174,703 research outputs found
Children at War
No full textPoster for lecture titled "Children at War" by Peter W. Singer, Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. Peter Singer is author of the book "Children at War and Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry"
Topographic relations between ocular dominance and orientation columns in the cat striate cortex
Full text linkLöwel S, Bischof H-J, Leutenecker B, Singer W. Topographic relations between ocular dominance and orientation columns in the cat striate cortex. Experimental Brain Research. 1988;71(1):33-46.In the visual cortex of four adult cats ocular dominance and orientation columns were visualized with (3H)proline and (14C)deoxyglucose autoradiography. The two columnar systems were reconstructed from serial horizontal sections or from flat-mount preparations and graphically superimposed. They share a number of characteristic features: In both systems the columns have a tendency to form regularly spaced parallel bands whose main trajectory is perpendicular to the border between areas 17 and 18. These bands frequently bifurcate or terminate in blind endings. The resulting irregularities are much more pronounced in the ocular dominance than in the orientation system. The periodicity of the columnar patterns was assessed along trajectories perpendicular to the main orientation of the bands and differed in the two columnar systems. The spacing of the ocular dominance stripes was significantly narrower than the spacing of orientation bands. The mean periodicity of a particular columnar system was virtually identical in the two hemispheres of the same animal but it differed substantially in different animals. However, the spacing of orientation columns covaried with that of the ocular dominance columns, the ratios of the mean spacings of the two columnar systems being similar in the four cats. The superposition of the two columnar systems revealed no obvious topographic relation between any of the organizational details such as the location of bifurcations, blind endings and intersections. We suggest the following conclusions: 1. The developmental processes generating the two columnar systems seem to obey the same algorithms but they act independently of each other. 2. The space constants of the two systems are rigorously specified and appear to depend on a common variable. 3. The main orientation of the bands in both columnar systems is related to a) the representation of the vertical meridian, b) the anisotropy of the cortical magnification factor, and c) the tangential spread of intracortical connections
Children at War
No full textPoster for lecture titled "Children at War" by Peter W. Singer, Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. Peter Singer is author of the book "Children at War and Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry"
Powerful Trend Function Tests That are Robust to Strong Serial Correlation with an Application to the Prebisch Singer Hypothesis
Full text linkIn this paper we propose tests for hypothesis regarding the parameters of a the deterministic trend function of a univariate time series. The tests do not require knowledge of the form of serial correlation in the data and they are robust to strong serial correlation. The data can contain a unit root and the tests still have the correct size asymptotically. The tests we analyze are standard heteroskedasticity autocorrelation (HAC) robust tests based on nonparametric kernel variance estimators. We analyze these tests using the small-b asymptotic framework recently proposed by Kiefer and Vogelsang (2002). This analysis allows us to analyze the power properties of the tests with regards to bandwidth and kernel choices. Our analysis shows that among popular kernels, there are specific kernel and bandwidth choices that deliver tests with maximal power within a specific class of tests. We apply the recommended tests to the logarithm of a net barter terms of trade series and we find that this series has a statistically significant negative slope. This finding is consistent with the well known Prebisch-Singer hypothesis. Because our tests are robust to strong serial correlation or a unit root in the data, our results in support of the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis are relatively strong.Estimator, Fixed-b Asymptotics, Power Envelope, Unit Root, Nearly Integrated, Partial Sum, Deterministic Trend, Linear Trend.
The Singer or the Song? Developments in Performers' Rights from the Perspective of a Cultural Economist
No full textOver the last century, performers gradually acquired statutory protection of their economic and moral
rights. These rights are not copyright in the legal sense but neighboring rights and until recently, they
were mainly remuneration rights that are collectively administered. With the WPPT (WIPO
Performers and Phonograms Treaty), performers now have individual exclusive rights for digital
performances; this leads to the question: what has motivated this change – is it a change in the
perception of the value of performer or a change brought about by the changing technology of copying or,
indeed, a change that reflects different economic costs and benefits? The paper discusses the role of
copyright law as an incentive to performers and asks if the economic role of the performer is so different
from that of the author. The conclusion is that a complex interaction of the legal regulations, economic
conditions and institutional arrangements for administering these new rights will determine the outcome
Peter Singer and Christian ethics. On Charles Comosy’s attempt to find grounds for cooperation
No full textW artykule zostanie przedstawiona ciekawa próba wykazania, że różnice stanowisk między Peterem Singerem a szeroko rozumianą etyką chrześcijańską są mniejsze, niż by się mogło wydawać. Pogląd ten przedstawił w swojej książce pt. Peter Singer and Christian ethics. Beyond polarization Charles Camosy, katolicki etyk z USA. Celem jego pracy było wykazanie, że Peter Singer i etycy szukający inspiracji w myśli chrześcijańskiej mogą pracować razem w wielu kwestiach i że przedstawianie tych stanowisk jako radykalnie przeciwnych jest błędne. W niniejszym artykule tok rozumowania Camosy’ego będzie zreferowany i poddany krytycznej refleksji. Rzetelna praca badawcza, jakiej podjął się Camosy dla udowodnienia swoich tez, jest nowatorska i wiele wnosi do zrozumienia istoty sporu. Metoda, którą się posłużył, może wyznaczyć nowy standard dla dialogu między współczesnymi systemami etycznymi. W ostatniej części artykułu zostanie jednak zasugerowane, że autor marginalizuje pewne nieusuwalne trudności w sporze między etyką chrześcijańską a najbardziej znanym australijskim bioetykiem. Do takich trudności należy, jak się wydaje, radykalnie różne rozumienie pojęcia „osoba” oraz niechęć etyki chrześcijańskiej do pragmatycznych kompromisów w obszarze moralności.This paper presents an interesting attempt to show that the differences between Peter Singer and Christian ethics are smaller than they appear to be. This view was presented in Peter Singer and Christian ethics. Beyond polarization by Charles Camosy, a Catholic thinker from the US. Camosy wanted to prove, that Peter Singer and ethicists looking for the inspiration in Christian thought can cooperate on many issues and to present their positions as radically polarized is incorrect. This paper is focused on the critical presentation of Camosy’s argument. The research he conducted to support his thesis is useful for understanding the whole discussion between Peter Singer and Christian ethics. His method could be a new standard of discussion between different ethical approaches. In the last part of this paper, it will be suggested, that the author has marginalized some unavoidable obstacles, which make a dialogue between Christian ethics and the famous Australian bioethicsist very difficult. Among them, understanding the notion of person, as well as the reluctance of Christians to pragmaticly compromise in the field of ethics are worth noticing
Peter Singer i etyka chrześcijańska. Charlesa Camosy’ego próba znalezienia gruntu dla współpracy
Full text linkThis paper presents an interesting attempt to show that the differences between Peter Singer and Christian ethics are smaller than they appear to be. This view was presented in Peter Singer and Christian ethics. Beyond polarization by Charles Camosy, a Catholic thinker from the US. Camosy wanted to prove, that Peter Singer and ethicists looking for the inspiration in Christian thought can cooperate on many issues and to present their positions as radically polarized is incorrect. This paper is focused on the critical presentation of Camosy’s argument. The research he conducted to support his thesis is useful for understanding the whole discussion between Peter Singer and Christian ethics. His method could be a new standard of discussion between different ethical approaches. In the last part of this paper, it will be suggested, that the author has marginalized some unavoidable obstacles, which make a dialogue between Christian ethics and the famous Australian bioethicsist very difficult. Among them, understanding the notion of person, as well as the reluctance of Christians to pragmaticly compromise in the field of ethics are worth noticing.W artykule zostanie przedstawiona ciekawa próba wykazania, że różnice stanowisk między Peterem Singerem a szeroko rozumianą etyką chrześcijańską są mniejsze, niż by się mogło wydawać. Pogląd ten przedstawił w swojej książce pt. Peter Singer and Christian ethics. Beyond polarization Charles Camosy, katolicki etyk z USA. Celem jego pracy było wykazanie, że Peter Singer i etycy szukający inspiracji w myśli chrześcijańskiej mogą pracować razem w wielu kwestiach i że przedstawianie tych stanowisk jako radykalnie przeciwnych jest błędne. W niniejszym artykule tok rozumowania Camosy’ego będzie zreferowany i poddany krytycznej refleksji. Rzetelna praca badawcza, jakiej podjął się Camosy dla udowodnienia swoich tez, jest nowatorska i wiele wnosi do zrozumienia istoty sporu. Metoda, którą się posłużył, może wyznaczyć nowy standard dla dialogu między współczesnymi systemami etycznymi. W ostatniej części artykułu zostanie jednak zasugerowane, że autor marginalizuje pewne nieusuwalne trudności w sporze między etyką chrześcijańską a najbardziej znanym australijskim bioetykiem. Do takich trudności należy, jak się wydaje, radykalnie różne rozumienie pojęcia „osoba” oraz niechęć etyki chrześcijańskiej do pragmatycznych kompromisów w obszarze moralności
Distributed processing and temporal codes in neuronal networks
Full text linkThe cerebral cortex presents itself as a distributed dynamical system with the characteristics of a small world network. The neuronal correlates of cognitive and executive processes often appear to consist of the coordinated activity of large assemblies of widely distributed neurons. These features require mechanisms for the selective routing of signals across densely interconnected networks, the flexible and context dependent binding of neuronal groups into functionally coherent assemblies and the task and attention dependent integration of subsystems. In order to implement these mechanisms, it is proposed that neuronal responses should convey two orthogonal messages in parallel. They should indicate (1) the presence of the feature to which they are tuned and (2) with which other neurons (specific target cells or members of a coherent assembly) they are communicating. The first message is encoded in the discharge frequency of the neurons (rate code) and it is proposed that the second message is contained in the precise timing relationships between individual spikes of distributed neurons (temporal code). It is further proposed that these precise timing relations are established either by the timing of external events (stimulus locking) or by internal timing mechanisms. The latter are assumed to consist of an oscillatory modulation of neuronal responses in different frequency bands that cover a broad frequency range from 40 Hz (gamma) and ripples. These oscillations limit the communication of cells to short temporal windows whereby the duration of these windows decreases with oscillation frequency. Thus, by varying the phase relationship between oscillating groups, networks of functionally cooperating neurons can be flexibly configurated within hard wired networks. Moreover, by synchronizing the spikes emitted by neuronal populations, the saliency of their responses can be enhanced due to the coincidence sensitivity of receiving neurons in very much the same way as can be achieved by increasing the discharge rate. Experimental evidence will be reviewed in support of the coexistence of rate and temporal codes. Evidence will also be provided that disturbances of temporal coding mechanisms are likely to be one of the pathophysiological mechanisms in schizophrenia
Anthropology, Genocide and Imagery
No full textWydaje się, że antropologia długo dojrzewała do podjęcia tematu ludobójstwa albo – patrząc na to z drugiej strony – długo ten temat omijała. Przemiany, jakie zaszły w tej dziedzinie w drugiej połowie XX w. i później, wraz z coraz bardziej znaczącym oddziaływaniem antropologii zaangażowanej, zmieniły tę sytuację. André Singer, antropolog i filmowiec, był w ostatnich latach w różnym charakterze zaangażowany w produkcję trzech filmów – Scena zbrodni (reż. Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012), Scena ciszy (reż. Joshua Oppenheimer, 2014) i Ciemności skryją ziemię (reż. André Singer, 2014) – które wykorzystały ruchome obrazy do sportretowania ludobójstw dokonanych w całkiem odmiennych okolicznościach w Europie i Indonezji. W niniejszym tekście, na podstawie materiału zgromadzonego do wspomnianych filmów, Singer zastanawia się, czy paradygmat antropologiczny przyczynia się bądź czy mógłby się przyczynić do lepszego zrozumienia tych fenomenów.It seems that anthropology needed time to take up the topic of genocide or from another point of view, avoided the subject altogether. Transformations that took part in the discipline during the second half of the 20th century and later on, together with the growing importance of engaged anthropology, changed this. In recent years Andre Singer, an anthropologist and filmmaker, was involved in various capacities in the production of three films: The Act of Killing (dir. Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012), The Look of Silence (dir. Joshua Oppenheimer, 2014) and Night Will Fall (dir. Andre Singer, 2014) – which used moving images to portray genocide carried out in completely different circumstances in Europe and in Indonesia. In this text Singer is looking at whether the anthropological paradigm can contribute to the better understanding of these phenomena
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