Hylomorphism and Design

Aquinas’s Fifth Way is usually taken to be an adumbration of Paley-like design arguments. Paley-like design arguments have fallen on hard times over the past few centuries, and most contemporary defenders of design arguments in support of theism favor some version of the fine-tuning argument. But fine-tuning designarguments, like Paley’s design argument, are consistent with atomism. And all such arguments are vulnerable to the objection that, given a long enough stretch of time and a sufficient number of universes, there would be no need to posit a designer. In this paper we argue that a deep understanding of Aquinas’s Fifth Way depends upon understanding his hylomorphic account of the nature of composite substance, an account that is inconsistent with atomism. We argue that if one grants hylomorphism, Aquinas’s Fifth Way is difficult to resist. And we defend Aquinas’s hylomorphism against several common objections

User-Adjusted Settings for Music Listening with a Simulated Hearing Aid App: Effects of Dynamic Range Compression, Data-rate and Genre

There are many people who use hearing aids, yet 43% of hearing-aid users do not find that their hearing aids make a difference in their music enjoyment (Leek et al. 2008). Unfortunately for individuals with hearing impairment who enjoy listening to music, hearing aids have been largely aimed to process speech. The significant acoustic dissimilarities between music and speech must be considered by current hearing aid manufactures in order for digital signal processing to increase the overall sound quality of music. Analyses show that 30-40% of hearing aid users in the United States most likely own a smartphone (personal listening device) and that will likely double within 5 years (Sabin, et al 2013). Based on consumers’ lack of enjoyment with listening to music through hearing aids and the increasing number of individuals who use personal listening devices (e.g. iPad, iPhone), researchers have been developing applications for smartphones and tablets that are designed to increase the enjoyment of listening to recorded music over hearing aids or headphones. The current study examined the effects of digital signal processing, and characteristics of the input signal on user-adjusted settings in a simulated hearing aid application made by individuals with hearing impairment and without hearing impairment. Results showed that listeners were most reliable in hearing aid adjustments related to the loudness of music, and somewhat less reliable in the adjustments related to fine tuning (spectral shape)

Tales of uniqueness : Value creation in rural tourism development

The aim of this dissertation is to analyse value creation in a rural tourism development project. In order to analyse value creation, I investigate how participants of a rural tourism development project define and understand uniqueness of that particular rural area as a lever to developing a touristic offer. The empirical research question guiding this work is: How do participants of a rural tourism development project apply ideas about uniqueness of the rural area as a means to develop a touristic offer? I interpret the participants’ ideas of uniqueness with theoretical notions of authenticity - object related, experience related, and host related authenticity - as my analytical tool. I define that different notions of authenticity are embraced by the wider notion of valuation proposition. Valuation propositions are propositions about a potential value of a tangible or intangible object; and it is people who make valuation propositions with a specific purpose in mind. The analytical research question of this dissertation is: How can value creation in a rural tourism development project be understood through notions of authenticity and valuation propositions? This dissertation contributes to the literature on authenticity in tourism studies by viewing the different notions of authenticity as different and compatible expressions of value. I do not pose the question whether a touristic offer is essentially authentic, but I address how different notions of authenticity together are activated for assigning value to a touristic offer. This study also highlights the process of value creation in a project for rural tourism development, offering insights into the opportunities and challenges that arise when authenticity is activated for the purpose of rural tourism development

See No Evil - Climate change risk governance at three municipal tourist offices in Sweden

Climate change is expected to bring about severe changes to the world’s ecosystems and to challenge mobility patterns on all geographical levels. For tourism these changes have worrying implications. This study deals with the link between tourism and climate change on the municipal level in Sweden. Viewing tourism and climate change as an issue for risk governance, the risk governance practices at three municipal tourist offices are explored. The research develops along the questions how employees at municipal tourist offices construct risks from climate change for their operations, how these risk constructions are translated into practice and how the tourist offices collaborate on climate change with the municipal climate adaptation coordinators (CAC) and the risk and vulnerability coordinators (RVC). The risk governance perspective is chosen to enable a practice-near approach to tourism and climate change. In the data generation semi-structured interviews and participant observations are applied. The main findings of the study are that the respondents from the tourist offices frame risks from climate change on two levels: the interview level and the work-practice level. It is noted that the tourist offices do not explicitly deal with climate change in their operations. Further, the collaboration between the tourist offices and the CACs and RVCs is found to be modest. It is concluded that the municipal tourist offices do not carry out any proactive climate change risk governance as the prevailing practices for acquiring organizational value are not set out for renegotiation in the light of climate change

Модель межкорпоративного тиражирования данных с использованием алгоритмических кодов без единого синхронизирующего временного интервала

Рассмотрены проблемы использования модели межкорпоративного тиражирования данных. Предложена модель асинхронного тиражирования баз данных с использованием алгоритмических кодов и без единого синхронизирующего временного интервала, в течение которого работа с локальными данными запрещена

Creation and assessment of a clinical predictive calculator and mortality associated with Candida krusei bloodstream infections

Abstract Background Candida krusei bloodstream infection (CK BSI) is associated with high mortality, but whether this is due to underlying comorbidities in affected patients or the organism itself is unknown. Identifying patient characteristics that are associated with CK BSI is crucial for clinical decision-making and prognosis. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of hospitalized patients with Candida BSI at our institution between 2002 and 2015. Data were collected on demographics, comorbidities, medications, procedures, central lines, vital signs, and laboratory values. Multivariable logistic and Cox regression were used to identify risk factors associated with CK and mortality, respectively. Results We identified 1873 individual patients who developed Candida BSI within the study period, 59 of whom had CK BSI. CK BSI was predicted by hematologic malignancy, gastric malignancy, neutropenia, and the use of prophylactic azole antifungals, monoclonal antibodies, and β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combinations. The C-statistic was 0.86 (95% confidence interval, 0.81–0.91). The crude mortality rates were 64.4% for CK BSI and 41.4% for non-CK BSI. Although CK was associated with higher mortality in univariable Cox regression, this relationship was no longer significant with the addition of the following confounders: lymphoma, neutropenia, glucocorticoid use, chronic liver disease, and elevated creatinine. Conclusions Six patient comorbidities predicted the development of CK BSI with high accuracy. Although patients with CK BSI have higher crude mortality rates than patients with non-CK BSI, this difference is not significant when accounting for other patient characteristics. </jats:sec

Homosexuality, Misogyny, and God\u27s Plan

In response to powerful criticisms of older arguments, contemporary defenders of the Church\u27s traditional stance on homosexuality have fashioned a new kind of argument based upon the special relationship God created between the sexes. In this paper we examine two recent incarnations of this kind of argument and show that both fail to demonstrate the inherent immorality of homosexual relationships, and at most demonstrate that homosexual relationships are inferior to heterosexual relationships in certain respects. At the end of the paper we argue that a good God would have reason to make a certain proportion of humanity homosexual in order to unmask sexist myths. In this way homosexuality could itself strengthen, rather than weaken, the special relationship God created between the sexes

Invasive fungal infections secondary to traumatic injury

Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is a rare but serious complication of traumatic injury. The purpose of this article is to review the epidemiology, natural history, mycology, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes associated with post-traumatic IFI in military and civilian populations. The epidemiology of post-traumatic IFI is poorly characterized, but incidence appears to be rising. Patients often suffer from severe injuries and require extensive medical interventions. Fungi belonging to the order Mucorales are responsible for most post-traumatic IFI in both civilian and military populations. Risk factors differ between these cohorts but include specific injury patterns and comorbidities. Diagnosis of post-traumatic IFI typically follows positive laboratory results in the appropriate clinical context. The gold standard of treatment is surgical debridement in addition to systemic antifungal therapy. Patients with post-traumatic IFI may be at greater risk of amputation, delays in wound healing, hospital complications, and death as compared to trauma patients who do not develop IFI. More research is needed to understand the factors surrounding the development and management of post-traumatic IFI to reduce the significant morbidity and mortality associated with this disease