Beyond Enlightenment: The Evolution of Agency and the Modularity of the Mind in a Post-Darwinian World

Working out of the social and philosophical revolutions from the Enlightenment, contemporary action theory has unwittingly inherited several Cartesian ideas regarding the human mind: that it is unified, rational, and transparent. As a result, we have for too long conceived of action as intimately bound up with reason such that to act at all is to act for a reason, leaving us with theoretical difficulties in accounting for the behavior of non-human animals as well as irrational behavior in human beings. But rather than propose that such difficulties can be resolved by retreating to a pre-Enlightenment view of human nature, the solution is to make the philosophical turn and embrace the insights that have been secured by Charles Darwin. It is a post-Darwinian evolutionary worldview that can shed some new light on these traditional problems. Two such innovations from the theory of evolution have been evolutionary explanations, which attempt to understand the functions of organisms as having developed in response to environmental pressures, and modular theory, which views organisms as composed of parts with highly specialized functions. Taking these evolutionary ideas together along with the assumption of biological continuity—that there is a developmental history shared by living organisms—we can begin to conceive of more robust theories of action, mind, and human nature. Contrary to Enlightenment conceptions, reason emerges as just one mental process alongside many, the mind appears anything but Cartesian, and agency begins far earlier along the spectrum of life than we have been supposing

Pirates, polities and companies: global politics on the Konkan littoral, c.1690-1756

This paper examines pre-colonial interaction among polities along the Konkan coast, from Surat to Goa, during the long half-century c.1680-1756. Specifically it uses the dynasty of the Angrias, who were deemed pirates by the European powers but were actually an integral part of the Maratha Confederacy. Scholarship that has dealt with the Angrias has relied on historiography passed down through the English East India Company chroniclers and employees to colonial historians under the British Raj and carried into contemporary times. The result has been a continued Eurocentric interpretation of the Angrias that has obfuscated the geopolitical history of the region. This paper seeks to rectify the situation through a fresh look at British archival evidence coupled with scholarship that has examined the Indian and other European languages primary source material. The Angrias were not pirates preying on the vessels of other nations. Rather, they governed a section of the Marathan Confederacy and sought through a European institution to extend exercise sovereignty over their littoral. The East India Company was unwilling to cede any of their gains of maritime supremacy to the upstart Maratha maritime force. This paper tells the story of how Angria and the East India Company interacted on equal terms through political negotiation, military comparative advantages, and a complex series and ever-changing network of alliances

Early Identification of Students at Risk for High School Dropout

For years, many have hoped to identify why high school students drop out. Typically, studies focus on factors identified in high school or middle school. By tracking a cohort of North Carolina students from third grade onward, we attempt to identify areas for intervention even earlier in order to prevent dropouts. Indeed, we find that variables that can be viewed as indicators of high risk for drop out in middle school are already measurably present as early as third grade. This suggests interventions can begin when students are still very young and when treatment is likely to be more effective.Honors thesi

USABILITY TESTING AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPUTER LITERACY AND EFFECTIVE USE OF A CHEMICAL KNOWLEDGE BASE BY FIRST-SEMESTER ORGANIC CHEMISTRY STUDENTS

poster abstractUsability testing is a technique that allows for the examination of a spe-cific user’s effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in achieving goals (Law, Hvannberg, 2002). This user-focused design process has been found to be particularly important in early site development. In this study, multiple inter-faces of the knowledge base will be examined comparatively, changing only the aesthetics. Using a think-aloud process, users will be walked through seven scenarios in the IUPUI Chemistry Knowledge Base, and asked to vo-calize their thoughts as they attempt each situation. Completion of user questionnaires and a post-test System Usability Scale (SUS) will provide recommendations from which improvements may be made to the design, layout and management of the Knowledge Base (Brooke, 1996)

Reimagining school libraries: Children's perspectives and new opportunities

The Federal Government’s recent Building the Education Revolution program resulted in, among other features, the creation of over 600 new school libraries in Queensland alone. This paper reports on a component of a research project carried out with students in six primary schools and one secondary school that benefitted from the program, investigating the influences of these new physical environments on learning and teaching. In particular, this paper discusses one missing voice from the design process - that of the students who would be key users of the newly-created spaces in those schools. While opportunities for real involvement in design were minimal for most potential users of the new spaces, students’ imagined possibilities for school libraries, as submitted to the research project, suggest that students could have contributed different perspectives to enhance learning engagement through imaginative design elements. The findings of the project have relevance for teachers and teacher librarians in reconsidering the ways in which the new learning spaces are used as well as informing school designers in planning engaging school facilities. The findings may be extrapolated to the design and planning of general classrooms and other learning environments

Zips Racing Electric Battery Management System

Zips Racing Electric currently uses a bulky, off-the-shelf battery management system to monitor and manage the voltage, temperature, and state-of-charge of an electric formula-style racecar battery pack (accumulator). The objective of this project is to research current battery management methodologies and apply said research to design and create a lightweight, compact, custom battery management system that is integrated with existing vehicle systems. This will allow for cleaner accumulator packaging and improved communication between the battery management system and the rest of the vehicle

Ola Bratteli and his diagrams

This article discusses the life and work of Professor Ola Bratteli (1946--2015). Family, fellow students, his advisor, colleagues and coworkers review aspects of his life and his outstanding mathematical accomplishments.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figure

Sandy beach social–ecological systems at risk: regime shifts, collapses, and governance challenges

Approximately half of the world’s ice-free ocean coastline is composed of sandy beaches, which support a higher level of recreational use than any other ecosystem. However, the contribution of sandy beaches to societal welfare is under increasing risk from local and non-local pressures, including expanding human development and climate-related stressors. These pressures are impairing the capacity of beaches to meet recreational demand, provide food, protect livelihoods, and maintain biodiversity and water quality. This will increase the likelihood of social–ecological collapses and regime shifts, such that beaches will sustain neither the original ecosystem function nor the related services and societal goods and benefits that they provide. These social–ecological systems at the land–sea interface are subject to market forces, weak governance institutions, and societal indifference: most people want a beach, but few recognize it as an ecosystem at risk.CSIC: Grupos ID 3

Trapping Phosphorus in Runoff with a Phosphorus Removal Structure

Reduction of phosphorus (P) inputs to surface waters may decrease eutrophication. Some researchers have proposed fi ltering dissolved P in runoff with P-sorptive byproducts in structures placed in hydrologically active areas with high soil P concentrations. Th e objectives of this study were to construct and monitor a P removal structure in a suburban watershed and test the ability of empirically developed fl ow-through equations to predict structure performance. Steel slag was used as the P sorption material in the P removal structure. Water samples were collected before and after the structure using automatic samples and analyzed for total dissolved P. During the fi rst 5 mo of structure operation, 25% of all dissolved P was removed from rainfall and irrigation events. Phosphorus was removed more effi ciently during low fl ow rate irrigation events with a high retention time than during high fl ow rate rainfall events with a low retention time. Th e six largest fl ow events occurred during storm fl ow and accounted for 75% of the P entering the structure and 54% of the P removed by the structure. Flow-through equations developed for predicting structure performance produced reasonable estimates of structure “lifetime” (16.8 mo). However, the equations overpredicted cumulative P removal. Th is was likely due to diff erences in pH, total Ca and Fe, and alkalinity between the slag used in the structure and the slag used for model development. Th is suggests the need for an overall model that can predict structure performance based on individual material properties

Trapping Phosphorus in Runoff with a Phosphorus Removal Structure

Reduction of phosphorus (P) inputs to surface waters may decrease eutrophication. Some researchers have proposed fi ltering dissolved P in runoff with P-sorptive byproducts in structures placed in hydrologically active areas with high soil P concentrations. Th e objectives of this study were to construct and monitor a P removal structure in a suburban watershed and test the ability of empirically developed fl ow-through equations to predict structure performance. Steel slag was used as the P sorption material in the P removal structure. Water samples were collected before and after the structure using automatic samples and analyzed for total dissolved P. During the fi rst 5 mo of structure operation, 25% of all dissolved P was removed from rainfall and irrigation events. Phosphorus was removed more effi ciently during low fl ow rate irrigation events with a high retention time than during high fl ow rate rainfall events with a low retention time. Th e six largest fl ow events occurred during storm fl ow and accounted for 75% of the P entering the structure and 54% of the P removed by the structure. Flow-through equations developed for predicting structure performance produced reasonable estimates of structure “lifetime” (16.8 mo). However, the equations overpredicted cumulative P removal. Th is was likely due to diff erences in pH, total Ca and Fe, and alkalinity between the slag used in the structure and the slag used for model development. Th is suggests the need for an overall model that can predict structure performance based on individual material properties