This paper advances the research on personalization of political communication by investigating whether this process of focusing on politicians instead of political issues plays a role on Twitter. Results of a content analysis of 5,530 tweets posted in the run-up to the German federal election provide evidence that Twitter communication refers more often to politicians than to issues. However, tweets containing personal characteristics about political leaders play only a marginal role. When distinguishing among different groups of actors on Twitter (journalists, (...) politicians, citizens), we find that citizens focus more on candidates than do journalists or politicians. Investigating the impact of a televised debate on Twitter communication, we observe that this person-centered event puts the focus on individual politicians instead of issues. (shrink)

Researchers typically attempt to fulfill disclosure and informed consent requirements by having participants read and sign consent forms. The present study evaluated the reading levels of informed consent forms used in psychology research and other fields (medical research; social science and education research; and health, physical education, and recreation research). Two standardized measures of readability were employed to analyze a randomly selected sample (N = 108) of informed consent forms used in Institutional Review Board-approved research projects at a midwestern university (...) during the 1987-1988 academic year. Results indicate that informed consent forms are typically written at a higher reading level than is appropriate for the intended population and that there are no consistently significant differences in readability among areas of research or between college student and noncollege student participants. Due to the unacceptably high reading level of the consent forms, one must question whether participants can comprehend the information contained in the consent forms. (shrink)

Few topics have intrigued biologists as much as the evolution of sex. Understanding why sex persists despite its costs requires not just rigorous theoretical study, but also empirical data on related fundamental issues, including the nature of genetic variance for fitness, patterns of genetic interactions, and the dynamics of adaptation. The increasing feasibility of examining genomes in an experimental context is now shedding new light on these problems. Using this approach, McDonald et al. recently demonstrated that sex uncouples beneficial and (...) deleterious mutations, allowing selection to proceed more effectively with sex than without. Here we discuss the insights provided by this study, along with other recent empirical work, in the context of the major theoretical models for the evolution of sex. (shrink)

A distorted representation of one's own body is a diagnostic criterion and core psychopathology of both anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Despite recent technical advances in research, it is still unknown whether this body image disturbance is characterized by body dissatisfaction and a low ideal weight and/or includes a distorted perception or processing of body size. In this article, we provide an update and meta-analysis of 42 articles summarizing measures and results for body size estimation (BSE) from 926 (...) individuals with AN, 536 individuals with BN and 1920 controls. We replicate findings that individuals with AN and BN overestimate their body size as compared to controls (ES= 0.63). Our meta-regression shows that metric methods (BSE by direct or indirect spatial measures) yield larger effect sizes than depictive methods (BSE by evaluating distorted pictures), and that effect sizes are larger for patients with BN than for patients with AN. To interpret these results, we suggest a revised theoretical framework for BSE that accounts for differences between depictive and metric BSE methods regarding the underlying body representations (conceptual vs. perceptual, implicit vs. explicit). We also discuss clinical implications and argue for the importance of multimethod approaches to investigate body image disturbance. (shrink)

When does a group justifiedly believe that p? One answer to this question has been developed first by Schmitt and then by Hakli: when the group members jointly accept a reason for the belief. Call this the joint acceptance account of group justification. Their answer has great explanatory power, providing us with a way to account for cases in which the group's justification can diverge from the justification individual members have. Unfortunately, Jennifer Lackey developed a powerful argument against joint acceptance (...) accounts. She argues that these accounts lead to epistemically arbitrary reasons and therefore justification at will. Group justification loses the necessary connection to the world to be truth-conducive. In this paper I develop a new form of a joint acceptance account that can deal with Lackey's examples: the anchored joint acceptance account of group justification. I argue that properly understanding the role of epistemic expectations can help us form the best version of a joint acceptance account. While justification is only generated by joint acceptance of evidence, the evidential expectations towards a group are anchored in the group members. This anchoring guarantees that groups cannot manipulate their ultima facie justification illegitimately. (shrink)

Sexual eukaryotic organisms are characterized by an alternation between haploid and diploid phases. In vascular plants and animals, somatic growth and development occur primarily in the diploid phase, with the haploid phase reduced to the gametic cells. In many other eukaryotes, however, growth and development occur in both phases, with substantial variability among organisms in the length of each phase of the life cycle. A number of theoretical models and experimental studies have shed light on factors that may influence life (...) cycle evolution, yet we remain far from a complete understanding of the diversity of life cycles observed in nature. In this paper we review the current state of knowledge in this field, and touch upon the many questions that remain unanswered. BioEssays 20:453–462, 1998. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

Sentences with disjunction in the scope of a universal quantifier, Every A is P or Q, tend to give rise to distributive inferences that each of the disjuncts holds of at least one individual in the domain of the quantifier, Some A is P & Some A is Q. These inferences are standardly derived as an entailment of the meaning of the sentence together with the scalar implicature that it is not the case that either disjunct holds of every individual (...) in the domain of the quantifier, \Every A is P &\Every A is Q. As we show, this derivation faces a challenge in that distributive inferences may obtain in the absence of plain negated inferences. We address this challenge by showing that on particular assumptions about alternatives, a derivation of distributive inferences as scalar implicatures can be maintained without in fact necessitating plain negated inferences. These assumptions accord naturally with the grammatical approach to scalar implicatures. We also present experimental data that suggest that plain negated inferences are not only unnecessary for deriving distributive inferences, but might in fact be unavailable. (shrink)

Organisations have implemented intensive home-based teleworking in response to global COVID-19 lockdowns and other pandemic-related restrictions. Financial pressures are driving organisations to continue intensive teleworking after the pandemic. Understanding employees’ teleworking inclinations post COVID-19, and how these inclinations are influenced by different factors, is important to ensure any future, more permanent changes to teleworking policies are sustainable for both employees and organisations. This study, therefore, investigated the relationships between the context of home-based teleworking during the pandemic, productivity perceptions during home-based (...) teleworking, and employees’ future teleworking inclinations beyond the pandemic. Specifically, the study examined whether pandemic-teleworking conditions related to the job, and the physical and social environments at home, influenced employees’ FTI, and if perceptions of improved or reduced productivity mediated these relationships. Data were collected during April and May 2020 with a cross-sectional online survey of teleworkers in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and other countries during the first COVID-19 lockdowns. Reported FTI were mixed. Most participants reported wanting to telework more post-pandemic compared to before the pandemic; however, 18% wanted to telework less. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that some teleworking conditions were positively associated with FTI. Other teleworking conditions were not associated with FTI. Perceived changes in productivity mediated the relationship between work privacy fit and FTI. Findings highlight the role of work privacy fit and job demands in influencing pandemic productivity perceptions and teleworking inclinations post-pandemic. Results raise questions about the suitability and sustainability of home-based teleworking for all staff. As organisations plan to increase the proportion of teleworking post-pandemic, this study suggests there is a need to support employees who perceived their productivity to be poor while home-working during the pandemic. (shrink)

Genetic variation in fitness is the fundamental prerequisite for adaptive evolutionary change. If there is no variation in survival and reproduction or if this variation has no genetic basis, then the composition of a population will not evolve over time. Consequently, the factors influencing genetic variation in fitness have received close attention from evolutionary biologists. One key factor is the mode of reproduction. Indeed, it has long been thought that sex enhances fitness variation and that this explains the ubiquity of (...) sexual reproduction among eukaryotes. Nevertheless, theoretical studies have demonstrated that sex need not always increase genetic variation in fitness. In particular, if fitness interactions among beneficial alleles (epistasis) are positive, sex can reduce genetic variance in fitness. Empirical data have been sorely needed to settle the issue of whether sex does enhance fitness variation. A recent flurry of studies1-4 has demonstrated that sex and recombination do dramatically increase genetic variation in fitness and consequently the rate of adaptive evolution. Interpreted in light of evolutionary theory, these studies rule out positive in these experiments epistasis as a major source of genetic associations. Further studies are needed, however, to tease apart other possible sources. BioEssays 25:533–537, 2003. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Le problème du sujet ou de l'intersubjectivité représente, sans aucun doute, une des questions les plus importantes de la philosophie politique et juridique contemporaine. C'est ce que confirme le retour de l'éthique dans nos sociétés démocratiques ainsi que les remises en question de tout concept de subjectivité. Ces dernières pourraient bien servir de fil conducteur à une reconstruction de l'histoire des différents projets modernes de la philosophie. A cette possibilité de reconstruction s'ajouteraient non seulement les différentes tentatives de repenser l'intersubjectivité (...) telles que les ont menées des penseurs comme Husserl, mais encore ses déconstructions opérées par Nietzsche, Heidegger et le heideggerianisme français d'une part, ainsi que les reconstructions entreprises au sein de l'éthique de la discussion (Karl-Otto Apel et Jürgen Habermas). Même le débat, devenu emblématique, de la philosophie politique et juridique anglo-américaine entre libéraux et communautariens tourne autour de la notion de subjectivité. Les théories féministes contemporaines réussiront, elles aussi, à la raviver, à la polariser autour de deux éléments sexuellement différents : le "sujet mâle de la raison" et le "sujet féminin essentiellement caractérisé par la tendance à la sollicitude"? Les théories féministes n'ont-elles pas repris à leur compte le slogan de la fin de l'homme, l'une des plus importantes déclarations de guerre des déconstructions postmodernes de la métaphysique occidentale, notamment des théories modernes? N'ont-elles pas trouvé dans cette déclaration un écho favorable à leur cause, dès lors que l'homme s'identifie au "sujet mâle de la raison", propriétaire chrétien et blanc"? L'importance des problèmes soulevés par le concept de la subjectivité, sa place dans la philosophie contemporaine sans parler des controverses qu'il génère expliquent et imposent ce nouvel investissement auquel nous consentons. (shrink)

Le problème du sujet ou de l'intersubjectivité représente, sans aucun doute, une des questions les plus importantes de la philosophie politique et juridique contemporaine. C'est ce que confirme le retour de l'éthique dans nos sociétés démocratiques ainsi que les remises en question de tout concept de subjectivité. Ces dernières pourraient bien servir de fil conducteur à une reconstruction de l'histoire des différents projets modernes de la philosophie. A cette possibilité de reconstruction s'ajouteraient non seulement les différentes tentatives de repenser l'intersubjectivité (...) telles que les ont menées des penseurs comme Husserl, mais encore ses déconstructions opérées par Nietzsche, Heidegger et le heideggerianisme français d'une part, ainsi que les reconstructions entreprises au sein de l'éthique de la discussion (Karl-Otto Apel et Jürgen Habermas). Même le débat, devenu emblématique, de la philosophie politique et juridique anglo-américaine entre libéraux et communautariens tourne autour de la notion de subjectivité. Les théories féministes contemporaines réussiront, elles aussi, à la raviver, à la polariser autour de deux éléments sexuellement différents : le "sujet mâle de la raison" et le "sujet féminin essentiellement caractérisé par la tendance à la sollicitude"? Les théories féministes n'ont-elles pas repris à leur compte le slogan de la fin de l'homme, l'une des plus importantes déclarations de guerre des déconstructions postmodernes de la métaphysique occidentale, notamment des théories modernes? N'ont-elles pas trouvé dans cette déclaration un écho favorable à leur cause, dès lors que l'homme s'identifie au "sujet mâle de la raison", propriétaire chrétien et blanc"? L'importance des problèmes soulevés par le concept de la subjectivité, sa place dans la philosophie contemporaine sans parler des controverses qu'il génère expliquent et imposent ce nouvel investissement auquel nous consentons. (shrink)

The present article provides a full description of the little known 9 th century Nuremberg fragment of the “Historia Augusta” (Stadtbibliothek Fragm. lat. 7) as well as an extensive discussion of the work’s Carolingian manuscript tradition. It is demonstrated 1.) that the Nuremberg fragment most probably is a remnant of a volume from the former library of Murbach (= M) which was used by Erasmus and Froben for their edition of 1518, 2.) that M, the excerpts preserved in Vatican Pal. (...) lat. 886 (= Π), and also Vatican Pal. lat. 899 (= P), our most important witness to the text, go back independently to a common exemplar, 3.) that Sedulius Scottus († ca. 875) culled the extracts preserved in his „Collectaneum miscellaneum“ from P, in which his typical excerption signs are still visible. Due to its close kinship to P, the Murbach copy did by no means contain a version of the “Historia Augusta” different from P or even more original than P, as has been variously claimed in recent years. (shrink)

We obtain modal completeness of the interpretability logics IL $\!\!\textsf {P}_{\textsf {0}}$ and ILR w.r.t. generalised Veltman semantics. Our proofs are based on the notion of full labels [2]. We also give shorter proofs of completeness w.r.t. the generalised semantics for many classical interpretability logics. We obtain decidability and finite model property w.r.t. the generalised semantics for IL $\textsf {P}_{\textsf {0}}$ and ILR. Finally, we develop a construction that might be useful for proofs of completeness of extensions of ILW w.r.t. (...) the generalised semantics in the future, and demonstrate its usage with $\textbf {IL}\textsf {W}^\ast = \textbf {IL}\textsf {WM}_{\textsf {0}}$. (shrink)

Vorrede, von T. Pinkus.--Sein und Bewusstsein, von G. Lukács und H.H.Holz.--Gesellschaft und Individuum, von G. Lukács und L. Kofler.--Grundlegendes zu einer wissenschaftlichen Politik, von G. Lukács und W. Abendroth.--Vorläufige Bilanz, von G. Lukács, W. Abendroth und H. H. Holz.--Bibliographie (p. 125-[128]).

Svrha je ove rasprave predstaviti koncepciju nacije u djelu Carla Cattanea. Kako značajan talijanski mislilac Carlo Cattaneo nikada nije sustavno izložio taj svoj koncept, ovaj se rad temelji na njegovoj sistematizaciji, što ju je u svojoj knjizi Krv i tlo izveo Nicolao Merker. U radu će se posebice pokazati kako Cattaneo eksplicira narav nacije polazeći od objektivnih konotacija i ne gubeći iz vida da su one utemeljene u ljudskoj svijesti, te da se moderna nacija iskazuje kao proizvod društvenog života. Rad (...) sljedstveno naglašava da se moderna nacija u Cattanea predstavlja kao biće izvornije od građanskog društva, a istovremeno usko povezano s idejom slobode i jednakosti. Konačno, rad pokušava ukazati na sličnost između Cattaneova lokalnog principa i austromarksističkog stajališta o kulturnoj autonomiji, kakvo je definirao Otto Bauer.The intention of this short essay is to present Carlo Cattaneo’s conception of the nation. Since Cattaneo never wrote an essay where he gave an exhaustive explanation of this concept, this paper develops on the basis of outlines made by Nicolao Merkel in the book Il sangue e la terra . In particular, this essay seeks to demonstrate that Cattaneo explicated the nature of nation starting with objective connotations, without overlooking that these connotations are pondered by human conscience, the modern nation being a product of social life. Consequently the paper highlights that the modern nation in Cattaneo is presented as being primordial to the origin of civil society and at the same time, intimately connected to the idea of freedom and equality. Finally, the paper tries to highlight the similarity between Cattaneo’s locality principal and the austro-marxist proposal of the cultural autonomy as defined by Otto Bauer. (shrink)

P. Sousedík and D. Svoboda, in their paper “Různá pojetí matematiky u vybraných autorů od antiky po raný novověk: Je matematika teoretická věda nebo pouhá technika?”, proposed an interpretation of Aquinas’s understanding of the nature of mathematics which the author regards as unsatisfactory. The purpose of this review article is to point out its problems and to suggest in its stead an adequate interpretation of Aquinas’s mind, on the basis of a detailed analysis of his texts. The author shows that (...) Aquinas was by no means an instrumentalist in mathematics but considered mathematical truths to be directly applicable to “physical matter”. Such an application takes place in sciences like astronomy, harmonics or optics, which, although sometimes subsumed under mathematics broadly conceived, nevertheless form a special category qua the so-called “middle sciences” (viz. situated between mathematics and physics) and are thus no true species of mathematics. The fact that these sciences are also regarded as “arts” does not preclude their scientific character at all, since the two categories are not mutually exclusive, according to St. Thomas. (shrink)

ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDer Aufsatz weist den eigenen Charakter der Himmelfahrt Christi für die systematische Theologie auf. Christi Himmelfahrt enthält die Ambivalenz, dass Christus einerseits universal abwesend ist, dass er andererseits aber von allen Sachverhalten und Gegenständen als abwesend repräsentiert wird. Diese Ambivalenz von Präsenz und Abwesenheit wird mit Rudolf Ottos Konzeption des Heiligen als »Präsenz eines Unnahbaren« in Vergleich gebracht. Der Aufsatz entwickelt Ottos Konzeption phänomenologisch weiter und skizziert die Konsequenzen dieser Ambivalenz für theologisches Denken.SUMMARYThis essay attempts to portray the specific character (...) of the ascension of Christ for systematic Theology. His ascension entails the ambivalence that Christ has become universally absent but also universally represented in his absence by all things and facts. This ambivalence of presence and absence is comparable with Rudolf Otto's conception of the Holy as “Präsenz eines Unnahbaren”. The essay develops Otto's conception phenomenologically and draws out the consequences of this ambivalence for theological thinking. (shrink)

"A Wiley-Interscience publication." Bibliography: p. 327-333.

"A Wiley-Interscience publication." Bibliography: p. 327-333.

Background: Poor mental health affects adolescent development and is associated with health and social outcomes in later life. The current study uses cross-sectional data to explore the understudied aspects of peer relationships as a predictor of depressive symptom severity of adolescents in Germany.Method: Data from the German BELLA study were analyzed. We focused on the most recent measurement point of the BELLA study and analyzed data of 446 adolescents. Peer relationship was measured using four items from the internationally established Patient-Reported (...) Outcome Measurement Information System. Depressive symptoms were assessed via seven items of the German version of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Short Depression Scale. Hierarchical linear regression models were computed to explore the association between depressive symptoms and peer relationships. Hierarchical linear regression models served to determine the added predictive effects of each aspect of peer relationships.Result: The regression model showed that 22% of the variance of the severity of depressive symptoms could be explained by the quality of adolescents’ peer relationships = 125.65, p < 0.001). Peer acceptance has the most substantial unique contribution to peer relationship as a predictor of depressive symptom severity. The gender-specific analysis shows different trends for boys and girls.Conclusion: The quality of peer relationships is a significant predictor of adolescents’ depressive symptoms severity. Improved peer acceptance, dependability, and ease of making new friends are significantly associated with reduced depression symptoms for Germany’s adolescent population. (shrink)

The paper tries first to show that P. Strawson’s and J. Searle’s proposal of explicating the illocutionary meaning of speech-acts in terms of the conditions of fulfilment or satisfaction is unsatisfactory. It provides no full understanding of the meaning of speech-acts, at least not of non-constative acts, as e.g. orders, requests, demands, confessions, promisses, etc.; for, through its quasi-verificationist horizon, it provides no unterstanding of the illocutionary force in terms of the conditions of accepting the validity-claims that are connected with (...) the performance of the act. Thus far the paper complies with Habermas’ approach. There remains however an ambiguity with regard to the good reasons for accepting a speech-act, since on the level of life-world communication and interaction not only validity-claims and pertinent arguments but also threats and offers are functioning as socially binding illocutionary forces. How is it possible to show by a cogent argument that openly strategical acts as offers and threats cannot fulfill the role of providing good reasons for accepting speech-acts in the sense of unrestricted Verständigung but are parasitic upon non-strategical ways of consensual communication by understanding and accepting validity-claims?The paper argues that this suggestive contention cannot be proved, i.e. grounded by a descriptive analysis of the normal function of communicative actions in the life-world but only - indeed - by transcendental pragmatic reflection on the normative conditions of argumentative discourse which cannot be denied without committing a performative self-contradiction. (shrink)

I. Introducción: el horizonte verificacionista de la explicación del significado de las oraciones constatativas en la filosofía analítica del lenguaje.II. La aporética de la explicación verificacionista del significado en la filosofía analítica del lenguaje.II. 1. Explicación del significado ilocucionario de las oraciones o actos de habla no constatativos en los términos de "condiciones de realización". -Sobre la aporética del paradigma verificacionista en P. Strawson.II. 2. Explicación del significado ilocucionario de las oraciones o de los actos de habla no constatativos en (...) términos de las "condiciones de satisfacción" referidas a intenciones. -Sobre la aporética del paradigma verificacionista en J. R. Searle.III. La explicación pragmática universal o trascendental del significado ilocucionario de las oraciones o actos de habla en términos de las condiciones de validez.III. 1. El planteo de la pragmática universal sobre la explicación del significado ilocucionario en términos de aceptabilidad de las pretensiones de validez y el problema residual de la aceptación fáctica de las pretensiones ilocucionarias de poder.III. 2. La solución habermasiana del mencionado problema residual mediante la comprobación de la "dependencia parasitaria" del uso encubiertamente estratégico del lenguaje con respecto al uso del lenguaje orientado al entendimiento y el nuevo problema residual del uso abiertamente estratégico del lenguaje.III. 3. La resolución del problema residual del uso abiertamente estratégico del lenguaje por medio del recurso a la reflexión pragmático trascendental sobre las presuposiciones del discurso argumentativo. (shrink)