Semantics out of context: nominal absolute denotations for first-order logic and computation

Call a semantics for a language with variables absolute when variables map to fixed entities in the denotation. That is, a semantics is absolute when the denotation of a variable a is a copy of itself in the denotation. We give a trio of lattice-based, sets-based, and algebraic absolute semantics to first-order logic. Possibly open predicates are directly interpreted as lattice elements / sets / algebra elements, subject to suitable interpretations of the connectives and quantifiers. In particular, universal quantification "forall a.phi" is interpreted using a new notion of "fresh-finite" limit and using a novel dual to substitution. The interest of this semantics is partly in the non-trivial and beautiful technical details, which also offer certain advantages over existing semantics---but also the fact that such semantics exist at all suggests a new way of looking at variables and the foundations of logic and computation, which may be well-suited to the demands of modern computer science

Branch prediction apparatus, systems, and methods

An apparatus and a system, as well as a method and article, may operate to predict a branch within a first operating context, such as a user context, using a first strategy; and to predict a branch within a second operating context, such as an operating system context, using a second strategy. In some embodiments, apparatus and systems may comprise one or more first storage locations to store branch history information associated with a first operating context, and one ore more second storage locations to store branch history information associated with a second operating context.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Content and Context: The Contributions of William Van Alstyne to First Amendment Interpretation

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Financial Incentives in the Long-Term Care Context: A First Look at Relevant Information

Analyzes variations in Medicare payment and coverage among hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospices; "bed-hold" and "reserved-bed" revenue streams; and other factors that may shape decisions to transfer residents to hospitals

Study of Percolative Transitions with First-Order Characteristics in the Context of CMR Manganites

The unusual magneto-transport properties of manganites are widely believed to be caused by mixed-phase tendencies and concomitant percolative processes. However, dramatic deviations from "standard" percolation have been unveiled experimentally. Here, a semi-phenomenological description of Mn oxides is proposed based on coexisting clusters with smooth surfaces, as suggested by Monte Carlo simulations of realistic models for manganites, also briefly discussed here. The present approach produces fairly abrupt percolative transitions and even first-order discontinuities, in agreement with experiments. These transitions may describe the percolation that occurs after magnetic fields align the randomly oriented ferromagnetic clusters believed to exist above the Curie temperature in Mn oxides. In this respect, part of the manganite phenomenology could belong to a new class of percolative processes triggered by phase competition and correlations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figure

First Things First: Juvenile Justice Reform in Historical Context

In my remarks today, I will explain how conceptions of children\u27s rights have been used to shape the American juvenile justice system\u27s development. First, I will argue that we should take a long view of this history. Next, I will focus on three specific eras of twentieth-century reform. Finally, I will conclude with a call for more research on the prosecutor\u27s role in administering juvenile justice. This historical perspective, I believe, can help us to answer the challenging question of what children\u27s rights should be

First Names in a Social Context

In this paper, the influence of social change on the Croatian fond of first names is addressed. Once, first names served to indicate the belonging of an individual to a certain linguistic, religious or ethnic community; socio-political circum stances or affiliation with a place of origin were reflected in them, or they were a declaration of a certain social conscious ness or political choice. From the second half of the 20th century onward, they have more often come to reflect individu alization, and changes in the frequency of certain first names have become more evident. Male first names are more traditional and susceptible to the rules of inheritance, even though social circumstances are more strongly reflected in them, while female names are more open to more frequent change and to foreign linguistic systems