Exploring exploration: the role of affective states as forces that hinder change

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-223
Author(s):  
Stefano Brusoni ◽  
Daniella Laureiro-Martínez ◽  
Nicola Canessa ◽  
Maurizio Zollo

Abstract In this article we argue that in order to understand failure or success in adapting to environmental change, we should better understand why people hesitate to pursue novel choices. This article asks: what forces hinder individuals’ exploration choices of different alternatives, and hence their ability to learn from them? To answer this question, this article looks to the cognitive sciences to identify a set of plausible mechanisms that hinder people’s tendency to explore. So far, “exploration” has been studied as a relatively monolithic behavior. Instead, we propose that exploration can be characterized in terms of some distinctive forces behind it. On one hand, agents experience “attachment” to choices that proved successful in the past, and hence comfort when sticking with them. On the other hand, they also experience concerns about less familiar options, as they lack knowledge about “distant” choices that have not been tried for a long time, or ever. We propose that high attachment is related to anxiety, and high distance to fear. Both these negative affective states hinder exploration. We find and discuss preliminary and tentative evidence of this effect.

1958 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul H. Nitze

In the context of government, what do we mean by the phrase “a learned man”?* I take it we can mean a variety of things. On the one hand, we can have in mind the specialist, the expert, the man with an intensive and specialized background in a particular field of knowledge. On the other hand, we can have in mind the man with general wisdom, with that feeling for the past and the future which enriches a sense for the present, and with that appreciation for wider loyalties which deepens patriotism to one's country and finds bonds between it and Western culture and links with the universal aspirations of mankind.


2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 96-105
Author(s):  
Vitaly Fyodorovich Poznin

The article investigates one of the aspects of psychology of art, namely, the role of different types of human memory — sensory, long-time, short-time — in the forming of an artistic image in the perception of an audiovisual entity. The audience’s perception of such specific cinematic methods as pan shot and dolly shot, as well as different types of parallel, associative and distance montage rests on the peculiarities of our short-time and long-time memory. On the other hand, the complex polyphonic combination of various visual chronotopes in modern films is based on the imitation of memory typical for our dreams.


Author(s):  
Tinashe Carlton Chigwata

Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution in 2013 which, among other objectives, sought to give greater legitimacy to multiparty democracy. This Constitution strengthens the role of an independent electoral commission, entrenches an array of political rights and freedoms, and requires multilevel government elections. The harmonized elections of 2013 and 2018, which were held under its regime, did not seem to have changed the previous patterns of disputed electoral processes and outcome. Both the electoral process and outcomes for these elections were disputed and subjected to court challenges. The main opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), continue to cry foul that elections are stolen in favour of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union—Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) political party. On the other hand, ZANU-PF argues that it wins elections fairly and squarely as it has always done in the past because it is the most popular political party. This chapter addresses the question of whether the new Constitution has been able to end a culture of disputed elections and, therefore promote effective multiparty democracy. If not, what are the major obstacles and areas of contention? It will do so by examining the harmonized elections that have so far been held under its regime—the 2013 and 2018 harmonized elections.


Author(s):  
Vered Vinitzky-Seroussi ◽  
Chana Teeger

This chapter elaborates on prior work to outline the role of silence not only in forgetting but also in memory. It documents two forms of silence: overt silence and covert silence and discusses how each can be used to enhance either memory or forgetting. In its overt manifestations, silence is characterized by a complete absence of speech. Such silence can foster forgetting by obliterating any mention of particular events or people. Overt silences, however, can also foster memory by demarcating a sacred space for quiet contemplation. Covert silences, on the other hand, inhere in—and are often veiled by—much mnemonic talk. These silences are found in commemorative activities where agents of memory want to recollect the past while minimizing its potentially conflictual elements. They can also be used by agents of forgetting who wish to erase the past while presenting the appearance of commemorating it. The chapter concludes by discussing the various ways in which each of these forms of silence can be broken. In outlining these processes, it highlights the central role played by silence in both collective memory and forgetting.


1934 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-481
Author(s):  
F. Evers

Abstract The swelling of solid substances is a phenomenon which has been known for a long time, and extended investigations have been made on its nature. On the other hand the title of the present work may appear to be incongruous, for there has been in the past no evidence that liquids have any tendency to swell. At least the mutual action of two liquids has been spoken of, not as a swelling, but only as a partial mixing, i. e., as an equilibrated dispersion. Nevertheless, under certain conditions latex undergoes actual swelling. A reference to the works of Hauser and of earlier investigators on the morphology and composition of latex will show that the colloidal condition of the solid phase of latex is responsible for its remarkable behavior with hydrocarbons. Latex represents a dispersion of rubber in a serum. The rubber, in the form of latex globules, is surrounded by a layer of adsorbed protein. Besides salts and sugars, the serum contains protein. This complex composition causes the remarkable phenomenon of swelling of latex with hydrocarbons. A few years ago the author dealt with this phenomenon in a brief way. In the present work a few observations on experiments on the swelling of latex are described. The results of the investigation show that swelling in ammoniacal latex depends upon the swelling of a layer of rubber in the boundary surface.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 257
Author(s):  
Imamul Huda Al Siddiq ◽  
Ahmad Arif Widianto

The role of the NU youth as an extension of the NU kyai was so great in eradicating parties and forbidden ideologies such as the PKI. Based on the basic principles of NahdlatulUlama such as tawasuth, tawazun, i’tidal, and tasamuh, plus a platform for thinking and acting based on the principles of the ushulfiqh and guidance from kyai, NU youths steadfastly declared war with communism. Similarly, when they defend the rights of former Communist activists or those who are considered Communists and their families, they are also based on these principles. For this reason, this paper aims to examine the idealized upheaval of NU youth in addressing the anti-communism discourse.This article was written by critically examining pre-existing scientific texts to expose ideological upheaval among NU youth sociologically. In simple terms, through this article it can be concluded that NU youth based on existing principles have a big contribution in maintaining the integrity of the Republic of Indonesia, starting from the eradication of the PKI, as well as other efforts to defend Indonesia. On the other hand, they also have concern for oppressed groups including former 1965 political prisoners and their families. They were so diligent in fighting for the rights of former political prisoners in 1965 even though in the past they had also suppressed the PKI to its roots. One of the discourses that arose relating to the anti-communism discourse was the discourse of reconciliation between the NU group and Communism. The discourse was responded to differently by NU youth. Some consider it a form of humanism, and there are those who see it as a bad idea, and some even consider it as an extreme step.Peran pemuda NU sebagai kepanjangan tangan dari para kyai NU begitu besar dalam pemberantasan partai dan ideologi terlarang seperti PKI. Dengan berpijak pada prinsip dasar Nahdlatul Ulama seperti tawasuth, tawazun, i’tidal, dan tasamuh, ditambah pijakan berpikir dan bertindak yang didasarkan pada prinsip-prinsip yang ada pada ushul fiqh serta petunjuk dari para kyai, pemuda NU dengan mantap menyatakan perang dengan komunisme. Begitu pula ketika mereka membela hak-hak dari mantan aktivis Komunis atau yang dianggap Komunis dan keluarganya, mereka pun juga berdasar pada prinsip-prinsip tersebut. Untuk itu tulisan ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji pergolakan idelogi di kalangan pemuda NU dalam menyikapi wacana anti-komunisme.Artikel ini ditulis dengan menelaah secara kritis teks-teks ilmiah yang telah ada sebelumnya untuk menelanjangi pergolakan ideologi di kalangan pemuda NU secara sosiologis. Secara sederhana, melalui artikel ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa pemuda NU dengan berdasar prinsip yang ada memiliki andil besar dalam mempertahankan keutuhan NKRI, mulai dari pemberantasan PKI, serta upaya-upaya lain dalam mempertahankan Indonesia. Di sisi lain, mereka juga memiliki perhatian terhadap kelompok tertindas termasuk mantan tahanan politik 1965 dan keluarganya. Mereka begitu gigih memperjuangkan hak-hak mantan tahanan politik 1965 meski di masa lalu mereka pula yang memberangus PKI sampai ke akarnya. Salah satu wacana yang mengemuka berkaitan dengan wacana anti-komunisme adalah wacana rekonsiliasi antara golongan NU dan Komunisme. Wacana tersebut ditanggapi berbeda-beda oleh pemuda NU. Ada yang menganggapnya sebagai bentuk sifat humanis, adapula yang melihatnya sebagai gagasan buruk, bahkan ada yang memandang rekonsiliasi tersebut sebagai langkah ekstrim.


Author(s):  
Alessio Porrino ◽  
Alessandro Volpi

This article aims at reflecting on the political significance of distinct conceptions of temporality and their symbolic representation in the work of Walter Benjamin. In particular, the “clock” and the “calendar” will be addressed as symbols of, respectively, a linear and homogeneous conception of time and of a cyclical, uneven – and potentially revolutionary – temporality. The conception of time symbolized by clocks is criticized by Benjamin as a bourgeois understanding of progress, which inhibits revolutionary tensions in society by shifting the political focus on future, on the inevitability of progress and growth; on the other hand, calendars’ and ancient cyclical festivals’ temporality constantly looks at the past, celebrating and re-actualizing the memory of previous revolutionary attempts. In the last section, the article will consider the role of symbols and allegories in Benjamin’s philosophical writing, casting new light on the previous discussion.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-42
Author(s):  
Paweł Dybel

In the article I ask the question about the place of an emancipatory task within various forms of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, where conversations with the patient play an important role. This task arises on discovering that an important source of the patient’s problems are views inherited fom cultural traditions, ones which inhibit a proper assessment of various traumatic situations fom the past and the forms of dependence on others. Then psychotherapists and psychoanalysts are inevitably faced with the task of making the patient aware of these limitations and forms of dependence, for only then is therapeutic progress possible. I provide three characteristic examples of similar cases fom Polish psychiatric tradition, in which we can speak of a similarly binding role of cultural tradition in the process of therapy. I point out that the difcult situation the therapist then fnds themselves in lies in the fact that, on the one hand, they have to depart fom the postulate of maintaining world-view neutrality in their approach to the patient while, on the other hand, they cannot directly impose their own position on the patient. The therapist has to fnd a third, middle way betwee


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Γεώργιος Γούλας

Η διατριβή ερευνά τις πολύπλευρες όψεις της ιστορίας στο καλλιμαχικό έργο, εξετάζοντας αφενός την ποιητική απεικόνιση της σύγχρονης πολιτικο-στρατιωτικής ιστορίας των ελληνιστικών βασιλείων και αφετέρου την ποιητική αξιοποίηση των ιστοριογραφικών κειμένων (γενεαλογίες, μυθογραφίες, εθνογραφίες, παραδοξογραφίες, τοπικές ιστορίες). Όλα αυτά τα ιστορικά ερεθίσματα ενεργοποιούν τα λόγια ανακλαστικά του ποιητή και αφήνουν ίχνη στα ποιήματα. Τα κύρια ερωτήματα που επιχειρείται να απαντηθούν είναι τα εξής δύο. Πρώτον, ο Καλλίμαχος είναι ένας αυλικός ποιητής που εξυμνεί τα «ιστορικά» κατορθώματα των Πτολεμαίων; Δεύτερον, ο λόγιος ποιητής βρίσκει στις ιστοριογραφικές πηγές ένα καινούργιο άλλοθι εγκυρότητας, αν όχι την αλήθεια, το οποίο παλαιότερα ο αρχαϊκός ποιητής αντλούσε από τις Μούσες; Η διατριβή εισάγει ως κύριο θεωρητικό εργαλείο ανάλυσης των προηγούμενων ερωτημάτων την έννοια της μεταϊστορίας, η οποία υποδιαιρείται σε μεθοδική και κριτική. Αφενός ο Καλλίμαχος στοχάζεται πάνω στην ιστορική μεθοδολογία, που θα πρέπει να τηρήσει για την έρευνα του παρελθόντος. Αφετέρου ο ίδιος υιοθετεί μία πιο κριτική προσέγγιση, όταν θα πρέπει ως αυλικός ποιητής να υμνήσει τους νικηφόρους πολέμους των Πτολεμαίων ή όταν θα πρέπει ως λόγιος ποιητής να ακολουθήσει τις συμβάσεις των ιστοριογραφικών έργων και να αποδεχθεί ως απόλυτες αυθεντίες τις ιστοριογραφικές αφηγήσεις. Αυτή η κριτική δεν παίρνει ποτέ τη μορφή της ευθείας σύγκρουσης και ρήξης αλλά γίνεται με συγκαλυμμένο και αμφίσημο τρόπο, ο οποίος περιγράφεται με τον όρο διττή αναγνωσιμότητα. Προτείνεται, λοιπόν, να ειδωθεί η χρήση της ιστορίας από τον Καλλίμαχο όχι αποκλειστικά ως επίδειξη γνώσεων ή ως μηχανή τεκμηρίωσης αλλά ως ένα πεδίο, όπου επαναπροσδιορίζεται ο ρόλος της ποίησης και κατοχυρώνεται η αυτονομία και η «σοφία» της ποιητικής τέχνης έναντι των άλλων πηγών και ειδών γνώσης. Δεν πρέπει να διαφεύγει της προσοχής ότι σκοπός του ποιητή είναι να γράψει ποίηση και όχι ιστορία, αντλώντας έμπνευση αλλά και κρατώντας αποστάσεις από τη χαώδη φύση των βιβλιακών πηγών. Η λόγια ποίηση αναγνωρίζει εγκαίρως την αντινομία και τους περιορισμούς που κρύβει η διάσωση και εξήγηση του παρελθόντος μέσα από τις καταγεγραμμένες πηγές. Μία τέτοια αντισυμβατική στάση από την πλευρά του λογίου ποιητή ασφαλώς δεν θα μπορούσε να τη φανταστεί η επίσημη πολιτιστική πατρωνεία των Πτολεμαίων. Για τους βασιλείς η πνευματική ακτινοβολία του Μουσείου και η μεγαλεπήβολη συγκέντρωση βιβλίων και γνώσεων στην αλεξανδρινή Βιβλιοθήκη ισοδυναμούσε με θεμελίωση πολιτικής δύναμης. Αυτές οι βλέψεις της εξουσίας, όμως, δεν ενδιέφεραν κατ’ ανάγκην την ποίηση, η οποία είχε τα δικά της οράματα. SUMMARYThe thesis explores the multifaceted aspects of the history in Callimachus’ work, considering, on the one hand, its poetic depiction of contemporary political - military history of the Hellenistic kingdoms and, on the other hand, the poetic use of historiographical texts (genealogies, mythographies, ethnographies, paradoxographies, local histories). All these historical stimuli activate the literary reflexes of the poet and leave traces on the poems. There are two main questions which the thesis attempts to answer. The first is whether Callimachus is a courtier poet who celebrates the "historic" achievements of the Ptolemies and the second, does the scholar poet find a new validity alibi, if not the truth, in the historiographical sources which primarily the archaic poet drew from the muses? The thesis introduces as the main theoretical tool for analysis of the previous questions the sense of meta – history which is subdivided into methodical and critical. On the one hand, Callimachus reflects on the historical methodology, which should be respected for the research of the past. On the other hand, he adopts a more critical approach, in cases when, as a courtier poet, he has to praise the victorious wars of Ptolemy or when, as a scholar poet, he has to follow the conventions of historiographical works and accept the historiographical narratives as absolute authorities. This criticism never takes the form of direct conflict and rupture but it is conducted in a disguised and ambiguous manner, which is described by the term dual readability. It is proposed, therefore, that the use of history by Callimachus has to be seen not exclusively as a demonstration of knowledge or a mechanism of documentation but as a field, in which the role of poetry is redefined and the autonomy and "wisdom" of the poetic art against other sources and kinds of knowledge is guaranteed. It should also be considered that the purpose of the poet is to write poetry and not history, drawing inspiration but also keeping his distance from the chaotic nature of bookish sources. The literary poetry recognizes the contradiction and the limitations which the preservation and interpretation of the past through


1973 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 769-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Yokoyama ◽  
Hiroshi Tomogane ◽  
Katuaki Ôta
Keyword(s):  

ABSTRACT A non-steroidal oestrogen antagonist, MER-25, was administered to cycling rats for elucidating the role of oestrogen in the surge of prolactin observed on the afternoon of pro-oestrus (POe). In animals injected with 20 mg of MER-25 intramuscularly on the afternoon (16.30 h) of the first day of dioestrus (D-1), the surge of prolactin was blocked while the level of prolactin on the afternoon of POe of these animals was significantly higher than that of the corresponding controls injected with oil. Ovulation was also blocked in these animals treated with the drug on the afternoon of D-l. On the other hand, treatment on the morning (10.30 h) of the 2nd day of dioestrus failed to prevent not only the surge of prolactin but also ovulation. These observations provide strong evidence for the view that oestrogen is responsible for the surge of prolactin on the afternoon of POe, and that the surge is accompanied by that of LH.


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