Chemistry in the Old Northwest

Author Institution: Departments of Chemistry and History of Science, University of WisconsinImmediately after the War for Independence, Americans began to move westward in earnest. There were numerous factors pulling migrants westward, among them the fertile land which had a particular appeal for farmers. Ohio felt the impact first; settlement of Wisconsin was delayed until opening of the lead mines during the later Indian wars. Settlers in the Northwest Territory revealed a penchant for the exploitation of the territory's resources and the creation of educational institutions. Excellence of the soil led to significant agricultural expansion and, later, to growth of an innovative food industry. Mineral resources stimulated the growth of a metals industry and an energy industry based first on coal, then on petroleum. The extensive forests in the northern part of the territory supplied a forest products industry. Pioneer developments took place without benefit of science but after 1850 science took on increasing significance as the colleges and universities prepared individuals for a role in the innovative growth of agriculture, industry, and medicine. A critical question revolves around the disproportionate regional excellence in science (chemistry in particular) shown by universities and colleges of the region

Visualism and technification—the patient behind the screen

At stake in this study is the patient's credibility. The Cartesian philosophical standpoint, which holds sway in western thinking, questions with scepticism whether the reported symptoms are “real.” Do they reside in the body, or are they mentally concocted. However, from the caring perspective any symptom must be both listened and attended to in its own right, not just scrutinized as evidence for an accurate diagnosis

Doing it differently: Engaging interview participants with imaginative variation

Imaginative variation was identified by Husserl (1936/1970) as a phenomenological technique for the purpose of elucidating the manner in which phenomena appear to consciousness. Briefly, by engaging in the phenomenological reduction and using imaginative variation, phenomenologists are able to describe the experience of consciousness, having stepped outside of the natural attitude through the epochē. Imaginative variation is a stage aimed at explicating the structures of experience, and is best described as a mental experiment. Features of the experience are imaginatively altered in order to view the phenomenon under investigation from varying perspectives. Husserl argued that this process will reveal the essences of an experience, as only those aspects that are invariant to the experience of the phenomenon will not be able to change through the variation. Often in qualitative research interviews, participants struggle to articulate or verbalise their experiences. The purpose of this article is to detail a radical and novel way of using imaginative variation with interview participants, by asking the participants to engage with imaginative variation, in order to produce a rich and insightful experiential account of a phenomenon. We will discuss how the first author successfully used imaginative variation in this way in her study of the erotic experience of bondage, discipline, dominance & submission, and sadism & masochism (BDSM), before considering the usefulness of this technique when applied to areas of study beyond sexuality

Lifeworld Inc. : and what to do about it

Can we detect changes in the way that the world turns up as they turn up? This paper makes such an attempt. The first part of the paper argues that a wide-ranging change is occurring in the ontological preconditions of Euro-American cultures, based in reworking what and how an event is produced. Driven by the security – entertainment complex, the aim is to mass produce phenomenological encounter: Lifeworld Inc as I call it. Swimming in a sea of data, such an aim requires the construction of just enough authenticity over and over again. In the second part of the paper, I go on to argue that this new world requires a different kind of social science, one that is experimental in its orientation—just as Lifeworld Inc is—but with a mission to provoke awareness in untoward ways in order to produce new means of association. Only thus, or so I argue, can social science add to the world we are now beginning to live in

Instrumental intentionality: an exploration of mediated intentionality in musical improvisation

This paper examines the musician/instrument relationship through exploring notions of mediated intentionality. Ihde’s [1990. Technology and the Lifeworld. Bloomington: Indiana University Press] writings are taken as a starting point for examining these human– technology relationships with a particular focus on the intentionality of the human-instrument construction. Notions of instruments as mediators of intentionality are then examined from a variety of standpoints found in improvisational practice, with a focus on different conceptions of mediation, instrumental resistance and instrumental agency. Verbeek’s [2008. “Cyborg Intentionality: Rethinking the Phenomenology of Human– Technology Relations.” Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 7: 387–395] conception of Cyborg Intentionality is explored as one way to extend these notions within a post-phenomenological posthuman framework. To help contextualise this discussion the author presents a performance system, the Feral Cello, whose design has been informed by the above discussion. Verbeek’s hybrid and composition notions of intentionality are used as a framework for reflection upon the performance system

Telepresence and the Role of the Senses

The telepresence experience can be evoked in a number of ways. A well-known example is a player of videogames who reports about a telepresence experience, a subjective experience of being in one place or environment, even when physically situated in another place. In this paper we set the phenomenon of telepresence into a theoretical framework. As people react subjectively to stimuli from telepresence, empirical studies can give more evidence about the phenomenon. Thus, our contribution is to bridge the theoretical with the empirical. We discuss theories of perception with an emphasis on Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Gibson, the role of the senses and the Spinozian belief procedure. The aim is to contribute to our understanding of this phenomenon. A telepresence-study that included the affordance concept is used to empirically study how players report sense-reactions to virtual sightseeing in two cities. We investigate and explore the interplay of the philosophical and the empirical. The findings indicate that it is not only the visual sense that plays a role in this experience, but all senses

Papier-mach(in)e: Thinking with “sticky” paper in the cloud

There is nothing less about paper and its use when it comes to academic study as we experience increasingly converging media spaces and functionalities of online applications within the screens of our laptops, mobile phones and tablet devices. The paper persists, and the paperless office, classroom and pedagogy become nothing but pure rhetoric. Hence, it is most pertinent to focus on paper and its “stickiness” in maintaining educational structures and practices. Usually hidden from view or neglected in educational technology studies is a consideration on how we think and interact not only with our mind but also with our heads and limbs. This paper will argue that paper has a composite place or bearing, a kind of stickiness to our technologised bodies, digital mobilities and hybrid practices in what I have coined here as papier-mach(in)e. This claim will be supported by evidence that demonstrates how we simply think both practically and pathically and that our mobilities in media and physical spaces are in one form or another meshed with paper. In fact, a drive towards a paperless classroom or pedagogy is without much foundation when it comes to mobilising a sustainable agenda for technology-enhanced learning

Aesthetic Perspectives on Urban Technologies : Conceptualizing and Evaluating the Technology-Driven Changes in the Urban Everyday Experience

The pervasiveness of technology has undeniably changed the way the urban everyday is structured and experienced. Understanding the deep impact of this development on the everyday experience and its foundational aesthetic components is needed in order to determine how the skills and capacities to cope with the change, as well as to steer it, can be improved. Urban technology solutions – how they are defined, applied and used – are changing the sphere of everyday experience for urban dwellers. Philosophical and applied approaches to urban aesthetics offer perspectives to understand technologically mediated sensory experiences within the urban realm. This chapter shows how new urban technologies act as an agent of change within the familiar urban environment. We outline how the perspective of philosophical aesthetics can be used to understand urban technologies and their role in the constitution of everyday urban lifeworlds.The pervasiveness of technology has changed the way urban everyday is structured and experienced. An understanding of the deep impact of this development on everyday experience and its foundational aesthetic components is necessary in order to determine how skills and capacities can be improved in coping with such change, as well as managing it. Urban technology solutions – how they are defined, applied and used – are changing the sphere of everyday experience for urban dwellers. Philosophical and applied approaches to urban aesthetics offer perspectives on understanding technologically mediated sensory experiences within the urban realm. This chapter shows how new urban technologies act as an agent of change within the familiar urban environment. We outline how the perspective of philosophical aesthetics can be used to understand urban technologies and their role in the constitution of everyday urban lifeworlds.Peer reviewe