This is a sample normset. It covers three economic activities which are common to almost everyone. These are the selling of human labor by human individuals, and the consumption of food and housing by the same. The choice of quantities of interest to a worker/consumer (in short, an individual) is of course subjective, as is the assignment of preferences and priorities using the maxhi schema. The present correspondent has prepared this sample based on a set of norms which might be considered reflective of economic minimalism and cash flow minimalism.
The present sample normset basically prioritizes personal economic viability over ability to self-impose normative constraints (values boundaries, if you will) on transactions. You can call it selfishness or realism, although it may simply reflect modesty in assumptions about the professional establishedness of the correspondent, the steepness of the tradeoffs involved, or her perceived ability to dictate terms. Reader, of course, can make their own normsets according to their own norms, as well as their own estimates of what’s viable, what’s feasible and what’s sustainable, as well as of course which side of a normative controversy they are on.
Technical notes[]
The leftmost column of each table represents "quantities" (or other ordinal measures) of interest to a worker/consumer. "Product specifications" not represented quantitatively are usually still ordinal by having true/false (binary) or "enumerated" data types such as can be defined and compared in many computing languages.
The units column, in the case of non-discrete (or "real-valued") quantities specifies quantities be measured in SI (Système International) units, which generally means metric units without prefixes, an exception being the fact that the kilogram is the base unit of mass in SI. Use of exponential notation is encouraged in pubwan databases. As there is no SI unit of currency (is there?) the dollar sign ($) has been used. Measuring things like salaries and rents in dollars per second seems somewhat stilted, but the advantages of a unified system of weights and measures seems to outweigh that consideration.
The maxhi schema is a means by which pubwan participants can identify defined quantities or product specifications as ones they would like to "maximize with high priority" (maxhi), likewise minhi, maxlo, minlo and nullo (indicating no preference). Someday soon we hope to have a public database established in which members of the public can provide such information under conditions of their choice of privacy or open comparison with normsets provided and shared by other participants. Also, we hope to have empirical observations of market data against which to mash the collective normset. The latter project has begun at barcode wikia. Please contribute as much data entry and markup as you can there!
Sample job normspec[]
In a post-safety-net world, income must come before consumption. The information represented in a normspec may not be suitable for discussion in a job interview, but interviewers nevertheless ask to know what applicants "want in a job." The maxhi schema provides a systematic system for the communication of wants, to oneself or, if one wishes, to others. The sample normspec presented here values use of mass transit, union membership, the existence of leisure and the education/information of oneself and others.
|
Qty |
units
|
maxhi
|
|
commuting:
|
||
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distance from +42.54,-82.98
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m
|
minhi
|
|
distance from nearest bus stop
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m
|
minhi
|
|
economics:
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||
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pay rate, pro-rated over 24/7
|
$·s-1
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maxlo
|
|
rank in enum(no_health_coverage,managed_care,fee_per_service)
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(enumerated type)
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maxlo
|
|
pay rate less employee healthcare contributions, pro-rated 24/7
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$·s-1
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maxlo
|
|
healthcare deductible
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$
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minlo
|
|
employer part of private sector
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(binary)
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maxlo
|
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employer part of nonprofit sector
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(binary)
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maxlo
|
|
employer part of nonprophet (nonsectarian) sector
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(binary)
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maxlo
|
|
employer part of educational sector
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(binary)
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maxlo
|
|
defense/intel contracts as % of employer's business
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(dimensionless)
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minhi
|
|
terms and conditions:
|
||
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role includes proprietary research
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(binary)
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minlo
|
|
" classified "
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(binary)
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minhi
|
|
union shop
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(binary)
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maxlo
|
|
work-life balance:
|
||
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amt. By which 2/3 exceeds (avg.) work hours as fraction of 24/7
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(dimensionless)
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maxlo
|
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amt. By which work fraction exceeds 2/3
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(dimensionless)
|
minhi
|
|
credential requirements:
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||
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baccalaureate required
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(binary)
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maxhi
|
|
advanced degree required
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(binary)
|
minhi
|
|
tuition reimbursement available for graduate studies
|
$·s-1
|
maxlo
|
|
extensive clerical experience required
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(binary)
|
maxlo
|
|
extensive "technical" experience required
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(binary)
|
minlo
|
Sample grocery normspec[]
Again, this normspec is "pragmatic" in that it prioritizes bang/buck ratio over the conscientious constraints of the correspondent, reflecting perhaps a struggle between a low income and a putatively "expensive" set of preferences and priorities.
|
Qty |
units
|
maxhi
|
|
nutrition:
|
||
|
total net bioavailable protein
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kg
|
maxhi
|
|
total energy
|
J
|
minhi
|
|
mono- and disaccharides
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kg
|
minhi
|
|
dietary fiber
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kg
|
maxhi
|
|
time for which basket contents sufficient per %DV
|
s
|
maxhi
|
|
Economics
|
||
|
total $ outlay
|
$
|
minhi
|
|
% products by $ fair trade
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(dimensionless)
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maxlo
|
|
% products by $ union label
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(dimensionless)
|
maxlo
|
|
Ecology
|
||
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net-wt/gross-wt
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(dimensionless)
|
minlo
|
|
$-weighted % post-consumer packaging content
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(dimensionless)
|
maxlo
|
|
% products by $ 100% organic
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(dimensionless)
|
maxlo
|
|
% products by $ non-GMO
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(dimensionless)
|
maxlo
|
Sample housing normspec[]
There is no such thing as a simple transaction in the housing market. Pretty much every relocation involves real estate, and usually insurance. Beyond that there are two housing markets, one for owner-occupied housing and the other for tenant-occupied housing. This normspec attempts to analyze both simultaneously, which is a bit like comparing apples to oranges, but this is seen as a valuable opportunity to explore issues surrounding aggregation of consumer market data; a central part of pubwan’s stated mission. Many consumer and financial pundits urge negotiating the price of a car before negotiating the other terms of a car lease. The same logic has been applied to the present normspec by including the market value of each homestead (each data point) regardless of owner-occupancy. Owner-occupancy itself is valued (maximized over the alternative) in this case not due to the correspondent’s own normative criteria (believe you me), but because of the IRS’ multi-pronged carrot-and-stick methods of social engineering. In other respects, including housing density, the prevalence of single family housing and mass transit use, the choice of both preferences and priorities reflects a desire to engineer the housing stock in more or less the opposite direction in which the IRS seems to be engineering Americans as housing consumers.
|
qty |
units
|
maxhi
|
|
location, location, location
|
||
|
homeowner or renter insurance premium
|
$·s-1
|
minhi
|
|
homeowner or renter insurance deductible, property
|
$
|
minlo
|
|
homeowner or renter insurance deductible, casualty
|
$
|
minhi
|
|
distance from nearest bus stop
|
m
|
minhi
|
|
economics:
|
||
|
price or value of property
|
$
|
minhi
|
|
rent or (principal+interest+taxes), pro-rated over 24/7 (occupancy_rate)
|
$·s-1
|
minhi
|
|
min(income,occupancy_rate)
|
$·s-1
|
minlo
|
|
max(income,occupancy_rate)
|
$·s-1
|
minhi
|
|
for sale, as opposed to rent
|
(binary)
|
maxlo
|
|
internal rate of return to lender or lessor
|
(force of interest)
|
minhi
|
|
min(money_up_front,money_on_hand)
|
$
|
minhi
|
|
max(money_up_front,money_on_hand)
|
$
|
minlo
|
|
internal floor area
|
m2
|
maxlo
|
|
internal room volume
|
m3
|
maxlo
|
|
land_area less building_area in homestead
|
m2
|
minlo
|
|
terms and conditions
|
||
|
pre-payment penalty on mortgage, alternatively termination surcharge on lease
|
$
|
minhi
|
|
rank in enum(rental_housing,variable_mortgage,fixed_mortgage)
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(enumerated type)
|
maxhi
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