22,279 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Reflections on the (Post-)Human Condition: Towards New Forms of Engagement with the World?
The main purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of the contention that, over the past decades, we have been witnessing the rise of the âposthuman conditionâ. To this end, the analysis draws on the work of the contemporary philosopher Rosi Braidotti. The paper is divided into four parts. The first part centres on the concept of posthumanism, suggesting that it reflects a systematic attempt to challenge humanist assumptions underlying the construction of âthe humanâ. The second part focuses on the concept of post-anthropocentrism, demonstrating that it articulates a desire to reject the twin ideas of âspecies supremacismâ and âhuman exceptionalismâ, which it seeks to replace with âspecies egalitarianismâ and âmonistic vitalismâ. The third part is concerned with the concept of critical posthumanities, positing that its advocacy is based on the cross-fertilization of posthumanism and post-anthropocentrism. The fourth part offers an assessment of the âposthuman conditionâ thesis, evaluating the extent to which it sheds new light on the ways in which our engagements with the world are shaped by the confluence of zoe-, geo-, and techno-based dimensions. The paper concludes with a brief summary of the key insights gained from the preceding inquiry
Assessing the Effects of Instream Large Wood on Floodplain Aquifer Recharge and Storage at Indian Creek, Kittitas County, Washington, USA
Numerous stream restoration projects in the Yakima River Basin in Washington have placed large wood (LW) into tributary channels. One intended effect is to divert water onto floodplains to increase groundwater (GW) recharge and seasonal storage in shallow alluvial aquifers during spring high flows with the intention of releasing GW into streams during the drier summer months. Large wood was emplaced in the Indian Creek tributary of the Teanaway River in Kittitas County, Washington beginning in 2016. Potential changes in the groundwater recharge in the adjacent floodplain before and after the LW installation were investigated through stratigraphic analysis, stream-flow modeling, and GW levels in six piezometers installed in 2014 and 2018. Stratigraphic descriptions of the stream banks reveal a ubiquitous silt/clay dominant layer (60-90 cm thick) at a depth of 1 meter or less, overlying a sand and gravel layer (15-50 cm thick), a clay/silt layer (~30 cm thick), and another sand and gravel layer. These relatively continuous clay layers extend at least 2.2 km upstream from the mouth of Indian Creek on both sides of the channel. Similar clay units have been mapped in the region as glacial drift or lacustrine deposits. The measured stream flow and GW levels in the monitoring wells before and after the LW emplacement show no detectable effect of the LW on seasonal or longer-term GW levels. Data loggers show that GW levels return to baseflow within days of monthly precipitation exceeding 70 mm, suggesting GW flow within the permeable sand and gravel layers beneath or between the clay/silt layers. Available data show that the highest spring GW elevations precede peak stream discharge, indicating that the peak streamflow is not a significant source of GW recharge. A 1-dimensional hydraulic model run with and without channel obstructions at spring monthly average discharge and peak discharge suggests that the water surface elevation may increase ~10-50 cm within and upstream of LW. This assessment of stratigraphy coupled with GW data and stream-flow model can provide insight into the effectiveness of GW recharge from LW restoration projects in similar settings within the region
Building body identities - exploring the world of female bodybuilders
This thesis explores how female bodybuilders seek to develop and maintain a viable sense of self despite being stigmatized by the gendered foundations of what Erving Goffman (1983) refers to as the 'interaction order'; the unavoidable presentational context in which identities are forged during the course of social life. Placed in the context of an overview of the historical treatment of women's bodies, and a concern with the development of bodybuilding as a specific form of body modification, the research draws upon a unique two year ethnographic study based in the South of England, complemented by interviews with twenty-six female bodybuilders, all of whom live in the U.K. By mapping these extraordinary women's lives, the research illuminates the pivotal spaces and essential lived experiences that make up the female bodybuilder. Whilst the women appear to be embarking on an 'empowering' radical body project for themselves, the consequences of their activity remains culturally ambivalent. This research exposes the 'Janus-faced' nature of female bodybuilding, exploring the ways in which the women negotiate, accommodate and resist pressures to engage in more orthodox and feminine activities and appearances
Towards a more just refuge regime: quotas, markets and a fair share
The international refugee regime is beset by two problems: Responsibility for refuge falls
disproportionately on a few states and many owed refuge do not get it. In this work, I explore
remedies to these problems. One is a quota distribution wherein states are distributed
responsibilities via allotment. Another is a marketized quota system wherein states are free to buy
and sell their allotments with others. I explore these in three parts. In Part 1, I develop the prime
principles upon which a just regime is built and with which alternatives can be adjudicated. The
first and most important principle â âJustice for Refugeesâ â stipulates that a just regime provides
refuge for all who have a basic interest in it. The second principle â âJustice for Statesâ â stipulates
that a just distribution of refuge responsibilities among states is one that is capacity considerate. In
Part 2, I take up several vexing questions regarding the distribution of refuge responsibilities
among states in a collective effort. First, what is a stateâs âfair shareâ? The answer requires the
determination of some logic â some metric â with which a distribution is determined. I argue that
one popular method in the political theory literature â a GDP-based distribution â is normatively
unsatisfactory. In its place, I posit several alternative metrics that are more attuned with the
principles of justice but absent in the political theory literature: GDP adjusted for Purchasing
Power Parity and the Human Development Index. I offer an exploration of both these. Second,
are states required to âtake up the slackâ left by defaulting peers? Here, I argue that duties of help
remain intact in cases of partial compliance among states in the refuge regime, but that political
concerns may require that such duties be applied with caution. I submit that a market instrument
offers one practical solution to this problem, as well as other advantages. In Part 3, I take aim at
marketization and grapple with its many pitfalls: That marketization is commodifying, that it is
corrupting, and that it offers little advantage in providing quality protection for refugees. In
addition to these, I apply a framework of moral markets developed by Debra Satz. I argue that a
refuge market may satisfy Justice Among States, but that it is violative of the refugeesâ welfare
interest in remaining free of degrading and discriminatory treatment
Embodying entrepreneurship: everyday practices, processes and routines in a technology incubator
The growing interest in the processes and practices of entrepreneurship has
been dominated by a consideration of temporality. Through a thirty-six-month
ethnography of a technology incubator, this thesis contributes to extant
understanding by exploring the effect of space. The first paper explores how
class structures from the surrounding city have appropriated entrepreneurship
within the incubator. The second paper adopts a more explicitly spatial analysis
to reveal how the use of space influences a common understanding of
entrepreneurship. The final paper looks more closely at the entrepreneurs within
the incubator and how they use visual symbols to develop their identity. Taken
together, the three papers reject the notion of entrepreneurship as a primarily
economic endeavour as articulated through commonly understood language and
propose entrepreneuring as an enigmatic attractor that is accessed through the
ambiguity of the non-verbal to develop the ânewâ. The thesis therefore contributes
to the understanding of entrepreneurship and proposes a distinct role for the non-verbal in that understanding
Recommended from our members
Seeing Below The Surface Of Mars: Volatile sublimation in the martian regolith
The discovery of buried carbon dioxide (CO2) ice between water (H2O) ice layers within the martian south polar layered deposits has renewed interest in subsurface CO2 ice. In this thesis, subsurface CO2 ice stability is explored using a 1-D thermal and vapour diïŹusion numerical model that simulates three phases of H2O, two phases of CO2, and adsorption of both for the ïŹrst time.
Numerical experiments were run to examine how these two ices inïŹuence one another, under a variety of ice-layer conïŹgurations that are expected to be valid for Mars. The results demonstrate that an overlying near-surface H2O ice-ïŹlled regolith layer increases subsurface CO2 ice stability by an order of magnitude. This stability increases further with the addition of an underlying H2O ice-ïŹlled regolith layer. The initial porosity and geological materials used to represent the subsurface also have a large inïŹuence on CO2 ice stability. The porosity limits the vapour diïŹusion rate, while the geological materials inïŹuence thermal conductivity and, therefore, subsurface temperatures.
Simulations at diïŹerent orbital obliquities demonstrate that CO2 ice stability in the polar regions is greatest at low obliquities and smallest at high obliquities. The reverse is true for the equatorial regions. At higher obliquities (>45âŠ) and atmospheric pressures, the results suggest subsurface CO2 ice deposition could occur in the equatorial region.
The model results suggest that a 0.7â27 km CO2 ice layer could sublimate away while 1 m of low-porosity H2O ice forms (in 14â550 kyr depending on method) in the south polar layered deposits. The results also suggest CO2 ice sublimation is dependent on obliquity: âŒ0.15 km sublimates at low obliquity and âŒ1.9 km sublimates at high
obliquity over 100 kyr.
The subsurface model is a useful tool for future investigations into the historical behaviour of ices on Mars, particularly during the Noachian period when the CO2 frost-point temperature was higher
A New Theory of Serendipity: Nature, Emergence and Mechanism
The book explores the nature, underlying causes, and the information processing mechanism of serendipity. It proposes that natural or social survival demands drive serendipity, and serendipity is conditional on the environment and the mindset, on both individual and collective levels. From Darwinâs evolution theory to Sun Tzuâs war tactics, major innovations throughout human history are unified by this key concept. In the rapidly changing world, information is abundant but rather chaotic. The adaptive power of serendipity allows people to notice treasures within this wild sea, but only for those who understand how it works. To increase the probability of encountering and attaining serendipity, one should employ the mindsponge mechanism and the 3D process of creativity, for without these frameworks, serendipity is truly an elusive target. The book also discusses methods to build environments and cultures rich in navigational and useful information to maximize the chance of finding and capitalizing on serendipity. As a skill, serendipity has a resemblance to how kingfishers observe and hunt their prey
How to Be a God
When it comes to questions concerning the nature of Reality, Philosophers and Theologians have the answers.
Philosophers have the answers that canât be proven right. Theologians have the answers that canât be proven wrong.
Todayâs designers of Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games create realities for a living. They canât spend centuries mulling over the issues: they have to face them head-on. Their practical experiences can indicate which theoretical proposals actually work in practice.
Thatâs todayâs designers. Tomorrowâs will have a whole new set of questions to answer.
The designers of virtual worlds are the literal gods of those realities. Suppose Artificial Intelligence comes through and allows us to create non-player characters as smart as us. What are our responsibilities as gods? How should we, as gods, conduct ourselves?
How should we be gods
- âŠ