What’s in a Theme? On the Nature of Variation

Most descriptions or taxonomies of variation suggest a conception of “theme” as a repository of elements from which the variations will select, emphasizing now one aspect, now another. When considered as a temporal phenomenon, however, a theme appears not as a static arrangement of “structural” elements, but instead stands in a complex and reciprocal relationship to the variations: it bequeaths to them a set of expectations about how they might proceed, and yet exists as a mutable collection of possibilities or potentialities to be activated and reshaped by the course of the variations themselves. The article explores some of the consequences of this temporal approach, highlighting the crucial role of the listener in apprehending variation, awareness of the balance struck by a variation between fidelity to the theme and self-sustaining coherence, and most importantly, the possibility for the flow of derivation in effect to reverse itself: for the variations to color the apprehension (the memory) of the theme. Drawing upon Beethoven’s “Diabelli” and Bach’s “Goldberg” Variations (among other illustrations), the article also assesses philosopher Nelson Goodman’s important treatment of variation. In keeping with the notion of variation as an environment that can lay bare habits of musical thinking occasionally obscured in more complicated settings, the essay seeks eventually to apply the insights developed within the variation genre beyond these boundaries; the slow movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A, K. 488, is used as an example

The role of pedagogical tools in active learning: a case for sense-making

Evidence from the research literature indicates that both audience response systems (ARS) and guided inquiry worksheets (GIW) can lead to greater student engagement, learning, and equity in the STEM classroom. We compare the use of these two tools in large enrollment STEM courses delivered in different contexts, one in biology and one in engineering. The instructors studied utilized each of the active learning tools differently. In the biology course, ARS questions were used mainly to check in with students and assess if they were correctly interpreting and understanding worksheet questions. The engineering course presented ARS questions that afforded students the opportunity to apply learned concepts to new scenarios towards improving students conceptual understanding. In the biology course, the GIWs were primarily used in stand-alone activities, and most of the information necessary for students to answer the questions was contained within the worksheet in a context that aligned with a disciplinary model. In the engineering course, the instructor intended for students to reference their lecture notes and rely on their conceptual knowledge of fundamental principles from the previous ARS class session in order to successfully answer the GIW questions. However, while their specific implementation structures and practices differed, both instructors used these tools to build towards the same basic disciplinary thinking and sense-making processes of conceptual reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and metacognitive thinking.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Non-classical measurement theory: a framework forbehavioral sciences

Instances of non-commutativity are pervasive in human behavior. In this paper, we suggest that psychological properties such as attitudes, values, preferences and beliefs may be suitably described in terms of the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics. We expose the foundations of non-classical measurement theory building on a simple notion of orthospace and ortholattice (logic). Two axioms are formulated and the characteristic state-property duality is derived. A last axiom concerned with the impact of measurements on the state takes us with a leap toward the Hilbert space model of Quantum Mechanics. An application to behavioral sciences is proposed. First, we suggest an interpretation of the axioms and basic properties for human behavior. Then we explore an application to decision theory in an example of preference reversal. We conclude by formulating basic ingredients of a theory of actualized preferences based in non-classical measurement theory.Les exemples de phénomènes non-commutatifs abondent dans les comportements humains. Dans cet article nous suggérons que le formalisme mathématique de la mécanique quantique offre un cadre approprié pour modéliser des propriétés psychologiques telles que les attitudes, les préférences ou les croyances. Nous exposons les fondements de la théorie non-classique de la mesure à partir d'une notion simple d'ortho-espace et ortho-treillis (logique). Deux axiomes sont formulés et nous établissons la dualité état-propriété. Un dernier axiome s'appliquant à l'impact de la mesure sur l'état, nous entraîne d'un bond vers le modèle hilbertien de la physique quantique. Une application aux sciences du comportement est proposée. Nous commençons par suggérer une interprétation des axiomes et propriétés pour les comportements humains. Puis nous explorons une application en théorie de la décision dans un exemple de renversement des préférences. Nous concluons en formulant les ingrédients de base d'une théorie des préférences actualisées fondée dans la théorie non-classique de la mesure

Non-classical expected utility theory with application to type indeterminacy

In this paper we extend Savage's theory of decision-making under uncertainty from a classical environment into a non-classical one. We formulate the corresponding axioms and provide representation theorems for qualitative measures and expected utility. We also propose an application in simple game context in the spirit of Harsanyi.Dans cet article nous étendons la théorie de la décision dans l'incertain de Savage du cadre classique à un cadre non-classique. Nous formulons les axiomes correspondants et proposons un théorème de représentation pour les mesures qualitatives et l'utilité espérée. Nous illustrons notre approche dans une application à l'indétermination de type

SNeL: A Structured Neuro-Symbolic Language for Entity-Based Multimodal Scene Understanding

In the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, multimodal and Neuro-Symbolic paradigms stand at the forefront, with a particular emphasis on the identification and interaction with entities and their relations across diverse modalities. Addressing the need for complex querying and interaction in this context, we introduce SNeL (Structured Neuro-symbolic Language), a versatile query language designed to facilitate nuanced interactions with neural networks processing multimodal data. SNeL's expressive interface enables the construction of intricate queries, supporting logical and arithmetic operators, comparators, nesting, and more. This allows users to target specific entities, specify their properties, and limit results, thereby efficiently extracting information from a scene. By aligning high-level symbolic reasoning with low-level neural processing, SNeL effectively bridges the Neuro-Symbolic divide. The language's versatility extends to a variety of data types, including images, audio, and text, making it a powerful tool for multimodal scene understanding. Our evaluations demonstrate SNeL's potential to reshape the way we interact with complex neural networks, underscoring its efficacy in driving targeted information extraction and facilitating a deeper understanding of the rich semantics encapsulated in multimodal AI models

Dynamic consistency of expected utility under non-classical(quantum) uncertainty

Quantum cognition is a recent and rapidely growing field. In this paper we developan expected utility theory in a context of non-classical (quantum) uncertainty.We replace the classical state space with a Hilbert space which allows introducing the concept of quantum lottery. Within that framework we formulate sufficient and necessary axioms on preferences over quantum lotteries to establish a representation theorem. We show that demanding the consistency of choice behavior conditional on new information is equivalent to the von Neuman-Luders postulate applied to beliefs. In our context, dynamic consistency is shown not to secure Savage's Sure Thing Principle (in its dynamic version). Finally, we discuss the interpretation and value of our results for rationality and behavioral economics

Performance evaluation of a compression algorithm for wireless sensor networks in monitoring applications

Wireless sensor network (WSN) is an emerging technology that targets multiple applications in the different environments. Its infrastructure is composed of a large number of sensor nodes with a limited physical capacity and low cost. The energy consumption must be as optimized as possible in order to extend its lifetime. The use of data compression techniques can be an advantage in the WSN context, once these techniques eliminate transmission of redundant information and consequently can be adopted to minimize the consumption of energy in the sensor nodes. WSN for monitoring applications can benefit from this technique as it may maximize the lifetime of batteries. The main motivation of this paper is to investigate the performance of a data compression algorithm for WSN in the context of monitoring applications. To validate the proposal, simulation experiments have been performed using the Network Simulator (NS-2) tool

Estado e burocracia na concepção político-jurídica de E. Pachukanis

In the present work, Ivan Ivanovich Makeev makes a compilation of Pashukanis’ assertions about the problem of bureaucracy in the Soviet Union. In that sense, the object of research is the phenomenon of bureaucracy and its interpretation in the early soviet political and legal thought. We are faced, in this work, with a series of interesting questions, as such as Pashukanis’ conception of law and the state, his understanding about the connection between bureaucracy and capitalism, his recognition of the process of bureaucratization that was happening in the Soviet Union and his propositions aimed to suppress that course of events.No presente trabalho, Ivan Ivanovitch Makeev elabora uma compilação das considerações de Pachukanis sobre a questão da burocracia na União Soviética. Nesse sentido, o objeto de investigação é o fenômeno do burocratismo e sua compreensão pelo pensamento soviético inicial. Nós nos encontramos, neste trabalho, com uma série de questões interessantes, tais como a concepção de Pachukanis sobre o direito e o Estado, seu entendimento sobre a conexão entre a burocracia e o capitalismo, sua identificação do processo de burocratização em curso na União Soviética e suas propostas voltadas à reversão desse curso de eventos

A Structural Linkage Between the Dimerization and Encapsidation Signals in Hiv-2 Leader Rna

The 5\u27 untranslated leader region of retroviral RNAs contains noncoding information that is essential for viral replication, including signals for transcriptional transactivation, splicing, primer binding for reverse transcription, dimerization of the genomic RNA, and encapsidation of the viral RNA into virions. These RNA motifs have considerable structural and functional overlap. in this study, we investigate the conformational dynamics associated with the use and silencing of a sequence in HIV-2 RNA that is involved in genomic RNA dimerization called stem-loop 1 (SL1) and its relationship with a flanking sequence that is known to be important for encapsidation of viral RNAs. We demonstrate that a long-distance intramolecular interaction between nucleotides located upstream of the primer-binding site domain and nucleotides encompassing the Gag translation start codon functionally silences SL1 as a dimerization element. This silencing can be relieved by mutation or by hybridization of an oligonucleotide that disrupts the long-distance interaction. Furthermore, we identify a palindrome within the packaging/encapsiclation signal psi (just 5\u27 of SL1) that can either serve as an efficient dimerization signal itself, or can mediate SL1 silencing through base pairing with SL1. These results provide a tangible link between the functions of genomic RNA dimerization and encapsidation, which are known to be related, but whose physical relationship has been unclear. A model is proposed that accounts for observations of dimerization, packaging, and translation of viral RNAs during different phases of the viral replication cycle