Nietzsche's perspectivism and problems of self-refutation

Nietzsche's perspectivism has aroused the perplexity of many a recent commentator, not least because of the doctrine's apparent self-refuting character.  If, as Nietzsche holds, there are no facts but only interpretations, then how are we to understand this claim itself?  Nietzsche's perspectivism must be construed either as a facts or as one further interpretation - but in the former case the doctine is clearly self-refuting, while in the latter case any reasons or arguments one may have in support of one's perspective are rendered both impotent and superflouos.  The unpalatable consequencs of Nietzsche's perspectivism are further highlighted by considering its effects on Nietzsche's treatment of the fundamental laws of logic, such as the principle of non-contradiction.  Finally, Nietzsche's perspectivism, if not self-refuting, at least seems to be refuted by his own writings, where he confidently puts forward various doctines and critiques, thus indicating that he does not think of his own beliefs as being true merely in a perspectival sense.  There is every reason, i conclude, to be perplexed about Nietzsche's perspectivism.

When it comes to assessment, numbers are nonsense!

As professors and tutors have traditionally had almost total control over the learning and assessment environment, for most students, the approach to assessment has changed little. The arrival of ‘new media’, ‘digital culture’ and ‘dispersed learning’ threatens this stability and control. Students are now able to operate in a more open, collaborative, interactive and distributed manner, and this fact challenges many of the traditional perceptions about what constitutes a ‘university experience’ and what are now ‘appropriate’ assessment tasks (Crisp, G,. 2009). Plagiarism is now part of daily life, wiki-referencing barely raises an eyebrow and now, custom written essays are seen as a very real option for the time poor student.
This paper will do three things. Firstly, to argue that allocating a numeric score to assessment is nonsense and secondly, tell a story about the authors experience when buying a custom written essay and finally, attempt to argue how ‘progressive and innovative’ assessment techniques might be used to remedy these assessment problems.

Multivariate autoregressive-based neuronal network flow analysis for in-vitro recorded bursts

Neuroscientific studies of in vitro neuron cell cultures has attracted paramount attention to investigate the behaviour of neuronal networks in response to different environmental conditions and external stimuli such as drugs, optical and electrical stimulations. Microelec trodearray (MEA) technology has been widely adopted as a tool for this investigation. In this work, we present a new approach to estimate interconnectivity of neural spikes using multivariate autoregressive (MVAR) analysis and Partial Directed Coherence (PDC). The proposed approach has the potential to discover hidden intra-burst causal connectivity patterns and to help understand the spatiotemporal communication patterns within bursts, pre and post stimulations.

Aquinas, Kant and eclipse of practical reason

The article examines the nature and scope of practical reason with regard to Saint Thomas Aquinas' work offering materials for defending a substantive view of practical rationality. Topics include the differences between procedural and substantive views of practical rationality, philosopher Christine M. Korsgaard's interpretation of philosopher Immanuel Kant's views on practical reason, and modern versions of the natural law theory.