4,591 research outputs found
The Future Evolution of Consciousness
ABSTRACT. What potential exists for improvements in the functioning of consciousness? The paper addresses this issue using global workspace theory. According to this model, the prime function of consciousness is to develop novel adaptive responses. Consciousness does this by putting together new combinations of knowledge, skills and other disparate resources that are recruited from throughout the brain. The paper’s search for potential improvements in the functioning of consciousness draws on studies of the shift during human development from the use of implicit knowledge to the use of explicit (declarative) knowledge. These studies show that the ability of consciousness to adapt a particular domain improves significantly as the transition to the use of declarative knowledge occurs in that domain. However, this potential for consciousness to enhance adaptability has not yet been realised to any extent in relation to consciousness itself. The paper assesses the potential for adaptability to be improved by the conscious adaptation of key processes that constitute consciousness. A number of sources (including the practices of religious and contemplative traditions) are drawn on to investigate how this potential might be realised
Strategies for Advancing Evolution
As detailed in The Evolutionary Manifesto and Evolution’s Arrow, an understanding of the large-scale processes that govern the evolution of life is capable of making sense of human existence. This evolutionary worldview is revealing that we are not just meaningless accidents in a universe that is indifferent to our existence. Instead it shows that humanity has a critical role to play in the future evolution of life on this planet and in the universe.
But what specifically do we need to do to advance the evolutionary process and ensure that humanity successfully fulfils its role in the future evolution of life? This paper uses the direction of evolution to answer this fundamental question. It identifies the next great steps in evolution on Earth, and devises strategies that will help actualize those steps
The embedding of a cyclic permutable subgroup in a finite group. II
In two previous papers we established the structure of the normal closure of a cyclic permutable subgroup of a finite group, first when has odd order and second when has even order, but with an extra hypothesis that was unnecessary in the odd case. Here we describe the most general situation without any restrictions on
Cyclic permutable subgroups of finite groups
The authors describe the structure of the normal closure of a cyclic permutable subgroup of odd order in a finite group
Evolution's Arrow: the direction of evolution and the future of humanity
Evolution's Arrow argues that evolution is directional and progressive, and that this has major consequences for humanity. Without resort to teleology, the book demonstrates that evolution moves in the direction of producing cooperative organisations of greater scale and evolvability - evolution has organised molecular processes into cells, cells into organisms, and organisms into societies. The book founds this position on a new theory of the evolution of cooperation. It shows that self-interest at the level of the genes does not prevent cooperation from increasing as evolution unfolds. Evolution progresses by discovering ways to build cooperative organisations out of self-interested individuals. The book also shows that evolution itself has evolved. Evolution has progressively improved the ability of evolutionary mechanisms to discover effective adaptations. And it has produced new and better mechanisms. Evolution's Arrow uses this understanding of the direction of evolution to identify the next great steps in the evolution of life on earth - the steps that humanity must take if we are to continue to be successful in evolutionary terms. A key step for humanity is to increase the scale and evolvability of our societies, eventually forming a unified and cooperative society on the scale of the planet. We must also transform ourselves psychologically to become self-evolving organisms - organisms that are able to escape their biological and cultural past by adapting in whatever directions are necessary to achieve future evolutionary success
Residential Mobility And Enrollment Churn In A Medicaid Population
Previous investigations show high rates of enrollment discontinuity, or churn, among Medicaid participants. Discontinuity of coverage can limit appropriate use of health care, increase emergency department utilization and in-patient hospitalization, negatively affect self-reported health, increase health care spending, and compound Medicaid administrative costs. Efforts to more fully understand and ultimately reduce enrollment churn thus are vital to Medicaid agencies and beneficiaries. Residential moves are life transitions, often marking other significant life events (e.g., changes in employment or family structure) that can alter eligibility for Medicaid benefits. Few studies have examined residential moves among Medicaid members, or considered residential mobility as a potential predictor of churn. The present investigation describes within-state residential moves in a Medicaid population, and evaluates the multivariable association between within-state residential mobility and Medicaid enrollment discontinuity. Based on a sample of 428,294 full-benefit, non-elderly South Carolina Medicaid recipients, 28% of Medicaid members were found to move between ZIP Code Tabulation Areas during a 4-year observation period (2013-2016). Medicaid member movers were approximately 1.7 times more likely than non-movers to churn in the Medicaid system, considering age category, gender, race/ethnicity, and health status, and controlling for the number of observation years each subject was present in the study (AOR=1.74; 95% CI=1.72-1.76). In light of study results, Medicaid policy implications are identified and directions for future research are proposed
Cost of government services: trends and comparisons for Kentucky and its neighboring states
Federal Reserve District, 8th ; Local government ; Kentucky
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