Chuang Tzu’s selflessness: mind-state and the cultural semiotics of jingshen

The cognitive paradigm of symbols in ancient Chinese philosophy is quite distinct from that of Western semiotic circles. Chuang Tzu, one of the most influential ancient Chinese philosophers, concentrates his study on exploring the state of the subject’s selflessness and establishes his own cognitive paradigm of jingshen. This paper uses his statements of “I lost myself” and “The Perfect Man uses his mind like a mirror” in The adjustment of controversies of The Chuang Tzu, to investigate the ideal selfless mind-state and selflessness. It attempts to transfer the relationship between subject and object in symbolic cognition into the connection of intersubjectivity to construct jingshen’s cognitive paradigm of releasing symbolic meaning. The task of this research is to overcome the limitation created by the subject–object relation and finally to be “the Perfect Man” who can know the Dao.

Regional security dialogues in Europe and in Asia: The role of Track 1.5 forums in the practice of international security

The term regional security dialogue brings to mind state-organised conferences and events; however, an under-appreciated subset of such dialogues are organised by non-state actors that have unique formal aspects. These quasi-formal dialogues operate alongside, and sometimes in competition to, state-sanctioned processes. Why do some of these forums appear to be more effective at fostering regional dialogue than strictly formal or informal processes with the same goals? Drawing from heterogenous discourse approaches, we address this question by identifying and expanding the concept of the quality of discursive space, as a key feature for the success of security dialogues. We then apply this concept to two of the most successful so-called Track 1.5 security dialogues: the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Europe and the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Asia. We analyse these cases using a mix of interviews with participants and organisers, participant observation, and public outputs with the aim of improving the understanding of the role and impact of Track 1.5 diplomacy in the practice of international security. Our findings highlight that it is what we call the quality of discursive space, as a mix of different components in this space, which differentiates effective dialogues from mere policy ‘talk shops’.

Reflections on Sustaining Morale and Combat Motivation in Soldiers

Military morale and motivation formulate the signature strength of a fighting force. However, sustenance of these faculties is a bigger challenge than generating them. The exponential development in the neo-cortex and emerging social structure has made human beings hardcore individualistic. The sense of ‘self’ has become much stronger than the sense of the whole. This results in the recurrent violation of collective identity, as evidenced by the rise in numbers of misconduct behaviors, mutinies, estranged leader-led relations, desertion, fragging, and suicides. Utilizing the lessons from various ecological systems and derived scientific principles, the present paper takes note of significant researches in the area to arrive at a reflective model of Morale and Combat Motivation in soldiers. Firstly, it attempts to understand ‘why and why not the soldiers shall fight’ and subsequently give suggestive guidelines to ‘how they will continue to fight’ with particular reference to the Indian military setup. The model can be utilised by military leaders and policymakers alike who are entrusted with the herculean task of upkeeping battle-mind state of soldiers in military organisations.

Internet Gaming Disorder Increases Mind-Wandering in Young Adults

As a primary symptom defining Internet gaming disorder (IGD), preoccupation indicates a mind state in which gamers think about a gaming activity so much that other things appear less important and/or interesting to them. Previous studies have examined the negative impacts of IGD on both cognitive and affective functions, yet no study has investigated the influence of IGD on daily mind state changes that interfere with ongoing tasks. The current study hypothesized that more IGD symptoms lead to a higher frequency of mind state shift in terms of mind-wandering. As social anxiety is related to both IGD and mind-wandering, we further hypothesized that social anxiety would partially contribute to the relationship. Survey data were collected from 632 young adults who were divided into two groups based on whether they reported playing games or not. In the player group, the number of IGD symptoms present was positively related to mind-wandering (r = 0.269, p < 0.001) and social anxiety (r = 0.235, p < 0.001), with the latter two showing a positive correlation in both players (r = 0.37, p < 0.001) and non-players (r = 0.57, p < 0.001). A mediation analysis for the players showed a partial mediation effect of social anxiety on the relationship between IGD and mind-wandering (mediation effect: PM = 0.292, p < 0.001), and the model was replicated in an independent sample. This study suggests that excessive gaming behavior may increase mind-wandering and a shift towards such a non-productive mind state could exert long-term detrimental effects in adolescents and young adults.

INFLUENTIAL MARKETING STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY THE CEMENT INDUSTRIES

The study is focused to encounter the marketing strategies adopted by cement industries and suppliers. The study is conducted at Madhyapur Thimi Municipality among different level of consumer i.e house owner, supplier, contractor/mason and consultant/engineer. Out of 871 permitted under construction building of fiscal year 2016/17, 89 end consumers and 30 suppliers were selected for questionnaire survey with two different set of questionnaire. Key informant interview was conducted for in depth information while focus group discussion was done to understand influencing strategies. Bonus coupon and credit period was found to be brand promotional tools among 36.67% and 23.33% of the suppliers respectively whereas 50% of the end consumers get attracted through credit period. Credit period is the most influential marketing strategy while advertisement being the brand awareness tool to the consumer to set their brand in ‘Top of Mind’ state.

LINGUISTIC LOOK AT THE EXPRESSION OF A PERSON’S MIND STATE IN THE WRITINGS OF ODIL YAKUBOV

In the article, the speech goes on about the relations of language and thought, the expression of this relationship in the speech of literal work the factors cuasing the actualization of linguistic units in it. The expression of spiritual condition of a hero is analyzed in in the examples of the works “Treasure of Ulugbek”, “Conscience” by O. Yokubov