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In Vagueness We (Should) Trust: Defending the Virtues of a Linguistic \u27Vice\u27
No full textVagueness is well-known to be a confounding phenomenon, creating paradox and propositions which seem to flaunt classical bivalence, but treating vagueness a part of language which should be explained away by logic is surprising, given its prevalence and utility in our lives. Vagueness allows for efficient expression and communication, and it is reflective of the world in which we live. Can vagueness be preserved in the face of logic, rather than being problematized? This project aims to show it can. In §1, I introduce vagueness through the Sorites Paradox and distinguish it from ambiguity, generality, and uncertainty. In §2, I examine several non-classical logics in search of a system which doesn’t problematize vagueness; however, I find these logics are unsatisfactory. In§3, I move to examine the term “heap” and introduce a new type of vagueness — quantifier vagueness — to explain heap’s confusing use and the imperfect parallels between analyses of heap and other vague predicates. In §4, I spell out why vagueness is a virtue worth preserving. And in §5, viewing vagueness as a virtue of language, I argue that we should reassess how we recognize truth (specifically in relation to vague propositions), suggesting that a pragmatic approach to truth is both reflective of how we use vague propositions and removes the need for semantically-technical calculi in response to seemingly undecidable, vague propositions
A Proposal for Primitive Decomposition of Spatial Orientation Relationships
Get PDFThis short paper continues work on primitive decomposition systems for meaning representation which combine image schemas and conceptual dependency primitive systems. An important thread of this research seeks small abstract sets of conceptual primitives so that decompositions of imagery evoked by language give rise to rich sets of mappings between language and the language-free representations, reflecting the linguistic variation of human language behavior. In this brief paper, we present a proposal for novel primitive decompositions of positions, spatial relationships, and orientations of objects in space in a conceptual representation framework. As an abstract first approximation, we introduce a spatial primitive which represents that one object is positioned in between two other objects, and combine it with part-whole representations to decompose commonly referenced concepts and language expressions of the positions and orientations of objects in relation to their surroundings
Metric Ensembles Aid in Explainability: A Case Study with Wikipedia Data
Get PDFIn recent years, as machine learning models have become larger and more complex, it has become both more difficult and more important to be able to explain and interpret the results of those models, both to prevent model errors and to inspire confidence for end users of the model. As such, there has been a significant and growing interest in explainability in recent years as a highly desirable trait for a model to have. Similarly, there has been much recent attention on ensemble methods, which aim to aggregate results from multiple (often simple) models or metrics in order to outperform models that optimize for only a single metric. We argue that this latter issue can actually assist with the former: a model that optimizes for several metrics has some base level of explainability baked into the model, and this explainability can be leveraged not only for user confidence but to fine-tune the weights between the metrics themselves in an intuitive way. We demonstrate a case study of such a benefit, in which we obtain clear, explainable results based on an aggregate of five simple metrics of relevance, using Wikipedia data as a proxy for some large text-based recommendation problem. We demonstrate that not only can these metrics’ simplicity and multiplicity be leveraged for explainability, but in fact, that very explainability can lead to an intuitive fine-tuning process that improves the model itself
Combinatorial Approaches for the Synthesis of Protein-Polymer Conjugates (PPC) for Drug Delivery
No full textCancer is a global disease that leaves its victims and families in emotional and psychological distress. The impact it has on the global scale is significant, both in terms of human health and economic cost. Traditional cancer therapies like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy can have significant side effects, which underscores the need for more precise and targeted approaches. Targeted delivery of therapeutic molecules to cancer cells using engineered proteins and polymers has the potential to improve the delivery of cancer therapeutics and reduce side effects. Protein-polymer conjugates (PPCs) are a current drug delivery technology that have been used in drug delivery and nanoparticle applications. The use of specific protein ligands is for targeted cancer treatments to improve binding specificity between drug carriers and receptors overexpressed in cancer tissues. Thus, my overall goal is to synthesize side-chain functionalized reactive polymers and conjugate these polymers to various proteins to understand optimal conditions for conjugation as we aim to develop improved targeted cancer therapies. In my thesis project, a reactive ester polymer [poly (pentafluorophenyl acrylate) (PPFPA)] was synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization (RAFT) and functionalized with stochiometric equivalences of a hydrophilic side-chain group [2-(2-(2-Methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethanamine (mTEG-amine)] to make the polymer soluble in aqueous solution. These side-chain functionalized reactive polymers were then conjugated to primary amine residues (N-terminus and lysines) on holo-transferrin and fibronection III proteins. SDS-PAGE analysis was used to assess the conjugation efficiency, and data showed conjugation was successful. This process of conjugation was optimized to improve conjugation efficiency using various stoichiometries of side-chain reactive functionalized polymers, different proteins, and different polymer and protein concentrations. Future works will focus on isolating the conjugates using size exclusion chromatography and assessing the binding affinity of the PPCs on tumor cells expressing avβ3 integrin and transferrin receptors
The Master
No full textThe extraordinary life of Zhuang Zhou sits halfway between fable and philosophy.
It was twenty-five centuries ago in the land of Song, between the Yellow River and the River Huai: Zhuang Zhou was born without a cry with his eyes wide open.
Welcome to China in the fifth century BCE, a colorful, violent, unstable world into which Zhuang is born. Here royals raise huge armies, constantly waging wars against one another. They have slaves, concubines. Gold is everywhere. And so is hunger. Born rich and entitled, Zhuang learns to refuse any official function. His travels bring him closer to ordinary people, from whom he learns how to live a simple and useful life. This is how he will become one of the greatest Chinese philosophers who gave his name to his legendary book, the Zhuangzi, one of the two foundational texts of Taoism--a magnificent procession of lively stories in which we meet dwarfs, virtuous bandits, butchers, powerful lords in their castles, turtles, charming concubines, and false sages. In this remarkable bildungsroman, award-winning French novelist Patrick Rambaud spins out the extraordinary life of Zhuang Zhou--a poetic, cruel, and often humorous tale, halfway between fable and philosophy. Source: Publisherhttps://scholarworks.smith.edu/frn_books/1018/thumbnail.jp
Absorbance Measurements From Normal-hearing Ears in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2015–2016 and 2017–2020
Get PDFObjective: To summarize absorbance and impedance angles from normal-hearing ears within the 2015–2016 and 2017–2020 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).
Design: Two publicly available NHANES datasets were analyzed. Ears meeting criteria for normal hearing and valid absorbance and impedance angle measurements were identified. Measurements were summarized via descriptive statistics within categories of age cohort, race/ethnicity cohort, sex (male, female), and ear (left, right).
Results: A total of 7029 ears from 4150 subjects, ages 6 to 80 years, met inclusion criteria. Differences between subgroups within all categories (age, race/ethnicity, sex, and ear) were fractions of the sample SDs. The largest differences occurred between age cohorts younger than 20 years.
Conclusions: The NHANES absorbance and impedance angle measurements are consistent with published literature. These results demonstrate that trained professionals, using the Titan instrument in a community setting inclusive of all demographics, produce comparable measurements to those in laboratory settings
African Agency in Democracy Promotion: The African Union and Election Observation in Malawi
No full textThe African Union is emerging as a prominent actor in election assistance and observation. Considering the continued centrality of the electoral process to democracy-building efforts in Africa, African continental and regional organisations are increasingly monitoring elections and taking the lead in election observation processes across the continent. This paper contributes to the African agency literature by showing how agency is operationalised and implemented through international election observation. Focusing on Malawi’s recent electoral history (2004–2020), this paper argues that the African Union is institutionalising its election observation protocols and challenging the dominant position of western international actors, through enacting the role and agency of continental and regional actors. It critically assesses the African Union’s ability to undertake these efforts and how it has addressed elections, and the politics surrounding them
Open Education Network
No full textSmith College Libraries is now a member of the Open Education Network (OEN)! This is great news! We look forward continuing to advance all things Open for Smith College scholarly work.https://scholarworks.smith.edu/gallery/1014/thumbnail.jp