In January 2023, the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock forward to 90 s before midnight.

A new theory of four-dimensional symmetry introduced by Hsu has been criticized as logically inconsistent. We answer the criticisms that have been raised and show that in fact this theory is not logically inconsistent.

Following the ideas of Poincaré, Reichenbach, and Grunbaum concerning the convention of setting up clock systems, we analyze clock systems and light propagation within the framework of four-dimensional symmetry. It is possible to construct a new four-dimensional symmetry framework incorporatingcommon time: observers in different inertial frames of reference use one and the same clock system, which is located in any one of the frames. Consequently, simultaneity has a meaning independent of position and independent of frame of reference. A further consequence (...) is that the two-way speeds of light alone are isotropic in any frame. By the choice of clock system there will be one frame in which the one-way speed of light is isotropic. This frame can be arbitrarily chosen. The difference between one-way speeds and two-way speeds of light signals is considered in detail. (shrink)

Los gināns son un corpus de literatura religiosa ismailí del sur de Asia. Su temática es muy variada e incluye cuestiones como el amor divino, la cosmología, la meditación, la práctica ritual, la escatología y el comportamiento ético. La palabra ‘ginān’ deriva en última instancia de la raíz sánscrita ‘ŷñāna’ y está relacionada etimológicamente con la palabra griega ‘γνῶσις’, o ‘gnôsis’, que tiene derivados en muchas lenguas. Varios estudiosos han señalado el doble significado del término ‘ginān’ entre los ismailíes, ya (...) que se refiere tanto a su literatura sagrada como a la gnosis. Este estudio exhaustivo explora el significado y el uso de la palabra ‘ginān’ en la propia tradición ginān. Como la mayoría de los gināns se recitan en melodías particulares, este estudio de la tradición ginān se inspira en la organización de la sinfonía tradicional. Al igual que una sinfonía, composición extensa en la música clásica occidental, suele estar dividida en cuatro movimientos, este estudio de la Sinfonía de la Gnosis se compone de cuatro secciones, cada una de las cuales explora diferentes aspectos acerca de cómo se define la tradición ginān. (shrink)

Pourquoi l’essence réelle des choses n’est‑elle pas accessible à la science? La science, affirme Aristote, est incapable de nous dire pourquoi la nature se conforme à des ratios donnés. Nous sommes donc privés d’un concept reconnaissable de l’idéal, du monde en soi. La tâche du scientifique consiste, par conséquent, à rendre le monde intelligible à l’intérieur d’un domaine conceptuel qui exclurait l’idéal. D’où l’approche non réaliste du monde d’Aristote. Dès lors, la «réalité» des êtres naturels et des objets se reflète (...) dans nos engagements créatifs dans cette réalité afin d’en délimiter les instants. (shrink)

The productive use of English past tense morphology in school-aged children (N= 74; 3 years, 8 months to 13 years, 5 months) is explored using on elicited production task. Errors represented 20% of the responses overall. Virtually all of the children demonstrated productivity with regular (e.g., good) and irregular patterns (zero-marking, e.g., sit + sit; vowel-change, e.g., ride -+ rid). Overall frequency of errors decreased with age, yet the tendency for certain types of irregularizations increased in the older groups. Analyses (...) across items indicated that all error types were predicted by combinations of item frequency, phonological chamcteristics of stems and past tense forms, and aspects of phonological past tense “neighborhoods.” Contrary to “hybrid” or dual-mechanism models incorporating a phonologically-insensitive default mechanism (e.g., Prasada & Pinker, 1993), these results suggest that children’s productivity with regular and irregular patterns is consistent with a phonologically-based constraint satisfaction system similar to that implemented in connectionist models (Daugherty & Seidenberg, 1992; Plunkett 81 Marchman, 1991,1993). (shrink)

Pre- and postmeasures of course knowledge correlated more strongly and consistently with course performance variables (essay quizzes, course project, multiple-choice exams, and total course credit)than did pre- and postmeasures of generic critical thinking. In addition, the total sample (N =126) improved significantly on course knowledge from the pre- to the postassessment but changed minimally on critical thinking. The extent and pattern of change in critical thinking differed somewhat for students making high and low grades in the course. High-grade students achieved (...) significantly more favorable changes on both critical thinking and course knowledge than did the low-grade students. (shrink)

n the essays in How Terrorism Is Wrong, I aim to provide moral assessments of various forms of political violence, focusing especially on terrorism. Also considered are war, military intervention to protect human rights, and violence to bring about or to prevent political change. Among cases considered are the liberation movement that brought about the ending of apartheid in South Africa, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the genocide in Rwanda, the NATO intervention in Kosovo and its antecedents in the breakup of the (...) former Yugoslavia, the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and the U.S. response, and the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. I argue that terrorism is best understood as on a continuum of violence, rather than as uniquely atrocious. I question such frequently made judgments as that war can be justified but terrorism is necessarily wrong. I explore definitions of terrorism and conclude that even though it often targets civilians, it should not be thought to be wrong by definition. Yet, although it may be less unjustifiable than war, terrorism is very difficult to justify. Ways ought to be found to reduce all forms of violence, including political violence. The book examines also the question of who has legitimate authority to use political violence, for instance in a liberation movement. Just War Theory has been developed for violence between the armed forces of states. It is questionable how and whether it should be applied to the increasingly common sorts of violence used by nonstate groups. I also discuss whether and how nonstate groups can be morally responsible for violence, including ethnic violence, and how the media should cover terrorism. (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to describe the extent to which nurses perceive the ethical dimensions of clinical practice situations involving patients, families and health care professionals. Using the composite theory of basic moral principles and the professional standard of care established by legal custom as a framework, situations involving ethical dilemmas were gleaned from the nursing literature. They were reviewed for content validity, clarity and representativeness in a two-stage process by expert panels. The situations were presented in a (...) written format to a convenience sample of nurses (n = 125), who were primarily staff nurses (65.6%). Respondents' judgements about whether the main issue of each situation concerned ethics ranged from a low of 0.8% to a high of 40%. From analyses of the categories into which the majority of subjects placed each situation, it was concluded that these nurses generally perceived ethics as the main issue in situations that directly involve patients' autonomy. Analysis yielded unanticipated findings about the themes in ethical situations to which nurses in practice may respond. (shrink)

Os conceitos que tratam do processo de globalização, originários da economia a partir da década de 1980, se aplicam para a comparação e análise de alguns paradoxos ainda hoje presentes no campo da comunicação internacional. Assim como uma ‘nova ordem econômica’ versou sobre a mundialização dos negócios, na área da comunicação o desequilíbrio na circulação de informação entre países industrializados e em desenvolvimento deu origem a intensos debates internacionais que resultaram no documento oficial que tratava de uma ‘nova ordem da (...) informação e da comunicação’. Assuntos como internacionalização e transnacionalização, analisados inicialmente no domínio dos estudos econômicos e das relações internacionais, migraram para o núcleo das pesquisas comunicacionais na mesma década de 1980. Alguns autores identificam quatro linhas básicas para a interpretação do fenômeno da globalização: “(a) globalização como uma época histórica; b) globalização como um fenômeno sociológico de compressão do espaço e tempo; c) globalização como hegemonia dos valores liberais; d) globalização como fenômeno socioeconômico” (Prado, s/d). É também nos estudos econômicos que está a origem de outro conceito usado para explicar a forma como se estabeleceram as relações entre ‘centro e periferia’, com a divisão do mundo distribuída entre centros econômicos desenvolvidos (como Estados Unidos e países da Europa ocidental) e países periféricos (produtores de economia primária). No setor da comunicação, os primeiros assumiram o papel de geradores de informação e os últimos se transformaram em consumidores da produção midiática dos países industrializados. O impacto da globalização no campo da comunicação é expressivo no âmbito da indústria de mídia, em especial no que diz respeito à propriedade dos meios de massa. Conglomerados midiáticos se expandem em escala global e a audiência cresce de maneira proporcional à padronização gerada pela fusão de empresas que passaram a produzir simultaneamente notícia, entretenimento e conteúdo para a web. O fluxo da informação entre países e culturas se mantém como elemento de pesquisas desenvolvidas pela comunidade internacional de pesquisadores de comunicação. Nesse aspecto se destacam investigadores da Europa e dos Estados Unidos. São poucas as contribuições da América Latina e ainda mais reduzida a participação de pesquisadores do Brasil nessa discussão que é de interesse de todos – produtores, especialistas e público dos meios de comunicação. Os artigos que integram esta edição dedicada ao tema Globalização e Comunicação Internacional expressam o status dos estudos contemporâneos sobre o assunto. Não é por coincidência que os cinco textos, as duas resenhas e os depoimentos dos correspondentes internacionais no Rio de Janeiro, selecionados para este número tragam em comum um mesmo fio condutor: a questão do equilíbrio no fluxo da informação e de produtos midiáticos. A política de comunicação global é o foco do artigo de abertura assinado pelo Dr. Cees Hamelink, da Universidade de Amsterdã, autor com extensa produção teórica, que há vários anos coordena pesquisas e é responsável pela disciplina Comunicação Internacional na sua instituição. A participação da comunidade latino-americana na elaboração do Relatório MacBride no final da década de 1970, representada pelo colombiano Gabriel Garcia Márquez e pelo chileno Juan Somavia, é recuperada no artigo de José Marques de Melo, da Universidade de São Paulo e diretor da Cátedra Unesco no Brasil. A jornalista Sonia Ambrósio de Nelson avalia a influência de poderes políticos, econômicos e culturais na cobertura midiática do terrorismo em três países asiáticos. O artigo do professor Joseph Straubhaar, em co-autoria com estudantes de doutorado na Universidade do Texas em Austin, é uma contribuição importante para os estudos comparados entre o Brasil e os Estados Unidos, ao abordar a questão da inserção digital da população nos dois países. O artigo de Eula Dantas Taveira Cabral, resultados de pesquisa realizada para o doutorado, analisa algumas das estratégias de internacionalização de meios de comunicação brasileiros. A oportunidade de reunir em um único volume a produção científica com autores de origens distintas é uma forma sistematizar uma área de conhecimento que continua dispersa, à espera da contribuição dos investigadores de comunicação no Brasil. Referências Bibliográficas PRADO, Luiz Carlos Delorme. Globalização: notas sobre um conceito controverso. Instituto de Economia da UFRJ, sem data. PREBISCH, Raúl. The Latin American Periphery in the Global System of Capitalism. Cepal Review nº 13, April 1981, p. 143-150. (shrink)

This anthology collects some of the most important papers on what is believed to be the major force in evolution, natural selection. An issue of great consequence in the philosophy of biology concerns the levels at which, and the units upon which selection acts. In recent years, biologists and philosophers have published a large number of papers bearing on this subject. The papers selected for inclusion in this book are divided into three main sections covering the history of the subject, (...) explaining its conceptual foundations, and focusing on kin and group selection and higher levels of selection.One of the book's interesting features is that it draws together material from the biological and philosophical literatures. The philosophical literature, having thoroughly absorbed the biological material, now offers conceptual tools suitable for the reworking of the biological arguments. Although a full symbiosis has yet to develop, this anthology offers a unique resource for students in both biology and philosophy.Robert N. Brandon is Professor in the Philosophy Department, Duke University. Richard M. Burian is Professor of Philosophy and Department Chairman, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.A Bradford Book. (shrink)

Fully automated vehicles (AVs) hold promise toward providing numerous societal benefits including reducing road fatalities. However, we are uncertain about how individuals’ perceptions will influence their ability to accept and adopt AVs. The 28-item Automated Vehicle User Perception Survey (AVUPS) is a visual analog scale that was previously constructed, with established face and content validity, to assess individuals’ perceptions of AVs. In this study, we examined construct validity, via exploratory factor analysis and subsequent Mokken scale analyses. Next, internal consistency was (...) assessed via Cronbach’s alpha (α) and 2-week test–retest reliability was assessed via Spearman’s rho (ρ) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The Mokken scale analyses resulted in a refined 20-item AVUPS and three Mokken subscales assessing specific domains of adults’ perceptions of AVs: (a)Intention to use; (b)perceived barriers; and (c)well-being. The Mokken scale analysis showed that all item-coefficients of homogeneity (H) exceeded 0.3, indicating that the items reflect a single latent variable. The AVUPS indicated a strong Mokken scale (Hscale= 0.51) with excellent internal consistency (α = 0.95) and test–retest reliability (ρ = 0.76, ICC = 0.95). Similarly, the three Mokken subscales ranged from moderate to strong (rangeHscale= 0.47–0.66) and had excellent internal consistency (range α = 0.84–0.94) and test–retest reliability (range ICC = 0.84–0.93). The AVUPS and three Mokken subscales of AV acceptance were validated in a moderate sample size (N= 312) of adults living in the United States. Two-week test–retest reliability was established using a subset of Amazon Mechanical Turk participants (N= 84). The AVUPS, or any combination of the three subscales, can be used to validly and reliably assess adults’ perceptions before and after being exposed to AVs. The AVUPS can be used to quantify adults’ acceptance of fully AVs. (shrink)

The onset of the electronics-based information revolution will augur changes in the sociological perceptions of 'suitable careers' for women. This phenomenon is particularly evident in rural Appalachia. A planned, systematic delivery system was designed, developed, and implemented by Southwest Virginia Community College to introduce women to the challenges and possibilities of technical careers. This was accomplished through a gradualized phase-in to Technological Literacy, followed by in-depth involvement, culminating in an industrial internship experience. A special curriculum was designed to ease (...) the transition of the women, most of whom were homemakers, into the fast-paced mainstream of the academic environment. Duration of the introductory segment was one academic quarter. All project participants were clustered in a peer group, led by the project director, a trained counselor. In addition to a central course on Career Directions for Women, the program design emphasized Industrial Dynamics, the variety of uses possible with "user-friendly" microcomputers, Computer-Assisted Drafting, Electronics Instrumentation, Mathematics and Communications. Field experiences and visits to area industries were integrated into the program plan, as were visits from women who had achieved success in technical careers. Particular efforts were made to arrange for visits by the limited number of women alumni from the college's technical programs. Students were then mainstreamed into a regular program in Electronics or Computer Aided Drafting in the intermediate segment. Students are given a closer look at the industrial sector in the final segment. An examination of the social structure in Appalachian Virginia is presented, together with an albeit tentative prediction of the implications for female wage earners in this highly traditional region, so dependent heretofore on coal mining. Finally, the concept of whether this effort will lead to evolution, rather than revolution, is discussed. While covering a somewhat homogeneous and unique population cluster, the action blueprint outlined can be applied to other population groups in the U.S. and abroad. (shrink)

What makes teaching a moral endeavor? How can we prepare classroom practitioners for engaging in that moral endeavor in meaningful and effective ways? This volume brings together leading scholars who draw upon both their academic expertise and substantial wisdom of practice to offer a variety of perspectives on the challenge of preparing today’s teachers for the moral work of teaching. Book Features: Examines the role that teacher preparation and development can play in addressing the moral work of teaching. Highlights the (...) work of leading scholars from educational psychology, educational philosophy, and teacher education. Provides compelling insights for identifying the next generation of our nation’s best teachers. Contributors: Wolfgang Althof, Karen Benson, Marvin Berkowitz, Donald Blumenfeld-Jones, Elizabeth Campbell, Julie Canniff, Mary Crawford, Lana Daly, Rebecca Evers, Catherine Fallona, Gary Fenstermacher, Anthony Holter, Lisa Johnson, Daniel Lapsley, Darcia Narvaez, Virginia Navarro, Larry Nucci, Joy Pelton, Virginia Richardson, Don Senneville, David Light Shields, Barbara Stengel, Jonatha Vare, Marilyn Watson. (shrink)

Mental retardation is an invented bureaucratic category, currently undergoing radical rethinking and likely renaming, that includes many who have biologically based brain disorders, but is itself determined on functional criteria that are purely arbitrary. People with MR are socially vulnerable and thus are more likely to be "naíve confessors," "naíve defendants," and "naíve offenders." That is most likely the rationale and justification for the Supreme Court's decision, in Atkins v. Virginia, to exempt the class from execution. Although the decision (...) is to be applauded as a step in a more humane direction, it is problematic to use an indirect, artificial, and insufficiently inclusive category to determine who should or should not be executed. Limited social intelligence is a characteristic of a wide range of brainbased syndromes and disorders, including many who fall above the upper IQ limit and, thus, are ineligible for the MR label and the legal protections associated with it. A more equitable, and logical, policy would be to extend execution exemption to all who demonstrate the same kinds of vulnerabilities, especially if they can be linked to some brain-based medical condition, regardless of whether one qualifies for the label of MR. (shrink)

According to a common sense theory, facial expressions signal specific emotions to people of all ages and therefore provide children easy access to the emotions of those around them. The evidence, however, does not support that account. Instead, children’s understanding of facial expressions is poor and changes qualitatively and slowly over the course of development. Initially, children divide facial expressions into two simple categories (feels good, feels bad). These broad categories are then gradually differentiated until an adult system of discrete (...) categories is achieved, likely in the teen years. Children’s understanding of most specific emotions begins not with facial expressions, but with their understanding of the emotion’s antecedents and behavioral consequences. (shrink)

Whereas professional persuasion is a means to an immediate and instrumental end, ethical persuasion must rest on or serve a deeper, morally based final end. Among the moral final ends of journalism, for example, are truth and freedom. There is a very real danger that advertisers and public relations practitioners will play an increasingly dysfunctional role in the communications process if means continue to be confused with ends in professional persuasive communications. Means and ends will continue to be confused unless (...) advertisers and public relations practitioners reach some level of agreement as to the moral end toward which their efforts should be directed. In this article we advance a five-part test that defines this moral end, establishes ethical boundaries that should guide persuasive practices, and serves as a set of action-guiding principles directed toward a moral consequence in professional persuasion. The TARES Test consists of five principles: Truthfulness, Authenticity, Respect, Equity and Social Responsibility. We provide checklists to guide the practitioner in moral reflection and application of TARES Test principles. (shrink)

The first generation of children to grow up with electronic toys and games saw computers as our “nearest neighbors.” They spoke of computers as rational machines and of people as emotional machines, a fragile formulation destined to be challenged. By the mid-1990s, computational creatures, including robots, were presenting themselves as “relational artifacts,” beings with feelings and needs. One consequence of this development is a crisis in authenticity in many quarters. In an increasing number of situations, people behave as though they (...) no longer place value on living things and authentic emotion. This paper examines watershed moments in the history of human–machine interaction, focusing on the pertinence of relational artifacts to our collective perception of aliveness, life’s purposes, and the implications of relational artifacts for relationships. For now, the exploration of human–robot encounters leads us to questions about the morality of creating believable digital companions that are evocative but not authentic. (shrink)

The first generation of children to grow up with electronic toys and games saw computers as our “nearest neighbors.” They spoke of computers as rational machines and of people as emotional machines, a fragile formulation destined to be challenged. By the mid-1990s, computational creatures, including robots, were presenting themselves as “relational artifacts,” beings with feelings and needs. One consequence of this development is a crisis in authenticity in many quarters. In an increasing number of situations, people behave as though they (...) no longer place value on living things and authentic emotion. This paper examines watershed moments in the history of human–machine interaction, focusing on the pertinence of relational artifacts to our collective perception of aliveness, life’s purposes, and the implications of relational artifacts for relationships. For now, the exploration of human–robot encounters leads us to questions about the morality of creating believable digital companions that are evocative but not authentic. (shrink)

Many prescriptions offered in the literature for enhancing creativity and innovation in organizations raise ethical concerns, yet creativity researchers rarely discuss ethics. We identify four categories of behavior proffered as a means for fostering creativity that raise serious ethical issues: breaking rules and standard operating procedures; challenging authority and avoiding tradition; creating conflict, competition and stress; and taking risks. We discuss each category, briefly identifying research supporting these prescriptions for fostering creativity and then we delve into ethical issues associated with (...) engaging in the prescribed behavior. These four rubrics illustrate ethical issues that need to be incorporated into the creativity and innovation literature. Recommendations for how organizations can respond to the ethical issues are offered based on practices of exemplary organizations and theories of organizational ethics. A research agenda for empirically investigating the ethical impact these four categories of behavior have on organizations concludes the article. (shrink)

Izard (2010) did not seek a descriptive definition of emotion—one that describes the concept as it is used by ordinary folk. Instead, he surveyed scientists’ prescriptive definitions—ones that prescribe how the concept should be used in theories of emotion. That survey showed a lack of agreement today and thus raised doubts about emotion as a useful scientific concept.

Nursing practice occurs in the context of conversations with healthcare users, other healthcare professionals, and healthcare institutions. This discussion paper draws on symbolic interactionism and Fairclough's method of critical discourse analysis to examine language that nurses use to describe the people in their care and their practice. We discuss how nurses’ use of language constructs meaning about healthcare users and their own work. Through language, nurses are articulating what they believe about healthcare users and nursing practice. We argue that the (...) language nurses use can contribute to viewing their practice as tasks on bodies that must be accomplished efficiently and objectively within the biomedical model, rather than relational and person‐centered. Moreover, the language nurses use can perpetuate a sense of powerlessness within healthcare systems yet paradoxically they are in a position of power over healthcare users. Nurses’ compliance with the efficiency and biomedical model results in a lack of emphasis on the full breadth of nursing work, which could be enacted in relational rather than power‐laden practices. We conclude by positing that careful use of language among nurses in all settings is essential, if we are to begin to articulate what nursing is to ourselves and to others. (shrink)

This article examines baby farming as an urban neighborhood-based system of group child care in Philadelphia in the late nineteenth century and considers the dangers and abuses the practice of baby farming posed for parents, children, and baby farmers. It explores reformers' early efforts to regulate the city's baby farms. Finally, the essay also investigates the ways in which the residents of Philadelphia's poor neighborhoods monitored the child-care establishments in their communities that catered to working mothers.

This data includes information on authorship gender in Leiter Ranked, Unranked, and Interdisciplinary Philosophy Journals between 1900 & 2010.

Advances in machine learning hold promise for corpus analysis: they have the potential to allow for more efficient and less biased analyses of text. This would be a boon for qualitative research, such as the survey research conducted by Academic Philosophy Data and Analysis. In this paper we examine the utility of automated machine learning for select survey questions, with a focus on LDA and VADER. We thus compare human and machine coding on the question of whether underrepresented philosophers are (...) more likely to respond negatively to questions concerning diversity and inclusivity in academic philosophy. Our study has mixed results, revealing instances where automated machine learning can be used to fruitfully support and interrogate more traditional hand-coding techniques, but also instances where we were unable to glean much insight. (Contact authors for draft.). (shrink)

The numbering in the new edition of Wittgenstein's Remarks does not in general correspond to the part and section numbers of the 1956 edition. The following concordance is useful for making cross references between the two editions.