Background: Frailty is a common syndrome among older adults and patients with several comorbidities. Grip strength is a representative parameter of frailty because it is a valid indicator of current and long-term physical conditions in the general population and patients with severe mental illnesses. Physical and cognitive capacities of people with SMIs are usually impaired; however, their relationship with frailty or social functioning have not been studied to date. The current study aimed to determine if GS is a valid predictor (...) of changes in cognitive performance and social functioning in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus and SMIs. Methods: Assessments of social functioning, cognitive performance, and GS were conducted in 30 outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, 35 with major depressive disorder, 42 with bipolar disorder, 30 with schizophrenia, and 28 healthy controls, twice during 1-year, follow-up period. Descriptive analyses were conducted using a one-way analysis of variance for continuous variables and the chi-squared test for categorical variables. Differences between groups for the motor, cognitive, and social variables at T1 and T2 were assessed using a one-way analysis of covariance, with sex and age as co-variates. To test the predictive capacity of GS at baseline to explain the variance in cognitive performance and social functioning at T2, a linear regression analysis was performed. Results: Predictive relationships were found among GS when implicated with clinical, cognitive, and social variables. These relationships explained changes in cognitive performance after one year of follow-up; the variability percentage was 67.7%, in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus and 89.1% in patients with schizophrenia. Baseline GS along with other variables, also predicted changes in social functioning in major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, with variability percentages of 67.3, 36, and 59%, respectively. Conclusion: GS combined with other variables significantly predicted changes in cognitive performance and social functioning in people with SMIs or type-2 diabetes mellitus. Interventions aimed to improve the overall physical conditions of patients who have poor GS could be a therapeutic option that confers positive effects on cognitive performance and social functioning. (shrink)

Recent developments in Continental philosophy have included the emergence of a school of “speculative realism,” which rejects the human-centered orientation that has long dominated Continental thought. Proponents of speculative realism differ on several issues, but many agree on the need for an object-oriented ontology. Some speculative realists identify realism with materialism, while others accord equal reality to objects that are non-material, even fictional. Several thinkers retain a focus on difference, a well-established theme in Continental thought. This paper looks at speculative (...) realism from the perspective of systems theory. Many of the tenets of speculative realism have long been features of systems metaphysics and are expressed clearly in a systems framework. However, some views of some speculative realists differ substantially from systems theoretic ideas. (shrink)

The phenomenon of altruism extends from the biological realm to the human sociocultural realm. This article sketches a coherent outline of multiple types of altruism of progressively increasing scope that span these two realms and are grounded in an ever-expanding sense of “self.” Discussion of this framework notes difficulties associated with altruism at different levels. It links scientific ideas about the evolution of cooperation and about hierarchical order to perennial philosophical and religious concerns. It offers a conceptual background for inquiry (...) into societal challenges that call for altruistic behavior, especially the challenge of environmental and social sustainability. (shrink)

Este artículo aborda el carácter clave del comercio de barrio como espacio para la sociabilidad en contextos locales de migración, centrándose en tres planteamientos que contribuyen a analizar tanto situaciones de convivencia armoniosa como de conflictividad entre vecinos de distintos orígenes etnoculturales: 1) la vinculación entre el comercio como elemento visibilizador de expresiones identitarias y la construcción culturalista del conflicto; 2) cómo se articula el comercio con otros espacios de sociabilidad; y 3) la multiplicidad de espacios de interacción que ofrece (...) la actividad comercial. (shrink)

O objetivo deste artigo é discutir a questão do abuso sexual, destacando a contribuição psicanalítica na compreensão do impacto do abuso sobre o desenvolvimento psíquico do indivíduo. Nas últimas décadas, observa-se um crescente interesse das pesquisas na identificação de diferentes aspectos do prob..

In this lively collection ten philosophers tackle the notoriously elusive issues raised by religious discourse in a series of linked debates. The debates focus on reason and faith; the logic of mysticism; the meaning of the word 'God'; language, biblical interpretation and worship; and religion and ethics. Through contemporary philosophical analysis it is possible to shed new light on teh status and language of religion, and in many ways the contributors to Religion and Philosophy break new ground in this perennially (...) controversial field. The collection is addressed to philosophers, theologians and anyone with a general intellectual interest in religion. Certainly it will be a valuable addition to the reading list of all teachers or students of the philosophy of religion. (shrink)

Heidegger in America explores the surprising legacy of his life and thought in the United States of America. As a critic of modern life, Heidegger often lamented the growing global influence of all things American. However, it was precisely in America where his thought inspired the work of generations of thinkers – not only philosophers but also theologians, architects, novelists, and even pundits. As a result, the reception and dissemination of Heidegger's philosophical writings transformed the intellectual and cultural history of (...) the United States at a time when American influence was itself transforming the world. A case study in the complex and sometimes contradictory process of transnational exchange, Heidegger in America recasts the scope and methods of contemporary intellectual and cultural history in the age of globalization, challenging what we think we know about Heidegger and American ideas simultaneously. (shrink)

El objetivo principal del ensayo es intentar entender el significado del silencio del Buddha ante las diez proposiciones sin declarar. Si se consideran como di††hi, las preguntas sin declarar son simplemente un conjunto de proposiciones conceptualmente distorsionadas. El trabajo se ha dividido en cinco secciones. En las dos primeras se presenta la explicación del Buddha de su propio silencio. Tienen un alcance meramente expositivo con el objeto de situar la discusión en los términos en que fue originariamente planteada. La tercera (...) parte explica los mecanismos mentales que intervienen en la generación mental de patrones mentales distorsionados. El papel que desempeña papañca en el desarrollo de las tendencias subyacentes y la aparición de efluvios mentales se ha desarrollado en la cuarta parte. Finalmente, se presenta el silencio del Buddha como la respuesta que es consistente con el conjunto de principios doctrinales que él mismo declaró. (shrink)

Martin Wrights original ground-breaking and influential analysis of the defects of the adversarial system of justice, plus the arguments in favour of a more ...

El estudio de la motivación de la utilización de los sistemas de control avanzado de música ambiental y el hecho de crear un buen ambiente, una buena experiencia de cara al cliente que entra en un local a realizar una compra debido al atractivo generado por la música es el objetivo de esta investigación. El estudio de las emociones que se derivan de la utilización de la música en locales comerciales y la repercusión que tiene en el comportamiento de compra (...) del consumidor serán analizados con el estudio de varios casos de éxito sobre esta cuestión. (shrink)

Moderation and liberalism are different and in some cases antagonistic concepts. In recent years, the view that Sieyès’s idea of constituent power is a moderate and liberal rendering of sovereignty has gained acceptance in intellectual history and constitutional theory literature. This claim is based on the premise that radical and illiberal readers of Rousseau’s idea of sovereignty, such as Robespierre and the Jacobins, were opposed to representing the general will (volonté générale). Thus, constituent power as the exercise of power by (...) extraordinary representatives to draft a constitution would be a liberal attempt at political moderation in the French revolution. In contrast to this liberal reading, my analysis shows that Sieyès’s idea of constituent power is an illiberal attempt at political moderation. Against moderate liberal theories, constituent power demands that the extraordinary representatives of the constituent assembly must will, deliberate, and act as if they were the people themselves. These representatives have absolute powers and the mandate to create a constitution but also the imperative to perceive and mirror the sovereign will. From a political theory approach, I conclude that constituent power is not a liberal idea but a key notion of moderate illiberalism that prevailed during the French Revolution. (shrink)

El trabajo tiene por objeto reflexionar críticamente sobre el retribucionismo como fin de la pena en el Estado constitucional de Derecho. Tomando como punto de partida el idealismo alemán, se analizan las reformulaciones más recientes de esta corriente de pensamiento aparentemente superada. Se propone una distinción metodológica entre los términos retribución, reprobación y venganza, en orden a la defensa de una teoría de la pena secularizada.

Currently, the concept of engagement is crucial in the field of learning and school achievement. It is a multidimensional concept (e.g., behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions) that has been widely used as a theoretical framework to explain the processes of school engagement and dropout. However, this conceptual framework has been scarcely used in the field of homework. The aim of the present study was to analyze the role of intrinsic motivation, perceived homework utility, and personal homework attitude as precursors of (...) student homework engagement (behavioral engagement) and, at the same time, how such engagement is the precursor of academic achievement. Seven hundred and thirty students of Compulsory Secondary Education (7th to 10th grade) from fourteen schools northern Spain participated. A structural equation model was elaborated on which intrinsic motivation, perceived utility and attitude were observed variables, and student engagement (time spent on homework, time management, and amount of teacher-assigned homework done) and academic achievement (Mathematics, Spanish Language, English Language, Social Science) were latent variables. The results reveal that (i) intrinsic motivation is a powerful precursor of student behavioral engagement (also perceived utility and attitude, although to a lesser extent) and (ii) academic achievement is closely linked to the level of student engagement, qualifying the results of many of the previous studies conducted from a task-centered perspective (as opposed to a person-centered perspective). (shrink)

Many philosophers accept that, as well as having a right that others not harm us, we also have a right that others not subject us to a risk of harm. And yet, when we attempt to spell out precisely what this ‘right against risk imposition’ involves, we encounter a series of notorious puzzles. Existing attempts to deal with these puzzles have tended to focus on the nature of rights – but I propose an approach that focusses instead on the nature (...) of risk. The key move is to distinguish two different ways in which to conceptualise the risk that a given action presents – one of which is linked to the notion of probability and the other to the notion of normalcy. (shrink)

The discussion of collective agency involves the reduction problem of the concept of a collective. Individualism and Cartesian internalism have long restricted orthodox theories and made them face the tension between an irreducible concept of a collective and ontological reductionism. Heterodox theories as functionalism and interpretationism reinterpret the concept of agency and accept it as realized on the level of a collective. In order to adequately explain social phenomena that have relations as their essence, in this paper we propose a (...) relational, holistic account of collective agency and argue that functionalism and interpretationism can be integrated into such an account. (shrink)

Constituent power is a key concept in democratic theory and constitutional law. The French term pouvoir constituant was coined by Sieyès in the context of the French Revolution in his famous pamphl...

Se indagó sobre el desarrollo de la Investigación Acción Participativa en Psicología. Se observó que en América y Europa, esta metodología se utiliza en una variedad de áreas disciplinares, principalmente en la Psicología Comunitaria. Aborda fundamentalmente problemáticas sociales, comunitarias y ps..

As integrators of talents, Catholic family business leaders are strategically positioned to leverage the unique differences of their workforce. Business literature currently emphasizes participatory leadership as best practice. Participatory leadership is insufficient, however, because increasing the number of voices in the decision-making process may lead to higher levels of conflict or disengagement if the voices are disregarded. This paper proposes that the Catholic Social Teaching concepts of subsidiarity and solidarity provide the guiding principles to integrate participation because together they can (...) account for all stakeholders while advancing business goals. To operationalize these principles, this paper suggests that the dispute resolution field has developed analytical frameworks to assess and reimagine current policies, procedures, and culture for dispute resolution and shared decision making. Ultimately, businesses are the training ground to prepare citizens to participate in the public square and contribute to the common good. (shrink)

We discuss in this paper the scope of abduction in Economics. The literature on this type of inference shows that it can be interpreted in different ways, according to the role and nature of its outcome. We present a formal model that allows to capture these various meanings in different economic contexts.

Pertenecemos a unos tiempos donde todo es cuestionable y opinable, en los que la verdad parece estar amenazada. Se da cumplimiento a la admonición de Gramsci: “Lo nuevo no acaba de nacer, lo viejo no acaba de morir, y en estos claroscuros surgen los monstruos”. El pragmatismo de nuestra época prefiere la mentira útil al valor moral de la verdad, y manipula emociones que el público no es capaz de detectar ni tiene tiempo de valorar. “Vivimos en un mundo en (...) el que la más elevada función del signo es hacer desaparecer la realidad y enmascarar al mismo tiempo esa desaparición”. Para definir este tipo de farsa se utiliza el término posverdad, que se presenta como una verdad interpretable, que no responde a hechos demostrables, y como un producto más de consumo, una verdad aparente a gusto del hombre posmoderno. En la era de la posverdad, las escuelas deben ayudar a los estudiantes a saber discernir la información que reciben de los medios y a aprender a buscar evidencia de la verdad. Este tipo de destrezas de evaluación son, en la actualidad, más necesarias que nunca, dado el amplio acceso a los medios digitales de que disponen los alumnos. Si los niños son el futuro, el futuro podría estar muy mal informado, pero ¿podemos hacer algo? (shrink)