bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Luxury and Material Culture at Court
Authors: Thomas Hugh M. 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
Material goods, above all luxuries, abounded at court. This chapter describes some key luxury goods at court, including precious textiles, gold and silver plate, and jewellery, and analyses their importance. Precious goods, above all the heavily symbolic royal regalia, underscored royal power. A luxurious material culture emphasized both unity and hierarchy at court. Gifts of precious items helped the king build loyalty and enhanced his reputation for generosity. Yet pleasure too was crucial to the love of luxury at court. People made up the court but the influence of objects on shaping court life should not be underestimated.
Food and Feasting
Authors: Thomas Hugh M. 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
Chapter 6 explores the purposes of fine food and elaborate feasting at court. John was noted by contemporaries for holding magnificent feasts, and his government went to great lengths to provide the best possible food and drink for the king and his close followers, including special bread, plentiful meat, spices, and imported wine, the last of which came increasingly from the Bordeaux region. Feasting was a key part of court life, featuring entertainment, the distribution of expensive clothing and other gifts, and religious activities as well as food and drink. Magnificent feasts provided John with a reputation for wealth and generosity and, because the manners of the day emphasized deference, helped reinforce his authority. Feasting was, of course, also a source of pleasure, but some of the foods consumed would displease modern people, reminding us that if gustatory pleasure is universal, it can also be culturally specific.
Demand and Supply
Authors: Morlino Leonardo , Quaranta Mario , Raniolo Francesco 
Published: November 2020

AbstractIn analysing attitudes and perceptions of people and political party proposals, and how we can lay the bases for searching the explanations of characteristics and level of implementation of our two values, first, we recall one of the key findings discussed in this chapter: the changes, the levels, the characteristics of the demand and elite supply of the two values are highly context- and time-dependent. Citizens’ demands and party supply are dependent on the historical trajectory and the economic situation. This partial finding shows that in the middle and long run there is a steady consistency between people’s attitudes and leader actions, on the one hand, and social, economic, cultural reality, on the other. Consequently, the requests for equality and freedom are consistent with the existing socio-economic-cultural reality. A second remark is a difference in terms of volatility/resilience between attitudes and realities. The demand and party supply of equality and freedom can be more or less volatile as reactions to the changes and uncertainties brought about by the economic situation, or other factors, such as technological changes, industrial organization developments, working conditions changes, economic mobility and the whole existing structure of external opportunities. Finally, up to now, the empirical evidence suggests that the demand for implementation of the two values seems to follow different logic and different paths. What this discussion and the related findings are pointing to is also the responsiveness seen from a more realistic perspective.
The Meaning of Self-help
Authors: Gold Andrew S. 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter turns to the problem of self-help. It will also address a potential interpretive objection based on Kantian moral premises. Arguably, rights of redress aren’t legitimately exercisable in a state of nature. The chapter will raise doubts about this objection, and it will suggest that individuals do sometimes have the option of unilaterally redressing the wrongs they have suffered. Where permitted, recaption of chattels and other forms of self-help indicate that private parties are able to undo wrongs while acting on their own behalf. On the view offered here, that can be a legitimate, and even desirable, feature of private law.
How the Brain Makes Decisions
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
The human decision-making process is tainted with irrationality. To address this issue, this book proposes a ‘bottom-up’ approach of the neural substrate of decision-making, starting from the fundamental question: What are the basic properties that a neural network of decision-making needs to possess? Combining data drawn from phylogeny and physiology, this book provides a general framework of the neurobiology of decision-making in vertebrates and explains how it evolved from the lamprey to the apes. It also addresses the consequences, examining how it impacts our capacity of reasoning and some aspects of the pathophysiology of high brain functions. To conclude, the text opens discussion to more philosophical concepts such as the question of free will.
A Ghost in the Machine
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter describes the neurobiological approach of decision-making. Until the late 1980s, ignoring the work of experimental economists and behaviourists, electrophysiologists restricted themselves to the study of sensory and motor function, believing it to be impossible for them to access cognitive processes. In 1989, William Newsome and Anthony Movshon broke the dogma while studying the role of neurons in the medio-temporal area of the cortex (an associative visual area) in the visual discrimination of macaques. They became the first researchers who were able to correlate decision-making with a pattern of electrophysiological activity in neurons. This correlation, which they called psychometric–neurometric pairing, became the backbone of all subsequent studies into the neurobiology of decision-making. The chapter then looks at the development of functional MRI, and presents a normative approach to decision-making and learning.
Introduction to Information Transfer in the Nervous System
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter discusses the modalities of information transfer in the nervous system. The nervous system is organised around specialised cells called neurons, which work as integration units that transform all received information into new information. The neurons generate unitary electric pulses of invariant form and duration called action potentials or spikes. Neurons have an intrinsic firing frequency that is their frequency of producing spikes when they are not influenced. The chapter then considers the two major families of neurotransmitters. In general, a neuron releases only one type of neurotransmitter belonging to one of these two families. The first family is that of excitatory neurotransmitters; the neurons that release them are naturally called excitatory neurons. When they bind with postsynaptic receptors, they have a facilitating effect on the production of action potentials. Meanwhile, inhibitory neurons release neurotransmitters whose binding with postsynaptic receptors decreases the discharge frequency of the postsynaptic neuron. The chapter also describes a special family of neurotransmitters: the neuro-modulators.
The Lamprey’s Dilemma
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter focuses on the neural network, demonstrating how the principles described in the previous chapter are implemented in vertebrates, taking as a blueprint the oldest one: the lamprey. The reticulospinal neurons belong to the reticular formation located in the brainstem of the lamprey. These reticulospinal neurons act as the effector system. Apart from the peripheral input that comes back from the spinal cord, the reticular formation receives, among other things, input from the diencephalon and specifically the thalamus. This structure allows interfacing between sensory stimuli (visual, auditory, and olfactory) and the motor system. The other very important targets of the thalamus in the lamprey are the basal ganglia. The chapter then goes on to explain the diencephalic and telencephalic loops.
Learn to Earn
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter examines the relationship between rationality, reward, and learning. In order to instil rationality into the decision-making system, actions must have meaning. When studying the learning abilities of a subject, any beneficial consequence is called reward. In order for the lamprey to learn to choose one action over the other, it is necessary to introduce a reinforcement learning mechanism and a system which informs the lamprey on the outcome of its choice. The chapter then goes on to highlight the crucial role of dopamine in these processes and shows how it is implemented in the vertebrate neural network of decision-making. The effect of dopamine on synaptic transmission is evident in many physiological and pathophysiological processes, but it is the role of dopamine in learning that is important here. The chapter then considers the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area, which are closely connected to the diencephalic and telencephalic loops.
From Pallium to Cortex
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter assesses what the development of the cortex brings to the behavioural capacity of vertebrates, culminating with the theory of mind in humans. Two behavioural characteristics, related to each other, distinguish mammals from other vertebrates. The first is a period of dependence of infant mammals that can last several years. The second is play. Although the function of this activity is still debated, it is certain that it has a central role in the learning of foraging and social behaviour. Another property that is almost exclusive to mammals is the ability to recognize oneself. These specific behavioural features are correlated with a general increase in the encephalization quotient and also the ratio between the size of the telencephalon and the rest of the brain. This chapter then goes on to look at the unique capacities of humans, including language, the ability to anticipate, and consciousness.
A Hierarchy of Decision-Making
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter explores the flexibility of the neural network described in the previous chapters. It also shows that the anterior part of the brain can be subdivided into five functional loops that underlie different executive functions. These five major loops are the motor loop, the oculomotor loop, the prefrontal loop, the orbitofrontal loop, and the cingular loop. The first two circuits deal with the learning and decision-making processes of the motor domain. The prefrontal and frontal circuits are involved in cognitive processes. Finally, the cingular circuit is involved in episodic memory, regulation of emotions, and modulation of mood. Therefore, one can already see a certain hierarchical order, underpinned by anatomical realities: the mood, emotions, and personal history of the subject (the memory) will condition the cognitive functions that will influence motor behaviours. This hierarchy can be concretized by direct interactions between the different loops, of which anatomical evidence has been demonstrated several times.
Reason Under Scrutiny
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter traces the origin of rationality and addresses why Western civilization is obsessed by rationality. It also describes the neural prerequisite to exert reason. To make a rational decision is to choose the option which will be the most beneficial according to the information at one's disposal. For that, one must be able to individualize oneself, to deliberate, and to anticipate the reaction of other individuals. Humans are capable of conceiving rationality because they identify themselves as individuals and anticipate the consequences of their actions, and because they anticipate the reaction of others when they are their allies or when they are their adversaries. These three capabilities did not develop at the same time during the evolutionary process but stem from a fourth ability, without which they cannot express themselves: the capacity to construct a mental representation of the context. Without this mental representation, there is no possibility of individualizing oneself or anticipating the consequences of one's actions in the context of which one executes them.
Mirror, Mirror!
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter studies self-recognition and the capacity to mimic others underlying the capacity to learn by imitation. Brain-imaging studies conducted in humans show that self-recognition strongly involves both the hippocampus and significantly the prefrontal cortex, which are two structures more developed in certain species (covered in this chapter) compared with others. In the nineties, Giacomo Rizzolatti’s team demonstrated the existence of neurons that fire in a similar way when an animal makes a movement, or when the movement is carried out by a third individual. At first they were thought to be isolated in the motor cortex of primates, but these imitation neurons were later identified in other structures and other species and gained the generic nickname of ‘mirror neurons’. There is a very high probability that these neurons are involved in imitation learning processes because they have been found in species that practise this type of learning.
Anticipation and Utility
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter discusses the processes of anticipation and valuation underlying neural networks. It first considers the concept of delay and temporality before introducing a value system. It is accepted that the nervous system knows how to manage time. But is it able to generate anticipatory representations of the future? Since the early 1950s, experimental psychologists have observed that when a rat is involved in an experimental task involving choices, it moves its head alternately in the direction of the various possible options. They called this behaviour ‘vicarious trial and error’ because they postulated that it corresponded to behavioural evidence of the cognitive processes of anticipatory deliberation. Anticipating is one thing, but economists argue that in order to be able to choose, one must attribute utility to the different options. This utility is subjective and only reflects the subject's preference for the option, but rationality can only be defined if the different options are evaluated according to preference. This chapter then looks at the role of dopaminergic neurons in stimulus-response association processes, exploring the properties of the responses of dopaminergic neurons during learning and decision-making processes.
The Grandmaster and the Playmates
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter examines theory of mind and recalls that up to now, the human race is the only species able to predict others’ beliefs. This ability is correlated to the development of the dorsolateral part of the frontal cortex. In the thirties, British economist John Maynard Keynes found that across all financial markets, stock prices depended on the perception of market participants rather than their intrinsic value. He concluded that the best strategy for an investor is to guess what others think. To illustrate his reasoning, he chose as an example the beauty contests organized by British newspapers. Keynes proposed to standardize his approach by using a mathematical variant of the test. There is no single solution because the value depends on the level of reasoning of the majority of the group tested. Ultimately, this test confirmed that the activity of the medial prefrontal cortex was positively correlated with the level of reasoning of the subjects. This chapter then goes on to describe how the Japanese use shogi, the Japanese version of the game chess, to study the neurobiological basis of the strategic decision-making in grandmasters of the game.
The Decision-Making Engine
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter presents an upgrade of the neural network by implementing the reward prediction error. It then compares the final product with the actor-critic model and discusses the similarities and differences. Reinforcement learning algorithms, more specifically actor-critic models, are currently very successful in the field of decision-making. They are notably related to properties of dopaminergic neurons which have not yet been addressed in previous chapters. It has been demonstrated that dopaminergic neurons respond when the subject receives a reward or when the subject associates a conditional stimulus with the reward, and that this response to the stimulus is proportional to the utility function of the reward. In fact, dopaminergic neurons behave exactly like a process that computes temporal difference. The amplitude of their response when the reward is administered is proportional to the difference between the expected utility at time and the reward actually obtained at the moment, i.e. the temporal difference. This chapter then assesses whether the telencephalic loop is an actor-critic system.
Pathologies of Decision-Making
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter explores the pathophysiology of neural conditions related to the neural network of decision-making. If humans are not fully rational, they manage to pretend to be most of the time. Some individuals are distinguished by traits that influence their decision-making, such as impulsiveness, procrastination, and stubbornness. These behaviours are so common that they are not considered pathological. There are, however, cases in which the decision-making system is dysfunctional enough for this irrationality to go beyond socially acceptable norms. This is the field of neurological and psychiatric syndromes of decision-making. The chapter then examines in detail obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs), Tourette’s syndrome, Parkinson's disease, and hyperdopaminergic syndromes. It also describes the deep brain stimulation paradox.
Free Will?
Authors: Boraud Thomas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter focuses on the issue of free will. Free will is defined as the ability to choose independently from any exogenous determinations. The seminal experiment on this subject was proposed by Benjamin Libet in the early eighties. His aim was to highlight that free will is only an illusion. This chapter describes the debate around the experiences initiated by Libet and the exact nature of the phenomenon observed. It then highlights the difference between intentionality and agency. Agency is related to who is at the origin of the action. Intentionality is related to the consciousness of acting and is therefore directly related to moral responsibility. Finally, the chapter argues that neuroscience may help but will be insufficient alone to conclude the possibility or impossibility of free will.
The “Moligopoly” Hypothesis
Authors: Petit Nicolas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter examines the empirical validity of the moligopoly hypothesis—that is, the intuition that big tech monopolies are exposed to oligopoly competition across markets. The focus is on big tech firms’ annual filings to financial regulators as well as business analysts’ reports, market research and competitive intelligence. The data calls attention to the possibility of latent and complementary levels of competition in big tech that antitrust and regulatory decision-makers miss in their assessments of monopoly power in digital markets. This competition does not seem to originate from substitute products or services. And it seems to vary at firm level, suggesting significant heterogeneity amongst big tech firms.
Big Tech’s Novel Harms: Antitrust or Regulation?
Authors: Petit Nicolas 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
This chapter explores policy options for novel harms like privacy, fake news, or hate speech in digital markets. The discussion shows that the novel harms allegedly inherent in big tech firms are not strictly related to monopoly power. Regulation is thus the way forward, not competition. And consumer protection regulation is a better approach than competition spirited “utilities regulation” or revenue-sharing driven “retail regulation.”
Digital Transformation
Authors: Schildt Henri 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
The introductory chapter to the book The Data Imperative examines how technological advances together with a new managerial mindset are driving digital transformation. While early business information systems were often self-contained and designed to solve specific problems, contemporary systems are highly interconnected and integrated. Corporations can use data flows to coordinate diverse processes and activities across organizational and geographic boundaries. The chapter explains how digital transformation involves a systematic shift from predominant reliance on human knowledge and skills to digital data flows and smart algorithms. Artificial intelligence techniques, such as generative adversarial networks and advanced natural language processing, and 5G wireless technologies create new opportunities to replace human routines with algorithmic processing. Data will continue to break down organizational silos, enable deeper collaboration across company boundaries, and speed up the development of new services.
Augustine's City of God
Authors: O'Daly Gerard 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
The City of God, written in the aftermath of the Gothic sack of Rome in ad 410, is the most influential of Augustine’s works. It has played a decisive role in the formation of the culture of the Christian West. Gerard O’Daly’s book remains the most comprehensive modern guide to it in any language. The City of God has a wide scope, including cosmology, psychology, political thought, anti-pagan polemic, Christian apologetic, theory of history, biblical interpretation, and apocalyptic themes. This book, therefore, is about a single literary masterpiece, yet at the same time it surveys Augustine’s developing views through the whole range of his thought. It provides a running commentary on each part of the work. Further chapters elucidate the early fifth-century political, social, historical, and literary background, the works’s sources, and its place in Augustine’s writings. This new and extensively revised edition takes into account the abundant work, in Augustine studies and in research on late antiquity generally, in the twenty years since its first publication, while retaining the book’s focus on Augustine as writer and thinker in the Latin tradition, active at a time of rapid Christianization in a radically changing Roman Empire. It includes chapter-by-chapter suggestions for further reading, an extensive summary of the work’s contents, and a brief bibliographical guide to research on its reception. All Greek and Latin texts are translated. The book is aimed at readers of Augustine, and at the same time at a wider readership among students of late antiquity, theologians, philosophers, medievalists, Renaissance scholars, and historians of art and iconography.
The Structure of the City of God, and a Summary of its Contents
Authors: O'Daly Gerard 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
The chapter discusses the presentation of the themes of City in the preface to Book 1, the articulation of the work’s subdivisions in 1. 35-6, and the later summaries and anticipations of the themes and argument throughout. It demonstrates Augustine’s varied success in keeping control of the copious material. It shows that Augustine, even as late as Book 14, was uncertain about the eventual length of the work: the symmetry of Books 11–22, four books per section, was achieved in the course of its composition. The overall structure also allowed for practical publication in five codices. In the second part of the chapter, there is an extensive book-by-book summary of City’s contents.