The Trinity and Extended Simples

In this paper, I will offer an analogy between the Trinity and extended simples that supports a Latin approach to the Trinity. The theoretical tools developed to discuss and debate extended simples in the literature of contemporary analytic metaphysics, I argue, can help us make useful conceptual distinctions in attempts to understand what it could be for God to be Triune. Furthermore, the analogy between extended simples and the Trinity might surprise some who find one of these at least plausibly possible and the other incoherent

The Situationalist Account of Change

In this paper I propose a new solution to the problem of change: situationalism. According to this view, parts of reality fundamentally disagree about what is the case and reality as a whole is unsettled (i.e. metaphysically indeterminate). When something changes, parts of the world irreconcilably disagree about what properties it has. From this irreconcilable disagreement, indeterminacy arises. I develop this picture using situations, which are parts of possible worlds; this gives it the name situationalism. It allows a B-theory endurance view on which there is genuine incompatibility when things change. There are costs to the view, which are explored, but it is a novel approach which offers a distinct explanation of what happens when things exist through change

Detection of specific bacteria in water: implications of survival strategy

It is widely recognised that conventional culture techniques may underestimate true viable bacterial numbers by several orders of magnitude. The basis of this discrepancy is that a culture in or on media of high nutrient concentration is highly selective (either through ”nutrient shock” or failure to provide vital co-factors) and decreases apparent diversity; thus it is unrepresentative of the natural community. In addition, the non-culturable but viable state (NCBV) is a strategy adopted by some bacteria as a response to environmental stress. The basis for the non-culturable state is that cells placed in conditions present in the environment cannot be recultured but can be shown to maintain their viability. Consequently, these cells would not be detected by standard water quality techniques that are based on culture. In the case of pathogens, it may explain outbreaks of disease in populations that have not come into contact with the pathogen. However, the NCBV state is difficult to attribute, due to the failure to distinguish between NCBV and non-viable cells. This article will describe experiences with the fish pathogen Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida and the application of molecular techniques for its detection and physiological analysis

Modelling Deep Indeterminacy

This paper constructs a model of metaphysical indeterminacy that can accommodate a kind of ‘deep’ worldly indeterminacy that arguably arises in quantum mechanics via the Kochen-Specker theorem, and that is incompatible with prominent theories of metaphysical indeterminacy such as that in Barnes and Williams (2011). We construct a variant of Barnes and Williams's theory that avoids this problem. Our version builds on situation semantics and uses incomplete, local situations rather than possible worlds to build a model. We evaluate the resulting theory and contrast it with similar alternatives, concluding that our model successfully captures deep indeterminacy

Deep Indeterminacy in Physics and Fiction

Indeterminacy in its various forms has been the focus of a great deal of philosophical attention in recent years. Much of this discussion has focused on the status of vague predicates such as ‘tall’, ‘bald’, and ‘heap’. It is determinately the case that a seven-foot person is tall and that a five-foot person is not tall. However, it seems difficult to pick out any determinate height at which someone becomes tall. How best to account for this phenomenon is, of course, a controversial matter. For example, some (such as Sorensen (2001) and Williamson (2002)) maintain that there is a precise height at which someone becomes tall and such apparent cases of indeterminacy merely reflects our ignorance of this fact. Others maintain that there is some genuine – and not merely epistemic – indeterminacy present is such cases and offer various accounts of how best to account for it. Supervaluationists (such as Keefe (2008)), for example, claim that the indeterminacy with respect to vague terms lies in their not having a single definite extension. Rather, each term is associated with a range of possible precise extensions or precisifications such that it is semantically unsettled which is the correct extension. One precisification of ‘tall’ might allow that anyone over five feet ten inches is tall, whereas another would only allow those over six foot to qualify; but no precisification will take someone who is five foot to be tall, and someone who is seven foot will count as tall on all precisifications. Thus – while someone who is seven foot will be determinately tall and someone who is five foot determinately not so – it will be indeterminate whether someone who stands at five foot eleven inches is tall. Yet, it is important to stress that putative cases of indeterminacy are not limited to vague predicates of this kind. Philosophers have invoked indeterminacy in discussions of topics as diverse as moral responsibility (Bernstein (forthcoming)), identity over time (Williams (2014)), and the status of the future (Barnes and Cameron (2009)). In this paper, we focus on two areas where discussion of various kinds of indeterminacy has been commonplace: physics and fiction. We propose a new model for understanding indeterminacy across these domains and argue that it has some notable advantages when compared to earlier accounts. Treating physics and fiction cases univocally also indicates an interesting connection between indeterminacy in these two areas

An Exploration of What Adolescent Girls with ASC Say Helps Them Successfully Navigate the Social Aspects of Mainstream Schooling

Historically, there has been presumed to be a male bias in the diagnosis of ASC, however recent research has started to focus on the possibility that some females with ASC may have a different phenotype to males and present with different characteristics, and therefore needs. Additionally, these girls may mask autistic traits, giving the external appearance of coping and risking girls not being diagnosed or not being given the support they need. Adolescence appears to be a particularly significant time for these girls as social interactions become more complex, impacting on friendships and learning. This study took a participatory approach to investigate what helps adolescent girls with ASC succeed in the social aspects of mainstream schooling. Five participants (Years 7-8) were recruited as co-researchers, choosing which areas of school to focus on during data collection, verifying analysis and making decisions about the dissemination of findings. Their recounts of their experiences at school were analysed using a deductive thematic analysis to identify and interpret what they considered helpful. Their ideas indicated their motivation for autonomy, competence and relatedness and reflected a desire to be understood and have a good fit with their environment. Relationships with others and clarity in expectations appeared key for creating a positive school experience. Some participants also indicated a use of personal insight and consideration of others’ motivations in developing their understanding and ability to manage at school. Participants valued their role as co-researchers, indicating personal benefit and feelings of empowerment in their feedback. Evaluation of the procedure showed that participatory research with these students is feasible and successful and it will be beneficial to promote community participation in future research and school practice. It is hoped that these findings will contribute to this new area of research and inform support for girls with ASC at multiple levels

A Critical Review of the Educational Psychologist’s Role in Engaging with Young Carers

Diversity comes from difference and may arise through factors such as individuals’ class, gender identity or ethnicity. The need to consider diversity arises when membership of a diverse group results in disadvantage through a reduced ability to participate within the community. The role of EPs in engaging with diverse groups involves countering discrimination and removing barriers to participation that may arise through perceived incongruence with societal norms. Young carers are a diverse group due to a home life that differs from the expected norm. This paper critically reflected on the implications of this for their ability to successfully engage with their environment and achieve positive psychological wellbeing. Caring was found to have the potential to detrimentally affect attainment and lead to social isolation and reduced wellbeing. However, some more recent research indicated that it is possible to find benefit within the caring role, conferring positive wellbeing for some young carers. The potential role of EPs in engaging with young carers and removing barriers to their participation in their community was explored with reference to critical psychology and self-determination theory frameworks and an eco-systemic approach. Critical reflection on the literature and personal experience indicated that consideration of individual circumstances, the adoption of solution-focused approaches and advocacy through raising awareness and decreasing prejudice can lead to positive change at various systemic levels, promoting autonomy, connectedness and acceptance

Sensing metabolites using donor-acceptor nanodistributions in fluorescence resonance energy transfer

Before fluorescence sensing techniques can be applied to media as delicate and complicated as human tissue, an adequate interpretation of the measured observables is required, i.e., an inverse problem needs to be solved. Recently we have solved the inverse problem relating to the kinetics of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), which clears the way for the determination of the donor-acceptor distribution function in FRET assays. In this letter this approach to monitoring metabolic processes is highlighted and the application to glucose sensing demonstrated

Individual Differences in (Non-Visual) Processing Style Predict the Face Inversion Effect

Recent research suggests that individuals with relatively weak global precedence (i.e., a smaller propensity to view visual stimuli in a configural manner) show a reduced face inversion effect (FIE). Coupled with such findings, a number of recent studies have demonstrated links between an advantage for feature-based processing and the presentation of traits associated with autism among the general population. The present study sought to bridge these findings by investigating whether a relationship exists between the possession of autism-associated traits (i.e., as indicated by individualsautism quotient [(AQ) and the size of the FIE. Participants completed an on-line study in which the AQ was measured prior to a standard face recognition task where half of the faces were inverted at test. The results confirmed that higher AQ levels were predictive of smaller FIEs. Implications for a common underlying factor relating to processing orientation are discussed

View-based modelling of human visual navigation errors

View-based and Cartesian representations provide rival accounts of visual navigation in humans, and here we explore possible models for the view-based case. A visual “homing” experiment was undertaken by human participants in immersive virtual reality. The distributions of end-point errors on the ground plane differed significantly in shape and extent depending on visual landmark configuration and relative goal location. A model based on simple visual cues captures important characteristics of these distributions. Augmenting visual features to include 3D elements such as stereo and motion parallax result in a set of models that describe the data accurately, demonstrating the effectiveness of a view-based approach