Conceptual Uncertainty Research Articles

Advancing Methodological Approaches in Affect-Adaptive Video Game Design: Empirical Validation of Emotion-Driven Gameplay Modification

Affect-adaptive video games are increasingly concerned with changing game material based on the emotional states of player to best elicit the optimal experience. However, conceptual uncertainties and unreliable methodologies make this process currently difficult and results inconclusive. Here we present a methodological approach to explicitly test mapping assumptions between in-game variables, player input, and subjective experience to build affect-adaptive video games. In Experiment 1, 161 participants played through a newly developed 2D action arcade game. Their data was used to identify associations between game input, presented material, and affective valence. Results made it possible to identify two potential pathways for emotion adaptation which were implemented and evaluated in Experiment 2 (N = 158) against a non-adaptive version of the same game. The player-based emotional adaptation showed a significant increase in self-reported valence compared to the control condition, providing evidence for the utility of the process.

Erotikos ir pornografijos reguliavimas viešojoje sferoje nepriklausomybę atkūrusioje Lietuvoje: Vilniaus atvejis (1990–1996)

This article examines the state control of erotica in the public sphere and the activities of regulatory institutions in Lithuania between 1990 and 1996. Based on archival documents, the study reveals the methods used by the Press Control Commission and the Vilnius City Ethics Commission to regulate the distribution of erotica after the restoration of independence, and the criteria used by these institutions to assess sexualized content. A key issue in shaping a coherent legal discourse on the regulation of erotic and pornographic content is the ambiguity and blurring of the terms ‘erotica’ and ‘pornography.’ The study shows that these institutions sought to control erotic content primarily through three argumentative models: 1) the tradition and values model, 2) the “I know it when I see it” model, and 3) the threat of homosexuality model. The findings indicate a strong tendency within the Press Control Commission and the Vilnius City Ethics Commission not only to regulate (e.g., through age limits) but also to eliminate such content. The vague legal rulings and conceptual uncertainties of the 1990s gave these commissions considerable autonomy, allowing them to assume a proactive role that resembles that of an inquisitor or moral policeman.

Using major ions and stable isotopes to improve conceptualisation of a spring-aquifer system in the Galilee Basin, Australia

Developing conceptual models is a critical step in hydrogeological studies that should utilise multiple lines of evidence and data types to minimise conceptual uncertainty, particularly in data-sparse systems. This study used new and existing major ion and isotope (O, H, Sr, C) data sets to refine a previous hydraulic-head-based conceptual model of the Galilee Basin (Australia). The analyses provide evidence for the locations of recharge and discharge areas and determine hydrochemical processes along flow paths to improve understanding of potential source waters to the Doongmabulla Springs Complex (DSC) and to infer mixing within, or exchange between aquifer units. There was good agreement between previously inferred recharge and discharge areas defined using hydraulic head data and interpretations from hydrochemical evolution along groundwater flow pathways, at least where data were available. Major ion and isotope data suggest that the DSC likely receives water from both a relatively shallow, local flow path and a deeper regional flow path. This observation is relevant to previous concerns about threats to the DSC, as mine-induced drawdown may impact the relative contributions to spring discharge from different recharge sources and aquifers. Silicate weathering in the deeper Clematis Formation and Dunda Beds, and evapotranspiration in the overlying Moolayember Formation have strong control on the total dissolved solids content. These findings suggest that the Clematis Formation and Dunda Beds are hydrochemically distinct from the Moolayember Formation, with limited exchange between these aquifers, which has important implications for model conceptualisation and ongoing monitoring of mining activities in the Galilee Basin.

Peculiarities of Labor Relations Regulation amid Imposition of Martial Law and Special Economic Measures: Problems and Prospects for Harmonization

The need to counter external threats to Russia’s national security predetermined the development of new and improvement of existing regulations in 2022. An assessment and comparative analysis of the legal means and innovations available in the field of labor confirmed that there is an objective need for comprehensive legal regulation of labor relations during emergency events. Considering the features of the organization of labor activity amid imposition of martial law and the operation of special economic measures, the author exposes conceptual uncertainty, discrepancies in the order, content and limits of impact on the sphere of labor, difficulties in applying and controversial issues of innovations were revealed, the lack of a general concept and uniformity of labor regulation in the conditions of emergency circumstances. It is proposed to streamline the regulations by focusing on the fact that countering threats to national security is the system-forming basis for the differentiation of the legal regulation of relations in the sphere of labor.

Translation on and over the web: disentangling conceptual uncertainties and ethical questions – an introduction

Translation on and over the web: disentangling conceptual uncertainties and ethical questions – an introduction

Using feedback loops from computational simulations as resources for sensemaking: a case study from physical chemistry

Sensemaking is an important way of learning and engaging in science. Research has shown that sensemaking activities, such as questioning, hypothesizing, and model building, are pivotal in developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills in science education. This paper investigates the role of computational simulations in facilitating sensemaking in chemistry education, specifically examining how these simulations can sustain the sensemaking process. Through a detailed case study in a physical chemistry course, we explore the interplay between students' real-world experiences, theoretical knowledge, and computational simulations. This analysis reveals that computational simulations, by providing interactive and visual representations of chemical phenomena, can create a conducive environment for sensemaking, where students actively engage in exploring and resolving conceptual uncertainties. Based on these results, we argue that computational tools, when effectively integrated into educational settings, can facilitate sensemaking in science education.

Exploring new forms of audiovisual translation in the age of digital media: cybersubtitling and cyberdubbing

ABSTRACT The prevalence and popularity of audiovisual content in the current times has resulted in a wide range of practices which have been categorised within audiovisual translation (AVT) research as examples of fan translation, amateur translation, crowdsourcing or collaborative translation, among others. While some practices can be included under these categories, other forms of AVT that have recently emerged are not as clear-cut. Against this backdrop, this article explores the conceptual uncertainties surrounding these new AVT practices, with a focus on dubbing and subtitling, by revisiting the work carried out by the authors, who have previously suggested the use of the umbrella terms ‘cybersubtitling’ and ‘cyberdubbing’. In addition to providing a revised classification, the paper emphasises the need to explore the wider social and ethical consequences of these innovative translational activities. As regards ethical implications, altruist and fan practices are the ones most exposed to malpractice, often because some organisations emulate corporate behaviour but rely on free labour, without any financial retribution or credit towards those involved in these activities. The article also concludes that more critical research should be conducted to unravel the impact of these practices on the role of translation as a socio-professional activity.

Teacher and student interpretations of global citizenship education in international schools

This study explores conceptualisations of global citizenship education expressed by teachers and students in international schools. Using qualitative research, three schools were investigated in the Netherlands, Finland, and Australia. Data for this study was drawn from phenomenological interviews with secondary school students, teachers, and school leaders. The study’s findings show that young people experience global citizenship through feelings of a global community, by participating in curriculum-based community service, within charity frameworks, but also in student activism. Teachers and school leaders displayed conceptual uncertainty of global citizenship education and tended to stay within their comfort zones. The article concludes that international schools could benefit from more social justice oriented approaches to global citizenship education.

Development of Digital Twins to Support the Functioning of Cyber-physical Systems

The peculiarities of developing a digital twin for cyberphysical systems using an analytical model of the investigated process are considered. The proposed approach takes into account the conceptual uncertainty of the analytical model parameters with the subsequent passive identification by adapting the analytical model to the dynamic characteristics of the real physical process. In the article, the digital twin development is carried out on the analytical model air heating process example with the help of an electric calorifier. The analytical model uncertain parameters of the electric heater are analyzed and an integral quality index is proposed to evaluate the dynamic model adequacy in the process of air heating. For electric heater model adaptation, the passive identification algorithm of uncertain parameters is developed, in which deviations of the mathematical model uncertain coefficients are minimized. A numerical study of the considered approach has been carried out. It is shown that uncertain parameters’ passive identification of the model belongs to the problem of single-extremal optimization. The considered modeling examples confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed approach to digital twins’ development for cyber-physical systems.

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE MODEL OF THE STATE SECURITY ENSURING SYSTEM OF UKRAINE

Attention is focused on the conceptual uncertainty in the critical issue of what should be the most optimal public administrative model for ensuring the state security of Ukraine in the current realities of the development of the strategic security environment. The article analyzes the national scientific achievements in the development of state security ensuring system of Ukraine as a fundamental public administration system which comprehensively covers, among other things, the state security sphere. Research of theoretical general methodological approaches to improving existing and developing new forms and methods of ensuring state security of Ukraine is presented, highlighting promising scientific and academic experience that can be useful for the development and improvement of the optimal public administrative model of ensuring state security of Ukraine. Considering the national scientific discourse on the categorical concepts of “state security”, “national security”, and “national security system”, the article examines the characteristics which should be inherent in a perfect system of ensuring state security, that should be developed in the Ukrainian State. The authors’ definition of the generalized concept of Ukraine’s security ensuring system is presented, considering the above analysis, and the critical tasks of Ukraine’s security ensuring system are detailed. Characteristic features of the state security system of Ukraine are identified: the system has to be manageable, observable, and identifiable; the system may contain destabilizing elements of subsystems; it is necessary to distinguish security levels based on the principle of their relative independence (“strategic-tactical-operational” or, for example, “national-district-regional-local” or “functional-sectoral”). Methodological approaches to developing a complementary public administrative model for ensuring the state security of Ukraine are proposed, which is intended to serve as a reliable tool for solving organizational and administrative tasks in the sphere of ensuring the state security of Ukraine.

Requirements for inventory models of radioactive waste

Abstract. The aim of the final disposal of radioactive waste is to ensure the best possible safety for the long-term protection (i.e. 1 million years) of humans and the environment from ionizing radiation and other harmful effects of this waste. In Germany, the Site Selection Act (StandAG) regulates the procedure for determining the site with the best possible safety for a repository with high-level radioactive waste. One of the mandatory aspects of the StandAG is to perform various preliminary safety assessments in order to assess the expected extent of the safe confinement of the radioactive waste. For this purpose, all information (in particular on the quantity, type, composition and activity) of the waste (i.e. the inventory) is required to conduct the respective safety assessment. On behalf of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) and within the framework of the research project “Significance of the radioactive waste inventory in the site selection for a repository (InvEnd)”, Brenk Systemplanung GmbH identified the characteristics of the inventory required for the preliminary safety assessments. To determine these inventory characteristics, two main data sources were analysed, namely the generic but host-rock-specific concepts for a German high-level radioactive waste repository and the inventory data and approaches of other countries with technologically developed repository programmes. The identified characteristics can be divided into different groups (e.g. geometric, chemical, radiological and physical) and categories such as primary inventory data that are essential for carrying out the preliminary safety assessments or secondary inventory data which validate the primary inventory data. The evaluation of the impact of the identified characteristics shows that especially data on component-specific chemical composition and component-specific radionuclide inventory have a high impact on the results of safety assessments. These characteristics are, in turn, dependent on other characteristics, such as the irradiation history and the original chemical composition of the fuel in addition to the structural parts of the fuel assemblies. Furthermore, the study assesses uncertainties of the inventory characteristics, such as data uncertainty and conceptual uncertainty. The extent of data uncertainty depends on the inventory characteristic. However, in most cases, only qualitative assessments are possible. Conceptual uncertainties depend on the degree of simplification used to define reference wastes but cannot be quantified yet, as no reference wastes have been defined. The results of this study enable authorities and waste management organizations to identify the key data of high-level radioactive waste inventories that are essential for conducting safety assessments of repositories, even during early stages of site selection and planning.

What is the role of global health and sustainable development in Swedish medical education? A qualitative study of key stakeholders’ perspectives

BackgroundGlobal health and sustainable development have increasingly been recognised as important parts of medical education, yet education on these issues remains fragmented and scarce. In 2020, a bill to reform the national medical curricula across all Swedish medical schools was introduced, including a greater emphasis on global health and sustainable development. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of key stakeholders in medical education on the role of global health and sustainable development in Swedish medical education.MethodsThis was a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with 11 key stakeholders in medical education, broadly defined as faculty board members (dean and/or vice-deans for medical education) and/or programme chairs representing six universities. Data were analysed using qualitative content analyis (QCA). The study was conducted according to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative research (COREQ) guidelines.ResultsStakeholders discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with the modification of medical education, which was seen as necessary modernisation to fit the changing societal perception of the role of medical doctors. The anchoring process of redesigning the curriculum and integrating global health and sustainable development was discussed, with emphasis on ownership and mandate and the role of teachers and students in the process. Finding a shared understanding of global health and sustainable development was perceived as a challenge, associated with resistance due to fear of curriculum overload. To overcome this, integrating global health and sustainable development with other topics and developing existing components of the curricula were seen as important. Additionally, it was stressed that fostering capacity building and developing infrastructure, including utilization of digital tools and collaborations, were essential to ensure successful implementation.ConclusionsMedical institutions should prepare future doctors to respond to the needs of a globalised world, which include knowledge of global health and sustainable development. However, conceptual uncertainties and questions about ownership remain among key stakeholders in medical education. Yet, key stakeholders also highlight that the inclusion of global health and sustainable development in the new curricula represents multiple overarching educational opportunities that can bring about necessary improvement.

A surrogate-assisted uncertainty-aware Bayesian validation framework and its application to coupling free flow and porous-medium flow

Existing model validation studies in geoscience often disregard or partly account for uncertainties in observations, model choices, and input parameters. In this work, we develop a statistical framework that incorporates a probabilistic modeling technique using a fully Bayesian approach to perform a quantitative uncertainty-aware validation. A Bayesian perspective on a validation task yields an optimal bias-variance trade-off against the reference data. It provides an integrative metric for model validation that incorporates parameter and conceptual uncertainty. Additionally, a surrogate modeling technique, namely Bayesian Sparse Polynomial Chaos Expansion, is employed to accelerate the computationally demanding Bayesian calibration and validation. We apply this validation framework to perform a comparative evaluation of models for coupling a free flow with a porous-medium flow. The correct choice of interface conditions and proper model parameters for such coupled flow systems is crucial for physically consistent modeling and accurate numerical simulations of applications. We develop a benchmark scenario that uses the Stokes equations to describe the free flow and considers different models for the porous-medium compartment and the coupling at the fluid–porous interface. These models include a porous-medium model using Darcy’s law at the representative elementary volume scale with classical or generalized interface conditions and a pore-network model with its related coupling approach. We study the coupled flow problems’ behaviors considering a benchmark case, where a pore-scale resolved model provides the reference solution. With the suggested framework, we perform sensitivity analysis, quantify the parametric uncertainties, demonstrate each model’s predictive capabilities, and make a probabilistic model comparison.

Expanding Scope of English Law On Vicarious Liability And The Inevitability Of Conceptual Uncertainty

Vicarious liability is an English law principle that is rooted in antiquity. It entails the transfer the liability of a persons’ negligent or tortious action to another person as a result of the relation relationship existing between both parties. Traditionally, vicarious liability has usually been applied in instances where employee/employer relationship exists between the tortfeasor and the third party and when the tortious act occurred ‘in the course of employment’. Through a case law analysis, this paper examined how vicarious liability principle has transitioned beyond its traditional conception over the ages. For instance, the Wilson and Clyde Case infused the non-delegable duties dimension of vicarious liability. The paper adopts the doctrinal methodology through examination of primary sources such as case laws and secondary sources such as opinion of authors and other scholarly works on the topic. Different jurisprudence has been reflected in the interpretation of the vicarious liability principle in different cases. The study submits that the implication of the inconsistencies in the interpretation of the principle is the uncertainty which has been created as to the true state of the law on the subject.

Some questions of the semantic content of the concept of "revolution" in the political discourse of Russia at the present stage

The concept of revolution is currently one of the most ambiguous in the system of social and humanitarian knowledge. More and more attention is drawn to the problem of a gradual increase in the scope of this concept, when that is used to designate phenomena that, from the point of view of classical approaches, cannot be characterized as a revolution. In the conditions of conceptual uncertainty, there is a need to study the semantic content of the concept of "revolution", put into it by the actors of political discourse, in order to establish its key semantic features. In this paper the socio- and scientific political discourse of modern Russia is studied with the help of discourse analysis in order to identify the main semantic characteristics of the concept of "revolution" in it. Special attention is paid to the correlation of the concepts of "revolution", "color revolution" and "velvet revolution". It is concluded that at the present stage in the political discourse of Russia, the concept of "revolution" has almost completely lost its classical semantic content and has practically become identical to the concept of «color revolution» in its securitized interpretation. At the same time, there are still attempts to separate both concepts in the scientific political discourse. The concept of «velvet revolution» is much less common in the political discourse of Russia, and in semantic terms is the complete opposite of the concept of "color revolution".

THE WAR IN UKRAINE, CLIMATE CHANGE AND VIRAL INFECTIONS: IMPACT ON GEO-ECONOMIC SHIFTS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

The war in Ukraine, global warming that has been talked about for the last five years, and the COVID-19 pandemic have a special effect and shift the processes in the world economy. The Russian Federation’s military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 complicated the already unstable geopolitical situation and its consequences in terms of human losses and impact on the world economy, which is also under pressure from the sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation and the deterioration of energy situation. The crisis is yet to be fully assessed. Growth forecasts for the largest economies have been revised downwards, since the turmoil in financial and commodity markets caused by the war in Ukraine may persist for many years. It is also difficult to predict the impact of the consequences of war and the sharp increase in price level on the world market. Global problems of world development can be divided into two main groups. The first one includes conceptually significant problems that require the study of social certainty and need to be addressed (conceptual uncertainty of resources’ role and value, the absence of a global model of relations between countries, destructiveness in international relations, the imbalance in amount of resources in countries), and the second – practical problems that need maximum limiting and the soonest possible solution in the future (asymmetry in quality of life in countries, destruction of human resources and man-made technological impact). Digitization is becoming fundamental because it affects security. Today we live in a world of global cyber attack and see that computational methods are used in modern warfare. Therefore, digitization is a key condition for the national security of any bloc and any country.

Joint inversion of groundwater flow, heat, and solute state variables: a multipurpose approach for characterization and forecast of karst systems

Characterization of karst systems and forecast of their state variables are essential for groundwater management and engineering in karst regions. These objectives can be met by the use of process-based discrete-continuum models (DCMs). However, results of DCMs may suffer from inversion nonuniqueness. It has been demonstrated that the joint inversion of observations regulated by different natural processes can tackle the nonuniqueness issue in groundwater modeling. However, this has not been tested for DCMs thus far. This research proposes a methodology for the joint inversion of hydro-thermo-chemo-graphs, applying to two small-scale sink-to-spring experiments at Freiheit Spring, Minnesota, USA. In order to address conceptual uncertainty, a multimodel approach was implemented, featuring seven mutually exclusive variants. Spring hydro-thermo-chemo-graphs, for all the variants simulated by MODFLOW-CFPv2, were jointly inverted using a weighted least squares algorithm. Subsequently, models were compared in terms of inversion and forecast performances, as well as parameter uncertainties. Results reveal the suitability of the DCM approach for simultaneous inversion and forecast of hydro-physico-chemical behavior of karst systems, even at a scale of meters and seconds. The estimated volume of the tracer conduit passage ranges from approximately 46–51 m3, which is comparable to the estimate from the flood-pulse method. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the thermograph and hydrograph contain more information about aquifer characteristics than the chemograph. However, this finding can be site-specific and should depend on the analysis scale, the considered conceptual models, and the hydrological state, which are potentially affected by minor unaccountable processes and features.

Participatory repertoires for aligning policy and society: An analysis of Dutch stakeholder views on deep geothermal energy

In a transition to a sustainable energy system, governmental actors initiate participatory processes to gain better insights in questions and concerns of stakeholders, or to create support for decisions. Those participatory activities are embedded in institutionalized and formal decision making procedures. Participatory approaches promise to function as alignment mechanisms between those policies and society. The aim of this paper is to contribute to more successful alignment mechanisms. Based on a thematic analysis of 18 interviews and approximately one hundred policy documents, we relate stakeholders' uncertainties about ultra-deep geothermal energy to their preferred modes of participation. These stakeholders were (in)directly involved in the Dutch Green Deal program, in this case the Green Deal Geothermal Energy in the province North Brabant. Based on the analysis, we identify four participatory storylines and develop a more systemic view on different participatory activities: ‘participatory repertoires’. We conclude that unproductive power-politics between different political-administrative levels, and emerging local and wider publics that hamper alignments, may be prevented. This can be done by prioritizing societal dialogue on normative uncertainties in a range of combinations with local dialogue on normative, conceptual uncertainties, and with national or local joint fact finding on informational uncertainties.

Digital Government and Digital Governance: Grand Concept

Development of digital democracy domain substantially depends on how correctly are understood conceptual dimensions and how clearly are determined functions of digital government and digital governance, as digital government represents a fundamental shift in the way governments around the world are embracing their mission and digital governance is no longer just a technological enabler. Digital government and digital governance (as terms and concepts), known as multidimensional, multifaceted and multidisciplinary phenomenon, are often treated as synonymous and used interchangeably in the academic literature or formal documents. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly difficult to clear existing conceptual ambiguity between them. There are no universally accepted definitions of both abstractions. Such conceptual uncertainty has a negative impact on the development of digital democracy. The research objective of this article is to provide a deeper understanding of digital government and digital governance concepts through empirical studies and scatter the existing ambiguity in differences between these two concepts as this variety is not just questions of academic nuance. Based on a comparative analysis of digital government and digital governance conceptual meanings, this article offers an approach according to which digital government and digital governance represents two various but closely related and co-existing concepts. Furthermore, in the concluding section of the article, there is suggested recommendation regarding development a new grand concept in which both multidimensional conceptual visions will be combined.

Learning Groundwater Contaminant Diffusion‐Sorption Processes With a Finite Volume Neural Network

AbstractImproved understanding of complex hydrosystem processes is key to advance water resources research. Nevertheless, the conventional way of modeling these processes suffers from a high conceptual uncertainty, due to almost ubiquitous simplifying assumptions used in model parameterizations/closures. Machine learning (ML) models are considered as a potential alternative, but their generalization abilities remain limited. For example, they normally fail to predict accurately across different boundary conditions. Moreover, as a black box, they do not add to our process understanding or to discover improved parameterizations/closures. To tackle this issue, we propose the hybrid modeling framework FINN (finite volume neural network). It merges existing numerical methods for partial differential equations (PDEs) with the learning abilities of artificial neural networks (ANNs). FINN is applied on discrete control volumes and learns components of the investigated system equations, such as numerical stencils, model parameters, and arbitrary closure/constitutive relations. Consequently, FINN yields highly interpretable results. We demonstrate FINN's potential on a diffusion‐sorption problem in clay. Results on numerically generated data show that FINN outperforms other ML models when tested under modified boundary conditions, and that it can successfully differentiate between the usual, known sorption isotherms. Moreover, we also equip FINN with uncertainty quantification methods to lay open the total uncertainty of scientific learning, and then apply it to a laboratory experiment. The results show that FINN performs better than calibrated PDE‐based models as it is able to flexibly learn and model sorption isotherms without being restricted to choose among available parametric models.