Eleven Theses on Sound and Transcendence

How can technê both imitate nature, and thus duplicate the model that nature provides, while simultaneously perfecting or accomplishing what nature cannot achieve? Where would technê have learned its skill at fulfilling nature’s ends (and better than nature itself)? How can technê be both disciple and master of physis? The Peripatetic’s competing views about the relationship of physis and technê cannot be consistently reconciled (with apologies to the apologetic Ancient commentators). If technê comes to the aid of physis, and brings physis to completion, then physis cannot be conceived as a simple plenitude or potentiality without lack. Thus the inability of physis to realize its ends without the aid of technê reveals that the relationship of the two cannot be simple subordination. Rather, the relationship is supplementary

MARVELS-1b: A Short-period, Brown Dwarf Desert Candidate from the SDSS-III Marvels Planet Search

We present a new short-period brown dwarf (BD) candidate around the star TYC 1240-00945-1. This candidate was discovered in the first year of the Multi-object APO Radial Velocity Exoplanets Large-area Survey (MARVELS), which is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) III, and we designate the BD as MARVELS-1b. MARVELS uses the technique of dispersed fixed-delay interferometery to simultaneously obtain radial velocity (RV) measurements for 60 objects per field using a single, custom-built instrument that is fiber fed from the SDSS 2.5 m telescope. From our 20 RV measurements spread over a ~370 day time baseline, we derive a Keplerian orbital fit with semi-amplitude K = 2.533 ± 0.025 km s^(–1), period P = 5.8953 ± 0.0004 days, and eccentricity consistent with circular. Independent follow-up RV data confirm the orbit. Adopting a mass of 1.37 ± 0.11 M_☉ for the slightly evolved F9 host star, we infer that the companion has a minimum mass of 28.0 ± 1.5 M_(Jup), a semimajor axis 0.071 ± 0.002 AU assuming an edge-on orbit, and is probably tidally synchronized. We find no evidence for coherent intrinsic variability of the host star at the period of the companion at levels greater than a few millimagnitudes. The companion has an a priori transit probability of ~14%. Although we find no evidence for transits, we cannot definitively rule them out for companion radii ≲ R_(Jup)

JME 4110: Drag Line Wind Energy Generator

The goal of this project was to develop a prototype capable of power a 10 watt light bulb using only the energy from wind

Next Generation Management of Organizational Performance

Managers must aspire to understand their organization in a way that allows them to take appropriate actions when necessary and to be able to utilize tools which encourage the organization to behave in a desirable way. The field of performance management deals with these objectives and is becoming increasingly pervasive. However, the author’s personal experience and substantial scholarship suggest that performance management is linked to dysfunctional behavior in organizations. Various current explanations for the link between measurement and dysfunction revolve around observability or knowledge of the transformation process, but seem simplistic and inadequate. This work examines measurement as one representational form out of many others, for example text. It is proposed that the representational form used in performance management practice is implicated with dysfunctional behavior. This demands an exploration of the relevant facets of organizational reality which influence the relationship with various representational forms. After a theoretical positioning, the relationship is explored empirically through onsite visits at two Microsoft Corporation locations in Copenhagen and Redmond. Thirty stories of performance management, based on interviews with senior managers, are presented. The stories provide the basis for establishing a rich understanding of organizational reality and the implications of using various representational forms in terms of dysfunctional behavior. These implications lead to a fundamental rethinking of the form and boundaries of performance management theory and practice, and emphasize the need for a multi-paradigmatic approach to performance management, which is presented

Virtual Operator Modeling Approach for Construction Machinery

Greater understanding of how highly skilled operators achieve high machine performance and productivity can inform the development of automation technology for construction machinery. Current human operator models, however, have limited fidelity and may not be useful for machinery automation. In addition, while physical modeling and simulation is widely employed in product development, current operator simulation models may be a limiting factor in assessing the performance envelope of virtual prototypes. A virtual operator modelling approach for construction machinery was developed. Challenges to the development of human operator models include determining what cues and triggers human operators use, how human operators make decisions, and how to account for the diversity of human operator responses. Operator interviews were conducted to understand and build a framework of tasks, strategies, cues, and triggers that operators commonly use while controlling a machine through a repeating work cycle. In particular, a set of operation data were collected during an excavator trenching operation and were analyzed to classify tasks and strategies. A rule base was derived from interview and data analyses. Common nomenclature was defined and is explained. Standard tasks were derived from operator interviews, which led to the development of task classification rules and algorithm. Task transitions were detected with fuzzy transition detection classifiers

Kronic hysteria: Exploring the intersection between Australian synthetic cannabis legislation, the media, and drug-related harm

Background Having first appeared in Europe, synthetic cannabis emerged as a drug of concern in Australia during 2011. Kronic is the most well-known brand of synthetic cannabis in Australia and received significant media attention. Policy responses were reactive and piecemeal between state and federal governments. In this paper we explore the relationship between media reports, policy responses, and drug-related harm. Methods Google search engine applications were used to produce time–trend graphs detailing the volume of media stories being published online about synthetic cannabis and Kronic, and also the amount of traffic searching for these terms. A discursive analysis was then conducted on those media reports that were identified by Google as ‘key stories’. The timing of related media stories was also compared with self-reported awareness and month of first use, using previously unpublished data from a purposive sample of Australian synthetic cannabis users. Results Between April and June 2011, mentions of Kronic in the media increased. The number of media stories published online connected strongly with Google searches for the term Kronic. These stories were necessarily framed within dominant discourses that served to construct synthetic cannabis as pathogenic and created a ‘moral panic’. Australian state and federal governments reacted to this moral panic by banning individual synthetic cannabinoid agonists. Manufacturers subsequently released new synthetic blends that they claimed contained new unscheduled chemicals. Conclusion Policies implemented within in the context of ‘moral panic’, while well-intended, can result in increased awareness of the banned product and the use of new yet-to-be-scheduled drugs with unknown potential for harm. Consideration of regulatory models should be based on careful examination of the likely intended and unintended consequences. Such deliberation might be limited by the discursive landscape