The Volume Operator in Spherically Symmetric Quantum Geometry

The spherically symmetric volume operator is discussed and all its eigenstates and eigenvalues are computed. Even though the operator is more complicated than its homogeneous analog, the spectra are related in the sense that the larger spherically symmetric volume spectrum adds fine structure to the homogeneous spectrum. The formulas of this paper complete the derivation of an explicit calculus for spherically symmetric models which is needed for future physical investigations.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figure

The cultural hermeneutic of Russia's historical experience: the case of Aleksandr Samojlovič Akhiezer

The article presents an overview of A. S. Akhiezer's reconstruction of Russia's socio-cultural history as a cultural hermeneutic. The underlying idea is that the way humans make sense of their existence is driven by an algorithm of meaning production informing the organization of their ‘world', in particular the selection of the means involved in that production. Thus the central axis of Akhiezer's hermeneutic, methodogically, is symbolization: ‘worlds', that is, socio-cultural matrices, are made according to and reflect specific modes of symbolization. Akhiezer's account of the Russian socio-cultural experience is centred on the particular algorithm that he names raskol (schism). His purpose was twofold: to examine the ‘logic' of raskol, on the one hand, and to investigate, on the other hand, in the manner of a historian, its impact and consequences for Russian society at large, including its effects on institution-building. In this way, the study of raskol goes hand in hand with an investigation of and commentary concerning the uncertain state in Russia of what Akhiezer named the bol'šoe obščestvo (roughly, the modern differentiated, dynamic institutional order). In effect, his theory is a social ontology with culture at the centr

Die Erstrezeption von Irmgard Keuns Roman "Gilgi – eine von uns"

Dieser Artikel widmet sich der Erstrezeption des Romans „Gilgi – eine von uns“, geschrieben von Irmgard Keun, erschienen 1931. Die Rezeption wird mithilfe von Rezensionen betrachtet, welche als öffentliche Rezeptionszeugnisse gewertet werden, und Leserinnenzuschriften, die als private Rezeptionszeugnisse gelten. Um den Roman und die Diskussion um den Roman zu verstehen und zeitgeschichtlich einordnen zu können, wird zunächst in einem Exkurs auf die Debatte über die Neue Frau zur Zeit der Weimarer Republik eingegangen. Dabei soll die Betrachtung des Frauenbildes in den Zeitschriften „Die Frau“ und „Der Querschnitt“ helfen, stellvertretend für die Repräsentation des Frauenbildes innerhalb der medialen Öffentlichkeit. Danach wird der Roman kurz vorgestellt, um schließlich die Rezeption auszuwerten

Metaphysical Coherentism

I defend metaphysical coherentism, according to which reality is an interdependent network, system, or web, held together by a relation philosophers call metaphysical explanation or grounding . If coherentism is true, nothing is ungrounded, things ground each other, and understanding what it is to be any given thing – a tree, a house, or a person – is grasping how it fits in: how it grounds and is grounded by its environment. Coherentism is inconsistent with a widely-accepted, orthodox view of grounding, according to which certain fundamental facts about reality asymmetrically determine everything else. In Chapter 1, I argue that this view is not supported by any compelling argument,but merely assumed. In Chapter 2, I argue that explanation should be our guide to ground. In other words, I argue that claims about the total distribution of explanations may serve as premises in arguments for conclusions about grounding. I argue, in particular, that instances in which things explain each other are proof of the fact that things ground each other. In Chapter 3, I argue for coherentism from understanding. To understand, I argue, is to recognize coherence, interconnection, and, generally, how things stand with respect to each other. We understand by grasping the complex weaving-together of relationships. Coherentism, I maintain, best accounts how we may, by discerning what grounds what, come to genuinely understand our world. In Chapter 4, I pursue an intramural debate among varieties of metaphysical coherentism. I argue that the core features of coherentism are compatible with many different intuitions about the nature of reality, and that the view can take many different forms

Infancia y cuento de hadas en Il bacio della Medusa, de Melania Mazzucco

Il bacio della Medusa, opera prima de la escritora italiana Melania Mazzucco (Roma, 1966), narra el amor erótico entre dos mujeres a comienzos del siglo XX. En este artículo estudiaremos las representaciones de la infancia (un tema recurrente en distintas obras de la autora), a partir del análisis de la intertextualidad con el cuento de hadas. Los procedimientos de reescritura, citación e inversión transmiten una visión desencantada de la niñez

Oral Text: A South Indian Instance

An unaffi liated scholar trained as a cultural anthropologist, Richard Swiderski has carried on fieldwork among the Knanaya. His full-length study of that people's rituals, Blood Weddings, will appear in both India and the United States in late 1988

Development of a Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Procedure for Analysis of Cytokine Responses to Strongylus Vulgaris in Ponies.

The effect of oral vaccination with radiation-attenuated Strongylus vulgaris larvae on the cytokine responses of ponies to oral challenge with S. vulgaris was examined. Message was quantified using RT-PCR by interpolation against a plasmid-derived standard curve. PCR product was detected using the Perkin-Elmer QPCR System 5000. Standard curves were analyzed with a two parameter exponential rise to maximum fit of the data. By altering the cycling parameters to maintain $\beta$-actin amplification within its exponential phase, $\beta$-actin was used as a normalization factor. The assay resolves 2 fold changes in message, has a linear dynamic range on the order of 3 logs, and is precise with errors in the range of 10% for replicate amplifications from the same sample. The error between replicate RNA samples from separate extractions of the same cell population, following $\beta$-actin normalization, was 13-27%. Equine Interleukin (IL)6, IL10, and $\beta$-actin were cloned and sequenced for use in this assay. 10 ponies were reared parasite-free. Four received 500 attenuated S. vulgaris L\sb3 9 and 6 weeks prior to challenge with 1000 nonirradiated L\sb3. Four nonvaccinated ponies were also challenged. Control ponies were neither vaccinated nor challenged. Four days prior to challenge, and on days 4, 9, and 14 post-challenge, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and colonic lymph nodes (CLN) were collected. Prior to necropsy on D14, CLN were obtained surgically. PBMC and CLN cells (CLNC) were assayed for IL2, IL4, IL5, IL10, and IFN$\gamma.$ Vaccinates and nonvaccinates demonstrated TH2-like cytokine patterns with significant elevations in IL4 and IL5 in response to S. vulgaris challenge. Vaccinates produced more IL4 and IL5 than nonvaccinates prior to challenge (not statistically significant), and significantly more IL4 in response to challenge, first in CLNC at D4 and then PBMC at D9. IL4 in CLNC of nonvaccinates increased significantly by D9. Thus, ponies appear to generate TH2-like responses to gastrointestinal nematodes and anamnestic IL4 production may be one component of the protective immune response generated by vaccination. Strongylus vulgaris-specific antibody isotypes and lymphoproliferative responses were also examined

The production of Mexican rhotics by Haitian Creole speakers in Tijuana Mexico: a sociophonetic approach

This study investigates the production of the Spanish /ɾ-r/ (e.g., [ˈpɛ.ɾo] ‘but’ vs. [ˈpɛ.ro] \u27dog\u27) contrast by 30 multi-lingual Haitian Creole speakers learning Spanish, living in Tijuana, Mexico. Specifically, it (a) tests the Speech Learning Model (Flege, 1995) regarding the ease of acquisition of \u27new sounds\u27 (i.e. the Spanish rhotics), (b) examines the effect of orthography and (c) investigates the role of social factors, namely language attitude and education on the production of the Spanish rhotics. An acoustic analysis of 2396 tokens show that despite Flege\u27s predictions, the [r] and the [ɾ] are difficult for the learners to produce, albeit the latter is easier than the former. Developmental patterns, transfer and target-like production of the /ɾ/ and the /r/ are reported. The results also indicate a novel effect of orthography, where the grapheme and the digraph trigger an asymmetrical effect in the learners\u27 productions. Moreover, the results presented a trend, where the more educated learners had less difficulty with the production of the /r/. Furthermore, all learners reported a positive attitude towards Spanish, which may explain why there was not a significant correlation between language attitude and the production of the /ɾ-r/ contrast. The findings make an important contribution to the field of L2 and speech learning because of the various factors that have been considered in the study