An illustration of variable precision rough set theory : The gender classification of the European barn swallow (Hirundo rustica)

This paper introduces a new technique in the investigation of object classification and illustrates the potential use of this technique for the analysis of a range of biological data, using avian morphometric data as an example. The nascent variable precision rough sets (VPRS) model is introduced and compared with the decision tree method ID3 (through a ‘leave n out’ approach), using the same dataset of morphometric measures of European barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) and assessing the accuracy of gender classification based on these measures. The results demonstrate that the VPRS model, allied with the use of a modern method of discretization of data, is comparable with the more traditional non-parametric ID3 decision tree method. We show that, particularly in small samples, the VPRS model can improve classification and to a lesser extent prediction aspects over ID3. Furthermore, through the ‘leave n out’ approach, some indication can be produced of the relative importance of the different morphometric measures used in this problem. In this case we suggest that VPRS has advantages over ID3, as it intelligently uses more of the morphometric data available for the data classification, whilst placing less emphasis on variables with low reliability. In biological terms, the results suggest that the gender of swallows can be determined with reasonable accuracy from morphometric data and highlight the most important variables in this process. We suggest that both analysis techniques are potentially useful for the analysis of a range of different types of biological datasets, and that VPRS in particular has potential for application to a range of biological circumstances.

Logic and The Open Society : revising the place of Tarski’s theory of truth within Popper’s political philosophy

This chapter retraces the way in which the Austrian philosopher Sir Karl Popper came to accept a Correspondence Theory of Truth from the work of the Polish logician and mathematician Alfred Tarski. It is argued that Popper’s use of Tarski’s semantic theory of truth reveals crucial insights into the fundamental characteristics of Popper’s social philosophy.  Quite deceptively, arguments based upon Tarski’s theory of truth appear implicitly throughout the text of The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945). It is then demonstrated how Popper integrated a correspondence theory of truth into a theory of the functions of communicative language that he received from Karl Bühler.

An email classification model based on rough set theory

The communication via email is one of the most popular services of the Internet. Emails have brought us great convenience in our daily work and life. However, unsolicited messages or spam, flood our email boxes, which results in bandwidth, time and money wasting. To this end, this paper presents a rough set based model to classify emails into three categories - spam, no-spam and suspicious, rather than two classes (spam and non-spam) in most currently used approaches. By comparing with popular classification methods like Naive Bayes classification, the error ratio that a non-spam is discriminated to spam can be reduced using our proposed model.

Defuturing an architecture of destruction: a reconciliation of Van Berkel and Bos to the new design philosophy of Tony Fry

For some time now Tony Fry has promoted the idea of 'The Sustainment', an idea that asserts a paradigm shift in attitudes to consumption. 'The Sustainment' recognises that increasingly human futures are products of self-determination and not chance. Fry’s hypothesis can be understood through his concept of Defuturing, a philosophy that questions the role of design and the responsibility of designers to facilitating the ability to sustain (Fry 1999).
Central to Fry’s philosophy is an awareness that it is in the best interests of designers and their clients, as inhabitants of cultures increasingly driven by technology, to be aware of the relationships between the products and theories of design and the processes and implications of technological change. This is an awareness that is central to the concepts, work, and methodologies of the ‘UN Studio’ of Van Berkel and Bos described and elaborated upon in Move – Imagination, Techniques, and Effects (Van Berkel & Bos 1999). Here, Ben Van Berkel defines the parameters and methodologies employed by UN Studio in an environment of technological and socio-economic change. The Dutch practice could be said to exemplify something of a zeitgeist in current architectural design that sees architects, as Van Berkel and Bos view them, as “fashion designers of the future, dressing events to come and holding up a mirror to the world (Van Berkel & Bos 1999, back cover).” It is a zeitgeist that Fry might see as aligned to the resilient hype of ‘new creativity’, ‘globalisation’ the ‘romance with technology’, and the vacuous-ness of the world of fashion. (Fry The Voice of Sustainment: on Design Intelligence 2005).
A source of breaking down such design propaganda is identified by Fry in the notion of ‘scenarios,’ which “provide a mechanism for politico-practice assemblage in which dialogues and narratives of change can be rehearsed in ways that enable participants to re-educate themselves via critical confrontations” (Fry The Voice of Sustainment: on Design Intelligence 2005). From such a perspective this paper aims to practically illustrate and ground the Defuturing of Fry by establishing a dialogue between his writings and the theories that have generated the architectural designs of Van Berkel and Bos and there UN Studio. This will be a ‘scenario’ that examines therefore an appropriation and transformation of the applied intellectual practice of Van Berkel and Bos. Through this confrontation we shall explore the question of why sustainability appears to be so low in the agenda of many pre-eminent contemporary architects, and how we might refocus therefore practice and theory on the ability to sustain.

The potential utility of Daoist theory and practice in psychology

This thesis attempted to demonstrate the potential for adaptation from the Chinese philosophical tradition of Daoism into modern psychology. The candidate was able to succesfully demonstrate a link between Daoist thinking style and reduced stress levels, especially in Chinese individuals.

A demonstration of set-points for subjective wellbeing

This paper presents evidence for the existence of ‘set-points’ for subjective wellbeing. Our results derive from a 10-year longitudinal study in which subjective wellbeing has been measured using a single question of general life satisfaction. The process of data analysis is driven by logic based on the theory of subjective wellbeing homeostasis. This analysis involves the iterative elimination of raw data, from 7,356 individual respondents, based on confidence limits. All results are projected onto a 0–100 point scale. We demonstrate evidence for the existence of set-points lying between 71 and 90 points, with an average set-point-range of 18–20 points for each person. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Philosophy of childhood: the foundational childhood needs and wellbeing

 The foundational needs of children and wellbeing have been examined through the India chakra system. This new needs theory assists in the understanding children’s basic needs as well as a way to diagnose the unmet needs of children. The model has applications for psychological and education systems as well as parenting.

The romanticism of contemporary theory : institution, aesthetics, nihilism

"Justin Clemens presents a valuable study of the links between Romanticism and contemporary theory. The central contention of this book is that contemporary theory is still essentially Romantic - despite all its declarations to the contrary, and despite all its attempts to elude or exceed the limits bequeathed it by Romantic thought." "This study will be of interest to literary theorists, philosophers, political theorists, and cultural studies scholars."--BOOK JACKET.

Flow analysis based on a pulsed flow of solution: theory, instrumentation and applications

The increased demands placed on solution propulsion by programmed flow systems, such as sequential injection analysis, lab-on-value technology, bead injection and multi-commutation, has highlighted the inability of many conventional pumps to generate a smooth, consistent flow. A number of researchers have examined ways to overcome the inadvertent, uncontrolled pulsation caused by the mechanical action of peristaltic pumps. In contrast, we have developed instruments that exploit the characteristics of a reproducible pulsed flow of solution. In this paper, we discuss our instrumental approaches and some applications that have benefited from the use of a reproducible pulsed flow rather than the traditional linear flow approach. To place our approach in the context of the continuously developing field of flow analysis, an overview of other programmed flow systems is also presented.

What is the subaltern of the comparative philosophy of religion?

It is claimed that Comparative Philosophy of Religion (CPR) mistakenly builds on the dogmas of comparative religion (or history of religions) and philosophy of religion. Thus, the belief that there are things common and therefore comparable between two or more traditions and that these objects of comparison are of philosophical or theological significance are questions that continue to trouble the field. Just what does one compare, how does one choose what to compare or why, through what methodological and epistemic tools, and who is it that carries out the tasks? But what has remained unasked and unanalyzed are the larger meta-questions concerning the motivation, civilizational presuppositions, cultural parochialism, or legacies of orientalism, modernity, and (post-)colonialism that together affect the boundedness of certain key categories and thematic issues in the comparative enterprise such as God or the Transcendent, Creation, the Problem of Evil, the Afterlife, Sin, Redemption, Purpose, and the End. Is difference with respect to alterity and altarity permissible? If so, what a postcolonial, differently gendered, cross-cultural critique would look like and what is left of CPR are two such questions explored here.

Decades of research efforts to link economic and environmental performance: still data in search of a theory?

With the proliferation of social investment vehicles, stakeholders, particularly investors, are increasingly aware of the relationship between economic, social and environmental performance, and disclosure to external parties. This is particularly evident in The Securities and Exchange Commission's Environmental Disclosure Rules. The thesis of this paper is that, after three decades of academic and professional research efforts, there are still no firm proactive guidelines to firmly link the financial performance with environmental and social performance. The purpose of this paper is to revisit empirical research efforts spanning three decades in order to delineate potential links that may assist in systematic, comparable reporting

A theoretical application of exchange theory to online purchase decisions

Recent discussion within the marketing literature has accentuated the overlap and interrelationships between relationship marketing and e-commerce. However, as discussion is yet to focus on relationship marketing’s theoretical antecedent of exchange theory, this paper considers the evolution of e-commerce in terms of the exchange continuum. It is proposed that insight can be derived from the application of the concepts of extrinsic and intrinsic value (Houston and Gassenheimer, 1987) to online exchange. A theoretical model of extrinsic and intrinsic evaluation is developed, based on online consumers’ valuation of the object of exchange (i.e., the product). Possible empirical measures, to test the model, are suggested, derived from the relationship and services marketing literature.

A gaze through the lens of decision theory toward knowledge translation science

Research findings become evidence when an individual decides that the information is relevant and useful to a particular circumstance. Prior to that point, they are unrelated facts. For research translation to occur, research evidence needs filtering, interpretation, and application by individuals to the specific situation. For this reason, decision science is complementary to knowledge translation science. Both aim to support the individual in deciding the most appropriate action in a dynamic environment where there are masses of uncensored and nonprioritized information readily available. Decision science employs research theories to study the cognitive processes underpinning the filtering and integration of current scientific information into changing contexts. Two meta-theories, coherence and correspondence theories, have been used to provide alternative views and prompt significant debate to advance the science. The aim of this article is to stimulate debate about the relationship between decision theory and knowledge translation. Discussed is the critical role of cognition in clinical decision making, with a focus on knowledge translation. A critical commentary of the knowledge utilization modeling papers is presented from a decision science perspective. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications for knowledge translation when viewed through the lens of decision science.