6,715 research outputs found

    Bounded Rationality and Heuristics in Humans and in Artificial Cognitive Systems

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    In this paper I will present an analysis of the impact that the notion of “bounded rationality”, introduced by Herbert Simon in his book “Administrative Behavior”, produced in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In particular, by focusing on the field of Automated Decision Making (ADM), I will show how the introduction of the cognitive dimension into the study of choice of a rational (natural) agent, indirectly determined - in the AI field - the development of a line of research aiming at the realisation of artificial systems whose decisions are based on the adoption of powerful shortcut strategies (known as heuristics) based on “satisficing” - i.e. non optimal - solutions to problem solving. I will show how the “heuristic approach” to problem solving allowed, in AI, to face problems of combinatorial complexity in real-life situations and still represents an important strategy for the design and implementation of intelligent systems

    La irregularidad lógica y lo a priori constitutivo

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    Lo que llamaré ‘la objeción lógica irregular’ es una línea de ataque en contra del principio común y convincente  de que nuestra justificación de las verdades lógicas se fundamenta en la comprensión de sus conceptos  constituyentes. Esta objeción busca socavar la posibilidad de cualquier conexión constitutiva profunda, en la  epistemología de la lógica (y también más allá), entre la comprensión y la justificación. Mi tesis es que, si bien la objeción lógica irregular no llega a demostrar que este principio tradicional debe ser rechazado, no obstante,  sirve para reforzar algunos refinamientos importantes.What I will call ‘the deviant logician objection’ is one line of attack against the common and compelling tenet  that our justification for logical truths is grounded in our understanding of their constituent concepts. This  objection seeks to undermine the possibility of any deep constitutive connection, in the epistemology of logic  (and also beyond), between understanding and justification. My thesis is that while the deviant logician  objection falls short of proving that this traditional tenet must be rejected, nonetheless it serves to bolster some important refinements

    Do Artificial Intelligence Systems Understand?

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    Are intelligent machines really intelligent? Is the underlying philosophical concept of intelligence satisfactory for describing how the present systems work? Is understanding a necessary and sufficient condition for intelligence? If a machine could understand, should we attribute subjectivity to it? This paper addresses the problem of deciding whether the so-called "intelligent machines" are capable of understanding, instead of merely processing signs. It deals with the relationship between syntaxis and semantics. The main thesis concerns the inevitability of semantics for any discussion about the possibility of building conscious machines, condensed into the following two tenets: "If a machine is capable of understanding (in the strong sense), then it must be capable of combining rules and intuitions"; "If semantics cannot be reduced to syntaxis, then a machine cannot understand." Our conclusion states that it is not necessary to attribute understanding to a machine in order to explain its exhibited "intelligent" behavior; a merely syntactic and mechanistic approach to intelligence as a task-solving tool suffices to justify the range of operations that it can display in the current state of technological development

    Interdiscursive Readings in Cultural Consumer Research

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    The cultural consumption research landscape of the 21st century is marked by an increasing cross-disciplinary fermentation. At the same time, cultural theory and analysis have been marked by successive ‘inter-’ turns, most notably with regard to the Big Four: multimodality (or intermodality), interdiscursivity, transmediality (or intermediality), and intertextuality. This book offers an outline of interdiscursivity as an integrative platform for accommodating these notions. To this end, a call for a return to Foucault is issued via a critical engagement with the so-called practice-turn. This re-turn does not seek to reconstitute venerably Foucauldianism, but to theorize ‘inters-’ as vanishing points that challenge the integrity of discrete cultural orders in non-convergent manners. The propounded interdiscursivity approach is offered as a reading strategy that permeates the contemporary cultural consumption phenomena that are scrutinized in this book, against a pan-consumptivist framework. By drawing on qualitative and mixed methods research designs, facilitated by CAQDAS software, the empirical studies that are hosted here span a vivid array of topics that are directly relevant to both traditional and new media researchers, such as the consumption of ideologies in Web 2.0 social movements, the ability of micro-celebrities to act as cultural game-changers, the post-loyalty abjective consumption ethos. The theoretically novel approaches on offer are coupled with methodological innovations in areas such as user-generated content, artists’ branding, and experiential consumption

    The Plausibility of a Postmodern Pedagogy of Mathematics in the African Context

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    In this paper, the author explores the possibilities of adopting a postmodern pedagogy of mathematics in the context of African culture and traditions that form part of the prevailing education systems. The author further examines the tenets of a postmodern pedagogy, paradigm shifts in education in Africa and questions Africa’s readiness to adopt such a radical education philosophy. The author takes a leaf from the pronouncements made in the Dakar framework for Action (2000) whose theme was “Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments”, where six regional frameworks for action were developed including that of Africa. The frameworks made a robust analysis of the situation of education in Africa and warned countries against complacency in the development of educational strategies for the benefit of all learners. The paper culminates in proposing ways in which Africa can respond in the face of unrelenting postmodern changes resulting from the loss of grip on the behaviours of individuals in contemporary African society due to globalisation. The author concludes that there is no hope in Africa engaging in postmodern pedagogical activities in mathematics classrooms at the moment due to insurmountable problems that the continent faces such as financial constraints, lack of political will and the scepticism on seemingly ‘orderless’ educational propositions.  Key words: postmodern pedagogy, mathematics education, outcome based education, education for all

    A new perspective on instantiation

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    This paper develops a new perspective on the relation of instantiation. This new perspective is based on recent research in cognitive psychology, or, more specifically, on the theory of frames, which was defined by Lawrence Barsalou to capture the common features of contemporary models of human concepts. I show how this new perspective may be applied to coordinate two rudimentary mental operations: categorization and conceptualization

    The Condition of Possibility of Transcendental Philosophy

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    From classical regression analysis to qualitative analysis: A share price fsQCA empirical aplication

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    This thesis studies the difference between classical regression analysis and qualitative comparative analysis. Several authors argue that any preference for one approach over the other one should not be taken since both should complement themselves and therefore both should be used. This research is composed by a sample of 265 enterprises listed in European stock markets, using financial information of 2016, through the application of a classical regression analysis and a qualitative comparative analysis. More than testing the impact of the size of the company, the leverage level, the book value per share, the earnings per share, the return on asset, the cashflow from operations on asset and the ownership by a billionaire on the share price, this research aims at comparing classical regression analysis and comparative qualitative analysis through the results obtained from the empirical assessment. The main conclusion shows that qualitative comparative analysis helps to expand the comprehension regarding the conditions needed to achieve the outcome. In fact, the study contributes for the corroboration that regression analysis can be complemented by qualitative comparative analysis. The main limitations of this study are related to the use of a one-year data, which is also relatively outdated, since refers to 2016.Esta tese estuda a diferença entre a análise de regressão clássica e a análise comparativa qualitativa. Vários autores argumentam que qualquer preferência sobre uma delas não deve ser tida em consideração, uma vez que ambas se devem complementar e têm de ser utilizadas. Para esse propósito, foi utilizada uma amostra constituída por 265 empresas listadas em bolsas de mercado europeias, utilizando informação financeira de 2016, que será utilizada quer na análise de regressão, quer na análise comparativa qualitativa. Mais do que testar o impacto da dimensão da empresa, do nível de endividamento, do valor contabilístico das ações, dos ganhos por ação, do retorno dos ativos, dos fluxos de caixa das operações sobre os ativos e da estrutura patrimonial no preço das ações, este estudo pretende comparar as diferentes metodologias utilizadas através dos respetivos resultados. As principais conclusões do estudo revelam que a análise qualitativa comparativa ajuda a compreender as condições necessárias para alcançar o resultado desejado. De facto, esta investigação corrobora estudos anteriores que concluem que a análise de regressão pode ser complementada com a análise comparativa qualitativa. As principais limitações deste trabalho estão relacionadas com o uso de uma base de dados referente a um só ano que, adicionalmente, também está relativamente desatualizada visto que se refere a 2016
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