The Birthing of Things: Bergson as a Reader of Lucretius

I examine, in this short paper, the work of Henri Bergson on Lucretius first published in 1884, and argue for its vital significance in understanding the development of his philosophical thinking. This publication was to serve as an introduction to extracts from Lucretius, for his students at Clermont-Ferrand, with a commentary and notes on the poetry, philosophy, the physics, language and text of his poem De Rerum Natura. In the published volume most of the overview of Lucretius by Bergson is given in the long preface, and this is followed by extracts in Latin, without translation into French, with comments on lines and individual words, which covers all the books of the original poem. By 1899 it had gone to a third edition, and was still in print until the 1960's. Copies today are very difficult to obtain, and only recently has a full electronic version become available on the Internet Archive, to which readers are here directly referred

Resonant Vibrations of the Irish Folk Harp

An analysis of the resonant vibration of an O’Meachair cedar and mahogany Irish folk harp is reported. A report is also made of a small number of measurements carried out on an O’Meachair spruce and maple Irish folk harp. The structure and operation of the harp is described. The theory of small vibrations of plates and wooden boards is set out. The system devised to measure input admittance at driving points on the harp body over a frequency range O-2 kHz is described. Tests of its linearity and out of its frequency flatness are reported. Resonant vibrations of an isolated held and barred soundboard are identified over the frequency range 0 – 1 kHz by input admittance and phase measurement. Using the Chladni powder pattern method, modal shapes on the soundboard are identified and resonant modes of vibration are classified in accordance with Richardson’s notation. Plots of input admittance versus position along the length of the soundboard are presented for each resonant frequency. Input admittance measurements across the soundboard, as part of the determination of modal classification, are also reported. Input admittance on the soundboard of the O’Meachair cedar and mahogany Irish folk harp are reported. A plot of admittance versus frequency at string point G3 over the frequency range 0 - 2 kHz is presented as a suitable representation of the characteristic admittance profile of the instrument. Resonant vibrations of the harp are identified over the frequency range 0 – 2 kHz. At each resonant frequency from 0 – 1 kHz, plots of input admittance along the length of the soundboard are presented. Modal classifications are suggested with the assistance of input admittance measurement at positions of the central bars. Two resonant modes, which are not soundboard modes, are investigated and tentatively identified. Effective modal masses and string tensions are determined. Based on a small number of measurements, the low frequency resonant modes of an O’Meachair spruce and maple Irish folk harp are tentatively identified by comparison with the admittance profile of the cedar and mahogany harp. Suggestions are made for further work, with a view to apply scientific methods to the construction of Irish folk harps

An Evaluation of Mobile Applications for Improving Health in Older Adults: A Review of the Literature

There are over one million mobile applications or apps available for use in improving health. One population that could potentially benefit from the use of mobile applications is the elderly. Choosing appropriate applications can be daunting, however, and there is a paucity of research identifying which applications are useful for elderly patients. The aim of this study is to perform a literature review regarding the available mobile applications for health and fitness and to provide health care providers with evidence-based information about other potentially useful and novel applications for their older patients. In an attempt to address the need for identifying useful mobile applications for the elderly, I conducted a literature review on health and technology articles published within the last ten years. Search terms included mobile app*, smartphone app*, elderly, older, and aged. Eight articles are identified and discussed here that meet the inclusion criteria. Six of these articles reported effectiveness of the application, while all reported positive feedback from elderly users. Two of the studies were randomized controlled trials, and four were pilot or feasibility studies. Three notable apps that received positive feedback— Its LiFE , Heart Coach , and Stim\u27 Art — were all supplemented by another form of technology and human interaction. The sample sizes of these studies are small, and knowledge related to the effectiveness of these apps in older adults is limited; therefore, further research is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of apps in improving the health of all patients

Comparison of the organization of training schools in four state teachers colleges

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University, 1935. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Backboards and Browsers: A Qualitative Examination of the Experiences of Division I Student-Athletes in Online Courses

This research explored the experiences of student-athletes in online education. Interviews were conducted with scholarship student-athletes enrolled at a Bowl Championship Series level, Division I institution. Participants had completed at least one online course while actively participating in their sport. A conceptual framework was developed to describe the experiences of student-athletes in online education from course selection through completion, describing the nature of course work, perceived challenges and advantages, and the influence of athletics. The resulting themes included: flexibility, the student-athlete affect, use of technology, time management, and lack of interaction

How to Read (With) Benjamin: From Cultural History of Materialism to Materialist History of Culture

Footprint 18 investigates the following issues: what Benjamin understands by the ‘constellation of awakening’, how he conceptualises ‘dialectical images’, his deployment of montage, his refusal of a conception of either progress or decline, and his undertaking to show that the images belong not only to a particular time but attain legibility only at a particular time. Famously, according to Benjamin, image is that wherein what has been comes together in a flash with the now to form a constellation. With regard to the architectural theory Benjamin engaged directly with the tectonic tradition, especially the work of Bötticher. He posited the tectonic unconscious and the deployment of optical instruments as crucial for understanding the development which architecture carried from the luxus capitalist forms of commodity. In light of technical innovations in iron and glass, it expressed a form of projective dream work of the architectural around material realisations as products of the industrial revolution, with long consequences for the future

Providing Prescription Drug Coverage to the Elderly: America’s Experiment With Medicare Part D

The federal government\u27s Medicare program did not provide general prescription drug coverage for the first 40 years of its existence. Thus, more than 30 percent of the 44 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries of the program lacked insurance coverage for prescribed medications. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 established a voluntary outpatient prescription drug benefit known as Medicare Part D. This program took effect in 2006 and represents the largest expansion of an entitlement program since the start of Medicare itself. The design of Part D is of particular interest to economists for at least three reasons: First, the program has the potential to affect significantly both the health and the economic well-being of the more than 44 million individuals currently enrolled in Medicare. Second, Part D has substantially increased government spending on health care despite the projections that such spending was already on an unsustainable path. Third, Part D represents an ambitious attempt to use market mechanisms in the delivery of a large-scale entitlement program. Part D has been controversial. In this paper, we aim to shed light on the various issues raised by the Part D program, including the incentives inherent in the competition among plans, the forces that affect drug prices, and the sustainability of Part D in the face of adverse selection and moral hazard. We conclude that Part D has succeeded in a number of important ways, however, substantial room for improvement remains