Multidimensional Shifts Research Articles

Exploring the impact of supercrip portrayal in TV drama: assessing attitude shifts toward people with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability

Media’s influence on societal views of disability remains an area of developing understanding. This study scrutinizes how ‘supercrip’ narratives in TV dramas—depictions of individuals with disabilities exhibiting superpowers or conquering challenges—affect public attitudes. Using two different ‘supercrip’ examples and a control, the study explores multidimensional attitude shifts toward individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectual Disability (ID) following exposure to ‘supercrip’ portrayals in fiction alongside a control stimulus. While realistic disability narratives did not significantly alter attitudes, responses varied with the disability type. Unrealistic portrayals, though eliciting mixed reactions, notably increased engagement and awareness of disability issues. The study indicates that increased viewer engagement and awareness could lead to nuanced, long-term attitude shifts. Notably, more authentic portrayals of ID did not markedly change attitudes toward ID but influenced cognitive attitudes toward ASD, underlining the complexity of audience responses. Positive disability representations in media can catalyze cognitive attitude shifts, but their broader impact on societal attitudes remains partially understood. This highlights the potential of media portrayals to foster attitude changes through sustained exposure, emphasizing the importance of diverse and thoughtful representations in media.

The changing roles of actors in ‘fortuitous’ sustainability transitions: An analysis of Brazil's passenger vehicles fuel technology from 1970 to 2020

Sustainable socio-technical transitions refer to the multi-dimensional shifts societies undergo when they move from one socio-technical system to another that is perceived to be less damaging to the environment. A well-known theoretical framework – the multi-level perspective (MLP) – is often used to investigate the factors that trigger or hamper these shifts. However, to deal with the complexity of sustainable transitions, authors have increasingly complemented it with the multiple stream approach (MSA) in an effort to capture a wider range of factors and contexts. This ‘augmented’ approach is used to investigate transformations in the fuel-technology used in Brazil's passenger vehicle fleet from 1970 to 2020, with a focus on the actors involved in the transition. In addition to capturing this unusual story through the lens of social-technical transitions, our analyses highlight the changing role regime outsiders and dormant policies played throughout this period, while emphasising the importance of ‘fortuitous’ windows of opportunity. In doing so, we complement the existing literature on sustainable socio-technical transitions by adding contextual factors that may be particularly relevant for developing economies in their attempts to address persistent sustainability problems. Our approach also delivers new technological forecasting insights that can assist transition planning.

Resource-bounded Kolmogorov complexity provides an obstacle to soficness of multidimensional shifts

We suggest necessary conditions for soficness of multidimensional shifts formulated in terms of resource-bounded Kolmogorov complexity. Using this technique we provide examples of effective and non-sofic shifts on Z2 with very low block complexity: the number of globally admissible patterns of size n×n grows only as a polynomial in n. We also show that more conventional proofs of non-soficness for multi-dimensional effective shifts, including the techniques of Pavlov (2013) [15] and Kass and Madden (2013) [6], can be expressed in terms of Kolmogorov complexity with unbounded computational resources.

Climate change impacts on living marine resources in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

AbstractAimProject shifts in the habitat suitability of 505 fish and invertebrate species in the Eastern Tropical Pacific that are likely to occur by the mid‐21st century under “high greenhouse gas emissions” (RCP 8.5) and “strong mitigation” (RCP 2.6) scenarios.LocationThe Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, a discrete biogeographic region from the Gulf of California to northern Peru.MethodsEnsemble simulations of climate change effects on fish and invertebrate species caught by four major fisheries in the region, based on four species distribution models and three Earth system models.ResultsSimulation results indicated that species' habitat suitability increased or remained the same in the northern and southern margins of the Eastern Tropical Pacific but decreased by up to 14% in some fisheries along Central America. The largest declines in the average species habitat suitability index were projected for small pelagic fisheries (up to −46%), while the highest local species turnover was projected for coastal small‐scale fisheries (up to 80%). Under RCP 8.5, species in the southern half and northern equatorial region of the Eastern Tropical Pacific were projected to shift south‐east at a rate of approximately 30–60 km decade‐1, respectively. Demersal species were projected to move into shallower, inshore waters with a shift in depth centroids estimated at a rate of around 1 to 13 m decade−1. Range shifts towards the equator reflect movements to cooler habitats that are characteristic of equatorial upwelling systems. Range shifts towards shallower, inshore waters reflect habitat compression associated with the expansion of oxygen minimum zones.Main conclusionsOur findings highlight the importance of local‐scale oceanographic and biological data to elucidate the multidimensional biogeographic shifts of key species, their potential impacts on fisheries in the region and the need to consider such shifts in the design of effective conservation and marine resource management measures.

Countable Sofic Shifts with a Periodic Direction

As a variant of the equal entropy cover problem, we ask whether all multidimensional sofic shifts with countably many configurations have SFT covers with countably many configurations. We answer this question in the negative by presenting explicit counterexamples. We formulate necessary conditions for a vertically periodic shift space to have a countable SFT cover, and prove that they are sufficient in a natural (but quite restricted) subclass of shift spaces.

Identification of Isomers by Multidimensional Isotopic Shifts in High-Field Ion Mobility Spectra.

Nearly all molecules incorporate elements with stable isotopes. The resulting isotopologue envelopes in mass spectra tell the exact stoichiometry but nothing about the geometry. Chromatography and electrophoresis at high resolution also can distinguish isotopologues, again without revealing structural information. In high-definition differential ion mobility (FAIMS) spectra, these envelopes universally split in a structure-specific manner, providing a new general approach to isomer delineation. Here, we show that the peak shifts from instances of the same isotope are equal and can be averaged into characteristic elemental shifts, namely 13C and 37Cl for dichloroanilines (DCA). Matrices of these shifts, including the gas composition dimension, are unique to the structure. Hence, all six DCA isomers (with four making two unresolved pairs) are readily delineated in the 13C/37Cl maps with He/CO2 buffer gases. Mixtures of coeluting isomers are also distinguished from pure components.

Tree-shifts: Irreducibility, mixing, and the chaos of tree-shifts

Topological behavior, such as chaos, irreducibility, and mixing of a one-sided shift of finite type, is well elucidated. Meanwhile, the investigation of multidimensional shifts, for instance, textile systems is difficult and only a few results have been obtained so far. This paper studies shifts defined on infinite trees, which are called tree-shifts. Infinite trees have a natural structure of one-sided symbolic dynamical systems equipped with multiple shift maps and constitute an intermediate class in between one-sided shifts and multidimensional shifts. We have shown not only an irreducible tree-shift of finite type, but also a mixing tree-shift that are chaotic in the sense of Devaney. Furthermore, the graph and labeled graph representations of tree-shifts are revealed so that the verification of irreducibility and mixing of a tree-shift is equivalent to determining the irreducibility and mixing of matrices, respectively. This extends the classical results of one-sided symbolic dynamics. A necessary and sufficient condition for the irreducibility and mixing of tree-shifts of finite type is demonstrated. Most important of all, the examination can be done in finite steps with an upper bound.

Examining transitions from youth to adult services for young persons with autism

ABSTRACTAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) presents pervasive challenges for individuals throughout their lifetime. Although some financial, community, and individual supports are available for children, there are fewer resources available for adults with ASD, their families, and/or caregivers. It is important to understand the multidimensional shifts associated with the transition from adolescence to adulthood for individuals with ASD. To better understand the transitional process, a qualitative study comprised 11 semi-structured interviews with individuals with ASD and their families. Interviews elicited the experiences of individuals and families impacted by ASD as they transition to adulthood and adult systems of care. This study found that individuals with ASD and their family are exposed to a “lifetime of difficult transitions” due to a limited number of service providers and resources including stringent and restrictive program and funding criteria. As a result, individuals with ASD and their families were concerned about the ability of some individuals with ASD to establish meaningful lives in adulthood. These findings challenge existing barriers and broader societal values and stigma that impede emerging adults with developmental disabilities.

On the rate of convergence in the individual ergodic theorem for the action of a semigroup

We consider the individual ergodic theorem for the action of a semigroup of measurepreserving mappings. We estimate the rate of convergence using estimates for the probability of large deviations for the ergodic averages with an essentially bounded averaging function. We find estimates for the rate of convergence of the ergodic averages in the cases of Benedicks–Carleson quadratic mappings, expanding mappings of Pomeau–Manneville type with a neutral point, and multidimensional shifts.

Permutations of $\mathbb {Z}^d$ with restricted movement

We investigate dynamical properties of the set of permutations of $\mathbb{Z}^d$ with restricted movement, i.e., permutations $\pi $ of $\mathbb{Z}^d$ such that $\pi (\mathbf{n})-\mathbf{n}$ lies, for every $\mathbf{n}\in \mathbb{Z}^d$, in a prescribed finite set $A\subset \mathbb{Z}^d$. For $d=1$, such permutations occur, for example, in restricted orbit equivalence, or in the calculation of determinants of certain bi-infinite multi-diagonal matrices. For $d\ge2$ these sets of permutations provide natural classes of examples of multidimensional shifts of finite type.

Variable effects of timber harvest on the survival, growth, and reproduction of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.)

Timber harvest is a recurrent, widespread canopy disturbance that has long-affected the eastern deciduous forest. Multi-dimensional shifts in forest dynamics occur following timbering, and while a great deal of research on tree response to timbering has been performed, far less focus has been placed on herbaceous understory response to timbering. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) is a long-lived, economically valuable medicinal herb believed to be adapted to the dynamic light conditions of old-growth forests. The purpose of this study was to determine if timber harvests of varying intensity had positive, neutral, or negative effects on the survival, growth, and reproduction of wild American ginseng. Hemispherical images were used to calculate the canopy openness above ginseng plants. Population census data were used to obtain measurements of survival, relative growth rate, seed production, seed production efficiency, and new seedling emergence. Changes in survival and seed production in response to timbering were analyzed using log-likelihood analyses, and the responses of relative growth rate and seed production efficiency to timbering were analyzed using nested two-way ANOVAs. Initial ginseng survival varied among sites, with lowest survival at the more intensely timbered site. Additionally, long-term survival decreased following timbering. Relative growth rate of individuals increased following timbering in both short-term and long-term analyses, with relative growth rate being greatest at sites where more tree biomass was removed. While seed production decreased the year directly following timbering, seed production increased over the three years after timbering. Both short-term and long-term effects of timbering on seed production efficiency differed among populations. While seed production increases in the years after timbering, this stimulation may not be realized due to sub-optimal germination conditions. Due both to decreases in survival following timbering and the unlikely continued increases in growth and seed production as the canopy fills in, some of these often-used timbering strategies negatively impact ginseng performance. Silvicultural strategies that mimic old-growth forest structure may be better suited for the conservation of ginseng and other similar obligate understory species.

Comparing super-diversity

Reflecting a broadening interest in finding new ways to talk about contemporary social complexity, the concept of ‘super-diversity’ has received considerable attention since it was introduced in this journal in 2007. Many utilizing the term have referred only to ‘more ethnicities’ rather than to the term's fuller, original intention of recognizing multidimensional shifts in migration patterns. These entail a worldwide diversification of migration channels, differentiations of legal statuses, diverging patterns of gender and age, and variance in migrants' human capital. In this special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies, the concept is subject to two modes of comparison: (1) side-by-side studies contrasting different places and emergent conditions of super-diversity; and (2) juxtaposed arguments that have differentially found use in utilizing or criticizing super-diversity descriptively, methodologically or with reference to policy and public practice. The contributions discuss super-diversity and its implications in nine cities located in eight countries and four continents.

One-dimensional projective subdynamics of uniformly mixing shifts of finite type

We investigate under which circumstances the projective subdynamics of multidimensional shifts of finite type can be non-sofic. In particular, we give a sufficient condition ensuring the one-dimensional projective subdynamics of such $\mathbb{Z}^{d}$ systems to be sofic and we show that this condition is already met (along certain, respectively all, sublattices) by most of the commonly used uniform mixing conditions. (Examples of the different situations are given.) Complementary to this we are able to prove a characterization of one-dimensional projective subdynamics for strongly irreducible $\mathbb{Z}^{d}$ shifts of finite type for every $d\geq 2$: in this setting the class of possible subdynamics coincides exactly with the class of mixing $\mathbb{Z}$ sofics. This stands in stark contrast to the much more diverse situation in merely topologically mixing multidimensional shifts of finite type.

Characterizations of periods of multi-dimensional shifts

AbstractWe show that the sets of periods of multi-dimensional shifts of finite type are precisely the sets of integers of the complexity classNP. We also show that the functions counting their number are the functions of #P. We also give characterizations of some other notions of periodicity in terms of space complexity. We finish the paper by giving some characterizations for sofic and effective subshifts.

Toward a spatial perspective on sustainability transitions

In the past decade, the literature on transitions toward sustainable socio-technical systems has made a considerable contribution in understanding the complex and multi-dimensional shifts considered necessary to adapt societies and economies to sustainable modes of production and consumption. However, transition analyses have often neglected where transitions take place, and the spatial configurations and dynamics of the networks within which transitions evolve. A more explicit spatial perspective on sustainability transitions contributes to the extant transitions literature in three ways. Firstly it provides a contextualization on the limited territorial sensitivity of existing literature. Secondly, it explicitly acknowledges and investigates diversity in transition processes, which follows from a ‘natural’ variety in institutional conditions, networks, actor strategies and resources across space. Thirdly, it encompasses not only greater emphasis but also an opportunity to connect to a body of literature geared to understanding the international, trans-local nature of transition dynamics. Concerned with the prevalent lack of attention for the spatial dimensions of sustainability transitions in most studies, this paper seeks to unpick and make explicit sustainability transition geographies from the vantage point of economic geography. The paper argues that there are two interrelated problems requiring attention: the institutional embeddedness of socio-technical development processes within specific territorial spaces, and an explicit multi-scalar conception of socio-technical trajectories. Following these arguments, the paper concludes that transitions research would do well to take a closer look at the geographical unevenness of transition processes from the perspective of global networks and local nodes.

Developing a patient-centered outcome measure for complementary and alternative medicine therapies II: Refining content validity through cognitive interviews

BackgroundAvailable measures of patient-reported outcomes for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) inadequately capture the range of patient-reported treatment effects. The Self-Assessment of Change questionnaire was developed to measure multi-dimensional shifts in well-being for CAM users. With content derived from patient narratives, items were subsequently focused through interviews on a new cohort of participants. Here we present the development of the final version in which the content and format is refined through cognitive interviews.MethodsWe conducted cognitive interviews across five iterations of questionnaire refinement with a culturally diverse sample of 28 CAM users. In each iteration, participant critiques were used to revise the questionnaire, which was then re-tested in subsequent rounds of cognitive interviews. Following all five iterations, transcripts of cognitive interviews were systematically coded and analyzed to examine participants' understanding of the format and content of the final questionnaire. Based on this data, we established summary descriptions and selected exemplar quotations for each word pair on the final questionnaire.ResultsThe final version of the Self-Assessment of Change questionnaire (SAC) includes 16 word pairs, nine of which remained unchanged from the original draft. Participants consistently said that these stable word pairs represented opposite ends of the same domain of experience and the meanings of these terms were stable across the participant pool. Five pairs underwent revision and two word pairs were added. Four word pairs were eliminated for redundancy or because participants did not agree on the meaning of the terms. Cognitive interviews indicate that participants understood the format of the questionnaire and considered each word pair to represent opposite poles of a shared domain of experience.ConclusionsWe have placed lay language and direct experience at the center of questionnaire revision and refinement. In so doing, we provide an innovative model for the development of truly patient-centered outcome measures. Although this instrument was designed and tested in a CAM-specific population, it may be useful in assessing multi-dimensional shifts in well-being across a broader patient population.

Two developmental modules establish 3D beak-shape variation in Darwin's finches

Bird beaks display tremendous variation in shape and size, which is closely associated with the exploitation of multiple ecological niches and likely played a key role in the diversification of thousands of avian species. Previous studies have demonstrated some of the molecular mechanisms that regulate morphogenesis of the prenasal cartilage, which forms the initial beak skeleton. However, much of the beak diversity in birds depends on variation in the premaxillary bone. It forms later in development and becomes the most prominent functional and structural component of the adult upper beak/jaw, yet its regulation is unknown. Here, we studied a group of Darwin's finch species with different beak shapes. We found that TGFβIIr, β-catenin, and Dickkopf-3, the top candidate genes from a cDNA microarray screen, are differentially expressed in the developing premaxillary bone of embryos of species with different beak shapes. Furthermore, our functional experiments demonstrate that these molecules form a regulatory network governing the morphology of the premaxillary bone, which differs from the network controlling the prenasal cartilage, but has the same species-specific domains of expression. These results offer potential mechanisms that may explain how the tightly coupled depth and width dimensions can evolve independently. The two-module program of development involving independent regulating molecules offers unique insights into how different developmental pathways may be modified and combined to induce multidimensional shifts in beak morphology. Similar modularity in development may characterize complex traits in other organisms to a greater extent than is currently appreciated.

Growth-type invariants for ℤ d subshifts of finite type and arithmetical classes of real numbers

We discuss some numerical invariants of multidimensional shifts of finite type (SFTs) which are associated with the growth rates of the number of admissible finite configurations. Extending an unpublished example of Tsirelson (A strange two-dimensional symbolic system, 1992), we show that growth complexities of the form exp (nα+o(1)) are possible for non-integer α’s. In terminology of de Carvalho (Port. Math. 54(1):19–40, 1997), such subshifts have entropy dimension α. The class of possible α’s are identified in terms of arithmetical classes of real numbers of Weihrauch and Zheng (Math. Log. Q. 47(1):51–65, 2001).

A characterization of the entropies of multidimensional shifts of finite type

We show that the values of entropies of multidimensional shifts of finite type (SFTs) are characterized by a certain computation-theoretic property: a real number $h\geq 0$ is the entropy of such an SFT if and only if it is right recursively enumerable, i.e. there is a computable sequence of rational numbers converging to $h$ from above. The same characterization holds for the entropies of sofic shifts. On the other hand, the entropy of an irreducible SFT is computable.

Perturbations of multidimensional shifts of finite type

AbstractIn this paper, we study perturbations of multidimensional shifts of finite type. Specifically, for any ℤd shift of finite type X with d>1 and any finite pattern w in the language of X, we denote by Xw the set of elements of X not containing w. For strongly irreducible X and patterns w with shape a d-dimensional cube, we obtain upper and lower bounds on htop (X)−htop (Xw) dependent on the size of w. This extends a result of Lind for d=1 . We also apply our methods to an undecidability question in ℤd symbolic dynamics.