Digital Commons Network^™

Revisionism About Free Will: A Statement And Defense, Manuel R. Vargas

Philosophy

This article summarizes and extends the moderate revisionist position I put forth in Four Views on Free Will and responds to objections to it from Robert Kane, John Martin Fischer, Derk Pereboom, and Michael McKenna. Among the principle topics of the article are (1) motivations for revisionism, what it is, and how it is different from compatibilism and hard incompatibilism, (2) an objection to libertarianism based on the moral costs of its current epistemic status, (3) an objection to the distinctiveness of semicompatibilism against conventional forms of compatibilism and (4) whether moderate revisionism is committed to realism about moral responsibility.

Modeling Parasitism Rate And Parasitism Risk: An Illustration Using A Colonially Nesting Songbird, The Red-Winged Blackbird Agelaius Phoeniceus, Max Post Van Der Burg, Larkin A. Powell, Andrew J. Tyre

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Ornithologists interested in the drivers of nest success and brood parasitism benefit from the development of new analytical approaches. One example is the development of so-called “log exposure” models for analyzing nest success. However, analyses of brood parasitism data have not kept pace with developments in nest success analyses. The standard approach uses logistic regression which does not account for multiple parasitism events, nor does it prevent bias from using observed proportions of parasitized nests. Likewise, logistic regression analyses do not capture fine scale temporal variation in parasitism. At first glance, it might be tempting to apply log exposure models …

Meeting The Needs Of The Modern Workplace Through Employment Academic Partnership, Roadmap For Employment-Academic Partnerships, Terry Maguire, Robert Murphy, David Kirk

Reports

No abstract provided.

Breaking Boundaries: Patterns In Interdisciplinary Citation, Research Trends Editorial Board

Research Trends

Collaboration has always been an essential aspect of scientific research. Today, technology is making it easier for researchers in one field to access and identify useful research in other subjects. We take a look at citations made to other subjects to see whether collaboration is increasing and in which areas.

Turning The Ranking Tables On Their Head: How To Improve Your Standing, Research Trends Editorial Board

Research Trends

Rankings are a useful way for outsiders to assess the relative value of different universities, and administrators are quickly learning that improving their ranking is a useful mark of quality. But what are the rankers looking at, and how can a university show its best side? We speak to one university that is making the rankings work in its favor.

Volume 44 - Issue 24 - Friday, May 1, 2009, Rose Thorn Staff

The Rose Thorn Archive

The Rose Thorn, Rose-Hulman's independent student newspaper.

Respect In Inner City Schools, Nicole Baccanti

Education Masters

This capstone focuses on respect within schools in the inner city. The literature review focused on emotional behavioral disorders and poverty, mainly whether or not the two are linked together. To find the presence of respect in the inner city schools, teachers and students were asked fill out a questionnaire giving their opinions on what respect is, giving and receiving of respect and whether or not respect is given at home. Ultimately, it was proven that the definition of respect between teachers and students is very different, thus resulting in a conflict that plays out in the classroom.

Dairy Profitability 101: Milk Quality And Feed Efficiency, Alvaro Garcia

SDSU Extension Extra Archives

In very simple terms, dairy profitability can be defined as the difference between milk prices and the cost of production, multiplied by the pounds of milk produced. Thus, milk prices, the cost of production, and the pounds of milk produced are the three critical components for dairy profitability. Therefore, it is very important for producers to have a firm grasp on the three components (price, cost, and volume) of this equation and attempt to modify them in their favor. When milk prices are high and input costs low, producers should use all possible means to improve production and increase gross …

Seedlings’ Substrate Preferences In A Minnesota Old Growth Thuja-Betula Forest, Stephen C. Rossiter

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

Northeastern Minnesota’s logging history has altered the forests enough to cause concern about the reproduction of Thuja occidentalis and Betula alleghaniensis. I studied a rare old growth example of an already rare mesic Thuja-Betula forest and asked how well those species were regenerating in that mostly unaltered ecosystem. In managed forests, a lack of suitable substrate is thought to be limiting their seedling establishment so I asked which substrates the seedlings preferred in the old forest. To answer both questions, I measured the seedling densities of all canopy tree species across height classes and substrate types within twenty 100m2 plots. …

Natural Ice-Nucleating Bacteria Increase The Freezing Tolerance Of The Intertidal Bivalve Geukensia Demissa, Alexander M. Mccorkle

Biology Honors Papers

Instead of avoiding freezing, freeze tolerant invertebrates actively initiate controlled ice nucleation at relatively high sub-zero temperatures in extracellular compartments. Most produce proteinaceous ice-nucleators in their hemolymph, however the intertidal bivalve mollusc Geukensia demissa lacks this ability. Instead it utilizes at least one strain of ice-nucleation active (INA) bacteria, Pseudomonas fulva, present in seawater, to induce crystallization in the pallial fluid that fills its mantle cavity. In this study, two additional INA bacteria strains were isolated from the palial fluid of Geukensia demissa: Psychrobacter sp. and Shewanella sp. The ice-nucleation activity of both strains was characterized and Psychrobacter was found …

Strategies To Encourage And Support The Reluctant Middle School Male Reader, Wendy L. Poppema

Master of Education Program Theses

Studies (Lee, Grigg, & Donahue, 2007) show that girls outperform boys on reading tests and that boys, especially older boys, are less likely to read for enjoyment in and out of school (Scholastic, 2008). Societal pressure, lack of literacy skills, and lack of motivation are all obstacles that contribute to these findings. In order to raise test scores and the level of reading engagement, teachers, parents, and librarians need to connect these reluctant male readers with books and other reading material that they want to read. Boys prefer non-traditional texts, and though fiction is not a preference, boys crave certain …

Spring 2009, Robert R. Muntz Library

Muntz Library Musings

No abstract provided.

Benchmarks 2009, May 29, The Rockefeller University

BenchMarks 2009

BenchMarks. Friday, May 29, 2009

The community newsletter of The Rockefeller University

BenchMarks is published monthly and is distributed on the campus of The Rockefeller University. It produced by the Office of Communications and Public Affairs

Engineering News, Spring 2009, School Of Engineering

Engineering News

No abstract provided.

The H1n1 Influenza A Virus: A Test Case For A Global Response, Rebecca L. Katz, Karyn Feiden

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

The threat of widespread infection from the new H1N1 influenza A virus (also known as a swine flu virus) provides the first real-time test of the global and domestic preparedness activities that have moved forward over the past few years. The World Health Organization has declared the event a "public health emergency of international concern," the first time that designation has been used under the revised International Health Regulations. A public health emergency has also been declared in the United States.

Those steps have pushed influenza plans at the local, state, national, and global levels into motion. This paper reviews …

University Of Minnesota, Morris 2009 Commencement, University Relations

UMM Commencement

The University of Minnesota, Morris's Forty-sixth Commencement Saturday, May 16, 2009 1:30 p.m., campus mall

Ufa Aac Library Sub-Committee Meeting Minutes, May 2009, Barbara Swartzlander

UFA AAC Library Sub-committee Meeting Minutes

Meeting report from the University Faculty Assembly Academic Affairs Committee's Library Sub-committee meeting at the University of New England.

Block And Traditional School Schedules: Comparison Of Student Achievement By Msat Scores And High School Science Teachers' Views, Robert Decker Smith

Dissertations

This study attempts to compare schools that are using a traditional scheduling format to a block scheduling format. Both critics and proponents acknowledge that the block schedule can provide more benefits than just student achievement. This study also attempts to address the perceptions of current Mississippi high school science teachers about the advantages and disadvantages to the block schedule as compared to the traditional schedule.

This study utilized MSAT test scores from 69 (34 block and 35 traditional) public schools throughout the state of Mississippi. This data was used to test 10 hypotheses. Student achievement was measured using both the …

Assessing Access Of Galactic Cosmic Rays At Moon's Orbit, Chia-Lin L. Huang, Harlan E. Spence, B. T. Kress

Physics & Astronomy

[1] Characterizing the lunar radiation environment is essential for preparing future robotic and human explorations on lunar bases. Galactic cosmic rays (GCR) represent one source of ionizing radiation at the Moon that poses a biological risk. Because GCR are charged particles, their paths are affected by the magnetic fields along their trajectories. Unlike the Earth, the Moon has no strong, shielding magnetic field of its own. However, as it orbits Earth, the Moon traverses not only the weak interplanetary magnetic field but also the distant magnetic tail of Earth's magnetosphere. We combine an empirical magnetic field model of Earth's magnetosphere …

Behavior Of First-Year College Students, Kristin Kashgegian

Perspectives

This is a quantitative study of depression, self-esteem, smoking and drinking behaviors among first year college students. The study results from a sample of 170 first year undergraduate students at the University of New Hampshire. Using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, and the Short Alcohol Dependence Data (SADD) scale, results show that sex significantly predicts depression, even when controlling for self-esteem, alcohol scale scores, and smoking. Being female is associated with higher depression scores. When measuring self-esteem, results show that self-esteem is significantly associated with depression. Lower self-esteem is significantly associated with higher depression. Results …

Comparative Vegetative Anatomy And Systematics Of Laeliinae (Orchidaceae), William Stern, Barbara Carlsward

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Laeliinae are one of the most prominent orchid subtribes, with c. 40 genera and nearly 1500 species, and contain a disparate group of taxa with widely varying morphological features. There does not appear to be a complex of characters to which one can refer in order to delineate the subtribe as a whole. Thus, it was thought that vegetative anatomy might provide clues to the monophyly of the group. The microscopic structure of the leaves, stems and roots of representatives of most of the genera was studied. It was concluded that the anatomy lacks overall uniformity and that vegetative characters …

April 30-May 1, 2009 - Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes, Regular/Special Sessions, Board Of Trustees, Central Washington University

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

Meeting minutes for the Regular/Special Sessions of the Board of Trustees at Central Washington University, April 30-May 1, 2009.

On The Blue Of The Population Mean For Location And Scale Parameters Of Distributions Based On Moving Extreme Ranked Set Sampling, Walid A. Abu-Dayyeh, Lana Al-Rousan

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

The best linear unbiased estimator (BLUE) for the population mean under moving extreme ranked set sampling (MERSS) is derived for general location and scale parameters of distributions which generalizes Al-Odat and Al-Saleh (2001). It is compared with the sample mean of simple random sampling (SRS). The efficient sample size under the MERSS for which the BLUE estimator dominates the usual sample mean under SRS for estimating the population mean is also computed for several distributions.

Some Estimators For The Population Mean Using Auxiliary Information Under Ranked Set Sampling, Walid A. Abu-Dayyeh, M. S. Ahmed, R. A. Ahmed, Hassen A. Muttlak

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Auxiliary information is used along with ranking information to derive several classes of estimators to estimate the population mean of a variable of interest based on RSS (ranked set sample). The properties of these newly suggested estimators were examined. Comparisons between special cases of these estimators and other known estimators are made using a real data set. Some of the new estimators are superior to the old ones in terms of bias and mean square error.

End Matter, Jmasm Editors

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

No abstract provided.

Efficiency Of Canonical Discriminant Function Versus Mahalanobis Distance In Differentiating Groups: Screening Ovarian Cancer In A Multivariate System Analysis Using Enzyme Markers, Chinmoy K. Bose

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Due to its low prevalence, high mortality and uniquely hidden intrapelvic position, ovarian cancer remains a subject of intense interest to researchers. Statistical calculation and new technology both have major roles to play in the effort to screen this cancer at an early stage. Advanced statistics, such as multivariate analysis, remain at the root of screening endeavors. Multivariate analysis has the power to combine many tests and to produce better results in terms high specificity and positive predictive value. Multivariate analysis techniques include Mahalanobis distance (D²), canonical stepwise discriminant function (Z) and Posterior Probability. These may have varied …

A Comparative Study Of Bayesian Model Selection Criteria For Capture-Recapture Models For Closed Populations, Ross M. Gosky, Sujit K. Ghosh

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Capture-Recapture models estimate unknown population sizes. Eight standard closed population models exist, allowing for time, behavioral, and heterogeneity effects. Bayesian versions of these models are presented and use of Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) and the Deviance Information Criterion (DIC) are explored as model selection tools, through simulation and real dataset analysis.

Industrialization In Animal Agriculture: A Kalman Filter Analysis, Oya S. Erdogdu, Levent Ozbek

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Studies discussing the effects of technological developments on (animal) agricultural production argue that the effective usage of chemicals and genetic engineering increase control over production processes, which in turn decreases seasonality (one significant factor defining agricultural production) significantly and brings standardization to production. Studies on broilery also show that production is not limited by nature determined seasons. Supply side changes accompanied by changes in demand have led to more healthier, standardized products. Using tools of economics and statistics, this study documents this transformation in animal agricultural production of beef, pork and milk. Results indicate decreasing seasonality, thus the industralization of …

Undergraduate And Graduate Course Descriptions, 2009 Summer, Wright State University

Course Descriptions

Wright State University undergraduate and graduate course descriptions from Summer 2009.

Neutron Production Analysis On Inertial Electrostatic Deuterium-Deuterium Fusion, Louis Franzel

Theses & Honors Papers

The basic principle of fusion is combining two light nuclei to form one nucleus that is lighter than the combination of the original two. This loss of mass is converted into energy (E=mc² ) which can be harnessed for various applications. Fusion can take many different and varied forms including: aneutronic fusion, magnetic confinement (MFE), and inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) to name a few. Fusion is highly adaptable because it can use several different types of fuel such as Deuterium-Tritium, Tritium-Helium-3, Proton-Boron₁₁, and Deuterium-Deuterium mixtures. On top of this, each of the fusion techniques mentioned uses different …