Mythemesis: The Human Way of Knowing and Believing

Although science, philosophy, literature, and religion each have a different way of formulating explanations, they are all telling stories of why and how. The author describes how the human propensity to seek explanation through narrative can he understood as the product of an embodied mind. He offers a hypothesis ( \"mythemesis\" ) to explain the process and goes on to show that it may provide an opportunity to reduce scientific-religious conflict by transcending the dichotomy between first- and third-person modes of experience

2D Ground-Penetrating Radar AVO Response to a 3D Dielectric Permittivity Anomaly

To evaluate the amplitude vs offset response of GPR to small distributions of hydrocarbon contamination, I acquired multi-offset 450 MHz GPR data in TE and TM modes over a buried rectangular tank filled with gasoline saturated sand. All dimensions of the tank were less than one wavelength at the characteristic antenna frequency. The permittivity ratio at the moist sand/gasoline sand boundary, estimated by fitting the Fresnel equations to the observed amplitudes and by Brewster\u27s Angle analysis, differed from that obtained through migration velocity analysis by no more than 12%. 2D FDTD modeling reproduced amplitude characteristics for 3 o f 4 target/polarization combinations and explained some deviations from the Fresnel curves. Additional deviations may be caused by out-of-plane polarization effects or heterogeneity not included in the 2D model

Estimating Debye Parameters from GPR Reflection Data Using Spectral Ratios

In the GPR frequency range, electromagnetic wave attenuation is largely controlled by dielectric relaxation processes. A primary relaxation commonly occurs in the 10 – 100 MHz range for many earth materials in which the GPR signal propagates effectively. This relaxation leads to strong nonlinearity in the frequency dependent attenuation and occurs in a frequency range that is often used for groundwater investigations. This non-linearity complicates data analysis but also may provide additional material property information. I investigate inversion for Debye relaxation parameters directly from GPR reflection data, including increasing the bandwidth of the signal by summing the response from 25 MHz, 50 MHz, 100 MHz, and 200 MHz radar antennas. I compute the timefrequency distribution using spectral decomposition, then use the method of spectral ratios to measure the attenuation vs frequency curve for significant reflection events. I then fit the curve with the multiparameter Debye model. Using synthetic and field data I show that this approach provides reliable estimates of the primary relaxation time for a variety of realistic subsurface models. This approach has the potential to improve our understanding of aquifer material properties

Depth Characterization of Shallow Aquifers with Seismic Reflection, Part I—The Failure of NMO Velocity Analysis and Quantitative Error Prediction

As seismic reflection data become more prevalent as input for quantitative environmental and engineering studies, there is a growing need to assess and improve the accuracy of reflection processing methodologies. It is common for compressional-wave velocities to increase by a factor of four or more where shallow, unconsolidated sediments change from a dry or partially watersaturated regime to full saturation. While this degree of velocity contrast is rare in conventional seismology, it is a common scenario in shallow environments and leads to significant problems when trying to record and interpret reflections within about the first 30 m below the water table. The problem is compounded in shallow reflection studies where problems primarily associated with surface-related noise limit the range of offsets we can use to record reflected energy. For offset-to-depth ratios typically required to record reflections originating in this zone, the assumptions of NMO velocity analysis are violated, leading to very large errors in depth and layer thickness estimates if the Dix equation is assumed valid. For a broad range of velocity profiles, saturated layer thickness will be overestimated by a minimum of 10% if the boundary of interest is \u3c30 m below the water table. The error increases rapidly as the boundary shallows and can be very large\u3e(\u3e100%) if the saturated layer is \u3c10 m thick. This degree of error has a significant and negative impact if quantitative interpretations of aquifer geometry are used in aquifer evaluation such as predictive groundwater flow modeling or total resource\u3eestimates

AUTHORITARIAN AND EGALITARIAN FORCES SHAPE T·HE SCHOOL WORK ETHIC

This paper summarizes the development ofmodern education as a rational response to the demands of nationalism and industrialization in western societies. The problem of how to best encourage the "school work ethic" is reflected in conflicts between authoritarian and egalitarian ideals in the development of modern education. Tension is seen when one focuses on the use of grading scales. Early in the twentieth century, the very formal authoritarian 0-100 scale was modified to an ABCDE scale at the urging of liberal forces. That scales was modified to ABCDF as authoritarian forces emphasized the negative connotations of "failing.

The Growing Prospects for Maritime Security Cooperationin Southeast Asia.

The sea dominates Southeast Asia, covering roughly 80 percent of its area. The region’s islands and peninsulas, wedged between the Pacific and Indian oceans, border major arteries of communication and commerce. Thus the eco- nomic and political affairs of Southeast Asia have been dominated by the sea. In the premodern period, ports such as Svirijaya and Malacca established empires based upon sea power in area waters. In succeeding centuries European warships and their heavy guns were the keys to colonization

Systems, Social Order, and the Global Debt Crisis

Part I examines the global rise of both public and private debt and its recent manifestations in the US housing bubble and the financial panic of 2007-8. A review of the most popular theories of the debt crisis is provided, including an explication of securitized banking and economic theory. The underlying condition of increasing ecological and energetic scarcity is accorded central significance in the broad trajectory of world growth and debt, Part II explicates systems theories of social order and the social significance of markets. The theories of Niklas Luhmann, Talcott Parsons, Mario Bunge, Anthony Giddens, and Jürgen Habermas are evaluated with respect to their theories of social order and crisis. A central finding is that, although declining rates of exergy production inhibit the global economic recovery as measured by conventional economic tools, this fact is not likely to be widely recognized. A central theme of Part II is how social systems handle uncertainty, risk, and to what extent complex social systems can be regulated normatively by the public sphere. As global society becomes increasingly interconnected and dependent upon the depletion of material and energy resources, the communication channels that facilitate the self-understanding of modern society at the same time proliferate, becoming increasingly disconnected and self-referential. Luhmann’s systems theory is used to explain why collective recognition and action is at once rendered more necessary and increasingly unlikely given the complexity of global society that Earth’s terrestrial stock of nonrenewable energy resources has engendered

The Falling Rate of Profit Thesis Reassessed: Toward a Sociology of Marx’s Value Theory of Labor

Marx considered his theory of the falling rate of profit to be one of the most important discoveries in the field of political economy. According to Marx’s theory, productivity increases put downward pressure on prices and hence profits. Recurrent crises of capital devaluation are both the consequence and solution to this pressure, aggravating the loss of profits initially, but enabling the pursuit of profits via accumulation to once again ensue. Marx’s argument, however, has been the subject of intense dispute for over a century. His critics charge that Marx’s thesis is not only improbable but impossible. This study is an attempt at arbitration of this dispute, inspired by recent quantitative reinterpretations of Marx’s critique of political economy. In the interest of providing a detailed review of the theoretical and empirical literature surrounding this issue, I specifically address the debate about the “transformation” of values into prices. Resolving this issue not only removes some a priori objections to Marx’s value theory, it also provides a coherent interpretation of Marx’s falling profit rate thesis. It appears, then, that the alleged refutations of Marx have themselves been refuted. In addition to investigating the logical validity of Marx’s argument, I attempt to ascertain whether and to what extent his argument is supported empirically. I therefore conduct a multivariate time-series regression analysis of various profit rates in the United States. I test several partially competing hypotheses concerning the most important determinants of the profit rate. Most importantly, I operationalize Marx’s concept of value by calculating an aggregate ratio of total price to total labor hours. I find that accelerating value accumulation correlates with a falling rate of profit, which is entirely consistent with Marx’s thesis. Sociology, knowingly or not, has always been the study of modern society. Because of this, I suggest that there are certain core processes at work that are necessary for its reconstitution and which therefore retain a spatial and temporal contiguity. My aim in this study is to help reclaim for sociology the investigation of one of modern society’s most fundamental processes: the accumulation of value