The current COVID-19 pandemic and the previous SARS/MERS outbreaks of 2003 and 2012 have resulted in a series of major global public health crises. We argue that in the interest of developing effective and safe vaccines and drugs and to better understand coronaviruses and associated disease mechenisms it is necessary to integrate the large and exponentially growing body of heterogeneous coronavirus data. Ontologies play an important role in standard-based knowledge and data representation, integration, sharing, and analysis. Accordingly, we initiated the (...) development of the community-based Coronavirus Infectious Disease Ontology in early 2020. -/- As an Open Biomedical Ontology (OBO) library ontology, CIDO is open source and interoperable with other existing OBO ontologies. CIDO is aligned with the Basic Formal Ontology and Viral Infectious Disease Ontology. CIDO has imported terms from over 30 OBO ontologies. For example, CIDO imports all SARS-CoV-2 protein terms from the Protein Ontology, COVID-19-related phenotype terms from the Human Phenotype Ontology, and over 100 COVID-19 terms for vaccines (both authorized and in clinical trial) from the Vaccine Ontology. CIDO systematically represents variants of SARS-CoV-2 viruses and over 300 amino acid substitutions therein, along with over 300 diagnostic kits and methods. CIDO also describes hundreds of host-coronavirus protein-protein interactions (PPIs) and the drugs that target proteins in these PPIs. CIDO has been used to model COVID-19 related phenomena in areas such as epidemiology. The scope of CIDO was evaluated by visual analysis supported by a summarization network method. CIDO has been used in various applications such as term standardization, inference, natural language processing (NLP) and clinical data integration. We have applied the amino acid variant knowledge present in CIDO to analyze differences between SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants. CIDO's integrative host-coronavirus PPIs and drug-target knowledge has also been used to support drug repurposing for COVID-19 treatment. -/- CIDO represents entities and relations in the domain of coronavirus diseases with a special focus on COVID-19. It supports shared knowledge representation, data and metadata standardization and integration, and has been used in a range of applications. (shrink)

This paper gives a new and richer account of open-mindedness as a moral virtue. I argue that the main problem with existing accounts is that they derive the moral value of open-mindedness entirely from the epistemic role it plays in moral thought. This view is overly intellectualist. I argue that open-mindedness as a moral virtue promotes our flourishing alongside others in ways that are quite independent of its role in correcting our beliefs. I close my discussion by distinguishing open-mindedness from (...) what some might consider its equivalent: empathy and tolerance. (shrink)

A growing interest across disciplines in the nature of empathy has sparked a debate over the place of empathy in morality. Proponents are eager to capitalize on the apparent close connection between empathy and altruism, while critics point to serious problems in our exercise of empathy - we are naturally biased, empathize too much or too little, and prone to making all sorts of mistakes in empathizing. The proponents have a promising response, that it is not empathy simpliciter, but empathy (...) in some “proper” form, that does the work they claim for it. This paper aims to propose a cautiously optimistic position for the proponent by rethinking the suggested approach. I argue that empathy plays two important roles in morality, one epistemic and the other relational, but the proponent must be careful not to exaggerate the contribution that empathy, even in its “proper” form, can make to our moral life. (shrink)

The global signal, which was once regarded as a nuisance of functional magnetic resonance imaging, has been proven to convey valuable neural information. This raised the following question: what is a GS represented in local brain regions? In order to answer this question, the GS topography was developed to measure the correlation between global and local signals. It was observed that the GS topography has an intrinsic structure characterized by higher GS correlation in sensory cortices and lower GS correlation in (...) higher-order cortices. The GS topography could be modulated by individual factors, attention-demanding tasks, and conscious states. Furthermore, abnormal GS topography has been uncovered in patients with schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and epilepsy. These findings provide a novel insight into understanding how the GS and local brain signals coactivate to organize information in the human brain under various brain states. Future directions were further discussed, including the local-global confusion embedded in the GS correlation, the integration of spatial information conveyed by the GS, and temporal information recruited by the connection analysis. Overall, a unified psychopathological framework is needed for understanding the GS topography. (shrink)

Roger Ames in this book tries to further construct an alternative to a foundational individualism by concocting person, individual and personhood into an ethical conceptual regimen, as a substantia...

Since the Second World War, an increasing number of scholars have begun to focus on research related to trauma. This article attempts to demonstrate the long-standing history of studying trauma issues. Ankersmit’s theory of historical trauma innovatively approaches the topic from an aesthetic perspective, incorporating the concept of forgetting which has been overlooked by previous historians. This theory not only explains the origins of Western historical consciousness but also breaks through the previous simplistic linear attribution of trauma severity, providing a (...) new direction for the study of trauma theory. (shrink)

Studies suggest that reward and emotion are interdependent. However, there are discrepancies regarding the interaction between these variables. Some researchers speculate that the inconsistent findings may be due to different targets being used. Although reward and emotion both affect attention, it is not clear whether their impacts are independent. This study examined the impact of reward anticipation on emotion processing for different targets. A cue-target paradigm was used, and behavior and eye-tracking data were recorded in an emotion or sex recognition (...) task under the conditions of reward and non-reward anticipation. The results showed that when the target was related to the emotional attribute of the stimulus, the reward promoted the processing target information, thereby generating reward-oriented attention. When the target was unrelated to the emotional attributes of the stimulus, the reward did not promote the processing target information, and at the same time, individuals had negative emotional biases toward the emotional faces. The results revealed that, in addition to affecting the attention to emotional faces independently, the target regulated the promotion of reward anticipation to emotional attention and attention bias towards negative stimuli. (shrink)

대부분의 연구자들은 주염계의 「태극도설」에 대한 주자의 해석서인 「태극해의」가 이기론을 기반으로 이루어졌다고 주장한다. 그러나 「태극해의」에서 ‘태극=리’라고 명시적으로 주장한 구절은 찾아볼 수 없으며 체계적인 이기론이 나타나지도 않는다. 이와 같은 사실에 비추어 볼 때에 조선유학자들이 이기론을 사용하여 「태극도설」을 해석한 것은 의미가 있다. 남당은 ‘모두 같은 본연지성’과 ‘모두 다른 기질지성’이라는 기존의 이분법적 성론만으로는 인간과 사물의 차이를 본질적으로, 그리고 명실상부하게 분별할 수 없으며, 인간이 도덕적 주체로서 가지는 고유한 지위를 확보하기 어렵다고 보았다. 이와 같은 문제의식에서 남당은 본연지성을 ‘초형기의 본연지성’과 ‘인기질의 본연지성’으로 나누고, 因氣質의 ‘人性과 物性이 다른 (...) 本然之性’이라는 독창적 개념을 토대로 「태극도설」을 해석하였다. 그리고 이 성론에 기반을 둔 ‘一原分殊’의 논리로 「태극도설」에 통일적인 체계를 부여하였다. 그는 리와 기의 분별을 매우 강조하고 있다. 이 분별의 논리가 인물성동이론에 적용될 때 인/물의 본연지성이 다르며 성인과 범인의 마음이 다르다는 ‘차이’의 이론이 정립된다. 그리고 이를 토대로 ‘차이의 형이상학’이 구축된다. 남당은 이 ‘차이의 형이상학’을 기반으로 「태극도설」을 해석하여 통일적인 체계성을 부여한 것이다. 이와 같은 남당의 해석이 ‘동아시아 유학자들의 「태극도설」 해석사에 있어서 어떠한 위상을 차지하고 있는가’라는 문제는 앞으로 중요한 연구과제가 될 것이다. 성리학의 핵심적 쟁점들은 「태극도설」과 밀접한 관계에 있기 때문이다. (shrink)

From reviews of the hardback edition: a deep study of 20th century field ... of the conceptual origins and development of twentieth century field theories, ...

In Toward a Good Society, the authors theorize a mutually empowering and growth-fostering society. They begin this journey in relational psychology, then depart along nine paths reconstructed from nine classic social science theories. This leads them to propose a new Golden Rule as simple as it is profound.

Based on elaboration likelihood model, this paper introduces the central route and peripheral route of online comments and constructs a conceptual model affecting consumers’ clothing impulse buying behavior in live broadcast. A total of 737 questionnaires were collected, and 709 valid questionnaires were used for questionnaire analysis. According to the ELM, there are central route and peripheral route of online comments. The results show that in addition to the commentator credibility, the comment quality, comment comprehensiveness, and comment quantity have a (...) significant positive impact on impulse buying behavior. Fashion involvement plays a moderating role in the relationship between online comments and impulse buying behavior. This paper will provide theoretical support for live broadcast clothing marketing and provide suggestions for the development and design of live broadcast. (shrink)

People are adept at perceiving interactions from movements of simple shapes, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Previous studies have often used object movements defined by experimenters. The present study used aerial videos recorded by drones in a real-life environment to generate decontextualized motion stimuli. Motion trajectories of displayed elements were the only visual input. We measured human judgments of interactiveness between two moving elements and the dynamic change in such judgments over time. A hierarchical model was developed to account (...) for human performance in this task. The model represents interactivity using latent variables and learns the distribution of critical movement features that signal potential interactivity. The model provides a good fit to human judgments and can also be generalized to the original Heider–Simmel animations. The model can also synthesize decontextualized animations with a controlled degree of interactiveness, providing a viable tool for studying animacy and social perception. (shrink)

Background Gerontechnologies are increasingly used in the care for older people. Many studies on their acceptability and ethical implications are conducted, but mainly from the perspective of principlism. This narrows our ethical gaze on the implications the use of these technologies have. Research question How do participants speak about the impact that gerontechnologies have on the different phases of care, and care as a process? What are the moral implications from an ethic of care perspective? Research design Secondary analysis of (...) semi-structure interviews, whose segments on specific technologies were analysed through reflexive thematic analysis. Participants and research context Sixty-seven Swiss stakeholders involved in the use of gerontechnologies, including professional caregivers, informal caregivers, and older persons themselves. Ethical considerations The research study was evaluated by the Ethics Commission of Northwest and Central Switzerland (EKNZ). All participants received an information document before the interview date detailing the purpose, procedure, and anonymization measures. After explaining the study during the agreed upon interview time and upon receiving their written informed consent, the interview process began. Findings/results Four themes are identified: Identifying care needs, Taking responsibility, Hands-on work, Responding to care. As part of these themes, many codes highlighting the ambivalent impact of gerontechnologies are created, ranging from ‘Expanded capacity for…identifying care needs’ to ‘Create new & (un)necessary…hands-on work’. The moral implications of these results from the care ethics perspective are discussed, through the ethical elements of: attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. Conclusions The moral implications of gerontechnologies on care phases from the care ethics perspective open up several questions on whether they actually help give care a central role in social life and provide more competent care. (shrink)

As an important branch of applied anthropology, business anthropology has developed well in China in the recent past. This has attracted the attention of not only the academic society but also of industrial and commercial circles. This article illustrates the emergence and the development of business anthropology in China, and affirms the work of Chinese pioneers in this branch of cultural anthropology. It elaborates on what contemporary management and anthropological scholars have contributed to promote business anthropology in that country. Moreover, (...) it expounds, from various perspectives, on the role that business anthropology can play for/in China. China is a large country developing at an astonishing speed. Chinese society is transforming from a traditional agricultural and pre-industrial phase into a post-industrial and commercial phase. Therefore, the development of business anthropology in China is promising. (shrink)

This paper investigates links between social capital and symbolic capital and responsible entrepreneurship in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The source of the primary data was 144 ‘Business Profiles’, written by the owner-managers of small businesses in application for a Small Business Awards competition in 2005. Included in each of these narratives were claims relating to the firms’ contributions to wider society, relationships with customers, employees and stakeholders. These narratives were coded and classified in a framework drawn (...) from Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998, Academy of Management Review 23(2), 242–266) categorisation of social capital. The analysis revealed a range of strategic orientations towards the development of social and symbolic capital, along a conceptual continuum ranging from being responsible for oneself to being responsible for others. Overall, the evidence demonstrates the significance of the power inherent in the social relations of SMEs as a force for ethical behaviour, and suggests that normative theories of the development of social capital may provide ‘competitive advantage’ through responsible behaviour for small business in the global economy. (shrink)

Contingent reinforcement behavior is generally regarded as one of the key elements of being a “good” leader, yet the question of what happens when this behavior is absent has received little attention in past empirical research. Drawing upon self-regulation theory, we develop and test a model that specifies the effects of leader reward omission on employes’ deviant behavior. Using the data of 230 workers from two manufacturing companies located in South China collected across three time points, we find that leader (...) reward omission is positively associated with deviant behavior. Moreover, the indirect effects of leader reward omission on employes’ deviant behavior are mediated by moral disengagement. Our study also reveals that Machiavellianism can aggravate the positive effect of leader reward omission on moral disengagement, and subsequently exacerbate the indirect effect on employes’ deviant behavior. Taken together, our findings reveal the consequences of leader reward omission, and the importance of examining subordinate self-regulation under the lack of positive reinforcement. (shrink)

Background The worldwide increase in older persons demands technological solutions to combat the shortage of caregiving and to enable aging in place. Smart home health technologies (SHHTs) are promoted and implemented as a possible solution from an economic and practical perspective. However, ethical considerations are equally important and need to be investigated. Methods We conducted a systematic review according to the PRISMA guidelines to investigate if and how ethical questions are discussed in the field of SHHTs in caregiving for older (...) persons. Results 156 peer-reviewed articles published in English, German and French were retrieved and analyzed across 10 electronic databases. Using narrative analysis, 7 ethical categories were mapped: privacy, autonomy, responsibility, human vs. artificial interactions, trust, ageism and stigma, and other concerns. Conclusion The findings of our systematic review show the (lack of) ethical consideration when it comes to the development and implementation of SHHTs for older persons. Our analysis is useful to promote careful ethical consideration when carrying out technology development, research and deployment to care for older persons. Registration We registered our systematic review in the PROSPERO network under CRD42021248543. (shrink)

This study addresses the problem of output quasisynchronization for coupled complex-valued memristive reaction-diffusion complex networks via the distributed event-triggered control scheme. First, by using the separate method, set value mapping, and intermediate value theorem, the complex-valued memristive reaction-diffusion complex networks can be transferred into two semi-uncertain real-valued reaction-diffusion complex networks. Second, a distributed output piecewise event-triggered control scheme with spatial sampled-data is first proposed including a spatial sampling event-triggered generator and spatiotemporal sampling state feedback controller. Furthermore, this scheme can effectively (...) save the measurement resources and lower the update rate of controllers in spatial and time domain. Third, the synchronization analysis is considered by utilizing an appropriate Lyapunov function, the Halanay inequality, and the improved Wirtinger inequality. Subsequently, several output event-triggered quasisynchronization criteria are derived. The relations among event trigger conditions, spatial sampling interval, convergence rate, and control gain are given by rigorous mathematical derivation. Finally, multiple simulations are compared to substantiate the validation of the OPETC scheme. (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound psychological and behavioral impact on people around the world. Consumer purchase behaviors have thus changed greatly, and consumer services companies need to adjust their business models to adapt to this change. From the perspective of consumer psychology, this paper explores the impact of consumer purchase behavior changes over the course of the pandemic on the business model design of consumer services companies using a representative survey of 1,742 individuals. Our results show that changes (...) in consumer purchase behavior have a significant impact on the design of consumer services firms’ business models. Specifically, changes in consumers’ purchase object, motive, and timeframe are more likely to spark a novelty-centered business model design, whereas changes in purchase method tend to inspire an efficiency-centered one. Our findings provide a theoretical reference for consumer services companies in designing business models when faced with unexpected crises. (shrink)

This article identifies an argument in Hobbes’s writings often overlooked but relevant to current philosophical debates. Political philosophers tend to categorize his thought as representing consent or rescue theories of political authority. Though these interpretations have textual support and are understandable, they leave out one of his most compelling arguments – what we call the lesser evil argument for political authority, expressed most explicitly in Chapter 20 of Leviathan. Hobbes frankly admits the state’s evils but appeals to the significant disparity (...) between those evils and the greater evils outside the state as a basis for political authority. More than a passing observation, aspects of the lesser evil argument appear in each of his three major political works. In addition to outlining this argument, the article examines its significance both for Hobbes scholarship and recent philosophical debates on political authority. (shrink)

Scholarly interest in employees’ voluntary pro-environmental behavior has begun to emerge. While this research is beginning to shed light on the predictors of workplace pro-environmental behavior, our understanding of the psychological mechanisms linking the various antecedents to employees’ environmentally responsible behavior and the circumstances under which any such effects are enhanced and/or attenuated is incomplete. The current study seeks to fill this gap by examining: the effects of perceived corporate social responsibility on employees’ voluntary pro-environment behavior; an underlying mechanism that (...) links CSR perceptions to these behaviors; and a boundary condition to these relationships. Data from 183 supervisor-subordinate dyads employed in large- and medium-sized casinos and hotels in Guangdong China and Macau revealed that employees’ corporate social responsibility perceptions indirectly affect their engagement in voluntary pro-environmental behavior through organizational identification, and these effects are stronger for employees high in empathy. (shrink)

This paper is an introduction to micro-epistemology, philosophical reflection of "quantum wealth" as well as an anthropological analysis of the nature of human cognition in the scale of quantum. It covers the problems of the observation in and the trueness of micro-cognition, the perception of quantum phenomena, the relations between micro-cognition and practice as well as between macro-subject and micro-object, the descriptological turn in micro-cognition, the description of micro-world and some special descriptological problems in micro-cognition, etc. Micro-cognition, just as quantum (...) theory shows, relates to a scale out ofordinary for human being. Quantum theory means a farther clarification of the background of human person’s existence and the human-world relation. It means an enormous extending of the framework of scientific theory, and thereby the rebuilding of the foundation of philosophy. It also means the refining and therationalization of our conceptual tools and, in a certain extent, the reconstruction of the foundation of epistemology. (shrink)

This paper is an outline of micro-epistemology as a philosophical reflection of "quantum wealth" as well as an anthropological analysis of the nature of human cognition in the scale of quantum. It covers the problems of the observation in and the trueness of micro-cognition, the perception of quantum phenomena, the relations between micro-cognition and practice as well as between macro-subject and micro-object, the descriptive turn in micro-cognition, the description of micro-world and some special descriptive problems in micro-cognition, etc. Micro-cognition, just (...) as quantum theory shows, relates to a scale out of ordinary for human being. Quantum theory means a farther clarification of the background of human person’s existence and the human-world relation. It means anenormous extending of the framework of scientific theory, and thereby the rebuilding of the foundation of philosophy. It also means the refining and the rationalization of our conceptual tools and, in a certain extent, the reconstruction of the foundation of epistemology. (shrink)

Various theories of referent are critically but briefly surveyed from the perspective of structural realism; a constructivist version of structural realist account of referent is outlined, and its implications for history of science and for descriptive metaphysics are briefly indicated.

The creation of QCD is one of greatest achievements in the history of science. It has radically changed our conception of the fundamental ontology of the physical world and its underlying dynamics. What it has discovered are more than new particles and a new force, but rather a deeper level of physical reality, a new kind of entities. Dynamically, the strong nuclear forces are no longer taken to be fundamental, but are relegated to the status of the un-cancelled residue of (...) far stronger long range force mediated by gluon. From a long term perspective, perhaps more important than these discoveries is that it breaks a new path to explore many novel features of an unknown layer of the physical world, such as instanton, the theta vacuum and effective energy. The notion of effective energy allows us to conceptualize the mysterious quantum number flow and hadronization. Although the metaphysical status of effective energy is not quite clear at this moment, but a window is open for conceptualizing the physical world that is in complex processes of transmutations in a unified way. (shrink)