The Forgiven

For most theorists, paradigm cases of direct blame consist in the feeling and expression of resentment. It has thus seemed natural for these theorists to begin by presenting, and leaning on, an analysis of resentment. But it turns out there are numerous conflicting analyses of it, and these disagreements ramify when theorists use resentment to tell us about the nature of both blame and its resolution in forgiveness. Resentment cannot bear such theoretical weight. So instead of starting at the front end of the blaming exchange with an analysis of resentment, this chapter starts at the back end with an account of what it takes to be successfully forgiven. This approach promises to yield several more determinate conclusions about (a) when the withdrawal of blame and forgiveness are appropriate and why; (b) the nature of the hard feelings that paradigm forgiveness withdraws; (c) why judgment is superfluous to this blaming and forgiving exchange; and (d) why resentment has been the wrong core blaming component to lean on all along.

Gender as a Divine Attribute

It is standard within the Christian tradition to characterize God in predominantly masculine terms. Let ‘traditionalism’ refer to the view that this pattern of characterization is theologically mandatory. This chapter seeks to undercut the main motivations for traditionalism by showing that it is not more accurate to characterize God as masculine rather than feminine (or vice versa). The novelty of the argument lies in the fact that it presupposes neither theological anti-realism nor a robust doctrine of divine transcendence, but instead rests heavy theoretical weight on the imago Dei doctrine and the method of perfect-being theology. The chapter closes by examining the implications of its main argument for the moral and liturgical propriety of characterizing God in predominantly masculine terms.

Comparing Two Methods of Tablet Manipulation to Adjust the Warfarin Dose in Paediatric Care

Tablets containing prescribed doses are not always available, and this is of particular importance in paediatric care where suitable age-appropriate formulations are generally lacking. To obtain a child-adjusted dose, tablets are manipulated in several ways; e.g., they may be dispersed in water before a fraction is extracted, or they may be split before the resulting fragment is dispersed. In this study, the accuracy attained through these manipulation methods was investigated for two generic tablets containing the anticoagulant warfarin. Tablets were dispersed in water (10 mL) before a fraction (10%) was withdrawn, alternatively tablets were split in half or quarter fragments before the fragments were dispersed in water. To investigate the contribution of variability from the different steps in the manipulation processes, the amount of warfarin recovered from the various dispersions was determined, as was the accuracy of the splitting. A validated UHPLC-method was used for quantitative determination of warfarin. Splitting of the tablets could result in deviation >30% from the ideal, theoretical weight. The amount of drug substance extracted as a fraction from the dispersed tablets deviated no more than 10% from the intended amount. To obtain the most accurate child-adjusted fraction dose of warfarin, the tablets investigated in this study should be dispersed and the desired proportion extracted. Practices that involve splitting tablets are likely to increase the variation, and should be avoided.

Metaphor and Scientific Explanation

The idea that metaphors can serve an explanatory function, or that they can carry any theoretical weight, has raised the hackles of philosophers of science from Hempel onward. But there seem to be bona fide cases of explanatory metaphors in science. This chapter sketches an account of explanation, grounded in the connection between explanation and understanding. It discusses some potential arguments for this account and shows how it allows us to make sense of the idea that metaphors can explain. The chapter illustrates these ideas by looking at the case of informational metaphors in cell biology.

The Politics of Whistleblowing in Digitalized Societies

Works on whistleblowing are overwhelmingly found within disciplines such as business ethics, law, and the professions. Despite its undeniable political and social effects, it is surprisingly understudied in political science and sociology. Recent cases such as those of Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Christopher Wylie, and the Panama Papers should prompt political scientists and sociologists to engage systematically with the phenomenon. This article offers a theoretically driven discussion of three complementary questions. (1) What kind of political action is whistleblowing? (2) What are its historical, social, and political roots? (3) How is the practice shaped by digitalization and big data? In relation to the third question, the article argues that digitalization amplifies social complexity and challenges democratic steering. Building on Niklas Luhmann, Ulrich Beck, and Jeffrey Alexander, it lends theoretical weight to the argument that whistleblowers are likely to play an increasingly pronounced political role as digitalization accelerates.

Marx, financial capitalism and the fractured society: Using Bhaskar’s dialectical critical realism to frame a transformatory sociological programme of action for resistance and change

This article begins by considering the relevance and limitations of Marx’s writings for understanding post-1970s financial capitalism. Two specific propositions are outlined and developed. The first is that twenty-first-century financial capitalism is conspicuously vulnerable to implosion or collapse, notably via a Habermasian ‘legitimation crisis’. The second traces its progressive ‘fracturing’, with references to neoliberal austerity and post-welfarism and their deepening impact on the disadvantaged and vulnerable and the sick and disabled. The article then turns to Bhaskar’s dialectical critical realism, suggesting, and attempting to show, that it lends additional philosophical and theoretical weight (‘deepens’ in Bhaskar’s terms) the reach and range of Marxian analyses. The third part of the article focuses on Bhaskar’s evolving theory of transformative – or emancipatory – action. It is contended that his account grounds and allows for rational and compelling resistance to financial capitalism’s neoliberal status quo. In the concluding section, the affinity between Bhaskar’s (neo-Marxian) theory of transformative action and the present authors’ concept of ‘action sociology’ is outlined. The article concludes with a manifesto for an action sociology oriented to ‘absence’, challenging ‘constraining ills’ and imagining and researching ‘alternate futures’.

Introduction

Freedman is a figure of significant distinction; who has had real world influence, yet whose theoretical depth and development has been largely overlooked. Is there anything distinctive in Freedman’s approach, or even the roots of a school of thought? How can we make sense of the extensive and diverse record, and can we bring coherence to it? Is there a common thread running through it? How far does it have theoretical weight? Is there something more than chance and personality involved? How can we make sense of this record of conducting and supporting research that makes a difference in a way that also suggests coherence and a scholarly identity? Has a distinctive working method – a school of thought – emerged around ‘war studies’, without actually being given a name, under the leading influence of Freedman for thirty years? This is the challenge outlined in this chapter and the volume it introduces.

Modeling of capillary-sorption process steam condensation in the system of microcapillaries of grain shells

The aim of this study is to simulate the capillary-sorption process of steam condensation in the system of microcapillaries of grain shells [1]. Modeling of the processes of intensive moisture transfer during drying of a number of materials was considered in [2,3]. In order to significantly reduce the time of moistening, moisture transfer by effusion is considered in the form of steam produced at low pressure (vacuum) with its further guaranteed condensation in micro-cavities (microcapillaries) of a porous shell of grain [4]. Study of intensity of moisture transport in accordance with the changes in concentrations of vapour along the length of the capillary in a vacuum proved the possibility of intensifying the process of moistening the grain before grinding. The obtained mathematical model will allow to calculate the values of the theoretical weight gain of moisture in microcapillaries depending on the parameters and the time of vacuum-sorption moisture.

Effect of Yield Criterion on Stress Distribution and Maximum Safe Pressure for an Autofrettaged Gun Barrel

<p>World artillery in the present scenario is changing its role from defensive to aggressive nature and is attempting to achieve higher penetration into enemy targets. Even for an autofrettaged gun barrel, higher ranges requirement leads to higher barrel weight and its associated demerits. The design of gun barrel is based on the choice of yield criteria. Tresca yield criterion provides conservative design for a ductile barrel material. On the other hand, more accurate von Mises criterion presents complexity. The two criteria to evaluate various parameters required for design of an autofrettaged gun barrel are compared. The methodology for evaluation of maximum safe pressure, based on von Mises criterion, for an autofrettaged gun barrel is also included in the paper. Based on case study included in the article, for an autofrettaged gun barrel or pressure vessel with uniform thickness, a theoretical weight reduction of approximately 16 per cent is feasible with von Mises criterion as compared to Tresca criterion.</p>

Do rats learn conditional independence?

If acquired associations are to accurately represent real relevance relations, there is motivation for the hypothesis that learning will, in some circumstances, be more appropriately modelled, not as direct dependence, but as conditional independence. In a serial compound conditioning experiment, two groups of rats were presented with a conditioned stimulus (CS1) that imperfectly (50%) predicted food, and was itself imperfectly predicted by a CS2. Groups differed in the proportion of CS2 presentations that were ultimately followed by food (25% versus 75%). Thus, the information presented regarding the relevance of CS2 to food was ambiguous between direct dependence and conditional independence (given CS1). If rats learnt that food was conditionally independent of CS2, given CS1, subjects of both groups should thereafter respond similarly to CS2 alone. Contrary to the conditionality hypothesis, subjects attended to the direct food predictability of CS2, suggesting that rats treat even distal stimuli in a CS sequence as immediately relevant to food, not conditional on an intermediate stimulus. These results urge caution in representing indirect associations as conditional associations, accentuate the theoretical weight of the Markov condition in graphical models, and challenge theories to articulate the conditions under which animals are expected to learn conditional associations, if ever.