The paper focuses on automation of signal processing, which also considers analysis of biomedical data, such as EEG. The results of the study prove that this enables a better understanding of signal changes and makes it possible to address some specific disturbances. It also makes it possible to describe the relevant changes in signals mathematically and helps to create markers of various brain disorders. This paper presents the study at the initial stage and focuses on the mathematical markers of concentration (...) disorders associated with Theta waves. The presented markers presented are based on Welch’s periodograms. The obtained results are very promising and further studies aimed at refining them are currently being carried out. (shrink)

On the issue of abortion, Ireland and Poland have been among the most conservative countries in Europe. Their legal and cultural approaches to this issue have been deeply influenced by the institution of the Catholic Church and its purported role as a defender of an authentic national identity. However, their political climates for abortion reform are increasingly divergent: Ireland has liberalised its abortion law substantially since 2018, while Poland is moving towards further criminalisation with the repeated introduction of restrictive laws (...) in parliament. Both have seen active pro-choice movements who mobilise for reform and widespread non-compliance with their restrictive abortion laws, but the policy impact of these trends varies significantly. What accounts for this difference? This article draws on comparative analysis of Ireland and Poland to assess their divergent trajectories on abortion reform, arguing that the most significant driver of change between the two is the disparity in influence of the Catholic Church on politics and policymaking. (shrink)

Although research has examined the role leaders may play in shaping job re-design behaviors among their subordinates, little is known about the way managers craft their jobs as compared to other employees. In two crosssectional studies we tested whether organizational rank affects the frequency of job crafting, and to what extent this relationship is mediated via perceived autonomy. Study 1 demonstrated that managers craft their jobs more frequently than non-managers by increasing structural job resources and seeking challenges at work. We (...) also showed that autonomy explains the relationship between organizational rank and the frequency of increasing structural and social job demands, as well as seeking challenges. However, managers did not craft their jobs by decreasing job demands more often than regular employees. In Study 2 we replicated this pattern of results, subsequently demonstrating that managers with shorter tenure use their autonomy to craft their jobs via decreasing job demands. We discuss the contributions and potential implications of these results. (shrink)

In this paper, we defend a representational approach to at least some kinds of non-human psychopathology. Mentally-ill non-human minds, in particular in delusions, obsessive-compulsive disorders and similar cognitive states, are traditionally understood in purely behavioral terms. In contrast, we argue that non-human mental psychopathology should be at least sometimes not only ascribed contentful mental representation but also understood as really having these states. To defend this view, we appeal to the interactivist account of mental representation, which is a kind of (...) a constructive approach to meaning. We follow Mark Bickhard in assuming that only an organism – either human or non-human – capable of detecting its own misrepresentations is representational. However, under his autonomy-based account of biological function these minds are incapable of misrepresentations because these minds are, ex hypothesi, unable to detect error in such representations. To solve this problem, we argue that adding a historical dimension – as in Millikan’s view on mental representations – to Bickhard’s account of function makes mental misrepresentation of mentally-ill minds possible. Using Bickhard’s dynamic account of function, it is possible to explain why delusions and other mental disorders can be seen as locally functional. However, an etiological dimension can further explain why misrepresentations seem to be globally dysfunctional. Even if representational or biosemiotic hypotheses about non-human psychopathology are difficult to confirm empirically, we defend the view that they can enrich our understanding of the causes and development of such pathologies, and may constitute a new progressive research programme. (shrink)

The Republic of Poland is one of the European Union countries that have not yet implemented Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons reporting breaches of EU law (Journal of Laws EC L 305/17 of November 26, 2019). Even though signalling illegal acts is a more and more common occurrence and the social perception of such behaviours is also changing, the “whistleblowers” are not under any legal protection (...) in Poland. In the Sejm of the 9th Term of office, legislative work is underway to pass the act on the protection of persons reporting violations of the law. This will be a legal act containing comprehensive legal protection of whistleblowers. In hereby publication the author focuses on presenting the role of whistleblowers in preventing law violations by employers in the current legal state. In the next part, the above-mentioned draft act is analyzed in terms of provisions ensuring the protection of persons who disclose irregularities. Numerous tragic incidents which could have been avoided if people that were aware of irregularities could safely reveal the information are evidence of how needed an act on whistleblower protection is. The author cites examples of the sinking of the MF Herald of Free Enterprise ferry and the Deepwater Horizon platform as well as the methane explosion in the Halemba mine in Ruda Śląska. (shrink)

This paper presents an argument for the realism about mechanisms, contents, and vehicles of mental representation at both the personal and subpersonal levels, and showcases its role in instrumental rationality and proper cognitive functioning. By demonstrating how misrepresentation is necessary for learning from mistakes and explaining certain failures of action, we argue that fallible rational agents must have mental representations with causally relevant vehicles of content. Our argument contributes to ongoing discussions in philosophy of mind and cognitive science by challenging (...) anti-realist views about the nature of mental representation, and by highlighting the importance of understanding how different agents can misrepresent in pursuit of their goals. While there are potential rebuttals to our claim, our opponents must explain how agents can be rational without having mental representations. This is because mental representation is grounded in rationality. (shrink)

The dramatic transformation of the Arabian Gulf since the discovery of petroleum resources has called for a new perspective on the situation of women in the region. Qatar is an example of fast-paced industrialization, modernization and profound socio-cultural changes. As the environment transforms literally from day to day, new identities are being forged and social roles renegotiated. The leadership’s vision for the country speaks of gender equality and opportunity for all. This article asks how young Qatari women’s personal stories fit (...) into the national narrative of change and what they see as the best path to agency and empowerment. (shrink)

We consider modal epistemic and doxastic logics as intuitively inadequate logics of information, and we outline a modal system of the operator being informed that which avoids inconsistency with our intuitive concept of information. The system has modal structure of the normal modal logic K4, and is sound and complete on the class of all transitive frames. We compare this logic with Floridi’s KTB information logic, and we consider a possibility of extending our system to a dynamic logic.

The article presents the main types of conflict behaviour with the author’s proposal of their classification. The suggested classification is based on the way in which an individual deals with a partner’s adverse influence on his/her self-interest and welfare in a conflict situation. Four possible ways of coping i.e. attack, amicable settlement, defence, and yielding have been distinguished. On the basis of this behaviour classification, the Conflict Behaviour Questionnaire was compiled and its reliability and validity was assessed.

The article discusses the composition of Lysias’ speech, devoted to the history of music, in Pseudo-Plutarch’s treatise On Music. Close attention has been paid to the unifying mechanisms employed by Lysias to create the coherence and unity of the textual construction. The analysis of the speech presented in the article leads to the conclusion that the employment of clearly marked and coordinated two-part units became the most important technique of the organisation of this speech. The first part of each of (...) eleven pairs Lysias’ speech consists of includes quotations from earlier written sources, the second displays comments and interpreting remarks on these citations. This scheme of organisation of the speech provides the internal order and continuity of thought in the historical part of Pseudo-Plutarch’s work. (shrink)

While the assumption that the sociopolitical and economic situation affects adolescents’ well-being, encompassing life satisfaction and a positive sense of self, is plausible, few studies have confirmed such macrosocial influences. The case of the Czech Republic offers an example of a society transitioning from totalitarian government to western democracy. Our study provides statistical description of Czech adolescents’ well-being over the past 30 years in association with the subjective perception of everyday problems. These daily hassles represent experiences and conditions of daily (...) living that have been appraised as salient and harmful or threatening to adolescents’ well-being. We analyzed four samples of adolescents aged 14–17 years surveyed at four time points over the last three decades—1992, 2001, 2011, and 2019, total N = 4,005. The results show that life satisfaction, self-esteem, and self-reported daily hassles changed only marginally from 1992 to 2019 with small differences related to the post-revolution 1992 cohort. Adolescents reported increasing problems in school, relationships with parents, sports, and leisure time over the study period. A model linking daily hassles and self-esteem to life satisfaction across four cohorts showed that daily hassles strongly predicted life satisfaction except in the post-revolution cohort of 1992 when life satisfaction was also the lowest. The effect was slightly higher in females. Across the cohorts, gender differences in life satisfaction changed from males being more satisfied in 1992 to females being more satisfaction in 2019. Limitations stemming from sampling differences across cohorts are discussed. (shrink)

Pro-social basic human values and civic involvement. The moderating role of survival vs self-expression cultural context The present study investigated a hypothesis that the pro-social values differentiated by S. Schwartz's model of basic human values - universalism and benevolence - would positively predict civic involvement. Most importantly, authors expected that the type of pro-social value that would play a dominant motivational role would depend on moderating role of the level of self-expression and benevolence - cultural value dimension developed by R. (...) Inglehart. Based on discriminant function analyses performed on the data gathered in 17 European countries through the European Social Survey conducted in 2002, authors found that universalism predicts civic involvement only in self-expression countries, whereas the role of benevolence is rather neglectable and independent of the cultural context. The results are discussed with reference to cross-cultural differences in Europe. (shrink)

BackgroundMedical tourism, the practice of persons intentionally travelling across international boundaries to access medical care, has drawn increasing attention from researchers, particularly in relation to potential ethical concerns of this practice. Researchers have expressed concern for potential negative impacts to individual safety, public health within both countries of origin for medical tourists and destination countries, and global health equity. However, these ethical concerns are not discussed within the sources of information commonly provided to medical tourists, and as such, medical tourists (...) may not be aware of these concerns when engaging in medical tourism. This paper describes the methodology utilized to develop an information sheet intended to be disseminated to Canadian medical tourists to encourage contemplation and further public discussion of the ethical concerns in medical tourism.MethodsThe methodology for developing the information sheet drew on an iterative process to consider stakeholder feedback on the content and use of the information sheet as it might inform prospective medical tourists’ decision making. This methodology includes a literature review as well as formative research with Canadian public health professionals and former medical tourists.ResultsThe final information sheet underwent numerous revisions throughout the formative research process according to feedback from medical tourism stakeholders. These revisions focused primarily on making the information sheet concise with points that encourage individuals considering travelling for medical tourism to do further research regarding their safety both within the destination country, while travelling, and once returning to Canada, and the potential impacts of their trip on third parties. This methodology may be replicated for the development of information sheets intending to communicate ethical concerns of other practices to providers or consumers of a certain service. (shrink)

Medical tourism, the practice of persons intentionally travelling across international boundaries to access medical care, has drawn increasing attention from researchers, particularly in relation to potential ethical concerns of this practice. Researchers have expressed concern for potential negative impacts to individual safety, public health within both countries of origin for medical tourists and destination countries, and global health equity. However, these ethical concerns are not discussed within the sources of information commonly provided to medical tourists, and as such, medical tourists (...) may not be aware of these concerns when engaging in medical tourism. This paper describes the methodology utilized to develop an information sheet intended to be disseminated to Canadian medical tourists to encourage contemplation and further public discussion of the ethical concerns in medical tourism. The methodology for developing the information sheet drew on an iterative process to consider stakeholder feedback on the content and use of the information sheet as it might inform prospective medical tourists’ decision making. This methodology includes a literature review as well as formative research with Canadian public health professionals and former medical tourists. The final information sheet underwent numerous revisions throughout the formative research process according to feedback from medical tourism stakeholders. These revisions focused primarily on making the information sheet concise with points that encourage individuals considering travelling for medical tourism to do further research regarding their safety both within the destination country, while travelling, and once returning to Canada, and the potential impacts of their trip on third parties. This methodology may be replicated for the development of information sheets intending to communicate ethical concerns of other practices to providers or consumers of a certain service. (shrink)

SummaryInfand mortality for the period 1950—70 has been analysied in a North-Swedish isolate, a population characterized by a high incidence of schizopherenic psychoses and other neuorpsychiatric disorders. Infand mortality is higher than in Sweden generally. As many as 45·9% of the deceased infands in the population sccumbed during the first week of their life, compard to 28·1% in the general Swedish population.

Trying to avoid the dilemma of axiological subjectivism and objectivism “The World of Experience” is taken as the starting point of this article. Basic values are meant to represent notions which symbolize the meaning of human experience of the world. Simultaneously these notions symbolize the meanings of the basic relations between subject and object of experience. Utility, truth and beauty are in this conception the most general notions symbolizing the meanings of practical, cognitive and aesthetic experiences. Moral goodness is a (...) notion symbolizing the meaning of personal experiences of the subject. The practical, cognitive and aesthetic experiences occur within the frame of unilateral, matter of fact contacts of the subject with an object. The specific trait of the personal experience lies in the direct contact with the subjectivity of another human being. The experience of another man as of “one who also experiences” is the foundation of moral experiences. Recognition of the subjective autonomy of another man leads to the experience which presents him as a moral subject. The relations between moral subjects are moral relations. These relations obtain within communities whose members observe certain rules which are adopted in order to protect their autonomy and to strengthen the bonds between them, which are a warrant of the existence of their community. The effort made to preserve one’s subjective autonomy and to establish bonds with other people considered as other autonomous subjects is at the same time the essence. (shrink)

In this paper, I analyze a type of externalist enactivism defended by Riccardo Manzotti. Such radical versions of enactivism are gaining more attention, especially in cognitive science and cognitive robotics. They are radical in that their notion of representation is purely referential, and content is conflated with reference. Manzotti follows in the footsteps of early causal theories of reference that had long been shown to be inadequate. It is commonly known that radical versions of externalism may lead to difficulties with (...) the notion of representation, especially if they cannot help themselves with the notion of syntax. I argue that a type of externalism present in Manzotti’s enactivism may well lead to anti-representationalism. (shrink)

A consequence relation in the framework of preferential semantics based on the four-valued Belnap-Dunn logic is constructed which proves that the sorites paradoxes are unsound or invalid inferences .

The concept of narrow content is still under discussion in the debate over mental representation. In the paper, one-factor dimensional accounts of representation are analyzed, particularly the case of Fodor's methodological solipsism. In methodological solipsism, semantic properties of content are arguably eliminated in favor of syntactic ones. If “narrow content” means content properties independent of external factors to a system (as in Segal's view), the concept of content becomes elusive. Moreover, important conceptual problems with one-factor dimensional account are pointed out (...) as a result of analysis arguments presented by J. Searle, S. Harnad and T. Burge. Furthermore, these problems are illustrated with psychological and ethological examples. Although understanding content as partially independent from contextual factors allows theorists to preserve content properties, it seems that understanding content in total abstraction from external factors of these properties is implausible. As a result, internalism is rejected in favor of externalism. (shrink)