SOSC 2330 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Legal Personality, The Semantics, Data Mining
14 Feb 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
The Computational Turn (3 Distinct Meanings):
Computational turn as a societal phenomenon:
“An umbrella turn to describe the recent avalanche
雪崩 of governmentalities (Berns and
Rouvroy 2010), which act through machine learning and data mining techniques. These
computational governmentalities blossom in both the private and public sector.
Computational turn as a methodological concern: “In the humanities, social sciences and
the arts, the term is used to describe the recent increase in the use of technologies such as
digital databases, and analysis and computer simulations”.
Computational turn as a philosophical shift: “The computational turn in philosophy,
better known as computationalism, Dennett (1998, 217) identifies three dogmas of this
approach:
1. Thinking is information processing
2. Information processing is computation
3. The semantics
语义 of these symbols connects thinking to the external world.
... it erases any fundamental difference between the perception of humans and the
perceptions of machines. After all, computations can be performed by machines as well as
by humans.
right to due process provides some positive safeguards to guarantee the possibility to
diminish power asymmetries 不对成 during all legal proceedings.
right to privacy is a shield against illegitimate interference by others.
Metadata:
“Metadata – is information that is automatically generated by the use of communications
devices and services such as cellphones, Internet browsing, and text messaging.
Stewart Baker metadata absolutely tells you everything about somebody’s life. If you
have enough metadata, you don’t really need content”
Telephony metadata reveals private and sensitive information about people.
It can reveal political affiliation, religious practices, and people’s most intimate
associations.
Limited Liability
the owners of historic corporations were liable for the corporation’s debt.
To illustrate, if the Hudson’s Bay Company had gone bankrupt, then its creditors could
obtain repayment by seizing the wealth of its stockholders. In contrast, the owners of
modern corporations are not liable for the corporation’s debts. To illustrate, if an airline
goes bankrupt its creditors can liquidate its assets, but its creditors cannot seize the homes,
cars, or bank accounts of its stockholders.
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As a result of limited liability, people who invest in stock run the risk of losing their
investment and nothing more. Limited liability allows people to invest in a company
without monitoring or controlling the company’s policies so thoroughly.
Corporate Charters
Corporate Charter: A written charter of a company's proposed activities, structure and
objectives. Once approved by a State legislature, the company becomes incorporated.
Advantages of the Corporate Form (Economic Perspective)
1) Routine transactions (within a large enterprise) have lower costs
2) Linking administration and buying units reduces the cost of information on markets
and sources of supply
3) Effective scheduling for the flow of goods
4) More intensive use of facilities and personnel during the production and
distribution process
5) More certain cash flows and repayment of debts
6) Increased cash flows allows for the creation of managerial hierarchies for
monitoring and overseeing operations
1) Entity Status
The corporation becomes its own legal entity, and is subject to law much in the
same way that an individual is subject to law.
2) The Separation of Asset Ownership from Control
Those who invest in the corporation own stocks or shares of the corporation,
but do not directly control it. Instead, managers or directors carry out the
operation of the corporation. Shareholders have limited liability.
Five structural characteristics of the business corporation:
1) legal personality
2) limited liability
3) transferable shares
4) centralized management under a board structure
5) shared ownership by contributors of capital
(1) Legal Personality
“The core element of legal personality … is what the civil law refers to as ‘separate
patrimony 遗产.
Two distinct rules of law that apply:
1) Priority Rule:
2) Rule of Liquidation Protection:
Publicly Traded Corporations
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•Publicly traded corporations are corporations that sell shares to investors on the
stock markets. Limited liability makes this activity appealing.
Agency Theory
Within corporate governance literature, scholars tend to focus specifically on three groups:
1) The Shareholders
2) The Board of Directors
3) Officers (CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CTOs etc.)
Within this corporate structural framework, which describes a publicly traded
corporation, there are two primary groups:
Principals (owners, or shareholders)
Agents (delegates, or management)
The principals (owners) do not control the corporation, instead they assign the legal right
to do so to agents who are required by law to act in the best interest of the corporation.
Industrial Policy?
“the set of [a government’s] policy initiatives that seek to redirect productive resources in
the economy for the (stated) purpose of enhancing productivity and increasing the total
wealth generated。
History of Canadian Competition Law
1879: Canada’s first industrial policy simply entitled the National Policy
The National Policy was inherently protectionist – it sought to reduce imports from the US
and the UK in order to develop national industry and increase domestic production and
independence.
As a result of this protectionist policy many manufacturers worked together in combines to
control prices.
1986: Competition Act
The Competition Act continued to address:
-Agreements which unduly 不适当的 lessened competition
-Price discrimination
-Promotional allowances
-Predatory pricing
Abuse of Dominance
“Abuse of a dominant position occurs when a dominant firm in a market, or a dominant
group of firms, intended to eliminate or discipline a competitor or to deter future entry by
new competitors, with the result that competition is prevented or lessened substantially”
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Document Summary
An umbrella turn to describe the recent avalanche. Rouvroy 2010), which act through machine learning and data mining techniques. These computational governmentalities blossom in both the private and public sector. of governmentalities (berns and. Computational turn as a methodological concern: in the humanities, social sciences and the arts, the term is used to describe the recent increase in the use of technologies such as digital databases, and analysis and computer simulations . Computational turn as a philosophical shift: the computational turn in philosophy, better known as computationalism, dennett (1998, 217) identifies three dogmas of this approach: thinking is information processing. Information processing is computation: the semantics of these symbols connects thinking to the external world. It erases any fundamental difference between the perception of humans and the perceptions of machines. Metadata is information that is automatically generated by the use of communications devices and services such as cellphones, internet browsing, and text messaging.
