Contradictory Models Research Articles

Metatheoretical Distinctions in Theories of Functional Differentiation: Delineating Alternative Traditions

While the concept of functional differentiation is one of sociology’s oldest analytic tools, there is significant confusion about its meaning and purpose in the contemporary discipline. This article addresses one source of uncertainty: the conflicting array of ontological and methodological positions which are currently attached to the differentiation term. Drawing on Laudan’s philosophy of science, I argue that sociology does not house a unified program of differentiation theory, but is instead marked by at least two discrete traditions of differentiation thinking. Disentangling these traditions will, I contend, clarify our thinking, and help reduce the prevalence of internally contradictory conceptual models.

Associative Learning and Active Inference.

Associative learning is a behavioral phenomenon in which individuals develop connections between stimuli or events based on their co-occurrence. Initially studied by Pavlov in his conditioning experiments, the fundamental principles of learning have been expanded on through the discovery of a wide range of learning phenomena. Computational models have been developed based on the concept of minimizing reward prediction errors. The Rescorla-Wagner model, in particular, is a well-known model that has greatly influenced the field of reinforcement learning. However, the simplicity of these models restricts their ability to fully explain the diverse range of behavioral phenomena associated with learning. In this study, we adopt the free energy principle, which suggests that living systems strive to minimize surprise or uncertainty under their internal models of the world. We consider the learning process as the minimization of free energy and investigate its relationship with the Rescorla-Wagner model, focusing on the informational aspects of learning, different types of surprise, and prediction errors based on beliefs and values. Furthermore, we explore how well-known behavioral phenomena such as blocking, overshadowing, and latent inhibition can be modeled within the active inference framework. We accomplish this by using the informational and novelty aspects of attention, which share similar ideas proposed by seemingly contradictory models such as Mackintosh and Pearce-Hall models. Thus, we demonstrate that the free energy principle, as a theoretical framework derived from first principles, can integrate the ideas and models of associative learning proposed based on empirical experiments and serve as a framework for a better understanding of the computational processes behind associative learning in the brain.

Structural characterization of Thogoto Virus nucleoprotein provides insights into viral RNA encapsidation and RNP assembly

Orthomyxoviruses, such as influenza and thogotoviruses, are important human and animal pathogens. Their segmented viral RNA genomes are wrapped by viral nucleoproteins (NPs) into helical ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs). NP structures of several influenza viruses have been reported. However, there are still contradictory models of how orthomyxovirus RNPs are assembled. Here, we characterize the crystal structure of Thogoto virus (THOV) NP and found striking similarities to structures of influenza viral NPs, including a two-lobed domain architecture, a positively charged RNA-binding cleft, and a tail loop important for trimerization and viral transcription. A low-resolution cryo-electron tomography reconstruction of THOV RNPs elucidates a left-handed double helical assembly. By providing a model for RNP assembly of THOV, our study suggests conserved NP assembly and RNA encapsidation modes for thogoto- and influenza viruses.

‘We welcome migrants and the tourists come’: postmodern hospitality in Palermo, Sicily

AbstractIn Palermo, Sicily, actors use the metaphor of hospitality to profess cosmopolitan attitudes towards ‘migrants’. This raises a conceptual puzzle: hospitality and cosmopolitanism represent contradictory models of social ethics. But an ethnography of one social enterprise reveals that the hospitality in use is not traditional hospitality. Rather, employing what I call ‘postmodern hospitality’ shows a contemporary, reimagined form of hospitality that is compatible with the ‘Mediterranean cosmopolitanism’ invoked. Actors can thus declare sociopolitical aims of including ‘migrants’ while saving their ‘dying’ city. But this politics blurs with economic aims of attracting tourists. Following ‘postmodern hospitality’ shows how local actors use idealized images of Sicily to appeal to outsiders while attempting to subvert engrained ideas of Sicily as ‘backwards’. The risk is that they participate in the European spectacle of migration, and the commodification of notions of ‘Mediterraneanness’ and ‘Southernness’.

Short-range translocation by a restriction enzyme motor triggers diffusion along DNA

Cleavage of bacteriophage DNA by the Type III restriction-modification enzymes requires long-range interaction between DNA sites. This is facilitated by one-dimensional diffusion (‘DNA sliding’) initiated by ATP hydrolysis catalyzed by a superfamily 2 helicase-like ATPase. Here we combined ultrafast twist measurements based on plasmonic DNA origami nano-rotors with stopped-flow fluorescence and gel-based assays to examine the role(s) of ATP hydrolysis. Our data show that the helicase-like domain has multiple roles. First, this domain stabilizes initial DNA interactions alongside the methyltransferase subunits. Second, it causes environmental changes in the flipped adenine base following hydrolysis of the first ATP. Finally, it remodels nucleoprotein interactions via constrained translocation of a ∼ 5 to 22-bp double stranded DNA loop. Initiation of DNA sliding requires 8–15 bp of DNA downstream of the motor, corresponding to the site of nuclease domain binding. Our data unify previous contradictory communication models for Type III enzymes.

Prevalence, correlates and explanatory models of cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia-A cross sectional study.

Schizophrenia may cause significant impairment in social and economic aspects of a patient's life. Current evidence suggests that cognitive deficits may affect the functioning of a person with schizophrenia more than positive or negative symptoms. There is a lack of literature on explanatory models of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia that can influence help-seeking behavior. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of cognitive deficits and assess their relationship with socio-demographic and clinical characteristics among patients with schizophrenia. We also planned to explore the explanatory models of cognitive deficits in these patients. Consecutive outpatients with schizophrenia who met eligibility criteria were recruited after obtaining informed consent. The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Tamil version (ACE III) and Observable Social Cognition - A Rating Scale (OSCARS) and Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) were used to assess cognitive functioning and symptom profile, respectively. Beliefs about illness were recorded using the modified Short Explanatory Model Interview (SEMI). Socio-demographic and treatment-related details were collected with a structured proforma. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS for Windows (version 16.0.1). One hundred and forty patients participated in the study. The prevalence of cognitive deficits was 75.7% using ACE-III scores, 19.3% on OSCARS, and 40% based on subjective reports. Though the majority (81.4%) of patients reported a medical explanatory model for cognitive impairment, a significant number of them (70.7%) also held non-medical models simultaneously. Cognitive deficits are prevalent in the majority of patients with schizophrenia. Poor test performance on cognitive testing was observed in those with a significant family history. Multiple contradictory explanatory models for the causation of cognitive deficits were reported.

ScRNA-sequencing in chick suggests a probabilistic model for cell fate allocation at the neural plate border.

The vertebrate 'neural plate border' is a transient territory located at the edge of the neural plate containing precursors for all ectodermal derivatives: the neural plate, neural crest, placodes and epidermis. Elegant functional experiments in a range of vertebrate models have provided an in-depth understanding of gene regulatory interactions within the ectoderm. However, these experiments conducted at tissue level raise seemingly contradictory models for fate allocation of individual cells. Here, we carry out single cell RNA sequencing of chick ectoderm from primitive streak to neurulation stage, to explore cell state diversity and heterogeneity. We characterise the dynamics of gene modules, allowing us to model the order of molecular events which take place as ectodermal fates segregate. Furthermore, we find that genes previously classified as neural plate border 'specifiers' typically exhibit dynamic expression patterns and are enriched in either neural, neural crest or placodal fates, revealing that the neural plate border should be seen as a heterogeneous ectodermal territory and not a discrete transitional transcriptional state. Analysis of neural, neural crest and placodal markers reveals that individual NPB cells co-express competing transcriptional programmes suggesting that their ultimate identify is not yet fixed. This population of 'border located undecided progenitors' (BLUPs) gradually diminishes as cell fate decisions take place. Considering our findings, we propose a probabilistic model for cell fate choice at the neural plate border. Our data suggest that the probability of a progenitor's daughters to contribute to a given ectodermal derivative is related to the balance of competing transcriptional programmes, which in turn are regulated by the spatiotemporal position of a progenitor.

What about a sister wife? Reasons for considering polygyny among Salafis in Switzerland

The article describes why some male and female Swiss Salafi converts support polygynous marriages. Against this background, it provides insights into how specific cultural models of partnerships that differ drastically from the majority society’s expectations can be managed. Swiss Salafis live in a society and legislative system that restrict polygynous civil marriage, especially religiously grounded polygyny. Drawing on Shore’s concept of cultural models, I will show how Salafi converts navigate partially contradictory relationship models by reconstructing their thoughts and feelings during the selection process of possible second wives or of already married men. Three case studies are presented, stemming from participant observations in 2019 in Switzerland.

"Consumer Society" as an object of Philosophy study: essence and social context

The subject of the study is the characteristic of the essence of the social phenomenon "consumer society" through the prism of the views of foreign thinkers of the second half of the XX-early XXI centuries. The philosophical and socio-humanitarian theories of the "consumer society" proposed by European thinkers are considered in detail, their classification is carried out and the conceptual apparatus is characterized. The author substantiates the thesis that, representing a dynamic and self-developing system, the "consumer society" invariably finds its reflection in various, often contradictory conceptual models. These contradictions serve as the basis for the development of alternative philosophical methods and approaches to the development of modern societies and the resolution of problems related to consumption. It is shown that modern theories of "consumer society" make it possible to comprehend not only consumer behavior itself, but also the diverse problems of society fixed by this concept, such as manipulation of consciousness, identity construction, the functioning of mass communication media, the socio-cultural significance of social reality. The author analyzed the evolution of the concept of "consumption" using socio-cultural, socio-economic, socio-philosophical approaches. An attempt is being made to define terms such as "consumer society" and "consumerism" more clearly and to trace the interaction of these terms within the boundaries of socio-economic transformations taking place in the modern world. It is important to conclude that modern concepts of "consumer society" make it possible to comprehend not only consumer behavior itself, but also the variety of social problems that are fixed with the help of this concept: manipulation of consciousness, identity construction, socio-cultural significance of social reality, the functioning of mass communication media, and others.

Divine foreknowledge and human freedom: exploring a gap-theoretic account

The recent work of logician Jc Beall marks a paradigm shift within the fields of analytic theology and philosophy of religion. Thanks to Beall’s work, the long held (and generally unquestioned) assumption that theology is governed by (or closed under) the classical account of logic, is no longer free for the assumption. More importantly, by dropping this unquestioned commitment to the classical account, Beall’s work has uncovered natural and well-motivated solutions to some of monotheistic theologies’ most difficult and longstanding problems. That said, much of Beall’s work (and the work of others who have followed his lead) has been paraconsistent, utilizing glut-theoretic (contradictory) models to solve theologies problems. In this essay, my plan is to go paracomplete, with the aim of exploring a yet to be explored solution to the infamous foreknowledge and freedom problem. My solution finds its roots in the recent work Jc Beall and Aaron Cotnoir (‘God of the Gaps’, Analysis, 2017). Specifically, in this essay I will explore a gap-theoretic solution to the foreknowledge and freedom problem; one in which it is neither true nor false that God has foreknowledge. By utilizing Beall’s and Cotnoir’s model — which sees limit claims on God’s omni-properties as either just false or gappy — a natural and well-motivated solution to the foreknowledge and freedom problem emerges. Moreover, by utilizing the Beall-Cotnoir gap-theoretic model, not only is the foreknowledge and freedom problem circumvented, but an interesting and novel account of divine omniscience emerges.

Ecologies, One and All

AbstractThis essay considers ecology in its singular and plural forms. It asks whether and how the knowledge forms generated by practitioners of the singular science of ecology might weave more fully into a robust plural analytic that is grounded in the acknowledgment of multiple ways of knowing, experiencing, and attributing meaning to consequential connections between the human and the more-than-human world. Although Western science, with singular ecology as one of its many descendants, leaves an undeniable imprint, the essay aims to ask whether the contemporary, lived life of ecological science as postpositivist practice might be working in ways that, while imperfect, may be more legible and shared with scholars in the environmental humanities than is usually noted. It describes the knowledge base of the singular science of ecology, which in contemporary theory and practice consists of collections of disparate, complementary, or contradictory models—ecologies—in the plural, thus holding generality and infinite particularity in constant dialogue. The authors, two natural scientists and one social scientist, aim to provoke fresh discussions about the ways ecological analytics circulate in contemporary research and scholarly practice. The authors’ goal is to further the essential work of more direct and clear conversation, translation, and mutual learning between scholars in the environmental humanities and biophysical ecology. They hold this to be essential as transdisciplinary initiatives endeavor to study, and better understand, how social and environmental change coproduce one another.

Orogenic-orographic feedback and the rise of the Central Andes

The rise of large mountain ranges is considered to be driven by tectonics potentially coupled with climate driven-erosion, although the role of this coupling remains uncertain. The arid climate of the Central Andes allows us to strengthen our understanding of the relative roles of these processes in mountain range development globally. Here we compile estimates of exhumation, sedimentation, aridity and surface uplift across the Central Andes for the last 50 Ma. We aim to place constraints on the relative timing of rock uplift (displacement of rocks with respect to the geoid), exhumation (displacement of rocks with respect to the surface) and surface uplift (displacement of the earth's surface with respect to the geoid). We show that initial rock uplift of the Andes extends back at least 50 Myr. This rock uplift generated orographically driven precipitation on windward slopes leading to increased exhumation but limited preservation of surface uplift. Eastward propagation of the mountain range resulted in increasingly extreme orographic effects on the leeward side amplifying aridity, reducing exhumation and increasing preservation of surface uplift. Essentially, surface uplift shows a ∼5-10 Myr lag behind initial rock uplift as the Andes grow asymmetrically through time. We suggest that an eastward propagating pattern of exhumation, aridity and surface uplift with time, reconciles previous contradictory models of Andean uplift. One Sentence SummaryUplift of the Central Andes is reconstructed over the last 50 Myr and the precise relationship between roles of tectonics and climate established.

Parallel processing in speech perception with local and global representations of linguistic context.

Speech processing is highly incremental. It is widely accepted that human listeners continuously use the linguistic context to anticipate upcoming concepts, words, and phonemes. However, previous evidence supports two seemingly contradictory models of how a predictive context is integrated with the bottom-up sensory input: Classic psycholinguistic paradigms suggest a two-stage process, in which acoustic input initially leads to local, context-independent representations, which are then quickly integrated with contextual constraints. This contrasts with the view that the brain constructs a single coherent, unified interpretation of the input, which fully integrates available information across representational hierarchies, and thus uses contextual constraints to modulate even the earliest sensory representations. To distinguish these hypotheses, we tested magnetoencephalography responses to continuous narrative speech for signatures of local and unified predictive models. Results provide evidence that listeners employ both types of models in parallel. Two local context models uniquely predict some part of early neural responses, one based on sublexical phoneme sequences, and one based on the phonemes in the current word alone; at the same time, even early responses to phonemes also reflect a unified model that incorporates sentence-level constraints to predict upcoming phonemes. Neural source localization places the anatomical origins of the different predictive models in nonidentical parts of the superior temporal lobes bilaterally, with the right hemisphere showing a relative preference for more local models. These results suggest that speech processing recruits both local and unified predictive models in parallel, reconciling previous disparate findings. Parallel models might make the perceptual system more robust, facilitate processing of unexpected inputs, and serve a function in language acquisition.

Discourse of First Romantic Love: Gender Scenarios

The sexual, gender and family revolutions of the 20th century led to a massive transformation of the institutions of marriage, family and romantic relationships, and with them to the changes in the concept of romantic love, which continue to this day. In modern society, various and even contradictory cultural models and discourses appear, between which individuals are forced to maneuver, using scenarios that are recommendations, schemes of socially expected actions. An important role in the assimilation, application and further formation of attitudes and practices of romantic love is played by the first encounter with it, which is the starting point in feeling for the boundaries of acceptable behavior and the feelings accompanying it. But what experience do individuals themselves refer to first romantic love, how is it evaluated, and what meaning does it have for them? Does this built experience of first romantic love differ between men and women? This study explores these issues by referring to the informants' discursive experience and reconstructing, based on it, the fulfilled gender scenarios of first romantic love, based on a larger cultural model. Based on 30 narrative interviews, 12 scenarios of first romantic love were found, 7 of which are gender specific. There are no fundamental differences in the understanding of first romantic love between men and women, however, its assessment is more emotionally expressed in women, their scenarios are more positively worked out, while men have more negative and ambivalent experiences in the scenarios. The study also confirms that the cultural pattern of romantic love is indeed blurred and contradictory.

Measurement of Impurity Concentration in Turbulent Flows of Ventilation Systems Channels

The work is devoted to the experimental study of the process of impurities diffusion in the circular cylindrical channel and the determination of the coordinates of the average concentration of impurities in the turbulent flow. To ensure the uniformity for the aerosols composition during the studies, the experiments were carried out with solid particles of narrow fractional composition. The use of fine-grained oxide catalyst made it possible to obtain the almost monodisperse material. The experimental installation included the volumetric doser for impurity material, the ejector, the concentration sensor, the section of the vertical pipeline, and manometers for recording the pressure in the system. It is shown that the theoretical and experimental results are in satisfactory agreement with each other, and the existing discrepancy can be explained both by the measurement error and by the presence of spiral motion for the solid phase in the ascending flow. Based on the experiments, it was concluded that the known mathematical positions are adequate and internally not contradictory models of the diffusion process of the impurity substance in the turbulent flow, which can be used to analyze the distribution of the impurity concentration in the channels of the ventilation systems. The results of the studies performed should be taken into account when developing systems for measuring and monitoring the gas-air emissions characteristics of the ventilation systems of industrial enterprises.

Adversarial Attacks and Classifiers: A Review

Through the widespread distribution of equipment (ML) for a variety of programs including medical, military, multimedia, automotive, social networking sites, and genomic there is a high risk of injury from enemy attacks (AL). The study of the opposition machine and the research center examining the production and acquisition of contradictory models, which are efforts particularly designed to betray editors, then is widely deliberate especially in the field of duplicate recognition, where small changes in image photography are made. of black boxes and methods of white box attack. Also, the study expanded the effort and examined the black box attack in contradiction of the opposition. machine learning and in-depth learning, with a strong focus on Protection from student assault. After presenting the relevant terms and objectives and a list of possible details of the attackers and opponents.

Coordinated changes in cellular behavior ensure the lifelong maintenance of the hippocampal stem cell population.

SummaryNeural stem cell numbers fall rapidly in the hippocampus of juvenile mice but stabilize during adulthood, ensuring lifelong hippocampal neurogenesis. We show that this stabilization of stem cell numbers in young adults is the result of coordinated changes in stem cell behavior. Although proliferating neural stem cells in juveniles differentiate rapidly, they increasingly return to a resting state of shallow quiescence and progress through additional self-renewing divisions in adulthood. Single-cell transcriptomics, modeling, and label retention analyses indicate that resting cells have a higher activation rate and greater contribution to neurogenesis than dormant cells, which have not left quiescence. These changes in stem cell behavior result from a progressive reduction in expression of the pro-activation protein ASCL1 because of increased post-translational degradation. These cellular mechanisms help reconcile current contradictory models of hippocampal neural stem cell (NSC) dynamics and may contribute to the different rates of decline of hippocampal neurogenesis in mammalian species, including humans.

Some Are More Equal Than Others: Intrasettlement Social Organization in Spišský Štvrtok (EBA/MBA, Slovakia)

Heterarchical or hierarchical? Egalitarian or unequal? Segmented or complex? Tribe, chiefdom, middle range? All these questions have been vividly discussed in an effort to reconstruct Bronze Age society within a wider area of central Europe. The extensive spectrum of published literature offers varied and often contradictory theoretical models, but we still know very little about the organization of particular social units, especially in the context of settlements. The morphological, technological and spatial analysis of movable and immovable sources from the fortified settlement in Spišský Štvrtok contributes in many respects to solution of the discussed problem in the northeastern Carpathian region. In the case of the Spišský Štvrtok locality, we can interpret the degree of social complexity on the basis of qualitative and quantitative parameters of material culture, evidence of production activities and their specialization level in correlation with spatial distribution of intra-site activity areas. Moreover, the detected tendencies are independently confirmed by the morpho-typological differences between gold and bronze artefacts contained in hoards, by architectonic details and by the presence of regular ritual activities. The achieved results thus indicate possible horizontal and vertical ranking, which was adapted to the local community.

Contradictory explanatory models of doctors and ischemic heart patients with low health literacy

Abstract Background Health literacy has been used to explain the social inequalities in ischemic heart disease that exists globally. However, most conceptualizations of health literacy employ an isolated focus on the patient's cognitive abilities without considering the social context. By using the cultural health capital framework, this paper aims at exploring how differences in social dispositions influence the interaction between doctors and ischemic heart patients with low health literacy and low socioeconomic status. Methods The paper is based on 30 qualitative interviews with Danish ischemic heart patients with low health literacy and low socioeconomic status and supplementary, contextual observations. The data collection was nationwide and carried out between October 2018 and August 2019. Results The findings showed that the patients and the doctors derived from different social spheres, which meant that they had developed dissimilar habitus and therefore used different explanatory models to understand and articulate the patient's problem. The doctors were primarily oriented towards the biomedical understanding of the malfunctioning of the body and therefore less aware of the patients' psychosocial illness experience. For the patients, these contradictions resulted in feelings of not being acknowledged, lack of trust in the healthcare system and disruption of treatment. Conclusions The findings suggest that to understand barriers for treatment of socially disadvantaged ischemic heart patients it is not only relevant to look at the patient's individual cognitive abilities but also to explore class-based contradictions in explanatory models between the patients and doctors. Key messages Health literacy should be understood as something embedded in the interplay between social structures and interpersonal dynamics. Contradictions in explanatory models may help explain barriers for treatment of socially disadvantaged ischemic heart patients.

Theatres of Empowerment: Elite, All-Girls’ Indian ‘Public Schools’ and the Production of Performative Altruism

Northern India’s historic, all-girls ‘Public Schools’ (a British gloss meaning ‘elite’ and ‘private’) have served as showcases of the nation’s modernity and progress since Independence, mobilised as productive models of women’s empowerment. While these schools and their students were once mediated by nationalist views of gendered, aspirational selves, globally oriented, neo-liberal markets have created new landscapes of elite crisis and negotiated citizenship. By examining the roles of staged performance, competition, service and choice, this article will address how many upper- and middle-class female students are encountering and crafting complex, contradictory models of empowerment and altruism.