173,093 research outputs found

    A importância moral da dor e do sofrimento animal na ética de Peter Singer

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    Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Humanas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Filosofia, Florianópolis, 2012.O objetivo desta dissertação é defender a importância moral da consideração da dor e do sofrimento de animais não-humanos. Isso se dá através do principio da igual consideração de interesses desenvolvido por Peter Singer. A senciência possibilita os animais a terem interesses, no mínimo, o interesse evitar a dor e o sofrimento. É por essa razão que devem ser incluídos nas decisões morais. São reconstruídas e analisadas as objeções de Peter Harrison, Carl Cohen, R.G. Frey e Lawrence C. Becker direcionadas ao princípio de Singer, e que criticam os pressupostos básicos, quais sejam, a capacidade de sentirem dor/sofrimento e de terem interesses, sobre os quais se fundamenta a inclusão dos animais nas considerações morais. Cada uma dessas objeções é analisada e criticada de modo a demonstrar suas limitações e inconsistências, juntamente com as implicações morais geradas para seres humanos. Na análise dessas críticas, reforça-se a importância e a consideração moral que deve ser conferida à dor e ao sofrimento dos animais. Após essa discussão teórica, é analisado um caso de âmbito prático: a pesquisa científica sobre o câncer humano através do modelo animal. Verifica-se, a partir do princípio de Singer, a imoralidade de tal procedimento realizado em animais sencientes devido à violação de seus interesses. Com isso, a dissertação enfatiza a exigência ética de abolir o uso de animais nessa prática em razão da incapacidade preditiva dos animais, mas principalmente devido à dor e ao sofrimento causado neles e também aos seres humanos, que ficam sujeitos aos erros, prejuízos e sofrimentos originados pelo intenso uso animal nas pesquisas. Nessa conclusão, se constata que a insistência no uso de animais nos experimentos compromete o cientista a preferir usar seres humanos, uma vez que isso gera mais benefícios e resultados mais seguros. A recusa moral ao uso de humanos em pesquisas implica, por outro lado, na recusa moral do uso de animais, ou seja, sua abolição.Abstract : The aim of this dissertation is to defend the moral importance of considering pain and suffering of nonhuman animals. This is achieved through The Principle of Equal Consideration of Interests developed by Peter Singer. The sentience enables nonhuman animals to have interests, at least the interest of avoiding pain and suffering. That is why it should be included in moral decisions. The objections of Peter Harrison, Carl Cohen, RG Frey and Lawrence C. Becker directed to the principle of Singer are reconstructed and analyzed, as they are criticizing the basic assumptions, i.e., the ability to feel pain/suffering and have interests, upon which is based the inclusion of animals in moral considerations. Each of these objections is analyzed and criticized in order to demonstrate their limitations and inconsistencies, simultaneously with its moral implications for humans. In the analysis of these criticisms, it reinforces the moral importance and considerations that should be given to pain and suffering of animals. After this theoretical discussion, a case study of practical scope is analyzed: animal testing for scientific research on human cancer. It is verified from the Singer's principle that such procedures performed on sentient animals are a violation of their interests and, therefore, immoral. Thus, the dissertation emphasizes the ethical demand to abolish the use of nonhuman animals in this practice due to their predictive inability, but mainly due to the pain and suffering caused to them and also to humans, who are subject to errors, injuries and suffering originated by the intense use of nonhuman animals on research. The conclusion verifies that the insistence on the use of nonhuman animals in experiments moves the scientist to prefer using humans in experiments since it generates greater benefit and more reliable results. The moral refusal to using humans in research implies the moral rejection of the use of animals in experiments and consequently, its abolition

    Powerful Trend Function Tests That are Robust to Strong Serial Correlation with an Application to the Prebisch Singer Hypothesis

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    In 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.

    Innovation and Transformation of Service Business Models through Cloud Technology to Achieve Co-Creation Value within the Service Ecosystem

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    The primary purpose of this study is to use the principles of service science as a foundation approach to provide a path for innovation and transformation service business models (SBMs) through the power of cloud technology within the service ecosystem. In addition, this research, contributes to improve the understanding for the business dynamics behind this transformation in such a way that to explain the processes for GDL to transition to SDL business innovation models. Moreover, this paper seeks to answer the question that how cloud to create value in the context of SBMs within the service ecosystem? This paper is one of the first attempts to integrate these disciplines, so that it offers an original contribution by propose the novel trend in the form of a path with 5 steps for SBMs innovation and transformation and also co-create value. This research has a qualitative approach to seek to answer the research questions that has been adopted based on Kitchenham et al. (2009) seven steps guidelines for conducting a systematic literature review. This paper is the first systematic reviews on the business models that is supported through cloud technology so that conducted using the 45 research articles shortlisted were discussed and analyzed and finally on that basis, a path with 5 steps is provided to answer the research questions. Moreover, this study provides insights to SMEs, ICT vendors, service providers and government agencies to align the business models with cloud services for the most benefits. It also to act as a guide for practitioners to seek and apply such models in their business in order to produce smart solutions that can provision even smarter services

    Determination of critical cooling rates in metallic glass forming alloy libraries through laser spike annealing

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    The glass forming ability (GFA) of metallic glasses (MGs) is quantified by the critical cooling rate (RC). Despite its key role in MG research, experimental challenges have limited measured RC to a minute fraction of known glass formers. We present a combinatorial approach to directly measure RC for large compositional ranges. This is realized through the use of compositionally-graded alloy libraries, which were photo-thermally heated by scanning laser spike annealing of an absorbing layer, then melted and cooled at various rates. Coupled with X-ray diffraction mapping, GFA is determined from direct RC measurements. We exemplify this technique for the Au-Cu-Si system, where we identify Au56Cu27Si17 as the alloy with the highest GFA. In general, this method enables measurements of RC over large compositional areas, which is powerful for materials discovery and, when correlating with chemistry and other properties, for a deeper understanding of MG formation.Peer reviewe

    Obtaining Thickness-Limited Electrospray Deposition for 3D coating

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    The electrospray process utilizes the balance of electrostatic forces and surface tension within a charged spray to produce charged microdroplets with a narrow dispersion in size. In electrospray deposition, each droplet carries a small quantity of suspended material to a target substrate. Past electrospray deposition results fall into two major categories: (1) continuous spray of films onto conducting substrates and (2) spray of isolated droplets onto insulating substrates. A cross-over regime, or a self-limited spray, has only been limitedly observed in the spray of insulating materials onto conductive substrates. In such sprays, a limiting thickness emerges where the accumulation of charge repels further spray. In this study, we examined the parametric spray of several glassy polymers to both categorize past electrospray deposition results and uncover the critical parameters for thickness-limited sprays. The key parameters for determining the limiting thickness were (1) field strength and (2) the spray temperature, related to (1) the necessary repulsive field and (2) the ability for the deposited materials to swell in the carrier solvent vapor and redistribute charge. These control mechanisms can be applied to the uniform or controllably varied microscale coating of complex 3D objects.Peer reviewe

    Electron microscopy and microcalorimetry of the postnatal rat heart (Rattus norvegicus)

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    The interplay of ultrastructure and tissue metabolism was examined in neonatal, infant and adult rat hearts by electron microscopy and microcalorimetry. Morphometry was used to determine parameters of oxygen diffusion capacity (distance between capillaries and mitochondria, capillary surface density) and oxidative metabolic capacity (mitochondrial volume fraction). Thin slices and large samples of living tissue were examined calorimetrically to quantify aerobic metabolism and ischemia tolerance, respectively. After birth, rat hearts grow in parallel to body mass and show characteristics of cellular hypertrophy. Capillary surface density increases from neonatal to infant rats, and decreases to an intermediate value in adult rats. The distance between capillaries and mitochondria shows no significant changes throughout postnatal development. Mitochondrial volume fraction increases continuously until adulthood. The specific aerobic tissue metabolic rate is higher in the neonatal than in the infant and adult rat. However, the ischemic decline in metabolic rate is much slower in the neonatal rat, reflecting an elevated hypoxia tolerance. In conclusion, the neonatal rat heart exhibits a high metabolic rate despite a low mitochondrial volume fraction. The subsequent structural rearrangements can be interpreted as long-term adaptations to the increased postnatal workload and may contribute to the progressive loss of hypoxia tolerance. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

    SINGER, C. Douglas, London.

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    This record was harvested from a previous catalogue system and will be withdrawn in 2025. Information in this record may be superseded or incomplete. Visit this record in UMA's new catalogue at: https://archives.library.unimelb.edu.au/nodes/view/206484Asking Archer to favour his nephew.138032 Item: [1964.0010.00373] "SINGER, C. Douglas, London.

    Distributed processing and temporal codes in neuronal networks

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    The 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

    Short Cuts piece on Springvale blues singer C. C. Warner, who has released a

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    Short Cuts piece on Springvale blues singer C. C. Warner, who has released a CD called Give It Back

    26th Annual African American Living Legends Series - Etta James, Clinton Tatum, Jr., and [unknown]

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    Singer, author, and event honoree Etta James (seated) with Deputy Supervisor Clinton Tatum, Jr. (right) and [unknown] (rear)
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