There's no contest: Human sex differences are sexually selected

The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009An evolutionary psychological perspective drawing on sexual selection theory can better explain sex differences in aggression and violence than can social constructionist theories. Moreover, there is accumulating evidence that, in accordance with predictions derived from sexual selection theory, men modulate their willingness to engage in risky and violent confrontations in response to cues to fitness variance and future prospects

Not empty vessels: New Zealand pre-service additional language teacher identity.

Researchers have identified the importance of understanding language teacher identity in order to understand more about language teacher education (Johnston, Pawan, & Mahan-Taylor, 2005; Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, & Johnson, 2005). The role of previous experience in shaping language teacher identity and beliefs and practices has been commented on by many writers (e.g., Crandall, 2000; Freeman & Johnson, 1998). This paper reports on themes from semi-structured interviews conducted individually with four pre-service teachers of additional languages in the first stage of a longitudinal study of an Additional Language Teacher Education (ALTE) paper in a New Zealand tertiary institution. Results show that prior experience was pivotal to their conceptions of language teacher identity both prior to and after completion of the ALTE paper. The potential role of the ALTE paper in creating a wider net for students' experiences which could be drawn upon and incorporated into their conception of language teacher identity is discussed

Foster v. Chatman: Clarifying the Batson Test for Discriminatory Peremptory Strikes

Historically, peremptory challenges were thought necessary to ensure fair and impartial juries, but the tactic has also been widely used by prosecutors for racially discriminatory purposes. This Commentary previews an upcoming Supreme Court case, Foster v. Chatman, that deals with alleged discriminatory peremptory challenges which led to striking all black jurors from a jury trial. Even though the prosecution had offered race-neutral reasons for those strikes, this Commentary argues that the evidence shows that the underlying rational was, in reality, racial discrimination. For that reason, this Commentary argues that the Court should find this case to fall under the prohibition of peremptory challenges based on discriminatory purpose

Transcendental Method in Action

Lonergan’s treatment of transcendental method in the first chapter of \u3cMethod in Theology\u3e presents a bit of a puzzle. Something about heightening consciousness at the level of experience is different from the reflexive operations by which we objectify this heightened experience. Lonergan’s summary statement of transcendental method makes no explicit reference to what this difference is. In this paper, I work out an interpretation of transcendental method in which I relate the problem of being explicit about heightening consciousness at the level of experience to the problem of objectifying the subject-as-subject: both are a matter of performance. In this regard I identify a performative mode of subjective operation – in addition to the direct and introspective modes that Lonergan identifies in \u3cInsight\u3e – and develop an account of this mode of operation as it is manifested experientially in feelings and existentially in action. I relate the notion of feelings as data of consciousness to Lonergan’s account of the unity-in-tension of human consciousness, various forms and degrees of tension being the primary feeling-states of conscious experience. Finally, I note the significance of transcendental method in action with regard to understanding the subtleties of subject-to-subject communication in the encounter of patient and clinician as part of a philosophy of health on which I am working

Moral Error Theory and the Problem of Evil

Moral error theory claims that no moral sentence is (nonvacuously) true. Atheism claims that the existence of evil in the world is incompatible with, or makes improbable, the existence of God. Is moral error theory compatible with atheism? This paper defends the thesis that it is compatible against criticisms by Nicholas Sturgeo

Independence, homoskedasticity and existence in random utility models

Introduction Random utility models are often characterised by descriptions such as ‘homoskedastic’ or ‘independent’ in the utilities of the alternatives. However these descriptions do not have meaning in any absolute sense and must therefore be used with care. It is the main aim of this paper to demonstrate this point and discuss the issues it raises. In particular, the discussion leads into a consideration of the circumstances under which the models can be said to exist. The paper gives a definition of random utility models and goes on the define a large sub-class of those models, the additive stimulus models, on which the main discussion of the paper is focussed. The area of discussion is further specified by relating the probability statement, which is the main form in which the model is estimated and used, to the utility and utility difference distributions. New concepts are introduced of indistinguishability and almost-indistinguishability, which can be used in assessing discrete choice models. The paper then shows how a reasonable notion of model structure can be interpreted in terms of utility difference distributions for a class of indistinguishable models. The discussion of the independence of the utility distributions of the alternatives is based on the concepts introduced in the early parts of the paper. This discussion shows that many indistinguishable models exist for which the correlation of the utility functions is radically different. A following discussion goes on to show that the notion of heteroskedasticity is similarly incapable of clear definition, even within classes of indistinguishable models. The final main section discusses the issue of existence, finding that it is quite difficult to ensure that models actually represent a ‘real’ situation, although it is seen as important that the models actually ‘exist’ in some sense.. An error components approach, whether using purely probit models or substituting a logit kernel appears a useful approach to maintaining the ‘reality’ of the model

A Nearly Model-Independent Characterization of Dark Energy Properties as a Function of Redshift

Understanding the acceleration of the universe and its cause is one of the key problems in physics and cosmology today, and is best studied using a variety of mutually complementary approaches. Daly and Djorgovski (2003, 2004) proposed a model independent approach to determine the expansion and acceleration history of the universe and a number of important physical parameters of the dark energy as functions of redshift directly from the data. Here, we apply the method to explicitly determine the first and second derivatives of the coordinate distance with respect to redshift and combine them to solve for the acceleration of the universe and the kinetic and potential energy density of the dark energy as functions of redshift. A data set of 228 supernova and 20 radio galaxy measurements with redshifts from zero to 1.79 is used for this study. The values we obtain are shown to be consistent with the values expected in a standard Lambda Cold Dark Matter model.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figure

Stotts\u27 Denial of Hiring and Promotion Preferences for Nonvictims: Draining the Spirit from Title VII

The author questions whether the dicta in a recent Supreme Court case, Local Union No. 1784 v. Stotts, effectively narrow the scope of relief available under Title VII to non-victims. Specifically, the Court addressed affirmative action and the possible reparations under a Title VII employment race discrimination class action. The dicta in question appear to limit courts\u27 ability to grant relief to non-victims (individuals who were not named parties in an employment discrimination suit) in the form of consent decrees or post-trial injunctive relief. The author examines Supreme Court caselaw on affirmative action, the legislative history of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Title VII before determining that race-based employment discrimination is inherently a group wrong. Therefore, limiting recovery and injunctive relief to members of the group who were not named parties in the suit betrays the spirit of Title VII and penalizes minority employees and job applicants

Demonstrating Positive Obligations: Children's Rights and Peaceful Protest in International Law

Recently there has been a significant increase in the involvement of children and young people in protests across the globe. As a result of this increase, children have directly influenced political change but have also faced threats to their safety. This raises distinct children’s rights issues, and the trends identified necessitate both conceptualizing protest involvement from a children’s rights perspective, and critically examining the manner in which the law — at both a national and international level — has approached the involvement of children in such activities. This Article examines the positive obligations of States and argues that children should be recognized as a distinct, valid, and sometimes vulnerable group that has the right to protest and the right to be facilitated in doing so