Hegel’s Phenomenology and the Question of Semantic Pragmatism

This paper criticizes the assumptions behind Robert Brandom’s reading of Hegel’s Phenomenology, contending that Hegel’s concern with the rational structure of experience, his valorization of reflection over ordinary experience and his idea of the necessit y of progress in knowledge cannot be accommodated within the framework of semantic pragmatism. The central contentions are that Brandom’s pragmatism never comes to terms with Hegel’s idea of truth as a result, leading to a historicist distortion, and also that Brandom’s failure to deal with Hegel’s distinction between natural consciousness and the phenomenological observer collapses Hegel’s phenomenology into a philosophy restricted to the level of natural consciousness

Idleness, Usefulness and Self-Constitution

The core argument of the paper is that the modern philosophical notion of self-constitution is directed against the prospect of human beings dissolving into idleness. Arguments for self-constitution are marked by non-philosophical presuppositions about the value of usefulness. Those arguments also assume a particular conception of superior experience as conscious integration of a person’s actions within an identifiable set of chosen commitments. Exploring particular arguments by Hegel, Kant, Korsgaard and Frankfurt the paper claims that those arguments are problematic in the various ways in which they suppose usefulness and explicitly or implicitly take extra-philosophical views of idleness

効果的学習に向けて：高等教育機関環境の変革のための導入

国公立学校教育における効果的な教育のための基準は，特定の技能と実践から構成されていると認識されている。本稿では，英国，米国，フランス，ニュージーランドと日本の教師資格要件の概要を説明した後，特に高等教育機関での必要条件の比較において，効果的な教育方法の概念を検討する。　新人講師に対してほとんど研修を行わない部門全体の非標準化の結果として，講師間の抱合的連携を示唆すると伴に，高等教育における効果的な教育の発展と実践的コミュニティーを維持すること，及び環境の変革のために，組織や実践を中心としたフレームワークの導入を提起した。The criteria of effective teaching in public school education are understood to comprise particular skills and practices. This paper examines the notion of effective teaching in this sector, and then after providing an overview of teacher qualification requirements in the UK, the USA, France, New Zealand and Japan, specifically compares these requirements with the higher education sector. As a result of non-standardization across the sector in the training of new lecturers with little or no training, an induction framework is suggested incorporating collaboration amongst faculty members, centered around communities of practice in order to maintain and evolve teacher effectiveness in a changed, and changing higher education context

A Missing Step In Kant’s Refutation of Idealism

This paper contends that Kant’s argument in the Refutation of Idealism section of the Critique of Pure Reason misses a step which allows Kant to move illicitly from inner experience to outer objects. The argument for persistent outer objects does not comprehensively address the skeptic’s doubts as it leaves room for the question about the necessary connection between representations and outer objects. A second fundamental issue is the ability of transcendental idealism to deliver the account of outer objects, as required by the Refutation of Idealism itself

Ireland - A Man’s World?

This article starts from the position that gender is crucial in understanding Irish society. Using Connell’s concept of the patriarchal dividend, and drawing on a variety of relevant literature, it explores its existence in the area of paid employment, the family and the state. It suggests that although such privileging is perceived as being under pressure, it is embedded in the practises and processes of state organisations. It concludes by suggesting that although such structures can appear inevitable, they ultimately reflect the choices of powerful men, and hence are amenable to change.

The thermal visualisation of latent fingermarks on metallic surfaces

Recent published research has lead to improved techniques for recovering latent fingermarks from metallic surfaces. The present study corroborates and extends some of the work carried out by Bond [1], [2] and [3], but an alternative mechanism is proposed for the thermal visualisation of fingermarks based on differential oxidation and the production of interference colours that improve contrast. Fingermarks treated at low temperature could be reheated to enhance recovery, but an upper temperature limit occurs beyond which the mark degrades. The mechanism of enhancement is discussed

Conformity in scientific networks

Scientists are generally subject to social pressures, including pressures to conform with others in their communities, that affect achievement of their epistemic goals. Here we analyze a network epistemology model in which agents, all else being equal, prefer to take actions that conform with those of their neighbors. This preference for conformity interacts with the agents’ beliefs about which of two (or more) possible actions yields the better result. We find a range of possible outcomes, including stable polarization in belief and action. The model results are sensitive to network structure. In general, though, conformity has a negative effect on a community’s ability to reach accurate consensus about the world

The Impact of Physician Job Satisfaction on the Sustained Competitive Advantage of Health Care Organizations

This paper employs the resource-based theory of the firm to explain the influence of human resources on the sustained competitive advantage of an organization. Based on previous conceptual and empirical literature, we posit that the presence of a high potential employee workforce, coupled with adequate human resource management policies, can result in improved profit generating potential. We developed a conceptual framework with several propositions that illustrate the associations between job satisfaction and organizational productivity. We apply this concept in the health care field, suggesting that the satisfaction of physicians’ needs leads to greater organizational productivity and sustained competitive advantage

An exploratory study of the association between reactive attachment disorder and attachment narratives in early school-age children

To explore attachment narratives in children diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder (RAD). Method: We compared attachment narratives, as measured by the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task, in a group of 33 children with a diagnosis of RAD and 37 comparison children. Results: The relative risk (RR) for children with RAD having an insecure attachment pattern was 2.4 (1.4-4.2) but 30% were rated as securely attached. Within the RAD group, children with a clear history of maltreatment were more likely to be Insecure-Disorganised than children without a clear history of maltreatment. Conclusions: Reactive attachment disorder is not the same as attachment insecurity, and questions remain about how attachment research informs clinical research on attachment disorders

Attentional biases for food stimuli in external eaters: Possible mechanism for stress-induced eating?

External eaters reportedly increase snack intake when stressed, which could be due to an attentional shift towards food stimuli. Attentional biases for food stimuli were tested in high and low external eaters in stress and control conditions, using a computerised Stroop. A significant interaction was observed between external eating group and condition for snack word bias. This suggested that low external eaters have a greater bias for snack words when unstressed and that stressed, high external eaters have a greater bias for snack words than stressed, low external eaters, which could contribute to stress-induced snack intake in high external eaters