Time to separate the men from the beasts: symbolic anticipation as the typically human subjective dimension

In this paper it is argued that the dividing line that runs between the human psyche as opposed to any other complex system is made up by symbolic anticipation. The functionality of the human mind as an anticipatory system is entirely caught up in the crucial role that finiteness, shortage or lack plays for human beings. Anticipation for us is the way by which this negative finiteness or lack is translated into a positive longing, want or desire. We take a look at the three dimensional view of Jacques Lacan regarding these matters in a sophistical example and we illustrate how anticipation as a Symbolic phenomenon is distinct from the Imaginary or the Real register. As Lacan points out anticipation creates a symbolic social link which binds two or more interacting humans together in an anticipatory relationship. Beliefs, expectations and convictions are the typically human social links which ground human interaction and set it apart from other forms of social interaction we can observe in other complex biological entities

Emptying the future: On the environmental politics of anticipation

Anticipation may be seen as structured by images and representations, an approach that has informed recent work in science and technology studies on the sociology of expectations. But anticipation, as a capacity or characteristic, is not solely manifested in the form of representations, even where such representations of the ‘not yet’ are performative in nature. It also comprises material capacities, technological, biophysical and affective in nature. The politics of anticipation is shaped by how these symbolic and material capacities, and the forms of agency they make possible, are distributed. As anticipation is an environmentally distributed capacity, it is suggested that the politics of anticipation is also an environmental politics. A conceptual framework for analysing anticipation as comprised of environmental capabilities is introduced, and fleshed out using a case study of energy infrastructure planning from the UK. Key elements of this framework include the concepts of anticipatory assemblages and future horizons or ‘styles’ of anticipation. Working through the case study as an empirical example of a conflict concerning the politics of anticipation and of ‘environments’, it is demonstrated how the relationships between styles of anticipation are materially constitutive of such conflicts

Scientists & Librarians Turn to “End of Presidential Term” Web Archive to Safeguard Climate Change Data

In anticipation of president-elect Donald Trump’s taking office, scientists have been working round the clock to safeguard federal government climate change data. Many academics and librarians share the concern that federal .gov climate data and information, for example from the EPA and NOAA websites, will be lost or become unavailable with the transition to the new administration. Fact is, a large percentage of information on federal government servers, including digital federal records, reports, and research, is not protected by any law or agency mandate, and can vanish within days of the arrival of a new president

The Non-linear Dynamics of Meaning-Processing in Social Systems

Social order cannot be considered as a stable phenomenon because it contains an order of reproduced expectations. When the expectations operate upon one another, they generate a non-linear dynamics that processes meaning. Specific meaning can be stabilized, for example, in social institutions, but all meaning arises from a horizon of possible meanings. Using Luhmann's (1984) social systems theory and Rosen's (1985) theory of anticipatory systems, I submit equations for modeling the processing of meaning in inter-human communication. First, a self-referential system can use a model of itself for the anticipation. Under the condition of functional differentiation, the social system can be expected to entertain a set of models; each model can also contain a model of the other models. Two anticipatory mechanisms are then possible: one transversal between the models, and a longitudinal one providing the modeled systems with meaning from the perspective of hindsight. A system containing two anticipatory mechanisms can become hyper-incursive. Without making decisions, however, a hyper-incursive system would be overloaded with uncertainty. Under this pressure, informed decisions tend to replace the "natural preferences" of agents and an order of cultural expectations can increasingly be shaped

THE ANIMATION OF ANTICIPATION SIMULATION OF FLOOD DISASTER BASED ON INFOGRAPHIC (CASE STUDY OF WATERSHED IN MEDAN JOHOR REGION, MEDAN CITY)

Flood disaster is a natural phenomenon caused by the natural process and uncontrolled human activities in exploiting nature. The natural process depends on rainfall conditions, groundwater systems (geohydrology), geological structure, rock types, geomorphology, and topography. Meanwhile, human activities mean behaviors in exploiting nature for human welfare, that tend to damage the environment, particularly at a watershed, with high intensity, less control, and oversteps of the spatial planning rules. It has been known that flood disaster brings a big loss, for example, the physical loss is estimated more than a billion rupiah and it has not included tangible losses (or invaluable losses), such as plague, the time loss of social activity, and so forth. It is expected to minimize the loss by flood anticipation from government and society who are prone to getting the flood impact, for example, the settlement at the watershed. This research aims to design and make an infographic of flood anticipation simulation based on animation and multimedia for giving education to the society who are often getting the flood impact, like the settlement at the watershed, so that the physical and intangible losses can be minimize

Anticipation and the Non-linear Dynamics of Meaning-Processing in Social Systems

Social order does not exist as a stable phenomenon, but can be considered as "an order of reproduced expectations." When anticipations operate upon one another, they can generate a non-linear dynamics which processes meaning. Although specific meanings can be stabilized, for example in social institutions, all meaning arises from a global horizon of possible meanings. Using Luhmann's (1984) social systems theory and Rosen's (1985) theory of anticipatory systems, I submit algorithms for modeling the non-linear dynamics of meaning in social systems. First, a self-referential system can use a model of itself for the anticipation. Under the condition of functional differentiation, the social system can be expected to entertain a set of models; each model can also contain a model of the other models. Two anticipatory mechanisms are then possible: a transversal one between the models, and a longitudinal one providing the system with a variety of meanings. A system containing two anticipatory mechanisms can become hyper-incursive. Without making decisions, however, a hyper-incursive system would be overloaded with uncertainty. Under this pressure, informed decisions tend to replace the "natural preferences" of agents and a knowledge-based order can increasingly be shaped

Banking Crises, Implicit Government Guarantees, and Optional Insurance

After major banking crisis, investors and academics alike are left wondering how it could have been avoided. Crises can take an enormous toll on society. Mexico's 1994 crisis cost almost 10% of GDP. Chile's 1983 crisis was even worse, with the ¯nal cost amounting to a stunning 30% of GDP. Moreover, the economy can experience a traumatic recovery process that in some cases lasts several years. The most common explanation of banking crises focuses on the anticipation of government bail out. This mechanism takes place when investors expect that the government will help them cover their losses in case they face a generalized adverse shock. The paper shows how an insurance scheme eliminates the externality generated by the above government bail out policy. As an example, the paper analyzes the case of liquidity risk, de¯ned as an unexpected cash withdrawal, and it presents a scheme to deal with this risk. This scheme works as an insurance where each bank pays a premium depending on the bank's risk. The scheme used in Argentina where the Central Bank charges to each bank a premium to insurance their liquidity risk, for an insurance which the Central Bank acquires in the international markets is an empirical example. In addition, a new procedure is developed to estimate the social cost of a bank crisis which is di®erent from the net transfer from the government to the banking sector and independent of the existence of the crisis.

Time to start training: A review of cognitive research in sport and proposal for bridging the gap from academia to the field

Research demonstrates the importance of perceptual-cognitive skills, such as pattern matching, anticipation, and decision making in numerous sports, including badminton (Abernethy & Russell, 1987), baseball (Burroughs, 1984), basketball (Allard, Graham, & Paarsalu, 1980), handball (Johnson & Raab, 2003), rugby (Lorains, Ball, & MacMahon, 2013), soccer (Ward & Williams, 2003), squash (Abernethy, 1990), tennis (Haskins, 1965), and volleyball (Borgeaud & Abernethy, 1987). While other factors may be important (e.g., visual search patterns), the accuracy and/or speed with which athletes anticipate their opponent’s intentions and/or decide on an appropriate course of action, as assessed in domain-specific tests designed to simulate and represent real-world sporting demands have been shown to be the best and most reliable predictors of skilled performance in the field (see Mann, Williams, Ward, & Janelle, 2007). Moreover, several studies indicate that when training is based on expert models of superior performance, these skills can be improved and transfer to the field (e.g., Fadde, 2009; Ward, Suss, & Basevitch, 2009). In most elite and everyday sports training contexts, expensive research technology (such as eye-tracking equipment) is not always available to practitioners that would help us better understand the cognitive basis of, and ecological constraints of anticipation and decision-making in a way that could be leveraged to tailor training to improve individual and team performance. However, other technologies are now becoming more readily available to support the development of perceptual-cognitive skills. This is particularly timely, because although there is a growing body of research demonstrating the trainability of perceptual-cognitive skills in sport and their transfer to the field, few researchers have attempted to translate this research into accessible and useful training tools for everyday coaches and athletes (for an example, see Belling, Suss, & Ward, 2014). Moreover, research on the validation of such perceptual-cognitive or decision-making skill training tools is startlingly absent from the literature, not just from research on human factors in sport, but in human factors more broadly. In this research, we review what has worked in the past, what can be leveraged by simple and effective tools for accessible devices (e.g., personal computer, tablet), and how powerful these tools can be by reviewing changes in real world performance following their implementation. An NCAA Division 1 baseball team was given access to Axon Sports Cognitive Training for hitting in baseball for the 2013 season. Batting statistics are compared from the 2012 season, without training present, and 2013 season, with training present. The results suggest that batting improved during the season when cognitive training was available to the players. Implications for future research and application are discussed