Book review: Brown at 10

Suki Ferguson finds Brown at 10 to be a candid gem of political history, in which the former Prime Minister comes across as a man of sincere principle

Dissolving Yablo’s Hostage Crisis: In Defence of Defiance

Yablo suggests a ‘hostage crisis’ occurs when an unproblematic statement ϕ entails, and is therefore hostage to, a problematic statement ψ. Yablo proposes a technical solution to this kind of problem by diminishing ϕ to ϕ*, where ϕ* does not entail ψ and thus is not hostage to it. I argue that Yablo’s proposal is unnecessary because the original, undiminished ϕ does not in fact entail ψ. This is what Yablo calls a ‘defiant’ position. I defend defiance by arguing that ϕ and ψ are of different metaphysical weights, which I show through an analysis of their use of quantification

The Role of Existential Quantification in Scientific Realism

Scientific realism holds that the terms in our scientific theories refer and that we should believe in their existence. This presupposes a certain understanding of quantification, namely that it is ontologically committing, which I challenge in this paper. I argue that the ontological loading of the quantifiers is smuggled in through restricting the domains of quantification, without which it is clear to see that quantifiers are ontologically neutral. Once we remove domain restrictions, domains of quantification can include non-existent things, as they do in scientific theorizing. Scientific realism would therefore require redefining without presupposing a view of ontologically committing quantification

The Adoption Problem and Anti-Exceptionalism about Logic

Anti-exceptionalism about logic takes logic to be, as the name suggests, unexceptional. Rather, in naturalist fashion, the anti-exceptionalist takes logic to be continuous with science, and considers logical theories to be adoptable and revisable accordingly. On the other hand, the Adoption Problem aims to show that there is something special about logic that sets it apart from scientific theories, such that it cannot be adopted in the way the anti-exceptionalist proposes. In this paper I assess the damage the Adoption Problem causes for anti-exceptionalism, and show that it is also problematic for exceptionalist positions too. My diagnosis of why the Adoption Problem affects both positions is that the self-governance of basic logical rules of inference prevents them from being adoptable, regardless of whether logic is exceptional or not

Flexural analysis of concrete beams longitudinally reinforced with GFRP bars using discrete element model

This paper presents experimental and analytical study related to the flexural behavior of concrete beams longitudinally reinforced with GFRP bars. The specimens consist of simply supported reinforced concrete beams with two point load. Totally 16 concrete beams includes 8 beams reinforced with steel and 8 beams reinforced with GFRP bars were tested to failure. Flexural capacity of the beam was observed experimentally and analytically. A computer program of cross sectional analysis using discrete element model was developed in this study to determine the flexural capacity of the beams. In addition, available stress-strain model proposed by the other researchers was used in order to simulate the behavior of material in calculation process. Finally, the flexural capacity obtained from analytical calculation was compared to that obtained from the test in term of moment-curvature curves and load deflection curves. The results show that beam reinforced with GFRP experienced larger ultimate load and larger deflection at same load level compared to beam reinforced with steel. Keyword: Reinforced concrete beams, Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP), Flexural capacity

Limiting logical pluralism

In this paper I argue that pluralism at the level of logical systems requires a certain monism at the meta-logical level, and so, in a sense, there cannot be pluralism all the way down. The adequate alternative logical systems bottom out in a shared basic meta-logic, and as such, logical pluralism is limited. I argue that the content of this basic meta-logic must include the analogue of logical rules Modus Ponens and Universal Instantiation. I show this through a detailed analysis of the ‘adoption problem’, which manifests something special about MP and UI. It appears that MP and UI underwrite the very nature of a logical rule of inference, due to all rules of inference being conditional and universal in their structure. As such, all logical rules presuppose MP and UI, making MP and UI self-governing, basic, unadoptable, and required in the meta-logic for the adequacy of any logical system

Using mobile device for learning: from students perspective

This study aims to examine students' acceptance of mobile technology usage for learning. A questionnaire designed with five open-ended questions was distributed to 20 students from the Faculty of Industrial Art and Design Technology of Unisel (Universiti Industri Selangor), Malaysia. Results construes that students were not keen on m-learning (mobile learning), as they did not rely greatly on the mobile phone in assessing their learning materials such as lectures and lab sessions. They were more familiar with studio-based and face-to-face learning approach instead of m-learning and were not receptive to this new idea of learning using mobile technology, even though they always used the mobile device features. The limitations in the mobile device feature, costs and its usability become the prominent factors that hinder the students from fully accomplishing their m-learning exercises. They were willing to explore the idea of using mobile technology for learning, especially in a studio-based setting. They did not see any improvement of knowledge from the perspective of the learning process know-how to the show-how on mobile technology usage for learning. They could not relate to any learning connection between mobile technology and studio-based learning, even though in the first part of the case study, the results have shown positive attitude and acceptance on the study made on a sample lesson of form, space and gestalt theory in the graphic design subject. Students also obtained analogous experiences on small size keypads, screen resolutions, and navigation which could be the major problematic factors to them and thus, affected their m-learning process as it was unfriendly to use and the device was prone to damage. They have yet to accept that the concept of mobility in learning is applicable to the learning process, apart from utilising a mobile device for casual usage. However, this limitation does not restrict the students from exploring this new learning environment in the future, since they were willing to increase their learning exposure using mobile device. (Contains 2 figures.

Effects of perceived information quality, perceived system quality, and perceived flow on mobile Social Networking Sites (SNS) users' trust

This chapter examines the effects of perceived information quality, perceived system quality, and perceived flow on mobile Social Networking Sites (SNS) users' trust. Pearson correlations via SPSS 21.0 computer program was used for data analysis as it has the ability to ensure the consistency of the model with the data, to provide information necessary to scrutinize the study hypotheses, and to estimate associations among constructs. Each correlation coefficient was assessed as significant at the 0.01 level, and the overall model was determined to fit the data well as multicollinearity was absent. In terms of the associations with perceived user trust, perceived flow had highest significant positive correlation coefficients, followed by perceived information quality and perceived system quality. Next, further investigation of the study encountered that perceived flow is significantly associated by both perceived system quality and perceived information quality of mobile SNS, respectively. The chapter concludes with directions for future research