A Critique of Foucault’s Conception and Predictions of the Author-Function

In this paper, we appraise the thoughts of Foucault on the relationship between the author, work, and text, and the future of that relationship. In Foucault’s view, the text points to an author who is anterior to it, but this relationship is more complex than ‘traditionally’ understood because of the asymmetrical relationship between the concepts of author/writer and text/work. Although the author-function entails a form of individualization of text and ideas, Foucault argues that this has varied across disciplines, cultures, and time. In any case, the author-function determines the process of authentication, mode of circulation, and valorization. From the analysis of the relationship between the author and text in the premodern and modern eras, Foucault   extrapolates that in the postmodern era the author-function will be transformed and diminished because language assumes the dominant role of determining the form and content of viable discourse. Foucault’s conception of the author-function is post-modernist and consequently eschews the author-figure, grand narratives, progressive and systematic evaluation of texts, values and ideology, and temporality. However, contemporary trends in the understanding of the author-function do not fully bear out his predictions. Besides, intellectual property rights are more institutionalized and the boundary between authorized and unauthorized valorization and modification is intensely contested. The contestations are over valuable creations and, whether originating from an author or authors, this affirms the viability of projects such as Sage Philosophy. Key Words Author-function, work, text, discourse, postmodernism, valorizatio

Self unbound: ego dissolution in psychedelic experience

Users of psychedelic drugs often report that their sense of being a self or ‘I’ distinct from the rest of the world has diminished or altogether dissolved. Neuroscientific study of such ‘ego dissolution’ experiences offers a window onto the nature of self-awareness. We argue that ego dissolution is best explained by an account that explains self-awareness as resulting from the integrated functioning of hierarchical predictive models which posit the existence of a stable and unchanging entity to which representations are bound. Combining recent work on the ‘integrative self' and the phenomenon of self-binding with predictive processing principles yields an explanation of ego dissolution according to which self-representation is a useful Cartesian fiction: an ultimately false representation of a simple and enduring substance to which attributes are bound which serves to integrate and unify cognitive processing across levels and domains. The self-model is not a mere narrative posit, as some have suggested; it has a more robust and ubiquitous cognitive function than that. But this does not mean, as others have claimed, that the self-model has the right attributes to qualify as a self. It performs some of the right kinds of functions, but it is not the right kind of entity. Ego dissolution experiences reveal that the self-model plays an important binding function in cognitive processing, but the self does not exist

Challenges to Teaching Credibility Assessment in Contemporary Schooling

Part of the Volume on Digital Media, Youth, and CredibilityThis chapter explores several challenges that exist to teaching credibility assessment in the school environment. Challenges range from institutional barriers such as government regulation and school policies and procedures to dynamic challenges related to young people's cognitive development and the consequent difficulties of navigating a complex web environment. The chapter includes a critique of current practices for teaching kids credibility assessment and highlights some best practices for credibility education

La atribución de fuentes en la escritura académica de alumnos de grado : relevamiento de estrategias

Academic writing has its own conventions and patterns which make it different from other types of writing. Composing academic essays and papers poses difficulties to students who need specific instruction to acquire the rules on which different academic discourses are built. Every discipline has its own mechanisms that imply specific discourse strategies that function as models. According to Swales (1990) academic writing implies knowledge of the discipline’s conventions. These conventions and discourse strategies will be present in the students’ texts as essential elements in their future professional writing demands and should be acquired during their undergraduate years. This work explores key attribution strategies required in advanced EFL university student compositions and analyzes to what extent a group of learners at the National University of Córdoba (UNC) in Argentina use them in writing their own texts and to what degree they acknowledge and incorporate secondary sources in their works. The students were asked to write an assignment in class, as part of the requirements for the Language V writing project. Four basic linguistic resources of secondary source use were analyzed – citation, paraphrasing, quotation format, and the use of reporting verbs. The findings offer insights into student practices and suggest the need for greater and continuous pedagogical support to enable students to achieve competence in secondary source use

ICS Materials. Towards a re-Interpretation of material qualities through interactive, connected, and smart materials.

The domain of materials for design is changing under the influence of an increased technological advancement, miniaturization and democratization. Materials are becoming connected, augmented, computational, interactive, active, responsive, and dynamic. These are ICS Materials, an acronym that stands for Interactive, Connected and Smart. While labs around the world are experimenting with these new materials, there is the need to reflect on their potentials and impact on design. This paper is a first step in this direction: to interpret and describe the qualities of ICS materials, considering their experiential pattern, their expressive sensorial dimension, and their aesthetic of interaction. Through case studies, we analyse and classify these emerging ICS Materials and identified common characteristics, and challenges, e.g. the ability to change over time or their programmability by the designers and users. On that basis, we argue there is the need to reframe and redesign existing models to describe ICS materials, making their qualities emerge

Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction in the Paediatric Population – Review of the Literature and Current Understanding

nducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO) is a complex entity and its exact mechanisms are still unclear. It is characterised by transiente and reversible narrowing of the larynx in response to external triggers, resulting in symptoms such as cough, dyspnoea and noisy breathing. The prevalence of this condition in adult or paediatric populations is uncertain. Management of ILO starts by establishing an accurate diagnosis, and treatment includes control of trigger factors, breathing and relaxation techniques, and speech and respiratory therapy. The aim of this article is to summarise current understanding and provide a review of the literature of ILO in the paediatric population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Collaborative Networks, Decision Systems, Web Applications and Services for Supporting Engineering and Production Management

This book focused on fundamental and applied research on collaborative and intelligent networks and decision systems and services for supporting engineering and production management, along with other kinds of problems and services. The development and application of innovative collaborative approaches and systems are of primer importance currently, in Industry 4.0. Special attention is given to flexible and cyber-physical systems, and advanced design, manufacturing and management, based on artificial intelligence approaches and practices, among others, including social systems and services