How is a genre created? Five combinatory hypotheses

In his article, How is a Genre Created? Five Combinatory Hypotheses, Johan F. Hoorn discusses that in genre theory, the creation of a genre is usually envisioned as a complex selection procedure in which several factors play an equivocal role. First, he advances that genre usually is investigated at the level of the phenomenon. For instance, questions may drawn on the effects of social status, education, or intrinsic values on forming a genre, on an author\u27s decision with regard to in which genre to express his/her creativity. Second, Hoorn attempts to formulate a general mechanism that explains the forming of groups of genres. His hypotheses of genre formation includes the notion that if one hypothesis fails, the next would come into operation. Hoorn\u27s proposal includes the notion of how to construct and to employ set theoretical and combinatory principles for word-frequency distributions as a mathematical representation of human behavior in the selection process of genre formation. Because the five hypotheses are strictly quantitative and not dependent on particular factors, they are open to testing under any experimental condition

Toward machines that behave ethically better than humans do

With the increasing dependence on autonomous operating agents and robots the need for ethical machine behavior rises. This paper presents a moral reasoner that combines connectionism, utilitarianism and ethical theory about moral duties. The moral decision-making matches the analysis of expert ethicists in the health domain. This may be useful in many applications, especially where machines interact with humans in a medical context. Additionally, when connected to a cognitive model of emotional intelligence and affective decision making, it can be explored how moral decision making impacts affective behavior

Software Requirements: Update, Upgrade, Redesign : Towards a Theory of Requirements Change

Veer, G.C. van der [Promotor]Vliet, J.C. van [Promotor

Metaphor and the Brain: behavioral and psychophysiological research into literary metaphor processing

Ibsch, E. [Promotor]Sanders, A.F. [Promotor

Reality-based genre preferences do not direct personal involvement

Although it seems plausible that people who prefer a particular genre would appreci-ate characters from that category more than those from other genres, this appears not to be the case. We devised a parsimonious reality-based genre taxonomy that differ-entiates nonfiction, realism, fantasy, and humor. In Study 1, evidence from film view-ers ’ genre preferences prompted slight adjustments in that taxonomy. In Study 2, however, we found that their reality-based genre preferences did not predict personal involvement with, distance from, or liking for the protagonist in the preferred genre. Instead, the represented and, particularly, the perceived realism of the character did affect personal involvement, but irrespective of genre preferences. We discuss the implications of these results for the rationale behind a genre typology and for engag-ing with fictional characters to explain personal involvement and character apprecia-tion, especially in motion pictures. Distinguishing genres in the cultural domain is an example of grouping behavior. People group things together for data reduction, so that they can judge a few cate-gories instead of many instances. Whether valid, the function of such heuristics is that one can infer that “what applies to the group also applies to its members. ” Ex-tending this heuristic to genres, preferences can be justified, such as “If you like sci-fi, you will like Buck Rogers ” (Nowlan, 1928). However, people group thing

Impact of frailty on health-related quality of life 1 year after transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) brings symptom relief and improvement in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the majority of patients treated for symptomatic, severe aortic stenosis. However, there is a substantial group of patients that do not benefit from TAVI. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of frailty on HRQoL 1 year after TAVI. Methods: The TAVI Care & Cure Program is an ongoing, prospective, observational study including patients referred for TAVI to our institution. A comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed to evaluate existence of frailty using the Erasmus Frailty Score (EFS). HRQoL was assessed using the EQ-5D-5 L at baseline and 1 year after TAVI. Results: 239 patients underwent TAVI and completed HRQoL assessment 1 year after TAVI. Seventy (29.3%) patients were classified as frail (EFS ≥ 3). In non-frail patients, the EQ-5D-5 L index did not change (0.71(± 0.22) to 0.68(± 0.33) points, P = 0.22); in frail patients, the EQ-5D-5 L index decreased from 0.55(±0.26) to 0.44 points (±0.33) (P = 0.022). Frailty was an independent predictor of deteriorated HRQoL 1 year after TAVI (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.07–4.70, P = 0.003). In frail patients, the absence of peripheral artery disease (OR 0.17, 95% 0.05–0.50, P = 0.001) and renal dysfunction (OR 0.13, 95% CI 0.04–0.41, P = <0.001) at baseline was associated with improved HRQoL 1 year after TAVI. Conclusion: Frailty is associated with deterioration of HRQoL 1 year after TAVI. Notably, HRQoL did improve in frail patients with no peripheral arterial disease or renal impairment at baseline