Digital Commons Network^™

Between The Moment And Eternity: How Schillerian Play Can Establish Animals As Moral Agents, Jaime Denison

Between the Species

While concerned with how man achieves his status as a moral being, Friedrich Schiller develops a concept of play that serves as a bridge between our sensuous existence to the rational, realizing moral freedom. In what ways might we extend this concept to the non-human animal? Current research by play theorists and ethologists has shown that play behaviour in animals is both complex and crucial in determining social patterns, and Schiller’s account may have anticipated these observations. I argue that through Schiller’s theory of play and our current research on animal play, it is possible to undermine the systematic removal …

Extreme Humanism: Heidegger, Buber, And The Threshold Of Language, Frank Garrett

Between the Species

Throughout this essay I attempt to bring into focus what I see as the thorniest point of proximity between two giants in twentieth-century ontology; that is, the nature of language in the delineation between human beings and animals within the work of Martin Heidegger and Martin Buber. I consider Heidegger’s conception of world in an attempt to understand how he sees the abyss—as well as the bridge—between animals and humankind. Buber’s more encompassing view of being seems to be a fruitful catalyst for moving Heidegger closer to something at which he hints but from which he withdraws. By exploring the …

A Difference That Makes A Difference: Welfare And The Equality Of Consideration, Elijah Weber

Between the Species

In Welfare, Happiness, and Ethics, L.W. Sumner defends two significant constraints on one’s theory of welfare: formality and generality. An adequate theory of welfare, claims Sumner, must give a constitutive account of the “good-for” relation. This constitutive account must be sufficiently general that any entity whose status as a welfare subject is uncontroversial falls within its scope. This paper will argue that Sumner’s proposed constraints are particularly significant to utilitarian arguments for the equal moral considerability of non-human animals. In the absence of these constraints, the inconsistency that is alleged to follow from denying moral considerability to non-human animals, while …

Innocent And Innocuous: The Case Against Animal Research, Joel Marks

Between the Species

No abstract provided.

Husbandry To Industry: Animal Agriculture, Ethics And Public Policy, Jes Harfeld

Between the Species

The industrialisation of agriculture has led to considerable alterations at both the technological and economical levels of animal farming. Several animal welfare issues of modern animal agriculture – e.g. stress and stereotypical behaviour – can be traced back to the industrialised intensification of housing and numbers of animals in production. Although these welfare issues dictate ethical criticism, it is the claim of this article that such direct welfare issues are only the forefront of a greater systemic ethical problem inherent to industrialisation. Consequently, this article provides an analysis of the foundational ethical problems in animal agriculture which derive from (I) …

The Ethics Of The Ecology Of Fear Against The Nonspeciesist Paradigm: A Shift In The Aims Of Intervention In Nature, Oscar Horta

Between the Species

Humans often intervene in the wild for anthropocentric or environmental reasons. An example of such interventions is the reintroduction of wolves in places where they no longer live in order to create what has been called an “ecology of fear”, which is being currently discussed in places such as Scotland. In the first part of this paper I discuss the reasons for this measure and argue that they are not compatible with a nonspeciesist approach. Then, I claim that if we abandon a speciesist viewpoint we should change completely the way in which we should intervene in nature. Rather than …

Animals And Animals, Laurence Thomas

Between the Species

Speciesism is the wrong of not acknowledging the moral qualities that non-human animals possess that are similar or equivalent or even superior to the moral qualities that human beings possess. However, since it is manifestly clear that no one thinks that apes are in any way obligated to human beings, it clearly cannot be a form of speciesism to be mindful of the differences on the basis of which that is so. In opposition to the advocates of the Great Ape Project, my aim in this essay is to establish the quite minimal claim that apes should not have the …

The Hunt: A Short Story, Josephine Donovan

Between the Species

No abstract provided.

Review Of Marti Kheel’S Nature Ethics: An Ecofeminist Perspective, Rachel Fernflores

Between the Species

No abstract provided.

Review Of Jean Kazez's Animalkind: What We Owe To Animals, James Stanescu

Between the Species

No abstract provided.

The Proteomic Response Of The Mussel Congeners Mytilus Gallaprovincialis And M. Trossulus To Acute Heat Stress: Implications For Thermal Tolerance Limits And Metabolic Costs Of Thermal Stress, Lars Tomanek, Marcus J. Zuzow

Biological Sciences

The Mediterranean blue mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, an invasive species in California, has displaced the more heat-sensitive native congener, Mytilus trossulus, from its former southern range, possibly due to climate change. By comparing the response of their proteomes to acute heat stress we sought to identify responses common to both species as well as differences that account for greater heat tolerance in the invasive. Mussels were acclimated to 13°C for four weeks and exposed to acute heat stress (24°C, 28°C and 32°C) for 1 h and returned to 13°C to recover for 24 h. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and …

Zooplankton Avoidance Of A Profiled Open-Path Fluorometer, Kelly J. Benoit-Bird, Mark A. Moline, Oscar M. Schofield, Ian C. Robbins, Chad M. Waluk

Biological Sciences

Significant avoidance of acoustically detected zooplankton was observed in response to a profiling instrument package. Avoidance decreased acoustic scattering from zooplankton averaged over the entire profile by more than a factor of 2, while the maximum avoidance decreased zooplankton acoustic scattering by a factor of 15 over the depth of some discrete scattering layers. Experimental manipulation of the profiler and its instruments revealed that an open-path fluorometer was triggering the avoidance. Avoidance occurred at an average of 8 m below the profiler with a range between 2 and 13 m. Effect range was positively correlated with the average attenuation coefficient …

Whale Wars And The Public Screen: Mediating Animal Ethics In Violent Times, Richard D. Besel, Renee S. Besel

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Animals As Friends, Cynthia Townley

Between the Species

Whether animals, especially companion animals, count as friends depends on the conception of friendship as well as on the conception of animals. Some accounts of friendship can include (other than human) animals more easily than others. I present an argument in favour of characterising some animal-human connections as friendships, and address some of the standard objections to this characterisation. It might seem that under any conception of friendship, characterising animals as (potential) friends would likely lead to better treatment of animals, as various kinds of ill-treatment or use would not be consistent with treating someone as a friend. However, concern …

Second Nature And Animal Life, Stefano Di Brisco

Between the Species

I am concerned in this paper with McDowell's account of human uniqueness in nature in terms of a fundamental difference between humans and animals. I try to show that the concept of that difference is relevant for a Wittgensteinian understanding of the place of rationality in nature. I then develop an internal criticism of McDowell's transcendental way of approaching this topic by using Diamond's insights about the importance of the details for a realistic philosophical account of human mindedness. My aim is to show that the difference between humans and animals is constitutive of our understanding of what it means …

Discourse First, Cages Second: A New Locus For Animal Liberation, Brianne Donaldson

Between the Species

The Animal that was named, categorized, and excluded from the human community by the Greeks has seeped into society at multiple points. This Animal now exists in a paradoxical limbo where she is both excluded from social standing and moral consideration while at the same time being included, utilized and discussed within all sectors of society from advertising to philosophy, neuroscience to the pet industry, religion to farming. Thus, animals have been caught up in multiple mechanisms of explanatory terminology, symbolic use, and physical captivity which all work together to create a Discourse of the Animal, which is employed both …

Review Of Wesley J. Smith's A Rat Is A Pig Is A Dog Is A Boy: The Human Cost Of The Animal Rights Movement, Angus Taylor

Between the Species

No abstract provided.

Annual Summary Of Grant And Contract Activity Fiscal Year 2010, Grants Development Office

Grants Development Office Reports

No abstract provided.

Grants And Contracts Awarded In Fiscal Year 2010, Grants Development Office

Grants Development Office Reports

No abstract provided.

A Re-Balanced Scorecard: A Strategic Approach To Enhance Managerial Performance In Complex Environments, Joseph H. Callaghan, Arline Savage, Steven Mintz

Accounting

This paper is a proposal to develop conceptual and practical frameworks for evolving corporations seeking to improve their managerial performance in complex environments with actionable strategies for dealing with social, environmental and corporate governance issues. These frameworks are coalesced by social contract theory that extends the traditional view of the firm as a nexus of contracts to a broader view of the firm as a nexus of social contracts. A re-balanced scorecard is proposed to induce and evaluate management performance that captures important dimensions and aspects of the frameworks established for firms strategically choosing to change their long term objectives …

Meeting The Challenges: The Western Section's Role In Developing Tomorrow's Resource Management Professionals, John D. Perrine

Biological Sciences

The following is a slightly edited version of a plenary address delivered at the Western Section annual meeting in January 2009. The plenary theme was “The view from the future: wildlife management challenges and opportunities of the next 100 years.” Key references are listed at the end of the address. Readers will also be interested in the Winter 2009 (Vol. 3, No. 4) issue of The Wildlife Professional, which contains a special section on the preparation and training of future wildlife professionals.

Leading Creative People: Lessons From Advertising Guru Jacques Séguéla, Christophe Haag, Jean-François Coget

Management, HR and Information Systems

In this article, we explore perspectives on how to lead creative people through examples from a practitioner. We interviewed iconic French advertising guru Jacques Séguéla, Chief Communication Officer of Havas, France’s second largest and the world’s sixth largest advertising and communication company, who leads 800 designers worldwide. Séguéla is famous for creating successful advertising and political campaigns, and authoring numerous best-selling books on advertising. Through a series of real-life anecdotes, Séguéla talks about the importance of emotions, emotional intelligence, action, and intuition in leading creative people. Following the interview, we discuss some of Séguéla’s key assertions in relation to existing …

Electrochemical Sensing In Paper-Based Microfluidic Devices, Zhihong Nie, Christian A. Nijhuis, Jinlong Gong, Xin Chen, Alexander Kumachev, Andres W. Martinez, Max Narovlyansky, George M. Whitesides

Chemistry and Biochemistry

This paper describes the fabrication and the performance of microfluidic paper-based electrochemical sensing devices (we call the microfluidic paper-based electrochemical devices, μPEDs). The μPEDs comprise paper-based microfluidic channels patterned by photolithography or wax printing, and electrodes screen-printed from conducting inks (e.g., carbon or Ag/AgCl). We demonstrated that the μPEDs are capable of quantifying the concentrations of various analytes (e.g., heavy-metal ions and glucose) in aqueous solutions. This low-cost analytical device should be useful for applications in public health, environmental monitoring, and the developing world.

Neither A Wife Nor A Whore: Deconstructing Feminine Icons In Catherine Breillat's Une Vieille Maîtresse, Douglas Keesey

English

This article undertakes a close reading of Catherine Breillat’s recent film Une vieille maîtresse (2007) to show why this, her first heritage film, is nevertheless strongly relevant to the gender politics of today. The author argues that Breillat’s cinematic deconstruction of differences between women is designed to undo the polarising effect of patriarchal representations of women as madonnas or whores — media images still prevalent even in these days of mixité and parité. Despite a tendency on the part of some reviewers to take the film’s gender images at face value, the author argues that Breillat’s interest lies not …

Quantum Mechanics And Ethical Antirealism: A Counter-Analogy To Boyd, Justin Lawson

Philosophy

In his paper How to Be a Moral Realist Boyd attempts to show how cases of ethical indeterminacy can be accounted for from an ethical realist’s standpoint. Boyd describes cases of extensional vagueness in the life-sciences which arise from knowable and definite underlying structures and draws an analogy to ethics to argue his case. This paper argues that an equally compelling analogy can be drawn between another type of scientific indeterminacy – that in quantum mechanics – and the related ethical cases. Because quantum mechanical uncertainty (on the Copenhagen interpretation) is a real and not merely epistemic limitation on physical …

Design And Development Of An Integrated Waste Management System For Huai Nam Khun, Thailand, Annie Duong

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Background

A rural village in Thailand has always been limited in access to waste collection services and processing facilities. As a result, their behaviors of disposing waste in ineffective manners such as dumping and burning causes a variety of environmental impacts. In addition, the people dwelling in these areas are often unaware of the health risks associated to these types of engagements because of the inadequate education system. For a long time coming these circumstances remained untouched until a non-profit organization recently shed light to the need for a solution. An investigation, to develop a design solution in order to …

Environmental Savings Tracking System For Cisco Systems, Inc., Lauren J. Herrera

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This paper illustrates the research, methodology and design used to create an environmental savings tracking system, also known as the Green Dashboard, for Cisco Systems Inc.’s Green Initiatives Group to quantify and capture an annualized summary of savings from projects initiated within its Customer Value Chain Management Organization. It articulately describes the

methodology behind the selection of metrics and the design of the process required to collect and track these quantitative direct savings. As well as describes the benefits associated with implementing this system, such as shifting Cisco towards more sustainable products and increased customer satisfaction and investor relations by …

Investigating The Protective Properties Of Milk Phospholipids Against Ultraviolet Light Exposure In A Skin Equivalent Model, Ashley Russell, Andrea Laubscher, Rafael Jiménez-Flores, Lily H. Laiho

Dairy Science

Current research on bioactive molecules in milk has documented health advantages of bovine milk and its components. Milk Phospholipids, selected for this study, represent molecules with great potential benefit in human health and nutrition. In this study we used confocal reflectance and multiphoton microscopy to monitor changes in skin morphology upon skin exposure to ultraviolet light and evaluate the potential of milk phospholipids in preventing photodamage to skin equivalent models. The results suggest that milk phospholipids act upon skin cells in a protective manner against the effect of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Similar results were obtained from MTT tissue viability assay …

Digester Selection And Operation For Heybeli Island, Spencer Fackler, Joseph Violetti

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The Heybeli Digester project originated with Sema Alptekin in her personal research and was incorporated into a Senior Project opportunity at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The aim of this project was to select and design a plan for the use of a digester for the island of Heybeli, Turkey. The objective of this plan was to incorporate economic, social, and environmental justifications to evaluate if a digester would be a benefit to the community.

Systems Engineering analysis is a vital tool when working with complicated projects that include multiple systems interfacing with one another. Through the use …

Ethics Of Human Enhancement: 25 Questions & Answers, Fritz Allhoff, Patrick Lin, James Moor, John Weckert

Philosophy

This paper presents the principal findings from a three-year research project funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) on ethics of human enhancement technologies. To help untangle this ongoing debate, we have organized the discussion as a list of questions and answers, starting with background issues and moving to specific concerns, including: freedom & autonomy, health & safety, fairness & equity, societal disruption, and human dignity. Each question-and answer pair is largely self-contained, allowing the reader to skip to those issues of interest without affecting continuity.