Background: Serious games have shown positive results in increasing motivation, adherence to treatment and strengthening the therapeutic alliance in multiple psychiatric disorders. In particular, patients with impulse control disorders and other disorders in which the patient suffers from inhibitory control deficits have been shown to benefit from serious games.Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and to evaluate the usability of a new serious videogame, e-Estesia. This serious videogame was designed to improve emotion regulation in patients (...) with gambling disorder. Preliminary results from a pilot sample are also reported.Method: A pilot sample of 26 patients undergoing treatment for GD was recruited. Participants used e-Estesia on a tablet, which was connected to a thoracic band that sent heart rate and heart rate variability data to the videogame platform in order to provide biofeedback. The System Usability Scale was completed by patients to determine the usability of e-Estesia.Results and Discussion: e-Estesia performed comparatively well for all the explored groups. Around 84.6% of the patients endorsed that it was easy to use. Female patients with GD presented higher HRV during the use of the serious videogame compared to men. (shrink)

Cultural diversity is an increasingly important phenomenon that affects not only social and political harmony but also the cohesion and efficiency of organisations. The problems that firms have with regard to managing cultural diversity have been abundantly studied in recent decades from the perspectives of management theory and moral philosophy, but there are still open questions that require deeper reflection and broader empirical analysis. Managing cultural diversity in organisations is of prime importance because it involves harmonising different values, beliefs, credos (...) and customs, and, in essence, human identity. Taking into consideration these cultural differences and harmonising them is a human rights issue and a central dimension of corporate social responsibility. Here we are going to focus on theoretical reflection about the ideas that lie behind corporate policies and organisational initiatives that deal with cultural diversity. The aim of our paper is twofold: to present a critical reflection on the ideology of tolerance, and propose an ideology of respect for dealing with cultural diversity. We start by presenting the plurality of interpretations of the concept of ideology, and justify its applicability to the field of cultural diversity. We then reflect on the differences between “tolerance” and “respect” and identifying the practical implications for managing cultural diversity. And finally, we propose a culture of respect that goes beyond tolerance and complements and legitimizes the “business case” perspective for managing cultural diversity in companies. The ideology of respect is based on the Kantian tradition and on the discursive approach where rational dialogue and argumentation are considered the legitimate process for creating a culture of intercultural respect. From this theoretical discussion of the key philosophical concepts we can suggest some general principles for managing cultural diversity in organisations. (shrink)

Die Studie zeigt, dass Autobiographien weit mehr sind als individuelle Lebensentwürfe. Vor allem Autobiographien von Paaren zeugen von den Schnittstellen gemeinsamen Lebens und Schreibens. Sie bieten sich in herausragender Weise an, die Zweistimmigkeit im Leben und Schreiben von Paaren in den Blick zu nehmen und relationale Dimensionen des Lebens in kreativen Schaffensprozessen als ethisches und ästhetisches Moment wahrzunehmen. Dem komplexen Beziehungsgeflecht von Autobiographien wird hier am Beispiel des bekannten spanischen Schriftstellerpaares María Teresa León und Rafael Alberti nachgespürt. Über (...) die individuellen Prägungen der Autobiographien hinaus wird das Netz, das zwischen beiden Autoren und Texten im autobiographischen Schreiben gesponnen wurde, aufgedeckt und einer Stereophonie der Autobiographie Raum gegeben. (shrink)

The present essay analyzes an eighteenth-century phase of the querelle des monstres and highlights two main points. 1) As the cases of Lémery and Winslow demonstrate, in the period when preformation was the dominant view, the dispute over the origin of monsters carried into the very field of preformation the contrast which had originally opposed it to the now defeated model of epigenesis, namely the alternative between mechanical genesis and pre-existence of the monstrous form itself. 2) One of the most (...) important episodes in the shift of teratology from a primarily theological or metaphysical issue to a purely natural one was due to Albrecht von Haller. Haller shifted the dispute from anatomy to embryology; and it is on an embryological base and not on metaphysics that he built his own demonstration of the original nature of the monster. He was furthermore the only scientist of authority who dealt with teratology from an epigenetic standpoint. His numerous changes of view in the field of embryology did in fact never affect his early adherence to the thesis of original monstrosity. (shrink)

“Cosa sarebbe una società che obbedisse automaticamente a una parola d’ordine trasmessa meccanicamente, che regolasse su di essa la sua scienza e la sua coscienza, e che avesse perduto, con il senso della giustizia, la nozione di verità? Cosa sarebbe un’umanità in cui la forza brutale prendesse il posto della forza morale?” Sono trascorsi pochi mesi dallo scoppio del primo conflitto mondiale, quando Henri Bergson pone questi drammatici interrogativi. Incaricato dal governo francese, nel 1917 e nel 1918, di due missioni (...) diplomatiche presso la presidenza degli Stati Uniti, svolgerà questo compito anche attraverso la parola, scritta e orale, da alcuni giudicata semplice propaganda patriottica, di scarso interesse filosofico. Invece, in questo volume i suoi testi del periodo bellico, confrontati con alcune lettere degli anni 1914- 1936, sono esaminati come una tappa fondamentale di un itinerario speculativo che dai temi metafisici lo condurrà a quelli più squisitamente morali. Aver sperimentato la fatale alleanza tra il progresso tecnico e la forza brutale, indurrà infatti Bergson a porre in termini nuovi l’interrogativo sulla guerra e sulla storia stessa, considerando la costruzione della pace inseparabile da un profondo rinnovamento morale e da personalità esemplari capaci di attivare le necessarie risorse spirituali. (shrink)

“comprenderlo todo, no significa personarlo todo”(Peter Burke)Einstein dijo una vez con relación al destino que «el Universo no juega con nosotros a los dados». Con ello quería decir que simplemente el azar no existe, y que además se trataba de una de las más descabelladas ideas fabricadas por la mente humana. Karl G. Jung, un apasionado defensor de la Astrología, definió al destino como «aquello de nosotros mismos que no conocemos». Y es justamente esto lo que le tocaría vivir al (...) Coronel Mi.. (shrink)

Abstract“Patient-centred care” is the recent response to the malaise produced in the field of health care from the point of view both of a technical mentality and the paternalistic model. The interest in the story-telling approach shown by both the humanities and the social sciences has favoured a “narrative turn” in medicine too, where the new ethics of therapeutic relationship consider the hermeneutic method a means by which to integrate evidence and subjectivity, scientific data and patient experience. The aim of (...) this paper is to show how Ricoeur’s theory of “threefold mimesis” makes a conceptual contribution to the use of narrative interviews in nursing and also be successfully transferred into and applied in the field of healthcare in general. First, the paper examines how this narrative approach might open up new possibilities for the acquisition of in-depth knowledge of patients’ life experiences, a condition indispensable for the improvement of the quality of care. Secondly, it highlights how this Ricoeurian method seems capable of provide an opportunity for healthcare professionals to review their own understanding of the caregiver-patient therapeutic relationship, beginning with their confrontation with the patient’s world as revealed by the narrative they provide. (shrink)

This book is a multi-faceted attempt to understand the psychological mysteries of land, space, native cultures, changing eras, and geographical dislocation. It shows us that many remote and seemingly peaceful areas of the world have their own dark and silent pasts in which their original inhabitants were often brutally wiped out. Weaving history, geography, myth, philosophy, and psychoanalysis together, this book tries to understand why such atrocities were committed, how those subjected to these 'crimes' might have perceived them, and what (...) are the long-term, trans-generational consequences of these historical events. (shrink)

Este trabajo es una serie de reflexiones personales acerca de la problemática dialéctica en Platón y Agustín, como también su proyección sobre el pensamíento actual. Fundamentalmente quisiera rescatar algunos conceptos a los que prestar especial atención: contingencia, apariencia, dualidad y negación que, aunque com diferentes alcances aparecen tanto en Platón como en Agustin, para culminar finalmente en la filosofia hegeliana. Por eso, he dividido mi ponencia en cuatro partes. Primero una introducción general, segundo, el tema de la dialéctica desde la (...) lógica clásica, tercero el análisis de la dialéctica en Platón y en Agustín para, finalmente, proyectar algunas ideas e interpretaciones en función dei pensamiento y la realidad dei mundo actual. (shrink)

Este artículo está motivado por el problema de la responsabilidad colectiva frente a las acciones cometidas por nuestros antepasados y por la pregunta acerca de la legitimidad de las demandas de perdón. Acudiendo al universo conceptual heredado de Hannah Arendt, en este texto se aboga por el ejercicio de la capacidad de juicio como detonante tanto de la demanda de perdón como de la responsabilidad colectiva. El perdón se presenta así no solo como una categoría moral sino fundamentalmente política, imprescindible (...) para reconciliarse con lo acontecido y mirar al futuro con esperanza. (shrink)

A growing body of research has suggested that high levels of family functioning—often measured as positive parent–child communication and low levels of parental stress—are associated with stronger cognitive development, higher levels of school engagement, and more successful peer relations as youth age. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous disruption to various aspects of daily life, especially for parents of young children, ages 3–5, who face isolation, disconnection, and unprecedented changes to how they engage and socialize. Fortunately, both youth and parent (...) brains are plastic and receptive to change. Resilience research shows that factors such as engaging in acts of kindness, developing trusting relationships, and responding compassionately to the feelings of others can help lay new neural pathways and improve quality of life. Yet, little research has investigated the effects of brain healthy parental practices of kindness with pre-school aged children. The current study examines whether an interactive, parent–child kindness curriculum can serve as a potentiator for brain health as measured by resilience and child empathy levels. During a peak of the pandemic, mother participants between the ages of 26–46 completed questionnaires on parental resilience levels and parent-reported child empathic pro-social behaviors before and after engaging in a 4 weeks online, self-paced, kindness curriculum. Half of the group received additional brain health education explaining the principles of neuroplasticity, empathy, perspective taking, and resiliency. Mothers in both groups showed increased resilience and reported higher levels of empathic behavior in their child after completing the curriculum. There was no significant difference between groups. Comparison of mean resilience levels during COVID-19 to pre-pandemic general means indicated that mothers are reporting significantly lower levels of resilience as well as decreased empathetic behaviors in their children. These results support the notion that kindness is a powerful brain health booster that can increase resilience and empathy. This research study was timely and relevant for parents in light of the myriad of stresses brought about by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There are broader public health implications for equipping individuals with tools to take a proactive and preventative approach to their brain health. (shrink)

O Índex Auctorum Damnatae Memoriae é, tal como todos os índices de livros proibidos posteriores a 1564, herdeiro do índice tridentino. O cotejo estabelecido entre os dois índices ibéricos de 1612 e 1624 e o documento apresentado reforçam a ideia de que o índice de 1624 tem sido erroneamente apelidado de jesuítico. Esta acusação, nascida da campanha pombalina contra a Companhia de Jesus, amplificada no século XIX, aceite no século XX e de que ainda se vive no século XXI, carece (...) de fundamentação objectiva. (shrink)

Examining the ethics of the church as an institution necessarily asks what can serve as criteria or ultimate aims for the functioning of institutions responsible for nourishing and supporting Christian witness in society. For liberation theology and ethics, orthopraxis—righteousness in the practices both within and outside the church for the sake of becoming the church of the poor—becomes such criteria. Becoming a church of liberation, the church of the poor, allows us to evaluate the church as an institution or polis (...) with a particular common good that ought to be shaped for and put at the service of prophetic Christian witness. Recent crises and challenges in the life of the Christian churches in the United States help ground this proposal in the author’s specific context. (shrink)

É este o momento de uma mudança de paradigma? Piaget será substituído por Vygotsky? Tal polêmica não teria por base uma atitude científica. Não é o caso de se privilegiar uma abordagem em detrimento de outra. Deve-se, antes, procurar conhecer suas similitudes e diferenças para participar do processo de renovação da pedagogia brasileira e para compreender por que a abordagem sócio-histórica vem ganhando espaço na construção do conhecimento.