Can Fictionalists Have Faith?

This article has been published in a revised form in Religioius Studies, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412517000063. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © 2016 Cambridge University Press.According to non-doxastic theories of propositional faith, belief that p is not necessary for faith that p. Rather, propositional faith merely requires a 'positive cognitive attitude'. This broad condition, however, can be satisfied by several pragmatic approaches to a domain, including fictionalism. This article shows precisely how fictionalists can have faith given non-doxastic theory, and explains why this is problematic. It then explores one means of separating the two theories, in virtue of the fact that the truth of the propositions in a discourse is of little consequence for fictionalists, whereas their truth matters deeply for the faithful. Although promising, this approach incurs several theoretical costs, hence providing a compelling reason to favour a purely doxastic account of faith.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Providing computer-assisted, two-way feedback in formative assessment: an innovation supporting best educational practice

This thesis presents the design and development of an educational ICT innovation called the Quality Assessment System (QAS), intended to: increase the speed of providing useful, legible and consistent feedback, enhance student engagement in the analysis and improvement of their own work, and provide an easily-accessible, cumulative history of completed tasks and feedback. The QAS has been developed to a proof-of-concept stage as a Microsoft Word add-in, which can be used on digital or handwritten work, and has functions to administer resubmissions. The prototype system was evaluated at a tertiary institution in the field of English for Speakers of Other Languages. I used observations, interview methods, and a Wizard-of-Oz experiment to simulate full use of the software. The research found that: - the QAS could foster the rapid provision of consistent, clear feedback; - the facility to provide digital feedback on handwritten work safeguarded the desire of some students to continue writing their tasks by hand; - the handling of resubmitted tasks and the comparison of feedback on the first and second submissions (or any other pair of user-selected tasks) was considered very useful; - some students were emotional attached to handwritten feedback and believed that feedback mediated by computer showed a lack of teacher care for the students; - administrators believed the QAS would be useful for resolving student-teacher disputes, and as a tool to enhance the robustness of the quality self-assessment system the faculty adhered to. While I acknowledge the need for caution in interpreting the fieldwork results of small samples, this research places systemisation tools such as the QAS firmly on the agenda for closer investigation

Color Measurement on Substrates with Optical Brightening Agents

Yellow and blue Pantone colors were printed on a substrate with high Optical Brightening Agent (OBA) levels and then measured under different measurement conditions as outlined in ISO 13655. Both colors exhibited large DEOO shifts with lighter screen tints, as more paper influenced the measurement. The Pantone colors were further analysed after being printed on two different substrates with varying OBAs. While the solids were color-matched to a DEOO of less than 1.0, the tints resulted in DEOO values above 7.0 due to more paper influence in the lighter screen tints

Attitudes of Paramedic Students towards Specific Medical Conditions: A Four-Year Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the attitude of first year students entering a paramedic course over 4 consecutive yearly intakes toward patients with intellectual disability, substance abuse, attempted suicide, and acute mental illness. Method: The students’ attitude towards four medical conditions commonly encountered in the out-of-hospital setting was assessed using the Medical Condition Regard Scale (MCRS). The MCRS score ranges from 11 to 66. Results: 230 students in Victoria, Australia, participated in the study; 66% were female, and 76% of all students \u3c 21 years of age. Students showed the most negative attitudes towards substance abuse, mean 35(SD+6.6), and the most positive attitude toward intellectual disability, mean 38.2(SD+6.3). Students in 2008 cohort displayed significantly higher regard for all medical conditions (pConclusions: The study findings suggest that these students in Victoria, Australia, entering an undergraduate paramedic or paramedic/nursing course have a relatively poor attitude towards the four reviewed medical conditions, particularly substance abuse

The Atmospheric Effects of Stratospheric Aircraft: a First Program Report

Studies have indicated that, with sufficient technology development, high speed civil transport aircraft could be economically competitive with long haul subsonic aircraft. However, uncertainty about atmospheric pollution, along with community noise and sonic boom, continues to be a major concern; and this is addressed in the planned 6 yr HSRP begun in 1990. Building on NASA's research in atmospheric science and emissions reduction, the AESA studies particularly emphasizing stratospheric ozone effects. Because it will not be possible to directly measure the impact of an HSCT aircraft fleet on the atmosphere, the only means of assessment will be prediction. The process of establishing credibility for the predicted effects will likely be complex and involve continued model development and testing against climatological patterns. Lab simulation of heterogeneous chemistry and other effects will continue to be used to improve the current models

Data to support study of Influence of Ligand Substituent Conformation on the Spin State of an Iron(II)/Di(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine Complex

The solution-phase spin-crossover temperature in iron(II)/4-alkylsulfanyl-2,6-di{pyrazol-1-yl}pyridine complexes is influenced by the conformation of the SMe, SiPr or StBu alkylsulfanyl substituents

Investigation of bovine serum albumin denaturation using ultrasonic spectroscopy

The ability of ultrasound spectroscopy to characterise protein denaturation at relatively high concentrations and under conditions found in foods, is examined. Measurement of longitudinal sound velocity against concentration and frequency (20-160 MHz) for the bovine serum albumin monomer at pH 7.0 gave a frequency independent value for molecular compressibility of at 25 °C, corresponding to a sound velocity for the BSA molecule of 1920 ms-1. At 160 MHz, the longitudinal sound attenuation in BSA molecules is ~5200 Npm-1, a factor of 10 higher than in water. The excess attenuation of the solution over water was nearly 90 Npm-1 at the highest measured volume fraction of 0.03 (or 3% v/v). Concentration-dependent ultrasound velocity (20 - 160 MHz) and attenuation (2 - 120 MHz) spectra were obtained over time for heated bovine serum albumin (BSA) solutions up to 40 mg/mL at neutral pH and at 25 °C. An acoustic scattering model was used which considered the solute molecules as scatterers of ultrasound, to determine the molecules' sound velocity, compressibility, and attenuation properties. Mild heat treatment caused the molecule to organise into dimers and trimers, without change in sound velocity; implying that there is little or no change in secondary structure. Changes in attenuation spectra correlated with estimated molecular weight as determined through DLS and SEC measurements. During oligomerisation, the BSA molecules continue to behave acoustically as monomers. Under severe heat treatment, BSA rapidly suffered irreversible denaturation and gelation occurred which affected both ultrasound attenuation spectra and the velocity of sound, consistent with significant molecular conformation changes and/or molecule-molecule interactions