Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a driving force in modern research, industry and public administration and the European Union (EU) is embracing this technology with a view to creating societal, as well as economic, value. This effort has been shared by EU Member States which were all encouraged to develop their own national AI strategies outlining policies and investment levels. This study focuses on how EU Member States are approaching the promise to develop and use AI for the good of (...) society through the lens of their national AI strategies. In particular, we aim to investigate how European countries are investing in AI and to what extent the stated plans contribute to the good of people and society as a whole. Our contribution consists of three parts: (i) a conceptualization of AI for social good highlighting the role of AI policy, in particular, the one put forward by the European Commission (EC); (ii) a qualitative analysis of 15 European national strategies mapping investment plans and suggesting their relation to the social good (iii) a reflection on the current status of investments in socially good AI and possible steps to move forward. Our study suggests that while European national strategies incorporate money allocations in the sphere of AI for social good (e.g. education), there is a broader variety of underestimated actions (e.g. multidisciplinary approach in STEM curricula and dialogue among stakeholders) that can boost the European commitment to sustainable and responsible AI innovation. (shrink)

This work studies manipulative use of language that can be called “deliberate failure of communication”; I characterize this kind of manipulation and show that it can be found in the discourse of marketing experts and legal professionals. Relying on relevance theory, I show that manipulation of this kind takes advantage of what van Dijk calls the “context model” of the addressees. I exemplify two ways in which the context models of some of the discourse’s participants might be misused in order (...) to manipulate them. One way is exemplified by a text from an advertisement, the other by a text from a criminal court file. I propose, finally, that the analysis supports van Dijk’s view that social, discursive, and epistemic inequalities reproduce one another in a kind of vicious circle. It suggests, in van Dijk’s terms, that manipulation by deliberate failure of communication is a discriminatory use of language employed by elite groups in order to reproduce their social power. (shrink)

This essay explores the aesthetic sensibilities of the French physiologist Claude Bernard . In particular, it analyzes the Cahier Rouge , Bernard's acclaimed laboratory notebook. In this notebook, Bernard articulates the range of his experience as an experimental physiologist, juxtaposing without differentiation details of laboratory procedure and more personal queries, doubts, and reflections on experimentation, life, and art. Bernard's insights, it is argued, offer an aesthetic and phenomenological template for considering experimentation. His physiological point of view ranges from his own (...) bodily aesthesis or sensory perception, through personal reflections on scientific discovery as an artistic process, to a broader metaphysical conception of life as an artistic creation. Such an aesthetic approach to physiology enables Bernard to reconcile his empirical methodology and his romantic idealism; it offers the history of laboratory science a framework for considering the individual, bodily, and emotional labor inherent in physiological experimentation. (shrink)

Que savent les juristes? Que choisissent-ils d'ignorer? Travaillant avec le droit, ou sur lui, ils se dotent de connaissances qu'ils "vérifient" en tentant de se prémunir contre le risque d'erreur : quelles sont leurs sources d'information? Des théories sont accueillies avec enthousiasme ou avec réserve ; d'autres sont rejetées. Tels sont les phénomènes étudiés en épistémologie juridique. Le savoir des juristes, avocats, avoués, universitaires et autres enseignants du droit, greffiers, conseil d'entreprises... a ses lois et ses tendances, ses mouvements, ses (...) crises. (shrink)

This essay analyzes the historical development of otology in relation to music. It illustrates the integral role of music perception and appreciation in the study of hearing, where hearing operates not simply as a scientific phenomenon but signifies particular meaningful experiences in society. The four historical moments considered—Helmholtz’s piano-keyed cochlea, the ear phonautograph, the hearing aid, and the cochlear implant—show how the sounds, perceptions, and instruments of music have mediated and continue to mediate our relationships with hearing. To have an (...) ear, one does not just bear a physiological hearing mechanism; one experiences the aesthetics of musical sound. (shrink)

I will suggest, in this article, a possible explanation of the fact that legal language appears incoherent to the general public. I will present one legal text (an indictment), explaining why it appears incoherent to legal laypersons. I will argue that the traits making this particular text appear incoherent are, first, that a specialized legal meaning is conveyed implicitly and, second, that there are no key-words that could direct laypersons to the knowledge making this meaning obvious to legalists. I will (...) conclude that any legal text having these traits is likely to appear incoherent to the general public and suggest that the traits making my example appear incoherent might be rather common among the various texts of the various legal systems. On this suggestion there is no need to assume any causal relation between lawyers’ social interests and the apparent incoherence of legal language as it entails that this incoherence is inevitable. (I will argue that it is a result of the facts that legal language is ordinary language used, in the ordinary way, in the special context of the legal discourse.). (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Semiotica Jahrgang: 2016 Heft: 209 Seiten: 99-123.

According to Dascal, controversy is characterised by a special kind of rationality, one result thereof being the unique contribution of this kind of polemics to the growth of knowledge. This, in turn, implies that complete cooperation may be detrimental for the efficiency of communication. In this article I discuss the kind of rationality that characterises controversy in legal discourse, in order to provide additional support to Dascal’s thesis about the uniqueness of the rationality of this kind of polemic exchange. I (...) present empirical evidence supporting the conclusion that we may characterise the rationality inherent in controversy by its tolerance to inconsistency; I elucidate the tolerance to inconsistency of the rationality of legal polemic by showing that the norms recommended by the Israeli Supreme Court in the domain of conjugal relationships between men and women verge on inconsistency: On the one hand, the legal system defends the right of women over their bodies, including a woman’s right to establish a romantic relationship, regardless of the nature of the relationship she has with other men; on the other hand, the court acknowledges a man’s uncontrolled tendency to impose monogamous behaviour on his female partner. (shrink)

Le particulier qui s'adresse à un avocat, ou qui lit la décision de justice rendue pour ou contre lui, éprouve un étrange sentiment : les " vraies " questions qu'il avait posées semblent avoir été escamotées. Elles n'ont pas reçu de réponse. Le juriste semble détenir les réponses aux questions que se pose le justiciable ; c'est ce qui le définit en quelque sorte et justifie son intervention. Il les puise notamment dans la loi et dans les décisions judiciaires. La (...) réalité est moins simple. Entre questions et réponses en droit s'instaure un jeu complexe et subtil. Les questions risquent fort de s'y perdre tant elles sont préparées, codées, dirigées par les " réponses " supposées en attente. La qualité du savoir des juristes dépend de leur aptitude à sauvegarder les questions, à ne pas les laisser s'émousser et disparaître sous l'emprise de notions, de catégories et de qualifications qui les recouvrent. Le retour aux questions de droit passe par la redécouverte du temps propre au savoir juridique et à sa sédimentation. Loin de la dogmatique juridique, il y a lieu de penser le droit et les lois comme des réponses. Les questions sont à poser en situation. (shrink)

This paper focuses on segmenting digital movie and TV series pirates and on investigating the effectiveness of piracy-combatting measures i.e., legal and educational strategies, in light of these segments. To address these research objectives, two online studies were conducted. First, 1277 valid responses were gathered with an online survey. Four pirate segments were found based on differing combinations of attitude toward piracy, ethical evaluation of piracy and feelings of guilt. The anti-pirate, conflicted pirate, cavalier pirate, and die-hard pirate can be (...) placed on a continuum of increasing pirating frequency, subjective norm, pirating self-efficacy, habit, and decreasing in perceived harm, respectively. The segments also differ in deontological and teleological orientations. Second, in an experimental mixed design, we find that the educational strategy is more effective than the legal strategy in lowering pirating intentions for the conflicted and cavalier pirate. However, both strategies fail at lowering intentions of the die-hard pirate, although perceived harm and perceived impunity were significantly influenced. These findings offer a more profound understanding of pirate segments and how they react differently to piracy-combatting measures. As a result, better strategies can be developed to control digital piracy. (shrink)

In an analysis of three college lectures, Corts and Pollio found that figurative language and gesture often appeared together in ‘bursts’. These bursts were initially characterized as novel figurative expression that centered on the primary topic of the lecture. The current study is an attempt to provide clearer description of how and why figurative language and gesture so often appear together in academic discourse. In addition, this study extends earlier findings to additional speakers and academic disciplines to improve generalizability. In (...) accordance with Corts and Pollio, the bursts of figurative activity are predominately novel rather than cliched, coherent with a root metaphor, and centered around the main topics of the lecture. The present study adds that figures within bursts largely include analogies and metaphor that represent a concept whereas topical figures outside of bursts are descriptive phrases that often include other types of figures such as hyperbole, litote, etc. The regularity of such bursts suggests that they serve an important cognitive function independent of personal style of the lecturer or any demands of a particular academic field. (shrink)

This book presents a detailed fieldwork-based study of the ancient Indian religion of Jainism. Drawing on field research in northern Gujarat and on the study of both ancient Sanskrit and Prakrit and modern vernacular Jain religious literature, John Cort provides a rounded portrait of the religion as it is practiced today.

La memoria plantea el complejo problema de la inserción del sujeto en su colectividad. Ella no es, ni puramente individual pues permite al sujeto incrustarse en el orden simbólico de la cultura y el tiempo, ni enteramente social pues aún la memoria compartida debe ser procesada por el individuo. La memoria es a la vez una experiencia del sujeto consigo mismo y una experiencia de la relación del sujeto con su Otro. Esto explica que nuestro punto de partida sea mostrar (...) aquello que en la memoria permite al sujeto engancharse al orden simbólico de la cultura, para luego examinar el campo de la experiencia actual de la memoria colectiva. Se intentará pues describir brevemente el pasaje de la memoria al recuerdo, del recuerdo al pasado y de esta a la historia, bajo una idea directriz: el pasado, que es indeterminado, sólo está disponible a través de la rememoración individual y colectiva, eso está claro; la cuestión a examinar será más bien las dificultades para elaborar el recuerdo. [Fragmento]. (shrink)

O trabalho, em sua íntegra, foi realizado tendo como entrevistado um jovem que se autodenomina gay e negro, oriundo do Rio de Janeiro, de classe social baixa, estudante de uma escola pública do ensino médio regular, situada em uma periferia de um município localizado no interior da Bahia. Na tessitura que segue, enfatizamos os marcadores sociais de gênero/sexualidade e raça/etnia. Esses marcadores apresentaram-se como desconforto para o sujeito entrevistado, visto que não atendem às caracterizações e práticas determinadas pela heteronormatividade. Assim, (...) constatamos que há um olhar hierarquizante e verticalizado envolvendo identidades outras assim como possibilidades de vivências afetivas e sexuais diferentes daquelas determinadas pelas normas sociais. Palavras-chave: gênero; marcadores étnicos; diversidade sexual; estudante. (shrink)

Is brain structure related to function? Can one predict the other? These are questions that are still waiting to be answered definitively. In this paper we seek to investigate these questions, in particular, we are interested in the relation between brain structure and theory of mind. ToM is defined as the ability to attribute mental states to others. Previous studies have observed correlations between performance on ToM tasks, and gray-matter size/volume in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction and precuneus. Despite these (...) findings, there are concerns about false positive results and replicability issues. In this study we used two different tasks to evaluate ToM, Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, and the Short Story Task. Performance in these tasks was correlated to brain anatomy measures including voxel-based morphometry and cortical thickness analysis, from ninety-one neurotypical participants. High-resolution structural brain images were acquired, and whole-brain and region of interest analyses were implemented. The analyses did not show statistically significant associations between ToM performance and brain structural measures after correction. Significant associations between performance on ToM tests and a widespread array of regions loosely associated with ToM were observed only for whole brain uncorrected analysis. These results do not replicate a previous study with neurotypical participants. We tested two different ToM tests, two different softwares for VBM and CT, and we used two samples, one with 91 and a sub-sample with 69 participants. Neither of these conditions made a difference in the results obtained. Consequently, these results suggest that if the population is neurotypical and homogenous, it is unlikely that a reliable association between brain anatomy measures and ToM performance, as measured with these tasks, may be found. (shrink)

El presente ensayo tiene como meta rescatar, por medio de cuatro secciones, algunos de los problemas teóricos y prácticos que se dan en el campo de la Biología. En una primera parte y a modo de introducción, analizamos la vigencia científica del espíritu de Darwin a través de los trabajos de etología que han sido llevados a cabo durante este siglo. A continuación, hacemos una incursión histórica, creemos que a todas luces necesaria, con el fin de examinar los errores y (...) los logros pre y postdarvinistas obtenidos en la Biología y de este modo, en un tercer apartado, situar la aparición de la Sociobiología y entender sus implicaciones epistemológicas. En el ínterin ha sido necesario hablar de cuestiones tales como género, sexualidad, procreación... Finalmente, en el último apartado, el dedicado a la clonación, intentamos desbrozar los riesgos que proceden abusivamente de cierto hacer científico. (shrink)

RESUMEN En este documento se presenta la traducción al español de la obra de teatro A lover of animals, escrita hace 120 años por Henry Stephens Salt, intelectual inglés activista por el trato justo hacia los humanos y los animales. Se introducen elementos que permiten al lector acercarse a la discusión planteada en la obra y se enfatiza en el personaje Claud Kersterman, médico y vivisector que expone una serie de ideas sobre la medicina, la ciencia y el valor de (...) los animales que se pueden apreciar en la actualidad. Finalmente, se resalta el valor que la literatura teatral puede tener para analizar discusiones como las que suscita el trato hacia los animales en contextos generales o particulares como el de la vivisección. ABSTRACT This document presents the Spanish translation of the play A lover of animals, written 120 years ago by Henry Stephens Salt, an English intellectual activist in favor of humans and animals being treated fairly. Elements are introduced which allow the reader to understand the discussion which is set out in the play. Emphasis is placed on the character of Claud Kersterman, a doctor and vivisector who states a series of ideas on medicine, science and the importance of animals, which can be appreciated nowadays. Finally, it is highlighted the significance that theatre literature can have to analyze discussions such as the ones given rise to by the way animals are treated in general or specific contexts such as vivisection. (shrink)

Vida Guerra is a Cuban model from northern New Jersey. She made her name in hiphop videos and in "gentlemen's magazines" but quickly became in intermediate supermodel, with her own calendars, making-of-the-calendar DVDs, official website, fan websites, television show, and controversy over a "leaked" nude photo. . . . Vida's popularity has caused one writer to suggest "You may now move over J-Lo, and make way for Vida;" in short, tiene culo, to borrow the Spanish slang that adorns one of (...) her virally distributed Internet images. . . .this information about Guerra's body explains her popularity by raising additional questions. If the shape of her body makes her popular, what makes that shape popular? Specifically, what accounts for the shift in body fashions that raises the stock of female cults--"rumps with bumps"--at the expense of "stick figures"? And what further shift requires J-Lo to "make way for Vida"? These are questions specifically about the conditions that make Vida Guerra a public figure and that constitute her body as beautiful. (shrink)