Developing sustainable value proposition: A case study from manufacturing industry

Increasing pressures to reduce costs, inprove productivity, and lower the environmental impact are forcing suppliers to present evidences of the monetary and societal value they create for the customers and society around. The extant academic literature on the practical activities related to topic is still sparse and this study addresses the gap by developing sustainable customer value proposition for Valmet’s recycled fibre line solution for the Chinese market. The research is based on literature review and single case study method. Theoretically the study is connected to the emerging literature of customer value and life cycle engineering, and to the research of sustainable development in the field of marketing. For exloiting empirical evidences, in-depth supplier interviews and customer survey were conducted. The results suggest that selling of recycled fibre line solution requires tangible and credible evidence of the value and utility which is delivered for the customer. In addition to the economic benefits also societal benefits should be included in the value proposition that are the focus of attention in China. Still, the role of discovered benefits may be contradictory until they are communicated to appropriate decision makers. Managerially the study contributes to the customer value management and quantification knowledge and practices in Valmet’s organization.

Creating Shared Value in India: How Indian Corporations Are Contributing to Inclusive Growth While. Strengthening Their Competitive Advantage

Competitividad y valor compartido

Measuring Shared Value: How to Unlock Value by Linking Social and Business Results

Competitividad y valor compartido

The Big idea: Creating Shared Value

Competitividad y valor compartido

Understanding value congruence : a sport organization case study

With the recent growth in cultural complexity, many organizations are faced with increasingly diverse employee pools. Gaining a greater understanding of the values that employees possess is the first step in effectively satisfying their needs and achieving a more productive workforce (lung & Avolio, 2000). Values playa significant role in influencing individual behaviours. It is therefore necessary to assess the qualities of employee value systems and directly link them to the values of the organization. The importance of values and value congruence has been emphasized by many organizational behaviour researchers (cf. Adkins & Caldwell, 2004; Erdogan, Kraimer, & Liden, 2004; Jung & Avolio, 2000; Rokeach, 1973); however the emphasis on value studies remains fairly stagnant within the sport industry (Amis, Slack, & Hinings, 2002). In order to examine the realities that were constructed by the participants in this study a holistic view of the impact of values within a specific sport organization were provided. The purpose of this case study was to examine organizational and employee values to understand the effects of values and value congruence on employee behaviours within the context of a large Canadian sport organization. A mUltiple methods case study approach was adopted in order to fully serve the purpose and provide a comprehensive view of the organization being examined. Document analysis, observations, surveys, as well as semi-structured interviews were conducted. The process allowed for triangulation and confirmability of the findings. Each method functioned to create an overarching understanding of the values and value congruence within this organization. The analysis of the findings was divided into qualitative and quantitative sections. The qualitative documents were analyzed twice, once manually by the researcher and once via AtIas.ti Version 4 (1998). The a priori and emergent coding that took place was based on triangulating the findings and uncovering common themes throughout the data. The Rokeach Value Survey (1973) that was incorporated into the survey design of the study was analyzed using descriptive statistics, as well as Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal Wallis formulas. These were deemed appropriate for analysis given the non-parametric nature of the survey instrument (Kinnear & Gray, 2004). The quantitative survey served to help define the values and value congruence that was then holistically examined through the qualitative interviews, document analyses, and observations. The results of the study indicated incongruent value levels between employees and those stated or perceived as the organization's values. Each finding demonstrated that varying levels of congruence may have diverse affects on individual behaviours. These behaviours range from production levels to interactions with fellow employees to turnover. In addition to the findings pertaining to the research questions, a number of other key issues were uncovered regarding departmentalization, communication, and board relations. Each has contributed to a greater understanding of the organization and has created direction for further research within this area of study.

What children value : a scale to guide health promotion programs

Objective. Physical activity is important for the health of all human beings. Although it is important to develop good health promotion programs for children to increase participation in physical activity, to date there appear to be no programs based on what kids value beyond health and physical activity itself. This study proposed to create a scale with strong content and face validity that could uncover what any given population of children value in life regardless of their participation in physical activity and that experts feel could be related to physical activity. These findings will allow the development of targeted health promotion programs to increase children's participation in regular physical activity. Method In this study, a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches was used. Data were gathered from seven experts in the field, sixty-seven children in grades three to five, five parents, and three teachers. From these data response groupings were created and sent to four experts to be given single word names. The resulting nine theme names were re-worked into "child-friendly" language. Four children were then asked to discuss theme names to see if they liked and understood them. The next step involved asking children and experts to rank order the nine themes, the children in general and the experts in terms of relevance to physical activity. From these results, possible versions of the scale were then created using the combined expert/children rankings. Each version was examined for content validity. Two versions of a scale resulted. These were sent to experts, parents, teachers and children in order to determine which one they liked better and to suggest any foreseeable problems. Once this information was collected, a beta (final prototype) version of the scale was created. Results. Nine common theme names were created from the response groupings. All four children agreed that they did understand and like each of the nine theme names. Experts and teachers agreed that full coverage of the content had been achieved. Children suggested a single wording change from "Being Accepted" to "Being Included". Five themes were selected for inclusion. The beta version of the scale included 12 forced choice statements, the first ten comparing all themes against one another followed by two anchor statements. Conclusion. At the outset it was recognized that it is essential to know what children think is important in their lives in order to serve as potential benefits in the development of effective physical activity promotion programs. This study developed a scale which could be used to determine what a population of children feel is important in order to focus health promotion programs for physical activity. The scale has strong face and content validity.

Research in the clinical setting : a qualitative study of the value of play research in the continuing education of occupational therapists.

Occupational therapists have always recognized playas an important part of a child's life. However, until recently play has been viewed as a medium for reaching treatment goals, rather than as an activity that is valuable in and of itself. If occupational therapists think of playas the primary activity or occupation of childhood, then play should be a very important area of focus for paediatric clinicians. In order to assist children to become as independent as possible with play and to have fulfilling play experiences the occupational therapist needs to have a clear understanding of how to assess, set goals which lead towards competence in play, and promote play. Recent play literature has placed importance on play behaviours and looking at the relationship between the child and both the human and nonhuman environment. Believing that play and playfulness can and should be promoted, for children with physical disabilities, requires that therapists learn new assessment and intervention strategies. A new assessment tool, The Test of Playfulness, was developed by Bundy in 1994. It addressed play behaviours and environmental influences. The author, a co-investigator and eight occupational therapists were involved in a playfulness study using this test to compare the playfulness of children with physical disabilities with their able-bodied peers. After the study was completed the author questioned whether or not involvement in the playfulness study was enough of a change agent to bring about transformative learning in order to further the eight occupational therapists' education about play.This study investigated changes in either the therapists' thinking about play or their behaviour in their clinical practice. The study also examined the participants' retention of knowledge about the Test of Playfulness. The eight therapists who had been involved in the playfulness study (participants) were matched with eight therapists who had not been involved (nonparticipants). The therapists were interviewed 9 to 12 months after completion of the playfulness study. They were asked to describe various scenarios of play and open ended prompts were used to elicit the therapists' perceptions of play, good play, the role or value of play, environmental and gender influences on play, play assessment and intervention, and play research, for children with and without disabilities. The participants were also prompted to discuss their experience with the playfulness study. A self-report questionnaire was also completed at the end of the interview. The results of the study demonstrated that: (a) the play research project was a good format for continuing the participants' education about play; (b) their thinking had changed about play; (c) according to self report, they had used this new knowledge in their clinical practice; and (d) the participants remembered the items on the Test of Playfulness and could use them in describing various aspects of play. This study found that participating in a play research project had been an effective method of professional development. It also highlighted the need for increased awareness of the recent literature on play and the developing role of the occupational therapist in the assessment and intervention of play.

The effects of quinpirole in eliciting 50 kHz calls from the rat nucleus accumbens /

Fifty kHz rat vocalizations are theorized to reflect a positive affective state, and index the reward value of stimuli (Knutson, Burgdorf & Panksepp, 2002; Panksepp & Burgdorf, 2003; Brudzynski,2005). Previous studies have identified the neurochemical substrate of this behaviour to be dependent on dopaminergic activity at the nucleus accumbens shell (Burgdorf, Knutson, Panksepp & Ikemoto, 2001; Thompson, Leonard & Brudzynski, 2006). The utilization of d-amphetamine (a non-selective dopamine agonist) in these studies does not address the specific dopamine receptor types involved. The present study aims to identify the role of the D2- like family of receptors in the nucleus accumbens shell in the production of 50 kHz vocalizations in adult rats. Single injections of quinpirole in a saline vehicle were administered to the nucleus accumbens shell of 57 rats, and the number of 50 kHz vocalizations were recorded. An inverted V-shaped relationship was found between quinpirole dose (0.5 ~g, 3 ~g, 6 ~g, 1 0 ~g and 20 ~g, all in 0.2~1 saline) and the mean number of 50 kHz calls produced. Quinpirole successfully elicited significantly more 50 kHz calls than did a saline control at the 6 ~g dose, as did 7 ~g/0.2 ~l of d-amphetamine injections into the same brain site. To test whether a selective D2 antagonist could reverse elicited 50 kHz calling, double injections were given that used either saline or raclopride as a pretreatment before quinpirole injections. Saline followed by 6 ~g/0.2 ~l of quinpirole elicited significantly more 50 kHz vocalizations than did a double injection of saline, while pretreatment with an equimolar dose of raclopride reduced elicited calls to control levels. Raclopride was also used as a pretreatment of 7 ~g/0.2 ~l d-amphetamine, which elicited significantly fewer 50 kHz vocalizations than saline followed by amphetamine, replicating the finding of Thompson, Leonard & Brudzynski (2006).Subcutaneous injections of 0.5 mg/kg and 1.5 mg/kg of quinpirole produced a similar number of 50 kHz vocalizations as subcutaneous injection of saline. Wider dose ranges may be explored in fiiture research. Thus, direct activation of the Da-like receptors in the nucleus accumbens shell was sufficient to elicit 50 kHz vocalizations in adult rats, an effect which was reversed with selective local antagonism of Da-like receptors. The Da-like receptor family also appears necessary for pharmacological activation of 50 kHz calling, as d-amphetamine was no longer able to effectively elicit these vocalizations from the nucleus accumbens shell when the Da-receptor family was antagonized with raclopride. The acoustic parameters of elicited vocalizations remained typical of rat 50 kHz calls. Detailed analyses of the acoustic characteristics of elicited calls indicated significant increases in call duration and peak frequency across drug injection groups, particularly among quinpirole dose groups. The implications of these findings are not yet clear, but may represent an important direction for future research into the coding of semiotic content into affective signals in rats.

Personality traits and personal values : an investigation into the importance of each in the prediction of behaviour /

Personality traits and personal values are two important domains of individual differences. Traits are enduring and distinguishable patterns of behaviour whereas values are societally taught, stable, individual preferences that guide behaviour in order to reach a specific end state. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relations between self and peer report within the domains of personality traits and values, to examine the correlations between values and traits, and to explore the amount of incremental validity of traits and values in predicting behaviour. Two hundred and fiftytwo men and women from a university setting completed self and peer reports on three questionnaires. In order to assess personality traits, the HEXACO-PI (Lee & Ashton, 2004) was used to identify levels of 6 major dimensions of personality in participants. To assess values, the Schwartz Value Survey (Schwartz, 1992) was used to identify the importance each participant placed on each of Schwartz's 10 value types. To measure behaviour, a Behavior Scale, created by Bardi and Schwartz (2003), consisting of items designed to measure the frequency of value-expressive behaviour was used. As expected, correlations between self and peer reports for the personality scales were high indicating that personality traits are easily observable to other people. Correlations between self and peer reports for the values and behaviour scales were only moderate, suggesting that some goals, and behaviours expressive of those goals, may not always be observable to others. Consistent with previous research, there were many strong correlations between traits and values. In addition to the similarities with past research, the present study found that the personality factor Honesty-Humility was correlated strongly with values scales (with five correlations exceeding .25). In the prediction of behaviour, it was found that both personahty and values were able to account for significant and similar amounts of variance. Personality outpredicted values for some behaviours, but the opposite was true of other behaviours. Each domain provided incremental validity beyond the other domain. The impUcations for these findings, along with limitations, and possibilities for future research are also discussed.

"Where is the value in education for me?": experiences and perspectives of Ontario secondary students at risk of non-completion of their Ontario Secondary School Diploma /

This study examined students considered at risk of non-completion of their Ontario Secondary School Diploma and aimed to offer insight into the questions, "What factors currently lead to school disconnect" and "How can these factors be addressed?" Eight students currently enrolled in an alternative learning environment participated in the study. Each was asked to take part in two, digitally recorded interviews that were subsequently transcribed by the researcher. The data were then coded and analysed according to specific themes: obstacles, empowerment, goals, views about success, opinions of school, and power of the teacher. From these themes, three broad focus areas emerged that were used to keep the data analysis focused: worldview, school effects, and self-image. Variances between the data collected and ideas presented in the current literature were highlighted as a reminder that when dealing with a human population, we cannot rely on textbook definitions and theory alone.

Confocal and two-photon microscopy : image enhancement /

Confocal and two-photon microcopy have become essential tools in biological research and today many investigations are not possible without their help. The valuable advantage that these two techniques offer is the ability of optical sectioning. Optical sectioning makes it possible to obtain 3D visuahzation of the structiu-es, and hence, valuable information of the structural relationships, the geometrical, and the morphological aspects of the specimen. The achievable lateral and axial resolutions by confocal and two-photon microscopy, similar to other optical imaging systems, are both defined by the diffraction theorem. Any aberration and imperfection present during the imaging results in broadening of the calculated theoretical resolution, blurring, geometrical distortions in the acquired images that interfere with the analysis of the structures, and lower the collected fluorescence from the specimen. The aberrations may have different causes and they can be classified by their sources such as specimen-induced aberrations, optics-induced aberrations, illumination aberrations, and misalignment aberrations. This thesis presents an investigation and study of image enhancement. The goal of this thesis was approached in two different directions. Initially, we investigated the sources of the imperfections. We propose methods to eliminate or minimize aberrations introduced during the image acquisition by optimizing the acquisition conditions. The impact on the resolution as a result of using a coverslip the thickness of which is mismatched with the one that the objective lens is designed for was shown and a novel technique was introduced in order to define the proper value on the correction collar of the lens. The amoimt of spherical aberration with regard to t he numerical aperture of the objective lens was investigated and it was shown that, based on the purpose of our imaging tasks, different numerical apertures must be used. The deformed beam cross section of the single-photon excitation source was corrected and the enhancement of the resolution and image quaUty was shown. Furthermore, the dependency of the scattered light on the excitation wavelength was shown empirically. In the second part, we continued the study of the image enhancement process by deconvolution techniques. Although deconvolution algorithms are used widely to improve the quality of the images, how well a deconvolution algorithm responds highly depends on the point spread function (PSF) of the imaging system applied to the algorithm and the level of its accuracy. We investigated approaches that can be done in order to obtain more precise PSF. Novel methods to improve the pattern of the PSF and reduce the noise are proposed. Furthermore, multiple soiu'ces to extract the PSFs of the imaging system are introduced and the empirical deconvolution results by using each of these PSFs are compared together. The results confirm that a greater improvement attained by applying the in situ PSF during the deconvolution process.

Investigations of 2-alkyl-3-methoxypyrazines in three ladybug species and wine /

Investigations of 2-alkyl-3-methoxypyrazines (2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyra2ine, 2- secbutyl-3-methoxypyrazine and 2-isobutyl-3-niethoxypyrazine) in ladybug species {Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and wine samples have been conducted. Headspace sampling coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to determine amounts of 2-alkyl-3-methoxypyra2ines in the ladybug species. Hippodamia convergens had the highest amount of alkybnethoxypyrazines, followed by Harmoma axyridis and the least in Coccinella septempunctata. Using a solvent extraction method, the precoccinelline alkaloid was found present in Hippodamia convergens and Coccinella septempunctata but not Harmonia axyridis. Steam distillation followed by a soHd phase extraction method as a sample preparation technique, enhanced detection while the isotope dilution method afforded accurate quantitation of the alkyknethoxypyrazines in the wine samples. Both ladybug-tainted and commercial wine samples were found to contain the 2- alkyl-3-methoxypyrazines. Wine samples prepared in 2001 generally contained higher levels than the corresponding 2003 samples. Levels of the 2-alkyl-3-methoxypyrazines found in the commercial wines ranged from a minimum value of 6 ng/L to 260 ±10 ng/L. Analyses revealed that for both ladybug species and wine samples, the 2- isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine had the highest concentration, followed by 2-isobutyl- 3-methoxypyrazine and the least being the 2-secbutyl-3-methoxypyrazine. Possible contamination of the wine samples by ladybugs is thoroughly discussed. Furthermore, attempts to remove or reduce the levels of the alkylmethoxypyrazines with molecularly imprinted polymers from wine samples are presented in detail.

The structural effects of divalent cations and insulin on phospholipid model membranes /

It is well accepted that structural studies with model membranes are of considerable value in understanding the structure of biological membranes. Many studies with models of pure phospholipids have been done; but the effects of divalent cations and protein on these models would make these studies more applicable to intact membrane. The present study, performed with above view, is a structural analysis of divalent io~cardio1ipin complexes using the technique of x-ray diffraction. Cardiolipin, precipitated from dilute solution by divalent ionscalcium, magnesium and barium, contains little water and the structure formed is similar to the structure of pure cardiolipin with low water content. The calcium-cardiolipin complex forms a pure hexagonal type II phase that exists from 40 to 400 C. The molar ratio of calcium and cardiolipin in the complex is 1 : 1. Cardiolipin, precipitated with magnesium and barium forms two co-existing phases, lamellar and hexagonal, the relative quantity of the two phases being dependent on temperature. The hexagonal phase type II consisting of water filled channels formed by adding calcium to cardiolipin may have a remarkable permeability property in intact membrane. Pure cardiolipin and insulin at pH 3.0 and 4.0 precipitate but form no organised structure. Lecithin/cardiolipin and insulin precipitated at pH 3.0 give a pure lamellar phase. As the lecithin/cardiolipin molar ratio changes from 93/7 to SO/50, (a) the repeat distance of the lamellar changes from 72.8 X to 68.2 A; (b) the amount of protein bound increases in such a way that cardiolipin/insulin molar ratio in the complex reaches a maximum constant value at lecithin/cardiolipin molar ratio 70/30. A structural model based on these data shows that the molecular arrangement of lipid and protein is a lipid bilayer coated with protein molecules. The lipid-protein interaction is chiefly electrostatic and little, if any, hydrophobic bonding occurs in this particular system. So, the proposed model is essentially the same as Davson-Daniellifs model of biological membrane.

Husserl's approach to transcendental intersubjectivity

It is our intention in the course of the development of this thesis to give an account of how intersubjectivity is "eidetically" constituted by means of the application of the phenomenological reduction to our experience in the context of the thought of Edmund Husserl; contrasted with various representative thinkers in what H. Spiegelberg refers to as "the wider scene" of phenomenology. That is to say, we intend to show those structures of both consciousness and the relation which man has to the world which present themselves as the generic conditions for the possibility of overcoming our "radical sol itude" in order that we may gain access to the mental 1 ife of an Other as other human subject. It is clear that in order for us to give expression to these accounts in a coherent manner, along with their relative merits, it will be necessary to develop the common features of any phenomenological theory of consdousness whatever. Therefore, our preliminary inquiry, subordinate to the larger theme, shall be into some of the epistemological results of the application of the phenomenological method used to develop a transcendental theory of consciousness. Inherent in this will be the deliniation of the exigency for making this an lIintentional ll theory. We will then be able to see how itis possible to overcome transcendentally the Other as an object merely given among other merely given objects, and further, how this other is constituted specifically as other ego. The problem of transcendental intersubjectivity and its constitution in experience can be viewed as one of the most compelling, if not the most polemical of issues in phenomenology. To be sure, right from the beginning we are forced to ask a number of questions regarding Husserl's responses to the problem within the context of the methodological genesis of the Cartesian Meditations, and The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology. This we do in order to set the stage for amplification. First, we ask, has Husserl lived up to his goal, in this connexion, of an apodictic result? We recall that in his Logos article of 1911 he adminished that previous philosophy does not have at its disposal a merely incomplete and, in particular instances, imperfect doctrinal system; it simply has none whatever. Each and every question is herein controverted, each position is a matter of individual conviction, of the interpretation given byaschool, of a "point of view". 1. Moreover in the same article he writes that his goal is a philosophical system of doctrine that, after the gigantic preparatory work. of generations, really be- . gins from the ground up with a foundation free from doubt and rises up like any skilful construction, wherein stone is set upon store, each as solid as the other, in accord with directive insights. 2. Reflecting upon the fact that he foresaw "preparatory work of generations", we perhaps should not expect that he would claim that his was the last word on the matter of intersubjectivity. Indeed, with 2. 'Edmund Husserl, lIPhilosophy as a Rigorous Science" in Phenomenology and theCrisis6fPhilosophy, trans". with an introduction by Quentin Lauer (New York.: Harper & Row, 1965) pp. 74 .. 5. 2Ibid . pp. 75 .. 6. 3. the relatively small amount of published material by Husserl on the subject we can assume that he himself was not entirely satisfied with his solution. The second question we have is that if the transcendental reduction is to yield the generic and apodictic structures of the relationship of consciousness to its various possible objects, how far can we extend this particular constitutive synthetic function to intersubjectivity where the objects must of necessity always remain delitescent? To be sure, the type of 'object' here to be considered is unlike any other which might appear in the perceptual field. What kind of indubitable evidence will convince us that the characteristic which we label "alter-ego" and which we attribute to an object which appears to resemble another body which we have never, and can never see the whole of (namely, our own bodies), is nothing more than a cleverly contrived automaton? What;s the nature of this peculiar intentional function which enables us to say "you think just as I do"? If phenomenology is to take such great pains to reduce the takenfor- granted, lived, everyday world to an immanent world of pure presentation, we must ask the mode of presentation for transcendent sub .. jectivities. And in the end, we must ask if Husserl's argument is not reducible to a case (however special) of reasoning by analogy, and if so, tf this type of reasoning is not so removed from that from whtch the analogy is made that it would render all transcendental intersubjective understandtng impos'sible? 2. HistoticalandEidetic Priority: The Necessity of Abstraction 4. The problem is not a simple one. What is being sought are the conditions for the poss ibili:ty of experi encing other subjects. More precisely, the question of the possibility of intersubjectivity is the question of the essence of intersubjectivity. What we are seeking is the absolute route from one solitude to another. Inherent in this programme is the ultimate discovery of the meaning of community. That this route needs be lIabstract" requires some explanation. It requires little explanation that we agree with Husserl in the aim of fixing the goal of philosophy on apodictic, unquestionable results. This means that we seek a philosophical approach which is, though, not necessarily free from assumptions, one which examines and makes explicit all assumptions in a thorough manner. It would be helpful at this point to distinguish between lIeidetic ll priority, and JlhistoricallJpriority in order to shed some light on the value, in this context, of an abstraction.3 It is true that intersubjectivity is mundanely an accomplished fact, there havi.ng been so many mi.llions of years for humans to beIt eve in the exi s tence of one another I s abili ty to think as they do. But what we seek is not to study how this proceeded historically, but 3Cf• Maurice Natanson;·TheJburne in 'Self, a Stud in Philoso h and Social Role (Santa Cruz, U. of California Press, 1970 . rather the logical, nay, "psychological" conditions under which this is possible at all. It is therefore irrelevant to the exigesis of this monograph whether or not anyone should shrug his shoulders and mumble IIwhy worry about it, it is always already engaged". By way of an explanation of the value of logical priority, we can find an analogy in the case of language. Certainly the language 5. in a spoken or written form predates the formulation of the appropriate grammar. However, this grammar has a logical priority insofar as it lays out the conditions from which that language exhibits coherence. The act of formulating the grammar is a case of abstraction. The abstraction towards the discovery of the conditions for the poss; bi 1 ity of any experiencing whatever, for which intersubjective experience is a definite case, manifests itself as a sort of "grammar". This "grammar" is like the basic grammar of a language in the sense that these "rulesil are the ~ priori conditions for the possibility of that experience. There is, we shall say, an "eidetic priority", or a generic condition which is the logical antecedent to the taken-forgranted object of experience. In the case of intersubjectivity we readily grant that one may mundanely be aware of fellow-men as fellowmen, but in order to discover how that awareness is possible it is necessary to abstract from the mundane, believed-in experience. This process of abstraction is the paramount issue; the first step, in the search for an apodictic basis for social relations. How then is this abstraction to be accomplished? What is the nature of an abstraction which would permit us an Archimedean point, absolutely grounded, from which we may proceed? The answer can be discovered in an examination of Descartes in the light of Husserl's criticism. 3. The Impulse for Scientific Philosophy. The Method to which it Gives Rise. 6. Foremost in our inquiry is the discovery of a method appropriate to the discovery of our grounding point. For the purposes of our investigations, i.e., that of attempting to give a phenomenological view of the problem of intersubjectivity, it would appear to be of cardinal importance to trace the attempt of philosophy predating Husserl, particularly in the philosophy of Descartes, at founding a truly IIscientific ll philosophy. Paramount in this connexion would be the impulse in the Modern period, as the result of more or less recent discoveries in the natural sciences, to found philosophy upon scientific and mathematical principles. This impulse was intended to culminate in an all-encompassing knowledge which might extend to every realm of possible thought, viz., the universal science ot IIMathexis Universalis ll •4 This was a central issue for Descartes, whose conception of a universal science would include all the possible sciences of man. This inclination towards a science upon which all other sciences might be based waS not to be belittled by Husserl, who would appropriate 4This term, according to Jacab Klein, was first used by Barocius, the translator of Proclus into Latin, to designate the highest mathematical discipline. . 7. it himself in hopes of establishing, for the very first time, philosophy as a "rigorous science". It bears emphasizing that this in fact was the drive for the hardening of the foundations of philosophy, the link between the philosophical projects of Husserl and those of the philosophers of the modern period. Indeed, Husserl owes Descartes quite a debt for indicating the starting place from which to attempt a radical, presupositionless, and therefore scientific philosophy, in order not to begin philosophy anew, but rather for the first time.5 The aim of philosophy for Husserl is the search for apodictic, radical certitude. However while he attempted to locate in experience the type of necessity which is found in mathematics, he wished this necessity to be a function of our life in the world, as opposed to the definition and postulation of an axiomatic method as might be found in the unexpurgated attempts to found philosophy in Descartes. Beyond the necessity which is involved in experiencing the world, Husserl was searching for the certainty of roots, of the conditi'ons which underl ie experience and render it pOssible. Descartes believed that hi~ MeditatiOns had uncovered an absolute ground for knowledge, one founded upon the ineluctable givenness of thinking which is present even when one doubts thinking. Husserl, in acknowledging this procedure is certainly Cartesian, but moves, despite this debt to Descartes, far beyond Cartesian philosophy i.n his phenomenology (and in many respects, closer to home). 5Cf. Husserl, Philosophy as a Rigorous Science, pp. 74ff. 8 But wherein lies this Cartesian jumping off point by which we may vivify our theme? Descartes, through inner reflection, saw that all of his convictions and beliefs about the world were coloured in one way or another by prejudice: ... at the end I feel constrained to reply that there is nothing in a all that I formerly believed to be true, of which I cannot in some measure doubt, and that not merely through want of thought or through levity, but for reasons which are very powerful and maturely considered; so that henceforth I ought not the less carefully to refrain from giving credence to these opinions than to that which is manifestly false, if I desire to arrive at any certainty (in the sciences). 6 Doubts arise regardless of the nature of belief - one can never completely believe what one believes. Therefore, in order to establish absolutely grounded knowledge, which may serve as the basis fora "universal Science", one must use a method by which one may purge oneself of all doubts and thereby gain some radically indubitable insight into knowledge. Such a method, gescartes found, was that, as indicated above by hi,s own words, of II radical doubt" which "forbids in advance any judgemental use of (previous convictions and) which forbids taking any position with regard to their val idi'ty. ,,7 This is the method of the "sceptical epoche ll , the method of doubting all which had heretofor 6Descartes,Meditations on First Philosophy, first Med., (Libera 1 Arts Press, New York, 1954) trans. by L. LaFl eur. pp. 10. 7Husserl ,CrisiS of Eliroeari SCiences and Trariscendental Phenomenology, (Northwestern U. Press, Evanston, 1 7 ,p. 76. 9. been considered as belonging to the world, including the world itself. What then is left over? Via the process of a thorough and all-inclusive doubting, Descartes discovers that the ego which performs the epoche, or "reduction", is excluded from these things which can be doubted, and, in principle provides something which is beyond doubt. Consequently this ego provides an absolute and apodictic starting point for founding scientific philosophy. By way of this abstention. of bel ief, Desca'rtes managed to reduce the worl d of everyday 1 ife as bel ieved in, to mere 'phenomena', components of the rescogitans:. Thus:, having discovered his Archimedean point, the existence of the ego without question, he proceeds to deduce the 'rest' of the world with the aid of innate ideas and the veracity of God. In both Husserl and Descartes the compelling problem is that of establ ishing a scientific, apodictic phi'losophy based upon presuppos itionless groundwork .. Husserl, in thi.s regard, levels the charge at Descartes that the engagement of his method was not complete, such that hi.S: starting place was not indeed presupositionless, and that the validity of both causality and deductive methods were not called into question i.'n the performance of theepoche. In this way it is easy for an absolute evidence to make sure of the ego as: a first, "absolute, indubitablyexisting tag~end of the worldll , and it is then only a matter of inferring the absolute subs.tance and the other substances which belon.g to the world, along with my own mental substance, using a logically val i d deductive procedure. 8 8Husserl, E.;' Cartesian 'Meditation;, trans. Dorion Cairns (Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1970), p. 24 ff.

Palaeopigment accumulation and implcations for paleolimnology over the lost century for two Ontario lakes

Crawford Lake is a meromictic lake, which is 24 m deep and has an area of 2.5 ha, and has never been reported to have mixed below 16 m. Lady Evelyn Lake, which became a reservoir when a dam was built in 1916, is dimictic with a maximum depth of about 35 m. 1 My research proved that both native chlorophylls and the ratio of chlorophyll derivatives to total carotenoids were better preserved in the shallower lake (Crawford Lake) because it was meromictic. Thus the anaerobic conditions in Crawford Lake below 16 m (monimolimnion) provide excellent conditions for pigment preservation. Under such conditions, the preservation of both chlorophylls and carotenoids, including oscillaxanthin and myxoxanthophyll, are extremely good compared with those of Lady Evelyn Reservoir, in which anaerobic conditions are rarely encountered at the mud-water interface. During the period from 1500 to 1900 A. D. in Crawford Lake, the accumulation rates of oscillaxanthin and myxoxanthophyll were extremely high, but those of chlorophyll derivatives and total carotenoids were relatively low. This was correlated with the presence of a dense benthic mat of cyanobacteria near the lake's chemocline. Competition for light between the deep dwelling cyanobacteria and overlying phytoplankton in this meromictic lake would have been intensified as the lake became more and more eutrophic (1955-1991 A. D.). During the period from 1955 to 1991 A. D., the accumulation rates of chlorophyll derivatives and total carotenoids in the sediment core from Crawford Lake (0-7.5 cm, 1955-present) increased. During this same period, the accumulation rates of cyanobacterial pigments (Le. oscillaxanthin and myxoxanthophyll) declined as the lake became more eutrophic. Because the major cyanobacteria in Crawford Lake are benthic mat forming Lyngbya and Oscillatoria and not phytoplankton, eutrophication resulted in a decline of the mat forming algal pigments. This is important because in previous palaeolimnological studies the concentrations of oscillaxanthin and myxoxanthophyll have been used as correlates with lake trophic levels. The results of organic carbon a13c analysis on the Crawford Lake sediment core supported the conclusions from the pigment study as noted above. High values of a13c at the depth of 34-48 cm (1500-1760 A. D.) were related to a dense population of benthic Oscillatoria and Lyngbya living on the bottom of the lake during that period. The Oscillatoria and Lyngbya utilized the bicarbonate, which had a high a 13C value. Very low values were found at 0-7 cm in the Crawford sediment core. At this time phytoplankton was the main primary producer, which enriched 12C by photosynthetic assimilation.