Article
Toward a Calculus of Redundancy: Signification,Codification, and Anticipation in Cultural Evolution
This article considers the relationships among meaning generation, selection, and the dynamics of discourse from a variety of perspectives ranging from information theory and biology to sociology. Following Husserl's idea of a horizon of meanings in intersubjective communication, we propose a way in which, using Shannon's equations, the generation and selection of meanings from a horizon of possibilities can be considered probabilistically. The information-theoretical dynamics we articulate considers a process of meaning generation within cultural evolution: information is imbued with meaning, and through this process, the number of options for the selection of meaning in discourse proliferates. The redundancy of possible meanings contributes to a codification of expectations within the discourse. Unlike hardwired DNA, the codes of nonbiological systems can coevolve with the variations. Spanning horizons of meaning, the codes structure the communications as selection environments that shape discourses. Discursive knowledge can be considered as meta-coded communication that enables us to translate among differently coded communications. The dynamics of discursive knowledge production can thus infuse the historical dynamics with a cultural evolution by adding options, that is, by increasing redundancy. A calculus of redundancy is presented as an indicator whereby these dynamics of discourse and meaning may be explored empirically.
Properties of Erdos measure and the invariant Erdos measure for the golden ratio and all values of the Bernoulli parameter are studies. It is proved that a shift on the two-sided Fibonacci compact set with invariant Erdos measure is isomorphic to the integral automorphism for a Bernoulli shift with countable alphabet. An effective algorithm for calculating the entropy of an invariant Erdos measure is proposed. It is shown that, for certain values of the Bernulli parameter, the algorithm gives the Hausdorff dimension of an Erdos measure to 15 decimal places.
Properties of Erdos measure and the invariant Erdos measure for the golden ratio and all values of the Bernoulli parameter are studies. It is proved that a shift on the two-sided Fibonacci compact set with invariant Erdos measure is isomorphic to the integral automorphism for a Bernoulli shift with countable alphabet.
The present article examines the main peculiarities of modern development of the sources of Private International Law, including domestic legislation, international treaties, international customs, case law, legal acts of international organizations and lex mercatoria. The author proved that at present the main trend of the development of domestic legislation as a source of PIL consists of its intensive and extensive codification. Another trend of the development of PIL sources undermines the enlargement of instruments of non-state regulation of private international relations, namely, lex mercatoria as an example of soft law. As far as the development of PIL sources in the European Union is concerned, two trends may be observed simultaneously: firstly, formation of European conflict law and European Civil Procedure by instruments not only having legal force but also having direct application on the territory of the EU Member States (regulations); secondly, formation of the unified material rules regulating private relations amongst different subjects on the territory of the EU, which are contained either in regulations, or in non-binding documents.
The article examines current trends in the process of national codifications of international private law (PIL) on the example of countries in Asia and Africa. The choice of the subject of the study is due to the fact that the PIL of these countries is least known to the Russian reader. Meanwhile, the process of codification of PIL is global, covering all regions of the world, including Asia and Africa. The legislation of these countries demonstrates the whole variety of forms and methods of codification of PIL, the whole range of contradictions and problems that arise when developing new laws and modernizing old ones. The article concluded that in the codification of MPEs in African and Asian countries, the intrabranch form dominates, with a considerable number of legislators preferring the intrabranch integrated method; there is a direct borrowing of the European models adopted many years ago, often without their adaptation to current trends in the development of the PIL; many laws on PIL in Islamic countries have a religious tint, which may hinder the normal development of cross-border private relations.
In this paper we propose a new machine learning concept called randomized machine learning, in which model parameters are assumed random and data are assumed to contain random errors. Distinction of this approach from "classical" machine learning is that optimal estimation deals with the probability density functions of random parameters and the "worst" probability density of random data errors. As the optimality criterion of estimation, randomized machine learning employs the generalized information entropy maximized on a set described by the system of empirical balances. We apply this approach to text classification and dynamic regression problems. The results illustrate capabilities of the approach.
The study dwells on the problem of interaction between North American legal doctrine and codifications of private international law in the state of Louisiana and the Province of Quebec. Covering both classical and modern USA schools of thought in the area of conflict of laws, the article also includes a comparative analysis of Book IV (Conflict of Laws) of Louisiana Civil Code and Book X (On private international law) of Quebec Civil Code respectfully. On comparing these acts, the authors dwell on a thesis that, in spite of the obvious similarities between respectful legal systems, one cannot state undoubtedly that American doctrine of private international law has been recepted by abovementioned codifications in equal measure. Therefore, despite all the similarities, the doctrinal traditions on which they are respectfully based are actually different.
This article is devoted to the Digest of the Laws of the Russian Empire – an embodiment of the operative legal system in late imperial Russia. Even though the Digest contained the law in force, and thus should be studied as a crucial source on Russian (legal) history, its meaning has been often overlooked. The reason for that is a remarkable difference between the original texts of laws adopted by the legislator, and their published form in the Digest. This difference came from the necessary editing procedures when every new piece of legislation was included in the existing system of the Digest. This strange feature of legal procedure when two different versions of a particular law – the original one and the one codified in the Digest – both remained in force should be considered as a part of official autocratic legality in late imperial Russia. Even though it may seem inefficient and irrational, the practice of obligatory codification of laws in the Digest existed for a rather long time – from 1835 until 1917. My research aims to find possible explanations for the Digest’s prolonged existence in the context of political and legal culture of late imperial Russia. What did Russian ‘official legality’ actually mean on the levels of theory and action?
In the collection of issues there are published the works of the participants of the III International scientific-practical conference "Systematization of legislation: theoretical development" (Kazan, October 23, 2015) on topical issues of legal science and practice.
The paper presents the results of two studies of intercultural relations in post-Soviet Georgia and Tajikistan. These countries have in common a sharp decline in cultural diversity as a result of wars and conflicts, and this model of intercultural relations on post-Soviet space was identified as a post-conflict model. The goal of this study was to evaluate three hypotheses of intercultural relations: multiculturalism, contact and integration (Berry, 2017) among majority members and the ethnic Russian minorities. We surveyed 312 Ethnic Russians and 298 Georgians in Georgia; 277 Ethnic Russians and 317 Tajiks in Tajikistan. The studies used scales from the MIRIPS questionnaire. To test the three hypotheses of intercultural relations we followed a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The multiculturalism hypothesis found partial support in all four groups in Georgia and Tajikistan. The contact hypothesis received partial support in Tajiks and in Ethnic Russians in Georgia and was not supported among Ethnic Russians in Tajikistan and Georgians. The integration hypothesis was fully supported in Tajiks and Ethnic Russians in Georgia, partially supported among Ethnic Russians in Tajikistan and was not supported among Georgians. The results obtained in these two countries are discussed taking into consideration the sociocultural contexts and recent history of wars and conflicts.
2nd edition of the first volume of "Capital" by K. Marx, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the publication.
The article presents the results of a comprehensive socio–psychological study, including qualitative and quantitative methods. The role of cultural factor in the formation of adaptation mechanisms of foreign students studying in Russian Universities is demonstrated.The number of international students is one of the indicators of how successful an institution is on the world market of educational services. The international character of modern education can be noticed in the increase of academic mobility and the growth of numbers of international students. Most often, people manage to adapt to a new socio-cultural environment by making changes to their stereotypes and behavioural patterns; however, they remain internally alienated from the
social environment. Increasing popularity of the subject of international students and creating a favourable educational environment for them in Russia makes the researchers interested in studying the peculiarities of how such students adapt to radically new living and learning conditions. Successful adaptation ensures fast integration into the learning process and overall increase in quality of education for those young people.
The results of the presented study contribute to the identification of coping strategies, adaptation features, and anticipatory mechanisms depending on the cultural affiliation. The respondents were representatives of polychronic, polyactive and highly contextual culture - students from Arab countries (n = 64) and the representatives of low contextual and polychronous cultures - students from India (n = 73) studying in Russia from one to three years. It is easier to adapt to the learning process to the Arabic-speaking students, they are more involved in a group, and situational anticipatory competence is more developed among them than among the representatives of polychronic and low contextual culture (Indian students). At the same time, Indians are more eager to seek social support, and it is extremely difficult for them to predict situations associated with time and interpersonal communication.
This collection includes materials presented for discussion during three conferences held at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies, the Russian Academy of Sciences, in 2013 through 2015 and published in Russian under common title of the Vietnam Studies in Russia. The collection consists of six subject sections covering the main areas of research and touching upon various realms of Vietnam's internal and foreign policies, social and cultural processes in that country. Part one includes papers discussing the current trends in relations between Russia / USSR and Vietnam. Part two analyzes political situation in Vietnam and its challenges in the region. Part three looks at Vietnam's socio-economic development under the impact of renovation reforms and market economy building. Part four highlights different episodes of Vietnam's history, and Part five represents studies in cultural area. Part six consists of topics on Vietnamese linguistics and literature. The original papers in this collection rely on a wide range of sources and documents, and reflect their authors' own findings. The authors' views do not necessarily represent those of the collection compilers. This collection is the second of its kind in the Russian Federation and is intended for distribution abroad. Volume One was edited by IFES RAS and published by Forum Publishing House in 2014.
This article examines intercultural relations in Crimea - one of the multicultural regions of Russia. Our goal was to test three hypotheses in Crimea: the multiculturalism hypothesis, the integration hypothesis, and the contact hypothesis. The sample included members of the ethnic majority in Crimea, Russians (N = 195), and members of the ethnic minorities, Crimean Tatars (N = 197) and Ukrainians (N = 196). Data processing was carried out using path analysis. We additionally conducted 25 interviews with the members of three ethnic groups to deeper analyze the results of the quantitative study. The results showed partial support for the multiculturalism hypothesis: perceived security was linked with support for a multicultural ideology and integration among Russians and Ukrainians, and support for multicultural ideology among Crimean Tatars, however, there was no significant correlation with tolerance in the three samples. The contact hypothesis was partially confirmed: intercultural contacts predicted support for tolerance among Russians, preference for integration among Ukrainians, and both tolerance and integration among Crimean Tatars. Integration hypothesis was fully confirmed: preference for integration promotes well-being in three samples. However, the preference for separation promoted self-esteem among Crimean Tatars and life satisfaction among three ethnic groups. The results of the research are discussed from the perspective of the socio-cultural and historical context of interethnic relations in Crimea.