scholarly journals Modal inferences in science: a tale of two epistemologies

Synthese ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilmari Hirvonen ◽  
Rami Koskinen ◽  
Ilkka Pättiniemi
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Inquiry ◽  
Rich Variety

AbstractRecent epistemology of modality has seen a growing trend towards metaphysics-first approaches. Contrastingly, this paper offers a more philosophically modest account of justifying modal claims, focusing on the practices of scientific modal inferences. Two ways of making such inferences are identified and analyzed: actualist-manipulationist modality (AM) and relative modality (RM). In AM, what is observed to be or not to be the case in actuality or under manipulations, allows us to make modal inferences. AM-based inferences are fallible, but the same holds for practically all empirical inquiry. In RM, modal inferences are evaluated relative to what is kept fixed in a system, like a theory or a model. RM-based inferences are more certain but framework-dependent. While elements from both AM and RM can be found in some existing accounts of modality, it is worth highlighting them in their own right and isolating their features for closer scrutiny. This helps to establish their relevant epistemologies that are free from some strong philosophical assumptions often attached to them in the literature. We close by showing how combining these two routes amounts to a view that accounts for a rich variety of modal inferences in science.

Structural phenomena in the growth of carbon nanotubes

1993 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 750-751
Author(s):  
Jun Jiao
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Nanotubes ◽  
Growth Mechanism ◽  
Carbonaceous Material ◽  
Cluster Growth ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Rich Variety ◽  
Different Shapes ◽  
Point To Point

HREM studies of the carbonaceous material deposited on the cathode of a Huffman-Krätschmer arc reactor have shown a rich variety of multiple-walled nano-clusters of different shapes and forms. The preparation of the samples, as well as the variety of cluster shapes, including triangular, rhombohedral and pentagonal projections, are described elsewhere.The close registry imposed on the nanotubes, focuses attention on the cluster growth mechanism. The strict parallelism in the graphitic separation of the tube walls is maintained through changes of form and size, often leading to 180° turns, and accommodating neighboring clusters and defects. Iijima et. al. have proposed a growth scheme in terms of pentagonal and heptagonal defects and their combinations in a hexagonal graphitic matrix, the first bending the surface inward, and the second outward. We report here HREM observations that support Iijima’s suggestions, and add some new features that refine the interpretation of the growth mechanism. The structural elements of our observations are briefly summarized in the following four micrographs, taken in a Hitachi H-8100 TEM operating at an accelerating voltage of 200 kV and with a point-to-point resolution of 0.20 nm.

A Short History of the People Israel from the Patriarchs to the Messiah

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-207
Author(s):  
Beth A. Berkowitz
Keyword(s):  
Early Period ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Sexual Practice ◽  
Short History ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
Rich Variety ◽  
Political Status ◽  
Leviticus Rabbah ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of

This article addresses recent arguments that question whether “Judaism,” as such, existed in antiquity or whether the Jewishness of the Second Temple period should be characterized in primarily ethnic terms. At stake is the question of whether it is appropriate to speak of Judaism as an abstract system or religion in this early period. An appeal to the under-used collections of Midrash Aggadah provides the context for new insights, focused around a pericope in Leviticus Rabbah that is preoccupied with this very question. This parashah goes well beyond the ethnicity/ religion binary, producing instead a rich variety of paradigms of Jewish identity that include moral probity, physical appearance, relationship to God, ritual life, political status, economics, demographics, and sexual practice.

Dialecticism across the Lifespan: Towards a Deeper Understanding of the Ontogenetic and Cultural Factors Influencing Dialectical Thinking and Emotional Experience

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Grossmann
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cultural Psychology ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Developmental Models ◽  
Empirical Inquiry ◽  
Cultural Processes ◽  
Dialectical Thought

Before dialecticism became a topic of empirical inquiry in cultural psychology, scholars in related disciplines has discussed dialecticism as a model of human development, as an essential component of maturity and wisdom. This review chapter bridged these two perspectives, comparing conceptualizations of dialecticism in developmental and cultural psychology. After reviewing historical portrayals of dialecticism in various philosophical traditions, this chapter provides comparison of historical characterizations with the contemporary treatment of dialecticism in human development and cultural psychology. Both streams -- developmental and cross-cultural -- are proposed as essential for an integral understanding of the construct. Subsequently, the chapter discusses the emerging developmental models of dialecticism across the lifespan and reviews the accompanying empirical evidence, situating it in a cross-cultural context. It concludes with an outline of future directions of research on dialectical thought, with attention to psychological and socio-cultural processes engendering dialecticism across the lifespan.

Sherrington's Loom

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan J. McComas
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Animal Behavior ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Intelligent Systems ◽  
Nerve Cells ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Historical Account ◽  
Rich Variety ◽  
Neurological Patients

‘Sherrington’s Loom’ provides a historical account of the research that has led to recognition of key mechanisms underlying consciousness. Evidence is assembled from a rich variety of sources–neurological patients, animal behavior, laboratory studies and, especially, brain stimulation and recording in humans and animals. Among the remarkable advances in the field has been the ability to identify nerve cells in the human brain that store memories of specific people, places and objects. In addition to dealing with the issue of ‘free will,’ the book assembles the information into possible working schemes for sensations, intentions and actions. The book concludes by considering the possibility of consciousness in artificially intelligent systems.

Dialecticism across the Lifespan

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Grossmann
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cultural Psychology ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Developmental Models ◽  
Empirical Inquiry ◽  
Sociocultural Processes ◽  
Dialectical Thought

Before dialecticism became a topic of empirical inquiry in cultural psychology, scholars in related disciplines had discussed dialecticism as a model of human development, as an essential component of maturity and wisdom. This chapter bridges these two perspectives, comparing conceptualizations of dialecticism in developmental and cultural psychology. After reviewing historical portrayals of dialecticism in various philosophical traditions, the chapter provides a comparison of historical characterizations with the contemporary treatment of dialecticism in human development and cultural psychology. Both streams—developmental and cross-cultural—are proposed as essential for an integral understanding of the construct. Subsequently, the chapter discusses the emerging developmental models of dialecticism across the lifespan and reviews the accompanying empirical evidence, situating it in a cross-cultural context. It concludes with an outline of future directions of research on dialectical thought, with attention to psychological and sociocultural processes engendering dialecticism across the lifespan.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis D. Stimeling
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Country Music ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Music Culture ◽  
Rich Variety ◽  
Ethnographic Studies ◽  
Folklore Studies ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Rich

This chapter offers a historiographic survey of country music scholarship from the publication of Bill C. Malone’s “A History of Commercial Country Music in the United States, 1920–1964” (1965) to the leading publications of the today. Very little of substance has been written on country music recorded since the 1970s, especially when compared to the wealth of available literature on early country recording artists. Ethnographic studies of country music and country music culture are rare, and including ethnographic methods in country music studies offers new insights into the rich variety of ways in which people make, consume, and engage with country music as a genre. The chapter traces the influence of folklore studies, sociology, cultural studies, and musicology on the development of country music studies and proposes some directions for future research in the field.

Qualitative Interviews in Applied Linguistics: From Research Instrument to Social Practice

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 128-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Talmy
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Research Instrument ◽  
Empirical Inquiry ◽  
Interview Research ◽  
Language Communication ◽  
The Status ◽  
Research Interview ◽  
Primary Means

Interviews have been used for decades in empirical inquiry across the social sciences as one or the primary means of generating data. In applied linguistics, interview research has increased dramatically in recent years, particularly in qualitative studies that aim to investigate participants’ identities, experiences, beliefs, and orientations toward a range of phenomena. However, despite the proliferation of interview research in qualitative applied linguistics, it has become equally apparent that there is a profound inconsistency in how the interview has been and continues to be theorized in the field. This article critically reviews a selection of applied linguistics research from the past 5 years that uses interviews in case study, ethnographic, narrative, (auto)biographical, and related qualitative frameworks, focusing in particular on the ideologies of language, communication, and the interview, or the communicable cartographies of interviewing, that are evident in them. By contrasting what is referred to as an interview as research instrument perspective with a research interview as social practice orientation, the article argues for greater reflexivity about the interview methods that qualitative applied linguists use in their studies, the status ascribed to interview data, and how those data are analyzed and represented.

scholarly journals Measuring Legacies of Collective Racial Violence

2021 ◽  
Vol 694 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-139
Author(s):  
Sarah Gaby
Keyword(s):  
Racial Violence ◽  
Spatial Proximity ◽  
Empirical Inquiry ◽  
Legacy Effect ◽  
Housing Segregation ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Racialized Violence ◽  
The Relationship

The “legacy effect” of lynchings and other forms of racialized violence has shaped patterns of inequality in America. While past studies have been relatively similar in their design—relating basic counts of lynchings to various contemporary outcomes—I argue for and demonstrate a more nuanced approach. I show that if we think of racialized violence as more than just the act of lynching, and consider both the temporal and spatial proximity between historic events of racial violence and contemporary inequality, we can establish this relationship in a more fulsome way. In the case of this study, the relationship is drawn to housing segregation. I argue that expanding the conceptualization of racial violence is critical for both empirical inquiry and shaping community efforts around redress.

Normal Neonatal Electroencephalogram at a Glance

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 236-240
Author(s):  
Alberto M. Cappellari
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Neonatal Period ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Brain Maturation ◽  
Rich Variety ◽  
Physiological Markers ◽  
Electroencephalogram Eeg ◽  
Provide Health Care

Interpreting neonatal electroencephalogram (EEG) presents a challenge owing to rapid evolution of EEG patterns occurring during brain maturation in the neonatal period and rich variety of normal patterns of EEG activity, which is difficult to categorize completely. Furthermore, the description of some aspects during maturation varies in different studies. Neonatal EEG is unfamiliar to most neurologists, and its interpretation requires knowledge of the physiological markers of electrogenesis maturation. The purpose of this review was to provide health-care professionals in the neonatal intensive care unit with guidance on the more common normal maturational features of the neonatal EEG. A simplified layout with the essential elements of normal neonatal EEG is included.

A new one-dimensional CdIIcoordination polymer with a two-dimensional layered structure incorporating 2-[(1H-imidazol-1-yl)methyl]-1H-benzimidazole and benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate ligands

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 480-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiu-Ying Huang ◽  
Xiao-Yi Lin ◽  
Xiang-Ru Meng
Keyword(s):  
Layered Structure ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Weak Interactions ◽  
Coordination Geometry ◽  
Dimensional Chain ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Heterocyclic Ligand ◽  
Rich Variety ◽  
Solvent Molecules

The N-heterocyclic ligand 2-[(1H-imidazol-1-yl)methyl]-1H-benzimidazole (imb) has a rich variety of coordination modes and can lead to polymers with intriguing structures and interesting properties. In the coordination polymercatena-poly[[cadmium(II)-bis[μ-benzene-1,2-dicarboxylato-κ4O1,O1′:O2,O2′]-cadmium(II)-bis{μ-2-[(1H-imidazol-1-yl)methyl]-1H-benzimidazole}-κ2N2:N3;κ2N3:N2] dimethylformamide disolvate], {[Cd(C8H4O4)(C11H10N4)]·C3H7NO}n, (I), each CdIIion exhibits an irregular octahedral CdO4N2coordination geometry and is coordinated by four O atoms from two symmetry-related benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate (1,2-bdic2−) ligands and two N atoms from two symmetry-related imb ligands. Two CdIIions are connected by two benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate ligands to generate a binuclear [Cd2(1,2-bdic)2] unit. The binuclear units are further connected into a one-dimensional chain by pairs of bridging imb ligands. These one-dimensional chains are further connected through N—H...O hydrogen bonds and π–π interactions, leading to a two-dimensional layered structure. The dimethylformamide solvent molecules are organized in dimeric pairsviaweak interactions. In addition, the title polymer exhibits good fluorescence properties in the solid state at room temperature.

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