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Modality and Free Will: an Incompatibilist Account of Frankfurt-style Cases
No full textThe Principle of Alternative Possibilities (PAP), which has enjoyed broad support until the 1960s, states that an agent is morally responsible for their decision only if they have an alternative possibility accessible to them. Frankfurt-style Cases (FSCs) present counterexamples to PAP; agents appear to be morally responsible, yet lack the ability to do otherwise. In my paper, I argue that the challenges presented by FSCs – specifically those with counterfactual intervention – necessitate a particular view on the compatibility of free will and determinism that I present. My view can be summarized as follows: a necessary condition of free will is that the decision must be made in a universe where at least one of the events that causally influences the decision does so indeterministically. I conclude that my view, which I present partly by way of modal semantics, allows one to dismiss the objection raised by FSCs and preserve PAP
Understanding Galaxies In The Nearby Universe
No full textThere are around 2 trillion galaxies in the observable Universe. Therefore, there’s an even bigger amount of data that can be collected from them. In fact, this suggests that in order to get to know more about our universe, astronomers need to obtain data using telescopes and other tools, to then narrow down what data we can investigate at any given time, and one piece of data that we can choose to look at is the metallicity.
Metallicity is the abundance of elements present in an object that are heavier than hydrogen and helium. Most of the normal physical matter in the Universe is either hydrogen or helium. In Astronomy the word metals is used as a convenient short term for all elements except hydrogen and helium . Astronomers can estimate metallicities through measured and calibrated systems that correlate photometric measurements and spectroscopic measurements.
This research led by Professor Scudder in the Physics and Astronomy Department, presents an analysis of some data that has been obtained on metallicities, to address questions such as what the concentration of metallicity values is in different galaxies.
In this research we analyzed and compared the fraction of data points within a galaxy where metallicities exist, seeing this information in the form of a fraction value and graphically. The process of analyzing data was performed by using MySQL, coding in Python and applying functions of the NumPy Python library to generate histograms showing the fraction of spectra in each galaxy which can have a metallicity calculated for them.
Now, the area of the research that we are focusing on is looking for sources of light in a galaxy coming from things other than young stars. And the presentation will cover the research done previously as well as an overview on the part of the research we are currently working on
The Child Tax Credit over Time by Family Type: Benefit Eligibility and Poverty
No full textWe examine disparities in Child Tax Credit (CTC) eligibility and antipoverty effects since 1998 by family type. Initially, single mothers were least likely to be eligible and were underrepresented among those lifted from poverty by the CTC, because the credit was virtually nonrefundable. By 2017, disparities by family type mostly disappear, as eligibility and antipoverty effectiveness of the CTC among single mothers increases dramatically because of reforms increasing CTC refundability. When the credit doubles in 2018, disparities revert toward initial levels, as eligibility and the antipoverty effectiveness of single mothers rises least, because of a phaseout threshold expansion and partial refundability
Growth of the Wang-Casati-Prosen counter in an integrable billiard
No full textThis work is motivated by an article by Wang, Casati, and Prosen [Phys. Rev. E vol. 89, 042918 (2014)] devoted to a study of ergodicity in two-dimensional irrational right - triangular billiards. Numerical results presented there suggest that these billiards are generally not ergodic. However, they become ergodic when the billiard angle is equal to pi/2 times a Liouvillian irrational, morally a class of irrational numbers which are well approximated by rationals. In particular, Wang et al. study a special integer counter that reflects the irrational contribution to the velocity orientation; they conjecture that this counter is localized in the generic case, but grows in the Liouvillian case. We propose a generalization of the Wang-Casati-Prosen counter: this generalization allows to include rational billiards into consideration. We show that in the case of a 45 degrees:45 degrees:90 degrees billiard, the counter grows indefinitely, consistent with the Liouvillian scenario suggested by Wang et al
Is There a Duty to Read the News?
No full textIt seems as though we have a duty to read the news – that we’re doing something wrong when we refuse to pay attention to what’s going on in the world. But why? I argue that some plausible justifications for a duty to read the news fail to fully explain this duty: it cannot be justified only by reference to its consequences, or as a duty of democratic citizenship, or as a self-regarding duty. It can, however, be justified on the grounds that we have a positive, imperfect duty of respect for strangers, even when our actions don’t affect them directly. Reading the news is a key way, sometimes the only way, that we can respect those who are strangers to us. I close by considering some of the implications and limitations of this duty
On the Job, Off the Books: Organizing Against Worker Misclassification in the Neoliberal Era
No full textWorker misclassification is a form of precarious employment in which employers illegally designate their employees as \u27independent contractors\u27 to cut labor costs. Non-standard employment arrangements and the emergence of the misclassification problem are expressions of neoliberal economic reform and attendant shifts in managerial strategy. Although scholars and government statisticians have documented the prevalence of worker misclassification, extant research on labor-organizing campaigns in response to this practice is lacking. This paper presents case studies of two successful organizing campaigns against worker misclassification: (1) a United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA) effort in the Northeastern construction industry and (2) a Teamsters campaign focused on the West Coast port trucking industry. Both campaigns employ similar frames highlighting competition, free markets, and the necessity of industrial change to achieve these ideals. We conclude with a discussion of the prospects and limitations of these organizing strategies given the countervailing political and economic headwinds posed by neoliberal restructuring
The Suspense Novel as Persuasion: Survivance and Subversion in Louise Erdrich’s \u3ci\u3eThe Round House\u3c/i\u3e
No full textIn the best-selling and award-winning novel The Round House (2012), Louise Erdrich strategically uses the suspense novel genre to engage a wide audience to the sexual violence Native women face in the United States, including the jurisdictional maze those living on reservations experience when seeking justice. Through a close textual analysis (both format and content narrative features), I examine how the novel demonstrates Gerald Vizenor’s theory of survivance. Specifically, how Erdrich’s maneuvering within the suspense genre, by both adhering to certain tropes but also subverting the form by weaving Ojibwe storytelling to indigenize the text, demonstrates survivance and participates in consciousness-raising by exposing readers to the issues facing Native peoples
Spiffy Peer Instruction Questions
No full textThis session takes inspiration from the highly successful Nifty Assignments special session, but instead highlights high quality multiple-choice questions that can be used for Peer Instruction. Peer Instruction is a pedagogical practice characterized by asking students to answer challenging, conceptual questions in class. For each question, students individually respond, discuss the question in small groups, and respond again based on their new understanding. Peer Instruction has been widely identified as an important instructional technique in teaching computing. In this session, members of the community will present some of their best Peer Instruction questions along with a short explanation that provides the pedagogical content knowledge indicating why the question is a good question. If you are interested in learning more about Peer Instruction or finding new questions for your course(s), this session is for you
Applying Critical Multiracial Theory to Conceptualizing and Measuring Multiracial Experiences and Identity
No full textThis chapter applies critical multiracial theory to advance the conceptualization and measurement of multiracial experiences and identity in developmental science. We aim to illustrate the complexity in how multiracials navigate, negotiate, and challenge (mono)racism and white supremacy in the United States. First, we investigate the historic exclusion and invisibility of multiracials in developmental science, as well as how multiracials complicate traditional understandings of racism, racial formation, and racial identity. Next, we review past and present approaches taken to study the theory and measurement of multiracial experiences and identity. In addition, we introduce a new Model of Multiracial Racialization that situates multiracial racialization experiences (including racial identity, racial identification, and racial category) within six ecological levels: (1) Individual Characteristics; (2) Interpersonal Experiences; (3) Contextual Factors; (4) Social, Economic, and Political Environments; (5) Systems of Oppression; and (6) Time. Finally, we offer specific examples of research topics and questions that attend to each level of our model with the hope of stimulating future research and advancing our developmental science understanding of multiraciality
Expedited Synthesis of α-Amino Acids by Single-Step Enantioselective α-Amination of Carboxylic Acids
No full textThe conversion of C‒H bonds to C‒N bonds offers a sustainable and economical strategy for the synthesis of nitrogen-containing compounds. However, challenges regarding the control of regio- and stereoselectivity currently limit the broad applicability of intermolecular C(sp3)‒H amination reactions. We address these restrictions by directed nitrene-mediated C‒H insertion using a metal-coordinating functional group. We report a highly stereocontrolled, iron-catalysed direct α-amination of abundant carboxylic acid feedstock molecules. The method provides in a single step high-value N-Boc-protected α-monosubstituted and α,α-disubstituted α-amino acids, which can then be immediately used for applications including solution- and solid-phase peptide synthesis. This method fulfils important aspects of sustainability by being highly step efficient and utilizing non-toxic, Earth-abundant iron as the catalytic metal