On representing the relationship between the mathematical and the empirical

We examine, from the partial structures perspective, two forms of applicability of mathematics: at the “bottom” level, the applicability of theoretical structures to the “appearances”, and at the “top” level, the applicability of mathematical to physical theories. We argue that, to accommodate these two forms of applicability, the partial structures approach needs to be extended to include a notion of “partial homomorphism”. As a case study, we present London’s analysis of the superfluid behavior of liquid helium in terms of Bose-Einstein statistics. This involved both the introduction of group theory at the top level, and some modeling at the “phenomenological” level, and thus provides a nice example of the relationships we are interested in. We conclude with a discussion of the “autonomy” of London’s model

Social Machinery and Intelligence

Social machines are systems formed by technical and human elements interacting in a structured manner. The use of digital platforms as mediators allows large numbers of human participants to join such mechanisms, creating systems where interconnected digital and human components operate as a single machine capable of highly sophisticated behaviour. Under certain conditions, such systems can be described as autonomous and goal-driven agents. Many examples of modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be regarded as instances of this class of mechanisms. We argue that this type of autonomous social machines has provided a new paradigm for the design of intelligent systems marking a new phase in the field of AI. The consequences of this observation range from methodological, philosophical to ethical. On the one side, it emphasises the role of Human-Computer Interaction in the design of intelligent systems, while on the other side it draws attention to both the risks for a human being and those for a society relying on mechanisms that are not necessarily controllable. The difficulty by companies in regulating the spread of misinformation, as well as those by authorities to protect task-workers managed by a software infrastructure, could be just some of the effects of this technological paradigm

Executing a u-turn: Withdrawal and secondary party liability following Ahsin v R

This article analyses the conceptual nature of withdrawal from secondary participation in crime under section 66 of the Crimes Act 1961. The majority in Ahsin v R held the recognition of withdrawal must be as a ‘true’ defence, and was unable to negate the elements of s 66 because it could not undo the completed actus reus at the point of participation. This required the majority to clarify or alter the legal elements of section 66, which then indicate the derivative basis of s 66 liability to be on an association of the secondary party to the principal. This view is questionable in light of underlying principles of secondary liability and criminal law generally. This article advocates that in order to establish sufficient moral culpability and fault, some connection from the secondary party to the offence should be required. This connection can be broken if the secondary party fully neutralises his participation before the offence is committed. Withdrawal would therefore be able negate the elements of the offence. Policy reasons may have motivated the majority to reject this conclusion, however this approach is arguably more consistent with secondary party liability in New Zealand and in other jurisdictions

"I could cope so much better if I could just get a good night's sleep" : maternal sleep and mental health from early pregnancy to three years post birth : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Healthy sleep is vital to health and wellbeing at all life stages. But for many women, achieving restorative and satisfying sleep consistently throughout pregnancy is challenging. Because vulnerability to experiencing depressive symptoms increases with poor sleep and poor sleep influences the development and trajectory of depressive symptoms, sleep is an important and modifiable factor in the prevention and treatment of depression. Pregnancy is also considered a key teachable life stage as mothers wish to be healthy in order to protect their unborn baby. Yet research investigating non-pharmacological sleep education interventions for preventing perinatal depression is scarce. This thesis comprises three studies that investigate the relationship between maternal sleep health and depression. It presents findings from a scoped review examining sleep health throughout pregnancy; a longitudinal analysis of depression trajectories from late pregnancy to three years post-birth and the association of different sleep dimensions to trajectory group membership; and, the development, implementation and efficacy of a sleep education pilot intervention designed to promote sleep health and reduce the likelihood of depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy. Findings from the scoped review showed that while sleep in pregnancy is highly variable from one woman to the next, significant changes to sleep throughout pregnancy were not indicated for women who were considered physically and mentally healthy. However, the results of the longitudinal analysis revealed that for a sub-group of women, poor sleep was significantly associated with clinically elevated and persistent depressive symptoms throughout the perinatal period and into their child’s preschool years, with the probability of experiencing depressive symptoms especially pronounced for Māori women. The Sleep HAPi pilot study found recruiting and retaining previously depressed women into a longitudinal perinatal sleep education study achievable and the study design highly acceptable to participants. Similar to the results of the scoped review, self-reported sleep duration, quality, timing, continuity and daytime sleepiness remained stable throughout pregnancy, and at intervention end none of the women in this study were experiencing clinically elevated depressive symptoms. Sleep HAPi women were compared to a control group from a previous study with no sleep education component; Sleep HAPi mothers had significantly better sleep initiation and experienced fewer depressive symptoms at intervention completion, though results require confirmation in a larger randomised control group study. Collectively, the findings from these studies highlight the strong relationship between sleep and maternal mental health. Sleep education interventions, such as Sleep HAPi, show promise for minimising depressive symptoms, and optimising sleep for pregnant women. These findings have important health care practice and policy implications and the potential to improve outcomes for mothers, children, families and society

Collection and Analysis

Copy of a report.https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/sdfrancisco_documents/1045/thumbnail.jp

Landauer Defended: Reply to Norton

Ladyman et al (2007) proposed a model of the implementation of logical operations by physical processes in order to clarify the exact statement of Landauer's Principle, and then ordered a new proof of the latter based on the construction of a thermodynamic cycle, arguing that if Landauer's Principle were false it would be possible to harness a machine that violated it to produce a violation of the second law of thermodynamics. In a recent paper in this journal, John Norton (2011) directly challenges the consistency of that proof. In the present paper we defend the proof given by Ladyman et al against his critique. In particular, contrary to what Norton claims, we argue that the pro- cesses used in the proof cannot be used to construct a cycle that enacts erasure in a thermodynamically reversible way, and that he does not show that the processes used in the proof violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Landauer Defended: Reply to Norton

Ladyman et al (2007) proposed a model of the implementation of logical operations by physical processes in order to clarify the exact statement of Landauer's Principle, and then ordered a new proof of the latter based on the construction of a thermodynamic cycle, arguing that if Landauer's Principle were false it would be possible to harness a machine that violated it to produce a violation of the second law of thermodynamics. In a recent paper in this journal, John Norton (2011) directly challenges the consistency of that proof. In the present paper we defend the proof given by Ladyman et al against his critique. In particular, contrary to what Norton claims, we argue that the pro- cesses used in the proof cannot be used to construct a cycle that enacts erasure in a thermodynamically reversible way, and that he does not show that the processes used in the proof violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics