On the Syntax of Logic and Set Theory

We introduce an extension of the propositional calculus to include abstracts of predicates and quantifiers, employing a single rule along with a novel comprehension schema and a principle of extensionality, which are substituted for the Bernays postulates for quantifiers and the comprehension schemata of ZF and other set theories. We prove that it is consistent in any finite Boolean subset lattice. We investigate the antinomies of Russell, Cantor, Burali-Forti, and others, and discuss the relationship of the system to other set theoretic systems ZF, NBG, and NF. We discuss two methods of axiomatizing higher order quantification and abstraction, and then very briefly discuss the application of one of these methods to areas of mathematics outside of logic.Comment: 34 pages, accepted, to appear in the Review of Symbolic Logi

Against Pointillisme about Mechanics

This paper forms part of a wider campaign: to deny pointillisme. That is the doctrine that a physical theory's fundamental quantities are defined at points of space or of spacetime, and represent intrinsic properties of such points or point-sized objects located there; so that properties of spatial or spatiotemporal regions and their material contents are determined by the point-by-point facts. More specifically, this paper argues against pointillisme about the concept of velocity in classical mechanics; especially against proposals by Tooley, Robinson and Lewis. A companion paper argues against pointillisme about (chrono)-geometry, as proposed by Bricker. To avoid technicalities, I conduct the argument almost entirely in the context of ``Newtonian'' ideas about space and time, and the classical mechanics of point-particles, i.e. extensionless particles moving in a void. But both the debate and my arguments carry over to relativistic physics.Comment: 41 pages Late

Buttons, Handles, and Keys: Advances in Continuous-Control Keyboard Instruments

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Buttons, Handles, and Keys: Advances in Continuous-Control Keyboard Instruments, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/COMJ_a_00297. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with MIT Press Journal's Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. © 2015, MIT Press Journal

The construction of Australia Day: a study of public relations as 'new cultural intermediaries'

Australia Day is a foremost expression of Australian culture and identity, but historical and critical analysis shows that, far from being an organic or spontaneous expression and celebration of identity and culture, Australia's national day has been ma

Feminism for Sale: Commodity Feminism, Femininity, and Subjectivity

Today it is commonplace for the female consumer to be targeted using appropriated feminist discourses. This dissertation theorizes commodity feminism, a play on Marxs conception of commodity fetishism, at the intersections of Marx/Marxism, feminist theory, and Freud/Freudianism. My method involves exploring a series of relationships through reading canonical and contemporary works of political theory and feminist theory. These relationships build upon one another in each chapter: the first relationship is between women and commodities, and to this relationship I add femininity, social control, and subject formation in sequence. In thinking through these relationships, I critique a variety of trade and scholarly marketing publications and marketing campaigns. I argue that the theory of commodity feminism provides a crucial, and as of yet unearthed, understanding of the contemporary relationship between women and commodities. I define commodity feminism as the commodification of feminist critique and praxis. In its cultural sense, commodity feminism is the broad phenomenon in which women are encouraged to express their empowerment by purchasing commodities. The politics of commodity feminism are both liberal and conservative. Commodity feminism is liberal in that it offers a type of resolution (however commodified) to the feminism/femininity tension and endorses liberal feminist politics of independence and self-determination. However, I argue that the view of society underpinning commodity feminism is conservative in that the masses are understood to be a problem in need of control. Therefore, commodity feminism, in addition to resolving the feminism/femininity tension by revaluing feminized commodities and the women who use them, transforms commodities into a form of social control. In other words, commodity feminism makes women entirely unthreatening to the status quo, yet allows them to feel like feminists through their consumption of feminized commodities and production of femininity. This social control is accomplished in part through the role played by commodities and corporations in the production of subjectivity. As this dissertation shows, commodity feminism today constitutes several hegemonic feminine/feminist subjectivities in the Global North and increasingly the Global South

Embedding sustainability through systems thinking in practice: some experiences from the Open University

One initiative that has emerged during the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through the work of the Open University Systems group has been its postgraduate programme in Systems Thinking and Practice (STiP). Built on some forty years’ experience of systems teaching and research at the Open University (OU), this open learning, distance taught programme is designed to develop students’ abilities to tackle complex messy situations, to provide skills to think more holistically and to work more collaboratively to avoid systemic failures. This paper critically reviews the trajectory of this programme –its past, present and future. It discusses the STiP programme’s many boundaries with other programmes and across sectors. Challenges of epistemology, ethics and purpose are explored, in relation to education for sustainability. The programme’s many and varied teaching and learning processes are explicated. The pedagogy of the STiP programme is grounded in a diverse range of students’ experiences and needs that by no means all focus explicitly, or primarily, on sustainability or sustainable development. Many OU students study part-time alongside their other commitments, both work and community-based. STiP students are all interested in systems and learning. But what STiP is a part of for them varies considerably. Students come mainly from the UK and rest of Europe. Many of their interactions are online through several different fora. A diverse, active and critical OU STiP alumni community has developed, initiated by the early graduates of the programme. Academics responsible for the programme also participate in this community’s deliberations, at the invitation of student alumni. In this paper, the authors build on their various experiences of the STiP programme and re-explore its contexts and boundaries from an ESD point of view. They use some of the systems heuristics that they teach, to critically reflect on both what is being achieved through this programme in relation to education for sustainability and what they and some of their past students and associate lecturers think ought to be occurring in this respect as they go forward

Pozicioniranje „PR stunt-a“ u strateškom komuniciranju visokog školstva

“PR stunt” or „Publicity Stunt“ is a carefully planned event with the aim of drawing public attention to the organizers of the stunt or to another goal of the stunt organization. The reasons for considering the use of a promotional stunt have a great potential for a return to investment and the “earnings” from unpaid advertisements in the media which spontaneously reported that something interesting had happened. Apart from the media themselves, the general public also significantly contributes to the spread of publicity through stunts, so that today practically everyone can record the interesting thing they come across via their smartphone and share it on the Internet. Higher education, but also general education, has transformed from a traditional centuries-old approach where the focus was on teachers and institutions to a modern mass approach where the focus is on students and studying occurs through partnership and cooperation within the learning process. The emergence of mass higher education in almost all countries of the world now implies public criticism of factors such as: the quality of lifelong learning services, the success of examinations, the management of the institution, the form of funding and the student standard. Massification is accompanied by the expansion and diversification of higher education, and the result of the latter is the emergence of competition among individual higher education institutions. Therefore, the importance of effectively conveying the message of a higher education institution to a (potential) student or his sponsor of education therefore becomes the subject of professional marketing communication. The paper provides an overview of PR Stunts in Croatia and the world and proposes thematic guidelines for their organization.„PR stunt“ ili PR akrobacija, odnosno promidžbena dosjetka je pomno planirani događaj s ciljem privlačenja pažnje javnosti na organizatore dosjetke ili na drugi cilj organizacije dosjetke. Razlozi za razmatranje upotrebe promidžbene dosjetke nalaze su u velikom potencijalu povrata na ulog te „zaradi“ od neplaćenih reklama u medijima koji su spontano izvijestili o tome da se nešto zanimljivo dogodilo. Osim samih medija, širenju publiciteta putem dosjetke značajno doprinosi i opća javnost na način da danas praktički svatko može putem svojeg smartfona trenutno zabilježiti zanimljivost na koju naiđe te ju podijeliti na internetu. Visoko školstvo, ali i školstvo u svijetu općenito, transformiralo se iz tradicionalnog višestoljetnog pristupa kada je u fokusu bio poučavatelj i institucija na suvremeni masovni pristup gdje je u fokusu student i studiranje se odvija kroz partnerstvo i suradnju unutar procesa učenja. Pojava masovnog visokog obrazovanja u skoro svim državama svijeta sada podrazumijeva javnu kritiku faktora poput: kvalitete usluge cjeloživotnog učenja, uspješnosti ispitivanja, upravljanja institucijom, oblika financiranja te studentskog standarda. Omasovljenje prati širenje i diverzifikacija visokog školstva, a rezultat potonjeg je pojava konkurencije između pojedinih visokoškolskih institucija. Važnost efektivnog prijenosa poruke visoko obrazovne institucije ka (potencijanom) studentu ili njegovom sponzoru školovanja stoga postaje predmet profesionalnog marketinškog komuniciranja. U radu se daje pregled PR Stunt-ova u Hrvatskoj i svijetu te predlažu tematske smjernice pri organizaciji istih

An evaluative measure for outputs in student-run public relations firms and applied courses

A valid, reliable survey instrument was created to be used by public relations student-run firms and other applied public relations courses to gauge client satisfaction. A series of focus groups and pilot tests were conducted to ascertain themes, refine questions, and then to refine the entire instrument. Six constructs to be measured, including strategies used by the students, project management, communication tools, professional demeanor, communication skills, and overall effectiveness, emerged as themes needing to be assessed. The final instrument included 40 scale questions, six follow-up questions (one for each set of scale questions), and four open-ended questions. As an outputs evaluation within General Systems Theory, this evaluative tool provides a feedback loop that did not exist prior for public relations applied courses and student-run firms. This survey, when used by public relations educators, will provide a standardized tool from which discussions can ensue and pedagogy may advance.Thesis (D. Ed.)Department of Educational Studie