231 research outputs found
Education policy and social justice: the experience of South African school principals
The purpose of this research is to gain insight into how school principals make sense of and promote social justice in their schools in South Africa. Underpinned by the ontological view that knowledge of the world comes from many perspectives, and set within the interpretive, constructionist paradigms, this qualitative study explores seven principalsâ attempts to promote social justice. The data was gathered using semi-structured interviews with principals and staff members from schools in both the public and independent sectors. The findings reveal the principalsâ interpretation of social justice. They also identify those frameworks of leadership which when applied by principals,appear to support social justice better. The thesis argues that principalsâ efforts to promote social justice are constrained by government policies and further compounded by the lack of capacity, in terms of individualsâ ability and understanding, at a National or Provincial level. It is also argued that the community within which the school is positioned significantly influences the principalsâ attempts to promote social justice. It was also evident that the principals have interpreted and reinterpreted social and cultural justice in light of the context within which their school is positioned. The conclusion is that despite principalsâ attempts to promote social justice, both the school context and external political and economic factors significantly constrain their success. Hence education in South Africa continues to struggle to deliver social justice to the majority of learners. This research contributes to the limited literature on leadership in So uth Africa and provides a voice for school leaders to identify the reality they face, rather than expressing the rhetoric of the government
Religious Disagreement Is Not Unique
In discussions of religious disagreement, some epistemologists have suggested that religious disagreement is distinctive. More specifically, they have argued that religious disagreement has certain features which make it possible for theists to resist conciliatory arguments that they must adjust their religious beliefs in response to finding that peers disagree with them. I consider what I take to be the two most prominent features which are claimed to make religious disagreement distinct: religious evidence and evaluative standards in religious contexts. I argue that these two features fail to distinguish religious disagreement in the ways they have been taken to. However, I show that the view that religious disagreement is not a unique form of disagreement makes religious disagreement less, rather than more, worrisome to the theist who would prefer to rationally remain steadfast in her religious beliefs
Maximum Angular Separation Epochs for Exoplanet Imaging Observations
Direct imaging of exoplanets presents both significant challenges and
significant gains. The advantages primarily lie in receiving emitted and, with
future instruments, reflected photons at phase angles not accessible by other
techniques, enabling the potential for atmospheric studies and the detection of
rotation and surface features. The challenges are numerous and include
coronagraph development and achieving the necessary contrast ratio. Here, we
address the specific challenge of determining epochs of maximum angular
separation for the star and planet. We compute orbital ephemerides for known
transiting and radial velocity planets, taking Keplerian orbital elements into
account. We provide analytical expressions for angular star--planet separation
as a function of the true anomaly, including the locations of minimum and
maximum. These expressions are used to calculate uncertainties for maximum
angular separation as a function of time for the known exoplanets, and we
provide strategies for improving ephemerides with application to proposed and
planned imaging missions.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in the
Astronomical Journa
Religious Disagreement Is Not Unique
In discussions of religious disagreement, some epistemologists have suggested that religious disagreement is distinctive. More specifically, they have argued that religious disagreement has certain features which make it possible for theists to resist conciliatory arguments that they must adjust their religious beliefs in response to finding that peers disagree with them. I consider what I take to be the two most prominent features which are claimed to make religious disagreement distinct: religious evidence and evaluative standards in religious contexts. I argue that these two features fail to distinguish religious disagreement in the ways they have been taken to. However, I show that the view that religious disagreement is not a unique form of disagreement makes religious disagreement less, rather than more, worrisome to the theist who would prefer to rationally remain steadfast in her religious beliefs
Insuring the Healthy or Insuring the Sick? The Dilemma of Regulating the Individual Health Insurance Market -- Short Case Studies of Six States
Looks at a range of regulatory strategies used to make individual health insurance policies more accessible and affordable. Assesses the effectiveness of regulatory reforms in Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington
Permissivism, Underdetermination, and Evidence
Permissivism is the thesis that, for some body of evidence and a proposition p, there is more than one rational doxastic attitude any agent with that evidence can take toward p. Proponents of uniqueness deny permissivism, maintaining that every body of evidence always determines a single rational doxastic attitude. In this paper, we explore the debate between permissivism and uniqueness about evidence, outlining some of the major arguments on each side. We then consider how permissivism can be understood as an underdetermination thesis, and show how this moves the debate forward in fruitful ways: in distinguishing between different types of permissivism, in dispelling classic objections to permissivism, and in shedding light on the relationship between permissivism and evidentialism
WFIRST Coronagraph Technology Requirements: Status Update and Systems Engineering Approach
The coronagraphic instrument (CGI) on the Wide-Field Infrared Survey
Telescope (WFIRST) will demonstrate technologies and methods for high-contrast
direct imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanet systems in reflected light,
including polarimetry of circumstellar disks. The WFIRST management and CGI
engineering and science investigation teams have developed requirements for the
instrument, motivated by the objectives and technology development needs of
potential future flagship exoplanet characterization missions such as the NASA
Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) and the Large UV/Optical/IR
Surveyor (LUVOIR). The requirements have been refined to support
recommendations from the WFIRST Independent External Technical/Management/Cost
Review (WIETR) that the WFIRST CGI be classified as a technology demonstration
instrument instead of a science instrument. This paper provides a description
of how the CGI requirements flow from the top of the overall WFIRST mission
structure through the Level 2 requirements, where the focus here is on
capturing the detailed context and rationales for the CGI Level 2 requirements.
The WFIRST requirements flow starts with the top Program Level Requirements
Appendix (PLRA), which contains both high-level mission objectives as well as
the CGI-specific baseline technical and data requirements (BTR and BDR,
respectively)... We also present the process and collaborative tools used in
the L2 requirements development and management, including the collection and
organization of science inputs, an open-source approach to managing the
requirements database, and automating documentation. The tools created for the
CGI L2 requirements have the potential to improve the design and planning of
other projects, streamlining requirement management and maintenance. [Abstract
Abbreviated]Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
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