Social Commitment Research Articles

Verifying trust over IoT-ad hoc network-based applications under uncertainty

The rapid integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) with ad hoc networks offers significant advantages for revolutionizing smart environments. However, ensuring trust and reliability within these interconnected systems remains a significant challenge. To address this challenge, this paper introduces an innovative three-valued (3v) trust model customized specifically for IoT-ad hoc systems. The model employs three-valued logic to evaluate trust in social commitments within ambiguous scenarios, where commitments serve as the foundation of the business logic. Our aim is to enhance the effectiveness and economic feasibility of IoT in smart environments. To advance this initiative, we introduce the 3v-TCTLC, a distinctive modeling language that extends the conventional two-valued logic by introducing a third value to accommodate uncertainty. This novel approach facilitates the assessment of trust in commitments within uncertain IoT-ad hoc environments. Additionally, we improve the functionality of the “MACMAS-interactor” tool, incorporating new features to support our 3v-TCTLC logic. Through two case studies in the domains of smart health monitoring and smart home systems, we validate our model against specific requirements in uncertain contexts. These case studies highlight the robustness and practicality of our proposed tools and methodologies. Compared to prevalent trust management strategies employed in IoT and ad-hoc networks, our methodology stands out distinctly. While many current solutions propose trust-centered protocols, with some even harnessing advanced technologies, they frequently overlook the crucial element of model checking. Our approach not only incorporates this critical component but also ensures the integrity of the system. Furthermore, even though the field of multi-valued model checking has seen advancements like χCTL, our research contributes significantly by integrating trust and commitment verification specifically designed for IoT-ad hoc environments. Our empirical assessments in the domains of smart health and home systems confirm that our tool and strategies demonstrate superior performance in terms of time and space usage and better adaptability and scalability in uncertain scenarios, representing a noteworthy advancement over existing techniques and tools.

Evaluation System of Traditional Virtues Education in Higher Education Institutions

In the process of cultivating future professionals in the field of architecture, higher vocational colleges and universities of architecture have gradually recognised the indispensability of traditional virtue education. This education not only emphasises professional knowledge and skills, but also focuses on students' moral qualities, decision-making abilities, and social responsibility. This study aims to explore the current situation and challenges of traditional virtue education in higher education institutions of architecture and how to construct an effective evaluation system to measure and enhance the quality of this educational field. Through in-depth research and analysis, a series of optimisation strategies will be proposed, including strategies in terms of clarifying evaluation objectives and standards, introducing diversified evaluation methods, strengthening teacher training and support, establishing a mechanism for student participation and feedback, as well as promoting the integration of traditional virtues education with disciplines. These strategies will help higher vocational colleges and universities to better cultivate skilled construction professionals with comprehensive quality and social commitment, and make positive contributions to the high-quality development of the construction industry and the country in the new era.

Social evolution and commitment: Bridging the gap between formal linguistic theories and language evolution research

This article argues based on some concrete empirical evidence that what is called “(social) commitment” is grammaticalized in human language at the latest stage in the evolution of syntax. It is further argued that as a result of this grammaticalization process, our ancestors acquired a way of making their linguistic communication sufficiently trustable/reliable, by encoding the signaler’s liability to the truthfulness of what is communicated. That is, the presence of commitment as a concrete grammatical element provided our species with a way of (indirectly) solving the problem of dishonesty of linguistic signals. The proposal is made in such a way that its validity can be tested by experimental means, and hence it is hoped that the model presented in this article facilitates important collaborative works among theoretical linguists, (evolutionary) biologists, and other experimentalists. Overall, the idea laid out here aims to bridge the gap between formal linguistics and language evolution studies.

Model checking combined trust and commitments in Multi-Agent Systems

Trust and social commitments have been studied with different objectives for communication in Multi-Agent Systems (MASs) separately. The purpose of this paper is to present the first logical framework to explore the relationship between two key concepts in autonomous MASs, namely trust and commitments among agents, along with its model checking algorithms. An analysis is performed on this relationship, with a specific emphasis on the perspectives of semantics and model checking. The analysis is carried out within the framework of Trust Computation Tree Logic with Commitments (CTLC) logic, an extended logic built on top of the standard branching temporal Computation Tree Logic (CTL) by including modalities for reasoning about commitments and their fulfillment. Moreover, the study employs a trust operator to facilitate trust reasoning. We propose thus Trust Computation Tree Logic with Commitments (TCTLC), a new logic able to express properties about trust and commitments simultaneously. Such rich properties cannot be expressed in other languages. We introduce the semantics using the extended formalism of interpreted systems. We propose some postulates and proofs that show how we can reason about combined trust and commitments in the logic proposed. New Binary Decision Diagram (BDD)-based algorithms for our logic are presented and implemented as additional libraries of the Model Checker for Multi-Agent Systems (MCMAS), the default model checker of MASs. Furthermore, we prove that although TCTLC extends CTL, its model checking algorithm remains polynomial (P-complete) with respect to the size of the model and the length of the formula. Similarly, the space complexity for concurrent programs also remains unchanged, which is polynomial (PSPACE-complete) with respect to the size of the components within these programs. Finally, to evaluate the proposed technique, we report the experimental results using an industrial case study and compare the results with those obtained on relevant benchmarks.

Social power and organizational commitment in banks: the mediating aspect of procedural justice

Social power and organizational commitment in banks: the mediating aspect of procedural justice

Synodality Before the Synod as the Path of a Religious Community. The Theological and Social Initiatives of the Sisters of Social Service in Transylvania in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

As the Society of the Sisters of Social Service, an international religious community established in Hungary, celebrates the centenary of its foundation, evoking the early stages of its mission provides an opportunity for re-examining the charism of the society. The success of the Sisters of Social Service, their ability to deal effectively with the challenges of their time, in particular those emerging in the interwar period and during the second world war, was largely due to their modern and open-minded vision. This paper discusses the charism of the society, shaped by Benedictine spirituality and devotion to the Holy Spirit, focusing on two aspects of their activity, their social sensitivity and commitment to social work, and their contribution to the dissemination of the ideas of the liturgical movement. These initiatives also highlight the contribution of women to the mission of the Church before their explicit acknowledgement in contemporary synodal documents.

‘The Practical’: Professional Legal Training and Social Commitment in the Curriculum of the Law School of the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina)

‘The Practical’: Professional Legal Training and Social Commitment in the Curriculum of the Law School of the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Christian Feminism and Social Commitment

Christian Feminism and Social Commitment

Homeowners’ Prioritization of Landscape Features Regarding Aesthetic, Environmental, Financial, and Psychological Benefits

Maintaining and caring for residential landscapes is a crucial aspect of homeownership in the United States. For homeowners in the United States, residential lawns represent a significant economic investment, signal their social commitments, and reflect their personal characters. To investigate the differences in Florida homeowners’ priorities regarding residential landscape features, an online survey of 1220 homeowners was conducted. Four different groups of homeowners were identified based on their perceived importance of the four landscape features, namely, environmental, financial, aesthetic, and psychological benefits. Factors such as environmental and financial attitudes and social norms influencing homeowners’ decision-making were examined. The findings revealed that homeowners’ knowledge of landscaping practices and environmental attitudes impact their prioritization regarding landscape features.

The Influence Of Social Support, Work Engagement And Organizational Citizenship Behavior On Work Commitment Of Medical Workers

Organizational citizenship behavior is discretionary behavior that plays a role in the psychological and social environment at work. A successful organization or company definitely needs workers who can be responsible and work harder than expected. This can also affect a nurse's professional commitment. This research aims to find out how work involvement and social support influence professional commitment and organizational citizenship behavior with research subjects at general hospitals. This research uses a quantitative approach using purposive sampling techniques to determine the sample size of 100 people. Data was collected using a questionnaire, which was then analyzed using path analysis. The results of this research show that path one, or sub-structural one, namely work involvement and social support, has a significant influence on professional commitment, both simultaneously and partially. Work participation, social support, and professional commitment the outcomes of route or sub-structural two have a major impact on organizational citizenship behavior, partially and simultaneously.

Identities in the “posthuman” condition: locality of war and global world

“Posthuman” is considered now to be one of the most important concepts in contemporary political philosophy, cultural studies, theory of literature and art, sociology of the body and identity, etc., which keeps in focus a detailed discourse regarding the knowledge of the “posthumanity” condition (R. Braidotti, N. Gane, N.K. Hayles, F. Fukuyama, and others). This concept is no longer necessarily confined to the image of a “cyborg” as an ironic political fiction that skillfully reinvents social reality and everyday life in the context of eroding boundaries between nature and culture, or a metaphor that remains symbolically significant due to the ethical impulse and social commitment of its author (D. Haraway). Even a fragmentary involvement in the “posthuman” discourse cannot but encourage reflection on the structure of our common identity as people in the modern global world of high technology and local wars, complex interactions between science and technology, commodification of the natural world, as well as politics and international priorities; this cannot but promote rethinking the imperatives of anthropocentrism. In the case of identities, whether individual or collective, we are talking about partial, contradictory and always open constructions, about their impossibility of relying upon a single essentialist foundation, which can be skillfully intercepted by ideological and political rhetoric but not recognize obvious social and cultural differences; however, such a foundation is unlikely to lose the image of possible unifications in future, effective attraction and solidarity-driven identifications. Depending on the degree of subjects’ involvement in the transitional states of interaction between nature and culture, identities are fragmented and “denaturalized” in various ways; and it is precisely these transitional states, flows that cross borders, whether they are defined metaphorically or instrumentally, that become, first of all, the objects of control strategies, not without activating the mechanisms of informatics of domination, ignoring local knowledge in a military context, which takes into account the status of partial explanation but does not insist on the total substantiation of statements, conclusions and perspectives.

Identity and Multiplicity of Belonging in a Europe in Search of Democracy

The research we present concerns the narratives of political and social identity of young adolescents sampled in Northern, Central and Southern Italy. Our qualitative analysis is based on constructivism and aims to enhance narratives by privileging the communication of meanings elaborated by the young people. Consistent with this perspective is our choice of the paradigm of pedagogical personalism, which places the human being as a ‘person’ at the center of reflection. The diverse universe of youth manifests multifaceted aspects that it is possible to bring out using interaction with deliberative, open, and non-pre-conceptual discussion. The link between semantic cores such as democracy, freedom, rights, interculturalism, and citizenship runs through the analyses of the entire research (based on the study by Ross’s work in 2019, Finding Political Identities: Young People in a Changing Europe), examined here specifically in the Italian context. The article presents some contrasting aspects of the way young people living in Europe. They harbor uncertainties and discontinuities from the universe of values inherited from previous generations. However, from the tunnel of doubt young people show that they know how to emerge by outlining the forms of a promise of social commitment containing a hope for change, defined as the design of a future in which alternatives to the current situation can be found. In the background, the theme of democracy shows as an aspiration for something still struggling to be born.

Social Commitment at Higher Education Institutions: Analysis of Their Strategic Plans

The social contribution of higher education institutions (HEIs) tends to be constrained as a description of HEI activities in terms of outcomes, but no examination of how HEIs face societal problems through collaborative activities has been addressed. One way to explore social strategy pursued by HEIs is through the analysis of their strategic plans. We analyze the strategic plans of public HEIs in Portugal and Spain due to their similarities after the 2008 international financial crisis, which led to a major recession and gave rise to social actions to address societal problems. In doing so, we propose a framework that could guide future research in providing empirical evidence on the formulation, articulation, and implementation of social issues in institutional strategic plans. We interviewed HEI representatives to confirm some of our findings, highlighting several factors that enhance or suppress the attainment of social issues. Our research shows that HEI responses to social commitment differ according to each institution’s regulations and social circumstances. We aspire to encourage management scholars to engage in tackling social strategy through their collaborative activities.

Buddhist principles that can inform social workers commitment to anti-racism and social justice

ABSTRACT Over the past several years, the media has given greater attention to unarmed Blacks murdered by members of law enforcement. Even though African Americans comprise 13% of the population in the United States, they are disproportionately more likely to die at the hands of police. Many scholars highlight racism is the root of this violence. The premature deaths of unarmed African Americans have resulted in increased attention on anti-racism and social justice efforts, particularly within many Social Work programs in the United States. Since social justice, dignity and worth of the person, and the importance of human relationships are core values within the field of Social Work (National Association of Social Workers), we will examine how social workers may perpetuate racism by engaging in practices that are harmful to oppressed populations. In addition, we will discuss SGI Nichiren Buddhist principles and practices that could be incorporated into social work education and training to lessen the likelihood that social workers will contribute to the problem of racism. Furthermore, we will discuss how social workers can help train members of law enforcement to engage in anti-racist practices. Ultimately, we will examine principles of SGI Nichiren Buddhism that can inform social work’s commitment to anti-racism and social justice.

Supporting Inclusive Classroom: Unveiling the Social Commitment of Teachers in Inclusive Education

Supporting Inclusive Classroom: Unveiling the Social Commitment of Teachers in Inclusive Education

Building distributive populism: basic income and political alternatives to ethno-nationalism

Abstract Left-behind places face linked economic and political problems that must be resolved jointly. This paper examines the potential contribution of basic income programs to that goal. Consisting of regular, no-strings-attached payments to citizens, basic income programs ensure resources and stability for poor and economically precarious households who comprise a significant share of left-behind places’ populations. Advocacy for basic income emphasizes social and ethical commitment to individuals who have paid the price for economic decline. Thus, even though the goal of national and universal basic income remains distant in the UK, activism for basic income has succeeded in creating alternative paths for populist sentiments originating in the decline of left-behind places. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and interviews with advocates in the UK and elsewhere, I demonstrate that activism for basic income diverts potential support for ethno-nationalism and European withdrawal to alternate, place-contingent and variegated regional political paths.

Labour, more or less? Policy reasoning in a fiscal register

Michael Jacobs and Andrew Hindmoor’s analysis of ‘Labour, left and right’ is a salutary corrective to ‘electoral-ideological’ accounts of party strategy in Britain, and rightly urges scholars to pay more attention to substantive ‘policy reasoning’. Jacobs and Hindmoor’s account of Labour policy is only partly convincing, however, because it is based on a sharp distinction between left-wing ‘structural reform’ and moderate ‘redistributive’ strategies which is difficult to justify historically, and understates the importance of social policy commitments to Labour’s positioning. This article argues that Labour’s policy trajectory since the 1980s is better understood through a fiscal lens, which reflects the importance of costings debates in UK general election campaigns and of Shadow Chancellors in opposition policy-making. Shifts in Labour’s positioning can thus be explained by looking at the interplay between the party’s economic thought, the leadership’s perception of its electoral needs, and the changing budgetary context.

External control of the functioning of passenger carriers in the smart city

Introduction. The successful functioning of a smart city in terms of organizing efficient transportation flows requires external and independent monitoring in the field of passenger transportation. External monitoring complements the internal control of passenger carriers’ activities in providing efficient passenger transport services in the smart city. Various stakeholders, such as regulatory institutions, municipal authorities, business partners, and the public, are interested in the external control of transportation enterprises, which defines the relevance of the research and allows for the formulation of its purpose.The purpose of the article is to justify the importance of digitization and optimization of external control in correlation with internal control procedures regarding the monitoring of passenger carriers’ operations in a smart city.Results. The study elucidates the correlation between internal and external control, both of which share common control objects, such as the transportation schedule, personnel policies, service quality, revenues and expenses, and public disclosure. These factors also determine the interaction formats of various controllers. A list of data requiring public disclosure by passenger carriers for external control has been identified, including information related to: transportation vehicles (adherence to the transportation schedule for passenger carriers), employees (provision of personnel policies and social protection for employees by transportation companies), transportation costs (public control over pricing in the passenger transportation sector), carrier revenues (accurate calculation of company revenues and accrued taxes), and social commitments (compliance with fair competition practices and fulfilling social obligations taken on by the carriers).The rationale for conducting a rating of passenger carriers using a balanced evaluation system is substantiated. This system involves the calculation of various indicators such as punctuality, personnel policies, fair competition practices, social commitments, financial security, passenger feedback, pricing, profitability, convenience, and transparency, taking into account their respective weights in the overall rating assessment. For top-performing transportation companies identified through the rating, a premium reward system is proposed, while for those with lower ratings, external controllers will initiate inspections and hold them accountable for any identified violations. The implementation of these proposed measures ensures public transparency, accountability, and efficiency in providing socially significant passenger transportation services in the smart city through the interaction of internal and external control mechanisms.Prospects. The use of modern information and communication technologies for enhancing accounting and control requires exploring the prospects of digitizing internal control in conjunction with external monitoring of passenger carriers’ operations.

Assessing Modern Monetary Theory’s Peculiar Ontology of Money

Macroeconomic traditions disagree on the policies needed for the economy to properly function and how to assess them. In this paper, we contend that these disagreements originate from the social ontological commitments of a theory. The ontology of money underlines these disagreements between Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and mainstream economics. First, we assess MMT’s ontology of money. Next, we identify MMT’s normative commitments and classify MMT’s ontology as a taxonomic definition with thick concepts. Finally, we offer reasons why MMT's ontology of money leads to rivalries with other economic traditions. We argue disagreements on policy are expected, given the ontological differences elaborated.

Intimacy, relationality and interdependencies: relationships in families dealing with gambling harms during COVID-19

Gambling is an addictive behaviour that causes significant harms to individuals, families and societies. Problematic gambling can have profound impacts on family life, including financial destitution and relationship breakdown. In addictive relationships, addictive behaviour dominates over other social commitments. The COVID-19 pandemic had important implications on family life and gambling behaviours. This is likely to have affected family relationships in families experiencing gambling harms. The current study uses evidence from a qualitative survey (N=39) and interviews (N=5) collected with family members of gamblers to explore how family members of gamblers experienced addictive relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland. The results show that gambling negatively affects intimate relationships, relationality and interdependencies in families. For many, gambling-related harms were accentuated by the intensification of addictive relationships during the pandemic. For others, availability restrictions of gambling brought relief. The results also show a need for more family-oriented help services and highlight the importance of prevention.