Relativistic analysis of the LISA long range optical links

The joint ESA/NASA LISA mission consists in three spacecraft on heliocentric orbits, flying in a triangular formation of 5 Mkm each side, linked by infrared optical beams. The aim of the mission is to detect gravitational waves in a low frequency band. For properly processing the science data, the propagation delays between spacecraft must be accurately known. We thus analyse the propagation of light between spacecraft in order to systematically derive the relativistic effects due to the static curvature of the Schwarzschild spacetime in which the spacecraft are orbiting with time-varying light-distances. In particular, our analysis allows to evaluate rigorously the Sagnac effect, and the gravitational (Einstein) redshift.Comment: 6 figures; accepted for publication in PR

Evolutionary biology and beliefs : how ideology can draw different social stances from science

Agreeing that there are often strong connections between fields of science and the ideological convictions of those producing the science, this essay shows that the connections are often complex and rarely straightforward. Taking the example of evolutionary biology, by looking at three key figures ? Herbert Spencer, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace ? it is shown how very different social beliefs can lead to very different social conclusions being drawn from one?s science. It is argued that this message should be kept firmly in mind by those who today would draw social conclusions from science, for instance suggesting that Darwinian evolutionary biology leads straight to the social philosophy of the Third Reich. The truth is always far more complex

¿Por qué el estegosaurio tiene placas, o es la biología una ciencia de segunda clase porque piensa en términos de fines?

There is something distinctively different about explanation in the biological sciences, as opposed to explanation in the physical sciences. In the former one has functional arguments, arguments making reference to what Aristotle called “final causes.” As in: “The function of the plates on the back of the Stegosaurus was to keep the body at a constant temperature.” Since the Scientific Revolution, such explanations have been forbidden in the physical sciences. Does this then mean that biology is second rate, as is suggested by many including Immanuel Kant? It is argued that the Darwinian mechanism of natural selection explains why there is need of functional explanation in biology and that once this point is grasped, there is no reason to judge biology second rate.Hay algo distintivamente diferente en la explicación propia de las ciencias biológicas, en tanto opuesta a la explicación en las ciencias físicas. En las primeras tenemos argumentos funcionales, argumentos que hacen referencia a lo que Aristóteles llamó “causas finales”; por ejemplo, “La función de las placas de la parte posterior del estegosaurio era mantener el cuerpo a una temperatura constante”. Desde la Revolución Científica, explicaciones de este tipo han sido prohibidas en la física. ¿Significa esto que la biología es de segunda clase, como sugieren algunos, entre ellos Immanuel Kant? Se defenderá en este artículo que el mecanismo darwiniano de selección natural explica por qué hay necesidad de una explicación funcional en biología y, que una vez que se comprende este punto, no hay razón para juzgar a la biología como ciencia de segunda clase

Multiquadric interpolation: Surface fitting in three-dimensional space

Using mathematics to solve a problem does not always yield a perfect or absolute answer but may instead yield an approximate solution. We can try to approximate the solution as precisely as possible by using the mathematical tools and skills that are available to us or we could try to discover new methods which would enable us to find good approximations. It is important that we have precise approximating tools to begin with, so that we may preserve as much accuracy as possible. We can find such problems in the world around us. For instance, if we try to construct a topographical map of a mountainous region, first we gather data by measuring some elevations and locations. The data is then used to construct the map. We now realize that because measuring every dip and valley of the area would be an impossible task, the map must be constructed from a set of random points. The next step is either to guess about the elevations between the data points, if there are enough points close enough together, or to estimate these elevations mathematically. Since we would like to finish constructing the map by taking small regions around the known data points and finding approximating functions which, when graphed, will represent as precisely as possible the surface of the region, an entirely new problem arises. These surfaces around the known points cannot be easily calculated by use of simple functions. We now need to use these few, random data point to find an approximating surface by means of an interpolation method

Robert M. O\u27Neil\u27s Discriminating against Discrimination: A Review

It is difficult these days to find anyone who will deny that racial minorities have been discriminated against in the area of educational opportunities. Few will deny the desirability of enhancing these opportunities and increasing the number of minority persons in the various professions. But very few will agree on the means that are appropriate to accomplish this desirable end. Robert O\u27Neil has tackled the awesome task of pinpointing and evaluating the policy considerations that affect the tough choices involved in formulating standards for admissions to professional school programs that will promote academic quality but at the same time allow entrance to larger numbers of minority students. And he admirably comes to a conclusion-that preferential admission policies are the only effective alternative we have today

Mission Through Evangelism for My Father’s House Christian Center

The purpose of this ministry focus paper is to develop a strategy for My Father’s House Christian Center to engage the local community through evangelism and realign the church’s practice with Christ’s mission from a Reformed/evangelical understanding. My Father’s House Christian Center (MFHCC) in La Mirada, California, begun as a non-denominational church plant in 1998, is multi-cultural and growing, with a contemporary worship style. Its mission is to reach the local community through evangelism. One problem is the absence of denominational history/structure; church members bring doctrines and practices from their imbedded theology that veer from biblical Christianity. Therefore, MFHCC needs a strategy for evangelism that develops and installs a Reformed/evangelical understanding of Christ’s mission. The imbedded theological assumption of many members holds that “faith alone” can accomplish all things pertaining to God. MFHCC’s mission stems from the Great Commission, calling us “to go” into the world; whereas, a “faith alone” stance believes that God will use other means to achieve His will. This imbedded theology could cause MFHCC to fail to “go” into its community and lose contact with its mission. The first part of this paper details the history and development of MFHCC, examining the local community for an understanding of ministry context. The absence of a denominational history and its impact on MFHCC are summarized. The second part develops the biblical and theological foundations for MFHCC. The mission of Christ is explored for biblical directives pertaining to engaging the local community evangelically. Additionally, an examination of the Reformation and Evangelical movements supply MFHCC with a ministry background from which to draw an identity. The leadership strategy in the third part is derived from parts one and two. It involves small-group learning clusters to educate about biblical evangelism. This strategy provides a clear method for engaging our local community through evangelism and supplies the church’s leadership with a renewed vision for evangelism that will be passed on to the congregation through all ministry teams. Content Reader: John Throop, Ph

Gendered Negotiations: Engagements with ‘Modernity’ and Identity Change amongst Chiapeneco Youth in Mexico

In this paper I wish to examine how changes have occurred in the processes of gendered identity construction amongst Mexican youths through examining local experiences of global, and specifi cally Mexican, modernities. Based on fi eldwork carried out amongst youths in the city of San Cristobal de las Casas, in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, my analysis addresses how youths plan for the future in the context of economic and political marginalisation, and how this aff ects the way in which they pursue diff erent forms of romantic relationships. I also address changes that have occurred in youths’ understandings, perceptions and performances of their gendered identities in the context of a highly developed local tourist industry, the advent of mass media, and new online social worlds. My study shows how gendered identity construction amongst youths here becomes context-dependent, and how it encompasses individual agency whilst at the same time being negotiated through wider structural and social limitations. I also wish to demonstrate how changing gendered identities amongst youths are constantly constructed and renegotiated by individuals seeking to accommodate notions of modernity with perceptions of the traditional, and how these individuals balance contesting notions of gendered identities within themselves. This is, therefore, a study of local and gendered identity change amongst youths in the context of localised modernities and rapid social change

Living with the pain of home: An ethnography of political activism amongst Mexican migrants in Catalonia

This thesis is an enquiry into the emergence of forms of privileged migrant activism. It looks at the experience of middle- and upper-class Mexican migrants living in Barcelona, and explores the way they narrate the process through which they come to be involved in political activism directed at Mexico. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out with over twelve migrant political and cultural collectives in Barcelona, and opens an anthropological window onto understanding the intersections of privileged migration and political ways of being. It looks at the experience of migrants involved in campaigning against the war on drugs, electoral corruption, and political repression in Mexico. The account draws upon the extended interview narratives of individual migrants, and employs the concepts of affect emotion and cosmopolitanism as interpretive tools through which to understand their experiences. It argues that our analyses must look at the individual aspects of experience which influence migrant subjectivities. This includes looking at ambiguous implications of migrating, the emotionally complex ways in which migrants relate to home from abroad, and the impact that multiple inhabitations of cosmopolitanism can have for the way political subjectivities are articulated. The account shows how affect, emotion, and cosmopolitanism interact within migrant narratives in diverse ways. It demonstrates their importance in transforming the way migrants think about home and political action, in revealing migrants’ own implications of structures of inequality at home, and in solidifying the political commitment of some activists. It also highlights their importance in shaping the form of protests which were enacted by migrants, and in influencing the likelihood of sustained political collaboration being practiced between individuals

Embracing the Experience of Glossolalia (“Speaking in Tongues”) as a Principal Discipline of Christian Spiritual Formation

This thesis offers a critical analysis and a comparative study of how glossolalia (tongues-speech) fits alongside traditionally recognized spiritual formation disciplines such as worship and prayer. This dissertation explores how glossolalia as a spiritual discipline develops and promotes a deepened awareness of God’s presence within the believer. Glossolalia has, sadly, rarely been understood as a spiritual discipline in contemporary spiritual practice. Due to an array of factors, Christians often outright reject the practice of glossolalia as a discipline of spiritual formation, thus missing its many benefits (e.g., spiritual growth, empowerment, relationship, and intimacy with God). Three questions to be considered are: (1) What are the biblical and theological foundations for glossolalia as a spiritual discipline? (2) What are the impacts of glossolalia as a spiritual discipline on both the Pentecostal church and the more extensive church community?2 (3) Does the common practice of Pentecostal tongues adequately address the issue of glossolalia as a discipline of spiritual formation? First, the boundaries of this dissertation will be outlined using the aspects of the traditional model of spiritual formation: spiritual disciplines within the historical Christian tradition. Second, there will be an examination of biblical support for glossolalia as a spiritual discipline. Third, a review of the experience of glossolalia throughout Christian history will be presented. Fourth, a theological perspective of glossolalia as a spiritual discipline in the life of a Christian will be presented. The culmination of this dissertation will be an expression of spiritual formation that claims glossolalia as a spiritual discipline. 2 I am writing this as a Pentecostal. As a Pentecostal, my spiritual experience (baptism of the Holy Spirit) shapes my theological reflection. The window that I write through is secured by the evidence and effect of glossolalia as a spiritual discipline that I practice in my own life