Ontological Insecurity and Decision-Making during Black Swan and Dragon King Events, and COVID-19

The tremendously disruptive global pandemic of COVID-19 has had a destabilizing effect on individuals and groups as it triggered a profound uncertainty about the ability of nations, organizations, and individuals to survive. Under such conditions, decision-making was affected in a number of ways which has a profound implication for leaders and policymakers. This paper presents new theoretical lenses that incorporate literary and cultural narratives to consider the various potential classifications of COVID-19 as a “Black Swan” or “Dragon King” event, and how the disruption has precipitated psychological distress. Further, the paper discusses the notion that Dragon King extreme events may be precursors to catastrophic transition. In this analysis, we look at concepts such as R. D. Laing’s The Divided Self, and the psychological concept of ontological insecurity. While the concept is a psychological one, it has been applied to the analysis of literature, with very illuminating results. Likewise, the concept could be applied to the factors going into thinking about reality, one’s relationships with others, and then, decision-making. When combined with techniques to develop self-awareness, such as the Johari window, even more insight is achievable. The overall purpose of the paper is to analyze the relatively hidden or unacknowledged literary narratives that constitute driving mechanisms in decision-making in psychological and ontologically destabilizing Black Swan and Dragon King events.

Law of Physics 20th-Century Scientists Overlooked (Part 5): Centrifugal Effect Negation

Explored is another application of the phenomenally successful DSSU’s aether theory of gravity. It is explained how rotational motion with respect to the universal space medium (aether) determines the centrifugal effect. The article details the conditions involved in the attenuation of the Effect; and the extreme condition under which complete negation occurs. Included is a description of how a totally collapsed star —called a Terminal neutron star— is unable to manifest any centrifugal effects; and how, consequently, it can have no theoretical limit on its rate of rotation. Revealed is the fundamental law governing circular motion. This long-overlooked principle of physics leads to a startling and profound implication: Spiral galaxies are able to maintain their structural integrity without the need for so-called dark matter.

Nonlinearity between financial development and the shadow economy: Evidence from Jordan

The present study empirically investigates the long-run nonlinear relationship between the shadow economy and financial development targeting developing small open countries, such as Jordan. The study applied the cointegration test as an estimation technique in order to achieve its aim. The data used were mainly taken from Jordanian economy during the period (1990-2019). According to the test of Johanson cointegration, the empirical results of this study showed evidence of a long run inverted U-shaped relationship between the shadow economy and financial development. The results also showed that there is a long run positive relationship between inflation and the shadow economy. Consequently, these results lead to a profound implication when adopting policies to reduce the size of the shadow economy.

The Challenges and Opportunities for the Green Climate Fund

The importance of the public finance in tackling climate change has been widely recognized by the global communities. As the operating entity of the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, the $10.3 billion Green Climate Fund (GCF) holds a potential to be the champion in the international climate finance architecture. Within two and a half years, the GCF approved 76 projects worthy of $3.7 billion and has established partnership with 59 accredited entities. Integrating different concerns into its governance and operational modalities, the GCF maintains an inclusive participation and has profound implication for the international climate change cooperation. While with these achievements, the GCF still faces financial and policy challenges going forward. If the current pace of the project approval continues, the GCF will soon exhaust its resource. The existing policy gaps will also jeopardize GCF meeting its climate goals. To ensure a sustainable and bright future, the GCF needs to take advantage of its opportunities and address the challenges in a wise and strategic way. Given the real scarcity of the public resources available, a top-down combined with bottom-up replenishment modality may be worth exploring.

From Blood Intimacy to the Birth of Self-consciousness in The Rainbow

The opening chapters of Lawrence’s The Rainbow is modeled on the Bible in terms of its narrative discourse and profound implication. The novel begins with a pastoral portrayal of the Marsh Farm where mankind forms a blood-intimate and reciprocal relationship with the natural world. But driven by man’s own eagerness to pursue knowledge and pushed by the development of industrialization, man’s unconscious closeness with nature gradually gives way to the birth of self-consciousness which alienates him from the natural world, thus thrusting him into an ontological existence.

Post – Modernism Perspective in Humanities

Rosenau (1993) observes that proponents of postmodernism claim to relinquish all attempts to create new knowledge in a systematic fashion, but project an anti–rule fashion of discuss. This perspective being expounded by postmodernists have profound implication in humanities and social science scholarship especially in its contention that there are limits and limitations of modern reason that are inherent in the forms and types of reasoning and social analysis that has characterized society and the modern. But does this perspective have any merit and most especially for us in the third world. This is the angle this study shall take and we hope at the end, we should have been able to render a critical appraisal of this approach in the broader Humanities disciplines.

Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work

This article discusses examples of work tasks and interaction in five elementary schools in contrasting social class communities. The examples illustrate differences in classroom experience and curriculum knowledge among the schools. The paper also assesses student work in each social setting in the light of a theoretical approach to social class analysis. It is suggested that there is a “hidden curriculum” in school work that has profound implication for theory—and practice—in education.