Essence and Cause: Making Something Be What It Is

Aristotle frequently describes essence as a “cause” or “explanation”, thus ascribing to essence some sort of causal or explanatory role. This explanatory role is often explicated by scholars in terms of essence “making the thing be what it is” or “making it the very thing that it is”. I argue that this is problematic, at least on the assumption that “making” expresses an explanatory relation, since it violates certain formal features of explanation. I then consider whether Aristotle is vulnerable to this problem by examining the explanatory role of essence in Posterior Analytics and Metaphysics Z 17

Design of a Broadband Amplifier for High Speed Applications

This paper provides comprehensive insight into the design approach followed for an amplifier dedicated to high speed base band signals. To demonstrate the methodology, an amplifier consisting of nine PHEMT cascode cells within a distributed amplifier topology was designed. The resulting frequency response is 40 GHz at the 3-dB point, and the output voltage for a 43 Gbps eye diagram is 7.3 Vpp at the chip terminal

National input-output table of Brazil

This paper reports on the basic information about the Brazilian input-output tables. First part presents the history of constructing I-O tables in Brazil, starting from the non-official table of 1959. The second part illustrates some basic features of the last table with the reference year of 2005. It also articulates the issues concerning the integration of the table into 2005 BRICS International Input-Output Table.Brazil; Input-Output; Tables

Os discursos de licenciandos, professores universitários e secundários contribuindo para a reestruturação curricular de um curso de licenciatura em Física

Este estudo foca-se na reestruturação curricular de um curso de licenciatura em Física de uma universidade pública. No processo foram analisados, discursos de licenciandos, docentes universitários e professores em exercício procurando-se entender como as demandas desses grupos influenciaram na estrutura curricular resultante. Para interpretar os efeitos de sentidos presentes em documentos e discursos dos sujeitos envolvidos foram adotados referenciais teórico-metodológicos embasados em teorias críticas e na Análise de Discurso de linha francesa. A proposta final situou-se entre as exigências legais e a realidade acadêmica. A legislação consultada, os professores em exercício, os licenciandos e os formadores na Universidade, subsidiaram ou sinalizaram o que e como a estrutura curricular do Curso poderia ter ou ser alterada

More than ever a relational approach is needed: Social Construction and the global pandemic

We are living in challenging times, surfacing many reactions, thoughts, visions and beliefs in an attempt to understand and offer ways to cope with the COVID crisis and the recovery of the world. We believe a constructionist stance can help us respond to this moment.  Everyday life is uncertain, although we most often act as if it is predictable and dependably redundant.  We organize our lives around certainties that lead us to feel that we are in control. The pandemic has pulled the rug from under our feet and uncertainty is now the slogan of our time. However, one “silver lining” of the pandemic might be the way it exposes the unfolding nature of our worlds. To that end, the pandemic helps us embody and thus “know from within” (Shotter, 2010) a constructionist sensibility.  This embodiment of social construction takes us far beyond a simple academic understanding. The confluence of the pandemic and learning about social construction can create the opportunity to put ideas into practice and, in so doing, our understanding of constructionist ideas is deepened. From a constructionist perspective, COVID-19 is not separate from us.  It is happening through us, in us, between us and because of us. Social construction helps us see the world as an interconnected and complex system in which macro and micro levels, as well as human and non-human entities are constantly creating and re-creating possible realities (Simon & Salter, 2020). Indeed, this highly contagious virus, initially framed as a public health issue,  soon revealed its complexity, having also political, social, economic, environmental and relational entanglements. Our attempt to balance the shutdowns (staying at home), for health protection, with the economic need for business to operate is an illustration of how interconnected these systems are. The virus also makes it necessary to balance physical distance with social connection and collective support.  Despite the fear and discomfort, the potential for change ignited by this global crisis is substantial. By coming together with a diversity of voices, experiences, and perspectives, new performances can be enacted, new ways to respond and cope can be imagined, and new forms of living can be created – and these are all changes that could possibly be sustained once the pandemic has past. The pandemic therefore is a perfect time for dialogue and innovation. Dialogue and relationality are fundamental pillars in the construction, de-construction and re-construction of knowledge and society (Gergen, 2009a). Change starts with us in our interactions, one interaction at a time. SC invites us to come together and share the challenges we face, co-creating new possibilities for health and connection. Through collective interactions, new meanings and possibilities emerge; we re-invent realities. How can we address this interconnected and complex reality? And how do we ignite change that supports a reconstruction of our world in ways that address the inequities we currently face? What are the social conditions that can ignite new forms of understanding that generate new and resourceful ways of living?