18,447 research outputs found
ADAM SMITH'S OPTIMISTIC TELEOLOGICAL VIEW OF HISTORY
Get PDFAdam 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?
Get PDFAdam 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?
Get PDFThe 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,
OpenURL and Canonical Citation Linking in Classics: A Collaborative Project at Cornell between Classics and the University Library
No full textThe presentation has two parts: Adam Chandler's presentation on Open URL quality metrics (20091016 MWG openurl quality metrics.pptx), and David Ruddy and Eric Rebillard's presentation on OpenURL and Canonical Citation Linking in Classics (MD_WG-Oct09.ppt).The presenters will be reporting on work that came out of their Mellon planning grant with Professor Eric Rebillard. In the first section of the forum, Adam Chandler will report on progress in creating transparent and scalable metrics for evaluating the quality of OpenURLs across content providers. In the second part of the forum, David Ruddy and Professor Rebillard will discuss a domain specific resolution service called the Classical Works Knowledge Base (CWKB). This service allows for the assembly and maintenance of specialized knowledge about works within its domain and about online resources that can provide services related to those works. It understands the linking heuristics used by online text resources within its domain and is able to create for any given canonical citation one or many URLs that can take users to specific texts within these resources, and ideally to specific passages. Although this example, and the focus of the study, concerns Classical literature, such domain specific knowledge bases would operate in the same way for other disciplines.Andrew W. Mellon Foundatio
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Conspecific brood parasitism in ruddy ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Get PDFConspecific brood parasitism (CBP) is a reproductive strategy in which females lay eggs in the nests of other conspecific females. This behavior occurs in many species of birds, fishes, amphibians, and insects. CBP is intriguing because females laying eggs parasitically do not incur the costs associated with parental care; instead hosts (recipients of parasitic eggs) incur the costs of raising these parasitic offspring. The factors that influence females to lay eggs parasitically are unclear, and few studies have examined the role of maternal effects in CBP (parasitic eggs may contain substances increasing offspring survival). Here I investigate CBP in ruddy ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis), an over-water nesting species, where females lay large expensive eggs to produce highly precocial offspring (requiring minimal parental care). First I identify parasitic offspring and the females that produce them using a combination of two molecular techniques egg albumin protein fingerprinting (a maternal marker) and a large number of nuclear microsatellite loci. CBP was common in ruddy ducks (64% of nests contain parasitic offspring) and females used a mixed reproductive strategy (laying eggs parasitically in addition to nesting). Next, I investigate whether kin selection might play a role in the evolution of CBP in ruddy ducks, given hosts and parasites may be genetic relatives (via high female natal philopatry). I use molecular markers to estimate relatedness among all females and then specifically between hosts and parasites. I found that female ruddy ducks showed no relatedness structure (neighbors were unrelated). Relatedness among host-parasite pairs was relatively low and not significantly different than background levels of relatedness in the population, thus kin selection is not a likely explanation for the evolution of CBP in ruddy ducks. Third, I investigate possible parasite adaptations (via maternal effects), realized through egg characteristics. Steroid hormone content and egg size between parasitic and non-parasitic eggs did not differ; however, parasitic eggs were more likely to be male. Finally, I discuss broad conclusions for the patterns of CBP in ruddy ducks with respect to other systems. In addition I suggest possible questions for further investigation of CBP as reproductive strategy in populations
Adam Smith and Roman Servitudes
Get PDFThis 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
Get PDFThe 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,
Interview. Matthew Joseph with Adam Gussow, musician and author
Get PDFInterview in which Adam Gussow discusses hill country blues musi
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