A key aim in biology and psychology is to identify fundamental principles underpinning the behavior of animals, including humans. Analyses of human language and the behavior of a range of non-human animal species have provided evidence for a common pattern underlying diverse behavioral phenomena: Words follow Zipf's law of brevity (the tendency of more frequently used words to be shorter), and conformity to this general pattern has been seen in the behavior of a number of other animals. It has been (...) argued that the presence of this law is a sign of efficient coding in the information theoretic sense. However, no strong direct connection has been demonstrated between the law and compression, the information theoretic principle of minimizing the expected length of a code. Here, we show that minimizing the expected code length implies that the length of a word cannot increase as its frequency increases. Furthermore, we show that the mean code length or duration is significantly small in human language, and also in the behavior of other species in all cases where agreement with the law of brevity has been found. We argue that compression is a general principle of animal behavior that reflects selection for efficiency of coding. (shrink)

Here we study polysemy as a potential learning bias in vocabulary learning in children. Words of low polysemy could be preferred as they reduce the disambiguation effort for the listener. However, such preference could be a side-effect of another bias: the preference of children for nouns in combination with the lower polysemy of nouns with respect to other part-of-speech categories. Our results show that mean polysemy in children increases over time in two phases, i.e. a fast growth till the 31st (...) month followed by a slower tendency towards adult speech. In contrast, this evolution is not found in adults interacting with children. This suggests that children have a preference for non-polysemous words in their early stages of vocabulary acquisition. Interestingly, the evolutionary pattern described above weakens when controlling for syntactic category (noun, verb, adjective or adverb) but it does not disappear completely, suggesting that it could result from a combination of a standalone bias for low polysemy and a preference for nouns. (shrink)

Biosemiosis is a process of choice-making between simultaneously alternative options. It is well-known that, when sufficiently young children encounter a new word, they tend to interpret it as pointing to a meaning that does not have a word yet in their lexicon rather than to a meaning that already has a word attached. In previous research, the strategy was shown to be optimal from an information theoretic standpoint. In that framework, interpretation is hypothesized to be driven by the minimization of (...) a cost function: the option of least communication cost is chosen. However, the information theoretic model employed in that research neither explains the weakening of that vocabulary learning bias in older children or polylinguals nor reproduces Zipf’s meaning-frequency law, namely the non-linear relationship between the number of meanings of a word and its frequency. Here we consider a generalization of the model that is channeled to reproduce that law. The analysis of the new model reveals regions of the phase space where the bias disappears consistently with the weakening or loss of the bias in older children or polylinguals. The model is abstract enough to support future research on other levels of life that are relevant to biosemiotics. In the deep learning era, the model is a transparent low-dimensional tool for future experimental research and illustrates the predictive power of a theoretical framework originally designed to shed light on the origins of Zipf’s rank-frequency law. (shrink)

BackgroundResearch during 2020 has been rapidly attending to the impact of COVID-19 on various dimensions of wellbeing on adults and children around the world. However, less attention has focused on the psychoeducational impact on children and their families. To our knowledge, no currently available studies have looked specifically at the impact of COVID-19 on students with dyslexia and their families. Research on this topic is needed to offer greater support for this population of students and their families.ObjectiveThe main objective of (...) this paper is to examine the psychoeducational impact of the required COVID-19 quarantine in Spain among children with dyslexia and their families.MethodA sample of 32 children with dyslexia and their mothers participated in this study.MeasuresChildren and adolescents with dyslexia and their mother completed several measures before the required national quarantine in Spain and again during the quarantine. Children completed measures of depression, state anxiety, reading activity, and reading motivation. Mothers provided demographic information and completed measures related to students’ emotional and behavioral difficulties as well as parenting stress, parental distress, and a questionnaire about educational problems during quarantine.ResultsMajor findings showed that during quarantine, children with dyslexia had increased levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, and parents perceived their children as having more emotional symptoms, hyperactivity-inattention, and conduct problems. During quarantine, children and adolescents with dyslexia also showed less reading activity and less reading motivation. Parents also reported significantly more stress, during quarantine compared to pre-quarantine conditions. Some demographic and psychological variables predicted children’s state anxiety as well parental stress. The questionnaire related to impacts of quarantine also revealed several important findings. For example, nearly all parents of children with dyslexia reported difficulties in establishing study routines, that the quarantine negatively affected their child’s learning, and that they did not receive sufficient help from teachers on how to support their child’s learning. Additionally, the vast majority of the parents were very worried about the child’s learning and school success, the child’s motivation and interest in reading, the child’s peer relations, and the professional skills of the child’s teacher.ConclusionThis study offers a preliminary investigation into this topic and elucidates several psychoeducational challenges that children with dyslexia and their families have experienced during the quarantine in Spain. Study findings highlight the need to provide immediate support for children with dyslexia and emphasizes the importance of developing prevention programs to mitigate any future negative impacts of COVID-19 on children with dyslexia and their parents. (shrink)

In this article, Albert Ferrer culminates a long series of articles published in the Catalan review _Ars Brevis_, edited by the Blanquerna Foundation of the Ramon Llull University, Barcelona. In his previous exposition, Prof. Ferrer outlined the development of holistic and spirituallybased education in India and Europe until the advent of the materialistic pedagogy of the modern school system. In this paper, Prof. Ferrer delves further into a philosophical understanding of this integral kind of education on (...) spiritual grounds, focusing on the teachings of the greatest spiritual master of contemporary India, Sathya Sai Baba, who recently passed away after 86 years of service to humanity. In particular, Prof. Ferrer elucidates the transition from the modern utilitarian approach to values and ethics to the new paradigm emerging from the dialogue between quantum/ new physics and mystical philosophy. Through this fascinating dialogue, ethics reveals its mystical roots and the ethical or axiological perspective turns into ontology and metaphysics. From the liberal vision of moral choice and tolerance, we evolve towards an exploration of Reality, a holistic and multidimensional Man and Cosmos in interdependence. Integral education in human values becomes the natural pedagogy of this new paradigm, the merger between science and spirituality. (shrink)

"La escuela moderna", de Francisco Ferrer Guardia. Francisco Ferrer Guardia fue un famoso pedagogo libertario español (1859-1909).

LA ÉTICA DE EDMUND HUSSERL trata de recoger la doctrina ética de Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), con la idea de dar a conocer el contenido moral que encierra la rica obra husserliana. Además, constituye una buena introducción a quienes se aproximan a la filosofía del fundador de la fenomenología, y un buen servicio incluso para quienes ya conocen su pensamiento solamente en relación con la teoría del conocimiento o con la lógica. Concretamente, la ética de Husserl —en un cuidado y ajustado (...) equilibrio entre el papel de la razón, el de la voluntad y el del sentimiento— ofrece la posibilidad de rescatar la afectividad del sentimentalismo ciego e instintivo sin caer en el extremo contrario del racionalismo inhumano; enseña cómo tomar libre y realmente nuestra vida en nuestras propias manos y dirigirnos a un ideal personal; muestra cómo comportarnos con nuestros semejantes reconociéndolos en su verdadera dignidad, y cómo podemos ayudarnos los unos a los otros. Y para todo ello, en fin, nos proporciona el suelo seguro de la experiencia interna evidente, resistente a toda crítica procedente de la ciencia empírica o del cinismo posmoderno. La exposición del discurso ético pasa necesariamente por meandros psicológicos y antropológicos, como no podía ser de otra manera. De modo que la doctrina moral de Husserl desvela asimismo e inseparablemente un sustancioso contenido psicológico y antropológico. Por otra parte, se ha preferido mantener en general el estilo fenomenológico del autor, esto es, procediendo analíticamente en sucesivos niveles de profundidad. (shrink)

The First World Congress on Evidential Legal Reasoning, organised by the Legal Culture Chair of the University of Girona, was held between June 6 and 8, 2018. The Congress was attended by 350 participants and featured 18 speakers from four continents. The three days of formal and informal presentations and discussions yielded excellent results, strengthening the interrelation between the legal communities and specialists of different traditions. The 18 papers from the Congress, reviewed by their authors based on the discussions and (...) the suggestions made at the Congress, have been compiled in this book. (shrink)

Desde hace ya bastante tiempo existe una tendencia a afirmar que el derecho o las normas de diferente tipo no son adecuadas o aplicables para las diferentes nuevas tecnologías que van apareciendo de forma continua. Este trabajo intentará dar la vuelta a ese razonamiento y, centrándose en la inteligencia artificial, tratará de plantear criterios adecuados para que esa tecnología y muchas otras sean desarrolladas y aplicadas de forma adecuada a los derechos fundamentales en general y a la privacidad en particular. (...) Dentro de esos criterios se analizará lo que debe aportar la explicabilidad de la tecnología mencionada y se profundizará en algunos conceptos adicionales como la posibilidad y la necesidad de controlar y de auditar sistemas de inteligencia artificial. Para realizar la mencionada profundización se recurrirá a lo que se conoce como objetivos de protección y a los principios de la ciberética, incluyendo una referencia especial a la sostenibilidad y a la resiliencia de este tipo de sistemas. (shrink)

v. 1. Doctrina pueril. Libre de l'ordre de cavalleria. Libre de clerecia. Art de confessió -- v. 2, <4-6 >. Libre de contemplació en Deu .

Several studies on research misconduct have already explored and discussed its potential occurrence in universities across different countries. However, little is known about this issue in Spain, a paradigmatic context due to its consolidated scientific evaluation system, which relies heavily on metrics. The present article attempts to fill this gap in the literature through an empirical study undertaken in a specific university: Universitat Jaume I (Castelló). The study was based on a survey with closed and open questions; almost half the (...) total population of the university’s researchers participated (505 out of 1030, i.e. 49.03%), yielding a representative sample of different academic career stages and areas of knowledge. Results show that 71.68% (n = 362) of the respondents consider at least one form of misconduct to be proliferating in their area of knowledge at the national level. This figure falls to 48.95% (n = 247) in reference to misconduct in their own institution. The most frequently reported types of misconduct linked to life with colleagues are especially the use of personal influence (in evaluation or review processes); lax supervision of doctoral theses; and the abuse of power over people in lower positions. Personal ambitions and pressure from the evaluation system are regarded as the most influential causes of misconduct proliferation, according to academics at this Spanish university. (shrink)

El presente artículo tiene por objetivo plantear la pregunta por la técnica económica en el sentido heideggeriano del preguntar. Con “sentido heideggeriano” nos referimos al modo en el que Heidegger plantea la pregunta por la técnica a partir de la perturbación que provoca la técnica moderna. En otras palabras, nos preguntamos por “la” técnica económica inspirados por las consecuencias – pasadas, actuales y potenciales – de la técnica económica moderna: la economía de mercado. El trabajo procederá de la siguiente manera. (...) En primer lugar, planteamos la pregunta por la técnica económica explicando los motivos que nos llevan a ella y la inspiración heideggeriana de esta pregunta. En particular, apuntamos al fenómeno de la crisis económica en su sentido contemporáneo. En segundo lugar, buscaremos mostrar que, tal como hizo Heidegger con la técnica, no es posible hablar de “la” economía, sino que será necesario distinguir entre una economía antigua y una economía moderna. En tercer lugar, recurriremos al estudio histórico-antropológico de Karl Polanyi para describir la distinción entre ambos modos de concebir lo económico. En cuarto lugar, a partir de la descripción anterior mostraremos que la economía de mercado no es un mero instrumento para la producción de condiciones materiales, pues está caracterizada por una esencia provocante. Finalmente, concluiremos en torno a las consecuencias y posibilidades de esta descripción filosófica de la economía de mercado. Palabras clave: Economía de mercado, Martin Heidegger, Karl Polanyi, Filosofía de la economía. (shrink)

The Mondragon Corporation, a group of cooperatives, is a thriving example of how cooperatives can succeed. The authors describe six features of the corporation and five 'successful cooperative actions' that they consider to be crucial in explaining its accomplishments. Both the specific features and the successful actions are contrasted with those of standard capitalist companies, to show how this case is unique in the field of corporate organization and management. Through a combination of democratic principles, the values of solidarity, and (...) strong competitiveness, Mondragon has simultaneously achieved both efficiency and equity and has become an alternative to the organizational and governance models of traditional capitalist firms. (shrink)

Following Post program, we will propose a linguistic and empirical interpretation of Gödel’s incompleteness theorem and related ones on unsolvability by Church and Turing. All these theorems use the diagonal argument by Cantor in order to find limitations in finitary systems, as human language, which can make “infinite use of finite means”. The linguistic version of the incompleteness theorem says that every Turing complete language is Gödel incomplete. We conclude that the incompleteness and unsolvability theorems find limitations in our finitary (...) tool, which is our complete language. (shrink)