Predictive success, partial truth and skeptical realism

Realists argue that mature theories enjoying predictive success are approximately and partially true, and that the parts of the theory necessary to this success are retained through theory-change and worthy of belief. I examine the paradigmatic case of the novel prediction of a white spot in the shadow of a circular object, drawn from Fresnel's wave theory of light by Poisson in 1819. It reveals two problems in this defence of realism: predictive success needs theoretical idealizations and fictions on the one hand, and may be obtained by using different parts of the same theory on the other hand. I maintain that these two problems are not limited to the case of the white spot, but common features of predictive success. It shows that the no-miracle argument by itself cannot prove more than a \textit{skeptical realism}, the claim that we cannot know which parts of theories are true. I conclude by examining if Hacking's manipulability arguments can be of any help to go beyond this position

Language-based multimedia information retrieval

This paper describes various methods and approaches for language-based multimedia information retrieval, which have been developed in the projects POP-EYE and OLIVE and which will be developed further in the MUMIS project. All of these project aim at supporting automated indexing of video material by use of human language technologies. Thus, in contrast to image or sound-based retrieval methods, where both the query language and the indexing methods build on non-linguistic data, these methods attempt to exploit advanced text retrieval technologies for the retrieval of non-textual material. While POP-EYE was building on subtitles or captions as the prime language key for disclosing video fragments, OLIVE is making use of speech recognition to automatically derive transcriptions of the sound tracks, generating time-coded linguistic elements which then serve as the basis for text-based retrieval functionality

Low Temperature Oxidation of pure Iron : Growth kinetics and scale Morphologies

Isothermal oxidation of pure iron has been performed in air at atmospheric pressure between 260°C and 500°C. Growth kinetics are accurately analysed and scale morphologies are investigated by SEM and TEM observations. The calculation of the variations of the parabolic rate constant kp with scale thickness allows a better understanding of scale growth mechanisms involved at this intermediate temperature range, which have been poorly investigated up to now. These results are discussed with the objective of long term behaviour for long term interim storage of some nuclear waste containers

An analysis of the Sunni Islamic concept of ritual pollution in light of previous research into pollution ideas

No abstract available

Predictive success, partial truth and skeptical realism

Realists argue that mature theories enjoying predictive success are approximately and partially true, and that the parts of the theory necessary to this success are retained through theory-change and worthy of belief. I examine the paradigmatic case of the novel prediction of a white spot in the shadow of a circular object, drawn from Fresnel's wave theory of light by Poisson in 1819. It reveals two problems in this defence of realism: predictive success needs theoretical idealizations and fictions on the one hand, and may be obtained by using different parts of the same theory on the other hand. I maintain that these two problems are not limited to the case of the white spot, but common features of predictive success. It shows that the no-miracle argument by itself cannot prove more than a \textit{skeptical realism}, the claim that we cannot know which parts of theories are true. I conclude by examining if Hacking's manipulability arguments can be of any help to go beyond this position

Wind-tunnel tests of a Clark Y wing with 'Maxwell' leading-edge slots

Aerodynamic force tests of a Clark Y wing equipped with "Maxwell" type leading-edge slots were conducted in the N.A.C.A. 7- by 10-foot tunnel to ascertain the aerodynamic characteristics, which involved the determination of the best slot-gap opening, the effects of slat width, and the effect of a trailing-edge flap. The Maxwell wing with a wide-chord slat (0.30 c(sub w)) and with a 0.211 c(sub w) split flap deflected 60 degrees had a C(sub L sub max) of 2.53 or about twice that of the plain wing. The wing with the wide slat also had, in general, improved aerodynamic characteristics over those of the Maxwell wing with slat, and had about the same aerodynamic characteristics as a Handley Page slotted wing with approximately the same size of slat