This paper discusses essential motivational representations necessary for a comprehensive computational cognitive architecture. It hypothesizes the need for implicit drive representations, as well as explicit goal representations. Drive representations consist of primary drives — both low-level primary drives (concerned mostly with basic physiological needs) and high-level primary drives (concerned more with social needs), as well as derived (secondary) drives. On the basis of drives, explicit goals may be generated on the fly during an agent’s interaction with various situations. These motivational (...) representations help to make cognitive architectural models more comprehensive and provide deeper explanations of psychological processes. This work represents a step forward in making computational cognitive architectures better reflections of the human mind and all its motivational complexity and intricacy. (shrink)

This essay can be called, if you will, an exercise in choosing which words to use when in our contemporary context. I hope to add something useful to the work being done by Pierre Macherey (Machere...

This article explores the links between psychology – specifically, psychological needs, motivations, and coping mechanisms – and the sales of backlist titles during the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows how select titles on spirituality as well as The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy and Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl help readers to attribute meaning to the pandemic and in turn, to cope with the struggles of the pandemic. The article concludes that such (...) books are connected by their psychological value to readers – the psychological needs they fulfil – and that books from disparate genres and on varying topics can help readers cope in similar ways. (shrink)

ObjectiveTo test the relationship between social security satisfaction, social fairness, social trust, and people’s subjective wellbeing in China and the serial mediation effect in this study.MethodsWe utilized the data from Chinese Social Survey in 2017 and 2019, involving 31 provinces across the country. There were 5,398 samples in 2017CSS and 2,580 samples in 2019CSS selected by the research objectives. There were 4,269 women and 3,709 men with the average age of participants being 43.ResultsThe results showed that the actual status of (...) social security satisfaction, social fairness and trust, and SWB were greater than the theoretical status overall. Social security satisfaction [β = 0.454, p < 0.001, 95% CI = ], social fairness [β = 0.065, p < 0.001, 95% CI = ], and social trust [β = 0.108, p < 0.001, 95% CI = ] positively influenced people’s SWB, respectively. Social fairness had a positive effect on social trust. Social fairness and social trust partly mediated the relationship between social security satisfaction and SWB, respectively. Social security satisfaction indirectly influenced SWB through the serial effect of social fairness and social trust. The total effect of SWB explained is 47% in the serial mediation model.ConclusionSatisfactory social security is likely to cause a high level of people’s SWB, social fairness, and social trust. It is beneficial to form a virtuous circle in society. Allowing people to obtain satisfactory social security is conducive to social equity, promoting social trust, and improving people’s SWB. (shrink)

The article presents a historical and philosophical analysis of happiness as a socio-cultural phenomenon, considers the proposed criteria and components of the state of happiness as well as proposes the author's integrative definition of happiness. The relevance of this study is determined by the importance of the actual humanitarian indicators in assessing socio-political progress. As a result of the analysis of how the concept of happiness was historically formed and developed, it was shown that (a) the concept of happiness became (...) widespread in the humanitarian discourse relatively late, (b) its predecessors are the ancient Greek concepts ofagathon(the good) andeudaimonia(welfare, prosperity, supreme good), (c) in Western European philosophy, the understanding of good is contradictory and includes a wide range of meanings, from utilitarian to axiological, (d) the content of the concept of happiness includes two aspects: one is in the person's power and the other is determined by external factors. The article analyzes modern theories of happiness and feelings of life satisfaction as well as scientific studies of the components of the state of happiness. As a result of the analysis of these approaches, it is shown that in most modern studies, the emphasis in understanding happiness is placed on either socio-biological or socioeconomic factors. The author examines the criteria for the state of happiness. The author quotes other researchers and proposes certain steps as an algorithm for determining happiness, i.e., a formula for happiness. The importance of harmony of the following components of the human personality and life is substantiated: the belief system (and living in accordance with one's beliefs), abilities (and the possibility of their implementation in professional, cognitive activity), geographical location of residence, as well as social circle (and the balance of socio-psychological proximity and distancing). (shrink)

Libertarianism has a problem, perhaps an insurmountable one, and its problem lies squarely in the domain from which it is sourced: the intellectual and political elite of the West. As such, it rests on an ontological viewpoint far outside the purview and experience of quotidian man. Furthermore, it rests on an epistemology of the person as sovereign, Natural Law, which requires a concomitant education or understanding of the Classics, or at least self-awareness and the ability to think logically. Many non-intellectuals (...) are either uninterested or incapable of following the Libertarian arguments of personal sovereignty and instead submit. This unconscious submission to the authority of a government, father figure, or other self-appointed “authority” relieves the individual of the psychological pain of breaking out of the herd. C. G. Jung (1875-1961) was adamant that to be an individual is a radical act: “To develop one’s own personality is indeed an unpopular undertaking, a deviation that is highly uncongenial to the herd, an eccentricity smelling of the cenobite, as it seems to the outsider [11, Para. 298]. Further, Alexander Hamilton (1755 or 1747-1804) noted that the elite are more than happy to have the masses submit to their authority without question as it advances their control: “a fondness for power is implanted in most men, and it is natural to abuse it when acquired” [9]. The rest of this article explores this psychosis of authority and how Libertarianism suffers in popularity as a result. (shrink)

This paper revisits the concept of Cognitive Innovation with the aim of helping newcomers appreciate its (intended) demarcating purpose and relevance to the wider literature on cognition and creativity in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Particular emphasis is paid to discussion of the pitfalls of sense-making and the concept’s affordance. The main argument presented is that proponents of the concept face the dilemma of seeking to demonstrate its transdisciplinary nature and applicability vis-a-vis retaining its semantic distinctness. Proceeding from a classification (...) of Cognitive Innovation as a dispositional construct, we discuss how it feeds into existing research approaches and opens up new sensibilities in related areas. The perspectives of temporality, interdisciplinary balancing, technology, and metatheories are proposed as promising areas for future elaboration of the function of Cognitive Innovation. (shrink)

Architects design building structures, although structural design is the profession of structural engineers. Thus, it is better for architects and structural engineers to collaborate starting from the initial phases of the architectural design. However, this is not very common because of the contradictory design processes and value systems held within the two professions. This article provides a platform upon which architects and structural engineers can resolve the value conflicts between them by analysing phases of the structural design of reinforced concrete (...) frame systems in architecture, the criteria of the structural design for each phase and determining the conflicting values for each criterion. The results shown in the article demonstrate that the architectural design of structures is a complex process, which is based on contradictory values and value systems. Finally, the article suggests to architects and structural engineers to use Value Sensitive Design and to choose an appropriate team leader in order to resolve the unethical conflict between them and to avoid any unreasonable decision making. (shrink)

The same year as the opening of the Woodstock music festival, a small medical school in Hamilton, Ontario, launched a daring new medical education programme in which lectures were replaced by small-group, interdisciplinary problem-based tutorials. Problem-based learning, as it became known, took the world of higher education by storm, such that today over 500 institutions in the World claim to use this method in almost every field of study, from engineering to liberal arts. Through the in-depth historical analysis of archive (...) materials, oral history interviews and contemporary publications, this thesis proposes a rigorous account of the intellectual history of PBL from its birth place at McMaster University, to its evolution in Maastricht University, closing on a comparison with the Danish problem-oriented, project-based model of higher education. The author delivers a narrative that stands at the cross-roads between history, philosophy of education and cognitive psychology. “Revolutions and Re-iterations” retraces not only the key historical events that shaped PBL but also the sources of inspiration for many of PBL’s key features and the central theoretical debates that defined the practice of PBL since the 1970s. (shrink)

Currently, patients are expected to take control over their health and their life and act as independent users and consumers. Simultaneously, health care policy demands patients are expected to self manage their disease. This article critically questions whether this is a realistic expectation. The paper presents the auto-ethnographic narrative of the first author, which spans a period of 27 years, from 1985 to 2012. In total nine episodes were extracted from various notes, conversations and discussions in an iterative process. Each (...) of these episodes was condensed around a ‘critical moment’ as perceived by the “self”. The critical moments in the illness process vary between newly encountered problems with basic needs and mourning, to renewed strength and the desire to grow, embracing new situations. Being confronted with and living with a chronic illness involves periods of anxiety and self centredness alternating with strength and advocating the interests of peer-patients. These episodes of emotion, confusion and refinding a balance have a cyclic pattern. The narrative illustrates the vulnerability and dependency of a patient with a chronic disease. The discussion relates this to mainstream dominant views on patients ‘in control of their own life’. The narrative illustrates, that the vulnerability and dependency of the patient are key factors to take into account in health care policy. The narrative provides a counter story, challenging current thinking in terms of strength, selfmanagement, patients’ own control and independent role. (shrink)

Purpose This study aims to explore ways to enhance competitiveness of commercial lighting industry because of the growing digitally connected stakeholder community. Positive responses from stakeholders to recurring business interactions help build trust and formation of a community; value chains being one form of such trusted community. Because of the increasing trust, the effort to search right value chain partners diminishes, business interactions become less formal and transaction costs are reduced, thus increasing the competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach In this research, a cross-sectional (...) study of commercial lighting industry domain in Australia was carried out, focusing on two states: New South Wales and Victoria. Based on the findings, an approach and a supporting platform to enhance competitiveness of commercial lighting industry were synthesized. Findings Based on the findings from the study, formation of such value chains, namely, “Entrusted Circles” and its two types of formations, fully and partial, were observed. Their further growth was hindered by high transaction costs. To reduce this transaction cost, this paper proposes a platform to create dynamic value chains, among stakeholders of commercial lighting industry, making use of growing digital connectivity leading toward agile formation of Entrusted Circles to enhance competitiveness. Research limitations/implications This study focuses on the commercial lighting industry in Australia, which is not tested in any other domain to investigate its wider applicability. However, it is conceptually applicable to be used in industries with compliance and standard procedures. Originality/value This paper shows how to identify Entrusted Circles and build, support and sustain such relationships among value chain partners to successfully conduct business transactions in a dynamic value chain. (shrink)

The present study aimed at understanding the subjective perception of happiness in a sample of Indian participants from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Using convenience sampling, individual interviews were conducted with 60 participants aged between 19 to 73 years. This study employed reflexive thematic analysis to analyse the written transcripts. Nine themes were generated which captured the essence of happiness for Indians—Feelings and Expressions of Happiness; Human Ties and Happiness which encompassed four sub-themes—family bond, the company one keeps, the pandemic and social (...) disengagement, and the nation, society and happiness; Satisfaction with Material Needs and Resources; Lifestyle and Health; Work and Play; Accomplishment and Appreciation; Nature Connectedness; Religious and Spiritual beliefs; and Happiness as a Personal responsibility—Role of Positive Personality Traits. These findings revealed our respondent's multidimensional conceptualization of happiness, and adds to the growing body of happiness literature from the South Asian context. (shrink)

This article examines public opinion as it relates to the primary tenets of the pragmatic philosophy. Anti-foundationalism, fallibilism, and an emphasis on practical consequences are observed in American public opinion. In addition, there is strong support for pragmatic politics in America. The evidence suggests that pragmatism is a common cultural attribute in American society.

Research indicates a positive correlation between self-efficacy and increased student achievement. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief that they can exercise control over their functioning. Mastery Experiences, Vicarious Experiences, Social Persuasion and the Physiological well-being of an individual, are components of self-efficacy. This paper extends the traditional view of self-efficacy by introducing another component that effects the motivating factors within an individual. Through theological experiences, individuals in a Christian context utilize faith-based principles to access mastery, vicarious experiences, social support and physiological (...) well-being. Through theological experiences, mastery experiences are acquired with God’s help; vicarious experiences are extended to a global Christian context, Social persuasion occurs through scriptures and testimonies, and physiological well-being is taught and supported via God and His Word (scripture). This theological extension has implications in academia, mental health, leadership and policy articulation. (shrink)

Empirical tests of Schwartz’s theory of culture-level value priorities have predominantly been performed using an averaging approach–as values of the average individual in a culture. However, from a theory of measurement standpoint such an approach seems inadequate. We argue that the averaging approach is an insufficiently accurate methodology in capturing the compatibilities-incompatibilities between values of individuals within cultures. We propose an approach based on the distribution of values of individuals in a given culture–the distribution approach. Using data from two rounds (...) of the European Social Survey, we show how frequencies of specific individual value priorities in a culture can be used towards the description of culture-level value preferences. We recommend a re-conceptualization of Schwartz’s culture-level value theory to an orthogonal two-dimensional structure, namely as Preservation vs. Alteration and Dominance vs. Amenability, which we explain based on heterogeneity in socioecological indicators across countries. We conclude that societal challenges may influence the cultural value climate across countries. (shrink)

Discourse on benefit provision has long been a point of contention within political rhetoric. Although research has demonstrated the damaging impact that welfare cuts have had on people with disabilities, there has been a focus on the material impact of the deprivation such cuts have caused. In the context of welfare, mental health has received little attention in the research literature, often contextualised within the wider remit of disability, with little regard for the nuances of distress. There is a need (...) to consider this in the context of discourse, exploring issues of subjectivity, identity, power relationships and economic concerns. The first empirical study discursively explored how newspapers represent and position mental illness in regard to claiming benefits, neoliberal practices and the capitalist political economy. In ’Shame, Tragedy and the Neoliberal Ideal’. the social and political function of shame as a response to neoliberalism was explored. ‘Class and Classlessness’ explored how discourses of shame were deployed in regard to class and their implications for identity, citizenship and selfhood. The second empirical study discursively explored how mental health service-users who claim benefits negotiate identities and construct accounts of accessing the benefits system. A discourse of malign surveillance in the benefits system was explored, considering issues of deviance and social control. A discourse of ‘Consumerism and Alienation: A Breakdown in Society’ was also explored, where participants positioned themselves as ‘distanced’ and ‘outside’ of ‘human’. The data from both empirical studies were analysed using an innovative discursive method that was developed to engage with the ideas of both Foucault and Marx. The legitimisation of taken-for-granted assumptions regarding those with mental health difficulties who claim benefits was interrogated in a critically geared manner, whilst opening up spaces for empowerment, resistance, and social change. The thesis produces new knowledge regarding the interdiscursive relationship between disability and distress in the context of the welfare system, whilst exploring the potential of innovative and nuanced discursive methods. (shrink)

Understanding spirituality may serve as a foundation for developing new approaches to managerial action, organizational learning, social change and leadership. This article explores this phenomenon by hermeneutically tracing the demise and reawakening of spiritual entrepreneurship in Western life over the past 200 years. Spiritual aspects of entrepreneurial organizations are also framed via the lens of critical management theory as reflected in literature spanning four social epochs: federalist reality, the Industrial Revolution, disciplinary society, and the post-industrial milieu. The resulting themes highlight (...) the interconnectedness and reciprocal influences between social reality and spiritual leadership in Western entrepreneurial enterprises. Drawn from the author's doctoral research (Jue 2004), the article suggests a need for reintegrating spiritual leadership among post-modern organizations and entrepreneurial firms in the achievement of more sustainable futures. (shrink)

Economic development and the social changes it brings are changing people's world views among the East Asia Confucian societies. Most notable is a change from stressing hard work and achievement toward stressing enjoyment, self expression, and a fulfilling lifestyle. With this people also have become more pro-equality and tolerant toward different ideas and styles. These newly emerged views of modernized societies can be called values. People with stronger postmodern values are more active politically, more assertive in demanding individual and political (...) rights, and more emphatic in their preference for democratic government. The implication is that people in East Asia will demand more democracy as economic development proceeds and as they acquire these postmodern values. (shrink)

ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to explore the power of stakeholder consultation on employee engagement during a cross-border acquisition in a multi-cultural context. Further, to describe the psychosocial factors at play during the employee involvement process towards enhancing employee engagement.MethodsThis qualitative study presents the results from data collected in Tanzania through semi-structured interviews and analyzed in accordance with the hermeneutic circle and Tesch’s content analysis method.ResultsThe results of this study contribute to the body of knowledge to better understand the (...) psychosocial factors at play within a multi-cultural environment which inform stakeholder consultation and will enable or hinder employee engagement. A transitional space should be created, fostering mature stakeholder engagement, promoting employee inclusion, engagement, and knowledge sharing.ConclusionBringing together two worlds requires building bridges to cross the cliff between contexts and overcoming diversity challenges, while incorporating diversity management in the consulting process. A multi-cultural team should be established, incorporating diversity management, applying the principles of respect, participation and transparent communication, with regular feedback on decisions made. External stakeholders in authoritative positions are not well received and should consider traditional superiority versus business hierarchy when establishing leader-follower relationships. (shrink)

Whether, how and when do leaders engage in ethical leadership as a response to status threat? We propose that leaders facing status threat are likely to develop ethical leadership behaviors toward subordinates. Drawing on power dependence theory, we theorize that experiencing status threat augments leaders’ dependence on subordinates who can provide them with status-relevant resources. Dependence on subordinates further motivates leaders to absorb the resource constraints through displaying ethical leadership. However, if leaders are able to obtain alternative resources to cope (...) with status threat, their dependence on subordinates is weakened. We conducted two studies to test the predictions. Using a moderation-of-process design, Study 1 found that when participants experienced status threat, they displayed more ethical leadership behaviors, but particularly so when their reward structure was team- rather than individual-based. Study 2 was a field study using a sample of 104 teams from two Chinese firms listed in the “Top 500 private enterprises in China.” We found that leaders who experienced more status threat were perceived to be more ethical by their subordinates, which was mediated by leaders’ perceptions of dependence on subordinates. The mediated effect was stronger for leaders who were less skilled in networking. Implications for theory on the contextual factors of ethical leadership, dependence, and status threat are discussed. (shrink)

This article presents a brief overview of the state of university language education in the United States. Despite the impact of the world economic crisis on university language education in the United States, the profession has not yet been impacted to the extent many believe it has. Current scholarly debates allow for both a sober assessment of and an optimistic perspective on the field’s trajectory in recent years. A brief summary is offered of recent enrollments in university courses in languages (...) other than English, which shows that enrollments have indeed remained stable, though even these stable numbers point toward shortcomings in the place of language education in academia overall. The key points of the 2007 Modern Language Association Ad Hoc Committee Report, ‘Foreign languages and higher education: New structures for a changed world’, are then presented, along with some scholarly responses to it. The report, and especially the academic debate it sparked, point toward a period of transformation in university language education; an increased attention to crucial links between theory, curriculum, research, and pedagogical practice; and an encouraging mood of advocacy for language education that transcends the defensive response to program reductions and eliminations. (shrink)

Grit, as an important positive psychological quality, has rarely been studied for its role involved in the mechanism between stress and psychological security. This article explores the moderating and mediating role of grit in the relationship between interpersonal stress and psychological security of freshmen through two studies. In study 1, freshmen from several Chinese universities were recruited to complete a battery of questionnaire, including assessments about interpersonal stress, grit, and psychological security. The moderating effect analysis showed that grit moderated the (...) relationship between interpersonal stress and psychological security. Specifically, grit buffered the negative effects of interpersonal stress on freshmen’s psychological security, but this effect was obvious only when the level of interpersonal stress was relatively low, and decreased when the level of interpersonal stress was high. In study 2, college freshmen from another university apart from above ones were recruited, and we verified the results of study 1 and further explored the mediating role of grit in the relationship between interpersonal stress and security. The moderating effect analysis of study 2 also verified that of study 1. The mediating effect analysis showed that interpersonal stress not only negatively predicted psychological security, but also affected psychological security through the mediation of grit. In general, grit played a mediating and moderating role in the relationship between interpersonal stress and psychological security. This study provides first-hand evidence to explain the multiple roles of grit in the relationship between interpersonal stress and psychological security. (shrink)

The main aim of this work it’s to show that the speech used to explain the problem of poverty, can be located in a rhetorical field, especially when you’re looking to convince the acceptation of strategies based inhuman development with some axiological value. The rhetorical as a way of persuasion make the believing of what should correspond to each other in what we understood as fare. Is the case of the actions that the State makes to persuade the necessity to (...) give attention to some vulnerable groups by recognizing basic necessities and also with specific actions that allow us to attend between the ones that are experimenting it. And it initiates with the recognition of the basic needs of an heterogeneous auditorium, that besides of identifying a different ways to attend them, recognize the concern for others to cover their elementary necessities, that means, it stays with a Socratic approach.From a rhetorical approach, the highly intention of social political instruments it’s to facilitate the access to some resources as a way to materialize the minimum conditions of life of contingent conditions environment are poverty minimizers. It’s A Sen. who’s trying to increase social conciseness in the middle of axiological virtues of J. Rawls uses the social construction of the moral principles as poverty reducers and in justice situations. Both intentions allow to recognize the situations of justice as the result of integrating data, with no esculent but complementary for poverty issues. (shrink)

For too long, a majority of economic stories speak of perfectly informed, fully rational optimisation within a purely materialistic world – leaving a lack of evidence and explanation regarding human decision makers and entrepreneurs revolutionising the decision space. Strands like game theory and institutional economics have already adopted a more practical view. Evolutionary and behavioural economics were finally able to establish the necessary links to other disciplines – like psychology and informational science. This paper recaps selected parts of the literature (...) that favour a conceptional view of computational agents. Firstly, we invite economic modellers to question the microfoundation of their assumptions with regard to the individual or to an aggregate level of human behaviour that they truly refer to. Secondly, we illustrate the potential, as well as the limitations, that computational agents exhibit – with regard to the incorporation of creativity as the main source of innovative behaviour. Thirdly, this rather superficial collection of ideas serves as a position paper for future approaches. (shrink)

The financial crash of 2008 following the selling of fictitious derivatives was a crisis of both rationality and values whose aftermath has thrown the legitimation of deregulated markets, and governments, into question. This paper critiques the Becker metaphor of human capital and submits that human value is central to and the fulcrum of both economic and social values. It illustrates that Hume and Adam Smith directly countered the Hobbesian hypothesis that human nature is based only on self-interest, distinguishes market values (...) from social values, explicit from implicit values and parallels Sen in adopting an ordinal ranking of what people value rather than a search for cardinality. It draws on cognitive psychology, neural research, revealed preference theory and a principle of implicit verification. It also outlines implications for what Adam Smith centrally valued as concern for the welfare of the whole of society. (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an abrupt change in routines and livelihoods all around the world. This public health crisis amplified a number of systemic inequalities that led to populations needing to grapple with universally difficult truths. Yet some individuals, firms, and countries displayed resilient and creative responses in coping with pressing demands on healthcare and basic sanity. Past work has suggested that engaging in creative acts can be an adaptive response to a changing environment. Therefore, the purpose of this (...) paper is to describe how entities at the personal, community, and national levels cultivated and expressed creativity in an effort to make meaning during COVID-19. By overlaying the Four C model of creativity on such responses, we aim to to connect mini, little, Pro, and Big creative behaviors with our attempts to make meaning of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and to suggest how engaging in creative expression can be used to guard against the adverse consequences of this outbreak. Acknowledging that this time has been and continues to be distressing and filled with uncertainty, we propose some ways of making sense of current events by applying original thinking across domains. Further, we propose how engaging in creativity can serve to buffer against the negative effects of living through the pandemic. (shrink)

Journal of Philosophy of Education, EarlyView.