The insight phenomenon is thought to comprise two components: cognitive and affective. The exact nature of the Aha! experience remains unclear; however, several explanations have been put forward. Based on the processing fluency account, the source of the Aha! experience is a sudden increase in processing fluency, associated with emerging of a solution. We hypothesized that in a situation which the Aha! experience accompanies the solution in, the problem would be judged as less difficult, regardless of the objective difficulty. We (...) also planned to confirm previously discovered associations between the Aha! experience and accuracy, confidence, and pleasure. To test the proposed hypothesis, during the preliminary stage of the study, we developed a set of 100 remote associate problems in Russian and asked 125 participants to solve problems and indicate the Aha! moment, confidence, difficulty, and likability of each problem. As expected, the Aha! experience often accompanied correct solutions and correlated with confidence judgments. We also found a positive correlation between the Aha! experience and problem likability. As for the main hypothesis, we confirmed that the Aha! experience after the presentation of the solution was associated with a decrease in subjective difficulty. When participants could not solve a problem but experienced the Aha! moment after the solution was presented to them, the problem was perceived as easier than one without the Aha! experience. We didn’t find the same effect for the Aha! after solution generation. Thus, our study partially supports the processing fluency account and demonstrates the association between the Aha! experience and metacognitive judgments about the accuracy and difficulty of problems. (shrink)

This article analyzes efforts to govern men’s reproduction in postwar India’s population control program from 1960 to 1977. It argues that the Indian state’s unconventional emphasis on men was linked to a gendered strand of social scientific research known as family planning communications and its investments in reframing reproductive control in behavioral terms. Communication scientists’ goal to understand the role of mass communications in shaping “reproductive decision-making” dovetailed with prevailing cultural ideologies of masculinity that readily associated men with economic rationality (...) and calculative reasoning. Consequently, scientists cast Indian men as indispensable targets of behavioral interventions into reproduction due to their ostensible status as familial and social “decision-makers.” This reframing prompted Indian family planning officials to create novel interventions into men’s reproductive bodies and beliefs, exhorting them to use contraception and desire fewer children. The study thus offers new approaches for theorizing how men become framed as legitimate subjects of reproductive control. (shrink)

This book considers the aesthetic, cultural, and philosophical facets of a temporal paradox in the works of French novelist Claude Simon, and its broader implications for the study of narrative, and for cultural and post-modern theory.

Since language is the collective focus of this series, the present paper follows both historiographical and theoretical perspectives. The first deals with Prague as a Middle-European town, with a German and Czech University from 1882, where a philosopher, Anton Marty, from the Brentano school, focuses on language and semasiology in the framework of a psychology from an empirical standpoint. He cites Christian von Ehrenfels, and underscores the relational approach to psychic dynamism but, crucially, he emphasises the oscillations between linguistic “sketches” (...) and semantic comprehension. Sprache ist eine Skizze, listeners are lead through suggestions, Nebenvorstellungen, to grasp meanings, Bedeutungen which do not coincide with the mere addition of explicit, variable components. Simultaneously, Vilém Mathesius, forthcoming founder (1926) of the Prague Linguistic Circle, dealing with English language and literature, enquires into the spontaneous ability of listeners to grasp, infer, integrate ellipsis in a sentence, consisting of a missing word, in omissione vocabuli, quod non dictum tamen cogitatur. Language enquiries will then require psychology, will aim to explain inferences, to infer implicit from explicit. The effort to obtain the whole, via super- or even subsummativity processes, has been a special topic for Gestalt psychology. Context being the proper habitat for both language and mind, we follow the fil rouge which leads directly to Gestalt contributions and further developments, e.g., inferential semantics and pragmatics. In conversation, as in architecture, less is more. We strive to prove this. (shrink)

The aim of the paper is to establish a relation between the cooperative principle formulated by H.P. Grice in pragmatics and the principle of sincere cooperation laid down in the founding Treaties on the European Union and interpretated by the Court of Justice of the European Union, intimately linked to the ethical imperative of cooperation, in a cultural framework shared by the Member States. The key concepts are ratio and value and the case-law analysed is provided by the recent cases (...) of the Romanian magistrates. The principle of cooperation reasserted also as the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism is the main obligation and it implies compliance with agreements and action to obtain certain effects. (shrink)

Summary We move words and words move us. To describe and explain how and why this happens, the present article focuses on Prague traditions, both on the philosophical and linguistic elements. The semantic and syntactic approach is summarized, as developed by Anton Marty, belonging to the Brentano school, and by Vilém Mathesius, founder of the Prague Linguistic Circle, as well as by Jan Firbas, who developed the functional sentence perspective (FSP) into the theory of communicative dynamism (CD). The four Principles (...) of FSP and the four factors of CD are highlighted, together with the related criticism that stems from a systematic work of corpus annotation, a true test procedure for any theory concerned with word order, the interplay between lexicon and morphology, rhythm, intonation and their effects on the addressee’s psychic and emotive processes and life. (shrink)

In this paper, I will discuss new approaches to investigating increasingly influential, yet under-researched, theoretical assumptions regarding the role dialogic interaction plays in cognitive development. I will present a psychological theory that refines social learning models by integrating them with schema-theoreticperspectives. I will then review Philosophy for Children pedagogy, demonstrating how it can provide a useful context for conducting empirical studies of learning theories that emphasize the use of dialogue for promoting individual argumentation development. Next, I will describe a research (...) design and data-analytic tools used to examine the educational potential of engagement in a philosophical dialogue for the development of argumentation. Finally, I will present preliminary results of a study evaluating the connections between 1) specific features of group interactions experienced by elementary school students and 2) individual student performance on multiple measures of argumentation. (shrink)

Through her reading of Euripides'Bacchae, Colridge's "Christabel," de Sade'sPhilosophy in the Bedroom, and Hitchcock'sPsycho author Alina M. Luna finds precedent for a destructive impulse lurking beneath the maternal gaze.

Andrei Oisteanu, The Image of the Jew in Romanian Culture Humanitas Publishing House, Bucharest, 2001.

The purpose of this article is to present some reflections on the problems and solutions concerning the lexical meaning determination. First, to determine the meaning of the words it is specified the status of conceptual layer in the semiotic triangle. According to the German linguist Jost Trier, it is emphasized that semantic changes concern not only the individual words but the whole lexical field to which they belong, and thus the entire vocabulary. Thus, the meaning of a word is a (...) part of the language content and each language evaluates and organizes the reality according to its own laws. Some examples compare the organization of the language content in different languages. It is necessary to study the lexical meaning in relation with the language content. (shrink)

Science fiction cinema proposal for Bioethic education Proposta do cinema de ficção científica para educar em Bioética Posthumanism state that technologies will eliminate aging, improve cognitive, physical and psychological skills and keep alive human minds by uploading them in machines as artificial intelligence. These beliefs, as constant features in science fiction films, could be useful to educate medical students in Bioethics. We propose some of these science fiction films related with technological changes of humans and the noxious consequences: Being turned (...) into a humanoid created by genetic engineering; a slave or a merchandize without rights; discrimination because of eugenesic genetic manipulation; and/or the creation of cyborgs of mass destruction. Also, the movies can show the reader issues of ethnic supremacy dilemmas, identity impersonate and ambition, impersonal intelligence and conscience and identity transpass after death. These films will help teachers to analyze with students the moral limits of science and technologies. Para citar este artículo / To reference this article / Para citar este artigo Alerm-González AJ, González-Pérez U. Propuesta del cine de ciencia ficción para educar en Bioética. Pers Bioet. 2019; 22: 14-33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5294/pebi.2019.23.1.2 Recibido: 10/11/2017 Aceptado: 20/10/2018. (shrink)

This introductory paper analyzes the Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant sects, which form the core of the Ecumenical movement. The development of the feminine problem in the ecumenical movement took shape in 1948, at the first Conference of the E.C.C., when Sarah Chakko presented a report on the place and role of women in church. Among the most important women’s achievements we must mention: The International Day of Prayer, the creation of the Department on Cooperation of Men and Women in Church (...) and Society (1954), and The Ecumenical Decade for Churches in Solidarity with Women (1988- 1998). Beyond the dogmatic and theological differences between the three sects and between the places that they assign to women, women’s contribution to the development of the Ecumenic Movement is increasing. (shrink)

The aim of the experiment was to evaluate the adaptive responses of biomechanical and electromyographic parameters to vertical unloading when walking during the 4-month isolation experiment SIRIUS-19 in the ground-based space station model. The study involved 6 healthy international crew members of the SIRIUS-19 project aged 34 ± 6.2 years. Body Weight Unloading conditions was created by the h/p/cosmos airwalk system. The locomotor test included walking with a sequential change of BWU modes: 5-min walking with 0% BWU, 5-min walking with (...) 65% BWU and 5-min walking with 85% BWU. Ground Reaction Force was recorded by the h/p/cosmos treadmill device. Muscle Lab Model 4000e device was used to record the electromyographic signals of the hip and shin muscles. The locomotor test was performed twice before GBI, monthly during GBI and 1 week after leaving isolation. The results obtained before GBI demonstrate that the changes of support and proprioceptive afferentation signals play significant role in reorganizing of the biomechanical structure of motor acts and the development of new movement patterns. The results of the study are consistent with the previously obtained results of other studies in this direction. Despite the fact that during the GBI the participants of the experiment performed regular physical training, a decrease in the performance indicators values was detected, especially pronounced after 100 days of GBI. This is probably due to limited space of a space station model, as well as the development of a special motor stereotype in it. Noteworthy are the results obtained after the 4th session of the experiment, indicating the effect of sensorimotor learning. We think that the data obtained in this study will be useful in research both in gravitational physiology and in clinical medicine. (shrink)

Explicitly considering human values in the design process of socio-technical systems has become a responsibility of designers. It is, however, challenging to design for values because (1) relevant values must be identified and communicated between all stakeholders and designers and (2) stakeholders’ values differ and trade-offs must be made. We focus on the first aspect, which requires elicitation of stakeholders’ situated values , i.e. values relevant to a specific real life context. Available techniques to elicit knowledge and requirements from stakeholders (...) lack in providing the context and means for reflection needed to elicit situated values as well as an explicit concept of value. In this paper we present our design of a tool to support active elicitation of stakeholders’ values and communication between stakeholders and designers. We conducted an exploratory user study in which we compared the suitability of methods used in social sciences for (1) eliciting situated values, (2) supporting people’s expressions of values and (3) being implemented in value elicitation tool. Based on the outcomes we propose a design for a value elicitation tool that consists of a mobile application used by stakeholders for data collection and in-situ self-reflection, and a website used collaboratively by designers and stakeholders to analyse and communicate values. Discussion focuses on contributions to value sensitive design. (shrink)

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Review of Ingvild Flaskerud’s, Visualizing Belief and Piety in Iranian Shiism , (New York: Continuum, 2010).

The urgency of the issue in question lies in the need to improve anti-discrimination legislation in Ukraine. The article aims to summarize the current state of combating discrimination in sports. Research methods include analysis, generalization, and the formal-logical method. The article summarizes international acts that promote the prohibition of discrimination and the need to combat it. One of the main problems in world sport is racial discrimination, and there are three types of racism in sports. The main disadvantage of laws (...) that lead to imperfect prosecution mechanism is entirely criminal liability for discrimination, even though the law on preventing and combating discrimination also implies administrative and civil liability. The article analyzes some positive foreign experience in combating and counteracting in sports. It shows that the priority areas for combating and counteracting discrimination in sports in Ukraine should be: improving the legislation in terms of prosecution; establishing a special body responsible for combating and counteracting discrimination in sports; introducing educational tools in schools and among members of sports organizations that promote human rights, regardless of race, colour or other characteristics. Emphasis is placed on the fact that an effective mechanism of legal regulation together with preventive measures should guarantee the protection of the rights of both athletes and fans. The obtained results can serve as the basis of legislative proposals to improve the fight against discrimination in sports, which will ensure the protection of human rights. (shrink)

This paper represents a theoretical-methodological incursion on the requirements of higher education institutions to achieve sustainability. The relevance of the topic derives from the need to assess the potential of higher education institutions in order to achieve sustainability. The aim of the research is to assess the potential of universities in the context of sustainability. The paper focuses on making an approach to achieving educational performance, in terms of assessing the human, innovative potential of higher education institutions which represents a (...) vital factor in achieving university sustainability. Universities as active actors in sustainable development must demonstrate the necessary training, competent human potential, viable educational policies, and effective tools to achieve sustainability. The research methodology focused on the use of the following methods such as: analysis, synthesis, qualitative research, scientific abstraction, which contributed to a comprehensive and complex study on the training of Moldovan universities to achieve sustainability. In conclusion, we reiterate that universities as “vectors of change” are demanded to develop successful strategies to achieve sustainability, in terms of certain effective activities that would ensure their sustainable development. The undertaken research allowed us to elucidate that Moldovan universities do not have a model for achieving university sustainability. In this context, we can point out the need to develop a viable tool for assessing the steps taken by universities to achieve sustainability. (shrink)

The multiplicity of Islamic interpretations is reflected in the heterogeneous nature of the Romanian Muslim communities. The internal fragmentation and disunity of Muslim communities, intra-Islamic difficulties, ideological and sectarian rivalry, success of Salafism among certain groups, the absence of stronger and more visible Islamic alternative discourses and the lack of interest in finding adequate mechanisms to facilitate the integration of the new Muslims in society are some of the general problems of the Romanian Muslims. Local Islamic revival has an ethno-cultural (...) dimension, a religious and even a political one as external disputes are imported in the Romanian context and affects the way Muslims define and practice Islam. Some Rroma and indigenous Tatar-Turkish adopted the neo-traditionalism consolidated in the second half of the last century and promoted by the most active Sunni NGOs in Romania. Some converts emancipated from the ideological control by conservative and neoconservative Islamic currents and are in search of progressive or mystical interpretations; other new Muslims found safety in the Salafi’s certitudes and rigid rules. Case study findings presented in this article may suggest that the more it depends on formal rituals, external behavior and rigid canonical displays of religiosity, the more fragile the Muslim identity becomes. A vulnerable constructed Self conceives differences and alterity as an attack against personal identity, hence the increasing aggressive and intolerant, superior Salafi attitudes. The more it is built on universal values, inner experience, ethical convictions, the more open and capable of integrating alterity and fostering positive relations with people of different religions becomes Muslim identity. (shrink)

This probing study of melancholy invites readers to view "depression" genealogically through the history of its interpretation. It plumbs interior depths where psychology, theology, philosophy, and literary creation intersect. Therapies proposed for the dark mood have included work, prayer, care of the self, and deepening awareness of its indispensable role in the development of consciousness of oneself and God. Reflecting on these historical responses and cures can prompt a personal exploration, making this a practical manual for self-knowing and self-transcending, a (...) philosophical "guide for the depressed.". (shrink)

Focusing on the controversial birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin, this article explores how debates about the safety of these drugs have materialized in risk evaluations and the management of technological risk. Drawing on in-depth interviews with stakeholders and content analysis of legal, medical, and regulatory documents, I highlight how professional contraceptive risk assessment is characterized by systemic uncertainty and doubt, resulting in increased responsibility for users themselves to manage the drugs’ potentially increased risks of venous thromboembolism. The analysis centers (...) on three key areas in the assessment process that denote disagreement: risk measurement in postmarket surveillance data, the distinctiveness of the drugs’ benefits when compared to other contraceptive technologies, and the weighing of the risks and benefits against each other. While professionals negotiate uncertainty both in epidemiological research and in clinical practice, users are constructed as agents who should manage risk individually. Such processes are underlined by a diffusion of responsibility in the systemic management of contraceptive risk. This article suggests, more broadly, that medical technologies can be conceptualized as artifacts that are instrumental in the dispersion of risks. (shrink)

Illocutionary Force and Romanian Orthodox Sermons: An Application of Speech Act Theory to Some Romanian Orthodox Sermons The aim of the paper is to analyze religious discourse with the use of the instruments of semantics and pragmatics. Essentially, it sets out to identify the linguistic elements which enable the illocutionary force in the Romanian orthodox sermons, especially in the discourse of some important figures which have influenced and still influence the Romanian orthodox theology and the religious life in Romania: Father (...) Cleopa, Father Nicolae Steinhardt, and, nowadays, Father Teofil Pârâianu. It is usually assumed that a sermon implies, on the one hand, a kerugmatik action, that of annunciation, and, on the other hand, a translating action of the biblical induce the human will to practice the words in order to Christian precepts. Mutatis mutandis, the perlocutionary effect depends on the illocutionary act and of the illocutionary force. In theory, the illocutionary force of an utterance is strictly motivated by the pragmatic. But there are linguistic elements which function as efficient markers of the illocutionary force, for example performative verbs, verbal moods and some adverbs. The criteria proposed by Searle in order to differentiate the illocutionary acts resulted in the identification of several types inside this class. Searle's taxonomy serves the research purposes: the identification of illocutionary acts found in this kind of religious discourse and, finally, outlining a pattern of manifestation of the illocutionary force inside the sermon. (shrink)

This article presents J. Srzednicki’s epistemological conception and confronts it generally with contemporary versions of epistemological relativism.

Review of Sorin Şipoş, Silviu Dragomir – istoric, (Oradea: Editura Universităţii din Oradea and Chişinău: Editura Cartdidact, 2009), 547 p.

This paper is dealing with one of the greatest novels in the British literature, The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing. The novel and its main character, Anna Wulf can be interpreted in myriad ways, but our analysis is a psychoanalytical one. The introductory part of the paper gives the definitions of the psychoanalytical words that will be later on used in the paper.In The Golden Notebook, the life of Lessing’s main character offers an understanding of issues such as political repression, (...) sexual abuse, single parenthood, writer’s block, and the women’s movement. Anna Wulf’s fragmented personality is caught in the four notebooks that she writes, each one being concerned with one of Anna’s selves. Anna is the most complicated heroine analysed and we will try to discover which of her various selves are confirmed and which are repressed. In Anna’s process of healing, there are two moments of climactic confirmation: the first one when she admits that she is mad and the second one when she admits she has a writer’s block. (shrink)