Labels for non-individuals

Quasi-set theory is a first order theory without identity, which allows us to cope with non-individuals in a sense. A weaker equivalence relation called ``indistinguishability'' is an extension of identity in the sense that if $x$ is identical to $y$ then $x$ and $y$ are indistinguishable, although the reciprocal is not always valid. The interesting point is that quasi-set theory provides us a useful mathematical background for dealing with collections of indistinguishable elementary quantum particles. In the present paper, however, we show that even in quasi-set theory it is possible to label objects that are considered as non-individuals. We intend to prove that individuality has nothing to do with any labelling process at all, as suggested by some authors. We discuss the physical interpretation of our results.Comment: 11 pages, no figure

About fashion trends researches: theoretical and chronological aspects

Publicado em "CIMODE 2016: 3.º Congresso Internacional de Moda e Design: proceedings". ISBN 978-972-8692-93-3This article refers to a theoretical study about consumer and behavior trends researches, especially, ones focused on fashion. Are addressed important concepts and definitions, proposed by various authors, and thus constitutes a basis material for further deepening in theme. It was also made a brief chronological analysis, in order to know the origin of this research field, as well as companies that develop it, in Europe, in the United States and even in Brazil. This work is part of the theoretical framework held for a Master thesis in Design of Fashion Communication, developed at University of Minho.O presente artigo refere-se a um estudo teórico acerca do que são as pesquisas de tendências de consumo e comportamento, sobretudo as voltadas à moda. São abordados conceitos e definições importantes, propostos por diversos autores, e assim se constitui em um material base para posterior aprofundamento do tema. Foi feita também uma breve análise cronológica, a fim de se conhecer a origem deste campo de pesquisa, como também as empresas que a desenvolvem, na Europa, Estados Unidos e, inclusive, no Brasil. Este trabalho faz parte do referencial teórico realizado para uma pesquisa de mestrado em Design de Comunicação de Moda, desenvolvida na Universidade do Minho

Viés de confirmação na tomada de decisões de inovação

Potential innovators need to overcome many challenges. One such challenge is confirmation bias in decision-making. Human evolution has programmed the brain to act quickly in the face of a threat in the environment. In this way, thinking and (instantaneously) acting rationally is almost impossible for most people. This causes several negative effects on decision-making, notably cognitive biases. For example, an entrepreneur who wants to launch a new product on the market tends to convince herself/himself that her/his product is innovative, ignoring evidence to the contrary, this being a confirmation bias. An innovative analysis of the causes and consequences of the confirmation bias in innovation decision-making is the main goal of this article.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Non-Realist Approach to Natural Languages

The structure of natural languages is usually studied from three major different but interconnected points of view: syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. If we consider that the main purpose of natural languages is communication, we should consider another dimension for languages, which deals with the influence of internal states of communicating individuals on meanings. Such a dimension we refer to as internalism. Within this context, internalism cannot be confused with psycholinguistics, in the same way pragmatics cannot be confused with sociolinguistics. In particular, we argue, language is tied to its systematic use. This view leads us to a non-realist perspective on linguistics. We analyze the role of natural languages into dialogues, by comparing our proposal to the dialogical approach to logic, which considers a dialogue as a game. Within our approach, there is no way to guarantee that two parties involved in a dialogue are playing the same game, due to unavoidable (and frequently hidden) differences in their respective internal states. Another contribution of this paper is to argue that semantics plays a more fundamental role than syntax in the cognitive acquisition of languages