Is Objective Consequentialism Compatible with the Principle that “Ought” Implies “Can”?

Some philosophers hold that objective consequentialism is false because it is incompatible with the principle that “ought” implies “can”. Roughly speaking, objective consequentialism is the doctrine that you always ought to do what will in fact have the best consequences. According to the principle that “ought” implies “can”, you have a moral obligation to do something only if you can do that thing. Frances Howard-Snyder has used an innovative thought experiment to argue that sometimes you cannot do what will in fact have the best consequences because you do not know what will in fact have the best consequences. Erik Carlson has raised two objections against Howard-Snyder’s argument. This paper examines Howard-Snyder’s argument as well as Carlson’s objections, arguing that Carlson’s objections do not go through but Howard-Snyder’s argument fails nonetheless. Moreover, this paper attempts to show that objective consequentialism and other objectivist moral theories are compatible with the principle that “ought” implies “can”. Finally, this paper analyses a special kind of inability: ignorance-induced inability.     

It’s up to you: The Influence of Sports Participation,Academic Performances and Demo-Behavioral Characteristics on University students’ Life Satisfaction

This paper investigates university students’ life satisfaction by measuring six life satisfaction components (family life satisfaction, social life satisfaction, satisfaction with the university experience, satisfaction with oneself, satisfaction with the place of residence, satisfaction with the overall life) among different students’ groups. Life satisfaction is measured using Brief Multi-Dimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS). A cross-sectional approach was taken to examine differences among identified students’ groups according to: academic performance (by GPA and status of funding), demographic and behavioral characteristics (by gender, body mass index, smoking and alcohol consumption) and features related to physical activity (by weekly time spent in physical activity in hours and group of sport engaged in). Research is conducted among 507 students at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Serbia. Man Whitney and Kruskal Wallis test were performed for pairwise comparison using Bonferroni correction. The results show statistically significant differences in the following components: satisfaction with family life (within gender group), satisfaction with social life (within sex and smoking groups), satisfaction with the university experience (within sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, GPA and scholarship/funding status groups), satisfaction with oneself (within GPA, financial status, alcohol consumption and type of sport groups), satisfaction with the place of residence (within GPA, scholarship/funding status, time spent in physical activities and body mass index) and satisfaction with the overall life (within gender and alcohol consumption groups). This paper has both theoretical and practical influence on contemporary life satisfaction field of knowledge, particularly in university students’ population.     

Multiproblem Families Referred to Youth Mental Health: What's in a Name?

The purpose of this study was threefold, namely (1) to differentiate between multiproblem families and control families on characteristics and processes within the family based on a theoretical framework, (2) to identify multiproblem families by establishing cut‐off scores on various questionnaires, and (3) to categorize multiproblem families into subtypes by cluster analyses. Various questionnaires were administered to multiproblem families (n = 85) and control families (n = 150). Results showed that what we propose to refer to as multiproblem families present a broad range of problems on seven domains: (1) child factors, (2) parental factors, (3) childrearing problems (inadequate or inconsistent parenting), (4) family functioning problems, (5) contextual problems, (6) social network problems, and (7) mental health care problems. Further, reliable cut‐off scores were established for various questionnaires. Finally, three types of families were found: (1) community‐problem families, (2) multiproblem families, and (3) child‐focused mild‐problem families. This paper looks to advance an evidence‐based definition and assessment of “multiproblem families” suggesting the possible value of defining and assessing multiproblem families in relation to these seven dimensions. Moreover, the classification of multiproblem families stresses the importance of providing tailored treatments.     

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of an Item Bank for Computerized Adaptive Testing of the EORTC Insomnia Dimension in Cancer Patients (EORTC CAT-SL)

To further advance assessment of patient-reported outcomes, the European Organisation of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group has developed computerized adaptive test (CAT) versions of all EORTC Quality of Life Core Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) scales/items. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate an item bank for CAT measurement of insomnia (CAT-SL). In line with the EORTC guidelines, the developmental process comprised four phases: (I) defining the concept insomnia and literature search, (II) selection and formulation of new items, (III) pre-testing and (IV) field-testing, including psychometric analyses of the final item bank. In phase I, the literature search identified 155 items that were compatible with our conceptualisation of insomnia, including both quantity and quality of sleep. In phase II, following a multistep-approach, this number was reduced to 15 candidate items. Pre-testing of these items in cancer patients (phase III) resulted in an item list of 14 items, which were field-tested among 1094 patients in phase IV. Psychometric evaluations showed that eight items could be retained in a unidimensional model. The final item bank yielded greater measurement precision than the original QLQ-C30 insomnia item. It was estimated that administering two or more items from the insomnia item bank with CAT results in a saving in sample size between approximately 15–25%. The 8-item EORTC CAT-SL item bank facilitates precise and efficient measurement of insomnia as part of the EORTC CAT system of health-related quality life assessment in both clinical research and practice.

     

Don’t Talk About the Elephant: Silence and Ethnic Boundaries in Postwar Bosnia-Herzegovina

In December 1995, the guns fell silent on Bosnia-Herzegovina and so did much dialogue. Silence is omnipresent in this postwar society: People conceal their suffering; they remain silent about their potential responsibility and guilt and—in interethnic encounters—the violent past is often wholly screened out. Drawing on a literature analysis as well as own interviews and ethnographic observations conducted in Bosnia-Herzegovina since 2007, the article focuses on the interplay between silence and the constitution of ethnic boundaries. In accordance with the literature, it argues that silencing in-group atrocities reinforces the boundaries between former enemies by strengthening ethnically biased collective memories. However, existing research also suggest that not speaking about war in interethnic encounters most likely contributes to the integration of Bosnian society because it enables members of different ethnic communities to interact ‘peacefully’ in everyday life, thereby creating ‘new’ realities within which ethnic boundaries become less important. This conclusion assumes that silencing necessarily leads to forgetting. The following paper challenges this perception and argues that silence about war and the avoidance of conflict in interethnic communication can, in fact, also promote a further consolidation of ethnic boundaries. When conversations about past realities only take place between like-minded people, the likely result is that their pre-existing shared perspective on this reality will become solidified. In other words, silencing war in interethnic encounters impedes any potential revision or restructuring of interethnic relations and therefore stabilises the boundaries between ethnic groups.     

Long-term improvement in coping skills following multimodal treatment in war veterans with chronic PTSD

Due to the long-lasting and resistant symptoms characteristic of chronic combat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), its treatment is complex and often requires a tailored therapeutic approach incorporating both psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. A multimodal approach of psychoeducative, sociotherapeutic, and dynamically oriented trauma-focused groups is described. We assessed the short- and long-term effectiveness of this therapeutic program by monitoring its impact on PTSD symptoms, depression, neurotic symptoms, coping skills, and quality of life for three years. The findings revealed short-term reduction in the symptoms of PTSD and depression, while the long-term results were manifested as the increased use of all coping mechanisms and a greater level of obsession.     

Analysis of voice impairment in aphasia after stroke-underlying neuroanatomical substrates

Phonation is a fundamental feature of human communication. Control of phonation in the context of speech-language disturbances has traditionally been considered a characteristic of lesions to subcortical structures and pathways. Evidence suggests however, that cortical lesions may also implicate phonation. We carried out acoustic and perceptual analyses of the phonation of /a/ in 60 males with aphasia (20 Wernicke's, 20 Broca's, 20 subcortical aphasia) and 20 males matched in age with no neurological or speech-language disturbances. All groups with aphasia were significantly more impaired on the majority of acoustic and perceptual measures as compared with the control speakers. Within the subjects with aphasia, subjects with subcortical aphasia were more impaired on most measures compared to subjects with Broca's aphasia, and they, in turn, more impaired than those with Wernicke's aphasia. Lesions in regions involved in sound production-perception result in dysfunction of the entire neurocognitive system of articulation-phonological language processing.     

An investigation of stride interval stationarity while listening to music or viewing television

In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the effects of auditory and visual distractions on pedestrian ambulation. A fundamental temporal characteristic of ambulation is the temporal fluctuation of the stride interval. In this paper, we investigate the stationarity of stride interval time series when people are exposed to different forms of auditory and visual distractions. An increase in nonstationary behavior may be suggestive of divided attention and more frequent central modulation of locomotion, both of which may have ramifications on pedestrian vigilance and responsiveness to environmental perturbations. One group of fifteen able-bodied (6 females) young adult participants completed a music protocol (overground walking with and without music). A second group of fifteen (7 females) did a television protocol (treadmill walking while watching TV with and without sound). Three walking trials, each 15min in duration, were performed at each participant's comfortable walking speed, with force sensitive resistors under the heel of each foot. Using the reverse arrangements test, the vast majority of time series were nonstationary, with a time-varying mean as the principal source of nonstationarity. Furthermore, the television trial with sound had the greatest number of nonstationarities followed by overground walking while listening to music. We discuss the possibility that these conditions measurably affect gait dynamics through a subconscious synchronization to external rhythms or a cyclic distraction followed by a period of increased conscious correction of gait timing. Our findings suggest that the regulation of stride timing is particularly susceptible to constant, time-evolving auditory stimuli, but that normal pacing can be restored quickly upon stimulus withdrawal. These kinds of sensory distractions should thus be carefully considered in studies of pedestrian ambulation.     

Do Applicants Fake Their Personality Questionnaire Responses and How Successful are Their Attempts? A Case of Military Pilot Cadet Selection

This paper presents the results of three interrelated studies investigating the occurrence of response distortion on personality questionnaires within selection and the success of applicants in faking situations. In Study 1, comparison of the Big Five personality scores obtained from applicants in a military pilot cadet selection procedure with participants responding honestly, faking good, and faking an ideal candidate revealed that applicants responded more desirable than participants responding honestly but less desirable than respondents under fake instructions. The occurrence of faking within the military pilot selection process was replicated in Study 2 using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and another comparison group. Finally, in Study 3, comparison of personality profiles obtained in selection and ‘fake job’ situations with experts' estimates indicated that participants were partially successful in faking the desirable profile.     

Predicting Well-Being From Personality in Adolescents and Older Adults

The relationship between personality and well-being is dynamic and therefore should be examined within aging perspective. In study presented here we compared the prediction of well-being from personality in two samples?C223 adolescents attending high-school (16?C19?years; M?=?16.94, SD?=?0.51) and 134 older adults (54?C90?years; M?=?77.20, SD?=?7.39) living in retirement home or at home. Different aspects of well-being were included in the study. Subjective well-being was measured with Index of Well-Being, but also self-esteem and loneliness were included as measures of psychological well-being. Personality (measured with FFPI; Hendriks et al. in Pers Individ Dif 27:307?C325, 1999) significantly predicted indicators of well-being (Self-Esteem, Loneliness and Index of Well-Being) in both samples, with emotional stability and extraversion as most pronounced predictors. Personality explained more variance of well-being in adolescents than in older adults, and more variance in eudaimonic than hedonic aspects of well-being.