Social Criticism and the Exclusion of Ethics

Abstract As Axel Honneth has recently noted, the critical concerns of social philosophers during the past three decades have been focused primarily on questions of justice, with ethical issues about the human good being largely excluded. In the first section I briefly explore this exclusion in both ‘Anglo-American’ political philosophy and ‘German’ critical theory. I then argue, in the main sections, that despite this commitment to their exclusion, distinctively ethical concepts and ideals can be identified both in Rawls’s Theory of Justice and in Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action, taking these as exemplary, representative texts for each theoretical school. These ethical elements, and their implications for the critical evaluation of economic institutions, have gone largely unnoticed. In the final section I indicate the kinds of debates that might be generated, were these to be given the attention they arguably deserve. I focus especially on the significance of empirical issues, and hence on the role of social science in social criticism.</jats:p

Minimum degrees for powers of paths and cycles

We study minimum degree conditions under which a graph $G$ contains $k^{th}$ power of paths and cycles of arbitrary specified lengths. We determine precise thresholds, assuming that the order of G is large. This extends a result of Allen, B\"ottcher and Hladk\'y concerning the containment of squares of paths and squares of cycles of arbitrary specified lengths and settles a conjecture of theirs in the affirmative.Comment: 69 pages, 3 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:0906.3299 by other author

A Letter to Peggy Robertson from Lim Chong Keat

This letter introduces Lim Chong Keat to Peggy Robertson, as he wishes to build up material on the Temiar

To what extent could Business Process Management Suite (BPMS) contribute positively to e-learning?

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of Business Process Management Suite (BPMS) as a teaching-learning technology with the lens of the conversational framework (Laurillard 2002). The paper hopes to link commercial technological development with research in teaching-learning technologies and bring about better collaboration between the two. This theoretical evaluation aims to address the preliminary question - could educational communities adopt BPMS, a tool that has evolved from the commercial world to further enhance teaching-learning process? The scope of this paper and its evaluative study will be limited to using the conversational framework. The paper will briefly discuss BPMS and its relation to business process and business process management to provide a brief introduction. The main section of this paper will be a detailed analysis of key BPMS components against the conversational framework. The conclusion will provide a summary of the effectiveness of BPMS as a teaching-learning tool based on the requirements set out by the conversational framework. The results of the conclusion could lead to further empirical research on BPMS as a teaching-learning technology tool and may be the opportunity to request funding to carry out a proof of concept

COBE experience with filter QUEST

A gyro based filter variation on the standard QUEST attitude determination algorithm is applied to the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE). Filter QUEST is found to be three times as fast as the batch estimator and slightly more accurate than regular QUEST. Perhaps more important than its speed or accuracy is the fact that Filter QUEST can provide real time attitude solutions when regular QUEST cannot, due to lack of observability. Filter QUEST is also easy to use and adjust for the proper memory length. Suitable applications for Filter QUEST include coarse and real time attitude determination

Study of peptide-mineral interactions

The studies of peptide-mineral interactions presented within this thesis aimed to identify and understand the effect(s) induced by peptides/selected motifs on amorphous silica and crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) formation. The effect of imidazole functionality on silica formation was studied using polyvinylimidazole (PVI) and polyhistidine (P-His). The effect of zinc oxide-binding peptides (ZnO-BPs) on the morphology and formation of ZnO were studied using G-12 (GLHVMHKVAPPR) and EM-12 (EAHVMHKVAPRP), and their derivatives, GT-16 (GLHVMHKVAPPRGGGC) and EC-12 (EAHVCHKVAPRP) respectively. The influence of these additives on reaction kinetics, their effect on the precipitates, and their level of incorporation into the precipitates were investigated. This series of studies revealed three common characteristics of peptide-mineral (ZnO-BPs-ZnO and imidazole-silica) interactions. Firstly, a specific functionality of the biomolecule was responsible for the effect induced while a supporting functionality enhanced the effect. The imidazole group of PVI and P-His catalysed the condensation of monosilicic acid but the peptide backbone and more flexible imidazole enhanced the catalytic capability of P-His with respect to PVI having a similar concentration of imidazole groups. The presence of G-12 and GT-16 reduced the aspect ratio of ZnO crystals formed via an adsorption-growth inhibition mechanism. However the addition of a GGGC-tag on GT-16 weakens the adsorption of GT-16 on the (10-10) face of ZnO crystals. This gave rise to selective adsorption of GT-16 on the (0002) face, with a greater reduction of the crystal aspect ratio. For the EM/EC-12 peptides, metal ion complexation that leads to a delay/suppression of ZnO formation was higher for EC-12 compared to EM-12 and was caused by the more efficient complexation of Zn2+ with the peptide containing cysteine. Secondly, additives can interact with different species in the reaction. Imidazole interacts with neutral monosilicic acid via hydrogen bonds but protonated species of imidazole interact with anionic polysilicic acid via electrostatic interactions. Although EM-12 only interacts with Zn2+ in solution, EC-12 was able to interact reversibly with the solid phases formed in the course of reaction. Thirdly, the type of interaction and interacting species determine the level of additive incorporation and its effect on the concentration of reactants remaining in solution when equilibrium is reached. Peptide-surface interactions generally result in incorporation of the peptide into the solid phase (G-12, GT-16, and EC-12) as opposed to the situation where complexation of reactant species in solution shown by EM-12 did not result in peptide incorporation. The use of peptides/motifs (hiomolecules) isolated from combinatorial libraries for silica and ZnO synthesis has been shown to he a promising approach for morphology and reaction control. It is particularly exciting when their use can he extended to the generation of ZnO which has non-biological origin. By understanding the phenomenal complexity of the behaviour of biomolecules in (hio)mineralising systems, the ground rules in their interactions (with species in (hio)mineralising systems) can be generated and exploited for the synthesis of novel nanomaterials with properties tailored for specific applications

A Decade Of Publication: Message From Editor-in-chief

Head-scratching thoughts to present plausible activities for the Asia Pacific Research Unit (APRU), School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia of which I was appointed coordinator brought forth the idea of an academic journal. This notion struck me, and on reflection, recalled that I was totally clueless of publishing a journal entailed. Flipping through pages of scholarly journals helped, to some extent, in comprehending the tasks ahead, but on the other hand the said perusing almost dissuaded me from proceeding with what appeared to be a "presumptuous idea." Tapping the minds of others was the next round of action. In London, and later in Hull, the English said "Nay," apparently thought too problematic, sustainability issues, questionable quality; in short, too much hassle. Perhaps publication of an occasional paper series; not tight-down by any specific deadline as journal issues are bounded with, and the "occasional" really means occasional, nothing fixed and/or obligated. The Dutch, however, were encouraging. And in Leiden, the germ of an electronic journal (e-journal) was planted. The concretisation of the idea of a journal gradually emerged while mid-air on the Amsterdam–Kuala Lumpur flight. But it was the tussle between a conventional hard copy version and an e-journal that remained unresolved. The "How" was apparently not questioned, neither in London nor Amsterdam or Leiden thanks to the unquestioned confidence of my AngloDutch circle of friends. The focus then was the concern of the "What," particularly the type of journal in the planning

Penilaian Kelakuan Hasil Kimpalan Geseran Untuk Logam Kep Ada Logam (Cu-Keluli Dan Al-Keluli) Dan Seramik Kepada Logam (Ab03-A1)

Penyambungan seramik kepada logam penting untuk menggabungkan kekuatan suhu tinggi, rintangan haus dan kakisan, serta sifat seramik yang ringan dengan keliatan dan kebolehrnesinan komponen logam. Sebagai proses penyambungan keadaan pepejal, kimpalan geseran sangat sesuai untuk penyambungan bahan dengan sifat terma dan mekanikal yang jauh berbeza, seperti logam dan seramik. Objektif tesis ini adalah menilai kimpalan geseran logam kepada logam dan seramik kepada logam. Kajian dimulakan dengan penilaian hasil kimpalan geseran antara tembaga dengan keluli (Cu- St) serta aluminium dengan keluli (Al-St) sebelum diteruskan dengan kimpalan geseran aluminium kepada alumina. Sambungan-sambungan disediakan menggunakan kelajuan putaran dan tekanan tempaan yang berbeza. Kelajuan putaran yang digunakan ialah 900 rpm, 1250 rpm dan 1800 rpm, sementara tekanan tempaan yang digunakan dalam julat, 50 MPa sehingga 110 MPa, bergantung kepada bahan yang disambung. Sambungan Cu- St menunjukkan kekuatan tegangan bertambah dengan peningkatan kelajuan putaran. Joining metals to ceramics is important because it allows the supenor high temperature properties, wear and corrosion resistance, as well as the low weight of ceramics to be combined with tough, easy-to-machine metal parts. As a solid state joining process, friction welding is well suited for joining materials with very different thermal and mechanical properties, such as metals to ceramics. The objective of this thesis was to evaluate friction joints between dissimilar-. metals as well as between metals and ceramics. This study started with a look at the effects of different process parameters on the properties of copper to steel (Cu-St) and aluminum to steel (Al-St) friction joints before moving on to aluminum to alumina (AI-Ah03) friction joints. Friction joints were prepared using different forging pressures and rotational speeds

Building System Selection Framework For Energy Efficient Buildings

Sejak pelancaran konsep kelestarian di Malaysia pada tahun 2009, kawasan seluas 100 juta kaki persegi Bangunan Cekap Tenaga telah dibangunkan Ever since the launch of the sustainability drive in Malaysia in 2009, a total area of 100 million square feet of Energy Efficient (EE) buildings have been develope

A New Algorithm For Assessing The Xco2 Over Peninsular Malaysia Based On Gosat Data

Peningkatan kepekatan karbon dioksida (CO 2) yang disebabkan oleh aktiviti antropogenik telah menjadi tumpuan banyak kajian kerana kesan buruk pemanasan global dan perubahan iklim terhadap alam sekitar. The increasing carbon dioxide (CO 2) concentration induced by anthropogenic activities has been the focal point of many studies due to the adverse effects of global warming and climate change on the environment. To achieve a healthy environment, studying the transport, distributions and source regions of CO 2 in Malaysia is necessary