Against Wolterstorff's Theistic Attempt to Ground Human Rights

This article responds to Nicholas Wolterstorff's attempt to ground human rights in the condition of being loved by God

Rational Action: Reasons, Causes, and Choices

I argue that agents, by exercising their wills, cause action-results and that volitions or willings are uncaused basic actions. I motivate the existence of volitions by highlighting the important role they play in providing an answer to Wittgenstein\u27s famous question, “What is left over if I subtract the fact that my arm goes up from the fact that I raise my arm?” That volitions do not have action-results is central to my argument. This has as a consequence that volitions are causally basic actions, i.e., actions which do not have results that are caused by more basic actions. That is, there is no action that I perform by means of which I cause the result of an act of volition. Since volitions do not have results, a plausible answer to Wittgenstein\u27s question is available. Next, I argue that volitions are best regarded as uncaused events. Throughout the essay, I assume that humans act for reasons, that they have free will, and that free will is incompatible with determinism

Identification of Novel Methane-, Ethane-, and Propane-Oxidizing Bacteria at Marine Hydrocarbon Seeps by Stable Isotope Probing

Marine hydrocarbon seeps supply oil and gas to microorganisms in sediments and overlying water. We used stable isotope probing (SIP) to identify aerobic bacteria oxidizing gaseous hydrocarbons in surface sediment from the Coal Oil Point seep field located offshore of Santa Barbara, California. After incubating sediment with ^(13)C-labeled methane, ethane, or propane, we confirmed the incorporation of ^(13)C into fatty acids and DNA. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis and sequencing of the 16S rRNA and particulate methane monooxygenase (pmoA) genes in ^(13)C-DNA revealed groups of microbes not previously thought to contribute to methane, ethane, or propane oxidation. First, ^(13)C methane was primarily assimilated by Gammaproteobacteria species from the family Methylococcaceae, Gammaproteobacteria related to Methylophaga, and Betaproteobacteria from the family Methylophilaceae. Species of the latter two genera have not been previously shown to oxidize methane and may have been cross-feeding on methanol, but species of both genera were heavily labeled after just 3 days. pmoA sequences were affiliated with species of Methylococcaceae, but most were not closely related to cultured methanotrophs. Second, ^(13)C ethane was consumed by members of a novel group of Methylococcaceae. Growth with ethane as the major carbon source has not previously been observed in members of the Methylococcaceae; a highly divergent pmoA-like gene detected in the ^(13)C-labeled DNA may encode an ethane monooxygenase. Third, ^(13)C propane was consumed by members of a group of unclassified Gammaproteobacteria species not previously linked to propane oxidation. This study identifies several bacterial lineages as participants in the oxidation of gaseous hydrocarbons in marine seeps and supports the idea of an alternate function for some pmoA-like genes

Heat Transfer through the Boundary Layer on a Moving Cylindrical Fibre

This paper applies boundary layer theory to the process of manufacturing polymer fibres known as the melt spinning process. The rate of heat loss of the fibre during this process, characterised by the local Nusselt number, is evaluated by means of a Pohlhausen integral method

Inter-Domain Integration of Services and Service Management

The evolution of the global telecommunications industry into an open services market presents developers of telecommunication service and management systems with many new challenges. Increased competition, complex service provision chains and integrated service offerings require effective techniques for the rapid integration of service and management systems over multiple organisational domains. These integration issues have been examined in the ACTS project Prospect by developing a working set of integrated, managed telecommunications services for a user trial. This paper presents the initial results of this work detailing the technologies and standards used, the architectural approach taken and the application of this approach to specific services

Experiences in Integrated Multi-Domain Service Management

Increased competition, complex service provision chains and integrated service offerings require effective techniques for the rapid integration of telecommunications services and management systems over multiple organisational domains. This paper presents some of the results of practical development work in this area, detailing the technologies and standards used, the architectural approach taken and the application of this approach to specific services. This work covers the integration of multimedia services, broadband networks, service management and network management, though the detailed examples given focus specifically on the integration of services and service management

Mass Transfer from a Vertical Flat Plate due to a Constant Upward Flow

This paper examines the mass transfer from a vertical flat surface of a soluble material due to a constant upward flow. The mass transfer rate due to this upward flow is calculated and used to obtain the distance along the surface at which the boundary layer separates. For relatively large velocities no separation will occur and the solution approaches that of forced convection on a horizontal surface

Value Chain activities of Small and Medium Food Manufacturers in Wales, United Kingdom: The KITE Project

The Knowledge Innovation Technology Exchange (KITE) Feasibility Project (2008-2015) was implemented in Wales, to improve food science/technology knowledge and sustainable innovation in food manufacturing small to medium enterprises (SMEs). From this model, the study aimed to identify the salient features of such a paradigm to contribute to ‘value-added gains’ for competitive advantage. Cumulatively, >90 KITE interventions in 43 Welsh SME partners, were evaluated according to mappable value chain ‘primary activities’ and ‘support activities’. Findings from case study purposive samples conducted in 13 out of 43 KITE partner SMEs, identified added value activity across manufacturing and processing activities that positively impacted the food sector

Temporal variations of extreme precipitation events in the United States: 1895–2000

A newly available data set of daily precipitation observations was used to study the temporal variability of the frequency of short-duration extreme precipitation events for 1895–2000 in the conterminous United States. Event durations of 1, 5, 10, and 30 day and return periods of 1, 5, and 20 year were analyzed. For all combinations of duration and return period, heavy precipitation frequencies were relatively high during the late 19th/early 20th Centuries, decreasing to a minimum in the 1920s and 30s, followed by a general increase into the 1990s. The frequencies at the beginning of the 20th Century were nearly as high as during the late 20th Century for some combinations of duration and return period, suggesting that natural variability cannot be discounted as an important contributor to the recent high values. Extensive quality control of data and Monte Carlo testing was performed to provide confidence in the reality of the early period high frequencies