'Indeed', 'Really', 'In Fact', 'Actually'

Interjections, such as those in the title, together with a few similar devices, when qualifying clauses expressing truth-conditions, or that such conditions have been satisfied, are entitled ‘force-amplifiers’. Disputes between deflationary and inflationary truth-theories sometimes are assumed to turn on the supposed pivotal role that these devices are construed as playing in the interpretation of the clauses they qualify. I argue that they are not dispensable add-ons. Moreover, even in their absence the relevant clauses giving truth-conditions permit interpretations that aren’t deflationary-friendly. I maintain that this is a significant fact about the use to which writers put them. I then defend, a thesis about force-amplifiers that makes them indispensable to the interpretation of the relevant clauses, and that renders certain moves unavailable to popular deflationist treatments

A critical assessment on the efficacy of Kenyan legislation in addressing of internet child pornography

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of LawsThe development on the internet has brought about entirely impenetrable conduits for distribution of illegal pornography. Individuals are collecting and sharing Child Pornography images through virtually every type of Internet technology. The internet provides a uniquely safe, easily accessible, and supportive context for posting, trading and collecting Child Pornography. This paper seeks to determine how effectively the Sexual Offences Act and Children's Act can regulate Child Pornography in the environment of the Internet. The research done on this paper is from online content as little to no information on this subject has been documented in books. The content is also largely foreign as there is very little information on the subject in Kenya as it is still a developing area of law. This research makes a comparative analysis between the United Kingdom and the United States and seeks to make recommendations for Kenya based on the best practices of these Nations

How to grow an urban forest

202020 Vision have released a ten-step guide on How to Grow an Urban Forest. The guide aims to help councils save money, time and share practical knowledge. Working with the City of Melbourne and a number of of other local governments 202020Vision have provided this information as a free activity-based workbook – and accompanying it with practical face-to-face workshops – to provide the insights, expertise, resources, support and thinking to help you create your own approach to urban forestry that is not only endorsed by your council, but is also able to be implemented in a way that helps achieve more and better green space in your local council area

Human Rights violations in Belarus : how to forgive, but not forget

Paper presented at the Conference on Christian Perspectives on Human Dignity and Humans Rights held in Wuppertal (Germany) online from 9–12 April 202

Using ESTs for phylogenomics: Can one accurately infer a phylogenetic tree from a gappy alignment?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>While full genome sequences are still only available for a handful of taxa, large collections of partial gene sequences are available for many more. The alignment of partial gene sequences results in a multiple sequence alignment containing large gaps that are arranged in a staggered pattern. The consequences of this pattern of missing data on the accuracy of phylogenetic analysis are not well understood. We conducted a simulation study to determine the accuracy of phylogenetic trees obtained from gappy alignments using three commonly used phylogenetic reconstruction methods (Neighbor Joining, Maximum Parsimony, and Maximum Likelihood) and studied ways to improve the accuracy of trees obtained from such datasets.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that the pattern of gappiness in multiple sequence alignments derived from partial gene sequences substantially compromised phylogenetic accuracy even in the absence of alignment error. The decline in accuracy was beyond what would be expected based on the amount of missing data. The decline was particularly dramatic for Neighbor Joining and Maximum Parsimony, where the majority of gappy alignments contained 25% to 40% incorrect quartets. To improve the accuracy of the trees obtained from a gappy multiple sequence alignment, we examined two approaches. In the first approach, alignment masking, potentially problematic columns and input sequences are excluded from from the dataset. Even in the absence of alignment error, masking improved phylogenetic accuracy up to 100-fold. However, masking retained, on average, only 83% of the input sequences. In the second approach, alignment subdivision, the missing data is statistically modelled in order to retain as many sequences as possible in the phylogenetic analysis. Subdivision resulted in more modest improvements to alignment accuracy, but succeeded in including almost all of the input sequences.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results demonstrate that partial gene sequences and gappy multiple sequence alignments can pose a major problem for phylogenetic analysis. The concern will be greatest for high-throughput phylogenomic analyses, in which Neighbor Joining is often the preferred method due to its computational efficiency. Both approaches can be used to increase the accuracy of phylogenetic inference from a gappy alignment. The choice between the two approaches will depend upon how robust the application is to the loss of sequences from the input set, with alignment masking generally giving a much greater improvement in accuracy but at the cost of discarding a larger number of the input sequences.</p

What Factors Influence Where Researchers Deposit their Data? A Survey of Researchers Submitting to Data Repositories

In order to better understand the factors that most influence where researchers deposit their data when they have a choice, we collected survey data from researchers who deposited phylogenetic data in either the TreeBASE or Dryad data repositories. Respondents were asked to rank the relative importance of eight possible factors. We found that factors differed in importance for both TreeBASE and Dryad, and that the rankings differed subtly but significantly between TreeBASE and Dryad users. On average, TreeBASE users ranked the domain specialization of the repository highest, while Dryad users ranked as equal highest their trust in the persistence of the repository and the ease of its data submission process. Interestingly, respondents (particularly Dryad users) were strongly divided as to whether being directed to choose a particular repository by a journal policy or funding agency was among the most or least important factors. Some users reported depositing their data in multiple repositories and archiving their data voluntarily

Envisioning Nevada’s future: Goals & strategies for advancing our quality of life

Nevada’s severe downturn has brought to light many of the long-term challenges facing the state. Not only is its economy subject to painful swings, but Nevada’s primary drivers— consumer services (primarily gaming, hospitality and housing) and resource extraction—will provide less support than they have in past business cycles. Less economic vitality will make it harder to offer Nevadans the quality of life they expect. The importance of the economy to quality of life is equally clear—quality of life is a hollow promise without a healthy and supportive economy. Similarly, a proper fiscal structure—both in terms of spending and revenues—is critical to delivering on a quality of life promise. Nevada’s consumer and hospitality industries will feel downward pressure on their revenues as aging baby boomers scramble to make up for low lifetime savings. The state’s gaming industry faces new competition across the U.S. and abroad. And in rural Nevada, the growth of primary resource industries will be modest, since commodity prices (other than for gold) are not expected to return to their recent peaks for several years. The state’s long-term growth is still expected to exceed the national average. Nevada’s relative cost advantages, its hospitable culture, and its vast natural beauty will continue to attract migrants, mitigating shifts in demand for its core industries. Yet population gains, while still significant, will not match the trend of the last 30 years. Residential, retail and hotel construction will therefore no longer be a primary driver of regional growth. Nevada’s slowing growth potential is troubling because, even during the state’s boom years, many of its residents’ needs were not being met. For example, a wide range of educational yardsticks suggests Nevada could do a better job of teaching its children and training its workers. Tight state and local budgets notwithstanding, now is the time to make the structural changes and investments Nevada needs, lest its obstacles become insurmountable in the years ahead. While Nevada’s challenges were put into sharper focus by the recession, these issues have been known and discussed for many years. State and private agencies have developed numerous strategic plans, with the goal of providing public services more efficiently. There have also been numerous studies related to the state’s economic structure, but little has been done to act on their findings. It is time for us to address the issues directly, to act on them and to achieve meaningful progress in the six focus areas detailed in this report. It should also be recognized that there is interdependence and crossover among the six focus areas