<p> Ceramic technologies of Myanmar and South China were analyzed in order to determine characteristic traits and technological origins. Given Myanmar&rsquo;s geographically strategic position between China and Southwest Asia, its ceramic history needs to be reevaluated among the distinct traditions of Southeast Asia. The ceramics of Myanmar show evidence of imitation China and Southwest/Central Asia using locally sourced materials, giving support to Dr. Myo Thant Tyn&rsquo;s theory of the convergence of the Chinese and Southwest/Central Asian ceramic traditions in Myanmar. </p><p> Seven ceramic technologies of Myanmar were analyzed: celadons, black-glazed jars (lead-barium and lead-iron-manganese glazes), brown ash glaze ware, green and opaque white-painted glaze ware and turquoise-glazed, coarse-bodied white earthenware. Celadon glazes and brown glazes were made with ash, similar to the Chinese celadon tradition. Green-and-white opaque ware utilized copper-green colorant glaze decoration with tin and lead oxides as opacifying agents on low-fired oxidized bodies. Both these traditions are probably derived from Southwest Asian ceramic and glass traditions. High-soda, copper-turquoise glazes on coarse white earthenware bodies are influenced by Southwest and Central Asian low-fire ceramic and glass traditions. Black-glazed, &ldquo;Martaban&rdquo;-style storage jars were variable in body and glaze technology and are still of indeterminable technological origin. A phase-separated glaze was analyzed that had a similar phase-separated appearance to northern Chinese Jun ware. </p><p> Additionally, two black-glazed ware types from South China with vertical streaking phase separation were analyzed: Xiba kiln of Sichuan and Jianyang kilns of Fujian. The recently discovered and excavated Xiba kiln made experimental and striking stoneware bowls similar to Jianyang &ldquo;hare&rsquo;s fur&rdquo; ware. Reverse engineering the manufacture of Xiba kiln ware determined that Xiba was an innovative site that imitated Jianyang ware aesthetically but not technologically. Xiba and Jianyang do not have any connection to the six Burmese glaze styles, however, future analyses of Southeast Asian ceramics can use the data for comparison and variability research.</p><p>

The Naturphilosophie of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775-1854) has been neglected in the Anglophone world for over 200 years, but his detractors are wrong in insisting that his system represented a disguised mysticism and a rejection of empirical science. Although Schelling studied theology at the famous Tubingen seminary, he dedicated his life to philosophy by 1794, eventually turning to an intensive study of the natural sciences. By 1799, he had developed a systematic Naturphilosophie which harvested the discoveries of eighteenth century science in order to solve the philosophical problems left behind by Immanuel Kant and Johann Gottlieb Fichte. Schelling relentlessly fought against the notion that nature is inert. Instead, he stressed its vibrancy, its activity, and ultimately its creativity. By reconstructing Schelling's intellectual development, we not only gain a new appreciation for his thought, but we also see aspects of his Naturphilosophie which are deeply sympathetic, and perhaps even useful in the twenty-first century.

<p> Philosopher of science Wilfrid Sellars argues that there are two mutually exclusive images of human-in-the-world that philosophy ought to unify: the "manifest image" of common, shared experience and the "scientific image" of imperceptible objects. Process philosophy, as a metaphysical framework, is in a unique position to allow both images to sit together in dynamic tension, rather than allowing one image to collapse into the other. Not only do I maintain that process philosophy is logically robust, but I also argue that there are several instances of empirical verification of process as an ontology.</p><p> Taking a process ontology seriously, however, requires that we re-articulate an understanding of the two grand narratives that are utilized to explain our origins: the socio-cultural evolution of consciousness and the objective evolution of the universe. I call these the <i>history of science</i> and the <i>science of history,</i> respectively. In Western academia, the <i>science of history</i> is usually given ontological priority; but within a process metaphysic, neither can be said to be explanatorily primary. That which holds these two narratives together, and that which produces spacetime itself, I refer to as "pretemporal origination." The mode through which this process elicits evolution is through creative-discovery, wherein creation and discovery are not two separate modes of mind-universe interaction, but unified on a continuum of constraints.</p>

The nature of the process of meaning-making in science has been one of the central problems in the philosophy of science of the 20th century. Yet, in spite of strenuous efforts by many able philosophers and historians of science over the past three decades or so, our understanding of this process continues to be unsatisfactory and fragmented at best. The need for an adequate account has been particularly exacerbated by the "infamous" and often misinterpreted problem of incommensurability (of meaning), and its alleged consequence, the incomparability of scientific theories--which presumably threatens the rationality, objectivity, and progress of science. In this project, I argue that a new and revised cluster theory can be articulated, which meets the objections typically raised against (i) traditional (contextual or cluster) theories of meaning (Carnap, Kuhn, Gasking, Putnam, Achinstein) and (ii) theories of reference (Scheffler, Putnam, Kitcher). Such a theory is not only based on more plausible assumptions and principles, but, in addition, it satisfies the main adequacy requirements formulated by proponents of a "cognitive-historical approach" (Shapere, Nersessian, Kuhn). I am thus concerned not just with refuting "the entering wedge" of the argument against a defense of cluster theory, but with offering a relatively developed theory, sufficiently fleshed out to permit appreciation of its distinctiveness and evaluation of its merits. I argue that the new cluster theory provides not only an adequate account of the process of meaning-making in science, but also a nuanced and context-sensitive one, which exhibits the fine-structure of the history of science. It is thus capable of accounting for the different kinds and degrees of meaning and reference changes in science. Furthermore, when applied in a case-study of the "chemical revolution," it accounts for that which has escaped change without discontinuity, or even, as result of (and simply within) a broader framework of continuous conceptual change. The new cluster theory constitutes a proposal showing how the comparability of scientific theories is possible, how we have in fact been comparing them all along, despite "local incommensurabilities" of various kinds and degrees. Such a theory offers new insights into the developments of the chemical revolution in particular, but also into the structure and process of scientific revolutions in general. In short, it gives us a new framework for understanding the rationality, objectivity, and progress of science.

<p> Examines early attempts to formalize congressional oversight of intelligence, and details what level of congressional oversight existed for the Bay of Pigs operation.</p>

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John Napier, born at Merchiston in 1550, published The Whole Revelation of St. John in 1594; and he appears to have regarded that theological polemic as his most important achievement. Napier's invention of logarithms (with greatly advanced spherical trigonometry) was published in 1614 as Descriptio Canonis Logarithmorum; whereupon the mathematicians of Europe instantly acclaimed Napier as the greatest of them all. In 1617 he published Rabdologiae, which explained several devices for aiding calculation: (1) numbering rods to aid multiplication (known as 'Napier's bones'); (2) other rods to aid evaluation of square and cube roots; (3) the first publication of binary arithmetic, as far as square root extraction; and (4) the Promptuary for multiplication of numbers (up to 10 digits each), which has a strong claim to be regarded as the first calculating machine. Napier's explanation of the construction of his logarithms was published posthumously in 1619 as Constructio Canonis Logarithmorum, in which he developed much of the differential calculus in order to define his logarithms as the solution of a differential equation and then constructed strict upper and lower bounds for the solution. His incomplete manuscript on arithmetic and algebra (written in the early 1590s) was published in 1839 as De Arte Logistica. This thesis provides the first English translations of De Arte Logistica and of Rabdologiae, and it reprints Edward Wright's English translation (1616) of the Descriptio and W. R. Macdonald's English translation (1889) of the Constructio. Extensive commentaries are given on Napier's work on arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry and logarithms. The history of trigonometry is traced from ancient Babylonia and Greece through mediaeval Islam to Renaissance Europe. Napier's logarithms (and spherical trigonometry) resulted in an explosion of logarithms over most of the world, with European ships using logarithms for navigation as far as Japan by 1640. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

John Napier, born at Merchiston in 1550, published The Whole Revelation of St. John in 1594; and he appears to have regarded that theological polemic as his most important achievement. Napier's invention of logarithms (with greatly advanced spherical trigonometry) was published in 1614 as Descriptio Canonis Logarithmorum; whereupon the mathematicians of Europe instantly acclaimed Napier as the greatest of them all. In 1617 he published Rabdologiae, which explained several devices for aiding calculation: (1) numbering rods to aid multiplication (known as 'Napier's bones'); (2) other rods to aid evaluation of square and cube roots; (3) the first publication of binary arithmetic, as far as square root extraction; and (4) the Promptuary for multiplication of numbers (up to 10 digits each), which has a strong claim to be regarded as the first calculating machine. Napier's explanation of the construction of his logarithms was published posthumously in 1619 as Constructio Canonis Logarithmorum, in which he developed much of the differential calculus in order to define his logarithms as the solution of a differential equation and then constructed strict upper and lower bounds for the solution. His incomplete manuscript on arithmetic and algebra (written in the early 1590s) was published in 1839 as De Arte Logistica. This thesis provides the first English translations of De Arte Logistica and of Rabdologiae, and it reprints Edward Wright's English translation (1616) of the Descriptio and W. R. Macdonald's English translation (1889) of the Constructio. Extensive commentaries are given on Napier's work on arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry and logarithms. The history of trigonometry is traced from ancient Babylonia and Greece through mediaeval Islam to Renaissance Europe. Napier's logarithms (and spherical trigonometry) resulted in an explosion of logarithms over most of the world, with European ships using logarithms for navigation as far as Japan by 1640. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

John Napier, born at Merchiston in 1550, published The Whole Revelation of St. John in 1594; and he appears to have regarded that theological polemic as his most important achievement. Napier's invention of logarithms (with greatly advanced spherical trigonometry) was published in 1614 as Descriptio Canonis Logarithmorum; whereupon the mathematicians of Europe instantly acclaimed Napier as the greatest of them all. In 1617 he published Rabdologiae, which explained several devices for aiding calculation: (1) numbering rods to aid multiplication (known as 'Napier's bones'); (2) other rods to aid evaluation of square and cube roots; (3) the first publication of binary arithmetic, as far as square root extraction; and (4) the Promptuary for multiplication of numbers (up to 10 digits each), which has a strong claim to be regarded as the first calculating machine. Napier's explanation of the construction of his logarithms was published posthumously in 1619 as Constructio Canonis Logarithmorum, in which he developed much of the differential calculus in order to define his logarithms as the solution of a differential equation and then constructed strict upper and lower bounds for the solution. His incomplete manuscript on arithmetic and algebra (written in the early 1590s) was published in 1839 as De Arte Logistica. This thesis provides the first English translations of De Arte Logistica and of Rabdologiae, and it reprints Edward Wright's English translation (1616) of the Descriptio and W. R. Macdonald's English translation (1889) of the Constructio. Extensive commentaries are given on Napier's work on arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry and logarithms. The history of trigonometry is traced from ancient Babylonia and Greece through mediaeval Islam to Renaissance Europe. Napier's logarithms (and spherical trigonometry) resulted in an explosion of logarithms over most of the world, with European ships using logarithms for navigation as far as Japan by 1640. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

John Napier, born at Merchiston in 1550, published The Whole Revelation of St. John in 1594; and he appears to have regarded that theological polemic as his most important achievement. Napier's invention of logarithms (with greatly advanced spherical trigonometry) was published in 1614 as Descriptio Canonis Logarithmorum; whereupon the mathematicians of Europe instantly acclaimed Napier as the greatest of them all. In 1617 he published Rabdologiae, which explained several devices for aiding calculation: (1) numbering rods to aid multiplication (known as 'Napier's bones'); (2) other rods to aid evaluation of square and cube roots; (3) the first publication of binary arithmetic, as far as square root extraction; and (4) the Promptuary for multiplication of numbers (up to 10 digits each), which has a strong claim to be regarded as the first calculating machine. Napier's explanation of the construction of his logarithms was published posthumously in 1619 as Constructio Canonis Logarithmorum, in which he developed much of the differential calculus in order to define his logarithms as the solution of a differential equation and then constructed strict upper and lower bounds for the solution. His incomplete manuscript on arithmetic and algebra (written in the early 1590s) was published in 1839 as De Arte Logistica. This thesis provides the first English translations of De Arte Logistica and of Rabdologiae, and it reprints Edward Wright's English translation (1616) of the Descriptio and W. R. Macdonald's English translation (1889) of the Constructio. Extensive commentaries are given on Napier's work on arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry and logarithms. The history of trigonometry is traced from ancient Babylonia and Greece through mediaeval Islam to Renaissance Europe. Napier's logarithms (and spherical trigonometry) resulted in an explosion of logarithms over most of the world, with European ships using logarithms for navigation as far as Japan by 1640. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.