18,563 research outputs found
ADAM SMITH'S OPTIMISTIC TELEOLOGICAL VIEW OF HISTORY
No full textAdam Smith's four-stage theory provides the framework for his writings on history. The fourth stage is the commercial epoch; the culmination of history in this stage is a key component in the conventional interpretation of Adam Smith as a prophet of commercialism. In two historical case studies Smith shows the capacity of commercial society to regenerate itself. This potent capacity suggests that commercial society is inevitable. At a certain point in time it also overcomes the major obstacles to its permanence. Smith's philosophy of history anticipates the end of history views of Kant and Hegel.Political Economy,
The Lake Dojran pollen sequence: a bridge between scientific and humanistic approach to the environmental history in the Balkans
No full textHow have the societies of the past afforded climatic changes? How prolonged dryness, exceptionally cold winters, or dramatic increases in annual rainfall had been overcome by past societies? Why some societies were resilient while other vulnerable? Palaeoenvironmental studies have been trying to answer these questions but it is only applying both scientific and historical methodologies in the same project that we can fully understand the past (Izdebski et al. 2016). The Palaeo-Science and History group of the Max Planck Institute of Jena (https://www.shh.mpg.de/1056512/psh) explores the ways in which environmental sciences converges with history as a humanistic discipline that focus on the past. The project focuses on Macedonia and the Peloponnese in Greece, Sicily in Italy, and Western Turkey where evidences suggest the presence of complex societies adapted to a variety of environmental conditions. In this frame, palynology has a primary role reconstructing the past population behaviour, giving essential information on cultivation and land management. Climatic oscillation can be also inferred and contributes in the reconstruction of past events.
Here we present a focus on the southern Balkans with a comparison between Lake Dojran (at the border between Greece and Republic of North Macedonia) and Lake Volvi (continental Greece) records. A pollen sequence, covering the last 12000 years with a lower resolution, is already available for Lake Dojran (Masi et al. 2018). The new data consists in the pollen, NPP and charcoal analysis at high resolution for the two lakes.
The results give an interesting example of societal and environmental processes that, influencing one each other, left traces in the pollen assemblages. The period taken in consideration spans from the Roman Empire to its collapse and the establishment of Byzantium new equilibrium. Political power and socio-economic structures completely changed, but the Byzantine society was not only able to adjust successfully to dramatic changes. but also became resilient for many centuries. The pollen assemblage of the two lakes shows some similarities related to human exploitation such as the forest cover can be ascribed not only to human impact, but also to an aridification trend. Land use is evidenced by the curves of cereal and olive pollen, and also by other anthropogenic indicators. At Dojran grapevine cultivation is also assessed.
The high-resolution pollen data together with the deep knowledge of the historical sources available for the region reveal all the complexity of the historical vs. environmental reconstruction of the Macedonian region, which has always been the connection point between Europe and Asia
Adam Izdebski and Damian Jasinski, eds., Cultures in Motion: Studies in the Medieval and Early Modern Period
No full textAdam Izdebski and Damian Jasinski, eds., Cultures in Motion: Studies in the Medieval and Early Modern Period. (Byzantina et Slavica Cracoviensia 8.) Cracow: Jagiellonian University Press, 2014. Pp. 309. $42. ISBN: 978-23-233-3631-0.
Table of contents available online at http://www.archeobooks.com/products/cultures-in-motion-studies-in-the-medieval-and-early-modern-periods (accessed 29 September 2015
How Might Adam Smith Pay Professors Today?
No full textAdam Smith’s proposal for paying professors was intended to induce increased faculty knowledge. If students have imperfect information about what they learn, and universities can only imperfectly measure the input of faculty time in student learning, publications may be used to measure faculty knowledge. If professors’ ability to publish is positively related to their ability to produce student learning, which universities can imperfectly measure, publications may be necessary to attract more able professors. Since research signals faculty knowledge, schools that do not value publications per se could require higher publication standards and pay higher wages than schools that value only publications.
H. Izdebski, Rada Administracyjna Królestwa Polskiego w latach 1815-1830
No full textRecenzja: Hubert Izdebski, Rada Administracyjna Królestwa Polskiego w latach 1815-1830. Rozprawy Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego nr 124, Warszawa 1978, ss. 193
ADAM SMITH'S VIEW OF HISTORY: CONSISTENT OR PARADOXICAL?
No full textThe conventional interpretation of Adam Smith is that he is a prophet of commercialism. The liberal capitalist reading of Smith is consistent with the view that history culminates in commercial society. The first part of the article develops this optimistic interpretation of Smith's view of history. Smith implies that commercial society is the end of history because 1) it supplies the ends of nature that he identifies; 2) it is inevitable; and 3) it is permanent. The second part of the article shows that Smith has some dark moments in his writings where he seems to reject completely such teleological notions. In this more civic humanist mood he confesses that commercial society does not supply the ends of nature, nor is it inevitable, nor is it permanent. Both views exist in Smith and the commentator is forced to choose between passages in Smith's work in order to support a particular interpretation of the former's view of history.Political Economy,
Hubert Izdebski, Historia administracji, wyd. II (zmien.). PWN, Warszawa 1984, ss. 239.
No full textRecenzja: Hubert Izdebski, Historia administracji, wyd. II (zmien.). PWN, Warszawa 1984, ss. 239
Materiały do polskiej bibliografii historyczno-prawnej za rok 1979
No full textMateriały do polskiej bibliografii historycznoprawnej za rok 1979 pod redakcją Huberta IzdebskiegoMateriały zebrali: Hubert Izdebski, Marek Wąsowicz, Maria Zabłocka-Słonina (Warszawa
Improved Quantum Boosting
No full textBoosting is a general method to convert a weak learner (which generates hypotheses that are just slightly better than random) into a strong learner (which generates hypotheses that are much better than random). Recently, Arunachalam and Maity [Srinivasan Arunachalam and Reevu Maity, 2020] gave the first quantum improvement for boosting, by combining Freund and Schapire’s AdaBoost algorithm with a quantum algorithm for approximate counting. Their booster is faster than classical boosting as a function of the VC-dimension of the weak learner’s hypothesis class, but worse as a function of the quality of the weak learner. In this paper we give a substantially faster and simpler quantum boosting algorithm, based on Servedio’s SmoothBoost algorithm [Servedio, 2003]
Holocene hydroclimatic changes in Northern Peloponnese (Greece) inferred from the multiproxy record of Lake Lousoi
No full textThis research presents the paleoenvironmental evolution of a drained lake at the Lousoi plateau (northern Peloponnese), for the last 10,000 years, through the study of a 7 m depth core. Analyses conducted on the core include grain size, TOC, TN, pH, EC, total carbonates (), magnetic susceptibility measurements, XRF analysis, and radiocarbon dating. Our paleoenvironmental reconstruction was based on geochemical proxiesrsquo; distribution in the core, combined with sediment physical and textural characteristics and later comparison between additional lacustrine archives from northern Peloponnese. From 10,900 to 7700 cal BP lacustrine, organic-rich deposits were recognized, reflecting increased lake water levels. Wet climatic conditions seem to have prevailed during this phase, interrupted by a dry pulse at 9400 cal BP. Transition to more shallow waters was marked at 8200 cal BP due to increased sediment deposition in the lake, with the environmental status shifting to a more oxygenated phase. Overall, wet conditions prevailed in this period and are in good agreement with regional records. In the Late Holocene period, the lake seems to have been highly affected by pedogenic processes, and thus, it was difficult to distinguish paleoclimatic/paleoenvironmental signals.1. Introduction 2. Study Area 2.1. Regional Setting 2.2. Geological Setting 3. Materials and Methods 3.1. Coring Fieldwork 3.2. Sedimentology 4. Results 4.1. Core Description and Stratigraphy 4.2. Radiocarbon Dating and Age–Depth Model 4.3. Distribution of Geochemical Proxies 5. Discussion 5.1. Early Holocene (11,800–8200 cal BP) 5.2. Middle Holocene (8200–4200 cal BP) 5.3. Late Holocene (4200 cal BP–Present) 6. Conclusion
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