Sir Dominic Corrigan: Healer of Hearts

We present another vignette in our series of Catholic Men of Medicine. Sir Dominic Corrigan made definite contribution in his studies of the actions of the heart and his story should be of interest to our readers

Are knowledge ascriptions sensitive to social context?

Plausibly, how much is at stake in some salient practical task can affect how generously people ascribe knowledge of task-relevant facts. There is a metaphysical puzzle about this phenomenon, and an empirical puzzle. Metaphysically: there are competing theories about when and how practical stakes affect whether it is correct to ascribe knowledge. Which of these theories is the right one? Empirically: experimental philosophy has struggled to find a stakes-effect on people’s knowledge ascriptions. Is the alleged phenomenon just a philosopher’s fantasy? I propose a new psychological account of when and why people’s knowledge ascriptions are sensitive to stakes. My hypothesis is motivated by empirical research on how people’s judgements are sensitive to their social context. Specifically, people’s evaluations are sensitive to their ‘psychological distance’ from the scenarios they are considering. When using ‘fixed-evidence probes’, experimental philosophy has found that what’s at stake for a fictional character in a made-up scenario has little or no effect on how participants ascribe knowledge to them. My hypothesis predicts this finding: the scenarios are too ‘psychologically distant’ to participants. Our empirical puzzle is resolved: the stakes-effect often present in the wild won’t be present in vignette studies. (This illustrates a widespread problem with X-phi vignette studies: if people might judge differently in other social contexts, we can’t generalize from the results of these experiments. That is, vignette studies are of doubtful ‘external validity’.) The hypothesis also resolves our metaphysical puzzle. It predicts that people do not ascribe knowledge in a way deemed correct by any of the standard philosophical views, namely classical invariantism, interest-relative invariantism, and contextualism. Our knowledge ascriptions shift around in the way that’s most useful for social beings like us, and this pattern in our judgements can only be endorsed by a genuinely relativist metaphysics for knowledge

Attitudes Toward Autism

Many studies have been conducted to observe the effect of contact on attitudes toward people with mental illnesses, but few studies have observed the effect of contact on attitudes toward individuals on the autism spectrum specifically. This study investigates the correlation between the amount of contact with an individual on the autism spectrum and attitudes toward individuals on the autism spectrum. In addition, this study attempts to prove that negative symptoms (such as not talking) encourage positive attitudes more than positive symptoms (such as fits of anger). Over a period of approximately 3 months, 218 Ball State University students were asked to complete an online survey which included several scales testing attitudes toward the autism spectrum. They also read vignettes displaying individuals on the autism spectrum with positive and negative symptoms in both a frustrating situation and an everyday social situation. They then completed more attitudinal questions based on the characters in the vignettes. Results showed a significant positive correlation between the amounts of contact a participant has had with an autistic individual and their willingness to spend time with them (social distance). Results also suggested that participants would be more willing to spend time with vignette subjects displaying negative symptoms rather than positive symptoms. The implications of these results and their applications to working with autistic individuals, as well as further possible research, are discussed

Epistemic Closure in Folk Epistemology

We report the results of four empirical studies designed to investigate the extent to which an epistemic closure principle for knowledge is reflected in folk epistemology. Previous work by Turri (2015a) suggested that our shared epistemic practices may only include a source-relative closure principle—one that applies to perceptual beliefs but not to inferential beliefs. We argue that the results of our studies provide reason for thinking that individuals are making a performance error when their knowledge attributions and denials conflict with the closure principle. When we used research materials that overcome what we think are difficulties with Turri’s original materials, we found that participants did not reject closure. Furthermore, when we presented Turri’s original materials to non-philosophers with expertise in deductive reasoning (viz., professional mathematicians), they endorsed closure for both perceptual and inferential beliefs. Our results suggest that an unrestricted closure principle—one that applies to all beliefs, regardless of their source—provides a better model of folk patterns of knowledge attribution than a source-relative closure principle

The problem of interpretation in vignette methodology in research with young people

In this paper we explore how interpretation is dealt with by researchers using a vignette methodology. Researchers using vignette methodology often struggle with interpretation: how to interpret the responses when participants shift between discussing the vignettes as themselves, taking the perspective of the character in the vignette and commenting on what ‘ought’ to happen. We argue that by foregrounding a consideration of the method with an explicitly articulated theoretical position of dialogicality, issues inherent in interpretation become a valuable addition to the research rather than an obstacle to be overcome. In the paper we discuss ‘Louise’ a young carer, detailing the various positions she takes in her talk about the vignette of Mary, a fictitious young carer, to illustrate how a perspective based in dialogical theory contributed to the analysis of her various moves through different identity positions

The PMLD ambiguity:articulating the life-worlds of children with profound and multiple learning difficulties

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Impact of age norms and stereotypes on managers' hiring decisions of retirees

Purpose -Our study investigates the role of managers in the re-employment of early retirees and asks what the effect is of managers’ age norms and stereotypes on managers’ employment decisions. Design/methodology/approach- A combination of a factorial study and a survey was conducted. First, information on the age norms and stereotypes was collected. Secondly, profiles of hypothetical retired job applicants were presented to the employers, who were asked to make a specific hiring decision. The information collected during both studies was combined in the analysis and multilevel models were estimated. Findings -The results indicate that higher age norms result in a higher propensity to hire an early retiree. Stereotypes, by contrast, do not influence managers’ decisions. Early retirees’ chances for re-employment are also related to their own circumstances (physical appearance and relevant experience) and organisational forces, as they are hired when organisations face labour force shortages. Research limitation / implications – with the use of vignettes study we deal with hypothetical hiring situation. Originality value- Although the effect of age norms and age stereotypes has been often suggested, not much empirical evidence was presented to support this notion. Our study estimates the effect of age norms and stereotypes on hiring decision. key words: bridge employment; early retirees; age norms; age stereotypes; multilevel models.

The identification and psychological treatment of panic disorder in adolescents: a survey of CAMHS clinicians

Background Panic disorder is experienced by around 1% of adolescents, and has a significant impact on social and academic functioning. Preliminary evidence supports the effectiveness of panic disorder specific treatment in adolescents with panic disorder, however panic disorder may be overlooked in adolescents due to overlapping symptoms with other anxiety disorders and other difficulties being more noticeable to others. The aim of this study was to establish what training National Health Service (NHS) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) clinicians have received in psychological therapies and panic disorder and how they identify and treat panic disorder in adolescents. Method CAMHS clinicians from a range of professions (n = 427), who were delivering psychological treatments to children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, participated. They completed a cross-sectional, online survey, including a vignette describing an adolescent with panic disorder, and were asked to identify the main diagnosis or presenting problem. Results Less than half the clinicians (48.6%) identified panic disorder or panic symptoms as the main presenting problem from the vignette. The majority of clinicians suggested CBT would be their treatment approach. However, few identified an evidence-based treatment protocol for working with young people with panic disorder. Almost half the sample had received no training in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and around a fifth had received no training in delivering psychological treatments. Conclusions Only half of CAMHS clinicians identified panic disorder from a vignette and although CBT treatments are widely offered, only a minority of adolescents with panic disorder are receiving treatments developed for, and evaluated with young people with panic disorder. There is a vital need for clinician training, the use of tools that aid identification and the implementation of evidence-based treatments within CAMHS

Image and Reality: the Case of Job Satisfaction

This study makes a distinction between two types of utility. Experienced utility is defined as the job satisfaction derived from the present job, estimated by using a subjective evaluation of job satisfaction. Anticipated utility is defined as the individual’s anticipated job satisfaction before starting the job and it is studied by using a stated preference methodology known as conjoint analysis. The results suggest that the two utility concepts are different. Information about experienced utility is useful for the evaluation of well-being policies and the welfare effects of various employer strategies. Anticipated utility provides knowledge about the job search process.European Commission, Fifth Framework Programme "Improving Human Potential" (contract number: HPSE-CT-2002-00143)

Sex Trafficking and the Attribution of Blame: A Comparison between Vietnamese and American Perception of Sex-trafficked Individuals

Sex trafficking is one of the most persistent issues in Asian countries and specifically in Vietnam. Hundreds of Vietnamese are trafficked daily across the world, but mainly in Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Laos, China, and Thailand. Sexually trafficked individuals are reported to have symptoms of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal tendencies, and physical violence. Despite the increasing number of victims, there is a lack of empirical research on issues relating to the impact of human trafficking on Vietnamese people and especially the public attitude about the problem. The current study examined the public’s general knowledge of trafficking myths, their willingness to believe in the trafficking situation, and their tendency to place blame on the victim, in relation to the sex of the participants and the sex of the victims. Vietnamese citizens across the country (N= 922) responded to a vignette portraying a sex trafficking situation and completed the Human Trafficking Myth survey. Results indicated that the sex of the participants and the sex of the victims significantly correlated with the participants’ perception of the human trafficking myths, trafficking story and victim’s responsibility. Acknowledging the paucity of cross-culture empirical research, the current study also compared the Vietnamese sample with the American sample that completed similar scales. The results of study 1 and 2 have the potential to serve the needs of anti-trafficking campaigns in Vietnam and support the collaboration of different countries in their effort of combating human trafficking