The subject of this paper is the notion of similarity between the actual and impossible worlds. Many believe that this notion is governed by two rules. According to the first rule, every non-trivial world is more similar to the actual world than the trivial world is. The second rule states that every possible world is more similar to the actual world than any impossible world is. The aim of this paper is to challenge both of these rules. We argue that acceptance of the first rule leads to the claim that the rule ex contradictione sequitur quodlibet is invalid in classical logic. The second rule does not recognize the fact that objects might be similar to one another due to various features., Předmětem této práce je pojem podobnosti mezi skutečnými a nemožnými světy. Mnozí se domnívají, že tento pojem se řídí dvěma pravidly. Podle prvního pravidla je každý netriviální svět více podobný skutečnému světu, než je triviální svět. Druhé pravidlo uvádí, že každý možný svět je více podobný skutečnému světu, než jakýkoli nemožný svět. Cílem tohoto článku je zpochybnit obě tato pravidla. Tvrdíme, že přijetí prvního pravidla vede k tvrzení, že pravidlo ex contradictione sequitur quodlibet je v klasické logice neplatné. Druhé pravidlo neuznává skutečnost, že by objekty mohly být podobné vzhledem k různým vlastnostem., and Maciej Sendlak
Although slurs are conventionally defined as derogatory words, it has been widely noted that not all of their occurrences are derogatory. This may lead us to think that there are “innocent” occurrences of slurs, i.e., occurrences of slurs that are not harmful in any sense. The aim of this paper is to challenge this assumption. Our thesis is that slurs are always potentially harmful, even if some of their occurrences are nonderogatory. Our argument is the following. Derogatory occurrences of slurs are not characterized by their sharing any specific linguistic form; instead, they are those that take place in what we call uncontrolled contexts, that is, contexts in which we do not have enough knowledge of our audience to predict what the uptake of the utterance will be. Slurs uttered in controlled contexts, by contrast, may lack derogatory character. However, although the kind of context at which the utterance of a slur takes place can make it nonderogatory, it cannot completely deprive it of its harmful potential. Utterances of slurs in controlled contexts still contribute to normalizing their utterances in uncontrolled contexts, which makes nonderogatory occurrences of slurs potentially harmful too.
The biological soil crusts (BSCs) in the NW Negev cause local water redistribution by increasing surface runoff. The effects of pore clogging and swelling of organic and inorganic crust components were intensively investigated in earlier studies. However, the effect of water repellency (WR) was not addressed systematically yet. This study investigates subcritical WR of BSCs in three different study sites in the NW Negev. For this purpose, three common methods to determine soil WR were used: (i) the repellency index (RI) method (ii) the water drop penetration time (WDPT) test and (iii) the Wilhelmy plate method (WPM). Furthermore, the potential influence of WR on local water redistribution is discussed and the applied methods are compared. We found the BSC to be subcritically water repellent. The degree of WR may only affect water redistribution on a microscale and has little influence on the ecosystem as a whole. The RI method was clearly the most appropriate to use, whereas the WDPT and the WPM failed to detect subcritical WR.
In this paper, I will discuss boulesic and deontic logic and the relationship between these branches of logic. By ‘boulesic logic,’ or ‘the logic of the will,’ I mean a new kind of logic that deals with ‘boulesic’ concepts, expressions, sentences, arguments and systems. I will concentrate on two types of boulesic expression: ‘individual x wants it to be the case that’ and ‘individual x accepts that it is the case that.’ These expressions will be symbolised by two sentential operators that take individuals and sentences as arguments and give sentences as values. Deontic logic is a relatively well-established branch of logic. It deals with normative concepts, sentences, arguments and systems. In this paper, I will show how deontic logic can be grounded in boulesic logic. I will develop a set of semantic tableau systems that include boulesic and alethic operators, possibilist quantifiers and the identity predicate; I will then show how these systems can be augmented by a set of deontic operators. I use a kind of possible world semantics to explain the intended meaning of our formal systems. Intuitively, we can think of our semantics as a description of the structure of a perfectly rational will. I mention some interesting theorems that can be proved in our systems, including some versions of the so-called hypothetical imperative. Finally, I show that all systems that are described in this paper are sound and complete with respect to their semantics.
To calculate the critical depth and the least specific energy of steady non-uniform flows in open channels, one has to solve the polynomial equations. Sometimes, the polynomial equations are too difficult to get them solved. In this study, the theory of algebraic inequality has been used to derive formulas for determining the critical depth and the least specific energy of a steady non-uniform flow in open channel. The proposed method has been assessed using examples. Results using this new method have been compared to those using other conventional methods by engineers and scientists. It is found that the proposed method based on algebraic inequality theory not only makes the calculation process to be easy, but also gives the best calculation results of the critical depth and the least specific energy of a steady nonuniform flow.
The use of electromagnetic (EM) soil moisture probes is proliferating rapidly, in two broad domains: in field and laboratory research; and in strongly practical applications such as irrigation scheduling in farms or horticultural enterprises, and hydrological monitoring. Numerous commercial EM probes are available for measurement of volumetric water content (θv), spanning a range of measurement principles, and of probe dimensions and sensing volumes. However probe calibration (i.e. the relationship of actual θv to probe electrical output) can shift, often substantially, with variations in parameters such as soil texture, organic matter content, wetness range, electrical conductivity and temperature. Hence a single-valued, manufacturer-supplied calibration function is often inadequate, forcing the user to seek an application-specific calibration. The purpose of this paper is to describe systematic procedures which probe users can use to check or re-determine the calibration of their selected probe(s). Given the wide diversity of operating principles and designs of commercially-available EM probes, we illustrate these procedures with results from our own calibrations of five different short probes (length of 5 to 20 cm). Users are strongly recommended to undertake such calibration checks, which provide both a) pre-use experience, and b) more reliable in-use data. and Používanie elektromagnetických (EM) snímačov vlhkosti pôdy sa rýchlo rozširuje tak v terénnom výskume, ako aj v laboratóriu. Sú používané v praktických aplikáciách ako je riadenie závlah na farmách a záhradách, ako aj v hydrologickom monitoringu. Pre meranie vlhkosti pôdy (θv) sú dostupné početné typy komerčných EM snímačov, založených na viacerých princípoch merania a snímače majú rozdielnu veľkosť snímaných objemov pôdy. Kalibračné krivky takýchto snímačov (t.j. závislosti medzi reálnou vlhkosťou pôdy θv a elektrickým výstupom snímača) sa môžu posúvať - niekedy podstatne - a to v závislosti od rozdielnych parametrov pôdy, ako je jej textúra, obsah organických látok, rozsah vlhkostí, elektrická vodivosť a teplota. Z toho vyplýva, že jednoznačná kalibračná krivka, dodávaná výrobcom je často neadekvátna, čo núti užívateľa snímač kalibrovať v špecifických podmienkach. Cieľom tohto príspevku je opísať procedúry, ktoré môžu byť použité užívateľmi pri rekalibrácii vybraných typov snímačov. Berúc do úvahy širokú paletu princípov EM snímačov, ilustrujeme tieto procedúry výsledkami vlastných kalibračných testov na piatich typoch krátkych snímačov (dĺžka od 5 do 20 cm). Užívateľom odporúčame rekalibráciu komerčných snímačov, ktorými získajú predbežné skúsenosti a spoľahlivejšie výsledky pri meraní vlhkosti pôdy.
During the last decade, biochar has captured the attention of agriculturalists worldwide due to its positive effect on the environment. To verify the biochar effects on organic carbon content, soil sorption, and soil physical properties under the mild climate of Central Europe, we established a field experiment. This was carried out on a silty loam Haplic Luvisol at the Malanta experimental site of the Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra with five treatments: Control (biochar 0 t ha–1, nitrogen 0 kg ha–1); B10 (biochar 10 t ha–1, nitrogen 0 kg ha–1); B20 (biochar 20 t ha–1, nitrogen 0 kg ha–1); B10+N (biochar 10 t ha–1, nitrogen 160 kg ha–1) and B20+N (biochar 20 t ha–1, nitrogen 160 kg ha–1). Applied biochar increased total and available soil water content in all fertilized treatments. Based on the results from the spring soil sampling (porosity and water retention curves), we found a statistically significant increase in the soil water content for all fertilized treatments. Furthermore, biochar (with or without N fertilization) significantly decreased hydrolytic acidity and increased total organic carbon. After biochar amendment, the soil sorption complex became fully saturated mainly by the basic cations. Statistically significant linear relationships were observed between the porosity and (A) sum of base cations, (B) cation exchange capacity, (C) base saturation.