Much of social life now takes place online, and records of online social interactions are available for social science research in the form of massive digital text archives. But cultural social science has contributed little to the development of machine-assisted text analysis methods. As a result few text analysis methods have been developed that link digital text data to theories about culture and discourse. This paper attempts to lay the groundwork for development of such methods by proposing metatheoretical and (...) class='Hi'>theoretical foundations suitable for machine-assisted semantic text analysis. Metatheoretically I draw on the work of Elder-Vass, Kaidesoja and others to argue that digital text analysis methods ought to be based on a realist constructionist ontology that treats discourses as ontologically real emergent social entities that have causal relationships with non-discursive social and cognitive processes. Theoretically I follow Feldman and many others in arguing that language is fundamentally shaped by processes of embodied cognition. Researchers developing digital text analysis techniques must theoretically account for such processes if they wish to produce algorithms that can interpret texts in ways that supplement, and not only amplify, human interpretation. I critically survey contemporary text analysis methods that implicitly share these metatheoretical and theoretical positions and discuss some ways these can be further developed with newly available software. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction On Foundations Properties, Sums, Plurality, and Reality Mereological Property Theory Foundations of Mathematics.

A portfolio-resampling procedure invented by Richard and Robert Michaud is a subject of highly controversial discussion and big scientific dispute. It has been evaluated in many empirical studies and Monte Carlo experiments. Apart from the contradictory findings, the Michaud approach still lacks a theoretical foundation. I prove that portfolio resampling has a strong foundation in the classic theory of rational behavior. Every noise trader could do better by applying the Michaud procedure. By contrast, a signal trader who has enough (...) prediction power and risk-management skills should refrain from portfolio resampling. The key note is that in most simulation studies, investors are considered as noise traders. This explains why portfolio resampling performs well in simulation studies, but could be mediocre in real life. (shrink)

Introduction. On the territory of the Chelyabinsk region there are 16 single-industry towns, the labor market and employment of which depend on the socio-economic situation of the single-industry enterprise. This state of matters results in the growth of unemployment, decrease in the level of human capital, the population’s life quality, and the loss of scientific and production potential. According to the authors, developing the theoretical foundations of the labor market and employment digital transformation in a single-industry town will (...) make it possible to find alternative ways of employing the population in order to improve regional policy on the labor and employment market. The purpose of the study is to develop the theoretical foundations of the labor market and employment digital transformation in a monotown. Methods. The authors use the following scientific methods: system analysis, comparison, description, generalization, systematization, formalization, analysis of sources, etc. The scientific novelty of the research consists in defining the concepts «digital transformation of the labor market of a monotown», «digital platform of the labor market»; in determining changes in the elements of a monotown labor market structure in the processes of digital transformation; in determining the subjects, objects of the labor market digital transformation; in developing a comparative characteristic of the traditional labor market and the labor market of Industry 4.0 monocity; in developing recommendations for the digital transformation of the labor market of a monotown in order to improve the regional employment policy. Results and conclusions. As a result of analyzing the structure of the population’s employment in single-industry towns of the Chelyabinsk region, the authors determine quantitative transformations in the number of the residing population, the average number of employees towards its reduction; the authors characterize the average monthly salary of workers in organizations of single-industry towns as unstable. The analysis of unemployment shows that there is a tendency for the number of youth among the unemployed to grow, at the same time, hidden unemployment is decreasing; in general, the unemployment rate in single-industry towns is higher than in the Chelyabinsk region for the entire study period. The analysis shows that it is necessary to search for alternative ways of employing the population, of decreasing the unemployment rate, which made it possible to develop theoretical foundations for transforming the labor market and employment of a single-industry town. (shrink)

The present collection is the very first contribution of this type in the field of sparse recovery. Compressed sensing is one of the important facets of the broader concept presented in the book, which by now has made connections with other branches such as mathematical imaging, inverse problems, numerical analysis and simulation. The book consists of four lecture notes of courses given at the Summer School on "Theoretical Foundations and Numerical Methods for Sparse Recovery" held at the Johann (...) Radon Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics in Linz, Austria, in September 2009. This unique collection will be of value for a broad community and may serve as a textbook for graduate courses. (shrink)

In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick were named as the authors of the publication “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids; a Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid” in the journal Nature. While historians have debated the relevance and importance of various discoveries in molecular science, there is little dispute as to the major significance of the discovery of the double-helix structure of deoxyribose nucleic acid. But what of Rosalind Franklin? There is little mention in science manuals of the contribution of the (...) biophysicist Rosalind Franklin to the discovery of the structure of DNA. Watson has admitted that he used Franklin’s... (shrink)

Many theoretical developments in the business and society field do not pay enough attention to the policy environment in which business functions and through which corporate behavior is largely shaped to respond to social problems. Part of this problem may be due to the lack of a firm philosophical foundation for public policy providing legitimacy for the concept in relation to the market system. American pragmatism offers such a foundation and overcomes many of the tensions between the market and (...) public policy by puffing the concept of the individual and community in proper perspective. (shrink)

This article explores an alternative to the established dichotomy between philosophical accounts of human rights, characterized by a foundationalist tendency, and political accounts of human rights, which aspire to be non-foundationalist. I argue that in order to justify human rights practice, political accounts of human rights cannot do without the support of theoretical foundations, although not necessarily of the natural-law variety. As an alternative to natural-law metaphysics, a deflationary theory of human rights, based on a deflationary account of (...) truth, is put forward. Starting from a distinction between ‘extreme’ and ‘moderate’ forms of deflationism, this article defends a constructivist theory of human rights grounded on the Humean notion of conventionalism. This innovative approach to human rights provides political conceptions of human rights with the foundations they need, but are currently lacking. (shrink)

In the past decades, narrative practices have been developed, and care has been conceptualized as being narrative in nature. More recently, narrative care has been developing both as a practice and a field of study. It is necessary to make the theoretical foundations of narrative care visible to avoid the risk of narrowly defining narrative care as a matter of storytelling and listening. In this article, we develop an understanding of narrative care grounded in early feminist pragmatist philosophy, (...) with a focus on social and political activism and experience. Pragmatism holds the possibilities to open spaces for realities that are constantly in flux and for emergent situations that must be considered across time, diverse places and social contexts. With the aid of Vera’s stories about her relationship with Tammy, we demonstrate the importance of recognizing that realities are multiple, complex and uncertain. Furthermore, we discuss how the stronghold of formula stories and issues of power, positioning and inequities, restrict people’s possibilities to be, become and co-author their stories. We also argue that the playfulness, imagination and world travelling of narrative care are in line with early feminist pragmatism, which draws on a wide and diverse range of experiences. Jane Addams linked democracy to dialogue, joint experiences and social equality. This calls for the development of ethical frameworks grounded in care that are more specifically focused on relational ethics and a commitment to dialogical and relational democracy and the prioritization of community. (shrink)

This article argues that it is possible to hold autonomous agents themselves, and not only their makers, users or owners, responsible for the acts of these agents. In this connection autonomous systems are computer programs that interact with the outside world without human interference. They include such systems as ‘intelligent’ weapons and self-driving cars. The argument is based on an analogy between human beings and autonomous agents and its main element asserts that if humans can be held responsible, so can, (...) in principle, autonomous agents, as humans are more like autonomous agents than is often assumed. (shrink)

La formación del profesional de la salud de perfil amplio constituye uno de los objetivos principales en la educación médica superior. Sobre la base de este planteamiento se desarrolló una investigación en la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas "Carlos J. Finlay", de Camagüey, con el objetivo de exponer los fundamentos teóricos en los que se sustenta la competencia comunicativa intercultural en la enseñanza-aprendizaje del idioma Inglés. Se utilizaron diferentes métodos de investigación de los niveles teórico (...) y empírico. Se concluyó que estos fundamentos integran factores cognitivos, afectivo-emocionales, motivacionales, sociales, culturales, axiológicos y creativos, del proceso de desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa analizada. Formation of the health professionals with a wide profile constitutes one of the main objectives in high medical education. On this basis the present work is the result of a research carried in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the Medical College of Camaguey. Its main objective is to expose the theoretical foundations of the intercultural communicative competence in the learning and teaching of English. For its elaboration different investigative methods of theoretical and empirical levels were applied. (shrink)

We develop a mathematical and interpretative foundation for the enterprise of decision-theoretic (DT) statistical causality, which is a straightforward way of representing and addressing causal questions. DT reframes causal inference as “assisted decision-making” and aims to understand when, and how, I can make use of external data, typically observational, to help me solve a decision problem by taking advantage of assumed relationships between the data and my problem. The relationships embodied in any representation of a causal problem require deeper justification, (...) which is necessarily context-dependent. Here we clarify the considerations needed to support applications of the DT methodology. Exchangeability considerations are used to structure the required relationships, and a distinction drawn between intention to treat and intervention to treat forms the basis for the enabling condition of “ignorability.” We also show how the DT perspective unifies and sheds light on other popular formalisations of statistical causality, including potential responses and directed acyclic graphs. (shrink)

The objective of this paper is to establish a theoretical foundation for food education in schools. Amartya Sen’s capability approach (CA), an ethical theory concerning the freedom required to achieve one’s well-being, was applied to define the previously unchallenged ethical nature of food education. The analyses were informed by foundational CA concepts, Sen’s own perspectives on ‘food’ and ‘education’, and CA-based education studies. Through these analyses, the fundamental nature of food education was defined as follows: ‘Capability to eat well’ (...) is the freedom to convert commodities (such as food or pocket money) into the ‘functionings to eat well’ that constitute children’s ‘well-eating’ (Definition 1); and the objective of food education as public policy is to expand such capability to eat well (Def. 2). However, if an appropriate pedagogy is not employed, children’s capability can be reduced (Def. 3); therefore, to avoid this, the pedagogy has to enable them to perceive more ‘associations’ (in a Deweyan sense) between related conversion factors (Def. 4), as well as to choose and participate in the educational process (Def. 5). This theory not only elucidated the ethical nature of food education but also expanded the scope of the application of the CA to food issues. (shrink)

This paper attempts to respond to a call to find an ontological basis for establishing African legal theory. The African world of my choice is the Igbo world of South-east Nigeria. It is a world I want to examine to see how its material and theoretical structures help articulate a philosophy of law in terms of projecting a consistent understanding of law subjects and the foundations of their rights. The article builds on the contributions of F. U. Okafor (...) and his many African critics. (shrink)

Since virtually every mathematical theory can be interpreted in Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory, it is a foundation for mathematics. There are other foundations, such as alternate set theories, higher-order logic, ramified type theory, and category theory. Whether set theory is the right foundation for mathematics depends on what a foundation is for. One purpose is to provide the ultimate metaphysical basis for mathematics. A second is to assure the basic epistemological coherence of all mathematical knowledge. A third is to serve (...) mathematics, by lending insight into the various fields and suggesting fruitful techniques of research. A fourth purpose of a foundation is to provide an arena for exploring relations and interactions between mathematical fields. While set theory does better with regard to some of these and worse with regard to others, it has become the de facto arena for deciding questions of existence, something one might expect of a foundation. Given the different goals, there is little point to determining a single foundation for all of mathematics. (shrink)

A new foundation for constructive nonstandard analysis is presented. It is based on an extension of a sheaf-theoretic model of nonstandard arithmetic due to I. Moerdijk. The model consists of representable sheaves over a site of filter bases. Nonstandard characterisations of various notions from analysis are obtained: modes of convergence, uniform continuity and differentiability, and some topological notions. We also obtain some additional results about the model. As in the classical case, the order type of the nonstandard natural numbers is (...) a dense set of copies of the integers. Every standard set has a hyperfinite enumeration of its standard elements in the model. All arguments are carried out within a constructive and predicative metatheory: Martin-Löf's type theory. (shrink)

Illocutionary structure in real language use is intricate and complex, and nowhere more so than in argument and debate. Identifying this structure without any theoretical scaffolding is extremely challenging even for humans. New work in Inference Anchoring Theory has provided significant advances in such scaffolding which are helping to allow the analytical challenges of argumentation structure to be tackled. This paper demonstrates how these advances can also pave the way to automated and semi-automated research in understanding the structure of (...) natural debate. (shrink)

Pei Wang, Ben Goertzel. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [ 18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] Bach, J. (2009). Principles ofSynthetic Intelligence PSI: An Architecture ofMotivated Cognition (Oxford University Press,  ...

The theoretical foundations of climate science have received little attention from philosophers thus far, despite a number of outstanding issues. We provide a brief, non-technical overview of several of these issues – related to theorizing about climates, climate change, internal variability and more – and attempt to make preliminary progress in addressing some of them. In doing so, we hope to open a new thread of discussion in the emerging area of philosophy of climate science, focused on (...) class='Hi'>theoretical foundations. (shrink)

When the state of a physical system is not fully determined by available data, it should be possible nevertheless to make a systematic guess concerning the unknown state by applying the principles of information theory. The resulting theoretical blend of informational and mechanical constructs should then constitute a modern structure for statistical physics. Such a program has been attempted by a number of authors, most notably Jaynes, with seeming success. However, we demonstrated in a recent publication that the standard (...) list of so-called “mutually exclusive and exhaustive” quantum states that is commonly employed by these authors is in fact not exhaustive. It follows that the information-theoretic foundations of quantum statistics must be reformulated. The present paper discusses the fundamental problems involved and establishes a format for the correct application of information theory to quantum mechanical situations. (shrink)

On the basis of our apparent obligations to future generations, it would seem that we are morally obliged to reduce the risk our environmentally destructive behaviour poses for their well-being. But if, rather than choosing to destroy the environment, we are in fact driven to do so, then any obligation to reduce our environmental impact requires an understanding of the mechanism driving our behaviour. This article argues that the State-Primacy Theory provides a plausible explanation for the nature of that mechanism, (...) and concludes that the most common strategies offered as a response to our environmental impact are most likely to be insufficiently radical to meet our seeming obligations effectively. (shrink)

Rationality postulates for preferences are developed from two basic decision theoretic principles, namely: (1) the logic of preference is determined by paradigmatic cases in which preferences are choice-guiding, and (2) excessive comparison costs should be avoided. It is shown how the logical requirements on preferences depend on the structure of comparison costs. The preference postulates necessary for choice guidance in a single decision problem are much weaker than completeness and transitivity. Stronger postulates, such as completeness and transitivity, can be derived (...) under the further assumption that the original preference relation should also be capable of guiding choice after any restriction of the original set of alternatives. (shrink)

이 논문에서 우리는 인공지능 행위자의 행위의 도덕성 검증을 위한 하나의 기준을 제시하고 그것의 이론적 토대를 설계하고자 한다. 이를 위해 인공적 도덕 행위자의 도덕성 수준을 10세 아동 수준으로 설정하고 그것의 도덕성 검증을 위한 전형으로 앨런 튜링(A. Turing)의 「Computing machinery and intelligence」로부터 전개되는 튜링테스트를 취한다. 행동주의(Behaviorism)에 입각하여 인공지능, 구체적으로 말해 컴퓨터의 사고가능성을 판단하기 위한 사고실험인 튜링테스트의 원칙과 방법에 착안하여 인공지능 행위자의 도덕성소유여부, 나아가 그것의 단계를 구획할 수 있는 윤리학적 기준을 제시해 보겠다. 그 배경으로 콜버그(L. Kohlberg)의 인지발달론에 따른 도덕판단 3수준구분을 취하고, 이로부터 인공적 (...) 도덕행위자의 ‘명령의 무조건적 수행’, ‘상벌에 따른 결과주의’, ‘사회적 규약의 준수’라는 도덕발달 3단계를 도출하겠다. 그리고 이를 가정용 헬스케어 로봇 시나리오 예를 검토함으로써 실생활에의 적용 가능성을 타진하겠다. (shrink)

In M.Nesprava’s article "Theoretical Foundations of Radical Salafism", the presence of a conceptual core in the radical Salafism doctrine is shown and the main formation stages of this core are analyzed. Also, the role of the ideas by such authors as Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Muhammad ibn ʿAbd alWahhab, Syed Abul A'la Maududi and Sayyid Qutb in the formation of the conceptual core is argued. The characteristic aspects of the interpretation by radical Salafists of such concepts as tawhid, takfir (...) and jihad are demonstrated. (shrink)

In the last decade, Systems Biology has emerged as a conceptual and explanatory alternative to reductionist-based approaches in molecular biology. However, the foundations of this new discipline need to be fleshed out more carefully. In this paper, we claim that a relational ontology is a necessary tool to ground both the conceptual and explanatory aspects of Systems Biology. A relational ontology holds that relations are prior—both conceptually and explanatory—to entities, and that in the biological realm entities are defined primarily (...) by the context they are embedded within—and hence by the web of relations they are part of. (shrink)

The authors explore the heuristic implications of chaos theory for the study of the process of communicating. Chaos theory's application to the study of communication is delineated from a socio?cultural perspective. The basic tenants of chaos theory are outlined and some of the parallels between chaos theory, as developed for the physical sciences, and the process of communicating are described. Theoretical foundations for a chaos theory of communicating are laid, and suggestions are made for future evolution and testing (...) of these foundations. (shrink)

Posterior a Hiroshima y Nagasaki se hizo visible hacia dónde conducirían la obtención y uso de conocimientos y creación de artefactos que no se correspondieran a las metas de subsistencia y mejoramiento humanos, emergieron movimientos y estudios relacionados con los impactos sociales de la ciencia y la tecnología. Surgió en ese contexto el campo denominado Ciencia- Tecnología- Sociedad (CTS), centrado en las complejas interrelaciones que la ciencia y la tecnología y la sociedad. El presente texto tiene el objetivo de profundizar (...) en el trabajo de fundamentación teórica a partir del reconocimiento de algunas ideas como: la relación de los seres humanos con sus entornos es socio- tecno- cognitiva, la interacción conocimiento- sociedad es contradictoria, y es preciso reconocer la complejidad del conocimiento CTS. Por último, una nueva propuesta, en las circunstancias actuales un acrónimo más abarcador que el de CTS puede ser SOCITEI (So: sociedad, CI: conocimiento, Te: tecnología, In: innovación). After Hiroshima and Nagasaki the destiny of the obtaining and use of knowledge as well as the creation of artifacts that were not according to the goals of human subsistence and improvement became visible, movements and studies related to the social impacts of science and technology emerged. The field called science - technology - society (CTS) (Spanish acronym) arose in that context, focused on the complex interrelationships in science technology and society. This text aims to deepen the work of theoretical foundation in recognition of some ideas like: the relationship of human beings with their environments is socio-techno - cognitive, interaction knowledge - society is contradictory, and we must recognize the complexity of knowledge CTS. Finally, in the new circumstances a new proposal a more encompassing acronym than the CTS can be SOCITEI (SO: society, CI: knowledge, TE: technology, IN: innovation) (Spanish acronyms). (shrink)

Can we conceive of a market economy that fulfils the ideals of socialism? In this book, David Miller provides a comprehensive examination, from the standpoint of political theory, of an economy in which market mechanisms retain a central role, but in which capitalist patterns of ownership have been superseded.

The book covers both the theory and the applications aspects of econometric theory with reference to India/developing countries. It is comprehensive in its coverage of topics, contains exercises and solved examples and uses applications, detailed illustrative examples from the Indian economy, and data, both from India and the West.Twenty-three chapters spread over eight parts take students from methodology to the statistical foundations and then lead into general models, advanced econometrics, and the newer areas of study.

From the theoretical discussions, transdisciplinarity starts to have practical consequences in the development of programs that include consortia of universities, bringing together a large variety of professionnals who set ambitious goals, such as the Human Genome Project in the past decade, and also the Human Brain Project for this decade. We intend to present an approach in the spirit of the new paradigms of knowledge in the Human Brain Project generous program started earlier this year in Europe. A possible (...) transdisciplinary approach on brain functions and structure is to bring a valuable, significant and innovative, unconventional contribution to the theory of multi-scale topics of the HBP project. More precisely, we intend to develop the subproject Mathematical and Theoretical Foundations of Brain Research within the HBP project. Our approach aims at exploring brain function from the perspective of the theories which influenced the last decade researches in Physics and Mathematics, such as the fractal theory, chaos and the dynamics of the nonlinear systems, in order to formulate new theories regarding brain mechanisms. We bring together models and new theories based on a principled approach to nonlinear reality. We wish to develop a new paradigm for assessing brain function, the theory of complex systems, which requires a revolutionary attitude, by rethinking how brain works and it is biologically structured. By this approach, we intend to study not only the corpuscular, but also the wave part of the matter. (shrink)

I thank Judea Pearl for his discussion of my paper and respond to the points he raises. In particular, his attachment to unaugmented directed acyclic graphs has led to a misapprehension of my own proposals. I also discuss the possibilities for developing a non-manipulative understanding of causality.

This paper shows that species are individuals with respect to evolutionary theory in the sense that the laws of the theory deal with species as irreducible wholes rather than as sets of organisms. 'Species X' is an instantiation of a primitive term of the theory. I present a sketch of a proof that it cannot be defined within the theory as a set of organisms; the proof relies not on details of my axiomatization but rather on a generally accepted property (...) of speciation; hence the same argument should work for any axiomatization which captures this generally accepted property of speciation. (shrink)