A logic-based approach to deal with implicational systems and direct bases

El tratamiento de la información y el conocimiento es uno de los muchos campos en los que confluyen los métodos matemáticos y computacionales. Una de las áreas donde encontramos de forma clara esta concurrencia es en el Análisis de Conceptos Formales, donde los métodos de almacenamiento, descubrimiento, análisis y manipulación del conocimiento descansan sobre las sólidas bases del Álgebra y de la Lógica. En el Análisis de Conceptos Formales la información se representa en tablas binarias en las que se relacionan objetos con sus atributos. Dichas tablas, denominadas contextos formales, son el repositorio de datos del que se extrae el conocimiento mediante la utilización de técnicas algebraicas. Este conocimiento se puede representar de diversas formas, entre ellas se encuentran los conjuntos de implicaciones. Una de las principales ventajas de usar sistemas de implicaciones para representar el conocimiento es que admiten un tratamiento sintáctico por medio de la lógica, segundo pilar matemático en el que se sustenta la tesis. La mejor alternativa de cara al razonamiento automático viene de mano de la Lógica de Simplificación. El conjunto de axiomas y reglas de inferencias de esta lógica lleva directamente a un conjunto de equivalencias que permiten eliminar redundancias en los sistemas de implicaciones. La extracción de sistemas de implicaciones, y su posterior tratamiento y manipulación, constituyen un tema de actualidad en la comunidad del Análisis de Conceptos Formales. Los conjuntos de implicaciones extraídos pueden contener gran cantidad de información redundante, por lo que el estudio de propiedades que permitan caracterizar conjuntos equivalentes de implicaciones con menor redundancia o sin ella, se erige como uno de los retos más importantes. Sin embargo, como sucede en otras áreas, en algunas ocasiones puede ser interesante almacenar cierta clase de información redundante en función del uso posterior que se le pretenda dar. Sobresale pues, entre los temas de interés del área, el problema de la búsqueda de representaciones canónicas de sistemas de implicaciones que, satisfaciendo ciertas propiedades, permitan compilar todo el conocimiento extraído del contexto formal. Estas representaciones canónicas para los sistemas de implicaciones suelen recibir el nombre de `bases'. En esta tesis ponemos nuestra atención en un grupo de bases conocidas como `bases directas', que son aquellas que permiten calcular el cierre de cualquier conjunto en un único recorrido del sistema de implicaciones. Los objetivos generales de la tesis son dos: - El estudio de las bases directas en Análisis de Conceptos Formales clásico con la finalidad de obtener algoritmos eficientes para calcular dichas bases. Para ello analizamos las definiciones que aparecen en la bibliografía (base directa-optimal y D-base) y proponemos una alternativa (base dicótoma directa), así como métodos para su cálculo. - Establecer las bases para la extensión de estos resultados al Análisis de Conceptos Triádicos, en particular, introducir una lógica que permita el razonamiento automático sobre implicaciones en esta extensión. Se presentan dos lógicas: CAIL y CAISL. La primera permite caracterizar la semántica de las implicaciones y la segunda el razonamiento automático

Auslegung: A journal of philosophy, volume 15, number 2 (summer, 1989) book reviews

Review of J. D. G. Evans's "Aristotle"; William James's "Essays, Comments, and Reviews"; Earl R. MacCormac's "A Cognitive Theory of Metaphor"; David Kelley's "The Evidence of the Senses"; Geoffrey Bennington's "Lyotard: Writing the Event

Students’ beliefs on politeness – the analysis of hedging patterns used in email correspondence

Attitudes, or a person’s internal/mental beliefs about a specific situation, object or concept can greatly influence behaviors. This truth also applies to linguistic choices made by second language students. Their low level of knowledge of cross-cultural differences as well as pragmatic competence intertwined with inner norms and attitude towards politeness can result in producing the discourse which could not be considered appropriate. The fact of using and learning a second language (being bilingual or multilingual) may influence the level of politeness. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the differences existing in the scope of politeness revealed in the written, contrastive (Polish-English) discourse. The corpus under investigation encompasses seventy six emails written in the two languages by English philology students of teachers faculty. The analysis focuses on the level of politeness as exhibited through various forms of hedges and mitigations used both in the Polish and English language

The Progress, Challenges, and Perspectives of Directed Greybox Fuzzing

Most greybox fuzzing tools are coverage-guided as code coverage is strongly correlated with bug coverage. However, since most covered codes may not contain bugs, blindly extending code coverage is less efficient, especially for corner cases. Unlike coverage-guided greybox fuzzers who extend code coverage in an undirected manner, a directed greybox fuzzer spends most of its time allocation on reaching specific targets (e.g., the bug-prone zone) without wasting resources stressing unrelated parts. Thus, directed greybox fuzzing (DGF) is particularly suitable for scenarios such as patch testing, bug reproduction, and specialist bug hunting. This paper studies DGF from a broader view, which takes into account not only the location-directed type that targets specific code parts, but also the behaviour-directed type that aims to expose abnormal program behaviours. Herein, the first in-depth study of DGF is made based on the investigation of 32 state-of-the-art fuzzers (78% were published after 2019) that are closely related to DGF. A thorough assessment of the collected tools is conducted so as to systemise recent progress in this field. Finally, it summarises the challenges and provides perspectives for future research.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Leadership Challenges In Today’s Academia

Starting from the anecdotic hypothesis that “leading academics is like trying to herd cats”, the paper reviews the main challenges and barriers to present academic leadership. The context is that of the on-going Bologna transformation of the university, and of the renewed quest for competitiveness. The method employed is that of the individual case-study, with a single-embedded design. The case study is exploratory, as we don’t know from sure which the effects of leadership in the university are, and to what degree are they alike, across sub-units of study. The case study is also intrinsic, as its main outcome is not theory-building, but understanding the particularities of a phenomenon strongly tied to its context. Our unit of study is the largest business university in the country, with its faculties and departments. The main data sources are short structured interviews with members of the academic staff. The analysis implies both explanation-building and cross-case synthesis. The results of the study give insights on the context of leadership, enablers and barriers, as well as on the content of leadership, in the particular setting of the academia. Conclusions connect our research with similar endeavours, outlining the particularities and patterns of educational transition in a transition country.academic leadership, structural equation model of academic leadership, Romanian academia

Hedging–Ariadne’sthread? : Objectivity through subjectivity in academic discourse

This research highlights the role of intersubjective hedging in academic discourse and focuses the pragmatic mechanisms of co-existence of subjective scholars’ hedging and scientific objectivity in presenting information hedging is meant to pursue. Patterns of interrelation between the extent of “hedging code” use and the degree of objectivity of scientific text perception are deduced. The subjective nature of hedging as a linguistic concept is analyzed on the grounds of the non-positivist approach. The priority of objectivity reaching as an ultimate aim of academic discourse is questioned. Представлене дослідження фокусує роль інтерсуб’єктивного хеджинга у академічномудискурсі та прагматичні механізми співіснування суб’єктивного авторського хеджування науковців та наукової об’єктивності упрезентації інформації, якухеджинг покликаний забезпечити. Встановлюються патерни взаємодії між ступенем використання кодового хеджинга та ступенем об’єктивності, із якою сприймаються наукові тексти. Суб’єктивна природа хеджинга як лінгвістичного поняття підлягає аналізу з точки зору не-позитивістського підходу. Приоритетність досягнення об’єктивності як первинноїмети академічного дискурсупідлягає критичномуаналізу. Данная работа фокусирует роль интерсубъективного хеджинга в академическом дискурсе и прагматические механизмы сосуществования субъективного авторского хеджинга ученых и научной объективности в презентации информации, которую хеджинг призван обеспечить. Устанавливаются паттерны взаимодействия между степенью использования кодового хеджинга и степенью объективности, с которой воспринимаются научныетексты. Субъективная природа хеджинга как лингвистического понятия подвергается анализу с точки зрения не-позитивистского подхода. Приоритетность достижения объективности в качестве основной задачи академического дискурса подвергается критическому анализу

Protocol Risk factors for disruptive behaviours: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of quasi-experimental evidence

Introduction: Disruptive behaviour disorders, including oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder, are a common set of diagnoses in childhood and adolescence, with global estimates of 5.7%, 3.6% and 2.1% for any disruptive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder, respectively. There are high economic and social costs associated with disruptive behaviours and the prevalence of these disorders has increased in recent years. As such, disruptive behaviours represent an escalating major public health concern and it is important to understand what factors may influence the risk of these behaviours. Such research would inform interventions that aim to prevent the development of disruptive behaviours. The current review will identify the most stringent evidence of putative risk factors for disruptive behaviour from quasi-experimental studies, which enable stronger causal inference. Methods and analysis: The review will be carried out according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. An electronic search of references published between 1 January 1980 and 1 March 2020 will be conducted using Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and Web of Science. Initial abstract and title screening, full-text screening and data extraction will be completed independently by two reviewers using Evidence for Policy and Practice Information (EPPI)-Reviewer 4 software. Quasi-experimental studies in the English language examining the association between any putative risk factor and a clearly defined measure of disruptive behaviour (eg, a validated questionnaire measure) will be included. We will conduct meta-analyses if we can pool a minimum of three similar studies with the same or similar exposures and outcomes. Ethics and dissemination: The proposed review does not require ethical approval. The results will help to identify risk factors for which there is strong evidence of causal effects on disruptive behaviours and also highlight potential risk factors that require further research. The findings will be disseminated via publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and through presentations at international meetings and conferences

Evolution and Culture

The goal of cross-cultural psychology to identify and explain similarities and differences in the behavior of individuals in different cultures requires linking human behavior to its context (Cole, Meshcheryakov & Ponomariov, 2011). In order to specify this relation, the focus is usually on the sociocultural environment and how it interacts with behavior. Since cross-cultural psychology also deals with the evolutionary and biological bases of behavior, this focus on culture has regularly led to an unbalanced view (Berry, Poortinga, Breugelmans, Chasiotis & Sam, 2011). Too often, biology and culture are seen as opposites: what is labeled as cultural is not biological and what is labeled as biological is not cultural (Chasiotis, 2010, 2011a). This article will first introduce the central concepts of natural and sexual selection, adaptation, and the epigenetic (open) genetic processes in evolutionary biology, and indicate their psychological implications. It will then argue that biology and culture are intricately related. Finally, empirical evidence from diverse psychological research areas will be presented to illustrate why the study of the evolutionary basis is as essential as the analysis of the sociocultural context for the understanding of behavior. Due to space restrictions, cultural transmission will be the only research area which is addressed in more detail (more examples of evolutionary approaches in intelligence, personality, and behavior genetics and their implications for cross-cultural research can be found on the website accompanying Berry et al., 2011; see also further readings section)