Real Nature Research Articles

Scales of justice: putting remembrance back on the map in Palestine and Mi’kma’ki

ABSTRACT This paper considers two remarkable efforts to counter the repressive effects of ‘colonial cartography’: the Nakba map project in Israel, and the Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek Mi’kmaw Place Names Digital Atlas and Website Project in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia, Canada). Undertaken by the Israeli NGO Zochrot (‘remembering’ in Hebrew), the Nakba ‘counter-mapping’ project seeks to challenge settler foundation myths utilized to perpetuate ongoing oppression. The Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek Mi’kmaw Place Names project deploys cartographic revelation – the recovery of erased place names – as a mode of cultural reclamation, confronting settlers with the natural and human realities of the ‘world’ they ‘discovered.’ In addition, by delineating the legends and lore encoded and embedded in those place names, the project helps place the Mi’kmaw language and worldview back ‘on the map’ of remembrance and dialogue. Linkages between the two examples of settler occupation are highlighted through a consideration of the ways the Canadian government assists with the ongoing oppression of Palestine, as well as the ways Palestinian-Indigenous solidarity efforts seek to resist entrenched settler-centric narratives (mental maps). The case studies are presented as part of a necessarily larger, on-going effort to give voice to those long silenced by the hegemonic ‘truth’ of settler societies.

View-Dependent Dynamic Point Cloud Compression

Dynamic point cloud (DPC) captures 3D object and scene with realistic appearance to mimic the natural reality. It inherently offers the six-degree-of-freedom (6DoF) for content consumption, which motivates us to facilitate the network-friendly view-dependent DPC streaming by leveraging the limited field of view of the human visual system (HVS) at specific moments, for significant network bandwidth reduction without the quality of experience (QoE) loss. Therefore, in this work, we propose the view-dependent DPC compression, noted as View-PCC, by which we can enable instantaneous and complete view reconstruction from partial streams, and 6DoF navigation by stream adaptation. These functionalities are offered by the hybrid global and local projection to effectively map 3D points to five perpendicular 2D image planes of a cube. Multi-view and multi-layer based global projection is first applied progressively and followed by the patch-based local projection with both intra-frame displaced arrangement and inter-frame temporal alignment, so as to maximize the number of effectively projected points and preserve the spatio-temporal coherency for better compression. Boundary padding is then augmented for each image plane that will be encoded using the successful 2D video coding standard - High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). Our extensive simulations have shown the noticeable objective compression gains of View-PCC when compared with the typical octree-based approach and global-projection-based method. The subjective quality assessment suggests the better reconstruction quality of View-PCC, in comparison to the MPEG video-based point cloud compression (V-PCC).

Corrosion behavior and biocompatibility of additively manufactured 316L stainless steel in a physiological environment: the effect of citrate ions

In order to mitigate potential implant failures, it is essential to determine the corrosion behavior of biomaterials in a realistic physiological environment. In order to simulate the real oxidative nature of human body fluid, this research considers the effects of a complexing agent while determining the corrosion behavior of 316L stainless steel (SS) that has been fabricated by Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process. The results show that the complexing agent, i.e. the citrate ion, in Phosphate Buffer Saline (PBS) solution strongly affects the passivation behavior of 316L SS by complex species formation. However, due to a rapid solidification process, the microstructural properties of the additively manufactured metal are not similar to that of the conventionally manufactured counterpart. The microstructure of the SLM 316L SS contains refined sub-grains within each coarse grain and the formation of micro-inclusions i.e. MnS is restricted. The SLM 316L SS had better pitting resistance and passive film stability. Ecorr for the SLM 316L SS was consistently higher and the breakdown potential, Ebd, was more than three times higher compared to the wrought counterpart as determined by cyclic potentiodynamic polarization. Moreover, the SLM sample had a wider passive region and higher charge transfer resistance (Rt) (approximately 1.5 to 2.5 times) as determined by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, respectively. In addition, the attachment and proliferation tendency of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblast cells were studied to evaluate biocompatibility. The SLM part had better cell proliferation. To summarize, in a physiological environment, the SLM 316L SS outperformed the conventional wrought 316L SS in terms of corrosion resistance and biocompatibility.

MEASURING MULTICULTURAL AWARENESS IN CATHOLIC RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Multiculturality must be understood as a natural reality deliberately presented by God for His beloved people. In practice, however, humanity has misunderstood this gift of multiculturalism resulting in religious violence and social conflicts. As part of the national education system, Catholic Education bears on its shoulders the noble responsibility to propagate the virtuous values of multiculturalism, and additionally sentiments such as those of open-hearted inclusiveness and tolerance, all notions that would build a utopian dream wherein the people in strive for peace, harmony, solidarity, indiscriminate to one another and to those possesing differing cultural ideologies. It is the paramount duty of Catholic Religious Education to bulwark against the abominations that are the negative misconceptions spawned of inadequate or perhaps even erroneous understanding of pluralism and multiculturalism. To this end, it is of no small importance that one is able to gauge as to what degree pluralism and multiculturalism suffuses Catholic Religious Education. Only then would it be prudent that the appropriate actions be undertaken to ensure the students acquire satisfactory critical understanding in multiculturalism.

The Importance of Language Contacts in the Field of Tourism

Tourism is not only a way of spending citizens' leisure time, it has transformed into a mass communication practice, a significant social process. Cross-cultural tourism is the most widespread, its purpose is to get acquainted with a different natural, ethno-social and cultural reality. International experience in the field of effective use of the tourism potential of the regions is based on language relations. Our goal is to reveal the exceptional role of language contacts in the further development of tourism. When we talk about tourism, we always remember the country's economy. But we must not forget that along with the economy, the development of language contacts play an important role in tourism. The question is as follow: Is there a need for specialists and consultants on cross-cultural relations in the field of tourism? This need is certainly overdue. The tourism industry today is not just a haphazard sector. It is a complex conglomerate of relationships between different types of structures. These are tour operators that create a product for the end user, intermediary agents, travel agencies, air carriers, hotels and resorts, rental offices (from cars to country villas and apartments), security systems, etc. For successful interaction of all these structures and development of the industry as a whole, professionals in cross-cultural relations are necessary. The problem becomes more relevant when the interaction of cultures goes beyond one country or region.

Sualtında İcra Edilen Sismik Araştırmalardan Kaynaklanan Kirlilik ve Uluslararası Hukuk

Oceans are perceived by humans to be silent, as publicly reiterated by the esteemed Jacques Cousteau. However, this cannot be farther from the truth since ambient noise in an underwater environment is a relatively high one, even if humans fail to hear it. The part of anthropogenic noise in this has been increasing steadily for at least a century and newly developed technologies contribute to this noise immensely. One of these new technologies is the air gun - used in seismic surveys since the 1960’s. These guns are used to gather information by emitting sound waves at short intervals of every ten seconds. Seismic surveys have been deemed to be harmless activities by the international courts and arbitration tribunals in their judgments and awards, especially in regards to disputes of maritime delimitation. In cases where states parties to such a dispute refrain from drilling activities, among others, which may potentially jeopardize the marine environment permanently, and execute seismic surveys solely, they will not be held internationally responsible for the activities of the latter kind. However, recent studies have indisputably proven that this is a misrepresentation of the environmental effects of the seismic surveys. This paper aims to throw light upon the real nature of these surveys with a view to establishing whether these activities are transgressions of international law. This is to be endeavored within the purview of two different sources of international law - global rules and regional legal rules. It is the understanding of the author that the international conventions with a global relevance form the framework for the regional and domestic rules, the latter of which is not included in this paper. This inquiry, in its conclusion, tries to come up with suggestions of  Gökhan a practical nature to mitigate underwater noise pollution. The implementation of these measures is significant for those states parties to actual maritime delimitation disputes, since they will augment the legitimacy of the activities carried out by them. 

Shades of Green Reporting: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Eco-News Reports in the Philippines

This paper uncovers the ideological representations found in the linguistic patterns of eco-news reports of national and local dailies in the Philippines. By bringing the 25 mainstream news reports on environmental concerns to analysis using Fairclough’s (1992) Critical Discourse Analysis Framework and Halliday’s (1985) Systemic Functional Linguistics, findings reveal that the news reports serve to promote different core ideas about destruction, allocation of blame, victimization, bias, risk and hazard, government’s role, and objectification. Themes drawn out are found to represent nature as the enemy and the culprit of destruction, the government as the eco-warriors, the ordinary citizens as weak and defen c eless versus the authorities as empowered and influential, and plants and animals as human commodities. By way of turning verbs into nouns, active to passive structure, and subject to its metonymic representation, human involvement is concealed as social actors are removed in the text construction. Despite maintaining the objective nature of news reporting, the discourse is produced based on the ideological standpoints of the writers, which may feed readers’ understanding o f the realities of nature and ecology as a whole.

Environmental Enrichment in Postoperative Pain and Surgical Care

Holistic biopsychosocial care has been underemphasized in perioperative pathway designs. The importance and a cost-effective way of implementing biopsychosocial care to improve postoperative pain and facilitate surgical convalescence are not well established, despite the recent popularization of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) programs. We have explored the evidence and rationale of environmental enrichment (EE) as a complementary multimodal psychosocial care pathway to reduce postoperative pain, optimize patient recovery and improve existing weaknesses in surgical care. We conducted a database search to identify and grade potential EE techniques for their evidence quality and consistency in the management of acute postoperative pain, perioperative anxiety and the etiologically comparable acute procedural or experimental pain. The introduction of music, virtual reality, educational information, mobile apps, or elements of nature into the healthcare environment can likely improve patients' experience of surgery. Compared with traditional psychological interventions, EE modalities are voluntary, therapist-sparing and more economically sustainable. We have also discussed practical strategies to integrate EE within the perioperative workflow. Through a combination of sensory, motor, social and cognitive modalities, EE is an easily implementable patient-centered approach to alleviate pain and anxiety in surgical patients, create a more homelike recovery environment and improve quality of life.

Candrakīrti’s Concept of Adhimukti

The Madhyamaka school followed the doctrine of śūnyatā taught in the Prajñāpāramitā-sūtras, and understood that it denies the existence of real nature. Conservative Buddhists and the Yogācāra school, however, criticized the Madhyamaka position as a sort of nihilism. Therefore, we can assume that these Buddhists considered Mādhyamikas’ understanding of śūnyatā to be wrong (or misunderstood). Under such circumstances, how did the Madhyamaka teachers choose who could be instructed in śūnyatā, and how should it lead the trainee toward the Madhyamaka’s understanding of śūnyatā?

Isolation and molecular identification of a strain belonging to the new species Zalaria obscura from a deteriorated wooden artwork.

We report the case of an outdoor deteriorated wooden sculpture of Madonna, completely blackened in the face, and thus suspected of fungal attack. A multi-disciplinary approach, including microbiological analysis, molecular biology, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, was applied to understand the real nature of the observed alteration. FT-IR showed that the blackening was due to the application of a natural terpene resin subjected to alteration over time. The microbiological assay allowed to isolate a particular black fungus that has been recovered in the vegetative phase, growing as the only species adapted to the examined substrate. Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis of the ITS (internal transcribed spacer) region sequence identified the fungus (LS31012019) as Zalaria obscura, a black yeast belonging to the new genus Zalaria, family Dothideales. Overall, this study evidenced the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to understand the real causes of observed deterioration of artworks. More interestingly, the recovery of a strain identified as Z. obscura from this type of substrate is never reported in the literature and this finding could offer the possibility to investigate the role of this microorganism in the deterioration process of cultural heritage.

Enable, Reconnect and Augment: A New ERA of Virtual Nature Research and Application.

Being exposed to natural environments is associated with improved health and well-being, as these environments are believed to promote feelings of “being away” from everyday struggles, positive emotional reactions and stress reduction. Despite these positive effects, humanity is becoming increasingly more distanced from nature due to societal changes, such as increased urbanization and the reduced accessibility of natural environments. Technology is also partly to blame, as research suggests that people replace nature contact with increased screen time. In this cross-section between nature and technology, we find technological nature which is progressing towards a point where we may be capable of simulating exposure to real nature. Concerns have been raised regarding this technology, as it is feared it will replace real nature. However, research suggests that virtual nature may have a more positive impact on society than a mere replacement of real nature, and this review propose several areas where virtual nature may be a beneficial addition to actual nature (Enable), help people reconnect with the real natural world (Reconnect) and “boost” human-nature interactions (Augment). Based on the current research and theoretical framework, this review proposes guidelines for future research within these areas, with the aim of advancing the field by producing high quality research.

The knowledge and process dimensions

PurposeThe aim of this article is to present the relationship between the nature of business processes (BPs) and the nature of knowledge used in the course of their execution on the basis of an analysis of the relevance of different dimensions of BPs. The conclusion presented herein points to the inextricable relationship between business process management (BPM) and knowledge management (KM) in the knowledge economy (KE).Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual in nature and is grounded in the theories of BPM and KM.FindingsThe article analyses the significance of the changing nature of BPs for particular dimensions of BPs, as well as the relationships between the nature of BPs and the kinds of knowledge used in subsequent stages of the BPM Lifecycle. These relationships, which are primarily tied to the dimensions of BP Unpredictability and Knowledge-intensity, should be taken into account in each element of the BPM ecosystem to a larger degree, the larger the significance of processes which require dynamic management in an organization.Research limitations/implicationsThe article is a contribution to the theoretical reflection on the holistic approach to BPM. It expressly points to the inevitable necessity of integration (dynamic) BPM with KM, with the exception of the specific case of traditional BPM, which encompasses structured BPs. This integration requires us to take into account the influence of KM in virtually all of the elements of the BPM ecosystem.Practical implicationsThe article points to the necessity of researching the nature of executed and managed BPs as early as in the course of preparing the organization to implement BPM in the KE. The aim is to select and/or adapt implementation methodologies and systems, supporting BPM in the organization to the real BPs nature. The analysis presented in the article on the dimensions of BPs points to the particular significance of the method of adjusting elements of the BPM ecosystem in the execution and analysis and diagnosis stages of the BPM lifecycle.Originality/valueThe article presents an original view of the interrelations between BPM and KM in the knowledge intensive organizations (KIOs) in the KE.

Does Digital Nature Enhance Social Aspirations? An Experimental Study

Loneliness and social isolation are increasingly recognized as important challenges of our times. Inspired by research hinting at beneficial effects of interacting with nature on social connectedness and opportunities provided by ambient technology to simulate nature in a rich and engaging manner, this study explored to what extent digital nature projections can stimulate social aspirations and related emotions. To this end, participants (N = 96) were asked to watch, individually or in pairs, digital nature projections consisting of animated scenes which were either dense or spacious and depicting either wild or tended nature. Subsequently, they filled out a questionnaire comprising measures for social aspirations, awe and fascination. Results show that spacious scenes elicited significantly higher social aspiration and awe scores, especially when watching alone. Design implications are discussed for making digital nature accessible for people with limited access to real nature.

891 Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering & Sciences Publication (BEIESP) © Copyright: All rights reserved. Retrieval Number: B7821129219/2020©BEIESP DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.B7821.019320 Journal Website: www.ijitee.org Gain Error end DNL for Testing ADCs: Optimization in Time Domain

Optimization in ADC is an important component which predicts overall accuracy of a system using it. Signals are in real time nature and it is necessary to convert these signals in digital form to interpret with digital form of signals and microcomputer based systems. ADC is used to carry out these conversions process from analog to digital. Determination of parameters of an ADC such as DNL, INL, SNR and ENOB are necessary for complete dynamic analysis and characterization of ADC. In frequently, application prerequisite input to an Analog to digital converter is time varying which requires determination of its parameters at corresponding frequency and different test conditions In order to test an ADC, it is necessary to first determine its code transition levels. Further Gain error, DNL are estimated using code transition level based on histogram technique. If there is an code transition level error introduced then effect of this error leads to error in estimate of gain, offset, DNL and ENOB. Further estimation of variance in different parameter values is analyzed in the proposed work.

THUTOAH - The Holographic Universe Theory of Art History

This text is an edit of the audio transcript of interviews with scientists John Ellis, Alessandra Gnecchi and Wolfgang Lerche from my video, The Holographic Universe Theory of Art History (THUTOAH). THUTOAH investigates the holographic principle and the theory that our universe could be understood as a vast and complex hologram, and hypothesises that, beyond acknowledged art historical contexts and imperatives, artists may have also been unconsciously attempting to describe the holographic nature of the universe. Projecting over 25,000 chronological images from art history (from cave painting to global contemporary art, including outsider and psychedelic art), THUTOAH echoes conceptually the actions of CERN's particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), accelerating at 25 images per second in a looped sequence. Alongside this colossal library of images is a soundtrack of interviews with, and watercolours by, the scientists at CERN - illustrations and articulations of the holographic principle. THUTOAH hypothesises a reality that has perhaps been intuited over the ages, a reality beyond the already documented intentional depictions of spiritual, mystical or transcendent realities or altered states of consciousness; the reality of the holographic nature of the universe.

The Body Subject: Being True to the Truths of Experience

ABSTRACT The aim of this essay is to flesh out the body subject in ways anchored in Husserlian phenomenology. In accordance with this aim, it begins with clarifications essential to veridical phenomenological accounts of experience. The specific Husserlian insights that follow these clarifications are grounded in experienced realities of animate nature, a nature Husserl consistently describes in terms of an animate organism, a subject body. The ensuing two sections show how and why various descriptions and claims of contemporary phenomenologists, descriptions and claims commonly anchored in Merleau-Ponty’s writings on the body, fail to elucidate this body subject, and how and why, in bypassing Husserlian insights, the descriptions and claims are phenomenologically wayward.

Nature in Our Experience: Bonnett, McDowell and the Possibility of a Philosophical Study of Human Nature

Michael Bonnett has long attempted to rehabilitate the concept of nature, thereby challenging us to reconsider its profound implications for diverse educational issues. Castigating both ‘postmodern’ and ‘scientistic’ accounts of nature for failing to appreciate that nature is at once transcendent and normative, Bonnett proposes his phenomenology-inspired view of nature as the ‘self-arising’, which is bound up with the notion of ‘our experience of nature’. Despite its enormous strengths, however, Bonnett’s argument might obscure the ways in which the real issue involved in nature is addressed: the issue of our nature, which enables our experience of nature in the first place. In this paper, after reviewing Bonnett’s view of nature and considering his criticism of Richard Rorty’s assault on the reality of nature, I will try to show how the Aristotelian notion of second nature that John McDowell has reanimated can supplement Bonnett’s project and render plausible the idea that the naturalness of our sensibility is unique to human beings; through this approach, the issue of human nature can be (re)located in discussions of nature at large and, connectedly, brought again within the scope of the philosophical study of education in the present-day intellectual climate that increasingly marginalises non-scientific, intellectual endeavours. I will also briefly reflect on the relevance of the notion of second nature to Stephen Boulter’s recently proposed idea of ‘education from a biological point of view’.

Toward an Evangelical Evolutionary Theodicy

ABSTRACTMany Christians throughout history have believed that a cosmic fall justifies the existence of horrid natural realities, as recorded in Genesis 3. Of course, this traditional theodicy is deeply rooted in a concordist hermeneutic. This paper outlines an evangelical evolutionary theodicy. It argues that inerrant biblical truths can be faithfully extended to the creative process of biological evolution. More provocatively, the central thesis asserts that harsh physical realities, including natural selection, survival of the fittest, and extinction of species, are part of God’s very good creation.

Linguocultural stereotypes of birds-soothsayers in the works of Mykhailo Stelmakh

The article presents the results of a linguistic and cultural study devoted to the problem of verbalization of the concepts of birds, which in the Ukrainian worldview are given special opportunities to predict human destiny. The relevance of the study is related to the key role of birds and their stereotypes as important components of the national language picture of the world and the works of M. Stelmakh in particular. The aim of the article is to find out the peculiarities of verbalization of bird concepts, which are associated with negative perceptions in the Ukrainian ethnic group, to outline their traditional symbol meanings, and new associations due to the historical era, as well as to substantiate their estimated value. Proverbs and sayings as apt pearls of folk wisdom convince that birds have been an object of admiration for Ukrainians, a subject for comparison, formulation of their own conclusions about the world of nature and its impact on human life and activity. The crow, the owl, and the bat are not just concepts of birds, but concepts-symbols, concepts-soothsayers. The most relevant national and cultural stereotypes about them in the Ukrainian-language picture of the world do not lose their relevance and acquire a kind of manifestation in literary texts. They are based on primary religious beliefs, national experience, and folk traditions. In M. Stelmakh’s literary works the folk symbolism of these birds acquires a special relevance, which is best manifested in the syntagmatic ties of their key nominations. The general negative evaluation inherent in the outlined concepts is due to the relevant features of denotations, their external, behavioral characteristics, beliefs and observations established in the Ukrainian language picture of the world. In context, the negative features sometimes turn into positive ones, and lexical means of exposing the evil, become a means of humor, fascination with birds as realities of nature, to which Ukrainians have always shown respect and love. The ambivalence of the concepts of soothsayers is a national-cultural stereotype that embodies the evaluative norms and values of the ethnos at the level of relationships and interaction of two important concept spheres – nature and man. In literary texts, they become evaluative examples for comparing the objects of society and their properties.

Pessimistic optimisation for modelling microbial communities with uncertainty

Optimisation-based mathematical models provide ways to analyse and obtain predictions on microbial communities who play critical roles in the ecological system, human health and diseases. However, there are inherent model and data uncertainties from the existing knowledge and experiments so that the imposed models may not exactly reflect the reality in nature. Here, we aim to have a flexible framework to model microbial communities with uncertainty, and introduce P-OptCom, an extension of an existing method OptCom, based on pessimistic bilevel optimisation. This framework relies on the coordinated decision making between the single upper-level and multiple lower-level decision makers to better approximate community steady states even when the individual microorganisms' behavior deviate from the optimum in terms of their cellular fitness criteria. Our study demonstrates that without experimental knowledge in advance, we are able to analyse the trade-offs among the members of microbial communities and closely approximate the actual experimental measurements.