraditional autobiographical writing. My creative text, Inside the Mask, explores the real-life Edwardian fraudster and walker Harry Bensley, who created his own masculinist myth. Through auto/bio/fiction and psychogeography, the narrator examines the effect Bensley’s actions and false narrative had on his wives. She learns how history and memory are recreated through the lens of self, discovering the effect of false narratives in her own life. In recognising which narratives were imposed upon her and which were self-imposed, she can reclaim her sense of self. The critical commentary contextualises Inside the Mask within the tradition of nontraditional autobiographical narrative forms by female writers. I examine the first English Language autobiography by Margery Kempe, whose unorthodox life, pilgrimages, and text demonstrate fierce opposition to the gendered narratives imposed upon her. My next subject, Mary Wollstonecraft flouted patriarchal conventions through her walking, marital status, and writing, creating what would now be known as ‘autofiction’ and ‘psychogeography’. Considering the work of contemporary author Julie Myerson, whose autobiographical texts trouble ethical and genre boundaries, I investigate negative reactions to women’s autobiographical writing about motherhood and explore how she and other female authors respond. Throughout, and particularly in Chapter Four, I interrogate my research practice and the ethics of writing about others. By examining ‘competing’ stories, ‘true’ stories, and stories submerged, subverted, or falsified by familial, patriarchal or other influences in nontraditional autobiographic writing, this creative-critical thesis offers an original contribution to current literary discourse on the permeable boundaries of fact and fiction, truth and lies, and past and present in autobiographical forms

The 'phantasy sibling transference': only-child adults and finding a 'position' in the therapeutic setting.

This study originated from my experience of an unusual transference with my only-child adult patients and in my own psychotherapy. I wanted to explore the idea that only-child adults may create a transference in the therapeutic setting which mimics a sibling transference. Juliet Mitchell provides a valuable framework in which to understand the intersecting and yet distinct lateral and vertical dimensions of psychic life suggesting that on the arrival of a sibling, the infant is thrown into disarray and must negotiate a new position both with the parents and within the sibling group. This propels the infant into a complex and fraught challenge around the issue of identity which, according to Jeanine Vivona, can only be resolved through the gaining of validation and recognition on the lateral dimension with siblings, enabling the infant to know who they are and where they stand in the sibling group. This is later reflected in the world of peers. I suggest the only-child adult, having missed out on these psychological challenges in relation to siblings, is left without a ‘position’ and without an identity in the lateral world. This research attempts to investigate this potential phenomenon through the interviewing of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapists who have worked with only-child adult patients. Analysing the data through reflective thematic analysis and developing themes from their countertransference, the results suggest the only-child adult does enact a ‘phantasy sibling transference’. Finally, understanding the inner world of the only-child adult may enable an attempt at resolution of this sibling conflict within the therapeutic setting with the discovery of the only-child adult’s identity on the lateral dimension

Methods that make us feel safer? Challenging the effect of sexism confrontation and holding measures of violence against women up to scrutiny

This thesis critically evaluates key claims in sexism and violence against women research, addressing the question: ‘Are past research methods and measures painting a distorted picture of sexism and its manifestations that uphold violence against women?’ This is timely, considering the need for a more robust evidence base post-replication crisis and rising backlash against gender equality, particularly among younger men. We explore three potentially misleading claims: that challenging sexism mitigates its negative outcomes; that women’s fear of crime is generally unfounded; that rape myth acceptance is declining. In Chapter 2, in three experimental studies, we examine whether challenging sexism mitigates its negative outcomes. By correcting methodological flaws in previous studies, such as the lack of a non-sexist control and failure to control for baseline sexism, we found that the supposed benefits of challenging sexism disappear. Chapter 3 examines the gender-fear ‘paradox’, which suggests that women's fears of victimisation are disproportionate to their risk, demonstrated in crime statistics. The study reveals that women significantly restrict behaviours more than men to avoid victimisation, indicating that crime statistics do not represent the true extent of the risks women face. Moreover, both men and women show low trust in police to report crimes. Chapter 4 challenges the narrative of declining rape myth acceptance. We argue that in using the term ‘rape’, these measures evoke archetypal rape scripts not representative of most cases. In two experimental studies, we replaced the word ‘rape’ with behaviour-specific descriptions, finding higher scores of rape myth acceptance and stronger correlations with victim-blaming and perpetrator exoneration, compared with the original scale. These findings suggest that societal attitudes may not be improving as previously thought, highlighting the need for more accurate measurement tools. This thesis underscores the necessity of refining research methodologies to inform effective policies and counteract the illusion that sexist and rape cultures are diminishing

A Sequential Mixed Method Study of Employee Job Satisfaction in Upscale Restaurants, Malaysia

The study determines the main factors affecting job satisfaction in upscale restaurants and their degree of comparative influence. The research initially involves qualitative data analysis of 20 interviews with restaurant employees representing five upscale restaurants in Kuala Lumpur (KL), followed by structural equation modeling of data retrieved from 368 questionnaires from 16 KL restaurants. The impact variance of four main determinants of job satisfaction are revealed, where the “working environment” has the highest impact, followed by “payment and compensation,” “promotion”, and finally, “workplace fairness”. Crucially, “workplace relationships” have a moderating effect on the relationship between the “work environment” and job satisfaction, implicating industry-applied recommendations to strengthen job satisfaction levels

Reliability and validity of velocity measures and regression methods to predict maximal strength ability in the back-squat using a novel linear position transducer

Purpose: to examine the reliability of load-velocity profiles (LVPs) and validity of 1-repetition maximum (1-RM) prediction methods in the back-squat using the novel Vitruve linear position transducer (LPT). Methods: twenty-five men completed a back-squat 1-RM assessment followed by 2 LVP trials using 5 incremental loads (20%-40%-60%-80%-90% 1-RM). Mean propulsive velocity (MPV), mean velocity (MV), and peak velocity (PV) were measured via a (LPT). Linear and polynomial regression models were applied to the data. The reliability and validity criteria were defined a-priori as intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) or Pearson correlation coefficient (r) > 0.70, coefficient of variation (CV) ≤ 10%, and effect size (ES) < 0.60. Bland-Altman analysis and heteroscedasticity of errors (r2) were also assessed. Results: the main findings indicated MPV, MV and PV were reliable across 20- 13 90% 1-RM (CV < 8.8%). The secondary findings inferred all prediction models had acceptable reliability (CV < 8.0%). While the MPV linear and MV linear models demonstrated the best estimation of 1-RM (CV < 5.9%), all prediction models displayed unacceptable validity and a tendency to overestimate or underestimate 1-RM. Mean systematic bias (-7.29 to 2.83 kg) was detected for all prediction models, along with little to no heteroscedasticity of errors for linear (r2 < 0.04) and polynomial models (r2 < 0.08). Furthermore, all 1-RM estimations were significantly different from each other (p < 0.03). Conclusions: MPV, MV, and PV can provide reliable LVPs and repeatable 1-RM predictions. However, prediction methods may not be sensitive enough to replace direct assessment of 1-RM. Polynomial regression is not suitable for 1-RM prediction

Capitalism Reloaded

Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND license. In Capitalism Reloaded, Peter Bloom charts a pivotal shift from the well-known military-industrial complex to a new 'Authoritarian-Financial Complex'. Unlike its predecessor, which centred on armaments and defence, this emerging power structure fuses financial interests with advanced surveillance and digital control, turning social repression into a lucrative industry. Bloom introduces a ground breaking theory of 'complex power', where control itself becomes a central driver of capitalism, shaping economies and societies. Bloom explores how this insatiable demand for security and profit extends beyond traditional authoritarian regimes, permeating everyday life and eroding democratic freedoms. This book challenges readers to confront the deep entanglements of modern capitalism before they solidify into a techno-authoritarian order

Neurocontrol for Fixed-Length Trajectories in Environments with Soft Barriers

In this paper we present three neurocontrol problems where the analytic policy gradient via back-propagation through time is used to train a simulated agent to maximise a polynomial reward function in a simulated environment. If the environment includes terminal barriers (e.g. solid walls) which terminate the episode whenever the agent touches them, then we show learning can get stuck in oscillating limit cycles, or local minima. Hence we propose to use fixed-length trajectories, and change these barriers into soft barriers, which the agent may pass through, while incurring a significant penalty cost. We demonstrate that the presence of soft barriers can have the drawback of causing exploding learning gradients. Furthermore, the strongest learning gradients often appear at inappropriate parts of the trajectory, where control of the system has already been lost. When combined with modern adaptive optimisers, this combination of exploding gradients and inappropriate learning often causes learning to grind to a halt. We propose ways to avoid these difficulties; either by careful gradient clipping, or by smoothly truncating the gradients of the soft barriers’ polynomial cost functions. We argue that this enables the learning algorithm to avoid exploding gradients, and also to concentrate on the most important parts of the trajectory, as opposed to parts of the trajectory where control has already been irreversibly lost