Bethany College - Kansas

Abstract Astrobiocentrism is a vision that places us in a scenario of confirmation of life in the universe, either as a second genesis or as an expansion of humanity in space. It manages to raise consistent arguments in relation to questions such as what would happen to knowledge if life were confirmed in the universe, how would this change the way we understand our place in the cosmos? Astrobiocentrism raises a series of reflections in the context of confirmed discovery, and it develops concepts that work directly with what would happen after irrefutable evidence has been obtained that we are not alone in space. Unlike biocentrism or ecocentrism, the astrobiocentric view is not limited to the Earth-centric perspective, and for it incorporates a multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary understanding. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to make a reflection on the astrobiocentric issues related to the challenges and problems of the discovery of life in the universe and the expansion of mankind into space. Here we explore some aspects of the transition from biogeocentrism to astrobiocentrism, astrobiosemiotics,homo mensura, moral community, planetary sustainability and astrotheology.

Research suggests that America today is more politically polarized and less capable of conducting civil public discourse than at least the last several decades. These greater cultural factors unsurprisingly seem to have trickled into American schools, as teachers report increased divisiveness and conflict, particularly directed toward historically-marginalized groups, in class. While it seems sensible that public schools should play a role in teaching American children how to civilly speak with people different than themselves, teachers are often unprepared to do so. This paper describes a project-based learning activity conducted during the Fall 2022 semester which was designed to empower pre-service teachers with practical tools to promote civil discourse in their future classrooms.

Being on the job market is one of the most precarious and daunting tasks one faces during their graduate career. Earning a PhD from outside a “top tier” program may add additional — albeit often unnecessary — stress. As an upcoming graduate of a non-top tier program, the challenges one faces can be dramatically different than others navigating the job market. Graduating from a top tier program is not a requisite for success. Both authors graduated from a non-top tier program and obtained tenure track jobs immediately, though at very different types of institutions. Thus, we offer first hand evidence and experience on what helped us be successful on the job market. This manuscript is part of Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond, a forthcoming volume for those interested in pursuing graduate education in political science (Fall 2022 publication).

The term “learning styles theory” refers to a belief that students have individualized modes of learning which, once determined, will lead to improved classroom performance if material is presented in that specified mode. Despite a lack of empirical evidence, it is one of the most enduring and wide-spread beliefs in public education, leading many researchers to refer to it as a “myth”. This study consists of a document analysis of the Kansas State Department of Education’s website, KSDE.org, to determine the degree of influence that learning styles theory has on Kansas’s educational system. It is hoped that doing so will lead to greater conversation among all stakeholders as to how learning styles theory can be removed from Kansas classrooms. While evidence of learning styles theory’s influence on Kansas educational policy was found, more research is needed to determine the degree of influence it is having on instruction within classrooms.

It is rare to find a book as audacious as Andrew Robinson's work in Traces of the Trinity. The audacity is not in the tone of the work or the implications of its claims; in fact, the radicalness of...

Deacon's (2011) Incomplete Nature is a formative work within the field of emergence theory, and it will have long-lasting implications. What I will present here are two ways of interpreting Deacon's work on emergence. The two interpretations have very different implications for how one would apply Deacon's work in subsequent interdisciplinary investigations. To demonstrate this point, I will outline the five meanings of the word “emergence” and the four approaches to emergence theory established by Clayton (2004) in his book Mind & Emergence. I will consider how Clayton applies these categories to Deacon's work, and then I will offer an alternative application of the same categories. In my alternative application, Deacon's account of orthograde change, contragrade change, and constraint are crucial.

Traditionally, adaptation studies have examined the ways source materials become reconfigured as new forms. For cinema, largely, this has been a one-way operation, looking at how books are turned i...

Abstract An alternative to the representation of complex relativity by self‐dual complex 2‐forms on the spacetime manifold is presented by assuming that the bundle of real 2‐forms is given an almost‐complex structure. From this, one can define a complex orthogonal structure on the bundle of 2‐forms, which results in a more direct representation of the complex orthogonal group in three complex dimensions. The geometrical foundations of general relativity are then presented in terms of the bundle of oriented complex orthogonal 3‐frames on the bundle of 2‐forms in a manner that essentially parallels their construction in terms of self‐dual complex 2‐forms. It is shown that one can still discuss the Debever‐Penrose classification of the Riemannian curvature tensor in terms of the representation presented here.

The majority of research on the human–nonhuman animal bond has considered its advantages for the human. Research investigating the benefits of the bond for the companion animal has focused primarily on the relationship between owner attachment and the relinquishment or abandonment of pets. Shore, Douglas and Riley (2005) compiled a list of 67 behaviors of pet owners of potential benefit to the dog or cat, categorized the behaviors as Essential, Standard, Enriched, or Luxury Care, and studied the relationship between these behaviors and a measure of attachment. The present study continues the investigation of more routine pet-keeping activities by examining the prevalence of such behaviors among a subset of dog owners who keep their dogs out of doors as compared with those whose dogs live primarily in the house. Participants were 322 largely non-traditional college students at a university in the Midwestern United States. Scores on two attachment measures were significantly higher for owners of house dogs as compared with those of owners of yard dogs. Although the majority of both house and yard dogs received basic care, fewer yard dogs received as high levels of attention to some of their physical and safety needs. The gap between yard and house dogs widened as the category of care moved from Essential to Enriched. Involvement in agility training, being taken to events for pets, and exercising with a member of the family were notable exceptions, in that they occurred in equal proportions for yard and house dogs, and perhaps represent opportunities for yard dogs to be in closer contact with a human caretaker. The results suggest that adoptions of sheltered or rescued dogs to people who plan to keep the pet outside can be made with confidence that the dog will be cared for, but that programs to educate the public on the social needs of dogs and the benefits of keeping dogs indoors might result in increased attention to the needs of the animals, strengthening of the human–nonhuman animal bond, and reduction of relinquishment.

Abstract The axioms of topological electromagnetism that were given by Hehl, Obukhov, and Rubilar are refined by the use of geometrical and topological notions that are found on orientable manifolds. The central problem of defining the spacetime electromagnetic constitutive law in terms of the geometrical and topological structure of the spacetime manifold is elaborated upon in the linear and nonlinear cases. The manner by which the spacetime metric might follow from the electromagnetic constitutive law is examined in the linear case. The possibility that the intersection form of the spacetime manifold might play a role in defining a topological basis for a nonlinear electromagnetic constitutive law is explored. The manner by which electromagnetic wave motion relates to the geometric structure is also discussed.