2,833,436 research outputs found
Quintessential Difficulties
An alternative to a cosmological constant is quintessence, defined as a
slowly-varying scalar field potential V(\phi). If quintessence is
observationally significant, an epoch of inflation is beginning at the present
epoch, with \phi the slowly-rolling inflaton field. In contrast with ordinary
inflation, quintessence seems to require extreme fine tuning of the potential
V(\phi). The degree of fine-tuning is quantified in various cases.Comment: 7 pages LaTeX. Revised to be more pedagogical; results unchange
Difficulties of Simplicity
This paper attempts to show that the doctrine of divine simplicity suffers from difficulties which undermine its plausibility. The main difficulties explored are Plantinga’s problem of double identification, Pruss’ multiple attributes problem, and Schmitt’s co-specificity problem. In more recent years, defenders of the doctrine have offered a way out of these problems by interpreting it in light of a truthmaker account of predication. This paper analyzes this recent defense, among others, and attempts to show that this new interpretation of divine simplicity still has problems which undermine the plausibility of the doctrine
Vision and Reading Difficulties Part 1: Specific learning difficulties and vision
This article is the first in a series of five about vision and reading difficulties, and provides an introduction and an overview of learning disabilities and specific learning difficulties. It outlines the role of the optometrist in helping people with such problems; it describes the symptoms that optometrists should look for and it provides an introduction of the evidence-based approach. The second article in this series will cover the optometric and orthoptic correlates of reading difficulties. Articles three and four will describe the use of coloured filters, including background, techniques, evidence, and mechanism. The final article will draw together the themes in the series of articles and discuss the clinical protocol and the role of the eye care practitioner in managing visual factors associated with reading difficulties
Vision and Reading Difficulties Part 2: Optometric correlates of reading difficulties
In this second article of the series on vision and reading difficulties, the optometric factors (for example refractive error and orthoptic function) that may be associated with reading problems are discussed in detail. The first article of this series introduced the correlates of, and interventions for, reading difficulties that have been supported by evidence-based research. This present article describes the optometric correlates more specifically, providing details of the aspects of visual function that ought to be considered for further investigation
Coping Difficulties After Hospitalization
Coping difficulties of 113 adults 3 weeks after hospital discharge were identified using the Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale and a brief focused telephone interview (11-item guide). Overall, low difficulty scores were reported (M = 23.9, SD = 18.2, range = 0 to 100). Qualitative data reveal specific coping difficulties in the categories of stressors, specific difficulties, caring for self, managing the condition, family, advice needed, contact with the health care system, and what they wished they knew before discharge. A core theme of biographical reconstruction emerged
Student Conceptual Difficulties in Hydrodynamics
We describe a study on the conceptual difficulties faced by college students
in understanding hydrodynamics of ideal fluids. This study was based on
responses obtained in hundreds of written exams and oral interviews, which were
held with first-year Engineering and Science university students. Their
responses allowed us to identify a series of misconceptions unreported in the
literature so far. The study findings demonstrate that the most important
difficulties arise from the students' inability to establish a link between the
kinematics and dynamics of moving fluids, and from a lack of understanding
regarding how different regions of a system interact.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures (small corrections
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An Interview About Life’s Difficulties
The respondent describes past difficulties in her
life.The fifty one audio and nine video files in this collection include: villages’ life stories, circle-dancing songs and performance, local history, folk tales, and interviews from Siyuewu Village, Puxi Township, Rangtang County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China.World Oral Literature Projec
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