The concepts of “good” and “bad” are associated with right and left space. Individuals tend to associate good things with the side of their dominant hand, where they experience greater motor fluency, and bad things with their nondominant side. This mapping has been shown to be flexible: Changing the relative fluency of the hands, or even observing a change in someone else's motor fluency, results in a reversal of the conceptual mapping, such that good things become associated with the side (...) of the nondominant hand. Yet, based on prior studies, it is unclear whether space–valence associations were determined by the experience of fluent versus disfluent actions, or by the mere expectation of fluency. Here, we tested the role of expected fluency by removing motor execution and perceptual feedback altogether. Participants were asked to imagine themselves performing a psychomotor task with one of their hands impaired, after which their implicit space–valence mapping was measured. After imagining that their right hand was impaired, right-handed participants showed the “good is left” association typical of left-handers. Motor imagery can change people's implicit associations between space and emotional valence. Although asymmetric motor experience may be necessary to establish body-specific associations between space and valence initially, neither motoric nor perceptual experience is needed to change these associations subsequently. The mere expectation of fluent versus disfluenct actions can drive fluency-based effects on people's implicit spatialization of “good” and “bad.” These results suggest a reconsideration of the mechanisms and boundary conditions of fluency effects. (shrink)

This paper presents the manner in which the DNA, the molecule of life, was discovered. Unlike what many people, even biologists, believe, it was Johannes Friedrich Miescher who originally discovered and isolated nuclein, currently known as DNA, in 1869, 75 years before Watson and Crick unveiled its structure. Also, in this paper we show, and above all demonstrate, the serendipity of this major discovery. Like many of his contemporaries, Miescher set out to discover how cells worked by means of studying (...) and analysing their proteins. During this arduous task, he detected an unexpected substance of unpredicted properties. This new substance precipitated when he added acid to the solution and it dissolved again when adding alkali. Unexpectedly and by a mere fluke, Miescher was the first person to obtain a DNA precipitate. The paper then presents the term serendipity and discusses how it has influenced the discovery of other important scientific milestones. Finally, we address the question of whether serendipitous discoveries can be nurtured and what role the computer could play in this process. (shrink)

The past decade has seen a flurry of social scientific research on the use of racial categories in human genetics research. This literature has critically analyzed how U.S. race relations are being shaped by and themselves shaping research on human biological difference and disease. Recent work, however, suggests that the particular configurations of science and ethnoracial politics in the US are not exportable. Instead, research on human biology in other contexts reveals the importance of not just racial categories, but national, (...) ethnic, regional and linguistic classifications of bodies and communities... (shrink)

Andrés el Capellán: dialéctica y juego en el amor. Resumen de Tesis de doctorado en Filosofía de Nicolás José Martínez Sáez.

La observación del cinismo antiguo como precursor filosófico del anarquismo ha sido abordada por un gran número de estudiosos y especialistas de ambos campos. El siguiente trabajo se propone aportar nuevos puntos de vista a la relación cinismo-anarquismo. Nuestro punto de partida es la figura del protocínico Diógenes de Sinope [412-402 /325-321], cuya heterodoxa filosofía, de la que no conservamos escritos, ha sido objeto de ambivalentes recepciones a lo largo de la historia. Veremos por qué ha sido reivindicado como un (...) miembro ilustre de la prehistoria del anarquismo y qué nuevas perspectivas podemos añadir a esos estudios. (shrink)

Resumen: España fue el último de los viejos imperios coloniales en abolir el comercio de esclavos. Inglaterra, una de las naciones más beneficiadas por el tráfico de personas, lo hizo en 1807. Con todo, desde primeros de siglos, surgió en España, en el seno del primer liberalismo, un inicial movimiento en favor de la abolición del comercio de negros. Este artículo trata de tres hitos: la defensa de la abolición del comercio negrero por parte de Isidoro de Antillón en su (...) Disertación, leída en Madrid en 1802; los debates de las Cortes de Cádiz sobre la esclavitud, principalmente, el de la sesión del 2 de abril de 1811; finalmente, de la aportación a la discusión de José Mª Blanco White y la publicación en 1814 de su Bosquejo del comercio de esclavos. Abstract: Spain was the last of the old colonial empires to abolish the slave trade. England, one of the nations that most benefited from trafficking, did so in 1807. However, since the early century XIX, within the first liberalism an initial movement for the abolition of the slave trade emerged in Spain. This paper focuses on three milestones: the defense of the abolition of the slave trade by Isidoro Antillon in his Disertación, read in Madrid in 1802; the Cortes de Cadiz debates on slavery, mainly the session of April 2, 1811; finally, José María Blanco White's contribution to the discussion and the publication in 1814 of his Bosquejo del comercio de esclavos. (shrink)

This text discusses the European system in the modern age, describing the concept of ‘state’ as an object bounded by property rights and its owner’s jurisdiction. In order to maintain the state, it was necessary to keep the inhabitants in a state of submission, through either persuasion or force. State policy consisted in preserving the possessions of the state, improving and increasing it, combining statecraft with the subjects and concert with other state-holders. States were not autonomous units, but domains, and (...) state affairs concerned ways of increasing or maintaining their ownership. When two princes married, they united their states and created a new political and institutional framework, with each spouse taking on the conflicts and alliances of his or her partner, creating entirely new situations. Each peace treaty or alliance was solidly sealed with a dynastic union, as can be seen in the example of the rise of the House of Habsburg, which became the first European power after integrating the inheritances of three great lineages: the Austrian Habsburgs, who contributed fiefdoms and states in Central and Eastern Europe, the House of Burgundy, who contributed states in France and the Low Countries, and the House of Trastámara, who contributed the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. (shrink)

La materia de este estudio, es la misma que preocupo a la humanidad desde sus albores, siendo abordada por grandes pensadores que van desde Aristoteles hasta Teilhard de Chardin. El presente ensayo propone una solucion cientifica a la coexistencia del libre albedrio humano inmerso en un mundo donde las leyes que rigen la causa-efecto no dejan margen al fenomeno de libertad. Como consecuencia primordial explica el mecanismo natural que sustenta la existencia de un alma inmortal y la existencia de un (...) creador. (shrink)

Structured time (hyle) and its relationship to other elements of physics: matter, energy, space, etc.

Tradução para o português da obra "El Politico", de José Martínez Ruiz. Neste clássico de 1908, Azorín retoma uma antiga tradição espanhola: a dos tratados de aconselhamento aos políticos. Na esteira de autores como Saavedra Fajardo (1584-1648), ele usa a própria experiência nos negócios públicos como fonte para suas prescrições. O texto, em vários aspectos, é atual. Mas até o que nele já está ultrapassado é precioso, pois vale como testemunho de como era a política e das mudanças pelas (...) quais desde então ela passou. Tradução de Jaimir Conte. (shrink)

En el presente trabajo se ofrece, hasta donde nos consta, la única traducción al español del capítulo “Sobre el ajedrez” de la obra enciclopédica _De naturis rerum_ escrita hacia el año 1190 por el filósofo inglés Alejandro Neckam (1157-1217). El capítulo mencionado, que sigue a otro sobre los jugadores de dados, es relevante no solamente para comprender la continuidad de una actitud anti-lúdica que hunde sus raíces en el pensamiento de los primeros cristianos sino para advertir la recepción del ajedrez (...) musulmán en la Inglaterra medieval cristiana tanto en sus representaciones simbólicas como en las reglas del juego. (shrink)

El presente escrito explora algunas ideas marxianas sobre la subjetivación a partir de sus críticas a la filosofía hegeliana y posthegeliana, de Feuerbach y Stirner fundamentalmente, y presenta su humanismo materialista y crítico como un nuevo modo de subjetivación que se sitúa en la estela del materialismo sensualista ilustrado, retomado por Feuerbach, que combina con la idea del hombre trabajador, el homo faber, utilizador de instrumentos, de la tradición de la economía política inglesa, al que dotan de la capacidad revolucionaria (...) retomada de los primeros románticos y de la tradición de los comunistas y socialistas utópicos. (shrink)

Background The birth plan is a tool that allows the self-learning and thoughtful analysis of the women during the birthing process, facilitating their making of decisions and participation, in agreement with the bioethical principles of autonomy and no malfeasance. Goal: To understand the perception and satisfaction of women who presented a birth plan. Methodology: Qualitative, descriptive, observational, retrospective and cross-sectional study. The population of the study was composed of 21 women who presented a birth plan regulated in a Hospital ever (...) since the recording of the presentation of the birth plan was started (2011) until 2015. Place: Cartagena (Murcia, Spain). Techniques/methods: Semistructured interview. Results-Discussion: Most women considered the plan as a useful self-learning tool on the meaning of the birthing process, as it favored the communication between the expectant mothers/health professionals. Our informants sought information related to the birthing process from informal sources; most perceived a level of respect of their wishes during the process of giving birth. The use of the birth plan did not imply the perception of loss of the degree of control during the birth, although attention to the written document could be improved. Conclusions The use of the birth plan is a very satisfactory and useful experience for their involvement in their self-care, although in some cases, the births did not proceed according to their plans. Nevertheless, the prevalence of the principle of Non-Malfeasance over Autonomy was evidenced. (shrink)

There has been little investigation of male adolescent violence against women as acknowledged by boys themselves, and even less on such violence in different contexts with comparative studies of behavior between those who perpetrate this violence and the population at large. This study used cluster analysis to establish a male adolescent typology based on boys’ self-reporting of violence against women in three contexts. The participants were 3,132 Spanish teenage boys aged 14–18 with experience of relationships with girls. Three discrete, identifiable (...) types were obtained: the first group (69.8%), ofnon-violentboys; the second group (26%), more involved insexual harassment onlineoutside a relationship but with a low incidence of dating violence offline; the third group (4.2%), withabuse in the three contextsbut less involved in sexual harassment online than the second group. The logistic regression analysis showed that justification of male dominance and violence was the main risk condition for inclusion in the second and third groups, followed by low self-esteem (for the third group) and risky sexual behaviors online (for the second and third groups). The findings based on these results are important for preventing male adolescent dating violence against women in the three male types detected. (shrink)

Se defiende una política de lo común a partir de las aportaciones ontológicas y epistemológicas de Espinosa y de Deleuze. Una política capaz de articular las diferentes reivindicaciones de las minorías buscando escapar de la caída en los esencialismos identitarios excluyentes que definen de forma rígida quien es un verdadero proletario o una verdadera mujer, etc. Una política de lo común que partiendo de las diferencias se orienta hacia una política “de todo el mundo” y “para todo el mundo”, a (...) través de devenires minoritarios que concluyen en un “devenir imperceptible”; es decir, es una política de las diferencias que desemboca en la indiferencia de cada cual, ya que se refiere a lo que tienen de común los individuos más que en aquello que los separa. Es una política basada en la razón, pero una razón que hace las cuentas con las pasiones, en la estela espinosiana, y con los factores inconscientes, en la estela deleuziana. Una razón, pues, situada y abierta a la sensibilidad, los afectos y los sentimientos, pero sin caer en retóricas irracionalistas o sensibleras. (shrink)

La sociedad atraviesa una serie de transformaciones en sus relaciones entre instituciones y comunidad; en este marco la universidad, desde su misión académica centrada en la formación e investigación para el desarrollo de conocimientos, está promoviendo una mayor implicación hacia las necesidades de la sociedad, a lo que se denomina responsabilidad social universitaria (RSU). Este artículo presenta cómo, desde una perspectiva humanista, se constituye una comunidad social de investigación entre la Unidad de Investigación Enfoque Centrado en la Persona de la (...) Universidad de Valencia –España-, el grupo Prisma de la Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga –Colombia- y la Fundación Albeiro Vargas (FAVAC) –Colombia- cuya finalidad es la atención al adulto mayor. Mediante una metodología de investigación-acción participativa, se genera una base de cooperación institucional para la promoción del bienestar psicológico del adulto mayor. El voluntariado, a través de sus docentes y sus alumnos, se concreta así en una acción de responsabilidad social universitaria cuya primera actividad es la valoración del bienestar psicológico del adulto mayor en la fundación Albeiro Vargas. (shrink)

Avec la publication de La communauté désœuvrée et La communauté inavouable, Maurice Blanchot et Jean-Luc Nancy commencent, au début des années 1980, un dialogue dont l’objet fut le thème de la communauté. Ce dialogue, cependant, n’impliquait pas seulement les noms de Blanchot et Nancy : ils se reconnaissaient héritiers d’une réflexion qui avait déjà commencé Nietzsche et Bataille. Plusieurs années plus tard, dans La communauté désavouée, Nancy revient sur ce débat et il s’y interroge : qu’est-ce que Blanchot voulait dire (...) avec les arguments qu’il avait opposé contre le livre écrit par Nancy? Partant de cette question, avec laquelle Nancy commence le dernier essai autour ce thème, ce travail propose de reconstruire le dialogue entre Blanchot et Nancy pour y trouver le lien entre communauté et écriture. (shrink)

In this article, we scrutinize views that justify exclusionary policies regarding transgender athletes based primarily on physiological criteria. We introduce and examine some elements that deserve...

Cooperative learning encourages the development of interpersonal skills and motivates students to participate more actively in the teaching and learning process. This study explores the impact of cooperative learning on the academic goals influencing university students’ behavior and leading to the attainment of a series of academic objectives. To this end, a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design was used, with a sample of 509 university students from Preschool, Primary and Social Education undergraduate degree courses. Using the Academic Goals Questionnaire, pretest (...) and posttest measures were taken via self-reports to evaluate three types of academic goals: learning goals, social reinforcement goals and achievement goals. The results show that cooperative learning is an effective tool for encouraging university students to develop academic goals that motivate them to fully engage with the tasks they are set in order to acquire knowledge and skills. In addition, when students are asked to work as part of a team on an autonomous basis without the structure and supervision necessary to ensure a minimum standard of cooperation, they display a greater tendency toward social reinforcement goals than toward learning and achievement goals. These findings contribute new knowledge to the conceptual framework on cooperative learning. Goals may be considered one of the most important variables influencing students’ learning and the use of cooperative learning techniques in university classrooms creates the necessary conditions for encouraging students to develop goals oriented toward learning. (shrink)

Rare neuromuscular diseases are a group of pathologies characterized by a progressive loss of muscular strength, atrophy, fatigue, and other muscle-related symptoms, which affect quality of life levels. The low prevalence, high geographical dispersion and disability of these individuals involve difficulties in accessing health and social care services. Teleassistance is presented as a useful tool to perform psychosocial interventions in these situations. The main aim of this research is to assess the effects of a teleassistance psychosocial program on the QoL (...) levels of people with RNMDs who have different levels of disability. A sample of 73 participants was divided into an experimental group, which participated in the intervention, and a control wait list group. QoL was evaluated through the SIP and the SF-36, and disability through the WHO-DAS II. The participants with a moderate to severe level of disability were those who most benefited from the intervention. The results also revealed that the psychosocial teleassistance program was suitable to improve physical and psychosocial aspects of people suffering from a rare neuromuscular disease with a moderate level of disability, but just psychosocial aspects in those with a severe level of disability. (shrink)

This anthology of the very latest research on truth features the work of recognized luminaries in the field, put together following a rigorous refereeing process. Along with an introduction outlining the central issues in the field, it provides a unique and unrivaled view of contemporary work on the nature of truth, with papers selected from key conferences in 2011 such as Truth Be Told, Truth at Work, Paradoxes of Truth and Denotation and Axiomatic Theories of Truth. Studying the nature of (...) the concept of ‘truth’ has always been a core role of philosophy, but recent years have been a boom time in the topic. With a wealth of recent conferences examining the subject from various angles, this collection of essays recognizes the pressing need for a volume that brings scholars up to date on the arguments. Offering academics and graduate students alike a much-needed repository of today’s cutting-edge work in this vital topic of philosophy, the volume is required reading for anyone needing to keep abreast of developments, and is certain to act as a catalyst for further innovation and research. (shrink)