A Study of Depth Representation in Pictorial Art: the Psychology of Development as Basis for a Theory of Art Instruction

The main objective of the study is to propose a provisional plan for an improved teaching program aimed at the development and application of spatial relationships in the graphic arts. In the previous section, we have mentioned the role of past experience in building up the perceptual level. However, teaching requires that we make the best possible use of student\u27s existing level of experience, and build upon that in planning the optimum use of the present experience. By the proper use of the immediate learning situation, we may assist students to become more aware of and project their understanding of spatial relationships through a sequential program of study. For the problem in artistic activity is not simply to perceive depth, but to discover or invent means for its representation. If a student\u27s artistic activity has been meager, he may experience or realize for the first time, symbolic, pictorial forms embodying basic concepts of space on which he can build progressively richer coordinations of depth conventions. If the student\u27s artistic activity has been adequate or full, problems in composition involving rather elementary ideas of depth will serve as a recapitulation and reinforcement of already understood techniques. In such a case, his compositions are likely to show a more sophisticated control of the problems of depth and to develop aesthetic qualities and complexities as yet inaccessible to the more naive student. In either case, both past experience and present opportunity should interact to determine the precise nature of the accomplishment. Recognizing the pertinence of immediate experience to genuine learning and the development of perception, educational philosophy ought to seek every means to align teaching methods with a natural process of learning

How do the properties of a glass depend on the cooling rate? A computer simulation study of a Lennard-Jones system

Using molecular dynamics computer simulations we investigate how the glass transition and the properties of the resulting glass depend on the cooling rate with which the sample has been quenched. This is done by studying a two component Lennard-Jones system which is coupled to a heat bath whose temperature is decreased from a high temperature, where the system is a liquid, to zero temperature, where the system is a glass. The temperature $T_b$ of the heat bath is decreased linearly in time, i.e. $T_b=T_0-\gamma t$, where $\gamma$ is the cooling rate. In accordance with simple theoretical arguments and with experimental observations we find that the glass transition, as observed in the specific heat and the thermal expansion coefficient, becomes sharper when $\gamma$ is decreased. A decrease of the cooling rate also leads to a decrease of the glass transition temperature $T_g$ and we show that the dependence of $T_g$ on $\gamma$ can be rationalized by assuming that the temperature dependence of the relaxation times of the system is given by either a Vogel-Fulcher law or a power-law. By investigating the structural properties of the glass, such as the radial distribution functions, the coordination numbers and the angles between three neighbor-sharing particles, we show how the local order of the glass increases with decreasing cooling rate. The enthalpy and the density of the glass decrease and increase, respectively, with decreasing $\gamma$. By investigating the $\gamma$ dependence of clusters of nearest neighbors, we show how these observations can be understood from a microscopic point of view. We also show that the spectrum of the glass, as computed from the dynamical matrix, shows a shift towards higher frequencies when $\gamma$ is decreased. All these effects show that there is a significantComment: 20 pages of RevTex, Figures available upon request from W. Ko

Product Inspection Apparatus

We discuss a product inspection apparatus, comprising a drive motor configured to drive a conveyor and a metal detector for detecting a contaminated product at a first location on the conveyor an inverter configured to receive an AC power supply of less than 150V and control a rotation speed of the drive motor, and a reject mechanism control system configured to receive, from the metal detector, an indication that the contaminated product has been detected at the first location, receive, from the inverter, a pulse train output indicative of the rotation speed of the drive motor, and identify the contaminated product at a second location on the conveyor in dependence on the indication of the contaminated product and the pulse train output

Temperature in nonequilibrium systems with conserved energy

We study a class of nonequilibrium lattice models which describe local redistributions of a globally conserved energy. A particular subclass can be solved analytically, allowing to define a temperature T_{th} along the same lines as in the equilibrium microcanonical ensemble. The fluctuation-dissipation relation is explicitely found to be linear, but its slope differs from the inverse temperature T_{th}^{-1}. A numerical renormalization group procedure suggests that, at a coarse-grained level, all models behave similarly, leading to a two-parameter description of their macroscopic properties.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, final versio

The Theme of Objectivity in Wilhelm Dilthey’s Philosophy of Human Sciences

Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911) on üks esimestest ja mõjukamatest teoreetikutest, kes seadis endale ülesandeks tuua välja see eripära, mis iseloomustab teadmise vorme ja kujunemise viise humanitaarteadustes, mis olid tema eluajal alles välja kujunemas ja võitlesid selle eest, et leida tunnustamist akadeemilise maailma legitiimse osana. Objektiivsuse teema all tema vaimuteadustefilosoofias on silmas peetud suhteid mõistete objektiivsus ja juhtimine vahel. Väitekirja eesmärgiks on kõigepealt eristada need erinevad tähendusaspektid, milles Dilthey kasutab mõistet objektiivsus, nagu ka eksplitseerida seda, milliseid tähendusi võimaldab tema õpetuse kontekst omistada mõistele juhtimine. Teiseks rekonstrueerida probleemid ja kontekstid, milles need tähendused tema mõttearenduses esile kerkivad. Kolmandaks esitada ja kriitiliselt hinnata lahendusi, mida ta leidis probleemidele, mida ta objektiivsuse-teemaga seoses püstitas. Neljandaks tuua välja vaimuteaduste objektiivsuse ja ühiskonna juhtimise vahelise seose käsitusi, mis on tema kontseptsiooni raames mõeldavad, kuid mida ta ise ei ole eksplitseerinud. Uurimistöö viis järeldusele, et Dilthey arutlustesse objektiivsuse teema üle on kätketud mitmeid erinevaid tähendusi, milles ta kasutab mõisteid (objektiivne) reaalsus, tunnetuse objektiivsus ja ühiskonna juhtimine. Täheldasin nelja erinevat konstellatsiooni, mis ajalooliselt üksteist välja vahetades neist tähendustest moodustuvad. Kaks esimest neist toetusid tema veendumuse kohaselt ebarahuldavatele kontseptsioonidele selle kohta, milles seisneb objektiivsus nii ontoloogilises kui ka epistemoloogilises mõttes. Neile vastukaaluks andis ta kõne all olevatele mõistetele uue tähenduse ning kujundas välja uue käsitluse seostest nende tähenduste vahel. Seejuures on tema käsitluse rõhuasetused aja jooksul nihkunud, nii et võib rääkida kahest erinevast tema poolt loodud kontseptsioonist, mis toetuvad nende tähenduste seosele. Dilthey mõttearendused viivad järeldusele, mida kaasajal võiks formuleerida selliselt, et absoluutselt kehtiv tunnetus on võimalik vaid „jumala silma” vaatekohalt. Kui siduda teaduslik objektiivsus sedalaadi üldkehtivusega, siis tuleks tunnistada, et objektiivne vaimuteaduslik tunnetus pole võimalik. Selleks, et õigustatult väita, et objektiivsuse taotlemine on vaimuteadusliku tunnetuse mõttekaks sihiks, oleks tal tulnud püüeldavas objektiivsuse ideaalis asendada absoluutse kehtivuse nõue nõrgema, nimelt formaalse ja relatiivse üldkehtivuse nõudega. Püüdsin näidata, et kohati ta seda teebki, kuid ta ei ole selles mitte alati järjekindel olnud, ning et vaimuteadusliku teadmise objektiivsuse niisugune käsitus annaks hea aluse Dilthey ühele põhilisele seisukohale, mille sisu ta ise aga lähemalt avanud ei ole – nimelt, et vaimuteadusliku teadmise üldkehtivusest sõltub see, kuivõrd saavad need teadused teoks teha oma missiooni olla vahendiks, mille abil on võimalik ühiskonda mõjutada või koguni juhtida.Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911) was one of the first and most influential theorizers who set as his goal to reveal the specificity that characterises the forms and paths of development of knowledge in the humanities. The latter were still undergoing development during his lifetime and were fighting for their acknowledgement as a legitimate part of the academic world. The theme of objectivity in his philosophy of the human sciences refers to the relations between the concepts of objectivity and guidance. The purpose of this dissertation is to first distinguish the different conceptions of objectivity and guidance in Dilthey’s philosophy. Second, to reconstruct the problems and contexts within which these conceptions arise during the development of his thought. Third, to present and assess critically the solutions that he proposed for the problems that he raised within the context of the theme of objectivity. Fourth, to bring out the various approaches to the relations between the objectivity of human sciences and the guidance of society that can be provided within the framework of his conception, but which he himself did not explicate. This dissertation reaches the conclusion that there are several different concepts of (objective) reality, the objectivity of cognition, and the guidance of society contained within Dilthey’s discussions on the theme of objectivity. I distinguish four different constellations in Dilthey’s thought that are constituted by these concepts. According to his conviction, the first two rely on unsatisfactory conceptions of what objectivity is in both the ontological and the epistemological sense. Against these he provided new conceptions of ontological and epistemological objectivity. Moreover, the emphases of his approach shifted over time, so that we can propose that he developed two different conceptions based on the connections between these concepts. The development of Dilthey’s thought leads to the conclusion which today may be formulated as follows: absolutely valid cognition is possible only from a “God’s eye” perspective. If we connect scientific objectivity to this kind of universal validity, we must admit that objective cognition is impossible. The dissertation argues that in order to claim that the pursuit of objectivity is the meaningful goal for the cognition of the human sciences, Dilthey should have replaced, in his aspiration for the ideal of objectivity, the requirement of absolute validity with a weaker, that is, a formal and relative requirement for universal validity. I demonstrate that he in fact does this sporadically, and that his discussions on this theme do implicitly contain such a treatment of the objectivity of the human sciences, but that he is not always consistent in this, yet that such an approach to the objectivity of knowledge would provide a good basis for one of Dilthey’s primary claims, the substance of which he himself, however, did not open up more closely – namely that the extent to which knowledge derived from the human sciences can accomplish its task of being the instrument with which society can be influenced or even guided depends on the universal validity of this knowledge

Impact of Recent Tax Legislation on Small Business

This paper discusses selected changes in the tax laws, made in the Summer of J 996, which are expected to have significant impact on small businesses.  The general areas discussed are 1) S Corporations, 2) SIM PLE pension plans, 3) independent contractors, 4) leased employees, 5) expensing qualified small business assets, 6) the work opportunity tax credit, 7) life insurance policy loans, and 8) medical savings accounts. In each case, we first discuss the basic importance of the issue to small business and then briefly discuss some of the technical issues involved in applying the new laws