Mathematical Fuzzy Logic – What It Can Learn from Mostowski and Rasiowa

Important works of Mostowski and Rasiowa dealing with many-valued logic are analyzed from the point of view of contemporary mathematical fuzzy logic.A version of this paper has been presented during the conference Trends in Logic III, dedicated to the memory of A. MOSTOWSKI, H. RASIOWA and C. RAUSZER, and held in Warsaw and Ruciane-Nida from 23rd to 25th September 2005.     

Measuring explicit attitude toward doping: Review of the psychometric properties of the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale

ObjectivesDoping use is seldom an accident – it is a deliberate action often requiring considerable commitment. Attitudes are known to influence this type of action and hence they are likely to be predictive of doping-related behaviours. To measure ‘doping attitude’, a valid and reliable tool is required.DesignThis paper briefly reviews methodological issues in doping attitude research, introduces the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS) and provides a comparative analysis of its reliability and validity as a self-reported measure of a generalized doping attitude.MethodsThe scale's reliability was examined with Cronbach's internal consistency coefficient and test–retest correlations using data from 9 independent studies encompassing 7 years. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to assess the scale's structure. Known-groups' validation strategy was employed to examine construct validity in 4 studies.ResultsEstimates of the PEAS' internal consistency (ranged between .71 and .91 across various samples) provided good evidence of the scale's simultaneous reliability. The chi-square/df ratio in all cases was below the threshold with an average of 1.85 (ranging from 1.370 to 2.291), indicating an acceptable measurement model fit. Theoretically expected difference in doping attitudes was found between doping users and non-users with elevated PEAS scores from users, as well as predictable dynamics of PEAS scores across the repeated measures, provided support for construct validity of the scale.ConclusionThe psychometric properties of the 17-item unidimensional PEAS suggest that the scale is a useful tool for measuring self-declared attitudes toward doping, with adequate reliability and promising validity estimates. Suggestions are discussed for the continuous scale development and validation process.     

Two notions of compactness in Gödel logics

Compactness is an important property of classical propositional logic. It can be defined in two equivalent ways. The first one states that simultaneous satisfiability of an infinite set of formulae is equivalent to the satisfiability of all its finite subsets. The second one states that if a set of formulae entails a formula, then there is a finite subset entailing this formula as well.In propositional many-valued logic, we have different degrees of satisfiability and different possible definitions of entailment, hence the questions of compactness is more complex. In this paper we will deal with compactness of Gödel, Gödel_Δ, and Gödel_～ logics.There are several results (all for the countable set of propositional variables) concerning the compactness (based on satisfiability) of these logic by Cintula and Navara, and the question of compactness (based on entailment) for Gödel logic was fully answered by Baaz and Zach (see papers [3] and [2]).In this paper we give a nearly complete answer to the problem of compactness based on both concepts for all three logics and for an arbitrary cardinality of the set of propositional variables. Finally, we show a tight correspondence between these two concepts     

On Łukasiewicz's Four-Valued Modal Logic

ukasiewicz's four-valued modal logic is surveyed and analyzed, together with ukasiewicz's motivations to develop it. A faithful interpretation of it in classical (non-modal) two-valued logic is presented, and some consequences are drawn concerning its classification and its algebraic behaviour. Some counter-intuitive aspects of this logic are discussed in the light of the presented results, ukasiewicz's own texts, and related literature.     

Antecedents of political trust in adolescence: Cognitive abilities and perceptions of parents

This study examined the predictors of political trust in late adolescence. Three waves of longitudinal data (ages 11, 15, and 17) from 1116 Czech adolescents (346 participated at least in the first and last wave) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that high verbal cognitive ability in early adolescence predicted greater political trust in late adolescence. This effect was explained by adolescents' greater cognitive political engagements, but not by their more positive relationships with authorities (e.g., school or parents) during adolescence. Next, early adolescents who perceived more parental warmth demonstrated greater political trust when they reached late adolescence. These results suggest that some young people might enter adulthood more skeptical regarding politics based on their abilities and early nonpolitical experiences.     

Economic,Environmental and Moral Acceptance of Renewable Energy: A Case Study—The Agricultural Biogas Plant at Pěčín

The production of renewable energy in agricultural biogas plants is being widely criticized because—among other things—most of the feedstock comes from purpose-grown crops like maize. These activities (generously subsidized in the Czech Republic) generate competitive pressure to other crops that are used for feeding or food production, worsening their affordability. Unique pretreatment technology that allows substitution of the purpose-grown crops by farming residues (such as husk or straw) was built 6 years ago on a commercial basis in Pě?ín (Czech Republic) under modest funding and without publicity. The design of the concept; financial assessment and moral viewpoint were analyzed based on practical operating data. It showed that the apparatus improves economic, environmental and moral acceptance as well. However, according to the government’s view, public funding for this type of processing was shortened, “because waste materials represent a lower cost”. The impact of such governance was analyzed as well.     

Being both – A European and a national citizen? Comparing young people’s identification with Europe and their home country across eight European countries*

Abstract

It is a well-established fact that forming a mature and coherent political identity is one developmental task in adolescence and young adulthood. However, given different degrees of commitment on the regional, national, and European level, the question remains whether young people’s identification varies among those spheres? Drawing on data from the European Catch-EyoU-project, it was the goal of this study to examine whether young people can be classified according to their identification toward their home country and Europe and how these types are associated with age, gender, country as well as political interest, tolerance, and political participation. The study is based on adolescents and young adults from the Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Estonia, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden (N = 9339; Mage = 19.62; 59.1% female). Cluster analysis revealed five types of young people’s identification with country and Europe which showed significant associations between group membership and tolerance, political interest, and participation. The implications of distinguishing types of identification and their associations with political outcomes are discussed.