Black-Tie Optional Sorites Paula Teijeiro
Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology,
07/2024, Letnik:
28, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Sorites is the paradox which exploits the tolerance of vague language to get an absurd conclusion. The present note argues that, contrary to some other approaches, formalizing the antinomy does not ...serve the purpose of elucidation.
Informal markets encompass economic activity that occurs outside of formal regulations and is rather guided by informal norms, values, and understandings. A growing stream of research explores the ...transition of entrepreneurs from informal to formal markets. Past research appears to portray the transition to formality as a strategic choice made by entrepreneurs and to center on regulatory concerns, such as acquiring licenses, registering the business, and paying taxes. Such an approach to studying formalization, however, may not adequately account for the influence of informal institutions on such a transition, and ignores the facilitating role often played by institutional intermediaries, a type of institutional entrepreneur. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore a more comprehensive view of formalization in which an institutional intermediary seeks to help small producers transition from selling their goods in informal markets (where formal regulations and infrastructures do not exist or are severely underdeveloped) to formal markets (where developed formal regulations and infrastructures have engendered stronger competition and heightened quality and efficiency standards). More specifically, we examined the process by which an NGO attempted to transition approximately 1,800 dairy farmers in rural Nicaragua from informal to formal markets. Our results suggest that the success of formalization efforts by institutional intermediaries hinges on a series of inter-related tactics aimed at providing “institutional scaffolding” to encourage and facilitate informal entrepreneurs' participation in formal markets.
•We explore how institutional intermediaries help small entrepreneurs transition from informal to formal markets•We find that institutional intermediaries use tactics at the individual, network, and systems level to construct ‘institutional scaffolding’•Institutional scaffolding supports entrepreneurs’ transition to formal markets•Institutional scaffolding is fragile; it is both interdependent and temporally sensitive
Building designs in countries such as the United Kingdom are currently checked manually against a frequently changing and increasingly complex set of building regulations. This is a major task for ...designers and those bodies that are charged with enforcing the building regulations. As a result this can often lead to ambiguity, inconsistency in assessments and delays in the overall construction process. As the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry moves from 2D Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings to more semantically rich Building Information Models (BIMs), the development of automated compliance checking systems for building regulations becomes achievable. A format well suited to the automation of compliance checking is that based upon Industry Foundation Class (IFC). IFC has been accepted worldwide as an inter-operability standard. However, whether the IFC data format can fully support the specialised needs of the England and Wales Building Regulations is still debatable. In order to automate their checking, building regulations first need to be interpreted from human-readable free text rules into a set of computer-implementable rules. This paper reviews previous research into automated code compliance-checking, identifies the key issues for future development, and focuses on the analysis of the England and Wales Building Regulations that relate to fire safety for dwelling houses, to determine and subsequently optimize the potential for automated compliance checking. Subsequently, a Building Regulation-specific, semantically rich object model, appropriate for the requirements of automated compliance checking has been developed for England and Wales.
•Review of research into automated code compliance-checking•Analysis of the England and Wales Building Regulations relating to fire safety•Determination and optimization of their potential for automated compliance-checking•Development of a semantically rich object model for automated compliance-checking
The mixed outcomes reported for strategic conformity confirm that there is not yet a unified understanding of how strategic conformity affects firm outcomes. By integrating the institutional and ...optimal conformity literature, this study investigates how and when strategic conformity impacts corporate innovative performance. Based on a survey of 291 manufacturing firms in China, the empirical results show that strategic conformity has an inverted U-shaped effect on innovative performance and that relative exploitative dimension of ambidexterity mediates the inverted U-shaped association between strategic conformity and innovative performance. Further, we find that higher levels of structural formalization strengthen the relationship between strategic conformity and the relative exploitative dimension of ambidexterity. Both theoretical and empirical contributions of the study are discussed.
Scientific works on formalization of methods in criminalistics have been analyzed in the article. Despite the importance and relevance of these issues, it has been established that there is a number ...of unresolved issues in the theory of forensic science, as well as in investigative and judicial practice regarding the possibilities of formalizing methods and their implementation, which require separate independent research and in-depth reflection. Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to clarify the methods used to detect and investigate crimes and the possibilities of their formalization in criminalistics.
Formalization methods in criminalistics have been considered. It has been found out that the most successful is their division into formalization of theoretical methods and formalization of practical methods. Methods of theoretical level have been researched. It has been emphasized that the use of mathematical methods contributes to the development of the most accurate practical recommendations, which allow to approach many issues of the theory and practice of forensic science from new positions.
The author has considered the modeling method and has argued that it creates the preconditions for the use of formalization, since acting as prototypes, plans, hypothetical constructions of all kinds, this process is presented to investigators as a complex of interrelated transformations in the form of description. The development and use of forensic material models in the management of an investigative situation allows investigators to use, by analogy, forensic algorithms and investigative programs. Thus, the formalization is carried out in the form of the transition of content into a sign system. It is designed to address the tasks faced by investigators and directly related to the investigative situation existing at the time of the investigation.
It has been found out that the formalization of forensic knowledge methods allows the use of such knowledge in the process of solving problems and making decisions by means of signs and symbols, which may increase the capacity of investigators to solve problems at all stages of crime investigation in different conditions of uncertainty.
Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is an essential livelihood for millions in the Global South. However, this sector faces numerous challenges, including informality, inconsistent policies, and ...marginalization. Nevertheless, ASM has development opportunities, and its formalization may help to address some of these challenges. This research emphasizes the role of institutions as a mechanism through which artisanal and small-scale miners can become formal, whereby institutions provide rules and put in place incentives and constraints, reduce uncertainty, create means of exercising power, and influence access to opportunities and choices. This paper presents a case study on the formalization program implemented between 2014 and 2020 through a contractual agreement between a large-scale mining company and several ASM local associations in a gold mining project in Buriticá, Antioquia, Colombia. The contractual system allocated specific areas within the mining concession to ASM operators and agreements on extraction methods, marketing of produced ore, access to geological and mining knowledge, technical capacity, and financial assistance. Formalization allowed ASM operators to adopt technical and business procedures that supported their transformation. The study highlights the barriers that need to be overcome by informal artisanal and small-scale miners and their partners to operate in the formal sector. The Buriticá case study provides relevant insights into the formalization process, identifies various aspects that contribute to the ASM development process, and presents some challenges that policymakers and other stakeholders must consider to address the challenges within the ASM sector.
•This research presents a case study of a formalization process between an LSM company and several ASM organizations.•It presents the role of institutional arrangements in operationalizing the formalization of ASM activities.•Institutions operate as a means for formalizing ASM through rules, incentives, and constraints.•Institutions involved in formalization need to be adaptive to facilitate interactions among social actors.
Is logic useful for doing Philosophy? David Suárez-Rivero
Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology,
07/2024, Letnik:
28, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Providing some basic arguments and a historical context, I introduce the special volume What can we do in Philosophy using Logic? In this introduction, I discuss whether logic is useful for ...understanding, evaluating or building arguments in philosophy. I argue that, although there has been research supporting the idea that logic can serve as a philosophical instrument, this has not shown completely its utility. This is the reason I offer to discuss the importance of logic in philosophy, trying to show that philosophers employ logic when they work with arguments and also obtain worth benefits by applying it.
The formalization of the Anthropocene in the Geologic Time Scale (GTS) is a matter of debate. An assessment of the two current options, one formalizing the Anthropocene as an Epoch and the other ...considering the Anthropocene as an informal event in the Earth's history that does not require formalization, are critically analyzed. The focus of the analysis is on the philosophical issues underlying these two options, which make them unsatisfactory for addressing the occurrence of humans on Earth and the evolution of the relationship between humans and nature. Essentially, the approach followed by these options is non-historical, and does not undertake a research on the structural socio-economic roots of the Anthropocene. As a result, the concept of the Anthropocene is unable to identify the particular and historical form of Anthropos underlying the ongoing environmental degradation. Some inconsistencies in the current configuration of the GTS and in the rules for formalizing units inherited from the historical tradition of the GTS are also highlighted. The current dualistic approach of the Earth system science community, including the two options analyzed for the Anthropocene, prevents a proper understanding of the relationship between humans and nature, which is fundamental to confront the Earth's habitability crisis of the Anthropocene.
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