27,524 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,
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,
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and density study of ternary chalcogenide glasses based on Ge-Se and Ge-S
No full textThis thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Glasses of the systems Ge-Se-X (X = Ga, Sn, Bi, Sb), Ge-S-Y (Y = Ag, Ga, Sn, Bi) and Se-S have been examined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), density and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Two of the compositions, GeSe2 and (GeSe2)92Ga8, have also been examined by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES). The emphasis of the XPS measurements was on the changes in the binding energies with composition of the core peaks of the glasses, and on the plasmon energy losses from the L3M4,5M4,5 Auger lines of Se and Ge. It was found that there were small shifts in the binding energies of the core peaks on substitution but the plasmon energy changed markedly with composition. For the XRD measurements, the focus was on two features : (a) to ensure that the samples prepared were truely amorphous and (b) to confirm the presence of the first sharp diffraction peak (FSDP) on the interference functions. The density measurements showed that the addition of the third element (X or
Y) to the binary resulted in an increase in the relative density except for one system, Ge-Se-Sn, which showed the opposite behaviour. The DSC measurements showed that the addition of the third element to the binary resulted in a decrease in the glass transition temperatures. The EXAFS and XANES measurements of GeSe2 and (GeSe2)92Ga8 glasses showed that there was very little change in the local order around the Ge atom in GeSe2 glass with increase in temperature and that the local order around the Ge atom changes on alloying GeSe2 with Ga. Correlations between parameters and measured properties of the ternary alloys have been investigated. It has been found that the parameter , the average coordination number, correlates well with certain structural properties but badly with others. Suggestions are made for an alternative to .This study was funded by the British Council
Johnson, Ray W. interview
No full textOral history interview of Ray W. Johnson, conducted by Adam Rock in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 22, 2018
Adam Boulton – “2015: a post-TV election?”
No full textLSE MSc student John Ray on Adam Boulton’s keynote speech at the Polis 2015 Conference, 27 March 2015 chaired by Charlie Beckett. The Polis 2015 journalism conference kicked off with Adam Boulton’s keynote speech ‘2015: A Post-TV election?’, in which he presented a montage of media nostalgia; television clips to illustrate the change in television from an era of ‘histograms’ to all-encompassing entertainment where the profile of the presenter often matches the individual that they’re covering
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
Surveying the Gamma-ray sky with the BATSE and INTEGRAL satellites
No full textThis thesis describes the developments and contributions made by Adam Hill to survey the Gamma-ray sky with the BATSE and INTEGRAL satellites. The soft γ-ray sky has been relatively unexplored on large scales. The last survey of the entire sky in this energy band was made by the HEAO-1 A4 mission in the late 1970’s. This thesis takes advantage of new techniques and instruments to probe the source populations of the γ-ray sky in the energy band 20-160 keV. The BATSE instrument served as the all-sky monitor on-board the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory for 9 years. By applying the newly developed LIMBO software and CLEAN algorithms an all-sky map of the sky is constructed using all 9 years of BATSE data. The map is constructed using data which spans the 30-160 keV energy band and produces a source catalogue of 36 sources down to a flux of ~20 mCrab. The performance and limitations of this new technique are assessed and presented. IBIS is the imager on-board the INTEGRAL γ-ray observatory. Data from IBIS is used in the construction of mosaics of the γ-ray sky which span the 20-100 keV energy band. The techniques and methods of the 1st and 2nd IBIS/ISGRI Survey Catalogues are presented which identify 123 and 209 discrete γ-ray sources respectively. The global properties of the sources of the 1st IBIS/ISGRI Survey Catalogue are analysed on a statistical basis. The properties of the X-ray binary populations and the unclassified INTEGRAL sources are presented. The unclassified source population are seen to share many of the characteristics of the high mass systems. A detailed study of IGR J18027-2016 indicates that it is a proto-typical example of the new INTEGRAL sources and is identified to be an obscured, supergiant high mass X-ray binary with a neutron star companion.</p
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,
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