Colors in the life-world

Continental Philosophy Review -     

Wissenschaft,technik, lebenswelt

Ohne ZusammenfassungGekürzte und überarbeitete Fassung von Gijutsu to Keiken-Gijutsutetsugaku eno ichi Shiron (Technik und Erfahrung-ein Ansatz zur Phänomenologie der Technik) in Genshogaku to Kaishakugaku (Phänomenologie und Hermeneutik) Bd. 1; Tokyo: Sakei-shoin, 1987. S. 73–110. Ursprünglich vorgetragen anlässlich der Jahrestagung der Japanischen Gesellschaft für Phänomenologie anm 30. November 1986 in Kyoto.     

COOPERATION,COMPETITION, INDIVIDUALISM AND INTERPERSONALISM IN JAPANESE FIFTH AND EIGHTH GRADE BOYS*

The study compared the expression of cooperation, competition, individualism and interpersonalism in Japanese youth. Forty-two 5th grade boys and 42 8th grade boys first completed two questionnaires about cooperation/competition and group/individualized activities. Their group structure was then coded (as working in trios, in duos, or separately) as trios of boys built houses with playing cards. The experimental design crossed instructions (1) to work individually or in a group and (2) compete or do one's own best. Subjects were questioned about their awareness of, liking for and preferences for the cooperative, individualistic, and group-centered aspects of the experimental tasks. On orientation scales, 8th graders chose equal numbers of individualistic and group-centered activities, while 5th graders chose more group activities. Both age groups strongly favored cooperative over competitive items. In group trials of the experiment, 8th graders tended to work alone for greater proportions of time than did 5th graders. Questionnaire data indicated that (1) 8th graders reported greater enjoyment of the individualistic aspect of the task than did 5th graders, (2) both age groups evidenced a strong sense of interpersonalism, and (3) cooperation was rated more positively than competition at both ages. The study was discussed in relation to recent studies on Japanes school socialization and cooperation/competition.     

Incredible Worlds, Credible Results

Robert Sugden argues that robustness analysis cannot play an epistemic role in grounding model-world relationships because the procedure is only a matter of comparing models with each other. We posit that this argument is based on a view of models as being surrogate systems in too literal a sense. In contrast, the epistemic importance of robustness analysis is easy to explicate if modelling is viewed as extended cognition, as inference from assumptions to conclusions. Robustness analysis is about assessing the reliability of our extended inferences, and when our confidence in these inferences changes, so does our confidence in the results. Furthermore, we argue that Sugden’s inductive account relies tacitly on robustness considerations.

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Relationship between upper extremity kinesthetic sense and writing performance by students with low vision

Kinesthetic sense plays an important role in writing. Children with low vision lack sensory input from the environment given their loss of vision. This study assessed the effect of upper extremity kinesthetic sense on writing function in two groups, one of students with low vision (9 girls and 11 boys, 9.4 +/- 1.9 yr. of age) and one of sighted students (10 girls and 10 boys, 10.1 +/- 1.3 yr. of age). All participants were given the Kinesthesia Test and Jebsen Hand Function Test-Writing subtest. Students with low vision scored lower on kinesthetic perception and writing performance than sighted peers. The correlation between scores for writing performance and upper extremity kinesthetic sense in the two groups was significant (r = -.34). The probability of deficiencies in kinesthetic information in students with low vision must be remembered.     

J.D. Velleman,On Being Me: A Personal Invitation to Philosophy (with illustrations by Emily C. Bernstein). Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2020. ISBN 978-0-691-20095-8, $12.95, Hbk

The Journal of Value Inquiry -     

Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Parkinson's Disease: A Case Series Study1

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients frequently suffer from insomnia and insomnia can result in reduction of quality of life in PD. Although pharmacotherapy is most applicable for insomnia, it may cause side-effects in PD. The purpose of the study was to investigate the efficacy of brief cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI) in PD. A total of 11 PD patients aged 43–84 years with chronic insomnia received two sessions of CBTI. Patients reported a significant decrease in total score for the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). The total score for the Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS) improved. Although objective sleep measured by actigraph did not improve, subjective sleep measured by sleep diary improved. Functional impairment measured by the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) significantly decreased. These results revealed that brief CBTI was effective in improving insomnia in PD, with improvements extending to functional impairments that had been affected by insomnia. Additionally, this non-pharmacotherapy treatment could be easily applied to PD patients who may have difficulty coming to the clinic frequently due to physical symptoms.