New functionalism and the social and behavioral sciences

Functionalism about kinds is still the dominant style of thought in the special sciences, like economics, psychology, and biology. Generally construed, functionalism is the view that states or processes can be individuated based on what role they play rather than what they are constituted of or realized by. Recently, Weiskopf (2011a, 2011b) has posited a reformulation of functionalism on the model-based approach to explanation. We refer to this reformulation as ‘new functionalism’. In this paper, we seek to defend new functionalism and to recast it in light of the concrete explanatory aims of the special sciences. In particular, we argue that the assessment of the explanatory legitimacy of a functional kind needs to take into account the explanatory purpose of the model in which the functional kind is employed. We aim at demonstrating this by appealing to model-based explanations from the social and behavioral sciences. Specifically, we focus on preferences and signals as functional kinds. Our argument is intended to have the double impact of deflecting criticisms against new functionalism from the perspective of mechanistic decomposition while also expanding the scope of new functionalism to encompass the social and behavioral sciences.

Socrates in the fMRI Scanner: The Neurofoundations of Morality and the Challenge to Ethics

The neuroscience of ethics is allegedly having a double impact. First, it is transforming the view of human morality through the discovery of the neurobiological underpinnings that influence moral behavior. Second, some neuroscientific findings are radically challenging traditional views on normative ethics. Both claims have some truth but are also overstated. In this article, the author shows that they can be understood together, although with different caveats, under the label of “neurofoundationalism.” Whereas the neuroscientific picture of human morality is undoubtedly valuable if we avoid neuroessentialistic portraits, the empirical disruption of normative ethics seems less plausible. The neuroscience of morality, however, is providing relevant evidence that any empirically informed ethical theory needs to critically consider. Although neuroethics is not going to bridge the is–ought divide, it may establish certain facts that require us to rethink the way we achieve our ethical aspirations.

Conversion of land use and household livelihoods in Vietnam: A study in Nghe An

This article describes the relationship between the land use purpose conversion and households’ livelihoods in suburban Vinh City, Nghe An province. In the survey with 170 households losing their land to build the VSIP Nghe An industrial park project, this article shows the double impact of this issue. (1) On the positive side, households’ quality of life in the current period shows a significant improvement. They are living in better conditions with more spacious houses and modern facilities than before. The average income of households increased by 900 USD than before. (2) On the negative side, the unemployment rate increases with women older than 35 years and men older than 40 years. Along with the improper use of compensation received, income sustainability is a doubt for these households’ future.

The Real Experience and Management Strategies Analysis of Chinese Nurses Aiding COVID-19 epidemic: A Qualitative Study

Emergent public health events, such as COVID-19, have been the focus of attention of researchers at home and abroad. In China, nurses are an important group to the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic. Using semi-structured interviews, qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 nurses who supported the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, and the data was collated and analyzed using Colaizzi analysis. The work experience of Chinese nurses can be summarized into 4 major themes. They had different emotional experiences during aiding period; Aiding work had a double impact on the nurses; There were certain difficulties in aiding work; There were significant age differences in aiding work experience. It is necessary to strengthen the psychological construction of nurses. All hospitals must coordinate and manage various safety tasks, and ensure the precise, scientific, and streamlined deployment of rescue work. Humanized management, shift adjustment, performance allocation weight, and organizational care are also the top priorities of human resource management.

Economic Prospects and Policy Challenges for the GCC Countries

The COVID-19 pandemic is having far-reaching consequences for the global economy. Measures to contain the spread of the virus have led to sharp declines in economic activity across the globe, particularly in 2020Q2. The hardest hit sectors have been those requiring intensive human contact, such as tourism, transportation, services, and construction, while, in general, IT-intensive activities have fared better. The economic contraction is most significant in advanced economies. The GCC countries face a double impact from the coronavirus and lower oil prices. GCC authorities have implemented a range of appropriate measures to mitigate the economic damage, including fiscal packages, relaxation of monetary and macroprudential rules, and the injection of liquidity into the banking system, and there are recent signs of improvement. Low oil prices have caused a sharp deterioration of external and fiscal balances, and fiscal strains are evident in countries with higher debt levels.

Migrations in ageing society – consequences for the family

Labour migration of people at productive age is a common practice in Western countries based on capitalist economy and parliamentary democracy. Post-accession migration from Poland is a mass phenomenon nowadays, having a double impact on the situation of the oldest family members: they face the need to undertake new versions of old traditional roles or – on the other hand – they are left alone, often in deteriorating health conditions and without assistance in everyday routines. The aim of this analysis is to provide recommendations for social policy on possible solutions supporting and supplementing the care offered for old persons in the situation of migration of their adult children. The analysis is based on the existing data and reports. Recommendations proposed in the article are directly and indirectly related to forms of care which should be provided to older adults. Aid and assistance are viewed as a chain of interrelated processes; for example, higher digital competences of older adults would allow them to communicate with their families abroad and would help them to be independent in shopping or fixing financial and administrative affairs, as they could do this online.

The Influence of Internet Economy on High School Students’ Consumption Concept

With the rapid development of Internet technology, the Internet economy has gradually penetrated into every aspect of people’s life. The group of high school students has increasingly become an important part of the Internet consumption market, and its consumption concept is also deeply influenced by the Internet economy. Based on the analysis of the development status of the Internet economy and the characteristics of high school students’ consumption concepts, this article analyzes the double impact of the Internet economy on high school students’ consumption concepts. On this basis, it expounds how to guide high school students to form the correct consumption concepts under the Internet economy from the three dimensions of school, family and individual.