Computerized relaxation training has been suggested as an effective and easily accessible intervention for individuals with psychological distress. To better elucidate the neural mechanism that underpins the effects of relaxation training, we investigated whether a 10-session computerized relaxation training program changed prefrontal gamma-aminobutyric acid levels and cerebral blood flow in women with psychological distress. We specifically focused on women since they were reported to be more vulnerable to develop stress-related disorders than men. Nineteen women with psychological distress but without a (...) diagnosis of psychiatric disorders received the 10-day computerized relaxation training program that consisted of 30-min cognitive-relaxation training and 10-min breathing-relaxation training per day. At baseline and post-intervention, perceived stress levels, anxiety, fatigue, and sleep quality were assessed by self-report questionnaires. Brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy and arterial spin labeling scans were also performed before and after the intervention to evaluate GABA levels and relative CBF in the prefrontal region. Levels of perceived stress, anxiety, fatigue, and sleep quality improved following 10 sessions of computerized relaxation training, resulting in a significant relief in composite scores of stress-related symptoms. The prefrontal GABA levels decreased, while relative CBF increased after the intervention. In addition, a greater increase in relative prefrontal CBF was associated with better composite scores of stress-related symptoms following the intervention. The current findings suggest that computerized relaxation training may improve stress-related symptoms through modulating the prefrontal GABA levels and CBF in women with psychological distress. (shrink)

This paper examines how discourses on multicultural education are constructed in the recent curriculum reforms of South Korea. In response to the rapid demographic change in the last two decades, the South Korean government has revised its national curriculum to promote multicultural education. However, contrary to the benign intention, multicultural education often serves to perpetuate the dominant group's perspectives. By employing critical discourse analysis, this study investigates implicit messages of multicultural education embedded in the recently revised national curricula of social (...) studies. The findings of this study reveal that the revised curricula contain five competing discourses including pluralist, conservative, essentialist, neoliberal, and critical multiculturalism, each of which has conflicting values and approaches to multicultural education. This discursive conflict in the new curricula shows ambivalence and conceptual instability of multicultural education promoted by the Korean government. By demonstrating how multiple and conflicting discourses coexist in the national curriculum at the same time, this study complicates previous research focusing on unpacking a single predominant discourse in multicultural education. (shrink)

Social acceptance is assumed to have widespread positive effects on the recipient; however, ethnic/racial minorities often react negatively to social acceptance by White individuals. One possibility for such reactions might be their lack of trust in the genuineness of White individuals’ positive evaluations. Here, we examined the role that oxytocin—a neuropeptide putatively linked to social processes—plays in modulating reactions to acceptance or rejection during interracial interactions. Black participants received intranasal oxytocin or placebo and interacted with a White, same-sex stranger who (...) provided positive or negative social feedback. After positive feedback, participants given oxytocin tended to display approach-oriented cardiovascular responses of challenge, exhibited more cooperative behavior, and perceived the partner to have more favorable attitudes toward them after the interaction. Following negative feedback, oxytocin reduced anger suppression. Oxytocin did not modulate testosterone reactivity directly, but our exploratory analysis showed that the less participants suppressed anger during the interaction with their partner, the greater testosterone reactivity they displayed after the interaction. These results survived the correction for multiple testing with a false discovery rate of 20%, but not with a rate of 10 or 5%. Discussion centers on the interplay between oxytocin and social context in shaping interracial interactions. (shrink)

Although companies recognize the importance of social responsibility and community engagement, conflicts between companies and communities have been noticeably increasing. To better understand the role of institutional environments in company–community conflicts, we analyze two mining conflicts—Minera Yanacocha's Minas Conga extension project in Peru and Minera Los Pelambres' El Mauro Tailings Dam in Chile. Our findings imply that, to prevent negative consequences and alleviate company–community conflicts, mining companies should address underlying structural causes and pursue informal approaches in order to obtain and (...) maintain their social license. We find that better formal institutional environments not only alleviate conflict intensity but also facilitate informal approaches through which companies and communities can cooperate to resolve conflicts. The best practice would be to start and continue dialogs between communities and companies, mediated by impartial governments, to understand the concerns of the counterparty and find means by which to address the causes. (shrink)

This paper examines the link between the regulation of marriage migration and national boundary-making processes in South Korea through the analysis of “fraudulent marriage” discourses. Corresponding to the goals of the Korean government based on the gendered and racialized construction of the Korean nation, populations of marriage migrants are hierarchized according to various intersecting axes of gender, age, class, and “race.” Based on a critical race and intersectional feminist framework and critical security studies, I examine multiple intersections of the social (...) relations, which hierarchize marriage migrants. While certain marriage migrants are constructed as desirable because they embody particular sets of characteristics, other marriage migrants outside these parameters are actively constructed as undesirable and suspected of fraudulent marriage. The discriminatory distinctions drawn among differentially racialized and gendered marriage migrants raise significant social justice concerns. The article concludes with a brief discussion of strategies pursued by marriage migrants and their Korean spouses to undermine discourses of fraudulent marriages. (shrink)

Több politikatudománnyal foglalkozó kötettel jelentkezett már Szabó Márton, aki eddigi kutatásait összegezve, egy alternatív szemléletű politikatudomány szemléletébe és kutatásába kívánja bevezetni olvasóit. Célja, hogy bizonyítsa: a politika reális valóságában meghatározó módon jelen van az egyének nyilvános és közös értelmezése és diskurzusa. Hogy a politika ezért nem tekinthető pusztán csak objektív rendszernek, hanem emberek által teremtett és értelmezett valóság. A szerző ezen szemlélet jegyében hét nagyobb egységben mutatja be a politika minden fontos területét, kezdve a politikai tények összetett természetével, folytatva a (...) politikai cselekvések és megismerési módok sajátosságaival. Külön vizsgálja az intézményi kereteket, a politika szereplőit, a politikai ügyeket. Kritikailag elemzi az empirikus politikatudományi kutatás meghatározó területeit, végül a politikatudomány sokféleségével foglalkozik. A vaskos kötetet forrás- és irodalomjegyzék zárja. (shrink)

Attempts to reach an understanding of how to live a Christian life in the contemporary context have never been more necessary. This is the aim of the International Symposium: Beyond Secular Faith, an annual conference held in Granada, Spain. This volume represents the fruits of over seven years of scholarship. The title Beyond Secular Faith suggests we are interested in (re)discovering and reflectively elaborating ways to overcome the limits imposed by the dominant contemporary culture. We are convinced that only a (...) faith liberated from the conceptual restrictions and reductions (put forward by secular philosophy and theology) and centered radically on Christ can flourish in the dimension that is proper to faith; that is, in all spheres of human life. Featuring contributions from internationally recognized philosophers and theologians such as Tracey Rowland, Jarosław Jagiello, Rocco Buttiglione, Alison Milbank, Massimo Borghesi, John Milbank, and others, we will explore a diversity of questions from this common perspective: the light of revelation illuminates how Christians should live in the modern world, leading to a new beginning. (shrink)

Study on Tantrarahasya, work on Mimamsa philosophy by Rāmānujācārya, active 18th century.

Since March 14, 2020, Spanish citizens have been confined to their homes due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participating in musical activities has been associated with reduced anxiety and increased subjective wellbeing. The aim of this study is to analyze how Spanish citizens used music during the lockdown period. We also study perceptions of the impact music has in everyday life, in particular examining the respondents’ insights into the effects of listening to music in situations of isolation. The (...) study was conducted using the MUSIVID19 questionnaire administered to a total of 1868 Spanish citizens. The results indicate that during lockdown, respondents perceived an increase in the time they devoted to musical activities such as listening, singing, dancing or playing an instrument. The participants also reported using music to cope with the lockdown, finding that it helped them to relax, escape, raise their mood or keep them company. The findings suggest an improvement in their perception of the value of music in personal and social wellbeing during the lockdown. However, the study reveals significant differences in the use and perceptions of music according to respondents’ personal situations. Age and feelings of vulnerability may lead to more conservative uses of musical practice and to more moderate perceptions of the positive values of music. (shrink)

Authors philosophical notes on life, conduct of life from the perspective of a life.

A sequent calculus S for the variety tqBa of all topological quasi-Boolean algebras is established. Using a construction of syntactic finite algebraic model, the finite model property of S is shown, and thus the decidability of S is obtained. We also introduce two non-distributive variants of topological quasi-Boolean algebras. For the variety TDM5 of all topological De Morgan lattices with the axiom 5, we establish a sequent calculus S5 and prove that the cut elimination holds for it. Consequently the decidability (...) of S5 is established. Furthermore, this proof-theoretic method is applied to some subvarieties of TDM5. (shrink)

Dvaita rejoinder to Śrīnivāsācārya's Tattvamārtaṇḍa, 18th century Viśiṣṭādvaita polemic.

By incorporating the conservation of resource theory, this study examines how high-performance work practices (HPWPs) affect the employee's in-role performance (EIRP) and employee's task performance (ETP) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Furthermore, this study investigates how organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) and positive psychological capital (PPC) affect the relationship between HPWPs and outcomes of employees such as EIRP and ETP. A quantitative technique based on the survey method was used to gather the primary data of the investigation. Two hundred and (...) eleven bank employees working in different banks of Punjab and Pakistan participated in the survey process. The PROCESS-macro was used to test the relationship among the study constructs. Our results supported all the study hypotheses, however positive psychological capital did not moderate the indirect effect of high performance work practices on employee's task performance via organization based self-esteem. This study is the earliest of its kind that focuses on HPWPs and outcomes of employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic in a developing country like Pakistan. The findings of this study provide practical implications in the post and continuing pandemic situation for organizations to human resource management to redesign workforce strategies to increase their contribution and responses to realize organizational priorities. Although researchers have explored the topic in different sectors, scant studies have investigated the potential impact, barriers, and enabling mechanisms that function as a catalyst in HPWPs during the pandemic situation. (shrink)

Commentaries on Pañcalakṣaṇī of Mathurānātha Tarkavāgīśa, 1600-1675, work dealing with definition of invariable concomitance (vyāpti) with reference to Nyaya philosophy ; with supercommentary on Māthurīvyāptipañcakaśatakoṭi.

Contributed seminar papers on Kashmir Śaivism and Buddhist philosophy, held from March 24, 2012 to March 26, 2012, organized by Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapith, New Delhi.

Commentary on Pañcalakṣaṇī of Mathurānātha Tarkavāgīśa, 1600-1675, work dealing with definition of invariable concomitance (vyāpti) with reference to Nyaya philosophy.

This book examines the pedagogical encounters within children's ecological and socio-cultural historical contexts, and aspects of playful learning and development within these contexts. It addresses research and practices varying across learning contexts, providing easily adaptable exemplary practices leading to children's positive learning and development. The book offers a unified general cultural-historical theoretical model for exploring new contexts at different stages of children's learning and development. It suggests studying contexts as a source of development, as social situations of development. It analyzes (...) play, early learning and the transition from play to school learning. It also explores the role of teachers and parents in supporting the development of executive functions, digital literacy, creative inquiries, problem solving and creativity as necessary and important prerequisites of children's school academic achievements. This volume contributes to the discourse on how children's learning is shaped in the 21st century era. It equips educators and parents with new and effective methods of creating developing contexts in their daily practice and to fully utilize the developing potential of existing contexts. (shrink)

马忠林(1914~ ),东北师范大学数学系教授,中国数学会会员,吉林省数学会常务理事,日本三大学数学教育学研究会名誉会长.

The study of corporate social responsibility has been the object of much research in recent decades, although there is a need to continue investigating its benefits as a marketing tool. In the current work we adopt a multi-dimensional perspective of social responsibility, and we carry out market research to determine the perceptions of users of mobile telephone services about economic, legal, ethical and social aspects of their operating companies. With these data we determine the structure and components of the concept (...) of social responsibility. Subsequently, this is related with the overall evaluation of the service and loyalty by means of a model of structural equations, in order to determine the influence of corporate social responsibility on these concepts, and hence its benefits as a commercial tool. (shrink)

Forecasting blood glucose values for patients can help prevent hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia events in advance. To this end, this study proposes an intelligent ensemble deep learning system to predict BG values in 15, 30, and 60 min prediction horizons based on historical BG values collected via continuous glucose monitoring devices as an endogenous factor and carbohydrate intake and insulin administration information as exogenous factors. Although there are numerous deep learning algorithms available, this study applied five algorithms, namely, recurrent neural network, (...) which is optimized for sequence data, and RNN-based algorithms, stacked LSTM, bidirectional LSTM, and gated recurrent unit). Then, a genetic algorithm was applied to the five prediction models to optimize their weights through ensemble techniques and to yield the final predicted BG values. The performance of the proposed model was compared to that of the autoregressive integrated moving average model as a baseline. The results show that the proposed model significantly outperforms the baseline in terms of the root mean square error and continuous glucose error grid analysis. For the valid 29 diabetic patients for the multivariate models, the RMSE was 11.08, 19.25, and 31.30 mg/DL for 15, 30, and 60 min PH, respectively. When the same data were applied to univariate models, the RMSE was 11.28, 19.99, and 33.13 mg/DL for 15, 30, and 60 min PH, respectively. Both the univariate and multivariate models showed a statistically significant difference compared with the baseline at a 5% statistical significance level. Instead of using a model with a single algorithm, applying a GA based on each output of a model with multiple algorithms was found to play a significant role in improving model performance. (shrink)

Communication strategies to shape public opinion can be applied to the philosophical program of conceptual engineering. I propose to look for answers to the implementation challenge for conceptual engineering on similar challenges that arise in other contexts, such as that of social movements. I claim that conceptual engineering is successfully practiced in other areas with direct consequences on the political landscape, and that we can apply to philosophy what we might learn from those successful practices. With that end in mind, (...) I explain the psychological approach to conceptual engineering. I present what has been called “the implementation challenge”, which is the problem that emerges from the possibility of control over the content of our concepts. The challenge consists in that if there is not such a control, conceptual engineering is not implementable. Then, I review some of the reactions that have been given to that challenge, and I defend the feasibility of conceptual engineering appealing to the collective action frames that social movements endorse as an instance of a successful kind of conceptual engineering and derive some strategies that might be of use for conceptual engineering in philosophy. Finally, I reply to some anticipated objections to my proposal. (shrink)