El artículo investiga los fundamentos racistas del autoritarismo brasileño a través del análisis de la obra de Oliveira Viana. En primer lugar, se desarrolla la idea de “decantación blanca de la teoría social”, fenómeno por el cual la blancura separa y desecha la crítica al racismo de un determinado autor, depurando su pensamiento. Luego, con base en las contribuciones de Clóvis Moura y Michel Foucault, analizamos cómo los argumentos de Viana sobre el “tipo racial” local y el “pueblo” como (...) objeto de ciencia representan un punto de inflexión para la ciencia brasileña. A través del conocimiento gerencial de la población, tales concepciones vinculan decisivamente “raza” y administración pública, constituyendo la soberanía como biopolítica y la arquitectura institucional del Estado como gestión racial de la vida y la muerte. Se concluye que el pensamiento de Viana fue estratégico en el tratamiento de los dilemas de la blanquitud brasileña frente a los impasses resultantes de la posabolición y las transformaciones políticas y económicas globales de principios del siglo XX. (shrink)

We often remember in the company of others. In particular, we routinely collaborate with friends, family, or colleagues to remember shared experiences. But surprisingly, in the experimental collaborative recall paradigm, collaborative groups remember less than their potential, an effect termed collaborative inhibition. Rajaram and Pereira-Pasarin (2010) argued that the effects of collaboration on recall are determined by “pre-collaborative” factors. We studied the role of 2 pre-collaborative factors—shared encoding and group relationship—in determining the costs and benefits of collaborative recall. In Experiment (...) 1, we compared groups of strangers who encoded alone versus together, before collaborating to recall. In Experiment 2, we compared groups of friends who encoded alone versus together, before collaborating to recall. We found that shared encoding abolished collaborative inhibition in both Experiments 1 and 2. But prior relationship did not influence collaborative inhibition over and above the effects of shared encoding. Regardless of encoding condition, collaborative group recall contained fewer intrusions than nominal group recall, and these benefits continued in subsequent individual recall. Our findings demonstrate that pre-collaborative factors—specifically shared encoding—have flow-on benefits for group and individual recall amount, but not recall accuracy. We discuss these findings in terms of self- and cross-cuing in collaborative recall. (shrink)

BackgroundPreprint usage is growing rapidly in the life sciences; however, questions remain on the relative quality of preprints when compared to published articles. An objective dimension of quality that is readily measurable is completeness of reporting, as transparency can improve the reader’s ability to independently interpret data and reproduce findings.MethodsIn this observational study, we initially compared independent samples of articles published in bioRxiv and in PubMed-indexed journals in 2016 using a quality of reporting questionnaire. After that, we performed paired comparisons (...) between preprints from bioRxiv to their own peer-reviewed versions in journals.ResultsPeer-reviewed articles had, on average, higher quality of reporting than preprints, although the difference was small, with absolute differences of 5.0% [95% CI 1.4, 8.6] and 4.7% [95% CI 2.4, 7.0] of reported items in the independent samples and paired sample comparison, respectively. There were larger differences favoring peer-reviewed articles in subjective ratings of how clearly titles and abstracts presented the main findings and how easy it was to locate relevant reporting information. Changes in reporting from preprints to peer-reviewed versions did not correlate with the impact factor of the publication venue or with the time lag from bioRxiv to journal publication.ConclusionsOur results suggest that, on average, publication in a peer-reviewed journal is associated with improvement in quality of reporting. They also show that quality of reporting in preprints in the life sciences is within a similar range as that of peer-reviewed articles, albeit slightly lower on average, supporting the idea that preprints should be considered valid scientific contributions. (shrink)

We often remember in groups, yet research on collaborative recall finds “collaborative inhibition”: Recalling with others has costs compared to recalling alone. In related paradigms, remembering with others introduces errors into recall. We compared costs and benefits of two collaboration procedures—turn taking and consensus. First, 135 individuals learned a word list and recalled it alone (Recall 1). Then, 45 participants in three-member groups took turns to recall, 45 participants in three-member groups reached a consensus, and 45 participants recalled alone but (...) were analysed as three-member nominal groups (Recall 2). Finally, all participants recalled alone (Recall 3). Both turn-taking and consensus groups demonstrated the usual pattern of costs during collaboration and benefits after collaboration in terms of recall completeness. However, consensus groups, and not turn-taking groups, demonstrated clear benefits in terms of recall accuracy, both during and after collaboration. Consensus groups engaged in beneficial group source-monitoring processes. Our findings challenge assumptions about the negative consequences of social remembering. (shrink)

The basis of science is the hypothetico-deductive method and the recording of experiments in sufficient detail to enable reproducibility. We report the development of Robot Scientist "Adam," which advances the automation of both. Adam has autonomously generated functional genomics hypotheses about the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and experimentally tested these hypotheses by using laboratory automation. We have confirmed Adam's conclusions through manual experiments. To describe Adam's research, we have developed an ontology and logical language. The resulting formalization involves over 10,000 different (...) research units in a nested treelike structure, 10 levels deep, that relates the 6.6 million biomass measurements to their logical description. This formalization describes how a machine contributed to scientific knowledge. (shrink)

We describe the rationale for an application ontology covering the domain of human body fluids that is designed to facilitate representation, reuse, sharing and integration of diagnostic, physiological, and biochemical data, We briefly review the Blood Ontology (BLO), Saliva Ontology (SALO) and Kidney and Urinary Pathway Ontology (KUPO) initiatives. We discuss the methods employed in each, and address the project of using them as starting point for a unified body fluids ontology resource. We conclude with a description of how the (...) body fluids ontology initiative may provide support to basic and translational science. (shrink)

We report our efforts to assess the skill of contemplating and evaluating argumentation. An adaptive forced-choice instrument was developed and administered to 6th grade students, 7th grade students who had participated in a year-long intervention that successfully strengthened their argumentation production skills, and expert arguers. The instrument was sensitive enough to detect differences in skill level across these groups. Despite their gains in production skill, however, 7th graders showed only modest superiority over the untrained 6th graders and performance well below (...) that of experts. Meta-level demands involved in evaluation but not present in production, we propose, may make evaluation more difficult. (shrink)

Media exposure can shape audience perceptions surrounding novel innovations, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and could influence whether they share information about AI with others online. This study examines the indirect association between exposure to AI in the media and information sharing about AI online. We surveyed 567 US citizens aged 18 and older in November 2020, several months after the release of Open AI’s transformative GPT-3 model. Results suggest that AI media exposure was related to online information sharing through (...) psychological proximity to the impacts of AI and positive AI performance expectancy in serial mediation. This positive indirect association became stronger the more an individual perceived society to be changing due to new technology. Results imply that public exposure to AI in the media could significantly impact public understanding of AI, and prompt further information sharing online. (shrink)

Comparing Averroes' and Hegel's positions on the relation between philosophy and religion, this book explores the relation between faith and reason in a medieval Islamic and a modern Christian context. Through an in-depth analysis of Averroes' and Hegel's views on philosophical and religious language and method, Belo presents new insights into their perspectives on the relation between philosophical knowledge and religious knowledge. In addition to discussing the parallels and differences of their positions, Belo explores particular works which have not yet (...) been analysed by modern scholarship. (shrink)

Studies of adolescents and young-adults suggest that deliberative dialogue, a form of consensus-seeking argumentation, leads to stronger learning outcomes than persuasive dialogue. However, this research has not been informed by an analysis of dialogue among more experienced arguers. In the present study, we compare the deliberative and persuasive dialogues of novice and experienced arguers to better understand the difference between these two forms of discourse at differing levels of argumentative expertise. Our results confirm theoretical distinctions between deliberation and persuasion. Results (...) also suggest that greater experience in argumentation is associated with a richer array of argumentative purposes, producing more cohesive, intersubjective and dialectically relevant dialogue. The implications of these findings for learning are discussed. (shrink)

The use of algorithms and automated systems, especially those leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), has been exploding in the public sector, but their use has been controversial. Ethicists, public advocates, and legal scholars have debated whether biases in AI systems should bar their use or if the potential net benefits, especially toward traditionally disadvantaged groups, justify even greater expansion. While this debate has become voluminous, no scholars of which we are aware have conducted experiments with the groups affected by these policies (...) about how they view the trade-offs. We conduct a set of two conjoint experiments with a high-quality sample of 973 Americans who identify as Black or African American in which we randomize the levels of inter-group disparity in outcomes and the net effect on such adverse outcomes in two highly controversial contexts: pre-trial detention and traffic camera ticketing. The results suggest that respondents are willing to tolerate some level of disparity in outcomes in exchange for certain net improvements for their community. These results turn this debate from an abstract ethical argument into an evaluation of political feasibility and policy design based on empirics. (shrink)

Tendo em vista a emergência do pensamento ecológico em tempos do atual cenário antropocênico, o presente artigo procura refletir acerca da relação entre os seres vivos e o capitalismo, de modo a corroborar um conflito termodinâmico que permeia entre eles, tendo a entropia como mediação. Deste modo, constitui-se, por um lado, os sistemas abertos, que são capazes de trocar matéria e energia com o meio e, assim, esfriar seu sistema, de modo a impedir ou desacelerar sua autodestruição entrópica; e por (...) outro, os sistemas isolados, que não trocam energia e matéria com o meio e, por isso, alimentam e antecipam a morte térmica do seu sistema. Sendo assim, apresentam-se dois cenários antagônicos sobre a entropia: primeiramente, parte-se do ponto de vista da entropia enquanto elemento evolucionário da vida, visto que é responsável pela autossustentação de organismos vivos, e nesta atividade, mantém o fluxo entrópico entre o sistema e o meio; e, inversamente, coloca-se sobre perspectiva do caráter antropocênico da entropia, que, a partir do capitalismo, acelera a flecha entrópica do tempo e desenvolve, portanto, a luta pela existência entre o sistema econômico e o ecossistema. Neste sentido, fala-se, no presente trabalho, sobre a tensão entre os dois sistemas e sua relação com o colapso ambiental.Palavras-chave: Sistemas; Termodinâmica; Biosfera; Economia; Entropia. (shrink)

Este artículo busca cuestionar dos criterios presentes tradicionalmente en la teoría de la justicia y la toma de decisiones en la crisis medioambiental: 1) La posibilidad de la imparcialidad moral y 2) La dicotomía ser humano/naturaleza. Se sostiene que el principio de parcialidad moral y la interdependencia con el medioambiente permitirán un desarrollo de políticas favorables a la naturaleza. Se argumenta que el cambio climático permite reconsiderar nuestras relaciones con la naturaleza y que la ética del cuidado ambiental, conocida como (...) ecosofía, apela a un encuentro con la naturaleza más que a una distancia. Finalmente, se plantea que no es posible ser imparciales en la toma de decisiones que afectan a la naturaleza, ya que esta participa activamente en las decisiones sobre ella. La relevancia de este escrito radica en la reflexión y reformulación de las preocupaciones éticas contemporáneas para promover una relación de cuidado con la naturaleza. (shrink)

La temática de este artículo se centra en la importancia, tanto ontológica como política, de un concepto esencial en el pensamiento de Gilles Deleuze: el «Porvenir». El porvenir deleuzeano no consiste estrictamente en el futuro ya que si este último concepto apela a una temporalidad cronológica, el de porvenir hace intervenir el devenir inmanente y una coexistencia con el presente que es necesaria también en política y en arte en orden a plantear el concepto, también deleuzeano, de «un pueblo por (...) venir». (shrink)

De natureza qualitativo-interpretativista, nosso estudo objetiva relacionar a educação linguística crítico-decolonial, bem como nossas experiências de vida e formação com as praxiologias freirianas. Redigimos narrativas autobiográficas a partir do questionamento: Como se deu seu primeiro encontro com a práxis freiriana? Produzimos, ainda, uma narrativa biográfica de Paulo, em bricolagem, com dados encontrados em cinco de suas obras. Como resultado de nossos esforços, acreditamos que este texto fortaleceu nosso sonho de vivenciar uma educação pública de qualidade, que encoraje mais sujeitos na (...) luta em defesa dos/as oprimidos/as pela raça, gênero e condição social. (shrink)

The aim of unpaid volunteer classroom assistants is to give extra support to children learning to read. The impact of using volunteers to improve children's acquisition of reading skills is unknown. To assess whether volunteers are effective in improving children's reading, we undertook a systematic review of all relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs). An exhaustive search of all the main electronic databases was carried out (i.e. BEI, PsycInfo, ASSIA, PAIS, SSCI, ERIC, SPECTR, SIGLE). We identified eight experimental studies, of which (...) seven were RCTs. One of the RCTs was excluded because it did not meet the inclusion criteria. One RCT randomised intact classes and the other six studies randomised individual children and could therefore be included in a meta-analysis. All of the trials were fairly small, with the largest including 99 pupils. Four of the trials showed a positive outcome, while three showed a negative effect and the remaining study was equivocal. We pooled the four most homogeneous trials. The pooled data indicated an effect size of 0.19, which was not statistically significant ( p = 0.54, 95% confidence interval = -0.31 to 0.68). Overall, volunteering appeared to have a small effect on reading outcomes. However, the confidence intervals were wide, which could conceal a potentially large benefit or a harmful effect. Thus, more good quality RCTs are required in order to provide more conclusive evidence. (shrink)

As robots are deployed in a widening range of situations, it is necessary to develop a clearer position about whether or not they can be trusted to make good moral decisions. In this paper, we take a realistic look at recent attempts to program and to train robots to develop some form of moral competence. Examples of implemented robot behaviours that have been described as 'ethical', or 'minimally ethical' are considered, although they are found to only operate in quite constrained (...) and limited application domains. There is a general recognition that current robots cannot be described as full moral agents, but it is less clear whether will always be the case. Concerns are raised about the insufficiently justified use of terms such as 'moral' and 'ethical' to describe the behaviours of robots that are often more related to safety considerations than to moral ones. Given the current state of the art, two possible responses are identified. The first involves continued efforts to develop robots that are capable of ethical behaviour. The second is to argue against, and to attempt to avoid, placing robots in situations that demand moral competence and an understanding of the surrounding social situation. There is something to be gained from both responses, but it is argued here that the second is the more responsible choice. (shrink)

A life in context -- Traces on parchment -- From the world to God -- The crisis of christendom -- Beyond christendom.

This paper explores the relationship between dignity and robot care for older people. It highlights the disquiet that is often expressed about failures to maintain the dignity of vulnerable older people, but points out some of the contradictory uses of the word ‘dignity’. Certain authors have resolved these contradictions by identifying different senses of dignity; contrasting the inviolable dignity inherent in human life to other forms of dignity which can be present to varying degrees. The Capability Approach (CA) is introduced (...) as a different but tangible account of what it means to live a life worthy of human dignity. It is used here as a framework for the assessment of the possible effects of eldercare robots on human dignity. The CA enables the identification of circumstances in which robots could enhance dignity by expanding the set of capabilities that are accessible to frail older people. At the same time, it is also possible within its framework to identify ways in which robots could have a negative impact, by impeding the access of older people to essential capabilities. It is concluded that the CA has some advantages over other accounts of dignity, but that further work and empirical study is needed in order to adapt it to the particular circumstances and concerns of those in the latter part of their lives. (shrink)

The growing proportion of elderly people in society, together with recent advances in robotics, makes the use of robots in elder care increasingly likely. We outline developments in the areas of robot applications for assisting the elderly and their carers, for monitoring their health and safety, and for providing them with companionship. Despite the possible benefits, we raise and discuss six main ethical concerns associated with: (1) the potential reduction in the amount of human contact; (2) an increase in the (...) feelings of objectification and loss of control; (3) a loss of privacy; (4) a loss of personal liberty; (5) deception and infantilisation; (6) the circumstances in which elderly people should be allowed to control robots. We conclude by balancing the care benefits against the ethical costs. If introduced with foresight and careful guidelines, robots and robotic technology could improve the lives of the elderly, reducing their dependence, and creating more opportunities for social interaction. (shrink)

Nos tempos modernos, a doutrina do direito natural tem sido negada por muitos autores. Não foi assim entre os medievais e entre os antigos. Tomás de Aquino, em diversas partes de sua obra, trata do tema e mostra como a própria racionalidade do homem o leva a descobrir algo que está insito no mais intimo de sua natureza.

Cualquier descripción de la emergencia de significado en sistemas biológicos y artificiales debe apoyarse en un marco teórico que haga posible entender la naturaleza y la dinámica de tales procesos. En este artículo se toma la filosofía pragmática del signo de Charles S. Peirce, que asociamos aquí con el estructuralismo jerárquico de Stanley Salthe, como la base correcta para desarrollar ese marco conceptual. Se formulan algunas preguntas que consideramos fundamentales para asegurar una aplicación precisa de la noción de emergencia en (...) el contexto de las investigaciones acerca de sistemas semióticos. (shrink)

In this paper, we intend to discuss if and in what sense semiosis (meaning process, cf. C. S. Peirce) can be regarded as an "emergent" process in semiotic systems. It is not our problem here to answer when or how semiosis emerged in nature. As a prerequisite for the very formulation of these problems, we are rather interested in discussing the conditions which should be fulfilled for semiosis to be characterized as an emergent process. The first step in this work (...) is to summarize a systematic analysis of the variety of emergence theories and concepts, elaborated by Achim Stephan. Along the summary of this analysis, we pose fundamental questions that have to be answered in order to ascribe a precise meaning to the term "emergence" in the context of an understanding of semiosis. After discussing a model for explaining emergence based on Salthe's hierarchical structuralism, which considers three levels at a time in a semiotic system, we present some tentative answers to those questions. (shrink)

An examination of the post-Darwinian history of biological taxonomy reveals an implicit assumption that the definitions of taxon names consist of lists of organismal traits. That assumption represents a failure to grant the concept of evolution a central role in taxonomy, and it causes conflicts between traditional methods of defining taxon names and evolutionary concepts of taxa. Phylogenetic definitions of taxon names (de Queiroz and Gauthier 1990) grant the concept of common ancestry a central role in the definitions of (...) taxon names and thus constitute an important step in the development of phylogenetic taxonomy. By treating phylogenetic relationships rather than organismal traits as necessary and sufficient properties, phylogenetic definitions remove conflicts between the definitions of taxon names and evolutionary concepts of taxa. The general method of definition represented by phylogenetic definitions of clade names can be applied to the names of other kinds of composite wholes, including populations and biological species. That the names of individuals (composite wholes) can be defined in terms of necessary and sufficient properties provides the foundation for a synthesis of seemingly incompatible positions held by contemporary individualists and essentialists concerning the nature of taxa and the definitions of taxon names. (shrink)

Looking at proof theory as an attempt to ‘code’ the general pattern of the logical steps of a mathematical proof, the question of what kind of rules can make the meaning of a logical connective completely explicit does not seem to have been answered satisfactorily. The lambda calculus seems to have been more coherent simply because the use of ‘λ’ together with its projection 'apply' is specified by what can be called a 'reduction' rule: β‐conversion. We attempt to analyse the (...) role of proof rules, making use of a set of formal rules designed to capture both the notions of proof theory and those of the lambda‐calculus: Martin‐Löf's Intuitionistic Type Theory. (shrink)

An examination of the post-Darwinian history of biological taxonomy reveals an implicit assumption that the definitions of taxon names consist of lists of organismal traits. That assumption represents a failure to grant the concept of evolution a central role in taxonomy, and it causes conflicts between traditional methods of defining taxon names and evolutionary concepts of taxa. Phylogenetic definitions of taxon names (de Queiroz and Gauthier 1990) grant the concept of common ancestry a central role in the definitions of (...) taxon names and thus constitute an important step in the development of phylogenetic taxonomy. By treating phylogenetic relationships rather than organismal traits as necessary and sufficient properties, phylogenetic definitions remove conflicts between the definitions of taxon names and evolutionary concepts of taxa. The general method of definition represented by phylogenetic definitions of clade names can be applied to the names of other kinds of composite wholes, including populations and biological species. That the names of individuals (composite wholes) can be defined in terms of necessary and sufficient properties provides the foundation for a synthesis of seemingly incompatible positions held by contemporary individualists and essentialists concerning the nature of taxa and the definitions of taxon names. (shrink)