AN APPROACH TO VLADIMIR NABOKOV’S “OTHERWORLD”

RESUMO – O presente artigo tem como objetivo abordar a questão de uma das polêmicas teorias recentes relativas às obras do escritor russo Vladimir Nabokov. Pretende apresentar uma análise do conceito do “outro mundo” (“otherworld”) que, entre outras coisas, tem desempenhado o papel tematicamente mais importante nos estudos nabokovianos nas últimas duas décadas. A intenção deste artigo é chamar atenção para algumas particularidades dos textos de Nabokov, ultrapassando a visão unilateral nos termos da qual os “outros mundos” que aparecem nas suas obras estão exclusivamente relacionados com as circunstâncias biográficas do autor. Ao contrário, propõese a apresentar evidências de que o uso de uma esfera transcendente ocorre principalmente devido à sua crença sui generis na metafísica, ou seja, os mundos existindo para além da capacidade de entendimento humano. Essa nova tendência nos estudos nabokovianos vai de encontro à equívoca interpretação tradicional, segundo a qual os textos de Nabokov são examinados como sistemas herméticos e autoreferenciais, aparecidos em forma de manifestos metaliterários

Two valid and reliable tests for monitoring age-related memory performance and neophobia differences in dogs

The prolonged lifespan of companion dogs has resulted in increased behavioural and physical challenges linked to old age. The development of behavioural tests to identify and monitor age-related differences has begun. However, standardised testing requires validation. The present study aimed to assess external validity, interobserver reliability, and test-retest reliability of an indoor test battery for the rapid assessment of age-related behavioural differences in dogs. Two experimenters tested young dogs (N = 20, mean age ± SD = 2.7 ± 0.4 years) and old dogs (N = 18, mean age ± SD = 11.8 ± 1.3 years) in the test battery once and then again after two weeks. Our results found external validity for two subtests out of six. On both test occasions, old dogs committed more errors than young dogs in a memory subtest and showed more object avoidance when encountering a novel object. Interobserver reliability and test-retest reliability was high. We conclude that the Memory and Novel object subtests are valid and reliable for monitoring age-related memory performance and object neophobic differences in dogs

The Upper Tisza Project 1991-2004

The Upper Tisza Project is an interdisciplinary Anglo-Hungarian landscape archaeology project, based in the University of Durham/Dept. of Archaeology and Eötvös Loránd University/Institute of Archaeological Science, Budapest. The project focuses on three principle aims: (i) the definition and explanation of changes in the palaeo-environment, together with changes in regional economic potential, over the last 10,000 years; (ii) the definition of long-term changes in arenas of social power which are related to the exploitation of local and regional potential; (iii) the clarification of upland-lowland relationships though definition of the mechanisms of exploitation of upland resources. This resource presents the results of the project in E-Book format and, at present, Book One of the Upper Tisza Project, out of a projected Eight, is available. It contains the introduction to the project, the information pertaining to fieldwalking methods and the results and interpretations of one of the three fieldwalking blocks

True Religion: a lost portrait by Albert Szenci Molnár (1606) or Dutch–Flemish–Hungarian intellectual relations in the early-modern period

This is the story of a work of one of the greatest early-modern humanists of Hungary, Albert Szenci Molnár, which had been lost for almost 400 years. The rediscovered Icon religionis or 'Image of Religion' is one of the oldest broadsheets printed in the Hungarian language. It was found in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam on 30 October 2012. This study focuses on the history, the meaning and the Dutch background of this work. Furthermore, it devotes attention to Dutch-Flemish-Hungarian intellectual relations with regard to the author, the work and the time at which it was created

HerpSexDet: the herpetological database of sex determination and sex reversal

Wildlife exhibits various sex-determination systems where sex chromosomes and environmental temperatures may both contribute to individual sexual development. The causes and consequences of this variability are important questions for evolutionary ecology, especially in light of ongoing environmental change. Amphibians and reptiles are emerging as a key group for studying these questions, with new data accumulating acceleratingly. We collected empirical data from earlier databases, reviews and primary literature to create the most up-to-date database on herpetological sex determination. We named our database HerpSexDet, which currently features data on genetic and temperature-dependent sex determination as well as reports on sex reversal for a total of 192 amphibian and 697 reptile species. This dataset, which we will regularly update in the future, facilitates interspecific comparative studies on the evolution of sex determination and its consequences for species-specific traits such as life history and conservation status, and may also help guiding future research by identifying species or higher taxa that are potentially most enlightening for the study of environmentally driven sex reversal

Examining the factor structure and validity of the multidimensional assessment of interoceptive awareness

The goal of this study was to psychometrically evaluate the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA), a popular self-report questionnaire claimed to assess the most important subjective aspects of interoception. We collected data in two samples (N = 644 and N = 1,516) and focused on the factor structure and validity of MAIA, as well as its associations with personality traits. Confirmatory Factor Analysis suggested that six of the eight subscales measure a common general factor of self-reported interoception; two MAIA subscales, Not-Worrying and Not-Distracting were only weakly related to this factor. Whereas the general factor correlated strongly with a measure of perceived attentiveness to normal nonemotive body processes, and moderately with Extraversion, Openness and Conscientiousness, the Not-Worrying factor showed moderate to strong negative correlations with Emotionality, pain catastrophization, and anxiety-related aspects of body focus. Not-Distracting was only weakly associated with the validating scales. Overall, these findings do not support the claimed eight-factor structure of the MAIA but indicate the existence of an overarching general factor. Additionally, this study provides evidence that interoceptive awareness, as measured by the MAIA, is related to, but distinct from personality. Funding Information: This work was supported by the New National Excellence Program of the Ministry of Human Capacities under Grant number ?NKP-18-3 (for Eszter Ferentzi) and by the Hungarian National Scientific Research Fund (K 124132)

Examining the factor structure and validity of the multidimensional assessment of interoceptive awareness

The goal of this study was to psychometrically evaluate the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA), a popular self-report questionnaire claimed to assess the most important subjective aspects of interoception. We collected data in two samples (N = 644 and N = 1,516) and focused on the factor structure and validity of MAIA, as well as its associations with personality traits. Confirmatory Factor Analysis suggested that six of the eight subscales measure a common general factor of self-reported interoception; two MAIA subscales, Not-Worrying and Not-Distracting were only weakly related to this factor. Whereas the general factor correlated strongly with a measure of perceived attentiveness to normal nonemotive body processes, and moderately with Extraversion, Openness and Conscientiousness, the Not-Worrying factor showed moderate to strong negative correlations with Emotionality, pain catastrophization, and anxiety-related aspects of body focus. Not-Distracting was only weakly associated with the validating scales. Overall, these findings do not support the claimed eight-factor structure of the MAIA but indicate the existence of an overarching general factor. Additionally, this study provides evidence that interoceptive awareness, as measured by the MAIA, is related to, but distinct from personality. Funding Information: This work was supported by the New National Excellence Program of the Ministry of Human Capacities under Grant number ?NKP-18-3 (for Eszter Ferentzi) and by the Hungarian National Scientific Research Fund (K 124132)