KM (Knowledge Management) systems have recently been adopted within the realm of enterprise management. On the other hand, data mining technology is widely acknowledged within Information systems' R&D Divisions. Specially, acquisition of meaningful information from Web usage data has become one of the most exciting eras. In this paper, we employ a Web based KM system and propose a framework for applying Web Usage Mining technology to KM data. As it turns out, task duration varies according to different user operations (...) such as referencing a table-of-contents page, down-loading a target file, and writing to a bulletin board. This in turn makes it possible to easily predict the purpose of the user's task. By taking these observations into account, we segmented access log data manually. These results were compared with results abstained by applying the constant interval method. Next, we obtained a segmentation rule of Web access logs by applying a machine-learning algorithm to manually segmented access logs as training data. Then, the newly obtained segmentation rule was compared with other known methods including the time interval method by evaluating their segmentation results in terms of recall and precision rates and it was shown that our rule attained the best results in both measures. Furthermore, the segmented data were fed to an association rule miner and the obtained association rules were utilized to modify the Web structure. (shrink)

The sophisticated function of the central nervous system (CNS) is largely supported by proper interactions between neural cells and blood vessels. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that neurons and glial cells support the formation of blood vessels, which in turn, act as migratory scaffolds for these cell types. Neural progenitors are also involved in the regulation of blood vessel formation. This mutual interaction between neural cells and blood vessels is elegantly controlled by several chemokines, growth factors, extracellular matrix, and adhesion molecules (...) such as integrins. Recent research has revealed that newly migrating cell types along blood vessels repel other preexisting migrating cell types, causing them to detach from the blood vessels. In this review, we discuss vascular formation and cell migration, particularly during development. Moreover, we discuss how the crosstalk between blood vessels and neurons and glial cells could be related to neurodevelopmental disorders. (shrink)

The planet is experiencing a deep metamorphosis. The pressure that is being generated nowadays on the living can be felt in a human lifetime. The extreme speed of climate change and its impact on our ecosystem can no longer be ignored. When looking at the phenomenon of ecological resilience, we notice that after a disturbance, a shock on an ecosystem, like the burning of a forest, the resilient system rebuilds itself but not exactly as it was before, surprisingly new species (...) grow. In social systems, humans have the capacity to anticipate, adapt and invent new patterns of behaviours. In a world where everything is uncertain, moving, shifting, we are making an artistic proposal as an open dynamic system. We are developing two versions of the same HALO project to be presented on the sea and in public places. (shrink)

The form of higher plants is largely dependent upon cell division and expansion patterns. Taking a genetic approach, Takahashi et al.(1) have identified a regulatory molecule in Arabidopsis thaliana called DIMINUTO (DIM), which is involved in determining the degree and direction of plant cell expansion. Their extensive characterization of a dim mutant suggested a direct involvement of the DIM gene in regulating cell elongation, perhaps by modulating the expression of structural genes which determine the orientation and elasticity of the cell (...) wall. (shrink)

We proposed the Standards of Conducts to provide a general framework that will serve as the basis for guiding each biostatistician and stem cell researcher to formulate their personal standards, rather than as rules with which they are required to comply. Given the responsibility and characteristics of their work, they are expected to maintain independence and work autonomously as professionals. Each of the Standards of Conducts comprises a preamble, mission and values to uphold, Standards of Conducts, and background. When one (...) internalizes “self-formulated” standards, to make excuses for oneself would be akin to a self-betrayal; responsible actions can be anticipated. If one begins and continues to consider “who I am and what do I work for,” this will become their inner energy, and a source of motivation and pride to inspire oneself. In addition, this aspirational style might help citizens to recognize the autonomous stance of the professional body and that they share the same values. (shrink)

In nature, cells face a variety of stresses that cause physical damage to the plasma membrane and cell wall. It is well established that evolutionarily conserved cell cycle checkpoints monitor various cellular perturbations, including DNA damage and spindle misalignment. However, the ability of these cell cycle checkpoints to sense a damaged plasma membrane/cell wall is poorly understood. To the best of our knowledge, our recent paper described the first example of such a checkpoint, using budding yeast as a model. In (...) this review, we will discuss this important question as well as provide hypothetical explanations to be tested in the future. (shrink)

While much has been written about the uniquely Hawaiian take on the category “local” – usually in terms of resistance to colonization, the alternative or counterhegemonic – little has been written about “haole”, the trope that served to silhouette the “local” and has evolved in dialectical opposition to it. A term that emerged during the plantation era to represent working-class immigrant workers mostly from Asia, “local” is constructed by exclusion. It has evolved to represent solidarity against all “external forces” controlling (...) Hawai'i from without, such as land development, tourism and the military – all readily equated with haole, the visible sign of whiteness. The prevalence of the prescription “local vs. haole” in contemporary Hawai'i begs an inquiry into other interpretations that are being suppressed. This paper explores some suppressed histories, imaginings and subconscious aspects of identity in Hawai'i through the figure of the white person whose parents – and possibly great-great-great-grandparents – were born and raised in Hawai'i. (shrink)

In this article I examine Lavoisier's collaboration with his wife in the translation of Kirwan's An essay on phlogiston into French (Essai sur le phlogistique, 1788). This translation is a kind of counter attack by the school of French scholars around Lavoisier. Mrs Lavoisier is generally considered only to have translated Kirwan's book, not to have refuted it. Through a detailed analysis of the translation, of her manuscripts, and of other documents of the period, I conclude that Mrs Lavoisier not (...) only actively attacked the doctrine of phlogiston in her translation, but in the notes and preface to it as well. In addition to her high-level knowledge of chemistry, her close scientific relationship with her husband should be noted. In the first three parts of the translation, the two shared the work between them, in order to convine the readers. A show that Mrs Lavoisier advocated the study of gases from the point of view of their motions, and that she always believed that her husband's theory would prevail. Moreover, Lavoisier assessed his wife's talent at its true value. (shrink)

This article extends the concept of symmetry to ethics. Using the case of canola in Canada, the authors argue that grades and standards simultaneously subject humans and nonhumans to rites of passage that test their "goodness. " Then, they further develop a tentative typology of standards. The authors argue that these standards allow something resembling the neoclassical market to be established, create the conditions for economic analysis, and allocate power among human actors.

Just as sadness is not always a symptom of mood disorder, irrational beliefs are not always symptoms of illness. Pathological irrational beliefs are distinguished from non-pathological ones by considering whether their existence is best explained by assuming some underlying dysfunctions. The features from which to infer the pathological nature of irrational beliefs are: un-understandability of their progression; uniqueness; coexistence with other psycho-physiological disturbances and/or concurrent decreased levels of functioning; bizarreness of content; preceding organic diseases known to be associated with irrational (...) beliefs; treatment response to medical intervention, etc. Severe irrationality is sometimes caused by normal human motivation rather than by mental or physical dysfunction. Pure forms of self-deception may satisfy the diagnostic criteria of delusional disorder, but there may be no evidence that suggests that they are caused by illness. Although those with pathological delusions do not recognize their delusions as symptomatic of illness, differentiating pathological beliefs from normal irrational beliefs is vitally important: If a belief is pathological, psychiatrists must seriously consider treating the patient against her will. If it is not pathological, conversely, involuntary treatments are prohibited because they offend her basic autonomy. (shrink)

Maher proposed in 1974 that schizophrenic delusions are hypotheses formed to explain anomalous experiences. He stated that they are “rational, given the intensity of the experiences that they are developed to explain.” Two-factor theorists of delusion criticized Maher’s theory because 1) it does not explain why some patients with anomalous experiences do not develop delusions, and 2) adopting and adhering to delusional hypotheses is irrational, considering the totality of experiences and patients’ other beliefs. In this paper, the notion of the (...) intensity of experience is reappraised to uphold Maher’s basic conception. Regarding 1), I propose that differences in the intensity of anomalous experience are vital to whether the patient forms delusions, while partially reforming his rationality claim regarding 2). Although adopting delusions is irrational, it is inevitable and excusable, given the intensity of the patient’s anomalous experience. With the aid of this notion, it is maintained that anomalous experience is sufficient for the development of delusions, at least in some cases of schizophrenia. Compared to other theories of schizophrenic delusion, Maher’s theory, which embraces the notion of intensity of experience, better explains why such irrational mental states as delusions develop from anomalous experiences, and why delusional patients persist in believing specific thematic content. (shrink)

Social dilemmas, in which individually selfish behavior leads to collectively deficient outcomes, continue to be an important topic of research because of their ubiquity. The present research with Japanese participants replicates, with slight modifications, public goods games previously run in the United States. In contrast to recent work showing profound cross-cultural differences, the results of two studies reported here show remarkable cross-cultural similarities. Specifically, results suggest that (1) as in the U.S., allowing incremental commitment to a public good is effective (...) at eliciting contributions, (2) individual differences in trust affect contributions, (3) the distribution of player types in the U.S. and Japan are very similar, and (4) the dynamics of play in the public goods games used here are strikingly parallel. These results are discussed in the context of the relationship between cross-cultural differences and economic institutional environments. (shrink)

The notion of epistemic injustice was first applied to cases of discrimination against women and people of color but has since come to refer to wider issues related to social justice. This paper applies the concept of epistemic injustice to problems in the therapeutic relationship between psychiatrists and psychiatric patients. To this end, it is necessary to acknowledge psychiatrists as professionals with expertise in treating mental disorders, which impair the patient’s rationality, sometimes leading to false beliefs, such as delusions. This (...) paper classifies the characteristic features of the therapeutic relationship in psychiatry into three stages: those of a professional–client relationship, those of a doctor–patient relationship, and those of a psychiatrist–psychiatric patient relationship. Epistemic injustice is prevalent in psychiatric care owing to prejudice against patients with mental disorders. However, it is also predisposed by the roles that psychiatrists play in relation to psychiatric patients. This paper suggests some ameliorative measures based on the analysis. (shrink)

In this paper, we conceptually explore the role of empathy as a connectedness organising mechanism. We expand ideas underlying positive organisational scholarship and examine leading-edge studies from neuroscience and quantum physics that give support to our claims. The perspective we propose has profound implications regarding how we organise and how we manage. First, we argue that empathy enhances connectedness through the unconscious sharing of neuro-pathways that dissolves the barriers between self and other. This sharing encourages the integration of affective and (...) cognitive consciousness which facilitates the ability to find common ground for solution building. Second, empathy enhances connectedness through altruistic action. In giving to others, feelings of joy and harmony are activated. This in turn allows personal freedom to be enriched and transcendence from the rational ego-self is reduced to develop a more expansive, integrated and enlightened state underlying connectedness. Finally, empathy enhances connectedness which results in sharing the quantum field of coherence where there is little separation between self and other. This means living beyond self-interest in a coherent world based upon interdependent wholeness rather than atomization and separation. Empathy allows us to find that state of coherent connectedness. (shrink)

What Does Only Assert and Entail? This paper investigates the semantics of English only and two equivalent expressions in Japanese -dake and -shika, giving attention to two aspects: the debate over the status of two propositions that are involved in the use of ONLY expressions and the semantic and pragmatic differences among ONLY items, if any. We claim that a sentence with ONLY expressions entails both the affirmative and negative propositions. This view raises issues with Horn's original claim as well (...) as van Rooij and Schulz's while supporting Atlas and Horn. We claim then that the difference in strength between the affirmative and negative propositions emerges from what is asserted by that sentence. One of the bases for our claim is that there is a significant difference in behavior between entailment and assertion of a given sentence, following Horn. This difference explains the difference between -dake on the one hand and -shika and -only on the other: -dake differs from only and -shika in that it asserts the affirmative proposition while -shika and only asserts the negative proposition. (shrink)

Kengo Miyazono’s Delusions and Beliefs: A Philosophical Inquiry is an attempt to provide a unified account of the nature, pathology, and etiology of delusions. The strength of his book resides in the clarity of arguments and its consistent adoption of a biological explanation of delusions, based on teleo-functionalism about mental states. However, there are some weaknesses in each of his arguments regarding the nature, pathology, and etiology of delusions. Regarding the nature of delusions, teleo-functionalism makes it difficult to confirm that (...) delusions are beliefs. Regarding the pathology of delusions, I suggest that the existence of harmful malfunction is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a belief to be considered pathological, and that additional evidence is needed to justify the separation of the belief and the holder’s personhood. Regarding the etiology, it is not reasonable to incorporate the prediction error theory into a kind of two-factor theory. Therefore, the details of his arguments require further modification. (shrink)

One’s generosity to others declines as a function of social distance, which is known as social discounting. We examined cultural similarities and differences in social discounting and the mediating roles of the two aspects of interdependence (self-expression and distinctiveness of the self) as well as the two aspects of independence (harmony-seeking and rejection avoidance). Using the same procedure that previous researchers used to test North Americans, Study 1 showed that compared to North Americans, Japanese discount more steeply a partner’s outcomes (...) compared to their own future outcomes, whereas the decrease in the subjective value of the partner’s outcomes accelerates less as a function of social distance. To examine the cultural similarities and differences in social discounting in more detail, Study 2 tested Japanese and Germans and found that the hyperbolic with exponent model fitted the participants’ discounting behaviors better than the other models, except for the loss condition in Germans where the utility of the q-exponential model was indicated. Moreover, although the social discounting rate was higher in Japanese than in Germans, the cultural difference was limited to the gain frame. However, the decline in a person’s generosity accelerated less as a function of social distance in Japanese than in Germans. Furthermore, the cultural difference in the social discounting in gains was mediated by the level of harmony-seeking, which was higher in Germans than in Japanese. Implications for individuals’ generosity against the backdrop of cultural characteristics are discussed. (shrink)

This investigation examines ‘teasing’ of non-combatant children by US military service personnel in occupied Iraq and Afghanistan. The majority of existent investigations of teasing and related practices place significant conceptual importance on the intentions of the teaser – such that a target can understand that the tease is not true. However, in data examined here it appears that targets do not understand the language in which the teasing is undertaken. Drawing from publicly available video footage posted on the video sharing (...) website Liveleak, we provide an ethnomethodological and conversation analytic informed examination of how persons initiating teasing strategically exploit asymmetries in the sequential and preferential organization of interactions when tease recipients do not have sufficient English skills to redress the negative assessments being made of them. Three types of candidate teasing practices are identified: soldier initiated negative other-assessments; target parroting negative other-assessments; and offer-withdrawal games. Analysis examines how such interactions effectively fail as teases and explores how children can resist soldiers’ pursuit of degrading responses. (shrink)

The problem of the destruction of nature and the natural environment is one of the most serious problems that confronts humanity at the end of the twentieth century. This destruction has its basis in the dualistic way of thinking that has dominated the Modern age: Humanity has been accustomed to think of the world dualistically as a confrontation between subject and object, soul and body, and spirit and nature. Both Modern natural sciences and scientific technology in general are grounded in (...) such a dualistic way of thinking. But this way of thinking itself, in other words, the Modern dualistic paradigm, is now one of the most serious problems of present-day philosophy. It has become clear that a new relation between humanity and nature must be established. In this paper, I will re-examine the relationship between “nature” and “spirit” in the context of Husserl’s phenomenology in which, in my opinion, a new concept of nature can be found. In the course of this investigation, I shall try to elucidate the present-day situation of human spirit in a phenomenological way. (shrink)

Although Kripke’s skepticism leads to the conclusion that meaning does not exist, his argument relies upon the supposition that more than one interpretation of words is consistent with linguistic evidence. Relying solely on metaphors, he assumes that there is a multiplicity of possible interpretations without providing any strict proof. In his book The Taming of the True, Neil Tennant pointed out that there are serious obstacles to this thesis and concluded that the skeptic’s nonstandard interpretations are “will o’ wisps.” In (...) this paper, contra Tennant, I demonstrate how to construct alternative interpretations of the language of algebra. These constructed interpretations avoid Tennant’s objections and are shown to be interdefinable with the standard interpretation. Kripke’s skepticism is, as it were, an incarnate demon. In contrast, it is currently uncertain whether the same technique is generally applicable to the construction of an alternative interpretation of natural language. However, the reinterpretation of those aspects of natural language that directly relate to numbers seems to be a promising candidate for the development of nonstandard interpretations of natural language. (shrink)

D. Davidson argued that shared conventions learned in advance are not essential for the success of communication. In this paper, holding the validity of his contention in suspense, I argue that linguistic conventions play essential roles when communication fails. In everyday communication, when discrepancies are detected between what the speaker intended to inform the hearer and what the hearer actually understood, it becomes necessary to determine whether the speaker or the hearer caused the communication failure. For in everyday communication, the (...) hearer often changes her position based on her misunderstanding about the intention of the speaker, and it is sometimes too late when the hearer realizes the speaker’s true intention. In such cases, it is necessary to determine who is responsible for the hearer’s loss. What the speaker said, which is determined by linguistic conventions, arbitrates the conflict between them. From the fact that shared conventions mainly relate to the evaluation aspect of communication, it follows that the speaker and the hearer need not learn shared linguistic conventions in advance of the conversation, and have only to learn them later, when failures are detected among past communication. (shrink)

In Husserl's phenomenology, the phenomenological reduction only when the content can be expressed in language, and describe the time being, in order to study the phenomenon of cognitive achievement. The purpose of this paper is to discuss by "viewing" and the "expression" the general relationship between the phenomenological description to understand exactly why. Beginning of this first set out to clarify the text of Husserl's "intuitive" and "expression" of the general relationship. Then I will try to discuss the phenomenology of (...) visual expression and the relationship between phenomenology, Husserl of such relationships rarely considered. After discussion, you can expose the phenomenological description of the functionality expressed in metaphor. Finally, I will clear depicted in the ultimate and most profound phenomenological description, which is the ultimate goal of phenomenology. In Husserl's phenomenology, phenomenological cognition is to be accomplished only when what is seen in the phenomenological reduction becomes expressed in language and described. The aim of this paper is to understand what phenomenological description really is, by discussing the general relationship between 'seeing' and 'expressing'. The research begins with a clarification of the general relationship between 'intuition' and 'expression' as elucidated in Husserl's texts. The author will then try to discuss the relationship between phenomenological intuition and its expression, a relationship which Husserl scarcely considered . This discussion will lead to a revelation of the function of metaphorical expression in phenomenological description . Finally, the author will give a clear if paradoxical depiction of phenomenological description of the ultimate and deepest constituting dimension, which would be the final aim of phenomenology. (shrink)

In this essay, we will discuss the lessons that we have learned in a course titled “Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change” regarding Indigenous efforts and epistemologies to cope with stresses and plights induced by global climate change. Primarily informed by humanistic perspectives, we examine how Indigenous peoples, especially those of North America, process climate change through their cultural values and social priorities, with a particular focus on human emotions or feelings associated with their homeland, which often called sense of place (...) or belonging, in contrast to the abstract concepts that originate from the natural sciences. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to clarify what “phenomenological” means in the phenomenological researches of nursing and what “method” is or should beadopted in phenomenological researches of nursing. The essay first defines a traditional classification of the phenomenological researches of nursing by Cohen and Omery, and then gives a new attempt to classify the phenomenological approaches in the theories of nursing. On this basis, the essay reviews some representative “phenomenological” researches of nursing today and addresses critical comments to them. (...) Finally, the essay will make clear what “phenomenological” should mean in the phenomenological research of nursing and what kind of “method” should be adopted in those researches. (shrink)

In seiner Fünften Cartesianischen Meditation entwickelt Husserl eine transzendentale Theorie der Fremderfahrung, der sogenannten ,,Einfühlung . Diese Theorie charakterisiert er in dieser Schrift als ,,statische Analyse . Genau besehen werden darin jedoch mehrere genetische Momente der Fremderfahrung in Betracht gezogen. In diesem Aufsatz versucht der Verfasser, zuerst aufgrund einiger nachgelassener Texte Husserls die wesentlichen Charaktere der statischen und der genetischen Methode und auch den Zusammenhang der beiden festzustellen, um dann aus der Analyse der Fünften Meditation die statischen und die genetischen (...) Momente konkret herauszuarbeiten. Aus dieser Untersuchung wird deutlich, dass die Theorie der Fremderfahrung in der Fünften Meditation als statische Analyse angesehen werden kann, insofern sie die ,,Fundierungsstruktur der Fremderfahrung klärt. Es ergibt sich aber auch, dass sie bereits in die genetische Sphäre eingetreten ist, sofern sie durch den ,,Abbau der höheren Sinnesschicht der Fremderfahrung die primordiale Eigenheitssphäre als Unterschicht freilegt, und wenn sie dann versucht, von dieser Eigenheitssphäre her die höhere Konstitution des fremden Leibes und des alter ego durch die ,,paarende Assoziation als ,,passive Genesis aufzuklären. Dieser halb-genetischen Theorie fehlt jedoch ein weiteres notwendiges Verfahren der genetischen Methode (das der Rückfrage nach der ,,Urstiftung ), das überprüfen soll, ob und wie alle zur primordialen Sphäre gehörigen Sinne (,,mein Leib , ,,mein Menschen-Ich usw.) wirklich ohne konstitutive Leistungen der auf fremde Subjektivität bezogenen Intentionalität urgestiftet werden können. Einige Stellen der Fünften Meditation weisen darauf hin, dass eine solche Urstiftung unmöglich wäre. In der Tat hat der späte Husserl seine ehemalige Konzeption, die die statische Fundierungsabfolge zugleich als notwendiges genetisches Nacheinander auffasste, revidiert. (shrink)

BackgroundEnhancement involves the use of biomedical technologies to improve human capacities beyond therapeutic purposes. It has been well documented that enhancement is sometimes difficult to distinguish from treatment. As a subtype of enhancement, neuroenhancement aims to improve one’s cognitive or emotional capacities.Main bodyThis article proposes that the notion of neuroenhancement deserves special attention among enhancements in general, because apart from the notion of treatment, it also overlaps with other concepts such as prevention, pain relief, and pleasure seeking. Regarding prevention, patients’ (...) mental endurance can be enhanced when a patient is prescribed a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor for the purpose of preventing the relapse of depression following a stressful situation. As for pain relief, psychiatrists use medication to alleviate distress in patients who experience various types of anxiety; the alleviation of distress is equal to psychological pain relief, but is also an enhancement of the patient’s temperamental traits. Regarding pleasure seeking, insidious transition exists between neuroenhancement and pleasure seeking when using psychotropic drugs. It is well known that people use psychostimulants for recreational purposes and to induce overconfidence in one’s performance. The polysemy of psychotropics derives from their effects on human sensibility. Therefore, when using psychotropic agents, psychiatrists should pay close attention to what the agent is used for on each patient in each situation, and explicitly share the continuity and overlap in the purpose of prescribing a medication with the patients to make a better clinical decision.ConclusionsThe notion of neuroenhancement overlaps not only with the notion of treatment, but also with other concepts of prevention, pain relief, and pleasure seeking. The continuity between those concepts makes the issues concerning the prescription of psychotropic drugs subtler. Psychiatrists should explicitly share the continuity with the patients to make a better clinical decision. (shrink)

The PIWI-interacting RNA pathway, one of the major eukaryotic small RNA silencing pathways, is a genome surveillance system that silences selfish genes in animal gonads. piRNAs guide PIWI protein to target genes through Watson–Crick RNA–RNA base-parings. Loss of piRNA function causes genome instability, inducing failure in gametogenesis and infertility. Studies using fruit flies and mice as key experimental models have resulted in tremendous progress in understanding the mechanism underlying the piRNA pathway. Recent work using cultured silkworm germline cells has also (...) expanded our knowledge of piRNA biogenesis in particular, since these silkworm cells are the only cells of germline origin that can be cultured. In this review, we describe elucidation of the piRNA pathway using cultured silkworm cells as an experimental model by focusing on recent work in biochemistry and structural biology. Earlier studies that made important contributions to the field are also described. PIWI-interacting RNAs are germline-enriched small RNAs that silence transposons to maintain genome integrity. Recently, cultured silkworm germline cells such as BmN4 made great contributions to understand the mechanism underlying piRNA biogenesis in particular. In this review, we highlight the recent progress in biochemical and structural biology. (shrink)

明治大学文学部は、2018年4月に哲学専攻を新設した。いま、なぜ、哲学なのか?アジアにとって、哲学とは何か?理論とプラクティスが、西洋と東洋がクロスする新しい場から5名の創設メンバーが贈る“知”のスタ ーティングガイド。.

Using the case of food safety governance reform in Japan between 2001 and 2003, this paper examines the relationship between science and trust. The paper explains how the discovery of the first BSE positive cow and consequent food safety scandals in 2001 politicized the role of science in protecting the safety of the food supply. The analysis of the Parliamentary debate focuses on the contestation among legislators and other participants over three dimensions of risk science, including “knowledge,” “objects,” and “beneficiaries.” (...) The metaphor of “seven samurai” and the relationally situated roles of “samurai,” “bandits,” and “beneficiaries” are used to show that in the process of policy making certain moral and ethical expectations on a new expert institution for food safety were contested and negotiated to frame responsibilities and commitments of social actors for creating the food system based on trust. (shrink)

Adopting a modified Stroop task, the authors tested the hypothesis that processing systems brought to bear on comprehension of emotional speech are attuned primarily to word evaluation in a low-context culture and language (i.e., in English), but they are attuned primarily to vocal emotion in a high-context culture and language (i.e., in Japanese). Native Japanese (Studies 1 and 2) and English speakers (Study 3) made a judgement of either vocal emotion or word evaluation of an emotionally spoken evaluative word. Word (...) evaluations and vocal emotions were comparable in extremity in the two languages. In support of the hypothesis, an interference effect by competing word evaluation in the vocal emotion judgement was significantly stronger in English than in Japanese. In contrast, an interference effect by competing vocal emotion in the word evaluation judgement was stronger in Japanese than in English. Implications for the cultural grounding of communication, emotion, and cognition are discussed. (shrink)