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The Frontiers and Limits of Science

Since the beginning of culture, man has been curious about the world in which he lives; he has continually sought explanations for his own existence and for the existence of the world?how it was created, how it developed and brought forth life and humankind, and how one day it will end. Early ideas on the subject were developed in mythological, religious, or philosophical frameworks. All these ideas have a common characteristic: they are directed to the totality of the phenomena; they want to account for everything that is. They intend to present the absolute truth by at tempting to give immediate answers to the fundamental questions of existence: Why is the world the way we find it? is is the beginning and the end of the universe? Several hundred years ago, human curiosity took a different turn: instead of reaching for the whole truth, people began to examine de finable and clearly separable phenomena. They asked not What is matter? and What is life? but What are the properties of mat ter? and How does blood flow in the blood vessels?; not How was the world created? but How do the planets move in the sky? In other words, general questions were shunned in favor of limited ones for which it seemed easier to get direct and unambiguous answers.

Talking Past One Another: Notes on the Debate

D _ ebates on the issue of secularization tend to be a confusing mixture of statements of faith, functionalist axioms about the general importance of religion to societies, and specific theories in the sociology of religion. The debates are further confused when incompatible definitions of religion and differing levels of analysis are used by the protagonists; and the present debate is no exception. McFaul's Comment (June issue), however, provides the opportunity of relating direct answers to direct questions. He asks: Q. . if the establishment of priorities is not based upon the goals people conceive to be morally urgent, then what is it based on? By way of answer I would suggest that: A. Priorities in social policy are based on goals which may or may not reflect a consensus, and that may or may not be considered morally urgent. Q. If pragmatic interests and utilitarian norms are not value commitments, then what are they? A. They are simply interests and norms. Value commitments have to do with something more fundamental in defining the relationship of the society to the individual. Q. In Glock's terms, is there not at least an implicit view of 'god' and 'man' in such assertions? A. Probably. From the observer's perspective there is also an implicit view of god and man in your assertions, and in mine. The observer, however, does not necessarily speak for the actor. And even if every actor who utters a demand for some value could make his/her implicit assumptions (whether religious or ontological) quite explicit, we would still know something about the society only at the level of the individual: not at the macrosocial level. And the debate, it seems to me, is about the interdependence of religion (however defined) with the society as a whole. The debate centers on three somewhat speculative hypotheses about the secularization of American society, which can be stated as follows:

Sample size requirements: randomized block designs

Techniques described in an earlier paper (Kastenbaum, Hoel Bowman, 1970), are used to generate tables of sample size requirements for testing treatment effects in a randomized block design. Maximum values of the standardized range of the treatment means are tabulated for k = 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 treatments; b = 2, 3, 4, 5 blocks; 1 ≤ N ≤ 5 observations per cell; and α = 0.01, 0.05 and β = 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 levels of risk. To simplify the determination of sample sizes necessary in a one-way analysis of variance, we have presented (Kastenbaum, Hoel & Bowman, 1970) tables of maximum values of the standardized range which apply when the means of k groups, each containing N* observations, are being compared at α and β levels of risk. Use of the standardized range in this situation was first elaborated on by Pearson & Hartley (1951), who also proposed extensions of the procedure to the randomized block design. Their model for the double classification with N observations in each cell is yijl = μ + li + bj+(tb)ij + ɛijl' where ti is the ith treatment effect, bj is the jth block effect, (tb)ij is the interaction effect of treatment i with block j and ɛijl is the effect due to the lth observation on the ith treatment in block j (i = 1,…, k; j = 1,…, b; l = 1,…, N). Here the ɛijl are assumed to be independent normal variables with mean zero and variance σ2. In this situation the sample size, N, necessary to test the absence of a treatment effect(ti = 0 for all i = 1,…, k) for specified values of k, b, α and β may be achieved through an iterative process involving Pearson and Hartley's charts of the power function. These charts are given in terms of Tang's noncentrality parameter ø, α, β, v1 = k − 1 and v2 = bk(N − 1). Table 1 provides direct answers to this question without requiring iteration. For the randomized block design the standardized maximum difference between any two treatment means is T = (tmax-tmin)/σ. It can easily be shown that T≤ ø{(2k)/(bN)}1/2 with equality if and only if ti = 0, Σti = 0, for all ti other than tmsx and tmin. Maximum values of the standardized range of the treatment means, ø{(2k)/(bN)}½, were calculated as described by Kastenbaum et al. (1970) and are tabulated for situations in which k treatment means are being compared at α and β levels of risk, in a randomized block design containing b blocks and N observations per cell, for aα = 0.01, 0.05; β = 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3; k 2(1)6; b = 2(1)5; 1 ≤ N ≤ 5. More extensive tables may be obtained from the authors.

On the Problems of Struggle Between Materialism and Idealism in the History of Philosophy

Mr. Fung Yu-lan's Problems in the Study of the History of Chinese Philosophy and Mr. Ho Lin's Views Concerning Two Controversial Problems in the Study of the History of Philosophy indicated that materialism and idealism in the history of philosophy have not only the aspect of mutual struggle, but also the aspect of mutual penetration — that is, the aspect of unity. This attitude is certainly correct if we recognize that their mutual struggle is absolute and their unity is relative. Marxist philosophy always believes that contradictory antitheses have their relative synthesis. But the essence of this problem is how the two basically antithetical world viewpoints, materialism and idealism, struggle and penetrate (unify) each other. Mr. Fung presented some viewpoints, but did not clearly answer this problem; Mr. Ho Lin's article gave some rather clear and direct answers. Therefore my article is intended primarily to discuss Mr. Ho's opinions.

Practice of riddles in development of children’s cognitive skills

Educational value of riddles has been long known, whereas their impact on the cognitive skills of children has not been fully revealed yet. The methods of riddle asking and guessing, applied in kindergartens, do not always ensure children’s conscious involvement in such practices.
 Considering the fact that the main educational-upbringing meaning of the riddle games is directed at that mental activity in which a child is currently involved, we have made a series of experiments with the aim to establish how significant activities with riddles are to the development of cognitive skills in pre-school children group in kindergartens. Besides, we have set a goal to determine the conditions and means owing to which the educational impact of riddles reaches its highest efficiency. Two experiments have been performed. The first experiment served to investigate the very process of reading a riddle. For this purpose, 4 series of visual aids were prepared. The aim of the second experiment was the investigation of the impact of riddle reading on the development of cognitive skills in children, when a long-term work with riddles is involved in conversations with children, excursions and other practices.
 Experiments have shown that such work with riddles helps to: 1) revive the images of relevant things or phenomena possessed in the memories of children; 2) activate children’s thinking processes, especially in development of analytical, comparative, generalization and systemization skills. Alongside, it has been established that by asking a riddle in a pre-school group, an important role is played by visual aids prepared in such way as to activate a child’s imagination and thinking, without providing the direct answer. The analyzed children underwent all series of tasks; 3) besides, each series of visual aids helped to establish some traits of riddle reading by children.
 The first series was prepared according to the traditional method when the content of a picture provides the answer (Picture 1). The results of investigation with the material of this series allowed us to critically assess the albums of riddles widely used in kindergartens, because the pictures used in the 1st series of investigation were composed the same way as the albums of riddles. Such pictures including the direct answers do not boost children’s thinking much. They rely to a large extent on children’s memories and, therefore, do not significantly encourage their thinking processes.
 The second series includes riddles with metaphorical description of details of the guessed objects. Visual aids depict the parts of details of objects presented in the riddle texts according to which children had to synthesize the guessed object (Picture 2). The riddles of the 2nd series were helpful in upbringing children’s abilities to synthesize. By laying pictures, children would establish the order of elements in general scheme and discover functional links among such elements.
 The third series were complex riddles made up of several pictures. While working with these riddles, pictures were analyzed, with the aim to discover one guessed object disguised in all these pictures via generalization (e.g., riddle about earth, Picture 3). Guessing process of these riddles was difficult for children but, by using the pictures, in most cases they would cope with the task. Thus, visual aids in this series have conditioned training of generalization operations in children by means of riddles.
 The fourth series was riddles expressed in metaphors. This series includes a couple of pictures, with one of them depicting the riddle text, and the other-the answer. A child has to choose from several answer-pictures the correct one and put it next to the picture depicting the riddle text (Picture 4). In this case the pictures not only helped to guess the riddles, but also to understand the metaphor and this is complicated for the children of such age.
 A conclusion may be made that application of visual aids increases the role of riddles in intellectual development of children. Moreover, it was revealed that in using riddles during the practices in pre-school groups, it is purposeful to retain a certain distance between the observed object and the riddle about it, as contrary to what has been often done up till now. This ensures greater activeness of children’s minds. Reading riddles about the objects which are directly observed is only recommended for junior groups.

Recent Nucleic Acid Research in China

This chapter discusses the recent nucleic acid research in china. It demonstrates originality, direct experimental approach with proper controls, the precision and accuracy of operations, and extensive results that give convincing, direct answers or sound conclusions. Research has been reported by the scientists at Shanghai on the primary and secondary structures of tRNA. The techniques of base composition analysis and oligonucleotide mapping that they perfected and the new procedure they developed for determining the molecular weight of tRNA preparations indicate complete command of most modern scientific procedures. Similarly, the perfection of analytical procedure and development of sophisticated techniques are demonstrated by Liang and his associates at Peking; this is evident in their work on tRNA of E. coli . Reviews addressed in the chapter presents the impression that nucleic acid research in China is not yet as thoroughly organized as some other phases of biological study. The scope of nucleic acid research in China is limited. However, it is interesting to see the development of a research program from basic explorations of the gross properties of nucleic acids to sophisticated analyses of oligonucleotide sequences.

Medical Ventures and the University: New Values and New Validities

Readers who seek the crucial questions of modern medical education and the direct answers to them will be disappointed with this 210page account of the 13th AAMC institute. The contributors recognize the inevitability of major social change, they agree that the dilemmas of the medical school are early evidences of the general problems the universities will face, and they proclaim the great importance of reforming the anachronistic character of our medical schools but, except for a few comments, such as those by Colin MacLeod, John Millis, or Lowell Coggeshall, I find no sense of the missions just completed or of solid battle plans. The deans seem almost willing to support a major revolution against the status quo, but not quite, and not now. Vagueness is commonplace in this book, and the themes are worthy of that great equivocator, Polonius. It is difficult to serve yet not be subservient; or to

Self-Evaluation in Seventh Grade

Previous articleNext article No AccessSelf-Evaluation in Seventh GradeMariann MarshallMariann Marshall Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Elementary School Journal Volume 60, Number 5Feb., 1960 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/459809 Views: 3Total views on this site Copyright 1960 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

THE UPTAKE OF RADIOACTIVE CALCIUM BY SEA URCHIN EGGS. I. ENTRANCE OF CA45INTO UNFERTILIZED EGG CYTOPLASM

Previous articleNext article No AccessJournal ArticlesTHE UPTAKE OF RADIOACTIVE CALCIUM BY SEA URCHIN EGGS. I. ENTRANCE OF CA45 INTO UNFERTILIZED EGG CYTOPLASMSIDNEY C. HSIAO and HOWARD BOROUGHSSIDNEY C. HSIAO Search for more articles by this author and HOWARD BOROUGHS Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Biological Bulletin Volume 114, Number 2April 1958 Published in association with the Marine Biological Laboratory Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/1538848 Views: 10Total views on this site © 1958 Marine Biological LaboratoryPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

A Year of Growth for a Shortleaf Pine

The progress of silviculture and forest management will probably be greatly accelerated when there is more basic knowledge on the physiology and chemistry of the individual tree and the components of its environment. To understand the tree as an individual may be the most important step in ultimately understanding and predicting its behavior in a stand. However, it does not necessarily follow that practical fundamental research will give direct answers to most present problems in silviculture. It is more likely that the creation of new knowledge will bring about a reformulation of present problems. In this process many of them will be simplified and some will merely disappear. This paper concerns some of the basic growth phenomena observed in an individual tree. Recently there has been considerable interest in precise measurements of radial tree growth. Such measurements may make is possible to evaluate, in a comparatively short time, the results of various silvicultural treatments. Certain trends would become evident in a few days or weeks. During a period ranging from a few months to one or two years, it should be possible to establish fairly well the results of pruning, thinning, and soil nutrient studies.

Certain Adjustment Problems of University Girls

A girl entering the university is an unknown, but a knowable quantity. An inventory of her experiences, desires, ambitions, habits of thought and action would enable her educational advisers to utilize appropriate techniques for her conditioning. Whatever may be the ultimate objectives of the university, such objectives cannot find realization without an analysis of the students who come to the institution as raw materials, to be transformed into certain finished products. Without this finishing function, the university could not justify its existence. Rightly or wrongly, such results are expected, particularly in a state university. In order to ascertain those areas of experience in which freshman women found difficulty in adapting themselves to the aims of the university, and in gaining satisfaction of their wishes and wants from the university, and to discover the range of intensity and the extent of the problems of these freshman girls who found it difficult to make the anticipated adjustments, 341 freshman girls were interviewed. These girls told, in their own language, and without any suggestion on the part of the interviewer, their problems of personal adjustments since coming to the university; but in order to assure some semblance of uniformity for comparison later on, the interviewer asked a series of questions touching on certain special areas of university adjustment experiences. The volunteered expressions and the direct answers to the questions were recorded after the student left the room. All the necessary precautions were taken to reproduce their statements as accurately as possible in terms of incidents cited by the students and their reactions to both specific and general situations. After going over these 341 case records, the types of problems elicited were specified. Seeming duplications were eliminated. Out of these types of problems, a questionnaire covering fifty-six areas of experience was prepared which could be answered by yes and no. The next year, 1932-33, in the fall term, the study was carried a step further. One hundred and seventeen Freshmen for that year, representing both the dormitory and sorority groups, were interviewed first, and then the questionnaire prepared at the end of the previous year was submitted to them. Our purpose in doing this was twofold: to standardize the test, and to see what changes had occurred in the range of maladjustment experience areas of the freshman girls during these two successive years. Those problems which reappeared as constants were tabulated in this study. The rest were dropped out. Moreover, during 1933, of the initial 341 freshman girls 113 were again interviewed as Juniors in the University, and the questionnaire was also submitted to them. Our purpose was to discover the extent of solution of the problems during their travel from the freshman to the junior years, the emergence of new problems, the techniques of adjustment, and the validity of the initial interview by checking the answers through their answers to the questionnaire. Some social scientists question the value of the interview technique. With respect to this study, however, we have become confirmed believers in its validity. Out of 113 Juniors only one case admitted that during her freshman interview she did not tell the facts. Our checking of the interviews with the yes-and-no questions brought the same result. Willful misrepresentation happens in less than one per cent of the cases. The administration of the questionnaire as a supplement to interviews was necessary as a double check. The questionnaire not only served to bring to mind problems the girl had faced, but enlightened her as to the breadth of problems which could be included among adjustment problems. Obviously, only those problems which weighed heavily upon the student's mind as needing adjustment were voluntarily expressed to the interviewer. Undoubtedly many of the girls because of established complexes, lack of support, and fear of ridicule, and the like, have concealed some of their major adjustment problems. …

Pupils' Standards of Judging Citizenship

At the present time the younger generation is commonly criticized for a lack of serious intentions, a low standard of morality, and a general lack of those qualities that make for good citizenship. The whole matter was presented to the writer so forcibly that an experiment was undertaken to ascertain, if possible, the answers to the following questions: (i) Are our high schools educating our young people to become better citizens? (2) Are the standards of moral judgment higher in the case of girls than in the case of boys? (3) What undesirable traits in a citizen do our young people most despise? The moral standards by which pupils judge the actions of other people and which regulate their own conduct cannot easily be ascertained, for pupils often have higher standards than their actions indicate. It is difficult, therefore, to answer the foregoing questions. The writer, knowing that it was almost impossible to secure direct answers, decided to try an indirect method of approach. It is not easy to determine what an individual will do under certain circumstances, but his judgment of the actions of other people generally gives some idea of his moral standards. The first problem was to obtain a list of the traits or virtues that necessarily enter into the making of a good citizen. After consulting business men, bankers, lawyers, teachers, ministers, and laborers, the following list of virtues was made up: courage, honesty, industry, (chastity), obedience, service, sobriety, tolerance, truthfulness, and thrift. The term morality was a very general term but seemed to convey the meaning of in the vocabulary of the pupil better than the term chastity itself and hence was used. Ten stories, each illustrating the lack of one of these virtues, were then prepared. As an example, the story illustrating the lack of the virtue honesty follows:

Motions of the Solar System 1

NO other hypothesis has been suggested which offers such direct and complete answers to most of the questions which relate to the origin, structure, and unity of the universe, as Newton's law of gravity. It is but natural, therefore, that the majority of the problems which arise in regard to the motions of the solar system should have their origin in an effort to confirm that law.