Many studies have shown that using robot platforms can be effective for teaching children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The aim of this study was to compare performance on an imitation task, as well as focus attention levels and the presence of social behaviours of children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children during an imitation task under two different conditions, with robots and human demonstrators. The results suggested that TD children did not imitate more than children with ASD. Children (...) with ASD did not imitate the robot more than they imitated a person, but they showed more focused attention to robots and expressed more social behaviours in interaction with the robots. Behaviours that were significantly more present in ASD children than in TD children included touching the robot in the robot demonstrator condition and focusing on the robot in the person demonstrator condition. This implies a possible preference of children with ASD towards robots rather than towards people. (shrink)

McCullough et al 1 confront a challenge that no organisation has fully eradicated: incivility. They emphasise that civility is not merely a matter of common decency and good conduct but also a moral imperative, an aspirational value that should be promoted and modelled by all the members of the institutions and throughout all the stages of practitioners’ careers. In their fusion of ancient wisdom and philosophical classics with their own insights on contemporary workplaces, they forward a defensible case for why (...) civility matters and is worthy of continuous contemplation. Given the clarity and persuasion of their piece, I do not seek to challenge their claims. Instead, I will complement their argument with a perspective highlighting the difficulties of identifying low-level workplace mistreatments and responding to them impartially. While organisations should certainly not skimp on their efforts to promote civility and hold their transgressors accountable, there are nonetheless boundaries to good intentions.2 The unexamined pursuit of civility, if characterised by inconsistent definitions of harm and inappropriate allegations of uncivil acts, runs the risk of fostering its own toxicity spirals. With the hope of contributing to the exchange initiated by McCullough and colleagues, I briefly highlight …. (shrink)

Many countries have included agriculture as one of the sectors where they intend to obtain significant greenhouse gas emission reductions. In Norway, the dairy-beef sector, in particular, has been targeted for considerable emission cuts. Despite publicly expressed interest within the agricultural sector for reducing emissions, significant measures have yet to be implemented. In this paper, we draw on qualitative data from Norway when examining the extent the wider agri-food network around farmers promotes or restrains the transition toward low-emission agricultural production. (...) A qualitative analysis based on interviews with key stakeholders from various parts of the agri-food network of dairy-beef indicates that, if it is up to the dairy-beef system itself, it will develop in the direction of continued increased production volumes and increased efficiency in production, combined with moderate measures to reduce emissions. There is an obvious reluctance to stimulate the consumer demand toward other products or meat products with reduced emissions because such a solution would complicate full exploitation of existing agricultural resources and hence could bring considerable negative economic consequences. Another factor limiting the scope and drive towards a low-carbon production is that the effects of various potential climate measures do not appear as unambiguous. Our study indicates that the dairy-beef sector will likely not reach the goal of reduced emissions from its own initiatives. Rather, significant changes would probably require both push and pull support from forces outside the agricultural system. (shrink)

Suvremena zapadna društva pridaju veliku pozornost problemima vezanima uz ljudsku sreću. Ono što je karakteristično za ovu zaokupljenost tretiranje je negativnih emocija kao poremećaja. Služeći se interdisciplinarnim pristupom, ovaj je članak pokušao izložiti nekoliko važnih problema aktualnih gledišta o sreći, socijalizaciji emocija te ukazati na moguća ograničenja nekih utjecajnih teorija.Some of the important occupations of contemporary western societies are questions concerning human happiness. A characteristic of this absorption is treating negative emotions as a mere disorder. By using an interdisciplinary approach (...) this article tried to expose some of the main problems of contemporary views on happiness, socializing of emotions and possible limits of some prevalent theories. (shrink)

What is the strength of anthropological fieldwork when we want to understand human technologies? In this article we argue that anthropological fieldwork can be understood as a process of gaining insight into different contextualisations in practiced places that will open up new understandings of technologies in use, e.g., technologies as multistable ontologies. The argument builds on an empirical study of robots at a Danish rehabilitation centre. Ethnographic methods combined with anthropological learning processes open up new way for exploring how robots (...) enter into professional practices and change values, social relations and materialities. Though substantial funding has been invested in developing health service robots, few studies have been undertaken that explore human-robot interactions as they play out in everyday practice. We argue that the complex learning processes involve not only so-called end-users but also staff, management, doings and discourse in a complex amalgamation of materials and values. (shrink)

The Buddhist and Daoist influences on the origins of the Taijitu and their influences on T’oegye’s philosophy are discussed. The notion of ji (tranquillity) is taken as an example on which the Neo-Confucianism debate and the limits of verbal representations are shown. T'oegye adherence to Zhu Xi in relying to the doctrine of mindfulness is taken into consideration as one of the central ones in the Ten diagrams, in contrast to Zhou Dunyi's emphasis on tranquillity. He followed the Zhu Xi's (...) line in a direction of commenting the commentaries or a form. He strongly relayed on words, although as a supplement to the diagrams. By this hediminished the force of the cartography of spirit so central in Chinese Song Neo-Confucianism. In T’oegye is not calm and tranquillity per se, but a conscious and wakeful state of absolute mental quiescence - one of the polar conditions of consciousness. (shrink)

Pravo na privatnost složen je koncept koji je prolazio svoje povijesne i društvene promjene. Premda je ponekad značio depriviranost i neravnopravnost, ipak mu se priznavala važnost za slobodu, demokraciju, autonomiju i razvoj pojedinca. S umreženim društvom pojavili su se novi aspekti problema privatnosti i socijalne uključenosti koji zahtijevaju njihova nova, kritička promišljanja u svjetlu različitih društvenih vrijednosti i tehnologijskog konteksta.Right to privacy is a complex concept with historical and social changes of its own. Although sometimes it was connected with deprivation (...) and inequality, today it is usually conceived as a condition for freedom, democracy, autonomy and self-development. The network society brought new aspects of the problem of privacy and social inclusion that demand their new, critical rethinking in the light of different social values and new technology context. (shrink)

In 2007 a social scientist and a designer created a spatial installation to communicate social science research about the regulation of emerging science and technology. The rationale behind the experiment was to improve scientific knowledge production by making the researcher sensitive to new forms of reactions and objections. Based on an account of the conceptual background to the installation and the way it was designed, the paper discusses the nature of the engagement enacted through the experiment. It is argued that (...) experimentation is a crucial way of making social science about science communication and engagement more robust. (shrink)

Assessments of quality in healthcare often focus on treatment outcome or patient safety, but rarely acknowledge the importance of patients’ encounters with healthcare personnel. The aim of this study was to gain an improved understanding of negative experiences of healthcare encounters by investigating experiences of the general population. A questionnaire was distributed to a randomly selected sample population of 1484 inhabitants in Stockholm County, Sweden. The material was subjected to conventional content analysis. Seventeen different types of complaint about negative encounters (...) were identified, including unpleasant behavior, not being listened to, inadequate information, and discrimination. Two possible underlying explanations are discussed; structural factors relating to the organization and allocation of healthcare, and individual factors relating to the staff’s attitudes and professional practice. The results indicate that different strands of actions are needed to reduce patients’ negative experiences of encounters in healthcare, depending on the setting as well as on which of the two factors predominates. (shrink)

This article explores the relationship between the domestic position of Jewish bourgeois housewives and the larger Swedish, urban landscape at the beginning of the twentieth century. Examining the interior décor, shopping patterns, urban places, and the social, cultural and religious aspects of the domestic spheres of Irene Strauss and Jeannette Ettlinger, this article argues that they consciously used public spaces to establish their individual practices of Jewishness. By entering the gendered space of the Jewish home, accessible through private letters and (...) receipts, this article portrays the bourgeois women as actors with social and economic power. They produced public spaces that communicated either cultural integration or orthodox distinctiveness, thereby constructing diverse strategies for Swedish belonging. These strategies demonstrate the growing religious, social and cultural diversity within the Jewish community in Stockholm during the three last decades before the Second World War. (shrink)

The number of elderly influencers on Instagram is increasing. When analyzing a sample of corresponding posts, it is noticeable that fashion, especially fancy or vintage fashion, plays a central role. By choosing extraordinary looks, elderly influencers, whose age is by no means concealed, communicate self-determination and independence from the opinions of others – both also in connection with life experience. Their followers consider them as cool and empowering: this way, they can positively influence society’s perception of elderly people, take away (...) younger recipients’ fear of aging, and act as role models. However, a noticeable divide emerges, as the elderly influencers are apparently well-educated and presumably also wealthy and enjoy good health. In social comparison, many of those of the same age would probably perform poorly. Therefore, it can be concluded that elderly influencer may be beneficial to their recipients and to society as a whole, but that addressing the social conditions that enable old people to live a fulfilled life is largely ignored. (shrink)

This paper discusses the notions of impermanence and death as treated in the Chinese and Japanese philosophical traditions, particularly in connection with the Buddhist concept of emptiness and void and the original Daoist answers to the problem. Methodological problems are mentioned and two ways of approaching the theme are proposed: the logically discursive and the meditative mystical one, with the two symbols of each, Uroboros and the open circle. The switch of consciousness is suggested as an essential condition for liberation (...) of the Ego and its illusions. Rational logic as well as the sophisticated meditative ways of selflessness and detachment are suggested when treating the Chinese and Japanese philosophical notions, and examples of the discussed topics from the texts given. The instructive seventh chapter of the classical Daoist work, Lie Zi, is analyzed in detail and put into contrast with the answers given to that problem in the Greco-Judeo-Christian tradition. (shrink)

The paper focuses on the rediscovery of Misch’s A History of Autobiography and its relevance to the problem of self-knowledge and self-esteem. Misch’s work is used to reconstruct a new aspect of self-esteem and to demonstrate that self-esteem can be interpreted as an early historical form of self-knowledge. In particular, self-esteem is characterized as a kind of self-knowledge in the category of the Other, that is, self-esteem appears to be self-knowledge derived from the social perspective regarding the individual.

The paper is based on the New Institutional Economic Theory, which emphasizes institutions as a vital component in the creation of wealth and economic growth. It is widely accepted that formal institutions change rapidly through political and legislative decisions. Informal institutions are deeply embedded in customs, tradition and inherited behavioral norms. Thus, change comes at a very slow pace. This research is focused on the business ethics segment of informal institutions.The paper is based on the effects of institutional changes on (...) the position and the slope of demand curve for ethical business behavior. Business people faced with opportunity costs that influenced their behavior. Additional statistical analyses provide evidence of business ethics perception, which is more expressed in the group of managers than in the administration group. Behavior of the middle-aged population differs significantly in comparison to other groups when deciding on ethical dilemmas in real business situations.Cet article s’inspire de la Nouvelle Economie Institutionnelle qui met l’accent sur les institutions en tant que composante fondamentale du processus de création de richesses et de la croissance économique, Il est généralement reconnu que les institutions formelles se modifient rapidement sous l’impulsion de décisions politiques et législatives. Les institutions informelles, quant à elles, sont profondément ancrées dans les coutumes, les traditions, et les normes de comportement héritées d’anciennes générations. Ainsi, dans le cas de ces institutions, le changement est beaucoup plus lent. Cet article met l’accent sur l’éthique des affaires en tant qu’une des composantes des institutions formelles.Une des idées qui sous-tend l’article est l’analyse des effets des changements institutionnels sur la position et la pente de la courbe de demande pour des comportements éthiques dans les affaires. Les hommes d’affaires font face à des coûts d’opportunité qui influencent leur comportement. Des analyses statistiques supplémentaires donnent la preuve de la perception de l’éthique des affaires, perception qui est plus aiguë parmi les managers que parmi les administratifs. Le comportement de la population d’âge intermédiaire diffère de manière significative de celui des autres groupes face à des dilemmes éthiques que suscitent certaines situations concrètes du monde des affaires. (shrink)

In the psychological literature, love is often seen as a construct inseparable from that of close, interpersonal relationships. As a result, it has been often assumed that the same motivational factors underlie both phenomena. This often leads researchers to propose that love does not exist in itself—that it is an emotion which stems solely from a need for attachment, fulfillment of reproductive aims, or for social exchange. The popular cultural imagination, however, perceives love as a unique, mysterious, altruistic, ever-lasting bond (...) between two people—a vision of love which is at odds with its supposed psychological origins. We propose that an ideal of love and its enactment in our culture is a result of two intertwining factors. Within the last few centuries, interpersonal relationships and love have replaced religion as islands of existential comfort. Toward this end, lovers project illusory meaning on their partners. The laborious and turbulent process of withdrawing these projections can lead to what many thinkers think “love” is: bestowal of value on another, and consequent respect for, and care for that person, unmotivated by one's own needs, within the context of a real relationship. (shrink)

Maya Zehfuss critiques constructivist theories of international relations (currently considered to be at the cutting edge of the discipline) and finds them wanting and even politically dangerous. Zehfuss uses Germany's first shift toward using its military abroad after the end of the Cold War to illustrate why constructivism does not work and how it leads to particular analytical outcomes and forecloses others. She argues that scholars are limiting their abilities to act responsibly in international relations by looking towards constructivism as (...) the future. (shrink)

L?acte constitutif de l?histoire culturelle contemporaine?tait la coupure avec les presuppositions?pist?mologiques et m?thodologiques de l?histoire?conomique et sociale. Le champ nouveau de l?historiographie, rompant avec?la tradition historiographique?, s?est fond? sur le nouveau?mat?rialisme? et sur la th?orie de la r?pr?sentation. Une question inqui?tante cepandant s?impose: dans quelle mesure les conceptualisations et les m?thodologies de l?histoire contemporaine ne sont que costumes nouveaux pour vieux engagements de l?histoire? Le mat?rialisme nouveau ne d?guise-t-il pas la vieille pratique des historiens de rassembler des?faits?? La th?orie de (...) la r?pr?sentation ne d?guise-t-elle pas l?id?e des m?ntalit?s? Si la r?ponse est affirmatif, il faut poser une nouvelle question: Les grandes luttes dans le champ de l?histoire ne sont-elles pas des strat?gies d?oubli qui essaient d?effacer la m?moire de l?historiographie recente et de ses effets cognitifs? Konstitutivni cin za savremenu kulturnu istoriju bio je raskid sa epistemoloskim i metodoloskim pretpostavkama ekonomske i socijalne istorije. Novo polje istoriografije, raskidajuci sa?tradicionalnom istoriografijom?, pronaslo je oslonac u?novom materijalizmu? i teoriji reprezentacije. Namece se, medjutim, jedno pitanje koje stvara zabrinutost: u kojoj meri su konceptulizacije i metodologije savremene istorije samo novo ruho starih zaloga istorije? Ne krije li novi materijalizam stare prakse istoricara da prikupljaju?c?injenice?? Ne krije li teorija reprezentacije ideju mentaliteta? Ukoliko je odgovor potvrdan, treba postaviti novo pitanje: nisu li velike borbe koje se odvijaju u polju istorije strategije zaborava kojima se pokusava izbrisati secanje na skorasnju istoriografiju i posledice koje je ona imala po spoznaju? (shrink)

Review on Philip J. van der Eijk, Medicine and Philosophy in Classical Antiquity: Doctors and Philosophers on Nature, Soul, Health and Disease, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005.

This report from the online workshop on 3 June 2021 which took place at the University of Vienna and University of Gothenburg gives an account of the talks and discussions on the role of Rabbi Marcus Ehrenpreis in the Jewish communities of Sofia and Stockholm.

Cet article traite les explications de Cassirer sur les problèmes philosophiques que soulève la théorie de la relativité. La question principale posée par cet article est de voir comment Cassirer en tant que néokantien répond aux découvertes d’Einstein. Il s’agit surtout du problème de la présupposition de la nature a priori de la géométrie euclidienne. La réponse de Cassirer démontre que la philosophie de Kant est suffisamment étendue pour y inclure aussi les géométries non-euclidiennes dans la détermination du monde physique. (...) Cassirer le fait en révélant que Kant tout en concevant l’espace et le temps comme des formes de pure intuition les a déjà reliées à certaines facteurs théoriques, aux règles de l’entendement. L’espace en tant que forme pure de coexistence et le temps en tant que forme pure de succession n’impliquent aucunes relations spéciales de mesure. Ainsi il est erroné de présumer la nature a priori de la géométrie euclidienne. La manière dont les géométries différentes peuvent figurer dans la détermination du monde physique se réfère à l’approche géométrique de Klein selon laquelle les propriétés géométriques sont définies comme celles qui restent invariantes par rapport à un certain groupe de transformations. Et c’est justement le concept de groupe qui est le vrai concept a priori. La théorie du groupe a même un rôle plus important dans les théories physiques, comme c’est le cas de l’épistémologie de Cassirer. Avec la théorie de la relativité il est devenu évident que les théories physiques sont des théories des invariances en relation aux groupes de transformations. Cassirer avance que la théorie générale de l’invariabilité de certaines valeurs doit revenir sous une certaine forme dans toute théorie de la nature parce qu’elle appartient à la nature logique et épistémologique d’une telle théorie. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Zen and the Art of DeathMaja Milcinski*When reflecting on immortality, longevity, death, and suicide, or taking into consideration some of the central concepts of the Sino-Japanese philosophical tradition, such as impermanence (Chinese: wuchang; Japanese: mujo), we see that the philosophical methods developed in the Graeco-Judeo-Christian tradition might not be very suitable. On the other hand it is instructive to contrast them with the similar themes developed in the Graeco-Judeo-Christian (...) tradition, since these problems present a challenge for a redefinition of philosophy, which has traditionally regarded itself as a European (and in an even less acceptable variation as a Western) phenomenon. As such the very borders of philosophical discourse known in European history as philosophia are today being reconsidered. Although the notion of philosophy (love of wisdom) is distinctly Greek in origin, this does not mean that Asia failed to cultivate activities similar to that. The absence of this notion in China and Japan does not necessarily imply a lack of the cultivation of wisdom within their traditions. Could this mean that, paradoxically, the “philo-“ limits this complex activity primarily to rationally mastered undertakings?By rethinking the history of philosophy as a single narrative, one might come closer to the movements related to the levels of consciousness that were activated in philosophical undertakings in various Asian philosophical schools. In this regard Japanese and Chinese Buddhist philosophical traditions might be instructive since, through the various stages of their development, they have attempted to put the inexpressible into words. The awareness of the insufficiency of words resulted in many original solutions. In the Song dynasty, for instance, China produced a variety of diagrams (tu), by which philosophers and practitioners represented their theories. These formulations, often arose on the basis of meditation techniques and could not therefore be fully transmitted by means of language alone. The illustration of the nine-step process (known in [End Page 385] Japan as kuso) is one such representation, and it is taken here as a point of departure for approaching the concept of impermanence and death in the Japanese philosophical context.One possible means of approaching the discussed topic is to contrast it with the ways in which impermanence, particularly with the phenomenon of death as one of its aspects, has been perceived in the European tradition. It would be naive to generalize and stress the impression that fear of death is much more central and influential in the Euro-American life style than in the Asian one, since it is rooted in human biological and subconscious mechanisms. This paper, however, tries to point at the subtle difference which exists in the spiritual realm.Europe and ImpermanenceThe European Middle Ages developed the so-called ars moriendi, the art of dying. It was this tradition which produced sayings such as “My Lord, it is a great art to die well, and one to be learned by men in health” 1 and the many variations of the dance of death (danse macabre). This awareness of human mortality was also spread by texts, of which the following inspired thought is characteristic: “The one who has not learned how to die, will die against his will. Learn how to die and you will know how to live, since nobody will learn how to live, who has not learned how to die. He shall be y-cleped a wretch that cannot live and dare not die.” 2 These undertakings, however, did not succeed in building any kind of permanent discipline in Europeans connected with the idea of impermanence and death. Rather, it left them caught up in the dizziness of everyday life. The ars moriendi vanished from their consciousness and only became manifest when actual circumstances provoked it, if indeed at all, since often at the moment of impending death people are completely terrified in the light of the prospect of losing their Ego. Although in Christianity there is a tradition of seeing death as a new beginning, some Christians remain skeptical of this “new beginning.” Beginning of what? Is it an illusion of “heaven,” a reflection of this world without suffering and frustrations? In this respect the ars moriendi was cultivating something else: impermanence... (shrink)

Die Frage nach dem Wesen des Denkens gehört nicht nur zum Bestand der klassischen philosophischen Fragestellungen, sondern stellt auch ein wiederkehrendes Thema in aktuellen Diskussionen dar. Dieses Überblickswerk versammelt differenzierte Darstellungen des Denkens aus einer systematisch-historischen Perspektive. Die Beiträge untersuchen die Verhältnisse von Denken und Sprechen, Denken und Handeln, Denken und Wahrnehmen, Denken und Fühlen und beleuchten so die zentralen Aspekte des Begriffs »Denken« in vielfältiger Weise.