bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
X-ray determination of threading dislocation densities in GaN/Al2O3(0001) films grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy
Authors: Kopp Viktor S. , Kaganer Vladimir M. , Baidakova Marina V. , Lundin Wsevolod V. , Nikolaev Andrey E. , Verkhovtceva Elena V. , Yagovkina Maria A. , Cherkashin Nikolay
Published: February 2014

Densities of a- and a+c-type threading dislocations for a series of GaN films grown in different modes by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy are determined from the x-ray diffraction profiles in skew geometry. The reciprocal space maps are also studied. Theory of x-ray scattering from crystals with dislocations is extended in order to take into account contribution from both threading and misfit dislocations. The broadening of the reciprocal space maps along the surface normal and the rotation of the intensity distribution ellipse is attributed to misfit dislocations at the interface. We find that the presence of a sharp AlN/GaN interface leads to an ordering of misfit dislocations and reduces strain inhomogeneity in GaN films.
On the control and suppression of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability using electric fields
Authors: Cimpeanu Radu , Papageorgiou Demetrios T. , Petropoulos Peter G.
Published: February 2014

It is shown theoretically that an electric field can be used to control and suppress the classical Rayleigh-Taylor instability found in stratified flows when a heavy fluid lies above lighter fluid. Dielectric fluids of arbitrary viscosities and densities are considered and a theory is presented to show that a horizontal electric field (acting in the plane of the undisturbed liquid-liquid surface), causes growth rates and critical stability wavenumbers to be reduced thus shifting the instability to longer wavelengths. This facilitates complete stabilization in a given finite domain above a critical value of the electric field strength. Direct numerical simulations based on the Navier-Stokes equations coupled to the electrostatic fields are carried out and the linear theory is used to critically evaluate the codes before computing into the fully nonlinear stage. Excellent agreement is found between theory and simulations, both in unstable cases that compare growth rates and in stable cases that compare frequencies of oscillation and damping rates. Computations in the fully nonlinear regime supporting finger formation and roll-up show that a weak electric field slows down finger growth and that there exists a critical value of the field strength, for a given system, above which complete stabilization can take place. The effectiveness of the stabilization is lost if the initial amplitude is large enough or if the field is switched on too late. We also present a numerical experiment that utilizes a simple on-off protocol for the electric field to produce sustained time periodic interfacial oscillations. It is suggested that such phenomena can be useful in inducing mixing. A physical centimeter-sized model consisting of stratified water and olive oil layers is shown to be within the realm of the stabilization mechanism for field strengths that are approximately 2 × 104  V/m.
Current increment of tunnel field-effect transistor using InGaAs nanowire/Si heterojunction by scaling of channel length
Authors: Tomioka Katsuhiro , Fukui Takashi
Published: February 2014

We report on a fabrication of tunnel field-effect transistors using InGaAs nanowire/Si heterojunctions and the characterization of scaling of channel lengths. The devices consisted of single InGaAs nanowires with a diameter of 30 nm grown on p-type Si(111) substrates. The switch demonstrated steep subthreshold-slope (30 mV/decade) at drain-source voltage (VDS) of 0.10 V. Also, pinch-off behavior appeared at moderately low VDS, below 0.10 V. Reducing the channel length of the transistors attained a steep subthreshold slope (<60 mV/decade) and enhanced the drain current, which was 100 higher than that of the longer channels.
High-sensitivity laminated magnetoelectric sensors without bias in composite of positive/negative giant magnetostrictive materials and piezoelectric single crystals
Authors: Zhang Jitao , Li Ping , Wen Yumei , He Wei , Yang Jin , Li Ming , Yang Aichao , Lu Caijiang , Li Wenli
Published: February 2014

Low-frequency and resonance magnetoelectric (ME) responses without bias have been studied in a three-phase multilayer ME composite consisting of positive/negative giant magnetostrictive materials (GMMs) Terfenol-D (Tb0.3Dy0.7Fe1.92), Samfenol (SmFe2) plates, and piezoelectric single crystal 0.67PMN-0.33PT [0.67Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.33PbTiO3]. The large intrinsic anisotropic field with obvious hysteresis and remnant magnetization in SmFe2 plates as well as an exchanging field induced by the differences in magnetic properties of the two GMMs contributes to the self-biased ME responses. The experimental results demonstrate that the output sensitivities without bias for the resonance frequency at 97.5 kHz and the off-resonance frequency at 1 kHz can reach 1.1 V/Oe and 8.7 mV/Oe, respectively. A step change of ac magnetic field as small as ∼2.27 × 10−8 T can be clearly distinguished by the amplitude of the output signals under the resonance frequency of 97.5 kHz. These results provide potential applications for magnetic field detection without bias by utilizing a multilayer ME laminate due to its self-biased, self-powered, and ultra-sensitive properties.
Hydrogen sensing characteristics of semipolar (112¯2) GaN Schottky diodes
Authors: Hyeon Baik Kwang , Kim Hyonwoong , Lee Sung-Nam , Lim Eunju , Pearton S. J. , Ren F. , Jang Soohwan
Published: February 2014

The hydrogen detection characteristics of semipolar (112¯2) plane GaN Schottky diodes were investigated and compared to c-plane Ga- and N-polar and nonpolar a-plane (112¯0) GaN diodes. The semipolar GaN diodes showed large current response to 4% hydrogen in nitrogen gas with an accompanying Schottky barrier reduction of 0.53 eV at 25 °C, and the devices exhibited full recovery to the initial current level upon switching to a nitrogen ambient. The current-voltage characteristics of the semipolar devices remained rectifying after hydrogen exposure, in sharp contrast to the case of c-plane N-polar GaN. These results show that the surface atom configuration and polarity play a strong role in hydrogen sensing with GaN.
Step edge influence on barrier height and contact area in vertical heterojunctions between epitaxial graphene and n-type 4H-SiC
Authors: Tadjer M. J. , Anderson T. J. , Myers-Ward R. L. , Wheeler V. D. , Nyakiti L. O. , Robinson Z. , Eddy C. R. , Gaskill D. K. , Koehler A. D. , Hobart K. D. , Kub F. J.
Published: February 2014

Vertical rectifying contacts of epitaxial graphene grown by Si sublimation on the Si-face of 4H-SiC epilayers were investigated. Forward bias preferential conduction through the step edges was correlated by linear current density normalization. This phenomenon was observed on samples with 2.7–5.8 monolayers of epitaxial graphene as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A modified Richardson plot was implemented to extract the barrier height (0.81 eV at 290 K, 0.99 eV at 30 K) and the electrically dominant SiC step length of a Ti/Al contact overlapping a known region of approximately 0.52 μm wide SiC terraces.
Inertial modulation of hydrophoretic cell sorting and focusing
Authors: Song Seungjeong , Choi Sungyoung
Published: February 2014

This paper demonstrates a method of modulating hydrophoretic focusing and sorting by inertial forces in a microfluidic device. At low Reynolds number (Re), hydrophoresis enables size-based sorting by generating specific equilibrium positions for differently sized particles. As increasing Re, hydrophoresis becomes coupled with inertial effects that bias the equilibrium positions to create a narrow focusing stream. Using this method, we achieved both size-based sorting and sheathless focusing in a device.
AFFECT and emotion, target-value mismatches, and Russian dolls
Authors: Thompson Geoff
Published: February 2014

The focus in this chapter is on the evaluative systems of attitude, as modelled in the appraisal framework. While fully accepting the validity of the model, I explore three practical issues that arise in applying it. The first concerns the question of whether affect, the core area of attitude, should be distinguished from the more general field of emotion talk, and, if so, how. The second issue arises because two related but distinct criteria are used to distinguish judgements and appreciations: the kind of entity evaluated (the target) and the value ascribed to it. As a result, there may be an apparent mismatch between these two criteria. The third difficulty can be called the ‘Russian doll’ dilemma. An expression of one category of attitude may function as a token (an indirect expression) of a different category; and that token may itself function as an indirect expression of yet another category, and so on. This poses problems for a study of evaluation which relies on quantitative analysis. I suggest my own principles to help make life a little easier for anyone engaged in analysing evaluation in text.
The evaluative palette of verbal irony
Authors: Alba-Juez Laura , Attardo Salvatore
Published: February 2014

In this chapter we present the results of both a theoretical and empirical study on the evaluative character of verbal irony. Our main research concern was to provide evidence as to whether all cases of verbal irony are ‘critical’ in nature or not, both by means of theoretical reflection and by presenting the results of a survey whose questions were mainly oriented toward the identification of ironical situations by English native speakers. For our analysis of the evaluative content of ironic utterances we draw on the findings of studies such as Thompson and Hunston (2000), Martin and White (2005), or Bednarek (2008a). The results of the survey show that the great majority of speakers recognized the different evaluative shades of the ironical situations presented, which gave grounds for accepting our hypothesis that the essence of verbal irony is not to be found in its possible implied criticism, but in a finer, more subtle aspect of the phenomenon which has to do with a clash or contradiction at different linguistic/discursive levels.
The evaluative function of situation-bound utterances in intercultural interaction
Authors: Kecskes Istvan
Published: February 2014

This chapter aims to examine the evaluative function of situation-bound utterances in intercultural interactions. The subject of inquiry is a unique formula whose use is tied to certain reoccurring situations. Situation-bound utterances (SBU) are frequently used in any language because these expressions serve as interactional patterns and rituals that usually mean the same to all speakers of a particular speech community. In a way, SBUs are reflections of the way native speakers of a language think. But what happens if the users of SBUs belong to different speech communities having a variety of L1s other than English? Will SBUs still keep their evaluative function (if any) when used in intercultural communication? These questions are very important if we accept that evaluative functions of language are culture- and language-specific. In order to answer the questions the chapter sets out to discuss the role of context in which situation-bound utterances are used.
Prosody, information structure and evaluation
Authors: Escandell-Vidal M. Victoria , Marrero Aguiar Victoria , Pérez Ocón Pilar
Published: February 2014

The goal of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of how prosodic lengthening in Spanish can be a means of marking information structure, particularly when an entire propositional content is involved. We test empirically the correlation between a form of prosodic marking used to identify a piece of content as already introduced in discourse – verum focus being a particular case of this general distinction – and evaluative values such as insistence and impatience. Native speakers consistently identify, in a perceptual experiment, the lengthened pattern with those discourse situations that involve repetition, often associated with insistence and impatience, and identify the nuclear stress as the locus of the marking.
“An astonishing season of destiny!” Evaluation in blurbs used for advertising TV series
Authors: Bednarek Monika
Published: February 2014

In this chapter I explore evaluation in DVD blurbs (the text on the back of DVD box sets for TV series), which promote television series to potential buyers. The approach taken to the analysis of evaluation is corpus linguistics, and this chapter reports on findings from a pilot study examining the blurbs for 50 contemporary American television series. A combination of frequency analysis and concordancing is used to examine the use of evaluation in these discourse types in terms of frequency, dispersion and functionality. The findings suggest that the discourse type of the DVD blurb is linguistically restricted – although not in terms of specific lexico-grammatical items, but rather in terms of pragmatic functions, and that it has much in common with both traditional advertising and book blurbs.
Multimodal analysis of controversy in the media
Authors: Breeze Ruth
Published: February 2014

In a world dominated by the Internet, it is becoming increasingly important to develop analytical tools that can take in multiple dimensions of media texts. This chapter presents a multimodal analysis of a corpus of online news­paper texts about controversies surrounding the wearing of religious items by Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, which received considerable media coverage in Britain in early 2010. Although the text itself generally provides a balanced account of the issues, a comparison of the results across modes shows that the groups are evaluated differently in visual images, headlines and direct quotations. This study represents a step on the road to devising an integrative model for multimodal analysis.
Verbs as spatial deixis markers in Jingulu
Authors: Pensalfini Rob
Published: February 2014

The Australian language Jingulu makes use of a small set of optional deictic markers on nominals which are homophonous with some of the verbal tense markers in the language. It is a fairly straightforward matter to argue that the former use is derived from the latter via re-analysis of clauses. However, the choice of theoretical framework can lead to very different synchronic analyses: the standard lexicalist approach listing the verbal and nominal uses as separate homophonous morphemes; while a late-insertion approach opens up the possibility that a single vocabulary item can appear in either the verbal or the nominal context, with its interpretation subject to morphosyntactic context alone.
The case of the invisible postman
Authors: Wales Lynn
Published: February 2014

Three somewhat conflicting semantic theories of the Futur Simple (FS) in spoken European French are discussed here: Fleischman’s (1982) “diachronic model”, which portrays the current semantics of the FS as largely modal; Schrott’s (1997) “conditioning” model, which views both the FS and Futur Composé as temporal and modal exponents selected in terms of context of use; Sokol’s (1999) “aspectual model” which sees the FS not as a tense but as a perfective aspect marker interacting with different verb action-classes. Evidence from empirical work relating to these theories does not support the modal view of the FS, and raises some questions for the aspectual model. Robust support emerges, however, for the FS as a future tense.
Shifting relations
Authors: Garde Murray
Published: February 2014

This chapter examines the connections between shared cultural knowledge about kinship structure and the pragmatic inferences that enable interlocutors to assess each other’s (multiple) perspectives. By drawing on Bininj Gunwok conversational data this chapter shows how linguistic choices are influenced by the dynamics of social relationships, particularly by context-specific speaker goals and stance-taking that focuses on intersubjectivity. The choice of kinterm is an essential component of stance-taking. A switch in kinterm shifts the indexes of various aspects of speaker agency (e.g. effecting solidarity, ratifying relationships with addressee and referent, justifying joint action). Kinterms in four different contexts are discussed: basic kin terms for affines; basic kin terms for skewed relationships; kin term shifts within unnamed superclasses; and triadic terms.
Gender mainstreaming childcare policy: barriers in a Confucian welfare society
Authors: Leung Lai Ching
Published: February 2014

This paper examines the extent to which the influence of Confucianism on the welfare of women erects barriers to the gender mainstreaming (GM) of childcare policy in Hong Kong. GM is a global strategy adopted by the Beijing World Conference on Women in 1995. Adopting a context-sensitive approach in understanding the translation of the international concept of GM in the policy formation and practice in Hong Kong, we find that the Confucian welfare model has profound impact on women's welfare and the effectiveness of GM in Hong Kong. First, childcare support for the family is far from adequate due to the perception of childcare as the individual family's responsibility rather than as a citizen right. Second, the gender-neutral discourse commonly accepted by the policy-makers in Hong Kong reflects the inadequate gender-sensitivity training of government officials. Third, GM has been “watered down” as a technical tool instead of transforming gender inequality in the society.
Aristotle's Ethics
Authors: Lockwood Thornton
Published: February 2014

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (EN) is the first part of what Aristotle calls “a philosophy of human things” (EN X.9.1181b15), one which finds its completion in Aristotle’s Politics (see the separate Oxford Bibliographies article Aristotle’s Politics). (Throughout this article, references to Ethics or EN are to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics; for the relationship of the Nicomachean Ethics to Aristotle’s other ethical writings, including the Eudemian Ethics (EE), see Relationship between the Eudemian and Nicomachean Ethics.) The work inaugurates the study of “ethics” as an independent discipline, albeit a discpline which is broader than modern notions of morality, which is primarily practical rather than theoretical, and which is the companion study to politics. The Ethics sets as its goal the understanding of the human good, or eudaimonia, which Aristotle describes as “an activity of the soul in accord with virtue” (I.7.1098a16–17). Its analyses range over the nature of the human soul, the notion of moral responsibility, the ethical and intellectual qualities—called virtues—that are perfections of the nonrational and rational parts of the soul, ways in which reason and desire are unified and in conflict, the nature of pleasure, and the various kinds of friendship that contribute to the human good. Although the work includes a treasure trove of passages that paint a picture of 4th-century Greek social and linguistic practices, the work’s most lasting significance has been its articulation of a philosophical vocabulary and framework to address many of the central questions concerning human well-being.
Martial
Authors: Johnston Patricia A.
Published: February 2014

Most of what we know of the origin and early life of Marcus Valerius Martialis (Martial) has been gleaned from his works: the 1561 short, witty poems known as Epigrams that he wrote and which established him as the creator of the modern epigram. He was born in Spain, at Bilbilis, on March 1 between 38 and 41 ce. He died (according to Pliny Epistles 3.21) in Spain between 101 and 104 ce. In Book 10.24 of his Epigrams, composed between 95 and 98, he mentions celebrating his fifty-seventh birthday, and hence he was born on March 1 in 38, 39, 40 or 41 ce. His twelve books of Epigrams were published in Rome between 86 and 103 ce, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian (81–96 ce), Nerva (96–98 ce), and Trajan (98–117 ce). In his poems he satirizes city life and the scandalous activities of his acquaintances, and romanticizes his provincial upbringing. Martial indicates that he came to Rome about 64 ce (Epigrams 10.103 and 10.104), where he appears to have been supported by the younger Seneca, Gaius Calpurnius Piso, and other important patrons (Epigrams 4.40, 12.36) and friends, including the poet Juvenal. The location of his farm at Nomentum (modern Mentana) near Rome, where Seneca and his family owned property, has been cited as evidence of his relationship to Seneca. It has been suggested that the real reason he left Rome was that he was too closely associated with Domitian, whose memory, after he was murdered in 96, was condemned by the Roman Senate. After the death of Domitian, Martial repudiated his earlier praise of this emperor, and instead turned to Emperor Nerva, to whom he dedicated Books 10 and 11, some of which have not survived. But Martial’s poetry and personal position were too closely associated with Domitian for him to be comfortable at Rome. After living in Rome for 34 years, he retired to Spain in 98 ce, and although he was disappointed by the absence of the advantages he had known at Rome, and by the lack of urban sophistication in small-town Bilbilis, he did not live long enough to return to Rome, even if he had wanted to do so.
Harm Reduction
Authors: Bigler Mark O.
Published: February 2014

Harm reduction is an evolving prevention and practice model for helping professionals that views any positive change in undesired, problematic, or risky target behaviors as a successful outcome. Harm reduction represents a significant shift away from the absolute, all-or-nothing expectations of traditional, medical-model-based approaches commonly employed in health and human service programs and interventions. In contrast to programs, practices, and policies based on behavioral models that seek to eliminate risk altogether, harm reduction strategies focus on minimizing the potential harm that results from risky behaviors in a person’s life. In recent decades, in response to growing concerns about harmful outcomes of drug use, substance abuse, and chemical dependency, harm reduction strategies have been used to address rising rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis infection, overdose deaths, and other health concerns among drug users, particularly those who inject. Syringe exchange programs, safe injection/supervised consumption rooms, narcotic substitution, and other innovative applications of harm reduction principles have emerged, and evidence of the success of such efforts is mounting. While many of these activities and interventions exist in the United States, US officials have been reluctant to fully embrace harm reduction. Resistance by politicians, policymakers, and funders has been common. In contrast, harm reduction has been adopted as a central theme of national drug policies in many countries and international entities around the world. Furthermore, although originating in the field of chemical dependency, the philosophy and strategies of harm reduction are pertinent to a wide variety of complex social welfare and public health issues, including alcohol and tobacco use, homelessness, sexual behavior, sex work/prostitution, sex offender treatment, domestic violence, divorce law, and compulsive behaviors such as gambling and computer use. Nonprofit and nongovernment organizations now exist in the United States and elsewhere and provide services, information, and advocacy based on harm reduction.
Family Therapy
Authors: Jordan Catheleen
Published: February 2014

Family therapy may be defined as a branch of psychotherapy wherein family relationships are the target of change. Most schools of thought consider the definition of the family in a broad way that includes related and non-related members. Examples are the traditional nuclear family of husband, wife, and biological children as well as stepfamilies, extended families, gay parent families, or families with adopted children. Family therapy is known by other names, such as marriage and family therapy or family systems therapy, and is characterized by a range of treatment modalities, from insight oriented (psychoanalytic family therapy) to action oriented (behavioral family therapy) theoretical underpinnings. The similarity shared by all modalities is a systems orientation. Considering the family as a system implies an interconnectedness among members; when one family member acts, a corresponding effect occurs on the other members. Clinicians (n = 2281) were asked about their treatment approach, and the results were reported in an article in the Psychotherapy Networker. While the most popular treatment modality was cognitive behavioral treatment, the second most popular treatment modality was marital and family systems. Specific populations may be helped differentially by the various treatment modalities. For example, while families with a child who has a problem may be most helped with narrative family treatment, families experiencing child abuse or family violence may be helped by more behavioral family treatment modalities. It should be noted that social work and family therapy have compatible philosophical underpinnings, in that both are concerned with the person (or family in this case) in the environment, active problem solving, and personal empowerment.
Ambedkar Buddhism
Authors: Queen Christopher S.
Published: February 2014

Ambedkar Buddhism, or Navayana (“new vehicle”) Buddhism, began on 14 October 1956 in Nagpur, India, when nearly 400,000 Dalits, formerly known as Untouchables, converted from Hinduism. Led by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (b. 1891–d. 1956), the anti-caste activist, lawyer, politician, and scholar, the new Buddhists soon numbered in the millions, growing most notably in the populous states of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh but also in poor villages and urban neighborhoods throughout India, and among Dalit expatriates abroad. Ambedkar believed that the ideals of universal human rights, self-reliance, and non-violent struggle (expressed in the slogans “liberty, equality, fraternity” and “educate, agitate, organize”) are grounded in the Dhamma, the ancient teaching of the Buddha. As Ambedkar gained recognition as a founding father of the Republic of India and principal draftsman of its Constitution, his Navayana Buddhism came to be identified as a form of socially engaged Buddhism, paralleling movements for self-determination and economic justice in Tibet, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand. Further parallels to the Humanistic Buddhism of China and Taiwan, the Nichiren-inspired New Religions of Japan, and many engaged Buddhist organizations in the West have been analyzed by scholars. Ambedkar Buddhism is not well represented in mainstream Buddhist Studies, however, possibly because its focus on social change appears at odds with the traditional Buddhist emphasis on personal transformation. Some scholars regard Ambedkar’s Navayana and other engaged Buddhist movements as a “fourth yana” or practice vehicle, in contrast with the individual path of Hinayana (Theravada) Buddhism, the messianic and missionary spirit of Mahayana Buddhism (including Pure Land and Zen traditions), and the ritualism and scholasticism of Vajrayana Buddhism.
Feminist Epistemology
Authors: Tanesini Alessandra
Published: February 2014

Feminist epistemology and philosophy of science is the study of the significance of gender for the acquisition and justification of knowledge. At its inception, feminist epistemology was in large part concerned with science and showed more affinity with the history and philosophy of science and with social and cultural studies of science than with mainstream epistemology. Since the early 2000s, however, significant new trends have led to the production of extremely innovative work, such as a turn toward a conception of matter as being in some ways like an agent in science studies, as well as a focus on topics at the interface between ethics and epistemology in feminist epistemology.
Democracy
Authors: Brooks Thom
Published: February 2014

Democracy is widely understood to be the best form of government. This is where agreement ends. There remains much disagreement about several substantive issues, such as the justification for democracy and how democracy is best realized through political institutions. This article surveys the literature on normative democracy theory, with a focus on the philosophical debates about democracy rather than mere descriptive analyses. Generally speaking, democracy is a method of collective decision making by political equals. This definition is contested in several respects, concerning the method of democracy; the kinds of collectives to serve as the subject for democracy; and how we should understand political equality, along with the institutions that connect these normative considerations to practice. This article examines several general domains to highlight the leading work available in each. The article covers such topics as voting, the relationship between democracy and justice (including democratic authority), democracy and epistemology, democratic equality, deliberative democracy, democracy and pragmatism, and critics of democracy.
Singular Thought
Authors: Murez Michael , Recanati François , Carvalho Felipe
Published: February 2014

In February 2013, an inhabitant of Chelyabinsk, Russia, looks up and sees a meteor hurtling through the sky. He thinks, “That is dangerous!” Miles away, after months of careful calculations, a scientist has come to expect the incident in Chelyabinsk. She thinks, “The meteor visible in Chelyabinsk on February 15 is dangerous.” Pre-theoretically, there is a sense in which the two thoughts just reported are similar. What makes both of them true is that a certain object, the meteor, has a certain property, dangerousness. However, there is also an intuitive sense in which both thoughts are importantly different. The terrified inhabitant is thinking about the very object he stands in perceptual contact with—in some sense, directly. By contrast, the scientist represents the meteor more indirectly, merely as whatever uniquely satisfies a certain description. The inhabitant’s thought is sometimes called a perceptual demonstrative thought. It is a paradigmatic example of a kind of thought that philosophers have taken a particular interest in. Such thought is variously known as de re, non-descriptive, or, most often, singular thought. The second kind of thought is often known as descriptive or general. The distinction between singular and general thought is widely held to be crucial to our understanding of the mind and intentionality. Many philosophers think that singular thought is somehow fundamental or basic, and that understanding it is an important step toward understanding how we think about external reality at all. Though there is a wide consensus on the importance of the distinction between singular and general thought, there is at present a lively debate on how best to account for it. Traditionally, the topic of singular thought has been intertwined with central issues in philosophy of language concerning the nature of reference and the semantics and pragmatics of propositional attitude reports. The problem of singular thought also connects with important problems, in philosophy, of perception and epistemology. Additionally, in recent years, the philosophical literature on singular thought has drawn increasingly on relevant empirical work in the cognitive sciences, making the study of singular thought an important issue in philosophy of psychology.
Baldassarre Castiglione
Authors: Kolsky Stephen
Published: February 2014

The reputation of Baldassarre Castiglione (b. 1478–d. 1529) rests on a single work, The Book of the Courtier, published in 1528. It was widely acclaimed and served as a model for civilized and polished behavior, both during the Renaissance and afterward. The book comprises a series of fictional dialogues set in the ducal palace of Urbino. Over the course of four evenings (corresponding to the four books of the Courtier), the interlocutors, often in intense debate, discuss topics of interest to their self-presentation at court. The Courtier analyzes their principal activities (warfare and, more extensively, cultural activities of various kinds) through the prism of new ideals of behavior. The focus on language use, especially through the medium of the joke, underlines the importance of urbane conversation to the courtier’s identity. Much discussion in the dialogues stems from a range of interactions among the courtiers themselves, with the women of the court, and, indirectly, with the prince. The general scope of the Courtier ensured that its influence was not limited solely to Italy. Its impact can be observed all over Europe in the form of translations, adaptations, and even parodies. For 19th- and early-20th-century scholars, Castiglione’s book epitomized the Renaissance. It incarnated an ideal of comportment that privileged the court as the foundation of new behavioral norms. However, that view changed decisively in the second half of the 20th century as a more complex reading of the Courtier emerged. Castiglione’s position as the “perfect” courtier writing the book about the “perfect” court came under significant challenge from the mid-20th century onwards with greater insistence on the historical realities of the early 16th century as they impinged on author and text. The idealized version of the court presented by Castiglione is generally resisted by critics from the 1970s onwards. Much greater emphasis is given to the “workings” of the text, to its rhetorical strategies, and, in general, to the development of critical means through which the apparently seamless surface of the dialogues reveal the paradoxes and disjunctures of Castiglione’s presentation of the court and its courtiers. This was in part based on the manuscript tradition of the text that allows readers to follow its evolution over time. Thus the idealistic interpretation, so prevalent in the 19th century, is overtaken in the 20th century by more nuanced views of the text. These readings recognize that the Courtier was not written in isolation from the catastrophic political events of the period, but in response to them. This article will place the Courtier in its historical and cultural context, focusing principally on the many and various interpretations of the text itself. In addition, some consideration will be granted to Castiglione’s minor works insofar as they illuminate his major opus and are suggestive of the multifaceted literary activities of the Renaissance courtier par excellence.
Niccolo Machiavelli
Authors: Lynch Christopher
Published: February 2014

As he suggests in a justly famous letter written to a friend in 1513, Niccolò Machiavelli (b. 1469–d. 1527) lived most fully when he communed in thought with the great ancient writers on the greatest deeds of Antiquity—and in succeeding centuries he continued to live on in the thoughts and through the writings of such great thinkers as Spinoza and Tocqueville; Marlowe and Shakespeare, Fichte and Nietzsche, not to mention indirectly in the deeds of Cromwell, Robespierre, Mazzini, and Lenin. Machiavelli comes to us wrapped in this diverse and contested tradition but also and more immediately in the garb of contemporary scholarship, where diversity and contestation abound, as well. One thing all scholarly parties can agree on is that the Florentine was vastly important—be it as a preeminent expression of the cyclonic intellectual activity of a time we now call the Renaissance, as the restorer of classical republican ideals, the founder of the modern world, the apostle of power politics, or the father of modern revolutionary thought. Born at a time of relative stability for Italy due in no small part to the successful machinations of Florence’s Medici rulers, Machiavelli’s young adulthood saw the stability vanish with the invasion of Italy by the French and the expulsion from Florence of the Medici. By 1498 he found himself serving the republican government of Florence that, in 1512, was itself brought down, leading to Machiavelli’s political banishment and to the writing of the works that would cause him to be counted among the greatest figures of the Renaissance and of the intellectual history of the Western world.
Amsterdam
Authors: van Nierop Henk
Published: February 2014

Amsterdam was the biggest and the most important commercial metropolis of 17th-century Europe. Its wealthy merchants provided a booming market for luxury industries, making Amsterdam a European-wide production center and market for art and other luxury products, as well as books, prints, maps, and atlases. The largest, richest, and most powerful city in the Dutch Republic by far, it often played an independent role in international politics and diplomacy. Promotion of trade interests prompted Amsterdam’s burgomasters to tolerant policies toward Catholics, Jews, Mennonites, and other religious minorities. Originating as a modest settlement near a dam built in the river Amstel (hence its name), Amsterdam soon became the most important port in the Low Countries for trade with the Baltic, importing mainly grain and timber. The Reformation gave rise to fierce controversies. Anabaptist and Reformed risings in 1535 and 1566 provoked brutal repression by the Catholic city government. During the Dutch Revolt, Amsterdam initially remained loyal to church and king but switched allegiance in 1578 and adopted the Protestant Reformation. The capture of Antwerp by the Spanish army in 1585 heralded Amsterdam’s age of greatness. With Antwerp’s harbor closed and the southern provinces wracked by warfare, Amsterdam took over Antwerp’s function as the center of the highly integrated economy of the Low Countries. Amsterdam enlarged its one-sided mercantile economy with new trade routes to Russia, the Mediterranean and the Levant, the Atlantic world, and the Indies. Its newly found wealth led to an unprecedented wave of immigration, increasing its population from about 30,000 in 1578 to over 200,000 by the end of the seventeenth century. The urban government facilitated trade by the institution of an exchange bank and a commodity exchange, the construction of dockyards, and two bold and ambitious town-planning projects, including Amsterdam’s celebrated ring of canals. This article contains only works specifically dedicated to the history of the city of Amsterdam. Only a few of them are in English. Since Amsterdam was by far the biggest, wealthiest, and most powerful city of the Dutch Republic, much valuable information about Amsterdam is to be found in general works about the Dutch Republic listed in the Oxford Bibliographies articles on The Netherlands (Dutch Revolt / Dutch Republic) and Reformations and Revolt in the Netherlands, 1500–1621. For studies on artists working in Amsterdam and the Amsterdam art market, see the Oxford Bibliographies article on 17th-Century Dutch Art.
Relationships
Authors: Tai Tsui-O
Published: February 2014

Social scientists from different disciplines have conducted research on relationships. The list includes psychologists (e.g., social, developmental, clinical, cognitive, counseling), sociologists, anthropologists, and health scientists. Different disciplines employ various approaches to address relationships. For instance, social psychologists seek universal properties in human relations. Sociologists, on the other hand, pay much attention to changes in family ties and social connections and how social structures and contexts (e.g., social class, race, gender, norms, and social policy) impact these relationships. Relationships have been a central research concern in sociology. Sociologists have been particularly interested in studies of intimate relationships, such as marriage and other familial ties. In sociology, social relationships are divided into primary and secondary groups. Primary ties are characterized by direct, personal, and intimate interactions. In addition, primary group members exchange tacit items such as support, love, and concern. Examples of these would be family ties and close friends. Secondary social groups, on the other hand, such as political parties and trade unions, are usually impersonal and instrumental and are formed to fulfill special interests. The recent major sociological themes in research on relationships include the structural changes of relations, inequality and dynamics in relationships, variations over the life course, diversity of relationships, and the connections between individual ties and social context.
Computer-Based Testing
Authors: Greiff Samuel , Martin Romain
Published: February 2014

With the introduction of the first computers in the 1970s, the potential of this new technology to generate not only new types of learning environments but also completely new settings for the design and administration of tests, was quickly recognized. Compared to the well-known paper-and-pencil tests, which imply a static presentation of test items with limited interactivity and which depend on complex logistics and administration procedures implemented by trained test administrators, computer-based tests seemed to offer a number of advantages. Due to the interactive testing environments and the data-processing capacities offered by the computer, these potential advantages and added values cover a range of new possibilities that might extend from standardized and automatized administration and scoring procedures through interactive and media-enriched new item types to the possibility of recording and exploiting behavioral data or the possibility of new test administration procedures such as adaptive testing. From a historical perspective, computer-based testing has also capitalized on the introduction of new psychometric models, especially the introduction of item response theory in the 1960s. Further, administering tests on computers opens the door toward the measurement of psychological constructs that have been beyond the reach of paper-and-pencil instruments, because they require interactions in complex environments and can only be accessed through observations in natural settings. The computer offers the possibility to simulate these environments, to record important interactions, and thus to administer tests for these interactive constructs in an efficient and scalable way. This would not be feasible without this new technology. In the last decades, research on computer-based testing has thus experienced a considerable development, as the empirical basis for the potential added value of computer-based tests compared to classical paper-and-pencil instruments had to be developed. However, computer-based testing did not only come with advantages. A number of technical and theoretical challenges related to these tests, such as the availability and compatibility of hardware and software or the need for large item banks have been initially underestimated. Today, one of the major challenges of the field is the development of truly interactive test formats that take full advantage of the technical possibilities offered by the computer. These developments raise a number of challenges in the field of theory development related to the new technology enriched constructs, in the field of psychometric developments related to new complex types of test data, and in the field of IT development related to the need for comparable hard- and software components.
Philosophy of Communication
Authors: Bencherki Nicolas , Cooren François
Published: February 2014

Writing a bibliographical article on the topic of the philosophy of communication is not an easy task. The works that have been written under that umbrella range from critical assessments of media to discussions of public debate. “Philosophy of communication” combines two ambiguous disciplines, philosophy and communication. Communication is commonly said to be at the “crossroads” of many disciplines. Marshall McLuhan is taken for granted by many communication scholars, but he was a professor of English literature. What should one—or a theory—be or do in order to fall within the “communication” umbrella? Tackling philosophy is not any easier. Many sociologists, anthropologists, semioticians, and linguists, as well as communication theorists, have been philosophers at some point in their career. For example, Ferdinand de Saussure’s contribution to semiotics is no lesser than C. S. Peirce’s, and yet the latter is called a philosopher while the first is a linguist. Should we, in this entry on the “philosophy of communication” include Peirce and leave aside Saussure? With so many ambiguities regarding communication and philosophy separately, how can one decide, then, what philosophy of communication (together) should be? When reading communication studies articles, philosophical references range from Aristotle and Arendt to Kierkegaard or Levinas, along with some more “obviously” communication or language thinkers such as Habermas or Wittgenstein. There is therefore an important element of decision on our part in assessing the contributions of some authors to the study of communication and in deciding whether it is “philosophical” in nature. We chose to look at where communication studies literature has drawn the line between what constitutes philosophy or not. Furthermore, there are few journals devoted to philosophy of communication proper, perhaps with the exception of Empedocles: European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication (published by Intellect Books) and the International Communication Association’s Communication, Culture & Critique. This scarcity makes it harder to identify a well-established set of interests, theories, and methods. That is why this article is divided mainly according to the types of works discussed, rather than attempting to find coherence where there is in fact little. The Classical and Major Texts section, for its part, is further subdivided according to the general theoretical families of authors. Gratitude is extended to Joëlle Basque, Mathieu Chaput, Alexandre Laurin, and Dominique Trudel for their assistance and contributions.