1,716 research outputs found
Methodological Individualism, the We-mode, and Team Reasoning
Raimo Tuomela is one of the pioneers of social action theory and has done as much as anyone over the last thirty years to advance the study of social action and collective intentionality. Social Ontology: Collective Intentionality and Group Agents (2013) presents the latest version of his theory and applications to a range of important social phenomena. The book covers so much ground, and so many important topics in detailed discussions, that it would impossible in a short space to do it even partial justice. In this brief note, I will concentrate on a single, though important, theme in the book, namely, the claim that we must give up methodological individualism in the social sciences and embrace instead irreducibly group notions. I wish to defend methodological individualism as up to the theoretical tasks of the social sciences while acknowledging what is distinctive about the social world and collective intentional action.
Tuomela frames the question of the adequacy of methodological individualism in terms of a contrast between what he calls the I-mode and the we-mode. He argues that we-mode phenomena are not reducible to I-mode phenomena, and concludes that we must reject methodological individualism. I will argue that the irreducibility of the we-mode to the I-mode, given how the contrast is set up, does not entail the rejection of methodological individualism. In addition, I will argue that the three conditions that Tuomela places on genuine we-mode activities, the group reason, collectivity, and collective commitment conditions, if they are understood in a way that does not beg the question, can plausibly be satisfied by a reductive account. Finally, I will argue that the specific considerations advanced in the book do not give us reason to think that a reductive account cannot be adequate to the descriptive and explanatory requirements of a theory of the social worl
Correlation of Capacity Fading Processes and Electrochemical Impedance Spectra in Lithium/Sulfur Cells
The capacity fading of lithium/sulfur (Li/S) cells is one major challenge that has to be overcome for a successful commercialization of this electrochemical storage system. Therefore it is essential to detect the major fading mechanisms for further improvements of this system. In this work, the processes leading to fading are analyzed in terms of a linear four state model and correlated to the distribution of relaxation times calculated with a modified Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. Additionally, the Warburg impedance and the solution resistance are also obtained by the same algorithm. The detailed analysis of intermediate states during the first cycle gives the distinction between relaxation processes at the sulfur cathode and at the lithium anode. The influence of the polysulfides on the impedance parameters was evaluated using symmetric cells; this yields a good correlation with the results obtained from the first discharge/charge experiment. A fast and a slow capacity fading process are observed for the charge and the discharge during 50 cycles. The fast fading process can be assigned to Faradaic reactions at the lithium anode
Word frequency in fast priming: Evidence for immediate cognitive control of eye movements during reading
Numerous studies have demonstrated effects of word frequency on eye movements during reading, but the precise timing of this influence has remained unclear. The fast priming paradigm (Sereno & Rayner, 1992) was previously used to study influences of related versus unrelated primes on the target word. Here, we used this procedure to investigate whether the frequency of the prime word has a direct influence on eye movements during reading when the prime-target relation is not manipulated. We found that with average prime intervals of 32 ms readers made longer single fixation durations on the target word in the low than in the high frequency prime condition. Distributional analyses demonstrated that the effect of prime frequency on single fixation durations occurred very early, supporting theories of immediate cognitive control of eye movements. Finding prime frequency effects only 207 ms after visibility of the prime and for prime durations of 32 ms yields new time constraints for cognitive processes controlling eye movements during reading. Our variant of the fast priming paradigm provides a new approach to test early influences of word processing on eye movement control during reading
Isatuximab plus carfilzomib/dexamethasone versus carfilzomib/dexamethasone in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: IKEMA Phase III study design
Although the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma has improved dramatically over the past decade, the disease remains incurable; therefore, additional therapies are needed. Novel combination therapies incorporating monoclonal antibodies have shown significant promise. Here we describe the design of a Phase III study (NCT03275285, IKEMA), which is evaluating isatuximab plus carfilzomib and low-dose dexamethasone, versus carfilzomib/dexamethasone in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The primary end point is progression-free survival. Responses are being determined by an independent review committee using 2016 International Myeloma Working Group criteria, and safety will be assessed throughout. The first patient was recruited in November 2017, and the last patient was recruited in March 2019; 302 patients have been randomized, and the study is ongoing. / Clinical trial registration: NCT0327528
New measurement on photon yields from air and the application to the energy estimation of primary cosmic rays
The air fluorescence technique is used to detect ultra-high energy cosmic
rays (UHECR), and to estimate their energy. Of fundamental importance is the
photon yield due to excitation by electrons, in air of various densities and
temperatures. After our previous report, the experiment has been continued
using a Sr90 source to study the pressure dependence of photon yields
for radiation in nitrogen and dry air. The photon yields in 15 wave bands
between 300 nm and 430 nm have been determined. The total photon yield between
300 nm and 406 nm (used in most experiments) in air excited by a 0.85 MeV
electron is 3.81+-0.13 (+-13 % systematics) photons per meter at 1013 hPa and
20 C. The air density and temperature dependencies of 15 wave bands
are given for application to UHECR observations.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, LaTeX with elsart.cls, accepted by Astroparticle
Physic
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