What Can We Learn about the Ontology of Space and Time from the Theory of Relativity?

Many have inferred from the theory of relativity philosophical conclusions that are unjustified, such as that geometry is conventional or that spacetime should be reduced to the causal order among events. Other conclusions from the theory are justified, such as the "entanglement" of space with time and that space and time are deeply connected to matter and to the causal structure of the world. This chapter discusses what exactly the theories of special and general relativity tell us about space and time. What are the features that are genuinely novel, that follow from the new theories, that are part and parcel of a literal understanding of the theories, and that are robust in the sense of not being faced with contradictory "morals" that can also be drawn from these new theories? Oxford University Press, 2015

There are no universal rules for induction

In a material theory of induction, inductive inferences are warranted by facts that prevail locally. This approach, it is urged, is preferable to formal theories of induction in which the good inductive inferences are delineated as those conforming to universal schemas. An inductive inference problem concerning indeterministic, nonprobabilistic systems in physics is posed, and it is argued that Bayesians cannot responsibly analyze it, thereby demonstrating that the probability calculus is not the universal logic of induction. Copyright 2010 by the Philosophy of Science Association.All right reserved

Telerehabilitation E-Dissemination Opportunities: Three Vehicles for Academic Public Service

The University of Pittsburgh RERC on Telerehabilitation identified three previously under-utilized “web-based spaces” to feature telerehabilitation-based efforts. This presentation will feature efforts to promote telerehabilitation via: 1. Wikipedia (supported by the efforts of the ATA SIG on Telerehabilitation) 2. Google’s Knol application and, 3. Open Journal Systems developed by the Public Knowledge Project (pkp.sfu.ca). Each is free to the public and affords opportunities for faculty and practitioners to engage in academic public service. We will compare and contrast these vehicles’ ease of use, immediacy, accessibility challenges, and quality control; and present product exemplars --- including a new, electronic-only, open access peer-reviewed journal (International Journal of Telerehabilitation) published by the University of Pittsburgh’s University Library System and scheduled to launch Spring/Summer 2009. Each of these web-based formats provides opportunities to engage in academic public service

Telerehabilitation Practice: A Curricular Imperative for Future Audiologists

Effective telerehabilitation services in audiology can now be delivered using synchronous; store and forward methods; or a hybrid (synchronous and asynchronous) approach. While reimbursement for telerehabilitation is not yet robust and the practice may be limited by current state licensure guidelines, telerehabilitation is a viable current and future practice option. It is therefore incumbent upon university training programs to include telerehabilitation options in audiology training curricula. This presentation reviews the current state-of-the-art in audiology based telerehabiliation, and then presents elements for a multi-pronged curricula: 1. Introduction to Telerehabilitation; 2. Telerehabilitation Technologies; 3. Telerehabilitation Practice and 4. Tele-audiology Technologies and Techniques. Finally, professional resources are presented

The Uncommon Language: Bratislava, Budapest, and Brussels

Slovakia passed an updated Law on the State Language in 2009, which created a protracted diplomatic controversy between Bratislava and Budapest, and agitation among activists and politicians in Slovakia. Some of the rhetoric became more agitated than the usual mode of communication in Central Europe, the wording of the law clouded the issue of Hungarian and other minority language use. The article discusses aspects of both

Aiming High, Reaching Out, and Doing Good: Helping Homeless Library Patrons with Legal Information

Public librarians can use legal topics to reach out to homeless people who are already in the library as well as those who do not come to the library. This article inspires readers to appreciate why libraries need to provide this kind of outreach, conveys significan knowledge about homeless people's unique legal troubles, and demonstrates how to conduct legal research

Cultural Memory and Intangible Heritage in the Dominican Republic

In 2001 and 2005, UNESCO nominated two “cultural traditions” of the Dominican Republic as Intangible World Heritage, the Cofradía del Espíritu Santo and the Cocolo dance theater traditions. Not surprisingly, the two “traditions” are highly different in their historical contexts, performance practices, and accompanying forms, but they are strikingly similar as formerly marginalized traditions within mainstream Dominican society due to perceived African derivation. Despite their differences, UNESCO and the Dominican nation-state collaboratively organized joint stage performances of these groups or of one of them with other artists. Both, the choice of the two cultures as well as their appropriation as Dominican heritage shed light on social ambiguities in the national discourse: As African-derived expressions are widely negatively associated with Haitian immigration and savage religiosity, the masterpieces’ emergence in the environment of sugar plantations shared with Haitian working migrants, for instance, is left out. The two nominated “traditions” have symbolic power for social reconciliation and cultural memory in the Dominican Republic. Examining UNESCO video clips this paper asks what kind of information is represented by UNESCO and Dominican state and what is thereby constantly omitted

米国大学図書館におけるGIS サービスの動向 －過去のアンケート調査の比較とピッツバーグ大学図書館の現状から [Trend of GIS services in US Academic Libraries –from comparison of past surveys and current situation of the University of Pittsburgh]

本稿は，米国大学図書館が1990 年代前半から提供し始めたGIS（Geographic Information Systems）サービスの動向と将来の展望を，過去のアンケート調査と著者の追跡調査，GIS 教育との関わりを通して考察する。大規模大学図書館ではすでに90％の普及率に達しているが，今後利用者を増やしていくには，しっかりしたデータ・コレクション・プランが必要であると考えられる。また，中規模，小規模大学図書館はまだ20～30％の普及率でこれからも伸びるであろうが，より充実したGIS サービスを提供していくには，学科や学部との共同作業が望ましいと思われる。 [This paper studies trends and the prospects for future of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) services in U.S. academic libraries, which have started in early 1990s, based on past surveys, my follow-up survey, and relation with GIS education. Libraries at the doctoral/research universities offer GIS services almost 90% already, but they need to have a good data collection plan in order to increase users. Libraries at the master’s colleges and universities, and the baccalaureate colleges offer GIS services only 20-30% but its proportion will be increased in near future. They would better to do joint efforts between libraries and other departments on campus regarding the use of GIS for better services.

The Inductive Significance of Observationally Indistinguishable Spacetimes

Results on the observational indistinguishability of spacetimes demonstrate the impossibility of determining by deductive inference which is our spacetime, no matter how extensive a portion of the spacetime is observed. These results do not illustrate an underdetermination of theory by evidence, since they make no decision between competing theories and they make little contact with the inductive considerations that must ground such a decision. Rather, these results express a variety of indeterminism in which a specification of the observable past always fails to fix the remainder of a spacetime. This form of indeterminism is more troubling than the familiar indeterminism of quantum theory. The inductive inferences that can discriminate among the different spacetime extensions of the observed past are here called “opaque,” which means that we cannot readily see the warrant that lies behind them