Belief, Rational and Justified

It is clear that beliefs can be assessed both as to their justification and their rationality. What is not as clear, however, is how the rationality and justification of belief relate to one another. Stewart Cohen has stumped for the popular proposal that rationality and justification come to the same thing, that rational beliefs just are justified beliefs, supporting his view by arguing that ‘justified belief’ and ‘rational belief’ are synonymous. In this paper, I will give reason to think that Cohen’s argument is spurious. I will show that ‘rational’ and ‘justified’ occupy two distinct semantic categories – ‘rational’ is an absolute gradable adjective and ‘justified’ is a relative gradable adjective – telling against the thought that ‘rational belief’ and ‘justified belief’ are synonymous. I will then argue that the burden of proof is on those who would equate rationality and justification, making the case that those who hold this prominent position face the difficulty of explaining how rationality and justification come to the same thing even though ‘rational’ and ‘justified’ are not synonymous

Stoic Virtue: A Contemporary Interpretation

The Stoic understanding of virtue is often taken to be a non-starter. Many of the Stoic claims about virtue – that a virtue requires moral perfection and that all who are not fully virtuous are vicious – are thought to be completely out of step with our commonsense notion of virtue, making the Stoic account more of an historical oddity than a seriously defended view. Despite many voices to the contrary, I will argue that there is a way of making sense of these Stoic claims. Recent work in linguistics has shown that there is a distinction between relative and absolute gradable adjectives, with the absolute variety only applying to perfect exemplars. I will argue that taking virtue terms to be absolute gradable adjectives – and thus that they apply only to those who are fully virtuous – is one way to make sense of the Stoic view. I will also show how interpreting virtue theoretic adjectives as absolute gradable adjectives makes it possible to defend Stoicism against its most common objections, demonstrating how the Stoic account of virtue might once again be a player in the contemporary landscape of virtue theorizing

Examining the Effects of Urbanization on Soil Characteristics in Portland, Oregon\u27s Forest Park

Studies by Dr. Nancy Broshot in Forest Park, an urban forest in Portland, Oregon, have shown high tree mortality and low concomitant recruitment. Lichen surveys conducted in 2013 revealed a shift in the lichen community to one typified by nitrogen-tolerant and nitrogen-thriving species. To ascertain if nitrogenous air pollution could be a cause of low recruitment, soil samples were collected from 32 previously established study sites in Forest Park and at 3 control sites established in 2014 in the Mount Hood National Forest, a rural forest in the Clackamas River Basin. At each site, the soil O horizon depth was measured, and soil samples were collected from the A horizon, which were subsequently dried and sieved. The resulting soil samples were analyzed at the Central Analytical Laboratory at OSU to determine carbon and nitrogen concentration, as well as carbon to nitrogen ratios. The results of the soil analysis show that soil samples from the control sites had significantly higher concentrations of carbon and a significantly higher carbon to nitrogen ratio than the sites in Forest Park. These findings are quite exciting and suggest a number of possible avenues for further research

The Prevalence and Impact of Skills Gaps on Latin America and the Caribbean

In Latin America and the Caribbean anecdotal evidence from business leaders, the press, and numerous government reports suggest many firms express a serious concern that they face internal employee skills deficiencies that limit performance, a phenomenon that has been labeled as a “skills gap”. This article explores the extent of national skills gaps; the importance of skills gaps relative to other business challenges; the industries facing the most severe skills gaps; and the prevalence of skills gaps by firm size. Based on international example, the article also discusses the ramifications of skills gaps on firms and regional competitiveness. (Las evidencias anecdóticas de líderes empresariales, de la prensa y de numerosos informes gubernamentales sobre América Latina y el Caribe sugieren que son muchas las empresas que muestran una seria preocupación respecto a las deficiencias en las habilidades de competencia y conocimiento de sus empleados internos y cómo estas deficiencias merman su rendimiento. El fenómeno se ha bautizado como “brecha de habilidades” y en este artículo analizamos su alcance en cada país, así como la importancia de la brecha de habilidades comparada con otros retos empresariales, los sectores industriales que se enfrentan a brechas de habilidades más graves y la prevalencia de la brecha de habilidades según el tamaño de la empresa. A partir de ejemplos internacionales, el artículo también analiza el modo en que la brecha de habilidades se extiende por la empresa y afecta a su competitividad regional.) (As provas especulativas retiradas dos relatórios de líderes empresariais, da Imprensa e de vários organismos públicos da América Latina e das Caraíbas sugerem que muitas empresas revelam uma séria preocupação, porquanto enfrentam deficiências ao nível das competências dos colaboradores internos que limitam o seu desempenho, um fenómeno que foi denominado “lacunas nas competências” (skills gap). Este artigo aborda a dimensão das lacunas nas competências a nível nacional, a importância das lacunas nas competências relativamente a outros desafios empresariais, os sectores que enfrentam as maiores lacunas nas competências e a prevalência das lacunas nas competências por dimensão das empresas. Com base em exemplos internacionais, o presente artigo também abrange as ramificações das lacunas nas competências no que diz respeito à competitividade das empresas e das regiões.)Competitiveness; skills gaps; human capital development; knowledge-based economy; economic development; competitividad; competitividade; brecha de habilidades; lacunas nas competências; desarrollo de capital humano; desenvolvimento do capital humano; economía basada en el conocimiento

Knowledge-based Economic Development as a Unifying Vision in a Post-awakening Arab World

This article traces the evolution of knowledge-based economic development in the Arab World. In pursuing this objective, many countries in the region have made large state-driven human capital investments with the goals of job creation, economic integration, economic diversification, environmental sustainability, and social development. An assessment of the effectiveness of Arab investments in human capital shows marginal progress towards knowledge-based development over the last decade. A disconnect between the skills developed in Arab skills formation systems and those required by private sector employers relegates Arab businesses to contesting lower-skilled, non-knowledge intensive industries which has stalled knowledge-based development in the region.Arab World; Middle East; skills formation; knowledge economy; competitiveness; skills development policy; economic development

URBAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Community/Rural/Urban Development,

OBITUARY: Henry H. Hildebrand (1922-2003) As Remembered by Two Friends

Dr. Henry H. Hildebrand died in Corpus Christi on 14 August 2003, five days short of his 81st birthday. A Memorial Service was held for him in the Natural Resources Center at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi on 12 September. About 100 friends, family, colleagues and former students gathered to celebrate Hildebrand and the impact he had on many lives.Integrative Biolog