What is the Philosophy of Information?

Computational and information-theoretic research in philosophy has become increasingly fertile and pervasive, giving rise to a wealth of interesting results. In consequence, a new and vitally important field has emerged, the philosophy of information (PI). This essay is the first attempt to analyse the nature of PI systematically. PI is defined as the philosophical field concerned with the critical investigation of the conceptual nature and basic principles of information, including its dynamics, utilisation, and sciences, and the elaboration and application of information-theoretic and computational methodologies to philosophical problems. I argue that PI is a mature discipline for three reasons: it represents an autonomous field of research; it provides an innovative approach to both traditional and new philosophical topics; and it can stand beside other branches of philosophy, offering a systematic treatment of the conceptual foundations of the world of information and the information society.     

A genetic two-factor model of the covariation among a subset of Multidimensional Aptitude Battery and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised subtests

The phenotypic and genetic factor structure of performance on five Multidimensional Aptitude Battery (MAB) subtests and one Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS-R) subtest was explored in 390 adolescent twin pairs (184 monozygotic [MZ]; 206 dizygotic (DZ)). The temporal stability of these measures was derived from a subsample of 49 twin pairs, with test–retest correlations ranging from .67 to .85. A phenotypic factor model, in which performance and verbal factors were correlated, provided a good fit to the data. Genetic modeling was based on the phenotypic factor structure, but also took into account the additive genetic (A), common environmental (C), and unique environmental (E) parameters derived from a fully saturated ACE model. The best fitting model was characterized by a genetic correlated two-factor structure with specific effects, a general common environmental factor, and overlapping unique environmental effects. Results are compared to multivariate genetic models reported in children and adults, with the most notable difference being the growing importance of common genes influencing diverse abilities in adolescence.     

Study of behavioural and neural bases of visuo‐spatial working memory with an fMRI paradigm based on an n‐back task

The goal of this study was to propose a new functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm using a language‐free adaptation of a 2‐back working memory task to avoid cultural and educational bias. We additionally provide an index of the validity of the proposed paradigm and test whether the experimental task discriminates the behavioural performances of healthy participants from those of individuals with working memory deficits. Ten healthy participants and nine patients presenting working memory (WM) deficits due to acquired brain injury (ABI) performed the developed task. To inspect whether the paradigm activates brain areas typically involved in visual working memory (VWM), brain activation of the healthy participants was assessed with fMRIs. To examine the task's capacity to discriminate behavioural data, performances of the healthy participants in the task were compared with those of ABI patients. Data were analysed with GLM‐based random effects procedures and t‐tests. We found an increase of the BOLD signal in the specialized areas of VWM. Concerning behavioural performances, healthy participants showed the predicted pattern of more hits, less omissions and a tendency for fewer false alarms, more self‐corrected responses, and faster reaction times, when compared with subjects presenting WM impairments. The results suggest that this task activates brain areas involved in VWM and discriminates behavioural performances of clinical and non‐clinical groups. It can thus be used as a research methodology for behavioural and neuroimaging studies of VWM in block‐design paradigms.     

Do Critical Thinkers Drink Too Much Alcohol,Forget to Do Class Assignments,or Cheat on Exams? Using a Critical Thinking Measure to Predict College Students’ Real-World Outcomes

Critical thinking is a higher-order way of reasoning composed of the skill and will to use cognitive abilities and knowledge on a daily basis. It is identified as essential by higher education institutions, corporations, and society in general. To analyze whether college students are critical thinkers in their daily lives, the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment (HCTA; Halpern in Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment (Measurement instrument), Schuhfried, Mödling, 2012) and the real-world outcomes inventory (RWO; Butler in Appl Cogn Psychol 26(5):721–729, 2012) were administered to 238 students. We performed a cluster analysis (K-means-constrained clustering method), and ANOVAs for each cluster solution tested to identify the most suitable clustering solution, taking the RWO inventory dimensions as dependent variables and cluster membership as an independent variable. Four separate clusters emerged, each representing a different profile related to students’ everyday negative outcomes resulting from a lack of critical thinking. We performed multinomial logistic regression to examine which dimensions of the HCTA test, as well as gender, age, and disciplinary area, predicted the four singular groups of students that emerged: “Mature,” “Risk-taking,” “Lost in translation,” and “Reflective.” Results indicate that: (1) age is a relevant predictor of slackness, rashness, and health neglect, all characteristics of “Mature” students; (2) students who are particularly skilled in hypothesis testing tend to be “Risk-taking,” while it is less likely that students who are specifically competent in argument analysis will be in this group; (3) gender is relevant to predict “Lost in translation” students, while argument analysis is negatively related to the chances of being in this group. Our study supports the relevance of critical thinking in daily decisions and everyday outcomes.     

Social Job Resources as Sources of Meaningfulness and its Effects on Nurses’ Vigor and Emotional Exhaustion: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Spanish Nurses

This study investigates the mediating role of psychological meaningfulness among social job resources (i.e., coworkers and supervisor support), vigor, and emotional exhaustion in a nursing context. In spite of progress in understanding which organizational influence affects nurses’ vigor and emotional exhaustion, the psychological mechanisms assumed to underlie the associations have not been fully explored. The sample for this study consisted of 171 nurses from Spanish hospitals (54.4 %) and Primary Care Centers (45.6 %). The mediation model was tested using the bootstrapping procedure. Our findings confirmed that psychological meaningfulness fully mediates the impact of social job resources on vigor at work. Moreover, psychological meaningfulness partially mediated the impact of social job resources on emotional exhaustion. Results suggest that meaningfulness plays an important role in the connection between job resources, vigor, and emotional exhaustion. The findings contribute to our understanding of the psychological processes that can explain how job resources contribute to the energetic aspect of burnout and engagement among nurses. Providing nurses with more social job resources, such as coworker and supervisor support, could activate their levels of personal meaningfulness and thus enhance their levels of well-being at work.