631 research outputs found
NASA Pathways: Intern Employment Program Work Report Summer 2014
No full textThis report documents the work experience and project involvement of Kyle Davidson during his tenure at Kennedy Space Center for the summer of 2014. Projects include the Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS), Restore satellite servicing program, and mechanical handling operations for the SAGE III and Rapidscat payloads
Feyerabend and incommensurability
No full textI consider only the semantic claims of Paul Feyerabend's incommensurability thesis. These semantic claims are that incommensurable scientific theories, taken paradigmatically as successive theories: (1) are inconsistent; (2) the terms of one theory differ in meaning to those of another incommensurable theory; and (3) the claims of one theory are largely logically independent of the other. Since the inconsistency claim (1) is essential to Feyerabend's argument (against the Received View on theory reduction and explanation), I claim that (2) and (3) must be understood in the light of (1), and that (3) must be revised to avoid contradiction with (1). Feyerabend's semantic theory supporting (3) is presented and found wanting. Two other main arguments against (3) are also considered. The first is the causal theory of reference (of Putnam and Devitt), including causal descriptive theories advocated by Kitcher and Psillos; none of these theories is found to offer compelling reasons to reject (3). The second main argument against (3) is Donald Davidson's essay 'On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme', and a close reading of Davidson's paper is offered. I find that Davidson does offer convincing reasons for rejecting any implication by (3) that the languages of incommensurable theories are not intertranslatable, or that such theories are closed cognitive frameworks. However, I agree with Larry Laudan that Davidson does not deliver a fatal blow to the semantic incommensurabihty thesis because: (a) incommensurability need not entail nontranslatability; and (b) Davidson's semantic arguments do not succeed in demonstrating that the very notion of a conceptual scheme is incoherent. I present briefly two versions of the semantic incommensurability thesis which are consistent in an interesting way with (1), (2) and a revised (3), namely taxonomic incommensurability and a model of misinterpretation in intractable conflicts
Genetic and morphological discrimination of species within the nominal Brachidontes exustus (Mollusca: bivalvia) cryptic species complex from the Florida Keys:
No full textThe discovery of sibling and cryptic species complexes in the oceans has dramatically increased the estimated number of extant marine species. However, most cryptic species complexes remain taxonomically obscure, lacking descriptions of the morphological or
ecological differences defining the species. The distributions and morphologies of species in the nominal Brachidontes exustus complex in the Florida Keys were investigated utilizing molecular and multivariate statistical techniques.
DNA barcoding, a method of comparing newly generated sequences of the mitochondrial cytocrome c oxidase I gene (COI) from specimens of unknown species to a database of known sequences from voucher specimens, identified two cryptic species on Long Key, Florida Keys. Two differing habitats, which were <5 km apart, had single-species populations, even though both locations were within the dispersal range of larval recruits from the other location. This was the first record from the Florida Keys for these species
to be encountered as single species populations.
Tests for pseudo-crypsis among three species of the B. exustus morphospecies complex collected throughout the Florida Keys were performed with multivariate morphometics. Specimens were assigned to species using RFLP-based molecular methods. A discriminant function was constructed that, based on shell morphology, assigns individual mussels to a certain species with a high confidence (95%). Morphological differences among the species were sufficient to create robust statistical methods of resolving species using shell morphology alone. The suite of functions will facilitate future manipulation experiments with live specimens. The morphologies of the two most common species, provisionally called Bahamian and Gulf, were more similar in locations of coexistence than in locations of exclusivity.
An improved molecular-based technique for determining species, a multiplex PCR with species-specific forward oligonucleotides, was designed and tested. The method discriminates species by visualization of PCR products after electrophoresis on an agarose gel stained with ethidium brominde. This is a low cost, high throughput method that can effectively screen large numbers of specimens from the entire geographic range of the nominal species. This method can be used to identify species using larvae or juveniles which are unlikely to have the shell differences that can be used in the multivariate morphometric approach.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-143)by Kyle Francis Bennet
McCall crew portrait, 1949
No full textA group portrait of the smokejumper crew for the McCall Smokejumper base.
Front Row: Rogers, Hertzog, Glaves, B. Nielson, Scott, McMullen, Kyle, Greene, Lenker.
Back Row: Schreiber, Davidson, R. Peterson, Froemming, Brooks, Dodds, West, Jackson, Brafford, Garrard, Sutton, Rosselli, Doffing, Rainey, St. Clair, Smith.
Missing: Missing: Blanton, Caldwell, Catlin, Cherry, Crockett, Fickle, Graham, Hawley, Jones, McCarty, McCormick, Pearson, S. Peterson, Rea, Roth, Schas, Stevenson, Stover, Webb, Wilcock.https://dc.ewu.edu/nsa_crewpics/1282/thumbnail.jp
Internalized heterosexism and psychological distress
No full textGiven the pervasiveness of heterosexism in society, gay men are at a significant risk for internalizing heterosexist beliefs and developing psychological distress. The author of the present study examined the impact of internalized heterosexism on self-esteem and depression. Participants (56 self-identified gay men) completed the Nungesser Homosexuality Attitudes Inventory-Revised, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Bums Depression Scale. Considering past research findings, the author hypothesized that internalized heterosexism would be negatively correlated with self-esteem and positively correlated with depression. Results of statistical analyses supported the hypotheses, revealing a significant positive correlation between depression and internalized heterosexism, and a significant negative correlation between internalized heterosexism and self-esteem. The study was limited by its small sample size and lack of diversity among participants, but helped illustrate the impact of internalized heterosexism on psychological distress.Thesis (B.?)Honors Colleg
Absorbing new subjects: holography as an analog of photography
No full textI discuss the early history of holography and explore how perceptions, applications, and forecasts of the subject were shaped by prior experience. I focus on the work of Dennis Gabor (1900–1979) in England,Yury N. Denisyuk (b. 1924) in the Soviet Union, and Emmett N. Leith (1927–2005) and Juris Upatnieks (b. 1936) in the United States. I show that the evolution of holography was simultaneously promoted and constrained by its identification as an analog of photography, an association that influenced its assessment by successive audiences of practitioners, entrepreneurs, and consumers. One consequence is that holography can be seen as an example of a modern technical subject that has been shaped by cultural influences more powerfully than generally appreciated.
Conversely, the understanding of this new science and technology in terms of an older one helps
to explain why the cultural effects of holography have been more muted than anticipated by forecasters
between the 1960s and 1990s
“Humanized” Large Animal Cancer Models: Accelerating Time and Effectiveness of Clinical Trials
No full textThis eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contac
God's shining forth : a trinitarian theology of divine light
No full textThis thesis seeks an orderly set of theological reflections on the declaration that “God is light” (1 Jn. 1:5). Such talk of divine light, this study argues, must begin with the doctrine of God, namely, with God’s light in se and his “shining forth” ad extra towards creatures in the darkness of sin and death. This work therefore follows a precise pathway in expounding this theme. Chapter 1 offers a brief survey of the historical and scriptural uses of the concept of light in order to fix its linguistic and conceptual boundaries. Chapter 2 seeks to reflect upon God’s light as the light of his own radiant triune identity, as well as offering a preliminary examination of God’s economic, covenantal shining forth to creatures. Chapter 3 gives a much more detailed rehearsal of this act of shining forth by an account of God’s light as manifest in the economy of his works with which he lovingly elects, reconciles, and illuminates creatures. Chapter 4 proposes that with the treatment of God’s shining forth there belongs a treatment of the light of the church called out of darkness, gathered into the “marvelous light” of God, and set to proclaiming the “excellencies” of God. Chapter 5 concludes this study by examining what bearing the reality of God’s shining forth as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit might have on the work and call of theology as an activity of the “illumined mind.
Measurement of the thulium ion spin Hamiltonian in an yttrium gallium garnet host crystal
No full textWe characterize the magnetic properties for thulium ion energy levels in the (Tm:YGG) lattice with the goal to improve decoherence and reduce linewidth broadening caused by local host spins and crystal imperfections. More precisely, we measure hyperfine tensors for the lowest level of and excited states using a combination of spectral hole burning, absorption spectroscopy, and optically detected nuclear magnetic resonance. By rotating the sample through a series of angles with an applied external magnetic field, we measure and analyze the orientation dependence of the ion's spin Hamiltonian. Using this spin Hamiltonian, we propose a set of orientations to improve material properties that are important for light-matter interaction and quantum information applications. Our results yield several important external field directions: some to extend optical coherence times, another to improve spin inhomogeneous broadening, and yet another that maximizes mixing of the spin states for specific sets of ions, which allows improving optical pumping and creation of lambda systems in this material.QID/Tittel LabQuantum Communications La
Revenue-productive income tax structures and tax reforms in emerging market economies - evidence from Bulgaria
No full textUsing a household budget survey for 1992, The author shows the poor revenue performance and distributional impact of Bulgaria's personal income tax system. He explores the implications for revenue and income distribution of two alternative tax systems - a flat tax and a progressive but simpler three-brackets tax system. He demonstrates that simpler tax structures with lower tax rates could achieve at least equal revenue and distributional objectives and are superior in terms of efficiency and equity. (The findings are robust when Bulgaria's significant tax evasion is included). But tax changes since 1992 have, if anything, moved Bulgaria even further from a simple income tax system: the number of rates and brackets increased from 7 to 10, and the levels of exemption remain unchanged. (Complex, higher rates complicate administration and enforcement and provide incentives for tax evasions. And in the alternative systems the author explores, the poor are protected with higher exemptions.) Fortunately, the country's personal income tax structure began to move toward less nominal progressivity after Bulgaria's 1997 tax reform program. The tax rate in thetop income bracket was reduced from 52 percent to 40 percent, the number of tax brackets was halved, and the exemption level was increased 20 percent (reducing tax burdens on the poor).Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Regional Governance,Tax Policy and Administration,Economic Theory&Research,Governance Indicators,Economic Theory&Research,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Tax Policy and Administration
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