Formal Properties Research Articles

Approaching language rights and justice for linguistic minorities from the perspective of constitutional economics

Abstract Methodological individualism is a central concept in normative economics. As the point of departure of our discussion of linguistic justice, we postulates the equality of all individuals in relation to their first language. Any deviation from this ideal has to be motivated. One such motivation is the impracticability of policy measures, for instance due to cost arguments. A constitutional-economics analysis of the allocation of language rights focuses on this trade-off between equity and efficiency. One can define a scale running from perfect equality combined with extensive inefficiency to perfect efficiency combined with considerable inequalities between different individuals of different mother tongues. “(Linguistic) justice” of public policy is then defined as an “optimal” choice, or trade-off, on this scale. For the analysis, two tools in the tool chest of the economist will be applied in this essay: An intuitive-imaginary analysis, based on a Gedankenexperiment involving an imaginary “original position” behind a “veil of ignorance” from which the choice between different societies can be seen as an individual’s choice of implicit income distributions under uncertainty about the individual’s own position in this distribution. The chosen society is then defined as “just” and the choice is determined by the individuals’ attitude towards uncertainty. A formal-axiomatic definition of a (paretian) social-welfare function in implicit incomes (money income plus perceived value of, for instance, language rights) of all citizens in the society. The definition of “justice” is then found in the formal properties of this welfare function. Both approaches lead to the same qualitative results.

FORMATION OF MULTILAYER KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS BASED ON THEMATIC TEXTS MODELING

The paper considers the problem of forming multilayer knowledge graphs for use in intelligent analysis of social media data. The technology is based on the «soft» structuring of the existing document pool in accordance with the constructed topic model. Experimental testing of the technology and comparison of the formal properties of knowledge graph models obtained using topic modeling and the traditional method were conducted. The results of the comparison indicate the potential effectiveness of using multilayer knowledge graphs built on the basis of a topic model of texts when implementing intelligent data processing procedures in the conditions of multiple and dynamic subject areas.

Girlhood Reimagined

Abstract I examine how Malaka Gharib's I Was Their American Dream and It Won't Always Be Like This frame, embody, and reimagine girlhood through a multicultural transnational lens. Born in California, Gharib grew up with Filipino and Egyptian heritage. Taking advantage of the formal properties of comics, her work situates her memories and experiences at the intersection of ethnicity, gender, and transnational encounters. I interrogate how these books visualize the connection between girlhood and mixed heritage through the artist-narrator's interactions with and observation of her Filipino mother and relatives in the United States and her father, stepmother, half-siblings, and neighbors in Egypt. I also examine how the multimodality of comics draws on tropes of girlhood to enable representation through the depiction and layering of different selves.

Sensory experience beyond vision: Shah Tahmasb’s sixteenth-century garden in Qazvin

In this article, we examine the grand compendium of verses composed by Abdi Beg Shirazi (1515–80/1) in the middle decades of the sixteenth century, which portrays the royal Sa’ādat-Ābād complex of the second Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasb (1524–76). Through careful reading and interpretation of these poems, both individually and as part of the larger structure of the compendium, we revisit the symbolism and mode of perception of gardens in the early-modern Persianate world. Contributing to the scholarship on the sensory turn, we argue that Shirazi’s portrayal of royal gardens as a terrestrial paradise relied on senses and experiences rather than on the formal properties of these gardens. The poet presented the garden as a set of cognitive episodes rather than visual frames. As such, Abdi Beg Shirazi’s text offers a compelling insight into the perception and reception of gardens in the early-modern Persianate world that helps expand the scope of current scholarship on the subject.

Z badań nad słownictwem kulinarnym Krajny – eintopf

A STUDY ON KRAJNA’S CULINARY TERMS: EINTOPF This paper aims at threefold characteristics of the sociolinguistic (concerning correlations with selected sociological parameters), formal (referring to phonetic variation) and semantic (illustrating semantic heterogeneity) properties of Krajna-derived culinary Germanism eintopf. The research material was collected through questionnaire surveys conducted in November and December 2023. 240 respondents took part in the study; they were the natives of Krajna of peasant origin with a diverse sociobiographical profile (in terms of gender, age, place of residence, education and profession). The participants represented 110 locations within three subregions: north-western Krajna (Złotów), north-eastern Krajna (Sępólno Krajeńskie), and southern Krajna (Nakło nad Notecią), which made it possible to conduct a comparative analysis.

The Paintings of Henok Melkamzer

The formal properties, styles, and techniques of telsem fascinates viewers from Ethiopia and abroad. Drawn traditionally on parchment and in acrylic in contemporary times, the sophisticated and intricate lines of telsem consist of symbols that are spectacularly expressive. However, the conventional knowledge base for telsem art in Western art-historical provisions has been cabalistic. Modernism, as a field of study, persists in classifying the sophisticated forms, exuberant colors, lines, shapes, and conceptually complex arrangement of telsem paintings in categories that are outside of the modernist canon. While Western art critics acknowledge the exquisite imagery of telsem art, they place emphasis on the disciplinary divide and difference between the visual languages of European art forms, which are modern and historical, and non-Western art forms such as telsem, which are perceived as ahistorical objects. Even though they are practiced in contemporary times, they are still approached in anthropological designations. Certainly, the uses of the supernatural in non-Western visual art are grouped together under the rubric of magical realism, and humanistic scholars have given little significance to the substantial modernist interventions of such works. These complex works of art cannot be purely described in terms of contrasts such as reality versus fantasy or in contexts of a long-gone tradition that has waned. They are still produced in contemporary times, fantastically depicting specific cultural, political, and social experiences of the contemporary moment in both rational and mythical ways. It is precisely this underlying difference in art-historical studies that the Sharjah Art Foundation’s 2024 exhibition Henok Melkamzer: Telsem Symbols and Imagery attempts to extend.

Reasoning about group responsibility for exceeding risk threshold in one-shot games

Tracing and analysing the responsibility for unsafe outcomes of actors' decisions in multi-agent settings have been studied in recent years. These studies often focus on deterministic scenarios and assume that the unsafe outcomes for which actors can be held responsible are actually realized. This paper considers a broader notion of responsibility where unsafe outcomes are not necessarily realized, but their probabilities are unacceptably high. We present a logic combining strategic, probabilistic and temporal primitives designed to express concepts such as the risk of an undesirable outcome and being responsible for exceeding a risk threshold in one-shot games. We demonstrate that the proposed logic is (weakly) complete, decidable and has an efficient model-checking procedure. Finally, we define a probabilistic notion of responsibility and study its formal properties in the proposed logic setting.

Unraveling syntactic puzzles of comparative correlatives

In a comparative correlative construction, such as The less you read, the stupider you are, the two clauses must both be finite, like a root clause; but neither can stand alone, like a subordinate clause. The construction shares significant formal properties with one type of coordinate construction, such as You drink another can of beer and I’m leaving. The paper argues that a comparative correlative construction and such a coordinate construction have the same syntactic structure. In this structure, a functional element that is directly merged with a conjunct or a modifier occurs. Moreover, the construction-specific formatives, such as the clause-initial the or the Mandarin predicate-initial yue ‘more’, is analyzed as the result of the spanning of this functional element with another functional element in the clause. Furthermore, the pairing of the formatives in the construction comes from the Double Marking of this functional element.

Intensional Functions

Functions in functional languages have a single elimination form — application — and cannot be compared, hashed, or subjected to other non-application operations. These operations can be approximated via defunctionalization: functions are replaced with first-order data and calls are replaced with invocations of a dispatch function. Operations such as comparison may then be implemented for these first-order data to approximate e.g. deduplication of continuations in algorithms such as unbounded searches. Unfortunately, this encoding is tedious, imposes a maintenance burden, and obfuscates the affected code. We introduce an alternative in intensional functions , a language feature which supports the definition of non-application operations in terms of a function’s definition site and closure-captured values. First-order data operations may be defined on intensional functions without burdensome code transformation. We give an operational semantics and type system and prove their formal properties. We further define intensional monads , whose Kleisli arrows are intensional functions, enabling monadic values to be similarly subjected to additional operations.

Symmetry-free routing and spectrum assignment: a universal algorithm based on first-fit

First-fit (FF) is a well-known and widely deployed algorithm for spectrum assignment (SA), but until our recent study [J. Opt. Commun. Netw. 14, 165 (2022)JOCNBB1943-062010.1364/JOCN.445492], investigations of the algorithm had been experimental in nature and no formal properties of the algorithm with respect to SA were known. In this work, we make two contributions. First, we show that FF is a universal algorithm for the SA problem in the sense that, for any variant, 1) it can be used to construct solutions equivalent to, or better than, any solution obtained by any other algorithm, and 2) it can construct an optimal solution. This universality property applies to both the min-max and min-frag objectives and to variants of the SA problem with or without guard band constraints. Consequently, the spectrum symmetry-free model of our recent study [J. Opt. Commun. Netw. 14, 165 (2022)JOCNBB1943-062010.1364/JOCN.445492] extends to all known SA variants, which therefore reduce to permutation problems. Second, we extend the spectrum symmetry-free model to the routing and spectrum assignment (RSA) problem in general topologies. This model allows for the design of more efficient algorithms as it eliminates from consideration an exponential number of equivalent symmetric solutions. By sidestepping symmetry, the RSA solution space is naturally and optimally decomposed into a routing space and a connection permutation space. Building upon this property, we introduce a two-parameter, symmetry-free universal algorithm that can be used to tackle any RSA variant in a uniform manner. The algorithm is amenable to multi-threaded execution to speed up the search process, and the value of the parameters can be adjusted to strike a balance between running time and solution quality. Our evaluation provides insight into the relative benefits of path diversity (which determines the size of the routing space) and connection diversity (which determines the size of the permutation space).

Emerging Dimensions Of Copyright Laws: Legal Implications And Futuristic Approach

Intellectual property pertains to the composition of the human intellect. And, the intellectual property right is basically an entitlement of jus in re propria over intangible things. In other words, it is a right over the skills, ideas and intellect of a person. It is fictional in nature and quite different from formal properties. It encompasses copyright, trademarks, service marks, geographical indications, patents, utility models, plant varieties, industrial designs, trade secrets and layout designs, among others. IPR have garnered significance in contemporary times. It has gained importance throughout the whole Nations in recent times. Now, it is no more a subject of law but also a subject of general or public interest. The purpose of enacting laws related to foster the advancement of science, technology, arts, literature and another creative works, while encouraging and rewarding creativity. India is widely recognized for its intellectual progress in fields such as software engineering, missile technology, and space missions, including lunar and interplanetary explorations. Despite these achievements, India lags significantly in engendering intellectual property rights (IPR) fortunes including registered patents, industrial designs, and trademarks. According to a recent report by the US Chamber of Commerce, India positioned 29th out of 30 countries in the global IP survey. This paper is an attempt to highlight the emerging dimensions of copyright laws with special reference to the legal implications and futuristic approach. This concerning scenario highlights the urgent need for the policymakers to strengthen India's IP infrastructure and policies because lack of IPR awareness and protection can lead to the demise of inventions, increased risk of infringement, and economic losses.

Different negations and fuzziness in web resources and resource description and their mathematical foundation

In Web resources and resource descriptions, many resources and descriptions of resources have different negations and fuzziness. In this paper, based on the distinction between the concept of “contradiction” and the concept of “opposition”, and “clear concept” and “fuzzy concept”, we propose that there are three different kinds of negation in knowledge from the conceptual level, namely “contradictory negation”, “opposite negation” and “intermediary negation”. In order to establish a mathematical basis that can fully reflect the internal relations, properties and laws of these different negations and fuzziness, we propose a “Scoi: sets with contradictory negation, opposite negation and intermediary negation” and “Lcoi&PLcoi: logic with contradictory negation, opposite negation and intermediary negation”. The main operational properties of Scoi and the main formal deduction properties of Lcoi, and the soundness theorem and completeness theorem for Lcoi&PLcoi are proved.In order to enable RDF (Resource Description Framework) to describe Web resources with different negations and fuzziness, we extend RDF based on Scoi and Lcoi&PLcoi, and propose a resource description framework RDFcoi which can fully handle fuzzy attribute values and their different negations in attributes of resources.Unlike other RDF extensions such as fuzzy RDF, RDFcoi triple mathematically reflect the uncertainty relationship between a resource and a fuzzy attribute value. RDFcoi maintains the basic syntax and normative of RDF, and extends the basic syntax and semantics of RDF. RDFcoi triple, RDFcoi formula and RDFcoi graph with three kinds of negation are defined. RDFcoi-entailment is defined and its properties are discussed. In addition, we also study the reasoning regimes of RDFcoi.

Proof exploration using dynamic geometry systems with integrated automated deduction capabilities

Due to its formal, logical and spatial properties, geometry is well suited for the exploration of new knowledge, new properties that arise from different constructions and new insights into already known constructions, to the exploration of proofs of new conjectures, to the exploration of new proofs of known theorems. With a Dynamic Geometry System (DGS) we get an environment where new conjectures can be easily formulated and visually verified (but not proven). With a Geometry Automated–Theorem–Prover (GATP) we get an environment where conjectures/theorems can be formally proved. We explore some environments where DGS and GATP are combined, analysing their possibilities for the exploration of new conjectures and proofs, having in mind their use in a learning situation.

Evaluation of visual property specification languages based on practical model-checking experience

Formal verification methods like model checking can provide mathematical proofs of design correctness, so their use is justified in applications where safety or reliability requirements are high. A key challenge for the wider adoption of model checking is the effort and expertise needed in formalizing functional requirements into verifiable properties. A particular challenge in specifying formal properties for industrial instrumentation and control (I&C) logics is accounting for the sequencing and timing issues that arise from, e.g., the dynamic behavior of the plant being controlled. In this paper, we evaluate different visual property specification languages that are aimed at making formal methods more accessible. We have collected 3923 formal properties from practical model checking projects in the nuclear and rail traffic industries and identified the most commonly occurring types of properties. Based on the sample data, a real-world example logic, and our practical experience, we identify requirements for a user-friendly property specification language most suited for our specific domain of industrial I&C.

Shadowed set approximations of L-fuzzy sets

Pedrycz shadowed sets are three-way approximations of fuzzy sets by transforming the infinite levels of fuzzy set membership grades in the unit interval [0,1] into three levels. The three levels represent qualitatively the sets of the white, grey, and black members of a shadowed set. In this paper, we generalize the notion of shadowed sets to the case of L-fuzzy sets by making three new contributions. First, we consider two representations of a shadowed set. One is a three-valued L-fuzzy set and the other is three pairwise disjoint sets. Second, we introduce two methods for constructing a shadowed set. One divides a finite lattice based on the notion of a pair of a set of designated core membership grades and a set of designated null membership grades. The other uses a pair of threshold sets, which generalizes the method that uses a pair of thresholds. We study formal properties of the two methods and show that they are equivalent. Finally, based on a distance function on a lattice, we present a simple method to build the sets of designated core and null membership grades.

Form and Matter of Regular Geometrical Bodies in Luca Pacioli’s Summa (1494) and Compendium de divina proportione (1498)

Abstract Luca Pacioli (ca. 1447–1517) is widely considered a central figure in the Italian Renaissance, particularly in the history of practical mathematics. The perspectival representations of geometrical bodies that Leonardo da Vinci drew for Pacioli’s Compendium de divina proportione are, in turn, often singled out to illustrate the relationships between the visual arts and mathematics in the late fifteenth century. Yet despite increasing scholarly attention, the philosophical framework of Pacioli’s works deserves to be further explored. This paper discusses how Pacioli ably developed his arguments on regular geometrical bodies by relying on a predominantly Aristotelian philosophical framework. In this way, Pacioli established correlations among the quantitative, material, and formal properties of regular geometrical bodies, concluding with the visualisation of their (geometrically defined) form at the level of the intellect.

The Self-ish Gene: Retroactive Tropes in Richard Dawkins’s Evolutionary Logic

ABSTRACT Building on recent developments in Lacanian rhetorical criticism, this essay demonstrates how contemporary evolutionary theory posits genetic determinism without a clear definition of the gene. It makes this case through close readings of Richard Dawkins’s The Selfish Gene, the landmark text of neo-Darwinian genetics. It demonstrates how Dawkins uses metaphors to substitute a single determinate agent in place of the genome’s essential complexity. Despite Dawkins’s admission that he could not define the gene, his metaphors give his “self-ish gene” a sense of unity and coherence that allows him to describe all other levels of life (organisms, species, ecosystems) as reducible to it. Dawkins’s use of metaphor leverages a broader reductionist logos, one that operates in discourses far beyond the biological. Methodologically, the essay advances the study of scientific metaphor by focusing on the formal properties of metaphor and the ways they afford logical closure.

Stable dystopia: a critique of the circular definition of stability in Nozick’s model of utopia

Abstract In Part III of Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), Robert Nozick presents what he calls ‘the model of possible worlds’ (307) to examine the formal properties of utopia, defined as ‘the best of all possible worlds’ (298). The basic idea is that each person is given the power to create any possible world and its inhabitants by imagining them. Two definitions of stability have been proposed: (a) the non-circular definition according to which a world is stable if and only if nobody can imagine a better world and (b) the circular definition according to which a world is stable if and only if nobody can imagine a better world that is also stable. In this paper, we prove four theorems (namely, the indeterminacy theorem, the stable dystopia theorem, the nobody’s utopia theorem and the redundancy theorem) that provide us with decisive reasons to reject the circular definition and opt for the non-circular definition of stability to analyse Nozick’s theory of utopia.

Verification of Railway Control Systems Using Model Checking and CTL, Explained Through a Case Study

Systematic faults can often occur during the development of a system. The later such faults are discovered, the more expensive it can be to correct them. In systems engineering practice, there are many methods and tools to reduce the likelihood of systematic faults. In this paper, we present the application of a formal model–based verification technique – called model checking – to assist railway engineers in designing and verifying the safety-related functionality of railway control systems. The proposed process is part of a specification-verification environment that facilitates the construction of correct, complete, consistent, and verifiable functional specifications during development. The results and experience in model checking are illustrated by a case study of a vehicle detection point, a common component in this domain. The model checking of the case study has been performed in the widely used UPPAAL modeling and simulation framework, which can also verify formal properties and generate a counterexample in case of a property violation. By analyzing the counterexample, the designer can gain insights into the system's behavior and identify potential design flaws or failures. Model checking can be used to achieve a higher quality functional specification that is typically more complete and/or contains fewer faults compared to the traditional development approach.

Digital systems for special educational needs documentation in Swedish preschools: new organisational maps for municipalities and professionals

ABSTRACT This article examines the use of digital documentation systems for preschool special education in Swedish municipalities. Drawing on concepts of organisational learning, the research examines the extent to which municipalities use digital systems and their rationales for such use. A survey of municipalities’ use of digital documentation systems indicated three different system types, and findings from interviews with officials in six municipalities suggest two core rationales that guide documentation systems for special education in preschools. The first rationale focuses on managing knowledge rooted in systems’ formal properties and legal-regulatory frameworks. The second concerns managing professional practice through documentation processes, access, and communication. Digital solutions have consequences for managing and processing documentation and the utilisation of professional knowledge. For the municipality to be a learning organisation, greater interactions are needed between the two, and special educational knowledge needs to play a greater role and be generated and stored through documentation practice.