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Basic Categories (basic + category)
Selected AbstractsSome Formal Ontological RelationsDIALECTICA, Issue 3 2004E. J. Lowe Some formal ontological relations are identified, in the context of an account of ontological categorization. It is argued that neither formal ontological relations nor ontological categories should themselves be regarded as elements of being, but that this does not undermine the claim of formal ontology to be a purely objective science. It is also argued that some formal ontological relations, like some ontological categories, are more basic than others. A four-category ontology is proposed, in which two basic categories of universals and two basic categories of particulars are distinguished in terms of certain formal ontological relations characteristically obtaining between entities belonging to the different categories. [source] The Wealth of Nations at the Turn of the Millennium: A Classification System Based on the International Division of Labor,ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2002Wolfgang Hoeschele Abstract: Simple dichotomies, such as First World,Third World, developed,developing countries, and north,south, are no longer adequate for understanding the complex economic geography of the world. Even the division into core, semi-periphery, and periphery groups diverse economies into an excessively limited number of categories. It is time to develop a new scheme that better classifies the countries of the world into coherent groups. This article constructs a new classification based on the international division of labor, using three fundamental dimensions. The first dimension is the success of the industrial and services economy in providing employment to the people within a country. The second is the export orientation of a country, concentrating either on natural-resource-intensive products (e.g., agricultural produce, food and beverages, minerals and metals) or on core industrial manufactures (from textiles to computers). The third is the presence of control functions in the world economy: countries that include the headquarters of major firms and are the source regions of major flows of foreign direct investments. The combination of these three dimensions leads to the creation of eight basic categories. I introduce a terminology that combines these basic categories into larger groups, depending on the context. This new conceptual scheme should facilitate a more informed analysis of world economic, political, social, and environmental affairs. [source] Signals and Signal Choices made by the Araneophagic Jumping Spider Portia fimbriata while Hunting the Orb-Weaving Web spiders Zygiella x-notata and Zosis geniculatusETHOLOGY, Issue 7 2000Michael Tarsitano Portia fimbriata is a web-invading araneophagic jumping spider (Salticidae). The use of signal-generating behaviours is characteristic of how P. fimbriata captures its prey, with three basic categories of signal-generating behaviours being prevalent when the prey spider is in an orb web. The predatory behaviour of P. fimbriata has been referred to as aggressive mimicry, but no previous studies have provided details concerning the characteristics of P. fimbriata's signals. We attempt to determine the model signals for P. fimbriata's ,aggressive mimicry' signals. Using laser Doppler vibrometer and the orb webs of Zygiella x-notata and Zosis geniculatus, P. fimbriata's signals are compared with signals from other sources. Each of P. fimbriata's three categories of behaviour makes a signal that resembles one of three signals from other sources: prey of the web spider (insects) ensnared in the capture zone of the web, prey making faint contact with the periphery of the web and large-scale disturbance of the web (jarring the spider's cage). Experimental evidence from testing P. fimbriata with two sizes of lure made from Zosis (dead, mounted in a lifelike posture in standard-size orb web) clarifies P. fimbriata's signal-use strategy: (1) when the resident spider is small, begin by simulating signals from an insect ensnared in the capture zone (attempt to lure in the resident spider); (2) when the resident spider is large, start by simulating signals from an insect brushing against the periphery of the web (keep the resident spider out in the web, but avoid provoking from it a full-scale predatory attack); (3) when walking in the resident spider's web, regardless of the resident spider's size, step toward the spider while making a signal that simulates a large-scale disturbance of the web (mask footsteps with a self-made vibratory smokescreen). [source] Cultural structures and political life: The cultural matrix of democracy in Spain1EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2004JORGE BENEDICTO It uses as a case study the democratization process that has been taking place in Spain for the last 25 years. The Spanish case is especially interesting because of the powerful cultural framework established around the process of transition to democracy; a framework from which most political symbols and meanings of the new Spanish democracy emanate. After analyzing the basic categories of this cultural structure and the main consequences for the functioning of political life, the article goes on to argue that these cultural elements have shaped a special relationship between citizens and politics. [source] Fish functional design and swimming performanceJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2004R. W. Blake Classifications of fish swimming are reviewed as a prelude to discussing functional design and performance in an ecological context. Webb (1984a, 1998) classified fishes based on body shape and locomotor mode into three basic categories: body and caudal fin (BCF) periodic, BCF transient (fast-starts, turns) and median and paired fin (MPF) swimmers. Swimming performance and functional design is discussed for each of these categories. Webb hypothesized that specialization in any given category would limit performance in any other. For example, routine MPF swimmers should be penalized in BCF transient (fast-start propulsion). Recent studies offer much support for Webb's construct but also suggest some necessary amendments. In particular, design and performance compromises for different swimming modes are associated with fish that employ the same propulsor for more than one task (coupled, e.g. the same propulsor for routine steady swimming and fast-starts). For example, pike (BCF transient specialist) achieve better acceleration performance than trout (generalist). Pike steady (BCF periodic) performance, however, is inferior to that of trout. Fish that employ different propulsors for different tasks (decoupled, e.g. MPF propulsion for low-speed routine swimming and BCF motions for fast-starts) do not show serious performance compromises. For example, certain MPF low-speed swimmers show comparable fast-start performance to BCF forms. Arguably, the evolution of decoupled locomotor systems was a major factor underlying the adaptive radiation of teleosts. Low-speed routine propulsion releases MPF swimmers from the morphological constraints imposed by streamlining allowing for a high degree of variability in form. This contrasts with BCF periodic swimming specialists where representatives of four vertebrate classes show evolutionary convergence on a single, optimal ,thunniform' design. However, recent experimental studies on the comparative performance of carangiform and thunniform swimmers contradict some of the predictions of hydromechanical models. This is addressed in regard to the swimming performance, energetics and muscle physiology of tuna. The concept of gait is reviewed in the context of coupled and decoupled locomotor systems. Biomimetic approaches to the development of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles have given a new context and impetus to research and this is discussed in relation to current views of fish functional design and swimming performance. Suggestions are made for possible future research directions. [source] Analyzing the determinants of firm's absorptive capacity: beyond R&DR & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2008Jaider Vega-Jurado This article proposes a new model for analyzing the determinants of absorptive capacity in companies. We suggest that absorptive capacity is determined not only by research and development activities, but also by a set of internal factors, which we group into three basic categories: organizational knowledge, formalization, and social integration mechanisms. In addition, we suggest that these factors may influence all components of the firm's absorptive capacity, and that the influence can be positive or negative depending on the applicability of the knowledge being absorbed. This paper thus advances the understanding of absorptive capacity by exploring a largely ignored aspect in the literature: the role of knowledge attributes. We show how the model can be operationalized and empirically tested and provide preliminary evidence supporting most of the propositions in the analytical model. [source] | ||||||||||