“Truth is Subjectivity” in Johannes Climacus’ Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments: Developing an Understanding of Kierkegaard on Truth

This thesis investigates what the statement “truth is subjectivity” means within the context of Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments, the last work written under the Søren Kierkegaard’s pseudonym, Johannes Climacus. Such a statement looks prima facie like a declarative claim that all truth is relative to individual interpretation. However, read in context and under the layers of indirect communication, “truth is subjectivity” instead means to remind the individual that 1) truth is only understood through the mind of a finite person, 2) truth matters because of what subjects do with it, and 3) truth is best understood as being grounded in faith. “Truth is subjectivity” as a statement also summarizes in three words Climacus’ perspective on how an individual is to successfully pursue ethical and religious truth

The Development of Intercultural Maturity in Second Year College Students

Globalization and the development of cultural competence have become increasingly important in our pluralistic society. The ability to effectively interact with, understand, and make meaning of our experiences in a global setting is a critical learning outcome in order to address the complex issues of society. Higher education associations have deemed intercultural competence as an important outcome for graduates and international education is often a key strategy to realizing this goal. Increasingly over the past ten years, the second-year of college stands out as being developmentally significant by higher education scholars and practitioners. As second-year students experience and question the complexity of the self and the world as they progress into adulthood, institutions of higher education have a responsibility to support and facilitate this process. The purpose of this mixed-methods, quasi-experimental study was to investigate the development of intercultural maturity in second year college students -- both those who complete a short-term study abroad experience and those who remain on campus. Pre-test, post-test, and three-month follow-up post-test data were collected using the Global Perspective Inventory (GPI). Using descriptive and inferential statistics, this study compared the changes in cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal development of the participants. The results demonstrated a statistically significant growth in intercultural maturity directly after the three-week study abroad program for the study abroad students. However, the three-month follow-up survey showed that students who studied abroad had the same mean score for intercultural maturity as the control group by the end of their second year in college. This research also examined which social identities, campus involvement, and behaviors in college may be correlated to the development of intercultural maturity. Ethnicity, socio-economic status, parental education, and faculty-related engagement showed some level of significance, however, these factors were independent from the short-term study abroad program for second-year college students. The results of this study contribute to the existing literature surrounding the development of cultural competence, the growing knowledge of second-year college student development, and short-term study abroad programs. This research also provides universities with an improved understanding of curricular and co-curricular efforts that aid in the development of intercultural maturity

Intensity-Resolved Above Threshold Ionization of Xenon with Short Laser Pulses

We present intensity-resolved above threshold ionization (ATI) spectra of xenon using an intensity scanning and deconvolution technique. Experimental data were obtained with laser pulses of 58 fs and central wavelength of 800 nm from a chirped-pulse amplifier. Applying a deconvolution algorithm, we obtained spectra that have higher contrast and are in excellent agreement with characteristic 2 $U_p$ and 10 $U_p$ cutoff energies contrary to that found for raw data. The retrieved electron ionization probability is consistent with the presence of a second electron from double ionization. This recovered ionization probability is confirmed with a calculation based on the PPT tunneling ionization model [Perelomov, Popov, and Terent'ev, Sov. Phys. JETP 23, 924 (1966)]. Thus, the measurements of photoelectron yields and the proposed deconvolution technique allowed retrieval of more accurate spectroscopic information from the ATI spectra and ionization probability features that are usually concealed by volume averaging.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure

High-power mid-infrared frequency comb source based on a femtosecond Er:fiber oscillator

We report on a high-power mid-infrared frequency comb source based on a femtosecond Er:fiber oscillator with a stabilized repetition rate at 250 MHz. The mid-infrared frequency comb is produced through difference frequency generation in a periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate crystal. The output power is about 120 mW with a pulse duration of about 80 fs, and spectrum coverage from 2.9 to 3.6 um. The coherence properties of the produced high-power broadband mid-infrared frequency comb are maintained, which was verified by heterodyne measurements. As the first application, the spectrum of a ~200 ppm methane-air mixture in a short 20 cm glass cell at ambient atmospheric pressure and temperature was measured.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figure

Frequency comb vernier spectroscopy in the near infrared

We perform femtosecond frequency comb vernier spectroscopy in the near infrared with a femtosecond Er doped fiber laser, a scanning high-finesse cavity and an InGaAs camera. By utilizing the properties of a frequency comb and a scanning high-finesse cavity such spectroscopy provides broad spectral bandwidth, high spectral resolution, and high detection sensitivity on a short time scale. We achieved an absorption sensitivity of ~8E-8 cm-1Hz-1/2 corresponding to a detection limit of ~70 ppbv for acetylene, with a resolution of ~1.1 GHz in single images taken in 0.5 seconds and covering a frequency range of ~5 THz. These measurements have broad applications for sensing other greenhouse gases in this fingerprint near IR region with a simple apparatus.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure