Daily Time-Place Learning in Young Children

Abstract

Pre-school children find it difficult to correctly report if it is morning or afternoon. The present study tested whether children could learn a non-verbal Time-Place Learning (TPL) task that depended on time of day. Twenty-five 4-year-olds were repeatedly asked to find a toy in one of two boxes. Children in the Cued condition were told the toy was in one box in the morning and in another box in the afternoon. Children in the Not Cued condition were told the toy was sometimes in one box and sometimes in the other box. After 80 trials, children were asked if it was morning or afternoon. About 65% of the children learned the TPL task, and about three-quarters of the children verbally identified if it was morning or afternoon. However, the children who learned the TPL task were not necessarily the children who correctly answered whether it was morning or afternoon, and those in the Cued condition were no more likely to solve the task than those in the Not Cued condition. The implication is that children have a sense of time that can be used to solve spatio-temporal contingencies, but does not depend on the verbal understanding of time of day.     

The minimal self hypothesis

For millennia self has been conjectured to be necessary for consciousness. But scant empirical evidence has been adduced to support this hypothesis. Inconsistent explications of “self” and failure to design apt experiments have impeded progress. Advocates of phenomenological psychiatry, however, have helped explicate “self,” and employed it to explain some psychopathological symptoms. In those studies, “self” is understood in a minimalist sense, sheer “for-me-ness.” Unfortunately, explication of the “minimal self” (MS) has relied on conceptual analysis, and applications to psychopathology have been hermeneutic, allowing for many degrees of interpretive latitude. The result is that MS’s current scientific status is analogous to that of the “atom,” at the time when “atom” was just beginning to undergo transformation from a philosophical to a scientific concept. Fortunately, there is now an opportunity to promote a similar transformation for “MS.” Discovery of the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN) opened the door to neuroimaging investigations of self. Taking the DMN and other forms of intrinsic activity as a starting point, an empirical foothold can be established, one that spurs experimental research and that enables extension of research into multiple phenomena. New experimental protocols that posit “MS” can help explain phenomena hitherto not thought to be related to self, thereby hastening development of a mature science of self. In particular, targeting phenomena wherein consciousness is lost and recovered, as in some cases of Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (UWS), allow for design of neuroimaging probes that enable detection of MS during non-conscious states. These probes, as well as other experimental protocols applied to NREM Sleep, General Anesthesia (GA), and the waking state, provide some evidence to suggest that not only can self and consciousness dissociate, MS might be a necessary precondition for conscious experience. Finally, these findings have implications for the science of consciousness: it has been suggested that “levels of consciousness” (LoC) is not a legitimate concept for the science of consciousness. But because we have the conceptual and methodological tools with which to refine investigations of MS, we have the means to identify a possible foundation—a bifurcation point—for consciousness, as well as the means by which to measure degrees of distance from that foundation. These neuroimaging investigations of MS position us to better assess whether LoC has a role to play in a mature science of consciousness.     

Tutor,salon, convent: the formation of women philosophers in early modern France

ABSTRACT

Excluded from the university, women authors in early modern France acquired their philosophical culture from other venues. The tutorial, the salon, and the convent school are three of the era’s most prominent institutions involved in the development of this philosophical culture for women. The writings of the poet Madame Deshoulières, the salonnière Madame de Sablé, and the abbess Angélique de Saint-Jean Arnauld d’Andilly illustrate how these institutions shaped their respective philosophical interests and imparted a particular style and set of thematic concerns to their philosophical works.     

Erroneous gambling-related beliefs emerge from broader beliefs during problem-solving: a critical review and classification scheme

Abstract

Erroneous gambling-related beliefs (EGRBs) can be defined as beliefs that imply a failure to recognise how commercial gambling activities are designed to generate a guaranteed loss to players. In theorising about how EGRBs develop, previous reviews have proposed that EGRBs are extensions of decision-making heuristics and associated biases. We propose an alternative generative mechanism: one in which gambling games make substantial wins seem possible through problem-solving and eventual correct strategic action. EGRBs are then beliefs in the possibility of correct strategic action (illusions of control) that develop as players trial candidate strategies—strategies selected based on various broader beliefs. We further propose that EGRBs can be classified based on what is theorised in cognitive science about categories of general human beliefs about the world. For example, it has been theorised that human beliefs about supernatural forces and randomness have certain similarities across cultures, and so we propose that there exists a category of supernatural EGRBs, as well as a category of EGRBs based on broader beliefs about the nature of randomness. We review evidence for this classification scheme and discuss how it can be applied in researching and treating gambling disorder.     

Global Diversification in Medicine Regulation: Insights from Regenerative Stem Cell Medicine

ABSTRACT

Medicine regulation worldwide has undergone a process of regulatory diversification. The evidence-based medicine (EBM) paradigm, centered on multi-phase randomized controlled trials, is increasingly contested and replaced by new models of clinical validation. To explain these changes, STS research has cited just a few factors, e.g. growing pressure form health consumers; the role of pharmaceutical companies to lobby for fast, affordable drug development; the influence of neoliberal ideas and libertarian advocacy of deregulation; and the agency of national governments to enable domestic innovation opportunities in the context of global competition and inequalities. Those factors individually cannot account for the increasing variation in medicine regulation at both national and global levels. Instead it is helpful to integrate elements of existing explanations into a framework with four pairs of conflicting regulatory choices, which play a central role in the formation of medicine regulation. We use this framework to compare regulatory changes in the USA, European Union, China, India, Argentina, and Japan. Across these jurisdictions, the case studies illustrate four dynamics of diversification. Key regulatory concepts such as evidence, risk, safety, efficacy, responsibility and accountability acquire different meanings, reshaping medicine innovation in far-reaching and often contradictory ways. The boundaries between medical research and healthcare provision, commerce and humanitarian service, as well as state control and medical self-regulation are re-defined.     

Finding connections between spirituality and play for early childhood education

ABSTRACT

In an attempt to provide holistic education and care, expand the view of young children’s development to include the spiritual, and make connections with the found benefits of play for all areas of development, this article looks at 33 surveyed U.S. early childhood educators’ perceptions on nurturing spirituality through open-ended and free play. Data collected from the open-ended questions of an online survey were analyzed looking at 22 mentions of play as a mean to support spirituality. Findings show that 45.5% of surveyed teachers mentioned play as a way intentionally used in the classroom to nurture children’s spirituality. It is posed that developmentally appropriate approaches to early childhood education would be enhanced by including spirituality in their understanding of the child, as well as intentionally nurturing spirituality in educational settings, by providing free, child-centered, child-directed play and opportunities for children to experience spiritual moments, defined as feeling wonder, awe, joy, and inner-peace.     

The effects of patient's frequency of attendance and etiology of symptoms,on the General Practitioners wellbeing

IntroductionThe presence of Medically Unexplained Symptoms and a high Frequency of Attendance negatively affects the General Practitioners’ (GP) wellbeing. Although, overlapping between both phenomena is partial, with a number of frequent attenders reporting medically unexplained symptoms during consultation, there is no evidence on how GP's well-being it is affected by the specific main effects of these factors and their interaction. Evidence is also scant on the psychological processes explaining the negative impact of attendance and the etiology of symptoms on GP's wellbeing.ObjectiveDrawing on the Job Demand-Control and the Conservation of Resource stress models, this paper tests the moderating effects of the GP’ perception of patient's attendance and etiology of symptoms on the relationship between patient's demands and feedback on the GP's wellbeing.MethodA total of 105 volunteer GPs self-reported on the study variables through an experience sampling methodology after 898 patients’ consultation. Patients attendance and etiology of symptoms were categorized according to the physician self-perception and an external criterion (organizational records).ResultsPerception of Patients Frequent Attendance and Medically Unexplained Symptoms were positively related to physician's Emotional Exhaustion. Contrary to expected the test of the moderation effects of patients characteristics on the relation between patient's demands and feedback and the GP's emotional exhaustion were stronger for normal attenders compared with frequent attenders. An ad hoc study shows this unexplained result is related to the GP's expectations on Frequent vs. normal attenders’ behaviors. No significant results were found when the external criterion of classification was used.ConclusionCombined analysis of Frequency of Attendance and Etiology of Symptoms lead to a better understanding of the GP's decreased wellbeing. Also, the perception of the strain level (demands/positive feedback levels) associated to the consultation with different types of patients contribute to explain the consequences for the GP's wellbeing, especially when GP's expectations on patient's behaviors are violated.     

Winning at work: Trait competitiveness,personality types,and occupational interests

This study examined the relationship between trait competitiveness and occupational interests of under-graduates prior to entering the work force. The findings indicate that competitiveness is related to Investigative and Realistic types within Holland’s model of vocational choice and that competitive individuals are attracted to jobs involving competition and competitive pressure based on O*NET job characteristic ratings. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Critique of Sharif’s and Pitt’s Models of Technology

abstract

In this article Pitt’s and Sharif’s models of technology are discussed. These models are based on two different conceptions of technology, which are technology as “instrument” and as “making use of instrument.” Sharif considers technology as a collection of empowering tools, including technoware, humanware, infoware and orgaware. On the other hand, Pitt sees technology as “humanity at work.” Based on his definition, Pitt proposes a model of technology with three components; first-order transformation, second-order transformation, and the assessment of feedback mechanism. In this article this model will be explained and criticized. After that, Sharif’s model is criticized in the light of Pitt’s theory and it will be shown that Pitt’s model provides a better understanding of different aspects of technology. For example, it will be argued how Pitt’s model is efficient in explaining dynamicity, transfer and control of technology along with its soft dimensions, while Sharif’s model is incapable of doing so. In the next part, Pitt’s model is criticized and it is shown that the mechanism of knowledge progress suggested by this model is controversial and Pitt’s framework cannot support the idea of indigenous technology. Furthermore, the ability of Pitt’s model in describing different technological phenomena is called into question, since this model provides a superficial view of the complexity of an assessment of technology’s consequences. Finally, a list is proposed that contains minimal requirements that every model of technology is expected to explain. It is incumbent on technology theoreticians to consider this list.     

Preschoolers’ Thoughts on the Concept of Time

Abstract

This study aimed to examine preschool children’s epistemological views in the context of the concept of time via their drawings of the time machine. The study was conducted with 30 five-year-old children (17 girls and 13 boys) attending state and private preschools in the academic year 2018/2019. The data collection tools used in the study were the Test for Creative Thinking - Drawing Production TCT-DP, Children’s Thoughts on Time Questionnaire (CTTQ) and Children’s Epistemological Views Questionnaire (CEVQ). Of the mixed methods typologies, the fully mixed sequential dominant status-qualitative design was employed. The results obtained from the study indicated that the time machine drawings of almost half the participating children included creative elements and logical thinking products. In addition, 40% of the children’s responses reflected sophisticated epistemological views such as scientific, imaginative/science fiction-based, divergent and eccentric approaches and non-authority figures regarding the concept of time. In conclusion: contrary to Piegatian interpretation, our results show that five-year old children can demonstrate abstract scientific understanding regarding the concept of time and preschoolers’ epistemic approach has a critical role in determining their development of abstract cognitive concepts.