Hans Kelsen’s God and The State: The Theory of Positive Law as methodological Anarchism

Este artículo pone la obra de Hans Kelsen, God and the State, en el horizonte de God and the State de Bakunin. Esto facilita a la metodología de Kelsen el hecho de manifestarse como una delimitación del hegelianismo de izquierda de Feuerbach y su ulterior radicalización en Bakunin. La separación del derecho de Kelsen de cualquier fundamento diferente del derecho mismo prefigura la discusión sobre la relación entre derecho y vida en el estudio teórico italiano contemporáneo sobre el concepto de biopolítica. En lugar de una simple inversión del procedimiento metodológico de Kelsen, la discusión debería centrarse en la distinción entre derecho y vida, sin detenerse en la oposición entre materialidad de la vida y abstracción del derecho prefigurado en la obra de Kelsen.This article situates Hans Kelsen’s essay, God and the State, against the horizon of Bakunin’s God and the State. This enables Kelsen’s methodology to be revealed as a circumscription of Feuerbach’s Left Hegelianism and its further radicalization in Bakunin. Kelsen’s separation of law from any foundation other than in law itself prefigures the question of the relationship between law and life in contemporary Italian theoretical work on the notion of biopolitics. In place of a simple reversal of Kelsen’s methodological procedure, the question should centre upon distinguishing law from life without repeating the opposition between the materiality of life and the abstraction of law prefigured in Kelsen’s text

Measuring Self-Control

How significant are individual differences in self-control? Do these differences impact wealth accumulation? From where do they derive? Our survey-based measure of self-control provides insights into all three questions: 1.There are individual differences in self-control not only of a quantitative but also of a qualitative nature. In our sample, standard self-control problems of over-consumption are no more prevalent than are problems of under-consumption. 2.Standard self-control problems do impede wealth accumulation, particularly in liquid form. Problems of under-consumption have the opposite effects. 3.Self-control is linked to conscientiousness' much studied by psychologists. There is a related link with financial planning.

Divergent Criticality – A Mechanism of Neural Function for Perception and Learning

The natural world presents opportunities to all organisms as they compete for the biological-value afforded to them through their ecological engagement. This presents two fundamental requirements for perceiving such opportunities: to be able to recognise value and learning how to access new value. Though many theoretical accounts of how we might achieve such selectionist ends have been explored – how ‘perception’ and ‘learning’ resonate with life’s challenges and opportunities, to date, no explanation has yet been able to naturalise such perception adequately in the Universal laws that govern our existence – not only for explaining the human experience of the world, but in exploring the true nature of our perception. This thesis explores our perceptions of engaging with the world and seeks to explain how the demands of our experiences resonate with the efficient functioning of our brain. It proposes, that in a world of challenge and opportunity, rather than the efficient functioning of our neural resources, it is, instead, the optimising of ‘learning’ that is selected for, as an evolutionary priority. Building on existing literature in the fields of Phenomenology, Free Energy and Neuroscience, this thesis considers perception and learning as synonymous with the cognitive constructs of an ‘attention’ tuned for learning optimisation, and explores the processes of learning in neural function. It addresses the philosophical issues of how an individual’s perception of subjective experiences, might provide some empirical objectivity in proposing a ‘Tolerance’ hypothesis. This is a relative definition able to coordinate a ‘perception of experience’ in terms of an learning-function, grounded in free-energy theory (the laws of physics) and the ecological dynamics of a spontaneous or ‘self- organising’ mechanism – Divergent Criticality. The methodology incorporated three studies: Pilot, Developmental and Exploratory. Over the three studies, Divergent Criticality was tested by developing a functional Affordance measure to address the Research Question – are perceptions as affective-cognitions made aware as reflecting the agential mediation of a self-regulating, optimal learning mechanism? Perception questionnaires of Situational Interest and Self-concept were used in Study One and Study Two to investigate their suitability in addressing the Research Question. Here, Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling assessed the validity and reliability of these measures, developing robust questionnaires and a research design for testing Divergent Criticality. In Study Three, the Divergent Criticality hypothesis was found to be significant, supporting that a Divergent Criticality mechanism is in operation: When individuals are engaging with dynamic ecological challenges, perception is affective in accordance with Tolerance Optimisation, demonstrating that a Divergent Criticality mechanism is driving individuals to the limits of their Effectivity – an optimal learning state which is fundamental to life and naturalised in Universal laws

Implications and Ramifications of a Sample-Size Approach to Intuition

[...from the chapter] In the present article, we delineate a different approach, which is by no means inconsistent, but largely overlaps with the aforementioned definitions. However, our approach is simpler and refrains from a number of rather strong assumptions to which other conceptions subscribe. Using a simple and straightforward criterion, we define intuition in terms of the size of the sample used in reaching a decision: Judgments and decisions are intuitive to the extent that they rest on small samples.

Efficient coalition formation and stable coalition structures in a supply chain environment

We study a real supply chain environment from which specific information and knowledge can be extrapolated for other similar environments. We focus our research on the analysis of the interactions between members forming different teams (and between the teams themselves), and on the leader’s management of the supply chain. We note that there are many elements that contribute to the profitability of the network, which is dependent on the actions of the actors involved. We analyze certain characteristics that the actors have, such as their behavior, adaptation and learning levels, effort and willingness. Based on these components, we examine the performance of our actors and of the teams that the actors form. We provide specific calculations that take into account most of the components determining the added value to the system. One of the advantages of our main formula is that it can be used to monitor the progress of the actors, as well as it can help in the identification of problematic aspects impeding in the creation of value for the system. Our formula is very flexible and a modeler is able to adapt it to similar environments, providing him with great insight in the structures that he investigates. We study certain theoretical games from which we uncover certain information and characteristics of similar environments and settings. Moreover, we provide a real life example in order to truly understand the mechanism of the network, and validate our theoretical assessments. Moreover, we provide certain recommendations for a leader that is responsible for the supervision of actors (which have specific responsibilities) and the administration of a supply chain environment.coalition, supply chain management, core, value of the game, Coalition Factor Estimation

Institutions as Knowledge Capital: Ludwig M. Lachmann’s Interpretative Institutionalism

The paper revisits the socioeconomic theory of the Austrian School economist Ludwig M. Lachmann. By showing that the common claim that Lachmann’s idiosyncratic (read: eclectic and multidisciplinary) approach to economics entails nihilism is unfounded, it reaches the following conclusions. (1) Lachmann held a sophisticated institutional position to economics that anticipated developments in contemporary new institutional economics. (2) Lachmann’s sociological and economic reading of institutions offers insights for the problem of coordination. (3) Lachmann extends contemporary new institutional theory without simultaneously denying the policy approach of comparative institutional analysis

Criminal liability of autonomous agents: from the unthinkable to the plausible

Series : Lecture notes in computer science, ISSN 0302-9743, vol. 8929The evolution of information technologies have brought us to a point where we are confronted with the existence of agents - computational entities - which are able to act autonomously with little or no human intervention. And their behavior can damage individual or collective interests that are protected by criminal law. Based on the analysis of different models of criminal responsibility of legal persons - which constituted an interesting advance in the criminal law in rela-tion to what was hitherto traditionally accepted -, we will appraise whether the necessary legal elements to have direct criminal liability of artificial entities are present.This work is part-funded by CROWDSOURCING project (Reference: DER2012-39492-C02-01)

Design of a Bayesian adaptive phase 2 proof-of-concept trial for BAN2401, a putative disease-modifying monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

AbstractIntroductionRecent failures in phase 3 clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease (AD) suggest that novel approaches to drug development are urgently needed. Phase 3 risk can be mitigated by ensuring that clinical efficacy is established before initiating confirmatory trials, but traditional phase 2 trials in AD can be lengthy and costly.MethodsWe designed a Bayesian adaptive phase 2, proof-of-concept trial with a clinical endpoint to evaluate BAN2401, a monoclonal antibody targeting amyloid protofibrils. The study design used dose response and longitudinal modeling. Simulations were used to refine study design features to achieve optimal operating characteristics.ResultsThe study design includes five active treatment arms plus placebo, a clinical outcome, 12-month primary endpoint, and a maximum sample size of 800. The average overall probability of success is ≥80% when at least one dose shows a treatment effect that would be considered clinically meaningful. Using frequent interim analyses, the randomization ratios are adapted based on the clinical endpoint, and the trial can be stopped for success or futility before full enrollment.DiscussionBayesian statistics can enhance the efficiency of analyzing the study data. The adaptive randomization generates more data on doses that appear to be more efficacious, which can improve dose selection for phase 3. The interim analyses permit stopping as soon as a predefined signal is detected, which can accelerate decision making. Both features can reduce the size and duration of the trial. This study design can mitigate some of the risks associated with advancing to phase 3 in the absence of data demonstrating clinical efficacy. Limitations to the approach are discussed