Quakers and Coercion in a World of Good and Evil (Chapter Eleven in Good and Evil: Quaker Perspectives)

Excerpt: When is it right to force someone to do something? Real evil exists in the world. We recognize it in the selfish and cruel actions of other people, and if we are honest we admit at least the possibility of evil in our own actions. Sometimes we have the power, we think, to stop evildoers. But since we recognize the potential for doing evil ourselves, we worry that our efforts to stop the injustice of others will themselves be unjust. Whether wickedly or unwittingly, our fight against evil might just produce more evil

Non-Symbolic Fragmentation

This paper reports on the use of non-symbolic fragmentation of data for securing communications. Non-symbolic fragmentation, or NSF, relies on breaking up data into non-symbolic fragments, which are (usually irregularly-sized) chunks whose boundaries do not necessarily coincide with the boundaries of the symbols making up the data. For example, ASCII data is broken up into fragments which may include 8-bit fragments but also include many other sized fragments. Fragments are then separated with a form of path diversity. The secrecy of the transmission relies on the secrecy of one or more of a number of things: the ordering of the fragments, the sizes of the fragments, and the use of path diversity. Once NSF is in place, it can help secure many forms of communication, and is useful for exchanging sensitive information, and for commercial transactions. A sample implementation is described with an evaluation of the technology

Flexible couplings: diffusing neuromodulators and adaptive robotics

Recent years have seen the discovery of freely diffusing gaseous neurotransmitters, such as nitric oxide (NO), in biological nervous systems. A type of artificial neural network (ANN) inspired by such gaseous signaling, the GasNet, has previously been shown to be more evolvable than traditional ANNs when used as an artificial nervous system in an evolutionary robotics setting, where evolvability means consistent speed to very good solutions¿here, appropriate sensorimotor behavior-generating systems. We present two new versions of the GasNet, which take further inspiration from the properties of neuronal gaseous signaling. The plexus model is inspired by the extraordinary NO-producing cortical plexus structure of neural fibers and the properties of the diffusing NO signal it generates. The receptor model is inspired by the mediating action of neurotransmitter receptors. Both models are shown to significantly further improve evolvability. We describe a series of analyses suggesting that the reasons for the increase in evolvability are related to the flexible loose coupling of distinct signaling mechanisms, one ¿chemical¿ and one ¿electrical.

GreenCare for Children -- Measuring Environmental Hazards in the Childcare Industry

Presents findings from a two-year survey administered to a random sampling of childcare providers. Developed and interpreted by a diverse team of industry, technical, and educational experts

A Basis for Civility

Give attention, if you will, to the virtue of civility. In this essay I want to define civility, then give a bit of its history, continue by predicting something of its future, and conclude by explaining civility\u27s true ground, at least as I understand it. We are not here interested in politeness or courtesy, though those meanings of civility may be ancillary to our topic. We are thinking instead about the political realm, and we are aware that many voices have been raised to decry the mean-spirited and vicious nature of politics, both in attaining and using public office. \Vise people warn us that democratic governance depends on a kind of self-control, by which the participants in the process guard it against internal meltdown. We ought to give careful attention to civility, for democracy may depend on it. Readers may find much to which they object in this essay, but they will agree that it marks off an interesting topic for discussion. Suggested corrections, at any point, are welcome. The most important thing comes last, for I hope readers will approve of what I say about the ground of civility even if they disagree with my account of what it is, what its history has been, or what its future may be

Family religious involvement and the quality of family relationships for early adolescents

Examination of association between the religious involvement (number of family religious activities, parental worship service attendance and parental prayer) and quality of family relationships with results indicating that religiously involved families of adolescents (ages 12-14) living in the U.S. are more like to have stronger family relationships than families that are not religiously active

Portraits of Protestant Teens: a report on teenagers in major U.S. denominations

Religious participation -- Religious beliefs -- Faith, practices, and experiences -- Sharing faith -- Evaluations of church -- Moral views and risk behaviors -- Civic activities