Search results for "Premise"
showing 10 items of 60 documents
Probability Propagation in Selected Aristotelian Syllogisms
2019
This paper continues our work on a coherence-based probability semantics for Aristotelian syllogisms (Gilio, Pfeifer, and Sanfilippo, 2016; Pfeifer and Sanfilippo, 2018) by studying Figure III under coherence. We interpret the syllogistic sentence types by suitable conditional probability assessments. Since the probabilistic inference of $P|S$ from the premise set ${P|M, S|M}$ is not informative, we add $p(M|(S ee M))>0$ as a probabilistic constraint (i.e., an ``existential import assumption'') to obtain probabilistic informativeness. We show how to propagate the assigned premise probabilities to the conclusion. Thereby, we give a probabilistic meaning to all syllogisms of Figure~III. We…
Economic globalization and voter turnout in established democracies
2010
This paper asks whether international economic integration negatively affects electoral turnout. The theoretical model builds on the premise that economic integration constrains the ability of national governments to shape outcomes. Citizens are conscious of such constraints and take them into account when considering the costs and benefits of casting a vote in national elections. The result is a lower inclination to vote under conditions of high economic integration. Consequently, aggregate turnout is lower the more internationally integrated a national economy is. Analysis of aggregate data for parliamentary elections in 23 OECD democracies over the period 1965–2006 robustly supports this…
Urban Smartness: Perspectives Arising in the Periphéria Project
2012
The paper discusses the concept of “urban smartness” starting from the early results of the Peripheria Project. Peripheria is a 30-month pilot B action funded by the European Commission under the CIP ICT PSP Programme and it aims at deploying convergent Future Internet platforms and services for the promotion of sustainable lifestyles in and across emergent networks of “smart” peripheral cities in Europe. Peripheria develops the Living Lab premise of shifting technology R&D out of the laboratory and into the real world in a systemic blend of technological with social innovation. It defines five archetypical “Arenas”—specific urban settings or innovation playgrounds, with defined social feat…
Information Ecology as a holistic lens to understand ICTD initiatives
2016
Techno-centric initiatives to bridge the digital divide, such as One Laptop per Child (OLPC), has been criticized for not taking a holistic approach. This has led to limited success in areas such as providing quality education in developing countries. In this paper, we offer a premise for a holistic understanding by borrowing from the field of information ecology. To illustrate our premise, we applied the theoretical lens of information ecology to analyze a case study of Open Learning Exchange (OLE) which has been described as one of the few successes in implementing OLPC. Based on our analysis, we posit that information ecology is a suitable and appropriate lens to interpret and understand…
Some Insights on the Changing Architecture of the World’s Top 100 Multinationals
2016
Abstract Premise: globalization represents both the fertile background and the accountable foreground that accompanies the evolution of TNCs/MNEs, within a self-enforcing spiral of co-evolution which gratifies the winners and discards the losers. Argument: UNCTAD’s Top 100 non-financial TNCs/MNEs gathers together, since 1993, some of the most prominent winners of the above mentioned processes, making this instrument one of the best indicators and benchmarks in terms of both globalization and transnationalization – when analyzed at a given moment in time (for a particular year), and even more relevant when analyzed dynamically and by comparison. Context: two major global shifts have occurred…
The Complexity of Risk and Uncertainty Assessment
2017
Abstract Risk reduction means diminishing uncertainties and strengthening the knowledge. There are many ways in which undesirable surprises can be understood and controlled, but the dominating one is the risk approach, on the basis of risk conceptualization, evaluation and risk management. Across time, many progresses have been accomplished in the field of risk, connected not only to the conceptual part, but also to the empirical procedures. Despite this, the premise of this domain is being represented to a substantial extend by theories and practices. This is why it is indispensable to search for trends in the risk framework, to reveal whether further development should be desired and if u…
Contamination of a hospital plumbing system by persister cells of a copper-tolerant high-risk clone of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
2019
Abstract Background Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is an important opportunistic pathogen that thrives best in the distal elements of plumbing and waste-water systems. Although nosocomial outbreaks of PA have been associated with water sources, the role of the plumbing system of healthcare premises as a reservoir for this pathogen is still unclear. Materials and methods We collected water samples from 12 technical areas, distant from any medical activity, in a teaching hospital in France once a week for 11 weeks. We used a method that resuscitates persister cells because of the nutrient-poor conditions and the presence of inhibitors (e.g. chlorine and copper ions). Briefly, water was sampled i…
Clinical benefit of vedolizumab on articular manifestations in patients with active spondyloarthritis associated with inflammatory bowel disease.
2017
Vedolizumab (VDZ) is a new biological agent which was recently approved for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)1 following the good clinical responses reported by clinical trials for both Crohn's disease2 and ulcerative colitis.3 However, the effects of VDZ on extraintestinal manifestations were not reported in these trials, and the ‘real life’ experience is still limited. On these premises, we read with interest the recent work by Varkas et al 4 reporting a series of five patients with IBD who were treated with VDZ and promptly developed new onset or exacerbation of spondyloarthritis (SpA), irrespective of the response to treatment on intestinal symptoms. Although the hypothe…
Dynamic Multimodal Language Practices in Multilingual Indigenous Sámi Classrooms in Finland
2013
Starting from the premise that dynamic language practices are an emerging property of interaction, and that languages are learnt by participating in language practices, we focus in this chapter on the tensions and creativity that arise from complex, changing, and interconnected multilingual discourses, practices, and experiences in indigenous Sami classrooms. Drawing on longitudinal ethnographic and discourse-analytic research on a multilingual indigenous Sami community in Finland, we will examine the strategies and practices that a group of Sami children develop, use, and modify while navigating this complex terrain. We illustrate the various ways in which the children adopt and play with …
Romanian Village Halls in the Early 1950s: Between Cultural and Political Propaganda
2015
<p>Village halls [Romanian: cămine culturale] appeared in many European<br />countries and elsewhere as early as the nineteenth century and multiplied in the twentieth.<br />The presence of these institutions in the rural world, despite obvious differences in their<br />goals and activities, demonstrates a general interest in the cultural development of<br />villages, as well as the emergence and growth of leisure practices amongst peasants. This<br />essay is not a study of the history of village halls; rather, it focuses on the changes that this<br />institution underwent in the early years of the communist regime in Romania. It analyses<br /&g…