A THEORY OF QUALITATIVE SIMILARITY

The central result of this paper establishes an isomorphism between two types of mathematical structures: ""ternary preorders"" and ""convex topologies."" The former are characterized by reflexivity, symmetry and transitivity conditions, and can be interpreted geometrically as ordered betweenness relations; the latter are defined as intersection-closed families of sets satisfying an ""abstract convexity"" property. A large range of examples is given. As corollaries of the main result we obtain a version of Birkhoff''s representation theorem for finite distributive lattices, and a qualitative version of the representation of ultrametric distances by indexed taxonomic hierarchies.

The Coevolution of Economic and Political Development

This paper establishes a simple model of long run economic and political development, which is driven by the inherent technical features of di¤erent production factors, and political con‡icts among factor owners on how to divide the outputs. The main capital form in economy evolves from land to physical capital and then to human capital, which enables their respective owners (landlords, capitalists, and workers) to gain political powers in the same sequence, shaping the political development path from monarchy to elite ruling and …nally to full su¤rage. When it is too costly for any group of factor owners to repress others, political compromise is reached and economic progress is not blocked; otherwise, the political con‡icts may lead to economic stagnation

La redefinición del espacio público: el caso de las escuelas autogestionadas en Argentina Redefining the public sphere: self-managed schools in Argentina

El Proyecto de las Escuelas Experimentales o Autogestionadas de la Provincia de San Luis adquiere sentido en el marco de la denominada Transformación Educativa y de las políticas desarrolladas en las últimas décadas en Argentina, que, al igual que en gran parte de los países latinoamericanos, han estado orientadas por discursos y prácticas tendientes a legitimar un nuevo modelo económico, social, político, cultural y educativo. La reforma educativa argentina de la década del '90 puede analizarse como una respuesta frente a la crisis de la matriz estado-céntrica que caracterizó la institucionalización y expansión del sistema educativo. El Proyecto de las Escuelas Experimentales en la Provincia de San Luis, inspirado en el modelo de las charter schools de Estados Unidos, es presentado por el Gobierno de la Provincia como un caso precursor en nivel regional en el marco de lo que caracterizan como la "necesaria e imperante reforma de los sistemas educativos". En este sentido, el objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la lógica que orienta el modelo de estas escuelas así como presentar algunas problemáticas centrales vinculadas con el proceso de implementación de la propuesta.<br>The educational reform that took place in Argentina during the '90s was an answer to the crisis of the state-centered model that fostered the expansion of the school system in the XXth. Century. This reform assumed that the solution to improve the quality of education should focus on such issues as: reducing the role of the state in the system assessment; profoundly reforming the school organization; considering new forms of demand-side financing; introducing incentives; giving autonomy to individual schools; involving non-state institutions in policy management; producing information in order to guarantee the freedom of choice; offering new career for teachers based on merit and derogation of the labor statute. Nevertheless, the educational reform should be analyzed in the context of a broader reform process implemented in the whole Latin America in the '90s, aimed at legitimating a new economic, social, political and cultural model. Inspired in the "charter schools" model, the Experimental Schools Project in the Province of San Luis is a leading case in the region of what is characterized as the "necessary and imperative reform of the educational systems". In this context, the aim of this article is both to analyze the logic behind this model and to discuss the main issues of its implementation process

Intercultural education for student mobility

This special issue of Intercultural Education intends to foster discussion on educational initiatives which aim to lay the ground for and support intercultural learning in study abroad. It engages not only with the theory, but also with the practice of teaching the intercultural in the context of student mobility. The articles includes two position papers, three research studies, and one example of best-practice. While each contributes with its own original perspective, the articles have in common that they address the issue of how better to foster intercultural learning through the study abroad experience, considering in particular the perspectives of students, teachers, and curriculum planners in higher education. Thanks to the multiplicity of views it presents, the collection of articles intends to shed light on the complex phenomenon of student mobility, where indeed diverse voices may be heard (Murphy-Lejeune 2008). The special issue has its origin in an international conference organised in June 2014 at the University of Bologna and entitled ‘Teaching the Intercultural in Contexts of Student Mobility’. The conference brought together researchers in intercultural education as well as other educational professionals interested in intercultural and student mobility issues, programme administrators and teachers. It was an opportunity to discuss aims, methods and outcomes of available courses, as well as innovative ideas to improve the preparation of mobile students from an intercultural point of view. The conference was organised within the context of IEREST (Intercultural Education Resources for Erasmus Students and their Teachers), a three-year Erasmus Multilateral project co-funded by the European Commission within the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013