33,062 research outputs found
The Microstructure of Experience
I argue that experiences can have microphenomenal structures, where the macrophenomenal properties we introspect are realized by non-introspectible microphenomenal properties. After explaining what it means to ascribe a microstructure to experience, I defend the thesis against its principal philosophical challenge, discuss how the thesis interacts with other philosophical issues about experience, and consider our prospects for investigating the microphenomenal realm
Modeling Mental Qualities
Conscious experiences are characterized by mental qualities, such as those involved in seeing red, feeling pain, or smelling cinnamon. The standard framework for modeling mental qualities represents them via points in geometrical spaces, where distances between points inversely correspond to degrees of phenomenal similarity. This paper argues that the standard framework is structurally inadequate and develops a new framework that is more powerful and flexible. The core problem for the standard framework is that it cannot capture precision structure: for example, consider the phenomenal contrast between seeing an object as crimson in foveal vision versus merely as red in peripheral vision. The solution I favor is to model mental qualities using regions, rather than points. I explain how this seemingly simple formal innovation not only provides a natural way of modeling precision, but also yields a variety of further theoretical fruits: it enables us to formulate novel hypotheses about the space and structures of mental qualities, formally differentiate two dimensions of phenomenal similarity, generate a quantitative model of the phenomenal sorites, and define a measure of discriminatory grain. A noteworthy consequence is that the structure of the mental qualities of conscious experiences is fundamentally different from the structure of the perceptible qualities of external objects
Cluster detection and risk estimation for spatio-temporal health data
In epidemiological disease mapping one aims to estimate the spatio-temporal
pattern in disease risk and identify high-risk clusters, allowing health
interventions to be appropriately targeted. Bayesian spatio-temporal models are
used to estimate smoothed risk surfaces, but this is contrary to the aim of
identifying groups of areal units that exhibit elevated risks compared with
their neighbours. Therefore, in this paper we propose a new Bayesian
hierarchical modelling approach for simultaneously estimating disease risk and
identifying high-risk clusters in space and time. Inference for this model is
based on Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation, using the freely available R
package CARBayesST that has been developed in conjunction with this paper. Our
methodology is motivated by two case studies, the first of which assesses if
there is a relationship between Public health Districts and colon cancer
clusters in Georgia, while the second looks at the impact of the smoking ban in
public places in England on cardiovascular disease clusters
Detoxification of water by semiconductor photocatalysis
An overview of the use of semiconductor photocatalysis for water purification is given. The basic principles of semiconductor photocatalysis are described along with the current understanding of the underlying reaction mechanism(s) and how it fits in with the major features of the observed Langmuir-Hinshelwood-type kinetics of pollutant destruction. These features are illustrated based on literature on the destruction of aqueous solutions of 4-chlorophenol as a pollutant, using titanium dioxide as the photocatalyst. The range of organic and inorganic pollutants that can be destroyed by semiconductor photocatalysis are reported and discussed. The basic considerations that need to be made when designing a reactor for semiconductor photocatalysis are considered. These include: the nature of the reactor glass, the type of illumination source, and the nature and type of semiconductor photocatalyst. The key basic photoreactor designs are reported and discussed, including external illumination, annular, and circular photoreactors. Actual designs that have been used for fixed and thin falling film semiconductor photocatalyst reactors are illustrated and their different features discussed. Basic non-concentrating and concentrating solar photoreactors for semiconductor photocatalysis are also reported. The design features of the major commercial photocatalytic reactor systems for water purification are reported and illustrated. Several case studies involving commercial photocatalytic reactors for water purification are reported. An attempt is made briefly to compare the efficacy of semiconductor photocatalysis for water purification with that of other, more popular and prevalent water purification processes. The future of semiconductor photocatalysis as a method of purifying water is considered
Holomorphic factorization of determinants of Laplacians using quasi-Fuchsian uniformization
For a quasi-Fuchsian group \Ga with ordinary set , and
the Laplacian on \n differentials on \Ga\bk\Omega, we define a notion of a
Bers dual basis for . We prove that
, is, up to an anomaly computed by
Takhtajan and the second author in \cite{TT1}, the modulus squared of a
holomorphic function F(n), where F(n) is a quasi-Fuchsian analogue of the
Selberg zeta Z(n). This generalizes the D'Hoker-Phong formula
, and is a quasi-Fuchsian counterpart of the result
for Schottky groups proved by Takhtajan and the first author in \cite{MT}.Comment: 15 page
Increased risk of multi-crew operations: examining the effect of group polarisation on perceived invulnerability in general aviation pilots
According to the theory of group polarisation, perceived invulnerability could
be greater in multi-crew operations than for single pilots. The purpose of this study was to
measure the level of perceived invulnerability among general aviation pilots in New
Zealand and to examine whether the level of perceived invulnerability was influenced by
the presence of other pilots. Whilst it is of some concern that the majority of the pilots
exhibited perceived invulnerability, no evidence was found to suggest that the level of
perceived invulnerability is affected by a group polarisation effect, although further
replication of this study is recommended
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