Measures of Populism in the CHES 2017 Dataset

Populism is a fuzzy concept in world politics; it can take many shapes and colors, thus evading rigorous definition. Using expert evaluations provided in Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES) 2017 data, we try to identify features that predict populism and to characterize various European parties on a populism scale. As a byproduct, we find that experts have often diverging opinions on a party’s stance on various issues. Keywords: populism, CHES 2017, EU politics

Notes on Higher-Spin Diffeomorphisms

Higher-spin diffeomorphisms are to higher-order differential operators what diffeomorphisms are to vector fields. Their rigorous definition is a challenging mathematical problem which might predate a better understanding of higher-spin symmetries and interactions. Several yes-go and no-go results on higher-spin diffeomorphisms are collected from the mathematical literature in order to propose a generalisation of the algebra of differential operators on which higher-spin diffeomorphisms are well-defined. This work is dedicated to the memory of Christiane Schomblond, who taught several generations of Belgian physicists the formative rigor and delicate beauty of theoretical physics.

Complexity of Self-Gravitating Systems

In recent decades many efforts have been made towards a rigorous definition of complexity in different branches of science (see [...]

A local-realistic model for quantum theory

We provide a rigorous definition of local realism. We show that the universal wave function cannot be a complete description of a local reality. Finally, we construct a local-realistic model for quantum theory.

What’s in, what’s out? Towards a rigorous definition of the boundaries of benefit-cost analysis

Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is typically defined as an implementation of the potential Pareto criterion, which requires inclusion of any impact for which individuals have willingness to pay (WTP). This definition is incompatible with the exclusion of impacts such as rights and distributional concerns, for which individuals do have WTP. I propose a new definition: BCA should include only impacts for which consumer sovereignty should govern. This is because WTP implicitly preserves consumer sovereignty, and is thus only appropriate for ‘sovereignty-warranting’ impacts. I compare the high cost of including non-sovereignty-warranting impacts to the relatively low cost of excluding sovereignty-warranting impacts.

Discontinuity of Straightening in Anti-Holomorphic Dynamics: II

In [21], Milnor found Tricorn-like sets in the parameter space of real cubic polynomials. We give a rigorous definition of these Tricorn-like sets as suitable renormalization loci and show that the dynamically natural straightening map from such a Tricorn-like set to the original Tricorn is discontinuous. We also prove some rigidity theorems for polynomial parabolic germs, which state that one can recover unicritical holomorphic and anti-holomorphic polynomials from their parabolic germs.

Ordered models for concept representation

Basic notions linked with concept theory can be accounted for by partial order relations. These orders translate the fact that, for an agent, an object may be seen as a better or a more typical exemplar of a concept than anyother. They adequately model notions linked with categorial membership, typicality and resemblance, without any of the drawbacks that are classically encountered in conjunction theory. An interesting consequence of such a concept representation is the possibility of using the tools of non-monotonic logic to address some well-known problems of cognitive psychology. Thus, conceptual entailment and concept induction can be reexamined in the framework of preferential inference relations. This leads to a rigorous definition of the basic notions used in the study of category-based induction.

Regreso al vacío: sobre ausencia y desaparición social (Back to the void. Concerning absence and social disappearance)

La ausencia es un tópico común en los textos que toman a la desaparición forzada o al desaparecido como objeto de interés. No es extraño, pues se han conseguido a partir de ese concepto resultados poderosos. Sin embargo, como en casi todo lo que se naturaliza, el contenido del concepto y de sus declinaciones ha perdido fuelle y cuesta saber de qué se habla cuando se habla de ausencia. Dentro del esfuerzo por construir una definición rigurosa de “desaparición social”, este texto regresa sobre el concepto, observa sus usos más instalados y sobre todo busca vías para volver a llenarlo de contenido. En este texto daremos algunos pasos en esa renovación. Absence is a common topic in the literature that analyzes forced disappearances and the disappeared. This is understandable because approaches from this concept have brought about remarkable insights. However, as it usually happens when something is naturalized, the concept’s content and its derivations have lost centrality and we find it hard to tell what’s the meaning of this concept. In an endeavor to develop a rigorous definition of “social disappearance”, this article looks back at the concept, focuses on its dominant uses and, above all, searches for ways to fill it with content. The present work moves forward with the renovation of this notion.

A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR PHYSICAL HEIGHTS IN BRAZIL

The physical heights definition of heights, proposed by Helmert in 1890 is one of the commonly used heights systems in practice. In Helmert’s definition, the mean value of gravity along plumbline is computed by simplifying the topography with a Bouguer shell containing masses with mean density value. Although this approximation might be accurate enough many purposes, a more rigorous definition can be determined by considering the effects of terrain, topographic mass density variation, and masses contained in the geoid the mean gravity value along the plumbline. The purpose of this paper is to compute the corrections for the Helmert’s definition of the orthometric heights to obtain the rigorous orthometric heights in the state of São Paulo and adjacent states and to evaluate these corrections. The heights system used in Brazil (until July 2018) and some South American countries is normal-orthometric heights, therefore the corrections needs to be applied accordingly. Our numerical results show that there are significant differences between the normal-orthometric and rigorous orthometric heights, with maximum values of ~ 0.4 m, minimum of ~ -0.8 m and mean value of ~ -0.32 m. There are larger differences between normal-orthometric and normal height than the ones between normal and rigorous definition of orthometric heights.