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Reflections of Margaret Atwood’s Dystopias in the Pandemic of 2020
Get PDFThe paper focuses on Margaret Atwood’s novels Oryx and Crakeand The Year of the Floodand considers ways in which the pandemic of her dystopian world may, to various degrees, serve as a reflection of the COVID-19 global pandemic in 2020. The setting of both novels is the same dystopian world, however, they each present different ideological takes on dealing with a pandemic. The paper analyses the creation of Crakers as the new humanoid species, which are supposed to inhabit the earth in its post-pandemic state. It reflects not only political andsocial structures Atwood borrowed from the real-world, but also types of behavior that somepolitical national leaders currently display. While the first novel addresses the issuesof power, exploitation, and the God complex; The Year of the Flood, with its two female characters, investigates dealingwith the pandemic via the lens of ecofem-inism, ecology, nature, and sustainability. Conversely to Crake’s elitist megalo-maniac ideas that leave the world and its state largely out of the discussion,in the second novel, Atwood connects to the ecology of the post-pandemic world and focuses on ways of understanding it from the natural, rather than ideological standpoint. The paper considers these opposing viewpoints and shows defamil-iarized versions reflected in the current state of the real world. In relation to that, correlations between fictional and real-life dichotomies of masculine and femi-nine perspectives on handling the pandemic both in the real world as well as in the novel are also discussed
Identity Struggles of Adult Returners
Get PDFThis article addresses a perceived gap in higher education literature: there is very little writing that successfully combines the issues of individual learners who dropped out and then returned to higher education – the adult returners. To address this problem, the article draws upon data from the qualitative part of a larger research project that deals with non-traditional students in the Czech Republic. This article analyzes data from eight subjects with drop-out experience chosen from the initial corpus of thirty non-traditional students. The results indicate that adult learners have to deal with three central identities and with potential identity struggles as they interact: student identity, work identity, and familial identity. The final result of the interaction between these identities can be either the integration or the disintegration of identities, whereby one of the possible consequences of identity disintegration is to drop out from higher education
Psychometric Characteristics of the ECR-RS, Structure of the Relationship between Global and Specific Attachment – Cross-Validation of the Results Using the Czech and Original Versions of the ECR-RS
Get PDFSeveral tools to measure attachment style in adulthood have been developed in the past three decades; however, their dimensionality is still unclear, with the main unanswered question being that of global attachment. In the Relationship Structures Questionnaire, ECR RS (Fraley et al., 2011), respondents rate their relationship to four attachment figures (mother, father, close friend and partner). The paper assesses its dimensionality to test the structure of global attachment. We used a Czech sample (N = 1023) and an international sample (Hudson et al., 2015; N = 1095) to compare a hierarchical model, in which the figure specific attachment factors are partially the product of global attachment, with a bifactor model, in which the global attachment factors directly affect the responses in questionnaires. The bifactor model fits the data better and it lends support to the hypothesis that global attachment relates to human behavior di-rectly and is not mediated by specific attachment to different figures. The limitations of this finding are discussed
Exploratory Analysis of File System Metadata for Rapid Investigation of Security Incidents
No full textInvestigating cybersecurity incidents requires in-depth knowledge from the analyst. Moreover, the whole process is demanding due to the vast data volumes that need to be analyzed. While various techniques exist nowadays to help with particular tasks of the analysis, the process as a whole still requires a lot of manual activities and expert skills. We propose an approach that allows the analysis of disk snapshots more efficiently and with lower demands on expert knowledge. Following a user-centered design methodology, we implemented an analytical tool to guide analysts during security incident investigations. The viability of the solution was validated by an evaluation conducted with members of different security teams
A Liberal Order Beyond Earth? Civil Sphere, “The Culture” and the Future of Liberalism
Get PDFStarting with George Orwell's liberal problem of meaning, this article investigates liberalism as cultural structure and myth, drawing on the theory of civil sphere by Jeffrey C. Alexander and the science fiction novels of Ian M. Banks. Following Alexander, it is argued that liberal societies are built around a sacred core described by the cultural structures of the civil sphere, which are structures of meaning as well as feeling. Civil discourses and movements in liberal (and not so liberal) societies mobilize powerful symbols of the sacred and profane and are thus able to inspire an almost religious devotion. The article then continues to explore the meaning structure, cultural contradictions and possible future of the liberal order discussing Bank's Culture series. These novels are set in the borderlands of "the Culture", a galactic civilization and liberal utopia. It is precisely this utopian setting, which allows Banks to probe the internal dilemmas of liberalism, for example between pacifism and interventionism, while addressing issues of contemporary relevance, such as the liberal problem of meaning, the al-lure of authoritarianism or the social status of artificial intelligence. With their literary imagination , science fiction writers construct "a myth of the future" (Banks), which may often reflect the myths of their time, but which can also-as in the case of Banks-reflect on those myths, their implications and contradictions. Finally, the fictional possibilities of social order in science fiction can be a valuable source for our imagination as sociologists contemplating the very possibility of social order
ANALYZA – Vizualizační komponenta – Visilant
Get PDFSoftwarová vizualizační komponenta je nedílnou součástí systému ANALYZA, výrazně ovlivňující jak jeho analytické schopnosti, tak uživatelský komfort. Cílem této softwarové komponenty je poskytnout jednotný systém podporující policejní vyšetřování, který umožní policejním silám přístup, analýzu, vizualizaci a společné sdílení příslušných údajů nebo informací. Frontend systému je složen z komplexních vizualizací na pozadí využívajících různé technologie datové analýzy (integrované analytické operace), které umožňují průzkum, efektivní rozhodování a uvažování o datech způsobem, který je intuitivní a srozumitelný datovým analytikům.The visualization software component is an integral part of the ANALYZA system, significantly influencing both its analytical capabilities and user comfort. The component's goal is to provide a unified system supporting criminal investigation, which will allow police investigators to access, analyze, visualize and share relevant data or information. The system's frontend consists of complex visualizations using various data analysis technologies (integrated analytical operations), which enable research, effective decision-making, and thinking about data intuitively and understandably to data analysts
Effect of the Different Ski Length on the Level of Anxiety at Novice Skiers
No full textIn our research, we investigated the influence of different ski length on the efficiency of the alpine skiing teaching process, as well as on the level of state anxiety during alpine skiing of ski novices.V našem výzkumu jsme se zabývali vlivem rozdílné délky sjezdových lyží na efektivitu výuky sjezdového lyžování a také na úroveň prožívané úzkosti u začínajících lyžařů.In our research, we investigated the influence of different ski length on the efficiency of the alpine skiing teaching process, as well as on the level of state anxiety during alpine skiing of ski novices
Accurate prediction of kinase-substrate networks using knowledge graphs
Get PDFPhosphorylation of specific substrates by protein kinases is a key control mechanism for vital cell-fate decisions and other cellular processes. However, discovering specific kinase-substrate relationships is time-consuming and often rather serendipitous. Computational predictions alleviate these challenges, but the current approaches suffer from limitations like restricted kinome coverage and inaccuracy. They also typically utilise only local features without reflecting broader interaction context. To address these limitations, we have developed an alternative predictive model. It uses statistical relational learning on top of phosphorylation networks interpreted as knowledge graphs, a simple yet robust model for representing networked knowledge. Compared to a representative selection of six existing systems, our model has the highest kinome coverage and produces biologically valid high-confidence predictions not possible with the other tools. Specifically, we have experimentally validated predictions of previously unknown phosphorylations by the LATS1, AKT1, PKA and MST2 kinases in human. Thus, our tool is useful for focusing phosphoproteomic experiments, and facilitates the discovery of new phosphorylation reactions. Our model can be accessed publicly via an easy-to-use web interface (LinkPhinder).Phosphorylation of specific substrates by protein kinases is a key control mechanism for vital cell-fate decisions and other cellular processes. However, discovering specific kinase-substrate relationships is time-consuming and often rather serendipitous. Computational predictions alleviate these challenges, but the current approaches suffer from limitations like restricted kinome coverage and inaccuracy. They also typically utilise only local features without reflecting broader interaction context. To address these limitations, we have developed an alternative predictive model. It uses statistical relational learning on top of phosphorylation networks interpreted as knowledge graphs, a simple yet robust model for representing networked knowledge. Compared to a representative selection of six existing systems, our model has the highest kinome coverage and produces biologically valid high-confidence predictions not possible with the other tools. Specifically, we have experimentally validated predictions of previously unknown phosphorylations by the LATS1, AKT1, PKA and MST2 kinases in human. Thus, our tool is useful for focusing phosphoproteomic experiments, and facilitates the discovery of new phosphorylation reactions. Our model can be accessed publicly via an easy-to-use web interface (LinkPhinder)
Assessing Stress in Pregnancy and Postpartum: Comparing Measures
Get PDFIntroduction Measuring early-life psychosocial stress is complicated by methodological challenges. This paper compares three survey instruments for the assessment of life in pregnancy/postpartum and investigates the effects of the timing of early-life stress for emotional/behavioral difficulties (EBD) of offspring during mid/late childhood and adolescence. Methods Observational data were obtained from the European Longitudinal Cohort Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC-CZ), which included 4811 pregnancies in two Czech metropolitan areas. We used data collected between 1991 and 2010 at 20 weeks of pregnancy (T1), after delivery (T2), at 6 months postpartum (T3), and at child's age of 7 years (T4), 11 years (T5), 15 years (T6), and 18 years (T7). Life stress was assessed with (1) the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), (2) a stressful life events (SLE) count based on 42-item inventory, and (3) the SLE measure weighted by perceived stressfulness (PS). Each stress measure was administered at T1, T2, and T3. Child's EBD were assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at T4, T5, T6, and T7. Results Each stress measure independently predicted long-term EBD. The best data fit was obtained in a model combining EPDS and SLE. Effect sizes for SLEs decreased between the first half of pregnancy and postpartum, while the effect of EPDS increased. Discussion SLE-based methods capture an aspect of perinatal stress not adequately assessed by EPDS. Combination of psychological distress measures and SLE-based measures is optimal in predicting EBD of the child. Stress measures based on SLE are suitable for early pregnancy, while self-reports of depressive symptoms may perform better in postpartum
Decoding the intricate network of molecular interactions of a hyperstable engineered biocatalyst
Get PDFComputational design of protein catalysts with enhanced stabilities for use in research and enzyme technologies is a challenging task. Using force-field calculations and phylogenetic analysis, we previously designed the haloalkane dehalogenase DhaA115 which contains 11 mutations that confer upon it outstanding thermostability (T-m = 73.5 degrees C; Delta T-m > 23 degrees C). An understanding of the structural basis of this hyperstabilization is required in order to develop computer algorithms and predictive tools. Here, we report X-ray structures of DhaA115 at 1.55 angstrom and 1.6 angstrom resolutions and their molecular dynamics trajectories, which unravel the intricate network of interactions that reinforce the aba-sandwich architecture. Unexpectedly, mutations toward bulky aromatic amino acids at the protein surface triggered long-distance (similar to 27 angstrom) backbone changes due to cooperative effects. These cooperative interactions produced an unprecedented double-lock system that: (i) induced backbone changes, (ii) closed the molecular gates to the active site, (iii) reduced the volumes of the main and slot access tunnels, and (iv) occluded the active site. Despite these spatial restrictions, experimental tracing of the access tunnels using krypton derivative crystals demonstrates that transport of ligands is still effective. Our findings highlight key thermostabilization effects and provide a structural basis for designing new thermostable protein catalysts