A Presuppositional Critique of Constructivism

Educational theories have roots. They have roots in broader philosophies, conceptions of the nature of reality, and the theories utilized in classrooms to teach have implications for broader society. The author takes a presuppostitional view and shows that all systems have most basic beliefs that are un-provable. So at the heart of any form of interpretive schema or paradigm is faith in that schema. The author discusses the role of theories of truth, how fact-constructivism embraces a relativist position that is self-refuting, and ultimately is untenable absent a suspension of laws of logic. The author argues in favor of revelation from God as axiomatic and demonstrates how logic can exist on that basis, whereas on a secular basis, philosophy cannot generate any True facts whatsoever. The author then looks at the educational theory of constructivism and examines the theory and practices it endorses it in light of the presuppositional critique and concludes that the relativistic nature of constructivism precludes it from being a philosophically acceptable approach for the Christian

Experiences with a simplified microsimulation for the Dallas/Fort Worth area

We describe a simple framework for micro simulation of city traffic. A medium sized excerpt of Dallas was used to examine different levels of simulation fidelity of a cellular automaton method for the traffic flow simulation and a simple intersection model. We point out problems arising with the granular structure of the underlying rules of motion.Comment: accepted by Int.J.Mod.Phys.C, 20 pages, 14 figure

A note on couette flow of nematic crystals according to the Ericksen–Leslie theory

In order to model the flow of nematic crystals, the theoretical framework according to Ericksen and Leslie is applied. The essentials of the theory are compiled and then specialized to Couette flow. The profiles for linear velocity and orientation angle will be computed and, in particular, we shall also study the rise in temperature due to viscous dissipation, which is frequently ignored by mechanicians. Analytical and numerical solutions for the fields are derived for different boundary conditions and will subsequently be discussed.TU Berlin, Open-Access-Mittel - 201

Parallel implementation of the TRANSIMS micro-simulation

This paper describes the parallel implementation of the TRANSIMS traffic micro-simulation. The parallelization method is domain decomposition, which means that each CPU of the parallel computer is responsible for a different geographical area of the simulated region. We describe how information between domains is exchanged, and how the transportation network graph is partitioned. An adaptive scheme is used to optimize load balancing. We then demonstrate how computing speeds of our parallel micro-simulations can be systematically predicted once the scenario and the computer architecture are known. This makes it possible, for example, to decide if a certain study is feasible with a certain computing budget, and how to invest that budget. The main ingredients of the prediction are knowledge about the parallel implementation of the micro-simulation, knowledge about the characteristics of the partitioning of the transportation network graph, and knowledge about the interaction of these quantities with the computer system. In particular, we investigate the differences between switched and non-switched topologies, and the effects of 10 Mbit, 100 Mbit, and Gbit Ethernet. keywords: Traffic simulation, parallel computing, transportation planning, TRANSIM

The LpL^p boundedness of wave operators for Schr\"odinger Operators with threshold singularities

Let $H=-\Delta+V$ be a Schr\"odinger operator on $L^2(\mathbb R^n)$ with real-valued potential $V$ for $n > 4$ and let $H_0=-\Delta$. If $V$ decays sufficiently, the wave operators $W_{\pm}=s-\lim_{t\to \pm\infty} e^{itH}e^{-itH_0}$ are known to be bounded on $L^p(\mathbb R^n)$ for all $1\leq p\leq \infty$ if zero is not an eigenvalue, and on $1<p<\frac{n}{2}$ if zero is an eigenvalue. We show that these wave operators are also bounded on $L^1(\mathbb R^n)$ by direct examination of the integral kernel of the leading term. Furthermore, if $\int_{\mathbb R^n} V(x) \phi(x) \, dx=0$ for all eigenfunctions $\phi$, then the wave operators are $L^p$ bounded for $1\leq p<n$. If, in addition $\int_{\mathbb R^n} xV(x) \phi(x) \, dx=0$, then the wave operators are bounded for $1\leq p<\infty$.Comment: Incorporated referee comments and updated references. To appear in Adv. Mat

Portrait of Mehmed Rudži-beg

Full-length shot of a Muslim townsman in urban clothes and with a fez (felt hat)

A Presuppositional Critique of Constructivism

Educational theories have roots. They have roots in broader philosophies, conceptions of the nature of reality, and the theories utilized in classrooms to teach have implications for broader society. Specifically, this paper discusses the problems of constructivist theory in the classroom. The author takes a presuppostitional view and shows that all systems have most basic beliefs which are un-provable. So at the heart of any form of interpretive schema is faith in that schema. The author discusses ontological and epistemological options and how shifts in philosophy change the order of the most basic beliefs, but not the fact that they are beliefs, nonetheless. The author discusses the role of theories of truth, and how a fact-constructivism embraces a relativist position that is self-refuting and ultimately untenable absent a suspension of laws of logic. The author argues in favor of revelation from God as axiomatic and demonstrates how logic can exist on that basis, whereas on a secular basis, philosophy cannot generate any True facts whatsoever. The author then looks at the educational theory of constructivism and examines the theory and the classroom practices it endorses it in light of the presuppositional critique

Legal Positivism: The Leading Legal Theory in America

The author discusses the transition in from a Natural Law base for American Jurisprudence to legal positivism

The Growth of the Commerce Clause as Mechanism of Control

Article 1, Section 8, clause 3 of the United States Constitution states that “Congress shall have the power… To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes”. This short and simple statement has been progressively used, in combination with a few other powers both granted and assumed by various federal actors, to take greater and broader powers over the states and private citizenry. The original judicial understanding of the so-called Commerce Clause (differentiated from original intent) comes from the 1824 case of Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. 1. Through subsequent cases, the judicial understanding of the commerce clause is clarified. Then during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt, there seemed to be a change in attitude toward using an enumerated power to infringe on a police power, which is properly the role of the individual states. Through this new understanding of the power of the commerce clause, 20th century America sees unprecedented growth in federal regulation and criminalization on numerous fronts of civil society. This understanding continued until about 1995, when the Supreme Court struck down the Gun Free School Zones Act as unconstitutional. This began a shift in the way the Court saw the power of the commerce clause as elements of the federal government began to temper what they perceived their powers to be