EASE Blog Publication Feature - Cost of science in transition economies

The (ir)rational consideration of the cost of science in transition economies. Nature Human Behaviour 2018;2(1). doi:10.1038/s41562-017-0281-4

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE MULTIFACTORIAL CHARACTER OF VOICE CHARACTERISTICS IN THE PROBLEMS OF SPEAKER IDENTIFICATION

When testing the most advanced speaker identification systems on specialized databases, their minimum efficiency, estimated by the error probability at the point of intersection of the error curves, is only a few percent. However, many factors are known that affect the variability of the characteristics of the speaker's voice, each of which has its own, different from the others, influence on the results of the speaker's identification by the characteristics of the voice. The complexity of creating and testing speaker identification systems is the need to quantitatively formalize a number of specific factors that affect the characteristics of his voice. The article discusses the proposed method for accounting for a variety of factors affecting the parameters of the characteristics of the speaker's voice, which provides the fundamental possibility of indirectly accounting for their practically unlimited number. According to this method, «atomic» structures are distinguished from speech signals, which depend on the totality of the main factors that affect the speaker's identification process. With this method, all significant factors affecting the characteristics of the voice will be indirectly taken into account at the level of these structures. Subsequent decisions are made on the combinatorial set of a huge number of these «atomic» structures. «Atomic» speech structures are understood as the spectra of any fragments of any vowel sounds allocated in a time window of 20 ms. «Atomic» structures are selected automatically. The proposed method provides a rational consideration of the multifactorial influence of various parameters, since the spectra of these structures are influenced by all the main factors that characterize the individuality of the voice of a particular speaker. The decision on the identity of the voices of the announcers recorded on different phonograms is carried out on the basis of combinatorics of «atomic» spectra of vowel sounds in both phonograms. The method has shown high efficiency in the examination of phonograms of short duration.

The Neuronal Crisis: Meditate to Comprehend the Nature of Psychosomatic Epidemic

This articles describes the “neuronal crisis,” the epidemic of psychosomatic illnesses observed all over the world, particularly in the West. The paper looks into the deeper real causes and seeks the most effective kind of cure for this malady. This leads to rational consideration of the metaphysical dimension of the human being and the fundamental problems (those of evil, of freedom, of God, of the soul, and of the body), where lack of sufficiency plays a major part in the etiology of these pathologies, as the desire for the Absolute is the basis of the unconscious. This approach presumes the Freudian model but denies its purely libidinal interpretation that substitutes desire for the Absolute with libido. Hence, an explanatory system applied to increasingly serious pathologies: ailments, neuroses, depressions, and psychoses. Frustration of one’s desire for the Good gives rise to a sublimation of finite goodness. The inevitable desublimation, caused by anguish because of the Evil, intense guilt, and the dramatization of evils, causes neuroses as awkward but inevitable solutions to the existential problem that is still unresolved, due to lack of functional and experimental knowledge. Psychiatry and even medicine must take into account the metaphysical layer, and, therefore, operate within an existential dynamic, aiming to progress in wisdom and to discover man, man’s brain and body, as these are structured around the axis of his desire.

Philosophy and Physics

Philosophy is the escape from the darkness of superstition and ignorance, and the ascent into the world of light and knowledge. It is “the vision of truth,” or what the Greeks called “the gift of wonder.” Adding to such a gift is science, the systematic study of nature and the organization of acquired knowledge into timeless, universal, causal, testable laws that are derived from observation and rational consideration. A good scientific theory makes experimentally verifiable and falsifiable predictions, which must be tested by experiment. Science is evidence-based knowledge; it is not knowledge based on opinion or dogma. In the quest for truth about nature, science without (the wisdom of) philosophy is rational but (arguably) dull, and philosophy without (the empirical facts of) science is wise but (experimentally) unverified. The road to the truth is paved by science and philosophy, but certainly by other fields, too. The view is otherwise crude and muddled.

Effect of Impulsivity Traits on Food Choice within a Nudging Intervention

Food choices are often driven by impulsive tendencies rather than rational consideration. Some individuals may find it more difficult resisting impulses related to unhealthy food choices, and low self-control and high impulsivity have been suggested to be linked to these behaviors. Recent shifts have been made towards developing strategies that target automatic processes of decision-making and focus on adjusting the environment, referred to as nudging interventions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of impulsivity traits on food choices within a nudging intervention (increased perceived variety). A total of 83 adults participated in an experimental study consisting of a self-service intelligent buffet. Impulsivity traits were measured using the UPPS-P impulsivity scale. General linear models were fitted to evaluate the effect of the five impulsivity traits on the difference of salad consumption (g) between the control and intervention situations. Results showed that impulsivity does not affect food choices in this nudging situation, suggesting that nudging works independently of the participant’s impulsivity score. Results also showed a significantly higher consumption of salad in the nudging versus the control setting (17.6 g, p < 0.05), suggesting that nudging interventions can be effective in significantly increasing total vegetable consumption across the whole impulsivity scale.

The online anti-public sphere

In this article, I outline the online ‘anti-public sphere’ as an object for analysis, defined as that space of online socio-political interaction where discourse routinely and radically flouts the ethical and rational norms of democratic discourse. This is a formerly offline space made newly visible by digital networked media. It includes discursive spaces and forms such as White supremacist websites, anti-climate science forums, militant ‘men’s rights’ sites, anti-immigration Facebook pages, gay hate memes, misogynist trolling, anti-Semitic websites, alt-right websites and ‘truth’ (conspiracy) websites, to name a few, where discussion flouts norms of public debate, rules of argument and requirements for the rational consideration of evidence for its own ends. Building on earlier work on anti-publics by McKenzie Wark and Bart Cammaerts, and working from examples from several different domains of online anti-public discourse, I argue that despite its size and complexity, it is possible and necessary to theorise this heterogeneous discursive field, not least because while such discourse is often dismissed, the meanings developed in such domains increasingly intermingle with and inform everyday democratic discourse. While we tend to think of extreme and irrational online discourse as aberrant and alien to everyday democratic discourse, analysis suggests that such discourse in fact is a precise reflection of an everyday ‘post-normative’ democratic discourse that has itself become deeply inflected with reactionary and populist themes.

PARTISIPASI POLITIK PEMILIH PEMULA DALAM PESTA DEMOKRASI

Beginner voters have different characteristics with older people in general. Beginner voters tend to be critical, self-contained, independent and are not satisfied with the establishment, pro-change and so on. The characteristics condusive to building a community of intelligent voters in the general election voters have rational consideration in determining his choice. For example, because the integrity of the political party leaders nominated, track record or work programs are offered. Because it has not had experience in presidential elections, beginner voters need to know and understand the various matters related to the election is held, what are the stages of the election, anyone who is eligible to participate in the elections, how the procedures for exercising the right to vote in elections and so on. The beginner voters expexted that still can maintain their political participation, so that when the quota rights of beginner voters can be run by continuing to participate at this stage then democracy will be able to bring the era of Indonesian democracy at this stage of the better later on, of course it would be better anyway when beginner voters can choose intelligently based sciences that have been obtained and supported with good ethics is also based on conscience and integrity in the absence of negative things from those who play with a sense of cheating.

On The Role of Modern Doctrines on Human Rights (International Legal Examination)

The modern doctrines on human rights, which are proposed to be considered in the context of their implementation in international legal practice, are the subject of theoretical and legal analysis in the paper. It is noted that human rights have come a long way in their formation, design and subsequent genesis, and they have finally formed by the end of the last century, and it seems that now all the necessary conditions have been created for their philosophical, legal, axiological analysis and relevant rational consideration of human rights. The advantages of international law in the field of human rights are listed; namely, it is noted that international human rights standards are universal in nature and are binding based on which states are obliged to ensure a minimum standard of those rights and freedoms that are enshrined in international acts, There are listed in the paper advantages of international legal regulation regarding human rights and freedoms, such as the supranational, mandatory and imperative nature of international acts; guarantees of protection and the possibility of restoring violated rights and freedoms of citizens; a man-centred approach in resolving disputes and conflicts arising in international practice. The role of international bodies such as the International Criminal Court, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Court of the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights, the International Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone, is emphasized. Particular attention is paid to the principle of presumption of innocence, which has fundamental and quintessential characteristics in the field of human rights.

RASIONALISASI KONSEP EKONOMI DAN SOSIAL PADA PASAR MODAL TRADISIONAL

The history of moneylenders has long been recorded in the journey of Indonesian people in general and in almost all regions in particular. In the city of Batam, this phenomenon is increasingly thick in traditional markets, due to trading activities that occur every day and a very high cash circulation. This research was conducted in the traditional market of Nagoya Baru Jodoh, a sample of 42 respondents who dug up data on how traders make loans to moneylenders who have been around for years in the midst of traders. The research approach was carried out qualitatively by the survey method by distributing questionnaires containing 36 statements to measure traders' perceptions about the factors influencing considerations in credit application decisions. Then the data is processed using SPSS version 21 with descriptive and inductive statistics using multiple linear regression analysis and moderating variable analysis. The results of this study are that partially, irrational and rational considerations have a significant effect on the decision to submit credit with a significance value of 0,000 and 0.024 respectively, while simultaneously also a significant effect with a significance value of 0,000. The moderating variable test shows a significance value of 0.146 or greater than 0.05 which means that the rational consideration factor has not been a barrier for traders to keep deciding on credit applications.

ABOUT TRADITIONS AND INNOVATIONS IN THE DOMESTIC LAND MANAGEMENT AND CADASTRE

The development of land management and cadastre historically kept pace with the development of national statehood, which determined their special national character and individual qualities, which later received the status of international traditions: state status, legal significance, obligation and regularity of the update of real estate data, the data use for taxation and territorial administration. The modern period has strengthened the role of cadastre and urban planning, the content of which is aimed at ensuring the equal interests of the state, business, civil society and citizens. Rational consideration of this circumstance, with the development of widespread digitalization, become the main criteria for the development of the discussed knowledge areas and practice.