Estimating state IQ: Measurement challenges and preliminary correlates

The purpose of this study is threefold. First, an estimate of state IQ is derived and its strengths and limitations are considered. To that end, an indicator of downward bias in estimating state IQ is provided. Two preliminary causal models are offered that predict state IQ. These models were found to be highly predictive of state IQ, yielding multiple R's of 0.83 and 0.89. Second, the extent to which state IQ predicts state outcome variables (e.g., gross state product, health, violent crime, and government effectiveness) is estimated. State IQ shows positive correlations with gross state product, health, and government effectiveness and negative correlations with violent crime. These results are consistent with the extent to which IQ predicts outcomes at the level of the individual. Third, a research agenda is provided for improving estimates of state IQ, identifying factors that cause differences in state IQ, and delineating the role of IQ in predicting important variables.     

Break philosophy through internally

This paper contrasts and illustrates two types of breakthroughs in philosophy; i.e., external and internal ones. Both are made possible through its application to a newfield. In the external breakthrough, a new field is discovered by such factors without philosophy as encounters with different traditions of thought and advance in technology. In the internal one, a new field is brought into attention by critical examination of one or another assumption within philosophy that has once dismissed the field as too trivial or insignificant to be its proper subject. Based on this distinction, a research guideline for philosophy is proposed that one must always seek the possibility of its internal breakthrough. It is also suggested that the philosophy of science and epistemology can be innovated internally when they are applied to a new field, that is, statistics. Finally the distinction between pure and applied philosophy is reinterpreted in the light of the internal breakthrough.     

Interactivism in artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent robotics

This paper overviews the interactivist model of representation and its applications in artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent robotics. Selected examples from approaches in AI and robotics are contrasted with the generic interactivist architecture in order to illustrate specific features of it. Petitagé, an artificial agent that instantiates our interactivist-expectative theory of agency and learning (IETAL), is discussed in detail from the interactivist perspective.     

Bias at school: Perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination among Latino and European American children

Latino and White/European American children (N = 99; 5–11 years of age) participated in a study designed to examine their perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination in educational settings. Children heard scenarios involving two children of different races/ethnicities, one who received a more positive outcome from a teacher than the other. Children were then asked about the reasons for the differential outcomes. The role of (a) situational information (i.e., the race/ethnicity of the children and teacher in the story, and information about the teacher's past choices); (b) social-cognitive abilities (i.e., theory of mind); and (c) child characteristics (i.e., child's race/ethnicity and racial/ethnic attitudes) in facilitating children's attributions to discrimination was assessed. Results indicated that children most frequently attributed differential outcomes to the quality of work or the ability of students. Children were most likely to make an attribution to discrimination when the teacher rewarded a same-race/ethnicity child and had a history of similar behavior. Children's attention to situational information was moderated, however, by their social-cognitive abilities. Children's own race/ethnicity and ethnic attitudes also affected their perceptions of discrimination.     

‘Minimal Religion’ and Mikhail Epstein’s Interpretation of Religion in Late-Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia

This is an examination of two essays on minimal religion by Mikhail Epstein (1982 and 1999), assessing the usefulness of the term ‘minimal religion’ for the analysis of religion in contemporary Russia. An adapted version of a paper delivered at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University of London, on 8 December, 2003. Note regarding Mikhail Epstein’s use of the words ‘religion’, ‘religiosity’ and ‘spirituality’: Epstein uses the word ‘religion’ to signify ‘mainstream’, church-based manifestations of religion and also the institutional, hierarchical structures related to those. Although in English usage the word ‘religiosity’ has negative connotations – signifying either a superficially felt religious sentiment or a somehow false and insincere expression of religious feeling, intended for outward show – Epstein appears to use the term entirely neutrally. For him it simply serves as a synonym for the word ‘spirituality’. In the two essays examined in the present article the word ‘spirituality’ signifies the whole inner spiritual life and aspirations of the individual and her/his reflection on an ethical way of living, whether the person concerned is a committed, church-going believer, or someone engaged in a personal spiritual or philosophical quest for meaning, or else someone who has experienced what Epstein refers to as ‘the wilderness’ of the Soviet years and has learnt of a spiritual dimension to life through that formative experience.     

对建立我国艾滋病防治督导与评估体系的思考

随着我国艾滋病防治工作的持续深入,定期对艾滋病防治工作进行督导与评估越来越重要。但是,到目前为止,我国尚未建立国家综合协调的艾滋病防治督导与评估体系。通过对建立国家艾滋病防治督导评估体系的必要性、可行性及存在的问题进行分析,围绕如何构建一个统一、综合、有效的督导评估体系提出政策建议。     

The paradox of the disrespected: Disrespected group members’ engagement in group-serving efforts

Previous research has demonstrated that intra-group respect can strengthen people’s group identification, and encourage them to exert themselves on behalf of their group. In the present contribution, we focus on the possibility that those who are not respected by other group members (i.e., the disrespected) can also display group beneficial behavior. Experiment 1 (N = 159) confirms this paradoxical premise and reveals that systematically disrespected group members indeed exert themselves on group-serving tasks. These findings were replicated in Experiment 2 (N = 110). Additional indicators in Experiment 2 demonstrate that the effort by systematically disrespected group members cannot be attributed to a desire to improve their acceptance in the group, but should be interpreted as attempts to assert the worth of the self separately from the group. Results are discussed in relation to the group-value model and insights on marginal group membership and social exclusion.     

Boys will be boys: a pre‐line‐up gameplay has beneficial effects on boys' but not girls' identification performance

Fifty children, aged between 4 and 7 years, underwent a sequential photo line‐up procedure in order to identify a man they had met the previous day. Half of the participants engaged in a pre‐procedure gameplay with the female interviewer. It was hypothesised that the game would stimulate rapport building and would ultimately result in an increased performance during the line‐up procedure. The beneficial effect was indeed observed, but only for the male participants. This finding suggests that gameplay may be a fruitful strategy to decrease child witness discomfort and to increase participation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

高级职业经理人胜任特质评定探索

为了方便企业甄选所需要的高级管理人才,本文就“高级职业经理人胜任特质评定量表”的编制过程及其量表的结构分析做一报告。该量表分为认知基质、组织协调、领导力、个性倾向和自我调节五个纬度和一个测谎的分量表。本研究立足于中国本土文化,采用小组中心访谈和多种统计分析技术对中国的高级职业经理人的胜任特质进行测评,结果显示总量表和各纬度上的项目具有较高的同质性信度和结构效度,具有较好的鉴别力。     

倦怠问卷(BM)的结构研究

为了考察BM问卷在中国文化背景下的适应性,用修订的倦怠问卷(BM)和中文版的MBI-GS量表对363名中小学教师进行施测。探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析的结果表明在中国文化背景下,三因素模型得到最优拟合,分别命名为耗竭、士气消沉、动机丧失;BM问卷的内部一致性系数在0.7999-0.8768之间,区分效度和聚合效度在0.762-0.259之间,均达到了心理测量学的要求。