Homunculi Are People Too! Lewis's Definition of Personhood Debugged

David Lewis defends the following "non-circular definition of personhood": "something is a continuant person if and only if it is a maximal R-interrelated aggregate of person-stages. That is: if and only if it is an aggregate of person-stages, each of which is R-related to all the rest (and to itself), and it is a proper part of no other such aggregate." I give a counterexample, involving a person who is a part of another, much larger person, with a separate mental life. I then offer an easy repair, which preserves the virtues of Lewis's definition without introducing any new vices

Reconnecting Schools and Neighborhoods: A proposal for School Centered Community Revitalization in Baltimore Maryland

This project explores the concept of school-centered community as a key aspect in assisting urban renewal through architecture. It employs this concept through the architectural design of a middle school in Baltimore, Maryland that has a focus on music. The existing context of an urban site in the Oldtown area is analyzed to generate a solution to the area’s educational problems as well as to provide an urban renewal plan. In order to develop a project that has great potential to succeed, the projects site was specifically chosen based on its context

Impact of the Slingshot on Bench Press Performance and Shoulder Girdle Muscle Activation

The Sling Shot is an instrument used during the bench press and is thought to improve performance, reduce upper limb pain, and promote proper technique. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the Sling Shot on upper body muscle activity and one-repetition maximum (1RM) bench press performance. The hypothesis stated that if the Sling Shot decreases shoulder torque, then 1RM bench press performance should increase and upper body muscle activity should decrease while using the Sling Shot. Eight college-aged males participated in this study. Each participant’s 1RM was tested with and without the Sling Shot. Results are currently being analyzed for statistical significance. However, the bench press 1RM did increase an average of 29.38 ± 8.21 lbs while wearing the Sling Shot. Muscle activation of the pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, and triceps brachii was measured using surface electromyography (sEMG) on each participant during the bench press under three conditions; 80% of 1RM without the Sling Shot, 80% of 1RM wearing the Sling Shot, and 80% of Sling Shot 1RM wearing the Sling Shot. A 2-way ANOVA with replication is currently being conducted to assess the impact of the Sling Shot on sEMG results

Person to Person in Japan

While still in the midst of their study abroad experiences, students at Linfield College write reflective essays. Their essays address issues of cultural similarity and difference, compare lifestyles, mores, norms, and habits between their host countries and home, and examine changes in perceptions about their host countries and the United States. In this essay, Cody Purchase describes his observations during her study abroad program at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan

Maximising Consent: Operationalising Reciprocity in Secession Referenda

A constitutional referendum on secession from Indonesia was held in East Timor in 1999, with a pro-independence vote triggering widespread violence by the Indonesian army and pro-union militia. Montenegro underwent a similar process in 2006, also opting for independence but with much smoother results. This article will suggest that the deliberative democratic principle of reciprocity can help deliver referendum law based on justifications that can be accepted by all parties concerned. In particular, it proposes that reciprocity can be operationalised in referendum law if the participants in the negotiations that formulate the laws accept fair terms of social cooperation (FTSCs) and resolve disagreements using economy of moral disagreement (EMD). Respectively, these mean parties to negotiations should be willing to justify their position in mutually acceptable terms and if consensus is impossible, agreements should minimise their rejection of other parties’ views. This argument will be made using the negotiations that created East Timor and Montenegro’s referendum laws as case studies