Moral Structure Falls Out of General Event Structure

The notion of agency has been explored within research in moral psychology and, quite separately, within research in linguistics. Moral psychologists have suggested that agency attributions play a role in moral judgments, while linguists have argued that agency attributions play a role in syntactic intuitions. To explore the connection between these two lines of research, we report the results of an experiment in which we manipulate syntactic cues for agency and show a corresponding impact on moral judgments. This result suggests that the two effects observed previously — in morality and in syntax — might each be a reflection of a more general capacity to understand event structure

\u3cb\u3eBook Review:\u3c/b\u3e \u3cem\u3eThe Way of the Teacher\u3c/em\u3e by J. M. Haile (Macatea Productions, June 2005)

Excerpt: One of the tangible benefits of the increased attention given to teaching and learning in recent years has been the increased number of books published in this area. Many of these books are focused on specific topics such as collaborative learning, assessment, teaching first-year students, service learning, or teaching in specific disciplines. But very few books focus on what the anthropologist and systems thinker Gregory Bateson described in Mind and Nature as “the patterns which connect” teaching and learning. It is exactly those patterns that The Way of the Teacher focuses on, which makes reading this book a very unique experience

Value of Prefabrication of Fire Sprinkler Components in the Fire Sprinkler Industry

Every day the construction industry is looking for new ways to improve time efficiency and project profitability. Companies in the past have tried value engineering and schedule crashing to save time and money. As the industry continues to grow and innovate, new concepts are being applied. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is one of these ideas that has made a large impact in the construction industry. BIM is a digital 3D modeling system that allows the user to create a complete rendering of a construction project complete with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing integrated into the model. With this model a prospective contractor has the opportunity to prefabricate aspects of their project in a shop to later be installed on site more efficiently and with less labor necessary than if completely field fabricated. The fire sprinkler contractor JR Wagner Fire Protection has recently integrated prefabrication as a possible project delivery method for several of their recent projects. Possible benefits from their integration include reduction in project cost and shorter project schedule leading to greater company profitability and efficiency

Renewable energy target scheme report of the expert panel

An examination of the operation, costs and benefits of the RET, including the economic, environmental and social impacts, the extent to which the objectives of the scheme are being met and the interaction of the RET with other Commonwealth and state and territory policies. Introduction The Review of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme was jointly announced by the Hon Ian Macfarlane MP, the Minister for Industry, and the Hon Greg Hunt MP, the Minister for the Environment, on 17 February 2014. The Terms of Reference state that the review is to examine the operation, costs and benefits of the RET scheme including the economic, environmental and social impacts, the extent to which the objectives of the scheme are being met and the interaction of the RET with other Australian Government and state and territory government policies. The review is to provide advice on whether the objectives of the RET scheme are still appropriate and the range of options available for reducing its impact on electricity prices

Towards high-throughput 3D insect capture for species discovery and diagnostics

Digitisation of natural history collections not only preserves precious information about biological diversity, it also enables us to share, analyse, annotate and compare specimens to gain new insights. High-resolution, full-colour 3D capture of biological specimens yields color and geometry information complementary to other techniques (e.g., 2D capture, electron scanning and micro computed tomography). However 3D colour capture of small specimens is slow for reasons including specimen handling, the narrow depth of field of high magnification optics, and the large number of images required to resolve complex shapes of specimens. In this paper, we outline techniques to accelerate 3D image capture, including using a desktop robotic arm to automate the insect handling process; using a calibrated pan-tilt rig to avoid attaching calibration targets to specimens; using light field cameras to capture images at an extended depth of field in one shot; and using 3D Web and mixed reality tools to facilitate the annotation, distribution and visualisation of 3D digital models.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, for BigDig workshop at 2017 eScience conferenc

Indigenous and non-Indigenous theories of wellbeing and their suitability for wellbeing policy

A growing interest among governments in policies to promote wellbeing has the potential to revive a social view of health promotion. However, success may depend on the way governments define wellbeing and conceptualize ways to promote it. We analyze theories of wellbeing to discern twelve types of wellbeing theory and assess the suitability of each type of theory as a basis for effective wellbeing policies. We used Durie’s methodology of working at the interface between knowledge systems and Indigenous dialogic methods of yarning and deep listening. We analyzed selected literature on non-Indigenous theories and Indigenous theories from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States to develop a typology of wellbeing theories. We applied political science perspectives on theories of change in public policy to assess the suitability of each type of theory to inform wellbeing policies. We found that some theory types define wellbeing purely as a property of individuals, whilst others define it in terms of social or environmental conditions. Each approach has weaknesses regarding the theory of change in wellbeing policy. Indigenous relational theories transcend an ‘individual or environment’ dichotomy, providing for pluralistic approaches to health promotion. A broad theoretic approach to wellbeing policy, encompassing individual, social, equity-based and environmental perspectives, is recommended