3,231 research outputs found
Charles Taylor as a Christian thinker
This thesis is a critical examination of Charles Taylor's moral theory. Its
purpose is to understand both Taylor himself as an important contemporary Christian
thinker, as well as the ramifications his philosophy has in the realm of Christian Ethics
and Practical Theology.Part I
(chapters 1-3) discusses the development of Taylor's moral theory,
particularly as it appears in Sources of the Self. Chapter One begins by discussing
Taylor's definition of ethics which includes notions of the good and the meaningful in
our lives. This leads to his argument that the moral domain depends upon
frameworks of significance closely linked to the identity of the moral agent. Chapter
Two examines Taylor's idea of moral frameworks in terms of practical reasoning and
moral articulation. Finally, Chapter Three develops Taylor's arguments for
articulating the goods in our lives, and why this is essential for the pursuit of ethics.Part II (chapters 4-5) investigates certain theological influences on Taylor.
Chapter Four is a discussion of Taylor and Augustine which draws certain parallels
and contrasts in the field of theological anthropology. Chapter Five examines how
Taylor's idea of the Church in modernity has largely been shaped by Yves Congar's
writings on the laity and Henry de Lubac's Catholicism. It examines Taylor's
ecclesiology with specific reference to these two theologians who have had a
significant impact on his Christian identity.Part III (Chapters 6-8) looks more specifically at Taylor's relevancy to
Christian Ethics and Practical Theology. By way of introduction, Chapter Six argues
for a distinct role for God in Taylor's theory. Following on from this I discuss
through a brief historical argument how secular philosophy has eclipsed two
important features of Christian Ethics which Taylor asserts are indispensable for
giving the best account of the human moral domain. These two features are
transcendence and ontology, and Chapter Seven examines these particularly in
relation to the role they have in Taylor's philosophy, and what implications this has
for Christian Ethics. The final chapter develops the discussion of transcendence and
ontology through the essential good of Agape. Agape is discussed not only as a
pivotal concept in Christian Ethics, but also as a fundamental part of Taylor's own
moral framework. I conclude this chapter by arguing that Taylor's ontologically
'thick' concept of Agape as an empowering good needs to be considered in Christian
Ethics if we are to be consistent about the transcendent and ontological claims of the
discipline.In conclusion I bring together some of the seminal features of Taylor's
philosophy as articulated in the thesis. In particular these are discussed in the light of
their valuable contribution to our understanding of Christian Ethics and Practical
Theolog
Lower-rim ferrocenyl substituted calixarenes: new electrochemical sensors for anions
New ferrocene substituted calix[4 and 5]arenes have been prepared and the crystal structure of a lower-rim substituted bis ferrocene calix[4]arene (7) has been elucidated. The respective ferrocene/ferrocenium redox-couples of compounds 6 (a calix[4]arene tetra ferrocene amide) and 8 (a calix[5]arene pentaferrocene amide) are shown to be significantly cathodically perturbed in the presence of anions by up to 160 mV in the presence of dihydrogen phosphate
The Clustering Of Galaxies Around Radio-Loud AGNs
We examine the hypothesis that mergers and close encounters between galaxies
can fuel AGNs by increasing the rate at which gas accretes towards the central
black hole. We compare the clustering of galaxies around radio-loud AGNs with
the clustering around a population of radio-quiet galaxies with similar masses,
colors and luminosities. Our catalog contains 2178 elliptical radio galaxies
with flux densities greater than 2.8 mJy at 1.4 GHz from the 6dFGS survey. We
find that radio AGNs with more than 200 times the median radio power have, on
average, more close (r<160 kpc) companions than their radio-quiet counterparts,
suggestive that mergers play a role in forming the most powerful radio
galaxies. For ellipticals of fixed stellar mass, the radio power is not a
function of large-scale environment nor halo mass, consistent with the radio
powers of ellipticals varying by orders of magnitude over billions of years.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure
Relative Periodic Solutions of the Complex Ginzburg-Landau Equation
A method of finding relative periodic orbits for differential equations with
continuous symmetries is described and its utility demonstrated by computing
relative periodic solutions for the one-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau
equation (CGLE) with periodic boundary conditions. A relative periodic solution
is a solution that is periodic in time, up to a transformation by an element of
the equation's symmetry group. With the method used, relative periodic
solutions are represented by a space-time Fourier series modified to include
the symmetry group element and are sought as solutions to a system of nonlinear
algebraic equations for the Fourier coefficients, group element, and time
period. The 77 relative periodic solutions found for the CGLE exhibit a wide
variety of temporal dynamics, with the sum of their positive Lyapunov exponents
varying from 5.19 to 60.35 and their unstable dimensions from 3 to 8.
Preliminary work indicates that weighted averages over the collection of
relative periodic solutions accurately approximate the value of several
functionals on typical trajectories.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figure
Molecular transport junctions: Current from electronic excitations in the leads
Using a model comprising a 2-level bridge connecting free electron reservoirs
we show that coupling of a molecular bridge to electron-hole excitations in the
leads can markedly effect the source-drain current through a molecular
junction.In some cases, e.g. molecules that exhibit strong charge transfer
transitions, the contribution from electron-hole excitations can exceed the
Landauer elastic current and dominate the observed conduction.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR
Modelling wave-current interactions off the east coast of Scotland
Densely populated coastal areas of the North Sea are particularly vulnerable to severe wave conditions, which overtop or damage sea-defences leading to dangerous flooding. Around the shallow southern North Sea, where the coastal margin is low-lying and population density is high, oceanographic modelling has helped to develop forecasting systems to predict flood risk. However coastal areas of the deeper northern North Sea are also subject to regular storm damage but there has been little or no effort to develop coastal wave models for these waters. Here we present a high spatial resolution model of northeast Scottish coastal waters, simulating waves and the effect of tidal currents on wave propagation, driven by global ocean tides, far-field wave conditions, and local air pressure and wind stress. We show that the wave- current interactions and wave-wave interactions are particularly important for simulating the wave conditions close to the coast at various locations. The model can simulate the extreme conditions experienced when high (spring) tides are combined with sea-level surges and large Atlantic swell. Such a combination of extremes represents a high risk for damaging conditions along the Scottish coast
Discordant Population Structure Among Rhizobium Divided Genomes and Their Legume Hosts
Symbiosis often occurs between partners with distinct life history characteristics and dispersal mechanisms. Many bacterial symbionts have genomes comprising multiple replicons with distinct rates of evolution and horizontal transmission. Such differences might drive differences in population structure between hosts and symbionts and among the elements of the divided genomes of bacterial symbionts. These differences might, in turn, shape the evolution of symbiotic interactions and bacterial evolution. Here we use whole genome resequencing of a hierarchically structured sample of 191 strains of Sinorhizobium meliloti collected from 21 locations in southern Europe to characterize population structures of this bacterial symbiont, which forms a root nodule symbiosis with the host plant Medicago truncatula. S. meliloti genomes showed high local (within-site) variation and little isolation by distance. This was particularly true for the two symbiosis elements, pSymA and pSymB, which have population structures that are similar to each other, but distinct from both the bacterial chromosome and the host plant. Given limited recombination on the chromosome, compared to the symbiosis elements, distinct population structures may result from differences in effective gene flow. Alternatively, positive or purifying selection, with little recombination, may explain distinct geographical patterns at the chromosome. Discordant population structure between hosts and symbionts indicates that geographically and genetically distinct host populations in different parts of the range might interact with genetically similar symbionts, potentially minimizing local specialization
Near-ultraviolet signatures of environment-driven galaxy quenching in Sloan Digital Sky Survey groups
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. We have investigated the effect of group environment on residual star formation in galaxies, using Galaxy Evolution Explorer near-ultraviolet (NUV) galaxy photometry with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey group catalogue of Yang et al. We compared the (NUV - r) colours of grouped and non-grouped galaxies, and find a significant increase in the fraction of red sequence galaxies with blue (NUV - r) colours outside of groups. When comparing galaxies in mass-matched samples of satellite (non-central), and non-grouped galaxies, we found a > 4σ difference in the distribution of (NUV - r) colours, and an (NUV - r) blue fraction > 3σ higher outside groups. A comparison of satellite and non-grouped samples has found the NUV fraction is a factor of ~2 lower for satellite galaxies between 10 10.5 and 10 10.7 M ⊙ , showing that higher mass galaxies are more likely to have residual star formation when not influenced by a group potential. There was a higher (NUV - r) blue fraction of galaxies with lower Sérsic indices (n < 3) outside of groups, not seen in the satellite sample. We have used stellar population models of Bruzual & Charlot with multiple burst, or exponentially declining star formation histories to find that many of the (NUV - r) blue non-grouped galaxies can be explained by a slow (~2 Gyr) decay of star formation, compared to the satellite galaxies. We suggest that taken together, the difference in (NUV - r) colours between samples can be explained by a population of secularly evolving, non-grouped galaxies, where star formation declines slowly. This slow channel is less prevalent in group environments where more rapid quenching can occur
Conventional management has a greater negative impact on Phaseolus vulgaris L. rhizobia diversity and abundance than water scarcity
IntroductionDrought is one of the biggest problems for crop production and also affects the survival and persistence of soil rhizobia, which limits the establishment of efficient symbiosis and endangers the productivity of legumes, the main source of plant protein worldwide.AimSince the biodiversity can be altered by several factors including abiotic stresses or cultural practices, the objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of water availability, plant genotype and agricultural management on the presence, nodulation capacity and genotypic diversity of rhizobia.MethodA field experiment was conducted with twelve common bean genotypes under irrigation and rain-fed conditions, both in conventional and organic management. Estimation of the number of viable rhizobia present in soils was performed before the crop establishment, whereas the crop yield, nodule number and the strain diversity of bacteria present in nodules were determined at postharvest.ResultsRainfed conditions reduced the number of nodules and of isolated bacteria and their genetic diversity, although to a lesser extent than the agrochemical inputs related to conventional management. In addition, the effect of water scarcity on the conventional management soil was greater than observed under organic conditions.ConclusionsThe preservation of diversity will be a key factor to maintain crop production in the future, as problems caused by drought will be exacerbated by climate change and organic management can help to maintain the biodiversity of soil microbiota, a fundamental aspect for soil health and quality
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