Chances, counterfactuals and similarity

John Hawthorne in a recent paper takes issue with Lewisian accounts of counterfactuals, when relevant laws of nature are chancy. I respond to his arguments on behalf of the Lewisian, and conclude that while some can be rebutted, the case against the original Lewisian account is strong. I develop a neo-Lewisian account of what makes for closeness of worlds. I argue that my revised version avoids Hawthorne’s challenges. I argue that this is closer to the spirit of Lewis’s first (non-chancy) proposal than is Lewis’s own suggested modification

Square character degree graphs yield direct products

If $G$ is a solvable group, we take $\Delta (G)$ to be the character degree graph for $G$ with primes as vertices. We prove that if $\Delta (G)$ is a square, then $G$ must be a direct product

The influence of laser hardening on wear in the valve and valve seat contact

In internal combustion engines it is important to manage the wear in the valve and valve seat contact in order to minimise emissions and maximise economy. Traditionally wear in this contact has been controlled by the use of a valve seat insert and the careful selection of materials for both the valve and the insert. More recently, due to the increasing demands for both performance and cost, alternative methods of controlling the wear, and the resulting valve recession, have been sought. Using the heating effect of a laser to induce localised phase transformations, to increase hardness and wear resistance, in materials has been used since the 1970s, however it is only in recent years that it has been able to compete with more established surface treatment techniques, particularly in terms of cost, as new laser hardware has been developed. In this work, a laser has been used to treat the valve seat area of a cast iron cylinder head. In order to optimise the laser parameters for use on the head, preliminary tests were carried out to investigate the fundamental wear characteristics of untreated cast iron and also cast iron with a range of laser treatments. Previous work has identified the predominant wear mechanism in the valve and valve seat contact as impact on valve closure. Two bespoke test machines, one for testing basic specimens and one for testing components, were used to identify the laser parameters most likely to yield acceptable results when applied to a cylinder head to be used in a fired dynamometer test. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Web Single Sign-On Authentication using SAML

Companies have increasingly turned to application service providers (ASPs) or Software as a Service (SaaS) vendors to offer specialized web-based services that will cut costs and provide specific and focused applications to users. The complexity of designing, installing, configuring, deploying, and supporting the system with internal resources can be eliminated with this type of methodology, providing great benefit to organizations. However, these models can present an authentication problem for corporations with a large number of external service providers. This paper describes the implementation of Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) and its capabilities to provide secure single sign-on (SSO) solutions for externally hosted applications

A history of Beverly, Massachusetts (for use in junior high schools).

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

What's metaphysical about metaphysical necessity?

I begin by contrasting three approaches one can take to the distinction between the essential and accidental properties: an ontological, a deflationary, and a mind-dependent approach. I then go on to apply that distinction to the necessary a posteriori, and defend the deflationist view. Finally I apply the distinction to modal truth in general and argue that the deflationist position lets us avoid an otherwise pressing problem for the actualist: the problem of accounting for the source of modal truth

Wheel/Rail Contact Isolation Due to Track Contamination

An experimental study has been carried out to investigate the effect of sanding on the electrical isolation of a wheel/rail contact. Sand is applied to the wheel/rail interface to increase adhesion in both braking and traction. Train detection, for signalling purposes, can be by means of track circuits. Signalling block occupancy is triggered by the wheelset of the train ‘shorting out’ the track circuit. Sand in the wheel/rail interface means that contact between the wheelsets and the track may be compromised, inhibiting train identification. Static tests were performed using sections cut from wheels and rail and dynamic tests on a twin disc machine where rail and wheel steel discs are loaded together and driven under controlled conditions of rolling and slip. The electrical circuit used was a simplified simulation of the TI21 track circuit. The application of sand was carried out under a range of mild and severe test conditions. The results indicated that a transition exists in the amount of sand applied, below which there is a measurable, but not severe, change in voltage, but above which the contact conductance decreases by an order of magnitude. A model of electrical isolation has been developed assuming either full disc separation by a sand layer or partial disc contact with some sand present. Idealisations inherent in both test methods mean that they represent a severe case. Given these limitations, it is likely that the test methods, at their present stage of development, should be used as a means to qualitatively assess the relative effects on electrical isolation of different contaminants

Heavy-light meson spectrum with and without NRQCD

Results for the spectrum of S and P-wave charmed mesons are obtained in the quenched approximation from a tadpole-improved anisotropic gauge field action and a D234 quark action. This is compared to the spectrum obtained from an NRQCD charm quark and a D234 light antiquark. NRQCD results for bottom mesons are also discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Lattice 2000 (Heavy Quark Physics

The Awkward New Member: Poland's Changing European Identity

Like those in other post-communist Central and East European countries, successive Polish governments were consistently eager to join the European Union although popular enthusiasm for membership took a notable dip in the late 1990s and two vociferous 'Eurosceptic' parties were elected to parliament in 2001. Since joining, however, public opinion has been very much in favour of the country's new European status and the considerable economic benefits it has brought. It seemed rather strange, then, that in September 2005 a parliament was elected distinguished by the nationalist sentiments of several major parties which fed into the adoption of what was seen as a strongly Eurosceptic stance on the part of Polish representatives in the European arena. Polish interests were pursued aggressively and in a manner that many thought was fundamentally un-European throughout much of 2007 at the several summits critically concerned with relaunching the constitutional project and formulating what has become the Reform Treaty. This behaviour played a significant part in the defeat of the incumbent government in the October 2007 and the subsequent installation of a new leadership generally perceived to be significantly more EU-friendly. Ironically for a government that promulgated the principle of 'Nice or death', it secured an agreement for the Nice provisions to stay in force until 2014 but then itself expired at the polls. It should not be assumed, however, that the new Civic Platform/Peasant Party coalition will not be an equally energetic proponent of the Polish national interest. 'Poland' has therefore had several identities in recent years, and seen considerable variation both among and between the different areas of public opinion, political parties and government policy. It will probably see several more in coming years