The Psychology of Epistemic Judgment

Human social intelligence includes a remarkable power to evaluate what people know and believe, and to assess the quality of well- or ill-formed beliefs. Epistemic evaluations emerge in a great variety of contexts, from moments of deliberate private reflection on tough theoretical questions, to casual social observations about what other people know and think. We seem to be able to draw systematic lines between knowledge and mere belief, to distinguish justified and unjustified beliefs, and to recognize some beliefs as delusional or irrational. This article outlines the main types of epistemic evaluations, and examines how our capacities to perform these evaluations develop, how they function at maturity, and how they are deployed in the vital task of sorting out when to believe what others say

Improvements for Trauma Informed Professional Development

The growing knowledge base of trauma contributes to the field of education, specifically early childhood. This knowledge points to the direction of trauma informed care in the early years. With the need to support both students and teachers, the content and method of professional development needs special consideration. Past research indicates the Breakthrough Series Collaborative is a successful way to implement meaningful and lasting professional development. Research also shows MindUP curriculum as successful for giving both staff and students tools to self-regulate and discuss big emotions. This school improvement plan combines the methodology and curriculum proving successful the Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care (ARTIC) and Primary Care- PTSD Screener (PC-PTSD) into a two-year plan

Emotional recognition, executive function and pragmatic communication in children with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder

This study aimed to examine the links between executive function (EF), emotional recognition, and pragmatic communication, in children with a diagnosis of ASD. It also compared the performance of the children with ASD with the performance of typically developing children on each of the tests. It was an experimental study with both a between subjects and a correlational design. Twenty children, aged 6-15 years, with a diagnosis of ASD comprised the experimental group. Twenty-one typically developing children, aged 6-12 years, comprised the control group. The groups were matched on gender, chronological age and IQ. Both groups were tested using the Tower subtest of the NEPSY (Korkman et al. 1998), an emotional recognition test, using Ekman and Friesen's Facial Effect Slides (1976). Parents were asked to complete the Children's Communication Checklist (CCC-2: Bishop, 2003), in order to gain a score for pragmatic communication. The results showed that children with ASD performed more poorly on tests of EF, emotional recognition and pragmatic communication compared to controls, suggesting that children with ASD have relative deficits in these areas. In addition, a significant positive correlation was found between emotional recognition and EF in the ASD group. No other correlations were found, in either of the groups. In conclusion, the results support previous research, that EF could be one of the primary cognitive deficits in individuals with ASD. Future research is suggested, looking into the links between pragmatic communication and cognitive theories of ASD, as well as further investigation into the links between ASD and the specific sub-domains ofEF

The Propaganda of Vespasian

The reign of Emperor Vespasian began after his military victory in the civil war of 68-69 A.D., he claimed the imperial throne without the majority of the senatorial elite\u27s support, and needed to legitimize his right to rule in order to secure his position. Political propaganda promoted his military victories, advocated his humble origins, popularized that he had brought peace to Rome, and earned him favorable accounts in the writings of the historians he funded. Sculptural propaganda promoted Vespasian\u27s military victories, expressed his noble virtues, depicted how he began the Flavian legacy, how he distanced himself from Emperor Nero, demonstrated the efforts the Flavians had made for their people, and endorsed the peace he had brought to Rome. Through these efforts, Vespasian legitimized his sovereignty through a political and sculptural propaganda campaign to win the approval of the Roman Senate and people

Reconstructing Activity Patterns at Epidamnus, Albania: Impacts of Greek and Roman Colonizations

Colonization is often associated with exploitation of local laborers. However, the degree to which physical activity in local populations changes following colonization depends upon the policies of the colonizers, and the technologies that are locally available. This research tests the null hypothesis that levels of physical activity, as evidenced by osteoarthritis in human skeletons, remained constant at Epidamnus, Albania during Greek and Roman colonial occupation (620 BC-AD 378). To test this hypothesis, 80 skeletons from Epidamnus were examined for evidence of osteoarthritis, and scored according to international standardized protocols. Of these 80 individuals, 27 were adults that showed sufficient preservation for analysis of osteoarthritis. Results indicate osteoarthritis was more pronounced in all joint surfaces (shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, ankle, cervical vertebra, and temporomandibular joint) during the Greek rather than the Roman period, with the exception of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae. Chi-square analysis indicated that this pattern is statistically significant in the shoulder (p = 0.02) and ankle (p = 0.003), and approached significance in the elbow (p = 0.09), wrist (p = 0.06), and temporomandibular joint (p = 0.06). These results suggest differences between the Greek to the Roman period. Historical documents indicate Greek colonization resulted in increased dependence on agriculture and largely replaced nomadic pastoralism in local Illyrians. The Romans then introduced new technologies to increase agricultural efficiency. The emerging pattern indicates that the introduction of new, sophisticated technology made life easier for Illyrians during the Roman period. However, the impacts of small sample size are also considered

Development of a new method for measuring metamorphic kinetics

Because garnet strongly fractionates Mn, spessartine (XSps) content can be treated as a rock-wide proxy for time. By using Sm-Nd isotopic dating to discretely date cores and rims of garnet crystals, I associated an age with a XSps content, and used this association to indirectly date a set of garnets in a subvolume from the specimen, a Grt-Chl-Pg-Bt-Ms schist from the Pinney Hollow Formation collected at Townshend Dam, VT. Using high-resolution X-ray computed tomographic data, two garnets were selected based on size and accessibility for Sm-Nd dating. These garnets yielded rim ages of 372.8±5.7 Ma and 372.8±4.0 Ma (2σ); EPMA data for these gives rim XSps values of 0.02 and 0.03 respectively. Core ages were unsuccessful due to low Sm/Nd ratios in garnet indicating incomplete cleansing of REE-rich inclusions. Using the average of four published core ages from other Pinney Hollow garnets at this locality, the core age is estimated at 380 ± 3.5 Ma (2σ) paired with the core XSps values for the two garnets of 0.21 and 0.15. A linear relationship between garnet age and XSps has the equation: Age = (43.58 Ma)(XSps) + 376.96 Ma. Core XSps from 8 garnets within a 72 cm3 subvolume of the sample were analyzed, and yield Mn ages by reference to the age-XSps relationship ranging from 377.2 ±3.0 to 382.2±6.0 Ma. The estimated nucleation rate for this subvolume is 0.022 +0.032/-0.008 nuclei/cm3/Ma. The two dated garnets yield growth durations of 9.8±7.3 Ma and 8.0±6.6 Ma, consistent with durations calculated by other workers for this area. Incremental growth rates from dated and subvolume garnets exhibit sharp transitions and negative growth rates, but generally are higher in the core and lower in the rim. Attempts to fit predicted growth rate laws to the incremental growth rates are inconclusive in determining a kinetic control. Crude nearest neighbors analysis suggests diffusion controlled growth. These data represent the first application of a new method for measuring crystallization kinetics. As Sm-Nd isotopic age analysis for this garnet suite is refined, more detailed calibration of the XSps-age relationship will be possible, which will in turn result in more precise Mn ages for garnet subvolumes, and better estimates of instantaneous and time-averaged nucleation and growth rates. Nevertheless, as the first quantitative estimate of nucleation rate, these results represent a significant step toward a new technique for measuring crystallization kinetics