Confucianism and the idea of equality

It is often supposed that Confucianism is opposed to the idea of equality insofar as the key ideals to which it is committed, such as meritocracy and li , are incompatible with equality. Sympathetic commentators typically defend Confucianism by saying that (a) the Confucian person is not a free-standing individual but a social being embedded in a social structure with different and unequal roles, and (b) social inequality has to be traded in for other values. This paper argues that in advocating meritocracy, Confucianism does not abandon the idea of equality. Indeed, invoking Aristotle's account of equality in the Nicomachean Ethics , it can be argued that the unequal distribution of rights and benefits reflects one aspect of equality, namely the vertical aspect, or the unequal treatment of unequals.

All in Good Time: Exploring Change in Neanderthal Behavioural Complexity

Since their discovery 150 years ago, Neanderthals have been considered incapable of behavioural change and innovation. Traditional synchronic approaches to the study of Neanderthal behaviour have perpetuated this view and shaped our understanding of their lifeways and eventual extinction. In this thesis I implement an innovative diachronic approach to the analysis of Neanderthal faunal extraction, technology and symbolic behaviour as contained in the archaeological record of the critical period between 80,000 and 30,000 years BP. The thesis demonstrates patterns of change in Neanderthal behaviour which are at odds with traditional perspectives and which are consistent with an interpretation of increasing behavioural complexity over time, an idea that has been suggested but never thoroughly explored in Neanderthal archaeology. Demonstrating an increase in behavioural complexity in Neanderthals provides much needed new data with which to fuel the debate over the behavioural capacities of Neanderthals and the first appearance of Modern Human Behaviour in Europe. It supports the notion that Neanderthal populations were active agents of behavioural innovation prior to the arrival of Anatomically Modern Humans in Europe and, ultimately, that they produced an early Upper Palaeolithic cultural assemblage (the Châtelperronian) independent of modern humans. Overall, this thesis provides an initial step towards the development of a quantitative approach to measuring behavioural complexity which provides fresh insights into the cognitive and behavioural capabilities of Neanderthals.

Speech recognition in noise for cochlear implant listeners: Benefits of residual hearing

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential advantages, both theoretical and applied, of preserving low-frequency acoustic hearing in cochlear implant patients. Several hypotheses are presented that predict that residual low-frequency acoustic hearing along with electric stimulation for high frequencies will provide an advantage over traditional long-electrode cochlear implants for the recognition of speech in competing backgrounds. A simulation experiment in normal-hearing subjects demonstrated a clear advantage for preserving low-frequency residual acoustic hearing for speech recognition in a background of other talkers, but not in steady noise. Three subjects with an implanted "short-electrode" cochlear implant and preserved low-frequency acoustic hearing were also tested on speech recognition in the same competing backgrounds and compared to a larger group of traditional cochlear implant users. Each of the three short-electrode subjects performed better than any of the traditional long-electrode implant subjects for speech recognition in a background of other talkers, but not in steady noise, in general agreement with the simulation studies. When compared to a subgroup of traditional implant users matched according to speech recognition ability in quiet, the short-electrode patients showed a 9-dB advantage in the multitalker background. These experiments provide strong preliminary support for retaining residual low-frequency acoustic hearing in cochlear implant patients. The results are consistent with the idea that better perception of voice pitch, which can aid in separating voices in a background of other talkers, was responsible for this advantage.

A hybrid probabilistic criterion for market-based transmission expansion planning

Market-based transmission expansion planning gives information to investors on where is the most cost efficient place to invest and brings benefits to those who invest in this grid. However, both market issue and power system adequacy problems are system planers’ concern. In this paper, a hybrid probabilistic criterion of Expected Economical Loss (EEL) is proposed as an index to evaluate the systems’ overall expected economical losses during system operation in a competitive market. It stands on both investors’ and planner’s point of view and will further improves the traditional reliability cost. By applying EEL, it is possible for system planners to obtain a clear idea regarding the transmission network’s bottleneck and the amount of losses arises from this weak point. Sequentially, it enables planners to assess the worth of providing reliable services. Also, the EEL will contain valuable information for moneymen to undertake their investment. This index could truly reflect the random behaviors of power systems and uncertainties from electricity market. The performance of the EEL index is enhanced by applying Normalized Coefficient of Probability (NCP), so it can be utilized in large real power systems. A numerical example is carried out on IEEE Reliability Test System (RTS), which will show how the EEL can predict the current system bottleneck under future operational conditions and how to use EEL as one of planning objectives to determine future optimal plans. A well-known simulation method, Monte Carlo simulation, is employed to achieve the probabilistic characteristic of electricity market and Genetic Algorithms (GAs) is used as a multi-objective optimization tool.

Emotional Intelligence as a Moderator of Emotional and Behavioral Reactions to Job Insecurity

We present a model linking perceptions of job insecurity to emotional reactions and negative coping behaviors. Our model is based on the idea that emotional variables explain, in part, discrepant findings reported in previous research. In particular, we propose that emotional intelligence moderates employees' emotional reactions to job insecurity and their ability to cope with associated stress. In this respect, low emotional intelligence employees are more likely than high emotional intelligence employees to experience negative emotional reactions to job insecurity and to adopt negative coping strategies.

(FAB12_1_002) 'Would you know the new, you must search the old': William Lethaby's 'Architecture, Mysticism and Myth' (1891) and the 'Hypnerotomachia Poliphili' (1499)

Published in the final months of 1891, Architecture, Mysticism and Myth was the first architectural treatise written by the late nineteenth-century English architect and theorist William Richard Lethaby (1857-1931).' Documenting the characteristic attributes of the architectural myth of the "temple idea", and its presence amongst architectures of multiple ancient cultures, the text was endowed with a distinctly historical tone. In examining the motives behind myth, which Lethaby defined as the interaction and reaction between the natural universe and the built environment, Lethaby also injected a series of theoretical considerations into the text. It is clear that Lethaby's interest in the temple idea was not limited to its curious, prolific presence in past architectures, hut also embraced a consideration of what lessons the temple idea may contribute to the struggle of the late nineteenth-century English architect to define an "art of the future".

Finite element analysis of steady-state natural convection problems in fluid-saturated porous media heated from below

In this paper, a progressive asymptotic approach procedure is presented for solving the steady-state Horton-Rogers-Lapwood problem in a fluid-saturated porous medium. The Horton-Rogers-Lapwood problem possesses a bifurcation and, therefore, makes the direct use of conventional finite element methods difficult. Even if the Rayleigh number is high enough to drive the occurrence of natural convection in a fluid-saturated porous medium, the conventional methods will often produce a trivial non-convective solution. This difficulty can be overcome using the progressive asymptotic approach procedure associated with the finite element method. The method considers a series of modified Horton-Rogers-Lapwood problems in which gravity is assumed to tilt a small angle away from vertical. The main idea behind the progressive asymptotic approach procedure is that through solving a sequence of such modified problems with decreasing tilt, an accurate non-zero velocity solution to the Horton-Rogers-Lapwood problem can be obtained. This solution provides a very good initial prediction for the solution to the original Horton-Rogers-Lapwood problem so that the non-zero velocity solution can be successfully obtained when the tilted angle is set to zero. Comparison of numerical solutions with analytical ones to a benchmark problem of any rectangular geometry has demonstrated the usefulness of the present progressive asymptotic approach procedure. Finally, the procedure has been used to investigate the effect of basin shapes on natural convection of pore-fluid in a porous medium. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

X-ray properties of the Parkes sample of flat-spectrum radio sources: dust in radio-loud quasars?

We investigate the X-ray properties of the Parkes sample of Bat-spectrum radio sources using data from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey and archival pointed PSPC observations. In total, 163 of the 323 sources are detected. For the remaining 160 sources, 2 sigma upper limits to the X-ray flux are derived. We present power-law photon indices in the 0.1-2.4 keV energy band for 115 sources, which were determined either with a hardness ratio technique or from direct fits to pointed PSPC data if a sufficient number of photons were available. The average photon index is <Gamma > = 1.95(-0.12)(+0.13) for flat-spectrum radio-loud quasars, <Gamma > = 1.70(-0.24)(+0.23) for galaxies, and <Gamma > = 2.40(-0.31)(+0.12) for BL Lac objects. The soft X-ray photon index is correlated with redshift and with radio spectral index in the sense that sources at high redshift and/or with flat (or inverted) radio spectra have flatter X-ray spectra on average. The results are in accord with orientation-dependent unification schemes for radio-loud active galactic nuclei. Webster et al. discovered many sources with unusually red optical continua among the quasars of this sample, and interpreted this result in terms of extinction by dust. Although the X-ray spectra in general do not show excess absorption, we find that low-redshift optically red quasars have significantly lower soft X-ray luminosities on average than objects with blue optical continua. The difference disappears for higher redshifts, as is expected for intrinsic absorption by cold gas associated with the dust. In addition, the scatter in log(f(x)/f(o)) is consistent with the observed optical extinction, contrary to previous claims based on optically or X-ray selected samples. Although alternative explanations for the red optical continua cannot be excluded with the present X-ray data, we note that the observed X-ray properties are consistent with the idea that dust plays an important role in some of the radio-loud quasars with red optical continua.

The role of mobile belts for the longevity of deep cratonic lithosphere: The crumple zone model

Many Archean cratons are surrounded by Proterozoic mobile belts that have experienced episodes of tectonic re-activation over their lifetimes. This suggests that mobile belt lithosphere may be associated with long lived, inherited weakness. It is proposed that the proximity of this weakness can increase the longevity of deep Archean lithosphere by buffering Archean cratons from mantle derived stresses. The physical plausibility of this idea is explored through numerical simulations of mantle convection that include continents and allow for material rheologies that model the combined brittle and ductile behavior of the lithosphere. Within the simulations, the longevity of deep cratonic lithosphere does increase if it is buffered by mobile belts that can fail at relatively low stress levels.

Social class and cultural mobility - Reconfiguring the cultural omnivore thesis

This article explores the idea of 'cultural mobility' both as a way of thinking about the polarizing logic of class relations and practices in contemporary society and as a means by which the debate over the cultural omnivore might be advanced. The concept of cultural mobility refers to the differential capacity to engage with or consume cultural goods and services across the entire spectrum of cultural life, an ability which is itself premised upon an unequal, class-related distribution in cultural competence. Cultural mobility, then, is the ability to move at will between cultural realms, a freedom to choose where one is positioned in the cultural landscape. I argue that the concept provides fertile ground for exploring possible interconnections between a number of divergent strands in current social theory which have largely developed independently of each other. At the same time much of this theoretical effort remains divorced from concrete research agendas. Using data collected as part of a major study of Australian cultural consumption, the article provides a case study of cultural mobility and its class moorings which serves to clarify some of the existing confusions concerning the cultural omnivore.

Multiresolution spatial databases: Making web-based spatial applications faster

Spatial data has now been used extensively in the Web environment, providing online customized maps and supporting map-based applications. The full potential of Web-based spatial applications, however, has yet to be achieved due to performance issues related to the large sizes and high complexity of spatial data. In this paper, we introduce a multiresolution approach to spatial data management and query processing such that the database server can choose spatial data at the right resolution level for different Web applications. One highly desirable property of the proposed approach is that the server-side processing cost and network traffic can be reduced when the level of resolution required by applications are low. Another advantage is that our approach pushes complex multiresolution structures and algorithms into the spatial database engine. That is, the developer of spatial Web applications needs not to be concerned with such complexity. This paper explains the basic idea, technical feasibility and applications of multiresolution spatial databases.