Truth Without Reference: The Use of Fictional Names

Topoi - Singular terms without referents are called empty or vacuous terms. But not all of them are equally empty. In particular, not all proper names that fail to name an existing object fail in...     

Alan: An Action Language For Modelling Non-Markovian Domains

In this paper we present the syntax and semantics of a temporal action language named Alan, which was designed to model interactive multimedia presentations where the Markov property does not always hold. In general, Alan allows the specification of systems where the future state of the world depends not only on the current state, but also on the past states of the world. To the best of our knowledge, Alan is the first action language which incorporates causality with temporal formulas. In the process of defining the effect of actions we define the closure with respect to a path rather than to a state, and show that the non-Markovian model is an extension of the traditional Markovian model. Finally, we establish relationship between theories of Alan and logic programs.     

the 2007 california citrus freeze: vulnerability,poverty, and unemployment issues of farmworkers

In January of 2007, freezing temperatures destroyed citrus and vegetable crops in California. By May 2007, more than 9,000 freeze‐related unemployment applications had been filed. Through face‐to‐face interviews, this study documents the experience of 63 farmworkers to find out how they survived the freeze and accessed services. Findings revealed that more than half of the interviewees did not seek benefits from the governmental One‐Stop centers set up to help them. Less than 10% of interviewees stated the benefits had covered their needs. Creating simple, nonbureaucratic guidelines for assisting affected individuals emerged as a need.     

Parenting and Adolescent Adjustment in Mexico: Initial Evidence of Validity for the Mexican Parenting Questionnaire for Adolescents (MPQ-A)

The present study examined the validity of a self-report parenting instrument for use with Mexican adolescents. The 13-item measure was adapted from the Mexican Parenting Questionnaire. The sample included 1123 adolescents (M age?=?15.07, SD?=?1.52) from Puebla, Mexico. Adolescents self-reported on six subscales of parenting (i.e., affection, verbal guidance, monitoring, communication, physical punishment and verbal punishment), as well as on measures of school grades, life satisfaction, familism, depressive and anxiety symptoms. Using confirmatory factor analyses, the original constructs were found to be a good fit with the data. Most subscales consisted of moderate levels of internal consistency and predicted several measures of adolescent adjustment in expected directions. Girls were more likely to report higher levels of monitoring, affection, and communication than boys. Adolescents who were younger and who reported lower school grades were more likely to report greater levels of physical punishment. Familism was positively associated with five of the six parenting dimensions (i.e., affection, verbal guidance, monitoring, physical punishment, and communication). Findings advance understanding on families and adolescent well-being in Mexico and may inform culturally competent services for clinicians who work with Mexican families.     

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Revised Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 with athletes

The aim of this work was to develop a Spanish adaptation of the Revised Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2. The scale was translated and its psychometric properties were analyzed with data from a sample of 149 athletes. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed which supported a 16-item CSAI-2R assessing the three hypothesised dimensions of anxiety: Somatic anxiety, Cognitive anxiety, and Self-confidence. Overall fit of the model was good with a value of .97 for Comparative and Non-Normed Fit Indexes, and .045 for Root Mean Square Error of Approximation. Cronbach alpha coefficients for the factors ranged from .79 to .83. It is concluded that this version shows adequate properties, in terms of its dimensionality and internal consistency. Guidelines are also provided for future research on its validity as a measure of state anxiety in competitive situations.     

QUANTUM REALITY AND ETHOS: A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT REGARDING THE FOUNDATION OF ETHICS IN COSMIC ORDER

The authors undertake a thought experiment the purpose of which is to explore possibilities for understanding moral principles in analogy with cosmic order. The experiment is based on three proposals, which are described in detail: an ontological, a neurological, and a moral proposal. The ontological proposal accepts from the phenomena of quantum physics that there is a nonempirical domain of physical reality that consists not of material things but of what is philosophically conceptualized as a realm of nonmaterial forms. This realm of forms is the realm of potentiality in physical reality that quantum physics posits as an indivisible Wholeness—the One. It is the ultimate reality because everything empirical is the actualization of its forms. The neurological proposal is the hypothesis that the brain is sensitive to the potentiality waves in the cosmic field, as ordinary measuring instruments in physics are sensitive to potentiality waves at the quantum level, so that the cosmic field can communicate with the human brain. The third proposal assumes that the communication with the cosmic field can translate into moral ideas and actions. Even though the three proposals underlying the thought experiment are highly speculative, they lead to definite implications that make sense in their own right and can be applied in a useful way. From the order of reality some simple rules of conduct follow that are identical with traditional moral rules but have the character of rules of well‐ness, leading to new aspects of Aristotle's concept of eudaimonia and Kant's concept of the highest good. In analogy with the structure of physical reality, where all empirical phenomena are actualizations of nonempirical forms, it is suggested that the structure of morality, too, is that of a tacit, nonempirical form that actualizes in explicit principles and moral acts through our consciousness. The tacit form is thought to exist in the realm of cosmic potentiality, together with all the other forms that the empirical world actualizes. It can appear spontaneously in our consciousness when needed, offering its guidance to our judgment and free will. Because it does not appear in the form of commandments accompanied by threats, the actions of the tacit moral form define a higher level of morality, similar to that offered by some aspects of the Christian teaching, where one acts not out of fear but on the desire to do things right.     

How Gendered Attitudes Relate to Women’s and Men’s Sexual Behaviors and Beliefs

This study examines associations between endorsement of a sexual double standard, gender role attitudes, and sexual behaviors and beliefs. First year university students in the northeastern United States (N = 434; 52 % female; 33 % Black, 29 % Latino, 39 % White; ages 17–19) participated during their first year of college. Endorsement of a sexual double standard was associated with more conventionally gender-stereotyped sexual behaviors and beliefs, specifically, more sexual partners and fewer perceived barriers to condom use for young men, and more perceived barriers to condom use for young women. Women who were more conventional about men’s roles in society tended to use condoms less, whereas women who were more conventional about women’s roles tended to use condoms more. Men who were more conventional about men’s roles tended to have fewer sexual partners. Findings suggest the importance of examining gender’s role in sexual behaviors and beliefs by assessing multiple gendered attitudes, rather than simply considering biological sex.