Search results

Suspicions about space technologies can be regarded as instances of “space skepticism,” i.e. the broadly pessimistic view that human activities in space are untimely or liable to be counterproductive. Section 1 will explain that contemporary space skepticism is focused upon negative societal role rather than the physical possibility of the activities proposed. Such skepticism is a complex pool of familiar claims unevenly drawn upon rather than a single theory. Section 2 will suggest that contemporary space skepticism tends to integrate with a broader set of doubts and fears about technologies of the Anthropocene. Section 3 will draw out a tension within the skeptical complex between the idea that concern for space is irrelevant to our societal problems and the idea that it is likely to make such problems worse. Section 4 will briefly outline why the publicly dominant forms of space skepticism carry a growing capability for merger with political activism and why the publicly dominant skepticisms are not necessarily those with the greatest plausibility, but rather those with the strongest motivational force. Finally, Section 5 will set aside the issue of popular motivational force and focus instead upon the skepticisms with the greatest plausibility. It will briefly outline why the relevant fears and suspicions (about military tensions and geoengineering) are outweighed by other considerations. This response to plausible skepticisms will not aim to be comprehensive but indicative of the direction of travel for more detailed critique. It will provide a framing context for a large metaphor about space technologies allowing the Earth to breathe.

The purpose of this study is to measure financial inclusion (FI) and to examine the role of digital financial literacy (DFL) and its components, and various socio-demographics in relation to FI. In addition, the mediating effect of digital financial attitudes (DFA) on the relationship between digital financial knowledge (DFK) and digital financial behaviour (DFB), as well mediating effect of DFA and DFB on the relationship between DFK and FI, is being explored.

Using a cross-sectional research design, we utilize a dataset from the survey of adults’ financial literacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, collected from the representative sample of 1,096 adults in 2022. The main methodology relies on logistic and ordinal logistic regression analyses and PROCESS for mediation analyses.

The findings suggest that the effect of DFK on DFB is partially mediated by DFA. In addition, the effect of DFK on FI is fully mediated through three pathways: DFA, DFB, and DFA and DFB in serial mediation. Age, education, employment status and residence are significantly related to FI. Internet access is significant only for FI scores but not for adults’ banking status. Although women are almost twice as unbanked as men, we find no gender-based differences in financial product holdings, FI or adults’ banking status.

There is a need to enhance DFK and DFA to enable adults to use financial products. Financial institutions could use our results in designing and promoting their services.

Policy implications are seen in the need for developing national strategies for financial education, with an emphasis on strengthening DFL, especially DFK and DFA, which will enhance the formal FI of adults. Also, governments should work on expanding Internet access.

The results make a contribution to the theory of planned behaviour. They contribute to the limited empirical evidence of the mediating role of DFA in relationship to DFB, as well as the mediating role of DFA and DFB in relationship to FI.

Develop a comprehensive framework for assessing the knowledge organization systems (KOSs), including the taxonomy of Wikipedia and the ontologies of Wikidata, with a specific focus on enhancing management and retrieval with a gender nonbinary perspective.

This study employs heuristic and inspection methods to assess Wikipedia’s KOS, ensuring compliance with international standards. It evaluates the efficiency of retrieving non-masculine gender-related articles using the Catalan Wikipedian category scheme, identifying limitations. Additionally, a novel assessment of Wikidata ontologies examines their structure and coverage of gender-related properties, comparing them to Wikipedia’s taxonomy for advantages and enhancements.

This study evaluates Wikipedia’s taxonomy and Wikidata’s ontologies, establishing evaluation criteria for gender-based categorization and exploring their structural effectiveness. The evaluation process suggests that Wikidata ontologies may offer a viable solution to address Wikipedia’s categorization challenges.

The assessment of Wikipedia categories (taxonomy) based on KOS standards leads to the conclusion that there is ample room for improvement, not only in matters concerning gender identity but also in the overall KOS to enhance search and retrieval for users. These findings bear relevance for the design of tools to support information retrieval on knowledge-rich websites, as they assist users in exploring topics and concepts.