Representation Of Reality Research Articles

As críticas de Laudan ao socioconstrutivismo

Abstract Social constructivism can be taken as a broad sociological-philosophical approach of science which is introduced as follows: i) an explanation of the acceptance of successful scientific achievements ought to be done through the use of epistemological criteria and social community factors; ii) the knowledge produced by successful scientific achievements cannot be taken as a representation of reality. The social constructivist approach has always been strongly criticized by traditional philosophical conceptions of science because 1) an explanation of the success of successful scientific theories should be made only through the use of epistemological criteria, and 2) the knowledge produced by successful scientific achievements matchs to reality. This paper deals with the first criticism, by means of an expanded analysis of the debate between a representative of social constructivism (David Bloor) and a critic (Larry Laudan), based on the hypothesis that, although Laudan has pointed out some important limits to the scope of the social constructivist approach, the argumentative core of his critique does not hold itself, except as a prescription about the tasks that a philosopher of science must do.

Baseline patient demographics for TETRIS: a prospective, noninterventional study to characterize the use of triple therapy for COPD in Germany.

Evidence on how decisions regarding escalation to triple therapy and de- or re-escalation are taken and the rationale on which these decisions are based is currently limited in Germany. The TETRIS study aims to elucidate influences on treatment decisions surrounding triple therapy in a real-world practice setting in Germany. TETRIS is an ongoing, multicenter, prospective, observational cohort study recruiting patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with or without asthma who have already been treated with triple therapy for 2-48 weeks. For better representation of the treatment reality in Germany, patients are recruited from general practitioners and pulmonologists. Data are collected in two parts. Part 1 involves cross-sectional phenotyping of patients at enrollment. Part 2 involves a 2-year longitudinal follow-up period to monitor/document all visits by the patients during the 24-month observation period per routine clinical practice. Here, we report the demographic and baseline characteristics of 1213 eligible patients recruited to part 1 of the study. The mean patient age was 66.4 years overall, and 29.3% (356/1213) of patients had no comorbidities. The mean CAT score was 19.4; the number of exacerbations and hospitalizations due to exacerbations in the past 3 years before starting triple therapy was 0.6 and 0.1, respectively. Dual bronchodilation with a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) plus a long-acting β-2 agonist (LABA) was the most common therapy for COPD before initiation of triple therapy in 58.3% of patients. In this real-world setting in Germany, patients with COPD have a relatively low reported exacerbation rate but high symptom burden, and over 70% are multimorbid. Triple therapy is initiated in patients who are primarily highly symptomatic despite being on LAMA + LABA. Future prospective studies in patients with multimorbidity are warranted to better understand the treatment landscape across the disease spectrum. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04657211.

Exploring the Human Condition: A Methodological Literature Review of Fiction-Based Research

Fictional narratives are increasingly analyzed by scholars to improve our understanding of the ‘human condition’, because fiction gives access to the deeply personal experiences, perceptions, and struggles of individuals. This methodological literature review explores current fiction-based research practices in organization and management studies, identifies methodological shortcomings, and finds emerging methodological conventions. After searching for fiction-based research in 26 leading organization and management journals, I found 69 articles that used fictional narratives. My analysis demonstrates that fiction is increasingly used by scholars to make theoretical contributions to six research themes: organizational life, leadership and resistance, change, ethics, gender and race, and organizational analysis. Fictional narratives are treated both metaphorically and as representations of organizational reality. The article shows recurring shortcomings in the literature and formulates recommendations for future fiction-based research. Specifically, scholars are encouraged to justify their selection of fictional sources, use multiple fictional narratives, consider including other (qualitative) data, describe the data analysis procedure, and provide longer passages or direct access to present their (fictional) data. While this review focuses on organization and management studies, it aims to be of use to the broad range of scholars in the social sciences and humanities by showing recent developments in fiction-based research and by offering tools to experiment with this innovative method, so that fictional narratives might inspire their work and enrich their research.

ТОЧНІСТЬ СЛОВОВЖИВАННЯ В МЕДІАТЕКСТІ ЯК ОДИН ІЗ ЧИННИКІВ ЕФЕКТИВНОЇ КОМУНІКАЦІЇ

Media text is a type of text directly connected with reality. The method of verbal representation of reality depends on the journalist’s language competence, the ability to choose the appropriate word to denote a subject, process or phenomenon, the ability to combine words into phrases and sentences based on semantic and logical compatibility. At the level of the text, the corresponding feature is the preciseness of word usage. Texts which do not comply with the principle of preciseness of word usage, contain incorrect code and cannot be correctly decoded, therefore they are ineffective, as they are not able to inform the recipient and to influence him. The analysis of media texts revealed that non-compliance with the requirement of preciseness of word usage causes various communicative barriers. An incorrectly chosen word can create an emotional load of the text that does not correspond to the content of the message. On the other hand, the flaw is emotionlessness, neutral expressive tone, indifference, lack of empathy contrary to the facts reflected in the media text. In both cases, the media text will dissonance with the emotions caused by its content, because a false code of pragmatic information is embedded here. Comprehension of the media text can be complicated due to incorrect coding of subject-logical information: using a word or a idioms in improper context; confusion of the word meanings and not only linguistic and logical, but also factual errors as a result; logical deviations due to incorrectly selected or redundant conjunctions, excessive or insufficient word usage; not taking into account the meanings that arise at the word combination level; errors of automatic translation. Non-observance of the principle of preciseness of word usage can lead to non-textual communicative barriers: the recipient may lose confidence in the journalist’s language and even professional competence, lose confidence in the publication or the media in general.

Combinando modelos hidrológicos tradicionais e aprendizado de máquina para previsão de vazão

ABSTRACT Traditional hydrological models have been widely used in hydrologic studies, providing credible representations of reality. This paper introduces a hybrid model that combines the traditional hydrological model Soil Moisture Accounting Procedure (SMAP) with the machine learning algorithm XGBoost. Applied to the Sobradinho watershed in Brazil, the hybrid model aims to produce more precise streamflow forecasts within a three-month horizon. This study employs rainfall forecasts from the North America Multi Model Ensemble (NMME) as inputs of the SMAP to produce streamflow forecasts. The study evaluates NMME forecasts, corrects bias using quantile mapping, and calibrates the SMAP model for the study region from 1984 to 2010 using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). Model evaluation covers the period from 2011 to 2022. An XGBoost model predicts SMAP residuals based on the past 12 months, and the hybrid model combines SMAP's streamflow forecast with XGBoost residuals. Notably, the hybrid model outperforms SMAP alone, showing improved correlation and Nash-Sutcliffe index values, especially during periods of lower streamflow. This research highlights the potential of integrating traditional hydrological models with machine learning for more accurate streamflow predictions.

Язык культурного многообразия в перспективе обновленного синтеза

The article is devoted to analysis of the dialogue on a topic that has not lost its relevance today — the boundaries and interactions between the languages of science and those of art. The special issue contains a selection of articles written by the forum participants and united by the specified topic. The variety of interpretations proposed by the authors convincingly demonstrates the intention toward synthetic construction of the identified oppositions as a whole. It is based on the «dialectic of fundamentals», which provides the opportunity to build a typology of boundary conditions using the experience fixed on the overcoming of limits (transition, translation, overcoming of the established and establishing of a new, ontological limit). The boundary as a phenomenon is dual — it is both a concept that captures the idea of space, the reality of the boundary in mind and its practical embodiment by means of the subject’s action to establish the boundary. It can be labeled as a hypothetical medium «between», as an exchange zone (between what is «before it» and «after»). In other words, we are talking about the creation of a median «territory» of semantic connection of the selected boundaries (limits). In the first approximation, according to the subject of the article, the typology of the zone of exchange, translation may look like the dialectic of the fundamentals of interaction, problematization «between»: 1) the ontological zone (the sphere between techniques, skills, practices and other forms of anthropological representations of reality), 2) methodological zone (interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary zone of interaction), 3) search zone of reflexive assessment of the possibilities of linguistic expression (for example, the relationship between «limit» and what is «beyond, on the other side of the limits» as yet unknown or ultimately unknowable). The ultimate experience finds its application in the field of problem-oriented interdisciplinary research reaching the level of philosophical reflection in the transdisciplinary zone of personal responsibility as the interval dimension of the dialectic of initial oppositions.

Mixed reality videography. Analyzing joint behavior of human-agent- interactions in extended realities

Current research in human-agent interaction increasingly focuses on multimodal interactions with anthropomorphic virtual agents. However, most existing paradigms primarily emphasize only the user's perception, overlooking the actual emergent interaction processes. This paper addresses this gap by presenting a novel methodological approach that scrutinizes both the relationship and content levels of human-agent interaction. Utilizing a unique combination of mixed reality representations and mixed methods, our approach aims to uncover and analyze the joint behavior of human users and agents during interactions. Our approach offers new insights into the dynamics of proto-social human-agent interactions, with implications for improving the design and functionality of virtual agents in mixed reality settings.

Painting Sensations

Bacon’s paintings are images-sensations, a figurative art that composes a visual rhetoric of pathos. It is a rhetoric of sensations centred on the effects of visual signs on the spectators/viewers. The pathos is something perceptive and sensitive that happens in the spectators/viewers; it is driven, incited, provoked by Bacon’s images. The pathos is indistinctly caused by the intentional and strategic use of a visual language. The meanings of the visual signs are formed a priori and transmitted as clearly as possible in reference to a given situation, activity, event, reality/world. If this is so, the use of rhetoric is emphatic to explore the pathos instigated by Bacon’s images-sensations. Following a theoretical and conceptual approach and through the lens of Deleuze’s perspective, the aim is to show the power of visual rhetoric when provoking sensations, and to problematize the representation and report of reality as a changing process through signs/images. This is demonstrated by Bacon’s images-sensations and Deleuze’s transcendental empiricism perspective. In a semiotic perspective, Bacon’s paintings are a perfect anchorage to understand the influence of an aesthetical language and practice of image as a visual rhetoric resource, which amplify the pathos.

In the eye of beholder? The notions of quality in the humanities

Abstract In this article we attempt to reconstruct the tacit and implicit notions of quality in the humanities. This reconstruction is based on a series of semi-structured qualitative interviews with 33 humanities scholars. Applying Max Weber’s theory of authority, we argue the quality notions have two different sources—external and internal. External sources correspond to the Weber’s types of authority: traditional authorities (academic tradition, professors, PhD advisors), rational-legal authorities (research administrators, policy makers) and charismatic authorities (‘the great minds’, ‘the founding fathers’ in a given academic field). Internal sources providing the quality notion do not fit into Weberian classification. These sources are based on the personal experience of a humanities researcher’s evaluation practices, which cannot be reduced to either type of authority above. Combining the interview data and Max Weber’s theory of authority, we try to demonstrate the existence of four different and sometimes incompatible notions of quality in the humanities: administrative; individual; semi-administrative, semi-individual; moderate individual. These notions are interpreted as ideal types, which serve as a regulative ideas rather than objective representations of research evaluation reality. The manuscript is important to Research Evaluation for the following reasons: first, it reconstructs the different types of notions of quality, which are crucial in better understanding peer review and other qualitative research evaluation practices; second, it provides better understanding of individual evaluator’s premises; third, it provides opportunity to have a glimpse beyond dominant administrative quality notions and criteria as usually the perspectives of the humanities researchers are neglected.

Axiomatizing SNOMED CT Disorders: Should There Be Room for Interpretation?

SNOMED CT is a large concept-based terminology designed according to epistemic, semantic and pragmatic principles relevant to clinicians. Its goal is structured clinical reporting in electronic healthcare records (EHRs). The Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) is an ontology designed on the basis of types claimed to exist in reality based on a domain-independent ontological theory. Its goal is faithful representation of reality within that theory. The Ontology for General Medical Science (OGMS) extends the BFO by providing definitions for types relevant within the clinical domain. Combining SNOMED CT with the ontological rigor of BFO and OGMS might improve clinical reporting by, f.i., preventing data entry mistakes and inconsistencies, and make EHRs more comparable. To that end, we are developing a logical framework capable of exploiting what SNOMED CT offers terminologically and realism-based ontologies such as the BFO and the OGMS ontologically by means of bridging axioms compatible with the BFO, and expressed in the same CLIF-dialect as used in its axiomatization in first order logic. In this paper, we report on our attempts to detect in the combinations of binary relations that are used in the definition of SNOMED CT's definitions of disorder concepts patterns which might at least partially automate the construction of such axioms. Our findings suggest that this partial automation is indeed possible, but to a smaller extent than we had hoped for. We compare our approach with a recent proposal that seeks to bring SNOMED CT and BFO closer together by reinterpreting SNOMED CT disorders as clinical occurrents. The proposal has its merit in providing a realist underpinning for that part of SNOMED CT's concept model in terms of the BFO, but is not discriminatory enough for an automatic translation into OGMS. Key problem is the lack of face validity of SNOMED CT disorder terms as compared to the formal definitions they are given and this in absence of textual definitions.

Effect of Reaching Movement Modulation on Experience of Control in Virtual Reality

Users’ motion representation in virtual reality (VR) can be modulated visually by introducing a mismatch with their real motion, which can bring benefits to exercise and rehabilitation and has great potential for exergame applications in VR. Users’ experience of control is a critical consideration for user experience in human–computer interaction and should be paid special attention when movement modulation is implemented in VR. However, how movement modulation affects users’ experience of control and motor performance has not been fully investigated in detail. This research included 49 participants and investigated how the experience of control is influenced by reaching movement modulation in two types: the enhancement and reduction modes. Different modulation modes were designed to study their influence on the explicit experience of control in self-ratings and the implicit measured experience of control in intentional binding and electroencephalography. Participants’ movement trajectory, velocity, and completion time were analyzed for motor performance. The results illustrate a significant effect of movement modulation on the users’ motor performance and experience of control in self-ratings and EEG. This study makes a major contribution through a comprehensive analysis of the experience of control with movement modulation and provides important and practical design considerations on movement modulation design in future exercise-based applications with positive controlling experiences in VR.

Reliable quantized sampled‐data LFC for semi‐Markov jump interconnected multi‐area power systems: Dealing with incomplete TRs

AbstractThis article aims to address the reliable quantized sampled‐data load frequency control (LFC) synthesis problem for semi‐Markov jump interconnected multi‐area power systems (IMAPSs) suffering from incomplete transition rates (TRs) and actuator failures. Primarily, the semi‐Markov process configurated with incomplete TRs is utilized to model the structural and coefficient switchings of IMAPSs, which enables a more precise representation of reality and a wider range of application. Subsequently, in order to reduce the control cost and facilitate data processing, an aperiodic quantization sampling mechanism is introduced. Furthermore, a mode‐dependent and comprehensive actuator faulty model is scheduled to portray various stochastically occurring actuator failures, which is more in line with practical application. Then, by fully utilizing the state information of sampled intervals, a two‐sided looped functional with some matrices that are not required to be strictly positive is constructed to enhance the flexibility. In what follows, on the basis of stochastic analysis technique and looped functional, sufficient conditions with two scenarios are established in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) to guarantee the stochastic stability with an performance of the resultant semi‐Markov jump IMAPSs. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control synthesis methodology is validated through a numerical simulation.

WITH OR AGAINST HAYDEN WHITE? REFLECTIONS ON THEORY OF HISTORY AND SUBJECT FORMATION

ABSTRACTThis article reflects on Hayden White's understanding of the subject and explores how best to move forward discussions in theory of history after his arguments about narrativity. To do so, I reconsider his arguments in light of more recent feminist and queer theorizations. Through a reconstruction of the current international new wave of feminism and LGBTQ+ activism as a rich and complex social movement that involves a narration of its own (practical) past, I will recontextualize and revaluate White's insight from the perspective of Judith Butler's theory of subject formation. The argument will unfold in four parts. First, I will recall White's ironic and existential stance on language and narrativity in the representation of reality and in relation to social beliefs. Second, I will again raise the question of the value of narrativity, as framed by White, in the context of the publication of a recent feminist manifesto. It is here that another issue will emerge as crucial: the relationship between the limits of linguistic self‐consciousness and the question of the subject. In the third part, my argument will take a partial turn “against White” and toward Butler's subject formation theory. My claim will be that there is a residue of the belief in the sovereign individual in White's insistence on self‐consciousness. However, I will also show that his suspicion regarding the psychological impulse toward narrative closure can be re‐elaborated as the challenge Butler is facing with their theory of subject formation: that of critically resisting the belief in our being coherent and self‐sufficient individuals. In the fourth part, I will present Butler's refiguration of the thesis of the subject's opacity in terms of the primary relationality that binds human beings to one another, and I will offer a new understanding of the individual, norms, agency, infancy, and ethics. Finally, I will conclude that we are bodies in history and that theory of history can find a promising line of research through this conception of the subject, a conception that reframes how we understand the intimate links between political consciousness, historicity, and embodiment. I also claim that this line of research constitutes an ethics for our historical undoing.

Phenomenology and Stream of Consciousness: The French New Wave and Modern Films

Phenomenology is widely recognised as a philosophical framework that pertains to the comprehension of the universe and the investigation of epistemology, emphasising a shift towards seeing entities in their true form, while arguing that the outward manifestations are indicative of their intrinsic nature. The inclusion of consciousness in literary works deviates from conventional psychological portrayals due to the presence of the character's subconscious mind, which remains inaccessible to their awareness, alongside a representation of reality. Within the realm of film, the concept of stream of consciousness is translated into a visual representation, often referred to as a shot, which serves as a metaphorical depiction of the character's complete focus or absence thereof. This article posits that the topic of stream of consciousness remains prevalent in contemporary cinematic narratives by drawing a comparison between the French New Wave and current cinema.

Content strategies of Chinese reality shows in the era of media convergence

The scientific article is devoted to the study of content strategies used in Chinese reality shows during the period of media convergence. In the era of rapid media development and the merging of various platforms, the evolution of content approaches in Chinese reality programs is analyzed. The study focuses on the impact of this evolution on viewers and the role of reality TV in China's cultural and media landscape.The article is devoted to a detailed study of the content strategies of Chinese reality shows in the context of the modern era of media convergence. The authors analyze the impact of technological innovations and changes in the media environment on the development and presentation of reality formats, as well as the reaction of the Chinese audience to these changes. The article examines the various strategies used by producers to adapt to the new demands of the digital era and effectively interact with viewers.The article is based on the analysis of the study of content strategies that are actively used today in modern Chinese reality shows, during the period of rapid development of media convergence. To achieve this goal, a comprehensive methodological approach was applied, including an analysis of the content of reality programs, a review of relevant literature on the topic and interviews with participants and viewers. The study showed the evolution of content strategies in Chinese reality shows, reflecting the decisive influence of media convergence on the production and perception of content. The current key trends and changes in the representation of reality, as well as interaction with the audience, are analyzed. The results of the study can be used to improve strategies for creating and promoting content in modern conditions of media convergence, as well as in the field of cultural studies and media research. The work contributes to understanding the dynamics of changes in the content of Chinese reality shows in the context of media convergence, identifying unique aspects of this process in Chinese culture and society. The study confirms the importance of adapting content strategies under the influence of media convergence and puts forward proposals for the development of more effective content approaches in the modern Chinese media environment.

The manipulative essence of visual media: from man-made images to generative deepfakes

The paper explores the problems of manipulation and reliability of information in the visual media. Manipulation is part of their essence. Distortions in the message arise from a shift in attention from reality as such to how it’s seen by others or who and how it’s represented. The objective vision is replaced by a presentation of the vision of others in visual media. This opens up the possibility of manipulation and becomes the reason for the creation of visual falsifications. Modernity has become the era of post-truth. Visual media are increasingly shifting towards total falsification with the development of digital technologies, artificial intelligence. The generated image turns out to be more real and reliable than reality itself. This paper uses the classification of visual media images based on how they are created. An attempt is made to identify the causes of distortions in the representation of reality at different stages of the development of visual media. The article analyzes how the technologies of creating visual images affect the development of manipulative and falsifying practices that undermine the credibility of the visual message.

Systems Anesthesiology: Systems of Care Delivery and Optimization in the Operating Room.

Anesthesiology presents a challenge to a traditional simplifying approach given the ever-increasing amount of medical data and a more demanding environment. Systems anesthesiology is a modern approach to perioperative care, integrating the complexity of multifactorial knowledge and data to achieve a more adequate representation of reality, while including both patient-related medical aspects as well as economic and organizational challenges. We discuss the value of some innovative technologies such as the emergence of anesthesia information systems, the use of tele-medicine, predictive monitoring, or closed-loop systems as it pertains to the changes in the current standards of care in anesthesiology. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of systems anesthesiology in operating room planning, anesthesia research, and education.

Memes to an End: Why Internet Memes Matter to Information Research

Abstract This theoretical paper explores the significance of Internet memes to the field of information research. Adopting a constructivist framework, it conceptualizes memes as documents that undermine popular assumptions about people’s engagements with information. In particular, it argues that Internet memes are conceptual tools through which people can negotiate different representations of reality and the logics that underlie them. Through a close reading of several memetic examples, I propose that memes are a means through which Internet users document and test their values against those of others, thereby allowing them to explore the different courses of action associated with situations they encounter. Memetic communication is thus presented as an important new information literacy practice that has critical implications for the following research areas: education, freedom of expression, ethics and policy, and the preservation of cultural heritage.

“Call me a fanatic"

Anthropologists have pointed to the politics at play in the uneven application of the term “belief” to describe different cultural representations of reality. They have observed that westerners sometimes reserve the term “belief” for the description of non-western epistemologies, while categorising their own perspectives, informed by theories of scientific empiricism for example, as “knowledge.” This is an important critique, so what to do when our non-western interlocutors insist on being called “believers?” This article considers the ideas of a Nigerian Pentecostal church who not only characterize their faith using the language of “belief,” but even aspire to be branded “fanatics” by outsiders. Drawing on the teachings of the church, striking congruences between the understandings of belief deployed by this group and by scholars of religion are brought to light, collapsing the distance between self-described African Christian “fanatics” and those who critically analyse them.

Digital Séance: Fabricated Encounters with the Dead

Digital afterlife is becoming increasingly possible due to advancements in VR, deepfake, and AI technologies. The use of computational photography for mourning and commemoration has been re-integrated into practices of remembrance, farewell, continuity, and disengagement. Two case studies, the Shoah Foundation’s Dimensions in Testimony and the TV production Meeting You, are analyzed to explore these new possibilities. We show how photography’s new affordances enable interaction while maintaining its essence as a representation of reality and argue that this socio-technological transformation habituates contemporary practices of mourning and commemoration, adjusting images to serve the individual needs and interests of the bereaved and the community.