Integrating external deduction tools with ACL2

We present an interface connecting the ACL2 theorem prover with external deduction tools. The ACL2 logic contains several mechanisms for proof structuring, which are important to the construction of industrial-scale proofs. The complexity induced by these mechanisms makes the design of the interface challenging. We discuss some of the challenges, and develop a precise specification of the requirements on the external tools for a sound connection with ACL2. We also develop constructs within ACL2 to enable the developers of external tools to satisfy our specifications. The interface is available with the ACL2 theorem prover starting from Version 3.2, and we describe several applications of the interface.     

Cataclysmic Fall or a Fumbling Slip? A Christian Engagement with Islamic Hamartiology

Abstract :  This article addresses the large issue that looms in any Christian engagement with a different faith: the confession of Christ as incarnate God. The manner in which this issue is addressed is by focusing on the difference between Islamic and classical Lutheran understandings of sin. I shall attempt to present the Islamic understanding of sin and articulate how the Islamic understanding of Christ is shaped by its hamartiology. I shall conclude with a few practical suggestions for dialoguing with Muslims on the issue of sin.     

Investigating naturalistic decision making in a simulated microworld: What questions should we ask?

Computer-simulated microworlds can provide a controlled method for investigating concepts related to naturalistic decision making (NDM). However, the extent to which these tools can be used to generate meaningful outcomes is unknown. The current study used a microworld called Networked Fire Chief (NFC) to explore the range of skills and knowledge acquired as participants gained practice on the program. The complexity of the NFC NDM environment was also explored. Twenty participants each completed 20 equivalent 5-min scenarios on NFC. Interview data, behavioral data and performance scores were collected across the trials. Results confirmed that NFC provides an environment that promotes appropriate perceptual-cognitive processing for NDM. However, performance improved to only a small extent across the 20 trials in four performance areas: speed, accuracy, efficiency and planning. In addition, the number of personal and situational factors to be considered when decision making on NFC was not comparable with real-world NDM environments. Overall, results indicated that the use of microworlds for research should be regulated by an understanding of the limitations of their applicability.     

Environmental Contributions to Adolescent Delinquency: A Fresh Look at the Shared Environment

Few genetically-informative studies have attempted to explicitly identify the shared environmental (i.e., those environmental influences that contribute to sibling similarity) factors now known to contribute to adolescent delinquency. The current study therefore examined whether the parent-child relationship served as one source of these shared environmental influences. Participants were 610 adoptive and biological families from the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study (SIBS). Parents and adolescents reported on their parent-child conflict and parental involvement with child, and adolescents reported on their own delinquent behaviors. We employed structural equation modeling and supplementary multilevel modeling, finding consistent evidence that the association between delinquency and the parent-child relationship is at least partially shared environmental in origin. Such findings provide an important extension of previous twin studies, as they suggest that passive genotype-environment correlations do not explain earlier findings of shared environmental influences on this association.     

Inability to mourn. Does the diagnosis hold up against an evaluation? On psychological processing of the Holocaust in Germany]

The book The Inability to Mourn by Alexander and Margarete Mitscherlich appeared in 1967 and claimed to provide a diagnosis of the era in which it was written. Superficially at least, its public impact was considerable. Rereading the work 25 years later, Tilmann Moser has profound misgivings as to the accuracy of the Mitscherlichs' diagnosis. He characterises the authors' approach as a mixture of analytic-cum-therapeutic, political and pedagogical attitudes and suggests that this was largely inappropriate to the task of identifying the actual psychic condition of the "generation of culprits" and of encouraging self-recognition and a disposition for change. Moser posits the "tragic paradox" that the people implicated in this crime require empathy if they are to genuinely break with the past.     

Hyperalgebraic primitive elements for relational algebraic and topological algebraic models

Using nonstandard methods, we generalize the notion of an algebraic primitive element to that of an hyperalgebraic primitive element, and show that under mild restrictions, such elements can be found infinitesimally close to any given element of a topological field.Presented by Robert Goldblatt