The Foundations of Branching Space-Times

In this chapter the reader is guided through the construction of the core theory of Branching Space-Times. This discursive approach culminates in proposing a set of postulates that a structure of the core theory of Branching Space-Times (common BST) has to satisfy. The theory’s basic notion is that of a set of events, partially ordered by a pre-causal relation. Histories are then defined as maximal directed subsets of the base set. The chapter proves essential facts about histories and the postulates that the core of BST is assumed to satisfy. Among other things, it proves the so-called M-property that determines how any two point event in a common BST structure are related.

Transformation of the Ethiopian Political Elite and the Armed Conflict in Tigray: from Driving Predecessors out to De-Escalation?

In the article the authors consider elite dimension of the conflict in Tigray. Conducting the analysis of intra-elite processes allows both to find out the roots and to estimate the consequences of the most fast-moving conflict in the Horn of Africa. The research consists of five conceptual parts, which are preluded by a short description of the run of events. In the first part the conflict potential which takes its roots in 1994-2018 is explained. It starts with the basic notion that ethnic lines predetermine formation of elites in Ethiopia. Then the study shows that one of the main causes for the dispute which has severely divided political elites was the hegemony of the TPLF in government institutions. The second part refers to the transit of power. Here the point under consideration is redistribution of resources and particular strategies adopted by polarized elites. The analysis demonstrates that Abiy Ahmed and his allies did their best to deprive the TPLF leaders of power and economic resources. The TPLF resorted to ethnic mobilization while their rivals tried to break the unity of Tigrayans through stressing the existence of a class conflict. The third and the fourth chapters focus on the investigation of federal elites’ and «tigrayan clan’s» current positions respectively. In conclusion, the authors structure their findings and estimate the perspectives of inter-elites consensus. The research provides three important conclusions. Firstly, the roots of the conflict led to the formation of «action-response» cycles which was the basis for a rapid development and escalation. Secondly, the ongoing war even consolidates ruling elites in their fear of the TPLF. Finally, de-escalation and negotiations may become possible amid internal disputes in the Prosperity Party.

Introduction

The Introduction explains the implications of a relational ontology for the conception of agency in Classical Chinese philosophy and how it differs from philosophy of action in contemporary analytical circles. It presents two approaches to relationality: the basic notion that everything exists in interrelation and a stronger account that implies interdependency and oneness. It introduces the notion of adapting in contrast with other models of agency. Adapting is a strategy of efficacious relational action precisely devised to acknowledge and take advantage of a strong account of relationality where acting necessarily is acting along with others or co-acting.

Fraternidade: uma noção universal?

A Encíclica Fratelli Tutti, centrada na noção de fraternidade, vai dirigida a toda a humanidade, como se depreende de sua leitura. Entretanto, esta noção básica tem raízes judaico-cristãs. Como ficam as demais religiões? Daí a questão do título. Numa parte inicial se examina a relação da religião com seu contexto sociocultural; em seguida se apresenta a atuação do Espírito Santo como fator universalizante da fé cristã, embora sua ação seja diversamente captada e expressa. Numa terceira parte se estuda a gênese histórica do conceito de fraternidade, sua compreensão por parte da fé cristã e a dificuldade de exportá-la para outras tradições religiosas. Contudo, numa parte final, por serem as religiões entidades porosas que se influenciam mutuamente, a noção de fraternidade pode ser acolhida, embora sofrendo certa limitação em seu sentido. Por isso mesmo, no final, propomos a noção mais geral de dignidade humana, fundamental numa época em que o ser humano é sacrificado ao lucro e à produtividade. Abstract: The Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, centered on the notion of fraternity, is directed to the whole of mankind, as we can infer by reading the text. However this basic notion has Judeo-Christian roots. How do the other religions stand in this case? Therefore the question contained in the title. In an initial part the relationship between religion and its sociocultural context is examined; next, the acting of the Holy Ghost as a universalizing factor of the Christian faith is examined, although its action may be expressed and received in different ways. In a third part the historical genesis of the concept of fraternity is studied, including its understanding on the part of the Christian faith and the difficulty to export it to other religious traditions. However, in a final part, because religions are porous entities that mutually influence each other, the notion of fraternity may be accepted even if after undergoing a certain limitation in its sense. For this very reason, at the end, we propose a more general notion of human dignity, fundamental at a time when the human being is sacrificed to profit and productivity.

A Concluding Remark

The three fictions offer to the reader an experiential absorption in a fictional world that stands as a rival to what has come to be known as philosophy, the inheritor of classical rationalism, something now pretty much exclusively what is written by academic, professional philosophers. The basic notion of a rival implies some competition on the same playing field, and so the term suggests an implicit claim that the fictions purport to do better, with respect to some things we would like to understand better, than a traditional analytical approach, where “do better” also means in a way that is more significant, more valuable. That is not the same as saying the fictions are just doing something else.

LINGUOSTATISTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF NOMINACENTRIC PROBABIES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (THEORETICAL AND LINGUODIDACTICAL ASPECTS)

The article is devoted to the linguostatistic analysis of the nominacentric proverbs of the English language. The analysis was carried out on the basis of a proverb dictionary. Folk proverbs and sayings of the English language in the studied dictionary have great didactic and educational value, since they assert moral norms (hard work, patriotism, love for the homeland, respect for elders, courage, etc.) and condemn human vices (laziness, cowardice, greed, etc.). The analyzed proverbial dictionary of the English language (Collection of English proverbs and sayings, 1987) contains about 1015 proverbs and sayings, which are arranged thematically. The materials of the dictionary demonstrate the richness of the figurative means of the language, its history and culture, the rules of the people’s life, which are passed from generation to generation for many centuries. Linguostatistic analysis and description are carried out on the basis of nominacentric proverbs with the basic notion "man". They occupy a large place in the proverbial fund of the English language, both in content and quantity and in the ways of their expression. The method of linguostatistical analysis and the semantic-stylistic method were used in the process of scientific research.

Symbols in Berezin quantization for representation operators

The basic notion of the Berezin quantization on a manifold M is a correspondence which to an operator A from a class assigns the pair of functions F and F^♮ defined on M. These functions are called covariant and contravariant symbols of A. We are interested in homogeneous space M=G/H and classes of operators related to the representation theory. The most algebraic version of quantization — we call it the polynomial quantization — is obtained when operators belong to the algebra of operators corresponding in a representation T of G to elements X of the universal enveloping algebra Env g of the Lie algebra g of G. In this case symbols turn out to be polynomials on the Lie algebra g. In this paper we offer a new theme in the Berezin quantization on G/H: as an initial class of operators we take operators corresponding to elements of the group G itself in a representation T of this group. In the paper we consider two examples, here homogeneous spaces are para-Hermitian spaces of rank 1 and 2: a) G=SL(2;R), H — the subgroup of diagonal matrices, G/H — a hyperboloid of one sheet in R^3; b) G — the pseudoorthogonal group SO_0 (p; q), the subgroup H covers with finite multiplicity the group SO_0 (p-1,q -1)×SO_0 (1;1); the space G/H (a pseudo-Grassmann manifold) is an orbit in the Lie algebra g of the group G.

Between protection and disclosure: applying the privacy calculus to investigate the intended use of privacy-protecting tools and self-disclosure on different websites

Using privacy-protecting tools and reducing self-disclosure can decrease the likelihood of experiencing privacy violations. Whereas previous studies found people’s online self-disclosure being the result of privacy risk and benefit perceptions, the present study extended this so-called privacy calculus approach by additionally focusing on privacy protection by means of a tool. Furthermore, it is important to understand contextual differences in privacy behaviors as well as characteristics of privacy-protecting tools that may affect usage intention. Results of an online experiment (N = 511) supported the basic notion of the privacy calculus and revealed that perceived privacy risks were strongly related to participants’ desired privacy protection which, in turn, was positively related to the willingness to use a privacy-protecting tool. Self-disclosure was found to be context dependent, whereas privacy protection was not. Moreover, participants would rather forgo using a tool that records their data, although this was described to enhance privacy protection.

Hacia un nuevo estímulo lingüístico-pragmático acerca de la traducción de fenómenos humorísticos

Resumen: Este artículo es el fruto de varios años de investigación en torno al concepto de humor y (in)traducibilidad. Partiendo de numerosas investigaciones sobre el humor y su traducción (Attardo y Raskin, 1991; Attardo, 1994, 2002; Hickey, 1998, n.d. ; Fuentes, 2000 o Santana, 2006), en este artículo se pretende presentar un nuevo enfoque lingüístico-pragmático sobre los fenónemos humorísticos basado en el concepto de impulso perlocutivo, así como desarrollar un marco teórico-práctico que permita a los traductores fomentar su capacidad creativa y conseguir el nivel máximo de naturalidad en el texto traducido. Entendiendo el encargo de traducción como un elemento pro-activo en el marco de una tendencia funcionalista basada en el concepto de «recreación», en este artículo se presenta un enfoque teórico-práctico basado en el concepto de estímulo ICRETRA. Tras revisar el concepto básico de «competencia traductora», en estas líneas se aboga por la adición de una sub-competencia creativa al modelo tradicional de sub-competencias. Con esta revisión de conceptos tradicionales y una aplicación teórico-práctica concreta se pretende evitar el excesivo apego que los traductores en ciernes presentan al TO cuando se trata de la traducción de textos especializados. El humor, por tanto, demuestra ser el mejor vehículo para fomentar la naturalidad y creatividad de los traductores, independientemente del tipo de texto con el que se trabaje. Palabras clave: funcionalismo recreativo, sub-competencia creativa, encargo de traducción pro-activo, estímulo ICRETRA Abstract: This article is the result of a long-lasting research on the concept of humour and its (un)translatability. On the basis of a large number of previous research studies conducted into humour and translation (Raskin and Attardo, 1991; Attardo 1994, 2002; Hickey, 1998, n.d.; Fuentes, 2000 or Santana, 2006), this article aims to put forward a new linguistic and pragmatic approach to humourous phenomena based on the concept of perlocutionary impulse, as well as to present a theoretical and practical framework that allows translators to improve their creative competence and to produce the most natural translations possible. By considering translation assignments as pro-active elements in the framework of a functionalist approach to the concept of recreation, we present a theoretical and practical analysis constructed on the concept of ICRETRA stimulus. Thus, after reviewing the basic notion of translation competence, we support the addition of a creative sub-competence to the traditional scheme of translation sub-competences. With all this in mind, we aim to avoid the sometimes excessive subjugation of trainee translators to the source text when translating specialized texts. Humour is therefore regarded as the best vehicle to increase naturalness and creativity of translators, regardless of the text typology they deal with. Key-words: recreative functionalism, creative sub-competence, pro-active translation assignment, ICRETRA stimulus

Generalized Maps

Spaces of generalised sections (also called section-distributions) are introduced, and their fundamental properties are described. Several special cases are considered, with particular attention to the case of semi-densities; when a Hermitian structure on the underlying classical bundle is given, these determine a rigged Hilbert space, which can be regarded as a basic notion in quantum geometry. The essentials of tensor products in distributional spaces, kernels and Fourier transforms are exposed.