Capacity Of Agents Research Articles

Prevention of Falsification of Polygamous Marriage Identity in Lampung Province and Its Contribution to the Reform of Islamic Family Law in Indonesia

This article examines the problem of identity forgery in polygamous marriages in Lampung Province. This case arises because the husband is not open to the first wife and the strict regulations regarding polygamy. The purpose of the research is to analyse identity forgery from the perspective of Islamic law and positive law as well as preventive efforts that can be made as an Islamic family law reform in Indonesia. The method used is qualitative, with a case study approach, type of field research, data collection techniques, through observation, interviews and documentation. Interview respondents from the Head of the Lampung Province Religious Affairs Office, religious leaders and six perpetrators of marriage identity forgery. The findings show that identity forgery is done to trick the wife and the KUA, and violates the principles of justice in Islam and Marriage Law No. 1 of 1974. Prevention efforts involve increasing public awareness, the capacity of registration agencies, and revising stricter regulations. The conclusion states that these measures can prevent identity forgery and strengthen law enforcement, as well as contribute to a more just and transparent reform of Islamic family law.

The Architecture of Laila’s World in Attia Hosain’s Sunlight on a Broken Column

Attia Hosain’s Partition novel, Sunlight on a Broken Column (1961), offers possibilities for the physical structure of the home to be analysed through a spatial lens to decode architectural metaphors of the zenana (women’s space). This paper explores how the women characters negotiate with the often dichotomised private and public spheres of the home and outside, to show their rising confluence in a mod­ernising nation. This paper grounds gendered space in the materiality of courtyards, walls, stairwells and rooftops to argue that the homosocial, homospatial bond that exists within the zenana court­yard is reinvented by Laila in the wake of the socio-political changes of the 1930s–50s, which allows for Laila’s imagined ‘world’ to become a reality. By studying the architectural sites of seclusion not as static but charged with agential capacity through their enclosed openness, this paper reads the courtyard as a transgressive space of resistive politics.

Place-making Beyond Humans: Environmental Photography with Dots

Thinking with the environmental photography collection on her Instagram account, the author of this visual essay focuses on a conceptual exploration of dots and their agential capacity. From COVID-19-shot blood drops, egg cells, and black fly bites to human irises as devices unlocking phones–all images are unique re-presentations of a posthuman, non-anthropocentric fabric, constantly shaping and reshaping territory. Dots prompt the question: Who contributes to this place besides humans? The author concludes with a discussion on how, in times of climate change, the conceptual insights of the blog can be applied in environmental art education through her place-responsive practice.

Functional Connectivity of Moral Cognition and Traits of Psychopathy in Youth: An Analysis of the Scientific Literature

The aim of the study is to analyze the scientific literature and evidence on the mechanisms of functional connectivity involved in moral cognition processes in youth with psychopathy traits. Scientometric methods of citation networks based on graph theory were used. Bibliometrix, Sci2 Tool, and Gephi were used for the analysis. It was found that the dorsal and ventral regions of the prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, angular gyrus, anterior cingulate and temporal cortex evidence functional alterations in young people with psychopathic traits. It was also reported that graymatter concentration in the left posterior and right anterior cingulate are possible endophenotypes of psychopathic traits. The theoretical, empirical, and legal implications of a moral neural perspective of psychopathy andantisocial behavior are discussed. The results demonstrated that psychopathic traits, which occasionally lead to criminal and violent behaviors, have a neurobiological basis related to moral cognition processes. However, a neuronal moral model has theoretical and practical limitations, as well as legal implications for free will and moral agency capacity.

A Knowledge-Guided Multi-Objective Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm for Dynamic Multi-Depot Multi-Trip Vehicle Routing Problem

Optimization algorithms have a wide range of applications in symmetry problems, such as graphs, networks, and pattern recognition. In this paper, a dynamic periodic multi-depot multi-trip vehicle routing model for scheduling test samples is constructed, which considers the differences in testing unit price and testing capacity of various agencies and introduces a cross-depot collaborative transport method. Both the cost and the testing time are minimized by determining the optimal sampling routes and testing agencies, subjecting to the constraints of vehicle capacity, number of vehicles, and delivery time. To solve the model, a knowledge-guided multi-objective shuffled frog leaping algorithm (KMOSFLA) is proposed. KMOSFLA adopts a convertible encoding mechanism to realize the diversified search in different search spaces. Three novel strategies are designed: the population initialization with historical information reuse, the leaping rule based on the greedy crossover and genetic recombination, and the objective-driven enhanced search. Systematic experimental studies are implemented. First, feasibility analyses of the model are carried out, where effectiveness of the cross-depot collaborative transport is validated and sensitivity analyses on two parameters (vehicle capacity and proportion of the third-party testing agencies) are performed. Then, the proposed algorithm KMOSFLA is compared with five state-of-the-art algorithms. Experimental results indicate that KMOSFLA can provide a set of non-dominated schedules with lower cost and shorter testing time in each scheduling period, which provides a reference for the dispatcher to make a final decision.

Enhanced agency and the visual thinking of design

Abstract Visual thinking is a systematic way to produce knowledge in design by means of mental imagery, spatial reasoning, and the use of an array of visual representations. Pictorial representations such as sketches are crucial for the activity of designing at the early stage of the creative process. Designers see more information in sketches than was actually drawn. The ability to see more information than is sketched out can be seen as an enhanced visual capacity of human agency. Enhanced agency is the prosthetic incorporation of artifacts to improve the original agentive capacities. The incorporation of artifacts to draw raises some fundamental questions: Is the pencil an extension of the mind? Can we think with our hands? What agentive capacities are increased with the use of the pencil? What is the representational status of sketching? The chapter is structured around these key questions to suggest some answers inspired by the work of Göran Sonesson. Using the notion of enhanced agency and the layered model of agency, I explore the way in which the pencil improves the visual thinking of design. In doing so I found that it is important to maintain the principle of asymmetry in cognitive systems to reconsider relational ontology in favor of ecological relationships.

Caring for Valid Sexual Consent

Caring for Valid Sexual Consent

Regulatory or market pressures: What promotes environmental grandstanding in Bangladesh?

Many factors affect the adoption of the mandatory technology of effluent treatment plants for pollution management in Bangladesh. Some of these factors could also affect the adoption of voluntary environmental standards. Therefore, it is important to identify and analyze the importance of these key factors, considering their role in enhancing environmental performance in crucial industries for the country's economy. In this study, a literature review preceded an analysis of factors through structural equation modelling to investigate how attributes of the regulatory agency combine with market aspects to influence environmental practices such as the adoption of mandatory ETP and voluntary certifications. Using official quarterly data, the results of this study show that access to green finance and the number of employees of the regulatory agency significantly affect the adoption of additional ETPs. On the other hand, the size of fines for pollution does not significantly affect the adoption of ETPs. It was also found that green finance and additional ETP adoption also increased the adoption of green factory buildings, which is a voluntary exercise. This study sheds light on the underlying relationships that can guide ongoing multilateral interventions to enhance capacity of regulatory agencies to implement environmental regulations. It also provides new evidence to formulate relevant strategies for enhancing environmental performance by scaling up green finance.

Analisis Pembuktian Pidana Asal dalam Kasus Tindak Pidana Pencucian Uang yang Diatur dalam Undang-Undang: Tinjauan Terhadap Prinsip Hukum dan Implementasi dalam Praktik Hukum di Indonesia

Money laundering is a serious threat to the financial stability and integrity of financial institutions in Indonesia. Proving the origin of criminal proceeds in money laundering cases is a primary focus in law enforcement efforts to combat this illegal activity. This paper provides a review of the legal principles underlying the proof of criminal origin in money laundering cases and discusses their implementation in legal practice in Indonesia.Through literature analysis and case studies, the author highlights the complexity of proving criminal origin in the context of money laundering cases. Challenges include difficulty in tracing complex financial transactions, limitations in adequate legal regulations, and the need for international cooperation for effective exchange of information and evidence. Additionally, the paper emphasizes the importance of meticulous financial analysis as a key instrument in proving the origin of laundered funds. In the context of legal practice implementation in Indonesia, this paper examines the efforts of the government and law enforcement agencies in handling money laundering cases. Despite steps taken to enhance law enforcement effectiveness, there are still challenges to be addressed, such as lack of coordination between agencies, protection of witnesses and informants, and the expertise required for complex financial analysis. Considering the relevant legal principles and challenges faced in legal practice in Indonesia, this paper concludes the need for greater efforts to enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies, improve international cooperation, and strengthen regulatory frameworks to ensure the effectiveness of proving the criminal origin in money laundering cases in Indonesia.

On the researcher as parasite

An Australian reimagining of the Aesop fable of the fox, the flies and the hedgehog introduces critical exploration of spatial planning-related imaginaries whereby practices of settler colonialism and urban expansion have caused disruption and destruction of hundreds of thousands of human and other-than-human lives. The argument is grounded in Serres’ concept of the parasite, questioning what type of parasitic relationship spatial planning has with its more-than-human context. Resetting the coordinates of planning practice through a relational transversal approach is proposed. Transversality is a vehicle of rupture and convergence constituted through events and alliances as temporary resting places in which the agential capacities of humans and other-than-humans are temporarily suspended, so that their relations can be reassembled in a form of inclusive disjunctive synthesis, sensitive to the place and issues involved.

Evolutionary game analysis of violation regulation in the electricity market based on blockchain technology

Electricity market violations affect the overall operations of the electricity market. This paper explores the evolutionary stability strategies of electricity generation enterprises and electricity consumers under two modes: traditional regulation and blockchain regulation to analyze blockchain technology’s mechanism and conditions in solving electricity market violations. The experimental results indicate that the likelihood of consumers accepting electricity and the regulatory capacity of regulatory agencies play a crucial role in determining the violation approach adopted by electricity generation enterprises. Under traditional regulatory models, due to information asymmetry, regulatory agencies may not be able to detect violations promptly. Meanwhile, electricity consumers may choose to accept violations by power generation companies due to high appeal costs. Blockchain technology enables regulatory agencies to improve their regulatory capabilities by eliminating information asymmetry, reducing the cost of complaints from electricity consumers, thereby elevating the risk for enterprises engaging in market violations and optimizing the evolutionary game towards an optimum state.

Bayesian Reinforcement Learning With Limited Cognitive Load.

All biological and artificial agents must act given limits on their ability to acquire and process information. As such, a general theory of adaptive behavior should be able to account for the complex interactions between an agent's learning history, decisions, and capacity constraints. Recent work in computer science has begun to clarify the principles that shape these dynamics by bridging ideas from reinforcement learning, Bayesian decision-making, and rate-distortion theory. This body of work provides an account of capacity-limited Bayesian reinforcement learning, a unifying normative framework for modeling the effect of processing constraints on learning and action selection. Here, we provide an accessible review of recent algorithms and theoretical results in this setting, paying special attention to how these ideas can be applied to studying questions in the cognitive and behavioral sciences.

Why do birds have wings? A biosemiotic argument for the primacy of naturogenic sporting sites

ABSTRACT Where sporting games may be said to epitomize our species’ unique agential capacity for playful movement, sports played in nature differ from their equivalent played indoors in that they envelop the human agent within the living physical environment from which our agency originates. In this paper, we draw attention to how sporting sites differ according to origin by pursuing a biosemiotic line of reasoning. Here, the story of a meaningful human life begins with the eukaryotic cell, even though the human subject itself arises much later. As such, the story of nature in relation to our agency, here, in sports, changes too. We present key concepts from biosemiotics, including its continuum life-as-semiotic-agency view, Umwelt, metasemiosis, and semiotic scaffolding to advance our argument that naturogenic sporting sites provide continuity to the macro processes that have generated our semiotic ability to play. Meanwhile, secluded anthropogenic environments constitute yet another discontinuity for the modern sportsperson where the moving body steps into an anthroposemiotic loop and its restricted signscapes from centralized agency. We conclude on the primacy of naturogenic sporting sites as they preserve the quality and complexity of animal ludens’ constitutive relations and therefrom semiotic freedom, on which current and future gameplaying depends.

Ian Proops: Kant on Transcendental Freedom (The Fiery Test of Critique: Chs. 11–12)

Abstract Kant’s position on the problem of free will can be perplexing and frustrating: all the real questions about human agential capacities or even about issues of moral imputability are empirical questions, which have empirical answers. But there remains a metaphysical or transcendental problem about the possibility of freedom, which is forever insoluble. Ian Proops’ discussion in The Fiery Test of Critique is to be commended for displaying the rare virtue of appreciating this last point and presenting Kant’s position about it accurately. The only questionable part has to do with the standard terminology – ‘determinism’, ‘libertarianism’, ‘compatibilism’, and ‘incompatibilism’. I argue that it would be better to say, as Kant does, and Proops also does most of the time, that practical freedom, hence transcendental freedom, must be presupposed whenever we act or even judge, but how freedom is possible is both unknowable and even incomprehensible to us.

Disinformation and Fact-Checking in the Face of Natural Disasters: A Case Study on Turkey–Syria Earthquakes

Natural disasters linked to contexts of unpredictability and surprise generate a climate of uncertainty in the population, resulting in an exponential increase in disinformation. These are crisis situations that cause the management of public and governmental institutions to be questioned, diminish citizens’ trust in the media, and reinforce anonymity in social networks. New digital algorithms create a scenario plagued by fake news and levels of viralization of rumors never before contemplated. Our objective is to analyze the verification capacity of fact-checking agencies at X at times of information disorder, such as the Turkey–Syria earthquakes in 2023. We apply a mixed methodology of comparative content analysis to government, news agency, and IFCN accounts, generating a general sample (n = 46,747) that is then subjected to thematic categorization to create a specific sample (n = 564). The results indicate a low commitment to fact-checking on the part of official bodies and news agencies, as opposed to fact-checking agencies’ accurate handling of the facts. The lack of debate and engagement generated by digital audiences in the face of the discursive intentionality of disinformation is significant.

Impact of the war in Ukraine on the law enforcement system in general and the National police of Ukraine in particular

The article is devoted to defining the essence and peculiarities of the law enforcement system of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine, as well as the impact of the war on the development of the activities of these bodies. Attention was drawn to the mechanism of law enforcement agencies, namely the ways and methods of ensuring their activities. The principles on which the activity of the National Police of Ukraine is based are also analyzed, taking into account all the changes that were introduced due to the war. Studying changes in the National Police of Ukraine in the context of the full-scale Russian invasion is crucial for several reasons.
 Firstly, it provides insights into the adaptability and resilience of law enforcement agencies in the face of unprecedented challenges. Understanding how the police force responds to such a crisis can offer valuable lessons for other nations dealing with similar threats.
 Secondly, research in this area sheds light on the effectiveness of reforms and training programs implemented to enhance the capabilities of the National Police. Analyzing the changes in strategies, tactics, and overall performance can help identify areas of improvement and refine future initiatives.
 Furthermore, studying the National Police's response to the Russian invasion contributes to a broader understanding of the role of law enforcement in conflict zones. It allows for an evaluation of the challenges faced by the police force, such as maintaining public order, ensuring civilian safety, and combating organized crime in a volatile environment. In a geopolitical context, this research becomes a part of the global conversation on security and stability. It highlights the importance of international support and cooperation in strengthening the capacities of national law enforcement agencies during times of conflict.
 Ultimately, examining the shifts in the National Police of Ukraine amid the Russian invasion not only provides valuable insights for the country itself but also contributes to the global discourse on security, resilience, and the role of law enforcement in times of crisis.

Restoring the Kingdom of Christ: the appropriation of religious and cultural festivals and the construction of the nation under Franco (1936–45)

ABSTRACT In the analysis of the consolidation of the dictatorships that emerged in interwar Europe, religious and cultural festivals have received less attention than the political holidays created from scratch to reinforce their symbolic legitimacy. However, popular celebrations served as an effective tool for the transmission of ideology and the creation of spaces of interaction between the state and the people. This article analyses the different ways in which the Franco dictatorship instrumentalized religiosity and religious and cultural festivals during the years that the regime was under construction (1936–45). The study evaluates the extent to which the appropriation and resignification of popular culture and festive rites helped to consolidate the dictatorship and shape the Franco nation, while examining their impact on daily life and highlighting the subjects’ capacity for agency in the redefinition of celebrations. Drawing on a perspective that combines social and cultural history and anthropology, the article focuses on the complex relationship between religion and nationalism during the Franco period, observing the materialization of specific policies and discourses in people’s lives.

Visual Exegesis of Herodias and Salome from Feminist Rhetorical Criticism: The Construction of a Myth

The biblical account of Salome has been marked throughout history by two main themes: on the one hand, the princess’s dance in front of the main rulers of Galilee, and on the other hand, the request for the head of John the Baptist to King Herod, instigated by his mother Herodias. The reading of this passage has been strongly marked by the different patriarchal exegetical approaches, which have modulated the reception of both female characters being traceable through the visual and literary arts, to the point of taking on the concept of femme fatale. Really, in both moments Salome is the executor of the actions, not as a result of her capacity for agency, but due to her influenceable character. Through a critical–historical analysis of the biblical passage, Herodias and Salome emerge with characteristics quite different from what 19th-century Art History inherited. The methodology of feminist rhetorical criticism allows for an approach to the visual re-imaginings of this biblical passage that have shaped the iconography of these two figures. The field of visual arts, particularly the production of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, will be the great receptacle for the genesis of the fatality and assimilation of these female biblical figures.

The Influence of the 1988 and 2003 IOM Future of Public Health Reports on the CDC.

The landmark 1988 Institute of Medicine report The Future of Public Health served the public health community well by pointing to what needed to be done, fostering a sense of urgency, and offering concrete directions to be pursued. In this article, the impact of the 1988 report, and of the subsequent 2003 report on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is considered by tracing the course of the ideas that influenced the consciousness of the public health community and subsequently catalyzed concrete action. Among these ideas was that "public health is in disarray." This assessment led to an awareness that something needed to be done. Further, by stating that the public health enterprise had 3 core functions (assessment, policy development, and assurance), the 1988 report set in motion policy development to address the "disarray." At a more fundamental level, both reports championed the need for governmental public health (particularly at the CDC) to take action to strengthen the capacity of local and state public health agencies to address a growing range of public health threats and emergencies. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(5):489-494. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307598).

Coping with old-age poverty – the role of agency and different forms of societal support

Abstract Across Europe, there is a substantial but varying number of older people struggling to make ends meet. We examine how older people with a low income make use of their individual resources and those that are available from their family and community as well as public support (in cash and in kind) when coping with poverty. This article is based on the experience of old-age poverty, drawing on 59 life-course interviews with low-income older people in Norway, Germany, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. We introduce a typology of coping strategies with two main dimensions: the capacity for agency and the capacity for transformation. We show that coping strategies vary not only based on individual factors and appropriate social policy support, but also on further societal support provided by civil society, families or social networks that supplements or compensates for gaps in social policy provision.