1,691 research outputs found

    The Lived Jiu-Jitsu Training Experiences of Law Enforcement Officers in Rural Central Texas: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study

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    The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to describe the Jiu-Jitsu training experiences of law enforcement officers in rural central Texas. Grappling and ground fighting martial arts are generally known as, and synonymous with, Jiu-Jitsu. This dissertation employs Brizin and Kernspecht’s general theory of combat, which is principally concerned with utilizing various means to direct ends. Brizin and Kernspecht used Carl von Clausewitz’s combat logic theory as their foundation. A qualitative approach was appropriate for this study and included collecting data from qualitative questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and naturalistic observations. The qualitative questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and naturalistic observations indicated that research participants found utility in Jiu-Jitsu training. The scenario-based exercises, peer and instructor discussions and feedback, and reflection opportunities enriched participants’ learning experience and transferability to their day-to-day work. The data also supported the theoretical framework used in this study, which should give administrators confidence that officers should be allowed to learn principles and concepts, understand attacks and defense, develop skills and abilities, apply sequential techniques, and know which techniques to use. The participants attested to Jiu-Jitsu’s value in promoting self-development and improving safety for officers and the community. Having the space to learn, making personal investments, demonstrating learned concepts, and giving feedback were all consistent data points when answering the central and sub-research questions and describing the lived experiences of the officers who participated in this study. Applying the general theory of combat may help enhance force options and arrest and control tactics training, which might improve police-community relations through the safety of officers and the communities they serve

    Personality Dysfunction Manifest in Words : Understanding Personality Pathology Using Computational Language Analysis

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    Personality disorders (PDs) are some of the most prevalent and high-risk mental health conditions, and yet remain poorly understood. Today, the development of new technologies means that there are advanced tools that can be used to improve our understanding and treatment of PD. One promising tool – indeed, the focus of this thesis – is computational language analysis. By looking at patterns in how people with personality pathology use words, it is possible to gain access into their constellation of thinking, feelings, and behaviours. To date, however, there has been little research at the intersection of verbal behaviour and personality pathology. Accordingly, the central goal of this thesis is to demonstrate how PD can be better understood through the analysis of natural language. This thesis presents three research articles, comprising four empirical studies, that each leverage computational language analysis to better understand personality pathology. Each paper focuses on a distinct core feature of PD, while incorporating language analysis methods: Paper 1 (Study 1) focuses on interpersonal dysfunction; Paper 2 (Studies 2 and 3) focuses on emotion dysregulation; and Paper 3 (Study 4) focuses on behavioural dysregulation (i.e., engagement in suicidality and deliberate self-harm). Findings from this research have generated better understanding of fundamental features of PD, including insight into characterising dimensions of social dysfunction (Paper 1), maladaptive emotion processes that may contribute to emotion dysregulation (Paper 2), and psychosocial dynamics relating to suicidality and deliberate self-harm (Paper 3) in PD. Such theoretical knowledge subsequently has important implications for clinical practice, particularly regarding the potential to inform psychological therapy. More broadly, this research highlights how language can provide implicit and unobtrusive insight into the personality and psychological processes that underlie personality pathology at a large-scale, using an individualised, naturalistic approach

    From Photosynthesis to Detoxification: Microbial Metabolisms Shape Earth’s Surface Chemistry

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    Earth’s chemistry, through geologic time and in the present, is inextricably linked with biologically mediated reactions. All major elemental cycles on Earth’s surface have arisen from two competing processes – life shaping its chemical environment through the evolution of key biochemical pathways, and the environment constraining metabolism by dictating which reactions will occur. Understanding this complicated interplay motivates the research presented in this thesis, which studies this phenomenon over two major elemental cycles – the modern Nitrogen (N) and ancient Carbon (C) cycle. Chapters One and Two focus on the evolution of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco), the enzyme that catalyzes the key carbon fixation step in modern oxygenic photosynthesis. This reaction also imparts a large kinetic isotope effect (KIE) that causes the fixed carbon to be relatively depleted in natural abundance ÂčÂłC compared to its substrate; this isotopic fingerprint can be seen in both the modern C cycle and in rock records recording the ancient C cycle. Therefore, this KIE has been used both in vitro (outside the cell) by biochemical models to rationalize rubisco’s reaction mechanism, and in vivo (in the cell) as a proxy for environmental CO₂ concentrations in the past and present. However, both the in vitro and in vivo measurements are calibrated using modern organisms even though rubisco and oxygenic photosynthesis have undergone profound evolution over geologic time. Therefore, we measured the KIE in vitro and in vivo of a reconstructed ancestral Form IB rubisco dating to &gt;&gt; 1 Ga, and the KIE in vitro of a recently discovered Form I’ rubisco that presents a modern analogue to ancestral Form I rubiscos prior to the evolution of the small subunit. Overall, we find that the KIEs of both rubiscos are smaller than their modern counterparts, which is surprising given that the rock record indicates overall carbon isotope fractionations in vivo are larger in the past. In addition, we find that models strictly based on modern organisms may not apply to the past, questioning the basic assumption that uniformitarianism can be readily applied to biological processes. However, these models can be rescued by accounting for other aspects of cell physiology. Chapter Three focuses on disentangling the source of key metabolites, like nitrous oxide (N₂O) in the modern N cycle. Like Chapters 1 and 2, an isotopic fingerprint that measures the ‘preference’ of Âč⁔N for the central or outer nitrogen site in N₂O (“Site Preference” or “SP”) has primarily been calibrated using dissimilatory, or energy-generating, nitric oxide (NO) reductases (NORs). However, there exists a much larger and phylogenetically widespread class of NO-detoxifying enzymes; in particular, flavohemoglobin proteins (Fhp/Hmp) produce N₂O as a strategy to neutralize damaging NO-radicals in anoxic conditions. This enzyme, which generates N₂O in non-growing and anoxic conditions, may be more relevant to natural environments where N₂O production has been detected. Surprisingly, we found that Fhp imparts a distinct SP on N₂O that differs from both bacterial and eukaryotic NORs, and that this value better aligns with existing in situ measurements of N₂O from soils. In addition, we find that in strains with both Fhp and NOR, the Fhp signal dominates when cells are first exposed to high concentrations of NO in oxic conditions while growing before being shifted to an anoxic, non-growing state. Therefore, in addition to telling us ‘Who’s there,’ the SP fingerprint may also be able to tell us something about cell physiology in vivo. We propose a new framework for interpreting the source of N₂O based on SP values.</p

    Displacement and the Humanities: Manifestos from the Ancient to the Present

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    This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordThis is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Humanities (ISSN 2076-0787) (available at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/humanities/special_issues/Manifestos Ancient Present)This volume brings together the work of practitioners, communities, artists and other researchers from multiple disciplines. Seeking to provoke a discourse around displacement within and beyond the field of Humanities, it positions historical cases and debates, some reaching into the ancient past, within diverse geo-chronological contexts and current world urgencies. In adopting an innovative dialogic structure, between practitioners on the ground - from architects and urban planners to artists - and academics working across subject areas, the volume is a proposition to: remap priorities for current research agendas; open up disciplines, critically analysing their approaches; address the socio-political responsibilities that we have as scholars and practitioners; and provide an alternative site of discourse for contemporary concerns about displacement. Ultimately, this volume aims to provoke future work and collaborations - hence, manifestos - not only in the historical and literary fields, but wider research concerned with human mobility and the challenges confronting people who are out of place of rights, protection and belonging

    Multidisciplinary perspectives on Artificial Intelligence and the law

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    This open access book presents an interdisciplinary, multi-authored, edited collection of chapters on Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) and the Law. AI technology has come to play a central role in the modern data economy. Through a combination of increased computing power, the growing availability of data and the advancement of algorithms, AI has now become an umbrella term for some of the most transformational technological breakthroughs of this age. The importance of AI stems from both the opportunities that it offers and the challenges that it entails. While AI applications hold the promise of economic growth and efficiency gains, they also create significant risks and uncertainty. The potential and perils of AI have thus come to dominate modern discussions of technology and ethics – and although AI was initially allowed to largely develop without guidelines or rules, few would deny that the law is set to play a fundamental role in shaping the future of AI. As the debate over AI is far from over, the need for rigorous analysis has never been greater. This book thus brings together contributors from different fields and backgrounds to explore how the law might provide answers to some of the most pressing questions raised by AI. An outcome of the Católica Research Centre for the Future of Law and its interdisciplinary working group on Law and Artificial Intelligence, it includes contributions by leading scholars in the fields of technology, ethics and the law.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Climate Change and Critical Agrarian Studies

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    Climate change is perhaps the greatest threat to humanity today and plays out as a cruel engine of myriad forms of injustice, violence and destruction. The effects of climate change from human-made emissions of greenhouse gases are devastating and accelerating; yet are uncertain and uneven both in terms of geography and socio-economic impacts. Emerging from the dynamics of capitalism since the industrial revolution — as well as industrialisation under state-led socialism — the consequences of climate change are especially profound for the countryside and its inhabitants. The book interrogates the narratives and strategies that frame climate change and examines the institutionalised responses in agrarian settings, highlighting what exclusions and inclusions result. It explores how different people — in relation to class and other co-constituted axes of social difference such as gender, race, ethnicity, age and occupation — are affected by climate change, as well as the climate adaptation and mitigation responses being implemented in rural areas. The book in turn explores how climate change – and the responses to it - affect processes of social differentiation, trajectories of accumulation and in turn agrarian politics. Finally, the book examines what strategies are required to confront climate change, and the underlying political-economic dynamics that cause it, reflecting on what this means for agrarian struggles across the world. The 26 chapters in this volume explore how the relationship between capitalism and climate change plays out in the rural world and, in particular, the way agrarian struggles connect with the huge challenge of climate change. Through a huge variety of case studies alongside more conceptual chapters, the book makes the often-missing connection between climate change and critical agrarian studies. The book argues that making the connection between climate and agrarian justice is crucial

    How do you know when it’s happening? :A Feminist Poststructural Discourse Analysis of the Discursive Complexities of Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse in Bisexual Cisgender Women’s Lives

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    Intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) is an established area of research in psychology and counselling. However, its application to sexually diverse populations has been limited and within these populations, bisexual cisgender women have been further marginalised from the discussion. Adopting a feminist poststructural epistemology, this research explores how bisexual cisgender women construct their abusive intimate relationship(s) and how they can negotiate different relational subject positions. Moreover, it aims to investigate how language is used, and how different discursive resources are adopted or rejected to construct this relational dynamic. Firstly, a genealogically informed analysis of IPVA and bisexual practices from the turn of the twentieth century was conducted. This found that a number of significant conceptualisations of IPVA have been generated by psychology which are reflected in various knowledges such as psychoanalytic theory, feminist thought and sexually diverse theories. Following this, nine bisexual cisgender women were interviewed about their experiences of one or more previous intimate relationships which they considered to be abusive. A feminist poststructural discourse analysis (FPDA) was then conducted which demonstrated that these bisexual cisgender women construct their relationships in complex, multiple and sometimes contradictory ways, often utilising or distancing themselves from dominant discourses. The analysis also suggests that bisexual cisgender women subsequently position themselves in relation to their sexuality and sexual practices in the relationship in complicated and unstable ways. These findings are discussed in relation to counselling psychology practice, especially in terms of the implications of discursive norms and the role of the practitioner. Furthermore, the methodology and method employed to reach these findings are critiqued. Overall, it is argued that this research increases counselling psychologist’s (CoP’s) awareness of the issue and urges them to consider the ways in constructions of IPVA are often resourced by various taken-for-granted knowledges which may lead to the oversimplification of this complex phenomenon

    “So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice and policy

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    Transformative artificially intelligent tools, such as ChatGPT, designed to generate sophisticated text indistinguishable from that produced by a human, are applicable across a wide range of contexts. The technology presents opportunities as well as, often ethical and legal, challenges, and has the potential for both positive and negative impacts for organisations, society, and individuals. Offering multi-disciplinary insight into some of these, this article brings together 43 contributions from experts in fields such as computer science, marketing, information systems, education, policy, hospitality and tourism, management, publishing, and nursing. The contributors acknowledge ChatGPT’s capabilities to enhance productivity and suggest that it is likely to offer significant gains in the banking, hospitality and tourism, and information technology industries, and enhance business activities, such as management and marketing. Nevertheless, they also consider its limitations, disruptions to practices, threats to privacy and security, and consequences of biases, misuse, and misinformation. However, opinion is split on whether ChatGPT’s use should be restricted or legislated. Drawing on these contributions, the article identifies questions requiring further research across three thematic areas: knowledge, transparency, and ethics; digital transformation of organisations and societies; and teaching, learning, and scholarly research. The avenues for further research include: identifying skills, resources, and capabilities needed to handle generative AI; examining biases of generative AI attributable to training datasets and processes; exploring business and societal contexts best suited for generative AI implementation; determining optimal combinations of human and generative AI for various tasks; identifying ways to assess accuracy of text produced by generative AI; and uncovering the ethical and legal issues in using generative AI across different contexts

    Les conséquences de la chasse au gros gibier chez deux omnivores opportunistes

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    La chasse peut entraĂźner plusieurs consĂ©quences chez les populations animales exploitĂ©es, incluant la sĂ©lection de certains traits comportementaux et des changements de comportement induits par un paysage de la peur. Les activitĂ©s de chasse peuvent ĂȘtre perçues comme une menace par les animaux qui ne sont pas ciblĂ©s et ces derniers modifient leur comportement de façon Ă  moduler leur exposition au risque perçu. Les consĂ©quences de la chasse ne se limitent donc pas qu’aux espĂšces ou groupes dĂ©mographiques ciblĂ©s par les activitĂ©s de chasse; cependant, peu d’études ont rĂ©ellement tentĂ© de documenter les effets de la chasse sur les espĂšces non ciblĂ©es et, plus particuliĂšrement, chez les carnivores qui peuvent autant percevoir les chasseurs comme une menace qu’une source d’accĂšs Ă  la nourriture. En effet, une pratique courante chez les chasseurs est d’éviscĂ©rer le gibier sur le site d’abattage, ce qui augmente considĂ©rablement la quantitĂ© de biomasse disponible pour les charognards. Toutefois, consommer cette ressource pourrait ĂȘtre dĂ©savantageux sur le long terme. La chasse est une importante source d’émission de pollution puisque la majoritĂ© des chasseurs de gros gibier utilisent des munitions en plomb. Ces munitions se fragmentent aprĂšs avoir atteint leur cible et incrustent des millions de fragments de plomb qui peuvent ensuite ĂȘtre ingĂ©rĂ©s par des charognards qui se nourrissent des restes d’abattage jetĂ©s par les chasseurs. En temps normal, il est avantageux d’adopter des comportements charognards, mais cela devient inadaptĂ© durant la pĂ©riode de chasse puisqu’une grande quantitĂ© de plomb se retrouve dans les restes d’abattage et que les charognards n’ont aucun moyen d’évaluer ce risque. L’objectif de ma thĂšse de doctorat Ă©tait de documenter les consĂ©quences de la chasse au gros gibier chez deux omnivores opportunistes. Mes travaux peuvent ĂȘtre divisĂ©s en deux grandes sections: une premiĂšre sur les effets de la chasse sur le comportement de l’ours brun (Ursus arctos) Scandinave et une deuxiĂšme sur le lien entre la distribution des sites d’abattage de gros gibier et le risque d’exposition au plomb chez l’ours brun Scandinave en SuĂšde et l’ours noir d’AmĂ©rique (Ursus americanus) au QuĂ©bec. Les diffĂ©rents chapitres de cette thĂšse ont pu ĂȘtre rĂ©alisĂ©s grĂące Ă  des collaborations avec le Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project (SBBRP) et le ministĂšre des forĂȘts, de la faune et des parcs du QuĂ©bec. Le SBBRP rĂ©alise un suivi longitudinal de la population suĂ©doise d’ours bruns depuis 1985 et plusieurs individus sont munis d’un collier GPS permettant de suivre leurs mouvements. Dans le chapitre 2, j’ai documentĂ© la rĂ©ponse des ours bruns face Ă  la chasse Ă  l’orignal (Alces alces) en SuĂšde. J’ai montrĂ© que les ours Ă©vitent les sites d’abattage d’orignaux tant durant le jour que durant la nuit et qu’ils augmentent la sĂ©lection d’habitats moins favorables aux chasseurs durant les pĂ©riodes de chasse Ă  l’ours et Ă  l’orignal. Cela suggĂšre que les restes d’abattage n’ont pas un effet attractif chez les ours en SuĂšde et que ces derniers ne font pas la diffĂ©rence entre les chasseurs d’ours et les chasseurs d’orignaux, puisqu’ils adoptent des tactiques d’anti-prĂ©dation similaires durant les deux pĂ©riodes de chasse. Dans le chapitre 3, j’ai montrĂ© que la protection lĂ©gale contre la rĂ©colte n’avait pas d’impact au niveau de la perception du risque chez les groupes protĂ©gĂ©s. Cela n'est pas surprenant en soi, mais mes rĂ©sultats montrent que les femelles avec des jeunes dĂ©pendants se dĂ©placent plus rapidement lorsqu’elles sont prĂšs des routes durant les heures lĂ©gales de chasse. Cette rĂ©ponse pourrait augmenter les coĂ»ts de locomotion chez les femelles avec des jeunes dĂ©pendants, et ce, malgrĂ© la protection dont elles bĂ©nĂ©ficient. Dans les chapitres 4 et 5, j’ai montrĂ© que les concentrations de plomb dans les tissus de deux espĂšces d’ours varient en fonction de la distribution des sites d’abattage. Ces rĂ©sultats indiquent que les ours sont plus exposĂ©s au plomb dans les zones oĂč il y a plus de chasse. Pour le moment, nous ne savons pas si les augmentations observĂ©es sont suffisantes pour induire des effets dĂ©lĂ©tĂšres chez les ours, mais les effets nĂ©fastes du plomb peuvent ĂȘtre observĂ©s Ă  de trĂšs faibles concentrations. Il est donc possible que les chasseurs de gros gibier crĂ©ent un piĂšge Ă©volutif pour les mammifĂšres charognards comme c’est le cas pour les charognards aviaires. Dans le chapitre 5, j’ai aussi utilisĂ© une fonction de sĂ©lection de ressources afin de prĂ©dire la distribution des sites d’abattage d’orignaux Ă  l’intĂ©rieur de notre aire d’étude en SuĂšde. Cette utilisation novatrice de la fonction de sĂ©lection de ressources pourrait ĂȘtre aisĂ©ment rĂ©pliquĂ©e dans d’autres systĂšmes d’étude et ainsi amĂ©liorer nos connaissances sur le lien entre la distribution des sites d’abattage et le risque d’exposition au plomb provenant des munitions chez les charognards. À travers les diffĂ©rents chapitres de cette thĂšse, j’ai montrĂ© que la chasse pouvait entraĂźner des consĂ©quences variĂ©es chez les espĂšces ou les groupes dĂ©mographiques qui ne sont pas convoitĂ©s durant les activitĂ©s de chasse. Les chasseurs peuvent induire des rĂ©ponses anti-prĂ©datrices chez plusieurs espĂšces; ces rĂ©ponses peuvent ĂȘtre associĂ©es Ă  des coĂ»ts nutritionnels ou une augmentation des dĂ©penses Ă©nergĂ©tiques durant une pĂ©riode critique juste avant l’hiver. Les chasseurs sont aussi d’importants Ă©metteurs de plomb dans l’environnement, ce qui pose un risque pour la santĂ© des charognards qui se nourrissent des restes d’abattage jetĂ©s durant la pĂ©riode de chasse. L’exposition au plomb provenant de la chasse est un piĂšge Ă©volutif bien documentĂ© chez les charognards aviaires et j’ai montrĂ© que les mammifĂšres pouvaient aussi s’exposer au plomb de la mĂȘme façon. Si des effets dĂ©lĂ©tĂšres de cette exposition venaient Ă  ĂȘtre dĂ©tectĂ©s chez les mammifĂšres, le piĂšge Ă©volutif pourrait s’étendre Ă  d’autres groupes de charognards

    AI: Limits and Prospects of Artificial Intelligence

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    The emergence of artificial intelligence has triggered enthusiasm and promise of boundless opportunities as much as uncertainty about its limits. The contributions to this volume explore the limits of AI, describe the necessary conditions for its functionality, reveal its attendant technical and social problems, and present some existing and potential solutions. At the same time, the contributors highlight the societal and attending economic hopes and fears, utopias and dystopias that are associated with the current and future development of artificial intelligence
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