Foundational Elements (foundational + element)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Neurofuzzy Modeling of Context,Contingent Proximity Relations

GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 2 2007
Xiaobai Yao
The notion of proximity is one of the foundational elements in humans' understanding and reasoning of the geographical environments. The perception and cognition of distances plays a significant role in many daily human activities. Yet, few studies have thus far provided context,contingent translation mechanisms between linguistic proximity descriptors (e.g., "near,""far") and metric distance measures. One problem with previous fuzzy logic proximity modeling studies is that they presume the form of the fuzzy membership functions of proximity relations. Another problem is that previous studies have fundamental weaknesses in considering context factors in proximity models. We argue that statistical approaches are ill suited to proximity modeling because of the inherently fuzzy nature of the relations between linguistic and metric distance measures. In this study, we propose a neurofuzzy system approach to solve this problem. The approach allows for the dynamic construction of context,contingent proximity models based on sample data. An empirical case study with human subject survey data is carried out to test the validity of the approach and to compare it with the previous statistical approach. Interpretation and prediction accuracy of the empirical study are discussed. [source]


Multimodal Analgesia for Chronic Pain: Rationale and Future Directions

PAIN MEDICINE, Issue S2 2009
Charles E. Argoff MD
ABSTRACT Chronic pain is a multifaceted disease requiring multimodal treatment. Clinicians routinely employ various combinations of pharmacologic, interventional, cognitive,behavioral, rehabilitative, and other nonmedical therapies despite the paucity of robust evidence in support of such an approach. Therapies are selected consistent with the biopsychosocial model of chronic pain, reflecting the subjective nature of the pain complaint, and the myriad stressors that shape it. Elucidating mechanisms that govern normal sensation in the periphery has provided insights into the biochemical, molecular, and neuroanatomic correlates of chronic pain, an understanding of which is leading increasingly to mechanism-specific multidrug therapies. Peripheral and central neuroplastic reorganization underlying the disease of chronic pain is influenced by patient-specific emotions, cognition, and memories, further impairing function and idiosyncratically defining the illness of chronic pain. Clinical perceptions of these and related subjective elements associated with the suffering of chronic pain drive psychosocial treatments, including, among other options, relaxation therapies, coping skills development, and cognitive,behavioral therapy. Treatment selection is thus guided by comprehensive assessment of the phenomenology and inferred pathophysiology of the pain syndrome; patient goals, preferences, and expectations; behavioral, cognitive, and physical function; and level of risk. Experiential, practice-based evidence may be necessary for improving patient care, but it is insufficient; certainly, well-designed studies are needed to support therapeutic decision making. This review will discuss the biochemical basis of pain, factors that govern its severity and chronicity, and foundational elements for current and emerging multimodal treatment strategies. [source]


The Jung-White dialogue and why it couldn't work and won't go away

THE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2007
John P. Dourley
Abstract:, White's Thomism and its Aristotelian foundation were at the heart of his differences with Jung over the fifteen years of their dialogue. The paper examines the precedents and consequences of the imposition of Thomism on the Catholic Church in 1879 in order to clarify the presuppositions White carried into his dialogue with Jung. It then selects two of Jung's major letters to White to show how their dialogue influenced Jung's later substantial work, especially his Answer to Job. The dialogue with White contributed to foundational elements in the older Jung's development of his myth which simply outstripped White's theological imagination and continues to challenge the worlds of contemporary monotheistic orthodoxy in all their variants. Translations of Abstract Le thomisme de White et ses fondements aristotéliciens furent au coeur de ses différences d'avec Jung au cours des quinze années que dura leur dialogue. L'article examine les précédents et les conséquences de l'imposition du thomisme à l'église catholique en 1879, dans le but d'éclairer les présupposés dont White était porteur au cours de son dialogue avec Jung. L'évocation de deux des lettres les plus importantes de Jung à White laisse apparaître comment leur dialogue influença le travail ultérieur de Jung, plus particulièrement sa Réponse à Job. Le dialogue avec White contribua à jeter les fondations de ce qui allait devenir le développement ultime de son mythe, et ce, bien au-delà de l'imagination théologique de White. Il constitue aujourd'hui encore un défi aux univers contemporains de l'orthodoxie monothéiste dans toutes leurs variantes. Whites Thomismus mit seiner aristotelischen Grundlage stand im Mittelpunkt seiner Differenzen mit Jung in ihrem über 15 Jahre andauernden Dialog. In dieser Arbeit werden frühere Beispiele und die Konsequenzen der Einführung des Thomismus in die katholische Kirche im Jahr 1879 untersucht, um die Vorannahmen zu verdeutlichen, die White in seinen Dialog mit Jung einbrachte. Der Autor bezieht sich auf zwei Briefe von besonderer Bedeutung an White, um zu zeigen, wie der Dialog Jungs spätere wichtige Arbeiten, insbesondere seine Antwort auf Hiob, beeinflusst hat. Der Dialog mit White trug zu grundlegenden Elementen bei, mit denen der späte Jung seinen Mythos entwickelte, welcher Whites theologische Vorstellungskraft übertraf und bis jetzt die Welt der gegenwärtigen monotheistischen Orthodoxien in all ihren Varianten in Frage stellt. Il Tomismo di White e le sue basi Aristoteliche furono al centro delle sue differenze da Jung per tutti i 15 anni del loro dialogo. Questo lavoro prende in esame i precedenti e le conseguenze dell'imposizione del Tomismo sulla Chiesa cattolica nel 1879, per chiarire i presupposti che White portò nel dialogo con Jung. Vengono poi selezionate due delle lettere più importanti che Jung spedì a White per mostrare in che modo il loro dialogo influenzò Jung nei lavori successivi, in particolare nella Risposta a Giobbe. Il dialogo con White contribuì a dare fondamenta a elementi nello sviluppo del mito dello Jung senior che semplicemente andavano molto oltre l'immaginazione teologica di White e continuano a sfidare i mondi dell'ortodossia monoteistica contemporanea in tutte le sue varianti. El Tomismo de White con su fundamente aristotélico se encuentra en el corazón de sus diferencias con Jung durante los quince años de su diálogo. Este trabajo examina los precedentes y las consecuencias de la imposición del Tomismo en la Iglesia Católica en 1879 para poder aclarar los prejuicios que White trajo a su diálogo con Jung. Entonces selecciono dos de las mas importantes cartas de Jung a White para mostrar como su diálogo influenció substancialmente la obra posterior de Jung, especialmente Respuesta a Job. El diálogo con White contribuyó a los elementos fundacionales del desarrollo maduro de Jung de su mito el cual simplemente se adelantó a la imaginación Teológica de White y continua retando los mundos de la monoteísmo ortodoxo contemporáneo y todas sus variantes. [source]


Research Review: ,Ain't misbehavin': Towards a developmentally-specified nosology for preschool disruptive behavior

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 1 2010
Lauren S. Wakschlag
There is increasing consensus that disruptive behavior disorders and syndromes (DBDs) are identifiable in preschool children. There is also concomitant recognition of the limitations of the current DBD nosology for distinguishing disruptive behavior symptoms from the normative misbehavior of early childhood. In particular, there appears to be substantial insensitivity to heterotypic manifestations of this developmental period and problems in identifying meaningful heterogeneity. As a result, the developmental basis for much of the current nosology may be called into question. To address these and other critical issues, this paper reviews the foundational elements of clinical and developmental science pertinent to developmental differentiation of disruptive behavior in the preschool period as paradigmatic for developmental specification across the lifespan and generates an agenda for future research. We begin by reviewing evidence of the validity of DBDs in preschool children. This is followed by an outline of key developmental concepts and a review of the corollary evidence from developmental science. These provide a basis for conceptualizing disruptive behavior in reference to developmental deviation in four core dimensions hypothesized to mark the core features of disruptive behavior syndromes. Finally, we propose a program of research to establish an empirical basis for determining the incremental utility of a developmentally specified nosology. Central to this approach is a contention that the benefits of developmental specification are extensive and outweigh any disadvantages. This is because a developmentally specified approach holds substantial promise for increasing sensitivity and specificity for differentiating disruptive behavior from normative misbehavior and from other related syndromes as well as for improving prediction. Further, more precisely defined, developmentally based phenotypes are likely to elucidate distinct mechanisms within translational studies and to serve as a catalyst for the generation of novel treatments. [source]