A critical examination of identity theory as a solution to the mind-body problem

The question of the human ‘mind' and its relation with the ‘body' has remained a controversial issue in philosophy and other disciplines of study. Several theories such as Interactionism, Epiphenomenalism, Parallelism and so on, have been offered on the mind-body relationship. The IDENTITY THEORY which this paper seeks to critically examine is one of such theories offered as a solution to the mind-body problem. Identity theory is a physicalist philosophy of the mind. According to this theory, the so-called mental phenomena are all physical phenomena within the human brain and nervous system. In other words, mind-states are brain states. What this means is that when one talks of a person's beliefs, thoughts, hopes, ideas and so on, one is in fact referring to events and processes and states within the human brain and nervous system. Sophia: An African Journal of Philosophy Vol. 8(1) 2005: 23-27 Keywords: Keywords

Critical barriers to environmental management system implementation in the Nigerian construction industry

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Springer in Environmental Management, available online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01473-y The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.The impact of different hazardous substances of the construction industry being released to the environment is alarming. This constitutes an adverse effect on the quality of life of construction workers and the populace at large. To reduce this menace, Environmental Management System (EMS) was put in place. Meanwhile, the implementation of EMS in the Nigerian construction industry (NCI) is not certain. This study, therefore, investigated the barriers to EMS implementation in the NCI to group them into a smaller form, i.e., fewer numbers. A questionnaire survey was developed and administered to construction professionals in Nigeria using a purposive sampling technique. The retrieved 106 copies of the questionnaires were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics such as mean score, standard deviation, analysis of variance test, post hoc test and exploratory factor analysis. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted three times to identify the critical barriers to EMS implementation in the NCI. The study findings reveal three main categories of barriers affecting EMS implementation, namely; (1) knowledge barrier; (2) process barrier; and (3) culture and management barrier. The study concluded that the three factors indicate the major cardinal barriers that could describe the impediment of EMS in the NCI. It was recommended that the training of construction professionals is important to enhance improvement culture in the NCI