Beware of mereologists bearing gifts: prolegomena to a medical metaphysics

This essay considers implications of formal mereologies and ontologies for medical metaphysics. Edward Fried’s extensional mereological account of the human body is taken as representative of a prominent strand in analytic metaphysics that has close affinities with medical positivism. I show why such accounts fail. First, I consider how Fried attempts to make sense of the medical case of Barney Clark, the first recipient of an artificial heart, and show that his analytic metaphysical categories do not have the right kind of fit with the case. A proper medical metaphysic should involve a richer two way dialogue with medicine, and it should not just “apply” formal accounts worked out in other settings. Second, I argue that any effort to account for real wholes with extensional mereological sums requires all sorts of ad hoc, supplementary mechanisms that do the real work, and the full repertoire of these mechanisms involves inconsistencies and semantic shifts. Finally, I consider an alternative strand of work on non-extensional whole/part relations that is closer to medicine and that can deepen reflection on some core problems in bioethics, for example, associated with the determination of death when an organism ceases to function as a whole. In addition to the utility such formal ontologies have for addressing traditional problems such as the determination of death, philosophers of medicine should appreciate the increasingly influential role such formal tools are playing in the development of data system ontologies. Assumptions integral to these ontologies have far reaching implications for the way future research and practice in medicine will be conducted, and much greater critical reflection is needed on the full range of issues associated with the development and use of such medical ontologies.     

Attitudes toward suicide among highly creative college students

Two groups of college students (n = 58 each) were identified through a combination of teacher nominations and creativity test scores, were labeled as creative or control, and matched on gender, age, college major, and vocabulary level. Their attitudes towards suicide were assessed using the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire (SOQ). Seven of the eight SOQ scales statistically differentiated the two groups, with creative subjects showing greater agreement of endorsement on the Mental Illness, Right to Die, Normality, and Aggression scales, and greater disagreement on the Cry for Help, Religion, and Moral Evil scales. The results suggest considerable attitudinal differences towards suicide between highly creative subjects and their control peers, with creative students perceiving suicide in more liberal and less judgmental terms.     

Individual problem‐solving styles and attitudes toward divergent thinking before and after training

ABSTRACT:

Afield experiment was conducted to examine the mediating effect of individual creative problem‐solving style on the impact of training in creative thinking. This intensive hands‐on training emphasized a specific three‐phase process which synchronizes divergence and convergence in problem‐finding, problem‐solving, and implementation. Two attitudes associated with divergent thinking were measured before and after training. The sample was comprised of a mixture of organizational members representing both managers (n = 90) and non‐managers (n = 66) and a variety of functional specialties, hierarchical levels, and types of business organizations. The most significant finding was that the optimizer style of creative problem‐solving improved more than the other three styles (generator, conceptualizer, and implementor) on measures of both creative thinking attitudes.     

Commentary on Paper by Aviva Gottlieb Zornberg

In this discussion, I stress two points. First, I have underlined the powerful understanding Dr. Zornberg brings to her exegesis of the book of Jonah via her competence as Biblical scholar, literary critic, and master of psychoanalytic theory. In her hands, Jonah becomes a fully minded person, not just a moral icon. Second, I have focused on her major thesis, that Jonah's need to escape, his repeated going down into and away from himself, evolves from his putative trauma, which is comprised of not only the horror of near death but also the shock of survival.     

Mapping Ethical Consumer Behavior: Integrating the Empirical Research and Identifying Future Directions

The concept of “ethical consumer behavior” has gained significant attention among practitioners and academic researchers, generating increasing but disjointed knowledge on the topic. By analyzing the empirical research on ethical consumer behavior, this article provides researchers with a map to guide future research. In total, we review 80 studies. The main contributions of the article include the identification of the main trends in the ethical consumer literature and the conceptualization of ethical consumer behavior. In addition, several areas for future research are proposed and discussed.     

Effects of occupational stress,job characteristics,coping, and attributional style on the mental health and job satisfaction of university employees

Well-being at work has been shown to be influenced by job characteristics and individual differences in coping styles. This study investigated the relationships between job demands, control, social support, efforts, rewards, coping, and attributional style in predicting anxiety, depression, and job satisfaction in a sample of 307 university employees from the UK. Results were compared to those from a sample of 120 members of the general population. Workplace demands, intrinsic and extrinsic effort, and negative coping and attributional behaviors were associated with high levels of depression and anxiety and low job satisfaction in university employees. Rewards, social support, job control, and positive coping and attributional behaviors were associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety and high job satisfaction. The study adds to the growing research on university samples by showing that a transactional approach should be adopted. This has implications for interventions and suggests that rather than just trying to change job characteristics one should identify at-risk individuals in this population and help them adopt appropriate positive coping styles.     

The halo model of origin images: Conceptualisation and initial empirical test

National origin has gained importance as a marketing tool for practitioners to sell their goods and services. However, because origin‐image research has been troubled by several fundamental limitations, academia has become sceptical of the current status and strategic implications of the concept. The aim of this paper was threefold, namely, to provide a state‐of‐the‐art review of origin‐image research in marketing, develop and empirically test a new origin‐image model and, present the implications of the study. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stimulus Properties of the Blacky Pictures Test

Abstract

Buss, A. H. Psychology of Aggression. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 1961, Pp. X + 307, $7.95. Reviewed by Leonard D. Eron

Eiduson, Bernice T. Scientists—their psychological world. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1962. pp. 299, $6.50. Reviewed by John R. Weir

Ginott, Haim G. Group Psychotherapy with Children. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961, pp. 208. Reviewed by Gordon Filmer-Bennett

Holtzman, Wayne H., Thorpe, Joseph S., Swartz, Jon D., &; Herron, E. Wayne Inkblot perception and personality. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1961. 417 pp. $8.00. Reviewed by A. Barclay, Ph.D.

Ittelson, William H., Kutash, Samuel B., ed: Perceptual Changes in Psychopathology. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1961. 262 pp. $9.00. Reviewed by Donald L. Weston

Levitt, E. E. Clinical Research Design and Analysis in the Behavioral Sciences. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1961, pp. 199–xxii. $8.50. Reviewed by Wilson H. Guertin

Lindzey, Gardner. Projective Techniques &; Cross-Cultural Research. Published by Appleton, Century-Crofts, Inc., N.Y., 1961, 339 pp., $6.00. Reviewed by Sohan Lal Sharma, Ph.D.

Clifton, James A. and Levine, David. Klamath Personalities: Ten Rorschach Case Studies, University of Oregon Press, Eugene, 1961, 80 pp. Reviewed by Sohan Lal Sharma, Ph.D.     

HTP and DCT Indicators of Sexual Identification in Children

Sexual differences in responses of 7 to 14 year-old children on the Franck DCT and the HTP were examined as indicators of developmental changes in sexual identification. On the Franck significant sexual differences were found only at ages 12 and 13. On the HTP, the sex of the first person drawn was significant at all ages; sex of the larger person drawn was significant at all but ages 7, 10 and 13; and use of heavier lines by boys was significant at ages 11 and 12. Generally insignificant results were obtained with placement on the page, inclusion of chimneys, and type of tree. Strongest sexual identification is indicated at puberty with its greater awareness of sexual characteristics.