Materialism, Idealism and the Onto-Epistemological Roots of Geography

The present article has as proposal the discussion of the philosophical categories of Idealism and Materialism in the Geographical thought. Starting from the assumption that the knowledge is a fact, we explicit our onto-epistemological basis by a dialog between the main representatives of each Philosophy pole, from Democritus to Hegel, exposing after the sublation to the metaphysics done by the dialectical materialism. Using a bridge to the hard core of the Critical Geography (Lefebvre, Harvey and Quaini), we transmute the philosophical debate to the geographical field showing the often ignored roots, logic and addictions of the Modern Geography. Retaking in the end the duel between Idealism and Materialism, we present our thesis in which the Crisis of Geography is, in fact, just the result of a process originated from its incapacity as a discipline to overcome the limiter vestige of its birth: the Metaphysics

Learning to Respond: The Use of Heuristics in Dynamic Games

While many learning models have been proposed in the game theoretic literature to track individuals’ behavior, surprisingly little research has focused on how well these models describe human adaptation in changing dynamic environments. Analysis of human behavior demonstrates that people are often remarkably responsive to changes in their environment, on time scales ranging from millennia (evolution) to milliseconds (reflex). The goal of this paper is to evaluate several prominent learning models in light of a laboratory experiment on responsiveness in a lowinformation dynamic game subject to changes in its underlying structure. While history-dependent reinforcement learning models track convergence of play well in repeated games, it is shown that they are ill suited to these environments, in which sastisficing models accurately predict behavior. A further objective is to determine which heuristics, or “rules of thumb,” when incorporated into learning models, are responsible for accurately capturing responsiveness. Reference points and a particular type of experimentation are found to be important in both describing and predicting play.learning, limited information, dynamic games

Joint Bidding in Common Value Auctions: Theory and Evidence

We examine theoretically and experimentally two countervailing effects of collusion and symmetric mergers among bidders. On one hand, the pooling of information within bidding rings increases the precision of competing estimates. We demonstrate that, in average value auctions, this leads to more aggressive bidding. On the other hand, since collusion decreases the number of active bidders, competition is lessened, reducing the price paid at auction. We demonstrate that the reduction in competition dominates the informational effects, resulting in lower prices. We examine these hypothesized e®ects experimentally by conducting a series of auctions with constant informational content but a varying number of bidders among whom this information is distributed. The experimental results are consistent with our theoretical predictions for different value and auction mechanism specifications.common value auctions, mergers, collusion, information

PENGEMBANGAN POTENSI TRADITIONAL MEDICAL TOURISM DI DESA CIMANDE KABUPATEN BOGOR

Medical Tourism adalah perjalanan wisata dengan tujuan pengobatan atau  pemulihan kesehatan. Hal ini di perkuatan pula oleh pernyataan dari Gill dan Singh (2012:3) yang menyatakan bahwa medical tourism adalah perjalanan dari tempat tinggal seseorang ke tujuan lainnya untuk melakukan kegiatan yang menjaga, meningkatkan, dan mengobati kesehatan seseorang. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah : 1) untuk mengkaji berapa besar potensi medical tourism di Desa Cimande Kabupaten Bogor, 2) menyusun strategi pengembangan medical tourism di Desa Cimande Kabupaten Bogor. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode kualitatif deskriptif. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan cara observasi, dokumentasi, dan wawancara. Jumlah situasi sosial yang diteliti adalah keseluruhan obyek medical tourism yang terdapat di Desa Cimande. Data yang dianalisis, meliputi 4 unsur yaitu : pihak yang terlibat (penyelenggara medical tourism), tempat/destinasi (pemerintah setempat), manfaat yang dicari (wisatawan medical tourism) dan sumber (penyelenggara pengobatan patah tulang). Hasil penelitian yang diperoleh adalah pengobatan patah tulang Cimande dikabupaten Bogor dalam hal pengobatan patah tulang memiliki potensi sebagai medical tourism hal ini dikarenakan 15 dari 21 unsur yang ada sudah terpenuhi sebagai medical tourism, dilihat dari tujuannya wisatawan yang datang ke desa Cimande kabupaten Bogor memang untuk kebutuhan pengobatan patah tulang, namun hal yang belum terpenuhi dari hasil wawancara kepada narasumber dilihat kembali dari segi fasilitas serta dukungan dari pemerintah yang masih belum ada dan terpenuhi. Berdasarkan permasalahn tersebut disusun strategi pengembangan yang difokuskan pada pembangunan sarana dan prasarana Kemudian untuk itu di sarankan untuk mendorong destinasi desa Cimande sebagai desa potensi medical tourism perlu adanya agensi dari Tour and Travel dan juga agensi kesehatan yang merekomendasikan  lokasi penyembuhan desa Cimande kemudian perlu adanya asuransi kesehatan agar memastikan kegiatan pengobatan tradisional ini benar-benar terjamin secara kualitas untuk pembagunan pariwisata medical tourism yang berkelanjutan. Kata kunci: Desa Wisata, Urut Tradisional Patah Tulang, Medical Touris

Form removal aspects on the waviness parameters for steel sheet in automotive applications : fourier filtering versus polynomial regression

Premium car makers attach great importance to the visual appearance of the painted car skin as an indication of product quality. The “orange peel” phenomenon constitutes a major problem here. It is not only depending on the paint’s chemical composition and application method, but also on possible waviness components in the sheet substrate. Therefore one is searching hard for a valuable waviness parameter to quantify the substrate’s fitness for purpose. A technically emerging problem is how to remove the form from the measured signal, which is indeed not significant to the orange peel phenomenon. This paper will compare two commonly used approaches: i.e. Fourier filtering versus polynomial regression and will reveal and quantify some common aspects in terms of wavelengths

The recognition problem for table algebras and reality-based algebras

Given a finite-dimensional noncommutative semisimple algebra $A$ with involution, we show that $A$ always has an RBA-basis. We look for an RBA-basis that has integral or rational structure constants, and ask if the RBA admits a positive degree map. For RBAs that have a positive degree map, we try to find an RBA-basis with nonnegative structure constants to determine if there is a generalized table algebra structure. We settle these questions for the algebras $\mathbb{C} \oplus M_n(\mathbb{C})$, $n \ge 2$.Comment: 16 page

Development and Optimization of Chitosan/ Polyhedral oligomeric Silsesquioxane Nanocomposite Films for Oil Removal Using Box-Behnken Design

The solvent casting method was used to prepare nanocomposite membranes made of Chitosan matrix (CS) and Poly(ethylene glycol) Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (PEG-POSS). The effects of varying PEG-POSS percentage (0-10%) and preparation conditions (homogenization speed (2000-20,000 rpm) and time (5-25 mins)) were studied. The analysis included the change in surface topography and morphology, chemical properties, thermal degradation, tensile strength, porosity, and adsorption capacity of the membranes. The experimental work was designed using Design-Expert software. The responses monitoring and analysis were done using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The morphological appearance changed, and a rough surface with distinguished topographical features was noted for the PEG-POSS filled samples compared to the pure CS membranes, which gave a smooth appearance and plain surface look. Results indicated that the incorporation of PEG-POSS significantly enhanced the tensile strength, especially for the 0.5% PEG-POSS membranes to around two times the strength of the pure CS membrane. The break point shifted from 3N for the pure CS membrane to 6N for the 0.5% PEG-POSS membrane. Thermal degradation was also greatly affected. A shift in the degradation temperature from 284°C for pure CS to 418°C for the 0.5% PEG-POSS occurred. Moreover, the testing procedure, including membranes immersion in crude oil and water mixtures at pH 6, T 293 K, and contact time 5 mins, confirmed an increase in adsorption capacity from 0.26 mg/gm for the CS only membrane to 2.3 mg/gm for the 0.5% PEG-POSS. The novel nano composite membranes with high tensile strength enhanced thermal durability, and good adsorption capacity can be considered good candidates for crude oil adsorption and removal from water