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Major Arguments (major + argument)
Selected AbstractsA physiochemical theory on the applicability of soft mathematical models,experimentally interpretedJOURNAL OF CHEMOMETRICS, Issue 7-8 2010L. Munck Abstract An extension of chemometric theory was experimentally explored to explain the physiochemical basis of the very high efficiency of soft modelling of data from nature. Soft modelling in self-organisation was interpreted by studying the unique chemical patterns of mutants in an isogenic barley model on endosperm development. Extremely reproducible, differential Near Infrared (NIR) spectral patterns specifically overviewed the effect on cell composition of each mutant cause. Extended Canonical Variates Analysis (ECVA) classified spectra in wild type, starch and protein mutants. The spectra were interpreted by chemometric data analysis and by pattern inspection to morphological, genetic, molecular and chemical information. Deterministic chemical reactions were defined in the glucan pathway. A drastic mutation in a gene controlling the starch/ß-glucan composition changed water activity that introduced a diffusive, stochastic effect on the catalysis of all active enzymes. ,Decision making' in self-organisation is autonomous and performed by the soft modelling of the chemical deterministic and stochastic reactions in the endosperm cell as a whole. Uncertainty in the analysis of endosperm emergence was experimentally delimited as the ,indeterminacy' in local molecular path modelling ,bottom up' and the ,irreducibility' of the phenomenological NIR spectra ,top down'. The experiment confirmed Ilya Prigogine's interpretation of self-organisation by his dynamic computer model programmed with a self-modeled non-local extension of quantum mechanics (QM). The significance of self- organisation explained by Prigogine here interpreted as physiochemical soft modelling introduces a paradigm shift in macroscopic science that forwards a major argument for soft mathematical modelling and chemometrics to obtain full scientific legitimacy. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Pierson v. Post: A Great Debate, James Kent, and the Project of Building a Learned Law for New York StateLAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 2 2009Angela Fernandez Pierson v. Post (1805) has long puzzled legal teachers and scholars. This article argues that the appellate report was the product of the intellectual interests (and schooling) of the lawyers and judges involved in the case. They converted a minor dispute about a fox into a major argument in order to argue from Roman and other civil law sources on how to establish possession in wild animals, effectively crafting an opportunity to create new law for New York State. This article explores the possibility that the mastermind behind this case was the chief justice of the court at the time, James Kent. The question of Kent's involvement in 1805 remains elusive. However, the article uses annotations he made on his copy of the case and discussion of Pierson v. Post in his famous Commentaries to demonstrate the nature of his later interest and to explore the project of building a learned law for New York State. [source] REVISITING ALTERNATIVE THEORETICAL PARADIGMS IN MANUFACTURING STRATEGYPRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2000M. Hsafizadeh Testing and cross-validation of theories and paradigms are necessary to advance the field of manufacturing strategy. When the findings of one study are also obtained in other studies, using entirely different databases, we become more confident in the results. Replication alleviates concerns about spurious results and is one motivation for this study. We examine aspects of the tradeoffs concept, production competence paradigm, and a manufacturing strategy taxonomy framework. In regard to the tradeoffs concept, we found evidence of tradeoffs between some, but certainly not all, manufacturing capabilities of quality, cost, delivery, and customization. The relationships get sharper when controlling for process choice. For example, the tradeoff between cost and customization is particularly strong between plants that have different process choices. We find that such tradeoffs can change, or even disappear, however, once the process choice is in place. With respect to the production competence paradigm, our analysis shows a statistically significant correlation between production competence and operations performance in batch shops, but not in plants with other process choices. Finally, using variables similar to those of Miller and Roth, our data produced three similar clusters even though their unit of analysis was much more macro than ours. Controlling for process choice is consistent with the current manufacturing strategy literature that emphasizes dynamic development of capabilities within the context of path dependencies. A major argument of this strand of research is that operations decisions not only affect current capabilities, but also set the framework for development of capabilities in the future. That being the case, controlling for process choice (or other factors such as industry or markets) should contribute to the understanding of capability-development paths adopted by different manufacturing plants. In short, we found at least partial support for each of the theories examined here, even though the theories seem on the surface to be contradictory and mutually exclusive. Controlling for process choice or other measures of dependency goes a long way in uncovering consistency across different theories and empirical studies in operations management. [source] European Union Constitution-Making, Political Identity and Central European ReflectionsEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 2 2005It analyses both the temporal and spatial dimensions of constitution-making and addresses the problems of political identity related to ethnic divisions and civic demos. It starts by summarising the major arguments supporting the Union's constitution-making project and emphasises the Union's symbolic power as a polity built on the principles of civil society and parliamentary democracy. The EU's official rejection of ethnically based political identity played an important symbolic role in post-Communist constitutional and legal transformations in Central Europe in the 1990s. In the following part, the text analyses the temporal dimension of the EU's identity-building and constitution-making and emphasises its profoundly future-oriented structure. The concept of identity as the ,future in process' is the only option of how to deal with the absence of the European demos. Furthermore, it initiates the politically much-needed constitution-making process. The following spatial analysis of this process emphasises positive aspects of the horizontal model of constitution-making, its elements in the Convention's deliberation and their positive effect on the Central European accession states. The article concludes by understanding the emerging European identity as a multi-level identity of civil political virtues surrounded by old loyalties and traditions, which supports the conversational model of liberal democratic politics, reflects the continent's heterogeneity and leads to the beneficial combination of universal principles and political realism. [source] Evidence and simplicity: why we should reject homeopathyJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 2 2010Scott Sehon PhD Abstract Homeopathic medications are used by millions, and hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on these remedies in the USA alone. In the UK, the NHS covers homeopathic treatments. Nonetheless, homeopathy is held in considerable disrepute by much of the medical and scientific community. Many proponents of homeopathy are well aware of these criticisms but remain unimpressed. The differences of opinion run deep, and the debate seems deadlocked. We aim to shed some light on this situation. We briefly recap some of the major arguments on each side, but we try to go further by making explicit an underlying philosophical presupposition. In particular, we will claim that there is an important principle, which has ancient roots going back at least to Occam, some version of which constrains all empirical reasoning. We call this constraint the simplicity principle. We argue that this is not something specific to a scientific paradigm, but that, all of us, including proponents of homeopathy, are themselves deeply committed to the simplicity principle. However, once the simplicity principle is made explicit and applied to homeopathy, allegiance to homeopathy is clearly seen as irrational. The point is not merely the lack of clinical trials supporting homeopathy; rather, belief in the efficacy of homeopathy leaves a mountain of unexplained mysteries, and thereby flies in the face of the simplicity rule that guides the homeopaths' own reasoning and arguments. If nothing else, we hope that defenders of homeopathy will gain a greater understanding of why critics are so deeply reluctant to accept the efficacy of homeopathic interventions , and that this reluctance is not mere stubbornness or artificial allegiance to western medicine. Finally, we also hope thereby to illustrate the usefulness of philosophy in unearthing presuppositions in seemingly deadlocked debates. [source] Claiming damages upon an anticipatory breach: why should an acceptance be necessary?LEGAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2005Qiao Liu This article is an attempt to defend the English rule that an anticipatory breach does not automatically give rise to a right of action for damages unless and until it is,accepted'. The article first explores the major arguments for and against the rule and finds that the rule is justifiable on the ground of finality and consistency and that none of its objections are persuasive enough to overturn the rule. The article further observes that the rule must be qualified in two important respects in order to retain its rational force. However, the above rule is currently stated by the courts to the effect that an anticipatory breach is not per se a breach and is only,converted'into a breach when it is,accepted'. It is proposed that this statement is historically unwarranted and contradicts sound logic and should thus be discarded. [source] The Korean Peninsula Peace Regime: How to Build ItPACIFIC FOCUS, Issue 1 2009Tae-Hwan Kwak A Korean peninsula peace regime has not yet been established, over a half century since the Korean armistice agreement. Two approaches to a Korean peninsula peace-regime-building process are required: inter-Korean and international approaches. The two Koreas should play leading roles at the inter-Korean and international levels in inter-Korean confidence-building measures by reducing tension through reconciliation and economic cooperation. A Korean peace forum involving the USA, China and the two Koreas under the 19 September joint agreement could conclude a Korean peninsula peace treaty to replace the armistice agreement and a peace regime could be institutionalized by implementing the inter-Korean basic agreement (1992) through inter-Korean cooperation. This article proposes a comprehensive, long-term roadmap for the Korean peninsula peace-regime-building process. The author makes three major arguments. First, the two Koreas and the four powers need to agree on a comprehensive roadmap for the Korean peninsula peace-regime-building process as suggested here. The inter-Korean and international approaches to the peace-regime-building process should be considered in parallel. Second, the North Korean nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully through the Six-Party Talks. Third, the two Koreas need to work together to find an alternative to their respective proposals. The author proposes a Korean peninsula peace treaty signed by the ROK, the DPRK, the USA and China as an alternative. Unless the two Koreas demonstrate their desire to cooperate through sincere deeds by implementing inter-Korean agreements and are willing to make concessions by working together for establishing a peace regime in Korea, there is little chance of achieving this goal. [source] In Search of the Korean Peninsula Peace Regime BuildingPACIFIC FOCUS, Issue 2 2005Tae-Hwan Kwak The author proposes a long-term, comprehensive roadmap for the Korean peninsula peace regime initiative for replacing the 1953 Korean armistice agreement with a Korean peninsula peace treaty. The two approaches to a Korean peninsula peace regime building are examined in detail at the inter-Korean and the international levels. The two Koreas at the inter-Korean level, and the six parties involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan, and Russia at the international level may concurrently make efforts to build a peace regime by replacing the 1953 Korean armistice agreement with a peace treaty through confidence-building measures, national reconciliation and international cooperation. A peace regime can be institutionalized by implementing the inter-Korean basic agreement (1991) through inter-Korean cooperation and by concluding a Korean peninsula peace treaty through the four-party peace talks involving the U.S., China, and the two Koreas. However, the current North Korea's nuclear issue has been a key obstacle to the peace regime building process. Three major arguments in this paper are presented: First, the two Koreas and the four major powers need to agree on a comprehensive roadmap for the Korean peace regime. Second, in the short-term, the North Korea's nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully and diplomatically through the six-party process. Third, the two Koreas need to abandon their respective positions: the Seoul's proposal for an inter-Korean peace treaty and the Pyeongyang's proposal for a DPRK-U.S. peace treaty to replace the 1953 Korean armistice agreement. The author proposes that a Korean peninsula peace treaty among the four parties involving the ROK, the DPRK, the U.S. and China should be an alternative, and the proposal needs to be seriously considered. [source] Concepts and Epistemic IndividuationPHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2005WAYNE A. DAVIS Christopher Peacocke has presented an original version of the perennial philosophical thesis that we can gain substantive metaphysical and epistemological insight from an analysis of our concepts. Peacocke's innovation is to look at how concepts are individuated by their possession conditions, which he believes can be specified in terms of conditions in which certain propositions containing those concepts are accepted. The ability to provide such insight is one of Peacocke's major arguments for his theory of concepts. I will critically examine this "fruitfulness" argument by looking at one philosophical problem Peacocke uses his theory to solve and treats in depth. Peacocke (1999, 2001) defines what he calls the "Integration Challenge." The challenge is to integrate our metaphysics with our epistemology by showing that they are mutually acceptable. Peacocke's key conclusion is that the Integration Challenge can be met for "epistemically individuated concepts."A good theory of content, he believes, will close the apparent gap between an account of truth for any given subject matter and an overall account of knowledge. I shall argue that there are no epistemically individuated concepts, and shall critically analyze Peacocke's arguments for their existence. I will suggest more generally that the possession conditions of concepts and their principles of individuation shed little light on the epistemology or metaphysics of things other than concepts. My broader goal is to shed light on what concepts are by showing that they are more fundamental than the sorts of cognitive and epistemic factors a leading theory uses to define them.1 [source] Conceptualizing Emerging Adulthood: Inspecting the Emperor's New Clothes?CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES, Issue 2 2007Leo B. Hendry ABSTRACT,Jeffrey Arnett's concept of emerging adulthood is critically examined by reviewing and evaluating elements of its theoretical framework and by referring to relevant empirical studies, which support the major arguments presented. Several limitations to Arnett's model are found and an alternative perspective is offered that might complement his stage theory and provide a stronger theoretical baseline for future research. [source] | |||||||||||||