Is This a World Where Knowledge Has to Include Justification?

If any thesis is all-but-universally accepted by contemporary epistemologists, it is justificationism—the thesis that being an instance of knowledge has to include being epistemically justified in some appropriate way. If there is to be any epistemological knowledge about knowledge, a paradigm candidate would seem to be our knowledge that justificationism is true. This is a conception of a way in which knowledge has to be robust . Nevertheless, this paper provides reason to doubt the truth of that conception. Even epistemology's supposed conceptual core is not as epistemically unchallengeable as we might have assumed to be the case.     

FACE SUPPORT IN CONTROLLING POOR PERFORMANCE

The purpose of this study was to describe the use of face support in managerial communication on controlling poor performance. Face support was defined according to the degree of approval (positive face) and the degree of freedom given to poor performers to define a course of action (autonomy). Seventy bank branch managers were interviewed about a recent performance problem they had at tempted to control. Managers' use of positive face and autonomy strategies suggested punitive and problem solving styles of control. Further, an overall performance rating of the employee was positively correlated with use of positive face support and use of autonomy was positively correlated with the length of time between problem recurrence.     

Why 'Health' is not a Central Category for Public Health Policy

We normally think that public health policy is an important political activity. In turn, we normally understand the value of public health policy in terms of the promotion of health or some health-related good (such as opportunity for health), on the basis of the assumption that health is an important constituent or determinant of wellbeing. In this paper, I argue that the assumption that the value of public health policy should be understood in terms of health leads us to overlook important benefits generated by such policy. To capture these benefits we need to understand the ends of public health policy in terms of the promotion of 'physical safety'. I then go on to argue that the idea that 'health' is an important category for evaluating or estimating individuals' wellbeing in the normative context of social policy is confused. I then clarify the relationship between my arguments and QALY-based accounts of health assessment. In the final section of the paper, I defend this surprising conclusion against various attacks.     

An Introduction to Sports Concussion for the Sport Psychology Consultant

This paper was designed to introduce the sport psychology consultant (SPC) to the relevant practical and theoretical information pertaining to sports concussion. The paper discusses four key areas related to sports concussion: 1) recognition, 2) management, 3) psychological issues following a concussion, and 4) prevention and education. Throughout the paper, the authors emphasize the role of the SPC in each of these four areas. An integrated review of the sport concussion literature and current research and guidelines regarding the definition, pathophysiology, symptoms, neuropsychological testing, and risk factors for concussion is presented. The SPC's roles in educating and helping athletes deal with post-concussion issues such as the pressure to return to play and fear of reinjury are examined. The authors highlight the need for baseline neuropsychological testing of athletes; and advocate a multidimensional team approach to sport concussion, involving the SPC as a key member of that team.     

The General Confidence Scale: Coping With Environmental Uncertainty and Threat

We investigated general confidence as a psychological buffer for coping with environmental uncertainty and threat. In Study 1, a new scale to measure general confidence was developed and cross‐validated with different samples. Study 2 examined general confidence as a moderator of the influence of environmental stress on individual strains. Two groups of participants were presented with photographs either of terrorist attacks or of neutral scenes. We found a significant interaction between presented scenes and general confidence. Study 3 examined the effect of general confidence on acceptance of mobile phone stations while controlling for relevant variables. The results showed good incremental validity for the General Confidence Scale over related personality and social psychological constructs.     

Enhancement of Creativity through a One‐Semester Course in University

With the increasing interest by Asian countries in developing a more creative workforce through the education system, many universities have introduced courses that aim to enhance the creativity of their students. Students also perceive a need for increased creativity. However, there is some debate about whether short‐term creativity training is effective at university level. This study examines the effect of a short (one‐semester) course, which included elements of creativity training and practice, at a Hong Kong university. Training in creativity techniques for part of the semester led to increases in two key aspects of creative ability as measured by standard creativity tests conducted outside the classroom: verbal creativity increased compared with a control group, and drawing creativity also increased. Students enjoyed the course, felt it was useful and rated themselves as more creative after the course. Short‐term out‐of‐discipline training courses in creative thinking have a number of other benefits, demonstrably for learning strategies, in addition to an increase in creative abilities.     

2007 Presidential Address: Singing and Solidarity

As the audience entered the hall, a large screen displayed the title of the talk from an overhead projector. On the dais, about three feet above the floor, was a lectern, and next to it an arrangement of eight chairs facing each other in a square formation, two on each side of the square, the sides at a 45 degree angle from the side of the platform. At the appointed time, SSSR past-president Donald Miller climbed the steps to the lectern to introduce the speaker, Stephen Warner. When he had completed that task, Warner came forward to the lectern and a woman later identified as his wife, Anne Heider, began working the projector. A few minutes into the address, at Warner's cue, she and six others joined him on the dais, taking seats in the arrangement of chairs, from which position, facing each other with Warner standing facing toward them, they sang a song, as described below. When they were finished, they left the dais, and the rest of the address proceeded in a conventional manner. Prior to this singing demonstration, the address itself began as follows.