On a Contraction-Less Intuitionistic Propositional Logic with Conjunction and Fusion

In this paper we prove the equivalence between the Gentzen system G _LJ*\c , obtained by deleting the contraction rule from the sequent calculus LJ* (which is a redundant version of LJ), the deductive system IPC*\c and the equational system associated with the variety RL of residuated lattices. This means that the variety RL is the equivalent algebraic semantics for both systems G _LJ*\c in the sense of [18] and [4], respectively. The equivalence between G _LJ*\c and IPC*\c is a strengthening of a result obtained by H. Ono and Y. Komori [14, Corollary 2.8.1] and the equivalence between G _LJ*\c and the equational system associated with the variety RL of residuated lattices is a strengthening of a result obtained by P.M. Idziak [13, Theorem 1].An axiomatization of the restriction of IPC*\c to the formulas whose main connective is the implication connective is obtained by using an interpretation of G _LJ*\c in IPC*\c.     

Professional Self-Efficacy as a Predictor of Burnout and Engagement: The Role of Challenge and Hindrance Demands

ABSTRACT. The objective of the current study is to analyze the role of professional self-efficacy as a predictor of psychosocial well-being (i.e., burnout and engagement) following the Social Cognitive Theory of Albert Bandura (1997). Structural Equation Modeling was performed in a sample of secondary school teachers (n = 460) and users of Information and Communication Technology (n = 596). Results show empirical support for the predicting role that professional self-efficacy plays in the perception of challenge (i.e., mental overload) and hindrance demands (i.e., role conflict, lack of control, and lack of social support), which are in turn related to burnout (i.e., erosion process) and engagement (i.e., motivational process). Specifically, employees with more professional self-efficacy will perceive more challenge demands and fewer hindrance demands, and this will in turn relate to more engagement and less burnout. A multi-group analysis showed that the research model was invariant across both samples. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

‘Thank God We Are in Syria!’ Modernization,Interfaith Relations and Women’s Rights in Syria Before the ‘Arab Spring’ (2000–2010)

The status of women is generally considered a measure of ‘modernity’ and it has often been exploited by the West to highlight the ‘backwardness’ of non-Western countries and to justify colonialism and ‘civilization’ endeavours. The question of women’s rights and its connection to ‘modernity’, however, is not simple. This article considers the example of Syria immediately before the revolts of 2011, and highlights that the government’s approach to the issue of women’s rights appears to have been inspired by a peculiar idea of ‘modernity’ that is not in line with the Western mainstream view, because it is not based on the centrality of the individual and does not include a view of secularization that underestimates the social and political importance of religious beliefs. Reflections on the peculiarities of the Syrian approach may help avoid simplifications and – more generally – may help us reflect on the premise of the mainstream Western approach to the issue in countries considered as ‘other’.     

The impact of attention load on the use of statistical information and coarticulation as speech segmentation cues

In two artificial language learning experiments, we investigated the impact of attention load on segmenting speech through two sublexical cues: transitional probabilities (TPs) and coarticulation. In Experiment 1, we observed that coarticulation processing was resilient to high attention load, whereas TP computation was penalized in a graded manner. In Experiment 2, we showed that encouraging participants to actively search for “word” candidates enhanced overall performance but was not sufficient to preclude the impairment of statistically driven segmentation by attention load. As long as attentional resources were depleted, independently of their intention to find these “words,” participants segmented only TP words with the highest TPs, not TP words with lower TPs. Attention load thus has a graded and differential impact on the relative weighting of the cues in speech segmentation, even when only sublexical cues are available in the signal.     

Algebraic logic for classical conjunction and disjunction

In this paper we study the relations between the fragment L of classical logic having just conjunction and disjunction and the variety D of distributive lattices, within the context of Algebraic Logic. We prove that these relations cannot be fully expressed either with the tools of Blok and Pigozzi's theory of algebraizable logics or with the use of reduced matrices for L. However, these relations can be naturally formulated when we introduce a new notion of model of a sequent calculus. When applied to a certain natural calculus for L, the resulting models are equivalent to a class of abstract logics (in the sense of Brown and Suszko) which we call distributive. Among other results, we prove that D is exactly the class of the algebraic reducts of the reduced models of L, that there is an embedding of the theories of L into the theories of the equational consequence (in the sense of Blok and Pigozzi) relative to D, and that for any algebra A of type (2,2) there is an isomorphism between the D-congruences of A and the models of L over A. In the second part of this paper (which will be published separately) we will also apply some results to give proofs with a logical flavour for several new or well-known lattice-theoretical properties.Dedicated to our master, Francesc d'A. Sales, on his 75th birthday     

Evaluating feature-category relations using semantic fluency tasks

The issue of the relationship between semantic features and semantic categories has been raised by Warrington and colleagues, who claimed that sensory and functional-associative features are differentially important in determining the meaning of living and nonliving things (Warrington & McCarthy, 1983, 1987; Warrington & Shallice, 1984). In the present study, the effectiveness of semantic memory search for living and nonliving things with sensory and functional-associative search cues was evaluated through eight different adaptations of the semantic fluency task. More living thing responses and clusters were generated from sensory than from functional-associative search cues, while the reverse pattern holds for nonliving things responses and clusters. The results thus provide consistent empirical support for the assumption that sensory properties are fundamental in the representation of living things, while functional-associative properties are fundamental in the semantic representation of nonliving things.     

Foveal metacontrast: I. Criterion content and practice effects

Strong metacontrast was found during experiments involving foveal presentation of stimuli. Follow-up experiments indicate that foveal metacontrast can be accounted for in some conditions by a practice effect and/or a criterion-content change, which occurs with practice and involves a biphasic brightness response to the target. Consideration of these factors may help resolve some of the many apparent disparities in the metacontrast literature. The relevance of these factors to metacontrast theories is discussed.     

Gender bias in clinical judgment: An assessment of the analogue method's transparency and social desirability

The main purpose of this research was to determine whether clinicians discern the intent of an analogue study of gender bias in clinical judgment and, if so, whether they respond in a socially desirable manner. A total of 147 psychologists responded to a national mail survey in which they were instructed to make clinical ratings of a case summary describing either a female or male client. In one condition (the Social Desirability condition), clinicians were informed of the study's intent and instructed to respond in a socially desirable fashion. In another condition (the No Social Desirability condition), the study's intent was not revealed and clinicians were asked to guess the study's hypothesis following their ratings. Results indicate that only 10 of 100 clinicians reported having deduced the purpose of the study. The small number of guessers prohibited examination of whether guessing the intent leads to socially desirable responses. Results provide no evidence that either therapist or client gender influenced clinical judgment. Implications for evaluating experimental findings which fail to support gender bias in clinical judgment are discussed.This research was supported in part by a Biomedical Research Grant awarded to the first author when he was a faculty member at the University of Southern California. Thanks are due to Bernie Weiner and Rena Repetti for their comments on early drafts.