The Metaphysical Quality that gives a Visual Identity Mark its Sway.

Addressing a specific aspect of visual communication, the focus of this paper is to examine the connection between elemental nature-inspired archetypal symbols and contemporary Visual Identity Marks, for example the archetypal Solar Cross to the BP VIM, Helios, by establishing the existence of a contextual relevance and relationship. It furthermore analyses the fundamental influence of these archetypal symbols upon the viewer/user (internal and external audiences), no matter what level of sophistication the viewer’s/user’s society has achieved. To build an appreciation of the continuity and effectiveness of the use of elemental nature-inspired archetypal symbols within a contemporary context, areas of expertise not traditionally utilised within visual communication, such as sociology, archaeology, theology and folklore were engaged. While being defined as “a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art or mythology” (Random House Dictionary, 2012), an archetypal symbol also possesses a metaphysical quality. This metaphysical quality enables the symbol to act as a galvanising and motivating force, which re-enforces individual and group identity, and ultimately transmit a sense of the sacred and the institutional within a mutable world. The archetypal (natural) symbol is the response of the psyche reflecting the ‘internal truth’. The VIM (cultural) symbol is a vehicle to maintain power for financial or political profits as well as sustain group coherency, and individual identity. Encoded within both a ‘natural’, and a ‘cultural’ symbol, is a deep spiritual quality tapping into a deeper symbolic language which evolved from humanity relating back to nature. Drawing upon notions of individual interpretation, the paper analyses the very idea of personal and/or subjective mental constructs related to visual identity marks.

Mental Imagery in Bertrand Russell’s Nobel Lecture “What Desires Are Politically Important?”

The article presents the analysis of the mental images of human desires and their verbalization techniques involved in Bertrand Russell’s Nobel lecture delivered in 1950. Human desires are non-material mental constructs that are not clearly defined in the dictionaries, their verbalization being complicated by the issues related to rationality, psychology of thinking, objectivity, and the variability of individual behavioral reactions. The results of the research suggest that the verbalization of desires is essentially complicated by social and cultural stereotypes. It has been noted that storytelling can be applied as one of the most effective techniques to create the required mental imagery of desires in the recipient’s mind. B. Russell’s unique manner of defining such politically important desires as acquisitiveness, vanity, glory, love of power, excitement is carefully analyzed. The use of figurative language as well as conceptual and stylistic metaphors that facilitate the process of shaping mental images of desires have also been the focus of our attention. Special consideration has been given to the analysis of the verbalization means of the politically important desires.

Exploring biodiversity mental constructs of urban residents in an emerging South-East Asian country

Biodiversity loss is occurring at unprecedented rate. Understanding the mental constructs of the public can help implement more effective programs and regulations for decelerating the loss. Although many studies have been conducted to study the biodiversity mental constructs of the public, little is known about those of urban residents in an Asian emerging country, like Vietnam. Employing the Grounded Theory and semi-conducting interview, the current study attempts to explore three biodiversity perceptions of urban residents in two Vietnamese largest cities: i) biodiversity and biodiversity loss, ii) impacts of biodiversity and biodiversity loss on human, and iii) human’s reaction towards biodiversity and biodiversity loss. Besides identifying important conceptual dimensions, we also find the influence of cultural value, the awareness of multistakeholders’ participation, and some misunderstandings in the urban residents’s perceptions. Thus, we recommend policymakers to promote education and public communication of biodiversity-related knowledge, as well as multistakeholders’ cooperation for achieving the 11th cultural progressive value – the environmental-healing element.

«CUTE FANTASIES» OF MODERN PSYCHOLOGY: WHAT SCIENCE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

The author of the paper shows contradictions, which exist between the «scientific» truth (the ascertained facts) and the «psychological» (humanitarian) truth. In the second case, one can talk about concepts, which do not exist and cannot be achieved in reality, but bring benefit to most of the individuals as mental constructs. The author makes a conclusion that contemporary psychology in its present-day construction cannot become a full-fledged discipline, which meets generally accepted scientific criteria.

Analisi cognitiva degli eventi di parola sul coronavirus SARS-COV 2 e sul morbo COVID-19

The purpose of this paper is to perform a brief cognitive analysis of speech events containing information about the coronavirus SARS-COV 2 and the disease its causes, COVID-19. As the author acknowledges primacy of cognitive linguistics research tools towards explanation of how language is used and how the extralinguistic reality is perceived, the object of research comprises M Johnson and G. Lakoff’s conceptual metaphors, which are to be extracted among seven chosen articles derived from the digital version of the Italian journal La Stampa. The results of such performed research should deliver a list of structural, ontological and orientative metaphors, which, in this context, are not just pure eristic speech figures but mental constructs which indicate people’s way of reasoning and of conceptualizing the surrounding extralinguistic world, in this case the pandemic situation affecting us all.

How the development of executive function influences our moment-by-moment interactions with the real-world environment

Historically, the study of executive function (EF) development has relied on using experimental paradigms to assess EFs as abstract, time-invariant properties of individual brains. Here, we discuss new research that moves away from studying EFs purely as internal mental constructs, towards an approach that aims to understand how EFs are expressed through the inter-relationship between an individual’s brain and the world around them. We offer three illustrative examples of this approach. The first looks at how we learn to make predictions and anticipations based on different types of regularity in our early social and physical environment. The second looks at how we learn to correct, moment-by-moment, for changes in the outside world to maintain stability in the face of change. The third looks at how we allocate our attention on a moment-by-moment basis, in naturalistic settings. We discuss potential new therapeutic avenues for improving EFs arising from this research.

Genesis of ideas in the course of intersubjective interactions between intellectuals

The authors of this article examine the issue of the genesis of ideas generated in the course of intersubjective interactions between intellectuals. It is pointed out that ideas, as mental constructs, ideas have gone beyond the subject area of metaphilosophy, in particular, falling into the praxeological dimension, thus turning into independent factors explaining the transformations of social reality. Randall Collins’s theory of intellectual networks was used by the authors of the article as methodology. The role of professional contacts in the process of generating ideas is shown. The article also highlights the importance of modern technologies, which serve as tools that encourage the creation of intellectual constructs and provide transboundariness, one of their basic characteristics. Another focus of the article is the contribution postpositivists have made to the general dynamics of ideas. Apart from that, intersubjectivity of intellectuals’ discourse is considered and conflict-generating factors of producing ideas are analyzed. In the conclusion, the results of the work and its main findings are summarized.

How to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in Educational Settings: Behavior Change, Climate Surveys, and Effective Pro-Diversity Initiatives

We review recent developments in the literature on diversity and inclusion in higher education settings. Diversity interventions increasingly focus on changing behaviors rather than mental constructs such as bias or attitudes. Additionally, there is now a greater emphasis on the evaluation of initiatives aimed at creating an inclusive climate. When trying to design an intervention to change behavior, it is advised to focus on a segment of the population (the “target audience”), to try to get people to adopt a small number of specific new behaviors (the “target behaviors”), and to address in the intervention the factors that affect the likelihood that members of the target audience will engage in the new target behaviors (the “barriers and benefits”). We report our recent work developing a climate survey that allows researchers and practitioners to identify these elements in a particular department or college. We then describe recent inclusion initiatives that have been shown to be effective in rigorous empirical studies. Taken together this paper shows that by implementing techniques based on research in the behavioral sciences it is possible to increase the sense of belonging, the success, and the graduation rate of minority students in STEM.

Legal Concepts as Mental Representations

Although much ink has been spilled on different aspects of legal concepts, the approach based on the developments of cognitive science is a still neglected area of study. The “mental” and cognitive aspect of these concepts, i.e., their features as mental constructs and cognitive tools, especially in the light of the developments of the cognitive sciences, is discussed quite rarely. The argument made by this paper is that legal concepts are best understood as mental representations. The piece explains what mental representations are and why this view matters. The explanation of legal concepts, understood as mental representations is one of (at least) three levels of explanation within legal philosophy, but—as will be argued—it is the most fundamental level. This paper analyzes the consequences of such understanding of concepts used in the field of legal philosophy. Special emphasis is put on the current debate on the analogical or amodal nature of concepts.