Frege, Russell and Wittgenstein

Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein were founders (although not by any means the sole founders) of the analytic tradition in philosophy; but they did not found the philosophy of language, which has roots stretching back much further. Their principal contribution, indeed, could be regarded as being in the opposite direction: it is not so much that they applied philosophical methods to the study of language as that they applied linguistic methods to the study of certain problems in philosophy. In the course of this work they did develop ideas which shed light on language and how it functions. However, even this must be heavily qualified, since their main contributions were much more to the philosophy of logic (the study of the inferential role of sentences) than to the philosophy of language (the study of how language means what it does). In the summary that follows we shall focus on the morals that can be drawn from their contribution for modern work in the philosophy of language

Propositions in Wittgenstein and Ramsey

In Begriffsschrift Frege proposed to ignore the part of content that is irrelevant to logic; what remains he called ‘conceptual content’. In ‘On sense and reference’ he renamed this ‘sense’ but failed to stress that it is a notion belonging to the philosophy of logic, not of language. Russell seems to have seen the importance of the notion only briefly. Wittgenstein did not make use of the notion until he was in Norway, and only introduced the terminology of ‘sign’ and ‘symbol’ to mark the distinction while composing the Tractatus. Ramsey proposed to treat sign and symbol as merely two different ways of typing token inscriptions, but this unduly brushes over the difficulties the notion of a symbol involves. The most striking feature of Wittgenstein’s thinking on this is the way that he generalized Frege’s argument for the notion of sense so as to bypass his incorrect particularization to the case of identity

Investigating Spatial Heterogeneity In Myocardial Wound Environments To Improve Therapy

Heart failure is a broad pathology manifestation categorized by an inability of the heart to successfully pump blood throughout the vast vessel network of the body. Within the United States, heart failure is projected to increase by approximately 46% from 2012 to 2030. Modalities of heart failure are generally related to wall mechanics that are impacted following myocardial infarction events. Interplay exists between the wall mechanics, responding cell populations, and the spatial heterogeneities in the resultant scar. This interplay directs the myocardium towards heart failure modalities governed by overly stiff or compliant states. It is essential to elucidate details underlying the progression, maturation, and remodeling of the collagenous infarct scar to uncover therapeutic avenues and improve outcomes. We developed in vitro platforms that enable these desired insights into infarct progression. Our first platform generates continuous collagen gels possessing spatial fiber alignment heterogeneity utilizing a cost-efficient magnetic microsphere methodology. Spatial heterogeneities in the fiber architecture and cell response were evaluated. The second platform mechanically and electrically stimulates engineered heart tissue constructs and enables the evaluation of spatial heterogeneities in construct mechanics following a simulated infarction. Additionally, to avoid losing sight of the in vivo reality, we evaluated the interplay of the cellular detection of mechanics and spatial strain distributions throughout an infarcted myocardial wall. Histologically evaluated mechanosensor intensities were correlated to in vivo strain data collected via ultrasound imaging of the myocardium of a murine infarction animal model

Researching the development of problem-solving skills in undergraduate students and the effect of cognitive factors on performance

Solving problems is the motivating force behind many scientific endeavours. A student’s ability to solve problems is a key to their academic success. Problem-solving skills developed during a degree course are of significant value to graduate employers and therefore need to be valued significantly by educators and learners. This thesis describes the investigation into the factors that influence undergraduate chemistry students’ abilities to develop the problem-solving skills they require for success in their undergraduate studies and beyond.Quantitative data was gathered from chemistry undergraduates for three cognitive variables thought to influence academic performance. Context-rich open-ended problems were developed in order to assess students’ ability to solve more complex problems. Performance data was gathered from open-ended problem-solving sessions alongside performance data from assessments within a chemistry degree course, including final degree scores. The quantitative data was used to identify any relationships between the students’ cognitive abilities and academic performance.Qualitative research investigated the variety of approaches students take towards solving open-ended problems and also gathered data on students’ attitudes towards and experiences of the use of context-rich open-ended problems.The results show that chemistry students’ mental capacities and disembedding abilities have an impact upon their ability to solve complex open-ended problems. The skills required to solve complex open-ended problems were identified as being different skills to those required to solve the algorithmic problems found to be common elements of assessments used within undergraduate chemistry degrees.The qualitative research revealed details of students’ approaches to open-ended problem-solving and a shift in attitudes towards a more positive view of such activities. Approaches to problem-solving were identified as novice, transitional and expert. Students were also found to be able to reflect upon their learning experiences. They enjoyed the experiences and saw the value of them despite finding them challenging.The implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations for further work are made

Constructivism in the Shadow of a Dead God

Objectivism and/or positivism are dead, leaving constructivism as the dominant philosophical position in the SoTL and educational development communities. Yet the death of objectivism has not been fully accepted, nor have the full implications of constructivism been recognized. As a result, the effects of constructivism’s dominance in the minds of scholarly teachers and educational developers have been bewilderingly superficial. Thoughtful constructivists now find themselves facing situations in which constructivist pedagogies lead to counter-intuitive consequences – for instance, students forced to take surface learning approaches out of desperation. This unwelcome situation of absurdity is explored through a philosophical analogy, which unearths causes and indicates necessary changes to bring into practice a full and committed constructivist education

Active deformation of the South Granite Mountain Fault System : reactivated compressional faults vs. extensional overprinting

[EMBARGOED UNTIL 6/1/2023] Quaternary faulting in and around Wyoming's Wind River Basin may pose a moderate earthquake risk for dams and other infrastructure within the region. The South Granite Mountains Fault Zone, located adjacent to the Wind River Basin, is one of several Quaternary faults in the region. The South Granite Mountains formed during the Late Cretaceous Laramide orogeny (75-45 Ma). Subsequently, during the Eocene, the extensive downfaulting and downfolding caused the Precambrian Mountain core to collapse forming the Sweetwater Graben. Recent Quaternary deformation is expressed as fault scarps along the north side of the Granite Mountains (2-4 meters). These features were originally studied in the 1980s but have received little attention since. In particular, the nature and style of faulting of this recent deformation was previously undocumented, and prior age estimates were broad. This study applies new methodologies to assess the active tectonics and earthquake potential of the South Granite Mountains Fault System. Low-altitude aerial surveying using drones facilitate the measurement and analysis of fault scarp morphology. From this scarp degradation modeling is applied to faulted surfaces with an age range of [greater than] 201 to 16 ka. Results indicate long term dip slip rates between 0.01-0.05 mm/yr, and Horizontal extension rates between 0.01 - 0.03 mm/yr along the Ferris Mountains front. Shallow seismic reflection profiling is used to image the fault geometry indicating normal faulting at high angles (83 degrees). Offset of the unconformity between the Split Rock Formation and the Quaternary sediments is estimated at 10-13 meters. Using modern rates of faulting suggest quaternary faults initiated at 80-104 ka.Includes bibliographical references

\u3cb\u3eBook Reviews:\u3c/b\u3e \u3cem\u3eDeveloping Outcomes-based AssessmentDeveloping Outcomes-based Assessment for Learner-centered Education: A Faculty Introduction\u3c/em\u3e by Amy Driscoll and Swarup Wood (Stylus, 2007)

Excerpt: Because I have been wading knee-deep through a sea of learning outcomes at my institution, I approached Developing Outcomes-based Assessment for Learner-centered Education with keen interest, hoping to find new ideas, new strategies, new models that could immediately be pressed into action to persuade resistant faculty to give learning outcomes a successful try