Visual arguments and meta-arguments

Visual arguments—arguments that appeal to visual elements essentially—are legitimate arguments. To show this, I first consider what I call (perfect) fit arguments—arguments in which the recognition that items fit together suggests that they were once conjoined, perhaps originally. This form of argumentation is a type of abduction or inference to the best explanation (IBE). I then consider mathematical visual meta-arguments—arguments in which the validity or soundness of a mathematical argument is confirmed or refuted by appeal to diagrams

NanoRocks: Design and Performance of an Experiment Studying Planet Formation on the International Space Station

In an effort to better understand the early stages of planet formation, we have developed a 1.5U payload that flew on the International Space Station (ISS) in the NanoRacks NanoLab facility between September 2014 and March 2016. This payload, named NanoRocks, ran a particle collision experiment under long-term microgravity conditions. The objectives of the experiment were (a) to observe collisions between mm-sized particles at relative velocities of $<$1~cm/s, and (b) to study the formation and disruption of particle clusters for different particle types and collision velocities. Four types of particles were used: mm-sized acrylic, glass, and copper beads, and 0.75 mm-sized JSC-1 lunar regolith simulant grains. The particles were placed in sample cells carved out of an aluminum tray. This tray was attached to one side of the payload casing with three springs. Every 60~s, the tray was agitated and the resulting collisions between the particles in the sample cells were recorded by the experiment camera. During the 18 months the payload stayed on ISS, we obtained 158 videos, thus recording a great number of collisions. The average particle velocities in the sample cells after each shaking event were around 1 cm/s. After shaking stopped, the inter-particle collisions damped the particle kinetic energy in less than 20~s, reducing the average particle velocity to below 1 mm/s, and eventually slowing them to below our detection threshold. As the particle velocity decreased, we observed the transition from bouncing to sticking collisions. We recorded the formation of particle clusters at the end of each experiment run. This paper describes the design and performance of the NanoRocks ISS payload.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Personal learning preferences, perceptions, and multiple intelligence profiles : affect on educators\u27 attitudes about computer usage

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between teachers\u27 learning preferences, self-perceptions of multiple intelligence profiles, and attitudes toward computer usage, including the incorporation of computer technology into their classrooms. Data for this survey were obtained from a population of teaching and administrative faculty from a small, Midwest, rural public school district. Access and education that results in higher levels of experience were found to be critical variables, in agreement with professional literature to date. These factors, however, did appear to influence personal learning preferences in some instances and the multiple intelligence profiles provided valuable insight into maximizing individual benefits of computer related instruction. Processes and conclusions are of particular interest to school district staff development personnel seeking to integrate contemporary adult education perspectives into computer technology education for district professionals

Washington Consumer Protection Act—Public Interest and the Private Litigant

Under Washington\u27s Consumer Protection Act, a private individual has standing to sue for unfair or deceptive business practices. The private litigant may not, however, use the Act as a vehicle to remedy those wrongs that impact only the private individual, because the Act\u27s declared purpose is to protect the public interest. The public interest requirement thus imposes a restriction on the otherwise liberal construction of the Act. The Washington Supreme Court has established two tests by which the public interest requirement may be met: (1) the per se test and (2) the Anhold v. Daniels test

Using data visualization in creativity workshops: a new tool in the designer's kit

Creativity workshops have proved effective in drawing out unexpected requirements and giving form to participants' novel ideas. Here, we introduce a new addition to the workshop designer's toolkit: interactive data visualization, used as stimuli to prompt insight and inspire creativity. We first describe a pilot study in which we compare the effectiveness of two different styles of data visualization. Here we found that a less ambiguous style was more effective in supporting idea generation. Following this, we report a case study in which we employ data visualization within a service design workshop, where participants gain insights that are later realized in design ideas

Structure determination of disordered materials from diffraction data

We show that the information gained in spectroscopic experiments regarding the number and distribution of atomic environments can be used as a valuable constraint in the refinement of the atomic-scale structures of nanostructured or amorphous materials from pair distribution function (PDF) data. We illustrate the effectiveness of this approach for three paradigmatic disordered systems: molecular C60, a-Si, and a-SiO2 . Much improved atomistic models are attained in each case without any a-priori assumptions regarding coordination number or local geometry. We propose that this approach may form the basis for a generalised methodology for structure "solution" from PDF data applicable to network, nanostructured and molecular systems alike.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, set out as for PR

Meta-analysis reveals ammonia-oxidizing bacteria respond more strongly to nitrogen addition than ammonia-oxidizing archaea

Shifts in microbial communities driven by anthropogenic nitrogen (N) addition have broad-scale ecological consequences. However, responses of microbial groups to exogenous N supply vary considerably across studies, hindering efforts to predict community changes. We used meta-analytical techniques to explore how amoA gene abundances of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) respond to N addition, and found that N addition increased AOA and AOB abundances by an average of 27% and 326%, respectively. Responses of AOB varied by study type, ecosystem, fertilizer type, and soil pH, and were strongest in unmanaged wildland soils and soils fertilized with inorganic N sources. Increases in nitrification potential with N addition significantly correlated with only AOB. Our analyses suggest that elevated N supply enhances soil nitrification potential by increasing AOB populations, and that this effect may be most pronounced in unmanaged wildland soils