Metaphor, Objects, and Commodities

This article is a contribution to a symposium that focuses on the ideas of Margaret Jane Radin as a point of departure, and particularly on her analyses of propertization and commodification. While Radin focuses on the harms associated with commodification of the person, relying on Hegel's idea of alienation, we argue that objectification, and in particular objectification of various features of the digital environment, may have important system benefits. We present an extended critique of Radin's analysis, basing the critique in part on Gadamer's argument that meaning and application are interrelated and that meaning changes with application. Central to this interplay is the speculative form of analysis that seeks to fix meaning, contrasted with metaphorical thought that seeks to undermine some fixed meanings and create new meanings through interpretation. The result is that speculative and metaphorical forms are conjoined in an interactive process through which new adaptations emerge. Taking this critique an additional step, we use examples from contemporary intellectual property law discourse to demonstrate how an interactive approach, grounded in metaphor, can yield important insights

Diet, breeding success, detectability, and density of the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) at its northern range limit

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019I studied the diet, breeding success, detectability, and density of great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) in the Middle Fork of the Koyukuk Valley in Arctic Alaska. The study extended from the southern slopes of the Brooks Range to latitudinal tree line, the northern breeding limit of the species, and included what are likely to be the northernmost great horned owl nests on record (up to 68.0113 degrees north). I completed the study during the 2017 and 2018 breeding seasons, during years of high snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) abundance. The focus of this study was to gain an understanding of how high snowshoe hare abundance influences the recruitment, diet, and distribution of this apex generalist predator, and to determine best methods of detecting great horned owls for similar studies in the future. I used motion sensor cameras on nests as well as pellet analysis for diet and breeding studies, and call surveys for information on detectability and density. Great horned owl diet consisted mostly of snowshoe hares by mass (mean 80%, range 65-99%), with an average prey size of 714 g (95% CI ± 34.26). Nestlings received an average of 459 g (95% CI ± 75) of prey per chick per day, and the proportion of hares in their diet positively correlated with fledging success (P = 0.01). During call surveys, length of playback was the most important factor in detecting great horned owls throughout 12 minute surveys, reaching 23% (95% CI = ± 6.4) at 3 minutes, and up to 80% (95% CI = ± 6.1) at 9 minutes. Inclusion of silent listening periods may lessen the chance of detecting great horned owls during playback surveys, though a larger sample size is needed (P = 0.18). There was no correlation between cloud cover and probability of detection (P = 0.60) or wind speed and probability of detection (P = 0.28). However, there was a positive correlation between temperature and probability of detection (P = 0.02). Call surveys gave an estimate of 4.1 great horned owls per square kilometer (z = 4.302, 95% CI = ± 2.63). This was the northernmost study of North America's most widespread year-round bird of prey, and the first density estimate at their northern breeding limit.National Park ServiceChapter 1: Diet and Reproductive Success -- Chapter 2: Methods of Using Call Surveys to Detect Great Horned Owls -- General Conclusions -- References

Full Second-Order Distorted-Wave Calculation without Approximations for Atomic Excitation by Electron Impact

A new technique has been developed for evaluating second-order distorted-wave amplitudes for atomic excitation without making any approximations. By this technique, second-order amplitudes with arbitrary distorted waves and arbitrary Green\u27s functions in the interaction can be evaluated with comparable difficulty. The utility of the method is demonstrated through a practical calculation of the second-order distorted-wave approximation for electron excitation of the 2p state of hydrogen

Video Activity Schedules to Increase Independence for Students with Multiple Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a video activity schedule (VidAS) via iPod to increase independence within novel tasks across three school settings (i.e., office, cafeteria, library) to students with multiple disabilities. Participants, ages 12 and 14, included two individuals with various disabilities who received special education services in a self-contained classroom. Results indicated both participants were able to independently complete novel tasks in three different school settings with the use of the visual activity schedule with embedded video prompts. Implications and limitations are discussed

What We've Learned about World War II

Herman B Wells Distinguished Lecture of the Institute and Society for Advanced Study given on September 29, 2006

Is extracorporeal shock wave therapy effective in treating shoulder tendonitis?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not extracorporeal shock wave therapy is effective in treating shoulder tendonitis. STUDY DESIGN: This review paper analyzes two, double-blind, randomized control trials (RCTs) and one retrospective cohort study. The population included adults with calcified or non-calcified shoulder tendinitis. The intervention was extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT). The groups receiving ESWT in the RCTs were compared to those receiving placebo probes. DATA SOURCE: Each article was a primary research design published in English after 2015 in peer-review journals. OUTCOMES: The outcomes measured were patient-oriented evidence that matters, including pain and disability. The outcomes were measured by questionnaires and surveys including NRS, CMS, SPADI, and VAS. The summary of statistics was reported using mean change from baseline, 95% confidence intervals, standard deviations, and p-values. RESULTS: Lie et al. RCT studied those with non-calcified CRTC tendonitis. There was a statistically significant decrease in mean NRS and CMS score in the group receiving ESWT compared to the control group receiving the placebo probe (p \u3c 0.001; Medicine. 2017;96(35):1-4. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000007940). Kvalaag et al. RCT studied those with non-calcified and calcified RTC tendonitis. There was no statistically significant difference in the group receiving ESWT with supervised exercises compared to the group receiving sham ESWT with supervised exercises (p = .76); however, both groups had a decrease in mean SPADI score (Am J Sports Med. 2017;45(11):2547-2554. doi: 10.1177/0363546517707505 [doi]). Malliaropoulos et al. retrospective cohort study showed a statistically significant improvement in shoulder pain, remission rate, and recurrence rate in those with calcified shoulder tendinopathy (Musculoskelet Disord. 2017;18(1):x. doi: 10.1186/s12891-017-1873-x [doi]). CONCLUSION: It is inconclusive as to whether or not ESWT is effective in treating shoulder tendonitis. Two studies showed statistically significant improvements in shoulder pain and function after ESWT, while one study did not. Further studies are needed to determine which specific type of shoulder tendonitis would benefit most from ESWT

Emerging Issues: A Global Analysis: Legal Recognition and Equal Treatment of Transgender Citizens

Transgender individuals across nations have been subjected to a range of restrictive barriers, which limit their legal recognition of fundamental rights and protections. These obstacles place a stigma on transgender individuals, subjecting the community to a wide range of discrimination. These boundaries range in severity; some countries simply impose restrictions of use for certain facilities, while other countries resort to physical abuse. Recently, certain countries have enacted laws to give transgender members the same legal recognition that other citizens are afforded while other countries fail to accept the transgender community and continue to uphold restrictive barriers

Orientation of Atoms Excited by Charged Particles at High Impact Energies

A perturbation-expansion approach is used to examine the sign of the orientation vector as a function of scattering angle and projectile charge. It is shown that for small angles, the sign of the orientation vector is different for oppositely charged projectiles consistent with the prediction of the classical grazing model. At large angles, on the other hand, the orientation vector for oppositely charged projectiles is shown to have the same sign

Connection between Superelastic and Inelastic Electron-Atom Collisions Involving Polarized Collision Partners

It is shown how the results of a recent experiment by Jiang, Zuo, Vuković, and Bederson [Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 915 (1992)], who investigated low-energy electron scattering from laser-excited polarized sodium atoms in the initial (3p) 2P°3/2 (F=3, MF=3) state, can be related to the inelastic 3S→3P transition involving initially unpolarized electron and atom beams. Hence, this method can provide an independent check of the traditional electron-scattering experiment with unpolarized beams

Multicenter Distorted-Wave Approach for Electron-Impact Ionization of Molecules

We have previously used the molecular three-body distorted-wave model to examine electron-impact single ionization of molecules. One of the possible weaknesses of this approach lies in the fact that the continuum electron wave functions do not depend on the orientation of the molecule. Here we introduce a model called the multicenter molecular three-body distorted-wave (MCM3DW) approach, for which the continuum electron wave functions depend on the orientation of the molecule at the time of ionization. The MCM3DW results are compared with experimental data taken from work by Dorn and colleagues [Ren, Phys. Rev. A 91, 032707 (2015)10.1103/PhysRevA.91.032707; Phys. Rev. A 93, 062704 (2016)10.1103/PhysRevA.93.062704; Phys. Rev. A 95, 022701 (2017)10.1103/PhysRevA.95.022701; Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 123202 (2012)10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.123202; Gong, Phys. Rev. A 98, 042710 (2018)10.1103/PhysRevA.98.042710] in which they measured triple differential cross sections for single ionization of molecular hydrogen while simultaneously determining the orientation of the H2+ ion at the time of ionization. Comparisons are also made with previous theoretical calculations. It is found that orientation effects are important for low incident energy electrons. Very nice agreement with experiment and the time-dependent close coupling results is found for an incident electron energy of 26 eV. Orientation effects become relatively unimportant by the time the incident electron energy is 54 eV