3,456 research outputs found
ADAM SMITH'S OPTIMISTIC TELEOLOGICAL VIEW OF HISTORY
No full textAdam Smith's four-stage theory provides the framework for his writings on history. The fourth stage is the commercial epoch; the culmination of history in this stage is a key component in the conventional interpretation of Adam Smith as a prophet of commercialism. In two historical case studies Smith shows the capacity of commercial society to regenerate itself. This potent capacity suggests that commercial society is inevitable. At a certain point in time it also overcomes the major obstacles to its permanence. Smith's philosophy of history anticipates the end of history views of Kant and Hegel.Political Economy,
Modelling transport through biological environments that contain obstacles
No full textTransport through biological environments that are densely crowded with obstacles is often classified as anomalous, rather than Fickian diffusion. Researchers often describe these transport processes using either a random walk model or a fractional order differential equation model. To explore these ideas, we simulate transport through a crowded environment that is populated by impenetrable immobile obstacles. Our work suggests that it may be inappropriate to model transport through a crowded environment using these standard approaches.\ud
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We develop a new analytical method for modelling the transport of an agent through a crowded environment. Using our new method, we calculate the exact long-time diffusivity as well as the crossover time, which is the time scale required for the transport process to effectively become Fickian. Finally, we extend our new model to include interactions between the motile agent and the obstacles such as adhesion and repulsion
How Might Adam Smith Pay Professors Today?
No full textAdam Smith’s proposal for paying professors was intended to induce increased faculty knowledge. If students have imperfect information about what they learn, and universities can only imperfectly measure the input of faculty time in student learning, publications may be used to measure faculty knowledge. If professors’ ability to publish is positively related to their ability to produce student learning, which universities can imperfectly measure, publications may be necessary to attract more able professors. Since research signals faculty knowledge, schools that do not value publications per se could require higher publication standards and pay higher wages than schools that value only publications.
ADAM SMITH'S VIEW OF HISTORY: CONSISTENT OR PARADOXICAL?
No full textThe conventional interpretation of Adam Smith is that he is a prophet of commercialism. The liberal capitalist reading of Smith is consistent with the view that history culminates in commercial society. The first part of the article develops this optimistic interpretation of Smith's view of history. Smith implies that commercial society is the end of history because 1) it supplies the ends of nature that he identifies; 2) it is inevitable; and 3) it is permanent. The second part of the article shows that Smith has some dark moments in his writings where he seems to reject completely such teleological notions. In this more civic humanist mood he confesses that commercial society does not supply the ends of nature, nor is it inevitable, nor is it permanent. Both views exist in Smith and the commentator is forced to choose between passages in Smith's work in order to support a particular interpretation of the former's view of history.Political Economy,
The social impacts of the heat–health watch/warning system in Phoenix, Arizona: assessing the perceived risk and response of the public
No full textabstract: Here, 201 surveys were distributed in Metropolitan Phoenix to determine the social impacts of the heat warning system, or more specifically, to gauge risk perception and warning response.Corresponding Author:
Adam J. Kalkstein
Arizona State University
[email protected]
An analytical method to solve a general class of nonlinear reactive transport models
No full textThree recent papers published in Chemical Engineering Journal studied the solution of a model of diffusion and nonlinear reaction using three different methods. Two of these studies obtained series solutions using specialized mathematical methods, known as the Adomian decomposition method and the homotopy analysis method. Subsequently it was shown that the solution of the same particular model could be written in terms of a transcendental function called Gauss’ hypergeometric function. These three previous approaches focused on one particular reactive transport model. This particular model ignored advective transport and considered one specific reaction term only. Here we generalize these previous approaches and develop an exact analytical solution for a general class of steady state reactive transport models that incorporate (i) combined advective and diffusive transport, and (ii) any sufficiently differentiable reaction term R(C). The new solution is a convergent Maclaurin series. The Maclaurin series solution can be derived without any specialized mathematical methods nor does it necessarily involve the computation of any transcendental function. Applying the Maclaurin series solution to certain case studies shows that the previously published solutions are particular cases of the more general solution outlined here. We also demonstrate the accuracy of the Maclaurin series solution by comparing with numerical solutions for particular cases
Adam Smith and Roman Servitudes
No full textThis essay is a preprint of an article that appeared at: Tijdschrift voor Rechstsgeschiedenis, 72 (2004), 327–57.This essay discusses Adam Smith historical jurisprudence and his use of Roman law materials in his Lectures on Jurisprudence. It argues that Smith found it difficult to maintain his theory of legal development in the face of a highly developed body of Roman law literature
THE THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION OF ADAM SMITH'S WORK
No full textThe paper will discuss the theological foundation to Smith's writings. Teleology, final causes and divine design were initially seen as central to understanding Smith's writings. Over time, this view fell out of fashion. In the period after World War II, with the rise of positivism, commentators tended to overlook or downplay this interpretation. In the last decade, or so, teleology has started to be restored to its former position as an essential element in understanding Smith. After spelling out Smith's teleology and his view of final causes, divine design and the ends of nature, we try to explain the Panglossian nature of the 'new theistic view' of Smith. While our view differs somewhat, we agree with the essence of the 'new view' claim: a theological view exists in Smith which underpins his moral and economic theories.Political Economy,
Austrian economics: a tale of lost opportunities
No full textThis is a, somewhat indirect, rejoinder to Boettke (2019, this volume, Chapter 1). Doing Austrian economics is low prestige: Austrian economics does not get published in high-prestige journals and Austrian economists are not employed by top universities. And yet, up until World War II Austrian economics was an important part of the international economics community. The author argues that Austrian economists made several theoretical innovations that could have placed them at the frontier of research in economics, and present a brief coun-terfactual history of a thriving Austrian economics based on those innovations. However, the actual history of the Austrian School is quite different. A par-ticularly decisive factor that has made Austrian economics a fringe movement was the rejection of formal methods in theory and empirics. The author argues that Austrian economics is basically dying out as a voice in the conversation of modern economists
To Which Is Prefixed, An Account of the Life and Writings of the Author
No full textBy The late Adam Smith, LL. D. Fellow Of The Royal Societies Of London And Edinburgh, &c. &c.. To Which Is Prefixed, An Account of the Life and Writings of the Author / By Dugald Stewart, F.R.S.E.Dieses Werk wurde von Johann Jakob Thurneysen IV (oder eventuell auch von Wilhelm Haas Sohn) gedruckt, und ein Teil der Auflage von Thurneysen, ein Teil von (Georg) Jakob Decker verkauftAuf vorderem Spiegel Etikette: "Burckhardt-Gemuseus" 21.10.2020/A100/HPFAuf vorderem Spiegel Etikette: "Universitäts Bibliothek in Basel - Geschenk", darunter hs. ergänzt: "der Erben des Herrn J.J. Stehlin, 1894." 21.10.2020/A100/HP
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