From one to many: recent work on truth

In this paper, we offer a brief, critical survey of contemporary work on truth. We begin by reflecting on the distinction between substantivist and deflationary truth theories. We then turn to three new kinds of truth theory—Kevin Scharp's replacement theory, John MacFarlane's relativism, and the alethic pluralism pioneered by Michael Lynch and Crispin Wright. We argue that despite their considerable differences, these theories exhibit a common "pluralizing tendency" with respect to truth. In the final section, we look at the underinvestigated interface between metaphysical and formal truth theories, pointing to several promising questions that arise here

Instructional Leadership for Middle School Students with Disabilities in the General Education Classroom: The Role of the Principal

Instructional leadership is the most important responsibility of today\u27s principal, and no other group of students is in need of an effective instructional leader more than students with disabilities. Effective instructional leaders, especially for students with disabilities, create a supportive learning environment and school culture that promotes the education of all students. Furthermore, effective instructional leaders are knowledgeable of effective instructional strategies and promote the use of such strategies by communicating with and supervising educators. The purpose of this multiple case study was to provide a detailed description of instructional leadership for students with disabilities in an average school system in West Virginia. West Virginia was selected because none of the five principal preparation programs certified by the West Virginia Department of Education requires Special Education coursework. Middle schools were selected because they have some of the highest pupil to administrator ratios and the percentage of students with disabilities in grades six through eight who achieved proficient scores on the West Virginia achievement test (WESTEST2) are amongst the lowest of all grades in West Virginia. Results from interviews with three principals and two assistant principals representing three middle schools in the selected school system indicated that principals have a limited understanding of effective instructional leadership practices and a limited understanding of effective instructional strategies for students with disabilities. Implications for principal preparation programs, professional development, and future research are discussed

Defining Terms: Greywater, Blackwater and Clearwater

Why irrigate with treated drinking water when you can meet your irrigation needs through an effective greywater system? What is greywater*? Greywater includes all wastewater generated in the home, except toilet water (which is considered “blackwater”). In Utah, kitchen sink and dishwasher water are also categorized as “blackwater”. Greywater is an abundant resource in both residential and commercial buildings. According to Brad Lancaster of the Watershed Management Group in Tucson, Arizona, “greywater harvesting is the practice of directing greywater to the primary root zone (top 2 feet or 0.6m of the soil) of perennial plants to help grow beautiful and productive landscapes while achieving wastewater treatment without using energy or chemicals. Plants and microorganisms in the soil consume and filter the organic nutrients and bacteria found in greywater, treating it naturally and returning clean water to the water cycle” (Lancaster, 2010, p.294). Though not suitable as drinking water, greywater can be used for irrigation, particularly of trees and shrubs whose woody stems serve as additional filters for contaminants that may be present

Mitigating Projected Impacts of Climate Change and Building Resiliency through Permaculture: a Community ‘Bee Inspired Gardens’ Movement in the Desert Southwest, USA

Permaculture, an integrative design process creating resilient and productive landscapes and communities, can serve as a useful mitigation tool for projected climate change impacts. In the United States, the desert southwest town of Moab, Utah, has employed permaculture design in a community initiative called ‘Bee Inspired Gardens.’ This initiative has harnessed social capital to create resilient landscapes demonstrating pollinator health, water conservation, and perennial food and forage systems. Bee Inspired Gardens have been designed at a University, middle school, charter school, Bureau of Land Management property, hotel, public park, environmental education non-profit, and more. Community members are now harvesting fruit and seeds from existing garden sites, attending educational workshops at the gardens, and volunteering to help with the design and implementation processes. In the desert southwest, climate change projections are for hotter, drier, weather. In preparing for, and working to mitigate, projected impacts, initiatives like ‘Bee Inspired Gardens’ can serve as models for other communities looking to take positive action in climate mitigation and adaptation

Graywater Systems

This fact sheet describes graywater. Though not suitable as drinking water, graywater can be used for irrigation particularly of trees and shrubs, whose woody stems serve as additional filters for contaminants that may be present

The ISCIP Analyst, Volume XIV, Issue 8

This repository item contains a single issue of The ISCIP Analyst, an analytical review journal published from 1996 to 2010 by the Boston University Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology, and Policy

Co-option of a coordinate system defined by the EGFr and Dpp pathways in the evolution of a morphological novelty

Morphological innovation is an elusive and fascinating concept in evolutionary biology. A novel structure may open up an array of possibilities for adaptation, and thus is fundamental to the evolution of complex multicellular life. We use the respiratory appendages on the dorsal-anterior side of the Drosophila eggshell as a model system for morphological novelty. To study the co-option of genetic pathways in the evolution of this novelty we have compared oogenesis and eggshell patterning in Drosophila melanogaster with Ceratitis capitata, a dipteran whose eggs do not bear dorsal appendages.FCT fellowship: (SFRH/BD/33216/2007), Collaborative Research Centre 680 ‘Molecular Basis of Evolutionary Innovations (DFG grant), Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência

The ISCIP Analyst, Volume XIV, Issue 9

This repository item contains a single issue of The ISCIP Analyst, an analytical review journal published from 1996 to 2010 by the Boston University Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology, and Policy

Constraints on the salinity–oxygen isotope relationship in the central tropical Pacific Ocean

Uncertainties surround the relationship between salinity and the stable isotopic composition of seawater, largely due to a dearth of modern seawater isotope data. Here we report 191 new, paired measurements of salinity and seawater oxygen isotopes (δ¹⁸O_sw) taken from the central tropical Pacific in May 2012, from the surface to 4600 m depth. We observe significant correlations between δ¹⁸O_sw and salinity across the study region, with slopes ranging from 0.23 to 0.31‰/psu for the mixed layer, and 0.35–0.42‰/psu for waters between the mixed layer and 500 m depth. When considering δ¹⁸O_sw–salinity across averages of individual water masses in the region, slopes range from 0.21 to 0.40‰/psu, albeit with appreciable scatter. Surface salinity and δ¹⁸O_sw data corresponding to the North Equatorial Countercurrent are significantly higher than previously observed, which we attribute to a weak westerly current and dry conditions in the region during the May 2012 cruise. Subsurface (80–500 m) salinity values from 2012 are significantly lower than corresponding values from pre-existing regional data, highlighting a different latitudinal sampling distribution, while subsurface δ¹⁸O_sw is not significantly different. Thus, in May 2012, δ¹⁸O_sw in this region could not be used to distinguish between subsurface water masses of different salinities. Unlike other regions where the surface ‘freshwater endmember’ is close to the δ¹⁸O value of regional precipitation, the freshwater endmember implied by our dataset (− 10.38‰) is consistent with a strong evaporative influence. Paired δ¹⁸O–δD values of precipitation and surface seawaters have similar slopes (5.0, 5.1), and relatively low intercepts (1.4, 0.8) indicating isotopic variability in both reservoirs is also partly controlled by evaporation

Panchromatic Imaging of a Transitional Disk: The Disk of GM Aur in Optical and FUV Scattered Light

We have imaged GM Aur with HST, detected its disk in scattered light at 1400A and 1650A, and compared these with observations at 3300A, 5550A, 1.1 microns, and 1.6 microns. The scattered light increases at shorter wavelengths. The radial surface brightness profile at 3300A shows no evidence of the 24AU radius cavity that has been previously observed in sub-mm observations. Comparison with dust grain opacity models indicates the surface of the entire disk is populated with sub-micron grains. We have compiled an SED from 0.1 microns to 1 mm, and used it to constrain a model of the star+disk system that includes the sub-mm cavity using the Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer code by Barbara Whitney. The best-fit model image indicates that the cavity should be detectable in the F330W bandpass if the cavity has been cleared of both large and small dust grains, but we do not detect it. The lack of an observed cavity can be explained by the presence of sub-microns grains interior to the sub-mm cavity wall. We suggest one explanation for this which could be due to a planet of mass <9 Jupiter masses interior to 24 AU. A unique cylindrical structure is detected in the FUV data from the Advanced Camera for Surveys/Solar Blind Channel. It is aligned along the system semi-minor axis, but does not resemble an accretion-driven jet. The structure is limb-brightened and extends 190 +/- 35 AU above the disk midplane. The inner radius of the limb-brightening is 40 +/- 10 AU, just beyond the sub-millimeter cavity wall.Comment: 40 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables, accepted to Ap