Abstract: This article addresses the “Hard Problem” of consciousness not as an immutable ontological barrier of nature, but as an iatrogenic separation—a methodological artifact induced by the reductive third-person perspective (3P). By systematically and intentionally removing the subject from the world-description to achieve a veneer of objectivity, modern physicalism creates a restrictive “substance grammar” that subsequently struggles to locate the qualitative dimension of experience within its own datasets. Using Hans Holbein the Younger’s painting The Ambassadors (1533) as a primary epistemic model, we analyze the anamorphic “blot” as a representation of the Real that eludes frontal, mathematical domestication. We argue that the resolution of this parallax requires more than a simple shift in focus; it demands a “step to the side”—a transition from static representation to the processual performance of enactive inference. Integrating Karl Friston’s Free Energy Principle (FEP) and the Neurophenomenological Enactive System Schema (NESS), we define meaning not as an intrinsic property of objects, but as a temporal alignment and an energetic achievement of a system striving for coherence under the constant pressure of existential concern (Sorge). The paper concludes by proposing a “processual perspectivism” and the figure of the Sovereign Witness, suggesting that the Hard Problem is dissolved when subjectivity is understood as the active, embodied performance of the world-relation.

Abstract: This article reconceptualizes Cold War intelligence reports as a form of “involuntary ethnography.” Drawing on declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports on the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (ESSR) from 1947 to 1955, it examines how intelligence gathering practices generated detailed accounts of everyday life under socialism. Produced for strategic and military purposes, these reports nonetheless contain systematic observations of housing conditions, food consumption, clothing, social behavior, and political attitudes. Situating these materials within debates on knowledge production and state surveillance, the article argues that intelligence reports functioned as a hybrid form of social knowledge, positioned between bureaucratic observation and ethnographic description. Focusing on Tartu and wider Estonia, it demonstrates how intelligence archives can be used to reconstruct lived experience under conditions of scarcity, repression, and militarization — among them a divided city in which the open intellectual space of the university and the sealed military space of the Raadi airfield yielded radically different kinds of social knowledge. By foregrounding intelligence as a mode of social observation, the article contributes to Cold War historiography and proposes a new analytical category: intelligence ethnography.

Abstract: Heritage Science generates vast quantities of heterogeneous data; however, the absence of a shared semantic framework frequently results in fragmented knowledge and compromised reproducibility. This paper introduces CRMhs, an ontology developed as a formal extension of the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM), designed to harmonise the documentation of scientific investigations within the cultural heritage domain. By defining specialised classes for scientific activities, study objects and analytical datasets, the model ensures a robust chain of provenance from initial physical sampling to final interpretative outcomes. The efficacy of CRMhs is demonstrated through its ability to successfully align diverse datasets, ranging from materials-based enquiries to environmental measurements, into a coherent and navigable knowledge graph. This approach not only facilitates seamless data interoperability but also establishes the essential semantic foundation for the advancement of Reactive Heritage Digital Twins. The model bridges the gap between raw scientific evidence and art-historical and archaeological interpretation, fostering a more integrated and sustainable approach to the preservation of cultural heritage.

Abstract: This paper examines the pedagogical and material implications of wax carving in vocational jewellery education through arts practice-led research incorporating arts-based inquiry. The finger ring operates as both material object and conceptual lens, enabling an exploration of sustainability, temporality, and meaning in craft practice. Industry-standard synthetic carving wax—primarily composed of polyethylene—perpetuates environmentally and bodily harmful material cultures when taught as normative technique. Drawing upon six months of studio experimentation, drawing, and reflective practice, Author 1 interrogated what are considered as “ordinary” material use in her practice as a jeweller and jewellery teacher, with Author 2 who is also an artist/educator/researcher working with metals and sustainable practices. Natural alternatives, including beeswax-resin blends and cheese were explored for alternative mould-making. These experiments generated idiosyncratic cast outcomes and expanded creative and pedagogical possibilities. The inquiry reveals a dynamic interrelationship between making, drawing, and teaching, positioning the educator of crafts and metal art as an alchemic mediator who transforms material practice and knowledge transmission. The paper argues for jewellery and sculpture pedagogy that is rooted in practices, fosters material curiosity, ecological responsibility, and reflective engagement, aligning vocational craft and art education with broader sustainability imperatives.

Abstract: The digital transformation of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector requires human capital trained in collaborative methodologies. In Peru, the BIM Peru Plan establishes the mandatory nature of this methodology by 2030, posing a critical challenge for academia. This research analyzes and evaluates the proposal for curricular integration of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) methodology at the levels of technical, university and postgraduate higher education in Peru, in accordance with the regulatory framework in force to 2025. A qualitative research design of documentary and descriptive nature was used. A categorical content analysis of the national regulations was carried out, mainly R.D. No. 004-2025-EF/63.01, using as dimensions of analysis the fundamentals, modeling and management of information under the standards of the ISO 19650 standard. A didactic progression structured in three levels was identified: technical (operational/production), university (coordination/collaboration) and postgraduate (strategic management/direction). The transition from a software tool-based approach to one focused on information requirements management is highlighted. Curricular alignment with international standards (ISO 19650) is robust; however, a gap persists between the regulations and the installed capacity in universities. It is concluded that curricular standardization is a driver for interoperability in the public sector, recommending the implementation of interdisciplinary laboratories to mitigate disciplinary isolation.

Abstract: This paper addresses a growing mismatch between how contemporary artifacts appear and how they persist. Many artifacts are still encountered and classified as discrete objects, even though their continuity is increasingly sustained through updates, recalibration, layered dependencies, retained states, and repeated return into later operation. Under these conditions, an object-based account of identity no longer explains enough. The paper argues that some artifacts are better understood as regimes, using the term in a restrained sense to name organized operative orders that remain continuous across structured change. The argument first shows why surface continuity and public sameness no longer settle the question of artifact identity. It then develops a middle-level account of persistence in terms of organized continuity, basic structural requirements, sufficient internal coherence, traceable continuity over time, the retention of prior states, and the way earlier configurations continue to shape later operation. This makes it possible to distinguish continued identity from gradual transformation, mounting pressure toward replacement, and the emergence of a successor artifact. The final step argues that once continuity organizes exposure, behavior, and conditions of use across time, it cannot be treated as normatively neutral. Governability must therefore be understood as internal to the continuing order of the artifact itself. The result is a framework for judging when one artifact still persists through organized change and when a different judgment of identity has become necessary.

Abstract: The question of how meaning arises from communication, cognition, and experience remains unresolved across philosophy and cognitive science. Existing theories variously attribute meaning to intention, linguistic structure, interpretation, or subjective valuation, yet fail to integrate these dimensions into a unified framework.The Awareness-Based Meaning System (ABMS) proposes a process-based model in which meaning is not transmitted as an intrinsic property of messages but emerges through a valuation-dependent reconstruction within awareness. In this framework, messaging originates at the source as either Appearance-Based Messaging (ABM), grounded in shared conventions, or Intention-Based Messaging (IBM), which embeds generative depth through intention. At the recipient, messaging undergoes interpretive processing (IP), producing informational intelligence, followed by valuation processing (VP), which assigns relevance and transforms information into emotionally charged intelligence. Meaning arises only when this valuation-integrated content is incorporated into awareness as Recognition-Based Meaning (RBM).ABMS introduces a critical distinction between generative depth and realized meaning, and predicts a fundamental asymmetry between intention-based messaging and experienced meaning, contrasted with relative symmetry in convention-based messaging. This framework unifies and extends existing theories by specifying how intention, interpretation, valuation, and awareness interact to produce meaningful experience.Furthermore, ABMS generates empirically testable predictions, including the necessity of valuation for meaning formation and the dissociation between interpretive depth and meaningful experience. By formalizing the transformation from messaging to meaning, ABMS provides a coherent theoretical and experimental foundation for investigating meaning as an awareness-dependent and valuation-driven process.

Abstract: The study assesses the effectiveness of various stature estimation methods that utilise biases such as sex and race. Based on the literature gathered, the plausibility that stature estimation methods that use regression equations in their computation may just be a result of mathematical coincidence. In order to evaluate the need for group-biased methods, the research devised its own set of regression equations for the sampled population and compared it against region-biased, sex-biased, and height-categorisation approaches. The sample population was taken entirely from Delhi, India and the English dataset used by Mays (2016). The sampling included all long bone measurements of the humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, and fibula, along with the sex and ancestry of the participants. The findings revealed that the general regression model provided the lowest mean standard error estimate (SEE), initially suggesting that a non-biased approach to stature estimation may be more effective. However, upon analysis, it was found that the general model resulted in a fairly consistent overestimation of stature, although no particular trend of how this was occurring was noticeable. Along with this, the height-categorisation method, though mathematically very interesting, produced the highest mean SEE, indicating that the trends seen in stature estimation methods are not a result of mathematical coincidences. Looking at the group-specific models, a consistent performance was noticed in the statistical assessment and in the literature review. With a few caveats of certain bone measurements outperforming others, the group-specific models provide confirmation that the stature of any population has clear trends and can be quantified for estimation purposes. In the field of forensic anthropology, the complexity of accuracy, efficiency, and inclusivity is in constant discussion. Traditional race and sex biases being applied to modern contexts is challenging, especially with the rise of violence towards marginalised groups. Additionally, given the increase in cultural and genetic diversity of populations now, there needs to be immediate reconsideration of the terminology and sampling utilised in these long-standing methodologies. Future research should focus on developing more inclusive and adaptable stature estimation models.

Abstract: Previous studies examining the link between urban health and land use have predominantly relied on qualitative or descriptive approaches, lacking comprehensive quantitative frameworks capable of systematically identifying influential factors and prioritizing interventions. This research introduces a multi-method analytical framework incorporating MAXQDA, Factor Analysis, and Importance–Performance Map Analysis (IPMA). In the first phase, MAXQDA was used to conduct qualitative content analysis and identify urban health indicators most influenced by land use. These indicators were assessed through a structured questionnaire comprising 41 items, distributed among residents of three neighborhood units within Phase 2 of Parand New Town, with a minimum residency requirement of five years to ensure data reliability. Factor Analysis was employed to reduce the broader set of indicators into a smaller number of latent constructs, each reflecting a distinct dimension and forming the basis for the composite Urban Health Index. Subsequently, IPMA was applied to evaluate the importance and performance of each indicator within individual neighborhoods, enabling the identification of local intervention priorities. The findings show a substantial influence of the land use system on urban health. The second neighborhood unit, characterized by superior accessibility and a broader range of land uses, achieved the highest score of 3.062. This analytical framework offers urban planners a replicable and practical tool for identifying and prioritizing interventions that promote health-oriented and sustainable urban development.

Abstract: Imperialism as a system of exploitation profoundly shaped the natural and human landscapes of colonized regions. This paper examines how the Second World War accelerated imperial transformations in East Africa, focusing on the Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme (1947–1951) as a case of business-imperial collaboration. Set against Britain’s post-war reconstruction needs, the scheme shows how corporate interests, especially Unilever’s, shaped colonial development through industrial agriculture. Drawing on archival research and recent historiography, the article argues that the scheme was not merely a failed agricultural experiment, but a structural expression of business-imperial partnership with lasting environmental and institutional legacies. Its ecological damage and social disruption reflect broader patterns of environmental violence inherent in imperial capitalism. This study contributes to imperial environmental history in two ways: first, by tracing the long-term ecological impacts of post-war industrial development in colonial spaces; second, to show that imperial agro-economic practices were not temporally isolated events, and the effects of even short-lived, failed ventures such as the Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme continued into the post-colonial period.

Abstract: Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming education. Tools such as modern AI language models can now generate essays, explain complex concepts, create lesson plans, produce quizzes, and summarize entire textbooks within seconds. For many teachers and institutions, this raises an important question: what is the role of a human educator in an age when machines can instantly provide information? This paper presents an accessible framework that helps schools and colleges integrate artificial intelligence into teaching while preserving the essential human elements of education. Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for teachers, the framework positions AI as a powerful assistant that can support lesson preparation, personalized feedback, and adaptive learning resources. By automating repetitive tasks such as content generation, grading support, and material organization, AI allows educators to focus on what machines cannot easily replicate: mentorship, creativity, ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and inspiration.The framework outlines practical strategies for using AI responsibly in classrooms, including guidelines for AI-assisted lesson planning, student engagement techniques, and safeguards to maintain academic integrity. It also discusses how institutions can prepare both teachers and students for an AI-augmented learning environment by promoting digital literacy, responsible tool usage, and critical evaluation of AI-generated information.Ultimately, the goal of AI-enhanced teaching is not to replace educators, but to empower them. When used thoughtfully, artificial intelligence can reduce administrative workload, expand access to high-quality learning resources, and create more personalized educational experiences. In this vision, AI becomes a supportive partner, while teachers remain the guiding force who cultivate curiosity, wisdom, and human understanding in the classroom.

Abstract: What is causation, and how do mind and matter fit within the causal structure of reality? This paper argues that conventional reductionist causation — the view that causal influence flows only upward from microphysical constituents to larger and larger structures — is both metaphysically incomplete and inadequate to the facts. After surveying standard accounts of causation in Western philosophy and science, I argue against epiphenomenalism and the emergentist denial of genuine mental causation. In their place, I develop the concept of radial causation, according to which every actual entity exerts causal influence outward in all directions, with no privileged bottom-up priority. Building on Whitehead’s process metaphysics, I propose that causation has two inseparable aspects: an internal or mental aspect constituted by each entity’s own perspective and subjectivity, and an external or material aspect available to outside observers. Radial causation allows top-down as well as bottom-up causation (and “sideways causation”) and explains how higher-level conscious entities can be genuinely causally efficacious without violating physical principles. The paper concludes with a brief examination of how General Resonance Theory and contemporary electromagnetic field theories of consciousness provide one empirically grounded implementation of radial causation at the neural level, offering a mechanistic picture of how mind and matter interact as genuinely co-equal aspects of a single causal web. This is a radically participatory and collegial view of the universe.

Abstract: Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly transforming creative practice, particularly within the conceptual design process, by augmenting human creativity and enhancing design productivity. Despite widespread adoption, fundamental questions persist about how GenAI influences design cognition, collaboration, and, critically, human agency. This paper synthesizes findings from a systematic literature review of GenAI's role in conceptual design with original empirical evidence drawn from two qualitative studies (Study 1, n = 6; Study 2, n = 7) exploring how individuals experience creative agency during co-creative tasks involving AI-generated images and text. Using think-aloud protocols and semi-structured post-task interviews, we identify four central dimensions of creative agency in human-AI collaboration: creative self-efficacy, control over creative action, autonomy in the creative process, and ownership of the creative product. We further identify self-regulatory and metacognitive mechanisms—including progressive refinement, selective appropriation, and counter-inspiration—that users employ to sustain agency when navigating unpredictable AI outputs. Building on these findings and anchored in the Co-Creative Framework for Interaction Design, we propose the Generative AI Enhanced Conceptual Design (GAECD) Framework, which delineates roles, responsibilities, and interaction modes for effective human-AI co-creation. This paper contributes both a critical evaluation of the current state of GenAI-human collaboration and a practical roadmap for designers, developers, and researchers seeking to harness GenAI's full potential while preserving meaningful human creative agency.

Abstract: This study adopts an agricultural archaeology perspective, integrating excavated remains, artifact genealogies, and pictorial materials to conduct a systematic investigation into the origins, evolution, and cultural significance of traditional Chinese tea-making techniques.By examining tea plant genetic remains dating back 6,000 years, tea-processing tools from the Western Han to Tang-Song periods, Ming-Qing purple clay tea ware, and representative tea paintings from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, this study analyzes the historical development of tea-making techniques, revealing their continuous evolution from the nascent stages of consumption to systematic development.The research demonstrates that archaeological evidence not only provides a solid foundation for chronological progression and technical analysis of traditional Chinese tea-making techniques and related customs, but also reflects the interactive relationship between technological innovation, the dissemination of tea customs, and social structures. Furthermore, archaeological material from Liao Dynasty tombs, Tibetan burial sites, and overseas shipwrecks indicates that tea customs exhibit remarkable cultural adaptability and influence in cross-regional exchanges and global dissemination.This paper argues that agricultural archaeology not only provides material evidence and methodological frameworks for studying traditional crafts but also offers new academic perspectives for understanding the diverse values of Chinese tea culture across temporal and spatial dimensions.

Abstract: The Deori community represents one of the most ancient indigenous tribal communities of Assam, with a rich cultural heritage spanning over a millennium. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Deori people, examining their historical origins, social structure, cultural traditions, linguistic heritage, and contemporary challenges. Drawing on ethnographic research, government records, and academic studies, the paper explores how this Sino-Tibetan community has preserved its distinct identity while navigating centuries of political change, from ancient kingdoms to colonial rule to modern democratic governance. The establishment of the Deori Autonomous Council in 2005 marked a significant milestone in the community's political empowerment, though ongoing demands for Sixth Schedule status reflect continuing aspirations for greater autonomy. The article also examines contemporary efforts to document and preserve the Deori language and culture, particularly through recent collaborations with academic institutions such as the reputed universities and IITs, while addressing the challenges of language endangerment, economic development, and cultural preservation in the 21st century.

Abstract: We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”— Aristotle (paraphrased by Will Durant)Quality improvement is not merely a managerial obligation—it is an art of refinement and a disciplined pursuit of excellence that has shaped industries for over a century. From the statistical precision of Six Sigma at Motorola to the philosophy of continuous improvement embodied in Kaizen at Toyota, and from the investigative clarity of Fishbone Diagrams to the predictive foresight of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) used in aerospace systems, each methodology offers a unique pathway toward operational perfection. This article presents a structured exploration of twenty influential quality improvement methodologies. Each method is explained through clear procedural steps, illustrated with block diagrams, and supported by real-world case studies drawn from leading technology organisations such as Toyota, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Amazon, Tesla, and Intel. Beyond industrial applications, these methods reveal broader principles of disciplined thinking, systematic learning, and continuous growth. Ultimately, the philosophy of quality improvement extends beyond organisations—it provides a powerful framework for improving personal learning, professional development, and everyday decision-making.

Abstract: Contemporary philosophy of mind is beginning to rehabilitate Arthur Schopenhauer as a proto-phenomenologist whose metaphysics of the will—once divested of its ontological commitments—provides thick descriptions of embodied agency, self-structure, and intersubjective resonance. This article validates this thesis through a four-stage naturalized reconstruction: (1) Schopenhauer’s "world-knot" and the unity of body and will are interpreted as phenomenal facets of minimal self-models within the framework of the Free Energy Principle (Friston, 2010). (2) His fragmented theory of the self is situated within Gallagher’s Pattern Theory of Self (2013). (3) His ethics of compassion is framed as a precursor to a Pattern Theory of Compassion. (4) Finally, affective criticality is employed to explain Schopenhauer's diagnosis of pessimism as a form of predictive dysregulation. Methodologically, the paper circumvents the pitfall of superficial analogies by adopting a weak methodological naturalism, utilizing cognitive models as a functional grammar for phenomenal material without reductively truncating the metaphysical deep structure.

Abstract: The Trace & Trajectory Framework (TTF) offers a non-representationalist approach to meaning, cognition, and selfhood grounded in dynamical systems theory and radical enactivism. Rather than treating meaning as something stored in mental representations, TTF proposes that meaning is enacted—it emerges through temporally extended navigational patterns called trajectories traversing dynamic structures called ribbons. The framework’s layered ontology comprises traces (probabilistic preconditions), threads (pre-navigational filamentary configurations emerging as the first semiotic coherence structure over trace sets), ribbons (coordinated thread-bundles whose fold dynamics generate navigational positions), and trajectories (meaning-events). The dual-parameter architecture (λ for structural granularity, σ for epistemic access) combines with ribbon dynamics to handle phenomena typically addressed through separate, domain-specific machinery. This version foregrounds the toroidal topology (T² _H) of navigational space. The Gaussian saturation profile—previously presented as a hill with a terminal apex—is reconceived as a cross-section of an asymmetric torus: the upper half carries the saturative convergence gradient (from maximal thread differentiation toward autosimilar collapse through Θ); the lower half maps the dissolutive gradient (decreasing dissociative awareness toward NET substrate). Autosimilar collapse (A) is redefined as a navigational-epistemic function rather than a structural property. The ontological stack from threads upward is grounded in semiotic coherence (SC)—the structural tendency of configurations to maintain consistency across differential positions—rather than temporal accumulation; threads are reconceived as SC structures (filamentary coherence-tracking) rather than cumulative functions, and ribbons as second-order SC morphisms. A three-factor convergence model (architectural predisposition, mimetic fold dynamics, emergent navigation) replaces single-factor accounts of how configurations stabilize, positioning TTF against stochastic, nativist, and social-constructivist alternatives. The framework retains ribbon dynamics as its primary organizational level, with the Hx namespace, QRS-CONFIG, stratified epistemic barriers, hex bands, and Macro-α providing analytical instruments. The framework dissolves rather than solves classical problems—including symbol grounding, the scalability challenge, and the tension between embodied and abstract cognition—by rejecting the representationalist premises that generate them.

Abstract: In art and architecture, synchronicity—the parallel emergence of related ideas without direct causal links—has long shaped the evolution of design cultures. Recently, heritage architecture across Europe has become an active stage for fashion shows, art exhibitions, and live performances, encouraging audiences to experience buildings not merely as backdrops but as performative, meaning-generating spaces. Italy offers a significant field of observation through projects positioned beside restoration. While not constituting restoration activities in a conventional sense, these interventions engage critically with existing heritage by activating processes of reuse, management, and cultural valorisation. Such strategies contribute to sustainability on multiple levels: they address architectural and conservation constraints while simultaneously supporting environmental preservation, limiting land consumption and urban sprawl, reducing waste, and broadening public access to heritage. Through the analysis of selected case studies, this paper investigates the dialogue between performance art and heritage architecture as a sustainable practice. The discussion is enriched by interviews with three professionals whose work in central Italy exemplifies innovative approaches to engaging communities with their surrounding heritage. The study argues that performative practices can operate as complementary tools to restoration, fostering new forms of cultural sustainability and expanding contemporary understandings of heritage stewardship.

Abstract: This article introduces a tutorial-style implementation of Quantum Link Prediction (QLP) for citation network analysis in historiographical research, with a specific focus on the transnational historiography of Mongol military campaigns. Using a manually curated citation network of Russian and American military treatises from 1875 to 2012, the study applies simulated quantum random walks to identify previously unknown citation pathways. The article is structured to guide researchers through each phase of the QLP workflow, from network preprocessing and quantum circuit construction to result interpretation, making it accessible to scholars in the humanities new to quantum methods. Through this approach, we discover a previously unknown transmission link connecting the Russian and American corpora. This finding not only reshapes the existing citation network but also demonstrates the potential of QLP as an introductory use case for teaching quantum computing to learners in the humanities. To support reproducibility and future adoption the open-source QuantumRandomWalks package was published in conjunction with this paper.