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Character Traits (character + trait)
Selected AbstractsENDOGENOUS BUSINESS CYCLES: THE INFLUENCE OF CHARACTER TRAITS,AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 1 2009FUJIO TAKATA This article deals with how business cycles can occur, in light of character traits which influence individual behaviour in an economy. We assume an overlapping generations model in which every consumer has identical instantaneous utility which is additively separable with respect to time. The parameters of utility here include character traits which influence the choice between consumption and savings. In this situation, young individuals choose between current consumption and current savings which lead to future consumption in their old age. Individual character traits, which appear both in the shape of utility functions and in evaluations about utility in the future, affect these choices. And since these choices determine savings, individual character traits can eventually determine how our economy moves. Focusing on the relationship between individual character traits and savings formation, we demonstrate that endogenous business cycles with two periods can occur, in an economy comprised of individuals who opt for current consumption and who are careless in relation to future events, like Aesopian grasshoppers, and in other cases they do not. [source] Emotion, Perception and PerspectiveDIALECTICA, Issue 1 2006Julien A. Deonna The content of an emotion, unlike the content of a perception, is directly dependent on the motivational set of the subject experiencing the emotion. Given the instability of this motivational set, it might be thought that there is no sense in which emotions can be said to pick up information about the environment in the same way that perception does. Whereas it is admitted that perception tracks for us what is the case in the environment, no such tracking relation, it is argued, holds between one's emotions and what they are about. It is to this worry , that the construal of the emotions as perceptions inevitably raises , that this paper tries to respond. In this paper, I suggest that when it is realized that one dimension of perception itself is directly dependent on the perceiver's perspective on her environment, then emotion, which is also essentially perspectival in this sense, bears the comparison with perception very well. After having clarified the nature and the role that perspective plays in perception, I argue that, in the case of emotions, the same perspectival role can be played by agents' long-standing evaluative tendencies and character traits. The resulting conception of emotion as perception is then tested against possible objections. [source] Butterfly life history and temperature adaptations; dry open habitats select for increased fecundity and longevityJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2005BENGT KARLSSON Summary 1Evidence suggests that changes of temperature-related performance curves can trigger a selective response in life-history traits. Hence, it should be expected that insects adapted to different temperature regimes should exhibit optimal performance at the temperature to which they are adapted. 2To test this idea we investigated how fecundity and longevity are influenced by ambient temperatures in a set of satyrine butterflies adapted to live in dry open landscapes or in closed forest landscapes, respectively, by keeping egg-laying adult females at five different constant temperatures ranging between 20 and 40 °C. 3We studied four species, two of which are confined to dry and hot open habitats, namely the grayling (Hipparchia semele) and the small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus), and two of which are shade dwelling, namely the ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) and the speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria). 4As predicted, the results showed that lifetime fecundity exhibited bell-shaped curves in relation to temperature with the open landscape group peaking at a higher temperature, 30 °C, compared with the shade-dwelling group that peaked at 25 °C. Longevity decreased with increasing temperatures among all species, but the open landscape living species survived better at higher temperatures. Moreover, although the magnitude of reproductive effort measured as lifetime egg mass did not differ between the two ecological groups, lifetime fecundity did with open landscape species laying more and smaller eggs than the shade-dwelling species. 5This difference in life-history character traits suggests either that dry and relatively warm open habitats open life-history opportunities in terms of higher fecundity and longevity that remain closed to butterflies adapted to cooler temperatures, or that life in dry open habitats actively selects for higher fecundity and survival as a result of increased offspring mortality. [source] Learning How to Learn: A CritiqueJOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION, Issue 3-4 2008CHRISTOPHER WINCH The claim that ,learning how to learn' is the central ability required for young people to be effective ,lifelong learners' is examined for various plausible interpretations. It is vacuous if taken to mean that we need to acquire a capacity to learn, since we necessarily have this if we are to learn anything. The claim that it is a specific ability is then looked at. Once again, if we acquire an ability to learn we do not need the ability to learn how to learn. After noting the implausibility of any such general ability, the paper goes on to examine the claim that certain specific but transferable abilities might satisfy the description ,learning how to learn'. Various candidates are considered: forming and testing hypotheses and abduction are two promising ones, but each has significant weaknesses. Numeracy and literacy are thought to be more promising, but achievements at the national level leave a lot to be desired, despite the clear advantages for learning of being able to read, write and count. If we needed to learn how to learn before we learned how to read, write and count, it is unlikely that we would get anywhere. Finally, certain non-cognitive dispositions and character traits rather than cognitive attributes are considered and, drawing on the work of Robert Dearden and others, it is suggested that the development of these aretaic (virtue-based) and personal qualities rather than cognitive ones may be most decisive for developing independent learning in a range of subject matters. [source] Towards a strong virtue ethics for nursing practiceNURSING PHILOSOPHY, Issue 3 2006Alan E. Armstrong rn(g) ba(hons) ma phd Abstract, Illness creates a range of negative emotions in patients including anxiety, fear, powerlessness, and vulnerability. There is much debate on the ,therapeutic' or ,helping' nurse,patient relationship. However, despite the current agenda regarding patient-centred care, the literature concerning the development of good interpersonal responses and the view that a satisfactory nursing ethics should focus on persons and character traits rather than actions, nursing ethics is dominated by the traditional obligation, act-centred theories such as consequentialism and deontology. I critically examine these theories and the role of duty-based notions in both general ethics and nursing practice. Because of well-established flaws, I conclude that obligation-based moral theories are incomplete and inadequate for nursing practice. I examine the work of Hursthouse on virtue ethics' action guidance and the v-rules. I argue that the moral virtues and a strong (action-guiding) version of virtue ethics provide a plausible and viable alternative for nursing practice. I develop an account of a virtue-based helping relationship and a virtue-based approach to nursing. The latter is characterized by three features: (1) exercising the moral virtues such as compassion; (2) using judgement; and (3) using moral wisdom, understood to include at least moral perception, moral sensitivity, and moral imagination. Merits and problems of the virtue-based approach are examined. I relate the work of MacIntyre to nursing and I conceive nursing as a practice: nurses who exercise the virtues and seek the internal goods help to sustain the practice of nursing and thus prevent the marginalization of the virtues. The strong practice-based version of virtue ethics proposed is context-dependent, particularist, and relational. Several areas for future philosophical inquiry and empirical nursing research are suggested to develop this account yet further. [source] School physical activity interventions: do not forget about obesity biasOBESITY REVIEWS, Issue 1 2008P. B. Rukavina Summary Obesity bias is the tendency to negatively judge an overweight or obese individual based on assumed and/or false character traits, such as being physically unattractive, incompetent, lazy and lacking self-discipline. Obesity biases, such as teasing or weight criticism during physical activity (PA), can be psychologically or emotionally damaging for overweight children and adolescents. Ultimately, the effects students experience over time may create a psychological barrier and students can become resistant to schools' health and PA interventions that promote lifestyle changes. Fortunately, the psychological effects of obesity bias are mediated by social buffers and coping mechanisms. Several PA-related researchers have proposed strategic intervention components, but no studies have been completed in PA settings. The purpose of this review was to discuss the nature and different types of obesity bias in PA settings. Major theoretical frameworks of the aetiology and change mechanisms of obesity biases from the psychological literature were reviewed and direct applications for strategic component interventions were made for PA settings. Because of the pervasiveness and entrenchment of obesity bias, it is obvious that multiple theoretical frameworks need to be considered and even combined to create safe and caring school PA environments for students. [source] Knowledge and Practical ReasonPHILOSOPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2008Jessica Brown It has become recently popular to suggest that knowledge is the epistemic norm of practical reasoning and that this provides an important constraint on the correct account of knowledge, one which favours subject-sensitive invariantism over contextualism and classic invariantism. I argue that there are putative counterexamples to both directions of the knowledge norm. Even if the knowledge norm can be defended against these counterexamples, I argue that it is a delicate issue whether it is true, one which relies on fine distinctions among a variety of relevant notions of propriety which our intuitions may reflect. These notions variously apply to the agent herself, her character traits, her beliefs, her reasoning and any resultant action. Given the delicacy of these issues, I argue that the knowledge norm is not a fixed point from which to defend substantive and controversial views in epistemology. Rather, these views need to be defended on other grounds. [source] The regulatory and business roles of a Study DirectorQUALITY ASSURANCE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2005Celeste A. Rose Abstract The role of Study Director can be a challenging one with technical, administrative, and compliance responsibilities. The Study Director often does not have direct responsibility for personnel and other resources required for his/her studies. In this article, we have attempted to identify traits and mechanisms to help the Study Director do his/her job in a professional and compliant manner. In addition to regulatory and scientific expertise, Study Director quality attributes include possession of appropriate soft skills and character traits and are key to the success of a study. Study Directors must have an aptitude for effective communication, relationship building, training, mentoring, and delegation. While these soft skills/desirable traits often require additional effort on the part of the Study Director, they have a large impact on the rate of success, efficiency, and compliance of the study overall. The workshop presented by the authors took a 'hands-on' approach building on the creativity, and experience of Study Directors, supervisors, managers, and Quality Assurance (QA) personnel who participated. The participants deliberated problem scenarios from a Study Director's perspective. The tables and discussion in this article summarize compliant solutions, which arose from the resourcefulness that comes from experience of the participants. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] CHARACTER, RELIABILITY AND VIRTUE EPISTEMOLOGYTHE PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 223 2006Jason Baehr Standard characterizations of virtue epistemology divide the field into two camps: virtue reliabilism and virtue responsibilism. Virtue reliabilists think of intellectual virtues as reliable cognitive faculties or abilities, while virtue responsibilists conceive of them as good intellectual character traits. I argue that responsibilist character virtues sometimes satisfy the conditions of a reliabilist conception of intellectual virtue, and that consequently virtue reliabilists, and reliabilists in general, must pay closer attention to matters of intellectual character. This leads to several new questions and challenges for any reliabilist epistemology. [source] ENDOGENOUS BUSINESS CYCLES: THE INFLUENCE OF CHARACTER TRAITS,AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 1 2009FUJIO TAKATA This article deals with how business cycles can occur, in light of character traits which influence individual behaviour in an economy. We assume an overlapping generations model in which every consumer has identical instantaneous utility which is additively separable with respect to time. The parameters of utility here include character traits which influence the choice between consumption and savings. In this situation, young individuals choose between current consumption and current savings which lead to future consumption in their old age. Individual character traits, which appear both in the shape of utility functions and in evaluations about utility in the future, affect these choices. And since these choices determine savings, individual character traits can eventually determine how our economy moves. Focusing on the relationship between individual character traits and savings formation, we demonstrate that endogenous business cycles with two periods can occur, in an economy comprised of individuals who opt for current consumption and who are careless in relation to future events, like Aesopian grasshoppers, and in other cases they do not. [source] AUTONOMY AND AUTHENTICITY OF ENHANCED PERSONALITY TRAITSBIOETHICS, Issue 6 2009JAN CHRISTOPH BUBLITZ ABSTRACT There is concern that the use of neuroenhancements to alter character traits undermines consumer's authenticity. But the meaning, scope and value of authenticity remain vague. However, the majority of contemporary autonomy accounts ground individual autonomy on a notion of authenticity. So if neuroenhancements diminish an agent's authenticity, they may undermine his autonomy. This paper clarifies the relation between autonomy, authenticity and possible threats by neuroenhancements. We present six neuroenhancement scenarios and analyse how autonomy accounts evaluate them. Some cases are considered differently by criminal courts; we demonstrate where academic autonomy theories and legal reasoning diverge and ascertain whether courts should reconsider their concept of autonomy. We argue that authenticity is not an appropriate condition for autonomy and that new enhancement technologies pose no unique threats to personal autonomy. [source] PARENTAL VIRTUE: A NEW WAY OF THINKING ABOUT THE MORALITY OF REPRODUCTIVE ACTIONSBIOETHICS, Issue 4 2007ROSALIND MCDOUGALL ABSTRACT In this paper I explore the potential of virtue ethical ideas to generate a new way of thinking about the ethical questions surrounding the creation of children. Applying ideas from neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics to the parental sphere specifically, I develop a framework for the moral assessment of reproductive actions that centres on the concept of parental virtue. I suggest that the character traits of the good parent can be used as a basis for determining the moral permissibility of a particular reproductive action. I posit three parental virtues and argue that we can see the moral status of a reproductive action as determined by the relationship between such an action and (at least) these virtues. Using a case involving selection for deafness, I argue that thinking in terms of the question ,would a virtuous parent do this?' when morally assessing reproductive action is a viable and useful way of thinking about issues in reproductive ethics. [source] Early maladaptive schemas, temperament and character traits in clinically depressed and previously depressed subjects,CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 5 2009Marianne Halvorsen Abstract The Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) have been suggested as vulnerability markers for depression. One- hundred forty clinically depressed subjects(CD), previously depressed subjects(PD) and never depressed (ND) controls completed the YSQ, the TCI and the Beck Depression Inventory. Results showed that CD and PD differed significantly on early maladaptive schemas, temperament and character traits compared with ND. In accordance with previous research, higher levels of harm avoidance and lower levels of self-directedness were found in CD and in recovered PD. Moreover, CD and PD showed substantial variability in the scores on the YSQ and the TCI when controlling for concurrent depression severity. In multiple regression analyses, YSQ domain scales of disconnection, impaired autonomy, restricted self-expression and impaired limits emerged as significant predictors of depression severity. Likewise, as concerns TCI higher order scales, high harm avoidance, low self-directedness and high persistence emerged as significant predictors of depression severity. Harm avoidance was positively related to several early maladaptive schemas (EMSs), whereas self-directedness was negatively related to a majority of the EMSs. Our findings indicate the presence of maladaptive personality characteristics in CD and PD. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish their causal role in relation to first-onset and recurrent depression.,Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: , Early maladaptive schemas, high harm [correction made here after initial online publication] avoidance and low self-directedness may be a part of vulnerability to depression. , The finding of these personality characteristics in subjects recovered from depression indicates malfunctioning to some degree. , Addressing such characteristics in therapy should be considered in order to prevent and treat depression from its relapsing and recurring course. [source] | ||||||||||||||||