THE MACHINE IN THE GHOST: TRANSHUMANISM AND THE ONTOLOGY OF INFORMATION

An ontology of information belies our common intuitions about reality today and animates and governs both explicit scholarly study in philosophy and the sciences as well as the ideologies that are growing out of them. Transhumanism is one such technoscientific ideology that holds to a very specific ontology of information which need not be the only one on offer. This article argues that the transhumanist ontology of information exhibits gnostic and docetic religious overtones in it and that it devalues physical existence. At the same time, despite claiming a rejection of supernature, hypothetical transhumanist practices (such as mind-uploading) posit the infosphere as a kind of supernatural realm that is often set in opposition to the natural world. This article presents a critique of transhumanist conceptions of information and offers an alternative ontology of information that more adequately accounts for the distinction between the natural and supernatural as well as the integrity of the physical world.     

Psychotherapists’ psychological well-being: The role of epistemic orientation and emotion regulation

Psychotherapists’ mental health has been traditionally associated with the harmful consequences of clinical practice. In contrast to this dominant model, a growing body of research in positive psychology has sparked an interest in therapists’ positive well-being. The main objective of this study was to examine the relations between therapists’ epistemic orientation modes, emotion regulation strategies and psychological well-being (PWB). This was a cross-sectional study in which participants were 674 therapists (78.5% women), with a mean age of 42.02 years (SD = 13.06). Therapists completed an online questionnaire containing self-report measures of all study variables. Structural equation modelling using latent variables was performed to test the study hypotheses. Results revealed no significant direct effects of epistemic orientation on PWB. Up- and downregulation strategies had the most substantial direct effects on total PWB. Furthermore, emotion regulation mediated the association between therapists’ epistemic orientation modes and PWB, accounting for 57% of the variance in the outcome variable. Implications for training, practice and therapist self-care are discussed.     

Soul,Myth and Cosmovision in a Changing World: Essentials of Analytical Psychology and the Descendent Path1

This essay addresses the key role of analytical psychology amid our changing world: to work towards an expansion of Humanity's worldview. In current times of utmost transformation, it becomes imperative that we embrace a total cosmovision, one that includes the 360 degrees of existence: not only the 180 diurnal degrees of ascent, light and order, yet also the descendent sphere, incorporating what is unconscious, nocturnal and mysterious. Integrating this lower realm in our psychic life, however, contrasts our Western worldview, in which these two domains are seemingly opposed and mutually excluding. Mythopoetic language, and the mythologems that manifest in different myths, provide the means of delving into the profound paradoxes at the core of the total cosmovision. Myths such as Añañuca (Chile), Osiris (Egypt), Dionysus (Greece) and Innana (Sumer), highlight the descending path, providing a symbolic narrative of an archetypical transformation or spin, a key moment of “turning on its own axis” that merges the realms of Life and Death, ascent and descent, birth and decay. To live this paradoxical and generative path of transformation, individuals must seek their personal myth not outside but within themselves, where springs the Suprasense.     

Predictive validity of the theory of planned behaviour: the role of questionnaire format and social desirability

The present study was designed to assess the predictive validity of a theory of planned behaviour extended to include self‐identity, in the context of health‐related food choice. Following criticism of the use of questionnaires in social cognitive research, the impact of questionnaire format (random vs structured) and social desirability on questionnaire responses was assessed. Findings indicated that intention was the principal determinant of food choice; attitude, subjective norm and self‐identity were independently predictive of intention. There was only weak evidence to suggest effects of social desirability or questionnaire format on component relationships. The present study indicates that the impact of questionnaire format and social desirability on models such as the theory of planned behaviour is minimal, and that such models are robust predictors of food choice. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dating violence in the United Kingdom: A preliminary study

A small-scale study of “dating violence” in a sample of UK college students is described. Methodology involved the rating-scale used in existing US studies, with the addition of an assessment of inter-respondent reliability, which was found to be high. A high incidence of some form of violence was found, with women showing higher levels than men, thus replicating previous US findings based on victim reports. Violence in the present relationship was found to be unrelated to violence in past relationships.     

A Longitudinal Analysis of Family Empowerment and Client Outcomes

We examined the relationship between family empowerment, parent satisfaction, and mental health outcome across time. Based on the Vanderbilt Family Empowerment Project Model, increased empowerment should lead to positive changes in client outcomes. Data consisted of the Family Empowerment Scale (FES), which was used to assess the caregiver's perception of empowerment, Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS), which measures the degree of disruption in the youth's current functioning, Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), and demographic information gathered from families receiving services from a county mental health service system at intake and discharge. The results showed that the CAFAS and CSQ were related to empowerment at intake and discharge. Results also indicated significant increases in the knowledge subscale of the FES and the CAFAS and moderate increases in the advocacy subscale of the FES and the CSQ. We discuss the implications of these findings for systems of care, such as stronger parent-professional relationships.     

大学生社交焦虑成因的研究

探讨大学生社交焦虑的形成原因 ,为临床治疗提供理论基础。方法 :采用社交焦虑量表(IAS) ,个人评价问卷 (PEI) ,自编社交技能和他信问卷对 194名大学生被试进行测试。用SPSS7.0作回归、相关等统计分析。结果 :以自我评价、他信、社交技能为自变量 ,社交焦虑为因变量进行逐步回归分析 ,进入方程的变量为自我评价和社交技能。贡献量分别为 0 .32 7和 0 .0 4 0。以自我评价的 5个子维度 (学业、外貌、爱情、社会交往、与人们谈话 )、社交技能为自变量 ,社交焦虑为因变量进行逐步回归 ,进入回归方程的变量为“与人们交谈”因子、“社会交往”因子和社交技能 ,贡献量分别为 0 .2 96 ,0 .0 71和 0 .0 30。结论 :自我评价和社交技能是造成社交焦虑的重要原因 ,自我评价中的“与人们交谈”和“社会交往”方面是成因中的重要一环     

Education for the Heart and Mind: Feminist Pedagogy and the Religion and Science Curriculum

Feminist educators and theorists are stretching the boundaries of what it means to do religion and science. They are also expanding the theoretical and practical frameworks through which we might present curricula in thosefields. In this paper, I reflect on the implications of feminist pedagogies for the interdisciplinary field of religion and science. I begin with a brief discussion of feminist approaches to education and the nature of the feminist classroom as a setting for action. Next, I present some theoretical and practical issues to consider when developing a feminist praxis and an antisexist curriculum. This leads into a discussion of the role of language and critical reflection in the religion and science classroom, the risks associated with reflective discourse, and considerations in the use of 'feminist' teaching tools such as small group work, journals, and portfolio assessment. Iconclude with a reflection on how feminist pedagogy promotes an epistemology that speaks to the hearts and minds of participants in the dialogue of religion and science.     

Bayesian Extended Redundancy Analysis: A Bayesian Approach to Component-based Regression with Dimension Reduction

Abstract

Extended redundancy analysis (ERA) combines linear regression with dimension reduction to explore the directional relationships between multiple sets of predictors and outcome variables in a parsimonious manner. It aims to extract a component from each set of predictors in such a way that it accounts for the maximum variance of outcome variables. In this article, we extend ERA into the Bayesian framework, called Bayesian ERA (BERA). The advantages of BERA are threefold. First, BERA enables to make statistical inferences based on samples drawn from the joint posterior distribution of parameters obtained from a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. As such, it does not necessitate any resampling method, which is on the other hand required for (frequentist’s) ordinary ERA to test the statistical significance of parameter estimates. Second, it formally incorporates relevant information obtained from previous research into analyses by specifying informative power prior distributions. Third, BERA handles missing data by implementing multiple imputation using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm, avoiding the potential bias of parameter estimates due to missing data. We assess the performance of BERA through simulation studies and apply BERA to real data regarding academic achievement.