Responsible design : a conceptual look at interdependent design–use dynamics

This article investigates the conceptual foundations of technological innovation and development projects that aim to bring ethical and social issues into the design stage. Focusing on the ethics and social impact of technological innovation and development has been somewhat of a trend lately, for instance in ELSA research and in such initiatives as the Dutch Responsible Innovation programme. I argue that in order to succeed in doing social responsible and ethical sound design, a proper understanding of the relation between technology and society is required. I propose to move away from an externalist framework, in which technology and society are depicted as being defined independently, towards an interdependent framework, where technology and society are regarded to be mutually defining. This move is necessary in order for such innovation projects not to reinforce outdated concepts about technology, which in the longer run will prove counterproductive to the actual aims of the projects themselves

Characterization of Large Scale Functional Brain Networks During Ketamine-Medetomidine Anesthetic Induction

Several experiments evidence that specialized brain regions functionally interact and reveal that the brain processes and integrates information in a specific and structured manner. Networks can be used to model brain functional activities constituting a way to characterize and quantify this structured form of organization. Reports state that different physiological states or even diseases that affect the central nervous system may be associated to alterations on those networks, that might reflect in graphs of different architectures. However, the relation of their structure to different states or conditions of the organism is not well comprehended. Thus, experiments that involve the estimation of functional neural networks of subjects exposed to different controlled conditions are of great relevance. Within this context, this research has sought to model large scale functional brain networks during an anesthetic induction process. The experiment was based on intra-cranial recordings of neural activities of an old world macaque of the species Macaca fuscata. Neural activity was recorded during a Ketamine-Medetomidine anesthetic induction process. Networks were serially estimated in time intervals of five seconds. Changes were observed in various networks properties within about one and a half minutes after the administration of the anesthetics. These changes reveal the occurrence of a transition on the networks architecture. During general anesthesia a reduction in the functional connectivity and network integration capabilities were verified in both local and global levels. It was also observed that the brain shifted to a highly specific and dynamic state. The results bring empirical evidence and report the relation of the induced state of anesthesia to properties of functional networks, thus, they contribute for the elucidation of some new aspects of neural correlates of consciousness.Comment: 28 pages , 9 figures, 7 tables; - English errors were corrected; Figures 1,3,4,5,6,8 and 9 were replaced by (exact the same)figures of higher resolution; Three(3) references were added on the introduction sectio

The intergenerational transmission of need for closure underlies the transmission of authoritarianism and anti-immigrant prejudice

Previous research has identified need for closure (NFC) as an important motivational cognitive basis of authoritarianism and prejudice. However, to date, the role of NFC in the intergenerational similarity in authoritarianism and prejudice has remained unclear. In a sample of 169 parent-child dyads, we investigated the similarity between parents and children in NFC and tested whether this intergenerational similarity may account for the intergenerational similarity in authoritarianism and anti-immigrant prejudice. Our results revealed that parental levels of NFC were indeed concordant with the levels of NFC in their children. Even more importantly, parental NFC was indirectly related to child authoritarianism and prejudice in two ways. The first pathway proceeded through the direct relationships between parental and children’s levels of authoritarianism and prejudice. The second pathway, however, bypassed parental levels of authoritarianism and prejudice and proceeded through the intergenerational similarity in NFC. Our findings thus indicate that a significant portion of children’s levels of authoritarianism and anti-immigrant prejudice can be explained by parents–child similarity in motivated cognition. Implications for developmental theories of prejudice acquisition are discussed

Intergroup contact buffers against the intergenerational transmission of authoritarianism and racial prejudice

The present study focused on the buffering role of positive intergroup contact in the intergenerational transmission of authoritarianism and racial prejudice in a sample of adolescents and one of their parents. In accordance with our expectations, adolescents’ intergroup contact experiences moderated the mediated relationships between parental authoritarianism and adolescents’ prejudice, both via adolescents’ authoritarianism and via parental prejudice. These relationships were stronger among adolescents with lower, rather than higher, levels of intergroup contact. We conclude that intergroup contact buffers the indirect relationship between parents’ authoritarianism and adolescents’ racial prejudice and therefore constitutes a promising means of reducing the intergenerational transmission of prejudice

Introduction: magazines and/as media: periodical studies and the question of disciplinarity

No abstract available

Left threatened by Right: political intergroup bias in the contemporary Italian context.

Using different evaluation targets (i.e., politicians’ pictures, ideological words, items referring to features attributed to political ingroup/outgroup) we characterized the intergroup bias among political groups in the Italian context (Study 1-2-3) and tested a model that may account for the bias itself (Study 3). For all evaluation targets, left-wing participants -compared to right wing participants - showed a greater intergroup bias, expressing more negative emotions towards the outgroup. The process was influenced by a greater perceived threat of the outgroup. Conversely, right-wing participants expressed the bias only when presented with ideological words. Our results provide a detailed description of how intergroup bias in Italy is differently expressed by the two ideological groups depending on the targets used to represent the political counterpart. Moreover, the results show that the stronger bias expressed by left-wing participants is driven by perceived threat of the outgroup

Default Mode Network alterations in alexithymia: An EEG power spectra and connectivity study

Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that alexithymia is characterized by functional alterations in different brain areas [e.g., posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)], during emotional/social tasks. However, only few data are available about alexithymic cortical networking features during resting state (RS). We have investigated the modifications of electroencephalographic (EEG) power spectra and EEG functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) in subjects with alexithymia. Eighteen subjects with alexithymia and eighteen subjects without alexithymia matched for age and gender were enrolled. EEG was recorded during 5 min of RS. EEG analyses were conducted by means of the exact Low Resolution Electric Tomography software (eLORETA). Compared to controls, alexithymic subjects showed a decrease of alpha power in the right PCC. In the connectivity analysis, compared to controls, alexithymic subjects showed a decrease of alpha connectivity between: (i) right anterior cingulate cortex and right PCC, (ii) right frontal lobe and right PCC, and (iii) right parietal lobe and right temporal lobe. Finally, mediation models showed that the association between alexithymia and EEG connectivity values was directed and was not mediated by psychopathology severity. Taken together, our results could reflect the neurophysiological substrate of some core features of alexithymia, such as the impairment in emotional awareness