Doubtful Assumption Research Articles

Euklidesowy traktat Podział kanonu i pitagorejska harmonika

The Euclidean ‘Division of the canon’ and Pythagorean harmonics: The article presents the first Polish translation of a short Ancient Greek treatise entitled The division of the canon, which is commonly dated to the 3rd century BC, with a doubtful assumption that the author of the treatise is Euclid himself. It is the oldest surviving text derived from the mathematical school of harmonics, which combined the mathematical theory of proportion with the musical laws of harmony. The main purpose of this Euclidean treatise is to describe the instrument called canon (or monochord), which consists in determining the successive notes of the Greek musical system by means of mathematical principles. The treatise essentially consists of two distinct parts: an introduction and twenty propositions in the style of Euclid’s Elements. To bring this highly esoteric text closer to the modern reader, the translation is preceded by a brief introduction, which deals with the basic issues of the transmission of the text, its structure, and the problem of authorship. The philosophical problems of the treatise and its basic concepts are also discussed. An underlying idea of both the introduction and the work on the translation is that The division of the canon is an eminently Pythagorean text, which both expressed and proved their conviction about the mathematical structure of the universe.

The time-lag argument and simultaneity

The time-lag argument seems to put some pressure on naïve realism to agree that seeing must happen simultaneously with what is seen; meanwhile, a wide-accepted empirical fact suggests that light takes time to transmit from objects at a distance to perceivers—which implies what is seen happened before seeing, and, accordingly, naïve realism must be false. In this paper, I will, first of all, show that the time-lag argument has in fact involves a misunderstanding concept of simultaneity: according to Special Relativity, simultaneity is a matter of convention rather than a matter of fact, so, in principle, we can stipulate a perceptual conception of simultaneity, according to which what is seen is simultaneous with seeing. Secondly, the generalized time-lag argument has a mistaken view on the perceived events and perceiving; it has a doubtful assumption that these events are momentary in the mathematical sense. Such idealization is the main reason why we have the intuition that the time-lag effect of perceiving is in conflict with our ordinary perceptual experiences. Finally, I argue that the naïve realist account of the perceptual relation is a nontemporal constitutive relation; and hence naïve realism is compatible with the claim that we can perceive things as they were, and it should not be weakened by the time-lag argument.

NEAR-EQUIPARTITION JETS WITH LOG-PARABOLA ELECTRON ENERGY DISTRIBUTION AND THE BLAZAR SPECTRAL-INDEX DIAGRAMS

Fermi-LAT analyses show that the gamma-ray photon spectral indices Gamma_gamma of a large sample of blazars correlate with the vFv peak synchrotron frequency v_s according to the relation Gamma_gamma = d - k log v_s. The same function, with different constants d and k, also describes the relationship between Gamma_gamma and peak Compton frequency v_C. This behavior is derived analytically using an equipartition blazar model with a log-parabola description of the electron energy distribution (EED). In the Thomson regime, k = k_EC = 3b/4 for external Compton processes and k = k_SSC = 9b/16 for synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) processes, where b is the log-parabola width parameter of the EED. The BL Lac object Mrk 501 is fit with a synchrotron/SSC model given by the log-parabola EED, and is best fit away from equipartition. Corrections are made to the spectral-index diagrams for a low-energy power-law EED and departures from equipartition, as constrained by absolute jet power. Analytic expressions are compared with numerical values derived from self-Compton and external Compton scattered gamma-ray spectra from Ly alpha broad-line region and IR target photons. The Gamma_gamma vs. v_s behavior in the model depends strongly on b, with progressively and predictably weaker dependences on gamma-ray detection range, variability time, and isotropic gamma-ray luminosity. Implications for blazar unification and blazars as ultra-high energy cosmic-ray sources are presented. Arguments by Ghisellini et al. (2014) that the jet power exceeds the accretion luminosity depend on the doubtful assumption that we are viewing at the Doppler angle.

What is a human embryo? A new piece in the bioethics puzzle

The controversy surrounding the human embryo is a longstanding one. Thirty years ago, there was already an intense debate over moral and legal status of the human embryo and its moral, legal, and political implications. This controversy is still very much alive. In fact, the emergence of modern technologies in the recent years has made the debate even more complicated. Today, we not only debate how to treat the human embryo, but we are also faced with a renewed discussion about what the embryo is. The issue cannot be addressed from a purely scientific point of view since it includes elements that go far beyond biology. Moreover, the embryo has undergone a process of bio-objectification, a process “wherein life-forms or living entities are first made into objects, become possible, through scientific labor and its associated technologies, and then come to be attributed with specific identities” (1). The embryo has become an extremely polemic entity, defying the traditional boundaries as well as the traditional scientific, legal, and moral paradigms. All these paradigms were created as a consequence of the definition of the embryo, and subsequently have been based on the doubtful assumption that embryo is clearly defined. In reality we have to deal with a situation where “embryo” has different meanings, depending on the geographical scope, ideological framework, and type of social science addressing the issue.

Impact of Multiple Matched Controls on Design Sensitivity in Observational Studies

In an observational study, one treated subject may be matched for observed covariates to either one or several untreated controls. The common motivation for using several controls rather than one is to increase the power of a test of no effect under the doubtful assumption that matching for observed covariates suffices to remove bias from nonrandom treatment assignment. Does the choice between one or several matched controls affect the sensitivity of conclusions to violations of this doubtful assumption? With continuous responses, it is known that reducing the heterogeneity of matched pair differences reduces sensitivity to unmeasured biases, but increasing the sample size has a highly circumscribed effect on sensitivity to bias. Is the use of several controls rather than one analogous to a reduction in heterogeneity or to an increase in sample size? The issue is examined for Huber's m-statistics, including the t-test, the examination having three components: an example, asymptotic calculations using design sensitivity, and a simulation. Use of multiple controls with continuous responses yields a nontrivial reduction in sensitivity to unmeasured biases. An example looks at lead and cadmium in the blood of smokers from the 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A by-product of the discussion is a new result giving the design sensitivity for the permutation distribution of m-statistics.

The psychobiological theory of temperament and character: Comment on Farmer and Goldberg (2008).

The revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) is the third stage of development of a widely used multiscale personality inventory that began with the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and then the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). The author describes the third stage of the psychobiological theory of temperament and character; empirical tests of its predictions from genetics, neurobiology, psychosocial development, and clinical studies; and empirical findings that stimulated incremental changes in theory and test construction. Linear factor analysis is an inadequate method for evaluating the nonlinear and dynamical nature of the intrapsychic processes that influence human personality. Traits derived by factor analysis under the doubtful assumption of linearity are actually heterogeneous composites of rational and emotional processes that differ fundamentally in their underlying brain processes. The predictions of the psychobiological theory are strongly validated by extensive data from genetics, neurobiology, longitudinal studies of development, and clinical assessment. The distinction between temperament and character allows the TCI and TCI-R to outperform other popular personality inventories in distinguishing individuals with personality disorders from others and in describing the developmental path to well-being in terms of dynamical processes within the individual that are useful for both research and clinical practice.

Adaptable Representation of Joint Distribution of Wave Heights and Periods

A practical form of the joint distribution of wave heights and periods is proposed in this paper. It is traditionally inevitable to employ the approximation of local-height and local-period in sense of simplicity. The ambiguous relation in the previous studies is pointed out, which is the doubtful assumption between the angular velocity and real-period, and then an altanative relation is introduced newly. It is an advantage in this study that the marginal distribution of wave height is obtained as the Rayleigh distribution. The proposed joint distribution is so adaptable that the effect of nonlinearity and wave-breaking will be easily taken into account.

The Relationship between Hypotheses and Images in the Mathematical Subsection of the Divided Line of Plato'sRepublic

AbstractIn explaining the relationship between hypotheses and images in the Line of Plato'sRepublicVI, I first focus on Plato's elucidation of the nature of mathematics as the mathematician himself understands it. I go on to criticize traditional interpretations of the relationship above based on the doubtful assumption that mathematics concerns Platonic Forms. To formulate my view of that relationship I exploit the notion of “structure.” I show how “hypotheses” as principles of proof can determine the structures of “images” by which the corresponding intelligible ones of mathematical objects become known.

Unemployment, wage bargaining and capital-labour substitution

Many economists believe that capital accumulation, technical progress and labour force expansion have no lasting effect on unemployment. This view rests on the empirically doubtful assumption that the elasticity of substitution between labour and capital is equal to unity (i.e., production is Cobb-Douglas). Using a simple model based on the work of Layard, Nickell and Jackman, this paper demonstrates that, with a lower elasticity of substitution, the equilibrium unemployment rate is affected by all of the above factors. It considers briefly how capital accumulation may be endogenised and what long-run implications this has for unemployment. Copyright 1999 by Oxford University Press.

Simulation, Theory‐Theory and Cognitive Penetration: No ‘Instance of the Fingerpost’

In this paper it is argued that studies involving subjects who attempt to verbally predict the outcome of experiments concerning unexpected and surprising psychological processes do not constitute a critical test of simulation theories. The failure of ‘observer‐subjects’ to predict the outcome of such experiments does not demonstrate that their anticipatory abilities are ‘cognitively penetrable’ and thus based upon theory, as Nichols, Stich, Leslie and Klein (1996) maintain. This is because such studies are based upon the doubtful assumption that our ability to verbally predict another’s behaviour is a reliable measure of our ability to anticipate it. It is suggested that studies involving nonverbal measures of our anticipatory capacities would constitute a more decisive test of simulation theory.

A NEW CONCEPT FOR DECOUPLING THE CUTTING FORCES DUE TO TOOL FLANK WEAR AND CHIP FORMATION IN HARD TURNING

Determining the temperature field in metal cutting when the tool flank is progressively worn requires the knowledge of the forces due to tool flank wear and that due to chip formation. In the past, these forces have been computed from data experimentally measured with a dynamometer, under the assumption that the chip formation configuration remained unaltered when the tool flank is progressively worn. This approach has been used in the literature even though there has been evidence that it is not correct. The error introduced by this doubtful assumption in computing the maximum surface temperature in the work-piece can be significant. Of late there has been considerable interest in employing hard turning as the final finishing process in place of grinding and superfinishing. Consequently, the ability to accurately predict the maximum surface temperature and its distribution in the workpiece is now most desirable, for avoiding thermal damage to the machined surface. This paper discusses a new method based on the thickness of the microstructural change in chips to decouple the tool-flank forces for predicting the maximum surface temperature and its distribution in the workpiece.

Rhetorical Implications of School Discourse for Writing Placement

Recent emphasis on literacy and writing competence has caused com­ position researchers and evaluators to develop, review, and revise prompts and evaluation systems aimed at valid and reliable assessment of student writing. It is commonplace now that multiple-choice tests are invalid because they rely on doubtful assumption that writing competence can be measured by mastery of its parts. Instead, evaluators have developed holistic scoring methods whose intent is to assess effect of a sample of discourse as a whole on a human reader. Readers using this method are trained to internalize criteria for judging writing so that they can assign a reliable ranking to student writing samples on basis of one reading. When holistic scoring was proved feasible by Educa­ tional Testing Service (ETS), researchers, liberated from multiple-choice mass testing, immediately began to investigate ways to make holistic scoring ever more valid and reliable. Richard Lloyd-Jones found holistic scoring as used by ETS wanting, mainly because it admits no differences in demands of various modes of writing. Together with Carl H. Kraus and others under auspices of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Lloyd-Jones advanced art of evaluation by mak­ ing rhetorical concerns paramount. These researchers redesigned prompts to specify a full rhetorical situation: accordingly, main criterion for judging writers' level of success is writers' control of pri­ mary rhetorical demand, labeled primary trait, of particular assignment. As NAEP implemented Primary Trait Scoring, primary trait came to be identified with purpose. Ina V.S. Mullis states, the method [Primary Trait Scoring] recommended for use by NAEP in second Kathryn R. Fitzgerald serves as coordinator of Preparatory Writing Program and coor­ dinator of Placement for The University of Utah's Writing Program. The author wishes to acknowledge seminal contribution of Susan Miller to this project.

Material Requirements Planning and Purchasing

INTRODUCTION Material Requirements Planning and Purchasing The dual impact of increased world-wide competition and lagging U.S. productivity has produced an examination of ability of American industry to produce products of desired quality that can be marketed at competitive prices. Self-studies by many companies highlight need for more efficient and effective management in purchasing and production functions. Clearly, if a firm is to compete in 1980s, importance of these functions and their interactions cannot be overstated. Traditionally, purchasing function has been charged with providing the right materials, at right price, at right time. Successful performance hinges on ability of purchasing to interact effectively with production, engineering, and accounting functions, as well as with marketing representatives of supplier companies. All-to-often, however, internal relationships appear to have been adversarial rather than cooperative in nature. In many instances, top management has failed to create cooperative environment so essential to development of effective relationships between functional areas. Functional specialization, and its corresponding separation of responsibility, has resulted in establishment of performance standards that adversely impact these relationships. Reportedly, many companies do not demand as high a level of performance from purchasing function as from other areas.(1) Moreover, some top managers consider purchasing to be a fringe unit which exists to provide support services to other areas so that they can achieve their individual goals. In recent years, manufacturing companies in increasing numbers have adopted Material Requirements Planning (MRP) systems as a tool for problems in manufacturing/materials planning areas.(2) Successful implementation of an MRP system requires an active involvement by and accurate information inputs from purchasing function. Many purchasing practitioners, however, have not involved themselves with MRP implementation and therefore have not utilized potential benefits available to purchasing. The objectives of this paper are threefold. The first is to briefly describe and highlight basic concepts that make MRP work. Second, MRP-purchasing interface is examined. Finally, impact of implementing MRP within purchasing function is discussed. MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS PLANNING CONCEPTS Material Requirements Planning is an information processing system that seeks to develop and maintain a set of orders that support production plan, while simultaneously minimizing inventory levels within production system. Orders within an MRP system fall into two categories: (1) open orders which have been released but have not yet arrived; (2) planned orders which are developed in anticipation of future releases. Each category can contain both purchase orders and shop orders. Regardless of type, MRP monitors each order to maintain proper timing and sizing to insure adequate control of inventory levels. Clearly, purchasing function's goal (providing right quantity of right material at right time) is consistent with MRP's maintenance of order timing and sizing. MRP differs from traditional inventory planning approaches in several ways. For one, traditional methods use a historical approach to forecast future demand for individual items. This approach assumes that past data is representative of future demand, a doubtful assumption, in today's dynamic business environment. Instead, MRP actually calculates future requirements for each item rather than relying on forecasts. This process allows MRP to anticipate requirements based on current production plan of firm. Another departure from traditional methods is MRP's use of time buckets, or periods, usually a week long. …

A Numerical Study of Mass and Energy Transfer of Surface, Surface Boundary Layer and Planetary Boundary Layer

The horizontal inhomogeneity is a common occurrence in the lower layer of the atmosphere. For example, in land-lake interface problems, and in flows over finite areas of irrigated land, abrupt changes of surface conditions, i. e., roughness, temperature and humidity occur simultaneously, and the profiles are no longer in equilibrium. The principal purpose of this paper is to present these phenomena quantitatively from a theory.In this study, we used the same numerical method as Estoque and Bhumralkar (1970) describing a finite-difference procedure for numerical integrating the planetary boundary-layer equations. According to the similarity theory expressed as those equations, the thermal stability was assessed in terms of Richardson number (Ri). The evaluation of the Ri is open to question because it is based on the doubtful assumption that the stability condition of the planetary boundary layer is equal with height. If the surface of the earth is heterogeneous as mentioned above, the flow pattern, temperature and humidity field must change with its surface characters. In this case, one should have a more the appropriate parameter in describing the internal boundary layer.In order to take the varying stability conditions with height into consideration, Hayakawa et al. (1979) suggested to use a gradient Richardson number (Rig) for the stability parameter. The flow pattern with the Rig shows that the prevailing flow accelerates on encountering the windward edge of a localized heat source (LHS) and decelerates on leaving the leeward edge. As a consequence of the horizontal velocity variations there is a downwind above LHS and an upward motion in most part of the leeward area. The characteristics of this flow pattern with the Rig is completely contrary to Hayakawa's results (1978) based on Rib. It can be that the reason for these serious differences are due to the different diffusion coefficient caused by a different definition of Ri.The profiles of the diffusion coefficient (K) obtained by use of Rig show its peaks at reasonable levels, and the values of K and the peak height increase with the scale of LHS. These characteristics agree qualitatively well with the observation results of the planetary boundary layer.The perturbation of potential temperature based on the Rig can not develop in an altitude so high and horizontally so extensive as the case with Rib.By an analysis of the condition that the perturbation of potential temperature vanishes in the atmospheric boundary layer, we have reached to the conclusion that the inertial term is more important in the “cross-over” phenomenon than the bouyant force.We define ZH, which is decided from the potential temperature profiles (Fig. 6) and Ri profiles (Fig. 2), as a thickness of the atmospheric boundary layer, and have examined the growth of the internal boundary layer thickness with fetch (x). We have compared these values of thickness obtained from the simulation experiment with those obtained from analytic expressions by other researchers. As a result, the best linear fit was obtained from Kimura's expression (ZH∝R-1/6·x), and Sutton's expression (ZH∝K1/2·x1/2·U-1/2) followed.When air moves from a cool area to a hot one, the horizontal temperature gradient ∂T/∂x becomes positive above the hot area, then the gradient of vertical sensible heat flux ∂H/∂z becomes positive above that area. On the other hand, when air moves from a hot area to a cool one, ∂T/∂x and ∂H/∂z become negative above the cool area.

Future Generations and the Social Rate of Discount

This paper reexamines the case for discounting for time in public investment appraisal where long-term or irreversible effects on future generations are involved. It is concluded that—while, in the short-term, considerations of equity reinforce the commonly advocated case for discounting for time—in evaluating long-term or irreversible effects, current discounting procedures require the doubtful assumption of perpetual exponential growth of real income. However, if discounting were abandoned, use of the standard cost—benefit-analysis framework would require the forecasting of shadow prices for all future dates, unless an arbitrary time horizon is adopted. Thus cost—benefit analysis does not appear to be a satisfactory method for evaluating effects on future generations.

Biological assays with special reference to biological standards

A paper on biological assays and biological standards might be expected to start with a definition. What is a biological assay and what is a biological standard? However, I shall for the moment make the somewhat doubtful assumption that we all know the answer to those questions but shall return to them later, making a start meanwhile by discussing some aspects of the history of our subject.

XXXIV.Magnetic forces in a rectangular circuit

Abstract The standard force equation, and Ampere's force equation for the magnetic force between current elements, are applied to determine the forces in a rectangular circuit, one side of which is mechanically separable from the other three. In order to explain the observed forces by the use of the standard equation, it is necessary to make the doubtful assumption that a part of the rectangular circuit can lift itself. Ampere's equation gives a reasonably correct value of the forces without the necessity of making this assumption.