Granularity in the Semantics of Comparison

This paper makes the novel observation that definite comparatives, such as the bigger circle, impose restrictions on the cardinality of the comparison class (CC) against which their truth conditions are evaluated. We show that the corpus frequency counts of definite comparatives sharply drop when the comparison class used for their interpretation is formed by more than two individuals. Two alternative theories of these distributional facts are considered and tested experimentally through an acceptability judgment task. According to the first theory, the 2-Individuals Theory, definite comparatives presuppose that the CC is of cardinality 2; under the second theory, the 2-Degrees Theory, the meaning of the comparative is evaluated against a granularity γ that maps the individuals in the CC to degrees in the relevant adjectival scale, and definite comparatives presuppose that the set of the degrees resulting from this mapping is of cardinality 2. Our experimental results show that definite comparative descriptions are most frequent and felicitous when evaluated against comparison classes with two individuals, but also that acceptability drops off with higher cardinalities in a gradient manner that is sensitive to granularity. Taken together, these findings argue against the 2-Individuals theory of definite comparatives and lend support to the 2-Degrees theory.

RELIGIOUS VOTING IN THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: TESTING ALTERNATIVE THEORIES

Scholars of American electoral politics have documented the recent partisan realignment of religious groups. Indeed, careful analysts often find that religious variables are better predictors of partisan choice than classic socioeconomic divisions. Still, there has been relatively little effort to put this religious realignment in both theoretical and historical perspective. In this article, we update our previous work on the historical evolution of religious partisanship, demonstrating the continued relevance of ethnocultural (or ethnoreligious) theory, utilized by political historians, and restructuring theory, an important sociological perspective. Both viewpoints help us understand presidential elections since the 1930s, as we demonstrate with data from a wide range of surveys. After utilizing the 2020 Cooperative Election Study to examine the contemporary voting of ethnoreligious groups in greater detail, we test the impact of religious variables controlling for other demographic, attitudinal, and partisan influences and find that religious identities and orientations often retain independent influence even under stringent controls for other factors shaping the presidential vote.

A History of Neonatal Uterine Bleeding and Its Significance

Bleeding in newborns and young girls fascinated writers for more than a millennium. Initially, there was confusion between neonatal bleeding, early menstruation due to precocious puberty, and hemorrhage due to disease. During the 19th century descriptions appeared of what is referred to today as ‘neonatal menstruation’ or ‘neonatal uterine bleeding’. By the turn of the century, Halban linked bleeding to active substances present during pregnancy and hypothesized that, while the maternal uterus reacts with decidua formation, the “weaker” fetal uterus reacts only with menstrual-like changes. Despite this clear description, several alternative theories endured for decades. Bleeding was believed to be due to a ‘catarrhal’ or neoplastic state of the genital tract, pulmonary circulatory disorder, congenital heart malformations, closure of the umbilical cord or affections of the intestine. During the 1950s, progesterone response and resistance were proposed to explain the pathogenesis of bleeding and its low incidence. The fetal endometrium is resistant to the high circulating progesterone. A decidual response is infrequent and results in menstrual shedding upon progesterone withdrawal after birth. Further research linked fetal stress consequent to pregnancy complications and post-maturity to increased incidence and preterm birth to reduced incidence of neonatal uterine bleeding.

Killing Politics Softly

Early propaganda studies in authoritarian countries argue that state media works to legitimize the regime through indoctrination and persuasion. However, recent scholarship shows that citizens in authoritarian countries—in states like China, Syria, Russia, and Kazakhstan—can be unconvinced by state propaganda. How, then, does the way in which citizens experience unconvincing propaganda shape their political beliefs? How might unpersuasive propaganda contribute to authoritarian stability? Given the lack of alternative theories of propaganda, this article proposes a new hypothesis based on a reception study that interviewed 24 Russian citizens from Krasnoiarsk Krai after they watched items from Russian state television. The article theorizes that unconvincing state propaganda in Russia can reinforce a preexisting cynical attitude toward politics—an attitude that makes the collective action necessary for bottom-up reform hard to contemplate, let alone organize in an authoritarian context.

Scalarized black holes

Black holes represent outstanding astrophysical laboratories to test the strong gravity regime, since alternative theories of gravity may predict black hole solutions whose properties may differ distinctly from those of general relativity. When higher curvature terms are included in the gravitational action as, for instance, in the form of the Gauss–Bonnet term coupled to a scalar field, scalarized black holes result. Here we discuss several types of scalarized black holes and some of their properties.

Offa’s Dyke in the Landscape: Comparative Size and Topographical Disposition as Indicators of Function

Despite the large volume of published work on Offa’s Dyke there is no settled conclusion as to its original purpose. Many different and often conflicting theories exist, most of which can be put into three broad categories: defensive, political and economic. It is generally accepted that the monument’s disposition relative to the adjacent topography is significant for interpretations of purpose. In this article, field survey and GIS mapping techniques are applied with respect to the comparative size and topographical disposition of a stretch of central Offa’s Dyke in order to examine its utility as a defensive structure. This allows a re-evaluation of claims by Hill and Worthington (2003), among others, that the route of Offa’s Dyke was designed to optimise outlook by following the west facing brow of hills, or more generally to ‘command’ the western landscape. Evidence reported here shows that central Offa’s Dyke does not consistently prioritise western views. Instead, it was positioned in such a way as to often obscure westerly vistas, despite the opportunity to optimise such an outlook by relatively minor route adjustments. On the basis of the evidence reported, discussed in the context of the wider literature, it is concluded that central Offa’s Dyke should be interpreted as a physical obstacle rather than a defensive fortification. After a brief consideration of alternative theories of purpose it is suggested that Offa’s Dyke was most likely built with economic and political, rather than defensive, functions in mind. It is postulated that control of trade provides a plausible context for its construction.

Decision under normative uncertainty

While ordinary decision theory focuses on empirical uncertainty, real decision-makers also face normative uncertainty: uncertainty about value itself. From a purely formal perspective, normative uncertainty is comparable to (Harsanyian or Rawlsian) identity uncertainty in the ‘original position’, where one’s future values are unknown. A comprehensive decision theory must address twofold uncertainty – normative and empirical. We present a simple model of twofold uncertainty, and show that the most popular decision principle – maximizing expected value (‘Expectationalism’) – has different formulations, namely Ex-Ante Expectationalism, Ex-Post Expectationalism, and hybrid theories. These alternative theories recommend different decisions, reasoning modes, and attitudes to risk. But they converge under an interesting (necessary and sufficient) condition.