224,844 research outputs found
The people of no religion: the demographics of secularisation in the English-speaking world since c.1900
This article argues for study of the decline of religion in western countries, not merely
in terms of loss and negative consequences for (predominantly) Christianity, but in positive terms for the individuals who have taken the decision to forsake organised religion.
It puts forward the need to consider ways of examining secularisation which grant respect
to categories of secularity selected by respondents. After contextualising an examination
of the category of ›no religion‹ (also known as ›none‹) from state censuses and surveys,
the article compares the growth in the numbers of people adopting these labels in Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the United States and the four countries of the United
Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). This shows ultra-low levels
prior to 1960, followed by a common pattern of rapid change in the late 1960s; however
the rates of change, and the destiny of the change, differ thereafter. The article concludes
by examining demographic information as to who ›no-religionists‹ were in terms of age,
gender and race, and explores some economic and religious-heritage determinants of
growth. It posits a key linkage between feminism and ›no-religionism‹, but acknowledges
the need for a vast increase in research
The utility of knowledge
Recent epistemology has introduced a new criterion of adequacy for analyses of knowledge: such an analysis, to be adequate, must be compatible with the common view that knowledge is better than true belief. One account which is widely thought to fail this test is reliabilism, according to which, roughly, knowledge is true belief formed by reliable process. Reliabilism fails, so the argument goes, because of the "swamping problem". In brief, provided a belief is true, we do not care whether or not it was formed by a reliable process. The value of reliability is "swamped" by the value of truth: truth combined with reliability is no better than truth alone. This paper approaches these issues from the perspective of decision theory. It argues that the "swamping effect" involves a sort of information-sensitivity that is well modelled decision-theoretically. It then employs this modelling to investigate a strategy, proposed by Goldman and Olsson, for saving reliabilism from the swamp, the so-called "conditional probability solution". It concludes that the strategy is only partially successful
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Eurycea nana
Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science
‘Book Review: Toward an Ecology of Transfiguration: Orthodox Christian Perspectives on Environment, Nature and Creation.’ Chryssavgis, J. & Foltz, B. (eds.), Fordham: Fordham University Press, 2013.’ in Sobornost 36:2 (2015), 90-5.
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Eurycea latitans
Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science
Beam Loss Control for the Fermilab Main Injector
From 2005 through 2012, the Fermilab Main Injector provided intense beams of
120 GeV protons to produce neutrino beams and antiprotons. Hardware
improvements in conjunction with improved diagnostics allowed the system to
reach sustained operation at 400 kW beam power. Losses were at or near the 8
GeV injection energy where 95% beam transmission results in about 1.5 kW of
beam loss. By minimizing and localizing loss, residual radiation levels fell
while beam power was doubled. Lost beam was directed to either the collimation
system or to the beam abort. Critical apertures were increased while improved
instrumentation allowed optimal use of available apertures. We will summarize
the impact of various loss control tools and the status and trends in residual
radiation in the Main Injector.Comment: 5 p
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Can UT Austin Play a Role in Cuba's Academic Future? And Vice Versa?
Latin American Studie
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