New Ways of Thinking About Cultural Property: A Critical Appraisal of the Antiquities Trade Debates

In debates over the trade in archaeological objects or antiquities, on one end are those who believe that everyone has a shared interest in and claim to the common heritage of humanity, and thus support a vibrant and legal trade in cultural materials. On the other end are those who believe that cultural objects have special significance for specific groups and thus support the efforts of such groups to regulate their trade and seek their repatriation. The aim of this Essay is to critically examine the components of each group\u27s arguments--their goals, assumptions, and inconsistencies--and try, where possible, to identify what implicit concerns may be driving their current stances in the debate. For it is only when we unpack the individual positions and arguments of the different stakeholders in the antiquities debates that we may move the discussion forward from its current stalemate and develop more nuanced policies, which not only may represent pragmatic solutions, but might better satisfy the many interests involved

Axiomatic Foundations for Metrics of Distributive Justice Shown by the Example of Needs-Based Justice

Distributive justice deals with allocations of goods and bads within a group. Different principles and results of distributions are seen as possible ideals. Often those normative approaches are solely framed verbally, which complicates the application to different concrete distribution situations that are supposed to be evaluated in regard to justice. One possibility in order to frame this precisely and to allow for a fine-grained evaluation of justice lies in formal modelling of these ideals by metrics. Choosing a metric that is supposed to map a certain ideal has to be justified. Such justification might be given by demanding specific substantiated axioms, which have to be met by a metric. This paper introduces such axioms for metrics of distributive justice shown by the example of needs-based justice. Furthermore, some exemplary metrics of needs-based justice and a three dimensional method for visualisation of non-comparative justice axioms or evaluations are presented. Therewith, a base worth discussing for the evaluation and modelling of metrics of distributive justice is given

Empirical Research and Normative Theory – Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Two Methodical Traditions Between Separation and Interdependence

Two questions often shape our view of the world. On the one hand, we ask what there is, on the other hand, we ask what there ought to be. Empirical research and normative theory, the methodological traditions concerned with these questions, entered a difficult relationship, from at least as early as around the time of the advent of modern sciences. To this day, there remains a strong separation between the two domains, with both tending to neglect discourses and results from the other. Contrary to a verdict of strict segregation between »is« and »ought«, there are, nowadays, various attempts to integrate both theoretical approaches. This calls for a newly intensified discourse on the relation between empirical research and normative theory. In this volume, scholars from different disciplines – including psychology, sociology, economics, and philosophy – discuss possible desired or undesired influences on, and limits of, the integration of these two approaches

Introduction to the GiNaC Framework for Symbolic Computation within the C++ Programming Language

The traditional split-up into a low level language and a high level language in the design of computer algebra systems may become obsolete with the advent of more versatile computer languages. We describe GiNaC, a special-purpose system that deliberately denies the need for such a distinction. It is entirely written in C++ and the user can interact with it directly in that language. It was designed to provide efficient handling of multivariate polynomials, algebras and special functions that are needed for loop calculations in theoretical quantum field theory. It also bears some potential to become a more general purpose symbolic package

Perception of stress-related working conditions in hospitals (iCept-study): a comparison between physicians and medical students

Background: The students' perception of working conditions in hospitals hasn't been subject of research in Germany so far. However the perception plays an important role talking about the sustainability of working conditions. The iCept Study wants to examine the perception of medical students compared to the perception of practicing physicians. Methods: The perception will be investigated with a redesigned questionnaire based upon two established and validated questionnaires. The two samples built for this study (students and physician) will be chosen from members of the labor union Marburger Bund. The iCept-Study is designed as an anonymized online-survey. Discussion: The iCept-Study is thought to be the basis of ongoing further investigations regarding the perception of working conditions in hospitals. The results shall serve the facilitation of improving working conditions

Complementary Observables for the Determination of |Vub| in Inclusive Semileptonic B Decays

The determination of |Vub| from inclusive semileptonic B decays is limited by uncertainties in modelling the decay distributions in b->ulnu transitions. The largest uncertainties arise from the limited knowledge of the appropriate b quark mass and Fermi momentum to use in the parameterization of the shape function. This paper presents a new method in which these shape function parameters are constrained by the same data used to measure |Vub|. The method requires measurements of the momenta of both the charged lepton and the neutrino in semileptonic B decays. From these quantities two complementary observables can be constructed, one for discriminating between b->ulnu transitions and background and the other for constraining the shape function. Using this technique the uncertainties in |Vub| from the shape function may be significantly reduced.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure