"Endless Forms" of Evolution? Heuristics in Darwin and Taine.

Morse Peckham wrote in 1959 that rejection and misinterpretation had characterised the first one hundred years of Darwinism. After reviewing René Wellek's 1956 survey of evolutionary ideas in literary history and Joseph Carroll's 1995 discussion of Darwinism in Hippolyte Taine, I argue that Wellek and Carroll have failed to provide accurate accounts of Darwin's influence. I suggest that methodological parallels must be found to make a claim for a theoretical approach being "Darwinian." I consider why The Origin of Species might have appealed methodologically to Taine by examining Darwin's argument, and then suggest that there is a better evaluative criterion of influence—that of "heuristic support"—than those provided by Wellek or Carroll. I test the hypothesis that the "shape" of Taine's theory in History of English Literature is the same as that of Darwin's theory in the Origin. I summarise Taine's theory in brief outline, counter Carroll's claim that Taine was a "biological determinist," and show that Taine's theory was congruent at the explanatory, methodological level with Darwin's, finding that Taine used the same kind of heuristic support to overcome procedural problems similar to Darwin's. I conclude that literary scholars must make better use of specialist scholarship in history and philosophy of science to answer Peckham's charge

Providing Improved Livelihoods for Muskoka\u27s Stakeholders in the Time of Two Global Crises

Climate change and the coronavirus pandemic have drastically impacted the livelihoods ofMuskoka\u27s stakeholders. Climate change has led to altered weather patterns and environments in Muskoka, which have negatively impacted stakeholders\u27 ( defined as permanent residents, seasonal residents and tourists) built infrastructure, mental and physical health, and these effects are only expected to worsen in the coming decades. Similarly, the coronavirus pandemic has caused many physical and mental health problems for Muskoka\u27s stakeholders and has also led to tensions and anxieties regarding opinions about whether or not every stakeholder should be able to access the region during the pandemic. Although coronavirus cases are lower than prior months, the effects of the virus on stakeholders\u27 livelihoods merits closer attention and analysis. I, Andrew Court, am a stakeholder in the Muskoka, Ontario region who greatly cares about the health of the environment and the livelihoods of stakeholders. This summer, I had the privilege of living in Muskoka and studying the effects of these two global crises to provide stakeholders with a framework for adapting to climate change and managing tensions around the coronavirus. I love Muskoka and its citizens, and I hope they find these suggestions helpful in improving their livelihoods

Proposing a Sustainable Future for the Muskoka Region

The following report is from a summer research project conducted between May and August 2020 that was supported by Hamilton College’s Emerson Collaborative Grants. The project’s ultimate goal is to collect empirical survey data combined with expert interviews to propose pathways to a sustainable future for the Muskoka Region. The Muskoka Region is a gorgeous and unique area in Northern Canada that requires and deserves environmental stability and preservation. Over the past few years, Muskoka\u27s environment has been increasingly degraded, and the causes and motivations of this degradation merit attention. This project consists of 3 reports, and aims to improve the Muskoka Region\u27s sustainability. Report 1 and 2 consist of preliminary research through a combination of online empirical data, elite interviews, and participant surveys to set the stage for Report 3, where I propose a sustainable and equitable vision for the future of the very precious Muskoka Region. Specifically, I am interested in finding out what the biggest threats to Muskoka\u27s natural environment are, what demographics may be causing these threats, and how the stakeholders within the region can better manage their individual and collective actions to reduce their ecological impacts

"Endless Forms" of Evolution? Heuristics in Darwin and Taine.

Morse Peckham wrote in 1959 that rejection and misinterpretation had characterised the first one hundred years of Darwinism. After reviewing René Wellek's 1956 survey of evolutionary ideas in literary history and Joseph Carroll's 1995 discussion of Darwinism in Hippolyte Taine, I argue that Wellek and Carroll have failed to provide accurate accounts of Darwin's influence. I suggest that methodological parallels must be found to make a claim for a theoretical approach being "Darwinian." I consider why The Origin of Species might have appealed methodologically to Taine by examining Darwin's argument, and then suggest that there is a better evaluative criterion of influence—that of "heuristic support"—than those provided by Wellek or Carroll. I test the hypothesis that the "shape" of Taine's theory in History of English Literature is the same as that of Darwin's theory in the Origin. I summarise Taine's theory in brief outline, counter Carroll's claim that Taine was a "biological determinist," and show that Taine's theory was congruent at the explanatory, methodological level with Darwin's, finding that Taine used the same kind of heuristic support to overcome procedural problems similar to Darwin's. I conclude that literary scholars must make better use of specialist scholarship in history and philosophy of science to answer Peckham's charge

Development of H. G. Wells’s Conception of the Novel, 1895 to 1911

In his writing on the nature and purpose of the novel between 1895 and 1911, Wells endorses artistic principles for their social effects. His public lecture on “The Contemporary Novel,” written in 1911 in response to a debate with Henry James, is the most lucid articulation of his artistic principles, and his later autobiographical reflections on the debate obscure the clarity of the earlier version. Wells’s artistic principles emerge in his reviews of contemporary fiction for the Saturday Review (1895–1897), where he extends Poe’s concept of “unity of effect” to the novel and justifies his preference for social realism with a theory of cultural evolution. His views develop further in the context of sociological and philosophical debates between 1901 and 1905. Wells commenced the century with a sceptical view on the social effects of literature, but his exposure to British Pragmatism encouraged him to revive the principles developed in his reviewing. The view on Wells’s conception of the novel presented in this thesis challenges the prevailing view that he began his career with a set of purely artistic principles, adding sociological and intellectual apparatus after the turn of the century

Order of dismissal - Civil Action No. B-08-56

Order of dismissal in United States of America v. 37.52 ACRES OF LAND, more or less, situate in CAMERON COUNTY, STATE OF TEXAS; and TEXAS SOUTHMOST COLLEGE DISTRICT, ET AL.https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/bwbsdocuments/1000/thumbnail.jp

A systematic review of the energy and climate impacts of teleworking

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) increasingly enable employees to work from home and other locations (‘teleworking’). This study explores the extent to which teleworking reduces the need to travel to work and the consequent impacts on economy-wide energy consumption. Methods/Design: The paper provides a systematic review of the current state of knowledge of the energy impacts of teleworking. This includes the energy savings from reduced commuter travel and the indirect impacts on energy consumption associated with changes in non-work travel and home energy consumption. The aim is to identify the conditions under which teleworking leads to a net reduction in economy-wide energy consumption, and the circumstances where benefits may be outweighed by unintended impacts. The paper synthesises the results of 39 empirical studies, identified through a comprehensive search of 9,000 published articles. Review results/Synthesis: Twenty six of the 39 studies suggest that teleworking reduces energy use, and only eight studies suggest that teleworking increases, or has a neutral impact on energy use. However, differences in the methodology, scope and assumptions of the different studies make it difficult to estimate ‘average’ energy savings. The main source of savings is the reduced distance travelled for commuting, potentially with an additional contribution from lower office energy consumption. However, the more rigorous studies that include a wider range of impacts (e.g. non-work travel or home energy use) generally find smaller savings. Discussion: Despite the generally positive verdict on teleworking as an energy-saving practice, there are numerous uncertainties and ambiguities about its actual or potential benefits. These relate to the extent to which teleworking may lead to unpredictable increases in non-work travel and home energy use that may outweigh the gains from reduced work travel. The available evidence suggests that economy-wide energy savings are typically modest, and in many circumstances could be negative or non-existent

Analytical design planning technique: a model of the detailed building design process

This journal article was published in the journal, Design Studies [© Elsevier] and the definitive version is available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0142694XCurrent planning practice takes little account of the interdisciplinary, iterative nature of the building design process. This leads to a compromised design process containing inevitable cycles of rework together with associated time and cost penalties in both design and construction. The Analytical Design Planning Technique (ADePT) is a planning methodology which helps to overcome these difficulties. This paper describes the development of a modelling notation and model of the detailed building design process, which forms the first stage of ADePT

A Systematic Nomenclature for the Drosophila Ventral Nervous System

Insect nervous systems are proven and powerful model systems for neuroscience research with wide relevance in biology and medicine. However, descriptions of insect brains have suffered from a lack of a complete and uniform nomenclature. Recognising this problem the Insect Brain Name Working Group produced the first agreed hierarchical nomenclature system for the adult insect brain, using Drosophila melanogaster as the reference framework, with other insect taxa considered to ensure greater consistency and expandability (Ito et al., 2014). Ito et al. (2014) purposely focused on the gnathal regions that account for approximately 50% of the adult CNS. We extend this nomenclature system to the sub-gnathal regions of the adult Drosophila nervous system to provide a nomenclature of the so-called ventral nervous system (VNS), which includes the thoracic and abdominal neuromeres that was not included in the original work and contains the neurons that play critical roles underpinning most fly behaviours