Gradient Legal Personhood for AI Systems—Painting Continental Legal Shapes Made to Fit Analytical Molds

What I propose in the present article are some theoretical adjustments for a more coherent answer to the legal “status question” of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. I arrive at those by using the new “bundle theory” of legal personhood, together with its accompanying conceptual and methodological apparatus as a lens through which to look at a recent such answer inspired from German civil law and named Teilrechtsfähigkeit or partial legal capacity. I argue that partial legal capacity is a possible solution to the status question only if we understand legal personhood according to this new theory. Conversely, I argue that if indeed Teilrechtsfähigkeit lends itself to being applied to AI systems, then such flexibility further confirms the bundle theory paradigm shift. I then go on to further analyze and exploit the particularities of Teilrechtsfähigkeit to inform a reflection on the appropriate conceptual shape of legal personhood and suggest a slightly different answer from the bundle theory framework in what I term a “gradient theory” of legal personhood.

Cyber victimization within the Routine Activity Theory Framework in the Digital Age

This quantitative-based research determined whether the routine activity theory influences cyber victimization. To measure the dimensions of the theory, defined as exposure to a motivated offender, suitable online target, and absence of a capable guardian, a valid and reliable questionnaire was used. The cyber victimization questionnaire developed by Álvarez-García, Dobarro, and Núñez was applied to 1,285 students selected at random from schools in Colombia. Findings: 46% are identified as exposed to a motivated offender, 37.5% are suitable online targets, and 29.8% have no capable guardians. The interdependence of these three elements revealed that 3.9% of students are at risk due to their routine activities, which had a significant influence on cyber victimization. It is proposed that these findings should be considered in the design of communicative and educational policies aimed at a responsible use of technologies.

How disease risk awareness modulates transmission: coupling infectious disease models with behavioural dynamics

Epidemiological models often assume that individuals do not change their behaviour or that those aspects are implicitly incorporated in parameters in the models. Typically, these assumptions are included in the contact rate between infectious and susceptible individuals. However, adaptive behaviours are expected to emerge and play an important role in the transmission dynamics across populations. Here, we propose a theoretical framework to couple transmission dynamics with behavioural dynamics due to infection awareness. We modelled the dynamics of social behaviour using a game theory framework, which is then coupled with an epidemiological model that captures the disease dynamics by assuming that individuals are aware of the actual epidemiological state to reduce their contacts. Results from the mechanistic model show that as individuals increase their awareness, the steady-state value of the final fraction of infected individuals in a susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) model decreases. We also incorporate theoretical contact networks, having the awareness parameter dependent on global or local contacts. Results show that even when individuals increase their awareness of the disease, the spatial structure itself defines the steady state.

“I Tried Forcing Myself to do It, but Then It Becomes a Boring Chore”: Understanding (dis)engagement in Physical Activity Among Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes Using a Practice Theory Approach

Lack of physical activity (PA) is common among individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). We apply a practice theory approach to investigate PA engagement in the context of T2D. Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews ( n = 23) and focus groups ( n = 3x6) and analyzed by deductive-inductive reflexive thematic analysis using a practice theory framework. Forty-one purposefully selected individuals with T2D (29 men) between the ages of 54 and 77 years were included. The analysis resulted in three main themes informed by five subthemes, reflecting the key elements of practice theory (i.e., meanings, materialities, and competencies). One overarching theme identified PA engagement as an unsustainable and insurmountable project in constant and unequal competition with the practice of physical inactivity. To increase PA among individuals with T2D, future PA interventions and strategies should aim to establish a stronger link between PA and everyday life practices.

A neuronal prospect theory model in the brain reward circuitry

Prospect theory, arguably the most prominent theory of choice, is an obvious candidate for neural valuation models. How the activity of individual neurons, a possible computational unit, reflects prospect theory remains unknown. Here, we show with theoretical accuracy equivalent to that of human neuroimaging studies that single-neuron activity in four core reward-related cortical and subcortical regions represents the subjective valuation of risky gambles in monkeys. The activity of individual neurons in monkeys passively viewing a lottery reflects the desirability of probabilistic rewards, parameterized as a multiplicative combination of a utility and probability weighting functions in the prospect theory framework. The diverse patterns of valuation signals were not localized but distributed throughout most parts of the reward circuitry. A network model aggregating these signals reliably reconstructed risk preferences and subjective probability perceptions revealed by the animals' choices. Thus, distributed neural coding explains the computation of subjective valuations under risk.

New Insights to Understand the CoMFA Analysis within the Density Functional Theory Framework

The Three-Dimensional Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (3D QSAR) models now have a wide range of applications; however, new methodologies are required due to the complexity in understanding their results. This research presents a generalized version of quantum similarity field and chemical reactivity descriptors within the density functional theory framework. By taking reference compounds, this generalized methodology can be used to understand the biological activity of a molecular set. In this sense, this methodology allows to study of the CoMFA in quantum similarity and chemical reactivity. It is feasible to investigate steric and electrostatic effects on local substitutions using this method. They were considering that how these methodologies could be used when the receptor is known or unknown.

The top-heavy shape of authoritarian bureaucracy: evidence from Russia and China

The prevalence of top-heavy bureaucracies in non-democracies cannot be explained by the theories of Parkinson, Tullock, Niskanen, or Simon or by classical managerial theories. When bureaucracy positions carry rents, the competition for promotion becomes a rent-seeking process. Borrowing the career-tournament theory framework from managerial scholarship, we argue that top-heavy bureaucracy resembles a tournament with too many finalists. When rent is centralized at the top (i.e. power centralization), as is the case in many non-democracies, the optimal bureaucracy should be top-heavy, accommodating and encouraging relatively more finalists at the top to compete for the final big prize. We provide suggestive evidence by analyzing ministry organizations in China (1993–2014) and Russia (2002–2015). After some fluctuations, the shape of Russian ministries eventually converged with that of China. In the steady state, their ministry shapes are far more top-heavy than what is prescribed by managerial theories. At the micro-level, ministry power centralization, measured by the perceived influence of the ministers, is correlated with ministry top-heaviness in Russia. Points for practitioners Our theory suggests that a top-heavy authoritarian bureaucratic structure naturally follows from a back-loaded sequential career tournament and an effort-maximizing bureaucratic leader. Our findings also suggest that Chinese and Russian ministries both converge to a highly top-heavy structure in the long run. We demonstrate that the top-heavy structure first arose during the planned-economy experiment in the Soviet Union. Our research sheds new light on public-sector reforms that aim to reduce bureaucracy top-heaviness in autocracies.

Superconducting Properties and Electron Scattering Mechanisms in a Nb Film with a Single Weak-Link Excavated by Focused Ion Beam

Granularity is one of the main features restricting the maximum current which a superconductor can carry without losses, persisting as an important research topic when applications are concerned. To directly observe its effects on a typical thin superconducting specimen, we have modeled the simplest possible granular system by fabricating a single artificial weak-link in the center of a high-quality Nb film using the focused ion beam technique. Then, its microstructural, magnetic, and electric properties in both normal and superconducting states were studied. AC susceptibility, DC magnetization, and magneto-transport measurements reveal well-known granularity signatures and how they negatively affect superconductivity. Moreover, we also investigate the normal state electron scattering mechanisms in the Boltzmann theory framework. The results clearly demonstrate the effect of the milling technique, giving rise to an additional quadratic-in-temperature contribution to the usual cubic-in-temperature sd band scattering for the Nb film. Finally, by analyzing samples with varying density of incorporated defects, the emergence of the additional contribution is correlated to a decrease in their critical temperature, in agreement with recent theoretical results.

‘Ngāti Pukamata’ Virtual iwi: Using Facebook to manage whakapapa: a case study

<p>Social networking sites such as Facebook enable like-minded people to network around the subjects that are of interest to them. One such subject that has recently sparked interest is whakapapa. For Māori, whakapapa plays an important social, political and traditional role and Māori are beginning to establish themselves in various forms without relevance to physical location. The research uses kaupapa Māori and a grounded theory framework to examine contextual problems with crowdsourced whakapapa and how Facebook addresses these problems. The research findings reinforce current thinking about attitudes, behaviours user norms and expectations of Facebook interaction and crowdsourcing. To illustrate, this research argues that Māori are claiming a virtual space for their whakapapa which this research has determined as ‘Ngāti Pukamata’.</p>

‘Ngāti Pukamata’ Virtual iwi: Using Facebook to manage whakapapa: a case study

<p>Social networking sites such as Facebook enable like-minded people to network around the subjects that are of interest to them. One such subject that has recently sparked interest is whakapapa. For Māori, whakapapa plays an important social, political and traditional role and Māori are beginning to establish themselves in various forms without relevance to physical location. The research uses kaupapa Māori and a grounded theory framework to examine contextual problems with crowdsourced whakapapa and how Facebook addresses these problems. The research findings reinforce current thinking about attitudes, behaviours user norms and expectations of Facebook interaction and crowdsourcing. To illustrate, this research argues that Māori are claiming a virtual space for their whakapapa which this research has determined as ‘Ngāti Pukamata’.</p>