Dynamic Epistemic Logics of Diffusion and Prediction in Social Networks

Studia Logica - We take a logical approach to threshold models, used to study the diffusion of opinions, new technologies, infections, or behaviors in social networks. Threshold models consist of a...     

Yup’ik Culture and Context in Southwest Alaska: Community Member Perspectives of Tradition,Social Change,and Prevention

This paper provides an introduction to key aspects of Yup’ik Inuit culture and context from both historical and contemporary community member perspectives. Its purpose is to provide a framework for understanding the development and implementation of a prevention initiative centered on youth in two communities in Southwest Alaska as part of collaboration with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the National Institutes of Health. This paper is written from the perspective of elders and local prevention workers from each of the two prevention communities. The co-authors discuss their culture and their community from their own perspectives, drawing from direct experience and from ancestral knowledge gained through learning and living the Yuuyaraq or the Yup’ik way of life. The authors of this paper identity key aspects of traditional Yup’ik culture that once contributed to the adaptability and survivability of their ancestors, particularly through times of hardship and social disruption. These key processes and practices represent dimensions of culture in a Yup’ik context that contribute to personal and collective growth, protection and wellbeing. Intervention development in Yup’ik communities requires bridging historical cultural frames with contemporary contexts and shifting focus from reviving cultural activities to repairing and revitalizing cultural systems that structure community.     

Longitudinal concomitants of incorrect weight perception in female and male adolescents

The aim of the present study was to analyse the longitudinal concomitants of incorrect weight perception, depressive symptoms, social anxiety, self-esteem, and eating disorders in adolescents. A prospective follow-up study on 283 female and 312 male adolescents aged 15 comprising questionnaires directed at the whole study population and subsequent personal interviews with adolescents found to be screen-positive for eating disorders, at both baseline and three-year follow-up. Body mass index was combined with weight perception to classify adolescents with incorrect weight perception. Twenty-nine percent of females incorrectly perceived themselves as overweight and 14% of males incorrectly as underweight. Incorrect weight perception was in females related to depressive symptoms, social anxiety, eating disorders, and low self-esteem. Males with incorrect weight perception experienced more social anxiety at the follow-up than their counterparts with correct weight perception. Recognition of incorrect weight perception is important for prevention of depression, social anxiety, and eating disorders.     

In Defence of Conceptual Integration

According to the ‘integration approach’, interpretations of political concepts should (1) explain that they stand for rights we ought to respect and (2) be both compatible and mutually supporting. I start by clarifying what this means, and proceed to an examination of Ronald Dworkin’s latest argument for value holism. I argue that his argument fails to provide a convincing case for the integration approach. I go on to argue that we nonetheless should accept that interpretations of political concepts should be compatible, because denying it would be inconsistent with (1), and the fact that ‘ought implies can’. I then provide reasons for thinking that we also cannot really satisfy (1) for any particular concept without giving reasons in term of what fall under other concepts—that is, interpreting the concepts as mutually supporting. We thus have reasons to accept both parts of (2). Finally, I defend the integration approach from three important objections: First, that it conflates different values; secondly, that it is inconsistent with ordinary language-usage; and thirdly, that it overlooks important telic values. I conclude that none of these compels us to abandon the integration approach.