Value and selfhood: pragmatism, Confucianism, and phenomenology

This article articulates a dialogue between Edward Casey, Cheng Chung‐ying, and me that began at the Eastern Division annual meeting in Philadelphia of the American Philosophical Association, in a session sponsored by the International Society for Chinese Philosophy. There, we read brief versions of the papers presented in this issue and commented on one another. Casey represented Continental phenomenology, Cheng the Chinese tradition as he has developed it into onto‐generative hermeneutics, and I the melding of American pragmatic and Confucian traditions that I have been developing

Tale of a theologian without walls

This article provides a detailed autobiographical account of two oddly coupled things. On the one hand, the author has been firmly committed to theology without walls since early childhood, including high school publications in a church newsletter and comingdown to a three-volume philosophical theology based on world religions, vulnerable to all perspectives. On the other hand, the author has been actively and deeply religious, including ordination in the United Methodist Church and being the dean of the United Methodist School of Theology at Boston University. Being religious in a particular way is compatible with pursuing theology without walls

Global influences on UK manufacturing prices: 1970-2000

This paper presents substantial new evidence on the competitive process that links together industrial economic and international economics. Our time-series data base concerns manufactured product prices and their domestic and international determinants. We identity cointegrating relationships, using single equation and multivariate methods. We find that both market imperfections, largely ignored in international economics, and international factors, mostly neglected in industrial economics, should be jointly incorporated into pricing analysis. The significance of global factors varies markedly: differentiated-product sectors respond little to foreign price signals. Our findings are relevant to many fields within economics, including the transmission of inflation

Closed-Flux Solutions to the Constraints for Plane Gravity Waves

The metric for plane gravitational waves is quantized within the Hamiltonian framework, using a Dirac constraint quantization and the self-dual field variables proposed by Ashtekar. The z axis (direction of travel of the waves) is taken to be the entire real line rather than the torus (manifold coordinatized by (z,t) is RxR rather than $S_1$ x R). Solutions to the constraints proposed in a previous paper involve open-ended flux lines running along the entire z axis, rather than closed loops of flux; consequently, these solutions are annihilated by the Gauss constraint at interior points of the z axis, but not at the two boundary points. The solutions studied in the present paper are based on closed flux loops and satisfy the Gauss constraint for all z.Comment: 18 pages; LaTe

Shape Control for Experimental Continuation

An experimental method has been developed to locate unstable equilibria of nonlinear structures quasi-statically. The technique involves loading a structure by application of either a force or a displacement at a main actuation point, while simultaneously controlling the overall shape using additional probe points. The method is applied to a shallow arch, and unstable segments of its equilibrium path are identified experimentally for the first time. Shape control is a fundamental building block for the experimental---as opposed to numerical---continuation of nonlinear structures, which will significantly expand our ability to measure their mechanical response.Comment: Updated Figure 6 experimental results with correct calibration factor for linear transducer. Updated Figure 6 finite element results with correct load multiplier for half-model. Updated paper text to reflect these changes. 5 pages, 6 figure

Sustainability, transport and design: reviewing the prospects for safely encouraging eco-driving

Private vehicle use contributes a disproportionately large amount to the degradation of the environment we inhabit. Technological advancement is of course critical to the mitigation of climate change, however alone it will not suffice; we must also see behavioural change. This paper will argue for the application of Ergonomics to the design of private vehicles, particularly low-carbon vehicles (e.g. hybrid and electric), to encourage this behavioural change. A brief review of literature is offered concerning the effect of the design of a technological object on behaviour, the inter-related nature of goals and feedback in guiding performance, the effect on fuel economy of different driving styles, and the various challenges brought by hybrid and electric vehicles, including range anxiety, workload and distraction, complexity, and novelty. This is followed by a discussion on the potential applicability of a particular design framework, namely Ecological Interface Design, to the design of in-vehicle interfaces that encourage energy-conserving driving behaviours whilst minimising distraction and workload, thus ensuring safety

Health behaviour counselling in primary care : general practitioner : reported rate and confidence

Aims: The study aimed to identify variables associated with General Practitioners’ (GPs’) self-reported rate of health behaviour change counselling and confidence in counselling abilities. Methodology: This study was a repeat of a similar study carried out at the Mayo Clinic in 2007. The same tool and methodology were used with the permission of the authors. Variables measured by the questionnaire included: participants’ characteristics, physical activity, smoking status, healthy eating behaviour, self-reported rate of counselling behaviour, extent of training in counselling, perceived importance of counselling, confidence for health behaviour change counselling. A comparative analysis of the results was made.peer-reviewe

Multi-beam range imager for autonomous operations

For space operations from the Space Station Freedom the real time range imager will be very valuable in terms of refuelling, docking as well as space exploration operations. For these applications as well as many other robotics and remote ranging applications, a small potable, power efficient, robust range imager capable of a few tens of km ranging with 10 cm accuracy is needed. The system developed is based on a well known pseudo-random modulation technique applied to a laser transmitter combined with a novel range resolution enhancement technique. In this technique, the transmitter is modulated by a relatively low frequency of an order of a few MHz to enhance the signal to noise ratio and to ease the stringent systems engineering requirements while accomplishing a very high resolution. The desired resolution cannot easily be attained by other conventional approaches. The engineering model of the system is being designed to obtain better than 10 cm range accuracy simply by implementing a high precision clock circuit. In this paper we present the principle of the pseudo-random noise (PN) lidar system and the results of the proof of experiment

Letter seeking advice from University Chancellor

Letter from President Howard R. Neville to Chancellor Donald R. McNeil requesting guidance on handling a request from the Wilde-Stein Club to host a gay symposium on the University of Maine, Orono campus

Forgotten Children: Law Enforcement Agencies, Child Protective Services, and Children of Arrested Parents in Michigan

When a child’s sole caretaker is arrested, a number of different outcomes can happen depending on how a law enforcement agency handles the situation. There is no single set of guidelines that all police departments follow. In fact, many departments do not have a policy that dictates practice. This can cause children to “fall through the cracks,” ranging from being left alone, to being turned over to unqualified care- givers, to being placed in the custody of someone they don’t know. This is a problem because not only can it put the child/children in physically dangerous situations, but also it can have long lasting psychological effects. There are some procedures and approaches that police departments have in place that can decrease the harm suffered by these children, their parents and the community when caregivers of minor children are arrested. However, more could be done in this important area. The goal of this research is to identify the possible gaps between law enforcement agencies and Child Protective Services in an effort to reduce harm and provide both agencies with a tool to aide in the development of more effective policies and practices