LE CARACTÈRE TOPOLOGIQUE DES PREMIÈRES REPRÈSENTATIONS SPATIALES DE l'ENFANT

The topological nature of the child's early spatial representations. Piaget's hypotheses revisited. — Three experiments bearing on Piaget's hypotheses on the topological nature of the child's early concepts of space are reported. The results of the first experiment, replicating Piaget's stereognostic technique on a larger scale, were shown to confirm the earliness of topological discriminations, but it was found also that some simple Euclidian discriminations (curvilinear vs rectilinear, indented vs non-indented forms) were not more difficult. The second experiment has shown that the child relied rather on topological than on simple Euclidian attributes when both types of attributes were presented in a conflictual situation; otherwise, the simple Euclidian discriminations were easier. In a third experiment, using a drawing technique along with visual exploration, topological discriminations proved easier than Euclidian discriminations in one instance only (open-closed vs curvilinear-rectilinear forms). It is suggested in conclusion that the child's early discriminations are not based on topology as such, but on certain geometrical properties which are fundamental to topology itself.     

The Constitutional Theatre

Constitutionalism is a typically modernist project in that it seeks to dictate social order by means of institutional design. This project, however, fails in two ways. Empirically, constitutionalism is confronted with the fact that constitutions have limited control over their social environment. Epistemologically, constitutionalism has great difficulty in finding a convincing foundational relation between abstract constitutional provisions and constitutional norms for concrete situations. On the basis of this poor record, it is hard to comprehend how constitutionalism remains such an influential factor in our polity. This article tries to explain our adherence to the philosophy of constitutional ordering by analysing its function in constitutional discourse. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Human Rights and the Defense of Liberal Democracy

In recent issues of the Journal of Religious Ethics (2006, 2007), David Little has defended the contemporary regime of international human rights against what he thinks of as the relativizing influences of the genealogical “just‐so” story told by Jeffrey Stout in his Democracy and Tradition (2004). I argue that Stout is correct about just‐so stories, and that Little does not go far enough in his reclamation of liberalism against Stout's “new traditionalists.” The main weaknesses of Little's approach are his insistence on the idea that human rights are to be thought of as natural rights, and that these in turn are to be thought of as self‐evident and self‐justifying. I argue that they are neither: they come to us via a Stoutian just‐so story, and that as part of a broader reclamation of liberalism, they can continue to serve as the basis for the kind of international liberal constitutionalism that Little advocates.     

New Constitutionalism and the Social Reproduction of Caring Institutions

This essay analyzes neo-liberal economic agreements and legal and political frameworks or what has been called the “new constitutionalism,” a governance framework that empowers market forces to reshape economic and social development worldwide. The article highlights some consequences of new constitutionalism for caring institutions specifically, and for what feminists call social reproduction more generally: the biological reproduction of the species; the reproduction of labor power; and the reproduction of social institutions and processes associated with the creation and maintenance of communities. New constitutional governance frameworks fundamentally reshape conditions under which the care of human beings takes place. Caring institutions once governed by enabling professions geared to universal care are now determined increasingly by market values and private forces, and driven directly by the profit motive. This is one of the reasons why neo-liberalism is increasingly contested in both the North and the global South.     

论宪政的伦理之维

良好的宪政必然遵从和反映人类优良的伦理,这些伦理维度主要体现为：幸福是宪政的根本关怀,正义是宪政的永恒追求,博爱是宪政的核心价值,人权是宪政的终极目的,和谐是宪政的理想状态。高扬宪政的伦理精神对建设宪政中国具有重大的理论和现实意义。     

MARTYRDOM: SELF‐DENIAL OR SELF‐EXALTATION? MOTIVES FOR SELF‐SACRIFICE FROM HOMER TO POLYCARP A THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION1

This article explores the theological understandings of martyrdom in the second century and how they might serve as a response to Nietzsche's critique that Christian martyrdom is not self‐abnegation but a self‐deluded assertion of the will to power. In reply to this objection, the article focuses on the early church's self‐conscious concern for the proper and improper forms of martyrdom as depicted in the Martyrdom of Polycarp. By contrasting the depiction of Polycarp's martyrdom “according to the gospel” with classical views of self‐sacrifice in Homer's Iliad and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, it will show how martyrdom, contra Nietzsche, can be an act of true self‐denial.     

PERCEPTION DE FORMES GÉOMÉTRIQUES ET d'ILLUSIONS CHEZ DES ENFANTS FRANCAIS ET AMÉRICAINS1

Perception of geometric forms and optical illusions in French and American children. — A 30-item series of perceptual problems involving geometric forms and optical illusions was administered to 357 French and 732 American children, ages 8 through 16 years. A developmental gradient was observed in both samples: performance correlated +.33 with age in the French sample and +.22 in the American. Age-by-age comparison of means gave approximately identical results, except at age 12 where the French children scored significantly higher. Prior research has shown the perceptual series to be uncorrelated with verbal and linguistic ability, but significantly related to performance on tasks (such as the embedded figures test) which reflect analytic capacity. These findings, plus the cross-national stability of age norms and developmental gradients found here, suggest that the series may have value as a research tool for cross-cultural study of interpersonal effectiveness and analytic aptitude.     

Excellence‐Prior Eudaimonism

Eudaimonism is often regarded as egoistic. If it recommends that agents pursue their own good because it is their own good, it is guilty as charged. But excellence‐prior eudaimonism offers a non‐egoistic alternative to this welfare‐prior eudaimonism. Excellence‐prior eudaimonism recommends that an agent live in a way that is in fact good for the agent, but it does not regard the agent’s own good as necessarily that for the sake of which the agent acts, nor does it regard living well as justified by the fact that it is good for the agent, but simply because it is good. The Christian eudaimonisms of Augustine and Aquinas are best understood as deepened forms of excellence‐prior eudaimonism.     

Exploring Different Forms of Job (Dis)Satisfaction and Their Relationship with Well‐Being,Motivation and Performance

Job satisfaction is often treated as a one‐dimensional construct. In contrast, Bruggemann ( 1974 ) postulated six distinct forms of (dis)satisfaction: four types of satisfaction (progressive, stabilised, resigned, pseudo) and two types of dissatisfaction (constructive, fixated). Despite her theory's practical relevance, few researchers have explored its assumptions or applications. The current study aimed to characterise a German‐speaking employee sample (n = 892) according to Bruggemann's theory using mixture modelling. We investigated stability of the (dis)satisfaction forms over a five‐month period, as well as their relationship with well‐being, motivation and (self‐reported) performance. We found latent clusters corresponding to most Bruggemann types, though no distinction between progressive and stabilised satisfaction was possible. While cluster membership varied over time, some clusters (e.g. resigned satisfaction) were more stable than others (e.g. constructive dissatisfaction). Overall satisfaction level explained 25–51 per cent variance in well‐being and motivation, and 13–16 per cent variance in performance. Including forms of satisfaction improved cross‐sectional prediction by 2–6 per cent explained variance. Results suggest that unfavourable consequences of job dissatisfaction may be limited to fixated—not constructive—dissatisfaction, though no consistent longitudinal effects emerged. We argue that exploring qualitative differences in job satisfaction promotes a more nuanced and potentially useful understanding of the relationship between satisfaction and work outcomes.     

Phenomenological Reduction,Epochē, and the Speech of Socrates in the Symposium

The point of the present article is to investigate whether the key conceptions of epochē and reduction as found in Husserl's phenomenology can be brought to bear in a fruitful rereading of the speech of Socrates in Plato's Symposium.¹ In pursuit of this goal, I will begin by revisiting the traditional reading of this speech in terms of a scala amoris in which the erotic subject is guided from attachment to a series of inferior objects to the Beautiful and Good itself such that the value of all preceding attachments is suspended. The critique that this approach to love instrumentalizes all but the transcendent Good is one that is found both within and without the text. In opposition to this reading, however, I will suggest that Husserl's notions of epochē and reduction enable us to read the speech not as an instrumentalizing scala but in terms of a reflective distance in which our immersion in and with the erotic object is suspended so that we might reappropriate the real meaning of erotic engagement. According to this reading, Plato does not negate the particular or lower forms of eros but reinscribes them with a value derived from their position in relation to the ultimate. The suspension of the lower forms, then, is not final but is merely employed in order to let what occurs in erotic engagement show itself.     

Class matters: 12‐month‐olds’ word–object associations privilege content over function words

A fundamental step in learning words is the development of an association between a sound pattern and an element in the environment. Here we explore the nature of this associative ability in 12‐month‐olds, examining whether it is constrained to privilege particular word forms over others. Forty‐eight infants were presented with sets of novel English content‐like word–object pairings (e.g. fep) or novel English function‐like word–object (e.g. iv) pairings until they habituated. Results indicated that infants associated novel content‐like words, but not the novel function‐like words, with novel objects. These results demonstrate that the mechanism with which basic word–object associations are formed is remarkably sophisticated by the onset of productive language. That is, mere associative pairings are not sufficient to form mappings. Rather the system requires well‐formed noun‐like words to co‐occur with objects in order for the linkages to arise.     

How Signs Function in the Process of Meaning Construction: An Exemplification from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gitai-go</Emphasis> in the Japanese Language

In this paper, I will examine the semiotic mediation process of meaning construction and the functioning of signs, focusing on a group of characteristic words, Gitai-go in the Japanese language. Mimic words in the Japanese language, including Gitai-go are applicable to various subjects based on their inter-sensory nature, and appear frequently in informal communication among Japanese, not only for young children but also in adults’ communication. When I consider their functioning from the viewpoint of meaning construction, their characteristic feature is their indefiniteness that is open to diverse forms of extension, including that of no further elaboration and continuous diffusion of the affective flavor within the current setting. Though the process is interpretable in terms of the Japanese culture that is characterized by vagueness, it is also a clear exemplification of how the indefiniteness of signs works in the process of meaning construction and in our communication.     

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER—AN ETHICS OF GOD'S APOCALYPSE?

Bonhoeffer's theology generally and his Ethics in particular have not commonly been thought to be ‘apocalyptic’. Indeed, many have adjudged him to be “almost immunized” against such eschatology. Yet, a close reading of Bonhoeffer's Ethics shows unmistakable resonances between the themes, tasks and argumentative forms of his theological ethics and the contours of pauline apocalyptic as set forth recently in the work of J. Louis Martyn and others. In this text, Bonhoeffer confronts the question ‘What has paraenesis to do with apocalypsis?’ and experiments with answers which acknowledge that ‘the incursion of a new world’ in Christ ‘renders ancient good uncouth.’ Seeing this illumines several aspects of Bonhoeffer's theological ethics, clarifies the importance of the doctrine of justification therein, and emphasises its dynamic, dialectical and pauline character.     

Neediness and connectedness and the five‐factor model of personality

This study examined maladaptive and relatively more adaptive forms of dependency, as measured by the neediness and connectedness factors of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976 ), within a comprehensive scheme of personality provided by the revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO‐PI‐R; Costa & McCrae, 1992 ). University students (n = 475) completed the DEQ, NEO‐PI‐R, and a measure of depressive symptoms. Results indicated that neediness reflected anxiety, self‐consciousness, vulnerability, unassertiveness, and inactivity, whereas connectedness reflected anxiety, warmth, agreeableness, and valuing of relationships. Neediness demonstrated stronger relations than connectedness with depressive symptoms. These results support the validity of DEQ neediness and connectedness as measures of maladaptive and relatively more adaptive forms of dependency. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relocating Barth's Theology of Culture: Beyond the ‘True Words’ Approach of Church Dogmatics IV/3

Barth's writings present two discrete approaches to culture and attempts to link the two overlook Barth's rationale for isolating them. Though interpreters of Barth's theology of culture typically turn to CD IV/3, I argue that this material is not the place to look for insights into his analyses of cultural forms (e.g. the Mozart essays), but is better understood simply as a necessary extension of his doctrine of the Word – identical in content and context to his remarks against theology of culture in CD I/1. Instead, Barth's eschatology provides us with greater insights into his theological approach to culture.     

EVANS’S ANTI‐CARTESIAN ARGUMENT: A CRITICAL EVALUATION

This paper evaluates the anti‐Cartesian argument given by Evans in chapter seven of The Varieties of Reference. It focuses on Evans’s claim that bodily awareness is a form of self‐awareness. The apparent basis for this claim is the datum that sometimes judgements about one’s position based on body sense are immune to errors of misidentification. However, Evans’s argument suffers from a crucial ambiguity. Once disambiguated, it turns out that Evans’s argument either begs the question against the Cartesian or fails to be plausible. Nonetheless, the argument is important for drawing our attention to the idea that bodily modes of awareness should be taken seriously as possible forms of self‐awareness.     

Trusting me,trusting you: Evaluating three forms of trust on an information‐rich consumer review website

When faced with a lack of information, consumers turn to trust to make a decision; but what happens to trust when individuals are confronted with the wealth of data on the Internet? This study evaluates three forms of trust in information‐abundant contexts: trust in the site, trust in the reviewers, and a postulated third form, trust‐in‐self. It looks at the roles of these three forms of trust in the information‐rich travel review website TripAdvisor. Two studies of site users, interviews (N = 30) and a survey (N = 237), found trust‐in‐self was highly influential in purchase decision making. Further, even with so much information, consumers sought more; the site is just one source they turn to, and they cross‐check among sources. The study concludes that any trust consumers have in TripAdvisor is not so much in the reviewers or the site, but in their own selves. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Science–Practice Gap in e‐Recruitment

We conducted a content analysis of online job application forms used by companies listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange (i.e., Bolsa de Madrid). We collected data from 76 companies in 2005 and then again for 66 of these companies in 2009. We coded the type of information required on the application forms based on 24 categories related to potential illegal discrimination and personnel selection social context issues (i.e., fairness, intrusiveness, and privacy). Results indicated that the relative frequency of the 24 information categories has remained stable from 2005 to 2009. Moreover, averaging 2005 and 2009 results, a large percentage of companies require information that can be used for illegal discrimination and can be perceived as unfair, intrusive, and invasive of applicants' privacy such as age or date of birth (87%), nationality (61%), marital status (48%), place of birth (57%), passport number (47%), a photograph (23%), and number of children (11%). Our results document a science–practice gap in e‐recruitment because scholarly research suggests that requesting these types of information leads to negative applicant reactions ranging from negative perceptions and emotions to actually initiating legal action against the recruiting firm. Our results also point to e‐recruitment as an area that could be targeted as a good collaboration topic between scientists and practitioners because the resulting research has the potential to make important contributions toward bridging the science–practice gap.