Knowledge, Attitude and Eco-Efficiency Urban Environment in the Inhabitants of the District of Chilca – Peru

The attitude is based on the self-concept or degree to which an individual perceives an integral part of the natural environment and situations with which it is related. Knowledge includes obtaining, analyzing and systematizing an individual from their natural environment, which is an important step for personal understanding and development. The objective of the research was to analyze and relate the environmental knowledge and attitude of 382 people towards urban-sustainable eco-efficiency in the inhabitants of the Chilca district. Two questionnaires [knowledge and attitude] of 23 questions were designed, the interview was personal to 382 people between the ages of 20 and 50 years. The questionnaire presented 5 responses using the Likert scale, the relationship was corroborated by hiring Rho Spearman and t-student statistical hypotheses. Result: The Environmental Knowledge towards Eco-efficiency (267, 290 and 225 has an idea totally in agreement in air and soil, biological diversity and climate change, respectively). The Environmental Attitude towards Eco-efficiency (200, 192 and 191 have an idea that is totally in agreement in their cognitive, affective and conative aspects, respectively). The relationship between K. and A. presents a rho=0.47 being a good relationship, with con t-student=10.35 and α=2.2e-16; affirming that there is a relationship between the environmental attitude and environmental knowledge towards eco-efficiency. The inhabitants of Chilca affirm that knowledge and attitude are important and agree to mitigate, reduce and conserve biodiversity, air, soil and water, climate change from a cognitive, affective and conative perspective, forming an eco-efficient polymathic and environmental psychology for sustainable urban. Received: 3 October 2021 / Accepted: 26 November 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Visualizing Inclusivity: Aging Lifelong and Worldwide Through the Lens of Gerontology as Social Science

A new course actively engages students in applying social science to examine their own prospective aging and the aging of others. This Grand Project begins with self-assessment of their expectations for the “Future Self” at age 67, then conducting two structured interviews each followed by writing a “life story” – one of an US older adult and the other an imagined older adult from a different county. Comparative analysis of these three stories highlights the impacts of society, heredity, and choice on shaping the experience of old age. Each project is presented to the class. Seeing life from this personal “tour” of the “other” informs beliefs about differences. Students gain knowledge about gerontology as a social science and develop personal understanding of their own and others’ aging, a good step toward becoming comfortable with diversity and inclusivity. Ageism is the only “ism” guaranteed to include all who survive long enough.

Northern Ireland’s Interregnum. Anna Burns’s Depiction of a (Post)-Troubles State of (In)security

This paper aims to present the main contours of Burns’s literary output which, interestingly enough, grows into a personal understanding of the collective mindset of (post)-Troubles Northern Ireland. It is legitimate, I argue, to construe her fiction (No Bones, 2001; Little Constructions, 2007; Milkman, 2018) as a body of work shedding light on certain underlying mechanisms of (post-)sectarian violence. Notwithstanding the lapse of time between 1998 and 2020, the Troubles’ toxic legacy has indeed woven an unbroken thread in the social fabric of the region. My reading of the novelist’s selected works intends to show how the local public have been fed by (or have fed themselves upon) an unjustified—maybe even false—sense of security. Burns, in that regard, has positioned herself amongst the aggregate of writers who feel anxious rather than placated, hence their persistence in returning to the roots of Northern Irish societal divisions. Burns’s writing, in the above context, though immersed in the world of the Troubles, paradoxically communicates “an idiosyncratic spatiotemporality” (Maureen Ruprecht Fadem’s phrase), namely an experience beyond the self-imposing, historical time limits. As such, it gains the ability to provide insightful commentaries on conflict-prone relations, the patterns of which can be repeatedly observed in Northern Ireland’s socio-political milieu. Overall, the main idea here is to discuss and present the narrative realm proposed by Burns as (in)determinate, liminal in terms of time and space, positioning readers between “then” and “now” of the region.

From Japan to China: Another Interpretation of Taiko

Musical instruments change all the time. When an instrument is played in different contexts, it will show different functions. The same is true of taiko. When taiko came to Shanghai, involved people established an emotional connection with taiko in the process of playing taiko for a long time, and give taiko a new cultural function under their personal understanding, bringing taiko to their life, building another connection with the life of other taiko enthusiasts. At the same time, taiko also affects the performers' thoughts. Involved people also look for the value and purpose of their own existence through taiko in the process of performing taiko.

Sociocultural and political aspects of urban space formation: images «inside» and «outside»

The purpose of the article is to analyze the phenomenon of the city as a communicative environment that creates images. Concrete historical examples of the formation of the image of the city, both from the side of the internal observer and from the side of external actors, are considered. The morphological analysis used in the study makes it possible to consider in more detail the elements of image construction and their interconnection. According to the results of the study, the author concluded that the formation of the image of the city takes place from two positions in relation to it – «inside» and «outside». Each of them defines the city as a unique environment at different levels. The first way of constructing the image of the city is based on personal understanding and reading, which makes the city understandable in terms of its use. The second type of image is associated with the formation of a city brand, which is based on a strong archetype or dominant that makes it unique and recognizable. Correctly constructed images are beneficial for the authorities, since attractive cities can be a magnet for investment, which in turn entails the socio-economic development of both the city and the region as a whole.

Implementation of Mental adjustment to cancer scale in psycho-oncology practice in Bulgaria

Background Theoretically there are several insufficiently confirmed statements based on evidences that underline the important role of psychological assistance to patients with malignant neoplasms. Since April, 2021, Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (MAC) is translated into Bulgarian and it was introduced to psycho-oncologic practice in Bulgaria. Methods The concise variant of MAC - Mini Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (Mini-MAC) has been implemented evaluating the degree when the patients perceive their adaptation to the diagnosis and cancer treatment. It comprises 29 items and measures four inner scales: determination, helplessness, anxiety, cognitive negligence and fatalism. It has been applied in compliance with strict confidentiality, voluntary principle and objectivity to 30 patients - 14 male and 16 female. Results MAC scales have good consistency - alpha coefficient from 0.56 to 0.74. The age correlates moderately with disease type (r=.35, p = 0.05). Helplessness is in positive relation to anxiety (r=.63, p = 0.000) and fatalism (r=.30, p = 0.05), and in negative one to determination (r=-.35, p = 0.05). The determination is in statistic positive relation to cognitive negligence (r=.44, p = 0.02). Conclusions The malignant disease type does not influence the scale results. They are influenced by inner factors as morbid experience, sensitivity to the disease, psychological protections that are frequently demonstrated by cognitive negligence and determination. MAC has been successfully implemented in the clinical psychological counseling in Bulgaria. Key messages Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale identifies patients' adaptation to cancer and is introduced in Bulgaria. The methodology shows the established cognitive mechanisms for personal understanding and behavior in the course of treatment.

Seeing Minds, Matter, and Meaning: The CEEing Model of Pre-Reflective Subjective Construal

Although subjective construal (i.e. our personal understanding of situations and the people and objects within them) has been an enduring topic in social psychology, its underlying mechanisms have never been fully explored. This review presents a model of subjective construals as a kind of seeing (i.e. pre-reflective processes associated with effortless meaning making). Three distinct forms of ‘seeing’ (visual, semantic, and psychological) are discussed to highlight the breadth of these construals. The CEEing Model characterizes these distinct domains of pre-reflective construals as all being Coherent Effortless Experiences. Neural evidence is then reviewed suggesting that a variety of processes that possess the core CEEing characteristics across visual, semantic, and psychological domains can be localized to lateral posterior parietal cortex, lateral posterior temporal cortex, and ventral temporal cortex in an area dubbed gestalt cortex. The link between subjective construals and gestalt cortex is further strengthened by evidence showing that when people have similar subjective construals (i.e. they see things similarly) they show greater neural synchrony (i.e. correlated neural fluctuations over time) with each other in gestalt cortex. The fact that the act of CEEing tends to inhibit alternative construals is discussed as one of multiple reasons for why we fail to appreciate the idiosyncratic nature of our pre-reflective construals, leading to naïve realism and other conflict-inducing outcomes.

The changing nature of real estate research

PurposeWith the Journal of Property Investment and Finance (JPIF) being 40 years old, this paper reflects on the changes in real estate research over the last 40 years, the drivers behind these changes and how JPIF has evolved over these 40 years to retain its position as a leading real estate research journal. Challenges and opportunities are also identified for the next generation of real estate researchers to continue to develop the real estate research agenda.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is presented as a reflective article, drawing on a deep personal understanding of real estate research, how it has evolved over the last 40 years, key drivers of these changes and the challenges going forward.FindingsFundamental changes in real estate research over the last 40 years and drivers behind these changes are articulated. A pathway forward for real estate research is identified, as well as how JPIF fits into the mix.Practical implicationsWith real estate research being increasingly important in real estate academics' careers, this article provides a practical roadmap for how real estate research has changed, why it has changed and future opportunities for the next generation of real estate researchers.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to reflect on these key changes and drivers behind these changes in real estate research, as well as the opportunities for the next generation of real estate researchers.

Social functions of youth associations through the prism of the activists’ opinion

According to the results of the sociological survey conducted in 2019 (N = 350 people on probability quota-target sample), the synthesis of social and individual needs of young people was revealed when social solidarity as an urgent need is combined in the work of its associations with functional emotionality, satisfaction from meaningful fullness of interesting and useful activities. The popularity of youth groups’ activities, according to the younger generation, depends more on their socio-cultural content with the inclusion of an emotionally-positive context, helping to express themselves (conferences, concerts), and on the other hand – to feel unity with other participants (processions, demonstrations, etc.). These motives act as a direct indicator of the self-determination of the individual, the demand and feasibility of their subjective civil rights, the expression of a personal understanding of their social status and capabilities. 72,0% of the activists surveyed pointed to the Internet as the main source of information about the activities of youth associations which demonstrates the trans-progressivity of young people. However, traditional habits of young people are also strong. The second most popular source of information was communication with relatives, friends, the beloved ones (53.3%), which confirms the significant role of resources of network social connections. In the course of youth’s association activities both the personal qualities of the younger generation (accuracy, attentiveness, analytical thinking), and social qualities (planning skills, self-organization, leadership, communication) develop. In other words, participation in youth activities is associated with the mechanism of implementation of young people’s needs and interests, and, at the same time, serves as a source of changes in their personal values, and forms certain stereotypes of consciousness and behavior of the younger generation.

Towards a New Generation of Cognitive Diagnosis

Cognitive diagnosis is a type of assessment for automatically measuring individuals' proficiency profiles from their observed behaviors, e.g. quantifying the mastery level of examinees on specific knowledge concepts/skills. As one of the fundamental research tasks in domains like intelligent education, a number of Cognitive Diagnosis Models (CDMs) have been developed in the past decades. Though these solutions are usually well designed based on psychometric theories, they still suffer from the limited ability of the handcrafted diagnosis functions, especially when dealing with heterogeneous data. In this paper, I will share my personal understanding of cognitive diagnosis and review our recent developments of CDMs mostly from a machine learning perspective. Meanwhile, I will show the wide applications of cognitive diagnosis.