Conference to focus on physicalism, a philosophy of mind

Philosophers from the United States, Australia and Canada will converge on campus this week for a conference on the concept of physicalism.

Hosted by the philosophy department and the Social Philosophy and Policy Center, the event will be held from April 1-3 in 301 Shatzel Hall and will feature some eminent scholars in the field, including Dr. David Chalmers and Dr. Frank Jackson, both from Australian National University. The discussions may be of interest not only to philosophers but to psychologists and cognitive scientists as well.

Physicalism is the thesis that everything is based upon the physical, and that the nature of the universe and everything in it is that it conforms to the condition of being physical. Contemporary philosophers discuss physicalism in terms of the philosophy of mind, and examine such questions as whether thoughts can be explained completely in physical terms and what is the relationship between the physical “hardware” of our brains and the “software” of the thoughts that run on it. They ask if it is possible for the nonphysical “self” to continue to exist after the death of the body.

The conference is organized by Dr. Janice Dowell, philosophy, who will present a paper titled “The Physical: Empirical, Not Metaphysical.” Also presenting from the BGSU philosophy department is Dr. Sara Worley.

Chalmers works in the philosophy of mind and in related areas of cognitive science. He is especially interested in consciousness, but also in artificial intelligence and computation, in philosophical issues about meaning and possibility and in the foundations of cognitive science and physics. Jackson’s research covers philosophical logic, cognitive science, epistemology and metaphysics, and meta-ethics.

Other participants are Dr. John Hawthorne, Rutgers University; Dr. Noa Latham, University of Calgary; Dr. Andrew Melnyk, University of Missouri-Columbia; Dr. Jessica Wilson, University of Michigan, and Dr. Gene Witmer, University of Florida.

For more information on the conference, visit www.bgsu.edu/departments/phi/physicalismhome.htm.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

East Wooster Street update

Kokosing Construction has returned to Bowling Green to complete “punch list” items for the Wooster Street project. Kokosing staff will be working throughout the project area to complete project-related items. The contractor and subcontractors are scheduled to work Monday-Friday each week.

The project area includes East Wooster Street from the Interstate 75 interchange to Enterprise Street; Mercer Road from East Poe Road to East Wooster; Manville Avenue from Clough Street to East Wooster; Thurstin Avenue from East Wooster to Court Street; South College Drive from East Wooster to Clough Street; Campbell Hill Road from East Wooster to Clough Street, and numerous side streets and University drives.

At times, this work will cause traffic delays and lane closures controlled by flaggers. Motorists should be alert to shifts in driving lanes on side roads and on East Wooster Street between I-75 and Enterprise Street.

General Notes
All construction schedules are subject to change due to weather and construction-related issues.

As the contractor provides updated information, it will be sent to the University community by broadcast email. Updates will also appear in the Monitor.

Additional information on ODOT projects in northwest Ohio may be found at www.dot.state.oh.us/dist2.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

State of the Region conference to address Ohio homeland security

Homeland security in Ohio will be the focus of the fourth annual State of the Region conference, to be presented April 15 by the University’s Center for Regional Development (formerly the Center for Policy Analysis and Public Service).

Friday (April 1) is the registration deadline for the conference, which will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Nazareth Hall, 21211 W. River Road, Grand Rapids. Cost is $25 per person, including lunch.

Giving the keynote address at 11:15 a.m. will be Cathy Collins-Taylor, readiness branch chief of Ohio Homeland Security, a division of the state Department of Public Safety. In that position, Collins-Taylor, a former Columbus police officer, is responsible for overseeing development of an Ohio response plan for emergencies and disasters, coordinating state and local resources and capabilities in accordance with the National Response Plan.

At 1:15 p.m., a panel of experts will discuss such topics as funding, preparedness and response, Ohio-Canada border issues and the state of homeland security in northwest Ohio, including prospects for the future.

Panelists will include Michael Bell, chief of the Toledo Department of Fire and Rescue Operations; Dr. Mark Kasoff, an economics faculty member and director of the Canadian Studies Center at BGSU; J. Eric Larson, director of the Wood County Emergency Management Agency, and Dennis Mallory, director of the Auglaize County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and president of the Western Ohio Emergency Management Agency.

Registration for the conference may be done by phone, at 2-8710, or online, at www.bgsu.edu/organizations/crd/html/events.htm. Directions to Nazareth Hall are available at www.nazarethhall.com.

________________________________________________________________________________

Academic Software Advisory Committee formed

A new program has been established by the Office of the CIO to help colleges with the purchase of instructional software and databases. The Academic Software Advisory Committee will review requests and recommend the purchase of software that is to be used for instruction or a classroom-related project. Information about the committee and details regarding submission of requests can be found at the project Web site: www.bgsu.edu/offices/cio/software_request.

________________________________________________________________________________


BG@100 progress continues into testing phase

As the first 'go live' date approaches, the BG@100 project team continues its preparation for the move to PeopleSoft. At present, an area of focus for the team is system testing.

During this phase, processes are run to verify that they work as intended and that they interface as expected with other systems. In addition to the testing being completed by team members, personnel from core offices are assisting in completing the testing process.

The campus may view the HCM Phase 1 timeline, available on the BG@100 Web site (www.bgsu.edu/BGat100), to see the continued progress through the testing phase of the project.