Refusing to Endorse. A must Explanation for Pejoratives.

In her analysis of pejoratives, Eva Picardi rejects a too sharp separation between descriptive and expressive content. I reconstruct some of her arguments, endorsing Eva’s criticism of Williamson’s analysis of Dummett and developing a suggestion by Manuel Garcia Carpintero on a speech act analysis of pejoratives. Eva’s main concern is accounting for our instinctive refusal to endorse an assertion containing pejoratives because it suggests a picture of reality we do not share. Her stance might be further developed claiming that uses of pejoratives not only suggest, but also promote a wrong picture of reality. Our refusal to endorse implies rejecting not only a wrong picture of reality but also a call for participation to what that picture promotes

Detection of Pulsed X-ray Emission from XMM-Newton Observations of PSR J0538+2817

We report on the XMM-Newton observations of the 143 ms pulsar PSR J0538+2817. We present evidence for the first detections of pulsed X-rays from the source at a frequency which is consistent with the predicted radio frequency. The pulse profile is broad and asymmetric, with a pulse fraction of 18 +/- 3%. We find that the spectrum of the source is well-fit with a blackbody with T^{infty} = (2.12^{+0.04}_{-0.03}) x 10^6 K and N_{H} = 2.5 x 10^21 cm^{-2}. The radius determined from the model fit of 1.68 +/- 0.05 km suggests that the emission is from a heated polar cap. A fit to the spectrum with an atmospheric model reduces the inferred temperature and hence increases the radius of the emitting region, however the pulsar distance determined from the fit is then smaller than the dispersion distance.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ. Error in radius calculation corrected, discussion and conclusions remain unchange

Adaptive bill morphology for enhanced tool manipulation in New Caledonian crows

Early increased sophistication of human tools is thought to be underpinned by adaptive morphology for efficient tool manipulation. Such adaptive specialisation is unknown in nonhuman primates but may have evolved in the New Caledonian crow, which has sophisticated tool manufacture. The straightness of its bill, for example, may be adaptive for enhanced visually-directed use of tools. Here, we examine in detail the shape and internal structure of the New Caledonian crow’s bill using Principal Components Analysis and Computed Tomography within a comparative framework. We found that the bill has a combination of interrelated shape and structural features unique within Corvus, and possibly birds generally. The upper mandible is relatively deep and short with a straight cutting edge, and the lower mandible is strengthened and upturned. These novel combined attributes would be functional for (i) counteracting the unique loading patterns acting on the bill when manipulating tools, (ii) a strong precision grip to hold tools securely, and (iii) enhanced visually-guided tool use. Our findings indicate that the New Caledonian crow’s innovative bill has been adapted for tool manipulation to at least some degree. Early increased sophistication of tools may require the co-evolution of morphology that provides improved manipulatory skills

Societal Factors Impacting Child Welfare: Validating the Perceptions of Child Welfare Scale

Objective: This research examines the psychometric properties of the Perceptions of Child Welfare Scale (PCWS). This instrument is designed to assess child welfare workers ’ understanding of how society views their role and their work. Methods: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was utilized to analyze data on 538 child welfare workers. Results: The final model consisted of three latent variables with 14 indicators related to stigma, value, and respect (w2 362.33, p .00; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] .09; 90 % confidence interval [CI]: [.08,.09]; comparative fit index [CFI] .96; Tucker–Lewis Index [TLI] .95). Discussion: The way in which workers believe others view their work suggests an increasingly complex prototype for understanding workforce issues. Those wishing to examine societal factors related to child welfare workforce issues could use this validated instrument

Missing Transverse-Doppler Effect in Time-Dilation Experiments with High-Speed Ions

Recent experiments with high-speed ions have investigated potential deviations from the time-dilation predicted by special relativity (SR). The main contribution of this article is to show that the SR predictions are matched by the experimental results only when the transverse Doppler effect in the observed emissions from the ions are neglected in the analysis. However, the Doppler effect in the emission cannot be neglected because it is similar to the time dilation effect. Thus, the article highlights the need to consider Doppler emission effects when validating SR time dilation using high-speed ion experiments.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

On the Correlated X-ray and Optical Evolution of SS Cygni

We have analyzed the variability and spectral evolution of the prototype dwarf nova system SS Cygni using RXTE data and AAVSO observations. A series of pointed RXTE/PCA observations allow us to trace the evolution of the X-ray spectrum of SS Cygni in unprecedented detail, while 6 years of optical AAVSO and RXTE/ASM light curves show long-term patterns. Employing a technique in which we stack the X-ray flux over multiple outbursts, phased according to the optical light curve, we investigate the outburst morphology. We find that the 3-12 keV X-ray flux is suppressed during optical outbursts, a behavior seen previously, but only in a handful of cycles. The several outbursts of SS Cygni observed with the more sensitive RXTE/PCA also show a depression of the X-rays during optical outburst. We quantify the time lags between the optical and X-ray outbursts, and the timescales of the X-ray recovery from outburst. The optical light curve of SS Cygni exhibits brief anomalous outbursts. During these events the hard X-rays and optical flux increase together. The long-term data suggest that the X-rays decline between outburst. Our results are in general agreement with modified disk instability models (DIM), which invoke a two-component accretion flow consisting of a cool optically thick accretion disk truncated at an inner radius, and a quasi-spherical hot corona-like flow extending to the surface of the white dwarf. We discuss our results in the framework of one such model, involving the evaporation of the inner part of the optically thick accretion disk, proposed by Meyer & Meyer-Hofmeister (1994).Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Ap

XMM-Newton Observations of PSR B1706-44

We report on the XMM-Newton observations of the young, 102 ms pulsar PSR B1706-44. We have found that both a blackbody plus power-law and a magnetized atmospheric model plus power-law provide an excellent fit to the EPIC spectra. The two scenarios are therefore indistinguishable on a statistical basis, although we are inclined to prefer the latter on physical grounds. In this case, assuming a source distance of ~2.3 kpc, the size of the region responsible for the thermal emission is R~13 km, compatible with the surface of a neutron star. A comparison of the surface temperature of PSR B1706-44 obtained from this fit with cooling curves favor a medium mass neutron star with M~1.45 solar masses or M~1.59 solar masses, depending on two different models of proton superfluidity in the interior. The large collecting area of XMM-Newton allows us to resolve a substructure in the broad soft X-ray modulation detected by Chandra, revealing the presence of two separate peaks with pulsed fractions of 7 +/- 4% and 15 +/- 3%, respectively.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Ap