The need for a theory

2019 ◽  
pp. 52-72
Author(s):  
Peter Carruthers

The present chapter argues that the problem of animal consciousness can’t be tackled directly, without commitment to any particular theory of consciousness. In the course of doing so, it discusses evidence of the existence of unconscious perceptual states, as well as one recent effort to put the emergence of consciousness into phylogenetic context. Finally, it outlines the constraints that a successful theory of consciousness should meet.

1991 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-8
Author(s):  
Harold Herzog
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
pp. 024
Author(s):  
Rym Msadek ◽  
Gilles Garric ◽  
Sara Fleury ◽  
Florent Garnier ◽  
Lauriane Batté ◽  
...  

L'Arctique est la région du globe qui s'est réchauffée le plus vite au cours des trente dernières années, avec une augmentation de la température de surface environ deux fois plus rapide que pour la moyenne globale. Le déclin de la banquise arctique observé depuis le début de l'ère satellitaire et attribué principalement à l'augmentation de la concentration des gaz à effet de serre aurait joué un rôle important dans cette amplification des températures au pôle. Cette fonte importante des glaces arctiques, qui devrait s'accélérer dans les décennies à venir, pourrait modifier les vents en haute altitude et potentiellement avoir un impact sur le climat des moyennes latitudes. L'étendue de la banquise arctique varie considérablement d'une saison à l'autre, d'une année à l'autre, d'une décennie à l'autre. Améliorer notre capacité à prévoir ces variations nécessite de comprendre, observer et modéliser les interactions entre la banquise et les autres composantes du système Terre, telles que l'océan, l'atmosphère ou la biosphère, à différentes échelles de temps. La réalisation de prévisions saisonnières de la banquise arctique est très récente comparée aux prévisions du temps ou aux prévisions saisonnières de paramètres météorologiques (température, précipitation). Les résultats ayant émergé au cours des dix dernières années mettent en évidence l'importance des observations de l'épaisseur de la glace de mer pour prévoir l'évolution de la banquise estivale plusieurs mois à l'avance. Surface temperatures over the Arctic region have been increasing twice as fast as global mean temperatures, a phenomenon known as arctic amplification. One main contributor to this polar warming is the large decline of Arctic sea ice observed since the beginning of satellite observations, which has been attributed to the increase of greenhouse gases. The acceleration of Arctic sea ice loss that is projected for the coming decades could modify the upper level atmospheric circulation yielding climate impacts up to the mid-latitudes. There is considerable variability in the spatial extent of ice cover on seasonal, interannual and decadal time scales. Better understanding, observing and modelling the interactions between sea ice and the other components of the climate system is key for improved predictions of Arctic sea ice in the future. Running operational-like seasonal predictions of Arctic sea ice is a quite recent effort compared to weather predictions or seasonal predictions of atmospheric fields like temperature or precipitation. Recent results stress the importance of sea ice thickness observations to improve seasonal predictions of Arctic sea ice conditions during summer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 731-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehmet Şükrü Bellibaş ◽  
Sedat Gümüş

Purpose While the current knowledge in the field of educational leadership and management (EDLM) has been primarily based on research produced in English-speaking Western societies, there have been significant efforts by other societies to contribute to the knowledge production, especially during the past decade. The purpose of this paper is to identify the contribution of Turkey to the international EDLM literature by investigating the topical focus, conceptual frameworks and research designs of papers published by EDLM scholars from Turkey. Design/methodology/approach Descriptive content analysis method was employed to examine 315 empirical, review, conceptual and commentary papers published by Turkish scholars in core educational administration and Web of Science journals. The time period of the review left open-ended. However, in practical terms, it begins in the year 1994 when the first article from Turkey was published in any of the selected sources and ends at the end of 2018. Information relevant to the research was extracted from each article and was coded to facilitate quantitative analysis. Using Excel software, descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages were provided for each research question. Findings Results show that Turkish EDLM scholars mostly rely on survey based quantitative research approach, employing advanced statistical techniques in the analysis of the data. However, mixed method and qualitative studies are relatively less common. Organizational behavior, school leadership and emotions stand out as most frequently used topics, while Turkish scholars are not interested in analyzing the educational outcomes such as student achievement and school improvement. Consistent with the findings related to topical foci, a large number of those who were interested in correlational studies examined the relationship between leadership roles and organizational behaviors. Research limitations/implications The data set only included journal articles and excluded conference proceedings, books and theses/dissertations. Nevertheless, the authors believe this review adds significantly to previous reviews of local EDLM journals conducted by Turkish scholars. The authors concluded that the Turkish scholars should direct their future research to exploring and better understanding the practices of Turkish principals in schools by: diversifying their research topics; incorporating more qualitative and mixed-method designs; and taking into account specific features of the culture and educational system in Turkey. Practical implications Based on the current higher education context, reducing scholars’ teaching load, diversifying research funding opportunities, and modifying access to tenure tracks seem necessary interventions to support EDLM research with strong ties to practice and to the sociocultural context. In addition, policy changes aiming professionalization of administrative positions and establishing some forms of formal training for school principalship are needed. Such changes can help transfer the knowledge produced by the Turkish EDLM researchers to the practice and provide solutions to problems related to school administration. Originality/value This paper will add to recent effort to identify how a developing nation outside Western perspective approaches the field, and contributes to the global knowledge base.


2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avery Kolers

It is by now widely agreed that a theory of territorial rights must be able to explain attachment or particularity: what can link a particular group to a particular place with the kind of normative force necessary to forbid encroachment or colonization? Attachment is one of the pillars on which any successful theory of territory will have to stand. But the notion of attachment is not yet well understood, and such agreement as does exist relies on unexamined assumptions. One such assumption is that attachment is an achievement of some sort, as opposed to some kind of brute ascriptive status that a claimant has irrespective of anything it might do.But achievements do not come for free. ‘Achievement’ is a success term, and any theory predicated on success, no matter how minimal, requires a theory of failure. Yet theorists of territory have not grappled with the problem of failure.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (supp01) ◽  
pp. 1850139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen Chin Ong

Torsion-based modified theories of gravity, such as [Formula: see text] gravity, are arguably one of the very few “true” modified gravities based on well-defined geometric structures. However, the original formulation explicitly works in a specific choice of frame, which has led to considerable amount of confusion in the literature about these theories breaking local Lorentz invariance. Pathological properties such as superluminal propagation and the lack of well-posedness of Cauchy problem were found to plague [Formula: see text] gravity. Recent effort to “covariantize” [Formula: see text] gravity has, however, renewed interests in this subject. In this proceeding paper, we review and discuss issues concerning the actual number of degrees of freedom in [Formula: see text] gravity, and how this might relate to the aforementioned pathologies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 527-546
Author(s):  
Betto van Waarden

Multicultural theory pays surprisingly little attention to the plurality of identity. In addition, there is still dissatisfaction with Will Kymlicka’s distinction between polyethnic groups and national minorities and the rights they deserve, as well as continued criticism of liberal multiculturalism more broadly. I revisit this distinction based on Amartya Sen’s recent effort to introduce the notion of identity pluralism into liberal debates. In Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (W.W. Norton and Company, New York, 2006), Sen stresses the importance of maintaining political stability through individuals’ plural identities mainly in relation to religious divides and global conflict. Sen’s theory is criticised for being too abstract, but I interpret these abstract ideas to criticise Kymlicka’s distinction between polyethnic groups and national minorities and strengthen liberal multiculturalism. I argue that the notion of identity pluralism implies that a state must promote multicultural ‘participation rights’ for all minority identities, rather than ‘accommodation rights’ for polyethnic groups and ‘self-government rights’ for national minorities as Kymlicka contends. Consequently, regions like Quebec, Flanders and Catalonia would not merit the level of autonomy they currently enjoy, and Scotland should not be granted independence from the United Kingdom.


2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang-Jin “CJ” Kim

Abstract This paper introduces the recent effort to use surface tension in MEMS, especially, to use electrowetting for efficient pumping in microfluidics. Importance of surface tension in microscale is explained, and examples of utilizing it to design microdevices are presented. Development of several devices employing different types of electrowetting is explained. Empowered by the efficient pumping by electrowetting microactuation, a programmable digital microfluidic circuit chip is proposed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 81-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry V. Makhov ◽  
Todd J. Martinez ◽  
Dmitrii V. Shalashilin

We present an account of our recent effort to improve simulation of the photodissociation of small heteroaromatic molecules using the Ab Initio Multiple Cloning (AIMC) algorithm. The ultimate goal is to create a quantitative and converged technique for fully quantum simulations which treats both electrons and nuclei on a fully quantum level. We calculate and analyse the total kinetic energy release (TKER) spectra and Velocity Map Images (VMI), and compare the results directly with experimental measurements. In this work, we perform new extensive calculations using an improved AIMC algorithm that now takes into account the tunnelling of hydrogen atoms. This can play an extremely important role in photodissociation dynamics.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document