The role of the notion of a proper answer in the logic of questions

The observations in the article mainly concern the role of the concept of the so-called right answer in question logic. The purpose of these remarks is to justify the postulate that any logic of questions should be based on a conception of the structure of questions and answers, in which the notion of a proper answer is strictly defined. This postulate is addressed to any question logic, although it is mainly supported and illustrated by analyses and comparative remarks referring to concepts based on Ajdukiewicz’s question theory and to recent approaches of inferential erotetic logic (IEL). The analyses confirm that the concept of proper answer is fundamental in question theories, as it is assumed in the definitions of almost all concepts relating to questions and answers. In Ajdukiewicz’s concept, it is used explicitly, for example, in the definitions of the conditions of proper questioning and of complete and exhaustive answers. In IEL, it appears explicitly in the definitions of: the pertinent question, the notion of the presupposition of a question (and its variations), the relations of evoking a question (by a set of indicative sentences) and implying a question (by another question), etc. This basic concept should therefore be well defined. This postulate applies especially to such theories of questions in which assertions about questions and answers are proved in symbolic language – as is the case in IEL, which, however, lacks a strict definition of the concept of proper answer (there are only vague, pragmatic terms formulated in natural language). There is, however, a definition that is closer to the idea of the proper answer, adopted by Ajdukiewicz as well as in the concepts related to it, that a proper answer is one the structure of which is determined by the scheme of the question structure. However, this definition should be complemented by an accurate and general conception of question structure, which is lacking in the existing concepts. In order to confirm the validity of the formulated postulate, the article proposes new results achieved in the theory of questions, in which Ajdukiewicz’s ideas are developed and supplemented by a full account of the structure of questions and well-defined, i.e. formulated in a general and strict way as is the idea of proper answer.

The Political Economy of Village Level Theocracies in the Ìlàjẹ Coastline, Southwest Nigeria

In 1947, a group of fishermen from the coastal area of Ìlàjẹ, Ondo State, Nigeria who were members of the Aládúrà, an independent Church movement in southwest of Nigeria, came together to establish a theocratic settlement, which they named Ayétòrò. A few years after, other theocratic settlements emerged in quick succession and by 1980 there were more than fifty such villages along the Ìlàjẹ coastline. The pertinent question is why this form of community organization is pervasive among the Ìlàjẹ. The main argument of this article, following ethnographic data collected from four theocratic settlements, which are regarded as the core village theocracies, is that a flexible land tenure regime and a loose traditional political system, among other factors of environmentand kinship structure, ensured easy access to land and served to authenticate the spiritual leadership claims of founders of theocratic settlements. The conclusion reflects on the future of theocratic settlements against the background of increasing modernization along the Ìlàjẹ coastline.

Outlining the causes and effects of Algae bloom at Ghana’s West Coast

The first incidence of algal bloom within Ghana’s west coast was recorded in 1993, however many years down the line, the growth is still persistent in her territorial waters. A lasting solution is yet to be found. This has therefore led to several social, economic and environmental problems in the affected regions. The study outlined the possible causes and effects of algal bloom within Ghana’s West Coast. The perception of the local people with regards to the causes was also investigated. The method used was by direct observation and use of questionnaires following a case study approach in the Half Asini District. This was to address the pertinent question of what the people think is the cause of the bloom. The study found that the growth of Algae was alarming, with a newer breed having a much negative consequence on the economic livelihood of the people and environment. It was also found that current studies on the issue were minimal— with less than necessary attention being given by stakeholder. However, scientific investigations were underway, though a preliminary report suggested it is a migration of Sargasso Sea species. Recommendations included the need for consented government efforts to investigate, device a control measure to curtail its spread, and continuous public education as a control measure was recommended as well.

Status, benefits and future prospects of organic farming in India: A review

Agriculture is still a major livelihood option for majority of population especially in developing counties. While addressing the global food demand, it should also be sustainable in nature in the sense that it should not directly or indirectly cause to depletion of natural resources and the ecosystem in general. Conventional farming is often based on excessive and unscientific use of chemical fertilizer, pesticide and insecticides. It is argued that conventional farming contributes to climate change, depleting fresh water resources, degrading soil fertility and polluting the environment. From this angle, organic farming is suggested as an alternative to conventional farming since its principles and philosophy are entirely different and it has an edge over conventional farming on various grounds. Considering the fact that organic agriculture covers only a small percentage of the net sworn area especially in the case of developing countries like India, whether organic agriculture is a better option to follow, is a pertinent question. In this context, this paper attempts to examine some of the major relevant literature (from year 2000 to 2021) on various aspects of organic farming like definition, principles, and proposed benefits (environmental, economic and social), present status in India, and its prospects.

The power of forgiveness in a broken world: An understanding of forgiveness in Ephesians

South Africans live in a broken country where hatred leads to violence and destroys the relationships between people. The pertinent question here is: Is forgiveness between South Africans possible? This article is an attempt to understand ‘forgiveness’ in Ephesians, and to discuss the power of such forgiveness in a violent and broken South Africa. Ephesians 4:23 demands a change in the people’s mindset in order to be able to, inter alia, be kind and compassionate when they forgive each other (Eph 4:32). This forgiveness means to take control as a believer and to use one’s power as a Christian to forgive because God forgave us. We need to be the initiators of the transaction. Forgiveness is a ‘means for imitating God’, for ‘carrying out God’s plan’, and ‘enhancing one’s relationship’ with God. Forgiveness will restore relations; it is a gift to oneself and to others, to society, to one’s country. Ephesians advises to no longer rehearse and re-think the memories of pain, to stop harbouring and nursing grudges, to stop playing the victim and perpetuating negative emotions associated with this rehearsing, and to break people’s commitment to remain angry.Contribution: Ephesians aims to persuade believers that forgiveness is a choice to imitate God. Forgiveness is an act out of grace, kindness, and compassion.

Integration of e-Consumer Elements in Adult and Community Education

Kenya, like other countries in Africa and across the world is in the grip of technological advances leading its agencies and parastatals to digitize their operations. A pertinent question, therefore, is whether adult and community education, in its current packaging in Kenya, is empowering the participants to engage in using e-consumer services actively, meaningfully, and in beneficial ways in their daily transactions. This study, therefore, sought to investigate the level of integration of e-Consumer elements in Adult and Community Education. The study adopted a mixed-method research study targeting adult learners in Nairobi County, adult education officers, and adult education instructors. The study collected data using interviews and questionnaires. The study established that integration of ICT services in adult centers is still facing numerous challenges which are evident by the poor use of e-consumer services by the adult learners.

Abstract P337: CD36 Is Required To Prime Cardiomyocytes For Proliferation

Many approaches have been explored to regenerate the heart muscle followingischemic injury, out of which is the induction of cardiomyocytes proliferation. Ourprevious work demonstrated that cell-cycle was successfully induced incardiomyocytes by viral expression of combination of four cell-cycle factors: cyclinB1, CDK1, cyclin D1 and CDK4; termed as 4 factors (4F). However, only 15-20 % ofthe cells expressing the four factors progress into cell-cycle, while the remainderare quiescent. A pertinent question in the field of cardiac regeneration is why allviral or in vivo transgenic approaches to induce adult cardiomyocyte proliferation,e.g., 4F, YAP, and CyclinA2, promote proliferation in only a subset ofcardiomyocytes. This general finding suggests that factors or conditions beyondcell-cycle induction influence the probability and perpetuation of cardiomyocytedivision.Here we aim to investigate why only a subpopulation of cardiomyocytes is able toprogress through cell-cycle.Temporal single cell RNA sequencing of 60 days mature hiPS-CMs 24, 48 and 72hours post infection with 4F or control virus revealed that a unique population ofcardiomyocytes in the LacZ control group [1026 cells out of 6761 cells (~15%)] thatdisappears after treatment with 4F; another unique cluster with similar cellnumbers appears 24 h after 4F transduction (Cluster 3), which suggests that theinitial population was primed to proliferate. One of the major characteristics of thisprimed subpopulation is the expression of CD36, a major fatty acids transporter incardiomyocytes, and that 4F induction of cell-cycle completely abolishes CD36expression. knocking down CD36 in hiPS-CMs for 48 hours followed by induction ofproliferation using 4F led to 50-70% reduction in proliferation capacity of thecardiomyocytes compared to the control cells. Furthermore, cardiomyocytesisolated at P7 from CD36 knockout mice showed 30-40 % reduction incardiomyocytes proliferation capacity at baseline and after 4F induction ofproliferation compared to cardiomyocytes isolated from WT controls.These findings suggest that CD36 is needed to prime the CMs to proliferate, andthis can be, at least partially, through provision of energy requirements throughβ-oxidation of fatty acids.

How the Triple-Helix Model of Innovation is changing the Indian COVID-19 Fight?

It is indeed a great misnomer to analyze the dimensions of academic capitalism with the steady rise of entrepreneurial university in line with Western educational policies. It has been a long journey in emerging underdeveloped economies has given the dream of the next superpower where entrepreneurial universities are a very recent concept of post-liberal economy, change in governmental practices and bureaucratic affairs. This has led to a stronger innovation landscape of industry-education-government nexus in building the nation. Recent years have seen the great crisis of COVID-19 pandemic which has changed the ideologies and theoretical models underlying economically well-off states and the velocity of money circulation. Amidst the huge amount of literature in entrepreneurial university studies, very little work has been done which answers the very pertinent question and covers the research gap. Namely, how the Triple Helix model arrived in India and how the central government in India dramatically changed its beliefs by inheriting such a model in its innovation practices. The model that championed the cause of bringing about new products, economic welfare and product development. These transformed India's idea of being an importer of healthcare facilities to becoming an expert and exporter of medical facilities, thus completely reversing the cycle of trade and global logistics in healthcare economic practices. This paper works on such an exploratory case study concerning India's success story in employing triple helix model of innovation in national policy practices and world economy.

The Role of Emoticons in the Comprehension of Emotional and Non-emotional Messages in Dyslexic Youth – A Preliminary Study

The study explored how well-dyslexic youth deals with written messages in an environment simulating popular social network communication system. The messaging systems, present more and more in pandemic and post-pandemic online world, are rich in nonverbal aspects of communicating, namely, the emoticons. The pertinent question was whether the presence of emoticons in written messages of emotional and non-emotional content changes the comprehension of the messages. Thirty-two pupils aged 11–15 took part in the study, 16 had a school-approved diagnosis of dyslexia and were included in the experimental group. Sixteen controls had no diagnosed disabilities. Both groups viewed short messages of four types (each including seven communicates): verbal-informative (without emoticons and emotional verbal content), verbal-emotive (without emoticons, with emotional verbal content), emoticon-informative (including emoticon-like small pictures, but without emotional content either verbal or nonverbal), and emoticon-emotive (with standard emoticons and including verbal-emotional content). The participants had to answer short questions after quick presentation of each message that tested their comprehension of the content. RTs and accuracy of the answers were analyzed. Students without dyslexia had shorter response times to the questions regarding all types of messages than the dyslexic participants. The answers of the experimental group to the questions about the emoticon-informative messages were less correct. The study pointed tentatively to the beneficial role of emoticons (especially the nonstandard, i.e., of non-emotional kind) in reading short messages with understanding.