Is ʔ an Element? Towards a Non-segmental Phonology

This paper argues that the element calculus of Government Phonology is overburdened. In particular it shows that the simple act of supposing extra elements to explain consonantal phenomena leads to far reaching and undesirable empirical consequences. An alternative approach is proposed which leaves the elemental inventory containing only those elements attested in both nuclei and non-nuclei. The phonetic impression of consonantism is attributed to the direct interpretation of supra-skeletal structure. Some typical textbook problems involving consonant ‘mutations’ are explored in light of this simple shift of perspective, with attractive solutions. The metatheoretical benefits of this approach are highlighted and particular areas of existing supra-skeletal theory are singled out as likely to require ‘tweaking’

MENCIUS\u27 JUN-ZI, ARISTOTLE\u27S MEGALOPSUCHOS, & MORAL DEMANDS TO HELP THE GLOBAL POOR

It is commonly believed that impartial utilitarian moral theories have significant demands that we help the global poor, and that the partial virtue ethics of Mencius and Aristotle do not. This ethical partiality found in these virtue ethicists has been criticized, and some have suggested that the partialistic virtue ethics of Mencius and Aristotle are parochial (i.e., overly narrow in their scope of concern). I believe, however, that the ethics of Mencius and Aristotle are both more cosmopolitan than many presume and also are very demanding. In this paper, I argue that the ethical requirements to help the poor and starving are very demanding for the quintessentially virtuous person in Mencius and Aristotle. The ethical demands to help even the global poor are demanding for Mencius jun-zi (君子chön-tzu / junzi) and Aristotle\u27s megalopsuchos. I argue that both the jun-zi and megalopsuchos have a wide scope of concern for the suffering of poor people. I argue that the relevant virtues of the jun-zi and megalopsuchos are also achievable for many people. The moral views of Mencius and Aristotle come with strong demands for many of us to work harder to alleviate global poverty

Energy dynamics in linear MHD with ion parallel viscosity

Analytic results for the time dependences of the kinetic and magnetic energies of an incompressible magneto fluid threaded by a strong uniform magnetic field B₀ are obtained. The governing equations are the linearised magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) ones, but with the conventional Laplacian dissipation replaced by ion parallel viscous effects. The behaviour is shown to depend on the relative sizes of the Alfvén frequency and the viscous and resistive dissipation rates. For many cases equipartition of the kinetic and magnetic energy holds at the (Fourier) modal level. An important exception to this behaviour occurs for two-dimensional fluctuations, that is when the wavevectors are perpendicular to B₀

The Strength of Abstraction with Predicative Comprehension

Frege's theorem says that second-order Peano arithmetic is interpretable in Hume's Principle and full impredicative comprehension. Hume's Principle is one example of an abstraction principle, while another paradigmatic example is Basic Law V from Frege's Grundgesetze. In this paper we study the strength of abstraction principles in the presence of predicative restrictions on the comprehension schema, and in particular we study a predicative Fregean theory which contains all the abstraction principles whose underlying equivalence relations can be proven to be equivalence relations in a weak background second-order logic. We show that this predicative Fregean theory interprets second-order Peano arithmetic.Comment: Forthcoming in Bulletin of Symbolic Logic. Slight change in title from previous version, at request of referee

Professionalization of College Sports: The Case of College Basketball

This study examines how major college basketball programs have become professionalized, and follow a professional model in terms of their revenues, expenses, and profits. “Professionalized” is defined as having a fundamental focus on profits and revenues. Revenue and expense data for the 2006-2007 season was selected from the six major conferences: Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, PAC 10, and SEC. Data was collected from the Office of Postsecondary Education, where revenues and expenses are reported for each school. These data were examined and used to gauge whether these programs or conferences are following a professional model. In addition, the study examined the marginal revenue product of acquiring one more premium player (a player that has been drafted into the NBA or WNBA). Data were collected from NBAdraft.net, where NBA and WNBA draft classes were be used to determine the number of premium players on each college team. OLS regression analysis was be used to indicate relationships between the data. These relationships indicate that men’s basketball programs follow a professional model and that the marginal revenue product of acquiring one more premium player is greater than their compensation through scholarship. Women’s basketball programs do not appear to follow a professional model, or acquire players that generate significant revenues greater than their compensation through scholarship

Popular Rule in Schumpeter's Democracy

In this article, it is argued that existing democracies might establish popular rule even if Joseph Schumpeter’s notoriously unflattering picture of ordinary citizens is accurate. Some degree of popular rule is in principle compatible with apathetic, ignorant and suggestible citizens, contrary to what Schumpeter and others have maintained. The people may have control over policy, and their control may constitute popular rule, even if citizens lack definite policy opinions and even if their opinions result in part from elites’ efforts to manipulate these opinions. Thus, even a purely descriptive, ‘realist’ account of democracy of the kind that Schumpeter professed to offer may need to concede that there is no democracy without some degree of popular rule