This thesis examines the appeal to ordinary language as a distinctive methodological feature in the later philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein and the work of J. L. Austin. This appeal situates our language and concepts within the broader forms of life in which we use them, and seeks to ‘disenchant’ idealizations that extract our language and concepts from this broader context. A disenchanted philosophy recognizes our forms of life as manifestations of attunement: a shared common ground of understanding and behaviour that cannot itself be further explained or justified. By working through the consequences of seeing our forms of life as ultimately ungrounded in this way, the thesis illuminates the underlying importance of play to shared practices like language. The first two chapters consider the appeal to ordinary language as it features in the work of Austin and Wittgenstein, respectively. By placing each author in turn in dialogue with Jacques Derrida, the thesis draws out the importance of seeing our attunement as ungrounded, and the difficulty of doing so. Austin’s appeal to a ‘total context’ betrays the sort of idealization Austin himself opposes, whereas Wittgenstein and Derrida must remain self-reflexively vigilant in order to avoid the same pitfall. Chapter Three explores connections between the appeal to ordinary language and Martin Heidegger’s analysis of ‘average everydayness’ in Being and Time. Heidegger takes average everydayness to be a mark of inauthenticity. However, in acknowledging the ungroundedness of attunement, the appeal to ordinary language manifests a turn similar to Heidegger’s appeal to authenticity. Furthermore, Wittgenstein’s use of conceptual ‘pictures’ also allows him to avoid some of the confusions in Heidegger’s work. Chapter Four considers the nature of our ungrounded attunement, and argues that we both discover and create this attunement through play, which is unregulated activity that itself gives rise to regularity.

The diploma thesis examines the role of convention in J. L. Austin's speech act theory. It describes the possibility of "how to do things with words": such an analysis of language will be suggested that does not focus on the category of truth when dealing with particular utterances but rather replaces it with the category of felicity of a speech act in the social context. After having offered the explication including the central points of the given theory, there starts the investigation of which parts of the speech act theory are conventionally based and what role do conventions play in the speech act theory as a whole.

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Glass Shoulders is a collection of poems that embody events from my life which have served as catalysts in the process of integrating myself emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. In the poetry, the speaker searches for spiritual knowledge, and is guided toward meditation of Spirit as an internal reality to find healing. The narrative of the manuscript portrays the speaker’s deep introspection of self, exploring loss and resiliency through challenges surrounding grief, unrecovered abuses, and mood disorders. The inspiration for these poems arose from my contemplations on the incongruities between fate and free will, and how behaviors are influenced by the attitude of each. The poems explore her innermost conflicts as she contemplates whether she is director of her own destiny, or subject to a predestined fate, and seek to illumine how these differences effect her choices, behaviors, and attitude towards Spirit. The speaker is bipolar, and the paradox of the book debates whether the union of her polar selves is the ingredient to healing her phobias and disconnections, granting Spirit integration, or do her fractured selves support greater sensory experience that enhance her perceptions of self and Spirit toward new levels of recognition. The poems contain a variety of humor, tone, and voice. The humor in the poetry is unconscious to the speaker and shields her from her sense of loss and separation from her partner, her family, and divinity. At times she appears sarcastic and flippant, curious and gullible, yet always there is an undercurrent of deep thought. My visions and images for the poems are sourced from the philosophies of metaphysics, and are inspired by both Western and Eastern teachings of mysticism and myth that leads to Self-realization, or God-communion. It is through my studies of these sciences and methodologies that I have sourced my life long aspirations of spiritual knowledge for greater understanding of the human condition. Glass Shoulders is my attempt to show Self-realization as a gnosis of healing. This is a tale of freedom of psyche.

Project report (D. Min.)--George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-80).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-132).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of English Language and Literature, December 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available at the Internet.

Transit ridership analysis has been advancing towards the use of disaggregate spatial and boarding data. This study attempts to improve the understanding of factors influencing transit ridership by estimating/comparing ridership models at the route, the segmented route, and the stop level in the Austin area. Spatial and statistic analysis methods are used in this study. The dependent variable is ridership at the transit route, the segmented route, and the stop level, whereas independent variables consist of traveler characteristics, land use, transit service characteristics, and other contextual factors. Spatial analysis is conducted using Geographic Information System (GIS) to compile data within a quarter-mile buffer from each transit stop, each segregated route, and each route. Linear and semi-log models of ridership are estimated using Statistical Analysis System (SAS). Initial analysis confirms the qualitative understanding that traveler demographics such as population and employment densities, ethnic background, and income significantly affect transit ridership. Land use composition, measured by the shares of single-family homes, multi-family homes, commercial, civic uses, as well as the total area of paved parking, all influence transit use. Service qualities such as headway and transfer opportunities also matter. Sensitivity tests of these factors affecting ridership are carried out to compare model performance among the route, segmented route, and the stop level analyses. It is expected that the study findings will help to better inform transit agencies and local communities in optimizing existing transit operations, planning for new services, and developing transit-friendly environments. Primary data were obtained from the Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Census Bureau, and secondary data was processed by GIS analysis. / text

Increased population and recent droughts in 1996 and 2009 for the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer have focused attention on groundwater resources and sustainability of spring flow. These springs serve as a local iconic cultural center as well as the natural habitat for the endangered Barton Springs salamander. In response to the potential compromise of these vulnerable groundwater resources, a two-dimensional, numerical groundwater-flow model was developed for the Barton Springs / Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and other governmental entities to aid in aquifer management. The objective of this study is to develop new methods of quantifying and distributing recharge for this model. The motivation for conducting this study includes the following: recent availability of more extensive data sets, new conceptual models of the aquifer system, and the desire to incorporate estimates of urban recharge. Estimates of recharge quantities and distributions for natural and artificial sources were implemented within this model to simulate discharge at Barton Springs and water-level elevations from January, 1999 to December, 2009. Results indicate that the new methods employed generated good agreement amongst simulated and observed discharge and water-level elevations (Root mean square error of 0.5 m3 sec-1 and 10.5 m, respectively). Additionally, these recharge calculations are decoupled from Barton Springs discharge which eliminates the circular logic inherent with the previous methodology. Anthropogenic, or artificial, recharge accounts for 4% of the total recharge between January, 1999 and December, 2009. Using observed data to quantify contributions from leaky utility lines and irrigation return flows, recharge estimates were completed with spatial and temporal resolution. Analyses revealed that on a month by month basis, anthropogenic contributions can vary from <1 to 59% of the total recharge. During peak anthropogenic recharge intervals, irrigation return flow is the most significant contributor. However, leakage from utility lines provides more total recharge during the study period. Recharge contributions from artificial sources are comparable to the mid-size watershed contributions over the ten-year analysis period. Urban recharge can be a critical source for buffering seasonal fluctuations, particularly during low flow periods. Outcomes are relevant for habitat conservation, drought response planning, and urban groundwater management. / text