This article analyzes business power in the context of noisy politics by comparing business involvement in two British referendum campaigns: one about membership in the European Communities in 1975, and the Brexit referendum about European Union membership in 2016. By exploring these two contexts, the article seeks to identify the conditions under which business elites can and cannot be effective in a context of noisy politics. Three key factors are identified as determinants of business influence during periods of noisy politics: (...) the incentives to get directly involved in noisy politics; the legitimacy of business involvement; and, finally, the capacity to act in a cohesive way. The article shows that these factors have changed substantially over the last four decades because of wider changes in the nature of capitalism, and their impact on business power in the United Kingdom and more generally is discussed. (shrink)

Der folgende Kommentar richtet das Augenmerk auf die Frage, wie weit Kontroversität in politischen Debatten an Schulen reichen sollte. Johannes Drerup schlägt in seiner Studie „Kontroverse Themen im Unterricht“ dazu unter anderem ein politisches Kriterium vor, um die Reichweite von Kontroversität zu bestimmen. Der Orientierungsrahmen dafür besteht nach Drerup aus liberal-demokratischen Grundwerten. Tasten Positionen diese an, sollten diese nicht Teil politischer Kontroversen an Schulen sein. Doch sind solche Werte klar zu bestimmen und eignen sie sich zur didaktischen Konkretion an Schulen? (...) So sinnvoll beispielsweise normative Bezüge zu Menschenrechten sind, so oft werden sie im politischen Alltag in Deutschland und darüber hinaus verletzt – von unterschiedlichen Akteuren. Sollte nicht eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit der Missachtung von Menschenrechten Gegenstand schulischer Bildungsarbeit sein anstatt damit zusammenhängende Positionen aus der Kontroverse auszuschließen? Besonders problematisch erscheint es, das Extremismuskonzept heranzuziehen, um solche Akteure zu charakterisieren, die liberal-demokratische Werte mutmaßlich verletzen. Schließlich gibt es einerseits auch in der politischen Mitte und staatlichen Apparaten demokratiegefährdende Tendenzen. Andererseits kann das Label „extremistisch“ genutzt werden, um missliebige Positionen im politischen Streit willkürlich zu schwächen. Welche Positionen aus Sicht von Schüler*innen eine Bedrohung für demokratische Gesellschaften darstellen, sollte im Rahmen politischer Bildung abgewogen werden, nicht jedoch a priori feststehen. (shrink)

O problema da causação descendente é um ponto central na formulação do fisicalismo não-redutivo e na compreensão da emergência de propriedades. Duas interpretações possíveis da causação descendente, nas quais a contribuição do pensamento aristotélico é importante, são examinadas. Os requisitos do programa de matematização da natureza na mecanica clássica, que levaram ao abandono de três dos modos causais aristotélicos, nao parecem igualmente importantes nas ciencias especiais. Isto sugere que a contribuição de Aristóteles pode ser, de certa maneira, retomada. Uma definição (...) de propriedade emergente é apresentada, sendo a causação descendente interprerada de acordo com os modos causais formal e funcional.The problem of downward causation is a key subject in the formulation of nonreductive physicalism as well as in the understanding of property emergence. Two possible interpretations of downward causation, to which Aristotelian thought is relevant, are examined. In the mathematical understanding of nature in classical mechanics, the principle of causality should meet requirements that entailed the rejection of three among the four Aristotelian causal modes. Those requirements do not seem equally important in the special sciences and one may suggest, then, that Aristotle’s contribution may be taken into account. A definition of an emergent property is proposed, in which downward causation is interpreted according to the formal and functional causal modes. (shrink)

O problema da causação descendente é um ponto central na formulação do fisicalismo não-redutivo e na compreensão da emergência de propriedades. Duas interpretações possíveis da causação descendente, nas quais a contribuição do pensamento aristotélico é importante, são examinadas. Os requisitos do programa de matematização da natureza na mecanica clássica, que levaram ao abandono de três dos modos causais aristotélicos, nao parecem igualmente importantes nas ciencias especiais. Isto sugere que a contribuição de Aristóteles pode ser, de certa maneira, retomada. Uma definição (...) de propriedade emergente é apresentada, sendo a causação descendente interprerada de acordo com os modos causais formal e funcional.The problem of downward causation is a key subject in the formulation of nonreductive physicalism as well as in the understanding of property emergence. Two possible interpretations of downward causation, to which Aristotelian thought is relevant, are examined. In the mathematical understanding of nature in classical mechanics, the principle of causality should meet requirements that entailed the rejection of three among the four Aristotelian causal modes. Those requirements do not seem equally important in the special sciences and one may suggest, then, that Aristotle’s contribution may be taken into account. A definition of an emergent property is proposed, in which downward causation is interpreted according to the formal and functional causal modes. (shrink)

This article analyzes the evolution of state capacity in Peru during the recent commodity boom. Peru’s economic growth happened in a context in which inclusive democratic institutions were at play for the longest period ever registered in the country and at a time when political elites decided to invest considerable resources in developing state capacity. This case illustrates how boom-led economic growth can lead to the institutional strengthening of a weak state. However, state capacity continues to be low in Peru. (...) The causal mechanism that yields such continuity differs from those entertained in classic path-dependent explanations of state capacity in Latin America. The article identifies a novel mechanism that helped reproduce the Peruvian path intertemporally. This relational mechanism suggests that state capacity remains low because of the relatively enhanced capacities of state challengers to locally fend off and contest an otherwise much stronger state apparatus. The article argues, on that basis, the need to employ a relational analysis that gauges net state strength with respect to the power acquired by relevant non-state actors who might challenge state authority across different local arenas. Classic conceptualizations of state capacity are indeed relational, but conventional applications are predominantly unilateral and, thus, misleading. Unilateral notions of state capacity are those that focus on either state efforts and investments to assert state capacity or, alternatively, on the presence of challenges that curtail the levels of actually observed state capacity. (shrink)

Exploiting the skills of others enables individuals to reduce the risks and costs of resource innovation. Social corvids are known to possess sophisticated social and physical cognitive abilities. However, their capacity for imitative learning and its inter-individual transmission pattern remains mostly unexamined. Here we demonstrate the large-billed crows' ability to learn problem-solving techniques by observation and the dominance-dependent pattern in which this technique is transmitted. Crows were allowed to observe one of two box-opening behaviours performed by a dominant or subordinate (...) demonstrator and then tested regarding action and technique. The observers successfully opened the box on their first attempts by using non-matching actions but matching techniques to those observed, suggesting emulation. In the subsequent test sessions, dominant observers (i.e. those dominant to the bird acting as demonstrator) consistently used the learned technique, whereas subordinates (i.e. those subordinate to the bird acting as demonstrator) learned alternative techniques by explorative trial and error. Our findings demonstrate crows' capacity to learn by observing behaviours and the effect of dominance on transmission patterns of behavioural skills. Keywords: social learning; imitation; emulation; affordance; culture; innovation. (shrink)

Exploiting the skills of others enables individuals to reduce the risks and costs of resource innovation. Social corvids are known to possess sophisticated social and physical cognitive abilities. However, their capacity for imitative learning and its inter-individual transmission pattern remains mostly unexamined. Here we demonstrate the large-billed crows' ability to learn problem-solving techniques by observation and the dominance-dependent pattern in which this technique is transmitted. Crows were allowed to observe one of two box-opening behaviours performed by a dominant or subordinate (...) demonstrator and then tested regarding action and technique. The observers successfully opened the box on their first attempts by using non-matching actions but matching techniques to those observed, suggesting emulation. In the subsequent test sessions, dominant observers consistently used the learned technique, whereas subordinates learned alternative techniques by explorative trial and error. Our findings demonstrate crows' capacity to learn by observing behaviours and the effect of dominance on transmission patterns of behavioural skills. Keywords: social learning; imitation; emulation; affordance; culture; innovation. (shrink)

Here is a discussion that deals with storytelling by the teacher for the children, considering their contributions to the development of languages in the early years of lementary school. We assumed as the fact that a recovery of the first contact of children with the texts, which are normally through the oral narratives, potentiates the development of oral, reading and writing in an integrated manner. Therefore, we work with oral language and its importance is often overlooked by most schools. Understand, (...) according to Barthes, Echeverría, Sholles and Kellog, that the narratives are grown in different social groups, especially through the spoken, and is what makes the narrative form is the way to fundamentally discursive for humans formation. Furthermore, we believe, as Andaló, that work with oral narratives allow children, even before being literate, playing the stories and understand them, telling yourself with them and with the world. Most of the experiences we have in working with this approach in the public schools who teach in the towns of Candelaria and Vera Cruz , or in theoretical discussions with students in the Courses of Pedagogy -UNISC, shows that the creation of adequate space in school to playing oral stories is like a trigger mechanism for integrated learning – under the gaze of the multidimensional complexity – of speaking, reading and writing capabilities to understand how action and reflection in the world . That is, supported by authors such as Kaufman and Rodríguez, Gil Neto, Bettelheim, Busatto, Abramovich, Amarilha and Saraiva, we defended the thesis that storytelling enhances the development of oral, to training children as readers and texts producers, inserting them into living a socially desirable.Apresentamos aqui uma discussão que trata da contação de histórias pela professora e pelas crianças, considerando suas contribuições para o desenvolvimento das linguagens nas séries iniciais do Ensino Fundamental. Adotamos como pressuposto o fato de que uma valorização do primeiro contato das crianças com os textos, que normalmente se dá por meio de narrativas orais, potencializa o desenvolvimento da oralidade, leitura e escrita de forma integrada. Por isso, debatemos o trabalho com a linguagem oral e sua importância, muitas vezes negligenciada pela maioria das escolas. Compreendemos, de acordo com Barthes, Echeverría, Sholles e Kellog, que as narrativas são cultivadas nos diversos grupos sociais, specialmente através da oralidade, e é isso que faz com que a narração se constitua em uma forma discursiva básica para a formação dos seres humanos. Além disso, pensamos, conforme Andaló, que o trabalho com narrativas orais permite que as crianças, ainda antes de estarem alfabetizadas, contem e compreendam as histórias e a si mesmas, narrando-se com elas e com o mundo. A maioria das vivências que temos no trabalho com essa abordagem, seja nas escolas públicas em que lecionamos, nos municípios de Candelária e Vera Cruz , seja nos debates teóricos com alunas nos cursos de Pedagogia da Unisc, dão conta de que a criação de espaços adequados na escola para a contação de histórias constitui-se em um mecanismo desencadeador das aprendizagens integradas – sob o olhar multidimensional da complexidade – da expressão oral, da leitura e da escrita, que compreendemos como capacidades de ação e reflexão no mundo . Ou seja, respaldados em autores como Kaufman e Rodríguez, Gil Neto, Bettelheim, Busatto, Abramovich, Amarilha e Saraiva, defendemos a tese de que contar histórias potencializa tanto o desenvolvimento da oralidade quanto a formação das crianças como leitoras e produtoras de textos, inserindo-as em uma convivência social desejável. (shrink)

The EU has launched targets for energy efficiency and the reduction in pollutant emissions in the transport sector. It establishes a framework to foster the promotion and development of a market for clean vehicles. In 2011 the EU passed a “Roadmap to a single European transport area—Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system”. This roadmap includes 40 concrete initiatives for the next decade to build a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and (...) fuel growth and employment. The objectives concern well-functioning passenger and freight links that are vital for European undertakings and citizens. At the same time, the proposals will dramatically reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil. All in all the EU transport policies aim at fostering clean, safe and efficient travel throughout Europe, which requires innovations in many areas—like safe electric cars—and needs to engage not just the users but the entire transport industry facing drastic structural changes. (shrink)

This essay was written for the 1984 General Motors Intercollegiate Business Understanding Program. It consists of three sections, each responding to a separate issue posed by General Motors. The opinions expressed are not those of the General Motors management.The first section attempts to document, through the use of Harvard Business Review articles, a shift in the notion of managerial responsibility from a narrowly focused role responsibility to a more widely focused moral responsibility.

Recently I have read in succession the four articles on formal logic and dialectics in the current year's Hsin chien-she: Mr. Chou Ku-ch'eng's "Formal Logic and Dialectics" in the second issue, Mr. I Chih's "A Criticism of Confused Concepts on Problems of Logic" in the fourth issue, Mr. Shen Ping-yuan's "A Discussion of ‘Formal Logic and Dialectics,’ " and Mr. Chou Ku-ch'eng's "Further Discourse on Formal Logic and Dialectics," both in the seventh issue. In my opinion, in Mr. Chou's articles, (...) several main theses on formal logic and on the relationship between formal logic and dialectics are erroneous; basically, I agree with the criticisms of Messrs. I and Shen. Nonetheless, I believe that Mr. Chou's errors have had their source in the theory of cognition in that he has unilateralized and absolutized certain aspects that were originally correct, thus leading himself in the wrong direction. In criticizing Mr. Chou, both Messrs. I and Shen failed to proceed from this premise, so they could not make others see where Mr. Chou's errors basically lie. Based on this approach, I am merely offering some personal views on several main problems concerning formal logic and the relationship between formal logic and dialectics as mentioned in Mr. Chou's article. It is hoped that Mr. Chou and other comrades will correct me. (shrink)

With a vaulting ambition to usurp Party power, the "Gang of Four" has audaciously opposed Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought. Lacking truth in their allegations, they have been compelled to invoke sophistry. Their sophistry runs counter to materialist dialectics and even formal logic. Alien class element Yao Wen-yuan used to accuse others of "violating even formal logic," but it is the "Gang of Four" that ignores the definiteness and distinctiveness of thinking, says black is white, and tramples on formal logic.

We present an information-theoretic interpretation of quantum formalism based on a Bayesian framework and devoid of any extra axiom or principle. Quantum information is construed as a technique for analyzing a logical system subject to classical constraints, based on a question-and-answer procedure. The problem is posed from a particular batch of queries while the constraints are represented by the truth table of a set of Boolean functions. The Bayesian inference technique consists in assigning a probability distribution within a real-valued probability (...) space to the joint set of queries in order to satisfy the constraints. The initial query batch is not unique and alternative batches can be considered at will. They are enabled mechanically from the initial batch, quite simply by transcribing the probability space into an auxiliary Hilbert space. It turns out that this sole procedure leads to exactly rediscover the standard quantum information theory and thus provides an information-theoretic rationale to its technical rules. In this framework, the great challenges of quantum mechanics become simple platitudes: Why is the theory probabilistic? Why is the theory linear? Where does the Hilbert space come from? In addition, most of the paradoxes, such as uncertainty principle, entanglement, contextuality, nonsignaling correlation, measurement problem, etc., become straightforward features. In the end, our major conclusion is that quantum information is nothing but classical information processed by a mature form of Bayesian inference technique and, as such, consubstantial with Aristotelian logic. (shrink)