Recently, the development and deployment of social robots to support children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) has attracted the attention of researchers in different fields. The main aim of this multidisciplinary research field is to teach and improve the social skills and capabilities of the children through interacting and playing with robots however, due to the spontaneous nature of ch...

thinking simultaneously of humor and battlefield is hardly expectable; however, the most genuine jokes can be seen in this very battlefield verbal culture in a simple and sensitive form which has rarely been paid attention to. this witticism can be categorized into four classes; namely, devotional, fight and martyrdom, drinking and eating, and social interactions which have the most similitude ...

How animals respond to conflict provides key insights into the evolution of socio-cognitive and emotional capacities. Evidence from apes has shown that, after social conflicts, bystanders approach victims of aggression to offer stress-alleviating contact behavior, a phenomenon known as consolation. This other-orientated behavior depends on sensitivity to the other's emotional state, whereby the...

In this paper we shall give a background to some of the main theoretical literature on the subject of what has been called (by Gibbons) “science’s new social contract with society”; central to this new contract is what is called “Mode-2 knowledge production” (Nowotny) characterised by the more open approach of transdisciplinarity allied to an extended peer review. Mode-2 knowledge production al...

This study examines how firms are gaining value from using social media. Social media can be used by businesses for a range of functions, including but not limited to marketing and customer relationship management. It is particularly suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because of its minimal cost, low barriers to participation and low level of IT skills required to use it. Th...