Perceived Inequity: Does It Explain Burnout Among Medical Specialists?1

This study investigated, among medical specialists (N= 2,400), the association between perceived inequity in relationships at work (patients, colleagues, organization) and burnout, and the moderating role of communal orientation. Intrapersonal inequity, involving an internal standard of reference, and interpersonal inequity, taking colleagues as the standard of reference, were assessed. The adjusted response rate was 63%. Intrapersonal inequity affected all burnout dimensions: emotional exhaustion in all relationships at work, depersonalization in the relationship with patients, and reduced personal accomplishment in relationships with colleagues and the organization. Intrapersonal inequity explained more variance in burnout than did interpersonal inequity. Communal orientation did not moderate these associations. Hence, medical specialists are more vulnerable to burnout if they perceive their relationships at work to be inequitable, regardless of their tendency to help others. Organizations might, therefore, prevent burnout by creating a working environment that is supportive and appreciative.     

A Dynamic-Logical Perspective on Quantum Behavior

In this paper we show how recent concepts from Dynamic Logic, and in particular from Dynamic Epistemic logic, can be used to model and interpret quantum behavior. Our main thesis is that all the non-classical properties of quantum systems are explainable in terms of the non-classical flow of quantum information. We give a logical analysis of quantum measurements (formalized using modal operators) as triggers for quantum information flow, and we compare them with other logical operators previously used to model various forms of classical information flow: the “test” operator from Dynamic Logic, the “announcement” operator from Dynamic Epistemic Logic and the “revision” operator from Belief Revision theory. The main points stressed in our investigation are the following: (1) The perspective and the techniques of “logical dynamics” are useful for understanding quantum information flow. (2) Quantum mechanics does not require any modification of the classical laws of “static” propositional logic, but only a non-classical dynamics of information. (3) The main such non-classical feature is that, in a quantum world, all information-gathering actions have some ontic side-effects. (4) This ontic impact can affect in its turn the flow of information, leading to non-classical epistemic side-effects (e.g. a type of non-monotonicity) and to states of “objectively imperfect information”. (5) Moreover, the ontic impact is non-local: an information-gathering action on one part of a quantum system can have ontic side-effects on other, far-away parts of the system.     

Truth-Tracking by Belief Revision

Studia Logica - We study the learning power of iterated belief revision methods. Successful learning is understood as convergence to correct, i.e., true, beliefs. We focus on the issue of...     

Keep ‘hoping’ for rationality: a solution to the backward induction paradox

We formalise a notion of dynamic rationality in terms of a logic of conditional beliefs on (doxastic) plausibility models. Similarly to other epistemic statements (e.g. negations of Moore sentences and of Muddy Children announcements), dynamic rationality changes its meaning after every act of learning, and it may become true after players learn it is false. Applying this to extensive games, we “simulate” the play of a game as a succession of dynamic updates of the original plausibility model: the epistemic situation when a given node is reached can be thought of as the result of a joint act of learning (via public announcements) that the node is reached. We then use the notion of “stable belief”, i.e. belief that is preserved during the play of the game, in order to give an epistemic condition for backward induction: rationality and common knowledge of stable belief in rationality. This condition is weaker than Aumann’s and compatible with the implicit assumptions (the “epistemic openness of the future”) underlying Stalnaker’s criticism of Aumann’s proof. The “dynamic” nature of our concept of rationality explains why our condition avoids the apparent circularity of the “backward induction paradox”: it is consistent to (continue to) believe in a player’s rationality after updating with his irrationality.     

The dynamic turn in quantum logic

In this paper we show how ideas coming from two areas of research in logic can reinforce each other. The first such line of inquiry concerns the ??dynamic turn?? in logic and especially the formalisms inspired by Propositional Dynamic Logic (PDL); while the second line concerns research into the logical foundations of Quantum Physics, and in particular the area known as Operational Quantum Logic, as developed by Jauch and Piron (Helve Phys Acta 42:842?C848, 1969), Piron (Foundations of Quantum Physics, 1976). By bringing these areas together we explain the basic ingredients of Dynamic Quantum Logic, a new direction of research in the logical foundations of physics.     

Socializing Hungarians in Transylvania,Romania: A case of international organizational socialization

This study was the first to compare organizational socialization of Hungarians (N = 122) and Romanians (N = 193) in Transylvania. Organizational socialization content was measured with the OSI (Organizational Socialization Inventory; Taormina, 1994 Taormina, R. J. 1994. The Organizational Socialization Inventory. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 2: 133–145. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and included four domains: training, understanding, co-worker support, and future prospects. The effectiveness of organizational socialization was expressed in terms of global job satisfaction (Rice, Gentile, & McFarlin, 1991 Rice, R. W., Gentile, D. A. and McFarlin, D. B. 1991. Facet importance and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(1): 31–39. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). When controlling for sample characteristics other than ethnic identity, there were no differences between Hungarians and Romanians on “understanding” and “future prospects”. On the domains “training” and “co-worker support” Hungarian respondents scored lower than Romanian respondents did. In both ethnic groups, “training” and “future prospects” facilitated global job satisfaction. In addition, “understanding” was positively related to global job satisfaction in the Hungarian sample. “Co-worker support” did not predict global job satisfaction. The role of tenure in content areas of organizational socialization and global job satisfaction was explored: There were no relations. Implications for the professional field discuss the provision of training, the facilitation of co-workers to act as socializing agents, and the information on future career opportunities.     

Keep Changing Your Beliefs, Aiming for the Truth

We investigate the process of truth-seeking by iterated belief revision with higher-level doxastic information. We elaborate further on the main results in Baltag and Smets (Proceedings of TARK, 2009a, Proceedings of WOLLIC’09 LNAI 5514, 2009b), applying them to the issue of convergence to truth. We study the conditions under which the belief revision induced by a series of truthful iterated upgrades eventually stabilizes on true beliefs. We give two different conditions ensuring that beliefs converge to “full” (complete) truth, as well as a condition ensuring only that they converge to true (but not necessarily complete) beliefs.     

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...     

Glucocorticoid receptor antagonists: new tools to investigate disorders characterized by cortisol hypersecretion

Increased cortisol levels have been observed in patients suffering from a number of metabolic and psychiatric disorders. In some of these disorders a causal relationship has been suggested between the increased cortisol secretion and the observed clinical phenomena. Glucocorticoid receptor antagonists which block cortisol effects might have a benefit in both the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders. Selective glucocorticoid receptor antagonists with in vivo potency have not been described thus far, partly due to the similarity between the glucocorticoid and progesterone receptors. In the present studies, we report on three different chemical classes derived from the glucocorticoid/progestagen antagonist RU486. Selected compounds from the classes 11-monoaryl steroids, 11,21-bisaryl steroids and 11-aryl, 16-hydroxy steroids proved to be selective glucocorticoid receptor binders with in vivo antagonistic activity. Most compounds were able to pass the blood-brain barrier. These compounds offer the opportunity to investigate and possibly treat patients with a disturbed hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis without side effects caused by an antiprogestagenic action.     

Scent and sound of vision: expressing scent or sound as visual forms

This article describes three experiments on the possibility of expressing scent or sound into visual forms made by design engineering students. The hypothesis tested was that people are able to pick up patterns in the energy flow that the students transposed from one perceptual sense to another. In Exp. 1 subjects were given different scents and were asked to choose a sculpture designed according these scents. In Exp. 2 subjects were given different musical pieces and asked to match them with portable cassette players designed according to this music. Exp. 3 was identical to Exp. 2 but different music selections, similar to the ones in Exp. 2, were used. In all three experiments subjects were indeed able to perform the tasks above chance level. Results are discussed within the framework of the theory of direct perception of Gibson.