The Scenery of Knowledge"s Language-Game in Wittgenstein"s Philosophical Investigations

Our purpose is to take into account Wittgenstein"s analyses about knowledge in the Philosophical Investigations, in order to articulate them and elaborate a concept of knowledge (Wissen). My first claim is that this is possible. My second claim is that the complexity of this concept has not been taken into consideration and its originality has been misunderstood in the horizon of the Philosophy of Mind (Vohra, A. 1986), of Philosophy of Psychology (Schulte, J. 1993; Budd, M. 1989). My objection is that the analysis of "knowledgeâ€? presupposes the dissolution of mind and psychology. My third claim concerns the interpretation of the verb "to knowâ€? from K. Bühler"s point of view as a kind of signal (Signal), at least in some uses, and as a symbol or an expression in some others. This connection concerning "knowledgeâ€? has not been brought out in, e.g., (Hacker, P.M.S. 1993; von Savigny, E. and Scholz, O.R. 1995)

Modelling rail track deterioration and maintenance: current practices and future needs

As commercialisation and privatisation of railway systems reach the political agendas in a number of countries, including Australia, the separation of infrastructure from operating business dictates that track costs need to be shared on an equitable basis. There is also a world-wide trend towards increased pressures on rail track infrastructure through increases in axle loads and train speeds. Such productivity and customer service driven pressures inevitably lead to reductions in the life of track components and increases in track maintenance costs. This paper provides a state-of-the-art review of track degradation modeling, as well as an overview of track maintenance decision support systems currently in use in North America and Europe. The essential elements of a maintenance optimisation model currently under development are also highlighted