Leibniz Equivalence. On Leibniz's (Bad) Influence on the Logical Empiricist Interpretation of General Relativity

Einstein’s “point-coincidence argument'” as a response to the “hole argument” is usually considered as an expression of “Leibniz equivalence,” a restatement of indiscernibility in the sense of Leibniz. Through a historical-critical analysis of Logical Empiricists' interpretation of General Relativity, the paper attempts to show that this labeling is misleading. Logical Empiricists tried explicitly to understand the point-coincidence argument as an indiscernibility argument of the Leibnizian kind, such as those formulated in the 19th century debate about geometry, by authors such as Poincaré, Helmholtz or Hausdorff. However, they clearly failed to give a plausible account of General Relativity. Thus the point-coincidence/hole argument cannot be interpreted as Leibnizian indiscernibility argument, but must be considered as an indiscernibility argument of a new kind. Weyl's analysis of Leibniz's and Einstein's indiscernibility arguments is used to support this claim

Strategies for organising the attention of receivers in e-mail marketing

 The article entitled “Strategies for organising the attention of receivers in e-mail marketing” discusses issues within social communication, more specifically e-mail advertising communication. In it, I consider the intention to draw the attention of receivers as the major element of said type of communication. The creators of advertisements utilise various methods for presenting their offers, as, in the light of market research, e-mail communication still holds a high significance in marketing. E-mail inboxes are often filled with advertising messages. Users easily identify some of those as advertising messages, and remove them without engaging their attention resources. Other, however, require more careful consideration as they do not reveal their commercial provenance, or even force users to open them. In order to discover the communication-based mechanisms which lay at the foundation of the influence on the receiver, I conducted a study of the material that I collected within a period of 2 years; there I analysed only those elements of an e-mail visible to receivers prior to clicking on a message. Eventually, I extracted 300 examples indicating the applications of the strategies discussed in the article, one of which is based on the intention to highlight an offer among other messages, while the other is aimed at concealing the marketing dimension of an offer. The assumed perspective of this communication-based study was explained by a description of an interdisciplinary nature: I discuss each strategy from the perspective of a linguist, I propose explanations of the mechanisms of their operation based on the knowledge regarding selected psychological mechanisms, and I indicated the operating tactics utilised within each strategy. The significance of the study was emphasised by the fact that a conscious and intentional concealment of the purpose of an e-mail constitutes an instrumental approach to receivers. Therefore, the application by the senders of advertising messages of the discussed strategies raises justified ethical doubts, and demands further research consideration, which might lead to legislative solutions

Working together, driven apart: Reflecting on a joint endeavour to address sustainable development within a university

A holistic and transformational approach to Sustainable Development within a university requires systemic change and embraces new ways of working. Champions must challenge silo mentalities, develop new processes to encourage synergies across university functions, and strive to re-align systems and goals towards the common endeavour of sustainability. But how easy is this to achieve? It is well documented that working across disciplines presents challenges but forging a synergistic relationship between the environmental management function of Estates and an academic champion for ESD is not only logical but might be an easier place to explore how two roles can work together to achieve change. This paper provides a reflective account of such an alliance, outlining a joint endeavour to address sustainable development. An analysis is provided of those factors which impede such working and the different role tensions that make working together challenging. It will also consider the benefits of collaboration, as the perspectives from the operational and academic domains provide a broader context for understandings, access to different forums, an ability to tackle conflicting agendas together and an opportunity to genuinely effect change, providing mutual support through shared perseverance. The paper will conclude by questioning the extent to which progress made will endure, if the benefits of this synergy are not acknowledged by university leadership