Vagueness,Kant and Topology: a Study of Formal Epistemology

In this paper we propose an approach to vagueness characterised by two features. The first one is philosophical: we move along a Kantian path emphasizing the knowing subject’s conceptual apparatus. The second one is formal: to face vagueness, and our philosophical view on it, we propose to use topology and formal topology. We show that the Kantian and the topological features joined together allow us an atypical, but promising, way of considering vagueness.     

Primacy and recency effects in immediate free recall of sequences of spatial positions

This study evaluated the serial position curve based on free recall of spatial position sequences. To evaluate the memory processes underlying spatial recall, some manipulations were introduced by varying the length of spatial sequences (Exp. 1) and modifying the presentation rate of individual positions (Exp. 2). A primacy effect emerged for all sequence lengths, while a recency effect was evident only in the longer sequences. Moreover, slowing the presentation rate increased the magnitude of the primacy effect and abolished the recency effect. The main novelty of the present results is represented by the finding that better recall of early items in a sequence of spatial positions does not depend on the task requirement of an ordered recall but it can also be observed in a free recall paradigm.     

Note critiche

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Critical notices

     

Size scaling in two-dimensional pictorial arrays

The study examined effects of instructional sets (objective, phenomenal, projective, and retinal) on the judged sizes of blocks placed at various “distances” in a pictorial array. Magnitude estimations of size were consistent with previous studies of size constancy in three-dimensional arrays. Chronometric analyses indicated that reaction time increased with distal size, but was not affected by perceived distance. The results suggested that size was scaled relative to a perceptual unit. Instructions affected the nature of the scale unit (proximal vs. distal), but not the scaling process itself.     

The Ant and the Grasshopper: Adolescents’ Time Perspective,Satisfaction with Life and the Mediating Role of Hope

The present study examined the predictive role played by the three time perspective’s dimensions (Present-Hedonistic, Present-Fatalistic and Future) on the satisfaction with life and the mediational role of hope in adolescence, using cross-sectional data. Participants were 675 adolescents (333 males and 342 females), with a mean age of 17.4 years (SD = .84). Adolescents lived in Rome and its surroundings regions and attended the 3th or the 4th year of high school. A structural equation modeling was used. The results shown that Present-Hedonistic predicts directly and indirectly (through agency) the life satisfaction; Future and Present-Fatalistic predicts indirectly (through agency) the life satisfaction; the Present-Hedonistic and Future predicted the pathway, but it does not seem to play a role of mediator. This model is the same for males and females. These results offers new useful guidance to adolescents’ counsellors and educators that should endeavor to increase the hope of both Present and Future oriented adolescents.     

Stress-induced salivary cortisol secretion during hypobaric hypoxia challenge and in vivo urinary thromboxane production in healthy male subjects

Few studies have assessed the effects of stress on in vivo platelet activation. In the present study, hypobaric hypoxia induced by rapid decompression during high-altitude simulated flight in a hypobaric chamber was used to evaluate the effects of environmental stress on salivary cortisol and urinary thromboxane metabolite (TXM) excretion, a noninvasive marker of in vivo platelet function. Twenty-one male aviators (mean ± SD age = 36 ± 7 years) experiencing hypoxia by removing their oxygen mask for 4-5 min during a simulated flight to 25,000 ft (7,620 m; pO(2) = 59.17 mmHg) and a matched control group of thirteen flying instructors wearing oxygen masks during the challenge, were studied. Hypobaric hypoxia induced a transient significant increase (P < 0.001) in the aviators' salivary cortisol concentration; the overall pattern of diurnal cortisol fluctuation was maintained in both groups. Urinary TXM showed a significant ～30% reduction (P < 0.01) after the chamber session in aviators exposed to hypobaric hypoxia, but not in controls. A significant inverse correlation was found between salivary cortisol and urinary TXM in aviators (r = - 0.64, P = 0.0015). Salivary cortisol was a significant predictor (P < 0.001) for urinary TXM concentrations in aviators. In conclusion, here we observed that an acute stress-induced salivary cortisol increase was associated with reduced urinary thromboxane biosynthesis, providing the first indirect evidence for an inhibitory effect of acute stress on in vivo platelet function.