The paper focuses on demonstrating that, in spite of the controversies, lobbying has become an important political communication tool for churches and religious organizations in the United States and in the European Union as well. The American highly regulated lobbying system is compared to the lowly regulated system working at the level of European institutions. The following analysis highlights the differences that the two environments have generated in terms of the main issues and tools used by churches and religious organizations (...) in order to influence policy-making, mainly in the framework of the pluralist - corporatist dichotomy. While the American religious lobbying has been very efficient in influencing the public policy regarding issues like the health care reform, immigration, same-sex marriage, abortion etc., the most significant result of the European religious lobbying has been the recognition of religious communities as partners of dialogue for the European institutions. (shrink)

A recent report from the UN makes the case for “global data literacy” in order to realise the opportunities afforded by the “data revolution”. Here and in many other contexts, data literacy is characterised in terms of a combination of numerical, statistical and technical capacities. In this article, we argue for an expansion of the concept to include not just competencies in reading and working with datasets but also the ability to account for, intervene around and participate in the wider (...) socio-technical infrastructures through which data is created, stored and analysed – which we call “data infrastructure literacy”. We illustrate this notion with examples of “inventive data practice” from previous and ongoing research on open data, online platforms, data journalism and data activism. Drawing on these perspectives, we argue that data literacy initiatives might cultivate sensibilities not only for data science but also for data sociology, data politics as well as wider public engagement with digital data infrastructures. The proposed notion of data infrastructure literacy is intended to make space for collective inquiry, experimentation, imagination and intervention around data in educational programmes and beyond, including how data infrastructures can be challenged, contested, reshaped and repurposed to align with interests and publics other than those originally intended. (shrink)

Involutive Stone algebras were introduced by R. Cignoli and M. Sagastume in connection to the theory of $n$-valued Łukasiewicz–Moisil algebras. In this work we focus on the logic that preserves degrees of truth associated to S-algebras named Six. This follows a very general pattern that can be considered for any class of truth structure endowed with an ordering relation, and which intends to exploit many-valuedness focusing on the notion of inference that results from preserving lower bounds of truth values, and (...) hence not only preserving the value $1$. Among other things, we prove that Six is a many-valued logic that can be determined by a finite number of matrices. Besides, we show that Six is a paraconsistent logic. Moreover, we prove that it is a genuine Logic of Formal Inconsistency with a consistency operator that can be defined in terms of the original set of connectives. Finally, we study the proof theory of Six providing a Gentzen calculus for it, which is sound and complete with respect to the logic. (shrink)

Danaher suggests that doxological justice, grounded in an acute receptivity of the generosity of God, can decenter our current notions of justice. Instead I focus on what might be called doxological forgiveness, that is, grace-responsive forgiveness. The first section argues that a conception of forgiveness which I dub repentance-responsive is compatible with and even requires holding punitive attitudes. The second section sketches the alternative account of grace-responsive forgiveness. Those who embody this virtue have epistemic and theological warrant to entirely disavow (...) punitive emotions. The third section argues that God embodies a grace-responsive forgiveness that undermines retributivism and eclipses repentance-responsive forgiveness. (shrink)

This book investigates whether treaty interpretation at the ECtHR and WTO, which are sometimes perceived as promoting 'self-contained' regimes, could constitute a means for unifying international law, or, conversely, might exacerbate the fragmentation of international law. In this regard, the practice of the ICJ on treaty interpretation is used for comparison, since the ICJ has made the greatest contribution to the development and clarification of international law rules and principles. Providing a critical analysis of cases at the ICJ, ECtHR and (...) WTO, both prior to and since the adoption of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the book reveals how the ECtHR and WTO apply the general rules of treaty interpretation in patterns which are similar to those used by the ICJ to address difficulties in interpreting the text of treaties. Viewed in the light of the ECtHR's and WTO's interpretative practices, both the VCLT's general rules of interpretation and the ICJ's interpretative practice serve to counteract the fragmentation of international law.. (shrink)

This research characterizes and compares the job satisfaction of fitness professionals in Portugal between genders, ages, professional experience, professional title, and educational qualifications. A total of 401 fitness professionals answered the online questionnaire Job Satisfaction Scale, which has 16 factors rated on a Likert scale with seven levels. The statistical analysis comprises descriptive and statistical tests to compare the results of two (t-test) or more (ANOVA) groups. Overall, the results demonstrated that fitness professionals were moderately satisfied with their work. The (...) lower degrees of job satisfaction were concerning salary, opportunities for promotion, and stability at work. The highest levels of job satisfaction were related to the freedom to choose their work method, their work colleagues, the physical conditions of their workplace, and the opportunity to use their competencies. There were no differences in job satisfaction in terms of gender and a few differences between professional title and between educational levels. Regarding age and professional experience, the results showed significant differences in almost all factors, suggesting that, as fitness professionals get older and more experienced, their job satisfaction is greater. The results of this study suggest that even though fitness professionals are, in general, moderately satisfied with their work, some aspects can be improved by employers to increase their satisfaction levels. Such findings would assist employers in guiding the job satisfaction of their employees with consequent enhancements in the services provided by fitness professionals, which can increase participants’ retention in exercise fitness activities. (shrink)

Octavio Paz fue un lúcido intérprete de su siglo. Este trabajo explora aspectos decisivos de su propia definición como poeta y ensayista, así como de su trayectoria creativa y crítica, altamente representativa de las transformaciones del artista y el escritor contemporáneos. Los ecos de sus experiencias, prácticas de sociabilidad y lecturas, unidos a su sensibilidad y lucidez, hicieron que ya desde sus primeros textos en prosa Octavio Paz contribuyera a la reconfiguración del ensayo como género. Proponemos leer algunos textos del (...) escritor mexicano en diálogo con las reflexiones de varios de los grandes refundadores del ensayo y la crítica en el siglo XX. Su búsqueda de una comunicación profunda entre poesía e historia, su esfuerzo por repensar críticamente la tradición, su exigencia de autenticidad y libertad en el quehacer del escritor, son algunos de los elementos que dieron lugar en sus ensayos a una nueva poética del pensar y a una nueva relación entre conciencia y transparencia. (shrink)

Visual Perception of Shape, Space and Appearance Liliana Albertazzi. the sort I have in mind. What I am speaking of is the mandatory correlations between attributes of visual space (those of, e.g., surfaces, shape, distance, direction) and  ...

This book guides the readers through Brentano's life and works, investigating into the inherent complexity of both his view of mental life and the related methodology.

Defining a class of sets to be uniform Δ02 if it is derived from a binary {0,1}{0,1}-valued function f≤TKf≤TK, we show that, for any C⊆DeC⊆De induced by such a class, there exists a high Δ02 degree c which is incomparable with every degree b ϵ Ce \ {0e, 0'e}. We show how this result can be applied to quite general subclasses of the Ershov Hierarchy and we also prove, as a direct corollary, that every nonzero low degree caps with both (...) a high and a nonzero low Δ02 degree. (shrink)

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar las dos concepciones en torno a las semillas, es decir, en tanto bienes comunes (commons) y en tanto mercancías, e indagar cómo se produjo el pasaje de la primera significación a la segunda. Las simientes como bienes comunes se remontan a los orígenes de las civilizaciones e implican la conjunción de consideraciones de tipo natural, social, cultural, religioso. Las semillas como mercancías se arraigan a los inicios del sistema capitalista y la nueva manera (...) de entender las relaciones capital-trabajo y, en especial, el binomio capital-recursos naturales. El presente trabajo aplica principios y nociones marxistas que permiten arrojar luz en la idea de mercantilización a través de la tesis de la acumulación originaria y de la referencia a la acumulación por despojo. (shrink)

En este trabajo me dedicaré a trabajar las “distintas” concepciones de igualdad que surgen, en general, de la normativa constitucional y convencional. Esto me permitirá caracterizar dos concepciones de igualdad. Una, la igualdad jurídica, más cercana a la del pensamiento liberal clásico, de cariz individualista y que es predominante en la discusión y aplicación del principio de igualdad pero que sin embargo, se torna insuficiente ante situaciones estructurales de discriminación. La otra concepción de igualdad, igualdad real, más cercana a los (...) reclamos estructurales, está surgiendo en forma incipiente, considerando las situaciones de subordinación en que se encuentran ciertos grupos y la necesidad de realizar acciones a fin de erradicar la situación de sometimiento. Esta concepción de igualdad exige analizar la forma en que pueden paliarse estas situaciones de desigualdad. En este sentido, abordaré las implicancias de las acciones positivas, reparadoras y transformadoras desde la redistribución, el reconocimiento y la paridad participativa. (shrink)

Experimental phenomenology is the study of appearances in subjective awareness. Its methods and results challenge quite a few aspects of the current debate on consciousness. A robust theoretical framework for understanding consciousness is pending: current empirical research waves on what a phenomenon of consciousness properly is, not least because the question is still open on the observables to be measured and how to measure them. I shall present the basics of experimental phenomenology and discuss the current development of experimental phenomenology, (...) its main features, and the many misunderstandings that have obstructed a fair understanding and evaluation of its otherwise enlightening outcomes. (shrink)

We show that every nonzero $${\Delta^{0}_{2}}$$ enumeration degree bounds the enumeration degree of a 1-generic set. We also point out that the enumeration degrees of 1-generic sets, below the first jump, are not downwards closed, thus answering a question of Cooper.

The central idea developed by the contributions to this book is that the split between analytic philosophy and phenomenology - perhaps the most impor tant schism in twentieth-century philosophy - resulted from a radicalization of reciprocal partialities. Both schools of thought share, in fact, the same cultural background and their same initial stimulus in the thought of Franz Brentano. And one outcome of the subsequent rift between them was the oblivion into which the figure and thought of Brentano have fallen. (...) The first step to take in remedying this split is to return to Brentano and to reconstruct the 'map' of Brent ani sm. The second task (which has been addressed by this book) is to revive inter est in the theoretical complexity of Brentano' s thought and of his pupils and to revitalize those aspects that have been neglected by subsequent debate within the various movements of Brentanian inspiration. We have accordingly decided to organize the book into two introductory es says followed by two sections (Parts 1 and 2) which systematically examine Brentano's thought and that of his followers. The two introductory essays re construct the reasons for the 'invisibility', so to speak, of Brentano and set out of his philosophical doctrine. Part 1 of the book then ex the essential features amines six of Brentano's most outstanding pupils (Marty, Stumpf, Meinong, Ehrenfels, Husserl and Twardowski). Part 2 contains nine essays concentrating on the principal topics addressed by the Brentanians. (shrink)

The paper presents color as a case study for the analysis of phenomena that pertain to several levels of reality and are typically framed by different sciences and disciplines. Color, in fact, is studied by physics, biology, phenomenology, and esthetics, among others. Our thesis is that color is a different entity for each level of reality, and that for this reason color generates different observables in the epistemologies of the different sciences. By analyzing color as a paradigmatic case of an (...) entity naturally spreading over different levels of reality, the paper raises the question as to whether making explicit the usually implicit ontological assumptions embedded within the different observables exploited by the different sciences may eventually clarify some of the difficulties of developing a comprehensive theory of color. (shrink)

This book presents an historical and conceptual reconstruction of the theories developed by Meinong and a group of philosophers and experimental psychologists in Graz at the turn of the 19th century. Adhering closely to original texts, the contributors explore Meinong's roots in the school of Brentano, complex theories such as the theory of intentional reference and direct reference, and ways of developing philosophy which are closely bound up with the sciences, particularly psychology. Providing a faithful reconstruction of both Meinong's contributions (...) to science and the school that arose from his thought, this book shows how the theories of the Graz school raise the possibility of engaging in the scientific metaphysics and ontology that for so long have been considered off limits. (shrink)

Quite a few cognitive scientists are working toward a naturalization of phenomenology. Looking more closely at the relevant literature, however, the ‘naturalizing phenomenology’ proposals show the presence of different conceptions, assumptions, and formalisms, further differentiated by different philosophical and/or scientific concerns. This paper shows that the original Husserlian stance is deeper, clearer and more advanced than most supposed contemporary improvements. The recent achievements of experimental phenomenology show how to ‘naturalize’ phenomenology without destroying the guiding assumptions of phenomenology. The requirements grounding (...) the scientific explanation of subjective experience are discussed, such as the nature of the stimuli, their variables, and their manipulation by properly phenomenological methods. (shrink)

En medio de una sociedad que nos invita constantemente a la extroversión, cabe preguntarnos si el encuentro con nosotros mismos a través de una actitud “interior” y reflexiva no puede representar un factor clave para detener, en alguna medida, el proceso de deshumanización que descompone a Occidente.

The research shows the results of a study carried out on family-school integration as a foundation for meaningful learning in secondary basic education students, belonging to the official sector in the Colombian Caribbean region. The type of research was descriptive, with a deductive rationalist approach and a mixed or complementary paradigm. The sample was made up of sixty-four (64) students in their final year of high school and twenty-four (24) parents and/or guardians, to whom a survey was applied, eleven (11) (...) teachers and one (1) director of the educational institution, consulted through an interview. Once the information was obtained, the triangulation technique was used to cross-reference the opinions, perceptions and beliefs of the actors involved in the comprehensive training of the students. As a result, it was possible to characterize the factors that favor family-school integration, including emotionality, participation, communication, attention and motivation of parents in accompanying their children's academic activities. For their part, schools must organize spaces that promote integration relationships, which represents an alternative to face the dilemmas of the educational context and promote the development of meaningful learning. (shrink)

El análisis propuesto en este texto señala que, en el proceso de imaginar y hacer posible la nación moderna en la América hispánica, el Libertador Simón Bolívar invocó el origen cívico y revolucionario de los nacientes Estados, y no la uniformidad etnocultural. En este aspecto, su postura fue radicalmente moderna y antigenealógica, en tanto afirmó que la unidad del carácter que supone la nación como comunidad política no tiene que coincidir, necesariamente, con los límites de las nacionalidades. Este artículo toma (...) como referencia el Discurso de Angostura, pronunciado por el Libertador en 1819, para mostrar que, al momento de construir esa gran nación que se debía llamar Colombia, Bolívar apeló a premisas políticas y territoriales, y no a los presupuestos nacionalistas de igualdad lingüística, racial o cultural. En tal sentido, su propuesta constitucional se inscribe en la tradición del patriotismo republicano y el ideal de la nación de ciudadanos. (shrink)

Ernest Gellner’s many writings on the Soviet socialist project sought to come to terms with one of the key sociological and ideological arcs of the 20th century: the rise and fall of a utopian experiment, one that for some served as a kind of proof of principle, whose modern intellectual origins were more than 170 years old at the time of its demise. Gellner loved Russia and spent much time there. And he engaged with its 20th century very deeply, although (...) I think from a very distinctive position outside of the Soviet experience. His analyses of the socialist bloc included attention to Soviet Marxism as a developmental ideology, as a secular religion that sacralized the everyday, leaving no room for a certain kind of civil society; and he offered the outlines of an account of its failure – from its revolutionary heroism through the cynicism of its stagnation to the possibilities and constraints of so-called post-socialist space. Along the way, Gellner’s insistent critiques of Soviet Marxism – of both its theoretical and actually-existing varieties – were powerful, sometimes polemical, and latterly self-critical. So what can we now make of Gellner’s rich analyses of the utopia that failed? This paper offers relative departures from pieces of Gellner’s intellectual trail, in the hope that at least part of the significance of the 20th century lies within the lessons that we draw from the utopia that failed. (shrink)