Charismatic Communications: The Intimate Publics of Chinese Buddhism

I argue here that, secularization and state control aside, there has been in recent years a definite resurgence of interest in Buddhist practice in China (Fisher, 2014; Tarocco 2011, 2017). While other have examined its vital role in the production of national modernity and the institutions of the state, my analysis primarily tracks the work Buddhism performs within the everyday realms of media and technology. In looking at how Chuanxi’s charisma is at works in the intimate connections between Buddhism and technology at Huiri Temple, I follow David Palmer definition of charisma as a “relationship based on the expectation of the extraordinary, which stimulates and empowers collective behaviour” (Palmer 2008: 70). Although the mediation of religion in China is nothing new, only recently is the relationship between religion and mass media being more thoroughly discussed (Travagnin 2017; Clart 2016; Tarocco 2017). Outside of China, several scholars have analysed contemporary environments characterized by networked forms of electronic and digital communication and of religion and the age of media (de Vries and Weber 2002), radio evangelism (Hoover 1988), religious video games (Campbell and Grieve 2014) to understand how religious practice shapes and is shaped by mass media. By examining the spheres of pious self-making and social imaginary that are opened up by Buddhist technoculture, I suggest that deep-rooted attitudes towards the circulation of knowledge and charisma inform the current recuperation of monastic ideals and the production of digital “dharma treasures” (fabao 法宝). These are key to establishing and maintaining local, trans-regional, and international networks of online and offline followers. As James Taylor has remarked for Thai Buddhism, new articulations of Chinese Buddhism are “significantly implicated in local-global historical and sociocultural contexts” (2015: 219)

European option pricing under cumulative prospect theory with constant relative sensitivity probability weighting functions

In this contribution, we evaluate European financial options under continuous cumulative prospect theory. In prospect theory, risk attitude and loss aversion are shaped via a value function, while a probability weighting function models probabilistic risk perception. We focus on investors’ probability risk attitudes, as probability weighting may be one of the possible causes of the differences between empirically observed options prices and theoretical prices obtained with the Black and Scholes formula. We consider alternative probability weighting functions; in particular, we adopt the constant relative sensitivity weighting function, whose parameters have a direct interpretation in terms of curvature and elevation. Curvature models optimism and pessimism when one moves from extreme probabilities, whereas elevation can be interpreted as a measure of relative optimism. We performed a variety of numerical experiments and studied the effects of these features on options prices and implied volatilities

Functionalization of Titanates–Silk Nanocomposites via Cation Exchange for Optical Applications

A simple and efficient method is developed to introduce plasmonic and luminescence functionalities in titanate nanosheets (TNSs)–silk nanocomposites by direct cation-exchange process. First, the cation exchange properties such as exchange kinetic and capacity are studied to verify the behavior of the material and determine the best condition of exchange. In particular, the effect of the valence on the kinetic is investigated through elemental analysis, focusing on three target cations (Ag+, Cu2+, and Eu3+) in water. It is demonstrated that the cation exchange capability of the composite is strictly dependent of the amount of TNSs. By acting on the time of ion exchange or by changing the TNSs concentration in the silk fibroin matrix it is possible to tune the metal ions doping. The process is applicable both on flexible free-standing membranes and thin films deposited on an appropriate substrate. By exposing the material to UV radiation, it is possible to synthesize in situ metallic nanoparticles, exhibiting a characteristic plasmonic peak in the visible spectrum. Furthermore, it is verified that the europium ions preserve their photoluminescence properties when introduced in the nanocomposite, showing a characteristic red emission under UV light

Evidentiality, intersubjectivity and ownership of the information: The evidential utterances with así que and que in Spanish

Attention is being focused on the meaning and function of the evidential utterances introduced by the Spanish conjunctions así que and que (Rodríguez Ramalle 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014a, 2014b, 2015). Two assumptions are made. First, that the evidential purpose is not epistemic. Second, that the evidential choice seems to be a signal of information concerning the participants in the interaction because belonging to their informative territory. Hence, the presumption of relevance and emotional involvement. The language samples are drawn from the Corpus de Referencia del Español Actual (CREA)

Public Space and Civic Community in the Ancient Near East: Free Access Datasets

The present document is a deliverable of the COMPUS project (Marie Skłodowska‐Curie IF‐2015‐GA703187), funded by the European Commission Research Executive Agency (REA). The COMPUS project studied the use of public space of the ancient Near Eastern cities using 13th‐century Ugarit as the main case‐study. Users can download three sets of data generated in the framework of the project: 1. Reconstruction of the Street Network of Ugarit (shapefiles); 2. Spatial Network Analysis Graphs (to be read into DepthmapX); 3. Urban Network Analysis Graphs (shapefiles). Users are advised to consult the attached Read-Me-PDF first

The Social Value of Asymmetric Information Revisited

In contrary to previous literature, we show in the Grossman-Stiglitz model of noisy rational expectation that the social value of asymmetric information can be improved with more informative prices when being informed is uncertain. Investors always benefit from a privately payoff-relevant information, but they have to pay more to increase the probability of observing the information. In equilibrium, this trade-off can lead to high-risk, high return investments. Consequently the marginal expected utility gain from observing the information is not completely washed out by the cost of information acquisition, which leads to Pareto-optimal equilibrium and improves investors' welfare