Children with developmental dyslexia and at its risk have difficulties in the acquisition of foreign languages, especially non-transparent English. The problems of such pupils concern various aspects of the language system but in particular relate to the ability to read and spell. The research literature dedicated to effective preventative methods and dyslexia treatment suggests that both children with dyslexia and at its risk need phonological awareness training and multi-sensory learning. It is also known that prevention and early treatment is more (...) effective than therapeutic intervention used in older students. Experts in foreign language acquisition recommend that children have contact with longer oral texts and live language. A recently-published report on the methods of English language teaching in Polish primary schools shows that the lessons conducted there do not realise the majority of the aforementioned recommendations. As a consequence, they do not serve any pupils including those with dyslexia and at its risk. A method which meets most of the demands mentioned above is “The Good Start Method for English”. It is a new program of teaching the English language designed for five to seven-year-olds, which at the same time ensures support for the psychomotor development of children, leading to acceleration in learning progress. (shrink)

A theoretical analysis of the concept of lifetime and mean life of unstable elementary particles is presented. New analytic formulas for lifetime and mean life as a function of decay width Γ and the mass of unstable particle are derived for Breit-Wigner and Matthews-Salam energy distributions. It is demonstrated that, for unstable particles with a larger width or decay energy threshold, the deviation from the generally accepted mean life τ m =Γ −1 is significant. The behavior of the decay law (...) P(t) for small times is analyzed, and it is shown that the Breit-Wigner distribution violates the condition P(t = 0) = 0, whereas the Matthews-Salam distribution satisfies it. (shrink)

In this paper we address the question of what determines the content of our conscious episodes of thinking, considering recent claims that phenomenal character individuates thought contents. We present one prominent way for defenders of phenomenal intentionality to develop that view and then examine ‘sensory inner speech views’, which provide an alternative way of accounting for thought-content determinacy. We argue that such views fare well with inner speech thinking but have problems accounting for unsymbolized thinking. Within this dialectic, we present (...) an account of the nature of unsymbolized thinking that accords with and can be seen as a continuation of the activity of inner speech, while offering a way of explaining thought-content determinacy in terms of linguistic structures and representations. (shrink)

Food democracy is a concept with growing influence in food research. Food democracy deals with how actors may regain democratic control over the food system enabling its sustainable transformation. Following multi-level perspective framework's connotations, food democracy research has so far mainly focused on the niche level of the food system. An integrative approach that includes the perspectives of both the regime and the niche is still missing. This study addresses this research gap and proposes a new conceptual framework for food (...) democracy that includes actors from the niche and the regime level. Furthermore, we apply our conceptual framework to the urban food system of Vienna to explore the deeper meaning and practice of food democracy. Finally, we have conducted semi-structured interviews with actors at niche level and regime level within Vienna’s urban food system. Findings from this research broaden the perspective on food democracy and illustrate actors’ contributions at niche and regime level such as promoting organic food, re-localizing food provision, and procuring environmentally sustainable public food. Barriers to food democracy were also identified, e.g.: actors’ self-enhancement values, market-orientation, and capitalist alignment or lack of transparency. We conclude that actors at the niche and, to some extent, at the regime level may contribute to a process of on-going changes that fosters a transformation of established structures within the food system. (shrink)

Background: In the university context, assessing students’ attitude, knowledge and opinions when applying an innovative methodological approach to teach professional ethics becomes fundamental to know if the used approach is enough motivating for students. Research objective: To assess the effect of a blended-learning model, based on professional ethics and related to clinical practices, on physiotherapy students’ attitude, knowledge and opinions towards learning professional ethics. Research design and participants: A simple-blind clinical trial was performed (NLM identifier NCT03241693) (control group, n = (...) 64; experimental group, n = 65). Both groups followed clinical practices for 8 months. Control group performed a public exposition of a clinical case about professional ethics. By contrast, an 8-month blended-learning programme regarding professional ethics was worked out for experimental group. An online syllabus and online activities were elaborated, while face-to-face active participation techniques were performed to discuss ethical issues. Students’ attitudes, knowledge and opinions towards learning professional ethics were assessed. Ethical considerations: The study was approved by the University Ethic Committee of Human Research and followed the ethical principles according to the Declaration of Helsinki. Findings: After the programme, attitudes and knowledge towards learning professional ethics of experimental group students significantly improved, while no differences were observed in control group. Moreover, opinions reported an adequate extension of themes and temporization, importance of clinical practices and interest of topics. Case study method and role playing were considered as the most helpful techniques. Conclusion: The blended-learning programme proposed, based on professional ethics and related to clinical practices, improves physiotherapy students’ attitudes, knowledge and opinions towards learning professional ethics. (shrink)

This paper discusses the reach of ecclesiastical power in Hobbes' Leviathan, examining how the State acquires some of the roles traditionally played by the Church. I will first contextualize historically the ecclesiological debates on which Leviathan draws. Then, I will examine the essential role Hobbes assigns to the king in the governance of the church. Although Hobbes' political theology is often deemed atheist, in Leviathan the king becomes the institutional head of the Church. Moreover, he should establish a minimal Christian (...) creed to be shared by his subjects, in order to preserve religious peace among the different churches of his kingdom. (shrink)

For most interpreters of the philosopher from Rotterdam, his doctrine of tolerance is solely a consequence of his religious and moral doctrines. In this article, I intend to show that his doctrine rest on the political doctrine of indivisible sovereignty and on the strictest separation between political obedience and religious membership. Baylean tolerance is a political doctrine that allows the articulation between freedom of conscience (individual), minority confessions (private associations), and public religion (acknowledged as official).

Benito Jerónimo Feijoo, el representante más insigne de la filosofía española del siglo XVIII, ahormó un proyecto con importantísimas repercusiones en ámbitos como la ciencia, la política, la literatura, la economía, la teología o la sociedad. Ese compendio de la temprana o primera Ilustración que es el _Teatro crítico universal_ articuló una manera de situarse ante los problemas e inquietudes de su tiempo que llegó a numerosos espacios de debate, pero también de toma de decisiones. Gracias a la extraordinaria difusión (...) del _Teatro_ y de otras de sus obras en la península, en América y en partes de Europa, Feijoo ejerció una enorme influencia intelectual -una autoridad que posiblemente no haya logrado ningún otro autor posterior en lengua española-. Si este marco de reforma que propugnaba acabó logrando sus frutos en el último tercio del siglo XVIII es otro asunto, pero no cabe duda de que Feijoo fue -utilizando conscientemente un anacronismo- el intelectual público de su época. (shrink)

We argue that general intelligence, as presented in the target article, generates multiple distinct and non-equivalent characterisations. Clarifying this central concept is necessary for assessing Burkart et al.’s proposal that the cultural intelligence hypothesis is the best explanation for the evolution of general intelligence. We assess this claim by considering two characterisations of general intelligence presented in the article.

The concept of transformative experience (TE) has been widely explored by several disciplines from philosophy to neurobiology, and in different domains, from the spiritual to the educational one. This attitude has engendered heterogeneous models to explain this phenomenon. However, a consistent and clear understanding of this construct remains elusive. The aim of this work is to provide an initial comprehensive interdisciplinary, cross-domain, up-to-date, and integrated overview on the concept of TEs. Firstly, all the models and theories on TEs were reviewed (...) to extract and analyze TEs’ main components emerging from different disciplines. Then, this preliminary analysis was integrated with an in-depth examination of redundancies and particularities across domains and disciplines, to provide an integrated theoretical framework of TEs and a preliminary interdisciplinary operational definition of TEs. This examination, in turn, can help organize current research and theories, thus providing suggestions for operationalizing TEs as well as encouraging new interdisciplinary research endeavors. (shrink)

Although research has examined the role leaders may play in shaping job re-design behaviors among their subordinates, little is known about the way managers craft their jobs as compared to other employees. In two crosssectional studies we tested whether organizational rank affects the frequency of job crafting, and to what extent this relationship is mediated via perceived autonomy. Study 1 demonstrated that managers craft their jobs more frequently than non-managers by increasing structural job resources and seeking challenges at work. We (...) also showed that autonomy explains the relationship between organizational rank and the frequency of increasing structural and social job demands, as well as seeking challenges. However, managers did not craft their jobs by decreasing job demands more often than regular employees. In Study 2 we replicated this pattern of results, subsequently demonstrating that managers with shorter tenure use their autonomy to craft their jobs via decreasing job demands. We discuss the contributions and potential implications of these results. (shrink)

O artigo tem como objetivo avaliar a exploração nas redes sociais digitais sobre o tema cuidados com a saúde através de uma revisão sistêmica nas bases de dados Portal Capes e PUBMED. Os descritores usados foram Redes sociais digitais e informação em saúde; influencers e informações e saúde. Com esses descritores foram encontrados 74 resultados e foram subtraídos os artigos que não constavam no título as palavras redes sociais digitais e saúde, Instagram e saúde, influencers e saúde ou mídias sociais (...) e saúde. Além de serem excluídos os artigos que não apresentavam resumo ou que não tinham acesso aberto e artigos que não trazem relevância para a pesquisa. Na íntegra foram selecionados 9 artigos. Através da análise dos artigos selecionados foi possível concluir que as redes sociais quando utilizadas por escolas, instituições de saúde e profissionais, com a finalidade de promover educação em saúde obteve respostas positivas, no entanto, principalmente durante e após a pandemia, muitas narrativas e relatos falsos foram postados em redes sociais, gerando impactos negativos sobre os serviços de saúde. As redes sociais têm potencial para serem ferramentas eficazes na educação em saúde, desde que se tenha um controle maior dos conteúdos postados, e que possa unir a linguagem acessível ao conhecimento científico para benefício da população. (shrink)

Drawing on shared research experiences and collaborative projects, this book offers a broad and timely perspective on research on the hand and its current challenges. It especially emphasizes the interdisciplinary context in which researchers need to be trained in contemporary science. From language to psychology, from neurology to the social sciences, and from art to philosophy and religion, the chapters discuss various aspects involved in hand research and therapy. On the basis of concrete and validated case studies, they approach hand (...) function and gestures from different perspectives – not only neurological and medical, but also philosophical, evolutionary and anthropological. By highlighting the overlaps between different areas of research, the book seeks to foster better communication between researchers, and ultimately a better understanding of hand function and its recovery. It offers essential information and inspirations for students, researchers and practitioners in the fields of psychology, epistemology, bioengineering, neuroscience, anthropology and bioethics. (shrink)

La literatura sobre género y medio ambiente se ha desarrollado intensamente durante 30 años con enfoques y propósitos muy diversos. Más allá de los ecofeminismos clásicos, se han explorado recientemente las condiciones materiales del contexto que favorecen que las mujeres tengan una relación más directa con el medio y sus problemas. Estos análisis hacen evidente que las mujeres no son una categoría homogénea, sino que se encuentran ubicadas en diferentes situaciones, sometidas a una variedad de presiones sociales y motivadas por (...) distintas consideraciones. En este trabajo se argumenta que atender a esta diversidad es requisito para una comprensión más adecuada de los factores que influyen en la relación humana con sus medios naturales y para la identificación de campos y estrategias de acción. No obstante, la peculiar situación de cada mujer se desarrolla sobre el trasfondo de una ideología de género que resiste sutilmente los cambios sociales y los intentos de construcción de identidades individuales propias, por lo que se defiende asimismo la pertinencia del enfoque de género para dar cuenta de las actitudes y comportamientos ambientalistas. (shrink)

If well-designed, the results of a Randomised Clinical Trial can justify a causal claim between treatment and effect in the study population; however, additional information might be needed to carry over this result to another population. RCTs have been criticized exactly on grounds of failing to provide this sort of information Evidence, inference and enquiry. Oxford University Press, New York, 2011), as well as to black-box important details regarding the mechanisms underpinning the causal law instantiated by the RCT result. On (...) the other side, so-called In Silico Clinical Trials face the same criticisms addressed against standard modelling and simulation techniques, and cannot be equated to experiments Philosophy of molecular medicine: foundational issues in research and practice, Routledge, New York, 2017; Parker in Synthese 169:483–496, 2009; Parke in Philos Sci 81:516–536, 2014; Diez Roux in Am J Epidemiol 181:100–102, 2015 and related discussions in Frigg and Reiss in Synthese 169:593–613, 2009; Winsberg in Synthese 169:575–592, 2009; Beisbart and Norton in Int Stud Philos Sci 26:403–422, 2012). We undertake a formal analysis of both methods in order to identify their distinct contribution to causal inference in the clinical setting. Britton et al.’s study :E2098–E2105, 2013) on the impact of ion current variability on cardiac electrophysiology is used for illustrative purposes. We deduce that, by predicting variability through interpolation, ISCTs aid with problems regarding extrapolation of RCTs results, and therefore in assessing their external validity. Furthermore, ISCTs can be said to encode “thick” causal knowledge —as opposed to “thin” difference-making information inferred from RCTs. Hence, ISCTs and RCTs cannot replace one another but rather, they are complementary in that the former provide information about the determinants of variability of causal effects, while the latter can, under certain conditions, establish causality in the first place. (shrink)

This article presents a theoretical and analytical reflection on the issue of education and religion in advertising aimed at children. It describes distinctive features of postmodernity – immediacy, consumerism and secularization – as constitutive elements of our time and characterizes media as a sort of all-powerful being that channels, processes, produces and disseminates these postmodern attributes, while offering products that form and shape the way of life of Western society. The article goes on to analyze the content of two advertisements, (...) identifying in them the possible presence of an educational religious-theological discourse. It contends that there is an intrinsic relation between education and religion in advertising, one which strongly influences the learning, thinking and acting patterns of children through such practices as gaining power by what they consume and seeing consumption as a means to attain a more prominent position in this world. In advertising, forms of socialization are presented to children. Finally, it is suggested that one way to introduce and discuss advertisements in educational contexts is by reading and analyzing the narratives of advertising together with the children. (shrink)

El suicidio se ha convertido en una acuciante problemática social y de salud pública a nivel mundial. Particularmente en Argentina, en los últimos 25 años la mortalidad por suicidio se triplicó en la población joven y este tipo de defunciones se ha constituido en la segunda causa de muerte en la franja de 10 a 19 años. A partir de los datos que brinda la Encuesta Mundial de Salud Escolar, proyecto de la OMS, implementada en Argentina en 2012, se realiza (...) un abordaje respecto a la ideación y planificación de suicidio, así como a factores asociados al fenómeno en estudiantes entre 13 y 15 años. A partir de modelos de regresión logística, se analiza el efecto de factores de riesgo y factores protectores. Se observa que la exposición a factores de riesgo o a factores protectores efectivamente aumenta, en el caso de los primeros, o disminuye —en el caso de los segundos— el riesgo de experimentar un intento de suicidio. Además, cuando se analiza el término de relación condicional, se observa que el impacto de cada uno de ellos es diferente entre los varones y mujeres, siendo estas últimas, en general, las más vulnerables. Asimismo, que el efecto combinado de distintos factores puede potenciar el riesgo de experimentar un intento de suicidio. (shrink)

Although developmental dyslexia is frequently diagnosed in Poland, little knowledge of effective treatment for this disorder is available in Polish society. Remedial teachers for many years have applied traditional methods aimed at correction and compensation for affected cognitive functions and academic skills. Otherwise, although western therapies are regularly advertised in the media, their effectiveness has rarely been subject to scientific investigation. Since the assumptions underlying some approaches are not consistent with current understanding of cognitive function, they may attract negative expert (...) appraisal. Unfortunately, it seems that fashion in dyslexia therapy is resistant to rare expressions of criticism from the scientific community. The purpose of this article is to promote awareness about effective treatment for specific reading disorders. Teachers’ greater understanding in this area should help Polish dyslexic children and their parents, who may be confused by offers of misguided therapy and sharp business practise. It is hoped that this article will clarify the situation. In this review of modern English journal articles, focus is on remedial teaching of reading, and more specifically, support for dyslexic students experiencing difficulties in decoding. Here we are concerned only with therapy in alphabetic languages in which individual speech sounds correspond to letters. Analysis of articles from the last six years leads to the conclusion that the most effective therapy for the reading disorder is training in phonological awareness and consolidation of letter-sound knowledge. However, these skills should be practised in the context of reading. (shrink)