Grounding the Free Lunch: Can Grounding Theory Escape Ontological Commitment?

Many ordinary claims seem to straightforwardly entail ontological commitment to problematic entities, such as numbers and properties. If our ordinary claims or commonplace truisms are indeed ontologically committing, it looks like any plausible theory--that is, any theory that accepts these claims--will fail to be ontologically parsimonious, and any parsimonious theory will be implausible. I argue against four ways to resolve this tension, and focus primarily on the solution invoking grounding. I show that the grounding solution rests on a new conception of ontological parsimony that pries existence and ontologically commitment apart. I argue that this conception fails to differentiate between theories that are otherwise on a par, but between which there remains a salient difference. Therefore, the conception fails as a theoretical virtue. Now, grounding can no longer resolve the tension. I thereby undermine one motivation for positing the grounding relation in the first place--its purported ability to resolve this tension

A MEMS Knudsen pump for high gas flow applications.

The Knudsen pump works on the principle of thermal transpiration. As a result of requiring a thermal gradient, channel hydraulic diameter smaller than the mean free path of the gas being pumped, and having no moving parts, the Knudsen pump features a simple and attractive design. The focus of this thesis is to develop a general relation for the ideal pump efficiency as well as to quantify thermal losses in the efficiency equation to predict the efficiency of fabricated pumps. Understanding the efficiency will enable a better understanding of the practical limits of the pump\u27s ability to transfer energy from a heat gradient to kinetic energy, in terms of flow rate, potential energy, and pressure gradient, generating a greater understanding of the applications for which the pump is best suited. Test method and results for a MEMS fabricated pump are provided. Thermal simulations of two designs are presented

Awareness as an Equilibrium Notion: Normal-Form Games

We study normal-form games where parts of the games may not be common knowledge. Agents may be aware only of some facts describing the game. An awareness architecture is given by agents' awareness, and an infinite regress of conjectures about other agents and their conjectures. The problem is specified by the true underlying normal-form game, and by the set of possible awareness architectures. Awareness equilibrium is given by a feasible awareness architecture for each agent, strategies that are played and these strategies have to be consistent with the awareness architectures and agents' rationality. We first study games with complete information, where each player may be aware of a subset of the set of possible actions. We then study games with incomplete information, where each player may be aware of a subset of the set of types and probability over types. Our results illustrate how a departure from the assumption of common knowledge alters equilibium predictions

The Impacts of a Dissolved Carbon Dioxide Barrier on Behavior of Aquatic Invasive Snails Cipangopaludina chinensis and Physella acuta

Invasive species are deleterious to ecosystems and can cause social and economic damage. Current efforts to deter aquatic invasive species include carbon dioxide (CO2) barriers, which act to prevent their spread within ponds and rivers. Studies show that fish can detect and will avoid water with dissolved CO2; however, it is unknown how this barrier can influence other invasive species. Two invasive mollusk species, the Chinese Mystery snail (Cipangopaludina chinensis) and the Bladder snail (Physella acuta), are a threat to the Great Lakes and nearby bodies of water, as they introduce parasites and reduce populations of sport fish

Promoting Intellectual Discovery: Patents Versus Markets

Because they provide exclusive property rights, patents are generally considered to be an effective way to promote intellectual discovery. Here, we propose a different compensation scheme, in which everyone holds shares in the components of potential discoveries and can trade those shares in an anonymous market. In it, incentives to invent are indirect, through changes in share prices. In a series of experiments, we used the knapsack problem (in which participants have to determine the most valuable subset of objects that can fit in a knapsack of fixed volume) as a typical representation of intellectual discovery problems. We found that our "markets system" performed better than the patent system

Environmental Gentrification in Chicago: Perceptions, Dilemmas and Paths Forward

This research sheds light on perceptions of environmental gentrification in Chicago. It also identifies policies and practices that hold potential to promote environmentally healthy neighborhoods and equitable development without displacement. Executive Summary Purpose Access to greenspace, clean air, water, food, and safe, affordable, and stable housing are all important to good health. Yet, low income and communities of color endure disproportionate pollution burdens that negatively affect health. While cleaning up contamination or implementing “green” improvements like parks, playgrounds, bike trails, and other greenspaces can reduce health disparities, these environmental improvements sometimes contribute to rising rents and property values, which can displace the very residents intended to benefit from these amenities. This has been called “environmental gentrification.” This research sheds light on perceptions of environmental gentrification in Chicago. It also identifies policies and practices that hold potential to promote environmentally healthy neighborhoods and equitable development without displacement. Methods The research involved interviewing 27 individuals of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds who possess deep knowledge related to land use through their professional or lived experience in community development, environmental justice, housing justice, industrial development, public health, real estate finance, and/or urban planning. We also reviewed related documents. Findings 1: Gentrification and Disinvestment Can Displace Working Class Residents ❖ The higher cost of living associated with gentrification can harm neighborhoods by displacing residents and businesses, as well as disrupting social networks and community culture. In many cases, people of color are pushed out by an influx of wealthier and white residents. However, gentrification can also benefit some legacy residents through, for example, increased home equity. ❖ As land uses change on the North side of Chicago, polluting industries are migrating to the city’s South side, further consolidating pollution and worsening health inequity. ❖ Disinvestment resulting in poor access to employment, education, transit, healthy foods, retail outlets, and other public and private services not only detrimentally affects health but can lead some families to seek improved living conditions elsewhere. ❖ Disinvestment can be a precursor to future gentrification. Findings 2: Drivers of Disinvestment and Gentrification ❖ Structural racism, market forces, piecemeal policies, and power disparities among actors are factors that drive land use decisions with inequitable outcomes. ❖ Without proactive effort to redress racial inequities, seemingly neutral development decisions in actuality reinforce existing disparities. ❖ Reactive policy responses to the forces driving displacement -- and policies that in some instances contribute to displacement -- place the burden of fighting for affordability on legacy residents. Findings 3: Environmental Gentrification in Chicago ❖ Concern about environmental gentrification varies. Interviewees from gentrifying neighborhoods worried that investments in environmental improvements will accelerate gentrification already occurring, whereas those from disinvested neighborhoods often sought investment, particularly in people themselves through education, training, and capacity-building. ❖ A paradox exists in that immigrants, legacy, and working class residents who improve their neighborhoods through business development, community gardens, and the arts not only make the neighborhood more appealing for themselves but also to gentrifiers. ❖ Respondents voiced concerns about who ultimately benefits from environmental improvements in regard to several projects in Chicago, including but not limited to the 606 Trail, El Paseo Trail, redevelopment of the South Works U.S. Steel Manufacturing Plant, and Big Marsh Bike Park. ❖ Recognizing that decisions about environmental cleanup, parks, trails, or other green amenities are not politically neutral, some interviewees called specifically on environmental organizations to incorporate a wider range of issues that affect local communities into their traditionally siloed work. Findings 4: Development without Displacement ❖ Myriad policy interventions and other strategies (Tables 2a-2e) hold potential to help encourage access to green amenities and their associated health benefits without displacement. No single intervention will be sufficient; rather, multi-faceted solutions are needed that promote affordable housing, generate jobs, improve health and safety, advance sustainable development, and build wealth in communities of color. ❖ Many policies and practices noted in this research may reduce harm caused by disinvestment, gentrification, displacement, and racialized exclusion. Yet, because structural racism exists, communities of color will more likely suffer from land use decisions whether through disinvestment or investment. This highlights the need for policy interventions that go beyond reducing harm to redistribute material and decision-making resources toward communities of color. To do so will require redressing existing power disparities and authentically engaging communities of color in land use decision processes. Findings 5: Community Engagement Toward Co-Governance ❖ Many respondents called for deepening relationships among government agencies, technical experts, and community-based groups so that residents’ local expertise would inform land use decisions to improve neighborhoods and the lives of people living there. ❖ Adopting a “co-governance” model increases the likelihood that the communities most often excluded from planning processes and harmed by land use decisions can influence how investments are made in their neighborhoods in order to benefit from them. Co-governance involves shared decision-making between local communities and other stakeholders in land use decisions; generates collective understanding and action by drawing from everyone’s unique strengths, vantage points, and capacities; and prioritizes governmental transparency and accountability to the communities affected by development decisions. ❖ Many organizers, activists, and community development practitioners are building long term relationships with residents, forming collaborations across issues and neighborhoods, and working toward equitable development. The City can learn from and scale up these approaches. ❖ Because privileges associated with socio-economic status and racial identity can greatly influence an individual’s ability to participate in civic engagement, it is critical that the City and other conveners allocate sufficient funds to ensure accessibility in community engagement processes. ❖ Social equity assessments offer a tool for giving explicit consideration to impacts related to economic, racial, and environmental justice in land use decisions

Live at LICA: Collection Access Via Augmented Reality - Research and Development Report

There is significant scope to improve access to museums collections, with almost half of the UK population not visiting a museum in 2012-2013. Augmented Reality provides new opportunities to create access to and deeper engagement with collections. The museums sector has been exploring its potential to some degree, but survey data suggests many more will do so in the next few years. To date, AR and mobile applications developed by the sector such as the Let's Explore and Museum of London Streetview apps - have been limited in scope. Academic Research projects in this area have not often been taken beyond initial user engagement studies and released publicly. AR sits in a distinct part of the virtuality continuum, which ranges from the completely real to the completely virtual. When deciding to deploy AR, there are a number of factors to consider right at the outset, including whether it will be available on a mobile device or wearable tech (eg headset), whether it is sensor or vision based and how the data will be stored and accessed. This project took place between April 2013 and May 2014. It involved the creation of an Android mobile application which enables users to view 2D images from the Peter Scott Gallery as though exhibited in a physical space, accessed from any locaton with internet connectivity. The research question was concerned with whether mobile augmented reality (MAR) could increase meaningful engagement with museums and art gallery collections. The project team adopted a methodology closely aligned with Research Through Design. They produced 5 digital versions of the prop type and these were developed with iterative participatory design. More than 80 users participated including gallery volunteers and staff, children from local schools and young people from local colleges.  The project team had to respond to several changes in personnel and technical challenges. This resulted in reallocated roles, increased development time, reduced content and reduced promotional activity. The budget was £96,840 but this did not include significant additional unbilled time given by the project team. As a result of the project, a free app was launched in the UK in May 2014 and in the USA in July 2014. It has been downloaded to date 45 times and remains accessible to the public. The software used is open source. A key goal for the arts partner going forward is to find resource to extend the content available. The content management system which is fully functional has been designed to enable this to happen in house. The project has generated insights concerning ethical use of data, backwards compatibility of devices, publication and copyright issues and the quality of digitised collection images