Resemblances of identity: Ludwig Wittgenstein and contemporary feminist legal theory

In a context in which there is manifest multiplicity in women’s daily lives, feminists have struggled to identify what it uniquely means to be a woman, without falling prey to charges of essentialism. Conscious, however, of the role which collective gender identity plays in providing coherence and motivation to feminist activity, a number of theorists have sought to find a way to retain group cohesion in the face of internal diversity. In this article, the merits and demerits of pre-existing attempts in this regard will be discussed. Having done so, an alternative approach, which builds on Wittgenstein’s concept of ‘family resemblances’, will be put forward and defended. With the usual caveats, thanks to Sharon Cowan, Alan Norrie, John Stanton-Ife and John Tasioulas for their comments on an earlier version of this article.     

Mortality salience effects on modesty and relative self-effacement

Terror management theory argues that mortality salience (MS) enhances adherence to cultural norms. Recent cross-cultural research has suggested that Japanese culture emphasizes modesty and the enhancement of important others compared to the self. Thus, it was predicted that Japanese would show increased modesty and relative self-effacement in response to MS. In addition, the moderating effects of degree of enculturation were examined in two studies investigating Japanese undergraduates. Those strongly enculturated to the Japanese worldview showed a tendency to evaluate success more negatively (Study 1) and self-efface more relative to their close friends (Study 2). A view which regards both Easterners' self-effacement and Westerners' self-enhancement after MS to be a reflection of efforts to fit into cultural norm is presented.     

A RELATIVISTIC ESCHATOLOGY: TIME,ETERNITY, AND ESCHATOLOGY IN LIGHT OF THE PHYSICS OF RELATIVITY

Unique epistemological challenges arise whenever one embarks on the critical and self‐critical reflection of the nature of time and the end of time. I attempt to construct my preference for an eschatological distinction between time and eternity from within a middle way, avoiding both the hubris that claims complete comprehension and the resignation that concedes readily to know nothing. Surveying the history of reflection on this multifaceted question of time, with its ephemeral and everlasting dimensions, I argue that the eschatological interplay between the “already” and the “not yet” has much to offer: promise for the religion‐science dialogue as well as hope for humanity, especially for those on society's bleakest edges. But understandings of time, to be authentically theological, must be also informed by cosmology and the physics of relativity. My proposal seeks to respect the theological and scientific interpretations of the nature of time, serving the ongoing, creative interaction of these disciplines. Between physics and theology I identify four formal differences in analyzing eschatology, all grounded in the one fundamental difference between extrapolation and promise. Discussion of what I term deficits in both the scientific and theological approaches leads to further examination of the complex relationship between time and eternity. I distinguish three models of such relationships, which I label the ontological, the quantitative, and the eschatological distinction between time and eternity. Because of the way it embraces a multiplicity of times, especially relating to the culmination and the consummation of creation, I opt for the eschatological model. The eschatological disruption of linear chronology relates well to relativ‐istic physics: This model is open, dynamic, and relational, and it may add a new aspect to the debate over the block universe.     

中学生人格特点和发展现状的研究

本研究以《中学生个性测验》为研究工具,以广东省五所不同类型中学的2816名初高中学生为被试,考察了中学生人格发展的状况和特点。研究发现：中学生人格发展状况不甚乐观,检出率较高;中学生人格发展状况在男女生之间、初高中之间和各类型学校之间都存在明显的差异;建议要有针对性的加强中学生的健康人格教育。     

大中学生英语阅读的元认知策略发展及其民族差异比较

采用英语阅读的元认知意识问卷对云南省大学生,昆明汉族、丽江地区的纳西族和彝族中学生进行测查。结果表明：(1)大中学生英语阅读的元认知策略水平随着年级的升高呈现出提高的趋势,从中学到大学是元认知策略水平快速发展的时期;(2)男女大中学生英语阅读的元认知策略水平整体上具有一致性,但在中学阶段却呈现出女生略优于男生的趋势,到了大学,男女两性发展基本平衡;(3)汉族与纳西族中学生英语阅读的元认知策略水平整体上具有一致性,彝族中学生英语阅读的元认知策略水平呈现出优于汉族和纳西族的趋势。     

Biased extensive measurement: The homogeneous case

In the homogeneous case of one type of objects, we prove the existence of an additive scale unique up to a positive scaling transformation without transitivity of indifference and with a property of homothetic invariance weaker than monotonicity. The representation, which is a particular case of a semiorder representation, reveals a unique positive factor α?1 that biases extensive structures and explains departures from these standard axioms of extensive measurement (α=1). We interpret α as characterizing the qualitative influence of the underlying measurement process and we show that it induces a proportional indifference threshold.     

最佳疗效的保证

探讨获取最佳疗效的方方面面.医学模式的转变是十分必要的.疗效最好、康复最快、痛苦最小、危险最少、费用最低,应是最佳疗效的具体标准.个体差异与过度医疗问题需引起高度重视,未来医学的发展与寻求最佳疗效息息相关.     

A pilot study of change in cerebral activity during personality rating by questionnaire and personal computer

The purpose of this study was to examine cerebral blood flow in the frontal cortex area during personality self‐rating tasks. Our two hypotheses were (1) cerebral blood flow varies based on personality rating condition and (2) cerebral blood flow varies based on the personality traits. This experiment measured cerebral blood flow under 3 personal computer rating conditions and 2 questionnaire conditions. Comparing the rating conditions, the results of the t‐test indicated that cerebral blood flow was higher in the questionnaire condition than it was in the personal computer condition. With respect to the Big Five, the result of the correlation coefficient, that is, cerebral blood flow during a personality rating task, changed according to the trait for agreeableness. The results of the analysis of the 5‐cluster on individual differences indicated that certain personality traits were related to the factors that increased or decreased cerebral blood flow. An analysis of variance indicated that openness to experience and Behavioural Activation System‐drive was significant given that participants with high intellectual curiosity were motivated in this experiment, thus, their cerebral blood flow may have increased. The significance of this experiment was that by employing certain performance measures we could examine differences in physical changes based on personality traits.     

When soothing succeeds: Simulating a risk for repeated shaking in abusive head trauma in infants

PurposeTo investigate the observation that perpetrators of abusive head trauma engage in repeated shakings because shaking “works” to quiet the infant.MethodsSixty first-time parent couples individually cared for a programmable model infant in two consecutive 7-min trials. After six minutes of consolable followed by inconsolable crying, parents selected one of three soothing techniques. For trial one, parents were randomized to a “Successful” or “Failed” Soothing Condition. Whether the soothing technique was repeated after trial two was determined by the study investigators. Parents rated their frustration after each trial.ResultsAs hypothesized, parents were more likely to repeat a soothing technique that “worked” in trial one. Compared to fathers, mothers reported more frustration when soothing failed.ConclusionsThat caregivers were more likely to repeat a successful soothing technique converges with perpetrator confessions that crying cessation after shaking may be a reason why shaking is used repeatedly in response to crying.     

Parents’ perceptions of children’s executive functions across different cities

Culture is thought to strongly influence the development of executive functions (EF), such that ethnic groups with similar cultural origins are generally assumed to exhibit comparable levels of EF performance. However, other characteristics, such as urbanization and Westernization, may also affect EF performance in societies comprising different ethnic groups, even if the ethnic groups share a similar cultural origin. The present study aimed to compare the perceptions of parents in three cities [China–Shenzhen (ZH group), China–Hong Kong (HK group), and Singapore (SG group)] regarding the EF performances of their children, all of whom share the same genetic and cultural (i.e., Chinese) origin. The study recruited 95 children aged 5–6 years (ZH group = 32; HK group = 32; SG group = 31). Their parents were invited to complete the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). The ZH group had significantly lower BRIEF scores compared to both the HK and SG groups. However, the BRIEF scores of the HK and SG groups only differed significantly in terms of the Organization of Materials domain. The results suggest city-related differences in parents’ perceptions of their children’s EF performances, despite their similar genetic and cultural backgrounds. We additionally discuss further interpretations of our results and the limitations of this study.