What is “truth”? This is the main philosophical question that many of the contemporary philosophical theories (e.g., consistency theory, correspondence theory, semiotics, and pragmatism) tried to investigate over the past decades. However, these theories mostly approached “truth” from logical and epistemological perspectives. On the other hand, Santayana’s theory of truth embarks in a different direction. His perspective was laid out in his book “The Realm of Truth”, which is considered one of the parts of his seminal work “The Realms of Being”. Santayana's theory of truth founded on the “critical realism” to which he belongs, and thus his approach was “realistic” or “ontological”. The novelty of Santayana's theory of truth is that it brings the “theory of truth” out of the fields of logic, epistemology, and philosophies of language, and into the field of being, ontology, or the realm of lived experience. In this paper we introduce an analytical and critical account of Santayana's theory of truth, and its moving from logic to realism.

The existing studies on the association between the built environment and health mainly concentrates on urban areas, while rural communities in China have a huge demand for a healthy built environment, and research in this area remains insufficient. There is a lack of research on the health impact of the built environment in rural communities in China, where there is a significant demand for advancements in the healthy built environment. Exploring the Influence of built environment satisfaction on self-rated health outcomes in New-type village communities has positive significance for advancing research on healthy village community. This paper selects four new-type village communities as typical cases, which are located in the far suburbs of Shanghai, China. A questionnaire survey was conducted on individual villagers, and 223 valid questionnaire samples were obtained. A PLS-SEM model was developed using survey data to examine how built environment satisfaction influences dwellers’ self-rated health while taking into account the mediating function of the perceived social environment. Moreover, multi-group analysis was performed based on age. The results show that built environment satisfaction indirectly influences residents self-rated health through its impact on perceived social environment. The research also discovered that the relationship between built environment satisfaction, social environment satisfaction and self-rated health is not influenced by age as a moderating factor. The research offers new insights for the planning and design of new-type village community from a health perspective.

This study examines the effectiveness of Kazakhstan’s grant funding system in supporting research institutions and universities, focusing on the relationship between funding levels, expert evaluations, and research outputs. We analyzed 317 projects awarded grants in 2021, using parametric methods to assess publication outcomes in Scopus and Web of Science databases. Descriptive statistics for 1606 grants awarded between 2021 and 2023 provide additional insights into the broader funding landscape. The results highlight key correlations between funding, evaluation scores, and journal publication percentiles, with a notable negative correlation observed between international and national expert evaluations in specific scientific fields. A productivity analysis at the organizational level was conducted using non-parametric methods to evaluate institutional efficiency in converting funding into research output. Data were manually collected from the National Center of Science and Technology Evaluation and supplemented with publication data from Scopus and Web of Science, using unique grant numbers and principal investigators’ profiles. This comprehensive analysis contributes to the development of an analytical framework for improving research funding policies in Kazakhstan.

This study explores how demographic factors shape perceptions of celebrity and influencer marketing in the context of promoting cryptocurrencies, particularly in the tourism sector. It evaluates whether such marketing strategies effectively promote cryptocurrencies and how their impact varies across demographic groups. By analyzing responses from a sample of 161 predominantly young and educated respondents, the study uses statistical methods to identify differences in perceived marketing effectiveness based on age, gender, and other demographics. Findings reveal no significant demographic differences in effectiveness; instead, the study underscores the importance of universal marketing qualities, such as authenticity, credibility, and relevance. These results suggest the need for inclusive marketing strategies that foster trust and transparency. Additionally, the study highlights avenues for future research, including cultural and ethical considerations, to refine marketing approaches and develop innovative campaigns that drive cryptocurrency adoption and trust in the tourism industry.

This study investigates the link between debt and political alignment in international relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and African nations. Using recorded roll-call votes on United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions, we explore whether PRC investment in sovereign debt influences the voting behaviour of loan recipient countries. We compile voting data for African countries from 2000 to 2020 to calculate an annual voting affinity score as a proxy for political alignment. Concurrently, data on Chinese public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) loans to African governments are collected. A Two-Stage Least-Squares analysis is employed, using the ratio of Chinese PPG debt to GDP as an instrument to address endogeneity. Results reveal a negative impact of Chinese lending on African political support, while trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), and Chinese GDP positively influence political alignment. In high debt-risk African countries, interest rates have a negative impact, whereas loan maturity shows a positive effect. These findings suggest that Chinese loans, particularly under commercial terms, may have strained bilateral relations due to debt sustainability concerns. Nevertheless, the positive impacts of trade and FDI may enhance international relations, highlighting the limitations of China’s loan diplomacy in fostering long-term strategic alignment in Africa.

The ongoing dissemination of globalization and digitalization may suggest that personal relationships are becoming less crucial in the context of retail banking and financial services. In Hungary, in addition to private banking, which is associated with high income levels, personal banking also plays an important role. The objective of this study is to develop a model that can identify the factors that determine customer satisfaction and their relative importance. Furthermore, the aim is to incorporate gender and age as moderator variables to identify demographic differences in satisfaction. The analysis was conducted via a questionnaire survey in October to November 2023 employing a purposive sampling approach in a university environment, as the respondents are likely to possess the highest level of existing financial knowledge within this population. The 214 valid responses were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, with the objective of contributing to the development of theory in this field of study. The results demonstrate that perception (β = 0.519) and reliability (β = 0.253) collectively explained 51.8% of the variance in satisfaction. Moreover, the results indicate that perception accounts for 49.2% of the variance in reliability, suggesting the existence of an indirect effect on satisfaction. Therefore, the findings suggest that, despite the advent of digital banking, face to face service remains a pertinent concern in Hungary, and financial institutions should prioritize the factors that shape customer satisfaction. The study contributes to the literature and to the development of customer loyalty strategies for banks based on these findings.