Consciousness and biological order: Toward a quantum theory of life and its evolution

Biological order is discussed within the context of the idealist interpretation of quantum mechanics. A quantum mechanism is proposed for quantum speciation and for quantum evolution, in general. It is shown that an extension of neo-Darwinism to include quantum evolution via a quantum mechanism can resolve some of the recent controversies that have rattled evolution theory. It is pointed out that the quantum approach has the further benefit of giving a straightforward insight into the nature of life itself. Experimental support for some aspects of the theory is discussed.     

Gamification and neuromarketing: A unified approach for improving user experience

Neuroscience and its offshoot as neuromarketing have helped marketers understand neuroscientific aspects of customers while gamification has helped them understand the psyche of consumers. Despite neuromarketing's many potential benefits to businesses, little academic work has been done on the field so far. Most studies have examined consumer shifts during and after pandemics without analyzing them from two critical perspectives: neuroscientific theories and psychology theories. As the two streams of knowledge lean on each other, their interdependence in the field of e-engagement needs exploration. The purpose of this study is to answer an important question – “How do marketers use gamification and neuromarketing to understand online engagement of consumers?”. We used a quantitative empirical research approach to assess the inter-relationship between neuromarketing and gamification. The study collected data from digital marketing strategists of retail firms to propose a theoretical framework for self-determination theory in successfully implementing new age technologies by plugging the cues of gamification and neuromarketing. The framework would be useful for retail firms to design digital marketing strategies for capturing the attention of consumers across different geographies. Findings indicated that, marketers are interested in neuromarketing for two main reasons: first, they think it can help them save money and improve their marketing plans, and second, they think that cutting-edge research techniques such as brain imaging can help them get more accurate findings.     

Effect of Stroke on Joint Control during Reach-to-Grasp: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

We investigated changes in control of inter-segmental dynamics underlying upper extremity dyscoordination caused by stroke. Individuals with stroke and healthy individuals performed a natural reach-to-grasp movement. Kinetic analysis revealed that both groups rotated the shoulder by muscle torque and used interaction torque to rotate the elbow. However, individuals with stroke used interaction torque less than healthy individuals, actively suppressing a substantial portion of it. This resulted in inefficient use of active control and dyscoordination of the upper extremity. The degree of interaction torque suppression and inefficiency of active control at the elbow positively correlated with stroke severity. The increased interaction torque suppression can be a strategy used by individuals with stroke to compensate for deficient feedforward control of this torque.     

The study of Hebrew Bible in Israel – between love and knowledge

The Bible and its study was central to the growth of Jewish nationalism and a Jewish national spirit from the nineteenth century, but especially in the new settlement in the Land of Israel, where knowledge of the Bible became integral to Jewish identity and its formation. The purported ability of Bible study to create identity achieved mythical proportions, and students were even expected to love the subject. But they did not, nor do they today, and as seen here, educators lamented, and still lament, this predicament. They seem to be ignoring that the real issue is not “love,” but teaching the Bible’s intrinsic worth.     

Mencius and Dewey on Moral Perception, Deliberation, and Imagination

I argue against interpretations of Mencius by Liu Xiusheng and Eric Hutton that attempt to make sense of a Mencian account of moral judgment and deliberation in light of the moral particularism of John McDowell. These interpretations read Mencius??s account as relying on a faculty of moral perception, which generates moral judgments by directly perceiving moral facts that are immediately intuited with the help of rudimentary and innate moral inclinations. However, I argue that it is a mistake to identify innate moral inclinations as the foundational source of moral judgments and knowledge. Instead, if we understand that for Mencius an individual??s natural dispositions (xing ??) have a relational element, then the normativity of moral judgments can be seen as stemming from the relationships that constitute the dispositions of each individual. Finally, this essay elaborates on John Dewey's account of moral deliberation as moral imagination, an account which also takes the relational quality of natural dispositions as its starting point, in order to suggest the vital role of imagination for Mencius??s own account of moral deliberation.     

When Suicide Is at Stake: Some Thoughts on the Therapeutic Space between Therapists and Adolescents

Looking at adolescence as a period of turmoil as well as abrupt physical and mental changes, it is not surprising that in western countries suicide is the primary cause of death in adolescents and young adults ages 15–24. Most therapists treating adolescents encounter patients who frequently engage in suicidal behavior. This significantly challenges the therapeutic bond and influences the therapeutic space in a unique way. In this article, we address the challenges specific to the therapeutic alliance in treating adolescents presenting suicidal behaviors. While literature on the nature of the therapeutic bond with adult suicide attempters is available, literature on the distinguishing characteristics of the therapeutic bond with adolescent attempters is lacking. Two vignettes are presented to illustrate this distinctive alliance.     

Syntax response–space biases for hands,not feet

A number of studies have shown a relationship between comprehending transitive sentences and spatial processing (e.g., Chatterjee, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 5(2), 55–61, 2001), in which there is an advantage for responding to images that depict the agent of an action to the left of the patient. Boiteau and Almor (Cognitive Science, 2016) demonstrated that a similar effect is found for pure linguistic information, such that after reading a sentence, identifying a word that had appeared earlier as the agent is faster on the left than on the right, but only for left-hand responses. In this study, we examined the role of lateralized manual motor processes in this effect and found that such spatial effects occur even when only the responses, but not the stimuli, have a spatial dimension. In support of the specific role of manual motor processes, we found a response-space effect with manual but not with pedal responses. Our results support an effector-specific (as opposed to an effector-general) hypothesis: Manual responses showed spatial effects compatible with those in previous research, whereas pedal responses did not. This is consistent with theoretical and empirical work arguing that the hands are generally involved with, and perhaps more sensitive to, linguistic information.     

Distress Tolerance Scale: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Among Daily Cigarette Smokers

The present investigation evaluated the factor structure of the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS; Simons and Gaher 2005) among a sample of 173 (54.9% males) daily cigarette smokers (M = 16.64 cigarettes per day, SD = 7.83). Comparison of a single higher-order model and a hierarchical multidimensional model was conducted using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). In addition, evaluation of the internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity of the better-fitting model was completed. CFA of the DTS indicated a single second-order factor of distress tolerance, and four lower-order factors including Tolerance, Appraisal, Absorption, and Regulation; each factor demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency. In addition, the DTS displayed good convergent and discriminant validity with theoretically relevant smoking and affect variables. Results are discussed in terms of explicating the latent structure of distress tolerance, as measured by the DTS, within the context of smoking research.