The grammatical category of time as a means of the expression of temporal deixis in Belarusian and English in the comparative aspect

The article analyzes the grammatical category of time as a means of actualizing temporal deixis in Belarusian and English in the typological aspect. Traditionally, the reference point of temporal deixis is the moment of speech. Nevertheless, it is important to take into account both the speaker and the observer. The purpose of the research is to carry out the comparative analysis of the grammatical category of time in Belarusian and English in terms of the speaker and the observer, as well as to reveal universal characteristics and national and specific features. The research is based on the contexts selected from Belarusian and English parallel corpuses of Russian National Corpus and Internet resources

Embracing material surface imperfections in product design

Imperfection is not a usual aim within the context of industrialized product design. Under general norms, products are manufactured as clones of a ‘perfect’ original and product surfaces are prized for their ‘perfect’ flawless state. The mass production of products against these principles seems counterintuitive. Yet within the world of materials, and especially considering material surfaces, imperfection is widespread. This research set out to identify and scrutinize circumstances when material imperfection in products is appreciated, from mass manufacture to artisan practices. By synthesizing literature with analyses of material and product samples, five sources of surface imperfections are characterized: inherent material properties, production effects, workmanship of risk, planned and foreseen events, and everyday wear and tear. Following this, a research-focused concept design project is reported, leading to eleven product designs that exemplify how to design for, and with, imperfect material surfaces. A significant challenge facing designers is one of persuasion: of designing products where imperfect material surfaces are regarded as contributing to rather than detracting from product value. To this end, the paper culminates in a visual guide to embracing material surface imperfections in design practice

The reality of real time

According to Bernard Stiegler the technological contrivances that rule our world have set in motion dangerous developments. Although Stiegler is not a technophobe, he believes that the technological devices that are constructed around real time (live broadcasting, mobile phone communications, digital photography, etc.) introduce a new relation to time that jeopardises the cohesion of society. They erase the delay of time that is essential to it and thereby wipe away the singular, which is a crucial element in the construction of the social. This essay examines the nature of this argument and queries its factual basis. It does this by first exploring the technological or prosthetic nature of Dasein by referring to Heidegger’s definition of Dasein as ec-static time. After this short exposition, the essay shows how Stiegler strengthens this pre-prosthetic nature of time that can be found in Heidegger into a time which is fully fledged prosthetic or fundamentally constituted by the technological devices that exteriorise it. The second part of the essay focuses on Stiegler’s hesitations and even contradictory statements regarding the contemporary production of time. Sometimes he presents real time as a factual accomplishment, sometimes he is more careful and characterises it to be merely a tendency; there are passages in which he proclaims the end of history, and other ones in which he presents that end as a fiction and a warning. The comments on the rather dramatic and evocative pages Stiegler inserts in La technique et le temps 1, together with ideas and comments of Maurice Blanchot and Richard Beardsworth, serve as a bridge to discuss the philosophical importance of an ambiguity in the actuality of real time

Viewpoints on emergent semantics

Authors include:Philippe Cudr´e-Mauroux, and Karl Aberer (editors), Alia I. Abdelmoty, Tiziana Catarci, Ernesto Damiani, Arantxa Illaramendi, Robert Meersman, Erich J. Neuhold, Christine Parent, Kai-Uwe Sattler, Monica Scannapieco, Stefano Spaccapietra, Peter Spyns, and Guy De Tr´eWe introduce a novel view on how to deal with the problems of semantic interoperability in distributed systems. This view is based on the concept of emergent semantics, which sees both the representation of semantics and the discovery of the proper interpretation of symbols as the result of a self-organizing process performed by distributed agents exchanging symbols and having utilities dependent on the proper interpretation of the symbols. This is a complex systems perspective on the problem of dealing with semantics. We highlight some of the distinctive features of our vision and point out preliminary examples of its applicatio

Regime Shifts and the Stability of Backward Looking Phillips Curves in Open Economies

In this paper we assess the stability of open economy backward looking Phillips curves estimated across two different exchange rate regimes. The time series we deal with come from the simulation of a New-Keynesian hybrid model suited for performing monetary policy analysis. The statistical assessment we undertake is based on a standard Chow (1960) test. Our results confirm Lindè (2001)'s finding on the low power of the Chow test in small samples. However, we do not find strong statistical support for the quantitative relevance of the Lucas critique when the 'true' model of the economy is featured by low/intermediate degrees of forwardness.Lucas Critique, forwardness, backward looking Phillips curves, exchange rates, Chow test

Toward a relational concept of uncertainty: about knowing too little, knowing too differently, and accepting not to know

Uncertainty of late has become an increasingly important and controversial topic in water resource management, and natural resources management in general. Diverse managing goals, changing environmental conditions, conflicting interests, and lack of predictability are some of the characteristics that decision makers have to face. This has resulted in the application and development of strategies such as adaptive management, which proposes flexibility and capability to adapt to unknown conditions as a way of dealing with uncertainties. However, this shift in ideas about managing has not always been accompanied by a general shift in the way uncertainties are understood and handled. To improve this situation, we believe it is necessary to recontextualize uncertainty in a broader way¿relative to its role, meaning, and relationship with participants in decision making¿because it is from this understanding that problems and solutions emerge. Under this view, solutions do not exclusively consist of eliminating or reducing uncertainty, but of reframing the problems as such so that they convey a different meaning. To this end, we propose a relational approach to uncertainty analysis. Here, we elaborate on this new conceptualization of uncertainty, and indicate some implications of this view for strategies for dealing with uncertainty in water management. We present an example as an illustration of these concepts. Key words: adaptive management; ambiguity; frames; framing; knowledge relationship; multiple knowledge frames; natural resource management; negotiation; participation; social learning; uncertainty; water managemen

The fabrication of memory in communication

The relation of our past memories and our communication with others is not simply that of linear causality, whereby our memories smoothly glide into our communicative performance and remain unaffected themselves. Psychologists reveal the opposite process where a current communication has an effect on our memories, not just influencing their selection but also producing false recognition. In this article I will attempt to give a philosophical evaluation of this twofold relationship of memory and communication, paying a special attention to the fabrication of memories, to the significance of this process for the effectiveness of social integration, and to the effects it may have on our authenticity as individuals. An act of communication is not a creation ex nihilo but is a culmination of numberless physical and psychological processes, one of which is remembering, forgetting and recalling. What we say ourselves may be a logical and smooth prolongation of our memories and our past lives, but what we hear from others is not. The information that is communicated to us may contradict our previous beliefs, our previous understanding of the matter in question, and even threaten our established worldview. This is acutely felt by people who have to live through a value-changing period in their society or through a crisis in their personal life. Nevertheless we are required to maintain the communicative process and respond to new demands, and so we have to find ways of adapting ourselves to the new information, even if our past experiences and beliefs cannot serve as a foundation for accepting it. We can, however, construct such a foundation retrospectively, making ourselves believe that we were being prepared for this new situation. For example, the people who lived through the collapse of the Soviet Union, had to face a complete change of values, and the process of adaptation seemed less traumatic for those who, (as far as I observed) fabricated or inflated their own supposed disagreement with the system prior to the political changes