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Het heilige onderhandeld: natuurbescherming, landdynamiek en governance spanningen in het Loita Enaimina Enkiyio bos in Kenia
No full textThis research elaborates on the impact of Kenya's sacred forests on indigenous communities and their way of life. The forests are more than just a natural resource. They are a source of identity and shape the livelihoods of those who rely on them. However, competing land uses and interests in indigenous forests lead to challenges for the forest communities. These challenges include changes in tenure and ownership claims, which have resulted in ownership and governance challenges. Despite this, indigenous forest communities resist complete transformation in the form of displacement and dispossession. The research focuses on understanding how indigenous forest communities mobilise the notion of the sacred in negotiating alternative outcomes concerning their sacred forests. As highlighted in the table below, this question is further elaborated in four parts.
Governance
How is the sacred mobilised in the multilevel/hybrid governance of sacred indigenous forests?
Land
What are the changing claims on the Loita territory, including the sacred Enaimina Enkiyio forest, brought about by the land adjudication process (LAP)?
How has the notion of the sacred impacted land use transformation and tenure reform in rangeland resource commons, specifically for sacred forests?
Gender
How are the women of Loita positioning themselves amidst the changing land relations brought about by the Land adjudication process (LAP)? What is its effect on gender relations and, subsequently, the care for land and sacred forests?
Conservation
How does the Loita community mobilise the sacred value to negotiate and mediate access and use rights, ultimately engendering the desired conservation outcomes?
The research conceptualises sacred resource commons as social-ecological systems and operationalises social innovation theory to explain how Loita Maasai mobilise the sacred innovatively to meet their neglected needs. A qualitative case study approach from an interpretive-constructivist paradigm was instrumental in understanding the Loita context. The study focuses on the Loita Enaimina Enkiyio forest in Kenya, which is linked to the Loita Maasai community. The case selection was informed by its sacred connotation, the stewardship of the residing community and the traditional governance structure. The research findings emphasize that the sacred is integral in negotiating alternative outcomes in sacred resource commons. Institutionalising the sacred can support governance when it allows for a hybrid approach combining traditional and formal frameworks. The sacred informs the Loita community's relationship with nature and culture, promoting solidarity in some instances, as seen in the contestation over conservation approaches. In other cases, however, differing views among the community members, as seen in the land adjudication process, result in conflicting positions over the changing land dynamics. The sacred informs the care dynamics as seen through ethics of care for the environment and the familial burden of care. Caring is inherent in the sacred. In Loita Enaimina Enkiyio, the sacred provides an alternative motivation for conservation, reinforcing a sustainable approach culturally and by law. The role of the sacred today is an opportunity to support indigenous communities through innovation grounded in the nature-culture nexus.status: Publishe
Kinetische simulaties van magnetische reconnectie en scheurmodusinstabiliteit in botsingsvrij plasma
No full textMagnetic reconnection is an omnipresent phenomenon in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas and is widely regarded as the fundamental mechanism underlying various astrophysical and laboratory events, including solar flares,
coronal mass ejections (CMEs), geomagnetic storms and substorms, as well as sawtooth crashes in fusion devices [Biskamp, 2000, Goedbloed et al., 2019, Hesse and Cassak, 2020]. During magnetic reconnection, magnetic field lines break and reconnect, altering the magnetic topology and converting magnetic energy into plasma kinetic and thermal energy. In this thesis, we investigate magnetic reconnection and tearing mode instabilities in collisionless plasmas using fully kinetic Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations. The fully kinetic PIC approach, a firstprinciples-based method, enables the resolution of the finest temporal and spatial scales in plasmas, making it a powerful tool for simulating magnetic reconnection and its associated instabilities. In our work, we employ a semi-implicit PIC method [Lapenta, 2017, 2023], which enables us to conserve energy exactly. Additionally, the semi-implicit approach allows us not to resolve the Debye length and the electron plasma frequency, thereby reducing computational cost while maintaining numerical stability simultaneously [Colonna and D'Angola, 2016a]. The main findings and conclusions of this thesis are summarized below.
We explore the potential of using the fully kinetic PIC method to study tearing mode instability in fusion tokamak plasmas. Tearing mode is a detrimental instability in tokamaks and it is closely connected with magnetic reconnection. This instability can compromise plasma confinement and may even result in disruptions that damage devices by releasing energetic particles to the surrounding walls [Bateman, 1978]. Conventional simulation approaches for studying fusion plasma tearing mode include magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), gyrokinetic method, and relevant hybrid methods. Although significant progress has been made in this domain, its underlying mechanism and methods for its control are still not fully understood [Hornsby et al., 2015a]. Compared to methods such as MHD and gyrokinetic approaches, the fully kinetic method can resolve finer spatial and temporal scales and has the potential to uncover new physics. In addition, recent advancements in PIC algorithms and supercomputing have brought new promise to the application of the fully kinetic PIC method to the instability study in fusion tokamak plasmas. We begin with mapping an analytical MHD equilibrium with a circular crosssection profile onto the grids for our fully kinetic simulations. We conduct both
2-dimensional and 3-dimensional simulations. The 3-dimensional simulations model the full tokamak geometry using a method called 'λ damping' to set its boundary conditions. The 3-dimensional simulations successfully capture the formation and evolution of magnetic islands as well as the deformation of magnetic flux surfaces, contributing to understanding their generation in tokamaks. However, we found that current computational resources are insufficient to conduct fully kinetic PIC simulations over durations comparable to MHD simulations, which renders direct comparisons challenging at present. We discuss the main obstacles in applying the fully kinetic PIC method to fusion tokamak plasma research and propose potential solutions to overcome these challenges, including the development of more advanced fully kinetic PIC algorithms and the use of more appropriate coordinate systems, such as magnetic flux or cylindrical coordinates, to reduce computational costs and improve accuracy.
Then we study electron-only reconnection under varying strengths of guide fields using 2-dimensional fully kinetic PIC simulations, with a particular focus on electron heating and electron velocity distribution functions (EVDFs).
Electron-only reconnection, observed in Earth's magnetosheath, plays a crucial role in energy transfer and dissipation within turbulence. The presence of guide fields delays the onset of electron-only reconnection and reduces the reconnection rate, aligning with findings from previous studies on standard ion-coupled reconnection [Pritchett, 2005, Birn and Priest, 2007]. The absence of ion outflow jets in the simulations confirms that the reconnection occurs in the electron-only regime. As the guide field intensifies, the density enhancements and cavities, as well as the quadrupolar out-of-plane magnetic field structures, become more localized. This narrowing is likely tied to non-ideal kinetic effects occurring at electron gyroradius scales.
Consistent with previous experimental studies, electron temperature anisotropy along the separatrices is identified, primarily driven by changes in parallel temperature. It is noted that the variations in parallel temperature are stronger than those in perpendicular temperature in our simulations. The intensity of guide fields has a pronounced effect on the spatial distribution of parallel electron temperature. Stronger guide fields narrow temperature variation regions and result in various structures. Specifically, as the guide field increases, a transition from a quadrupolar to a hexapolar (six-polar) to an octopolar (eight-polar) structure is observed in the parallel electron temperature and temperature anisotropy results. EVDFs are analyzed at multiple locations across the three simulation cases. The perpendicular velocity components show a nearly gyrotropic distribution across all cases. The parallel velocity components, especially those of electrons in the outflow regions, are strongly influenced by the presence of guide fields. The
EVDF shapes vary significantly with changes in guide field strength. Intense electron heat fluxes along the parallel direction are observed at the X-point, along the separatrices, and inside magnetic islands. Our simulations indicate they fall within a transition regime between the Boltzmann response and the CGL (Chew-Goldberger-Low) theory. As the guide field strength increases, they show increasing consistency with the CGL theory, which explains the electron parallel temperature variations and the shape of the EVDFs observed along the separatrices in all three cases.
We also investigate the spontaneous evolution from electron-only to traditional ion-coupled magnetic reconnection in the presence of a guide field through 2-dimensional PIC simulations. This study focuses on the transition mechanism and the effect of ion temperature on this shift from electron-only towards ion-coupled reconnection. Previous simulations and observations have indicated that electron-only reconnection may act as a transitional phase between a quiet current sheet and traditional ion-coupled reconnection [Lu et al., 2020b, 2022, Hubbert et al., 2022]. However, these studies focused on externally driven reconnection in their simulations, raising the question of whether electron-only reconnection might play a similar intermediary role in spontaneous reconnection. In this study, we address this gap by demonstrating that electron-only reconnection can indeed play this transitional role in spontaneous reconnection with guide fields. In our simulations, we analyze the spontaneous evolution from electron-only to ion-coupled reconnection. In the initial phase, electrons promptly respond to magnetic field changes, accompanied by noticeable electron outflows and electron heating, while the ion response remains either negligible or entirely absent. These observations align well with features of electron-only reconnection. As reconnection develops, the degree of ion coupling to the reconnection process increases and the reconnection transits to the ion-coupled reconnection regime, with distinct ion outflows and heating. This is because the spatial and temporal conditions necessary for ion acceleration and heating are met due to the growth of magnetic islands. We also found that the Hall electric field drives ion acceleration, with the pressure gradient term intensifying as ion velocities increase, contributing to ion heating. The influence of ion temperature on this transition is also examined by conducting a simulation with higher ion thermal velocities. Notable differences manifest in the ion response. Specifically, no ion outflows or ion heating are observed, indicating that the system stays within the electron-only regime. This finding is consistent with the results of Guan et al. [2023], where the ratio (L/2)/ρi ≈ 3.54 (with L divided by 2 because there are two current sheets in our simulation box) was inadequate to induce ion coupling. We propose that guide field strength may influence the reconnection transition, as it is related to the scale of electron and ion motion in guide-field reconnection. This factor, along with the ion-to-electron mass ratio, presents a promising direction for future research. When the mass ratio is larger, i.e. electrons are lighter, the electron response to changes in magnetic field topology is expected to be quicker. Consequently, the electric field structure and ion dynamics would be affected. Further studies are needed to explore the effects of guide field strength and mass ratio. Additionally, a similar transition role occurring in anti-parallel reconnection is another intriguing area for further study. The characteristic ion motion scale in anti-parallel reconnection differs from that in guide-field reconnection [Guan et al., 2024] and the ion responses could vary between these two configurations.status: Publishe
School formaties. Een pedagogische studie naar de vormen en finaliteiten van de school in België en de DR Congo
No full textAmid the many discussions about the future of the school, its desired functioning, or its ideal outcomes and outputs, only few discussions approach these issues from that simple, but far-reaching pedagogical starting point: that the school, as the materialization of skholè (free time), gives an artificially created form to the pedagogical assumption that human beings have no predetermined destiny and that young people should therefore be provided with a free time and space so that they themselves can start to give a form to their own lives. By remaining attached to this foundational pedagogical starting point, this school study aims to pedagogically inquire the forms and finalities of the school in Belgium and the DR Congo as to be able to attend to schools and the kind of education they provide with a pedagogical vocabulary. Consequently, the aims of this dissertation are threefold.
The first part of this dissertation (on School Inquiries), first of all, aims not only to contribute to the (theoretical) development of an empirical and inquisitive attachment to the school form, but it also aims to introduce how this attachment was continuously enacted in the fieldwork and the writing of this school study, and it will attend to the disciplined and disciplining (fieldwork/writing) techniques of attachment that were employed during this study as to be able to attend to the school, not by maintaining a certain (external) 'perspective' onto the school, but by staying with the distinctions that matter for the school form itself.
The aim of the second part of this dissertation (on School Forms) is to attend to how the pedagogical form of the school (as the materialization of a free(d) time) is itself composed of more elementary pedagogical school forms that equip worlds with new shapes so that students can start to relate to these worlds in the classroom. More specifically, this second part will comment on the transcripts of recorded classroom situations in order to attend to how school forms of speaking and writing (as elementary pedagogical building blocks) continuously rebalance the pedagogical statement of 'this is that' in the classroom. These enacted school forms of speaking and writing at once disclose new worlds to students, while equally creating an enclosing envelope around the classroom as to constitute a scholastic, life-giving atmosphere that makes worlds speak to students.
The third and final part of this study (on School Finalities) will explore the formative forces of the school by attending to how students themselves express a relation to these forces in a handwritten letter to a student-colleague from another country. These letters are eventually presented in a newly created and 'stitched together' Belgo-Congolese rhapsody that on the one hand allows us to comment on the articulations students used to describe their time in the school (what is the school about?), while it on the other hand also enables us to closely examine how students in their letters came to express a relation their time after the school (what has the school enabled you to do that you could not do before?).status: Publishe
Seksuele synchronie: Seksuele opwinding als een dyadisch proces
No full textThis project will examine the processes that contribute to the experience of sexual intimacy in couples and assess how sexual arousal of both partners unfolds and interacts in a dyadic (research) setting. It will explore possible underlying mechanisms, including the role of (sexual) emotion regulation, perceived partner responsiveness, attachment, and sexual synchrony or co-regulation. The project will include the assessment of individual-and dyad-based variables, using self-report and psychophysiological measures. Several innovative research paradigms and measurement approaches will be explored and developed to study sexual synchrony (as a function of individual and relational characteristics) and how it contributes to sexual intimacy and satisfaction.status: Publishe
TRP kanalen in type 2 immuniteit.
No full textCa2+ is one of the most important intracellular secondary messengers. Like an orchestrator, it determines which cellular signalling pathways become activated and which remain inactive. It is essential for key cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation and migration in a wide array of cell types including immune cells. As such, mutations, causing disruptions in intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis, have been linked to severe immunodeficiencies in patients.
Since Ca2+ cannot permeate the cell membrane, it requires Ca2+-transporters to enter the cell. There is a large number of Ca2+-transporters, one of which is the family of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. TRP channels are non-selective cation channels and, upon activation, allow Ca2+ to enter the cell. They are widely expressed throughout the body and can be activated by a variety of stimuli including pressure, temperature and pH. As such, TRP channels are excellent cellular sensors capable of translating complex environmental stimuli into intracellular signalling pathways.
Despite the importance of Ca2+ in immune cell function, the expression and function of TRP channels in immune cells remains lacking. Therefore, we investigated the TRP expression profile in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs), an in vitro model that displays all the major functions of dendritic cells (DCs) including migration and antigen presentation. BMDCs expressed high levels of Trpv2 and Trpv4, with lower levels of Trpm2, Trpm4 and Trpm7. As the function of TRPV4 in BMDCs had not yet been explored, we focused on further characterizing the role of this TRP channel in BMDCs. Using Trpv4-/- BMDCs, we showed that TRPV4 did not play a role in the differentiation and maturation of BMDCs. However, the uptake of IgG-coated beads was partially abrogated in Trpv4 KO BMDCs, indicating TRPV4 contributes to Fc-receptor (FcR) mediated phagocytosis.
FcR-mediated phagocytosis is a crucial process for DCs, as this allows them to take up foreign particles, labelled with antibodies, and present them to T cells, resulting in the activation and expansion of T cells. In line with this, research has shown that FcR-mediated phagocytosis is crucial in type 2 immunity-mediated processes, commonly seen in response to helminths and allergens. Loss of FcR-signalling results in a severely impaired type 2 immune reaction characterized by a lack of eosinophilia and IgE antibodies.
Therefore, we investigated whether the effect of TRPV4 on FcR-mediated phagocytosis would results in an abrogated type 2 immune reaction in a commonly used allergy model, the house dust mite (HDM)-induced asthma model. Using WT and Trpv4 KO mice from both sexes, we did not detect any differences in the composition or total cell numbers of immune cells found in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) comparing WT to Trpv4 KO mice. These results suggest that TRPV4 is dispensable for the influx of immune cells in the BALF in these experimental conditions. However, we did notice that WT females mice showed a stronger and more consistent response to HDM compared to their male counterpart. Moreover, the composition of the HDM batch also had an impact on the composition of immune cells found in the BALF, as HDM preparations with high LPS levels resulted in higher neutrophil and T cell percentages compared to other HDM preparations. These findings underscore the importance of including both sexes in experimental designs whenever feasible and appropriate. By doing so, researchers gain a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of how sex influences cellular and systemic functions. In addition, researchers should be aware of the effect of different HDM preparations on their experimental outcomes.
Finally, to study the expression of TRP channels in more rare immune cell populations, such as innate lymphoid cells type 2 (ILC2s), we require ways to isolate high numbers of pure cells. Thus, we optimized an ILC2s isolation protocol that allows to sort high numbers of pure ILC2s. First, we expanded ILC2s in vivo by intranasal administration of recombinant IL-33. Then, ILC2s were enriched through a negative selection step which removed a large portion of unwanted cells including B cells, T cells, macrophages, dendritic cells and NK cells. This isolation protocol will be used to further characterize the expression and function of TRPs in ILC2s, a topic that remains unstudied at the time.status: Publishe
Impact van heterogene oppervlaktetemperatuur op stabiele grenslagen
No full textTurbulent flows over surfaces with varying properties are prevalent in numerous contexts, ranging from industrial applications to the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Changes in surface characteristics like roughness, elevation or temperature can have substantial impact on flow dynamics. Moreover, such flows are often stably stratified, meaning that the surface and adjacent lower fluid layers are colder and denser than the upper layers. Vertical motions and turbulence are therefore suppressed, making the mean flow state susceptible to a myriad of both large and small-scale phenomena. To date, many aspects of both the stable boundary layer (SBL) and nonuniform surface--flow interaction remain poorly understood, posing challenges on weather and climate modeling, as well as fluid-related engineering applications. Surface roughness variations that are parallel to the mean flow have received particular attention in the past decade, as they generate large-scale secondary circulations in the cross-stream plane, significantly affecting mixing of momentum, heat and mass. The overall purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how heterogeneity of surface temperature excites similar secondary motions in stably stratified boundary layers. The primary focus is on how thermal surface heterogeneity affects momentum and heat transfer, as well as the mean flow structure. As such, this research aims to advance understanding of the complex interplay between stably stratified turbulence and surface heterogeneity.
Towards that goal, high-fidelity numerical simulations of turbulent flows over nonuniform surfaces are conducted using the SP-Wind code developed at KU Leuven. Two specific numerical techniques are employed. In direct numerical simulation (DNS), the full range of turbulent motions is resolved by the numerical grid, which significantly restricts the simulation scale (or Reynolds number). In large-eddy simulation (LES), the contribution of the smallest flow scales is modeled, allowing to use computational domains that encompass the typical size of the ABL \Red{at the expense of relying on the assumptions of these models}.
As a first step, DNS is employed to study a configuration of stably stratified channel flow with infinitely long parallel-flow strips of alternating high and low surface temperature at the upper and lower walls. Simulation results indicate that secondary circulations are excited by horizontal buoyancy differences, with updrafts above the warmer strips and downdrafts towards the colder strips. Additionally, these motions redistribute the mean streamwise flow, forming high- and low-momentum pathways. It is further found that the size of the secondary circulations is limited by the width of the surface strips, as well as by stronger stable stratification. The heterogeneous surface temperature and induced secondary circulations are responsible for a 20-40% reduction of the total vertical heat transfer, which is maximal if the surface strip width is comparable to the channel height. Generally, the flow patterns induced by spanwise varying surface temperature appear very similar to those found in previous studies of heterogeneous surface roughness.
Subsequently, a similar configuration but with finite-length warm and cold patches is considered to investigate the streamwise development of secondary circulations generated by the, now localized, spanwise heterogeneity. For the investigated patch widths, the streamwise evolution of the secondary flows is found to depend on the patch aspect ratio, while they reach a fully developed state after about 25 times the patch width. The intensity of the circulations, and their impact on momentum and heat transfer measured through `dispersive fluxes', is heavily reduced as the length of the temperature strips decreases, and becomes negligible when their length and width become equal. It is further shown that upward dispersive and turbulent heat transport in locally unstably stratified regions above the high-temperature patches lead to reduced overall downward heat transfer. Comparison of flow profiles to Monin--Obukhov similarity theory (MOST) reveals that thermally heterogeneous flows do not adhere to these well-established scaling relations that are ubiquitously employed in weather and climate models.
As a next step, the methodology is shifted from DNS to LES in order to study a full-scale stable atmospheric boundary layer that includes Coriolis effects and synoptic subsidence. It is demonstrated that subsidence, large-scale downward movement of air, leads to a steady-state SBL where thermal equilibrium is established by a balance between surface cooling and subsidence-induced heating. By analyzing a set of LES cases with diverse values of dimensionless external parameters, related to mean surface roughness and temperature for instance, their influence on the structure of the steady state is characterized.
Further, novel empirical correlations are developed, which can be used to estimate internal SBL properties, such as surface heat flux and friction, from the imposed external parameters.
In the final part of this thesis, a set of LES of the steady SBL with spanwise heterogeneous surface temperature exposes that the effects of buoyancy-induced secondary circulation found before remain relevant in the stable ABL. The Coriolis force acts to favor vortices rotating in one direction and suppress those in the other, resulting in an asymmetric mean flow field. Both a larger surface temperature difference and increasing strip width result in stronger secondary flows and dispersive fluxes, increased near-surface gradients, elevated SBL depth and low-level jet, and reduced mean surface heat flux. Based on the generated dataset, novel correlations between characteristics of the surface heterogeneity and their impact on the mean SBL structure are suggested. However, the local surface fluxes were shown to significantly deviate from the mean, emphasizing that domain-averaged SBL properties do not capture all physical processes in a heterogeneous flow.status: Publishe
Beschikbaarheidsmodellering van laagspanningsgelijkstroomsystemen, met een focus op industriële stroomverdeling
No full textElectric power is indispensable in our daily lives. Ensuring a constant supply of high-quality power is a formidable challenge. The power system has traditionally been a top-down structure, characterized by centralized production and localized consumption. However, the electrical power system is undergoing continuous change, presenting significant challenges. The challenge to combat climate change necessitates electrification, energy efficiency, and the integration of renewable energy sources. These pursuits introduce challenges that strain the reliability of the power system, including increased complexity, substantial expansion, and the incorporation of more distributed and intermittent production. Concurrently, these challenges also bring opportunities, such as declining energy storage and power electronic component costs. The combination of aspects, such as distributed generation, increased penetration of power electronics and storage, and the aim for increase energy efficiency, has caused low-voltage Direct Current (LVDC) technology to gain momentum, enabling the connection of modern power electronics-based loads, localized sources, and storage in a more compatible manner.
Reliable power supply is especially critical in industry, as system outages can lead to production halts, potential damage, and safety hazards. While the power system faces the risk of decreased reliability due to increased complexity and higher penetration of intermittent power sources, the transition to an LVDC grid offers potential advantages that could enhance system availability. An LVDC microgrid, for instance, buffers the Direct Current (DC) side from the Alternating Current (AC) side through a power electronics converter and facilitates battery connection to the DC bus, providing system-wide Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) properties. However, the adoption of LVDC also introduces numerous power electronic components, which are known to be more susceptible to failure than robust AC equipment. This raises the question of whether the potential availability improvements outweigh the utilization of more failure-prone equipment.
Addressing this question necessitates a method capable of comprehensively capturing the unique aspects of availability analysis for LVDC systems. These include: 1) the use of power electronics, 2) the contribution of batteries to availability and resilience against AC grid faults, 3) fast system dynamics with significant impacts on stability and fault behavior.
This work aims to fully identify the requirements for incorporating the aforementioned aspects into a comprehensive method for assessing the availability of LVDC systems for industrial power distribution behind-the-meter systems. After identification, a comparison is drawn between traditional AC distribution systems and state-of-the-art LVDC distribution systems to determine whether LVDC has the potential to offer greater availability than traditional AC distributions. To enable this comparison, a basic model is developed using the Markov process, universal generating operator (UGO) method, and a stochastic approach to integrate battery reserve time into the availability analysis.
Subsequently, the semi-Markov process is introduced to consider the reliability models of power electronic components in the availability analysis. Furthermore, reliability models of these individual components allow for the evaluation of each component's effect on the total system availability, both in terms of stability and adequacy. The semi-Markov process forms the foundation for the subsequent chapters, which quantify the resilience against AC grid faults and capture the influence of protection speed on DC bus availability. The presented methodology also facilitates the determination of the cost of unavailability, both in terms of being unavailable and becoming unavailable i.e. the reliability. This enables a fair comparison between systems based on the total cost, comprising the aforementioned cost of unavailability and the utility cost.status: Publishe
Niet-religieuze discoursen en de secularisatie van het seculiere: Een computationele studie van georganiseerde niet-religie in de Verenigde Staten en het Verenigd Koninkrijk (1881-2019)
No full textDespite the growth of Non-Religion Studies in recent years, historical changes within secularity remain underexplored and there is a shortage of extensive longitudinal studies dealing with the phenomenon. This shortcoming arguably stems, on one side, from the lack of sufficient granularity in the commonly used longitudinal survey data and, on the other, from a chronic indifference of secularization theory toward the changes occurring within secularity itself. It was argued that secularization is a process of broader (non-)religious change, and that secularization theory can and should be extended to the analysis of non-religion. This thesis employs a series of computational methods, ranging from Topic Modeling to Sentiment Analysis and Dynamic Word Embedding, to explore a large collection of magazines published by two American and two British non-religious organizations between 1881 and 2019. The analysis reveals that the historical fluctuations in the relevance attributed to religion by militant non-religious organizations closely follows fluctuations in the public visibility of religion. Furthermore, in line with the theoretical expectations, the relevance of these topics is consistently higher among groups with a more radical orientation (i.e., among atheists rather than humanists) and in contexts characterized by a lower degree of secularization (i.e., in the US rather than the UK). On the contrary, the demand for positive non-religious identities remained prevalently stable over time showing signs of a descending trend only throughout the latest decades. Sentiment Analysis, in combination with linear regression, confirmed that the proportion of negative sentiment in religion-related topics is positively associated with the perceived relevance of religion. Finally, Dynamic Word Embedding revealed two prevalent shifts. On one side, the critique of religion progressively moved away from an ideological confrontation of religious others and towards a more moderate focus on pragmatic concerns. Second, the conceptualizations of atheism and humanism increasingly converged, emphasizing a positive non-religious identity, political activism, and the organizational aspects of the secular movement.status: Publishe
Overcoming feelings of inferiority in an AI world
No full textAI’s rapid advancements have showcased capabilities that seem almost human-like—sometimes even superhuman. For many, this triggers feelings of inadequacy along with the desire to give up. But surrendering is neither necessary nor productive. The reality of our relationship with AI is more nuanced than a simple battle of human versus machine. It requires thoughtful reflection and a reframing of how we approach our roles and strengths in an AI-driven world. This article contains a three-step framework that offers a possible way to embrace AI in the workplace: 1) start by discovering your strengths so you can use AI to augment them, not replace them; 2) treat AI as an ally; and 3) experiment with different tools. Adapting to the AI age is about embracing a growth mindset, staying curious, and continuously seeking to understand the evolving technology landscape. Organizations play a crucial role in cultivating this mindset. This involves not just providing access to training programs but also fostering a culture where curiosity and innovation are encouraged. Historically, productivity has been the dominant metric of success with the use of technology in the workplace. However, as machines excel at automating repetitive tasks, our value will increasingly be defined by qualities that AI cannot easily replicate, such as empathy, ethical judgment, creativity, and the ability to inspire and lead.status: Published onlin