Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statements on Academic Library Websites

Post-secondary education in the 21st century United States is rapidly diversifying, and institutions’ online offerings and presence are increasingly significant. Academic libraries have an established history of offering virtual services and providing online resources for students, faculty, staff, and the general public. In addition to these services and resources, information on academic library websites can contribute to an institution’s demonstration of value placed on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This article analyzes the DEI statements of a library consortium’s member websites to explore how these statements contribute to institutional construction of, and commitment to, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Descriptive analysis revealed 12 of 16 member libraries had explicitly labeled DEI statements in November 2020, with an additional member updating their website to include such a statement in early 2021. Content analysis examined how the existing statements contributed to institutional value of and commitment to DEI, and multi-modal theory explored the communicative aspects of DEI statement content. Analysis revealed vague conceptualizations of diversity and library-centered language in DEI statements, while a subset of statements employed anti-racist and social justice language to position the library as an active agent for social change. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

Geometric Simplifications of Natural Caves in Ray-Tracing-Based Propagation Modelling

Natural caves show some similarities to human-made tunnels, which have previously been the subject of radio-frequency propagation modelling using deterministic ray-tracing techniques. Since natural caves are non-uniform because of their inherent concavity and irregular limestone formations, detailed 3D models contain a large number of small facets, which can have a detrimental impact on the ray-tracing computational complexity as well as on the modelling accuracy. Here, we analyse the performance of ray tracing in repeatedly simplified 3D descriptions of two caves in the UK, i.e., Kingsdale Master Cave (KMC) Roof Tunnel and Skirwith Cave. The trade-off between the size of the reflection surface and the modelling accuracy is examined. Further, by reducing the number of facets, simulation time can be reduced significantly. Two simplification methods from computer graphics were applied: Vertex Clustering and Quadric Edge Collapse. We compare the ray-tracing results to the experimental measurements and to the channel modelling based on the modal theory. We show Edge Collapse to be better suited for the task than Vertex Clustering, with larger simplifications being possible before the passage becomes entirely blocked. The use of model simplification is predominantly justified by the computational time gains, with the acceptable simplified geometries roughly halving the execution time given the laser scanning resolution of 10 cm.

Rational Belief

This chapter generalizes the modal theory of subjective reasons to the epistemic domain and combines it with the first-order commitment that truth is the sole right-maker for belief. The result is a modal account of epistemic rationality, according to which there is a safety condition on rational belief distinct from but mirroring the more familiar safety condition on knowledge. The chapter shows that the account delivers plausible closure principles on rational belief and offers a straightforward resolution of the lottery paradox. It also explores the implications of the view for whether it is rational to believe necessary propositions, preface propositions, and Moorean propositions.

Truth

This chapter generalizes the modal theory of reasons to the epistemic domain and combines it with an independently motivated and substantive commitment, namely, that truth and truth alone makes for right belief. The result is a novel theory of epistemic reasons, according to which a reason for believing a proposition is a fact which stands in a modally robust relation to the truth of that proposition, hence, a reliable indicator of its truth. The chapter then explores and defends a consequence of this, namely, that a person may believe all and any truths. It asks whether reflection on Moorean beliefs counts for or against the view.

Knowledge

This chapter generalizes the modal theory of possessed reasons to the epistemic domain and combines it with the first-order commitment that truth is the sole right-maker for belief. A fact is a reason for believing a proposition only if, in nearby metaphysically possible worlds in which that fact obtains, the proposition is true. A person possesses that fact as a reason for believing a proposition only if, in nearby epistemically possible worlds in which that fact obtains, the proposition is true. This is an anti-luck or safety condition on possession. The chapter goes on to argue that, if a person possesses a reason for believing a proposition, they are in a position to know it. It shows that this claim is not vulnerable to Gettier-style counterexamples and that it vindicates the idea that knowledge is a norm of belief, an idea supported by reflection on lottery cases and Moorean beliefs.

A Modal Theory of Reasons

The chapter begins with the idea that a reason to act is evidence of a respect in which it is right to act and asks how the evidential relation is to be understood. A tempting answer is in terms of probabilities. This chapter rejects that answer by appeal to cases involving lotteries. In turn, reflection on such cases motivates replacing reference to probabilities with reference to possibilities, specifically, to nearby metaphysically possible worlds. What makes a fact a reason is that there is a modal connection, not a probabilistic one, between it and some respect in which it is right to act. This leads to a novel modal account of reasons—justifying and demanding—which is presented as a successor to, rather than development of, the original evidence-based account.

Powers, possibility, and the essential cosmological argument

One classical version of cosmological argument, defended famously by Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus, deduces the existence of a First Cause from the existence of a particular sort of causal series: one that is ‘essentially ordered’. This argument has received renewed defence in recent work by Feser (2013), Cohoe (2013), and Kerr (2015). I agree with these philosophers that the argument is sound. I believe, however, that the standard defence given of the ECA in these philosophers can be complemented by a formulation that appeals to the powers theory of possibility. This approach to possibility has been defended in recent years by, for example, Pruss (2002), Jacobs (2010), and Vetter (2015). In this article, I show how this modal theory allows us to defend the ECA in a way that is dialectically advantageous as well as clarifying.

A Transformational Approach to Gesture in Shō Performance

Through an analysis of contemporary shō performance practice, this article explores the relationship between instrumental gesture and modal theory in contemporary gagaku. I demonstrate that the idiosyncratic arrangement of the pipes on the shō is closely related to the pitch structure and tonal function of the aitake pitch clusters. My analysis synthesizes two approaches. First, I adopt David Lewin’s (1987) transformational attitude to conceptualize the aitake not as static musical objects but as processes of motion enacted by the te-utsuri—standardized fingering movements for shifting between two aitake. Second, I treat the aitake as sonic byproducts of a performer's instrumental gestures to examine how the aitake are related to one another kinesthetically, and whether these relationships correlate with the pitch structures of the aitake. I argue that relatedness between aitake is determined by the parsimony of te-utsuri. The most parsimonious movements can be enacted between four aitake: bō, kotsu, ichi and otsu. These aitake are identical to the clusters that accompany the fundamental tones of five of the six modes: Ichikotsu-chō, Hyōjō, Taishiki-chō, Oshiki-chō and Banshiki-chō. These findings demonstrate that the pipes of the shō, while seemingly arranged in no discernable order, prioritize parsimonious te-utsuri between each of the aitake accompanying the fundamental modal degrees. An analysis of the pitch structure of aitake through the lens of te-utsuri reveals a striking correlation between gestural parsimony and tonal function.