Performance-Based Evaluation Metrics: Influence at the Macro, Meso, and Micro Level

This chapter aims to critically engage with the performative nature of bibliometric indicators and explores how they influence scholarly practice at the macro, meso, and individual levels. It begins with a comparison between two national performance-based funding systems in Sweden and Norway at the macro level, within universities at the meso level, down to the micro level where individual researchers must relate these incentives to knowledge building within their specialty. I argue that the common-sense “representational model of bibliometric indicators” is questionable in practice, since it cannot capture the qualities of research in any unambiguous way. Furthermore, a performative notion on scientometric indicators needs to be developed that takes into account the variability and uncertainty of the aspects of research that is to be evaluated.

Model-Theoretic Accounts of Logical Consequence - Themes from Etchemendy

<p>This thesis is a discussion and continuation of a project started by John Etchemendy with his criticism of Tarski's account of logical consequence. To this end the two central concepts of the thesis are those of an interpretational and representational model-theoretic account of logical consequence, respectively. The first chapter introduces Etchemendy's criticism of Tarski's account of logical consequence, a criticism which turns essentially on an interpretation of Tarski according to which his proposed account gives rise to a purely interpretational model-theoretic account of logical consequence. Consequently there must be a representational aspect to our model-theoretic definition of logical consequence. The second chapter introduces Etchemendy's notion of logical consequence: that of being truth preserving in virtue of the semantics of the involved terms. While this notion is representational, we argue that Etchemendy's notion of a categorematic treatment of terms reintroduces an interpretational aspect back into the model theory. The chapter investigates the resulting notion, compares it to other notions in the literature, and presents certain results that can be proved, under certain conditions, about this notion in relation to the notion of being truth preserving in virtue of the semantics of all terms. Chapter three of the thesis is concerned with the question of how a standard model, seen as a domain and an interpretation function, manages to capture the different notions of model-theoretic consequence. As we explain, this question is most pressing when we want our models to both represent and interpret, and we will present a theory which allows us to see the models as both representing non-actual possibilities as well as provide interpretations for the terms. The fourth chapter applies the lessons of the preceeding chapters to argue that Kripke Semantics can be seen as capturing the notion of being truth preserving in all possibilities under all interpretations of the non-logical terminology in the case where our language is augmented with an operator, ⃞, to represent logical necessity. We will argue this point by contrasting it with, though not necessarily disagreeing with, claims made by various authors to the effect that Kripke Semantics is not the appropriate semantics when our language contains an operator for logical necessity.</p>

Model-Theoretic Accounts of Logical Consequence - Themes from Etchemendy

<p>This thesis is a discussion and continuation of a project started by John Etchemendy with his criticism of Tarski's account of logical consequence. To this end the two central concepts of the thesis are those of an interpretational and representational model-theoretic account of logical consequence, respectively. The first chapter introduces Etchemendy's criticism of Tarski's account of logical consequence, a criticism which turns essentially on an interpretation of Tarski according to which his proposed account gives rise to a purely interpretational model-theoretic account of logical consequence. Consequently there must be a representational aspect to our model-theoretic definition of logical consequence. The second chapter introduces Etchemendy's notion of logical consequence: that of being truth preserving in virtue of the semantics of the involved terms. While this notion is representational, we argue that Etchemendy's notion of a categorematic treatment of terms reintroduces an interpretational aspect back into the model theory. The chapter investigates the resulting notion, compares it to other notions in the literature, and presents certain results that can be proved, under certain conditions, about this notion in relation to the notion of being truth preserving in virtue of the semantics of all terms. Chapter three of the thesis is concerned with the question of how a standard model, seen as a domain and an interpretation function, manages to capture the different notions of model-theoretic consequence. As we explain, this question is most pressing when we want our models to both represent and interpret, and we will present a theory which allows us to see the models as both representing non-actual possibilities as well as provide interpretations for the terms. The fourth chapter applies the lessons of the preceeding chapters to argue that Kripke Semantics can be seen as capturing the notion of being truth preserving in all possibilities under all interpretations of the non-logical terminology in the case where our language is augmented with an operator, ⃞, to represent logical necessity. We will argue this point by contrasting it with, though not necessarily disagreeing with, claims made by various authors to the effect that Kripke Semantics is not the appropriate semantics when our language contains an operator for logical necessity.</p>

A Toddler at 60? Nigerian’s Democracy and Development under Arabic Poetic Loupe

When, in 1960, Nigeria was granted independence from colonial rule, it was thought that the country was going to be a model of a brilliant experience in parliamentary democracy; but less than six years after the supposed license for self-rule, a military coup struck which lay to rest the dreams of most people. From that coup, the nation has gone through a civil war and several upheavals of varying dimensions while its potentials have nosedived and its people, despite the immense human and natural resources of the country, barely live above the poverty line. This sad situation has, for years, attracted several reactions from people of different social classes. One class that has often been ignored in the Nigerian socio-political conversation is the ever-growing horde of Arabic verse-smiths that use the Arabic language as their medium of registering their reactions to national challenges. Using Shaykh Ma’ruf Ahmad al-Ajahwi as a representational model, this study examines Shaykh’s poem “Naijīriyya fi ām al sittīn” (Nigeria at Sixty); it places his thoughts and sentiments within the general matrix of Nigerian socio-political discourse and posits that the poem indeed represents the true yearnings of the average Nigerian who daily suffers owing to bad policies of the government. It goes further to reflect on the challenge of democracy and development in their global context as well as the particularistic expressions of both concepts in a developing country like Nigeria and opines that the average Nigerian is more concerned about good governance and not necessarily the nomenclature given to a system of government.

Modelling of Cross-Organisational Cooperation for Social Entrepreneurship

Objectives: The objective of the study is to advance the conceptualisation of social entrepreneurship and report the results of empirical research related to the identification of the architecture of the model of interorganisational collaboration for the growth of social entrepreneurship potential at the local level. Research Design and Methods: The research presented in the article is based on a case study performed on an example of the Polish institutional landscape. Multidimensional empirical research methodology was applied in the form of participant observation, analysis of focus group results and business modelling techniques. The literature review contains an analysis of reports from the area of social economy and related fields. Findings: The result of the conducted research is the discovery of primary dimensions of effective interorganisational cooperation in the form of an analogue-representational model. Implication/Recommendations: In the process of strengthening the potential of social entrepreneurship, the cooperation of actors from different organisational fields is a key factor. An appropriate level of social capital is an essential requirement for effective cooperation. Contribution/Value Added: The developed model of cooperation for social entrepreneurship is based on an initiative that is unique and innovative on a national scale and is the result of empirical research. It also seems that the approach presented may be universal and could be extrapolated to other regions and cultural contexts. Article Classification: Research article.

Russian Legal Mentality: Experience of Reconstruction and Representation of the Phenomenon of "Snitch" meaning "Abuse of Procedural Rights" (Based on the Materials of Russian Legislation of the 17th-19th Centuries)

Historical science shows a growing interest in the study of images of the past, images of historical reality; the reconstruction of mentalities is becoming a priority in the field of historical knowledge. The paper aims at finding (developing) methodological tools for a retrospective study of the legal mentality, as well as its subsequent representation.Historians and legal theorists are paying more and more attention to the process of forming concepts and relevant terminology. At the same time, the "supraconceptual field", namely the field of images, contains a significant potential for both reconstruction and representation of mentalities and historical phenomena (events). The concept itself is only one of the triggers forming images associated with it and partly generated by it. Legal concepts are the object of linguoculturology of law as one of its branches. At the same time, the author believes that the historical legal science should more actively use the appropriate scientific tools on an interdisciplinary basis. In terms of the reconstruction of legal phenomena, their image will help to study the phenomena that are immersed in the mentality of the corresponding era in a more systematic and comprehensive manner. In terms of the representation of legal phenomena, a well-chosen image recognizable by the recipient of the results of legal historical research can serve as a relay of "contextually packed" information (with elements of both rational and evaluative or emotional information) about a legal historical phenomenon.The paper attempts to reconstruct and represent the phenomenon of a "snitch" in the sense of "abuse of procedural rights" by means of a chronotropic, figurative model. The reconstructive and representational model is based on the image symbol of the trial as "roads-paths-tracksways" and snitches are considered as a "path".

Critique and cognitive capacities: Towards an action-oriented model

In response to an impasse, articulated in the late 1980s, the cognitive capacities of ordinary people assumed central place in contemporary critical social theory. The participants’ perspective gained precedence over scientific standards branded as external. The notion of cognition, however, went unchallenged. This article continues the move away from external standards, and discusses two models of critique, which differ based on their underlying notions of cognition. The representational model builds on cognitive content, misrecognition and normativity; three features which are illustrated with positions adopted by prominent exponents of critical social theory. An alternative understanding relies on action-oriented disclosure and the participants’ basic familiarity with the social world. On this reading, what clashes with unequal structures is skilful coping, rather than representations and normative standards. The action-oriented approach may overcome the dilemma of understanding both the impact and the possible transcendence of unequal structures, although it cannot ultimately replace representational critique.

Common Representational Model and Ontologies for Effective Law Enforcement Solutions

Ontologies have developed into a prevailing technique for establishing semantic interoperability among heterogeneous systems transacting information. An ontology is an unambiguous blueprint of a concept. For Artificial Intelligence, only the defined notions can be considered existent. Thus, in relation to AI, an ontology can be understood as part of a program which delineates a collection of descriptions. An ontology, therefore, correlates the labels of the entities in the universe of discourse with wording that holds meaning for humans, explaining what those labels signify, along with the precise principles that force the interpretation and semantic utilization of these labels. An ontology constitutes a proper statement of a logical theory. It is a crucial component of a system with the capability to process, manage, analyze, correlate and reason from the large datasets characterized by heterogeneity. This paper depicts the process of development of a Common Representational Model (CRM) on top of several ontologies, taxonomies and classifications to facilitate computational and data mining functionalities. The building blocks of said CRM are delineated in detail, as well as its application in a specific use case.

Combining dimensions and features in similarity-based representations

This paper develops a new representational model of similarity data that combines continuous dimensions with discrete features. An algorithm capable of learning these representations is described, and a Bayesian model selection approach for choosing the appropriate number of dimensions and features is developed. The approach is demonstrated on a classic data set that considers the similarities between the numbers 0 through 9.

Neural coding: the bureaucratic model of the brain

The neural coding metaphor is so ubiquitous that we tend to forget its metaphorical nature. What do we mean when we assert that neurons encode and decode? What kind of causal and representational model of the brain does the metaphor entail? What lies beneath the neural coding metaphor, I argue, is a bureaucratic model of the brain.