Religious Belief and Mental Health in Lay and Consecrated Italian Teachers

There is compelling evidence that teachers and clergy are stressful occupations. This study aimed to compare the rate of job strain and burnout among lay and consecrated teachers and to study the effect of religious coping on the mental health of these two groups. A cross-sectional survey study was carried out in Catholic kindergarten, preschool and primary schools of an Italian Congregation of nuns, in South Italy. The Italian versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educator Survey (MBI-ES) scale, of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and a study-specific questionnaire with sociodemographic variables and indicators of subjective (self-reported religiosity) and objective (prayer personal and church attendance) religiousness were used. Data were analyzed according to the guidelines for data processing and an analysis of the scales used. The participation rate of this study was 88 %. There was a significant difference between two groups in religiousness and job strain/burnout scores (lay teachers were the most affected group). Moreover, religiousness scores had a positive correlation with personal accomplishment, job satisfaction and perceived performance and a negative correlation with emotional exhaustion, turnover intention and morbidity psychiatric. Therefore, according to religious coping’s research, prayer personal and church attendance can be recommended as two of the ways to prevent job strain and burnout in the teacher work.     

On inconsistent entities. A reply to Colyvan

In a recent article M. Colyvan has argued that Quinean forms of scientific realism are faced with an unexpected upshot. Realism concerning a given class of entities, along with this route to realism, can be vindicated by running an indispensability argument to the effect that the entities postulated by our best scientific theories exist. Colyvan observes that among our best scientific theories some are inconsistent, and so concludes that, by resorting to the very same argument, we may incur a commitment to inconsistent entities. Colyvan’s argument could be interpreted, and in part is presented, as a reductio of Quinean scientific realism; yet, Colyvan in the end manifests some willingness to bite the bullet, and provides some reasons why we shouldn’t feel too uncomfortable with those entities. In this paper we wish to indicate a way out to the scientific realist, by arguing that no indispensability argument of the kind suggested by Colyvan is actually available. To begin with, in order to run such an indispensability argument we should be justified in believing that an inconsistent theory is true; yet, in so far as the logic we accept is a consistent one it is arguable that our epistemic predicament could not be possibly one in which we are justified in so believing. Moreover, also if our logic admitted true contradictions, as Dialetheism does, it is arguable that Colyvan’s indispensability argument could not rest on a true premise. As we will try to show, dialetheists do not admit true contradictions for cheap: they do so just as a way out of paradox, namely whenever we are second-level ignorant as to the metaphysical possibility of evidence breaking the parity among two or more inconsistent claims; Colyvan’s examples, however, are not of this nature. So, even under the generous assumption that Dialetheism is true, we will conclude that Colyvan’s argument doesn’t achieve its surprising conclusion.     

Caregiver burden and family functioning in different neurological diseases

Aim of this study is to examine caregiver burden and family functioning in different neurological conditions. Forty-two primary caregivers of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementia (AD), Parkinson’s Disease (PD), Acquired Brain Injuries (ABI) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) were administered scales for the evaluation of caregiver burden (CBI) and family functioning (FACES IV). Caregiver burden was overall high, with caregivers of patients with ALS and ABI having exceeded the CBI cut-off score for possible burn-out. The average scores of caregivers of patients with AD or other dementia and PD were close to the cut-off score, whereas those of caregivers of patients with MS were significantly lower than the others. Family cohesion, family satisfaction and the quality of family communication were associated with reduced levels of caregiver burden, whereas disengagement was associated with a higher burden. The data from the present study confirm that caregiver burden is a relevant issue in the context of neurological diseases, especially for those causing higher degrees of impairment. Significant correlations with family functioning emerged as well, highlighting the importance of studying and treating caregiver burden within the context of family relations.     

Habituation and migraine

The most reproducible and ubiquitous interictal abnormality of the migraineurs’ brain is lack of habituation in neuronal information processing. The underlying mechanisms are uncertain. Increased neuronal excitability, decreased inhibition or decreased pre-activation levels have all been proposed as possible culprits.The present review summarizes the available data on habituation in migraine patients obtained with different methodological approaches. We will discuss the change of habituation level over the migraine cycle and we will show that these data congruently indicate that the sensory cortices of migraineurs react excessively to repetitive, but not to a small series of stimuli.Although the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms of this hyper-responsivity must still be determined, we will describe experimental data suggesting that a dysrhythmic thalamo-cortical activity due to inadequate monoaminergic control might be a plausible explanation.     

Introduction: The Coming of the Knowledge Society and the Challenges for the Future of Europe

This paper explicates the philosophical and epistemological background of the MIRRORS project, which is the starting point of the various contributions in this issue. Developments in the philosophy of science will be discussed, especially the watershed work of Kuhn, in order to analyze further developments in the sociology of science, particularly starting from the Strong Programme. Finally, it will be shown how a multidisciplinary approach in Science & Technology (S&T) studies, as opposed to an interdisciplinary one, is to be preferred. Specifically, the connection between this approach and the modelling and idealizational approaches to science is stressed and defended as the best available approach for the formation of a conscientious democratic knowledge-based society.     

Forward

This paper explicates the philosophical and epistemological background of the MIRRORS project, which is the starting point of the various contributions in this issue. Developments in the philosophy of science will be discussed, especially the watershed work of Kuhn, in order to analyze further developments in the sociology of science, particularly starting from the Strong Programme. Finally, it will be shown how a multidisciplinary approach in Science & Technology (S&T) studies, as opposed to an interdisciplinary one, is to be preferred. Specifically, the connection between this approach and the modelling and idealizational approaches to science is stressed and defended as the best available approach for the formation of a conscientious democratic knowledge-based society.     

The aggression test as a possible taxonomic tool in the Formica rufa group

The intra- and interspecific aggressive behavior of Formica polyctena, a species of the Formica rufa group, was analyzed and quantified both in the laboratory and in the field. This behavior was used as a potential taxonomic tool for gaining a better understanding of the phyletic relationships among the species within the group. No overt aggression was recorded toward members of the same species. To examine interspecific relationships, F. polyctena was first confronted with F. cunicularia, to ascertain its aggressiveness toward a distantly related species. All such encounters led immediately to overt and prolonged attacks with virtually no initial mutual inspection. This suggests that recognition of strangeness of the unrelated species is almost immediate in F. polyctena, as previously observed in F. lugubris and F. rufa toward the same antagonist. Subsequently, F. polyctena was contrasted with F. lugubris and F. rufa (also belonging to the F. rufa group) in order to compare these related species. Fierce attacks accompanied by all the elements of conflict behavior were observed in all encounters. Moreover, the degree of aggression in the field was higher than in laboratory-paired ants, possibly because of a territorial effect. These data and our previous and similar research indicate that the relationships between F. lugubris and F. rufa are closer than between these two species and F. polyctena. In considering different viewpoints on this problem, the validity of the aggression test is discussed and the opportunity to compare levels of aggressiveness among strictly sympatric samples of red wood ant species gathered from the same ecological environment are considered.