Social Semantics: The Organisation and Grounding of Abstract Concepts

concepts, like justice and friendship, are a central feature of our daily lives. Traditionally, abstract concepts are distinguished from other concepts in that they cannot be directly experienced through the senses. As such, they pose a challenge for strongly embodied models of semantic representation that assume a central role for sensorimotor information. There is growing recognition, however, that it is possible for meaning to be ‘grounded’ via cognitive systems, including those involved in processing language and emotion. In this article, we focus on the specific proposal that social significance is a key feature in the representation of some concepts. We begin by reviewing recent evidence in favour of this proposal from the fields of cognitive science and neuroimaging. We then discuss the limited extent to which there is consensus about the definition of ‘socialness’ and propose essential next steps for research in this domain. Taking one such step, we describe preliminary data from an unprecedented large-scale rating study that can help determine how socialness is distinct from other facets of word meaning. We provide a backdrop of contemporary theories regarding semantic representation and social cognition and highlight important predictions for both brain and behaviour.

How to report E-values for meta-analyses: Recommended improvements and additions to the new GRADE approach

In a recent concept paper (Verbeek et al., 2021), the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) Working Group provides a preliminary proposal to improve its existing guidelines for assessing sensitivity to uncontrolled confounding in meta-analyses of nonrandomized studies. The new proposal centers on reporting the E-value for the meta-analytic mean and on comparing this E-value to a measured “reference confounder” to determine whether residual uncontrolled confounding in the meta-analyzed studies could or could not plausibly explain away the meta-analytic mean. Although we agree that E-value analogs for meta-analyses could be an informative addition to future GRADE guidelines, we suggest improvements to the Verbeek et al. (2021)’s specific proposal regarding: (1) their interpretation of comparisons between the E-value and the strengths of associations of a reference confounder; (2) their characterization of evidence strength in meta-analyses in terms of only the meta-analytic mean; and (3) the possibility of confounding bias that is heterogeneous across studies.

A Pareto-Improving Compensation Rule for Investment Treaties

ABSTRACT Investment treaties grant foreign investors legal rights to compensation for losses caused by certain host state conduct. Many states are reconsidering their involvement in these treaties because they perceive the risks to outweigh the benefits. We start from the normative premise that participation in investment treaties should benefit both ‘host’ and ‘home’ states. Using a law and economics approach, we model a variety of common fact scenarios that arise in investment treaty arbitration. Our modelling demonstrates that being party to an investment treaty does not necessarily benefit a host state. The objective of mutual benefits would be achieved if investment treaties were modified to provide only the minimum protection necessary to solve time inconsistency problems for the host state and, thereby, deter opportunistic conduct. The treaties should not place wider constraints on legal and policy change. Our specific proposal is that a state should only have to compensate the investor if it breaches or modifies the domestic legal regime governing the investment and that compensation should be the lesser of the investor’s loss and the host state’s gain from the host state not having had the new legal regime in place when the investment was made.

Análisis de los marcos de participación en la interacción en redes sociales virtuales

During decades a topic of interest has been the analysis of participation frameworks both in production and in reception of messages in oral interactions. Researchers from the fields of sociology, communication and linguistics have developed several proposals to describe this process in oral interaction. However, the computer mediated interaction was not considered at the time those models were proposed. Therefore, it is necessary to develop specific models for the description of this type of interactions. The intend of this article is to develop a specific proposal for the description and analysis of production and reception frameworks in virtual social networks.

Legal Philosophy and Cosmopolitan Constitutionalism. Debates on Morality, Unity, and Power

Cosmopolitan Constitutionalism is a specific proposal in the international legal debate, the goal of which is the application of constitutional principles at the global level to achieve the universal guarantee of human rights. The author proposes that if we want to respond to the question of whether this project is possible and desirable, we need to analyse whether this is a plausible proposal, considering the distinctive features of law in the transnational sphere. In this light, the principal aim of this work is to show the principal challenges that Cosmopolitan Constitutionalism presents for the classic debates of legal philosophy, considering the current conditions of the international sphere. In this paper, the three topics that are considered are the debates between morality and law, law and power, and law and unity. The topics are problematized from the perspective of two contemporary scholars of Cosmopolitan Constitutionalism: Luigi Ferrajoli and Jürgen Habermas.

Data Handling in Industry 4.0: Interoperability Based on Distributed Ledger Technology

Information-intensive transformation is vital to realize the Industry 4.0 paradigm, where processes, systems, and people are in a connected environment. Current factories must combine different sources of knowledge with different technological layers. Taking into account data interconnection and information transparency, it is necessary to enhance the existing frameworks. This paper proposes an extension to an existing framework, which enables access to knowledge about the different data sources available, including data from operators. To develop the interoperability principle, a specific proposal to provide a (public and encrypted) data management solution to ensure information transparency is presented, which enables semantic data treatment and provides an appropriate context to allow data fusion. This proposal is designed also considering the Privacy by Design option. As a proof of application case, an implementation was carried out regarding the logistics of the delivery of industrial components in the construction sector, where different stakeholders may benefit from shared knowledge under the proposed architecture.

CONTENT ASPECT OF TEACHING RUSSIAN LANGUAGE FOR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

The paper deals with flexibility of the content of the educational subject “Business Communication” that is determined by existence/absence of related communicative subjects in educational programmes at higher educational institutions. The author stresses importance of the subject by teaching specialists able to communication within their professional activities. In addition, specific proposal is made to modernize the content of the subject “Russian Language for Business Communication” in the frame of the educational process at the Siberian State University of Geosystems and Technologies.

Experience in modeling a comfortable environment in the transport compartment

The theoretical base was developed and the mathematical model of dynamic thermal processes in a compartment of public transport was constructed. The software which is realized the constructed mathematical model was developed. The mathematical model provides for the possibility of taking into account the most possible environmental conditions which can have place in the actual operating conditions of a transport even the angle of illumination - the current temperature of the external environment, the presence of solar radiation taking into account the angle of sun’s illumination, and the temperature of the roadway. The software allows calculation and visualization non –stationary temperature fields in the public transport’s compartments using the example of a trolley bus. For a specific trolley bus design, a series of experiments to calculate the comfortable temperature for passengers were conducted, These experiments are showed the performance of the constructed model and allowed to formulate a specific proposal for improving the thermoregulation system of the trolleybus’ passenger compartment.

Legal uncertainty as the impediment to economic growth of Serbia

Legal uncertainty represents one of the major impediments to sustainable economic growth of transition countries. Inadequate legal framework is often the source of legal uncertainty and strong impediment to effective rule of law and efficient judiciary. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of penal policy on the prevention of tax indiscipline. The improvement of legal framework and tax discipline creates a synergistic effect for attraction of FDI, enhanced allocation of resources and higher economic growth. The analysis of the shortcomings of the existing legal solution is accompanied by the assessment of the prevailing case law and tax evasion criminalization in the selected European countries. Holistic approach to research allowed for the development of a specific proposal for the enhancement of legal framework and, consequently, the increase of legal certainty with positive effects on the economic growth of Serbia in the medium and long term.