Popular View Research Articles

Discursive representations of sexual minorities in China’s English-language news media: a corpus-based study

In contemporary China, sexual minorities (SMs) are still a marginalized community. Prior studies have accorded SMs a great deal of attention, but little research has been conducted on the representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people in Chinese English-language news media. This article uses corpus linguistic tools to examine popular views on SMs in a larger corpus of 354 news articles, filling the gap in research. Based on data collected from four English-language newspapers in mainland China and informed by discursive strategies, the article concludes that Chinese SMs are prominently represented as unhealthy individuals, but also victims and progressionists. The findings also indicate that conservative and liberal perspectives on SMs co-exist in the English-language newspapers. In addition, potential contributing factors to these representations are discussed.

Reconsidering the “Popular View” (俗覧 zokuran): Tracing Vernacular Precedents in a Modern Illustrated Hagiography of Kakuban 覺鑁 (1095–1143)

As a supplement to sermonizing, the use of images has been crucial to growing the lay Buddhist following in Japan since at least the tenth century. While it may be the case that Buddhist images, much more so than texts, have historically been better able to draw in popular audiences through their accessible means of communication, the emergence of contemporary literate audiences meant new modes of accessibility. This article explores both the textual and illustrative histories of a modern illustrated hagiography on the medieval Shingon Buddhist monk Kakuban 覺鑁 (1095–1143). By tracing earlier vernacular approaches to Kakuban’s narrative that emerged throughout the evolution of this hagiography, it becomes clear that images were merely auxiliary in their appeal to modern Japanese readers and that such an appeal had been a consideration for generations of Buddhist compilers. This example draws attention to the mutually constitutive relationship between otherwise traditionally distinct functions of text and image in Japanese Buddhist hagiography, but also common conceptual divisions between lay and monastic experiences and popular and elite reading practices.

Review article: messages from (not so distant) relatives in the Nuba Mountains: on how (not) to reconstruct Proto-Bantu

Abstract The rich morphological systems and discourse-based syntactic structures of a range of modern Bantu languages have attracted the attention of many linguists. The present contribution takes articles in a volume on the reconstruction of Proto-Bantu grammar edited by Bostoen et al. (2022. On Reconstructing Proto-Bantu Grammar, Niger-Congo Comparative Studies 4. Berlin: Language Science Press. 808 pp. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7560553) as a basis, in order to address the origin of these grammatical properties. More specifically, historical as well as synchronic features of Bantu languages are compared with Tima, a related language spoken in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan, and classified as a member of the Kordofanian family within Niger-Congo by Greenberg. Contrary to a popular view, it is claimed here that subject inversion and corresponding (extended) ergative alignment marking with transitive verbs is not only a property of Tima as a Niger-Congo language, but also of several Niger-Congo languages classified as Bantu. Tima consequently may perform a role similar to that of Tocharian in the history of Indo-European studies. The present contribution also raises methodological issues related to lexicon-based Bayesian phylogenetics as against Greenberg’s method of multilateral comparisons, and the historical-comparative method. In addition, it addresses the question of the extent to which the spread of typological features coincides with so-called “belts” postulated in the typological literature on African languages.

Future–present relationship insensitivity: A new perspective on psychological myopia and psychological hyperopia

AbstractHow much joy versus pain people choose to experience for the present often inversely affects how much joy versus pain they will experience in the future. Do people make choices that maximize their overall happiness? Prior research suggests that people are generally myopic (i.e., over‐choosing joy for the present). We suggest that the prior research may have biasedly focused only on situations in which the future is more important than the present. Rather, people are generally insufficiently sensitive to the relative importance of the present versus the future. When the future is more important than the present, people over‐choose joy for the present, thus appearing myopic, but when the future is less important than the present, people under‐choose joy for the present, thus appearing hyperopic. Six experiments (along with a reason‐exploration study) demonstrate our propositions and show that forcing or nudging people to choose less (more) joy for the present when the future is more (less) important increases their overall happiness. This research challenges the popular view that people are generally myopic, and supports emerging research showing that people are generally situation‐insensitive and can exhibit seemingly opposite biases (e.g., myopia and hyperopia) in different situations.

“Liberty of Conscience is Every Man’s Natural Right”: Historical Background of the First Amendment

AbstractLiberty of conscience, encompassing free speech, a free press, and freedom of religion, has a rich history in Anglo-American political thought, long predating the drafting of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1789. The debate over licensing acts in seventeenth-century England; the advancement of principles of toleration by John Milton, Algernon Sidney, and John Locke in the same period; the renowned, impassioned, and highly influential essays of John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon in Cato’s Letters; the flourishing of a relatively free press and free church in eighteenth-century colonial America; and the liberty-championing assertions in the several declarations of rights in the newly independent states of America all played a critical role in shaping and inspiring the popular views in America that made the First Amendment possible.

Kant on Propositional Content and Knowledge

AbstractThis paper explores Kant’s account of propositional content and its implications for the relationship between his notions of knowledge (Wissen) and cognition (Erkenntnis). While previous commentators commonly read Kant as holding a Fregean theory of propositional content, in this paper I argue that Kant’s theory of propositional content aligns more closely with Peter Hanks’ recent account. According to my reading, Kant holds that individual acts of judging are both ontologically and explanatorily prior to propositions or Kantian judgments (Urteil). Furthermore, on my reading, acts of judging for Kant are acts of assertively predicating a property of an object rather than merely acts of neutral predication. This reading challenges the lately popular view that Kant’s notions of knowledge and cognition are not only distinct but also disjunct. I instead suggest that we should regard Kantian knowledge that requires cognitions as its grounds as a species of Kantian cognitions.

The Reciprocal Relationship of the Content and Social Values in Disney Princess Films: An Analyze of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Little Mermaid, and Frozen

It has become common practice to criticize Disney princess franchises and contrast the leading female characters with the more mature, highly socially conscious female characters in the present. However, these criticisms may forget to take other factors into consideration, such as social development. The progress of society will lead to changes in people's thinking and cognitive renewal. Today's popular views might not be viewed the same as in the past. So it would be harsh to rely on today's connotations to conclude that popular Disney princesses are failed child models. Through a literature review, this study analyzes the characters in Disney movies under the social background conditions of different film-making periods, using Disney princesses as the research center, and draws a conclusion on the relationship between the characters and the historical social background.

The Grounds of Excuses

According to a popular view, excuses undermine blameworthiness. At the same time, philosophers commonly accept that blameworthiness is composed of two necessary conditions: a moral objectionability condition and a responsibility condition. For excuses to do their job, they must undermine at least one of these conditions. In this paper, I conclude that excuses do neither. By inference to the best explanation, I propose a view that reconciles this conclusion with the function of excuses.

Cover Image

AbstractThe image emphasizes the innovative strategy of the trap freezing deactivation (TFD) method, as well as numerous applications of the device in X‐ray detection, in the region of medical imaging, security check, scientific research, and space exploration. It also includes popular West Lake views, such as “Remnant Snow on the Broken Bridge” and “Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon”, representing the beauty of nature integrated with science.The inspiration for the design originates from a renowned Chinese painting, which depicts the life of the ancient and modern scholar who resided by the West Lake in Hangzhou. They both immersed themselves in beloved passions in the plum blossom and perovskite, while embracing a hopeful and imaginative outlook towards the future. When the past and present converge, they are in perfect harmony. image

The fragility of artists’ reputations from 1795 to 2020

This study explores the longevity of artistic reputation. We empirically examine whether artists are more- or less-venerated after their death. We construct a massive historical corpus spanning 1795 to 2020 and build separate word-embedding models for each five-year period to examine how the reputations of over 3,300 famous artists-including painters, architects, composers, musicians, and writers-evolve after their death. We find that most artists gain their highest reputation right before their death, after which it declines, losing nearly one SD every century. This posthumous decline applies to artists in all domains, includes those who died young or unexpectedly, and contradicts the popular view that artists' reputations endure. Contrary to the Matthew effect, the reputational decline is the steepest for those who had the highest reputations while alive. Two mechanisms-artists' reduced visibility and the public's changing taste-are associated with much of the posthumous reputational decline. This study underscores the fragility of human reputation and shows how the collective memory of artists unfolds over time.

Weaving game and task into content-language integration: Proposing a game-mediated dual learning model

Content-based instruction, task-based language teaching, and game-mediated learning are three pedagogical approaches that are perceived as effective in second and foreign language education. These approaches share common ground in a sociocultural and functional view of language learning and popularity as engaging classroom strategies in elementary, middle, and high school (K-12) contexts. However, challenges may exist in ensuring content and language dual learning goals, designing language learning tasks, or implementing game-mediated activities. Therefore, this study seeks to describe the conceptual and methodological alignment among these approaches by reviewing recent research. Moreover, a game-mediated dual learning model is proposed to pinpoint a series of design components for language educators to consider when they integrate the aforementioned three approaches.

Chemical kinetic analysis on the auto‐ignition characteristics of natural gas–diesel dual‐fuel combustion under engine‐relevant conditions

AbstractWith the advent of energy crisis and stringent emission regulations, natural gas (NG)/diesel dual‐fuel engines have entered the popular view. In this paper, the accurate boundary conditions are determined by the Converge model and the transient parameters were introduced into the chemical kinetics model to make the operating conditions more closely match the actual engine operating conditions. The effects of different methane/n‐heptane ratios, initial temperatures, initial pressures, and equivalence ratios on the IDT of methane/n‐heptane fuel mixtures were analyzed using comprehensive chemical kinetic tools such as mole fraction analysis, ROP analysis, and sensitivity analysis. The IDT of methane/n‐heptane mixture decreased significantly with increasing the equivalence ratio, initial pressure, and the proportion of n‐heptane in the mixture, but the change of temperature was more complicated for the IDT. The NTC behavior of methane/n‐heptane mixture was also affected by the NTC behavior of n‐heptane. With the increase of initial temperature, the consumption of methane and n‐heptane appeared to be significantly accelerated. The peak of radicals and intermediate groups appeared earliest and had the highest radical concentration when the n‐heptane content was 30%. With the increase of initial pressure, the peak moments of the six radicals were further advanced, but the mole concentrations of O, OH, H radicals decreased significantly. This paper not only provides a reference for the design of NG/diesel dual‐fuel engines, but also provides a theoretical basis and data support for improving the ignition and initial condition setting strategies of the engines.

MAX WEBER'S THEORY OF LAW EDUCATION AND POLITICAL VIEWS OF RELIGION

In order to better evaluate Weber's most popular views on the economic ethics of religion, by comparison and due to the interaction of the opposites and sets of views expressed in them, in this work, the discipline of human rights will also be analysed, which will closely identify Weber's asceticism about the spirit of normative Protestantism and the ethics of capitalism and law school and education. The purpose of the research is to establish and identify the ideas expressed by Weber regarding the value scope of social classes, layers and typology of religion, by analysing them – conventionally, but specifically – through the doctrine of lex nature and education impact in school of sociology. Additionally, the purpose of the present work is to answer what is the general structure of Weber's philosophical thoughts and views on school of law, to find and identify in it the asceticism of the sociology of religion, interspersed with the theory of conflict and domination. But the relevance of the research is rooted in the fact that the methods of Weber's scientific approach are used to analyse the state's institutional and orderly system-theoretical dependence from the bureaucratized forms of public authority and this impact in knowledge.

Tax competition in the presence of profit shifting

The popular view is that governments should crack down on tax avoidance by multinational corporations, but in practice, lax anti-profit-shifting policies are common. Here, we analyze how controlling profit shifting influences fiscal competition. Equilibrium tax rates are determined by the elasticities of two components: retained profit and capital mobility. Anti-profit-shifting policies decrease the elasticity of the first, but increase the elasticity of the second. The impact of these policies on equilibrium tax rates is then ambiguous. We show that there are cases in which laxer policies increase equilibrium tax rates and countries’ well-being by favoring investments. We use estimates of different elasticities to show that our model can support lax enforcement.

Populizm retropijny. O tożsamości alternatywnej prawicy

The subject of the article is the phenomenon of successes of right-wing parties and their leaders. The contemporary rise of radical populism and its geopolitical scope are reflected in the discourse of its new features. Such a discussion offers a wealth of concepts and notions. Most of them describe practices of dismantling” democracy, threats of dictatorship or even fascism. The presented analysis focuses on the question of the ideological identity of cases that can be specified as consolidated populism. The thesis I advance shows that the source of the durability of electoral support is a specific narrative based on a thinking style which Zygmunt Bauman termed “retrotopia”. This popular world view functions as a legitimizing myth, which the process of limiting democracy hides in the form of culture war. I conclude that the concept of retrotopia adds little to the distinction between today’s different varieties of populist movements and political leaders.

A model of cue integration as vector summation in the insect brain.

Ball-rolling dung beetles are known to integrate multiple cues in order to facilitate their straight-line orientation behaviour. Recent work has suggested that orientation cues are integrated according to a vector sum, that is, compass cues are represented by vectors and summed to give a combined orientation estimate. Further, cue weight (vector magnitude) appears to be set according to cue reliability. This is consistent with the popular Bayesian view of cue integration: cues are integrated to reduce or minimize an agent's uncertainty about the external world. Integration of orientation cues is believed to occur at the input to the insect central complex. Here, we demonstrate that a model of the head direction circuit of the central complex, including plasticity in input synapses, can act as a substrate for cue integration as vector summation. Further, we show that cue influence is not necessarily driven by cue reliability. Finally, we present a dung beetle behavioural experiment which, in combination with simulation, strongly suggests that these beetles do not weight cues according to reliability. We suggest an alternative strategy whereby cues are weighted according to relative contrast, which can also explain previous results.

Trends in the desegregation of former Whites-only state schools in Pretoria (South Africa): a time-space investigation

ABSTRACT The school is a confined interpersonal contact space for students and lends itself to the social integration of mixed-race populations. However, the success of an integration process is, amongst other factors, linked to the racial numerical mix of a desegregating school. The literature on school desegregation in South Africa lacks empirical evidence that would support or contradict popular views on demographic trends in the desegregation process. This article investigates the changing racial profiles of former Whites-only state schools (referred to here as FMC schools) in Pretoria over three decades. The key findings are: (1) the number of Black (=non-White) learners in FMC schools in Pretoria constantly increased and surpassed that of White learners shortly before 2015; (2) the number of Black learners in primary FMC schools constantly increased faster than that in secondary schools, and (3) after a brief period of school desegregation, White and Black learners re-polarized again into White and Black school clusters. These findings suggest that social integration is not the primary motive for registering at FMC schools but that it is driven by access to quality education and further streamed by choices of association.

Who's Remembering to Buy the Eggs? The Meaning, Measurement, and Implications of Invisible Family Load.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10869-023-09887-7.

Understanding Deep Disagreement

ABSTRACT The axiological account of deep disagreements is described and defended. This proposal understands this notion in terms of the existential importance of the topic of disagreement. It is argued that this account provides a straightforward explanation for the main features of deep disagreements. This proposal is then compared to the contemporary popular view that deep disagreements are essentially hinge disagreements – i.e. disagreements concerning clashes of one’s hinge commitments, in the sense described by the later Wittgenstein. It is claimed that hinge disagreements are only plausibly deep disagreements insofar as there can be a specific class of hinge commitments that are axiological in nature, thereby lending further support to the axiological account of deep disagreement.

Design and Implementation of a Tailoring Management System (Virlor)

The tailoring method has a popular view of being a Manuel method, in which clients must attain out to the tailor physically, select the materials for their clothing, provide their measurements, and, in most circumstances, return to the tailor shop to pick it up, consuming more time and more resources. as time progresses the provision of services has modernized, and even preference of service provision of customers has also modernized as well, customers of recent would prefer to employ mobile services that can easily reach them rather than Manuel conventional service deliveries. in this recent society, the majority would prefer a service that is automated to the point they put little or no effort into acquiring these serviced thus the goal of this project, the project is aims to automate the tailoring management services which is manually maintained. After the automation this will mean better services, data security, quick search, and also paperless environment. The project’s major goal is to automate these services in such a way that tailors will have more work opportunities. Every user of the system will have to log into the system using username and password so that security and authentication will be ensured. After logging in, a consumer can place an order, monitor the status of their outfit, and even provide feedback. This system would aid both tailors and customers as it improves effectiveness and efficiency, this system also help in realizing the vision 2030 where the Nigerian government wants its people to be digitally informed and automate all government bodies and ministries, thereby embracing Electronic Governing.