This paper considers how 5- to 11-year-olds’ verbal reasoning about the causality underlying extended, dynamic natural processes links to various facets of their statistical thinking. Such continuous processes typically do not provide perceptually distinct causes and effect, and previous work suggests that spatial–temporal analysis, the ability to analyze spatial configurations that change over time, is a crucial predictor of reasoning about causal mechanism in such situations. Work in the Humean tradition to causality has long emphasized on the importance of statistical (...) thinking for inferring causal links between distinct cause and effect events, but here we assess whether this is also viable for causal thinking about continuous processes. Controlling for verbal and non-verbal ability, two studies administered a battery of covariation, probability, spatial–temporal, and causal measures. Results indicated that spatial–temporal analysis was the best predictor of causal thinking across both studies, but statistical thinking supported and informed spatial–temporal analysis: covariation assessment potentially assists with the identification of variables, while simple probability judgment potentially assists with thinking about unseen mechanisms. We conclude that the ability to find out patterns in data is even more widely important for causal analysis than commonly assumed, from childhood, having a role to play not just when causally linking already distinct events but also when analyzing the causal process underlying extended dynamic events without perceptually distinct components. (shrink)

To what extent general intelligence mechanisms are associated with causal thinking is unclear. There has been little work done experimentally to determine which developing cognitive capacities help to integrate causal knowledge into explicit systems. To investigate this neglected aspect of development, 138 children aged 5–11 studying at mainstream primary schools completed a battery of three intelligence tests: one investigating verbal ability (WASI vocabulary), another looking at verbal analogical (Verbal Analogies subset of the WRIT), and a third assessing non-verbal/fluid reasoning (WASI (...) block design). Children were also interviewed over the course of three causal tasks (sinking, absorption, and solution), with the results showing that the developmental paths exhibited uneven profiles across the three causal phenomena. Children consistently found that explaining solution, where substances disappeared toward the end of the process, was more challenging. The confirmatory factor analyses suggested that the impact of cognitive ability factor in explicitly identifying causal relations was large. The proportion of the direct effect of general intelligence was 66% and it subsumed the variances of both verbal measures. Of this, 37% was the indirect effect of age. Fluid reasoning explained a further 28% of the variance, playing a unique role in causal explanation. The results suggested that, overall, cognitive abilities are substantially related to causal reasoning, but not entirely due to developmental differences in “g” during the age periods studied. (shrink)

In physics, the analysis of the space representing states of physical systems often takes the form of a layer-cake of increasingly rich structure. In this paper, we propose an analogous hierarchy in the cognition of spacetime. Firstly, we explore the interplay between the objective physical properties of space-time and the subjective compositional modes of relational representations within the reasoner. Secondly, we discuss the compositional structure within and between layers. The existing evidence in the available literature is reviewed to end with (...) some testable consequences of our proposal at the brain and behavioral level. (shrink)

Differences in socioeconomic status (SES) correlate both with differences in cognitive development and in brain structure. Associations between SES and brain measures such as cortical surface area and cortical thickness mediate differences in cognitive skills such as executive function and language. However, causal accounts that link SES, brain, and behavior are challenging because SES is a multidimensional construct: correlated environmental factors, such as family income and parental education, are only distal markers for proximal causal pathways. Moreover, the causal accounts themselves (...) must span multiple levels of description, employ a developmental perspective, and integrate genetic effects on individual differences. Nevertheless, causal accounts have the potential to inform policy and guide interventions to reduce gaps in developmental outcomes. In this article, we review the range of empirical data to be integrated in causal accounts of developmental effects on the brain and cognition associated with variation in SES. We take the specific example of language development and evaluate the potential of a multiscale computational model of development, based on an artificial neural network, to support the construction of causal accounts. We show how, with bridging assumptions that link properties of network structure to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of brain structure, different sets of empirical data on SES effects can be connected. We use the model to contrast two possible causal pathways for environmental influences that are associated with SES: differences in prenatal brain development and differences in postnatal cognitive stimulation. We then use the model to explore the implications of each pathway for the potential to intervene to reduce gaps in developmental outcomes. The model points to the cumulative effects of social disadvantage on multiple pathways as the source of the poorest response to interventions. Overall, we highlight the importance of implemented models to test competing accounts of environmental influences on individual differences. (shrink)

In Coecke (2002) we proposed the intuitionistic or disjunctive representation of quantum logic, i.e., a representation of the property lattice of physical systems as a complete Heyting algebra of logical propositions on these properties, where this complete Heyting algebra goes equipped with an additional operation, the operational resolution, which identifies the properties within the logic of propositions. This representation has an important application towards dynamic quantum logic, namely in describing the temporal indeterministic propagation of actual properties of physical systems. (...) This paper can as such by conceived as an addendum to Quantum Logic in Intuitionistic Perspective that discusses spin-off and thus provides an additional motivation. We derive a quantaloidal semantics for dynamic disjunctive quantum logic and illustrate it for the particular case of a perfect (quantum) measurement. (shrink)

It will be shown that the probability calculus of a quantum mechanical entity can be obtained in a deterministic framework, embedded in a real space, by introducing a lack of knowledge in the measurements on that entity. For all n ∃ ℕ we propose an explicit model in $\mathbb{R}^{n^2 } $ , which entails a representation for a quantum entity described by an n-dimensional complex Hilbert space þn, namely, the “þn,Euclidean hidden measurement representation.” This Euclidean hidden measurement representation is also (...) in a more general sense equivalent with the orthodox Hilbert space formulation of quantum mechanics, since every mathematical ingredient of ordinary quantum mechanics can easily be translated into the framework of these representations. (shrink)

In this article the relevance of the feminist ethic of care for current Dutch social policies is elaborated. It starts from the observation that Dutch society is witnessing two intertwined processes: the relocation of politics and the relocation of care. Together these processes result in the need for new normative frameworks for social policy. Care has to become part of the practices of active citizenship, which should be based on notions of relationality and interdependence. Basic moral concepts of the ethic (...) of care, like attentiveness, responsibility, competence, responsiveness, trust and asymmetrical reciprocity are introduced. In the final part, the ethic of care is applied to two topical issues: policies on combining paid labour and care and generation-sensitive policies. Finally some norms are proposed to guide social policymaking. (shrink)

The aim of this study was to reveal doctors' and nurses' attitudes to euthanasia in intensive care units and surgical, internal medicine and paediatric units in Turkey. A total of 205 doctors and 206 nurses working in several hospitals in Istanbul participated. Data were collected by questionnaire and analysed using SPSS v. 12.0. Significantly higher percentages of doctors (35.3%) and nurses (26.6%) working in intensive care units encountered euthanasia requests than those working in other units. Doctors and nurses caring for (...) terminally ill patients in intensive care units differed considerably in their attitudes to euthanasia and patient rights from other health care staff. Euthanasia should be investigated and put on the agenda for discussion in Turkey. (shrink)

We introduce a graphical framework for Bayesian inference that is sufficiently general to accommodate not just the standard case but also recent proposals for a theory of quantum Bayesian inference wherein one considers density operators rather than probability distributions as representative of degrees of belief. The diagrammatic framework is stated in the graphical language of symmetric monoidal categories and of compact structures and Frobenius structures therein, in which Bayesian inversion boils down to transposition with respect to an appropriate compact structure. (...) We characterize classical Bayesian inference in terms of a graphical property and demonstrate that our approach eliminates some purely conventional elements that appear in common representations thereof, such as whether degrees of belief are represented by probabilities or entropie quantities. We also introduce a quantum-like calculus wherein the Frobenius structure is noncommutative and show that it can accommodate Leifer's calculus of 'conditional density operators'. The notion of conditional independence is also generalized to our graphical setting and we make some preliminary connections to the theory of Bayesian networks. Finally, we demonstrate how to construct a graphical Bayesian calculus within any dagger compact category. (shrink)

We generalize the results of Ref. 7 for the coherent states of a spin-1 entity to spin-S entities with S > 1 and to noncoherent spin states: through the introduction of “hidden correlations” (see Ref. 8) we introduce a representation for a spin-S entity as a compound system consisting of 2S “individual” spin-1/2 entities, each of them represented by a “proper state,” and such that we are able to consider a measurement on the spin-S entity as a measurement on each (...) of the individual spin1/2 entities. If the spin-S entity is in a maximal spin state, the 2S individual spin1/2 entities behave as a collection of indistinguishable but separated entities. If not so, we have to introduce the same kind of hidden correlations as required for a hidden correlation representation of a compound quantum system described by a symmetrical superposition. Moreover, by applying the Majorana representation of Ref. 11 and Aerts' representation for a spin-1/2 entity of Ref. 3, this hidden correlation representation yields a classical mechanistic representation of a spin-S entity in $ \mathbb{R}^{\text{3}} $. (shrink)

La introducción del concepto de arquetipo en Inmunología se propuso en 2019. Teniendo en cuenta las funciones amplias y complejas del sistema inmunológico, la colección de diferentes tipos de células y citoquinas, los programas de expresión génica y la plasticidad celular, la aplicación del concepto de arquetipo puede jugar un papel organizador y orientador en la generación de nuevas prácticas y teorías inmunológicas. En este artículo analizaré el concepto de arquetipo inmunológico y haré una breve incursión en el origen del (...) término y sus significados en algunos contextos no biológicos y en contextos biológicos significativos, como la morfoanatomía, la neurobiología y la ecología. A la luz de estas consideraciones, propondré un arquetipo inmunológico, el granuloma, una estructura celular compleja y evolutivamente conservada. Concluiré este trabajo revisando los significados de arquetipo en diferentes contextos, comparándolos con el propuesto para los fenómenos inmunológicos y, así, contribuyendo a la reflexión sobre temas de interés para la filosofía de la inmunología. (shrink)

This book provides a collection of ten cases for use in the middle grades that focus on many of the critical social issues we face today.

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic quickly necessitated digital learning, which bore challenges for all pupils but especially for groups disadvantaged in a virtual classroom. As some studies indicate persistent differences between boys and girls in use of technologies and related skills, the aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the digital learning environment students faced in spring 2020. Previous studies investigating gender differences in digital learning largely used biological sex as the only indicator of gender. This (...) study includes both biological sex and gender role self-concept in order to investigate the role of gender in different components of this stereotyped domain in a more differentiated way. A total of 19,190 Austrian secondary school students participated in an online study in April 2020 and answered questions regarding their competence beliefs, intrinsic value, engagement, and perceived teacher support in digital learning during the pandemic-induced school closures. Results showed higher perceived teacher support, intrinsic value, and learning engagement among girls than boys, while no significant sex differences were found in competence beliefs regarding digital learning. Furthermore, our results indicated clear benefits of an androgynous gender role self-concept for all studied components of digital learning. Implications of the findings for theory and practice are discussed. (shrink)

The Distributional Compositional Categorical model is a mathematical framework that provides compositional semantics for meanings of natural language sentences. It consists of a computational procedure for constructing meanings of sentences, given their grammatical structure in terms of compositional type-logic, and given the empirically derived meanings of their words. For the particular case that the meaning of words is modelled within a distributional vector space model, its experimental predictions, derived from real large scale data, have outperformed other empirically validated methods that (...) could build vectors for a full sentence. This success can be attributed to a conceptually motivated mathematical underpinning, something which the other methods lack, by integrating qualitative compositional type-logic and quantitative modelling of meaning within a category-theoretic mathematical framework. The type-logic used in the DisCoCat model is Lambekʼs pregroup grammar. Pregroup types form a posetal compact closed category, which can be passed, in a functorial manner, on to the compact closed structure of vector spaces, linear maps and tensor product. The diagrammatic versions of the equational reasoning in compact closed categories can be interpreted as the flow of word meanings within sentences. Pregroups simplify Lambekʼs previous type-logic, the Lambek calculus. The latter and its extensions have been extensively used to formalise and reason about various linguistic phenomena. Hence, the apparent reliance of the DisCoCat on pregroups has been seen as a shortcoming. This paper addresses this concern, by pointing out that one may as well realise a functorial passage from the original type-logic of Lambek, a monoidal bi-closed category, to vector spaces, or to any other model of meaning organised within a monoidal bi-closed category. The corresponding string diagram calculus, due to Baez and Stay, now depicts the flow of word meanings, and also reflects the structure of the parse trees of the Lambek calculus. (shrink)

O arrependimento [die Reue] é uma noção que surge na filosofia de Schopenhauer quando ele trata da possibilidade de um indivíduo aprimorar a manifestação do seu próprio caráter, que é aquilo que constitui o caráter adquirido. Cada um de nós possui um caráter que não pode ser mudado, mas o conhecimento sobre ele pode se aprimorar, o que permite que um indivíduo possa aperfeiçoar o conhecimento ou a consciência daquilo que ele é. Sendo o caráter a expressão daquilo que cada (...) um quer, nós não nos arrependemos do que nós queremos, mas do que fizemos, exatamente porque consideramos que a nossa ação não foi condizente com a nossa vontade. Portanto, o arrependimento resulta do conhecimento que permite adequar o fazer ao querer. O objetivo será esclarecer a importância da primazia da vontade sobre o intelecto para a compreensão do arrependimento, assim como indicar a diferença entre o arrependimento e a angústia de consciência [die Gewissenangst]. (shrink)

A comparação entre a negação da vontade e o ponto de ebulição da água foisugerida por Schopenhauer a fim de esclarecer a transição da compaixão à ascese. Pois estatransição só acontece quando se atinge um determinado ponto, que revela a supressão completado principium individuationis e torna possível a negação da vontade como um fenômenoindependente do princípio de razão. O nosso objetivo é demonstrar como essa comparaçãocontribui para o entendimento desse tema e quais são os limites que temos que atribuir a (...) ela. (shrink)

O gênio e o santo são figuras de destaque na filosofia de Schopenhauer, pois a elas é atribuída a capacidade de conhecer de um modo privilegiado, adquirida através de uma modificação na forma como os seres humanos usualmente conhecem. Essa forma de conhecimento se caracteriza por sua independência em relação ao princípio de razão suficiente, que acontece quando o intelecto se liberta do domínio da vontade. A liberdade intelectual pode proporcionar tanto a contemplação estética para o gênio quanto o quietivo (...) da vontade para o santo. O nosso objetivo será mostrar que o quietivo possui um aspecto que o diferencia da contemplação, visto que somente ele caracteriza a negação da vontade de viver, pois esta, ao interromper a afirmação da vontade, promove simultaneamente a destruição do corpo, o qual é considerado o foco a partir do qual a vontade se afirma. (shrink)

Resumo: O presente artigo analisa a política de ensino integral no estado de Pernambuco, implementada por atores privados desde 2008, com enfoque privilegiado sobre as formas de contratação de docentes e sua incidência no território. A hipótese aqui considerada faz analogia ao pensamento de Lévi-Strauss, por ocasião de sua passagem pelo Brasil em 1930, quando remarcou o arrasamento da população indígena pela cultura do homem branco e seus interesses econômicos sustentados pelo discurso da modernidade. Problematiza-se, assim, em que medida o (...) avanço do segmento empresarial na educação pública assemelha-se à constatação tecida nos “Tristes trópicos” (1955) à medida que arrasa uma cultura educacional que passa da estabilidade e reflexividade para o pragmatismo e a racionalidade econômica. A concepção teórica que sustenta o debate sobre o tema apoia-se em Robert Castel (1998) e Cingolani (2005), os quais destacam que a precariedade nas relações de trabalho conduz a um processo de precarização das condições de vida, posto que trabalhadores sujeitados a trabalhos intermitentes, contratos por tempo determinado, tempo parcial, entre outros, resultam em vulnerabilidade social. Palavras-chave: Trabalho Docente; Privatização; Precariedade; Política Educacional. Sad tropics: the business culture of precarity applied to public education. Abstract: This article analyzes the policy of full-time education in the state of Pernambuco, implemented by private actors since 2008, with a privileged focus on the ways of hiring teachers and its impact on the territory. The hypothesis here considered makes analogy with the thought of Lévi-Strauss, on his passage in Brazil in 1930, when he remarked the destruction of the indigenous population by the white man's culture and his economic interests supported by the discourse of modernity. Is problematized how much the advance of the entrepreneurial segment in public education is similar to the observation made in "Sad tropics" (1955) as it devastates an educational culture that moves from stability and reflexivity to pragmatism and economic rationality. The theoretical conception that sustained the debate about the theme is based on Robert Castel (1998) and Cingolani (2005), who point out that the precarity in work relations leads to a process of precariousness in living conditions, since subjected to intermittent work, fixed-term contracts, part-time work, among others, result in social vulnerability. Keywords: Teaching Work; Privatization; Precarity; Educational Politics. Tropiques tristes : la culture entrepreneuriale de la précarité appliquée à l'éducation publique. Resumé: Cet article analyse la politique d'éducation à temps pleins dans l'État de Pernambuco, mise en œuvre par des acteurs privés depuis 2008, en se concentrant de manière privilégiée sur les formes d'embauche des enseignants et leur impact sur le territoire. L'hypothèse envisagée ici fait analogie à la pensée de Lévi-Strauss, à l'occasion de son passage au Brésil en 1930, lorsqu'il remarquait la destruction de la population indigène par la culture de l'homme blanc et ses intérêts économiques soutenus par le discours de la modernité. Le problème est donc de savoir dans quelle mesure l'avancée du segment entrepreneurial dans l'enseignement public est similaire à l'observation faite dans "Tristes trópicos" (1955) car elle dévaste une culture éducative qui passe de la stabilité et de la réflexivité au pragmatisme et à la rationalité économique. La conception théorique qui soutient le débat sur le sujet est basée sur Robert Castel (1998) et Cingolani (2005), qui soulignent que la précarité dans les relations de travail conduit à un processus de précarisation des conditions de vie, puisque soumis au travail intermittent, aux contrats à durée déterminée, au temps partiel, entre autres, entraînent une vulnérabilité sociale. Mots clés : Travail Enseignant ; Privatisation ; Précarité ; Politique Éducative. Data de registro: 29/05/2022Data de aceite: 28/06/2022. (shrink)

This book offers concrete and specific suggestions for improving teacher education programs.

This book for teachers and parents makes an important case for the need for developing moral behavior in young children. It offers effective tools for teaching children to weigh decisions in the face of potential consequences, examine rationales for their choices, study the effects of their choices on others.

This paper has a two-fold aim: to analyze the development of the digital transformation field, and to understand the impact of digital technologies on business model innovation through a structured review of the literature. The results of this research reveal that the field of digital transformation is still developing, with growing interest from researchers since 2014. Results show a need for research in developing countries and for more collaboration between researchers and practitioners. The review highlights that the field is fragmented (...) among disruptive technologies, shared platforms and ecosystems, and new enabling technologies. We conclude that digital transformation has impacted value creation, delivery, and capture in almost every industry. These impacts have led to the employment of a variety of new business models, such as those for frugal innovation and the circular economy. (shrink)

In their seminal paper Birkhoff and von Neumann revealed the following dilemma:[ ] whereas for logicians the orthocomplementation properties of negation were the ones least able to withstand a critical analysis, the study of mechanics points to the distributive identities as the weakest link in the algebra of logic.

In previous work we gave a mathematical foundation, referred to as DisCoCat, for how words interact in a sentence in order to produce the meaning of that sentence. To do so, we exploited the perfect structural match of grammar and categories of meaning spaces. Here, we give a mathematical foundation, referred to as DisCoCirc, for how sentences interact in texts in order to produce the meaning of that text. First we revisit DisCoCat. While in DisCoCat all meanings are fixed as (...) states, in DisCoCirc word meanings correspond to a type, or system, and the states of this system can evolve. Sentences are gates within a circuit which update the variable meanings of those words. Like in DisCoCat, word meanings can live in a variety of spaces e.g. propositional, vectorial, or cognitive. The compositional structure are string diagrams representing information flows, and an entire text yields a single string diagram in which word meanings lift to the meaning of the entire text. While the developments in this paper are independent of a physical embodiment, both the compositional formalism and suggested meaning model are highly quantum-inspired, and implementation on a quantum computer would come with a range of benefits. We also praise Jim Lambek for his role in mathematical linguistics in general, and the development of the DisCo program more specifically. (shrink)

RESUMEN En este artículo problematizo el protagonismo del comprender en Ser y tiempo, para demostrar que la modificación conceptual que hace Nancy de la relación como remisión a la estructura relacional "ser-a" es el elemento clave para su transformación de la ontología heideggeriana en una ontología de los cuerpos. Para realizarlo, primero evalúo las implicaciones de la interpretación del lenguaje como dóxa en Heidegger. Luego, a partir de Nancy desarrollo la noción de sentido como transitividad del ser, soportada en la (...) estructura "ser-a". En tercer lugar, expongo otra noción de mundo correspondiente a la aperturidad ontológica sin ser apriorística, que atenta contra la preeminencia ontológica del humano y enfatiza la fundamentalidad del ser-con. Finalmente, resalto dos consecuencias de este cambio metodológico: la transformación de la existencia en creación de mundo en lugar de comprensión y de la comunidad como régimen ontológico singular-plural. ABSTRACT In this paper, I problematize the prominence of understanding in Being and Time. In order to demonstrate that the conceptual modification that Nancy does of the relation as "reference" to the relational structure "being-to" is the key element to transform the Heideggerian ontology into an ontology of bodies. To do it, first, I evaluate the implications of the interpretation of language as doxa in the first Heidegger. Then, departing from Nancy, I develop the notion of sense as transitivity of being, supported by the structure "being-to". In third place, I expose another notion of the world, corresponding to the ontological opening without being aprioristic; which works against the ontological preeminence of the human and emphasizes the fundamentality of being-with. Finally, I explain two consequences of this methodological change: the transformation of the existence as creation, instead of comprehension, and of the community as a singular-plural ontological regime. (shrink)

Inaugural lecture as Professor of Women's Studies in the Social Science Faculty at the University of Utrecht.

Gerontologists have proposed different concepts for ageing well such as ‘successful ageing’, ‘active ageing’, and ‘healthy ageing’. These conceptions are primarily focused on maintaining health and preventing disease. But they also raise the questions: what is a good life in old age and how can it be achieved? While medical in origin, these concepts and strategies for ageing well also contain ethical advice for individuals and societies on how to act regarding ageing and old age. This connection between gerontology and (...) ethics is overlooked by both schools of thought. We thus develop this research programme for a systematic geroethics in four steps. First, we analyze ‘successful ageing’ as put forward by Rowe and Kahn as a paradigmatic example of a gerontological conception of ageing well. Then, in a second step, we move from criticisms within gerontology to an ethical perspective; in particular, we want to clarify the problem of the claim of universal validity of conceptions of the good life. In a third constructive step, we explain how the ‘capabilities approach’ could be applied in this context as a normative foundation for the implicit normative assumptions of gerontological conceptions of ageing well, such as a particular choice of functionings, the ethical relevance of human agency, and the resulting claims of individuals towards society. Finally, using a concept developed by the German philosopher Ursula Wolf, we systematically develop the different aspects of the connection between ageing well and the theory of the good life in their full complexity and show their interconnectedness. (shrink)

This descriptive study investigated the current status of ethics instruction in Turkish nursing education programs. The sample for this study comprised 39 nursing schools, which represented 51% of all nursing schools in Turkey. Data were collected through a postal questionnaire. The results revealed that 18 of these nursing schools incorporated an ethics course into undergraduate and three into graduate level programs. Most of the educators focused on the basic concepts of ethics, deontological theory, ethical principles, ethical problems in health care, (...) patient rights and codes of ethics for nurses. More than half of the educators believed that students' theoretical knowledge of ethics is applied to their clinical experiences. The teaching methods used included discussion in class, lectures, case studies, small group discussion, dramatization and demonstration. Assessment was carried out by means of written essays and written examinations. (shrink)