scholarly journals Dialectical and activity-based foundations for the modern original definition of science

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 22-30
Author(s):  
Roman V. Sorokin
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Scientific Activity ◽  
General Definition ◽  
Modern Problem ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Actual Problem ◽  
Original Definition ◽  
Definition Of

The article is devoted to the actual problem of uncertainty in science. The work done not only contributes to the removal/solution of this modern problem, but also contributes to the theoretical understanding of the need for qualitative changes in the sphere of scientific activity, the most organic combination of theory with practice to form a new form of science, guaranteed to remove the global dangers and uncertainties of scientific and technological development. The author presents the basis for the formation of a modern, general definition of science, the absence of which indicates the presence of the above problem. The aim of the research is to give a modern general definition of science, making a serious step, if not to the final solution, then to a generally meaningful solution of this problem. In the authors opinion, all substantive elements necessary for forming a modern general definition of science have already been identified, but they are not structured. The methodological approach has a high importance in solving this problem, and the emphasis should be placed on dialectics, rather than formal logic. In dialectical methodology, it is necessary to refer to the theory of dialectical development from the abstract to the concrete, as well as the general theory of activity. The specificity of science is defined in the consistent disclosure of the content of science as knowledge, as individual-collective, internalist-externalist activity and as a sphere of social life. As a result of the analysis of these aspects the author comes to the initial, general and actual definition of science.

scholarly journals Proportional lumpability and proportional bisimilarity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Marin ◽  
Carla Piazza ◽  
Sabina Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Markov Chain ◽  
Markov Chains ◽  
Upper And Lower Bounds ◽  
General Definition ◽  
Performance Indices ◽  
State Aggregation ◽  
Structural Regularity ◽  
Original Definition ◽  
Aggregation Technique ◽  
Definition Of

AbstractIn this paper, we deal with the lumpability approach to cope with the state space explosion problem inherent to the computation of the stationary performance indices of large stochastic models. The lumpability method is based on a state aggregation technique and applies to Markov chains exhibiting some structural regularity. Moreover, it allows one to efficiently compute the exact values of the stationary performance indices when the model is actually lumpable. The notion of quasi-lumpability is based on the idea that a Markov chain can be altered by relatively small perturbations of the transition rates in such a way that the new resulting Markov chain is lumpable. In this case, only upper and lower bounds on the performance indices can be derived. Here, we introduce a novel notion of quasi-lumpability, named proportional lumpability, which extends the original definition of lumpability but, differently from the general definition of quasi-lumpability, it allows one to derive exact stationary performance indices for the original process. We then introduce the notion of proportional bisimilarity for the terms of the performance process algebra PEPA. Proportional bisimilarity induces a proportional lumpability on the underlying continuous-time Markov chains. Finally, we prove some compositionality results and show the applicability of our theory through examples.

Many cultures, one citizenship

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Touraine
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Reasonable Doubt ◽  
General Definition ◽  
Complete Control ◽  
The World ◽  
Scientific Technical ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Definition Of

Two opposite statements must be rejected with the same rigor. First (1) is that a few countries have identified themselves with modernity by their scientific, technical and economic achievement and that the rest of the world, which is lagging behind the ‘advanced countries’, must follow in their footsteps and imitate their example. The article first of all sets out the falsity of such a statement, because there is not one but many western paths of modernization, and indicates that it is nothing but a colonialist ideology, which spread from European and American societies and cultures and destroyed all independent efforts of modernization in other countries, in particular China. The hegemony of the western capitalist model is more than challenged by other ways of modernization, for though the soviet model has failed, other countries are ‘emerging’ or have already emerged. Second (2) the opposite representation defends the idea of a complete multiculturalism including political regimes and human rights. It fights against the previous colonialist model and supports a total relativism. But this view makes impossible the communication between completely different countries and cultures and reciprocal fear leads to an extreme conflict between ‘civilizations’, such as S. Huntington has described. This view leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable if each civilization has a complete internal unity and a complete control on all its activities. But the world is not divided into various theocratic states: no single theocratic state commands the whole or the majority of Muslim population. The central problem remains real and difficult: how to combine unity and diversity, the difference between cultures and the capacity for them to communicate with each other? The most useful idea is to elaborate one general definition of modernity, as a culture which is based on universalistic principles. The western mode of modernization is not the only possible one; nor is it at all sure that the western process of separation of temporal and spiritual powers is the only possibility. We cannot assert that universalism must penetrate social life only through political institutions and citizenship. It is beyond any reasonable doubt that modernity, with its universalistic components, cannot be identified with only one type of social organization and cultural values.

scholarly journals Modern understanding of legal policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 97-104
Author(s):  
Danis Rifkatovich Khasanov
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Legal Policy ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Different Types ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Definition Of

This article is dedicated to the theoretical understanding of the problem of ambiguity of the concept of “legal policy” as a complicated phenomenon that has a substantial number of attributes, which connect it with multiple occurrences within the legal sphere of social life and outside it; as well as overcoming such ambiguity through analyzing the diversity of characteristics of legal policy presented in the definitions of modern authors , and formation of the unified definition on their basis that would serve as methodological framework for the research of legal policy in all branches of juridical science. Research methodology includes the general scientific methods, such as analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, classification, and systemic approach. The author analyzes different points of view of the Russian scholars on formation of the concept of legal policy; describes their specific features; makes an attempt of their systematization. The conclusion is made on the presence of two different types of approaches towards determination of the content of legal policy. The author highlights most substantial characteristic suitable for both approaches, and offers an original version of a unified definition of legal policy of the state.

scholarly journals National science as a spiritual phenomenon

1998 ◽  
pp. 26-30
Author(s):  
G. V. Sagan
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
General Definition ◽  
Social Phenomenon ◽  
National Science ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Complex Phenomena

Before talking about national science as a specific phenomenon we find out the essence of science as a phenomenon in general. We note that science is one of the most complex phenomena of social life. Complex understanding of it complicates the fact that science is structurally extremely complex, polyfunctional, historically variable, with many of its faces included in this or that sphere of social life. It therefore appears as an extremely diverse social phenomenon. This raises some difficulties in developing a general definition of it. As G. Volkov correctly pointed out, "there is nothing simpler than giving a definition to any phenomenon, when the whole thing is only in the formulation, and there is nothing more complicated than when it comes to the concentration in the concentrated form of the very essence of the object under study"

scholarly journals A tentative taxonomy for predictive models in relation to their falsifiability

2011 ◽  
Vol 369 (1954) ◽  
pp. 4149-4161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Viceconti
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Predictive Models ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Bayesian Models ◽  
General Definition ◽  
Scientific Model ◽  
Biophysical Models ◽  
Research Sector ◽  
Definition Of

The growing importance of predictive models in biomedical research raises some concerns on the correct methodological approach to the falsification of such models, as they are developed in interdisciplinary research contexts between physics, biology and medicine. In each of these research sectors, there are established methods to develop cause–effect explanations for observed phenomena, which can be used to predict: epidemiological models, biochemical models, biophysical models, Bayesian models, neural networks, etc. Each research sector has accepted processes to verify how correct these models are (falsification). But interdisciplinary research imposes a broader perspective, which encompasses all possible models in a general methodological framework of falsification. The present paper proposes a general definition of ‘scientific model’ that makes it possible to categorize predictive models into broad categories. For each of these categories, generic falsification strategies are proposed, except for the so-called ‘abductive’ models. For this category, which includes artificial neural networks, Bayesian models and integrative models, the definition of a generic falsification strategy requires further investigation by researchers and philosophers of science.

scholarly journals The phenomenon of loneliness among senior citizens: subject of discussion

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Svetlana Petrovna Akutina ◽  
Elena Valentinovna Stolyarova
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Senior Citizens ◽  
Temporal Perspective ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Original Definition ◽  
Psychoemotional State ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Definition Of

The subject of this research is the phenomenon of loneliness among senior citizens. The goal lies in examination of the problems of loneliness among senior citizens. The article reviews such aspects as alienation from the society, feeling useless and helpless; gives the key characteristics of loneliness – assessment of social status, type of inferiority, type of temporal perspective, models of loneliness. The types of loneliness are divided into situational, chronic, recurrent, as well as emotional and social isolation. Research methodology employs the ideas of phenomenological, systemic, and activity approaches in the context of studying the problems of loneliness among senior citizens and effective ways of their solution. The survey revealed that senior citizens quite often feel lonely, which is reflected in the distorted interaction with other people, experiencing psychological problems, difficulties in self-organization, and the need for assistance of the social workers. The author empirically proves that the developed program “Young at Heart”, through creating hobby groups, helps senior citizens to feel needed in the society, improves their psychoemotional state, and allows overcoming loneliness. The article examines the theoretical approaches towards comprehension of the problem of loneliness among senior citizens. The author formulates the original definition of the concept of “loneliness” in the context of socio-psychological aspect, determines the causes of the phenomenon of loneliness among senior citizens within the framework of their interaction with society, develops a questionnaire aimed at studying the factors of socio-psychological loneliness of senior citizens, offers the ways for overcoming loneliness through active social life, such as  creation of the hobby group “Young at Heart”, which includes the three types of activity: leisure and creative-applied, health promotion,  and garden therapy. It is substantiated that maintenance of zest for living among senior citizens would be effective by creating a socially favorable, psychoemotional and health-preserving environment in the society.

scholarly journals A simple design rule for 1st order form-closure of underactuated hands

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Krut ◽  
V. Bégoc
Keyword(s):  
International Workshop ◽  
Contact Forces ◽  
Design Rule ◽  
General Definition ◽  
Order Form ◽  
Contact Points ◽  
Original Definition ◽  
Form Closure ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract. The property of form-closure of a grasp, as generally defined in the literature, is based on the assumption that contact points between the hand and the object are fixed in space. However, this assumption is false when considering a grasp exerted by an underactuated hand, since in this case, it is not possible to control the position of each phalanx independently. In spite of researchers' interest in studying form-closure, none of the available published work on this subject takes into consideration the particular kinematics of underactuated hands. Actually, there are few available tools to qualify or quantify the stability of a grasp exerted by an underactuated hand, thus the design of underactuated hands mostly results from an intuitive approach. This paper aims to reduce this gap. A classification of underactuated hands is proposed, based on the expression of contact forces. This highlights the influence of non-backdrivable mechanisms introduced in the transmission of the closing motion of the hand on the stability of the grasp. The way to extend the original definition of form-closure to underactuated grasps is illustrated. A more general definition is formulated, which checks the stability of the set "object + hand". Using this new definition, a simple rule is proposed for designing a hand capable of achieving 1st order form-closed grasps. This paper was presented at the IFToMM/ASME International Workshop on Underactuated Grasping (UG2010), 19 August 2010, Montréal, Canada.

Identification of managerial competencies of the organizational leaders of the Passifloraceae production sector in the Huila Department

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (67) ◽  
pp. 61-78
Author(s):  
Hernando Gil Tovar ◽  
Derly Cibelly Lara Figueroa
Keyword(s):  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Organizational Leaders ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Generational Change ◽  
Production Sector ◽  
Managerial Competencies ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Small Producers

Managerial competencies, defined as the “underlying characteristics of an individual that have a causal relationship with effective or superior performance in the job” (Boyatzis, 1982, p. 12), are key to achievement of productive purposes in the Huila department, in Colombia. The present article, as an investigative result, seeks to identify those managerial competencies, both current and required, of the organizational leaders in the Passifloraceae productive sector in the Huila department, in Colombia. The epistemological paradigm used in this article is that of interpretivism. The reasoning method is deductive, and the methodological approach is mixed. The unit of analysis for this study consists of the directors of the associative organizations of Passifloraceae producers in the productive chain, where two types of players are identified: thirteen (13) leaders of organizations producing passion fruit, and five (5) representatives of institutions in the Huila department that influence the sector. The study concludes with the definition of the map of current managerial competences of organizations in the passionfruit productive sector, and is then contrasted with the map of competences required from these. It also highlights the importance of associativity for small producers, the need to continue conducting research in the sector, and the need to intervene through social outreach projects, so as to generate appropriation and training processes for a set of managerial competencies identified herein, which will strengthen management skills and competitiveness in this type of organization, and ensure, over time, generational change within the sector.

Two Theories of Effective Government

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Lindvall
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Precise Definition ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter introduces the problem of “reform capacity” (the ability of political decision-makers to adopt and implement policy changes that benefit society as a whole, by adjusting public policies to changing economic, social, and political circumstances). The chapter also reviews the long-standing discussion in political science about the relationship between political institutions and effective government. Furthermore, the chapter explains why the possibility of compensation matters greatly for the politics of reform; provides a precise definition of the concept of reform capacity; describes the book's general approach to this problem; and discusses the ethics of compensating losers from reform; and presents the book's methodological approach.

Populism and Liberal Democracy

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takis S. Pappas
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Comprehensive Theory ◽  
The People ◽  
Original Definition ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Great Relevance ◽  
Definition Of

Based on an original definition of modern populism as “democratic illiberalism” and many years of meticulous research, Takis Pappas marshals extraordinary empirical evidence from Argentina, Greece, Peru, Italy, Venezuela, Ecuador, Hungary, the United States, Spain, and Brazil to develop a comprehensive theory about populism. He addresses all key issues in the debate about populism and answers significant questions of great relevance for today’s liberal democracy, including: • What is modern populism and how can it be differentiated from comparable phenomena like nativism and autocracy? • Where in Latin America has populism become most successful? Where in Europe did it emerge first? Why did its rise to power in the United States come so late? • Is Trump a populist and, if so, could he be compared best with Venezuela’s Chávez, France’s Le Pens, or Turkey’s Erdoğan? • Why has populism thrived in post-authoritarian Greece but not in Spain? And why in Argentina and not in Brazil? • Can populism ever succeed without a charismatic leader? If not, what does leadership tell us about how to challenge populism? • Who are “the people” who vote for populist parties, how are these “made” into a group, and what is in their minds? • Is there a “populist blueprint” that all populists use when in power? And what are the long-term consequences of populist rule? • What does the expansion, and possibly solidification, of populism mean for the very nature and future of contemporary democracy? Populism and Liberal Democracy will change the ways the reader understands populism and imagines the prospects of liberal democracy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document