Philosophy of Technology in the Americas in the Last Twenty-Five Years

This article summarizes and analyzes some of the most important contributions to the voluminous literature in philosophy of technology that has been produced during the past twenty-five years in North, Central, and South America. (Major focus is on North America.) The survey emphasizes the variety of standards the authors have attempted to measure up to, and ends with a plea that, whatever the standard invoked, an overarching standard ought to be to contribute to the solution of real-world problems of technological society

A study of the thermal conductance of bolted joints Final report

Design-oriented approach for predicting thermal resistance of bolted lap joint including bibliograph

Zrównoważony aktywizm. Centrum na rzecz Energii, Polityki Środowiskowej i Niekonwencjonalnej Edukacji

This article builds on, and incorporates, an earlier one, in which I used four examples  of doctoral theses at the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy to show the advantages of experiential learning in dealing with real-world problems of sustainable development. The purpose of the present paper is to expand that message, offering the Center as a model of the way a sustainable development program could be patterned, not only within the United States but worldwide. What this paper adds is nine more examples of doctoral theses, based on or eventuating in, real-world solutions in locales throughout the world, where experiential learning is once again the key.Niniejszy artykuł opiera się na wcześniejszym artykule mojego autorstwa, w którym przywołałem cztery przykłady rozpraw doktorskich, powstałych w Centrum Energii i Polityki Środowiskowej, aby przedstawić zalety niekonwencjonalnej edukacji w rozwiązywaniu rzeczywistych problemów w zakresie zrównoważonego rozwoju. Celem niniejszej pracy jest rozwinięcie idei przedstawionej Centrum, jako przykładowego sposobu modelowania programu zrównoważonego rozwoju, nie tylko w Stanach Zjednoczonych ale także na całym świecie. Niniejsza praca przedstawia kolejne dziewięć przykładów rozpraw doktorskich, opartych na rzeczywistych rozwiązaniach, stosowanych w różnych miejscach na całym świecie, dla których nauczanie niekonwencjonalne znów ma kluczowe znaczenie

Czy istnieje idealna etyka zrównoważonego rozwoju?

Over the past couple of decades, the literature on development and the environment has been dominated by a new slogan, “sustainable development.” Sustainability has many interpretations (see Cuello and Durbin, 1995), and by now there must be hundreds of definitions of sustainability or sustainable development. The author of each one surely believes that his or hers is the best, but not many authors have attempted to survey all the definitions and then propose his as the best of the best. That is exactly what Cesar Cuello Nieto has done. Focusing here on his work will allow me to draw some social responsibility conclusions about environmental ethics and the environmental movement generally.W ciągu ostatnich kilkudziesięciu lat, w literaturze na temat rozwoju środowiska naturalnego dominował termin „zrównoważonego rozwoju”. Zrównoważenie ma wiele interpretacji (patrz Cuello and Durbin 1995), i zapewne istnieją już setki definicji terminu „zrównoważenie” lub „zrównoważony rozwój”. Autor każdej z nich niewątpliwie sądzi, że to właśnie jego definicja jest tą najlepszą, lecz żaden z nich nie spróbował zapoznać się ze wszystkimi definicjami, a potem zaproponować jej ostatecznej wersji. Właśnie tak zrobił Cesar Cuello Nieto. Skupiając się na jego pracy, będę mógł przedstawić kwestię odpowiedzialności społecznej wobec środowiska naturalnego oraz idei zrównoważonego rozwoju w ogóle

Humanitarna motywacja dla zrównoważonego rozwoju globalnej ekonomii

As a philosopher, I feel the need to begin with definitions. And it is clear to me that, as with the term “sustainability,” the related term “globalization” has many meanings – almost as many as there are authors and organizations using it. For me, the term has political connotations, and thus covers the whole range of political philosophies, from the most extreme left to the most extreme right end of the political spectrum. Some people seem to assume that globalization stands primarily for an economics-based politics: the market is the most important factor, economies of scale are crucial, and the global market – without trade limitations of any kind – is what is more important than anything in today´s technologized world. But no sooner than we have put the matter in those terms, it is clear that there is another pole. Ever since Lenin, Marxists have maintained that globalization in that sense means no more than an extension of capitalism, the exploitation of less developed parts of the world for the advantage of imperialist capitalist managers in the most developed parts of the world. That, it seems to me, is the root of the rhetoric of many outspoken leftist critics of globalization in the past decade or so. That said, it seems to be clear in principle that there is a whole range of political interpretations of globalization that lie between these extremes.Jako filozof, czuję potrzebę rozpoczęcia od zdefiniowania terminów. Jest dla mnie jasne, że termin „zrównoważenie”, podobnie jak związana z nim „globalizacja” posiada wiele znaczeń – niemal tak wiele, ilu autorów i ile organizacji go stosuje. Dla mnie, termin ten ma konotacje polityczne i jest związany z wieloma filozofiami politycznymi, od skrajnej lewicy po skrajną prawicę. Niektórzy zakładają, że globalizacja dotyczy głównie polityki opartej na ekonomii: rynek jest najważniejszym czynnikiem, ekonomia skali ma kluczowe znaczenie, a globalny rynek – bez żadnych ograniczeń handlowych – jest tym, co najważniejsze we współczesnym technologicznym świecie. Jednak gdy tylko zawrzemy tę materię w owych terminach, jest jasne, że istnieje inny biegun. Od czasów Lenina, marksiści utrzymywali, że globalizacja w tym znaczeniu oznacza tylko rozszerzenie kapitalizmu i wykorzystywanie mniej rozwiniętych części świata przez imperialistycznych zarządców kapitalistycznych najbardziej rozwiniętych części świata. To według mnie jest źródło retoryki wielu mówiących bez ogródek lewicowych krytyków globalizacji w ciągu ostatniej dekady. W zasadzie jest chyba jasne, że istnieje cały szereg politycznych interpretacji globalizacji, które leżą gdzieś pomiędzy tymi skrajnościami

An investigation of environmental factors associated with the current and proposed jetty systems at Belle Pass, Louisiana

The history of the existing jetty system at Belle Pass was investigated to determine its past effect on the littoral currents and beach erosion. Present flow patterns and erosion rates were also studied, along with the prevailing recession rates of local beaches not influenced by the jetty system. Aerial photographs and maps were used in conjunction with periodic hydraulic measurements, ground observations, and physical measurements of beach erosion. A scale model was constructed to further the study of flow patterns and velocities. It is shown that the existing jetty has not adversely affected the coastline in the area; erosive processes have been retarded by the jetty and its companion groin. Future erosion patterns are predicted, and projected effects of the proposed jetty system are given

Asymptotic Level Density of the Elastic Net Self-Organizing Feature Map

Whileas the Kohonen Self Organizing Map shows an asymptotic level density following a power law with a magnification exponent 2/3, it would be desired to have an exponent 1 in order to provide optimal mapping in the sense of information theory. In this paper, we study analytically and numerically the magnification behaviour of the Elastic Net algorithm as a model for self-organizing feature maps. In contrast to the Kohonen map the Elastic Net shows no power law, but for onedimensional maps nevertheless the density follows an universal magnification law, i.e. depends on the local stimulus density only and is independent on position and decouples from the stimulus density at other positions.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures. Link to publisher under http://link.springer.de/link/service/series/0558/bibs/2415/24150939.ht

A Pilot Experimental Study of Adding the Copm To the Occupational Therapy Evaluation Process In the Swing-bed Division of A Rural Hospital Setting

Background: Extensive evidence is available on the efficacy of occupation-based practice for improving patient outcomes in hospital settings. There were no studies that took place specifically in the swing-bed division of rural hospital settings regarding occupation-based practice prior to the implementation of this study. Purpose: This study sought to determine whether the addition of the COPM would increase occupational performance and patient satisfaction for individuals treated in the swing-bed division of a rural hospital setting. Theoretical Framework: The Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement is the primary theory supporting this study, due to the emphasis placed on client-centeredness, spirituality, and occupational performance and engagement. Methods: The Capstone Project is a pilot experimental research design with a sample size of 4 participants who were randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups. Participants in the experimental group completed the COPM with treatment focused on goals identified in the COPM and participants in the control group received usual care. Outcome measures were administered during the initial encounter and prior to discharge comprised of the following: Barthel Index, patient satisfaction, and percentage of goals met. Participants in the experimental group participated in COPM assessment during the initial encounter and prior to discharge. Conclusions: Improvements in performance and satisfaction COPM scores occurred for participants in the experimental group, but were not minimally clinically significant. Both groups were overall satisfied with the occupational therapy services provided, with the control group reporting slightly higher ratings. No differences in percentage of goals met occurred between groups, due to participants in both groups meeting 100% of their goals. There was a significant difference in Barthel Index change scores between groups, with the control group exhibiting a ten-point increase in change scores, that could partially be attributed to lower initial Barthel Index scores

Parameter estimation in pair hidden Markov models

This paper deals with parameter estimation in pair hidden Markov models (pair-HMMs). We first provide a rigorous formalism for these models and discuss possible definitions of likelihoods. The model being biologically motivated, some restrictions with respect to the full parameter space naturally occur. Existence of two different Information divergence rates is established and divergence property (namely positivity at values different from the true one) is shown under additional assumptions. This yields consistency for the parameter in parametrization schemes for which the divergence property holds. Simulations illustrate different cases which are not covered by our results.Comment: corrected typo

Histologic Correlation With Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Benign and Malignant Lipomatous Masses

Purpose/results. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for 46 consecutive patients with lipomatous soft tissue tumors prior to biopsy and resection. Twenty-eight patients had benign lipomas and 18 had liposarcomas. Clinical differences between thdse patients with benign disease and those with malignant lesions were average age at the time of presentation (49 years for benign vs 62 years for malignant, p < 0.001) and average length of symptoms prior to resection (64 months for benign versus 38 months for malignant, p = 0.01). MRI characteristics associated with benign disease included: smaller tumor size (9.4 cm average greatest dimension for benign lesions vs 13.4 cm for malignant masses, p = 0.022); a mass with a uniformly homogeneous signal (p = 0.0003); a mass with homogeneous high T1 and T2 signals and a low short-time-inversion-recovery (STIR) signal comparable to normal fat (p < 0.0001). This last signal pattern was not seen in malignant lesions (0/18) and was present in almost all benign lipomas (25/28). The usual MRI descriptions of soft tissue masses such as infiltrating vs encapsulating, deep vs subcutaneous and septated vs non-septated were not helpful predictors of malignancy in this series. Needle biopsies of lipomatous masses with heterogeneous signals on MRI resulted in inaccurate diagnoses due to sampling error in 5/9 patients