Making Things Happen

We explore some logics of change, focusing on commands to change the world in such a way that certain elementary propositions become true or false. This investigation starts out from the following two simplifying assumptions: (1) the world is a collection of facts (Wittgenstein), and (2), the world can be changed by changing elementary facts (Marx). These assumptions allow us to study the logic of imperatives in the simplest possible setting.     

Intending and Causing

In much of the contemporary discussion of end of life cases, active killing is forbidden doctors, whereas the passive bringing about of death is, e.g., a rather common occurrence in our hospitals. In the former sorts of cases, doctors are held to be causes of death; in the latter sorts of cases, they are held not to be. If they did not cause a death, even though they did passively bring it about, we cannot use casual responsibility for a death in order to raise possible questions about moral responsibility for that death. I here look at part of this insistence that doctors are not a part cause of death and call it into question.     

It Won't Happen to Me: An Investigation of Optimism Bias in Occupational Health and Safety

Optimism bias is the tendency to think that negative events are less likely to happen to oneself than to one's peers. Optimism bias concerning occupational health and safety (OHS) hazards was assessed in 105 postgraduate students and university employees. Significant levels of optimism bias were found for several events (e.g., suffering/causing injury). Though optimism bias was not related to perceived controllability, administration of OHS by management may explain why this observation differs from findings in other domains. While further study is required, the present study demonstrates that people tend to think hazardous events at work are less likely to happen to themselves compared to others doing the same job, which has important implications for management of safety at work.     

Why It Can't Happen to Me: The Base Rate Matters,But Overestimating Skill Leads to Underestimating Risk1

Undergraduates (N = 330) estimated their risk for aversive events (e.g., motor vehicle accident), in which we varied personal control (e.g., driver = self or other) and bogus base rates (high vs. low). Base rate data influenced risk estimates, but people underestimated their risk if they were the agent (e.g., the driver) rather than if another person was the agent. Justifications for estimates suggested that the base rate was perceived to be the risk for the average person. Most people then adjusted their estimates for a negative outcome downward because they believed that they were better than average on a skill (e.g., driving skill) that was perceived to be causally related to the event.     

子宫内膜异位症导致不孕机理探讨

近年来的研究表明了EMT和不孕之间存在较强的相关性,但是两者之间的因果关系和发病机制目前仍存在争议。本文对子宫内膜异位症与不孕之间机理探讨是从分析和综合相结合的认识方法来达到掌握两者关系的本质及其规律性的目的。遵循这样科学的发展战略才能更有利于人类医学领域的繁荣发展。     

子宫内膜异位症导致不孕机理探讨

近年来的研究表明了EMT和不孕之间存在较强的相关性,但是两者之间的因果关系和发病机制目前仍存在争议.本文对子宫内膜异位症与不孕之间机理探讨是从分析和综合相结合的认识方法来达到掌握两者关系的本质及其规律性的目的.遵循这样科学的发展战略才能更有利于人类医学领域的繁荣发展.     

“It Can Happen to You”: Rape Prevention in the Age of Risk Management

This essay provides a critical analysis of rape prevention since the 1980s. I argue that we must challenge rape prevention's habitual reinforcement of the notion that fear is a woman's best line of defense. 1 suggest changes that must be made in the anti‐rape movement if we are to move past fear. Ultimately, I raise the question of what, if not vague threats and scare tactics, constitutes prevention.     

Children's Ideas About What Can Really Happen: The Impact of Age and Religious Background

Five- to 11-year-old U.S. children, from either a religious or secular background, judged whether story events could really happen. There were four different types of stories: magical stories violating ordinary causal regularities; religious stories also violating ordinary causal regularities but via a divine agent; unusual stories not violating ordinary causal regularities but with an improbable event; and realistic stories not violating ordinary causal regularities and with no improbable event. Overall, children were less likely to judge that religious and magical stories could really happen than unusual and realistic stories although religious children were more likely than secular children to judge that religious stories could really happen. Irrespective of background, children frequently invoked causal regularities in justifying their judgments. Thus, in justifying their conclusion that a story could really happen, children often invoked a causal regularity, whereas in justifying their conclusion that a story could not really happen, they often pointed to the violation of causal regularity. Overall, the findings show that children appraise the likelihood of story events actually happening in light of their beliefs about causal regularities. A religious upbringing does not impact the frequency with which children invoke causal regularities in judging what can happen, even if it does impact the type of causal factors that children endorse.     

临床决策偏差中的心理效应

临床决策是临床工作的核心。科学正确的临床决策是保证医疗服务质量的重要环节。现代心理学对临床决策的研究发现,由于决策双思维系统运转模式的存在,一些心理效应常常会导致临床决策出现系统性偏差或失误,这些心理效应包括易得性、拆分效应、锚定效应、框架效应、单次-重复博弈效应和后见之明效应等。医务人员了解这些心理效应的表现,熟悉它们对临床决策的潜在影响,并在进行重大临床决策时有效避免之,将会显著提升临床决策质量。