If God can be an uncaused cause, then so can the universe.
If anything as complex as God (with his remarkably great intelligence and detailed personal qualities and convenient powers) can exist without explanation, then so can something as simple as a singular undifferentiated quantum state, which gave rise to the Big Bang (or a Big Bang, eventually giving rise to ours).
There is no other logical possibility.
Either some things are caused, or nothing is.
If nothing is caused, then I never wrote this. But I did write this, so at least some things are caused.
If some things are caused, either their causing is the result of a previous cause, or it isn't. In other words, either something caused it to cause, or nothing caused it to cause.
If every cause is the result of a previous cause, or, if everything is caused by something else, then we have an "infinite regress" of causes.
An infinite regress of causes is logically incoherent. To suggest that there have been an infinite regress of past causes is to suggest that we have come to the end of an infinite series. An infinite series, however, is by definition a series with no end. So this would mean that we have come to the end of a series with no end, which is logically incoherent.
Infinite regress is logically incoherent. Therefore, not everything is caused by a previous cause.
Infinite regress would mean that we have iterated, one-by-one, through every single item of an infinite series. But an infinite series always has more items than those that have been iterated through. We would have iterated through something that cannot be iterated through, which is logically incoherent.
If we were to go backwards through each previous cause, and there were an infinite number of past causes, there would necessarily be some cause in the set of previous causes that we would never, ever get to. If that were not the case, it would not be infinite. If there is some supposed prior cause in the set of previous causes that we could never get to while iterating backwards through all previous causes, then, iterating forward from that cause to the present state, we would never arrive at the present state for the same reason that going backwards we could never arrive at the previous state -- namely, the infinite (or unending) number of causes in between the two.
Infinite regress would mean that we have completed something that cannot be completed. We have traversed something that cannot be traversed. We have itemized what cannot be itemized, counted what cannot be counted, spanned what cannot be spanned.
This means, necessarily, that EVERY series of causes has its own first cause, and since this first cause is a FIRST cause, it is uncaused.
What we also see is that since this first cause is never the result of a prior cause, since it is in fact a FIRST cause, it does not cause involuntarily. In other words, nothing made it cause: it did it voluntarily -- on its own. The first cause, in every series of causes, is therefore necessarily volitional: it is willful; it has personhood.
Every uncaused first cause, since it is uncaused, either began to exist without cause, or else it did not begin to exist, and is therefore self-existent.
0 + 0 > 0.
This is the same as claiming that zero is not zero, which is logically contradictory. I like to call this "Atheist Math".
Therefore, since nothing can be caused by nothing, every uncaused first cause is self-existent. It is eternal, permanent, and not subject to change over time. It simply... is.
When anyone talks about some kind of uncaused, self-existent, willful, eternal, personal entity that is the first cause of things, the label generally applied to such an entity is "God".
So we see that not only must some type of God necessarily exist because of the impossibility of the contrary, but also that He must be an uncaused first cause for the same reason.
In fact, Christianity is the only worldview that is logically coherent. All other worldviews fall victim to inherent logical contradictions within their most basic presuppositions, particularly wherever they diverge from Christianity.
For example, due to the lack of divine sacrificial substitutionary atonement in Islam, when Allah, who is always just, forgives, He is not just.
Due to the prophecies of the Messiah in the Hebrew Bible, Jewish prophecy is rejected by the Jews.
Due to the multiplicity of disagreeing gods in polytheism, wherever there is divine disagreement, things are and are not at the same time and in the same way.
The Christian God never contradicts Himself (2 Timothy 2:13); He fulfills the prophecies of the Jews (Acts 3:18); and the sacrifice of Christ makes it possible for the Christian God to be both just and forgiving at the same time (Hebrews 2:17).
Ultimately, only the Christian worldview provides a coherent understanding of reality and is not inherently contradictory.
Tim: in regards to this question, you explain why there must be an uncaused cause, but not why God must be an uncaused cause. You simply asserted that, quote: When anyone talks about some kind of uncaused, self-existent, willful, eternal, personal entity that is the first cause of things, the label generally applied to such an entity is "God".
For others, here is a detailed commentary I had with Tim a while ago on a similar topic: http://qw.quakephil.com/mccabe/ I obtained Tim's permission to publicize it for what it is. Tim, if you want it taken offline let me know.
Thanks for removing the phone number. Very thoughtful of you. It is just part of the signature on my email profile. But yes, if you feel some pressing need to call me, you are welcome to.
"...since it is in fact a FIRST cause, it does not cause involuntarily."
I might not have quoted enough on my last post, maybe i should've quoted this part too: "In other words, nothing made it cause: it did it voluntarily -- on its own."
I'm just a little confused as to how you end up concluding that the first cause is willful/has personhood. I'm not quite following your logic here. Thanks.
Have you ever heard of Zeno's paradoxes? What is your solution to the race between Achilles and the tortoise? The distance Achilles is infinite, since you can divide distances an infinite amount of time. According to your logic, he would never catch the tortoise. Yet, that clearly is not so. So what's the deal?
Unfortunately, you infinity quite oddly (and causation, for that matter), so this whole conversation may be pointless.
"The distance Achilles runs is infinite...an infinite amount of times."
"...you view infinity quite oddly..."
Any first cause causes without being forced to. Its causing of whatever it causes is the result of nothing more than itself. It is self-motivated and self-directed, thus volitional or willful.
Therefore it is personal... it has personhood.
I'm not sure I can explain it any better than that, but I hope this clarifies what I mean, at least a little.
Good, I'm glad you don't think Zeno's paradox is legitimate. However, you didn't notice how bringing up Zeno is completely irrelevant to time. (Shame on you :p) Simply put, if we claim that time is infinite (no beginning and no end) and you use math which uses a beginning and an end (e.g. a distance Achilles had to run), then your math is irrelevant. In actuality, the relevant math shows that an infinite time is possible. The math is shown here [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=586993] about 2/3 the way down, along with discussion.
Timothy, I'm still a little confused.
"Any first cause causes without being forced to."
But what if the First Cause's very nature "forced" it to cause? (I don't necessarily believe in this example, but here is something like I'm talking about: An eternal set of laws or something, which is bound by itself, just runs routinely according to its nature, without any will or anything. It just is. And because of its nature, it causes things (like giving rise to universes, etc.) It's forced to by its nature, so forced by itself, but without a conscious will to do so. It just "is" and "does."
Then temporal progression is immutable: we have an infinite regress of time.
Please let me know if this does not fully address your concern. If you'd prefer a more in-depth conversation, feel free to use the Contact Us page.
I don't really see how you have an infinite regress of time with the example I brought up. The First Cause would be eternal, not bound by time, not temporal. Time is just a dimension of our universe, and begins at the formation of our universe. Since time has a beginning in this example, there would be no infinite regress. I don't see how "we have an infinite regress of time" follows logically from your other statements.
Ultimately, I am trying to work out how you got to the point of saying that the First Cause must be a conscious personal agent as opposed to "a singular undifferentiated quantum state" like what Richard Carrier brought up in his view, or something similar.
Due to character restraints and the nature of the comments section, I am trying to be brief. Sometimes brevity makes my arguments unclear.
Below, x is the *being* of the First Cause (God or the quantum whatzits); y is the *doing* of the First Cause (the creation event or the Big Bang); z is temporal progression, or vectoral movement through time (the process of one moment following the next).
If x, then necessarily y.
If y, then necessarily z.
This means that if x, then necessarily z.
If x, then optionally y.
So, under the position you are presenting, the existence of the First Cause is bound necessarily to the passage of time. If x is, then so is z. If z had a beginning, so did x, which is to say that 0 + 0 > 0. If x did not have a beginning, then neither did z, which is to endorse infinite regress. So this position is incoherent, unless I misunderstood your question.
In Christianity this is not the case due to the optional (willful) relationship between x and y.
There is no difference in terms of coherency between both of those positions you listed (the God or the quantum whatzits.) The "optionally" doesn't matter, and doesn't effect somethings ability to be uncaused at all. If your statement about "If z had a beginning, so did x" applies to the quantum whatzits, it applies to God as well. If the quantum whatzits is bound to the passage of time, then God is as well.
As Carrier said, if God can be an uncaused cause, then so can a singular undifferentiated quantum state.
Only if a 'singular undifferentiated quantum state' is a personal entity with a will, since the First Cause must have a will, as demonstrated above. But if this is your claim, you aren't an Atheist anymore.
No, you didn't demonstrate that a will was necessary, you just asserted it. The "having an option" to go to Y from X doesn't effect X's ability to be uncaused.
"For example, due to the lack of divine sacrificial substitutionary atonement in Islam, when Allah, who is always just, forgives, He is not just."
Your are presupposing that it is unjust to forgive without a divine sacrificial substitutionary atonement. On the Christian set of presuppositions, this may be true. But under the Islamic set of presuppositions, it is not. So your claim that Islam is inherently contradictory because of this is false. Allah need not be held to your imaginary god's standards. Your claim would be like claiming Christianity is inherently contradictory because it doesn't conform to Islamic, Hindu, or some other religious standard for forgiveness.
You could be completely correct. I have not gotten a good answer on this concern from anyone I have raised it to.
In Islam, please define "justice" and please also define "forgiveness", or more importantly, please explain the Arabic words translated as such.
It seems to me that to forgive is to overlook sin, whereas justice demands vindictive retribution and merited punishment, therefore never overlooking sin. These would just be English definitions of English words. If there is no substitutionary atonement, with these definitions, they are mutually exclusive.
I would love to have a clean and coherent Muslim response to this.
Justice: Broadly, in Islam, the concept of justice is simply giving everyone his due.
Forgiveness: The Qur'an says that Allah is the Absolver of sins. Absolve means to set free from guilt. When someone is forgiven, what they are due changes. They are no longer due punishment.
On your view, it seems that you think when Allah doesn't punish, he is failing to give them their due. But on my view, Allah gives them their due. Its just that their due changed because of repentance and forgiveness. So forgiveness happens, and justice is still done. Perfectly coherent.
"Punishment is due for his sin, but I choose not to punish him."
"No punishment is due for his sin."
Uncaused causes do exist in nature; spontaneous radionuclear decay. These are a natural phenomenon. There is therefore no particular reason why the universe must be caused, since the idea that the universe could just happen is perfectly consistent with natural observations.
"Usually, radioactive decay happens DUE TO a process confined to the nucleus of the unstable atom, but, on occasion (as with the different processes of electron capture and internal conversion), an inner electron of the radioactive atom is also necessary to the process."
But let's assume Wikipedia is wrong and no cause is actually known. All this means is that the cause is unknown -- not that there isn't one. Of course there's a cause... if there weren't, knowledge would be impossible (and math wouldn't work). If observation hasn't found the cause, that's a weakness of empiricism -- not Christianity.
Science teaches that the universe had a beginning and also states that anything that had a beginning had a cause. We do not state that God ever had a beginning but rather that he always existed. Common sense would have you believe that something had to have always existed in order for the first matter to have come into existence. We claim this to be God. It is science that states that the way the universe grows and contracts leaves no other option than that the universe must have had an initial cause.
Regarding the personhood of the first cause and its supposed volition, although nothing can impel the first cause into causation, being that it is a first *cause* it cannot *but* cause, by definition, therefore no will --or choice-- is involved. As personhood was predicated on the exercise of will, it is an unnecessary added quality. It must be in the nature of a first cause to cause, and that is sufficient.
2. The sequence never shows the two successive numbers where one number includes "infinity" and the next number includes no "ifninity". This is because there are no such two successive numbers.
2a. This is the context switch referred to - commence with numbers that include "infinity" and then change context to numbers that do not include "infinity".
3. proof: The sequence would be: -in, -(in-1), -(in-2) .... -(in-m), -n, .... -3, -2, -1, 0. Hence -(in-m) = -(n+1). Hence in = n + m + 1. So infinity is a finite number? This is why negative infinity cannot be used as a number for the purposes of counting to zero.
B. If god doesn't need a cause, then the premise that "everything needs a cause" is therefore false, and the argument fails.
C. Its asserted but never demonstrated or proven that the alleged first cause must necessarily be a wilful personal entity.
"Its asserted but never demonstrated or proven that the alleged first cause must necessarily be a wilful personal entity."
You didn't even read the essay, did you?
"Since it is in fact a FIRST cause, it does not cause involuntarily. In other words, nothing made it cause: it did it voluntarily -- on its own. The first cause, in every series of causes, is therefore necessarily volitional: it is willful; it has personhood."
That's not a mere assertion, but a demonstration or proof. Does it work? Dunno, but your condemnation is pure straw.
Well Tim didn't use those exact words but I can see how somebody who has issues reading and thinking and using logic could get confused so lets see if we can sort it out. I promise to try and not use too many big words.
See, Tim says "either some things are caused, or nothing is". So OK then, lets accept that some things are caused, yeah? If some things are caused, they necessarily didn't cause themselves, so in order to be, they necessarily have to have *been* caused. You with me? So...some things *need* a cause.
So does the set of things that need a cause include god? Um...no, cos the assertion is that god is uncaused. So when it comes to things that *don't* need a cause, there's god and...um, that's it. Everything else, apart from god, needs a cause. If you read it slowly and take it one word at a time, you'll see that it's the same idea, just different words. And it's special pleading. Which is what I said.
Since that's the fallacy that the whole argument is based on, you can see that the rest of it, the whole "wilful voluntary personhood" thing is just a load of theological hooey.
So when Tim says "some things are caused", what he REALLY means is "everything needs a cause".
And when he says "since this first cause is a FIRST cause, it is uncaused" and "since this first cause is never the result of a prior cause, since it is in fact a FIRST cause, it does not cause involuntarily", what he REALLY means is "God doesn't need a cause because... *crickets*".
Wow you sure are smart! Wish I knew how to read like you do! Then I could easily use straw men and ad hominems to prove any arbitrary claim I want!
Nah, you still haven't got it. Nice try though, 10/10 for effort but minus a couple million for good thinking or having, like, an actual argument. On the plus side though, you sure have learned a lot from Tim when it comes to totally avoiding the points that people actually make...well done!!
to talk about "causes and effects" is one thing. We live in a universe that was set in motion by God and exists since then as it appears to us. You can't just throw a rope out of space/time and lasso God in and then put Him on equal footing with our perceptions of "cause and effect"-even going so far as to say [either everything has a cause therefore God has a cause]...it doesn't follow. A direct denial of God as the first uncaused cause is just that...a denial. God is the beginning of all things and they are as we perceive them to be because He made them that way. The universe and everything in it continues to work and function in a logical and scientific way-it's natural. God is Supernatural. This supernatural realm is His exclusive domain...unfathomable.
The uncaused cause argument is often misunderstood by Atheists (and Theists as well) as evidenced by the Atheist response here.
The point of the argument is that there MUST logically be two categories of being, commonly called 'Contingent' and 'Necessary'.
Contingent means that this type of being depends upon something else for its existence. It receives existence from somewhere else. In other words, it is "caused"
Necessary means that this type of being DOES NOT depend on something else for its existence. It does not receive existence, it has existence by it's very nature.
The usual Atheist construct of reality is that reality is a closed system of contingent being, but this is logically impossible. It's like saying you can have a ring of people constantly passing a Dollar bill around between them when no one had a Dollar bill to begin with.
In order for anything to exist at all, there must be a being which is self-existent. This being, by definition transcends observed reality.


text:
Home > Explore Syria > Halebiye
Halebiye
On the left bank of Mid Euphrates (across Zalebiye) 66 km north of Deir Ezzor (100 km south of Raqqa); Halebiye was one of the most formidable Byzantine fortifications in Syria, the culmination of Justinian's ambitious policy of securing the frontier of the Later Roman Empire on the Euphrates. The site is particularly splendid at sunset when the shadows fall across the stark hills and the sun strikes a warmer luminescence in the stone.
Though what you now see is basically Byzantine construction of the sixth century, Halebiye was first fortified during the apogee of Palmyrian control in the area, in the mid third century. When the Romans responded to Zenobia's rebellion by occupying the Palmyrene domains in 273, they took Halebiye (named after a Palmyrian Queen).
The great consolidation of the site dates to the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (ruled 527 - 65). In Syria, he put considerable store by retaining control of a region which had become an important center of Christianity and securing it against the Persian threat. Halebiye along with the earlier fortifications of the pilgrimage city of Resafe were the most conspicuous results of his policy.
The Arabs used the great fortification from time to time but it was later largely left to decay. The fortifications originally contained a small garrison city with the usual range of amenities within the 12 ha walled area. Also the citadel speaks of how many occupiers re-fortified it. And last but not least, the funerary towers and rock-cut tombs of the late Roman period can be watched along the river to the north of the city.
Zalebiye:
On the right bank of Mid Euphrates (across Halebiye) 66 km north of Deir Ezzor (100 km south of Raqqa); the history of Zalebiye marches closely with that of the complementary fortress on the Euphrates, Halebiye. Being in a worse state of preservation, smaller in extent, and until recently less accessible, Zalebiye has been infrequently visited.
The fortress, like Halebiye, was established in the period when the Palmyrene were unwisely attempting to assert their control in the area to test Roman dominance. It was improved as part of the defensive works of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. It was more damaged than Halebiye due to the use of less solid construction techniques and earthquakes and river flooding effects.
These works probably date back at least to the first century AD and probably to the late Bronze Age. The canal was still in use in the Arab middle ages when it was named after Semiramis, the legendary Arab queen.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package ro.petitii.controller.api;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonView;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.data.jpa.datatables.mapping.DataTablesInput;
import org.springframework.data.jpa.datatables.mapping.DataTablesOutput;
import org.springframework.security.access.prepost.PreAuthorize;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMethod;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

import ro.petitii.controller.BaseController;
import ro.petitii.model.User;
import ro.petitii.service.UserService;

import javax.validation.Valid;

@RestController
public class UserApiController extends BaseController{
    @Autowired
    private UserService userService;

    @JsonView(DataTablesOutput.View.class)
    @PreAuthorize("hasAuthority('ADMIN')")
    @RequestMapping(value = "/api/users", method = {RequestMethod.GET, RequestMethod.POST})
    public DataTablesOutput<User> getUsers(@Valid DataTablesInput input) {
    	//TODO: catch exceptions, add  error/success message
        return userService.findAll(input);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Such a beautiful little thing, with a perfect features. I know her parents and little four legged siblings are so happy to have her in their arms. Little Emma gave me some sleepy and wide awake photos for the session and I am sure she was happy when I left and she got to take a good uninterrupted nap. We photographed these in her nursery, with natural window light and some has bounce flash on the ceiling to fill in the dark spots. I really like the ones towards the end photographed with my old macro lens. 🙂 Enjoy.


It's always nice to hear patients being complementary about my work or manner or the practice as a whole. Yesterday I had a lady really genuinely enthusing that I was the best dentist she had ever found. It really made my morning.
I am honoured to have been mentioned as a useful source for the creation of this guide on sugar, it's problems and the pros and cons of some possible alternatives.
The author Dr Simon Oldfield has been qualified for less than a year but is clearly massively dedicated to making a big impact on both the dental and overall health of a lot of people. I think he will go far. Please support him by visiting his site, absorbing the excellent information and sharing it with those you care about so that they can benefit too.
I have mentioned in previous blog posts about my journey to a better understanding of how sugar impacts many aspects of our health. Last year I was approached by the publishers of Aesthetic Dentistry Today to see if I could collate that knowledge into a couple of articles.
The photos above are the first of those articles in which I explain what "sugar" is, how it relates to dental decay and the recent developments in our understanding of how it affects our health overall. Below is the second article in which I discuss ways of reducing your sugar intake including alternatives you can consider.
It can be very easy for us to become trapped in our modern whirlwind days and forget to take on board enough fluids to prevent slipping into a state of mild dehydration. It seems like this simple common error can affect our mental function.


text:
EICN Pan-Asia: Understanding Asian Consumers
Feb 7, 2023 (4:00 PM - 5:00 PM) (GMT+8)
When foreign companies began entering Asian markets, the thinking was that exposure to foreign brands and consumption habits would change Asia. Instead, operating in Asia has chang...
EICN SG: What you need to know in a world of shortening supply chains
Jan 30, 2023 (8:00 AM - 10:00 AM) (GMT+8)
What you need to know in a world of shortening supply chainsSupply chains went through tremendous change during the pandemic, as corporates and countries alike sought resilience an...
EICN Seoul - Facing the digital threat:
Jan 19, 2023 (7:30 AM - 9:15 AM) (GMT+9)
To understand how real the threat of cybercrime is to private companies, one need only look at Notpeya, an impish piece of malware hidden in a seemingly innocuous tax software pack...
EICN Beijing | CxO Lunch: Protecting your business from cyber security challenges in China
Jan 12, 2023 (12:00 PM - 2:00 PM) (GMT+8)
We live in a digital world with increasing reliance on networks and information systems. New opportunities generated by technological advancement are attended by emerging cyber sec...
EICN MENA - CHRISTMAS DINNER
Dec 13, 2022 (7:30 PM - 10:00 PM) (GMT+4)
Can you believe there are just 40 days until Christmas? Another year over, as John Lennon once sung, even if the war in Ukraine, energy crisis, inflation spike and interest rate ri...
123...56Next


text:
Q: Escape html by PHP then add by jquery I have following html (html may be vary) in php variable. I have used append function (jQuery) for adding this html but always fail...... (due to not properly formated html). I've tried htmlentities,html_entity_decode and htmlspecialchars function for formating html but not success.... :( Any-buddy know how to escaped this html. (either by PHP or jquery and how???? appreciate for your answer)

        *AT

        <select id="19" name="Name" class="cc" title="" style="" size="">
            <option value="" >Select below</option>
            <option value="A" selected="selected">A</option>
            <option value="B">B</option>
        </select>

A: Javascript code execution may be broken because of next line.
Try this:
$('elementIdentification').before("< ?php echo str_replace('\r\n','',str_replace('\n','',$html)); ?>");

A: You may not require jQuery Append to do this, if the HTML is decoded, you may simply echo it.

A: You need to convert the HTML to a valid JavaScript string, which means it has to be 1 line and all "-quotes or '-quotes must be escaped, depending on which your outer style will be in the final JS. So something like:
$html = str_replace("\n", "\\n", $html);
$html = str_replace('"', '\"', $html);

Or even easier, just json_encode() it and omit the quotes in the JS script itself as json_encode() will add those.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Our firm is pleased to welcome the newest attorney to our team: Jeffrey Streiffer. Jeff brings with him a diverse breadth of knowledge and experience from his 19 years of legal experience. Not only does the addition of Jeff infuse the firm with a sense of excitement in welcoming a new colleague, he also elevates our insights into the world of government agencies and cooperatives.
Prior to joining Goldfarb & Lipman, Jeff was Senior Counsel at the Office of General Counsel at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). He is a member of the California Bar Association as well as the Minnesota Bar Association, and has been admitted to practice in the US Supreme Court, US Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and the US Federal District Court for the District of Minnesota.
2017 has been touted as the "year of housing" in the Legislature. Based on the Legislature's concern that local governmental approvals are one of the biggest obstacles to approval of housing at all income levels, numerous bills were enacted to provide "by right" approvals and narrow the grounds for denying or reducing the density of conforming housing projects. This session will describe the bills that have been signed by the Governor and what can be expected in the next legislative session.
This panel will evaluate the ethical rules that real property attorneys should consider in real estate transactions in which multiple parties are involved and the transactions are initially non-adversarial. The panel will review the applicable California Rules of Professional Conduct, the State Bar Act, court decisions and practical tips regarding joint representation, confidentiality, conflict of interest, written disclosures, waivers, and when it may be necessary for attorneys to withdraw from representations.
The California legislature's 2011 abolition of redevelopment caused a seismic shift in funding for infrastructure, housing and other real property development in California. California is now one of the only states in the country without redevelopment. At the time dissolution happened, hundreds of millions of dollars were already committed to projects that were well underway when the Legislature acted. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed, challenging redevelopment dissolution's impairment of ongoing contracts. This panel will report on how the courts have been deciding redevelopment dissolution issues, and the effect of those decisions on project funding.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that the Federal Fair Housing Act included claims based on disparate impact and HUD released its new guidelines. These two actions taken together have the potential to change how government decisions for affordable housing are made. This panel will discuss the decision, the new rules, and impacts of both on affordable housing developers, both in the selection of sites for new development as well as the operation of affordable housing.
On the last day of the 2017 session, the California Legislature passed over one dozen bills in a landmark package developed together with Governor Jerry Brown's office. These bills, along with other recent legislative actions and court decisions, will require each city and county to change the way it processes housing applications. This workshop will focus on new and existing tools in state law that can be used to move a proposed project through the development process, clear CEQA hurdles, and get to approval.
Do construction contracts matter? It's just a standard form with boiler-plate stuff, and all we need to think about is the contract sum and the schedule, right? Unfortunately, a construction contract is loaded with provisions that could potentially lead to shocking results. This "no-holds-barred" panel will discuss the most significant provisions from both the owner and contractor perspectives, and will highlight some hidden risk allocation provisions and other clauses that appear harmless but, in fact, fundamentally alter the owner's expectations.
With the recent passage of Federal Tax Reform, affordable housing developers will have to navigate new hurdles to get projects built. While tax credits and private activity bonds have survived, the bill vastly alters the affordable housing investment landscape. Come hear from a panel of investors and industry experts about the implications of the new tax bill for your affordable housing developments and learn about the investment outlook for 2018.
Working out contract provisions, dividing up tasks among a project team, asking for a raise, agreeing on variances with Planning—negotiations are a daily part of life for affordable housing professionals. Join the Emerging Leaders Peer Network to develop your skills in this critical area. In an intensive negotiations workshop, Haas School of Business PhD candidate Daron Sharps will help you study and practice the basics of negotiation—tactics and strategies. You will begin negotiating based on shared interests, consider negotiation's unique role in the social sector, and engage in peer coaching for an upcoming moment of negotiating potential.
Hosted by Goldfarb & Lipman LLP and Organized by the Emerging Leaders Peer Network (ELPN). Breakfast and lunch provided courtesy of Goldfarb & Lipman LLP.
Heralded as the most meaningful housing legislative package in recent history, what exactly did the Legislature accomplish? Will it lead to meaningful relief to California's record housing deficit? Did special interest demands thwart what might have been more meaningful reforms? Does CEQA (or special interest exploitation thereof) remain a significant impediment to housing production? And will affordability, and not just scarcity, find some relief?
In response to the sharp reduction in equity pricing after the election, TCAC developed emergency regulations allowing successful 2nd round 2016 9% projects to reapply using a Hybrid structure which utilizes both 4% and 9% tax credits. This panel includes industry professionals experienced in structuring, financing and developing Hybrid deals.
Construction contracts are often treated as mere afterthought. After all, the AIA-standard forms are mostly boiler-plate stuff right? This conventional wisdom is anything but wise as the contract is loaded with provisions that could lead to shocking results. This panel will discuss the 10 most significant provisions that may appear harmless, but, in fact, fundamentally alter the owner's expectations.
Justin Dove, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Resyndication: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
As tax credit projects reach the end of the initial compliance period, many are in need of recapitalization and substantial rehabilitation. In some projects, cash is needed to finance the investor's exit. Join our group of panelists to learn more about the opportunities as we "re-up" projects with a new layer of tax credit financing.
Based on the Legislature's concern that local governmental approvals are among the biggest obstacles to approval of housing, numerous bills have been introduced to provide "by right" approvals and narrow the grounds for denying/reducing the density of housing projects. This session will discuss bills signed and what to expect next.


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Fischbacher and Couzin were identified by the citation analysis for publishing leading peer-reviewed papers that rank in the top 1% most-cited in their respective fields over a decade–revealing the value of the work and extent to which the Konstanz researchers have influenced the work of other scientists in their fields.
Couzin and Fishbacher, together with Professor Oliver Deussen in the Department of Computer and Information Science, have also been successful with their recently funded Cluster of Excellence "Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour". Backed by a 30-million euro investment, the Centre will create a global hotspot for the study of collective behaviour. With the aim of establishing collective behaviour as an integrative field, the Centre will bring scholars from the diverse disciplines of biology, computer science, social psychology, physics, and behavioural economics together to create a globally unique interdisciplinary environment for the study of collective behaviour.


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"Collaboration skills ought to be more highly valued"
According to Mikael Östling, collaboration skills within the academy should be valued higher.
We would all benefit from more and varied exchanges between academia and the society around us and this would help drive societal development forwards. External engagement and collaboration ought therefore to be more highly valued.
These are the words of Mikael Östling, Deputy President and responsible for strategic collaboration at KTH. He notes that the university world can sometimes be a bit square when it comes to what is worthwhile. Collaborative competence, in the form of personal mobility should be worthwhile.
"Without cooperation, we will never get anywhere."
Learning from others, exchanging knowledge and experiences with third parties around us, happen at several different levels. One ways is through the framework of the strategic partnerships KTH has with companies and organisations, another is via personal mobility. This can be as an industry-employed doctoral student, an adjunct or affiliate professor or the faculty.
"KTH has a long tradition of collaboration and it is in our DNA, so to speak. We enrich each other via these exchanges and it can open up a whole host of good opportunities at an individual level."
Important know-how
Being more clearly grounded in reality can entail exciting new research questions, key know-how from the research departments of partner companies are just some of the benefits from a KTH perspective. On the other side of the fence, this can generate new findings for companies and organisations that they can take back with them or find new talents to recruit among KTH students and doctoral students.
There are over 300 industry-employed doctoral students from different companies and organisations at KTH today, and around 100 affiliate or adjunct professors.
"I would like to see twice that number to reap the benefits of welcoming many more people to KTH. This, in turn, can also lead to further mutual strategic exchanges that benefit all parties."
Personal mobility away from KTH is on a far smaller scale and here, Östling feels there is far more to be done. One of many explanations is that this in particular is how external engagement and collaboration is valued. How to build merit rating based on your capacity to collaborate has been discussed in several places, such as within the MerSam project, whose overall aim has been to contribute to increased knowledge about academic merits in relation to external engagement and collaboration.
"As research and social challenges become ever more complex, collaborations and exchanges of this type become even more important," says Östling.
Clearer feedback will make it even better
Susanna Lundgren is an expert in contact mechanics and turbine dynamics at Siemens Energy AB. However, she is also researching within this subject at the School of Engineering Sciences at KTH – as an affiliated faculty.
"It is a good way to expand university collaboration for the company I work for. It also increases my own level of expertise at the same time."
Susanna Lundgren, affiliated faculty from Siemens Energy AB.
How did you come up with the idea?
"I was involved in another research collaboration at KTH and thought it felt like an interesting opportunity. As we are affiliated, there is also increased access for collaborations and new discussions open up opportunities."
How long have you been doing research at KTH?
"Four years, on a 20 percent part time basis. It is extended for two years at a time and before the pandemic I spent about one day every other week at KTH."
How can your research be used?
"My goal is to produce supporting material to be able to develop our methods and criteria concerning contact fatigue. I acquire knowledge along the way that I can make use of in development work all the time."
Is it something you would recommend to a colleague at Siemens Energy AB?
Is there anything you miss?
"It was a bit unclear as to what KTH expected of me, that is to say, feedback on what I was supposed to bring to KTH could have been clearer. But I have had a fantastic relationship with a professor in the department so it works really well."
More "ugly" research please
Pål Efsing, whose day job is at Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant, has been an adjunct professor at KTH for almost ten years.
"It is the best thing I've ever done. Being able to take a concrete problem and turn it into a research question to sound out with young talents or chew over with senior researchers is fantastic."
Efsing spends roughly two days every other week sharing his expertise on how materials age, at the Solid Mechanics unit in the Department of Engineering Mechanics at KTH. His work is also supported by the Swedish Centre for Nuclear Technology, a research centre at KTH that aims to connect research interests between the nuclear power industry and authorities, and the universities that are active in this area.
Pål Efsing, adjunct professor from Ringhals.
Providing an industrial perspective is something that KTH and its students at all levels benefit from, he believes. Everyone involved gains tremendous added value. He also wants to beat the drum for what in some eyes is seen as "ugly research".
"Upgrading applied research is also important. Some people think it is not as wonderful as mathematical models. This is something I have noticed. As KTH has a long tradition of applied research, I think this is a pity. But I have been made to feel really welcome and enjoyed an incredible response during my time here."
If he were to offer a piece of advice, it would be to genuinely take the chance and make the most of this mutual exchange, both because it is good to bring in adjunct professors at a pretty early stage of their active careers so what they can explain about their particular industry is as up to date as possible.
Getting the best of both worlds
Having one foot in the world of business and the other in academia is something externally employed doctoral student Sara Eliasson can recommend.
"Absolutely. I get the best of both worlds. I can research and at the same time still keep my job at Scania."
Sara Eliasson, industry-employed doctoral student from Scania.
You are researching into a so-called future material, and more specifically fatigue in carbon fibre composites. How did you come up with the idea?
"In addition to their partnership, Scania and KTH also have a collaboration within the ECO2 Vehicle Design research centre where I was offered the chance to embark on a doctoral degree and study the subject in greater depth."
What will the material be used for?
"In trucks, or battery-powered trucks where weight is a crucial issue, for example."
How long have you been at KTH?
"Three years now and I hope to stay for five years so I can complete my doctorate. I spend approximately one day a week at Scania in Södertälje and the rest of my time at KTH - where I really feel a sense of involvement."
Why becoming an industry-employed doctoral student ?
"Research and application are very closely related. The applicability of research becomes even clearer in this role. If you get the chance, I think you should take it."
Jill Klackenberg
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