10 research outputs found
A critical comparison of William James and Søren Kierkegaard on religious belief
No full textThis thesis is a critical comparison of the accounts of religious belief proposed byWilliam James and Søren Kierkegaard. Both James and Kierkegaard greatly emphasizethe subjective aspects of religious belief. In view of this fact, surprisingly littlecomparative work has been done in this area. I contribute to this literature in two ways.Firstly, I make a brief assessment of what James knew of Kierkegaard’s work.Secondly, I draw four comparisons between Kierkegaard and James. In Chapter One Iexamine the claim that Kierkegaard proposes a pragmatist account of faith of the kindthat James sets out in his essay The Will To Believe. I argue that this claim rests on amisunderstanding of Kierkegaard’s argument that to have faith is to take a risk. In thefollowing chapter I discuss James’s and Kierkegaard’s views on formal proofs for theexistence of God. Both philosophers reject the notion that faith can be based on suchproofs. I distinguish between their positions, and argue in favour of Kierkegaard’s. Inthe third chapter I compare Kierkegaard’s and James’s accounts of religious experience.James views religious experiences as a special kind of evidence for the existence ofGod. For Kierkegaard it is a mistake to view religious experiences as evidence. Suchexperiences should be understood in relation to the concept of religious authority. In thefinal chapter I examine Kierkegaard’s conception of faith as a life-view. I argue that forKierkegaard a life-view is a fundamental perspective on one’s existence. I compare thisconception with James’s concept of philosophical temperament and in relation to hisdiscussion of the sick soul
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Unconstitutional Warrant Criteria Permit Wiretapping If a Possibility of International Terrorism Is Found
No full textThis Comment examines the warrant criteria established in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, as applied to persons who may be international terrorists. The Act permits electronic surveillance if a possibility of international terrorism is found. After briefly discussing the history of the Act, the author engages in a discussion of the modern threat of international terrorism and the executive department\u27s ability to uproot that threat. The author argues that the concern for United States citizen\u27s right to privacy must not belittle the right to privacy of those who are non-citizens, as the Fourth Amendment is applicable to those persons who are aliens. The author further argues that any infringement on the privacy rights of resident aliens would lead to a further infringement of those rights with respect to United States\u27 citizens. The author concludes that the Act\u27s warrant criteria are unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment
A systematic approach to injury policy assessment: Introducing the assessment of child injury prevention policies (A-CHIPP)
No full text© 2019 Article author(s). All rights reserved. Introduction This study presents a systematic approach- A ssessment of child injury prevention policies (A-CHIPP)-to assess and track policies on effective child injury interventions at the national level. Results from an initial pilot test of the approach in selected countries are presented. Method A literature review was conducted to identify conceptual models for injury policy assessment, and domains and indicators were proposed for assessing national injury policies for children aged 1-9 years. The indicators focused on current evidence-supported interventions targeting the leading external causes of child injury mortality globally, and were organised into a self-administered A-CHIPP questionnaire comprising 22 questions. The questionnaire was modified based on reviews by experts in child injury prevention. For an initial test of the approach, 13 countries from all six WHO regions were selected to examine the accuracy, usefulness and ease of understanding of the A-CHIPP questionnaire. Results Data on the A-CHIPP questionnaire were received from nine countries. Drowning and road traffic injuries were reported as the leading causes of child injury deaths in seven of these countries. Most of the countries lacked national policies on interventions that address child injuries; supportive factors such as finance and leadership for injury prevention were also lacking. All countries rated the questionnaire highly on its relevance for assessment of injury prevention policies. Conclusion The A-CHIPP questionnaire is useful for national assessment of child injury policies, and such an assessment could draw attention of stakeholders to policy gaps and progress in child injury prevention in all countries
The financial implications of firms business model focus within the bottom of the pyramid market segment in South Africa
No full textDissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010.The participation of businesses and major corporate companies in poverty stricken lower income markets has been met with opposing, and at times controversial views. The Bottom of the Pyramid proposition is one such idea that encourages business people to get involved in the market. However, the commercial viability of the BOP proposition has yet to be proven. The literature review from this study focuses on the ideas surrounding the appropriate business models that have been put forward through academic literature in order for companies to operate successfully in the lower income market segment. Consequently, the literature also focuses on the developments of the BOP proposition as it relates to the business proposed models. Specific attention is paid to the areas of innovation and replication as strategic focus areas within the BOP business models. The research seeks to highlight the fact that the BOP market segment is a commercially viable market for companies to pursue, and that the business model focus for companies should be centred around the dual application of innovation and replication principles as part of the company’s business model. The research study made use of interviews with expert executives and supporting documentary evidence from two case study organisations from within the FMCG industry in South Africa. The results of the research were documented and used to address the primary and secondary research objectives. The research findings ultimately enabled the author to construct a model, which companies interested in pursuing the BOP market could implement in order to operate profitably within the BOP market segment. CopyrightGordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)unrestricte
Co-creation online : the potential of Web 2.0 tools to enable it and impact usage
No full textDissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010.There is little in the existing literature that provides practical information on the link between co-creation and the internet as well as guidance on how to facilitate cocreation in the online environment. This study sought to address these gaps and particularly the lack of guidance on the practical act of co-creation and the relationship between co-creation and the online environment. A quantitative research methodology with a descriptive design was followed. The data for the study was collected by way of an internet survey. The population for the research was defined as the users of the online cycling social network, www.thehubsa.co.za. A topic explaining the purpose of the study and inviting users to participate was posted on the website. The study revealed the existence of a new two factor solution related to the separate co-creation and Web 2.0 applications constructs. In this respect the Interact and Use components (co-creation) as well as the Creating and Sharing components (Web 2.0 applications) could provide the foundation for construct validity for more comprehensive scales.The ability of a user to Author content on a website was found to be of particular practical importance in facilitating co-creation. Providing this functionality to a customer may be the key to the missing “how to” element of online co-creation. The ability of a social networking website, such as www.thehubsa.co.za, to encourage general product/service usage appears to be the main attraction to advertisers. Advertisers looking to build their brands may not necessarily obtain the same benefits from the website. Findings regarding impact on usage were inconclusive and further research is suggested. CopyrightGordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)unrestricte
Relevance of the Mo-precursor state in H-ZSM-5 for methane dehydroaromatization
No full textAlthough the local geometry of Mo in Mo/HZSM-5 has been characterized before, we present a systematic way to manipulate the configuration of Mo and link it to its catalytic properties. The location and geometry of cationic Mo-complexes, the precursor of the active metal site for methane dehydroaromatization, are altered by directing the way they anchor to the framework of the zeolite. The feature used to direct the anchoring of Mo is the location of Al in the zeolite framework. According to DFT calculations, the local geometry of Mo should change, while UV-vis and pyridine FTIR spectroscopy indicated differences in the dispersion of Mo. Both aspects, however, did not influence the catalytic behavior of Mo/HZSM-5, indicating that as long as enough isolated Mo species are present inside the pores of the zeolite, the catalytic behavior is unaffected. This paves the way to better understand how the Mo oxo precursor transforms into the active phase under the reaction conditions.Financial support from the Sabic-NWO CATC1CHEM CHIPP project is gratefully acknowledged. Our thanks go to Dr. Christoph Dittrich (SABIC), Dr. Frank Mostert (SABIC) and Dr. T. Alexander Nijhuis (SABIC). G. Li acknowledges financial support from The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) for her personal VENI grant (no. 016.Veni.172.034) and NWO-Surf SARA for providing access to supercomputer resources
Arthur Danto's philosophy of art
No full textThe thesis is a critical examination of Danto's philosophy of art. It begins with his
article 'The Artworld' where he proposes a special is of artistic identification to
distinguish artworks. Danto's idea of the artworld is discussed, a historical and
contextual theory of art, which arose from his attempt to explain the difference
between Warhol's Brillo Boxes sculpture and an indiscernible stack of everyday
Brillo boxes. It is argued that Danto unsuccessfully attempts to shore up his artworld
concept with the special is.
The technique of comparing indiscernible counterparts, from Danto's
book The Transfiguration of the Commonplace, is examined. It is argued that the
technique is philosophically redundant, but it is a redundant premise which has been
added to a valid inference (Danto's historical and contextual view of art: his artworld
theory) therefore, this does not make the original inference invalid.
Danto's treatment of metaphor, expression, and style is shown to result
in four claims. First, artworks embody rhetorical ellipsis. Second, artworks share
features of metaphor: they are intensional (with an s) in structure and cannot be
paraphrased. Third, a work of art expresses what it is a metaphor for by the way it
depicts its subject. Fourth, artworks embody style.
The conclusion, has two parts. The first part gives a summary of the
criticism of Danto's theory of art: (1) there are logical inconsistencies in his concept
of the is of artistic identification and in his use of indiscernible counterparts, (2) his
theory suffers by being over-inclusive and (3) he uses circular arguments. The
second part is based on a response to the criticism: it provides a definition of art.
This has three elements. First, an argument is proposed for a spectrum of artistic
presence in which all human activity and artefacts can be placed. Second, there is an
acceptance of Danto's view of art (or artistic presence) being both intentional (with
a t) and intensional (with an s); however, by applying these concepts to a spectrum,
the problem of over-inclusiveness is avoided. Finally, it is argued there can he no
wholly non-circular account of art
An evaluation of the effect of an angiotensinconverting enzyme inhibitor on the growth rate of small abdominal aortic aneurysms: A randomized placebo-controlled trial (AARDVARK)
No full text\ua9 The Author 2016.Aims: The AARDVARK (Aortic Aneurysmal Regression of Dilation: Value of ACE-Inhibition on RisK) trial investigated whether ACE-inhibition reduces small abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) growth rate, independent of blood pressure (BP) lowering. Methods and results: A three-arm, multi-centre, single-blind, and randomized controlled trial (ISRCTN51383267) was conducted in 14 hospitals in England. Subjects aged ≥55 years with AAA diameter 3.0-5.4 cm were randomized 1:1:1 to receive perindopril arginine 10 mg, or amlodipine 5 mg, or placebo and followed 3-6 monthly over 2 years. The primary outcome was aneurysm growth rate (based on external antero-posterior ultrasound measurements in the longitudinal plane), determined by multi-level modelling to provide maximum likelihood estimates. Two hundred and twenty-four subjects were randomized (2011-2013) to placebo (n = 79), perindopril (n = 73), or amlodipine (n = 72). Mean (SD) changes in mid-trial systolic BP (12 months) were 0.5 (14.3) mmHg, P = 0.78 compared with baseline, 29.5 (13.1) mmHg (P < 0.001), and 26.7 (12.0) mmHg (P < 0.001), respectively. No significant differences in the modelled annual growth rates were apparent [1.68 mm (SE 0.2), 1.77 mm (0.2), and 1.81 mm (0.2), respectively]. The estimated difference in annual growth between the perindopril and placebo groups was 0.08 mm (CI 20.50, 0.65). Similar numbers of AAAs in each group reached 5.5 cm diameter and/or underwent elective surgery: 11 receiving placebo, 10 perindopril, and 11 amlodipine. Conclusion: Small AAA growth rates were lower than anticipated, but there was no significant impact of perindopril compared with placebo or placebo and amlodipine, combined despite more effective BP lowering
The influence of African sculpture on British art, 1910-1930
No full textThis thesis aims to discuss the influence of African wood sculpture
on British art from 1910 to 1930. It proposes that the works, tastes and
pronouncements of various 20th century British artists betray this
influence and that although the British artists did not initially
understand the conceptual foundations of African sculpture their limited
knowledge was just sufficient for the modernization of British art
through the adaptation of the formal qualities of African art.
In assessing the validity of these propositions the thesis examines
the factors and issues that facilitated the influence. Chapter 1
discusses the formal qualities of African wood sculpture that attracted
the British artists. It outlines the unusual figural proportions, the
free and direct use of planar, linear and solid geometry, the treatment
of material and its surfaces.
The conceptual foundations of African sculpture are generally
outlined in Chapter 2. The extent to which the British artists
understood these foundations is also discussed.
Chapter 3 concerns the introduction of African sculpture to Britain
and discusses the development of the anthropological and subsequent
aesthetic interest that it aroused. Both the Post-Impressionist
Exhibitions and the Omega Workshops which facilitated its influence are
examined. Chapter 4 examines the concept and attempts to categorize the
nature of this influence.
The last three chapters act as case studies in which the impact of
African sculpture on Epstein, Gaudier-Brzeska and Henry Moore is
examined. The conclusion discusses the term 'Primitive' and the British
artists and the 'Primitive
The Anadyomene Movement: metamorphics of figure-ground
No full text‘Figure-ground’ is about the production of meaning based on the perception of contrasts or binary oppositions and segregations. Viewers of my paintings, and of the kind of paintings that interest me, have the impression that the ‘figure’ subsides or slips or fades into ‘ground’, or that the ‘ground’ is more powerful or dominant than the ‘figure’, or that the ‘figure’ is insecurely attached, suggesting it is incapable, unwilling, too acquiescent or complicit to fully differentiate itself from the ‘ground’. I address flux, mutation, indistinctness and complementarity within the visual field of painting. I develop and extend the heuristic context for the interpretation of my studio practice and for work of a similar kind, and then feedback this new context into my practice in order to generate new works, also in the process shedding a new light on my interpretative models. Beyond this, I also make a more general argument for the re alignment of the relationship between art theory and practice - one that can better incorporate a sense of in between-ness, indistinctness or liminality. My approach is comparative: I look at East Asian art and ideas and, in particular, deploy the writings of the French Sinologist and philosopher François Jullien, in whose work there is the attempt to expand Western epistemology, ontology, semantics and aesthetics via a discussion of Chinese thought and aesthetics. Jullien proposes a paradigm that draws the ‘in-out’ respiratory rhythm or pulse within the perceptual field towards the centre of a theory of representation, a theory that seeks to account for consciousness from the ‘inside’ rather than the ‘outside’. The consequence of this relocation of agency is an interpretative framework that is firmly grounded in a nondualistic and holistic approach, foregrounding affect and empathetic relationships between artist and work, viewer and work, and self and the world. Traditional East Asian thought begins with similar premises to poststructuralism in the West: the ‘self’ is an illusion and the possibility of knowledge of reality independent of thought is dismissed as untenable because there is no objective reality accessible to us. Everything depends on the bias of the mind, rather than on anything we can identify as an innate attribute of reality itself, thus there is no escape from our lived experience, and we are profoundly limited by the interpretive knowledge of our mind; we are trapped within the ‘prison house of language’. But within the different recursive orientations that characterize ‘East’ and ‘West’ the interpretation and consequences of these insights are understood in quite different ways. I explore why this should be the case and what some of the consequences are, both theoretically through the written text and performatively through my studio work
