Review by Yu-lung Tseng on Timothy Brook's The Price of Collapse: The Little Ice Age and the Fall of Ming China. Princeton & Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2023.
Context: Blockchain and AI are increasingly explored to enhance trustworthiness in software engineering (SE), particularly in supporting software evolution tasks. Method: We conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) using a predefined protocol with clear eligibility criteria to ensure transparency, reproducibility, and minimized bias, synthesizing research on blockchain-enabled trust in AI-driven SE tools and processes. Results: Most studies focus on integrating AI in SE, with only 31% explicitly addressing trustworthiness. Our review highlights six recent studies exploring blockchain-based approaches to reinforce reliability, transparency, and accountability in AI-assisted SE tasks. Conclusion: Blockchain enhances trust by ensuring data immutability, model transparency, and lifecycle accountability, including federated learning with blockchain consensus and private data verification. However, inconsistent definitions of trust and limited real-world testing remain major challenges. Future work must develop measurable, reproducible trust frameworks to enable reliable, secure, and compliant AI-driven SE ecosystems, including applications involving large language models.
Makala hii inabainisha vitendoneni katika ngano za Kinyankole na athari za vitendoneni hivyo kwa wasikilizaji. Wanyankole wa jadi walizoea kusimuliana ngano na usimulizi wao ulitumia vitendoneni ambavyo viliathiri hadhira na kuichochea kutenda. Hata hivyo, vitendoneni hivi vilikuwa havijabainika. Makala hii, kwa hiyo, inabainisha, inachanganua na inawasilisha vitendoneni vinavyojitokeza katika ngano za Kinyankole na jinsi vinaathiri hadhira. Uchambuzi wa vitendoneni hivi umeongozwa na nadharia ya Kitendoneni ya Austin (1962). Data ya utafiti imekusanywa kwa kutumia mbinu ya mahojiano na uchunguzi shirikishi na imetoka kwa watafitiwa 36 ambao tumewateua kimaksudi. Kutoka kwa ngano ishirini tulizokusanya nyanjani, tumechambua ngano saba ambazo tumeteua kinasibu. Uchanganuzi wa data umejikita kwa mkabala wa kiethnografia wa muundo wa kithamano ambao unawasilisha data kiufafanuzi na kimaelezo. Utafiti umegundua kuwa usimulizi wa ngano za Kinyankole unatumia mitindo kisanaa na mitindo hiyo inatumia vitendoneni vinavyoathiri wasikilizaji na kuwachochea kuitikia kwa kutekeleza majukumu mbalimbali. Vitendoneni ambavyo vimebainika ni vya maamuzi, vya maagizo, maagano, maelezo, hisia na vya hulka. Vitendoneni hivi vinaathiri wasikilizaji kwa njia chanya na kwa njia hasi. Kichanya, vinachochea hadhira kutekeleza majukumu kama vile kufanya kazi kwa bidii na kuendeleza maadili ya kitamaduni. Kihasi, vinaibua mihemuko, huzuni, chuki na hamu ya kulipiza kisasi. Makala hii imehitimisha kwamba vitendoneni vinavyotumiwa katika usimulizi wa ngano za Kinyankole vinachangia uimarishaji wa maadili na utekelezaji majukumu fulani.
Eduardo Vyhmeister, Bastien Pietropaoli, Alejando Martinez Molina
et al.
Data valuation and data monetisation are complex subjects but essential to most organisations today. Unfortunately, they still lack standard procedures and frameworks for organisations to follow. In this survey, we introduce the reader to the concepts by providing the definitions and the background required to better understand data, monetisation strategies, and finally metrics and KPIs used in these strategies. We have conducted a systematic literature review on metrics and KPIs used in data valuation and monetisation, in every aspect of an organisation's business, and by a variety of stakeholders. We provide an expansive list of such metrics and KPIs with 162 references. We then categorise all the metrics and KPIs found into a large taxonomy, following the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach with further subclustering to cover every aspect of an organisation's business. This taxonomy will help every level of data management understand the complex landscape of the domain. We also discuss the difficulty in creating a standard framework for data valuation and data monetisation and the major challenges the domain is currently facing.
Giovanna Kobus Conrado, Adam Husted Kjelstrøm, Andreas Pavlogiannis
et al.
Context-free language (CFL) reachability is a standard approach in static analyses, where the analysis question is phrased as a language reachability problem on a graph $G$ wrt a CFL L. While CFLs lack the expressiveness needed for high precision, common formalisms for context-sensitive languages are such that the corresponding reachability problem is undecidable. Are there useful context-sensitive language-reachability models for static analysis? In this paper, we introduce Multiple Context-Free Language (MCFL) reachability as an expressive yet tractable model for static program analysis. MCFLs form an infinite hierarchy of mildly context sensitive languages parameterized by a dimension $d$ and a rank $r$. We show the utility of MCFL reachability by developing a family of MCFLs that approximate interleaved Dyck reachability, a common but undecidable static analysis problem. We show that MCFL reachability be computed in $O(n^{2d+1})$ time on a graph of $n$ nodes when $r=1$, and $O(n^{d(r+1)})$ time when $r>1$. Moreover, we show that when $r=1$, the membership problem has a lower bound of $n^{2d}$ based on the Strong Exponential Time Hypothesis, while reachability for $d=1$ has a lower bound of $n^{3}$ based on the combinatorial Boolean Matrix Multiplication Hypothesis. Thus, for $r=1$, our algorithm is optimal within a factor $n$ for all levels of the hierarchy based on $d$. We implement our MCFL reachability algorithm and evaluate it by underapproximating interleaved Dyck reachability for a standard taint analysis for Android. Used alongside existing overapproximate methods, MCFL reachability discovers all tainted information on 8 out of 11 benchmarks, and confirms $94.3\%$ of the reachable pairs reported by the overapproximation on the remaining 3. To our knowledge, this is the first report of high and provable coverage for this challenging benchmark set.
In light of prominent discourse around the negative implications of generative AI, an emerging area of research is investigating the current and estimated impacts of AI-generated propaganda on African citizens participating in elections. Throughout Africa, there have already been suspected cases of AI-generated propaganda influencing electoral outcomes or precipitating coups in countries like Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Gabon, underscoring the need for comprehensive research in this domain. This paper aims to highlight the risks associated with the spread of generative AI-driven disinformation within Africa while concurrently examining the roles of government, civil society, academia, and the general public in the responsible development, practical use, and robust governance of AI. To understand how African governments might effectively counteract the impact of AI-generated propaganda, this paper presents case studies illustrating the current usage of generative AI for election-related propaganda in Africa. Subsequently, this paper discusses efforts by fact-checking organisations to mitigate the negative impacts of disinformation, explores the potential for new initiatives to actively engage citizens in literacy efforts to combat disinformation spread, and advocates for increased governmental regulatory measures. Overall, this research seeks to increase comprehension of the potential ramifications of AI-generated propaganda on democratic processes within Africa and propose actionable strategies for stakeholders to address these multifaceted challenges.
West African societies are highly dependent on the West African Monsoon (WAM).Thus, a correct representation of the WAM in climate models is of paramount importance. In this article, the ability of 8 CMIP5 historical General Circulation Models (GCMs) and 4 CORDEX-Africa Regional Climate Models (RCMs) to characterize the WAM dynamics and variability is assessed for the period July-August-September 1979-2004. Simulations are compared with observations. Uncertainties in RCM performance and lateral boundary conditions are assessed individually. Results show that both GCMs and RCMs have trouble to simulate the northward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone in boreal summer. The greatest bias improvements are obtained after regionalization of the most inaccurate GCM simulations. To assess WAM variability, a Maximum Covariance Analysis is performed between Sea Surface Temperature and precipitation anomalies in observations, GCM and RCM simulations. The assessed variability patterns are: El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO); the eastern Mediterranean (MED); and the Atlantic Equatorial Mode (EM). Evidence is given that regionalization of the ENSO-WAM teleconnection does not provide any added value. Unlike GCMs, RCMs are unable to precisely represent the ENSO impact on air subsidence over West Africa. Contrastingly, the simulation of the MED-WAM teleconnection is improved after regionalization. Humidity advection and convergence over the Sahel area are better simulated by RCMs. Finally, no robust conclusions can be determined for the EM-WAM teleconnection, which cannot be isolated for the 1979-2004 period. The novel results in this article will help to select the most appropriate RCM simulations to study WAM teleconnections.
ABSTRACT Tahitian author Célestine Vaite's novels Breadfruit (2000), Frangipani (2004), and Tiare in Bloom (2006) are set in 1970s Tahiti and written mainly in English, but they feature numerous occurrences of French, the colonial language of Mā‘ohi Nui (French Polynesia), Tahitian, the most spoken Indigenous language of the region, and Franitian, often referred to as Tahitian‐French, a vernacular born from the cohabitation of French and Tahitian. The literary multilingualism of Vaite's books constitutes an active medium of diasporic and Indigenous identity assertion. Drawing from Pacific concepts of diaspora, Indigeneity, and postcolonialism, I explore how Vaite's languages reflect Pacific connections and actively sustain links between Pacific peoples, notably through colonial critiques and the thematic of movement. Mā‘ohi scholar Kareva Mateata‐Allain uses the metaphor of the va'a (the Tahitian canoe) to posit literature as a tool that enables crossing the invisible, colonial barriers between Francophone and Anglophone regions and peoples (2005, 2008). Considering the isolating power of the French language in a region dominated by English, Mateata‐Allain's approach underlines the wish of Mā‘ohi authors, including Vaite, to prioritize common Pacific experiences. Since Vaite's stitching of languages defies conceptions of linguistic zones in Oceania, I consider her use of English and of her three native languages from Mā‘ohi Nui as a strategy that decentralizes cultural experiences and identities and relocates them in a literary space that is uniquely hers.
Gabriele Giovannini, Yuzhu Cui, Kazuhiro Hada
et al.
We present here the East Asia to Italy Nearly Global VLBI (EATING VLBI) project. How this project started and the evolution of the international collaboration between Korean, Japanese, and Italian researchers to study compact sources with VLBI observations is reported. Problems related to the synchronization of the very different arrays and technical details of the telescopes involved are presented and discussed. The relatively high observation frequency (22 and 43 GHz) and the long baselines between Italy and East Asia produced high-resolution images. We present example images to demonstrate the typical performance of the EATING VLBI array. The results attracted international researchers and the collaboration is growing, now including Chinese and Russian stations. New in progress projects are discussed and future possibilities with a larger number of telescopes and a better frequency coverage are briefly discussed herein.
We examine whether harvest-time transitory shifts in employment and income lead to changes in political violence and social unrest in rice-producing croplands of Southeast Asia. Using monthly data from 2010 to 2023 on over 86,000 incidents covering 376 one-degree cells across eight Southeast Asian countries, we estimate a general increase in political violence and a decrease in social unrest in croplands with rice production during the harvest season relative to the rest of the crop year. In a finding that is least sensitive to alternative model specifications and data subsetting, we estimate a nine percent increase in violence against civilians in locations with considerable rice production compared to other parts of the region during the harvest season, relative to the rest of the year. We show that the harvest-time changes in conflict are most evident in rural cells with rainfed agriculture. Using location-specific annual variation in growing season rainfall, we then show that the harvest-time increase in violence against civilians occurs in presumably good harvest years, whereas increase in battles between actors of political violence follows growing seasons with scarce rainfall. The harvest-time decrease in social unrest, protests in particular, occurs after presumably bad harvest years. These findings contribute to research on the agroclimatic and economic roots of conflict and offer insights to policymakers by suggesting the spatiotemporal concentration of conflict as well as diverging effects by forms of conflict at harvest time in the rice-producing regions of Southeast Asia.
Erkan Karabulut, Salvatore F. Pileggi, Paul Groth
et al.
Digital Twins (DT) facilitate monitoring and reasoning processes in cyber-physical systems. They have progressively gained popularity over the past years because of intense research activity and industrial advancements. Cognitive Twins is a novel concept, recently coined to refer to the involvement of Semantic Web technology in DTs. Recent studies address the relevance of ontologies and knowledge graphs in the context of DTs, in terms of knowledge representation, interoperability and automatic reasoning. However, there is no comprehensive analysis of how semantic technologies, and specifically ontologies, are utilized within DTs. This Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is based on the analysis of 82 research articles, that either propose or benefit from ontologies with respect to DT. The paper uses different analysis perspectives, including a structural analysis based on a reference DT architecture, and an application-specific analysis to specifically address the different domains, such as Manufacturing and Infrastructure. The review also identifies open issues and possible research directions on the usage of ontologies and knowledge graphs in DTs.
Daniele Cassese, Nicola Dimitri, Gianluca Breghi
et al.
Invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) is one of the leading causes of blood stream infections in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially among children. iNTS can be difficult to diagnose, particularly in areas where malaria is endemic and difficult to treat, partly because of the emergence of antibiotic resistance. We developed a mathematical model to evaluate the impact of a vaccine for iNTS in 49 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Without vaccination we estimate 9.2 million new iNTS cases among children below 5 years old in these 49 countries from 2022 to 2038, 6.2 million of which between 2028 and 2038. The introduction of a 85% (95%) efficacy vaccine in 2028 would prevent 2.6 (2.9) million of these new infections. We provide the country-specific impact of a iNTS vaccine considering the different age structures and vaccine coverage levels.
Establishing a deep underground physics laboratory to study, amongst others, double beta decay, geoneutrinos, reactor neutrinos and dark matter has been discussed for more than a decade within the austral African physicists' community. PAUL, the Paarl Africa Underground Laboratory, is an initiative foreseeing an open international laboratory devoted to the development of competitive science in the austral region. It has the advantage that the location, the Huguenot tunnel, exists already and the geology and the environment of the site is appropriate for an experimental facility. The paper describes the PAUL initiative, presents the physics prospects and discusses the capacity for building the future experimental facility.
In many humanitarian scenarios, translation into severely low resource languages often does not require a universal translation engine, but a dedicated text-specific translation engine. For example, healthcare records, hygienic procedures, government communication, emergency procedures and religious texts are all limited texts. While generic translation engines for all languages do not exist, translation of multilingually known limited texts into new, endangered languages may be possible and reduce human translation effort. We attempt to leverage translation resources from many rich resource languages to efficiently produce best possible translation quality for a well known text, which is available in multiple languages, in a new, severely low resource language. We examine two approaches: 1. best selection of seed sentences to jump start translations in a new language in view of best generalization to the remainder of a larger targeted text(s), and 2. we adapt large general multilingual translation engines from many other languages to focus on a specific text in a new, unknown language. We find that adapting large pretrained multilingual models to the domain/text first and then to the severely low resource language works best. If we also select a best set of seed sentences, we can improve average chrF performance on new test languages from a baseline of 21.9 to 50.7, while reducing the number of seed sentences to only around 1,000 in the new, unknown language.
Haruka Sakemi, Mami Machida, Hiroaki Yamamoto
et al.
Microquasar SS 433 located at the geometric center of radio nebula W50 is a suitable source for investigating the physical process of how galactic jets affect the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM). Previous studies have searched for evidence of the interaction between the SS 433 jet and ISM, such as neutral hydrogen gas and molecular clouds; however, it is still unclear which ISM interacts with the jet. We looked for new molecular clouds that possibly interact at the terminal of the SS 433 eastern jet using the Nobeyama 45-m telescope and the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment (ASTE). We identified two molecular clouds, comprising many small clumps, in the velocity range of 30.1--36.5 km s$^{-1}$ for the first time. These clouds have complex velocity structures, and one of them has a density gradient toward SS 433. Although it is difficult to conclude the relation between the molecular clouds and the SS 433/W50 system, there is a possibility that the eastern structure of W50 constructed by the SS 433 jet swept up tiny molecular clumps drifting in the surroundings and formed the molecular clouds that we identified in this study.
David Leslie, Michael Katell, Mhairi Aitken
et al.
The Advancing Data Justice Research and Practice (ADJRP) project aims to widen the lens of current thinking around data justice and to provide actionable resources that will help policymakers, practitioners, and impacted communities gain a broader understanding of what equitable, freedom-promoting, and rights-sustaining data collection, governance, and use should look like in increasingly dynamic and global data innovation ecosystems. In this integrated literature review we hope to lay the conceptual groundwork needed to support this aspiration. The introduction motivates the broadening of data justice that is undertaken by the literature review which follows. First, we address how certain limitations of the current study of data justice drive the need for a re-location of data justice research and practice. We map out the strengths and shortcomings of the contemporary state of the art and then elaborate on the challenges faced by our own effort to broaden the data justice perspective in the decolonial context. The body of the literature review covers seven thematic areas. For each theme, the ADJRP team has systematically collected and analysed key texts in order to tell the critical empirical story of how existing social structures and power dynamics present challenges to data justice and related justice fields. In each case, this critical empirical story is also supplemented by the transformational story of how activists, policymakers, and academics are challenging longstanding structures of inequity to advance social justice in data innovation ecosystems and adjacent areas of technological practice.
The capture of servicemen of the Kwantung army by the Soviet troops in Manchuria in August 1945, their further detention in labor camps in the USSR, as well as their repatriation to Japan, which dragged on for nearly ten years, are among the most difficult and sensitive issues in relations between the USSR and Japan. They were not written about or discussed in the Soviet Union for many years until the early 1990s, when access to previously classified documents was opened. It was at that time that the issue became a matter for scholarly research by historians of the two countries and then put on the agenda of political negotiations at the head-of-state level. This first happened during the official visit to Japan of the first Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev, in April 1991, and then this mission was taken over by the Government of the Russian Federation. However, there are still questions that absorb the attention of researchers and the public and that still need to be fully answered.