The Afrocentric Project: The Quest for Particularity and the Negation of Objectivity

This article is a philosophical critique of a very controversial paradigm within Africana Studies. The methodology employed in this paper is a philosophical critique of the epistemological and ontological underpinnings of Afrocentricity. The quest for a distinctive (metaphysical) Africanist perspective has cast Afrocentricity as a subjectivist approach to affirming the integrity of an Africana existential condition. While in the course of African American intellectual history a number of scholars and thinkers have supported the notion of an unique Black metaphysics, Afrocentricity brings to the table a particular approach to the tradition of affirming an African metaphysical exclusivism. What I mean by the quest for particularity is the notion that there is a unique Africana presence in the world, such that it stands antithetical to the European/Western experience. I explore what I call weak Afrocentricity, i.e., a cultural determinism demarcating the African and European experience. Afrocentricity, in positing a cultural relativism, renders that not only is Eurocentrism a false universality, but that universality per se is false. This denial of universality (at the ontological level ) has as a corresponding category the negation of objectivity (at the epistemological plane). I examine the works of two leading Afrocentric proponents, Molefi Asante and Marimba Ani, arguably two of the most significant contributors to the philosophical foundations of Afrocentricity

Social Conformity and the Line Judgement Task for Adolescents with ASD

The primary intent of this study is to add to the growing research regarding social functioning and theory of mind (ToM) of young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study takes into account the Solomon Asch line judgement tasks effect on peer pressure and social conformity. Previous research has shown that there is a discrepancy in the conformity exhibited by typically developing individuals (TD) and ASD individuals. This study seeks to address the degree to which ASD individuals are affected by social influence and how likely they will be to conform. Conformity rates will be compared to that of TD college age students as well as students with various intellectual disabilities (ID)

[Review of] Charles W. Mills. The Racial Contract

Over the past few years I have read a number of articles by Professor Charles Mills. I have found him to be a stimulating thinker and lucid writer. In fact, I had the opportunity to use his article, Non-Cartesian Sums: Philosophy and the African American Experience (Teaching Philosophy, September 1994) in an NEH seminar that I conducted on multicultural approaches to Honor College teaching. Mills is a significant voice among the small cadre of Black philosophers committed to correction of and expansion beyond the Eurocentric myopia of professional philosophy. In his previous scholarship he demonstrates not only that he is insightful, critical and creative, but that he also grapples with questions and issues that few other philosophers, (including fellow Black philosophers), have dared to address. Of particular note is his provocative article, Do Black Men Have a Moral Duty to Marry Black Women (Journal of Social Philosophy, July 1994)

The Chroma Software System for Lattice QCD

We describe aspects of the Chroma software system for lattice QCD calculations. Chroma is an open source C++ based software system developed using the software infrastructure of the US SciDAC initiative. Chroma interfaces with output from the BAGEL assembly generator for optimised lattice fermion kernels on some architectures. It can be run on workstations, clusters and the QCDOC supercomputer.Comment: poster presented at Lattice2004(machines

The Prisoner Who Cried Wolf, and Then Swallowed a Sprinkler Head

Case Presentation: A 37-year-old man presented from jail reporting foreign body ingestion of a sprinkler head. While initial radiography did not reveal the foreign body, subsequent imaging with computed tomography demonstrated the sprinkler head. When confronted with this discrepancy the patient admitted to having the sprinkler head in his possession and choosing to swallow it after his initial radiography.Discussion: This case demonstrates the importance of maintaining a high threshold for real illness in situations where there is suspected malingering, a situation not infrequently encountered in the emergency department

COTGAME: Cotton Insect Pest Management Simulation Game

An interactive version of the Cotton and Insect Management (CIM) model was developed to aid individuals in improving their insect pest management decision making skills. This version, COTGAME, allowed the user to encounter situations and make decisions during the simulated cotton crop growing season. The intermediate results of these decisions were immediately delivered in the form of a report on the current status of the crop and insect populations. Based on the information presented in this status report, the user would make additional management decisions and take tactical actions. Once the harvest date had been reached, the economics of the simulated production season was presented to allow the user to evaluate the decisions. The use of COTGAME has been a way to apply the technology in a detailed crop growth model to improving insect pest management skills

Who Uses Community-Based Youth Shelters? An Inter-Group And Intra-Group Analysis

Community-based youth shelters are the primary method of intervention designed to meet the complex needs of at-risk youth who leave home before they have developed the skills to live independently. This research examines shelter users\u27 patterns of cross-sector service use to better understand the needs and resources of shelter residents. The aims of this study are 1) to perform an inter-group analysis, comparing sheltered youth with status offense runaways and foster care runaways, and 2) to explore the population of emergency shelter residents using an intra-group analysis, determining whether distinct profiles of sheltered youth exist, based on individual characteristics and service use patterns over time. The study samples were drawn from a larger longitudinal study of services and outcomes. The samples included subjects born between 1981 and 1992 who were reported for child maltreatment and/or lived in families receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children during childhood. For the first Aim, the sample included subjects identified as runaway by the court system: status offense runaways), foster care runaways, and sheltered youth. The sample for the second aim included only sheltered youth. Bivariate analyses found differences between runaway groups in terms of poverty, maltreatment history, school-identified disability, report of neglect, receipt of family services, delinquent offenses, truancy, ethnicity, and parent mental health or substance abuse treatment. Controlling for covariates in the multinomial logistic regression, only age discriminated between all three groups. Just 20% of the sheltered youth ran away from their previous residence or spent time living on the street. Latent class analysis suggests sheltered youth fall into four clearly distinct categories, clearly defined by connection to school and family. These include: 1) a parent time-out group: attending school and living with family), 2) a school/behavior problem group: not attending school and living with family), 3) youth in DFS custody placed at the shelter: disconnected from family but attending school), and 4) multi-problem youth: disconnected from both school and family)