Background: Strengthening the sense of meaning in life and psychological well-being brings benefits for mental health. The group particularly vulnerable to mental problems are young adults, therefore the aim of our research was to explore how a gratitude intervention will affect the sense of meaning in life, psychological well-being, general health and perceived stress among them. The research also took into account the issue of expressing gratitude.Method: The study involved 80 young adults who were randomly assigned to the experimental group (...) that filled out the specially prepared diaries for a week or the control group. Participants completed the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire – 28, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being twice.Results: In the experimental group significant increases were observed in three areas of psychological well-being: environmental mastery, relationships with others and purpose in life. The significant decrease was also noted in anxiety/insomnia and depression symptoms as well as in perceived stress. There were no differences in the level of meaning in life. There was a positive relationship between expressing gratitude and meaning in life and psychological well-being.Conclusion: Proposed gratitude intervention has the potential to enhance psychological well-being among young adults, however, it may not be effective in enhancing meaning in life. (shrink)

Different proprietary databases have been used extensively in research to assess the environmental performance and environmental risk of companies. This study explores the convergent validity of the environmental ratings of MSCI ESG STATS, Thomson Reuters ASSET4 and Global Engagement Services. The study shows that the ratings have common dimensions, but on aggregate, they do not converge. On the environmental opportunity side, KLD environmental strengths, and ASSET4 and GES environmental performance metrics correlate highly and provide convergent scores for US companies from (...) 2003–2011. On the environmental risk side, KLD environmental concerns converge with the GES environmental industry risk and company emissions from the ASSET4 database. Further analysis confirms that industry-related risks are drivers of company-specific environmental performance. (shrink)

In the present paper I present the metalinguistic solutions to the ‘lost disagreement’ problem proposed Sundell and Plunkett [2013] and Barker [2012]. I argue that metalinguistic negotiations about taste, even though successful in explaining the intuition of disagreement in a vast number of cases, are not an accurate solution to the disagreement problem in contextualism when it comes to the most paradigmatic case of “tasty”. I also argue against the account of faultless disagreement explained via vagueness of taste predicates [Barker, (...) 2012]. I believe that the notion of faultlessness employed in the discussion of vagueness [Wright, 1994] is a different notion than the one employed in the discussion of taste discourse [Kölbel, 2003]. (shrink)

I take issue with Kalisch et al.’s formulation of PASTOR, arguing that care must be taken in understanding what is meant by “appraisal.” I examine the implications of PASTOR given two competing possibilities for what counts as an appraisal – first, if appraisal is restricted to conscious reflection on one’s circumstances, and second, if appraisal is expanded to include subconscious mechanisms of evaluation.

El presente texto corresponde a la presentación de la defensa de la tesis "La racionalidad científico-tecnológica. Aportes a la reflexión epistemológica en la obra de Herbert Marcuse", dirigida por la Dra. Delia Albarracín en la Maestría en Metodología de la Investigación Científica de la Universidad Nacional de Lanús, que dirige Esther Díaz, el 26 de agosto de 2011. En lo que sigue queremos sintetizar una lectura de la obra de Herbert Marcuse que pone el énfasis en un cruce posible entre (...) su visión antropológica y su visión epistemológica desde una metodología que denominamos dialéctica. La confluencia propuesta supone considerar a la categoría racionalidad tecnológica como una categoría central de su obra que permite estructurar una lectura de conceptos que, aventuramos, siguen vigentes para pensar y re-pensar nuestra condición humana. Esta categoría reúne reflexiones filosóficas y políticas en el intento por desnudar la principal ideología que permite cohesionar a los individuos en los modelos sociales centrales del siglo XX. This text is a part of the M.S. Dissertation, "Scientific-technological rationality. Contributions to an epistemological reflection on Herbert Marcuse's work", under the supervision of PhD Delia Albarracín for the Master in Methodology for Scientific Investigation, Lanús University, directed by Esther Díaz, held on August 26th, 2011. What follows is a summary of our approach to Herbert Marcuse's work, which focuses on the crossing between the anthropological and the epistemological vision, from a methodological view that we call dialectics. The proposed convergence implies that the technological rationality category is central in his work and permits a certain reading of concepts that are still in force to think over our human condition. This category joins philosophical and political reflections in an attempt to unveil the main ideology that unites individuals in the XXth century's principal social models. (shrink)

Introduction. The article is focused on studying the self-knowledge techniques used in Buddhism and their application in teaching philosophy. The relevance of the study is due to the search for new approaches to studying philosophy, including approaches related to philosophical practice, as well as the interest of modern scientists in the problem of consciousness. The problem of consciousness is interdisciplinary and its study is of practical importance for philosophers, psychologists, linguists, specialists in artificial intelligence. Buddhism as a philosophical doctrine provides (...) rich material for the study of the phenomenon of consciousness, which does not lose its relevance today. A feature of the Buddhist approach to consciousness is that it has an axiological orientation that is directly related to the problem of self-knowledge. The practices of self-knowledge used in Buddhism enable a person to become happier and more harmonious, which is so important for each of us. The aim of the study is to conduct a philosophical analysis of Buddhist practices of self-knowledge and self-transformation in order to use them in the educational process. Methods: the author uses general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction; phenomenological method to identify the intentions that are key for consciousness. The author also uses the hermeneutical method to interpret Buddhist texts. The method of introspection as self-observation of consciousness is used in Buddhist meditation techniques. The scientific novelty of the study is that we approach the study of extensive material on Buddhism in the context of the problem of selfknowledge, which is inextricably linked with the Buddhist concept of consciousness. The revealed and studied Buddhist techniques of self-knowledge have been adapted for teaching philosophy. Results. A philosophical analysis of the literature on Buddhism in the context of the problem of self-knowledge was carried out. As a result of the analysis, Buddhist techniques for working with consciousness, such as meditation, the method of pondering Zen koans, the method of getting rid of material attachments, or the practice of austerities, were studied and described. A philosophical analysis of various Buddhist meditation techniques showed that they are based on the Buddhist concept of consciousness, which denies the existence of an individual “I”, considers the “I” to be nothing more than a combination of various dharmas, therefore the purpose of meditation in Buddhism is to identify oneself with one’s own “I”, to achieve a state of voidness in which we must comprehend our true identity. The method of pondering Zen koans is also one of the techniques for working with one’s consciousness in Buddhism. As a result of deliberation of these paradoxical miniatures, a person goes beyond the boundaries of logical thinking; there is a transition from the level of profane consciousness to the level of deep consciousness. The basis of the method of getting rid of material attachments or the practice of austerities in Buddhism is the concept of the middle path. We have established a similarity between the method of getting rid of material attachments, the concept of the middle path and minimalism as a way of life. Findings. Elements of the Buddhist practices of self-transformation can be successfully used in the teaching of philosophy at the university as a practical aspect of studying this discipline, forming students with the idea of philosophy as a way of life leading to positive self-transformation. Studying the practical aspects of Buddhist philosophy contributes to the formation of tolerance, awareness, education of humanism and altruism, and the skills of psycho-emotional self-regulation. (shrink)

The concept of deliberation in the Ukrainian philosophical discourse is both underestimated and overestimated. Underestimated — as a self-sufficient category that is not reducible to another con- cept, even if it is the concept of consensus or the concept of democracy. Deliberation appears pri- marily as a careful weighing and selection of arguments when making an important decision. Collegiality may or may not be present here, as well as openness. Therefore, the concept of deliber- ation is somewhat overestimated as something (...) that necessarily improves the quality of democratic procedures, and therefore, supposedly, deliberation itself is something democratic in nature. American political philosopher Joshua Cohen drew attention to the fact that deliberation can be of at least three types: individual deliberation, jury deliberation, and oligarch deliberation. The article analyzes these three types of deliberation and found that the closest to the democratic type of government is individual deliberation, or rather, joint deliberation of responsible citizens. While the deliberation of the jury is mostly closed, it is naturally limited access to the extent of the necessary competence of its possible participants. The deliberation of the oligarchs is even more closed and often even secret. However, the article states that it is more appropriate to replace the name «oligarchs» with the term «captains of business»: then the deliberation of the oligarchs ceases to be a cartel conspiracy, and turns into a coordinated protection of the interests of the national economy. However, for this, de- liberation itself is not enough, so not procedural, but other, namely, value factors of decision-making are needed. Democracy benefits from deliberation when the latter is complemented by the liberal and patriotic values of the participants in the deliberation. Already John Locke convincingly argues the importance of citizens achieving a common conscious agreement in state matters. However, for Locke, the very fact of having property was important, while in practice, achieving an effective agreement requires mechanisms for reconciling the positions of owners with very different amounts of property. To some extent, this problem can be solved by John Rawls` concept of justice. (shrink)

Stroke continues to be a leading cause of disability. Basic neurorehabilitation research is necessary to inform the neuropathophysiology of impaired motor control, and to develop targeted interventions with potential to remediate disability post-stroke. Despite knowledge gained from basic research studies, the effectiveness of research-based interventions for reducing motor impairment has been no greater than standard of practice interventions. In this perspective, we offer suggestions for overcoming translational barriers integral to experimental design, to augment traditional protocols, and re-route the rehabilitation trajectory (...) toward recovery and away from compensation. First, we suggest that researchers consider modifying task practice schedules to focus on key aspects of movement quality, while minimizing the appearance of compensatory behaviors. Second, we suggest that researchers supplement primary outcome measures with secondary measures that capture emerging maladaptive compensations at other segments or joints. Third, we offer suggestions about how to maximize participant engagement, self-direction, and motivation, by embedding the task into a meaningful context, a strategy more likely to enable goal-action coupling, associated with improved neuro-motor control and learning. Finally, we remind the reader that motor impairment post-stroke is a multidimensional problem that involves central and peripheral sensorimotor systems, likely influenced by chronicity of stroke. Thus, stroke chronicity should be given special consideration for both participant recruitment and subsequent data analyses. We hope that future research endeavors will consider these suggestions in the design of the next generation of intervention studies in neurorehabilitation, to improve translation of research advances to improved participation and quality of life for stroke survivors. (shrink)

Interview of Amina Khelufi, Kseniia Myroshnyk and Nataliia Reva with Natalia Viatkina.

Since the cognitive revolution, psychologists have developed formal theories of cognition by thinking about the mind as a computer. However, this metaphor is typically applied to individual minds. Humans rarely think alone; compared to other animals, humans are curiously dependent on stores of culturally transmitted skills and knowledge, and we are particularly good at collaborating with others. Rather than picturing the human mind as an isolated computer, we can imagine each mind as a node in a vast distributed system. Viewing (...) human cognition through the lens of distributed systems motivates new questions about how humans share computation, when it makes sense to do so, and how we can build institutions to facilitate collaboration. (shrink)

Nursing is at the same time a vocation, a profession and a job. By nature, nursing is a moral endeavor, and being a ‘good nurse’ is an issue and an aspiration for professionals. The aim of our qualitative research project carried out with 18 nurse teachers at a university nursing school in Brazil was to identify the ethical image of nursing. In semistructured interviews the participants were asked to choose one of several pictures, to justify their choice and explain what (...) they meant by an ethical nurse. Five different perspectives were revealed: good nurses fulfill their duties correctly; they are proactive patient advocates; they are prepared and available to welcome others as persons; they are talented, competent, and carry out professional duties excellently; and they combine authority with power sharing in patient care. The results point to a transition phase from a historical introjection of religious values of obedience and service to a new sense of a secular, proactive, scientific and professional identity. (shrink)

Актуальність теми дослідження зумовлена потребою сучасних реалій творити нові цінності, які є засобом самовираження людини, та створювати запити соціально-етичної практики саме через розуміння етико-філософських аспектів критичного раціоналізму. У цьому контексті етичне виховання формує життєво-ціннісні орієнтації особистості, що є досить важливим аспектом сучасних реалій. У статті розкрито питання творчого підходу до основних етичних цінностей, які потрібно включити у процес пізнання, в якому належить досягнути єдності знання про суще і належне як однієї зі змістовних характеристик сучасної етики. Водночас, емпірична методологія критичного раціоналізму (...) дає можливість з урахуванням нової фалібілістичної логіки процесу пізнання визначити раціоналістичну співвіднесеність сущого і належного. Показано, що сучасні філософсько-методологічні системи призначені для формування в етиці ціннісно-зорієнтованого знання, яке насамперед має набути статус раціонально-обґрунтованого, щоб нести у собі не абстрактні морально-імперативні нормативи, а цілісно-змістовні аксіологічні елементи наукової теорії. Доцільність її постійно зростає, тому що здійснює на засадах критичного раціоналізму методологічний та раціональний підхід до розв’язання етичних питань, які можуть бути досліджені і пояснені не догматично, а планомірно і раціонально. Водночас уточнено, що критичний раціоналізм як науковий підхід і спосіб філософського мислення має головним своїм завданням на нових емпіричних засадах (порівняно з кантівським трактуванням його місця в гносеології) формувати нову методологію етики як науки, що трансформується в етичну наукову теорію. (shrink)

The purpose of the study is to develop methodological recommendations for strategic planning of the development of enterprises in the sphere of material and technical supply of agriculture on the basis of the theoretical provisions of strategic management. The article focuses on the specifics of the considered wholesale sector, certain aspects of the marketing strategy of enterprises in this area, the recommended parameters of the customer survey, the possibilities of using the balanced scorecard and the justification of the economic feasibility (...) of the planned activities. The scientific novelty of the work carried out consists in identifying the features of developing a strategy for wholesalers of agrochemical products and forming an appropriate methodological complex. As a result, various aspects of substantiating strategic directions of development were demonstrated using specific examples and the advantages of measures for their implementation were argued. (shrink)

Cet article présente une approche quantitative appliquée à la concurrence suffixale dans la formation des adjectifs dénominaux en russe. Le but est, dans un premier temps, d’étudier les adjectifs de haute et basse fréquence et d’établir les propriétés phonologiques, morphologiques et sémantiques des noms de base qui déterminent le choix entre les suffixes -n- et -sk- dans les deux ensembles de données grâce à des méthodes statistiques. Dans un second temps, l’objectif est de mesurer à quel point la connaissance des (...) particularités des adjectifs de haute fréquence est applicable pour prédire le suffixe des adjectifs issus des basses fréquences. (shrink)

Is it possible to explicate tolerant principles in the philosophy-political discourse of Kant? It seems the answer to this question is positive. And it is the philosophical project of Kant “Perpetual Peace”, which is the most representative in this respect, for it is based on the principles of tolerance. This project is included in ethic-legal (liberal) system and is connected with such notions as civil society, legal state, duty, moral law. Tolerance exists, on the one hand, as a result of (...) moral effort and choice, and on the other, as legal obligation. In Kantian conception tolerance appears as a multi-aspect phenomenon: firstly, as a natural deposit of the human race, developing as a result of the influence of antagonistic nature of the human society; secondly, as a demand of the moral law; thirdly, as a means of peace attaining; fourthly, as a principle of peaceful state, a universal civic alliance and eternal peace. The dynamic development of the world society, the acceleration of processes of globalization and intercultural communication dictate new strategies of the world development, make the problem of political responsibility the topic of today. According to Kant’s logic, it is necessary to be tolerant in the modern world. (shrink)

Vaesen suggests that motor control is not among the primary origins of the uniqueness of human tool use. However, recent findings show that cognitive processes involved in control of human limb movements may be much more sophisticated than it was believed previously. The sophistication of movement control may substantially contribute to the uniqueness of humans in tool use.

Student academic dishonesty is a pervasive problem for universities all over the world. The development of innovative practices and interventions for decreasing dishonest behaviour requires understanding factors influencing academic dishonesty. Previous research showed that personal, environmental, and situational factors affect dishonest behaviour at a university. The set of factors and the strength of their influence can differ across countries. There is a lack of research on factors affecting student dishonesty in Russia. A sample of 15,159 undergraduate students from eight Russian (...) highly selective universities was surveyed to understand what factors influence their decision to engage in dishonest behaviour. Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour was employed to explain dishonest behaviour among students. The explained variance in the engagement in academic dishonesty equals 48% in the model for the full sample, and reaches 69% in the model for one of the considered institutions. The major findings of this study were: subjective norms appeared to dominate as the strongest predictor of academic dishonesty across the Russian universities; perceived behavioural control, appeared to be positively related to the dishonest behaviour. In the majority of universities, this factor was found to be insignificant. This finding indicates a specific feature of Russian students’ an ethical decision-making process discussed in the last part of the paper. (shrink)

In this paper we aim to think systematically about, formulate, and begin addressing some of the challenges to applying theories of moral responsibility to behaviors shaped by a particular subset of unsettling psychological complexities: namely, implicit biases.

In this article, we address the case of self-tracking as a practice in which two meaningful backgrounds (physical world and technological infrastructure) play an important role as the spatial dimension of human practices. Using a (post)phenomenological approach, we show how quantification multiplies backgrounds, while at the same time generating data about the user. As a result, we can no longer speak of a unified background of human activity, but of multiple dimensions of this background, which, additionally, is perceived as having (...) no pivotal role in the process, often being hidden, situated beyond human consciousness, or taken for granted. Consequently, the phenomenological experience of the background turns into a hermeneutic practice focused on the interpretation of representations and descriptions. By adopting a (post)phenomenological approach, we show the problems and limitations of quantification of human activities occurring in self-tracking and the theoretical problems associated with the scheme of human-technology relations. (shrink)

Source: Author: Natalia Kabus The article shows the relevance of activity-based approach usage as methodological basis of prospective social workers’ training to sustainable development of social groups. It is proved that future experts’ training in this direction is important both for Ukraine and other countries. There have been revealed the types of activities, which provide the development of personality and social groups’ subjectivity, their formation as the subjects of life and responsible social subjects that is essentail condition and indicator (...) of their sustainable development. It has been emphasized that activity-based approach is the basis for the development of the technology of prospective social workers’ training to sustainable development of social groups, which provides organization and management of this process as well as ensures gradual moving of prospective social workers to the level of self-management. There also has been substantiated necessity of the subjective and action approach usage which implementation ensures the development of subjective readiness of various social groups’ representatives to individual and joint socially valuable actions that is essentail indicator of their sustainable development. ]]>. (shrink)

Natalia Carrillo and Tarja Knuuttila claim that there are two traditions of thinking about idealization offering almost opposite views on their functioning and epistemic status. While one tradition views idealizations as epistemic deficiencies, the other one highlights the epistemic benefits of idealization. Both of them treat idealizations as deliberate misrepresentations, however. They then argue for an artifactual account of idealization, comparing it to the traditional accounts of idealization, and exemplifying it through the Hodgkin and Huxley model of the nerve (...) impulse. From the artifactual perspective, the epistemic benefits and deficiencies introduced by idealization frequently come in a package due to the way idealization draws together different resources in model construction. Accordingly, idealization tends to be holistic in that it is not often easily attributable to some specific parts of the model. They conclude that the artifactual approach offers a unifying view into idealization in that it is able to recover several basic philosophical insights motivating both the deficiency and epistemic benefit accounts, while being simultaneously detached from the idea of distortion by misrepresentation. (shrink)

This article analyses the determinants associated with the use of the Integrated Report as a corporate reporting model for sustainability information. IRs provide information regarding the use and interdependence of different company resources. The previous literature has identified determinants behind the presentation of IRs at the country level as well as at the company level. Our work contributes to the literature by using a novel statistical approach that addresses the likelihood of the non-independence of data: companies in the same country (...) are more similar to one another than are companies from different countries. Our results confirm significant inter-country variance, which may be partially explained by the existence of specific regulations and the individualism vs. collectivism dimension. Although we confirm the effect of company-level determinants, our results do not support the role of specific variables tested as determinants. (shrink)

As is well know, one of the most impressive mentalities of the Middle Ages was that of scholastic thought. The scholastic, in its true sense, must be understood as a particular type of didactics used to understand the Holy Scriptures and doctrines of the faith. Nevertheless it was specifically the modus operandi of the masters of the medieval universities. It reached its zenith in the 13th century thanks, fundamentally, to two simultaneous phenomena: the return to the West of Aristotle’s works (...) and the creation of the University. However, this forma mentis had already begun to develop in the works of several previous thinkers, perhaps the most significant of which being Sic et Non, by Peter Abelard. Without claiming to be exhaustive, this article will focus on the methodological principles that Abelard introduces in the prologue of his work. This will then allow us to compare the substance of the rupture with, and renovation of, previous thinking as well as to emphasise the contributions that so intimately link it to the first scholastic. (shrink)

The existence of embodied communication in humans places them among other living systems and helps to differentiate sign patterns that are common to all bioforms from those that are peculiarly human. Despite the fact that the biological roots of communication have been proven, the understanding of human forms of discourse is still far from being clarified. The main question remains: when and why did humans acquire the ability to exchange messages via speech? My thesis is that it became possible only (...) after humans made a shift from on-line to off-line interaction and learned to communicate in the interpersonal mode via externalized analog codes that constitute the various forms of human culture. (shrink)

"Vivimos en un mundo en el cual la ciencia tiene un lugar protagónico tanto en nuestra vida cotidiana como en aspectos alejados de ella para nuestra percepción pero que, aun así, impactan en la realidad que vivimos. La propuesta de estas páginas es recorrer algunos interrogantes sobre aquello que llamamos ciencia, partiendo desde esa misma problematización, y sobre las vías posibles para entenderla.Si bien los objetos que aborda este libro no están exentos de complejidad se procura mantener un lenguaje llano (...) y ameno que permita el mayor alcance posible de su propuesta." --Descripción del editor. (shrink)

The study deals with the communicative interaction between the author, the hero, the text, the reader in a postmodern novel. A similar and ambiguous reality, on the one hand, sometimes led to the subjectivist hypertrophy, absolutizing the author’s world view, and at times minimized and devaluated the author’s identity, on the other. Therefore, from the end of the 1990s the ways of expressing author’s “Self” changed dramatically, which directly affected the means of creating a hero in the contemporary Ukrainian literature. (...) An important place in the communicative literary model was occupied by the text as an independent semantic unit and the reader as an interpreter of the text. The specifics of deploying the dialog between the author and the hero point to the transformation of their functions in the Ukrainian postmodern novel. Considering the statement of the death of the author proclaimed by R. Barthes, the former stops being the main holistic text creator, thus rather becoming its product and the way of expression. The author, the hero and the text have a certain integrity aimed at the interpretative game with the recipient, who diffuses the newly created semantic integrity into a diversity of meanings. (shrink)

У статті визначено економічний зміст механізму стимулювання соціальної відповідальності підприємства, розроблена концепція його вдосконалення. Сформульовано мету й завдання запропонованого механізму, обґрунтовано принципи його формування. Розроблено інструменти механізму стимулювання соціальної відповідальності підприємства і критерії оцінки його ефективності. Визначено напрями реалізації механізму стимулювання соціальної відповідальності підприємств.

This article examines the conceptualisation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of mining multinationals (MNCs) in Argentina. It explores the suitability of CSR for addressing social, environmental and economic issues associated with mining in the country. The study is based on interviews with four stakeholder groups in the country: government, civil society, international financial organisations, and mining industry. These are analysed using content and interpretative techniques and supplemented by the content analysis of secondary data from headquarters of mining (...) MNCs. Using the concept of corporate social responsibility orientation (CSRO), the study contrasts the perceptions of major stakeholders and examines adaptation of mining companies’ CSRO to local context. It reveals that the CSRO of mining managers in Argentina differs from CSRO developed by global headquarters; and in Argentina companies “negotiate” economic, environmental and legal dimensions of CSR with the government. Although companies “negotiate” philanthropic responsibilities with the communities, ethical responsibilities are defined by the headquarters and not negotiated locally. The analysis suggests that environmental duties are the critical element of CSR in the mining sector in Argentina. This study treats environment as a separate dimension of corporate responsibility defined as to do “what is safe for the environment”. (shrink)

This study examines whether private information exchange between institutional investors and public companies in engagement dialogs on sustainability issues improves the publicly disclosed measurements of the target company’s financial and non-financial performance and transparency. It uses a unique dataset containing 326 private reports related to environmental, social, and anti-corruption recommendations to address material incidents among publicly traded MSCI World Index portfolio companies of Nordic institutional investors. The results indicate that target companies appear to have similar values with matched companies on (...) sustainability performance and transparency ratings in the 3 years following the initiation of private reporting. Unexpected sustainability incidents are subsequently reflected in the next year’s fall in the market value of target companies relative to MSCI World Index. This paper provides empirical evidence for the legitimacy-based provision of private sustainability information used in a larger disclosure system of public companies. (shrink)