Unplanned Coordination: Ensemble Improvisation as Collective Action

The characteristic features of ensemble dance improvisation (EDI) make it an interesting case for theories of intentional collective action. These features include the high degree of freedom enjoyed by each individual, and the lack of fixed hierarchical roles, rigid decision procedures, or detailed plans. We present a “reductive” approach to collective action, apply it to EDI, and show how the theory enriches our perspective on this practice. We show, with the help of our theory of collective action, that EDI (as typically practiced) constitutes a significant collective achievement, one that manifests an impressive, spontaneous, jointly cooperative and individually highly autonomous activity that meets demanding aesthetic standards. Its being good in this way is not a mere extrinsic feature of the artwork, but part of its aesthetic value. We end by discussing how this value is easily missed by classic aesthetics, but is revealed by more contemporary frameworks like social aesthetics.

Morphology controlled deposition of ZnO single micro-nanorods

The ZnO micro-nanorods are controlledly synthesized by a simple chemical vapor deposition method. With different oxygen concentrations the micro-nanorods exhibit different extrinsic feature and length. Under lower oxygen concentration, the micro-nanorods are up to 1670 μm in length which can be easily operated in singlecrystalline. When the oxygen concentration up to 30 sccm, the surface of the sample is smoother. The Raman spectra reveal that ZnO micro-nanorods have an excellent hexagonal wurtzite structure. However, the micronanorods synthesized during lower oxygen concentration exhibit more oxygen defect. The morphology controlling deposition of ZnO mircro-nanorods were realized by adjust the concentration of oxygen, which has great significance for further gas sensor application.

Locke on Individuation and Kinds

Locke has been accused of endorsing a theory of kinds that is inconsistent with his theory of individuation. This purported inconsistency comes to the fore in Locke’s treatment of cases involving organisms and the masses of matter that constitute them, for example, the case of a mass constituting an oak tree. In this essay, I argue that this purported problem, known as ‘The Kinds Problem’, can be solved. The Kinds Problem depends on the faulty assumption that nominal essences include only features observable at a time t. Once this assumption is rejected, new candidates open up for the relevant difference in the world that is included in the nominal essence of e.g. mass but not oak tree. And I argue that there is at least one good candidate for the extrinsic feature observable only over time in which the mass differs from the oak it constitutes, namely its persistence conditions. The Kinds Problem can be solved.