Causal Exclusion without Causal Sufficiency

Some non-reductionists claim that so-called ‘exclusion arguments’ against their position rely on a notion of causal sufficiency that is particularly problematic. I argue that such concerns about the role of causal sufficiency in exclusion arguments are relatively superficial since exclusionists can address them by reformulating exclusion arguments in terms of physical sufficiency. The resulting exclusion arguments still face familiar problems, but these are not related to the choice between causal sufficiency and physical sufficiency. The upshot is that objections to the notion of causal sufficiency can be answered in a straightforward fashion and that such objections therefore do not pose a serious threat to exclusion arguments

Form and Functions of Intra-Urban Territories in Late Medieval and Early Modern Brussels (15th-16th centuries)

This paper focuses on the spatial analysis of (some specific) intra-urban territories which existed in late medieval and early modern Brussels (Belgium). By studying their morphological characteristics and origins, I try to understand their functions within urban society. These intra-urban territories did not have clear and stable frontiers, unless they were demarcated by the town walls. The territories were defined by a chain of loose spatial elements. The town council used them to organise urban defence and to imply fiscal and commercial rules. Therefore, I assume that they were created ex nihilo, revealing a divide et impera-policy of the town council

Managing inequality: the political ecology of a small-scale fishery, Mweru-Luapula, Zambia

This paper starts from the perspective on resource management approaches as based upon a body of environmental knowledge. By analysing fisheries management in Mweru-Luapula, Zambia, we argue that this body of environmental knowledge has (i) remained largely unchanged throughout the recent shift to co-management and (ii) is to a great extent based upon general paradigmatic conventions with regard to common property regimes. We therefore simultaneously studied the historical trajectories of both resource management as the political ecology of Mweru-Luapula’s fishing economy. Using a relational perspective – by looking at interaction of the local fishing economy with external developments, but also by examining socioeconomic relations between individual actors – this study exposes constraints and incentives within the local fishing economy that are not absorbed in the current co-management regime. These findings challenge both policy goals as community-based resource management itself. We therefore argue that governance of small-scale fisheries – in order to close the gap between locally based understandings, policy and legislation – should always be built upon all dimensions (social, economic, ecological, political) that define a fisheries system

Democratising party leadership selection in Belgium: motivations and decision-makers

Political parties are increasingly adopting more inclusive procedures to select their party leader, most notably by introducing party primaries. This article tries to detect motives and decision makers for this introduction in Belgian parties. The literature on Westminster-style parties contends that party elites only reluctantly transfer more power from the parliamentary party group (PPG) to party members. They do so only when finding themselves in a weak position: after electoral defeat, when in opposition, when other parties are doing so or when the party is new. The situation in Belgium is different, as is demonstrated with quantitative and qualitative data. Mostly, the party elite was keen on introducing party primaries and took the initiative itself to carry them through. The mechanism at work, however, is the same as in Westminster parties: avoiding too much power for middle-level elites. Because of the different starting position (party delegates selecting the leader), the decision-making process looks completely different. We also argue that the results from Belgian parties might apply to consensus democracies in general

Changes to commercial topography in late medieval Brussels

In this essay I will focus on changes to the commercial topography of late medieval Brussels and its correlation with urban development. Since the work of Henri Pirenne, trade has been considered as an essential factor in the growth of late medieval towns. As a result commercial activities have left traces in urban space. Market places and guild halls are well known examples

Analog IC Design at the University of Twente

This article describes some recent research results from the IC Design group of the University of Twente, located in Enschede, The Netherlands.\ud \ud Our research focuses on analog CMOS circuit design with emphasis on high frequency and broadband circuits. With the trend of system integration in mind, we try to develop new circuit techniques that enable the next steps in system integration in nanometer CMOS technology. Our research funding comes from industry, as well as from governmental organizations. We aim to find fundamental solutions for practical problems of integrated circuits realized in industrial Silicon technologies.\ud \ud CMOS IC technology is dictated by optimal cost and performance of digital circuits and is certainly not optimized for nice analog behavior. As analog designers, we do not have the illusion to be able to change the CMOS technology, so we have to "live with it" and solve the problems by design. In this article several examples will be shown, where problematic analog behavior, such as noise and distortion, can be tackled with new circuit design techniques. These circuit techniques are developed in such a way that they do benefit from the modern technology and thus enable further integration. This way we can improve various analog building blocks for wireless, wire-line and optical communication. Below some examples are given.\ud \u

Finite length spectra of random surfaces and their dependence on genus

The main goal of this article is to understand how the length spectrum of a random surface depends on its genus. Here a random surface means a surface obtained by randomly gluing together an even number of triangles carrying a fixed metric. Given suitable restrictions on the genus of the surface, we consider the number of appearances of fixed finite sets of combinatorial types of curves. Of any such set we determine the asymptotics of the probability distribution. It turns out that these distributions are independent of the genus in an appropriate sense. As an application of our results we study the probability distribution of the systole of random surfaces in a hyperbolic and a more general Riemannian setting. In the hyperbolic setting we are able to determine the limit of the probability distribution for the number of triangles tending to infinity and in the Riemannian setting we derive bounds.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figure

Fear regulation: from passive extinction to active avoidance

It is adaptive to start fearing stimuli that signal imminent danger and to stop fearing these signals when they are no longer followed by danger. The topic of extinction research is to investigate the mechanisms of fear reduction when passively observing such change in contingency. However, we can also actively intervene and change contingencies by executing actions that prevent the signaled danger. Such avoidance behavior is an active form of fear regulation that is adaptive when it serves to protect against imminent danger, but becomes maladaptive when it is not appropriate to the actual level of threat. I will review different theories of the learning and maintenance of avoidance behaviors and present evidence that suggests that similar fear regulation mechanisms are at play in avoidance as in extinction. I will further show how this similarity can provide new hypotheses regarding the mechanism that pushes adaptive avoidance into maladaptive avoidance. Finally, I will discuss strategies to extinguish avoidance behaviors.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech