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Copyright of International Journal of Professional Business Review (JPBReview) is the property of Open Access Publications LLC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present paper investigated how inclusive vocational excellence (IVE) practices specific to vocational education and training (VET) can be described in an effective and transparent manner. A framework for the description of such practices was proposed, and then 44 descriptions of practices were collected with this framework from an international sample of providers of such practices from four countries. Expert raters have rated the quality of these descriptions, in terms of how much they respect the proposed structure, provide relevant information about the proposed practice, provide relevant information about the manner in which the practice was implemented and offers a clear and explicit description, further usable by other interested VET institutions. Statistical analyses have then revealed that the framework generates more consistent descriptions for some domains then for others. Implications for practice are discussed.

This paper aims to be a contribution to the discussion of the so-called "communicability problem", by stating that there is no such problem that can be solved in a sole way for all types of criminal intervention. The analysis will focus on the accessory intervention of the figures of incitement and complicity, beginning with (1) a proposal for understanding both figures as forms of imputation of an auxiliary conduct to the main conduct of the perpetrator. Subsequently, (2) the structure of the so-called "improper special offences" will be analyzed, focusing on the distinction between offence and punishable act. From this distinction, the discussion on the communicability of personal circumstances to extranei participants will be reviewed from the understanding of the imputation structure of participation as an accessory conduct. To this end, (3) the main arguments against the immutability of a punishable act qualified by personal elements to extranei will be presented (4) by focusing on the interpretative controversy that has arisen around article 64 of the Chilean Penal Code. After presenting a proposal for interpretation that distinguishes between circumstances modifying the penalty and elements modifying the wrongful act, (5) this thesis will be contrasted with the proposals that favor the so-called "limited communicability" that defend the "rupture of the imputation title" for cases of punishable acts qualified by personal elements. (6) It will conclude with a brief outline of what should be the solution in cases of principal intervention in a punishable act, namely, the intervention of extranei indirect perpetration and coperpetrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Everyday users are confronted with increasingly complex technologies, be that novel introductions or ever-changing and expanding familiar interfaces. This creates the challenge of users needing to perpetually discover new functionality and interactivity, which is rarely addressed when novel technology is proposed. A possible contributing factor for this is the variety of, often inconsistently defined, associated concepts and a consequent lack of clarity on how to address these problems. We examine usage and definitions of discoverability as well as related concepts and offer clarifications where definitions are ambiguous while highlighting focus areas and limitations. In doing so, we provide a clear definition of discoverability, underscore the separation of system, feature and interaction discoverability and elucidate how other concepts focused on initial interactions differ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A distance based on the exponential kernel of the adjacency matrix of a graph and representing how well two vertices connect to each other in a graph is defined and studied. This communicability cosine distance (CCD) is a Euclidean spherical distance accounting for the cosine of the angles spanned by the position vectors of the graph vertices in this space. The Euclidean distance matrix (EDM) of CCD is used to quantify the similarity between vertices in graphs and networks as well as to define a local vertex invariant—a closeness centrality measure, which discriminate very well vertices in small graphs. It allows to distinguish all nonidentical vertices, also characterizing all identity (asymmetric) graphs–those having only the identity automorphism–among all connected graphs of up to 9 vertices. It also characterizes several other classes of identity graphs. We also study real-world networks in term of both the discriminating power of the new centrality on their vertices as well as in ranking their vertices. We analyze some dictionary networks as well as the network of copurshasing of political books, remarking some of the main advantages of the new approaches studied here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper investigated how inclusive vocational excellence (IVE) practices specific to vocational education and training (VET) can be described in an effective and transparent manner. A framework for the description of such practices was proposed, and then 44 descriptions of practices were collected with this framework from an international sample of providers of such practices from four countries. Expert raters have rated the quality of these descriptions, in terms of how much they respect the proposed structure, provide relevant information about the proposed practice, provide relevant information about the manner in which the practice was implemented and offers a clear and explicit description, further usable by other interested VET institutions. Statistical analyses have then revealed that the framework generates more consistent descriptions for some domains then for others. Implications for practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of IUL Research is the property of IUL - Universita Telematica degli Studi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Metabolic networks are probably among the most challenging and important biological networks. Their study provides insight into how biological pathways work and how robust a specific organism is against an environment or therapy. Here, we propose a directed hypergraph with edge-dependent vertex weight as a novel framework to represent metabolic networks. This hypergraph-based representation captures higher-order interactions among metabolites and reactions, as well as the directionalities of reactions and stoichiometric weights, preserving all essential information. Within this framework, we propose the communicability and the search information as metrics to quantify the robustness and complexity of directed hypergraphs. We explore the implications of network directionality on these measures and illustrate a practical example by applying them to a small-scale E. coli core model. Additionally, we compare the robustness and the complexity of 30 different models of metabolism, connecting structural and biological properties. Our findings show that antibiotic resistance is associated with high structural robustness, while the complexity can distinguish between eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since learning how "to make use of your own Understanding" (WA, AA 08: 35), and "seeking the supreme touchstone of truth in oneself (i.e., in one's own Reason)" (WDO, AA 08: 146, footnote) - in a word: to enlighten oneself - is a process; and since Reason, in such a process, "needs attempts, practice and instruction" (IaG, AA 08: 19), it is only slowly that one can arrive at Enlightenment (cf. WA, AA 08: 36). As a matter of fact, the process of Enlightenment involves culture, i.e. the cultivation of the human being and his or her rational predispositions. And of fundamental importance in this process are communicability, participation and publicity - i.e., the possibility of making an idea public. Now, since these abilities are so important for Enlightenment, everything that does not allow the communication of ideas and thoughts to each and every human being is diametrically opposed to this process. This seems to be the case with the phenomenon of social irrationality and cognitive vices. The present paper aims to highlight how the problem of (lack of) communicability proves essential to understanding the phenomenon of social irrationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessibility--> inspection methods provide an important complement to user evaluations in the development of interactive systems. However, many inspection methods tend to focus on violations of guidelines and are limited in conveying the impact of such problems when delivering their results. Drawing from the theoretical framework of Semiotic Engineering of Human–Computer Interaction, this paper presents SIM-SR—Semiotic Inspection Method Mediated by Screen Reader and an investigation to collect indicators about the method's applicability and insights it can generate. In order to assess its applicability, we conducted three case studies employing the method, analysing how aspects of accessibility and communicability were approached and results generated. Regarding SIM-SR insights, we used WCAG 2.1 criteria to discuss how communicative breakdowns relate to accessibility guidelines and their impact. Our results show that SIM-SR went beyond identifying guidelines violations and led evaluators to consider the impact of accessibility issues on the system's communicability and different levels of communicative breakdowns that users with visual disabilities could experience during interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public opinion is the abbreviation of public ideas, which is the sum of the beliefs, attitudes, opinions and emotions expressed by the masses about various phenomena in the society. Network public opinion is not only the mapping of public opinion in the network, but also the direct response of social public opinion. Weibo public opinion has gradually become an important medium for people to obtain public opinion in time. The outbreak of Weibo public opinion is very likely to cause social repercussions, which will even affect people's trust in the government and even social stability. The scale of the Internet is expanding, the number of users is increasing, and the applications provided by the Internet are becoming more and more popular. In this context, Weibo public opinion analysis has become an important research topic. Facing the rapid growth of micro blog information, how to obtain the hot topics of micro blog public opinion timely, comprehensively and accurately is the primary problem to be solved in the process of micro blog public opinion analysis. Based on the infectious disease model, this paper proposes an analysis model of Weibo public opinion communication. The speech analysis model is proposed to extract the information for the processing, and the representation of the data is applied to improve the algorithm efficiency. The experimental results compared with the state-of-the-art have proven the satisfactory performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the globe, comprehensive COVID-19 vaccination programs have been rolled out. Naturally, it remains paramount for efficiency to ensure uptake. Hypothetical vaccine acceptability in South Africa was high prior to the availability of inoculation in August 2020—three-quarters stated intent to immunize nationally. However, 24 months on, less than one-third have finished their vaccination on a national average, and in the sprawling South Western Townships (Soweto), this figure remains troublingly low with as many as four in every five still hesitant. Medical anthropologists have recently portrayed how COVID-19's jumbled mediatization produces a 'field of suspicion' casting serious doubt on authorities and vaccines through misinformation and counterfactual claims, which fuels 'othering' and fosters hesitancy. It follows that intent to immunize cannot be used to predict uptake. Here, we take this conceptual framework one step further and illustrate how South African context-specific factors imbricate to amplify uncertainty and fear due the productive nature of communicability, which transforms othering into racialization and exacerbates existing societal polarizations. We also encounter Africanized forms of conspiracy theories and find their narrational roots in colonization and racism. Finally, we discuss semblances with HIV and how the COVID-19 pandemic's biomedicalization may inadvertently have led to vaccine resistance due to medical pluralism and cultural/spiritual practices endemic to the townships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an autoethnographic account of a scene that unfolds at the airport. In the scene, a practical problem is solved despite limitations in communication, and the scene plays out in front of a waiting area full of travelers. It centers around an elderly couple who are confused and disoriented in the midst of a predicament, and who are not fluent in English. A gate agent and another traveler who both speak Spanish help the couple manage the situation and find a solution, but there remains mystery and confusion when the scene ends. The account demonstrates communication as translation, transcendence, and communicability, showcasing the ability to bridge differences through communication and solve practical problems despite being inherently divided. It also occupies a space that can be considered borderlands, and overall offers a critical and reflexive cultural translation that reflects upon the way we perceive the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex networks and statistical physics have been proposed as powerful frameworks and tools in the analysis of the properties of complex systems and in particular musical pieces. They can reveal variations in musical features such as harmony, melody, rhythm as well as the composer's style. The empirical study of a wide range of digitized scores of Western classical music and their corresponding networks brought to light quantitative evidence for changes in harmonic complexity. We complement the common topological analysis of these networks with musicological or music-theoretical considerations. We illustrate this by studying J. S. Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin by constructing duration-weighted transition matrices between notes, or melody networks, as well as harmony networks, which are transition matrices between the chords, or equivalently synchronously played notes. We further propose statistical physics measures that were first introduced in the study of socio-economic networks: the partition function and communicability and provide evidence for their significance. Our findings and observations include: the detection of three main communities centered around the tonic, the dominant, and submediant in most of the pieces; the association of the nodes with the highest betweenness centrality, the lowest clustering coefficient and highest in and out degrees respectively with the tonic and the dominant; the high similarity between pieces which share the same key or when the key of one is the dominant of the other; finally, the association of the highest partition function, the shortest average path length, and the highest communicability with the Fugues. [Display omitted] • We simultaneously consider the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic features of a piece. • We associate the Hamiltonian of the piece to its adjacency matrix. • We introduce the partition function and the communicability. • We cluster the pieces accordingly and recover universal features characterizing the Fugues. • We associate the tonic and the dominant to nodes with the highest centrality and degree and lowest clustering coefficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic networks are probably among the most challenging and important biological networks. Their study provides insight into how biological pathways work and how robust a specific organism is against an environment or therapy. Here, we propose a directed hypergraph with edge-dependent vertex weight as a novel framework to represent metabolic networks. This hypergraph-based representation captures higher-order interactions among metabolites and reactions, as well as the directionalities of reactions and stoichiometric weights, preserving all essential information. Within this framework, we propose the communicability and the search information as metrics to quantify the robustness and complexity of directed hypergraphs. We explore the implications of network directionality on these measures and illustrate a practical example by applying them to a small-scale E. coli core model. Additionally, we compare the robustness and the complexity of 30 different models of metabolism, connecting structural and biological properties. Our findings show that antibiotic resistance is associated with high structural robustness, while the complexity can distinguish between eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.

This article explores violence against women in Yogyakarta, which increased rapidly during the pandemic. The study showed that violence against women is also the result of deep and troubling cultural structures that oppress women. Based on a see–judge–act analysis, this article proposes that church educational ministries can build relationships with women victims and their families through a variety of transformational ways, even amid a pandemic. The church can develop communication, healing, and education through a holistic approach in Christian education (practicing communicability, redeemability, and educability). The paradigm of gender equality should be integrated into our attitudes and actions in daily life and in the whole range of the church’s ministry to create spaces for women’s voices not only through education and ritual action but also actual transformation.

Mutations occurred within the binding pocket of enzymes directly modified the interaction network between an enzyme and its substrate. However, some mutations affecting the catalytic efficiency occurred far from the binding pocket and the explanation regarding mechanisms underlying the transmission of the mechanical signal from the mutated site to the binding pocket was lacking. In this study, network topology analysis was used to characterize and visualize the changes of interaction networks caused by site-directed mutations on a GH11 xylanase from our previous study. For each structure, coordinates from molecular dynamics (MD) trajectory were obtained to create networks of representative atoms from all protein and xylooligosaccharide substrate residues, in which edges were defined between pairs of residues within a cutoff distance. Then, communicability matrices were extracted from the network to provide information on the mechanical signal transmission from the number of possible paths between any residue pairs or local protein segments. The analysis of subgraph centrality and communicability clearly showed that site-direct mutagenesis at non-reducing or reducing ends caused binding pocket distortion close to the opposite ends and created denser interaction networks. However, site-direct mutagenesis at both ends cancelled the binding pocket distortion, while enhancing the thermostability. Therefore, the network topology analysis tool on the atomistic simulations of engineered proteins could play some roles in protein design for the minimization to the correction of binding pocket tilting, which could affect the functionality and efficacy of enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ideas y Valores is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We define the anti-communicability function for the nodes of a simple graph as the nondiagonal entries of exp (-A). We prove that it induces an embedding of the nodes into a Euclidean space. The anti-communicability angle is then defined as the angle spanned by the position vectors of the corresponding nodes in the anti-communicability Euclidean space. We prove analytically that in a given k-partite graph, the anti-communicability angle is larger than 90° for every pair of nodes in different partitions and smaller than 90° for those in the same partition. This angle is then used as a similarity metric to detect the “best” k-partitions in networks where certain level of edge frustration exists. We apply this method to detect the “best” k-partitions in 15 real-world networks, finding partitions with a very low level of “edge frustration”. Most of these partitions correspond to bipartitions but tri- and pentapartite structures of real-world networks are also reported.

Resumo: Este artigo tem como objetivo discutir dimensões da violência em três contextos empíricos em que as facetas física e simbólica da violência diferentemente se manifestaram: um relato de uma mulher vítima de violência sobre sua tentativa de realizar um boletim de ocorrência sobre ameaças sofridas pelo então marido; as declarações de um executivo sobre o pouco valor da vida de favelados no contexto da pandemia de Covid-19; uma capa jornalística em que a cabeça da ex-presidenta Dilma Rousseff aparece em chamas. O artigo invoca os conceitos de escala, comunicabilidade e indexicalidade para produzir sentido sobre como a violência foi percebida e enquadrada no primeiro contexto, sobre como ela circulou viralmente no segundo e sobre como ela participou da semiotização e contextualização de uma imagem no terceiro. Metodologicamente, o artigo combina abordagens etnográficas e documentais, diferentemente empregadas em cada contexto empírico. Além de promover uma discussão situada dessas três manifestações da violência, apontamos para formas de resistência à violência, algumas delas inscritas na própria produção da atividade reflexiva sobre a manifestação e os efeitos da violência. Palavras-chave: escalas; comunicabilidade; indexicalidade; violência empírica; violência simbólica. Abstract: This article aims at discussing dimensions of violence in three empirical scenarios in which physical and symbolic violence differently surfaced: an account of a female victim of violence about her attempt to press charges about threats made by her then husband; the comments by a businessman about the lack of value of the lives of favela residents in the context of the Covid-19 pandemics; a newspaper cover displaying the head of the former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff on fire. The article builds on the concepts of scales, communicability and indexicality in order to render intelligible the ways in which violence was perceived and framed in the first context; in addition to how it virally spread in the second, and to how it participated in the semiotization and contextualization of an image in the third. Methodologically, the paper combines ethnographic and documental approaches, and applies them differently in each empirical context. In addition to providing a situated discussion of these three manifestations of violence, we point to modes of resistance to violence, some of which are inscribed in the very production of reflexive activity about the manifestation and effects of violence. Keywords: scales; communicability; indexicality; empirical violence; symbolic violence.

Across the globe, comprehensive COVID-19 vaccination programs have been rolled out. Naturally, it remains paramount for efficiency to ensure uptake. Hypothetical vaccine acceptability in South Africa was high prior to the availability of inoculation in August 2020—three-quarters stated intent to immunize nationally. However, 24 months on, less than one-third have finished their vaccination on a national average, and in the sprawling South Western Townships (Soweto), this figure remains troublingly low with as many as four in every five still hesitant. Medical anthropologists have recently portrayed how COVID-19’s jumbled mediatization produces a ‘field of suspicion’ casting serious doubt on authorities and vaccines through misinformation and counterfactual claims, which fuels ‘othering’ and fosters hesitancy. It follows that intent to immunize cannot be used to predict uptake. Here, we take this conceptual framework one step further and illustrate how South African context-specific factors imbricate to amplify uncertainty and fear due the productive nature of communicability, which transforms othering into racialization and exacerbates existing societal polarizations. We also encounter Africanized forms of conspiracy theories and find their narrational roots in colonization and racism. Finally, we discuss semblances with HIV and how the COVID-19 pandemic’s biomedicalization may inadvertently have led to vaccine resistance due to medical pluralism and cultural/spiritual practices endemic to the townships.

Jair Bolsonaro, the unapologetically homophobic and ultraconservative Brazilian president, managed to emerge from the margins of the political system and gained electoral momentum during the impeachment hearing against Dilma Rousseff in 2016. The hearing, which ultimately demoted the first female president of the country, epitomizes the current affective polarization of Brazil in which sexual dissidence plays an important role. This paper discusses the politics of discourse, affect and sexuality which has drawn Bolsonaro and his far-right ideologies into greater political relief. To do so, I will focus on the scene in which Jean Wyllys, a human rights activist and the only openly gay congressmember at the time, spat on Bolsonaro. Wyllys' misdemeanor caused a commotion in the country and was recontextualized in several venues such as memes, social media, op-eds, YouTube parodies etc. This paper investigates the intense circulation of Wyllys' actions and how it responds to and takes issue with the larger affective scenario of the country. I analyze the socio-semiotic life of Wyllys' spit by tracking its textual trajectory with a view to discussing the performativity of disgust and the forging of political (in)sensibilities with regards to gender and sexuality in contemporary Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the problem of modifying a network topology in such a way as to delay the propagation of a disease with minimal disruption of the network capacity to reroute goods/items/passengers. We find an approximate solution to the Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible (SIS) model, which constitutes an upper bound to its exact solution. This upper bound allows direct structure-epidemic dynamic relations via the total communicability function. Using this approach we propose a strategy to remove edges in a network that significantly delays the propagation of a disease across the network with minimal disruption of its capacity to deliver goods/items/passengers. We apply this strategy to the analysis of the UK airport transportation network weighted by the number of passengers transported in 2003. We find that the removal of all flights connecting four origin-destination pairs in the UK delays the propagation of a disease by more than 300%, with a minimal deterioration of the transportation capacity of this network. These time delays in the propagation of a disease represent an important non-pharmaceutical intervention to confront an epidemic, allowing for better preparations of the health systems, while keeping the economy moving with minimal disruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutations occurred within the binding pocket of enzymes directly modified the interaction network between an enzyme and its substrate. However, some mutations affecting the catalytic efficiency occurred far from the binding pocket and the explanation regarding mechanisms underlying the transmission of the mechanical signal from the mutated site to the binding pocket was lacking. In this study, network topology analysis was used to characterize and visualize the changes of interaction networks caused by site-directed mutations on a GH11 xylanase from our previous study. For each structure, coordinates from molecular dynamics (MD) trajectory were obtained to create networks of representative atoms from all protein and xylooligosaccharide substrate residues, in which edges were defined between pairs of residues within a cutoff distance. Then, communicability matrices were extracted from the network to provide information on the mechanical signal transmission from the number of possible paths between any residue pairs or local protein segments. The analysis of subgraph centrality and communicability clearly showed that site-direct mutagenesis at non-reducing or reducing ends caused binding pocket distortion close to the opposite ends and created denser interaction networks. However, site-direct mutagenesis at both ends cancelled the binding pocket distortion, while enhancing the thermostability. Therefore, the network topology analysis tool on the atomistic simulations of engineered proteins could play some roles in protein design for the minimization to the correction of binding pocket tilting, which could affect the functionality and efficacy of enzymes.

This essay engages Michael Marder's Plant-Thinking ethnographically and philosophically. As a bat-transmitted rabies epidemic in 2007–2008 claimed 38 children and young adults in the Delta Amacuro rainforest of Venezuela, residents confronted contractors who were cutting trees to build ecologically inappropriate dwellings. Rejecting progressive extractivism, residents demanded that trees be consulted as to how they would be harvested and transformed into houses. Women drew on their knowledge of plants and diseased bodies in explaining the deaths and seeking effective treatments. The analysis details how discrepant phytocommunicabilities – ways that plants, humans, and other species produce and exchange knowledge – informed human-nonhuman relations and fostered a proposal for phyto-socialism that would counter environmental destruction and long-standing racialized inequalities. The result is a phyto-ontology that replaces projections of the muteness and silence of plants in favour of an exploration of possibilities for intimacy and conviviality with plants springing from a multiplicity of creative phytocommunicabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Espacios is the property of Talleres de Impresos Oma and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article aims at discussing dimensions of violence in three empirical scenarios in which physical and symbolic violence differently surfaced: an account of a female victim of violence about her attempt to press charges about threats made by her then husband; the comments by a businessman about the lack of value of the lives of favela residents in the context of the Covid-19 pandemics; a newspaper cover displaying the head of the former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff on fire. The article builds on the concepts of scales, communicability and indexicality in order to render intelligible the ways in which violence was perceived and framed in the first context; in addition to how it virally spread in the second, and to how it participated in the semiotization and contextualization of an image in the third. Methodologically, the paper combines ethnographic and documental approaches, and applies them differently in each empirical context. In addition to providing a situated discussion of these three manifestations of violence, we point to modes of resistance to violence, some of which are inscribed in the very production of reflexive activity about the manifestation and effects of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Concept maps, which are network-like visualisations of the inter-linkages between concepts, are used in teaching and learning as representations of students’ understanding of conceptual knowledge and its relational structure. In science education, research on the uses of concept maps has focused much attention on finding methods to identify key concepts that are of the most importance either in supporting or being supported by other concepts in the network. Here we propose a method based on network analysis to examine students’ representations of the relational structure of physics concepts in the form of concept maps. We suggest how the key concepts and their epistemic support can be identified through focusing on the pathways along which the information is passed from one node to another. Towards this end, concept maps are analysed as directed and weighted networks, where nodes are concepts and links represent different types of connections between concepts, and where each link is assumed to provide epistemic support to the node it is connected to. The notion of key concept can then be operationalised through the directed flow of information from one node to another in terms of communicability between the nodes, separately for out-going and in-coming weighted links. Here we analyse a collated concept network based on a sample of 12 original concept maps constructed by university students. We show that communicability is a simple and reliable way to identify the key concepts and examine their epistemic justification within the collated network. The communicabilities of the key nodes in the collated network are compared with communicabilities averaged over the set of 12 individual concept maps. The comparison shows the collated network contains an extensive set of key concepts with good epistemic support. Every individual networks contain a sub-set of these key concepts but with a limited overlap of the sub-sets with other individual networks. The epistemically well substantiated knowledge is thus sparsely distributed over the 12 individual networks.

We review the recent use of functions of matrices in the analysis of graphs and networks, with special focus on centrality and communicability measures and diffusion processes. Both undirected and directed networks are considered, as well as dynamic (temporal) networks. Computational issues are also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1970s, scholars have begun to pay attention to the presentation of women in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, the main source for the early history of Britain (from the first century BC to the eighth century AD). Vastly different conclusions have been drawn, ranging from positivist approaches which saw the period as a golden age for women to rather more negative assessments, which argue that Bede suppressed the role of women. By analyzing the concept of communicability and relevance of certain nodes in complex networks, we show how Bede's Ecclesiastical History affords women complex and nuanced social roles. In particular, we can show the independent importance of certain abbesses, which is a significant result and challenges much of the existing scholarship on Bede's attitude to female power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Espacios is the property of Talleres de Impresos Oma and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents a study about communicability of conversational interfaces (namely chatbots) under a semiotic perspective. A chatbot is a software system that allows you to simulate real conversations between devices and users by means of a conversational interface (CI). After introducing the chatbot concept, focusing on its advantages and issues, we will present two domains of use in which chatbot interfaces can be effective: healthcare and smart home. For carrying out simple tasks such as finding information or triggering operations, users need an easy-to-use and to an easy-to-learn system to communicate with. To face this, conversational interfaces represent the latest trend in the field of digital design. For studying the communicability aspects of a CI, we carried out a user test to compare traditional and chatbot interfaces. This paper aims at evaluating the benefits at the communicability level of a chatbot in comparison to traditional GUI for incrementing the effectiveness and efficacy of communication between users and the system specifically for users with poor attitude in using technologies. In details, we evaluated the communicability of two prototypes that can be used to solve simple tasks in order to favour user inclusion, including everyone with very little exposure to technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Music in Society is the property of Musicological Society of Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Academy of Music in Sarajevo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this letter, we explore the link-adding method to improve communication robustness of networks. Firstly, a robustness measure called communication robustness (CR) is presented, which not only confirms the global effect of the largest connected component on the network communicability, but captures the local communicability of all small connected components. Secondly, we respectively put forward a simulated annealing algorithm, a heuristic algorithm called $r$ -Weak Interconnection Algorithm ($r$ -WIA) and a greedy algorithm to improve $CR$ of networks, where the 2-WIA can fast improve the network robustness with low time complexity $O(N^{2})$. Finally, the experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]