Uncovering the Patterns of United States Oil Diversification Motivations via a neo-Coxian Interpretation

This thesis develops and applies neo-Coxian analysis to understand patterns of US oil diversification motivations. Because mainstream IR approaches lack a historical perspective and do not consider reflexivity due to their overt rationalism, a historicism method is employed to uncover the motivations for US oil diversification in this research. Critical Theory, which prioritizes a ‘holistic view’ of IR, helps to uncover these motivations through analysis of oil diversification processes, to understand how they have changed when viewed from a duration-based perception which includes a ‘diachronic’ time period and also a ‘synchronic’ one moment snapshot. Whereas rational IR approaches are supported by established methodologies, researching from a reflexivity perspective requires innovative methodological strategies. Here, three cases were chosen to examine US oil diversification motivations, namely the Keystone XL pipeline, the Iraq War and the Arctic Drilling in the context of Energy Revolution. All are considered key cases for illustrating such motivations. Primary data was collected from official archives to identify how political agents have viewed oil diversification, within the three case studies. Semi- structured elite interviews with social actors (e.g. policymakers, business, NGOs) were also conducted to support data collection. The theoretical analysis shows that Coxian Critical theory can explain US oil diversification motivations and can help to uncover the patterns of these motivations through the interaction of ideas, material capabilities and institutions, thereby providing an original contribution to knowledge. However, when a Coxian interpretation is reviewed, social dynamics as a new structural sphere arises as one of the important factors of US oil diversification motivations in the new millennium. The research finds that the patterns of US oil diversification motivations can be classified under: 1. oil politics, 2. domestic politics and 3. foreign policy. Moreover, there are also contradictions (i.e. 1. economy-biosphere, 2. national-state interests and 3. national-transnational benefits) that are the products of the system, which should be accepted as patterns and triggers of the system. However, their existence is not persistent and depends on the context in which they are created

The Concept of Curiosity in the Practice of Philosophy for Children

Philosophy for Children is, at its core, an educational movement that started in the 1970s and it is currently practiced in over 60 countries. Rather than teaching children philosophy, it aims to develop thinking, inquiry and reasoning skills by means of intellectual interaction and by questioning both with the facilitator and amongst themselves. Thus it creates a community of inquiry. This movement has created a sound literature within philosophy of education which indirectly relates to issues in meta-philosophy, epistemology and philosophy of childhood. Despite the fact that Philosophy for Children is a movement which is predominantly based on questioning and inquiry, there is little emphasis on curiosity within its literature. This is not surprising because even in philosophy literature the concept of curiosity was ignored until quite recently. Producing the fi rst book-length treatment of curiosity within philosophy literature, İnan provides a philosophical framework on how human curiosity is possible and how it finds expression. The notion of inostensible conceptualization, which İnan has developed and central to his theory of curiosity, could be utilized in order to demonstrate the significance of curiosity within Philosophy for Children. Philosophy for Children sessions are usually centered around a philosophical concept such as fairness, egoism, and identity. In this paper I argue that the in-class discussions in Philosophy for Children practice enable children to realize that the concept in question is inostensible for them. That is, they do not have all the knowledge about this specific concept. In order to explain the concept of curiosity in P4C sessions, I have developed two notions: the first notion is curiosity-arouser, which I utilize to explain how the community of inquiry could better concentrate on and discuss the inostensible concept. The second notion is joint curiosity, which I have developed in analogy to the trans-disciplinary notion of joint attention. Similar to the positive impact of joint attention on child development, I argue that joint curiosity has positive outcomes for children’s inquiry and questioning. I explain these notions in detail by providing examples of Philosophy for Children sessions. My overall aim is to emphasize the importance of curiosity in order for this practice to reach its fundamental aims. The practitioners and those who prepare materials have to take into consideration the concept of curiosity and must equip themselves with an understanding of it

The Reshaping Oil and Arms Trade between the United States and GCC: Is the Theory of Complex Interdependence Still Prevailing?

This paper makes use of interdependence theory to analyse the historical development of the economic relations between the GCC countries and the United States. The focus will be on oil and arms trade between the GCC countries and the United States. The results show that while the military and security dependence of the GCC countries on the United States remains relatively intact, the dependence of the United States on the natural resources of the GCC region has decreased. In light of this, the paper suggests that the historical interdependence between the GCC countries and the United States has recently evolved into a unilateral dependence and that the GCC countries’ natural resources are directed towards Asian countries

On the Sound Speed in Neutron Stars

Determining the sound speed $c_s$ in compact stars is an important open question with numerous implications on the behaviour of matter at large densities and hence on gravitational-wave emission from neutron stars. To this scope, we construct more than $10^7$ equations of state (EOSs) with continuous sound speed and build more than $10^8$ nonrotating stellar models consistent not only with nuclear theory and perturbative QCD, but also with astronomical observations. In this way, we find that EOSs with sub-conformal sound speeds, i.e. with $c^2_s < 1/3$ within the stars, are possible in principle but very unlikely in practice, being only $0.03\%$ of our sample. Hence, it is natural to expect that $c^2_s > 1/3$ somewhere in the stellar interior. Using our large sample, we obtain estimates at $95\%$ credibility of neutron-star radii for representative stars with $1.4$ and $2.0$ solar masses, $R_{1.4}=12.42^{+0.52}_{-0.99}\,{\rm km}$, $R_{2.0}=12.12^{+1.11}_{-1.23}\,{\rm km}$, and for the binary tidal deformability of the GW170817 event, $\tilde\Lambda_{1.186}=485^{+225}_{-211}$. Interestingly, our lower-bounds on the radii are in very good agreement with the prediction derived from very different arguments, namely, the threshold mass. Finally, we provide simple analytic expressions to determine the minimum and maximum values of $\tilde\Lambda$ as a function of the chirp mass.Comment: 7 pages + Supplemental Material, 5 figures, comments welcom

DIPL 3851/CORE 3851 Religion, Law, War

This course will examine wars of religion and religious views of war, focusing particularly on how religion has informed the international laws of war. We are living through an era fraught with religious warfare - wars animated by religious conflict and wars that use religious abuse as weapons to demoralize and subdue the enemy. The course will focus on three major religious traditions (primarily Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and set in dialogue their respective views of war, assess their contributions to the contemporary laws of war, and examine particular historical episodes of religious conflict - as well as contrary episodes of religious toleration

Whirl measurements on leakage flows in turbomachine models

The beneficial effects claimed for whirl control devices demonstrate that the dynamic behavior of rotors is influenced by the fluid whirl in shaft and balance drum seals. The present paper reports results from two series of experiments, the first on the factors affecting the whirl at the seal inlet, and the second on the variation of whirl velocity along the seal. In both cases the LDA measurement technique required the clearance between the fixed and rotating parts of the models to be substantially greater than occurs in real machines, but the results are indicative nevertheless. Experimental and theoretical results are given for the radial distribution of whirl velocity in the gap between impeller shroud and pump casing. Results of tests with modified stator surfaces are also shown. This work leads naturally into the second series of experiments where some preliminary measurements of velocity distribution in the clearance between a fixed stator and a rotating shaft are reported for a range of inlet whirl conditions

Flow Experiences in Physical Education Classes: The Role of Perceived Motivational Climate and Situational Motivation

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of perceived motivational climate and situational motivation levels on dispositional flow in physical education classes. 242 boys (Mage=13.38; SD=0.95) and 251 girls (Mage=13.27; SD=0.88) a total of 493 secondary school students (Mage=13.32; SD=0.91) voluntarily participated in this study. Physical Education Situational Motivational Scale, Learning and Performance Orientation in Physical Education Classes Questionnaire and Physical Education Dispositional Flow Scale-2 were administered to all participants. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that identified regulation, intrinsic motivation, pupil learning climate and teacher-initiated learning explained a significant amount of variance in dispositional flow in physical education (p&lt;0.05). The pupil learning climate, identified regulation and leisure time sport participation were the strongest predictors, respectively. These findings suggested that promoting mastery-oriented climate, self-determined situational motivation, and participation in sport will foster dispositional flow in the physical education setting

Explaining Contentious Energy Policy: Coxian Structural Forces, Environmental Issues, and the Keystone XL Pipeline

The Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline is one of the most polarised examples of contemporary American energy politics. The pipeline policy process has not been stable, so it should be analysed over time via a holistic, historical view of interacting dimensions. Robert Cox’s theoretical notions of the “materials–ideas–institutions” balance are drawn upon to understand how actors’ motivations behind policy development were re-shaped through temporal processes over nearly two decades. A critical feature identified is how such interacting dimensions became significant according to specific US presidential administrations: each, in turn, shifting the direction of decision-making around KXL. The article’s originality lies in operationalising the theory to give an alternative, dynamic explanation for policy motivations around the KXL while also establishing a novel theoretical lens to generally view such policy development

Comparison of estimated continuous cardiac output with echocardiography in patients with systolic heart failure

Background: Cardiac output (CO) is an important hemodynamic parameter in the management of heart failure. The aim of this study was to compare CO measurements obtained from the bedside monitor specialized for CO measurement, which is known as estimated continuous CO (esCCO), and  transthorasic echocardiography (echoCO) in patients with ejection fraction (EF) <40%.Methods: A total of 49 patients (36 male) with EF <40% were studied in this study. CO was measured using esCCO and transthorasic echocardiography (TTE). Measurements of CO were compared using Bland-Altman statistical method.Results: Mean ejection fraction was 27.11 ± 7.31%. Measurements of CO using esCCO and echoCO were found to be different (5.44±1.10 L/min vs. 5.08±1.08 L/min, respectively, p=0.004). CO was higher in esCCO compared to TTE. Bland-Altman analysis showed that the bias between esCCO and echoCO was -0.36 L/min [95% CI: -0.60 – (-0.13)], 95% limits of agreement were ranged from -1.77 to 1.05 L/min, and percentage errors of measurements of CO was 13%. A significant positive correlation was found between esCCO and echoCO (r = 0.785, p< 0.001).Conclusions: esCCO was well correlated with echoCO in patients with low EF. The esCCO may be useful for non-cardiologist such as specialist for anaesthesiology and thorasic disease. Also, it may be used in the patients with HF having poor echocardiographic image quality due to co-morbidities including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

SMAD4 haploinsufficiency in small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors

Background: Patients with small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SINETs) frequently present with lymph node and liver metastases at the time of diagnosis, but the molecular changes that lead to the progression of these tumors are largely unknown. Sequencing studies have only identified recurrent point mutations at low frequencies with CDKN1B being the most common harboring heterozygous mutations in less than 10% of all tumors. Although SINETs are genetically stable tumors with a low frequency of point mutations and indels, they often harbor recurrent hemizygous copy number alterations (CNAs) yet the functional implications of these CNA are unclear. Methods: Utilizing comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) arrays we analyzed the CNA profile of 131 SINETs from 117 patients. Two tumor suppressor genes and corresponding proteins i.e. SMAD4, and CDKN1B, were further characterized using a tissue microarray (TMA) with 846 SINETs. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to quantify protein expression in TMA samples and this was correlated with chromosome number evaluated with fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH). Intestinal tissue from a Smad4+/− mouse model was used to detect entero-endocrine cell hyperplasia with IHC. Results: Analyzing the CGH arrays we found loss of chromosome 18q and SMAD4 in 71% of SINETs and that focal loss of chromosome 12 affecting the CDKN1B was present in 9.4% of SINETs. No homozygous loss of chromosome 18 was detected. Hemizygous loss of SMAD4, but not CDKN1B, significantly correlated with reduced protein levels but hemizygous loss of SMAD4 did not induce entero-endocrine cell hyperplasia in the Smad4+/− mouse model. In addition, patients with low SMAD4 protein expression in primary tumors more often presented with metastatic disease. Conclusions: Hemizygous loss of chromosome 18q and the SMAD4 gene is the most common genetic event in SINETs and our results suggests that this could influence SMAD4 protein expression and spread of metastases. Although SMAD4 haploinsufficiency alone did not induce tumor initiation, loss of chromosome 18 could represent an evolutionary advantage in SINETs explaining the high prevalence of this aberration. Functional consequences of reduced SMAD4 protein levels could hypothetically be a potential mechanism as to why loss of chromosome 18 appears to be clonally selected in SINETs